Iron Man 2: Movie Review

For some reason we Americans love rooting for the big brash super hero, aka cowboy, aka chosen one in our entertainment (and I guess political) choices. If the said hero is also a narcissistic smart mouth we seem to love him even more. If this indeed hold true then you will have a blast with Iron Man 2. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns as Iron Man but unlike most superhero movies and cliché’s we’re used too, he doesn’t have an alter ego and isn’t in hiding. On the contary contrary, as a matter of fact, Tony Stark is louder, more childish, more irresponsible (for good reason) than ever and we love him for it. I’m not saying that these are redeeming qualities, but is nice to see a superhero with some actual character flaws beyond just a tortured past.

The film does a wonderful job pleasing both the fan-boy and the regular theater-go'er alike. As for me, I’m an avowed comic book nerd, so to see parts or at least homage paid to War Machine, Whiplash, Black Widow, Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D., Hammer, Captain America, The Avengers and Thor sure tickled my nerdy-bone. But for all you people who have not a clue what those things are…no worries. Less than two of them are actually named and the character development shows you how each superhero/villain came to be…or at least how they are tied in with Iron Man. I actually find that a rare feat to please both the comic nerds and the general audience.

A lot of that pleasing comes from the acting. Robert Downy Jr. steals the show of course as stark, but Sam Rockwell as Hammer does an equally dis-likable and smarmy arms dealing nemesis Hammer. Vanko is the real villain here; creating electric whips to take down Tony Stark after previous injustices he perceives Stark enterprises put his family through. Unfortunately, Mickey Rourke seems like a Shakespearean actor stuck in a freewheeling roller coaster ride. Maybe it was just that I couldn’t get over his horrible Russian (I couldn’t understand what he was saying…thank goodness for subtitles) or the fact that a man who lives for revenge, never gets angry.

Other actors did adequate. If it weren’t for the Oceans movies, I would have thought that Don Cheadle (Rhodes) hasn’t a funny bone in his body. I’ve never been one to like Scarlett Johansson’s inability to act, but she did OK as Natasha, Stark's new assistant, mainly because she is supposed to be full of mystery and psychologically unreadable. Perfect for an actress with the emotional range of toast. Don’t worry everyone; Gwyneth Paltro (Pepper Pots) is still on Tony’s radar, even though she has a new position that misses some of the senior/jr. employee love interest dynamic. The love triangle story is about as anemic as the first one, but does have some excellent tension and a sizable payoff…with whom, I won’t say.

Now the real question, was the movie as good as the first. The truthful answer is, yes…but the actual answer may be different to different viewers. There’s not anything totally amazing that we did not see in the first film. The requisite explosions, fast cars, cool special effects and bad guy suits but I couldn’t help but think this movie wasn’t as spectacular as the first. There are some slow parts to explain some things (a dude was snoring behind me in the theater at one point, honest to goodness), and even parts that were a little belabored (the audience figured out where the secret was before the master mind Tony Stark). But those didn’t affect the film. I think where the film suffers is in comparison to its fist incantation. When we all saw the first film, we enjoyed the humor, the over the top acting, the awesome special effects and the happy ending. The second has nothing new or different to share and so therefore doesn’t pack the same wow punch we all experienced when watching the first with fresh eyes. But I promise you; this will be no less enjoyable.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Date Night: Movie Review

Date Night is not the type of movie that you want to see as a single person by yourself in the theater for a few reasons.
1. It’s called Date Night – nuf’ said
2. It has some racy parts where people may think you’re a little bit twisted to be watching by yourself.
3. The jokes are funny enough that you laugh, but not funny enough that the entire crowd laughs together. Hence, you feel really awkward quelling your own chuckles down to nervous grunts.

That being said, two of my favorite TV shows, 30 Rock and The Office seemed to have teamed up here in the forms of Tina Fey and Steve Carroll (sorry, I have no clue who their characters names are, the price you pay for fame). The only problem is they really haven’t teamed up. Fey does play a version of her self deprecating awkward humor she brings to Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, but Date Night asks us to believe that Steve Carroll is a normal boring dad and not a completely embarrassing, uncoordinated, awkward buffoon that we have come to love from The Office. The result is you expect him to be a lot funnier and zany. I guess that means that people who have never seen his TV show have the upper hand here.

The film does touch on some pretty touching stuff. Fey and Carroll play a married couple stuck in a rut and decide one night to spice things up. The originality here stems from a couple that truly love each other despite their seemingly dull lives. Borrowing a page from Hitchcock, they are mistaken for the wrong couple involved with the cities biggest crime boss and go on the lam looking to clear their names before the bad guys/cops can bring them in. Yes, it is a very boring premise. No, it is not a very boring movie, just predictable. I almost wish there was more outlandishness here to make it into a sort of Adventures in Babysitting. Instead, they director and writers try grounding the movie in too much reality making for some awkward and uncomfortable moments in scenes that could be completely crazy.

I am glad the film pulls a few punches. I’m not one for the gross out R rated comedies that have been popping up recently and this one flirts with some of that humor, but Fey and Carroll are able to carry the humor, conversation and yes, even the action through some pretty stupid scenes and horrible plot contrivances. I wish the director would have let them riff a little more and come up with their own stuff and keep that in the film rather than pack it into the end credits (funniest part of the movie) So, have fun with the movie, don’t expect too much and make sure you bring a date if you decide to watch it in the theater. Otherwise, watch Fey's and Carroll's TV shows instead.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Losers: Movie Review

It’s been a long time so I’ll be catching you up on a few movies I have seen recently over the past few weeks. I’ll start with the most recent which was not the best by any means.The Losers is a sort of film that you watch the trailer for and hope for one of two things. A: That it will be as awesome and funny as the trailer makes it out to be, or B: That it will be better than the annoying ‘I’m cooler than every other movie’ attitude the trailer shows. Of course, I fell into the latter category, since I thought the trailer was basically a raucous music video complete with bad slow-mo shots of guys in sunglasses and glorified violence.

Alas, the movie was exactly what the trailers showed it was going to be which bodes well for all you people who fall into category A. It also means that your probably a pre-teen boy that spends most of his time playing video games and/or can’t understand why your mother/girlfriend/wife thinks your immature and insensitive. If on the other hand you fall into category B, then know this…this is a noisy, over-edited, confusing (visually, not the plot; as a matter of fact I think my 4 year old son wrote this) sometimes funny and most of the time - chauvinistic film about explosions, guns, bad guys, guns, guns and oh yeah…guns.

The Losers follows a band of specialized soldiers (see a cast list) who refer to themselves as losers (…), who are framed for a horrendous crime they didn’t commit. Now the film goes over the top here. It’s as if the screenwriters thought of the worst crime a murderer could commit, then multiplied it by 25 and added a missile and a helicopter explosion for the sake of bad-awesomeness. Anyway, in a career misstep (that’s 1 miss Saldana) Zoe plays Aisha, a mysterious girl comes into their lives to help them take down the bad guy Max (Jason Patric) who frames them while dealing with double crossings, bombs and old frenemies.

That’s it. Sorry if I ruined the movie for you but that is literally all that happens. The ending is groan inducing as we see the entire script written to have a sequel…translation: Nothing is resolved. I guess they thought this would be a wildly popular movie; but after a tepid reception to a sparsely populated theater on a Friday night, it doesn’t look like the movie will be breaking any records, even with all the game playing pre-teen boys. Other things the film is guilty of besides the slow-mo ‘we’re cool’ shots are excessive use of the American flag, swooshing noise every time the camera shot changes, very loud guitar music throughout.

Its not that I hated the film, it’s just that it really annoyed me. There are a few bright spots. Chris Evans does great as a techie punk who is kinda a nerd. I still can’t picture him as the next Captain America though (how’s that for nerdy). The actors in general seem to be having a really good time and none of them do badly, it’s just that the directors and editors never allow us much time to see anything really develop emotionally, or the characters to interact on different levels. Instead, we are thrown right into the whirlwind music video with loud music and explosions pummeling our skulls, twisted flashing images searing our eyes and are expected to cheer the whole way, rather than blow chunks.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
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How to Train Your Dragon: Movie Review

I love having a good time at the movies. In fact, I bet that’s the reason that most people go to the movies. That’s why action packed blockbusters seem to do really well in terms of tickets sold while art-house downers (I still love you Million Dollar Baby) tend not to do so well. So for the mass of humanity, a films 'likeability' factor can therefore be measured in receipts; correct? Well not really, or otherwise How to Train Your Dragon would have broken all kinds of box office records.

This is the best film of the year so far and not only because it’s a blast. DreamWorks has crafted one of the funnier, topical and downright stunning films since Kung Fu Panda. DreamWorks is not known for the high quality stories like Pixar, and recent hits like Monsters Vs. Aliens and Shrek 3 prove that there seems to be a lot lacking in their creative department. It seems they did something right here with a story that is actually poignant without being preachy and sentimental without being manipulative. As an added measure, they threw in some truly astounding visuals that literally elicit ahhs from the audience. Truly, this movie has the best use of 3D visuals since Avatar.

How to Train Your Dragon begins as a predictable fish out of water tale (covered excellently by Happy Feat) about Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) trying to prove himself to his Viking community and especially his father (Gerard Butler) by attempting to help in the centuries old fight against Dragons. While trying to prove his usefulness, Hiccup befriends a dragon thought to be the most dangerous of all. At this point the story starts to take on a few added flourishes that distinguish it above regular animated fare. What happens when you are the cause of someone’s misfortune? How should you treat the unknown? How do you heal a broken family and relationship with your father and most importantly, where does your loyalty lie…

Beyond the story there are the visuals. I cannot say enough about the amazing flying scenes through clouds, atmosphere and sunsets. It truly is a step ahead of the flying scenes from Avatar. The textures are amazing as well, hair is wiry or soft, and eyeballs have a distinct wetness and water hay as well have been real. The lighting is also perfected with large amounts of darks and atmosphere that usually animated pictures brighten up and pos. Here they are subdued and earthy. Trees, hills and backgrounds have depth and small candle lit spaces have intimate shadows.

Now I may be toting this movie too much, but what else can I do after I enjoy something so thoroughly. There are a few slow parts and an annoying story line about a girl. Also, Jay Baruchels voice is so freakin annoying. It sounds like he is whining the entire time but luckily; the story and visuals eventually take of the sting of his pinched nose. Those small gripes aside, go to this movie for the pure enjoyment of it. Use the Box office to show Hollywood they don’t have to sacrifice story for visuals. Bravo to the story for not making the ending a perfect solution and reminding us that although we may not be perfect, relying on our family and friends can somehow create a perfect match.


Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Movie Review

I shouldn't complain since I knew what I was getting myself into but Diary of a Wimpy Kid might be the only film where a piece of stinky mildewed cheese is the best part of the film. Honestly. While not completely horrible, the movie suffers from a lack of good directing, special effects, acting (other than the cheese) and well entertainment. I took my two sons to see the movie with me and didn’t mind that I had to leave the film on two occasions to take them to the bathroom. As a matter of fact, later on in the day they were talking about Astro Boy they had rented on DVD and seen earlier than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. That’s the kind of impression it leaves on children I guess.

I have a read a little of the actual books with my kids and enjoy the wry observational humor that the main protagonist Greg (Zachary Gordon) narrates as he goes through his first year of Junior High School. Unfortunately, the film turns him into a smug know-it-all whose only concern is to become popular at all costs, alienating his friends, family and the entire school with his mean spirited antics and pranks. Unfortunately, the audience is left alienated too as we have to sit through minute after excruciating minute of what felt like a 3 hour movie. My son (4) put it best…”the movie kept going and going and going.”

There are a few bright spots. Of course with any made for kiddie fare, there has to be a moral to the story and this one was pretty good, even though I feel that ‘Be Yourself’ might have been a better moral to hang your plot on rather than ‘Don’t rat out your friends’. But then again, who am I to judge? I haven’t been in Jr. High for so many years maybe that’s what the main concern is nowadays, even though I must agree with Greg that Jr. High should just be discarded and skipped over. His best friend Rowley played by Robert Capron was also a breath of fresh air. The plump kid couldn’t act to save his diet, but the part was so likable you couldn’t help but root for him.

In all, the movie suffices as a glorified after school Disney special complete with zany sound effects, super saturated colors and dumb booger jokes. I guess this passes for entertainment in most executives minds when they think of children’s entertainment but as far as my kids are concerned, they would much rather watch Star Trek and Wall-E to get their imaginations going. Leave this cheese bomb alone…literally.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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'Remember Me' - Movie Review

I was going to write an entire treatise about how films, despite how good or bad they may be are mainly judged by the ending of the film. This holds especially true of those films who decide to change the tone or the plot near the end to elicit some reaction or emotion. Sometime, and rarely a bad film can be totally redeemed by the filmmakers choices at the end. More often however, good films are ruined by stupid endings tacked on by studio executives who ran it through too many test groups. Unfortunately, If you were to judge Remember Me by the last 10 minutes of the movie…it would be the most exploitative and tasteless movie in recent memory. It takes a lot of narcissism to take such a collective emotional experience and use it for a films surprise ending like it was a tacked on plot point that was so movie worthy. News flash to the writer…we’re not ready.

Now I know you have no clue what I am talking about here and that is the fine line I walk as I try to review entertainment where I cannot divulge the most important part of what I’m reviewing…the storytelling. So what you get are some veiled references about aspects of the movie that tend to stick out in my mind. In general, I was really impressed with this film. There was some solid movie-making going on here. The story was approachable, the camera work was subtle and smart and the actors are adorable.

News flash, Robert Pattinson can act! Seriously. I know you may think I’m off my rocker but after the uncomfortable performance as Cedrick Diggory in Harry Potter and perfectly awkward stone performances of the Twilight nausea, he goes and does something like this and completely redeems himself. Now, I am heaping way too much praise on the guy I’m sure of it. In truth his acting was merely mediocre. But after the soul sucking performances of his previous films, it’s nice to know there is someone alive behind his brooding pursed lips.

Bravo to Emilie de Ravin for her turn as the girl who falls for Pattison’s Tyler even though they’re not supposed to be together. Her part was actually real, smart, funny and unique despite the fact that her Australian accent peaked its head through a few times. And what do ya know; James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) can act, even if it is just distancing himself from his onscreen son. It’s funny that a movie about an American family is completely portrayed by foreigners. Are we really that ugly and bad at acting? (don’t answer that) The real find in the film is the little sister played by Ruby Jerins. It’s nice to see young actors that really know what their doing, but it’s even more refreshing to see someone who completely inhabits that part. From her dry wit to her shy smiles, the real emotion of the story lies behind the girl and her relationship with the different members of her family. It should have revolved around her.

It may seem weird that I am praising and lambasting this movie in the same review but such is the nature of the beast. Think of the worst possible ending to any film that takes itself seriously and I promise you they cross the line on this one. Its not like we’re not given warnings. I scribbled random notes throughout my darkened screening exclaiming, “Why are they telling us this” and “Oh they better not go there”. Way too much foreboding and foretelling and not enough joy, promise and resolve. This could have been a surprise hit but instead they turn it into a conflicted film whose greatness and heinousness cancel each other out.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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My Oscar Predictions

Im calling an audible and changing my best picture choice because I feel the Hurt Locker should win. But the academy has proven me wrong plenty of times before. So here it is, the cuttoff is now. My Academy Award selections for this year. May the best woman or man win!
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Diretcting: Katherine Bigelow
Lead Actor: Jeff Bridges
Lead Actress: Sandra Bullock
Supporting Actor: Chritopher Waltz
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique
Animated Feature: Up
Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Art Direction: Avatar
Cinematography: Avatar
Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Doc. Feature: The Cove
Doc. Short: China's Unnatural Disaster
Film Editing: The Hurt Locker
Foreign Language: The White Ribbon
Makeup: Star Trek
Original Score: Up
Original Song: The Weary Kind
Live Short: The Door
Sound Editing: Avatar
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Visual Effects: Avatar
Original Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds
Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air