While I’ve seen dozens of films since last posting, I just wanted to put a few of them up here. .
Let’s get thing started with the movie Dawn and I saw yesterday, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. It was a decent little movie… nothing you will write home to Mom about (or blog about unless you were doing a movie catch-up and it was the last one you saw.)
Steve Carrell was Steve Carrell. If you like his comedy, you’ll like this. If not – you won’t. The real fun of this film was the supporting cast. James Gandolfini as the casino owner, Steve Buscemi as Carrell’s partner, Jim Carrey as the Criss Angel inspired foil and Alan Arkin as the mentor/patriarch all turned in good performances. Olivia Wilde did a very good job as the leading lady. See it if you are in the mood for light, brain candy. See it if you want a relaxing chuckle.
RATING 7 out of 10
Okay, we also recently watched Django Unchained and was surprised to see it wasn’t typical Tarantino fare. Okay, it had over-the-top blood, and over-the-top cursing and even over-the-top copying (homage to) of previous movies… okay, maybe it was typical Tarantino fare. The homage to spaghetti westerns just made it feel different.
I enjoyed the story, the visuals were great and the acting was top notch. Christoph Waltz was excellent as Dr. King Schulz the bounty hunter and Jamie Foxx nailed it as the lead, Django. I wasn’t surprised that Leonardo DiCaprio did a superb job as the villian… he just keeps getting better as and actor. What surprised me was the performance by Samuel L. Jackson as the Uncle Tom, Stephen. Great job all around.
My only real beef with the film was that it didn’t need all the bucket-o-blood and gratuitous language.
RATING 8 out of 10
Jack the Giant Slayer is another one we saw recently. We had to. The visuals on the previews made it a must-see. And they delivered. This film is all about the visuals. From the giants tromping over trees to the beanstalk falling and crushing everything in sight, it was wall-to-wall eye candy.
The story was average with very little in the way of surprise, but the visuals made up for it.
As far as the cast, it took me a little bit before I remembered where I had seen Jack (Nicholas Hoult) before – it was in Warm Bodies (see below.) He did a fine job as did Eleanor Tomlinson as his leading lady. Ewan McGregor was fun to watch (as usual) in his supporting role as were Stanley Tucci and Ian McShane.
Watch it on the biggest screen possible if you want to get the most visual bang.
RATING 7 out of 10
Warm Bodies was a film that I heard very little about before going to see it and was pleasantly surprised. As I wasn’t expecting anything, it surpassed expectations. It was a cute film. The premise was great and it had a little bit of everything. Logan pointed out that it worked for everyone. Romance, action, zombies, guns, fighting, more romance, a storyline… you name it.
Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer are completely believable as a human/zombie couple. Rob Corddry adds some nice comic moments as the zombie sidekick/friend. Even John Malkovich as the overprotective father works.
If you’re looking for hardcore Walking Dead zombie stuff… not going to be your cup of tea. If you’re looking for an offbeat date film, it works. If you’re looking for a fun family film, it works. If you’re looking for something that will make everyone happy, it works.
RATING 8 out of 10
As I mentioned, there are a ton more but I just wanted to get a few out there. What are your thoughts on these films?
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