Catching Up on Summer Movies

So, I sort of temporarily abandoned blogger but it was only because, for some reason, it wasn't allowing me to update. It looks like that might be fixed now so I have returned. In my absence, I was trying to keep up with things over on tumblr. If you want to read my recent full reviews go here: http://thiscinephile.tumblr.com/. For now, however, I will just post little quickies to get up to date.

Rock of Ages - Very similar to Burlesque but without the awesome performances courtesy of Cher and Stanley Tucci. The story of a young girl who tries to make it in Hollywood in the 80s, Rock of Ages was a huge success on Broadway. Julianne Hough has potential. She can dance and sing and act (her level of talent goes in that order too) but lacks any sort of chemistry with Diego Boneta, who also has absolutely no charisma whatsoever. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a titan of the musical world (Chicago) and takes a one-dimensional, slightly annoying role and proves why she is a superstar. Russell Brand and Alec Baldwain are forgettable at best. Paul Giamatti manages to give a great performance in the role of an unlikeable jackass. Then there is Tom Cruise. If you are going to see Rock of Ages, go see it for Tom Cruise. I'm not his biggest fan. But as Axl Rose clone Stacee Jaxx, Cruise, who makes his entrance in assless chaps, is all in. His dedication to this character is ridiculous and he parades around this movie like a peacock, so showy and vain and just damn good. The music in the movie is super fun (and there's a lot of it), but ultimately it's just a Tom Cruise vehicle. Somehow, this movie just didn't jive for me. Something was lacking and missing. Grade: C+

Magic Mike - Under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, Magic Mike becomes so much more than a movie about male strippers. The dialogue is rich and flows realistically. It's also genuinely funny and has a lot of heart. The filmmaking is just great and I especially loved the way the film seemed so vivid at night, but was sort of muted and washed out during the day, looking how you feel with a hangover. The performances are great, as well. Channing Tatum, this is story is based on his life, is clearly the best dancer and is so charming and charasmatic that he just keeps begging his haters to find faults with his seriously improved acting. Cody Horn is a great find and has great chemistry with both Tatum and Alex Pettyfer. Saepking of Pettyfer, this is his finest performance to date (especially during his second half unraveling) and proves he is much more than a pretty face. Then there is McConaughey, so dirty and grimy and slimy and hilarious as the perverse father figure of this group of lost boys. All in all, I loved Magic Mike. Soderbergh and this talented cast created a film that is downright good. Grade: B+

Ted - It seemed everyone in the audience with me loved this movie. I did not. Ted wasn't completely without laughs but mostly I found it boarish and just plain boring. I don't feel like rehasing a negative review so head over to Tumblr to read the whole thing if you want. Grade: D-

The Amazing Spider-Man - The film wastes a lot of time with the first act that doesn't necessarily go anywhere. The movie isn't really all that long (compared to other summer comic book movies) but it sure as hell feels like it. The best thing about this movie is Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. He just completely nails it and you almost don't want the original trilogy to exist because this movie will always be compared to those movies and Garfield doesn't deserve that. He is extraordinary. The Amazing Spider-man is at its best when it's this cute indie love story inside this epic film. When it's at its best, I'm so glad they decided to reboot it. The 3D aspect of the film also ratchets up the fun quotient. I'm not a big fan of 3D but if there was ever a superhero who begged to be in 3D, then it's Spider-man! The other downside is that I felt cheated out of a villain. Horror movies are only as good as their villains and it takes the Lizard nearly two thirds of the movie to arrive, and then he's more misunderstood then villainous. Emma Stone is sassy and witty and adorable as Gwen Stacy. The Amazing Spider-man is, indeed, amazing. It's ultimately a fun, exciting and sweet summer movie. Grade: B

Savages - Savages was a strange kind of movie for me. It's a really well done film, both dark and gritty and kind of funny. There's sex, drugs, violence and it has an actual plot, which is pretty for a summer movie. Plus, the cast is universally pretty great. Still, I was expecting more. Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch are pot growers who are in love with the same woman (Blake Lively) and get involved with a Mexican drug cartel headed by Salma Hayek and her sociopathic goon Benicio Del Toro. The plot and script is mostly great, engaging, interesting, thrilling and intense. Some of the dialogue, however, is a bit cheesy / corny / dumb (mostly Lively's voice overs). The cinematagraphy is great as well. The major problem for me was the terrible / preposterous / ridiculous / stupid ending. Seriously, there had to be a better ending out there somewhere!! Hayek, Del Toro and John Travolta are all hammy great. Johnson is sensitive and endearing. Lively is the weak spot, of course. But Kitsch finally put his summer blunders behind him. This the kind of intense, dark, gritty work the actor should be doing, not fluff like Battleship. Grade: B-


The Dark Knight Rises - The best movie of the year, so far, for sure. It might not be as good as The Dark Knight but it's pretty damn close. There are flaws in the movie, sure, but sometimes you just have to look at the bigger picture and appreciate a movie for being so epic and entertaining. And all the good stuff, no BRILLIANT stuff, more than makes up for any nitpicky flaws you might find with the movie. My review over on Tumblr is longer and more detailed but the gist is this: Christopher Nolan has crafted a trilogy that will stand that test of tie and be revered as, probably and hopefully, the greatest superhero trilogy of all time. The Dark Knight Rises is the perfect ending to that trilogy. Grade: A-

The Soloist and Wolverine

The Soloist - The main problem with The Soloist is a very bad screenplay. The intentions all around are good but the pay off is never really there. It's hard to relate to a script or a film when you have no idea what the basics are. Is it a movie about the main characters evolution into a good man? Is it a movie about the other protagonists slip into mental illness? Is it just a simple social commentary about homelessness in Los Angeles? I have no idea. I also have no idea who to relate to. It seems like it's the story of journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) but then there are these randomly misplaced flashbacks involving Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx). They aren't necessary, serve little purpose and are badly placed throughout the movie. So, basically, the script is awful. The direction, surprisngly, isn't much better. Once in a while, director Joe Wright stumbles upon a brilliant image although they never really seem to fit. More often than not the direction is boring sliding into cheesy territory (the awful Fantasia scene and the even worse flying pigeon scene). At this point, I expect so much more from Joe "I directed the single greatest cinematic moment of 2007" Wright. He disappointed me. The good news? The acting is superb. However, you shouldn't expect less from Robert Downey Jr. who is just excellent and Catherine Keener who is one of my faves and who does so much with so little. Foxx is a little rockier. There was something about the performance that I just didn't buy - it was the poor man's Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Still, he gets an A for effort. Downey Jr. easily outshines him. Again, the intentions of this movie were good, the performances made it worth it, but it all is just average for me.
Grade: C



X-Men Origins: Wolverine - I will say this for the prequel to the X-Men trilogy: the action sequences are pretty amazing. From the motorcycle scene that ends with Wolverine practically flying through the air to attack a helicopter, to the more intimate fight scenes between characters to the epic fight scene at the end, the action is spectacular. Everything else... a little boring. Maybe it's just preference but I've never really been an X-Men fan, or a Wolverine fan, or a Hugh Jackman fan. Going into the film, I was hoping for more of an ensemble. I wanted less Jackman and more Liev Schrieber (who is so, so good as Sabretooth), Ryan Reynolds (who is funny and charming as mercenary Wade Wilson who becomes Deadpool), Dominic Monaghan (who is barely in the movie), Danny Huston (who is good at being manipulative) and, especially, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit (who is a total bad ass and is so damn good looking it almost physically hurts me). They've been promoting all of these characters and they've mostly been reduced to glorified cameos. I could have done without all the "RAWRRRRRR I'm Wolverine" moments, as well. Also, and again I know very little about the actual comic book stories, but it seems to me that Wolverine is one of the characters that don't really need a back story. Isn't half of the appeal in his character that he's so damn mysterious? It was all just too focused on one thing when I think it could have been a much better story had they included different, more interesting characters in a bigger way. After all, what's the point of hiring fine young actors if you aren't going to use them?
Grade: C-