Category: review

…went and saw “M:I 3” yesterday, and I must say, it certainly blew the other two out of the water…? While the first one was pretty good (minus the fact that they made Jim Phelps the bad guy…), the second one was a disappointment…turning Ethan Hunt into more of a super-hero/Bond character rather than an intelligent spy from the IMF.

The third installment returns to something more resembling the original formula, where you have some impossible missions thrown in and a team to crack them (in the first movie, the whole team died…in the second, he didn’t have much of a “team”…).? They also add a more personal touch to Hunt’s life, allowing the viewer to connect more with the character, effectively adding more depth and purpose to his being.

The effects were excellent and the direction, carried out by J.J. Abrams, leaves me looking forward to the next Star Trek movie that much more…? While the story was pretty simple (discover bad guy, catch bad guy, lose bad guy, bad guy gets your girl, save girl, etc.), the nice “touches” throughout the movie certainly made it interesting and worth watching.? Spend the cash…it’s worth seeing in theaters…

So, Brooke and I saw “Thank You For Smoking” last night for $1 each (cheap tix night…w00t!) and, believe you me, it was worth full admission price…

The movie was about Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for “big tobacco” who is constantly battling groups from all sides, whether it be cancer victims, congress, or his family.? Honestly, throughout the movie, it’s rather difficult to see who the filmmakers are really making fun of: tobacco companies, congress, hollywood, journalists…even bad parents…

Regardless, the movie was hilarious…and one of the few I’d consider to be really, really “smart”…meaning that it was thought-provoking on many levels, and not on the levels you’d expect.? In the end, it was a great movie…I may even get the DVD when it comes out…? If you can, you should go see it…

Brooke, Josh and I saw “V for Vendetta” today…and yes, it was a damned fine movie… It’s based on a graphic novel from the 80s that follows a man codenamed “V” who fights against a totalitarian government set in not-so-distant future England after a war had taken place, leaving the people vulnerable to take-over and control by “Big Brother”-esque leaders. V executes terrorist actions to overthrow the government while trying to get the civilian population to not be so constricted by fear, uttering such prophetic words like: “The people should not be afraid of their government; the government should be afraid of their people.”

The movie, produced by the Wachowski Brothers (of “The Matrix” fame, of course…) is quite well done. It’s a very different movie with some of the same themes. The effects are top-notch, as expected, yet nothing that says the Wachowskis were going for a Matrix re-do; “V” is a completely different movie while still keeping some of the good aspects of the original “Matrix” film.

The especially cool part about the movie is that, while there’s some action (not non-stop, mind you…), the movie is basically one big “The Patriot Act is Bad” statement, having a very clear message to those who watch.

Hopefully, viewers not only keep their eyes and ears open to this excellent film, but also keep their minds open to the ideas it puts forth. Well worth listening to…

So yeah, I went and saw Ultraviolet today, a movie that wasn’t screened for critics in advance. Normally when this happens, it’s because the movie companies hope you’ll go see the movie without hearing what the critics had to say (since they didn’t have time to write a review). Well, here are a few reviews off of Rotten Tomatoes on this movie:

“Great action… but unfortunately, the characters had to open their mouths. That’s when Ultraviolet becomes ultra vapid.”

— Staci Layne Wilson, ABOUT.COM

“Ultraviolet will be studied with great interest in the future – not for its quality or its artistic merit, but rather to discover how a turd like this was made.”

— Kevin Carr, 7M PICTURES

…and overall, it’s all true. The movie was pretty bad…like…B-movie on Sci Fi channel on a Saturday night… The acting was terrible, the effects were dumb, and the story made no sense… But the thing that really got me about this movie: their police cars were Buicks. Seriously. They are in the future…where we use 2004 Buicks as police cars. They have anti-gravity belts. And they ride elevators.

I just don’t get it. Regardless, terrible movie. Don’t go see it. Not that you were going to, anyway…

Josh and I went and saw “Underworld: Evolution” yesterday, the sequel to the aptly titled “Underworld.” Basically, Kate Beckensale plays a vampire who is caught up in various levels of intrigue concerning a war between the vampires and Lycans (werewolves…) for many centuries. If anything, she proves that she can not only act in silly romantic comedies, but also in action movies wearing tight leather jumpsuits.

Overall, the movie wasn’t terrible, but I can understand where many critics find faults. Primarily, the story was relatively difficult to follow. There were lots of characters mentioned and referred to, and the movie picked up right where the previous one left off…so if you haven’t seen the original in awhile, it’d be good to see it again before watching this. They do a good job of using flashbacks, etc. to show you what happened in the earlier one, but there’s still enough left out that I was confused for much of the movie.

The effects themselves were pretty good, but could have been better. I mean, with a budget of only $48 million, they did a good job stretching the money as far as possible. Some of the man-to-werewolf conversion scenes were still kinda hokey, but no more so than in the first one. The acting was pretty good…but the action scenes could have been a bit better. I mean, when they happened, they were good…but there weren’t that many spread throughout the movie. Really, the last 20 min of the flick is where all the action was…and it was well-done…but more would have been welcome. I guess you can only have so many werewolves in your movie for $48 million… 😛

Anyway, not a terrible movie…not my favorite by any means, but if you liked the first one, you’d probably like this one…maybe even more so…

So, Kristen, Brooke and I went and saw “The Producers” on Saturday… Personally, I thought it was a damned fine flick (if you like musicals…). The movie was well-done overall, with excellent acting, great casting (Will Ferrell did surprisingly well…of course, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane had some experience in the roles), and an enticing plot line. There were quite a few laugh-out-loud funny points, which was also kinda surprising; many musicals are amusing, but this one had some classic Mel Brooks humor tossed along with it.

The key here is: you’ll love it if you like musicals. If you don’t like musicals, then you’ll probably find it funny, yet not the “end all” of movies you’ve seen this year. Personally, I like them…kinda takes me back to high school when I played in the pit orchestras for them (6 of them, if I remember right…). The only real complaint I had with the movie was some of the cinematography that didn’t translate well from stage to screen. More specifically, whenever Broderick would sing (most times…not every time), the camera would zoom in on him from chest to head. This just seemed kinda hokey to me, when if you’re watching a stage version of the production, you see his entire body. It didn’t really matter that much overall, but it got kinda cheesy after awhile.

Anyway, good movie and well worth seeing. Even if you don’t like musicals, you can probably appreciate another Mel Brooks creation (although, if you didn’t know, it’s not only a re-make of the musical, but a re-make of the original movie from 1968). Honestly, it’s quite impressive that Brooks not only wrote the screenplay and story, but also the music and lyrics to the songs. Overall, a good movie and a welcome change from your typical box office fare.

So, Brooke and I went to see “Rumor Has It” last night… Overall, it was a decent movie, but I’m not really sure if I liked it or not. I mean, it’s kinda hard to classify. It wasn’t a romantic comedy really, since the plot didn’t center on a romantic attraction (it was as much a “romantic comedy” as “The Graduate“…obviously…). It wasn’t a drama, obviously…but it wasn’t really a comedy either, since it didn’t have that many laugh-out-loud moments.

The acting overall was excellent; the casting worked out surprisingly well, especially as in the case of Shirley MacLaine. The story itself was rather intriguing, but I kinda wish I’d seen “The Graduate” a bit more recently…I’d recommend you see it before watching this “sequel.” One key moment toward the end that I didn’t care for was where Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner have there “this-is-the-moral-of-the-story” moment and such…felt like a classic ending of “Full House” where the music plays and you say “ooohhhh…that’s the point of the movie” …

Overall, it was a decent movie, but perhaps not worth spending $8 to see in the theater. It has its amusing moments and the acting was good. The story was relatively enticing. And yet…I dunno…something about it…just could have been a bit better…