Conan the Barbarian

Movie: Conan the Barbarian

Genre: adventure

Synopsis: This is a not a remake of Arnold’s classic Conan movies.  It is a fresh treatment of Conan.  The movie opens with a young Conan (Leo Howard), son of his clan’s chief (Ron Perlman).  When an army overruns his village, Conan manages to escape.  Fast forward to an adult Conan (Jason Momoa) who is determined to avenge the death of his father.  The head of the bad guys is Khalar Zym (Stephen Land) who has a really nasty witch-daughter Marique (Rose McGowan). They in turn are trying to capture Tamara (Rachel Nichols), the last of a royal line.  They want to use her blood in a ritual to give Khalar the power to rule the world . . .  but only if Conan does not stop them.

My two cents: I’m a big Conan fan, having read about 20 of the books.  I was not a huge fan of the two Conan movies from the 80’s.   I thought this more than those films.  The scene where the young Conan takes on five enemies at once was great fun – kudos to the actor (Leo Howard) playing him.  Ron Perlman was at the top of his game as Conan’s grizzled warrior of a father.  Rachel Nichols also excelled.  She initially looked like a defenseless princess  . .  . but turned out to be ready to fight whenever necessary.  The makeup on Rose McGowan was amazing.  I knew it was Rose McGowan, but only once in the entire movie was there a scene where I could see the Rose McGowan I know from “Charmed”.  And her character was over-the-top (but in a good way) evil.
I give this movie a big thumbs up.

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Movie: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Movie: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Genre: horror

Synopsis: Sally (Bailee Madison) has been shipped off  by her mother to live with her father, Akex (Guy Pierce).  Alex and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), are renovating an old mansion.  Sally discovers that the mansion has a hidden basement.  Unfortunately, she also discovers that the basement is haunted by some really ugly and really evil little creatures. Also unfortunately, Sally cannot convince her father that things are not right with the mansion.

My two cents: This was a good old fashion horror movie. The creatures were totally disgusting – and totally evil.  I liked that there was not a lot of blood and gore.  The best thing about the movie was Bailee Madison.  I have been a fan of hers since I saw her play Toby Maguire’s daughter in “Brothers”.  I have not been this impressed with a child actor since Dakota Fanning.  I don’t know any child star I have ever seen who can top Bailee at portraying someone who is absolutely frightened out of her mind and trying not to come apart at the seams.  If you like horror movies, you should like this movie.

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Movie: One Day

Movie: One Day

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: This was based on the book of the same name.  Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) are from two different worlds.  Emma has working class parents whereas Dexter comes from a life of privilege.  They have both just graduated from college.  They somehow wind up with each other the day of graduation and spend the night together – but without having sex.  The movie follows the two through the next 20 years as they maintain their friendship over the next 20 years.  We are updated every July 15.

My two cents: I might have liked this better had I not finished reading the book the day before I saw the movie.  I thought this was one of the worst novel adaptations I have seen.  The biggest obstacle is that the novel spends a lot of time telling us what the two are thinking.  Without this insight, a lot of the actions – and reactions – of the two do not make sense.  Perhaps a voice-over would have helped. Even Anne Hathaway could nto save this movie – although I did think she did a great job of portraying Emma.

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Movie: Our Idiot Brother

Movie: Our Idiot Brother

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Ned (Paul Rudd) is the black sheep of his family, with three sisters: Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), Liz (Emily Mortimer), and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel).  Ned is basically a nice guy.  His problem is that he trusts people too much.  He has just been released from prison and rotates temporarily lives with first his mother, then each of his sisters.  Each sister ends up blaming Paul for the bad luck that seems to follow him.

My two cents: I quite enjoyed this movie.  I thought it was quite different from what the commercials indicated it was about. It was much better than I expected.  It was fun to watch Paul stumble around in his own little world where he naively believes everything people tell him.  It was also fun to watch the sisters come to the realization that maybe their brother is not a simpleton after all.

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Movie: Colombiana

Movie: Colombiana

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: Cataleya’s (Zoe Saldana) parents were killed by a Columbian drug lord when she was nine.  She managed toescape to the U.S., where she is raised by her uncle. Fast forward to the present where Cataleya is an extraordinarily skilled assassin who is out to avenge the murder of her parents.

My two cents: Zoe Saldan has rocketed up my list of favorite female action stars.  Watching her was kind of watching a female Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible).  I liked this movie from beginning to end.  Hopefully, a sequel will be along soon.

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30 Minutes or Less

Movie: 30 Minutes or Less

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) and Chet (Aziz Ansari are best friends. Chet is a high school teacher, Nick delivers pizza.  Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) are two idiot brothers who spend their days shooting water melons and wishing their rich father would die so he would stop bugging them and leave them his money.   Dwayne and Travis concoct a plan to force Nick to rob a bank for them so that they can use the money to hire a hit man.

My two cents: Not my favorite movie of the year.  I kept watching Jesse Eisenberg and wondering why he would take such a light-weight role after his amazing performance in Social Network.  There were a lot of laughs, but not enough to save it.  I also thought that things slipped a bit too much over to the dark side – especially with Dwayne and Travis.

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Glee the 3D Concert Movie

Movie: Glee the 3D Concert Movie
Genre: musical
Synopsis: This movie shows us the cast of Glee in concert – as their characters from the TV show.  It also shows a lot of behind the scenes clips and has a lot of interviews with Glee fans about how the show has affected their lives.

My two cents: I almost skipped this movie.  I have not heard anything good about it; but I am a big Glee fan, so I gave it a shot.  I think it was a mistake to make it 3D . . . the 3D effects were definitely not worth the extra money and inconvenience.  Some of the production numbers were really good, some not so good. I was a little puzzled as to why it was the actors stayed in character for the concert . . . why couldn’t they let Kevin McHale walk around on stage rather than making him stick to his wheelchair as Artie (except for one number).  I did find it pretty interesting to see how Glee has helped so many people in their everyday lives.  Especially interesting was a “little person” who was on her high school cheerleading squad and was homecoming queen.  She explained how Glee helped her to see that she was not the only one who is different.  It was really pretty inspiring.

Bottom line: the music by itself was not enough to make me give this a thumbs up – but when you include the real-life stories of how Glee has affected kids’ lives, my thumb has to point skyward.

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Fright Night 3D

Movie: Fright Night 3D
Genre: horror
Synopsis: A remake of the 1985 classic of the same name. Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is a former nerd.  His ex-best friend played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’ from Superbad) futilely tries to convince Charlie that his new neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), is a vampire.  When Charlie is finally convinced he enlists the help of PeterVincent – a vampire expert who headlines a Las Vegas show – to battle Jerry.

My two cents: I think I liked the original better, but this was still a damn fine vampire movie.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good Colin Farrell as a vampire. From soft-spoken guy next door to a lethal monster faster than you can blink your eyes.  If you like vampire movies, you won’t regret seeing this.  I did like the ending in this one better than the original.

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Captain America: The First Avenger

Movie: Captain America: The First Avenger
Genre: super hero
Synopsis: Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the original 98-pound weakling.  He keeps trying to enlist in the army during World War II, but keeps getting a 4F. He finally gets in with the help of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci).  In return, Steve volunteers to ne a guinea pig for Dr, Erskine.  The experiment not only adds about 6 inches in height and 100 pound in weight, but it also gives Steve incredible strength and speed.  Steve does battle with the evil Nazi scientist, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) who is tapping into mystical powers in an effort to conquer the world. Steve, as Captain America, goes on to become the first member of The Avengers.

My two cents: A bit of a disappointment. When it is compared to some of the other movies that have been setting up  The Avengers – like Iron Man and Thor, it felt more like a TV movie

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Genre: fantasy
Synopsis: The final showdown between Harry and the good guys and Lord Valdemort and the bad guys.

My two cents: I was actually a little disappointed.  I was happy that they really did wrap things up and their was a clear winner and a clear loser  . . . it just did not live up to my expectations.  I would say it was a good movie, but not a great one.

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Rise of Planet of the Apes

Movie: Rise of Planet of the Apes

Genre: sci-fi thriller

Synopsis: This is the story of how and why the apes gained the intelligence to take over control of the earth from the humans – a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes.  Starring James Franco as the scientist who developed the mis-guided scientist to experiments on the ape (Caesar, played by Andy Serkis) who is the catalyst for the ape revolution.

My two cents: A pretty good movie.  The thought of facing an angry ape is bad enough – but to face an angry and intelligent ape . . . The special effects are quite good.  The scenes of large number of rampaging apes had me squirming in my seat. I loved the way they showed the development of Caesar from an innocent fun-loving ape to an angry ape who felt he had been betrayed.  Definitely a movie worth seeing.

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Cowboys & Aliens

Movie: Cowboys & Aliens

Genre: sci-fi-western

Synopsis: Set in the Arizona town of Absolution in the 1870’s.  Jake (Daniel Craig) awakens in the middle of the desert with a strange wound, a strange looking metal wrist band and no memory of anything. Woodrow (Harrison Ford) is the local cattle baron who runs the town.  The two make an uneasy alliance to battle aliens who have arrived in a spaceship and are abducting humans.  Joining them to get revenge for the loss of her family is Ella (Olivia Wilde).

My two cents: This was certainly a new entry in the science fiction/western genres.  Although there are a lot of holes in the plot, I found the movie to be pretty enjoyable.  Harrison Ford is really perfecting the portrayal of a grizzled old man.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

Movie: Crazy, Stupid, Love

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Cal (Steve Carell) is married to Emily (Julianne Moore).  When Emily unexpectedly tells him she wants a divorce, Cal does not know what to do.  Jacob (Ryan Gosling) is extraordinarily good a picking up women.  He decides to take Cal under his wing, give him a wardrobe makeover, and teach him how to pick up women.  Ultimately, Cal realizes what he really wants is to win back Emily.  There are several side story-lines, including a romantic triangle: Cal’s son has a crush on his babysitter, who has a crush on Cal.  The movie also has Kevin Bacon as a co-worker of Emily  who slept with her, Emma Stone, and Marisa Tomei. 

My two cents: I think that when it comes to romantic comedies Steve Carell is in a class by himself.  He can be a hopeless doofus of a nerd, but you still respect him and pull for him to win back his true love. Ryan Gosling is like a chameleon.  From “Lars and the Real Girl” where he was just a sweet but lost soul to “Blue Valentine” where he was a borderline psychopath with anger management issues to this role as a pickup-artist. 

This was the best romantic comedy I have seen in a while.  Definitely worth seeing.

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The Change-Up

Movie: The Change-Up

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Dave (Jason Bateman) is lawyer in a big law firm and is obsessed with making partner. He is married to Jaimie (Leslie Mann) and has three children.  His best friend is Mitch (Ryan Reynolds).  Mitch is a stoner with no ambition who acts in soft-porn movies.  They both think the other has a better life.  A magical fountain causes their minds to switch bodies.  They each now get to see the good things and the not-so-good things about each other’s life.

My two cents: This movie had a lot of good laughs, but caused me to cringe a few too many times. One example is when they show a baby playing with a blender and trying to stick his hand into the whirling blades.  Another was a scene with the two urinating in public in front of a bunch of girl scouts.  On the plus side, I thought Olivia Wilde, Dave’s legal assistant, stole just about every scene she was in.

   

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Friends With Benefits

Movie: Friends With Benefits

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Jamie (Mila Kunis) is a corporate headhunter in Manhattan.  Dylan (Justin Timberlake) runs an internet blog site.  Jamie is recruiting Dylan for a job at GQ magazine and brings him to Manhattan for an interview.  They strike up a friendship and discover that they both have failings in the relationship department.  They decide to become “friends with benefits” and no emotional entanglements. Naturally, complications ensue.

My two cents: This was a really fun movie.  Justin Timberlake continues to impress me with his acting and comedic skills.  I think Mila Kunis is poised to become a major star.  She is unbelievably cute and sexy and comes across as being smart as a whip.  The two seemed to have real chemistry. The actor who steals every scene he is in is Woody Harrelson as an enthusiastically gay editor at GQ. 

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Sarah’s Key

Movie: Sarah’s Key

Genre: historical drama

Synopsis: This is a French movie with English subtitle. Julia (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an American journalist living in Paris with her French husband and daughter.  They are moving into an apartment that her husband’s family has owned since 1942.  Julia works for a magazine and is writing an article about a little known period during the German occupation of Paris when French police rounded thousands of French Jews to be sent off to death camps.  Julia stumbles upon a connection between her husband’s family’s apartment and a Jewish family that was one of the ones sent off to the death camps.  The movie has two timelines that it follows, one follows Julia as she tries to unearth what happened to the family and what part her husband’s family played, the other is in 1942 and follows the Jewish family during their ordeal.

My two cents: I only stumbled upon this movie after hearing Kristin Scott Thomas interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air.  The movie is absolutely gripping.  It brings to life the unspeakable horror experienced by the Jewish as they were rounded up – as husbands were wrenched from their families and then children wrenched from their mothers. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see if for no other reason than so that the horror of the Nazis is never forgotten.  I can just about guarantee that you will not be leaving as soon as the credits start rolling . . . you will be sitting in your seat thinking about what you just saw.

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The Help

Movie: The Help

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Based on the book of the same name, this film is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a progressive, intelligent 20-something who recently graduated from college with a journalism degree.  She seems the only one in her circle of friends whose goal in life is not finding a husband and having children.  When one of her best friends, Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) starts talking about the need to have separate bathrooms for the black maids, Skeeter has a light bulb go on in her head.  She decides to write a book from the perspective of the black help – how they are treated, how their life is,…  The story chronicles how she convinces some of the maids to talk to – and provides a look at the life of a black maid, from the maid’s perspective.

My two cents: The book was amazing and this movie is equally amazing. The book and movie have both been criticized for trivializing the plight of blacks in that era.  From my perspective (that of a white man who grew up in an environment that provided almost no contact with blacks) this book and movie provided an eye-opening glimpse into what the cost of racism can be.  The blacks’ total lack of rights was appalling.  The scene that keeps coming back to me was when one of the maids (played by Viola Davis) is pushing a grocery cart down the right side of an isle of a grocery store (which she is only allowed to shop in if she is shopping for white people) and she encounters a white woman pushing a cart.  The only permissible response is for her to duck her head and move out of the way.  I still do not understand the mental process whereby it is considered to be okay for a black made to raise white children from birth, to clean the white people’s houses, to cook meals for white people – but any direct physical contact (such as the touch of a hand) is considered to be taboo.

In any case, the performances were standouts: Emma Stone as Skeeter, Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly, Jessica Chastain at Celia Foote and Allison Janey as Skeeter’s mother; but the two best performances were Octavia Spencer Minnie Jackson and Viola Davis as Aibileen Clarke.  I would love to see this movie nominated for Best Picture Oscar . . .  and I am going to be shocked of Viola Davis does not pull down a nomination for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.  She was absolutely amazing.

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