Movie review round up!
Reviews:
Alice in Wonderland (C): Tim Burton directs what can pretty much be called a sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland, with Alice, now a 19 year old retuning to Wonderland and learning to become comfortable with who she is while facing off with her destiny. Sounds good on paper, but unfortunately the heart of the movie simply isn't there. The visuals of the movie are stunning. Burton's imagination is on mass overload, and Wonderland looks stunning. However you never get to take in the awe inspiring vistas as the movie rushes through.. the characters are mostly rough sketches with no real depth or outline, so you never get a true emotional connection to any of them. The sole exception is Helena Bonham Carter, who is absolutely brilliant as the Red Queen. She easily steals the entire movie. As Alice grows into who she is, it feels more like just playing through the motions rather then being earned. Johnny Depp turns up loony an extra notch to play the Mad Hatter, but unfortunately his accent is so thick, and it actually switches between Scottish and British on a whim, that he becomes difficult to understand. I actually barelyy understood anything he said. I actually wished there were subtitles on every time he showed up. Movie also feels a tad bit rushed, and the epic climax at the end doesn't feel so epic at all. Still, it's watchable. You'll get some entertainment out of it, then immediately forget it once it's over.
Capitalism: A Love Story (A): Latest documentary from Michael Moore may also be his angriest. Moore lashes out vehemently at Wall Street and the corporate fat cats who nearly destroyed this country, and continue to get away with it. Moore does an excellent job is setting up what they did, how they did it, and how potentially they can KEEP on doing it. He's never been this judgmental before, but you understand where he is coming from given the topic. Only slight complaint I had with the film is that, for being over 2 hours, it feels rushed. This isn't his fault though. This was such a HUGE mess on such an epic level, you could easily fill 4 hours worth of material explaining it and showing the ramifications of it all. Moore focuses on the barest of facts and basically calls people out to stand against corporate greed. He also takes a jab at the bank bailout, which for all it's horror, has actually managed to work in stabilizing the stock market. Though Moore is right to bash it for not having a SINGLE piece of regulation in it. This is a must see for any fan of Moore's, and for anyone who wants to watch a little venting towards the sick greedy assholes who nearly destroyed this country with a smile on their faces.
The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day (B-) - Over the top, poorly directed, poorly acted, cheesy, terribly written, exaggerated to no end......exactly what it should have been. This obviously is NOT a good movie at all. Neither was the first one. But it knows it isn't any good, it knows it's extremely over the top. And that's the entire point. A little violent fantasy never hurt anyone! I did find this one a lot funnier then the first one, though it does lack Willem Dafoe's brilliant character. Basically, if you like the first one, you will like this one, and should see it right away.
Up In The Air (B): Where to start with this one. First off I'll say the movie is absolutely worth seeing. It's a near masterpiece, but far too many flaws keep it from being so. The movie is about a man who works for a company who loans people out to businesses so they can do the job of firing employees on behalf of that companies chicken shit boss. George Clooney plays the key role. He's a man content with his life, flying all across the country. He has one goal in mind. Acquiring ten million frequent flyer miles. He's a man who is his job, and he is devoid of any actual human connections. And he's happy that way. The first hour of the movie is classic. We see how his routine is, how he deals with others, and his interactions with a new addition to the company, a scene stealing and brilliant Ana Kendrick, an actress from the Twilight series of all things, she nearly steals the entire film. She plays a fresh faced college grad who has an idea to eliminate Clooney's characters job, having people get fired over the Internet instead of in person. This threatens his goal of ten million frequent flyer miles, so he protests. Their boss, played by Jason Batemen, sends then out on the road together, mainly so he can teach her the ropes. Their interactions are great. Along with this there is also another character, a woman who Clooney meets and has some occasional sex with, who is also constantly on business trips. The three characters are all great, charming, and you enjoy watching them. This leads to an endlessly entertaining first hour of the film. Unfortunately, in the second hour, it goes downhill. The quirkiness stops and makes way for the exploration of what happens to someone when they don't actually have any human connection to anyone. Essentially the romance aspect of the film starts here, and it literally drags down the movie to where it ALMOST becomes Lost in Translation, with nothing of actual important happening on the screen. The movie is almost derailed entirely because of this. Some late minute, unexpected revelations happen towards the end though which throw a wrench into everything, and takes the movie toward an unexpected direction. This saves the second hour. The ending is also a real downer. Another problem: the movie's message is hypocritical. There are some big SPOILERS HERE , so if you don't want to know anymore, STOP READING RIGHT NOW, and we can discuss it after you watch. Don't say I didn't warn you. In the end, George Clooney's character is essentially left with nothing. He falls for that woman, ends up wanting a life with her, an emotional connection. After swearing this off the entire movie, and even being ridiculed for it at one point, the woman ends up NOT being what she was pretending to be, and he cannot be with her. So he is left with nothing. He does get to go back on the road though, which is where he was originally happy. But he is no longer happy with it. He now realizes how futile it is, and how empty his life is. In other words, the movie says "Oh don't be single or else you cannot be happy!" That's bullshit. His character was perfectly content with his life until it was shoved into his head that he NEEDED someone. And then when he made the effort to be with someone, he got screwed over completely. So is the movie punishing him for being alone for so long, or empathizing with him? Looked to me like punishment. Why should he be punished when he was in a no win situation. It wasn't his fault the woman was full of shit. He tried to do right by the movie's standards only to get fucked over. So what's the message here? You cant be happy alone? Or life will fuck you over anyway so why bother? I didn't get that. Can't punish a person for actually trying. It was at least realistic. But it would have been better served taking a more non judgmental tone. Regardless, the movie does manage to linger in your thoughts, and is open to discussion. I give it credit for that. It's worth watching.
Alice in Wonderland (C): Tim Burton directs what can pretty much be called a sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland, with Alice, now a 19 year old retuning to Wonderland and learning to become comfortable with who she is while facing off with her destiny. Sounds good on paper, but unfortunately the heart of the movie simply isn't there. The visuals of the movie are stunning. Burton's imagination is on mass overload, and Wonderland looks stunning. However you never get to take in the awe inspiring vistas as the movie rushes through.. the characters are mostly rough sketches with no real depth or outline, so you never get a true emotional connection to any of them. The sole exception is Helena Bonham Carter, who is absolutely brilliant as the Red Queen. She easily steals the entire movie. As Alice grows into who she is, it feels more like just playing through the motions rather then being earned. Johnny Depp turns up loony an extra notch to play the Mad Hatter, but unfortunately his accent is so thick, and it actually switches between Scottish and British on a whim, that he becomes difficult to understand. I actually barelyy understood anything he said. I actually wished there were subtitles on every time he showed up. Movie also feels a tad bit rushed, and the epic climax at the end doesn't feel so epic at all. Still, it's watchable. You'll get some entertainment out of it, then immediately forget it once it's over.
Capitalism: A Love Story (A): Latest documentary from Michael Moore may also be his angriest. Moore lashes out vehemently at Wall Street and the corporate fat cats who nearly destroyed this country, and continue to get away with it. Moore does an excellent job is setting up what they did, how they did it, and how potentially they can KEEP on doing it. He's never been this judgmental before, but you understand where he is coming from given the topic. Only slight complaint I had with the film is that, for being over 2 hours, it feels rushed. This isn't his fault though. This was such a HUGE mess on such an epic level, you could easily fill 4 hours worth of material explaining it and showing the ramifications of it all. Moore focuses on the barest of facts and basically calls people out to stand against corporate greed. He also takes a jab at the bank bailout, which for all it's horror, has actually managed to work in stabilizing the stock market. Though Moore is right to bash it for not having a SINGLE piece of regulation in it. This is a must see for any fan of Moore's, and for anyone who wants to watch a little venting towards the sick greedy assholes who nearly destroyed this country with a smile on their faces.
The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day (B-) - Over the top, poorly directed, poorly acted, cheesy, terribly written, exaggerated to no end......exactly what it should have been. This obviously is NOT a good movie at all. Neither was the first one. But it knows it isn't any good, it knows it's extremely over the top. And that's the entire point. A little violent fantasy never hurt anyone! I did find this one a lot funnier then the first one, though it does lack Willem Dafoe's brilliant character. Basically, if you like the first one, you will like this one, and should see it right away.
Up In The Air (B): Where to start with this one. First off I'll say the movie is absolutely worth seeing. It's a near masterpiece, but far too many flaws keep it from being so. The movie is about a man who works for a company who loans people out to businesses so they can do the job of firing employees on behalf of that companies chicken shit boss. George Clooney plays the key role. He's a man content with his life, flying all across the country. He has one goal in mind. Acquiring ten million frequent flyer miles. He's a man who is his job, and he is devoid of any actual human connections. And he's happy that way. The first hour of the movie is classic. We see how his routine is, how he deals with others, and his interactions with a new addition to the company, a scene stealing and brilliant Ana Kendrick, an actress from the Twilight series of all things, she nearly steals the entire film. She plays a fresh faced college grad who has an idea to eliminate Clooney's characters job, having people get fired over the Internet instead of in person. This threatens his goal of ten million frequent flyer miles, so he protests. Their boss, played by Jason Batemen, sends then out on the road together, mainly so he can teach her the ropes. Their interactions are great. Along with this there is also another character, a woman who Clooney meets and has some occasional sex with, who is also constantly on business trips. The three characters are all great, charming, and you enjoy watching them. This leads to an endlessly entertaining first hour of the film. Unfortunately, in the second hour, it goes downhill. The quirkiness stops and makes way for the exploration of what happens to someone when they don't actually have any human connection to anyone. Essentially the romance aspect of the film starts here, and it literally drags down the movie to where it ALMOST becomes Lost in Translation, with nothing of actual important happening on the screen. The movie is almost derailed entirely because of this. Some late minute, unexpected revelations happen towards the end though which throw a wrench into everything, and takes the movie toward an unexpected direction. This saves the second hour. The ending is also a real downer. Another problem: the movie's message is hypocritical. There are some big SPOILERS HERE , so if you don't want to know anymore, STOP READING RIGHT NOW, and we can discuss it after you watch. Don't say I didn't warn you. In the end, George Clooney's character is essentially left with nothing. He falls for that woman, ends up wanting a life with her, an emotional connection. After swearing this off the entire movie, and even being ridiculed for it at one point, the woman ends up NOT being what she was pretending to be, and he cannot be with her. So he is left with nothing. He does get to go back on the road though, which is where he was originally happy. But he is no longer happy with it. He now realizes how futile it is, and how empty his life is. In other words, the movie says "Oh don't be single or else you cannot be happy!" That's bullshit. His character was perfectly content with his life until it was shoved into his head that he NEEDED someone. And then when he made the effort to be with someone, he got screwed over completely. So is the movie punishing him for being alone for so long, or empathizing with him? Looked to me like punishment. Why should he be punished when he was in a no win situation. It wasn't his fault the woman was full of shit. He tried to do right by the movie's standards only to get fucked over. So what's the message here? You cant be happy alone? Or life will fuck you over anyway so why bother? I didn't get that. Can't punish a person for actually trying. It was at least realistic. But it would have been better served taking a more non judgmental tone. Regardless, the movie does manage to linger in your thoughts, and is open to discussion. I give it credit for that. It's worth watching.