Blog Archives - Mike's Movie Reviews

Mike's Movie Reviews

Brothers (2009)

25/5/2010

4/5

Brothers is a great war movie about the effects of war on the mind and on family. The story is told trough great direction, but the main beauty of the film comes from the extremely gifted cast.

Tobey Maguire plays Cap. Sam Cahill, a US Army Captain who is happily married to Grace (Natalie Portman). Together they have two little girls named Isabelle and Maggie. Then Sam is sent back to Afghanistan just after his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), is released from prison for armed robbery.

As Tommy tries to fit into the family and become friends with Grace and the kids, his father Frank Cahill makes sure Tommy knows how proud he is of Sam, and how disappointed he is in Tommy. While in Afghanistan, Sam and his buddies are taken prisoner by a local militia group. After having endured horrible situations, Sam finally makes it out alive. When he arrives back home, his family assumes he is dead and Grace and Tommy have gotten closer. Sam, still struggling from the emotional pressure of war, becomes weary of how close Tommy and his wife really are. This all defuses in an outburst of violence.

The acting is great in this movie. Gyllenhaal and Maguire are both young stars who I might not have pictured together, but it really works. They get the brothers relationship perfectly, especially as Sam is the ‘good’ one- but they still get a long. Gyllenhaal is a gifted young actor and has already proved it. Tobey Maguire is famous (because of Spiderman) but he has never been considered a good actor before this. In Brothers, he is brilliant. This is by far Maguire’s best role yet, he portrays the difficulty of war well and his best scene comes when he snaps.

The direction and cinematography are all good. The music is very good featuring tracks from The Fray and U2 which set the perfect tone for this emotional film. The movie can be sad, but it is very good. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy movies about the effects of war at home, and who appreciate good acting.

2012 (2009)

25/5/2010

3/5

2012 was an interesting movie. I left the theater thinking 'that was either one of the worst, or one of the best movies of the year'. The special effects are good, but CGI alone is not enough to last for 3 hours. I did enjoy this film, even though the plot is pretty thin and the acting is not Oscar-worthy.

At the start of the film, it is 2009. A geologist in India has discovered that the earths core is heating up. He tells his American colleague Adrian Hemlsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Adrian then goes to someone in the US government. When the president (Danny Glover) finds out he appoints Adrian to be his advisor on this issue. In 2010, several world leaders meet in British Columbia, they come up with a plan for the end of the world. Adrian draws up a plan for what and when will happen on Christmas, 2012.

When the clock reaches the year 2012, we are introduced to Jackson Curtis (John Cusack). Jackson is a struggling author who drives a limo to pay the bills. He takes his kids camping up in Yellowstone, this is when the trouble begins. There he meets Charlie (Woody Harrelson), a neurotic radio broadcaster. Jackson then brings his kids ack to their home and he manages to rescue them, along with his ex-wife and her new husband. Together the group gets a plane and narrowly escapes wathing their city crumble.

After taking off and landing in several different locations they wind up in Vegas, where the only thing left is of course the run way. They run into a Russian who Jackson knows, and together that escape the disaster, for the moment. Without ruining too much, 2012 is pretty much like a modern re-telling of one of the bible's most famous stories.

Like I said earlier, the plot is thin. The world is ending again (although Roland Emmerich has said this is his last disaster-end of the world movie). There are floods, earthquakes and somehow the south pole ends up in Wisconsin. The plot is just barely enough to carry through this three hour movie, and 2012 is certainly not winning any Oscars (except maybe for visual effects).

The special effects are the best part of this film. The sequences will blow you away. Watching water flow over the Himalayas, or through Rio de Janerio is really cool. However, even the effects become dull and repetitive. There is only a certain number of times one can see a plane fly away as the runway crumbles behind it before it becomes a nuisance to watch.

The acting is fine in 2012. John Cusack is a good at being an average man who stumbles into something huge. Amanda Peet plays his ex-wife. In 2012, she is good as a mother, and shows desperation when her children are in danger, similar to her character in Syriana. Chiwetel Ejiofor brings a good 'hero' quality to the cast and is the sense of moral right at the end of the film, but Woody Harrelson is perhaps the most memorable character, even though his role is not too big.

Overall, 2012 was a fun movie, but had little redeeming value. I would recommend if you go see it- see it in theaters. The visual effects are so over the top that Emmerich takes them one step too far. 2012 is worth watching, but I wouldn't buy the DVD. It is entertaining, but is not for those who prefer to think about the movies they watch. This truly was Roland Emmerich's grand finale in the disaster genre, but it doesn't compare to his movies like Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow.

Pineapple Express (2008)

25/5/2010

3/5

It’s fair to say that Judd Apatow is the modern king of comedy. He has produced so many huge comedies in the past decade such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers, Drillbit Taylor and Year One. He has also directed hits such as The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Funny People. He has worked with actors and comedians including Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Adam Sandler, Jason Segal, Jonah Hill and Steve Carrell. It is also fair to say that Seth Rogen has become his big star. Pineapple Express is slightly different than most comedies but it is still a good movie.

The movie is set around the character of Dale Denton (Seth Rogen). He is a stoner who dates a high school girl. Dale witnesses a murder by a mob member. Then, him and his pot dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) run away to escape the criminals. They run into the woods, get high and then visit Saul’s distributor, Red. It all ends in a large battle in a secret underground farm for marijuana.

Pineapple Express is funny, but it’s not as funny as Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen’s other movies. Knocked Up was really funny, so was Superbad. The main difference with Pineapple Express is that it is also an action movie. There are a lot of laughs but also car chases, explosions and over the top gun-fight scenes. This is different then most action-comedies. Mainly because the two main characters spent half the time baked. There are some funny scenes including a car chase where Saul gets his leg stuck through the wind screen.

The acting in this movie is good. Seth Rogen stars in a funny movie as usual, but he is not the funniest part of this movie. James Franco is the surprising star. He is extremely funny and plays a very different role than he normally does. James Franco is perfect in the role of Saul. The script is fine and there was a lot of improvisation, which gives the actors extra credit. For example, the entire end scene at the diner was improved by the actors.

Pineapple Express is a stoner comedy which actually makes you laugh. Judd Apatow once again proves that he can make a funny movie. His movies aren’t quite as well crafted as The Hangover but his movies still work and make you laugh. Pineapple Express is not the best of these comedies, but it is worth watching if you enjoy Rogen-Apatow comedies.

Kick-Ass (2010)

21/5/2010

4/5

Kick-Ass brings a new side to superhero movies and turns the genre on its head. Kick-Ass is actually pretty funny, and works much better than other hero comedies like Superhero Movie. The film also contains a lot of violence and action, all these ingredients make the movie an interesting delight.

The movie revolves around Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson). Dave is a comic book nerd who is surviving high school. Dave dreams of becoming a superhero like in the comics. Then, one day he orders a wetsuit and a mask and tries to fight crime. This bold gesture inspires a wave of real life superheroes in New York City. These other heroes include Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage). Dave is soon pulled in way over his head as the other ‘superheroes’ have better gear and experience. Together, the superheroes work together to take down a big time crime lord in the city.

The acting in Kick-Ass is pretty good. Aaron Johnson was a little annoying at first, but you grew to like him. He was definitely believable as a comic book nerd. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Role Models) was not quite as funny as he usually is, although he did have a good last line in the movie, which offers up the opportunity for a sequel. The little girl, Chloe Grace Moretz, was both cute and terrifying. At first she seemed innocent and funny, but the more I thought about it the more messed up it seemed. I mean, watching a little girl kill people is very strange (and if examined too closely it may show a disturbing underbelly to this film). One of the best performances in this film is Nicholas Cage’s. Cage captures his character in a deranged sense. He is funny and kind of a dork, but he has a room full of guns, so his character as a badass side as well.

Kick-Ass is based off a graphic novel series by Mark Miller, who also wrote the graphic novel behind Wanted. I don’t really read comics, and haven’t read either of these graphic novels, but I can immediately see similarities in the films. Both of these movies contain strong bloody violence and show irony and have the main character grow from a loser to a hero. Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick-Ass, did a good job with this film. He borrows lots from other directors, certain scenes clearly referencing the styles of other artists like Quentin Tarantino. While Vaughn lacks originality in the creative sense, Kick-Ass is still an enjoyable film. I think there is part of the crew who deserve some extra credit as well. The entire sound department of the film did very well. The music is fixed perfectly into the film and it always fits the tone of the scene.

Kick-Ass is an extremely entertaining movie. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested. Kick-Ass is primarily a movie for teens, as the violence, comedy and storyline will primarily be appreciated by teenagers. This is not to say that adults will not like this picture, and there are certain members of the public I would discourage from seeing this movie. Taken at face value, it is a fun movie, but I wouldn't read into it much further.

Date Night (2010)

21/5/2010

4/5

Date Night is a hilarious movie. It is one of the best action-comedies I have scene in a while. While Date Night is nowhere near the comedic giants like The Hangover, it’s still a good laugh.

Date Night is about a stereotypical couple from New Jersey. They have kids and they both work hard. This means that they have little time for each other. Once a week they have a ‘date night’ which usually consists of going to the local multiplex or restaurant. However, one week Phil Foster (Steve Carell) decides that he should take his wife Claire (Tina Fey) out for a nice dinner in New York City. When they arrive at the restaurant all of the places are reserved and the place is packed. Then Phil decides they should take someone’s reservation. After this they are mistaken for the ‘Triplehorns’ and chased by a mobster and some crooked cops through the city.

Steve Carell gives a good performance, although it is very similar to his portrayal of Agent 86 in Get Smart. Tina Fey is also very good in this film. She has that look that means she could easily be believable as a working-mom in the suburbs, but at the same time she has a sort of sexy air about her. Both of these comedians work well together on stage and create a great sort of relationship which feels realistic yet is still comical.

Perhaps the most entertaining characters in this film are the side characters. Mark Wahlberg plays a buff security contractor, the scenes with him are funny, but the laughs come more from the jokes made about him. The funniest characters in the entire picture are Taste and Whippit (James Franco and Mila Kunis) they play a frantic-drug addicted couple. Franco’s role is similar to his character Saul in Pineapple Express, and I was glad to see him in such a funny role again.

In my opinion Date Night is director Shawn Levy’s best comedy yet, easily beating Cheaper by the Dozen and Night at the Museum. I would recommend this movie to lots of people, not everyone, but lots of people will still enjoy it. Date Night is a great movie for a date, or for a date night with your wife, or even to see with your kids.

The Back-Up Plan (2010)

20/5/2010

1/5

I honestly don’t know where to begin. This movie had some promise in the storyline, but somehow the actors and the scriptwriters seem to have butchered it into this mess of a film. The movie isn’t actually very funny, or very romantic.

The Back-Up Plan is about Zoe (Jennifer Lopez), a New Yorker who gets artificially inseminated after years of failed relationships. Just after her meeting at the doctor’s office she meets a handsome and mysterious man named Stan (Alex O’Loughlin). Of course she does get pregnant, and of course she meets Stan again. He sells goat cheese and makes it at his own farm. They fall in love and decide to raise the baby together.

The storyline is very shaky and I think the only reason everyone stayed in the theater was that they wanted to finish their popcorn. To keep the film going the writers use two techniques: 1) Have the main characters break up and make up like three times. 2) Include unnecessary scenes such as ten minutes of feminists helping a woman give birth. The script itself is bad and the dialogue doesn’t seem natural.

The acting is slightly better, but only slightly. Jennifer Lopez is as attractive as always, and this is perhaps her best acting yet, but even her best still isn’t enough to make a good movie. Alex O’Loughlin (Whiteout) is relatively unknown, and I think I know why. The girls I saw this film with commented that he had a ‘hot body’, this is the sole reason he ever got an acting job in the first place. This man can not act. His emotions were flat and his dialogue was just boring throughout the entire film.

Alan Poul is a relatively new director, meaning that he hasn’t many movies yet. His style is fine, but he still deserves some of the blame for this movie’s failure to entertain. For example, the extended birth scene I talked about earlier. It’s not even Jennifer Lopez giving birth, and the whole scene is weird and pretty stupid. Overall, The Back-Up Plan is not a good movie and I would personally not recommend it, but hey, somebody out there might like it (if you liked this movie please write a comment below, as I want to see how many people actually enjoyed it).

Crash (2005)

20/5/2010

5/5

Recently I’ve been going back and re-watching several of the last few Best Picture winners. I know that this film winning was a slight controversy as Brokeback Mountain was expected to win. Munich, another Best Picture nominee, was also a great movie. But I think that Crash was a worthy enough choice, it has a great storyline and terrific acting.

Crash tells the story of whites, blacks, Latinos, Iranians and Koreans all living in Los Angeles. The interviewing of the separate stories is done very well. There is a black detective (Don Cheadle), a film director (Terrence Howard), a racist housewife (Sandra Bullock), a racist cop (Matt Dillon), a young policeman (Ryan Phillipe), a black woman (Thandie Newton), a shop owner (Shaun Toub), a locksmith (Michael Pena) and a car thief (Ludacris).

All of these stories fit together brilliantly thanks to the director and writer Paul Haggis (In the Valley of Elah, Million Dollar Baby). The locksmith is working for both Bullock and Toub. Howard’s girlfriend Newton is molested by Dillon. Phillipe worked with Dillon. It sounds complicated, but it all falls into place as the movie unfolds, it is clear who is who and what their life is like.

Paul Haggis, who is a brilliant scriptwriter, once again hits a home run script. As a director he is also amazing, the film is done with the perfect approach. A lot of the credit goes to the amazingly talented actors and actresses. From many of the actors, such as Matt Dillon, Michael Pena and Thandie Newton, this is their best performance yet. Each actor fits into the role of their character and lives out their problems and how they deal with them onscreen. I know I tend to review movies positively (except for maybe New Moon), but Crash deserves every bit of praise I have given it. As much as I love big budget action movies, films like Crash will always be first pick in my book.

Invictus (2009)

20/5/2010

3/5

Clint Eastwood is one of those directors who manages to take home the gold for many of his actors and his films. Million Dollar Baby won 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Invictus didn’t win any Oscars this year, but the film was still very well made and was nominated for Best Actor in both Leading and Supporting Roles.

Invictus tells the true story of how the South Africa rugby team pulls together to win the 1995 World Cup. Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, the first black president and the first president of South Africa to be voted for democratically by everyone in the nation. He strives for peace in South Africa, and he attempts to bring the people of the nation together through rugby. François Pienaar (Matt Damon) is the captain of the South African Rugby Team, he begins to have meetings with Mandela about rugby and the World Cup. Together, the two leading characters work together to lift their nation to the top of the rugby world.

Morgan Freeman is, as usual, nothing short of brilliant. In Invictus he takes his role even further than usual, adapting to a South African accent and stepping brilliantly into the shoes of Nelson Mandela. He has been looking for a film about Mandela for some time, and Freeman nails the role. Matt Damon is a gifted actor and he manages to hold his own on screen with Freeman. Damon also steps into a South African accent, new hair color and a rugby shirt for his role as Pienaar. Damon is great in the role, and both of these actors deserved their Oscar nominations (Matt Damon was up against Christopher Waltz- who was amazing).

Clint Eastwood deserves a lot of credit, not only in the making of this film, but in his entire career. He manages once again to direct an amazing picture. The story of Mandela and South Africa could not be told through a better view. Clint Eastwood has moved from actor to director, and become one of the most successful actor/directors of our time.

Invictus is a good movie. The acting is great, the directing is done very well and it all comes together nicely. Invictus is a motivational sports film about believing in your dreams. However, the film also combines the history and amazing story of Nelson Mandela to make this picture a brilliant mix of the political and athletic side of rugby, and what it takes to bring together a nation in a time of peril.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

20/5/2010

4/5

The Pursuit of Happyness is a wonderful, inspiring movie based off a real life story. The movie is good, but Will Smith is amazing.

Will Smith has proved that he is a great actor in comedy and in action, but The Pursuit of Happyness is his first real journey into the field of serious dramas. In my opinion, Will Smith fits in right away with the real world story. I completely agree with his Oscar nomination for this role.

We all know Will Smith is one of the wealthiest actors ever, but he is extremely believable as a man who needs to line up outside homeless shelters every night. Smith's performance is utterly amazing.

The film is based on the true story of Chris Gardner. Chris is struggling to meet ends and pay the rent. Then his wife leaves him and he is evicted. He gets his son back from his wife (Thandie Newton). After weeks of running after associates he manages to grab an internship at a large brokerage firm. While attending the internship, he is also trying to sell scanners to make money and take care of his son, Christopher (Jaden Smith). Through this difficult struggle Chris and his son spend nights at homeless shelters, in Motel rooms and even spend one night in a subway station bathroom.

The direction by Gabriele Muccino is good. The film is a wonderful movie and it shows the struggle some people have of getting by, and it illustrates the pursuit of happyness and the American dream. Muccino also worked with Smith on the film Seven Pounds, which came out a few years after this film. Personally, I prefer Seven Pounds as I feel the acting is stronger, and the story line is better. The co-stars are good, Thandie Newton is annoying but she is desperate and upset with their situation and she acts the part well. Jaden Smith was already showing promise at the age of 8, but after all, he is the child of Will and Jada-Pinkett Smith.

Overall, I recommend this film to anyone looking for a heartwarming drama with a sad story, but a happy ending. The acting in this film is incredible and Will Smith gives one of his best performances yet.

Burn After Reading (2008)

20/5/2010

2/5

Burn After Reading is a quirky comedy by the Coen Brothers, but it does not do the Coen name justice. After the amazing No Country for Old Men, and of course Fargo, I expect a lot more from the brothers.

The film is about CIA analyst Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) who is fired and decides to write his life's memoirs. His wife (Tilda Swanson) is sleeping with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a happily married man. Harry is also dating a few other women, including Linda Litzki (Frances McDormand). Linda works at a gym with Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt). Chad finds a disk in the gym with Cox's CIA files. Chad and Linda decide to blackmail Cox so that Linda can get money for plastic surgery. Of course the whole plan goes wrong.

Brad Pitt is the best part of this movie. He is perfect for the goofy fitness freak Chad. You wouldn't expect Pitt to fit so fell into the role, but he does it brilliantly and I wonder why we haven't seen him in more quirky roles. The other characters are fine. George Clooney is good, so is Malkovich. Frances McDormand is also good. She's a great actress and she displays a lot of promise in other films. There was nothing wrong with the acting, or the directing for that matter, it just wasn't that great a movie.

I think the main problem is the story. It raps up to fast and the movie is very short. I don't know how the story could continue, but it just didn't seem complete to me. Some people might like this movie, and there are some very funny scenes. The problem is that the funniest people are restricted to only a few scenes and the serious parts of this movie don't really work. It's okay, but I would not recommend Burn After Reading whether you're looking for a comedy or a thriller as it doesn't fulfill either genre to a satisfactory level.