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The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
The Matrix I Didn't Know I Needed...And I really needed it!!
SPOILERS!!! Do not pass go. SPOILERS are HERE!!
First of all, I see why some reviewers are disappointed. The technology that was used to create the first Matrix has been updated and refined. To many, what once seemed cutting edge is now 'ho-hum'. Because they fixate on that, they miss the meaning. The lesson. Lana Wachowski provides a review of the old to help transition into the new. It is a seamless transition.
We have spent the last 22 years immersed in a cinematic world so completely changed and altered by the Wachowskis that it's hard to imagine life before it. BM (before matrix). That change has permeated literally every part of our lives. It is hard for someone who has never experienced the world pre-Matrix to understand the profound shift in the zeitgeist that movie ushered. Thus, these few approach the movie with a jaded eye and are unable to appreciate the subtle shifts that this movie brings. There will be those intent to point out what the movie is not without realizing what it is.
What the Wachowskis bring to cinema transcend the visual. They are masters at taking the big set pieces to make you see and question the reality of existence. This is not intended to be the original or any of the ones which followed.
SPOILER TIME
Neo and Trinity died in the last film. What we have always known about the machines is that they waste nothing. Everything is recycled. Their bodies are repaired and replaced into the power plant (in a special section) and they are reinserted into a version of the matrix. A bit of time has passed. Twenty years or so and Neo (now fully integrated back into the matrix as his alter ego Thomas Anderson) is living and working as a game creator. In this version of the matrix, he has created a game called The Matrix, which takes the events of his real life and made it into game play. He is not adjusting as well as could be expected and he has a therapist (Neil Patrick Harris in sparking blue glasses) who has a black cat named Déjà vu. His therapist prescribes him copious doses of medication (blue pills) to help him adjust to his psychosis. Trinity, meanwhile, has a life as Tiffany. She is married to Chad and has three children. Their lives seem okay and not quite right at the same time.
60 years have passed in the real world. A group of humans and sentient machines work together to free Neo. The new human city has machines working alongside humans with General Niobe in charge of the fleet. Neo wants to free Trinity. He, along with several ships, sets out to do this and mayhem ensues. There are revelations along the way, including a redefinition of the zombie horde scenario.
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I no longer expose myself to the zombie hordes of non-vaccinated-non-mask-wearing-mouth-breathers in a theater setting. I chose to view this at home on HBOMAX. I found the movie satisfying and refreshing. I appreciated that the passage of time was acknowledged. I liked the cameo of the Merovingian, who looked amazingly like the Trainman. I enjoyed the incorporated elements from the earlier films. All these elements helped propel the story forward. The action and fight sequences were exciting. The expansion of the Matrix universe was welcome. I had a really good time watching this film It is definitely something I'm going to enjoy watching multiple times.
I highly recommend this film and hope you enjoy the expansion of the Matrix mythos as much as I did.
I urge you to see this film, but remember 'there is no spoon.'
Men in Black: International (2019)
Les Twin were AWESOME. Everything else not so much
Spoilers Ahead. Turn Back Now!
I saw MIB: International and, for the most part, I was unimpressed. It was very obvious from the first segment of the movie who the real bad guy was going to be. There were no surprises in the film. At. All.
I like Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, just not in this. Okay, we KNOW you're Thor and Valkyrie from the MCU. We did not need the obligatory hammer reference. Why is his character super stupid in the movie? Was it because of the Liam Neeson character's use of the neuralyzer on him. Emma Thompson is one of my favorite actresses and I just wanted to cry at the waste of her formidable talent. Also, what is WITH Australians suddenly finding their inner comedian (a'la Mel Gibson) and just running with it?! If frat boy humor is your thing then maybe Hemsworth will be better served in the next Lethal Weapon or Zac Efron movie. As a matter of fact, Zac would have been a better choice as Agent H. I did not like the Agent M character. There was no chemistry between Agent M and Agent H. How could there be? H is an idiot. M is all-knowing, consistently saves the day and is so 'Mary Sue' that I thought that's what the 'M' stood for. Let's just let this franchise die in peace.
This film is exactly what I expected. It is bland, uninventive, repackaged and so very, very boring I had a hard time staying awake. I didn't have high hopes. There was such a waste of awesome talent beginning with the director. F. Gary Gray is a good director. I loved A Man Apart; Law Abiding Citizen; and Fate of the Furious. I do not know what happened here but I'm betting on the script that was written by Matt Holloway (Transformer: The Last Knight, which should have served as a huge red flag right there); Art Marcum (Punisher: War Zone, that says it all.); and Lowell Cunningham (who created the comic book). I'm placing the blame for this mishmash on the shoulders of Holloway and Marcum. Let's face it, if you are known for awful scripts that have a colon in them, then you need to rethink your writing strategy. I'll give you that they both worked on Iron Man, but they were part of a four-writer team on that one. Just sayin'.
Honestly, the only reason I walked in the theater and plunked down my money was to see Les Twins. Larry and Laurent Bourgeois are 6'5" identical twins, fashion models, and arguably the best hip-hop dancers in the world. The twins played the red herring bad alien. I thoroughly enjoyed their screen time. In fact, I was only totally engaged in the film when they were on screen. Anyone who is familiar with Larry and Laurent know that their musicality and physicality is off the charts, so it was no surprise that they made the aliens very compelling. They didn't have much dialog but that wasn't a problem. Honestly, the derivative dialog was lack luster. I do want to see more of Les Twins on the big screen. I'm looking forward to seeing them in CATS later this year.
My recommendation is that you do not waste your money going to your favorite multi-plex to see this movie. Only go if you want to enjoy Les Twins on the big screen. Otherwise do what I'm going to do. Buy the bluray and fast forward through the boring parts.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Omissions and Plot Holes Galore!
SPOILERS Ahead!!! Turn back now!!
Endgame brings MORE plot holes and nonsense. How can this be??
Part One of the Avengers movie (Infinity War) oozed into theaters in Spring of 2018. It was not what I expected and I was pretty vocal in my dislike of the film. I stand by that review.
Spring of 2019 brought us Part Two (Endgame). I motored over to my local multiplex and plopped down to watch and be amazed. As I sat munching my popcorn before the feature I kept thinking. "It's going to be okay. It's really going to be okay. It can't be as bad as the first film. It's going to be okay."
It was NOT okay.
How is it possible that this film is even worse than Part One? That should not be possible, right? But it is. I'll attribute most of the 'bad' to the fact that the movies were shot simultaneously. For some reason the whole Betty Botter tongue twister is rattling around in my head. I suppose because the Russos needed some better butter to make their bitter batter better. Evidently, they couldn't find any.
Because the 'batter' is bitter y'all!
So many things went wrong here. Let's start at the beginning. We spend the first hour of this snooze fest in a never ending loop of 'where's waldo' to catch up on some of the folk that are left after Thanos snapped his fingers and killed off half of life in the universe in Infinity War. Stark is floating in space with Nebula running out of oxygen and food. Everyone is depressed. Thor is super depressed. Enter Captain Marvel who brings Stark and Nebula to earth. Does she stay to help? Nope. She flies off to help other planets that don't have an 'avengers'. Whoa, wait...I thought she was supposed to save the day, trounce Thanos. I thought this would be her moment. No? We have to save the world and find Thanos on our own? Huh! The team decides to find Thanos, take back the stones and reverse the first snapping. Thor whacks off Thanos' head when they learn Thanos destroyed the stones and there will be no do over.
The snooze fest continues 'Five Years Later'.
Ant Man escapes the quantum realm (plot hole...cos how did he do that, exactly?) He finds Black Widow and Captain America and explains that he's only been gone 5 hours 'cause 'time moves differently in the quantum realm.' (say what?) Captain America is leading a 'touchy feely' grief counseling encounter group with one of the directors (Joe Russo) providing a cameo as a grieving spouse. This was our gay moment that we were promised and it almost slips by unnoticed.
Moving on.
The group approaches Stark to do the time travel reset. He initially blows them off because he has a life and a kid. However, he puts all that to the side because of the loss of Peter Parker. We gotta have Spiderman back because his next movie is in the pipeline. Bruce Banner and the Hulk have found the peace Jekyll and Hyde never did and are happily signing autographs, taking selfies and blissfully not remembering that Hulk wussed out in Infintity War because Thanos kicked his green butt. Thor is living in New Asgard in squalor with his buddies Korg and Miek, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, porking up on snacks and developing a substantial beer belly. Hawkeye has turned into a vigilante and is systematically wiping out bad guys to avenge his family and improve the world. Yeah, whatever works.
The whole 'stone heist' segment of the film was like a bad version of any of the Ocean's movies except all the bad that went on was not thought out ahead or planned. In fact, the movie jokes about the improbability of time travel by referencing a ton of movies (from Back to the Future to Star Trek) and saying 'that's not the way it works'. One problem...they never really explain how time travel 'really' works because nothing in the whole process was consistent. Do you or don't you interact with your former self? Maybe, maybe not. Will all be returned to its 'pre Thanos' snapped' glory? Not really. Will all our favorites come back to life? Ehhh...not quite (Loki and Vision are not brought back and I'm STILL upset about that!) Will what you do in the past change your timeline? Depends on what you want to do? What happens if you decide to stay in the past or your past self comes to the future? Why quibble over minutiae? Plot hole after plot hole opens up and we're supposed to just swallow the blue pill and believe whatever we're told...however cockeyed that may be.
Captain Marvel does come back to take out Thanos' ship and join with the other women (in a heavy handed obligatory feminist moment that is so contrived) to do battle with Thanos and keep him away from the glove. I had hoped that this would be Captain Marvel's moment. I thought she would put on the glove, snap her fingers and we'd all go back to business as usual. But no. She makes no attempt to put the glove on herself. Really?? Tony Stark uses his tech to transfer the stones from Thanos' glove to his, snap his fingers, and turn Thanos and all his minions to dust. But...but...we had been lead to believe that Captain Marvel was the pinnacle of super heroes. Guess Captain Marvel didn't get that memo. So why did we even need a Captain Marvel origin story? We could have had a Black Widow origin story. We were already invested in her character. Plus Scarlett is a better actress than Brie. She just is.
What is so frustrating is none of this is a surprise. Not one thing. We know that Steve is going to stay with Peggy. We know that Black Widow is going to sacrifice herself for the Soul Stone. We know the effects of the first snapping will be successfully reversed. The Russos telegraph every single plot point (and I use the word 'plot' loosely because there wasn't one). The dialog was so basic that I found myself speaking it before the characters did. I hate when that happens because it's never a good sign in a first-run film that I've never seen and which I did not Google or read a single review.
This film was a monumental waste of time. I waited ten years for this. I waited TEN years for THIS??
I rated the movie a '3' because I got to see some old favs. I was glad to see Rene Russo as Frigga. Loki, of course and the Strike Team leader Rumlow.
I'm sure this movie will make a ton of money. Most Marvel films do. I usually see each of the films in theaters more than once. Not this time. I'm done. I will not give any more of my hard earned cash to this effort. Not one penny more. Neither should you.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Plot Holes, Jumbled Action Sequences, & A Big Let Down, Oh My!
SPOILER ALERT!!
I am a Marvel Chick. I totally dig the whole Marvel Verse and wave my 'fangirl flag' proudly. I was looking forward to this movie so much...then something happened. I went to see it today. I did not read any of the reviews before I went. I never do. I always view a film without input from folk that usually don't know what I like. So there I was, popcorn and coke in hand. Two rows back from the screen ('cause I'm into total immersion, okay) in my reclining seat.
Ten minutes in and I know we're in trouble. It's not the fact that two of my favorite characters didn't survive the opening credits. This is Infinity War, right? People are gonna die. It's just seemed so pointless. Loki dies but Thor survives? How is that fair? Hemdall dies saving Hulk of all people?? Not that I'm hatin' on Hulk...but come on, Hemdall! You have sworn an oath to the 'Thone of Asgard' and you don't save EITHER of the princes? Really?? I know Hulk is refusing to 'come out' after Thanos kicks his butt that no one ever has before but still...
The movie goes rapidly downhill from here. Thanos and his twisted cult of psychopaths got on my nerves early and they danced all over them until the end of the film. We bounce all over the world (and off it) to keep Thanos away from the Infinity stones. Who decided that two of the most important stones be 'hidden' on earth? Not a good idea.
Our Merry Band of Marvel Heroes needs to take a page out of the Star Trek verse. 'The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few or the one.' This could have saved SO many lives. Loki gives Thanos the Tesseract to save Thor. Thanos tried to kill them all anyway. Actually succeeds in killing both Loki, Hemdall and all of the Asgardians. Thanos sacrifices Gamora, the daughter he loves. (Thanos has a really weird idea of what love entails...but whatever) He does this so he can gain access to the Soul Stone. Dr. Strange gives Thanos the Time Stone to save Tony Stark. (Tony Stark? Wasn't his expiration date up like a couple years ago?? ) This gives Thanos the power to turn back time whenever he wants. Which he does after Scarlett Witch kills Vision (her lover) to destroy the Mind Stone. He just turns back time. Rips the stone out of Vision's head and heads off to wipe out life as we know it. So Scarlett Witch went through all that gut wrenching heartache for nothing.
This could have been a good movie. Maybe even a great one but it's not. It's a mishmash of the worst parts of just about every Marvel movie over the past 10 years. There are a few notable omissions. Most of the gang is on deck but they're so ineffective. They rehash the same differences they had in their other movies showing little or no growth or development aside from the superficial 'romantic' themes. I get that Pepper and Tony are an item. We knew this already. I get that Black Widow and Bruce are an item. We knew this two movies ago. Same with Gamora and Peter, Scarlett Witch and Vision. and on and on and on. This is supposed to make their loss more poignant but it doesn't. The fight sequence in Wakanda and on Thanos home planet were so predictable. Such a waste of excellent CGI and actors.
The only surprise in the movie is who survives. Thor, Tony Stark, and Steve Rogers survive. I know this is to set up the next part of the Infinity War set that is scheduled to hit theaters later this year. The Russo boys need to step up their game. This disappointment does not bode well for the new film. Guys. sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Just FYI. You just know that someone is going to get hold of the time stone and turn back time so we can blah, blah, blah. Been there, done that.
I really wanted to love this movie. I really, really did. But I left the theater feeling used and not in a good way. I felt like Marvel turned up the manipulation meter to eleven. Because, you know it's eleven which is one more than ten, right?
I rated the movie a '4' because I wanted it to be good. It just wasn't.
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther Lives Up To The Hype
SPOILERS BELOW!
Very few movies give me the thrill of discovery. Fewer still give me a sense of wonder or touch my heart. Black Panther ticked all my boxes. I throughly enjoyed this movie. True, there was a lot of hype going in. Marvel worked the numbers and made sure every person on earth with an Internet connection had access to snippets of the movie and trailers were released to keep the momentum going. I feared that this over exposure would work to the film's detriment. When the release date was announced, I thought, "cute. release it during Black History Month. heavy handed much?" I went in prepared to be disappointed.
I was NOT disappointed.
The level of excitement within the Black community where I live was high. Sure, we had Blade but that was over ten years ago. There was Spawn but, no reflection on Michael Jai White, who wants to identify with demon reject from Hell? I mean, really?? Other superheros of color? Don't think so. Sure, sidekick roles aplenty but nothing uniquely ours. I got to the theater in Vicksburg, Mississippi and was surprised at the lines waiting to get tickets. I bought my ticket on-line in anticipation of this very thing but the number of people waiting was more than I thought would be in attendance. Oh, and some people came dressed in their best Afrocentric garb. How cool was that?
Black Panther is more than a superhero origin flick. It is a genre bashing tour-de-force. It is indeed an origin story but it also includes some spy elements. There's some royal family hijinks and socio-political commentary. None of it is too heavy handed to get in the way of a rollicking good time.a Chadwick Boseman is on point as the titular character. We find him just as he is taking on the mantle of King of Wakanda and Protector The Black Panther. He survives a challenge by one of the leaders of a border tribe. But doesn't have time to settle into his role before he is challenged, again, by the long lost son of his uncle. A cousin he never knew he had. So the sins of the father are now visited upon the son. Michael B. Jordan wears the role of villain well. His Killmonger is filled with a justifiable rage. He challenges and 'kills' T'Challa' to secure the throne of Wakanda and the title of Black Panther. That's when his vision for Wakanda takes a turn for the worse. The supporting male actors led by Forest Whittaker are fully formed individuals with their own stories that weave into the tapestry that is Wakanda.
My favorite characters were the Dora Milaje. These fierce warriors are the body guards of the king. These characters were not based on myth. They actually have historic counterparts. The Mino were the all female regiment in what is not Benin. Westerners called them the Dahomey Amazons. And that's the other thing that the movie does. It gives us...all of us of African descent...something to be proud of besides animated lions and CGI gorillas. It allows us to be proud of the diversity of the Mother Continent without pandering or caricatures. This is not Congo, or Tarzan. The Africans are not bumbling sidekicks. They are front and center and they kick ass! The Dora Milaje have a vital part to play in the movie. They are not arm candy and need no one to rescue them. They are led by General Okoye portrayed by The Walking Dead's Dania Gurira. The Dora Milaje were introduced in Captain America: Civil War. Actress Florence Kasumba's one line (Move or you will be moved.) spoken with quiet authority piqued my interest. T'Challa's sister, Shuri, is a tech genius. She creates all his suits, weapons, gadgets and other items using the mineral vibranium that is only found in Wakanda. Angela Bassett is the queen mother.
The action sequences are astounding. Ryan Coogler knows how to shoot action to keep you on the edge of your seat. The casino fight was awesome. Two women fought numerous assailants. It's the first time I've seen a wig used as a weapon. Although, to be fair, Okoye was tired of it before the butt kicking started.
Black Panther has it all. There's humor, heartache, pathos, action, action, cool tech, warmth...something for everyone. Do yourself a favor and go see it on the big screen. You will not regret it. I'm going back to get another dose of all that Wakandan goodness. Join me.
A Walk in the Woods (2015)
The Road That Should Not Have Been Taken
This review will contain SPOILERS!!
A Walk in the Woods seems like a pleasant enough film. It ambles along like the two main characters but doesn't really go anywhere. You are left with such a bland taste in your mouth that you have trouble working up enough energy to hate it.
I went to see this film this past weekend as a favor to my Evil Twin, Kathryn. I did not have any real expectations for the film so I can't really say I'm disappointed. I am annoyed. Robert Redford is a great actor. Emma Thompson is a great actress. Nick Nolte rarely fails to amuse. All three of these actors were greatly misused in this movie.
A travel author, Redford, wants to reinvigorate his life since a lot of the people he knows are dying and he wants to do one more great thing. He's a successful, yet unfulfilled, writer. His long suffering wife, Emma Thompson, tries to get him to perk up. The writer hits on an idea to walk the Appalachian Trail to experience and reconnect with his country. He has returned home to New Hampshire after living in the UK for many years. He contacts many of his friends who have better sense than to accompany him on this fool's journey. His wife leaves him articles she gleans from online about the dangers of hiking the trail. He will not be dissuaded. He is finally contacted by an estranged friend who practically begs to be included in this adventure.
These two men are woefully out of shape and ill prepared for this journey. The two actors were woefully mismatched and lack any chemistry. This movie morphs into Ishtar for a new generation.
There's really very little that I can say positive about the film. It shows some beautiful scenery. That's about it. The movie has no real heart. The dialog is preachy on the one hand and mildly misogynistic on the other. It has a grumpiness that never really lifts. The comedic moments, and they are few, are contrived set pieces.
In the end the movie is like bad Divinity candy. Fluffy, light, beautiful but with a nasty aftertaste.
Don't waste your time or your money on this.
The Gift (2015)
Wickedly, Creepily Awesome
This review will contain SPOILERS!!
Sometimes you walk into a theater, plop down in your seat expecting to be mildly entertained and are instead blown out of your chair. The Gift is the movie that does that this summer.
The Gift has been advertised as yet another version of Fatal Attraction. It is NOT! Don't even think of that movie because if you liked that one this one is going to disappoint you. You will think you see a scene from Fatal Attraction about to play out and it will take off in an entirely different direction. The movie does have an atmosphere that will totally have you jumping out of your chair. You will think you know what's going to happen next and most of the time you will be wrong.
The movie is written and directed by Joel Edgerton. You may have seen him in Zero Dark Thirty, or Warrior. I first remember him from King Arthur. I loved him in Kinky Boots. This is his first time directing a full-length film (he has a couple of shorts under his belt...no pun intended).
I went to see this because I did not want to see the other offerings at the multiplex. So I thought it would keep me awake until I could slip quietly out of the theater to meet my friends for a late lunch. I blew off lunch because I was totally drawn into the story. I could not wait to see what would happen next.
The writing is tight. The directing is masterful. The acting is on point. It is as close to perfect as you are likely to see in a late summer movie. So let's get to those spoilers, shall we?
The story revolves around Simon (Jason Bateman in a career-changing role) and Robyn who have moved to California from Chicago because Simon has a slick new job and Robyn is recovering from something tragic in her immediate past. Abuse of prescription drugs is only one of the things that haunts her. She is fragile and is played well by Rebecca Hall (Remember her from Iron Man 3 and Transcendence??). Simon, at first, appears to be the perfect husband. He is supportive, loving, attentive but gives off the vibe that everything is not as perfect as he makes it appear. They even have a charming, lovable dog to round out their family. They move into a beautiful home that has WAY more windows than it should. Okay, got a question...Why do the people in thrillers move into houses where the creepy guy can look in on them interacting with no problem? Have they not heard of blinds, curtains, sheers for Pete's Sake?! I digress....
Simon and Robyn bump into a guy from Simon's past at a store. The guy, Gordon (or Gordo) is played by Edgerton. Gordo went to high school with Simon and starts dropping by their house leaving gifts by their front door and trying to ingratiate himself to the couple. Alarm bells start going off the minute this guy comes on screen but Robyn thinks he's a good person. Simon wants the guy to go away.
Whatever you think you may know or figure out from the first part of the film is totally wrong. Edgerton builds a wonderful house of cards that comes crashing down and no one is left unscathed. The film is not about lost or tortured love. It does not have gratuitous violence or sex. It is an intense thrill ride of a movie. The Gift is about how the past never is truly past. It is about how once something is done it can never be undone. It's about revenge and how the choices we make will come back to haunt us in ways we can't imagine.
I am recommending this film to anyone who loves thrillers. It is flawless. You will not be disappointed.
Southpaw (2015)
Kinda Hated it/Kinda Loved it !!
I walked in to view this film not knowing what to expect. I knew that it was going to be brutal, visceral, and overwhelmingly violent...and I was okay with that. After all the script was pinned by Kurt Sutter who has pretty much cornered the market on brutal, visceral, overwhelmingly violent screenplays. The movie is directed by one of my favorites, Antoine Fuqua who knows how to shoot violence. I didn't expect to have such a mixed reaction to the whole thing.
First off, there will definitely be spoilers ahead. So, fair warning, SPOILERS!!
Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way...I'm not sure how anyone can claim they don't know what's going to happen in the movie. Did you watch the trailer? The whole movie is in the trailer. Well, let me qualify that a bit. The whole 'arc' of the movie is in the trailer. I was a bit put off by this especially since I love the director and the screenwriter. This is the Rocky film Sylvester Stallone wish he had made. Except instead of a dim-witted boxer we have a dim-witted boxer totally fueled by rage. He has to get the hell knocked out of him in order to dig deep into his rage and pound the crap out of his opponent.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Billy Hope. Yeah, yeah, we get it. Billy is the "Great White Hope". Jake has pretty much cornered the market on the tortured, quirky, psychotic anti-hero. Forrest Whittaker is his mentor who teaches him how to get in touch with the talent beneath the rage. Billy loses everything, hits rock bottom, then comes back. Cue tears and cheers.
Now let me tell you what I love about this movie. The film is, at its heart, the story of a father's love for his daughter and what he is willing to do to get her back into his life. Billy Hope is not the brightest bulb in the box, he works in a violent profession, and his rage fuels his ability to do that. But, Billy loves his wife and daughter. He is loyal to his friends. He just puts his trust in the wrong man, his Don King style manager played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.
The relationship between Billy and Leila, his daughter, is one of the things that I really like about this film. Another is his relationship with his trainer, Tick Wills. Billy could have drowned himself in drugs, he could have self-destructed. He almost does. But he digs deep, gets help and comes back.
The movie is beautifully filmed. You are not ringside. You are right in the ring feeling every punch and every blow. The soundtrack has music by Eminem, who was originally intended as the star if the movie had been a sequel to his film 8 Mile. The music is a perfect counterpoint to the action.
I don't know if I can recommend this film. I'd like to but it left me feeling a bit blah. Who knows..it will probably become a cult film.
Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)
A Murky Disappointment
There may be SPOILERS below.
I am a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil and James Cameron. Huge fan.
This movie, which has been on my 'must see' list since I saw the trailer, was not up to the standards of either. I sat in the theater (the Malco Grandview in Madison, MS) trying to figure out what went wrong.
Instead of being enthralled and swept up in the stunning Cirque du Soleil visuals the way I was with Dralion and every single other Cirque du Soliel show I've ever seen; I sat shaking my head and trying to actually see the performances through the murky darkness searching desperately for the 'stunning visuals'. I actually tried taking the 3-D glasses off to see if maybe they were dirty. Truthfully, the darn trailer was more 'there' than the actual film.
I expected to have an immersive experience similar to the one I had when I saw Avatar (9 times). Didn't happen. Not even close. I expected to be brought to tears the way I was when I saw my first Cirque show (Nouvelle Experience). Didn't happen.
I knew something was amiss when the film opened with the lead dancer telling us what the storyline of the film was going to be. Really? You have to tell us what happens before it happens? The trailer already set that up..so what's with this little exposition? Well, fellow viewers, if she didn't tell you what was going on you might not have figured it out.
Worlds Away is a huge trailer for Cirque du Soliel shows with a 'story' thrown in to sew the different shows together. And, you know what, that would have been okay except the pieces that were showcased were mindnumbingly repetitive and so boring, so very boring that I started looking at my watch wondering when the mishmash would be over.
I am so disappointed. I parted with several hard-earned dollars, drove miles out of my way to get to the one theater showing the film, re-arranged my schedule and blew off Jack Reacher to see this. I expected better of James Cameron and Cirque du Soliel. Now I have to watch my DVDs of Dralion and Avatar to get the taste of this drivel out of my mind.
Alex Cross (2012)
Tyler Perry IS Alex Cross
!!Spoilers Ahead!! I went in prepared not to like this movie. I read some of the reviews and I was sure I was wasting my money. But I love Alex Cross. I have devoured the books and I know James Patterson has created on of the best characters ever. I was a bit worried about the casting of Tyler Perry. I detest the Madea movies and was praying that I would not see any camera mugging.
I was so surprised to actually enjoy the film and Tyler Perry's nuanced performance as Alex Cross. No disrespect to Morgan Freeman who is a monumental talent...but he was too old to play Alex Cross. I thought so at the time but he was all we had so I went with it. Tyler Perry is closer to the Alex of the books. He looks like I imagined Alex to look. He behaves in the way I have grown to expect from the books. I have read all the books and this is the first Alex Cross movie where I could see the character.
Tyler Perry can act! I didn't believe it but he can and he's GOOD! I've had issues in the past with his writing...but the man has some serious acting chops. His relationships with his children, Nana Mama, and Maria are all believable. His skills as a profiler are shown in several scenes and he doesn't push it over the top.
Matthew Fox was awesome as the assassin/bad guy Picasso/The Butcher of Sligo. He reveled in his evil and, while he tittered on the edge, always kept a hint of reality to his part. Matthew was scarily good. Thank god Rob Cohen didn't try to make the character sympathetic by trying to get us to 'understand' why he does what he does. The character is seriously twisted but smart enough to get someone to pay him to do what he does best. I'm so tired of the movie/TV villain getting 'Dexterized'. As James Patterson shows us in his books...sometimes evil just IS...there's no rational reason for it.
The reasons this review does not give the movie a higher rating are these...The location was changed from DC to Detroit...why? No reason except to set up the sequel. The kids are older than they should be at the time of Maria's death...okay I can go with that to a point. John Sampson is not in the movie. Granted who I was seeing in the part is the late Micheal Clarke Duncan and that didn't happen. Tyler is a big guy so it would take another big actor to fill the role of 'man mountain'...but still...I felt cheated with Tommy.
I'm giving Rob Cohen a pass here to make up for these points in the sequel. There had better be a sequel because one dose of Tyler Perry as Alex Cross is just not enough.
Game Change (2012)
Good Movie with GREAT Acting
The acting in this movie is awesome. Everyone brought their 'A' game and the movie is better for it. We all know the story of what happened during the campaign of 2008. We've all seen the sound bites and watched the SNL skits. What we have not seen is the 'real' story. Juliette Moore is one of my favorites and she is stunning to watch as she inhabits the role of Sarah Palin. She doesn't mock the woman. She doesn't 'wink' at the camera and play her like a joke. She plays her as a real, breathing person. That was a classy move. Woody Harrelson was better in this role than in any he's done in recent memory. Ed Harris did not do a blow-by-blow imitation of John McCain but he did get the spirit of the man just right.
Sarah Palin remains a polarizing figure in the arena of American politics. Love her or hate her...she's still a pivotal personality in the Republican Party. This movie shows how she made her move onto the national political stage. Yes, stage, because politics in this country is very much performance art.
There's only one thing wrong with this movie. It was not released into theaters. Think of it. The protests by Palin supporters alone would have pushed revenue into the upper millions. Moore and Harrelson provided Oscar worthy performances. What am I saying? HBO owns the TV movie market. This movie should sweep the Emmys. I'll be very disappointed if it doesn't.
Real Steel (2011)
Heart of Steel!
!!Spoilers Ahead!!
You have GOT to go see this movie!! That's the bottom line. Other reviewers have covered the details well. But if you only think of the movie as Rocky meets The Champ meets Transformers then you're missing the point. The point is it's a fun-warm-feel-good-ride. It will remind you why you love going to movies.
I'll admit that the story which is set in the 'not so distant future' is so-so and predictable but Hugh Jackman delivers some great stuff and the kid, Dakoto Goyo, is so adorable and a good little actor. Kevin Durand once again proves he is to 'go to' guy for the requisite dirt bag and turns in quite the credible Texas accent.
The robots...y'all the robots are where this movie soars! The CGI is great and the animatronics blend seamlessly with it. Sure, there are a few plot holes and it does stretch the bonds of plausibility several times...but the movie works despite all that. You will cheer for the underdog. You will shed a tear(come on you know you will) at the big smackdown at the end. The movie satisfies on several levels.
I am sooooo rooting for this to produce a sequel!! I want to know what happens next with Atom. So....why are you still sitting there reading this review?? Go see the movie. Y'all it rocks!
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Great Special Effects...Sucky Plot Ends the Series
***SPOILERS ARE HERE*** Stop reading NOW if you want to be surprised (although I don't see HOW you can be).
Michael Bay has done it again. He has blown up yet another U.S. city and made you enjoy it. He's turned into the Roland Emmerich of robot flicks. Bay actually sort of blows up two cities...but D.C. got off pretty easy this time. Chicago...well, I won't be taking any vacations there soon. Just sayin'...
The good points are many. The special effects and explosions kick butt. Awesome, awesome, AWESOME! The transformations of the robots still makes me gasp. It is that good. The robots show more emotional range and character development than the humans. I saw the movie in 3-D and the 3-D effects didn't totally suck. Yea Michael! The footage of the wind flyers is almost as cool as the first time I saw it done in a Lara Croft movie back in 2003. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin has a cameo. Leonard Nimoy as the voice of Sentinel Prime was way cool. But...that leads me to the bad stuff.
The bad points are many. There is no plot. Well, there's sort of a plot but it has so many holes in it that you just don't want to think about it. The dialog is rudimentary. Sam screams "OPTIMUS!" or "BUMBLEBEE!" at every turn. Leonard Nimoy swipes his signature phrase from The Wrath of Khan. Even Bumblebee steals a line from the same film. What gives?! The non-PC jokes abound and they are all groaners. I thought we couldn't sink lower than the scrotum reference in the last film...but I was so wrong.
The human actors are not horrible...well, except for the new girl. They really should have waited until the swelling went down on her lips for those kissy closeups. She continues the excessive T&A of the previous actress....what was her name? Megan...something...Fox? The humans don't really matter. We're here to be blown out of our seats and see cool effects. On that the movie delivers.
Go see it in theaters. Don't wait for the Blu-ray. But, be warned, it is a long ride on this roller coaster.
Avatar (2009)
Cameron Shoots...He SCORES!!
I just saw the 3D version of this movie today and I'm still blown away. Is there anything James Cameron can't do?? The actors were wonderful! They are able to transcend the CGI and give touching, believably intense performances.
The movie was so hyped that I went into it expecting to be disappointed. Nothing can be THAT good, right? Read my lips...It is better than good. It's better than awesome. It is genre, medium, and industry changing. It just is.
Like many other viewers I forgot I was watching CGI. Everything is vividly, eye-poppingly alive. Pandora LIVES...it breathes and you believe it all! The interaction between live-action and CGI is seamless. The world is so immersive...it has an almost 360 degree quality. You feel as if you could turn around and see everything happening around you. It's like you are plunked down in the middle of this very real place.
The Na'vi were a concern when I was sitting in the theater waiting for the show to start. Would they disappoint? Would they be buffoonish (a'la JarJar Binks)? Would they be believable? From the first frame the aliens are real. They are beyond cool. They are alive. They are righteous and they are fierce! They are not comic relief.
You must see this movie and you absolutely MUST see it in 3D.
I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009)
This Movie Is Bad All By Itself
Spoiler Alert
Look Out Below!! Lots of Spoilers are here!!
For the second weekend in a row I did not get to see the movie I really want to see. Last weekend I saw the Meryl Streep film. This weekend I had to suffer through something else. Something I really had no intention of ever seeing.
I know I'm going to upset some people by what I'm about to say. I know there are going to be a lot of p#$$ed off folk wondering where I'm coming from with all this. Well, I've never minded p#$$ing off people before. I don't see why it should bother me now.
Here goes...Tyler Perry can't write.
More specifically, Tyler Perry can't write well. His scripts are elementary, immature, and preachy. Every single one of them. It's almost like he can't help himself. On the up side he does have his finger on the pulse of what his audience likes and he doesn't mind giving it to them. It would just be really nice if he would take a bit of a writing class or something on script writing and plot development. I'm just saying....
The plot of the current movie goes like this...
Three kids break into Madea's (Perry in his signature character) house in the middle of the night (plot device 1 which drags Madea into a story that's not really about her 'cos Perry's fans must have their Madea fix). Madea takes them to their aunt (Taraji P. Henson) who doesn't want them. The Aunt tries to send them to her mother but finds out that no one knows where she is (heavy handed foreshadowing that keeps popping up and eventually becomes a plot hole...more about that in a bit). Madea leaves them anyway and tells the aunt to bring them by her house so they can work off the debt they incurred by breaking into her house and destroying her property including a VCR (plot device 2 to keep Madea in a story that has nothing to do with her). The aunt is in a dead-end relationship with a 'no count' married man (cliché 1) played by Brian J. White. Aunt is also an alcoholic night club singer (cliché 2). Aunt is estranged from her mother and doesn't really worry that no one has seen hide nor hair of the old lady for three days (tiny little plot hole to move the story forward). Mary J. Blige plays the bartender with a heart of gold (cliche 3) and a huge voice.
A Latino handyman (Adam Rodriguez of CSI Miami fame
let me just say, for the record, that Adam is one fine, handy, man!!) from Columbia shows up at the neighborhood church and is told by the pastor (Marvin Winans) that he will find something for him to do. The preacher convinces the aunt to take the handyman in as a boarder who will work off the cost of his board by doing odd jobs around the house (cliche 4). This does not sit well with the boyfriend who is abusively racist (is there any other kind??) to the handyman and leers meaningfully at the young niece played by Hope Olaide Wilson (ham-handed foreshadowing).
Handyman, of course, falls for Aunt because he 'loves her more than she loves herself'. Yeah, right. I found it hard to believe he can love this woman since the Aunt has not shown us, or him, one thing that makes her lovable. She even accuses him of being a child molester because he cares about her niece and nephews. Speaking of which...the three kids are barely more than little stick figures to make us go 'awwww' when the handyman does something nice like fix up one of the Aunt's upstairs rooms as a room for all the kids to sleep in instead of the couch in the living room where the aunt makes them sleep (She won't let them stay in the room although it's obvious the younger kids want to). The handyman buys medicine for one of the sick kids. The handyman saves the girl when the married, pedophile, boyfriend tries to rape her.
What does the aunt do? She tries to kill the deadbeat boyfriend by dropping a CD player into his bathwater. This is when we find out she had been abused as a young girl by her mother's boyfriend (this seems to happen a lot in Tyler Perry's scripts. I realize the incidence of rape for women/girls of color is high but this pops up in almost every one of his scripts. Hmmm...). This revelation is supposed to be the big 'reveal' that explains her alcoholism, poor self-image and her insistence on being involved with married men. Hmmmm....heavy handed? Ya think??
But wait, we've got to have the rushed happy ending where the handyman and aunt get married, have a block party, and boogie down to Mary J's vocal. Cue the credits where we see outtakes of Perry as Madea and Joe riffing off the kids. One good outtake of Taraji and Hope is cute
but you had to sit through this mess of a movie to get there.
District 9 (2009)
Sadly, Does Not Live Up to the Hype
Here Be SPOILERS!!!!
Proceed with caution!
There's a lot to love about District 9. And all of it is tech. It is beautifully and realistically shot on steadicam and hand-held cameras. It has the grainy look and "just-this-very-second-edited" feel of a documentary. It shouts this is real...this happened. The weapons are awesome. The aliens are cool and odd and ALIEN and REAL. Kudos to the CGI guys! Let's take a look at the rest. We were lead to believe that the story was original. Original story
um
NOT! Been there
Done that. Alien Nation
Hello?? Alien Nation tackled the 'stranded alien' story 20 years ago and did it better. Other TV shows have tackled it. The ONLY original part at all was the ship hovering over South Africa. We already know the movie is a thinly veiled commentary on the South African history of Apartheid. It is supposedly a socially conscious movie that doesn't bang you over the head (too much) with preachiness. Instead it gives us a doltish ordinary bloke named Wikus who has been promoted into a job that everyone but him realizes he is ill suited to execute. He's a pencil pushing weasel elevated to supervisor and has no idea what to do.
Wikus is embarrassingly prejudiced and blithely racist. You can almost hear his friends making excuses for him. 'He doesn't mean any harm, you see. It's just the way he is.' It is the everyday ordinariness of his prejudice that is so frightening. It is so alarmingly close to the way we all are that it is difficult to watch. His condescending superiority in the face of his ignorance cuts to the bone. We are, all of us, guilty. How can any of us judge? Is this one side of this coin? This Everyman allows us to see the alien residing within us. That is the true horror.
Part of what befalls the main character is engineered by his employer and father-in-law. Part of what happens is because the main character is an idiot. Again, everyone is aware of this but him. When he begins to transform into what he despises he finally begins to get a clue...but it is too little, almost too late. After he bonks the good alien on the head, hijacks his ship and kidnaps his son. Wikus wants it all to go back to the way it was BEFORE. But it's much too late for that. I won't go into the enormous plot holes because others on here have kicked that horse.
I don't get the comparisons to Blade Runner or Matrix. I just
don't. This movie is not that important. Blomkamp shows promise but he's not Ridley Scott and he's not Wachowski material either.
My one serious downer is the excessive 'squishiness'. There is waaaay too much body fluid tossed about. Humans get squished. Aliens get squashed. The movie is awash in yuck and gore. I don't do yuck and gore so I was a bit taken aback.
DO. NOT. GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE. You'll be disappointed and upset that the hype sucked you in. Prove P.T. Barnum wrong
although I didn't.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
A LOT of Bang for your Buck
***Possible SPOILERS AHEAD*** Proceed with caution.
I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Loved it. Sure, I'm aware it has flaws. Let's face it...this movie is really a recruitment video for the US Armed Forces. It's better than any of the serious ones we see all day, every day on our TV ("Do You Want To Know More?!"). This movie attempts to make the viewer believe that being a soldier is better than a video game. Why? Because you get to play with the coolest gadgets. The Pentagon knows this and approves or they would not let Michael Bay play with their toys. I've got a serious issue with that but I'll put that aside for right now.
Michael Bay LOVES to blow S#!& up! I love to watch him blow S#!& up and have crazy car chases AND have special effects that are off the chart. That's why I went to see this movie and it pays off big time! There was not much plot (okay...there's NOT a plot) here and the movie, if you stop to think about it for a second (which Bay does not give you because he's constantly blowing S#!& up) you'd pull your hair out at the enormous holes that make up what is supposed to pass for the plot. The acting is rudimentary at best and character development is non-existent. All the scenes are just tacked together to provide a reason for the special effects, car chases, and explosions....
...and I'm OKAY with that!
The only reason I went to see this was for the 'Bay Effect' which translates into over-the-top-adrenaline-rush-sonic-overload. I want to be blown out of my seat by the special effects. I want to be left panting and clutching my ears from the THX surround sound. I want a movie that makes me remember why going to movies in the summer is such a rush.
Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen delivers...big time.
I don't really care that Sam is going away to college and then touches a shard of the cube from the first film. I don't care that he begins to have flashes of super Transformer intelligence that only serves as a plot device anyway to get to the symbols. What I care about is watching Optimus Prime kick Decepticon butt. Sam has to help, of course, by ramming yet another piece of alien technology into Optimus' chest plate. There were the old stand-by Transformers along with some new ones.
Do yourself a favor. Buy a bucket of popcorn, a large soda, and treat yourself to the first full-fledged adrenaline rush of the summer movie season. You'll thank me.
Obsessed (2009)
Chucklefest Cautionary Tale for Playas
HERE BE SPOILERS!!! Do NOT venture past this point if you want to be surprised by the film!
You have been warned...
I did not want to go see this picture. There, I said it. I have nothing against Beyonce. I like her. She can sing, dance her bootylicious butt off, and she's really improving those acting chops. Loved her in Dreamgirls...adored her in Cadillac Records. I had no desire to see her in this particular vehicle (pun intended). However, my wishes were overruled by my companion to the theater. She wanted to see Beyonce and would not be dissuaded. So, I decided to tough it out. I was sure I would be bored out of my mind and would snore my way through the whole of the picture. Well, I was not bored. It is one of the funniest movies I've seen in many years.
No. I don't think it was intended to be funny. This is a retelling of Fatal Attraction for Buppies...with a few exceptions. Ali Larter is quite the fetching psychopath but she does not have the acting chops of Glenn Close. She's good but she's not that good yet. Give her some time and she'll be able to scare the hair off Cujo. Idris Elba is some fetching eye candy but he's too...too...how shall I put this? I know. Think of this movie as a visual bodice-ripper romance novel with Elba as the fainting, fetching, clueless 'I-can-take-care-of-myself' heroine. Larter is the evil Count Questionmark, ne'er do well cad who is out to take the heroine's virtue by any means necessary. Beyonce is the noble hero who must do battle with the cad for the honor of the heroine and for truth, justice, and the amer...yada, yada, yada. It is a movie made by fan fiction committee.
Within the first five minutes of the film we are shown the location of the climactic battle royal which will culminate the story. We find out how the fainting heroine (Elba) has met and married the woman of his dreams (although I'm sure it was not his idea...he still has a roving eye even if he's too whipped to act on it). He's 'in love' dammit!
My favorite scene is not the battle royal. It's fun, furious and totally predictable. It's not the 'date almost rape' scene with Elba gasping prettily "No. Don't. I don't want this. No. Please. No." My favorite scene is in the hospital when the detective realizes that the woman she thought was being used is really nutty as a Mr. Goodbar. The look on Christine Lahti's face is truly priceless.
I really felt sorry for the guys who had been coerced into coming to the movie with their significant others. Those poor guys. Instead of dinner and a movie. They got movie and a lecture.
Still, I can think of worst ways to spend an afternoon and a few bucks.
Dollhouse (2009)
Joss and Eliza Together Again! What More Do You Need?!
Eliza Dushku was one of the best parts of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her last series Tru Blu or Tru Vision or whatever it was called was a bit of a yawner. Her talents were so underused that I couldn't bear to watch.
Then comes Joss and Dollhouse.
Say Halleluah! Eliza is back up to her butt-kicking best. Joss has created a great series for her. Joss just seems to understand women in general and Eliza in particular. He has crafted a show that has an interesting mythology which is evolving with each episode.
The Dollhouse is much more than Barbie, Ken, & Skipper playing around in the Malibu Dreamhouse. The undercurrent of mystery and menace within the organization is slowly being uncovered bit by bit. I am literally on the edge of my seat. The series has poignancy, depth, some cool action. It also has characters that worm their way into your heart.
The concept of having a series which allows all the actors to stretch themselves each episode; to try new things...to put on new personalities is so revolutionary. Some will think otherwise. Some will point to Alias and say that was the genesis for this series. Alias was a milquetoast, watered-down version of the much superior series La Femme Nikita. Nuf said on that front.
Alias is not the parent of the Dollhouse. Joss did not just wipe the slate clean...he created a whole new slate to work with. Joss is a genius and his writing is so unique you just either get it or you don't.
Joss, for the record, I get it!
Highlander: The Source (2007)
"The Horror...the horror..."
SPOILER ALERT!!
I read some of the reviews before watching the movie. Some folk were pretty clear in their opinions but I went into this thinking that it couldn't be too awfully bad. I was a bit concerned that it was not released as a feature film and went straight to TV. But it had been a few years since the last movie and I thought this would be the perfect vehicle for all my favorite actors to say 'Farewell' to their characters. I plopped down in front of the TV with my friend and thought "How bad can it be?"
The answer came about five minutes into the movie...pretty damn bad! Did the writers LOOK at any of the TV show episodes or the previous movies? Have the writers EVER written anything prior to this? It's like they took elements from several different movies (none of which had anything to do with the Highlander Universe) and tossed them into a blender. My friend and I made a game of trying to recognize the movie that was being referenced. There were elements of: Underworld, The Matrix, Mad Max, Tomb Raider, X-Men...just to name a few. The most horrifying thing to us was the overriding 'Mary Sue' element. When you're bidding goodbye to a group of people...or, as the FireFly fans put it...a 'verse. You don't want to introduce new characters especially blatant Mary Sue characters.
Did the writers do any research into the characters? There was nothing of the guys that I'd come to love. None of the characters acted...pardon the pun...in character. Duncan is living a scruffy existence on the street. The Watchers have been disbanded. Everyone is hanging on the word of a woman who was, supposedly, married to Duncan. Methos is swaggering (Methos and swagger??...just seems wrong) around wearing fringe. My friend had been eagerly anticipating seeing Peter Wingfield in leathers on a motorcycle. When he putts into frame on a sissy motorcycle with a dinky little helmet I was on the floor. Then he takes the helmet off and my friend says, with a hint of dismay, "Is...Is that fringe? Is..is Methos wearing FRINGE on his jacket??!" Every time I looked at Methos I kept hearing the refrain in my head..."I've got spurs that jingle jangle jingle!" There was also the type of motorcycle. We envisioned Methos on a Harley or one of those OCC Choppers. Oh well...
I think if the director had tried to make the movie campy it might...MIGHT...have worked! But he didn't. The camera work was...I don't know what it was. It was jarring and disorienting and seemed only there to cover the fact there there didn't seem to be a stunt or fight coordinator present.
The only good thing I can say about this film is that it makes Highlander:Endgame look Oscar worthy.
Dreamgirls (2006)
Well Worth the Wait!
I first fell in love with the original score way back in the eighties. I heard Jennifer Holiday's powerhouse vocals on two of Broadway's legendary show-stopping tunes and I was hooked. I knew the words to all the songs and sang along with abandon at the drop of a hat. That soundtrack ranks as one of my top five favorites. I never saw the play but I live nowhere close to where it played...EVER. I kept hoping to see a film of the play somewhere and searched for years. I bought the two CD concert recording with Audra McDonald a couple years ago. Didn't think there would be anything I'd like as well as the original. I loved that version as well mainly because it's like having an unabridged version of the stage play on my CD player.
So I'm a fan, right? As a fan I was really leery about this new version of the play. I was excited but didn't really believe that these folk (actors/singers) would be able to live up to the material. I like Beyonce and she's got a good voice but she's more performer than singer. I adore Eddie Murphy but he's a bit long in the tooth and while I thought his "Party All The Time" was an amusing bit of 80's fluff I didn't really believe he could pull off James "Thunder" Early without winking at the camera and letting us all know that he didn't take it seriously. I was aware of Jennifer Hudson but she had been pushed aside on that show...American Idol...by Fantasia. I detest Fantasia and if she was supposed to be better than Jennifer then I really had reservations about my two favorite songs getting the justice they deserved.
But, I'm a sucker for this material so I plunked down my money and found myself in a seat prepared to make excuses for the mess that I was SURE would be on the screen. I had the surprise of my life! The movie great.
Wait, let me say that again, please...
The movie is GREAT! Damn good! Marvelous!! The story is so real yet not maudlin or overbearing. The music, ya'll the MUSIC!! I was moved to tears more than once. Eddie Murphy surprised the hell out of me. He can SING!! He paid homage to all the great soul singers and crooners. Way to go Eddie!! Jennifer Hudson grabs the camera by the throat and won't let go whenever she's on screen. Her voice, oh Lord, that voice! Let me just say, for the record, that girl has SKILLS!! Beyonce has more depth in her performance than I thought possible. Her voice has a maturity that I didn't realize she possessed. I knew Jamie Foxx could sing and act but he went to a dark place to find Curtis and brings home the goods. Anika Noni Rose is a jewel and so underused it's almost a crime.
Bottom line...GO SEE THIS! You have GOT to experience this in a theater! Don't wait for the DVD...Run, DO NOT WALK to your local movie theater and see this picture. Then go out and buy the Dreamgirls Deluxe Edition double CD. All the songs are on that version and they ROCK!!
Hollywoodland (2006)
I'd Rate This Film 'phnnnnh' if I Could.
Let me get this out of the way first. This movie is a monumental waste of actors, film, and time. I'm not sure where it failed. I love all the actors, and there are some heavy hitters in this group. I know the story. Who doesn't who grew up in the late 50's and early 60's? So let's not blame that for the complete lack of spark in this picture. We all knew what was going to happen with the Titanic but James Cameron still managed to nail us to our seats.
This film has the look of the time period down cold. Authenticity oozes from the visuals. It's a pleasure to look at. Ultimately it's like one of those fake desserts on display at a restaurant. Your appetite is whetted but don't try to eat it because you'll only end up disappointed. This movie was hyped as the new "L.A. Confidential". Well, it's not. Doesn't come close.
Save yourself a little money and a lot of time and just wait for the DVD. Rent it. DO NOT BUY IT! You can skip over the slow parts and get to the meat. Whoa...wait...if you do that you won't have anything left to watch.
Nanny McPhee (2005)
This is a DARLING film!!
SPOILERS may lurk ahead.
Let's exercise caution, shall we??
Emma Thompson is one of my all time favorite actresses. I've loved her for years and she never disappoints. She shines in this movie about a magical nanny and her horrible charges. Based on the Nurse Matilda books, this film manages to do what I thought was impossible. It manages to 'one up' Mary Poppins. Granted there're no tunes and there's no dancing but there is a lot of heart and warmth.
Does Nanny McPhee really get better looking as the movie goes on or is she better looking because we no longer see the horrible outside but the glowing inside? Ponder that while you watch her manage the children and their ditz of a father played by Colin Firth.
Heartwarming is the only word that can describe this picture. Rent it. Better yet BUY it. You'll want to show it more than once to friends, family, and all the kids you can find.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
What would you be willing to do to fit in?
MAJOR SPOILERS Below...proceed with caution.
S P O I L E R S ! Turn back NOW!!
We all wrestle with the problem of what would we give up to get what we want. For minorities this is a major issue. How much of who you really are will you sacrifice just to seem like 'everyone else.' I think the movie approaches this topic well. This is not a documentary so the problem is not approached in that manner. The results are satisfying despite that.
This incarnation of X-Men is the best of the lot. I have enjoyed the franchise from the beginning and eagerly anticipated this one. It did not disappoint. The younger X-Men really hit their stride in this one. It is a dark piece and a bit heavy-handed at times...but it works. Characters lose their powers. characters die. Lots of characters die. The most shocking was Professor Xavier. Others die and their deaths deeply felt by the others. Rogue decides to give up her powers so she can touch people...especially Bobby. I think I was most disappointed in the casual way Magneto discarded Mystique after she lost her powers saving his life.
I enjoyed this movie. Go see it in the theater's to get the full effect then see it again. It demands more than one viewing.
Great Performances: The Gospel at Colonus (1985)
Insightful Take on the Oedipus Story
I first saw this on PBS several years ago and the performances were so striking that it has stayed with me. The idea of putting the story in a more modern setting is not new but this version is truly insightful. This is also one of the early Morgan Freeman pieces and he is wonderful in it. The whole cast is stellar. The music...oh my GOD!...the MUSIC soars!! I really wish the production company, or WNET, or whoever holds the rights to this would put it out in video or DVD format. I would love to show it to students at my school who are struggling with understanding the whole Oedipus and Antigone storyline. If you can get your hands on a copy count yourself lucky. It is truly a great performance!