Very Effective

Today I got to check out two great, yet completely different films. Tom Cruise's latest, Oblivion, which received mixed reviews, and Robert Redford's, The Company You Keep, which you probably haven't heard of at all. 

I enjoyed both immensely, but I could understand why audiences had issue with certain aspects of each film. Let's start with Oblivion:

I didn't know what to think when I saw the trailers for this one. Sure, it looks epic and mysterious, but it also left me feeling like it was just another version of Total Recall. 

Then I see it, and within the first thirty minutes, I just kept saying to myself, "Total Recall. Total Recall. Total Recall." But it wasn't. It was actually Total Recall meets 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Independence Day meets The Matrix. Confusing enough for you? 

Thankfully the film itself wasn't very confusing, but it did take awhile for audiences to understand exactly what the endgame in all of this was. The director for this one was also responsible for the Tron: Legacy so you can expect nothing less than a beautiful production.The visuals were stunning and, for the most part, pretty original. The story unfortunately was not, unless you consider combining four (or more, tell me if you can think of any others if you see it) classic Sci-Fi films into one to be groundbreaking.  

We find Earth has been destroyed and all of it's inhabitants evacuated. We got into some turf-war with some pretty badass aliens and used our own nukes on our own planet as a last resort. It did the trick, the aliens left, but that meant we had to as well. Oh, and the moon's gone, sad face. (it actually looked super badass all cut up to shreds in the sky, just sayin')

We moved on to a planet, okay moon, Saturn's moon; that will sustain us, however we still need water, or at least more water than our new moon/planet has. So we erected giant water treatment facilities to extract and purify Earth's sea water (how do you make water non-radioactive? I don't do science...) and we need a small group of folks to monitor these giant machines. I'm sorry, did I say small group? Yeah, I meant two people.... I know, now that I'm explaining this the plot seems to be getting thinner and thinner. Stay with me. 

There are supposedly a group of rogue aliens still inhabiting the planet's surface and trying to screw with our nice clean water treatment plants. So our guys, again, only two of them, one who doesn't even leave the "house", are charged with keeping these huge ass Brita Filters in space safe from a small alien militia. 

Well, our hero, Mr. "I Jump on Couches" Cruise, ends up getting captured by this naughty militia and things just go bananas from there. 

I wish I could go into further detail but I really hate spoilers and am trying uber hard to tell you everything but holy geez, I'm not selling this one well at all am I? All I can really say at this point is, I liked the movie overall. Yes, there was a lot of stuff that didn't add up; yes, you can blatantly see the influence of the above mentioned classic films in this one epic production which, if you ask me, is kind of a bummer; but yes it is visually stunning and yes, Mr. "I'm almost too short for action films but make it work somehow" Cruise has once again shown us why we still pay to see his stuff, his own personal craziness aside. 

I want to tell you to see it, I really do. I just don't want you to hold it against me if you hate it. I'm a very forgiving soul so I can look past the plot holes, and I did see it in IMAX which might have helped "shiny up" the bad bits. So this one you have to decide for yourself. Keep funding Tom's shoe-lift fund, or wait for it to hit HBO, or whatever downloading program you use to steal things.

And now for one I'm pretty sure you won't see:

Well, unless you're older, no offense you silver foxes. 

I wanted to see this one after seeing the trailer once. I like every actor in it and I enjoy stories like this. And seriously, it's Robert Redford in front of and behind the camera, sweetheart can do no wrong. 

Everything starts off pretty normal in this film. Susan Sarandon is standing in her kitchen, waiting for her kids to set off for school and her husband to rush off to work. She takes her ID and credit card out of her wallet and leaves. She stops to fill her car with gas and is suddenly surrounded by FBI SUVs and arrested for murder?! Hold on, what?!?!?! Now you're interested right?

Turns out girlfriend was a part of some young radical group in the 70s that believed starting a war at home would give the government cause to stop the war overseas in Vietnam. Interesting plan; only while committing one of their terrorist acts (robbing a bank), a cop is shot and killed. The group then scatters and each member goes into hiding for the next 30 years. Then Sarandon is captured and the film kicks into high gear (okay not true, it's not a Bourne film or anything) and the search for the remaining members of the group begins. You see, Sarandon ain't no snitch and won't help the Feds lock up her pals. But here comes Shia LeBeouf! 

Shia is a young, arrogant writer for a two-bit local paper and he begins looking into the case. He discovers Sarandon was actually on her way to turn herself in when the Feds capture her and he can't help but question  how they knew where to find her after 30 years of hiding. He begins his own investigation and the story begins to unfold.  

Again, I won't give anything away, but as Shia gets deeper and deeper into what really happened, his character begins to change his opinion about everything. At first this was just a big story he got lucky with but in the end he learns way more than he ever expected and has to figure out exactly what he'll do with all of this new and damaging information.

Don't get me wrong, the film isn't about Shia, it's about the radical group. Redford was marked as a member and person of interest in the murder investigation and while Shia is trying to track him down, he's busy trying to get the band back together, so to speak.  

I liked this film a lot. It played out kind of like Argo in fact. It was slow and not very suspenseful; but the drama of the story itself was something that keeps you interested. You never knew exactly how it would end and I like that. It did actually end just as I hoped it would but that's not to say it wasn't entertaining. 

If you enjoy Redford's films then you'll like this one. If you're looking for some action adventure type picture, this one isn't going to be for you. 

Big surprise!

I just saw The Big Wedding and couldn't wait to get home and tell all ya'll about it! What a surprise!! I knew this movie would have it's funny moments but I did not expect to laugh so much as I did! It was positively hysterical!

The all star cast worked beautifully together and every laugh, every joke, every physical comedic bit was for lack of a better word, perfect! I'm sad to see that it's being panned left and right by critics. I'll say the concept is definitely "out there" but all in all, it's one you'll really enjoy. Okay, folks over 25 will really enjoy. I don't think any tweens will get a kick out of this one like I did but when they're "older" they'll pick it up and laugh just as much, I'm sure of it. 

The film is about an unconventional family coming together for a wedding. The parents are divorced and the father (Robert De Niro) has been happily living with his ex wife's (Diane Keaton) best friend (Susan Sarandon) for the past decade. They have two children (Topher Grace and Katherine Heigl) and one adopted son (Ben Barnes). The adopted son is the lucky groom-to-be and has invited his biological mother and sister to the wedding. His mother is from Columbia and extremely traditional. She does not believe in divorce and in order to impress and appease her beliefs, the son convinces his parents to pretend they are still happily married for the weekend. Naturally, comedy ensues. 

While it is a comedy, we find the overall family dynamic is very tense and full of unfinished business. Thankfully, that portion of the film doesn't get too heavy, there's always a laugh to keep things light. I would say this one is definitely more comedy then drama.

I am recommending this to anyone who appreciates a good movie who's sole intent is to provide entertainment if nothing else. You aren't going to walk away with any new outlooks on life, but you'll walk away smiling and that's what really matter sometimes isn't it?

Check it out, and bring your folks, they'll love it.

Three for all

This week I had the chance to see three films. 42: The True Story of an American Legend, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Trance.

I was extremely excited for all three and was very surprised, and pleased with all of the performances throughout each production. 

Let's start with 42. 

I love movies like this. A true story with a great message; a piece of American history-you can't go wrong, you just can't! The acting was sensational and I was really pleased to see Andre Holland (1600 Penn) playing the role of sports writer, Wendell Smith, who followed Jackie's career from the very beginning. Chadwick Boseman, our Jackie, was absolutely brilliant and, I feel, did his legend justice in this role. Not a lot of people know Boseman because the majority of his work is in television but you can rest assured he's going to do big things in Hollywood after this performance! 

I was also pleasantly surprised by Harrison Ford's performance. I know, he's a huge Hollywood heavyweight and all, but most of the time I find I could take him or leave him. But I must give credit where credit is due, if Mr. Ford does not get an Oscar nomination at the very least, it would be a real shame. His performance was outstanding! Not bad for a guy who was discovered while cleaning floors! 

I heard one, super famous, film critic talking about this picture a few days after I had seen it and the only comment he made was that it wasn't "heavy" enough. As we all know, this is the story of how one man helped bridge the color gap in a major league sport. And while in the film there was definitely some crude language and intense drama, there wasn't anything outwardly disturbing. It was all presented in a very neat, almost casual package. But then again, I think the fact that we all grew up knowing the history of the Civil Rights movement, makes us a little desensitized when we're presented with basically a replay of events so bred into our upbringing. But see it for yourself and tell me if you think it was controversial enough. 

Very touching and wonderfully made. Please, go see 42, and bring your kids.

And now for something completely different:

The Place Beyond the Pines.

Lock, stock, and full of famous folk! This indy piece was interesting to say the least. Never before have I seen a film in which the trailer only gives you half of the story! 

The big focus, in the trailer at least, was on Ryan Gosling's character. Well, spoiler alert, if you're going to see this film solely because of him: you'll be very disappointed before the things even half over. That being said, I did enjoy it. It did drag in certain areas but at the same time, I feel the writers and director did a wonderful job piecing each individual characters story together through a series of almost seamless transitions.

This movie starts when Ryan Gosling, a traveling carnival performer, pays a visit to a woman he met the last time he was in the area. Only when he sees her again does he learn he is the father of her three month old son. Unfortunately, his "ex", played by Eva Mendes, has since moved on and his son is now being raised and provided for by another man. 

Gosling decides that he would quit the traveling circus then and there and make camp in town so that he may help raise and provide for his son. Sadly, he has a hard time finding work and befriends a guy who convinces him to rob some local banks. Gosling, believing this is the only way he'll ever be able to make cash quick enough, goes rogue and starts holding up banks left and right against the advice of his new friend. 

Here is where we meet Bradley Cooper's character. Cooper plays a rookie cop who's only been on patrol for a few months. He majored in law but felt he could do more good on the streets then behind a desk. His father is a respected city official and he tries everything he can to do the right thing and make his father proud. He ends up in a chase with Gosling after Gosling's latest robbery goes bad and from there we transition into Cooper's tale. And we're only halfway through!

All in all I felt this one was good. Would I immediately rush out and see it again? No. Would a recommend it it, sure. But it isn't one that anyone could watch over and over again. Like I said, it's very long and drags at times, but the performances are fantastic. Check it out if you've got the time.

And last but not least:

Trance.

I was looking forward to this one because I love the big stars in the top billing. James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson delivered stellar, and surprising, performances in this psychological thriller. 

We start off in an auction house and James McAvoy is explaining the rules and procedures carried out by the house should a robbery ever occur during an auction. Then, the robbery takes place and we see everything his character has just dictated, unfold. Only none of those practices helps in the end and a major painting is stolen. 

We find out later on, that McAvoy's character played a key role in the robbery and was responsible for getting the priceless masterpiece into the hands of a group of Euro-thugs, led by Cassel. Unfortunately for the thugs, McAvoy is knocked out during the robbery and forgets what he had done with the painting they all tried so damn hard to steal. 

Cassel's character then decides that rather than simply kill McAvoy, they must first try and find the painting. They decide to try hypnotherapy and end up in the office of Dawson's character. Dawson then begins trying to extract the location of the painting from McAvoy by putting him in trance-like states. 

From there we are taken on a confusing, twisted ride through the mind of a deranged and lost individual and for a while you can't figure out what is real and what is fantasy. Thankfully the whole thing gets explained in the end (don't you hate it when films leave you hanging?) and the painting is discovered but you're left feeling like you've just run a marathon getting there.

I must point out, this is NOT one for kids! Unless, of course, you'd like to give them an anatomy lesson in less under two hours.....Just sayin'.....Lots of vagina....A surprising amount of vagina actually....Almost, no definitely, an unnecessary amount of vagina.....Again, just sayin'.

This is another one that I liked but wouldn't see again anytime soon, if ever again at all if I'm honest. I thought the concept was fantastic, but all the vag business really bugged me. 

See it at your own discretion. If you're a perv, then this one's for you. If you have small children you can't hide anything from, you might want to pass on this film. 

Waitlisted

This weekend I saw two new movies and one re-released classic. I finally got around to checking out Tina Fey's new flick, Admission and the G.I. Joe sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. I also took my mother to see Jurassic Park in 3D at IMAX. Do we say "in 3D IMAX" or " in 3D in/at IMAX"? All of these acronyms can get confusing..... 

Grammar lessons aside, let's get to the movies. 

Upon first glace of the trailers, Admission looked like another quirky, classic Tina Fey film. While it did follow the standard "Fey Formula": woman devotes her life to her work, neglects her love life, ends up in line for a promotion, loses boyfriend and doesn't understand why, meets new guy who challenges everything she's worked for, then fights to keep new guy while trying to get that promotion and then ultimately realizes work isn't everything. You know, the norm. Don't get me wrong, it was still enjoyable. The "Formula" usually always delivers regardless, but thankfully this one did have a few extra touches here and there that I appreciated. 

In this film, Tina's character is an Admissions counselor at Princeton University during the start of their "application submission season". It's her job to travel around to various High Schools and promote the University while also looking through the applications of potential new freshman. Before she sets off on her High School "tour", it is revealed that her supervisor will be stepping down and that she may be next in line for his job. While all of this is going on, she finds out her boyfriend of ten years is leaving her for a woman he had an affair with and whom he got pregnant. Please see "Fey Formula" above. During one of her High School trips, she meets a charming and worldly High School Principal (Rudd) and awkward romantic hilarity ensues. Fey is introduced to a very special student at Rudd's school and is later told he may be the son she gave up for adoption during her college years. Talk about a mixed bag of stress!

Spoiler, this one doesn't get wrapped up with a nice little bow in the end like most Rom-Coms of late. But the supporting cast really helped pull everything together. Can you really go wrong with Paul Rudd and Lily Tomlin though? Not likely...

This one was good so if you like Tina and the classic "Fey Formula", you'll be pleased. 

Now for something completely different:

Where to begin? Where to begin? Let's get to the big news first. 

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!

If you're one of those girlfriends who is agreeing to tag along with their man to a film they could care less about PURELY because Channing Tatum is in it, let me tell you right now, you'll be wasting your time! I'm not going to tell you exactly what happens, but there's a reason the boy ain't included on the movie poster-just sayin'.

This one was alright. I love The Rock so let me get that out right away. That being said, I still think his acting needs work. He was great in Snitch but for some reason, he just wasn't doin' it for me here. The action was awesome and the star power throughout this film was great. At first I was annoyed at how much time they took explaining each characters back story but upon further reflection, appreciated that the writers and director included that information so folks who weren't very knowledgeable about the franchise (like me) could get a full understanding for the motivation behind every decision and action made.  

I loved seeing Bruce Willis in this one, but seriously, the "old man" jokes are getting, well, old. We get it Bruce, you're over 50 and still kicking ass, that's why we continue to watch your films, move on. The Rza also played an interesting role (badly) in this one and was a part of one of the characters' back story so I was confused about where he fit into everything at first. 

All in all, I enjoyed it and actually felt like the story moved along quite nicely. It wasn't mind blowingly smart or anything like that, but I did appreciate it as an action film pure and simple.  The guys will like it, the girls won't hate seeing it. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, check it out. 

Now I'm going to make this one quick. Jurassic Park is a classic, we all know it. Seeing it in 3D only enhanced the awesome. That Steven Spielberg is one smart son of a b! I highly recommend seeing this in 3D (at?) IMAX, I normally don't promote 3D anything because usually it's pointless, but Jurassic Park is one hell of an exception to the rule. 

It Starts....

This week I was hoping to check out five films but had to settle for three. Thankfully two of those three were good, or this would be one cranky review. 

Let's start with the latest tween film, The Host. 

Another Stephanie Meyer blockbuster, The Host is about the people of Earth being taken over by aliens. The more I talk to people about it, the more Star Trek references I make and my Trekkie friends are now getting mad because they feel like Ms. Meyer totally ripped off their show. Say it ain't so Steph!!

Regardless of what your nerdy beliefs may be, I liked this one a lot. I didn't read the book ahead of time like I had hoped to but thankfully, it wasn't a giant turd like the first Twilight film. I hope it stayed somewhat true to the book and I do plan to read it eventually I swear. But, in the beginning, some of the dialog had me looking over at my movie-going companions and make that silly gag motion, it was just that vomit-inducing. Thankfully the film picked up the pace and there was enough drama and conflict to keep you interested. 

I like things to be wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end and while the issues weren't completely resolved (spoiler, the aliens are still on Earth), I was pleased with how the film ended. 

I saw Stephanie and the cast at a filming of the Anderson Live show (please feel free to read all about that experience on my other blog) and Ms. Meyer said she was considering writing a sequel to this story so we'll see where all of that goes. 

If you're a Twiheart you'll be pleased. If you're going just to placate your girlfriend or young kid, you won't hate it. 

Another one the tweens will be flocking to theaters to see this month is Spring Breakers. I spoke to a ton of people before seeing this one and the general consensus was, everyone, including myself, was really excited about checking it out. For me, it was the all star cast acting in roles that were nothing like anything they had done before and the trailers just made the whole thing look really fun without actually telling you just what the heck is going on. So I bought into the hype and got myself super pumped to see it. 

Holy crap! What a train wreck! 

First off, why was everyone freaking out about Selena Gomez' involvement? She was only in the movie for 35 minutes! She didn't even do anything crazy! Her character smoked some pot and drank a lot. Wow, drinking and smoking pot, in a film about college girls on Spring Break?! Shocker!!!!!

Puh-leeze..... Then there was Vanessa Hudgens. Now, why did no one freak out about her involvement? She was actually naked-like SUPER naked in this one and acted a hot mess the whole time! But I digress.... 

What really killed me about this movie was that, aside from the characters, the story itself was an absolute hot mess. You ever leave a movie and look at your companions and say "what the hell was the point of all that?" Yeah, Spring Breakers. 

I think what killed the film for me the most was how "artsy" the director tried to make it. I'm sorry, but focusing in and out of random crap constantly while repeating various pieces of dialog over and over again during random montage scenes, does not a quality film make. The camera work was along the same choppy and blurred lines as Cloverfield only this time there wasn't any reason for it, unless you're trying to make your audience nauseous then, well done. Lord knows I left the theater wanting to puke.

The only thing I can say I actually enjoyed was James Franco. That guy plays creepy like no one else in Hollywood. His character was so far from anything he's ever done that you actually end up really liking the weirdo and hoping he comes out on top. He doesn't though, so once again, you end up looking at your friends and going "wait...seriously?"

Yeah, please don't see this. Or at least, don't see it sober. 

Now I must confess, I have never seen a Tyler Perry film. I have seen Tyler Perry in other people's films, but never one he had written and directed. So I made it a point to check out Temptation this weekend. Truth be told, I saw that Kim Kardashian was in it and was extremely curious to see how she'd do. I have to say, girlfriend did a decent job. Granted, she played a character that was very much just like she is in "real life" but still, I was mildly impressed. 

The rest of the movie wasn't half bad either. I didn't like the ending but you can't win them all. It did leave me with a desire to see Perry's other films though because I want to know how he ends all of those too. I went in thinking things would be resolved nicely based on the fact that he did all of those Madea movies and I just assumed the comedy writer liked things to end on a positive note. 

I'm not going to give anything away but I will say, you'll be surprised when you see how it ends. 

I felt that the acting was decent and the story was very interesting. It definitely got intense at times but wasn't anything too outrageous to the point that it was unbelievable. If you like his other films, I think you'll be pleased with this one as well. 

So sleepy...

I'm super exhausted so forgive me if this turns out to be a short article. Tonight I caught two films, the latest family production from Dreamworks, The Croods and the action-packed Olympus Has Fallen. I was very surprised by both films but not in the way I'd expected. Let's start with The Croods.

Let me begin by saying I wasn't to jazzed about seeing this one when I saw some of the early trailers for it. I don't like cavemen and a caveman cartoon just did not appeal to me. Then I caught wind of the crazy list of epic actors that signed up to voice the characters and decided to take another look. Frankly, if Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone think a film is good enough to lend their voices, then there's no way it can be bad right?

Right!

This one was cute, sweet, funny and outrageous. The tag line for the film is "Meet humanity's first modern family" and that really is the best way you could describe it. We find a neanderthal family struggling to survive during the shifting of the plates and basically trying to stay together as a unit while navigating through the ever changing terrain. Nicolas Cage plays the over protective father, Grug, trying to keep his family safe while inadvertently stifling his adventurous daughter, Epp, voiced by Emma Stone, from exploring and coming into her own. This causes a rift in the family dynamic and Grug finds himself trying to keep everyone together while adjusting to the fact that his daughter is growing up. 

Then, Guy, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, stumbles into their part of the world and teaches them about "new" things like fire and footwear, impressing young Epp and stealing dear old dad's thunder.  You can imagine the kind of power struggle that goes on after that. 

The movie was very sweet and one I was surprised by to be sure. If you get the chance, go check it out. 

And as for you.......

Sigh... Where to begin? 

I was so looking forward to this movie and the damn thing let me down, big time! We already have four Die Hard films (I will not count that last one and you can't make me), but Olympus Has Fallen seems to be trying to reinvent the wheel here. Guess what boys, ya'll failed. I'm talking, crashed and burned failed. 

While this one was full of stars and even gave audiences some decent action and a boat-load of fire fights, this one just couldn't be saved. The dialog was some of the cheesiest junk I've heard in a long time (and I've seen every Twilight film!) and a lot of the stuff throughout the film was extremely predictable. 

Now, I don't know about you. But when I look forward to something, I like there to be a little surprise here and there. So when I sat down and figured out who the bad guy was within the first five minutes, I was ready to leave right then and there. But I was good, I stuck it out and let the crappiness continue. I was hoping after blatantly revealing who was responsible for helping the bad guys take over the White House, that we might get some good drama and suspense, a decent standoff at the very least; but no. No, instead what we were given, was an uncreative man's version of Live Free or Die Hard featuring an actor who is unbelievable as commander and chief and a hero who, while hot and believable, has been given absolutely nothing to work with. For heavens sake, at one point Gerard Butler actually gets on the radio and antagonizes the bad guy, Willis-style! You gonna climb into a vent next buddy? I mean come on.....

All in all it was an acceptable action film, but is it one I think you should spend your hard earned money on? Nope.