Movies

Quick Movie Review – Oblivion

May 3, 2013 — Leave a comment

I haven’t been this disappointed by a Tom Cruise movie since War of the Worlds (2005). In 2017 an alien race turns the moon into chalk dust irreversibly disrupting the balance of nature. With half of planet Earth rendered uninhabitable, the only scattered life forms remaining are the Scavs who waged the war for planet Earth after they destroyed the moon. In an effort to gather vital resources which sustain the lives of survivors who have relocated in space, Jack Harper and Victoria are left behind to repair the drones which guard the water rigs. With just 2 weeks to go before they are reunited with the rest of the human population in outer space, Jack makes a discovery that changes the future forever.

This sci-fi story sounds great on paper but its poorly executed. Once you figure out what’s going on early in the film, it’s anti-climatic and you can pretty much guess how it ends. Science fiction should always be about out-of-the-box creativity, creating a future with unlimited possibilities and stimulating the audience’s imagination. Oblivion played it too safe.

5 out of 9

Guest Blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Review – Dark Skies

February 26, 2013 — 1 Comment

The less you know walking in, the more you will love it. Based on the movie  poster I assumed that Dark Skies was a horror movie. In the end, I  think that this movie created a whole new genre because it seriously creeped me  out while suggesting a whole new way of looking at the human experience. It’s  just another sunny day in suburbia for the Barrett family until the lights go  out. After a series of disturbing events, Daniel (Josh Hamilton from Outsourced) and Lacy (Keri Russell from Waitress) use  every rationalization in the book to avoid reality. Half of the terror in this  movie is not knowing what’s going on. The other half is finding out what’s going  on yet not knowing what you would do in the same situation. Once the audience is  in the foxhole with the family anticipation just hangs in the air. Crawling  towards the end of this story was like waiting for the last part of an  earthquake – you want the intensity to stop even if that means discovering  more cracks in the sidewalk.

8 out of 9

Guest blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Review – Mama

February 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Guillermo del Toro (Don’t Be  Afraid of the Dark, Pan’s Labyrinth) has done it again! He took a simple  horror story and visually interpreted in such an imaginative and creepy way  that every aspect of it gets under the audience’s skin. Mama is about a  present man’s worst day colliding with a dead stranger’s worst nightmare.  After a 1-year old and 3-year old disappear, their loving uncle pays a couple  of locals to keep searching for them. Five years later, the sisters are found  abandoned in the woods, but in relatively fair condition. Studied by a  psychologist and under the care of their father’s brother (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and live-in girlfriend (Jessica Chastain), it’s not long before  the truth is revealed: the girls are not alone. Del Toro doesn’t need gore, loud  noises or invisible figures lurking in shadows to scare the poop out of you. The  audience gets to see all of the characters involved right away. The horror in  this story comes from how their incredible circumstances terrorize the  already-victimized family and everybody unfortunate enough to know  them.

6 out of 9

Guest blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Trailer Review – After Earth

January 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

The cinematography looks gorgeous but the plot isn’t enticing.  There have been too many earth doomsday films and from the trailer, this film doesn’t add anything new to the genre.  I am totally biased because I have never been a big Will Smith fan but I found the voice over work to be ridiculous.

Pass.

 

Quick Movie Review – Man With Iron Fists

November 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

Martial arts films and campy movies have a special place in my heart.  When I heard that RZA created a martial arts film, I thought it would be a perfect combination of the two.  Alas, it was not.  Set in feudal China where clans such as the Lions, Hyenas and Jackals are at war with each other over god knows what. One clan lead by Gold Lion vows to the emperor to protect his gold as it travels across the country. Gold Lion faces betrayal from within his clan and his oath to the emperor is in danger. A mysterious blacksmith (RZA) who makes weapons for the various clans rounds out the cast.

The fights were poorly staged and were more gory that graceful. Instead of campy over the top acting, the actors were stiff and boring. The lone stand out was Russell Crowe (Jack Knife), he seemed to be enjoying himself as a randy British Officer.

If you are in the mood for a martial art film featuring a mysterious stranger and treachery, watch the exciting “House of the Flying Daggers.”

 

Quick Movie Review – Cloud Atlas

November 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

This movie makes more sense 2 hours after you’ve seen it. If you’re willing to completely open your mind and surrender to David Mitchell’s imagination, this is the movie for you. Cloud Atlas randomly switches between scenes spanning across 6 different ages in which 13 different souls (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon) intersect. It is both metaphysical and existential as it examines cause & effect, man’s strength & frailty, human interconnectivity, death, and the unintentional and intentional legacies that change the course of history. The acting of each cast member demonstrated flexibility and grace. Some of the transformations appeared so extreme at times that I had to remind myself that I was watching a science fiction movie. After sitting through three hours of this journey, let 2 hours pass and I promise that the dust will settle. That’s the point at which your brain will be able to put each age in its proper sequence and everything will be illuminated!

Cloud Atlas: 7 out of 9
Guest blogger from Seattle

Quick Movie Review – Dredd

October 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

Some movies purely exist to showcase 3D technology and Dredd was clearly one of them. Set in the future, a population explosion and the unrest that comes with it pushes the justice system to its limits. Since law enforcement can only respond to 6% of all reported incidences, the result is a Justice League which ordains its officers to represent a jury and a judge at the scene of each crime. In cases in which guilt is determined, the officers can sentence and execute as well on the spot. In Peach Trees, a housing complex that accommodates 75,000 people, a drug lord named MaMa is running the show from the 200th floor. When Judge Dredd and his rookie enter the complex and threaten MaMa’s tiny empire, she seals the doors of the complex and orders her foot soldiers to kill the judges. Instead of putting effort into the storyline and characters, Dredd focused on the explosions, violence and objects moving through the air. All of those effects were wasted since I saw the movie without 3D and expect a little meat with my potatoes.

4 out 9

Guest blogger from Seattle

Note: I really wanted to see Dredd in the theaters and was surprised to discover that it was pulled so soon.  With all of the hype, I thought it would do really well – Scifimaven

Quick Movie Review – Looper

October 8, 2012 — Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, I didn’t see that coming and what a treat.  As a semi jade movie-goer, I can usually guess what direction a plot is headed.  In Looper, I never knew what to expect next.  The year is 2044 and Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as an assassin for the mob. When gangsters want to eliminate someone, the victim is transported back 30 years and a killer is waiting there to take care of business. Time travel has been outlawed and for reasons that I never really understood, it was easier to send targets back in time to meet his or her demise. Old Joe (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to be killed by his younger self for reasons that I won’t explain.  When Old Joe arrives on the scene the movie picks up and a thrilling ride begins.  Emily Blunt shows up about half way through the film as Sara as the movie takes an interesting yet exciting turn.  The wonderful Paul Dano and Tracie Thoms have small roles in the movie and I wish that both could have been utilized in a larger fashion.  The youngest actor stole the movie any, the adorable Pierce Gagnon will capture your heart as Cid.

I have to admit that in the beginning, I found the prosthetic chin used on JGL to be quite distracting.  Even though the acting was top notch, I felt pulled out of the movie if I focused too much on JGL.  I think the movie would have been better off served if the creators had trusted the audience to just accept that Gordon-Levitt and Willis were the same characters at different stages in their lives without the elaborate makeup.

With its tiny flaws, this is still a must see movie.

 

Quick Movie Review – House at the End of the Street

September 24, 2012 — Leave a comment
The acting abilities of Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games, Winter’s Bone) and Max Thieriot (Jumper) made an otherwise B movie something worth sitting through. This thriller is about a broken family moving into a wooded neighborhood across from a house in which a family was murdered. For a film that’s supposed to make me jump out of my skin, I couldn’t help but feel that too much time was wasted on character development. Somehow the drawn out dialogue, flashbacks and explanations stole from the suspense and shock. 
6 out of 9
Guest blogger from Seattle