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)

Julie & Julia

Julie is frustrated with her career and the success of those around her. In an attempt to center herself she decides to blog her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I saw this flick a little late in the game, hearing rave reviews, only to be horrifically disappointed by it. The movie is two stories edited together and frankly we could have done with out the Amy Adams part. She was annoying and unsympathetic. The Julia Child part was more interesting and Meryl Streep is fabulous as Julia Child; however I was disturbed by the incessant love scenes with her and her husband. I mean come on people – no one wants to see Julia Child having sex.

Too long, too annoying, and too much.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for randomly placed language and the awkward sex)

District 9

Aliens become refugees in Johannesburg, South Africa at a camp known as District 9. Here the government attempts to keep the Aliens isolated from humans, while ignoring their health and welfare; they harass and abuse to get information about the alien weaponry.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this movie. It was scary, entertaining, fun, and thought provoking. It is a tad heavy handed in its political and social commentary, but still very well done.

I went in not knowing what the movie was about, which is always the best way to see a movie, and really liked it. The totally unknown cast makes the movie all the more real, as a single personality is not carrying the movie or give you preconceived notions as to where the story will end up. Kind of like Alien meets The Great Escape.

*** Must See

Rated R (for language and violence)

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

A secret, peace keeping, terrorist-fighting organization known as "G.I. Joe" made up of the best of the best from every military group around the world, is drawn into an epic battle when three warheads containing microscopic anything-eating engineered bugs are stolen by a very well-funded terrorist group.

I went into this movie with very, very low expectations because a) It's directed by the same guy that directed The Mummy, so I was expecting uncomfortably cheesy dialogue. b) Because they didn't allow critics to view it, c) It was an August release and not May, June or July with all the other blockbusters, and d) Because it's based on a cartoon series which was based on a line of toys....So, with my expectations nice and low, I was entertained and enjoyed it. There's plenty of cheese and bad acting but lots of fun action and special fx. Also being a very big G.I. Joe fan as a kid, it was fun to see all of my favorite characters on screen. I would have loved this movie if it came out when I was 8 years old. And that may be the issue, this is intended for the 8-17 year old boy, but none of those grew up with G.I. Joe. It's the kids from the 80's that grew up with the cartoon series and toys at their peak of popularity. But it really is wall to wall action with one too many flash backs. Some of the animation of characters doing extreme, maybe stylized actions, feel a tad too unrealistic. And all the action/battles/fights/chases in the last 30 minutes can get a little confusing. It's not comparable to the first Transformers but not as bad as the second Transformers. But it is what it's supposed to be, I guess. See it if you're a G.I. Joe fan or want some mindless, explosive summer movie fun.

**1/2 out of 4 - Rentable