Category: Movie Reviews

    I will admit right off the bat that this film has problems.  At two and a half hours, it is far too long of a film for this genre.  Slicing 30-45 minutes off of the battle scenes would have been a good move.  Or maybe had they dumped the subplot of the President’s adviser that tries to get in the way of the Autobots, they could have cut not only an unnecessary story line, but a dozen or so minutes off of the film as well.  There is just no reason a film like this should have an almost Godfather-like length. 

    On top of that, there were several script flaws and plot holes, way too many eye-rolling, cheesy moments, and a couple of annoying twin robots that were very insensitively written.  I didn’t mind the way they talked, but when the one with the gold tooth declares that he ain’t much for readin, well – they are just asking for a little trouble there.  I also didn’t understand why a robot would hump Megan Foxes leg, although many others will empathize with said robot.  What seems funny to me is that all of the problems with the film could have been left on the cutting room floor and the film would have been much better for it. 

    That being said, I was still thoroughly engaged and entertained.  The film had both a dark and ominous feel, yet was quite funny at the same time.  Whoever they hired to punch up the script with jokes did a very good job (comedian Patton Oswald worked on the first film – not sure about this one).  The special effects here were mind-boggling to say the least.  I do wish the filmmakers would have chosen more distinctive colors for the two sides so that the audience could more easily tell the robots apart during the massive fight sequences, but at least the very blue and red Optimus and yellow Bumblebee were clear enough.

    I can usually find merit in any film, but I can’t think of one positive thing to say about it except for maybe that it’s only about 90 minutes long not including the credits. 

    The story itself is incoherent and so hard to follow that you just don’t care.  The plot is not even remotely clever and the dialogue, much of which appears to be badly improvised, is insulting to the audience.  I hate that this came from Harold Ramis, for whom I have the utmost of respect for as a writer and director.  For this to be created by the same person that brought us Caddyshack, Animal House, Groundhog Day and many other brilliant comedies, shows us that either the well is dry or he is just phoning it in. 

    To make matters worse, Jack Black is the same Jack Black that we see in every other movie he’s in.  I remember when his shtick was fresh and funny, but this film is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and he has officially reached annoying in my book ( I’m sure he got there much earlier for others).  It’s too bad because I think he could really make something great if he’d stop acting like a jester and grow up a little. 

    The rest of the cast are just clueless with this loser script and fail to make anything comical come alive on screen.

    What really gets me is how much toilet humor there is in this film.  Whether it is watching Jack Black eat from a pile of fresh feces or Michael Cera hanging upside down urinating on his face and into his mouth and nostrils, the jokes are just gross, childish, and not in the least bit funny. 

    This remake of the 1974 film starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw is a nice update and a solid action thriller.  Travolta makes for a pretty decent villain here, although at times he seems a little too out of control for someone of his background and former status.  Washington once again turns in a great performance, raising the acting from those around him to a higher level.  Gandolfini is very believable as the mayor of the city trying desperately hard to both do the right thing and yet still get reelected.  The only miscast is John Turturo, who acted like he was still in Transformers-mode and was very difficult to take seriously. 

    Tony Scott (Deja Vu, Spy Game) is very good at directing and pacing with this genre and this film is no different.  The film moves very fast and doesn’t give you much time to think about its various problems, such as a secondary very weak plot involving the gold market. 

    It’s hard to know where to start the praise of this film.  I think what stands out most is the originality of the story and the courage for a studio to go with it.  This is the least conventional film that Pixar has ever created, and therefore the riskiest.  An animated film about an old curmudgeonly man and his flying house does not sound like a hit at first thought and I seriously doubt that any other studio would have ever taken a second look at the script.  Yet Pixar takes the story, nurtures it, and turns it into yet another in a string of masterpieces. 

    It hardly needs mentioning if you’ve seen the trailer, but the animation is absolutely breathtaking.  The colors are rich and vibrant and the world around Carl is a fantasy, and yet familiar to the audience.  The little touches to the story, such as the adventurer he and his wife watched as children, the dogs with collars that talk their thoughts, the elusive giant bird that befriends Carl and Russell: all of these elements and more make this film both highly enjoyable and memorable. 

    Pixar opens the film with a very cute short titled Partly Cloudy, about a stork that is forced to deliver dangerous baby animals, but the silent film style montage in the first act showing Carl’s life from a young man to old is one of the most beautiful and touching stories I’ve ever seen in a film.  It could be an Oscar winning short all on its own.  You will feel more familiar with this man in five minutes than you will with most characters in an entire film.  This is what ultimately propels you into empathy with Carl’s quest.

    In 2001, an independent film named Y Tu Mama Tambien put Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, director Alfonso Cuaron and writer Carlos Cuaron on the map.  Everyone involved in that film went on to much bigger and better things.  Bernal and Luna have went on to star in many big-budget American and international films.  Alfonso went on to direct Harry Potter 3 and Children of Men.  So no doubt it’s a big deal for the Latin world that the team was brought together again for another little independent film. 

    It was apparent that the life had been stripped out of the Star Trek series until JJ Abrams and crew decided to reinvent it.  While there had been ten movies before this one, none had ever been as successful as Star Wars, Close Encounters or other big-budget sci-fi films.  Star Trek was kind of considered a genre within the genre.  A sci-fi movie for nerds only (it’s ok – I’m a nerd – I can say that).  But this categorization is not what Abrams wanted, because he didn’t fit in that category.  So with this new reimagining, he is hoping to pull Star Trek out of that box-office graveyard and into true blockbuster status – and I think that he just might have done it. 

    The TV ad says proudly “This is not your father’s Star Trek,” and I, for one, agree.  The first difference you will notice, if you’ve seen the old films, is that the special effects and production design show a huge improvement.  That makes sense considering that the most expensive of the films was Nemesis, with a budget of $60 million, and this budget is estimated at a whopping $150 million.  The first ten films always had a cheap look to them compared to other sci-fi films of their days.  This new creation is truly state-of-the-art.  Everything about it is big and beautiful, and you could tell that the limits were pushed. 

    The next difference you will see is in the acting.  The original cast was iconic, and therefore the bad acting was somewhat forgivable.  With the Next Generation came a new crew with better actors, but it still felt like bigger budget TV.  This new cast brings with it much more talent and with that talent – a breath of fresh air.  Pine and Quinto make for a terrific Kirk and Spock, and adding John Cho (Harold and Kumar) as Sulu and Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz) as Scotty was a touch of genius.  And I can’t think of a better Dr. McCoy than Karl Urban who managed to steal scene after scene.  Lastly, Eric Bana made for a truly terrifying baddie as Nero.  It might help that the writing here by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) is better than what the casts have had to work with in the past, but I’d still give a ton of credit to this cast and I can’t wait to see them in future installments. 

    One thing this new installment has in common with the others (at least the first couple of films) is a great score.  Composer Michael Giacchinno (Ratatouille) creates a grand original score that is sure to be one of the best-selling soundtracks of the year.  From the forceful french horns in the beginning to the homage to the original series at the end, this is one great piece of music. 

    The only slight criticism I have here is that there is just a little too much Leonard Nimoy in this film.  I was lead to believe he had a cameo, but his part is much larger than that description.  I realize that Abrams might have been trying to keep the Trekkies happy, but a little Nimoy could have gone a long way.

    Going into the X-Men franchise almost a decade ago, the one hero comic fans wanted to see the most from the group was Wolverine, and much of the first two films was about him, so giving him his own origin movie is a good, if not profitable, idea.  In order to give Wolverine more depth, the filmmakers did something unusual by going to South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) who has never directed a tent pole picture.  While this has worked in the past with directors like Christopher Nolan and Peter Jackson, this film felt a bit sloppy at times, almost like Hood was in over his head a bit.  Too much of the film looked green-screened and the pacing was off in many of the scenes.  I’m sure Fox was in control of most of the big action sequences, and some of them are spectacular sequences, but it’s the slower scenes that stick out.  If you are seeing this just for the action, however, there is enough to keep you excited throughout.

    Looking at the amount of writers that have been assigned this project, it is apparent that Fox and Marvel had script issues also.  Too often did characters do or say things that they probably wouldn’t have done or said had the situations actually been happening (I can’t prove this point, but I’m working on it).  What I can say for sure is that the plot devices used here to maintain continuity between this film and the first X-Men could have and should have been different.  Due to spoilers, this is a conversation for after everyone in America has seen the film.

    What did work well in the film are the terrific performances from the lead actors.  Jackman and Schriber are incredibly gifted actors and they both are very fun to watch here.  Danny Huston also makes a weaselly good Stryker, although he wasn’t quite as strong in this role as Brian Cox was in X2.

    Being the sci-fi junkie that I am, I have to give this movie points for guts and originality.  The filmmakers here created a beautiful, strange world with eye-popping visual effects.  I found the life on the planet to be fascinating, although I would have liked to have seen more of the world than the few species and locales shown here.  Story-wise though, the premise was well-conceived and the tale well-executed.  Having humans as the villains in an alien invasion flick (and no, I don’t count The Day the Earth Stood Still) is a brilliant touch.  Not only does it send an eco-friendly message to the audience, but it is very believable as well, at least in regard to human nature. 

    I highly recommend that you watch this film in its 3D version rather than the 2D due to the immersive experience.  The 3D isn’t as stunning as Bolt, but works as well or better than Monsters Vs. Aliens.

    What doesn’t work for the film is its simplicity.  The film is roughly eighty minutes and while it packs a lot of story, it could have been a tad more complex.  The only Terrian you get to know well is Mala, and I am certain that more time with her world would have been a wise investment.