watching movies one cup at a time

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.

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.

I give a lot of movies a 3 cup (out of 5) review because a lot of movies are just okay. Not great, not bad, just okay. Funny People follows in that tradition. It’s just okay. Judd Apatow is everywhere these days, mostly writing. And he has been known mostly for raunchy, “guy” humor. Funny People is his third turn at directing and he turns toward more dramatic territory than the more comedic 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. And the jokes are noticeably a lot less raunchy and “guy” oriented. There is still a lot of “guy” humor, just not as much. And while this movie has heart, it’s not really enough to make it a winner.

Adam Sandler does a good job basically playing himself as a burnt-out comedian, but he never warms up and becomes anyone you’re sympathetic for. Seth Rogen is good as his assistant but I didn’t think the connection between the two characters was very natural. it felt rather forced. The stand up routines were basically good but nothing outrageous. A much better film along similar lines is the Tom Hanks movie Punchline with Sally Field. And a much better Apatow film is still 40 Year Old Virgin.

Get Him To The Greek is not a very challenging idea. There is a fallen-from-the-top rockstar in need of a comeback, a record label scrub looking to make a name for himself and impress his boss, and a big show in Los Angeles that they need to get to in order to achieve both those goals. So of course the whole movie is about how they keep getting sidetracked by the rockstar’s schizophrenic up and downs. Wackiness ensues and we’re meant to say “Wow, that rockstar is SO wacky!”

Pretty much as expected this movie never really lifts out of two-dimensional flatness. The characters are not very compelling or even that interesting, and the contrived “get to the concert” storyline never really has much weight to it. It’s a mildly enjoyable little film but is really not enough to get past mediocre. In the movie’s second half Russel Brand’s character attempts to “get deep” as he starts facing some of his inner-demons in a very cliche and predictable way. And in a real by-the-numbers manner, the two main characters become best friends just in time for the expected happy ending.

Though not great, Russel Brand does a good job of playing the rockstar that I’m sure he would really love to be anyway. And he does a very good job singing the songs that were used in the movie. He probably could have a singing career if he wanted to go that route instead of comedy. So by the time they actually get to the concert, his performance is actually pretty decent on it’s own. Overall though this was a safe movie for him to do and didn’t really push any boundaries, and the movie just never really gets interesting or firing on all cylinders.

Bottom-line: Pretty tame and mediocre overall, never delivers the big laughs, but not bad. Wait for cable or DVD.

This is the 6th Harry Potter movie and the last installment before the big finale. In a lot of ways this movie is just setting up the events of the last movie. So there just isn’t a whole lot of actual story here. The other movies felt more independent, like they had a central story to them on their own. But this one just races along to ultimately lead to the big battles of the next chapter. Sure things happen but it all feels like small steps. And the whole love potion/couples thing just gets a bit silly. We’re just killing time basically.

Harry is just kind of goofy and awkward. Hermoine is annoying and all weepy. Ron is a dumbass. Malfoy just walks around scowling constantly. Dumbledore gets a bit goofy. Helena Bonham Carter is completely copying her character from Sweeney Todd. Snape is harmless. And we never even see Voldemort except in flashback. I was completely bored.

Of course see the movie if you are in to the series, but don’t expect any excitement or energy.

This movie got kind of a bad rap when it came out recently. It seemed like it was blown off as just another video game movie. Well, it is just another video game movie, but what makes it actually pretty decent is the incredible performance by Timothy Olyphant. When I heard he was doing this movie, I didn’t really get it because he just didn’t seem the type that fit the character. But I shouldn’t have underestimated him because he pulled it off perfectly. He plays the character as a cold, merciless killer but does it intelligently enough to make him likable and have you rooting for him. And he is just super-smooth and cool the entire time. He makes Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible look like a clumsy 14 year old.

Timothy Olyphant has been great in just about everything I have seen him in like Go, Rockstar, The Girl Next Door, Catch and Release, and even Live Free or Die Hard. It’s a nice range of characters and he plays the bad guy just as flawlessly as playing the good guy.

The film is a pretty simple plot about an elite group of assassins that travel around the world doing hit jobs for hire. And Agent 47 is the best. There is a bunch of stuff with the Russian secret service, Interpol, and guys from his own group coming to get him, but basically it’s all about the fights and 47 kickin’ a lot of ass. He walks into any situation and you just know everyone except him will be dead sooner than later. For this kind of movie, that’s all you really need.

Bottom Line: For some light fun that is done pretty well, definitely go check it out.

What happens when Peter Pan grows up? It’s an interesting question. And one this movie attempts to answer. The story is set when Peter Pan is in is late 30′s and has completely forgotten his past. He stayed in the real world, got adopted, got married and now has children of his own. And in the process he became an overworked businessman who has lost touch with his family. A trip back to London sparks a new confrontation with Capt. Hook, played by Dustin Hoffman, as he kidnaps Peter’s children to provoke him into a fight. However Hook is disappointed to find a middle-aged out-of-shape Peter, played by Robin Williams, and not the young scraper he feels was his only worthy foe. Peter eventually remembers who he is and the two enemies fight it out. And Peter returns home with a new sense of joy and all is well in the world.

Overall it’s a fine movie. Everyone does a fine job, and as a family movie it works quite nice. But it just doesn’t quite make it to being a good movie. One thing that’s bothersome is Robin Williams’ hammy acting. You always feel like you’re watching Robin Williams do his act and not a real character. In some movies that works, but in this one it’s distracting and just not believable. Dustim Hoffman deliberately plays his Capt.Hook way over the top and it actually works very well. But why the odd overbite and massive black eyebrows? Perhaps it helped exaggerate the character to cartoonish levels. Read the rest of this entry »

Eh. It just wasn’t very funny. It was a pleasant enough movie but it just didn’t hold my interest. I’m a big fan of Samberg & Co.’s Digital Shorts on SNL. But maybe they wouldn’t work either if they were stretched out to 2 hours. Some of the jokes in the film seem like the kind of things comedians brainstorm in a writer’s meeting but probably sound much better as an idea rather than actually doing it. Other jokes feel like they were just shoe-horned in so the guys could do something “quirky” that didn’t have anything to do with the movie. You never really find much out about these characters or why they do the things they do. Why does Rod keep doing stunts when he always fails? Why do his friends support him so blindly? I know it’s just a silly movie but there really wasn’t much to grab on to in terms of empathizing with this guy. A movie like this wants you to root for the lead character, but we’re not given a good enough reason WHY we should root for him. All would have been forgiven if the movie was really funny, but unfortunately it falls short.

This is Rob Zombie’s directorial debut and it carries on the campy horror vibe he’s cultivated his entire career. Yea, this movie was pretty f*cked up. But honestly it did have an interesting flair to it. It really was better than a lot of the flicks in this genre. Sure there was a lot of blood and guts but it wasn’t too over-the-top believe it or not. And some of the scenes had some really rich flavor to them. The whole Satan thing at the end was really bizarre and the filmed crossed over from blood and guts to demonic and supernatural, like a lost sequel to Hellraiser. And I actually liked it, as twisted as it was. Overall the film delivers exactly what it promises and does it with a lot of style.

Bottom Line: Not for the timid, but better than 90% of the other blood and guts flicks.

Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu, together again. In this flick Hayden Christensen plays a David Rice, a guy who is a “jumper,” meaning he can jump from one physical location to another just by thinking it. So of course he uses the power to score chicks, steal money, and brag about how many places he went to in one morning (bragging to no one in particular I might add). Well turns out there are many jumpers and Samuel L. Jackson leads a group called the “Paladins” who’s job it is to kill jumpers. Why? They say only God should have this power. And somehow they are empowered by God to kill these kids? I don’t buy it. They don’t sell the concept enough in the movie to make it seem logical. This movie is based on a series of books and maybe the books go into it more. But on it’s own, the movie is paper thin.