Red Riding Hood

Movie: Red Riding Hood

Genre: fantasy-horror

Synopsis: Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) lives in a medieval village that has been plagued by a werewolf for generations.  A sort of truce has been in effect whereby once a month the village leaves an animal out for the werewolf – in return he (she?) does not kill any villagers. Valerie and Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) have been an item for 10 years.  Initially they were just best friends, but now they are in love.  Unfortunately, Valerie’s parents arrange for her to be married to a boy with better prospects.  The wedding plans are put on hold when the truce is broken when Valerie’s sister is killed by the werewolf.  Desperate to rid the village of the werewolf, the villagers bring in Solomon (Gary Oldman) – a kind of werewolf-killing priest.  Then things start getting really dicey as Solomon effectively takes over the entire village.

Some of the other cast: Billy Burke and Virginia Madsen as Valerie’s parents and Julie Christie as her grandmother.  One I did not recognize as Luke Haas as Father Auguste.  Luke was the little kid in Witness.

My two cents:  A decent horror movie.  It put an interesting twist on the old fairy tale.  I really enjoyed the movie.  I did not figure out who the werewolf was until the very end.  The werewolf was one of the better I have seen.  I rate the werewolf in An American Werewolf in London as my all-time favorite and probably number two would go to the one in Van Helsing . . . this one might get my vote for number three.

Bottom line:  Probably not destined to become a classic – but definitely worth seeing if you are a horror fan.

[60]

Mars Needs Moms (3D)

Movie: Mars Needs Moms (3D)

Genre: animated science fiction

Synopsis: Milo (Seth Green) is a bit of a challenge to his mother (Joan Cusack), but she does her best.  It seems that Mars has a problem – they have a bunch of kids but no moms to raise them.  They decide to kidnap Milo’s mother, take her back to Mars and replicate her mothering skills.  Milo sees the kidnapping and stows away aboard the spaceship.  The rest of the movie follows Milo has he gets to Mars and finds a couple of allies in his quest to find and rescue his mother.

My two cents: There were a few funny scenes, but on the whole I thought this movie pretty much fell flat.  I do realize that one cannot expect a lot of realism in a children’s animated movie . . . but this was just too much.  Kid’s might like it -  but I would not be my life on it.

And I add this movie to my ever growing list of 3D movies that gained nothing by being in 3D – other than more money for my ticket.  I really wish movie makers could show some restraint and only use 3D in movies that truly benefit from it.  Movies like Avatar or Beowulf or How to Train Your Dragon.  This movie just wasted it.

[59]

Battle: Los Angeles

Movie: Battle: Los Angeles

Genre: Science Fiction

Synopsis: What seems to be a bunch of meteors entering the earth’s atmosphere turns out to be the spaceships of an alien race.  They land at 20+ cities around the world and immediately start killing.  The theory is that they want the earth for its water and intend to wipeout the human race.  The movie follows a squadron of Marines lead by Staff Sargent Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) as they try to complete a rescue mission during the Los Angeles invasion.

My two cents: The movie had a lot of great special effects during multiple battles and firefights.  But . . . there was too much that did not make sense.  Without giving anything away, I will just say that the movie was too inconsistent and expected too much of a leap of faith.

Bottom line: if you are really into loud battle scenes, see it in the theater – otherwise wait for it to come to TV.

[58]

The Adjustment Bureau

Movie: The Adjustment Bureau

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: David Norris (Matt Damon) is the youngest man ever elected to Congress.  He represents a New York City district and is now running for a Senate Seat – and has a healthy lead.  Then an embarrassing picture from his past is released and his election chances plummet.  Minutes before his concession speech, he runs into Elise (Emily Blunt).  She was a wedding crasher being chased by security and was hiding out in the men’s room.  There is an instant connection between them – but then she runs off (chased by security).

Behind the scenes is The Adjustment Bureau.  These guys all wear hats that allow them to move instantly from place to place.  The head of the team monitoring David is Richardson (John Slattery).  Without wanting to give too much away . . . the rest of the movie consists of The Adjustment Bureau doing everything in their power to keep David and Elise from ever meeting again vs. David doing everything he can to find Elise.  This becomes much more interesting when The Adjustment Bureau make David aware of the Bureau and what it does.

My two cents: This was a great movie.  It had a lot of action while giving you a lot to think about.  Matt Damon and Emily Blunt were great, as always.  I enjoyed this movie much more than I thought I would.  Definitely worth seeing - especially if you can suspend your skepticism and just accept the Adjustment Bureau and their mission.

[57]

Rango

Movie: Rango

Genre: animated western

Synopsis: Rango (Johnny Depp) is a chameleon without much going for him other than a wild imagination.  When an accident strands him in the Nevada desert, he manages to make it to the town of Dirt.  Dirt is mysteriously running out of water.  The town is run by a crooked mayor.  After Rango makes up a few tall stories about his shooting skills and the citizens believe him.  He ends up becoming the sheriff.  Now he starts trying to solve the mystery of where the water has disappeared to.  This involves fighting a huge family of gopher-like critters, going up against the mayor’s gang, a rattlesnake who works for the mayor and even having a conversation with “the spirit of the west”.  Some of the other actors voices: Ned Beatty, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Stephen Root and Timothy Olyphant.

My two cents: A very entertaining movie.  It seemed to me that this movie was almost aimed for more of an adult audience than kids.  I was not expecting such an all-star cast of voices.  The movie was a bit long for an animated film . . . but I really enjoyed it.

[56]

Beasty

Movie: Beasty

Genre: romantic fantasy

Synopsis: Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is handsome, rich and the Alpha male of his prestigious private school in Manhattan.  He is running for a student office on the premise that he will do nothing  . . . but is rich and handsome.  He is intrigued by a very earnest student, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), who seems to be immune to his charms.  Kyle manages to really anger Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen).  Kendra is a witch and puts a curse on Kyle.  He is transformed into a bald, hard-to-look-at person covered with tattoos and strange lines and deformities.  To break the curse, he has one year to find someone that will tell him she loves him.  Kyle’s father (Peter Krause) moves Kyle and the housekeeper, Zola (Lisa Gay Hamilton) to a remote apartment where he will live in seclusion.  His father, even shallower than Kyle, chooses to keep living in the city.  Kyle even get’s his own tutor, Will (Neil Patrick Harris).  Will is blind, but manages to be a great dart thrower.

Kyle becomes obsessed with Lindy.  After witnessing a murder, Lindy winds moving into Kyle’s apartment to until the killer is caught.  The  movie follows the development of the relationship between Kyle and Lindy  . . . and the maturing of Kyle and his view of the world.

My two cents: This movie had a lot that I liked: Vanessa Hudgens and the awkward building of a romance between Kyle and Lindy.  The two that I thought stole the film were Lisa Gay Hamilton and Neil Patrick Harris.  Her character was such an inherently good and decent person that it made me smile whenever she was in a scene.  And the tutor was just plain funny.  The movie had a lot that I did not go for: Kyle was just a bit too openly shallow in the beginning of the movie, the witch was just a little too unbelievable, the acceptance of Kyle’s “condition” by everyone was just a bit too easy.

Bottom line: nothing to go out of your way to see.

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