Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

With the success of Sherlock Holmes in 2009, and the fact that it brought Robert Downey Jr. back into being an actor in demand, I had very high expectations for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Those expectations were met easily as the writers once again delivered a great Sherlock Holmes story that had an edginess and grittiness that has worked well lately. The story on this go around centers around a series of bombings and assassinations across Europe believed to be perpetuated by an anarchist group. If the activities do not stop, war will erupt through Europe that would lead to mass destruction and casualties. Only Holmes does not believe the events to be the sole work of anarchists, but rather believes Professor James Moriarty to be the mastermind criminal behind these events. While Watson planned to retire from adventures with Holmes after his wedding, he is reluctantly pulled back in after Moriarty's henchmen try to kill him and his wife while they are on a train journeying for their honeymoon, so he agrees to help Holmes with one last adventure. Only this time around the duo receives an additional member: the mysterious gypsy Madam Simza.

The villain character of Professor James Moriarty is not only the perfect antagonist for Sherlock Holmes, but his character is very compelling as well. I loved how his professional life as a criminal master mind is secured hidden beneath that of his profession of being a professor at the University of Cambridge. Moriarty is a much more intelligent, much more cunning and even a lot more deadly then Lord Blackwood was in the previous installment. Moriarty ends up being a very powerful villain which in turn makes him a suitable opponent to match wits with Holmes. Moriarty has the ability because of his strengths to make Holmes more human and not perfect. While in the first installment Holmes is a detective who can do no wrong, in A Game of Shadows, Holmes will make mistakes, which in turn will lead to pain for not only him but others.  A part that I really enjoyed about Moriarty that makes him so suitable for Holmes is that like Holmes, he too can elaborate and map out the fighting strategies in his mind. While the look of Jared Harris may not fit for a typical antagonist, Moriarty is far from a typical antagonist and the performance he gives as Moriarty is spot on, that he makes for a perfect choice for the role.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Sherlock Holmes and shows once again how masterful of a performance he can give. While in a lot of recurring role movies, while the performance may be great they play the character in such a way that we do not see anything new or growth with the character. Downey in the role does a great job at not only giving us the same Holmes from the first film in so many respects, but it is almost as if in the time that has passed since the events of the last film ended that he has taken Holmes and only magnified the eccentricities. Yet, Holmes would not be as strong without his partner in his adventures of Dr. Watson played once again by Jude Law. Law works so well with Downey that where Holmes is the eccentric one, Watson is the one that centers or grounds Holmes. Law plays his role to perfection. The chemistry between the two is strong and it is partly because of not only how well the two work together, but the ability they seem to have to almost try to one up each others performance in such a small way that it makes them better and takes their acting to a new level.  It is this taking it to a new level that has made the Sherlock Holmes movies so successful. In a smaller role that completes this new trio is Noomi Rapace in the role of Madam Simza. While the role was pretty simple, she was able to showcase he acting abilities with not only some great action sequences, but the fact that she is sharing the screen with Downey and Law in such a way that she is not dwarfed in any scene by being with such big name actors. The role allowed her to show her skills and let everyone know that she was not included merely to be eye candy, but that she could bring important characteristics to the overall story.

The story for A Game of Shadows is just as strong and intriguing as in the first movie, without being too similar that it became predictable and boring. One of the strongest aspects of the story was the use of making the audience feel like they were figuring out what was going on just as Holmes was learning of it himself. This allowed the audience to feel like they were not only watching a movie, but it was almost as if they were a fourth member on the adventure. Equally matching the story are the action sequences. While the first installment had its moments of explosive action sequences, A game of Shadows takes the explosive action to a whole new level. The action though is paced in such a brilliant way that it really helps to keep the story moving that even at 129 minutes it seems to just fly by. Yet, guy Ritchie has such a great directorial flair that he can also make the action quiet, which helps to tell a great story along with the action, a great example of this is the chess sequence. The chess sequence probably ended up being my favorite part of the movie as Holmes and Moriarty started playing a chess game on a board only to stop and finish the game by simply calling out their moves along with their move in real life.

slo-mo sequences help the audience not only catch their breath, but also the style gives a detailed view of what is happening during what would normally get lost in a fast moving sequence. Along with the slow motion sequences , it was great to see Holmes in so many disguises. The disguises are a trademark hobby for Holmes so for this to be an evolution of Holmes' identity was a brilliant move. And Downey's humor throughout the film really helped to lighten the tension for the audience at times. The musical score by Hans Zimmer was brilliant once again. The heavy use of the fiddle helped greatly and I loved how the main theme sounded so much like it was in the first Sherlock Holmes with a tweak or two of some sort, whether it be more notes laid on top or a simple key change.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows while it had its flaws, truly did meet my expectations that the flaws were all minimal in my book. The acting was strong and Downey brought a little something extra with the humor throughout the movie. Professor Moriarty though was a key component for the success of this film, Moriarty being the criminal mastermind in the story was superb and he brought Holmes down to being human like character because Moriarty has the ability to truly match wits with Holmes. If they decide to do a third installment it will be very difficult to bring in a villain to match what Moriarty brought to the table in this go around. I greatly enjoyed Sherlock Holmes: A  Game of Shadows, I am giving it four buckets of popcorn out of five. Anyone that is a fan of great movies needs to see this movie in the theater, it is well worth the price of the ticket to see. It is definitely a movie that will be added to the collection once it is released.

-The Movie Man

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four isn't the best action film of the year, or another tongue-in-cheek teen movie. Most importantly, this movie isn't a "wannabe" Twilight franchise. This movie is entertainment for all viewers that delivers a good story, action and even a desire to want more at the end. Although after the first ten minutes I was figuring I Am Number Four was going to be a dud. It all starts with bad CGI monsters and some guys chasing people around in the jungle, then we cut to a  bunch of jocks doing tricks on jet skis and some ditsy type blond girls admiring them. While this seems very disjointed and totally random, once you get into the story it does tie together in a way. Luckily after that weird beginning the story starts to move and becomes fairly enjoyable.

The acting in I Am Number Four while far from award winning it exceeded my expectations for the acting and suffices for the popcorn munching movie that it is. Alex Pettyfor stars as John Smith (Number Four). This was the second movie I have seen him in and I liked and enjoyed his performance a lot more in this movie then him in Beastly. I felt that Pettyfor was a lot stronger when his role allows him to be a little more like a high school student. He plays the role with some strong moments, but it is really interesting to see his struggle that takes place once he finds out he is an alien. We get to see the struggle that takes place once he finds out he is an alien, between what he is expected to do versus that of his own desire to be just a normal teenager. Timothy Olyphant plays Henri, John's Lorien guardian. Olyphant in my eyes was drastically held back from reaching his potential in this roles simply because of the writing. Teresa Palmer in the role of Number 6 was the biggest surprise for me. Even though she is this butt kicking female who actually shows up Number 4 in the fighting. Yet, even with that she still has this softness with her character that the audience not only cares about her, but she still has a lovable character that is still tough as nails. The rest of the supporting cast do just fine and Dianna Argon in the love interest role is solid and continues to show the potential she has in the future.

The story of I Am Number Four is actually fairly decent and does a great job with the pacing for the entire movie. With a movie based on a book one of the big keys for me on how good the story is, does it after seeing the movie make me want to go and read the book. After seeing I Am Number Four, it made me want to go out and read the book series to see the more in depth detail that the book can go into that the move does not have the time to cover. The story worked for me because it had a feeling that it was constantly building toward a climax. With this feeling of building you do not get bored, but instead I was focused on everything that was happening on screen. After seeing the movie it really made a lot of sense to me the contrast that was being set up at the beginning of the movie of what would be the life for Number 4 to deal with in his life and his desire to really just have a normal life. The only major complaint I had with the story is that of Henri, Number 4's guardian. As the guardian he is supposedly a former Lorien warrior, yet he is kidnapped by a couple of alien conspiracists. Even with this weakness though the movie built up to a great action sequence that for me did not leave me overwhelmed or wanting more, but instead I felt very satisfied.

I Am Number Four is a fun popcorn munching movie. I really enjoyed the story and I am looking forward to sitting down and reading the books in this series. The young actors in this movie show a lot of promise and I saw a lot of improvement from Pettyfor in comparison to his role in Beastly. I am giving I Am Number Four three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is well worth the price of renting.

-The Movie Man

Home Alone

Nothing can bring me back to being a little kid as much around Christmas time as to seeing Home Alone. I can remember seeing this movie as a young kid in the theater on Christmas Eve or it may have been around Thanksgiving and just laughing throughout the entire movie. While at the time I did not realize the moral that was brought out in the end about how important it is to be with family and the importance they play in our lives. The concept of Home Alone is truly a simple one that while pretty far fetched to actually happening it really makes for great comedy. Kevin is accidentally left at home when his entire family leaves for France for the Christmas Holidays, and ends up protecting his home anyway necessary from two idiotic burglars. While there are those out there that severely bash Home Alone for me it takes me back to being a little kid and that is why it has become such a popular yearly movie to watch around Christmas time.

Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin McCallister, the attitude spouting eight year old early on in the film that before going to bed wishes that this family would disappear so that he would no longer be picked on by so many different family members. This was the film that helped launch Culkin into being a child star. He played the role perfectly with the moments of being a scared 8 year old perfectly to the moments of comedy with great timing. The moment in the grocery store when the cash register employee is quizzing him about where his mom is and he retorts with"Ma'am, I'm eight years old. You think I would be here alone? I don't think so." Trying to get the best of Kevin we have Marv and Harry "the wet bandits" played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. As a duo these two work together perfectly and you believe them to be burglars that have struggled in the past, but feel that with so many of these families leaving for the holidays that the entire street will be easy pickings for them. Pesci and Stern have a great ability to blend humor, pain and aggravation perfectly. Pesci's character Harry is very strict, easily agitated and picks on Marv for a great many things. Marv, the stereotypical 'tall, stupid one,' is completely stupid. He does things that would make a hamster blush. Yet he is the character I have found many like the most, mainly because he is so stupid you have to feel sorry for him. Stern brings a great trait to the character of Marv, and I am very pleased he got the part. It's a hard choice to decide which baddie is better, so I just say I like them both the same.

John Hughes wrote this film, and it is no wonder. It is just like Hughes' humor. It mixes emotion, belly laughs and a warm-hearted ending all into one little bundle called a movie. John Hughes' films, in my experience, are usually very good, mainly because he approaches films at a very classic level. He doesn't resort to crude, kid jokes. He almost always levels everything out perfectly in his scripts, and nothing is different here. Chris Columbus in his direction is spot on and it really has the feel of many of Hughes and Columbus' earlier films in the 80's. Also it is interesting to note that both of these have a hankering for setting some of their films from the eighties around Christmas time i.e. Gremlins, Christmas Vacation and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Yet, even with this they are able to pull these movies off without too much sentiment or moment of gooey love feelings. the aspect that really helped to set this movie to being such a Christmas time classic was the musical score from John Williams. His music elevates this film from a simple slapstick family fare to something more magical and even with a touch of seriousness.

The story for Home Alone is a fun one and ends up being pretty successful when you consider they were able to make two pretty successful sequels with very similar stories. I think the moment when Kevin wakes up and realizes he is all alone is a thing that every kid wishes at one point or another, and he  proceeds to do everything and anything he was not allowed to do before, including eating ice cream in the morning, watching violent gangster films, jumping on the bed, wrecking his brother's room, and having some fun with a BB gun. Kevin McCallister is the hero of the story. He's not just any kid, he's a very smart one. He also knows all about the intentions of the "wet bandits" Harry and Marv and prepares them lots of unexpected surprises. Their lives won't be easy with Kevin defending his house. Sure, they are the villains and as such they get what they deserve, but they do suffer a lot too. We almost feel sorry for them.

Home Alone is a movie that while there are those who are very harsh on it, it ends up being one that will always take me back to being a little kid. Although this movie is a comedy that provides a lot of side splitting laughs from funny one-liners to the physical comedy of Marv and Harry going through the house with booby traps galore, Hughes still wrote a movie that in the end has a great message

-The Movie Man

Life As We Know It

Life As We Know It, was one of those movies that from the moment I saw the first trailer I looked forward to see it at some point. After being a parent seeing two people thrown in to taking care of a baby it is definitely funny to see the hilarity that comes along with this unusual situation as they try to learn what it takes to take care of a baby. Life As We Know It is the story of Holly, who her married best friend sets her up on a blind date with her husbands best friend. This blind date goes horribly wrong and Holly wants to avoid seeing This guy as much as possible. However, nothing goes the way she would like as her best friend and husband, while out on a date, end up getting in a car accident and pass away. Holly comes to find out that they have left their little girl, in the event of their death, in the custody of Holly and Eric (bad blind date friend).

Katherine Heigl plays the role of Holly and does a job that is precisely what is expected in a romantic comedy nothing/nothing less. Heigl plays the same type of character that she has seemed to play in each and every movie. While there is nothing wrong with the way she has been playing her roles as they work just fine. I guess for me I want to see Heigl not just be the sweet girl type, I would love to see her play a role similar to the she played when was on Grey's Anatomy, where she could be the sweet lovable character at one point only to be a catty, mean or even one that does not follow the ethics a doctor should follow character later on. It would be nice to see her take on a role where you don't feel like she did not have to do anything to portray her character. Alongside Heigl, we have josh Duhamel in the role of Eric, the ladies man whose life changes with this new change to being a guardian over Sophie (the baby). Duhamel actually was quite a surprise for me, I was not really expecting much from him as he seem to do well in action movies where explosions and such can distract from an actors abilities and flaws. Duhamel brought a quick likability almost instantly, as the audience can see that he has this jerk facade that is really just a defense mechanism to prevent him from being hurt. Duhamel does a great job at no being an over the top male lead, that in a lot of romantic comedies can be so overacting and over the top that you do not gain a rooting interest for the male lead to end up with the girl. The rest of the cast do great jobs and really excel at being in supporting roles that they not only help to make the movie better, but also make Heigl and Duhamel strong in their roles.

What Bertlanti does well is to populate Life As We Know It with quirky supporting character and nominal narrative twists. Melissa McCarthy is good as the seen it all mom. While Andrew Daley and Bill Brachtrup are funny as the gay parents who fawn over Duhamel. The girls that play Sophie are perfect and fit nicely. Sarah Burns as the social worker to Sophie is hysterically touching as she becomes Holly and Eric's biggest advocates. Josh Lucas plays the pediatrician to Sophie and small love interest to Holly with such a great southern charm, that I actually wanted Holly to end up with him.

The story for Life As We Know It is very simple and one that follows the romantic comedy formula. The story for this movie is just fine, but I think there were some aspects that would have made it more interesting in the end. I would have loved to see more of a build up between Lucas and Heigl's characters in having feeling for each other. As well as the inner conflicts this fledgling relationship was causing for Duhamel's. I think an interesting aspect is had they gone with a non traditional romantic comedy ending, what feelings this may have caused for the audience toward Duhamel's character if he made the career wise decision over what his heart was telling him. The comedy for this movie ends up giving quite a few laughs throughout the movie. As a parent you can not help but laugh at those moments that relate to the parent firsts we all experience. Duhamel has one of the funniest moments that is one of those moments where what he does is a similar thought that every parent has had so that the other parent did not miss out on one of those baby first moments. This moment is Sophie standing and trying to take her first steps, Heigl yells out for him to stall her until Heigl can get there to see, so he ends up pushing her down.

Life As We Know It is a movie that is nothing that is groundbreaking, but one that is enjoyable. I was surprised how much Sophie losing her parents saddened me, but I think that all has to do with having a son and not wanting to lose him or to have him have the pain of losing both his parents suddenly at such a young age. The acting all do fine jobs and the quirky supporting characters are a breath of fresh air, that deliver some great laughs and funny situations throughout. I am giving Life As We Know It three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie was well worth the rental price and is one that would make for a good date night movie at home.

-The Movie Man

Something Borrowed

Something Borrowed is a movie that after seeing the trailer most would think this would be a pretty good romantic comedy. Based on a book with the same name, I would have wished after seeing this movie that they would have left this as a book. While in the past some movies based on books have made me want to read the book after seeing the movie. However, Something Borrowed did not want me to do anything other then never see a copy of the book or dvd again. A movie like this relies heavily on the characters being likable and unfortunately Something Borrowed does not establish characters we like, but instead you think of them all as being selfish and even corrupt.

Something borrowed stars Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin as best friends. As they have grown up Kate Hudson made a move on the guy Goodwin had a crush on in law school. After Hudson gets engaged to him, Goodwin's characters true feelings come out to Dex. With this knowledge Goodwin begins an affair with Dex. While all of the acting for Hudson and Goodwin is very spot on for their roles. They do a great job at being characters you end up hating quickly which is pretty much a complete opposite role for them. They both typically do a great job at picking roles that work for them. John Krasinski in the role of Ethan, Goodwin's really good guy friend, is pretty much the only redeemable character. Krasinski brings a lovable aspect to the film that he actually was the character I waited to see on screen. Krasinski brings the only good comedic moments throughout the film and was the only one that made me laugh.

The story for Something Borrowed was absolutely horrible. I am not sure what the reviews said about the story for Something Borrowed but to me the view for this story of cheating on one another and the okayness with it and the thought to have an affair with your best friends fiance just bothered me and rubbed me the wrong way. Goodwin's character is the character the audience is meant to be the heroine we are meant to cheer for. Yet, as you watch the movie she does not come off even close to being endearing and likable.

Something Borrowed is a movie that I truly wonder why it was ever green lighted. Anyone that read this script should have though why would we make this, all of the characters are jerks and very unlikable. Which how do you expect success if no one can feel anything of wanting to like the characters. I hated Something Borrowed and did not like the story at all. I am giving Something Borrowed one bucket of popcorn out of five. The reason it got even one bucket is because Krasinski's made me laugh. Definitely one movie for anyone out there to try to avoid at all costs.

-The Movie Man 

Hellboy

Hellboy starts out by taking us to the end of World War II, and in a last ditch effort the Nazi's have turned to black magic to hopefully turn the tide of the war back in their favor. Allied forces however, are able to stop the Nazi's before they can do serious issues with opening a portal, but not before a baby demon comes through. Hellboy is raised in the U.S. in a secret government facility where he has chosen in adulthood to fight against evil in the world. While this was a lesser known comic book to me,  I think the dark aspect of a superhero type character is definitely a unique take. This was a movie that I did not get to see in theaters, but looking back I wish I would have because it would have been great to see the action that takes place throughout the movie on the big screen. While as an adult Hellboy is working in conjunction with the U.S. government, hes goes about it in his own maverick way by constantly going against the rules that have been set up and established to keep him a secret to the outside world.

What worked best for me was the material that showed Hellboy, portrayed amazingly by Ron Pearlman, as just a regular guy with the maverick detective approach who just so happens to be part demon. Even though  he is half demon, from what I have learned about the comics, and this is hinted at in the film particularly in the climax, is a continued nurture vs. nature "debate." I found this very interesting for a comic to hint to a "debate" that seems to be an interesting issues that intrigues most anyone. Hellboy was raised by humans, who were as normal as they could be being government agents in a bureau dedicated to the paranormal.  So he has a large number of human-like quirks including: a love of old music, beer, cars, pancakes and chili which works to really endear this intimidating looking character to the audience that really makes it hard for the audience to remember that he is part demon as well.

Ron Pearlman does a great job in the role of Hellboy. He makes this character extremely likable to the audience, yet he still able to play the role with a slight gruffness that works perfectly with his dominating presence onscreen. The aspect as well that he brings is the cigar smoking, wise cracking detective characteristics feel so natural that you do not feel like Pearlman is forcing anything on you with who Hellboy truly is. Karel Roden in the role of Rasputin is such a perfect fit. Being the villain just worked perfectly. Roden was so immersed in his role that he just exuded an air of evil. When he was onscreen he commanded his presence with strength in the way that he was not outshining or not shining enough, but seemed to know that in order for his portrayal to be strong he needed to view those he was onscreen with as a partnership working to make the scene the best it can be. Selma Blair in the role of Liz Sherman does a great job as the woman who turns to fire when worked up. I just enjoyed that this "freak" in her own right was the love interest to Hellboy. Even though Blair's character looked like the complete opposite to Hellboy, her being the love interest worked. Blair gave a strong performance with a great range of emotions and characteristics. The audience is able to see almost through her the way she saw Hellboy, which in turn helps the audience see why she has an interest in Hellboy herself.

The CGI and special effects were spot on and really deliver to what is expected currently in a movie. Pearlman was a definite trooper to undergo all the makeup he had to put on every day. Yet the attention to detail on the makeup as well as the prosthetics worn were so flawless that Hellboy truly looked real and not like an actor in makeup. I was pleasantly surprised that even with the makeup the facial expressions still shone through perfectly. The pacing for Hellboy works so well. It moved well, didn't get stalled anywhere, and both the action and drama were moderated with smooth transitions, not to mention they wasted no time in getting right into the story and action.

Hellboy was a movie I greatly enjoyed. However for anyone to enjoy this movie I think there are a few things for any viewer to have a high opinion of Hellboy. First, you must have a taste for fantasy. Where the creators are not very concerned with making the material coherent with or plausible in the real world. Second, You have to not hate CGI creatures. The filmmakers really put in the time and attention to detail necessary to make the creatures feel like they were plausible and not hooky. Lastly, you have to enjoy your fantasy both very dark and humorous/sarcastic at the same time. Hellboy is constantly making smart remarks to other characters. The number of these criteria that you meet will determine how well you'll like Hellboy. I am giving Hellboy three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one that I have in the DVD collection and is always an enjoyable film to watch from time to time. It is most definitely worth the price to rent.

-The Movie Man

Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels starring Jack Black, is the latest adaptation of the classic novel by Jonathan Swift. Of the different adaptations I have seen, this is the first I have seen with it starting in modern day. Gulliver has worked in the mail room for years and while he has a crush on the travel editor, in an attempt to impress her, he is sent by her to interview a guy that claims to know the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle. After encountering a storm and being blown off course, Gulliver wrecks and wakes up on a beach surrounded by people that are the size of action figures to him. The interesting aspect for this adaptation to me was the fact they went with the comedy genre. Gulliver's Travels while it was enjoyable I felt it just simply lacked a couple of things from being more then just an okay movie.

Jack Black stars as Lemuel Gulliver and while I was intrigued with this upon seeing the trailer, after seeing the movie I felt that while Black did make me laugh throughout I never bought into him as being Gulliver. While I enjoyed him in School of Rock and have enjoyed him in many of his other roles, I felt that he brought that same zany, rock and roll loving, man-child character that he has played so many times in the past that it is now a little redundant and infringing on boredom. This movie is truly featuring for Black as really everyone else is supporting in their roles. Amanda Peet in the role of Darcy Silverman, the travel editor that Gulliver has the crush on almost serves no purpose. Peet is an actress that I feel has been funny throughout many movies she has been in and I feel like she was underutilized and would have loved her to have either been more prominent in the movie or to have had more depth with her character. Emily Blunt in her role of Princess Mary did not work for me. Blunt is too talented of an actress to be reduced to the role of a pea-brained princess. I think for me, her playing more of an over the top regal type princess within Gulliver's Travels being a comedy would have worked better then her being a pea-brained princess. Blunt is a definite growing star and her talents ended up being wasted.

The story for Gulliver's Travels is really not what I expected, I was figuring it to be a movie that would be unexpected and not predictable. Of course the title itself does not work because it is really only this one adventure rather then multiple adventures. while it may have felt really disjointed had they gone with multiple adventures, it would have pushed Jack Black to expand the way he portrayed Gulliver with more depth and not as this character he has portrayed over and over. With the story and the way Jack Black was a hero to these little people this allowed for the funniest moments with him having their actors act out his stories of The Empire Strikes Back, Titanic and also paying tribute to KISS. Also it made me chuckle with the recreated Times Square complete with Liliput billboards.

The story though once Gulliver wakes up in Liliput it is the predictable hero storyline; he is bound as a prisoner, then viewed as a hero, only to then be disgraced and banished, but in the end he finds a way to get himself redeemed in the eyes of the people. Also the plot line dealing with Gulliver's love interest in Darcy. While it was easy to see Gulliver's interest in her and yes the fact that Darcy admits to having had a secret crush on Gulliver all this time I did not really believe it. While Black does have some lovable characteristics, I would have preferred to have seen more of an interaction behind why she had always had a crush on Gulliver as well.

Gulliver's Travels did not hit the mark for my own expectations. It did have those comedic moments that made me laugh especially with myself being a big Star Wars fan. Unfortunately, I felt Jack Black came off boring because he played the same character that he has in many of his movies that he does not bring any new depth. With this movie being an adaptation of Swift's classic novel I felt it lacked something and left me with a feeling of  "meh" afterwards. I am giving Gulliver's Travels two and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that while far from great it is enjoyable enough that if you are fine with a movie that is a little predictable throughout, then you could enjoy it.

-The Movie Man

Gattaca

Gattaca is one of those movies that I never had the chance to see in the 90's when it came out. Recently, I finally had the chance to see Gattaca and found it to be a good movie. Set in the not too distant future, society is now separated based on the genetic makeup of a person to determine what types of work a person is eligible to do. Gattaca is a science fiction movie that falls along the same lines of 1984 or even Fahrenheit 451, where everyone's individual lives are controlled by a central governing body. The story centers around Vincent Freeman, who is genetically meant for only menial jobs, but through a false identity he is working a higher end job in hopes of going on a scheduled space mission. This is one of those science fiction movies that is a lot of fun to watch as the story unfolds as it puts you on the edge of your seat.

Ethan Hawke stars as Vincent Freeman the man who through the use of false identification has left what should be a limited menial job to go out and live his dream to go on a mission into space. Hawke give a really strong performance and has a strong believability in his role. His performance is one that makes the audience not only think, but really question how we could ever get that way in society, where people are hampered by a perceived genetic ceiling. Hawke has an ability as well to play his character with such a confidence yet vulnerability that one can not help but root for him to be successful in his deception. Alongside Hawke is Jude Law in the role of Eugene Morrow, a former athlete who is now restricted to a wheelchair. He works with Hawke's character to help him stay ahead by providing the blood and other things necessary to not get caught with all the tests everyone is regularly subjected to. Law gives a strong performance that we truly believe especially during one scene where he is crawling to get to the door so that the whole deception is not found out. Uma Thurman plays the love interest and it really is a role that works just fine for her. I believe this to be one of her first roles and it is interesting to see the potential she had at this point and to see how far she has come in her career. The rest of the supporting cast do a good job and really serve a purpose. The supporting cast at moments helps to keep the story moving along.

The story of Gattaca is one that i really enjoyed. It is a movie that while the story of a controlling dystopic society is not exactly ground breaking, I fell the way the director unfolded the entire story to be very unique. Sometimes science fiction movies are very strong with the action, but when the important moments of the story come about the movie can feel stalled. Gattaca does a great job at having smooth transitions between the moments of action with these moments where the plot is set to move along. The pacing fits so well as it does not get caught in such slow movements that you are wondering how much longer the movie will be, but instead they keep you right on the edge of your seat.

It is always interesting to see movies that deal with the future and what types of technology they view that will be around in a "not too distant" future.  Gattaca's view of the future was fairly simple and really not much that was too far fetched of what we could generally see in the future. Movies like Gattaca that has the main story dealing with so much of our being completely controlled by the government and them wanting perfect type genetics, hopefully serves to remind society to prevent this type of control every being allowed. I feel directors that occasionally do a movie that deals with a dystopic society is to prevent society from thinking a Utopian society is attainable.

Gattaca is a science fiction movie that is not only an edge of your seat thriller, but is really a movie that almost anyone can sit down to watch and enjoy. Gattaca has a strong cast that give good performances that help the story to move and not stall. I am giving Gattaca three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is enjoyable and a movie that can give you a science fiction hit. It is one that I have added to the movie collection and is definitely one worth renting or if you come across it on TV to take the time to watch.

-The Movie Man

Just Go With It

Just Go With It is a fun comedy that does just what a comedy should do and make you laugh. After overhearing his bride to be comment on his large nose, Danny Maccabee calls off his wedding and from that point forward he builds his own defense mechanisms so his heart will never get broken again. Using his wedding ring to help he pretends to be an abused spouse in his marriage, in order to have one night stands. Only he ends up falling for a girl and she happens to find his wedding ring, he lies saying he is "getting a divorce" and this woman upon wanting to meet his soon to be ex. Danny convinces his receptionist to play the part for him.

Adam Sandler stars in the role of Danny, and does a pretty good job. Sandler has seemed to find his acting niche as he seems to have a yearly role in the romantic comedy genre. This suits him perfectly because he can really ham it up onscreen and he does a good job making you laugh throughout. With the romantic comedy being more comedy then romantic, Sandler really does not have to do much on the emotion side and that is just fine for me because I do not look for Sandler to bring a wide emotional range to his roles. Starring along side Sandler is Jennifer Aniston playing Sandler's receptionist Katherine. She does a great job at playing the role of the soon to be ex-wife with a fairly decent funny outlook. Aniston really shines in her role and she has a real good presence onscreen that the audience is drawn to her character and they root for her to succeed immediately. The comedic abilities of Aniston I am becoming more of a fan of in each comedy role I see her in. She does a great job with her delivery and while we expect great comedy from Sandler, Aniston is one that I did not really have much of an expectation from, yet she had some great timing and made me laugh as much as Sandler did, even outshining him in some moments and scenes. The chemistry between Aniston and Sandler is spot on and really took the movie to another level. The chemistry is part of what makes this movie work, in a movie if the two leads do not work well off one another then the jokes would fall flat.

The rest of the supporting cast do admirable jobs and even have their own funny moments. I was pleasantly surprised withBrooklyn Decker in the role of Palmer. While she is mainly eye candy casting she surprised me in that she was not too bad and even came off funny throughout the movie. At the same time I think her beauty was outshone by Aniston's as I found that that is where I was drawn to first at the moments when they were both onscreen together. I also enjoyed Bailee Madison in the role of Maggie, Aniston's daughter. She definitely has some potential as she gets older and gets more roles, she has that great ability to shine in comedies. As the fake daughter to Sandler shes uses a fake English accent that will definitely make you laugh and she has some great one-liners. Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews in their small roles are pretty funny as well and especially in their interactions with Aniston and Sandler. The competition they have during the luau party is definitely a high point.

The story for Just Go With It is very predictable and formulaic. Even though the story was precisely what could be expected that is not always a bad thing. This movie you did not have think about it or wonder where the story was going to go. Instead you could just sit back and just laugh and enjoy n seeing how the director decided to unfold the story. Having a majority of the movie take place at a Hawaiian resort, a place where most of us do not get to experience  much allowed the audience to be swept up in the beauty.

Just Go With It ends up being a fun romantic comedy that while it has elements of both it does focus more on the comedic moments. The chemistry between Sandler and Aniston is what really helps to not only make the movie enjoyable, but funny as well. I am giving Just Go With It three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie worth renting for a date night or a night you are looking for simply laughs as well.

-The Movie Man

Killers

Killers is a movie that is strictly pure entertainment, and comes off a little bit more romantic comedy then romantic action movie. Even with this feeling of Killers being a pure kick back popcorn eating movie, it still has its struggles. Initially the storyline for Killers seems like it would work very throughout as the government secret spy assassin falls in love and decides to leave the killing behind for the wonders of a marriage and a house in the suburbs. Unfortunately, Killers ends up being a small grade imitation in many ways of Mr. and Mrs. Smith without the smarts.

The acting in Killers struggles throughout. Katherine Heigl, has a bit of a credibility issue for me playing the nerdy, struggling in love woman. While in Nice with her parents she even comes across acting like an 8th grader because she is embarrassed in front of Kutcher's character to be there with her parents that she actually tells the lie that her father is an ex that is stalking her. Heigl although is enjoyable eye candy on-screen, her character comes off a little boring at times. Kutcher at times comes off as being lost on-screen with the other stars in the film. Kutcher though does have some comedic moments and interactions that make you forget about the other moments when he is lost with the other actors. In supporting roles Tom Selleck and Cather O'Hara are underutilized in the role of the parents. O'Hara while on the plane to Nice has one of the best lines of the movie and really is the epitome of her character, but I will not spoil it for anyone that has not yet seen Killers.

The story in Killers really has a hard time figuring out exactly where it wanted to be. At moments it felt like it tried to be like Mr. and Mrs. Smith so hard that it just failed to be totally cohesive. Also for me the aspect that they lived in the suburbs for three years with no issues only to all of the sudden have trained assassin neighbors it just did not work for me. Kutcher's character is supposed to have been a top spy so even though he is not in the spy game anymore he should have still been able to have the feeling that something was not right with their neighbors. I would have liked to have seen one neighbor being an assassin to be a strong plot move, but having so many jumped that plot point to overkill in my book.

The comedic moments throughout the movie though not always timed perfectly did make me laugh throughout. The chemistry between Heigl and Kutcher does make for good laughs one such moment deals with Heigl carrying a fun and how to properly hide it on her person. To go along with the comedy one of the other aspects that I enjoyed was the overall twist regarding who the antagonist will be through the movie. While I would have greatly enjoyed a stronger development of the antagonist, the twist did make up for that weakness.

Killers struggled throughout with its identity, but was mindless entertainment. I think one of the most glaring aspect for me was the under utilization of the supporting cast. Killers does have some comedic moments that will make you laugh, I am giving Killers two and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Killers was a film to me that I will have to be in a specific mood for, it is one that will either make you laugh for the comic moments or can make you laugh because of some of the absurd situations.

-The Movie Man

Unstoppable

Unstoppable is a movie that takes no time at all to get immediately into the action. Unstoppable is the story of a freight train in Pennsylvania that while it is being moved about in a train yard and being unmanned the throttle gets bumped causing the freight train and its load of hazardous materials to gradually pick up speed and become an unstoppable train as it careens through towns out of control with no one to stop it. From there it is a pedal to the metal ride as this movie does not stop from the first moment until the end. A movie about trains is not always easy to do and yet I was looking forward to this movie as soon as I heard about it. Not too mention I wanted to see it even more once I found out Denzel Washington was involved because he has that uncanny ability with his performances to be able to take any type of movie and move it above what it may have been with any other actor.

The story for this movie was a great one. Based on actual events the film makers do a great job at giving some great moments of suspense without being too corny which can easily happen with movies that are based on actual events. Kudos goes to the filmmakers for the ability to not only make an exciting movie about trains, but it is truly the only movie I can recall in which the train is the antagonist in the film. While bad guys have used trains as part of their plot, Unstoppable is simply a train that was accidentally let go, yet the train as the antagonist fits perfectly. As the train barrels through town after town and through each railroad crossing the train truly has no feelings or remorse no matter what happens. It is about as close to perfect as an antagonist can be because there is no way to reason with the train which ends up being more intimidation that everyone in the audience can feel throughout the film.

Denzel Washington plays the role of Frank, a seasoned engineer who along with his rookie conductor set out to try to catch the runaway freighter and hopefully stop it before it reaches the raised tracks and dangerous "S" curves that would surely flip the train and cause the hazardous waste to spill and decimate a town. Washington gives his usual great performance and he is able to play the role with just the right amount of hardness that the audience can truly believe he is a long time train engineer. He has this great hard headedness that only makes the audience root for him simply because he defies the order he is given by those in charge not to go after the train. Starring alongside Washington is Chris Pine in the role of Will, the rookie conductor. Pine plays the role with a similarity in the way he played Captain Kirk  in Star Trek. Both of these characters he played are very similar so as the rookie conductor he comes out with an arrogance and cockiness that he feels in being a young hot shot and he believes to know more then any of the others. As well as feeling that he knew all that was needed in order to advance quickly as a conductor. Washington works well with Pine as the hardened veteran engineer does all he can to humble the new rookie conductor.  The chemistry is very strong between these two and the conflict they have at the beginning works well and it shows a great reason to real life and how those that seem so different can find similarities. Like the characters of Frank and Will do through the family struggles they are both going through. 

The rest of the supporting cast is sufficient, but they are also fairly minimal. Rosario Dawson gives a strong performance as the yardmaster Connie. She plays her role very strong and is confident in what she thinks to be right. Some of the arguments that take place between her and Galvin her boss make for some good drama and as the audience you feel she is wanting to do the right things that you can not help but look at her boss as being an idiot.

Unstoppable is a movie that ends up being truly that as it is unstoppable from the opening sequence until the end. I really enjoyed the unique aspect of this film as the runaway train being the sole antagonist.  I am giving Unstoppable three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that will eventually end up in our DVD collection. It is not only worth the price of renting but a fun movie worth owning.

-The Movie Man

Cars 2

Five years after the original Cars, Pixar has introduced a second installment to go along with the original. While a lot of critics panned the story saying it is the weakest of any Pixar film, I found myself looking forward to seeing Cars 2 once I saw the spy aspect to the movie. I love the spy type movies from James Bond to even some TV shows that have been about spies. This made me definitely intrigued to see how Pixar would tell a spy story within the world of Cars. While I probably would say that the Cars franchise is probably the weakest of the Pixar films, but that is not to say this is a terrible movie like some made it out to be.

The voice acting does a grat job just as one would expect from a Pixar movie. Owen Wilson reprises his role of Lightning McQueen, but an interesting aspect of the movie is that where McQueen was the focus in the first film, this time he ends up being a supporting character. With this change Wilson really did not bring anything new to McQueen and so we did not really see anymore character development. Cars 2 focuses its story on Mater being pulled into the world of espionage, with Larry the Cable Guy giving his voice once again to the character. While the character of Mater is far from deep, Larry the Cable Guy playing basically himself in what he would be if a car. He uses a great redneck feeling that at times pushes the boundaries of annoyance, but he keeps it controlled so well as to not cross that annoyance line. The supporting cast of voices all seem to fit in well with the rest of the cast that everything flowed nicely. John Turturro in the role of Francesco and Michael Caine as Finn McMissile work well with the cast and I would have liked to see even more interaction between Francesco and McQueen as well as Finn interacting with Mater.

Along with the voice actors I would have to say it is interesting to see the Pixar effect has done with voice acting. Before Toy Story most of the Disney animated movies did not have neccesarily the big name stars, but used voice specific actors. While there was the occasional star like Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin, today almost all animated movies are now using stars and big names because that is partly how they can really promote the movies because of the competition for movies for families has stiffened greatly. So any animated movie you will see at least two big name stars to draw in as many ticket sales as possible. Along the same lines with the cristicsims out there for Cars 2 is that Pixar upon the release of Toy Story sixteen years ago they took animation to places it had not been to before. With most any Pixar movie it has its moments where they are taking animation to a new level, but now the other animaiton studios have caught up to what Pixar has been doing so the quality of other studio animated films is just as strong as what Pixar has been putting out.

The storyfor Cars 2 while enjoyable to me with the whole spy aspect was not as stroung as it could have been. Granted I know this movie was geared as a kids movie I would have really liked to have seen a deeper character development between the so called evil cars "lemons" and the mastermind over tham all to even the character development with the spy based cars, instead the story really glossed over the surface. This depth could have made the movie better in my eyes, but it would have taken it from good to great. While Cars highlight was it side characters, Cars 2 almost abandons them. McMissile is a moving plot device and little more. Shiftwell is supposed to be a love interest but nothing truly develops and she lacks any interesting moments. Because of this there are almost no funny littel side scenes where characters have fun just being themselves. Instead, most of the humor is derived from seeing Mater do silly things.

Spies and Cars seems like it would weork really well together. After all, any Bond or Bourne film easily show why the two go together. The opening scene on the drilling platform is easily the best scene in the whole movie with the fast chase and all the cool gadgets. But they weren't able to properly combine the racing and spy elements, it was almost as if two movies were being ran sumultaneously. There is too much spy stuff for the racing to be interesting and it becomes pointless. It may have worked better for Pixar to simply set Cars 2 as a spy movie set in the Cars universe and used McQueen and his friends in a cameo role or a small story arc.

Cars 2 is not a great movie, but a good one. It ends up being an enjoyable movie for everyone in the family. While I enjoyed the spy aspect of this movie I would have loved them to have done more with it. I am giving Cars 2 three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie while not as good as some of the otherPixar movies is a fun family film that your family can enjoy any night. We have already added this movie to our DVD collection.