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

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

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

Lovely Molly

The writer/director of the Blair Witch Project debuted his new horror film Lovely Molly at SXSW this week. The story centers around newlywed couple Molly (new comer Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis- Alien vs. Predator Requiem) who move into Molly's parents old house. Unfortunately the house saw the tragic fate of her mother at presumably the evil and possibly possessed father. The spirit lives on and begins to torment Hannah until it completely takes her over and possess her to do unspeakable things.

The movie was nothing really new as far as possession movies go, but still had some good scares. The acting was acceptable and believable. But I do not feel like it was an extraordinary movie. It was by far the scariest movie of the festival but I could only see this as a straight to dvd type movie. I give it 2.5 stars out of 5. Its not a waste of time by any means, but don't expect a mind blowing horror film.

Movie poster from: http://twitchfilm.com/news/LovelyMollyPoster.jpg

The Last Fall

The Last Fall made its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, TX this week. The story involves an NFL receiver who after only 3 seasons is being forced into retirement with no one interested in picking him up. Kyle Bishop (Lance Gross- Meet the Browns) returns home after being forced into retirement and struggles with re-learning how to live a normal life. He seeks a job at a local gym through an old high school friend, starts dating his old high school girlfriend, and has to deal with the disappointment of letting down his family.

The acting was well played and the story interesting, especially since it was loosely based on director Matthew A. Cherry's own experience in the NFL. However it was hard to really connect to the character and care about what he was going through. Even during the Q&A, Matthew Cherry discussed how he "only" made $250,000 a year and how thats really not that much money. I am sorry that after 3 seasons of professional football, you squandered all your money on drinking and partying instead of saving and investing. Yeah, that's rough. But you know what, most people will never even make $150,000 a year in their lifetime. It simply is not heartbreaking when his brand new Mercedes gets repossessed. Should have sold it when you lost your job, etc. It was difficult because the actors did a very good job, but I just didn't care about the characters in the film. I give this movie 2 stars out of 5. It was not the worst film of the festival by any means, but I just did not enjoy it or think general audiences really would.

Movie poster from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1986161/

Wolf

Wolf may be one of the best films of the SXSW Film Festival this year. Director's Ya'Ke Smith's feature length directoral debut is an emotional powerhouse about a family going through the difficult trials of faith and justice. Jordan Cooper plays Carl, a young boy who is molested by his local Bishop (Eugene Lee). The young boy becomes confused and thinks it is an act of love and accepts the bishop's improprieties. When the bishop attempts to separate himself from the young boy and fight his inner demons, Carl takes the "break-up" hard and tries to kill himself. The story develops around Carl's struggle to come to grips with his molestation at the hands of a trusted man, his feelings of what love is or should be, his mother's enduring love, and his father's frustration and guilt. The story is as much about the family as the crime which makes it a touching movie, not just a sad and depressing one.

The story was very good and very well written (also by Ya'Ke Smith). It touched on the struggle the families of these tragedies go through and how they make it to the other side with love. It also explains the unending circle of violence and sickness through child molestation and how the cycle continues for people who refuse to deal with it or have the love of family to help guide the victim back to the light.

The acting was incredible. During the Q&A, it was revealed that the director had the family, Jordan Cooper (Carl), Mikala Gibson (mom), and Shelton Jolevette (dad) spend about a month doing "family outings" and picnics to get to know each other. When they would meet they would all set into their roles in the family. This type of training worked beautifully and you could really feel true love between the cast members and what seemed like real pain. This type of closeness conveyed to the screen and made for a powerful ride.

I would highly recommend this movie, and have. I truly hope this gets picked up by a studio. Either way, I think the cast and the director have an exciting road ahead of them and I look forward to seeing more of their performances. I give this movie 4 stars out of 5. Go see this movie!


Movie poster from: http://d1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net/d8/90dc70640211e19987123138165f92/file/wolf.jpg

Gayby- SXSW World Premiere

Gayby had its World Premiere yesterday at the Stateside Theater during SXSW in Austin, TX. Director and cast member Jonathan Lisecki was there to introduce his new odd comedy.

Gayby is about two best friends, Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas). They have been best friends since college and Jenn starts to feel like she is ready to have a baby. Her problem is she hasn't been the luckiest when it comes to relationships. She pitches the idea of having a child with her best friend Matt. Not an unheard of scenario (as is pointed out by other gay stand-in fathers in the movies). The catch is Jenn wants to do it the old-fashioned way outside of the labs and turkey basters! What ensues is a fairly funny look at two best friends who want to have a baby together while their external relationships start to pick up. Matt finds love unexpectedly in a new customer at his comic book store. Jenn never really finds a real partner, but does meet some interesting prospects through an online dating service.

The movie was made up of a bunch of unknowns. You may recognize some of the people but without doing a imdb search on them, you probably won't place the few places they've been seen. The acting wasn't too bad and unfortunately the worst acting and most annoying voice came from the director. Clearly he had something vested in this film and loved being a part of it behind the camera and in front of it. I think if he had shrunk his character down to just a few lines making cameos it would have worked better. There was something about his voice and the quality of sound that just hurt your ears somehow. It caused a weird high pitched hum when he would say certain things. The story was fairly entertaining till the end. I think this director and the cast have a future making some great quality comedies- however this falls short of being really memorable. I give this 2.5 stars out of 5. Not a bad watch on tv.

Movie poster from: http://www.traileraddict.com/content/unknown/gayby.jpg