The Wolverine

While I did not hate X-men Origins: Wolverine like so many of the movie critics did and while I liked it, each time I watch it there are really so many missed opportunities and some misuse of some great mutant characters. The Wolverine ends up borrowing from the Claremont/Miller Japanese storyline for Wolverine from the comic books. The Wolverine ends up actually having depth and substance to it, and there are not fight scenes happening every couple of minutes. Instead it ends up giving us a deep character study of Wolverine. It is clear that The Wolverine has tried to correct the problems that were complained about in the previous solo Wolverine film. Despite taking place after the events of X-men: The Last Stand, it attempts to distance itself from the rest of the X-men characters and story, instead solely focusing on Wolverine and as a result this film feels very different to all the other X-men films.

Hugh Jackman portrays Logan/Wolverine for the sixth time and he has embodied this role in such a way that I now put Jackman as The Wolverine and so if a day comes when someone else plays this role they will have a huge role to fill and high expectations. Jackman is able to take the character to new levels and gives even more depth as he added further layers to his character as he tries to deal with his demons and shows those to the audience perfectly. To counter Wolverine we have Yashida who is played by Hal Yamanouchi and he does a good job. As the main villain in the film he does not come off as menacing, but instead he is devious as he appeal to want to repay Wolverine for saving his life in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb fell by giving Wolverine the gift of mortality. Yet his villain became quite menacing once in his Silver Samurai suit and is virtually an equal to Wolverine and truly pushes him to the limits during their battle. Svetlana Khodchenkova as our other villain on Viper has her up and down moments. Khodchenkova while beautiful for the role kind of lacks a motivating purpose that the audience needs from villains. Tao Okamoto plays Mariko who is the love interest for Wolverine ends up being capable to handle herself in many situations so she is not just a pretty face who is constantly needed for saving. The rest of the supporting cast give good performances and really help to make this movie a strong solo Wolverine movie.

The story for The Wolverine was leaps and bounds better then what came from the first solo Wolverine film. I really enjoyed the concept of the change of location of Japan somehow this seemed to fit for Wolverine because of his natural wanderer tendency, along with the fact that his claws are so reminiscent to those of the Samurai sword. I loved that we received more back story that shows The Wolverine having an actual connection to Japan from being a prisoner during World War II and when the atomic bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, Wolverine ends up saving the life of the guard who had unlocked his cell pit  before the bomb dropped so that like the other prisoners could try to get to safety. For me the story was able to work for me because I was never quite sure what the climax was going to be as they kept me guessing who was truly who within the story. The pacing for The wolverine worked very well, while it was a face paced action movie it was not afraid to slow down from time to time to delve in and give depth to the characters. The direction with the pacing was able to work as the movie slowed and picked up precisely when it needed to.

The action for The Wolverine was a strong aspect of this film. While like usual I truly enjoyed the action with The Wolverine I felt that everything was taken to the next level with this installment. Personally, the action sequence for the atomic bomb explosion in Nagasaki was really cool to see and just worked in my opinion to truly help set up the story. Along with that action sequence the black ninjas moving along the rooftops and the fight sequence between them and Wolverine was really cool simply because the stealth of ninjas is simply awesome to watch and in all honesty I am still a kid at heart and what kid did not grow up thinking ninjas were totally awesome? While the fight sequences was a little underwhelming in my opinion, Wolverine in fights is still pretty cool to watch.

The Wolverine was a movie that I really enjoyed. While it did have its flaws and some things that I am still not sure why a character or scene took place they were few and far between. Hugh Jackman has once again completely enveloped himself as Wolverine and only increased the depth in the end of the character. They paired Jackman with a strong cast that he was able to work well with and that chemistry seemed to resonate on the screen. The Wolverine was able to distance itself from other X-men films without truly alienating them which I enjoyed. Another awesome aspect was the after credit scene which I will simply say has got me truly excited for the next X-men installment in 2014. I am giving The Wolverine three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie definitely worth seeing even if you are not much of a comic book fan and is a definite must see for the comic book fan. The Wolverine is one movie that will definitely end up in the movie collection.

-The Movie Man

Jack Reacher

 

 

Jack Reacher is based on one of the books from the Jack Reacher series of novels written by Lee Childs. While I have not read these books, I had heard  that the main character of Reacher was 6'5", 250lbs and blond, so basically the complete opposite of Tom Cruise who plays Reacher in the movie. So while I was not having high expectations, since I had not read any of the books I really had no idea what to expect from Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher is the tale of an ex-military investigator who is brought in on a heinous crime believe to be committed by an ex-military sniper. As Reacher digs into the evidence, we are taken on the journey as the crime is really not what it seems on the surface. Jack Reacher is a movie that does not try to be anything other then a movie that is a solid one and is one that is on the high end of its genre. It does not try to be revolutionary, but instead it gives a great action thriller that are not given to audiences nearly as often anymore.

 

First off, while Tom Cruise does not meet the physical appearance of Jack Reacher from the books, yet the way he plays the role he is somehow able to embody the part perfectly. The cerebral aspect that Cruise brings is simply perfect. After having seen the movie I read some about the series and found that while he is physically intimidating in the end it is all about his intellect to work to figure out a crime scene that makes Reacher who he is. Rosamund Pike in the role of Helen, the defense attorney is a different role then most female roles for an action movie, simply put her character is a full character and not the "Bond Girl" or "Lara Croft" type heroine, but we get to see her complete character with glimpses of her doubts, anxieties and her conviction. Werner Herzog plays The Zec, mysterious main antagonist who while extremely creepy, I would have loved to have got a lot more behind the reasoning for his plan. They kept his character so mysterious that while Herzog played this well, it left me wanting more. The supporting cast all work well, particularly the henchmen as they are perfect for what you need in a good action thriller.

 

The story for Jack Reacher was not exactly what I was expecting going into seeing the movie. This is another one of those movies where the trailers give a completely different feel for this to be an action fill explosion fest of a movie that is simply a pedal to the metal action movie. Instead Jack Reacher is a thought out, methodical action thriller that really has an old school feel to it. With this being based on the novel "One Shot" it has made me want to go and read this story and see how I like it. The direction by McQuarne works really well as he took the story and made it a great journey in which the audience is taken on and makes you just sit on the edge of your seat throughout. The pacing is set at just a perfect pace as it did not move so fast that everything happens that it makes you wonder and say wait what just happened. but instead gives you just enough to keep you salivating for more as the story moves on.

 

The action sequences in this action thriller are simple and straight forward.  Jack Reacher does not use huge explosion to give the action, but instead gives good thought out fight scenes to even an old school car chase where Cruise himself does all of his own stunt driving. In the end the car chase was very enjoyable and the bus stop portion of it was one of my favorite parts in the entire movie because it just made myself and my wife laugh out loud. To go along with the action and fun story is the amount of funny wit and one liners through the film. At the start of the film the initial crime is very intense that really the one liners are needed to help lighten the intensity, yet they are able to do this in such a way that they do not lose the edge of your seat aspect for the film that you want in an action thriller.

 

Jack Reacher ends up being a movie that exceeded expectations, I enjoyed Cruise's performance and  found it nice to see Cruise out of the Ethan Hunt mold of the boy scoutish character and instead be a character who is a little more Jason Bourne as well as an almost anti-hero that does not care to follow the rules. I enjoyed the storyline that was laid out and I was a big fan of how the pacing moved without dragging or rushing. The strength of the story also plays well when it is one in which I want to go read the Jack Reacher novels now. I am giving Jack Reacher three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie worth renting and is one n which I plan on adding to the movie collection eventually.

 

-The Movie Man

Man of Steel



 So after a break from posting movie reviews, I am back and decided I would start back up with my review of Man of Steel simply because of the announcement over the weekend from San Diego Comic Convention that the follow up to Man of Steel would be Superman teaming up with Batman. Being the superhero geek that I am I could not help but be totally excited about this announcement. I was excited for the Superman reboot since it was tied to Zac Snyder directing and Christopher Nolan producing, I knew that this go around would be pretty strong. While I have somewhat enjoyed Superman movies as well as some of the Superman animated shows, I have never really been a big fan of Superman because he is the superhero that seems to have any and all super powers that a Superhero would want or could have. Man of Steel gives us though a completely different Superman then anything that has been brought to any screen previously. While critics have been harsh on Man of Steel because it is not close to the original Superman movie that has shaped the canon of Superman movies. For me the fact that they moved away and left the original as its own and took Man of Steel to be its own complete story of Superman that made it work and be such an enjoyable movie in my mind.

Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent/Superman and ends up giving a really strong performance. Especially, when compared to the previous actor that played Superman. Cavill was such a perfect fit for where they were taking Man of Steel and the telling of the Superman story. Amy Adams in the role of Lois Lane works. She has a great ability to play female lead roles in which the female lead really portrays strength and is not a damsel in distress. Adams like Cavill is redefining the role of Lois Lane and hopefully with future movies the characters can take this initial depth we have been given and continue to expand on it. Michael Shannon as our antagonist General Zod epitomizes a Superman villain. He is menacing and is truly an equal for Superman to go up against. He is able to match Superman punch for punch, yet while they are equals it is the upbringing on Earth that Superman has had that separates the two in the end. The supporting cast was well cast and really helped throughout the film. For me Russell Crowe was meant to play the role of Jor-El and gives the audience a great view of how a Kryptonian should be and through his instruction that his conscious is able to give Clark Kent allows Clark to see this as well.

The story for Man of Steel was a great one for the reboot of the franchise and really for me the most enjoyable Superman movie that I have seen. The story for Man of Steel while darker then previous Superman movies, it just works. This works for me simply I think because of the similar feel that the Man of Steel has with Batman Begins and the origin story that it told. As I mentioned earlier I have never been the big Superman fan because he is virtually invincible and has every super power possible, yet with Man of Steel, Snyder's direction through the use of flashbacks of Clark and him trying to deal with his powers and his desire to help those in trouble really humanized Superman. This humanization made him vulnerable and for me it made Superman more likable. Personally, one of the best aspects of the story for me was that we were actually given a great look into the planet of Krypton and a good story  as to why the planet was dying and even the reasoning behind sending Superman to Earth.

To go along with the story Snyder brought great visuals and action to meld almost perfectly with the story. Snyder used the visuals to perfection. the visuals of Krypton were simply inspiring, it is always cool to see how a director will portray another world. Snyder brings stunning visuals that it truly showed a highly advanced society to me for Krypton. The visuals that continued throughout the movie are perfect as Snyder uses contrasting colors to give an amazing feel to the cinematography. It is amazing to me how he can do it so simply yet subtly, a great example of this for me was that of the contrast in colors between the background and the blue and red of Superman's costume and how Snyder makes it virtually pop off the screen. Snyder also gives action that while it had its moments of feeling rushed it still worked a majority of the time. The battle sequences between Superman and the invaders from Krypton were very well done. While I felt like the climatic battle scene was slightly rushed it still was pretty cool to watch and see.

Man of Steel was not only a really good reboot of the Superman franchise, but  I would consider it to be one of the stronger movies that I have seen. Zac Snyder along with Christopher Nolan showed a very strong chemistry together. Man of Steel had a definite touch and feel of Christopher Nolan having a hand, yet it did not overpower the direction of Snyder which the film definitely had his touch especially his contrasting visuals that he does throughout the movie. The acting talents of Cavill, Adams and Shannon really worked well and I felt there chemistry was perfect. I am giving Man of Steel four buckets of popcorn out of five. I would definitely recommend Man of Steel to be one that any movie goer makes sure to see in theaters, and I am now very excited to see the next installment that will have Superman teaming up with Batman.

-The Movie Man

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

 

I am going to start out by saying that I have never really been a "Trekkie" as I have always been more of a fan of Star Wars instead of the old Star Trek series and movies. Yet when they did the reboot in 2009 with J.J. Abrams at the helm, I saw it and really enjoyed it. So from the moment that I heard that they were doing a sequel I was excited to see what they would do and my excitement only grew when I saw the first trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness. I am very pleased to be able to say that even with such high expectations going in it did not disappoint me in the least. Abrams has truly set the bar high in the world of Sci-fi movies for not only all other directors, future directors , but himself as well. Star Trek Into Darkness had a little bit of everything and I want to go and see it again only this time in the IMAX 3D.

 

Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain James T. Kirk. He showed a lot more growth with Kirk's character from the first movie. While I am sure there are some out there that have not liked his portrayal, personally I enjoyed the brash, cockiness he has had to go along with his learning what it truly takes to Captain a starship as a part of Starfleet. Zachary Quinto as Spock was great and it was nice to see him be able to give more emotion to the role. Quinto showed a lot of range and I thought it was even great to see that they gave Spock a couple of great one-liners that had me laughing throughout. The friendship although fragile at times between Kirk and Spock really worked and the success of the two of them together is due to the chemistry that Quinto and Pine had together. While they are key aspects to Star Trek Into Darkness, it is really Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Khan that makes this film so strong. Where in the previous installment I felt like the villain was just okay. Cumberbatch gives a performance that any actor playing a villain ought to study. His character has such a cold calculating aspect that you almost pity and feel sorry for what Khan went through because of Starfleet and the path that led him down to being the antagonist for the story. Yet, even with all of this I was simply in awe with his presence onscreen and some of the jaw dropping things that his character does throughout the movie. The rest of the supporting cast all do admirable jobs and it is nice that all of the subsidiary characters seemed to get their own moments of character growth. Bones and Scotty got their great comedic moments throughout, the analogies that Bones had throughout had me cracking up throughout the film.

 

The story that is brought to the screen for Star Trek Into Darkness was a simple yet layered story. Unlike some of Abrams past movies where nothing is as it seems, Star Trek Into Darkness while it still has some of that to some extent, but I found that the story was full of layers, but not one where the layers are out to confuse me. Star Trek Into Darkness is truly a fast paced action blockbuster with moments of slowing down to give the compelling human element that is vital for the character development and it is what makes the audience care about all of the different characters. Yet, part of what makes the story work is that the intense action makes the characters bond as almost a baptism by fire aspect. The other aspect that makes the story work so well is the soundtrack that Michael Giacchino brings once again. The music captured the essence of everything that Abrams was trying to bring about in the Star Trek world. The music is the perfect mixture of original Star Trek music with updated sounds for today.

 

The action and set pieces are pretty awe inspiring I can only imagine what all of this would look like on an IMAX screen. Abrams has a great ability to film action sequences with such a flair that it only makes these action sequences put me more on the edge of my seat. The cinematography and visuals worked so well on this film, I loved the futuristic look of the cities and the sweeping views we get through these cities were just awesome to see. the first shot of seeing the Enterprise as it rises from underwater only shows from the beginning what visually stunning film the audience is in for. The smaller comedic aspect that takes place throughout the movie was great for the action and only made everything all the better in my opinion. While I love the edge of your seat aspect that comes from the intensity in edge of your seat movies, without the comedic aspect to help lighten the movie throughout from time to time allows for everything to not completely overwhelm the viewer with the intensity.

 

Star Trek Into Darkness is a movie that not only met my expectations going in, but went above. The acting worked well together, but it was really Benedict Cumberbatch as the antagonist is what truly made Start Trek Into Darkness to work so well. J.J. Abrams continued to show that as a director he is definitely a top tier director particularly in the Sci-fi genre. He has definitely raised the bar with his combination of story telling ability with action and visuals that really put the audience on the edge of their seat throughout the film. I am giving Star Trek Into Darkness four and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Star Trek Into Darkness is a movie that I would definitely say is well worth the price of a movie ticket and is one that I even want to go see again only to see it in the whole IMAX experience.

 

-The Movie Man

Oblivion

 

 

Oblivion is one of those Sci-fi movies that I was very intrigued to see after seeing the first trailer. Sci-fi movies dealing with post-apocalyptic life on Earth are movies that are simply done a ton, and so while I wanted to see Oblivion I believed that I knew how the story line would go and that nothing in this movie would surprise me. I loved the concept and I think the softly spoken afterword by Tom Cruise's character ends up giving this Sci-fi epic a true hum heart beat that you do not always get from movies. It is always interesting how the marketing for films with the trailers seem to give us great action sequences with blockbuster explosions, yet Oblivion ends up being a movie that is completely different from that in that it gives a human story and characters that are driven by a common purpose. Oblivion is another one of those movies that is visually stunning and gives some amazing effects that place Oblivion in the same realm as a lot of the movies that are known to be visually stunning and a treat to watch because of that.

 

Overall the cast for Oblivion is fairly small and because of that it makes the roles all that more important. Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, our main character. He is a veteran who is assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources and yet he starts to question who he truly is and the dreams about himself he is experiencing that feel a lot like memories even though he had gone through a mandatory memory wipe as part of his mission. Cruise is definitely extremely talented and he is able to really be an amazing action star. For me I am a fan of Cruise as an action star simply because of his great ability to be completely locked in on a role. Andrea Riseborough in the role of Victoria, Cruise's mission partner is a great counter with Cruise. Where Cruise's character is questioning everything she follows every regulation in the rule book to a "Tee." The chemistry between Cruise and Riseborough works well as one is questioning his life the interaction for the two of them has an uneasy awkwardness that just works. Morgan Freeman in his supporting role was semi-memorable even though he may have been under utilized in the end. Based on the trailer I believed Freeman's character to play a much larger role and so I was wanting more of his character because I found him to be an intriguing character. The rest of the cast are there and really just serve the purpose as truly this film is carried by Cruise's charisma.

 

The plot for Oblivion is really one that was thought out very well and that is truly apparent as everything is woven together very nicely. This is one of those Sci-fi movies in which I will not share much of the story because I do not want to give away anything. Oblivion ends up being a powerful journey into the unknown and just when you think you know where everything is going, it takes a turn and nothing is really as it seem. I loved how the explosive set pieces took a backseat to a character driven Sci-fi movie which is something that is not seen very often. Kosinski's direction just worked very well in Oblivion. The visuals I saw on the big screen are awe-inspiring, it was great as how this visuals gave a similar futuristic visual feeling that was in Tron: Legacy, so it did not surprise me at all when I found out that Kosinski also directed Tron: Legacy. Kosinski is definitely a director for everyone to keep their eye on as he continues in his directing skills and he is one that will continue to impress.

 

The action sequences work very well with the CGI in Oblivion. With a Sci-fi movie I never know what to expect in the CGI as they do not always get the budget one needs for a Sci-fi movie to not only be successful, but also for it to meet the quality one expects on the big screen. The action sequences were simple and not overly done, which helped keep the story moving and still allowed the movie to be the non-usual character driven movie. The music used in Oblivion was perfect for the tone and feel of a strong Sci-fi movie without overtaking everything else.

 

Oblivion is a Sci-fi movie that in the end was nothing like I expected and nothing was what it seemed throughout the movie. Tom Cruise gives another strong performance and the charisma he has onscreen helped to get through some of the slower moments. I did feel like the movie was a little too long and had they simply cut a little here and there it could have helped tighten the movie up some. With the story being character driven for a Sci-fi movie was fairly unique. I am giving Oblivion three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. The visuals for Oblivion are well worth seeing in the theater so I would definitely recommend any movie goer especially Sci-fi fans to see it on the biggest screen they can find.

 

-The Movie Man

Iron Man 3

 Well I have to start this review simply by stating that everyone needs to know that there is a good chance that my view on this movie may have some bias, simply because I am a huge fan of the Super Hero movies. Simply I must state that Robert Downey Jr. embodies Tony Stark/ Iron Man perfectly and he really has been a key component with the revival and setting a benchmark for what people expect in Super Hero movies. While the entertainment value of this installment does not meet what I got in the first Iron Man, I did find this installment to be enjoyable and really gave anther level to the character of Tony Stark. I enjoyed how this new formidable foe who is terrorizing the U.S. has also been able to get Tony Stark to question himself and how can he protect those he loves from harm. With his world torn apart it was great to see him work to not only rebuild, but he also works to get over his own inner conflict of Anxiety that had been controlling Tony since the events that transpired in The Avengers. And it is because of the Iron Man franchise that everyone for the big blockbusters sits through all the credits waiting to see if there is an after the credits scene. Iron Man 3 ends up being not exactly what I was expecting going in as I left the theater not feeling like I had seen a big huge summer action blockbuster, but instead a movie that is focused on both the character development with the action.

Robert Downey Jr. dons the Iron Man suit for the fifth time and he is simply the role. Downey Jr. once again adds another layer to his character and the development through the films has been perfect. The delivery and comedic timing is absolutely spot on once again. Guy Pearce as Aldridge Killian our secret antagonist that I doubt anyone was surprised in that reveal, yet Pearce was decent in the role. He is out to get Stark because Stark shunned his idea in 1999.  Pearce is a good bad guy to go against Downey Jr. well and his presence is definitely one of strength. While I do not want to give much away, but Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin was under used. When you have an actor in a villain role that has a great ability to command his roles, I just wanted more out of his character and I feel like they really missed out on a great opportunity. The supporting cast do an admirable job and while I would have like to see more from some of the characters in the end, it worked well for the most part. I think Don Cheadle as Rhodes/Iron Patriot is one character that has really gone nowhere in the last two movies and it would have been nice to see a lot more growth, purpose and development from his character.

The story for Iron Man 3 was one that worked at times, but I struggled with at other times. The aspect of the story that I was the most disappointed in was the change of who The Mandarin is from the comic books. The Mandarin is meant to be the exact opposite of Tony Stark and so between the two of them it is meant to be the ultimate showdown of magic versus science. Yet, instead they take The Mandarin and give him the simple antagonist back story and drive of the terrorist combating the great evil of America. While this make him accessible for audiences to root against, I was disappointed where the entire character goes in the end. Where I was disappointed with the story we are told for The Mandarin, I was really impressed with the story that is woven with the action for the development of Tony Stark. The glimpses into the inner dilemma's that Tony is battling from the desire to protect those he loves and the best way to accomplish that. Along with his struggle to handle the anxiety that he is feeling as he has not fully worked through everything he went through pertaining to the events the year before in New York with The Avengers. The feelings of anxiety are brought to the screen so brilliantly that you feel the anxiety Stark is experiencing and the complete paralyzing effect it holds over Tony. Because of this it really gave a great depth and made Iron Man 3 a great character driven action blockbuster. Granted this may simply be the bias I have because of my enjoyment in the super hero movie genre.

The action sequences for Iron Man 3 are very blockbusterish and were enjoyable the complaint I have is there are a few moments in which the CGI looked terrible. Aside from that I enjoyed the battles and the air rescue that was shown in the trailer with Air Force One was pretty cool to see on the big screen and made for a very unique rescue. While they kind of spoiled by showing it in the trailers it was definitely truly cool to see a whole bunch of Iron Man suits come to the rescue against a bunch of  super soldiers. Also, the climax in the final battle sequence was slightly underwhelming for me and after three previous movies featuring Iron Man he came out being a little less super. Although it was nice to see him go toe to toe with a villain that was not in an armor suit as well. The music felt the entire vibe for the Iron Man franchise and worked well. The pacing was a little up and down at times, yet it still worked. While they strongly tied everything up well, I would have liked it to not have been tied up so perfect because it gives the feeling like this will be the last Iron Man specific film, which in turn is kind of sad simply because I have enjoyed the Iron Man films as much as I have.

Iron Man 3 was an enjoyable movie that gave the audience a strong look into what the weight of the experiences a super hero goes through. Robert Downey Jr. is simply Tony Stark and with the way they tied everything up so neatly, if they ever go back to reboot whoever gets cast in the role will definitely have a high benchmark to meet if they wish to see the continued success. Like all these super hero movies there is an after credit scene which while it does not hint to an other movies gives a funny back and forth between Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner. the story for Iron Man 3 had its ups and downs, I am giving Iron Man 3 three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. Iron Man 3 is one of those movies that is well worth seeing in the theater to have the whole movie going and watching experience.

-The Movie Man

Taken 2

 

Liam Neeson is back in Taken 2 and to borrow one of sayings of The Rock, he is out to "Layeth the Smacketh Downeth." I really enjoyed the whole concept and story with the original Taken, so I was excited to see what they might do with the sequel. With the same people playing the role of the family it made to help with the continuity of the film since we cared about the characters. So from the first trailer I looked forward to seeing Taken 2 takes place about a year or so after the original and our whole story revolves around the family of those that Neeson's character eliminated in the first movie, as the patriarch vows for vengeance on not only him, but his family. Of course after his ex wife and daughter surprise him in Turkey after one of his security jobs, it sets everything in motion for the Albanian families to seek out their revenge.

 

Liam Neeson is back to reprise his role as Brian Mills and is the same character we saw in the first Taken movie. Neeson has had a career different from a lot of others as it has been in the later years of his career that he has become the action star and while with some this may not work, Neeson is truly believable in his ability to kick bad guy butts. I believe it is due to the wisdom he seems to carry in his action roles. Maggie Grace in the role of Kim, the daughter to Brian Mills, while still the sweet daughter she adds a layer to her character as she has to in a sense be the stronger one and help her father escape from his captors. She plays the emotion fairly well and really connect well with her onscreen parents. Our main villain who is the patriarch of the Albanian families is Rade Serbedzija, who seems to always be cast as our Easter European villain gives a decent performance. He has such an easiness about him that throughout the film he almost has this grandpa like feel only to remind us that he would get revenge on anyone that crosses him. For the most part he works well in the villain role, going against Neeson yet somehow I felt like in the final confrontation he was no match. Unfortunately, Famke Janssen as the ex-wife her role was fairly minimal and it seemed like most of the time onscreen she was left to playing her role as being unconscious or just coming to after being unconscious. The rest of the supporting roles of the henchmen were exactly as I would expect in an action movie.

 

The story for Taken 2 ended up being very similar to that of Taken with just a change of European location and changing who was taken. With as surprising of a hit the original was it only made sense that the studio would want a sequel that could make money. Yet, I think there was a lot more they could have done with the plot that would have had a more creative feel and story. Plus, I felt that they had the subplot of the rekindling romance between our Mills and his ex wife that they started only to let it fizzle and go nowhere. Of course the subplot of Kim having a boyfriend served no purpose as I was waiting for the boyfriend to be more of a part then just the filler he was in the end. But with an action movie the story while it has to be there it is not why someone goes to an action movie.

 

The action is the reason one would go see Taken 2 and after a little of story set up it moves right into the action and does not stop. The most important thing to remember though is you just have to let them take their liberties on logic in order for action sequences. Such as Neeson getting to a bad guy hideout simply from a dog barking, or him counting and stating when turns happen to help himself figure out the distance he may be from his hotel, so he can use his daughter throwing to figure out where he is located. even with this Neeson has an uncanny ability to be able to command the screen that the action is believable no matter how sticky of a situation he gets into. The fight sequences from time ti time though as they used shaky cameras made it hard to follow from time to time.

 

Taken 2 ends up being a decent action movie sequel that I went into with high hopes. While Neeson showed precisely why he has become a strong action movie star the story was too similar to the first go around that it really missed out on an opportunity to give another great story. It was as if the writers had to write the story to fit the action rather then it all working together as a cohesive unit. I am giving Taken 2 two and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that you can rent, but even at that I would look for it on cable TV sometime.

 

-The Movie Man

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is I think one of my favorite adaptations from a book to the big screen. When Jurassic Park came to theaters the first time I was only 10 and so my parents would not let me go and see it until they rented and watched it first. I don't know what particularly about Jurassic Park resonated with me so much, but I still love this movie today and I think it may simply be that dinosaurs are one of those things in life that kids are just drawn to immediately. There are so many aspects of this movie that at the age of 10 I loved and still today take me back to being that younger version of myself like the awe inspiring imagery of the Brachiosaurus or the adrenaline I felt as two kids try to evade a couple of Velicoraptors, or the spine tingling that goes down my back every time the T-Rex lets out its huge roar. So naturally when they re-released Jurassic Park in 3D, I jumped at the opportunity simply to have the theater experience for Jurassic Park.

Typically, in a movie with the type of story Jurassic Park has they seem to get a cast that can't act and are terrified of monsters they can't see. Jurassic Park was the exact opposite of this as Spielberg was able to put together a strong cast. Sam Neill plays Dr. Alan Grant, our heroic paleontologist who along with Dr. Ellie Sattler played by Laura Dern, Grant's fellow paleontologist all go to this park they know nothing about to endorse the park to calm a group of investors. The scenes where these two are onscreen together work really well and the chemistry they have works. Yet, after they are separated it is great to see Neill's character evolve from the paleontologist who does not mix well with kids to actually caring about the kids he protecting through the park. The rest of the cast was cast really well and worked so well from Richard Attenborough as the eccentric owner of Jurassic Park to Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry the corrupt computer programmer who is out to greatly increase his own bank account and releases the mayhem of the dinosaurs to freedom.

It was interesting to learn that a bidding war ensued for the rights to the Jurassic Park book with Universal Studios winning out. While it would have been interesting to see what other directors would have done with the material, Spielberg was the perfect choice and his direction was perfect. While the script is adapted from the book, it is really one of those unique movies that comes out and changes the way movies are presented to the audience. Spielberg's direction worked as it was really a character driven developed story that was intermingled amazingly with the action sequences. By being a movie that was strongly character driven it made you care for the characters and it created the caring in that you either loved them or hated them exactly with how you are supposed to feel based on the way Spielberg has driven the characters. The story for Jurassic Park captures the human imagination so well because I know I am not the only one that has wondered what dinosaurs were really like. The story worked for me as well because although dinosaurs are extinct the science they describe for genetically cloning and bringing dinosaurs back seems to be plausible and not so outlandish as some sci-fi that is out there.

The visual effects and special effects for Jurassic Park while when compared to a lot of today's movies are nothing to write home about, when Jurassic Park came out it was really pushing what had been done and was cutting edge. Spielberg's vision to mix CGI with animatronics and not use just one of them was a great idea. Yet, one would not know when CGI and when animatronics are used because in all actuality the dinosaurs look completely real and not created. And the differences between the CGI and animatronics are so minuscule that in reality you can not tell when what is what. The dinosaurs that are brought to life are not only majestic looking creatures, but intimidatingly powerful creatures. While I saw this in 3D and it was enjoyable I did not find it to be overwhelmingly amazing, but it was a decent aspect. The musical score by John Williams is one that met the blockbuster feel for Jurassic Park throughout that is always necessary. The score and the first bar of the main theme is one that I think any movie goer would recognize immediately.

Jurassic Park is one of those movies that stands the test of time as I still love it as much as I did originally and it has not got old at all. The acting in Jurassic Park was not second rate like many would expect in a creatures gone amok movie. Spielberg's direction and combination of CGI dinosaurs and animatronic was done perfectly. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park set a whole new standard in special effects and today's movies may not be where they are had it not been for Jurassic Park. That is why I am giving Jurassic Park three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies that I love to watch from time to time and one that is worth owning for any movie fan.

-The Movie Man

Les Miserables

Anyone that knows me knows that movies that are musicals are not movies I clamor to see. While Les Miserables came out on Christmas we ended up seeing it three days after it was released. This was a movie that I was very interested to see after seeing the trailers especially since I knew my wife would be very interested in seeing it. It has just taken me a lot of time to actually getting around to writing the review because in all honesty I have been back and forth on how I felt about the movie so I had to get to my own decision on how I felt about the movie. I had seen the Les Miserables stage production on Broadway which while this gave me a preconceived notion of what and how the musical should go, but with the fact that it had been nearly 12 years since I had seen the musical I was not remembering too much about all the different details. When it comes to a film adaptation the simply most important rue is to change as little as possible. The film makers seemed to know this perfectly and while they did have changes they were very subtle in the end, from slightly shortening a few songs to changing a line or two of dialogue.

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean simply embodied the role perfectly. Jackman is perfect and I seriously believe that there is no role that Jackman can't do. The little nuances that he does like slightly  changing his voice as his character ages gives his character more depth. Anne Hathaway in the role of Fantine is amazing and her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream is truly powerful. It is amazing to see how strong her performance was to win the supporting actress Oscar with being onscreen for really only 15-20 minutes of the movie. In the supporting cast Sacha Baren Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as Thenardier and Madame Thenardier nearly stole the show for me. Anytime they were onscreen they had me laughing with the different antics or schemes they were up to. Russell Crowe as Javert was decent, but his voice was not as strong as necessary for our main nemesis for Jean Valjean. The rest of the supporting cast do very well and there are really some up and coming stars that if they continue to give very similar performances they will have very strong movie careers.

The direction of Tom Hooper was very daring. Most musicals the songs are sung and recorded in a studio well before they actually start the filming. However Hooper decided to have them sing the songs live while filming, believing that this will allow the emotion to come through more from the actors and hopefully have this convey the power to more of the audience. This concept truly brought out the necessary emotion for such a powerful story. Having so much music could have worked both ways for the movie, yet for me the music worked as it conveyed such strong emotions that I truly felt like I connected with all the struggles that the citizens of 19th century France faced. The only weakness I see in the story for Les Miserables, is for those that may have not known the story upon going to see the movie that there are a few plot points that could be very confusing. However, these confusing points are either explained later on or not necessary to be explained because they are truly minor points that you do not need to dwell on.

Film allows a depth of scale that challenges the stage in many different aspects. The Song Do You Hear the People Sing emerges from a quiet call to arms that pace by pace takes over the funeral procession for General Lemarque. Along the same lines the transition that takes place during the song At the End of the Day takes us through the slums and dreariness of Paris which can not be shown the same way on stage. While there are aspects that never transfer over to film like on stage, there are some that still work amazing on film. The ability they have to give close ups of the different characters for some of the songs allows some parts in songs to be reduced to a chilling whisper at times that sent goosebumps down my spine. The production for Les Miserables is one of the bet past period pieces that I have seen. The make up, costumes and set pieces worked so well. It was nice to see them not have the teeth be pearly white like the actors are, but instead the made the teeth look like the way they would have been in 19th century France. While the CGI was not amazing it did give help the sets give a great visual of a world very much in a fantastical view.

Les Miserables ended up being a movie that deserved the awards and nominations it received. Hugh Jackman was beyond great in the role and worked so well with the other actors. Hooper's direction was really pushing the typical musical particularly by using the actors singing live rather than pre-recorded. I am giving Les Miserables four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that is definitely worth seeing and is one that we will be adding to our movie collection in the very near future.

-The Movie Man

The Host

 

The Host is one of those movies that was really nowhere near what I expected going in to it. I felt after seeing the trailers, I believed that The Host would be an action packed science fiction movie about aliens. The Host has what I would definitely consider to be a really exciting premise. This is the movie that takes a look at what would happen to the Earth if an alien invasion movie was successful in the end. In The Host aliens called "souls" have taken over our bodies and have been able to take over our personalities and emotions and replace them with their own. Yet, it takes this concept and throws it to the next level by then asking what would happen if what would be a perfect operation does not go perfect and that one of the human souls does not go into submission so easily and instead fights back against this invasion of her body and head. I am sure that there are a lot of movie goers that will find The Host to be a slow and uneventful movie when instead character driven drama is the goal here.

 

Saoirse Ronan as the role of Melanie/Wanderer does a good job with the simple fact that she is playing the alien as well as the human and has to have conversations within her head. While some of the inner head dialogue I found to be a little laughable at times, there were more times when it really worked well. Max Irons in the role of Jared as well as Jake Abel as Ian while they were serviceable they were really not fully developed characters like I would have liked to have seen. In the end while this movie was nothing like the Twilight movies which was a great thing, the portrayal of these two characters was way too similar to that of Edward and Jacob. Diane Kruger in the role of the Seeker, while my wife hated the role because she was so different from the way she was described in the book, I did not like her simply because as the antagonist there was nothing there. I don't know what it was but I just did not care about her either way, I did not feel the dislike that a good villain is able to arise in the audience. The supporting cast do a decent job I really enjoyed William Hurt and Chandler Canterbury as Uncle Jeb and Jamie. The way William Hurt carries himself as the survivor Uncle was just spot on for what I would expect.

 

What develops for the story for The Host is not as ingenious as I would have hoped for in the end. They really could have taken this unique story and taken it a lot of different ways, but instead they took it to the familiar last hope for humanity stories, that focuses more on the survivors sitting around talking about the situation rather then trying to do something about it. For me I felt that the opening scene was a great start and had a solid opening pace, but after that point for some reason the pacing never overly moves like you would expect in a movie, instead it just kind of coasts. the direction of Andrew Niccol, who in my opinion has a great ability to give the movie goer inventive stories about people who are stuck by their circumstances. In The Host though Niccol has his hands tied a lot more simply because he has a script based on the book written by Stephanie Meyers who everyone when hearing her name immediately thinks of the Twilight series. The Host is tilted toward something meaningful but with having his hands tied so much the movie never seems to get out of first gear.

 

The Host was a movie that was unexpectedly better then the expectations I had going in. Movies like The Host that are based on a book always makes me ask the question after seeing the movie, "Do I want to now go and read the book?" I am looking forward to reading the book in the near future and see how it compared to the movie and if the book goes over some of the plot points that got glossed over in the movie. The acting was just decent and basically had some that were better then I thought and others that were under what I would expect. The pacing for The host never really went anywhere and it felt like they had a great start and in the end just took the pacing and drove around in circles. I am giving The Host three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one movie that I would say is worth the price of admission to see in the theaters.

 

-The Movie Man

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

 

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is one of those movies I really looked forward to seeing. Especially when I saw that it had the comedic talents of Jim Carey and Steve Carell, a movie that takes a comedic look at the world of illusion and magic would definitely be a funny movie. While a lot of the reviews have been fairly harsh, it may be that I am easily amused, but I found myself leaving the theater with a smile on my face. The days of people going to the movies to just simply eat popcorn and enjoy the magic of the cinema, has been replaced with highly critical people looking for every tiny flaw within any movie. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone deals with a very similar subbject, Burt through his years of being a magician has lost his ability to see the wonderment that even an old trick can have on anyone in the audience of a magic show. The movie is a throwback to the innocent times of stage magicians using simple tricks such as a rabbi out of a hat to get the oohs and aahs from any audience member rather then the elaborate and even sometimes cringeworthy tricks that a lot of the magicians do nowadays.

 

Steve Carell in the role Burt Wonderstone is the funny man onscreen that he has become as an actor. While, I found Carell to be funny throuhgout the movie his character of Burt was in my mind lacking something. Burt is a pompous, arrogant, womanizer, which was something that is out of the normal character's Carell has played and this was the issue. Carrel plays the middle aged ordinary joe role perfectly and so as Burt he was over acting and over played the arrogant, pompous parts which just did not work. Jim Carey in the role of Steve Gre an up and coming street/shock magician reminded me of the Jim Carey of  the '90s. Carey's character is really a pretty good parody of Kriss Angel and David Blaine, going even as far as having a show called "Brain Rapist." The way his character speaks is hilarious and really they could have used him speaking more and not having as many exaggerated over the top stunts. yet, it was all of that, that really makes Jim Carey the Jim Carey of old in this movie. While Alan Arkin in his supporting role as the magician that inspired Burt as a kid and later on after Burt lost his way, I felt was a perfect role for Arkin. The rest of the supporting cast of Steve Buscemi and Olivia Wilde as Anton and Jane I felt were grossly under used. Particularly with two such talented members in the cast to not use them to their full potential is such a waste.

 

The story for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone was I felt truly lackluster. With a comedic movie about magic, I felt like there was a lot more they could have gone with the story and instead they went for a very predictable and weak story. The directing was weak for me because there are a couple of moments where the characters pretty much sit down and explain the arc of where the next act of the story is going to go. The moments of the characters sitting down to discuss where the story is going really brings the movie to a near standstill and then it starts back up, making for the pacing to be very disjinted. Even within the story trying to have a romantic interest was fairly laughable as Olivia Wilde went from hating Burt and his womainzing/chauvanistic ways to fairly quickly ending up falling for him after just a moment instead of the typical slowly starting to change her mind.

 

The Incredible Burt Wonderston is a movie about magic that could have really done a lot more with it then what they did. while Carell was funny and really was spot on with the comedy part of the role, the pompous and arrogant part of the role just did not fit Carell very well at all. On the other hand I loved that Jim Carey was back to the Jim Carey of the '90s. The story was not where I expected it to be, yet the comedy just worked. When Burt finds his passion again, while I do not want to spoil it the trick they do is not only really cool, but ends up being pretty funny in the end. I am giving The Incredible Burt Wonderstone two and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. While in the end I did not feel like this was a waste of a movie ticket, it is one I would say wait until this one comes out on DVD to rent.

 

-The Movie Man