watching movies one cup at a time

This was actually better than I expected. Shia Lebouf left a bad taste in my mouth after Indiana Jones this summer. But when he’s in something more his speed, he does pretty good. This is directed by the same guy as Disturbia, another unexpectedly good Lebouf movie.

In this movie a rogue government intelligence computer starts it’s own coup attempt using a vast amount of resources to manipulate people into doing it’s bidding. It’s very fast-paced and the action is very believeable. Essentially it’s a chase movie and it is pretty fun to watch. The supporting cast all does an excellent job of keeping things from bring too flat. And it’s nice to see Michael Chiklis get to play an intelligent good-guy character for a change.

Nothing earth-shaking here, but it’s enjoyable.

I have to admit, I didn’t really watch this film. I’m not a JLo fan and I had no interest in it. But I wanted to mention it because I was in the room while my wife watched it and I could easily tell I wasn’t going to like it.

The movie is basically the story of Hector Lavoe who started the salsa movement in 1975 and brought it to the United States. To say this movie caused some controversy would be putting it mildly. As I understand it, the salsa community HATED this frickin’ movie. Even people who contributed and consulted on this flick later slammed it mercilessly. And considering the movie is about a salsa legend, that’s probably not a good thing. I could see maybe in a really, really early discussion it seemed like a great idea to get Marc and JLo in this flick together. But someone should have gotten wise and saw the trainwreck coming.

As for the movie, all I heard for 2 hours was JLo YELLING constantly “How can you do this to YOUR WIFE, Hector!” I mean just yelling the whole time – at this person, at that person, shrieking. And Marc Anthony just kind of dazed out. Man, it was so annoying. Why would I want to go see a movie where some arrogant diva is constantly berating everyone around her? This is entertainment? This is a story that has to be told?

It’s clear that JLo’s star is flickering out. She had a nice run but clearly no one’s buying what she’s selling any more. Her last album completely bombed and she has had a steady stream of movie failures starting with the career-killing Gigli. El Cantante might be the last straw. We’ll see.

Cate Blanchett is brilliant. Watching her play Elizabeth is truly watching a master at work. So many times she has dazzled us. Her big break to American audiences was the movie Elizabeth which this movie follows. And it was an interesting decision to revisit the same character 10 years later.

Ultimately though the story falls just a little flat. It was just okay. The first movie is clearly a more developed story. This feels a little too loose. And definitely does not have the same intrigue and politics that filled the first film. Through it all Cate Blanchett shines brightly with her near perfect performance. Her sudden shifts from vulnerable to domineering are subtle yet highly effective. And her almost mannequin-like portraits of the Queen are very impressive in their detail and strength.

In summary, watch the movie to see Cate but the story is lacking.

I really liked this one. It was smartly done and Amy Adams steals the show as Giselle. She’s absolutely perfect. She makes you laugh at her without her looking stupid, and she has the convincing air of innocence the character needs without seeming too naive or helpless. The story is an interesting one, having fictional cartoon characters cross over into the real world and become real themselves. It was all kind of a stretch but it worked fine enough.

Timothy Spall is great as Nathaniel, making him both rather buffoonish and tenderly sympathetic. James Marsden is a great Prince Edward, really fleshing out the archetype but not over doing it. Susan Sarandon had some fun doing this one. Her evil Queen is just the right balance of scary and absurd.

Another great family movie. Disney is really jumping on this whole “princess” thing so they can sell kids more crap. But it really didn’t feel like a Disney fairy tale movie. It stands on it’s own and it was a good time. It’s the same director as the really well done Eloise movies from a few years ago. He has a knack for this kind of story.

This movie is a sort of sci-fi horror film, like a cross between H.P. Lovecraft and Alien. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neil and is set out in space as Laurence Fishburne’s character captains a ship sent to rescue another ship called the Event Horizon. Sam Neil’s character built it and an experimental engine that creates black holes for the purposes of advanced space travel. But the ship had disappeared and then reappeared but without any of it’s crew. Turns out the experimental engine took the ship to some “evil dimension” and when it came back, the ship was essentially haunted and homicidal.

There are some pretty horrific scenes in here as we find out what happened to the crew. But I found the concept to be really interesting. And I’ve always liked the idea of horror in a sci-fi setting, as long as it’s done right. This movie is believable and the actors play the characters well. There aren’t a ton of effects but there are enough to make the point without going overboard.

Besides being very H.P. Lovecraft, this movie also has a very Hellraiser feel too it. In fact when Sam Neil’s character becomes totally “evil”, he is physically transformed and looks just like a Cenobite (the so-called demon figures) from the Hellraiser movies. The Hellraiser series actually attempted a sci-fi plot device in the Hellraiser: Bloodlines film with much less success.

Event Horizon was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson who also directed the Resident Evil films and Alien vs. Predator. This movie is close to that kind of genre so if you want an interesting movie without getting too serious, this one would be a good choice.

This is the fourth major movie from Mike Judge, the creator of King of the Hill and Beavis & Butthead, and it is definitely the most boring and unfunny. Judge hit a high point with his second film, Office Space, that he hasn’t been able to match since. While that movie has gathered a strong cult following and continues to be quoted 10 years later, his latest film just fails to connect. I was even a fan of his third film, Idiocracy, with it’s clever premise and funny send-up of trash culture elevated to ruling status. But Extract lacks all the cleverness of his previous films and feels like a half-baked collection of unfunny, unconnected ideas that don’t really go anywhere or give us any reason to get interested in the story. It’s just very flat and most of the cast feels as though they are sleepwalking through it.

Bottom Line: Not funny and boring. Don’t bother.

I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this movie but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s good movie with a genuine feel for the Star Wars fan community. The story is centered around a group of 5 hardcare Star Wars fans in 1998 who go on a cross-country road trip to break into Skywalker Ranch to watch the rough cut of Episode 1 because their friend Linus has cancer and is not expected to live long enough to see it in the theaters.

As expected, the movie is filled with Star Wars-related humor and jokes aimed at the hardcore fan. But it never panders or makes fun of the fans. It’s done with respect, and the cast pulls it off flawlessly. Plus the film has a ton of really great cameos from Billy D. Williams, Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, Kevin Smith and several brilliant characters played by Seth Rogen. You get the sense that everyone just wanted to make something fun about a subject they love and grew up with.

One interesting point is that the film is set before the prequel series came out. Many of the hardcore fans were very disappointed by those films and some argue they diminished the whole Star Wars genre, especially the first one in all of it’s Jar-Jar, little kid Darth Vader goodness. And the movie ends with the question, “Dude, what if the movie sucks?” So in a sense, 1998 may have been the last time hardcore faithful could revel in “classic” Star Wars without the stigma of Episodes 1-3.

You don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this movie but it would definitely help. Overall it’s a good flick!

Yea, this kinda sucked. I think we all knew that going in. When Spider-man made $50 bazillion at the box office, it was only a matter of time before a horde of superhero flicks showed up, passed out by an all too eager Marvel Comics looking for some cash. So we get two Fantastic Four movies as they make a weak attempt at establishing a franchise.

The first FF wasn’t good and this one is actually worse. The story is paper-thin and so are the characters. Jessica Alba looks like a robot the whole time and any hint at drama from the first film is stripped away in favor of clich

Forget this movie. It wasn’t so much that it was bad, it was actually better than I expected. It just wasn’t very funny. There were a few good jokes in there but overall I was pretty bored. And it could have been about an hour shorter considering it’s a pretty thin plot. I think since 40 Year Old Virgin was successful we’ve had this onslaught of these Aptow side projects that are really not as great as they are hyped up to be. Kind of like what happened to the Farelly Brothers after Something About Mary. One hit unleashes piles of “lesser than” projects all trying to recapture that comedy gold. Yawn.

Bottom Line: it’s not bad and there are a few laughs, but overall it’s pretty blah.

This is a rather enjoyable and well done holiday movie, ranking up there with Elf as one of the better contemporary holiday comedy flicks. Vince Vaughn of course just basically plays himself but it works fine for this role as the deadbeat, black sheep brother of Santa Claus. And Paul Giamatti is right-on-the-mark in his portrayal of Santa as an overstressed guy who just wants everyone to be happy and get along.

The movie tries to humanize Santa by giving him a “normal” family that everyone can relate too as well as the everyday problems people face. But instead of falling completely into cliche and mediocre jokes like Tim Allen’s “The Santa Clause” movies, “Fred Claus” keeps it fresh due to the quick wit of Vaughn and Giamatti. Vince Vaughn is the black sheep but he’s never one-dimensional to the point where you can no longer root for him to win. And Giamatti never reduces Santa to a one-note “Ho Ho Ho” moron.

Add to that a message about how there aren’t really naughty kids in the world, just misunderstood & misguided children, and you’ve got a nice, funny holiday movie.