Review: Prisoners

Review:  Prisoners

The thing that makes movies so compelling, the thing that draws us all in and grabs ahold are the emotions evoked from watching them.  Very few movies can both make you want to walk out of the theater and yet, not allow you to look away.   I’m not talking about a torture porn movie, for those people that get those two competing sentiments.  It’s the emotion of a movie that keeps us coming back to a theater.  Whether drawn there by laughter, sadness, fright et al. That first time you realize the images you see on the big screen can evoke actual feelings… it’s like that one good shot in golf that keeps men combing the rough every weekend.  It’s that rush of adrenaline that keeps those skater rogues returning to the same stairway handrails they've been chased off of on numerous occasions.  For those of us that seek out cinematic adventure, there is nothing like it in the world.  Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners is a masterful representation of conflicting yet compelling emotional outbursts that both revolt and take firm hold of the audience.

The film, as anyone who saw the trailers knows, mostly focuses on the fathers of two missing girls and their search for both their daughters, and the kidnapper.   Hugh Jackman plays the distressed father role very well and even gets in touch with his dark side when he nabs the initial suspect after his release from custody.  Terrence Howard’s role was muted for me, we all know he can show emotion and has a trained broken voice, but it felt to me as though he was overshadowed by other characters in the film.  Jake Gyllenhaal plays lead detective Loki, in what feels like his first role since 2007’s Zodiac.  The Help’s Viola Davis, and “it feels like she’s been in more than she has” Maria Bello play the childrens mothers.  Every role gets outshined, by Jackman and Gyllenhaal’s characters’ grudging, distant relationship.   Gyllenhaal’s never truly shaking the, “something isn’t right with this guy” feeling, and Jackman’s disdain for lack of progress on the part of police.  Mr. Dover (Jackman) takes the law into his own hands and kidnaps the case’s initial suspect in hopes of forcing information out of Paul Dano’s Alex Jones character, who is found to be handicapped.

This movie feels long, so be prepared for that.  Runtime is a shade over two and a half hours, but that uncomfortable feeling of watching some wrongdoing and being unable to stop it will make it feel like much, much longer.  This movie also contains some graphic images, it earns that “R” people, if you’re squeamish, bring someone to hide your eyes and tell you when you can look.  There are some tough themes as well, torture, violence, psychotic behaviors.  I loved this movie, my wife wasn’t able to watch what felt like a quarter of it.  I give it a solid 4.5/5  See it!

Review: G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

CHEESEY!! But okay. It's a movie based off a cartoon based off an action figure, it's not gonna be full of adult themes and deep character plot twists. They do, however, try to keep adults interested by throwing in some half-hearted love interest stories which end up detracting from the only interesting thing in this move: the action. it's got some good effects, not great. They are like super-high-end 3D cartoon effects, not high end movie effects.... does that make sense? They look cheap for being a movie like this, but that kind of thing doesn't bother me too much. Channing Tatum does not have any depth of character in any movie I've seen him in, he's stoic and monotone. Marlon Wayans was better than I expected from the previews, I was expecting him to be comic relief, which his character is but it's almost as if Mr. Wayans learned to act just a tad. It's not the kind of stupid prat-fall schtick that I was expecting from a Wayans brother. Dennis Quaid felt wrong for the part, I can't really explain it better than that, he just didn't seem to be trying very hard. One last thing: a Brendan Fraser sighting! he's in here for about 30 seconds and has about 2 lines, good to see he's still alive, and even better to see he's in his element (BACKGROUND). 3-3.5 See it, don't pay full price!

Review: Wild Things

Why do we watch movies like this?
I for one saw the movie "Knocked Up" and in it, well there's a lovely little nude scene from "Wild Things" showing in the background...and well I had to see it for myself. It's about as shallow a reason as you can find, I know, I'm sorry Mom.
Anyways, much like "Striptease" this movie is not just a "boob movie." It is actually interesting, it's a mystery that isn't fully solved until the credits. This is a movie about a loved and respected guidance councilor at Blue Bay High School, an upscale, rich high school in Florida, and an obsessive senior Kelly (played by Denise Richards). Kelly wants to have sex with Mr. Lombardo (Matt Dillon) and she seems just a little "oogie." After a failed attempted seduction, Kelly does the natural, grown-up thing... and accuses Mr. Lombardo of rape. His reputation ruined in the community, Lombardo hires himself a lawer to try to keep his last shred of dignity. At this point I thought, "what if someone accused me of rape, even if it wasn't true, the mere accusation is damning and any shred of dignity one has would be ripped away, even before the trial." The lawyer (played by Bill Murray of all people) is of course a little bit of comic relief, but not inapropriate from the plot.
Now just before the trial, another young girl named Suzie (Neve Campbell) accuses Mr. Lombardo of raping her, a year earlier. Now the audience, who has been lead to believe the allegations were untrue, starts to doubt the integrety of Lombardo. During the trial, however, Suzie breaks and tells the truth, that neither her nor Kelly was ever raped by Lombardo. Now I don't know what to do with the rest of the review without giving away interesting points from the film, so I'm going to have to leave you with: 3.5-4/5 See It!

Review: The Astronaut Farmer

2.5
That's all I really have to say about this movie, it's not that great but it isn't terrible. There are some of those raise your hair moments that get you thinking about your life and your situation. This is a movie about dreamers. It plays to the situation many adults find themselves in. We all have dreams and hopes when we are little kids, but as adults it seems those dreams get pushed to the side and you just go about living and taking care of other people. Well why not dream with a family? For one, Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) puts his family hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt chasing his crazy dream of building and flying his own space rocket around the earth.
Farmer is a former Air Force/Astronaut, who, when his father killed himself, left the space program and never got his chance to be in space. So he goes about building his own rocket using his scientific knowledge and money that is never really explained. While the whole town thinks he's crazy, and the FBI comes to investigate a possible threat, his wife and family show little stress. When Audrey Farmer (Virginia Madsen), his wife starts to show a little doubt she is quickly talked down. Then her father shows up, does nothing to further the plot, and doesn't really ever talk. When he dies there is no real emotion shown by the cast, it isn't a sad moment but for a brief scene showing Madsen crying over his body. Farmer decides to put an end to it all, and have his big moment, having not told anyone. The result is little more spectacular than if you or I tried to get to space.
Mrs. Farmer feels releived to have this all over with but they still have to deal with the foreclosure of their home, so she cashes in her fathers mysterious fortune (seriously, guy happened to have enough to pay off the debts?) At the last second she changes her mind and decides that her family needs this dream as much as her husband, so they use the money to rebuild and get to space.
Ultimately he's successful, and the audience can begin to dream big themselves, they just have to overlook some glaring scientific miscalculations and outright lies by the studio. ie. While coming back into the atmosphere Farmer deploys his parachute... ONE parachute, and lands really rather nicely in an open Texas field.
Ignore the implausibilities and just focus on the dream oriented part of the film, let it take you into your head and find a dream you once had. Maybe you wanted to visit the land your ancestors traveled from. Maybe you always wanted to own a Harley. Let this movie remind you that it's okay to dream as an adult, it's still okay to want and wish big things for yourself. (don't take the financial advice from this movie, if your dream is too big, dream smaller, it's not worth starving your family is it?) See it, just don't pay for it...

Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Like I said before, I plan to review every movie I see, DVD or theaters. And since I can't currently afford to go to the theater to see every new release I will be doing alot of DVD reviews. (sorry) We all know about "Slumdog" we heard about the 8 Oscars and 88 total movie award wins. It's supposed to be the best movie of last year if you listen to the "movie business". I am anti movie business reviews!
Slumdog Millionaire is a deep heartfelt love story that frankly does not merit the "R" rating given to it. This is a classic case of the movie studio really influencing the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), see the movie industry has pull over the ratings their movies recieve. For instance a studio can get a true R rated movie rated PG-13 to make it available to a wider audience selection, which makes sense. But in some instances an independant film like this one wants to be taken more seriously by the viewing audience, thus a PG MAYBE PG-13 movie like "Slumdog" gets an "R" rating.
While it has a strong message and a good plot, good writing, good cinematography, it is an independant movie. By that I mean that... well independants do tend to think more highly of themselves because they don't associate with the "corrupt" Hollywood business types who can influence the way a movie is made. There are some lines of dialoge that, while effective, and frankly deeply emotional, they don't fit into the flow of the scene and detract from the ultimate purity of the film. It makes the particular scene cheesy and less believable as a true story.
Dev Patel is the male lead, Jamal, an Indian call center "chai wallah" or "tea servant." He has lost contact with his last remaining family member, his brother Salim, and his childhood love Latika. He decides to use the most popular show in the country, "Who wants to be a Millionaire" to find her, hoping she would see him on the show and find him.
Being a "Slumdog" or poor person from the slums, it is understandably unbelievable that Jamal has made it all the way to the 20 Million rupee question. If he can get it right he will be the greatest winner in Indian television history.
The movie opens with Jamal being... interrogated by police...violently. He swears to his knowing the answers and so, during a conversation with the cheif, he recalls the instances in his life that lead to each and every answer. We go back and see him as a child begging for an autograph from the most famous actor in India, we see him and his brother stealing and running, and leading false tours of the Taj Mahal to foreign tourists.
Other than the overly dramatic dialaogue in parts, the writing is very effective and giving the audience the appropriate emotions in the moment. The cinematography is very good considering the entire movie was filmed in India. This movie has been hailed as the link between "Bollywood" and Hollywood, using many traditional Hollywood names in production and an all Indian cast. I didn't expect the acting to be very good considering all the "acting" we can see on Youtube by just terrible, attractive, "actors."
Now for the rating: for teenagers looking to oogle... 2.5/5. For adults looking for a deep experience... 4-4.5/5. for children... 2/5 (only because, while safe for children, I'd imagine many of them becoming restless and just annoying other moviegoers). So adults or young people looking for a "smarter" movie and a good story, you'll enjoy this one, and don't let the "R" stand in your way my Mormon friends, it's not a true "R"

Reviews YOU can Trust!

I don't claim to be any kind of a writer, I'm make some thoughts as unclear as a water glass with floaters in it. But I vow one thing for this blog; honest and open opinions about the movies in theaters and on DVD. I'm sick of listening to "professionals" who are old enough to have seen the advent of the "moving pictures". They don't have any idea what the real John-Q-public wants to see. I'll rank movies from categories of people. I'll let the parents out there know if it's a "kid friendly" movie, or a "watch it first", or a "keep your kids away or you are bad parents." I'll let you teenagers know what the new young heartthrob "shows off." For you weepers out there, I enjoy a good cry like the rest of them, I'll warn you to bring the tissues. I will do my best to put the review in the hands of the reader, allow you to choose to see or pass on a particular film. I will keep it as unbiased as I can (yes I'll even give the Twilight movies their fare trial). Spread the word, you no longer have to rely on the information of the "movie professors." Get your reviews from someone who knows what you want to see.