Anna and the King

Want to know what the most unexpected part of this movie was?  Seeing Draco Malfoy as a young english boy, the son of Jodie Foster's "Anna".  Every time he was on screen my warped mind just kept thinking Death Eater Death Eater!  Anyway, putting that tidbit aside the rest of the film was what you would expect - a lush period drama with a touch of romance and war.  Not generally my cup of tea, but it is a beautiful film and Foster's performance really stood out.

HOP - Colombiana and Fright Night

Two movies from which I did not know what to expect, but I did figure that I was not going to be watching any Oscar-worthy performances or gripping story-telling...

COLOMBIANA - Zoe Saldana is a beautiful woman, and that seemed to be what this movie was all about.  At least that is what I got out of it.  There were so many goofs and continuity glitches, I found myself distracted from whatever threads of storyline that there were.  The best scene in the whole movie, in my opinion, is at the beginning when as a young girl our main character performs feats of parkour while making a mad escape through the streets of Bogota.  The opening credits were pretty sweet too...

FRIGHT NIGHT - Not having yet seen the 1985 original I cannot speak to how this re-make stood up, but with this un-biased viewing I have to say the film was unexpectedly enjoyable.  A little long, no need for it to clock in at two hours, but an interesting combination of goofy and scary.  Also it had a solid amount of both predictable and unpredictable parts, so that kept things spicy.  Some odd directorial choices, such as the weirdly foggy "look" whenever characters were inside a dark house, or the apparent confusion as to how dark "night" actually is haha  And while they may not have been award-winning performances, Anton Yelchin and especially Colin Farrell certainly had fun in their roles

Absolute Power

I have a love/hate relationship with Clint Eastwood, sometime both at the same time haha.  But this film is not just Clint, it is also Ed Harris, Gene Hackman, and several other familiar faces.  The plot is familiar - the President does something bad and his team must cover it up; but wait, there is a witness!  Despite the familiar storyline this movie was great, that is until the end; very anticlimactic.  The movie is proceeding building all this tension and then suddenly everything resolves itself.  It was like being in a sports car racing around a winding back-country road to suddenly slam on the brakes.  Not cool.

The Code

Who doesn't love Morgan Freeman?  But paired with Antonio Banderas?  hmmm...  This movie also had that guy who is always a bad Russian, so we are casting quite the international gamut.  Ooo I just discovered something interesting... on Netflix this movie is called "The Code" but on IMDb this movie is called "Thick as Thieves".  Dual title?  Also, this movie never made it to theaters and was released straight to DVD.  I mean, it is definitely nothing special but it is certainly better than some of the other crap out there on the big silver screen.  Freeman seems to be calling it in, and Banderas' character is just confusing, and while I do love heist movies the twists in this one are simply dumb.  blech.

Europa Europa

This German/French/Polish film is about a young boy during WWII who in trying to conceal his Jewish identity joins the Hitler Youth.  An emotional movie, the main character is constantly reinventing who he is in order to survive the various circumstances in which he finds himself.  There is an ever present fear of being discovered, and a longing not to have to hide or worry anymore.  "Miracles" keep happening for this boy, to the point where you start to wonder when his luck is going to run out...  Mediocre acting, but a gripping tale, I am willing to concede that a few things were probably lost in translation.

Killers

I needed something brainless after a long day, and this film fit the bill to a T.  In fact, it was so brainless that I felt stupider after watching it.  The movie should be renamed "Dumb and Dumbest".  If you want to see Katherine Heigl whining and throwing fits and Ashton Kutcher failing embarrassingly at trying to be a badass then this if for you.  Don't fall into the same trap I did thinking that maybe, just maybe, this film might be "cute".  Steer clear of its plot pitfalls and shockingly bad acting.  Better to watch paint dry.

Kalifornia

One of Brad Pitt's earlier films, it is interesting to see him play a poor white trash serial killer.  But even cast as such he is still one pretty man.  There is one scene where he is digging an enormous hole, all covered in dirt shoveling away, and for a brief moment you forget what a bad actor he is.  People are generally shocked when I say that, but I honestly just don't think he is that fabulous.  He has been in some great films, like Se7en and Interview with the Vampire, but it is not due to his performance that those films are so awesome.  Anyway, this movie had an interesting premise but turned out to be less than stellar.

HOP - 30 Minutes or Less and The Help

There are a couple interesting-looking films out right now, so it was hard to determine which movies to go for on this hop.  But timing made the decision for me, and I am happy to say it was an enjoyable evening.

30 MINUTES OR LESS - This film was just ridiculous; much of the dialogue was so funny on its own that it did not matter the two main characters, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari, had no comic chemistry of their own.  Individually I think Eisenberg was good in The Social Network, but his other films have fallen flat on me.  As to Ansari, I just find him kind of annoying.  Lots of profane language and stupidity, and while I cannot wholly endorse this movie to anyone I do have to admit that there were several moments of some seriously laugh-out-loud funny shit.  But be warned: before watching you have to accept the fact that many things that happen, and decisions made, will make no sense whatsoever.

THE HELP - Definitely some Oscar nominations coming up for this film.  It was really incredible - art direction, storyline, and above all the acting.  Damn.  You could feel the heat of the Mississippi summer, and the tension of the era.  Watching this film you will find yourself muttering some profanity of your own under your breath, and mentally pushing our protagonist forth in her quest.  I don't want to label it as a tearjerker, but I would lie if I said a drop or two didn't find their way down my cheeks.  But on a side note, before you go catch this in the theater make sure to eat something as there is some fine looking food in this film.

The Adjustment Bureau

Would I have paid to see this movie in the theater?  No.  Was it worth a Netflix delivery?  Yes.  The basic idea behind this Matt Damon flick is that people have no free will; their life "plan" is controlled by the men/angels of the Adjustment Bureau who make tiny adjustments in peoples' decision-making to keep them on a pre-destined path.  The conflict arises when our hero must attempt to utilize his free will to stay with the love of his life, played by Emily Blunt.  Interesting concept, predictable ending.

River's Edge

Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, and Dennis Hopper star in a film truly from the 80s, complete with jean vests and exclamations of "radical".  River's Edge tells the story of a group of friends and how they react when one of them kills his girlfriend, and shows off her dead body to the rest.  The movie paints a picture of delinquency - truant kids with no solid home base smoking, drinking, stealing, and otherwise with no regard for authority.  Loyalty to one another is of high regard, and a warped perspective of what is "right" and "wrong" influence their every move.  An interesting film, better than I expected.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

You would never think strange things about Antonio Banderas' acting career based on the majority of his Hollywood performances, but take a step back and look at his filmography as a whole and you run into some strange stuff.  In this specific case I refer to "strange stuff" as a film about a young man recently released from a mental hospital who kidnaps a porn star he once slept with to convince her to be his wife.  He believes that if he ties her up she will eventually fall in love with him.  Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, a famous Spanish filmmaker, there is something about this film which makes you feel uncomfortable yet oddly curious.

Kid's Night: Tangled and The Secret of Moonacre

No, I was not with any kids the other night.  I just felt a bit of "brain overload" and what better way to cure it then kids movies?  Nothing complicated, just colors, stories, and fantasy.

TANGLED - I steered clear of this one when it first came out - the Rapunzel story is fun, but watching the trailer and seeing how the hair seemed to have a mind of its own sort of threw me off.  Rapunzel's character was nothing of note, and the songs were "eh", but the one character that made me laugh my butt off was the horse Maximus.  If Disney can do anything right it is making awesome animal sidekicks.

THE SECRET OF MOONACRE - I stumbled upon this flick whilst browsing Netflix and my first reaction was how have I not heard of this movie?!  A fantasy film which contains similar elements to other movies such as Inkheart, this movie fell in the realm of so-much-potential-yet-just-not-quite-there category.  Definitely not "really really bad" but I can see where it got lost along the way.  The film has talent with Tim Curry, Ioan Gruffudd, and Dakota Blue Richards (the girl from The Golden Compass) and the costumes were fabulous, but the story itself wasn't up to snuff.  Also kind of confusing since the actors played characters that appeared in both past and present, without any indication of "magic potion" implying they lived for hundreds of years... left me with a feeling of wait, what?

Barney's Version

I am not usually into the sappy "life story" stuff, but this movie was pretty remarkable.  Weaving together past and present, the film tells the story of Barney - played by Paul Giamatti - his highs and lows through his relationships with friends, father, and three marriages.  Clocking in at just over two hours the movie does feel a bit long at times, but trust me it is worth it.  I don't think I could sound any cheesier, but in all seriousness I say this - you will laugh and you will cry as you pass through what is one of Giamatti's finest performances of his career.

The Thing

Watched John Carpenter's The Thing the other night - heard scary things about dogs and Antarctica so I had to invite a couple friends over to watch with me... being the non-horror person the film's rep made me nervous haha.  Let me start by saying that Kurt Russell had on a hat that literally negated the scarier aspects of the movie, he looked like Yosemite Sam from Looney Tunes.  However, that being said, I will admit that there were one or two moments where I jumped and several times where it was necessary to pull a blanket up (if for no other reason than shear grossness factor).  Hear a re-make is being made of this 1980s wonder, but not sure it will be able to stand up...

Blood Creek

How could you go wrong with a movie about an occult-obsessed Nazi zombie?  hmmm I may have just answered my own question...  Even the extreme hotness of Henry Cavill could not distract this movie watcher from the film's horrible execution.  So the premise was a little "off", but alongside Cavill it could have been saved by supporting cast Dominic Purcell and Michael Fassbender.  Yet there was way too much randomness in the beginning of the film and then just weird inconsistencies paired with pretty terrible CGI throughout.  I understand it may seem hard to convincingly portray a horse crashing through a window to bite someone on the shoulder meanwhile getting its neck blown to bits, but still.  And again with the horses - they are in the corral, they are stampeding in circles outside the corral, they are in the corral, they are back out stampeding.  So many parts that made no sense!  But don't worry, there is a happy ending.

Cedar Rapids

Not very funny.  Really, just not very good.  Except for the line "I don't trust guys with ponytails"  hahaha  But seriously John C. Reilly?  Why?  And I think I simply just don't like Ed Helms; not in The Office, not in The Hangover, and not in this.

Crazy Stupid Love

Wow.  For all the ladies out there, you should see this film if only for Gosling's body.  Damn.  He may be a butterface, but those abs... HA.  Yeah, I said it.  Seriously though, despite some glorious eye-candy, Emma Stone and Steve Carell were the best part of this movie.  In one scene Stone is discussing logistics as she is trying to "bang" Gosling and all I could think of was that she reminds me of someone... haha

A fun movie, with some really fabulous montage scenes, but in my opinion it was definitely too long.  By like a half hour.  You will have to be able to sit through some very romantic cheeseball moments, but they don't last too long and this movie is worth it for the comedy.  Worth it like rainy matinee worth it, not Saturday night worth it.

PREMIERE HOP - Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Change-Up

How lucky can I be?  Two successful hops in a row, and not only that, but this one was a not-yet-released-movie hop!  And get this, last weekend was Cowboys & Aliens (with Olivia Wilde) and Horrible Bosses (with Jason Bateman) and in this hop I saw The Change-Up which starred them both! (and for those who care, Wilde oddly enough has bare-breast moments in both) Crazier things may have happened, but this definitely counts in my book of crazy.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - The film is based in San Francisco, so fun times watching the apes wreak havoc on the Golden Gate Bridge and ride the cable car like they own the place.  Mediocre acting on the part of James Franco, reminded me of his dismal performance hosting the 2011 Oscars.  Some of the CGI work on the apes was fantastic; mainly the close-ups as the appearance of apes in large numbers looked rather phony.  But it is rather difficult to make large numbers appear believable, in my opinion so far only the LOTR peeps really made it work.  A couple great "hells yeah" moments where you might have difficulty not fist-pumping the air, but overall don't go in with high expectations.

THE CHANGE-UP - This movie was way better than I thought it was going to be.  The pairing of Reynolds and Bateman is absolute gold, their comedic timing together is effortless.  I was laughing and cringing and having a grand ol' time during the screening, and at one point even erupted in spontaneous applause.  Have no clear recollection why, but at the moment seemed the right thing to do.  You may think you have seen this movie before, with the age-old "oh-no-our-bodies-have-been-switched" plot, but no matter how you felt about it in the past you should hit this flick up.  Even the  sappy moments, which I usually cannot stand, are tolerable (and for me that is saying a lot!)