The Movie Critic

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Haywire

Haywire was one of the most boring action movies I have seen. Even with an all star cast, the movie was destined to fail because of its director. Nothing against Steven Soderberg. I loved Traffic and the Oceans movies, but Steven does not make fast paced movies. Even with an all star cast with Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, and Bill Paxton, the movie fell very short of entertaining.

Gina Carano plays a private firms assassin who is set up and then hunted down by her own company. Its like a female version of the Bourne Identity. The fight scenes were cool and she was very convincing as an expert assassin.

The acting was of course very good. I would expect nothing less than the best from this caliber of cast.

However it was the slowest action movie I have ever seen. For example there was a chase scene on foot for about 10 minutes with very little other than showing Gina running and a few wide shots of both of the actors running. There just wasn't anything happening during this chase. It also did not help that rather than suspenseful music trying to impress the importance of catching the guy upon the audience, we listened to basically the Oceans 11 theme song, leaving us bored and uninterested. This chase scene was also a whole in the story that made no sense and did not serve the overall purpose of the film.

I really wanted to see this in theaters and am now very glad I did not. Unfortunately I still spent $5 renting it. I wouldn't even recommend seeing this for free because it would still amount to a waste of time. 1 star- and that's generous.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman is a new vision of the classic Snow White story starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron. The movie was a solid 2 hour plus action event. The story itself was very interesting. I loved the changes and how they made the story more adult but kept the basic elements still there. Overall the movie had a good pace and stayed intriguing the entire 2+ hours.

Visually the movie was stunning. Wherever they shot this movie, they picked some amazing locations. Aside from the breathtaking natural scenery, I found the sets to be very detailed and added depth to the story. The troll bridge in the dark forest was absolutely incredible.

In regards to acting, it was not bad. Everyone, including myself, had concerns going into this movie with Kristen Stewart. The movie looked great but was Kristen going to be the annoying, angst filled, vampire lover that annoyed us all so much in the Twilight films? The answer is not quite. Her acting was much better and she did not annoy me very much at all. She did have her classic open mouth constantly. Maybe she just has really bad allergies and cannot breathe with her mouth closed. The action and acting from Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron hid her shortcomings which were few and far between.

While the movie was very entertaining and had many high points, there were a few things that bothered me. There was one fight scene with the dwarves in which one of the Queen's henchmen pulls a Matrix style move. I know the director is trying to make impressive fight scenes, but a man wearing chainmail and armor simply cannot do crazy leaps and aerial acrobatics. That annoyed me. The other was the end of the film. In an effort to stay spoiler free, I will just simply say, the end was not satisfactory and did not feel like a real ending. Not in the sense that there could be a sequel, just in the sense, it left things untied. There was also a massive failing of continuity with a door being closed and then showed closing.

Overall the film was good and entertaining. The story was incredible and interesting, the cinematography breathtaking and impressive, and the acting was decent. I give the movie 3 stars. Entertaining summer blockbuster, but definitely not one of the bigger summer movies. It would be possible to save a few bucks and enjoy this at home.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Avengers

Can anyone say, "Best Movie Ever!"? Unfortunately it took me three times to see this movie before I was ready to write this review. I thought maybe the excitement of The Avengers would finally regress and I could find flaws in this movie. But after the third viewing this weekend, I now know, I will never tire of watching this movie! It is simply amazing! At already almost $1 billion, this movie has made more money quicker than any other film ever! It is on course to making more money than Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America combined! I draw similarities to the recent James Bond reboots. Quantum of Solace is impossible to watch and understand without seeing Casino Royale first, but once you watch Casino Royale, Quantum is a great action packed conclusion. Avengers finally draws together 4 characters that already received their own movies to develop their back story. Having this part of the story already developed allows Avengers to be a non-stop action packed thrill ride. Action begins literally after only about 2 minutes of prep and stays fairly strong all the way to the very end when they Assemble against Loki. The core characters were as usual phenomenal. After we already learned of their talents in their solo films, we now see them form together to make quite an unpredictable team. The great thing is the story continues to build around Black Widow (Scarlett Johansen) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). This type of sub-development helps open the door to future movies showcasing more SHIELD agents with Black Widow, Hawkeye, Maria Hill (Cobie Smuthers), and Nick Fury (Sam Jackson). The film was actually very funny. The humor seemed more in line with the Iron Man movies. While all of the previous movies had funny parts, Avengers really capitalized on irony and the hilarious moments of trying to create a team from a narcissist billionaire, an old relic from World War II with old morals, a god from another world, and a uncontrollable monster. The humor was one of the most enjoyable and surprisingly parts of the film. I did not expect the humor to be as robust or well written. This movie was different in the sense there were not any obvious nods to fan boys hidden within the film. Obviously Stan Lee made his cameo (that guy is awesome!)and there is a mid-credits scene that hints towards a future villain. It was a little disappointing there weren't more cameos but nonetheless, the nod at the end is intriguing. Speaking if endings- please stay until the very end- after all the credits!! Even in the latest, 3rd viewing, most of the theater up and left. If you really want to leave with a lasting memory of the film- this is the scene to end the experience with! I watched the movie in 2D and 3D, in the IMAX and in the regular theater. Its great in any forma but if you do see it in 3D, see it in the IMAX. The 3D just adds another layer of awesome- but the 2D was also really good! I give this movie the rare and coveted 5 stars! I really would not change a thing. This is a must see in theaters. It deserves to be enjoyed on a bigger than life screen, because this is a bigger than life movie! How will later summer movies fare against this incredible start!? Stay tuned to find out! Movie poster from: http://cdn.ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/newavengersposter.jpg

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Five Year Engagement

The Five Year Engagement is another Jason Segal classic! As in many of his movies as of late, he co-wrote the script and used a lot of improvisation throughout the film to create a genuinely funny movie. Jason Segal plays Tom who proposes to his girlfriend, Violet (Emily Blunt). The two are very excited and madly in love, but an opportunity at the University of Michigan for Violet to get her post-doctorate forces them to propose their wedding during their relocation and adjustment from sunny San Francisco. The adjustment period turns to be longer and harder than either had anticipated and Tom's lack of opportunities as a professional chef begins to wear on the couple's relationship.

Not to diminish the film's hilarious moments or great chemestry between these two and Tom's best friend, Alex (Chris Pratt), but the film does indeed follow the traditional plot line for romantic comedies. (Small rant on romantic comedies follows:) 90% of romantic comedies follow a basic plot line: guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, happiness ensures, guy screws up (or girl screws up), couple breaks up and enters sad and lonely time, couple gets back together and lives happily ever after. Once again, this movie was very funny, but in order to really be considered unique, romantic comedies have to break this mold of commonality. We all know what to expect and about what time to expect it.

That rant standing aside, the movie is very funny. I was worried at the beginning to learn that it was a little over 2 hours long, which is extremely long for a romantic comedy. However, the pace of the movie was very quick and I never looked at my watch or wondered, how much longer is this movie?! The cast was very entertaining and capturing.

Overall I liked this movie and think it makes a great date night movie- especially if your girl likes Jason Segal's butt! One of my friends commented that he must have a contract stating he gets to show his butt in every movie, cause I can't think of one Jason Segal film we haven't seen a little too much of him!! Definitely check this movie out as a rental for a nice Friday night date night. I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Movie poster from: http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/the-five-year-engagement-movie-poster.jpg

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Lockout

Lockout opened last week as a much needed "guy" movie made its way into the summer run-ups! Most movies coming out in April have been comedies, romance movies, dramas, and documentaries. 7 out of the top 10 movies in theaters right now are comedies.

Lockout has an interesting premise- something unique. A maximum security prison in space. What more do you need for an awesome action flick? Guy Pierce plays CIA Agent Snow who is set up for conspiracy against the US government as a traitor. He is sentenced quickly to 30 years in the maximum security prison floating in orbit above the Earth. Meanwhile the daughter of the U.S. President heads to the prison to do a humanitarian check on the prisoners who are kept in suspended animation (frozen) during their sentence. She is there to inspect the prisoners for mental issues or illness arising from being in suspended animation for extended periods of time, when her luck runs out and the prisoners unthaw and break free, taking over the prison.

Of course this story has been done before- prison break, prisoners take daughter of someone important hostage, kills other hostages leading up to the dramatic rescue of that one woman. The difference this time is that THIS IS IN SPACE!! Adding a whole new element of danger and consequences.

Guy Pierce is a pretty convincing tough guy. This seems to be his first blow em up, kick butt movie. He has been brilliant in many dramas and independent films, but never the action star. Clearly he is an accomplished actor, but this proves he can also not act and just be tough. Maggie Grace (Lost) plays the President's daughter, Emilie. She was also surprisingly good. She was the annoying girl in Lost who had that brother when they first landed on the island- she ended up dying pretty quick as did her brother. This was a much better performance and she too was able to keep up with the action and be a little believable. There is one scene when she picks up a machine gun and starts going to work on the prisoners. Just as the audience starts thinking, "Ugh- mistake, how does this prissy girl know how to use a machine gun", Guy Pierce makes a comment in an almost self-depricating way towards the film- "Thought you were a democrat!"

Overall a pretty good movie. Very entertaining and while nothing to put on an Oscar list, it was a much needed action filler before the summer blockbusters! This was very enjoyable if you are looking for a good story, intense action, and lots of dead bodies and explosions- you will want to see this. Great movie- fun to see on a big screen but not really necessary. Definitely check it out for a Friday night movie night though.

Movie poster from: http://thegamefanatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Lockout-Movie-Poster-602x928.jpg

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Hunger Games

The popular book series hit theaters this last weekend and made some impressive accomplishments at the box office. It is the most successful movie to open outside of the typical summer blockbuster season at an incredible $214 million worldwide. It is also the most successful movie ever that was not a sequel or a continued part of a series. It is the 3rd highest opener of all time behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and the Dark Knight. The Hunger Games is based on the book series by Suzanne Collins. The first book center around a future in which the government has cracked down on a rebellion and created 12 districts in charge of producing goods and materials and supplying them to the capital. The districts are kept poor and powerless in order to prevent another uprising. As a reminder of the governments power, every year they take a male and female child from each district to fight to the death in an arena created by the game makers. The winner will receive food and wealth for the remainder of their lives and bring pride to their district. This story fallows the chosen two from district 12, Katniss and Peeta as they are taken to the capital and showboated as celebrities before being thrown into an arena with 22 other children and forced to fight and kill each other until there is only one survivor. The movie lived up to my expectations as a fan of the book. While many characters and nuances were left out, the movie was incredible. The small pieces that were changed for the film, I believe were done so that general audiences could enjoy the movie and not be too lost. The film also made some interesting changes by including a few tidbits from the next book. For example, in the book, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) played a very, very small role. In fact he was hardly in the book at all and his character was not memorable at all. But in the movie, he played a slightly more predominate character and included some aspects of his character development in the second book. The cast was great. I had not read the book before the previews came out for the movie so its hard to say they fit exactly what I pictured. Even though I knew Woody Harrelson played Haymitch (the mentor), I still had seen a short, fat man when I read the book. But Woody played the part of drunken bum very well! Jennifer Lawrence was also great! I am looking forward to a lot of good things from her. I thought she did well in X-Men: First Class, but seeing her carry a movie and show so much emotion was really impressive. Josh Hutcherson was good as Peeta too. Without changing the love story between he and Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) it was presented slightly different than in the book. It will be interesting how they develop that part of the story in the next movie. I really thought the marketing of this movie was brilliant. The previews never once showed the actual Hunger Games,just the lead up. The games did not disappoint and made the movie that more captivating. You never knew what to expect visually even if you already knew what was about to occur. There was a lot of fear leading up to this movie that it would be another Twilight movie. A great book, but on film it was just a dumb teenie-bopper movie which featured sub-par acting and an annoying love story filled with drama and teen angst. I have to say those fears were squashed completely. This will be a fantastic franchise and while I have not read the next 2 books yet, I am on pins and needles to know what happens next. I highly recommend seeing this movie. Check this one out in theaters, its a fun experience. I give this movie 4.5 stars out of 5. The only thing I did not like about the movie was the depiction of the love story between the two main characters. I don't know if it was the chemistry between actors or the script, but it was less interesting than in the book. Other than that, the movie was great. Movie poster from: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2868031744/tt1392170

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Eden

Its strange that two of the best films of the SXSW festival had depressing and disgusting themes, but in the spirit of the excellent movie Wolf, Eden takes its place at the top of this years films. Eden is the story of a 19 year old South Korean girl in the mid- 1990's who is abducted by a underage girl prostitution ring. The girl, Chong Kim is played by Jamie Chung (Hangover Part II, Sucker Punch). Beau Bridges plays the head of this particular unit, although the movie hints at the organization having several locations and businesses. And Matt O'Leary (In Time, Live Free or Die Hard) plays Vaughn the second in command who deals with the girls on a daily basis.

What really makes this story intense is that its true. Chong Kim was abducted in the mid-1990's and went from victim to accomplice to avenger to advocate. During her 3 1/2 + years in captivity she was able to convince her captor that she was too old and undesirable to work with customers (she is 19, but most of the girls are between 10-15). She proves herself worthy of helping Vaughn collect money and keep track of the girls. By getting close to the operations side of the shadowy organization she is able to position herself in a way that will assist her to attempt to escape.

The movie is gut wrenching and disturbing. Of course we all know that human trafficking occurs, but seeing it in this manor really makes you sick as you watch it. The movie does a great job though of not showing gratuitous nudity or sex. With a theme that is based around sex, it is unique to build a story without showing explicit acts. This movie does not need that shock value to make you feel the pain and turn your head on multiple occasions in disgust.

As I stated previously, this rates with the top films of the festival. During the Q&A we learned more about Chang's struggles after she escaped, her trepidation of turning to the police after seeing so many of them as clients, how true the film was to the real story, and that the film has not been picked up yet! This is one of those movies which need a lot of help to get to the screen and a lot of word of mouth. With the exception of Beau Bridges the movie doesn't show case any A-list actors, nor does it have special effects or a quick pace. But this movie is good. When it gets picked up- go see this. As one audience member put it today, this film will force you to ask "What can I do" when the credits role. I give it 4 stars out of 5. Great film!

Movie poster from: http://d1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net/fe/ed7f3069da11e19987123138165f92/file/Eden%20poster.jpg