Seraphim Falls

I didn't really like this movie, but I also didn't really not like it.  For an almost two hour movie I bet this film only had like ten pages of dialogue.  Not to mention you spend at least half the movie wondering why the two main characters, played by Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan, are chasing each other through the mountains and across the plains.  But in a way that continued suspense is what keeps the audience intrigued... every point where I was like "enough with the chasing already" something would happen that triggered my curiosity and I had to keep watching.  The end was a bit too mystical for my tastes, but I did appreciate how the director seemed to refuse to choose sides.

High Plains Drifter

I am not generally a fan of the Western, but I was told that I simply had to see this Clint Eastwood flick. After watching I get the impression that this film is not typical Clint fare - I always thought of him as the standard Good Guy, but in High Plains Drifter he is most decidedly not.  He spends the entire movie messing around with the town folk, taking advantage of them while leaving his motives ambiguous.  Is he just a Bad Guy, or is there more to it?  I don't know, he seems pretty sadistic to me; an opinion which was formed after his first rape of the movie.

As a quasi-related side note, it was not until this movie that I noticed the uncanny resemblance between Hugh Jackman and Clint Eastwood... (note: image in link not from High Plains Drifter, but you get my point)

HOP - Green Lantern and Kung Fu Panda 2

Ryan Reynolds is gorgeous, and Jack Black is hysterical.  Those are the main reasons behind me seeing these two movies, and if based solely on those points then both Green Lantern and Kung Fu Panda 2 were a huge success.  Unfortunately for one there were other factors involved...

GREEN LANTERN - Some superhero movies are insanely well done, like the majority of films in the Batman franchise, and then some just fall flat, like this number.  The motion capture graphics often made Reynolds look like a floating head, and anytime we were in outer space everything looked flat and silly.  Granted I am not a visual effects specialist, so this is purely the opinion of an avid movie watcher.  One rather enjoyable moment in the film was when finally someone called superheroes out on the fact that putting a four-inch wide cloth across your eyes will absolutely not conceal your identity hahahaha

KUNG FU PANDA 2 - The best part about this movie, besides the caliber of the animation, was that it made fun of itself.  Every moment where I was about to roll my eyes and sigh at some cliche or another Black would spout some hilarious sarcasm and make me laugh.  There is one really quality scene where Po is finding his inner peace, cut with the memories that scarred his past.  Nicely done.

Biutiful

Not beautiful.  Ok, a bit of an exaggeration.  The cinematography was stunning, as it is in all of Alejandro González Iñárritu's work.  Amores Perros?  Amazing.  But the difference here is that Amores Perros was engaging and compelling, whereas Biutiful was slow and choppy.  In both films Iñárritu is intertwining three stories, but whereas in the former he achieves a seamless flow in the latter the audience is just kind of tossed around.  However, Javier Bardem's performance was something to take note of.  He threw his whole self into the role, and you can see the emotion oozing from every pore.


There are many possible reasons as to why I did not enjoy this film - maybe I missed some cultural significance.  Maybe subtleties of the editing were lost on me.  Or maybe 2.5hrs of eating-to-stay-awake-through-general-boredom-with-the-plot is the culprit...

Before and After

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors.  So as with all my top choice actors I will see pretty much any movie they appear in.  Before and After is not typical of a movie I ordinarily would endorse, and while I would like to say this one changed my mind, it did not.  This drama was a bit too slow, and dramatic.  haha.  Co-starring Meryl Streep, who is also amazing, Edward Furlong, who was John Connor in Terminator 2, and Alfred Molina of Chocolat, the cast was top notch.  It is hard to pinpoint the problem with this film.  Good actors?  Check.  Interesting story?  Check.  Oh, I know - terrible pacing and unpleasant characters.  While the film used talented actors none of their characters were particularly likable.  I guess that puts this film in a good-idea-bad-execution category.

Elephant White and Give Em' Hell Malone

I wasn't going to write this post, but to avoid the guilt of not having given full movie-watching disclosure here I am to tell you about watching two of possibly the worst movies ever made.  In a row.

I started with Elephant White.  Starring Kevin Bacon, shaky at times but usually decently entertaining, and Djimon Hounsou who was pretty great in Blood Diamond, Amistad, and Gladiator, I figured hey this never-heard-of action-crime flick could be a real find.  Thank the powers that be it was only an hour and a half long.  First of all, Kevin Bacon should never do a British accent.  Second, the guns all looked plastic with multiple sets looking they were built in my basement.  Third, the big "twist" of the film is obvious in the first five minutes.  Fourth, my five-year old nephew could write better dialogue.  And on, and on.  Stay away.  Far away.

Next I figured, you know what?  If I am going to watch obscure action-crime movies lets go for broke.  And up I queued Give Em' Hell Malone, starring Thomas Jane and Ving Rhames.  It was slightly better than Elephant White, being an amusing parody of old-school detective flicks, but only slightly better.  Half the time I couldn't tell if it was trying to be a serious movie or a joke.  Every character seemed to be a mockery of themselves, and there was even a young asian schoolgirl assassin seemingly straight from Tarantino.  I do have to give Jane kudos for his voice.  So kudos to you, Thomas Jane, for not sucking as badly as everyone else.

HOP - X-Men: First Class and Super 8

Finally, a hop where both movies are something to write about.  In a good way!  I could go on and on about these two films, but I will try and keep it short and sweet for you.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - This was a surprisingly good movie.  James McAvoy did a smashing job as young Professor X, and had a slew of solid supporters including Kevin Bacon and Michael Fassbender.  What I like best about prequels is that it's always interesting to get the chance to go back with characters you have grown to know through previous movies and see how they were in the beginning.  This film delivers just that, providing the background needed to round out the other X-Men movies nicely.

SUPER 8 - The gem of the night was this film; it contained all the aspects that in my opinion make a good movie - believable acting (at least on the kids' part), relatable characters, engaging story, well-timed pacing, and balanced portions of explosions, mystery, humor, and sincere emotion.  Besides the story itself being well-written, the dialogue was also natural and had a certain charming flow.  I can honestly say that I was highly entertained by this movie from start to finish.  Well, almost-finish, as the end with the "selectively chosen metals" and overacted hugging was a bit much hahah  But yes, I can confidently say that I would recommend this movie to [almost] everyone.

The Mechanic

This may seem unexpected and unusual, but I have to admit that Ben Foster is one of my favorite actors.  To be brief, I define a Top Actor by his versatility in the roles he is capable of playing.  Along with Foster, I also place actors such as Liam Neeson and Edward Norton in this category.

Anyway, despite my affinity for Foster this movie just didn't cut it.  Most of the time it seemed like Foster, and co-star Jason Statham, were just going through the motions and not invested in the dialogue or characters at all.  Without giving too much away, the premise is that Statham is a hit man who due to circumstance ends up taking his mentor's son under his wing and teaching him the trade.  Based on that you might think there would be a lot of fun "this is how you become an assassin" montages but no such luck.

However, the movie was compelling on some levels and I would not consider it a complete waste of time.  The plot was more creative than most bang-bang-explosion action, and while sometimes it was entirely too predictable or implausible it still kept my attention to the end.

There are worse action flicks out there...

Safe Men

I just finished watching a surprisingly funny movie; a pleasant find after aimlessly browsing the Watch Instantly library.  A light-hearted, comical, heist movie with some unexpected actors made for an enjoyable viewing experience.  Steve Zahn and Sam Rockwell star as two horrible singers who get mistaken for ace safe crackers and roped into doing three jobs for the jewish mafia.  Co-starring Paul Giamatti, Mark Ruffalo, and a couple other recognizable faces Safe Men is refreshingly old school in its comedy, relying on the charisma of its actors and their delivery and timing.

Of course I feel the need to point out that there are several glaring conveniences in the script, and the ending seems like the writers didn't know what to do so bam! ending... but hey, for the charm and fabulous one-liners present in this film I will overlook those annoyances.  And in this case, you should too.

The Power of One

Not sure how I came across this movie, if it was a random Netflix find or a recommendation.  It had a very interesting cast, including Stephan Dorff, a bald Morgan Freeman, and first-movie Daniel Craig.  But there really is not a constant actor throughout the film as it spans the life of a young boy growing up in apartheid South Africa, the people he meets and the trials he goes through.  Boxing is a main theme, a constant that stays with him from a young boy to adulthood, and is used as the mechanism to cross the racial gap.

The Power of One is not a fun movie, in fact it is quite the opposite being primarily just sad.  The main character looses pretty much everyone he ever gets close to, and sacrifices his dreams to follow the "right" path fighting to lead and inspire people against apartheid.  All his loves are taken from him and loneliness is often all that remains.

If you are looking for a two-hour violent, emotional, quasi-inspiring drama then this movie is for you.