The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 

 

Anyone that has followed my blog for any amount of time would be able to tell that I am a complete sci-fi/fantasy movie geek, so when I learned that The Hobbit finally was being made I looked forward anxiously to when a release date would be announced. So naturally, I became even more excited and knew I would definitely be seeing The Hobbit as close to the release date as possible. With movies like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I am kind of like a kid in a candy store or even my wife in a shoe store. While there has been a lot of criticism with Peter Jackson making The Hobbit into three movies, for me it only added to the joy because I know that I have two more movies over the next two years to see, and this just allowed Jackson to lay out the story  and even tie in the time between The Hobbit book and The Lord of the Rings books. And after seeing the movie I was not even close to disappointed and I ended up seeing it in the 48 frames per second format with 3D and I was simply blown away by the visual experience in the theater.

 

Martin Freeman play Bilbo Baggins our brave Hobbit that goes on this journey with the Dwarves quest to recapture their home at Lonely Mountain from a dragon. Freeman plays the role perfectly and captured in my mind the essence of a hobbit perfectly, starting with the unknown to him dwarf meeting that took place at his home. Ian McKellen in the reprisal of his role of Gandalf once again just fits and he seems to be the perfect fit for the role. His character is one that he is a wizard that is just likable by the audience. Richard Armitage in the role of Thorin the leader of the clan of dwarves works really well. While many may not recognize Armitage the past roles I have seen him in he has been great and really seems to become enveloped in his role. The chemistry that these main characters have onscreen between themselves as well as with the other characters all feel perfect. The rest of the supporting cast all do a good job and I am sure that over the next two films the other dwarves will become known better to the audience.

 

The story for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes Tolkien's source material and tell the story so masterfully. Jackson has a a great ability to take this tough to read book and makes the story easy for anyone to follow and so enjoyable to watch. While I felt that the story lagged slightly at first, the flow still worked in regards to the rest of the film and I love how Jackson has been able to so greatly capture the world of Middle Earth in my mind and transform it visually so perfectly. Jackson is so meticulous with his use of sweeping panoramic shots mixed so perfectly with the amazing musical score brought to life by Howard Shore. While a lot of movies use amazing visuals and stunning music, they rarely use it to really help strengthen the story. I think it also really helps the story be told properly by Jackson splitting the story into multiple movies, it ends up allowing for all the important events  to have proper time and not just get glossed over. Also with so many interesting characters Jackson is able to give the audience a little more then just surface on the characters, but instead we get a little depth. Even more I am a big fan of Jackson's ability to mix action sequences with the story and how you do not feel like once the action starts that is all that you are going to get, but he takes breaks to not only advance the story but strengthen the characters as well.

 

The action in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was paced perfectly. The high frame rate 3D version that we saw it in blew me away as not only did it make everything more clear and crisp, but it really made me feel like I was an actual observer of the events as they were happening and not that I was a viewer watching the movie. Yet still with this movie being a fantasy we get some great over the top sequences, my favorite  was that of the escape from the Goblin King. It was so well laid out and it is one of those great moments where a lot of over the top things have to happen. The action sequences throughout the movie were well though out and the pale Orc leader is probably the best Orc villain that have been in either the LOTR or Hobbit movies. To me the action sequences may not be as grand as the last two LOTR movie, I put the action on par with that of The Fellowship of the Ring. Also, one of my favorite action sequences was the Riddle duel that takes place between Gollum and Bilbo. It was expertly paced and worked so well to the entire sequence of everything that was happening at the time.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was one of the most anticipated movies for me this year and it definitely lived up to the hype. The use of the High Frame Rate technology is definitely the next step in movie technology because it really made a difference see it in a frame rate that is nearly that of what the human eye actually processes. I am anxious to see how this technology proceeds forward. The acting was exactly what was needed in the film and it really was precisely what I expect from a Peter Jackson film as the actors truly embodied their characters. I am still amazed at Jackson's gift for melding story and action together perfectly. I am giving The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  four and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies I would highly recommend for movie goers to not only see in theaters but to pay for the HFR 3D. This is one that will for sure end up in the movie collection.

 

-The Movie Man

Wreck-It Ralph

 

Being a huge fan of video games, after seeing the first trailer for Wreck-It Ralph I was really excited to see what Disney would do with this concept. While Disney has done some really good animated movies in the past, I have never seen them do a movie that is as original and creative as I found Wreck-It Ralph to be. I could not help, but laugh throughout the movie even right at the beginning with Ralph going to a support meeting for the video game antagonist characters. The movie centers on Ralph the villain from the Fix-It Felix Jr. game who after being sick of the bad guy decides he wants to not only be the hero, but to go out and win a hero medal to prove it. Wreck-It Ralph ends up giving us a very well thought out plot that is aced with humor throughout that appeals to old and young, as they use plenty of new generation gaming references along with those retro gaming references.

 

John C. Reilly lends his voice as our title character Ralph, who is sick of being the bad guy, so he sets out to change that and become who he wants to be. It was really cool to see a "bad guy" be a character that the audience could truly care about, that is what makes movie characters great. Reilly's voice embodies the character so well that his voice at this point would truly make me think of the character of Ralph first. Sarah Silverman in the role of Vanellope, a racing character in the game Sugar Rush was surprisingly likable. Particularly, because Sarah Silverman has a tendency to annoy me it is because of that that I was surprised that I actually enjoyed her character and loved the funny moments she brought to the game. The friendship that is formed between this bad guy of Ralph and the glitch of Vanellope worked very well together. The supporting cast all give good performances and I particularly like Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer's roles. Lynch as the female commander in Hero's Duty is not only the perfect role, but it just fits her so well. McBrayer was a fun aspect of Fix-It Felix Jr. and was really amusing in everything he did.

 

The animation for Wreck-It Ralph is incredible and is really top notch from Disney. It was all well thought out as from the purposely stiff animation in Fix-It Felix Jr. to the hyper realistic Hero's Duty and even the colorful Sugar Rush. Wreck-It Ralph is one of the most visually stunning superb computer animated movies that I have seen in a long time. To go along with the animation that film score that was put in place by Henry Jackman absolutely captured the video game world perfectly. The mixture of electronic instruments with orchestral ones is done superbly and it truly feels like an old school video game throughout that is an energetic score throughout the film. He captured the video games they were trying to emulate perfectly. The use of electric guitars done so heavily in Hero's Duty will give anyone that has played these first person shooters a true chuckle. While the theme for Sugar Rush is done with a joyful bit that it will feel like it is meant to be for one of the races in Mario Kart.

 

The story for Wreck-It Ralph I found to be very well thought out and in the end it hit a chord that really resonated with me. I loved the thought of this whole world of what do the video game characters do at the end of the day when the arcades are closed. Wreck-It Ralph ends up being to the video game world what Toy Story was to the secret lives of toys. Being a kid that grew up playing a lot of the classic video games seeing a lot of these classic characters really worked from me and in the end it only strengthened the story with me. Of course, with an animated movie from Disney it has to have that true heart warming feeling in the story. Wreck-It Ralph has those similar moments that help give the audience a movie that has a sweet tone. Yet, the big aspect of the movie was that the story was clever and I really enjoyed the themes that are portrayed throughout the entire movie. My only complaint within the story was I wish they would have spent more time spread out in some of the different gaming worlds and not as much time in the one world.

 

Wreck-It Ralph was an animated movie that I really enjoyed and met my expectations going in. This is one of those movies that just shows that if all parties involved think everything out, you can see how strong of a movie that can be put out. The short before the movie as well as the ending credits are worth seeing and really make the whole movie going experience a great night for not only yourself, but makes Wreck-It Ralph a great family going experience. I am giving Wreck-It Ralph four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies that is not only worth seeing in the theaters, but at the same time I think this is a movie that would be worth the 3D price. The different uses of pixels and the natural worlds created in the video games lends itself perfectly to a 3D movie going experience.

 

-The Movie Man

Red Dawn (2012)

 

Hollywood once again took a movie from the 80's and has repackaged it to try to appeal to a new generation. Red Dawn (2012) as a remake of the original from 1984 was originally slated for a fall 2010 release, but the financial woes that struck MGM shelved this release. Due to the financial issues they decide to go back and restructure the invading Army from what was originally China to that of North Korea, so as not to miss out on potential ticket sales in China. Having seen the original I went in not expecting them to be able to meet the feel of the original, but I was simply just expecting a movie that would be full of not only action and explosions but some fairly easy eon the eyes girls shooting guns and rocket propelled grenades. I ended up getting about what I expected in the Red Dawn remake.

 

Chris Hemsworth is our main actor in the role of Jed Eckert and he gave a decent performance. Hemsworth plays the brooding war veteran son who has returned home and is precisely what I expected from his role. Yet, even with the brooding portion his interactions with the others work very well as he seems to connect with everyone particularly Joshua Peck who plays his little brother Matt Eckert. Peck's performance was done very well, but I felt his character had a very whinny teenager feel throughout the movie. For me Peck's performance did not come close to the performance that Charlie sheen gave in the original as Matt Eckert. The relationship between the two brothers is really the only interaction throughout all the characters in which something substantial was given to the audience while all the other characters were fairly shallow and not much depth was brought to the characters. Of course to appease the males they give us Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas and Alyssa Diaz as a group of girls that are a part of the "Wolverines" group that fights back against the North Koreans. While we don't get the depth from there characters I have to admit it is pretty cool to see these easy on the eyes girls also shooting rocket propelled grenades. The rest of the supporting cast all give performances that are completely fine for an action movie. Will Yun Lee as Captain Cho our face of the North Korean antagonist gives a strong performance, but I would have loved if they would have given us more out of his character and development because I was intrigued by his character.

 

The story for Red Dawn (2012) really had an uphill battle to fight when comparing it to the original version. When the original Red Dawn came out the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union was at its ultimate height and I am sure everyone at that time figured a shoot out between the two powers was bound to happen eventually so the story of the Soviets invading played on a huge fear that most everyone probably had from time to time. So flash forward to the present of 2012 and while I am sure there are those that have various fears in regards to what wars the US could get involved in, but I do not think the fear meets anything that would have been felt during the Cold War era. While the story that they brought in the end did not blow me away, but I did not need it to. I do like the set up of the three areas of the quite middle class suburbia, a busy downtown district and the football field prison all helped to up the ante of what they were risking. Of course, with any action movie, the moviegoer needs to be willing to look at the story as while it may be a stretch or pretty far fetched at times it is all to help allow the action scenes be that more over the top. As part of the set up for the story I felt like the news clips at the start of the movie as part of the opening credit helped set everything up nicely. The aspect of the story that I really would have liked to see more depth to would have been not only understanding a lot of the characters more, but also getting a better understanding for North Korea's invasion would have helped build even more of that patriotism feel to the movie.

 

While the story was alright and the acting was serviceable for the roles, it was the action that gave this movie the fun feel to it. While in the original the action worked and was fun to see. The technology advances that have happened in the last 30 years made the explosions more explosive. I believe that with the action there had to have been  military personnel advising because there are definite military type infiltration movements used throughout the movie. This movie does not take long to jump into the action and after about the first 10 minutes of some set up of a character or two then once the North Koreans invade there is action and explosions that happen almost every other scene as there are not many lulls in the movie from that point on. The action sequences are well thought out with the explosions and the way "The Wolverines" use the guerrilla type warfare worked. Now I am not sure for sure but as I sat in my seat watching this film, I believe they did not use CGI for the movie, but used real explosions. This use of real explosions is a throwback to movie making of the past and while I enjoy CGI and it works in a lot of movies it is still nice to see real explosions from time to time.

 

Red Dawn (2012) ends up being a decent action movie that while it did not meet what the original Red Dawn was like it ends up working as an action movie. While I think had they made the movie a little longer they could have developed some of the characters and the story with a little more depth it felt like a very action oriented movie. The acting for Red Dawn was serviceable and while I liked Hemsworth's performance I was disappointed in the portrayal of Matt Eckert kind of coming off as the whinny teenager. I loved the use of real explosions for the action sequences and it is because of the action mainly that I am giving Red Dawn three buckets of popcorn out of five. While if you really enjoy action movies this may be worth seeing in the theater, this is one of those movies that the more casual movie fan can enjoy, but I would say wait and rent it.

 

-The Movie Man

Skyfall

 



I am definitely a fan of the 007 movies and I have really enjoyed the re-imagining of the whole Bond character that started with Casino Royale and Daniel Craig taking over the iconic role from Pierce Brosnan. Skyfall is the third installment with Craig as Bond and it is one that I am glad to see that it made it to theaters because with money issues from the film company it was a definite possibility that it would never be made. The character of Bond being flawed and with the whole movie having the gritty feel that has become the popular trend because of the realistic feel to real life is prevalent once again and only gives us a better understanding of the Bond character. For me being a Bond fan everything within the movie felt like it should be there and personally the story is simply yet complex at the same time.

Daniel Craig reprises the role of Bod for the third time and he continues the progression and depth of Bond that he started in Casino Royale. Craig plays the flawed Bond to perfection and I have really liked the way that through his emotions that he has humanized Bond and with his story being more of an origin story it helps to show why in other movies that Bond has been the way he has. Javier Bardem in the role of Silva our villain is one of the best not only Bond villains, but best villains in an action movie. Bardem steals the movie as he is a cold and calculating villain and each scene he is in he really takes everything above and beyond what I expected going in. The chemistry between Craig and Bardem is nearly perfect, as they worked so well off one another. the play between the two of them is something that I have never seen in a Bond film. The supporting cast particularly Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw gave strong performances. I think the new Q was a great addition to the case as he plays the genius character so well and he has a few good back and forth moments on screen with Bond. The only character that I felt was a little forced was that of Naomie Harris in the role of Eve. I felt that she was kind of just there from time to time, and that the reveal with her while nice was very forced.

The action for Skyfall was exactly what I would expect in a Bond movie. The action starts right off and I loved the chase sequence that takes place right from the get go through the streets and even rooftops of Istanbul on motorcycles that culminates on a great fight sequence on top of a train. And even with the chaoticness of the train Bond is still able to have a classic Bond moment. The action is really fast paced throughout as it never seem to ever completely stop, yet the balance between the story/plot moving forward and the action sequences is perfectly melded together as nothing seems to be overtly placed over anything else. The action sequence for the climax of the movie had a great buildup to it and while it ended ever so slightly abrupt with the fight sequence it was still exactly well thought out. To go along with the action sequences, one of my favorite aspects that took place throughout the movie was the way they paid homage throughout the movie to the Bond movies of the past. While one of the biggest aspects of this I will not reveal because in my humble opinion it was the coolest tribute to the Bond franchise. But it was really great to see the old school style introduction for the opening credits along with the use of "James Bond Will return" at the very end of the movie.

The story for Skyfall to me is the Bond film I have been waiting for after the reinvention with casino Royale. With Sam Mendes directing, Skyfall is propelled by a strong narrative purpose, Mendes values story and character over anything else, and in the end I felt like he gets the feel of Bond. I loved that Mendes respects the Bond franchise but also breaks new ground with the treatment of the story. The story tells a moving and intelligent story with really strong scenes to accompany what was written. Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan they had a great hand at balancing some humorous moments with dramatic ones without moving away from the story that was the heart of the film. Yet, the best part was they further enhanced the brilliance of delving into the vulnerability that Bond has and the way the audience gets to see a flawed heroic character. They have been able to take the same idea, but make the stakes higher and even more personal for Bond as our villain is former MI-6 who takes the fight not only directly at MI-6 but right at M and Bond as well. The soundtrack that Thomas Newman put together for Skyfall had a great pacing with it and I really enjoyed the parts of him taking the classic Bond theme in new and interesting ways and Adele's theme for the movie fit perfectly. The theme by Adele had that same old school Bond feel to it, which is something that has been missing in the past Bond films.

Skyfall is my favorite bond film that I have ever seen and really captured what I expect in a Bond film and it has really continued to step up the level of what I expect from future Bond movies. Daniel Craig is the embodiment of 007 and Javier Bardem as Silva is the perfect villain because he is in many ways the anti-Bond. I loved the action sequences and the train sequence is a perfect part of what makes a Bond film so entertaining. Sam Mendes direction was perfect and really controlled the pacing, story and action perfectly. While the movie is long it did not feel it was as long as it was. I am giving Skyfall four and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. Skyfall is a movie that is well worth seeing in the theaters and is one that movie buffs should make sure they see in the theater.

-The Movie Man

Rio

 

Rio is a movie that not only takes place in Brazil, but the unique aspect is that it is a family friendly version of Brazil during Carnival. Rio ends up being a fun movie that has such a fun upbeat musical score to go along with the vibrant colors of the birds that you can't help but feel happy and even have an urge to almost dance after seeing this movie. Rio gives us a fun movie that in the end deals with a privileged blue macaw that does not fly. this blue macaw though ends up going to Rio with his owner to mate with another blue macaw to help save the species, but smugglers end up stealing these two macaws. We are then sent on the journey through Rio as Blu tries to make his way back to his owner, all the while avoiding recapture.

 

Jesse Eisenberg lends his voice to the character of Blue and for some reason his voice worked perfectly. The tone of his voice was just perfect to play the blue Macaw and I even thought it was good The Social network came out prior to Rio because I picture him now more as a Macaw then the founder of Facebook. Anne Hathaway in the role of Jewel the other blue Macaw fits the role okay. Her performance with the role as the feisty character is only partially believable. Her performance was really one that any lead actress out there could have done. Jemaine Clement as our bird villain really stole the show for me. His song about himself and being a villain was perfect and was so Flight of the Conchord's like that it just worked well in the end. Clement has done the villain in two roles with such perfection that I look forward to see what he does next. The rest of the supporting cast all five admirable performances and in the end do precisely what is needed.

 

The story for Rio is nothing creative and is an okay one. While using smugglers of exotic birds is a good though, but I would have loved to have had a more creative way for the two blue macaws to be in Rio trying to escape the smugglers. While the story was simple it did not need to be complex for the story to work and in the end with it being simple I felt like everything flowed together well. The pacing for Rio was perfect as it never went too fast of too slow, but in the end it was paced in such a way that everything was able to be touched with plot points while at the same time you did not feel like it dragged.

 

The music for Rio was fun and worked so well for the feel of this movie, not only the songs in the movie, but the background music throughout the movie fit well. The music leaves you in the end with a feeling of wanting to dance and through your dancing just enjoy life. For me though one of the best musical aspects in the movie was Jemaine Clement's song as our villain bird. Anyone familiar with Clement and his participation in the show Flight of the Conchords would say the rap/song has precisely that feel to it. The humor in Rio while it was there it really was minimal and non-invasive that aside from the monkey I don't really remember much else in the humor department.

 

Rio is an animated movie for families that while it is not one that is on the level of some of the top animated movies of all time, but is still alright. Eisenberg and Clement's performances were very strong and particularly Clement made up for the okay performance brought by Anne Hathaway. The music in Rio is one that leaves you really feeling the music in the end that you have a feeling to want to dance. I am giving Rio two and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a fun family movie that will be added to the movie collection at some point.

 

-The Movie Man

Dark Shadows

 

Dark Shadows is one of those Tim Burton movies that I was very excited to see even before I saw the first trailer. Yet for some reason this was a movie that for some reason things kept coming up and allowed me to keep putting off going to see in the theaters, so I never ended up seeing it in the theaters. Dark Shadows is a big screen version of a soap opera from the 1970's and it is one that I have never heard of, but the fact that a soap opera deals with a vampire is really a kind of funny story idea in and of itself. Tim Burton has the ability to make very strong dark, Gothic movies. Dark Shadows begins with decent gloominess and yet the rest is scattered with a groovy soundtrack and colorful images that really capture the time period of the 1970's very well. The mixture of the gloominess with the time of the 1970's is something that one may not think could work well and I am sure those that did not like Dark Shadows felt like this is where the problem resonated for the movie, but I tend to think that it was in the end a fairly decent movie, but could have had some changes in the end that would have made the movie better in the end.

 

The story for Dark Shadows while it is based off of a soap opera from the 1970's, since it was source material that I was not familiar with I felt that the initial story had a unique concept to the whole vampire craze that is prevalent. Barnabas Collins, a rich well off playboy in the 1770's, ends up breaking the heart of a witch named Angelique, she curses him to a fate worse then death. She ends up turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. It looks promising in the beginning, as Tim Burton uses his campy directing style which made the intro intriguing. It get silly when Barnabas returns from his grave. Exploring the changes of his town. It's quite funny and delightful. The problem with this movie is the film can't decide if it is a dark comedy or a Gothic thriller/romance because of this the movie ends up feeling disjointed that is funny at times with a lot of unnecessary exposition. With this film being based on a soap opera I am sure Burton wanted to pay homage to the original and tries to with so many intricate details, but in the end it ends up feeling boring at times from plot point to plot point. Unfortunately, with some of the end of movie surprises they come of as being forced. The pacing is consistent throughout the film and while it felt a little boring at times it is really a fairly short movie time wise that feels longer then its actual run time.

 

Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins and he gives this role the same that he seems to give all of his roles where he is the oddball character. Depp brings a great flair and really plays the fish out of water well, but I really expect nothing less because he has played so many different fish out of water characters. Eva Green in the role of Angelique really works well as a witch who has been spurned and so she is focused on revenge. The chemistry that she had on screen with Depp worked so well and the way that they fed off of each other throughout the film really added a great amount of character depth that would have never shown through if the chemistry between the two rivals of Barnabas and Angelique. Green in the end plays antagonist that you both dislike, but at the same time feel a little sorry for her because she has become the way she has because she is still in love with Barnabas. Of course a Tim Burton movie can not be a movie without his wife Helena Bonham Carter having a role. She plays Doctor Hammond and unfortunately her role is kind of just there and to me kind of had no purpose in the end. The rest of the supporting cast give good performances, and I really did enjoy the roles of the remaining parts of the dysfunctional Collins family.

 

A definite huge part of any Tim Burton film is the musical score and Dark Shadows is no exception, and Danny Elfman once again provides the musical score for Dark Shadows. Throughout most of the film the movie has a great feel to it, as they have used various music from the 1970's from different genres throughout a lot of the film. I really enjoyed hearing the different music throughout this time period especially since I am a fan of a lot of the older music whether it be rock and roll or other types. The party that is thrown by Barnabas for the people of Collinsport I particularly enjoyed. The enjoyment that I had for this aspect of the film though may be simply because of the fact that Alice Cooper was the musical act. Cooper's cameo really made the finished product of the overall music for the movie work really well. The imagery that Tim Burton creates in his films is breathtaking at how he can take even things in the real world and he makes them ever so vibrant with the addition of vibrant colors. The visuals in Dark Shadows are no exception whether it is the vibrant hair of Dr. Hammond or the bright red dress that Angelique wears to the party that stands out from everyone else just because of how bight the color is, it all works to create a fantastical feel to the movie.

 

Dark Shadows while I found it to be a good movie it was by far not the best effort that I have seen in a Tim Burton film. The story while I was intrigued by it, it was a little muddled as it felt like it was missing a solid identity. The performances are precisely what one would expect from Depp and others in a film and the musical cameo of Alice Cooper really worked for me. I am giving Dark Shadows three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one that if you are a fan of Tim Burton that you should rent and have an enjoyable night of watching a decent movie about a vampire.

 

-The Movie Man

9

 

Let me start out by saying  am a huge Tim Burton fan, so an animated movie that is produced by him I may have a little bot of bias simply because I have yet to be disappointed by a movie that Tim Burton has been involved in.  I love the concept for 9 with it being an animated movie taking place in a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity is no more as the war between man and machine went the way of the machines. Yet, hope is not all lost for a scientist before his death created a group of rag dolls that hold the key to the spark of life. The visuals we get from this movie are not ones that one expects from an animated movie as the attention to detail is spot on that you almost feel like it is not an animated movie that you are watching. I love the concept of this movie having a great darkness to it, yet even with the darkness there is still a glimmer of hope.

 

Elijah Wood in the role of the character of 9 works well. Wood has the ability in roles where he lends his voice, to change it slightly from role to role so each character is their own character, yet anyone can hear the voice and recognize it to be Elijah Wood. His performance as 9 is no exception as he really carries the character well, that you take to him instantly and you want things to go his way no matter what. John C. Reilly in the role of 5 does well. I have only ever seen Reilly in roles in comedy movies, so to see him in a serious animated movie I was not sure if he had that ability. I was pleased that he proved me wrong as I felt like he had amazing voice presence and his chemistry with the other characters works so well. The rest of the supporting cast all give great performances as well. With so many great actors in this movie it would be nearly impossible for the performances to have disappointed and been sub par.

 

The story for 9 is one that was unique and creative especially for an animated movie. An important aspect is that I will not give too much away because I found the trailers never really gave much to the story and because of that it puts the audience in the same boat as the character of 9 who has just awoken in this world and is trying to figure everything out. I loved feeling like I was learning everything at the same time and the story was not so predictable that I was not guessing what was going to happen. The story worked because I felt like it was able to be an epic movie in 79 minutes which is kind of unheard because most would believe an order for a movie to be epic the running time would have to be over two hours. Yet somehow Acker is able to give an epic movie because of the grandiose shots within the animation. Tim Burton as a producer it is truly interesting that his trademarks tend to come out from time to time throughout the movie. The themes of outsiders or the alienated triumphing over adversity and the film being co-composed by Danny Elfman just screamed Tim Burton. The visuals truly work so well with the story because there are those moments that work so perfectly to tell the story that dialogue would have not been needed to convey the major plot points.

 

The visuals in 9 work because of what helped inspire the post apocalyptic world. Having a reference point based in reality for this movie really helped blur the line between it being animated or being shot with actual sets and not animation. Post war Vienna Austria served to give 9 that real feel of the way the world would look after complete destruction of everything that was living from the gas bombs created by the machines. The subtle nuances as well work to only strengthen the visuals, due to the subtle hints to the Nazi's of the past, anyone that watches 9 should take note of the references of the Chancellor in 9 as being a nod to Hitler. While the most obvious part of this is that of Hitler was the Chancellor before he created the title of Fuhrer, but this is the smallest of the ties to Nazi Germany. During the scene where they are showing the past footage as to what helped create the world as it was is during the parade if you look the Chancellor makes a salute that ends up being very similar to the "Heil Hitler" of the Nazi's. Secondly, if you look at the flags they have a look that is very similar to the swastika that adorned the Nazi flag.

 

9 is one of those movies that it is intriguing to me to know that Acker originally created 9 as a 10 minute short film with no dialogue, I am truly intrigued to hopefully find a way to see the original 10 minute film. The voice talents truly give strong performances and I would not expect anything less from the talent in this film. Anything less from the talent in this film I truly loved the story and felt like something new and unique yet did not try to use comedy like almost all animated movies have to appeal to sometimes teenagers. I am giving 9, three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. this is a film any Tim Burton fan should see and is one that is worth the price of renting if you are looking for an animated movie that is not your every day run of the mill animated movie.

 

-The Movie Man

Raiders of the Lost Ark

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the firs movie in one of my all time favorite trilogies. This is one of those movies that is a must watch every once and awhile and I just simply love to watch. Growing up Indiana Jones was an adventure hero that had a great ability to make even archeology seem like an awesomely exciting career choice and made the use of a whip seem really cool and something that every hero should use. I loved the fantasy aspects related to the Ark and the Covenant made things even more fun for the adventure and they take it all completely up a notch by creating the ultimate villain for a movie in using the occult belief from the Nazis and the fact that Indy is racing to prevent them from getting a hold of this priceless artifact. This is one of those movies that I really wish I could and have had the chance to see it in theaters and so I am still kicking myself that I missed the re-release for one week only earlier in September of 2012.

 

Harrison Ford IS the role of Indiana Jones and his performance is nearly perfect. This is probably his second most memorable role and along with his performance as Han Solo in Star Wars will be the roles that people will always remember Harrison Ford for. Ford has many more facial movements and voice inclinations in Raiders of the Lost Ark then the old grumpy man role that he seems to play time after time now. Ford use to be dynamic, adventurous and as wisecracking as the best of them onscreen. Everyone will remember Indy just as much for some of his lines as much as they will for the action sequences. Countering Harrison Ford we have Paul Freeman as Rene Belloq. the role of Belloq even though French embodies the villainry of the Nazis because even though he wants to try the power of the Ark for himself, he is still working for the Fuhrer. The rivalry between Belloq and Indy makes it work even more because they both represent opposite sides of the archeology spectrum. Karen Allen plays Marian Ravenwood, a former flame to Indy and yet we still see that spark is still there. The chemistry works well onscreen that you feel her initial pain toward Indy and then as her heart softens the audience feels that as well. The supporting cast perform well also and I think everyone takes a liking to Sallah immediately because he has that feel of the adventurer uncle that you rarely see.

 

Spielberg and Lucas put together an amazing story that works and at the same time it is a fun fantasy adventure movie that takes fun liberties. Those liberties though while they may not be plausible they do not have to be in this type of movie simply because everything is meant to be fun and enjoyable for the audience. I love the feel that Spielberg and Lucas take with this as an attempt to pay homage to adventure comics of the 1930's. The hunt for the Ark of the Covenant is more then just an excuse for an action adventure movie, everything has been meticulously thought out and the story is intertwined perfectly with the action sequences. Nowadays movies seem to come up with the action first then try to fit or mold the plot to all the action sequences, where Raiders of the Lost Ark has worked the Covenant story so well into the plot that it only makes the action that much more enjoyable and it is what has made Raiders of the Lost Ark stand the test of time.

 

The action for Raiders of the Lost Ark is simplistic, but that is what precisely was needed for everything that is going on. It is because of everything that is going on and how well written the story is that somehow it just makes the action work all that much more. An interesting aspect that you may not see much nowadays is with Indy being both a doctor and a professor, yet he still has no problem when it comes to having to kill someone.This all leads to probably my favorite scene in the movie  that is a perfect mix of action with even comedy, is the fight sequence in Egypt with a band of native hired mercenaries. The wisecracking part of Indy comes out as one of the mercenaries comes out and Indy is stuck with this mercenary blocking the path pulls out a large Arabian sword and he shoves of his fanciness with the sword as he takes some swings, Indy responds to this by nonchalantly pulling out his pistol  and fires to eliminate the threat. John Williams has brought an amazing score to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the theme has probably one of the most recognizable sounds to it that most anyone would recognize what movie it is from after merely one bar. This music has a great ability I am sure to taking anyone back to remembering the first time they ever saw this movie. Williams has a great hand with his score as well because it never takes away from the movie.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first movie in one of my favorite movie trilogies. Indiana Jones probably gave a bunch of kids the dream to be an archaeologist thinking it would be a globe trotting adventure. Harrison Ford is lights out and along with his role of Han Solo these two roles will go down as his most memorable ones. I am still in awe every time I watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, at the way Spielberg and Lucas intertwined the story/fantasy aspect with great action sequences so well. With Raiders of the Lost Ark being part of one of my favorite trilogies and since it is the introductory movie to Indiana Jones, I am giving Raiders of the Lost Ark four and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a must own for anyone that is a movie buff. Just remember when it comes to the Ark that "we have top men working on it."

 

-The Movie Man

Pitch Perfect

 

With the popularity of Glee, it made sense that it was only a matter of time until competitive a cappella hit the big screen. The first trailer I saw for Pitch Perfect definitely perked my interest as I thought it looked like it had the makings for a funny comedy and I knew it was one that would in the end no matter what be right up my wife's alley. Pitch Perfect deals with the two main acappella groups from Barden University, the Treble Makers and the Barden Bellas. The Bellas are out to redeem themselves after an epic failure at the finals for the acappella championships, and end up with quite the rag tag group of misfits to make up the group the following year. Our main character Beca (Anna Kendrick) is the alterna-girl who is reluctantly at college because her dad is a professor at Barden and he believes the college education is vital, but her real dream is to be producing music in Hollywood. Her dad finally agrees that if she joins one of the campus groups and still does not love her college experience he will help her move to Los Angeles and of course she ends up loving the group of misfits she joins. One can not help, but truly enjoy this movie and was a lot of fun to watch in the end.

 

Anna Kendrick in the role of Beca really performs well and she shows that she is not only a big star in the making, but is a star now. Kendrick lights up the screen and plays her role not only well, but the chemistry she has onscreen with all of the other characters is something rarely seen in a comedy. Skylar Astin in the role of Jesse, Beca's love interest gives a pretty solid performance in the first role I have seen him in. He plays the honest guy very well and is truly believable in the role and I felt like he not only connected with Beca, but the audience as well. Rebel Wilson though in the role of Fat Amy nearly steals the show with her great delivery and the comedy she brings to the movie. She took her role and completely ran with it and did not back down for one second. The rest of the supporting cast all give good performance as well. The only character that I really had a hard time with was Brittany Snow, I felt like she was kind of a confusing role and while she had a couple of great lines, she was just not what I expected from her to give in a role. I felt her character could have been taken out completely and it would not have changed the movie at all.

 

The story for Pitch Perfect was simple and even formulaic with just a couple of tweaks. The main change between Pitch Perfect and other competition based movies is rather then the rival being from a different school the rival is actually a rival acappella group within the same University, and the rivalry within the a capella world ends up being an all male group vs an all female group. Really the story works and did not take away from where the movie was taking the audience, but the big part of the story is it really serves to be what ties each song into the next song section between the acappella groups. The story set out to do precisely what it needed to do and nothing more then that. With the way the story was ingrained with the music it really helped to keep the pacing of the movie moving without feeling rushed. While there were parts where I think they could of slowed the pace down to let everything simmer and develop more I felt the pace did not move too fast so as to make you go wait what just happened.

 

The character of Fat Amy for the most part really carries the comedy in Pitch Perfect. While she is a bigger person, I think the fact though she owns it onscreen and seems to have great confidence in herself. She had me nearly rolling on the floor laughing throughout. Pitch Perfect also used the counter thoughts for what someone normally would think of when it comes to acappella competitions. The fact of the Treble Makers being the "Bad Boys" really makes you laugh throughout the movie. To go along with the comedy of acappella the hosts of the Finals competition are merely there for comments meant to be funny. Everything they say is really joke set-ups between the two of them. One of my favorite scenes that happens in Pitch Perfect is that of the Riff Off. While it has its funny parts throughout the Riff Off the best part of the Riff Off is when Kendrick's character jumps into the Riff Off with the rap from the song "No Diggity." It has been awhile since I have seen a  comedy movie that I have laughed so hard in throughout most of the movie. A lot of the times I find movies like this to have all of the funny parts just in the trailer then the rest of the movie is boring throughout, and luckily Pitch Perfect did a great job at completely avoiding this pitfall.

 

Pitch perfect was a comedy that I figured would eventually come about because of the popularity of acappella due to Glee. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson gave great performances and I was not sure if Kendrick could shine and really handle being the star, she really showed that she is a star and will be a big star in time. The story served to basically just move from song to song, but it worked. The songs worked and I would have loved to have heard more mash-up songs. I am giving Pitch Perfect three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is well worth seeing in the theater, especially if you want a night of laughing.

 

-The Movie Man

The Smurfs

 

Growing up I remember watching The Smurfs cartoons as much as possible. When I heard that the Smurfs were going to come to the big screen I was really unsure how I felt because I did not want this journey of them to the big screen to ruin the memories I have of the cartoon when I was younger.  While I was not sure how they would do the film, in the end they tried to do The Smurfs similar to the Muppets movies just with a substitution the Muppet puppets with CGI smurfs and having them interact with regular actors. While this formula has worked well in the Muppet movies, with The Smurfs that formula felt very forced and was lacking something in the end. It is clear that of course this movie was meant for kids and the trying to make adults enjoy the movie too seems to miss the mark for the most part.

 

Neil Patrick Harris plays Patrick, an advertising executive who inadvertently brings the Smurfs home in his work boxes that are full of product for the campaign he is working. While Harris is his typical self in the role, he just does not come off well as the stressed out employee with a boss that is finicky and so he is stressed out worrying about keeping his job. Harris plays the light hearted roles so much better as those seem to fall into his strengths. While I did laugh with his character I just did not really connect with him. Hank Azaria in the role of Gargamel, the villain that goes against the Smurfs and is completely obsessed with using the blue essence of the Smurfs for all of his own purposes. Azaria greatly embodies the role and really is all in on being his character completely. Azaria was a perfect live version of Gargamel not only in look to that of the animated version, but had the mannerisms down perfectly as well. Sophia Vergara as the finicky boss while believable, they could have taken her character a couple steps farther to help Harris' character be stronger and it would have been nicer to see her on screen more. In the end though the cast ended up being fairly average and I am not sure if it is as much how their characters were written or if it was just average performances by most of the cast.

 

The story for The Smurfs just did not work. everything in the story felt thrown together and did not gel and work together as a cohesive unit. Somehow they needed to integrate the story and conflict of the Smurfs and Gargamel better with the main story arc for Patrick and his trying to make the ad campaign work. Even though having the Smurfs staying with him makes it tougher, it feels like Patrick does not get too involved with their conflict with Gargamel. The story showed initially that they may combine the conflict by having Gargamel working with Patrick's boss, but they merely teased it and nothing came from it. While the pacing was precisely what one would expect from a movie targeted at kids as it kept moving, but the pacing only further disjointed the story. One aspect within the story that was enjoyable for me was in the climax they went with the fad in movies currently and used some classic rock music, particularly AC/DC which made me smile since I love classic rock.

 

The Smurfs was a kid targeted movie that probably struggled for even some kids to enjoy. While Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria were enjoyable in their roles they could not make up for the weak story. The story tried to follow the Muppet formula, but it did not translate well. I may have enjoyed the movie more had Sophia Vergara been on screen more and  had her character been written to fit her better, but instead I found myself bored. I am giving The Smurfs two buckets of popcorn out of five. For all the loyal followers, I am sorry for all of the kids animated movies lately. I will get a greater variety of movies reviewed again soon.

 

-The Movie Man

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

 

When I saw the first trailer for The Odd Life of Timothy Green, I was really on the fence with my interest level in going to actually see this movie. To me I got the initial feeling that this was a Disney movie with the typical Schmaltzy type feel that happens throughout the entire film. The plot device is quite interesting and original, something you don't see too often any more with all the sequels and prequels and spin offs. We end up getting the story of two parents played by Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, who after receiving bad news from a fertility doctor try to move on from not being able to have kids by burying all of the great traits that their child would have had. They awake to find a child named Timothy in their kitchen, and thrusts them immediately into being parents. While Timothy has his own secret, aside from the leaves growing from his ankles. He teaches the Green's more about parenting and raising a child then they could have imagined and is really a movie that has those moments that can really touch audiences as they can relate to different things that happen onscreen within their own lives.

 

Joel Edgerton does a decent job in the role of Jim Green, but I would have really preferred to have seen more out of his character in the end. While he gives great emotion and really connects to the audience I wanted to see more out of his character and for him to give some depth in understanding a little more why his relationship is the way it is with his dad. Jennifer Garner int eh role of Cindy Green I felt was a little lacking as well. The chemistry between Garner and Edgerton was just off and I found that there moments of connection were off and on throughout the movie and it really threw things off. CJ Adams really outshone Garner and Edgerton as Timothy. Even though his character of Timothy is one that other kids growing up would consider to be weird and awkward he is very likable to the audience. He definitely showed he has promise as an actor so it is intriguing for me to watch and see if Adams has the ability to be more then just a child actor or if he ends up being a child actor that just disappears as he gets older.

 

The story for The Odd Life of Timothy Green was definitely unique and although it was not a perfect story or plot it worked alright for a Disney movie. The development of the plot involves all the good qualities that they imagined their son would have—though he is different and even odd. He befriends a girl  who is self-conscious because she has a birthmark, he changes Jim's intimidating father, he shows his musical talent by beating a rhythm on a coconut shell, he ends up scoring the winning goal(albeit different then what one would imagine) and he frequently throws out his arms with his face to the sun. And, always the leaves, both on his legs and on the trees are part of the story. While all of these plot points move forward and are interconnected fairly well throughout, I think the movie could have definitely benefited from an additional 20-30 minutes, giving more depth to the characters. To go along with the plot points we get a range of emotional issues such as father/son relationships, sibling rivalry (Cindy and her sister Brenda Best—her name is appropriate), bullying, competition, love and sadness. With all of these emotional issues I would have loved to seen smaller number of emotional issues and instead given us a deeper scope into a few of these emotional issues.

 

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an alright movie and while my wife really enjoyed it, for me it was not exactly my cup of tea. I want my movies to give me those feelings of happiness and while the Odd Life had those moments it had some sad moments which I felt were not necessary to what the story was actually needed. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in what Edgerton and Garner brought to the table when in the end they could have brought more to their characters I felt. The movie though really was carried by the young CJ Adams and while he was not perfect in his role he really did a strong job carrying the movie. The story was unique and unexpected which is nice when remakes and sequels seem to be the biggest things that Hollywood is making currently. While this was not exactly my typical type of movie I am giving The Odd Life of Timothy Green two and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. While I may not recommend this to be one that you have to see in the theater, it is one that will be worth renting.

 

-The Movie Man