Riding with the window down…

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

I went to see 2012 because New Moon was sold out and although I give Dawn a hard time about not wanting to see the vampire flick, I think it will actually be pretty decent. I was happy to take in 2012 though because I have wanted to see it ever since I took in the previews.

My expectation was that it would be an amazing film in terms of special effects, have a pretty lame story, and have the science dumbed down for the masses. True on all counts! The special effects were amazing - from the city streets buckling to the Yellowstone caldera exploding, they did an excellent job on the visuals. The storyline was as lame as expected, but John Cusack did his usual fine job of taking a subpar script and adding humanity.

See it for the visuals -see it for John Cusack’s frenetic comedy - forgive it for one too many narrow escapes - forgive it for the junk science and you will be entertained.

RATING 6 out of 10

Okay - so I’ve never been a big fan of Angelina Jolie. Sure, she’s not hard to look at. Sure, she has some amazing… uh, assets. I finally saw the movie that took her personal quest and made it visual - Beyond Borders.

Okay, I admit it. I started writing this review about fifteen minutes into the movie. At that point, all I had seen was a solid scene by my man, Clive Owen and the setup for what looked to be a decent film. By the time I had gotten this far in my writing, I saw this flick turn into a heaping pile of poorly-written, over-acted, super-simplified, guilt-ridden garbage.

Now I see why she is joked about. The makeup on the African refugees was so over-the-top as to be insulting. Really, I commend her for adopting some children to rescue, but can’t help but think she could have done so much more by investing some time and money into a better script, better acting, better everything on this film. This is such a powerful medium for change and information that it could have done a lot to help the cause, but instead seems to preach to us about how uncaring we are while insulting our intelligence with every scene.

Okay, the film has its moments, and it certainly does make the point once you get past the poor film-making. Again, kudos to Jolie for trying to do something… just a weak effort.

RATING 5 out of 10

It seems that as things get settled into a more normal routine, I am remembering more and more films that I have seen and not reviewed. First off, let’s cover the most recent film I have seen first - Where the Wild Things Are.

I was struck by a few things with this film. First, I was intrigued by what a great job the filmmakers did with developing the characters of the actual monsters. Second, I was left wondering if I had forgotten a lot of the storyline from the book I had loved as a kid. I walked away a bit confused, but pleased with the experience. Had I rated it right then, it would have been several stars higher.

What happened since then was some conversation with others and the gradual realization that it wasn’t me forgetting the story, but Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers just creating an entirely new story out of whole cloth. I mean, I know it is hard to take a book that consists of only TEN SENTENCES and make it into a feature film, but while the film was good, it bugged me that they chose to turn one of my happy childhood memories into some dark and troubled story. Where was all the angst, sadness, and unhappiness in the book? It wasn’t there. The filmmakers could have take this and made it into something positive and fun for a whole new generation of kids, as well as their baby boomer/gen X parents - but instead, they turned it dark and sad.

That said, I love James Gandolfini as Carol, loved all the “wild things,” and Max Records did a great job of bringing the character Max to life.

RATING 7 out of 10

I’ve fallen woefully behind in my movie reviews, so I’m not gonna waste any time - let’s jump right in.

Since this is going to be a very long post, I thought I would list the ones that I reviewed up front so you can decide which ones you want to read. They range from extremely recent, to quite old - with some oddball ones tossed in for good measure.

Up
Year One
Terminator Salvation
Taken
The Hangover
Stranger than Fiction
The Wrestler
Jeremiah Johnson
Eagle Eye

Up was a fun film. I have to admit, it wasn’t as good as I was expecting, and that’s just because so many people mentioned how much they loved it. Sure, it was a lot of fun. Sure, the humor was good enough to appeal to people of all ages. Sure, the animation was good. Sure, it had some great dog-related scenes/content. But you know what? It was just not that amazing.

As you can see from my rating, I liked it alot - I was just disappointed that it wasn’t as great as I had heard. The characters were a lot of fun and aside from the very sad story about the old man and his love, I dug almost every part of the film. Expect it to be a really good film - just not one of your all-time favs.

RATING 7 out of 10

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Terminator Salvation is so bad, I am not going to even invest the time required to find a picture to post with this review. This film is bad beyond description.

Christian Bale phone it in, McG (director) should go back to shooting lame music videos - he is a no-talent hack. The story and dialogue read like they were penned by 2nd grader - and I’m talking about the 2nd graders that ride the short bus and lick the windows on the way to school. This is quite possibly the worst movie I have seen in decades. Heck, I have already wasted too much time writing about it…. ugh!

RATING 2 out of 10

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The film Taken scores better marks with me than it should for a couple reasons. 1) I have always been a very big fan of Liam Neeson (with the exception of the Star Wars garbage.) 2) It featured a lot of great action scenes - hand-to-hand combat in particular, and 3) even though she doesn’t get much screen time - Maggie Grace is nice to look at.

Sure, it comes across as way over-the-top, but when done with a believable setting and backed up by a superb actor capable of selling it, it works. Not only will the action and intensity keep you interested, but the emotional tugs provided by a father trying desperately to save his daughter will win over anyone with a heart.

RATING 7 out of 10

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The Hangover was a funny little Vegas romp that I expected to be mildly amusing. Anyone who has been to a good bachelor party knows that these are stories you will tell the rest of your life. (Manny)

The interesting twist in The Hangover is that the narrative is about trying to remember what happened rather than just being a fly on the wall as the hi jinx ensued. Told in this way, the film is probably funnier than it would have been with the traditional formula.

Sure, it is sophomoric. It is absolutely juvenile and appeals the lowest common denominator. But lets face it - sometimes that is fun! The Three Stooges made careers out of going for the cheap laugh. Director Todd Phillips has made a career out of this kind of movie - Old School, Road Trip, etc. and he scored again with this one.

Don’t take your girlfriend’s parents to it, if you are trying to be seen as an intellectual. Don’t take your mom to it, unless she enjoys some good fart jokes. Don’t take your kids to it - period. But, if you want to go see a funny film with some friends that won’t bat an eye at crude jokes, crude language, and generally illegal treatment of a baby - this is your film.

RATING 8 out of 10

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Sorry, I got tired of blogging - I promise to write up reviews of the other four I listed when I get some time.

I have to admit that when I saw the previews for Kung Fu Panda, I was not at all inspired to see it. Hey, I dig the animated/CGI children’s movie genre, but this one just didn’t do anything for me. Then, in a moment of boredom while being unable to locate anything decent on Netflix, I added it to the queue. Let’s just say it wasn’t as bad as I imagined.

I nearly turned it off about 20 minutes in because it was too corny, too lame and too immature. I actually sorta zoned out while watching it and working on something else and was surprised a few minutes later to realize that I was pausing my work and finally stopping it altogether as I watched the storyline unfold. Somehow, it sunk in that these characters were interesting to me.

In the end, the story ended up being rich enough to hold my attention and I was glad to have seen it. I think I came around because Jack Black (Po) wasn’t over-the-top and when combined with great animation, was a very empathetic panda. Was it one of my top CGI films? Not even close. Was it one I will watch over and over? Again, not even close. Would I recommend it? Sure, why not?

Not exactly a ringing endorsement - but much better than I expected to rate it.

RATING 6 out of 10

Monsters vs Aliens is another recent CGI film that left me a little underwhelmed. I went to see it in 3D and while the new technology in 3D film is nothing short of amazing, MvA was nothing special.

It may have fallen short for me simply because of the animation style. I just didn’t like the monsters or the aliens. The comedy in MvA was very good - you can’t go wrong with giving Seth Rogan a boatload of great lines and just letting him go.

The story certainly held up and although nearly every single scene was pinched from other movies, it was put together well. The action was top-notch with several tense moments intercut brilliantly with comic lines. The characters were certainly likable. As an action-packed fun flick for the kids, MvA scores big.

If I had liked the animation style, it would certainly have earned a couple more stars.

RATING 7 out of 10

It’s been a while since I did a film review and I figure its high time I went ahead and knocked a few out.

I have no choice but to start with the film that surprised me the most. Sure, I knew it would be all that and more when it came to everything that makes science fiction so much fun, but Star Trek blew me away in several other areas. First and foremost, was the casting.

Spock was a no-brainer, one look at Zachary Quinto with pointy ears and everyone was sold. I was skeptical of Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, but the little touches he added to the character made you believe he was a younger version of Shatner’s Kirk. Watch him take his saunter/skip down the steps of the Enterprise bridge and you’ll see it. The most shocking however, was Karl Urban as “Bones.” If there was ever a person cast to portray a character already well-known as a previous actor, I haven’t seen it. Urban was spot-on and left even the most casual Trek fan giggling every time he spoke, bitched or frowned.

Overall, it was a lot of fun and while I think most of it is due to the homage paid to the original actors, the storyline itself wasn’t bad. The action sequences were top-notch. Who doesn’t love a free fall dive to a drilling platform and then fighting for your life while it tilted, swayed, and pitched… all while a bunch of bad guys try to take off your head? Good times.

RATING 8 out of 10

I rarely see a film based on a comic book that can’t stand and for that reason, I probably rated this one a lot higher than I should. The story was lame, the CGI was subpar, and the dialogue sounded like it was written by a 13 year old. That said, I enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hey, I told you I was a sucker for a comic book hero.

Wolverine has never been one of my favorite characters and I have read nothing of the Project X storyline, so I had no skin in the game. For me, it was just a story about a reluctant hero, suckered in by his heart, betrayed, and pissed off enough to turn in some pretty fun action sequences. I was upset that Gambit character (played by an actor I really like, Taylor Kitsch) wasn’t developed more. I would have liked to see Kitsch act more.

Hey, it wasn’t great… but if you want a fun little diversion that requires you to turn off your brain for 107 minutes, you could do much worse.

RATING 6 out of 10

I watched Quantum of Solace tonight and have to say that Daniel Craig still remains one of my favorite Bonds - if not THE favorite.

One of the few beefs I had with the film is minor when laid side-by-side with the entire 007 movie archive. Bond has always been over-the-top on impossible jumps, explosions, death-defying-last-second-saves, and the like. The house in the finale had to be the most explosive building ever constructed. But, if that’s my biggest issue - this is a solid installment of the series.

I do like that they continued the tradition established with Craig’s first Bond - extensive use of the art of Parkour. The frenetic energy and grace displayed throughout any scene involving running was stunning.

Of course, the Bond girls just keep getting better - in that they are getting hotter, smarter, and just better characters for the stories. QoS is DOUBLE-O-COOL!

RATING 8 out of 10

I finally saw the 1989 documentary Roger & Me by Michael Moore. I have stated that I am not a big fan of Moore’s. I often agree with his point of view, but find his documentaries a bit over-the-top and hyperbolic. All the extra theatrics and political slanting take away from his credibility and thus have the effect of doing more harm than good for a cause.

It seems that this film was before he got too insane and too fond of his own voice and image. It was more like a real documentary and thus was easier to watch. You could see the beginnings of his celluloid soapbox being created here, but he had not yet become “Michael Moore.”

I probably rated it lower than I would have had I seen it back in ‘89, but I did like the film, just saw too much of what was to come. As a documentary about the fall of the city of Flint, Michigan as a result of the actions by General Motors, it was good. The thing that really turned me off was Moore’s habit of berating people who had nothing to do with the issue. Flint native, Bob Eubanks made it out of the area and made a good life for himself - just as Michael Moore did… why give him a hard time?

Those moments of yellow journalism took what could have been a decent documentary and made it subpar - which IS par for Michael Moore.

RATING 4 out of 10

It feels like a crime to review these two films in the same post, but I thought the irony of seeing two excellent films back-to-back that are so wildly different was too much to pass up.

The first one I saw was Zack and Miri Make a Porno starring Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks.  It was crude, it was vulgar, it appealed to the lowest common denominator (heck it was about making and porn film), and you know what?  It ROCKED!!  I was laughing out loud throughout.

Hidden among the the constant stream of Rogan’s masturbation & ejaculation references, and the always funny appearances by Jason Mewes, was a very touching little love story.  Sure, it was formulaic, sure the comedy was sophomoric, sure it would have climb up to achieve even “low brow” status - but darn, this stuff cracked me up!  In fact, there was only one scene that I felt should have been left on the cutting room floor - I’ll let you figure out which one.

If you like Seth Rogan, if you like Kevin Smith and his gang of regulars, if you don’t mind jokes that would be right at home in junior high school boy’s locker room, then this is your kind of film.

RATING 8 out of 10

The next one was a surprise to me.   Between Tony D. and Blake’s answer to “what’s it about?” I thought it might be kind of lame.  I won’t spoil it for you if you don’t know the storyline because I felt I may have liked it even more had I went into it without that knowledge.

The film I am referring to is Seven Pounds starring Wil Smith and Rosario Dawson.   I expected this to be sappy - and it was.  I expected this to be an attempt by the director to force you to feel something deep - and it was.  I expected this to be a film I turned off about halfway in - and it WASN’T!

I give Wil Smith a lot of flack (well deserved) for films like Wild Wild West but when he gets one right - it is as solid as any actor in the business today.  He got this one right.  I don’t know how much of the pacing and storyline is due to writer, Grant Nieporte and how much is from director, Gabriele Muccino but this film is a perfect vehicle for a good actor to suck you in and force you to care.  This is a creative team that brought out the best in the story and the incredibly talented ensemble cast.

If you’re a he-man tough guy - watch this with your lady friend and one of two things will happen.  If you’re a good guy that does good things, she will be all over you.  If you’re a cad that isn’t considerate of her or others… she’ll be looking for someone better.   Watch with caution. 

RATING 8 out of 10