Mini Reviews (I'm Back)

In case anyone actually reads this, I apologize for my recent absence but things have been sort of crazy at work. Right now, I am going to write a few mini reviews to get caught up on the things I've seen recently (two movies in theaters you might want to check out and two on DVD that you will probably want to avoid), but then I am going to get back to updating this blog more frequently. I also have a few ideas for new funs things to do (i.e. a weekly Friday Top Five list related to new releases or actor birthdays and maybe a Best Director tournament!). But for now, here are quick thoughts on four 2013 releases (from best to worst):

The Internship
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Max Minghella
Plot: Two salesmen lose their jobs and decide that despite any skill whatsoever that they are going to get a job at Google. The movie follows a summer long internship program.
Thoughts: Despite being way too long and following all the rules of romantic comedy, The Internship manages to be cute, sweet and funny. The best part about it is, of course, Vaughn and Wilson and their perfect chemistry that also worked so well in Wedding Crashers. But the real star of the show is the Google campus which is fascinating and interesting in every sense of the word.
Grade: B-

Now You See Me
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent
Plot: Four street magicians come together thanks to a mysterious but powerful benefactor to become the most successful magicians with a traveling show where they manage to do completely unbelievable tricks (such as stealing money from a Paris bank while in Vegas). The FBI is hot on their tail though.
Thoughts: Now You See Me benefits from having an almost unrelentless pace, which absolutely works in its favor because if you were given time to stop and think about the whole thing, you would realize how none of it (especially the far fetched, ridiculous ending) makes sense. Still, as far as fun, thoughtless entertainment goes, this is decent.
Grade: C+

Dark Skies
Starring: Keri Russell, J.K. Simmons
Plot: Aliens target a family and slowly drive them crazy.
Thoughts: Cliche, but also really terrible. Simmons is the only - THE ONLY - good thing about it and he's only in it for about 3 minutes.
Grade: D+

Stand Up Guys
Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin
Plot: Val (Pacino) is newly released from prison but some powerful people are holding a 28 year grudge and send his bestie (Walken) to give him the night of his life and then kill him.
Thoughts: Remember when Pacino was one of the greatest actors of all time? That whole thing is pretty foggy to me. The more he makes crap like this, the easier it is to forget he was ever even in The Godfather. The end of this movie is actually pretty bad ass, but it's a shame you have to sit through an hour and a half of crap to get to 45 seconds of coolness. On the plus side? It's not as bad as Lords of Salem!
Grade: D-

Hairspray, Premonition (DVD)

Hairspray - Hairspray is the kind of movie that immediately puts a smile on your face. It's a charming, well done musical. Is it as glossy as last years big musical, Dreamgirls? No. Dreamgirls surely looked better but as far as story, characters, and substance, Hairspray is far superior. The story follows chubby teenager Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) in 1960's Baltimore. She and her best friend Penny Pingleton (an adorable Amanda Bynes) are obsessed with the dance program The Corny Collins Show hosted by James Marsden. Tracy also has a major crush on one of the stars of the show - Link Larkin (Zac Efron). Despite her mother's (John Travolta!) discouragement, Tracy auditions for the show and Corny picks her eventhough the station manager Velma (a delightful, evil, wonderful Michelle Pfeiffer) objects. Lots of singing and dancing ensues. Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Allison Janney, Elijah Kelley, and Christopher Walken round out the stellar cast. Also, look for cameos from some of the gang from the original Hairspray movie: Jerry Stiller, Ricki Lake and original director John Waters. Eventhough Hairspray may seem dated (takes place in the early 60's, remake of a movie from the late 80's), its very much like Grease in the sense that it's timeless. The songs are great (my personal favorite is 'Ladie's Choice' by Efron... and I can see why he elicits screams from young girls - he's dreamy!). The cast is nothing short of amazing. Pfeiffer, making a return to the screen after way too long, is easily the stand-out. She's just having so much fun being so, so very bad. Bynes would get my best runner up award as far as performances go. She's adorable and hilarious. Blonsky is a wonderfully capable newcomer. Walked is mostly being Walken (and there is definitely nothing wrong with that) and Travolta is having the time of his life - especially during hs homage to Tina Turner near the end. The story drags a bit and the cinematography could have been stronger but all in all, Hairspray is one fun movie!

Grade: B

Premonition - What Sandra Bullock lacks in talent (let's face it - she's no Meryl), she makes up for in likeability. I find it very difficult to not like her when she's in a film. She's easy to cheer for and you really want to like the swill she turns up in most of the time. I actually really liked her last attempt at traversing space and time in film - The Lake House - but that made up for all the plot holes with chemistry to spare from Bullock and Keanu Reeves. There is zero chemistry between Bullock and her Premonition love interest Julian McMahan. I like him but he's going through the motions here. McMahon plays Bullock's husband who dies one day and is alive the next. It goes back and forth and things happen that Bullock can't explain. People talk to her like they've met before but she doesn't know who they are. Here daughter has scars all over her face and doesn't know why. There are random dead birds and strange phone messages. So, in short, Premonition is sort of a mess - bad supporting actors giving wooden performances, a script that isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is, plot holes galore. The only thing it really has going for it is Bullock's likeability factor. You want to root for her. Unfortunately, likeability only gets you so far and Bullock just can't save this movie.

Grade: D+