Matt Damon is yummy! And that may be all this movie really has going for it. It's not bad, it's not good, it's just kind of blah. And then there's Matt Damon. I mean Jodie Foster also plays her role well, she's plenty conniving and power hungry, and you really want her to die, but she just doesn't add enough to make the rest of the movie good
I couldn't make it through all of District 9, partially because the filming was a little nauseating, so I guess this is an improvement over that for the director. There just isn't much to say. It's pretty cliche/over done story, and the addition of the sci-fi element (meaning it's just set half in space) doesn't change or add anything to the story. We have a rich v. poor world. The rich have destroyed the world, and now they get to live in utter happiness/cleanliness on their new home in space while the poor are stuck in the rotting hole of earth. Matt Damon doesn't care, until he gets severe radiation poisoning and cannot accept the fact that he is going to die. But wait! In the end he decides it's worth dying for a good cause, and the rich/poor dynamic gets a little shaken up by his actions. Surprise!
To be fair, the technology and things in this are pretty cool, if sometimes a little gross (Matt Damon is turned into a weapon by having it literally attached to his bones). But, that might really be the only other thing that made this movie worth watching.
In the end, I give this a 6 out of 10, yes, I like Matt Damon that much!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan has written some truly fantastic stories. Who knew you could make Greek mythology so accurately modern? And, even better, they're simple enough stories to adapt to the big screen! Or at least one would think, upon reading the books. What Disney has done has messed everything up. The first movie made it seem impossible to continue the series in any way, but this one does make up for that in some ways.
They bring back the prophesy that is the whole driving factor behind this first series, though they do have to edit the dates because the characters started the first movie at 15, they fix Annabeth to actually have blonde hair and not look like a 22 year old, they actually try to stick to the story a little bit! I was excited. It was already looking better than the first movie! The acting was fine, the story was progressing, they could turn this into a whole series after all! And then something changed.
Half way through the movie the acting turned vapid and removed. It seemed like they were doing nothing more than reading idiotic lines off the page when they were supposed to be in the middle of life or death situations to save the camp. And then came the CGI Kronos that looked eerily like This is the End's devil (minus the swinging male appendage). At that point, I just had to laugh. Disney had done it again! They teased me, got my hopes up, made me believe that I would like Rick Riordan's story in a movie, and then popped the balloon with a horrifically rueful smile.
It's still not as bad as the first movie, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which was truly horrible, but it was still pretty bad. You could definitely skip the Lightning Thief, and you could probably skip this one too. In the end, I give this a 5 out of 10, maybe just stop watching half-way through and pick up the book to see how it ends!
They bring back the prophesy that is the whole driving factor behind this first series, though they do have to edit the dates because the characters started the first movie at 15, they fix Annabeth to actually have blonde hair and not look like a 22 year old, they actually try to stick to the story a little bit! I was excited. It was already looking better than the first movie! The acting was fine, the story was progressing, they could turn this into a whole series after all! And then something changed.
Half way through the movie the acting turned vapid and removed. It seemed like they were doing nothing more than reading idiotic lines off the page when they were supposed to be in the middle of life or death situations to save the camp. And then came the CGI Kronos that looked eerily like This is the End's devil (minus the swinging male appendage). At that point, I just had to laugh. Disney had done it again! They teased me, got my hopes up, made me believe that I would like Rick Riordan's story in a movie, and then popped the balloon with a horrifically rueful smile.
It's still not as bad as the first movie, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which was truly horrible, but it was still pretty bad. You could definitely skip the Lightning Thief, and you could probably skip this one too. In the end, I give this a 5 out of 10, maybe just stop watching half-way through and pick up the book to see how it ends!
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
There are too many things wrong with this movie to list them all here. This is another book turned movie that just flopped as a movie. The fact that it would have been so easy to make it good just increases my total disappointment. The acting was pretty bad, the plot line was horrendous, and the entire feel of the movie was just a joke. In a time where the world is not interested in another stupid teen, love, vampire movie (enough of the Twilight shit already!), this just adds to the pile.
The book is great. It's a little bit of a twist on the super natural stories, though it does still have that angsty teen love element to it, it is more well done than some others recently released. There's this whole angels and demons thing, but it's different than your typical story. The people saving the world are super humans because of angel blood, and the people trying to end the world are a new age version of Nazis. They use the demons to cleanse the world of all the unpure, subpar humans/demons/half-breeds that simply do not deserve to live. And the leader behind it all is pretty damn evil, and smart! In the movie, you get a little bit of that, but the evil element gets turned into more of a joke. I love Jonathan Reese Myers, and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in that he was following a bad script/bad director instead of just acting crazy because he could not truly pull of evil. I've seen him be evil, I was excited about his Valentine, and then I was disgusted by his performance. In fact, I was pretty disgusted by this whole movie.
Again, there is a difference between a bastardization of a book that still works, and one that turns it into a Twilight wanna-be. This movie chose the latter, and truly succeeded at it's aim of being a piece of shit. In the end, I give this a 3 out of 10, maybe the tweens will like it.
The book is great. It's a little bit of a twist on the super natural stories, though it does still have that angsty teen love element to it, it is more well done than some others recently released. There's this whole angels and demons thing, but it's different than your typical story. The people saving the world are super humans because of angel blood, and the people trying to end the world are a new age version of Nazis. They use the demons to cleanse the world of all the unpure, subpar humans/demons/half-breeds that simply do not deserve to live. And the leader behind it all is pretty damn evil, and smart! In the movie, you get a little bit of that, but the evil element gets turned into more of a joke. I love Jonathan Reese Myers, and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in that he was following a bad script/bad director instead of just acting crazy because he could not truly pull of evil. I've seen him be evil, I was excited about his Valentine, and then I was disgusted by his performance. In fact, I was pretty disgusted by this whole movie.
Again, there is a difference between a bastardization of a book that still works, and one that turns it into a Twilight wanna-be. This movie chose the latter, and truly succeeded at it's aim of being a piece of shit. In the end, I give this a 3 out of 10, maybe the tweens will like it.
Lee Daniel's: The Butler
I was really excited about this movie. The preview made me tear up, and that is a pretty hard thing to do, let alone in just a preview. I really want to read the book. I mean, how much more powerful can you get than the view of U.S. politics and history from inside the Whitehouse? O yea, make that view from a black man living through some of the most momentous racial events in our history. Add in powerhouse acting from Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, James Marsden, John Cusack, and David Oyelowo, just to name a few, and you have the formula for an amazing movie. However, this fell way short of expectations for me.
The acting was great, the story was there, the history was there, the power and emotion were not. Maybe it's because they tried to add too much. I mean, one movie trying to tackle the Civil Rights movement, JFK and his death, the Nixon triumphs and failures, Vietnam, etc. on top of the story of a man trying to raise young, thoughtful black men in all of that history, is just too much. Something is going to get lost. In this movie, it was the feeling that was lost. For example, you feel JFK's death (even though he was only a fraction of the movie), but you do not feel Forest Whitaker's son's death. They try, Oprah Winfrey falls to pieces, it's thrown in to mess up the climax of the husband and wife's improving relationship, it's even the kid you like the most! But you still just don't feel it. You don't feel it when the other son comes back into the fold and reconnects with his father. You don't even really feel it when Oprah dies at the end. There is just too much there for the depth, the content, and the accuracy.
On the other hand, my Aunt, who also lived through a lot of the events depicted, absolutely loved this movie. She felt it, but I think that was more because of her own experiences and memories and less because of the movie. Or, maybe I'm just heartless/have seen too many of these kinds of movies for this one to really resonate. Considering some of the other racially sensitive movies that have come out this year (Nelson Mandela, 12 Years a Slave), this falls short.
In the end, I give this a 7 out of 10. It was good, it just didn't pull at my heart strings like it was supposed to.
The acting was great, the story was there, the history was there, the power and emotion were not. Maybe it's because they tried to add too much. I mean, one movie trying to tackle the Civil Rights movement, JFK and his death, the Nixon triumphs and failures, Vietnam, etc. on top of the story of a man trying to raise young, thoughtful black men in all of that history, is just too much. Something is going to get lost. In this movie, it was the feeling that was lost. For example, you feel JFK's death (even though he was only a fraction of the movie), but you do not feel Forest Whitaker's son's death. They try, Oprah Winfrey falls to pieces, it's thrown in to mess up the climax of the husband and wife's improving relationship, it's even the kid you like the most! But you still just don't feel it. You don't feel it when the other son comes back into the fold and reconnects with his father. You don't even really feel it when Oprah dies at the end. There is just too much there for the depth, the content, and the accuracy.
On the other hand, my Aunt, who also lived through a lot of the events depicted, absolutely loved this movie. She felt it, but I think that was more because of her own experiences and memories and less because of the movie. Or, maybe I'm just heartless/have seen too many of these kinds of movies for this one to really resonate. Considering some of the other racially sensitive movies that have come out this year (Nelson Mandela, 12 Years a Slave), this falls short.
In the end, I give this a 7 out of 10. It was good, it just didn't pull at my heart strings like it was supposed to.
At the World's End
Now, do NOT get this confused with This is the End. Yes, they both have some apocalyptic elements, yes they both involve best friends taking on evil to survive, and yes, they are both ridiculous, but the key point to remember is that one is Simon Pegg and one is Seth Rogen. And I, for one, simply love Simon Pegg and pretty much everything he and his crew do: Run Fatboy Run, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead (my personal favorite), etc.
This starts off with a dysfunctional Simon Pegg who never got out of the glory days of highschool. He knows he needs to move on, but doesn't seem to think he can get over his problems until he finishes the one thing he felt he failed in high school: a night visiting all of the pubs in his home town. He convinces all of his friends to go with him, to mend old bridges, and start anew, but they quickly discover that the town has both changed and not, but not in the way any of them thought. Enter the robots who are trying to take over the world, one dinky English town at a time!
The one liners are funny, the ridiculousness is reeled in just enough to be hilarious, the acting is excellent, and the chemistry between all of the people involved makes it all come together. Yes, there is a huge computer that turns everyone into robots and tries to take away free-will, but details! It's funny. And does have a message: you cannot take away people's free will for their own good, they'd rather nuke than world than live in perpetual peace and happiness!
In the end, I give his an 8 out of 10. It's no Shaun of the Dead, but it is pretty damn funny nonetheless!
This starts off with a dysfunctional Simon Pegg who never got out of the glory days of highschool. He knows he needs to move on, but doesn't seem to think he can get over his problems until he finishes the one thing he felt he failed in high school: a night visiting all of the pubs in his home town. He convinces all of his friends to go with him, to mend old bridges, and start anew, but they quickly discover that the town has both changed and not, but not in the way any of them thought. Enter the robots who are trying to take over the world, one dinky English town at a time!
The one liners are funny, the ridiculousness is reeled in just enough to be hilarious, the acting is excellent, and the chemistry between all of the people involved makes it all come together. Yes, there is a huge computer that turns everyone into robots and tries to take away free-will, but details! It's funny. And does have a message: you cannot take away people's free will for their own good, they'd rather nuke than world than live in perpetual peace and happiness!
In the end, I give his an 8 out of 10. It's no Shaun of the Dead, but it is pretty damn funny nonetheless!
This is the End
This movie is utterly ridiculous. It is Jonah Hill, Seth Rogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, James Franco, and Craig Robinson being their own pot-head selves in an apocalyptic L.A. plot. There is even an huge scary devil, with an equally large penis that goes around and eats people in the end! The best part? The Back Street Boys closing out the whole thing in heaven!
Yes, it is absolutely ridiculous, and if that is your thing, then this is your movie. My pot-head brother, and wanna-be pot-head best friend loved it. There were some really funny moments (D-bag Michael Cera getting impaled and being too high to notice, Emma Watson being a badass with a chain saw), and there were some really gross moments (d-bag Michael Cera getting impaled, Johan Hill puking his brains out upon being possessed). There was even a plot: there's some form of the rapture, he group of Hollywood friends try to survive the apocalypse, and some of them get saved and end up in heaven by doing good deeds! Bonus? It all seems real because the actor's just play themselves, the only fake thing is, well, the entire story, but who's really paying attention to that.
There really isn't much more to say. It is worth the watch on Redbox or Netflix (as in do not pay more than $1.20 to see this movie), if ridiculous, nonsensical penis/gory humor is your thing, otherwise you can definitely skip it. In the end, I give this a 5 out of 10
Yes, it is absolutely ridiculous, and if that is your thing, then this is your movie. My pot-head brother, and wanna-be pot-head best friend loved it. There were some really funny moments (D-bag Michael Cera getting impaled and being too high to notice, Emma Watson being a badass with a chain saw), and there were some really gross moments (d-bag Michael Cera getting impaled, Johan Hill puking his brains out upon being possessed). There was even a plot: there's some form of the rapture, he group of Hollywood friends try to survive the apocalypse, and some of them get saved and end up in heaven by doing good deeds! Bonus? It all seems real because the actor's just play themselves, the only fake thing is, well, the entire story, but who's really paying attention to that.
There really isn't much more to say. It is worth the watch on Redbox or Netflix (as in do not pay more than $1.20 to see this movie), if ridiculous, nonsensical penis/gory humor is your thing, otherwise you can definitely skip it. In the end, I give this a 5 out of 10
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Ahhhhh, Chris Pine!!! I am in love with him and everything he does! So, needless to say, I loved this movie. The first one was excellent, and this one was equally excellent. I grew up with trekkie parents, so I have seen a lot of every version of Star Trek. I mean I watched the show, I watched the movies, I watched New Generation, Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, all of them. I did not watch them as much as my parents, not did I watch them in order like they did. But still, this was part of my life growing up, and I am glad that I get to add new things to it. The new timeline is great because it allows J.J. Abrams and his cast to pay appropriate tribute to the old Star Trek and start a new version that is all their own without making too many people upset.
This second installment continues along the broken timeline from the first movie so that J.J. Abram's Khan story can play out the way he likes. Kirk, though seemingly found in Star Trek, appears to still be struggling with some issues that are brought to the forefront with Colonel Pike's death and a new threat that changes and develops in the course of the movie. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent as Khan and played a perfect unknown element that kept the suspense in the movie high throughout the whole 2.5 hours!
Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and the rest of the Star Trek crew were also as equally excellent as they were in the first movie as well. I love them all individually, and I love what they bring to these movies. Add them, to Chris Pine, to J.J. Abrams, and you have a truly fantastic combination that could continue for years (much like the originals). It is nice to have this for my generation to call its own and to share with our trekkie predecessors.
In the end, I give this a 10 out of 10. It may not be perfection, but man is it good.
This second installment continues along the broken timeline from the first movie so that J.J. Abram's Khan story can play out the way he likes. Kirk, though seemingly found in Star Trek, appears to still be struggling with some issues that are brought to the forefront with Colonel Pike's death and a new threat that changes and develops in the course of the movie. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent as Khan and played a perfect unknown element that kept the suspense in the movie high throughout the whole 2.5 hours!
Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and the rest of the Star Trek crew were also as equally excellent as they were in the first movie as well. I love them all individually, and I love what they bring to these movies. Add them, to Chris Pine, to J.J. Abrams, and you have a truly fantastic combination that could continue for years (much like the originals). It is nice to have this for my generation to call its own and to share with our trekkie predecessors.
In the end, I give this a 10 out of 10. It may not be perfection, but man is it good.
Iron Man 3
Robert Downing, Jr. That is all I have to say. He is simply wonderful and is the reason these movies have had such great success. And, in round 3 of Iron Man, he steals the show again. We get even more development, and a time-line connection to The Avengers that helps put all of these connected moves into order.
This is definitely better than the second one, but still not quite as good as the first. The first Transformers and the first Iron Man were just so unexpectedly good, that I doubt any sequel will be able to beat them. They were also some of the first truly spectacular superhero movies in a long time, so they are just hard to beat in general. That being said, this latest installment does the great superhero era justice. There is the bad guy that is tricky to figure out and easy to both love and hate (Guy Pearce played that role excellently). There is the continued love interest that keeps growing with its ebb and flows. And there is the continued development of Tony Stark (a more complicated character than I could have ever wanted!).
The end contains a few surprising twists that will make the next Avengers movie interesting, but could also allow for a satisfying end to the Iron Man movies, if that is what the producers end up deciding to do.Of course Gwyneth Paltrow was great again as Pepper, and, like I said earlier, Guy Pearce was excellent as well.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10. Can't get much better from a cheesy action flick.
This is definitely better than the second one, but still not quite as good as the first. The first Transformers and the first Iron Man were just so unexpectedly good, that I doubt any sequel will be able to beat them. They were also some of the first truly spectacular superhero movies in a long time, so they are just hard to beat in general. That being said, this latest installment does the great superhero era justice. There is the bad guy that is tricky to figure out and easy to both love and hate (Guy Pearce played that role excellently). There is the continued love interest that keeps growing with its ebb and flows. And there is the continued development of Tony Stark (a more complicated character than I could have ever wanted!).
The end contains a few surprising twists that will make the next Avengers movie interesting, but could also allow for a satisfying end to the Iron Man movies, if that is what the producers end up deciding to do.Of course Gwyneth Paltrow was great again as Pepper, and, like I said earlier, Guy Pearce was excellent as well.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10. Can't get much better from a cheesy action flick.
Mud
Matthew McConaughey can actually act! I mean, I know he is an actor, and I generally like his movies, but generally that is regardless of his acting abilities. He usually plays the same kind of person, a jock with a sometimes deeper personality that is either sweet, super intelligent, or otherwise lovable that makes you fall for him every time. This was him in A Time to Kill, Two for the Money, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (which are some of my favorite Matthew McConaughey movies). In this, he is a deeply troubled hick who ends up having layers upon layers of complications that just keep getting added as the story develops.
The kids also try to steal his show by having their own coming of age story, and the two mix together quite well. The boys find Mud on an island in the middle of a river in Mississippi. He convinces them to help him try to escape and reunite with he true love by painting this wonderful story that ends up not being at all reflective of reality. At the same time, the boys are dealing with their own issues of urbanization, growing up, love, and learning how to be just old enough to start truly seeing adult interactions, but still to young to fully comprehend the true complexities of those situations. It really is a great network of stories all rolled together in this new age coming of age adventure.
Reese Witherspoon shows up as Mud's love interest, and definitely dominates the screen during her rather sparse appearances. Michael Shannon plays a small roll, Sam Shepard is wonderful as the father who simply does not know how to be a man when his world is changing and disappearing under his feet, and Sarah Paulson does well as the strong and urbanizing mother/wife.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10. It really is a good one.
The kids also try to steal his show by having their own coming of age story, and the two mix together quite well. The boys find Mud on an island in the middle of a river in Mississippi. He convinces them to help him try to escape and reunite with he true love by painting this wonderful story that ends up not being at all reflective of reality. At the same time, the boys are dealing with their own issues of urbanization, growing up, love, and learning how to be just old enough to start truly seeing adult interactions, but still to young to fully comprehend the true complexities of those situations. It really is a great network of stories all rolled together in this new age coming of age adventure.
Reese Witherspoon shows up as Mud's love interest, and definitely dominates the screen during her rather sparse appearances. Michael Shannon plays a small roll, Sam Shepard is wonderful as the father who simply does not know how to be a man when his world is changing and disappearing under his feet, and Sarah Paulson does well as the strong and urbanizing mother/wife.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10. It really is a good one.
Oblivion
O Tom Cruise, why am I drawn to all of your movies? I blame my mom. She is absolutely in love with Tom Cruise, and I am starting to question why. I'm not saying he is bad, but I also cannot say he is good. He kind of does the same thing in every movie. I like it, I do, but I am starting to lose interest. This is just another installment in the sci-fi obsession with the end of the end of the world via alien invasion, and it can hold its own in the genre even though it is pretty predictable.
There are only two people on earth, monitoring the last pieces left to make sure nothing interferes with the draining of the ocean so that we can move on to bigger and better things. You learn kind of quickly that something is a little off, but you don't really figure out how off until closer to the end of the movie. Again, I don't want to spoil things, since figuring out what is going on is half the fun.
Morgan Freeman is good, as always, and Jamie from Game of Thrones even makes an appearance, which always makes things good since he is fun and nice to look at. (I promise, I do not just pay attention to hot men in movies). Besides that, there is not really a whole lot to say.
In the end, I give this a 6 out of 10. It's worth a Redbox rental.
There are only two people on earth, monitoring the last pieces left to make sure nothing interferes with the draining of the ocean so that we can move on to bigger and better things. You learn kind of quickly that something is a little off, but you don't really figure out how off until closer to the end of the movie. Again, I don't want to spoil things, since figuring out what is going on is half the fun.
Morgan Freeman is good, as always, and Jamie from Game of Thrones even makes an appearance, which always makes things good since he is fun and nice to look at. (I promise, I do not just pay attention to hot men in movies). Besides that, there is not really a whole lot to say.
In the end, I give this a 6 out of 10. It's worth a Redbox rental.
The Man of Steel
Holy cow, Henry Cavill is HOT! They definitely kept that part of the traditional Superman stories, though maybe not much else. The way he speaks in this movie even gets me, and that is rare for me. Voices aren't usually my thing, but man, Henry Cavill makes even his voice ooze every bit of his sexiness. O, right, and the actual movie was good too. :)
This story is much darker than the typical Superman story. He fights with his dad about his abilities, he cannot stay anywhere for long because people are afraid of his abilities, the running theme is that the world is simply not ready to accept someone like Superman. He is held as a prisoner by the military, Lois Lane cannot publish a story about him, and has to keep his secret for his safety. This is not the story we are used to. Everyone loves Superman, he's handsome, he's brave, and he saves the world on a regular basis. There is no fear, there is no distrust, there is no suppression for safety. He hides his true identity to protect himself from his enemies and from fame, not from fear or distrust. This is more real. As sad as it is to say, but I think I like this version better. It's more believable. Though I am not sure why his mother and father could not join him in escaping the dying Crypton.
I really like Christopher Nolan, though I am a little worried that he just found a formula that works and is going to repeat it over and over again. The Batman series starts with a dark version of the story that develops the hero and sets the stage for future movies. He then broke his hero down in the second movie, just to be able to bring him back up again in the final movie. It produces a nice trilogy, and a great set of superhero movies. It seems as if he is doing the same thing to Superman. The similarities between Batman Begins and the Man of Steel are pretty striking. Now, I know the Batman trilogy closely followed the story-line in one of the Batman comics, but I would like to see something a little different than a successful formula from this great director.
Even so, I really liked this movie and am excited for the next ones. I loved Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon (excellent bad guy!), Lawrence Fishburne, and Christopher Maloney. I really love seeing Stabler in so many more things now! Really all of the acting was great, those are just the names I know to reference. The only complaint I really had about this was that it was no where close to the uplifting superhero movie I was looking for during the summer. It really is a downer.
In the end, I give this an 8.5 out of 10. It was great, I just don't know how many times I can watch it. :)
This story is much darker than the typical Superman story. He fights with his dad about his abilities, he cannot stay anywhere for long because people are afraid of his abilities, the running theme is that the world is simply not ready to accept someone like Superman. He is held as a prisoner by the military, Lois Lane cannot publish a story about him, and has to keep his secret for his safety. This is not the story we are used to. Everyone loves Superman, he's handsome, he's brave, and he saves the world on a regular basis. There is no fear, there is no distrust, there is no suppression for safety. He hides his true identity to protect himself from his enemies and from fame, not from fear or distrust. This is more real. As sad as it is to say, but I think I like this version better. It's more believable. Though I am not sure why his mother and father could not join him in escaping the dying Crypton.
I really like Christopher Nolan, though I am a little worried that he just found a formula that works and is going to repeat it over and over again. The Batman series starts with a dark version of the story that develops the hero and sets the stage for future movies. He then broke his hero down in the second movie, just to be able to bring him back up again in the final movie. It produces a nice trilogy, and a great set of superhero movies. It seems as if he is doing the same thing to Superman. The similarities between Batman Begins and the Man of Steel are pretty striking. Now, I know the Batman trilogy closely followed the story-line in one of the Batman comics, but I would like to see something a little different than a successful formula from this great director.
Even so, I really liked this movie and am excited for the next ones. I loved Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon (excellent bad guy!), Lawrence Fishburne, and Christopher Maloney. I really love seeing Stabler in so many more things now! Really all of the acting was great, those are just the names I know to reference. The only complaint I really had about this was that it was no where close to the uplifting superhero movie I was looking for during the summer. It really is a downer.
In the end, I give this an 8.5 out of 10. It was great, I just don't know how many times I can watch it. :)
The Host
I loved this book, I loved this movie. It got horrible reviews, and I don't really know why. I also have not seen Revenge of the Body Snatchers, so that might be where part of the issue is. The story is definitely better, more developed, in the book (as it should be), but it is still a good/moving story. I cried (every time I saw it), and I don't cry (let alone more than once for the same movie)! So there!
This is a story set at some point in the future where a group of aliens, that kind of look like amoebas, have invaded earth by living through human hosts. They are peaceful, they are super intelligent, and they believe they are serving the greater good through their symbiotic occupation. However, as in every alien story, we do not do well with invasions, with being told what to do, and especially with anyone or anything that tries to tell us what should be done for our own good. As a result, there are groups of "rebels" that hide from and sometimes fight the aliens to survive and not become hosts. This story follows one girl who was a part of that group before she was captured after failing to kill herself. She has such an impact on her alien invader that she gets the alien (who has lived for hundreds of years through multiple different lifetimes of other aliens) that has never developed any sort of attachment to forsake her own life for that of the host and her loved ones.
This story was one that made me take back most of the other bad things I thought and believed about Stephanie Meyer. And this movie did the book well. The story was truncated, the timing was cut WAY short, but I still fell in love with all of the characters and felt with and for them in all of their ups and downs along with the way. It might have helped that Max Irons and Jake Abel are super cute, and that William Hurt never fails to impress. I was also impressed with Saoirse Roman's ability to portray the two very different personalities of the alien and her host.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10, I really did love it.
This is a story set at some point in the future where a group of aliens, that kind of look like amoebas, have invaded earth by living through human hosts. They are peaceful, they are super intelligent, and they believe they are serving the greater good through their symbiotic occupation. However, as in every alien story, we do not do well with invasions, with being told what to do, and especially with anyone or anything that tries to tell us what should be done for our own good. As a result, there are groups of "rebels" that hide from and sometimes fight the aliens to survive and not become hosts. This story follows one girl who was a part of that group before she was captured after failing to kill herself. She has such an impact on her alien invader that she gets the alien (who has lived for hundreds of years through multiple different lifetimes of other aliens) that has never developed any sort of attachment to forsake her own life for that of the host and her loved ones.
This story was one that made me take back most of the other bad things I thought and believed about Stephanie Meyer. And this movie did the book well. The story was truncated, the timing was cut WAY short, but I still fell in love with all of the characters and felt with and for them in all of their ups and downs along with the way. It might have helped that Max Irons and Jake Abel are super cute, and that William Hurt never fails to impress. I was also impressed with Saoirse Roman's ability to portray the two very different personalities of the alien and her host.
In the end, I give this a 9 out of 10, I really did love it.
Cloud Atlas
Fascinating movie, though I definitely feel like it could have been better. Now I really want to read the book. In some parts it was kind of hard to follow, and in others I was more than just a little lost. I'm hoping this was just because it was based on a book that was just a little too complicated to adequately translate into a movie.
The idea of the movie seems to be that throughout time there are certain lives that repeat in order to play a different role in the fate of the world at different points in time. These lives run in both identical and different ways each time, and it seems as if there are also people who can manipulate time to try to alter events in the past and future. It truly seems to be a complicated web of events that do not make complete sense until closer to the end of the movie. And even then, I'm obviously still unsure as to how it all exactly worked. I think this is one that they probably should have just ignore pieces of the book to make it a better movie, or should have tried for a mini-series instead of a movie. Like I said, it was fascinating, though it really could have been much better.
Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving (who will forever be known to me as that evil guy in The Matrix), Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant are just a few of the impressive cast selected for the roles in this movie. Some of them have recurring lives in every timeline addressed while others are more sparingly involved. They each did a great job of portraying the similarities and differences choices can make on future timelines. For example, because Tom Cruise chooses the low road in a couple of his lives, he plays more lowly people in some of his future lives.
In the end, I give this a 6.5 out of 10. It kept my attention, but left me wanting something so much better.
The idea of the movie seems to be that throughout time there are certain lives that repeat in order to play a different role in the fate of the world at different points in time. These lives run in both identical and different ways each time, and it seems as if there are also people who can manipulate time to try to alter events in the past and future. It truly seems to be a complicated web of events that do not make complete sense until closer to the end of the movie. And even then, I'm obviously still unsure as to how it all exactly worked. I think this is one that they probably should have just ignore pieces of the book to make it a better movie, or should have tried for a mini-series instead of a movie. Like I said, it was fascinating, though it really could have been much better.
Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving (who will forever be known to me as that evil guy in The Matrix), Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant are just a few of the impressive cast selected for the roles in this movie. Some of them have recurring lives in every timeline addressed while others are more sparingly involved. They each did a great job of portraying the similarities and differences choices can make on future timelines. For example, because Tom Cruise chooses the low road in a couple of his lives, he plays more lowly people in some of his future lives.
In the end, I give this a 6.5 out of 10. It kept my attention, but left me wanting something so much better.
Now You See Me
Pretty interesting movie. It's fun, suspenseful, not overly predictable, and keeps your attention by holding back the motives until the very end. You really have to pay attention the whole way through to be able to piece everything together in the end, which is really great for my add brain!
I don't really want to say too much about this one because I don't want to accidentally give anything away. This is one of those movies that trying to figure it out before they tell you is more than half of the fun. The story starts by bringing four top-notch magicians together because they each have their own specialties that combine to make a great show. It then skips a year to their first big show, which ends up being a bank heist, and follows the rest through an FBI investigation that tries to figure out how they are operating and tries to stop any more robberies. Each event is tied together and each one has a specific purpose all of its own. The motives behind each show are what really keep things interesting.
Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, David Franco (James Franco's cute little brother), Mark Ruffalo, Michael Cain, Michael Kelly, and Common are the biggest names in the cast, and they are all pretty excellent. They do a great job of making you cheer, tense with anticipation, and maybe even weep at every appropriate moment.
In the end, I give this an 8 out of 10. It was fun the first go round, and I reserve the right to bump the rating if it is just as much fun the second go round.
I don't really want to say too much about this one because I don't want to accidentally give anything away. This is one of those movies that trying to figure it out before they tell you is more than half of the fun. The story starts by bringing four top-notch magicians together because they each have their own specialties that combine to make a great show. It then skips a year to their first big show, which ends up being a bank heist, and follows the rest through an FBI investigation that tries to figure out how they are operating and tries to stop any more robberies. Each event is tied together and each one has a specific purpose all of its own. The motives behind each show are what really keep things interesting.
Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, David Franco (James Franco's cute little brother), Mark Ruffalo, Michael Cain, Michael Kelly, and Common are the biggest names in the cast, and they are all pretty excellent. They do a great job of making you cheer, tense with anticipation, and maybe even weep at every appropriate moment.
In the end, I give this an 8 out of 10. It was fun the first go round, and I reserve the right to bump the rating if it is just as much fun the second go round.
Warm Bodies
So, I kind of liked this movie....! I was really disgusted the first time I saw the preview, and then slowly grew interested the more I saw. I, like most intelligent people these days, am kind of tired of all of the zombie movies. I mean really, how many times are we going to see the same story about rotting, dead bodies that are reanimated by disease, fungi/bacteria/etc., or just because? There is a still-running TV show around the whole premise, there seems to be at least one zombie movie released every year, and there are even news stories about people acting zombie-like! I mean really, enough. But, that being said, I like The Walking Dead, I loved Sean of the Dead, and I like this movie. So, maybe I am not as fed up with the zombie craze as I want to be; I keep watching them, so they will keep producing them.
Now, to my credit (:-)), this is not your typical zombie-flick. I mean really, they come back to life!! It is a fun romantic comedy about how powerful love can truly be. It is narrated, in part, by a twenty-something looking zombie who experiences something revolutionary when he sees the girlfriend of a guy he just murdered and started eating. In this rendition, the zombies eat brains for sustenance and to get the memories of the people they are munching on. It's an explanation that I haven't heard yet, and one that makes the grossness of zombies more tolerable (which it should because you have to like these zombies to like the movie). He falls more in love with this girl the more memories he gets from the brains, and becomes more human the more time he spends with her. His love brings him fully back to humanity, and has similar affect on most of the other zombies to end up saving the world! It really is the most uplifting zombie movie. The world is saved by love; not the military, not a war, not destroying every dead thing and starting over, but love. It's kind of refreshing, even if it is insanely cliche.
The acting is good, and John Malkovich is John Malkovich (crazy, funny, all-around awesome). The Kristen Stewart look-a-like, Teresa Palmer, really is at such a disadvantage in everything she does. She is pretty good, but I have to fight to get beyond the Kristen Stewart looks to watch her. But, in this she did it. I completely forgot about K-Stew and could really enjoy Teresa Palmer seeing through the scariness and falling for a half-dead zombie!
In the end, I give this an 8 out of 10. My enjoyment might have been increased by my low expectations going it, but it really was fun and enjoyable to watch.
Now, to my credit (:-)), this is not your typical zombie-flick. I mean really, they come back to life!! It is a fun romantic comedy about how powerful love can truly be. It is narrated, in part, by a twenty-something looking zombie who experiences something revolutionary when he sees the girlfriend of a guy he just murdered and started eating. In this rendition, the zombies eat brains for sustenance and to get the memories of the people they are munching on. It's an explanation that I haven't heard yet, and one that makes the grossness of zombies more tolerable (which it should because you have to like these zombies to like the movie). He falls more in love with this girl the more memories he gets from the brains, and becomes more human the more time he spends with her. His love brings him fully back to humanity, and has similar affect on most of the other zombies to end up saving the world! It really is the most uplifting zombie movie. The world is saved by love; not the military, not a war, not destroying every dead thing and starting over, but love. It's kind of refreshing, even if it is insanely cliche.
The acting is good, and John Malkovich is John Malkovich (crazy, funny, all-around awesome). The Kristen Stewart look-a-like, Teresa Palmer, really is at such a disadvantage in everything she does. She is pretty good, but I have to fight to get beyond the Kristen Stewart looks to watch her. But, in this she did it. I completely forgot about K-Stew and could really enjoy Teresa Palmer seeing through the scariness and falling for a half-dead zombie!
In the end, I give this an 8 out of 10. My enjoyment might have been increased by my low expectations going it, but it really was fun and enjoyable to watch.
Oz: The Great and Powerful
This movie was a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. We get to learn how the wizard got to Oz, why they accepted him, and a little bit more about Oz. It is a fun story, there just isn't a lot of feeling to it. You don't particularly feel for any of the characters, except the witches (believe it or not), but that might just be because they were played by Rachel Weiss and Mila Kunis.
The story starts with James Franco being a tool and using magic to get some ass. He's pretty good at tricking women into falling for him and being his assistant while he is in town. Then he gets caught up in a tornado, and dumped in Oz. He meets the witches, his charm fails, miserably, and he suffers self-defeat, and then he saves the day! It's pretty cookie cutter, except that Mila Kunis and Rachel Weiss added some spice, and evil. They really did kind of steal the show.
I've never really been a fan of Michelle Williams, so it all kind of went down hill for me when she stepped onto the scene. She was very meh, and even adopted a more meh voice as the good witch to go with it. Though, to her credit, the voice and the half closed eyes did temper the passion and evilness of the evil witches.
Despite the lack of feeling, I really did like this story. I always like getting to know the background of any story. It never really made sense to me that someone could just accidentally hot-air balloon into a place and be put on a pedastal the way the Wizard was in the Wizard of Oz. This story really makes it all come together. It explains why the Wizard didn't/couldn't leave Oz, how he got to be in such a position in the first place, and a little bit more about the witches, why they are evil, and why one is green while the other is not. :)
In the end, I give this a 6.5 out of 10. It was fun to watch through bleh to feel.
The story starts with James Franco being a tool and using magic to get some ass. He's pretty good at tricking women into falling for him and being his assistant while he is in town. Then he gets caught up in a tornado, and dumped in Oz. He meets the witches, his charm fails, miserably, and he suffers self-defeat, and then he saves the day! It's pretty cookie cutter, except that Mila Kunis and Rachel Weiss added some spice, and evil. They really did kind of steal the show.
I've never really been a fan of Michelle Williams, so it all kind of went down hill for me when she stepped onto the scene. She was very meh, and even adopted a more meh voice as the good witch to go with it. Though, to her credit, the voice and the half closed eyes did temper the passion and evilness of the evil witches.
Despite the lack of feeling, I really did like this story. I always like getting to know the background of any story. It never really made sense to me that someone could just accidentally hot-air balloon into a place and be put on a pedastal the way the Wizard was in the Wizard of Oz. This story really makes it all come together. It explains why the Wizard didn't/couldn't leave Oz, how he got to be in such a position in the first place, and a little bit more about the witches, why they are evil, and why one is green while the other is not. :)
In the end, I give this a 6.5 out of 10. It was fun to watch through bleh to feel.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
42
I LOVED this movie! It was great, and moving, and made you laugh and cry all at the same time. If you like baseball, this is a movie for you. If you love baseball, it is even better. If you like stories about true heroes, you will love this movie. If you have a soul, you will love this movie. That is all.
Everybody knows the big stories about racism and overcoming racism in the United States, and I'm sure a lot of people, particularly baseball fans, know at least part of the story of Jackie Robinson becoming the first black professional player with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even so, this movie is powerful. It does a really good job of showing just how amazing Jackie Robinson truly was. He was incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented, and had an amazing sense of self-worth and self-restraint. Here, you see him refuse to break down in the face of repeated, relentless, and mindless racism that not only put him further in the spotlight, but also helped to break down that senseless racism across the country.
The movie progresses from seeing Jackie Robinson in the black baseball league, to the Dodgers' manager's decision to hire a black player, to the manager's decision to pick Jackie Robinson, to his progression in the league, to his starting place in history. Through all of this you see how day-by-day, person-by-person, Jackie Robinson (and the manager) changed the world. It really was amazing.
Chadwick Boseman was absolutely fantastic as Jackie Robinson. He developed the character over the two hour film, he made you feel Jackie Robinson's pain and joy, he made you laugh, and cry, and cheer, and boo all at the appropriate moments. Harrison Ford was also amazing. He was perfectly unyielding and supportive as the manager who knew exactly what he was doing when he specifically picked Jackie Robinson to be the first black player in major league baseball. Christopher Meloni (from Law and Order: SVU) was also pretty fantastic (I am really happy that his leaving SVU has lead to an increasing number of appearances elsewhere!). And, of course, the rest of the cast was also great.
As you probably have noticed, I could go on and on and on about this movie, but I will resist the urge. In the end, I give this a 10 out of 10!
Everybody knows the big stories about racism and overcoming racism in the United States, and I'm sure a lot of people, particularly baseball fans, know at least part of the story of Jackie Robinson becoming the first black professional player with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even so, this movie is powerful. It does a really good job of showing just how amazing Jackie Robinson truly was. He was incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented, and had an amazing sense of self-worth and self-restraint. Here, you see him refuse to break down in the face of repeated, relentless, and mindless racism that not only put him further in the spotlight, but also helped to break down that senseless racism across the country.
The movie progresses from seeing Jackie Robinson in the black baseball league, to the Dodgers' manager's decision to hire a black player, to the manager's decision to pick Jackie Robinson, to his progression in the league, to his starting place in history. Through all of this you see how day-by-day, person-by-person, Jackie Robinson (and the manager) changed the world. It really was amazing.
Chadwick Boseman was absolutely fantastic as Jackie Robinson. He developed the character over the two hour film, he made you feel Jackie Robinson's pain and joy, he made you laugh, and cry, and cheer, and boo all at the appropriate moments. Harrison Ford was also amazing. He was perfectly unyielding and supportive as the manager who knew exactly what he was doing when he specifically picked Jackie Robinson to be the first black player in major league baseball. Christopher Meloni (from Law and Order: SVU) was also pretty fantastic (I am really happy that his leaving SVU has lead to an increasing number of appearances elsewhere!). And, of course, the rest of the cast was also great.
As you probably have noticed, I could go on and on and on about this movie, but I will resist the urge. In the end, I give this a 10 out of 10!
Olympus Has Fallen
I liked this movie. Once again, it's a moderately predictable, cheesy action film. North Koreans actually physically and violently take over the White House. You cannot go into this (or I guess rent this at this point) with high expectations of brilliance or class. It is action-packed, suspenseful, and fun.
Gerard Butler is beautiful, Aaron Eckhart is beautiful, Dylan McDermont is pretty, and Gerard Butler kicks some major North Korean butt, could you want more? O right, a plot might be good, but have no fear, this even has a plot (there aren't enough sexy men to make it come close to another Magic Mike)! It starts off kind of sad to set the background for Gerard Butler to be out of the White House and thus make him able to sneak in and save the day. Then we move almost directly into the action. There is apparently an entire army of secret service men in the White House, and they ALL die at the hands of the North Koreans. They planned this so well (without the NSA's or Patriot Act's illegal listening in to everything picking up on it) that they had planes, helicopters, and a full-scale invasion with bazookas (at least that's what I think they are, they blow things up) and everything!
Yes, it is ridiculous, but it is still fun to sit and enjoy the ride. There are some ups and downs, like the search for the President's son, trying to figure out the motive, waiting for Gerard Butler to save the day, etc. And there is even a touch of reality, Gerard Butler ALMOST dies! :)
There really isn't much more to say, for an action movie, I give this a 7 out of 10. If you don't like action, you might want to skip this one.
Gerard Butler is beautiful, Aaron Eckhart is beautiful, Dylan McDermont is pretty, and Gerard Butler kicks some major North Korean butt, could you want more? O right, a plot might be good, but have no fear, this even has a plot (there aren't enough sexy men to make it come close to another Magic Mike)! It starts off kind of sad to set the background for Gerard Butler to be out of the White House and thus make him able to sneak in and save the day. Then we move almost directly into the action. There is apparently an entire army of secret service men in the White House, and they ALL die at the hands of the North Koreans. They planned this so well (without the NSA's or Patriot Act's illegal listening in to everything picking up on it) that they had planes, helicopters, and a full-scale invasion with bazookas (at least that's what I think they are, they blow things up) and everything!
Yes, it is ridiculous, but it is still fun to sit and enjoy the ride. There are some ups and downs, like the search for the President's son, trying to figure out the motive, waiting for Gerard Butler to save the day, etc. And there is even a touch of reality, Gerard Butler ALMOST dies! :)
There really isn't much more to say, for an action movie, I give this a 7 out of 10. If you don't like action, you might want to skip this one.
World War Z
So, I'm not going to lie, I was not particularly interested in seeing this movie. I was not impressed with the previews, and I am starting to get a little annoyed with all the zombie apocalypse things. Dead, rotting beings that are falling apart and tear people to pieces by eating them are really not my cup of tea (though that obviously does not prevent me from watching them - Shaun of the Dead is the BEST!). That being said, Brad Pitt pulled me in, and I kind of liked it.
This movie was rated PG-13, so there wasn't any blood and gore. And I mean it, there was none. Every time there should have been blood they cut away or simply edited out. That made it better on the one hand (I didn't have to advert my eyes every time the zombies came one), but it also made it kind on ridiculous on the other. Someone lost a limb, and I didn't even know it had happened until a few minutes later. Don't get me wrong, I do not need to see the blood spurting out of the wrist, but I don't feel like they really needed to edit THAT much. It's a zombie apocalypse movie for goodness sake, it is not something you should take your pre-teens to, it does not need to be made PG-13 for them.
I love Brad Pitt, always have, always will. Not only is he a super sexy beast (regardless of his age, seriously, it's just impressive), but he can also act pretty well. He plays a retired soldier for the UN who gets scammed into traveling the world to find the origin (cure) of the zombie "disease". He's just supposed to be a hired gun, but ends up being able to help save the world (of course). He seems to be pretty comfortable and composed in all of the high-intensity situations that allow for him to be in complete charge and control in every different situation and group he encounters.
Besides Brad Pitt, there is s some pretty good acting all around. Again, the entire premise is that there is a zombie apocalypse, so of course it is predictable and action-packed, just like most every other zombie movie (it's amazing how there is only one that suggests that love can save us all! See Warm Bodies). That means that this is generally nothing new, nothing different, and you have your generally typical characters in true force. There is a sort of "twist" that does make this different from other zombie flicks, but they each do have to have their own special thing, right? (Shaun of the Dead is funny, The Walking Dead is more like a soap opera with the zombies as a background, Warm Bodies is all about love, Resident Evil has creepy zombie monster things, 28 days is all about the survival, you get the picture).
So, without really giving too much of the plot away (it is fun to be kept in suspense every now and then :)), I'll end by saying that I liked this, on the whole, and I give this movie a solid 6.5 out of 10.
This movie was rated PG-13, so there wasn't any blood and gore. And I mean it, there was none. Every time there should have been blood they cut away or simply edited out. That made it better on the one hand (I didn't have to advert my eyes every time the zombies came one), but it also made it kind on ridiculous on the other. Someone lost a limb, and I didn't even know it had happened until a few minutes later. Don't get me wrong, I do not need to see the blood spurting out of the wrist, but I don't feel like they really needed to edit THAT much. It's a zombie apocalypse movie for goodness sake, it is not something you should take your pre-teens to, it does not need to be made PG-13 for them.
I love Brad Pitt, always have, always will. Not only is he a super sexy beast (regardless of his age, seriously, it's just impressive), but he can also act pretty well. He plays a retired soldier for the UN who gets scammed into traveling the world to find the origin (cure) of the zombie "disease". He's just supposed to be a hired gun, but ends up being able to help save the world (of course). He seems to be pretty comfortable and composed in all of the high-intensity situations that allow for him to be in complete charge and control in every different situation and group he encounters.
Besides Brad Pitt, there is s some pretty good acting all around. Again, the entire premise is that there is a zombie apocalypse, so of course it is predictable and action-packed, just like most every other zombie movie (it's amazing how there is only one that suggests that love can save us all! See Warm Bodies). That means that this is generally nothing new, nothing different, and you have your generally typical characters in true force. There is a sort of "twist" that does make this different from other zombie flicks, but they each do have to have their own special thing, right? (Shaun of the Dead is funny, The Walking Dead is more like a soap opera with the zombies as a background, Warm Bodies is all about love, Resident Evil has creepy zombie monster things, 28 days is all about the survival, you get the picture).
So, without really giving too much of the plot away (it is fun to be kept in suspense every now and then :)), I'll end by saying that I liked this, on the whole, and I give this movie a solid 6.5 out of 10.
Friday, June 14, 2013
GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra
In a word, awful. I know, I know, I shouldn't be surprised, but I was really hoping that this would be entertaining. The first one was ridiculous, but at least it's still fun to watch! This was just painful. However, there was one good thing about this movie: the 3D was pretty spectacular, and I generally HATE 3D.
There is really not a whole lot to say about this movie. It starts kind of like that scene in Zoolander where all of his idiot model friends are going around having a great time, skipping smiling, playing with gas, you know, normal things. Then BOOM, someone lights a cigarette at the gas pump while they're all drenched in gasoline, and the fun is abruptly ended and the next shot is a funeral with 4 caskets. That's kind of what happened. They spend time adding in some new characters to mix with the old, then BOOM, for no real reason, the old characters are all gone and all you're left with is the Rock. Zoolander made sense. It was supposed to be funny and ridiculous, and Channing Tatum was not one of the removed characters.
There is then a ridiculous progression of firefights, the Rock in all his muscular, manly glory, and some side-kicks who try to act like the original G.I. Joe characters. The firefights and action scenes are impressive in the sense that they involve a lot of firepower, but that is it. This movie is really nothing but needless explosions in which everyone miraculously survives, even the bad guys a lot of the times!! There is very little substance, and what is there is unoriginal, horribly cheesy, and simply laughable. I mean, I seriously laughed for the last 30 minutes of the movie, which were not intended to be funny, because it was just THAT ridiculous. Yes, the first go round they melt the Eiffel Tower, but that is not ridiculous compared to what they do in this movie.
In the end, I'd give this a 3 out of 10. There really is nothing to it, but I have seen worse.
There is really not a whole lot to say about this movie. It starts kind of like that scene in Zoolander where all of his idiot model friends are going around having a great time, skipping smiling, playing with gas, you know, normal things. Then BOOM, someone lights a cigarette at the gas pump while they're all drenched in gasoline, and the fun is abruptly ended and the next shot is a funeral with 4 caskets. That's kind of what happened. They spend time adding in some new characters to mix with the old, then BOOM, for no real reason, the old characters are all gone and all you're left with is the Rock. Zoolander made sense. It was supposed to be funny and ridiculous, and Channing Tatum was not one of the removed characters.
There is then a ridiculous progression of firefights, the Rock in all his muscular, manly glory, and some side-kicks who try to act like the original G.I. Joe characters. The firefights and action scenes are impressive in the sense that they involve a lot of firepower, but that is it. This movie is really nothing but needless explosions in which everyone miraculously survives, even the bad guys a lot of the times!! There is very little substance, and what is there is unoriginal, horribly cheesy, and simply laughable. I mean, I seriously laughed for the last 30 minutes of the movie, which were not intended to be funny, because it was just THAT ridiculous. Yes, the first go round they melt the Eiffel Tower, but that is not ridiculous compared to what they do in this movie.
In the end, I'd give this a 3 out of 10. There really is nothing to it, but I have seen worse.
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