The Burbs

The Burbs directed by Joe Dante, starring Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, and Corey Felman.

In all honesty this was a good movie, not great by any means, but when compared to what is passing these days as comedies, this movie was heads and tails above them.  Very off beat humor but I instantly connected with the characters, the setting, the pacing, the direction, and the production design.  Everything clicked together in this movie to create a genuinely entertaining movie.

I am by no means a Tom Hanks fan but I would put this up there as one of his better movies and one that needs to be seen by Hanks fans.  This is one of his best roles that connects with his quirky characteristics, creating a character that is just a little bit from walking over the edge but still seems to have his foot planted in reality.  So unlike the many "normal" characters many comedians find themselves playing where their over-the-top personality is trying gel with the logistics of reality and they come off rather disjointed.  This movie never feels that way even though the humor is slightly leaning towards the weird. 

The Last Stand

The Last Stand directed by Kim Jee-woon, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman, Jamie Alexander, Johnny Knoxville, and Peter Stormare.

There's absolutely nothing special about this movie but a welcome return to the glories days of original actions movies and action leads, not the man-boys we have parading around now that claim to be action stars.  This is just a good old fun action movie, with it seems like anyone and everyone lining up to star in Schwarzenegger and Stallone movie, which is by no means a bad thing.  Everyone here does a good job of filling out their roles bringing their own brand of humor and characterization to their roles to continuously help the movie out.  This is also a welcome return of Arnold to the action movies he left a long time ago for politics. I can honestly say I missed him and his style of actions movie.

Just a good ol action movie to sit back, watch, and have a good time.

Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow directed by Doug Liman, starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and Brandon Gleeson.

For those of you who know me I'm a sci-fi junkie and will always have a soft spot in my heart for anything sci-fi.  And if the sci-fi is a good product, it doesn't even have to be great, good is way better than most sci-fi even aspires to be, I'll take it and gobble it up with pleasure.

Edge of Tomorrow isn't great but it's good and highly entertaining.  Easily one of the best original movies, not just sci-fi movies, to come out in a long time.  I saw it twice in a month and I don't normally do that with movies.  It's a mesh of Ground Hog Day and sci-fi, and they fit together beautifully, creating a movie experience that was a pleasure to sit through (twice). 

The production design was intricately detailed giving a lot of weight and authenticity to the world being created.  Liman did a great job on the direction, not relying on the shaky camera to help transport the viewer into this world, but he actually set up shots and let the production design of the movie shine in every scene.  His action scenes weren't chaotic to sit through.  They had a controlled presence that is so lacking with directors of today.  With this movie he just continued to express that he's one of the better directors out there - see Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the first Bourne movie for further proof o this.  He also continues to prove that really good directors can make some of the best action movies when they get behind the camera.

Enough can't be said for Cruise and Blunt as they bring this movie home with some convincing performances.  I guess both of them have the track record for doing good no matter what movie they are starring in.  Cruise included, who despite his off the camera insanity at times, continues to always bring his A-game to whatever movie he's starring in.  Emily Blunt continues to prove what a great actress she is, no matter genre or role she plays.  Her versatility is simply amazing and her screen presence simply commands the viewer's attention when she shows up in a shot.

I don't find a lot movies now-a-days that have entertainment value of just being good.  The kind of movie I can put in, watch, and have a good time as it plays.  Edge of Tomorrow is one of those movies, so sit back and have a good time watching it, more than once.         

Hannibal Season One

Hannibal Season One, created by Byan Fuller, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Hugh Dancy, Lawrence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson, and Kacey Rohl.

I honestly didn't think this series would add anything to Silence of the Lambs or Manhunter.  I was so wrong.  This series is by no means perfect but it is completely captivating to watch.  Very slick, very polished and very pleasing to the eyes, which makes for a hugely watchable series.  The direction alone makes it seem more fitting to the movies than television.  The psychology and mind bending games played here make this unlike anything else on TV and give it a depth not found on many TV shows.  Depth is what the series is striving for as it plums the depths of, the main character, Will Graham's mind as it tries to find out how serial killers think.  I will not lie this not a show for the faint of heart as it is very bloody and very gory.  I don't know it aired on prime time?  This show seems more comfortable on cable than it does on the major networks, not that I'm complaining mind you because I had a bloody good time watching it.

Who would have thought that someone else could have played Hannibal Lector than Anthony Hopkins?  I sure didn't but Mads Mikkelsen surely fits into Lector's shoes with an ease and grace giving him a likableness that makes him thoroughly compelling and interesting in every scene he's in.

I like how this series didn't revert to serial killers of the week with each episode.  Now there were some episodes where they were tracking down serial killers but the focus of the show was always on the after effects of the first episode as its roots crawled throughout this entire season and played games with Will Graham and Lector.  I don't find many shows on prime time television that want continuity over the serialization of their series.  This show strives for continuity of the psychology to see how actions affect a person and how it does is both startling and interesting but that don't feel gimmick-ed or cheap. 

Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions directed by Camile Delamarre, starring Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA, and Catalina Denis.

Not much to say about this movie other than it's a somewhat good action movie with little intelligence in the story but the movie makes no apologies for that.  This is just a an action movie that tries to walk a line on commenting on politics and class division but when it walks that line it lets its own story line down.  It just needed to focus on the action and the set pieces that follow that action speak for themselves.  It played as lite version of Escape from New York but with none of the heart or grittiness and Paul Walker is no Kurt Russell and the director is no John Carpenter. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion the manga written and illustrated by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

I don't know when I'm ever going to get to see the anime version (and original) of this series so I did the next best thing and read through the manga series based on the anime version.  This is easily the best manga series I've ever read.  I liked the depth of the story line, the religious overtones and images, the technology, and the wild ideas presented here.  Everything mixed well together from the characters and story line.  Some things didn't fully gel together but the story and characters were so good I didn't care.

Giant mech robots battling giant monster Angels.  It was like Pacific Rim only with a lot more depth as the history of the bio-machines, Evangeline comes to light and other secrets are revealed throughout.  The teen angst in this series runs deep but I was able to put up with it because the idea so captivated me.  I didn't think the world building in this series did it any favors and if it had been further developed this would have been a true masterpiece of literature.  That is the one great failing of this series is that it didn't capitalize on the over all world in any way, shape, or form.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The Yiddish Policemen's Union written by Michael Chabon.

This is a detective novel set in Alaska that's one failing is that its over written.  Chabon seems to be more concerned about creating flourishing sentences than he is about the story line or characters in the story.  He does this so much throughout the story that he looses the focus on the story line and characters.  But other than that his characters are interesting (as they normally are in his books) and the stories mystery is interesting enough that I powered through the story.  His over all writing is a shame because his story thrives when his characters are together talking or interacting with each other that the stories pace slows when he starts becoming more focused on his words than characters.  He's normally a good writer.  I've read The Wonder Boys and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - both of which had the characters and story to match the writing, which by no means was over written because they all flowed together in ways a book is supposed to.  But with this book I found his writing wanting.    

About Time

About Time written and directed by Ben Curtis, starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighly, and Margot Robbie.

A science fiction love story involving time travel that is more concerned with characters than the actually science behind anything happening in the movie - and the movie is all the better for it.  I was completely charmed by this movie's heart and how it kept its characters at the front of everything.  Ben Curtis has had a fascination with love - Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually - culminating in some very keen observations and musing on that word and how it affects people.  In my opinion he hasn't really made a bad movie yet and he always keeps characters at the forefront of his movies.  This movie is no different and plays out like a variation on Ground Hog Day only in parts of the movie as this movie is completely its own.

As I've said before, plenty of times, you give British actors some good material and only good things will happen.  For some reason they always rise up to the challenge when presented with a good script.  Ben Curtis not only gave them a good script but got some good actors to inhabit these characters.  I liked the theme of this story about time travel - it's about a time traveler who is more interested in finding the love of his life than getting rich or seeking fame - that I find interesting.  A good movie well worth the time to see.

Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian

Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian directed by Shawn Levy, starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Hank Azaria, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Ricky Gervais, and Christopher Guest.

One thing I've really got tired of with comedies is the improvisation actors/comedians do during a movie and I also hate the way a director won't stop them when this happens.  A lot of times this interrupts the pacing of the movie with a scene that doesn't add anything to the plot or characterization.  This happens more frequently here as it hurts this movie more than it helps it.  All the charm of the first movie is lost in a barrage spectacle of special effects and over the top set pieces that don't add anything to the over all story line and seem more of an excuse for special effects than anything else.  Amy Adams and the other actors do a find job with the limited plot but over all I wasn't that impressed but my kids did a have a good time - so I guess that's something.

The Wire: Season One and Two

The Wire: Season One and Two created by David Simon, starring Dominic West, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, John Doman, Clarke Peters, Deirdre Lovejoy, Idris Elba, Wood Harris, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

This show not only lived up to all hype I'd read about it but it surpassed it in leaps and bounds.

I had heard how good this show was but never got around seeing it because it was so hard to find at the time what with it being an HBO show and all.  Well I finally found season one and two and library and got to see them, now I only have to see the last three seasons of easily one of the best shows I've seen.  HBO continues to make some of the best quality shows on TV and how this show was passed up for awards at the Emmy's is beyond me.  The acting, production, story line, direction, characters, and plot is just crazy good and unlike most things on TV or in movies.

I read about the creator of this show, David Simon, comparing these shows it to how a book is set up by chapter and it's no coincidence he labels each episode as Chapter.  This show is very slow going as it takes its time to set up all the players, story lines, and events that will come to fruition by the seasons end.  The cool thing is, the show is slow moving but the pacing never lacks or once seems like it's moving slow because there is so much character development and story line being set up that the pacing is always moving forward never stalling.  Easily one of the best scripted shows I've ever seen and the comparison to a book is fully justified - the depth of the show also justifies the book comparison.  I would liken this show to a visual tour of a Dickens novel as it covers the same type of themes as Dickens did: corruption, class division, politics, and the gritty this world has to offer.  Though the answers in this show aren't as up lifting and fairy tale ending as Dickens' world, The Wire is more brutal in that sense.  Truthfully I like more than The Sapranos it follows through on more story lines threads and the character development is more truthful and in depth.   

It is also some of the best acting I've seen as everyone fit into their role with ease.  This show cast actors that actually look like people and not the photoshopped up Hollywood actors that normally get casted in these type of roles.  Everyone in this show looks like someone you could meet down the street or have a beer with, with conversation that would be normal.  There aren't any Hollywood people in this show which only goes to help the feel of this show hit the authenticity it's striving for.

The authenticity of this show is further enhanced by the production and shooting on location that at times makes the show feel like a documentary.

Truly a show for the history books - looking forward to seeing the rest of the seasons. 

Draft Day

Draft Day directed by Ivan Reitman starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, and a bunch of really good character actors.

There's nothing really special about this movie but I found it entertaining none-the-less as I do like NFL football so I found the one day setting of the first day of the draft intriguing.  I was swept along with the story line that was supposed to be a behind the scenes kind of movie into an NFL team.  The energy and anticipation felt genuine as everyone was wheeling and dealing to make the right moves for their team.  Costner is always at his best when he's surrounded by really good actors and here they continuously help him carry the film.  I like the theme of the movie, which is stick to your guns and integrity even when times get rough, this is a well used theme and riddled with cliches but I was able to suspend all critiques of it because I'm sure the football setting helped to ease me into what was happening.  The pacing was extremely fast and fit in with the craziness of what was going on.  This is good movie for football fans to see.  

Enemy

Enemy directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon, and Isabella Rossellini.

I really liked this movie despite a lot of it being very ambiguous as to what was happening within the story line.  But I really felt enough information was given as to make everything that happens (especially the ending) actually have a meaning.  This is a very bizarre movie with a lot of double meaning behind images and dialogue spoken, but like I said before I think it all works.  If you are a fan of David Lynch films, then this is the movie for you, only with Lynch I never feel there is enough information given in the film to make a clear conclusion when the film ends. 

I will say this if you watch the film pay attention for anything related to spiders, from images resembling webs or strings that could be a web.  This is very important so pay look for these motifs as you watch it.  I knew about the ending before I saw this movie but it had no effect on the power of that single image when it finally arrives, which will either frustrate of intrigue you when it finally shows up.  For me it still haunts my thoughts these weeks after I saw it. 

This film is  beautifully shot with the production to match the visual setting.  It's directed by the same guy directed the equally beautiful movie Prisoners. With this movie Denis Villeneuve definitely sets himself up as a director to watch out for later on as his other films roll out.

I also included more movie posters than normally do because I really like the PR campaign for this movie and as these different posters show there is a lot more to this movie than meets the eye.  

The Amazing Spider Man 2

The Amazing Spider Man 2 directed by Marc Webb, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Fox, and a bunch of other people that I felt sorry were conned into being in this film.

I've got to admit this movie was rather boring and felt longer than it's 2 hour plus run time, which is not a good thing.  The main thing I can say about this movie is that completely lacked focus and was all over the place story line wise.  Just about everything in this movie felt forced, from the relationships, the action scenes, the emotions, nothing felt earned.  The slow scenes that were supposed to build characters and move the story line forward instead slowed the movie down to halt and destroyed all kinds of relationship building.  Easily one of the prettiest, slickest looking worst comic book movie I've seen that doesn't really build on anything from the first movie and seems more like a 2 hour plus trailer for the Sinister Six movie Sony would like to do.  Huge disappointment.
 

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla (2014) directed by Gareth Edwards, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, and Ken Watanabe.

There's not much for storyline here but what the movie lacks in story line it completely makes up with mood and visuals.  I was completely sold on how this movie brought Godzilla to life as it went completely in the opposite direction as the other dreadful remake.

The actors do well with what material they have but the true star of this movie is Godzilla and Edwards direction.  He tells a good story that strives for realism and achieves it, showing how it would be if monsters this large actually attacked and walked through a city.  This is not a happy go lucky movie but the trailers for this movie never once came across that way, thus leaving Edwards to do as he pleased.  I will give him a hand, he did a great job.  And if you happened to have seen his other low budget movie Monsters, you could tell from that movie that he was a director to keep an eye on.  From this movie all of those thoughts were justified.

Prisoners

Prisoners directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Terrance Howard, Maria Bello, and Paul Dano.

One of the more surprising movies I've seen in a long time and one of the better of those movies as well.  I honestly had no idea where the screenplay was going half time and for me to be kind of clueless about that is an amazing feat.  Nothing that happened with the screenplay felt cheap or fake, I thought it earned all the twists and emotions within it, they felt genuine.  The movie does a great job of keeping all the characters in character throughout and definitely creates a story where the title of the movie weaves throughout the story.  This theme of prisoners can be linked to every character as it takes on more of presence and a sense of character, than just a story about two missing girls, which is the catalyst that starts everything off.  Every character in this movie is a prisoner of something, whether literal or metaphorical, something is keeping them captured.

A great production really helped to convey a sense of reality that blended well with the story.  This movie didn't feel like it was made on a Hollywood set.  It had the feeling of being shot on location in the town where it was set that gave it an authentic quality to it that a lot of movies lack.  Then the director Denis Villeneuve moved his camera around,, created shots, and scenes that were some of the better ones I've seen in a movie in a long time.  Definitely a director to keep your one as his future movies come out.  There was just an assurance to this direction that was devoid of gimmicks and had a firm foundation in the directing styles of the past, where the directors actually directed without getting caught up in gimmicks or fads. 

The acting in this movie from the two leads Jackman and Gyllenhaal to every secondary characters wholly through themselves into their roles.  Not a person was miscast and everyone earned every emotion they conveyed.

Oculus

Oculus directed by Mike Flanagan, starring Karen Gillian, Katie Sackoff, Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, and Garrett Ryan.

This is a horror movie so ultimately there are rules that will be followed.  Those are to be expected here and I've only seen a few horror movies that didn't follow those rules, this is not one of those films.  Other than that the movie is slickly produced with a good villain in the mirror, whose presence dominates the movie.  As a prop the mirror does a great job of being menacing while all it does is just hang there.  The person who crafted it for the movie did a great job. 

Also this movie doesn't have the normal lovers in peril but relies on a family dynamic of a brother and sister, which is handled with great skill by the two leads.  There is a lot of duality going on within the film, which is to be expected because the mirror is the horror object of the movie: reality vs. the past, physical vs. psychological just to name a couple.  This duality adds a lot of things to the movie's storyline as the carnage and blood start to pile up to final conclusion. 

Overall I found this movie an interesting addition of the horror genre but not one that expands on anything previously offered.  If you're in the mood for something entertaining and not to taxing on the mind, you can't really go wrong with this.

The Golem and the Jinni

The Golem and the Jinni written by Helene Wecker.

It's hard to believe this is a first novel.  The writing is assured third person.  The characters and story are interesting.  Everything holds together and was intriguing enough that I kept reading through all 600 pages of the novel wanting to know what was going to happen to the two main characters.  I can even say I didn't know where the story was heading as I kept reading.  I don't come across to many stories like that.  This is a cross genre novel: fantastical, romantic, and historical.

Wecker creates two interesting characters in the Golem and Jinni.  She breathes them into life and gives them plenty of room to grow.  They become two wholly fleshed out characters as their story unfolds page after page.  I like how she set them in the America when immigration was happening on a regular and legal basis.  This historical setting adds so much weight and authenticity to the story as it becomes another character within the story.  Wecker also injects some cultural ism into the story as Golem has a Jewish background and the Jinni a Syrian background, giving these characters each a world all to their own as they relate to each other and the world around them. 

A truly remarkable first novel.

Wanted

Wanted directed by Tim Bekmambetov, starring Jame McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, and a small appearance by Chris Pratt (I only mention this now because well this is Chris Pratt and now it's worth mentioning).

I didn't buy into this movie at all.  There just wasn't enough explanation as to the secrete society and all of that, that everything just felt tacked on instead of actual world or mythology building.  The whole concept seemed lifted from all kinds of other nerd related things and it never felt wholly original and has a photo copied feel to it.  See the first Matrix for a movie that lifts a lot of things from other other movies, books, comics, and media related things but yet has an original feel to it.  
And that feeling dominates the whole movie.  Characters never seem real but more card board cliched from all kinds of other movies.  Angelia Jolie seems to be playing some variation of herself from previous films.  McAvoy characters really felt like Ed Norton's character from Fight Club only not anywhere near as interesting.

The one thing I did like from this movie was seeing Chris Pratt.  He actually had an interesting part (a small part but amusing none-the-less).  The song Pina Colada even crops up in the film, giving the whole Christ Pratt and the song a kind of Guardians of the Galaxy prologue kind of feel.  I know this is unintentional but it brought a smile to my face as I noticed it. 

How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2 directed by Dean DeBlois, starring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kirsten Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, and Kit Harrington.

This movie was amazing and exactly how a sequel should be done as it expands on everything from the first movie and doesn't retread anything.  Easily up there with the Toy Story movies on how to world build and how to do sequels right.   It's just not often I see a sequel that expands on the previous story without rehashing themes, ideas, or plot devices from the original movie that I'm in shock when someone pulls it off.  They pulled it off in wonderful ways that I sat in awe as I watched this movie marveling in everything on display.

The animation was top notch equally breathtaking - the flight scenes a lone are majestic and beautiful - the various islands explored all have a unique design and color scheme all their own.  I was glad to see the story expand on the characters from the first film without having them fall back into their old behaviors as so many movies tend to do.  The choices that were made in the first film and changes within the characters remained in their lives in the second film.  We also get to see the consequences of those choices - good and bad - in this film.  I just hope there is another sequel after this movie as it adds a lot of things to the over all story that I'm interested in what happens next. 

A good kids films with plenty of things for adults and movie lovers along the way. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) directed by Jonathan Liebesman, starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett, and William Fichtner.

I didn't really like this movie.  I had low expectations going into seeing it, and then those low expectations went even lower as the movie went on.  But even after saying all of that I will admit that this is one of better kids movies to come in a long time.  Low on language and sex - which seems to be a rarity with a film produced by Michael Bay, who's Transfromer's movies seemed to thrive on stupid potty humor and sexuality that only slightly veered into the over-the-top realm. 

This movie still suffers from the same thing afflicting the Transformers movies: namely the Turtles become secondary characters in their own movie much like the Transformers did in their movies.  Their characters never become actual characters but feel more like cartoons that only are only different from their weapons, names, and color of ninja eye ear.  They never became actual characters, which is a shame because here there was so much more to work with to make them interesting.

The screenplay seems to want to over explain everything and make all sorts of connections to everything instead of just letting the story and characters thrive on their own.  Do I really care about April O'Niel's life as a journalist?  Not really.  Just make her a journalist then let the world and story around her breath with it's own life.  Is that too hard to do?  It must be.  There is so much time wasted on explaining and over explaining everything when it could be devoted into making the Turtles' characters into actual characters. 

Locke

Locke directed by Steven Knight, starring Tom Hardy, with the voices of Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, and Ben Daniels.

Make no mistake this is a gimmick movie: there is only one - set the car, one actor - Tom Hardy,  and all the drama happens over the phone.  This will not be a movie for everyone.  It needs to have a good story and create drama from nothing more than phone conversations.  In my opinion this movie succeeds in leaps and bounds.  The run time was 84 minutes and the time did fly by as I became fully engrossed in Locke's life as the decisions he made completely affect everything in his life for the 1 hour drive he is on. 

His life becomes completely changed as the drive goes on.  We get very intimate incites into his life, character, and person throughout the drive.  I will admit I became fully engrossed in his life and conversations as the movie and drive progressed.  I wanted to know what was going to happen and how his choices were going to affect the people, his job, and himself.  I had no idea where the screenplay was going and the conversation he had with the many people in the movie had a real quality to them as it contained the pauses, repeated words, phrases, or sentences that seem to be in real life.  They all gave it a very intimate, invading this characters life kind of feel. 

This movie from the direction standpoint had an Alfred Hitchcock kind of tone, though I felt the movie would have been better if the camera had never left the car thus forces the viewer into world even more.  When it leaves the car it kind of gives the viewer a little relief.  I think it needed to keep us inside the car the whole time by doing this I think it would have even helped the viewer to empathize even more with Locke.

Tom Hardy does some of the best acting of his career as he creates a person with ticks and mannerisms that help to flesh out his character as the movie and drive go on.  The way he plays with his sleeves or rubs his beard all help to make Locke a fully fleshed out character.    

Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.

It's been a long time since I've read a really good sci-fi novel.  Ancillary Justice qualifies as one of the better ones I've read in that span of time and it's Ann Leckie's first novel, which is just amazing.  She also does something a lot of sci-fi writers have a hard time of doing - she focuses on character over technology or alien culture.  She never looses sight of her character.

The idea of this book is what initially intrigued me - being of a hive mindset and then having that hive mindset stripped away and living in a singular person/body.  Leckie explores that mentality in glorious ways.  I don't normally like novels written in first person narration but this book's first person narration only adds to the character as she describes everything about having that hive mentality stripped away from her and living in a singular person.  It's this exploration of having that world stripped away that brings the main character to life.  I really got to understand her and the world she lived in.  Leckie did create an interesting world one I wouldn't mind seeing more of.

This book had shades of Ursala K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, that is by no means a bad comparison with full compliments to Leckie for channeling LeGuin in such a way that most people have not been able to.  Her voice is a unique voice that I don't see in a lot sci-fi and I can say I'm looking forward to her next novel.

Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2 directed by Jeff Wadlow, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jim Carrey.

I didn't like the first movie but I will admit this movie is better than the first movie.  I still have absolutely no pity or empathy for the main character as I think he is in way over his head.  I still take joy when he gets beat up and actually root for the villain to beat him up.  That being said however - Chloe Grace Moretz is the star of this movie and her character's arc and development alone made this movie worth watching.  She stole the entire movie.  Well Christopher Mintz-Plasse also did a great job of over acting in a role that required him to do so.  His character was the second best thing to see in this movie.  The movie seriously drags when either he or Chloe aren't on screen.  

Sabotage

Sabotage written and directed by David Ayer, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrance Howard, Max Martini, Mireille Enos, Olivia Williams, and Harold Perrineau.

This is just a straight up action movie that is way better than most of the movies that get pushed on viewers and passed as "action" movies.  I really liked the first 45 minutes or so of this movie but the last half of the movie I felt betrayed a lot of the things that had set up the movie.  I kind of wish the movie had explored more of the bond between Schwarzenegger and his crew because that was the heart of the movie.  Once it got away from that I felt the movie wasn't near as good as it started out being.  Not a bad way to spend a near two hours and it has a good old fashioned action movie feel.

High School Musical

High School Musical directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel.

Finally got around to seeing this movie because my kids discovered it and decided to watch it constantly for about a week.  Despite all of the hype and hubbub about this movie I've got to admit:   it wasn't that bad of a movie.

There's a little bit of Grease in this movie as in the two main characters come from different sides of the tracks - but that is where the Grease connection ends.  This isn't a romance movie or love story of which I thought it was going to be.  Instead this movie is about being true to yourself and doing what you want to do not want someone else is dictating you do to.  The movie stays very close to this theme never letting the romance hinder the plot or theme - for that I respect this movie.

The musical scenes were directed and choreographed with some serious passion and energy much better than most of the musicals that churn out of Hollywood.

I can see why this movie took off with the teenage crowd and it was interesting to see how this little movie came out nowhere and settled into the pop culture as violent as it did, when it did.   

Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time directed by Mike Newell, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kinsley, Emma Arterton, Alfred Molina, and Richard Coyle.

My expectations going into this movie were really low but I've got to admit this movie was much better than I expected and just a fun movie to watch.  When it was over I didn't feel like I'd wasted time seeing it.  I initially thought Jake Gyllenhaal was miscast in this role but he put in a performance that really gelled with everything happening in this movie.

I mean there's not much to say about this movie other than it's just a good adventure movie with some good action scenes and a decent story.  I would also say it's one of the best video games adaptations to movie ever made.  That is weird because when I hear of video games adapted into movie I don't hear this movie mentioned and it deserves to be mentioned.

I know they were trying to capture the Pirates movie but I'm glad this one turned out better than those movies as the feel and tone of this movie seemed more genuine than the Pirates movie.  I never once bought into the female character in that movie but here I did and somewhat "love" story in this movie doesn't feel as forced. 

3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma directed by James Mangold, starring Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol, Logan Lerman, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Dallas Roberts, and Vinessa Shaw.

The acting alone in this movie makes it worth watching and that's from the two main leads to every secondary character that fills the rest of the movie.  Everyone does a great job of bringing this story alive and making the world in the movie complete and genuine.  Crowe and Bale shine as the two main leads.  Crowe's bad boy charisma saturates every scene he's in but the screenplay never forgets he's the villain.  Bale's character and dedication crates the foundation for the whole movie and we get to see how his character slowly penetrates Crowe's villain in an honest way that doesn't feel cheapened or fake.

I know the movie is a remake but I really wonder if the original can live up to this one because they did a good job of making it.  From the production, the direction, costumes, the acting, everything is top notch here as the world created feels real.  In my opinion it's a worthy addition to the Western genre of films.

Under the Skin

Under the Skin written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Scarlett Johansson and that's pretty much the only "star" in this movie.

This is one pretentious, bore of a movie.  And is basically an art house version of the movie Species.  

It will only be remember in movie history as the one film where Scarlett Johansson is naked for a few scenes in the movie.  Other than that this is a art film will little dialogue, little story line, and hardly any information about anything that is going on.  Whatever is happening in the story much be inferred from the various images, scenes, or sparse dialogue that does take place.  Interpretation is only key to this movie, nothing is concrete and communication is non-existent.  

And let me tell you those scenes can go on for ever with nothing happening.  Someone starring into a mirror for about a minute - check.  Someone driving around for what feels like hours and hours and since we will be arty so lets show the viewer the main character driving around for hours and hours - check, check, check, and check.  Showing  a person dragging a body across a rocky beach for yards and yards and yards - another check, check, check - because for the first few yards I wasn't quite sure what the character was doing, you know dragging the person across the rocky beach.  Hardly ever move the camera, let's just sit the camera down and never move it because you know it's the arty thing to do - check.  Let people just stare at each other with for minutes or have a character stare out into nothing for minutes upon minutes - check.  Watch paint dry, watch grass grow, watch a flower bloom - all in real time of course - I'm just kidding this doesn't happen in this movie but there are times it sure feels like it does.

This movie is the wet dream of the Hollywood it writer Damon Lindelof - the writer of such classic pieces of writing where questions pour down like rain but never give any answers - Lost and Promethus being his two big writing gigs where explanations and an actually story arc are the Lost Arc to him.  This movie seemed catered especially for him.

I will give this movie one thing, the director did know how to create some very interesting and lasting images it was just to bad I never cared once for anything going on in the movie.  So the images fell away like words in the words.  That is a shame because those images deserved to have a stable story line attached to them to actually give them a life, instead what they were force fed into a world of art house imagery where nothing is ever explained, everything is implied, and boredom is the pallet of choice.

 I HATE ART HOUSE FILMS!

The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men directed by George Clooney, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Bob Blaban, and Jean Dujardin.

I didn't really know what to expect with movie but I've got to admit I ended up enjoying this movie a lot more than I had originally thought I would.  One of the reasons is that the screenplay was written with the characters in mind as well the historical setting, both of which played huge part in the movie being as good as it turned out.

George Clooney isn't the best director out there but he's a lot more competent than most of the flashy, fly by the seat of your pants directors.  He is definitely assured in his direction never letting the story or material get away from him and he sets up shots well, communicating with the audience with as less confusion as possible.  It does take a good director to do this.  This movie is no different as Clooney fully fleshes out the historical setting as it becomes as much a character in the movie as the main Monument Men themselves.  

An interesting part of the movie I found compelling was how it played with my emotions because when it started I didn't fully buy into what these guys were doing.  Wanting to risk their lives and lives of other soldiers for artwork.  I admit I questioned what they were doing and the answers I initially got made me not believe in their mission.  As the movie progressed further into them finding and recusing artwork, some of them dieing for the artwork I become won over in their mission and the insanity of what Hitler was doing.  They sold me on their commitment and showed me without preaching to me that what they were doing was worth doing.  I became, by the end of the movie, wholeheartedly invested with the mission and the movie.

Darth Vader and Son

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffery Brown.

I found this gem of a book in the adult comic section of the library and had to check it out.  For any Star Wars fan this is a must read book and must have for a Star Wars collection or a book collection in general.  A funny read with many references from Star Wars throughout out.  My son even read it three or four time by himself after I read it to him. 

You can't go wrong with this book.  Now I've got to find the other books especially Vader's Little Princess, an aptly titled book.

Superbad

Superbad directed by Greg Mottola, starring Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Emma Stone, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, and Martha Mac Isaac.

I'm honestly surprised it took me this long to see this movie.  I've heard so much about it but never sat down to watch it.  Now that I have and I've got to say it was good movie about relationships - which it never lost sight of.  Relationships was the main focus of the story and this movie was almost like a modern version of American Graffiti as it dealt with some of the same themes: last night in town before going on to college, boy and girl relationships, friendship, and the challenges that all go along with those themes.  It kept those themes at the forefront of every incident or scene happening on screen.

This movie had a lot of heart.  Everyone involved in the movie completely invested into it as they helped to sell the story and give it a real feeling that helped to me to connect with everything going on.  I also liked how the characters in the movie didn't ever go against their personality types.  They remained true to who they were when introduced as in the beginning of the movie or throughout the movie.  Even by the movies end some growth had taken place in a few of them - much like American Graffiti.

This is a comedy through and through but relationships is what dominates the heart of this comedy as personality types clash and but heads throughout the movie.   Cera and Hill really sell themsevles as friends as they both seem to play variations on other characters they have either played before or after this movie - so it didn't seem a great stretch for them to play these types of characters.  But I will say they played them well and were convincing as friends both dealing some weighty issues that become revealed by the movies end.  The break out star of this movie, stealing every scene he's in, is  Christopher Mintz-Plasse playing McLoving, Cera and Hill third wheel in the friendship cycle.  His scenes are convincingly good, a little over the top at times but I didn't seem to mind.

Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor directed by Peter Berg, starring Mark Walhberg, Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana.

Based on a true story.  And about one of the greatest elite fighting forces on the planet earth, the Navy Seals.  I can already tell you I was going to like this film.  I did, but I will still throw my critical eye upon this movie as I normally do.  I will still refuse to be blinded by bias or emotions unless I state so before I do a review but in any case even if those biases show up I still won't let them influence by review of the movie.  

I'm not a huge fan of Peter Berg from the films he's directed but I will say this, this is best directed movie by far as he showed some serious restrain by not going all shaky camera throughout this film.  Most directors would have used the rough, wooden, forest terrain as an excuse to run around blindly with a hand held camera - so the audience could be "there" in the action.  Berg does the opposite, instead he actually directed this movie and this movie was all the better for it, as his direction brought some serious tension to the action scenes because I could actually see what was going on.  I didn't feel lost when the action scenes rolled around.  He actually was in control of the story and action scenes which made his communication with the audience almost flawless.  While the actions scenes sparkled with life and the fact he actually directed the movie helped all the more to suck me into this mission gone horribly wrong for these four Navy Seals.  These Seals acted like the bad asses they are even the actors portraying them really helped to inject them with some life and authenticity.  I just wish they would have been given a little to handle with the characters. 

However the Seals needed more characteristics and personality, even some of those things being cliched would have helped.  A little more time at the base in the beginning wouldn't have hurt to gel them together a full functioning unit they are and help the audience to empathize with them more and see them not just as Seals but as people.  All in all I thought Act of Valor was a better movie as the story line and Seals in there seemed more like people and characters - whereas in Lone Survivor they were a little better than blank slats but more characteristics would have made this movie sparkle even more.  That is only really fault I found with the movie.

I was honored to see the dedication and intellect Seals have instead of just being portrayed as war torn, war hungry soldiers.  These are an elite fighting force where they are trained in war, tactical intellect, and killing.  It is there job and they do it very well.  This movie did a great job of showing what they do as a job, much like Act of Valor did as well. 

300 (graphic novel)

300 written and illustrated by Frank Miller.

Good read with good art, surprised it took me this long to read it.

If you do read this graphic novel  make sure it's in the large format because that enhances the wide screen aspect Miller was going for in ways most comics don't.  The splash pages came alive when I turned the pages as Miller used small and medium panels throughout the story only to have those large encompassing pages seem to jump out of the page when I came across them.  It worked in incredible ways.

If you liked the movie 300, you will like reading this and it shouldn't take long an hour or so, if that.  It was really cool to how movie virtually transferred this comic from page to screen.  Miller's comic is an actual storyboard for the movie as many panels you will recognize from the movie. 

Miller's art once again compliments his writing style.  I've never thought he's one of the best writers in the medium, even here is writing is good not great but it works hand in hand with everything going on.  I've always liked his art.  He has really grown as an artist over the years bringing a distinct style that is wholly his own, many times copied but none like Miller.  His art is really the showcase in this story and fits into the world of Spartans, Greeks, armor, spears, shields, helmets, and blood, lots of blood along with the spatter blood can make when skin is broken.

The Bronx Kill

The Bronx Kill written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by James Romberger.

A good little crime noir fictional story I found at the library.  Set in modern day but like all noir stories it has plenty of dealing in the past as history comes to rear its ugly head in revealing ways.  Milligan weaves through the story with ease and keeps the pacing marching along so that it really reads adds a pager turner.  I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out the big reveal, the mystery at the heart of the story filled me with the desire to go on.  I don't know if this was written before or after Gone Baby, Gone but there is some similarities to it at least from the wife disappearing.  I haven't read Baby so I don't know if the connections that go beyond the missing wife hold up or not but I wager to say they end right there as this story by it's end really felt wholly its own. 

All in all it was a good read for a few hours on the weekend if you are into the noir crime stories.  If you are find it and read it.

Scalped

Scalped written by Jason Arron and illustrated by R. M. Guera.

A story about an Indian reservation and the opening of a casino on it.  Sounds like riveting reading right?  I thought for the longest of times it was going to be completely boring despite what I'd read and heard about comic series.  Oh, how wrong I was, how very wrong I was.  I'm willing to eat crow when I'm wrong and admit when I was wrong.

This is one of the best written series I've ever read and I didn't even get to finish it because my library didn't have the last two volumes.  But I'm not complaining about it because they at least had the first eight volumes of which if they didn't have, I wouldn't have go to read any of it anyhow.  Before I get to Scalped, I've got to say I've read some really good comics over the last two years and not just comics but actual stories that I would put next to any literary book out there for story line, writing, and character development.  The cool thing with these comics I've read, the majority of them have been written by Americans.  This is a good thing because British writers have dominated the comic scene for a long time, with Americans just churning out the typical Marvel and DC stories that have tended to more Soap Opera oriented than actual story.  I'm really glad Americans have finally dominated comics in this massive deluge of a storm. 

This story has a little bit of Breaking Bad and the Sopranos mixed in with the American Indian culture to create a thoroughly engrossing read.  Jason Arron does some detailed world building and creates his characters, themes, and world from the first issue, usually this takes a lot of time for most writers to get into the groove of the world their creating.  Not Arron, his writing is assured as he convincingly has a handle on the world he's writing about mixing in American Indians, FBI, gangsters, and the mob without the least bit of muddiness to the waters.  His characters grow and develop with each passing issues to the point where I started to wonder who the villains and heroes were of this story.  He really digs into the past of these characters, showing me what makes them tick as a person.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this story will end but have enough faith in what Arron has done so far that I'm sure I won't be disappointed by how this ends.

A good read.  If you can find it read it and enjoy.

Divergent (movie)

Divergent directed by Neil Burger, starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Kate Winslet, Maggie Q, and Zoe Kravitz.

I didn't like the book and the problems I had with the book were even more amplified in the movie, thus making my enjoyment of the movie not that great.  And after reading the book and seeing the movie I don't understand how either one has taken off and become as successful as they've become.  Are people just that starved for this kind of story that they will buy into anything - even anything told on a completely mediocre level?  I guess they will apparently but then what do I know?  I guess not that much but I do know I didn't enjoy either the book or the movie.  I didn't like the book so much I was completely uninterested in reading the sequels and I had the same feeling after the credits rolled on the movie.  But the one thing the movie did have going for it ,that the book failed to capitalize on, is that in the movie I got a greater feel for the world outside of the city where as in the book I never got that feeling.

I never fully bought into the main character's transformation of a shy, quiet person into a total bad ass, it just doesn't ring true in the movie and has a falseness to it that is more distracting than accepting.  I still can't help shaking this feeling that I've seen this story line done better in other movies: Hunger Games being the prime example of which this story has to be modeled after.

My biggest gripe with this story is how the bad guys during the end of the movie quit being bad guys and turn into cliched villains.  Which isn't a bad thing but they have start out as cliched if they are going to be cliched throughout, otherwise the transformation from bad guys into cliched bad guys seems fake and is lazy.  Here's what I'm talking about.  At the end of the movie the bad guys are finding Diverts and killing them when they find them, right on the spot no questions asked.  But when they discover the two main characters as Divergent, what do they do?  They don't shoot them on the spot like they've done to every other Divergent they've found.  No, instead they bring them to main bad guy, who has also been disposing of Divergents left and right throughout the movie as we've been told, suddenly doesn't want to kill them right there but instead wants to re-brainwash one Divergent and kill the other Divergent in an undisclosed location, instead of you know just killing them right there.  Plot wise and character wise this makes no sense and completely looses me from the whole film, even though by time I was lost from the whole film anyhow.  I also hate how with basically just flick of the switch everything in the world can suddenly become back to normal - that also reeks of mediocrity and laziness.

I'm just not buying what I've was being sold.  Watch the Hunger Games instead because the horrible direction of the first film still couldn't hurt the story line of it.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy directed by James Gunn, starring Christ Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillian, Djimon Hounsou, Glen Close, John C. Reilly, and Benicio Del Toro.

Well the hype is over and the new Marvel movie has finally arrived.  I'll just get this out of the way first: I liked this movie and it's easily one of the best Marvel movies to come in a while.  It adds to the world building they are doing and fully extends their universe, to well, the universe and it one of the better sci-fi action movies to come out in a long time.  Marvel movies are now a serious force to be reckoned with if this movie, based on some seriously lesser known characters, can be this good, pull in this much money, and be entertaining to boot.

I'm still fully digesting what kind of movie I actually saw.  I'm not saying this movie doesn't have flaws, it does, but the sheer joy and humor on display totally washed them out, as it does with most of the Marvel movies.  One thing Marvel movies have focused on the most has been creating characters.  This has been the driving force through all of their movies (the Edward Norton starring as Hulk being the only dud so far) and has carried every film.  No matter how crazy or insane the plot got, there was always the characters to mover everything forward.  Guardians of the Galaxy is no different as Marvel created a rag tag group of characters to root for and this movie is all the better for it.  It plays like a sci-fi version of the A-Team.  And since I've seen it I also found it quite resembles my favorite TV show of all time Farscape (a lot by the way) - in the humor, the wildly bizarre characters, the settings, and crazy sci-fi worlds and aliens.  There is also a mixture of Joss Whedon's Firefly, that can't be over looked.  All of these ingredients gets mixed into creating a movie quite unlike - but also alike - anything else out there.  The uniqueness of it was a sheer joy to see in a summer normally designated with sequels, prequels, and remakes.  I think this is one of the reasons Guardians was received so well - it was new and fresh.

Here's a couple of things I noticed that helped to make this movie as good as it turned out.

Directing.  James Gunn hit it out of the park with this movie as he proved not to be over his head (despite how crazy weird his hair is - proof not to judge a person by their hair style) with a large budget as his previous films total budget might have covered a scene or two of this movie.  I'm not kidding about that either.  His influence on the screenplay, dialogue, and humor can't be overlooked.  His handling of the various action sequences was superb, as there wasn't any confusion as to what was going on - ever - even if it was a hand-to-hand, aerial/space battle, or a jail break.  All of these sequences were controlled with some great camera work and placement as he wasn't afraid to actually show things and not ruin them with the lazy shaky camera.  His handling of the pacing made the movie just roll by in a breeze as there wasn't a lot of down time or moments that dragged the film to a halt.  It did feel like the old Star Wars movies of old days not the slogged down, snail paced, anvil heavy feel of the prequels. 

Humor.  Part of the reason this film works also is the humor.  By injecting the movie with humor, Gunn helped the characters to feel real and helped the audience to identify with them.  Sci-fi movies have a tendency to take themselves super serious, so serious that they feel stiff and very aged, but by putting humor into the movie Gunn created a world that felt real, despite being set in a universe far, far away.  This was one of things that helped the original Star Wars trilogy work.  Han Solo was the one characters that helped the movie feel real and not as serious as sci-fi could be.  Guardians doesn't have just one character with humor, it has multiple characters that give the seriousness of everything a perspective.  This perspective really walks hand in hand with the audience in this world being as real as it feels.

Production.  The production design was astounding in this movie as everything seemed to flow from world building, costume design, character design.  It felt like many worlds existed beyond our planet Earth.  I like how their designs weren't over the top or at least didn't feel over the top, as they seemed to do with the new trilogy Lucas created, where everything there seemed rather forced, or felt forced to me.  With Guardians it all flowed with a perfection I'm not used to seeing in sci-fi movies of this kind of scale.

Acting.  This can't be said enough, the acting in this movie sold the sci-fi concepts, the alien worlds, the aliens, and just the craziness that was on display.  The actors bought into what was going on and ran with it in a playfulness that never diverged into comical or cheesiness.  They helped these characters to feel real.  I think the only stiff character in the movie was Rhonan, which Marvel still hasn't found a villain to even compete with Loki yet.  I think they need to stop worrying about that kind of villain and just let the characters in the movie run with a story and carry the film, which they have been doing for most of the Marvel films.  I will put this under the acting part because it kind of is, I like how the movie doesn't explain how things work or explain most things in this sci-fi world.  They just work because that's how they work.  That's it there's nothing more to it and that's how most things in this kind of crazy world need to be taken a story.     

Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother directed by Jesse Perez, starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, and Steve Coogan.

This is not a great movie but I had a good time watching it, so I guess in the end that makes it an entertaining watch and that it was.  This movie kind of reminded me of Forest Gump - only much better as this movie seemed to know what it was where as Forest Gump I've always felt seemed really confused about itself.

The main reason I saw this movie is because Paul Rudd is in it.  I've always liked him as an actor and he does a great job here playing a simple man who doesn't want to get bogged down with the complexities of life. Along the way we meet his three sisters and get to see their vastly different personalities and lifestyles as they compare to their brother. 

Ultimately it's the interconnecting of these relationships that dominates this movie and what makes it an enjoyable watch.  Paul Rudd commands as the "Idiot Brother" but it was a good idea of the producers of this movie to tag-team him up with three really good actresses who compliment Rudd's performance in spades.  It's their chemistry on screen is the guiding force of this movie and they all step up to the challenge.  Even the side characters are played by some really good actors - not great actors but really good supporting actors the completely help to move the story along as well as adding to the already seasoned chemistry of everyone else in the movie. 

All in all it was a good watch.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O' Neill.

Finally a sequel to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that lived up to the first two books and wasn't as jumbled a mess as the many other League books being written. 

I'm not saying this book is perfect but it does live up to what Moore wanted to do with the League.  It also doesn't feel as rushed as some of the later League books felt.  Moore seemed more in control of what he was doing here as this story is longer and he gives time to develop characters, which is something that was seriously lacking from later books.  This time he lets scenes play out for pages and not just a page or two - like in most Marvel and DC comics - a good writer knows that pages help to develop characters and story, with the lack of that being something that feels rushed and half full. 

The Black Dossier is anything but half full, as this is a concept comic, which of that they are few and far between in the comic world.  Being a concept comic it largely succeeds on that level and the level of exploring of the world Moore created with the first League book.  Moore has the characters in the book read the titled Black Dossier at very points in the story of which there is a play, a short story, some fliers, a pictorial history of a character Orlando and even a portion of the book in 3-D (glasses are included with the book). 

He really does open up the mythology of the League as he builds upon what he did before, which is something most of the later books failed to do.  The one thing this book does though is starts the weaknesses that has dominated Moore's writing of late, namely that is his obsession with sex and nudity for no reason than he can do it with the comic label he's writing for.  They don't add anything to the story or mythology of the world he's creating  and that has been a failing I've noticed with his books.  This is a shame because I think it really hurts his story as it breaks the flow of what he's doing and turns his story into a typical movie or book that has to have a sex/nudity scene just for the sake of selling more seats or appeasing the audience.  This basically reduces Moore to a typical writer, of which he is not but by doing this he becomes just another writer in the crowd and his work of late has been showcasing this.





  

The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet directed by Michael Gondry, starring, Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, and Jay Chou.

I don't even know what they were thinking when they made this movie.  It's so off kilter.  The main character is completely miss cast. The overall concept doesn't really make any sense.  The main character is a dick and completely unlikeable. 

I honestly don't even know what this movie is trying to do.  I think the movie doesn't even know what it's trying to do.  The movie feels really lost to me and this confusion transfers to screen really well.

I had heard how bad this movie was but I thought I'd give it a watch just to see if it was going to be one of those movies that ends up being so bad it's good or that it might earn a spot on my guilty pleasure list.  This movie is so bad it's not even one of those it's so bad it's good movies.  I guess I can see how this might earn a spot on someone's guilty pleasure list - because technically any bad movie can be on that list, the only criteria is that the person has to know the movie is bad - but it didn't end up my guilty pleasure list, not by a long shot.

I don't even know what more to say about this movie?  If you want to see a really bad movie from the screenplay, the concept, the dialogue, and the directing - which really isn't that bad but even it can't lift the terribleness of this movie from the gutter of which it came. 

The only props I will give this film is that Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, and Christoph Waltz actually did a good job acting.  And this is Cameron Diaz's sexist roll she's done in a long and yes there is one scene in which she is there in her underwear showing off her long legs.  Like I've said before I think it's in her contract she has to have at least one scene like that. 

3 Days to Kill

3 Days to Kill directed by McG, starring Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielson, and Amber Heard.

I do not like McG as a director.

In my opinion he hasn't directed a movie yet that justifies all of the media attention and articles I've read about him being the next generation of directors to take over Hollywood.  If he's of that generation - the future of movies does not bode well.  He's definitely a better producer than he is a director and even by saying this this is his best directed movie, I don't know what that means because this is by no means a good movie.  The only thing it does have going for it is that it's his most entertaining movie to date and doesn't feel like a TV show (his Charlie Angel's movie all felt like they were made on a TV stage versus a movie studio) nor it is as lifeless as his Terminate: Salvation turned out.  This movie has more in common with McG's This Means War: it's more polished, slick, well paced, but still doesn't add up when the credits roll. 

There's a weird mixture of comedy and action that doesn't quite connect the same way I think it did when the movie was being made.  This mixture bubbles over onto the movie from too much stirring instead of being blended together with care - it all feels very haphazardly poured together.  The action scenes are staged, directed, and choreographed rather well, as it seems McG has learned something over the years he's tightened the blindfold on Hollywood's eyes.  Took him long enough though.  Even the drama scenes don't burden down the movie.  It's just the internal logic and comedy of the screenplay that completely undermines the story and the pacing.