In case you were thinking of seeing The Happening, I saw about 12 minutes and had to leave. Here is my review. Mark Whalberg- Wasted. John Leguizamo- Wasted. Zoey Deschanel- Terrible. M. Night Shayamalan- that is another 12 minutes of my life that you owe me back. I think the unstoppable and horrific event that the characters keep going on about is the release of the film.

PU

Timur Bekmambetov's wanted bowed in theaters this weekend to huge crowds. Admittedly not Wall-e big but pretty damn close. This is an impressive acheivement for an R rated movie and this is a hard R "for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.". The cast includes a bevy of Oscar winners/nominees including Morgan Freeman, Terrance Stamp and Angelina Jolie as well as James McAvoy as the male lead and its only a matter of time for his oscar(he has a boat load of British Oscar equivalents and a Golden Globe nomination.
This Tale of an office drudge who doesn't know that he is secretly a highly skilled assassin until he is recruited/abducted by a secret 1000 year old society of weavers?????, who take orders from the loom of fate about who to kill next. Yeah the set up sucks.
McAvoy sleep walks through the first twenty minutes doing a fairly flattering rip of Ed Norton's running commentary from Fight Club. Then Angelina Jolie shows up playing the mysterious sexy bad girl, and the action commences. The actions scenes range from very good to great, including one particurly good foot chase where McAvoy winds up firing shots from the hood of a car as he persues. There is plenty of stuff that requires significant suspension of the average person's disbeleif and the film will suffer in some eyes because it cannot quite decide which world it exists in.
Althogh certainly stylish, the film leans heavily on violence and eventually becomes weighed down by this fact. What should be the film's emotional climax seems instead an afterthought and the hero too often comes off as a bully(although I guess if I spent my life as a punching bag and then suddenly developed super powers I might bully a little too). If you didn't understand or agree with any of what I said then it probably won't or didn't bother you. All and all worth a look for the visuals alone, including a little Angelina Jolie nudity(and that's the best kind).

Labels: Feeman, Jolie, McAvoy, Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted

Let me go on record now, not that anyone is waiting for me to weigh in, and say that Hancock is the movie that takes this year from one on the all time to the all time box office year. Why? several reasons:

1) Will Smith the obvious reason that everyone will point out. Its launching on the July 4 Holiday week/weekend which guarantees a big start and its stars the hands down box office king of the world(no apologies to Tom Cruise)

2) It looks pretty well written and funny, so non smith fans, like me(I can take or leave him and I wind up spending most of his movies wondering if Alfonso Ribeiro would have been better in the lead role) are much more likely to join in the thronging to the multiplex.

3) Superhero movies(and despite being a parody this one qualifies) are hot right now. More accurately I should say, superhero movies that show some respect for their audience are hot right now. That's right, make a half way decent Batman and people will come to see it. Make a crappy Fantastic Four and less people will go to see it. or Daredevil. or Superman.....

4) Peter Berg seems to know what he is doing behind the camera and Jason Batemen is consistently on the money in roles like he had here. Oh yeah, Charlize Theron aint so bad either.

So here I am, a non Will Smith fan who thinks most superhero movies are stupid who is amped to go see this one first weekend. Good sign for Mr Smith.

Labels: Hancock, Peter Berg, Wil Smith

Ok, You probably won't get a chance to see this in a theater near you. It's playing in a total of 94 theaters nationwide, up from 5 last week. it's Friday take jumped as well, making it the number 13 grossing film on Friday. So maybe you will be seeing it near you after all.
Then again its got subtitles so maybe not.

The only name that you are likely to recognize(or not)is Russian director, Sergei Bodrov. He filmed Mongol in Kazakhstan and China, sometimes in locations so remote that the crew had to build roads to access them. It features no names that will ring any bells in the US(or at least with me)but plenty of fine performances. Most notably, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano plays Temudjin(Genghis Khan)gives a nuanced performance that touches subtly on many often contradictory aspects of one of the most notorious conquerors in History. Will there be times when you say "this guy seems awfully progressive for a Mongolian Warlord" yes, but if you can get past that you will enjoy the performance.

The film opens with Kahn in a cell. It is difficult(again at least for me)to tell his age at this point, but the remainder the film upspools as a series of recollections of his life leading up to this point.

Odnyam Odsuren plays young Khan for a significant portion of the film. He has some memorable scenes and does a good job of bringing a gravity to the role not often matched by young American actors.

The cinematography is first rate and the best of it is every bit as good as anything in this year's Oscar winning No Country for old men. In an age where digital enhancement produces so much memorable cinema, Bordov filmed a scene with 1500 horsemen who required two months training, not in hormanship but in acting. Oh yes, there is also enough blood and gore in the battle scenes to satisfy the blood and gore guys.

This Epic(can you call it that at two hours) is well worth a look if you can catch it in the theater or the the video store.

Labels: Bordov, Mongol

I finally have some time to catch up on my summer movie list. So which overdue film will I finally catch up on Indy, Strangers... No of these. I found Mongol in a theater near me. It is only in 5 theaters nationwide so this is a pretty good find. Whats so great about mongol?? Well, 1) it is directed by a Russian named Sergei. Movies-wise the Sergeis have done pretty well so far. 2)Its about Genghis Khan which pretty much gaurantees action and bloodshed. 3)Check out this link:

Jack Black and Mos Def play work well in this Passaic NJ based comedy. It is a perfect vehicle for Black's manic, disheveled comic rants and Def is a good fit as his straight man. Melonie Diaz is a pleasant addition and works well in the comic role. The film is shot on location in Passaic and New York and incorporates locals into the cast, including some speaking parts.
Mos Def was not originally cast in the role of Mike. For awhile Dave Chapelle was attached to the project and came up the idea of remaking Driving Miss Daisy.
This movie has a strong start. Black and Def begin to make 20 minutes version of the movies so that they cover for that fact that all of the videos in the store where Def works have been erased by a suddenly magnetic Black(don't ask). The shorts provide some good laughs particularly Ghostbusters and Driving Miss Daisy but its the same gag and it inevitable grows old.
When this occurs the director shifts gears and make it a formulaic comedy about making enough money to save the plucky little video store. So after a whole bunch of preaching about how the big studio movies aren't creative, the film turns into one of the most god awful, uncreative regurgitations ever to hit the screen. This movie is not one tenth as creative and original as any of the films they "impove" on.
You can probably wait awhile on this one.

Labels: Jack Black., Mos Def

Ok so I did a post with the movies that I want to see this summer(still working on most of those), snidely implying that I wouldn't want to see any others(this turns out not to be true. So let me be more specific about what I don't want to see:

1)Love Guru: This movie looks absolutely abysmal. I am trying to decide what ruined Mike Myers because he was always pretty funny on SNL and even some of his early movies like So I married an Axe Murderer!- Head, Pants Now!

Maybe it was all those Austin Powers Movies(he made Thirteen I think) or maybe it was all the Shrek money but this one, Love Guru, couln't hit funny with a rock for where it is. Stupid, predictible, tedious, all of those it has in spades.

2) Journey to the Center of the Earth: someday someone will figure out a way to make a realy entertaining 3D movie, but I am betting this aint it.

3)Dave: See Love Guru. Insert Eddie Murphy for Mike Myers.

Donnie Darko starts out looking like it might be derivative of any number of teen focused drama/comedies but it never gets there. Director/Writer Richard Kelly does not ever let it within Tiger Woods putting distance of derivate. This engaging, original and engrossing film is not easy on its viewers but it is ultimately a rewarding watch and in fact is probably one of the rare films that gets better the next few times through.
Let me give a warning at this time. Don't try to give this film anything but your undidivided attention. I started by watching it and playing poker online and ... and
before long my head was whiping around so much I was in need of a masseuse, not a masseure a masseuse).
This film features very early perfomances from the careers of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, they play brother and sister, the very first feature film apperance for Seth Rogan as well as Mary McDonnell, Drew Barrymore and ER's Noah Wyle.
The story features a bunch of suburbian private school kids, a slightly off kilter dad, a mom struggle to protect her family from the world and herself from embarassment, a former nun turned school teacher turned Sci-Fi author turned crazy old lady, a pocket universe whose mere existence threatens our own and ... did I leave anything out.. Oh Yeah a six foot, profoundly disturbing looking bunny rabbit who is either a) helpful or b) bent on anihilation.

Keeps alot of pots boiling but it is ultimatly a satisfying watch even if you have to give it a few tries before all the pieces fall in place.