I got some time to do this

As I mentioned in my last post I have been busy at work. But today is a little slow so it is the perfect time for me to do a few movie reviews. I didn’t go the movies this past weekend but I did the weekend before and the one before that plus I watched a couple at home. These will be short and quick.

Greame (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are on a trip that they have dreamed of for a long time. They have traveled from the UK to the US to go to San Diego Comicon and are driving through the states to see all the famous sci-fi locations. While outside of Area 51they have a real close encounter when they meet Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). They are now on a mission to get him to his ship.

I don’t think the audience I saw this with got it. The movie was billed as a stoner alien road trip movie not a pop culture nerd-a-thon that it was. I laughed right through it and was amazed at the number of references that they managed to shove in there and I know I still missed some. People did laugh at the stoner gags, they were funny, but I found my friend and I were 2 of the few people who laughed at all the other stuff.

The cast was great. The interaction between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is great as usual. I found that Seth Rogen didn’t ruin the movie since he only lent his voice to it. I find him greatly irritating after his over exposure but his voice works for the alien. The ensemble cast includes Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Blythe Danner, John Carrol Lynch and Sigourney Weaver. There are also cameos by David Koechner, Jeffery Tambor and Steven Spielberg.

If you liked Hot Fuzz (their homage to action flicks) you will like Paul (their homage to adventure/alien flicks). The movie is fun and entertaining filled with likable characters and a good story.

Before I start doing my review for Sucker Punch I gotta say that their are some wicked awesome posters for this movie. I had a hard time picking which ones I should use. So here are my 12 (yes 12) favourite.

Banner Poster – Epicness

Vintage Style Posters – Classic Fun

Art Posters – I love these

My brain refuses to work hard enough to come up with a synopsis for this so I am stealing the one from IMDB. It goes like this: “A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.” There’s also a burlesque house, dance lessons, high rollers, lobotomies, WW2 steam-punk Nazis, dragons, orcs and giant samurai robots. One more thing, it is an alternative reality in an alternative reality. BRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the release of this movie. The wonderful posters, the well cut together trailers, and the released clips enticed a lot of people. The problem is that many people who would go see this type of movie, like myself, know the track record for the movie’s director, Zack Snyder. He is known for his awe-inspiring visuals but greatly lacks in the story department. But this one is supposed to be different, it is an original story written by Snyder, so my hopes were up.

I am happy to say my hopes weren’t dashed but it still did not live up to expectations. As usual the film is simply stunning to look at. Every scene is like a warped painting set in a world you know but just isn’t right. It is vivid on different levels – not just by situation but use of colour and attitude – making it easy to differentiate between the worlds.

The problem with the story is that it lacks any emotional connection between you (as in the audience) and the characters on screen. I found that even though they tried really hard to create that connection it just never really manifests itself; it came across as forced or contrived. There are times when you feel bad for them cuz they are in a bad situation and you get really into the action sequence because they are great scenes but that is as far as it goes.

Babydoll played by Emily Browning was the main character, she had the look and the voice matched her name but those aspects didn’t work together. As long as she didn’t speak she was fine but as soon as she opened her mouth she lost me. Sweet Pea and Rocket, Abbie Cornish and Jenna Malone, were Babydoll’s main support. They were ok but they worked really hard to pull that off. Carla Gugino was underused as Madam Gorski (Side note: I had an English teacher named Mrs Gorski in high school and she looked nothing like this. She had white/blond hair that looked like she had just been electrocuted and wore purple suede suit that had to have been bought in the mid-eighties.) Her Russian/Polish/German accent was a bit extra but she made it work. Oscar Isaac was Blue Jones and he played the bad guy really well. He was slimy, tasteless, brutal, and he hammed it up, in a good way. There was no real point to Blondie and Amber, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung, they looked pretty, good screen filler I guess. Jon Hamm was in there too, just a small appearance. Everyone else was just in the background.

Even though overall Sucker Punch falls flat it is a movie you have to see on a big screen. The visuals are totally worth it.

The next 2 movies I didn’t trek out to the theatre to see. They aren’t new but they are new to me.

A Serious Man is about Larry Gopnik (Michael Stahlberg), a mid western Jewish physics professor in the 1960s. His life isn’t the best but he goes through the motions as ethically and efficiently as possible. One day this no longer works. His wife is leaving him, his son is a pothead that doesn’t respect him, his daughter is stealing money to save up for a nose job, his inept brother has over stayed his welcome, and he is being bribed by a student at school. It all becomes too much as everything starts to fall apart.

This is a black comedy by the Coen Brothers and I liked it. Its subtle, quiet and interesting. It is mostly dramatic; there is a lot of emotion in this. You feel for the protagonist; you understand his frustration and lack of joy. This builds resentment for everyone around him. You end up thinking, what is wrong with you people? Can’t you see he’s hurting? The humour is situational. Not ha-ha-funny but more along the lines of this-makes-me-uncomfortable-so-I-am-going-to-laugh-through-it kind of way.

The actors are great. Stahlberg is excellent as Gopnik; trying to be calm but sweaty desperate. Sari Lennick plays his unsympathetic and frank wife. Richard Kind was his brother Arthur and there was something excessively depressing about the character that he was difficult to watch, which, i believe, is the point. Fred Melamed portrayed Sy Ableman as this kind of self-absorbed hippie Jew and  Gopnik’s soon to be ex-wife’s new suitor. Aaron Wolff and Jessica McManus play his harsh unsympathetic kids. They are all believable as this dysfunction family.

I have watched most of the Coen Brothers’ movies and of them A Serious Man is the one that depresses me the most. None of their movies really have a happy ending; they throw all their characters in to fail or “win” with consequence and I accept the fact. But I usually am (on average) simply pleased with what I just saw; an interesting complete story with interesting characters. With this I found myself sad.

One thing frustrated me though. There is a little vignette as the film opens. There is talk about Jewish superstitions, an argument, there is a stabbing, the film opening credits, and then the “real” movie begins. At the end of the movie I couldn’t figure out what the opening scenes have to do with the rest of the movie. I must have missed something, I just don’t get the correlation. I talked to a friend at work who has also seen the film and he didn’t get it either.

To make me feel better after the surprising depressing end to A Serious Man I watched Tangled. It is a new take on the Rapunzel Story. On her 18th Birthday against her mother’s wishes Rapunzel leaves her tower in search of adventure. With the help and guidance of a thief named Flynn they go in search of the source of the mysterious lights that appear every year.

The movie is ok. Its cute and fun but there is something missing. It is a musical animated movie, a type that has been on the decline in recent years. But the songs that should be emotional, uplifting, and infectiously catchy just aren’t. They’re boring and once its over it is completely forgotten.

The characters are fun and likable or unlikable depending on if it is a good or bad guy. There is great voice work by Mandy Moore, (I didn’t know he could sing) Zachery Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Pearlman, Jeffery Tambor, and Brad Garrett. The best characters in the movie didn’t even talk, the horse and the chameleon were hilarious.

Tangled is alright. Kids will like it – its colourful, wacky, and silly – but adults may find it a bit boring. It did make me feel better though.

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