March Movie Reviews

All right, saw 11 movies in March, and I'm back on track for 100 movies. Here we go. (All * are out of 5.)

Drive Angry 3D - * - Can't recommend this movie to anybody. The storyline is dumb, the acting is bad, and there's not a lot of action. You'd think a movie called Drive Angry would have a couple good car chases. The 3D was above average though.

Rango - ** - It seems like the first trailer for Rango came out over a year ago. In all that time you would think that Gore Verbinski was making the movie better, but apparently he was counting the money he was making from Pirates of the Caribbean. It wasn't a bad picture, but with the big names and director I was hoping for more.

The Adjustment Bureau - **** - After I first read that this movie was being made I got excited for it. I like Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, and it's based on a Philip K. Dick short story. The leads have great chemistry and are very likable and the story never slows down. It keeps you entertained the whole way through. It's also nice to see a sci-fi movie without a set up for a sequel.

Take Me Home Tonight - * 1/2 - The only thing eighties in this movie was the music. Outside of that there's no reason to have this movie set in that time period. Dan Fogler was the one shining light in a cliched, formulaic romantic comedy.

Mars Needs Moms - ** 1/2 - Another movie from Robert Zemeckis using his motion capture technology he used on Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, and The Polar Express. Visually it's very impressive, but a little weak on the storyline. At one point I was hoping to see a little flashback to Total Recall (you'll know what I'm talking about if you see it). And the interspecies relationship was really awkward and creepy.

Battle Los Angeles - *** - The first hour is really entertaining and action packed. Then the second hour drags on with speech after speech. Think Bill Pullman in ID4. We might see Battle Miami, Battle New York: SVU, and Battle London before too long.

Red Riding Hood - 0 - Not one redeeming quality to this movie. Poor casting, poor writing, poor directing. Even the set design and costumes were terrible. I'm talking sci-fi original movie quality, without the low budget charm. No idea how Twilight could be worse than this, but I'm sure it is.

The Lincoln Lawyer - *** - A good legal drama. McConaughey is actually pretty good, as well as the rest of an above average cast including William H Macy and Marisa Tomei. You could really tell it was based on novel though. I could almost see the beginnings and ends to chapters. Also, this is how I think Ryan Phillipe is in real life. Not a lot of acting here.

Limitless - *** - A great idea, but not much done with it. What would you do if you had a pill that made you the best version of yourself? Apparently you borrow money from a loan shark and don't pay him back right away. That's the big dilemma in the movie. He makes 1.2 million dollars in 4 days, but neglects to pay off the loan right away. WTF. The plot line with Robert De Niro is much more interesting, but doesn't have any real payoff. If it had stolen a little bit from Darren Aronofsky's Pi, and had corporate headhunters trying to find his secret and steal his pills it would have been much better. Instead, we have a Russian loan shark as the main bad guy.

Paul - *** 1/2 - I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. There's not a better comic duo working right now. But I think Edgar Wright knows how to use their talents better than Greg Mottola. Not that Paul isn't funny or good, but I could see the similarities in the writing and acting as in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. The thing missing was the director. I believe if this had been directed by Edgar Wright that it would have been just as good as their first two pictures. Instead we get a good comedy, but not great.

Sucker Punch - **1/2 - Scantily clad girls, robots, zombies, WWII, steampunk, and orcs. What's not to like. Zack Snyder has a unique visual style, but goes overboard with it here. It's an amazing looking film, but there's just so much being crammed in that you never really get a chance to warm up to the characters. Hopefully he tones it down a little for the new Superman.

I'm down to 74 movies to go after 3 months. Hopefully the quality starts to pick up as we get closer to the summer months, because this is starting to become a bit of a grind. Anyhoo, I say check out The Adjustment Bureau, and leave the rest.

May the Force be with you,
CHUD

March Preview

Hello everyone,

We're finally through the dark days of January and February @ the movies. Brighter days are ahead. I'm kind of excited to see quite a few movies this month. There's at least one movie every week that looks interesting.

March 4th
Rango - Directed by Gore Verbinski, Starring Johnny Depp - I think they did all right with this combo for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The Adjustment Bureau - A lot of people don't like Matt Damon, but I think he's an underrated actor. I think it comes from winning the Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Anyway, I'll go see anything based on a Philip K Dick novel.

Take Me Home Tonight - Maybe another Wedding Singer, but probably not.

March 11th
Battle: Los Angeles - Is it really a surprise that I'm looking forward to this?

Jane Eyre, Red Riding Hood - Don't know much about these movies, but the trailers didn't look all that bad. And what's the point of going to all these movies unless I go see movies I otherwise would not see.

Mars Needs Moms - 3D animated movie. Might see it, might not.

March 18th
Limitless - Bradley Cooper is incredibly popular right now. Don't really see why, but I'll give this one a chance.

Paul - I'll see anything with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together.

Lincoln Lawyer - Should be fun to watch Matthew McConaughey try to act.

Win Win - Paul Giamatti with the director of The Visitor and The Station Agent. Limited release, so I don't know if I'll be able to see this one.

March 25th
Sucker Punch - I like Zack Snyder and this movie looks crazy. Could be great, or it could be the worst movie ever.

Not a bad March lineup. I'm really looking forward to Adjustment Bureau, Battle: Los Angeles, and Paul. Hopefully they don't disappoint. Until next time.

May the Force be with you,
CHUD

February Movie Reviews

Saw a lot of movies this month, and am back on track to see 100 movies. Here's what I saw. (Ratings are out of 5 stars.)

Sanctum 3D -  * 1/2 - Some of the 3D elements were neat, but 3D doesn't work as well with dark shots. Higher body count than I expected, but nothing too surprising or unexpected here.

The Roommate - * - If you like hot college coeds, this movie offers lots of them. If you like a good story or good acting, this movie has none of it.

Just Go With It - * 1/2- Adam Sandler movies usually have some amusing and el oh el parts, but Just Go With It is pretty boring and forgettable.

The Eagle - **1/2 - Could have been worse. It's worth seeing once, but that's it. Some good battle scenes, and Channing Tatum is as bad as he usually is.

Cedar Rapids - ***1/2 - John C Reilly is hilarious, and Ed Helms is good in spots. As a comedy it is a good movie, but it seems to want to make you depressed in some scenes.

I Am Number 4 - *1/2 - I think they were hoping this would be another Twilight like franchise. Thank god it flopped and I won't have to see any sequels. Special effects were a bit better than I was expecting. Sad to see Timothy Olyphant slumming in this.

Unknown - *** - Wasn't a sequel to Taken like I was expecting. Seemed more a like a ripoff of Frantic starring Harrison Ford. Still, a good action movie, and watching Liam Neeson kick ass is worth the price of admission.

Drive Angry 3D - * - Nicolas Cage is the biggest badass in hell, and quite the ladies' man. Doesn't sound plausible does it? And you would think with that title they would have a good car chase or two? Nope.

Hall Pass - *** - I was delighted when this movie turned out to be good. The Farrelly Bros. have finally made something funny again. Way to go! Not all the jokes worked, but enough were funny to make this their best movie since Shallow Hal. Oh, and the only thing more ridiculous than Nicky Whelan hooking up with Owen Wilson, is Brooklyn Decker hooking up with Adam Sandler.

9 movies. I'd recommend Cedar Rapids and Hall Pass. If you like period action films, The Eagle was better than expected. March looks like it could be a good month, and I'll have my preview post up tomorrow or the next day.

May the Force be with you,

CHUD

Reaction to the Academy Awards

I didn't watch the Academy Awards (had to work), but I figured I'd throw in my two and a half cents.

Best Picture - The King's Speech
If you read my top ten for the year you can probably guess I don't agree with the Academy on this one. It's an Oscar bait movie. Five years from now nobody will watch or remember this movie. Who still watches Cold Mountain, The Hours, Crash, or any other boring, snobbish Oscar bait movie? No one. I don't dislike any of these movies, but this award should represent the very best of the year. I know every year there's not going to be a generation defining film, but I would say The Social Network, Inception, or Black Swan are more likely to be that film than The King's Speech.


My pick: True Grit - Best western since Unforgiven, and maybe even better than that.


Best Director - Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
I hope I don't come off as a basher of The King's Speech, because I did like it quite a bit. But everything in this movie I've seen before. Sure, he got good performances out of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, but that's not that great of a feat. If he had made it with Hugh Grant and Mel Gibson, than I'd be really impressed.


My pick: Christopher Nolan, Inception - Didn't get nominated, but should have won anyway. Inception was the most ambitious and risky big budget film in years.

Best Actor - Colin Firth, The King's Speech
I would have been happy with James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, or Jeff Bridges. I'm not going to go on about The King's Speech anymore.

My pick: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network - I love Jesse Eisenberg. He's one of my favorite actors of all time, so you could say I'm a little biased. He really should have been nominated for Adventureland last year, but Social Network was a tad more successful. I really hope he tries something new for his next role, otherwise he could go down in flames as the typecast awkward geek.

Best Actress - Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Why couldn't she have given a performance like this in Star Wars? When she is motivated and is working with a director she likes, she is great. If she gave this kind of effort for every movie she did, then she could be one of the best actresses of all time. But she likes to mail it in and get paid too often.

My pick: Natalie Portman

Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, The Fighter
He's obviously very professional, and I can't really argue with this pick. He was great, but not what I would have picked.

My pick: Matt Damon, True Grit - Another non nominee. I thought he was good the first time I watched it, and was fantastic on the second viewing. Watch it again.

Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo, The Fighter
I didn't remember being all that impressed with her performance. Not that memorable.

My pick: Chloe Moretz, Kick-Ass - I would have picked Hailee Steinfeld, but she wasn't a supporting actress, she was the lead. Chloe Moretz was awesome as Hit Girl, and really made the movie as good as it was.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I'll be back tomorrow with my February movie reviews

May the Force be with you,
CHUD