The Next Three Days

The Next Three Days is a great thriller that will have you guessing throughout the movie. this was a movie that I wanted to see from the moment I saw from the first trailer, but somehow I never got around to seeing it in the theater. The story line is a cross between The Fugitive and a human heist plot movie. There were moments where I genuinely really didn't know which way the story would end. For a good thriller this is exactly what someone wants in a movie that will keep you in suspense throughout.

Russell Crowe is a pretty reliable star, who commands the screen with intelligence and enough bravado to getaway with a film like this. Crowe makes this film work because he is giving his best, scene after scene as his eyes tells us his character is committed to his family and that he will stand by them no matter what. There is very little back story given to us, except for an opening sequence which serves the purpose of planting the seed of doubt in our minds, but what this truly does his only fuel the sense of despair and sadness that threatens to destroy his family. The thing that makes his portrayal work is the tension that he has in all of his different relationships with everyone and any new relationships are threatened by his wife's past. It is this intense passion into these personal moments that truly make us care for him, even though this requires him to make some very questionable things.

Elizabeth Banks portrayal of Lara was spot on what was needed. I was pleasantly surprised at her acting capabilities because I had never seen her in a serious role but always in comedies. Her portrayal through her scenes were exactly what was needed. We truly feel her despair the moment her appeal is denied from the sadness she has due to the ignoring she receives from her son.

Liam Neeson in his quick role as a man who successfully broke out of prison seven times. The Neeson character gives important advice in reference to the time it takes for authorities to seal off a city's exits, but also gives insight into what his plan should include – "You have to have the entire plan already in place. And you have to ask yourself, can you kill a guard, leave your kid at a gas station…cause to do this thing, that's what you have to become." This advice is a great way to set up some important points in the film in a way other then Crowe's character looking it up from the Internet.

The ever twisting screenplay shows Haggis' knack for writing scripts that don't allow audiences to get too far ahead of the story developments as unexpected and plausible scenarios affect even the best laid out of plans. This may leave lesser minded moviegoers wondering why certain scenes were not left on the cutting room floor, but for those engrossed in the ongoing struggle of John's pursuit should appreciate the occasional red herring. There are so many movies out there which one can see the ending come from a mile away, it is refreshing to see a thriller of a movie where we can not see the end until right as it happens.

There are moments in the movie that really get the story moving.The opening scene could have been satisfactory if all it did was to set the stage for what is to follow, but it does so much more. A women with a plunging neckline spars with Lara, a more modestly dressed woman, about whether or not women can ever get over their competition over men and bond with each other. The scene demonstrates its contents: as the other woman uses double entendres to make a pass at Lara's husband, and Lara shows the audience she is quite capable of losing her temper, an important plot point. The brilliant writing in this scene is a bonus.

The Next Three Days does a great job giving the audience exactly what people who go to movies want. It allows you to not have to think hard, but you can just enjoy the story that is being told on screen. I am giving The Next Three Days three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. I would have probably favored it with more buckets but I felt the ending was a little blah after the intensity and great moments of uncertainty throughout the movie. This is though a movie that I would love to watch again and again. I will be adding this to the Movie collection for our family at some point.

-The Movie Man

Despicable Me

Despicable Me is a great family movie that will have people of all ages laughing throughout. It is a fun and unique story because it is about two villains that become set on completing the ultimate heist. Despicable Me was one of the best animated movies of 2010. For me the aspect of it that made it so successful was the fact that the story was very unique.

Steve Carrell continues to show why he is definitely one of the great comedic actors currently. One of the aspects that make him so versatile is that he is able to not only do the physical comedy, but can also give great one liners. This is vitally important because for animated movies the comedy ends up being completely different. Playing Gru it is interesting that even though Gru is an evil genius we are still instantly drawn to rooting for him, because we recognize Carrell's voice, and I think that registered at least in my brain that he is a good guy simply because of all the time I have watched him as Michael Scott. I particularly enjoyed the human element to the original rough exterior of Gru at the beginning and we can slowly see the change and softening of his tough outer shell as the girls he adopts grow on him.

The supporting cast of Russel Brand, Julie Andrews and Jason Segel were just as strong in their performances. Yet the supporting cast that really stole the show were "The Minions." These Minions were not only totally hilarious throughout the movie, but they also have a unique cuddly factor to them. While some may have found the gibberish language of the Minions to be annoying, I thought it fight them perfectly. Since they were so hard to understand it added to the funny factor during those moments where you could understand a phrase or even just a simple word. Although some of the additionally truly funny moments with the Minions take place during the end credits, which is well worth watching.

The element of the storyline was fairly unique, especially for an animated movie. The concept of a villain versus another villain was a refreshing new spin. You realize that Gru is a super villain and yet he has a great soft side that endears the audience to him. It is nice that these two first time animated film directors were able to combine two quite unoriginal plots into one with such an ease and natural flow. The aspect of trying to steal the moon, is so absurd and over the top that it hits precisely on what a movie should be.

The animation is amazing, it is bright and nicely rendered with a deft touch of simplicity, that made it not too overly glossy and polished. This made the animation look less artificial and instead it looked more fluid, which works perfectly when it comes to the practical jokes. There is humor in the film that makes it enjoyable for both viewers young and old. The humor gives nods to "Apollo 13" among others. For me though the best is that the Bank of Evil is staffed by formed Lehman Brothers executives.

Overall Despicable Me is a great fun time for the kids and adults as well. It even has those moments where the most stubborn teens will laugh at. The voice actors used in Despicable Me were superb and really all of them brought great moments to the movie. I am giving Despicable Me three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie ended up being well worth the cost of not only renting but adding to your movie collection.

-The Movie Man

Tron: Legacy

Nearly 30 years after the original Tron, Disney revisited Tron brought along the sequel with Tron: Legacy. Interestingly this film took a few years to produce with teaser trailers being shown at ComCon three years in a row. Fast forward into the future the story continues focusing on Kevin Flynn's son, Sam. After receiving a tip from a family friend Alan the curiousity of what happened to his father gets the best of him and he goes to the old Flynn arcade to look into a page that came from a number that has been disconnected. Tron: Legacy is a movie that while it has its weaknesses, it is a fun movie that catches the aduience with some great special effects and amazing visuals.

Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn and he does an adequate job in his role. With the role of Kevin Flynn being a very laid back, almost zen like the difficult part of it for me was simply him using the phrase dude various times made throughout the movie, took me immediately back to Bridges into his role of "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski. Bridges is not as strong as he has been in many of his other roles but he does have his moments where he shines. The moments within the movie where he is the strongest are those moments where he is alone on screen with Hedlund, while he falls flat the rest of the time. The real star of this movie is Hedlund as Sam Flynn. He does a great job at carrying the movie and really does a great job at showing general astonishment throughout the movie at not only finding out his father was alive but the extraordinary world that he has been living in.

 The supporting cast is very workable. Olivia Wilde's Quorra is interesting, as well. There's an intriguing twist to her character, but her fascination and curiosity revolving around the world Sam is from is what gives her character heart. Michael Sheen as Castor/Zuse was very over the top and David Bowie like. I enjoyed that aspect of his role and he really did a great job at making the most of his small time on screen. 

Tron: Legacy received a lot of mixed reviews from most movie critics. The problem seems to lie within the way the film is written and its screenplay. To tell the truth, you don't see a movie like this for a great story alone. The special effects are the main attraction and boy, do they deliver. The way programs disintegrate when they're disposed of, the light cycle battles, airborne chases, and the many fight sequences in the film are just a small example of the dazzling display of some of the most exceptional and impressive special effects ever seen in a cinematic feature. The most astonishing special effect was that of Clu. It was amazing that they used Jeff Bridges today to get all of the facial features that he would have and then using the same technology used to make Brad Pitt older in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, only this time making him look the same as he did when he first entered the grid. While there were moments where you could tell it was CGI, I was truly impressed with how fluid and seamless the look was.

The weakness of this movie was not the storyline like I am sure many have stated. This story is simply a father and son story and if they would have added anything more on top of the other sub plots it would have completely bogged the movie down, which would have taken away from the visual and special effects that keep the audience at the edge of their seat. The storyline moved and that is what is most important in a grand action film like this. The story simply did a great job at serving its purpose in giving us a beginning and end.

Tron: Legacy was a strong movie that I really enjoyed. I think while it had the big name star in Jeff Bridges it truly focused on the rising stars to help make the movie successful. This was vital because now that we care about Hedlund and Wilde's roles it sets up perfectly for a third Tron film. This is not far fetched to say because simply in movies today they always leave them open for the sequels. I really enjoyed this and wish now I would have made it to seeing Tron: Legacy in the theater to get the full sound and visual experience. I am giving Tron: Legacy three and three fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that I will be adding to my movie collection.



Wild Target

British comedies seem to have quite the ability to take serious material and run with it and make it funny. Wild Target is a great example of this as anyone in their normal mind would not think of a con artist and a hitman would be the two leads for a romantic comedy. Wild Target gives some fun moments of action that not only work but fit seamlessly into the laughs that are built in throughout the movie. It was surprising to me that in the US market as far as I know this was a straight to DVD release.

Emily Blunt is splendid in her role as Rose, a beauty, who also happens to be quite the successful con artist. Blunt continued to impress me and is really improving with each role she takes and is quickly showing that she will definitely be a big time star in Hollywood. With her versatility that she is showing in the roles she is able to play, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses to see, simply because she will give a solid performance.I truly enjoyed her performance as she plays a perfect balance between the fluidity of a con artist to being a free spirit that just wants to enjoy life even though her life is in danger. She brings a great quirkiness to the role that even though she is a con artist you can not help but be drawn to her.

Bill Nighy plays Victor Maynard, an uptight, laser focused hitman, with such brilliance and ease that the audience actually feels awkward watching portions of his interactions. Nighy plays the role of the epitome of a hitman to perfection. Just as one may expect he has control issues which are clearly evident as we see that his home has plastic covers over all the furniture. Yet, these control issues give us some great comedic moments such as his insistence on checking the hall outside of the hotel room to make sure it is safe for Rose to go out, even though she has already stepped out into the hall. Even as a hit man we can see that he has a great inner conflict as he becomes Rose's bodyguard protecting her even though he was originally supposed to kill her himself. Also we see that even with his success as a hitman he feels insecure about himself as we see him constantly trying to become a cultured person as he sits eating dinner while talking about what he likes about in wines not to mention he is shown time and time again listening to a learn french tape.

For me I was really intrigued to see how Rupert Grint would do outside of his role from the Harry Potter films. Grint gets thrown into having his life at risk because he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. His portrayal of Tony with his initial reluctance of what he has got himself into to then becoming Maynard's apprentice (which he believes to be a detective not a hitman) with such a smooth transition that it really surprised me to see him act as strong as he did and to be as funny of a character as he was. It was really interesting because he completed an almost family like dynamic between the three main characters. I think this dynamic was genius as this dynamic was really the most apparent when Rose cuddled him in his bed it was very motherly of her, when moments before he is believing based on what she has just said that she had feelings for him and not Maynard.

The comedic aspect of this movie was precisely what one expects from a British comedy. One of the best comedic moments happens a couple times throughout and it is one that I can never remember being used. The aspect I am talking about is the common movie phrase for payment "Half now, half later." In the movie this phrase literally means that half the payment is each bill cut in half. The plot of the buttoned-down assassin and the kooky girl along with the unwilling guy who gets thrown into danger is a vehicle that movies can hang some great lines and situations on. Rather then relying on the typical toilet humor that a lot of the American comedies use, Wild Target pulls itself onto its own two feet with situational comedy, that is nothing but true British flavor.

There is a lovely romantic chemistry between Blunt and Nighy's characters that really makes the audience care about them. Though they commit crimes, the audience can remain attached enough to laugh at their predicament, but also care about what happens to the characters as Nighy falls for Blunt and at the same time along with Grint their characters become like a family. It's also surprisingly touching in places as the transition from romance to drama to comedy is handled seamlessly blending lovely together. The story though basic is good enough and the script is structured beautifully with sharpness embedded throughout.

Wild target is a fun British comedy that will have you laughing throughout, no matter if you are a fan of the British comedy or not. Emily Blunt continued to show her star power that is beginning to brighten. The chemistry between all the characters is spot on that you actually will believe that they are the characters they are portraying. I am giving Wild Target four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie worth renting and can be found currently in Redbox as well as on Netflix.

-The Movie Man



Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is another movie with the trend of being based on a comic book or graphic novel. While the overall premise of a mysterious bounty hunter with super natural powers bent on revenge against the man who killed his family in front of him has the makings for a solid movie. Unfortunately, Jonah Hex falls short of the standard that has been set recently in the graphic novel/comic book adaptation genre. While, it is bad in so many ways there were still some enjoyable moments throughout.

Unfortunately, the acting suffered greatly in this movie. For some reason James Brolin as Jonah Hex did not work for me. As the main character I did not connect at all with Jonah Hex. There was a lacking depth for the character that would have been needed to help me want to cheer for the main hero. Brolin delivered his lines, yet he just did not command the screen. While there were some good one liners from him he did not have chemistry with anyone else on the screen. Megan Fox as the saloon girl was a terrible decision. While Fox is definitely easy on the eyes, her fake accent was horrendous. She does not connect on screen with anyone and comes across being hollow and the audience sees that she is trying so hard to act and that she does not become the role.

One of the redeeming points in this movie were the action scenes. Yet even this the movie marketers messed up because the best action sequence of Jonah Hex on his horse and firing two Gatling guns that are mounted on the side of the horse. This really cool sequence rather then keeping it hidden until the movie released they made the mistake by putting it in the trailer. The best action movies know this and they keep the best action scenes unshown until the audience sees it in the movie. True to action movies Jonah Hex does give plenty of fights, gun firing and explosions to get any males blood pumping.

The writing for the storyline was definitely lacking. Brolin and Malkovich normally give strong performances and while they do not connect with the audience the lack of depth for the characters falls on the heads of the writers. The interaction is not there as well. It would have made a huge difference if the writing would have made the characters less shallow.

Jonah Hex fell short on so many levels, from the writing to the acting did not meet the standard that has been set in recent years with the emergence of so many comic book/graphic novel adaptations to movies. I am giving Jonah Hex two buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that if you want to just focus on the decent action parts that I stated earlier it may be worth the cost of renting, otherwise I would skip this movie.

-The Movie Man

Arthur

Arthur is one of those movie that will live up to the hype from the trailers or people will leave the theater stating they put all the funny parts in the trailers. Arthur is a remake of the movie with the same name from 1981 starring Dudley Moore. When I saw the first trailer I looked very forward to seeing it just because simply I believe Russell Brand to be very funny. While I have seen the original version it had been a very long time since I saw it and so I was able to go into this remake without any preconceived notions. For me the biggest issue going into this movie was going to be if Russell Brand could carry a movie as the lead or if he is just a funny sidekick type.

So obviously the first part I am going to talk about is that of what made for the toughest issue is could Russell Brand able to be a leading funny man. He plays the role precisely how it needs to be played so that he becomes very lovable to the audience. In this movie he still had a lot of alcohol involved in his character and played the same part the same way we have seen him do a hundred times. However this time, we get to see Brand take on a character that is truly in love, which is quite often in this movie. The director of this film brilliantly integrated the drunk nature of Arthur with the true love side, which forced Brand to have to explore his acting dynamics in this film. I'm happy to say that he did this quite well and really made Arthur a believable human being. The only issue I had with it is that there were a couple lines here and there that were hard to hear because they ended up being a little too soft spoken so that you could not clearly understand what was said. The comedy interaction between Brand and Mirren is really surprising.

However, Brand's acting would have not been nearly enough though were it not for the great performances provided by Helen Mirren and Greta Gerwig. Naturally, people are going to laugh with the interactions between Brand and Mirren because of the simple fact that at a man at the age of 30 still has a nanny is funny in and of itself. Mirren really plays the uptight nanny with great perfection. To me one of the more interesting parts to is the fact that she found the arrangement of a loving and care-giving relationship with Arthur somewhat satisfying, and at least safe. Her reasons, of course, she wisely keeps to herself, the audience is left to make up their own plausible back-story. Greta Gerwig as the real love interest of Arthur is simply adorable. I have never seen her before, but found her absolutely perfect. She is sweet without being so sweet it is sickening, attractive without catering to some cranked-out version of media hotness "a la mode." She seemed genuine, deep, innocent, and completely the kind of person anyone, especially Arthur, would love to spend time with for the intrinsic delight of her company and her vibe. Gerwig deftly showed us her character's heart without any effort or melodrama.

I really enjoyed the direction of this movie. The plot was not overly hard, but instead kept things fairly simple. Unlike other comedies of late where they tend to fall apart in the end as the jokes in and of themselves are not enough, Arthur on the other hand is able to avoid this pitfall because they are actually able to successfully move the plot along. The constant struggle Arthur faced to listen to his heart and to his nanny, really made the situation seem real. Although it was a little extreme, the choice Arthur had to make is similar to the crucial decisions the typical human has to make. It's not always easy and there are times where you may think everyone else is correct, but in the end you have to figure out what is right. Thus, the characters were very believable.

Obviously, there are going to be those that this movie will not appeal to because they want brilliant art type movies. Arthur is not going to change the way you view your life or even how you are with your family. Instead, this movie simply goes out to entertain us and does not need to be taken seriously. I truly enjoyed this movie and a movie is successful in my book when you are able to laugh throughout and in looking back there are even a few moments where the entire audience is laughing so hard that other funny moments may have been missed out on. I am giving Arthur three and three-fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie that is worth having the full movie experience at a theater in order to see.

-The Movie Man