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