The Ides of March

broderic on October 9, 2011

I’m kind of sick of politics right this moment, so I guess that catching the morning showing of The Ides of March somewhat trying. It also doesn’t help when you can’t figure out the central conflict of the movie. Plus, going in they sold it as a political thriller; yes there was some of that, but it was mostly a character drama — what will Ryan Gosling learn? Speaking of who, this guys in every movie right now, hunh?

Anytime Evan Rachel Wood is in a movie watch out. She plays dangerous very well because she looks so innocent. You know it would come down to her getting into trouble with a capital T. Just pick up the phone.

The overall theme of the movie is that politics is dirty and will make even those with high minded ideas change their tune. I know. That’s why I’ve been sick of politics lately.

3 of 5 stars

“Why don’t you call a specialist?” “I am a specialist.” “At what?” “At everything.”

broderic on September 29, 2011

Moneyball! makes even old people care about baseball. At the showing, the old people liked the game. They seemed to cheer for a game that was played years ago. And that’s the magic of Moneyball!, it made baseball slightly relevant again.

Of course, I was going to watch Moneyball! because I’m a baseball jones. As the Orioles wind down another losing season, we can only hope that the new O’s GM can find some magic and breathe life into a moribund organization. I said it once I have to say it again, “There’s rock bottom, then fifty feet of crap, and then there’s [the A’s].” They’re being held up by the Orioles.

Hopefully, this movie will make our ownership decide to try and find a system to get out of this losing. Or inspire baseball players to go all OBP on us. The Orioles need the players to stop giving up outs. Earl Weaver, we need your guidance!

Anyhow, Jonah Hill plays it straight. Brad Pitt does a Brad Pitt move. It’s great that the A’s have won something. Now when will the O’s.

3 of 5 stars

“Tell us the truth, Lisa. Dave buys his suits at the little boys’ department, doesn’t he?”

broderic on September 29, 2011

The movie bloggers I followed have given good reviews to Drive. I guess I had better go and check it out.

It’s about a Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver for thieves. He’s a good driver so that makes him a good getaway driver.

The movie opens with a heist. Our driver is waiting for the thieves to get out to make their getaway. It doesn’t go off smoothly so we are treated with a driving spectacle. Except, after 5 minutes he kind of gives up. I want to know what happened.

This opening hints at what you’ll go through watching Drive. You’ll be thrilled at times, but then you’ll want to know WTF.

The movie reminds me of To Live and Die in LA. Moody LA. LA of the night. LA of the 80s.

There’s some violence and gore. What’s a heist movie without violence. When its knife violence, I can do without.

I like blondes when they have short hair. Carey Mulligan’s hair was slightly too short, but I still found her cute.

It’s the year of Ryan Gosling!

3 of 5 stars

“Art comes first for me, Dave.” “I see. And where does your job come in.” “Fourth.”

broderic on September 14, 2011

As I said on twitter, “Watch Contagion and then never touch anything ever again.“

Contagion will freak you out about germs, viruses, the flu, HIV, venereal diseases, and almost anything contagious. It’ll scare you.

I didn’t know this was a Soderbergh movie.

I liked how clinical this movie was. This is the virus. This is the patient. These are the victims. They’re all dead. You couldn’t sympathize with anyone, because you had to sympathize with everyone.

3 of 5 stars.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but there’s a spunky redhead in every office.”

broderic on September 7, 2011

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark won’t keep me up at night. While certainly spooky at times, it’s frights never materialized to made me admonish myself to “not be afraid of the dark.” Of course, on occasion, I got goosebumps, but that’s just because it was cold in the theatre. I didn’t even have to hide behind the bill of my cap.

The movie was produced and written by Guillermo del Toro. The monsters were faeries like the ones found in del Toro’s adaption of Hellboy. If you think this spoils the movie for you, then you’ve got to watch to see how they spook out the house owners.

The new owners of the condemned house are a couple of nitwits. Guy Pearse is starting to corner the spineless asshole parts. Katie Holmes didn’t have much to say except be the non-sceptic in the house. The young daughter gets them into trouble, first by coming into their home, then unknowingly unleashing the darkness.

If you have faeries swarming about you, you start sweeping the legs and start sweeping the ground around you. Boot them about!

Not scary enough, but worth a look on a cold winter’s night.

3 of 5 stars

30 Minutes or Less

broderic on August 16, 2011

30 Minutes or Less was a dual buddy movie. You had the comedy buddy movie with Jesse Eisenberg and Aziz Ansari, and you have the serious buddy movie with Danny McBride and Nick Swardson. One group brought the comedy. The other brought the stupid action. They were stupid. It made me stupid.

What’s strange is that the movie put both couples as sympathetic characters. You expect it from the comedy team, but from the villains? Could they make them anymore sympathetic?

Then the movie got real with the latino, brown skinned bad guy. The tone went from a comedic to gruesome quickly with some gritty violence. Who would’ve thought?

Also, for a 1.5 hour movie it felt long.

Needless to say, I didn’t like this movie.

2 of 5 stars

Crazy, Stupid, Love

broderic on August 12, 2011

I had started writing a review for Crazy, Stupid, Love earlier this week while I've been twiddling my thumbs at work, but I deleted the first draft. Was that stupid of me? No, because I thought it went nowhere. Now, as I write review, I know this one's gonna go nowhere as well. I should've published the first one — one and done.Steve Carell and Julianne Moore are a couple on the edge of divorce. She wants out because she married the 40 Year Old Virgin. He can't believe it, grants her wish, and mopes around before Ryan

Gosling shows him how to be a man. He dresses Carell up, teaches him how to pick up women, and lets him loose in his home bar. Carell flies right, but does he like his lady's man persona? Doubtful as he maintains the ex's yard at night and keeps close tabs on his family. The question then becomes does Gosling like his persona? Doubtful as he falls in love with the ubiquitous Emma Stone. Gosling tabbed Carell for the same loser role he had been but transformed as a lady's man he knows he misses something.I thought Crazy, Stupid, Love was a romantic comedy, just look at its title, but it isn't. It's a romantic drama with comedic overtones. It acts like a rom-com, but doesn't try to follow all the conventions of the genre. Strangeness abounds in this hybrid movie and its best to watch with a clear view that this is really about love and its sometimes stupid, sometimes crazy practitioners.There is a twists that you know is coming, and one that you don't know. I'll not spoil it for you but I was surprised and laughed both times. Clever.Now of the couples involved in this movie, the younger will make you cringe. Everything they did was really creepy. I couldn't believe it. I'm warning you now.3 of 5 stars

Cowboys & Aliens

broderic on August 6, 2011

I don’t know what I was expecting from Cowboys & Aliens. Did I expect a western? Or an alien invasion flick? Perhaps I was expecting a good flick. You got the western and the alien invasion, but it wasn’t good.

The film jumps right in with Daniel Craig trying to figure out who he is and how he got into this mess. What movie am I in? Is this a western? Or is it an alien invasion film? Yes. Long story short, he’s an outlaw with a heart of gold. Gold being the operative word.

The townspeople are ruled by the big cattle rancher, Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is looking old. And he’s crotchety. He hates everyone. We’ll come to find out he has a heart of gold. Gold being the operative word.

There’s the Doc who is a minister, and there’s the barkeep who is a doctor. The minister doc helps stitch up Daniel Craig and knows that he is the key to making the town a better place. The barkeep doc is a wimp but finds out later that he does make the town a better place. They both have hearts of gold. Gold being the operative word.

The doc barkeep loses his wife to the aliens. Daniel Craig loses his memory to the aliens. Various townfolk get lost to the aliens. A posse is rounded up to get them back. This is the part where we get to see them strung up as food for the aliens. Just like in Super 8. I think they used the same setup.

I watch Jon Favreau movies and wonder where the action is. His films are slack in pace even the Iron Men movies. It saddens me, because he’s always directing action movies. One day, his pace will make a movie fun to watch.

2 of 5 stars

Fiends With Benefits

broderic on August 2, 2011

A few months back, I saw the first "friends with benefits" movie, No Strings Attached, and I liked it. Did this make me susceptible to another "friends with benefits" movie with the apt title, Friends with Benefits? Not sure. I don't remember what I liked about the first "friends with benefits" movie and why I gave it a decent review. Was it the acting? The actors? The story? The script? It seems it must've been a combination of all these as I made note of the story and the actors in my review. I guess for a "friends with benefits" movie we have to come to like the story and the actors in order to like the movie.Friends With Benefits stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. I've come to enjoy Timberlake as an actor. He's thoroughly agreeable in everything I've seen him in from The Social Network to ugh, Bad Teacher. Mila Kunis is Mila Kunis all growns up, easy on the eyes. Adequate for the role she plays.The two are brought together after they have been dumped by their exes because she headhunts for an executive placement agency and she brings him to New York. It'll remind you of the classic line in When Harry Met Sally — "That's too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York." In fact, the movie goes out of its way to disproving the adage from the same movie that men and women can't be friends because of the sex. For the two, the sex doesn't get in the way, it's the friendship.Right from the meet cute you feel the chemistry between both characters. Flirting even though one is basically employed by the other. They quickly become friends and do things as friends because his only friend in New York is she. Then they show how compatible they are and comfortable with each other. Then comes the benefits naturally arising from being together often. He likes her. She likes him. They're friends why not? The friendship will get in the way, but our protagonists triumph as you know they would in a good little romantic comedy.As I left the theatre, I kept wondering which I "friends with benefits" movie I liked more. To be honest, I can't decide. Perhaps a back-to-back screening would suffice, but I think that would be too much. I already like them both.3 of 5 stars.

Captain America: The First Avenger

broderic on July 30, 2011

When I think of Captain America, I think of an earnest hero. Chris Evans does come across as an earnest Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. His head is too big for the scrawny body. Even when he becomes, Captain America his head is too big for his body, but that’s alright, for Cap, his ideas and thoughts that stand for America are too big for his body. He embodies America of the World War: earnest in trying to defeat the Axis powers. He is an avenger for justice!

Weird that the US creates its own super soldier to do battle with the übermensch of the Teutonic Germans. Weird that as created in the 40s that that’s what takes to beat the Nazis.

I like girls that look like Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter. Brown eyes, red lips, slim fitting skirts, trim jackets, brunette. I’m a sucker for that look.

I keep wondering about the CG that created a scrawny Chris Evans. He’s like the mini Brad Pitt in Benjamin Buttons. Then he’s like a Chris Evans in Scott Pilgrim. Just plain funny guy. I guess it was good that Johnny Storm died as it would be confusing for an audience that will be watching the FFxAvengers cross-over.

Speaking of Avengers: Avengers Assemble! I’m psyched for it! Was Nick Fury supposed to be one of the army soldiers? Wasn’t the Captain fighting alongside Nick Fury and his howling commandoes in WW2? Was that black guy supposed to be Nick Fury? At least I thought so. When you caught a look at the Howling Commandos, did they remind you of Nick Rivers’ crew in Top Secret!?

The movie is not bad for a comic book movie. Could’ve used better writing but don’t all comic book movies need that? It’s on par with the Green Lantern but a step below Thor for this years comic book movies. Yet they all got the same rating.

3 of 5 stars