Limitless

Movie: Limitless

Genre: thriller/drama

Synopsis: Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a bit of loser.  He has been working on writing a book for six months and has yet to write a single word.  Then his ex-brother-in-law gives him a pill.  This pill enables a person to go from using only 20% of his brain to using 100%.  It is as if he were blind before and now can see.  And he sees – and understands – everything.  After securing a supply of these pills, Eddie starts moving up in the world.  He ends up working for an industrialist played by Robert DeNiro.  Things start going south for Eddie when a Russian mobster comes after him.  There is also someone trying to kill Eddi and his girlfriend – but he does not know why.

My two cents: This was a great movie.  The scenes where the pill takes effect were really well done and did the job of conveying a sense of what it would seem like to have your IQ suddenly jump five-fold or more.  There are some great scenes between Robert DeNiro’s character and Eddie.  I was afraid that I was going to not like the ending, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a great ending.

Bottom line: See this movie.

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Jane Eyre

Movie: Jane Eyre

Genre: drama

Synopsis: When she is very young, Jane Eyre’s parents die.  She is taken in by Mrs.Reed (Sally Hawkins) who promised Jane’s mother she would take care of Jane.  Jane’s life with Mrs. Reed and her son is one of constant torment.  Finally, she is sent away to a boarding school where life really gets tough for Jane.  We skip forward to an older Jane (Mia Wasikowska) finally leaving (escaping?) the school when she is hired to be a governess by Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench).  Mrs. Fairfax is the manager of the country estate of Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender).  Jane is to be the governess of a girl who is the ward of Rochester. Jane proves to be extremely intelligent and perfectly willing to speak her mind when given the opportunity.

There is something not quite right about the estate. Things literally go bump in the night.  The movie follows the relationship between Rochester and Jane a mystery from Rochester’s past and Jane’s journey to come to grips with life.

My two cents:  A pretty good movie.  I loved how Mia Wasikowska played Jane – very prim and proper, but lurking close beneath the surface was a bright young lady with definite and erudite opinions on matters.  It was also interesting to see Sally Hawkins played a nasty vindictive old lady.

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Paul

Movie: Paul

Genre: sci-fi comedy

Synopsis: Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are two die-hard sciencefiction/fantasy fans from England.  The movie opens with the two of them visiting San Diego to fulfill their dream of attending Comic-Con.  After the convention, they rent an RV to tour the west to see places like Roswell and Area 51.  Along the way, they happen upon a real alien (voiced by Seth Rogan) named Paul.  Paul is on the run from the government.  Naturally Graeme and Clive decide to help him.  The chase involves multiple run-ins with the agent chasing them (Jason Bateman) as well as a couple of red-neck good old boys who just want to kill them just because they don’t like them. 

My two cents: This was a really fun movie.  It was great two nerds fulfilling their fantasies as they visited places like Roswell.  Paul was really well done.  There were lots of tie-ins to classic alien movies.  For example, when they stop for snacks, Paul yells “Don’t forget the Reese’s Pieces”.  Thrown in also are some bits of wisdom from Paul that are worth thinking about.

Bottom line: Most definitely worth seeing

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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.

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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.

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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.

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