Recent movie reviews

Fast Five

This movie is the story of five outlaws who went their separate ways years ago who reunite in Rio to steal millions belonging to the crime kingpin there. Meanwhile the US authorities go there as well to try to arrest him on other charges. The back story is the first movie to bring together Duane Johnson and Van Diesel. For an action movie I find this one much better than average. There were too many subplots going on at once but overall a pretty good story with plenty of car crashes and fighting. On the 0 to 10 scale I give it a 6+.

Cars 2

This is an unworthy sequel to the original, which was very good. In this one Lightning is challenged by an Italian car, whose name I forget, in three races around the world. Sally (the Porsche) is caught in the middle of a love triangle between them. Meanwhile Mater gets mixed up in another storyline about biofuel and a plot to sabotage it by those behind fossil fuel. It tried too achieve too much, especially for a kids' movie, and ended up achieving nothing, a least for me. On the 0 to 10 scale I give it a 2.

Super 8

This movie tells the story of some kids shooting a movie in Super 8 who happen upon a train wreck. It turns out to be an Air Force train, transporting an alien, who escapes in the crash. Said alien is pretty mad about his former captivity by the Air Force. Meanwhile there is a love story going on between two of the kids and a power struggle between the police chief and Air Force. It all comes together well and while cheesy at times, the movie as a lot of heart. I think the movie is supposed to be a bit cheesy, as if it were a plot a bunch of kids making a Super 8 movie would contrive, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. On the 0 to 10 scale I give it an 8.

Transforms 3 -- The Dark Side of the Moon

This tells the story of the bad Transformers who hid on the dark side of the moon, a teleportation device, and love triangle in which the pretty girl is torn between the poor nice guy and the rich powerful guy, who happen to be behind the good and bad transformers respectively. The plot can be hard to follow at times, the final battle runs rather long at about an hour, and the whole movie is too long about about 2.5 hours. Yes, the special effects are about as good as they get, but the story line was thin, in my opinion. On the 0 to 10 scale I give it a 4.

Finally, I'd like to put in a good word for a movie I recently watched on Netflix -- Seven Pounds. I won't explain what it is about, because the movie has a fractured timeline, and it isn't until the end that it all comes together. It is safe to say that the main character, Ben (Will Smith) goes around doing good deeds for people in his apparent job as an IRS tax collector. But why? This is the kind of movie that makes it worth sitting through 10 bad movies. One of the most moving movies I've seen in recent years. On the 0 to 10 scale I give it a 9+.

Seven Pounds has one of my favorite quotes I've ever seen in a movie review (from the New York Times):

Quote:

Frankly, though, I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made. I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration.

I don't think that quote is actually that on-point, and in fact it's the sort of artsy hyperbole I think bad movie reviewers type up when they don't like a movie and they don't like the people they WILL like the movie (see Pulp Fiction for what is IMHO the best example of this or Secretariat for what might be the most famous recent example) , but I did think it was pretty funny nonetheless.

Quote:

I don't think that quote is actually that on-point, and in fact it's the sort of artsy hyperbole I think bad movie reviewers type up when they don't like a movie and they don't like the people they WILL like the movie (see Pulp Fiction for what is IMHO the best example of this or Secretariat for what might be the most famous recent example) , but I did think it was pretty funny nonetheless.

I could see how a cold-blooded movie critic, wanting to look intellectual, could write something like that. If it takes artsy hyperbole to tell a good story, then bring it on. Meanwhile I'll bet said critic liked The English Patient, which I think is guilty of the same thing.

As far as I know Will Smith hasn't done a headlining role since that movie came out. I wonder what has happened to him.

Quote: teddys

As far as I know Will Smith hasn't done a headlining role since that movie came out. I wonder what has happened to him.

His income is not zero even though he is taking a 3.5 year hiatus from acting.

He was paid $5,500,000 for producing the movie featuring his son, Karate Kid II, and he can still get $20M for his role next summer, Men in Black III. His wife still earns a lot of money for TV and voicing the hippo in the Madagascar movies. His daughter is acting in movies as well.

It's not that rare for an actor who has a few hundred million in the bank to take a few years off and do other things besides act.


The ultimate, I'm only in it for the money actor is Chris Tucker who in the last 14 years has only done three movies, Rush Hour I, Rush Hour II, Rush Hour III. He was paid $20 million apiece for the last two movies, because his personality was essentially crucial to the movie. He is probably the highest paid actor in movies with such a short list of acting credits. Before Rush hour he starred in 4 films and had very minor roles in 3 others.

The movie title of seven pounds is supposed to be obscure, but it seems obvious that it refers to the pound of flesh legal contract in a Merchant of Venice.

Your reviews are right on in my book Wizard. I added a few comments: **Spoiler Warning** the comments below contain spoilers in case you haven't seen the movies in the Wizard's review yet.





I would penalize Transformers more for bad taste. It has gratuittous sequences where a World Trade Center type tower is toppled (ala, 9/11) and a Space Shuttle is blown up shortly after launch (ala Challenger).

I would caution anyone who wants to see Fast Five to watch the first four movies first. It is hard to appreciate the characters without that background, even though this fifth movie falls in between the previous ones. Also, don't leave before the credits are done.

Super 8 Elle Fanning is tremendous in this movie. I was genuinely surprised and enthralled. She is almost as good as the girl who was in the recent True Grit remake. Again, don't leave before the credits roll. You will miss what is perhaps the most entertaining part of the whole movie.

You fellas have got to be kidding. That Super 8 movie is silly, boring except for the train crash scene, and a waste of time and money. We walked out shaking our heads at this dumb movie after about an hour.

Quote: dwm

You fellas have got to be kidding. That Super 8 movie is silly, boring except for the train crash scene, and a waste of time and money. We walked out shaking our heads at this dumb movie after about an hour.

I would not be surprised if there is a generational appreciation for Super 8. If you were near the age of the characters in the movie in the mid to late 70's, you have a different relationship to the film (as opposed to someone who was not born until after the Challenger exploded.) Personally, I really identified with the "fireworks" kid.

Super8 is the most interesting film for non-movie reasons released in the past several years in my opinion. Specially the movie should be a huge mainstream crowd please. It's produced by Spielberg and follows a very well established formula. JJ Abrams, the director, has also seen great mainstream success. And, the movie was released midsummer with a big budget, so it's by no means an art film.

What is the result though - critics LOVE the movie and much of the summer movie public hates it. That's pretty darn rare for a big budget film. I think the generational comment above is on point, but I don't think it's just getting cultural references or identifying with the characters, I think it has to do with pacing in tent-pole movies. Think about how quick and loose the romance or business intrigue side of the Chris Nolan Batman movies is played (as an example of good modern movies), much less in Transformers. I wonder if a lot of moviegoers expect a lot cheaper payoff than Super8 offered.

Quote: Ayecarumba

If you were near the age of the characters in the movie in the mid to late 70's, you have a different relationship to the film (as opposed to someone who was not born until after the Challenger exploded.)

...and what about those of us caught in the middle??

Quote: rdw4potus

...and what about those of us caught in the middle??

I suppose it could go either way. If you enjoyed "The Goonies", and "Stand By Me", you' may enjoy Super 8. If you haven't seen either of these two movies, fuggetaboutit.

We saw THOR at the Dollar theater last weekend ( it's amazing to me how
quickly they go from the first run theater to the dollar - actually $ 2.50 on
the weekend - theater ).

The THOR actor has that elusive charismatic quality, and the rest of the
characters do a nice job supporting it all.

Rating: 7.5

I agree with your Transformers review for the most part, especially the length. I'm all for lots of explosions, but this went on for way longer than it needed to.

As a Chicago native I'd probably score it a little higher just for the awesome imagery of our city (and its destruction). The very last battle takes place on the bridge right outside the building where I work, and much of the other fighting was set just down the street. It was pretty cool to watch them filming everything last summer - lots of debris and smashed cars everywhere. No giant robots though.

Quote: dwm

You fellas have got to be kidding. That Super 8 movie is silly, boring except for the train crash scene, and a waste of time and money. We walked out shaking our heads at this dumb movie after about an hour.

I agree 100%.

Ken

Quote: JohnnyQ

We saw THOR at the Dollar theater last weekend ( it's amazing to me how quickly they go from the first run theater to the dollar - actually $ 2.50 on
the weekend - theater ).
The THOR actor has that elusive charismatic quality, and the rest of the characters do a nice job supporting it all.

The theater companies are considering a premium pay per view which would allow you to see a movie only 60 days after release in the theaters. Cost would be $30. The concept is that three people watching a film in a theater costs about $30. Since people often spend more than $10 on soda, candy and popcorn, it could be argued that it pays off for two people.

The question is who will find it worthwhile to build a movie theater today. What would you expect in a theater so that it will be profitable in ten years? It seems to me that the only ones I've seen built in the last decade were designed to bring people into another facility (a new shopping center, a casino, an amusement park).

I saw Captain America last night. It's the first movie in a theater that I've seen in about 2 years. I would review it but the family of small children behind me never let me actually hear the film. It seemed like a nice interesting movie from what I could see. I'll wait for the DVD so I can enjoy it in the comfort of my child-free living room.

Quote: s2dbaker

I saw Captain America last night. It's the first movie in a theater that I've seen in about 2 years. I would review it but the family of small children behind me never let me actually hear the film. It seemed like a nice interesting movie from what I could see. I'll wait for the DVD so I can enjoy it in the comfort of my child-free living room.

I deal with that problem in one of two ways. 1) Go to a late show, 2) go to a premium theater (VIP, Gold, whatever it's called). This reduces the likelihood of children. Best go to a premium theater to a late show.

Of course it's no guarantee. I did run into small children at a very late showing of Final Fantasy at a premium theater. Fortunately the children were so scared of the movie the parents took them out.

I'm really looking forward to seeing "Cowboys and Aliens" after it opens later this week.

The trailers tell the story, of course, but it looks good.

Daniel Craig: he's laconic but projects; Harrison Ford: he's just a hoot as the grizzled rich guy.