Movie Ratings
10 – Worth Full Price of Admission (a must see if you like movies)
9 – Worth Full Price of Admission (worth paying full price)
8 – See it as a Matinee (enjoyable but not worth full price)
7 – See it as a Matinee (worth the time to see at the movies, but not full price)
6 – Rent the movie (worth watching, but you can wait to see it)
5 – Rent the movie (you feel like watching a movie at your leisure)
4 – Watch it on cable (if it’s on TV, go ahead and watch it)
3 – Watch it on cable (if you feel like watching a movie to pass the time)
2 – Not worth watching (not worth your time)
1 – Not worth watching (you’ll wish you had that time back)
0 – Avoid like the plague (you will want to gouge you eyes out while watching)
Disclaimer – All movie ratings are subject to a rating of +/- 1. Certain actors/directors/writers may influence my opinion, but hopefully I will take note of that in my reviews. I don’t know who is really reading this, but these are quick comments and not subject to being grammatically correct.
Of course, if you want to find out more information on all
these movies, you should know what website to visit: www.imdb.com
Wonka (seen February 10, 2024)
Starring: Timothee Chamalet
Rating – 6
I don’t know why we needed to tell the stories of
young Willy Wonka except Hollywood is out of ideas and just wants to revisit
old ideas. The movie is ok, but it’s geared more towards children.
I didn’t care for Chamalet’s performance as Wonka but it’s probably because I’m
comparing him to Gene Wilder’s version. I didn’t think the movie
connected enough to the 1970’s version, which probably means they left space if
they want to do another one, but there is also a disconnect to the 1970’s one
as well. It felt like Wonka was more of a magician than an eccentric
chocolatier. I never read the book, but this was touted as being connected to
Gene Wilder’s performance and I just think that missed the mark. It’s probably
best for a airplane movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Willy Wonka (Chamalet) is a young aspiring
chocolatier and visits the world-famous city known for chocolate, but only to
find the city is run by a cartel of greedy chocolatiers. Willy tries to keep
his optimism in the face of constant antagonism, but will he and his new found
friends be able to overcome the cartel?
Dream Scenario (seen December 13, 2023)
Starring: Nicolas Cage
Rating – 6
This is supposed to be a drama/comedy, but there’s
not really many laughs. Cage did a good job at playing the awkward/blah college
professor, but I felt like the story was lacking. I would have thought it could
have been stronger. Maybe the writer was trying to convey about “cancel
culture”? A fun concept that ended a bit
flat. If you see this movie, give me shout because I would like to discuss. I’d
say watch it at home on a rainy day. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Paul (Cage) is a small town college professor and
there’s nothing really exciting or special about him except for when one day, a
large number of random people see him in their dreams and there is no
explanation why. He embraces his celebrity status, but it turns south
eventually after these dreams turn into horrible nightmares and his life begins
to fall apart. How will Paul handle his celebrity status?
The Holdovers (seen on December 1,
2023)
Starring: Paul Giamatti
Rating – 6
The movie starts out fine, but I think it takes too
long to get to the fun stuff and the fun stuff is too short. It follows the
same classic patterns as most movies of a pairing that do not like each other,
but eventually grow to respect and eventually like each, but just takes too
long to play out. The audience doesn’t feel the payout of the beginning of the
movie until it’s almost over. It’s not a bad watch, but I wouldn’t rush out to
see it. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Paul (Giamatti) is a high school prep school that
must stay around during the holidays for the kids that are unable to return
home for the break. Eventually it is down to one student, one curmudgeon old
professor and the school chef but they still lash out at each other. Will they
survive the holiday break together trapped in the school?
Dumb Money (seen on October 29,
2023)
Starring: Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley,
Pete Davidson
Rating – 8
After watching this movie, first thing I question
is how much is true. Everything is Hollywoodized to make things more
entertaining, and this was an entertaining movie. I quite enjoyed it and
thought it was well cast. I remember discussing this whole thing with
friends as it was happening. I’m sure it was exciting for some as shown in the
movie, but they didn’t show how many it did crush besides the rich guys. The
movie is basically about “gambling”, but worth the watch. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Keith Gill (Dano) works for Mass Mutual, but as a
side hobby, he posts his stock portfolio on YouTube under the name Roaring
Kitty. He announces to his listeners that there’s great potential in
GameStop stock and that the rich guys are undervaluing expecting it to go
bankrupt. The videos unite the masses as it becomes a class war of millions of
“poor” people uniting against the elite. The elite are rich for a reason; who
will win the GameStop meme stock battle?
Oppenheimer (seen on July 23,
2023)
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt,
Robert Downey Jr.
Rating – 9
Christopher Nolan has a great gift for
storytelling; I saw this in IMAX as I do believe you want the full visual/sound
experience. With an ensemble cast putting out epic performances, it’s a must
watch. You feel the tension with Nolan’s ability to combine black & white
shots and color and scenes of loud sound effects to silence. The movie is three hours long, but you don’t
notice it. It’s a fascinating viewpoint of the man known as the American
Prometheus. That’s my quick review; what’s next.
The life and times of J. Robert Oppenheimer, from
his early years as a physicist to the father of the atomic bomb to his final
days of persecution from the government.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (seen on July 21, 2023)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelson, Phoebe
Waller-Bridge
Rating – 5
Disney decided to try again on a swan song for
Indiana Jones and although this was better than the fourth installment, it
didn’t add to the glamor of the franchise. It was a nostalgic trip for the fans
and a way to send the character off into the sunset where the fourth one had
failed, but it wasn’t able to capture the magic of the first one or the humor
of the third. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Indiana Jones (Ford) is still a professor, but also
a cranky old man. His goddaughter shows up in his life one day seeking an
artifact that her dad obsessed over. Indy feels compelled to help her, but she
may not be as virtuoso as she appears nor is she the only person looking for
the artifact.
Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol 3.
(seen on May 12, 2023)
Starring: Chris Pratt,
Bradley Cooper, Dave Batista, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana
Rating – 8
Here comes James Gunn’s
final installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and it might be the
best one. Maybe it was the fact it wasn’t forced to fit in with the overall
story of the MCU and was used more as a wrap-up of the Guardians journey under
James Gunn. This is definitely the best Marvel movie since the End Game
finale. Maybe there’s hope the remaining will get better, but I think this is
the anomaly. If you’ve enjoyed the Guardians story, I recommend go out and
finish off this trilogy; you will not be disappointed. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
The Guardians are
enjoying their “normal” life on Knowhere after defeating Thanos, but Quill
(Pratt) still misses Gamora (Saldana). Suddenly they are attacked by the
Sovereign’s new superhero Adam Warlock and he gravely injures Rocket (Cooper).
In order to save their teammate, they must return to Rocket’s haunted past.
Air (seen on April 21, 2023)
Starring: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Ben Affleck
Rating – 7
This movie isn’t going to win any awards, but it was a fun watch. Stories about Michael Jordan always make me nervous as he seems to have final say on anything related to him so how truthful is the story. Although, in this one, it was more about Nike and Jordan’s mother. The whole movie is entirely about the pursuit of Michael Jordan; there’s no subplot or anything. Just a direct simple story to let you escape. Don’t think too much about this one. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Nike is known as a company in the sports market of running and is anxious to increase their market share in basketball. Rather than playing it safe by going after multiple mid-level players, Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) believes they should go all in on one player and design the basketball line around him and that player is rookie Michael Jordan. Can Sonny convince Phil Knight (Affleck) and the rest of Nike to go after just one player? Can he also convince Michael and his parents to sign on with Nike?
Elvis (seen on June 24, 2022)
Starring: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks
Rating – 7
I had mixed emotions about going into this movie. I was anxious to see the story behind Elvis, but not anxious to watch it under the direction of Baz Luhrman. I liked the movie as it painted Elvis as a tragic hero who was taken advantage of by “Colonel Tom Parker”. I learned some things and enjoyed the music, but the way the film was shot with some quick scenes, quick camera motion and almost comic book scene setups that Baz is known for, it took away from the movie. Also, I didn’t like Tom Hanks’ accent in the movie and since he was doing the narration, it became obnoxious after a while. If you like Elvis Pressley, it’s worth a watch. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Col. Tom Parker (Hanks) is anxious to find his big star who he can promote like a circus ringmaster to make some money. When he hears about the young rising star Elvis (Butler), he signs him into a contract. This contract is beneficial to both as long as Elvis stays with Parker. Elvis wants to be an artist and Parker just wants to make money; watch how their personalities clash.
Top Gun: Maverick (Seen on June 3, 2022)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Ed Harris
Rating – 7
It is a sequel and has all the typicals you expect from a sequel. Links to
the past, retelling of the same story, even some of the same shots from the
first one. With all that, the story is a bit weak; especially the sub plot of
the love story which seems a bit forced. However, the movie is worth a watch
for the nostalgic feeling, but definitely for the awesome airplane shots. I
think that’s the difference between the first and second movie. The first movie
had a story with fighter planes; this one is a movie with fighter planes that
has a story. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Maverick (Cruise) is still a pilot in the Navy, but has yet to manage to get
above the rank of captain. One day, an old friend calls and has Maverick return
to Top Gun to teach the new class of pilots on how to accomplish and safely
return from a dangerous mission. Will Maverick be able to teach the new
recruits and will they be willing to accept him?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Seen on May 25,
2022)
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen
Rating – 5
The story of this one is pretty weak and I really don’t get the point of
having this movie. I guess it was Marvel’s way of breaking up the multiverse
allowing heros/villains to come back to the story line and be portrayed by
another actor/actress. Still, that was done in Spiderman so this seems
redundant. The special effects were impressive, but I just don’t see how this
drives the future phases of Marvel like the original 4 phase movies. That’s
three less than great Marvel movies in a row; I’m not liking this downward
trend. Also note, you could see some typical Sam Raimi storyline in this one,
which I don’t think is a good thing. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) keeps having dreams of a mysterious teenager
that he soon finds out is real, but from another universe and she’s being
hunted. There is an evil force that is hunting this teenager and could cause
the lives of millions across the multiverse if this villain gets her power.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Seen on May 4, 2022)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal
Rating – 7
How is this movie not your dream come true? Nicolas Cage is playing Nicolas
Cage. Seriously, it is a very Nic Cage movie so if you don’t like Nic Cage,
don’t bother watching this. I have to give him credit, it takes some guts to
play a role that’s an overexaggerated version of yourself for comedy effect.
The movie may be predictable and not deep developed story, but it’s fun to
watch. It’s more enjoyable if you are familiar with some of Cage’s more obscure
movies as there are references to his past throughout this movie. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Nicolas Cage (Cage) has seen his career take a dip in popularity over the
years and is in need of some new work. His agent finds a job that requires him
to attend a birthday party for a wealthy businessman named Javi (Pascal), but
Javi has some secrets of his own.
The Batman (seen on March 19, 2022)
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Paul Dano, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey
Wright
Rating – 8
In case you don’t know, one of the nicknames in the comics is that Batman is
also called The World’s Greatest Detective. Director Matt Reeves makes a movie
showcasing these skills. The movie gives similar vibes to Se7en where
there is some seediness to the city and it’s all about the detective work. It’s an enjoyable movie, not much Batman type
stuff, which is fine and refreshing, but then does it need to be the Batman as
the detective or just some new character? It is scary how realistic this movie
could be compared with how much misinformation is spread. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Batman (Pattinson) is tested this time as a string of murders all include a
letter to The Batman. Batman needs to find this lunatic but only can by solving
the Riddler’s riddles and discovering some crooked politicians in Gotham that
are in the mob’s pocket.
Unchartered (seen on March 18, 2022)
Starring: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas
Rating – 7
I just had to watch this being such a fan of the videogame series. I know
it’s considered a prequel to the games so they went with younger actors, but I
still think it was miscast. Mark Wahlberg was definitely not the right guy for
the role; maybe someone more like Bruce Campbell. Tom Holland was ok, but he
played the character as more childish/naïve and I don’t think it stayed true to
the games. At least it was an actual story unlike most movies based on
videogames. The movie is like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Goonies,
but no where near that quality. It’s still an entertaining, light hearted
movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Nathan Drake (Holland) grew up on the streets and his life is changed when
he meets a treasure hunter named Sully (Wahlberg) who tells him a story of the
lost gold of Magellan. They must follow the clues to find this 500 year old
treasure. They find they aren’t the only ones looking for this treasure and
they don’t know who they can trust.
Jackass Forever (seen on Feb 18, 2022)
Starring: Johnny Knoxville
Rating – 5
You’re not going into this movie expecting anything but stupidity, but you
know that stupidity is going to make you laugh. How do you say no to that? They
bring most of the crew back, but they did bring in some younger folks. Is it
because the old guys can’t take the same punishment or they hope to continue
the tradition with younger idiots? I frankly didn’t care for the new “talent”.
They just weren’t the same as the original crew. But the movie did still make
me laugh out loud. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Most
of the crew is back and not aging well, but they are still willing to do stupid
and painful stuff to make money and laughs in true Jackass style.
Spiderman: No Way Home (seen on December 27, 2021)
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya
Rating – 8
I wouldn’t say this movie is as epic as the hype makes it out to be, but it
was definitely a fun movie to watch. I don’t want to give away more than what’s
in the trailers, but the movie does make some throw backs to previous
Spiderman’s and that’s a nice trip down memory lane. The question I want to
know is which direction Sony is going in. Are they staying with Marvel or
breaking free and doing their own thing. I guess the next movie will tell. Good
on the studio though because it does make me anxious to see the next one.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Peter
Parker (Holland) has been revealed to the public as Spiderman. In order to help
his life return to normal, he seeks help from Dr. Strange who performs a spell
to make everyone forget. Unfortunately the spell doesn’t go as planned and it
opens up their world to the multiverse and some unwanted visitors arrive.
Free Guy (seen on September 3, 2021)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Rating – 7
You could say this movie is a remake/retelling of a cross between The Truman
Show and The Matrix, but it's still worth the watch. Ryan Reynolds movies are
usually fun to watch and this one is loaded with hidden Easter Eggs and cameos.
I found it an enjoyable movie to watch during a pandemic; I can just veg out
and watch without having to think too much. That's my quick review; what's next?
Guy (Reynolds) is a non playable character (NPC) in a Fortnite like game but
he is unaware of his status. He's just a character that wants to find love and
then meets this mysterious girl who doesn't play by the rules and his whole
world changes. In the real world, there's a fight growing over the creators of
the game and the greedy owner on what to do with Guy.
Black Widow (seen on July 10, 2021)
Starring - Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Hrbour, Rachel Weisz,
Ray Wnstone
Rating – 6
This movie is a flashback and it's a little disappointing. It's supposed to be a standalone movie and it is, but why do it at this point. The character's story arc (SPOILER ALERT) came to an end in Avengers: Endgame. All other Marvel movies help to propel the overall story; this felt like an "oops we should have done this earlier". The movie was ok. The laughs came mostly at the expense of stereotypes of Russians. The movie was fine, but felt like a cash grab. Not sure if that's the future of Marvel moving forward. That's my quick review; what's next?
Natasha (Johansson) is on the run after the "Civil War", but she can't outrun her past. She realizes that she needs to face her history and that means reuniting with her difficult "family" to take on a common enemy that ripped them apart.
Nobody (seen on May 15, 2021)
Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd
Rating – 6
This is my first movie review in fifteen months (stupid Covid). We decided
to go see Nobody. Bob Odenkirk doesn’t seem like a badass in real life but
let’s see how it goes. Going into it,
I’m thinking this is going to be a Taken rip off. It kind of is in a
way, but at least the bad guys seem to fight back. Odenkirk does take a beating
in this movie in his fights. The plot for this movie is very weak and this is
one of those films you could turn upside down and say that Odenkirk is really
the bad guy, but it was a fun beat ‘em/shoot ‘em up movie. I can’t think of a
movie where Christopher Lloyd starred in an action flick so that was fun. This
is definitely not a movie you have to think through. Good one to just veg out
and eat popcorn and after being shut in for a year, I’ll take it. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Hutch
(Odenkirk) is your average person living in the suburbs, going to work, and
taking care of his family. The repetitiveness of it is becoming mundane and on
one night, his house is broken into and his past starts to tinker in his brain.
He decides to intervene one night on a bus to protect a women from being
harassed but the men have ties to a crazy Russian mobster. Now he has the
Russian mob after him and he’s not the type to run.
The Impractical Jokers Movie (seen February 28th
2020)
Starring: The Jokers
Rating – 3
I thought going into the movie, it was going to be some reference to their
past that caused them to travel and end up being a long traveling episode. Part
of that was true, but they ruined it by actually writing a plot and trying to
act. The plot was absolutely horrible and so was their acting. It was cheesy
and not in a funny cute way; just painful at times. These guys are hilarious at
their improv and those scenes in the movie were fantastic, but every thing in
between just made you want to fast forward. I’ll stick with the TV show. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
When
the Jokers were younger, they crashed a Paula Abdul concert and were thrown
out. Years later, they find out Paula Abdul is a fan and invites them to a
special party in Florida. The guys travel from New York to Florida and along
the way they participate in challenges and the loser will miss the Paula Abdul
party.
Jumanji: The Next Level (seen on December 28, 2019)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan
Rating – 7
Here comes another installment from the Jumanji series and it's enjoyable,
but not great. First, you must get over the fact that despite almost dying from
the game in the first movie, the players did not bury it in concrete, but
simply smashed it leaving the cartridge intact. It uses a lot of the original
laughs from the first movie but adds a twists by using new people in the
avatars. Nice idea, but really seeing Johnson and Hart act like two old dudes
may be funny at first, but after a while gets very tiresome. It made me long
for the first movie with the original players in the avatars. Still, I'm glad I
went and saw it because I did enjoy the laughs and I look forward to the next
one. There is a throwback reference again to the original Robin Williams movie.
I wonder if the next installment will address it? That's my quick review;
what's next?
After surviving the first level of Jumanji, the friends smashed the console
and stayed in touch as they left for college, but after a disappointing year,
Spencer rebuilds the console and enters Jumanji again. His friends return to
the game to rescue him, but find out that this is a whole new level of danger
in Jumanji and new rules apply.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (seen on December 22, 2019)
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver
Rating – 6
Here it is after 42 years, the finale to Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The
movie had a tall task to fix everything from Episode VIII and then wrap up the
whole 9 movie story arc. It's a shame I didn't get enough satisfaction from the
ending as I did the Avengers. The movie was constantly jumping from one scene
to another and racing to get everything in in 2.5 hours. The jokes felt forced
as well as the nostalgia, but you still need to see it. I guess I'll always
wonder what George Lucas had planned for the last three films if he had done
them himself. That's the sad thing; it was his vision that brought us Star Wars
and even though he's not the best writer/director, he was a good and original
storyteller and I'll always wonder where his story would have end. A closure
that I'll never receive despite what this movie tried to do. That's my quick
review; what's next?
It is quickly revealed that Emperor Palpatine has been pulling the strings
for the First Order this whole time. Rey is continuing her quest to be a Jedi
Knight and soon has to team up with her Resistance friends to join the battle
and stop the rise of the Sith. Kylo Ren has his agenda of trying to recruit Rey
to the dark side. Will Rey become a Jedi Knight or fall in line with the Dark
Side?
Ford v Ferrari (seen on November 23, 2019)
Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale
Rating:
8
A refreshing new tale from Hollywood and it's an enjoyable one. The movie is
based on the true story of how Henry Ford II wanted to beat Enzo Ferrari in the
LeMans 24. It's not a deep story, but it's an entertaining one. Mixed with
fights, laughs, troubles, and racing, the time flies by in the movie. I would
describe it as just simply a fun enjoyable movie to watch where you really
don't have to think about things. That's my quick review; what's next?
Ford Motor Company makes a bid to buy Ferrari, but finds out quickly they were
just being used as leverage to up the bid from Fiat. Not will to let this go,
Henry Ford II decides he wants to beat Enzo Ferrari at LeMans 24. He employs
Carroll Shelby (Damon) to lead the design of the racecar, but trouble brews
when he selects his friend and unstable driver Ken Miles (Bale) to drive his
design in the race representing Ford.
Zombieland 2: Double Tap (October 13, 2019)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone
Rating – 4
After 10 years, the sequel to Zombieland comes out and it's a
disappointment. Most of the jokes mirror the first one and all the characters
act the exact same after 10 years. No growth or anything. Trying to continue
the story line in a way they did is one thing, but changing the zombies into
becoming stronger zombies...weak writing. This just felt like a money grab for
the cast who seemed to be mailing in their performances as well. Watch on the
plane or at home on a rainy day, but you don't need to see it. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Fast forward the story 10 years, the gang of four still live together but
have upgraded their living to the White House. And following the parallelism of
the first movie, the girls suddenly decide to leave but run into trouble and
need help from the guys. The only thing, some of the zombies have morphed into
a stronger, much more difficult zombie to bring day. Will the group find
themselves on the road?
It: Chapter Two (seen on September 20,2019)
Starring: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader
Rating – 7
Here’s the second installment of Pennywise. It doesn’t have all the scares
that the first one did, but it does have a fair amount and like the first one,
it’s good to watch/hear the audiences’ reactions. Unfortunately, like most
Stephen King stories, the ending is bad but similar to the book/first movie.
The movie does an excellent job of trying to find grown up actors that look
like the kids. This won’t win any awards or impress you more than the first
one, but it’s a decent finale for the story. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
After 27 years, It comes back and terrorizes Derry. The Losers club needs to
return and ultimately defeat Pennywise and save future generations. But
Pennywise is hoping the Losers returns so he can finish them off after 27 years.
Apollo 11 (seen on July 20, 2019)
Starring: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
Rating – 9
If you like documentaries, I think you’ll like this one. It’s the closest I can get to
experiencing the watching of the moon landing live. At least I got to watch it
on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with surround sound. It
is quite impressive what mankind is able to accomplish when we shoot for the
stars. If you like space, go watch this. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie is a documentary telling the story of the moon landing. There are
no voice overs or narration. Just actual footage from back then with either
NASA people talking or news people.
Spiderman: Far From Home (seen on July 14, 2019)
Starring: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal
Rating – 7
The Avengers has wrapped up and allegedly this is the finale of Phase 3
(whatever that means). I’ll just say it’s another Spiderman movie so if you’re
interested in another superhero movie, this is fun to watch. I actually liked
the CGI from this one; it didn’t seem like too much. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Spiderman (Holland) is taking a break with his friends and going on a school
trip to escape the haunting memory of losing Tony Start. While on his trip, the world needs his help.
He is partnered with a new superhero Mysterio (Gyllenhaal). Can Mysterio and
Spiderman combat these Elements and their plan to destroy the Earth?
John Wick Chapter 3 (seen
on May 30, 2019)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne
Rating – 6
I would say if you enjoyed Chapter 2, then you'll enjoy Chapter 3. It's simply
a continuation of the story with much of the same type of action. I don't
expect any awards will come from this movie, but it delivered in what you
expected it to be, a simple shoot-up/fight movie where you mind can just zone
out. That's my quick review; what's next?
John Wick (Reeves) has been excommunicated from The Establishment with a
bounty on his head. He has been given a one hour head start with hundreds
of assassins looking for him. How will he survive with no friends and no place
to hide?
Long Shot (seen on May 11,
2019)
Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen
Rating – 7
I didn’t think Hollywood made funny RomCom’s anymore, but here’s another one
from Seth Rogen. It does remind you a little of “Knocked Up” with Seth playing
a bit of a loser and going after someone out of his league. It got a little
political at times, but it was entertaining enough to ignore that (pretty tough
to watch anything from Hollywood without some political agenda nowadays).
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Fred (Rogen) is a writer for a political online column, but quits once the
site is purchased by his nemesis. While his buddy is trying to cheer him up at
a party, he recognizes his old babysitter who is currently the Secretary of
State (Theron). Soon they reunite as she needs a speechwriter for her
presidential campaign run.
The Avengers: End Game
(seen on April 28, 2019)
Starring: A lot of people
Rating – 9
Well done Marvel. After producing 22 movies leading up to this finally, you
managed to wrap most things up in a bow and keep the fans satisfied. The movie
was three hours long, but it didn’t feel like it. There are always things to
criticize in any movie, but I think I’ll just say that this movie was worth
watching. It held up to the hype of 12 years in the making. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
The remaining Avengers are still hunting Thanos in hopes of stealing the
gauntlet back and reversing Thanos’ snap. Will they be able to rescue their
friends or will Thanos inevitably win?
Creed 2 (seen on Dec. 4, 2018)
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone
Rating – 6
I wish there was more story to this movie. It’s very similar to Rocky IV,
which was awesome, but I felt like that had more story. It just felt like it
was riding on history to push the movie through. Movie did move at a good pace,
but I just felt like more could have been done. Still, it’s a “Rocky” movie so
I had to see it; I just didn’t feel inspired as it felt more like a remake than
a continuation of the story. Frankly, it felt like shared screen credit between
Jordan and Stallone. Jordan should have been the star with Stallone as
supporting per Creed I. It was a decent watch, but not sure if it was
worth my time in the theater. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Adonis (Jordan) wins the heavyweight championship of the world and must
defend his title against up and coming challengers. Soon an unknown challenger
from the Ukraine calls out Creed. Rocky (Stallone) finds out that it’s Ivan
Drago’s son and fears Creed might not be able to defeat him. Does Creed have it
in him to defeat Drago’s son?
BlackKKlansman (seen on
September 21, 2018)
Starring: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace
Rating – 8
Spike Lee delivers another great piece of art. Based on a true story, Lee is
able to relate a true story from the 70’s and point out parallels to modern day
atrocities still going on. Unfortunately, the movie points out some dark
moments in our countries past and it’s sad that to some extent, it still exists
today. Watch the movie and be amazed at this true story and maybe you’ll
appreciate the message. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Ron
Stallworth (Washington) is a young black police officer working in Colorado and
successfully becomes a member of the Klan. He of course needs help from his
white police officers to pull off this undercover sting operation. Will the
klan learn his true identity?
The Incredibles 2 (seen on
August 4, 2018)
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson
Rating – 8
After 14 years, here's comes the second installment and the movie starts
right at the end of the last one. It probably wasn't easy to write a story that
holds up well with the first one, but I think they did an excellent job with
this sequel. It's definitely worth a watch. It parallels the first one to some
extent; the Incredibles have to cope with normal society and moonlight as a
superhero to gain the public's trust again while the public is unaware of who
the villain is behind it all. That's my quick review; what's next?
The Incredibles battle the UnderMiner and while stopping him, the public
only notices the destruction. Soon a rich multi-media businessman approaches
them to suggest a way to build up their image again. It starts with some normal
run-of-the-mill crime stopping, but eventually it leads to an evil villain
behind some of the mischief.
Ant-Man and the Wasp (seen
on July 8, 2018)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Rating – 6
I just can’t get into the Ant-Man story. To me, it doesn’t offer any value
to the overall Marvel story. I believe he will play a key role in bringing the
Avengers back. I wish they had some other way and they could just drop this
Ant-Man storyline. This whole movie was about finding dear old mom. That’s
basically it in a nutshell. It probably doesn’t help the review that I don’t
care for Paul Rudd in general, but it just felt like this movie was a waste of
time except for a little morsel of knowledge dropped that will probably be how
the Avengers return. Sorry, I’m not going to spoil it. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Scott
Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man (Rudd) is under house arrest after his latest scuffle with
Captain America and their crew. Just as his sentence is about to be completed,
he is approached by Hope van Dyne (Lilly) and her father for a special mission
to rescue their mom, but it’s not as straightforward as it may seem as there
are other players in the game.
Deadpool 2 (seen on May
25, 2018)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin
Rating – 8
I may be grading this one on a curve. If this wasn’t a sequel, it deserves
this 8. As a sequel, it’s probably more a 7. It’s a fun, entertaining movie,
but it’s not as refreshing since it’s a sequel. Also, this seemed more on the
lines of a normal superhero movie as there were more action scenes, but the
laughs were still there. The new characters were a nice touch and there were a
surprising few cameos in it. I think it is worth watching in the theater if you
liked the first one. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Deadpool
(Reynolds) returns after a tragedy hoping to join the X-men and become a hero
who doesn’t kill. Soon he crosses paths with a time traveling mutant, Cable
(Brolin), hell-bent on stopping a teenager before he destroys his future.
Deadpool creates a team of mutants to stop Cable and save the teenager.
Avengers: Infinity War
(seen on April 29, 2018)
Starring: Lots of Famous People
Rating – 6
Here it is. The movie "ten years in the making" as they say. Going
into it, I was worried this would be similar to X-Men 3 where there is just too
many characters and zero plot. To some extent, that is true. There are too many
characters and not all of them get much screen time, but at least the story of
Thanos is somewhat explored and it is explained why he is the way he is. I know
there's a part II coming, but I'm not really sure what's going to happen. I
don't get why everyone was worried about spoilers. There is no big reveal that
Thanos is the real father of Ironman. The movie feels a bit incomplete as
there's no overall story to it. I have to wait another year to get conclusion
of the Marvel Universe and I would imagine multiple movies in between to continue
the story. It's a decent watch. I would say it's on par with most of the Marvel
movies so if you like all these movies, go see this one. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Thanos
has captured Thor's ship and slaughtered most of the passengers on board; he is
looking for the Infinity Stone on the ship. Word reaches Earth that Thanos'
henchman are hunting down the two stones located here. Thanos will stop at
nothing to collect all six infinity stones in order to eliminate 50% of the
universe's population with the snap of his finger. The Avengers are
disassembled, but can they reunite in time to stop the Mad Titan?
A Quiet Place (seen on April 20, 2018)
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt
Rating – 6
Not sure what I’m missing here. The movie was tense and suspenseful, but there was zero plot or story developed. And maybe not knowing, makes it more tense; I just think it was lacking. It reminded me of Cloverfield and then I found out it was originally part of that universe and I really disliked Cloverfield. When you watch this movie, you hope that people aren’t eating popcorn or opening hard candy. The movie is much better to watch in silence to immerse oneself in the movie. With any “horror” flick, there seem to be simple solutions to their predicament, but then that wouldn’t be so suspenseful. It was an ok movie to watch, but don’t expect any real story. At least the dialogue was easy for the actors to memorize. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Sometime
in the future, aliens have invaded earth and are hunting humans. They are
blind, but have an unbelievable sense of hearing and they’re fast. Humans
survive by making no noise at all.
Black Panther (seen on
February 24, 2018)
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan,
Rating – 8
Not knowing much of the backstory behind the
character, I went in with an open mind and I was pleasantly surprised. It's
nice to see a superhero movie that actually has a story to it instead of just
action. The movie successfully gives you background information and tells a
plot line. It does assume that you watched Captain America: Civil War as the
movie picks up right after that timeframe. Lots of CGI in the movie so
sometimes the fight scenes are a little too much, but then there's some
old-school hand-to-hand combat fight scenes that are enjoyable. I don't expect
it to win any awards, but it is definitely worth a watch if you like superhero
movies. That's my quick review; what's next?
The Black Panther is the protector of a small hidden
African nation known as Wakanda. As part of their tradition, royal tribe
members have the right to challenge the king for the throne. T'Challa (Boseman)
has successfully defended the position since the passing of his father, but an
unknown outsider dares to challenge for the throne.
Maze Runner: The
Death Cure (seen on February 25, 2018)
Starring: Dylan O'Brien
Rating - 5
Here's the finale of the Maze Runner Trilogy. I don't
anyone else who has watched any of these. I liked the first one and I was
intrigued to see where the story was going. Part II was a big disappointment,
but I wanted to finish off the trilogy to see if it ended well or crashed and
burned horribly like Hunger Games and Divergent. I'll say I'm glad I saw the
finale, but not sure if I can really recommend it. It is nice to get closure
that the story ended and it wasn't a terrible ending, just seemed simpler than
expected. If you've seen the first two, watch this one. If you haven't, part
two was not worth watching so I'd pass on this then, but maybe you have some
time on an airplane flying overseas. That's my quick review; what's next?
Thomas
(O'Brien) and his crew are trying to rescue their capture members from WCKD.
WCKD is still experimenting with these young adults in order to find a cure for
the disease known as the "flare". Can Thomas save his friends before
the experiments kill them?
All the Money in the World
(seen on February 3, 2018)
Starring: Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Plummer
Rating - 7
A movie based on true events always makes me wonder how accurate it is.
Based on Wikipedia, it was similar. I didn't live the 70's so I didn't know the
whole story, but the movie was effective in pulling the audience into the
scenes. You got the feeling that J. Paul Getty was truly a shrewd businessman.
Michelle Williams accent may have been authentic, but it was more
cringe-worthy. Not sure where that accent is supposed to be from, but I never
want to visit there. Bringing in Christopher Plummer to replace Kevin Spacey
worked well. Plummer played the money-loving oil man well. I do wonder how
Kevin Spacey was in the role, but we'll never know. The story didn't have any subplots. It was
pretty straight-forward story, but I found it enjoyable. That's my quick
review; what's next?
When
J. Paul Getty's (Plummer) grandson is kidnapped for ransom, his family looks to
him for money, but he refuses. Instead he sends his right-hand man Fletcher
Chase (Wahlberg) to assist his mother (Williams) to negotiate a lower price
that is more reasonable. At what point does the first billionaire ever give in,
if he does at all.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
(seen on December 26, 2017)
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam
Driver, Oscar Isaac
Rating – 5
I had to see it in the theaters and I know I will go see Episode IX in the
theaters too because you just have to, but this was a disappointment. There's
no real story to the movie. I know it's part of a saga, but each individual
movie told a story. This story was pretty basic, like a snapshot in time with
no real ending. Of course I can go all Star Wars fan-boy and argue that this
version of Luke is nothing like his previous character and clearly his
character (like the entire movie) is used to expand the Star Wars universe
beyond the Skywalker Saga so that Disney can cash in. I'm ok with Disney making
other Star Wars movies in the universe as their already exists several books
and videogames that do exactly that, but I just believe this should be a Skywalker
Saga like George Lucas intended except with well written dialogue. That's my
quick review; what's next?
Rey
(Ridley) seeks guidance from the great Luke Skywalker (Hamill) on the ways of
the Jedi, but Luke is not interested in training more Jedi after his failures
with Kylo Ren (Driver) and the destruction of his Jedi Temple. Meanwhile,
General Leia (Fisher) and the resistance are trying to outrun and survive an
attack by the First Order.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (seen on December 2,
2017)
Starring: Francis McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson
Rating – 4
Shame this movie wasn’t better. I blame a poor script. The acting was really
good, but the script was awful. The movie is about one thing and that
storyline really goes nowhere. There are allusions to several things in the
past that never come up. It’s just confusing. There was no reason to make this
movie, as there’s no middle or ending. It just feels like a real long beginning
to a movie. Maybe it’s my fault. I should have looked at who the writer was. To
me, Martin McDonagh is known for poor movies that have no real story. I see a
pattern here. I’ll avoid at all costs in the future. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Months
after her daughter is married, Mildred (McDormand) decides to advertise on
three billboards to call out the local authorities lack of results. The
billboards cause a division across the local police and the whole town. Will
the billboards get a result or just cause more trouble for Mildred?
BladeRunner 2049 (seen on
November 14, 2017)
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford
Rating – 8
I am going to start with the disclaimer...do not go see this movie unless
you liked the first one. The whole feel is similar to the first one, not to
mention I think you would be totally lost on the plot. I enjoyed it because it
was more of a continuation of the story. The drawback is that I like how the
first one left things a bit ambiguously and I question whether more of the
story was needed to be developed. Answer: probably not, but that doesn't take
away from the fact that the movie is an enjoyable one. The sound and cinematic
landscapes are part of what makes the movie. It's nice how things are still
kept as a future as seen from the original 1982 version. Where there are
sponsors of companies that existed in the 80's but are no longer relevant or even
exist. The hardcore fans will definitely love this; the new fans, not so much.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Initially, Blade Runners were sent to "retire" rouge replicants,
but nowadays the replicants have been perfected so only the older models are
still being hunted. While on a mission, agent K unearths a burial box of bones
that will revolutionize the way humans and replicants are seen together.
Thor Ragnarok (seen on
November 7, 2017)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett,
Idris Elba, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins, Jeff Goldblum
Rating – 7
The reviews are saying best Marvel movie ever; I can't agree. Sure, the
movie is entertaining with a lot more laughs, but the plot is not a
comprehensible one. A new threat to Asgaard, Thor must save the lives of
Asgaard with a team. It's nothing new in the superhero movie genre. There's
still an outrageous amount of CGI and some of the fight scenes is too much CGI
and hard to follow. You just have to wait until the end to see the bodies on
the ground. I guess after seventeen movies, I hope this is finally coming to
some kind of story conclusion before I'm burned out. That's my quick review;
what's next?
Thor
(Hemsworth) returns to Asgaard to find that his father is no longer in charge
and his brother Loki (Hiddleston) has been ruling in his place as Odin
(Hopkins). Soon they hear of a new threat returning to destroy Asgaard, their
sister Hela (Blanchett). Unfortunately, Thor cannot defeat his sister alone and
needs to build a new team.
It (seen on October 4, 2017)
Starring: Bill Skarsgard
Rating – 8
It definitely surprised me. The plot isn't the most fully developed one, but
I found the movie entertaining and fun. Evil creature wants to frighten
children and eat them. That's basically the plot. Good vs. evil. Watching the
movie with friends and people around you in the theater is entertaining to
watch everyone jump and scream. Most of the movie is a scare factor so expect
to jump, but you don't know how it will happen. Maybe it's nostalgia from
watching original 27 years ago, but I was entertained at being frightened. I
will be anxious to watch the conclusion in Chapter II. That's my quick review;
what's next?
The
town of Derry, Maine is a simple quiet life. No one seems to notice the spike
in children disappearances every 27 years. A group of friends are becoming
aware that there is a force in the town that is after them. Will they be able
to stop It before he picks them off one by one?
The Big Sick (seen on July
22, 2017)
Starring: Kumail Nanijani, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Rating – 8
A romantic comedy based on a true story; I wonder how much was true. It's a
different type of romantic comedy, but an enjoyable one. When a big portion of
the movie involves a hospital, you might find it odd to be laughing, but there
are some scattered throughout. Kumail relies heavily on making fun of his
former culture and how it meshes with the US culture. A bit funny to see Ray
Romano in a somewhat serious light, but he plays a good role as the father.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Kumail
is a Pakistani comedian in the city of Chicago where he meets an American woman
that he begins to date. Of course, his family believes he should only marry a
Pakistani woman. When his girl Emily gets sick, will he stay by her side or
give in to his parents’ wishes.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (seen on July 19, 2016)
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau
Rating – 6
The movie in general was alright, but it bothered me how it seemed to try to
be too cute and steal other movie ideas. There's clearly a seen that's
mimicking "Ferris Buehler" and in case you didn't pick up on the
reference, there's a cut to a TV that shows the very seen from "Ferris
Buehler" that they copied. There are also other John Hughes references to
give it that 80's feel. Feels like that sentiment is stolen from Guardians of
the Galaxy with their 70's reference. I know Spiderman makes jokes, but this
seemed too reminiscent of "Deadpool". Just seemed like too many
borrowed ideas trying to make it hidden with Easter eggs. The movie does well
to show the connection from the Avengers to the present day and even how an
average man can turn into a villain besides the use of some kind of radiation.
Clearly, they have a plan to continue this money-making Marvel adventure. What
did make me happy was the lack of intro to how Spiderman became Spiderman; just
get on with the story. The audience should know that by now with five previous
Spiderman movies in the past ~15 years. At the end, it is still a comic book
movie so don't expect deep plots and story development, but it's an
entertaining movie with laughs. That's my quick review; what's next?
Peter Parker (Holland) returns to New York after helping out Iron Man (Downey Jr.) and his battle versus Captain America, but life as a high school teenager is not enough for Peter. He's anxiously awaiting another mission at a chance to join the Avengers. While roaming the city looking for crooks to stop, he comes across a group of criminals that have more fire power than the average criminal. This leads to a larger group of weapon manufacturers and the Vulture (Keaton).
Baby Driver (seen July 7,
2017)
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx
Rating – 8
Don't go into this thinking it's
going to be an Oscar winner, but if you go in thinking you just want to be
entertained, then this is your movie. It's simple, it's action packed and it's
just fun. For those of you that have seen Drive, you'll notice a
parallel to them except this one just seems more upbeat. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
A crime boss (Spacey) is a mastermind at planning
bank heists. He uses a different crew every time except for his young
specialist driver known as Baby (Elgort). When Baby meets a new girl, he tries
to get out of the game, but the jobs get tougher and don't go according to
plan.
Wonder Woman (seen on June
6, 2017)
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine
Rating – 5
The movie that was said to have saved the DC movie experience, but I cannot
agree. I don't know what movie the early critics watched, but this movie was
cheesy. It seems they basically tried to copy Captain America: The First
Avenger except this felt too hokey. The beginning of the movie was a bit slow,
then things felt rushed and then it just goes downhill in the final third. The
CGI is too much and too quick you can't see what's happening. I would like to
comment on the villain of the movie, but tough without giving away spoilers.
Let's just say, predictable and lame. Another thing that bother was the gas the
Germans were creating for WWI. Hello, you already have mustard gas. Why would
you create a new gas to poison people? And not to mention, the writers clearly
don't know much about chemistry. The new gas substitutes sulfur with
hydrogen...really? So ridiculously inaccurate. At this point, any movie that
has Zac Snyder's name tied to it in any way is probably going to be bad writing
and filled with overexuberant CGI that it's hard to follow. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Princess
Diana (Gadot) has lived her whole life on a protected island training to
someday battle Ares. When her protected world is breached by a lone pilot
(Pine) being chased by Germans, Diana realizes that the world is at war and it
is her duty to stop Ares and bring the world back to peace. She soon finds out
that life in the real world is different than what she thought.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol: 2 (seen on May 16, 2017)
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Kurt Russell
Rating – 7
Here comes volume two of the surprise hit Guardians of the Galaxy and like
much sequels, it follows the same pattern. That’s both good and bad. You
enjoyed the first one, but you felt like it was pretty much the same. Volume 2
didn’t add too much to the storyline. It just introduced one of the most
weirdest characters in the Marvel Universe, Ego the living planet. The movie
was more about developing each character rather than pushing the overall story
forward, but with the laughs, it was still enjoyable. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
The
Guardians are out saving different cultures as part of their “guardian” duties
but of course for a fee. Out is space, the guardians meet a man named Ego, who
claims to be Peter Quill’s dad. Although he seems like a good guy, there’s
something off about him and his homeland.
The Belko Experiment (seen
on March 20, 2017)
Starring:
Rating – 7
This movie isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for a kill fest type
movie, then I think you’ll enjoy this one. The story is written somewhat simply
with a decent, not thorough, explanation of what is going on, but that’s not
what you’re in this movie to see. You’re watching the movie to watch coworkers
kill other coworkers with office equipment. That makes you a little demented.
What’s even worse, at the end of it all, you found yourself laughing at a
couple of scenes and you enjoyed the movie for its simplistic originality. This
is definitely not a movie that will put you to bed anytime soon after watching
it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
It
seems like a normal day at work at Belko until an announcement over the PA
system instructs the people in the building to kill two of their coworkers. The
employees think it is all a hoax, until four of their coworkers are killed. And
then more haunting instructions come. Who will survive?
Logan (seen on March 8,
2017)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart
Rating – 8
There was much hype around this movie. That yes, it involved superheroes,
but this was supposed to be a departure from the rest. I think the movie
succeeded in that…for a comic book. There is a plot to this story; it’s just
not deeply developed plot. There are still are a lot of questions throughout
the movie because how the mutant world got to this point is a bit hazy. I don’t
want to give anything away, but the future is not the X-Men had envisioned.
Maybe I gave this a slightly higher rating as this is the last superhero roles
for Jackman and Stewart, but I did find the movie entertaining throughout. The
time seemed to fly and that ultimately is a sign of an enjoyable movie. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
In
the future, Logan (Jackman) is working odd jobs in Mexico to keep a low profile
while taking care of an ailing Professor X (Stewart), but a man with that anger
cannot stay off the radar forever. Soon he finds a military squad after him as
he helps a young mutant escape.
Hidden Figures (seen on February 11, 2017)
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner
Rating – 8
This movie was very well written. It touches on some very important societal
issues with still creating a family friendly movie-watching experience. I
didn't think it was worth award nomination, but then most movies this past year
weren't. The story is based on the engineers that helped the NASA space
program, but the movie only represents that on a high-level and it focuses on
more the separation of races. The love storyline is a bit weak and more of a
filler. That's my quick review; what's next?
NASA
may employ people of all races, but clearly not all classes are equal in the
1960s. In order to help get the Americans beat the Russians in the space race,
racial barriers will need to be eliminated. The story tells of an African
American team of women mathematicians that help NASA beat the Russians into
space.
The Founder (seen on January 21, 2017)
Starring: Michael Keaton
Rating - 8
An entertaining story for those who don't know the history of how McDonalds
came to be and the shrewd businessman who put them at the top of the Fast Food
chain. The story is entertaining and flows well even though the subplots are a
bit weak. Keaton delivers a solid performance as Ray Kroc, but not award
winning. There's just not a lot of depth to the characters, which are based on
real people. I must say, at the end of it I was thinking about buying a
McDonald's burger and fries. That's my quick review; what's next?
Ray
Kroc (Keaton) is a mildly successful salesman, but aspires for more. During one
of his sales, he stumbles across a small burger joint in California called
McDonald's. Upon meeting the owner brothers, he enters a business deal with
them to franchise the restaurant across the US. Soon Kroc and the brothers
don't see eye to eye on how the business should run.
Rogue One (seen on December 21, 2016)
Starring: Felicity Jones
Rating – 6
I like the idea of expanding the stars wars universe to tell what else
happens besides the main nine episodes, but this movie is a little
disappointing. For starters, it's a little slow and then the end seems almost
all action. It feels like there's too many different worlds the movie jumps to
because they are trying to set up the story, but it just doesn't seem to work.
The idea to bring back old references to other movies works, but it's too much
at times. The new droid in the movie adds the comic relief, but it was a little
too often. Some characters in the story really different offer much value to
drive the story forward. It might have been better to develop more characters
of the smaller group especially if this is a standalone movie. If you're feeling
Star Wars nostalgic, go see this movie, but don't expect a fully developed
story to keep you enthralled. It felt like a long 2.25 hour movie. That's my
quick review; what's next?
The
premise of the movie is basically the opening credits to Star Wars: A New Hope.
The rebel alliance learns of a new weapon that the Empire has built and must
find the plans to destroy it.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (seen on November 30,
2016)
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Colin Farrell
Rating – 6
JK Rowling extends the story line of her wizarding world. At first I liked
the idea, but as I watch the movie, it doesn’t seem as special. The first
movies were unique and awed the audience with originality, but this almost
seems like a money grab. Like she’s just extending the story, but it’s not
really needed. Maybe it gets better throughout the five movies and this one is
only a setup much like her original books, but I’m evaluating it as a
standalone movie. The story seems simple so far, but it’s entertaining. If you
like Harry Potter, I do think you’ll enjoy this as it does bring the wizarding
world to the US, but to me it has lost its charm a little as after seeing seven
movies, that’s enough of that story. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Newt
(Redmayne) visits New York where there is a rift between the wizarding world
and the muggles. There is a destructive monster on the loose in the city. Newt
is smuggling a case of fantastic beasts and is arrested by the local wizard
authority because they believe his creatures are what is causing the
destruction in New York, but there is another sinister force out there.
Doctor Strange (seen on
November 26, 2016)
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel
Ejiofor
Rating – 7
And here comes a review of another comic book movie. Yes, it is a comic book
movie and it is a bit tiresome seeing these as the only movies out, but at
least this is different. The movie battles more on the supernatural realm. A
bit of the “Matrix” feel is felt throughout the movie, which isn’t a good
thing. Adding CGI everywhere makes it difficult to follow some scenes and more
of a distraction from plot holes. Still, it does bring a different side of the
comic books to the screens and that’s enjoyable. I wouldn’t rush out to see it,
but it’s an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Doctor
Strange (Cumberbatch) is brilliant surgeon, but injures his hands in a car
crash. In search of a solution to his injury he journeys to Asia where he meets
the Ancient One (Swinton). She teaches him the world of the mystic arts and
must fight the evils of the otherworld to protect Earth.
Hell or High Water (seen
on August 21, 2016)
Starring: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges
Rating – 7
A simple story, but the movie is worth a watch. Of course, maybe that's
because there hasn't been anything remotely worth watching this year. The
brothers and the bank robbery scenes are the entertaining to watch. He may have
some of the best laughs, but Jeff Bridges character as the curmudgeon old-timer
is a bit painful to watch as he has played that character in the past 4 movies
or so. It's also a bit surprising, rather unrealistic, on how quickly Jeff
Bridges pieces together what the brothers are doing, but I guess that's done to
drive the plot to a climax. Great shots of "Texas" in a movie that
allows some of the scenery to be a part of the story. A few plot lines you have
to accept, but this is not a bad summer movie. That's my quick review; what's
next?
Two brothers set out to rob banks in a race to reach a monetary goal before
the end of the week. A Texas ranger nearing retirement and his partner are
chasing the two brothers across rural Texas. Will the brothers escape or will
the rangers catch them in time?
The Secret Life of Pets
(seen on July 19, 2016)
Starring: Louis CK, Kevin Hart
Rating – 3
This
was a disappointment. This is one of those typical movies where all the good
parts are shown in the previews. When you actually get to the story of the
movie, you realize there is no real story. The writers had a novel idea of
showing what pets do when their owners are gone, but they couldn't write an
entertaining story from that idea. It was only 1.5 hours, but it still felt
long as really nothing happened. Frankly I'm not too impressed with the
Illumination Animation projects. The graphics are fine, but their plots are
pretty weak. That's my quick review; what's next?
Max loves his owner and has a great life until his owner brings home a new dog
Duke. One day, Max and Duke have a fight and get lost in the city. They must
find their way home on the streets of New York dodging animal control and wild
packs of stray animals.
X-Men: Apocalypse (seen on May 29, 2016)
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac,
Nicholas Hoult
Rating – 7
I'll admit, I went into this movie with low expectations. I don't like
sequels and the reviews on this were comparing it to X3, which was terrible.
Despite what the critics say, there was plot to the movie; well, based on comic
book movie standards. There was a lot of new characters and they are clearly
trying to continue this franchise for a long time, but I still found this movie
enjoyable. The character Apocalypse is an interesting one in the comics and he
was a good villain in the movie. In general though, I am getting tired of these
comic book movies. I know Hollywood has an additional 5 year plan, but they
better speed that up as I don't expect audience will stay interested in these
movies that much longer. Comic book movie plots are too simple to continue to
hold audience attentions and CGI action gets tiresome rather quickly. I know
Jennifer Lawrence is an Oscar winner now, but her character really isn't that
interesting in the movies. Why the writers feel compelled to give her so much
screen time for a blah character is not helping the movie. That's my quick
review; what's next?
The
first mutant, Apocalypse, awakes from over a 2000 year slumber and is set on
leveling the Earth to return himself to godlike status. The X-Men must reunite
with the addition of new team members in order to stop him, if that's even
possible.
The Nice Guys (seen on May
23, 2016)
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling
Rating – 4
This was disappoint. I saw a buddy
"cop" comedy trailer that looked like it had some laughs, but it only
seemed funny in a short commercial. Shane Black known for "Lethal
Weapon", "The Last Boy Scout" and the unappreciated "Kiss
Kiss Bang Bang" relied too much on character interaction and instead of
developing a better storyline. This reminds me similar to "Ronin"
where you never find out what's in the case; what was the point of the movie.
It seemed like there was more of an underlying political message that they were
trying to get through and it was a rather weak one at that. Not sure why
Russell Crowe had to gain so much weight for this role. Ryan Gosling as the
hapless, clumsy detective isn't funny. His acting seemed a bit hammy and over
the top goof at times like it felt forced. Maybe watch it on a rainy day at
home, but don't waste your money at the cinemas. That's my quick review; what's
next?
March (Gosling) is a private investigator looking for an old lady's niece,
Amelia. Healy (Crowe) has been paid by Amelia to stop March's investigation,
but soon finds out there's more to this girl after his own place is trashed.
The two pair up and find there is a lot more sinister plot going on in LA in
the '70s. Everyone is looking for this girl and the two must find her before
she's murdered.
Captain America: Civil War
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson
Rating – 6
Like
most superhero movies, there's not much plot and just a lot of action. I like
the characters, but it's starting to get a little crowded on the screen now
with all the superheros in one movie. Yes, the Avengers movies crowd it up
because that's supposed to be the team, but there were more superheros in this
movie than in the Avengers movie. Frankly, the storyline of the Winter Soldier
is boring to me. It was entertaining, but soon just entertainment from these
comic stories won't be enough. More plot development is needed rather than just
cramming in more superheros into one movie. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
After a mission goes wrong in Wakanda killing innocent civilians, the UN is
looking to police the Avengers. Half of the team signs the agreement and the
other half does not. After the Winter Soldier is spotted during a terrorist
threat, Captain America (Evans) hurries to rescue his friend, but that puts him
at odds with his former teammates. Can Ironman (Downey) and his crew stop
Captain America from completing his covert mission?
Everybody Wants Some (seen
on April 15, 2016)
Starring: Blake Jenner
Rating – 4
Richard Linklater tries to bring back his magic of his Dazed and Confused
days in an updated 80’s version, but I think it falls flat. Some laughs, but
every time there’s a movie about the 80’s, it just seems over the top and
there’s no difference with this one. A movie that goes over the top, usually is
a movie that is covering for a weak plot. It had some laughs, some throwback
looks, but what was I really watching? I’d wait until it’s on TV. Most of the
movie was shot at Texas State University. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
college baseball team about to start the new semester tries to bond with new
teammates as they talk philosophy of life in the 80’s and how to pick up women.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (seen on March 25, 2016)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Jesse
Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne
Rating – 4
I will start off saying that Ben Affleck is a better Batman than George
Clooney, but no other Batman. (Batman ranking: Cartoon, Keaton, Bale, West,
Lego, Kilmer, Affleck, Clooney). Zac Snyder directed movies are mostly misses
and this one is no exception. Throughout the movie there are random dream
sequences that don’t make sense and clearly the editing of the movie went
differently than originally had expected because a few scenes seemed swapped in
timeline. Looks like the DC is just trying to film a filler to set up the
Justice League, but after such a poor performance in this movie, why would
anyone see another. The fight sequences with CGI seemed very slowly
choreographed and the others were like the Batman video game or just too much
CGI that you couldn’t see what was going on. Eisenberg seemed just crazy as Lex
Luther, but not really intimidating or showing a mastermind capabilities. Big
cast, big graphics, and the movie falls flat. I think my next Batman fix will
be the Lego one; won’t be Ben Affleck. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Apparently
during Superman’s battle against General Zod, he was unaware of the destruction
he was causing to the city including a building owned by Bruce Wayne (Affleck).
Wayne and a few others do not like how Superman plays by his own rules and
answers to no one. On the other hand, Superman doesn’t appreciate how Batman
doles out his own style of vigilante justice acting as judge, jury and
executioner. Something has to give between these two.
Deadpool (seen on February
19, 2016)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Rating – 8
Definitely a role built for Ryan Reynolds. This is the reason why people like him; it’s not his acting ability. It’s not as ground-breaking of a super-hero movie as they make it out to be, but I didn’t have many expectations for it and I found it enjoyable. Heavy violence successfully balanced with humor made for an interesting movie. The movie was written well to show flashbacks throughout the story line to show the origin of the movie and tell the story. Still, overall it is the storyline of a comic book so it’s not groundbreaking, but it’s entertaining. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Deadpool is a former special forces operative turned mercenary for hirer with a foul mouth. When desperate for a cure for his cancer, he undertakes an experiment that leaves him disfigured, but the mutant powers of self-healing. Now he just seeks revenge for his mistreatment.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (seen on December 20,
2015)
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford,
Rating – 8
Who is not going to watch Star Wars? I shall start to say that it’s
fortunate that George Lucas isn’t writing the dialogue in these. Plus, they
dropped the excessive amount of green screen and returned to live shots. I have
always heard a story of how episodes 7 – 9 would go and so far this is
following the story. You would not say this should win an Academy Award for
best picture, but it’s entertaining like the original ones. There are few
questionable things in the movie that I sure the Star Wars nerds are upset
about, but regardless of that, it’s an entertaining movie. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Years
after the Rebels defeat the Empire, a new threat surfaces. The First Order is
set on destroying the Resistance.
Creed (seen on December 6,
2015)
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone
Rating – 7
Who doesn’t want to see Rocky VII? I go into this movie expecting a retelling
of the story and that’s what I got. I know I always complain about sequels and
remakes, but Rocky gets a pass from (except for the fifth one). The story
follows a very similar pattern to the first one, but it’s just not as strong.
The acting was well done especially by Michael B. Jordan, but I just didn’t
believe the reason why he had such a chip on his shoulder. He was Apollo
Creed’s kid. I don’t buy that it’s that tough growing up a millionaire and
having to make a name for oneself. Still the story was good, just the
motivation behind the character. Interesting to see Sly being the old wise
trainer like Burgess Meredith was. If you like the Rocky franchise, go see it.
If you don’t, avoid it and just stick with the first one. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Adonis
Johnson (Jordan) grew up in foster care until the age of 10 not knowing who his
real father was until he is adopted by Apollo’s widow and raised under her
care. Adonis still has a chip on his shoulder from his foster care days and is
determined to be a boxer, but unable to find a trainer as he is a “spoiled”
kid. He moves to Philly to find Rocky and hope that his “uncle” will train him
into a champion.
Spectre (seen on November
14, 2015)
Rating – 6
Starring: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz
Spectre
is the last installment of the Daniel Craig Bond series and I’m ready for a
change. This whole four series movies have been sequels and the one thing that
has kept Bond watchable for 20+ movies is that the main character is similar,
yet they are all independent. It’s a Bond movie so you’ll end up watching it,
but it didn’t seem too James Bondesque. It felt like Craig was mailing the
performance in. I guess I was a bit disappointed. I hope the series goes in a
different direction. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
James
Bond (Craig) is on a mission to find the mastermind behind the attacks on MI-6
while M (Fiennes) battles political pressure to shut down the whole MI-6
program.
The Martian (seen on
October 2, 2015)
Rating – 9
Starring: Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Jessica
Chastein, Sean Bean
I have not read the book, but I hear it’s good and after watching the movie
I more compelled to read it. Interesting to watch a movie based on
science-fiction, but you get the feeling that it could actually happen. Most of
the movie seems plausible and you tend to root for him as if you are watching a
real person triumph over adversity. Damon excels as the central character,
although it seems some of the supporting cast is mailing it in; luckily the
movie is focused on Damon. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Astronaut
Mark Watney (Damon) is presumed dead and left on Mars by his crew. He must find
a way to survive on the Martian surface with limited resources until the next
mission to Mars, which as it is currently planned is four years away.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
(seen on September 18, 2015)
Starring:
Dylan O’Brien
Rating – 7
I was hoping for more plot development in this installment, but still not really sure what is going on in the world. The story is slowly developing; perhaps we’re kept in the dark to be like the kids or maybe it’s just weak writing? For the acting, the kid actors are performing well, but the adults seem to be stiff and almost mailing it in. The movie has a little bit of dialogue and then it’s go, go, go. It’s not going to win any awards, but I was still entertained; I’ll go see the final next year. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After surviving the Maze, the group finds themselves in a compound where
they think they are safe, but soon find out that it's another WCKD installment
and they flee. Wandering the scorched earth, they find more difficulties along
the road. Who can they trust?
The Man from U.N.C.L.E
(seen on September 11, 2015)
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer,
Hugh Grant
Rating – 7
This is a surprisingly entertaining movie. Full of playful banter and
back-and-forth digs between the two character, but a little too much on the cut
scene montage, which is typical of a Guy Ritchie movie. I’m sure they are
aiming for a trilogy of movies, but I don’t think I’ll be signing up for the
sequel. The first one brought back a different take on the spy genre and it was
a nice touch with a throwback to the cold war era espionage, just not sure how
refreshing the next one will be. This one is worth a watch though. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Napoleon
Solo (Cavill) is a spy for the US and must team up with his nemesis KGB agent
Illya (Hammer) in order to stop a criminal organization from selling nuclear
weapons on the black market. They recruit the help of an East German auto
mechanic who has a family connection to the criminal organization. With all
these different governments involved, the question is if there really is any
partnership at all.
Mad Max: Fury Road (seen on May 18, 2015)
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Rating – 7
If you’re looking for a movie with a highly developed plot, don’t watch
this. It’s basically a non-stop action movie. If you didn’t like the original
Mad Max’s, I doubt you’ll like this one. The movie is definitely throwback to
the epic long car chase with the creepy people and super jacked up cars. You
might not really know what the point to make the movie is, but you don’t care.
You just enjoy the non-stop carnage from beginning to end. This movie will not
put you to sleep. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Max
(Hardy) is kidnapped by a nomadic tribe. When Furiosa (Theron) goes rogue from
this tribe, the evil tribe leader sends everyone after her to prevent her from
escaping with his wives. Max is brought along the road and quickly joins the
fight.
Ex Machina (seen on May
10, 2015)
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Rating – 8
This movie isn’t for everyone, but it’s very well done. It almost has a
Kubrick type feel to the movie with the wide shots, futuristic type-setting, a
bit cold and almost minimalistic to the filming…it was great. I guess it shows
that the director Alex Garland picked up a few tips from Danny Boyle too. The
movie moves slow, but it seems very calculating and builds a slow tension
through the end. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Caleb (Gleeson) is a programmer for Bluebook and he wins a drawing with his
company to visit his genius boss, Nathan (Isaac), estate. Upon reaching the
compound, it is revealed that Nathan has created an AI and Caleb’s job is to
test the realism of the robot. But did Nathan create too real of a robot?
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
(seen on May 3, 2015)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo,
Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Stellan
Skarsgard
Rating – 6
This lost some of the magic the first one had. For starters, there was too
much CGI fighting scenes. Not quite Transformers 3 level, but too much. I don’t
understand why the movie has so much cut scenes during the CGI fighting; that’s
only needed for humans fighting so you get the right camera angles to fool the
audience. I fear it’s going the route of X-Men 3 where the final movie
will be too many characters and all action. I guess I appreciated the plot in
the first and the struggle as the team’s personalities collided. This story was
weaker. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
Avengers are out to stop Hydra and find Loki’s scepter. They eventually find it
and Tony Stark uses the power of the scepter to create an artificial
intelligent life-form, Ultron, to protect the world. But when Ultron awakes,
his solution to protect humans from themselves is to eliminate them all and the
Avengers must stop him.
Insurgent (seen on March
26, 2015)
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Kate Winslett
Rating – 6
Here’s part two of the Divergent series. It really hasn’t been that great of
a series, but it’s an ok watch if you want to hang around the house. The movie
is too bubble gum and simple. Feels like an obvious copy of the other teens
against society movie. This movie felt more like filler between two movies.
Although, I was left at the end not knowing how the trilogy will finish so
that’s a plus. I just don’t feel that compelled to finish the series; I’m not
hooked on it. I think Woodley is wrongly casted as the lead; I just don’t see her as a badass. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Trice
Prior (Woodley) continues her run from the rest of society. Janine (Winslett)
will stop at nothing to capture Trice and the rest of the divergents.
Whiplash (seen January 23,
2015)
Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons
Rating – 7
The movie started off great. Original content, showing the sweat and
dedication it takes to be a successful musician, but then you realize there’s
not much else to the movie. The love interest lasts 3 minutes of the movie and
the family time is about 10 minutes. The rest is spent in the classroom. Now
Simmons does an excellent job of going from calm to insane with a flip of a
switch, but you get a bit sick of it when that lasts for 90 minutes. At first
it made me miss hearing live jazz; by the end of the movie, I was sick of it.
Luckily the movie wasn’t long at all so it was a refreshingly original, but I
just think it lacked depth. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Andrew
(Miles) is a student drummer aspiring to be one of the greatest of all time. He
practices over and over until he’s one day noticed by the head instructor
Fletcher (Simmons). Fletcher invites him into his elite studio band, but Andrew
quickly finds out that Fletcher is unrelenting and overbearing in his demands
of his students and won’t allow anything short of perfection.
Big Eyes (seen on January
22, 2015)
Starring: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz
Rating – 6
The movie was a little disappointing. Much like other movies based on true
stories, there’s not much of a plot. People’s real lives aren’t as interesting
as a story as there is no debt or subplots. Adams performance was great, but I
must say I did get a little annoyed with her accent she used. Christoph Waltz
is almost playing the same slimeball type character he is in every movie and
it’s getting played out. Watching the movie, you can tell it’s a Tim Burton
movie despite no Johnny Depp or Helena Bohnam Carter. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Margaret
(Adams) takes her child and leaves her first husband and pursues her painting
career. After meeting a fellow painter Walter Keane (Waltz) and a quick
courtship, the two are married. When Margaret’s paintings prove to be more
successful, Walter is quick to take the credit claiming it’s best for the
family. Margaret goes along with the charade for a while but later a legal
battle ensues between her and her husband on who in fact painted the Big Eyes
series.
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (seen on November 21, 2014)
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald
Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci
Rating – 4
Maybe the whole third part of the trilogy is good, but showing just half the
book was a fail. Hollywood had to go and get greedy. This movie was just so
slow and dragged out. I’m a bit on the fence about finishing off the story. I
fear part 2 may be drug out as well. The story didn’t advance much from the
last movie; wasn’t worth my money. Lawrence’s performance was pretty bad. She
may be an award winner, but she definitely didn’t carry over her skills to this
role. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
story continues with Katniss (Lawrence) waking up in District 13 trying to cope
with her new role as the symbol of the rebellion. President Snow (Sutherland)
will stop at nothing to quash the rebels from uniting against the Capitol.
Birdman (seen on November
13, 2014)
Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach
Galifianakis
Rating – 9
Apparently I’m a fan of a dark comedy because it’s a drama with some laughs
and there are a lot of things to like about this movie, but this is not for the
average audience member expecting just a laugh. There are sporadic, awkward
laughs throughout the movie. The least funny person is the comedian Zach
Galifianakis, but then, I’m not really a fan of him. The direction and way the
movie is shot is excellent. They are long single shot scenes that seem to flow
non stop throughout the entire length of time of the movie (3 days). There are
two ways to take the how the movie actually is and the ending somewhat leaves
you guessing between the two. It’s good to see Michael Keaton return to the
leading role and Ed Norton plays an excellent asshole (or maybe just acting
like himself in real life). Anyways, that’s my quick review; what’s next?
Riggan
(Keaton) is an aging actor known for his legendary role of Birdman some 20
years earlier. He is trying to revitalize his career by writing, directing,
producing, and starring in his first Broadway play, but he has his own demons
to fight along with his family and his fellow cast members.
St. Vincent (seen on
November 7, 2014)
Starring: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts
Rating – 6
The elusive Bill Murray returns to the screen as a cranky old man. Usually
Murray’s performances fall short of the cranky old men played by Gene Hackman
or Clint Eastwood where they are cranky, but you still kind of like them. This
one is a bit different than his other cranky roles, but still not quite as good
as the others. The movie is a drama with a few random chuckles throughout, but
it is not Murray’s return to comedy. The subplots in the movie are a bit weak
as they are not defined that well. Not sure why Terence Howard is in the movie.
It was worth watching as a matinee I guess, but I wouldn’t rush out to see it.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Vincent
(Murray) is a cranky old man whose life is in the dumps. A single mom and her
kid move in next door and soon Vincent becomes the babysitter after school.
Vincent begins to mentor the boy and guide him through life much to the chagrin
of his mother (McCarthy).
Guardians of the Galaxy
(seen on August 3, 2014)
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista
Rating – 8
I didn’t know anything about the storyline going into the movie. I knew more
about the villain than anyone else and he’ll probably be showing up in the
Avengers universe soon. The movie was well written to introduce the team to the
audience without tying up the majority of the movie. There was good laughs and
action, although at times the laughs did seem to be a little forced and would
have been better if a little more sporadic. It tended to be more of a comedy
with action, rather than an action with comedy. There is obviously more to the
story that will come as they left several plot points open for future movies.
Overall, it is an entertaining story and refreshing to see some less popular
comic storylines. Unfortunately, the movie does leave you singing multiple
‘70’s songs stuck in your head courteously of movie’s soundtrack. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Peter
Quill (Pratt) is abducted from Earth and is raised as a thief in the far
reaches of the galaxy. He unites with a rag-tag crew of other misfits in order
to protect the galaxy from total destruction by Ronan.
Wish I Was Here (seen on July
31, 2014)
Starring: Zach Braff, Kate Hudson
Rating – 8
Unfortunately this movie didn’t get the advertising it should have because
it’s one of the best written movies of the summer and no one will go see it
because no one has heard of it. Braff obviously likes writing dramas about self
reflections and family struggles and this was a well written movie. Very well
executed acting along with well written dialogue creates a very effective drama
that the audience can relate. Braff effectively uses quick laughs throughout
the movie to relieve the tension through dramatic scenes. It’s also nice to see
the small cameos of Braff’s actor friends sprinkled throughout the movie.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Aidan
Bloom is a struggling actor struggling to hold his family together. His
father’s cancer is back, he can no longer afford to send his kids to private
school, his wife doesn’t like her job, and his brother is distant from the
family. He has to home-school his children and teaches them lessons about life
while finding himself in the process.
Lucy (seen on July 27,
2014)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
Rating – 2
The best thing about this movie was that it was under 90 minutes at least.
This was just awful. There are a lot of random cut scenes to extend the movie
because the plot is so weak. You don’t really know what you are watching. Is it
a drug movie? Didn’t seem like the drug was so bad since all it seemed to do
was increase brainpower and apparently that makes you super-human. Don’t watch
this; I’m not wasting any more time on this review. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Lucy
(Johansson) was once a dimwitted innocent bystander until the wrong guy gets
her involved with a Chinese drug dealer. She unwillingly takes a high dose of
the drug only to find it increases brain function. As she tries to stop the
dealers, she grows more and more powerful with additional brainpower.
Boyhood (seen on July 24,
2014)
Starring: Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke
Rating – 7
I do agree with other critics that this is a ground breaking movie. To film
the same actors over a twelve year period is a groundbreaking task. The movie
follows a boys life every year over twelve years; and the idea is great, but
it’s not really entertaining. That’s why movies are made and people don’t just
film their real lives. It has the typical Linklater dialogue and conversations
as seen in several of his other movies and it gets a bit tiresome as it
approaches a three hour movie. I’m not sure if the child actors took an actor
class taught by Hayden Christianson and Kristin Stewart, but you could tell the
difference between their lackluster performances and everyone else; that could
be the direction though. Still it was cool to see a recap of the past twelve
years especially since it was shot in Texas. I do remember when the Astros used
to be good. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Boyhood
follows Mason and his family as he literally grows up over twelve years.
Chef (seen on July 18,
2014)
Starring: Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo
Rating – 7
Jon Favreau returning to what made him famous; the more indie style movie,
but with more star cameos now. At first
you like the opening scenes of all the cutting and food prep, but as the movie
progresses, you start to compare it to 80’s movies with the music montage that
fills in movie space. The movie was 2
hours; I’d like to think they could have cut a couple of them out, but still an
enjoyable movie. I’d say it’s a rather simple story and predictable, but
sometimes you can give them a pass. Luckily Leguizamo brings comic relief to
the movie in contrast to the hapless Favreau character (same one as in Swingers).
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Carl (Favreau) is a chef at a restaurant in LA when a big food critic comes
to visit. Instead of preparing a special menu the way he wants, he bows down to
the pressure from his boss and cooks the same old food and the critic trashes
him for it. He soon quits his job and takes to the social media to rebuild his
reputation as he travels across the US in a food truck. Joining in the truck is
his souz chef/friend (Leguizamo) and his distant son.
Edge of Tomorrow (seen on
June 8, 2014)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt
Rating – 8
The movie might remind you a little bit of Groundhog Day with the concept of
living the same day over and over. I liked the movie. It had a lot of action in
it with all the battle scenes against the aliens, but there was a surprising
amount of laughs sprinkled throughout. The ending was a little weak and there
really isn’t much of a subplot, but it’s not a long movie so you can handle the
simple plot. Sit back and try not to think too much. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Alien invaders are taking over the earth and the humans have finally won
their first battle. Major Cage (Cruise) is forced to join the fight and dies on
the battlefield, but finds himself stuck in a time-loop and having to relive
the day over and over. Each day, his skills improve and he must find a way to
defeat the aliens.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(seen on May 26, 2014)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender,
Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Barry, Ian McKellen, Ellen Page
Rating – 7
Here’s another Xmen installment bringing the total to seven movies if you
count the wolverine saga. I can’t say the movie was great, but I thought it was
good. Interesting how they brought in the storyline of time travel from the
comics. They must have all the actors on a long-term contract to appear in all
these movies. The majority of the movie takes place in the past with the
characters from Xmen: First Class
I guess the drawback to it is that it still has a comic book, simplistic
plot type feel to it. No real subplots to develop the story on many levels, but
I still enjoyed it. Much like it was done in the comics, it allows a
retelling/reboot of the story if they choose to go that direction or more
towards the Apocalyptic story line. They brought in Bishop for this storyline;
maybe someday we’ll see Apocalypse and Cable too. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
In the not too distant future, a battle has raged between the Mutants and the human fearing public, The humans are winning with their new destructive force, The Sentinels, but these Sentinels are also targeting humans leaving only the evil behind. The only hope is to send Wolverine to the past to help stop the incident that causes the chain of events leading to the destruction of society.
Neighbors (seen on May 11,
2014)
Starring: Seth Rogan, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron
Rating – 7
Neighbors is a nice adult comedy from the mind of Seth Rogan. Some of
the typical laughs you expect in his movies and some really drawn out awkward
stuff like you would see in a Family Guy episode…not funny. It has some decent
laughs that are not necessarily shown in the previews. The attempt at having a
developed plot in the movie falls short, but it’s a comedy so you really only
care about the laughs. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Mac (Rogan) and Kelly (Byrne) are a young married couple with a baby living
in the suburbs and having trouble adapting to being responsible adults. A
fraternity moves in next door and they try to relate to the young college
students at first, but after a while, they realize they’ve had enough and call
the cops. Soon a battle begins between the two households.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
(seen on May 3, 2014)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx
Rating – 4
This reboot bottomed out awfully fast. The first ten minutes of the movie is
an elaborate attempt to set up a complex plot, but really it just felt dragged
out and pointless. The rest of the movie is filled with awkward love story
moments that is painful to watch and once again in a Spider-Man movie, the
villains are weakly developed and the story is blatantly set up for a third
movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Spider-Man
(Garfield) struggles balancing his life as a superhero and his life as Peter
Parker. He soon meets a disturbed villain known as Electro (Foxx), who is more
powerful than him. He tries to help his old friend Harry Osborn when he returns
to town, but Spider-Man soon finds out that there are a lot of sinister things
happening at his old friend’s company OsCorp.
Muppets Most Wanted (seen
on April 17, 2014)
Starring: Kermit the Frog, Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell
Rating – 6
Based on the rating, you can tell it was a bit of a disappointment. I know the Muppets are aimed at kids, but Ty
Burrell and Tina Fey were just ridiculous in the movie, not entertaining.
Naturally, Ricky Gervais plays the bad guy because he has an English accent. He
was his typical annoying self. He’s funny for a bit, but after a while you just
realize his humor makes him a jerk. There are some good laughs, but not enough
to carry the movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Constantine, the most dangerous frog on the planet, has escaped a Siberian
prison and for the exception of a mole, he’s a dead ringer for Kermit the Frog.
The Muppets new manger (Gervais) suggest the Muppets take a World Tour, but it
is soon reveled that he is connected to Constantine and they have a more
sinister plan behind the scenes.
Captain America: The Winter
Soldier (seen on April 8, 2014)
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony
Mackie, Robert Redford
Rating – 8
How about that? A sequel came out better than the original. The writers chose
a good storyline from the comics to show more depth of the character. The movie
has a good combination of action and storyline. Not a whole lot else to say;
it’s just enjoyable. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Captain
America (Evans) is now living in the 21st century and working for
SHIELD. He soon finds out that there is a sinister side of SHIELD and a new
threat shows up known as the Winter Soldier.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
(seen on March 26, 2014)
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Adrian Brody, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Jeff
Goldblum, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Jason
Schwarzman, Owen Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton
Rating – 8
So it’s obvious that the stars like working with Wes Anderson and why not;
his films are quirky and fun. Not Anderson’s best movie, but if you’re a fan of
his movies, you’ll like this one. Shot in the same typical style you come to
expect, the movie is an enjoyable watch throughout. There’s not a whole lot to
the plot, but the number of cameos is good for a laugh. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
The
Grand Budapest Hotel was once a vibrant hotel during its glory years, but now
there are few inhabitants. The owner recants a story of how he came to own the
mighty hotel while telling the story of a great concierge.
Her (seen on January 19,
2014)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson
Rating – 7
Spike Jones bringing some originality to the big screen, but the problem
with the movie is that it is only driven by dialogue and you can only see one
person talking. You really don’t want to know everything that someone is
thinking because not all of it is interesting. The movie wasn’t bad, but it
just seemed to drag on a bit despite it only being 2 hours. The subplots were
weak so there was no escape from the close-ups of Joaquin Phoenix having a
conversation with his computer. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A socially awkward man struggles with his recent divorce, but soon falls in
love with his operating system.
Dallas Buyers Club (seen
on January 16, 2014)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn
Rating – 8
This is the role that McConaughey lost all the weight to play and I must say
he looks pretty creepy. His career seems to be getting a revival with these
smaller independent movies and I agree the he is getting the recognition he
deserves. The movie is far from a comedy as the underlying story is the AIDS
epidemic in the 1980’s. There are a few laughs to help lighten the tension of
such a serious movie, but don’t go to this movie expecting anything but a
drama. The movie is shot well in the fear people have of HIV and the slow
progression of the FDA to treat it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Life
in the 80’s in Dallas for electrician/cowboy Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) seems
to always be a party, but his health starts failing and he learns he has AIDS.
The medical community in the US is moving too slow for Ron to prolong his life
so he takes it upon himself to seek treatment outside of the US. He soon sets
up a club in order to distribute the drugs to others in need, but fights the
FDA along the way.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
(seen on December 5, 2013)
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald
Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci
Rating – 7
The movie is good, but the problem is that it’s not a complete movie by
itself. I won’t find out what happens for another two years. It’s like watching
the “Two Towers”, not much of a beginning or an ending. I’ll still watch the
final two movies to see what happens, but it’s not a must see for me. Also,
Lawrence’s character is getting a bit annoying…the reluctant, whiney hero. I
haven’t read the book, but I’m assuming her character becomes stronger. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Katniss
is back in her District 12, but now expected to play ball with the Capital and
make her rounds to the other districts to help keep the peace. But the Capital
has more sinister plans and creates another game of victorious tributes that
forces Katniss to compete once again.
Thor: The Dark World (seen
on November 14, 2013)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins
Rating – 6
I would say this is about on par as the first one. If you liked the first
one, then you’ll like this one; although, this one reminds me more of the
“Green Lantern” movie. It’s a superhero movie so it’ll keep you entertained,
but it’s a little too much off world stuff making it feel more like a battle of
Gods rather than a superhero saving humans. It is worth watching to see how the
Avenger universe continues and to also play spot Stan Lee in the movie, but
don’t rush out to see it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
An
evil force has returned to take over and destroy the nine realms watched over
by Odin (Hopkins) and this force seems unstoppable. Thor (Hemsworth) needs help
from Jane Foster (Portman) to stop this force from destroying everything.
About Time (seen on
November 1, 2013)
Starring: Domnhall Gleesen, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy
Rating – 6
It’s a good movie; I expected more of a romantic comedy, but the comedy is
lacking. At least it’s not a straight-up tear jerker chick-flick movie, but I’m
sure the target audience is women. The originality of the story is refreshing,
but the movie essentially sticks to the basics of love and family. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Upon
Tim’s (Gleesen) 21st birthday, his father (Nighy) tells him that the
men in his family can travel within their own lifetime. Tim decides that he’ll
spend his special finding love and he believes he finds that in Mary (McAdams).
Rush (seen on October 4,
2013)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth
Rating – 8
I go into this movie vaguely knowing what happened in real life and I would
say Ron Howard delivers another good movie. The story is a bit weak, but Howard
is able to intertwine several subplots together to make the story flow enough.
There are great shots of the racing circuits and the images are very accurate
to the actual events. It’s a true story so it’s no surprise what happens, but
it’s still a good watch. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
story is the true telling of the heated rivalry between Niki Lauder and James
Hunt in F1 racing for the 1976 World Championship.
The World’s End (seen on
September 6, 2013)
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike
Rating – 6
Here comes the anticipated final movie of the Cornetto ice cream trilogy.
Sadly, it is the weakest of the three. It feels like this movie was written to
finish off the trilogy and give the group of friends a reason to drink beer
while filming. It had some funny parts and had the ridiculous action expected
from the other two, but the plot seemed weak and most of the “laughs” were
weak. It’s worth watching to finish off the trilogy, but if you’re unaware of
the Cornetto trilogy, it’s not really worth watching. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Gary
(Pegg) is getting his old high school friends back together after 20+ years to
attempt to complete the golden mile, drinking 12 pints of beer at 12 different
pubs in one night. Along the way, they run into resistance from the town
people, who they soon find out aren’t really people at all.
Pacific Rim (seen on
August 14, 2013)
Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Day
Rating – 7
Finally here comes a movie that brings together Top Gun, Independence
Day, and Robot Jox. I know you watch the trailers and compare the
movie to Shakespeare’s works, but this movie is quite cheesy. Ok, seriously
this movie is very cheesy and makes you question…well pretty much everything
but for some reason, I was entertained. The epic speeches, the inner team
quarrels…all very cheesy and predictable. But I guess if you turn your brain
off and just watch it, it’s not bad to pass the time on a rainy evening. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Alien
sea creatures are invading Earth and at first, the humans are able to defeat
them. As time goes on, the creatures begin to adapt and the humans begin to
start losing the war. With annihilation of the human race almost imminent, the
resistance has one last plan in mind to stop the aliens once and for all.
The Wolverine (seen on
July 27, 2013)
Starring: Hugh Jackman
Rating – 6
Another installment from the X-men franchise where this time it picks up
Wolverine’s tale after X-men: The Last Stand. I liked that they
continued the wolverine storyline, I just felt it was a little too much sole
searching; I wanted more rage from wolverine. I know, I complain about weak
story-lines from most movies, but this is a comic book and it stars Hugh
Jackman (not the greatest actor). It kept flashing back in small pieces to the
past, which I didn’t find effective in making the story flow. I thought the
ending was a bit predictable, but then maybe I know how comic books tend to
end. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
story continues as Wolverine (Jackman) is living off the land in the Yukon. One
day, he is greeted by a Japanese lady who reminds him of an old acquaintance he
once saved and the old man’s dying wish is to see Wolverine once again to thank
him in person. Wolverine finally agrees to fly to Japan and meet the old man,
but his journey forces him to face his own demons.
Monster University (seen
on July 19, 2013)
Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman
Rating – 7
Here comes the prequel to “Monsters Inc.” It’s not as original as the first
one, but it has a few laughs. It brings in elements from “Revenge of the Nerds”
and “Animal House” that is, in terms of monsters. Of course the movie is geared
towards kids, but adults should get a kick out of it too. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Mike’s
(Crystal) life-long dream is to be a scarer so he attends Monster University.
There he runs into a rival monster with a strong family scarer pedigree,
Sullivan (Goodman). Both are kicked out of the scaring college and they make a
bet with the dean that if they win the Greek Games, they will get back into the
program. The problem is they have to unite with the weakest fraternity on
campus in order to compete.
Before Midnight (seen on
June 28, 2013)
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Rating – 4
Here comes the third installment of the series. I liked how they acknowledge
the actual timeline that their story started 18 years ago, but this installment
is the weakest. The first movie was an actual story while the second one
continued that story (somewhat unnecessary) and this last one just shows them
bitter. I know the actors helped write the script with Richard Linklater so to
me this just seemed bitter. I don’t think this added to the franchise at all.
Sure it continued with the couple’s story, but they tell stories as if they
haven’t been together for nine. I just
hope they let it end here and not come out with the fourth installment in
another nine years called Before Noon. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Nine
years later, the story between Celine (Delpy) and Jesse (Hawke) continues. This
time their journey is in Greece where their family is vacation for the summer.
Kings of Summer (seen on
June 7, 2013)
Starring: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso
Rating – 8
This is a good movie to start the summer and remind you of your childhood.
There is nothing too major about it; a pretty simple plotline, but still
enjoyable to watch. That’s probably why there are several musical montages
reminiscent of 80’s movies. Nick Offerman is in the movie and delivers his
dead-pan lines that he’s known for so you may be sick of that, but the laughs
are good in the movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Two
friends who both are miserable living with their families unite with an oddball
kid to build a house in the woods and run away for the summer to live off the
land and be free.
Star Trek: Into Darkness (seen on May 16, 2013)
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban
Rating – 6
I thought this series was supposed to be a “reboot”, which the first movie
was, but I cannot say it about this one. This was basically the “Wrath of Kahn”
with a slight twist. My friends may have not seen the original movies, but I
have and there were too many similarities to be considered inside jokes or
cleverness. There were good laughs and playfulness between the characters, but
after a while it started to become forced, like the jokes from Indiana Jones 4.
I think it had too much of the cheesiness of the original series and should
have remained with the reboot formula of the first movie in this series. The
attempt to make the movie emotional just fell flat on itself and felted forced.
It started off cute when they seemed to be more imitating the original series,
but after a while you got sick of it and just wanted it to stop as it seemed
more of a weak parody. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Kirk
(Pine), Spock (Quinto), and the rest of the Star Trek crew are back in action.
This time they are hunting a terrorist of the Star Fleet Academy, but this
advisory is cleverer than they have encountered before. Shortly they realized
that perhaps their advisory isn’t there advisory after all.
Ironman 3 (seen on May 2,
2013)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Ben
Kinglsey
Rating – 5
The movie is ok, but it’s just the same movie over and over except just like
every comic book movie they add more CGI action at the end. The jokes are the
same that you’ve seen for past two movies. One of the major problems Ironman
seems to have in every movie is fixing/adjusting to the his latest creation of
the suit and sorry, the plotline is weak and redundant by now. After seeing the
Avengers movie, I thought maybe there was hope for the sequels, but I
think the Ironman series has been played out. I’m tired of Robert Downey Jr and
his jerk-funny character of Tony Stark. Hopefully the only times I see Ironman
again is in the Avengers sequels as Joss Whedon excelled at directing the mega
superhero movies. As for this latest installment, I kept checking my watch
hoping for an ending soon. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Tony Stark (Downey) yet again has to save the world from a threat. This
time, it comes from a terrorist known as the Mandarin and he keeps setting off
bombs in public places without a trace of evidence. Of course, Stark has his
own demons to deal with throughout the movie similar to the past two movies.
Mud (seen on April 27,
2013)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon
Rating – 7
This movie is getting a lot of love, but I think it’s a little too much.
It’s a decent movie worth watching, but it seems this is the early indie flick
for people to jump on. I agree it’s one of McConaughey’s better acting roles,
but what does that really mean? He’s more of a character than an actor. The
movie shows the simple life of people living on the water and makes you feel
like you’re watching a movie set in the past. McConaughey does create a
likeable, sometimes enchanting character even after you find out he’s wanted by
the law. Witherspoon plays the girlfriend and although she is talked about
throughout the movie, her actual screen time is limited. It’s a good movie to
watch for a rainy day to kick back and relax. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Two
boys are out exploring an island along the Mississippi river when they stumble
upon a mysterious stranger who asks for their help. They find out that he is
waiting to meet up with his girlfriend and he’s hiding out on the island from
some crooked bounty hunters.
John Dies at the End (seen
on February 22, 2013)
Starring: Chase Williamson, Paul Giamatti
Rating – 7
So…can you guess what happens at the end of the movie? If you want to see a
different movie, this is one to watch. The movie jumps around a lot so it can
be a bit confusing to follow. My suggestion is to just sit back and take it all
in and enjoy the quirkiness of the movie and by the end of the movie, you’ll
get a sense of what just happened. I have to admit, it’s an awesome title for a
movie, but I think the majority of people will find this movie just way too
weird to enjoy. So be in the mood for an indie flick when you watch this.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
There’s
a new drug out on the streets called Soy Sauce and it allows some users to
travel through time and different dimensions, but others turn into monsters.
Two friends must save the world from an alien invasion from another dimension.
Bubba Ho-Tep (seen on
February 16, 2013)
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis
Rating – 7
This movie is described as the best movie that no one ever saw. The movie is
full of quirky humor, but it’s definitely more of a cult following type movie.
It seems like this movie was written for Bruce Campbell as it reminds me of the
Evil Dead franchise kind of quirkiness.
It’s a relatively short movie as there’s not a whole lot of subplot to
it, but I think it’s worth a watch if you like the odd type movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Elvis
Pressley and JFK are in a nursing home and have to protect their fellow
residents from an ancient Egyptian mummy who’s trying to steal their souls.
Warm Bodies (seen on
February 2, 2013)
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, John
Malkovich, Teresa Palmer
Rating – 8
I do not get the whole zombie craze that has been going on for the past five
years or so, but it’s nice to see a different take on zombies. There’s a lot of
good quirky humor throughout and I like how it explains more of zombie
motivation. Not too long of a movie so you don’t get sick of the simple plot
line or the absorbed story. I found it to be an enjoyable movie; can’t remember
a scary moment in the movie so it’s really more of a romantic-comedy, albeit, I
disturbing one involving a zombie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
R is
a zombie who is a bit different than his zombie friends. He is able to piece together
a few thoughts, but not much brain function. One day, he and his friends are
out scavenging for food (live humans) when R sees Julie and is just mesmerized
by her. He saves her from the other zombies and kidnaps her back to his home
where he slowly experiences more human responses. Problem is, there’s another
breed of zombies that just wants to kill everyone and not to mention the humans
believe all zombies are threats.
Silver Linings Playbook
(seen on Dec. 24, 2012)
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Robert
DeNiro, Jennifer Lawrence
Rating – 6
The movie was ok; I just didn’t find the characters believable. It’s not so
much the performances as it is the writing. There are two characters that are
mentally unstable but they act too rational at times. The problem is that you
don’t feel like routing for anyone; both major characters are annoying in your
face crazy. There was good dark humor sprinkled throughout to make the movie
watchable, but nothing I had to see. I thought Jennifer Lawrence was too young
for the role; her character was at least 25. I’m not sure why Robert DeNiro
decided to play this small role either. Oh yeah, I don’t care about the
Philadelphia Eagles and too much of the movie involves the family pulling for
the Eagles. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Pat
(Cooper) is signed out of the mental institution by his mother to return to
society and all he is concerned with is reuniting with his wife. One night he
has dinner with some old friends and meets a strange girl Tiffany (Lawrence)
who Pat believes isn’t playing with a full deck either. Will two crazies make
each other whole?
Skyfall (seen on November
21, 2012)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes
Rating – 7
The Bond franchise returns to the theaters after finding funding from
several sponsors. I never seen so much blatant product placement in the movie,
but I guess they had to do it to get the movie made. Daniel Craig brings the
same performance, but Javier Bardem delivers another creepy villain. Hard to
talk about problems I have with this movie without giving too much away. One
thing, I do miss the more suave James Bond of old. This movie falls in line
with the more ruthless Bond, but not necessarily a flawless one. There’s a good
flow to the movie, but I still prefer Casino Royale of this series.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
new villain emerges in the world and his goal is to bring down MI6. Bond must
track down the man responsible for the attacks no matter what it takes to save
MI6 and his country.
Argo (seen on November 9,
2012)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Rating – 9
Another effort by Ben Affleck in the director’s chair and I think it’s
another successful venture. The movie is based on actual events, but I think
the ending is a little Hollywoodized. The movie is shot successfully to create
suspense for the audience and a few one-liners to help ease the tension. The
problem is that the movie is a historical telling of actual events so you know
what happens, there’s no subplot; just here it is. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
After Iranian citizens storm the US Embassy, six US citizens flee the
compound and hide at the Canadian ambassador’s place. The Iranians are eager to
find these missing six people while the CIA is hatching a scheme to extract
them on the false pretense that they are a movie crew.
Wreck-It Ralph (seen on November 8, 2012)
Starring: John C. Reilley, Sarah Silverman
Rating – 7
After seeing all the previews of the old-school videogames, it made me feel
all nostalgic and it created a desire to watch this movie. The movie had a good story line, but
ultimately this is a cartoon and it is directed more at kids. The kids might
not recognize the old games, but none of that is relevant to the story. I was a
bit disappointed. Thought I’d see more old school videogame stuff, but all that
stuff is shown in the trailers. Not too much humor in the movie as some
cartoons had shown. Still, it’s a nice original story to watch. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Wreck-It Ralph (Reilley) is the bad guy in a videogame. Other videogame characters fear him and he’s getting tired of it. He wants to be recognized and accepted so he breaks out of his game in hopes of finding a medal and earning some respect. But life outside of his game doesn’t go as smoothly as he thought it would.
Looper (seen on September
28, 2012)
Rating – 5
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels
I went into the movie with hopes that the script was something different,
but there is always concern with movies that deal with time travel. Now there
will be can be many comparisons to other time travel movies, the one that comes
to most is The Terminator. But
the movie is disappointing. Hard to explain without giving away part of the
story, but the story takes a long time to develop and you realize that the
subplot, is actually the main point to the story. It was just rather weak. And
the prosthetics that Gordon-Levitt wears to look like young Willis is not
needed. Just the contacts and that’s it. It looks creepy. The audience can
accept that they are different actors but supposed to be playing the same
person at different times in their life. Times it felt like a weak action movie
and then a weak artistic movie. Sometimes I got the feeling it was shot by a
director who didn’t exactly know what style of movie he was going for. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Joe
(Gordon-Levitt) is a Looper, a man who kills mob enemies in the past and
disposes of their bodies. The job comes with a hazard because the Looper never
knows if the next victim will be himself from the future. And when that day
happens, what do you do?
The Expendables 2 (seen on
August 18, 2012)
Rating – 7
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Terry
Crews, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis
Another Expendables movie has been released.
If you didn’t like the first one, don’t bother seeing this one. This one
follows the same pattern as the first one: weak plot line, cheesy jokes, and
high body count. Oh yeah, and this one has CHUCK NORRIS. It’s a little slow in
the beginning and awkward at parts when they try to give the crew a moral
reason again to kick ass, but you forget that as the laughs start coming late
and the body count keeps growing. It’s a guy movie. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
The
Expendables are sent on a mission to retrieve confidential data lost in a plane
crash. During their mission, one of their comrades is killed and they want
revenge. And of course, they do it the only way they know how, shoot first and
ask questions later.
The Dark Knight Rises
(seen on July 20, 2012)
Rating – 6
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Anne
Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman
The third installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batmans is a bit of a letdown.
The opening sequence was a little too unrealistic for me. The movie seemed to
try too hard to mirror the pattern of The Dark Knight while trying to
connect this movie to the previous too. At times, the movie seemed to
videogame-like. Batman jumps in the middle of eight guys in broad daylight and
while all of them are armed, everyone decides to swing their gun at him or
throw a punch instead. I’m not sure why they had to go and add the Batwing and
I have my complaints about that (I won’t disclose as may give some things
away), but just adds to the videogame mentality. And the Batcycle…at least it
didn’t drive up walls this time. Almost too many stars in this movie too. The
movie may have been over two and a half hours, but it did go by smoothly. I
still think Anne Hathaway was a bad choice for Catwoman. Tom Hardy was very
good as Bane. His mannerisms and the way he carried himself worked, but at
times I had trouble understanding him. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Eight
years have passed since Batman’s disappearance and Commissioner Gordon and the
Gotham Police have managed to clean up the city. Soon, a new villain arrives in
Gotham to take power from City Hall and restore it to the people. Will Batman
rise from the dark once again to save Gotham?
Drive (seen on July 7,
2012)
Rating – 6
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman
I know this movie has been out a year, but I had never seen it and I caught
it as a midnight showing in the theater so I figure I have to do a review on
it. The movie was ok. There are a lot of good actors in it, but not a whole lot
to the movie. It reminded me a lot of the movie The Transporter and that
movie had more action in it. The movie seems to have more of a cult following
to it already because way to many talk about the jacket. It’s a decent watch,
but not sure if it was worth staying up until 2 am watching it. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
A
stunt driver in Hollywood who moonlights as a professional driver for criminals
gets caught up in a world of mob money when he tries to help his neighbor out
of a jam.
Bernie (seen on July 5,
2012)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine
Based on a true story, the film is shot as a movie with a slight documentary
feel to it as Richard Linklater adds several colorful East Texas commentaries
throughout the movie. I wonder if people outside of Texas find these folks as
funny as I did. A good entertaining story although Jack Black movies drive me
nuts because he has to sing in everyone of them, but despite that, it was a
good movie. my quick review; what’s next?
Bernie
(Black) is the assistant funeral director in Carthage, TX and is considered the
nicest man in town. When he befriends the meanest, richest widow in town, he
starts to feel overwhelmed by her demanding nature. Then one day he has had
enough and shoots her, but continues the illusion that she is alive by helping
out the townsfolk. The town’s DA (McConaughey) is frustrated with the townsfolk
as he tries to prosecute Bernie and the townsfolk want him to be set free.
Ted (seen on June 29, 2012)
Rating – 6
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane’s first live action project wasn’t bad. I’m giving this movie
a 6, but could be a 7 too. It’s a funny movie and it’s a decent story for a
comedy, it’s just there’s a fair amount of “The Family Guy” humor (not
surprisingly) and I’m not a fan of that show.
Not to mention that I’ve never seen so many different trailers for a
movie like I had this one so I felt like I had seen half the movie before going
into the theater. Still it had a few laughs and a few surprises. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
John
(Wahlberg) as a boy was an unpopular kid so he makes a wish that his teddy bear
could talk and it comes true. 27 years later, they have both grown up and their
relationship is putting a strain on John’s relationship with Lori (Kunis) as
she is hoping for him to grow up after four years of dating.
Moonrise Kingdom (seen on
June 24, 2012)
Rating – 9
Starring: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda
Swinton, Jason Schwartzman
Wes Anderson delivers an entertaining, quirky story about the love between a
young boy and girl. The movie is shot in the same way as other Anderson movies,
which made me happy, but the characters are more enjoyable as in Royal
Tenenbaums as opposed to Life Aquatic. It seems like the roles were written
specifically for these actors because the characters they play are one’s you
typically see them as. Good laughs throughout the movie and a good story in
general make this a movie to watch. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
young khaki scout leaves his troop to unite with his girlfriend and run away
together. Antics ensue on the small island as the parents, police, and the
scout troop try to find them and separate them from each other. But the two
youths in love will not go down without a fight.
Safety Not Guaranteed
(seen on June 18, 2012)
Rating – 7
Starring: Aubrey Plaza
This movie is not worth going around telling everyone to go see it, but it
was a good indie flick to watch as a matinee.
The subplots were a little weak, but the main story was entertaining.
There were a few laughs, but not many. At least it was an original movie.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
magazine reporter from Seattle finds an article in the newspaper with a person
requesting a fellow time traveler. Along
with two interns in tow, they travel to the find the man who posted the article
and to see if he’s crazy or joking or what. One of the interns goes undercover
to get the story.
Prometheus (seen on June
8, 2012)
Rating – 5
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael, Fassbender, Guy Pearce
Ok, so I’m a bit confused about this movie. They say it is not a prequel to
Alien, but I don’t know how it isn’t. The story starts out ok as trying to
figure out the beginning of Earth’s existence and the storyline is just
abandoned. The second half of the movie just has no storyline. It’s just chaos
and no point to the movie so you’re left wondering what you really watched.
Shame because the movie had a lot of potential and looked promising from the
trailers, but it’s a let down. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Two scientists discover pictures across the world from several different
ancient civilizations leading them to believe that they are signs from the
creators of life on Earth. The ship Prometheus and its crew are sent across the
universe to the planet indicated by the pictures in hopes of finding the
meaning of life, but what they find there is not what they expected.
Dark Shadows (seen on June
6, 2012)
Rating – 5
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter,
Jonny Lee Miller, Jackie Earle Haley
I was a bit disappointed in this movie. I thought it was supposed to be a
dark comedy, but there weren’t any laughs except for the few in the trailers so
the movie ended up being a really weak drama. I had never seen or heard of the
original series so this review is based solely on the movie. The movie just
seemed a bit cheesy and Johnny Depp’s character acting is becoming redundant.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Barnabus
Collins (Depp) has been cursed by a witch (Green) and is buried for nearly 200
years until one day he is accidentally freed. He returns to his manor to move
in with his distant relatives and help restore the family name, but the witch
has taken control of the town and is trying to stop him.
The Dictator (seen on May
16, 2012)
Rating – 4
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris
I believe most of the funny parts were shown in the previews. Or maybe all of
Cohen’s humor is becoming the same. If you like his humor and are not tired of
it, you probably will find this funny, but for me, after watching this movie,
I’m about as tired of Cohen as I am Tom Green. I’ll pass on his next project.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
dictator of Wadiya heads to New York to speak to the UN where he is betrayed by
his right hand man. He must reclaim his power back before his country is
converted into a democracy.
The Avengers (seen on May
4, 2012)
Rating – 8
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo,
Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom
Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard
I was surprised how well this movie was. I was afraid with all these
superhero characters in one movie, that it would be all action and a weak
story. The action is there, but the story shows how/why the superheroes unite.
It probably is beneficial to have seen the individual movies prior to this one.
The big shock to the movie was the amount of laughs in it. It was just a fun
movie to watch. It was worth my money to go see it and I will be going to see
the sequel too (watch the credits). That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Loki
has united with an alien race and has returned to Earth to take his revenge.
Nick Fury (Jackson) realizes that his troops are underprepared and decides the
only way to save Earth is to create the Avengers program. The problem is the
so-called “superheroes” have their own personalities and flaws and don’t seem
to work well with others.
The Pirates: Band of Misfits (seen on May 1, 2012)
Rating – 6
Starring: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven
I figured the latest feature from Aardman Animation would be a good one, but
it was just an ok movie. It didn’t seem to have as many laughs as the previous
works of Aardman. It just amazes me that people still do clay animation. With
the limited adult humor and being clay animation, I think this film is more
suited for kids. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
Pirate Captain (Grant) wants to finally win the Pirate of the Year Award, but
his booty is just nowhere near the amount of his competition. Soon his vow to
win Pirate of the Year takes him and his crew to London, where pirates aren’t
treated too kindly.
The Hunger Games (seen on
April 20, 2012)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth
Banks
I have not read the books so I went into the movie just watching it as a
movie. The movie was fine, but I am not anxiously waiting to see the next one;
I will end up seeing it, but I don't see this as the next Harry Potter
following. The novels are written towards teens and so is the movie so you have
to bear with some of those scenes in the movie too. I guess I’ll see next year
where the story goes. I'm hoping that the future movies explain more what is
going on in the society because the first movie only sets up the fight itself
and not why the society is the way it is. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Set
in a post apocalyptic war torn society broken into twelve districts where every
year each district must send one boy and one girl between the age of 12 and 18
to compete to the death. After her younger sister is selected to compete in the
Hunger Games, Katniss (Lawrence) volunteers to fight to spare her sister.
Salmon Fishing in Yemen (seen on April 15, 2012)
Rating – 6
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas
These movies that are based on true stories always make me wonder exactly how true it is. The movie is a feel good movie, but seems a bit simple. The romance subplot seems a forced so the only story line to focus on is the setup of the fishing. It’s an ok story, but not necessarily a must see movie. If you want a feel-good movie, then perhaps this is the one. I thought McGregor did a good job at playing a reluctant scientist trying to pull off the impossible. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A sheik from Yemen wants to bring salmon fishing to his country. A fisheries expert is hired by a consultant to bring the sheik’s vision to a reality despite the seemingly impossible task.
Haywire (seen on February
16, 2012)
Starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas,
Channing Tatum
Rating – 6
Apparently Steven Soderbergh was inspired to make a movie with Gina Carano
who is a trained fighter, but not an actress. The story does not contain much
dialogue, probably to limit the amount of acting that Carano has to do because
she’s obviously not an actress. But probably similar to Soderbergh’s reason for
making the movie, I wanted to see the movie for some realistic fight scenes and
the movie did deliver that. There are too many chase scenes or prep scenes that
have zero dialogue and tend to draw the movie out. You have to put up with a
slow moving plot in between the fight scenes. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Mallory (Carano) works for a private firm that is hired to extract a hostage
in Barcelona. She tries to retire, but her boss (McGregor) offers her one last
mission. On this mission she is framed and seeks revenge on the people that set
her up.
Hugo (seen on February 12,
2012)
Starring: Ben Kinglsey, Sasha Baron Cohen
Rating – 7
I still do not get the whole 3D appeal. I do not want to wear glasses
throughout a movie, but Scorsese made Hugo his first dabble into 3D films. The
movie is an entertaining story, but I don’t really agree with all the Oscar
nominations. I have a few theories on it, but I can’t say without revealing the
mystery of the movie. It’s a nice fantasy movie, but it’s only in 3D and it’s
not worth the extra money to see in the theater. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Hugo
is a young boy who operates the clocks at a Paris train station. He lost his
father to a fire and constantly works to repair an automaton that he and his
father worked on together. Hugo is caught stealing parts from an old toy maker
who puts him to work in his store. He befriends the toy maker’s granddaughter
and both try to figure out the mystery of the automaton.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (seen on January 19, 2012)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg
Rating – 6
Here is another installment of the Mission Impossible series. This wasn’t a
bad movie, but I only went to see it because it was a free ticket. It was decent action movie, but I’m tired of
the Mission Impossible series. If you enjoy the series, you’ll enjoy this one
because I do believe it is one of the better MI movies. But it’s probably best
to wait until it’s on TV. It’s full of unbelievable stunts and explosions. I don’t have much to say about this movie.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
When
the IMF team is framed for the destruction of the Kremlin, Ethan Hunt (Cruise)
and his IMF team must clear the organization and trying to stop a madman from
launching a nuclear warhead.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (seen on January 13, 2012)
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, Tom Hardy
Rating – 4
I can sum this movie up in a word…boring. I thought maybe it would be a cool
spy movie on who done it, but it was a very slow paced movie that constantly
flash back to random scenes. There didn’t seem to be any mystery as to who the
spy was. No history to show his evil ways. The last five minutes of the movie
wrapped it up to show how it was one character was the spy. That last five
minutes could have been written three different ways and the spy could have
been any of the three different characters because the first two hours were
pointless. Gary Oldman is getting praise for his role. There didn’t seem to be
that much dialogue from him so it was all in his expressions; he played the
role well. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Control
(Hurt) has speculated for years that the Russians have a mole inside the
highest organization of the British Intelligence. When one of the missions to
Budapest goes horribly wrong, the Minister brings Smiley (Oldman) out of
retirement to find the mole.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (seen on December 22, 2011)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard
Rating – 5
I have not seen the original Swedish movies, but I have read this book. I
thought the book was good, but not so much this movie. The movie doesn’t match
the book exactly; several things are changed. But I’m watching the movie and it
seems too hard to follow. It jumps so fast from scene to scene that it’s a bit
confusing to what the central plot of the movie was. I thought that was also a
problem in the book too how in the middle of a chapter the story would jump
from paragraph to paragraph to different storylines. Well, I was disappointed
in the movie, but it does make me want to watch the original Swedish versions
as I hear good things about them. It’s funny how it only took two years for
Hollywood to remake this one, but it’s either that or sequels. Something I
found annoying is why some actors were trying to do a Swedish accent and yet
they were speaking English. They are not
Swedish people speaking English; they are supposed to be Swedes speaking
Swedish, but they are speaking English for the Hollywood audience. Just use
your normal accent like Daniel Craig did. The others were awful and annoying.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Mikael
Blomkvist (Craig) is a journalist who is hired by Henrik Vanger (Plummer) to
find out who murdered his niece more than 40 years ago. Blomkvist’s
investigation dives into the past of a rather colorful family history that
leads to multiple suspects. With the help of an exceptional, unorthodox
investigator (Mara), the two discover that perhaps there is even more to the
story than just Vanger’s missing niece.
The Muppets (seen on November 28, 2011)
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper
Rating – 8
The Muppets are back in form and it's good to see the gang was staying in
shape while on their 12 year hiatus. Some of the scenes were a bit cheesy.
Mostly the scenes with Segel and Adams in Smalltown, USA. I don't remember the
Muppets ever being so cheesy and 50's style like their scenes were. I frankly
could have done with less singing or at least not such cheesy show-tunes type
songs. But the humor was good throughout the movie. Several throwback
references to the original show and several of the movies and they brought back
a lot of characters. It was a bit short; just over an hour and a half. I would
have preferred a few more scenes that brought laughs but still a good movie.
And true to the other movies, cameos of famous actors/actresses could be found
throughout. I thought Cooper did a nice job of being the evil oil barren.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Gary (Segel) and his girl Mary (Adams) are off on a trip to Los Angeles for
their ten year anniversary along with Gary's brother Walter. Walter has
idolized the Muppets since he was a kid and cannot wait to get to LA to take
the tour of the Muppets Studio. The trio find the studio is in disarray and
that there is an evil oil barren planning to buy the property to drill for oil.
The only way to stop him is for the Muppets to reunite after all these years to
put on a show to raise $10 million to save their studio. Can Kermit get
the gang back together in time to save their studio?
Johnny English Reborn
(seen on October 21, 2011)
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Rosamund Pike
Rating – 6
Rowan Atkinson returns to reprise his role of Johnny English. It’s hard to
pass up on a comedy-spoof of James Bond movies. The first one was surprisingly
funny so I thought I would give the sequel a try. It’s much of the same style
of humor that Rowan Atkinson uses in his performance so if you are not a fan of
him, do not see this movie. There were good laughs, most of them just silly
stuff and similar things to expect after watching the original. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Johnny English had once been MI7 best spy until an incident happened in
Mozambique where he was head of security. Years have passed and he is
reinstated and soon investigating into an assassination plot to kill the
Chinese Premier. Will Johnny English find the assassin before it’s too late?
50/50 (seen on October 13,
2011)
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Anjelica Huston
Rating – 8
A story about a young man diagnosed with cancer and how he, his friends, and
family cope with it. Sounds like a depressing film and not worth watching, but
I liked it. Yes, they deal with the seriousness of cancer and parts of the
movie are sad, but it's broken up with the comic relief of Seth Rogen. Still,
the movie deals with cancer so make sure you're in the mood for a sad movie
before you buy a ticket for the movie. I found the movie to be a good mix of
comedy and sadness with such a serious plotline. The young actors are outshined
by the more experienced actors, who play lesser roles in the movie, but the
storyline does drive this movie. That's my quick review; what's next?
Adam (Gordon-Levitt) is a 27 year old writer for NPR and is diagnosed with cancer. The story follows his progression through the stages of cancer and how he and his friends and family cope with his diagnosis. Adam attends counseling from a young internist, who desperately needs to work on her bedside manner.
Moneyball (seen on October
7, 2011)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Rating – 5
Normally, when I see a movie that I have read the book, I am disappointed
with the movie. Having not really cared for this book, I had hope that the
movie had improved on the book based on a recommendation from some friends.
However, this is not true. The movie was a disappointment just like the book.
None of the plot lines felt fully developed. A little bit of story about the
numbers of baseball, a little bit of story about Billy Beane's past, a little
bit of story about his family life, etc. The producers felt if they crammed
that all together with Brad Pitt as the lead, it would be roughly a two-hour
movie and that's good enough to show on the screen. Still, I had a problem with
the book and the movie was that it focused on hitting and yes, I can see how
the theory worked well. At the time of this "moneyball" idea, the A's
had three dominate pitchers on their staff in Mulder, Zito, and Hudson. When
those guys left and the A's were still playing "moneyball", the A's
were no longer a contender. But I don't want to get into a sports debate here.
This is about the movie. The movie gives you a different look at the baseball
numbers, but I suggest if you want the full analysis, just go read the book
because I think the movie is a bit bland. That's my quick review; what's next?
Billy Beane (Pitt) is the general manger for the Oakland A's. A team who is trying to compete with all the other ball clubs out there, but they can only afford 25% of what the Yankees and Red Sox spend. Beane is inspired by a man named Bill James and his evaluation of certain player statistics that other ball clubs overlook. He with the help of a new Yale economics student (Hill) believe there is an affordable team of undervalued players that can replace Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen and still be a championship caliber team. But there are baseball purists and "experts" believe that he is nuts and just running the team into the ground.
The Guard (seen on
September 9, 2011)
Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong
Rating – 7
The good thing about indie flicks is that they are original stories, yet they sometimes seem rather simplistic. The movie had good laughs and the story was decent, but definitely the story was driven by the interactions between the quirky guard and the straight-laced FBI agent. Gleeson’s likeable, but often not politically correct character creates laughs throughout with his interactions with the more levelheaded people. The movie is only about an hour and a half so the movie is effective in telling the story with some laughs without dragging. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Sgt. Boyle (Gleeson) is a guard in a small Irish town. He is rather unorthodox, but he seems to get the job done. When one day a murder happens in his small town, he begins to realize that it may have bigger implications. Soon an FBI agent (Cheadle) arrives in Ireland to inform the guards of four dangerous drug runners somewhere in the country, and Boyle recognizes one as being his murder victim.
The Devil’s Double (seen on August 14, 2011)
Starring: Dominic Cooper
Rating – 7
The movie is based on a true story of Latif Yahia. It is disturbing to watch just how twisted Uday Hussein really was. Cooper plays both roles and does an excellent job of playing two opposite characters. This is an indie flick so it’s probably not getting too much coverage, but I thought it was worth the watch. Not a movie to cheer you up though because it is based on a true story. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A creepy inside view of the life of Latif Yahia, the body double for the
psychotic Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein. Latif is forced to be Uday’s
double or his family will be torture. Latif
must abide by Uday’s request, but just how long can he stand this life.
Captain America (seen on August 11, 2011)
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones
Rating –
A period piece movie as it was set during World War II. This movie was
better than I expected because the concept of Captain America as a super-hero
just seems dated and the character wouldn’t stand up against the test of time.
But since they set the whole thing during WWII it seemed to fit. Whether or not
he works in the future with his other Avengers will be seen next summer.
Director Joe Johnston seems to excel at period piece movies and is probably why
I found this movie better than expected. Basically, I realized that I am going
to see the Avengers movie next year and I need to see all the movies feeding
into it so I went out and saw this one; you might as well too. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Steve
Rogers (Evans) is a scrawny kid who is anxious to fight for his country, but he
can’t pass the physical until he meets a scientist with a serum that can alter
one’s DNA. The DNA makes you stronger, but also amplifies your personality so
only a person pure of heart is the ideal candidate and Rogers soon becomes
Captain America. A splinter group of the Nazi party is looking to dominate the
world led by a man known as Red Skull (Weaving). Can Captain America stop Red
Skull before he destroys the good-ole US of A?
Midnight in Paris (seen on
July 31, 2011)
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates
Rating – 8
I think Woody Allen found a great choice to play his typical role with Owen
Wilson. He fits the neurotic type character that you expect from Woody Allen
movies and it works in this film. Wilson does not come off as annoyingly
painful to watch type character as he tends to question his lot in life and
lament on what-ifs. A great movie that is sprinkled with laughs and has a good
storyline that flows nicely throughout.
Usually Allen’s films are just the middle of a story and never show an
ending, but I’d say this was a complete story. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Gil (Wilson) is working on his first novel on vacation in Paris with his
wife (McAdams) and her family. He romanticizes about living life in Paris,
especially during the 1920’s when many of his heroes lived and roamed the
streets of Paris. One night while walking drunk through the streets, he’s
picked up by a car of party-goers and taken to a completely different era. He
finds himself escaping every night at midnight to live in his fantasy world.
Cowboys and Aliens (seen
on July 29, 2011)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Rating – 6
Here we have a nice idea to combine a Western with a Sci-Fi movie, but the
movie was just okay to watch. Similar to most westerns, it lacks character
development and real storyline substance and just goes for a good vs. evil
battle. Even the reason why the aliens are here kidnapping people is kept
relatively simple. I’d hope the sci-fi part would bring more explanation to a
western, but it leans more western with the bad guys being aliens as opposed to
Indians or guys in black hats. Not a bad movie. Daniel Craig does an ok job as
the stranger in town and Harrison Ford does not create a memorable character as
some of his roles have been. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Jake (Craig) awakens in the desert without his memories and a strange metal
bracelet attached to his wrist. As he stumbles upon the nearby town, he finds
the town is controlled by a cattle rancher (Ford). One evening, spaceships fly
into town and snatch half of the townsfolk, a posse is formed to track down the
aliens and rescue their people.
Bridesmaids (seen on July
27, 2011)
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolf
Rating – 7
Here comes another Judd Apatow produced movie this time written by Kristen Wiig.
It is one of the better comedies I’ve seen this year, but part of Wiig’s humor
that she brings from SNL gets on my nerves more than it is funny. There are not
many comedies that are dominated by an all female cast and this is a refreshing
change of pace, although there is some rather crass humor that can be found in
a typical Apatow movie. If you were looking for a comedy, I’d recommend this
one. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Annie
(Wiig) and Lillian (Rudolf) are childhood best friends and Lillian soon becomes
engaged. Annie is struggling in her personal life, but couldn’t be happier to
be Lillian’s maid of honor at her ceremony. She meets the other bridesmaids and
develops a bit of jealously toward one woman in particular as Annie feels she
is losing control of her life and her best friend.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (seen on July 17,
2011)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Rating – 7
The movie starts right in the middle of a story; even more so than The Lord
of the Rings Part 2 & 3. The movie just continues as if you just finished
watching Part 1 and I found it rather annoying. I have just read the books only
6 months ago and I couldn’t remember exactly what happened in Part 1 of the
movie a year ago. As a stand-alone movie, the movie feels incomplete, as it’s
just the climax and wrap-up of the entire series. That being said, if the
movies are fresh on your brain, then you’ll think the movie is a great climatic
scene to the other seven movies. The movie does give you an ending to the
series, but there are some details in the book that explains a lot more of the
storyline that the movie tends to wave its hand over. Ultimately, I think the
movie would have been better if it was just The Deathly Hallows and been one
3.5 hour movie instead of two 2.5 hour movies. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Harry and his friends are still hunting down Horcruxes in hopes to stop
Voldemort. Soon the war will be taken to Hogwarts where Harry and his friends
will make their last stand.
Horrible Bosses (seen on July 15, 2011)
Starring: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer
Aniston, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx
Rating – 5
I agree that the three actors were
horrible bosses, but I didn’t think this was that good of a comedy. The funny
scenes were either in the previews or delivered by Charlie Day in the same
style as “Sunny in Philadelphia” so it felt like I had seen all the laughs
before. And I’m still having trouble as to Charlie’s problem with his boss and
why he wants her killed and just in general, none of these mild-mannered people
seem believable of wanting to murder their bosses, but it’s a movie. Basically,
I thought the laughs were rather light. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Three
friends have had enough of each of their bosses, and with the poor economy,
they see no other option, but to kill their bosses. With the advice of a shady
character, they decide to kill each other’s boss so the crime cannot be traced
back to them, but they find out that thinking about the idea is easier than
actually murdering someone.
X-Men: First Class (seen
on June 30, 2011)
Rating – 7
Starring: James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon
I was reluctant to see this movie after watching the X-men series go from
good to awful in just three movies, but this was a telling of the roots of the
X-men so I took a chance. If you know the X-men universe, you'll recognize that
the movie storylines don't coincide with the comic book storylines, but I still
enjoyed the movie. It's tough because you want to see the mutants powers, but
the more powers used in the movie usually means a weaker storyline (see X-men
3). Luckily, the training sequence (similar to an 80's movie montage) was able
to show off the mutants powers in a five minute span. Not a bad movie to watch.
Again nothing I'd say you need to run out and see, but if you enjoy the X-men
series, I recommend watching this one. Some unexpected cameos show up too,
which were a pleasant surprise. That's my quick review; what's next?
Charles Xavier (McAvoy) is a young PhD grad who is recruited by the US
government to fight these new brand of terrorist that possess abnormal powers.
Xavier soon begins to recruit young mutants to join his cause to stop another
group of mutants from starting World War III and the destruction of the human
race. But internal struggle exists amongst Xavier's team whether it's worth
saving the humans or not as the humans do not seem to fully trust the mutants.
Green Lantern (seen on
June 29, 2011)
Rating – 6
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard
I wouldn't say this is a must see movie, but it's not bad. Like most
superhero movies, the movie is broken down into thirds. The first third
introduces us to the hero and how he obtains his powers. The next third is the
struggle the superhero has coping with the powers through the development of a
plot and the final third is the big fight scene between good and evil. Reynolds
has been lucky enough to play his third superhero character. He's more of a
character than an actor as he is the same role in every movie. Lucky for him,
people tend to like the character of "Van Wilder" for his roles. I
doubt there will be another Green Lantern as the movie wasn't as profitable as
the studios hoped it would be, but I enjoyed this standalone version. That's my
quick review; what's next?
A
test pilot, Hal Jordan, is chosen by a group of immortals to protect part of
the universe with a ring that harnesses the power of will. There is an opposing
force in the universe that harnesses the power of fear and is on a destruction
path towards Earth. Hal (Reynolds) must find the courage in himself to stand up
and fight for Earth's survival and the universe.
Super 8 (seen on June 16, 2011)
Rating – 2
Starring - Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning
I didn't find this movie enjoyable at all. I think about twenty minutes into
the movie, I asked my friend how long the movie was to find out how much longer
I had to suffer. Maybe it's more for kids since there are kid actors in it, but
so was E.T. and that was entertaining. I'm starting to think J.J. Abrams
is a very over hyped writer/director. I think I prefer M. Night Shyamalan
movies and I don't watch his movies either. At least there's a point to his
movies. J.J. Abrams seems to write bad movies and say very little about them to
build suspense and rely on his huge "Lost" fan base to over hype it
and unleash the bad movie on the masses to make money. The movie was a cross
between E.T. and Cloverfield. I'm tired of wasting my time
talking about a bad movie. I know there will be people who disagree with me on
this one (especially the superfans of J.J. Abrams), but I wouldn't bother
watching this if it came on TV. Go watch the grass grow instead. That's my
quick review; what's next?
A
group of friends witness a military train wreck in the middle of the night. The
following days, strange occurrences pop up all over town and people start to
disappear. The military moves in quickly, but is keeping the local townsfolk in
the dark of the situation. The kids take it upon themselves to investigate what
is happening in the quiet, peaceful town.
Paul (seen on April 1,
2011)
Rating – 6
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost,
Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen
I was a bit disappointed in this latest movie from the Simon Pegg and Nick
Frost combo. Most of the funny parts
were shown during commercials, but the movie still has redeeming qualities I
just think it fell short as a comedy.
Frankly, I loved the number of reference to other movies, whether it was
location of a scene or direct quotes from famous movies (I’d say around ten
lines). I was kept interested by trying
to spot the movie references, but not so much by the storyline itself. Let’s hope the next Pegg/Frost movie will be
a step up. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are sci-fi nerds making their first trip to the U.S. and plan to travel along the major sightings of UFOs. On their roadtrip, they encounter an alien named Paul (Rogen) just outside of Area 51. Paul asks for help in escaping his captors and joins them in their Winnebago roadtrip.
The Adjustment Bureau
(seen on March 21, 2011)
Rating – 7
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt,
Terrence Stamp
Here’s another movie based on a Philip K. Dick novel so the story is
interesting, but not extensively developed.
The movie is kept simple by explaining the science fiction parameters
with succinct answers. I know some might
find it too easy with the explanations are more a wave of the hand, but I’m
willing to accept it as an answer and at least the audience isn’t left guessing
why or how. The heart of the movie is a
love story between Damon and Blunt and how strong fate plays a role in one’s
life. The characters are enjoyable to
watch and the movie moves rather quickly with a lack of subplots, but I still
found it enjoyable. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
David
Norris (Damon) is a young politician on his way up and has a chance encounter
with a ballerina named Elise (Blunt).
But when Norris stumbles upon a group of men manipulating his life, he
begins to struggle with the concept of free will when he is told to stay away
from Elise. Repeatedly his path
continues to cross paths with hers on chance encounters and he decides he must
risk it all to be with her no matter what the cost.
The King’s Speech (seen on February 26, 2011)
Rating – 9
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush,
Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce
So this movie has gone on to win the big awards at the Oscars. I can agree with Colin Firth pulling in the
Best Acting role. He did a great job
holding the stutter throughout his performance.
And the movie wins best picture and it probably is the best picture in
comparison to most of the crap Hollywood puts out nowadays. I don’t want to downplay that this is a
really good movie, it’s just there have been years in the past where there were
3 nominees for best picture better than this film and only one ended up
winning. Still, this movie is well shot
and has an excellent cast with Geoffrey Rush putting in another superb
performance. It’s an entertaining drama
with a few light-hearted laughs and great performances from the actors. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story follows the man who becomes King George VI (Firth). He suffers from a terrible stammer and does
not exude confidence in the public’s eye.
He seeks help from several doctors over the years and eventually tries a
new speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Rush) who proceeds to speak to the Prince
not as a royal, but as an equal. With
Logue’s help, the King is able to deliver his infamous speech heard around the
world as England declares war on Germany and establish himself as the voice of
England in the troubling times ahead.
True Grit (seen on February 24, 2011)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon
Watching this movie makes me realize that I’m not the biggest fan of
Westerns. There’s just not much of a
story to them. The acting was better than
the original, but it is still a remake and I’m not really sure if it was worth
my time in the theaters. I guess I’d
still prefer to see John Wayne with the reigns in his mouth and a gun in each
hand charging four armed men than Jeff Bridges.
It is interesting to see the story line being the same, yet the Coen
brothers are successful at turning the characters more into their type of
characters. If you like Westerns, then
you’ll like this. If not, I’d say wait
till it’s on Netflix. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Mattie Ross is a stubborn little girl who demands justice for her father’s
murder and seeks out the toughest US Marshall, Rooster Cogburn (Bridges). Along the trail, they are joined by a Texas
Ranger (Damon), who seeks the same man for a murder in Texas.
The Way Back (seen on
January 21, 2011)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris,
Colin Farrell
Allegedly this is based on a true story, but has been questioned over the
years. I wouldn’t say this is a must see
because the plot is very simple, escape the Gulag and walk to freedom. There’s not really much of a subplot in the
movie. Yet the one plot is driven well
with excellent actors under a director who has shown great achievements in the
past. I wouldn’t have minded a little
more substance to the story, but still despite the simple concept of walking
from Siberia to India, I didn’t get bored with the movie and feel the need to
check my watch. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Janusz (Sturgess) is a Polish soldier who is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sentenced to the Gulag in 1940. After being there for a while, he realizes that if he hopes to live he needs to escape. He and 6 other inmates escape the Gulag and attempt to walk India to freedom while fighting the elements, hunger, and themselves.
Blue Valentine (seen on
January 20, 2011)
Rating – 3
Starring: Michele Williams, Ryan
Gosling
I know this is one of the big indie flicks for some award talks, but really
I didn’t like this movie when it was called Revolutionary Road. It’s not identical, but very similar and
both of them are bad. I know some people
will love both and go on and on about the good performance, but frankly I
didn’t enjoy watching the movie. It’s a
sad story; I get it, but the whole movie is drawn on like that. There’s no break for the audience to relax
and see that they did have fun at one point.
There’s one scene in the movie and it’s only about a minute and half of
happiness. Everything else is
depressing. Sorry, there are better ways
to tell a somber story without making your audience experience two hours of
agony. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
The story starts with Cindy (Williams) and Dean (Gosling) as a couple who have been married for a while and their marriage has lost its spark. The story follows the quick deterioration of the marriage if a short time span splashed with flash backs of how they initials got together. Overall it appears to be a quick courtship and a quick end.
Hubble 3D (seen on
December 30, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
It’s not really starring Leo, but he is narrating. I went in seeing this hoping the whole thing would be full of Hubble images. The documentary is only 45 minutes long. About 25 minutes are about Hubble and it’s images. The remaining 20 minutes is the history of it and the latest repair. I guess it was ok seeing the astronauts move through space in 3D images, but come on, I want those crazy pictures of the stars. And some of them are mesmerizing images of space. Not really a movie review, but I saw it in the theaters and felt it needed a review. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Tron: Legacy (seen on December 28, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde
I’m not really sure why Disney brought back Tron, oh wait…Hollywood is out
of ideas. But still, most people didn’t
realize there was a Tron part one so it’s not like they are bringing out a
sequel that would guarantee money for them.
So the first one was a cult classic and going into this movie I didn’t
expect much. Basically this movie was
enjoyable. I like it because I had seen
the original. I’m thinking if you didn’t
see the first one or hated the first one, then you should not bother with
watching this movie. The movie extends
the plot further to allow the audience one more trip into The Grid in a world
of light-cycles and disc showdowns. Not
that great of a plot, nice graphics and imagery…sounds like the first one…well
compared to 1982 standards. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Kevin
Flynn (Bridges) has built a virtual world and he is on the verge of expanding
it to the next level, but suddenly disappears without a trace. But after missing for two decades, his son
Sam returns to his father’s old arcade where he is zapped into The Grid. Soon he finds himself involved in a dangerous
cyber world and no way out.
The Social Network (seen
on November 24, 2010)
Rating – 6
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin
Timberlake
This movie was ok. This is not an
Oscar worthy movie like some of the hype around it, but maybe it has a chance
because movies in general this year have been down. Jesse Eisenberg doesn’t play his typical
pathetic hero in this movie, which is refreshing, but his character is still
annoying. I thought the story jumped
around too much from storyline to storyline and all the constant jumping back
in forth from telling the story to the courtroom. I just didn’t like how the movie flowed. Maybe I should add that I’m not on
Facebook. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
The story allegedly follows the life of Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, from his days at Harvard to building his 500 million people strong social network. It shows where the idea of Facebook originated and the enemies Mark made along the way.
Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows Part 1 (seen on November 21, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma
Watson, Rupert Grint
I still have not read this book since this is based solely on the
movie. The movie started off well and
ended well, but there were scenes in the middle that just seemed long and drug
out. The movie felt slow to me and I
didn’t learn anything new besides what the Deathly Hallows is. Apparently, if you had read the book you
thought it was great. I just expected
more with the ending of the series in sight.
I’m guessing Part 2 will be intense, but we’ll see in the summer. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
There is fear among the wizard community on whom you can trust and who is part of the Voldemort’s army. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are by themselves and isolated from everyone. The three realize they need to find the remaining Horcruxes if they are to defeat Voldemort, but how do they find them and how do they destroy them. And now they find that Voldemort is in search of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world know as the Deathly Hallows.
Megamind (seen on November
12, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey,
Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, David Cross
So it’s amazing, I found out that not only do I not like Will Ferrell as an
actor, but I don’t like him as a voice actor either. The way animation is done nowadays, the
characters are animated to imitate the movements of the actors so yes, it is
Will Ferrell. The movie was enjoyable,
but compared to “action-hero” cartoon movies, I prefer The Incredibles
and Monsters vs. Aliens. I did
like how the movie focused on the bad guy and why he is the way that he
is. The movie had a good storyline and a
few laughs so I think it’s worth a watch.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Megamind grew up alongside Metro Man and was seen as the bad guy because he was different so he decided why not be the best bad guy possible. And then the rivalry continued to blossom into their adult lives. But one day Megamind defeats Metro Man and now the city is his. Soon he realizes there’s no excitement in his life without Metro Man so Megamind so devises a way to create a new rival.
Jackass 3D (seen on October 20, 2010)
Rating – 5
Starring: Johnny Knoxville
The guys from Jackass have returned in 3D format. I usually enjoy seeing them hurt themselves
in their stupid stunts so why not see it in 3D.
The guys are getting a bit older and maybe they’ve made too many of
these movies, but I still laughed at some of the stunts. Not much too really say about this movie
besides that. 3D added a little bit as
you were able to have a better visually image of the stunts. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The Town (seen on October 18, 2010)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jeremy
Renner, Jon Hamm
Rating – 8
Ben Affleck returns to directing this time starring himself instead of his
brother in another crime thriller movie.
He’s fine as a director, but I still get tired of him on screen as a
lead actor. This may be his best
performance as the leading actor, but you still get tired of him on screen all
the time. Now don’t let that discourage
you from seeing this movie solely based on that. The movie is rather interesting and reminds
me a lot of the movie Heat. Jeremy
Renner plays his typical soldier/gunman role the same he does in every movie
except now he has an annoying accent and cheesy moustache. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Charlestown
is a suburb of Boston known for producing criminals and junkies. Affleck and his crew rob banks and armored
cars. They had been successful so far
until they take a hostage from one bank robbery that might be able to ID
them. Affleck runs into the hostage
later while tailing her to find out if there’s any concern, but soon starts to
like her. Now Affleck is trying to hide
her from his crew, plan the next robbery with the main mob boss pressuring him,
and all this is happening as the feds are getting closer to catching them.
The Expendables (seen on
August 13, 2010)
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason
Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin,
Terry Crewes, Mickey Rourke
Rating – 8
Ok, so I know this movie stars a bunch of aging actors and there’s no real
plot to this, but this movie is awesome.
The body count was high, the jokes were cheesy, and the good guys
win…what more do you want in an action movie?
It looked like these guys had a lot of fun making this movie and it was
fun to watch the banter between each other.
This isn’t the best-written movie I’ve seen all year, but it is one of
the more enjoyable ones. This movie
brings back the feel of the 80’s action movie and I think it works. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Ross
(Stallone) and his band of mercenaries live by the rule if the money is right,
then the job is right. He and his group
get hired to take out an evil general who has taken control of his South
American island. When Ross and Christmas
(Statham) scout the island, they meet a young rebel named Sandra and find out
what is really happening on the island.
Now Ross must decide between aborting the mission to save his life or
attempt a suicidal mission to bring some meaning to his life.
Inception (seen on July
21, 2010)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine
Rating – 9
DiCaprio delivers another good performance in a movie and this time, the
movie is a good one to match. The movie
can be a little difficult to follow with the jumping between dream sequences. Basically, the only reason Ellen Page’s
character is in the movie is to help explain to the audience how the process
works. The movie could have benefited
with a little more explaining to make it complete, but probably would have made
the movie too long and not worth the trouble.
I really enjoyed the movie, but I left the theaters with my mind racing
of what I just watched. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Cobb (DiCaprio) and his crew enter the minds of powerful people to steal
their secrets while they sleep as they control the whole dream. Cobb is hired to instead of steal a secret,
but to rather plant an idea into a very powerful executive on the verge of
inheriting his father’s company. Once
inside the dream, things don’t run as smoothly as planned.
Predators (seen on July
18, 2010)
Rating – 4
Starring: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace
I went into this movie expecting a bad storyline, but at least so nice
action in the movie. I got that bad
storyline I expected, but the action wasn’t there either. Plus, I know it’s not a realistic movie, but
some of the things the characters did or reacted just didn’t make sense. I wouldn’t bother with watching this
movie. Just watch the original one
again. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
A group of random mercenaries from Earth are dropped off on an alien planet
and they soon find out that they’re being hunted like big game animals by an
elite alien race. The group decides to
stick together to find a way to survive and hopefully to escape the planet
before they’re all slaughtered.
How to Train Your Dragon
(seen on April 23, 2010)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Craig
Ferguson
Rating – 7
I don’t think there were Scottish Vikings, but there weren’t dragons either
so oh well. I enjoyed the movie and the
3D was a nice touch. It didn’t have as
much adult humor as some cartoons do, but it was still there. I do like watching these cartoons because
they’re usually not sequels and they are original stories. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Hiccup is a young Viking who is the screw-up of his village. He lives in his father’s shadow who is the
great leader of the village. One day
when the dragons attack his village, Hiccup successfully wounds one of the
feared dragons, but when he eventually tracks it down, he doesn’t have the
heart to finish him off. Instead he
slowly nurses the dragon back to health and eventually befriends it. The other villagers are unaware of this so
Hiccup begins to show off in dragon-killing school his hidden knowledge of the
dragon and soon some become suspicious.
Greenberg (seen on April
3, 2010)
Rating – 4
Starring: Ben Stiller
I guess this is Ben Stiller’s attempt to go back and play a serious role. I
don’t mind his past performances, but this role just seems wrong. This role doesn’t seem like a step away
from his previous roles just the normal anxiety type character he normally
plays except the movie is a drama and not a comedy. The movie feels too awkward and difficult to
watch with his neurotic antics and his lady quirks. I thought it felt too uncomfortable to watch.
You don’t wait for the ending to hope everything works out, but more of just
hoping for an ending to get out of the uneasiness of the movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Roger Greenberg has returned to LA to get away and stay at his brother’s
house while he’s on vacation. He’s
recently left a mental institution and is just trying to get away from
everything to find where he is in his life.
Greenberg finds himself living in the past as he reconnects with his old
friends and former girlfriend. The only
thing holding him to the present is his brother’s quirky assistant and their
odd relationship with each other.
Shutter Island (seen on
February 23, 2010)
Rating – 6
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark
Ruffalo, Ben Kinglsey, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams
I know the movie is filmed in the film noir type, but it just seemed too
cliché to me. I think movies have
advanced since the days of the 40’s and 50’s when film noir was popular and
that’s good. I think DiCaprio did a good
job in playing his role and fitting it into the genre of the film, but the film
overall just felt like a poor screenplay of borrowed ideas from the past. I expect Scorsese and DiCaprio’s next project
together will be a better one and I’m sure there will be another joint project
from these two. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
A
prisoner has gone missing on Shutter Island and two US Marshals are called in
to assist in locating her. Marshall
Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner (Ruffalo) are introduced to the guards
and doctors at the prison for the criminally insane. As they try to find the missing prisoner, the
nurses and guards responses seem a little rehearsed. Daniels is suspicious that there is something
more sinister going on at that prison, but he doesn’t know who to trust.
Crazyheart (seen on
February 12, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell
This might not be the best movie to see for someone who can’t stand country
music because it is littered throughout the movie. Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell do their own
singing in this movie and really it’s not good singing, but I guess it is
somewhat passable for a wailing country singer.
I find it funny that half of the movie is set in Houston, TX yet there
are only two shots actually in Houston and it does not involve any actors. It a simple story about a washed-up country
singer who travels the local circuits just trying to make a buck. It reminds me a bit of last year’s The
Wrestler in that aspect, but there is a little more hope for this character
as you can be an old and successful country singer. Overall, it was an ok movie to watch, but not
something you need to rush out to see in the theaters. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Bad Blake (Bridges) is an old country singer who has not had a hit in some
times and he is touring bowling alleys and small bars just to make a living
still. He meets a young reporter, Jean
(Gyllenhaal), who is interested in writing a story on him, but Blake is
interested in more than just a story.
Blake’s manager gets him a gig opening for his successful former protégé
Tommy Sweet (Farrell), but there is some bad blood between them. His health is failing, his personal life is a
wreck, and his professional career is fading into the twilight, Bad is just
trying to hold it together before he hits rock bottom.
The Book of Eli (seen on February 5, 2010)
Rating – 5
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
I go into this movie expecting a somewhat Mad Max type movie with a little
religious undertone. Instead I got more of a religious movie, not much
action and more talk. I do like the camera shots that the movie had to
make the earth look desolate (and there were several of them to fill time in
the movie), but that is about the extent of my enjoyment of the movie. I
didn't like how at times Denzel seemed to have a superhuman quality to him.
I believe Mila Kunis was not right for this role and I think the good
actors, Washington and Oldman, in the movie were not used to their potential.
I would wait for cable on this one. That's my quick review; what's
next?
Eli (Washington) is traveling to a place out west after a post-apocalyptic war decimated the Earth's population and reduced most people's living to primitive means. He encounters a town where he hopes to stock up supplies for his continuing journey. The town is controlled by Carnegie (Oldman), who is after a specific book that contains powerful words to inspire/control the masses. He hears from an ignorant Solara (Kunis) that Eli may have this book and Carnegie will do whatever it takes to get this book, but Eli has sworn to protect it.
Avatar (seen on February 4, 2010)
Rating – 6
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
I was debating whether or not to go see this movie for some time. The
movie is supposed to be long, visually stunning, politically charge,
ground-breaking, etc. Things both good and bad and I decided that
eventually in life I would see it and I think it would be best to watch on the
big screen in 3D. I am glad I did because this is the only way to watch
this movie for enjoyment; otherwise, it's not worth watching. The animation and 3D effects are just
amazing. You get this feeling that you are in the environment of the
story, but that sums up the good parts of the movie. I did feel that the
movie is long. There were too many long sequences displaying the
animation as they run through the jungle and I kept thinking get on with the
story. And yes, I believe this movie is politically charged. Yes, the native people are like the Native
Americans in how they value nature and family and are being pushed off their
sacred land, but the military is like the US army in Iraq, or at least with
Hollywood's spin. When the army talks about going in hard and fast and
one of the characters uses the phrase "shock and awe", I'm sorry, but
there is no denying that there is a political message. There are more
links than just that, but I am not going into it. If you want to make a political movie that's
fine, but do not insult the public by saying it is not one. No wonder it
is doing so well overseas compared to the US. Basically it boils down to
if you have an interest in seeing it, then you must see it in the theaters in
3D; otherwise, I think you will be disappointed in any other format because the
story is nothing new. That's my quick review; what's next?
Jake's
(Worthington) twin brother, the scientist, dies unexpected and Jake is offered
his brother's spot on a mission to Pandora. On Pandora there is a
precious natural resource the government wants to mine, but the problem is the
indigenous people live right above the reservoir and do not want to move as it
is their sacred land. Grace (Weaver) is on the scientist team that is
there to study the planet's life. To blend in with the natives, the
scientists use a virtual reality type machine to enter into an alien-looking
avatar to interact with the native people. Jake is on the
team since his brother's avatar was already created and their DNA are a close
enough match. Being a former marine, Jake is more on the protection side
than the science side and is quickly recruited by the sinister Colonel Quaritch
to spy on the natives and find their weak points. Jake soon gets into
trouble in his avatar out on the planet, but is saved by a native, Neytiri
(Saldana), who soon teaches him the ways of her people.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (seen on January 18, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits with Johnny
Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell
The last film by Heath Ledger is a good film, but his performance is not as
great as his Joker in The Dark Knight. The movie definitely has a Terry
Gilliam feel to it as it is odd, confusing and trippy. The movie is
filmed like a mix between the "Fisher King" and "Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas"; what I mean by this is that there is a storyline,
but it goes into weird abstract subplots. It's the scenes in the
Imaginarium that are confusing and those are the scenes that do not star Heath
Ledger. I wonder what was changed in the story after Ledger's death; it
might have just been the subtle change of Ledger's character appearance change
once inside the Imaginarium. There's a bit of silliness inside the
Imaginarium, but the interactions between Dr. Parnassus (Plummer) and Mr. Nick
(Waits) were very interesting as the story unfolds. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Dr.
Parnassus (Plummer) has a traveling show where people enter the wonderful
Imaginarium where the individual chooses between Dr. Parnassus' option of joy
and happiness or Mr. Nick's (Waits) dark and gloom. Outside the
Imaginarium, Dr. Parnassus is running out of time to pay Mr. Nick his winnings
from a wager a long time ago. Dr. Parnassus is hopeful that a random
run-in with an amnesiac (Ledger) was no random run-in at all, but instead a
sign that there's hope in a new wager with the eager Mr. Nick before he must
pay his costly debt. (I'm intentionally keeping it vague so not to give
too much of the plot away.)
Up In the Air (seen on January 13, 2010)
Rating – 7
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman
Jason Reitman is turning out to be a good director as he creates yet another
enjoyable movie. This movie is worth a watch, although I slightly
disagree with the award nominations it's getting. George Clooney pulls
off his usual good performance by getting the feeling like the role was written
for him. The characters were people you could relate to and the topic of
layoffs really hits the current times, which is possibly why it is getting
attention from the awards committees. I enjoyed how you could watch the
characters realistically grow throughout the story with the people they
interact with and their working environment. That's my quick review;
what's next?
Ryan
(Clooney) is a hired consultant who travels 330 days a year to other companies
to fire employees. He meets a fellow constant traveler (Farmiga) and is
able to connect with her. But soon trouble in the home office leads to a
change in his career/lifestyle at the hands of a fresh young grad (Kendrick).
She joins him on the road to see how the old ways are and soon broadens
her horizons of the real world while Ryan gains experience in forming
relationships with people.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (seen
on December 16, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill
Murray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe
Wes Anderson brings back the stop-motion reminiscent of the old Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer show. It was interesting to watch how it still felt
like a Wes Anderson movie despite being based on a Roald Dahl book. Just the way it was shot and the dialogue
just screamed Wes Anderson production. The story is entertaining and a
bit child-like; after all, it is based on a children's book, but the stop-motion
is a nice change and there are laughs sprinkled throughout the movie.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Mr.
Fox (Clooney) enjoys the wildness of his life as he steals chickens from
farmhouses; however, with a baby on the way, Mrs. Fox (Streep) insists that he
retires from that profession and find a safer job. A couple of years go
bye and Mr. Fox gets that itching urge to start up his old life as he finds no
excitement in being a father and newspaper columnist. He soon returns to
his former life, but the farmers are angry and want revenge for his attacks and
the farmers' revenge endangers the whole animal community.
Boondock Saints II: All Saints
Day (seen on November 20, 2009)
Rating – 5
Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery,
Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly
Why
do I even bother with sequels? Ten years after the first release into the
cinemas and later became a huge DVD sensation, the writher/director decides to
use the same formula. I mean they have a
good number of the same actors reprising their roles from the first one with
the story being told the exact same way and even the scenes are shot in the
same way. This may have been a good movie if it was the first one, but
it's basically just a search for more money from the fans of the first one.
Also, maybe someone should tell some people in Hollywood that a wrinkle
on your face looks better than when you talk and your face doesn't move at all
because it's so stretched from the face-lift. Despite the many flashbacks
and reference to the first one, it is essential that one has seen the first one
to follow this movie. I think there is a good chance they will make a
third if this one makes money; they left it open for one. By watching
this one, it just made me want to leave the cinemas and rewatch the first one.
That's my quick review; what's next?
The MacManus brothers, known to the media as The Saints, are being called out
by themob for the terror they cause them. A hit is made on a Catholic
priest in Boston in the same manner as the brothers executed their prey.
This causes the brothers to come out of hiding and search out the
mastermind of who is calling them out and why. They elicit the help of a
new sidekick in tracking down these wanted men. On the inside, detectives
Duffy, Dolly, and Greenly are eager to help, but they are more worried about
themselves when a new FBI agent is in town to investigate the case and track
down the MacManus brothers.
The Informant! (seen on October 9, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula
This movie was a bit of a let down I thought. I had heard good things
about it, but I thought the movie fell short. I didn't like how the movie
had this 1970's type feel to it despite the fact that most of the movie took
place in the mid 1990's. The problem with this movie was the fact that
you just couldn't get behind the protagonist character. Damon played him well to deliver subtle
comedy throughout the movie, but the character seemed to spineless and dumb to
pull for or want to follow. The movie is
based on a true story, but I really wonder how much of it is true, especially
with the opening statement of the movie. That's my quick review; what's
next?
Mark Whitacre (Damon) works in Decatur, IL at a lysine development company known as ADP. When the government decides to go after his company for price fixing, Mark turns informant to aid the FBI in their case. The problem is that Mark enjoys his "secret agent" status a little too much and cause trouble for the FBI as he doesn't use much common sense.
Zombieland (seen on October 8, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg
So I know the movie is essentially an American version of "Shaun of the
Dead", but it doesn't make it a remake. They just share similarities
on the zombie-comedy genre. And like "Shaun of the Dead", I
enjoyed this one (maybe not as much, but still worth the watch). Although
the movie did have it's drawbacks like this Jesse Eisenberg is too much of a
weenie in this movie and reminds me too much of Michael Cera. Maybe it
was good that the movie was a bit on the short side preventing me from finding
him just annoying as opposed to intolerable. I thought Woody Harrelson
was entertaining as the zombie-hating redneck as opposed to his real self of
the vegan-hippie. That's my quick review; what's next?
Most
of the population has been mutilated or changed into zombies. Names are not important because that causes
people to get attached to one another and most people will not be around long
enough. Columbus (Eisenberg) is on his way to Ohio where he soon crosses
paths with Tallahassee who is also heading north. Along their journey
they encounter zombies and must eliminate them, but it's Tallahassee's craving
for Twinkies that leads them to a grocery store where they meet two con artist
sisters, Wichita and Little Rock. After a rocky start, the four travel
west to a California amusement believed to be zombie-free.
9 (seen on October 2, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Elijah Wood, Martin Landau,
John C. Reilly, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly
The animation to this movie was excellent; the story wasn't bad, it was just
too underdeveloped. The movie was less than 80 minutes long and I think
they easily could have developed/completed the story with just an additional 20
minutes and it still would have been a "short" movie, but a complete
movie. Most of the time was spent on the animation instead of the
writing. The movie is fast paced with one of the characters always in
harm's way, but the questions of why and how things are the way they are just
are not answered satisfactory. Even the main struggle does not make much
sense on why there is a struggle at all, but I guess it's better to accept it
and just enjoy the animation. That's my
quick review; what's next?
The story starts off with a post-apocalyptic war where we're introduced to 9
(Wood) who is alone and unaware of his surroundings. 9 soon meets others
like him and learns the perils they have endured during their existence.
There is a sinister machine from wartime that is programmed to create
other deadly machines to eradicate life. 9 and the others are the only
representation of life left and must decide between fighting the machine or to
live out their existence in hiding.
Extract (seen on October 1, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck,
Mila Kunis
The movie was entertaining to watch, but I didn't find it that funny. The story was ok, but overall the movie just
lacked the laughs that a comedy should have. Frankly, I'm tired of Jason
Bateman already. He plans the same blah, ho-hum character in everything
he does. I can't tell if that's a result of type-casting or that's just
how he is in real life. When you watch a
comedy, it's mostly about the laughs and not the storyline, but unlike Mike
Judge's "Office Space", this didn't have the laughs. It's not
worth watching at the cinema, but don't avoid it if it comes on TV.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Joel
(Bateman) is the owner of a factory that makes extract. He is at that
point in his life where he's unhappy with his job and unhappy with his marriage
and thinking about getting out of both. One day an accident happens at
the factory and injures an employee.
When Cindy (Kunis), a petty crook, reads about the accident in the
paper, she gets to know the injured employee in order to convince him to sue
the company for millions to steal it for herself. So Joel is now
concerned about the lawsuit and troubles with the wife, he turns to Dean
(Affleck) for help and is giving poor advice on the whole situation.
The Boat That Rocked (aka Pirate Radio in US)
(seen on September 12, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans
One advantage to working outside the US is that you get to see some movies
earlier than the release in the States.
Allegedly this movie is coming out in November in the US under the title
Pirate Radio. Other rumors I read
is that they’re going to remove some scenes of the movie before releasing in
the States, which is a good thing. The
movie does feel very long; I know I kept checking my watch throughout the
film. It could be because all the
subplots throughout the movie that start up and then finish and yet the movie
continues on. The main plot of the movie
is a bit weak and musical montages are shown throughout similar to comedies in
the 80's. I felt this movie was more for
Richard Curtis (writer/director) to express his love of music cause the movie
is music with subplots sprinkled throughout.
Maybe if I grew up in that time period I would have liked the movie
more, but that’s only cause I would have enjoyed the music. The movie is based on some actual truth, but
the boat and the people on it are fictional and just for entertainment. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Back
in 1966, BBC radio in the UK only played 45 minutes of rock ‘n roll on the
radio so pirate radio stations were set up in the North Sea to broadcast rock
‘n roll 24 hours a day. Quentin (Nighy)
is the owner of the pirate radio station known as Radio Rock and is joined by
his godson and the DJ’s on board in a fight for survival against the British
government who wants to shut their broadcast down and it’s “pollution” of the
airwaves.
Gamer (seen on September 8, 2009)
Rating – 5
Starring: Gerard Butler
I go into this movie expecting a mind-numbing shoot-em-up game type
movie. That’s what I got. The real disappointment was how much story
they tried to develop from it. You felt
like you were watching a game during the war scenes so I guess they got the
effect they wanted for those shots, but who likes to watch people play
videogames? Well, apparently me cause I
went to the movie, but I would have prefer it to stick with more violence and
less of the slow, underdeveloped storyline.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Kable (Butler) is a convicted killer and has opted to play in a reality game known as “Slayers” where a user controls your every action. He’s been fortunate enough to survive 27 matches so far and once he makes it to 30, he gets a full pardon, which has never been done before. Kable’s only hope is surviving the 30 deadly matches to be reunited with his family, but the creator of “Slayers” does not want this reality star to escape and reveal his sinister plot.
District 9 (seen on September 7, 2009)
Rating – 5
Starring: Sharlto Copley
I think more could have been done with this movie. There was a story there that wasn’t fully
developed and that may have been related to how the film was shot as a
documentary to reveal the missing storylines, but there just wasn’t enough of
it. I just thought too much of the story
was covered with a quick wave of the hand to get to the action. There’s something about the ending that really
bothered me that didn’t fit well with the beginning of the movie, but I don’t
want to give that a way. Basically, it
felt like the whole movie was just the middle of a story, no developed
beginning and no wrapped up finish.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
refugee alien ship arrives over Johannesburg, South Africa and the aliens are
taken in by the humans and put in camps (District 9). Over the years, the aliens clash with the
humans and it has been decided that the MNU (Multi-National United) led by
Wikus (Copley) will displace the aliens to District 10 where there will be less
interaction with the humans. But when
Wikus is accidentally sprayed with an alien fluid he starts to change into one
of the aliens and soon must side with the aliens to save his own life from his
former colleagues.
Funny People (seen on August 24, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen,
Leslie Mann, Eric Bana
Let’s start off with stating that this is a drama that has comedy in it and
not the other way around. Unlike most,
people don’t like Adam Sandler when he does serious roles; I don’t have a
problem with that. The one who couldn’t
pull it off was Seth Rogen; it was just difficult to watch him play the serious
role. There is comedy cause they’re
doing standup throughout the movie and other stuff, but since the main
character is dying of a disease, it’s not all laughs. I just felt the movie was too much ups and
downs and the movie just didn’t seem to flow that well as a whole. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
George
Simmons (Sandler) is an experienced actor/comedian who finds out that he has a
rare disease that will kill him. Ira
(Rogen) is a struggling comedian who is hired by Simmons to be his assistant
and write jokes for him. Simmons returns
to the stand-up scene while battling his disease with experimental drugs. The disease soon makes Simmons reflect upon
his life and wonder about the choices he’s made in life and at the persuasion
of Ira, makes contacts with old friends and family to reconnect with them
before time is too light.
The Ugly Truth (seen on August 2, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Gerard
Butler
So I went and saw a romantic comedy today.
I would have to say I’ve seen better, but I would think that this is
directed more towards women only, which is starting to become a pattern for
Katherine Heigl. There’s something about
here that I don’t like; I know she’s trying to be the next Meg Ryan, but I
don’t think she has it. Gerard Butler
was ok, but after a while his character just seemed too much over the top and
for that matter, so did Heigl’s. That’s
probably the point where it just stopped working for me. Just some scenes seemed too ridiculous to
believe. The two of them together just
didn’t seem to have believable chemistry together. And adding in some cuss words and a little
more profane humor does not make the movie an adult comedy. They should have stuck with cheesy romantic
humor. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Abby
(Heigl) is a producer in Sacramento who has no luck with romance. Mike (Butler) is an outrageous, tell you
straight how man and women work type of guy.
When the ratings start to fall on Abby’s show, Mike is hired to mix
things up and create ratings. Abby soon
meets a surgeon next door and Mike is trying to get her with the guy to earn
her respect and acceptance.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (seen on July 26, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
I know everyone is complaining that the Harry Potter kids are so much older
than they should be, but that doesn't bother me. How old are they
supposed to be cause they drink butter beer and wine in the movie? What bothered me is this is book six and the
story is getting closer to ending and yet the movie is full of teenage love.
There was only one big thing, and it was big, that advanced the story;
the rest was just about the kids and their feelings toward one another.
And it was painful to watch those long drawn out awkward scenes.
Remember, this point of view is strictly based on the movie, as I've
never read a Harry Potter book. So far in the ranking of the six movies,
I think this was probably fourth with one being the highest. It's worth
seeing if you're following the overall storyline, but this movie as an
individual was a bit weak compared to the rest. One more thing about the
movie is enough with the Quidditch matches already. They usually offer
very little to the plot (except maybe this movie) and you could keep the movie
shy of three hours. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Harry
is starting his sixth year at Hogwarts although there is a buzz around him on
how he could be the "Chosen One". There is a fear that
Voldemort is gaining strength and anxious to exact his revenge on his foes.
The students are aware of the looming danger and Dumbledore seems
occupied with preparing Harry for battle and finding a way to defeat Voldemort.
Harry and his friends are now teenagers and battle their awkwardness of
having a crush on one another. An old professor is persuaded by
Dumbledore to return to Hogwarts to continue teaching to the students, but
secretly Dumbledore has an ulterior motive for having his old friend and
colleague return.
Public Enemies (seen on July 19, 2009)
Rating – 5
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian
Bale, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard
I think Johnny Depp’s acting ability had gone unnoticed for most of his
career, and nowadays blown out of proportion, because of lack luster
movies. Watching this movie compared to
other movies is like reading an encyclopedia and comparing it to a novel. Sure, the facts are there and it tells you
something, but there was no real development of the characters. Who were you supposed to support in the
movie: the gangster who’s not portrayed
as violent as he was, but still killed and robbed people or the weasel FBI man
who couldn’t get the job done and made bad decisions? Both performances by Bale and Depp just
seemed weak and two-dimensional. The
failed sub plot of the love story between Dillinger and his girl Billie was
underdeveloped and forced to quickly on the audience to give a likeable quality
to Dillinger. Unlike other outlaw movies
like Jesse James, Michael Mann was unsuccessful in portraying Dillinger as a
likeable guy; maybe he should have gone “Hollywood” and make up the whole thing
and just keep the names the same. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
John
Dillinger (Depp) is a bank robber in the 1930’s in the Chicago area. J. Edgar Hoover (Crudup) has vowed to stop
crime in the Chicago area and has appointed FBI man Melvin Purvis (Bale) to
lead the taskforce in Chicago. While
Dillinger is out celebrating his “earnings”, he runs across Billie (Cotillard)
out one night and they hit it off.
Purvis is getting desperate to capture Dillinger so he soon pulls out
all the stops and Dillinger just can’t walk away from the whole situation.
Year One (seen on June 21, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera
The movie seems to start off cave man times, but it follows more along the
story line of the Bible. I went into
this movie not expecting much as Jack Black can be over-bearing nowadays and
Michael Cera is a character and not an actor.
I was tired of his “acting” ability when I saw ten minutes of him in
anything other than Arrested Development. But I was surprised to find several laughs
throughout the movie but that may have been helped by Harold Ramis successful
line of comedy experience. The plot is
very weak, but I simply enjoyed the movie for a stupid laugh. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Two “cave-men”, Zed and Oh, are evicted from their village for going against their people’s ways. Zed (Black) believes he possesses a knowledge that there is a better life beyond his village while Oh (Cera) is his less than masculine side-kick. They encounter several new wonders as they meet people, but they ultimately run across their former villagers and the women they once wooed have been sold into slavery. They try to devise a half-ass plan to free their former friends, but nothing will come easy for these idiots.
The Brothers Bloom (seen on June 17, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz,
Mark Ruffalo
The characters are very interesting and the actors portray them perfectly,
but the big finish to the movie is just not there for me. It’s not how it ended, but how it got to the
ending that is too improbable to me. I
don’t want to give it away in the review, but it seemed that the writer had an
ending he wanted to get to from the middle, but couldn’t connect it so pulled
the first idea to get it to work. I
think it could have connected a lot simpler, but that’s beside the point. With con man movies, there’s usually
something the writer knows that the audience doesn’t and it is revealed all at
the end. I just felt there was too many
things unexplained that the writer didn’t let the audience in on to give that
feeling he conned us. Interesting
characters, a clever idea, but the movie falls short of being able to wrap the
story in a nice little bow. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
The
brothers Bloom grow up bouncing around their childhood getting into mischievous
trouble. As they grow up, the become
known as the greatest con man duo in the world, but the younger Bloom has had
enough of being characters in his older brother’s clever cons. So finally Stephen creates the last con for
he and his brother to con a wealthy heiress with nothing else to do in life but
to waste money and nothing would please the brothers more than to help her with
her problem.
The Hangover (seen on June 12, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Bradley Cooper
It may be nice to see a new comedy that doesn't consist of Ben Stiller, Will
Ferrell, or Seth Rogen, but I still feel like this movie fell short on laughs.
The movie is ultimately the same type of story as "Dude, Where's My
Car" except switch lost car with groom.
Both were drunken friends who lost something and try to find out what
happened the night before by talking to some outlandish and bazaar people (Mike
Tyson included). The laughs and the
characters are better, but there's not a great storyline to it and a bit hard
to believe every scenario that happened over the course of a night. And
like most comedies, most of the funny scenes could be seen during the previews.
Also, who has a bachelor's party only 2 days before a wedding? That
doesn't happen anymore. That's my quick review; what's next?
Four guys head to Vegas for a bachelor's party two days before the wedding. They wake up the next morning not remembering a thing except that the night started off with a toast and now the groom is missing. The other three guys retrace their steps from the night before to figure out what happened and to get their friend back to town for the wedding. The previous night slowly unfolds as they encounter people they met from their crazy night.
Up (seen May 29, 2009)
Rating – 7
Starring: Ed Asner, Christopher
Plummer
A little added bonus by watching this movie as I caught it in 3D, which was
nice for a while, but at some point it starts to hurt your eyes and make them
tired and you can’t take them off or the screen will be blurry. But I’m writing this to evaluate the movie
and not the optional effects. The movie
starts off a bit slow to tell the back-story of the old man, which I think they
could have drastically reduced. So after
~15 minutes the story gets moving forward and the movie is delight from
there. I think some of the other Pixar
cartoons have had a few more laughs for the adults than this one, but still a
movie for all ages to watch.
Carl (Asner) grows up wanting to be a great explorer like his hero Charles Muntz and soon meets Ellie who shares the same passion. As Carl and Ellie live their life there’s always a reason why they don’t go exploring. After Ellie’s passing and Carl’s accidental run-in with the law, he decides he’s going to float his house to the place he’s always wanted to go, Paradise Falls in South America, but he unknowingly takes a wilderness scout along who was on his porch during takeoff.
Star Trek (seen on May 23, 2009)
Rating – 8
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto,
Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana
The writers have been able to reestablish the Star Trek franchise and as
they say “reboot” the storyline. The
movie is filled with action, the expected clichés, and a good storyline, but
the question I guess I still wonder is why did they bring the characters
back? Why not just start with a new set
of characters and tell the Star Trek story from there. Not like the Trekkies won’t go see a new set
of characters and the non-Trekkies don’t care who the characters are.
The
movie follows the original characters of the Star Trek series, but shows how
they are destined to meet. A Romulan
force travels back in time to the early days of the Federation to wreak havoc
upon the unsuspecting worlds. The new
cadets of the Enterprise must learn quickly to combat this formidable foe.
Watchmen (seen on April 12, 2009)
Rating – 6
Starring: Billy Crudup
I would imagine the book explains a lot more of the story than the movie
did. I think the movie was done well
visually, but just seems there was too much of the story omitted to cram it
even into a movie that 2:45 long. I
thought there were too many gratuitous scenes that tried to explain things with
a wave of hand. I’d say it was
entertaining enough to rent, but really not worth the trip to the cinema. They only explain how one of the guys is a
superhero. Personally, I think you
explain one or none at all. What was the
point in knowing the history of Dr. Manhattan?
Billy Crudup’s agent may have insisted on it so that they could show his
Crudup’s face without all the blue make-up or computer graphics. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
A
group of superheros known as the Watchmen have been keeping Americans safe for
over 50 years, but after a series of incidents involving the Watchmen, they
were all forced to retire when they were banned to roam the streets. But a new evil returns to the streets and is
hunting down these former Watchmen. Who
is this new sinister evil-doer and what is his ultimate plot.
I Love You, Man (seen on April 3, 2009)
Rating – 3
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel
As you can see from the rating, I did not like this movie. I can’t figure out if it’s Paul Rudd or only
his character that is a tool. The movie
is just painful to watch how uneasy he is around guys cause he has no male
friends. He tries to bond with people
and I can’t imagine anyone being this spastic in life and the real problem is
that it doesn’t let up. There has to be
some kind of release or tension break for the audience, but every scene with
Rudd in it, it’s just painful to watch as you expect him to do or say something
stupid that you wouldn’t imagine anyone in real life doing or saying. I thought the story was bad and the
sporadically humor in the movie is not enough to make me recommend this movie
to anyone. And if you’ve seen the
previews, you’ve seen all the funny parts and I mean the full sequence of all
the funny parts so don’t bother. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Peter
(Rudd) just proposed to his girlfriend, but after one night of listening to her
and her friends discuss wedding plans, the question is raised who will be
Peter’s best man. Apparently throughout
Peter’s life he’s never had any guy friends and so he’s desperate to meet a guy
for a friend. After trying several
unsuccessful “man-dates”, he meets Sydney (Segel) at an open house he’s showing
and begins to hang out with him. Soon
the friendship causes strain on his wedding plans and it appears that Sydney
might have some problems as well.
Gran Turino (seen on March 15, 2009)
Rating – 8
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood has never been the greatest actor, but more of a great
character like John Wayne. He brings
back the same type grumpy old man from Million Dollar Baby that is
disgusted with people, but warms up to the persistent people. That’s fine; I enjoyed the movie and his
character, but he did not expand his acting prowess for this role. His grumpiness was a good relief of the
tension throughout the movie with the seriousness of the subplot. Overall a good story well directed raising
the audience to tense moments and allowing comic releases intertwined to
alleviate the tension. One thing that
bothered me was when his grandkids were in the movie; they just seemed a bit
over the top and not really believable as characters, but I could be wrong, as
I don’t have grandkids. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Walt
(Eastwood) is a recently widowed retiree in Michigan. He lives in a neighborhood where he is mostly
surrounded by Vietnamese people and it just annoys the hell out of him. He’s a cranky old man who enjoys the simple
life of minding your own business and respecting others. Soon there is an altercation at the neighbors
house with the neighbors son and a local gang.
Walt rushes outside with M1 rifle in hand and chases the gang off. After this act, Walt still tries to remain
isolated from his neighbors and the local gangs, but soon finds himself in the
midst of the mentoring the neighbor son and trouble with the local gangs.
Slumdog Millionaire (seen on February 12, 2009)
Rating – 8
Starring: Dev Patel
I’m having trouble deciding if this is the sleeper hit that Hollywood will
back in the Oscars or The Wrestler.
Both excellent movies. This movie
is just a story, but some parts of the story reflect how life in the slums of
Mumbai actually can be. The movie is
shot well by Danny Boyle by telling the graphic story of Jamal as he grows up
while interlaced with the present story of Jamal on Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire? to give the audience a break from some tense scenes. So don’t go into this movie expecting it a
light-hearted easy going movie with a kid from the slums winning millions of
dollars and everything going well, but expect another great directorial
performance from Danny Boyle. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Jamal
is a poor kid from the slums of Mumbai and he’s now one correct answer away
from winning a million dollars on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire? The story follows Jamal
and his brother Salim from the streets of the slums and how they grow up on
their own alongside a fellow orphan Latika.
No one can see how a boy from the slums could possibly when a million
dollars, but then no one knows the life that Jamal has endured up to that
point.
The Wrestler (seen on February 6, 2009)
Rating – 8
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa
Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood
Rourke does an excellent job of portraying an old wrestler who’s just
getting by after his glory days are well behind him. You believe that this is how a broken down
wrestler could be and makes you wonder about those old wrestlers you watched as
a kid and where are they now. There are
a lot of wrestling scenes, but it’s nice to see the pre-match talks and
after-match scenes to see how these wrestlers take a beating over and over. I like the character of The Ram where he
knows he’s made mistakes in life and he does what he has to do to get by. I thought the side story between Tomei’s
character and Rourke’s was awkward and almost forced into the storyline to
create a love interest in the movie. The
father-daughter estranged relationship had more substance with fewer scenes
than the wrestler-stripper relationship.
I still like the film, but it’s not an upbeat movie to watch a fallen
hero in the twilight of his life. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Randy
“The Ram” (Rourke) is an aging wrestler who was the face of wrestling during
the 80’s, but now he lives in a trailer park and wrestles in civic centers to
small crowds. After suffering a heart
attack after a match, he’s advised by the doctors that his wrestling days are
over. He must adjust to life without
wrestling by trying to connect romantically with a stripper (Tomei) and to
reconnect to his estranged daughter (Wood).
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (seen on January 23, 2009)
Rating – 8
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett,
Brad Pitt uses his same acting abilities from Meet Joe Black in this Forrest
Gump feel of a movie, but I still enjoyed it. Some say that the movie is a romance between
Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt in the movie, which is true, but the movie is more
about life and death and missed opportunities.
Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it’s nice to see a movie
that’s not a remake or sequel. The movie
is about 2 hours 45 minutes long so be prepared to sit for a while, but I find
it an enjoyable watch and a warning goes to those who prefer light, simple
movies as opposed to more deep-thought, calculating films. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Benjamin Button (Pitt) was born with an unusual disease where he ages
backwards through life. His father
abandons him on a doorstep of a retirement home where he is raised by the
homekeeper. The residents accept him as
one of them as he looks old already as a small child, but they don’t realize
that his whole life is ahead of him and he learns the mistakes/missed
opportunities of the old before his life has really begun. Ben soon meets the granddaughter, Daisy
(Blanchett), of one of the other residents and is just smitten with her. The story follows Ben’s life as he gets
“older” and explores what life has to offer.
Quantum of Solace (seen on November 29, 2008)
Rating – 6
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench
Well it's a shame that Bond decided to go the route of so many other Hollywood
movies by making a sequel to a Bond movie instead of a separate individual
story. Shame. I liked how the first movie with Daniel Craig went to
a more ruthless side of James Bond and shows how he is evolving as a spy, but
this movie offered no growth to the character.
There's still a lack of gadgets for Bond, no charm, and just brute
force. After a while, this movie doesn't differentiate from movies like
Rambo or Commando where the lead character is just out for revenge. Yawn. I have to say that it's time for
Bond to be reinvented again as this Bond is now just like all the other
brute-force action heroes. Good start
with Casino Royale, but the character needed to evolve from there and step
closer to the suave 007 that separates these action movies from the
Schwarzenegger and Stallone movies. I doubt these writers are from the US
because I know these movies always have the British being so much smarter than
the slow, dim-witted Americans, but this one seemed a little too much.
And I didn't appreciate how the movie has jumped on the bandwagon of
going green and all that crap. Just
write a good movie and leave your personal message out of it. I'd rather
see them remake one of the Ian Fleming movies instead of writing sequels.
I fear there is potential to make a third movie in this series if they
choose to develop it. That's my quick review; what's next?
Bond (Craig) picks up right where the last movie ended. 007 and M soon
find that there is a underground syndicate around the world that has lots of
money and power, but no one knows anything about. In a nutshell, the
movie boils down to Bond wanting revenge for the death of his girl in Casino
Royale and how to go about avenging her death.
RocknRolla (seen on November 7, 2008)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton
Guy Ritchie's return to his gangster movies brought excitement to me after such
entertaining movies as Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking
Barrels, but this does not live up to expectations. Perhaps he didn't
stop telling these movies to change genres but because he was out of good
ideas. The movie was entertaining, but almost pointless. Too many plots
interwoven into each other and none really developed enough. Plus the characters in these movies just
didn't seem that believable of being such a ruthless and feared person and his
other two gangster movies. I just was a slow start to getting back into
filmmaking, but we'll see when his next flick comes out. That's my quick
review; what's next?
In the real estate business of London, there is lots of money that exchanges
hands to developing property. Some choose to go through the formal way of
paperwork and the rest of the bureaucracy, but others would rather pay people
with influential friends to get things secured faster. With this money
and under table bribes bring in some tough criminals who all want a piece of
the action and some times it can all hinge upon a doped up rock 'n roll star
that was presumed dead.
The Dark Knight – (seen on July 18, 2008)
Rating
– 8
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart,
Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal
The
Batman saga continues with Christian Bale and one of Heath Ledger's final
roles. Let's start with Heath Ledger's
performance as the Joker. I thought he
did an excellent job as the Joker, creepy-good, but to give him an Academy
Award nomination for his performance may be a little stretch, but I guess it
depends on the movies the rest of the year and how the supporting actors
perform. Still his performance as the Joker will be all that people talk
about when it comes to the movie and not the rest of the characters. Gary
Oldman and Aaron Eckhart put in excellent performances. The more I watch
Christian Bale as Batman, the more I realize I liked Michael Keaton the best as
Batman. I was a bit annoyed by the ridiculous amount of previews before
the movie came out that I thought gave away a key point of the movie. The
action in the movie seemed a bit too unrealistic in parts and the cool thing
about Batman was that he was just a man with high-tech gadgets and not superior
like Superman. Some scenes in the movie reminded me too much of the silly
action in the Joel Schumacher Batman films, which was disappointing.
Overall, I still think the movie is worth watching at the cinemas because
it is a good movie as a whole, but a bit over-hyped and a little on the long
side. That's my quick review; what's next?
The Caped Crusader is at in again. The story continues with Batman (Bale)
fighting the crime bosses and trying to force them out of Gotham, but a new
force in Gotham arrives...the Joker (Ledger). The Joker is not motivated
by money or power, but only by death, destruction, chaos, and the downfall of
society. But there is also a new face for the good guys in the form of
the district attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart). The Joker soon proves to be
a formidable force and Batman and Lt. Gordon (Oldman) must use different
tactics to bring down this psychotic clown before he destroys the whole city.
Get Smart – (seen on June 23,3008)
Rating – 7
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin,
Dwayne Johnson
I usually don't look forward to remakes of old TV shows into movies, but I was
looking forward to Get Smart; although, the movie is much more modern than
original TV shows. There are references
to the old gadgets that were used in the TV show, but now they have newer
gadgets. Steve Carell used the famous lines that Don Adams used in the
original, but they were used sparingly. I think Carell did a good job as
Max and Alan Arkin did a great job as the Chief, but it didn't seem the same as
the TV show. I always remembered the TV show as silly/goofy, while the
movie was just funny, but maybe that's do to the different gadgets they used in
the old days just seemed absurd. Still, I think this movie was quite
funny and worth a watch. That's my quick review; what's next?
Max (Steve Carell) wants to become a field agent, but had been unable to
successfully pass the exam until just recently. After Chaos breaks into
Control and identifies all of the field agents, Max (Agent 86) and Agent 99 are
the only one's that can safely go after Chaos as their identities have not been
compromised. The two agents have never met before so they must learn to
trust each other as they fight against Chaos and try to find what the terrorist
Siegfried is planning to do with an arsenal of nuclear weapons and then stop
him.
Son of Rambow (seen on May 26, 2008)
Rating – 7
Starring: Bill Milner, Will Poulter
The movie centers around 2 young boys so the movie may seem only for kids, but
I wouldn't say that. Of course it's not a serious drama, but it is
refreshingly not a remake or sequel (amazing how much higher a movie can rank
just by being an original idea). I thought the two young kids did an
excellent job of acting at such a young age. The movie may seem a bit
silly at times because it focuses on two boys and their imaginations, but if
you go into the movie expecting that, you will be pleased with the movie.
That's my quick review; what's next?
The story is about a young boy, Will, who is part of a strict religious
group. One day he meets another boy, Lee, who is the trouble-maker of the
school and goes home with this boy where he watches a bootleg copy of First
Blood. And that's it, the boy is hooked and dreams of a story line
telling the story of the Son of Rambow. Lee wants to enter the future
filmmakers on BBC for filmmakers under 17 and he likes Will's ideas for the Son
of Rambow script and they soon agree to make the movie together. Problem
is that word gets around the school about their movie and more school children
want to be involved causing a rift between the two boys.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (seen on
May 23, 2008)
Rating – 5
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate
Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Shia LeBeouf, John Hurt, Karen Allen
It’s a shame to give Indiana Jones this type of rating, but I’m going to
stick with it. I think they should have
just stopped with three movies instead of making this last one. The movie seems a bit cartoon-like in parts,
certain “clever” scenes that Indy always experience seemed forced, and a
65-year-old man cannot do the things he does in the movie. The movie acknowledges that he is older when
he reflects on his left, but they ignore that fact when he’s running around
fighting people or jumping onto cars. Of
course, we all know that everyone of you is going to see this movie; you have
to, it’s still Indiana Jones. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
The timeline of Indiana Jones’ (Ford) life has finally moved forward as it
is now 1957 and Jones is now mixed up with the Russians. Indy finds himself suspended from teaching
over the threat that he is working with these Russians. He soon meets a kid named Mutt (LeBeouf) who
tells him these same Russians have kidnapped an old colleague of Jones’ who
knows the secret of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Iron Man (seen on May 14, 2008)
Rating – 7
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jeff
Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard
I still think they could have done with a better actor than Robert Downey
Jr. for this role, but he is acceptable.
The CGI is this movie is great on how they show Iron Man move. I liked how they described how he got the
name “Iron” Man even though he’s not made of iron. This is a typical super-hero movie where most
of the movie describes how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man and the fight scene at
the end is short (similar to the Fantastic Four). And there is another scene at the end of the
credits so you might want to stay till the end.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Tony
Stark is a wealthy billionaire who makes military weapons for the US
government. On a trip overseas to
demonstrate his latest weapon, he is kidnapped by some terrorist to build a
weapon for them. To escape, he builds an
early version of Iron Man and upon return wants to shut down his weapon making
section of his company after he realizes that his company has been selling his
weapons to the wrong side. But he
decides that something must be done to fix the problems that he has caused in
the world so he builds his Iron Man suit.
Flashbacks of a Fool (seen on April 19, 2008)
Rating – 7
Starring: Daniel Craig
I hope this doesn’t ruin anything, and I don’t see how it would, but it’s
really not “flashbacks”; it’s just one flashback. Still, that doesn’t affect my review of the
movie; I just found that funny. The
director is famous for shooting music videos, which is somewhat noticeable in
the way some of the scenes are shot, but it’s a nice touch. The plot isn’t that great and there are no
surprise twists to the movie, but I just found it rather enjoyable. They say people tend to like timepiece
movies, but I doubt they meant the one’s set during the 70’s. All in all, I’d say the movie is a melancholy
drama so make sure you’re in the mood to see something like that or you will be
disappointed. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Joe
(Craig) is a washed-up actor who has made bad decisions in his life. Realizing that his life is in disarray, he
reflects on his past and some decisions he made while young. All this comes about after hearing the news
that his childhood friend has suddenly died and he flies home to see the life
he left behind.
There Will Be Blood (seen on February 27, 2008)
Rating – 8
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano
I must start off by saying there is no question why Daniel Day-Lewis
received the academy award for best actor this year. Just an amazing performance by him, which is
a good thing cause the whole movie revolves around his actions. I’ve never read the book, Oil!, that
the movie is based on, but I don’t think that’s important. The movie can be a bit slow and calculating
in parts, but it effective gives off the feeling of desolation in the early
1920’s. I thought they could have
developed a little more of a storyline between the Day-Lewis and his clashes
with the church community, but they may have extended the movie too long and
the other scenes were required. That’s
my quick review; what’s next?
Day-Lewis is an oilman who loves the excitement of finding oil before anyone
else. He travels around with his son to
new land developments trying to strike a contract up with the local landowners
to get their oil out of the ground. One
day he’s tipped off about an oil deposit that has yet to be tapped. Soon he manipulates everyone in the town to
let him pump the oil out of the land by promising to give back to the
community. Problem is, Day-Lewis only
cares about himself and the chase to get to every amount of oil first before
any other company can. He clashes with
the local church community as he does not keep his promises to the community,
but just focuses on producing oil.
Jumper (seen on February 17, 2008)
Rating – 4
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson
The main problem with this movie is not casting Hayden Christensen in a
movie (that by itself is a problem), but the major lack of plot
development. The movie is only an hour
and a half long. Why would you not
develop the story line more when the movie is considered short for movies
nowadays? Saving too much for the
trilogy, but if the first movie isn’t any good, why bother making the second
two. And when you look at the villain of
Samuel L. Jackson, you almost sympathize with his quest. If he’s the villain, shouldn’t you despise
him? In a nutshell, the movie is badly
acted, underdeveloped and over-hyped.
Why did I still give it a 4 rating…because the concept of the movie is
intriguing, it just lacks talent to develop it.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Christensen discovers when he is young that he’s able to teleport to
anywhere he’s been. After running away
from home, he decides to use his powers to live the high-life in
Manhatten. He travels around the world
at a whim, but still misses the girl from his past that he’s always had a crush
on. Soon he realizes that he must
contact her and woo her. The problem is
that there is an underground agency that are chasing Jumpers and exterminating
them. Jackson is hot on his tail and
Christensen soon meets another Jumper to battle Jackson.
Juno (seen on February 13, 2008)
Rating – 6
Starring: Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Overall an enjoyable movie, but I don’t think it’s one of the top five
movies of the year. And I think Ellen
Page did an excellent job acting like a sassy pregnant 16-year-old, but after a
while, it’s a bit annoying to hear 16-year-old girls have their slang
conversations. Also, most of the best
parts were in the previews, but still, refreshing to see an original
movie. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Juno
(Page) soon discovers that she is pregnant with her friend’s baby and decides
that she wants to give it up for adoption.
She picks a couple (Garner and Bateman) as the future parents of her
baby. The story follows along her
pregnancy as she responds to her friends, her parents, and the future parents
of her baby.
I Am Legend
Rating – 6
Starring: Will Smith
I'm a bit confused by most of the critics’ reaction to this movie.
Just because Will Smith did an excellent job of acting, and he did,
doesn't mean it's a good movie. The movie is too slow, the flashbacks to
explain the world's situation take forever to develop when the audience already
knows what has happen, and when the story does actually pick up, it's not that
good. When you see the last flashback, you almost sigh in relief that
finally the movie has told you what you had already suspected for the past
hour; that's not really building suspense, but rather a longing for an end.
But with a weak story, you realize how good a performance Will Smith has
when the movie receives this much attention.
All in all, you've seen this similar plot out of Hollywood several times
before; some good movies, some bad. It's a good movie to see Will Smith
act dramatically, but in the end, you'll be looking at you watch and wondering
how much longer does the movie have left.
That's my quick review; what's next?
The
movie starts off telling you that bio-engineers have created a virus that cures
cancer and like other movies, the virus has side effects that sweep across the
world before anyone can stop it. With over 5.5 billion people dead in the
world, Robert Neville (Smith) remains where it all started in New York City in
hopes of finding a cure for the one's who survived the virus, but have mutated
into light-fearing, rage induced super-human killers. His only companion in his stay in New York is
his dog Sam who accompanies him on his hunts or scavenges for food while trying
to stay alive amongst the mutated humans who prowl around the city at night
looking for food. But one day he meets a woman who is on her way to
Vermont to meet up with a survivor colony and Neville needs to decide whether
he stays and works on a cure in New York or to believe this woman that there
actually is a survivor community in Vermont.
No Country for Old Men
Rating – 9
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson
It's a different feeling to see a good drama
nowadays, especially when it's not a remake. I must start off by
complementing the acting. They just made you feel like they were those
characters, well, maybe all except for Woody Harrelson. I just can’t see him as a tough guy.
Also it doesn't hurt that the movie is set in the great state of Texas.
That's always pleasing to see. The
movie is rather violent and slow moving in parts, but that all helps to show
how the characters act and react. They tend to be more methodical in
their actions instead of just gut reactions that miraculously work out. And Bardem is just amazing how sinister he is
in the movie. You really don't like this guy and do not want him around. Let me throw in some catch words for the
commercials: “Tense, suspenceful,
heart-pounding.” Not your typical Coen
brothers’ movie for several reasons (not a comedy, didn’t write original story,
don’t have list of typical actors), but the movie does follow their type of
directorial shots. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Llewelyn
(Brolin) is out hunting in West Texas when he runs across a pile of bodies from
big shootout between some Mexican drug smugglers. He takes the $2 million
dollars that he finds, but soon realizes that this $2 million comes with a
burden of being hunted by a group of Mexicans and a ruthless psychotic killer,
Chigurh (Bardem). Ed Bell (Jones) is the old sheriff in the county that
realizes that Llewelyn is in a lot of trouble and tries to catch up to him
before the killers find him. Llewelyn
is just trying to get away from Chigurh with his life and the money. With
all these senseless killings over drugs and money, Sheriff Bell questions
whether it's worth being a sheriff anymore; the world is changing all around
him and he can't keep up.
Lars and the Real Girl
Rating – 8
Starring: Ryan Gosling
I wonder if I gave this a higher rating simply
because it's not a sequel or a remake, at least not that I'm aware of.
The movie is a comedy to start off with as you laugh at his delusional
antics with the doll, but later the movie takes a more serious turn as he
battles with his actual mental health. That's probably the main reason
why critics seemed to like it; the underlying struggle that he has.
Personally I liked watching it for the comedy part myself and not the
scenes where it just shows him as delusional. I thought Ryan Gosling did
an excellent job at his role of the reclusive character that shows delusional
tendencies. It is a comedy, but I would suggest this movie to people who
tend to enjoy the 'indie' movies instead of someone just looking for a comedy.
A good watch if you like more independent flicks. That's my quick
review; what's next?
Lars
(Gosling) lives in the garage apartment of his brother's house. He lives
a very meager existence that consists of church, work, and home and rarely
interacting with anyone despite the best efforts of his sister-in-law.
Then one day, Lars announces to his family that he has a girlfriend that
he met on the internet. Imagine the shock to his family and the rest of
the town when they realize this "girlfriend" is none other than a
"love doll". With the advice from the town's doctor, the family
and the rest of the town are asked to play along with Lars' delusion that she
is a real girl.
The Bourne Ultimatum (seen on
August 11, 2007)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Scott Glen,
Albert Finney
You knew someday Hollywood was going to complete
the trilogy of this storyline. Now I’ve
only read the first book in the series because I was told the next two were not
nearly as good and if this is true, the movies have that in common as
well. You get a bunch of action, but no
addition to the storyline that ends any more depth. So Bourne still cannot remember who he is and
there’s someone in the CIA who’s scared what he might know, but you knew that
after the first movie. Basically it
boils down to more action than substance.
Hollywood is just stretching out the existing storyline as long as it
sells tickets. Note the rating so I
recommend waiting till it’s on cable unless you have nothing better to do and
have the need to get out and eat popcorn.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Jason
Bourne (Damon) is still out in hiding and the CIA is still looking for
him. A British newspaper reporter finds
a source that discloses information about Bourne and where it all began. Bourne tries to track down the reporter and
his source to find out where it all started, but the men in charge of the
covert operation in the CIA are looking to take Bourne out. Will Bourne ever find out his past or will
the CIA get to him before he can find out the truth?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(seen on July 29, 2007)
Rating – 9
Starring:
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
That's the fifth Harry potter film. Yet no
one seems to mind. I guess cause it's not actually a sequel, but just a
continuation of the story similar to Lord of the Rings. I guess the main
difference in those films is that there is somewhat of an ending to the Harry
Potter films. I still haven't read the
books so I understand that people who've read the books are a bit disappointed
in the stuff that is left out of this movie, but as a movie itself, I thought
it was one of the better one's. I like
seeing the students growing up and rebelling against the system. I like seeing more wizard duels than just the
feud between Malfoy and Potter. I like the fact that there was no
Quidditch game in this movie. What a
time waster watching those scenes. It was good in the first movie, but
pointless in subsequent movies. After watching this movie and seeing the
storyline picking up pace, I'm eager to find out what happens next. And
since the next one won't be out till November of 2008 with the finale in Summer
of 2010 (my own personal predictions), I almost feel compelled to read the
books to know the rest of the story.
That's my quick review; what's next?
Harry
returns to his fifth year at Hogwarts to learn the Ministry of Magic has
claimed Harry and Dumbledore as liars in regards to the return of Lord
Voldemort. The Minister of Magic fears that it is just a ruse for
Dumbledore to succeed him has Minister of Magic and delegates a loyal member of
the Ministry of Magic to be employed at Hogwarts where she refuses to teach
defense against the black arts. Harry
learns of the Order of Phoenix, a group of wizards and witches who united to
fight Lord Voldemort and his army, and decides that he and the fellow students
must train and be ready for a fight with Lord Voldemort as well. While
the Ministry of Magic turns a deaf ear to the warnings of Lord Voldemort
return, Lord Voldemort starts to rebuild his army.
Transformers (seen on July 28, 2007)
Rating – 8
Starring:
Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight
Don’t go into this movie expecting the greatest
acting in the world because the acting is done as if they actors know this was
a cartoon. But that’s not why you’re
going to see this movie, you going to see this movie for the action. The CGI in this movie is excellent and you
watch the movies and you believe that these robots actually are destroying the
bases, towns, and each other. The movie
does a recap of the storyline so even if you didn’t watch the cartoons, you
still will be able to follow the movie.
Just remember that the movie is a sci-fi so don’t expect realism and you
will enjoy the movie. One little added
bonus for the cartoons lover is that it is the same voice for Optimus Prime in
the movie that was in the cartoons.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After
the great Cibertronian War, the Allspark, a cube of ultimate power, is lost
somewhere in the universe and both the Autobots and Decepticons are in search
of it. The cube has landed on Earth and
the Autobots are on their way to the to destroy it, but unfortunately the
Decepticons are aware of its presence on Earth so the battle between the two
robot factions continue on Earth with the humans helping the Autobots in their
fight.
The Simpsons Movie (seen on July
27, 2007)
Rating – 7
Starring:
The Simpsons
I’m giving this a 7 because maybe I expected too
much from the movie and rating it a bit harsh.
It’s an hour and a half long and it just feels like a longer
episode. It didn’t seem to offer
anything new, well, except there were a few edgier scenes that wouldn’t go over
so well on TV. The movie had some very
clever jokes in it that makes you laugh and of course, Homer does some random
stupid things, which are always a crowd pleaser. I just wonder how much does it really offer
more. Why couldn’t they just have a done
a three part TV show to tell the same story, but then they wouldn’t make all
this extra money. I think basically it
boils down to if you’re a Simpsons fan, you need to go see it because it an
extended episode so you’ll be pleased with that. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Springfield Lake is over polluted and when Homer
decides to dump one more thing in the lake, which was forbidden by the city at
the time, it triggers a response from a rather sinister EPA agent who decides
to enclose the entire city with a glass dome.
Well, the city wants vengeance against Homer, but the Simpsons somehow
manage to escape the dome. But soon the
Simpsons find out that their hometown of Springfield is under peril and must
return to save the town and there’s only one bald, fat, stupid man who’s able
to do it.
Live Free or Die Hard (seen on July
24, 2007)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant
The movie may have gotten a 7 rating had it not
been labeled Die Hard. The movie didn’t
have “real” action as the others had been and it was just too much to imagine
why an NYPD cop is caught up in all this high-tech terrorism. There are too many scenes where bones should
have been broken, but instead just a minor flesh wound. Maybe I just wasn’t too into the idea of Die
Hard 4. Maybe if it was just a Bruce
Willis action movie called something else I would have given it a 7, but this
just escapes the reality of the other three, or at least the first two (I never
liked the scene in the third one where he’s “surfing” on the dump truck or
where they slide down the cable from the bridge to the ship below and fall and
still live). Perhaps I mainly didn’t
like the pairing of this NYPD cop with some computer hacker. It just wasn’t a great pairing having a
whiney kid with a tough cop. Also, the
quick introduction of McClane’s daughter and their estranged relationship was a
bit lame just to have her in the movie.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
We
find out that John McClane (Willis) is still an NYPD cop and has an estranged
relationship with his family. The FBI
has been hacked and they require the assistance of local law enforcements to
round up the likely computer hackers who have the skill to hack the
system. So McClane is asked to pickup
one the hackers Matt (Long) and bring him back to D.C. Of course, Matt is targeted for assassination
by the real hackers who are systematically shutting down the government systems
for their own agenda. McClane teams up
with Matt to find out who the terrorists are and take them out before the whole
country collapses from the cyber-terrorism attack.
Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer
(seen on June 24, 2007)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd
It was an ok movie. The only new story lines out of Hollywood are
comic books nowadays, but I was intrigued to see the Silver Surfer is what
mainly drew me to this. I thought the
movie was a bit cheesy in many scenes relative to how Spiderman acted as the
“Black Spidey”, but not as bad. Not much
action, but more along the lines of storyline development and problem solving
of the movie than just action. I found
it a bit refreshing that the writers actually develop a story instead of just
senseless action, which I suspect a Fantastic Four will have similar to X-men
3 or Spiderman 3. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
The
Fantastic Four have stepped into their role as superheroes and protectors of
society. The only problem is that
trouble occurs every time Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman try to get
married and they start to struggle with wanting to still be superheroes or
having a “normal” life. Now there is a
new threat of the end of the world with a new visitor known as the Silver
Surfer. The Fantastic Four must unite
with the enemy Dr. Doom to defeat the Silver Surfer and save the planet, but
the ultimate question is who is the real threat to Earth.
Knocked Up (seen on June 6, 2007)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd
This movie has the same type of humor that was in
the 40 Year Old Virgin, but this includes stoner humor. As far as I know,
this isn't a remake so that's a good start. For starters, you have to
accept the first encounter of the couple as possible because you would question
why a TV "reporter" would be talking to a burnout in a bar,
especially if she is totally sober. Not really what you would call
high-brow humor, but it's nice to laugh at stupidity sometimes. The plot itself
is pretty predictable so don't expect any real shockers, but if you want a
simple low-brow comedy, this one is worth a watch. Most of the humor is
either pot smoking humor or couple humor.
I really enjoyed the random movie quotes they had sprinkled throughout
the film. That's my quick review; what's next?
Alison
(Heigl) has just been promoted to an anchor for the E! network and decides to
go out with her sister to celebrate. At this same bar, Ben (Rogen) is out
getting wasted with his pot-head cronies. After that night, based on the
name of the movie, you can imagine what happened and what went wrong.
Alison finds out she is pregnant and after both freak out for a while,
they decide to give the relationship a chance. Alison soon finds out that
Ben has no job and that he just sits around all day long and gets wasted.
After watching her sister's marriage hit the rocks, she fears that Ben
will never grow up and support her and the baby and decides to end the
relationship.
Spiderman 3 (seen on May 22, 2007)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, James
Franco
I wouldn't
be surprised if I noticed that all my reviews on sequels are starting to be the
same. In fact, I believe this one will be in parallel to the review of
X-Men 3. I must say that this was a disappointment and I hope it's the
end of the Spiderman movies for at least a generation. These producers
made a lot of money purely on hype this time around because the movie itself
couldn't have been would kept people going to the cinemas. Again you have
the problem of adding too many superheroes and villains and not actually
developing the storyline of these characters, but just adding more fight
scenes, which the CGI moves so fast that you can't even follow the scene some
times. Most people complain about the black Spidey dance sequence in the
movie as he now has the attitude and I would have to agree that that scene was
just too much. The acting was sub par. I understand that they want
to make it comic book like in the dialogue, but this movie just seemed too
cheesy including the one-liner from Spiderman creator Stan Lee. The
shining light in the movie was Bruce Campbell's bit part in the movie.
Good thing he's friends with the director Sam Raimi because he's had a funny
bit part in all three Spidermans. That's my quick review; what's next?
Peter Parker (Maguire) had embraced his role as Spiderman and the rest of the
city adores Spiderman. While Parker thinks everything is great in his
life, his girlfriend Mary Jane's (Dunst) career is heading downhill and puts a
strain on their relationship. Then you have his friend Harry (Franco) aka
the Hobgoblin who wants to kill Peter for having killed his father, the Green
Goblin. Parker is consumed later by a black alien species that makes
Spiderman stronger, but gives him an evil edge that he eventually must rid
himself of the simbiote. This black alien species attaches to a
photographer rival and becomes the villain known as Venom (Grace) who teams up
with the a new villain, the Sandman (Church). How will Spiderman fight
all these battles and repair his estranged relationship with Mary Jane in just
one movie? (See how much they try to cram into this one movie. The
movie does not effectively relate a storyline, but more fast forwards over the
whole comic book storyline just to get some new villains in the story for a
fight scene at the end. That's a shame.)
Hot Fuzz (seen on March 31, 2007)
Rating - 8
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
The guys who brought you Shaun of the Dead
are back for more in Hot Fuzz and it doesn’t disappoint if you enjoyed
the first movie. I must say it’s a
British movie so if you can’t stand that sort of humour (yes, I spelt it the
British way) then perhaps you shouldn’t watch it, but I think it crosses the
ocean well as a comedy. It makes
references to bad cop movies as if to poke fun at itself, but I wonder how many
people in the audience picked up on the references. Overall, it’s a good comedy throughout the
movie until the final showdown where it gets a bit goofy with the excessive
action, but that’s part of the fun of the movie. A bit hard to vision Simon Pegg as a
“super-cop”, but Nick Frost plays the bumbling partner to perfection as
expected. Quick trivia, see if you can
guess whom the famous actress is who plays his ex-girlfriend, Jeanine, in the
beginning of the movie and she is uncredited so don’t bother to watch during the
end credits to find out. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Sgt. Angel (Pegg) is the ideal police
officer. He epitomizes what the law
should stand for, but his fellow officers in London hate him because they make
him look bad. So they ship him off to a
small town, Sanford, where they will not be bothered with him. Angel finds the small town life a bit
difficult as he loves to fight crime and there is very little in the town. And what crime he does discover, the
townspeople and chief of police tend to just brush it off as if it’s no big
deal. He’s partner with a clumsy wannabe
cop (Frost), who helps teach Angel to relax, but when foul play is afoot,
perhaps it’s time to get more serious and find out what’s going on behind the
scenes of this small town.
Mr. Bean's Holiday (seen March 30,
2007)
Rating - 5
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe
It’s your typical Bean type show, but it lasts
for an hour and a half. The short skits
may be funny, but even when you watch a few of those in series you get a bit
tired of it. Imagine the same skit for
an hour and a half and that’s what the movie is like. Of course, I missed out on some of the jokes
as I watched in Norway and the parts that were in French were subtitle in
Norwegian so a few of the funny parts went over my head. Other people in the theater laughed, but I
watched the movie from Bean’s perspective not knowing what he agreed to half
the time. But I was able to follow the
movie, which is pretty much Atkinson making faces and dancing around like a
fool. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Mr.
Bean has won a raffle that sends him on a trip to Cannes. Of course, he
wouldn't be Bean if he got there easily. Trouble starts when Bean is
partnered with a boy who is separated from his father at a train station, which
is indirectly caused by Bean. Luckily, the boy's father is going to
Cannes so the boy and Bean travel together, but have trouble along the
way. Will Bean be able to reunite the boy with his father and will Bean
reach his goal of getting to the beach?
The Good Shepherd (seen on March 2,
2007)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Matt Damon, William Hurt, Angelina Jolie, John Turtorro, Alec Baldwin,
Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro
I have to start off by giving you a warning that this is one of those stereotypical political thrillers, which basically means it’s slow, calculating, and long. But if you’re in the mood for a movie like that, this is a good one to see. The characters are roughly based on real-life people and I found it interesting to watch the growth of the CIA and the tension versus the rival Russians. The movie is quite long and you wish you weren’t sitting there for over two and half hours, but it was important to watch the growth of Damon’s character. The movie focuses more on story development than action, but the story itself keeps you interested. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
story follows Edward Wilson (Damon) from his college days to his days in Europe
during World War II to the start of the CIA to the Bay of Pigs. Wilson is recruited straight from college to
work in intelligence during World War II and must leave his pregnant wife
(Jolie) back in the US. Wilson meets his
Russian counterpart at the end of the WWII and will cross paths with him in
their careers of counter-intelligence.
Upon returning home to his family from being gone six years, Wilson
finds he has distanced himself from his wife and child to focus on his
career. The CIA is soon formed to
protect the US and the story follows Wilson through the debacle of the Bay of
Pigs, which reveals there is a mole in Wilson’s department.
Breaking and Entering (seen on
February 22, 2007)
Rating – 3
Starring:
Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn
I sure that there are some people out there that
will love this movie and call me crazy.
I didn’t care for Closer either.
And here we have Jude Law playing yet again another adulterer who
doesn’t know how well he has what he already has. Jude Law feels distant from Robin Wright Penn
in the movie, but the audience feels distant from her as well. Probably why you don’t feel too sorry for her
when Jude Law cheats on her or maybe because it is Jude Law and all of his
characters are becoming the same. The whole
movie has this depressed/searching for oneself mentality, but somehow the
characters end up happy without solving anything. I don’t really buy it how everything is
suddenly ok and wrapped in a neat little package. But obviously based on my rating, I would
like my time back. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
A
young thief breaks into Will’s (Law) work and steals his personal
computer. One day, Will watches over his
building and catches the kid in the act and follows him home. He notices the boy’s mother and grows a
fascination with her and focuses on her more than turning the boy into the
police. At home, Will finds himself
distancing from his long-time girlfriend (Penn) and her “special” daughter
especially as he may have found love from the thief’s mother.
Rocky Balboa (seen on February 20,
2007)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Sylvester Stallone
As I sit there in the theater waiting for the previews…or
commercials to start, it suddenly occurs to me with a bit of a chuckle, I’m
about to watch Rocky VI. Are you kidding
me?!? Then suddenly that famous trumpet
intro kicks in of “Gonna Fly Now” and I’m locked in and ready to watch Rocky
fight till the bitter end. Now, besides
all that, it would have been a better movie had it not been the sixth one in
the chain of movies and make several references to the previous, well, the
first four at least. You just get that
feeling of been there, done that, offer me something more. But then to counteract that argument I just
say, sweet it’s Rocky, the man with a million to one shot. It’s funny to see everyone in the crowd as the
fight scene goes on, how everyone is leaning forward on the edge of their seat
still pulling for Rocky after all these years.
Finally, you get that sense that this is “Rocky’s” swan song and that
there will not be a seventh, hopefully.
Not more I should say as I would guess as soon as you heard there was
another Rocky movie, you decided then and there whether or not you would watch
it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Rocky
lives his life as a restaurant owner now that he’s retired. His wife Adrian has passed away a couple of
years ago and his son is reluctant to be around him. Rocky continues with his life until he sees a
computer generated fight between him in his prime and the current
champion. He decides that maybe he could
simply have a few local fights just for fun, but soon the champion comes calling
for an exhibition and Rocky finds another shot at the title.
Smokin’ Aces (seen on February 15,
2007)
Rating – 4
Starring:
Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta
I go in to watch this movie to just expect a
blood-filled, shoot ‘em movie, guys’ movie.
I didn’t expect to get such a romantic plot in the movie. Just kidding.
Actually, I got neither of those.
With a tagline “May the best hitman win”, I expected more blood and
carnage throughout the movie. Most of it
was just background story line vaguely telling you about all the characters and
a lot of build-up to where you hope all the hitman are in one huge gun fight,
but I can’t recall a single hitman even shooting at another hitman. It’s pretty weak if you ask me. There is blood and a decent body count, but
with a weak plot-line and weak characters, despite all the efforts they try to
make these hitman sinister, you just don’t believe it. The movie is just too cheesy and it doesn’t
appear that’s the way the movie was trying to go. So the movie just fails to deliver what it
sets out to achieve. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Buddy
“Aces” Israel is a Las Vegas entertainer who falls into the mob crowd and
eventually running part of the business.
Primo Sparazzo is a dying mob boss of the other syndicate and wants
Buddy heart and is willing to pay $1,000,000 for it. While Buddy is held up in a penthouse suite
in Tahoe, seven deadly assassin are sent in to kill Buddy for the money, but
he’s not the only one who wants him. The
FBI wants him to turn states’ evidence and a group of bails bondsmen is hired
to bring Buddy back after skipping bail.
Who will get there first?
Starter for 10 (seen on December
13, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
James McAvoy, Dominic Cooper
For starters, I must explain what “Starter for
10” means to my non-British friends.
There’s a game show in the UK called “University Challenge” where two
teams of four from different universities compete in knowledge and the opening
of each set of questions is “starter for 10” meaning first question of the set
is ten points with three bonus questions worth five. Ok, now that the background is covered, let’s
get on to the movie itself. A funny
movie, but I was a bit upset with how hung up the kid was over the girl after
just hanging out with twice. It doesn’t
matter too much as you can tell the romantic side of the character is going to
end up and is nothing that shocking.
However, what makes this an interesting movie is his struggle in college
and the “University Challenge”, which both are impacted by his love life. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Brian is an average student who strives to gain
as much knowledge as possible. He used
to watch “University Challenge” with his father as a child and his father
always encouraged him to learn. Brian is
all grown up now and off to college leaving his friends and his mother
behind. In college, life starts out well
for Brian as he meets a girl and finds himself on the University Challenge
team, but both turn sour eventually and Brian must learn to cope and persevere
or quit and go home to momma.
Flushed Away (seen on December 1,
2006)
Rating – 8
Starring:
Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslett, Ian McKellan, Bill Nighy, Jean Reno
I bet this movie probably doesn’t get that much
of a draw since Happy Feet is coming out as the same time, but this is a
very funny movie. Of course it’s a
cartoon, but done by a joint venture of Aardman and Dreamworks. I know when we were in the movie there were
kids there, but I can guarantee that laughed more than the kids. There were bits of humor scattered throughout
the movie. The plot isn’t that intricate
as it is a cartoon, but just watching it as an entertaining movie, it’s worth a
watch. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Roddy (Jackman) is a pet mouse living in a posh
house in Kensington. After an uninvited
visitor, Sid, from the sewer rubs Roddy the wrong way, he tries to convince Sid
to jump in the toilet for his bath. But
Sid is cleverer and pushes Roddy in and flushes him into the sewers. Roddy soon runs into a mouse town and tries
to find his way back to the surfaces. He
employs the services of a rogue boat captain, Rita (Winslett), to take him
back, but runs into resistance from the Toad (McKellan). Roddy soon learns that surface life isn’t
what it’s all cracked up to be since he has no family or friends on the surface
and must return to the sewers to save the day.
Pan’s Labyrinth (seen on November
29, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Sergi Lopez, Ivanna Baquero
Movies by Guillermo del Toro have not lived up to
what I had expected. As I go into this,
I heard critics praising this movie as the award winner this year. Now it’s a very enjoyable movie, but you feel
that he could have done so much more with it and it was a bit of a let down
that success was there for the taking, but the film underachieved. With the two stories of wartime in Spain in the
1940’s and the girl’s imagination of escaping into her fantasy world, it would
have been fantastic if the movie had intertwined the two stories more
together. The wartime scenes were much
more developed and the Captain was a great character; just so evil in how he
went about his day that you just loathed him, an excellent character. Now the little girl’s imagination let her
escape from her rough life, but the tasks that she undertook were very quick
and did not compare to the length of the rest of the movie and they didn’t
relate to her daily life much. They were
more like dreams that no one else ever knew about. One more thing, if subtitles bother you,
don’t watch this as the whole movie is in Spanish. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After
her mother marries an evil captain, Ofelia is moved out to the countryside
where a war is taking place among the Spanish army and a group of rebels. She finds escape in her imagination that she
is actually from a fantasy realm of the Earth.
The Captain has concern for fighting off the rebels and to ensure the
birth of his son, Ofelia’s future brother.
Casino Royale (seen on November 22,
2006)
Rating – 9
Starring:
Daniel Craig, Judi Dench
Can you really say that James Bond is back, when
this is actually the first book?
Anyways, an excellent movie, but when you watch this you must accept
that Bond is not yet refined into the Bond most know. He is still going through the learning
process of being 007 and shows that he is more ruthless and irrational. Craig portrays the role great as the rough
Bond, but I will be quite interested in seeing in the next Bond if he tries to
play the more refined James Bond or still the edgy character. One complaint and I know the movie is called Casino
Royale, but it felt as if way too much of the movie was about the poker
scene and it’s very interesting how they’ve jumped on the popularity of Texas
Hold ‘Em too, but it didn’t hurt the movie so no complaints about it, just an
observation. That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Bond recently receiving his license to kill foils
a terrorist plot to blow up a plane. He
soon follows an evil banker responsible for the attempted terror act to
Montenegro where he is invited to play in a high stake game of Texas Hold
‘Em. Bond tries to beat him with his
talent that he has already learned over the years, but soon learns that he has
several more lessons to learn as an international spy.
Tim Burtons: Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (seen
on November 21, 2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Jack the Pumpkin King
I’m not going to do an extravagant review for
this movie as it was originally released in 1993 and some have probably have
already seen this. I felt compelled to
go watch it as it is a great “Christmas” movie, but I wanted to see what all
this talk about cartoons now being shown in 3D.
Now this isn’t the 3D with the red and blue glasses, but with the two
polarized lenses. This movie is the same
as the original, but now when you watch it, you can see depth to the
backgrounds and to the characters.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
In case you haven’t seen it yet…Jack the Pumpkin
King is in Halloween Town and every year the residents are in charge of making
Halloween the scariest time of year. One
day, Jack wonders through the woods and stumbles upon a door that leads to
Christmas Town. Jack likes the idea of
becoming “Santy Claws”, but more in his style of Halloween Town.
The Prestige (seen on November 11,
2006)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johanssen, Michael Caine
Shocking to see another magician movie so closely
released from Hollywood together, but I still thought this had a chance to be a
good movie. The movie wasn’t bad, but
there were two main flaws with the movie.
One is that both Jackman and Bale’s characters are evil. They are cruel to each other and both play
the role of the protagonist. There’s no
real character to route for throughout the movie as when the two are in the
room, they just try to out duel each other no matter the cost. But the other flaw of this movie is when you
write a movie, it can be fantasy or real, but it must remain constant
throughout the movie. The movie can’t
claim that it’s not magic, but just tricks and later reveals it actually is
magic. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Jackman and Bale are young magicians working
together, but when a “mistake” by Bale causes the death of Jackman’s wife, a
bitter feud is started between them.
Every time it seems that the other is succeeding the other will do
whatever to ruin them and suddenly their careers take off and the cycle
repeats. Johanssen’s role is rather
limited to the assistant and love of Jackman who is sent to spy on Bale, but in
turn falls for him.
Borat:
Cultural Learnings of America to Make Benefit Glorious Nation of
Kazakhstan (seen on November 3, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Sacha Baron Cohen
What a tough review to write. This is not really a movie, but something
more like Jackass. I thought the
movie was hilarious, but the whole movie exposes a lot of people’s ignorance,
but some parts just takes advantage of people’s politeness. These people on film believe that Cohen is
from Kazakhstan and does not know any better and look foolish, but then again,
you know you’re on camera. Don’t be an
idiot. I sure everyone signed a waiver
and was paid something so it is partially there own fault. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Borat (Cohen) leaves Kazakhstan to learn about
America to improve his own country. He
interviews most people playing an ignorant foreigner as he travels across the
country. He eventually sees an episode
of Baywatch and decides that he must travel to California to marry
Pamela Anderson. With a camera, his
producer, and a limited budget, Borat continues his “learnings” traveling out
to California.
The History Boys (seen on October
21, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Frances de la Tour, Dominic Cooper, Stephen Campbell Moore, Richard
Griffiths
How about a nice English comedy? A very enjoyable movie originally based on a
play, but I must admit that the premise deals with tests for college and how
students get into Cambridge or Oxford, which to me just went right over my
head. So I try to enjoy the movie
without that knowledge and it is possible to enjoy the movie to watch the
students grow more mature and struggle to separate themselves from the average
applicant. I apologize if some of the
movie has went over my head, but despite living in London, I’m not familiar
with the school systems, but I don’t think it’s that important. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The history boys are a group of teens trying to
be accepted into Cambridge or Oxford.
There professors have been pushing them for years, but the principal has
decided to bring in a new professor with fresh ideas to expand the boys
thinking. The old professor has tried to
teach the boys more about life and how to enjoy every minute. The boys prefer this professor having known
him for years, but he is not without his faults.
The Departed (seen on October 17,
2006)
Rating – 8
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin
Sheen, Alec Baldwin
Of course the names on the bill just jump right
out at you and you would expect a good.
This movie does not let you down, but don’t let them fool you, this is
also a remake. I believe DiCaprio does
an excellent job as the undercover policeman who’s afraid he’s in too
deep. Nicholson is his excellent self
while I thought Damon took a bit of a step back from some of his other roles. With Scorsese films, you’re usually
guaranteed violence and foul language (perhaps why he has not won an Oscar) and
this movie is no exception, but you get that sense of the characters fears for
their lives in their jobs. That’s my
quick review; what’s next?
Costigan (DiCaprio) joins the police academy and
is selected as the type of person for undercover work. Sullivan (Damon) as a child is taken under
the wing of a crime lord, Costello (Nicholson), and Sullivan enters the police
force to help tip off Nicholson of trouble.
Costigan is soon recruited into Costello’s syndicate and is able to
provide feedback to his bosses of Costello’s dealings. Sullivan and Costigan are aware that there is
a mole on the opposite side and both are trying to flush each other out before
it’s too late.
Black Dahlia (seen on October 10,
2006)
Rating – 4
Starring:
Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansen, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank
This movie may be based on an actual murder, but
the story in the movie is entirely fictional.
The movie tries to convey the same feel of L.A. Confidential, but
this movie is far weaker in comparison.
Despite the movie being called the Black Dahlia, the movie deals
more with the detectives’ lives instead of the murder. Too many subplots are written into the script
and then upon the end of the movie, the writer suddenly realizes the name of
the script and creates a jumbled ending to it leaving the viewer unsatisfied. The acting was adequate as they try to bring
back the 50’s style crime drama, but it’s not able to salvage the movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Hartnett
and Eckhart are two cops who used to be semi-professional boxers. In order to raise money for the police
department, they box each other in a charity event. Not only does the boxing event raise money
for the department and propel their careers, it brings them together as friends
along with Echart’s girl, Johansen. They
now only work high profile cases to keep a name for themselves and when the
Black Dahlia murder comes about, they jump on board. The two struggle to figure out who murdered
this girl and why, but as time goes by, the case slowly consumes them.
The Last Kiss (seen on September
15, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Zach Braff, Casey Affleck
In case you’re wondering, this is a remake, but a
remake of an Italian movie so most have probably never heard of the
original. Braff seems to want to play
the same type characters in movies; maybe he’s trying to break his mold of
comedy from his television show Scrubs.
This movie is probably suited more for couples as me being a single guy,
I could not relate too much to the stress of being bogged down in
relationships. There are a few chuckles
here and there to lighten the mood, but the majority of the movie is spent
watching the four friends struggle with their relationships as they approach
thirty. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Michael (Braff) finds that his longtime girlfriend is pregnant and starts to feel that there’s no more surprises left in his life and maybe he’s not ready to grow up. As he struggles with this idea, he watches as his three longtime friends battle with married life, divorce, and single life and he must decide if it’s time to grow up or to run.
The Illusionist (seen on September
14, 2006)
Rating – 8
Starring:
Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell
It’s nice watching a timepiece type movie as this
is set in the late 1800’s of Vienna.
During the Eisenheim performances, you have that feeling as if you’re
watching the illusions yourself as opposed to just watching a movie. When the movie diverges from simply just
illusions, it tends to slow down as it tries to build the rest of the
plot. Norton, who normally excels at his
parts, had an average performance in this movie, but I believe the more
impressive role was Giamatti and his portrayal of the police captain. Quick note, for those of you opposed to
movies with narration, I would avoid this as the movie is retold through the
eyes of Giamatti’s character. I would
say this is definitely worth a watch if you like dramas (I just hope my
standards have not been watered down by the rest of the crap Hollywood has been
putting out). That’s my quick review;
what’s next?
Set
in the late 1800’s in Austria, Eisenheim the Illusionist (Norton) has returned
to Vienna after years of traveling to perform his illusions. His show mystifies audiences, including the
local police captain (Giamatti), to the extent where the crown prince (Sewell)
comes to watch the show. Eisenheim
recognizes the crown prince’s fiancée, Sophie (Biel), is his lost love from
when they were children and tries to rekindle the romance. The crown prince disapproves and shuts down
Eisenheim’s shows, but trouble arises in Vienna when Sophie is found
murdered. Soon Eisenheim reveals his
most amazing illusion, the ability to raise the spirits of the dead.
Idiocracy (seen on September 4,
2006)
Rating – 2
Starring:
Luke Wilson
There was not much advertising on this movie, but
there wasn’t a whole lot for Office Space either. This movie was written and directed by Mike
Judge and included several of the same actors that appeared in Office Space. However, I predict that this movie will not
be as popular in DVD sales as Office Space. The movie has some valid points about it as
it pokes fun at the trends of society, but the movie isn’t enjoyable. It’s supposed to be a comedy, but I didn’t
laugh once or even hint at smiling throughout the whole movie. Luckily I knew that it was a short movie
because it would have been unbearable to watch much more. I know the actors were supposed to play the
characters as morons, but the most of the actors in this movie need to be
relegated to bit parts in all movies (if not totally removed from all) and not
third listing in the credits. Who knows,
this movie is so bad that it might become one of the cult classics that is just
hideously bad, but my guess is that it will probably fade away as Eddie
Murphy’s Adventures of Pluto Nash.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Joe (Wilson) has been working for the military for years at a very remedial job when he is selected for a top secret experiment based on that he is the most “average” person in the military. The experiment does not go as planned and Joe wakes up 500 years in the future instead of 1 year to find that stupid people have been breading so much that they are the only one’s left. Joe finds himself to be the smartest person in the whole world and is put in charge to help solve the problems of the country despite its simplicity.
Crank (seen on September 1, 2006)
Rating – 4
Starring:
Jason Statham, Amy Smart
I know, most of you are wondering why I went and
saw this movie. I was curious to see how
amped Jason Statham was during the movie.
The story may be weak, but they got the title of the movie right. He is on edge the whole movie and you’re on
the edge of your seat gripping with him too.
It’s not as if you are rooting for his character, it’s just the way the
movie is shot at such a high pace, fast soundtrack, and scenes changing so fast
that you don’t realize that your heart is racing right alongside the movie and
for a little while afterwards. The movie
is all action all the time and never gives you a break from the pace. My guess that was the point to the way it was
filmed, but it’s overall not that great of a movie. If you feel lethargic, perhaps this is a good
movie for you to watch to get moving.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Chelios
(Statham) is an assassin for a mob syndicate and has murdered a high-ranking
person in another outfit. Upon waking
up, Chelios finds a message that he has been injected with a poison that slows
down his adrenaline to the point he falls into a coma and dies. He is only supposed to have one hour to live,
but he soon learns that if he keeps his adrenaline pumping all the time he can
prolong his life long enough to get revenge on his enemies and find a cure.
Clerks II (seen on August 8, 2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith
If you liked the first one and you want to see
the same movie except newer material based on the past 12 years since the last
movie, come check this out. The main
reason I saw this movie was to find out why Joel Seigel walked out of it;
apparently the first time in 30 years.
This scene he walked out on wasn’t that bad; it just insinuated things,
but showed nothing. If you’re not a fan
of Kevin Smith movies, this is not the one that will get you on board with
him. Basically, the movie is funny and
makes you laugh, but I give it a low rating because it reminds me of the first
one too much. Despite having a bigger
budget for this film, you think they could have gotten some better acting, but
instead they added another bad actor. It
would have been nice if they filmed the movie in black and white like the
original was. That would have been a
redeeming quality that should have continued with the sequel, but atlas
no. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After
Dante (O’Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) find their corner store where they
work burning down, they find new employment at Mooby Burgers. Dante is entering his last day of employment
and planning to move to Florida with his fiancée. Of course, Dante has trouble leaving his best
friend Randal behind and the girl he had a fling with, his boss (Dawson). What will Dante do in the end? And always looming in the background is the
burnout twosome of Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith).
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (seen on July 15,
2006)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Stellan
Skarsgard
Here’s a shocker; Hollywood has made a
sequel. Honestly, this is supposed to be
a part two of a trilogy, but the second and third one are just one movie that
is over five hours long because there is no ending to this movie. Sorry to give it away, but I’m sure you’ve
heard that by now. I don’t like sequels
that to tie into the original and try to make it seem like the writers intended
there to be more story in the first one, but there wasn’t. It’s the same great characters that were in
the first one, but that’s the problem they are the same and it’s been done
now. Leave it alone. Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow was
brilliant in the first and he hasn’t changed in the second, but there appears
to be nothing newly added and just a recycle.
That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie starts off with Turner (Bloom) and
Swann (Knightley) about to be married when the new commodore arrests them. Turner has been sent out by the commodore to
retrieve a compass from Captain Jack (Depp) to free himself and his bride. But Captain Jack has other use for this
special compass as it helps find the Dead Man’s Chest. This chest seems to help Captain Jack with
the deal that he made with the devil of the sea, Davy Jones (Nighy).
The Proposition (seen on July 6,
2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson
Ok, if you right a movie and you find out it is not long enough to be considered a movie, don’t just add scenes of actors staring into the desert or sky. Originally, the story line did sound intriguing to me, but I found out that it is rather weak. I enjoyed it more than Three Burials and I compare those two because both have that real slow pace to it. The movie starts off with the proposition and you think maybe there is more background to it or maybe there’s another side to the sheriff. But no, it just runs through the agonizing slow pace of what Guy Pearce will do. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Set in the late 1800’s of Australia, the movie starts off with the proposition so there is no confusion. Charlie (Pearce) and his younger brother are captured by the sheriff (Winstone). The sheriff tells Charlie that he can go free, but he’s going to keep his younger brother in prison. Charlie can either hunt down his older bother, leader of a malicious gang, and kill him or his younger brother will be hung on Christmas Day nine days away.
Thank You for Smoking (seen on July
3, 2006)
Rating – 8
Starring:
Aaron Eckhardt, William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, Sam Elliot,
Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes
Don’t worry, this movie is not a propaganda movie
about smoking; although, it does spit out facts about the smoking
industry. There are several absurd
situations that Eckhardt goes through and it’s funny to see how he can put a
positive spin on everything while still being a role model to his kid. I thought Eckhardt did an amazing job at
playing the role of a “bullshit” artist.
Despite the fact that he represents the tobacco industry, you enjoy
watching his character and root for the guy against the “evil” Senator. You will tend to laugh at just trying to see
things the way a tobacco representative perceives them. Most have probably not heard about this movie
before since it’s an “indie” flick, but if it’s still out in the theaters near
you, I recommend it. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
A
delightfully clever movie that is not here to tell you whether you should smoke
or not. Eckhardt is the spokesman
(lobbyist) for the big tobacco corporations.
His job is to put spin on every negative report about smoking and
somehow to indirectly promote more smoking.
This job is not easy when Macy, a Senator, is constantly trying to bring
down Eckhardt and the big tobacco industry.
As Eckhardt tries to control the situation with the government, a nosy
reporter (Holmes) is looking to find out more about the “spin doctor”. Eckhardt only finds solace with his son and
his two friends, spokespeople for alcohol and firearms.
Superman Returns (seen on July 1,
2006)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Brandon Roth, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey, Frank Langella
I know there’s a lot of hype about this being the
rebirth of Superman as Batman Begins brought back the Batman series, but
I cannot agree. It’s nothing against the
actors’ performance, but just the script in general. The movie did not keep me interested for the whole
two hours and forty minutes as I kept checking my watch. The movie does not add anything to the
storyline of Superman, but states that he was missing for a while, he’s
“super”, oh and Lex Luther…still evil.
If DC comics is trying to compete with Marvel comics when it comes to
movies, I say stick with the Batman series and leave Superman alone. He just does not have interesting story lines
to me, but I’m sure Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Smith enjoyed it. I wish Brian Singer had stuck with the X-Men
3 movie to make that movie a success instead of making Superman Returns
an average movie. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
The
story picks up after Superman II (General Zod and his two cronies) where
Superman returns after being gone for five years. Clark Kent returns to Metropolis after his
five-year voyage to find Lois Lane has moved on with her life. Lex Luther has been released from prison,
still wants money and power, and still hates Superman.
Over the Hedge (seen on June 13,
2006)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, William
Shatner, Thomas Haden Church, Nick Nolte, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara
An enjoyable movie, but I must compare this movie
to other cartoon movies. I know these
movies are for kids, but several have added more humor for the adults and I
believe this is where it fell short. The
movie is an entertaining story that shows the perspective of cute little furry
animals amidst suburbia life. I thought
the ending was very clever on how the animals were able to escape their
predicament. I would say worth the watch
as a matinee if you were looking for a movie to pass eighty minutes of your
time. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
RJ
the raccoon is out scurrying for food, but tangles with a bear who orders him
to replace all the food he tried to steal within a week. RJ crosses path with a woodland family of
animals who stores food all summer long for the long winter. He decides to mesmerize them with tastes of
human food that exist over the hedge and persuades, unbeknownst to them, to
help him fill the bear’s list. Trouble
ensues as the humans hire an exterminator and RJ has trouble coping with lying
to his new friends.
The Da Vinci Code (seen on June 10,
2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, Audrey Tautou
I watched this movie without reading the book so
I cannot say if that was a good thing or bad, but according to others, it would
not have mattered. I believe that a
movie is good or bad independent of the book and in fact, there’s a better
chance of one enjoying the movie without reading the book because your do not
get upset when the movie omits a scene in the book. Overall, the movie did not keep me interested
in wanting to watch it. I would
preferred if the movie is going to be two and a half hours long that it’s worth
my trouble for sitting through it. It
was a type of “treasure hunting” movie, but the treasure hunting parts were
rather weak. Also, I felt the actors,
despite the talented cast, did not embrace their characters. The ending itself was as if they were tired
of telling the story as if they were building up to a climax and instead of
hitting the peak and winding down, the story just plateaued. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After
a murder at the Louvre, a Harvard college professor and a detective are linked
together by the victim. They try to
unravel the clues left by the victim to find who the murderer was. The clues lead them to a Leonardo DaVinci
painting, The Last Supper, which opens up a whole new quest to find the
Holy Grail. Of course, opposition
follows closely behind by separatists and followers of the Catholic Church.
X-Men 3 – The Last Stand (seen on
May 26, 2006)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry,
Kelsey Grammer
The movie was enjoyable, but I think it just did
not live up to my expectations. The
filmmakers tried to cram too much of the X-Men story into this last movie. Too many extra mutants were thrown in who are
significant characters in the comics, but not in the movie. The movie seemed to fast paced for the amount
of information they were throwing at you in only an hour and forty minute movie. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the movie
more had Brian Singer directed this as well as I had enjoyed the first two
X-Men. All in all, I think the storyline
of comics was too condensed in the final movie to finish off the trilogy. Why does everything have to be trilogies
nowadays? I guess it beats Rocky
considering there will soon be a sixth Rocky movie, but I digress. It’s nice seeing new mutants, but the stories
are not explained and instead it just has everyone fighting. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The X-Men
saga continues as a laboratory has announced a “cure” for mutants. The search for Magneto continues as he tries
to unite mutants against the human threat of a cure in the “Brotherhood of
Mutants”. The X-Men stand to fight
against Magneto as both sides recruit new members and some older ones
return. Who will win in the Last Stand?
Three Burials (seen on April 1st,
2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper
As I’m watching this movie, I get annoyed with
how the movie jumps in different timelines and I feel that it is a trick to
mask a simple plot with editing. I’m
then told by my friend that it is the same writer as 21 Grams and it
makes perfect sense to me. That was the
same feeling I had about that movie. So
apparently if you liked 21 Grams, you’ll probably like this. I did not care for either movie despite good
acting in both. I thought Tommy Lee
Jones’ performance was excellent as the tired old ranch hand friend. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Jones works on a ranch in Texas where he
befriends an illegal Mexican immigrant.
Pepper is a border patrol officer who mistakenly shoots the illegal
Mexican immigrant and tries to cover up the incident. Jones kidnaps Pepper and takes off with his
dead friend to bury him in Mexico in his home town cause he made a promise to
his friend that he would.
Inside Man (seen on March 29, 2006)
Rating – 7
Starring:
Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer
Here we have another collaboration between Denzel Washington and Spike Lee. Washington delivers his usually performance and Lee does a good job directing. It was an enjoyable movie with intense acting about a heist. Something about heist movies are always entertaining to me. It’s not an exceptional movie and there’s no huge plot twist to try to trick the audience, it’s just a heist movie where you’re trying to figure out how will they get away. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Owen starts off telling you that he plans on robbing a bank. Washington is the police negotiator trying to get Owen to release the hostages and give himself up. Foster is a tough “lawyer” who has been hired by Plummer, the bank’s owner, to retrieve some of his personal documents from the bank while Owen is still inside.
The Matador (seen on March 9, 2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis
Here’s the movie where Pierce Brosnan tries to
break his type-cast of being the smooth, suave criminal or super-spy. It is a different roll for him, but the movie
overall just seems cheesy. Usually it’s
never good to have Greg Kinnear in you movies.
The characters just seem to over the top. The loving couple of Davis and Kinnear just
seems corny and fake, not a believable couple.
Brosnan is not bad as the broken-down deadly assassin, but it’s just one
of those movies where you see all the good parts in the previews and there’s
not much else to the movie. It’s one of
the movies where a middle class, normal family accepts a murderer into their
lives; you know typical. J That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Brosnan is as he calls himself a “facilitator of fatalities” or an assassin. Brosnan lives his life traveling from job to job to city to city and realizes on his birthday, that he knows no one. He has no friends and is alone. At this point in Mexico City, he crosses paths with a businessman, Kinnear, who’s been down on his luck with his career lately. There friendship starts off shaky, but Brosnan feels comfort with Kinnear and confides in him his occupation. Later on as Brosnan starts to crack at the pressures of his job and life, he seeks refuge with the only “friend” and “family” he’s ever known, Kinnear and his wife Davis.
Lucky Number Slevin (seen on March
2, 2006)
Rating – 5
Starring:
Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis
You know, with an all-star cast like this does
not mean that the movie will be good.
Hollywood has disappointed me once again and I’m sure will continue its
trend for a while. The movie starts out
with the feeling that maybe the movie is something different and not the same
stories you hear and almost wonder which way is it going. And then at some point you realize it’s not a
different story, but rather just another attempt to try to masquerade a simple
idea of a movie. You get that feeling in
the movie just hurry up and finish the movie so I can get out of here. There’s no big climax to shock the audience
and the story is predictable and a waste of these actors time and my
money. Especially at these London prices
out here. I will say there were a few
cheesy laughs from Josh Hartnett’s character that gave some hope to the
movie. That’s my quick review; what’s
next?
Ben
Kingsley and Morgan Freeman are two crime bosses who hate each who were once
partners of the same crime family. Bruce
Willis is the world’s greatest assassin and has been called to town by both
crime families to take the other out.
Josh Hartnett is visiting his friend who has disappeared when he
arrives. Hartnett learns quickly that
his friend Nick has a big gambling problem with both crime families and that
Hartnett appears to be the wrong place at the wrong time.
A Cock and Bull Story (seen on
February 19, 2006)
Rating – 6
Starring: Steve
Coogan, Rob Bryden
This is a funny movie, but no real plot to
it. Apparently it is quite similar to
most Steve Coogan comedy. There’s a very
erratic timeline to the movie as it jumps from “movie” to “real” and then
back. The question I had throughout the
movie was weather or not there’s was an actually novel called Tristam Shandy. Being an outsider seeing this very “English”
type movie makes me wonder if I had missed any thing that locals may have
caught, but I was still able to enjoy it.
The movie has a slight similarity to Adaptation where “Charlie
Kaufman” has trouble writing a movie about a book of flowers. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The
movie is about Steve Coogan trying to film a movie about a book that’s
supposedly impossible to film. Part of
the movie has Steve Coogan playing his role in the Tristam Shandy “movie”, but
the rest has the crew and actors struggling on how to film the movie of this
unfilmable novel. Don’t try to think
about it much because it is quite a confusing “plot”, but it’s a comedy and it
makes you laugh, which is all that is important to enjoying the movie.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(seen on December 10, 2005)
Rating – 6
Starring:
Daniel Radcliffe
The fourth movie of the Harry Potter series is
out. Now, I’ve never read the books so
my review is based solely on the movie.
The movie may have introduced some new characters into the mix, but the
movie seemed more to drag on the series of Harry Potter’s schooling instead of
moving forward with the story. Now that
the kids are growing older, the movie starts to add teenage drama and sways
towards being just a teen movie in parts.
The movie does reveal a few more things about the series, but I felt
overall that the whole movie was just there to stretch the storyline of the
Harry Potter series than to help the story grow. Maybe there’s more to the story in the book,
but just from my movie watching perspective, that’s how I feel. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Harry
Potter and his friends are at the World Cup of Quidditch when Lord Voldemort’s
henchmen crash the event. Back at
Hogwarts, the school is to play host of the Tri-Wizard tournament. When Harry finds his name mysteriously
entered into the Goblet of Fire as a contestant, he finds himself amidst of a
dangerous competition. The students are
starting to get older and they start to realize that there are evils in the
world that are out to hurt and kill them.
Aeon Flux (seen on December 6, 2005)
Rating –
Starring:
Charlize Theron, Jonny Lee Miller, Frances McDormand
For those of you who do not know, this is based
on an animation show on MTV in the 90’s called Aeon Flux. The cartoon only lasted two seasons and it
never explained anything about what was going on. Despite seeing the trailers and judging that
the movie was not going to be any good, I still had to go see it. I had to find out what the hell the cartoon
was about. All you ever got from the
cartoon was that Aeon was an assassin in a futuristic war where most of the
people were plagued with a virus and that Trevor was a former boyfriend of
hers. I know I sound like I’m reviewing
the cartoon more than the actually movie is because the movie is not that
good. It didn’t seem as off the wall
sci-fi as the cartoon had implied the future to be. Maybe if you hadn’t seen the cartoon you
might not be disappointed because you are not comparing it with the
cartoon. On second thought, you can
compare it to any movie and realize that this movie is a disappointment. One thing I did get out of going to the movie
was I found out what was wrong with the future of this story and what Aeon Flux
was trying to do. That’s my quick
review; what’s next?
Ninety-nine
percent of the population is eliminated with a virus. The people are saved by a scientist, Trevor
Goodchild, who finds a cure for humanity.
However, there is a price to pay for the population is forced to live
inside a walled city to protect them from the outside as nature has retaken the
world. The Goodchild dynasty has ruled
supremely for 400 years, but there is group that resists under the shadows, the
Monicans. Aeon Flux is one of the top
assassins and is sent in to bring down the Goodchild dynasty, but not
everything seems right as Aeon sees visions of her past.
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (seen on November 17, 2005)
Rating - 7
Starring: Robert Downy Jr., Val Kilmer
Let's just start off with the title...I think they could have chosen a better title to entice the audience to come watch it. This movie is a rather cheesy murder mystery, but I think that's the point of the movie. Still, the movie is worth watching with the humor that is spread sporadically throughout the flick. The movie starts off with narration to help set up the movie, but as the movie goes on, the narration just drops from the movie. Even when there is narration, the filmmakers try to get cute with the well they tell the story, but it's more annoying than clever. That's my quick review; what's next?
Harry (Downy Jr.) finds himself out in L.A. auditioning for a movie after being accidentally discovered by a talent agent in New York. Perry (Kilmer) is a private detective who helps actors prepare for detective roles by letting them ride-along. When Harry and Perry are on their stakeout together, instead of just a simple job of photographing an adulterer, they find themselves involved in a murder. As the story unfolds, Harry finds a link between this murder and the death of his childhood friend's sister.
Lord of War (seen on November 4, 2005)
Rating - 4
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, Ian Holm
I did not realize how much of political movie this was going to be. I must say watching this movie in a borderline third-world country where many people carry around machetes, it rattles you a little. Also, can Jared Leto play a role where he does not use drugs? I think he's being typecast, but he's still earning a paycheck. I thought the movie was a little long and too much voiceover, but that's just my opinion. That's my quick review; what's next?
Yuri Orlov (Cage) is and his family are immigrants from the Ukraine. Yuri decides that he wants to have a better life. One way to improve your life is to provide a service that will always be needed...guns. Yuri and his brother (Leto) enter the firearms business by selling guns to warring countries around the world. Of course, selling firearms to these countries is dangerous business especially when Interpol agent (Hawke) is always following, but Yuri is one of the bests in the business.
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were Rabbit (seen on October 31, 2005)
Rating - 7
Starring: Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bohnam Carter
I guess this is my Halloween movie for this year. Actually, it's not that scary. I only had to close my eyes four times during the movie. Back to the review. I'm assuming that most people have heard of Wallace & Gromit before, but you know what they say about assuming. I thought this movie was very clever. Of course, there are a lot of kids watching the movie giggling at the silly things, but there were times when I was the one laughing. The clay animation was excellent and it was a nice little story. That's my quick review; what's next?
It appears that Wallace & Gromit are in charge of keeping those pesky rabbits out of the towns gardens. The townspeople are pleased with their results as the gardens are free of these vermins and with the Giant Vegetable Festival in a week, these rabbits are a nuisance. Until one day, a giant Were-Rabbit appears and starts to destroy the vegetables. It is up to Wallace & Gromit to catch the Were-Rabbit humanely before the sinister Victor shoots it.
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (seen on October 18, 2005)
Rating - 5
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bohnam Carter, Emily Watson, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Tracey Ullman
It seems that Tim Burton has returned to clay animation (yes, I know that statement could entitle me the role of Captain Obvious, but just in case there are some who never saw the previews). The movie has that certain Tim Burton type feeling and I believe if you liked the Nightmare Before Christmas, then you'll like this movie. It is amazing what they are able to do with these clay animation. The stories not too bad, but it loses its luster quickly and you seem only entertained by simply the movement of the clay figures. It's probably a good thing this movie wasn't much longer, but it wasn't a bad watch if you have 75 minutes free. That's my quick review; what's next?
Victor's parents have arranged his marriage with Watson's parents. Neither Victor (Depp) nor Victoria (Watson) have met each other before. Well, Victor is a little nervous about getting married and he cannot remember his vows so he is sent to the woods by the preacher to practice his vows. While he is practicing his vows, he places his ring on what he thought was a twig, ends up being a corpse. And of course, the corpse accepts his proposal, but Victor at this point wants to marry Victoria.
Serenity (seen on October 14, 2005)
Rating - 7
Starring: Nathan Fillion
For starters, in case you did not know, the movie is based on a TV series, Firefly, that only lasted two seasons. But you don't have to have watched the series to follow what's going on. I do suggest that you should be a science fiction fan or you probably shouldn't see this movie. An interesting cast of "no-names" is quite refreshing from the blockbuster movies that usually make the list. The movie want win any awards, but it was a good watch. That's my quick review; what's next?
After people have abandoned the Earth because of over-population, they settle in a new solar system. The core planets form a "Utopian" society that the rebels disagree with because it encourages conformity and not individualism. The rag-tag crew of the ship Serenity are a band of rebels that are harboring a sister of one of the crew. This mysterious girl is wanted by the society because she is a psychic and was present amongst some of the head members of the society and may have discovered some of their secrets. The society is trying to kill the crew of the Serenity to save their secrets while Serenity is trying to find out why they want the girl so badly.
40 Year Old Virgin (seen on September 29, 2005)
Rating - 6
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd
It was not a bad movie, but after a while it seemed like the jokes just became the same throughout the movie. I found it funny, but after a while, I got that feeling of get the movie over with. I don't have much to say on this. That's my quick review; what's next?
The title of the movie should give you a big hint on what this movie is about. Needless to say that when his coworkers find out that he's still a virgin, they try to help him out. Eventually, he finds a girl on his own that he likes, but he has trouble telling her that he is a virgin.
Broken Flowers (seen on August 21, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Bill Murray
Despite being a different writer and director, I must start off by comparing the movie to Lost in Translation. It’s not just simply because Bill Murray is the star in both movies, but he acts the same character in both, the apathetic type character, which he seems to play in most of his movies. This movie has some slow parts in it mixed with humor so it matches the format of Lost in Translation; therefore, I must give the same recommendation that this movie is not for everyone. Better ask me individually if you should see this comment (this is mainly directed at Walker). That’s my quick review; what’s next?
After Don’s (Murray) girlfriend leaves him, he receives a letter from an unknown ex-girlfriend who claims she had a son with him whose currently seeking him. With the advice of his neighbor who’s a wannabe detective, he visits his ex-girlfriends in hope of finding the woman who sent this letter and perhaps his son. Don questions which woman wrote the letter or even if the letter is real.
Wedding Crashers (seen on July 24, 2005)
Rating – 6
Starring: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken
I thought this was a funny movie, but the problem was that some of these comedies are getting tiresome. I know it’s not the same story as Old School, Zoolander, or Starsky and Hutch, but these comedies with weak plots seem to be lacking. It made me laugh, but after a while, I start to look at my watch and think, hurry up and get the plot line over with and let me out of here. But that’s just my opinion. As my rating says, it wouldn’t be bad as a matinee. Also, it’s a relaxing movie that you don’t have to think about, but rather just sit back and laugh. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
John (Wilson) and Jeremy (Vaughn) are two friends who love wedding season. It’s not for the uniting of two people in love, but to sleep with desperate single women at these weddings. Until one day John starts to fall for one of the women at a high profile wedding. He is able to extend his chance to get to know this woman since his friend Jeremy has caught the eye of her sister at the wedding. Of course, trouble ensues when John’s interest’s boyfriend shows up in the picture. I’m sure at this point one can predict the rest of the story so I’ll stop here.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (seen on July 21, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Freddie Highmore
Unfortunately this is another remake; however, this isn’t a true remake of the original movie. This movie is actually based on the book (or so I’ve been told because I’ve never read it). One can tell from the beginning that this is a Tim Burton movie with its dark scenery and its camera shots. I thought it was an excellent movie, but it wasn’t for Depp’s role in the movie. In fact, he bothered me somewhat in the movie; seemed he was almost overacting the role of weird, creepy Willy Wonka. Highmore (aka Charlie) did an excellent job as the truthful, starry-eyed kid who just loves his family, well and of course chocolate. I just have to say, if you go to watch this movie, don’t go expecting the original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” because the movie is not a remake of the movie, but of the book. If you go to watch the movie without comparing to the original, I believe you will like it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Everyone knows the story of Willy Wonka and his rise to make the greatest candy the world had ever tasted. But as time went on and his secrets were stolen, he shut his factory to the public. Until one day the factory started producing candy again, but the townsfolk did not know who was working the factory and what was going on behind those closed doors. Charlie was from a poor family, whom was filled with great love. One Willy Wonka announced that five children around the world would be invited to his factory if they were to find the golden ticket in his Wonka bars. After Charlie finds a ticket, he and his Grandpa Joe enter the factory to the wonderful world of Willy Wonka and the secrets of the factory.
Fantastic Four (seen on July 17, 2005)
Rating – 7
Starring: Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis
Yet another comic book movie, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. I supposed the Fantastic Four series was not as popular as Spiderman so more character development was needed for this movie. The only problem is that the majority of the movie is focuses on developing the characters. The scenes where they actually use their superpowers are limited to basically one fight scene with Dr. Doom. Perhaps the sequel will have more fight scenes because that’s all that Hollywood can make nowadays, sequels. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
When five astronauts are exposed to a radiation cloud in space, they develop superpowers. Four of them unite to find a cure for their powers, while Dr. Doom uses his to eliminate his enemies. The newly united Fantastic Four must work together to stop Dr. Doom as they battle amongst themselves adopting to their new superhuman abilities.
Batman Begins (seen on June 24, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson
This is a huge improvement from Joel Schumacher’s debacle of Batman 3 and 4. Personally, I still believe the first one is the best and I’m not talking about the Batman with Adam West, I’m talking about Michael Keaton. The film returned to a more bleak and corrupt city of Gotham. The movie did an excellent job of telling how and why Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, became Batman. I was curious as to which villain was going to be in the movie and was pleasantly surprised with the way they went. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Bruce Wayne starts off in East Asia in a prison. He has been missing from the spotlight for seven years. He is released from prison and trained in the arts of stealth ninja fighting style by the leader Ra’s Al-Ghul. Wayne returns to Gotham to clean up the corrupt city, but returns as Batman to hide his identity to protect the people he cares for. I don’t want to reveal to much, but you’ll have to see the movie to find out who is the puppet master that is pulling all the strings of Gotham’s crime syndicate.
Layer Cake (seen on June 5, 2005)
Rating – 9
Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meany
Now despite the fact that I gave this movie a high rating does not mean this is an everybody-should-go-see-movie. This movie has drugs and murder in it so not everyone’s type of movie. The plot, which I’ll try to divulge below, is not easy to describe. Some might criticize that there is almost too many subplots and characters to keep track of, but it’s not necessarily that important if you just sit back and enjoy the movie. You might miss something but you still can just kick back and enjoy this different story telling British film. The characters’ backgrounds do not develop in detail, but that’s part of the mystique of the movie. The movie is from the producer of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (Matthew Vaughn) so it has the upbeat tempo to the movie, but it’s not Guy Ritchie so there are differences. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The importance of having a plan and sticking to it is Daniel Craig’s whole philosophy. Craig is a drug dealer and once he gets his money to retire, he wants out and it’s just on the horizon, or at least he thought it was. His boss requests his services in finding a friend’s daughter and funneling a shipment of ecstasy from a two-bit dealer who has stirred trouble in Amsterdam. Now the ecstasy and the trouble is linked to him and his crew and his boss’ friend is telling Craig that he is a smart man, but surrounded by non-trustworthy people. Craig feels pressure from all parties surrounding him as his plan to retire and fade away is fading away without him.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (seen on May 24, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson
The prequel trilogy is finally over. Most people probably know what happens in this one. George Lucas did an excellent job of wrapping up the loose ends. The only problem was was that there was no real surprise to the movie. You were just there to watch the movie and confirm what you had speculated/pieced together from the other movies. I must say that there may have been too many light saber scenes. I remember in the original three episodes, the light sabers were rarely revealed except for the “climatic” battle between Vader and Luke. But I guess before the Empire was formed, everyone used light savers. Still being the last Star Wars movie, I had to give it a high rating because these movies are better to watch in the theaters. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story begins with Obi-Wan and Anakin trying to save Senator Palpatine. The Clone Wars have continued and the Senator believes the end of the war is near. The Jedi suspects that there is a Sith Lord yet to reveal himself and his evil plans. Anakin returns home to his secretly married wife Padme to find she is pregnant. That’s all I want to reveal in case for some reason you don’t know what happens.
Unleashed (seen on May 22, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins
If you like movies with martial arts, go see this movie. If you like movies with good fight scenes that aren’t all “Matrix-ed” out, go see this movie. If you want to see Jet Li stake his claim for the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards, don’t go see this movie. There are great fight scenes throughout the movie, but it’s painfully obvious that Jet Li is not an actor. But that’s ok because he doesn’t have to act too much. He’s usually beating the crap out of people and I mean just absolutely pounding people into submission. Bob Hoskins did an excellent job as the “bad guy”, but I really don’t know why Morgan Freeman was in the movie. Anyone could have played his role; still Freeman did a good job. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Bart (Hoskins) is an underground boss who lends money to people and when they don’t pay, he sends his “dog” after them by removing his collar. Danny (Li) is treated as a dog and only reacts when his collar is removed. However, after being separated from Bart, he finds hope from Sam (Freeman) and his daughter who take in the scared “puppy”. By the use of music, Danny begins to open up and remember that he is human. But as he starts his new life, his sinister past comes back to haunt him.
Crash (seen on May 20, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe
In case you don’t know, this is not a light-hearted movie. The movie deals with racism and people of different social classes. It’s an interesting story on how these different characters cross each other’s paths in just two days in LA. It’s almost too coincidental how much these characters cross paths even taking into account that it is a movie. To paraphrase Don Cheadle’s character in the opening scene when he states that people walk past one another without any contact or feeling and sometimes the only way to feel human is to “crash” into one another.
The movie follows several individual stories that cross paths within two days in LA. From a racist cop and his disgusted partner, to a black TV director and his wife, to a philosophical car thief and his partner, to a district attorney and his spoiled wife, to a Hispanic locksmith and daughter, to a Persian shop keeper, to a black cop and his drugged out mother.
Mindhunters (seen on May 15, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, LL Cool J, Kathryn Morris
There may be several of you who have never heard of this movie and that wouldn’t surprise after its low turn out at the box office its opening weekend. I believe it was definitely worth the watch. Of course, watching anyone of these “suspense, killer, who-done-it” type movies, your constantly trying to predict what the director is going to happen next. And in a movie where there is only a short list of suspects, which dwindles with every murder it’s hard to keep the audience guessing on who is the killer. But the movie does a pretty good job of throwing you off course. My suggestion is to just kick back and watch the movie and try to keep it with the fast pace of the movie as characters are killed throughout. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story is based on a group of 8 FBI trainees who wish to become a psychological profiler. Their professor, Harris (Val Kilmer), drops them on a remote naval base island where they will have their final exam that will simulate a serial killer loose in the town. However, things go wrong at the first crime scene when one of the agents is actually killed and they become to discover that there is a real killer among the group of FBI trainees and there’s no one to trust.
Sin City (seen on April 8, 2005)
Rating – 8
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen and a whole bunch more actors
I must say, that I’m not a big fan of green screens, but since this movie was trying to have that comic book feel to it, I think it was quite successful. The movie is three different stories that overlap one another, but don’t actually connect. I’ve never read the Sin City comics so I don’t know how true the movie is to the comics. This movie is loaded with actors in each of the stories. I found this movie very entertaining. Just remember if you’re going to see the movie, it is based on graphic novels (comic books). It’s probably the only movie that effectively shows the movie as a true comic. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Basin City is a trouble city overrun with crooked politicians and mobsters. The movie follows three different storylines. The story follows Hartigan’s (Willis) attempt to save a kidnapped little girl, Marv’s (Rourke) fight to avenge his lady’s murder, and Dwight’s (Owen) struggle to rid the streets of a dirty cop.
Million Dollar Baby (seen on March 4, 2005)
Rating – 9
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman
I know this movie has been out for a while, but I finally got around to seeing it. This is an excellent movie. I’m not surprised that it won 4 Academy Awards because it has everything that the Academy looks for. Hilary Swank did an outstanding job in her performance and of course, Eastwood and Freeman always excel at their roles. One problem is the movie is narrated by Freeman and gives that same feeling as Shawshank Redemption, but that’s not much of a problem as it just makes you seem a little similarities between Freeman’s character in this movie compared to some of his other roles. I had thought it was a serious drama, but the movie had some chuckles in it to lighten the mood now and then. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) is a boxing trainer who owns his own gym with his maintenance man friend Scrap (Freeman). Maggie (Swank) joins Frankie’s gym in hopes that he will trainer her to be a boxer, but Frankie repeatedly states that he does not train women. Maggie’s stubbornness and determination eventually wear down Frankie and he agrees to train her. A father-daughter relationship grows between them as she begins her boxing career with her having lost her father and he having a daughter who will not speak to him. They argue with each other out of respect as Maggie moves up the rankings towards a title fight.
Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Animation Festival 2005 (seen on January 29, 2005)
Rating – 7
Starring: It’s a cartoon. No stars.
It’s another year of me driving to Austin to watch a bunch of cartoons. I enjoyed it, but there was one thing about it. I’m not disappointed, but I must say the first time I saw the show, it was the best because everything was new. Of course, the cartoons they bring back are the classics and I can watch those repeatedly. There were plenty of new one’s that were entertaining. The only thing was was that it is called the “Sick and Twisted” animation festival. Now granted, the “twisted” cartoons were there, but what about the “sick” cartoons. The one’s you wonder about why was the cartoon made. There’s no point to this cartoon; it’s just sick! Well anyways, that’s seven straight years of the animation festival for me. I’ll be there for number eight too. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Sideways (seen on January 7, 2005)
Rating – 6
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen
This movie seems to have drawn attention from the awards people despite being a lower budget film. I enjoyed the film, but just because it is up for awards does not necessarily mean you have to see it. Paul Giamatti plays the same type character he does in almost every movie he’s in. I give the movie credit for using a different setting for the loveable pathetic loser character finding himself again in life. Parts of the movie almost seem to be a commercial for wine and most of the characters tend to have that pompous type attitude because they know everything about their wine. One thing that I have to point out that doesn’t need to be pointed out if you saw the movie was that the boom mic was in almost every shot. I thought Paul Giamatti was going to get hit a couple of times with it. The movie has some good laughs, but it kind of boils down to a bunch of middle-aged people who are constantly drinking. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Jack (Church) is getting married in a week and his best friend Miles (Giamatti) has planned a week-long trip of drinking in wine country with just he and his buddy. Jack decides that he is going to live his last week of bachelorhood to the fullest, but worries that Miles will ruin his plans for the trip. It appears that Miles has found an interest in Maya (Madsen) and it is Jack who ends up ruining Miles plans. As Miles personal life takes a roller coaster ride, his professional life as a writer seems to be in question too.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (seen on December 29, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Angelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum
Well, it was tough giving this rating out to a Wes Anderson film, but I felt like that’s what the movie deserved. The typical Wes Anderson flicks are rather corny, but this seems a little over the top. I enjoyed watching it, but I almost question why was this movie told besides to keep the corny humor of Wes Anderson out there. Maybe it’s just the underlying story that I did not like. I like the Wes Anderson flicks that have a story with corny stuff going on around it instead of the story itself being corny. Well, maybe that does not make a lot of sense, but maybe neither did this movie. Anyways, if you have a question about the movie, email me. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Steve Zissou (Murray) is a famous “oceanographer” who’s on his way down by lack of funds and low interest in his exploration movies. Zissou must have another voyage in search of a “Jaguar Shark” that ate his partner and friend on his latest voyage. Along with his normal crew of explorers are Zissou’s “son” (Wilson) and a reporter (Blanchett). Of course as Zissou’s journey sets off, trouble arises from his the son he’s never known, a nosy reporter, his wife (Huston), and his fellow underwater explorer competition (Goldblum).
Ocean's Twelve (seen on December 28, 2004)
Rating – 4
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, Carl Reiner, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Catherine Zeta-Jones
There was disappointment with this movie. I must say going into this movie, it did have one thing going against it; the fact that it was a sequel to a remake just goes to show that Hollywood is running out of good ideas. I thought the remake was done quite nicely. I do not want to give anything away, but most of the jobs they pull do not necessarily involve all eleven or twelve in this movie. The first movie had the whole crew working smoothly in separate important tasks to complete one big score. This movie brought back the whole cast of characters just to sell the names to the public in hopes of drawing a big audience for a big pay day. You can go see it if you like, but I’d wait until a rainy day and it’s on cable to watch it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie starts off with Benedict (Garcia) location all eleven members that robbed his casino three years prior to this movie. He demands that all his money be repaid plus interest within two weeks. The crew decides that they must travel to Europe to pull a large heist over there to repay Benedict, but they encounter two troubles: a government agent (Zeta-Jones) trying to catch them and another great burglar who wants to beat them to the job.
The Incredibles (seen on December 2, 2004)
Rating – 7
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee
I’d like to start off saying that there’s nothing wrong with me seeing a cartoon at my age. Actually, this is a good movie. The movie has the same excellent effects that one has come to expect from a PIXAR cartoon. It’s a good little storyline and a good family movie. Nothing to shocking about the plot; somewhat predictable, but that’s what tends to happen with most superhero/good vs. evil movies. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Well, Mr. Incredible and his wife, Elastigirl, have started a family and they must keep there super powers under control. After living a normal for several years, Mr. Incredible is looking for that spark in his life again. He wants to be a superhero again, but he gets in trouble, his family is out to rescue him from a new villain.
The Motorcycle Diaries (seen on October 31, 2004)
Rating – 8
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna
For starters, the movie is subtitled, so if you don’t like that, I don’t recommend seeing the movie. This is a well-told story based on the journals of Ernesto and Alberto as they travel through South America. The movie says it quite well when it states, “two lives running parallel for a while.” The movie is effective at showing how the characters view their surroundings as they notice the struggle and strife of their fellow South Americans. The movie starts as two guys looking to explore and have fun, to experience what their neighboring countries have to offer. But along their travels soon find out that life is not all fun and games and there is a time to make difficult decisions and choose your path in life. (In case you didn’t recognize the name Che Guevara, you might want to look him up on the internet and see what kind of impact he had on the world.) That’s my quick review; what’s next?
This is the story of Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Alberto Granado traveling the countryside of South America. They start off in Argentina as young, aspiring college students looking to travel just for fun and adventure. Along their journey, they realize that they most grow up and make important decisions regarding the future.
I Heart Huckabees (seen on October 29, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts
This movie tended to jump around from one scene to another in hopes that it all wraps up in the end. I might miss the point of the movie, especially since I’m not a philosophy major, but I believe that the structure of the movie and how it did jump around and yet come together at the end was the point of the movie. That everything is connected in one way or another and we’re all part of the same chaotic universe. It wasn’t a bad movie, but it felt somewhat choppy and rather dodgy when trying to convey the movie’s message. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Jason Schwartzman is an environmentalist who teams up with Jude Law, VP of Huckabees, to save a marshland. Schwartzman seeks help from existential detectives, Tomlin and Hoffman, as to the meaning of his life. After Law and his girlfriend, Watts, become members, Schwartzman teams with another disillusioned client, Wahlberg, and seek advice from another more chaotic existential detective.
Riding Giants (seen on September 5, 2004)
Rating – 8
Starring: Jeff Clark, Greg Noll, Laird Hamilton
This movie was quite good for being a documentary. The documentary is set up quite well as it focuses on three sets of surfing pioneers. From Greg Noll and his crew in the 50’s discovering and surfing the waves off of Hawaii to Jeff Clark’s discovery of the Mavericks off of Northern California to Laird Hamilton utilizing a jet ski to take him to the waves that are 50 to 60 feet high. Mixed in with footage of these surfers experiences are interviews of these surfers. What a charismatic group. Most just don’t seem to care about anything but catching that great wave. Of course, it makes me ask the question…Dad if you’re reading this, why couldn’t you have moved the family to Hawaii when I was younger so I could just be a beach bum and surf all the time? I enjoyed it, but I would not necessarily recommend this movie to just anyone because after all, it is a documentary. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie documents the birth of surfing from over 1000 years ago in Hawaii to the present day. The movie follows the American surf culture for the past 100 years in search of the great wave. The documentary tells the beginnings of the pioneers of surfing in Hawaii to the discovery of Mavericks off Northern California to being able to tow a surfer by jet ski to the unreachable waves beyond the coast.
Before Sunset (seen on September 5, 2004)
Rating – 7
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
For starters, if you have not seen the prequel to this movie Before Sunrise, do not go see this movie. You will be lost. I’m not big on sequels, but for some reason I wanted to find out what happened next in the story. In case you’re wondering, the first moving left you guessing at the end on what happened next. Unfortunately, I would have preferred that they story had ended there, but I still paid my money to find out what happened. The movie is similar to the first one with regards to the way the movie is shot and the types of conversations that they have, but I liked the fact that the first movie ended with you guessing whether they got back together in six months or not. A few interesting things about the movie is that it takes place nine years after the last movie was made or after they last met. Also, the movie is an hour and a half long, which is the same amount of time that the movie takes place in. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie is continues the story of Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Delpy) where they had promised to meet at the train platform after their first encounter in Vienna, but they didn’t meet. Jesse is on a book tour through Europe when he runs into Celine in Paris and they strike up the conversations once again. Celine comes to find that Jesse is now married with a kid, but neither can shake the memories of the one night they spent together in Vienna nine years ago.
Hero (Ying xiong) (seen on August 29, 2004)
Rating – 9
Starring: Jet Li
For starters, if you can’t handle sub-titles don’t go see this movie. I would prefer the movie in sub-titles as opposed to dub movies. This was a really good movie. It wasn’t necessarily the story line that made it a good movie; however, it did have an interesting story to it. What fascinated me with this movie were the cinematography and the use of the colors of scenes throughout the movie to help tell the story. Don’t think that those colors were selected at random throughout the movie. There was a story telling to it. And in case that does not enrapture you, the fight scenes are well-scripted duels of great warriors battling one another for what they believe in. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story is the telling of warring territories in pre-unified China trying to be united by a king. One nameless warrior has eliminated three great assassins who are the greatest threat to the king’s unification of China. The king insists on the nameless warrior re-telling his accounts of his victory over these great assassins. Of course, not everything is revealed at once.
Garden State (seen on August 17, 2004)
Rating – 8
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman
This was a good movie. It’s not exactly a happy movie if that’s what you’re looking for, but it’s not depressing. It was nice to find the off-beat humor scattered throughout the movie so that it wouldn’t seem so depressing. The whole concept of a character who struggles with his past to find where he’s at in the present is not original, but it was an original telling. I enjoyed the use of different camera shots to give the viewer the sense of how the world was speeding around the main character while he just didn’t seem to care. I’m going to cut this short and just end it here. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Andrew Largeman (Braff) lives in California and returns home to New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. His whole character is apathetic to his surroundings and is lost with everything in his life. He runs into some old friends from high school. While on his stay in Jersey, he meets Sam (Portman), who shows him that there may be some hope and happiness to his life.
The Bourne Supremacy (seen on August 13, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Matt Damon, Brian Cox
This movie wasn’t a bad movie to see at the theatres, but I just didn’t think it was that good compared to the first one. There wasn’t a reason to make this movie. It’s not like it revealed a whole lot more of the story or the character. I never read the second book and perhaps that is how it is written as well, but I’m getting tired of Hollywood making sequels all the time. Why can’t they come up with an original story? The movie doesn’t feel like it’s continuing to tell the saga of the first one, but instead shows you a bunch of fast action as Bourne struggles through the same dilemma he had in the first movie, unable to remember who he is and what he has done. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story line of Jason Bourne continues two years later. He finds out that the agency will not just let him fade away and as long as he lives, it seems they will be after him for what he has done in his past. After he is framed for a CIA operation that has gone wrong, Bourne must take action on his former employment as he tries to unravel the mystery of his past life.
Super Size Me (seen on July 23, 2004)
Rating – 7
Starring: Morgan Spurlock
This movie is a documentary so I have differing opinions on how to judge this movie. I enjoyed the movie. Morgan is an entertaining person and seems to be a good storyteller. The movie has a few slow parts, but there is a reason for it. He is quite good at explaining other facts about the health of Americans in general and not just telling a story about McDonald’s. I wouldn’t say this movie is for everybody because it is a documentary, but it is entertaining to see what happens to him and there are some funny parts. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The premise of the movie is that Morgan Spurlock has taken it upon himself to find out the effects of eating McDonald’s food three times a day for 30 days. He hires a staff of doctors to watch over his “progress” and health. The results are astonishing to find out what happens in only 30 days. Throughout the movie he analyzes American culture in general in respect to their overall health. I don’t want to give the results away, so if you want to find out what happens to an average person who eats only McDonald’s for 30 days, you’ll have to watch the movie.
Spiderman 2 (seen on July 5, 2004)
Rating – 8
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina
I enjoyed this movie and really the only problem is that it is a sequel. I believe the effects with Dr. Octopus were excellent and they continued the storyline of Spiderman quite well. I could see how some might view the movie as a little slow, but I believe it’s stays true to the character of Spiderman and how he struggles between being Peter Parker, young college student trying to make a career as a photographer for a newspaper, and Spiderman, protector of the city. The movie does an excellent job of setting up characters that take a while to develop in comic books, but the movie is able to accomplish this sufficiently enough in only a few minutes. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie picks up relatively to where the first one left off. Harry Osborn is upset at Peter for not helping him find Spiderman because Harry wants revenge for his father’s death. Mary Jane is living her life and trying to move on without Peter since he keeps pushing her away. The new villain is Dr. Octopus, who is an eccentric scientist who believes who can harness the power of the fusion.
Rating – 8
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Gary Oldman
Let’s start off with I’ve never read any of these books so if you have and you were disappointed in the movie because they omitted something, tough, this is based on my review of only the movie itself. I have seen the first one, but I have not been able to see the second one yet. I enjoyed this movie. I think it’s a nice kids movie that adults can enjoy, I mean hell I enjoyed it and I’m almost an adult. That’s really all I have to say. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story continues of the “great” wizard Harry Potter as he attends another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He teams up with his friends Hermione and Ron. The fear is a prisoner from Azkaban has escaped and is rumored to be out to kill Harry Potter. Harry struggles in the new year as well as trying to unravel the mystery of why this man is trying to kill him.
Dodgeball (seen on June 19, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn
It had some really funny parts, even parts that were not shown in the trailer; however, these Ben Stiller movies are becoming all the same. They all seem too silly. I gave it a 6 so it might be worth a matinee price if you need to see a movie, but don’t feel compelled to go see this in the theaters. Better off waiting until you can rent it. There’s not a whole lot to say about this movie. It’s a simple plot that is predictable. There is a nice cameo in the end though. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Vince Vaughn is the loveable slacker who owns a run-down gym. Ben Stiller is the owner of the multi-million dollar gym across the street. When Vaughn slacks off on his payments, the bank sends an agent, Christine Taylor, to foreclose on the gym at the request of Ben Stiller. Vaughn and his cronies decide to play in a dodgeball league to raise the money that they owe to the bank in order to save their beloved run-down gym.
The Chronicles of Riddick (seen on June 13, 2004)
Rating – 8
Starring: Vin Diesel, Judi Dench
I liked this movie simply for the fact that I had an assumption on what I expected from the movie and I got exactly that. In fact, that is why I bumped this rating up another level was because it nailed my expectations. This is a “guy movie”. I’m sure chicks will like it because it’s got Vin Diesel and it’s a good movie. But it’s one of those movies where there’s just a bunch of fighting and carnage. I do encourage people to see Pitch Black before you see this movie because that is where the Riddick character has thus started from. You don’t have to see it to follow this movie, but there are several connections linked to that movie which would clarify a few things. There is one scene in the movie that drove me absolutely nuts, but I don’t want to discuss it unless you have seen the movie. So if you want to know what I mean by that, just get back to me. One thing, to enjoy this movie, you need to be able to accept the fact that this is a Sci-Fi movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
I guess I can tell the connections to this movie. Riddick is an escape convict who had his eyes “polished” so that he could see in pitch black. He is sent for to help fight a race of people, the Necromongers, that are wiping out the universe one planet at a time. The leader of the Necromongers is a half-dead man who’s intent is to convert races to his way or to kill anyone who refuses. Riddick is sent for at the request of an old friend because he is believed to be the answer to their prayers.
Shrek 2 (seen on June 6, 2004)
Rating – 7
Starring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews
This movie wasn’t too bad. If I hadn’t seen the first one, I probably would have liked it more. The reason I say that is because the whole concept of sequels for Hollywood is the search for more money. It was a good movie, but it seemed to pull some of the same gags, just the whole continuation of the fairy-tales mixed alongside the story. The first one you didn’t know what to expect, but this one, although different links to fairy-tales, pulled some of the same type tricks. You just have to see it and you’ll understand. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story line is that Princess Fiona and Shrek are married. At which point, they are invited by Fiona’s parents to the land of “Far Far Away” and of course their “trustee steed” Donkey is along for the trip. Fiona’s parents did not know about her turning into an ogre and therefore do not approve of Shrek. Apparently, the parents put Fiona in the tower in order for Prince Charming to find her. This will all set up by an “evil mastermind”, but I don’t want to give anymore away.
The Day After Tomorrow (seen on May 31, 2004)
Rating – 2
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm
Yeah, this movie was bad. The whole concept of the movie is hard to accept that the world is going to freeze over in a week. And that’s not the end of it. There is just too many unbelievable things in this movie that the movie seems utterly ridiculous. I can’t believe I wasted 2 hours of my life on this movie. Yes the effects are great, but that doesn’t make a movie (i.e. Matrix Reloaded). It is nice to see LA and New York getting destroyed, but that’s it. See if you can get the “hidden” message of the movie (they pretty much slap you in the face with it throughout the movie). This movie is just bad and I don’t want to waste any more time typing about it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story is that the polar ice caps are melting because of global warming. The concept is that since the world is heating up, that storms help to balance climate. So therefore, since the ice-caps are melting and the world is heating up, that a deadly ice storm is covering the northern hemisphere until the world is stable again. Dennis Quaid is some kind of climate scientist who warns the world of the danger to come. His son (Gyllenhaal) is trapped in the ice storm in New York trying to survive until the storm ends. That’s all I have to say. Don’t waste your time or money.
Troy (seen on May 16, 2004)
Rating – 4
Starring: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox
Some of ya’ll have probably read The Iliad by Homer. Don’t go into this movie expecting it to be like the book because the movie is not based on the book, but “inspired by” the book so that allows them to change it. I won’t tell all the difference, but the main difference that I have to point out is the book was a ten-year war, while the movie was about two weeks. That’s just a bit of a difference. It was just hard to believe Brad Pitt as the greatest warrior ever, Achilles. I do believe Brian Cox did an excellent job as the pompous Agamemnon and Eric Bana wasn’t too bad either. The movie just reminds me of Braveheart a little too much. Maybe it’s because half the cast was in the movie Braveheart as well as Troy. It wasn’t a movie that you should never see, but I would wait till at least video so you don’t have to watch it in one sitting. The movie seems a little long when you’re watching it; I noticed myself checking the time several times in the movie. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
In case you don’t know the premise of the movie, it tells the story of the great Trojan War; however, no gods or goddesses appear in this movie unlike The Iliad where they played prevalent roles in the war. The story mainly follows Achilles, the greatest warrior for the Greeks, and Hector, the greatest warrior for the Trojans. In case you don’t know, the reason the war was started was because one of the princes of Troy, Paris, stole Helen, the most beautiful women in the world, from the king of Greece, Menelaus. At which point, Menelaus unites with his brother Agamemnon, the king of Sparta, to wage war on Troy, who is world renown for never being conquers as a result of the wall. That’s sets up the story line enough, but I’d be surprised if most of ya’ll don’t know a good bit of the story line already.
Van Helsing (seen on May 7, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale
Well, the main problem with this movie is that there is simply no plot or character development. It has some good action of monsters getting slain, but there’s not much of a story. It was enjoyable to watch, but not worth full price. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story is Van Helsing is employed by a secret society inside the church. He is sent on missions to bring back creatures who have violated some code of the church (never explains why he is hunting the monsters), but he is seen as a murderer in the eyes of most of Europe. He is sent on his hardest mission yet, which is to capture Dracula or to have him killed. Dracula, of course being Dracula, has a sinister plot in mind. Kate Beckinsale is part of a family line that has sworn to eliminate Dracula and has been fighting him for centuries. I don’t want to tell more because there simply isn’t much plot and any more will give the rest, what little is remaining, away.
Hellboy (seen on April 9, 2004)
Rating – 7
Starring: Ron Perlman
Well, this is a movie about a different type super-hero. I compare it a lot to the movie Spawn. It’s one of those dark type of super-hero who gets the job done, but it’s not necessarily pretty. I must say it was an excellent choice to cast Ron Perlman as Hellboy, the laid back, never afraid type hero. No real big plot twists in this movie. It just tells a simple super-hero type story; of course, you must accept the super-natural underline to the story. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development or background to the agency Hellboy works for, but I guess you get enough. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Hellboy is a demon who works for the government fighting paranormal activities. A scientist who originally discovered Hellboy controls this division. The scientist is training an assistant to take over his duties of watching after Hellboy during his adventures. Hellboy runs into trouble when he is faced with his past.
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind (seen on April 4, 2004 and May 30, 2004)
Rating – 10
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood
This is an excellent movie. I don’t like Jim Carey and I don’t really care for Kate Winslet that much, but this was a great movie. Charlie Kaufman wrote this movie and I’m starting to really like his movies. The movie is definitely an original story line, which is nice to hear coming from Hollywood. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
I don’t want to tell too much about this movie because I don’t want to give the movie away. The movie involves a process where one can have memories deleted from their mind. I don’t want to be responsible for giving away anything so I’m just going to stop there.
Hidalgo (seen on March 5, 2004)
Rating – 6
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif
The movie was an interesting story that I’ve never heard before about this race across the dessert of Arabia. It wasn’t too bad, but I just don’t know about Viggo Mortensen anymore. He gives the same deadpan delivery in this movie like he does in every other movie. Not a whole lot to say about this. See it if you want to rent a movie, but it would probably be better to watch it on cable. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
This movie is based on a true story of Frank Hopkins who was a Pony Express rider and was regarded as one of the best long distance horse riders along with his horse, Hidalgo. Hopkins has been challenged to a race across the dessert in Arabia in the century old 3,000 mile race, Ocean of Fire. Hidalgo is regarded as a weak horse because it is a mustang and the Arabs believe their horses are superior. The elements and the other riders challenge Hopkins and Hidalgo along the entire ride. Will Hopkins and Hidalgo survive the race across the sands?
The Cooler (seen on February 28, 2004)
Overall Rating – 8
Starring: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello
I enjoyed this movie. I tend to agree with this movie that there are just certain people who are lucky or in Macy’s case unlucky. It’s a different type story, which is rather refreshing coming from Hollywood. It almost appears that Macy is becoming a type-cast character or at least when you try to think of pathetic loser, Macy is one of the first actors that comes to my mind. But hey, he does an excellent job at playing the loveable loser. Baldwin does an excellent job of playing the friend to Macy and the evil “old-school” Vegas boss of the casino. I wouldn’t say it’s Oscar Awarding winning, but it’s nice to see the intensity in him turn on like you would imagine a Pit boss to have when things are working his way. As for Bello, well, not an extraordinary effort on her part. The movie seemed to try to give some background in her character, but I think all you need to know that she is “Lady Luck”. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Bernie (Macy) is simply a loser. His whole aura that he gives off is bad luck. He is known as a “Cooler”. Shelly (Baldwin) runs a casino and when the gamblers start to win too much money from the casinos, he sends Bernie on over. Bernie simply has to sit down at a table, touch a player’s shoulder, or stand behind some and the house just rakes it all in, until Bernie meets a girl, Natalie. Natalie, to Bernie, appears to be “Lady Luck” and Shelly cannot allow that to happen. If Bernie is happy, then his “cooling” ability is not working and the casino is losing money. Shelly must solve this problem fast while keeping his superiors from taking over his casino.
21 Grams (seen on February 16, 2004)
Overall Rating – 5
Starring: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts
I gave this an average review. I know it’s up for a handful of rewards, but I just cannot agree with the critics. I felt that the plot was rather simple, but the director tries to fool the audience by showing snapshots of the movie in random order. There is really no big twist at the end that you were waiting for so it’s not like Memento where the story unfolded like the main character saw it. Basically the movie was filmed and then sliced up and pieced back together in random order. Maybe I missed something, but the movie was only two hours and 20 minutes long and I would have guessed four hours. I just found myself checking my watch repeatedly. The movie jumped around more than Sesame Street does. There was no flow to the movie and it’s not like the end made you understand why it was filmed in piecewise fashion. So I suggest renting it so in case you need a break during the movie you can pause it or stop it. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The movie is a story about the cycle of life and death. How one person’s life/death can cause a chain reaction that affects the most random individuals. Sean Penn is a mathematician who needs a heart-transplant. Naomi Watts is a former drug user who is now married with two children. Benicio Del Toro is a repeated ex-con who has found Jesus and is trying to put his life back together with his family by his side. How are they all connected, well maybe I shouldn’t give that away, but a few turn of events leads these three strangers finding there paths cross one another’s.
Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Animation Festival 2004 (seen on February 13, 2004)
Overall Rating – 8
Starring: It's an animation festival. What stars do you expect?
What can I say about this? This was my fifth year to see it. I still believe the first year was the best because all the cartoons were “new” to me. Ever since then, there have been several recycle of the same cartoons, but it’s still worth going to. I’m not going to break down every cartoon, but I do recommend the “Here Comes Dr. Tran” cartoon. That was quite enjoyable, especially since part of it was in 3D. Not much of a review for this because it was a spur of the moment decision to write a review on it. Let’s just say I plan on being at next year’s showing as well. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Miracle (seen on February 9, 2004)
Overall Rating – 7
Starring: Kurt Russell
It’s obvious that this movie is a Disney flick. It just has that whole Disney feel to it. It is quite an enjoyable movie. Of course, you know how it all ends even if you didn’t watch it live or was alive when it happened. It’s the great story of David beating Goliath. The movie shows how the events of the world leading up to the Olympics was just not going well for America and gives you that feel as to how important this game was. It’s an entertaining movie worth watching, but don’t expect it to win any awards. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The story is that Herb Brooks (Russell) leads a team of young, scrappy American amateur hockey players into the 1980 Olympics. He teaches them that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the one on their backs and he will work them to death until they understand that. Then, of course the team unites and does the impossible by beating the indestructible Russian team and continuing on to beat Finland in the finals for gold. It’s a very inspiring movie that captures the mood of the country during tough times.
Big Fish (seen on December 28, 2003)
Overall Rating – 10
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Steve Buschemi
My guess is that this will probably be the last 10 rating of the year, but that’s not the reason why this movie received a 10. It’s just an entertaining story celebrating a father’s life. The story is filled with romanticized tales of Finney/McGregor’s travels and experiences as he becomes a man and meets the love of his life. You leave this movie in a good mood accepting that Finney/McGregor’s character loved his life and lived to the fullest. Each story told is outrageously silly, but they are enjoyable and you become to see life the way Finney/MacGregor did. After the movie, you have that feeling to call your own father and just to tell him thanks. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Finney tells such elaborate stories to make his normal
life seem extravagant at times. His son,
Billy Crudup, is upset that he doesn’t know what truly happened in his father’s
life, but only mere glimpses of it mixed with tall-tales. Crudup hopes to find out more about his
father as his Finney’s health slowly dwindles away.
Paycheck (seen on December 25, 2003)
Overall Rating – 6
Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman
This movie has John Woo directing it so you would figure it would be loaded with action. It does have a lot of action, but it’s tame compared to typical John Woo’s flicks. Of course, he was handicapped by having Ben Affleck as a lead star. I did enjoy this movie despite having Affleck in the movie. The critics ripped the movie because they were disappointed; however, I didn’t have high expectations and I therefore enjoyed the movie. The movie tends to get predictable when you start to realize what Affleck’s 19 clues can be used for. One thing is relieving, was that there was no huge leap of a plot twist in this movie. If you have some cash and you want to see a movie that’s entertaining, nothing award winning, check this one out. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
Affleck’s character is some “genius” engineer (as if this Sci-Fi thriller is not a stretch on it’s on based on the plot, you have to accept Affleck as a “genius” engineer) who is payed to find out how advanced computer systems work and build them better for other companies. After he figures out how to accomplish this technology, his mind is erased for the whole time period he was working on the project. Well, basically, he gets set up by his rich friend to build some new technology (I won’t give it away, but you’ll figure it out in about 20 minutes into the movie if you don’t know before going into the theatre). After completing his three-year task, his mind is erased and he awakens to find that the FBI is after him and his friend wants him dead. He has sent himself 19 clues on how to solve what has been erased from his memory.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (seen on December 22, 2003)
Overall Rating – 8
Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen
I finally have completed the trilogy. For those of y’all who have read the books might not agree with me on this review because I have not read the books. I did enjoy the final chapter of this trilogy. I believe the first movie was the best, but I was not displeased with this movie. It is 3:30 hours long so don’t drink too much before you watch it or you might have to run to the bathroom a handful of times. If you haven’t seen the first two, I don’t recommend seeing this one. That would be pretty stupid. There’s not a whole lot to say. I’m just glad the trilogy is over. All movies were captivating with the story line and the imagery. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
This movie, despite have the title “Return of the King” focuses more on Frodo and his buddy Sam. The two are trying to return the ring of Sauron to the volcano. Aragon is uniting man into a stand against the forces of Sauron in hopes to give Frodo enough time to deliver the ring to the volcano and vanquish the evil eye of Sauron. More plot lies underneath, but it’s complex and that’s good enough for a “nutshell” description of the plot.
Bad Santa (seen on December 6, 2003)
Overall Rating – 7
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, John Ritter
Well, I must say I went into this movie reluctantly. There’s just something about Billy Bob Thornton and this movie that didn’t draw my attention. Not to mention that holiday movies can be big let downs. Nevertheless, as you saw but my rating I enjoyed the movie. I was quite surprised to find out that it was a funny movie other than just the scenes they showed during the previews. It’s a very vulgar movie so if that bothers you, you shouldn’t see it. It has some really funny parts in it that just aren’t in common with most comedies nowadays. It’s hard to describe. The movie doesn’t make you laugh by just slapstick comedy or telling jokes, but I almost want to say some situational comedy. It’s not an Oscar winner but if you’re interested in seeing a movie where you can laugh at the misfortunes at how someone else’s life sucks, then give this a watch. That’s my quick review; what’s next?
The title says the whole story. Billy Bob is a drunk, loser Santa and along with his partner, they rob the department stores that they work at during the holiday season. Billy Bob is exceptional at playing a pathetic loser in the movie and makes you feel grateful that you don’t know anyone this pathetic. It’s a struggle for his partner to just keep Billy Bob under control for the holidays until the end of the holiday season so they can get “paid”. Of course it isn’t going to be easy with the nosy store manager, John Ritter, and the security officer, Bernie Mac, watching over them. There’s more story for Billy Bob’s character, but I don’t want to tell to much about this one because I think it’s better that you don’t know where it is going. If I were to give more details, you could probably predict the rest of the story, but hey, it’s refreshing to watch a movie without eighty plot twists in it.
Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (seen on October 26, 2003)
Overall Rating – 2
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine
I
must say that Quentin Tarantino is one of the most overrated people in
Hollywood. I will say that this movie is
better than Jackie Brown. You
might think I’m exaggerating, but 8 people out of about 25 in the theater left
in the middle of the movie. I know it’s
a spoof of the old “Samurai” movies, but get some better dialog. Could it be any more cheesy? The violence doesn’t bother me; actually,
that was the only saving part of the movie was the ridiculous fight scenes. What really bothers me is that there is going
to be another movie in the series and I’m going to have to watch it to see what
happens because I’ve already started the series. That’s what Tarantino is banking on. You know what, this movie is probably not
worth the hour and a half to watch the next one and it’s definitely not worth
paying money for at the theaters or the video store. I could rant about this movie for much
longer, but I suggest you just ask me about it.
That’s my quick review; what's next?
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (seen on October 20, 2003)
Overall Rating – 6
Starring: Jessica Biel, R. Lee Emrey
These films are what I hate about Hollywood. Lack of ideas so lets remake a classic with new actors. At least it was better than the Psycho remake. Nothing that you really need to see at the theaters, but if you’ve already seen everything, this might not be a bad choice. Otherwise, I’d wait till you can rent it or better yet, check out the original. It was a nice touch to at least keep the same Narrator for both movies. Not many comments on this movie…not excessive amount of gore compared to most horror movies nowadays. That’s my quick review; what's next?
The Rundown (seen on October 17, 2003)
Overall Rating – 7
Starring: The Rock, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson
Not exactly an Academy Award winning film, but an enjoyable one. Good action mixed in with humor. Of course with most action movies, it was predictable what was going to happen, but I got my moneys worth for a Matinee price. That’s my quick review; what's next?
The plot is The Rock is sent to the Amazon to bring back Seann William Scott back to his father. Scott has stumbled upon an ancient idol of value, which Walken wants to claim and won’t let Scott or The Rock leave until he has it. Walken is a gold slave driver and the locals want the idol to buy their freedom.
Lost in Translation (seen on October 14, 2003)
Overall Rating – 10
Starring: Bill Murray
You might be surprised at the 10 rating on this movie. It is possible to get a 10 rating. This movie was very enjoyable. Now, I admit that I am partial to Bill Murray, but this was an excellent movie. This movie is not for everyone because it is an “artsy” type movie, but if you like those types of movies, check this one out. Some parts you could find it slow, but I believe it actually helps to develop the characters at seeing their futility of the characters situation. Will Bill Murray receive an Oscar nomination for this movie? That’s my quick review; what's next?
The movie is about an over-the-hill movie star who is doing commercial for a scotch in Tokyo. He crosses paths with a newlywed whose husband is there on a photo shoot, but is too busy to be with her. He struggles with the realization of his life as it has become and the girl struggles with the realization that she is married and feeling alienated from everything. Misery loves company as these two find solace and some hope for their lives as they hang out with each other unable to sleep in Tokyo.
Intolerable Cruelty (seen on October 12, 2003)
Overall Rating – 8
Starring: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy-Bob Thorton, Geoffrey Rush
Yet another movie that I am partial too. This is a Cohen brothers’ movie, which I am a big fan of their work. I paid full price for this movie and thought it was worth it but I just can’t give it that 9 rating. No real characters that you can just relate to so it’s hard to get sucked into the story, but the characters are funny and the story is entertaining in a goofy way (typical Cohen brothers’ movie). That’s my quick review; what's next?
The plot consists of Clooney who is a great divorce attorney who becomes enchanted (“fascinated” as Clooney’s character puts it) with Zeta-Jones. Of course, Zeta-Jones’ character is trying to marry a rich man and divorce him and take his money to gain her independence. Clooney struggles with being the firm’s best divorce attorney, but his life has become meaningless, if not just boring. Will he find what he’s missing? Will she be happy with her independence?