Fantastic Mr. Fox

A young Mr. Fox makes a promise to his wife that he will give up his thievery career path now that they are expecting a cub. Flash forward; he is working as a newspaper columnist and totally unsatisfied with life. He secretly starts to get back into his old ways, causing a stir and eventually all out war between the animal community and the local farmers.

This is a total Wes Anderson film. Think The Royal Tenenbaums meets Chicken Run. I thought the movie was quite clever and funny, having said that, the comedy itself is so subtle I doubt small children would appreciate this for anything more than the visual effects.

The voice casting was perfect. George Clooney is fabulous, as is, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Somewhat forgettable in terms of a animated flick, yet exactly what one would expect from Wes Anderson…including the lengthy running time.

* * ½ Rentable


Rated PG (for violence)

Pirate Radio

A random and curious group of DJ’s broadcast rock n’ roll music from ships anchored in the North Sea next to the isle of Great Britain. Though not technically breaking the law, the government hates them and is doing all they can to shut them down.

This is apparently based on a true story. That in the mid-60’s it was illegal to broadcast rock n’ roll music while on British soil. So many radio stations took to the seas and became known as Pirate Radio. I found this so odd, as some of the greatest music of the 60’s came out of England; it seems so silly that they wouldn’t allow it on air.

Nevertheless enough history—back to the film. While based on actual events the movie itself doesn’t really have much of a story line. It kind of follows a teenager in a weak coming of age attempt, but the rest of it is basically just a bunch of cleverly written skits that are merged together with the momentary government angst clips.

Having said that, the music is fabulous, and if you are a fan of that era you will have tons of fun watching this collage of vignettes’ about nothing more than sex, drugs, and rock and roll. See it.

* * ½ Rentable


Rated R (for language and sexual content)

The Box

A young couple, in the late 70’s, are given the financial opportunity of a lifetime. Push a button and receive $1 Million dollars, someone, somewhere, will die as a result. Don’t push the button and you will be paid $100 dollars and the offer will be made to someone else.

So this movie had such potential but fell flat. The idea was intriguing. Testing humanity and the general integrity of mankind, however the movie takes on this random supernatural sci-fi twist that completely down grades the story. I thought that this would be so much more suspenseful and more of a psychological thriller. Instead you are left with a heavy handed question of morality that is neither thought provoking nor entertaining.

The art direction does however create a very 70’s feel that is commendable, not worth running to a theatre near you, but it works.

* ½ Rentable


Rated PG-13 (for language)

Surrogates

It's the future and mankind lives an isolated existence, their only interaction is through perfect robotic versions of themselves which they control from home and live their lives through. This revolutionary way of life has become the norm, making homicide and other crimes almost non-existent. When someone is murdered while connected to their surrogate, detective Bruce Willis (I forget the characters name) sets out to discover how and why this unprecedented set of events took place.

Pretty cool and original idea in some ways (society living through surrogate robots) , very unoriginal in others (minds plugged into machines, hello Matrix), in the end it just doesn't quite fulfill its potential. Although the idea of everyone having their brain connected to ultra-realistic, robotic versions of themselves is kind of creepy and makes your mind wander with the possibilities, that wandering leads you to question some of the basic rules that this futuristic society lives with and kind of distracts from the story. Which story feels very much like I, Robot meets The Matrix, although there is some interesting social commentary on how we've become so connected to our phones, computers, ipods, video games and tv's and less connected as human beings. There's some fun action and enough intrigue to keep you into it, but it's nothing too amazing.

** out of 4 - Rentable (PG-13 for language, violence, brief drug and sex scenes)

Couples Retreat

Four couples head off to an exclusive resort designed to bring couples closer together. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the others are there for the sun, sand, and fun, only to find out the therapy part of the package is not optional.

I went into this movie with very low expectations. I figured that I had seen all of the funny parts in the commercial spots and that the rest was just going to be crude and crass filler. I was somewhat surprised that it wasn’t and that I found myself laughing throughout most of the movie. Granted in general this flick was totally forgettable but I have to admit that I was shocked that it was so much better than I had anticipated.

This was Peter Billingsley’s directorial debut—for those of you who don’t know who that is, he was “Ralph” in A Christmas Story. He does a fairly decent job. The actors, all of whom are very funny, play their typical character. Nothing new there. Most of the jokes are predictable but the dialogue, in true Vince Vaughn fashion, was fast, funny and frantic.

Nothing to run out and see but totally fun video pick.

** ½ Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for sexual content and language)

The Invention of Lying

Mark lives in an alternate reality where lying doesn’t exist. Everyone is always honest, and most of the time it’s brutal. In a desperate attempt to save himself he discovers the concept of saying something that “isn’t”. He also seems to be the only person with this ability and quickly lies himself into fame and fortune.

I really liked the concept of this movie and the first half is really clever and very funny. I particularly liked the commercials and advertisements, which are basically CEO’s pleading with the population to continue to buy their product. The second half however, gets really slow and predictable. The twist is funny and while trying not to give anything away, let me just say that I particularly enjoyed the pizza box part.

Overall the movie could have been much better and is totally forgettable. The beginning is much stronger than the plot itself and fizzles out pretty quickly. Not as funny as Liar Liar, another movie about lying. I would say that the inability to lie is much more funny than the inventing of it. Which again is probably why the beginning of this movie is the best part.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

Whip It

Bliss is a young high school student that is trapped in her mothers’ world of Texas debutants and beauty pageants. She is entranced by the world of Women’s’ Roller Derby and sets off to try out for the team, even though she is a minor and her parents will never approve.

This was Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, and wasn’t too shabby. The story itself is predictable enough, but the dialogue is sharp and really funny. I was a tad disappointed by the pacing of the movie. It was unnecessarily slow, and had about two or three tandem story lines that were never fully fleshed out and seemed to slow down the plot even more.

Barrymore was also in the movie, and frankly should have stayed behind the camera. Her character was annoying and distracting. The rest of the cast however does a great job, particularly Kristen Wiig, as fellow roller derbiette and Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern as Bliss’s parents.

This isn’t that great of a movie, it was slow and predictable, but the actors, for the most part, were great and again the dialogue is what makes it worth watching. Nothing to run out and see, but still kind of entertaining.

** ½ Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

Fame

Fame = Lame.









* out of 4. Not a chance.

Extract

Joel is the owner of a flavor extract company. While his business is booming his personal life is falling apart. To make matters worse he has recently hired a very attractive con-artist.

Oh I was so excited to see anything with Jason Bateman in it. I absolutely love him. Alas even he could not pull this movie off. The story was predictable, the pacing horrifically slow. The audience was constantly four or five steps ahead of the plot. The characters were trite and boring. And it really wasn't even that funny.

I kept waiting for…something to happen…anything, but it never did.

So sad.

** Rentable

Rated R (for language and sexual content)

All About Steve

Mary is a walking encyclopedia. Her knowledge about seemingly, everything, makes her extremely socially awkward. Her parents, in an attempt to help her, set her up on a blind date. The date lasts only five minutes when Steve, is called off to work. The rest of the movie is Mary stalking him.

In my defense, I didn’t even want to see this movie. A friend, who shall remain nameless, bamboozled me into seeing it. I informed said friend, that this movie in recent polls got a Turkey. A Turkey! No Stars. None. Twenty minutes into the movie I got many an apology.

NOT-A-CHANCE (that’s no stars)

Rated PG-13 (for sexual content)