Sorry I missed last quarter. I had the reviews all written, but I never got as far as cutting, pasting, and posting.
So I'll be doing the back half of the year over the next few days.
As always, "A"s are must see. Either they're extremely well put togerher, or they move me in a way that few films do.
"B"s are good films.
"C"s are average, "D"s are nearly unwatchable, and "F" is toxic.
And, yes, I do skew to the Bs more often than not. That's simply because I usually can pick good movies out. If something stinks like crap, I usually know enough to stay away from it. Sadly, I didn't hit many great movies this year, so the grades are a little lower than usual-- and the reviews are frequently shorter as well.
And, finally, all are films I saw on DVD unless otherwise noted. This is important because I believe an experience in a theatre can elevate a lesser movie (or seeing a DVD at home may not get the full effect).
These aren't in much order other than usually the order in which I saw them, beginning in July.
Taken— A thinking man’s revenge story. Liam Neeson was great as always, but the whole movie seemed to wrap up too nicely. Yeah, liberties need to be taken in a 2 hour movie, but it just seemed like the plot was just thinly used to fill in action sequences. That’s not the worst thing (or not the least bit uncommon), but I think the film got too much credit for what it was ultimately worth. B-
The Spirit— As a comic book fan, I wanted this to succeed. The question of “did it” I guess will have to be left up to the viewer. Frank Miller’s first solo directing job was pretty to look at, but that was pretty much it: pretty to look at. Did it make sense? Not really. Did it have good performances? Sure. But is doing a good acting job with bad lines mean the film is better than it should be? Not in this case. The tone of the film was also disorienting. It was ultra dark, yet there were countless silly moments that may work on the page, but didn’t work on the screen.
I’m happy the greatest accomplishment (of countless great accomplishments) the “grandfather of comic books” (Will Eisner) had finally made it to the screen, but there really is nothing beyond above-average visuals that would lead anyone to seek out the source material. I know that’s not even a thought for most movies made from comics, but, c’mon, Frank Miller isn’t your average filmmaker either. B-
He’s Just Not That Into You— This film pissed me off. Every woman in this movie was every cliché you could find in a 20-30 year old female character in any other movie. They act as if they are independent yet cannot bear the thought of not having “a man” in their lives. So then they get stupid and forget everything they know about men. It’s not tough—men don’t want to cause a scene or hurt a nice girl’s feelings by saying he’s not interested, so he’ll lie and say he’ll call her. And, let’s face it, guys also want to leave open the possibility of a one-night stand (liking someone enough to go on multiple dates is different than liking someone enough to jump in the sack; that’s how it is), so why hurt someone’s feelings if that can happen?
And add to the stupid women in the film (and most other films), their stupid friends who are always dangling the extremely rare exception in front of them (“Maybe he really did have a grandmother die and was out of town”).
Anyway, Justin Long (a favorite of mine) played a character who schooled the so pretty yet so dim Ginnifer Goodwin on when a guy “just isn’t that into you”. And it made sense. So I let up on my feelings and was happy that while these characters were clichéd and horribly naïve, at least people watching this movie can learn from these dimbulbs’ mistakes.
And, here’s where the spoiler alert is going to happen because I can’t really explain my feelings unless I tell you how it works out.
SPOILER ALERT: everything was “working out” in the reality front. Some women just learned tough lessons, and the guys who insisted they weren’t interested stayed not interested. Until the end of the film when the two men who stayed honest and truthful in their disinterest completely flipped and ended up with their respective women. I was livid. Nearly the entire movie, we were told “sometimes he’s just not that into you”—and then they f-ing went against their nature and ended up with the girl. All for a stupid damn happy ending. So, essentially, the entire message of the film was thrown out—as if those two women just happen to be the exceptions who proved the rule. Give me a break.
END SPOILER ALERT.
So, here I am. I liked the movie (mostly). It had some good scenes. It featured a great cast. Yet, there were a few things that really ruined the experience for me. C+ for the cast making the best of it and a D- for the let-down in the plot. C-
Dead Like Me: Life After Death— It’s been a few years since I last watched this underrated series (catch it on Showtime DVD or repeats—the Sci Fi Channel aired it for a while), so it was a bit tough at times to get reacquainted with the concept. But it was a good one-shot movie to tie up the series—as well as a good jumping-off point for future stories. I missed Mandy Patinkin’s character, but I guess they were lucky to get most of the rest of the cast together again after a period of a few years. It still mostly felt like the series—although I would have liked it to be more whimsical like the show was (there was a time or two in this DVD where they came close). This was mostly Fred’s story, though, and they only had 90 minutes to tell it, so the supporting characters (who tended to get into trouble more) were left a little in the back. If you liked the series, then check it out. If you missed the series, then watch those two seasons before you watch this movie. B-
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People— Pretty much completely forgettable. I saw this movie about two months ago, and all I can remember now is that Simon Pegg was in it. He played a cad who gained fame as a Perez Hilton-type on the internet who eventually got a job as a magazine writer. I’m sure there was a girl he was after; one who he had to change his ways for—and that he probably did change and get her. I don’t remember the details. D+
Wolverine— film. Wolverine has been one of my least-favorite super-hero characters. Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he was the shit, and I just got tired of seeing him everywhere. And I had heard how poor this film was, so, had I not had my life to itself (my family was away), and had I not had a coupon that covered the entire cost of the ticket, I wouldn’t have gone.
But, you know what? It wasn’t as bad as I feared. It wasn’t terribly memorable (and Ryan Reynolds was not utilized enough), but I also remember thinking “This isn’t that bad,” as I was sitting in my seat. But it also wasn’t memorable. Past successes with Iron Man and The Dark Knight were great for the comic-to-movie “industry”, but it also hurt it because a movie like this has the bar set so high against it, it can never really succeed. This film wasn’t made with a huge budget (and if it was, then what they paid for didn’t end up on the screen), so it didn’t have the wide-spanning potential that great comic-book movies have had. B-
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