Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
August 14th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Much like many horror movie franchises that carry on to have a ridiculous number of sequels, the Final Destination series seemed to have passed the point of parody at this point; or at least so I thought. While I have been indifferent to the series that I refer to as Death’s Mouse Trap, as it tries its hardest to fit into the world of Rube Goldberg, I have to admit that I was surprised as to how much I appreciated this fourth sequel in the series. While still over the top in how elaborate the deaths in the film are presented, the film actually handles its tone with a level of seriousness that I could get behind, while reveling in some of its dark humor. Continue reading ‘The Franchise Returns With This ‘Final Destination’’
August 13th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Maybe I should have been eating pizza while watching the movie. For a breezy “action-comedy” that only lasts 83 minutes, I really don’t think there should have been as much down time as there was. 30 Minutes or Less has the kind of high concept premise that seemed good for a fun flick. It is a simple enough story and has enough talent within the cast to have made for a solid summer comedy. Unfortunately, the film is kind of all over the place in terms of its tone and the performances. There are some very funny parts and there are also some exciting parts, but unfortunately, there are also slow parts and weak parts. In a summer that has had a lot of solid R-rated comedies, 30 Minutes or Less lands in a decidedly “meh” sort of realm, as it is quite late in its delivery. Continue reading ‘’30 Minutes Or Less’ Wasn’t Quite A Speedy Delivery’
August 11th, 2011 by Mary Welms
While everyone was going to the theaters to see Cowboys & Aliens the last week of July another movie was released on DVD called: The Dead and the Damned the original title was Cowboys & Zombies but was changed because it was being released the same week as Cowboys & Aliens. I found out about this movie while I was at Comic Con this year. I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Mora after the Breaking Dawn panel. Rick played a Native Werewolf Tribe #1 – in the flashback sequence of Twilight in 2008. As we spoke he told me about 2 of his projects that he was excited about, the above captioned movie and another called Yellow Rock which will be released later this year. I promised him I would do a review for the movie, and who doesn’t love a good zombie movie? The Dead and the Damned was written and directed by Rene Perez. Continue reading ‘The Dead and the Damned (Movie Review)’
August 11th, 2011 by Brian White
It’s not every day that the stars perfectly align and A), you meet a writer/director/actor from Ohio, B), you get to interview a writer/director/actor that you have mad respect for and C), you get to attend a film’s red carpet premiere with that said writer/director/actor. Did I lose you yet? I know that was a lot of variables I just threw at you in the very first sentence of this review, but I’m pretty confident that you can handle it. However, just in case you cannot, I’ll dispense with my vague poignancy and lift off the proverbial cloak of disguise. You can thank me later. In the meantime, we are gathered here today to chat about writer/director/actor Marcus Dean Fuller and his feature film, the very touching, sincerely warm hearted and emotionally moving, One Fall. Continue reading ‘Watch Your Step as You “Fall” in Love With ‘One Fall’’
August 7th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
It is interesting to take in an indie film such as this. On the one hand, it is a dream for lovelorn mechanical engineers, as the film is a love story or sorts and was literally made with homemade cameras and revolves around a car customized and built for this film. On the other hand, it takes a lot of the goodwill setup very well in the first half and descends into bleakness that may put off a lot of people. It is admirable to see all of the work from first time filmmaker Evan Glodell that went into this picture, but the massive tonal shifts and experimental filmmaking are sure to alienate some viewers. Regardless, one thing is for sure – the car they built for this film is pretty freaking awesome. Continue reading ‘‘Bellflower’ Ignites Apocalyptic Indie Romance’
August 6th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
A world dominated by apes became the fascination of many back in 1968, when the original Planet of the Apes opened. The sci-fi classic went on to spawn 4 sequels, two television series, and the 2001 re-imagining of the film, directed by Tim Burton. Regardless of the mixed opinions concerning the most recent entry, 20th Century Fox seemed to not be able to get their stinking paws off of this franchise, as we now have another re-imagining/remake of sorts. While having a lot in common with the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a new origin story for the series, with a fresh take on establishing its timeline continuity. It also happens to be a supremely entertaining film that combines great special effects work with a building tale of revolution. Continue reading ‘Apes Will ‘Rise’, Caesar Will Lead’
August 6th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
Studio Head: Man, remember back in the 80s when all of those body-switching comedy movies were really popular? We made tons of money then. Do we have any ideas like that out there now? Studio Plot Pitcher: Well sir, there are some big, big comedies recently, which have all benefited from having an R-rating, as if we were back in another time or something. What if we took the best of both worlds and made a crude, R-rated, body-switching comedy? Studio Head: …You know what I think? I think you’re going to get a promotion! Studio Plot Pitcher: That’s nice to hear sir. I had two actors in mind, who are both likable and funny. Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds both have a knack for specific characters and are opposites of each other. They could play two guys that “change-up” their personalities for an amount of time, before learning a lesson. Studio Head: Did you say “Change-Up”? If you did, I think we just found our title! Reynolds and Bateman huh? Sounds good, even if the film does not take much intelligence to come up with, at least we have two solid leads that can deliver plenty of material for us to edit around. Studio Plot Pitcher: Agreed sir, I’ll make the calls, you write the checks. Continue reading ‘Reynolds And Bateman ‘Change-Up’ During One Big Freaky Friday’
August 5th, 2011 by Brianna Reagh
There is only a 2% difference between the human genetic code and an ape. What makes up that 2% difference is hard to tell, especially when seeing Rise of the Planet Apes. The relationship between humans and apes, from communicating through sign language to aggressively defending those close to you, provided an almost disturbing yet lingering feeling of the insignificant difference between the human world and the planet of the apes. This movie provided the bond between James Franco, John Lithgow, and Andy Serkis, a union as uncommon as apes becoming extraordinarily smart and taking over the planet…or is it…? Continue reading ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes: The 2% Difference’
July 30th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
For a movie titled ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ to play itself completely straight, it sure does come off as awful silly in many instances. More importantly, the film comes off as very dull in many instances, which is quite unfortunate. Despite having a big name cast, big name producers, a big name director, and eight credited writers, not much beyond having both cowboys and aliens in the same movie was done to make it more enjoyable. I was hoping it could deliver, as this film was one of my most anticipated of the summer; however, it lacks anything beyond the strength of a good high concept. Continue reading ‘‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Is One Rootin’ Tootin’ Genre Mash-Up’
July 28th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
With several weeks’ worth of action films out of the way, it is now time to step back into the realm of romantic entanglements involving a lot of attractive people dealing with the complications of maintaining relationships. Crazy, Stupid, Love benefits from having a lot of very good actors dealing with mostly solid material, while bringing forward the qualities that make these people likable to begin with. It is unfortunate that the movie does not pull its weight all the way to the end, sacrificing its knowing sense of irony in favor of a more clichéd and sitcom-like finale. Regardless, audiences can still be treated to watching an endearing cast wade through familiar, yet fun material, as they act a little crazy and a little stupid for the sake of love. Continue reading ‘See A Bunch of Stars Fall In ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’’
July 26th, 2011 by Brian White
Chillerama is an upcoming direct-to-video comedy/horror anthology film consisting of four stories that take place at a dusk ’till dawn monster movie marathon in an old school drive-in in California. Considering Adam Green is involved, would you really expect anything less than “old school?” Come on! But more importantly, Chillerama was premiered to us live at Comic-Con 2011 and I couldn’t be happier about it. Each story (or segment) is a homage to a different style and a different genre. So aren’t you curious to know what each story is about? You’re lucky I like you guys so much! Come on…let’s further dissect Chillerama. Continue reading ‘Comic-Con 2011: CHILLERAMA’
July 23rd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
2011 has been a great year for Marvel characters. Thor turned out to be a lot more fun than many thought and X-Men: First Class was a slick return to form for the mutant lot. Now it is time for the first Avenger to get his due, as Marvel Studios, director Joe Johnston, and star Chris Evans have all worked hard to introduce the shield wielding super-soldier, first created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby back in 1941. With a lot of credit going to the retro look and feel of the film, Captain America has turned out to be an incredibly fun action film and a suitable lead in to The Avengers, which will bring many of these Marvel characters together in one film in summer 2012. Continue reading ‘‘Captain America’ Has A Star-Spangled Adventure’
July 22nd, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
The idea of having a body double living your life with you, let alone taking your place when you would desire it is interesting. The subject matter presented in The Devil’s Double takes it to the extreme, as the son of Saddam Hussein makes the life of his lookalike a living hell, which is fitting, given the title of the film. It makes it more intriguing that the film is based on a true story, which could be seen as a sexed and violenced version, but still fits the bill of an intensely told tale, where a man is in quite the struggle to do what is right, despite being the representative for a man who is quite evil. The film is much stronger, thanks to its lead actor in a dual performance. While it only borders on greatness, the film is still a solid, if intense depiction of the life of the double for the devil. Continue reading ‘SDCC 2011 Review: It’s No Easy Task Being ‘The Devil’s Double’’
July 16th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
So finally, after a decade’s worth of film, we have now reached the end of the Harry Potter movie franchise (minus potential spin-offs or whatever). This is a pretty major event as far as large film series go. Never has a major motion picture series managed to maintain all of the key actors for every major role as well as maintain a consistent level of quality all the way through. While some of the films are better than others, this is a rare feat to have seen be accomplished. Now, with the series finally coming to a close, one can only hope to relish in how aptly this film series manages to wrap itself up. This is certainly one of the best made films of the franchise, when accounting for several aspects such as the look of the film, the use of special effects, the acting, and for the most part, the film’s narrative drive to the finish. Continue reading ‘‘Harry Potter’ 8: Live and Let Die’
July 15th, 2011 by Brianna Reagh
Ten years ago, it was easy to be skeptical of the Harry Potter movie franchise. The prepubescent leading characters were completely new to the world of filming despite being amongst some of the UK’s greatest actors and actresses like Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, and Maggie Smith. Not only were they wet behind the ears but sadly, how could one expect this large group of very young actors to imbue the strong characters they would need to become? There were even some that considered the franchise “easy money” – expecting effortless blockbusters given the books’ world-wide phenomena. Continue reading ‘So Long, Harry Potter’
July 9th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
There are a lot of very good past and present actor/director teams and actor/actor teams. While it is easy to acknowledge examples such as Scorsese and De Niro or Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, more obscure ones, such as Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg are equally great pairings. The subject of this review, The Trip, is very obscure (at least for American audiences), as it reteams director Michael Winterbottom with actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. The three have previously worked together on two very good films, 24 Hour Party People and Tristam Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story. Their latest collaboration, The Trip serves as a humorous, and at times hilarious, look at two actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves as they go on a road trip through North England, acting as the perfect foils for each other. Continue reading ‘Rob And Steve Have A Lot Of Fun On ‘The Trip’’
July 9th, 2011 by Aaron Neuwirth
It has been a solid year so far for original, R-rated comedies. While not every film has been a homerun, I do enjoy the fact that we are being treated to a lot of good, raunchy fun, as opposed to watered-down versions of films followed by the inevitable “unrated” edition 3-4 months later. Horrible Bosses joins in on the fun, becoming one of the best-casted comedies so far this year. Often times you have too many great elements in one project and it can become a mess, but what a film like this certainly benefits from is having a great cast, with the three leads making the best of their great chemistry together. Continue reading ‘‘Horrible Bosses’, Great Cast, Funny Movie’
July 8th, 2011 by Jim Kulko
Let me start out by saying that I am a secret fan of Kevin James. I liked him in King of Queens on TV, in his movie roles such as Hitch, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown-ups, The Dilemma and so on. I’m not saying these titles are fantastic, but I didn’t feel like my skin was being peeled off either. I don’t mean to say James is a master thespian by any means, just a regular guy, an anti-Hollywood type, if you get my meaning. He’s not the first person you think of for leading man roles, etc…, but I like him anyways. Maybe it’s because I can relate to him in his appearance (some say we look like brothers! – ha!), or his character’s shyness covered by his loud comedic joking, or just that he’s everyman… whatever… but in the movie ZOOKEEPER even I am having a hard time with Mr. James. Let me explain… Continue reading ‘‘ZOOKEEPER’ is Kevin James + Talking Animals + Famous Voices + Family Rating = DUD!’
Much like many horror movie franchises that carry on to have a ridiculous number of sequels, the Final Destination series seemed to have passed the point of parody at this point; or at least so I thought. While I have been indifferent to the series that I refer to as Death’s Mouse Trap, as it tries its hardest to fit into the world of Rube Goldberg, I have to admit that I was surprised as to how much I appreciated this fourth sequel in the series. While still over the top in how elaborate the deaths in the film are presented, the film actually handles its tone with a level of seriousness that I could get behind, while reveling in some of its dark humor. Continue reading ‘The Franchise Returns With This ‘Final Destination’’
