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!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
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.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Admission
So, this movie was different than what I expected. It was much more serious, but still pretty good. Paul Rudd and Tina Fey were both good (as was expected), and their chemistry was pretty good. I'm just not entirely sure I really liked the different plot.
So, my expectation, which came from the trailer, was that it would be a funny movie about a quirky admissions officer's falling in love despite herself while traveling around the country to do her job. The movie wasn't exactly different from that, but the focus really changed from being on the weird/stressful admissions job to an interesting plot twist that explains the guarded nature of Tina Fey and also turns her into a bad admissions officer (but a good person).
Like I said, the twist was good for character development and definitely pushed the story along to make it a little more than your average romantic comedy. However, I'm not entirely sure I actually liked it. I don't really know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that Tina Fey's character let one moment ruin her life. Maybe it was the fact that that one thing continued to mess up her life (she does not end the movie as an admissions officer). Maybe it's because it "shine a light" on the shitty admissions process that made me uncomfortable having gone through two cycles of rejections thus far. I'm not really sure. All I can say is I left the theater unsatusfued with the movie, and that dissatisfaction was not because of the acting, the jokes, the seriousness, or the ending.
It wasn't a movie where I laughed the WHOLE time, but it was pretty dang funny. But seriously, how could it not be with the leads? I have yet to really hate (or not laugh in) a movie with Paul Rudd as the lead (I haven't seen This Is Forty yet, so I'm not saying it doesn't exist). Tina Fey is funny too. But since this had a serious turn, there were also definitely moments where I could not laugh.
I the end, I give this a 6 out of 10. Not great, but not bad.
So, my expectation, which came from the trailer, was that it would be a funny movie about a quirky admissions officer's falling in love despite herself while traveling around the country to do her job. The movie wasn't exactly different from that, but the focus really changed from being on the weird/stressful admissions job to an interesting plot twist that explains the guarded nature of Tina Fey and also turns her into a bad admissions officer (but a good person).
Like I said, the twist was good for character development and definitely pushed the story along to make it a little more than your average romantic comedy. However, I'm not entirely sure I actually liked it. I don't really know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that Tina Fey's character let one moment ruin her life. Maybe it was the fact that that one thing continued to mess up her life (she does not end the movie as an admissions officer). Maybe it's because it "shine a light" on the shitty admissions process that made me uncomfortable having gone through two cycles of rejections thus far. I'm not really sure. All I can say is I left the theater unsatusfued with the movie, and that dissatisfaction was not because of the acting, the jokes, the seriousness, or the ending.
It wasn't a movie where I laughed the WHOLE time, but it was pretty dang funny. But seriously, how could it not be with the leads? I have yet to really hate (or not laugh in) a movie with Paul Rudd as the lead (I haven't seen This Is Forty yet, so I'm not saying it doesn't exist). Tina Fey is funny too. But since this had a serious turn, there were also definitely moments where I could not laugh.
I the end, I give this a 6 out of 10. Not great, but not bad.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Master
So, this was an interesting movie. It was really hard for me to find the point, so I kept watching, hoping that it would all make sense and come together at some point. Unfortunately, it did not. The acting was stellar, hence all of the awards nominations, but the story itself just wasn't there. A movie is more than just it's moving parts, but this movie did not seem to embrace that concept.
The trailer, and the descriptions at the awards shows, describe this movie as one that goes through a man's journey through life and his involvement in a famous cult. I love The Following, Criminal Minds, really any crazy, psychological, crime drama, so needless to say, I was very intrigued. This also just made me very disappointed as well. I also recently discovered that this was supposed to be a description of the beginning of Scientology which also makes it even more lack luster.
There really is not much for me to say, because there really wasn't much to the plot. Joaquin Phoenix was a drunk, and maybe a druggie, who made his own alcohol that included paint thinner and things (old-timey meth?) that may have actually killed a man who drank it. After he maybe kills the man, he runs, goes on a bender, and somehow ends up on Phillip Seymore Hoffman's boat full of cult-like followers. Phillip Seymore Hoffman then tries to change and better Joaquin Phoenix, but ends up failing (I think). There is the background of Phillip Seymore Hoffman trying to combat the cult charges against him, but that is really secondary to the hodge-podge development of his relationship with Joaquin Phoenix. None of it really makes sense, to me.
So, in the end, this gets a 3 out of 10 in my book.
The trailer, and the descriptions at the awards shows, describe this movie as one that goes through a man's journey through life and his involvement in a famous cult. I love The Following, Criminal Minds, really any crazy, psychological, crime drama, so needless to say, I was very intrigued. This also just made me very disappointed as well. I also recently discovered that this was supposed to be a description of the beginning of Scientology which also makes it even more lack luster.
There really is not much for me to say, because there really wasn't much to the plot. Joaquin Phoenix was a drunk, and maybe a druggie, who made his own alcohol that included paint thinner and things (old-timey meth?) that may have actually killed a man who drank it. After he maybe kills the man, he runs, goes on a bender, and somehow ends up on Phillip Seymore Hoffman's boat full of cult-like followers. Phillip Seymore Hoffman then tries to change and better Joaquin Phoenix, but ends up failing (I think). There is the background of Phillip Seymore Hoffman trying to combat the cult charges against him, but that is really secondary to the hodge-podge development of his relationship with Joaquin Phoenix. None of it really makes sense, to me.
So, in the end, this gets a 3 out of 10 in my book.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Independence Day
So, I know this isn't prototypical of my reviews, but I am doing this because of a special request. :) I love this movie. It was great when I was a kid, it is equally great now, despite all of its little flaws. Sometimes it's just the imperfections that really make you appreciate how magical something used to be.
I grew up with this movie, it was the start of the doomsday alien movies for me, and it was a great one. Will Smith was, and still is really, super hot, Bill Pullman is, and probably always will be, one of my favorite presidents, and you can't go wrong with Jeff Goldbloom or Judd Hirsch. Yes, Jeff Goldbloom may be an asshole, but he does well as the neurotic asshole in dramatic, end-of-the-world type movies.
Now, the plot is a bit ridiculous for many reasons. As Francis pointed out, how is it that an alien race that is so far superior with defenses, weapons, general intelligence, etc. is taken out by a simple computer virus. How crazy is it that they did not have a super advanced form of Norton or McAfee to go along with their impenetrable physical defenses? Also, they spent at least 15 minutes blowing up holes in the big alien ship outside of Area 51, that does no damage, BUT one man in one plane goes up the center of the HUGE ship and then it falls to pieces? I think not, but that is the magic of an end-of-the-world action film, impossible things happen and you love it! Even bringing up these questions does not shake my love of this movie!
Some more unexplained scenes: Area-51 has a full medical center that even in the late 1990s cannot stop internal bleeding, they have a chapel, and they have a room where bullets literally bounce off the walls....with a "poing" and all! There is nothing wrong with nuclear infused fireworks. Fire somehow does not go in every crevice available. And, again, a superior alien race is taken out by a 1990s computer virus.
Now, as I started, I love this movie. The fact that I am pointing out some obvious flaws only makes me appreciate how much I enjoyed this movie. It is ridiculous, it is kind of supposed to be (sort of), and the imperfections really do just make me like it more. I can have even more fun with it!
In the end, I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
I grew up with this movie, it was the start of the doomsday alien movies for me, and it was a great one. Will Smith was, and still is really, super hot, Bill Pullman is, and probably always will be, one of my favorite presidents, and you can't go wrong with Jeff Goldbloom or Judd Hirsch. Yes, Jeff Goldbloom may be an asshole, but he does well as the neurotic asshole in dramatic, end-of-the-world type movies.
Now, the plot is a bit ridiculous for many reasons. As Francis pointed out, how is it that an alien race that is so far superior with defenses, weapons, general intelligence, etc. is taken out by a simple computer virus. How crazy is it that they did not have a super advanced form of Norton or McAfee to go along with their impenetrable physical defenses? Also, they spent at least 15 minutes blowing up holes in the big alien ship outside of Area 51, that does no damage, BUT one man in one plane goes up the center of the HUGE ship and then it falls to pieces? I think not, but that is the magic of an end-of-the-world action film, impossible things happen and you love it! Even bringing up these questions does not shake my love of this movie!
Some more unexplained scenes: Area-51 has a full medical center that even in the late 1990s cannot stop internal bleeding, they have a chapel, and they have a room where bullets literally bounce off the walls....with a "poing" and all! There is nothing wrong with nuclear infused fireworks. Fire somehow does not go in every crevice available. And, again, a superior alien race is taken out by a 1990s computer virus.
Now, as I started, I love this movie. The fact that I am pointing out some obvious flaws only makes me appreciate how much I enjoyed this movie. It is ridiculous, it is kind of supposed to be (sort of), and the imperfections really do just make me like it more. I can have even more fun with it!
In the end, I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
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