Tag: Round

Movie Round-Up: December 4th, 2009

Reviews

I missed last week because it was Thanksgiving and I was sick, but enough about that and more about this week’s movies…

Brothers:

The cast looks good with Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman, but I’ll be honest and say I know nothing about this movie, so let me look it up.  One moment please… hmm, sounds depressing.  Maybe I’ll watching it when it shows up on Netflix or something.  Pass.

Everybody’s Fine:

I went to a screening for this, we arrived early as usual, but the line was so huge that we didn’t get in.  That happens sometimes.  I really do want to see it and might go this weekend.  I love me a good holiday movie about family.

Armored:

So, I saw this last night at a screening.  The short of it: six employees of an armored car company decide they are going to rob their own hauls and things don’t go according to plan.  The thing with a movie like this is that it has been done before.  A lot.  So the point here isn’t really to be original, especially since crazy originality in heist movies tends to lead to implausible stretches of believability, but to simply do the story well.  Armored starts a tad slow, mostly because the movie wants you to be introduced to the characters, their environment, and to almost painfully lay out exactly the reasons why the heist is going to happen now and point out all the reasons why it has to be done this way.  For example, the man in charge of the officers explains that next week they’ll be getting new trucks with GPS, informing you that right now they rely on radio contact and so are blind between scheduled check-ins.  However, once they get the money in the trucks and begin to commit the theft, the movie really picks up, and it does everything from that point on fairly well (except this one chase scene which if I had been the writer I’d have done without and put in a different tension element).  No, Armored probably isn’t worth the full price of admission unless you’ve got the spare cash to burn, but it was fun and well done.  Worth seeing.

Movie Round-Up: November 20th, 2009

Reviews

Not only am I under the weather, but its November and I’m trying (and failing) to do the NaNoWriMo… but enough about me and my lack of posting, on to the week’s releases.

New Moon:

I’ve never read the books, and doubt I ever will.  The first movie was horrible, and I suspect this one will be horrible too.  You would have to pay me to see this in the theater, my rates begin at $30 per hour.

Planet 51:

It looks like a fun family movie… and that’s all I have to say about that.

The Blind Side:

A better family movie, if you are inclined to see one, would be The Blind Side.  It follows the story of Michael Oher, a boy who is taken in by a wealthy family and plays football.  Based on a true story, it is funny and heart warming, and frankly I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.  I can’t say for sure if I would pay full price to go see this in the theater, but if you are already taking the family out to see a movie, already willing to pay money for a couple hours of entertainment, you can do much worse than this inspiring tale.

Movie Round-Up: November 12th, 2009

Reviews

2012:

Let’s face it, I’m a Roland Emmerich fan.  His movies are usually slightly (highly) absurd but they all end pretty much the same way: the triumph of the human spirit.  Plus, the special effects in this film look pretty damn awesome.  Some people will complain that its just “CGI vomit” but seriously, how else would you show the destruction of the world?  Do it for real?  Anyway, I’ll be making a trek to the theater to see this on the big screen, because that really is how these sorts of films should be seen.

Pirate Radio:

This movie is fictitious tale about the pirate radio stations broadcasting rock ‘n roll to the UK in the late 1960s.  None of it is actually true, but it is based on real elements (like pirate stations running from boats off-shore and the Marine Offenses Act).  Don’t go here looking for facts.  But for some good music and fun about a group of guys blasting rock music for the people of the UK in defiance of the government, this movie is where it’s at.  Well written, well acted, and well filmed, this movie is fun and funny through and through.  The box office for this film is going to suffer opening opposite 2012, but perhaps after you’ve seen the awesome FX laden destruction-fest you might consider seeing this one for a good laugh.

Movie Round-Up: October 9th, 2009

Reviews

This is going to be short…

Couples Retreat:

The only movie opening this weekend and I did not get a chance to see a screening.  I’ve seen the trailer, and it looks like it might be funny, but there is no way I’d spend $10 to go see this in the theater.  But the moment it drops on DVD or Netflix, I’m sure I’ll see it.

Movie Round-Up: October 2nd, 2009

Reviews

Whip It:

One of my guilty pleasures a few years ago was Rollergirls on A&E.  There is something about people trying to get a sport off the ground, a sport they clearly enjoy and they want to impart that joy to others.  I got that same feeling watching the movie Leatherheads a while back about how professional football wasn’t originally taken seriously.  Anyway, this movie really captures the sport well, and the way many people probably look at the girls who decide to pursue it.  It was fun and funny, and even exciting during the bouts.  Definitely a thumbs up from me.

The Invention of Lying:

If you’ve seen the trailer, you know the premise of the film is it takes place in a world where no one has ever told a lie.  One thing to keep in mind before you go see it is that a lie isn’t just what most people consider lies, like telling your boss you are sick when you aren’t or pretending you have a job you don’t to impress a girl.  Every fiction book ever written is a lie.  Every exaggeration of the truth is a lie.  So now, imagine a world without fiction, without storytelling as we know it, without any stretching of the truth.  This is the world of The Invention of Lying.  A world where people go to the movies to see a man in a comfy chair narrate the factual events of historical periods.  I found this movie to be incredibly funny, and Ricky Gervais pulls off the whole thing really well.  However, I can easily see how some people wouldn’t like it, especially religious folks, because, you see, unless you believe that the Bible is a 100% factually accurate depiction of events exactly as they happened, that make it fiction, and fiction is lying, and lying doesn’t exist until Ricky’s character invents it…

Zombieland:

The only movie opening this week I didn’t see a screening of.  I had the opportunity (Thanks Greg and Neil!) but decided to see Whip It instead because, frankly, I’ll always pay to see zombies.  And this is the latest George Romero “I want to make comments on society and don’t care if my movie is boring or stupid” zombie film.  This is going to be funny, and disgusting, and a blast to watch, I can just tell.  So this weekend, Zombieland will be earning my $10.

Movie Round-Up: September 25th, 2009

Reviews

Fame:

In 1980, Fame hit the screen with a story that followed four students through the New York City High School for the Performing Arts.  I remember seeing it years later on HBO or Cinemax, sneaking a rated R film while my parents were out.  I watched the TV show too.  Part of me was excited to see the remake, and part of me dreaded it.  This new 2009 version of Fame is fun, but dumb.  Frankly, there are too many characters in the foreground here.  You don’t get to know any of them well enough to care about them, and while the musical numbers are interesting to watch they stand out so much from the bland non-musical parts that they primarily serve to remind you of how lame this new Fame is.  If I rated with thumbs, this would be a thumbs down.

Pandorum:

I love me some haunted house movies.  I especially love it when the house in question is a space ship.  Add on top of that Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster and  I would see this movie in a heartbeat, if not for…

Surrogates:

This is going to be my must see movie of the weekend.  Firstly, its Bruce Willis, and I pretty much love every movie he’s ever done, especially the action films.  Second, the plot here just looks to be awesome.  So, my hard earned $10 will get spent here.  Hells yeah.

Movie Round-Up: September 18th, 2009

Reviews

Love Happens:

So I’m looking at the list of this week’s releases and I say to myself, “What is Love Happens?”  I hadn’t heard of it. No commercials, no previews. And it’s not like it is some low budget thing starring no names. Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart are in there.  Anyway, it looks like a nice romantic comedy drama thing. I’ll probably see it, but maybe not at the theater.

Jennifer’s Body:

I love horror films, and I dig Diablo Cody’s writing style, so I want to see this. But it does have Megan Fox in it, who I think is one of the worst actors in the biz today who gets parts purely on her looks, and I’m on the fence.  Sorry Diablo, I’ll probably be waiting for DVD on this one.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs:

This movie looks like a lot of fun for the whole family.  But not being a Pixar film means I won’t be rushing to see it.  DVD.

The Informant!:

I got to see this film at a free screening.  It is… interesting.  More a character study than an actual story, it stars Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, an executive at ADM in the early 90’s who blows the whistle on lysine price fixing.  But its not about the price fixing as much as it is how Mark goes about the whistle blowing.  It turns out that he’s bipolar and an embezzler and a fairly compulsive lier.  The unfolding of his actions and deeds and the performance by Damon is the reason to see this film.  It is, as I said, interesting, but not a particularly good film.  You won’t be on the edge of your seat, you won’t be howling with laughter, but you’ll be raising an eyebrow and snickering as you watch the whole situation spiral out of control.  I’m not sure I’d want to pay full price for this, but its definitely worth a DVD rental, or even a matinee if you are into this sort of film.

Movie Round-Up: September 11th, 2009

Reviews

I skipped last week because A) I was at Dragon*Con, and B) I hadn’t seen any of the movies.  The funny part is, all three movies (All About Steve, Extract, and Gamer) are ones I wanted to see.  I’ll catch them on DVD for sure.  Anyway, on to this week…

Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself:

I’m a big fan of Taraji P. Henson, but even she can’t get me excited about a Tyler Perry movie.  Nope.

Sorority Row:

A remake of sorts of The House on Sorority Row.  Now I love me some scary movies, but I do prefer them at home, where its quiet and I can have the lights off and cuddle under a blanket with the wife and help her hide from the really scary stuff.  I got a pass to see this one at a screening, but I had a work emergency and was unable to attend.  So I guess I’ll be waiting for the DVD.

Whiteout:

Bring a jacket.  No, seriously.  For one, temperatures outside are dropping a tad, but it’ll be weeks before theaters adjust their air conditioning properly, and also this movie does a really fantastic job of showing you the coldest place on Earth.  If you are even mildly suggestible, the movie is bound to make you shiver.  The story here is about a US Marshal, played by Kate Beckinsale, who handles the law in the region and is just days away from leaving when someone finds a body.  Essentially, this movie is an action/mystery film following the Marshal as she tries to find out who did it and why, all under a deadline and the threat of an oncoming storm.  Overall, it was a good solid movie that I really enjoyed watching.

9:

If I were to rate this movie on its visuals alone, I’d gladly give it an “A”.  However, once you include the bland, unsurprising and ultimately disappointing story, this movie can’t be given more than a “C” … or to go on a numeric scale, 9 is a 5 at best.  Most of this has to do with how it ends, which is fairly lame and mildly confounding.  It doesn’t make sense.  Two things people should know before going to see this film: 1) It is not for kids, really, it is not. Don’t take them, they probably won’t enjoy it.  2) Lots of advertising is tagging this movie as a Tim Burton film, and technically it is, however, he did not direct it and he didn’t write it, he only produced, and the result is that 9 is missing Burton’s touch.  If I hadn’t seen this for free, I’d be demanding my money back.

Movie Round-Up: August 28th, 2009

Reviews

Halloween 2:

I still haven’t seen the first Rob Zombie Halloween remake, so I’m not itching to see the sequel.  Perhaps one day I’ll catch up.

The Final Destination:

There is a fairly long tradition of horror movies utilizing 3D, but the old 3D kinda sucked.  RealD, however, works great.  It also helps that The Final Destination didn’t waste much time doing “stupid” 3D tricks like people waving things at the screen… they didn’t need to, because in a movie about people getting killed in insanely intricate traps there are plenty of body parts and death machines to fling at the audience.  Overall, this movie was probably, from a plot standpoint, the worst of the Final Destination series, but the 3D makes the whole film stand out (see what I did there).  The death scenes are just incredibly over the top, and fun to watch unfold.  Well, unless you didn’t like the previous three films.  It is sort of gross, and not for the squeamish.  I’m not sure if the movie is worth $10 ($12 in most places since they charge you extra for the glasses), but seeing this in 3D is really the only worthwhile way to see it, and when it comes to DVD/Blu-Ray it won’t be in RealD 3D but regular 3D which just isn’t as good.  So, yeah, if this sort of movie is something you’d enjoy, go see it at the theater.

Movie Round-Up: August 21st, 2009

Reviews

Inglourious Basterds:

I’m on the fence about this film.  As such, I probably won’t pay $10 to see it.  It just looks like it might be a tad too over the top. *shrug* I’ll wait for DVD.

Post Grad:

I got to see a screening of this, and I’m glad, because now I don’t have to pay to see it.  I’m not saying the movie is bad, it is just not great.  It is about a girl who goes to college and dreams of being a book editor, only she doesn’t get the job she was after, followed by not getting any job in her field, and now she’s at home again trying to figure out what her next move is.  Alexis Bledel does a fine job as this girl, but she just doesn’t stand out.  And the plot really isn’t a mystery… from the very beginning you, the audience, know what she’s supposed to do and the journey to her finding out isn’t all that exciting.  Overall, I thought it would be funnier.

Shorts:

I really had no idea what to expect with this film.  I knew it was a kid’s movie, and I knew it was a Robert Rodriguez film (a director who keeps jumping back and forth from very adult to very kid movies), and I knew it was about a wishing rock.  I probably spent a good 70% of the movie laughing.  The movie has everything little boys could possibly want in a 90 minute story.  Some parents might object to the fart noises, the boogers, and the boys being boys, but it really is a safe family friendly movie.  Thumbs up!