‘This Is 40’ Features Lots Of Laughs And Unrelatable Problems (Movie Review)
I am not sure how concerned with my own age I should be when thinking about This Is 40, but I can say that I have doubts that Judd Apatow’s new film about a couple with two kids living in a mansion in LA, facing financial issues, because Paul Rudd’s record label is not doing too good is going to relate to too many other people either. It is a purposefully biting opening remark, but it is the biggest flaw of the movie. Its other flaw is how there seems to be so much material here, which could almost be spread out into a one season-long TV series, but instead the film just has many lingering plot threads. Putting all of that upfront, I will say that I did laugh quite a bit too, which puts the film in a weird middle-ground for me. It has likable qualities, but this is supposed to be a mainstream comedy and Apatow’s free form approach to plot structure really is not helping this time around.
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Here’s the thing about Jack Reacher – You have to accept a few things in order to get into the film. For fans of the book series, you will have to accept the physical stature of Tom Cruise. For people who are iffy on Tom Cruise in general, you will have to believe that he is playing a fairly handsome, charismatic man who can pass through life as a drifter and possess top notch fighting skills. And for people hoping for an action fest that matches up with the Mission Impossible films, you will have to accept that this is more of a procedural with bursts of fun moments throughout. Now, I don’t think these are necessarily burdensome qualifiers to enjoy the movie, because I actually do think Jack Reacher is quite good. It may not be the best movie for the holiday season and it runs bit too long, but it is an entertaining procedural that I wish embraced more of its pulpy elements.
And so it begins; another tale of perilous, fantastical traveling. I think it is funny that I went into The Hobbit knowing incredibly little about the actual plot, only to find that there was not a whole lot to learn. I have not read any of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and have only seen trailers for the film, which seemed very light on story. Apparently it was because there is really not much there, at least for this first film, in a brand new Middle-Earth-based trilogy. ‘An Unexpected Journey’ re-introduces us to this world that director Peter Jackson brought to life in his highly acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the first part of a new trilogy based on The Hobbit, which proceeds those ‘Rings’ films. In terms of making things grand, I was once again impressed by the scope of the production, but I was only just happy to have seen a good portion of this story, as opposed to being enthralled all the way through the film’s epic runtime. There is a lot there, but I am not sure how much was needed. 
Did the world really need this? Is the world even ready for this? Wasn’t 10+ hours of theatrical cuts enough to sit through back in the day and again on Blu-ray? Are we ready for three more consecutive years of a tale that’s mainly self-contained in one book and a few appendices? Of course we are! We’re talking J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings after all. It’s like Star Wars and crack mixed together for fantasy nerds and geeks alike, including myself (not that I have ever partaken in the use of the said recreational drug). So prepare to usher in three butt numbing sessions in 2012, 2013 and 2014…there’s a new adventure hitting the silver screen…an unexpected journey…in an unexpected frame rate. Of course I’m talking about Peter Jackson’s new, three-part, life consuming project, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Surely you heard of it. 
Admittedly, this review may be more straightforward than others, because Django Unchained has been my most anticipated film of the year and it managed to deliver in every respect. Much like Bond films, a new film by Quentin Tarantino is very much an event for me. I get really excited, rewatch his past work, and wait in eager anticipation for what is coming very soon. Django Unchained is the kind of film that Tarantino has been building to, based on many of his previous films, which incorporate many western elements. This is a film that is rooted to the atmosphere of spaghetti westerns, but true to Tarantino form, feels like a genre film unto itself. It is just as much a Blaxploitation film as it is a western and it just as much a comedy as it is an action-thriller. The dialogue and colorful characters are of course a highlight, but there is certainly plenty going on in this lively western opus from the mind of Tarantino.
So here is a movie about wiseguys dealing with a mob heist, presidential politics, and the American financial crisis. I have a feeling that some people are going to be upset with this film for not being what they expected. Regardless, Killing Them Softly is a sly, dark comedy-drama, with Brad Pitt in a wonderfully effective role as a professional enforcer. The film is well-acted, very stylish, often heavy-handed with how it presents politics, but at the same time very involving. I think it’s the dialogue and the unassuming, straight-forward flow of the film. Killing Them Softly does not feel like the traditional, hip, modern mob movie. It felt like something different, but something I was very happy to watch. 
Among the people that I would offhand list as my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock would be one of them. The movie I regard as my favorite horror movie (let alone a favorite movie of mine in general) is Psycho. The idea of a movie revolving around the making of Psycho is certainly an intriguing one, made better by the fantastic cast that is involved, with a wonderful looking Anthony Hopkins in the guise of the Master of Suspense. That is not exactly what I got, but what I liked about this movie, is how it chose to be a fun, romanticized story about a man continuing to challenge himself, as well as a relationship drama involving his wife. It could have been a stodgy drama that follows recorded details to the letter, but the film is much more energized than that, which is impressive, given the corpulence of Alfred Hitchcock. 
Well I certainly liked the idea of remaking the film Red Dawn (which is not all that good), more than actually watching the remake. This film is pretty terrible. From the drab energy and look of the film, to the horrid acting and casting of many involved, to the basic logic and storytelling that this film puts forward, Red Dawn is a travesty. I went in expecting to have a dopey, but somewhat fun time, but instead I sat through a painfully dull film that has almost nothing to offer as a redeeming value. The only thing that makes this worse is the fact that a film about teenagers causing all sorts of carnage has been made bloodless and rated PG-13 so general audiences can presumably spend the holiday season watch a terribly stupid film in all its jingoistic glory. 
This would seem like the perfect time for a movie like Rise of the Guardians to come out. It arrives in theaters in the same year that audiences around the globe have already witnessed the ultimate superhero mash-up film, The Avengers, watched the end of Batman’s journey in The Dark Knight Rises, and are preparing to take a step back into Middle Earth with The Hobbit. An animated hero’s journey film that combines Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost in an adventure together feels pretty appropriate. However, while imaginative in its visuals, the film feels like it is riding on assumed knowledge regarding these characters in a very familiar story. I will be curious to see if family audiences embrace this as new holiday favorite, but for the time being, Rise of the Guardians provides some fun. 
Upon hearing that this year would see the release of Life of Pi, a 3D film adaptation of the bestselling, but supposedly unfilmable book by Yann Martel, I was immediately feeling the same vibe that I had from Hugo in 2011. This feeling was amplified further upon learning that it was going to be directed by Ang Lee, a versatile director, who has yet to be grounded in one particular genre. Both films are fantastical adventures to an extent, which utilize a theme of storytelling at their core. They are also both visual delights, with the use of 3D actually amplifying the experience as opposed to taking away from it. Life of Pi works on many levels and is certainly suited to a release at this time of year, as it is an incredibly earnest, yet exciting film and a visual treat for families to see, but one that has a lot more on its mind as well.
