Top 10 Of 2011

Geez! I really need to spend more time keeping my blog up to date. We're halfway through February and I'm just now posting my Top 10 films of 2011. I apologize folks... this post is way overdue. Granted, I spent most of January catching up on films I didn't get to see when they first came out, but still that's not enough, especially since I missed more than I would have cared to. Here are a few I have yet to see... Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Melancholia, Shame, and a few others. Still, I got most of the year's supposed best offerings... at least enough to provide a reasonable top 10 list for 2011. Without further ado... here are my picks for my personal favorite movies of 2011.

10. Thor
By no means a perfect film, but a damn good summer blockbuster with enough of an edge to make this list. Marvel's depiction of the Norse God of Thunder ran for decades in comics, but this was his first live action feature. Thanks to creative direction from Kenneth Branagh, some sweet action scenes, solid performances from Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tom Hiddleston, and an enjoyable story with intriguing characters and a fun sense of humor, we get one of the more enjoyable fantasy-themed action films in recent memory. Can't way to see Thor show up in the Avengers!

9. The Muppets
Just seeing the Muppets make their return to the silver screen was enough to get me excited, but seeing them in a movie considerably more hilarious than I could have expected was even better. Jim Henson's furry creations haven't lost one bit of their quirky sense of humor, mainly thanks an enjoyable script written by Jason Segal. Fourth wall jokes, celebrity cameos, well-timed slapstick, and catchy songs... it's good to have the Muppets back!

8. Captain America: The First Avenger
In the pantheon of the connected Marvel movies, Captain America is probably my favorite. Oh sure, the first Iron Man was great and the sequel wasn't bad, Thor was a lot of fun, and the Incredible Hulk was surprisingly solid. I don't know exactly why, but Captain America just connected with me more than the rest. Maybe it was the campy-retro vibes, the awesome costumes, the solid production design, the well-directed action scenes, or Chris Evans' performance as the titular Captain. Yeah... I dug the hell out of this movie!

7. X-Men: First Class
Okay I swear, this is the last comic book movie on this list! But honestly, how could I not put First Class up here. I dug most of the X-Men movies with the exception of Wolverine (yes, I even kind of liked X-Men 3... even if only somewhat), but I'll admit that all of them had a few notable flaws. While First Class is by no means perfect, it is easily the closest the series has come to achieving that state. Matthew Vaughn's stellar direction gave the film a sort of nostalgic vibe reminiscent of golden age 007 films, while the story's themes of prejudice and discrimination tied in well with the 1960s settings. Of course, there's also the benefit of great action, a fun team of characters, and mostly great performances with the standout being Michael Fassbender's excellent portrayal of Magneto. Mutant and Proud!

6. The Descendants
Any movie starring George Clooney should stand a good chance of being great. That's not just because Clooney is an awesome actor (though he is), it's mainly that he has a good eye for choosing scripts and working with talented directors. This comedy/drama directed by Sideways director Alexander Payne is no exception. It's a fairly predictable story, but the enjoyable characters, great performances, and an perfect balance of drama and humor more than make up for it. Plus it's a legitimately touching film that doesn't descend into melodrama or schmaltz. Not to mention it's beautifully shot as well.

5. Moneyball
Much like George Clooney, Brad Pitt has a good talent for spotting great scripts. This year he starred in two very well-made films, one being the Tree of Life (which while good, is not on this list) and the other being Moneyball. Based on a true story, Moneyball is about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and his ludicrous experiment drafting players through bizarre statistical means to accommodate the team's severe budget cuts. Brad Pitt is as great as always, along with a better-than-usual Jonah Hill making showing some promising dramatic ability. It's an inspiring movie, but not in the usual sappy or schmaltzy way so many sports films tend to descend into. It's a bit difficult to explain exactly why I like this movie so much, other than maybe that, it just works!

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Maybe when I write a full review for this one, I'll delve more into how it compares with the book or the previous Swedish film version, but not here. Based strictly on it's own merits, David Fincher's adaption of Steig Larsson's thrilling novel is just about everything you could possibly want. Fincher's slick and stylish direction compliment the intriguing story and solid performances that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Though by far, the most memorable aspect of this film, is the amazingly dedicated performance from Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, not only erasing any memory of her bland performance from the Nightmare On Elm Street remake, but delivering one of the most compelling and disturbing performances in recent memory. If you can handle the film's intense content, definitely check this one out!

3. Hugo
The thought of Martin Scorsese directing a whimsical fantasy-themed family movie almost seems like a joke. After all, this is the director of notoriously violent thrillers including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Despite all that, when watching Hugo, you suddenly find yourself reminded of just how good of a director Scorsese really is, seamlessly integrating two separate stories. The first of which (the main plot) is the aforementioned fantasy plot involving a young orphan boy named Hugo living in the walls of a 1930s Paris train station and the other being an fictionalized account of legendary filmmaker George Méliès. As crazy as that sounds, Scorsese is enough of a master to make it work. There's really not much to critique here... it's easily one of the best family movies I've seen in a long time. If you missed this one in theatres, definitely check it out!

2. Midnight In Paris
"Hey Chris! Is this a typo or are you really putting a romantic comedy in the number 2 spot?" It's true Midnight in Paris is my second favorite film of 2011. I admit that I'm often more than a little critical toward romantic comedies, but the Woody Allen-directed fantasy comedy just struck a chord with me. The concept is amazingly creative, the performances are fun to watch, and Allen's witty dialogue is just as appealing as ever. It's a unique and clever introspective into our nostalgia-obsessed society with a love story that develops the characters and supports the main plot without overshadowing it. What can I say? I just really enjoyed this one.

1. Drive
It may not be the most provocative film ever made, but Drive tops my list of films this year simply for it's stellar style and sheer awesomeness. While the violence may seem a bit excessive and the pacing may be a bit slow for some viewers, Drive blew me away thanks to it's compelling performances, top notch cinematography, stellar soundtrack, interesting characters, and inspired storyline. If you can handle some of the gratuitous violence in the third act, than definitely give this one a watch.

Those are my favorite films of 2011. If you haven't seen them, check em' out!

Worst Films of 2011

This is another very overdue posting. We're a month into 2012, and I've barely even made mention of the highlights and low points for the films of 2011. That's mainly because I've been playing catchup with the year's films that I didn't get a chance to see. I was determined to do a proper Top 10 Best and Worst of list this year, unlike in 2010 when I did a Top 10 best films but only a Top 5 worst movies (plus a few dishonorable mentions). So, in an effort to do a proper year-in-review, I not only tried to see as many of the year's best, but also forced myself to sit through more shlock than I would have cared to see. To be fair, I still think I missed a lot of the year's truly bad films (for example, I haven't seen Breaking Dawn, Jack and Jill, and a few others). With that said, some of these films really aren't THAT bad (though some are), but rather felt like missed opportunities or poor executions of promising material. Nonetheless, I think I took in enough shlock to provide a reasonable list. If there's any I see later and feel like should have been on this list, I'll write a review. Until then, here are my picks for the worst films of 2011.

10. Bad Teacher
To the film's credit, this actually wasn't a terrible movie, but rather a huge missed opportunity. The concept was promising, it had a few funny scenes, and the cast was great. I'm not a huge Cameron Diaz fan, but her surprisingly dedicated performance was so spot on that she came so close to salvaging the movie. Unfortunately Diaz, and the rest of the talented cast, was let down by mediocre writing and unfunny jokes. It's really too bad, I can tell a lot of work and effort went into this movie.

9. I Am Number Four
The admittedly decent alien vs alien battle in the climax saved this sci-fi themed Twilight-wannabe from ranking any higher, but it doesn't excuse the fact that the first two-thirds of this movie do pretty much everything wrong. The story had promise, but the flat performances, stale dialogue, and slow pacing killed the movie's potential. Actually, this content might have functioned better as a TV series than a movie. Still, it's not to say that a good movie couldn't have come out of this, just not this one.

8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
It's by no means as bad as the irredeemably terrible Revenge of the Fallen (still not letting you off the hook for that one Mr. Bay), but it's still a disappointment. The story was weak, the performances were annoying, the characters were one-note, and the action was hit and miss. I guess the special effects were decent, the 3D wasn't too shabby, and the finale had it's moments, but there was nothing particularly memorable about it either. At best, its a mediocre movie in a less-than-stellar series.

7. Arthur
This is a remake that is as unfunny as it is pointless. It takes an especially gifted actor to be both bland and annoying, yet Russell Brand (or maybe Russell Bland?) pulls it off, with a portrayal of Arthur that's thoroughly unlikable, annoying, and lacking in emotional depth. Not to mention, it wastes the talent of Helen Mirren, who looked as bored as the audience who saw this piece of crap. Skip the remake and watch the original Dudley Moore version instead.

6. Shark Night 3D
If Piranha 3D was the blueprint for how to make an intentional "so-bad-its-good" exploitation film, Shark Night is the blueprint for how NOT to make one. Boring characters, weak suspense, fake-looking effects, and PG-13 rated violence and sex. There's only one thing a movie like Shark Night has to get right: excessive amounts of blood-soaked violence and gore! Instead, we got a B-Movie with all the typical faults, but none of the enjoyment.

5. Green Lantern
When I first saw this movie, my reaction was something along the lines of, "It wasn't that good, but it wasn't really terrible." Looking back at it now, while I still wouldn't call it the worst superhero movie ever, it's still a definite letdown. It's not much more than ho-hum effects and action, a poorly written script, boring performances, and a weak portrayal of the comic book's mythos and stories. If it weren't for Peter Saarsgard giving it a little bit of an edge, it could have been much worse. Too bad, this was one of the most promising films of the year.

4. The Green Hornet
It's not that I had particularly high expectations for The Green Hornet, but I still thought it could have been better. I mean, this movie was a failure on nearly all levels. Oh sure, Kato was kind of fun and Michel Gondry is a decent enough director to give it a bit of stylish flair, but it didn't make up for the annoying characters, forgettable action, and unfunny humor. I guess for superheroes in 2011, it wasn't easy bein' green.

3. The Hangover Part II
You could watch The Hangover Part II, or you could get the same experience by simply watching the original and muting the audio every time something funny or clever happens. On top of being a generic carbon-copy of it's predecessor, The Hangover Part II takes the quirky and fun humor from the first and makes it considerably darker and more unpleasant. It's one of those films that, in addition to just being plain bad and lazy, also makes you feel kind of dirty after watching it. Don't bother.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
There are a lot of words you would expect to hear to describe a summer blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean. Fun, exciting, thrilling, adventurous, etc... but the one word you never want to hear is this one... BORING!!! Unfortunately, that's exactly what On Stranger Tides is. What started off as a promising adventure series has descended into dull and lifeless moneygrab sequels. Depp's shtick as Jack Sparrow was wearing thin in the last two movies, but here's it's lost all of it's charm. Some of the other actors try to pick up the slack, but are let down with a bizarre and ridiculous story. Take that in account with the forgettable action, weak characters, and a strange Christianity vs Paganism subplot... and you've pretty much got a disaster. Thar she blows!

1. Bucky Larson: Born to Be A Star
I........ got nothing. To it's credit, all the other movies on this list look like Gone with the fucking Wind compared this mess! This movie is more than just bad... it's more than a disaster... it's a fucking shitty miracle! Nothing works... absolutely nothing! The characters are annoying and offensive, the actors look lost, the direction is nonexistent, the humor is... SO INCREDIBLY DISGUSTING AND PAINFULLY WRONG!!! How did this get made??? Who thought this was funny??? I'm usually the first to say that you can make a good movie out of anything, but this is one of the first movies to seriously make me second guess my theory. I mean... it's putrid, disgusting, unbelievably offensive and terrible on so many levels. As I write this, I'm actually stuttering while trying to project my feelings toward this ungodly mess. Who thought this would work? How did they manage to get so many established actors to sign on to it? I've never been a Nick Swardson fan in the first place, but any respect I've ever had or may have for him is gone now!!! This is just a whole new level of bad. If I could find a way to personally destroy every copy of this movie in existence, I would do it!

So... now that I've calmed down a bit. Those are my picks for the worst films I saw from 2011. Don't bother watching them.

Drive - Review

You know what folks... I suck! I have completely negated the whole reason I started this blog in the first place, to help contribute to worthwhile films playing in theatres (especially under-the-radar films like Drive). I imagine Drive probably isn't even playing in many theatres anymore, which is even more disappointing considering it had a pretty limited release in the first place. I'm sure I've waited far too long to be able to persuade any potential readers of this blog to see this incredibly awesome movie, so I'm going to start by saying one thing. If you are reading this, and Drive is playing in your local theatre... stop reading and go see it RIGHT NOW! You won't regret it!

The film stars Ryan Gosling playing an unnamed man simply credited as the Driver. He is a mysterious and elusive person who seldom speaks and lives by himself in his tiny low-rent Los Angeles apartment. He works as a mechanic and Hollywood stunt driver while moonlighting as a getaway driver. He's an expert at practically everything he does... a genius mechanic, a top-notch stuntman, and a keen getaway who never gets caught and never works with the same client twice. One day, his auto-shop employer Shannon (Bryan Cranston) makes a deal with a mobster named Bernie (Albert Brooks) for a stock race car in which the Driver will take the wheel. At the same, the Driver strikes a friendship with with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos). He helps them out in any way he can while Irene's husband Standard (Oscar Issac) is serving time in prison. Suddenly, with little warning, the Driver finds himself caught in the middle of a mob conflict between Bernie's mafia, setting their sights on him as well as Shannon and Standard, forcing the Driver to fight for himself and those he cares for.

You know what I love about this movie? Just about everything actually. It's a character driven action-drama that pays homage to many films that came before yet stands on it's own as a unique and compelling contemporary film. It's hard to precisely explain what kind of movie Drive is. It's partly film noir, part art house, somewhat experimental... and a straightforward drama too. It takes cues from many different movies, the first of which most have drawn comparisons to would be the 1968 Steve McQueen thriller, Bullitt.

Others may include 60s and 70s gangster movies like Point Blank, or 80s cop thrillers like Miami Vice, or even classic westerns like The Man with No Name films starring Clint Eastwood. It's a dynamic style, with all of it's cues seamlessly coming together to create something so familiar yet very unique. The cinematography is top notch. It has well framed shots with a good sense of composition and interesting color correction. The action isn't too erratic either, but rather well framed and easy to follow. The soundtrack is awesome too, arguably the best of the year. I'll probably have to download the music on iTunes soon. Make no mistake, there's no denying the inherent awesomeness of Drive's creatively stellar style.

As far as the casting... let's just say that it all just works! I've never been a huge Ryan Gosling fan, but he's really started to grow on me after I saw him in this movie and another film from this year, The Ides of March. There's a certain subtlety to his performance in Drive that I found quite compelling. He doesn't have much dialogue, but every time he's on screen, he owns his role. You can see that there is something going on in his mind, and without spoiling the ending, let's just say that Gosling gave one of the most interesting performances of the year. Mysterious, dark, and driven are probably the three best words to describe Gosling here. It's hard to say whether the film's subject matter will end up turning off the Academy from giving Gosling an Oscar nod, but I'm really hoping he gets recognized for this performance.

The other stand out performance would have to go to Albert Brooks as the mob boss Bernie Ross. Unlike the subdued and quiet Gosling, Brooks is vocal and animated (but not too over-the-top). He's one of the more interesting mob boss characters I've seen in a while, because, like Gosling's character, there's something dark and mysterious about Ross too, but in a different way. To reveal what I mean would be something of a spoiler, but there's definitely something driving him that you can't see right away. Is he totally evil, are his intentions ill, or is he just a businessman? Brooks plays his character to a tee, and should hopefully net an Oscar nomination as well. The rest of the cast is all solid. Bryan Cranston (who is finally getting some good roles) does his usual solid job. Carey Mulligan plays the love interest Irene and gives a good performance as well. The great Ron Perlman also has a few scenes as rather intimidating mob hitman... good casting there. No real complaints about the acting, everyone was generally good if not great.

As far as complaints... to be honest, this is another one of those movies that I don't really have anything negative to say. Some criticism I kept hearing about was regarding the ending and a questionable choice made by the Driver. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that it never really phased me, nor did it strike me as odd. It seemed like a logical conclusion and I felt like it wrapped up the story well. It is a rather violent film, with a particular shift in tone of the violence in the 3rd act. It comes somewhat out of left field and might turn some people off. None of this bothered me personally, but for those who aren't a fan of blood or brutality may be a little bothered by some of it. Those who can stomach their violence shouldn't need to worry about it. Overall, I can't think of anything I disliked about this movie, it's pretty damn close to perfect.

In short, Drive is easily one of the best, possibly the best, film of 2011. I dug the hell out of the movie's concept, style, and performances. I only regret not posting this review sooner. If you missed it in theatres, then definitely check it out when its on Blu Ray and DVD! This is one I'll be adding to my collection the day it comes out!

My Score: 5 out of 5!

The Help - Review

I've been dreading this review for a while, but the hype and impact surrounding The Help has been so immense that I feel kind of compelled to give in and share my thoughts. Based on the best selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, The Help is a civil rights era dramedy set in 1960s Mississippi. In addition to being a well-received crowd pleaser and a likely Oscar contender, the film is also this year's movie people judge you for based on your opinion. Does it live up to it's hype or it just overblown Oscar bait.

As mentioned, The Help takes place in the town of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s civil rights era. It focuses primarily on Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone), an educated and ambitious 23-year-old who has just moved moved back to Jackson after graduating from college. Despite pressure from her family and peers to get married and start a family, Skeeter instead focuses on her writing career and lands a job with a local newspaper. During this time, she also starts her own ambitious writing project, a novel from the perspective of The Help, the underpaid, overworked, and discriminated African American maids to upper class suburban white families. After being repulsed by her peers' racist attitudes toward the help, especially the particularly despicable Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) who was spearheading numerous Jim Crow-style bills and laws, Skeeter decides to interview various maids about their true feelings toward their employers. The first maid Skeeter approaches for an interview is the soft-spoken Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Due to the controversial nature of Skeeter's book, Aibileen is at first reluctant, but eventually agrees to the interview in order to express her true thoughts about society's treatment of minorities. The second to come forward is Aibileen's close friend Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), a sharp tongued maid whose tendency to speak her mind has landed her in trouble on more than one occasion. More follow suit, and soon Skeeter has a groundbreaking book to correspond with the changing times.

I'm just going to come forward with this... I've had reservations about this film since I first heard about it. Upon hearing the plot, it just seemed like another "White Savior" movie like 2009's The Blind Side (aka Sandra Bullock's vanity film). Also, I have not read the novel, just in case you were wondering. I'm judging this movie strictly on it's merits as a film. I don't know how well it follows the novel nor can I say whether it's better or worse. So, with that in mind, what do I think of The Help? In short, it's not horrible but it's not particularly good . Parts of it are solid, at times even excellent, but other parts are terrible misfires. It's a missed opportunity to say the least, for multiple reasons.

Most of hype for The Help was surrounding it's star studded ensemble cast. The large cast includes Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson, Ahna O'Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janey, and many others. I'll start by saying this, despite all my reservations with this movie (and I have many), none of them are concerning the cast... for the most part at least.

Emma Stone leads as Skeeter, and while I have issues with her character and plotline (which I will get into later), I have to give credit to Stone herself. Stone's been on a roll lately, with well-received parts in movies like Superbad, Zombieland, Easy A, and others. A true talent to say the least, she does an admittedly solid job here in The Help. This is far from her best performance, but her easy going demeanor, natural comic timing, and decent dramatic range is overall a success. Not much to say about her other than that she does a solid job.

By far, the most discussed and easily the most memorable performance has to go do Viola Davis as Abilene. Believe the hype her folks... Davis is awesome in this role! Whenever she is on screen, she brings a commanding charisma to her role that is by far the most compelling performance in this film. Is it an Oscar worthy performance? Quite possibly. She's all but guaranteed to receive a nomination and should stand a good chance at winning too. By far, the best thing about this movie is Davis' performance, and could have easily carried this movie on her own.

The second most talked about performance would be Octavia Spencer as Minnie. While there's no competing with Davis for who gave the best performance, there's no denying that Spencer kills with her role as well. Her character has a few notable dramatic moments, but mostly serves as the comic relief, or at least one of the more humorous characters. She has a few different noteworthy scenes, the most memorable of which is the infamous pie scene (if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about). An Oscar nomination seems all but guaranteed for Spencer as well, though a win is a little up in the air (though certainly possible).

The rest of the cast is all solid. The main antagonist, Hilly Hollbrook, is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I've always had mixed feelings toward Howard, since she's shown some decent range though her choices in roles has been kind of hit and miss. Here, once again I have some mixed feelings. Her character is a nasty, dispicable, and thoroughly hateful person that drives most of the film's conflict. She's certainly one you love to hate, but I can't help but feel like Howard goes a little over the top at times. Still, she more or less accomplishes her role, so I'll give a pass. I won't critique everyone else, but rather say The Help is a thoroughly well acted movie.

So the acting is all great... no major complaints there. The story, on the other hand, is kind of a mess. Like I said before, the all-to-common "White Savior" story arch this film embraces has always been a major annoyance to me. According to The Help, the Civil Rights movement in Jackson wasn't kicked off by oppressed minorities standing up for their rights or inspiration from notable Civil Rights era figures like Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks, but rather the chick from Zombieland. It has a couple passing references to civil rights era figures, including a mention of the death of Medgar Evers, but that's about it. On top of all that, most of the black characters conform to stereotypes and cliches that have been present since the formation of the motion picture. For instance, there is a scene with Minny where she professes her love for fried chicken and how it makes life seem better... eek! It's kind of annoying, if not flat out nauseating, that The Help resorts to such an overdone storyline with borderline racist undertones. Unfortunately, the problems with the story go beyond simple concept. Even more frustrating is that it has moments of greatness that are barely utilized or explored.

Even if I could get behind the general idea of the white savior storyline, it still doesn't work in this movie because the movie's central plot (the one with Skeeter) just isn't all that interesting. Skeeter and Hilly aren't very interesting characters. They're both nothing more than generic archetypes (as are nearly every character in the movie) that conform to overdone cliches. Skeeter is your typical perfect enlightened do-gooder whose status as a writer makes me think her character represents a blatant author insert (though that's just a theory). There's also a couple go nowhere subplots about Skeeter's terminally ill mother as well as one about her getting a boyfriend. The one about Skeeter's mother, Charlotte (Alison Janey), is only barely mentioned and rarely developed aside for two or three scenes. The other, where she dates a senator's son named Stuart (Chris Lowell) gets hardly any attention as well. Maybe these plots were more relevant in the book, but here they're just deadweight that adds to the film's already long runtime.

Hilly is just your flat out person you love to hate. She's just another one-dimensional greedy, selfish, and prejudice "villain" without any real depth or subtext. I know people like her exist, and were probably fairly common in the respective time period, but it just doesn't make for a very interesting character. The rivalry between Skeeter and Hilly is predictable, dull, and despite the film's subject matter, kind of shallow. That said, Hilly's story did have a few of the movie's more enjoyable laughs, so that has to count for something.

The Help has two primary subplots that are significantly more interesting than the main plot. The first of which concerns Aibileen. Out of all the maids, she is the one who receives the most screen time and development. Her tragic backstory sets her character arch in motion and is the closest the time the film comes to being truly special. She mentions how maids make a meager living raising the children of wealthy white families while having little to no time to spend with their own. This is all the more tragic for Aibelene as her only son, one she barely saw, recently died. It's heart breakingly tragic story that gives the movie some real emotional weight. Only problem... IT'S BARELY DEVELOPED!!! Since the movie devotes so much time to Skeeter's storyline, Aibileen's is left in the shadows.

The second subplot that I got into was a friendship between Minny and her new employer. After Minny's acting out landed her in hot water with most of Jackson's residents, the only person that would hire her was Celia Foote (Jessica Christian), a sweet natured but naive and outcast resident of Jackson. At first glance, Celia comes off as any other of Jackson's wealthy white families... wealthy, married, and expecting their first child. That said, Celia's non-conformist ways and naive attitude have made her the outcast of the town. Both her and Minnie bond over their time together and form a friendship. It's a great relationship and sweet natured subplot that ties in well with the themes of prejudice and conformity.

It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but I can't help but feel like the movie would have been substantially better had they dropped Skeeter's storyline. The Help would have been a far more compelling drama had it made Aibileen the movie's primary focus with the Minny/Celia story as the subplot. Both easily tie in with the film's themes of prejudice and civil rights, and could have been considerably compelling had they received more attention and development. Still, the film's acting is superb, and I'm almost tempted to give it a recommendation just on the strengths of the performances from Davis and Spencer. That said, due to the film's massively flawed script, I just can't bring myself to do that. It's out on DVD now, so I imagine anyone who wanted to see this movie already has, but those are my two cents. Still, I say skip it.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5!

The Muppets - Review

I think the first few lines of the opening musical number for this movie pretty much summed up my reaction after hearing that a new Muppet movie was in development: "Everything is great, everything is grand, I've got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand!" Okay, well maybe I don't quite feel like the world's in my hands, but news of the long awaited theatrical return of Jim Henson's legendary characters sure got me excited. As a kid, the Muppets never failed to make me laugh, be it the TV shows, the movies, or the television specials. What surprises me is how, as an adult, I still find them funny. Alright, I guess some of the Muppet productions haven't quite held up (the cartoon spin-offs and some of the later movies haven't exactly gotten better with age), but even the worst of the Muppet movies are, at the very least, entertaining on some level (Muppets From Space). Does the new Muppet movie live up to Jim Henson's legacy?

The Muppets, while more or less in line with the series' previous movie canon, is something of an in-continuity reboot. It's been well over a decade since the last theatrical Muppet movie, and since then the Muppets have all split up and gone their separate ways. Kermit lives a most secluded life in his Hollywood mansion, Miss Piggy is a famous fashion designer in Paris, Gonzo has become a plumbing magnate, Fozzie is the lead singer of Reno Muppet impersonation group called The Moopets, Animal is in a celebrity anger management group, and... the list goes on. When 3 Hollywood tourists, Gary (Jason Segel), his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and his Muppet superfan brother Walter (who happens to be a Muppet himself) discover a plot by a greedy Oil tycoon named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to tear down the Muppet studios to drill for oil, they form a plan to reunite the Muppets to band together and save their beloved studios.

I'll be first to admit that the plot for the movie isn't really groundbreaking. There's nothing inherently bad about it, but it's just been done before. It's basically The Muppet Movie meets The Blues Brothers. In the end, that doesn't really matter because the script delivers on where it needs to. In other words, the movie is really funny! The film was mainly pitched by the film's star, Jason Segel. Apparently Segal has been a long time fan of the Muppets who co-wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller. Make no mistake, this is probably the funniest film I've seen this year. I admit that might have something to do with the fact that the comedy scene has been somewhat lacking in 2011, but I don't want to sell the movie short because I was laughing almost the whole way through.

As funny as the movie is, there are more than a few things to nitpick. First off are some of the non-cameo human characters. I kind of hate to criticize any of the non-Muppet actors, since nobody gave a bad performance or anything like that. It's just that almost all of the funniest lines and parts went to the Muppet characters, and whenever they weren't on screen, the movie lost a little steam. Jason Segal and Amy Adams are both good actors with great comedic ability but most of their scenes without the Muppets at times would lead to the occasional chuckle, but nothing more than that. Plus, the romantic subplot between the two was mostly unnecessary, tacked on, and irrelevant (although, it did lead to one of the more enjoyable musical numbers).

The other character I have mixed feelings about is Chris Cooper as the villainous Tex Richman. While Cooper was clearly having fun with the role, his character was pretty forgettable. He's little more than a generic evil rich person whose recurring joke was saying the words "Maniacal Laugh!" whenever he was discussing his evil plans. I can see that they were going for a tounge-in-cheek generic villain, but it didn't really work. He lacks the goofy appeal of Doc Hopper from the first movie (a fast food tycoon who sells fried frog legs) or the natural comedic abilities of Charles Grodin's jewel thief from Great Muppet Caper. These are relatively minor nitpicks, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

The direction is hit and miss too. Like I said, the actors are all mostly solid when you consider the film's tone. That might be perceived as a flaw in other movies, but with the movie's inherent hammy tone, everyone fits in pretty nicely. Still, some elements of the production design look a little too cheap and inconsistent. Plus, there wasn't a whole lot of visual flair to the cinematography. None of it is in-your-face awful, but rather just kind of meh. That said, the puppetry work is as solid as ever and some of the dance choreography is well done. Again, these are mostly little nitpicks that are fairly insignificant to the big picture.

There are only a few things a Muppet movie needs to get right, and this movie nails every single one of them. It's a back to basics and return to formula Muppet movie that succeeds in their signature sense of humor and storytelling. Were you hoping for catchy musical numbers? How about the characters trademark slapstick or fourth wall humor? Or maybe you're a fan of the celebrity cameos? This movie has all of the above. The music is appropriately catchy, the jokes are spot on, and the cameos are plentiful. It features a soundtrack of new songs as well as reprisals of a couple classics, Rainbow Connection and Mahna Mahna. The jokes are appropriately goofy but also clever enough to not be annoying. As for the cameos, Jack Black, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris, Zach Galifinakis, Sarah Silverman, and many others all bring their comedic charm for their brief appearances. It's a classic Muppet awesomeness the rings back to the glory days of The Muppet Show and the first movie.

In short, I loved this movie! It's not a perfect film, but it succeeds in everything it needs to. It's a fun comedic romp that both adults and kids can enjoy. All I can say is that it's great to have the Muppets back. Highly recommended!

My Score: 4 out of 5!

Real Steel - Review

There are some movies with premises so goofy and strange, that I wish I could have heard the screenwriter, producer, or director pitch his/her idea to the studio. I imagine the pitch for Real Steel went something along the lines of "Rocky... but with Robots" or maybe this film started off as a film adaptation of the Rock-Em Sock-Em Robot toy line. Hell, it was probably greenlit as an opportunity for the studio to put a family friendly crowd pleaser in theaters for the end-of-summer lineup and give them just enough time to market a line of Real Steel-themed toys in time for the holidays. No matter where the origins of it's bizarre conception came from, what really matters is whether the movie is any good. So is Real Steel as dumb as it sounds or is it the real deal?

The said goofy concept basically goes like this. Real Steel is set in the near future where a new sport craze has captured the nation... Robot Boxing! Audiences don't care about seeing two people wail on each other in the ring anymore, now they prefer seeing brutal fights between 10 foot tall robots. In the middle of the Robot Boxing circuit is Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman). Himself a former boxer, Charlie travels the country entering his robots in as many fights as he can... and usually looses. Up to his neck in debt and malfunctioning robots, Charlie struggles to maintain a living. When he learns that his ex-girlfriend of many years ago unexpectedly died, he suddenly finds himself reunited with his estranged son Max. Not wanting to have anything to do with his child, he arranges for his ex's wealthy and willing sister to take custody of Max, but not until after summer comes to an end. In the meantime, Charlie reluctantly takes Max on the road for his boxing circuit. There they both discover a beat-up robot named Atom. Despite Atom's relative inability to dish any pain, it's ability to withstand large amounts of damage make it a surprisingly formidable fighter. So now, Charlie, Max, and Atom take the roads and become a surprising hit in the world of robot boxing.

Any movie with a story that can be best described as Rocky with a touch of Over The Top and some Transformers-style robots has no real reason to be any good. That said, I have to admit, Real Steel actually isn't that bad of a movie... dare I say that I even liked it. Make no mistake, it's by no means amazing but its well enough made to justify at least one viewing (it's probably not in theatres anymore, sorry for the late review folks). Oh sure, it's still mainly an excuse to make a quick buck and to market a bunch of toys, and the film snob part of me sometimes says that I should be harder on it, but I can't deny that I found the movie very enjoyable and well made. What can I say?

I've generally been a fan of Hugh Jackman, but I have to admit that he hasn't exactly been on a high streak lately. With the exception of his amusing Wolverine cameo in X-Men First Class, I can't really think of any other particularly noteworthy movies he has been a part of the last few years. His performance in Reel Steal, however, changes that. He certainly pulls off what is normally a fairly generic "douchebag with a heart of gold" role and does it well. He starts off as enough of a deadbeat to set his character arc in motion and as the story progresses, his development feels natural and convincing. He's by no means Oscar worthy but Jackman does his part well. The real breakthrough performance has to go to Dakota Goyo as the young Max Denton. Kid performances tend to either make or break a movie if their character plays a major role in the plot, but Goyo pulls through and brings a natural and believable performance that's neither forced or annoying. Not much else to say about the acting other than that it just works.

The special effects are surprisingly some of the better I've seen this year. Looking back on this last year, the visual effects front has been kind of lackluster. The Transformers cgi was less-than-spectacular, Super 8 had its moments yet was kind of meh, Green Lantern was ugly, Planet of the Apes was well detailed but usually looked pretty computerized, X-Men's looked somewhat unfinished, Thor's were colorful yet also not totally convincing, and... you get the point. Real Steel's on the other hand actually look pretty damn awesome. The cgi robots aren't always 100% convincing, but they all have neat-looking designs that serve the movie well. The detail in the animation is impressive, the physics behind their movements works, and the designs are all distinct from one another. It's mostly cgi (especially during the fight scenes) but there are a few scenes using puppets and animations. It had a good balance between the two, and it just plain works.

The boxing and action scenes are surprisingly better than I could have ever expected. Director Shawn Levey's filmography before Real Steel consisted mainly of second-rate comedies. I would have never led me to believe he was capable of directing action. After all, this is the guy behind forgettable fare like Big Fat Liar, Cheaper By The Dozen, The Pink Panther remake, Night At The Museum, and a few others of more or less the same calibre. Granted, most of his films aren't necessarily horrible (usually) but most are pretty meh to say the least. For Real Steel, the action scenes combine the efforts of Levey's surprisingly formidable direction, fast-paced but not erratic editing, well-placed camera angles, great fight choreography staged by Sugar Ray Leonard, and the aforementioned solid special effects. What can I say other than that they're exciting, well made, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

To no surprise, the story is the film's biggest weak spot is the story. I'm sure there are plenty of people that will have a hard time getting behind the Rocky with Robots plotline, and I'll be first to admit how silly it sounds. The main problem for me wasn't so much the goofy plot as much as it was the incredibly predictable nature of the story. If you've seen any boxing movie ever made, you'll have absolutely no problem predicting the ending and most of the dramatic turns. Not to mention, some of the character development comes kind of out of left field. The most noticeable would be the scene where Max suddenly changes from a star-struck young fan to a noted expert of the craft of robot boxing. It's generic, run-of-the-mill screenwriting to say the least, but if you keep your expectations low enough, it probably won't phase you much.

This kind of a side note, but I'd like to take this time to write a note to Michael Bay or whoever will be making the next Transformers movie. Mr. Bay, take a look at Real Steel and take some notes on how to make a fun movie action movie with toy-like robots. Take note of the robots... they're distinguishable from one another, moved like robots, and looked well constructed. Look at the action... the camera wasn't shaking around erratically and you could actually see what was happening. Finally, observe the actors... did you see how grounded and believable performances made the movie better and more believable as opposed to overacting psychos shouting half of their lines? Just take a look, it certainly couldn't hurt.

I don't think that Real Steel is playing in theatres anymore, but if it's still hanging around, I'd say it's worth checking out. If you can accept the silly premise, then definitely give it a shot. Kids will probably eat it up, but adults will find enough to enjoy about it as well. If you missed it in theatres, give it a watch when it comes out on DVD.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5!

Paranormal Activity 3 - Review

Hey! It's October, and that means two things. Halloween is around the corner AND a new Paranormal Activity movie is out (now taking the place of the once annual Saw series). I have to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for these kinds of movies. If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you'll know that I'm a horror movie fan with a particular interest in ghost stories and haunted house movies. At the same time however, I've never cared much for found footage movies. Cloverfield was decent but not great, Blair Witch was overrated, and most others ranged from awful to meh. The original Paranormal Activity was probably the only found-footage horror film that I not only liked but thought was actually great. Sure, none of these movies are epic achievements in filmmaking or anything like that, but they basically deliver on what I expect out of a fun and exciting horror film for the Halloween season.

The first movie was a fun, suspenseful, and at times compelling ghost story that hooked you in with a spooky premise and delivered some memorable scares. The second film, while not as good or fresh as the first, was a surprisingly solid follow-up. It had more than a few faults, but the suspense was still there and it tied the story to it's predecessor better than expected. Does the third entry hold up or has the series worn its welcome?

Paranormal Activity 3 continues the series' chronological trend of going backwards in time. The second movie took place a few weeks before the first film while PA3 goes a couple decades back to the year 1988. Katie and Kristi (the protagonists from parts 1 and 2 respectively) are both young kids living with their mother Julie and their stepdad Dennis. Kristi (approximately age 5 or 6) has apparently made up an imaginary friend named Toby. While "Toby" seems like a harmless made up friend for Kristi at first, things start getting weird. Unexplained and seemingly paranormal occurrences start happening around the house, and the so-called Toby seems to be connected to them. Is he just a figment of Kristi's imagination or is he something else entirely???

I don't even know why I ended that plot description with a question. If you've seen any of the Paranormal Activity movies before this, you already know what's going on. There's an invisible demon that's terrorizing an unsuspecting family. He moves stuff around in the middle of the night, makes spooky and eerie noises, and on occasion attacks an unfortunate victim. This worked well in the first movie, using the"fear of the unknown" and "less is more" concepts to help the film rise above it's otherwise gimmicky premise. It didn't answer every question the viewer may have had, but it didn't need to. It stood on it's own quite well and didn't really need a sequel. This being a successful horror film, though, changed all that and a sequel came out a year after it's wide release to delve more into the mythos.

(I'm about to spoil the plots of the first two movies, but not Part 3. If you want to keep the first two movies a secret, skip ahead two paragraphs)

The first movie left most details about the entity in question under wraps. At first, the movie seemed like a simple spirit haunting... spooky and eerie but not immediately dangerous. After watching the camera footage, doing EVP tests, researching paranormal phenomenon, and conducting experiments, both the characters and the viewers learned that the entity in question wasn't a harmless ghost, but a malevolent demon bent on harming the innocent Katie. The only explanation as to why the demon was tormenting Katie was that demonic hauntings were totally random and that most of the time, they have little to no reason... a somewhat weak explanation I admit, but that didn't really matter because it gave us enough background to keep us guessing but not feel totally cheated out of an idea for what was happening.

The second film changed that a bit. It hinted that these hauntings weren't random, but they instead had something to do with their family's past. Apparently these paranormal visits were triggered by Katie and Kristi's grandmother, who made a deal with the Devil. This "deal" was only briefly hinted at from a few lines of dialogue, but no real insight or details were provided. This was the main problem with PA2 (this and that the movie was basically a retread of the first with a higher budget), it eliminated a lot of the mystery without providing any real closure. It still had some great scares and spooky moments but the ambiguity didn't work to it's advantage this time. I knew there would be more explanation in future sequels, but I still couldn't help but feel a bit cheated.

(Spoilers End here)

Unfortunately, Paranormal Activity 3 falls victim to many of the flaws of it's predecessors (especially part 2). It still feels the need to explain way more than it really needs to. The first 30 minutes were quite tedious. Treading familiar turf from the first two movies, the first act takes way more time introducing the characters and paranormal occurrences than it really needed to. I know this is a prequel and that this is (supposedly) the first time these characters are experiencing any ghostly hauntings, but the filmmakers really needed to put more thought into how the audience would have perceived the introduction. We know who Katie and Kristi are, we more or less know what the demon is capable of, and we are somewhat familiar with their backstory. I realize that some of the introductions were necessary, like the new characters and setting, but they still spent way too much time getting us reacquainted with what we already knew.

The second act was a modest improvement. This is where things were starting to get spooky and the suspense was slowly gaining momentum. Its still more of the same... the lights go out and shit starts going down. Still, you can't argue with what works. There were enough moments to keep me on the edge of my seat and deliver the expected though still effective jump-scare. I couldn't help but feel like many of these scenes were getting to be predictable, but I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't on edge or being caught off guard constantly.

The third act is where things really started getting good. I won't spoil what happens, but make no mistake that this was by far the scariest, most suspenseful, and best part of the movie. Again without giving anything away, it tries something different and unexpected while delving into territory that the previous movies hadn't gone to yet. Some of the ads and reviews have said things along the lines that last 20 minutes will "scar you for life" or be the "scariest thing you'll ever see." I personally think thats quite over-stated, I doubt you'll loose much sleep over them, but it's pretty memorable nonetheless. There is one thing about the last part that I absolutely hated... the ending! After this super suspenseful buildup and finale, the movie just cuts away to the credits while providing hardly any closure. The whole theatre let out a collective moan as soon as the credits started rolling. I know they're setting it up for another sequel, but to just end a movie with so much buildup and no resolution is basically giving the finger to the audience. They might as well have had a producer come out and say "Thanks for watching bitches! Paranormal Activity 4 next year... gimme your 12 bucks!"

There's not really a whole lot more I have to say about Paranormal Activity 3, at least nothing that I feel like I haven't stated before. In terms of it's merits of basic filmmaking, it's fairly solid. The acting is overall believable, with effective performances from child actors Chloe Csengery and Jessica Brown as the young Katie and Kristi. The sound design is still effective too, altering between total silence and jump-worthy shocks! Also, as I mentioned before, most of the scares are still quite effective. Not much to say other than that the pieces come together and the film works. That said, if you weren't a fan of the first two, I seriously doubt this one will change your mind.

There's a part of me saying that I'm going too easy on this film after being ticked off from the ending and the series' repetitive nature, but I can't deny that Paranormal Activity 3 delivered on where it needed to. That said, I must say that the series is starting to look a bit long in the teeth by now and that the gimmicky premise is really wearing out its welcome. I'm not saying that it can't get better, and I hope it does, but they're really going to have to rethink the direction of this series in order to keep it fresh. Nonetheless, Paranormal Activity 3 is a fun and spooky horror film, light on the gore but heavy on the scares and perfect for this Halloween. If that sounds up your alley, check it out!

My Score: 3 out of 5!