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

Frankenweenie

 

 

I have always been a big fan of Tim Burton's directing in movies, particularly when he tells an animated feature. So when I heard of Tim Burton's latest directorial movie I immediately knew it was a movie that I would have to see. Frankenweenie is Burton's full length animated feature from a short animated film he did back in the 1980's. It's obvious from this as well as the short that Tim Burton holds the story close to his heart. It is a pretty sage guess that young Victor Frankenstein may have a lot in common with Burton's own childhood experiences, a misfit socially who finds enjoyment in less then popular outlets such as science, sci-fi and film making. Burton's Frankenweenie ends up being a film that really pays homage to the old monster movies of yesteryear.

 

The voice talents for Frankenweenie bring a lot to their roles and they elevate some of the characters more than one would expect in an animated movie. Charlie Tahan as Victor worked really well. This was the first movie I have seen him in where he was one of the lead roles even if it was him just lending his voice. Being a lead with such a stellar cast could be intimidating, yet I felt he embodies what I would picture young Victor to be like. Winona Ryder lends her voice as Elsa Van Helsing and she played her character fairly well. It just seemed that Victor and Elsa worked well and seemed to fit together well not only in their voices, but just on screen together. Catherine O'Hara who seems to be one of those actresses that lends her voice in more then a couple of Tim Burton movies does a great job with Martin Short as Victor's parents as well as the other minor character they lend their voices to. Atticus Shafer as Edgar "E" Gore as well as Martin Landau as Mr. Rzykruski are perfect supporting cast members. Particularly Mr. Rzykruski, who those who are fans of the old school horror/monster movies will recognize the science teachers likeness to that of the late great Vincent Price. Landau just played the role perfectly and I felt like Landau and Shafer in their roles nearly stole the show. "E" Gore was I think in a way the odd comedy of the film with his role being the parody of Igor.

 

The story for Frankenweenie begins fairly simple- Victor a socially inept kid, whose only friend is his loyal dog Sparky. Victor's parents try to get him more engaged, which after hitting a home run while playing  baseball, Sparky chases after this ball and ends up having a tragic accident. Of course, like any young boy Victor is crushed, but his scientific mind along with some lightning leads to a shocking development that he is able to bring Sparky back. The secret though ends up getting out which leads to an interesting turn for the science fair taking it to a whole new competitive level. From here we get additional references to the Bride and son, Mummy and Invisible Man and even gives us a nod to the fiery windmill conclusion of the Karloff original.  Where earlier we got a homemade monster movie, it leads to an actual giant monster movie, as Victor's different classmates wanting to win the science fair, essentially using the same cinematic "science" magic bring to life monsters from a Godzilla type monster, a bat/cat creature to even gremlin type creatures. This truly is an homage to the 1930's horror movies taking place in a 1950's suburban setting, so similar to many of the neighborhoods Burton has used in films like Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands.

 

The ability of the picture Burton is able to paint in his movies is probably the biggest reason I have grown to be such a fan of Tim Burton movies. It was truly awesome to see the textures and light they manage to capture even in the use of black and white. Having this film in black and white, while I am sure it drew some of the kids viewership away, it fit so perfect for what Burton was trying to do. The genre of animated films has such a wide variety of ways to make the animation come to life on screen that for me it is impossible to choose which animation format is the best. Tim Burton's use of stop animation is great, for some reason the energy of the characters is carried through the characters that it seems so real and nothing more then just seeing everything in black and white rather than color. Once again Danny Elfman brings a musical score that not only works, but fits the theme of Frankenweenie perfectly. There is just something about what comes out when Elfman and Burton team up and the way the musical score just interludes so perfectly with everything else.

 

Frankenweenie is an animated movie that has a great ability to pay tribute to the old horror/monster movies. This was a movie that was truly just enjoyable to watch from start to finish and for me, even though it was in black and white it kept the attention of the Little Movie Man throughout the entire movie as he just sat at home as we watched this movie. Tim Burton seems to always be able to bring strong casts to his movie and he does not disappoint with Frankenweenie. I can not say enough about the homage to monster movies, even tpaying tribute to Jurassic Park. I am giving Frankenweenie three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Frankenweenie is one of those movies that is a great one to sit down and be able to enjoy with your family and it is one that will be definitely added to the movie collection soon.

 

-The Movie Man

Dr. No

 

Dr. No is the first foray into the world of James Bond in the movies and while I have enjoyed a lot of the Bond movies, this movie gives the first glimpse of Bond and his spy lifestyle. Sean Connery epitomizes everything Bond represents starting with the first scene of the movie. Dr. No hit theaters fifty years ago and so I am sure that a lot of the up and coming movie watchers would watch Dr. No and think the effects are horrible and do not meet the special effects that are being put out now. Which is why I feel like with these older movies it is important to look at them and compare them with what the film makers were able to at the time with the effects and technology. In this first installment Bond is taken to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of British Agents, and to find out what had been uncovered that led to the death of the agent and his secretary.

 

Sean Connery in the role of James Bond completely embodies the role and really is vitally perfect in Dr. No. Playing the role of Bond is what has made his film career and he delivers everything perfectly. Ursula Andress play Honey Ryder and she fits the role perfectly. She plays the eye candy great as well as she is very likable onscreen that you want her to be onscreen more then what she already is. She ended up being the first in a long line of what came to be an iconic role in each James Bond film of having a "Bond Girl" in each film. Dr. No played by Joseph Wiseman is one of the best Bond villains that is so spot on and not only evil, but crazy at the same time in his plot to take control of the world. Wiseman was able to truly accomplish so much intimidation and skill as a Bond villain with only being onscreen very minimally. The chemistry between not only Connery and Andress, but as well as the chemistry between 007 and Dr. No is a great back and forth in the short screen time together. The supporting cast do great jobs as they seem to really play the characters exactly how I would expect them to be.

 

The story for Dr. No was simple and straight forward as 007, is sent to stop a mad man and his plot to take control of the U.S. space launch. Dr. No ends up being one of those movies that does not have the twists and turns that is so apparent in most of the movies nowadays, so it was kind of nice to watch the first Bond movie and see everything unfolding on the screen in such a nice and clean format. Along with the storyline they do a great job of interspersing moments of action that not only help the audience stay entertained, but also serve as good moments that help the story to continue to move along and not get stagnant. The direction of Terrence Young succeeded in keeping the right pace by keeping it in a medium type pace which effectively balanced how he wanted to present the movie to the audience without being too exciting or boring. The simplicity of the story he told worked because  while simple the story allowed there to be a great attention to detail as the story is very character driven and the use of mystery and suspense works well when compared to movies of today that use tons of explosions and special effects, many times make up for a lackluster script. The story was truly one that can be told clearly, taken seriously and enjoyed from start to finish.

 

The production for Dr. No actually holds up pretty well still today. This first installment really had a tiny budget, so to see what they did with what they had to work with worked fairly well. It definitely had its cheesy, laughable moments the obvious backdrop for the car chasing scenes through Jamaica, but they balanced that with impeccable interior scenes. The detail for the sets was very enjoyable and the action for Dr. No worked and Connery brought good fight sequences. The action/fights while hokey for the car chases the other fights and action were done really well and just worked. The musical score was a great mix of Jamaican jazz as well as the now iconic James Bond theme song.

 

Dr. No was the first introduction into the world of James Bond and while Dr. No is not the best Bond movie ever made it is definitely top five and was a great introduction of one of the best Bond's, Sean Connery. The acting was well done and Ursula Andress was a great first "Bond girl." I loved the story and the simplicity of it. The introduction of the iconic James Bond theme is one that everyone knows. I am giving Dr. No three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Not only is this a must watch for a fan of movies, and it is a definite classic spy movie, one that has shaped the spy movie genre moving forward.

 

-The Movie Man

Oz the Great and Powerful

 

The Wizard of Oz is one of those movies that is close to a lot of people's hearts and so to take on anything in that realm for a movie is a definite tough undertaking, especially if another movie studio holds the rights to the Wizard of Oz and such so they can not touch certain aspects of Oz and the storyline. Oz the Great and Powerful is an attempt to tell us the origin of the Wizard and how he came to being the Wizard of Oz, as well as the relationships and interactions he had with the various witches of Oz. This is the prequel story to Frank L. Baum's series of children's books and this world created by Baum plays greatly into Raimi's strengths as a director. An imaginative world that is covered in light and darkness with characters that inhabit the world with a quirky feel that harkens back for everyone to their own childhood imagination.

 

While normally talking about the main character is the first actor in their role I talk about, I am going to switch it up a little. Rachel Weisz in the role of Evadora, basically made the movie for me. She gives a performance that in many respects not only saves the movie, but she is actually one of the huge reasons I enjoyed the movie so much. She manages to make the role of Evanora more than the standard fairy tale villain, from her we get a complete character from a not so strong script. Countering Weisz is Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good and she fits the role perfectly. She gives off what I would say is the perfect amount of goodness and sweetness without that overly fake sweetness that so easily could have come out. On to our main character of Oscar Diggs (Oz) played by James Franco. While I have really liked Franco in a lot of his roles, for some reason I felt he was just okay. While the con man part he did play well, I fel there was something missing from his performance. While I wanted good to win out I felt like the audience was not given the view into seeing the good that Glinda saw in Oscar. Along, with the character of Oz, I was even more disappointed in Mila Kunis as Theodora. While her character early on seemed to work well for her the transformation she goes through in her desicion making felt forced and too instantaneous. By the instantaneous change we do not really understand why she decided to change. I think a slower transition over a little time would have worked so much better. The supporting cast give good performances and I really enjoyed the comedic/light moments Zach Braff brings with his voice for the character of Finley a talking monkey, who brings great one liners throughout.

 

While I felt like the script was simplistic and a little weak, the direction from Sam Raimi made up for the weak aspects of the story. While this is a prequel to a story that many people already know, which means there are not really many surprises to me that is no excuse for being lazy with the script. Raimi though takes this lack of script and put everything he has into the movie. Raimi creates a visually stunning word that simple wowed me in its rendered details that feels fresh and original. Seeing this movie in the IMAX 3D only made the visual that much more stunning and awe inspiring. I am still a huge fan of the 3D because of how for me it just seems to make me feel like I am fully immersed in the world that the director has painted on screen. The musical score Danny Elfman brought to Oz the Great and Powerful worked so well with everything that was happening on screen. It really helped to lightly bring the fantasy world to life without overpowering the visuals, but instead it complimented the visuals perfectly.

 

The action sequences although not the sequences one would see in an action packed movie, the few that they had in Oz the Great and Powerful seemed to work fairly well. There are two aspects that I completely loved in the movie. The first is the first part of the climax of the movie where the plan of Oz comes to fruition. I won't give it away, but I felt it was so well though out and worked so well. The second sequence is the witches duel between Evanora and Glinda. This sequence is the moment where Weisz and Williams solidified even more that they were the true stars and carried the movie. For me the witches duel surpassed the final duel in the Harry Potter series. I was a fan of how they paid homage to The Wizard of Oz in many different ways when they did not own the rights to the original film, so they ended up paying homage without infringing on those rights. From the use of a yellow brick road, poisonous poppy fields, to a pasture with multi-colored horses and even singing munchkins all paid homage well to the original. However, one of my favorite homages was that of the flying babboons which I felt like they were a pretty cool update on the original. The baboons were terrifying and what you would truly expect the henchmonkelys of a wicked witch to be exactly like. The CGI that was used was seamless and I love it when even though I know it is CGI, it is not so cheaply done that it comes across completely hokey.

 

Oz the Great and Powerful while the script was lackluster there were some saving graces that truly made this a really strong movie. The performances by Weisz and Williams stole the movie and without either of them this movie may have been a definite lackluster movie. The direction by Sam Raimi showed his style and touch greatly and it really in the end had an amazing visual feel, that gelled with a lot of the other aspects of the movie. Of course had Oz the Great and Powerful had a strong script and cast possib;y two characters a little differently, it really makes me wonder how much better it may ave been in the end of if that would have effected the performances that Weisz and Williams gave. I am giving Oz the Great and Powerful three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that any fan of IMAX 3D should definitely go see because of the visual experience you will have in the theater. Even the casual movie goer should spend the money to see it in the theater.

 

-The Movie Man

Warm Bodies

 

 

A comedy movie about zombies does not really seem like it would go together very well, as zombies are more known for being in the horror category. Yet, somehow a zombie apocalypse ends up being very funny as my two favorite zombie movie happen to be comedy movies. Of course it ends up being one that has a little bit of everything. While initially I was very hesitant feeling like it would be another one of those supernatural love story movies that would be considered boring for most male movie goers. Warm Bodies ended up being a movie that twisted everything you might expect in a zombie movie. I loved that Warm Bodies took something like a zombie apocalypse and questioned what could be done for zombies with a "cure". Warm Bodies gives us the story of "R" a zombie who is narrating the story for us and the way that he ends up falling for Julie a human he comes across while out hunting with a pack of zombies for food and contrary to what he should have done he ends up saving her life. From that point he begins to fight against the zombie infection. Warm Bodies ends up being in a way a genre movie in and of itself as it has a little bit of everything and yet it does not feel to overly mashed in.

 

Nicholas Hoult plays "R" our unusual zombie and he plays the role nearly perfect. Hoult does a great job parodying the awkward teenager full of anger and angst and only happens to be a zombie. As a zombie he mimics the way actual teenagers have a tendency to act. His inner dialogue that we hear throughout most of the film since he is unable to talk, we receive a good portion of the comedy, this inner dialogue made for great one-liners and moments. Teresa Palmer plays Julia our human "damsel in distress" whose not as helpless as the girl is in most romance relationships of a movie. she was really enjoyable on screen and continues to improve in each movie I see her in. The chemistry between Hoult and Palmers worked well as they feel awkward in the beginning and the audience feels it right with them then as they grow to know each other better we feel the sparks that happen. The supporting cast give strong performances as I really enjoyed Rob Corddry as "M" and the friend he is with "R" at the beginning as they would just grunt to communicate to the zombie bromance that takes place between them by the end. The supporting cast all work well on screen and I really would have liked to have seen more of John Malkovich in his supporting role.

 

The story for Warm Bodies was one that I really enjoyed which really surprised me at the beginning with what I initially thought of the movie. What worked for Warm Bodies was the simplicity of everything. They did not try to be too complex, but kept all the reasoning so straightforward that it allowed me to sit back and enjoy and not have to overly think about anything. I really enjoyed how in a way Warm Bodies was a parody of human relationships and romance. Within the story we were given a new level of zombie as they were classified as the human zombies and the ones that were beyond everything and just called "Bonies" as they were truly not more then bones and muscle. Warm Bodies took the zombie movie and flipped it on its head to give the story. As the story progresses and due to the inner dialogue we are given a picture of a zombie character that in the end is not much different from what the average human teenager longs for and desires. The musical score only added to the vibe of the movie as it in the end played on the parody of the Rom-Com perfectly with the different choices of music.

 

The action sequences in the film are simple and thought out and I believe for the most part are all done live without a green screen. I may be wrong, but it seems that the "Bonies" were the only major CGI needed parts of the film. The comedy that went along with the action scenes though really worked somehow perfectly. As everything was building up for the climax of the film the comedy Rob Corddry brought as "M" kind of lightened everything again, but also just fit perfectly with everything Warm Bodies was trying to accomplish.

 

Warm Bodies was the zombie movie that I did not expect to like or even want to go see after the first trailer. Yet, it is one that I really looked forward to seeing simply for the zombie part and the comedy feel it had. The acting was strong and the chemistry just worked somehow. The simplicity of the story melded perfectly with the romance, action and comedy. Although, it is still early in 2013 Warm Bodies is my surprise enjoyment movie of the year and because of that I am giving Warm Bodies three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Warm Bodies was a movie that was well worth the price of a movie ticket for me.

 

-The Movie Man