Real Steel IMAX

Movie: Real Steel IMAX

Genre: Sci-fi / drama

Synopsis: Set several years in the future, Charlie (Hugh Jackman) is a washed up boxer.  He is a bit of a loser who tries to support himself with robot boxing matches.  His only real friend is the owner of a gym he hangs out at – Bailey (Evangeline Lily).  Circumstances – and Charlie’s greed – conspire to convince Charlie to take temporary custody of his son, Max (Dakota Goyo).  Max is 11, but Charlie has not seen him since he was an infant.  It turns out Max is a bit of a genius with computers. Charlie and Max work together to put together a former sparring robot who is way more successful than anyone expects. 

My two cents: This was a really good movie. There were an awful lot of parallels to the original Rocky movie.  It is also the story of a father trying to figure out what it means to be a father and to make a connection with his son.  Definitely a movie worth seeing . . . and if you can see it in IMAX, so much the better.

[161]

Dream House

Movie: Dream House

Genre: Horror

Synopsis: Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) has just quit his job so that he and his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their two daughters can move to the country.  After they get into their new house, mysterious things start happening.  When Will does some investigating, he learns that the house has been vacant since a grisly murder occurred in it.  He learns of the murder from his neighbor, Ann (Naomi Watts).  When he follows some leads Will learns something that rocks his world.  To say more would give too much away.  For the rest of the movie Will tries to come to grips with the implication of what he has learned – with some assistance from Ann.

My two cents: A pretty decent horror film.  It kept my interest all the way to the end.  My only beef is with the trailers for the movie that gave away entirely too much of the plot.  I would have loved to have been surprised by the revelation Will has – but the trailer had already given it away.

[159]

What’s Your Number

Movie: What’s Your Number

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Ally Darling (Anna Faris) is having a crisis.  She reads a magazine article that convinces her she has slept with too many men.  She decides that the next guy she sleeps with will have to be “the one”.  So, she starts looking up old hook-ups to re-evaluate their possibilities.  Meantime, he sister (Ari Graynor) is getting married and their mother (Blythe Danner) is putting relentless pressure on her to find the right man (which in her eyes means rich).  Countering the maternal pressure is Colin (Chris Evans).  Colin lives across the hall in Ally’s apartment and is the king of the one night stands.

My two cents: I found this movie to be very entertaining.  Anna Faris is always fun to watch.   There are a lot of laughs.  While parts of the plot were a bit predicable, it did not spoil the movie.  If you are looking for a light romantic comedy that has laughs but manages to avoid any unduly gross scenes – this should fit the bill.  Ed Begley Jr. was also great as Ally’s father – divorced from her mother and as different from her mother as night and day.

[158]

Moneyball

Movie: Moneyball

Genre: sports drama

Synopsis: This is based on what actually happened with the 2002 Oakland A’s/  Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is the general manager of the A’s.  They are just about the poorest team in the league, have just lost three key players, and Billy is being told by the owner that he just has to make do.  What Billy does is to hire Peter Brand (Jonah Hill).  Peter is a recent graduate of Yale with a degree in economics.  Peter has some rather innovative ideas about how to place value on a player.  What he does is a lot of number crunching with a computer to quantify what a player can do for the team.  Billy decides to follow Peter’s idea, which does not sit well with the veteran coaches and scouts on the team.  Once the manager is dragged kicking and screaming into the new direction, the A’s set a league record for consecutive wins.

My two cents: A great movie.  It provides a glimpse behind the scenes in what goes into managing a major league baseball, but does it without numbing the viewer with too much information.  Brad Pitt was great – as was Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe, the manager.  The one I really loved was Jonah Hill.  I love seeing an actor completely switch the type of role he is playing.  Typically, Jonah seems to play the big bumbling goofball.  In “Cyrus” I saw a different – and rather creepy – side of what he can do.  In this movie he plays a whip-smart number kid fresh out of college who has the guts and confidence to follow his dream when only one guy on the team supports him.

Bottom line: definitely worth your time and money to see this.

[157]

Killer Elite

Movie: Killer Elite

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: Danny (Jason Stratham) is the protégé of Hunter (Robert De Niro).  The two of them are elite assassins.  Danny decides he has had enough and announces his retirement.   When an Arab Sheik takes Hunter as a hostage, Danny is forced out of retirement to kill three enemies of the Sheik.  The three targets were members of a secret British organization.  Davies (Dominic Purcell) is a former British Commando who now freelances and is recruited by Danny to help with the job.  Spike (Clive Owen) works for the secret organization and mounts a campaign to kill Danny.

My two cents: Good but not great.  Some great action shots.  Danny had a girlfriend Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck’s girlfriend on “Chuck”).  It was fun to watch her playing the innocent civilian who was in love with a dangerous secret spy-type.  If you like Jason Stratham movies, you should like this movie . . . it just lacked something to set it apart.

[156]

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Movie: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Genre: mystery-thriller

Chinese with English subtitles

Synopsis: The year is 689 and Empress Wu Setian (Carina Lau) is about to be coronated first female Chinese emperor.  To commemorate her coronation, she is having a 66 yard high statue of herself built.  As the coronation approaches, high ranking officials start dying by bursting into flame from within.  In a desperate attempt to solve – and stop – the murders, the empress orders the great Detective Dee to be released from prison – the prison she had sent him to eight years earlier.  Detective Dee’s investigation leads him through wild chases, attacks by mysterious assassins as well as government soldiers.  Along the way, more people are dying by the “Phantom Flame”.

My two cents: The movie had a lot going for it: huge sets, lots of martial arts fighting, supernatural enemies, an innovative storyline . . . My only wish was that the fighting had looked a little more realistic and less staged.  Some of the names in the English subtitles had interesting translations.  My favorite was the royal physician: Doctor Donkey Wang.  In retrospect – although not a bad movie, I would rather have waited for this to come around on TV.

[155]

Love Crime

Movie: Love Crime

Genre: mystery-thriller

French with English Subtitles

Synopsis: Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) is the head of the Paris office of a multinational company.  Her top assistant is Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier).  When Isabelle witnesses Christine taking credit with the corporate headquarters in New York for Isabelle’s work, Isabelle is less than happy.  Christine is amused by this and tells her that it is all part of getting ahead – something Isabella needs to learn.  When Isabella takes Christine’s advice, Christine’s response is swift and brutal.  But Isabelle is a quick study.  To say more would give too much away . . . but the movie has twists right up to the end.

My two cents: I really enjoyed this movie.  Kristin Scott Thomas is one of my favorite actors and she did not let me down in this movie, although the real star was Ludivine Sagnier.  The plot really had me scratching my head trying to figure out what in the heck was going on.  This movie is definitely worth your time.

[154]