Green Zone

I have heard some good and some bad about this one. Originally people thought it was going to be the next Bourne movie, but I believe the fourth Bourne film is supposed to be when Jason Bourne is older so that didn’t pan out. The film is also shot in a much grittier tone from the looks of the trailer. I have to say that I am a fan of just about anything with Matt Damon in it these days; he is becoming a huge actor and is actually quite good. All of the Bourne films were good so I would expect this team to make another good film; I am definitely going to see this one when I get a chance.

Greenberg

This is an interesting looking Ben Stiller. I like it when he gets a little bit out of his normal area and actually plays an interesting role. He is usually pretty funny, but I am more interested to see how this movie turns out since it is the next Noah Baumbach film. After seeing The Squid and the Whale I have been anxiously awaiting another Baumbach film. I have high hopes, but I haven’t heard anything spectacular and the trailer didn’t strike me as anything too impressive either.

Remember Me

I have to be pulling for Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin since they are both in need of a good breakout film, but this movie does not appear to be it. It is actually getting rather bad reviews and although I liked the preview, it is one of those movies that could be a lot better in theory and not really have anything to offer as a full length film. We will see.

She’s Out of My League

I hate the preview for this one, but I am sure that it will have enough laughs to be worth a rental some day. I have a hard time picturing myself buying a ticket for this one though. It looks bad; really.

Our Family Wedding

Not even sure what this one is about other than a wedding. I have little to no interest, but Forest Whitaker is usually pretty awesome. Wow, I just looked up the film on imdb and found that one of the actresses’ name is America. Certainly patriotic, but honestly…why? My wife says that she is in a TV show and that I should have known who she was, but since I do not watch TV I had no idea.

Hot Tub Time Machine is like a John Cusack movie from the 80s (not the recent 2012); cheesy and hilarious, I loved it. Although this may be a bit more on the offensive side to accommodate today’s movie goers’ apparent desire for the R-rated comedy, there is something that truly brings us back to the John Cusack we used to know. With Steve Pink’s previous directorial effort, Accepted, I wasn’t really expecting much. Also, I hadn’t heard much about the film other than the weird title and large posters in the theaters. Fortunately for Steve Pink, Hot Tub Time Machine is twice the film Accepted was and has a rockin cast to deliver the over the top jokes.

The cast was no doubt what sold me; that is if you do not count the fact that I got to see a free screening of the film. I have to say that I would actually pay to see this again because it was that much fun. John Cusack brings home the eighties and Rob Corddry is the perfect compliment. Add Craig Robinson from The Office and Clark Duke and you have a great set of main characters. Oh yeah, and Chevy Chase is in it and older than ever. He looked terrible, but his brief appearance in the film was funny so I don’t have any complaints about him. I really have little idea who Clark Duke is other than the fact that he was in Superbad, but he was quite funny in HTTM. Craig Robinson just keeps getting funnier every time I see him. I do not know if it is just the character or persona that he has developed over time or he really is getting funnier, but either way I was glad to see he was at the top of his game here. Rob Corddry is none stop ridiculous with just a touch of heart from time to time. It is almost incredible how he delivers some of the most disgusting and offensive jokes and still somehow wins over the audience to root for him. And of course, we have the good old John Cusack. He is not the boring serious role here and not the sleepy romantic comedy of late. I always like Cusack, but this character is more the reason I started to like him in the first place. Lets not forget Crispin Glover who will no doubt solidify that 80s feel for you since he was George McFly in a little know 1985 classic called Back to the Future. The amazing thing is how he really looks almost exactly the same and it has been 25 years.

So the directing keeps the film’s flow on the right path and helps to make the characters jive, but the writing is really what stood out here. As with any comedy there is plenty of room for you to either love it or hate, but I have to say that the amount of witty jokes mixed in were more than enough to make up for the often overused dirty jokes. Why is it that filmmakers insist on subjecting us to that material? Do people really find that immature dialogue amusing? I have to admit to laughing a couple times when I probably should have just been embarrassed, but overall I could have done without all of that type of humor. As for the plot, well, it is about four guys who go on a vacation to get away and happen to find themselves in the 80s after a drunken hot tub incident. Yes, Craig Robinson’s line really sums it all up, “must be some kind of…hot tub time machine.” Seriously though, it was hilarious even with all of the cheesy lines. It has a reckless disregard for reality and never pretends to be something it is not.

Who knew the eighties were so funny; ok, everyone knows the 80s are funny, but there isn’t a reason to stop laughing here. If you can get past all of the language and often offensive sexual references, then the witty comedy and cheesy one liners are sure to please. Like I have to say with any comedy though, some will love it and some will hate it. I imagine it doing a lot better than the average person is expecting though since it really hasn’t been advertised too heavily until just recently. If you are in the mood for a trashy comedy with plenty of 80s jokes and cast that really works, then Hot Tub Time Machine is a movie you should see. I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find a well constructed and hilarious comedy. Quite a writing achievement for the relatively unknown Josh Heald and Sean Anders too.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 766,122
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Steve Pink
Writer: Josh Heald and Sean Anders
Genre: Comedy

Suddenly a sigh of relief knowing that the people running the Academy Awards still know what good films are. Don’t get me wrong, Avatar was a great film and certainly deserved the awards that it won, but The Hurt Locker was quite simply a better film and made for 1/50th the price. I am amazed that it was able score six Academy Awards though. My main regret is not getting around to reviewing the film yet. I will probably watch The Hurt Locker again and then give it a review. It is actually rare that I watch film twice before reviewing unless it is an older one, a special request, or part of a theme review month. Anyway, here is the full breakdown of the Academy Awards.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Winner: The Hurt Locker (2008) – Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Winner: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING
Winner: The Hurt Locker (2008) – Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES
Winner: The Cove (2009) – Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: Avatar (2009) – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE
Winner: Up (2009) – Michael Giacchino

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Avatar (2009) – Mauro Fiore

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Winner: The Hurt Locker (2008) – Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Winner: The Hurt Locker (2008) – Paul N.J. Ottosson

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: The Young Victoria (2009) – Sandy Powell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Winner: Avatar (2009) – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Mo’Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED
Winner: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) – Geoffrey Fletcher

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Winner: Star Trek (2009) – Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
Winner: The New Tenants (2009) – Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS
Winner: Music by Prudence (2010) – Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Winner: Logorama (2009) – Nicolas Schmerkin

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN
Winner: The Hurt Locker (2008) – Mark Boal

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG
Winner: Crazy Heart (2009) – T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham(“The Weary Kind”)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Up (2009) – Pete Docter

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

I love seeing Jeff Bridges win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; he truly was awesome in Crazy Heart. My biggest upset is probably the Best Animated Feature Film. I can’t believe that Up won that with Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline in the mix. I would have easily picked both of those over Up even though Up was still quite good. Overall a good Academy Awards though.

What sounds like an interesting movie turned out to be often quite boring. Bruce Willis is somewhat interesting even if he is a little odd at times and Reece Thompson does a good job. The problem comes more from the fact that it is hard to tell how you should feel about what is happening. Should you care about the main character even? Other than that, there are a few things that make the film worth seeing, but it reminds me of other independent teen movies where the characters just don’t seem at all realistic. Surely that was intention, but it gives an odd feeling to the movie.

Raw Score: 655,983
Sharon Movie? No

Battle In Heaven (2005)

This one was far to slow to be considered good. Slow can be a good thing, but there is just so much pointless dead screen time in this one that I really have no idea what the director was thinking. The movie still has its good moments though and the overall effect when you are done is one that is worth watching the movie for, but we could have done without the graphic sex scenes and extremely slow flow and still had plenty of emotion built up for the ending. It kind of makes me mad just thinking about it now. Those two hours are gone forever.

Raw Score: 622,188
Sharon Movie? No

The Brave One (2007)

I watched this one so long ago that I really don’t remember a lot of it. Now that I have watched Lost I realize that Naveen Andrews was in this one, but it didn’t mean anything when I saw it. Jodie Foster was great in this one, but other than that it seemed like it was lacking a little bit. Hard hitting at times, gritty, and some parts are just classic. However, the overall result was well, forgettable.

Raw Score: 722,198
Sharon Movie? No

G-Force (2009)

One of the worst movies that I have seen in the theaters in quite a while. I absolutely hated this film even though there were some decent things in it from time to time. Way to long first of all and there wasn’t much that felt original. Also, the jokes were often immature in a bad way and not that funny. I felt like it was not very wholesome considering it was a Disney kids movie.

Raw Score: 488,221
Sharon Movie? No

The Ice Storm (1997)

One of Ang Lee’s earlier films really wouldn’t make you think that he would go on to make Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hulk for that matter, but it certainly adds to his ability. He can make movies in just about every genre and they are all at least good. He is a great director and The Ice Storm, although not great, was very good. It seems a little too dark and slow at times, but I like how everything flows. Also, there is a lot of emotion and conflict in the film. The cast is also very good with Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, and Elijah Wood in the mix. They all do a great job making the characters meaningful.

Raw Score: 805,829
Sharon Movie? No

So I get through another Review Blitz and realize that none of these movies I would consider Sharon Movies, but that is ok. The Assassination of a High School President is probably the closest and then G-Force, but I doubt she would really like either. Sharon, if you are reading this I wonder if you have seen any of these and could comment. I must apologize for so rarely reviewing movies that I would consider Sharon Movies. It may be a sign that this description of a movie may be on its way out. We shall see.

Looking for an awesome performance from Colin Firth; well, then look no further.  Sure, he may be playing a character that is a little harder to like than some (he is no hero here), but if you are looking for great acting from an actor who is often found in bad movies then A Single Man will give you that side of Colin Firth.  I have seen so many movies with Colin Firth that I have often felt like he was going to simply be stuck in the mediocre and even down right terrible movies for his entire career.  A Single Man was just what he needed to prove that he was better than all those second rate films and should be someone to call on for those difficult and powerful dramas.  Does it sound like you should see this movie yet?

Well, it is not all fun and games.  I can certainly see why some people may not even consider watching the film simply for its homosexual context, but if you are not too offended by that you are sure to find a truly great film.  Even better than the reviews it seems to be getting on imdb, I would say that the movie is a great movie.  Julianne Moore adds her talent to the mix with her supporting role, but sometimes I feel like her look is a bit too intense. She has gotten far too good at looking horrible. The acting is basically what I would call a triumph for Colin Firth though. However, the great acting is not the only thing that makes this movie great.  It is mainly the directing and writing that built this one into what it is and the acting merely captured the true emotion that was in the story.  Not something to be taken lightly though.  We are dealing with subject matter that is very difficult to deliver to an audience looking for entertainment.  Much like Brokeback Mountain, we have to connect with a character that most people will have a difficult time relating too.  It is the genius way of focusing on the grief that the main character experiences rather than his sexual orientation that truly allows a wider acceptance of the film’s story.

Still, I can see why this one was not a wide release.  Many people will still have a difficult time with it.  If not for the context, perhaps simply because of the slow flow of the film.  If you stop and pay attention to the little details it is quite a powerful film.  The way that Tom Ford gives us a polished film that does not feel polished is something that adds to the overall experience greatly.  For example, the way that he uses color saturation to show the main characters emotions and feelings when he is otherwise meant to seem closed off from characters around him.  The flash backs to his relationship with his partner add to the grief portion a stay away from most offensive material or material that may make some people uncomfortable.  Some of the scenes in Brokeback Mountain I would say took a complete opposite approach.

In the end you will realize that A Single Man is not a film about the relationship that the main character had with his partner.  It is much more about how he deals with the grief that he experiences throughout a regular day.  How does he act like everything is ok to those around him while holding all of the sadness to himself?  The film is powerful and meaningful for anyone who has experienced sadness.  The context and slow flow of the film are the two things that are most likely to push film goers away.  If you think those two things are not going to deter you then I would highly recommend seeing this one.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 885,009
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Tom Ford
Writer: Tom Ford (screenplay) and Christopher Isherwood (novel)
Genre: Drama

With a cast containing Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, and our favorite Vincent D’Onofrio, it is hard to imagine this movie not being good. Unfortunately, I have had high expectations and been disappointed in the past so it is possible. It has been a while since I have seen a movie with Vincent D’Onofrio in it so that will be interesting and aside from that the cast looks fresh. I do not recall seeing these actors in the same movie before. The previews have me excited so let’s hope that the movie lives up to the expectations. I definitely want to see this one, but it may be a little harder to find.

Alice in Wonderland

This kids movie should really do well at the box office. Johnny Depp is still a crazy actor and this is one more reason for him to dress like a girl and act like a crazy person. This one is highly anticipated and may be one of the best bets for a family film for a while so it has good chances at true spotlight material. Additionally, this should finally kick Avatar out of the IMAX 3D screens. It is still amazing to me that the IMAX 3D screen at my favorite theater sold out even this last Sunday. Avatar is crazy so it is time for it to go away for a while. I will probably check this movie out at some point.

It turns out The Crazies remake directed by Breck Eisner has nothing to do with zombies at all. I would have thought that it did since it is a remake of a George A. Romero film; you know, the guy that made all of those zombie movies that you loved reading my reviews of. Turns out this remake did not make the cut for remake movie month, but it is worth seeing and I would now love to see the original to make a true comparison. When I do get my hands on a copy I will be sure to share. In the meantime, lets have a look at what Timothy Olyphant can give the story.

Speaking of Timothy Olyphant, his acting is solid in The Crazies. I cannot say that it was great, but he is always providing us with characters that have a certain edge to them that makes it interesting to watch. As the town sheriff he was no different; still providing that calm and collected, yet sort of edgy character. It makes me want to watch a few more movies with Olyphant in them, but I guess that will have to wait for another day. Radha Mitchell is not forgotten, she definitely provided a meaningful supporting role as the sheriff’s wife. I cannot say that her character was as impressive and honestly, it felt like she cared more about some of the other people in the movie than she did about her husband so there are times that it is hard to give her too much credit. I am guessing that most of that is to blame on the scripting though. Her emotions came through and I would not say that any of her acting was bad. There are a few other people that I will go ahead and forget about, but they all provided decent to good performances so overall the acting was good.

The directing pulled the story together to make it an entertaining ride through the small Iowa town. As the crazies start to get crazier and grow in numbers the film really gets rolling. There are plenty of jump moments and a fair amount of good solid kills, but there is also enough story to keep that Drama designation that seems so odd next to the Horror one. I must say that this one should surely be considered more of the horror/thriller type or even action before the drama and even sci-fi, but I can see how those two got thrown in the mix. The main complaint about Breck Eisner’s version of this film (and really I can’t compare just yet to the original) is the beginning and the ending. The beginning is a bit cliche or canned and that ties directly into the ending. Both of which could have been tacked onto just about any action, horror, or thriller ever made. I just think they should have tried a little harder, especially on the ending. It is never good to leave the theater on a low note. Other than that, plenty of what you would expect with maybe a couple little surprises here and there.

Overall, I have to recommend it to those looking for some light horror/thriller entertainment. I really hope it is better than I expect Cop Out to be. Timothy Olyphant may be reason enough to see this film, but the supporting characters and story certainly do not detract from the film. Seeing it for $6 on a Saturday morning will also do wonders for making it feel like less of a rip off.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 766,122
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Breck Eisner
Writer: Scott Kosar and Ray Wright
Genre: Action/Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller

An odd shipment of DVDs from the big red today; The Italian Job, Gone in 60 Seconds, and The Taking of Pelham 123.  All three of these are the originals rather than the remakes that have been made in the last few years.  I promise, I did not even plan this one.  You would think that it is another remake movie month, but unfortunately it is not.  I am not sure how long it will take for me to watch all three of them, but I look forward to it.  Have you seen any of the originals and their most recent remake versions?  If so, share your thoughts on the new forum.  Feel free to discuss other remakes that you may have seen and how they compare to the originals.

I saw two movies while in North Dakota and oddly enough they have one person in common; John Carroll Lynch, at least he is the one that I noticed being in both Fargo and Shutter Island. He has a smaller role in both films, but the name and face are very recognizable. He looks almost exactly the same in the two movies made almost 15 years apart. I find it odd that I watched two movies while on my trip and of all of the things that these two movies could have had in common, John Carroll Lynch was it.

John started of in theater in Minnesota and continued in theater until he landed his role in Fargo which really got him started.  Since then he just seems to be getting in bigger and bigger movies with Shutter Island being the latest.  Since he came from a theater background, he tends to play the more interesting characters in films which also tends to be the smaller roles.  Even though the characters he plays are not usually the star of the show, Carroll is able to make the character interesting and memorable.  Even in Shutter Island his part was probably only on screen for five to ten minutes, but was a key role in setting the mood of the film.  Two movies spanning the career of John Carroll Lynch; you may not know him now, but you should be on the look out for him.

Ok, so it has been a full week since I actually got to see Shutter Island in the great state of Minnesota and I think it has been long enough for it to sink in. Yeah. Shutter Island was no doubt an amazingly polished looking film, which is to be expected for a Scorsese film, but it would have been a shame if it had not been after the drifting release date. They must have had months and months for post editing. That is likely why the film just looks so good. Shutter Island compared to many films is like watching a Blu-ray next to a DVD; it just looks that much more vibrant and crisp. However, that does not really answer the question at hand; does this thriller live up to its name. In short, yes, but that is not the whole story.

To say that people are torn between calling DiCaprio a good actor and just an annoying pretty boy would be an understatement. There are truly two sides; those that love him and those that hate him. I started out hating him, but after he died with the Titanic I have found that his acting talent is truly excellent and I have also appreciated a lot of the characters that he has played in recent years. Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t go backwards one bit with his portrayal of this character and only adds to his list of great accomplishments. His range of emotion is staggering and feels quite honest throughout the film. There are a few times in the film when you wonder what must be going through his head, but that comes with the character. Mark Ruffalo honestly does not have that large of a part. It sort of seems like he does, but then he just drifts away from the camera and does not seem to be a very influential character. He did well though; don’t get me wrong. Ben Kingsley is his odd eerie self; always great at playing the guy you don’t know whether or not to trust. In this one it turns out he is definitely the guy… you didn’t actually think I was just going to give away did you? Michelle Williams is definitely an interesting character and the little screen time that she has is plenty to impact the film greatly. There are so many others really that were good and I would like to mention, but lets just leave them in the tags.

Scorsese, as I mentioned earlier, provides a breathtaking visual presentation to this film. The island looks great and all of the scenes are set in perfectly to heighten the intensity of the films emotion at that specific point. Although we cannot give Martin Scorsese the credit for actually coming up with the story since it is based off of the Dennis Lehane novel, we can say that Scorsese put his masterful touch on it. The directing was great and really brought out the emotion and tension between the characters really well. The only real problem is the fact that I pretty much knew what was going to happen about a third of the way through the film. I am not one of those people that say “I knew from the beginning that Bruce Willis was dead” or things of that sort. I don’t usually know what is going to happen because I try as hard as I can to suspend my belief in what the film is trying to convey so that the “twist” is that much better. Worrying about how a movie is going to end just makes me think about the film in all of the wrong ways. I just ride the ride to the end and hope for the best. With that said, I really got a sinking feeling when I had pretty much figured this one out. I wanted to believe that we were going to get something that felt really original, but it really feels like something a I have seen a lot in the past decade. Hopefully that doesn’t ruin it for anyone, but it was something that bothered me about the film. However, almost every other aspect of the film was great so it more than made up for it in the other respects.

Those that are scared to see this one because the previews make it feel too intense should probably give it a shot since really the scariest or most intense parts are all in the previews. Sure, they have a lot of eerie scenes and characters leading up to those jump moments, but I would say the preview was about as jump inducing as the film was. Or maybe it is the fact that I saw the preview about 30 times. The most amazing thing about this film is probably the fact that I saw the preview so many times and it did not really give the film away and I still really liked the film. Those two facts are what made Shutter Island such a refreshing movie experience and I highly recommend it for anyone at all interested in seeing it.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 881,211
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) and Dennis Lehane (novel)
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller