Elisa's Review of "The Town"
I love a movie that makes me think while I am watching it, a replays over and over in my head afterwards. Naïve’ reviewers have made several comparisons to “Good Will Hunting” most obviously because of the involvement of Ben Affleck and Boston in both. While GWH was a brilliant film set in the academia worlds of Harvard and MIT, “The Town” was adapted from Chuck Hogan’s novel “The Prince of Thieves,” and
is an old-fashion, shoot ‘em up bank robber film. There are no modern-day “Hacker” heroes” downloading shift schedules, bank accounts, and reprogramming surveillance cameras. Instead, this is a movie about the struggles and acceptance of life-long friends who grew up in drug-infested, crime-ridden Charlestown. However, Charlestown is more to the storyline of “The Town” than just a place. The Boston neighborhood is a character in the movie: A place where bank robbery is handed-down through generations, drug addiction is rampant, and the ice rink is only used for kick-ball.
An IN SHAPE Affleck is joined by Jeremy Renner, known for his break-out role in the 2010 Oscar-wining film “The Hurt Locker.” Renner’s role, as James “Jem” Coughlin. Life-long friends. Dough Mackay play by Affleck and Jem are the “leaders” of an efficient, and experienced bank robbing team who are sent and jobs by the “Mob Boss” of Charlestown, “The Florist.”
The Florist, who actually has a flower shop in Charlestown, is an old time “Townie” who picks the take and demands a cut of every “job” the team takes.
Masked, the group commits a brief and quick robbery at a bank across the river. A young bank teller played by Rebecca Hall is selected to open the vault. Unable to collect herself to remember the combination, Affleck takes her hand and reassures her she will be fine if she remains calm. After emptying the vault, the bank teller is ordered to the ground with everyone else, using her toe, she sets off an alarm during the heist. She is taken as a hostage, blindfolded and is rushed across the river and back to Charlestown, where she is released on the shore of the Charles River.
One day after the successful heist, the group meets up at a defunct ice-rink to discuss the job. Jem produces the young teller’s identification card, only to inform the group her address is in Charlestown, increasing the possibility she could see one of the thieves on the streets and recognize them. Concerned Jem’s method of taking care of the teller is final, Affleck volunteers to watch her. And he does—creating a sweet and unlikely romance between the innocent bank teller and the doomed bank robber.
It is hard not to love Affleck’s Bostonian accent and his portrayal of a drug-addicted, bad-Irish boy turned good. The relationships between Affleck’s character, his friend Jem, and his ties to Charlestown, keep the viewer engaged in his compelling struggle. The bank robberies and chase scenes will have you holding your breath as you hope the bad guys somehow will become the good guys, to fight the bigger bad guys running Charlestown.
Ben's Review of "The Town"
With the success of "The Departed" there has seemingly been an influx of Boston based movies within the past five years, and with movies such as "The Fighter" set to hit theatres in December, is it possible for Ben Affeck to sneak in with some Beantown success? Well do not forget that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon effectively started the Boston movie trend with their break out hit "Good Will Hunting." Affleck admitted to doing movies only for the economic return in the early and mid 2000s and, since the success of his first directorial debut, 2006’s dark and fascinating child abduction caper "Gone Baby Gone," he has largely stayed out of acting, appearing only in cameos and bit parts such as "Clerks II," "Smokin Aces," and "He’s Just Not that Into You." So part of the allure of "The Town" is whether or not Affleck can direct and star in a movie without it turning into a vanity piece. More importantly is the movie worse seeing?
"The Town" is set in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown which is notorious for housing the majority of Boston’s bank robbers. Affleck plays Doug, the very calculated and quick thinking architect for a crew of bank robbers. During one of their routine robberies, they are forced to take a bank manager Claire, played very well by Rebecca Hall, hostage. After dropping the hostage off the crew discovers that Claire actually lives in Charlestown. The crew’s muscleman James, played by Jeremy Renner, volunteers to “take care of it”. Knowing James’ pension for killing without remorse, Doug says he will handle the matter and begins trailing Claire to insure that she does not engage in any action that may result in the crew being reported to the FBI. One night while following Claire into a laundry mat, Doug inadvertently engages in a conversation with Claire and realizes that she probably will not give any leads to the FBI. Having been quite taken with Claire, Doug asks her out and they begin dating. The problem is the FBI, headed by Adam Fawley, played by John Hamm, is still trying to find the bank robbers and is still following and questioning Claire.
The crew continues to rob banks but Doug begins to grow tired of the stress involved with planning these heists as well as the unpredictability of James’ actions and temper. Doug makes a plan to get out but complications involving his on again off again girlfriend, the FBI, and the crime boss who finds the bank jobs all make leaving his life in Charlestown far more difficult than he imagined. So can Doug get out? Will Claire discover who really is? Will Matt Damon receive producing credits?
The genre of Heist movies is always ripe for clichés such as the “one last job scenario”, the “I am going to be found out at any point” issue, and of course the “loose cannon crazy gunman”. The beauty of The Town is that it contains all of these clichés but presents them in a very refreshing way. The movie’s main character does not set out to do one job and get outs scenario but comes to this realization very organically. The tension of being found out by the FBI and Claire is done by setting very believable events in motion in motion. Renner’s muscleman character is not over the top and is given a back story as to why he is not bothered by having to hurt other people. While comparisons could be made to "Heat," "The Town" truly stands apart because its pacing is well done and the back story and characters do not over complicate or over simplify the story. There are very strong, albeit small, performances by Chris Cooper as Doug’s imprisoned father, Pete Postelthwaite as the Irish crime boss, and a surprising Blake Lively as the drug addict girl friend. Additionally, and don’t let this get out, Affleck can act. If you have seen "Good Will Hunting," "Dazed and Confused," or even "Sum of All Fears" he can be a very convincing actor. Affleck is now proving that, with right director, he is not too bad at making movies.
4.25 die packs out of 5 and worth seeing in a theatre.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Inception
Ben’s Review of Inception
Chris Nolan has been on a major role since bursting onto the scene with 2001’swonderfully twisted story in reverse, Momento. Since Momento, Nolan has put together film noir blockbuster with Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and of course the second highest grossing movie of all time and major league Oscar snub The Dark Knight. All of these movies are well written, well acted, and well paced. Most important, all these movies adhere to my number one rule in fictional story telling, they take the unbelievable and make it believable. So, like any pessimistic person I have to wonder how long can Chris Nolan maintain this streak. Even Steven Spielberg has done movies like Hook and 1941.
Inception is Chris Nolan’s most ambitious endeavor to date. Leonardo Dicaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a person who has perfected the art of what is known as “Extraction”. This is the ability to share in another person’s dream and steal that person’s secrets. Cobb is joined by his team of fellow extractors who each play a role in helping steal the various secrets of each victim. Cobb mainly works in corporate espionage extracting secrets for various clients. Extractions are typically elaborately set traps in which one extractor, known as the “Architect” designs a maze to lure the victim in to revealing the secret. Additionally, there are dangers involved such as once a person’s subconscious realizes that they are sharing a dream it attempts to kill the extractor. Additionally, if a person is killed in a dream typically they wake up unless the sedative that extractor takes is too strong, in which case you lose your mind. Also, it is possible to extract from a dream within a dream.
Cobb has gained a reputation for being a very good extractor but he is carrying a lot person of baggage based on past events. One of these past events prevents Cobb from returning to the United States and seeing his children. Another is the death of his wife. Cobb is presented with an opportunity to do one last job with the payoff being his ability to return to the United States. However this job is different, instead of extracting an idea, Cobb is hired to plant or incept an idea into the head of a victim. Cobb’s team does not believe it can be done but they are willing to try. This type of task requires planting a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream. So, can this inception be done? Can a concept this complicated be made believable? Can anyone with an IQ under 340 follow this plot?
Inception takes a concept like a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream and makes it work. This crazy seemingly unbelievable concept of being able to share someone’s dream and deal with the various rules and boundaries is one hell of task. Inception makes this concept work and does it without bombarding the audience with CGI effects or overly dramatic acting and scenes of various characters staring in awe. This movie is not the Matrix or Avatar and what makes it absolutely great is that it does not try to be. Its concept is original and occurs organically thus making it fascinating to watch. Additionally, Chris Nolan’s refusal to cram in needless special effects and use live action sequences greatly adds to the believability of this movie. A case in point is the now famous Joseph Gordon Levitt’s zero gravity fight during a sequence where one dream is being affected by the physics of another. Also, I can honestly say that I think I understood most of this move as it occurred. There are solid and not overly done acting performance from the aforementioned Dicaprio and Levit, as well Ellen Page, Ken Wantabe, Michael Cane, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and a dark Marion Cotilard. This movie may be worth catching a second time just to see what is missed.
I give it 4.75 sedatives out of 5 and recommend that potential moviegoers not be intimidated and enjoy the ride.
Something extra: this movie contains two up and coming actors that are ready to get the due each deserves. The first is Tom Hardy. If you have not seen last year’s Bronson make time to so. It is an acting clinic and something that most actors simply are not capable of pulling off. The second is Joseph Gordon Levitt. Forget about 500 Days of Summer. 2007’s the Lookout is and outstanding crime caper and is anchored by Levitt’s lead performance. Also, if you are looking for great modern day noir, 2006’s The Brick is as twisty and turny as it gets. Both these actors have quite bright futures ahead of them.
Elisa's Review of Inception
I think it is pretty clear by now that I am not a huge science-fiction fan, my suspension of disbelief is fairly limited and special effects do not really turn me on. The green-screen phenomena seems like cheating. Considering this, I was not too excited about Ben’s obsession with seeing the heavy-with-effects Inception. However, after watching an HBO “Behind the Scenes” special showing the director’s use of real-life effects and lack of green-screen explaining the real-life processes involving to be create the effects sans green screen, I was game.
Leonard Dicaprio (known to me as the guy that replaced aging Kirk Cameron on Growing Pains) leads a gorgeous nearly all-male cast the includes Joseph Gordon Levitt, of Third Rock from the Sun fame, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Cane. Instead of the stereotypical tall blonde femme fatale, Ellen Page of Juno is cast as an intelligent and imaginative architect.
Working as an ensemble cast, the group employs themselves as real-life dreamweavers, aka Extractors. Typically hired by Fortune 500 executives to extract trade secrets and the like, from the subconscious of the mark as he or she sleeps—dreams.
Hiding out after a turn of bad luck with an Asian chemical company, Don Cobb played by Dicaprio is approached with a new and creative job. The client, the CEO of the aforementioned chemical company, wants an idea be planted—incepted into the subconscious on the heir to the CEO’s largest competitor. He wants the “heir to the throne” to inherit his father’s global assets, and then break apart the business for the CEO to purchase. Cobb balks at the idea, as inception is impossible, the CEO insists Cobb take the job, promising a big payday---financially and personally.
Willing to risk it all, Cobb reunites his Extractor Team and outlines a plan: A dream-within-a-dream, within-a-dream blue-print is planned and put into action.
Inception is a brilliant and original story. It is a movie that should be viewed on the big screen to get the full glory of the scenes. Be advised, this is a thinking movie—with a great cliffhanger. So, if you are confused by the game “Bingo,” need directions playing “Tic-Tac-Toe” or think the objective in “Hangman” is to draw a body, this is probably not going to be an enjoyable experience. Otherwise, it is a must-see and undoubtedly a future classic.
Chris Nolan has been on a major role since bursting onto the scene with 2001’swonderfully twisted story in reverse, Momento. Since Momento, Nolan has put together film noir blockbuster with Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and of course the second highest grossing movie of all time and major league Oscar snub The Dark Knight. All of these movies are well written, well acted, and well paced. Most important, all these movies adhere to my number one rule in fictional story telling, they take the unbelievable and make it believable. So, like any pessimistic person I have to wonder how long can Chris Nolan maintain this streak. Even Steven Spielberg has done movies like Hook and 1941.
Inception is Chris Nolan’s most ambitious endeavor to date. Leonardo Dicaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a person who has perfected the art of what is known as “Extraction”. This is the ability to share in another person’s dream and steal that person’s secrets. Cobb is joined by his team of fellow extractors who each play a role in helping steal the various secrets of each victim. Cobb mainly works in corporate espionage extracting secrets for various clients. Extractions are typically elaborately set traps in which one extractor, known as the “Architect” designs a maze to lure the victim in to revealing the secret. Additionally, there are dangers involved such as once a person’s subconscious realizes that they are sharing a dream it attempts to kill the extractor. Additionally, if a person is killed in a dream typically they wake up unless the sedative that extractor takes is too strong, in which case you lose your mind. Also, it is possible to extract from a dream within a dream.
Cobb has gained a reputation for being a very good extractor but he is carrying a lot person of baggage based on past events. One of these past events prevents Cobb from returning to the United States and seeing his children. Another is the death of his wife. Cobb is presented with an opportunity to do one last job with the payoff being his ability to return to the United States. However this job is different, instead of extracting an idea, Cobb is hired to plant or incept an idea into the head of a victim. Cobb’s team does not believe it can be done but they are willing to try. This type of task requires planting a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream. So, can this inception be done? Can a concept this complicated be made believable? Can anyone with an IQ under 340 follow this plot?
Inception takes a concept like a dream inside a dream inside a dream inside a dream and makes it work. This crazy seemingly unbelievable concept of being able to share someone’s dream and deal with the various rules and boundaries is one hell of task. Inception makes this concept work and does it without bombarding the audience with CGI effects or overly dramatic acting and scenes of various characters staring in awe. This movie is not the Matrix or Avatar and what makes it absolutely great is that it does not try to be. Its concept is original and occurs organically thus making it fascinating to watch. Additionally, Chris Nolan’s refusal to cram in needless special effects and use live action sequences greatly adds to the believability of this movie. A case in point is the now famous Joseph Gordon Levitt’s zero gravity fight during a sequence where one dream is being affected by the physics of another. Also, I can honestly say that I think I understood most of this move as it occurred. There are solid and not overly done acting performance from the aforementioned Dicaprio and Levit, as well Ellen Page, Ken Wantabe, Michael Cane, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and a dark Marion Cotilard. This movie may be worth catching a second time just to see what is missed.
I give it 4.75 sedatives out of 5 and recommend that potential moviegoers not be intimidated and enjoy the ride.
Something extra: this movie contains two up and coming actors that are ready to get the due each deserves. The first is Tom Hardy. If you have not seen last year’s Bronson make time to so. It is an acting clinic and something that most actors simply are not capable of pulling off. The second is Joseph Gordon Levitt. Forget about 500 Days of Summer. 2007’s the Lookout is and outstanding crime caper and is anchored by Levitt’s lead performance. Also, if you are looking for great modern day noir, 2006’s The Brick is as twisty and turny as it gets. Both these actors have quite bright futures ahead of them.
Elisa's Review of Inception
I think it is pretty clear by now that I am not a huge science-fiction fan, my suspension of disbelief is fairly limited and special effects do not really turn me on. The green-screen phenomena seems like cheating. Considering this, I was not too excited about Ben’s obsession with seeing the heavy-with-effects Inception. However, after watching an HBO “Behind the Scenes” special showing the director’s use of real-life effects and lack of green-screen explaining the real-life processes involving to be create the effects sans green screen, I was game.
Leonard Dicaprio (known to me as the guy that replaced aging Kirk Cameron on Growing Pains) leads a gorgeous nearly all-male cast the includes Joseph Gordon Levitt, of Third Rock from the Sun fame, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Cane. Instead of the stereotypical tall blonde femme fatale, Ellen Page of Juno is cast as an intelligent and imaginative architect.
Working as an ensemble cast, the group employs themselves as real-life dreamweavers, aka Extractors. Typically hired by Fortune 500 executives to extract trade secrets and the like, from the subconscious of the mark as he or she sleeps—dreams.
Hiding out after a turn of bad luck with an Asian chemical company, Don Cobb played by Dicaprio is approached with a new and creative job. The client, the CEO of the aforementioned chemical company, wants an idea be planted—incepted into the subconscious on the heir to the CEO’s largest competitor. He wants the “heir to the throne” to inherit his father’s global assets, and then break apart the business for the CEO to purchase. Cobb balks at the idea, as inception is impossible, the CEO insists Cobb take the job, promising a big payday---financially and personally.
Willing to risk it all, Cobb reunites his Extractor Team and outlines a plan: A dream-within-a-dream, within-a-dream blue-print is planned and put into action.
Inception is a brilliant and original story. It is a movie that should be viewed on the big screen to get the full glory of the scenes. Be advised, this is a thinking movie—with a great cliffhanger. So, if you are confused by the game “Bingo,” need directions playing “Tic-Tac-Toe” or think the objective in “Hangman” is to draw a body, this is probably not going to be an enjoyable experience. Otherwise, it is a must-see and undoubtedly a future classic.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A-Team
Ben’s Review of A-Team
I am 32 almost 33 and this puts me in the age group that spent early parts of my childhood watching the Mr. T and the A-Team. I am pretty sure that the 20th Century Fox had the 28 to 40 age group in mind when deciding to do a live movie version of everyone’s fugitive team for hire. Best of all my wife also falls into this age group and was likewise eager to take advantage then 80s nostalgia fest. Couple this with the near blind rage I have been harboring for sheer audacity of anyone deciding to remake the Karate Kid, and you will pretty much guarantee my attendance for this movie. But did A-Team come off cool and interesting like 2006’s Miami Vice or overly produced and lame like Transformers 2?
The A-Team begins at a very novel place, the beginning. Colonel Hannibal Smith, played by the always cool Liam Neeson, is bringing down a corrupt Mexican Official while at the same time bailing Templeton Peck, aka Face, played by Bradley Cooper, out of trouble. On his way to rescue Face, Hannibal car-jacks car thief and ex-army ranger, Bosco Barracus, aka BA, played by UFC star Quinton Rampage Jackson. BA, knowing the legend of Hannibal agrees to help a fellow army ranger and rescue Face. Upon rescuing Face, Hannibal, BA, and Face all need to get out of town before the Mexican authorities catch up with them and what better way to do this then to spring everyone’s favorite schizophrenic army ranger helicopter pilot, Howling Mad Murdoch, from a Mexican mental hospital. Having worked so well together to escape from Mexico, Hannibal keeps this team together to form the A-Team. The Army uses the A-Team for special missions in Iraq because they are always successful. All is well until the A-Team is solicited for one last mission by the CIA to retrieve counterfeit money plates that are set to be smuggled out of Baghdad. Employing a perfect plan by Hannibal, The A-Team retrieves the plates, however at the last moment the plates are switched, military officials are killed and the A-Team is framed and convicted for the crime. But do you really think the Hannibal, Face, BA, and Murdoch are really going to sit around and rot in jail? So is this remake worth finding for help?
The secret to a good remake is to take the concept seriously and not dumb down the premise for your audience and A-Team does this beautifully. This movie is exciting, well paced, and a lot of fun while not becoming unbelievable or goofy. The movie is perfectly cast: Bradlley Cooper looks and acts like a Face; Liam Neeson is cunning but not a con artist; Sharlto Copley, last year’s break out star from District 9, is crazy but not insane; and even Quinton Jackson, while obvious not a Shakespearian actor, handles his new acting duties very well. The action comes at you and plot keeps moving. More importantly, if you are going to pay $10 to go to theatre you want to be entertained and this movie does just that. Is this Schindler’s List, no, but its not Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle either.
Overall I will give this movie a Great but not Oscar Worthy and four and quarter bullet holes in the side of building out of five. A remake of Karate Kid with Will Smith’s son, seriously, Pat Morita must be rolling over in his “Arnold-from –Happy-Days-grave.”
Elisa’s “A-Team” Review
After 10 years of production, 11 screen-plays, re-writes, two directors and rumors of Hollywood Stars such as Bruce Willis (Hannibal Smith), Woody Harrelson (Murdoch) and Ice Cube (BA Baracus), somehow a plan did come together and a GREAT movie was made.
There is nothing I did not LOVE about the TV show, and there was nothing I did not LOVE about this movie. The casting was perfect. Every nuance of Hannibal Smith’s cigar smoking, cocky-but-love-him demeanor was perfectly portrayed by Liam Neeson. Bradley Cooper (now well into Hollywood thanks to last summer’s Hangover fame) was a perfect Templeman “Faceman” Peck, and the acting of Sharlto Copley (Weird Alien/Australia movie from last summer) as Howling Mad-Dog Murdoch was spot-on to the role first reprised by Dwight Schultz. Many critics and bloggers wondered if anyone other than Mr. T could play the role of BA (BAD ASS) Baracus as well, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson nailed it. Of course the A-Team always had a hot chick around, and Jessica Biel plays the role of irrelevant hot-chick quite well.
The beginning of the film gives a brief re-write of how the team comes together and updates the team as Iraq-war Veterans. Flash-forward to present-day Baghdad and the team is approached with a top-secret mission to retrieve “stolen” plates that are replicas of US Currency. This set-up is similar to the TV show, where the team was accused of robbing a bank in Hanoi, with a General Morrison to prove their innocence. Morrison reappears as a General in the movie, giving the die-hard fans a compelling story-line based on the original show.
Generally special effects and stunts are not my thing, however, there are some really cool scenes and “awesome” special effects. In fact, after splitting a large pop with Ben, I still sat through the entire movie.
A note to band geeks everywhere--I was extremely happy to see, actually hear, the original A-Team theme song written by Mark Post was used in the movie. It is one of my favorite songs to hum!
This movie is so good it definitely is a candidate to EGOT during the 2010 award season, or, at least the Emmy Award and an Oscar.
I am 32 almost 33 and this puts me in the age group that spent early parts of my childhood watching the Mr. T and the A-Team. I am pretty sure that the 20th Century Fox had the 28 to 40 age group in mind when deciding to do a live movie version of everyone’s fugitive team for hire. Best of all my wife also falls into this age group and was likewise eager to take advantage then 80s nostalgia fest. Couple this with the near blind rage I have been harboring for sheer audacity of anyone deciding to remake the Karate Kid, and you will pretty much guarantee my attendance for this movie. But did A-Team come off cool and interesting like 2006’s Miami Vice or overly produced and lame like Transformers 2?
The A-Team begins at a very novel place, the beginning. Colonel Hannibal Smith, played by the always cool Liam Neeson, is bringing down a corrupt Mexican Official while at the same time bailing Templeton Peck, aka Face, played by Bradley Cooper, out of trouble. On his way to rescue Face, Hannibal car-jacks car thief and ex-army ranger, Bosco Barracus, aka BA, played by UFC star Quinton Rampage Jackson. BA, knowing the legend of Hannibal agrees to help a fellow army ranger and rescue Face. Upon rescuing Face, Hannibal, BA, and Face all need to get out of town before the Mexican authorities catch up with them and what better way to do this then to spring everyone’s favorite schizophrenic army ranger helicopter pilot, Howling Mad Murdoch, from a Mexican mental hospital. Having worked so well together to escape from Mexico, Hannibal keeps this team together to form the A-Team. The Army uses the A-Team for special missions in Iraq because they are always successful. All is well until the A-Team is solicited for one last mission by the CIA to retrieve counterfeit money plates that are set to be smuggled out of Baghdad. Employing a perfect plan by Hannibal, The A-Team retrieves the plates, however at the last moment the plates are switched, military officials are killed and the A-Team is framed and convicted for the crime. But do you really think the Hannibal, Face, BA, and Murdoch are really going to sit around and rot in jail? So is this remake worth finding for help?
The secret to a good remake is to take the concept seriously and not dumb down the premise for your audience and A-Team does this beautifully. This movie is exciting, well paced, and a lot of fun while not becoming unbelievable or goofy. The movie is perfectly cast: Bradlley Cooper looks and acts like a Face; Liam Neeson is cunning but not a con artist; Sharlto Copley, last year’s break out star from District 9, is crazy but not insane; and even Quinton Jackson, while obvious not a Shakespearian actor, handles his new acting duties very well. The action comes at you and plot keeps moving. More importantly, if you are going to pay $10 to go to theatre you want to be entertained and this movie does just that. Is this Schindler’s List, no, but its not Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle either.
Overall I will give this movie a Great but not Oscar Worthy and four and quarter bullet holes in the side of building out of five. A remake of Karate Kid with Will Smith’s son, seriously, Pat Morita must be rolling over in his “Arnold-from –Happy-Days-grave.”
Elisa’s “A-Team” Review
After 10 years of production, 11 screen-plays, re-writes, two directors and rumors of Hollywood Stars such as Bruce Willis (Hannibal Smith), Woody Harrelson (Murdoch) and Ice Cube (BA Baracus), somehow a plan did come together and a GREAT movie was made.
There is nothing I did not LOVE about the TV show, and there was nothing I did not LOVE about this movie. The casting was perfect. Every nuance of Hannibal Smith’s cigar smoking, cocky-but-love-him demeanor was perfectly portrayed by Liam Neeson. Bradley Cooper (now well into Hollywood thanks to last summer’s Hangover fame) was a perfect Templeman “Faceman” Peck, and the acting of Sharlto Copley (Weird Alien/Australia movie from last summer) as Howling Mad-Dog Murdoch was spot-on to the role first reprised by Dwight Schultz. Many critics and bloggers wondered if anyone other than Mr. T could play the role of BA (BAD ASS) Baracus as well, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson nailed it. Of course the A-Team always had a hot chick around, and Jessica Biel plays the role of irrelevant hot-chick quite well.
The beginning of the film gives a brief re-write of how the team comes together and updates the team as Iraq-war Veterans. Flash-forward to present-day Baghdad and the team is approached with a top-secret mission to retrieve “stolen” plates that are replicas of US Currency. This set-up is similar to the TV show, where the team was accused of robbing a bank in Hanoi, with a General Morrison to prove their innocence. Morrison reappears as a General in the movie, giving the die-hard fans a compelling story-line based on the original show.
Generally special effects and stunts are not my thing, however, there are some really cool scenes and “awesome” special effects. In fact, after splitting a large pop with Ben, I still sat through the entire movie.
A note to band geeks everywhere--I was extremely happy to see, actually hear, the original A-Team theme song written by Mark Post was used in the movie. It is one of my favorite songs to hum!
This movie is so good it definitely is a candidate to EGOT during the 2010 award season, or, at least the Emmy Award and an Oscar.
"Get Him to The Greek"
Ben’s review of Get Him to the Greek
From the same producer, director, and writer of Forgetting Sarah Marshall we now have Get Him to the Greek. Get Him to the Greek is suppose to be a pseudo sequel to Marshall in that it involves rock star Aldous Snow, once again brilliantly played by Russell, Brand and an aspiring music exec Aaron Green, played by Jonah Hill. The plot is centered on the current problem with the music industry in that it has become very hard to sell records and find new artists. The head of the record label where Aaron works, Sergio, played by Sean “Puffy Daddy, P-Diddy, Doo Doo Ditty, Shama-Lama-Ding-Dong” Combs, wants his group of execs to find a way to make money for his label. The execs make several pitches (an especially funny sale is from Nick Kroll who claims to have the Mexican Jonas Brothers which leads to Sergio yelling at Nick about his last find Chocolate Daddy). After dismissing all of these ideas Aaron brings up the possibility of having a reunion show for Aldous Snow at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. After initially dismissing this idea, Sergio agrees and gives Aaron his big break to go find Aldous in London and bring him back for the show which is scheduled for three days later.
Reeling from a break up with his Doctor in Residency girlfriend, played by Elizabeth Moss, Aaron dutifully goes to find Aldous and escort him to the show. Aldous is in the midst of his own career crisis with the failure of his concept album, African Child, and is dealing with the divorce from his wife, played very well by Rose Byrne. Predictably, Aaron has no idea what he has got himself into and has to deal with all of the rock star antics of Aldous including not leaving London on time, drinking anything and everything, drugs, and sex with several different people. Despite being overmatched by the hard partying Aldous, Aaron dutifully does everything he can get Aldous to the show. Will Aaron get him to the show and is it worth the wait?
This movie violates two of Ben’s rules about good story telling: 1) the movie needs to consistent; and 2) you need to be able to identify and root for one of the characters. The premise sounds hilarious and there were certainly some very amusing parts and surprising performances, including a shockingly hilarious Sean Combs. However, despite all the funny moments and some stand out acting, Get Him to the Greek is very disjointed. Jonah Hill and Russell Brand seem to work well together but the direction and the script constantly have them oscillating between funny, absurd, and downright depressing. Aldous’ character is revealed to have some very dark issues regarding drug use and the relationship with his parents. Throw in a disturbing three way scene, and Get Him to Greek is all over the place. The other troublesome aspect is, while Jonah Hill was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I do not think he is playing the same character.
This movie is missing the heart and creativity that made Forgetting Sarah Marshall great. It is okay, not good. I would give it 2.25 bags of heroine out of 5.
Elisa’s Review of “Get Him To The Greek”
“Get Him to the Greek” centers around a washed-up rock star, Aldous Snow’s “can-he-do-it-come-back”. Reprising the role of Aldous Snow, he first made iconic in the break-up film, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is Russel Brandt.
Greek is a FSM reunion of sorts, as Jonas Hill is cast as Aaron Green, the straight-man to Brandt wild, rocker character.
We learn, Green is living a hum-drum, quiet life in Los Angeles. His girlfriend is a medical resident, working the night-shift. Instead of rocker shows, and clubs, her idea of a night-in consist of catching up on “Gossip Girl” and take-out. A fate, even I would not subject any man too.
Hill’s character has the LA dream job: working for a record company in the modern times of “hit-singles” and “downloadable appeal.” His boss, played by Mr. Sean-John himself, Puff –Daddy (I graduated high school in 1996, he will always be Puffy to me) has some of the funniest moments in the movie. Searching for a new one-hit wonder, Green suggest an anniversary concert of Aldous Snow’s unforgettable concert at The Greek Theater in LA.
Clearly bored out of his mind with the Doogie Howser lifestyle, Hill’s character is ecstatic to fly to London to not only meet his idol Aldous Snow, but travel with him to New York to promote the concert at The Greek, and then to LA for the show.
While the set-up seems plausible, the wild antics leading to the “will they get to The Greek” fall way short. Yes, there are wild parties in no less than four major metropolitan cities: London, New York, Las Vegas and Las Angeles. Yes, there are stripers, drugs, alcohol, gratuitous amounts of sex, to include a scene with a gigantic dildo, there is nothing clever, or really even funny that happens on the way to “The Greek.”
Instead, the movie takes a very dark turn looking at the personal relationships and family of Aldous Snow. He finds himself to be miserable, and in the most bizarre scene of the film, decides to exercise the phrase, “misery loves company” which the writers of this film interpreted as an awkward threesome.
Jason Segel who stared in, and wrote “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” developed the character of Aldous Snow, was not credited as a writer in “Greek.” FSM was everything “Greek” was not: clever, funny, and gave us someone to cheer on. I hope he learned his lesson, and will not hand-over creative freedom to someone else to destroy his well-developed characters in the future. Will I watch Greek when it airs completely edited with commercials on TBS---I doubt it. I will be running through last season’s “Gossip Girl.”
From the same producer, director, and writer of Forgetting Sarah Marshall we now have Get Him to the Greek. Get Him to the Greek is suppose to be a pseudo sequel to Marshall in that it involves rock star Aldous Snow, once again brilliantly played by Russell, Brand and an aspiring music exec Aaron Green, played by Jonah Hill. The plot is centered on the current problem with the music industry in that it has become very hard to sell records and find new artists. The head of the record label where Aaron works, Sergio, played by Sean “Puffy Daddy, P-Diddy, Doo Doo Ditty, Shama-Lama-Ding-Dong” Combs, wants his group of execs to find a way to make money for his label. The execs make several pitches (an especially funny sale is from Nick Kroll who claims to have the Mexican Jonas Brothers which leads to Sergio yelling at Nick about his last find Chocolate Daddy). After dismissing all of these ideas Aaron brings up the possibility of having a reunion show for Aldous Snow at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. After initially dismissing this idea, Sergio agrees and gives Aaron his big break to go find Aldous in London and bring him back for the show which is scheduled for three days later.
Reeling from a break up with his Doctor in Residency girlfriend, played by Elizabeth Moss, Aaron dutifully goes to find Aldous and escort him to the show. Aldous is in the midst of his own career crisis with the failure of his concept album, African Child, and is dealing with the divorce from his wife, played very well by Rose Byrne. Predictably, Aaron has no idea what he has got himself into and has to deal with all of the rock star antics of Aldous including not leaving London on time, drinking anything and everything, drugs, and sex with several different people. Despite being overmatched by the hard partying Aldous, Aaron dutifully does everything he can get Aldous to the show. Will Aaron get him to the show and is it worth the wait?
This movie violates two of Ben’s rules about good story telling: 1) the movie needs to consistent; and 2) you need to be able to identify and root for one of the characters. The premise sounds hilarious and there were certainly some very amusing parts and surprising performances, including a shockingly hilarious Sean Combs. However, despite all the funny moments and some stand out acting, Get Him to the Greek is very disjointed. Jonah Hill and Russell Brand seem to work well together but the direction and the script constantly have them oscillating between funny, absurd, and downright depressing. Aldous’ character is revealed to have some very dark issues regarding drug use and the relationship with his parents. Throw in a disturbing three way scene, and Get Him to Greek is all over the place. The other troublesome aspect is, while Jonah Hill was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I do not think he is playing the same character.
This movie is missing the heart and creativity that made Forgetting Sarah Marshall great. It is okay, not good. I would give it 2.25 bags of heroine out of 5.
Elisa’s Review of “Get Him To The Greek”
“Get Him to the Greek” centers around a washed-up rock star, Aldous Snow’s “can-he-do-it-come-back”. Reprising the role of Aldous Snow, he first made iconic in the break-up film, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is Russel Brandt.
Greek is a FSM reunion of sorts, as Jonas Hill is cast as Aaron Green, the straight-man to Brandt wild, rocker character.
We learn, Green is living a hum-drum, quiet life in Los Angeles. His girlfriend is a medical resident, working the night-shift. Instead of rocker shows, and clubs, her idea of a night-in consist of catching up on “Gossip Girl” and take-out. A fate, even I would not subject any man too.
Hill’s character has the LA dream job: working for a record company in the modern times of “hit-singles” and “downloadable appeal.” His boss, played by Mr. Sean-John himself, Puff –Daddy (I graduated high school in 1996, he will always be Puffy to me) has some of the funniest moments in the movie. Searching for a new one-hit wonder, Green suggest an anniversary concert of Aldous Snow’s unforgettable concert at The Greek Theater in LA.
Clearly bored out of his mind with the Doogie Howser lifestyle, Hill’s character is ecstatic to fly to London to not only meet his idol Aldous Snow, but travel with him to New York to promote the concert at The Greek, and then to LA for the show.
While the set-up seems plausible, the wild antics leading to the “will they get to The Greek” fall way short. Yes, there are wild parties in no less than four major metropolitan cities: London, New York, Las Vegas and Las Angeles. Yes, there are stripers, drugs, alcohol, gratuitous amounts of sex, to include a scene with a gigantic dildo, there is nothing clever, or really even funny that happens on the way to “The Greek.”
Instead, the movie takes a very dark turn looking at the personal relationships and family of Aldous Snow. He finds himself to be miserable, and in the most bizarre scene of the film, decides to exercise the phrase, “misery loves company” which the writers of this film interpreted as an awkward threesome.
Jason Segel who stared in, and wrote “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” developed the character of Aldous Snow, was not credited as a writer in “Greek.” FSM was everything “Greek” was not: clever, funny, and gave us someone to cheer on. I hope he learned his lesson, and will not hand-over creative freedom to someone else to destroy his well-developed characters in the future. Will I watch Greek when it airs completely edited with commercials on TBS---I doubt it. I will be running through last season’s “Gossip Girl.”
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Iron Man 2
Ben’s Review of Iron Man 2
Starting the summer big movie blockbuster season, we have Iron Man 2. This is the highly anticipated follow up to the very cool and fun Iron Man. Rejoining Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is his personal assistance and now vice president of the company Pepper Pots, once again played by Gweneth Paltrow, SHIELD leader Nick Furry, reprised by Samuel L. Jackson, and his chauffer once again played by Jon Favreau, who also retains directorial duties. Joining the cast are Mickey Rourke as a scary Russian physicist, Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, industry rival to Tony Stark, Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, and Tony Stark’s new assistant and maybe more, Scarlett Johansen. Additionally, Tony’s friend and foil Rhody, is played now by John Cheadle, substituting for Terrence Howard who felt this type of movie is now beneath him. As you can already see, there are a lot of new faces to deal with in this installment of Iron Man.
This edition of Iron Man finds Tony Stark fully embracing his Iron Man alter ego and dealing with the notoriety and demands of this life style. Tony has also realized that that the high tech pacemaker that is keeping the metal out of his heart is slowly poisoning him. Tony’s notoriety has also gained him notice from Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, who is bent on destroying Tony Stark and avenging his father, a one time colleague of Tony’s father Howard Stark until he is deported by the elder Stark back to Russia. Additionally, a wannabe Tony Stark, Justin Hammer, enters the picture and tries to desperately to upstage Stark at every opportunity. The story picks up steam when Ivan Vanko decides to try and kill Stark during the Monaco Grand Prix but is subdued by Stark long enough for Vanko to be detained. Seeing his opportunity to get a leg up on Stark, Justin Hammer springs Vanko out of jail and makes a deal with him to produce military style suits that are just as good as Iron Man. But just like all deals with the devil, Vanko cannot be trusted and instead of building these suits, he resumes his quest to destroy Tony Stark. Meanwhile Stark, realizing his own mortality, has become self destructive. Rhody tries to stop him but to no avail. Nick Furry comes out of nowhere to counsel Stark and offer assistance in the form of his new assistance Black Widow. What will become of Stark? Can he cheat death and stop Vanko? When is the Avengers movie coming out?
Well unfortunately Iron Man 2 falls into the same trap that previous sequels such as the Matrix and Pirates of the Carribean stepped into which is it overloads the second movie in anticipation of a third. Here there is a very promising premise with Mickey Rourke’s character in which he appears to be a very calculated and scary villain. Additionally, Sam Rockwell is introduced as a conniving and weasely competitor who appears to cause problems for Tony Stark. However, these characters are never allowed to fully develop and the script does not allow for these Actors to shine. Mickey Rourke is his generation’s Marlin Brando and while this is supposed to be a big summer movie, Rourke character does not get nearly the time and attention that he should have to make him a truly scary villain. Sam Rockwell, who was brilliant in last year’s Moon, is not given much a script to work with and also fails to fully develop his villain status. Scarlett Johansen is crammed in as Stark’s mysterious assistant who ends up playing a larger role toward to end of the movie, but again, she is not given nearly enough of an opportunity to showcase her ability or talent. This movie ends up being nothing more than a prelude for next year’s Thor movie and 2012’s Avengers flick. With a cast of this much star power, which includes 6 Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner, there needed to be much more of a script to work with. There are plenty of explosions but not enough plot development to make this movie work along the same lines as other superhero sequels such as Spiderman 2 and the Dark Knight. These two sequels focused on the story line and the characters and did not focus on providing desperate attempts lure an audience back for another movie later and, strangely enough, both those movies left the audience wanting more.
I give Iron Man 2 two Hammers of Thor out of 5. Maybe Terrence Howard knew something we didn’t.
Elisa's Review
All right ladies, if you have a husband or a boyfriend who wants to see this movie, just go—the movie is not that bad. Iron Man is a “comic book” character, with his own a series. Think “Superman.” If you are unfamiliar with “Superman” comic books are those cartoon-filled books that teachers would take away from boys during class in the third grade. Your husband/boyfriend/whatever will like the movie because it is about a comic-book character. It will remind him of all aspects of the third grade: recess, dodge ball, brown-bag lunch made by their mom, and of course, the previously mentioned comic books. Mostly, as the husband/boyfriend watches the movie, he will not think about: mowing the lawn, painting the bathroom, or taking out the garbage and this will make him happy. Also, as the title of the movie declares, this is a sequel, so your husband/boyfriend has watched the first movie and probably liked it. Moreover, he has been thinking about the sequel ever since.
Reveling in his own fame, fortune and having “successfully privatized world peace” Tony Stark (Iron Man without his costume, played by gorgeous Robert Downey, Jr.) takes his narcissism for a world tour. Side-kicks Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jon Favreau’s character join Stark for a glamorous car race in Monaco when Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) arrives to cause Iron Man angst. The United States government is badgering Stark to hand over the “Iron Man Weapon” and Stark’s artificial/Iron heart batteries are failing. Don Cheadle plays Stark’s best friend, Rhodey; A military man torn between service to his country and friendship to Stark. Rhodey finds middle ground in turning over an Iron Man suit to the military to dissect and then joins his friend Stark to take-down Whiplash.
As a stand-alone film, "Iron Man 2" just does not hold its own. The original established how Iron Man came to be and created a likeable character. "Iron Man 2" is the movie that will hold the “trilogy sandwich” together, clearly, a Iron Man Tres is in the works, just stay and watch ALL the credits to see for yourself.
If you have any desire to see Iron Man 2, then the theater experience is a must. The special effects are “really cool” and the movie is actually beautiful—the colors are sharp, bright and everything looks like wet paint.
Starting the summer big movie blockbuster season, we have Iron Man 2. This is the highly anticipated follow up to the very cool and fun Iron Man. Rejoining Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is his personal assistance and now vice president of the company Pepper Pots, once again played by Gweneth Paltrow, SHIELD leader Nick Furry, reprised by Samuel L. Jackson, and his chauffer once again played by Jon Favreau, who also retains directorial duties. Joining the cast are Mickey Rourke as a scary Russian physicist, Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, industry rival to Tony Stark, Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, and Tony Stark’s new assistant and maybe more, Scarlett Johansen. Additionally, Tony’s friend and foil Rhody, is played now by John Cheadle, substituting for Terrence Howard who felt this type of movie is now beneath him. As you can already see, there are a lot of new faces to deal with in this installment of Iron Man.
This edition of Iron Man finds Tony Stark fully embracing his Iron Man alter ego and dealing with the notoriety and demands of this life style. Tony has also realized that that the high tech pacemaker that is keeping the metal out of his heart is slowly poisoning him. Tony’s notoriety has also gained him notice from Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, who is bent on destroying Tony Stark and avenging his father, a one time colleague of Tony’s father Howard Stark until he is deported by the elder Stark back to Russia. Additionally, a wannabe Tony Stark, Justin Hammer, enters the picture and tries to desperately to upstage Stark at every opportunity. The story picks up steam when Ivan Vanko decides to try and kill Stark during the Monaco Grand Prix but is subdued by Stark long enough for Vanko to be detained. Seeing his opportunity to get a leg up on Stark, Justin Hammer springs Vanko out of jail and makes a deal with him to produce military style suits that are just as good as Iron Man. But just like all deals with the devil, Vanko cannot be trusted and instead of building these suits, he resumes his quest to destroy Tony Stark. Meanwhile Stark, realizing his own mortality, has become self destructive. Rhody tries to stop him but to no avail. Nick Furry comes out of nowhere to counsel Stark and offer assistance in the form of his new assistance Black Widow. What will become of Stark? Can he cheat death and stop Vanko? When is the Avengers movie coming out?
Well unfortunately Iron Man 2 falls into the same trap that previous sequels such as the Matrix and Pirates of the Carribean stepped into which is it overloads the second movie in anticipation of a third. Here there is a very promising premise with Mickey Rourke’s character in which he appears to be a very calculated and scary villain. Additionally, Sam Rockwell is introduced as a conniving and weasely competitor who appears to cause problems for Tony Stark. However, these characters are never allowed to fully develop and the script does not allow for these Actors to shine. Mickey Rourke is his generation’s Marlin Brando and while this is supposed to be a big summer movie, Rourke character does not get nearly the time and attention that he should have to make him a truly scary villain. Sam Rockwell, who was brilliant in last year’s Moon, is not given much a script to work with and also fails to fully develop his villain status. Scarlett Johansen is crammed in as Stark’s mysterious assistant who ends up playing a larger role toward to end of the movie, but again, she is not given nearly enough of an opportunity to showcase her ability or talent. This movie ends up being nothing more than a prelude for next year’s Thor movie and 2012’s Avengers flick. With a cast of this much star power, which includes 6 Oscar nominees and one Oscar winner, there needed to be much more of a script to work with. There are plenty of explosions but not enough plot development to make this movie work along the same lines as other superhero sequels such as Spiderman 2 and the Dark Knight. These two sequels focused on the story line and the characters and did not focus on providing desperate attempts lure an audience back for another movie later and, strangely enough, both those movies left the audience wanting more.
I give Iron Man 2 two Hammers of Thor out of 5. Maybe Terrence Howard knew something we didn’t.
Elisa's Review
All right ladies, if you have a husband or a boyfriend who wants to see this movie, just go—the movie is not that bad. Iron Man is a “comic book” character, with his own a series. Think “Superman.” If you are unfamiliar with “Superman” comic books are those cartoon-filled books that teachers would take away from boys during class in the third grade. Your husband/boyfriend/whatever will like the movie because it is about a comic-book character. It will remind him of all aspects of the third grade: recess, dodge ball, brown-bag lunch made by their mom, and of course, the previously mentioned comic books. Mostly, as the husband/boyfriend watches the movie, he will not think about: mowing the lawn, painting the bathroom, or taking out the garbage and this will make him happy. Also, as the title of the movie declares, this is a sequel, so your husband/boyfriend has watched the first movie and probably liked it. Moreover, he has been thinking about the sequel ever since.
Reveling in his own fame, fortune and having “successfully privatized world peace” Tony Stark (Iron Man without his costume, played by gorgeous Robert Downey, Jr.) takes his narcissism for a world tour. Side-kicks Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jon Favreau’s character join Stark for a glamorous car race in Monaco when Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) arrives to cause Iron Man angst. The United States government is badgering Stark to hand over the “Iron Man Weapon” and Stark’s artificial/Iron heart batteries are failing. Don Cheadle plays Stark’s best friend, Rhodey; A military man torn between service to his country and friendship to Stark. Rhodey finds middle ground in turning over an Iron Man suit to the military to dissect and then joins his friend Stark to take-down Whiplash.
As a stand-alone film, "Iron Man 2" just does not hold its own. The original established how Iron Man came to be and created a likeable character. "Iron Man 2" is the movie that will hold the “trilogy sandwich” together, clearly, a Iron Man Tres is in the works, just stay and watch ALL the credits to see for yourself.
If you have any desire to see Iron Man 2, then the theater experience is a must. The special effects are “really cool” and the movie is actually beautiful—the colors are sharp, bright and everything looks like wet paint.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cop Out
Ben's Review of Cop Out
Normally, trying to get my wife to see a cop buddy flick is very difficult because there almost nothing resembling a love story or a montage of girls coming of age during the 1940s. However, my wife is something of an anomaly because she loves Kevin Smith. This is one of those things that I do not question and just go with. So when it turned out Kevin Smith was directing and editing a cop buddy flick starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan I was in and, more importantly, so was my wife. Unfortunately, most likely because I have not gone to Church in nearly 15 years, this was not one of Kevin Smith’s best efforts.
The story finds Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as long time partners on the NYPD. Predictably a sting operation goes wrong and even though Bruce and Tracy did everything they could to save this operation, they are inevitably suspended for their loose cannon antics. Of course , even a suspension from the NYPD does not keep these two from fighting crime on their own and…… Okay, let’s stop right here!
Kevin Smith really upsets me sometimes! How long can someone’s back story carry him before he finally gets it right consistently? I love Clerks, basically because here is a guy who was a convenience store clerk who writes, produces, and directs a movie, using his friends as the cast, to make a black and white movie about convenience store clerks. It was great because the acting was bad, the lighting was bad, the editing was bad, but the story and the characters were hilarious. Unfortunately, this is where Kevin Smith became very uneven. His next effort, Mall Rats, was more overly produced than a Cher album, and the dialogue was really really really wordy. The next effort, Chasing Amy, almost made me write off poor Kevin altogether, again because it was too wordy and looking back on it now, kind of dumb. Strangely enough though, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back were pretty good. It seemed that Kevin could stop being wordy and really obtained a sense of comedic timing. Then there was Jersey Girl and out of respect to George Carlin I will not discuss this movie here. However, again in a Pheonix out of the ashes move, Kevin Smith came out with Clerks II which was surprisingly well written, funny, and actually touching in parts. Zach and Mira Make a Porno was also not bad and entertaining.
So following the Kevin Smith pattern we have Copout which I think was suppose to be a play on the cliché of cop buddy movies. The problem with this movie is that it goes back and forth on funny and serious and in a strange turn of events this script did not have enough words or direction or editing or production. I think Kevin can do better and for his sake I hope he does soon.
As an extra, here is my top ten list, in no particular order, of the cop/racially diverse buddy movies that are better than Cop Out:
1. Forty Eight Hours
2. Beverly Hills Cop
3. The Last Boy Scout
4. Die Hard
5. Beverly Hills Cop 2
6. Die Hard with a Vengeance
7. Running Scared (the Billy Crystal Gregory Hines one not the Paul Walker Guido flick)
8. Red Heat
9. Live Free or Die Hard
10. Heat
Elisa's Review of Cop Out
I am going to come clean and admit to a lot of things for this review. Many things that most people who know me, do not know at all, including, my husband. I guess I should start with my previous obsession with Kevin Smith. It coincided with my Dave Mathews obsession. For YEARS, on a daily basis I logged onto www.viewaskewnews.com. At that time, it was the go-to for all the most current info on the View Askew Universe (Smith's production Company) and Kevin Smith news. Kevin Smith would "journal" daily from movie sets, update on projects, castings, script re-writing and events, in a pre-twitter, blogging, facebook world. There were links to fan clubs and the like. You cold buy booble-head Jesus from "Dogma" and autographed hockey sticks from "Chasing Amy." My favorite feature was a
trivia game called "27" (reference from "Clerks") that asked a series of Kevin Smith trivia questions, quotes from his movies. I had the highest score for the month of July 2001. I was obsessed. That same Summer, I went to see "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" at the movie theater on opening night, by myself. I couldn't convince my cute, well-dressed girlfriends to see this trashy movie with me, and I was single. *SIGH*
So, as all things come and go, I eventually scaled back the daily dose of Kevin Smith and continued to evolve in life. A part of my heart forever belonging to Mall Rats and Kevin Smith for making it, I continued to stay updated and the viewaskew universe. That led to the viewing of "Cop Out" with Ben.
The Trailer didn't look so bad...A Kevin Smith movie staring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. I thought, it would have to be funny, clever, witty and make me laugh. It didn't. The movie was so bad, I didn't even get irritated at the old guys talking the entire time during the movie.
I should be more fair, it wasn't THE WORST movie I have ever watched, and I probably would watch it again on HBO, maybe. The usually parade of Kevin Smith friends were no where to be found, but for Jason Lee who was completely wrong for the role of the rich, evil step-father. Jason Lee is "Brody Man" or "Earl" but definetely not a guy that can marry Bruce Willis' ex-wife. Even in a movie.
So, all that being said, Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis and long-time partners of the NYPD who get put on "unpaid administrative leave" after a disasterous sting that lead to Tracy Morgan chasing down a drug dealer while wearing what I can only describe as a "foam" cell-phone mascot costume. Looking for a way to pay for his daughter's wedding that is happenig in three weeks, Bruce Willis' character decides to sell a very valuable baseball card. I have to argue this plot point, in reality, in New York, deposits would have been due long before day-of-wedding. Back to the story, the baseball card is stolen at the Comic Book store by Sean William Scott's character. Eventually, a gang-bangeresque drug lord obsessed with sports memorabilia gets the baseball card and Willis and Morgan must enter into a deal with the gangster to get it back. Botta-bing-botta-boom.
Where is the Kevin Smith of my youth? Where are the fantastic one-liners and set-ups? "You had sex with the dead guy in the bathroom?" Clerks. "I was going to propose, as Jaws popped out of the water." Mall Rats. FINGERCUFFS? SNOWBALLING? He opened my naive, young mind to so many possibilities. I blame the heroism of Brody played by "professional" skateboarder Jason Lee in "Mall Rats" for a poor relationship that I stayed in waaay to long.
Could it be that I have grown up and Kevin Smith has not?
His attempts at grown-up reality humor in "Jersey Girl",included one of two known on-screen relationship pairings of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The other was "Gigli." "Clerks 2" was just odd. It didn't feel right, although we did learn about "ass to mouth" and included a Donkey Show. I liked "Dogma." The concept was original and hilarious. His good movies are like a great reunion of his characters, mixed and matched for a new role.
Really, much about Kevin Smith's work just doesn't feel right anymore, kind of like having a teacher from high school tell you that you can call them by their first name now. Weird.
So, in the tradition of lists, here is my ranking of Kevin Smith movies:
1. Mall Rats
2. Chasing Amy
3. Clerks
4. Dogma
5. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Also, I think it should be mentioned, that David Pirner (lead singer from 90's rock/grunge band Soul Asylum) has been the music producer for most of Smith's films. The Soundtracks are creative collections and every other track is dialogue.
Normally, trying to get my wife to see a cop buddy flick is very difficult because there almost nothing resembling a love story or a montage of girls coming of age during the 1940s. However, my wife is something of an anomaly because she loves Kevin Smith. This is one of those things that I do not question and just go with. So when it turned out Kevin Smith was directing and editing a cop buddy flick starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan I was in and, more importantly, so was my wife. Unfortunately, most likely because I have not gone to Church in nearly 15 years, this was not one of Kevin Smith’s best efforts.
The story finds Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as long time partners on the NYPD. Predictably a sting operation goes wrong and even though Bruce and Tracy did everything they could to save this operation, they are inevitably suspended for their loose cannon antics. Of course , even a suspension from the NYPD does not keep these two from fighting crime on their own and…… Okay, let’s stop right here!
Kevin Smith really upsets me sometimes! How long can someone’s back story carry him before he finally gets it right consistently? I love Clerks, basically because here is a guy who was a convenience store clerk who writes, produces, and directs a movie, using his friends as the cast, to make a black and white movie about convenience store clerks. It was great because the acting was bad, the lighting was bad, the editing was bad, but the story and the characters were hilarious. Unfortunately, this is where Kevin Smith became very uneven. His next effort, Mall Rats, was more overly produced than a Cher album, and the dialogue was really really really wordy. The next effort, Chasing Amy, almost made me write off poor Kevin altogether, again because it was too wordy and looking back on it now, kind of dumb. Strangely enough though, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back were pretty good. It seemed that Kevin could stop being wordy and really obtained a sense of comedic timing. Then there was Jersey Girl and out of respect to George Carlin I will not discuss this movie here. However, again in a Pheonix out of the ashes move, Kevin Smith came out with Clerks II which was surprisingly well written, funny, and actually touching in parts. Zach and Mira Make a Porno was also not bad and entertaining.
So following the Kevin Smith pattern we have Copout which I think was suppose to be a play on the cliché of cop buddy movies. The problem with this movie is that it goes back and forth on funny and serious and in a strange turn of events this script did not have enough words or direction or editing or production. I think Kevin can do better and for his sake I hope he does soon.
As an extra, here is my top ten list, in no particular order, of the cop/racially diverse buddy movies that are better than Cop Out:
1. Forty Eight Hours
2. Beverly Hills Cop
3. The Last Boy Scout
4. Die Hard
5. Beverly Hills Cop 2
6. Die Hard with a Vengeance
7. Running Scared (the Billy Crystal Gregory Hines one not the Paul Walker Guido flick)
8. Red Heat
9. Live Free or Die Hard
10. Heat
Elisa's Review of Cop Out
I am going to come clean and admit to a lot of things for this review. Many things that most people who know me, do not know at all, including, my husband. I guess I should start with my previous obsession with Kevin Smith. It coincided with my Dave Mathews obsession. For YEARS, on a daily basis I logged onto www.viewaskewnews.com. At that time, it was the go-to for all the most current info on the View Askew Universe (Smith's production Company) and Kevin Smith news. Kevin Smith would "journal" daily from movie sets, update on projects, castings, script re-writing and events, in a pre-twitter, blogging, facebook world. There were links to fan clubs and the like. You cold buy booble-head Jesus from "Dogma" and autographed hockey sticks from "Chasing Amy." My favorite feature was a
trivia game called "27" (reference from "Clerks") that asked a series of Kevin Smith trivia questions, quotes from his movies. I had the highest score for the month of July 2001. I was obsessed. That same Summer, I went to see "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" at the movie theater on opening night, by myself. I couldn't convince my cute, well-dressed girlfriends to see this trashy movie with me, and I was single. *SIGH*
So, as all things come and go, I eventually scaled back the daily dose of Kevin Smith and continued to evolve in life. A part of my heart forever belonging to Mall Rats and Kevin Smith for making it, I continued to stay updated and the viewaskew universe. That led to the viewing of "Cop Out" with Ben.
The Trailer didn't look so bad...A Kevin Smith movie staring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. I thought, it would have to be funny, clever, witty and make me laugh. It didn't. The movie was so bad, I didn't even get irritated at the old guys talking the entire time during the movie.
I should be more fair, it wasn't THE WORST movie I have ever watched, and I probably would watch it again on HBO, maybe. The usually parade of Kevin Smith friends were no where to be found, but for Jason Lee who was completely wrong for the role of the rich, evil step-father. Jason Lee is "Brody Man" or "Earl" but definetely not a guy that can marry Bruce Willis' ex-wife. Even in a movie.
So, all that being said, Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis and long-time partners of the NYPD who get put on "unpaid administrative leave" after a disasterous sting that lead to Tracy Morgan chasing down a drug dealer while wearing what I can only describe as a "foam" cell-phone mascot costume. Looking for a way to pay for his daughter's wedding that is happenig in three weeks, Bruce Willis' character decides to sell a very valuable baseball card. I have to argue this plot point, in reality, in New York, deposits would have been due long before day-of-wedding. Back to the story, the baseball card is stolen at the Comic Book store by Sean William Scott's character. Eventually, a gang-bangeresque drug lord obsessed with sports memorabilia gets the baseball card and Willis and Morgan must enter into a deal with the gangster to get it back. Botta-bing-botta-boom.
Where is the Kevin Smith of my youth? Where are the fantastic one-liners and set-ups? "You had sex with the dead guy in the bathroom?" Clerks. "I was going to propose, as Jaws popped out of the water." Mall Rats. FINGERCUFFS? SNOWBALLING? He opened my naive, young mind to so many possibilities. I blame the heroism of Brody played by "professional" skateboarder Jason Lee in "Mall Rats" for a poor relationship that I stayed in waaay to long.
Could it be that I have grown up and Kevin Smith has not?
His attempts at grown-up reality humor in "Jersey Girl",included one of two known on-screen relationship pairings of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The other was "Gigli." "Clerks 2" was just odd. It didn't feel right, although we did learn about "ass to mouth" and included a Donkey Show. I liked "Dogma." The concept was original and hilarious. His good movies are like a great reunion of his characters, mixed and matched for a new role.
Really, much about Kevin Smith's work just doesn't feel right anymore, kind of like having a teacher from high school tell you that you can call them by their first name now. Weird.
So, in the tradition of lists, here is my ranking of Kevin Smith movies:
1. Mall Rats
2. Chasing Amy
3. Clerks
4. Dogma
5. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Also, I think it should be mentioned, that David Pirner (lead singer from 90's rock/grunge band Soul Asylum) has been the music producer for most of Smith's films. The Soundtracks are creative collections and every other track is dialogue.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Up In The Air
Elisa's Review of "Up in the Air."
I don't think this was a "his" or a "hers" movie-I think Ben and I both were interested in watching "Up in the Air" as the reviews were very generous, the hype was good, and of course-George Clooney is the star.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a veteran employee at a corporation that specializes in terminating employees. Clooney's character has spent years traveling to small business where one person is let go, to large corporations where 20-50 people are fired. The role keeps Clooney's character busy, and constantly "Up in the Air" as he flies from one city to another. He does not own a home, is estranged from his family, and is only in a committed relationship with airline and hospitality industry loyalty perks.
And, he gets all the perks--the really good ones: Airline Club Rooms, Vip check-in at airports and hotels, complimentary rental car upgrades, everything you desire when traveling. While waiting in a hotel club room, he meets Alex. The female version of himself, their turn-ons include a one-up-game of who has the better membership cards. They quickly meet at a nearby airport hotel, fool around, and then look up available run-in dates while underwear-clad and staring into their laptops.
Back at the main office, recent college graduate, Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick) has streamlined the "firing squad." Employee termination can now be done over the internet (thanks Skype), thus grounding Clooney and his frequent-flyer aspirations.
Faced with the idea of "being grounded" Clooney begins to pounder his nomad lifestyle and relationships. The role of Clooney as a gun-for-fire and the resulting emotions displayed by those employees are fitting for the current economic times. Unemployment stretches between 9.9-19 percent accross the United States, clearly the movie hits with these uncertain times. A big plot reveal almost seems predictable while it is unfolding--but I secretly hoped it would not come true. Just as Clooney has delivered life-changing news to people throughout his career, he faces the realization that life can be unfair to him as well.
"Up in the Air" is a well written story and well-made movie. This is not an "alls well that ends well" film, but a depiction of the true realities of life. I recommend the movie--if you don't see it in a theater, most definetely check it out on DVD. It may be husband proof and definetely, is a conversation piece after viewing.
Ben’s Review of Up in the Air
Hollywood is very big on make up calls, especially in situations where it completely ignores very good films in order to make up for another very good film it missed the previous year. Up in the Air is a very good case in point. Director Jason Reitman (son of director Ivan Reitman and, basedon my Superhero Ex Girlfriend, infinitely more talented) came on to the scene a few years ago with the very clever and well performed Thank You for Smoking. Reitman followed this up with Juno, which was not quite as good as Smoking but still very well done, thanks in large part to a stellar performance by Ellen Paige. So now with Hollywood kicking itself for not paying more attention to Thank You for Smoking and Juno, it is ready to give every major award to Reitman’s latest feature Up in the Air. And with this appearing to be a very off year for critically acclaimed movies, Up in the Air may very well sweep most of the Hollwood’s major awards.
So here is the question, does this movie live up to the hype? Well…… sort of. Just like movies such as Office Space and Wag the Dog, this movie is firmly rooted in current events and will probably come off as dated if you watch it in ten years, provided we survive 2012 or robots have not taken over. George Clooney plays a corporate grim reaper who is hired to lay off employees at other corporations. If you have seen the trailers for this movie you know that George is happy with the fact that his job requires him to travel almost constantly and not really develop any long lasting relationships with anyone, including his family. Along the way, George meets a woman who appears to have the same interests: acquiring wealth; corporate and airline perks, and no definite commitments. George and her have several hook ups based on availability in eachothers schedules. George appears to be happy with his situation until he is forced to take a new protégé with him on the road in an effort to show her that in person firing is much better than being canned online. Predictably, George begins to realize, based on his sisters upcoming wedding and his protégé’s own realizations, that there might be more to life that constantly traveling and firing people.
So where does this realization take him and is the trip worth it, again well…… sort of. I was not looking for a huge payoff in this movie, but it does give you the sense that it is going somewhere and then….. sort of…. .kinda….. almost….. does. George Clooney is quickly becoming his generation’s Jimmy Stewart. Not really a character actor(with the exception of 2000’s Oh Brother Whereartthou), but he does a very good job at playing himself and really what more do you want? The story is a bit labored and in love with itself. This movie is not bad but it certainly is not extraordinary. If you can, I would wait for this to come out on DVD.
Side note, it is time for Hollywood award shows to cowboy up and start looking at movies that fall outside of the box. Because of the lack of critically acclaimed dramas, this may be the year that something like Up from Pixar gets the nod, and rightfully so. Pixar’s movies are not only cool to watch but, with the exception of Finding Nemo, are very well written and Up definitely deserves recognition beyond best animated feature. Also, for overall movie quality and originality, Inglorius Basterds and maybe even District 9 should be given some consideration. Just sayin.
I don't think this was a "his" or a "hers" movie-I think Ben and I both were interested in watching "Up in the Air" as the reviews were very generous, the hype was good, and of course-George Clooney is the star.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a veteran employee at a corporation that specializes in terminating employees. Clooney's character has spent years traveling to small business where one person is let go, to large corporations where 20-50 people are fired. The role keeps Clooney's character busy, and constantly "Up in the Air" as he flies from one city to another. He does not own a home, is estranged from his family, and is only in a committed relationship with airline and hospitality industry loyalty perks.
And, he gets all the perks--the really good ones: Airline Club Rooms, Vip check-in at airports and hotels, complimentary rental car upgrades, everything you desire when traveling. While waiting in a hotel club room, he meets Alex. The female version of himself, their turn-ons include a one-up-game of who has the better membership cards. They quickly meet at a nearby airport hotel, fool around, and then look up available run-in dates while underwear-clad and staring into their laptops.
Back at the main office, recent college graduate, Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick) has streamlined the "firing squad." Employee termination can now be done over the internet (thanks Skype), thus grounding Clooney and his frequent-flyer aspirations.
Faced with the idea of "being grounded" Clooney begins to pounder his nomad lifestyle and relationships. The role of Clooney as a gun-for-fire and the resulting emotions displayed by those employees are fitting for the current economic times. Unemployment stretches between 9.9-19 percent accross the United States, clearly the movie hits with these uncertain times. A big plot reveal almost seems predictable while it is unfolding--but I secretly hoped it would not come true. Just as Clooney has delivered life-changing news to people throughout his career, he faces the realization that life can be unfair to him as well.
"Up in the Air" is a well written story and well-made movie. This is not an "alls well that ends well" film, but a depiction of the true realities of life. I recommend the movie--if you don't see it in a theater, most definetely check it out on DVD. It may be husband proof and definetely, is a conversation piece after viewing.
Ben’s Review of Up in the Air
Hollywood is very big on make up calls, especially in situations where it completely ignores very good films in order to make up for another very good film it missed the previous year. Up in the Air is a very good case in point. Director Jason Reitman (son of director Ivan Reitman and, basedon my Superhero Ex Girlfriend, infinitely more talented) came on to the scene a few years ago with the very clever and well performed Thank You for Smoking. Reitman followed this up with Juno, which was not quite as good as Smoking but still very well done, thanks in large part to a stellar performance by Ellen Paige. So now with Hollywood kicking itself for not paying more attention to Thank You for Smoking and Juno, it is ready to give every major award to Reitman’s latest feature Up in the Air. And with this appearing to be a very off year for critically acclaimed movies, Up in the Air may very well sweep most of the Hollwood’s major awards.
So here is the question, does this movie live up to the hype? Well…… sort of. Just like movies such as Office Space and Wag the Dog, this movie is firmly rooted in current events and will probably come off as dated if you watch it in ten years, provided we survive 2012 or robots have not taken over. George Clooney plays a corporate grim reaper who is hired to lay off employees at other corporations. If you have seen the trailers for this movie you know that George is happy with the fact that his job requires him to travel almost constantly and not really develop any long lasting relationships with anyone, including his family. Along the way, George meets a woman who appears to have the same interests: acquiring wealth; corporate and airline perks, and no definite commitments. George and her have several hook ups based on availability in eachothers schedules. George appears to be happy with his situation until he is forced to take a new protégé with him on the road in an effort to show her that in person firing is much better than being canned online. Predictably, George begins to realize, based on his sisters upcoming wedding and his protégé’s own realizations, that there might be more to life that constantly traveling and firing people.
So where does this realization take him and is the trip worth it, again well…… sort of. I was not looking for a huge payoff in this movie, but it does give you the sense that it is going somewhere and then….. sort of…. .kinda….. almost….. does. George Clooney is quickly becoming his generation’s Jimmy Stewart. Not really a character actor(with the exception of 2000’s Oh Brother Whereartthou), but he does a very good job at playing himself and really what more do you want? The story is a bit labored and in love with itself. This movie is not bad but it certainly is not extraordinary. If you can, I would wait for this to come out on DVD.
Side note, it is time for Hollywood award shows to cowboy up and start looking at movies that fall outside of the box. Because of the lack of critically acclaimed dramas, this may be the year that something like Up from Pixar gets the nod, and rightfully so. Pixar’s movies are not only cool to watch but, with the exception of Finding Nemo, are very well written and Up definitely deserves recognition beyond best animated feature. Also, for overall movie quality and originality, Inglorius Basterds and maybe even District 9 should be given some consideration. Just sayin.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
"Avatar" in 3D
Ben’s review of Avatar
After twelve years, James Cameron provides his newest feature length motion picture with Avatar. The first reservation that occurs with a movie such as Avatar is the amount of hype involved. There was a barrage of interviews, internet vignettes, product endorsements, and even a 60 Minutes piece all dedicated to celebrating Jim Cameron and his directing ability. Additionally, there has been quite a bit made about the new CGI and 3D technology being used and of course the usual statements such as “this is like nothing you have ever seen” made by the cast and crew of the movie. This kind of media blitz and self-aggrandizement usually leads to a let-down, ranging from medium (Wolverine) to colossal (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). So this is why I was beyond thrilled when Avatar not only lived up to the hype but went above and beyond.
Avatar falls into the same category as several 70mm movies such as Lawrence of Arabia or 2001: A Space Odyssey, in that it is a visual spectacle. This is truly a movie that needs to be seen in a theatre and it needs to be seen in 3D. The viewer honestly forgets that they are watching CGI created landscapes and individuals. The aliens in this movie actually look, talk, and act like living, breathing, thinking, talking creatures. And the 3D is cool. There are not labored attempts overwhelm the viewer with objects flying toward them or John Candy trying to serve you pancakes (search youtube for Dr. Tongues 3D House of Slave Chicks). The landscape and aerial fight scenes are perfectly suited for 3D and make the extra $3 a ticket worth it.
But visual spectacle aside, is there a story to accompany all of the eye candy? Yes, and while the plot is tad bit predictable, this story of a realization of the greater good is served up in a new and interesting package. Sam Worthington, who stole the spotlight from Christian Bale earlier this year in Terminator: Salvation, plays Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who is chosen for the Avatar program because of his DNA match to his recently deceased brother. The Avatar program clones alien DNA matches that with a human counter-part. The human then operates this clone through neuro-transmission process. Before you check out because of the sci-fi babble, there is coherent plot in the middle of all of this. Jake steps in for his brother because the military and the company funding the program, promised to fund an operation that can return Jake the use of his legs. The company is mining a unique ore that can be used in super conductors, however this ore can only be found on a planet inhabited by the aliens. The company and the marines need Jake to use his clone to convince the aliens to move out of their native area so this ore can be mined. Jake is able to befriend the aliens and soon realizes the flawed logic in moving these aliens out of their native habitat so a corporation can mine an ore. Yes you can make the Native American-rainforest analogy, however the story is fascinating and well presented. Moved along by the narration of its main character, Avatar runs almost 3 hours but you hardly notice because the pace of this movie is constant.
See this movie in an theatre and see it in 3D. You will be glad that you did.
Elisa's Review
My husband started talking about this movie weeks before I suffered through this cinematic nightmare. I felt tricked. How did I get talked into seeing another Sci-Fi movie? Especially, a Sci-Fi movie directed by "Titantic" James Cameron?
Many have people asked, if I liked the movie. And, I have an answer NO! The movie is a 3D combination of "Star Wars" meets "The Smurfs."
"Avatar" takes places on a fictional planet many light years into the future (Star Wars). The fictional planet, Pandora (NO creativity points for the name) is inhabited by natives, known as the Na'vi. Sidenote-during an HBO preview/behind the scenes special on "Avatar" it is revealed the Na'vi language spoken by the natives was "developed" by Cameron and some language specialist. Is this really necessary for a Sci-Fi film? Couldn't they just say they spoke a different language and magically understand what was being said through the magic of science-fiction?
The human race, pigs that were are, are mining a special ore found on Pandora. Due to some fancy science, and the evolution of cloning beyond Dolly the sheep, humans can transform into the Na'vi and are expected to assimilate into their culture--all for the ultimate goal of "conquer and destroy." Now,the really strange Sci-Fi part of this is, the humans stay in a device that looks like a cat-scan machine while their brains assimilate with a man-made Na'Vi body.
Did I mention the Na'vi are blue? (Smurfs) They live in the forests of Pandora (Smurfs), and have a great respect for nature (Smurfs.) It is discovered by the lead scientist played by Sigorney Weaver (what would a Sci-Fi movie be without her?) the Na'vi are somehow connected to the trees in the forest (again, Smurfs. Remember, The Great Oak?), and draw their strength and knowledge from the spirits living in the tree.
When it is revealed the humans want to destroy the planet for their own use and exploitation, the Na'vi try to fight back but are ultimately chased from their forest homes. At it's best, "Avatar" is a story of good vs. evil, cowboys vs. Indians, and Gargamel vs. Papa Smurf.
If you have to suffer through it because you watched too much HGTV or watched "The Devil Wears Prada" on DVD one too many times, at least pay to see it in 3D. The effects are somewhat interesting and make the experience a little novel.
After twelve years, James Cameron provides his newest feature length motion picture with Avatar. The first reservation that occurs with a movie such as Avatar is the amount of hype involved. There was a barrage of interviews, internet vignettes, product endorsements, and even a 60 Minutes piece all dedicated to celebrating Jim Cameron and his directing ability. Additionally, there has been quite a bit made about the new CGI and 3D technology being used and of course the usual statements such as “this is like nothing you have ever seen” made by the cast and crew of the movie. This kind of media blitz and self-aggrandizement usually leads to a let-down, ranging from medium (Wolverine) to colossal (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). So this is why I was beyond thrilled when Avatar not only lived up to the hype but went above and beyond.
Avatar falls into the same category as several 70mm movies such as Lawrence of Arabia or 2001: A Space Odyssey, in that it is a visual spectacle. This is truly a movie that needs to be seen in a theatre and it needs to be seen in 3D. The viewer honestly forgets that they are watching CGI created landscapes and individuals. The aliens in this movie actually look, talk, and act like living, breathing, thinking, talking creatures. And the 3D is cool. There are not labored attempts overwhelm the viewer with objects flying toward them or John Candy trying to serve you pancakes (search youtube for Dr. Tongues 3D House of Slave Chicks). The landscape and aerial fight scenes are perfectly suited for 3D and make the extra $3 a ticket worth it.
But visual spectacle aside, is there a story to accompany all of the eye candy? Yes, and while the plot is tad bit predictable, this story of a realization of the greater good is served up in a new and interesting package. Sam Worthington, who stole the spotlight from Christian Bale earlier this year in Terminator: Salvation, plays Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who is chosen for the Avatar program because of his DNA match to his recently deceased brother. The Avatar program clones alien DNA matches that with a human counter-part. The human then operates this clone through neuro-transmission process. Before you check out because of the sci-fi babble, there is coherent plot in the middle of all of this. Jake steps in for his brother because the military and the company funding the program, promised to fund an operation that can return Jake the use of his legs. The company is mining a unique ore that can be used in super conductors, however this ore can only be found on a planet inhabited by the aliens. The company and the marines need Jake to use his clone to convince the aliens to move out of their native area so this ore can be mined. Jake is able to befriend the aliens and soon realizes the flawed logic in moving these aliens out of their native habitat so a corporation can mine an ore. Yes you can make the Native American-rainforest analogy, however the story is fascinating and well presented. Moved along by the narration of its main character, Avatar runs almost 3 hours but you hardly notice because the pace of this movie is constant.
See this movie in an theatre and see it in 3D. You will be glad that you did.
Elisa's Review
My husband started talking about this movie weeks before I suffered through this cinematic nightmare. I felt tricked. How did I get talked into seeing another Sci-Fi movie? Especially, a Sci-Fi movie directed by "Titantic" James Cameron?
Many have people asked, if I liked the movie. And, I have an answer NO! The movie is a 3D combination of "Star Wars" meets "The Smurfs."
"Avatar" takes places on a fictional planet many light years into the future (Star Wars). The fictional planet, Pandora (NO creativity points for the name) is inhabited by natives, known as the Na'vi. Sidenote-during an HBO preview/behind the scenes special on "Avatar" it is revealed the Na'vi language spoken by the natives was "developed" by Cameron and some language specialist. Is this really necessary for a Sci-Fi film? Couldn't they just say they spoke a different language and magically understand what was being said through the magic of science-fiction?
The human race, pigs that were are, are mining a special ore found on Pandora. Due to some fancy science, and the evolution of cloning beyond Dolly the sheep, humans can transform into the Na'vi and are expected to assimilate into their culture--all for the ultimate goal of "conquer and destroy." Now,the really strange Sci-Fi part of this is, the humans stay in a device that looks like a cat-scan machine while their brains assimilate with a man-made Na'Vi body.
Did I mention the Na'vi are blue? (Smurfs) They live in the forests of Pandora (Smurfs), and have a great respect for nature (Smurfs.) It is discovered by the lead scientist played by Sigorney Weaver (what would a Sci-Fi movie be without her?) the Na'vi are somehow connected to the trees in the forest (again, Smurfs. Remember, The Great Oak?), and draw their strength and knowledge from the spirits living in the tree.
When it is revealed the humans want to destroy the planet for their own use and exploitation, the Na'vi try to fight back but are ultimately chased from their forest homes. At it's best, "Avatar" is a story of good vs. evil, cowboys vs. Indians, and Gargamel vs. Papa Smurf.
If you have to suffer through it because you watched too much HGTV or watched "The Devil Wears Prada" on DVD one too many times, at least pay to see it in 3D. The effects are somewhat interesting and make the experience a little novel.
"It's Complicated"
FINALLY---
After "Avatar," a new "Star Trek" and some miserable piece of cinema that involved Australia and alien-abduction, my husband went with me to a movie I wanted to see. And, after watching "It's Complicated" I may be forced to endure another weekend of NFL playoff games.
At first look, the movie almost seemed husband-proof: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are in it. The delivery of a new phone book has not been the same since "The Jerk." Plus, the funny guy with the long last name from "The Office" is in the movie. I thought I was safe. Meryl Streep plays the divorced and "happy about it" woman that has moved on since Alec Baldwin's character left her for a tall, thin, mid-driff baring creature to whom he married.
The divorced duo meet up with the rest of the family in New York City for their son's college graduation. Left alone while while the children plan and attend a kegger at the college brother's place, Meryl Streep decides to go it alone in the hotel restaurant. Baldwin's character is also traveling alone as the young wife's son Pedro came down with the stomach flu.
A quick scene in the hotel bar of drinks, food, drinks and drinks, leads to a bare-chested Baldwin in bed with a distraught and hung-over Streep. The affair is on! It should be noted, Alec Baldwin is looking good in this movie. Maybe even sexy. There must be up to seven scenes with him in his underwear. Expect a "Hanes" endorsement in his future.
Steve Martin appears as a recently-divorced architect hired to remodel Streep's gorgeous home. Baldwin declares he is in love with Streep. Love triangle chaos ensues.
The movie was cute, and definitely was a nice break from the Sci-Fi, bizarre cartoon, and violent film arenas. However, I was embarrassed for my husband as the middle-aged women filling the theater almost wet their pants from laughing each time a set-up occurred. There were some painful scenes involving Streep's girlfriends, to include Rita Wilson as a close friend, where cackling en masse occurred for really no reason.
Seriously, as cute as the film was, the best parts were in the trailer, and were rather predictable. It would help me out a lot, if someone could make an unpredictable chic flick.
Will I get to pick this next film? Most likely, not.
Ben‘s Review of It’s Complicated
It is always difficult finding a movie that both men and women can agree on seeing in a theatre. Unfortunately, It’s Complicated further expands this rift. Guys beware, if you have forced your wife and/or girlfriend to watch NASCAR, NFL Playoffs, of Avatar recently you may owe her an It’s Complicated. This movie is one of the worse kind of Chick-Flicks because it does not contain the usual giveaways such as casts consisting of Julie Roberts and Mathew McConaughey, trailers containing current pop cultural references, elderly people saying perverted things, or know it all children. To the untrained moviegoer, you may be fooled into seeing this movie thinking you are safe based on the cast. After all, Alec Baldwin was in Hunt for Red October, Steve Martin was in the Jerk, and Meryl Streep was in Sofie’s Choice. They are all capable of doing good work. However, from the beginning of It’s Complicated you know you have been had.
Meryl Streep falls into the usual clichéd character of the middle age woman who is sad about her fading looks and lack of social life. Alec Baldwin stars as her playboy ex-husband who years before divorced Meryl and married a younger sexier woman. The story takes shape when Alec Baldwin, in an apparent momentary loss of eye sight, ends up sleeping with Streep at one of their kid’s graduations. Steve Martin, most likely trying to avoid foreclose on his Hollywood home, is cast as the recovering from a divorce good guy. This is another chick-flick cliché which is done so the women in the theatre do not go out after the movie and randomly stab middle age men in the parking lot. Streep is inevitably caught in the middle of the Baldwin-Martin love triangle where she blows off work, smokes pot, and feels young again in a very baby boomer self involved manner. Insert a sarcastic know-it-all child and John Kransinki, who is rapidly becoming a chick-flick mainstay, and hilarity has to ensue!!!!
This movie is by no means the worse chick-flick ever made. It does have a few poignant moments including the Streep conversation with her kids regarding divorce. However, make no mistake, this flick is estrogen fueled. On my chick-flick scale, with one being Princess Bride and ten being Steel Magnolias, It’s Complicated rates a solid 5.5, better than Runaway Bride but not as good As You Can Count on Me.
As a side note, the only worse thing then having to watch a chick-flick is the audience you have to watch it with. This usually consists, of pissed off husbands and boyfriends, people owning all of the books Oprah has recommended, women who will laugh at everything, and people who have never seen a movie before.
After "Avatar," a new "Star Trek" and some miserable piece of cinema that involved Australia and alien-abduction, my husband went with me to a movie I wanted to see. And, after watching "It's Complicated" I may be forced to endure another weekend of NFL playoff games.
At first look, the movie almost seemed husband-proof: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are in it. The delivery of a new phone book has not been the same since "The Jerk." Plus, the funny guy with the long last name from "The Office" is in the movie. I thought I was safe. Meryl Streep plays the divorced and "happy about it" woman that has moved on since Alec Baldwin's character left her for a tall, thin, mid-driff baring creature to whom he married.
The divorced duo meet up with the rest of the family in New York City for their son's college graduation. Left alone while while the children plan and attend a kegger at the college brother's place, Meryl Streep decides to go it alone in the hotel restaurant. Baldwin's character is also traveling alone as the young wife's son Pedro came down with the stomach flu.
A quick scene in the hotel bar of drinks, food, drinks and drinks, leads to a bare-chested Baldwin in bed with a distraught and hung-over Streep. The affair is on! It should be noted, Alec Baldwin is looking good in this movie. Maybe even sexy. There must be up to seven scenes with him in his underwear. Expect a "Hanes" endorsement in his future.
Steve Martin appears as a recently-divorced architect hired to remodel Streep's gorgeous home. Baldwin declares he is in love with Streep. Love triangle chaos ensues.
The movie was cute, and definitely was a nice break from the Sci-Fi, bizarre cartoon, and violent film arenas. However, I was embarrassed for my husband as the middle-aged women filling the theater almost wet their pants from laughing each time a set-up occurred. There were some painful scenes involving Streep's girlfriends, to include Rita Wilson as a close friend, where cackling en masse occurred for really no reason.
Seriously, as cute as the film was, the best parts were in the trailer, and were rather predictable. It would help me out a lot, if someone could make an unpredictable chic flick.
Will I get to pick this next film? Most likely, not.
Ben‘s Review of It’s Complicated
It is always difficult finding a movie that both men and women can agree on seeing in a theatre. Unfortunately, It’s Complicated further expands this rift. Guys beware, if you have forced your wife and/or girlfriend to watch NASCAR, NFL Playoffs, of Avatar recently you may owe her an It’s Complicated. This movie is one of the worse kind of Chick-Flicks because it does not contain the usual giveaways such as casts consisting of Julie Roberts and Mathew McConaughey, trailers containing current pop cultural references, elderly people saying perverted things, or know it all children. To the untrained moviegoer, you may be fooled into seeing this movie thinking you are safe based on the cast. After all, Alec Baldwin was in Hunt for Red October, Steve Martin was in the Jerk, and Meryl Streep was in Sofie’s Choice. They are all capable of doing good work. However, from the beginning of It’s Complicated you know you have been had.
Meryl Streep falls into the usual clichéd character of the middle age woman who is sad about her fading looks and lack of social life. Alec Baldwin stars as her playboy ex-husband who years before divorced Meryl and married a younger sexier woman. The story takes shape when Alec Baldwin, in an apparent momentary loss of eye sight, ends up sleeping with Streep at one of their kid’s graduations. Steve Martin, most likely trying to avoid foreclose on his Hollywood home, is cast as the recovering from a divorce good guy. This is another chick-flick cliché which is done so the women in the theatre do not go out after the movie and randomly stab middle age men in the parking lot. Streep is inevitably caught in the middle of the Baldwin-Martin love triangle where she blows off work, smokes pot, and feels young again in a very baby boomer self involved manner. Insert a sarcastic know-it-all child and John Kransinki, who is rapidly becoming a chick-flick mainstay, and hilarity has to ensue!!!!
This movie is by no means the worse chick-flick ever made. It does have a few poignant moments including the Streep conversation with her kids regarding divorce. However, make no mistake, this flick is estrogen fueled. On my chick-flick scale, with one being Princess Bride and ten being Steel Magnolias, It’s Complicated rates a solid 5.5, better than Runaway Bride but not as good As You Can Count on Me.
As a side note, the only worse thing then having to watch a chick-flick is the audience you have to watch it with. This usually consists, of pissed off husbands and boyfriends, people owning all of the books Oprah has recommended, women who will laugh at everything, and people who have never seen a movie before.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)