Hamlet 2— Don’t believe the hype that surrounded this film; that it’s hilarious and the like. It’s not. It’s cute, had some funny moments/lines, had some decent performances—but it isn’t what I had heard it was.
I will admit, the song “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus” was pretty funny. C-
G-Force—film. This was a film directed solely at kids. My 5 year-old, who really doesn’t like sitting through movies, actually sat through this one and exclaimed it was the best one he ever saw when the lights came up. Of course, he couldn’t remember much other than the line “Poop on his head! Poop on his head!” an hour later, so I’m not sure how much stock should be put into his remarks. I found it kind of pointless, but not completely offensive to my sensibilities. C-
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs—film. Another attempt at padding a beloved children’s book enough to get a feature film’s worth of material out of it. I haven’t actually read the book, so I was coming into this blind. And it worked for me. It wasn’t the best “kids movie” I’ve seen, but it also was far from being the worst. Sorry to say I don’t have much more to say about it. B
A Shot at Glory— A pretty by-the-books sports film. A good-hearted but constantly-in-trouble soccer star gets traded to a small team coached by the father of his estranged wife. His brings plenty of expectations with him as the whole town rallies around their possible contending team, and he does his best—while trying to win back the love of his wife. Pretty non-remarkable. It wasn’t bad; it just followed the sports movie mold too closely. C+
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Director’s Cut— Being a Star Wars kid, I had a tough time with Star Trek when I was younger (loud, exciting SW just “did it for me” more than quiet, boring Star Trek). But now that I’m older, I can see the appeal for Trek. Thinking through a problem rather than blowing through it has advantages.
I tell you the above because it helps put what I’m going to write in perspective. I found this film boring as a kid. I wouldn’t admit it because I liked all types of science fiction. It’s been, probably, 15 years since I last saw it, and this version is supposed to be far superior to the original.
I did like this version. I’m not sure what is different (aside from updated effects, of course), so I’m not sure what made it a satisfying experience this time when it hadn’t been before. I know a few scenes were trimmed or entirely cut-out, but what I saw in the “deleted scenes” wasn’t that big (or maybe it was; I really wish I hadn’t sold my version of the original movie a while back). Sure, the pacing was still a little slow, but it was pretty much a reintroduction to the characters after almost a decade since the series ended. And, yeah, the costumes were a bit (okay, a lot) in the ‘70s-style of fashion, but I can live with it. And the lone tear on Spock’s face when he realized what V’Ger’s “deal” was is still silly to me.
My movie guru, Tom, told me this version made an okay movie a good one, and I have no reason to disagree because I did enjoy this film for the first time.
But I’m going to chalk it up to 50% because the Director’s Cut is better and 50% because I’m an older, more mature person than I was. B+
The Last Starfighter—25th Anniversary Edition— I loved this movie as a kid (I ate up almost everything sci fi related), and it still holds up pretty well now that I’m an adult. Sure, the computer effects are noticeably primitive, but the rest of the movie is pretty timeless (try saying that about most 80s movies…). It also retained its heart. I’d seen it before in theatre, then on videotape a few times, read the comic adaptations and novelization multiple times, and this viewing was still fresh to me.
I also liked that I could watch it with my kids without too many “problems”. It’d be nice if some of the current movies took the PG rating and made it easy to decide if my kids could watch instead of trying for PG-13 and then I have to keep mental notes in my head to determine if I can let my boys watch later. B
Green Lantern: First Flight— The latest in the line of “introductory” animated films based on a DC Comics character. In this case, we are treated to the origin story of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern. I thought the story was pretty good; it had all the elements one expects from seeing Jordan’s training as one of the premier heroes in the universe, and the character animations were particularly good when compared to previous DC direct-to-DVD animated stories. B-
Observe and Report— This film was exactly what you’d expect from a Danny McBride movie (without McBride) that instead starred Seth Rogan. Very raw, very dark humor, very anti-social. But it was funny at times. It could have had more to hold it together; some of the scenes seemed to exist only to have some stunt or joke as opposed to being an organic part of the story. B
Let the Right One In— A very interesting film from Sweden that was dubbed into English very well. It’s one of the most unique vampire stories I’ve ever encountered, where a young boy (approx 12 yrs old) named Oskar who is tormented at school meets a mysterious young girl named Eli who is roughly the same age, and they become friends—although at a distance Eli maintains.
It’s a dark, quiet movie that is paced very well. The few instances of violence are all the more powerful because of the quietness of the rest of the film. And the ending is both horrifying and calming, depending on your point of view.
It’s this type of film that reminds me just how great movies can be. Sadly, the most creative films seem to come from other countries as there is almost no way an American film would get by in this style. So get out of your comfort zone and try this one. A-
Spies like Us— I had two people in about a week mention how surprised they were that I hadn’t seen this before, and that it was a classic. That could be, but I think it’s one of those films that are classics just based on when they were released. I’m sure when it first was screened, it felt fresh. But now, I felt like I had seen it done before—and better. C
Watchmen— I’ll say this up front: I never was a big Watchmen (comic book/ “graphic novel”) fan. I thought it was too drawn-out, and that it fell apart at the end. I’ll also say this: I haven’t read it since I was a teenager, so half my life has passed since then (along with the fact that I’m more mature—and have a better feel for quality than I did).
This film was beautiful. The visuals were stupendous, the acting and the script were great, and the directing was done with love and respect.
But the film didn’t make me feel anything. It lacked “heart”. It felt like each scene was just a way of moving the plot along from (comic book) plot point to plot point. B
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf & Death— I don’t have much to say about W&G other than their shorts (and the film) are brilliant. This newest short film was no exception. Check it out. This is great filmmaking. Soak it in. A-
Bill Maher: I’m Swiss— I feel terrible about this; but I don’t remember much about it. It’s a stand-up comedy film, so I guess it wasn’t memorable because there wasn’t anything to grab onto. Because it was Maher, I’m sure I laughed and agreed with about 70% of what he said. C
Fanboys— A cute road-trip movie based around a love of Star Wars. Nothing really spectacular here, but it was entertaining enough. B-
Planet 51—film. A cute enough movie. The animation was pretty good, and the story was basically ET in reverse, which was a nice switch. And I was also impressed by Dwayne Johnson’s voice work. That dude has really improved his work with every role he gets. B-
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