Wall-E

So Pixar has come out with another movie. These are always great to see in theaters, for they are always good. Wall-E is no exception. A fun enjoyable movie about a love sick robot, left on earth to clean it up. Complete with a delightful cameo by Fred Willard(in the flesh) this movie is great.

The first 3rd of the the movie is virtually dialogue free(think of what THE ONE would be without the dog) Unless you count the words Wall-E and EVA. Even though the beginning is a tad slow it still works great to develop the two robot characters(and one lone cockroach) and helps to make the ending more enjoyable.

Once things go to space the movie steps up in typical Pixar fashion(like when the entire family gets in the mix in The Incredibles) more delightful characters are introduced, and mayhem and plot ensues.

(rant and minor spoilers follow.. consider yourself warned)

One thing I was really worried about, was PIXAR going political in a kids movie. Earth in shambles, a bunch of overweight humans, and a mega corp that runs everyones lives, there is a lot of statements there that could of been turned into some moralistic movie message that Hollywood just loves. Me however I am frankly sick of having some rich Hollywood idiots try to tell me how I should live my life. Pixar however dials it way down. The moralistic messages are not brought to the foreground, instead the love story stays the main focus, and when all is said and done the movie doesn't really bash humans, instead we are turned into co-heroes of the film, which was quite nice.

(rant over sorry)

Wall-E is defiantly a must see movie, even if you don't have a kid to drag with you to the theater

WANTED

(pretty spoiler free)

Graphic Novels used to be an Untapped resource for the movies. Now though studios are finding that half their work is already done for them, in storyboarding, dialogue, and location conception sketches. However this is not the case for wanted. A Graphic Novel about a company of assassins that kill superheroes, this story was taken away in favor of a much more conventional fair.

WANTED is a movie that suffers from one serious flaw. All the coolest action is in the Movie Trailers. Now don't get me wrong the action in the trailers looks sickeningly cool. However, after 5 or 6 viewings it's no less cool, it has just gotten old, and when it happens in the movie you are like yup I saw that already whats next, but there is very little next.

I think the director or editor screwed up a bit in the movie, for I figured out one major plot twist quite early in the movie, due to one certain shot that didn't really need to be in the movie. And since the plot point is what the entire movie hinges on, it really was a let down to have it figured out so early.

Jolie is great in the movie, being herself, and not supporting any ridiculous accent that you see half the time in her films. The main character is quite annoying in most of the movie, he never really pulls of the baddass that is needed for the end. I think a stronger lead say Ewan McGregor(5 years ago) or even Giovanni Ribisi would of done this movie a lot of good. Morgan Freeman using some colorful dialogue was laugh inducing(seriously the whole theater burst out laughing), but I think that was the point. He did a good job, his big pay off scene though didn't have as much as a punch as I expected.

All and all the movie was alright, I felt quite disconnected the entire film though mainly because of the lack of conviction from the main actor, and the plot point I figured out quite early. Kim however found it quite fun and enjoyable, for your typical action fare.

Iron Man

So early trailers of this movie looked quite lackluster, to almost down right bad. The movie looked shall we say stupid. Ahh but the trailers didn't do this movie justice.

Robert Downey Jr. is by far the best superhero actor yet. Fun, cool, witty, and still taking his role throughout the entire movie as serious as the movie takes itself. This isn't Fantastic Four, where the actors seem to know what they are doing is as ridiculous as the movie they are in. Downey plays this one perfectly, akin to Jonny Depp in Pirates.

The story was interesting and the action fun, it was an all around solid movie.

Gwenyth was a tad odd in this movie, and a bald Jeff Bridges took getting used to. Terrance Howard was in a wasted his placeholder role.(he plays a guy who becomes a pivotal character in the iron man lore.. so they needed someone who could be great in future movies).

This movie screamed sequel from the word go. And it looks like the Superhero Genre is here to stay. Taking its spot at the top of the summer blockbuster list. But hey I'll take it over a summer full of Mission Impossible Sequels.

The Incredible Hulk

Did they just make this movie? With the guy who did the Gay cowboy movie in the directors chair? Supposedly so, and everyone, including Marvel, wished they didn't. But hey one good thing came from that movie, Marvel realized they should not outsource their properties, they should take hold of them, and So they did.

The First movie that came from Marvel's control, was the wonderful Iron Man. Now a few short months later the Incredible Hulk hits screens. I must say I went into this movie not expecting much. With Edward Norton as the lead however I thought there would be some entertaining moments, and boy were there.

This movie quite good, not Iron Man great, but still really fun. The setup was nice the story interesting and complicated, and the pay off, worth it. The Hulk looked great, was the right size and holding the right emotional level. Yeah the special effects some times looked a tad sloppy, and how you can stop fire with a sonic wave of your slapping hands I don't know, but all and all it was a good film. I must say watching two CGI characters duke it out was much more satisfying this go around then it was last summer with the jumble of machines in Transformers. And it is good to note that in a promised sequel it won't be more of the same. Brawn against Brawn is never all that exciting, and the writer/directer has said the sequel will not be another slug fest. Which is good since one classic Incredible Hulk villain pretty much had his origin story told in this movie.


Go see this one folks. It will be a lot better on the big screen then at home.

The (not) Happening....

OHH my.

So Mr. M. Night has put out another movie. These things are always interesting, some times entertaining, and for anyone who considers themselves a movie buff, and must see. Well let me save you a couple bucks... DON'T SEE IT. Seriously. It's bad.

The Movie started strong, you know when things started happening, but then we were introduced to the main characters. A mentally handicapped/socially inept science teacher, his flighty big eyed(seriously her eyes are huge) girl friend, and a normal random teacher played by John Leguizamo, and his could of been played by a mute daughter.

In the entire movie these people are acting really weirdly.. Their dialogue(when there is some) makes little sense, it is no where near how people really talk, instead they seem to be resiting character points. For instance the Girl-friend many times through out the movie(usually on the verge of tears) tells other characters that she doesn't show her emotions she doesn't like everyone to see them. Even though she was the most emotional one the entire movie.

I was expecting the big twist at the end of this movie to be something like.. These people are all in an insane asylum. They are just nuts, and this isn't reality. For nothing in the movie explained these peoples odd behavior. Many times they seemed to jump their lines, act inappropriately and just plain do stupid things. People acted strangely in The Village, that is true, but they explained all that away. Here, these people are suppose to be random Philadelphia residents, not some odd culture shocked group. (If these people are normal for Phily remind me never to visit)

I must say pass on this one folks. Wait till cable, unless your a big fan of M. Night, then try renting it on DVD.

Indiana Jones and the attempt to reboot a franchise.

(Note this Review holds NOSpoilers.. so it is more of a rant then a review)

I was 9 years old when the last Indiana Jones movie came out, and yet I remember going to see this movie with my folks in the theater. It was a great movie and a good time. Now 19 years later they come out with another one. Now when it takes you 19 years to come out with another movie, things are already looking bad. So I went to this movie fearing the worst, and got a jumbled mess. From the Opening scene to the ending upchuck inducing line, this movie is bad, and I am not talking Transformers bad, or Sahara bad, but even worse then that. I must say I think Noah Wyle made a better action/adventure romp in his cheesy made for TV movie, Librarian Quest for the Spear.

It is a sad day when I think Indiana Jones should hang up his Fedora, and let Ben Gates, do the treasure hunting from now on.

This movie had no plot points, a very flimsy story, an indestructible lead, and a MacGuffin( a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story.. aka holy grail, ark of the covenant, crystal skull) that made no sense what so ever, and was so unbelievable that it really just confused the audience.

Ohh well.

Will I sit through another one... probably. Will I pay full price, not likely.

Jumper

So Hayden and Samuel team up again for a Sci-fi Flick, minus good old George or course. This time however they get the mastermind behind the Bourne series, and one would think this would better the odds of it being good. One would think...

The movie however is a wash. An exciting premise, some interesting action, and meandering story. I mean with the idea of a 'war' that has been going on for centuries between people that can jump to any location they have seen(or been.. still wasn't that clear) at will and the Paladins that systematically hunt theses abominations down to kill them, one would think you could muster-up a rip roaring action packed epic... One would think.

Hayden is as wooden as ever in a role that might of benefited from some actual emotion, but to his credit the script doesn't help. We know this man can act he did it in Shattered Glass and Life as a House, but some where Anakin took him to the career dark side, and he is following the path blazed by his movie son Mark Hamell into obscurity.

The movie started slow.. which is not necessarily bad if it's beginning has purpose. Instead it was like a superhero origin tale with all the fun and excitement or consequences for his actions taken out. Seriously I had a hard time get over the fact that this kid falls through the ice with a dozen or so witnesses and is not seen again, and there is no funeral no indication that people think he died. And then when he does show up like 10 years later everyone is like... ohh Hey old bud long time no see. I mean the female lead should be totally freaked out if not scared for life.. but ohh well it is a movie, let me extend my suspension of disbelief a bit further.

From their we are introduced to people from an incredibly old organization that hunts jumpers with religious zeal. They seem at all places at all times with more funding then most governments, but some how have remained hidden. They pose as NSA FEMA and just about every other government initial that there is.

The movie then just goes bad. Some where the story was lost and about half way through you sense the scriptwriters had some real writers block. I am sure this script probably has at least a half dozen names to its credit. Which makes sense. Too many cooks in the kitchen seem to of turned a simple omelet into a really bad scrambled egg.

Pass on this one. Unless you are just looking for some interesting visuals and some disjointed special effects.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Ahh yes just what we need another children's fantasy series turned into a budding movie franchise. Going into this one I didn't know what to expect. The trailers looked like it was interesting, the special effects look good, and the down to earth characters seemed a change of pace.

My one big draw back was the movie's running time. At just under and hour and half, it was a hard sell. My hard earned 16 dollar tickets and 15 dollar snacks(hey I am buying for two now) seem to be worth at least another half hour's worth of time. But alas I bit the bullet and went.

And boy was I surprised. After all Narnia was pretty disappointing, and the Golden Compass was out right bad. It was nice to see a children's fantasy that didn't have boy with a lightning bolt shaped scare actually deliver a good movie.

The premise goes like this. After a separation a mother moves to an old family home with her twin sons and fencing loving daughter to start over. However the old home has an old past, complete with an insane aunt and her vanishing father, who saw fantastical creatures. As the name suggest the Father wrote a book of his findings, which of course is the main catalyst of this tale.

The fantastical journey takes center stage here, as these kids, still grounded in reality, start to learn about the magical things around them. Things go quite fast in this flick, mainly to keep the target audiences attention,(10-15 year olds) and the side stories don't get their fair due. But all and all it was a fun ride, with great visuals, and a story that didn't seem too long or even too short.

I think what separates this movie from the Narnias' and Golden Compass', is its grounded-ness to the real world. Real world materials were used to fight mythical beings, and real world problems were thrown into the mix. You didn't have to wrap your mind around a fictional setting with fictional laws.

I would recommend this movie, for a light hearted viewing affair. You don't have to think much, you will enjoy your time, all you need to to is relax use this movie as a chance to unwind.