State of Play - 3 stars
I really liked this movie. Its smart and you have to pay attention, but its not as ridiculously complicated as, say, Duplicity. I'm always happy to see Ben Affleck in a movie. Seriously. I know a lot of people give him crap, but I enjoy him as an actor, and now that he is actually reading the script before signing on to a movie, his movies are generally good.
I really liked the stuff about old fashioned print journalism vs. online bloggers. The sequence over the end credits is almost like a love letter to newspapers.
17 Again - 3 stars
I really thought this movie would suck. And during the first 15 minutes, I wanted to walk out. But as soon as Matthew Perry becomes Zac Effron, the movie comes alive. The fight between him and Thomas Lennon is hilarious (especially the lightsaber duel!). Even though the story is corny and cliched, it was funny enough that I looked past its flaws. I think I would even see this again. Oh, and its clean and good fun for the entire family. I think it should have been rated PG.
Crank: High Voltage - not screened for critics
Phoebe in Wonderland - didn't see
Secret of the Grain - didn't see
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
out Friday, 4/10/09
Observe & Report - 3 stars
Very funny and very offensive. Don't go see it if you are easily offended. If you are a prude, stay the hell away! But if you have a good sense of humor and kind find the funny in possible date rape, full-frontal male nudity, a protagonist who beats up cops and skateboarders, you may like this movie. I laughed. A lot.
Hannah Montana - didn't see
Are you surprised? Does anybody give a rat's ass what I thought of Hannah Montana? Exactly. That's why I didn't bother to go see it. Well, that and I really didn't want to go.
Dragonball Evolution - not screened for critics
... so it probably sucks.
The Cake Eaters - 3 stars
Another week, another Kristen Stewart movie. This time she plays a girl who has a neurological muscular disease of some kind. It means she can't walk without help and she slurs when she talks. As one character comments, she talks like she's drunk.
While her mother the photographer exploits her by taking scantily clad photos of her and selling them at the local flea market, she meets Beagle. Beagle works at the cafeteria of her high school. She likes him right away and invites him over to her house. When they are at her house, she starts trying to seduce him despite the fact that her parents are right downstairs. What is she doing, trying to get him killed???
Beagle just lost his mom to diabetes. At the end of her illness, he was the only one taking care of her. His brother was away trying to make it as a musician, and his father just couldn't handle being around her. The other storylines involve Beagle's father romancing Kristen Stewart's grandmother, and Beagle's brother trying to rekindle his romance with the woman he proposed to before skipping town 3 years ago.
The movie moves a little slowly but I enjoyed it. I was a little creeped out by the idea of not only Stewart's mom taking the 'artistic' photos of her daughter, but also the idea of Stewart romancing Beagle. We aren't told how old he is, but there is a bit of an age difference and I'm pretty sure if they have sex, it will be illegal. But the movie does a good job of distracting you from that by making you identify with Stewart. She wants to have sex because she is going to die soon, and she wants to experience as much life as she can before the end.
Oh, and the movie was directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. Not bad for a first feature.
Everlasting Moments - 2 1/2 stars
This movie is about a family living in 1907 Sweden. The father is a great guy when he is sober. He works hard for little money to provide for his family, and he loves his children. But when he gets drunk, he can get so violent that he puts a razor to his wife's throat and threatens to kill her. He also cheats on her.
His wife (Maria) finds a camera and at first she wants to pawn it. The camera store owner convinces her to keep the camera and try taking pictures. She discovers a new hobby, and even manages to make a little money by taking pictures for her friends and neighbors.
Its interesting the way her husband tries to stop her from enjoying her hobby. When he comes home from World War I and finds the house full of clients, rather than be impressed that his wife managed to find a way to make a little money, he freaks out and tells her to get all these people out of his house.
She also forms a friendship with the camera shop owner. We suspect that they are falling in love, even though they never do anything about it. Watch the way Jesper Christensen looks at her and treats her with such compassion. It is a very moving relationship.
At one point in the movie, he goes to jail for assaulting Maria. When he gets out, we wonder if she will leave him or stay with him. She shows up to the jail and he is surprised to see she came. As they walk home, the neighbors start noticing him. They both realize that the neighbors are going to talk, so she does an interesting thing: she puts her arm thru his. Whether she loves him or not, she has decided to stay with him, and she is making a bold announcement to everyone - this is my husband, or something to that effect.
I did like the movie, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Its a little over two hours long, and you really have to be patient. Most movies get going right away. In this case, the movie stays at the same leisurly pace the entire time. You experience life with this family. If you are interested in movies about other countries and other times, and you have the patience to follow this family thru the years, you may really enjoy this movie. The performances are incredible.
Very funny and very offensive. Don't go see it if you are easily offended. If you are a prude, stay the hell away! But if you have a good sense of humor and kind find the funny in possible date rape, full-frontal male nudity, a protagonist who beats up cops and skateboarders, you may like this movie. I laughed. A lot.
Hannah Montana - didn't see
Are you surprised? Does anybody give a rat's ass what I thought of Hannah Montana? Exactly. That's why I didn't bother to go see it. Well, that and I really didn't want to go.
Dragonball Evolution - not screened for critics
... so it probably sucks.
The Cake Eaters - 3 stars
Another week, another Kristen Stewart movie. This time she plays a girl who has a neurological muscular disease of some kind. It means she can't walk without help and she slurs when she talks. As one character comments, she talks like she's drunk.
While her mother the photographer exploits her by taking scantily clad photos of her and selling them at the local flea market, she meets Beagle. Beagle works at the cafeteria of her high school. She likes him right away and invites him over to her house. When they are at her house, she starts trying to seduce him despite the fact that her parents are right downstairs. What is she doing, trying to get him killed???
Beagle just lost his mom to diabetes. At the end of her illness, he was the only one taking care of her. His brother was away trying to make it as a musician, and his father just couldn't handle being around her. The other storylines involve Beagle's father romancing Kristen Stewart's grandmother, and Beagle's brother trying to rekindle his romance with the woman he proposed to before skipping town 3 years ago.
The movie moves a little slowly but I enjoyed it. I was a little creeped out by the idea of not only Stewart's mom taking the 'artistic' photos of her daughter, but also the idea of Stewart romancing Beagle. We aren't told how old he is, but there is a bit of an age difference and I'm pretty sure if they have sex, it will be illegal. But the movie does a good job of distracting you from that by making you identify with Stewart. She wants to have sex because she is going to die soon, and she wants to experience as much life as she can before the end.
Oh, and the movie was directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. Not bad for a first feature.
Everlasting Moments - 2 1/2 stars
This movie is about a family living in 1907 Sweden. The father is a great guy when he is sober. He works hard for little money to provide for his family, and he loves his children. But when he gets drunk, he can get so violent that he puts a razor to his wife's throat and threatens to kill her. He also cheats on her.
His wife (Maria) finds a camera and at first she wants to pawn it. The camera store owner convinces her to keep the camera and try taking pictures. She discovers a new hobby, and even manages to make a little money by taking pictures for her friends and neighbors.
Its interesting the way her husband tries to stop her from enjoying her hobby. When he comes home from World War I and finds the house full of clients, rather than be impressed that his wife managed to find a way to make a little money, he freaks out and tells her to get all these people out of his house.
She also forms a friendship with the camera shop owner. We suspect that they are falling in love, even though they never do anything about it. Watch the way Jesper Christensen looks at her and treats her with such compassion. It is a very moving relationship.
At one point in the movie, he goes to jail for assaulting Maria. When he gets out, we wonder if she will leave him or stay with him. She shows up to the jail and he is surprised to see she came. As they walk home, the neighbors start noticing him. They both realize that the neighbors are going to talk, so she does an interesting thing: she puts her arm thru his. Whether she loves him or not, she has decided to stay with him, and she is making a bold announcement to everyone - this is my husband, or something to that effect.
I did like the movie, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Its a little over two hours long, and you really have to be patient. Most movies get going right away. In this case, the movie stays at the same leisurly pace the entire time. You experience life with this family. If you are interested in movies about other countries and other times, and you have the patience to follow this family thru the years, you may really enjoy this movie. The performances are incredible.
out Friday, 4/3/09
Adventureland - 3 1/2 stars
Easily my favorite movie of 2009 so far. It reminds me of a John Hughes movie from the '80s. The only problem is the advertising is all wrong. It stresses that its from the director of Superbad, and it makes the movie look like a comedy. While it does have some very funny bits, its much more a drama. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are very funny as the park managers, but all together their scenes barely amount to 20 minutes of screen time.
Fast and Furious - 1 1/2 stars
I admit - I haven't seen the original, or either of the previous two sequels (2 Fast 2 Furious or Tokyo Drift). I have no idea how this one measures up. But it bored me to tears. I kept looking at my watch hoping it would end. The acting is terrible. All Vin Diesel can do is furrow his brows and look menacing. And the less said about Paul Walker, the better.
Crossing Over - 2 1/2 stars
Everyone is going to compare this movie to Crash. It does have some similarities. But I was never a big fan of Crash. I think I liked this one a little bit better. This still isn't a great movie. The Harrison Ford storyline was good, at least the part where he is trying to help a Mexican woman take care of her son. I lost interest in the murder myster part of his story. I also liked Summer Bishil's storyline. She plays an Iranian born teenager who writes an essay about the 9/11 hyjackers. But her essay is more about trying to understand their motives than condemning them, and her classmates are so enraged that one of them calls immigration on her and her family.
There are way too many stories that aren't as good. I didn't really care about Ashley Judd's character trying to find foster parents for an orphaned African girl. I also didn't care about Jim Sturgess trying to get jewish people to sign his papers confirming he needs a religuous visa. I thought the Ray Liotta character agreeing to trade a visa for sex with Alice Eve's character could have been interesting, but it was done in such a predictable way. He will give her a visa if she sleeps with him? No way. After its done we see her crying in the shower. Didn't see that one coming! The one part of their story I did like was how it ends. (spoiler alert) When he tells her that he wants to start over and have a real relationship, she tells him how much she hates him. Instead of threatening her or trying to blackmail her, he accepts this and leaves her alone. He honors his part of the bargain and tells her that she will never see him again. For that one moment, he is a stand-up guy.
Easily my favorite movie of 2009 so far. It reminds me of a John Hughes movie from the '80s. The only problem is the advertising is all wrong. It stresses that its from the director of Superbad, and it makes the movie look like a comedy. While it does have some very funny bits, its much more a drama. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are very funny as the park managers, but all together their scenes barely amount to 20 minutes of screen time.
Fast and Furious - 1 1/2 stars
I admit - I haven't seen the original, or either of the previous two sequels (2 Fast 2 Furious or Tokyo Drift). I have no idea how this one measures up. But it bored me to tears. I kept looking at my watch hoping it would end. The acting is terrible. All Vin Diesel can do is furrow his brows and look menacing. And the less said about Paul Walker, the better.
Crossing Over - 2 1/2 stars
Everyone is going to compare this movie to Crash. It does have some similarities. But I was never a big fan of Crash. I think I liked this one a little bit better. This still isn't a great movie. The Harrison Ford storyline was good, at least the part where he is trying to help a Mexican woman take care of her son. I lost interest in the murder myster part of his story. I also liked Summer Bishil's storyline. She plays an Iranian born teenager who writes an essay about the 9/11 hyjackers. But her essay is more about trying to understand their motives than condemning them, and her classmates are so enraged that one of them calls immigration on her and her family.
There are way too many stories that aren't as good. I didn't really care about Ashley Judd's character trying to find foster parents for an orphaned African girl. I also didn't care about Jim Sturgess trying to get jewish people to sign his papers confirming he needs a religuous visa. I thought the Ray Liotta character agreeing to trade a visa for sex with Alice Eve's character could have been interesting, but it was done in such a predictable way. He will give her a visa if she sleeps with him? No way. After its done we see her crying in the shower. Didn't see that one coming! The one part of their story I did like was how it ends. (spoiler alert) When he tells her that he wants to start over and have a real relationship, she tells him how much she hates him. Instead of threatening her or trying to blackmail her, he accepts this and leaves her alone. He honors his part of the bargain and tells her that she will never see him again. For that one moment, he is a stand-up guy.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Haunting in Connecticut - 3 stars
I liked this movie. I've heard a few people say it sucks, the story is stupid, its nothing but easy scares, ect. But I thought the story was interesting. The scares were good but I didn't think there were too many. There were also some really good creepy scenes that freaked me out just a little bit. Stories about dead people, ghosts, seances, dead bodies coming to life, thinks like that freak me out.
I also thought the performances were good. Elias Koteas was great as a cancer patient / priest / expert on the occult, and Virginia Madsen was good as always. The only weak spot was Martin Donovan as the father. It wasn't necessarily a bad performance, they just didn't give him much to do. He disappears for 20 minutes at a time and shows up only long enough to provide some family tension, then he disappears again. The scene where he is playing his guitar and crying is pretty rediculous, as is the scene where he comes home drunk and freaks out about the lights being on. I don't remember anyone ever telling the father about the whole 'haunting' thing. I would think the family would tell him, and maybe then he would be a little more supportive.
Overall, a very good ghost story.
I also thought the performances were good. Elias Koteas was great as a cancer patient / priest / expert on the occult, and Virginia Madsen was good as always. The only weak spot was Martin Donovan as the father. It wasn't necessarily a bad performance, they just didn't give him much to do. He disappears for 20 minutes at a time and shows up only long enough to provide some family tension, then he disappears again. The scene where he is playing his guitar and crying is pretty rediculous, as is the scene where he comes home drunk and freaks out about the lights being on. I don't remember anyone ever telling the father about the whole 'haunting' thing. I would think the family would tell him, and maybe then he would be a little more supportive.
Overall, a very good ghost story.
Friday, March 27, 2009
In theaters today, 3/27/09
The Haunting in Connecticut - not screened for critics.
12 Rounds - not screened for critics.
Monsters VS Aliens - this was screened, but I wasn't able to attend the screening. But seriously, you already know whether you are going to go see this or not, right? People with kids will take them, most people without kids will not (except the Mormons who are attracted to the PG rating).
Harvard Beats Yale - I wasn't able to get my hands on a screener for this. But a documentary about a 1968 college football game sounds like torture to me.
Sunshine Cleaning - 2 stars
Finally, one I have seen. Sunshine Cleaning is kind of uneven. Sometimes its a comedy, sometimes a drama. It doesn't do either one very well - kind of like last week's The Great Buck Howard (which also just happened to have Emily Blunt and Steve Zahn). Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are sisters who start a crime scene cleanup business. The trailers make it look like cleaning up after a crime scene is a barrel of laughs, like the scene where they are carrying a blood soaked mattress and one of them falls on it. But there aren't a lot of laughs. Its hard to laugh at them getting grossed out by the mess ("Great! Now we're going to have to clean that up, too!") when we know someone has just committed suicide in the home.
We find out that when the girls were young, they found their mother's body after she had shot herself. This makes the cleanup scenes rather sad when we keep seeing flashbacks of the girls coming in the house and finding their mom. There is a ridiculous scene where Adams uses a CB radio to 'talk' to her dead mother. It was supposed to be sentimental, but it just made me groan.
Alan Arkin provides a few laughs, but he is playing a character very similar to the one he played in Little Miss Sunshine. The scenes with him get old fast.
Gomorrah - I did get my hands on a screener of this. Full disclosure - I turned it off after 45 minutes. So I can't review the entire movie. But I will say that I was bored by what I saw. The movie introduces new characters every 5 minutes and its hard to keep track of them. I kept waiting to find out who the main characters would be, and I suspect it might have been the boy who delivered groceries, or the two boys who go to the river and shoot guns in their underpants. If I had stuck it out, I would know. But I honestly have no interest in going back and watching the rest of the movie. Sorry, it bored me to tears.
12 Rounds - not screened for critics.
Monsters VS Aliens - this was screened, but I wasn't able to attend the screening. But seriously, you already know whether you are going to go see this or not, right? People with kids will take them, most people without kids will not (except the Mormons who are attracted to the PG rating).
Harvard Beats Yale - I wasn't able to get my hands on a screener for this. But a documentary about a 1968 college football game sounds like torture to me.
Sunshine Cleaning - 2 stars
Finally, one I have seen. Sunshine Cleaning is kind of uneven. Sometimes its a comedy, sometimes a drama. It doesn't do either one very well - kind of like last week's The Great Buck Howard (which also just happened to have Emily Blunt and Steve Zahn). Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are sisters who start a crime scene cleanup business. The trailers make it look like cleaning up after a crime scene is a barrel of laughs, like the scene where they are carrying a blood soaked mattress and one of them falls on it. But there aren't a lot of laughs. Its hard to laugh at them getting grossed out by the mess ("Great! Now we're going to have to clean that up, too!") when we know someone has just committed suicide in the home.
We find out that when the girls were young, they found their mother's body after she had shot herself. This makes the cleanup scenes rather sad when we keep seeing flashbacks of the girls coming in the house and finding their mom. There is a ridiculous scene where Adams uses a CB radio to 'talk' to her dead mother. It was supposed to be sentimental, but it just made me groan.
Alan Arkin provides a few laughs, but he is playing a character very similar to the one he played in Little Miss Sunshine. The scenes with him get old fast.
Gomorrah - I did get my hands on a screener of this. Full disclosure - I turned it off after 45 minutes. So I can't review the entire movie. But I will say that I was bored by what I saw. The movie introduces new characters every 5 minutes and its hard to keep track of them. I kept waiting to find out who the main characters would be, and I suspect it might have been the boy who delivered groceries, or the two boys who go to the river and shoot guns in their underpants. If I had stuck it out, I would know. But I honestly have no interest in going back and watching the rest of the movie. Sorry, it bored me to tears.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Out Friday, 3/20/09
I Love You, Man - 3 stars
This wasn't quite as funny as Role Models or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but it was still very funny. Jon Favreau steals every scene he is in. And I especially liked all the stuff with Rush (FYI, I was in a Rush tribute band for 5 years).
Duplicity - 2 1/2 stars
I liked this better than I liked Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy's last movie. It was confusing as hell. I will need to see it again to understand it. Half the movie is comprised of flashbacks, and almost every one changes the meaning of the previous scene.
Knowing - 2 1/2 stars
The trailers only give you the setup of this movie. Nic Cage's son brings home a piece of paper with numbers on it. The paper comes from a 50-year old time capsule, and the numbers predict every major disaster in the last 50 years. There are 3 disasters left on the page that haven't happened yet.
As the movie progresses, strange men periodically appear. They stand off in the distance watching the main characters, just looking creepy. Once the movie ends and you look back on it, you realize that a lot of it doesn't hold together. What was the point of the numbers? The 'whisper people' could have just told the important people what they needed to know.
I still enjoyed it anyway. Its a good sci-fi story, like a good twilight zone episode or something.
The Great Buck Howard - 1 1/2 stars
The only reason to see this is John Malkovich. I can't remember ever seeing him play a character like this. But the movie isn't funny enough to be a comedy, and I didn't care about the characters enough for it to be a good drama. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to like Buck Howard or not. And there were way too many celebrity cameos.
This wasn't quite as funny as Role Models or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but it was still very funny. Jon Favreau steals every scene he is in. And I especially liked all the stuff with Rush (FYI, I was in a Rush tribute band for 5 years).
Duplicity - 2 1/2 stars
I liked this better than I liked Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy's last movie. It was confusing as hell. I will need to see it again to understand it. Half the movie is comprised of flashbacks, and almost every one changes the meaning of the previous scene.
Knowing - 2 1/2 stars
The trailers only give you the setup of this movie. Nic Cage's son brings home a piece of paper with numbers on it. The paper comes from a 50-year old time capsule, and the numbers predict every major disaster in the last 50 years. There are 3 disasters left on the page that haven't happened yet.
As the movie progresses, strange men periodically appear. They stand off in the distance watching the main characters, just looking creepy. Once the movie ends and you look back on it, you realize that a lot of it doesn't hold together. What was the point of the numbers? The 'whisper people' could have just told the important people what they needed to know.
I still enjoyed it anyway. Its a good sci-fi story, like a good twilight zone episode or something.
The Great Buck Howard - 1 1/2 stars
The only reason to see this is John Malkovich. I can't remember ever seeing him play a character like this. But the movie isn't funny enough to be a comedy, and I didn't care about the characters enough for it to be a good drama. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to like Buck Howard or not. And there were way too many celebrity cameos.
Last House on the Left - 3 stars
This is unusual - I like the remake more than the original. I haven't seen the original for a long time, but I didn't like it enough to watch it over and over again. Its interesting to watch because its Wes Craven's first movie, and its unusual to see a movie that bleak and depressing. Even compared to Saw and Hostel, it is hard to watch for the brutality.
In the original, two girls run into a gang of psychos. They take the girls out into the woods where they torture and kill them. When they leave the woods, they stop at a house because their car has broken down. Surprise, this is where one of the girls lives. The parents are worried about their missing daughter, they figure out that this gang has killer her, and they take their revenge.
The remake makes a big change to the story (spoiler alert): the daughter survives and makes it home. This makes the story a bit different. Instead of the parents just being out for revenge, when they kill the criminals, they are doing it to protect their daughter, who is lying on the coffee table close to death.
The movie works as a good horror movie and as a revenge fantasy. There are several scenes that make the audience cheer as the parents are dispatching the gang members. They do tone down the torture of the girls but what happens to them is bad enough, so its probably a good thing they cut it down. Although there is a part of me that thinks "they wimped out. The filmmakers didn't have the balls that Wes Craven did."
In the original, two girls run into a gang of psychos. They take the girls out into the woods where they torture and kill them. When they leave the woods, they stop at a house because their car has broken down. Surprise, this is where one of the girls lives. The parents are worried about their missing daughter, they figure out that this gang has killer her, and they take their revenge.
The remake makes a big change to the story (spoiler alert): the daughter survives and makes it home. This makes the story a bit different. Instead of the parents just being out for revenge, when they kill the criminals, they are doing it to protect their daughter, who is lying on the coffee table close to death.
The movie works as a good horror movie and as a revenge fantasy. There are several scenes that make the audience cheer as the parents are dispatching the gang members. They do tone down the torture of the girls but what happens to them is bad enough, so its probably a good thing they cut it down. Although there is a part of me that thinks "they wimped out. The filmmakers didn't have the balls that Wes Craven did."
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