Drama
2.5 stars
Disappointing and clichéd. Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo act as U.S. Marshalls investigating a woman’s disappearance at an asylum for the criminally insane. The overly exaggerated Boston accents were an assault to my ears, but I eventually got used to it. Michelle Williams was the only one with a convincing - there’s no nice way to put it - lower class accent. Hollywood should really consult me first when it comes to Boston accents! Anyway, we’ve all seen mental asylum movies before and this one is pretty typical. No one can top One Flew Over The Coo Coo’s Nest! We all expect better from the likes of Martin Scorsese and DiCaprio.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saint John of Las Vegas
Indie. Dry Comedy
3 stars
Disappointing, but not terrible. The previews looked hilarious as Steve Buscemi works as an insurance fraud investigator who has a crush on his kooky co-worker Sarah Silverman. His boss, Peter Dinklage, sends him to Las Vegas on a job with a partner, Ronnie Malco (Baby Mama) to investigate a stripper’s claim that she was rear-ended. There were a few laughs, but since this movie has already disappeared from my favorite indie theater, it appears the movie wasn’t too popular.
3 stars
Disappointing, but not terrible. The previews looked hilarious as Steve Buscemi works as an insurance fraud investigator who has a crush on his kooky co-worker Sarah Silverman. His boss, Peter Dinklage, sends him to Las Vegas on a job with a partner, Ronnie Malco (Baby Mama) to investigate a stripper’s claim that she was rear-ended. There were a few laughs, but since this movie has already disappeared from my favorite indie theater, it appears the movie wasn’t too popular.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Family, Fantasy
3 stars
Fun movie with cool special effects. Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman; 3:10 to Yuma) is a regular teenager (so he thinks) until he learns he is the son of Poseidon and is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning rod and finds himself under the wrath of the Gods unless it is returned. Determining the real thief is pretty easy for the audience, but the adventures and cool mythical creatures were great. Some monsters may be too scary for sensitive young ones, but if they can handle the Harry Potter movies, then they should be OK. This is also not a bad intro to Greek Mythology for youngsters. Costars include Peirce Brosnan and Uma Thurman as Medusa. Fun adventure.
3 stars
Fun movie with cool special effects. Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman; 3:10 to Yuma) is a regular teenager (so he thinks) until he learns he is the son of Poseidon and is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning rod and finds himself under the wrath of the Gods unless it is returned. Determining the real thief is pretty easy for the audience, but the adventures and cool mythical creatures were great. Some monsters may be too scary for sensitive young ones, but if they can handle the Harry Potter movies, then they should be OK. This is also not a bad intro to Greek Mythology for youngsters. Costars include Peirce Brosnan and Uma Thurman as Medusa. Fun adventure.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Wolfman
Horror, Suspence
2.5 stars
Passable monster movie. Plenty of atmosphere with misty forests and cobweb covered stone ruins as a werewolf terrorizes the villagers in rural England. Benicio Del Toro (who doesn’t quite pass for an Englishman) returns home to his father’s grand but dilapidated estate after his brother is found brutally murdered. Gory killings ensue. Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy patriarch and Emily Blunt co-stars as the grieving widow. My only complaint is that I thought the hair and makeup folks could have done a better job with the wolfman’s face – I think the makeup on the old I Was A Teenage Werewolf looked more authentic. Fun monster flick.
Feb 26: Update on Wolfman – It has been pointed out to me that I was too generous with my rating on The Wolfman. I’ve since downgraded it from a 3 to a 2.5 – that’s the equivalent of a C downgraded to a D+. The movie was never scary, not even during the murderous rampage, I swear at one point the Wolfman’s makeup was shoe polish, and the “wise old gypsy woman” was kinda dumb and clichéd. My apologies to anyone who may have gone to that movie based on my previous review.
2.5 stars
Passable monster movie. Plenty of atmosphere with misty forests and cobweb covered stone ruins as a werewolf terrorizes the villagers in rural England. Benicio Del Toro (who doesn’t quite pass for an Englishman) returns home to his father’s grand but dilapidated estate after his brother is found brutally murdered. Gory killings ensue. Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy patriarch and Emily Blunt co-stars as the grieving widow. My only complaint is that I thought the hair and makeup folks could have done a better job with the wolfman’s face – I think the makeup on the old I Was A Teenage Werewolf looked more authentic. Fun monster flick.
Feb 26: Update on Wolfman – It has been pointed out to me that I was too generous with my rating on The Wolfman. I’ve since downgraded it from a 3 to a 2.5 – that’s the equivalent of a C downgraded to a D+. The movie was never scary, not even during the murderous rampage, I swear at one point the Wolfman’s makeup was shoe polish, and the “wise old gypsy woman” was kinda dumb and clichéd. My apologies to anyone who may have gone to that movie based on my previous review.
Valentine’s Day
Chick Flick, Comedy
3.5 stars
Fun movie - better than I expected. Several interrelated storylines intersect as the film unfolds on Valentine’s Day. Ashton Kutcher is one of the central characters who owns a small flower shop in L.A. Jennifer Garner plays his best friend and Jamie Foxx plays a newscaster covering the goings-on on the romantic day. My favorite characters were the older ones, including Shirley MacLaine who is married to Hector Elizondo and also George Lopez as a friend of Kutcher’s. The only really silly character was Jessica Biel as a neurotic sports agent whom we are supposed to believe goes dateless on Valentine’s every year. Fun, frivolous date movie.
3.5 stars
Fun movie - better than I expected. Several interrelated storylines intersect as the film unfolds on Valentine’s Day. Ashton Kutcher is one of the central characters who owns a small flower shop in L.A. Jennifer Garner plays his best friend and Jamie Foxx plays a newscaster covering the goings-on on the romantic day. My favorite characters were the older ones, including Shirley MacLaine who is married to Hector Elizondo and also George Lopez as a friend of Kutcher’s. The only really silly character was Jessica Biel as a neurotic sports agent whom we are supposed to believe goes dateless on Valentine’s every year. Fun, frivolous date movie.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Last Station
Indie, Drama
4.5 stars
Very well done! This film is based on the last year of Tolstoy’s life with Christopher Plummer starring as the great writer, and Helen Mirren as his very emotional and passionate wife. James McAvoy (Atonement, Last King of Scotland) is hired as Tolstoy’s awestruck secretary and Paul Giamatti (Sideways) plays Tolstoy’s overzealous disciple. The focus of the story is of Giamatti trying to undermine Mirren by convincing Tolstoy to change his will to leave his fortune to the Russian People, rather than to his family. The disciples follow an interesting utopian lifestyle promoted by Tolstoy of celibacy, vegetarianism, and passiveness – sort of like a hippie commune – a lifestyle that Tolstoy himself felt he needn’t follow. There are a few laughs as several of the characters are quite frank and plainspoken (especially Mirren). Great movie.
4.5 stars
Very well done! This film is based on the last year of Tolstoy’s life with Christopher Plummer starring as the great writer, and Helen Mirren as his very emotional and passionate wife. James McAvoy (Atonement, Last King of Scotland) is hired as Tolstoy’s awestruck secretary and Paul Giamatti (Sideways) plays Tolstoy’s overzealous disciple. The focus of the story is of Giamatti trying to undermine Mirren by convincing Tolstoy to change his will to leave his fortune to the Russian People, rather than to his family. The disciples follow an interesting utopian lifestyle promoted by Tolstoy of celibacy, vegetarianism, and passiveness – sort of like a hippie commune – a lifestyle that Tolstoy himself felt he needn’t follow. There are a few laughs as several of the characters are quite frank and plainspoken (especially Mirren). Great movie.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
From Paris With Love
Action, Comedy
4 stars
Ultimate “guy” movie. John Travolta stars as an obnoxious, foul mouthed happy-go-lucky one man killing machine working as a CIA Black Ops operative called in to Paris “to get the job done”. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (August Rush) works as an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France who also does some small odd jobs for the CIA, is excited for the chance of a lifetime to work on a big job, until he meets his new partner – Travolta. The movie is one long constant killing spree; Jim loved it. I enjoyed the Travolta’s eccentric character and cringed at all the appropriate scenes – just don’t try to figure out how they got through the Eiffel Tower’s security and got away with what they did… Fun, violent movie.
4 stars
Ultimate “guy” movie. John Travolta stars as an obnoxious, foul mouthed happy-go-lucky one man killing machine working as a CIA Black Ops operative called in to Paris “to get the job done”. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (August Rush) works as an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France who also does some small odd jobs for the CIA, is excited for the chance of a lifetime to work on a big job, until he meets his new partner – Travolta. The movie is one long constant killing spree; Jim loved it. I enjoyed the Travolta’s eccentric character and cringed at all the appropriate scenes – just don’t try to figure out how they got through the Eiffel Tower’s security and got away with what they did… Fun, violent movie.
Dear John
Chick Flick
3 stars
Better than I thought it would be. Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia) falls in love with soldier Channing Tatum (Public Enemies), and endures a long distance relationship. Thankfully, the previews did not give away the entire story. If you are familiar with Nicholas Sparks’ formula of folks falling in love in short period of time, then becoming separated by noble circumstances with the promise of getting back together, and the inevitable ending (I won’t say it if you don’t already know – but it’s been the same in all his movie adaptions), you’ll be surprised that this film ends a little differently. I only sniffled a couple of times – which means that most normal people probably won’t sniffle at all. A decent love story.
3 stars
Better than I thought it would be. Amanda Seyfried (Mama Mia) falls in love with soldier Channing Tatum (Public Enemies), and endures a long distance relationship. Thankfully, the previews did not give away the entire story. If you are familiar with Nicholas Sparks’ formula of folks falling in love in short period of time, then becoming separated by noble circumstances with the promise of getting back together, and the inevitable ending (I won’t say it if you don’t already know – but it’s been the same in all his movie adaptions), you’ll be surprised that this film ends a little differently. I only sniffled a couple of times – which means that most normal people probably won’t sniffle at all. A decent love story.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Edge of Darkness
Drama, Suspense
3.5 stars
Mel Gibson stars as a bereaved father trying to uncover the mystery behind his daughter’s murder. Corruption and cover-ups ensue. Ray Winstone plays a mysterious man who is hired to “look into” the situation by a third party. While I enjoyed his character, I had difficulty deciphering his mumbled British accent and missed some dialogue. The makers of this film made this story appealing to both male and female viewers by including many sentimental scenes of Mel reminiscing his daughter, as well as suspense, shootings and danger. Good movie.
3.5 stars
Mel Gibson stars as a bereaved father trying to uncover the mystery behind his daughter’s murder. Corruption and cover-ups ensue. Ray Winstone plays a mysterious man who is hired to “look into” the situation by a third party. While I enjoyed his character, I had difficulty deciphering his mumbled British accent and missed some dialogue. The makers of this film made this story appealing to both male and female viewers by including many sentimental scenes of Mel reminiscing his daughter, as well as suspense, shootings and danger. Good movie.
When In Rome
Comedy
2.5 stars
So-so comedy full of groan-worthy pratfalls you can see coming from a mile away. Kristen Stewart stars as an attendee at her sister’s wedding in Rome and meets Josh Duhamel. Thinking he is duping her, she gets drunk and steals coins from a Fountain of Love, only those who cast the coins now fall helplessly in love with her. I was most interested in seeing the sights of Rome again, but there are only a few aerial shots of the city, and the rest was filmed indoors. Co-stars include Dax Shepherd, John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) barely recognizable as the magician, Will Arnett and Anjelica Huston. Wait for it to come out on TV - or not.
2.5 stars
So-so comedy full of groan-worthy pratfalls you can see coming from a mile away. Kristen Stewart stars as an attendee at her sister’s wedding in Rome and meets Josh Duhamel. Thinking he is duping her, she gets drunk and steals coins from a Fountain of Love, only those who cast the coins now fall helplessly in love with her. I was most interested in seeing the sights of Rome again, but there are only a few aerial shots of the city, and the rest was filmed indoors. Co-stars include Dax Shepherd, John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) barely recognizable as the magician, Will Arnett and Anjelica Huston. Wait for it to come out on TV - or not.
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