R.E.D. 2

The crew is back and older than they were last time!

Frank and the rest of the retired squad is back. In this sequel, there may be trouble in paradise with Frank and his dream gal, Sarah, who has begun to feel the stale-ness of their relationship without the threat of an imminent fire-fight. Trouble finds them as Frank finds himself framed for a terrorist plot, and must find who is responsible while avoiding all the government agencies seeking his death.

This is really one of those movies that feels right to see Bruce Willis in, and his willingness to work in this movie shines through with his performance. Helen Mirren, John Malcovich, and Brian Cox deliver pretty much an identical performance as the last movie, which isn't bad at all, but just like R.I.P.D., which opened the same week as this, the real star of the movie is Mary Louise Parker. er lines are the morter that holds the entire movie together. I have always been a fan of Neal McDonough, so it was nice to see him (though I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see one of his next movies, 'Prototype').

The look of the movie is nothing spectacular, there aren't any artistic shots that change the face of cinema, but you wouldn't expect that from a movie like this. It was nice to see the various different countries that this is filmed in.

The writing was decent. This movie indeed felt like a continuation of the last feature. The jokes were spaced very nicely, which is what you want out of an action comedy,a one-two punch of funny to balance out the intensity of a violent situation.

Final Judgement

This movie is definitely the successor to RED; both in title and spirit. If you enjoyed the first movie, it's all but guaranteed that you'll most likely enjoy this. Even if you haven't seen the first movie, you won't be seriously out of the loop with this movie. Worth a matinee ticket.

Score:★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 

Read more

R.I.P.D.

When we die, it's heaven or hell...right? Not in this action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary Louise-Parker, and Kevin Bacon.

R.I.P.D. follows Nick, a recently deceased cop who partners with a 19th century lawman to bring in dead souls avoiding judgement and stumble into a sinister plot to overthrow the afterlife.

As far as acting goes, this movie felt mostly like a comedy; but a decent comedy. Delivery of lines was well done by the entire cast, and the cast definitely had a great screen chemistry. Reynolds and Bridges each have their moments...but the hands down best lines go to Parker.

Cinematics in the movie were pretty good. Colors were where you would expect to see them and shots looked good. The digital animation is what made me question this movie. The animation of the dead creatures is on the fence. The creatures themselves didn't bother me, but the animation itself looked as if it wasn't a smooth as it should be...it was too obviously animation and looked like more time could have been spent into it.

The writing was pretty good too. There is more than a couple movies and shows that have been made about 'Paranormal Police Departments', but this still takes a pretty unique look and approach to it.

Final Judgement

It's not amazing, but certainly not a bad movie either. The characters are witty, the plot is interesting,, and the feel of the movie is pretty genuine. I would say this is worth going to a matinee showing, don't commit a date night to it though.

Score:

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Read more

Grown Ups 2

So I saw this movie almost a week ago,, and don't have a good reason why it took me until now to post on it.

'Grown Ups 2' continues the story of Lenny Fedder and his group of friends. Now that Lenny has packed his bags and left L.A. to moved back to his hometown, he and his friends spend the day reminiscing about times gone by.

Acting in this movie is...painful. Whether it's Tim Meadows delivering the exact same line and performance ever 10 minutes, Shaq acting like an actor instead of just acting, or any of the other sub par (and thats being generous) performances delivered by a crowd of cameos picked at random from the L.A. yellowpages, and the lackluster performance we are becoming so familiar with from Sandler and his weapons chest of funny actors from the '90s. One of the things I hate most about a comedy movie came true with this movie, being that in order to fill seats, most all of the big punch lines are in the plethora of previews, leaving the audience only the smaller jokes to chortle at.

Writing, like the acting, was all over the place and was grasping to find a plot point to hold on to.  While it is assumed Adam Sandler's character is the lead he doesn't appear to be much more important than anyone else. One thing that most usually disappoints me with movies that show the 'Day in the Life Of..." type of plots is that there is no room for believable character development, which occurred in this movie.

The cinematography of the movie was really nothing special. While it certainly didn't suck, there was no visual moment that wow-ed me.

Final Judgement

The only reason I would recommend this movie is if you just couldn't get enough of the first 'Grown Ups' movie. Other than that, this comedy movie brings just about nothing to the table that you can't get better of somewhere else. Movies coming out that I am sure will certainly eclipse this movie like 'World's End' or even 'We're the Millers' are what you should be holding out for your comedy faire.

Score:★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 

Read more

Pacific Rim

Giant robots fighting giant monsters from another dimension. Sounds like something from a terrible Japanese cartoon, right? Well in my modest opinion, this movie definitely did better than that…not that those are high expectations.

‘Pacific Rim’ spins an fantastical yarn, showing us that giant monsters, nicknamed ‘Kaiju’ invaded Earth, forcing mankind to unite against them to bring us the ‘Jagers’, giant man-made metal monstrosities with the soul purpose of killing Kaiju. The story centers around a single pilot (piloting a Jager it turns out, it a two person job) that has placed himself in somewhat of a self imposed exile, and is called upon to help mankind make its final stand against the growing threat of the Kaiju.

The look of this movie was, in a single word, dazzling. The graphic effects were incredibly well done, the robots looked fantastic and, being that you see different generations of robots, believable. Being a Guillermo del Toro movie, you expect some great monsters, and holy crap does he deliver. The Kaiju are a diverse and stunning collection of horrors from a mind that has to run rampant with the things that hide under the bed. I saw this in 3D, and there were a few sketchy moment in 3D, but all in all, the 3D was used as it should be, as a tool to enhance the depth of the field and not as the gimmick it was in the 70’s.

Acting was pretty decent in this movie. The show was definitely Idris Elba’s, demanding all of y=the attention of whatever scene he was in. Charlie Day was surprisingly good, even though he was used mostly as a comedic boxing glove whenever the story needed a good comedy punch. Another great performer in this movie was Rinko Kikuchi, this being her largest performance to date. Ron Pearlman of course makes an appearance, as he and del Toro are good friends.

The story in this film was decent, but I do have to admit I was hoping for a little more drama and story and a little less action. I liked what I saw, but there were some action sequences that are almost exhausting just watching because of the amount of force and devastation caused. Other than that small concern, wanting a little more exposition and detail in some areas, I really have nothing negative to say about the story.

Final Judgement:

This is what you want out of a summer action movie. There was a good story, amazing special effects, and even a little hint at romance mixed up in it. If you are looking for an action movie, buy tickets to this. If you are indifferent or prefer 3D, this is a 3D movie that won't kill your eyes, and this movie in IMAX is breath-taking. While it most likely won't win an award from the Academy, this is a movie that shouldn't disappoint.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Read more

The Lone Ranger

"Hi-Yo Silver, Away!" A battle cry made famous by the Lone Ranger radio show of yester-year. How does this staple of American entertainment fair though, when turned into a big budget blockbuster?

 The Lone Ranger tells the Story of John Reid and Tonto, who have vows of revenge on the same men, for their own different reasons. After an ambush left his enemies assuming him dead, John dons a mask and pursues his enemies, seeking to bring them to justice.

 I was worried about this movie before there was even trailers for it, because it has been quite some time since I have seen Johnny Depp play the traditional role of a supporting actor, he usually plays lead and that's what people want to see him as. Well it turns out I had a right to be worried.

 The acting was...well it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I have seen better performances from all of the billed cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Will Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, and even Helena Bonham Carter. I never became emotionally invested in any character. Now the lack of emotional depth though, is not something that rests solely on the actors' shoulders, but writers as well.

 Writing is where this movie truly makes its swan dive off of a cliff. As I said, I was worried before about Depp being billed as one of the most famous side-kicks of all time, and it was justified, because this movie, in its essence, was "Tonto: with special guest, The Lone Ranger". Almost all of the heavy lines were given to Depp, and while they shared the screen time equally, Tonto usually upstaged the Ranger. Not only this, but with the subject matter, there was an opportunity to make something really special, since The Lone Ranger is really the superhero for the wild west, and could have merged those genres for a great mix. Instead, the movie turned out to be closer to a comedy, with the story floundering awkwardly when Tonto wasn't making some sort of joke. It very much felt like the writers/director (Gore Verbinski) really wanted an excuse to see a Native American Captain Jack Sparrow, though replacing his affection for rum with an unhealthy affection for a dead bird, which was a plot point that's only value was for a repeated punchline force fed to the audience.

 The cinematography was really the singular saving grace of the movie. It did a good job capturing the feel of a western, very warm environmental colors, but muted and natural colors for anything man made.

Final Judgement:

With a script secreted by some of the same people who beat us to death with the Pirates movies, this movie was never destined to be original...or enjoyable. An icon that has touched every medium of American culture was done a great disservice, and basically was put in the side-car to a bird loving mental patient. There was never any emotion invested in the characters because they were all too busy trying to get screen time with Tonto to make a joke about the bird. My serious recommendation is to avoid this in theaters, avoid redbox and pay-per-view...if you really want to see this movie, wait for netflix to carry it, you won't feel as cheated out of your money.

Score: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Read more

Red State

We all know what a Kevin Smith movie involves, right? A smattering of dick and fart jokes, paired with his dynamic duo Jay and Silent Bob. Well not this movie, not even close.

‘Red State’ is a story that follows a small group of boys, who look for a sexual encounter from an online stranger, and get kidnapped by a religiously fanatic group, resembling the Westboro Baptist Church. After the kidnapping, the church is placed under siege by the ATF.

Doesn’t sound like your average Smith film, right? That’s because it’s not. Smith really swung for the fences with this movie, and not only did he succeed in his drive for this movie, but also redefined what a ‘Kevin Smith Movie’ could be, which is important with a TV miniseries about hockey on the horizon for projects he is working on.

The story on this movie was great. It was original, and at times, downright unsettling. I have seen this movie multiple times, and I have only one real problem with it, and it is one that Smith has heard a lot, enough to even address in his podcasts. There is a monologue that carries on for what I feel is too long. Now that being said, the monologue is incredibly well written and acted wonderfully by Michael Parks, so my only wish is that there was something to break it up a bit.

The acting all around is wonderful, but the show really belongs to Michael Parks and John Goodman.  Parks plays the leader of the Five Points Church, who really delivers a character that believes his every action as ordained and justified by the Almighty. Goodman also put out a character of a tired ATF agent who is scared to disobey an order he might find morally offensive.

The look of the movie? Dirty, gritty, and real. This really differs from Smith’s other movies. Almost all of Smith’s other movies have David Klein as the Director of Photography and it definitely shows that they went out of their comfort zone to try to really ground the emotion of the film.

Final Judgement:

This was a brave attempt at trying something new and delivers. The plot is original, the acting is great. I think this is a great movie for Netflix, and worth spending a few hours in front of the TV. If you are looking for an uplifting movie or a comedy, you may want to wait on this movie.

Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Read more