(Movie Review) Looper (2012)

LOOPER will still be a great movie in 30 years. My future self told me so.

 

Time travel. It’s probably the one thing in all of geekdom that most people would agree would be the COOLEST discovery ever made. I mean, sure, you might accidently go back in time and run over a puppy causing a little boy to turn into a Hitler-like dictator one day…but those are the chances that you have to take. Right? I LOVE time travel movies and TV. Quantum Leap, Bill & Ted, Back to the Future and Terminator are all staples in the cherished movies section of every Sci-Fi geek’s brain. After watching Looper I feel that you can easily add this movie to that rather impressive list.

Storyline: In 2072 time travel will be possible. It is quickly outlawed and criminal organizations begin to use the technology to send people back to the year 2042 to be erased. The people that dispose of the mobs “trash” are called Loopers. They are Hitmen that are paid very handsomely for crimes that can never be proven. Each Looper, at the end of their contract, will also be sent back in time to be killed by their younger self. When this happens the younger Looper gets a huge payday and can live the next 30 years of their life in comfort…until the day they are sent back to be killed. It’s called closing the loop. The one thing that a Looper can never do is let their target get away, and that is exactly what Joe (Gordon-Levitt) does when his future self is sent back. Now with Old Joe (Willis) on the run, Young Joe must find him and close the loop, before the mob that they work for tracks them both down.

Worth the admission? So worth it! This movie is great. A little funny, a good bit of action, but mostly just to see two actors at their very best. Joseph Gordon-Levitt spends 118 minutes teaching a Master’s Course on how to act. This guy embodies the persona of a young Bruce Willis perfectly. It is an amazing thing to watch. Also, performing at the top of his game is Bruce Willis. Willis is an actor that never ages to me. I always love him in everything that he does. But this may be my favorite performance of his….EVER. His character is forced into doing some horrific things and Willis, for maybe the first time in his career, absolutely floors me. For an action star, he really does some fine work in this film.

On a personal note, I LOVE that Old Joe tells Young Joe “let’s don’t start talking about time travel because we will be here all day” and that is pretty much how the movie handles the subject. The time travel part is just a plot device to deliver the scenario. If you take time to dissect it you will miss out on all of the fun.

(TV REVIEW) The Event (2010-11)

I love a good idea and a cool concept, but the execution of that concept is often more important than the concept itself (most of the time). So you have a show like The Event. It starts out great. Has great reviews, great ratings, and then just falls off. Why? Because it just tries to do to much stuff to fast.

Storyline: When a man goes looking for his missing girlfriend, he stumbles upon a government conspiracy that is bigger than the president himself. -IMDB.com

I had to use the oversimplified description of the show because this show is way to convoluted to spill out in a simple paragraph. This show could have been great. It deals with Aliens, government conspiracies, gun fights, and gobs of other things that make for good TV...but this movie just couldn't get it right. Too many "twists" that didn't make sense and too many dead end stories that were never explained.

It's an interesting show that implodes on it's lack of continuity. It's watchable, but don't expect anything huge out of it.

(TV REVIEW) REVOLUTION (2012)

TV starts to heat up this fall with some great new shows and some returning favorites

Unfortunately I was out of town last weekend and didn’t get to review a movie, even though I really wanted to see Dredd 3D, so I figured that I would take the opportunity to talk about a new show that has the highest premier in the past three years (as well as my short list of shows to watch this fall). The show is called Revolution and was created by the very talented Eric Kripke.

Storyline: The world, as we know it, is dependent on electricity. Everything from airplanes to toys needs electricity to work. So what would happen if one day it all stopped working? As if by magic, one day the electricity all over the world just quits working and no one can seem to explain why. Some people seem to know more than they are letting on, but most people are left wondering what has happened. Over the next fifteen years the world is reduced to countless farms and small communities that have persevered and, in some cases, learned to thrive without the use of modern technology.

 In the wake of this new world, Sebastian Monroe (Lyons) has appointed himself President/ruler and uses his militia to impose fear on the small towns. When President Monroe sends a search party to retrieve a man named Ben Matheson (Guinee) a conflict erupts and Matheson is killed. The only choice now for the teenaged children of Matheson is for them to seek out their uncle Miles (Burke) and begin to search for answers to their many questions. But when this series of events begins to shed more light on the long unanswered questions of “what happened to the electricity” all of those involved find themselves in terrible danger.

Tune in? I say yes. I love Sci-Fi and love post-apocalyptic shows/movies, so I am going to stick with this show for a while. Sure, there are some negatives. It is a little too “squeaky clean” for a world that has been without modern conveniences for 15 years. People seem to always be in clean clothes with perfect hair, but the IDEA of the series is what I like so much. What would we do if the lights just went out? The series feels like equal parts LOST and The Hunger Games. Make sure to check it out.

Other series that are coming very soon are The Big Bang Theory (9/27 - CBS), Fringe-Final Season (9/28 –FOX), 666 Park Avenue (9/30 –ABC), Animation Domination (9/30 –FOX), Supernatural (10/3 –CW), Arrow (10/10 –CW) and The Walking Dead (10/14 -AMC). Be sure to check them out!

(Movie Review) Resident Evil : Retribution (2012)

Resident Evil: Retribution is less fun than watching a sack full of puppies drown….slowly

 

One of the coolest video games that I can remember playing when I was younger was Resident Evil. It was released in 1997 and, honestly, was the greatest thing that I had ever played at that point in my life. It was extremely well designed, had lots of puzzles and tricks, was one of the first games that I can remember where you had to conserve your ammunition, and was easily the scariest thing in the world to play with the lights off. Either that or “Bloody Mary”. So with all of those wonderful things going for it you would think that it could continue to produce interesting movies. Unfortunately this installment reminded me more of the night that I was playing the game barefoot and stepped on a piece of broken glass.

Storyline: Alice (Jovovich) wakes up inside of an Umbrella facility and must find a way to break free from her captors. While trying to escape she finds many of her past friends, some that were thought to be dead, have returned to confront her. While on the run she begins to see how badly the T-Virus has continue to destroy the world and just how far the power of Umbrella can reach.

There is a surreal moment that I experience when I realize that a movie is going to be horrible. It’s that moment where you start to look around at the rest of the audience and see if their facial expressions have that same look of disappointment that you can feel on your own. Luckily, after about fifteen minutes of having that feeling, I noticed that everyone was sharing my pain with me. Not since the disastrously unwatchable film Ultraviolet (also a Milla Jovovich film) was released have I had to fight the overwhelming urge to throw my drink at the screen and storm out. This movie is the equivalent of the yellow Starburst that no one seems to ever want, it’s the full tray of butter cookies sitting beside an empty tray that once held chocolate chip, it’s the fruitcake that no one ate at Christmas….this movie is unenjoyable!

Worth the admission? NEVER! I would rather be infected with the T-Virus than to recommend this movie to someone. Vomiting leaves less of a bad aftertaste than this movie did. The first two movies in this franchise were really fun, the third was getting a little far fetched (even for the subject matter), the fourth was bad and this one was unwatchable. At this rate of decomposition the idea for the sixth movie (which they have already said WILL be made) will be to have someone stand in the lobby of the theater, take your money, and punch you in the face…at least that won’t take two hours out of your day.

 

*Spoilers*

Do you know what I hate MOST about movies like this, the fact that they change the original story so much. Zombies are introduced to us in the first movie as slow and uncoordinated. In this movie they are faster, they can SWIM (which should be impossible) and they they can ride motorcycles. Yep. No joke. They ride motorcycles. That should be enough to make you never want to see this movie.

We are also, rather unfortunately, given the information that there are piles and pile and piles of clones of each person from the past movies. They bring Wesker back to HELP the good guys too. How the hell does that make sense?

 

 

(Movie Review) The Possession (2012)

Aren’t scary movies the best? I mean, really? Other than a comic book movie (that is well done) or a really good comedy I can’t think of any genre of movies that I enjoy more. Now I want to clarify that I am not talking about those over-the-top gory films. Outside of the old Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13^th franchises, gore movies have never been very appealing to me. I prefer the “bump” scary movies. Those films that just turn out to be slasher/gore films are the types of movies that I will often just sit back and laugh at, because there is nothing remotely relatable to them and anything that most of us have ever experienced. The appealing thing about suspenseful scary movies is that they are entirely relatable. Everyone has had those moments where they were alone in a dimly light room and swear they see something out of the corner of their eye. It’s such a rich and emotional area to make a movie from and I often find that I am drawn to movies like that. While this movie is far from perfect, it does turn out to be a really suspenseful supernatural film.

Storyline: In the wake of an ongoing divorce, Clyde (Morgan) is finding it hard to connect with his daughters Em (Calis) and Hannah (Davenport). The only time that he really gets to spend with them is when they come home with him on weekends. During one of the weekend visits Clyde takes the girls to a local garage sale where Em is drawn to an old box. After she talks her dad into purchasing it for her she happily places it in her room at his house. But there seems to be much more to this box when Clyde notices a change in Em. She becomes distant and, in a few cases, violent. Clyde is convinced that there is a connection to her new problems and this box, and he will go to any lengths to stop it from harming her. Clyde must find a way to convince those around him of what is going on and find a way to stop it once and for all.

Worth the admission? I say yes on this one. The only thing that I didn’t like about the movie was that the first 15-20 minutes of it was slow and at times seemed poorly edited.  After it gets through the first quarter of the movie it really picks up. Jeffery Dean Morgan, having worked in the paranormal world before (on Supernatural) turns in a solid performance, but it is Natasha Calis that really steals the show. She is fantastic as Em! Maybe I am being a little lenient on this film because it has been a while since I have watched a good scary/suspense movie, but I think that you should make plans to check it out.

(Movie Review) Casa de mi Padre (2012)

I love it when things don't exactly fit. You know? Say there is a bunch of ducks walking in a line and right in the middle of them is a chicken. And NONE of them realize that there is one small percentage of the group that doesn't actually belong. That is about the best way I can think of describing Casa de mi Padre. A movie that is about drama surrounding a family from Mexico and Will Ferrell plays the lead role...and he is a giant gingerish honky (who happens to speak pretty flawless Spanish). Awesomeness.

Storyline: Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father's ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando's younger brother Raul (Diego Luna), shows up with his new fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul's success as an international businessman means the ranch's troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul's business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).From IMDB.com

The great thing about this movie is that it completely takes a dive all for the sake of making a few people laugh that "get it". I mean, look at the score on imdb.com. it clocks in a measly 5.5 rating, and only a 44% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com...but the critics that actually liked it are some of the more reputable critics out there. Is it a GREAT movie, hell no, but it takes those quirky things that people love about "b-movies" and glorifies them. Props that are obviously fake, using the same rolling background screen in every car driving scene, having the cuts be sharp and out of place, and below is a description of a scene that, to me, is in a league of its own.

There is a shot of two characters riding horses through a field, but to make it look as cheesy as possible, they never shoot the horses (there are no horses) but only shoot the actors from the chest up bouncing up and down to give the illusion of riding a horse. There is also a painted backdrop and to give the illusion that they are passing trees and such, the stagehands are moving small bushes past the actors in the background. Possibly one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. It's like a mashup of Grindhouse and Spaghetti Westerns.

If you have the time, you should check it out. Seriously. You will be glad you did, unless you end up hating it...then forget that I said anything.

(Movie Review) Premium Rush (2012)

Premium Rush fails to deliver with movie goers

In my opinion, the worst thing that an on-the-rise actor can do is come off of a critically acclaimed blockbuster and turn out a forgettable movie months later. You see it happen a lot and sometimes it can be the end of a career. Surviving in Hollywood is all about choices. Well, that and being incredibly good looking. With that in mind I have to admit that I think that Premium Rush was a really bad choice for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I have been a fan of his since he was on 3^rd Rock From The Sun (1996), and he has been making some incredibly good decisions with his career lately. Inception, 50/50, and The Dark Knight Rises have all helped push him into a more visible part of the Hollywood spectrum, but doing a forgettable movie like Premium Rush is worse than not doing a movie at all. The movie isn’t bad, it’s actually kind of fun, but you could have put anyone in that role and it would have been just as forgettable.

Storyline: Wilee (Levitt) is the best at what he does. He is a courier for a delivery company in Manhattan. He is known to be a bit of a daredevil since he insists on riding with no brakes in a city that is known for cars and traffic. When Wilee is called in for a job he picks up his package and is soon accosted by a man in the parking lot that claims to be the owner of the item being delivered. When Wilee explains that items must be delivered once they are picked up the man becomes aggressive. Wilee soon finds himself being pursued through the streets of the city and must find a way to escape his dangerous pursuer. 

Worth the admission? Not really. I hate to say it, because it is actually a pretty fun little movie, but it is such a forgettable film that I can’t recommend that anyone pay to see it in the theater. Once it comes out on DVD or NETFLIX I think that it would be worth the money to watch it, but not in the theater.

I am going to go ahead and recommend that you all watch LOOPER when it comes out. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis and opening on September, 28^th. The movie looks to be equal parts gangster movie, time travel movie, and action movie all rolled into one really interesting package. Be sure to check it out.