Friends With Benefits

4 01 2012

It’s just so tired…

2 opposite-sex best friends decide that their friendship can handle the added excitement of having sex and so they do it expecting everything to be the same except…everything changes! It’s a worn out storyline that has been used time and time again HOWEVER…I don’t know that I’ve ever seen 2 actors as likable as the two that grace the screen for this little gem of a romantic comedy.

Jamie (Mila Kunis) is a headhunter in New York City. She is hired on by big companies to find talented prospects for job opportunities. Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is an online magazine editor and workaholic living in L.A. but looking for opportunities elsewhere. And so Jamie finds Dylan for GQ magazine, flies him into the city, shows him around, he gets the job and the 2 of them start a friendship that is based on witty conversation and slight neuroticism. So what can happen between friends who are beautiful, single and readily available in New York City? Well…great sex, of course. And with no strings attached (oh wait…that’s a DIFFERENT movie…). Or so they think.

And that’s pretty much it. You know the rest from there. But the question is…does it work? Well…I’m happy to report that it DOES work and it works very well! Mila & Justin are made for this kind of romcom and when they are together, they shine. The banter is witty, the escalating love affair is well-paced and the supporting cast (consisting of Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson and Richard Jenkins) are perfectly matched for the style of writing in this movie. And with guest appearances by Andy Samberg, Shaun White and Emma Stone, there’s a LOT of firepower here! And it is VERY funny in most cases!

Obviously there isn’t much more to say about this film simply because you already know the drill, however I WILL say this…for your dollar, you can’t go wrong with this movie as a stay-at-home date night! It’s got a great cast, it’s got great writing and it’s directed by the same guy who brought us “Easy A” last year (Will Gluck, who is the new “It Guy” when it comes to romantic comedies like this). Rent it today and here’s hoping these 2 stars get together again someday. Maybe not so much for a sequel but for a different movie altogether that will show off their acting chops!

Overall Rating: B+


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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

18 12 2011

Don’t try this at home kids!

Here’s the thing about the Mission: Impossible series…you have to suspend belief as the hero, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), gets thrown from cars, gets blown up and, in the case of this movie, finds himself hanging 100 stories up a Dubai skyscraper with only a rope and a sticky glove. If you can pretend that THAT is gonna happen and he’ll survive without a scratch (well…okay…a scratch or two), then THIS is a roller coaster ride that you are gonna love. However if realism is an important part of the movie for you? Then Mission: Impossible is not gonna be your cup of tea. Except maybe if you like political nuclear disaster storylines…because this one is a beauty…

Russian extremist Kurt Hendricks has detonated bombs in the Kremlin, setting up a possible nuclear situation between the United States and Russia. His plans include stealing Russian nuclear missile codes so that he can bomb the United States. Ethan Hunt and his IMF team have been framed for the bombing and the IMF has been discontinued by our government. So their “final” mission? Get those codes and stop a nuclear disaster.

And oh what fun it is as the team rushes all over the eastern hemisphere, from Moscow to Mumbai, trying to chase down Hendrick and stop a nuclear disaster. But try as they might, every plan they come up with is thwarted in some way. So will the IMF team finally catch a break and defeat the bad guys?  Well…I’m thinking we all know the answer to that. But that doesn’t stop director Brad Bird from having a good time as they head toward their obvious conclusion. Bird keeps the pacing fresh and the action non-stop. Hell…even the opening title sequence is exciting. Bird is a great addition to this series, especially since it could have very easily gotten a bit tedious seeing as how this IS #4 in the series. And shooting this film strictly for IMAX is a GREAT idea! Usually I’m not a fan of the “gimmick” movies (i.e. 3D and IMAX) however this movie is a MUST SEE on IMAX!

The fact that it’s not just a Tom Cruise movie also helps as Hunt’s team is an important part of why this flick is so much fun. The addition of Jeremy Renner is a huge boost for this franchise. He’s a great actor and with his appearance in the upcoming “The Avengers,” he is being primed as the next big action star. Simon Pegg is the comedy relief tech op and it’s his humor that gives the movie an added light-hearted touch. And newcomer Paula Patton is a kickass agent who is hellbent on avenging the death of a fellow agent.Throw in a couple more good performances by Michael Nyqvist (Hendricks), Vladimir Mashkov and what you have is a tightly wound thriller on the same level (if not better than) most James Bond films. If anything, this might very well be THE popcorn movie of the year! Too bad it wasn’t released in the summer, when films like this usually do great business in the theaters. As it stands, this is a MUST see on an IMAX screen! But you may wanna bring your earplugs. Not only is it bombastic visually…it might be the loudest film I’ve ever seen…and that is a compliment! :-)

Overall Rating: A

 


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Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

17 12 2011

This movie seems kinda dusty…

After a slam bang first adventure with Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson, I came into this one expecting a lot of the same. And it was. A LOT of slam bang but without the storyline of the first and inevitably, that’s what does this movie in.

Sherlock Holmes (once again played with psychotic glee by Robert Downey, Jr.) is facing off against a foe who matches his intellect and has money to burn. The villain is James Moriarty (Jared Harris), a professor at one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, and a man who is looking to get rich off a world war that he is attempting to create. It’s up to Holmes and his trusty sidekick (once again played by Jude Law) to thwart his villainous attempts and keep the world safe from the clutches of an evil villain.

This is, of course, an abbreviated version of an extremely cumbersome plot that has our heroes bouncing all over the place, avoiding death in some of the most unbelievable ways (when director Guy Ritchie slow mo’s bullets and gun parts, the movie starts to feel like a remake of the first one) and exchanging barbs about Holmes’ psychosis and Watson’s recent nuptials. This is all well and good in the early parts of the movie, however as the time passes, it all starts to feel a little stale, almost as if the writers decided to lean on the obvious instead of coming up with new material.

With the introduction of Noomi Rapace (from “The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo” original version) as a gypsy, the writers have an interesting character who goes without much to do (except in a cool early fight sequence) and the death of a major character goes without much fanfare. So they had 2 opportunities to create something a little more interesting in the plot but let them go by the wayside in an attempt to give Holmes and Watson more time to bicker with one another.

If I had to say one thing about this movie it’s that it’s a disappointment but not on a colossal level. If you LOVED the first one, you’ll be disappointed. If you LIKED the first one you’ll find this one to be mildly amusing (like I did). But if you didn’t get the first one at all, don’t even bother with this one because it’s more of the same…unfortunately.

Overall Rating: C


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The Descendants

17 12 2011

As I sit here attempting to define this film, I am realizing that it isn’t as simple as saying there is a storyline with a beginning, a middle and then an end. Although there IS a starting point in this movie, there are such complex characters and so many different emotions happening throughout the film that it defies simple examination. On the surface it’s about how a family deals with the emotional impact of a mother and wife being comatose after a boating accident. Underneath though, there are many other things happening, and it’s in the development of the multiple storylines that the characters grow together and make the final moment of the film the most poignant.

If there is one thing that Alexander Payne can do, it’s paint ordinary life. In this film that he has written and directed, he creates lives that are shattered but then puts the pieces all back in their places by the end of the film. It’s masterful storytelling and he does it almost effortlessly. Much like his other films (which include “Election,” “Sideways,” and “About Schmidt”), “The Descendants” is more of a study of human nature than it is entertainment. And that’s what makes it special.

George Clooney is Matt King, a lawyer who lives in Hawaii with his family and who is, by default, the heir of a huge chunk of land in the Hawaiian islands. While trying to negotiate a deal to part with the land, his wife is in a boating accident, causing him to have to deal with not only her hospitalization, but also with renewing his relationship with his daughters (played wonderfully by newcomers Shailene Woodley & Amara Miller). Add that his wife has also been cheating on him (which was unbeknownst to him) and things get very complicated.

The cast is top notch, the videography is beautiful (how can you go wrong in Hawaii, after all?) and the script is excellent. This will be high on the list of Oscar nominations at the end of the year, I’m sure.

Overall Rating: A

 


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Battle Royale

23 11 2011

With the trailer for ‘The Hunger Games” hitting theaters and with everyone wrapped up in Hunger hoopla (it’s scheduled to open March, 2012), I decided it was time to check out the one film that many have said inspired the story. “Battle Royale,” is Japanese violence at it’s worst and so is the storyline. But there are a few decent action sequences here and the “idea” behind it IS a lot like the basis of “The Hunger Games.”

Starring no one I had heard of other than Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo Yubari from “Kill Bill Vol. I”), there isn’t a lot of storyline other than a bunch of kids who have been drugged and stranded on an island by their teacher. They are informed that only one may survive and they have 3 days to kill each other or else explosive gadgets strapped to their necks will detonate, killing everyone. This sets up 2 hours of nothing but kids killing each other in sometimes ridiculous ways and mass confusion. The funny thing about this film is that it starts off showing us the ending first…and then at the end of the film? It’s a totally DIFFERENT ending? It’s ridiculous!

Anyway, I can see where people would draw the comparison. It IS a story about kids killing kids in an enclosed area. However I’ve read “The Hunger Games” and I can say that there is absolutely nothing about “Battle Royale” that reminded me of the storyline of “Games.” “Games” follows one teenage girl as she is forced to fight for her life. In “Battle Royale,” there are no developed storylines. It’s just a bunch of 7th graders who are forced to kill off one another and we never really care for any of the characters. I can’t recommend “Battle Royale” because, quite frankly, it’s not a very good movie. It’s more like “Saw” than it is “Hunger Games.” But I CAN see why there have been comparisons made…but that’s all they are…comparisons. I imagine “The Hunger Games” will be a much better film and a lot more interesting than this film could ever hope to be.

Overall Rating: D

Here’s “The Hunger Games” trailer. I’m getting jazzed up already!


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Immortals

14 11 2011

Okay…in order to explain the plot of this flick, I’d have to go into a lot of mumbo jumbo about the Greek gods and their war against their enemy known simply as the Titans. So…here it goes…

Millions of years ago, the Greek gods battled the evil Titans, defeated them and confined them in a magical cell deep below the earth’s surface. Thousands of years later, the evil King Hyperion (Mickey Roarke) goes in search of the one legendary weapon that can unleash the Titans, a magical bow & arrow called the Epirus Bow. In his rampage across Greece, he murders everyone in his path, including the mother of Theseus (Henry Cavill), who, unbeknownst by him, has been in training by Zeus himself to fight the battle against Hyperion and to save the earth from the Titans.

Following so far? Okay…

So Theseus meets an oracle (Freida Pinto) who can see into the future (as long as she is a virgin). In her dreams, she sees Theseus with the bow, so she helps him in his quest to find it. As you can imagine, that quest is not an easy one and there are a lot of beheadings, deaths by spear and some other rather violent proceedings. Needless to say, between the bloodshed and Hyperion’s sadistic ways, this film definitely earns its R rating. So from there the race is on as Hyperion and Theseus race to find the bow as the gods watch with interest from above. If Hyperion unleashes the Titans, it will mean another war, so of course they want Theseus to win. Will he get to the bow and defeat Hyperion? Or will Hyperion have his day and unleash the Titans, destroying earth and beginning another million years of war in the heavens? Oh the fun!

Needless to say, I really enjoyed “Immortals.” I’m a fan of “300″ and I thought this was a pretty good follow up to that film. Is it as good as “300?” Well…I don’t know about that. But the addition of Roarke definitely takes this one up a notch. As the evil king, Roarke shows his superior acting ability and pretty much owns this flick as he kills and maims anything and anyone in his path. It’s a good role for him and he handles it with ease.

As the hero, Henry Cavill does a good job looking like a warrior. This guy is gonna make a great Superman in 2013. Pinto is good as his oracle, Phaedra and Stephen Dorff plays his thief pal, Stavros, with a gleam in his eye that brings a little bit of light-heartedness to a pretty heavy-handed film. Luke Evans shows up in his 2nd Greek God movie (he was in “Clash Of The Titans” last year) as Zeus and John Hurt plays Zeus in his human form, an old man who befriends Theseus and trains him to fight.

As for the other aspects of this movie, I thought the production design was excellent! Cities in cliffs, the God’s watching from above the earth, the Hyperion camps that span for miles. Everything looks top notch! And the dialogue could have been a lot cheesier than it was, even though there were a few scenes that had me rolling my eyes a little bit.

So for the price of admission…this was a pretty good movie to see on an IMax screen! But don’t bother with the 3D. There’s nothing in it that stands out as a 3D experience and I wouldn’t waste your money…

Overall Rating: B+


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Drive

2 11 2011

Ryan Gosling is on a roll! Unlike “The Ides Of March” where he had to be charismatic and energetic through most of the film, this movie has him in an entirely different role that captures his ability to convey depth and personality in a character that lacks quite a bit of both.

In this movie, Gosling plays a stunt driver in Los Angeles who is also a getaway driver who transports robbers and thieves away from the police after a heist. He also works at a car repair shop for a man (Bryan Cranston from “Breaking Bad”) who is in with L.A. mobsters (Albert Brooks & Ron Perlman). The stuntman also gets to become close with a neighboring mother (Carey  Mulligan) who is waiting for her husband to be released from jail. She becomes attached to him (even though he says very little) and so does her son. When the husband (Oscar Isaac) is freed, he returns with a debt that must be repaid in order to buy his freedom and to keep his family safe. He asks the stuntman to drive him to and from the heist. Once there, the entire thing goes to hell in a handbasket and the stuntman must go into hiding to find out who is trying to kill him while also protecting the mother & son from vicious killers who will stop at nothing to get their money back.

This might sound like a typical “shoot ‘em up” kind of thriller, but this one is different in a variety of ways. First off, the direction on this movie is awesome! Nicholas Refn is a director that I had never heard of but he is mostly known for his “Pusher” films that he wrote & directed. He uses a variety of styles to give LA that “80′s” feel including a keyboard driven soundtrack and lots of neon and night time shots. It could have easily come across like a bad version of “To Live & Die In L.A.”, but this movie is more like the old Bronson or Eastwood films of the 70′s. With it’s lingering camera work and a slower pace than most action thrillers, this is a new twist on an old style of movie-making that deserves recognition at the Oscars next season.

And the cast is top notch! Gosling is perfect in his role as the stuntman. Mulligan and Cranston are fantastic as his closest confidants and friends. Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman are excellent as the mobsters and the city of L.A. plays a role also, often as a background character but always there, glistening in all it’s bright lights. If it weren’t for “The Ides Of March” being brilliant in its own right, I would say “Drive” might be the film that gets Gosling more notoriety. But with both sharing time at the multiplexes, you can’t go wrong with either. Although not as interesting as his role in “March,” the stuntman definitely delivers the goods as a subtle ride with violence and mayhem. If you are a fan of thrillers that take their time setting up the story, this will be right down your alley. Think “History of Violence” without the sex scenes and you have “Drive.” And it’s awesome!

Overall Rating: A


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Green Lantern

2 11 2011

The critics raked it across the coals this past summer so without much fanfare, this DC Comics superhero came and went pretty quietly as far as I was concerned. Although I was a huge DC Comics fan when I was a kid and I like Ryan Reynolds as an actor (best part of “Wolverine” if you ask me), with so much bad press I decided to wait. So I rented it on Direct TV one day when my son was sick and home from school and I gotta tell you…other than the time it took to set up the storyline (which is expansive, I will admit)…I kind of liked this movie. It’s not a DEEP film by any means and it isn’t as good as the “Iron Man” films or “Captain America” but it definitely holds up against some action movies and the CGI is pretty darn good (in my opinion).

The story follows fighter pilot Hal Jordan as he is selected by a Green Lantern to take over his super powers (supplied by a glowing green ring) and to protect a section of the galaxy that includes earth. Meanwhile, there is a nasty villain that has been released from its slumber on a planet that is now swallowing planets in its path. It feeds on fear and the Lanterns must now fight their biggest threat ever. Can the newly appointed HUMAN Lantern help in conquering such a strong foe? Well…of course he can! And with some nifty effects (he turns a falling helicopter into a race car and rushes it over hundreds of spectators at one point) and the charisma of Reynolds, Green Lantern succeeds on many levels as quality entertainment as far as I’m concerned.

So in the case of critics for this summer blockbuster who panned it and seeing as how it DID make $206,142,554 at the box office even though it cost over $200 million to make, I wouldn’t call this movie a “failure” simply because it didn’t break $300 million and make a huge profit. The visuals are well done, the acting is pretty damn good considering (Peter Saarsgard and Mark Strong are excellent as scientist Hector Hammond and Sinestro) and I was entertained throughout. Maybe this would have fared better if there hadn’t been so many OTHER superhero films clogging the market this summer? I dunno. But rent it if you’re in the mood for an entertaining action flick. It’s worth the price of the rental!

Overall Rating: B 


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Coming Next Summer…

13 10 2011

Seriously? This needs no introduction. And you’ve probably already seen it 25 times…


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