Category: Films

Review: Now You See Me

This is the second time I’ve seen this film and interestingly, the same problems I had with it the first time, I still have in the same way. So at least it’s consistent.

There’s an interesting thing about seeing a caper film a second time. Well, any film with a “twist” or two in it, I suppose, but caper films are known for being heavily reliant on specific plot details not being revealed until late in the game, Particularly this one, which involves magic tricks. See, watching it for the first time (and yes, I went my second time with a friend who hadn’t seen it before) you’re not expecting the surprise ending and when it comes, it hits you full in the gut. But that second (and subsequent) viewings, when you’re ready for the punch, you can usually see it coming a mile away and sometimes, that telegraphy can completely ruin the film. The Sixth Sense is like that. In recent days, due to his involvement with the Will/Jaden Smith vehicle After Earth, director M. Night Shyamalan has come to be revealed for the charlatan he is and Sixth Sense proves it. Watching that film once you know the ending is an exercise in tedium. The only reason it garnered the praise it did at the time was people weren’t expecting that hit and when it came, it sent them reeling.  Continue reading “Review: Now You See Me” →

Review: Man of Steel

Man-of-Steel-poster-SupermanSeeing the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, I am struck by a couple of things, not the least of which is how inured we’ve become to mass destruction. I know much has been made of the 9/11 imagery in the film, and I agree, it’s excessive and, for me, serves no purpose other than to show how short a distance we’ve really come in the last 12 years.

Another thing which strikes me about this film is how lazy the screenwriters are, knowing the iconic nature of the characters involved, they figure we already know all we need to know so if they’re not going to mess with the canon, they don’t give us anything to go on. We know nothing about Lois Lane, The Kents are stereotypical salt of the earth farmers and Perry White has been reduced to a figurehead with bark but no real bite. Continue reading “Review: Man of Steel” →

Review: World War Z

So I went and saw World War Z  last night. I liked it.

I understand it has absolutely nothing to do with the  book, which I also understand is quite good and written by the same guy, Max Brooks, who started this whole zombie craze with his book “The Zombie Survival Guide” (and who also happens to be the son of famed comedian Mel Brooks). Not having read the book, and understanding that books and films are two very different animals (teaching a course on literary adaptation will do that to a fella) I don’t think I’m missing anything. I also think that if you went in to this expecting to see a faithful adaptation of the book, you missed out on a fun, exciting and heart-stopping thriller. Continue reading “Review: World War Z” →

Behind the Scenes: List of the 100 Best BTS Photos from Iconic Movies

Behind the Scenes: List of the 100 Best BTS Photos from Iconic Movies.

As a film buff, former screenwriter, part-time art department flunkie and now history of film professor, I love this site. To me, 90% of the magic of film is what happens behind the scenes, how it all gets put together seamlessly so when you’re watching it, it’s all happening in real time – regardless of whether the scene were filmed miles or months apart, whether the characters involved were in the same room or they never met in person (or if they ever existed at all).

The other nice thing about seeing these behind the scenes glimpses is they serve to separate the actors from the characters and the drama of the finished product with the fun and enjoyment usually to be found in the making of.

Review: The Internship

The-Internship-posterWhat can I say? You see a film advertised with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson and if you don’t know what you’re going to get going in, you haven’t been paying attention to cinema the last decade. And in that respect, The Internship doesn’t disappoint. Of course, that same reasoning can also be used to explain why the film did poorly at the box office and is getting a paltry 6.4 rating on IMDB and a piss poor 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is NOT a film for anyone looking for deep meaning, clever dialogue or twisty, complicated plot lines. Instead, this is a film for people who want to spend a couple of hours out of the heat, watching characters you know do what’s expected of them and everyone comes out exactly where they’re supposed to be by the end.

Director Shawn Levy, who started his career doing Disney TV, has a features resume filled with nice but innocuous films (Night at the Museum 1&2, Date Night, Real Steel), films you forget while walking to the parking lot, but at least they’re films you could take the family to see.  Continue reading “Review: The Internship” →

Review: Zombie Strippers

I’m gonna start out by saying I loved this film. Let me just get it out of the way now. Zombie Strippers is a fun, frolicking fest of undead female flesh! It is packed with enough laughs, nudity and philosophy to make it required viewing for any college student’s weekend late night plans. Not since Chopper Chick in Zombie Town have I laughed this hard at an intentionally funny horror film. For sheer entertainment value, Zombie Strippers ranks among the top films of the year.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying this is a great film – or even a good one, just that it is a blast to watch and if you go in with the attitude that everyone involved was looking to have some fun and make something for you to enjoy, you will walk out pleasantly surprised and with a huge smile on your face. Continue reading “Review: Zombie Strippers” →

Review: Shutter

Shutter, the latest in the Asian/American horror film exchange program, is one of the weaker entries, although it still has enough chills to make it a decent Friday night date film. The story is typical horror film fare: photographer Ben Shaw (Joshua Jackson) and his wife Jane (Rachael Taylor) get married and move to Japan where Ben has a job. For Ben, this is his second tour in Japan, having lived there two years earlier working for the same company. This time, though, since he’s newly married, he and his wife spend a few days honeymooning. As Jane drives the couple to an idyllic cabin in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, a ghostly female figure appears on the road. Jane can’t get out of the way fast enough and runs the girl down, crashing the car in the process. Of course, when she and Ben examine the road, no body is found. Like I said, typical. Continue reading “Review: Shutter” →

Review: 21

There is only one game in a casino where you play against the house and you have the possibility of beating the odds – if you know what you’re doing. That game is blackjack aka 21. The rules are simple: starting with two cards, you can keep drawing until you get as close to 21 as you can without going over. The dealer does the same thing and whoever is closer at the end, wins. Simple, right?

Well, in the early 80s through the early 90s, different groups of students at MIT used a mathematical system to beat the game and take various casinos for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then, in 1993, it all changed. A small group of MIT students, led by a charismatic mathematics professor, decided to try and take Vegas for the big score. The new film 21 is based loosely on their experiences. Continue reading “Review: 21” →

Review: Run, Fatboy, Run

Run Fatboy Run is probably the worst, if most descriptive, title of a film out this season. In the simplest terms, it tells you the basic plot of a film where a slightly overweight man, Dennis (Simon Pegg), is going to do some running. What it doesn’t tell you, however, is how much heart, humor and honesty there is in this little film. And how much you’ll enjoy the hundred minutes you spend in the theater watching it.

The running mentioned in the title serves a dual purpose – it is both literal and metaphorical. When the film opens, Dennis is about to marry the very pregnant Libby (Thandie Newton). Unfortunately, it isn’t meant to be, since the thought of a wife and child is just too much for the simple Dennis to take. So he runs away, heading off down the street while friends and family yell at him to return. Continue reading “Review: Run, Fatboy, Run” →

Review: Under the Same Moon

The first real tear-jerker of 2008 is here and it’s called La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon). That “same moon” is the one under which both Rosario, a young mother working in Los Angeles and Carlitos, her nine year old son back in Mexico, both sleep. It’s the moon they both look at knowing the other is also looking. It’s a way they have to connect with each other between their weekly Sunday morning phone calls. At times, it is the only hope they have of ever seeing each other again.

The problem, of course, is immigration. Rosario has come to the United States illegally in hopes of making some money and, ultimately, gaining legal status and then sending for her son. Carlitos, meanwhile, has been stuck in Mexico living with his grandmother (his father took off before he was born and we find out is living in Tucson). Continue reading “Review: Under the Same Moon” →

Review: Horton Hears a Who

Horton hears a whoThe filmmakers behind the new animated feature Horton Hears a Who have created a sumptuous looking movie, however, they seem to have missed the mark when it comes to their intended audience. Which is to say they never quite master the great cartoon juggling act which involves enough silliness to keep the little ones interested and enough smart and clever dialogue and plot to satisfy the parents. Here, it seems, there are times when anything happening on screen beyond the visual is going to go right over the children’s heads while at other times, the film plays like bad Saturday morning fare – and there’s really very little crossover. Continue reading “Review: Horton Hears a Who” →

Review: Semi-Pro

Sports movies have their own tropes and clichés. There’s always the underdog team, the former star hoping for a comeback, the rising star looking for his break, the down-and-out owner looking to make his team profitable and the big play at the end which redeems everything. Semi-Pro, Will Ferrell’s new vehicle, hits all of those conventions and at the same time adds in a new one, that of Will Ferrell.

Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder from 1970s, who used his money to indulge in his second passion, basketball. He is the owner/coach/power forward for the Flint Tropics, an ABA team facing extinction as the league prepares to fold and be absorbed into the NBA. Moon is a horrible player, knowing nothing about the actual mechanics of the game. Instead, he focuses on odd marketing ploys to get a crowd and his mantra of “Everybody Loves Everybody” designed to make the players all feel like a family. Continue reading “Review: Semi-Pro” →

Review: Vantage Point

vantage_point_xlgRecently, there has been a run of films which should be good based on everything from idea to cast to behind the camera talent and yet they just don’t work. Vantage Point is the latest entry in this long and distinguished list.

The film steals it’s basic idea from Akira Kurosawa’s Rashômon, where the same event is seen from differing perspectives. The idea is that when seen from a different angle, different things become more apparent. Here, the central event is the attempted assassination of the President of The United States (William Hurt) while at a summit meeting in Spain and the efforts of Secret Serviceman Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid), who took a bullet for his Commandeer-in-Chief a year prior, to solve the crime. Continue reading “Review: Vantage Point” →

Review: Jumper

jumper_ver7The biggest problem with Doug Liman’s new action film Jumper is that, well, it’s boring. There’s not enough action in it to keep the plot moving and not enough drama to really engage the viewer. Ultimately, it feels like an engine misfiring on three out of four cylinders – you can feel the power there, but it’s just not getting through.

The story is easily digestible and doesn’t tax the brain too much. David Rice (Hayden Christensen), the class wimp, discovers he has the power to teleport himself to anyplace he’s seen and so, at fifteen, he quits school and uses this new found ability to rob banks and generally live the life of an international bon vivant. When a shadow law enforcement agency, in the form of Roland (a white haired Samuel L. Jackson) suddenly shows up, knowing about David’s strange power, things start to unravel. He thinks the best course of action is to go home to Detroit, find his high school crush Millie (Rachel Bilson) and jet off to Rome. No, this doesn’t make much sense to me either. Continue reading “Review: Jumper” →

Review: In Bruges

in_brugesThe genre of hitman movies has just gotten another addition in the form of In Bruges, and this one deserves the accolades. Contrary to the trailers, which paint the film as a comedy in the same vein as Gross Pointe Blank(another standout in the field), In Bruges takes its subject matter very seriously, infusing humor into a dark, compelling drama.

The story is simple: two hitmen, Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) have just finished a job and are hiding out in Bruges, an idyllic tourist attraction in Belgium, waiting for instructions from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). Of course, there’s more to it than that. There always is. Here though, we get the whole story in pealed of layers, each time we learn something new, we must rethink what has gone before and put that bit of information into its proper place. In Bruges, then, is not your typical shoot ’em up. It is a film for those who want their action mixed in with thought-provoking conversation. Continue reading “Review: In Bruges” →