(Movie Review) BRAVE (2012)

Princess Merida shows that not all Disney Princesses have to be saved by a charming Prince.

I love Disney. I’m a huge sucker for anything they put out. I spent my youth watching The Mickey Mouse Club and watching classic Disney cartoons wondering why Goofy could talk and walked on two legs but Pluto couldn’t. The problem with most of the Disney movies, especially the older animated films, is that they always fall back on a very old and tired cliché…the addition of a handsome prince. Sure, sometimes they deviate from the past and make it where the Prince is not the one who saves the Princess, but they are still part of the story in almost every film. The lack of a “Prince Charming” is one of the things that I loved most about this movie. It shows that not every Princess is sitting around waiting to be saved by a handsome man with perfect teeth and impeccable horse riding skills.

Storyline:  Merida is tired of tradition. For years her mother has been telling her how to behave like a proper Princess and has been running every aspect of her life to ensure that her daughter can one day be accepted by a respectable suitor. But when that day comes, and Merida balks at tradition, it infuriates her mother and causes the two to have a heated exchange. This leads Merida to run into the forest where she stumbles across a witch that claims she can help Merida change her destiny. When the spell causes unexpected problems, Merida has to find a way to change things back to the way they once were…before it is too late.

This is one of those movies that I think really hit the mark with the audience. The animation is amazing, the voice actors are perfect and the characters are extremely relatable and fun to watch. The theater was packed when we watched the movie and everyone seemed to enjoy it. It’s one of those movies that kids can easily relate to and adults will find endearing and heartwarming. I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a good family film.

Worth the admission? So so worth it! Great message and wonderful characters.  I loved pretty much everything about the movie. The voice actors (Kelly Macdonald and Billy Connolly especially) were fantastic. In addition to a wonderful movie, the soundtrack is amazing. Celtic music is something that I have always loved to listen to and this movie is full of it. Make sure that you take the family to see this one!

Let me know what you thought of the movie

(Movie Review) Rock of Ages (2012)

Rock of Ages may have hit a sour note in the Box Office, but Cruise shines as Stacee Jaxx

Who doesn’t like pie, right? Well, for starters, I’m not crazy out it. It’s not that I don’t necessarily like it, just that there are a million things in the world that I would rather eat than pie. It’s always either too sweet or not sweet enough. So, naturally, if I do eat pie I make sure that there is a dollop of ice cream on the top. Why? Because I am positive that ice cream can cure any ailment and is the single greatest creation in human history. So, when you end up with a movie that is really just a little piece of “ok” pie, adding one dollop of something fantastic to it makes it a heck of a lot better. Tom Cruise (as Stacee Jaxx) is that dollop.

Storyline: Sherrie (Hough) arrives on the Sunset Strip to become a star. Local bartender Drew (Boneta) tries to help her out and offers Sherrie a job at the infamous Bourbon Room right before her idol, Stacee Jaxx, is to play his last performance with his band Arsenal. But things quickly go sour in Sherrie’s life and she begins to question if she should just throw in the towel and go back home. Some people aren’t cut out to make it in Hollywood…and some were made to conquer it. Which will she be?

This movie turned out to be a little more Glee/High School Musical than I thought it would be. Movies like Chicago, Sweeney Todd, and Across the Universe do a much better job of incorporating the music into the scenes and making it make sense. In that aspect, this movie could have done a much better job. Other than that, it was a really fun movie.  

Worth the admission? Does Stacee Jaxx wear a jewel incrusted codpiece? The answer is YES! The dialog is somewhat forgettable but the music is fun and the performances are good. The real reason to see the movie is Tom Cruise. While he is in less of the movie than the previews would lead you to believe, the parts that he is in steal every glint of spotlight. Not only is his rock persona one of the most memorable that I have seen in a long time (maybe since This is Spinal Tap…but for different reasons), but the guy put in months of voice training lessons just to nail the part. Seriously. His cover of Wanted Dead Or Alive, Paradise City and Pour Some Sugar On Me are on par with the originals and to prove that he could sing them he did it live on Ryan Seacrest’s show (will give a link at the blog). So go see it!

(Movie Review) Day Watch (2006)

This movie was recommended to me by a friend and I wanted to be sure to get a mini review in on it before the weekend. For the record, that is a hard thing to do. Have someone who loves a movie tell you that you should watch it and then they eagerly await what you have to say about it. Thanks a lot, Jamey. Thanks a lot.

Storyline: It has been some time since the grand finale of the original film. Anton continues to fight the forces of Darkness while simultaneously attempting to find and save his son from the clutches of those same forces. But when Dark Others start mysteriously being killed, and Anton is framed for their murders, he must put that goal on hold and try to escape the Day Watch that is looking for his blood. -From IMDB.com

Thoughts? First of all I HAVE to recommend that you watch Night Watch (2004) first! While I was told that you really didn’t need to see it, and in some ways you don’t, this movie just straight in without any backstory of what happened in the previous film. That alone was almost enough to leave me so confused that I didn’t continue with it, but now I am really glad that I stuck with this movie. This film is really cool. Lots of action, lots of epic “Good vs. Evil” fights, and the characters are really fun. Some could have been fleshed out more (for those of us that didn’t see the first film), but they are still very entertaining and fun to watch.

Some of the special effects, for a movie made in 2006, are TOP NOTCH. You don’t expect that from a 6 year old movie made in Russia, but they were pretty damn solid (a scene with a car driving on a building and a Ferris Wheel rolling through town are great examples). So, in the end, I would recommend that you watch this movie, but ONLY after watching the first. If not, you may not stick with it through the first 10 minutes.

Last bit of advice. Use the English voice over and not subtitles. Again, if you are coming in to this movie blind (not having seen the first), trying to pay attention AND read subtitles is near impossible.

Check it out!

(TV Review) LONGMIRE (2012)

My grandfather loved John Wayne. Loved him! Considered him to be one of the last great Western actors. As a child I couldn’t really see why, but the older I got I have grown to appreciate the films that John Wayne was part of. Something about the presence that he brought to the screen demanded your attention. He walked in to a room and looked 10 feet tall. That is a hard thing to pull off. However, that is exactly the kind of presence that Robert Taylor pulls off with the character/show Longmire.

Storyline:  Walt Longmire (Taylor) is the dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit. – IMDB.com

Thoughts? This is a great show to get into, especially with the slow summer months. The show is equal parts Justified and CSI but has one hell of a leading man with Taylor. He looks like he was born to play this type of character. Another highlight is that some geekworld fan favorites like Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica), Baily Chase (Graham Miller from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Cassidy Freeman (Tess Mercer from Smallville) all have substantial and likeable roles in the show.

The one low point for me is Lou Diamond Phillips. Not of him as an actor, but his Native American accent seems really forced and spotty. You can hear it change depending on the action taking place in a scene. For me that is very distracting. Other than that, the show is solid and you should check it out on A&E.

(Movie Review) I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)

A lot of movies I don’t get a chance to see in the theater and, to be honest, I really don’t waste my time watching when they come out on DVD. That is why, 3 years later, I finally get around to watching I Love You, Beth Cooper. Not because I thought it would be bad, more because I didn’t care if it was bad or good.

 A nerdy valedictorian proclaims his love for the hottest and most popular girl in school - Beth Cooper - during his graduation speech. Much to his surprise, Beth shows up at his door that very night and decides to show him the best night of his life. – IMDB.com

Thoughts? This movie is garbage. Seriously. The main actor in the film looks like a 30 year old trying to pass for a high school student, he is hopelessly pathetic (even more so than the average character in these types of movies) and there are a few things about the movie that are just so stupid they ruin the little bit that this movie has going for it. All in all, I can think of at least 10 movies that have done a better job in this genre. Skip this pile.

(MOVIE REVIEW) PROMETHEUS (2012)

A puzzle is a complex thing. There is always that sense that something is missing, something is out of place, that there is a piece that is just not right where it should be. So if you look that the Alien franchise there is a very important piece of missing information…where did they come from? Are they an alien race that just hates humans? Are they pets to some larger and even more pissed off race, or did they just evolve from nothing and turn into the perfect killing by natural selection? There have been so many questions that fans of the franchise have asked and it was high time that we got some answers. Thanks to Ridley Scott…we got some of those.

Storyline: A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. – IMDB.com

Worth the admission? Absolutely.  This movie, while not a direct sequel or prequel, gives insight into a question that has been plaguing Alien fans  since the 70s. Where did the aliens come from? This movie not only gives you the answers of where they came from, but it gives you the reasons that they were made in the first place. I’m extremely anxious to see if they can go forward with a sequel from this film. Should be interesting since we now know who our creators are and what our biological connection is to the alien race.

Watch it!  

(MOVIE REVIEW) Madagascar 3 (2012)

Madagascar 3  leaves the entire audience silent…and not in a good way

A lot of times I walk out of “kid’s movies” and realize that while I didn’t really love it the kids in the audience loved it. In that aspect, the movie did its job. It appeased its target audience and, honestly, that is all that some movies ever aspire to do/be. They aren’t looking to transcend generations and go down as the greatest movie of all time. They are only looking to be the very best at one specific thing. Movies like The Smurfs comes to mind. I didn’t exactly praise this movie when it came out, in fact I think that I beat it up pretty good, but I did give them credit for making the kids that were in the audience laugh uncontrollably. So, if I trashed it, and it actually worked for its target audience, imagine how much I hated this movie….since not even the children in the audience were laughing.

Storyline: Alex, Marty and the rest of the crew find themselves in trouble again. While continuing their quest to make it back home to the Central Park Zoo they make their way to Monte Carlo. When they make their presence known in that city an overambitious Animal Control Officer makes it her priority to hunt them down. Needing a way to stay hidden they board a traveling circus train that takes them in (provided they perform). When one of the stops on the circus route turns out to be New York City they are ecstatic. But after so many big adventures in the world, can the Central Park Zoo really compare to being in the wild?

I really hate to trash a movie that is #1 in the box office and scores a 7.0 out of 10 on imdb.com . That means that somebody out there likes it. My problem is that no one, adult or child, was laughing in this movie. I had a 13 year old and a 9 year old with me and the only things that they laughed at were the things that were in the trailers that everyone already knew the punch line to.

Worth the admission? Not in my very humble opinion. Maybe the kids that were in my screening needed a nap or were laughing on the inside but from what I could tell no one really liked it much. If your kids do end up forcing you to take them to see it drop them off at Madagascar 3 and you go watch Prometheus. That movie was GREAT!

(MOVIE REVIEW) One For the Money (2012)

Remember back when Katherine Heigl thought that she was going to be the next big thing in Hollywood and took it upon herself to piss off everyone associated with her hit TV show Grey’s Anatomy? She just knew that the rest of the world was going to lap up her lukewarm comedy and acting. One good movie, Knocked Up, and then nothing but a string of junk. Killers, New Year’s Eve, and a half dozen other horrible performances later and we find ourselves sidled with this gem of a movie called One for the Money. In my opinion, she should have stayed on tv.

Storyline: Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum (Heigl) lands a job at her cousin's bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past.

Thoughts? This is a pile. Fails on every level. The problem that I have with Heigl movies is that she is actually has some talent. You can see it in spades. But she is so uneven that you just wish she would quit. I actually liked her in The Ugly Truth, mostly because of Gerard Butler, but she better find herself in a better role soon or she will be doing grocery store openings in the next 5 years.

(MOVIE REVIEW) We Bought A Zoo (2012)

It's hard to stop seeing something as you have always seen it and start seeing it as something new. Not that it is bad or wrong but more that it is a little off-putting at first. So to see Matt Damon going from the iconic role of Jason Bourne to an optimistic widower takes a few minutes to warm up to.

Storyline: Benjamin Mee (Damon) is a man that is looking for something to hold on to. After the loss of his wife he finds it hard to connect with his son, to focus on the next step in his life, and to give his little girl something to believe in. He finds a great new house that will be prefect for the family to start over in but there is a condition...they will have to keep the zoo that is on the property in working condition. This new adventure is going to take the help of the whole family, and all of the workers, to make it work.

Thoughts? A sweet movie and a great story of what a dad would do for his family. Sure, Hollywood hacked the source material (of a real family in Europe and their purchase of house with a zoo) to make it more heart-wrenching, but it is still a fun and charming movie. A great movie for the family to watch together.

Check it out!

(MOVIE REVIEW) HAYWIRE (2011)

There is a huge problem with people crossing over from one industry to the next and not really being fit for the crossover. You see it, mostly, with people crossing over to the film industry. Musicians and Wrestlers are the worst at attempting this. People like The Rock are the best examples of a "success" at this and he, lately, has sucked in almost every movie he has been in. So I was not expecting much from Gina Carano (MMA FIGHTER) in this role....good thing I am always wrong.

Storyline: A freelance company that deals in the obtaining and/or the assassination of high profile figures is sent to liberate a man in Barcelona. After thinking that the job has been completed, Mallory (Carano) is reassigned to a new case where she is to be the "arm candy" of another operative. However, when Mallory finds the body of the public figure that she was recently contracted to liberate, and her personal effects are found on the corpse, she quickly realizes that she is being set up and goes on a rampage to find out who is behind the set up and why they targeted her.

Thoughts? Gina Carano is a BEAST! Beautiful, tough, and she used this movie as a great introduction into the movie world. She received "thumbs up" from all of the producers, directors, and other actors. I am making my plea with DC FILMS to use her as Wonder Woman when they decide to move forward with the film. She can fight (seriously, the fight scenes are good and have no fighting sound effects like most movies) and would fit the role perfect.

Check the movie out!

(MOVIE REVIEW) The Woman in Black (2012)

The hardest part of playing an iconic character is finding your footing AFTER you are no longer playing that character. Take those that have played superheroes. George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh all had difficulties "escaping the cape". Tobey Maguire hasn't played much of anything since playing Spiderman in three movies. Robert Pattinson has taken on other roles while still filming the HORRIBLE Twilight franchise, so he may forgo this curse (even though he hasn't been that great in those movies) but Daniel Radcliffe has not really taken on other projects since he became the iconic Harry Potter….and that could be problematic for the young actor. The problem is that people do not know how to see him outside of the “Potter-verse”. This can be a difficult thing to overcome and something that many young actors NEVER overcome.  

Storyline: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.-IMDB.com

The movie actually has some really good shock moments and finds a way to be pretty creepy, but Daniel Radcliffe does very little to help this movie out. He doesn't seem to have an incredibly large amount of dialog (considering that he is the "star" of this movie) and when he is delivering the dialog I still don't see him as a leading man. He fit the character fine, but he looks like he is 12...and that doesn't translate into "struggling single dad". And I know that this isn't his fault, but he looks incredibly short in the movie. Short leading men, on average, do not have huge careers in the film industry (Tom Cruise being the exception). The director should have done a better job of shooting him from the right angles to actually give him a leading man presence. Instead this shoot makes him look like a teenager playing dress up.

If you can get past that little bit of nitpicking from me, check the movie out. Not bad for a night at home in the dark.  

(MOVIE REVIEW) ALIENS (1986)

Since Netflix still has not worked out their problems with my queue, I ended up getting Aliens (Alien 2) in the mail this weekend before Alien. Oh well. The show must go on!

Storyline: It has been over 50 years since the events that took place with Ripley and her last encounter with the aliens. As a salvage ship finds Ripley in here escape pod, they wake her and inform her that the savage planet that her crew previously encountered is currently being teraformed to make it habitable for sustaining life. When the ship can’t contact the planet they decide to investigate, but when the alien menace that Ripley warned them about begins to bring down the new team they must find a way to escape the planet while keeping the aliens from escaping.

Thoughts? It's a really strong movie. I watched the extended cut (2:30+) and thought that it added a lot to the story. The aliens are one of those onscreen villains that will always scare the hell out of me...and rightfully so. Awesome villains, awesome characters, awesome director, and awesome story.

If you have never watched it...DO IT!

(MOVIE REVIEW) ALIEN: RESURRECTION (1997)

It has been AGES since I have watched an ALIEN movie,but since Prometheus is coming out this weekend I loaded my netflix queue up with all of them....but Netflix decided to send them out of order. I got the last one first and ended up watching Alien: Resurrection first.

Storyline: 200 years after her death, Ellen Ripley is revived as a powerful human/Alien hybrid clone who must continue her war against the Aliens. - IMDB.com

Now from the storyline you might say "human/alien/clone is a little wordy and sounds like this will suck.". You would kiiiinda be right. The movie is not the best of the franchise by any stretch. It has some pretty solid effects and turns out to be pretty watchable. Weaver is as magnificent as ever. So is it amazing? No. Is it a good way to waste a few hours? Absolutely. Plus, it is amazing to see so many "that guy played in ____ " in the movie. Seriously. It took me 45 minutes to realize that the guy playing Christie is the same guy that played Warrick on CSI.

One thing that I brought up, which a friend informed me that this has been hashed over in the past, is that some of the characters and the ship used in this movie look like a first draft from Joss Whedon (the writer for this movie) on his Firefly crew. Check it out and tell me I'm wrong.