Riding with the window down…

It’s been quite some time since I did a movie review. As you can imagine, with a new wife, new kids, a new house, new company and yes - even a new dog, things have been a bit busy, (Yes, Lou is still with us as well.) Things are going amazing and during all these changes, I have actually managed to take in a movie or two.

Let’s start with Alice in Wonderland - the Tim Burton version. Long time readers will know that I am NOT a fan of Tim Burton. His art style is creepy and I find it distasteful. That said, I found AiW enjoyable. Sure, it was probably closer to the vision of Lewis Carroll that any of the previous incarnations. Sure, Burton’s style grows on you throughout the movie. Sure, the acting was good. Sure, the special effects were impressive… I don’t know, it’s probably just pure stubbornness that makes me want to not like the film.

What the heck, it was decent.

RATING 7 out of 10

Okay, now on to Sherlock Holmes. Okay, I know it should have been reviewed long ago - what kind of Holmesian scholar drags out his review this long? Did I say I have been busy? First and foremost, I LOVE the character of Holmes regardless of what any actor or director does to him. That said, while I was not at all “down” with the twisted hard-ass portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., there was enough of the original Holmes to keep me interested. I liked the liberties taken with Dr. Watson as he is a character that is not at all fleshed out in the literature.

I felt the storyline was a bit too over-the-top and while it could pass for paying homage to some of the more supernatural stories by Conan Doyle, it missed the mark a bit.

Was it entertaining? Yes. Was it fun? Yes. Was it exciting? At times. Was it Sherlock Homes? Barely.
RATING 7 out of 10

I was a fan of the very first Shrek, but thought the following two incarnations were just a cash-grab. They were clearly put together just to cash in on the franchise. Well, with two out of three sucking worse than any animated series ever - I felt sure that the title for this post would be Shrek: The Final Insult. In fact, when I checked into the theater to watch it with the kids via foursquare, I felt so certain that I posted that before the movie started.

Boy, was I wrong. Shrek Forever After was a throwback to the original. In fact, I have to watch that first one again to be sure, but this may have been the best one of all. Overall, the film is basically just one ogre’s attempt to deal with his mid-life crisis, but the magic was back. The comedy was back. The intelligence was back.

The CG animation is getting so flippin’ good that it is almost creepy - but in a cool way.

This one fits that all important role of being a film that works for the kids as well as the adults. It surprised me and it will surprise you too. Enjoy!

RATING 8 out of 10

Went to see How to Train Your Dragon the other night with the family and it was surprisingly good. The previews didn’t do a very good job of selling the film, but it ended up being a pretty decent flick. I have to say the CGI is getting better and better all the time and this time the story actually lived up to the development costs.

The storyline is much better than typical animated fare. That combined with very entertaining voice acting by Gerald Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrara and others, works well with the world of Vikings bent on the destruction of their mortal enemies - the dragons.

Not only is this a great family film that will delight the kids, it works for the parents as well. It had moments went it looked like it was going to the stereotypical paths of most animated, feel-good, send a good message, films - but continually kept away by keeping it fresh.

It is witty, fun and only my second 9 rating in the last 12 months (last one was The Blind Side.)

RATING 9 out of 10

I don’t think I even reviewed the first Iron Man film, but let me say that I dug it. A lot of you know that Iron Man and the Hulk are my two favorite comic book characters and that I was overjoyed that they were among the first to transition to the big screen. While the first Iron Man took some liberties with the storyline, I didn’t mind because they simply modernized the tale a bit. I was also taken aback when they originally cast Robert Downey Jr. as “Ol Shell Head,” but that too passed as his version of the billionaire playboy was spot on and entertaining.

Okay, now that I am totally bought into this incarnation of Tony Stark, I was able to just relax and enjoy Iron Man 2 - what a show it was! The entrance that Iron Man made to the Stark Expo was seriously cool - it made Steve Jobs look like an amateur.

Yes, it still bugs me that the characters spend so much time in the armor with their faceplates down, but I get it - Downey and Cheadle are “stars” and need their face time, it just takes me out of the story each time I see it and they cease to be the characters they are playing and seem like spoiled actors - very weak juju.

Sure, there are still some flaws - Rhodes (War Machine) was too cardboard and a bit too simplified and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff was totally unneeded and distracting. You can’t argue with Mickey Rourke as the bad guy, Ivan Vanko - serious creep factor. The unexpected surprise of Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer was a blast as well.

If you are a fan of Iron Man -you will love it. If you are a fan of Robert Downey Jr. - you will love it. If you a fan of action flicks - you will love it. Heck, you will love it anyway! Fun stuff!

RATING 8 out of 10

Okay, so I was not listed in the credits of any of these films, but I was in them. That said, I wanted to take a few seconds and list my Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. I am sure there are more, but I thought this would be a fun start.

In a movie that had the working title, “On the Rocks” and later became called, “Paradise, Texas” I was shooting with Timothy Bottoms and Merideth Baxter.

I was also in Friday Night Lights with Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw.
_____
3 Steps
Chris Doelle
Paradise, Texas (2005)
Merideth Baxter
All the President’s Men (1976)
Dustin Hoffman
Sleepers (1996)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Paradise, Texas (2005)
Timothy Bottoms
The Prince and the Surfer (1999)
Linda Cardellini
Super (2010)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Billy Bob Thornton
The Informers (2008)
Mickey Rourke
Diner (1982)
Kevin Bacon
_____
Chris Doelle
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Tim McGraw
The Blind Side (2009)
Ray McKinnon
Apollo 13 (1995)
Kevin Bacon

Not sure I can get any closer connection that three jumps, but that is pretty cool.

I am actually embarrassed to admit that I sat down to watch Dance Flick. I never got into any of the silly teen dance films, so what made me think that I would like one of those ridiculous parodies about the same subject?

Unlike Scary Movie and a couple of the other parodies that were actually funny, Dance Flick totally blew. Not just “lame movie” blew, but a whole new level of blowage (I think I just made up a word.) I literally made it six minutes into this film before I had to turn it off and walk away. It was that bad. It earns my first ever rating of 0 stars - that’s right… not just a 1 star - this was just that bad.

RATING 0 out of 10
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I felt a bit better after rushing to put Dance Flick back in the Netflix envelope and starting the next DVD - The Assassination of High School President. In a word, this film was smart. I totally got into this quirky little story - a story that actually forced you to pay attention and think.

Nick Blaemire, who played the lead character Byron Funke, turned in a very good performance in this - his only film appearance. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Bruce Willis show up as the very intense school principal.

It’s hard to describe the film without giving plot elements away, but rest assured, it is a good film. It will probably go over the heads of many viewers more interested in teen hi jinx than a high school film noir mystery, but if you can get past that, it is worth watching.

RATING 8 out of 10

It has been some time since I’ve shot out a movie review, so I figured I would do one of my buckshot reviews - a lot of little tidbits covering a wide range of film. Not sure if the analogy fits because equating a mini-review to a pellet being blasted from a 20 gauge doesn’t really fit the term “tidbit” but, oh well.

First I will start with the last film I saw, “Did You Hear About the Morgans.” Let me start by apologizing to Hugh Grant. I have always considered him to be a bit of a one-trick pony, and although I stand by that, when paired with Sarah Jessica Parker, he looks downright Shakespearean.

If you get past the over-the-top portrayal of country people to emphasis how “big city” the lead characters are, you have what could have been a decent little film. Heck Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen make it worth watching. I just couldn’t help but think with every line delivered by Parker that Sandra Bullock would have made each of them funnier and more endearing.

RATING 4 out of 10

The line of dud films continues with The Informant. Matt Damon, who I like in almost anything did a good job keeping me hoping it would get better as it went, but in the end, it was just a rambling mess.

I am not sure that the script or Directory Steven Soderbergh’s decision to make this comical really worked. It might have been an interesting tale of greed and personal ambition if it were approached more seriously, but it turned out very flat as a farce.

It is a waste of two hours.

RATING 4 out of 10

In another case of “just not there,” The Men Who Stare at Goats looked like it would be a quirky, fun film. It wasn’t. It was a quirky, dumb film.

It featured four exceptional actors in Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, and Kevin Spacey and each turned in a very good performance.

Sure, it had fun moments. Sure, some of the quirk worked. Sure, it kept your attention. The problem was that everything seemed to be leading up to something and NOTHING ever happened. It was ninety-four minutes of buildup with no release.

I am going to have to fault the writing because as I stated, the acting was there - the direction seemed to work, there was just no main course - the words weren’t there.

RATING 6 out of 10

Okay, maybe not brilliant - I mean it did pretty much rip off another of my all time favorites - Quantum Leap, but darn it, I like Journeyman. Kevin McKidd is fast becoming one of those actors that turns in solid performances every time out and this short-lived scifi show was no exception.

The bad news is that it was canceled just 13 episodes into the series. The good news? I guess its that all the episodes are available to watch over at Hulu.

Oh yeah, and they have Quantum Leap too! (for a limited time)

Dawn and I went to see Valentine’s Day on… uh, yeah - you guessed it - Valentine’s Day. My overall view of the film was good (for a chick flick.) It had some good comedy, some sappy romance, and even a cameo by Director, Garry Marshall.

Okay, naming a cameo by Marshall as one of the top things is a little harsh, I mean - it was fun. I think Dawn said it best when she mentioned she liked it better when it was called He’s Just Not That Into You. Seriously, both of them had a cast chock full of stars - each of their stories were intertwined - some turned out devastatingly bad, others turned out amazingly well.

The main thing that annoyed me about the film was the sheer number of long-haired, skinny brunettes. I couldn’t tell them apart! Trying to keep a story as intertwined as this one straight when four of the leads look so much alike was tough.

So overall, there is nothing great about the film - but nothing bad either. The fact that a couple can watch it and both walk out without being pissed is a big plus. Great date movie. Geez, it’s almost as if it was planned that way.

RATING 6 out of 10

Now if you want great family fare - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the movie for you! It has something for everyone.

First off, who doesn’t like a good adventure film? Uh, nobody! I was really not expecting much more than a quick flick created to take advantage of a popular book series (can anyone say New Moon?) This film stands by itself even if you have no association or interest in the Percy Jackson book series. The writing is good, the acting is above par, and the special effects are very solid.

I loved the fact that Kevin McKidd appeared as Poseidon and Pierce Brosnan did a great job as Chiron. Logan Lerman made the transition to leading man very well as Percy Jackson and should do a fine job in the sure-to-come sequels.

If you enjoy mythology, this is a cornucopia of fun characters with lots of fast-paced action and witty banter to keep you entertained throughout. This may even be worth a second viewing.

RATING 8 out of 10

Back in 2005, I railed against Ashlee Simpson as the perfect example of what is wrong with the music industry.  It has been my contention that the big record labels had long ago lost touch with good music in favor of cute teeny boppers that could become a brand for movies, tv shows, perfume, lunchboxes etc. (I’m talking to you, Miley.)  That was part of the reason that podcasting exploded in popularity - people were fed up with being spoon fed no-talent hacks that looked good in their headshots.

Look at all the crossover that happened in the music scene thanks to talented artists jumping on the podcasting wave - Ingrid Michaelson, Death Cab for Cutie, and on and on.   Just when I was starting to think that labels were finally “getting it,” out pops Taylor Swift.

Sure, her music sounded great on the radio.  It was full of catchy lyrics, seemed very contemporary, and her voice was one that you didn’t mind hearing every twenty minutes across the Clear Channel stations.  I can’t say I was ever a fan, but even I almost fell for the marketing.

First the fact that she was so overplayed annoyed me nearly as much as the lyrics that sounded like they came from the latest tweener vampire romance.  The repetition did its job and I found myself singing along to songs I detested.  Next came what was Ashlee Simpson’s big downfall - Saturday Night Live.  For Taylor, it played out much better.  She came across as a happy, fun-loving jokester that really got into the “other side” of her marketing machine.  I almost got sucked in off the SNL appearance alone.

In the end, the true test of any singer is…. well, uh - singing.  Can you say “EPIC FAIL?”

Swift’s live performances on the Country Music Awards, quickly followed by live performances at the Grammys were horrendous!  I cannot stress enough how badly she sucked.  To say she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket is an insult to that old saying.  I have heard tomcats having makeup sex that was easier to listen to.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  I have to trust that is true, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what purpose Taylor Swift’s music has - unless it is to encourage people once again to turn off their radios, stop ‘drinking the kool aid,’ and discover the great music probably right under their nose at local gigs.