Reel Entertainment

Review: Devil

2010-09-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

Five strangers walk into an office building and get stuck on an elevator. It is soon revealed that this is not an ordinary elevator maintenance issue, but that there are much darker forces at work.

"Devil" is the first film in M. Night Shyamylan's series of films entitled "The Night Chronicles". These are films that he has written the story for, but are not directing. And boy did he start his chronicles out with a bang. This is a thriller that sunk its hooks into me from the beginning and totally drug me around for its entire length. If there were ever a way to re-legitimize himself in the eyes of the public, "Devil" is it. Even though he did not direct it, this feels like some of Shyamylan's best talents at work.

This is a film that takes the "less is more" philosophy and wears it as a badge of honor. The story is simple, character backstories are just fleshed out enough for us on a need to know basis and the scares are all left to play out in the theater of the mind. I usually am not one for horror films as they usually do not scare me, but everytime the lights in the elevator went off I was terrified about what would be seen when the lights came back on and the results were usually far worse than I could have imagined with some of the craziest kills I have seen in a long time. Yet, this is a fairly tame PG-13 film that I would recommend for anyone looking for a good ride

While "Devil" is a certainly an entertaining film, on a spiritual level it is extremely challenging. I do not talk much about my faith in my reviews, but "Devil" is a film I believe all Christians should see. I would love to see what kind of discussions can rise out of the end of the film.

From the opening, and extremely unsettling shot of an upside down Philadelphia skyline, "Devil" drew me into its chilling "What if?" fable and left me feeling uneasy and ravenous for discussion after its closing scenes. "Devil" is a great little thriller with a deceptively simple set-up and complex payoff.

My rating: 7.5/10

Review: Temple Grandin

2010-09-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Temple Grandin sees things in pictures. Her mind can recall every "picture" it has ever taken and allows her to see the world and solve problems in unconventional and brilliant ways. Her condition is known as autism and Temple used this to help her revolutionize the beef industry and give us the modern method of cattle slaughter.

"Temple Grandin" is an ambitious film, because its subject matter does not seem like it would connect with a modern audience. However, the sheer charisma of Temple has you rooting for her from beginning to end. Much of this is due to the absolutely phenomenal performance put forth by Claire Danes. Her portrayal of the spunky Temple is endearing, funny and touching.

The only complaint I have about "Temple Grandin" is that it is not nearly long enough. The film would have benefited from about twenty to thirty more minutes on its runtime to flesh out the relationship between Temple and her mentor Dr. Carlock (played by the brilliant David Strathairn). And perhaps could have espoused upon some of Temple's days in college after she became "accepted" by her peers.

This is a simple film that deals with a delicate and complex condition with more heart and grace than almost anything I have seen on the subject and all due to an Oscar worthy performance by Claire Danes. Unfortunately, "Temple" is a made for television movie by HBO, but she netted an Emmy along with several other much deserved awards.

My Rating: 8/10

Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

2010-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Twenty-two years ago, the great Gordon Gekko was imprisoned for insider trading. Now he is out of prison and looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter by taking her soon-to-be husband under his wing and helping him seek revenge on the corrupt broker responsible for the loss of his original mentor.

The original "Wall Street" is a fantastic film about corruption and greed set in the world of the stock market. "Money Never Sleeps" is a revenge thriller set in the world of the stock market. That is not to say it doesn't work, it is just a different entity entirely than its predecessor. Given our current economic state, a new "Wall Street" film seemed like a brilliant idea, but with the direction the film goes, it serves less as social commentary and more as an extremely entertaining, well-acted corporate thriller.

Michael Douglas picks up exactly where he left off at the end of the original and has not lost an ounce of his despicably slimy yet entirely likable charm and having him seek redemption nearly humanizes the character to make viewers feel sympathy for this once great broker. The rest of the cast fill out their roles brilliantly with Shia LaBeouf being a real standout here. He handles the role with the maturity of someone who, well, is not Shia LaBeouf and gives the best performance I have ever seen him give.

Oliver Stone is one of my least favorite directors, but "Money Never Sleeps" is one of his more polished films and while that means "studio tainted" for his die hard fans, it means "accessible" for the rest of us. The pacing moves at a clip which is nice, but leaves no room for questioning so the viewer has to stay on top of the plot or it will lose you in its sea of financial world jargon. The script could have been a bit tighter, but Douglas's scenes make it all worth it.

"Money Never Sleeps" could have been a biting commentary on the current state of our economy, but plays it much safer than people thought it would or how Mr. Stone operates. Overall, we are left with a superbly acted thriller deserving of a watch, but not to be taken as a serious statement on the world today.

My rating: 7/10

Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

2010-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

"Lord of the Rings" in the world of "The Lion King" shot like "300".

"Legend of the Guardians" is one of the most paradoxical films I have ever had to review. This is not a particularly entertaining film, but it is absolutely riveting to watch. Similarly, there is almost nothing going on in terms of story, yet there is far too much going on for a viewer to care about.

If you take any standard fantasy storyline and apply it to this film, you will more or less catch the idea. A young owl is taken out of his home and embarks on a journey to save his loved ones and the world. On the way he finds not only the tools necessary to defeat evil, but awakens a greater destiny deep in his spirit and so on. The reason my synopsis paragraph is structured the way it is is because I literally stopped paying attention to the story and started substituting plots from other films. Also, during one of the hokier points of the film, the accompanying soundtrack during the young one's training montage was provided by "Owl City". Get it?

Now, what makes "Guardians" such a compelling film is its absolutely staggering visuals. Director Zack Snyder has an eye for making things look "cool" and this is no exception. All of his trade marks are here, inspirational speeches, crazy, unnecessarily ramped action sequences and shots of characters reacting abound and are all beautiful. Part of the reason why I stopped caring about the film is because I was too busy LOOKING at the film. It also boasts the absolute best 3D I have seen to date and shows how far we have come with this technology in just over a year.

"Legend of the Guardians" made me understand how people that liked "Avatar" felt. The story is so by the numbers it hurts, but looking at the film is a spectacle all its own and demands the extra cash for 3D if you plan on seeing it. Unfortunately, much like "Avatar" this is a film that is all sparkle and no spirit, which makes attaching a rating here extremely difficult so I will leave you with this. If you are expecting an epic fantasy adventure, re-watch anything else, but if you are looking for an eye-popping, turn your brain off special effects bonanza, by all means give this film a go.

Review: The Town

2010-09-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

Deciding to put his life of crime behind him, Doug MacRay sets out to pull one last job and leave Charlestown forever. However, between maintaining his new relationship with Claire and keeping his loose cannon buddy, James in check, leaving may not be as easy as he would like.

"The Town" marks Ben Affleck's second directorial effort and after proving himself with some serious chops on "Gone Baby Gone", this was going to make or break him as a director. Fortunately, "The Town" delivers on all counts. Do you remember Apple's old slogan "it just works"? That is exactly how I felt about "The Town". This is a film that tells a bank robbery story just like every other bank robbery story, but is so well crafted that you cannot help but submit to its tale.

Almost all of what makes this film work the way it does lies in the performances and everyone is at the top of their game. While the entire cast is absolutely phenomenal, Jeremy Renner is a show stealer who turns in a performance worthy of a supporting actor nod come awards season and almost certainly solidifies him a spot as a new "it" guy in Hollywood. Mr. Affleck himself turns in his best performance since his Kevin Smith days, though he's a bit too broody (I swear I felt it through the masks) and Jon Hamm does well with what he was given, but his part is fairly miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

The action and cinematography in "The Town" pick up exactly where "Gone Baby Gone" left off and left me just as impressed. Ben Affleck is one of the most effective directors working today and while his films might be leaving something to be desired visually, at least we know what is going on during the action sequences and who is where at what time. The film's two hour plus runtime flew by and I could not believe we had actually been in a theater that long.

Making a bank heist thriller in a post-"Heat" world is risky and yet, "The Town" remains a totally separate film on all levels. This absolutely the best decision Affleck could have made and it helps the film to stand up and out from the rest of the films in this genre. That is not to say the story is wholly original, but it is presented to us in such a quality package that one cannot help to look at it and be left totally satisfied by the fade to black.

My rating: 8/10

Review: Resident Evil: Afterlife

2010-09-13T21:17:00.001-07:00

Project Alice is still mad at the Umbrella Corporation for experimenting on her and presumably for making sure that freaking Rihanna song does NOT die. After taking care of some unfinished business in Tokyo, she travels to Alaska to meet up with Claire and from there they travel to L.A. for no reason only to find out that Alice's business wasn't exactly unfinished. Also, there are supposed to be zombies, but there are none.

I checked my phone during "Resident Evil: Afterlife" only to notice that the film was more than half over and not a single zombie had been shot. There were zombies present, but they were held safely at bay by large walls until some of them become inspired by dig dug and tunnel their way into the facility our heroes are seeking refuge in. And right about then is when I started to fall asleep.

This is one awful excuse for a film. Everything about it is absolutely atrocious. The performances are either lifeless or so tongue in cheek that Agent Smith was giggling and the script was as vacant as any motel that had the unfortunate name of "Bates" after "Psycho" came out. We saw this in 3D because it was supposed to be shot with the same technology James Cameron used on Avatar. The only problem with this, is that James must have left the instruction booklet at home, because the 3D looked terrible.

All of the action sequences in this movie were just paint-by numbers templates that I think I could find right here on blogspot and the score had to have been done in FrootyLoops. Characters show up and die and then come back with no rhyme or reason and the main villain is horrendously uninteresting.

I know Paul W.S. Anderson does not make high quality films, but the first "Resident Evil" is decent enough and even "Death Race" is worth a watch. Here, it is obvious he is trying to turn a quick buck on 3D and his blatant use of green screen offended my retinas. Overall, I now give up on the "Resident Evil" franchise of films as they have lost focus completely and have now become more about "sticking it to the man" than killing zombies, and if we are truly honest, we need all the zombie films we can get. Not because they are good, but because they are necessary training tools for the inevitable zombie uprising.*

My rating: 3/10

*is not actually a belief held by this writer.

Review: Harry Brown

2010-09-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Mourning the loss of his wife and the brutal murder of his best friend and chess partner, 77-year old Harry Brown decides to avenge his friend and take down the street gang responsible for his murder. Meanwhile, the British police begin a search for the man responsible for killing the gang member's murders.

The first thing I have to do in this review is admit two things to my readers: 1. I absolutely love Michael Caine. 2. I absolutely love revenge thrillers like this and "Death Wish". Now that that is out of the way, our review can begin. "Harry Brown" is awesome. I know that all these revenge thrillers offer nothing new and play out exactly the same every time, but these films are about execution (pun not intended). And this is exactly where "Harry Brown" succeeds.

The obvious twist here is that our main character is not the first person you would peg to single handedly take down a young street gang, but Michael Caine is such an iconic and incredible actor he is the only one you could take seriously in this role. And holy cow is it serious. The acts committed by the gang in this film are absolutely atrocious and rooting for Brown becomes one of the easiest choices you will make while watching a film.

Of course, the film tries to open up the debate on whether vigilantism is ever justified, but by the film's end it is more spectacle than actual social commentary. This actually works to the film's advantage as it does not come off as preachy or hamfisted and the action is believable, but not so realistic you are completely depressed by the end. Harry's brand of justice is certainly fun to watch, but a very clear distinction that this is just a movie is made early on and stays that way.

The character of Harry Brown is intriguing and is presented in such a way that we know there is a history to his character, but the audience never quite figures out what that is and we are left to our own devices to figure it out. This is clearly a man who has seen things and Caine's riveting performance carries all of that through the defeated eyes he carries throughout most of the movie and through his quiet victory in the end.

"Harry Brown" is no different than any other vigilante movie you are likely to come by, but as a fan of the genre it certainly executes itself very well with a commanding performance by the always incredible Michael Caine that makes you absolutely buy into a world where a 77-year old ex-royal marine will absolutely destroy you if push comes to shove. And for that, "Harry Brown" wins.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Review: The American

2010-09-13T20:40:00.001-07:00

In order to be the best at his job, Jack leads a solitary life that consists of traveling the world, using various aliases and not getting to attached to anyone. After years of bending to the will of his superior Jack decides he is done with the business of killing. He takes one last job building a weapon for a fellow assassin in the hills of Italy, but Jack's descent into paranoia has already begun.

"The American" reflects its main character almost too well. The film is cold, uncompromising and emotionally vacant. And this is a good thing. Anton Corbijn shot the film in such a way that one feels completely alone even in a packed out theater. After the credits began rolling, I felt a cold chill and immediately wanted to see people and interact to feel normal again. This is not an easy film, but if you are willing to devote the time to the slow burn pacing the last fifteen minutes carries a hugely intense payoff. The tension is nerve-wrackingly high the entire film and instead of having long stretches of dialog punctuated by intense situations, "The American" has one long strand of tension stretched across its entire runtime that is not snapped until its final moments.

Much of what makes "The American" work so well comes out of Clooney's understated, contemplative performance. Many will call his work bland, but I believe the exact opposite is going on here. Outwardly, Jack shows zero emotion, but just behind his eyes there is a confused and lonely man that just wants to be loved. As his only "friend" and confidant suggests, he lives in hell. And hell is "a place with no love."

There is not a lot that is to be said about this film as it takes place on an almost microscopic scale, but it takes that and uses it to its advantage, leaving most of it up to your own interpretation. "The American" makes you work to find the "point" of it all and is ultimately, extremely cynical, but the performance by Clooney leaves you searching your own life to see if you are really doing what you are supposed to be doing. And, let's face it, sometimes a re-assessment of our circumstances is a good thing.

My Rating: 7/10

Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

2010-08-15T17:41:00.001-07:00

Scott Pilgrim is your ordinary 22 year old. He spends his days hanging with his roommate Wallace and his nights playing bass with his band, "Sex Bob-omb." Scott Pilgrim's precious little life is soon disrupted when a mysterious pink haired girl blazes through his dream at night, causing more than a little bit of obsession on his part. Soon, he meets the pink haired girl named Ramona and they begin a relationship. What she forgets to tell Scott, is that in order to date her, he has to defeat her seven evil exes. Scott Pilgrim's life just got real.

"Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" felt like it was tailor made for me and my generation. This film is filled with video game, music and film references that I not only understood, I downright REVELED in them. Everything about this film was done to please one audience and one audience only. However, the core story is so real and sweet that I firmly believe anyone can pop into Scott Pilgrim and be overtaken by the great love story the nerdtasticness is centered around.

Scott fights extremely hard for Ramona's heart. Each one of her exes representing insecurity and trust issues that have plagued her her entire life. They have fueled her need to keep moving and not be tied down, but Scott is different and willing to prove it. I have no problem admitting that I (and most guys) have (or have at one point had) that girl in our life. This is the key element to making "Pilgrim" work boy did it win me over.

All of the performances are top notch, including Michael Cera who really grew a personality for this film and channels the Scott of the comic-books to a tee. Mary-Elizabeth Winstead really works well as the fiery Ramona and Kieran Culkin made me laugh pretty much every time he was on screen. The league is all very good as well and Jason Schwartzman is so absolutely despicable that I forgot how much I actually like that guy.

On a visual level, Scott Pilgrim rivals "Inception" in terms of inventiveness. The world Edgar Wright has created here is full of floating words to indicate actions and people can grab 1-ups in case they die. The battle with exes five and six was a piece of eye candy for the ages and left me stunned in my seat at what I had just witnessed. 2010 is shaping up to be quite the year for visually striking films and this is no exception. The other thing Wright does that really impressed me, was his use of time. The film is under two hours, yet condenses all six books perfectly into its runtime. Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

"Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" is a madcap journey through love, insecurity, self-respect and being young wrapped up in a love letter to pop culture. Visually arresting and emotionally honest, this is a generational milestone that will find a massive fan base on DVD and hopefully turn some people onto one of the most epic romances of the new millennium. This is really a Romeo and Juliet for the Nintendo generation and I loved every last minute of it.

My Rating - 9.5/10

Inception: Exiting the Maze

2010-07-19T19:41:00.001-07:00

This is the last post of my Christopher Nolan retrospective. I have experienced Inception twice now, and I can honestly think of only a handful of movies that have affected me the way this film has. It needs to be seen and solidified my career path. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for both myself and the film industry as long as Christopher Nolan is involved in some aspect of it.

To Mr. Nolan, thank you. Your films have always struck me when I needed them the most and were some of the first to get me thinking about starting this blog to begin with. Inception is a true masterwork and the amount of care put into the film shines on every level. I cannot tell you how elated I was after the film and to have shared that experience with my closest friends is something I won't soon forget.

To my traveling companions and fellow dreamers, your trip to Fresno meant so much to me. I know I can get a little crazy about my films, but you have all been so supportive and I love that. I am pleased to have had this experience with you all. You are the ones that understand my passion the most and it was great to share it with you all. Those of you that were with me are truly the ones who inspire to keep on reviewing, even when I may not feel like it. Your outpouring of love during Christopher Nolan week is an absolute blessing.

To my readers, thank you all. I can't be sure how many of you read the blog, but I know a few of you do so quite often, and your feedback means everything to me. Keep it coming, and if you find a review particularly great, pass it along to your friends. If it weren't for the readers here, I would not be doing this. Okay, well, maybe, but you know.

In all seriousness, you have all been amazing and excellent to me and this little blog, even if we may not see eye to eye. The one thing I couldn't wait to do after Inception was to come back here and tell all of you (even the ones that saw it) to go experience it. This film is why I do what I do, and more importantly, your support is why I keep going. Thank you all again. I truly love you all.

-MJ

Review: Inception

2010-07-19T19:10:00.001-07:00

Dom Cobb specializes in a very specific form of information theft involving infiltrating the minds of people and "extracting" ideas. However, when a powerful business man asks him to plant an idea into the mind of one of his competitors in exchange for a clear criminal record, Cobb reluctantly agrees and a multi-layered race ensues.

I had planned on reviewing this film the night I saw it so I could end Christopher Nolan week properly, however, I hit a little snag. The only way to properly end Christopher Nolan week was to let this film gestate in my brain for a couple of days. Inception was one of the most powerful movie going experiences of my life. I remember standing in line waiting to be let into the theater and literally shaking in anticipation. After the film started, my adrenaline kicked in for the entirety of its 2.5 hour runtime and did not stop until long after the last frames of the film were over.

Inception is a ticking timebomb of a film in the most literal sense imaginable. The overall Nolan themes are here; redemption, atonement, control and chaos etc. However, this is by far Nolan's most visual arresting, pulse pounding film. The visuals are simply stunning and have some of the greatest action sequences I have seen committed to celluloid in cinema. The hallway scene must be experienced to be believed. Add to that the fact we saw the IMAX experience and it was nearly overwhelming.

When the film ended we were all exhausted from the ride, but we would do it again in a heartbeat. Fortunately I have, and it is definitely one of those repeat viewings that is demanded. Nolan has created an incredibly intelligent film that demands your attention and respects you as an audience member. Though the dialog is filled with jargon and exposition, the hints are so subtle that if you miss a line, you've more than likely missed a key plot point and at no point is it ham-fisted.

There is not a single second of wasted film here, all roads meet up at the challenging ending, leaving you breathless, pinned to your seat and for this reviewer, nearly in tears of joy and sorrow for the journey we took with these characters. Every single actor here turns in the performance of their careers and have incredibly chemistry with each other. Special mention to the wonderful Tom Hardy, who I would love to see carry a film by himself next time. Perhaps as a certain British spy?

The amount of gushing about Inception could go on for days, but I will leave you with this. Inception is one of the rare films that commands your attention for its duration and if you willingly hand over your mind for it, you will not be disappointed. Nolan is a master of the craft and will be for many years to come. With a canon full of masterpieces, it will forever be these films that shape my passion for cinema. Movies for movie lovers is the business of Nolan, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

my rating: 10/10

Inception: Entering the Maze

2010-07-17T02:59:00.000-07:00

Well guys, this is it. In just over twelve hours, I will be experiencing Inception for the first time. I must say, my expectations for this film are through the roof. Going through Nolan's filmography this last week, I've come out with a new respect for the man, his work and film as a whole. These are the films we want to see. He can make visually stunning pictures, but can make you think for days after you've seen it.

The biggest thing I respect about Nolan is that he has never compromised the intelligence of his work. In a world where writers believe every little detail must be explained in the dialog, Nolan lets you pick up on them through multiple viewings. In order to truly "get" one of his films, you have to be paying attention. All to often we stop paying attention. Not just to our films, but to our lives. We just get caught up in the routine and miss out on the little details that make it so amazing. And in some bizarre, twisted way that's what I have learned through all this. Sure, Nolan's films are morally ambiguous (and sometimes even bankrupt) but this week has left me looking up, with a renewed sense of hope in the life I am leading and for what's to come in the maze.

And with that, I say Thank you, Christopher Nolan. You have truly inspired this writer and I look forward to entering many more of your mazes along the way.

-MJ

The Dark Knight:: Desperation and Loss in Gotham City

2010-07-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

In the last year, Batman has been keeping a quiet, watchful eye over the citizens of Gotham. Out of fear and desperation, the organized crime syndicates turn to a man known only as "The Joker" for help killing the Batman. Being a lunatic and a genius all at the same time, The Joker is only looking out for his best interests and has only one thing on his mind, making the world suffer.

When this film came out, it was a guaranteed juggernaut. With the incredible trailers, and the tragic death of Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight had expectations through the roof and only Christopher Nolan could deliver on those and more. The Dark Knight is a pitch-perfect film on a grand scale from beginning to end with not a single moment of its 2 and a half hour runtime wasted. Moviemaking does not get better than this.

This is much more ambiguous film than its predecessor, leaving the big themes open to discussion, but it closely resemble those of Nolan's Following. Chaos destroys order for no other reason than to delight in the bringing down of the institution and Heath Ledger personifies this to a degree I have never seen in any other performance by any other actor. This is the stuff legends are made of and Heath's mark will forever be felt in this masterpiece.

For a super hero film, Nolan delves into some dark, dark territory. Exploring how far people will go for their ideals and the limits they will go to to protect the people they love. This is a cerebral film that came out in the summer wasteland of big, dumb action and it works for every frame. The dialog is more thematic than it has ever been, and the chase sequences are straight out of a Michael Mann film.

For those that know me, The Dark Knight is one of my all time favorite films and if you haven't seen it yet, you are depriving yourself of a modern day masterpiece of cinema. This is one of those films that comes along once in a great while to remind you of the spectacle and whimsy of filmmaking all while challenging you to get into the heads of some complex characters and spend some time forming your own conclusion.

my rating: 10/10

The Prestige: Magic and Movies

2010-07-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

At the turn of the century, rival illusionists Alfred Borden and Robert Angier engage in a competition to out do one another with high personal costs. Their fight leads one of the men to Colorado where, with the aid of Nikola Tesla, he discovers a "real" magic trick that transcends illusion and science.

After Batman Begins, the public was hungry for a sequel. However, in order to not become totally lost and stagnant in his universe, Christopher Nolan chose a smaller project to occupy the time between Batman films. The result was one of the best films of 2006. I remember seeing this film in theaters the week after The Departed and thinking nothing could be as good as that film. Turns out I was wrong. This is a brilliant movie with layers upon layers of mystery and suspense.

At its core, The Prestige is a morality tale. Both men have an unhealthy obsession with one-upping the other and this leads to some rather underhanded moves on both sides of the coin. However, this film is much more than a simple story about the dangers of obsession. The twists and turns throughout the film are so deftly woven in that by the time you find out the secrets, you realize that you were not really looking for it in the first place.

The narrative structure reflects the spiral of the story. It is some sort of bizarre frame story that goes into itself and its characters and then bursts right back out into the bigger picture of it all. Although the scale of the film is more toned down than his Batman films, the complexity and tenacity of it all are just as huge. At the end of the film, you come to realize that much like a magic trick, it has three acts in which the third is a massive reveal that makes you want to see it again as soon as its over.

Going through this film for at least the seventh time last week, I found myself still picking up on minutiae in the dialog and subtle looks between certain characters that lend this mind destroying picture to endless multiple viewings. I would argue that this is Nolan's most ambitious picture to date, with it spiraling timeline and steady build up to a finale you won't soon forget. This is the film that solidified Nolan as a director to watch in my book, and is a film I will still watch years down the road.

my rating: 10/10

Batman Begins: Facing the Fear

2010-07-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

After his parents are brutally murdered, Bruce Wayne exiles himself to the far reaches of the world, learning a code of honor that will turn him into a symbol of hope in the dark world of Gotham. Also, he's Batman.

In 1997 Joel Schumacher destroyed any good graces the World's Greatest Detective had on celluloid with the atrocious "Batman and Robin". Eight years later Christopher Nolan burst onto the mainstream film market with a re-telling of Batman's origins set in a realistic and gritty world. It was one of the biggest risks any filmmaker has ever taken and the payoff was more than worth it.

First off, Nolan cast Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. He had played a billionaire playboy in American Psycho, but he is a Welsh actor and Batman is an American icon. To quelch fears, Bale did all of the press for this film using an American accent and convinced everyone he was more than capable of tackling the role. Secondly, this is not a typical comic book film. Long stretches of time pass between action sequences and moody dialog is exchanged during quiet, reflective moments. The plot is one of the most complex modern cinema has seen, with several villain changes as we work our way up the chain of command in Gotham's underbelly.

Thematically, Nolan hits on his go to sources. Sense of destiny, black and white, systematic disciplines and the duality of people. However, here he adds the element of fear. Both Batman and Scarecrow use the art of fear to face their adversaries, which lends itself well to thinking that they really aren't different. Lt. Gordon's last few lines of the film sum this up perfectly.

The film is essentially split into two separate areas. The first hour is spent introducing you to the characters and setting up the themes of the movie while the second hour is where all the big action comes into play, but at no point does action compromise story. This really gives the stars a chance to shine, and everyone turns in a fine performance, but Cillian Murphy must be singled out here. It wasn't until watching this film for the blog that I noticed the quiet lunacy with which he plays his manic Dr. Crane. The scene on the rooftop after he poisons Rachel is particularly effective and frightening.

Batman is one of the longest running comics in history, and for Christopher Nolan to come out and make a quiet drama full of symbolism and focused on a conflicted, broody anti-hero was a massive gamble. Fortunately for us, the studio saw the raw talent in Nolan and rolled their dice in a big way with him, only to reinvigorate what many considered a dead franchise and propel one of the best directors of this (or any) generation into the mainstream. Of course, Nolan thanked Warner Bros. three years later with one of the greatest sequels of all time, but more on that later in the week.

my rating: 9.5/10

Insomnia: Literary Filmmaking

2010-07-13T15:01:00.001-07:00

On an assignment to solve the murder of an Alaskan teenager, Will Dormer finds himself in an intricate cat and mouse game with Walter Finch that has some rather earth shattering consequences.

Insomnia is the only film Christopher Nolan has directed that wasn't based on a script he wrote, but it doesn't matter. The screenplay feels just like his own films, thick with moody, conflicted characters and an intensity boiling under the surface that only Nolan can bring to the screen. The climactic fog sequence in the middle of the film is one of the most intense scenes Nolan has ever put on celluloid and he exploits every inch of his eerily calm Alaskan setting perfectly. Even the name of the city is a plot device. Nightmute, where it is always daytime.

The smallest details become some of the most revelatory in this film, including references to at least five different pieces of literature that repeat throughout the film. The main theme is of course, atonement and redemption in the midst of a terrible situation. Will is looking to make good for his sins in this life and Walter is looking to put his own on display, encouraging Will to do the same so he can finally be at peace enough to sleep.

The performances by both Al Pacino and Robin Williams in this film are absolutely riveting and their first scene together is reminiscent of the classic diner scene in Heat. The further the light seems to penetrate Donner's life, the more we feel for his character and the more he can't sleep. By the end of the film, we are practically praying for him to get some sleep as Pacino looks as though he's going to collapse at any point during the last 45 minutes or so.

Insomnia is an incredibly tense, slow-burning, thriller that blurs the line between redemption and selfishness. Thematically, this is probably Nolan's densest and most challenging film as the end isn't extremely clear cut, but that's the beauty of it. This is a man that constantly credits his audience with intelligence and if you are willing to put the effort in, the rewards are well worth it.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Memento: Through the Mirror

2010-07-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

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Memento is Christopher Nolan's second outing and is based off of a short story his brother Jonathan wrote entitled "Memento Mori" At its core, the film is a revenge tale set in Los Angeles. One of those "you took everything I had, so now I will take everything you have" sort of films. With a twist or thirty-seven that alters everything you have ever thought about that genre.

Structurally, Memento is backwards in the most literal sense of the word. The movie starts at the end of the events and ends at the beginning of them. You're going to need to pay attention to this film VERY carefully if you want to get the most out of it and you will be exhausted and probably a little depressed at the end. Luckily, the film's use of short vignettes explaining the events ease you in and take it easy to begin with.

Repetition make Leonard's life possible and repetition makes our understanding of the film possible as well. Characters are introduced as new time and time again and lines of dialog are repeated throughout the movie, with characters stating that Leonard tells the same story about a man named "Sammy Jankis" everytime they come in contact. The dialog is also heavily thematic with people talking about how everything is "backwards" and how memories are unreliable, only facts can convey truth.

Like all of Nolan's "protagonists" Leonard is searching not only for revenge, but for atonement. He is a man looking for a sense of purpose, but cannot remember what that purpose is. He exists out of time and describes his condition as like "waking" everytime he forgets it's like starting anew and refreshed. Everyone has a clean slate with Leonard when they first meet, but just because he can't remember, his cohorts can and that's when things get complicated.

*SPOILERS*

Leonard lives in a world with no accountability and is allowed to literally get away with murder several times. It's in these scenes that our heart is wrenched out of our chest as we see him being manipulated into channeling his regret and revenge into innocent people. Yes, most of the people he kills are criminals, but is that how justice needs to be served? The film culminates in his getting revenge on the man manipulating him into these situations to begin with, but only because Leonard thinks he is the one that killed his wife.

*END SPOILERS*

Memento is a masterwork in storytelling and will be dissected and inspected for years to come. And this is only the second film of Christopher Nolan's career. It is truly impressive that ANYONE pulled this off, let alone a second time director.

01/01 :gnitaR yM

Also, the 2-disc edition of the DVD has a special feature that allows you to re-construct the film to see it chronologically, If you haven't seen this cut of the film, DO IT. It is more than worth it.

Following: An Emerging Genius

2010-07-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Young Man writes. Or at least, he wants to. In order to get inspiration for his work, he takes to following strangers down the street. Sometimes to restaurants, sometimes home, sometimes to work. He never follows them in. His rules won't allow it. But, what happens when his rules are broken?

Following is Christopher Nolan's first film and has one heck of a story behind it. Shooting took place mainly on Saturdays in fifteen minute spurts for about a year and a half. The cast is composed of Nolan's friends and the script was based on an original idea he had in film school. This is the epitome of shoestring budget, but it is probably more intricate and impressive than 90 percent of what Hollywood is putting out today.

Thematically speaking, Following sets-up the rest of Nolan's career. The dialog plays heavily into the tone of the film and the characters are incredible foils to one another. Light and dark are hinted out through the film. It's shot in black and white, pianos, The Young Man's obsession with black and white movies. The two main characters represent chaos and order and what happens when chaos disrupts order. The outcome is NOT pretty. However, different as the characters are, they are also eerily similar. Two sides of the same coin. Both are searching for meaning and trying to figure out what makes people tick. A look into what goes on behind the curtain.

Like a good portion of Christopher Nolan's films, Following's timeline is disjointed and out of control. The film jumps from end to beginning and meets sort of somewhere in the middle and then spirals back out again to a big reveal that makes all the pieces fit together perfectly. For this being his first film, Nolan constructs a screenplay years beyond many of those working in the industry today.

*SPOILERS*

Paranoia and moral ambiguity play major roles in the film, and the claustrophobic camera work deftly places you into the scary headspace of The Young Man as his descent into the underworld of London's burglars becomes increasingly more risky until the time he realizes he needs out and goes to the police only to find out he's been set-up the whole time.

*END SPOILERS*

Overall, Following outlines the career Nolan has been coloring in with films like Memento and The Prestige and I hope to see from him for many, many years to come. As far as a first time outing goes, the film is a step and a half ahead of any other director and most of its viewers for its entire runtime.

My rating: 9/10

The Road to Inception: A Christopher Nolan Retrospective.

2010-07-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

This week, I will be taking you on a journey through the films of Christopher Nolan. Nolan has directed 6 films to date and his 7th, Inception, will be out this Friday. The man has talent beyond any out there right now and has never directed a bad or weak film. The reviews for these films will delve heavily into spoiler territory, so if you haven't seen the film, Don't read the blog!

Review: The Last Airbender or Hey, at least it's not The Happening.

2010-07-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

Note: This review will probably be much longer than what you guys are used to. I apologize, but there are many things that I feel need to be addressed with this film.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four Nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.

I can honestly say this is the hardest review I have ever had to write. I seriously have started this over at least six times. Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most intelligent and engaging animated shows that I have ever seen and has told a more interesting story than 90% of anything else on television. However, M. Night Shyamylan's Last Airbender is an extremely disappointing film. That being said, I also really enjoyed this movie as well.

There are really some great moments with the action scenes and bending. My favorite in particular involved a hand-to-hand sequence between Aang and Zuko that was really just fun to watch and had some spectacular martial arts moves. Dev Patel turns in an absolutely fantastic performance in this film, along with Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh. Patel sealed me as a lifelong fan of his with this performance as Zuko is one of the most intense, complex characters on the show and he captures it brilliantly here.

Now for the bad. And really, there is a lot. Like I said up there, the story is PAPER thin whereas the story the show tells is deep and intricate. I'm not asking for all 20 episodes, but Sokka and Katara serve no real purpose as their characters are not developed in the slightest. Major characters have been cut and instead of showing sequences I was looking forward to, they were skipped over with the most heavy handed narration I have EVER heard in a film. It really was cringe-worthy everytime Katara's voice began.

The pacing of the film is awkward and the story is never really allowed to gain its footing due to this and some poor editing choices, once again, mainly with Katara and Sokka. A lot is being made about the poor acting and dialog, but all I need to do is point to another film with a similar title to this one that proves you don't need decent performances and non-contrived dialog to make the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME. Alright, I might be a little biased, but let me use another example. Star Wars. The Star Wars films are some of my favorite films of all time and the original trilogy is probably single handedly responsible for me writing this review today. But look at that dialog. It's TERRIBLE. You know what though? I don't care. I don't watch Star Wars for the brilliant screenplay. I watch it because it's a fantastic story.

The Last Airbender has a source that is close to my heart and the truth of the matter is this. Yes, essential characters were cut, and yes, important sequences are glazed over with horrific narration. And...yes their names are not "Ong" and "Socah" but the sheer joy of seeing one of my favorite television shows of all time on the big screen with real people bending these elements was so incredible to me. Flaws and all.

My rating: 5.5/10

Review: Jonah Hex

2010-06-27T01:30:00.001-07:00

The Outlaw Josey Wales, but with 100% more Will Arnett.

Want to see Jonah Hex? Go watch the trailer. That's pretty much all you need to see of the film. Not that it's a bad film, it's just simple. The entire main story arc is told in the trailer including the film's resolution. And that's not necessarily a bad thing for this type of film. Hex is based off the long running comic about an outlaw who can speak to the dead seeking revenge on the men who killed his family. And that's exactly what this movie is about.

Jonah Hex is a mediocre at best film, with some glimmers of decent action movie. The film moves at a clip, never overstaying its welcome and giving us just as much story as it needs to set-up the next action sequence. And honestly, that's where the film really shines. I complained about Knight and Day being too CGI heavy, but Jonah Hex is pretty much a practical affair, which is good because the little CGI in this film is really quite poor.

Josh Brolin turns in a fine, broody performance and Megan Fox is barely in it, so she doesn't get in the way TOO much. Malkovich is at his weird and creepy best, but there is one actor I would like to talk about in a little bit of detail, Mr. Will Arnett. This man has ZERO business being in this film. I couldn't take him seriously as the leading general of the military. All I kept thinking was GOB and his character from 30 Rock. He even tells Hex at one point "the president seems to think you're magic." I immediately started singing Asia's "The Final Countdown". I have never taken anyone less seriously in a role.

Overall Jonah Hex is a watchable film that is inoffensively mediocre and actually handles telling a concise story within a short amount of time well. It's a good way to pass some time with the guys on a night when there's nothing better to do, but wait for it to hit rental shelves first.

my rating: 5/10

Review: Knight and Day

2010-06-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

On her way back to Boston for her sister's wedding, June Havens bumps into the charming and mysterious Roy Miller. During the flight, Roy kills everyone on board and he and June begin a worldwide cat and mouse game to protect an object known as the "zephyr"

Dear month of June, thank you for restoring my faith in the summer. Pretty much all of May and the first half of June were really lacking in the good movies department. But, Knight and Day really took me by surprise and ended up being my second favorite film of the summer so far.

This movie starts and doesn't let up for two hours. The middle has potential to get boring, but thanks to some smart editing, the story is resolved pretty quickly. Yes, it's big and dumb, but it knows it's big and dumb and you can really tell the actors are having a blast working together. Tom Cruise is absolutely hilarious in his role and makes things funnier the more serious he acts. This is a guy that was cut out for movies. He always turns in solid work and despite what you may think of his public persona, you just want to watch him when he's on screen.

This is James Mangold's first massive picture and he really holds his own. Especially when directing two superstars that could have easily walked all over him, but a lot of the director's style comes through in the film. This is something you'll notice if you've seen Walk The Line and 3:10 to Yuma. Mangold really has an eye for action, but seems to be not so confident in his ability to use practical effects, as most of the chase scenes are CGI heavy. But, he still keeps his indie sensibilities intact with casting actors like the always great Paul Dano and the usually great Peter Sarsgard. I really like Sarsgard, but here he is TERRIBLE as the villain. He wasn't allowed to use his British accent and his American one is truly cringeworthy. He switches from southern, to really bad House impression in the middle of sentences and has almost no enthusiasm for his role. Perhaps it's payback for Dick Van Dyke's accent in Mary Poppins.

All in all you're not going to find a better time at the movies right now. Knight and Day is one of the best action comedies I have seen in a long time and could be the start of a resurgence in Tom Cruise's career. Hopefully this gives James Mangold a shot at the big leagues too as he's been on my "director's to watch" list for quite sometime.

my rating: 8/10

Review: Toy Story 3

2010-06-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

It's been 11 years for the toys and Andy is now headed off to college. The gang hasn't been played with in years, and has even lost a few members along the way. Andy is forced to make a decision about what to do with his old toys, but through a misunderstanding about where they are supposed to go, the toys end up at Sunnyside Daycare and stage a daring escape plan to get back home to their kid.

I have no doubt touted my love for all things Pixar in my reviews, and Toy Story 3 furthered that love even more. This film is absolutely the best film of the year and I wouldn't be surprised to find it sitting at the top of my list by year's end. The film is by all accounts perfect. It is hilarious, but for every laugh we get an emotionally wrenching sequence. There is a ton of action, but for every action scene there is a quiet, introspective moment.

The emotional punch that Toy Story 3 packs is a hefty one. The end reduced me to tears instantly. I've never cried that hard at a movie. I mean, it's rare for me to get misty during a film, but the amount of story telling power in here is enough to be overwhelming for anyone. You could hear parents crying as they were thinking about their kids growing up and moving out and the last half hour is pretty much nothing but the toys in peril and I was honestly not sure if they were going to make it.

Which brings me to the one problem I had with this film. Toy Story 3 is a really intense kid's film. Of course Pixar has always spoken to children intelligently, but there are some moments with the toys that were heart-racing as an adult, and I couldn't imagine what a child would be thinking during some of those scenes.

Overall, Toy Story 3 is the most honest and real thing to come out of the movie industry since last year's "UP". Pixar is absolutely the best studio making films today and this one is the best third installment of a film I have ever seen. And yes, I do mean that.

My rating: 10/10

Review: Splice

2010-06-12T22:45:00.001-07:00

In the process of synthesizing a protein capable of curing any genetic ailments, two geneticists engineer a humanoid creature and test the limits of the law and morality in the name of science.

The trailers for Splice were so atmospheric and creepy that they gave me chills, and anyone who knows me knows that I don't dig on horror movies at all, but Splice looked new and different and genuinely terrifying, so I gave it a shot. Oops.

Up until the last 15 minutes or so, Splice isn't a bad film, it's a mediocre one. But once the "twists' start taking place, the ridiculous meter just keeps climbing until it breaks through the ceiling like the Wonkavator. The film starts out kind of slow and uniteresting and then gives us a glimmer of hope towards the middle, and then immediately decides that being interesting is overrated.

Also, this is the first time I have been so confused by costuming in a film. All of these brilliant scientists spend the film looking like they came out the wrong end of a riot in Urban Outfitters. It's like a lab run by youth pastors or something. I couldn't take characters that are supposed to be geniuses seriously if they're wearing a shirt with some pithy saying on it. It just looked awkward.

On the pros list, director Vincenzo Natali serves up some atmospheric visuals, but never really plays with them outside of the film already being moody given the subject matter. Adrien Brody turns in a decent performance, but is a little too funny in the role, once again not allowing me to take him seriously.

Unfortunately, the film subscribes to far too many "science gone wrong" cliches for its own good, leaving gaping plot holes everywhere and simple fixes for stupid problems. It doesn't help that Sarah Polley is pretty vacant in her performance.

Overall, Splice is a mediocre at best sci-fi/horror film that catapults itself into "begging to be Rifftraxed" territory during the final act. Seriously that business is RIDICULOUS.

My rating: 3/10

Review: The A-Team

2010-06-12T09:46:00.001-07:00

When a mission goes wrong, 4 soldiers are wrongfully accused of killing a general and are sent to prison. After breaking out, they attempt to clear their names and pity fools.

Well, like I said in my review of the Losers, 2010 is the year of the "men on a mission". And no movie could have had more riding on it than this one. The A-Team is based on the iconic 80's T.V. show, so fan expectations were high. I'm a casual fan, but most of my other friends are rabid, and I have to say, A-Team was a ton of ridiculous fun!

The plot is pretty by the numbers, but that's not the point. The A-Team is all about the ride, and it's a fast and furious one. All of the characters are perfectly cast, yes even Quinton "Rampage" Jackson makes a fine B.A. Baracus, but the real stand out to me is the excellent Sharlto Copely as the crazy pilot, Murdoc. Copley proved himself a great new actor in last year's District 9, but here he really brings the funny and keeps you guessing as to what crazy idea he'll have next.
The whole team has a really great chemistry and they play well off of each other, even during the downtime. It really helps you get invested in the characters and adds to the depth of the film.

However, there are a few issues with the film. First off, it's a little redundant. There's an opening "getting the team together" montage and then we fast forward 8 years to the botched mission and then we get a "getting the team BACK together" montage. They're both cool sequences, but they seem recycled. That leads us into the second problem, The A-Team is a little too long. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable.

Something must also be said about Patrick Wilson's performance as CIA agent Lynch. He starts off the film playing his role as a cautious, calculated villain, but about midway through the film throws all that out the window and goes into full cheesy bad guy mode. He was hilarious, but the switch was kind of out of left field.

There's action a-plenty around in this film, but most of the time the camera won't stay in one place and a few of the sequences are confusing and hard to follow. It's like Joe Carnahan watched the Bourne films and decided to speed them up. There are two sequences that don't use this technique and they are AWESOME. If the whole film would have been shot like that, I'd call it the next Die Hard.

All in all though, The A-Team did what any great adaptation should do. It captured the essence of its source material. Yeah, it could have been shorter and the action was a little disorienting, but the film really felt like it was the same four guys from the show up there and that's where it really counts, right?

my rating: 7/10

Review: Prince of Persia

2010-05-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

After being framed for the murder of his father, Prince Dastan finds himself in the middle of a battle for a mystical dagger that has the power to turn back time. You know, like Cher.

So my expectations for this film were extremely low. I'm not a huge Jake Gyllenhaal fan and the trailers seemed kind of cheesy and Dastan's British accent seemed ridiculous. And in all truth, there are some cheesy moments and while Gyllenhaal maintains a pretty convincing accent throughout the film, it was still really stupid considering he is supposed to be a prince of PERSIA. But, despite it all, Prince of Persia is a blast.

It has a familiar set-up, protagonist is framed, and flees the scene, mystical maguffin proving his innocence is fought for and the real killer was someone he knew and trusted. But what makes Prince work so well is that its characters are so darn likable. The whole cast has great chemistry and the performances are so good that you can't help but hop on for the ride. Alfred Molina as the leader of a band of government hating thieves absolutely runs away with every scene he's in and it's worth watching the film for his parts alone.

Also worth noting is that the film is actually very well shot. There are a few more slo-mo scenes than there should have been, but the cinematography is great. Rolling hills of sand, ancient cities, holy temples, you name it and Prince has it covered.

Disney has always done well with action adventure, and Prince of Persia is no exception. It takes all the best parts of Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin and adds a hint of The Count of Monte Cristo for good measure to create a fun ride that is a great way to spend a summer day.

My Rating: 7/10

Review: Iron Man 2

2010-05-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Tony Stark is Iron Man and the world knows it. But that doesn't mean life is going to be a cakewalk for everyone's favorite freewheeling superhero. Here we see how quickly everything has gone downhill in 6 short months. The government wants Tony to turn over the Iron Man suit, his relationship with Pepper is on the rocks, the device that is saving his life is also killing him and a new deranged madman wants revenge. Holy dark sequel Iron Man!

Alright, so much has been made about Iron Man 2 and why not? It's the first big summer blockbuster of 2010, the first one was a blast and a half and they spent $100 Million on marketing this beast. The question is, does it live up to its predecessor? My answer is a resounding yes!

I had a ton of fun with this movie and thought it was just as good as the first one. The characters we all loved are back and better than ever. Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark and totally owns the role. The new characters are all awesome and I think that has a lot to do with the incredible cast they had lined up for it. Sam Rockwell was particularly entertaining as the smarmy Justin Hammer and Mickey Rourke plays the menacing Whiplash with a sort of understated brilliance. And Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow serves up one of the best action sequences of the year in the climax of the film.

As far as the story goes, it by all means should not have worked. There are a million characters and more than a few of them could be called "villains", but Favreau keeps everything moving at a relatively stable speed and kept me paying attention. The middle is quite a bit slower than you would expect from this type of film, but I wouldn't say "nothing" happens. The characters are dealing with things outside of their suits and I enjoyed seeing that. The other standout detail on Favreau's end is the action. He is much more confident in the action and special effects than he was 3 years ago and it shows in every way. It's a much larger film than the first and that makes it a great sequel.

All in all, Iron Man 2 is a more than worthy follow-up to the first one and is a great sequel for improving on what worked in the first one and expanding our look into the universe and lives of the characters we enjoyed.

My Rating: 8/10

Review: Date Night

2010-04-24T01:35:00.001-07:00

Phil and Claire Foster are an average American couple living in the suburbs who want a change from their ordinary day to day. So they decide to head into the city to try the newest trendy restaurant that's opened up. After stealing someone else's reservation they are mistaken for the Triplehorns by the local mafia, and hilarious hi-jinks ensue.

Let's get this straight right at the beginning here. The only reason Date Night would interest anyone is because of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. They are both on two of the funniest shows on television and have proved themselves to be comedic geniuses. And for the most part, Date Night works because of it. However, had this been any other celebrity pairing, the humor would have fallen flat and I would not have laughed nearly as much as I did.

The plot is fairly by the numbers and without the impeccable improv skills of both the leads the jokes are so-so. Where the film really shines is when Steve and Tina get to be Steve and Tina. Lucky for us, that's a good chunk of the film. You can definitely tell they had fun working together and I would definitely like to see them collaborate again in the future. Perhaps on something Tina writes herself.

The film has a handful of action sequences and they both handle them well for the most part. Carrell has past experience with Get Smart, but Fey does not seem to really fit in the situations. Filling out the rest of the film are a bunch of pretty hilarious cameos by the likes of James Franco, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and a hilarious out of nowhere appearance by Ray Liotta as the mob boss after the tripplehorns.

When all is said and done Date Night is a fun little comedy that bodes well for future Carrell/Fey pairings and is sure to please fans of both actors.

My rating: 7/10 (would have been much lower with two other actors)

Review: The Losers

2010-04-24T01:24:00.001-07:00

After a botched mission in the jungles of Bolivia, a team of former soldiers takes on the mysterious man who set them up in order to clear their names.

The Losers is the first of a few "men on a mission" flicks we're getting this year, and it doesn't set the standard very high. It's a fun enough time at the movies, but it certainly leaves something to be desired. The biggest flaw with this film is the villain. Jason Patric's Max is not nearly menacing enough to be taken seriously. He's snarky and goofy and chews the scenery until there's nothing left. If he would have played it a little more straight it would have saved the entire film. Secondly, the ending is a cop-out totally to set the film up for a franchise. Though I'd be surprised if a sequel happened.

As for the good, the Losers are all very well cast and work well with each other. Chris Evans is by far the stand out as the comic-relief/techie of the bunch and his performance really made me excited to see what he's going to do with Captain America. I was iffy on his casting in that film before, but this made me much more optimistic. The action is also cheeky and fun. At no point are any of our heroes in any real danger because the henchman can't hit a thing. Though by the end of the film, the gag is a tad bit played out.

This was a short review because there really isn't much to say about the film. It's a down the line action movie that will put butts in seats and sell popcorn, but don't look for it to be taught for years down the road as an action masterpiece.

My Rating: 6/10

Dear Jeffrey Dean Morgan,

PLEASE STOP LOOKING LIKE EVERYBODY! Seriously. At one point in this film he manages to look like Vince Vaughn, Robert Downey Jr., Javier Bardem and Brad Garrett all at once. It's freaking weird.

Review: Clash of the Titans

2010-04-02T01:44:00.001-07:00

After man decides to renounce the gods, Zeus threatens to release his ultimate weapon against humankind if they do not sacrifice the princess Andromeda before an eclipse. Perseus is out to see that doesn't happen.

Clash of the Titans is the new film by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) and it really is very hit or miss. Most of the "hit" portion comes from the great action sequences peppered about and provides for a very fun ride. Everything else however, grinds the film to a complete halt for no reason whatsoever. The characters are all very flat and their motivations are pretty cliched. A lot of the times I forgot how people were even connected to each other. I understand this is a big popcorn action flick, but it can at least have interesting characters. The love story felt kinda crowbarred in and a couple last minute character additions seemed kind of out of nowhere.

The other major flaw with the film is the pacing. Either it is really action-packed and fast or the movie is going nowhere fast. At a runtime of only 105 minutes, the story has to be lean, but this one is near non-existent. The editing of some of the scenes didn't help either. Abrupt cuts make it confusing to keep up with the (limited) story arcs of the characters and in a couple of the action sequences I didn't even realize the characters were fighting multiple monsters.

Despite all it has going against it, the things it has going for it make it a mostly enjoyable time at the movies. Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington both turn in solid performances as the leaders of the two worlds and the criminally underused Mads Mikkelson is great as Perseus' partner in crime. The script is a little on the weak side, but the actors do the best with what they're given with. And as I mentioned up there, the ACTION! When the swords come out, you're in for a great time. Louis Leterrier really has an eye for this kind of stuff, and makes it come off looking clean. Yes, smash cuts and close shots abound, but most of the action takes place in broad daylight with no shadows being able to cover the flaws in the CGI. That means it has to be top notch, and when it needs to be, it is. However, some of the effects done with CGI could have been done with practical effects. Namely the advanced aging of the queen.

All in all, Clash of the Titans is a fun popcorn flick with great battle scenes and fairly solid performances hindered by a mediocre script and some odd pacing. It wasn't the most epic film to come out in recent memory, but you could spend your time watching much, much worse.

My rating: 7/10

Review: Alice In Wonderland

2010-03-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Review: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

2010-01-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Dr. Parnassus is the owner and proprietor of a dated Vaudeville show which reaches into the imaginations of its participants. But, after a sinister dealing with a shadowy figure and the addition of a mysterious stranger to the troupe, Dr. Parnassus finds himself in over his head.

For those of you familiar with the work of Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is what we have all come to expect from the director. Everything is very surreal, symbolic and kinetic. The introduction to Parnassus and company feels like a subdued Baz Luhrman sequence and the scenes in the Imaginarium are truly eye-popping. While the film is still familiar ground for Gilliam, it seems to work a lot better here than it has in his more recent films.

Of course, I wouldn't be able to review this film without mentioning that it marks the last performance of Heath Ledger who died in the middle of production. Luckily, the magic mirror that one must walk through to gain access to the Imaginarium allowed for a convenient way to change actors during each trip. Heath's final performance is nuanced and sensitive, with a hint of something....darker lurking just underneath.

As a film, the pacing seems a bit off, but I believe the untimely death of Mr. Ledger contributed heavily to that and the always unlucky Gilliam did the best with what he had to work with. The story is open to interpretation and very allegorical. At its core Dr. Parnassus is a Faustian morality tale about how our dealings with the darker forces in these world lead to dark endings for ourselves and those around us.

my rating: 7/10

Review: Invictus

2009-12-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

In 1990 Nelson Mandela was released from prison and became president of South Africa. Facing a terrible economy, housing market, extreme racism and a country divided he decided to bring his country together over the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Invictus stars Morgan Freeman and was directed by Clint Eastwood. Come on, don't tell me you DON'T want to see it. All that being said, the film is of course, fantastic. Rugby isn't the first sport to come to mind when you think of inspirational sports films. And then you realize the world is more than the United States. Rugby is popular globally and therefore almost a better sport to make a film out of than say, football. However, rugby isn't the point of Invictus. The people are. The original title of the film was "The Human Factor" and that is a better title than Invictus in my opinion. Mandela was facing one of the hardest jobs in history with the added stress of bringing a divided country together.

Morgan Freeman is a spectacular Nelson Mandela and captures his warmth and generosity better than any actor out there could have. It also helps that they look exactly alike. Matt Damon is also great as the captain of the Springboks and portrays a man conflicted between his country and his team very well. In the end his team is his country of course.

Invictus is a film with big heart and with Clint Eastwood at the helm, avoids most of the traps of inspirational sports films, but can venture into that territory at times. The rugby is visceral and looks painful most of the time, but the slo-mo scrums are a little awkward compared to the rest of the sequences.

Overall, Invictus is just what you would expect from a film starring Morgan Freeman and directed by Clint Eastwood. It's a great film with a big heart and emotionally stirring story. Fortunately you'll leave the theater with a smile on your face instead of a tissue in your hand.

My rating: 8.5/10

Review: Up In The Air

2009-12-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Ryan Bingham travels. His work sends him all over the country firing people for major corporations. He sees people at their absolute most vulnerable and can talk his way out of any situation. But then change starts happening around his structured life. He meets a woman and his job is in jeopardy. Where does a traveling man go when he's grounded?

So I had been reading countless positive reviews and seeing this film near the top of every 10 best list this year and found myself continually asking "why?" Sure, it looked entertaining enough and Jason Reitman has proved he's a good director with Thank You For Smoking and Juno but this looked like a random movie. One of those "why is this a movie?" types. Never again will I doubt Reitman. Up In The Air is one of the best films of the year and lives up to everything you've heard.

It's hard to address the why behind the genius because that would delve deep into spoiler territory and I don't want to do that. I suppose the best way to describe this film is to borrow a quote from The Big Lebowski. "Sometimes, there's a man." And in many ways, Ryan Bingham is The Dude of the 2000's. A Lebowski for the Mad Men generation. Clooney plays the part to perfection and if the role would have been played by anyone else, the film would have fallen short.

The characters and the story are rich and complex and by the time the film ends the journey you've taken with them is amusing and tragic. The whole film is filled with contradictions this way, but instead of grating against each other they really work well and layer the film. Even visually the film is stunning. It bares a repeat viewing to just look at the background. So many important things happen in the background of the airport scenes that the film will be picked apart for years to come.

Up In The Air is about work, love, life, family, friends and being. Jason Reitman has crafted a masterpiece here and now has a lifelong fan. If he doesn't go home with a golden statue this year, I'm going to have a bone to pick with the Academy.

My rating: 10/10

Review: The Princess and the Frog

2009-12-30T13:18:00.001-08:00

The Princess and the Frog is Disney's latest 2-D animated feature and their first since Brother Bear. It also marks the appearance of Disney's first black princess. The story follows a lonely waitress named Tianna as she works two full-time jobs to help save money to open up her own restaurant. All that changes when a visiting prince is put under a spell that turns him into a frog and in a case of mistaken identity, asks for a kiss while she is dressed as a princess.

Well folks, Disney has done it again! The Princess and the Frog is an outstanding piece of animation that hearkens back to the golden age of Disney and is all the better for it. Everything you grew up on and loved about Disney films is here. Humor, action, songs, and wonderful animation. This is a film that will hold up for years to come and will take its place amongst the classic films this studio has put out.

The film uses its setting EXTREMELY well and touches on all the aspects of New Orleans culture. From the food, music, people and even the supernatural (more on that later) Disney gives New Orleans the royal treatment here as a celebration of one of the most vibrant cities in our country. As I mentioned before, the music is some of the best in any Disney film to date and plays heavily into the jazz/zydeco music of the region. It's so fun and lively that the soundtrack would be a great addition to any audiophile's library.

The characters are fully realized and have wonderful arcs that lead them to real change by the end of the film. And you CARE. I really cared about all the characters, from Tiana and Naveen right down to Raymond the firefly. Even the shadow man is one of the best villains of the year. But this should be said right now, the shadow man is a practitioner of voodoo and the film really goes to great lengths to show the downside of playing with the darker forces in this world and sometimes, in all to real ways. This leads to some of the darkest sequences Disney has ever done, so be careful as the parent here. The voodoo is never glamorized or shown as a good thing at all, but it might raise some questions from the kiddos you're not quite ready for.

When all is said and done, The Princess and the Frog is nothing groundbreaking for Disney and that's what makes it work. This is the kind of quality animation we've come to expect from this studio for years and I personally hope they continue to deliver it for many, many more.

my rating: 9/10

Review: Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire

2009-12-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

In 1987 Harlem Clareece Precious Jones is sixteen, pregnant with her second child, living with an abusive mother and in her seventh grade year. Again. Until her principal presents her an opportunity at an alternative school. There she meets Ms. Rain and begins to turn her life around.

Precious has been somewhat of a festival darling and is definitely this year's "little movie that could." Almost like a depressing version of Juno. Since its release it has been at the forefront of Oscar talks for acting and screenplay awards. So the question is, does Precious live up to the hype? In short, yes. A lot of this film works very well. And I applaud Tyler Perry and Oprah for bringing such an uncompromising tale to the screen. Precious isn't a happy movie, but it is certainly uplifting. Watching this young woman gain control of her life through the help of her mentors brings much hope. But even in that hope darkness surrounds Precious. When the film ends the character still has a long way to go. But it's okay, she'll get there.

This film portrays a lot of the struggles for minorities in the late 80's. Welfare, crack, the AIDs epidemic. And man, is it unflinching in its realism. Most of my extended family live on the impoverished side of town and seeing Precious's story played out felt like I was watching them at times. Precious is put through a lot at a young age, but nearly always keeps quiet about it so as not to hurt anyone. I've seen this many times working with youth and it can be hard. Especially when you know something is going on at home. And that's where Precious works the most. The abusive home she comes from is not over the top or sappy. It's gritty and visceral in its realism, making it a very, VERY hard film to watch.

Most of that realism comes from the outstanding performances of Mo'nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as Precious's mother and Precious herself. There has been a lot of controversy over whether a character as vile as Mo'nique's should be given the Oscar and my response is an emphatic yes. She truly gave herself over to this role and found the damaged and deflated woman lying inside this monster. Her character is truly tragic. Stuck in a situation that she didn't realize she was creating until it was too late. This is absolutely not a justification for her actions, but that makes it more heartwrenching. Especially in her final scene when that realization hits her. People have been quick to scream "stereotype!" about her character, but I can assure you this is an accurate depiction of someone living in that situation. Skin-color does NOT matter when all is said and done. Yes, the film is set in Harlem and yes, the characters are black. But this is a story that happens daily. In anywhere USA. In your backyard. Possibly even in your neighborhood. And for that, Precious is truly a diamond in the rough.

my rating: 8.5/10

Also, some site news!

2009-12-27T00:19:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, a couple of things. First off, if you catch my reviews on facebook I'd urge you to go check out reelentertainment.blogspot.com. Christi made me a new logo and I'd love for you all to see it for yourselves!

Secondly, the Holmes review is one of six posts I hope to have for you guys in the upcoming week. I have reviews for Princess and the Frog, Up in the Air, Invictus and Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire coming your way along with my top 10 2009 video! So keep checking back for updates!

Review: Sherlock Holmes

2009-12-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called upon to solve a mysterious case involving the vile Lord Blackwood and a series of murders happening around London.

I'll admit, I went into the theater not expecting much from Sherlock Holmes, as the trailers made the script seem cheesy and the character not being well, Sherlock-y enough. Luckily, I was proven very, very wrong. Sure, the film has taken some liberties with the characters and their motivations, but the overall spirit of a Holmesian adventure is here and man is it fun!

The film is being touted as an action-adventure movie, but I would argue that it definitely falls more on the "adventure" side of things. While there are certainly a few set pieces and fist fights the film's real strengths lie in its pacing and story. Clocking in at nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes Holmes uses his time wisely and it never feels like any sequence outstays its welcome or is a simple contrivance of the plot. The film moves at a clip, keeping you entertained and up to date but never dumbing things down for you.

Which brings me to the story. The story here is complex without being overly convoluted and manages to wrap (mostly) everything up with a tight little bow at the end. It was also nice to see a film that didn't wink at its source material every few minutes or reference something in pop-culture. Holmes plays it straight and is all the better for it. Guy Ritchie really surprised me in that area and it really strengthens the film. That being said, all the characters are here and mostly true to their roots. Yes, even Sherlock's more um, worldy activities are put to use here and the action is explained with why Holmes would even know that. And the best part is that it makes sense. He uses his intellect to detect weak points on his enemies and exploit them. Not just run in, guns blazing as the trailers seem to be.

Overall, Sherlock Holmes is a blast and a half at the movies and is really what Kingdom of the Crystal Skull SHOULD have been. The trailers were very misleading and may have soured a lot of you (myself included) from the get-go. Which just goes to show, you can't judge a literary character by its stylized reboot.

my rating: 8/10

Review: Avatar

2009-12-22T03:18:00.000-08:00

Jake Sully is a marine that is sent to the mysterious planet Pandora to participate in the "Avatar" program. The program consists of taking control of an alien form known as the Na'vi and infiltrating their tribe to help the military find a supply of a rare element known as "Unobtanium"

James Cameron is known for being at the forefront of technology in filmmaking and in the process has created (and taken over) some of the most memorable franchises in movie history. Avatar is Cameron's first movie since 1995 and man is it mediocre. Nothing in this film is any different from anything else he has made and the movie really suffers for it. You know how the last Harry Potter book felt like J.K. Rowling was just running through a checklist of things the audience expected from her? That's exactly what Cameron does here. Space marines. Check. Aliens. Check. New technology. Check. Hard nosed colonel that has a scar, gray hair and talks in a gravelly voice. Check. Mechs. Check. Jerkface corporate guy that will screw over everyone because all he cares about is money. Check. Sigourney Weaver. Check. Obnoxiously long. Check. Yeah, it's all here. And it's all subpar. Weaver is good as always, but she comes off as Ripley with a PhD. Sam Worthington is a very likable actor and he really kept me involved in his character so he scores there. My biggest complaint about a performance though is definitely from Giovanni Ribisi. The guy even LOOKS like Paul Reiser in Aliens!

The plot here is tried and true. Evil corporation tries to take land from "savage" people. One of the men working for the corporation becomes part of the tribe and is treated like one of their own, thus leading to an inspirational speech and an uprising against said corporation. And that's the problem, Avatar takes the characters in Aliens, the plot from Dances with Wolves and the monologues from Braveheart, thrown them in a blender and sent them off to post-production to get all gussied up so we wouldn't notice. All those claims about Avatar changing the way you think about cinema forever are not true as I've seen this movie before. Just, split up and divided amongst 3 other films.

Which brings me to this. Avatar LOOKS amazing. Everything you've heard about the look of this film is absolutely true. The CGI is the best we've seen since Gollum and is photo-realistic most of the time. If you're planning on seeing this film see it in 3-D. Do yourself a favor and drop the extra $3.50. I don't care if you think it's a gimmick, this film will change your mind. The stuff Cameron does with the perspective in 3-D is simply incredible. However this leads to another Cameron downfall. He has always been a "because we can" type of filmmaker. This means Avatar is about an hour longer than it should be with nothing but filler shots of neon bugs and the ground lighting up like the entire planet is made out of the Billie Jean video. Does it look great? Absolutely. Is it necessary? Not really.

This film will go on to win a bunch of awards for visual effects and sound editing and it deserves every single one of them. Though, visually arresting as this film may be, without all the bells and whistles Avatar would have been one of the worst movies of the year.

my rating: 5/10

Review: Ninja Assassin

2009-11-26T12:12:00.001-08:00

Raizo is a professional ninja. No seriously, if he had a business card, it would be a shurkien. And you wouldn't be able to contact him. Cause you'd be dead if you met him. Because he's a ninja. Anyway, he was raised as a ninja after being orphaned by his parents. Trained and then betrayed by The Clan of the Black Sand, Raizo is looking for revenge. Fortunately his old clan is hunting for a forensic investigator that is right on the cusp of revealing the existence of ninjas so Raizo decides to kill (haha) two birds with one stone and protect Mika while exacting his revenge.

Oh, what could have been. Ninja Assassin looked RIDICULOUSLY epic from the commercials and while the last 30 minutes is pretty much nothing but an epic ninja fight over several different locales, it just wasn't enough for me. The action was great and visceral and shot extremely well but there just wasn't enough of it. If I'm going to see a 99 minute film about ninjas I want non-stop ninja fights. This film simply spends too much time making us try to care about the characters. We already care! They're ninjas! Look at that plot summary I posted up there. It is far too wordy. It should have read like this. "Ninjas."

James McTeigue is a more than capable director and the Wachowskis are solid writers but they've fallen into the same trap they always fall into. They like the sound of their own voice. Too much backstory and political intrigue clog up the first hour or so of the film. Though I suppose this makes the pay-off that much better. Once the last ninja battle starts it's on such a grand scale that it makes me realize how much better every movie would be with ninjas.

Another thing about this film is that ninjas are awesome. But then I realize that they do everything in the dark. This means the lighting for most of the fight scenes is quite poor and can end up looking like someone turned the lights out on "300". Overall, Ninja Assassin is a mindless action film that is too intellectual for its own good. Perhaps this comic will help you understand how I feel.

my rating: 6/10

Review: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009-11-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Mr. Fox used to steal squabs. Now he writes a daily column for a local newspaper. He has a loving wife and a son who is.....different. But there is something missing from his life. After he buys a bigger house (a tree as opposed to a normal fox hole) Mr. Fox decides to pull one last job. That job? Robbing the 3 meanest farmers in the land; Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

Wes Anderson is well known among the film nerd circles for his quirky, melancholy films that generally star the same people. Many people are saying that this is a departure for Mr. Anderson and I wholeheartedly disagree. This film is not only a typical Anderson film, but the one he has been working towards his whole career. Anderson has a flair for the picturesque and Mr. Fox gives him that opportunity around every corner. The thing with animation is that it can be as surreal as you want it to be and it's okay. Wes's unique vision and use of colors through his films are perfect for this medium. The backgrounds are generally static (save for one stunningly beautiful scene in front of a waterfall of sorts) with the characters moving in the shot. The film is stop-motion and took well over a year to complete.

While the film is visually compelling the story drags at points. It's very well told and quite charming, but could use some trimming here and there. Though, I can't blame them. I'd want to show off all of the work I'd put into something this ambitious as well, but the cost was the pacing of the film. The story is a typical Anderson tale, a character is unhappy with their life and does something drastic to change it. This ends up hurting those they care deeply about and they realize the act was selfish. Supporting characters are insecure and become comfortable with who they are meant to be by the end of the film. But it's just so darn hypnotizing! The animation is spectacular and the dialog is snappy and sharp. George Clooney is in full Danny Ocean mode here, fast talking and smooth walking his way out of every situation.

All in all, the Fantastic Mr. Fox is a wonderful animated tale about facing your fears, being yourself and seeking redemption. Wes Anderson skillfully directs this story with some incredible stop motion effects and portrait worthy backgrounds. Leave the kiddos at home though, they would be thoroughly bored. Expect a rant a little later about this.

my rating: 8.5/10

Two Perspectives (part two): The Twilight Saga: New Moon

2009-11-26T11:32:00.003-08:00

Alright, So here's part two of the two perspectives on New Moon. Remember, Christi has only seen the films so that's where the differences begin. Also, she's a girl.

Vampires, Werewolves, Romeo and Juliet, all stories that have been told countless times, yet this series has caught the attention of people of all ages, some positively and some negatively. Going into this movie I was on the negative side. I had seen the first movie, but haven’t read the books, hearing enough tales of skin like marble that sparkles in the sun was enough to keep me away from reading them. Then my best friend and a chance to write a guest review on my boyfriend’s blog, encouraged me to see the second installment of the Twilight Saga.

*I may spoil some things in this review, please refrain if you don’t want me to ruin anything*

The movie starts with a transition of a moon from full to new, introducing the title of the film, New Moon, previously not a fan coming into the film, this first transition didn’t help much. From there it began to pick up and started to become, dare I say, interesting. By the end of the film I didn’t think it was all too bad. It was superior to the first film and I felt the new director did an excellent job. I enjoyed the symbolism that was all throughout the movie, and the foreshadowing.

One of my favorite parts was when Jacob, Bella and Mike were all in the theater together and Jacob and Mike casually had their hands available for the holding if Bella were to take one. I can’t say I haven’t done that in movies, and just as it was portrayed in the film I have also been denied.

Probably the worst scene in the film was when Alice was having her vision of the future Bella and Edward. Mind you I was at the midnight showing of New Moon so I was with some hardcore fans, yet pretty much the entire theater giggled watching Edward and Bella running merrily through the forest together.

*End of spoilers*

This film was definitely made to cater to women, so I’m sure not to many men would enjoy it. As a girl several lines struck and heart string with a desire to have that line said to me. Overall I thought it was a good film, I would like to see it again, but I wouldn’t tell others that they should see it. Though if you are a fan of tan shirtless men that have muscles, cheesy lines, happy endings, and a pale sparkly man then this is a film for you. If you are looking for something new, original, or challenging I would suggest another movie.

6/10

Two Perspectives (part one): The Twilight Saga: New Moon

2009-11-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, so this review is a two-parter. I'll be writing the first half and Christi McAuley will be writing the second. Partly because she's my girlfriend but mainly because she hasn't read the books and I have so I figured I'd give you guys a couple different takes on the film.

Love it or hate it, Twilight is a bona fide pop culture juggernaut and one needs only to look at the box office returns for this weekend. New Moon OBLITERATED The Dark Knight's first day box office opening and turned in the third highest opening weekend for a film in history. Why? Sparkly vampires.

Alright, so most of you know the story by now. Girl meets vampire, vampire and girl fall in love, girl meets werewolf, high school ensues. All set to crappy indie music and poorly misguided good indie music.

Like I said before, I have read the first two books and will be starting the third very shortly. They are not good. They read like poor romance novels (because they are) and have zero artistic merit whatsoever. I'm still confused as to why they are so popular but hey, Stephenie Meyer has made far more money than I ever will in my entire life so more power to her I suppose. And much like the books, the movies are cookie-cutter, boring, rife with terrible romance movie cliches and filled with sub-par acting and dialog. And yet, New Moon seems to be striving for something more.

The first film was a trainwreck and I really only expected it to go downhill from there as the first book is much better than the second. However, New Moon is by far the superior film in nearly every regard. Everyone except Robert Pattinson have stepped up their acting game by miles. Characters are still cardboard, but that's no fault of the actors, simply the material they were given. Kristen Stewart's face muscles are under control and Taylor Lautner has ditched the unfrozen caveman lawyer haircut to look like a human. The always wonderful Michael Sheen turns in a scenery chewing role as Aro, the leader of the Volturi (think of them as vampire CEOs). Director Chris Weitz totally ditches the dark grey filters for something that looks a little like a normal town and tries some fairly bold things visually. Given better material I think this guy could have made a wonderful vampire flick in the vein of "Let The Right One In".

As far as staying true to the book goes, this film does a pretty good job for the most part. All of the major plot points are there and pretty faithful to how they go down in the text. Unfortunately, this means it was boring and rather pointless. The whole film builds all these little subplots involving all these secondary characters and whatnot. Now, I understand this is all a set-up for the next two films, but the least they could do is resolve one of these plots. Overall, when compared to the first film (which is the only one it should be compared to) The Twilight Saga: New Moon is simply inoffesively mediocre.

my rating: 5/10

Review: Where The Wild Things Are

2009-10-17T09:14:00.001-07:00

Max is a lonely kid with a big imagination. Most days his imagination and energy serve him well. Whether it's sailing a boat across the high seas of his bed sheets or building a snow fort and ordering around his fence army, Max keeps himself pretty entertained. Unfortunately everyone needs a friend and Max's mom and sister seem to be too busy most of the time to remember Max. Although, his mom tries to make time for her son she is trying to single-handedly run a household and business. One night Max runs away and finds a boat. His boat. A boat that leads him to where the wild things are and where adventure will unfold.

Where the Wild Things Are has been around since 1963 and this is the first attempt at a live-action film adaptation. The book has many fans that span many generations and a film version was going to have to play to old and young fans alike. Needless to say, Where the Wild Things Are was going to be an ambitious project no matter who was behind the camera. Fortunately for us, the wonderful Spike Jonze put his heart and soul into this project and it shows. If there is one thing that makes this film stand out it is the amount of care that went into every detail here. That's what makes it work so well. Instead of just haphazardly throwing a plot together and making some cool looking monsters, the writers spent time and effort on making an engaging story along with some incredible looking monsters and insanely fun and exciting sequences. This is a film that delivers on every expectation I had and then some. The monsters are all incredibly sympathetic characters and there is a sadness in their eyes that brings a real genuineness to them. This would be a terrible review if I didn't mention the outstanding Max Records as Max. Most of this movie working relied on his performance and he knocks it out of the park! I could seriously spend the rest of my review gushing on how fantastic this kid is. However, I'll cut to the chase. Records is probably going to get nominated for an Oscar. And he is probably going to have a real shot at it. What makes his performance outstanding is that he wasn't really told to act and be scripted. He was simply being a kid. I bet he had a blast running around building snow forts and having epic dirt-clod wars with the wild things.

Where the Wild Things Are is exactly what you were expecting. Charming, engaging, intelligent, heartbreaking, hilarious, exhilarating and most of all nostalgic. If you remember reading this book as a child you will get chills during some of the sequences as this rush of memories comes flooding back. I just got them from typing this review. Also, if you plan on seeing this with the little ones, you might want to re-consider. It's not terribly scary, it would just be boring for them. The film is on the slow side and deals with some pretty heavy stuff at times. Kids in our theater were getting fidgety when the excitement slowed down.

my rating: 10/10

Review: The Brothers Bloom

2009-10-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Stephen and Bloom grew up in the foster home system which is another way of saying they had each other. Together they discovered the art of the con. Stephen is the mastermind that writes the cons with flair and Bloom is the vulnerable anti-hero sent in to get the girl. Bloom quits after a dangerous night in Berlin and moves to Montenegro. Shortly after, Stephen finds Bloom and talks him into one last con. The perfect con. And so begins the tale of Penelope.

Rian Johnson deserves an Oscar. The guy has made 2 films in his career and both of them have been made with more talent and care than 90 percent of anything else that's come out this decade. His first film was a gritty, neo-noir tale that took place in an American high school. The Brothers Bloom is about two anachronistic brothers that have made the art of the con their family business. Did I mention he's also twice as gutsy as any writer out there? There is so much that this film does right that I'm having a hard time picking out a starting point. Let's start with the writing. This film is deeply moving, hilarious, intelligent, cheeky and most importantly tells a fantastically twisty story that was meticulously crafted. I won't say much outside of that as it would be a shame to throw you into spoiler territory. After all, what's a con movie without the big finish? The dialogue is witty and crisp and the actors deliver their lines with awesome 1940's sensibilities. Secondly, the look of the film is just cool. It has this really neat over-saturated look that allows Johnson to really play with the brilliant color scheme. Not to mention the camera work is great and deftly planned. Every single actor is on top of their game here but Rachel Weisz really steals the show as the quirky, yet accessible Penelope. And Adrien Brody is at his melancholy best.

The Brothers Bloom was one of my most anticipated films of the year and for good reason. My expectations were astronomically high and they were exceeded. Rian Johnson is a director to watch and I hope he starts getting more recognition very soon. My advice is to make way and make room for the Brothers Bloom!

my rating: 10/10

Review: Zombieland

2009-10-03T08:01:00.001-07:00

It's bound to happen. The zombie apocalypse. This film is about 4 survivors finding their way to a zombie-free amusement park in Los Angeles from Texas. Along the way they kill LOTS of zombies, run into a celebrity and actually tell a pretty endearing story.

2009 has been the year of the "serious" genre pictures. Sure, we had Michael Bay's asplosion fest with Transformers and some rather disappointing fare like Surrogates. But Star Trek, Inglouious Basterds, and District 9 have brought the genre picture to the foreground and Zombieland continues that tradition. In short, this is a fantastic year to be a nerd. Zombieland opens strong and finishes even stronger. The story is told from the perspective of Columbus (all characters go by their hometown instead of their actual names) played by the always charming Jesse Eisenberg. He sets out his list of rules for surviving in Z-land and that's the sequence that sets the precedent for the rest of the film. This opening sequence is chock-full of zombie goodness, wit and style. Followed by a fantastic Watchmen-esque opening credits sequence and the introduction of Woody Harrellson's awesome Tallahassee Zombieland knows how to keep its audience going.

The other interesting thing about Zombieland is how much heart this film really has. The characters are all pretty engaging and a couple of them actually have heartbreaking stories. And, you actually CARE about them. Most zombie films use their main characters simply as zombie killers and well, nothing more. Or their stories are so cookie cutter one wishes there were less people and more zombies. Zombieland brings these characters together as more than just a group of dull losers that are there simply to give the film a story. They really are a family. Add to the mix one of the greatest celebrity cameos in the history of cinema and Zombieland is a blast and a half of zombie destruction!

my rating: 9/10

Review: Surrogates

2009-09-27T13:48:00.001-07:00

Surrogates takes place in the not-so distant future where most people are buying cybernetic versions of themselves to control in the real world. This has greatly reduced the risk of violent crime and murder (when a Surrogate is killed, the operator remains living) over the last few years. However, when someone finds a way to murder a surrogates operator by taking out their surrogate one FBI agent begins to question how beneficial these artificial people really are.

This is a frustrating review to write. See, I really, REALLY wanted to like Surrogates. This film looked like a mix of I, Robot and I am Legend with a little bit of The Island thrown in for good measure. And for the most part, it was. However, this came out more like a fruitcake than a s'more. Surrogates is a film that decided to blatantly steal stuff from other movies instead of take the same ideas and sort of morph them into it's own universe. It seriously felt like I was watching I, Robot, I Am Legend, The Island, Terminator and any "disgraced cop looking for redemption" movie ever made all at once. Dystopian futures aren't a new genre in the slightest, however, these films tend to bring something new to the table. Surrogates did not. It feels like they had a checklist of action film cliches they had to reach before they could actually release the film and man did they leave no stone unturned. You have seen everything in this movie before. Except chances are when you saw it the first time it was a lot better. Cool guy doesn't look at explosion? Check. Partner screws a partner over? Check. Partner realizes the partner really didn't screw them over? Check. It's all here and it's all offensively bad. Seriously, Bruce Willis may as well have actually been using a surrogate to film this movie. It would have had more personality. James Cromwell's talent is criminally cast aside and don't get me started on Ving Rhames' bizarre George Clinton/Joseph Kony hybrid. That was some ridiculousness.

The last issue I'm going to address is the script. First of all, the story is BORING. Unfortunately it's too convoluted as well. The Dark Knight was convoluted, but you cared so you paid attention. Surrogates is boring and you don't care so you don't pay attention. Thus, the plot is also confusing. The dialogue is some of the laziest/poorly written things I have ever heard. I know I shouldn't be going into a film about people controlling robots with their mind expecting Shakespeare, but at least credit me with SOME level of intelligence. It's not even cheesy enough to be acceptable. Surrogates takes itself entirely too seriously. My advice is that if you want some great sci-fi/action go check out District 9 again.

My Rating: 3/10

Review: 9

2009-09-15T08:06:00.001-07:00

9 awakens. The world he enters is much different than our own. There are no humans left. 8 other sackcloth dolls roam "the emptiness" trying to scrounge food and supplies while avoiding "the beast". And that's about all you know for a good portion of this film. 9 is an interesting little film that begins light on story and then slams you against the wall with an incredible one and a deep, deep meditation on humanity. This is a cartoon, but it's certainly not one to take the kiddos to.

I really respect Shane Acker for making a PG-13 animated film about some sackcloth dolls and expecting people to see it. I respect pretty much anyone that doesn't just disregard animation as a "kid's genre". Now, for about the first 45 minutes I was trying to figure out what exactly was going on as there is almost nothing in the way of story or character development in that period of time. I also really did not enjoy the movie for that reason. Then we see some brilliantly worked in newsreel footage that explains the history of this war with machines that wiped out humanity over several years. From there we dive into the plot head on and when a final big twist regarding the nature of the dolls is revealed I had chills and nearly burst into tears. 9 is an extremely deep film that begs a repeat viewing because I believe the first act is a lot more intricate than it leads on.

I also really admire the genre blending that happens here. It goes from "human" drama to full-fledged action-adventure mode in a few seconds and back again but never feels like it's genre-hopping. Also, the timeline of this alternate history is never revealed, but it appears to take place in the cold war era which I find super intriguing. 9 is a rather bleak, beautiful film that is simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. I'm glad Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov for seeing a new talent in Shane Acker and bringing his vision full circle from the short film 9 is based off of. Good call guys.

my rating: 7/9

yes, I rated this out of 9.

Review: Duplicity

2009-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

I remember wanting to see this film when I first saw the trailers even though Tony Gilroy was responsible for the atrociously boring "Michael Clayton". Duplicity looked like an intelligent caper with a cool script and interesting visual style minus all the pretentiousness that comes with the name "Ocean's". I was pretty much right on.

Duplicity follows two ex-spies, played by the always entertaining Clive Owen and the moderately surprising Julia Roberts, as they try to double cross one another for one of the greatest mcguffins in the last ten years. And that's about all I'm going to give you as far as plot goes. Duplicity best seen when little to nothing is known about the rest of the plot and you should therefore not look at the trailers to refresh your memory. This film is a modern comedy/caper that explores the corporate world without being too heavy or getting lost in corporate jargon. The dialog is fun and punchy and Clive Owen brings the cool level up to 11 (as always). Julia Roberts is having a blast here and really pulls off the part even though I'm not a big fan. Paul Giamatti is at his most malicious in his turn as the CEO for the company competing for the prize and he is a HOOT to watch. I love this guy and wish he would take more roles as the villain more often.

Duplicity is a twisty, turny, punchy caper flick that is sure to please those that have a soft spot for movies like this. Or for those of you that want to be/hang out with Clive Owen.

my rating: 8.5/10

Review: Sunshine Cleaning

2009-09-03T14:20:00.001-07:00

Let me get something out there now. I want to make Amy Adams my wife. She's insanely beautiful and has a quality about her that just seems so real and genuine that you can't help but be drawn to her. She has this fantastic ability to be so kind and compassionate in every single role and it's truly something I've never been able to figure out. And of course, that is exactly the case in Sunshine Cleaning.

Sunshine Cleaning follows the story of 2 sisters, hard-up for cash and looking to mend a rather strained relationship, they decide to start an....unusual cleaning business. Through a connection within the local police force they begin to take on jobs cleaning up crime scenes. They witness some truly gruesome stuff, learn the ropes, climb the ranks and learn a little something about each other along the way.

Much like its cousin, Little Miss Sunshine, this is a film that's about this but really about that. From the trailers Sunshine Cleaning looks like a comedy about a struggling family that goes into an odd line of work. It is really about an odd line of work and its impact on said family. There's some great moments of heartwarming (and heartbreaking) family drama as we come to know these characters, but the heart of this film lies in the crime scenes. When Amy Adams sits with a woman who's husband has just committed suicide as she waits for her son-in-law to pick her up we can feel her (and our) heart break for this woman. There's a beautiful melancholy about this film that is not ill-intentioned or wanting to depress us for the sake of depressing us. We feel sad for these characters because we want to and because they feel so real and genuine. Much needs to be said about the chemistry of Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin during their scenes together. They are quite memorable and Arkin solidifies his spot as "guy I'd like to have play my grandfather".

my rating: 8/10

Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-08-27T23:07:00.001-07:00

So, I caught this movie a couple weeks ago and just realized tonight that I forgot to review it. That should tell you a little bit about how I felt about this film. Okay, I know what you're thinking. "MJ, you said in your (500) Days of Summer review that you were single. Why on EARTH did you see The Time Traveler's wife?!" The answer to that question is a simple "Because I wanted to!" I have a soft spot for movies like this with a supernatural twist. Frequency is a great film and The Lake House showed promise in its premise, but ultimately fell flat. Two words: Keanau crying.
The trailers for The Time Traveler's wife seemed interesting enough and Eric Bana is an awesome actor so my hopes for the film were pretty high. Oh how dismayed I was at what unfolded before me over the next 2 hours. First off, the acting was extremely wooden and awkward. Eric Bana's scenes with his father were almost unbearable and the arguments between McAdams and Bana were nothing short of disastrous. The characters were flat and some of the most illogical people on the face of the planet. At the point where Rachel McAdams' character said "I didn't sign up for a disappearing husband!" I gave up trying to figure her out entirely. But, amongst these many flaws there is one thing about this film that still bugs me and I've thought about it at least once a day since I saw this movie. SPOILERS AHEAD There is a major portion of the plot that revolves around the couple trying to get pregnant. However, she keeps miscarrying as the baby keeps time travelling from her womb. This itself raised some questions. Just once I wanted the film to cut to the person discovering this clearly unborn child while walking down the street. Anyway, after 7 miscarriages Henry decides to get a vasectomy. After coming back from the clinic he informs a VERY angry Clare about his little procedure. So a few nights later past Henry comes and visits present Clare and they have sex in the car while present Henry is asleep back home. As a result, Clare becomes pregnant and carries the baby to term resulting in the birth of their child. Wait, what?! I don't care if that's not cheating it's CREEPY. END SPOILERS
All in all The Time Traveler's wife is a complete waste of talented actors thanks to a terrible script and general lack of chemistry. I haven't been this disappointed by a film in a long time and thought the premise was great and could have been used to provide some fantastic human drama with a supernatural spin. It didn't.

my rating: 4/10

Review: Inglourious Basterds

2009-08-22T16:35:00.001-07:00

Alright guys, bear with me. This is going to be a rather lengthy review. If you read my Grindhouse review then you'll know that all of my Taratino reviews are a bit on the lengthy side. If you've seen a Tarantino movie then you know that my reviews need to be a bit on the lengthy side. I suppose to better understand Inglouious Basterds you need a knowledge of the man behind the event. Quentin Tarantino has been directing for about 20 years now and in those 2 decades he's directed 7 films. After his first film, "Reservoir Dogs" he was touted as the next big thing and lived up to that 2 years later with the classic "Pulp Fiction". His next film "Jackie Brown" proved to be not so successful but by that time Quentin Tarantino was a household name. Recently he's come under fire for being too in love with hearing his own voice. He's always written his own films and with the exception of Jackie Brown they've all been original ideas. And that's how it should be. Quentin Tarantino would get bored directing a script not written by Quentin Tarantino. I feel that all the hate recently is not the product of his films being poor but hate because he's no longer "in". After Pulp Fiction he was the savior of modern cinema and by Death Proof he was a narcissistic jerk that only directed movies that had a "hey look at me! aren't I clever?!" attitude about them. Through this time I've been a huge Tarantino fan and have held the exact opposite stance on all of these issues. There's a lot of talk about Tarantino the director and Tarantino the writer. Most people love the director but can't stand the writer. This brings us to "Inglourious Basterds". Tarantino is a genre director through and through. He's done crime thrillers, con movies, revenge pictures and a slasher flick. This is his take on the war film and more importantly the "guys on a mission" sub-genre of the war film. Inglourious Basterds is what would happen if Quentin Tarantino ran things in World War 2 and wanted it to feel like a spaghetti western. The film follows Lt. Aldo Raine (the fantastic Brad Pitt) and his group of Jewish American soldiers as they try to take out the entire Third Reich at a huge propaganda film premiere in Nazi-occupied France. This is a tough film to review. I almost feel like we would all benefit more from a multi-part in-depth analysis of this film because that's how layered it is. Inglourious Basterds is one of the best films of the decade and should signal a revival in the career of Quentin Tarantino. This is hands down his best film since Pulp Fiction and could be considered his masterpiece for years to come. Because this is a Tarantino picture you can expect it to have more in common with Reservoir Dogs than Saving Private Ryan. It's being touted as an action picture but there are only a handful of scenes with actual gunplay. The rest is left to the viewer's imagination. But when the violence does happen the violence happens BIG. This Tarantino's most violent picture to date. Kill Bill Volume 1 is an extremely gory film but the amount of fake blood that movie is drenched in reaches Looney Tunes levels of over the top. On the other hand, Basterds is brutal and visceral and realistic. Like I said, there isn't much but when there is expect to be a little uncomfortable. Violence has never been the point of a Tarantino film though and like always, the dialogue is fun and hilarious and thought provoking all at once. Everyone turns in a fantastic performance and I wouldn't be surprised if this picture picked up a few Oscar nods next year. The two shining stars of this film are Brad Pitt and his foil, Christoph Waltz. Pitt plays Lt. Aldo Raine, a backwoods good ol' boy from the mountains of Tennessee with a huge scar carved into his neck and some bitterness toward Nazis. The sheer brilliance of his performance kept me engrossed for the entire runtime and anytime he was on screen I was giddy. On the other end, Christoph Waltz plays Col. Hans Landa, a man whose nickname is "The Jew Hunter" and whose disposition is acerbic and charming all at the same time. Watlz is a truly terrifying villain and plays his character with such menace that I feel a supporting actor nod is definitely in the near future. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, including Eli Roth as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donnowitz who enjoys beating Nazis to death with a baseball bat. If I have one complaint about this film it's that we don't get enough backstory for Raine and his Basterds. Outside of that, Tarantino is back and this very well could be his masterpiece.

my rating: 10/10

This is my third 10/10 this year and it comes only one week after my 10/10 for the brilliant District 9. I don't know what it is but the end of summer has been fantastic and I don't know how the rest of the year will top this month's releases.

Review: (500) Days of Summer

2009-08-18T22:48:00.001-07:00

I'm single. I have a group of friends that are a mixed bag of single and well, not. At one point in all of our lives however we have had an almost relationship. Maybe it turned out to be a relationship that led to the altar. Maybe it ended poorly and both sides made decisions that hurt the other for a long time. Maybe it was just friends. Maybe not. This movie is about all of those things. The term "romantic comedy" or "chick flick" does not apply here. (500) Days of Summer follows 500 days in the almost romance of a couple of hip, young, pretty people and the highs and lows along the way. Sound like a chick flick? You're lying if you said yes. First of all, the film is told through the eyes of Tom (the absolutely wonderful Joseph-Gordon Levitt). Not too often a romantic comedy follows the guy's side of things. He works a dead end job writing greeting cards for a company but decides it's not so bad after his boss' new assistant, Summer (the always adorable Zooey Deschanel) is hired. They officially meet a few days later in the elevator and from there hilarity ensues. There's the awkward "try to look cool for the girl" moment and the dreaded first e-mail. We see Summer meet Tom's friends and they promptly assert their best friend status by telling Summer "he likes you" and bailing. Basically, if you've been through it on your trek for romance, it's in this movie. Yes, it's awkward. Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's life. This is a film that is so incredibly real and honest about dating and relationships in the new millenium that it is nearly impossible not to fall under its spell. And for you guys that still aren't convinced, there's a moment after Tom and Summer have a successful first date that Tom is completely ecstatic and nothing can go wrong that day. At one point he checks his reflection in the window of a car and the person staring back at him is the one and only Han Solo. Don't tell me you haven't been there!

my rating: 9.5/10

Review: District 9

2009-08-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while a film comes along that defines a genre. Sergio Leone's "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" is the quintessential Western, "Die Hard" is the go-to for action movies and for most people the first two "Alien" films have set the standard for sci-fi and have rarely gone unmatched. Sure, we've had great science fiction since those films but everyone seems to keep coming back to "Alien" and "Aliens". Both films are completely different. "Alien" is a subtle horror/thriller that takes a look at the human psyche when it is put into an intense situation during extreme isolation. "Aliens" is more of an action/thriller that has something to say about the ravages of war mentally and physically on those who experience it. And now Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp have teamed together to give us what made both films great in one genre defining picture. "District-9" is absolutely brilliant science fiction that gets back to the basics and presents them in a new and refreshing way. What has always made sci-fi so compelling is the way it blends social commentary, human drama and all out action into a great story and not make it feel weighed down by all this. Over the last twenty years the closest we've come to that have been films that take one or two of those elements and executes them perfectly. But to take all of those? That takes true talent. The plot of "District-9" has remained under wraps for a very long time and I'm going to keep it that way. Basically, twenty years ago an alien craft came to a dead stop over Johannasberg, South Africa and those aboard the ship have been forced into a life in a slum known as District-9. And like most slums, its residents live in dilapidated shacks made out of spare panelling and cardboard. The nigerian mafia runs the slum, trading catfood for alien weaponry and the people of Johannasberg are fed up with their government not taking care of the issue. And that's where the fun begins. I'm not going to reveal more because there are a million secrets in D-9 and to spoil them would be losing out on half the fun. I tend to run away from film critic cliches like "life affirming" or "an adrenaline rush" but let me say that "District-9" is a roller coaster ride. When the government vehicles started to roll out of their safe parking garage and into the district I felt the same rush that one gets when going on an amusent park ride and it didn't let up for it's near 2-hour runtime. Neil Blomkamp is a more than capable director and I hope that the studios see that in his hands "Halo" has potential to be the best video-game film ever. "District-9" will be looked upon as a genre defining film for years to come and earns a rightful spot next to the "Alien" films as some of the most intelligent science fiction you will ever see.

my rating: 10/10

Review: The Hurt Locker

2009-08-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

The Hurt Locker is a movie that has been garnering a ton of early oscar buzz and it finally started playing in my neck of the woods so I decided to check out the hype. The biggest question I had was "Why is this movie so good?" as it looked like every single movie about the war in Iraq that's come out so far. And for the most part, I was totally wrong. The first hour and a half of The Hurt Locker is filled with suspense, action, drama and some awesome tension building camera work that make you fairly unsurprised as to why this movie is so acclaimed. And then the last forty-five minutes happen. The Hurt Locker suffers from a severe case of "genre-hopping" and for some reason when films do this nowadays they are instant critic darlings (see Sunshine). The film follows the story of a group of bomb techs in Bagdahd near the beginning of the war in Iraq. After losing their squad leader they are assinged a new, hot-headed leader that is more concerned with the adrenaline rush of disarming these things that kill than the safety of his own team. For the first two acts we're treated to bigger and more elaborate IED traps that this group of men have to face. Each one gets more intense and seems to destroy our nerves until we can't take it anymore and then throws us directly into another intense situation. And then the third act starts. Up until this point the focus of the film is on the squad as a whole. A group of guys working together as one unit to disarm these bombs. And in the third act the focus switches to one character and becomes every other Iraq war movie ever. It talks about the ravages of war and the addiction to violence that stems from being in the military. While I don't disagree with that fact it simply is not the way the film has been going up until this point. Most people have said that that's the beauty of the film. That this point sneaks up on you in the midst of all this action. To me it was grating to see this movie take a complete 180-degree turn into the political message territory that have killed the genre as of late. So does The Hurt Locker deserve all the praise it's getting? Sort of.

my rating: 6/10

Review: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

2009-08-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

For those uninitiated, G.I. Joe was a wildly popular toy line/cartoon franchise in the mid-late 80's and since Hasbro owns both Transformers and G.I. Joe and they have a 9-film (!) deal with Paramount, this movie was inevitable. G.I. Joe is a film about expectations. It's all about how you expected everything to go down. I'm fairly unfamiliar with the cartoon and never got into the toys but I knew enough to know this movie didn't look terrible. However, I saw this movie with a friend that was VERY into the mythology of the characters and was expecting a fairly thorough torturing of the franchise. Oddly enough, my expectations were shattered and his were completely inaccurate. G.I. Joe is a blast and a half (literally) of pure adrenaline and huge action set pieces with just enough of a story to make you care. Also, there's ninjas. The movie's plot is rather convoluted and has something to do with nanobots and taking over the world. However we realize that a lot of these characters have connections to each other in their past and as we get to know them we're treated to flashbacks that show the storied history of some of the key players. That being said, G.I. Joe isn't a character driven film about the horrors of war. It's an all out action summer romp that does it's job VERY well. The final sequence takes place over 3 fronts and with some smart editing switches between them pretty fluidly. Stephen Sommers knows how to make a fun movie and how to keep it entertaining for its entire run time. However, the biggest action piece is absolutely the much talked about and hyped accelerator suit scene and man is it cool! The CGI isn't as good as most films these days and it suffers here and there from that, but for the most part it's undistracting. The sequence just has EVERYTHING coming at you full steam ahead. Vehicles flying in the air, explosions, motorcycles, ninjas, foot chases, gun play etc. And here's what sets G.I. Joe apart from all the rest of the big dumb action movies in recent years. We can SEE the action! Instead of the camera shaking about all over the place to hide the shoddy CGI job done in post-production we see every sequences with a steady camera that doesn't make one physically sick. The fact that I'm calling this "refreshing" makes me sad, but that's the only way I can describe it. All in all G.I. Joe is a perfect summer action movie that is more than just a good way to kill an afternoon. For those of you that want to know if G.I. Joe is worth your time, rest assured that it is and that knowing is half the battle.

my rating: 7.5/10

Top 10 '08!

2009-01-06T13:19:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I've been posting these videos on my facebook account, but the video app over there is really touchy so from now on I'm going to be uploading my videos to youtube and then posting them here which also transfers to my facebook account. So, here is my top 10 list for 2008:

Review: The Dark Knight

2008-07-20T23:41:00.001-07:00

Where to begin, where to begin. Well, I'm sure we've all been excited for this movie since Batman Begins ended. Obviously the hype for this film was kicked into overdrive with the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger back in January. Early reviews for the film seemed to praise it as the Citizen Kane of superhero movies. Finally, on Saturday a group of friends and I drove to an IMAX theater to experience it and judge for ourselves. If I had to put words to this movie there would only be one. "WOW." I know this may seem like more fuel for the overhype machine, but this is one movie that goes above and beyond expectations and creates a film that provides one of the most exciting theatrical experiences of one's life. So much is to be said about this film. First off, Christopher Nolan proves once again that he is one of the most brilliant people working in Hollywood today. With his incredible script and eye for what looks amazing on camera, Nolan solidifies his position as a living filmmaking legend. Secondly, the plot is intricate, complex, and twists and turns in virtually every scene. The audience is expected to be intelligent enough to "get it" and nothing is ever dumbed down. The acting in the film is absolutely superb by everyone except Maggie Gyllenhall who looks a little worse for the wear in this film. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman all step up their performances from the first film. Of course, I can't review The Dark Knight without mentioning Heath Ledger's incredible portrayal of The Joker. I was in the "give him an Oscar if he deserves it, not because he's dead" camp for a while. Now, having seen his last full performance, I must agree that a posthumous Oscar is well earned and every bit deserved. The amount of character development that takes place over the course of the 2.5 hour film is epic and so layered and complex that multiple viewings are a must. This is one film that will be an instant classic and will forever go down in history as the "superhero movie is art" movie. Christopher Nolan stated that Michael Mann's brilliant Heat inspired a lot of what The Dark Knight touches on. The film's scope is certainly as epic and there are some scenes reminiscent of Heat but this is a film that stands alone in its own category. This is why people go to the movies. This is why people start making, acting in, and writing films. The Dark Knight is going to be the best film of the year by far and will make one stop and think "that was a comic book movie?"

my rating: 10/10

Review: Leatherheads

2008-04-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a late showing of Leatherheads (yes on a Monday night.) and I have to say that I went into this movie not knowing what to expect because the film didn't get much press nor did I see too many reviews about it. However, Leatherheads was all kinds of fantastic and totally worth some missed sleep! Leatherheads takes place in 1925 when the term "professional football" is used very lightly. That is until young up and coming war hero/football star Carter Rutherford (The Office's John Krasinski) takes up a contract with the Duluth Bulldogs. To call this movie "fresh and original" would not be correct. While the dialogue is some of the most refreshing I've seen in any movie recently and the characters were some of the most likeable in a long time, Leatherheads is all about nostalgia. This movie is sort of a tribute to those old Hollywood romances that seem so far gone now. I mean, Clooney is by no means Bogart but he handles the material better than anyone else could have. The story moves along nicely and like I mentioned earlier, the dialogue comes fast, funny and razor-sharp. The slapstick element to the comedy in this film also reminds me of those old movies from the thirties and forties where there were lots of guys in fedoras going around chomping on cigars and using words like "see" and "kid" to signify the end of a sentence. Clooney is in the director's chair also and brings the whole look and feel of 1925 America together nicely (the old-school Universal logo was a bit of inspired genius) and the soundtrack fit the film nicely with those old gin-joint tunes that make you want to go find an upright piano and gather around some of your closest friends. All in all Leatherheads was a fun time and should not go overlooked. Besides, what else is there to see before Iron Man comes out? That's what I thought.

my rating: 8.5/10

Oscar Picks '08!

2008-02-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I know the oscars are only 3 hours away, but I'm doing my picks anyway. Here they are. (my picks will be in bold print) Oh, and there are some categories missing from this list because I have no knowledge of the nominated films.

Actor In A Leading Role Nominees:

George Clooney-Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis-There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp-Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones-In The Valley Of Ellah
Viggo Mortenson-Eastern Promises

Actor In A Supporting Role Nominees:

Casey Affleck-The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem-No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman-Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook-Into The Wild
Tom Wilkinson-Michael Clayton

Actress In A Leading Role Nominees:

Cate Blanchett-Elizabeth: The Golden Edge
Julie Christie-Away From Her
Marion Cotillard-La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney-The Savages
Ellen Page-Juno

Actress In A Supporting Role Nominees:

Cate Blanchett-I'm Not There
Ruby Dee-American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan-Atonement
Amy Ryan-Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton-Michael Clayton

Animated Feature Film Nominees:

Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Art Direction Nominees:

American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Cinematography Nominees:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Costume Design Nominees:

Across The Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie En Rose
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Directing Nominees:

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Michael Clayton
Juno
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Documentary Feature Nominees:

No End In Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi To The Darkside
War/Dance

Editing Nominees:

The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Into The Wild
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Makeup Nominees:

La Vie En Rose
Norbit (yeah, i know.)
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End

Music (Score) Nominees:

Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 To Yuma

Music (Song) Nominees:

Once
Enchanted
Enchanted
Enchanted (not a typo it's nominated 3 times.)
August Rush

Sound Editing Nominees:

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country For Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Sound Mixing Nominees:

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country For Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 To Yuma
Transformers

Visual Effects Nominees:

The Golden Compass
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers (was there really any doubt?)

Writing (Adapted) Nominees:

Atonement
Away From Her
No Country For Old Men
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
There Will Be Blood

Writing (Original Screenplay) Nominees:

Juno
Lars And The Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

Best Picture Nominees:

No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Juno
Michael Clayton
Atonement

Review: There Will Be Blood

2008-02-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, before I start my review of "There Will Be Blood" you have to understand that I'm a sucker for those "journeys into the heart of darkness" type flicks. Apocalypse Now, No Country For Old Men, Fargo, and now Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. I went to a late showing of this film last night with a couple of friends and found it hard to stay awake, not because I wasn't impressed, I was just tired. I've only seen one of Paul Thomas Anderson's other films, the incredible "Punch-Drunk Love" starring Adam Sandler, and I couldn't think of another film that is more of a departure from that world. "Blood" begins with a very drawn out opening sequence where not a word is spoken, but the phenomenal cinematography speaks for itself. We follow up and coming oil tycoon Daniel Plainview as he goes from working as a small silver miner to turning oil into big business. He then adopts the infant son of his co-worker who dies on the job and turns young H.W. into more of a business partner than a son. He is a cutthroat misanthrope that descends into his own paranoia and loathing for people as the film progresses. There Will Be Blood may not be for everybody because it has a very negative tone to it, however it is visually stunning and the soundtrack is most definitely original. By the end of the film (which really reminded me of the Coen brother's epic No Country For Old Men) we have seen Mr. Plainview's obsession come full circle, culminating in a final showdown with the preacher Eli Sunday. Sunday's character is also a fascinating figure. He runs "The Church Of The Third Revelation" which strikes me as a remnant of the Great Awakening given it's very hellfire and brimstone approach to everything. The major conflict between Sunday and Plainview lies in the fact that they are so similar to each other that the other one must cease to be for them to continue on with their "life's work." All in all, There Will Be Blood was an incredible character study that delves deep into what makes these men tick, and how dark one's world can become when obsession takes the place of ambition. Also, watching a great director work with a phenomenal actor really adds something to the film-going experience and we are most definitely treated to that here with the Paul Thomas Anderson/(going to get the Oscar this year) Daniel-Day Lewis.

my rating: 9/10

Review: Rambo

2008-01-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm a guy, which automatically means I like Rambo. Rambo is one of those classic action characters outranked only by one Mr. John McClane from the Die Hard series. Most people think that Stallone is too old to be taking on his iconic ex-green beret action hero one last time. I disagree, Stallone is in his sixties, but he's in better shape than I will EVER be, so give the guy a break. This time we find John J. Rambo living as a bitter snake wrangler in Thailand. Occasionally he rents out his boat to travel up river to certain areas of the jungle, save for Burma that is. Well, some Christian missionaries come to ask Rambo for a ride into the war riddled Burma. Reluctantly Rambo takes the group into the Burmese jungle. I don't think I need to type the expression for you to figure out what happens from there, but I'll give you a hint: it involves something hitting a fan. Soon the pastor of the church that the missionaries are from comes to tell Rambo that the group is 10 days late from returning and haven't contacted the church at all so something bad had to have happened. This church does the right thing, they hire mercenaries. Let me repeat that. The CHURCH hires MERCENARIES to go rescue their missing missionaries, however, they need a boatman. Cue Rambo. From there on it's pretty much a standard Rambo flick, running through the jungle, setting up traps, shooting fools, shanking fools, bow and arrowing fools, etc. Stallone directs the fourth installment in the popular series, and I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. I like Rambo, don't get me wrong, but it's a violent violent film. Stallone has said that he made the film so gory to call people's attention to the genocide that is happening in Burma as we speak. I understand that to a certain extent. What's happening in Burma isn't right, but is Stallone sending the right message to his audience? Do the ends really justify the means in this situation? Sure we would like it to stop, but is that how we would like it to stop? All in all, Rambo is a great action flick, but in the end is too bloody for me to really recommend to anyone.

my rating: 6/10

Review: Cloverfield

2008-01-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, before I start this review there's something you need to know about me. I think JJ Abrams is going to take over the world. If you don't believe me, go see Cloverfield. Abrams is in the producer's chair on this one (but will be behind the camera for the new Star Trek film) however, all he needed to do was make sure that as an audience we were left wondering what was going on well after the film ended. And that's EXACTLY what happens. Cloverfield isn't so much a movie you see as it is a collective experience between the audience and the characters on screen. I've now seen Cloverfield 3 times, and I have to say the first two were more enjoyable than the third. This was due mostly to the fact that the audio was several notches lower than it was the first time which ruined the experience and the audience in our theater today was not engaged with the characters or the story at all. Basically the whole night goes down like this. We find ourselves witnessing Robbie Hawkins and his friend with benefits Beth McIntyre the day after they've slept together. From there we jump to the last minute preparations for Rob's going away party. Twenty minutes of set up and then BOOM explosion, running, mayhem, statue of liberty head, fight for survival, END. Cloverfield is a simple movie, but it gets the job done. It's an American masterwork for the creature feature considering Peter Jackson's mediocre King Kong and Roland Emmerich's "we don't talk about this one" version of Godzilla. Cloverfield is a movie about the people running and screaming in the streets. If they don't know it, you don't know it. There's an heir of mystery to everything which I really liked, but hey, LOST is my favorite tv show so it's to be expected. Just because Cloverfield is simple, doesn't mean it's lame. The sound design on the film is incredible, it's best watched loud. As a matter of fact, it's half the experience. The acting is very well done, and the filming style totally works for the movie and is used to it's full potential (the subway scene comes to mind for that one). All in all, if Cloverfield set the bar for how good movies are going to be this year, I am EXCITED.

my rating: 10/10

Best and Worst 2007!

2008-01-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I'm really excited about this post. First off, I know I haven't been blogging for a while, but I'm doing my best to try to change that. Well, it's a few weeks late, but I just got around to seeing 2 movies that may or may not have influenced my best and worst list for 2007. So, here it is! starting with the 10 B est.

10. Transformers-Giant.Freaking.Robots. nuff said.

9. Zodiac-Really great story of obsession and selfishness set behind the zodiac killings in California during the 60's. Great acting and careful direction.

8. I Am Legend-More than a typical zombie or vampire film, this movie had me thinking for a while

7. The Simpsons Movie-Absolutely great writing and a by the book style helped make this the funniest movie of the year by far. I'm still finding something new to laugh at when I watch it.

6. The Bourne Ultimatum-So much more than a spy movie, a great wrap up to a phenomenal series with some crazy action to boot

5. Stardust-The best movie you didn't see this year, if you're a fan of the

4. Juno-2007 was the year of pregnancy with Knocked Up, Juno and Waitress all coming out. I haven't seen Waitress yet, but Juno helped with real characters, razor sharp wit and indie cred.

3. Once-I rented Once on what I call a "faith grab" I had heard of the movie and heard that it was phenomenal, but that's about all I knew. One of the smartest moves i did all year! Once is an musical set in Ireland over a week when two strangers randomly meet and change each others lives. Blissful simplicity and great music helped make Once one of the best movies in a long time.

2. No Country For Old Men-A great character study on how far a person will go for money, Javier Bardem is evil embodied, even making Hannibal Lecter look like Mickey Mouse. The Coens were in top form again for this moral play about greed.

1. 3:10 To Yuma-Intense was the only way I could describe 3:10 To Yuma after I saw it. This film stuck with me for days after I saw it leaving me in complete awe at its power. James Mangold expertly directed this psychological thriller that should give Russell Crowe another little golden statue.

Honorable Mention: Live Free Or Die Hard, Ocean's 13, Evan Almighty, Dan In Real Life, Breach, The Kingdom

And now...the worst.

10. Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End-Incoherent plot and a molasses slow pace made the pay off not worth the trip to the end of this lackluster conclusion to what could have been a great trilogy.

9. Shrek The Third-How many recycled pop culture references can you fit into the third installment of a trilogy that ran out of steam after it's first film? Answer: too many.

8. The Lookout-Had all the talent and direction to be a great heist movie, but ultimately ran out of energy by the anticlimactic ending.

7. Beowulf- One of the funniest movies of the year, I'm not sure it was supposed to be.

6. Across The Universe-Some of the most amazing cinematography and musical number direction I've ever seen, but a lame plot and cliche script ultimately left me looking throuh this movie.

5. Rescue Dawn-There's no doubt Dieter Dengler has a story to tell, but this was definitely not the way to tell it. Werner Herzog's lack of attention to detail made what could have been a very powerful Vietnam War movie interesting portrait of a man that didn't really go through much, when in reality he was physically and mentally pushed pass any human being's breaking point

4. Superbad-Over the top crude and just straight up not funny "humor" made Superbad, Super...Bad.

3. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix-Was I the only one that could tell that the actors in this movie were bored to tears with this movie? Every character that wasn't new was just going through the montions, not even pretending to care if they delivered their lines convincingly or not.

2. American Gangster-This movie made absolutely NO sense at all. Too many loose ends and not enough character development on either end brought me right out of a fascinating true life story.

1. Spider-Man 3-This is by far the absolute worst movie I have ever seen. Seriously, horrible acting, cheesy script, poorly thought out plot. Plays like a B-movie with an A-list cast and budget.

and now, just for fun, the top 10 movies i'm excited about for 2008

10. Star Trek-I'm not too familiar with the mythology here, but everything I've seen and heard says I should be excited about it.

9. Speed Racer-Classic cartoon movies are back and I'm STUPID excited for the Wachowski's take on this classic japanimation gem. Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer Go!

8. Wall-E-Disney, and Pixar. Two reasons why everybody should see this movie.

7. The Incredible Hulk-Here's a wonderful idea for a film, let's make a sequel to a horrible version of this made 5 years ago and completly ignore it's existence! Yeah, Ed Norton is a more than capable actor for the role of Bruce Banner.

6. Get Smart-That's right, I'm excited for Get Smart. Sorry Chief.

5. Cloverfield-Because America needs a good monster movie.

4. Jumper-I know I'll be single on Valentine's day, and this movie is why.

3. The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian-One Word, ASLAN.

2. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull-I heard the best alternate title for this movie the other day, "Indiana Jones and Please Don't Let This Be Another Temple Of Doom" I think that's what they should have gone with.

1. The Dark Knight-If you need to know why I'm excited for this then you obviously haven't seen the new trailer Click This and thank me later.

Others worth mentioning: Iron Man, Rambo, U2 3-D, 21

Well, that about does it for me guys, I'll see you next week with a full review of Cloverfield!

-MJ-

Review: No Country For Old Men

2007-12-15T03:37:00.001-08:00

I am a huge Coen brothers fan. Most people don't really get their movies, and they have had their misses (The Ladykillers to name one) but all in all the Coens are adventurous, and masterful storytellers, so when I saw the trailer for their newest film "No Country For Old Men" I was instantly intrigued. The trailers never reveal too much, but most have come to expect that from a Coen movie. I mainly wanted to see it because it was the Coens, Josh Brolin is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, and Javier Bodem had a funny haircut. What I got from No Country was not what I was expecting. I know the Coens have taken on the crime movie before with the amazing Fargo, but here they stepped it up. Everybody in the cast gave phenomenal performances, and the haircut was the only thing funny about Javier Bodem. I suppose I'll start with that. Bodem's brooding emotionless hitman left a scar on me. I just recently had a nightmare involving him because his performance is that good. He is evil incarnate and plays it so beautifully with his towering frame and deep voice you almost forget he's just a movie character. This film would have suffered in the hands of any other director, but the Coens have proved one thing over their career. They are good at telling stories. This is no different in No Country, they fit an entire book into a two hour time slot lifting most of their dialog and key events straight from the novel. Another thing Joel and Ethan have shown through their gruesome crime movies is that man is capable of unspeakable things, but what they have shown in their films has been gruesome, but real. None of what they have presented is something I would have trouble understanding and that is truly terrifying. The coens are not afraid to show the darker side of human nature for what it is, disgusting. Not to say that they glorify it by any means, they are just unflinching with their detail to events. No Country For Old Men has been turning heads for award season for good reason. People connect with it. It's a story, it's plausible, and it seems as if it has been lifted directly out of somebody's worst vision of Hell. No Country is incredibly layered and may require several viewings (especially to understand the speech just before the abrupt ending) and is quite disquieting, but one thing is for sure, No Country is some movie.

my rating: 10/10

Review: Dan In Real Life

2007-12-15T03:26:00.000-08:00

So, I know it has been well over 2 months since I have posted ANYTHING on this blog, and I apologize for that and will try to post more often. That being said, I have seen a ton of movies over the last few weeks but would like to highlight two. First up is Dan In Real Life. Dan In Real Life is hard to describe. It's plays like an indie flick, but packs the star power of a blockbuster comedy. Dan In Real Life follows the story of a widower (the always hysterical Steve Carrel) who goes to a family reunion and has a chance encounter with a beautiful woman at a local bookstore. Conversation leads to coffee, coffee leads to losing track of time, losing track of time leads to a rushed goodbye where Dan, who has been leading most of the conversation, finds out this dream woman is in a relationship, but convinces her to give him her number anyway. Once back at the reunion Dan meets his brother's (played by comedian Dane Cook) new girlfriend, and surprise! It's the woman from the bookstore! What follows is a tribute to anyone who knows what an awkward situation a new interest in a person can be, especially if they are in a relationship. Dan In Real Life is just that, real life situations played out so well you feel as if you're there. The film is terribly awkward at moments, painfully so actually. There's something about Dan that makes it feel closer to reality than other awkward comedies like Meet The Parents. Maybe it's because the situations are plausible and not over the top, or maybe it's because the character of Dan is so easily relatable for anybody that has had a crush on somebody at some point in their lives. Whatever the reason Dan In Real Life works on every level and for my money has got to be the funniest movie of the year.

my rating: 9/10

Review: The Host

2007-09-27T13:52:00.001-07:00

I've recently started using the online DVD rental service Netflix. And I have to say, Netflix is the Chipotle of the internet meaning it's like crack. And slightly spicy also. Anyway since I don't have the time or money to go see all the movies I would like to in theaters (or i wasn't even alive when most of the movies in my queue came out) Netlfix is a good way to play catch-up. My friend Chris was very confused at the fact that my Netflix queue is continually GROWING instead of shrinking. Anyway I am insanely excited for the upcoming Cloverfield/1-18-08/Slusho/Untitled JJ Abrams Project/whatever else you want to call it film. It's basically going to be a creature feature a la Godzilla, but with a budget. Many people believe that Cloverfield was inspired by a recent creature feature out of Korea entitled "The Host" Now I had been hearing about The Host for a while now and it was all positive stuff so I decided to check it out because I'd like to see the movie that inspired the craftiest man on the planet to produce a film in a similar vein and I haven't seen a good monster movie in I don't know how long. That being said, I begin my review and I have to say, The Host blew me away. Seriously I was expecting a good old-fashioned creature feature and that's what I got, but there is also SO much more going on with this film than a big monster terrorizing a poor town. The film follows a family who loses a little girl to the monster and think she has been eaten until her father recieves a phone call late at night from the desperate girl saying that she has been captured by the creature and taken to a large sewer. The family then goes all Little Miss Sunshine on the hospital they are in and set off to find the little girl. It's a fairly simple set-up, but the dialog and acting bring the film to a new level. You connect with the characters and their plight, and the script is often hilarious. But The Host runs the gamut of emotions, it's funny, sad, deep, brilliant, and most important in a monster movie terrifying. I don't dig on horror flicks that much mainly because they're all shock value and no real terror."BOO!" only lasts a few minutes at most. "WHAT THE FREAK IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!" when done right lasts days after you've seen the film. The creature isn't very large, but he's definetly not natural and he's hungry. It shows up fairly early into the film and I wasn't sure how I had felt about that, but as the movie progressed it didn't bother me as much because the thing was still scary as hell and not in the "ooga booga" sense, but in the sense that this thing was unpredictable, it moved erratically and you couldn't predict it's next move. And THAT is horrifying, you don't know what you're up against even though you've seen it, you can't figure it out. The Host filled me with a sense of dread that only few films I've seen have done. The Host is downright freaky, but doesn't prey on the viewer, it's hard to describe, but it's effective. This is the best monster movie I have ever seen and I am kind of worried about 1-18-08 because I love me some JJ Abrams, but I dunno if even he can pull off a good American creature feature, I lost faith in that after the 1998 Godzilla disappointed fanboys all over the country. So for a really good time with a different sort of feel in the creature feature subgenre check out The Host.

my rating: 8.75/10

Review: 3:10 To Yuma

2007-09-03T00:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so as soon as I heard Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were going to be in a film together, I was bouncing in my seat wondering if I could buy my ticket right then. Then I saw the trailer and wanted to know if I could buy two tickets for back to back showings. Tonight some friends and I had the privilege of seeing a "sneak preview" of this film. I have one word to describe it. WOW. Seriously this movie is amazing! For my money this will be the best film of the year. Many will not like the last fifteen minutes, but it was the most intense fifteen minutes of film I have ever seen. The performances were top notch, Russell Crowe has solidified himself as an amazing actor but really steps it up here. I believe he will earn another Oscar for 3:10 To Yuma. However, this film is not for the weak of heart. A lot of the movie was very intense and the end is downright heart-pounding. The credits started rolling and I just sat there. In silence. Trembling. People go to movies because in some way shape or form they connect with them emotionally, and 3:10 To Yuma is why people go to the movies. James Mangold has created a Western masterpiece guaranteed to rank among the best for years to come. Do NOT miss this train!

my rating: 10.5/10

Review: The Simpsons Movie

2007-08-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it took 18 years and lots of petitioning but, The Simpsons have done it! On July 27 Homer and the gang (and I mean ALL the gang) took their antics to the big screen. Before I begin reviewing this movie, let me say something about it. If you have ever talked to my good friend Emily Barber online via AIM then you'll know one of her favorite phrases (at least when talking to me) is "*headdesk*" which she uses (once again frequently in our conversations) to illustrate frustration/lack of intelligence in response to something one (usually me) says. That being said, The Simpsons takes *headdesk* and then puts it to the power of Pi. The Simpsons movie is a testament to stupidity while also being a brilliant satire of our society. Every writer (except two) that has ever written for the television series worked on the script for the film. And I have to say, it shows! The writing on the Simpsons has always been lettuce-crisp, but in The Simpsons Movie, it's straight from the farm fresh! Some lines/scenes have been added to please fans of outright stupid humor (Spider-pig! Spider-pig!) and the rest are bitingly satirical. All of them are hysterically funny no matter what. The Simpsons movie is what every fan of the show has been expecting for years and to watch it play out is like a dream we never thought would come true. My favorite line? Todd Flanders: "I wish Homer was my daddy!" Ned Flanders: "AAAAAAAAAAAand I wish you didn't have the devil's curly hair!"

my rating: 9/10

Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-10T00:43:00.001-07:00

Bourne is back and ready to kill the guys that tried to kill him. For good. The Bourne Ultimatum picks up right where Supremacy left off, with Bourne in Moscow still trying to figure out why he's so good at killing people. That's about it. There is really absolutely nothing new about this installment in the Bourne series whatsoever except the fact that all truth is revealed by the end of the film. It's more of the same, worldwide cat and mouse game and Bourne beating (A LOT of) people up and then running away on various vehicles or on foot. Rest assured, I am NOT complaining about this by any means! This is one intelligent action-packed spy thriller and not just a mindless summer action flick. I was on the edge of my seat the entire film wondering if Bourne and his partner in crime Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) were going to make it to their next location. The reason they didn't change anything about the Bourne series is because they paid attention to the old phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." and that's refreshing to see in Hollywood now. The producers/writers/directors knew what worked in the previous two films and used those same elements to make Ultimatum a thrill ride worth seeing. However, there were two problems I had with all of this, first off is the "shaky cam" from Supremacy is back and more motion-sickness inducing than ever which really bothered me at some points in the film. Second, everyone seemed a little TOO eager to act. Everyone overacted to some small event at some-point in the film, luckily it only happened to every character once instead of everybody all the time. While not perfect, The Bourne Ultimatum is definetly a summer blockbuster that shouldn't be lost among the Rush Hours and Transformers and should especially be checked out if you were a fan of the first two or like a good spy-thriller with some crazy action thrown into the mix.

My rating: 8.5/10

1-18-08, Codename: Cloverfield

2007-07-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

ok, so if you saw Transformers this past week, or if you haven't been living under a ridiculously heavy object, chances are you have heard of (and probably seen the trailer for) 1-18-08. I know that's the release date, but the film is untitled as of now, so I will be referring to it as 1 of 4 names. 1-18-08, Cloverfield, Slusho, or the popular In Theaters. but probably 1-18-08 will be it's common name, since i think it's the catchiest and "Untitled JJ Abrams Creature Feature" is entirely too long to type. Okay, so if you haven't seen the trailer for this movie yet stop reading this immediately and click here to see it. Pretty freakin' sweet right? But doesn't it beg the question..."what the freak?" I mean, seriously what in the HECK was that all about?! This brings us to the core of this blog, what the hell exactly is happening here. Well first I would like to point out that the film is being produced by JJ Abrams, and if you are familiar with the television shows Alias or the wildly popular and addictive LOST you know he really doesn't give a crap if you know what's going on. As a matter of fact, he WANTS you to not know what's going on for several reasons.
1. it's fun, i've never had more fun with a TV show than LOST or with a movie than 1-18-08
2. it keeps you watching, LOST has huge ratings, and something tells me 1-18-08 will be a smash next year.
3. it keeps his pocketbook full and puts food on his table. Guy's gotta make a living somehow right?
So we are pretty much in the dark on this whole project. However all hope is not lost, JJ Abrams being the media genius he is, is turning the entertainment industry on it's ear with this way of revealing clues connected to the film. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are popular among the D&D crowd, but never really made it mainstream until Abrams started the LOST experience last fall to coincide with the end of the show's second season. The game required people to find clues on several different websites to unlock videos that gave further insight into what exactly the Hanso Corporation was up to and what exactly was going on with DHARMA. A new leg of the LOST experience is slated to start soon, but that's a different story. Abrams has started a separate ARG for Cloverfield. Only 2 sites have been considered canon (part of the game) and a third is still under speculation, but more than likely is part of the game. The first site is 1-18-08.com nothing but pictures you can drag around, but if you look at the timestamp on them, you can see the order that they belong in. Photos are being added to the site fairly quickly. The second site is slusho.jp A fake site for a fake slushie type of drink from Japan, the site was discovered because a partygoer in the trailer has a shirt with the Slusho logo on it. Not really sure what's going on there, but that is also being updated as we speak. Finally ethanhaaswasright.com is probably the most content heavy site for 1-18-08 and may not even be connected in any way. The basic premise there is, solve a puzzle, watch a video. Five puzzles. Five videos. The basic jist of the video is that Ethan Haas has predicted that the world would end in a rain of fireballs as bright as the stars. This explains the explosions seen in the trailer for Cloverfield. The video also states that August 1st is when more information about Ethan Haas and his prophicies will be fulfilled. So, basically, we're stuck for a month, but I will keep you updated as I get deeper into the game and such. Now I'm going to address the other underlying question "what is attacking the city?" Honestly, I have no clue, but some popular theories include Rampage (yes, the video game Rampage) turned into a film, An HP Lovecraft film (if you re-arrange the letters in Clover, you get Lovecr [aft]) so that would mean that it is the squid-headed beast Cthulu, which i think would be pretty flippin cool. Another theory boasts that it is a LOST film explaining the origins of the monster, proof for this comes from the fact that the show's fourth season will be kicking off right about the same time as the release of 1-18-08. I think it's a pretty flimsy theory, but I'll cover them all. And finally, a Godzilla sequel, yes that's right, Godzirra. However, the rights to Godzilla have been retired until 2013 so we're hosed on that one. In my opinion, I think it's something totally different and may have a loose connection with the recent creature feature from Japan entitled The Host, but i doubt it. I think that the scariest thing about this movie is the mystery and that the film should keep that same aura to it and not let anyone see the monster until the last few frames/seconds of the film. THAT would be terrifying. Horror movies are based entirely too much on cheap thrills and quick scares rather than a sense of dread, and quick scares only work for a second and the viewers become tired of them. If anybody can bring the mystery back to the creature feature it is definetly Mr. Abrams. So this concludes today's blog about 1-18-08, and I will repost this on myspace and my facebook in case anyone reads that instead of here on blogspot.

-MJ-

Review: Ocean's 13

2007-06-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

After the abysmal excuse for a film that was Ocean's 12, when I heard they were going to make it a trilogy with 13 I was pretty sketchy about the whole operation. To be honest I was NOT looking forward to seeing it one bit, I only went because some friends asked me to, I love movies, and Al Pacino is a certified BAMF. That being said, check this flick out! It was incredibly cool. Ocean and the gang are back and this time, they're back in Vegas and trying to steal $500 million from Willy Bank a shark in the hotel business that double crossed their pal Reuben (Elliot Gould) and made him have a heart attack. Revenge is the name of the game, and getting even and getting out are the problems. This film has flair, Steven Sodebergh is what some (namely myself) would call a genius. The man has always been creative, but he took it to a new level in 13, from the opening color dance that oddly reminded me of Grindhouse, to the huge subtitles that took up most of the screen he has crafted a caper masterwork, and it's pretty beautiful to watch. The comedy in this flick up the ante also, everybody had something witty to say and it was generally hilarious, even when characters had nothing to say it was great (the Oprah scene had me in tears) All in all the only word I can think of to describe 13 is redemption, it restored my faith in the caper film and even in the Ocean's series. I'm not saying they should do Ocean's 14, but this baker's dozen flick doesn't disappoint if you loved the first two, or loved the first one and loathed the second one. Take a chance. Give it a try. Beat the odds. Get even.

my rating: 8.5/10

Review: Knocked Up

2007-06-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

Guy meets girl, guy and girl get drunk, have an unprotected one night stand, girl gets pregnant. The result? One of the funniest and most heartfelt comedies in recent years. The movie plays out like a VERY R-rated chick flick with lots of jokes for guys too. This movie is HYSTERICALLY funny! I seriously can't remember the last movie I laughed this hard at. Note: this movie is NOT for the easily offended however. Most of the dialog is about sex or drugs. There are some truly great one liners and burns throughout. Seth Rogen was a perfect choice as the average-looking guy that gets the totally great girl and I won't be surprised if he becomes one of the most popular actors out there today. He has a certain "everyman" charm that few people have been able to pull off. A lot of the film is based off of his own personal experiences (namely all the getting stoned and making idiotic (and hilarious) bets with his buddies) All in all Knocked Up is the perfect summer comedy date flick rom-com with something for everyone.

my rating: 9/10

OH! and since this was the first movie I sat through with my cell phone, the final total was....
Missed Calls: 7
Voice-Mails: 2
Text-Messages: 3
CURSE YOU INFERNAL VIBRATING MACHINE!

Review: The Good German

2007-05-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you've heard of this movie! ...Thought so. Well The Good German came out last year despite looking (and being) very much like a 1940's film *cough*Casablanca*cough* excuse me. Anywho, despite the obvious Casablancaness of this film it was still a very good film noir that was a neat little homage to 1940's cinema and one of the true greats, Humphrey Bogart. George Clooney plays an American journalist that visits postwar Berlin to cover the big three Conference in Potsdam. There he finds that his driver, Corporal Tully (Tobey Maguire in an odd role) is dating his old girlfriend Lana Brandt (played by the always amazing Cate Blanchette). Soon after his arrival in Germany, Tully turns up dead and Clooney becomes VERY interested in finding out who did it. The rest plays out like every other noir film you'll ever see, but it's very entertaining nonetheless. So, for a neat little niche film check out The Good German.

my rating: 7.5/10

Review: Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End (or why Chris and I need Oscars)

2007-05-27T21:05:00.001-07:00

Cap'n Jack is back! Savvy? Ok, now that I've got that out of my system, it's time to get on with the review. The theory? Well, if you were one of the people that talked to Chris Champion or I within the weeks following the opening of Pirates 2, you know the theory. Is it correct? The answer is reflected in the title. We're pretty much awesome. Yep. Now for the film itself. This is the perfect ending to the series. Everything was resolved, every question was answered they have no need to do a fourth (they will because well, it's a money making machine) but that doesn't mean you HAVE to see the fourth to be satisfied. There's a nice little bow on everything and it all seems like a logical closure point for all of the characters (for those of you that disagree, stay until after the credits and THEN tell me what you think) The action and battle sequences were EPIC! Definite rivals for the Helm's Deep and the battle at Minas Tirith in the last two Lord Of The Rings films. The big battle at the end between The Black Pearl and The Flying Dutchman is particularly impressive considering the amount of real people vs. CG creatures. It looks astounding and is sure to be a key runner in the Academy Awards for Best Special Effects (although I believe Transformers will be taking home the title, I mean, have you SEEN the trailer?!). Keith Richards is just a heck of a lot of fun as Daddy Sparrow, sure he's got like a minute and a half of screen time, but he's freaking KEITH RICHARDS! I mean, he's the inspiration for Captain Jack and it was really cool to see him get involved with it. He even plays guitar. All in all, this is one great bookend to a great series of films and is sure not to be missed, THIS is what summer movie season is all about! So drink up me hearties and bring me that horizon! Yo-ho!

my rating: 8/10

Review: Shrek The Third

2007-05-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, let me preface this with...I HATED Shrek 2, so my opinion may be influenced by the stupid in the last film, but I will try to be fair with this review. Shrek 3 was OK, that was it, just middle of the road, play it safe animated film. There's really not a whole lot to say about it actually, the animation was outstanding, I remember one scene on a beach and the foam from the tide was SO real looking. Aside from that the humor isn't NEARLY as witty as Shrek 1 and is more or less hit or miss. The jokes that hit are HYSTERICALLY funny, but the ones that miss fall so hard on their face that you feel bad for the writers because they THOUGHT it was going to be funny. The other thing is that most of the truly great jokes are given away in the previews which is always lame. So that about does it for this review, not good, not bad, a renter if you must see it.

my rating 5.5/10

OH Bunnay!

2007-05-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

That's right! the bunnies are back and this time they're taking on one of the biggest documentaries in recent years (and only in 30 seconds as always). Check it out, it's even narrated by a very famous Bunny that spent quite a few years behind the walls of Shawshank prison.

click here for some sweet bunny re-enaction!

Review: Harsh Times

2007-05-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

So this weekend i'm dog/housesitting for Danny and he offered to rent me 2 flicks using his blockbuster movie pass so i decided to get a film that i've been trying to see for some time and with the Weinstein Company's recent deal to ONLY sell blockbuster the rights to rent their films it's been dern near impossible to see it. So i was like "alright, time to see Harsh Times" This film stars Christian Bale, but somehow flew under the radar for the longest time and has had a somewhat dismal rental history. That being said, i throughly enjoyed the film, the dialogue took a while to get used to, but it was VERY realistic and true to LA culture. Bale plays an ex-soldier now trying to start again back in his home country, but has a very difficult time doing so. He turns to a life of petty crime and binge drinking/drug use. It is very clear that things he has seen/done in the military have affected him for life, like it does many soldiers and he can't seem to find a way to channel these new emotions so he turns to this criminal lifestyle. The film deals with some heavy subjects and the struggles that people go through during times of adjustment. It was a very good film that i could see being shown in Psychology classes looking at what a soldier deals with after he has taken another human being's life.

my rating: 7.5/10

Review: Next

2007-05-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

Nicolas Cage is a two-bit Vegas magician that can see 2 minutes into the future. I have NO idea how they got this pitch actually made into a film (i'm guessing it has something to do with the loose basis on Phillip K. Dick's novel "The Golden Man") but MAN am I glad they did! This is one terrific action flick! (d00d that rhymed) Unfortunately nobody is going to see this because Nicolas Cage's name is attached to it, but I really like the guy and am willing to give all of his movies a chance. I mean, come on I even loved Ghost Rider! Anywho Next plays out like Deja Vu in reverse (Vu Jade?) and at their core are really the same movie but I don't care. Deja Vu was great and so was Next, but be warned MANY of you will be disappointed in the end of the film, but I sat back and thought "ya know, I'm perfectly ok with this." For a great little popcorn flick perfect to kick off the summer season (i.e. ANYTHING BUT SPIDEY) make this movie your NEXT.

my rating: 8.5/10

Review: Spider-Man 3

2007-05-05T01:36:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, summer movie season is upon us, and what better way to start summer than with the third installment of the biggest blockbuster film franchise in history? I'll tell you what better way...ANY! This was one HORRIBLE excuse for a film! Poor character development, cheesy dialogue, WAY too many stories going on at once, and Peter Parker dancing around like some kind of bizarre Bollywood Spider-Man. I can't recommend this movie to anyone for any reason! This is one movie sure to go down in the record books as "biggest disappointment EVER"

that's it, i'm done with this review!

my rating: 3.5/10

YAR

2007-04-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

The good fol- er...Bunnies, over at Angry Alien debuted yet ANOTHER 30-second parody today in association with STARZ. What is it? Shiver yer timbers and head over there to find out! (if you didn't figure it out, that's kinda sad)

I can't wait until we get some Bunnies On A Plane or Eight Legged Bunnies

Review: The Hoax

2007-04-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

The year is 1971 and author Clifford Irving has landed the book deal of the century. Exclusive interviews with Howard Hughes, the world's most (in)famous recluse. Problem is, it's all fake. And so the story goes with The Hoax, the film portraying the man behind the sham and how he came SO close to getting away with it (if it weren't for those meddling kids and their dog!). This was a cool little history lesson film, full of surprises and fun facts, like the book directly led to the Watergate scandal. I had no clue. While this definetly won't be the big blockbuster con movie of the year (Ocean's 13 is sure to be a smash) The Hoax is definetly a film worth seeing. Fine performances are turned in all around, especially by Alfred Molina as Gere's partner in crime, Dick. I really hope the academy remembers this movie come supporting actor nomination time. So if you want a con movie that tells it straight and doesn't make the con men the "heroes" of the film, The Hoax is for you.

My Rating: 8.5/10

IRON MAN FOR THE WIN!

2007-04-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Source: IGN

Ok, so I'll admit that when I first heard that Jon Faverau (Swingers) was going to be directing an Iron Man movie and that Robert Downey Jr. was going to be playing the titular superhero I was PRETTY iffy about it. I thought it was going to be Swingers with superpowers. But now IGN got their hands at a pic of an early incarnation of the Iron Man suit, which means they are get this..PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL! Fanboys around the world are rejoicing! And I'm planting my but firmly in a plush theater seat next May to see this movie! Check out the pic here.
Also, anybody else find it SUPER ironic that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Iron Man? Art imitates life I suppose...

Review: Rebel Without A Cause

2007-04-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yea, I know, the film came out in 1955, making it what? 52 years old? Well here's what I have to say to that...WHO CARES?! I caught an airing of this tonight on AMC and it's encoring right now, actually. I've seen it before but this is the first time I really "got" it. This is one GREAT film! I am convinced it is the most socially relevant film ever made and all of the themes in the film are still relevant, if not more so, today than ever before. The film follows Jim Stark (Dean) as he moves into a new town and tries to fit in. From there tragedy strikes around every corner, leading to an emotional night with his new comrades Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (the stunning, Natalie Wood). From a youth ministry point of view, I can't think of a film that I have EVER seen that has challenged me this much. The characters are real and engaging, making you think that these very well COULD be kids you know. One of the quotes that stuck with me throughout the entire film was right before a chicken race when Jim asks Buzz "Why do we do this?" and Buzz replies "Hey, we gotta do something, right?" That's the attitude still taken by today's youth with whatever they may be involved in, they're doing it to avoid boredom, and they'll do whatever it takes. Especially at jr. high-high school students. If you are involved in youth ministry in any way, shape, or form check out Rebel Without A Cause.

my rating: 10/10

Review: Grindhouse

2007-04-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so, I know not a whole lot of people "get" Grindhouse so I'll explain it as best I can. In the late 1960's and all through the 1970's the old movie palaces of the 30's and 40's weren't being taken care of since they could only house one or two films at once, and Multiplexes were on the rise. The areas of town that these movie houses were located were getting pretty run-down too, with city growth and such. So independent films would be shown here in double and sometimes triple features. The independent film distributors would "grind" out these films at a fast rate earning the theaters that showed the films the title "Grindhouse" grindhouse cinema didn't have the big budgets or big stars that the mainstream Hollywood films had, so they had to rely on entertainment value or shock value to plant butts in seats. They would have "exploitable" elements, a feminist message, extreme violence, a civil rights message, something that the filmmakers could exploit to get people to buy tickets. This earned the films the title of "exploitation films". However, there would only be several prints of the films made, and they would just travel the country, often losing frames to projector boys that kept collections, and gathering dust on the reels badly damaging and scratching the look of the film. This brings us to Grindhouse. Directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino (both icons of modern American filmmaking) grew up with these Grindhouse double and triple features and came up with the idea to do one themselves while watching old exploitation films at Tarantino's house one night. Thus creating Grindhouse. Grindhouse was an ambitious undertaking of two films with fake trailers for other exploitation films in between the two features. Both filmmakers also "aged" their reels giving them a grainy "just traveled from New York to the west coast and everywhere in between" look. Low budget is the name of the game with Grindhouse and that's what you get the whole way through. First a fake preview for "Machete" a film about a mexican hitman played by the great actor Danny Trejo, hired to kill a senator that's against illegal immigration. MAN I want to see this made into a film! Next up is Rodriguez's half of the event "Planet Terror" the story follows a group of people blasting zombies in an infested area of Austin, TX. WOW what a ride! This was one fun movie to watch! It had the low-budget look but the big time action! And I gotta say Rose McGowan turned in a great performance as the machine gun legged go-go dancer Cherry Darling. That leg was too cool NOT to buy a ticket for! She also delivers my favorite line of the entire experience. Ok zombies dead, time for some low-budge trailers! First up Werewolf Women Of The SS Rob Zombie directed this and it's about the Nazis turning women into Werewolves to fight in the army. It looked INCREDIBLY lame but Nicolas Cage as Fu Man Chu cracked me up so hard! Then there was Edgar Wright's (Shaun Of The Dead) offering for a bizarre haunted house flick called "Don't" "If you're thinking about opening that door...DON'T If you're thinking about seeing this film alone...DON'T...DON'T" HAHA! this looked like it'd just be weird if actually turned into a film, but the super cheesy "DON'T" dialogue made this preview HILARIOUS. Next was a random (or so i thought until Death Proof) ad for a fake Mexican restaurant called "Acuna Bros." food looked good but the ad felt like filler. The final fake preview was by director Eli Roth of Hostel fame. He came up with a ridiculously twisted trailer for "Thanksgiving" a slasher flick set in Plymouth, Massachusetts on well..Thanksgiving Day. While this looks like the only film besides Machete that could stand alone as its own movie you can count me out. Hostel was dumb enough. So after 3 fake film trailers we're taken back to Austin to witness "everyman" serial killer Stuntman Mike wreak havoc on the local ladies. Or so I thought. I WAS BORED TO TEARS during this movie!! It was nothing but women talking, and talking, and talking, and talking, and doing MORE TALKING! That's all they did was talk! Until the last half hour when a SUPER long but SUPER awesome car chase began between Stuntman Mike and 3 of his female victims. Despite all the heavy dialogue the end MORE than made up for it. I don't think Tarantino could've ended this better! I just wish I could've seen more of Stuntman Mike played awesomely by Kurt Russell, I've never NOT liked this guy. So if you've got 3hrs. and 5min. to kill and want a quick crash course in film history, and one of the most creative ideas to come out of Hollywood in the last decade. Take a trip to the Grindhouse. It'll Tear You In Two!

my rating: 9/10

Review: Happy Feet

2007-04-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Cute penguins. Singing. Tap-dancing. Themes dealing with global warming and challenging authority. What's NOT to love about Happy Feet? Answer: EVERYTHING. This film was absolutely BORING sure the animation was superb and fun to look at but the plot was absolutely ridiculous and unfunny. The film follows emperor penguin Mumble who was dropped as an egg and can't find his heart song, but is a gifted tap dancer. Mumble grows up and is an outcast among his own for being different from everyone except for Gloria the beautiful female penguin voiced by Brittany Murphy, who sticks by Mumble's side through thick and thin. That's about all I got, the rest of the film is rather muddy in terms of plot, but it has something to do with "aliens" (humans because we're all apparently freaks or something.) that are killing off their food supply. Mumble also blatantly disregards authority by continuing to tap dance after elder penguins express their disgust. Now I understand that we all question authority at one time or another, but Happy Feet seems to ENCOURAGE the children to "do their own thing". Now I have a better understanding as to why this won the Oscar for Best Animated Film, and it can be described in one word...LIBERALISM. Now I'm never one to voice my opinions on bias in film, but this was ridiculous, I mean it was borderline indoctrination for these kids. In short Happy Feet is one sad film.

my rating: 3/10

Review: Peaceful Warrior

2007-04-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Peaceful Warrior who's alternate title should have been "The Ballad Of Jon Walker" (I mean look at the guy!) follows the story of gymnast Dan Millman and events in his life leading up to qualifying rounds for the Olympics. Along the way he meets a strange man whom he gives the nickname "Socrates" and begins to follow "the way of the peaceful warrior". At its core Peaceful Warrior is a cliche "uplifting" sports flick. That being said I LOVED THIS MOVIE I got free tickets to that movie which didn't bode well because to me it said "Our movie is so bad we'll GIVE you tickets to see it!" I had also not heard very many good things about this film to begin with so going in I was iffy as to what I was about to watch. After things got going I was hooked! Nick Nolte turned in a GREAT performance as Socrates joining the ranks of awesome mystical dudes with cool life lessons you know the Mr. Myagis and the Yodas of the world. When he first shows up one begins to think that he's freaky Mr. New Age guy but if you really think about what he says it makes a lot of sense "There is never nothing going on, there is no such thing as an ordinary moment." He's just approaching things with an Eastern MINDSET not necessarily with an Eastern SPIRITUALITY (yes there is a difference but that's for my myspace blog.). All in all Peaceful Warrior is one of those great pump you up sports movies that really makes you want to go big or go home and leaves you with a "warm 'n' fuzzy" feeling when you leave the theater. Be sure not to miss walking in the path of the peaceful warrior.

my rating: 7/10

Review: Stranger Than Fiction

2007-03-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ok let me preface this with the fact that I have seen this film before but saw it again at a friend's house and let me tell you I can describe it in one word...WOW! This film is absolutely amazing. All of the actors turn in Oscar worthy performances in this movie and a lot of attention was paid to writing an intelligent and engaging storyline. The film follows IRS agent Harold Crick as he goes through his mundane day to day routine until one idle Wednesday while counting brush strokes. He begins to hear the voice of a narrator that is speaking accurately about his thoughts and feelings on everything. Throw in the fact that the narrator drops those little words.."little did he know events had been set in motion starting his imminent death." This sends Harold into a frenzy to figure out what is going on by consulting a professor of literature played by Dustin Hoffman. Through Dr. Hibbert's findings he is forced to track down author Karen Eiffel played BRILLIANTLY by British actress Emma Thompson. Stranger Than Fiction is one of those rare films that gets you emotionally involved with the story and attached to the characters. As well as raising some thought-provoking questions about the narrator of our lives God. Don't miss this wonderful yarn!

my rating: 9/10

Review: Blades Of Glory

2007-03-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well Will Ferrell is at it again, making dumb sports flicks for big studios and tons of cash. Guess what....IT WORKS this time he and partner in crime Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) take on the sport of figure skating and let me tell you HILARIOUS results ensue. Sure Ferrell plays the same character in every film he does but it works for him. Granted he needs to come up with a new gimmick soon before everyone gets bored. He lucked out with Blades Of Glory. The film follows bumbling idiot Chazz Michael Michaels and his effeminate colleague Jimmy Macelroy. Together they get banned from their division of skating and 3 1/2 years later discover that if they enter in pairs skating they can compete again. With the help of their coach (played by Craig T. Nelson of well...Coach fame.) they perfect the fabled and dangerous "Iron Lotus" tried only once in North Korea with fatal results. Really dumb jokes really dumb ending really dumb movie that was a heck of a lot of fun! If you liked Talladega Nights and Anchorman don't miss Blades of Glory!

my rating: 7/10

NEW TRANSFORMERS FOOTAGE!!!

2007-03-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Source College Humor

OK so the folks over at collegehumor.com have gotten their hands on some new footage from the upcoming Michael Bay explosion extravaganza known as Transformers! It is so ridiculously cool! check it out here.

Random Fact: Transformers jackasses in disguise. Transformers they're all single guys.

Mr. French cast as Indy's sidekick!

2007-03-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Source: IESB

Well it's official folks! Ray Winstone has been confirmed that he'll be playing Indiana Jones's sidekick in the upcoming fourth installment of the popular franchise. Winstone, famous for his role as Mr. French in The Departed got his big break starring in the film Sexy Beast. Ever since he's been a great character actor who's been in dozens of films, but never seems to get recognized. It's a shame too his character in The Proposition really made me stand up and take notice of him. Jennifer Connelly has also signed on to play a character in the new Indy flick, Shia Labeouf's fate is still undetermined at this time. Indy 4 is set for a Memorial Day weekend '08 release.

Review: Smokin' Aces

2007-03-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

When Vegas magician Buddy "Aces" Israel ends up in hot water with the mob big-wig Primo Sparazza sends 6-hitpeople for his heart. What ensues is an ultraviolent crime-thriller with a very disappointing end. Smokin' Aces starts out like a typical "catch the snitch" hitman flick and then very quickly tries to turn into a human drama where everyone is covered in blood and killing each other. Emotionally the film is all over the place and extremely confusing at times. Every character ends up stabbed, beaten bloody, shot, or otherwise maimed or just plain old dead. The ensemble cast doesn't really work here because they all bring the same thing to the table, lots of moaning in pain from their injuries or just laying there being well...dead. There are 3 elements of this movie that did catch my attention though. First Jeremy Piven was GREAT as Buddy "Aces" Israel he really brought some depth to the role and was one of the only things that kept me watching as the film spiraled into it's bloody finale. Second was Ryan Reynolds actually playing a different character than the lovable dork who can't catch a break from the ladies. He really impressed me as an FBI agent. And finally Matthew Fox in the funniest cameo I have ever seen sporting a mullet and unabomber mustache playing head of casino security, Bill. check out his pic here. So is this Lucky Number Slevin wannabe worth watching? Not on your heart, not even on Buddy Israel's heart come to think of it. If you want an entertaining crime flick that's worth your time intellectually check out Brick or Lucky Number Slevin before this bloodbath that tries to redeem itself with a blatantly obvious twist.

my rating: 5/10

Review: Blood Diamond

2007-03-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Blood Diamond is director Edward Zwick's film about conflict diamonds being mined in Sierra Leone, Africa during the late 1990's and the heartbreaking atrocities that came out of these "blood diamonds". Blood diamonds are diamonds that have been mined for the purpose of purchasing guns or other weapons with them. They then change hands to the smuggler who then sells them to large jewelry corporations thus making it impossible to trace where they came from. This is one powerful film and I'm really surprised that it didn't get nominated for more Oscars (of course in a perfect world, Children Of Men wouldn't have gotten screwed either). The actors all turned in top notch performances especially Leo DiCaprio sporting a think Zimbabwe accent. The film follows a diamond smuggler (DiCaprio) who ends up chasing after a priceless diamond hidden by a now escaped worker of the R.U.F. (Djimon Hounsou). With the help of a female American journalist (Jennifer Connelly) the 2 set out to rescue his son and recover the stone. The film is hard to watch at points because the camera doesn't cut away from a lot of the onscreen horrors (most of which are committed by children no younger than 12 or 13 years old.) Although the war in Sierra Leone is over blood diamonds are still finding their way into the market and this is a rather eye-opening film that gets you thinking what the wedding ring may be costing others halfway around the world.

my rating: 7/10

TRANSFORMERS ONE-SHEETS!

2007-03-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Source: Ain't It Cool News

Check out the AWESOME new Transformers one sheet posters Ain't It Cool debuted today!! Optimus Prime looks GREAT And Megatron well....while looking like a freaking cool big arse robot, I dunno yet only time will tell. But what I'll tell you right now is that I am PUMPED for the new movie and I think it'll be one for the ages! Especially with Michael Bay aka Captain Blow Crap Up at the helm. Transformers will be in theaters July 4th.

Edward Scissorhands The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street?

2007-03-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

Source: Perez Hilton

Well, now that everything is settled on the "Johnny Depp's daughter had e. coli" front filming on the set of "Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street" has begun again. Tim Burton's twisted musical adaptation of the popular play puts Depp into familiar territory working both with Tim Burton and Scissors. Perez Hilton captured some shots of Depp looking VERY Edward Scissorhands-esque in his Sweeny Todd get-up. Check it out!

Spider-Bun

2007-03-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Source: STARZ

Today STARZ released the latest team 30 second re-enactment (with bunnies) from Angry Alien. They did BOTH Spider-Man films in one 30 second spot and it is flipping GREAT! Stay tuned for the Stan Lee bunny cameo after the main presentation, it's the best part! so check it here. And if you haven't seen the other 30 second re-enactments (with bunnies) you can see them here.

M For Megatron?

2007-03-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Source: IESB

IESB reported earlier today that Hugo Weaving (V For Vendetta, The Matrix) will be voicing Megatron in Michael Bay's upcoming Transformers. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I mean, Weaving proved how great he is at voice acting in V For Vendetta, but since Peter Cullen is returning to voice Optimus Prime I find it only fair that Frank Welker re-voice Megatron because how cool was Megatron's voice?! Oh well I'll still get my butt in a seat for Transformers!

Random Fact: I met a Transformer once, well not really, he was just a robot in disguise, but he was DEFINETLY more than meets the eye!

Rumors DiSPELLed by Warner Bros.

2007-03-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Word out of Warner Bros. studio this morning reports that all 3 young actors from the Harry Potter films will reprise their roles for the last 2 butcherings..er..adaptations in the popular series. So Potter nerds of the world cancel your protests and egg throwings and rejoice!

Random Fact: Daniel Radcliffe REALLY needs to play John Lennon.