Displaying Category: Rating_2

I really love films that feature WWII dogfighting. Over the years I've played many video games that focus on the WWII air war and I just love and appreciate the courage and skill that comes with being a fighter pilot. Couple that with George Lucas' eye for aerial dogfights and I was sold in a heartbeat. Of course, Lucas didn't write or direct this movie, but you can definitely feel his hand on the production... and that's not entirely a good thing. I really wanted to like this movie, I think, of the many stories that came out of WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen is absolutely a story worth telling, but this wasn't it. Red Tails suffers from some of the worst writing I've experienced along with some unfortunate acting and a story that lacked a satisfying climax. I will give it credit for some awesome aerial action sequences (all CG I assume), but that can't make the final experience enjoyable. I will close by saying that, even with my distaste for the film, it still received a healthy round of applause when the credits started rolling, so clearly someone enjoyed this movie, it just wasn't me.

2/5

Haywire is a peculiar sort of covert-ops thriller that can be seen as a noteworthy opposite approach to the genre from something like Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Where Ghost Protocol was huge and loud with snappy writing, loud music, and huge budgets, Haywire is subdued, sparse, and has a soundtrack that is almost entirely smooth jazz. It was definitely an odd sensation to be watching a thriller that seems hellbent on putting the audience to sleep. In some ways, the differences were refreshing, a different take on something that's become fairly ordinary is nice, but it was also a little difficult to stay awake at times, and the lazy pacing definitely didn't help things. I guess in the end it gets a shrug from me. It wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't much of a thriller in the traditional sense.

2/5

When the first Kung-Fu Panda movie came out, I was uninterested in seeing it. A movie about kung-fu fighting animals for kids. How good could that be? I eventually did see it on DVD and learned the error of my assessment. The movie was laugh-out-loud hilarious and totally worth it. Too bad I never caught it in theaters. The sequel is kind of like what I expected from the first movie before I actually saw it. A movie about kung-fu animals for kids. The writing is uninteresting (generally) and the humor was nearly non-existent, unless you like slapstick. In terms of voice acting, the best was easily Gary Oldman as the villian, Shen. But then, I pretty much like Gary Oldman in everything he does. Oh, and the animation/visuals were nice. I definitely dig the art style. Oh, and the moment I saw the peacocks (the royalty in this movie) I immediately thought of the Skeksis from The Dark Crystal. And then kept thinking that throughout the movie because they never really tried to shake that idea. I don't think I have much else to say about this relatively un-noteworthy movie.

2/5

I'm pretty sure no one has heard of this movie and there miiiiight be a good reason. Like, no marketing, low budget, and possibly, not very good? Of course, if you look at Rotten Tomatoes it's currently getting a mere 4%, which I think is a bit low. I mean, sure, it's not an awesome movie and it won't be winning any awards, but it did have some entertainment value.

Now, getting to the actual description of the movie, it's basically a private investigator mystery story set in New Orleans, though that's never really obvious from the setting. The twist here is that Dylan Dog is basically the neutral party between the various undead factions living in New Orleans. He investigates any crimes involving the undead and ... I don't know, rules on them? That's never really clear. So you've got Dylan investigating some murders and there's bad stuff and twists and so on. It's fun. Yes, there's crappy writing and weak special FX, and it's not nearly as funny as I think it wanted to be, but it's not unwatchable.

2/5

The uncanny valley meets sophisticated motion capture technology and a message about the benefits of family that's about as subtle as a crowbar to the face. What I appreciate about this movie are all the great looking science fiction settings and concepts being introduced to young viewers. Yay Sci-Fi! Unfortunately, the completely not subtle way the movie's message is shoved into the viewer's face kind of detracts from the whole... at least to me as an adult. This was certainly not one of those Pixar-type animated movies that is fun for parents and children both. Not that it isn't fun for parents, but it's all meant for the younger viewers as opposed to Pixar who includes jokes and content that parents can enjoy as well. To be honest, my favorite part of the movie was the credits, during which they included four shots of the live actors in their motion capture get-ups performing various scenes from the movie. It really gives you an appreciation for the technology and also makes you realize that yes, there really were live actors doing these crazy scenes. So, if you are an adult, my rating is...

2/5

This being the fourth Resident Evil movie, I think we're all familiar with the formula by now. There are zombies and the evil Umbrella corporation and there's Alice who's fighting Umbrella and blah blah blah. Let's get to the summary already. The plot is simple and predictable. It's immediately clear which characters will live and which will be zombie food. It's in 3D. While I did find the movie entertaining, it also felt slow and the action sequences, while complex and reasonably impressively choreographed, also felt cliched and nearly a parody of such over-done sequences. In the end, I'm torn because it really wasn't a terrible movie, just really not special in any way.

2/5

What's noteworthy about this movie is that, while it looks like an old-west gunslinger cowboy type movie, it actually takes place largely along the east coast (much of it in Virginia) and is instead about domestic terrorists who want to blow up America. I'm not entirely clear why, but I doubt it matters. Josh Broland as Jonah is a bounty hunter with a code, sorta, who can also talk to the dead. It sounds like there's a lot to this, but we only get a sampling. What bothered me was how Jonah learned all about the rules of talking to the dead. Was there a manual? "Hey dead, it's me, Jonah." Megan Fox plays a whore who can kick ass while wearing a disturbingly painful looking corset. Malkovich is the aforementioned terrorist who wants to blow everything up so that the people rise up and tear down the government. I'm not clear on how that's supposed to work when you've already blown up most of the people, but hey, this is comic book fantasy, why should we start making sense now?

So did I like the movie? Meh. I didn't find it entertaining. My favorite part was like, watching people gallop around to crunchy guitar music, if that tells you anything.

2/5

A classic film filled with character, personality, and charm about a young hero learning about his destiny as a demigod and... oh wait, that was the original movie. This would be the remake in which people fight mythological creatures and say awkward lines that probably looked really good on paper, but fall flat when spoken out loud. Sure, the effects are now computer generated, so a giant kraken looks giant, and Medusa actually comes off real well and there are "scorpiochs" or something... But what you reproduce with digital clarity, you strip the personality from. The effects in the original movie were impressive because they were dealing with such simple technology (stop motion animation). Now, they're just like everything else, so what do you have to fall back on? Well, it certainly isn't plot, writing, or great characters. In the movie's favor, I still came out of it entertained. Not blown away or overwhelmed, but I wasn't bored... much. Oh, and I did not see the 3D version.

2/5

Talk about a title that leaves you out of breath! So here we have director Chris Columbus taking on another series of young adult novels only instead of bringing us the excellent Harry Potter, he drops a mediocre Percy Jackson at our feet and smiles uncomfortably. I realize we shouldn't have very high expectations for adventure movies targeting kids and teens, but I suppose I was hoping for more. Straight up, this movie suffers from a bad script full of forced jokes that feel very played out. There's also the overall story, which suggests that demi-gods are as common as... witches and warlocks in the modern world. But in this case, we're squeezing in a lesson in Greek mythology and the true meaning of family. Awwww... It felt like a stretch to me too. There were some moments that weren't as bad as others, but they were fleeting. Any time I started to feel like something might actually get interesting, it was quickly suppressed by crappy dialog. So sad. Well, I've moved on.

2/5

The Book of Eli is another movie set in post-apocalyptic North America. Unlike The Road's east coast setting, The Book of Eli takes place in the barren west as Eli, played by Denzel Washington, travels toward the coast in a divine quest to simply "go west." The villain Carnegie is played by one of my favorites, Gary Oldman, as the de facto mafia mayor of what looks to be an old prospecting town. Of course, Eli's interest in spreading the word for the good of all is somewhat in conflict with Carnegie's desire to gain power through the control of the weak-willed and ignorant. The story goes that, after "the flash" all copies of The Bible were burned because some thought religion caused the war. Make of that what you want. So now all that's left is this one copy of The Bible and it must be saved because it is good. Or something. Honestly, I'm not sure what the message is here. So, on top of the foggy message and motivations, we're slapped in the face with a huge twist at the end that makes you want to go back and watch the whole movie again to catch all the clues... and then you realize you really didn't enjoy the movie enough to have any interest in watching it again.

2/5