The A Team

I think this movie can best be summed up this way, they try to fly a tank. Now if you are the kind of person who read that sentence and thinks “they. Try to fly a tank – cool!” Then by all means, see this movie. This is clearly a movie you will enjoy. If on the other hand you read that sentence and thought “What? Is that a mistake? That doesn’t even come close t sense. “. Then you should probably skip this movie. Sadly, I feel into the later category. I found the plot to be a bit baffling. What Jessica Beils’ character was doing in the beginning and how the plates were her responsibility was never made clear to me. And clearly logic has gone out the action movie window when you try to fly a tank. And the editing was a little too choppy in the action sequences for my taste. For the most part, skip the movie and go for the nostalgia laden original on dvd or go watch The Losers, same basic plot but a slightly better movie.

Read Full Post »

Wanted

A mindlessly violent movie with pretty things blowing up and pretty, pretty people doing the blowing up… What more could you want in a summer action movie?  The stunts are good, the effects are pretty good, the plot is pointless and it’s a whole lot of fun.

It’s a silly little film about an underdog guy being plucked from his life and told that secretly he has great powers (I’m pretty sure we have all seen that story somewhere before).  There are several fantasy sequences that we’ve all probably had, so its nice to see them played out on the big screen (like telling you boss off at the office… and who hasn’t wanted to make out with someone as hot as either Angelina Jolie or James McAvoy in front of your cheating ex?).  

This movie is just fun and silly, we get to see the those little fantasy scenes, and several excellent shoot ’em up scenes as well. Just pay no attention to the plot – if you look at it too long (or care anything about normal laws of physics), it might make your brain hurt.

 

Read Full Post »

The Dark Knight

 

Ah, the New Batman.  Like everyone else in the world (at least according to the box office numbers), I have seen this movie.  I actually was lucky enough to see it in IMAX.  I’m not sure it makes that much of a difference, but its nice to see a movie on a really, really, big screen.  And some of the scenes really are gorgeous.  There are some great action sequences in this movie, and a some are even done with a sense of humor. 

I admit, that I was not completely sure about this movie when it was first advertised.  I am usually wary of movies that have too many villains in them, and this was going to have to introduce one villian, deal with a previous villan, and create another one (just based on the trailers).  Sure it had 2.5 hours to do it in, but that usually is too much for most story tellers and often is not done well.  I was pleased to find out how very wrong I was.  First off, the movie doesn’t really feel like 2.5 hours.  It was a little draggy in places, but not for more than 10 minutes.  And they did manage to have plenty of story telling and do it well.  I was impressed. 

This is a dark movie, dark in tone, dark in color, yet oddly optimistic about people and how they function. 

 

I am actually looking forward to seeing what they do with the next one, the only shame is that the performance by Heath Ledger is so good, that no one will be able to play that role again for years. And that is a shame. 

Read Full Post »

3:10 to Yuma

I really enjoyed this movie. I can’t imagine that it was much different from the original. It has the feel and pacing of an old classic cowboy film. And the same type of themes (honor amongst thieves, etc).

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were both very good (I really thought the young boy playing Bale’s son looked remarkably like Bale when he was younger (in Empire of the Sun). Ben Foster, who played Charlie Prince, was my favorite – making me want to see him in anything else he’s done!

Read Full Post »

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? (ya know, #4)

Alright, Here’s the deal. Many of you kept saying, ‘No really, it’s really good.’ And I guess, I believed you. But, I just kept thinking, I’m not really in the mood. I’ve got a little Harry Potter burnout. In a way, I’m over it, you guys.

I was wrong. You were right. The movies is far superior than any of the other movies. I really can’t say what it is. The lighting is better, the direction is better, the acting is on par with the last one. But it feels like a real movie. Not like a kid’s movie but, an adult movie (- without the waa-waa pedal).

The kids are growing up and the franchise has matured right along with them. I appreciate this especially because they have such a massive built-in audience they could churn out whatever crap the felt like and they’d still do huge box office. I give it a 7.5.

Read Full Post »