Ocean's 13 - Wit, entertainment, and just a little bit of trickery. Basically, what Ocean's 12 should have been but wasn't. I wish there had been a bigger twist like in Ocean's 11, but I know that's hard to replicate, especially if the audience expects it.
If you haven't seen Ocean's 12, do yourself a favor and just skip right to 13. Idiocracy - From the director of Office Space comes a story about a future that has declined into stupidity. Except for the central concept (which I could actually see happening) it's not as clever as Office Space, but I found the low-brow humor mostly amusing.
Definitely a low budget flick, so don't expect much from the special effects department, but you can expect a few good laughs. The Machinist - I had a really hard time seeing past Christian Bale's emaciated appearance for about the first 30 minutes of this movie, but it serves as a good visual clue to just how messed up his character's life has become. As a psychological thriller there isn't a whole lot of action, but a sort of Hitchcock-like suspense builds throughout the movie.
Despite seeing the major plot twist coming a mile away, I still enjoyed the ending. Ratatouille is the first Pixar movie I'm not really looking forward to seeing. I've been a huge Pixar fan since the first Toy Story movie.
Their movies are the perfect combination of fun animation, entertaining characters, and witty comedy. But something about Ratatouille just isn't clicking for me. Maybe it's because the main character is a rat, which isn't even in the same cuteness universe as a clown fish or a little girl with pigtails, not to mention the nightmares I had about rats when I was little.
Or maybe it's because the movie is set in Paris, and having never been to Paris, I'm subconsciously jealous of the rat. Whatever it is, Ratatouille may be the first Pixar movie I pass on seeing in theaters. It's not that I think it will be bad, but with movies like Ocean's 13 and Live Free Or Die Hard competing for my attention, I can't afford to waste my $10 admission on a rat.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (aka Pirates 3) Despite tepid reviews from the critics, I mostly enjoyed it. I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. Pirates 3 was better than Pirates 2, and even though it clocked it at just under 3 hours long, it felt shorter than Pirates 2.
The acting was decent and the plot was okay, but the special effects were the real wow factor. Still, Pirates 3, like Pirates 2, failed to capture the charm of the original. Better than I was expecting!
Drew Barrymore is absolutely charming in this movie, and Hugh Grant provides some laughs with witty one liners. The plot was somewhat predictable, but what romantic comedy isn't? My favorite parts were the mock 80's music videos, one done in Pop Up Video style (man, I miss that show), and the scene where Hugh Grant performs a solo - he has a surprisingly good voice!
All in all, worth a rental for a fun, lighthearted movie. What can I say? Mark Wahlberg never fails to make me laugh when he's pretending to cry.
I'd give the overall movie 2 out of 5 stars. The unlikely plot, mediocre acting, and anticlimactic ending weren't quite bad enough for me to turn the movie off, but I don't think I would really recommend it either. Not as bad as Four Brothers, but that's not saying a whole lot.
To be fair, the acting was much better in Rumor Has It, but the plot left me feeling like it could have been much more. Also, I have better chemistry with my house plants than Jennifer Aniston had with Kevin Costner. Worst of all, I had a hard time shaking the repulsive notion introduced by the plot that Jennifer Aniston's character might have slept with her father.
In a romantic comedy that was neither particularly funny or romantic, I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. ruined the movie for me - the movie ruined itself. Spider-Man 3 should have been called Emo Spider-Man, what with all the hair in the face and the crying.
At one point, I was pretty sure Peter Parker was going to lock himself in his room, turn on some angsty music and cry for half an hour. Don't get me wrong, the special effects were great, especially for Sandman's character. But even stunning special effects weren't enough to save the movie for me, as much as I wanted to like it.
On a positive note, I made it through an entire weekend without getting a sinus headache, which I don't think I've done since maybe February. Hooray for not killing my liver with drugs! Spider-Man 3 (May 4): If I weren't ancient and crotchety at the ripe old age of 25, I might have made the effort to go see the midnight showing next Thursday.
As it is, I'll wait until the weekend so I don't risk falling asleep on my desk at work. Let's hope it goes better than last time. Shrek the Third (May 18): Are the green ogre with the Scottish accent and his talking donkey friend played out?
I'll let you know after I see the third film. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (May 25): Are pirates played out? Hell no!
I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Since Pirates 2 was a bit of a filler movie to set up the finale, I'm really hoping Pirates 3 delivers. Other movies I'm looking forward to this summer: Ocean's 13 (June 8), Evan Almighty (June 25), Live Free or Die Hard (June 27), and The Bourne Ultimatum (August 3).
No, I'm not channeling Roger Ebert, I just seem to have nothing else to talk about these days. If you have something you'd like me to talk about, speak up in the comments! Fracture - I was afraid Fracture would be Silence of the Lambs 2 , but it wasn't.
Anthony Hopkins shines in the smart but crazy role, and Ryan Gosling plays his opposite very well. The directing in this very Hitchcockian thriller was excellent, but in my opinion the story seemed to be lacking. Regardless, it was an entertaining flick worth at least a rental.
Pursuit of Happyness - Even though I went into it knowing there was a happy ending, I couldn't help cringing every time the main character was dealt another stroke of misfortune. It's an uplifting, feel good movie about the power of determination, made all the more inspiring because it's a true story. Shut Up Sing - I'm not a Dixie Chicks fan (only because I don't care for country music), but for some reason this documentary piqued my interest.
I was expecting a bit more talk and less performing in the documentary, but overall it seemed to be an accurate representation of the Dixie Chicks lives and how they were effected by a simple statement they made about our President. It was a fascinating look at politics and culture in our country, even if you're not a country music fan. The Holiday - I was expecting an overly sappy chick flick, but was pleasantly surprised to find The Holiday was more than that.
I was also expecting to be weirded out by Jack Black in a romantic comedy, but he turned out to be a natural. And thanks to this movie, I finally get what the big deal about Jude Law is. Rocky Balboa - I don't remember ever sitting down to watch any of the previous Rocky movies, but I've seen bits and pieces them.
This movie was more of the same, but with an older, gentler Rocky. I'm not a boxing fan but I still enjoyed it. Nothing about the movie was spectacular, but you can't help rooting for Rocky in the end.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for Philadelphia underdogs. Eragon - Mildly entertaining, but you've seen this story before. Watching it, I was reminded of about 5 other movies / stories.
And who's idea was it to have Rachel Weiss voice the dragon? Bad decision. Farce of the Penguins - Don't bother.
I turned it off about 30 minutes in. Just goes to show that no matter how many celebrities you have voice an animated feature, it can still suck.
News RSS