watching movies one cup at a time

Family movie. Plain and simple. No great aspirations here, just some harmless fun. People often talk about Cuba Gooding Jr.’s descent into movie mush after his Oscar win (Daddy Day Camp, Boat Trip, etc.) but he does manage a good role in a good movie. And even tho this isn’t American Gangster or As Good As It Gets (yes, he’s in both), he’s playing the lead, his character is a successful, decent guy, and the movie is light-hearted fun. I see no harm done. He never slips into any stereotypes or gets put in any overly-humiliating situations. It’s mostly just the usual “fish-out-of-water” jokes.

The movie also features one of the last performances by James Coburn before he died. And he is really good in this as usual, a terrific presence on screen and fun to watch. Someone who I was rather surprised to see was Sisqo. Remember him? He sure dropped off the face of the earth. I’m guessing some manager/agent just stuck him in here to get his “movie career” going. I don’t really buy it that he plays a dentist, but no big deal. I’ll live. Read the rest of this entry »

Ya know, people made a big deal about this movie, but I really didn’t think it was that good. There were a couple “ha ha” moments, but overall it really wasn’t that funny. The funny parts were mostly when the guys were all sitting around talking sh*t. But I have a feeling they do that all the time, except this time someone filmed it. It’s funny but so what. And then later on in the movie they even ditch all that and it goes full-on rom-com (romantic comedy). It felt like 2 different movies, which I’m sure is part of the point to show how much Seth’s character has grown. But guess what? I don’t buy it. The guy spends his whole adult life smoking weed and making dirty jokes with his friends and then ditches it all in 9 months? Granted, a kid is a big deal. But I think in real life that guy would have been a lot LESS cool about it all. Maybe I’m wrong. But it just felt too hollywood to me.

And let me just say that I am SICK to death of Katherine Heigel. I can’t stand hearing people going apesh*t over her. I don’t get it. She’s not very attractive, she’s skinny, and her acting is great if she is playing someone exactly like who she really is. Big deal.

Another thing that bugged me was early in the movie when the guys were talking about their “Big Idea” to build an internet site that just talked about nakedness/sex in mainstream movies (i.e. not porn), my first thought was “Oh, like MrSkin.com” just like Paul Rudd’s character says later on in the flick. Problem is Seth and his buddies NEVER HEARD of MrSkin.com. Huh!? Do they even own computers? How does someone who is looking to get into an internet business have NO CLUE that someone already did it? You’re just one Google search away from saying “Oh, nevermind guys, looks like someone beat us to it. Let’s think of something else.” And you mean to tell me this whole time (MONTHS maybe YEARS) not one of these guys thought to do that? Or someone before Paul Rudd never mentioned it before? Or just surfing porn one of these dudes never came across it!? I don’t think so.

I like Seth Rogen a lot. I do think he’s funny. And I do find a bunch of guys sitting around cursing to be really funny most of the time. It’s childish I know, but I find it to be hilarious. It just seems like Knocked Up is trying to squeeze that humor into a romantic-comedy that doesn’t really want it in there. Top it off with boring and mildly annoying Katherine Heigel and it’s just kind of an okay movie. Go watch 40 Year Old Virgin instead. WAY better.

This is the third dazzling film from Australian director, Baz Luhrman. He has a very unique directing style which people either love or hate. It is not generic, it’s not fast food, and it’s not easy-to-ignore. His films are bright, colorful, fast, detailed and full of life. I love them, even tho he has only managed to make three in 15 years. Romeo + Juliet was brilliant and Strictly Ballroom was a great debut already showing a lot of style that would flourish in his next films. Baz’s blended vision of pop culture mixed with old world tradition produces an amazing experience that is very rare in movies these days. It takes you on a wild ride you don’t want to get off.

Nicole Kidman plays the oscar-nominated lead role of the fated Satine. She does an excellent job and easily carries the demanding musical numbers in stride. Ewan McGregor also shows his musical chops and is equally skilled at giving his character the right combination of passion and naivety. The set pieces are simply astounding. I want to live in that Elephant structure. Wave after wave of bright color fills the screen. It is breathtaking. You really feel transported into Baz’s dream world.

Nicole Kidman’s character dies of consumption or pneumonia or something by the end of the movie. And I don’t like plot devices like illness kind of tossed in there to make it tragic. I’m not saying everything has to be a happy ending. But the whole “I’m dying, my love” is a little uninspired. Especially compared to the Romeo + Juliet double-suicide. Now THAT’S tragedy!

This movie is not for everyone but I appreciate the fast pace and sensual overload. It’s rare to find a film that pushes the edges of visual saturation to such satisfying ends.

This movie was part of Disney’s last golden age of animation that was kicked off by The Little Mermaid. And I feel this movie is actually the best one of that bunch. The songs are very catchy and the action is moved along at a brisk pace. Robin Williams does his usual manic comedy as the genie and it was funny the first time, not so much the 100th time but still good.

Here’s a question tho. Why do so many Disney movies have stories where the mom is dead or dying or just non-existent? There are a lot of Disney flicks where the mom is MIA; Cinderella, Snow White, Bambi, Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc. It’s weird. Some might say “Well it’s a fairy tale, they are just sticking to the story” but if they can make up a frickin’ talking crab in Little Mermaid, they could come up with a mom character. Even if she is barely there like in Sleeping Beauty and The Lion King.

Aladdin is a fun movie tho and definitely worth seeing. As the age of hand-drawn animation is coming to a silent close, I definitely remember that this was very innovative at the time. And the story still holds up.

Just plain awful. This movie is a classic example of advertising bait-and-switch. The trailer for this movie clearly portrays it as a light romantic-comedy, some cutesy piffle with Drew Barrymore falling in love with Luke Wilson. But when you actually watch the flick, it’s really about this outrageous scenario where Luke Wilson and his crazy brother are manipulated by their psychotic mother to harass their step-father, killing him in the process, and going after Drew whom they believe knows what they did. There are fighter jets, people dying, attempts on Drew’s life (her character is pregnant btw). Granted it still TRYS to be a romantic-comedy, but this whole crazy story about the step-dad and the psycho family out to get Drew is just weird and poorly done. It sucks for people who may rent this thinking it’s something like Riding in Cars with Boys or Never Been Kissed (2 way better Drew Barrymore chick flicks), because it’s totally not what is advertised. It’s way, way worse. Avoid at all costs.

The movie was cute and had some good moments. But basically it’s just not very remarkable. And I don’t buy that Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche hanging out for just a couple hours is enough to set up the 2 movie hours of awkwardness that follow. Steve Carell is so uncomfortable you wonder how he EVER fit in with this overly bubbly crowd. And Juliette Binoche dating Dane Cook? I don’t think so.

The whole movie just felt a bit cliched and unoriginal. And the wedding at the end felt forced, like a resolution they tacked on there just to show that they stayed together. Why do characters in these kinds of movies always have to end up married? It’s so cliche to end a flick like this with a wedding scene, usually outdoors. I think contemporary life is just not that cookie-cutter.

I did like Carell’s relationship with his 3 daughters. This was a subplot kept completely separate from the love story and that is where the movie showed some spark. If the movie had just been about him and his 3 daughters dealing with life after losing their wife/mother, that could have been an interesting movie. Not the blah attempt at romantic comedy that felt less than genuine and just plain wrong.

There were some funny moments but overall I didn’t buy. It’s a nice little movie but nothing significant.

It should be titled “At Idea’s End” because they are really pushing it this time. While the first two POTC movies were fun, swashbuckling adventures, this third installment veers WAY off course into an overly-complicated plot and absurd scenarios that are more distracting than entertaining.

It starts off with Jack Sparrow being dead and the evil british military dude from the second film chasing down all the pirates and killing them. I don’t remember why or how or why I should care. Jack’s friends of course go to rescue him through some weird waterfall or something. Jack is in purgatory? Limbo? Aruba? Whatever. Boring. Don’t care. I didn’t get how they got there or how they got back. Somehow Jack is alive again and all the “pirate kings” have to get together and figure out how to stop the evil british military dude. This is followed by the witch lady turning into the 50ft. woman, a big whirlpool showing up, Orlando Bloom joining the bad guys but not really cuz he joins back with the good guys but then again with the bad guys…. or something, and Keira just gets mad and yells and doesn’t know if she loves Orlando Bloom’s character but then agrees to marry him immediately. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit, I have been going back and forth with this one. When I first saw it in the theater, I was not thrilled. It’s grim and very bloody. Just heavy dark, nonstop. But I found myself going back to the music again and again. I wound up downloading the soundtrack and I can’t stop listening to it. That is mostly to the credit of Stephen Sondheim for writing the songs. But I do like the versions from the film a lot better than the original Broadway recordings. Tim Burton gives it a lush feel to match the depths of the city around the characters. And Johnny and Helena do a great job with the music.

Johnny Depp is of course amazing again. The range he is capable of is quite impressive. This character was like a cross between Edward Scissorhands, Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka all combined and much more sinister. It was a delight to watch him fill the room every time he was in the scene. Helena Bonham Carter was very good as Mrs. Lovett and managed to evoke tenderness convincingly alongside cold-blooded murder. After seeing the movie it’s hard to see anyone else in that role. And of course Alan Rickman was his usual perfect self. Timothy Spall did his fabulous nasty toady role that he has perfected in many films over the years, always creepy. Read the rest of this entry »

First let me say I LOVED Ocean’s Eleven. It was brilliant. And I HATED Ocean’s Twelve. It was pointless and a waste of time. So I had no preconceptions going into Thirteen. It could easily have sucked and it could have also easily been brilliant. And of course it wound up falling somewhere in between. But the good news is that it fell much more to the brilliant side than the sucking side. Thank goodness Clooney and crew came back and cleansed our palette from that horrible Twelve movie. Yuck.

They did the right thing by going back to Vegas. The original classic with the Rat Pack was set in Vegas. And the far superior Eleven was in Vegas. The problem with Twelve is they went all over the place just doing random crap. Who cares? A big heist that all comes together is the piece that makes this work and Thirteen’s got it. Al Pacino was great as a douchebag casino owner as was Ellen Barkin as his stressed-out second-in-command. And the whole Mission Impossible vibe keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure how it’s all going to go down. Of course they are going win in the end, but how they pull it off is the fun part.

Danny Ocean is the perfect character for Clooney. He plays it very natural and smooth as glass. Brad Pitt as his sidekick is the perfect understated operator that you could see pulling this off. Some of the remainder of the cast could maybe take a time out at this point though. And I didn’t miss Julia Roberts one bit. I’m not a big fan of hers anyway and in Twelve she was just downright annoying a lot of the time.

Ocean’s Eleven still reigns as the best of this bunch. But Thirteen was good enough to almost make up for Twelve. Let’s hope Fourteen (I’m sure they are doing a Fourteen) won’t suck either.

Visually this is an amazing looking film. I love it when the frame itself is used as a stylized element, making it a really immersive experience. If you took that away and had a more mediocre director, this movie would just have been a boring Gladiator-like retread. But Zack Snyder pulled it off. It’s a visually rich and exciting movie.

The story follows a group of soldiers in Sparta who have to defend their city/state from invading Persians. Double-dealings have cut off the whole of the army from fighting, so it’s up to 300 soldiers to fight hundreds of thousands headed their way. Fortunately they figure out that if they take their stand at a narrow canyon passageway, they will strategically be able to fight off the hordes. I found it kind of ridiculous that these guys were basically only wearing underwear and capes. I’m sure it’s somewhat historically accurate, but still, they look like Superman B.C. And though they have big shields, they do seem very wide open to something stabby.

But this movie was a fun ride. Very entertaining and quite a site to experience. Maybe they’ll make a sequel called “301″