Quick Takes May 28, 2011- The Catch Up Edition

The Hangover 2 [Dir. Todd Phillips] (Matinee)

     The “Wolf Pack” is back again to reek more drunken drugged out mischief on an unsuspecting city.  This time they’ve moved their antics out of the US and all the way to Bangkok, Thailand.  Once there the movie unfolds in just about the same way as the first one, which is my big problem with this movie.  It’s a repeat of the same formula from the first Hangover film, which makes this sequel unoriginal and very predictable.  The gags in this one come more from the “gross out” type of humor than the first one.  Some of them were funny especially ones involving Mr. Chow and an interesting monkey, others really weren’t like the excessive sex jokes.  Still it was a good enough time to give this a low matinee.  I hope they change the formula more for the rumored third movie to bring back some originality.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [Dir. Rob Marshall] (Borderline Full Price)

     Dear Disney, if you want to bring back Rob Marshall to direct any future installments of the “Pirates” Franchise, please send him to Action Directing School first.  Jack Sparrow is back for another (supposedly) rousing adventure on the high seas.  This time he’s semi-forced into seeking the mythic Fountain of Youth for the ruthless Blackbeard.  This movie was a fun popcorn flick, just not anywhere near as entertaining as the first three “Pirates” movies.  The main problem with this movie is Gore Verbinski, the director of the first three, left the project and Disney hired Rob Marshall to step in his shoes.  Rob Marshall just seemed to lack the directing chops to make the big action sequences very exciting while pulling a good performance from some of his veteran actors.  Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush both did great jobs in their respective roles, but some of the other actors just didn’t seem to get into their roles.  Ian McShane’s Blackbeard was supposed to be ruthless, cutthroat, and overall downright menacing.  The problem was Blackbeard didn’t come across as menacing at all; some of the time he actually came across as bored with the whole situation.  I couldn’t tell if that boredom came from the character or the actor.  There were a few of the action sequences in the film that instead of coming across as exciting, just came across as giant choreographed dance sequences, which was annoying.  Those problems aside, I still enjoyed the movie enough that when it’s skirting the Matinee/Full Price border, it gets a Full Price.

Everything Must Go [Dir. Dan Rush] (Matinee)

     This is a watching a week in the life of somebody going thru a crisis movie.  The movie follows Nick Halsey starting with a really bad day.  Not only does he lose his job over something he doesn’t remember doing, his wife locks him out of their house, cuts off his money flow, and throws all of his things on the front lawn.  Now Nick has to decide what he’s going to do with the situation.  The best thing about this movie is Will Ferrell’s performance.  He really gets a chance to show off his dramatic acting chops that he very rarely shows.  The rest of the movie is decent, good performances all around and moves at a relatively ok pace.  It never really got boring, and the running time clocks in at around 90 minutes.  This is a solid Matinee, good movie to go see if you’re bored in the afternoon.

Priest [Dir. Scott Charles Stewart] (Rental)

     Set in an alternate post-apocalyptic future, Priest is about a Priest who breaks his vows to go out and once again hunt down a threat long thought to be contained.  The most interesting part of this movie deals with this alternate world the story is set in.  In it, vampires and humans had been openly fighting for at least centuries before the humans thought they contained the vampires.  During the war, most of the humans were forced into these walled cities where they led sheltered lives under the supposed protection of The Church.  During the peace, many of these humans ventured back out into the world and set up small towns that are very reminiscent of towns found in the Old Western Genre films.  The vampires in this world do not look like a typical humanoid vampire.  These vampires look kind of like hairless blind giant flightless bats.  Those are really about the only positive things in here, the story is predictable, the acting is mediocre to terrible, and the special effects really aren’t anything too spectacular.  This is a solid rental, it’d be a good movie to watch at home and not spend the premium for wasted 3D.   

Bridesmaids [Dir. Paul Feig] (Matinee)

     Annie’s best friend Lillian gets engaged right when Annie’s at the start of a mid-life crises and is asked to be the maid of honor.  Now Annie has to juggle between a maid of honor dealing with some dramatic bridesmaids and dealing with her own personal issues.  And so the Dramedy ensues.  I think this is the first gross out Rom-Com I’ve seen where all of the main characters were female, and they pull it off well.  I laughed quite a bit during this movie.  The movie still seemed to get too bogged down in the drama, and there were times where I didn’t really like the main character, who you were supposed to sympathize with.  While this isn’t the funniest film I’ve seen this year, it’s still funny enough to earn a Matinee.

Something Borrowed [Dir. Luke Greenfield] (Frack This!!)

     This is a movie about people who realize that they aren’t with the person they want to be with.  The trouble is that instead of coming clean with the person they’re currently with, they just go behind their backs and cheat on them and we as an audience are expected to sympathize with their predicament.  Off the top of the head, there are some alternate titles for this film that comes to mind, “Chicken-S*%^s The Movie”, or “The Coward Chronicles”.  Seriously, there wasn’t a single character in this movie that was worth sympathizing with.  The only character who mostly wore who she was on her sleeve was Kate Hudson, and even she turned out to be doing what everybody else in this movie is doing.  There really isn’t anything good to say about this movie at all, other than the running time isn’t too long.  It’s smellier than Old Smelly Shoes, it’s not worth the time and effort to see.  It’s the worst movie I’ve seen so far this year and a solid “Frack This!!”

Thor [Dir. Kenneth Branagh] (Full Price)

     Thor, the arrogant son of Odin, is all set to assume the Throne of Asgard when he does something to severely anger his father.  So instead of being named heir to the throne, he’s stripped of his power and banished to Earth.  Now stranded on Earth, Thor must find a way to regain his power while learning at least a tiny bit of humility and the value of others lives. This is another solid entry from Marvel Studios.  It’s well acted, directed, plotted, effected, and most of all has fun with the characters.  It was interesting seeing Thor learn what it’s like to actually be powerless and how to not be so self centered.  The action sequences were well staged, much better than the “Pirates” film also currently in theaters.  As far as story goes, the filmmakers did a great job adapting the material from the comics and having it actually work on screen.  As with other Marvel films, there are plenty of Easter Eggs on screen linking to the eventual Avengers movie and other elements of the Marvel Universe.  As far as the 3D goes, it was a well done conversion and the end credit sequence is fun to see in 3D.  Aside from that though, it should be just as enjoyable to watch in good old fashioned 2D.  This is a solid Summer Popcorn Film and a definite Full Price.

Fast Five [Dir. Justin Lin] (Full Price)

     Picking up right where Fast and Furious left off, this movie hits the throttle and doesn’t slow down, mostly.  On the run from just about every law enforcement agency in America, Dom, Brian, and Mia are trying to lay low in hiding.  That lasts all of five minutes, because after a botched heist, they find themselves trying to take down a local crime lord while evading a U. S. Special Forces team trying to hunt them down.  This was a fun Summer Blockbuster movie where you turn your brain off, sit back, and enjoy the insanity that is unfolding on the screen.  The action sequences and special effects were cool and the acting was ok, I really enjoyed seeing the Rock and Vin Diesel square off.  For the most part, this was a solid heist flick.  The only thing was the run time was just over two hours, and there were parts of the movie that seemed to drag.  Thankfully, those are mercifully short before they get back to the interesting things.  This is a solid Full Price; summer seems to be off to a great start for a change.

Scre4m [Dir. Wes Craven] (Matinee)

       Sidney Prescott returns to her hometown of Woodsboro on an anniversary of the “Woodsboro Massacre” and 10 years since the last movie to find that a new killer has taken the Ghost Face mantle.  After discovering that she can’t leave the town until this killer is caught, Sidney must once again face down Ghost Face and put a stop to the murderous rampage.  The thing I like about the Scream films are the constant references to other films, especially in the Horror Genre.  This entry into the “Scream” franchise probably has the best opening since the second movie; it was predictable, but sort of amusing.  The acting was acceptable, there wasn’t anyone who was bad, but no one really stood out to me.  The big thing against this movie is they used the dumb character cliché found in horror films.  That’s where a person gets killed because they don’t use their brain and wind up a corpse.  I’m just tired of that old trick and no longer have much sympathy for those types of characters.  Despite that, this is considerably better than Scream 3 and is a solid Matinee. 

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 [Dir. Paul Johansson] (Frack This!!)

     While Atlas was busy shrugging, I had a hard time not snoring.  This film is based off of the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  And despite whatever feelings I have on the original book’s political philosophy, this is a boring movie.  On paper the plot might seem like an interesting concept.  The American Government has turned into a board that represses free thinking and stresses mediocrity while around the country, any person that is seemingly able to get ahead of the mediocrity mysteriously disappears.  Where this film goes wrong is in the execution of that plot, which I’m not sure if the execution comes from the filmmakers or the source material because I haven’t read the book.  Basically this movie chooses to carry out the plot mostly in business meetings and people chatting in various settings.  There’s very little action here, and the mysterious disappearances are treated as a side note.  By the time they actually got to a semi-action sequence, I was so bored that I didn’t care.  For the most part, the acting was not good at all; there were maybe one or two performances that were just alright.  It certainly didn’t help that most of the characters, including some of the characters that are supposed to be the good guys, were despicable anyway.  I’m very happy that the rights holder of this film series recently came out and said he isn’t making parts 2 and 3 because I don’t want to sit through those.  I don’t have anything very positive to say about this film, and I felt like this movie really wasted my time so I can’t recommend this to anyone.  To me this movie was a waste of time, so it gets the “Frack This!!”

Rio [Dir. Carlos Saldanha] (Full Price)

     Blu, a Macaw, is living the life of luxury in a small Minnesota town with his human friend Linda.  One day an Ornithologist from Rio manages to convince Linda to take Blu down to Rio.  Once he gets there, Blu embarks on a wild wind adventure where he will come to question everything he knows in life and discovers what he’s been missing.  Overall this was a fun flick, definitely my favorite film to come out of Blue Sky Studios.  The animation was solid with some decent 3D effects, especially in the flying scenes. The voice acting was solid, filled with a few known actors and actresses such as Jessie Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and Jamie Fox.  The only minor complaint I have comes from the music.  Some of the songs just didn’t really seem very well written or sung.  This is a solid Full Price.
In Six Words or Less:
Water for Elephants [Dir. Francis Lawrence] (Matinee)

     Interesting story; needs more character development.
Win Win [Dir. Thomas McCarthy] (Rental)

     Has strong acting still really boring.
Jane Eyre [Dir. Cary Fukunaga] (Full Price)

     Has great story and acting.

Dylan Dog: The Dead of Night [Dir. Kevin Munroe] (Rental)

     Really badly executed, yet still fun.

The Conspirator [Dir. Robert Redford] (Full Price)

     Interesting concept, stayed interesting.

Super [Dir. James Gunn] (Full Price)

     Mentally disturbed Vigilante makes interesting story.

Arthur [Dir. Jason Winer] (Matinee)

     Far from great, still fun.

Hanna [Dir. Joe Wright] (Full Price)

     It’s a solid European style thriller.

Your Highness [Dir. David Gordon Green] (Rental)

     The gags are mostly unfunny.