Movie Review: "Clockers" (1995)

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Movie: "Clockers"
Director: Spike Lee
Year: 1995
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Ronald "Strike" Dunham (Mekhi Phifer) is a low-level drug dealer, or "clocker," working under Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo). After Rodney suggests that fellow clocker Darryl Adams (Steve White) has 'got to go since he is a thief,' he is murdered outside of his work. The search for his killer leads Strike's brother Victor (Isaiah Washington) to admit to the crime, but his squeaky clean background has Detective Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) suspicious that he is taking the wrap for his brother Strike. The search to uncover who Adams' murderer is leaves many questions unanswered and many prejudices uncovered.

The most off-putting thing about this movie isn't the subject matter itself, it's that Seal is the one who sings the majority of the soundtrack. His soulful voice doesn't really fit as the backtrack to a movie about drug dealing and murder.

Spike Lee is known for his racially and politically driven plots, as well as his fancy camera work. This movie is no exception. The entire opening sequence is a montage of dead bodies and gaping, bloody gunshot wounds from the inner city. We get where he's trying to go with this scene, and in an effort showcase the harsh reality of the violence Strike's community goes through on a sometimes daily basis, Lee is, in turn, going to isolate a lot of people from wanting to see more. The scene seems hyper-realistic, and whether real or not, Lee often uses gratuitous amounts of violence and death to make his points seem more powerful.

This film follows a low level drug dealer and his subsequent harassment by two cops who think he has done wrong even though there is really no evidence against him. Strike is played by Mekhi Phifer, who does a good job in his role. Detective Klein is played brilliantly by Harvey Keitel and he seems to be the go-to choice for a hard-nosed cop. Or criminal. Either way, he's your guy. He gets so obsessed with believing that Strike is the killer that he's willing to put Strike's life in danger to coax a confession out of him. Some of the things he says throughout this movie will make your jaw drop, especially today in 2014, but we're sure that taunting, name calling, and racial profiling are still pretty common in certain parts of the country, just not where we live. We don't see it in our day to day lives, so as outsiders looking in, this is tough for us to understand.

Though there's a lot of technical brilliance in the way this movie is shot, it seems like all of Lee's movies are really, really long and/or move really, really slow, and again, no exception here. We had to knock this movie down some points for that. When it comes down to is, how much is there to really say about a murder? The scenarios in this film are dragged out at a glacial pace with long stretches of nothing from time to time. This is clearly not his best movie, but it is a noble effort to shed light on the grim reality of what young black men who grow up in the projects go through daily.

My Rating: 6/10
BigJ's Rating: 5.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 67%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
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One year ago, we were watching: "Grown Ups 2"

Netflix Instant Queue Movie Review: "20 Feet From Stardom" (2013)

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Movie: "20 Feet From Stardom"
Director: Morgan Neville
Year: 2013
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Some of the most heard and most recognizable voices are those sung by people you may have never heard of. The back-up singer plays a very important but often very thankless role in the music industry. Despite often singing the most remembered parts of some of the biggest songs by some of the most renowned artists in music, most back-up singers wouldn’t be recognized if you passed them on the street. They often remain in the shadows, never reaping fame and notoriety from their efforts. We meet and learn about the lives of these unheralded talents as they talk about their experiences in the music business. Some of these highly talented harmonizers dream of being in the spotlight themselves while others are more than content to merely be in the background. We also hear from many world famous artists these back-up singers have worked with, such as Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler, and Sting, just to name a few. These musicians speak of the importance these back-up singers were to their success.  

This film won the award for Best Documentary at the 86th Academy Awards this past year. It was certainly one of the best of the bunch. It is a rather informative piece of cinema and as fans of music, we often never stop to think about the plight of the back-up singer. In fact, until we watched this movie, we never even gave them the proverbial second thought. So much of your attention goes to the lead vocalist and even the band itself when listening to a piece of music that the back-up singer is almost always forgotten entirely despite their often singing the hook. We had no idea that back in the 50's and 60's, many back-up vocalists were given the "Milli Vanilli" treatment. Many artists who were actually the primary singers on a track were left uncredited, leaving the general public to believe that "their" song was sung by the person on the cover of a record.

Through footage of concerts, various musical tracks, and interviews with musicians and back-up vocalists alike, we get to hear the voices of these back-up singers left in the dust. Many of the people who were screwed over by the music industry simply lacked the "it" factor to become stars. Some of the back-up singers were simply denied their due based on prejudices of the times. Other had careers that never really went anywhere. The story, however, remains the same: these women struggled for long enough and deserved to have their thoughts and feelings discovered, their stories told for all to see. These women are featured on some of the very best songs music has to offer, songs you would know and could whistle off the top of your head. And yet, until now, they have remained unknown, overshadowed, simply unrecognized for their talent and the fruits of their labor. This documentary sheds some light on the matter and puts the faces to the voice. Though frustrating and unfair for many performers interviewed here, other back-up singers relish the role they play in musical history as they get to do something they really enjoy for a living, even though they continue to lurk in the shadow of main performers. They get to travel with rock stars, sometimes around the world, yet get to keep their anonymity so they are not hounded in public. Many other back-up singers feel like they have been overlooked and not given proper respect and commendation.

This documentary is well paced, well researched, and quite enlightening. It puts a spotlight where there once was none.

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Netflix Mail Day Movie Review: "About Last Night" (2014)

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Movie: "About Last Night"
Director: Steve Pink
Year: 2014
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Bernie (Kevin Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall) tell their friends about their hookup from the previous night on their way to their 2nd non-date date. It's at this date that they introduce their friends Danny (Michael Ealy) and Debby (Joy Bryant) to each other. Danny and Debby seem to hit it off despite the awkwardness created by the very drunk public display of sexuality by Bernie and Joan. When Bernie and Joan head to the restroom to hookup again, Danny and Debby leave and wind up walking back to Danny's together, where they sleep together. They move quickly to dating, then to a steady relationship, then to moving in together. Once they move in together, their lives become a chore as they often argue and are unhappy with the banality of their relationship. It doesn't help that Bernie and Joan, now separated, are constantly planting seeds of doubt in their friend's heads.  

Can we start off with a question, folks? Why was this movie remade in the first place? It wasn't all that popular and didn't really necessitate a remake...so what gives?

This is an updated version of the forgettable 1980's film of the same name. The story is brought up to modern times but the overall theme remains the same. This movie runs with the ever-reliable cliche that being single is a constant party with boundless freedom and an endless supply of women or men willing to jump in bed at the drop of a hat. On the opposing view, being in a relationship is stifling and grows more mundane with each passing day, where a physical relationship becomes secondary to everything else in your life. There is even a scene in this film where Danny complains that he and Debby have gone without sex for a whopping 3 days. 3 DAYS!!!!! What the f**k, man?!?!? #FirstWorldProblems

Kevin Hart brings his obnoxious brand of comedy to the character of Bernie. I feel like Kevin Hart's entire career is one big exclusive inside joke that we are not privy to. We have tried on countless occasions to enjoy his work with an open mind, and though people everywhere seem to love him as a comedian, we just aren't in on the joke. BigJ finds him much more annoying as opposed to funny. A lot of his humor has to do with the fact that he is short, and we get it, it's like a fat comedian always talking about being large: it gets tiring after the 7,000th joke. What's particularly grating about his character in this film is the fact that he equates women to their genitalia constantly. Almost every single time he talks about any woman in any scene, he is referring to an actual physical human women with a life and feelings and dignity as "pussy." As feminists, there is really nothing worse than this. We are often reduced to our genitalia, but this takes it to the nth degree. Really, his entire character is just a dick (SEE WHAT WE DID THERE?!?!?!?). We must repeat ourselves, yet again, we are not prudes, but this tired expression of women as "just a piece of ass" is just that: boring, cliched, and doesn't make for a particularly enjoyable viewing experience. It very rarely is ever funny. EVER. The rest of the humor in the film is based around the arguing between Bernie and Joan and their bizarre sexual relationship. Danny and Debby are relatively boring characters, so it's really no surprise that their relationship is just as boring. We laughed exactly two times. The first involved a plastic bag. The second involved a chicken mask. You do the math.

Many times, relationships do end up the way Debby and Danny did, but a lot of the time, people are not willing to put in the time and the effort to get to know each other before making such a huge commitment like moving in together. People say this film represents what it's like to be in a modern relationship. Maybe BigJ and I have been part of a couple for so long that we have no idea how "the game" has changed, but if this movie is the model representation for how a relationship should be, no one would ever be together. The entire point of this movie, in the end, is that relationships are boring and that you will be doomed to be unhappy and you just have to deal with it. Danny was miserable in his first relationship, gets out of it, then got with Debby, was happy for a little while, then got miserable again, so they ended it, and then he was miserable without her! You just can't win. Maybe the problem isn't his relationships, maybe Danny is just a dick, too. (SEE WHAT WE DID THERE x2?!?!?!)

And for god's sake, Michael Ealy, you are a terrible damn actor. I wish I could make money off of my gorgeous smile, too, then I'd be a billionaire.

Oh, and by the way, if I had friends that talked as much shit as these people do behind their friend's backs, I would be friendless because ain't nobody got time for that!

My Rating: 3.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 3.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 68%
Do we recommend this movie: No.
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One year ago, we were watching: "Tess"

Movie Review: "Hercules" (2014)

Movie: "Hercules"
Director: Brett Ratner
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

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Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) is a man of myth and legend who is believed to be the son of Zeus. The stories of his 12 labors have spread far and wide, and his reputation precedes him wherever he goes. Hercules now spends his days as a mercenary where he and his colorful and loyal partners who hunt down pirates and other unsavory people for the right price. One night, Hercules is approached by Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson), daughter to the King of Thrace (John Hurt), to defeat an opposing army that is tormenting their kingdom. In return, Hercules and his crew are promised their weight in gold. They must turn farmers into warriors and defeat a man named Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann), who has legends of his own: he is said to command an army of centaurs and that he is able to corrupt the minds of men to turn brother against brother. Hercules must use his reputation to help the men he leads rise to the challenge. 

Now THIS is what we call a popcorn flick!!

We must admit off the bat that we thought this movie was going to be absolutely dreadful. The trailers were pitiful and almost sort of a joke. To our surprise, this movie is not half bad! Now, this declaration comes with a huge disclaimer. Do not take this movie seriously in the slightest. The acting is terrible, sure, but that actually makes it all the more enjoyable. The dialogue is ridiculously corny. This movie defines the word "oozing" because it's just drenched and dripping in CGI that probably cost a crapload of money and yet still wound up looking mediocre. Everything from trees to mountains to snakes to blood are CGI'ed to infinity. It's also drowning in steroids and pumped-up masculinity, no doubt because it is directed by Brett Ratner and he is the world's biggest a-hole. Dwayne Johnson is good and lubed up the entire movie, accentuating his muscles and screaming of overcompensation, but this isn't a stretch when you consider where Johnson came from, the world of accentuating muscles and screaming of overcompensation, the WWE. It uses the word "mythology" quite liberally and openly. In fact, the mythology is turned on its head and very loosely used as the foundation for this story. The Rock sort of goes in and out of a weird, indistinct accent wrought with his signature smirks and eyebrow raising, his flashy smile, and his infinite charisma.

Having said all of this, at the end of the movie, we were left feeling quite accepting with what we had just witnessed and sort of loving it. Like we mentioned, it's a total popcorn flick. The story itself is an interesting takes on the legend of Hercules. It doesn't just show a fantastical display of mythology, but it shows a more "rational" explanation of how that mythology came to be (read the word "rational" loosely, please). You're not going to get any grandiose messages at the end of viewing it, but not every movie needs to do that. What you will get from this movie is Hercules kicking major ass, some pretty epic battle scenes, and a band of merry misfits that provide for some laughs here and there (whether intended or not), as well as an overall decent supporting cast. It's ultimately a really fun viewing experience and is all about having a good time for an hour and 40 minutes.

While it isn't something as great as a superhero movie in terms of quality or win-ability, it made us smile in a cheesy sort of way. This film is relatively low risk for Dwayne Johnson since he has his niche as an action star. There will definitely be a ton of haters surrounding this movie and we're not even sure if it will do well at the box office, but damn it, we enjoyed it. Suspension of disbelief, people!

Another strange observation: The Rock has really huge nipples.

My Rating: 7/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: ~7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: ~65%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
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One year ago, we were watching: "The Lone Ranger"

Movie Review: "Stand By Me" (1986)

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Movie: "Stand by Me"
Director: Ron Reiner
Year: 1986
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

A group of friends, Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman), and Vern (Jerry O'Connell) are living in Castle Rock, Oregon and enjoying their summer in 1959. One day when Vern overhears the location of the dead body of a missing kid named Ray Brauer, they set out on a hike along the railroad tracks to find it. This journey becomes a life-changing experience for the 12 year old boys as they learn more about each other and themselves along the way. They also deal with the threats from oncoming trains, genitalia attacking dogs, the wilderness, and a gang of older teenagers lead by a thug named Ace (Kiefer Sutherland).

Awwwwwwwwwwww, baby Wil Wheaton. Awwwwwwwwwwwww, River Phoenix. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, chubby young Jerry O'Connell!

This is a classic coming-of-age story that throws together a group of very different kids on an adventure of self-discovery, curiosity, and the intrigue of seeing a dead body. Most people can relate to at least one of the kids in this movie as they come from different backgrounds and have very different personalities. Though the specific instance of seeing a dead body doesn't apply to everyone (well....we hope....), we all have fond memories of our childhood, our childhood friends, and a little adventure that sticks with us throughout our lives as a snapshot of a moment in time when things were simpler and maybe have really helped shape who we are today. The world was our playground in a time where we were not distracted by cell phones, the internet, the 24-hour news cycle, and digital media in general.

This is one of BigJ's favorite films. Seeing this movie in the 1980's, though it takes place in the 1950's, still resonated with him then and continues to do so today. I have only seen this movie twice and can still relate as well. Stephen King seems to have put a lot of himself into his novella The Body, from which this movie is adapted, and we wondered while watching this if any or all of the characters were based in truth on his life. Though its stars were then children, the performances are memorable and really great. Most of the time when a movie stars multiple kids, one or two of them does a good job, but the others are sort of just there. Each of the 4 children, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell, are all equally impressive. They are a good representation of how a lot of young semi-hoodlum outcast kids are, who aren't bad kids but get into minor trouble. I can't help but wonder how high River Phoenix would have soared in his life had he not died several years ago. Even Kiefer Sutherland, though only on the screen a short time, was fantastic as the local gang bully. He was extremely believable and gives a stellar performance. Altogether, the cast is brilliant and they all play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Friends come and go and life goes on, but our memories stay with us for eternity. "Stand By Me" gives us a window into small-town life in the 1950's and it gives us a memorable, sentimental look at a group of friends who eventually grow apart, but whose experiences may stick with us for the rest of our lives.

My Rating: 9.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Audition"

Movie Review: "Sex Tape" (2014)

Movie: "Sex Tape"
Director: Jake Kasdan
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

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Annie (Cameron Diaz) and Jay (Jason Segel) have been together since college. The foundation of their relationship early on was their extremely active sex life. After two kids and at least a decade of marriage, they are in a physical rut. Based on a suggestion by Annie, the couple decides to make a sex tape during a night home alone, using "The Joy of Sex" as their guide. Jay forgets to delete the video off his Apple product, which is promptly synched with the cloud, inadvertently sharing it with everyone he has ever given an iPad to as a gift. Annie and Jay are determined to get back every last iPad and stop anyone from seeing their drunken night of fun.

Sitting in the theater as the credit were rolling provided me with one of those rare moments of clarity where I couldn't help but laugh once all is said and done. No, not for the obvious reason that this movie is a comedy because it's not funny, and we'll get into that soon. I found myself laughing, and this might sound dramatic, because I was reflecting upon the decline of cinema. And women in cinema. And relationships in cinema. And how these "comedies" manage to get so, so, so much about life wrong.

Buckle up, kids, this is going to be a lonnnng journey.

For a movie called "Sex Tape," it doesn't contain that much nudity. It's not like we expected to see a porno, but we have seen movies with much more tame titles feature a lot more of it. Any time sex is featured on screen, it is awkward and you don't feel remotely any chemistry between Diaz and Segel. Even when they were kissing "passionately," we might as well have been watching two fish making out. This absence of chemistry makes for a wholly unenjoyable experience when it is 100% centered around their relationship. There is no spark, no romance, no titillation whatsoever.

While we're on the subject of sex, let's just get these misconceptions straightened out right now: people who are married have sex. It doesn't stop when you put a ring on it. People in their 40's and older have sex. Mothers and fathers have sex. Sex is natural all the time!! One of the biggest issues we have with the portrayal of relationships in films today is that married people either stop having sex altogether or rarely if ever do it. This cliche is tired and basic. The foundation of many movies is built on the notion that pre-married couples have sex all the time, and in the case of the couple in this particular movie, perhaps even do so on an hourly or minutely basis. Once they get married and even more so when they have kids, Annie and Jay cease with sex almost entirely. Despite this fact, almost all of their conversations revolve around sex, from scheduling it, to the when they last had it, to the porn they watched alone. In fact, it seems that all this couple does is think and talk about sex. They might actually be the perfect candidates for sexaholics anonymous meetings.

This film is billed as a comedy as many often are. To say it is unfunny is giving it too much credit. BigJ didn't laugh one time throughout the movie, and the only time he cracked a smirk involved ridiculous paintings of Rob Lowe's face superimposed on Disney character's bodies in portraits around his house. In fact, Rob Lowe was probably the least unfunny part of this film (notice how we didn't say he was funny). Most of the comedy revolves around dropping F-bombs as descriptors for intercourse and awkward moments while Diaz and Segel are trying to be intimate. The rest is prodding from friends and situational conversations as a result of their sex tape getting leaked. Slapstick is the words we'd use to best describe most of the misfired jokes here, but that would be an insult to slapstick.

2014 features a double Diaz bomb-fest, the first being "The Other Woman." She was the "it girl" in the late 90's. Everywhere you looked, there was Cameron Diaz, featured in everything under the sun. We don't know if we've really enjoyed a Cameron Diaz comedy since "Shrek," and much to BigJ's dismay, I don't think this role counts since she only provides the voice for an animated character. She seems to be trying to rebuild her career into one centered around crude romantic comedies. It's like she's now the go-to woman for these parts, but the problem is she is awful in them and the movies themselves are equally terrible.

Furthermore, it's strange that a movie made by Sony Pictures would feature such heavy product placement for Apple. And we know what you're thinking, "Lolo and BigJ, you've seen so many movies up to this point that product placements are something you just notice now!" No, this is not the case. We only notice when it's that damn blatant. From the excessive use of iPads to the declaration of clearer pixel resolution, device durability after an iPad gets thrown out of a second story window, and multiple mentionings of the mp4 format, this was basically a full-length Apple commercial sprinkled with sex and sleazy. And for a main character who uses technology constantly in his job, you'd think he'd know a thing or two about remote wiping devices, or not needing 800 devices for anything ever, or the cloud in general. I say this knowing that, up until 2 months ago, I feared the cloud like no other. I am now an avid user of said cloud and am not worried about any synching mishaps. Why? BECAUSE I DELETE MY SEX TAPES...not that there are any...

The only good thing we can say about this movie is that it isn't too long and it's paced reasonably well, so at least it doesn't feel like the misery lasts longer than it should. And no, The Daily Beast, there is no defending Cameron Diaz at this point. She seemingly picks these movie roles time and time again, much in the same fashion as Melissa McCarthy, to no avail. While Diaz might be talented, she's not a good comedic actress, and that's okay, not everyone has to be good at everything. You either love her or you hate her, and strictly based on her last few movie roles, we're inclined to say the latter.

My Rating: 3/10
BigJ's Rating: 3/10
IMDB's Rating: 5.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 20%
Do we recommend this movie: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Movie Review: "The Purge: Anarchy" (2014)

Movie: "The Purge: Anarchy"
Director: James DeMonaco
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

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It's that time of year again! It's time to cleanse your souls, that's right! It's time for the annual purge! The New Founding Fathers of America decreed that every year on March 21st, all crime is legal, including murder, for a period of 12 hours. It is believed that this annual release purifies you of your desire to break the law and do wrong. The NFFA claims that you can't argue with results as unemployment is minimal, crime is down, and poverty is staggeringly low. Except this year, an anti-purge group led by Carmelo (Michael K. Williams) is rising up, as they believe the purge is a form a population control and an excuse to murder the poor. All the while, a couple named Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) have a car that breaks down on a bridge right before the start of the purge and are forced to run for their lives on the streets. A woman named Tanya (Justina Machado) and her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul) are forced out of their apartment by gunned and armored home invaders. And finally, a man known only as Sergeant (Frank Grillo), who is out looking for revenge, decides to help these people who have gotten caught in the middle of the chaos of the purge. Their only goal is to simply survive the night with their lives.

Lolo here, telling you that I could watch shirtless Frank Grillo all day. There isn't nearly enough of that in this movie. *swoon*

Now that I got that out of my system, we are here to tell you that this is a pretty great sequel. Is it just us, or are sequels sort of hitting it out of the park this year?! It takes the concept of the first purge movie and turns it up to 11. We think that taking the focus away from a family who got wealthy off of the purge (Ethan Hawke's character in the first film sold purge security systems) and putting it onto a more relateable, lower income group of people who didn't necessarily want to be involved in the first place was a brilliant move. It also takes the home invasion aspect of the first movie out of the film entirely, putting the main characters directly onto the streets of the city as the purge is going on around them. The chaos, thrills, and horror are allowed to progress more naturally in the middle of the purge as the sense of danger is greater because you never know who is friend or foe.

Anyone who tells you this second installment isn't political is kidding themselves. The entire series is very political. It's basically government sanctioned class warfare taken to an extreme. The scary part of this film is less about the horror and murder and more about the idea of indoctrinating our nation into thinking that the purge is a good and necessary thing to do every year. Everything down to the creepy almost religious-like chanting before a crime is committed reeks of tyrannical dictator's past. Some might think that this is a totally unrealistic scenario, but our history begs to differ (see: the Spanish inquisition, the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia...the list goes on and on and on). It's mind-blowing and horrific to think of what a society is capable of if they are given the green light and encouragement to do so under the notion that it is their government sanctioned right. The characters as a whole are less important next to the overall theme of the movie itself. On top of all this, we are adding another element into the mix with Carmelo's group of anti-purge radicals, who espouse their rhetoric constantly and vigorously. The only thing about Carmelo's character is that it seems like he was simply inserted into this movie in order to give him slight character development for a bigger role in a third film. We would have liked to have seen a bit more development in this installment as it felt like he was just yelling at us every time he was on screen with no clear reason as to how and why he got to that point in the first place.

What we really like about "The Purge: Anarchy" is that it has a raw B-movie exploitation feel with a strong budget to back up its ideals. It has all of the violence and gore you would expect from an exploitation film, but with the clean, Hollywood-ified look. All in all, it's bigger, bloodier, and much better than its predecessor. We cannot wait to see if a third film will get made.

My Rating: 7.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 54%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
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One year ago, we were watching: "Pacific Rim"

Movie Review: "Nell" (1994)

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Movie: "Nell"
Director: Michael Apted
Year: 1994
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

In a remote cabin in the woods, an old hermit woman has passed away. Upon investigating her death, it is discovered by a local doctor Jerome (Liam Neeson) that the woman did not live alone, and that she had a daughter named Nell (Jodie Foster). Nell is an adult, but has been raised in complete isolation from society and has no idea how the outside world works. Many question whether or not Nell is capable of taking care of herself. Psychology student Paula Olson (Natasha Richardson) and a group of researchers wish to study Nell in a laboratory environment. Jerome, on the other hand, believes she should be left alone. A judge rules that they have three months to study Nell in her own environment to determine whether or not she is capable of caring for herself.

"Nell" is a great example of a movie that wants to be powerful and poignant, but doesn't fully achieve its ideals. Though it did garner Foster an Oscar nomination as the title woman who is so far removed from society that she has no social skills and who speaks in her own unintelligible language due to her mother's speech impediment, it's still not enough to be as impactful as we believe it was made to be. It wants to deal with topics such as individual rights and using people for scientific study and research, and also if courts have the right to decide what a grown woman can do with her own life, even if that woman is uneducated. All this being said, Jodie Foster really does put on a fine performance and is very convincing as Nell. We think she was the perfect casting choice. In fact, none of the acting is bad at all. Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson round out a great supporting cast.

Though the overall concept of the story is interesting enough, its execution is what suffers here. The final product only makes for a decent film. It's not a movie that we would go out of our way to watch again, and it's not something that's going to knock your socks off the first time you see it. It's not overly compelling and drags on a little bit here and there. The entire thing is pretty much driven by Foster's performance and the events surrounding her "personhood." Ultimately, it's not a bad movie, it's just there, and if we were flipping through the channels one day and came across it on TV, we'd move right to the next channel.

We just have one more thing to say about this movie, in the wise words of Nell: "chicka chicka chickabee, t'ee an me an t'ee an me, ressa ressa ressa me, chicka chicka chickabee."

My Rating: 6/10
BigJ's Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 53%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?

Movie Review: "Deliver Us From Evil" (2014)

Movie: "Deliver Us From Evil"
Director: Scott Derrickson
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes

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Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) is a tough New York cop working in one of the more dangerous areas in the Bronx. He decides to take a routine domestic disturbance call based on a gut feeling, something his partner, Butler (Joel McHale), call his radar. Well, his Radar was right, and this domestic disturbance is more than it seems. The call came from the of an Iraq war veteran who beat his wife. This man wasn't just drunk or simply abusive, he seemed to have an evil inside him. Sarchie later gets a similar call when a woman goes crazy and hurls her child into a lion's pit at the zoo. She seemed to have been acting in the same way his previous caller did. It is shortly after this that Sarchie meets Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez), who is a demonologist with a not so holy past. Mendoza starts to convince Sarchie that there is more to these cases than simply a matter of people acting bad or being crazy. Mendoza tells him that he believes these people are possibly possessed by demons. As Sarchie digs deeper, he starts to find that the cases are all connected, and as increasingly stranger things start to happen to him and his family, he starts to believe Mendoza may just be right. 

Whenever a production company has to use the line "inspired by true events" instead of "based on true events," the majority of what you can expect to see is fictional. That holds true for this film. The only thing that is historically accurate with this story is that there really was a man named Ralph Sarchie who was a cop in the Bronx who got involved in demonology. It ends there. That being said, it doesn't automatically make this a bad movie. It's not the best horror movie we've ever seen, but it's certainly not the worst, either.

-SIDEBAR-
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: if you're a filmmaker and you're reading this blog, do yourself a favor and make said horror movie RATED R. PG-13 horror movies are for the birds. Very rarely are there new horror movies that are any good.
-END SIDEBAR-

The plot of "Deliver Us From Evil" is an interesting one. There are some simplistic and yet creepy scenes, mainly involving a stuffed owl and jack-in-the-box. Seriously, who the hell in this day and age would buy their kid a jack-in-the-box unless you hated your kid?!??!! They are just freakin' creeptastic murder boxes!!! Along with these creepy moments, there are a few gory scenes that will appeal to fans of the horror genre, and some mild action with a small dose of mystery. The acting isn't top notch, but it's also not terrible. Eric Bana transitioned decently from an Australian accent to a Bronx one, though he definitely seemed to be overemphasizing to compensate. It's always nice when Joel McHale pops up in a movie because we like him. This role is a little different for him, though he does get to display his sarcastic jerk comedy and does it well. He plays an east coast tough-guy who can hold his own really well in a fight, though possibly mildly insane himself. Edgar Ramirez does a great job as a priest with a sullied past, though he wasn't shirtless in this, so minus one star.

Like we said, this movie is nothing truly new or original, but that's doesn't make it any less entertaining. It's filled with typical exorcist movie fodder but moves a little slowly at times. There is some really weird camera work throughout the movie which was moderately distracting. There are also a couple of plot points throughout the movie that seemed to go nowhere, so why add them in in the first place? It looks like filmmakers are going to expand upon their points, but ultimately reach a dead end and just forget about them altogether. Sometimes it seems like they were kept in the movie just to add extra creepiness, but didn't further the story at all. Not bad for a summer horror movie, but certainly not "The Conjuring," either.

My Rating: 6/10
BigJ's Rating: 6/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 65%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?
~~~~~~~~~~
One year ago today, we were watching: "R.I.P.D."

Movie Review: "I, Frankenstein" (2014)

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Movie: "I, Frankenstein"
Director: Stuart Beattie
Year: 2014
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Frankenstein's monster (Eric Ekhart) is full of rage at the rejection he received from his creator Victor Frankenstein, so much so he murdered Victor's wife. Victor vowed to destroy the monster but froze to death while searching for him. Victor wasn't the only one looking for the monster: a demon prince named Naberius (Bill Nighy) has been hunting the monster in an effort to discover how to reanimate dead human tissue. Just as the demons are closing in, the Gargoyle order reveals itself and gives the monster the means to fight the demons. The Gargoyle queen Leonore (Miranda Otto) also names the monster Adam.  Adam spends the next few centuries hunting demons while they simultaneously hunt him, channeling the rage he has inside to descend all the demons to hell.

LOL, THIS MOVIE HAS 4% ON ROTTEN TOMATOES.

Sometimes when we see such a low rating on a movie, we immediately want to watch said film. Because of time wasting. Because of blogability. Because of our strange desire to see everything. Because, every once in a while, you find a rare "hidden" gem like "The Room."

Let us tell you, folks, we watched this piece of crap so you didn't have to. #YouAreWelcome

This is not a hidden gem.
In fact, it's not even close.
It's just bad.
We like Aaron Eckhart. We love Bill Nighy. We do not love this movie. And since I know they are reading our blog, you know guys, you can turn down movie roles.

The thing is, this movie takes "video game graphics" and quadruples the amount of them, as if to think adding a billion more CGI'ed action sequences makes this movie better. NOPE. The graphics aren't the worst we've ever seen in a movie, but they are just excessive in order to offset the fact that the story is stupid and the movie as a whole is lame. All of the gargoyles look the same, so it's basically only had to draw the thing one time and copy paste as nauseam. On top of that, it tries really, really hard to take itself seriously, as if to think that having the actors talk in deeper voices somehow legitimizes it into Hollywood greatness. There were certain parts in the movie that were supposed to be serious and we just ended up laughing at them. This is based on bad acting, poor directing, terrible script writing, and awful character descriptions, IE: THE GARGOYLE QUEEN. Come on!!

We're all for fantasy films, truly we are, it's one of our favorite genres. We know that sometimes they use terms that can sound silly (read: Unobtanium). Usually, we can get through them without giggling like children, but in this movie, coupled with all of the things listed above, we couldn't help but snicker through 92.765% of this movie. Perhaps it's the way the lines are delivered by the actors, which seems to be done in a way that even they can't believe the drivel they have to repeat.

Did the people involved in this movie owe someone a favor? It really seems that way because we can't understand why and how this movie got made in the first place. It's not like it made a crapload of money at the box office, either. It bombed in North America, and though it made its money back overall, 72% of the global box office total came from overseas. The fact that the director even thought this movie could have a sequel is laughable. At least we still have a glimmer of hope and faith in Hollywood to assume better of it and that there won't be a sequel. Please? Pretty please??? Hollywood gods.....please???

My Rating: 3/10
BigJ's Rating: 3/10
IMDB's Rating: 5.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 4%
Do we recommend this movie: No.

Oscar Movie Review: "Nashville" (1975)

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Oscar Movie: "Nashville"
Year Nominated: 1976
Director: Robert Altman
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 39 minutes
Did It Win?: No.

Centered around a reform party political campaign we follows the lives of several people in the Nashville country music scene.

This is another one of those movies that, since we didn't live through the time of its inception and themes, perhaps we don't understand the gravity of the film. "Nashville" has about a dozen different story lines going on simultaneously. This lends to its messiness and overall erratic feel. Most of the dialogue between characters is pretty much incoherent, almost like you were sitting in a restaurant and hearing all the other patron's conversations from the tables surrounding you. You hear a word here and another word there, but none of it pieces together to form a comprehensible story. It's a fumbled, jumbled mix of politics, sex, music, and inane banter between the several different character all at the same time. Given its reasonably high ratings across the board, obviously, there are people out there who like this film. It didn't get nominated on accident. It's something that's a really original idea, and we think this lends to people's high praise of it. It's an early example of a hyperlinked piece of cinema such as the more recent "Babel" or "Crash." Though it has an ensemble cast and characters with connecting stories, those stories lack focus and meaning, at least in our present day lives. We personally don't "get" it. We found ourselves hoping it would be over soon and it kept going on. and on. and on. It drags along at a snail's pace for 2 hours and 40 minutes that we quite frankly will never get back. The good reviews led us to want to see this movie, but a masterpiece this is not. Maybe we will watch it again in 10 years and see if we have changed our minds.

My Rating: 4.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 4/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
Do we recommend this movie: Meh.

Movie Review: "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983)

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Movie: "National Lampoon's Vacation"
Director Harold Ramis
Year: 1983
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants nothing more than to take his family on the perfect summer vacation: a simple two week road trip in the brand new family station wagon from their home in Chicago to a theme park in Los Angeles, CA called Wally World. Clark insists on driving because he believes "getting there is half the fun" and that it will give him a chance to bond with his kids while they sight-see across the US. But, it would seem this trip is doomed from the beginning and pretty much anything that can go wrong does go wrong. Nothing can get Clark down, though, and he is bound and determined to have a good time no matter what obstetrical the family has to overcome and regardless of the lengths he has to go to in order to overcome them.

It doesn't get much more summery than a family road trip to a theme park, right? This movie oozes summer and is pretty damn funny, to boot. This is the only "Vacation" movie to be rated-R and that just makes it all the more raucous. Chevy Chase is brilliant as Clark Griswold with his subtle sarcastic dialogue combined with his occasional colorful rants. We'd venture to say Griswold is Chase's most notable role throughout his cinematic history. We get to see a young Anthony Michael Hall as Rusty, and he's quite good in this film. It's interesting to note that though Clark and Ellen Griswold stay the same actors (Beverly D'Angelo plays Ellen), the people who play the kids, Rusty and Audrey, change in every film. It's a funny concept to have the actors change, it kind of makes the family seem timeless because the kids aren't actually getting any older. This movie also has a very small cameo from John Candy as a Wally World security guard, Randy Quaid as the always hilarious cousin Eddie, and Christie Brinkley as Clark's fantasy woman in the Ferrari, as well a very young Jane Krakowski as a cousin to Rusty and Audrey.

You really feel for Clark's plight throughout this movie. All he wanted to do was something nice for his family and he gets blocked at every turn. Any of us who have ever been on a road trip with our families know that this is a common occurrence. Maybe it doesn't happen to the degree at which it happens in this film, but no vacation ever goes 100% as planned, even when you don't have kids. Shows and events can get canceled, stuff costs more than you anticipated, hotel amenities not being up to par (or even there at all), flights can get delayed, cars can have trouble, weather might be bad...things completely out of your control always seem to happen when least expected at the most inopportune times. Clark really wanted to just spend some time with his family and give them a memorable experience for them to share with their grand kids...well, if that was his mission, he certainly succeeded!

To us, this movie is so quintessentially summer that we find ourselves looking forward to watching it every year. It's still funny even today.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Movie Review: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014)

Movie: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
Director: Matt Reeves
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

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The ALZ-113 drug developed by GynSys pharmaceuticals has created a virus that has wiped out the majority of the human race. In-fighting and war has helped wipe out even more people. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) has led his freed chimps to building a new society in the forests outside of San Francisco. They have been living peacefully for many years and believe that humans have become extinct. One day while hunting in the forest, two young chimps named Blue Eyes and Ash come across a group of humans. One of the men shoots Ash, which brings Caesar and his army of apes to their defense. Caesar warns the humans to keep away from the forest and tells them to leave the apes alone. A man named Malcolm (Jason Clarke) tries to make peace with the apes and explains that they just want to reactivate the hydro-electric plant located in the forest. This does not sit well with Koba (Toby Kebbell), a former lab ape who was experimented on by humans and has a deep hatred for them, who thinks they should attack and kill the humans while they have a chance.   Humans don't think much differently than Koba. While Malcolm is trying make peace with the apes, the "leader" of the remaining humans in San Francisco, Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman), is stockpiling weapons from a National Guard armory. Malcolm and Caesar must help them come to an understanding before all out war breaks out between humans and apes. 

WOW.

This is one of the rare instances where a sequel far surpasses its predecessor. As much as we liked "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," this film tops it. It follows in the footsteps of  "Rise," picking up where it left off with a more advanced and organized ape society in the woods outside of what used to be San Francisco. Caesar has lived up to his name (SEE WHAT WE DID THERE???) and has become ruler of the ape kingdom where they dwell. Their society is an intricate one and revolves around the idea of being one big family. They live by the notion of not killing other apes as humans have killed humans in centuries past. This is one of the core concepts of the film, and we see this mirrored in the remaining human colony just over the bridge as they try to rebuild civilization. It also delves into the idea of fearing what we don't understand, as well as hating an entire group of individuals based on the actions of a few. We see this reflected in Koba because he hates all humans due to his past experiences as a lab ape, and we also see a hatred of all apes (even the cute little baby!!!) by Carver (Kirk Acevedo) on the human's side. Neither of these characters are willing to change their views, and it is this mindset that drives conflict to the point of violence. This creates a feeling of extreme tension and intensity between the groups, and it feels like, at any minute, the wrong thing could be said on either side that could lead to an all-out war between the "races." Their tension becomes our tension as viewers, and I felt like I was on the edge of my seat through 90% of the movie.

Everything good that the first film did, this sequel seems to do better. This film steps up the action by a lot. The opening sequence is a hunting scene with the apes scavenging for food, and the tight, close-up shot of Caesar's face in war paint sets the tone for the entire movie. Plus, for a majority of the movie, THE APES RIDE ON FREAKIN' HORSES. WHAT!?!?!?!?!? The CGI, though done well in the first movie, seems much more crisp and enhanced in this sequel. Caesar, whose role is reprised by the brilliant and wonderful Andy Serkis, conveys so much emotion without even moving a finger. His eyes are what matter here, his eyes tell the story. The director, Matt Reeves, intentionally focused on Caesar's eyes throughout the movie, as if to show that's where his power lies. As in the first film, Maurice the orangutan is still one of the best CGI'ed animals in the entire movie. We questioned whether or not he was a CGI creature or a real animal throughout the film. The MoCap actors deserve so much credit because they are what gives this movie its human-like realness and give the chimps anthropomorphic qualities. The digital performances far outshine their human counterparts once again. This is not to say that the actors don't do a great job in their roles, but you really can't deny the power of the MoCap actors in these films.

In fact, Matt Reeves did a superb job all around. This might even be the "Empire Strikes Back" of the new Planet of the Apes series. His direction almost gave us a better appreciation for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." You can see where that film was trying to go as far as setting up characters and situations that would inevitably support this sequel. Moreover, we see where this film is going to go to set up the impending third edition in the series. Reeves also brings an impressive arsenal of camerawork and brilliant pacing to this movie as well.

Though it is unlikely, we'd love to see Serkis get nominated for the role of Caesar. Lord knows he certainly deserves it. There's no denying the power of his emoting skills. It would be a travesty if he's acknowledged at least once in his career for an Academy Award. Someone needs to get on with changing the stuffy old-school rules of the Oscars and give this guy his due. All in all, this is a superb, fantastic sequel that will leave you engaged, enthralled, and a little bit scared for our future. It boasts a grim, bleak look at what humans have essentially done to themselves to become their own downfall. With wonderful and crisp CGI, a fantastic script, excellent direction, and good pacing, this movie is on track to be one of the best of the year. It's certainly at the top of our lists already.

My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Movie Review: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011)

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Movie: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Year: 2011
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

A scientist named Will Rodman is working on a new drug known as ALZ-112, which is being tested on apes in an effort to treat Alzheimer's. The drug has promising results, but an unforeseen side effect occurs and the apes that are tested begin to develop hyper-intelligence. In an attempt to perfect the drug, Will develops a new version known as ALZ-113, which has the same brain-enhancing effect on apes, but a much different effect on humans.

This movie is a great reintroduction into the Planet of the Apes story after the mess Tim Burton left us with more than a decade ago. The new, updated prequel boasts a good concept, giving a fabulous explanation as to how the apes gained their hyper-intelligence. There are also little hints throughout the film of what's to come in the sequel to the prequel, as well as throwbacks to the original "Planet of the Apes" movie starring Charlton Heston. Though a small, insignificant scene, there is a deliberate part in "Rise" where a news story flashes across the screen on a TV about astronauts taking off for a mission to Mars and their impending doom being lost in space. This example, and many more, are a great connector to the past and future of the series.

Though the human actors and actresses do a fine job in this movie, they are very much overshadowed by their digital counterparts. Andy Serkis is spectacular (as always) as Caesar. He is truly the king of MoCap. He brings so much life and animation to his ape character and these nuances make all the difference between a good and bad film. Using humans instead of 100% digital animation gives the movie so much more realism that you don't get with a CGI-filled graphic bomb. Along with the acting, the digital graphics of the apes are just very good in general, and even though sometimes you can clearly tell they are digital, it's not distracting like in other movies. One of the best CGI'ed things in this movie is Maurice the Orangutan...in fact, he was so well done, we thought he was real.

This movie is obviously a catalyst for a continuing series based on the messages it tries to convey. There's a quote by Karl Marx that says "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," and it reminds us of Will's character and his actions throughout the film. His work with ALZ-112 & 113 are rooted in trying to make the world a better place, but his good works had unintended, very bad consequences for humanity. The movie as a whole walks a very fine line between being for and against animal testing as well as genetic medicine and sciences, and it also explores how humans view and treat animals in general. These concepts are not new to film, but they are portrayed very well, and coupled with stellar graphics and an entertaining plot line, viewers get pulled into this franchise all over again. Fantastic movie!

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Movie Review: "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999)

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Movie: "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai"
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Year: 1999
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a simple man who lives by the code of the samurai and will die by that very same code. After being helped and saved by a mobster named Louie (John Tormey) when he was younger, Ghost Dog feels the need to repay him, so he becomes Louie's "retainer," doing hit jobs for him whenever he needs. Louie's boss is Ray Vargo (Henry Silva), and after his daughter Louise (Tricia Vessey) witnesses one of Ghost Dog's hits for the mob, Ghost Dog himself is targeted for assassination by the mafia.

This is an off-brand gangster movie with an urban-samurai twist, and it is certainly wonderful in its strangeness. First off, Forest Whitaker is not the person you'd think of upon hearing the word "samurai," but he oddly works well as title character Ghost Dog, living and dying by the code of the samurai. His calm and collected face lends well to the nature of the samurai, yet he's so deadly as a hit man. His stoicism aids him in his career as a hit man because you never see him coming and he doesn't do anything out of anger. All of his moves are calculated and done with precision. The group he is targeted by is one filled with low-rent mobsters struggling to pay their bills and long for the glory days of the old mafia. This is not your stereotypical Vito Corleone group of mobsters. These guys are sloppy, inefficient, and old as hell...they even get winded walking up a flight of stairs. For some strange reason, these guys are always watching some sort of old school cartoon on TV, which lends to the movie's weirdness and hilarity. There's actually a lot of humor throughout this movie, which you wouldn't necessarily associate with a movie about the mob. The interactions between Ghost Dog and his best friend, a French ice cream truck driver who doesn't speak a lick of English, are subtly humorous, and despite not understanding each other, they always seem to say the same thing.

There were a lot of stylistic things we enjoyed about this film as well. First of all, the quotes throughout the movie lent to the audience's understanding of how Ghost Dog's mind operates as a student of the samurai. They also provided nice transitions between scenes that otherwise may have been odd and out of place without one. Second, it's interesting that, for a movie about a samurai, there are no swords in the film, and all of his hits are done with guns (though these guns are twirled like a sword would be). This shows that the way of the samurai is more about one's mindset than any weapon used in battle. Third, the camera work in this film can be really cool. The beginning fly-over shot of Ghost Dog's neighborhood is a great scene for an introduction. There are a lot of stylized camera shots throughout the film, most notably when Ghost Dog is using his gun. Finally, the soundtrack provided by RZA was authentic and fitting.

All in all, this is a very intriguing take on a movie about what a samurai would be in modern day society. Another powerhouse performance by Whitaker!

My Rating: 7/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!!

Movie Review: "Begin Again" (2014)

Movie: "Begin Again"
Director: John Carney
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

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Dan's (Mark Ruffalo) life is in a downward spiral of sorts. He drinks to excess, is disorganized and floundering, and misses meetings at the record company he founded to the point that he gets fired. Greta (Keira Knightley) has just discovered she was cheated on by her rockstar boyfriend Dave Kohl (Adam Levine). One night at a bar, Great is singing at an open mic night and Dan hears her song and he knows he has found gold. He promises to sign her to his label if she gives him a chance. After being dismissed by his former partner Saul (Mos Def, aka Yasiin Bey), Dan comes up with a plan to record her songs outside, without a studio, all over New York City, using it as their stage. Skeptical at first, Greta joins Dan and they embark upon a journey of song together, trying to find themselves through the art of music.

I have always been a fan of music. This sounds sort of stupid because who's not a fan of music? And in the off chance that you're not, this movie will have no appeal to you. It's all about the music, everything about this film oozes music.

Personally, I live by the philosophy that there's nothing a well placed song can't fix, or help, or hurt, or do in general. Music is everything about life. Give me a year from 1986-2014 and I can give you a song, or a band, or a moment in musical history that helped define who I am as a person. Maybe this doesn't make any sense to you and maybe I can't explain it to you, but I bet you $100 I can find a song that will make you understand. My relationship with music might not always be apparent and there have been times in life where I was so pissed off that I stopped listening to it altogether, but a day without music is a day without air, a day without sun, a day without meaning. Whoa...it just deep up in here.

Sure, this movie is not an original idea. Sure, this movie contains a lot of cliches. Sure, you can see plot points coming (almost) a mile away. Sure, it's not something to write home about. To me, where this movie succeeds is in its life-like realness, even though it's sort of a "fairy tale." When Dan and Greta look at one another, you can see their mutual love of music as well as the want and the need to help one another succeed. Have you ever just looked at someone and known something, anything? Those looks, the same one from "Once," are what makes this movie real. These looks are authentic. And to us, that gets driven into the ground. Dan wants to make records with integrity, and Greta wants her music so have meaning to at least herself. And her cat. One might even call these ideals about music "hipster," it's all about the music, man, being popular doesn't matter as long as you're true to yourself!!! Enter "the fairy tale."

Besides all of this, the acting was really stellar. I am not a Keira Knightley fan and we generally don't get the hype surrounding her, but she was really good in this. In fact, to our surprise, she did sing all of the songs for this, which just makes all the more authentic. She might not be the best singer on the planet, but she was really good for someone you wouldn't necessarily think of when you hear the word "musician." Need an actor who can play disgruntled and disheveled really well? Call Mark Ruffalo, he seems to have it down pat. Also, we like that Ruffalo can transfer from a big box office hit like "The Avengers" to something smaller and more indie. He's really versatile and we've come to enjoy him quite a bit as an actor. Adam Levine plays himself, and Cee-Lo Green plays himself, but they do add to musical elements to the movie. Bit parts from Mos Def (who apparently has a real name that is Yasiin Bey), Catherine Keener and Hailee Steinfeld finish off a fairly well-rounded cast.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't smile most of the way through this movie. It's nice to see that authenticity is not dead somewhere in music, but the same could be said for movies as well. If it weren't for writers and directors like John Carney, authentic and honest movies may have died out a long time ago. It must be said that this movie is not "Once," but it's still worth watching at least once, especially if you like music or movies about music. (Just don't bring your 12 year old daughter and her friend to the theater and let them prattle off a play-by-play of the events happening. We're there, we can see what's going on!!!!!!!!!!!)

There's a line in this movie that says something to the effect of, "you can judge a lot about a person by their playlist." Well, this is 110% true in my opinion. So what if you like a One Direction song? Is "Love Shack" your bag, baby? Maybe "Mambo No. 5" or "The Macarena" or "Purple Haze" or "California Love"? Good! Let your freak flag fly and play it loud and proud.

We are going to be singing the song "Lost Stars" for months. What is life.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Movie Review: "Snowpiercer" (2013)

Movie: "Snowpiercer"
Director: Joo-ho Bong
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 6 minutes

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In the not-too-distant future, global climate change has reached a high. In an effort to combat it, mankind has sprayed a chemical across the sky to help cool the planet. Unfortunately, this chemical causes the global temperature to drop to sub-zero levels, creating a mass extinction of almost all life on the planet. The only humans that survive the extinction are on a self-sustaining train called Snowpiercer. This is not just your ordinary locomotive, it is a luxury train that never stops moving along its global track. On this train exists a class system: those on the tail-end live in poverty under tyrant rule and only eat gelatinous protein cubes. Those in the front where the engine is live in luxury, eating steaks and real food that is raised on the train. After 17 years of living in the tail, the passengers are ready to revolt and take over the train for themselves. A passenger named Curtis (Chris Evans), under the advice of older man named Gilliam (John Hurt), leads an army of tail-section passengers on a raid to take over the train and kill the conductor, Wilford (Ed Harris). Wilford is viewed as a infallible savior by those in the front sections, but is seen as an evil dictator by those in the back. 

Though this movie did not get a lot of box office attention compared to movies like "Transformers: Age of Extinction," "Snowpiercer" is one that will be sadly overlooked by the general public, but is waaaaay better in terms of story, style and impact. It offers a god-awful look at our own perpetrated dystopian future, aided by global warming, and our efforts to combat it in the easiest way possible, resulting in our demise. Though the idea of a class system is not a new plot point in cinema, this movie manages to take it to the next level by maximizing the problem, keeping everyone in a confined environment, yet offering no chance for advancement. This leaves those at the bottom hopeless and restless. All in all, this makes for an explosive dynamic between 'the haves' and 'the have nots.' The acting is not what drives this movie, it's 110% the story in all its horrific wonderment. We don't want to knock the actors from this film because they do a good job and put on really fine performances, but some of them could have been interchangeable and this movie would have remained absolutely insane and yet still so compelling. None of this applies to Tilda Swinton, however, because she is absolutely perfect for this role and was my favorite part of the movie beyond the story. It's sort of awful to think that this movie takes our present to the extreme, showing what could happen if the income gap keeps widening and climate change keeps getting worse. It leaves audiences with many thoughts and questions about our own existence in a society in the future that scarily resembles our own present.

One of the coolest parts of this movie was Joon-ho Bong's attention to detail as far as costumes and scenery go inside the train. Costumer designers did a fantastic job making the tail section riders look dirty, dingy, and gross, while simultaneously making the front-end passengers look exotic, clean, and well-polished. Even the differences in set design really made a difference. The tail-end of the train was dimly lit, depressing and dark, while the front sections are bright, energetic, and bursting with lights and sounds. Our only knock on the film is the CGI. While some parts of it are decent enough, the majority of the long shots of the train, the tracks, the cityscapes, and the engine of the train are pretty rough, pretty basic, and definitely look animated.

If you're looking for a futuristic, sci-fi non-blockbuster that remains steadfast in its message and hard-nosed in its methods, this is the film for you. It's a real treat to watch, even though it is a very violent representation of humans at our worst who often commit unspeakable acts under the guise of "for the greater good."

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Movie Review: "Earth to Echo" (2014)

Movie: "Earth to Echo"
Director: Dave Green
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

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Mulberry Woods, a neighborhood in Nevada, is about to be cleared out of all its residents in order to build a freeway through it. After cell phones in the area start showing strange images that look to be maps, three friends named Munch (Reese Hartwig), Alex (Teo Halm), and Tuck (Astro) grab cameras and follow the map images to the desert. Just when it looks like they have hit a dead end, they discover what they think is a piece of scrap metal that actually turns out to have an alien creature inside of it. They name this alien Echo and vow to help him find his spaceship so he can get home.

Our biggest gripe with this movie is the fact that it features "found footage" style camera work. These movies, in general, make us nervous because they are headache inducing (and this was no exception) and often come off as unrealistic, which is the exact opposite of what this style hopes to accomplish. Beyond the physical ramifications, making this particular movie a found footage film doesn't add anything to the story. Filmmakers could have just as easily shot it normally and it might have actually been a little bit better than it was and without numerous shots of feet and full frontal "Blair Witch Project" style crying face selfies. This type of shooting may have also attributed to the film's seemingly poor pacing. Even for a movie that is less than 90 minutes long, it seems like it takes forever to get anywhere. Beyond the camera work, the kids in this movie are not particularly the best actors on the planet and most of them are newcomers. There's not a lot of good dialogue to work with anyway, so it makes their acting seem that much more boring.

There were a couple of positive notes, though. The movie as a whole wa a cute idea, kind of a "The Goonies" meets "E.T." type of film. Echo himself is an adorable little robot alien, though he's way underutilized even though he is the movie's namesake. The only thing we ever learn about him, though, is that he is trying to get home and is lost on Earth and really not much else. This was definitely disappointing, but he made cute beeping noises, so it's all good. The message at the end is a good one for kids to hear, that no matter what, your friends will always be your friends. For a relatively low budget movie, it does have some decent special effects. I think the trade-off here was the notion of spending the money on CGI and not on well known child actors. This also might be why the decision was made to make this a found footage film, it kept the budget lower.

Wholly, this was just a filler movie that we hoped and prayed wouldn't be full of children on a field trip. We took a gamble by going to this movie at noon on a Wednesday (we opt to see kid-centered movies at night since our theater does special engagement kids movies on Wednesday and is often crawling with little tykes). It exceeded my expectations a little bit, but not enough that I'd want to watch it again. It's charming enough if you need or want to kill an hour and half inside an air conditioned theater to beat the heat.

My Rating: 5.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 5.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 48%
Do we recommend this movie: Meh.