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What Do I think of this year's flicks?
Draft Day Is All Talk (04/14/14)
Draft Day is like an Aaron Sorkin movie minus the snappy dialogue. That is to say, it's all talk. In and of itself that isn't a bad thing, but without anything approaching Sorkin's wit, Draft Day falls flat. The movie follows Kevin Costner's General Manager Sonny Weaver on draft day as he finalizes the trades which will decide his Cleveland Brown's future. It's an important day but Weaver has many other things complicating his life: an office romance with a newly pregnant Jennifer Garner; a new head coach (Denis Leary) who tries to undermine his authority; a demanding owner who commands him to make a "splash," and an unhappy recently widowed mother. So there's no shortage of drama to explore but instead of smart and funny, the dialogue and plot are a bore. With just dull conversation at its core, Draft Days never comes together. It's only the final 20 minutes that offer us any excitement as Weaver tries to hold his life and team together by making a perfect trade. That's too little too late. A waste of cast and a disappointment. FINAL GRADE: C
Oculus Unsettles Me But Doesn't Live Up To Its Potential (04/14/14)
Oculus is in the vein of last year's The Conjuring. It uses tension and mystery versus violence and gore to achieve it's objective, which is to freak the audience out. At that it's mostly successful. The plot follows an adult brother and sister who team up to destroy a mirror which may or may not have been responsible for their father's murderous rampage years before, which left both him and their mother dead and their family shattered. The story of what happened in the past is thematically connected with what occurs in the movie's present so the story unfolds with frequent flashbacks. There are effective scares and I was unsettled for much of the film, but there are 2 significant weaknesses: the flashbacks begin as appropriately spaced and intriguing but become muddled and distracting. The film also depends on the strength of the two child actors playing the brother and sister in flashbacks. While the sister is strong and effective, the brother is the weak link, and the movie suffers for it. The ending is quite a doozy and I will recommend this, I'm just disappointed this scarer doesn't fully live up to it's potential: FINAL GRADE: B-
Every Action Fan Will Enjoy The Raid 2 (04/14/14)
Every action film fan will enjoy The Raid 2. I know that's a bold statement but Gareth Evan's sequel to his 2011 bloody masterpiece has the most magnificently staged action sequences I've seen since...well, the first The Raid. It's martial arts baile that completely mesmerizes you with it's beautiful intricateness. It turned me back into a 10 year old child with mouth agape awestruck at awesomeness unfolding before me. Having said all that, what happens in between the fight sequences really weigh the film down. The plot, which picks up right from the end of The Raid, has our cop hero agreeing to go undercover as a gangster to route out corruption within the police force. That really should be it but the plot gets thicker and not to the film's benefit. It gets too complicated, laying out backstory that I suspect will benefit a future sequel but does this film no favors. I was grateful to get back to the action as a reprieve to information I didn't care about. Luckily, the pauses are not too long and the kicking and punching begins anew. It's a shame however, that the story doesn't live up to the action. It's a missing piece that could have made this a great movie. In the end, it's just a great action movie. FINAL GRADE: B
Sabotoge goes hardcore (04/04/2014)
A David Ayer movie is 3 things: Messy, Violent and Hardcore. This is the writer of Training Day who directed Harsh Times (a little seen Christian bale move that has it's moments) and End of Watch, which have you on edge the entire time and only slow down for random and sudden acts of violence. Sabotage is in that same vein. It's a 2 hour adrenaline ride that has Arnold in it. What's not to like? For me, however, Sabotage takes makes a choice that never pays off. None of the main characters are sympathetic and those who are are kind of stupid. If we don't "like" anybody, we really can't invest in them. This is a departure for him; Training Day Ethan Hawke was the audience proxy and End of Watch followed 2 heroic cops. All of the members of Arnold's DEA squad are thugs, each more disgusting than the last. When they start dying (after their plan to steal 10 million dollar from the Mexican Cartel goes wrong) I don't care all that much. But I was interested in who was doing it. I was suitably entertained by the twists and turns, violence and body count. I just couldn't get behind any of the people in the movie which always means there's a ceiling to how much I enjoy it. This was an exciting movie, however. FINAL GRADE: B-
Noah is a visual treat (04/04/2014)
I have no patience or desire to debate anyone on the "historical accuracy" of Noah, the new Darron Arronosky interpretation of the classic bible story. Saying this movie is historically inaccurate is like telling me Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire was historically inaccurate. I suppose what people are saying is that the movie doesn't follow the text but as I always say, movies are a different medium than books and therefore must be different in order to entertain. So I have no idea if Noah does the job as a bible school lesson but I know it does as a film. Arronosky's films are always visually delightful and Noah is no different. The forming of the earth (yes the movie begins "in the beginning), the appearance of angels and the climactic flood all look amazing on screen and I enjoyed the movie just for that. The story it tells is fleshed out a bit which I appreciated, with the introduction of some family drama. This allows for some modest character development although Noah is still the focus. The film meanders in the middle parts because after the flood, the film doesn't just end. A new twist is added which seems an excuse to pad the running time and make the story more complicated than originally written. Since blaming the writer of the original text is blasphemous, I'm going to play it safe just in case and blame the director since it's his film. Noah still entertains however, and I recommend it to people of all faiths who just like a solid movie.
FINAL GRADE: B
Divergent Surprises (04/14/2014)
Let's be frank: I was expecting garbage when I sat down to watch Divergent. This wasn't based on anything more than the movie being based on a best selling YA book series with a female protagonist. You can say Twilight has scarred me, probably for life. So expectations were low but I'm not going to blame low expectations for my reaction to the movie. Divergent is a smart, original, compelling movie that is well directed, acted, and (up in the last 10 minutes) written. Yes, I'm serious. No one is more surprised than me and I found myself looking for reasons why I might be fooling myself. I didn't find any. The story, set in a future where a great war has ravaged the city of Chicago and remade society into factions split up by job duty, has a deliberate pace to it. That doesn't mean it's slow, that means it gives time for characters to develop including the lead Beatrice, played by Shailene Woodley. Woodley conveys the vulnerability of a young women coming into her adulthood without seeming whiney or emo. She remains sympathetic throughout and a hero you want to root for. Basically, the opposite of Bella from Twilight. She's like Kristen Stewart minus the twitchiness and double the talent. Kate Winslet also shows up as a baddie and she's wonderful as she is in everything. There's action, romance and surprisingly deep socioeconomic commentary. Where the film falters is in the last 10 minutes which rushes the finale. Yes, I'm saying the movie should have been longer. Either that or it should have ended in a cliffhanger. We know there will be another one because this one made a boat loud of money and Hollywood is YA franchise crazy. But I'm okay with that. I'm definitely in for another.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Veronica Mars: It's everything I wanted it to be (03/17/14)
A year ago Rob Thomas (the write/director not the singer) made history with the first-every Kickstarter funded movie. The goal was 2 million and he raised 5.7 million, a testimony to his ingenuity and the passion of the fan base for the 8 years canceled CW teen detective series. I was one of those backers and while I was predisposed to like anything that picks up the story of Veronica Mars, I breathed a sigh of relief when the credits rolled. The movie works. It's a funny, smart, compelling mystery with a strong female protagonist you don't see on screen enough. The movie doesn't feel like an extended episode of the TV Series but it's own closed-ended chapter in the Veronica Mars story that fits perfectly on screen. Yes the in-jokes are a bit much and not everything works on its own (the Logan-Veronica attraction I'm sure is especially puzzling to a new comer) but overall this is an entertaining, fun movie. Let's Kickstart sequel. Who's in? FINAL GRADE: B
Non-Stop Isn't Just Taken Part 3 (03/17/14)
What I expected to be Taken: On a Plane is a surprisingly good thriller which uses it's claustraphobic setting effectively. A Federal Marshall (Liam Neesan who must be pinching himself for being an action star at age 60) receives a text message from a passenger: someone will die every 20 minutes on the plane unless money is wired to a specific account. The set up is so intriguing I thought for sure the film would coast but instead it sets up a satisfying mystery that Neesan has to think his way through, before (naturally) punching his way through. The red herrings are believable the end doesn't feel like a cheat. If the movie stretches it's concept a little too thin towards the end, you should be amazed it got that far and enjoy the ride along along the way. FINAL GRADE: B
Need for Speed Needs A Better...Pretty Much Everything (03/17/14)
The first 15 minutes of Need for Speed are absolutely terrible. After that the move gets steadily less bad and given it's improvement I was crossing my fingers for it to actually turn out "good" but no such luck. This often-times boring, always ridiculous adaptation of the popular video game series works only when it sticks behind the wheel. Outside of the car, when the "relationships" and "Characters" take center stage, well let's just say if I could have hit "Start" to skip to the next racing scene, I would have. Aaron Paul does what he can and lends needed intensity but he can't save this turkey. FINAL GRADE: C-
Any early entry to the Best Movie list of 2014....(02/22/14)
The Lego Movie is as smart as Shrek and as deep as Toy Story. I never thought in a million years I would write this about a movie that features animation straight out of the 70's and co-stars Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. But here I am a 30 year old man ready to say loud and proud that the Lego Movie is wonderful no matter how old you are. The story is about a regular construction worker Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) who is drawn into a prophecy where he might be the "special" destined to stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell). The fact that Emmet doesn't want to be special rather yearns to be included as part of the crowd and that he's he has a "prodigiously empty" mind plays into how the story unfolds. I thought I was watching a simple kids movies but the Lego Movie is subversive and, in the last 30 minutes, becomes much more than just about Legos. Take your kids then go back and watch it by yourself.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Escape From Pompeii...seriously get out. It's going to blow (02/22/14)
Did you know Keifer Sutherland was in this movie? I ask because I didn't and I'm usually up-to-date on this sort of thing. I didn't know because he was never in any of the promotional material. What was? Kit Harrington's abs and a giant volcano. Right away you can see where this film's priorities lay and it shows on screen. The story of an orphaned boy turned slave who has to fight as a gladiator for the amusement of Romans has been done before. Here it's done again and director Paul W.S. Anderson adds nothing new. Harrington mopes in between passable action sequences never developing his character into a compelling protagonist. This lazily-written by the numbers movie just kills time before the volcano explodes. Once that happens we are treated to decent special effects which can't distract from the fact that we don't care who lives or dies. What keeps this from being dreadful is Sutherland and some other great actors. They deserve better but they got paid for this. Don't you pay for this.
FINAL GRADE: D+
The Monuments Men Wastes A Talented Cast (02/22/14)
The Monuments Men is so disappointing because it could have been so good. The true life story of a group of old out of shape college professors and museum curators who must go into Nazi occupied Europe to save works of art has never been told before and has inherent drama built in. Automatically it's unique and has an aire of importance that we the audience give to any World War II movie. But Director Clooney misfires, producing an odd flick that is too laid back for it's own good. All the tension in the story goes away when the characters start speaking in weird cliches and not one of them (all played by great actors by the way) is given any time to develop a character. They all act very blase as well which makes you think, if they're not taking it seriously, why should i? By the end I was still mildly interested but not anywhere near enthralled. What a waste.
FINAL GRADE: C
The Legend of Hercules Doesn't Live Up to it's title (01/19/14)
Kellan Lutz plays Hercules in this must-see telling of classic story. He's an actor with such emotional intensity you can't look away. He might just be this generation's Tom Hanks. Actually I'm just fu*****g with you. Lutz is a big lummox with the acting range of a piece of driftwood which is appropriate since he's got this perpetual look of confusion which makes me think he's just a blockhead with a six pack. I'm being a bit mean and I don't really mean most of it but he is an actor who couldn't even hold his own in Twilight where the best acting is the twitchy method acting of Kristen Stewart. On to the movie: it's got a few action sequences which might entertain you (especially if you're a fan of Starz's Spartacus which it is very reminiscent of) but overall it's boring, badly acted, January-release garbage. I did not see this in 3D and I believe I was missing out because the way the movie is staged (objects flying at the screen make up 1/2 of the movie). At least with 3D it would have been cool to look at. FINAL GRADE: D+
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit has a tricky job to do (01/19/14)
Director Kenneth Branaugh helms this Jack Ryan origin story and he has a tricky job to do. Ryan is not yet an operative but merely in analyst in this movie which means he spends lots of time looking at computer screens and solving crimes with numbers. That's mildly interesting to me since I'm in finance but it's aggresivley boring for the audience. The movie does a good job however, of ramping up the tension by breaking up the boring stuff with espionage, creating solid tension as a result. Pine brings the same intensity that he has in the Star Trek movies (his forehead veins feature prominently) but is more boy scout than womanizer in this one. Costner is solid as his mentor and Brannaugh himself plays the heavy with a quiet calm and reserve that lets you know he doesn't need to look scary because he is scary. The last 15 minutes are a bit of letdown because we don't get the showdown we want and the action sequence feels like it belongs in the middle of the movie not at the end. Still, entertaining and thrilling. FINAL GRADE: B
Lone Survivor is Relentless (01/12/14)
If I had to choose word to describe Peter Berg's "Lone Survivor" it's "Relentless." The film take it's time getting to the shooting but when it does bullets fly and brains explode. It's all shot in close-up shaky cam Berg loves to use but this might be the first time it makes sense to do so. The movie is a war film, based on the real life memoir of the lone survivor of a Navy Seals mission gone wrong. The entire second act feels like the first 10 minutes of saving private ryan and the fact that you know it happened makes it all the more effective. Unfortunately where Berg is less effective is the character development. We spend precious little time with each soldier before the fighting commences and there's no time for reflection during. The stories of the real-life heroes blend together and by the time the movie ends you're left with nothing but admiration for the men but knowing next-to-nothing about them. Still, a solid piece of film making that everyone should see. FINAL GRADE: B
Walking With The Dinosaurs Belongs in A Museum! (01/12/14)
If you're in the mood to hear Justin Long and John Leguizamo voice computer animated characters rent Alvin and Chipmunks and Ice Age, respectively. Stay away from this perfectly adequate but dull kids film that tries very hard to educate but only ends up boring. It starts with a whiny teenager complaining about spending the summer with his Paleontologist uncle digging up bones in Alaska and segues into telling the story of the dinosaurs that inhabited the land 70 million years ago. It's all to teach this emo kid the value in history but really it's an excuse to show decent computer animated dinosaurs walking around. If that sounds like one of those 3d films that was the highlight of your otherwise boring visit to the Smithsonian when you were 10 that's what it feels like (it's even in 3D). It's fun when you've got a day to kill but as a stand alone film it's bleh. FINAL GRADE:C
I Investigate The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (01/04/14)
"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life." So reads the motto of Life the magazine where the titular hero in the Secret Life of Walter Mitty works. Walter believes in Life's mission statement but has never been able to follow it after a serious of unfortunate events beginning with his father's death suffocates his adventurous spirit. The film follows Walter as he wakes up from his day dreaming and decides to live his life driven by the desire to impress a pretty co worker (there's always a girl, right?). The movie hits you over the head with the theme and the adventures of Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) feel fragmented, never quite settling into a groove. As a result the film impresses but doesn't blow you away. It's sweet however with inventive directing and a hero you can root for. FINAL GRADE: B
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones as a different POV But Feels Like More of the Same (01/04/14)
The best thing about this Paranormal Activity "spin-off" (which is really a sequel in disguise) is the point of view is markedly different. Two male best friends film the strange occurrences, which include witches and demonic possession, and the movie is all the better for the change of pace. Female leads have dominated the Paranormal Activity franchise thus far and to have a guy's point of view is refreshing. The movie funnier, and feels lighter and the best friends are easy to root for. But the movie is light on genuine scares, relying on many tricks we've seen in earlier installments. Even worse the plot resolves itself exactly as you expect (meaning it doesn't). No direct spoilers but I'm tired of the witches winning with little fight from any of the ""good guys." Hidden in the by-the-numberness of the movie, however, I can begin to see an original mythology forming that I hope is expanded upon. Only when we know a little more and have an active protagonist that can give as as good as he gets will the series really regain momentum. As it stands this is a serviceable continuation of the franchise. FINAL GRADE: B-
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