Action, Comedy
4 stars
Yay! A good grownup movie at last! All the action and stunt work you’d expect from Tom Cruise plus all the sweet kookiness you’d expect from Cameron Diaz equals one fun rollercoaster ride (and a great date movie). Cruise and Diaz bump into each other in an airport and wind up on a whirlwind adventure escaping from bad guys. I won’t give away anymore. It’s a great action flick. Is the story plausible? No. But who cares? It’s a fun ride. Loved it!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Toy Story 3
Family, Animated
4.5 stars
Loved it. Woody, Buzz (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen) and the gang find new adventures in a daycare center. There’s a lot more adventure in this sequel, and slightly less sentimentality (thankfully), but I did shed a tear or two at the end. I got a kick out of the Ken doll (Michael Keaton) and also Buzz’s Spanish alter ego. Very well done. To Infinity and Beyond!
4.5 stars
Loved it. Woody, Buzz (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen) and the gang find new adventures in a daycare center. There’s a lot more adventure in this sequel, and slightly less sentimentality (thankfully), but I did shed a tear or two at the end. I got a kick out of the Ken doll (Michael Keaton) and also Buzz’s Spanish alter ego. Very well done. To Infinity and Beyond!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Solitary Man
Drama
3 stars
Michael Douglas stars as a one man train wreck who can’t help but sabotage himself. He destroyed his marriage (to Susan Sarandon), cheats on his girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker) and ran his once successful business into the ground. Co-stars include Imogen Poots as his girlfriend’s daughter, Jenna Fischer as his own daughter, Jesse Eisenberg as a young college student, and Danny Devito as an old college buddy. Interesting premise, but I’m just not into movies where the main characters are not likeable and continue to make bad decisions. Good acting, irksome story.
3 stars
Michael Douglas stars as a one man train wreck who can’t help but sabotage himself. He destroyed his marriage (to Susan Sarandon), cheats on his girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker) and ran his once successful business into the ground. Co-stars include Imogen Poots as his girlfriend’s daughter, Jenna Fischer as his own daughter, Jesse Eisenberg as a young college student, and Danny Devito as an old college buddy. Interesting premise, but I’m just not into movies where the main characters are not likeable and continue to make bad decisions. Good acting, irksome story.
The A-Team
Action
2.5 stars
Lots of mindless, senseless violence; a guy movie. I saw this last Monday and already forgot most of it – that should tell you something! A group of rogue Army Rangers takes on a task that was already assigned to a different team, and then gets surprised when retaliated against. Duh! Lots of explosions and stuff. I wasn’t excited. Stars include Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, and Patrick Wilson, among others. A waste of talent. Wait for cable.
2.5 stars
Lots of mindless, senseless violence; a guy movie. I saw this last Monday and already forgot most of it – that should tell you something! A group of rogue Army Rangers takes on a task that was already assigned to a different team, and then gets surprised when retaliated against. Duh! Lots of explosions and stuff. I wasn’t excited. Stars include Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, and Patrick Wilson, among others. A waste of talent. Wait for cable.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Please Give
Indie, Dry
3 stars
Downer. Catherine Keenan (40 Year Old Virgin) stars as a vintage furniture store owner who acquires the furniture by purchasing the merchandise cheaply from estate sales and not letting the sellers know of the true value of the pieces. She feels so terribly guilty for taking advantage of the sellers that she is always giving her money to homeless people and wants to do volunteer work. Oliver Platt plays her husband, Rebecca Hall (Vicki Christina Barcelona) and Amanda Peet play daughters of their elderly neighbor, Ann Morgan Guilbert (“The Nanny”). Keenan and Platt also purchased the elderly neighbor’s condo and are waiting for her to die so they can expand their condo. Their poor pimply teenage daughter (Sarah Steele of Spanglish) has her own self esteem issues. Not a bad film, but not a happy one either.
3 stars
Downer. Catherine Keenan (40 Year Old Virgin) stars as a vintage furniture store owner who acquires the furniture by purchasing the merchandise cheaply from estate sales and not letting the sellers know of the true value of the pieces. She feels so terribly guilty for taking advantage of the sellers that she is always giving her money to homeless people and wants to do volunteer work. Oliver Platt plays her husband, Rebecca Hall (Vicki Christina Barcelona) and Amanda Peet play daughters of their elderly neighbor, Ann Morgan Guilbert (“The Nanny”). Keenan and Platt also purchased the elderly neighbor’s condo and are waiting for her to die so they can expand their condo. Their poor pimply teenage daughter (Sarah Steele of Spanglish) has her own self esteem issues. Not a bad film, but not a happy one either.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Killers
Comedy, Action
3.5 stars
Cute comedy flick with lots of action. Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher star as a couple living the suburban lifestyle, when Kutcher’s former CIA assassin job comes back to haunt him. Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara hilariously play Heigl’s parents. Heigl is bland as usual, but the story and action make up for it. I liked seeing Kutcher play a less comedic role, and instead play the suave and debonair spy that woos Heigl. Fun flick.
3.5 stars
Cute comedy flick with lots of action. Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher star as a couple living the suburban lifestyle, when Kutcher’s former CIA assassin job comes back to haunt him. Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara hilariously play Heigl’s parents. Heigl is bland as usual, but the story and action make up for it. I liked seeing Kutcher play a less comedic role, and instead play the suave and debonair spy that woos Heigl. Fun flick.
Get Him to the Greek
Comedy
2.5 stars
Mildly amusing raunchy comedy starring Jonah Hill (Superbad) as an assistant record exec sent to pick up a drug-addled rock star (Russell Brand) in London and bring him back to L.A. for a concert. I expected it to be a bit raunchy and good for a few dumb laughs, but I was disappointed that they seemed to try to hard with the foolishness. Surprisingly, Russell Brand seemed to be the most sober character, and I liked that Jonah Hill played a sad minion just trying to get his job done. I’m afraid Sean Combs (or whatever he calls himself these days) simply cannot act and should stick to his day job. Rose Byrne (Wicker Park) costars as Brand’s former flame. Not all the scenes advertised in the previews were shown in the film. I laughed a few times, but really, save it for cable and have a few beers first to really enjoy it.
2.5 stars
Mildly amusing raunchy comedy starring Jonah Hill (Superbad) as an assistant record exec sent to pick up a drug-addled rock star (Russell Brand) in London and bring him back to L.A. for a concert. I expected it to be a bit raunchy and good for a few dumb laughs, but I was disappointed that they seemed to try to hard with the foolishness. Surprisingly, Russell Brand seemed to be the most sober character, and I liked that Jonah Hill played a sad minion just trying to get his job done. I’m afraid Sean Combs (or whatever he calls himself these days) simply cannot act and should stick to his day job. Rose Byrne (Wicker Park) costars as Brand’s former flame. Not all the scenes advertised in the previews were shown in the film. I laughed a few times, but really, save it for cable and have a few beers first to really enjoy it.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Action, Adventure
4 stars
Fun movie. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the title character back in ancient Persian times who comes into possession of a magical sword and of course all of humanity sits in the balance. Lots of battles and fights and some cool parkour. Costars include Gemma Arterton as a beautiful princess, Ben Kingsley as his beloved uncle, Alfred Molina as sort of a king of thieves, and Steve Toussaint as Molina’s protector. I love these sorts of films where they recreate ancient stone cities with all the lush detailing and opulent costuming. Clearly, the actors fully enjoyed themselves during the making of this movie. Not exactly Oscar worthy, but a fun adventure film all the same. If you like movies like Lara Croft and the Mummy series, then you may like this film.
4 stars
Fun movie. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the title character back in ancient Persian times who comes into possession of a magical sword and of course all of humanity sits in the balance. Lots of battles and fights and some cool parkour. Costars include Gemma Arterton as a beautiful princess, Ben Kingsley as his beloved uncle, Alfred Molina as sort of a king of thieves, and Steve Toussaint as Molina’s protector. I love these sorts of films where they recreate ancient stone cities with all the lush detailing and opulent costuming. Clearly, the actors fully enjoyed themselves during the making of this movie. Not exactly Oscar worthy, but a fun adventure film all the same. If you like movies like Lara Croft and the Mummy series, then you may like this film.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
