2009 Review #36: Coraline

Coraline

Rated PG
(thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor)
1 hour 40 minutes

Storyline:
An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Voice Cast:
Dakota Fanning
Teri Hatcher
Jenifer Saunders
Ian McShane

Critics Grade:
B+

My Grade:
C-

I'm not going to say much about this movie. Coraline is a very, very, very strange little film. I could not tell if this was claymation or regular animation...whatever it was...was very creepy and quite disturbing to look at. This is supposed to be a movie geared for kids, but I think it's to frightening for children. Also the movie has this slow pace and to me was boring as all hell. I didn't laugh once, and for a kids movie...you should expect at least a couple laughs. I really don't know if most kids would find this movie very enjoyable. There really is no appeal or charm to it, and it might lose the interests of many youngins very quickly. But I don't know...maybe they liked it, I watched this on DVD and not in a theater to see how the kiddies reacted.

Coraline is not a bad film, it's just averagely decent with no appeal and has no charisma or any inviting qualities. If you compare this to Nightmare Before Christmas...well there is no comparison. That movie was at least fun and I know people of all ages loved it and still love it to this day. I didn't really care for the movie, I had a hard time staying engaged in the film. I guess you could at least give it a try with your kids...but it is a pretty dark flick, so be warned. Eh, kinda wished I passed on this movie. Oh well....

2009 Review #35: The Informant

The Informant

Rated R
(Language)
1 hour 48 minutes

Storyline:
The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre.

Starring:
Matt Damon
Scott Bakula
Joel Mchale

Critics Grade:
B

My Grade:
B-

OK I have to apologize in advance. This is going to be a short review and probably not one of my best. I have had a very busy, crazy week working two jobs and not getting a lot of sleep and I have the same kind of week for this coming week. So I won't be able to dedicate a lot of time to writing detailed reviews...because I'm just exhausted!

I was never really really wanting to see this movie, but I heard enough good things about it that finally I caved in and said...OK I'll go. If I'm being honest, I thought this was a good movie but I thought it was far from a great movie...in my eyes. Other people really enjoyed it, I heard a group of people in my theater saying how awesome it was to them after it was over. For me though, and maybe it was because I'm so tired, this movie sort of dragged a lot. There was a lot of moments that just went way to long or seemed redundant. I mean it had a well written screenplay, I just don't know if the direction blended well with it.

The cast was pretty decent, but it was led wonderfully by Oscar winner Matt Damon (Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting). I'm not a huge fan of Damon and I think he's slightly over rated as an actor, but he finally did something in my eyes that was truly great. I thought this was easily his best performance that I have seen. It was unique and quirky. I thought he was definitely good at delivering an oddball comedic performance. This character was really annoying at times though, and got on my nerves, but Damon was quite effective at portraying him. Scott Bakula (Major League: Back to the Minors) was a bit strange and I don't know if his performance was just bad or if the character he was playing was just....weird. I didn't like him that much. Glad to see Joel Mchale (TV's The Soup and Community)in a big movie! He's quite hilarious, but not so much in this movie...he seemed out of place. There was a huge amount of cameos in this movie...most of them were great!

The movie had this odd 70's feel to it, even though the story took place in the 90's. To me that was a little strange, but at the same time I think the movie looked really good. You know this is by no means a bad movie. I don't think it should be nominated for Best Picture this year though. People are already predicting it. I don't think it has that Best Picture quality. It's a good movie that just isn't all that great or memorable. I would definitely recommend you see it though!

2009 Review #34: Look (Straight to DVD)

Look

Rated R

(strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, some violence and brief drug use)

1 hour 38 minutes
Storyline:
Americans are captured on surveillance cameras at least 170 times a day mostly without their knowledge. This produces millions of hours of footage revealing the nature of those hidden secrets.

Critics Grade:

D+
My Grade:
C

A bit of a disclaimer: the events in this movie are NOT real. These are characters played by actors, there is not one single real aspect of this film. Technically speaking, you can't get audio through most surveillance cameras because from I understand...it's against the law (but yes I may very well be wrong on that). Also I highly doubt if these were real people, that they would ever consent to the film maker showing this video...considering all that happens. But they had to make a movie out of this, so in this movies world, you can get audio, and I'm not a picky person on a films believability anyway. But anyway, yes, this is a scripted film it has a film director putting it all together. What this movie is, is a film told only through various security cameras and it follows the lives of a handful of people having pretty a pretty cruddy week. Their lives intersect at times.

The concept is actually pretty cool, that's what got me to watch the movie in the first place. In the end, the movie comes off way to gimmicky and a lot of it does not feel very authentic. The actors at times tried way to hard to act "natural" and out of their acting element. What this did though, was make it obvious that they were acting...over acting at times actually. For me that took away from the realism this film was obviously trying to showcase. I get the point of the movie...that we are being watched everywhere we go by big brother. That our lives aren't as private or personal as we make ourselves believe. I thought that was a cool point. I just wish they used more skilled unknown actors who can play off authenticity better.

There isn't a real major storyline. Like I said, it just follows the week of several characters who are either cheating on their spouses; who are being tormented by co-workers; who are spying on their nanny, etc. Other than that, there isn't a whole of story or much character development. You can't really expect that from a movie like this though, so that's OK. The idea of this story was to show us that we are never alone even if we are literally by ourselves...make sense?

There seemed to be a lot of camera in bathroom and fitting rooms...again, illegal in our world, but OK in this films world. Ha, just thought it was kind of funny. The opening scene took place in a changing room and was really, really awkward...it was of two girls getting naked and chatting away as they tried on clothes and then started doing fake sexual things. Creepy and weird. This whole movie was creepy and weird. It definitely had a few tense moments, especially with the serial killer characters. It some cool moments, some entertaining moments, some sad moments, but overall this was just an alright movie for me. Not one I'd ever buy or watch again...but it wasn't terrible. Just a fairly average movie that could have been so much better and so much more effective.

...but that's just me folks.

2009 Review #33: Disney Earth (Documentary)

Disney Earth

Rated G

1 hour 30 minutes

Subject Material:
Feature-length version of the documentary TV series "Planet Earth" (2006), following the migration paths of three animal families.

Narrated By:

James Earl Jones

Critics Grade:
B

My Grade:
A+

The documentary "Earth" is a must see film in my opinion! I don't think it was the most educational documentary, which is proably the only flaw the movie has. Not all documentaries have to teach though, some are there to just show. And there is a lot to show here...a lot of magnificant beauty. A lot of sadness. A lot of wonder. And a lot that we as humans take for grantite.

This movie is narrated by James Earl Jones (Star Wars trilogy, The Sandlot) and it brings to our eyes the migration journies of three families in the animal kingdom. We also get to see other various animals in their natural habitat. We see a family of polar bears, a family of elephants, a family of whales; plus some really cool exotic birds, some feisty and hungry lions, and other wonderous creatures. The movie footage (as well as the TV specials) was used from over 4,000 hours of filming and spanned over a year or so. That alone is an incredible acheivment.

Like I said this movie wasn't so much about education as it was about not only entertainment but also about exposing us to a world that most of us choose to forget even exists. A lot of people mistreat animals or consider animals these dumb creatures only good for food, beauty products, etc. This film shows how similar to the human race these animals truly are. I was amazed by how they protected their young; how they hunted for food; how they knew when danger was around; how playful they are; how frustrated the "parent" gets at their child going off the path. It's incredible to me that most of us humans don't appreciate this enough, I'm totally guilty of that myself. These animals have genuine feelings. They get scared and nervous, they get happy and playful, they get angry. I was blown away by how this Documentarian captured all of this for us to see...and it was stunning.

This movie almost brought this big guy to tears on a few occassions. The direction of the film was flawless, and they brought these animals stories to life in such a way that we could somehow relate to. There were a few scenes of these cute animals getting killed (although they cut away once the actual kill happens) or getting lost forever. They have scenes of animals running at top speed to get away from predators and you can hear the animals cry for help and it was just so unbelievably heartbreaking. Or there was a scene where a baby elephant got lost from his mother never to be seen again. Or the part where a mama elephant was attacked by a group of lions. Then there was the tale of the papa polar bear trying to get back to his family but the ice is melting and can't get to land and he begins to starve. Devistating tale that killed me inside! But this is the cirlce of life, this is what goes on every day in the animal kingdom and this is something we just don't appreciate or realize.

There was the really neat segment showing us some exotic birds. It was adorable because there is this bizzare bird whose wings flap out...and you just have to see the picture to completely understand (pictured to the left). This segment showed how intelligent and human like animals really can be. They showed this bird cleaning his living area. He got this piece of bark, and started to scrub down the branches he lives on. He even realized he "missed a spot" and went back to clean it up. He tidied up the floor by moving leaves around. Then a female bird came over and he actually did a dance for her. It was so sweet and so stinking cute! I wish I could visit someo of these places to see these guys for real.

Other aspects of this film like the musical score were great! The score was an orchestra I believe and it added tension when animals were being chased, it added to the dread when an animal lost it's battle with a predator, and it added to some of the uplifting stories. The cinematography was some of the most sensational I've ever seen in a film. This guy captured some of the most beautiful things I've ever layed eyes on. This movie wasn't scripted. There were no special effects. This was all reality and it is a beautiful reality. I loved every second of this movie, and I wish it was a longer film. It will move you, it will make you sad, it will definitely make you smile. This is an incredible, incredible, incredible documentary that EVERYONE should see as soon as possible. If not to slap some sense into you, then to just entertain you...because through it all...entertaining this movie certainly was!

DVD Update Reviews (09/15/2009)

I apologize for the late weekly DVD Update blog. I now have two jobs and have to wake up at 4:30 in the AM for the next few weeks and don't get home from both jobs until about 6:30 at night. It's exhausting. So my DVD updates might be a bit smaller then new few weeks and if I have any 2009 reviews that will be pretty short. But they will be there! So without further ado, here are more reviews from all the DVD's I've seen in the past week or so. I also am sorry...there won't be any pictures with this one...have barely any energy right now.

The Devil's Backbone (AKA El Espinazo Del Diablo) (2001 - Rated R - 1 hour 46 minutes): Guillermo Del Toro made this Spanish language movie, and he is responsible for the brilliant Pan's Labrynth as well as the upcoming Hobbit films. After seeing this movie along with Labrnth, I have NOTHING but confidence that he will do justice to the Hobbit flicks. This guy is really a master director, and you can knock me all you want for saying that. This is advertised as a "ghost/horror" flick but it's not really a horror movie and it's not even remotely scary. It had this deeper dramatic story to it (much like Labrynth) that was so very well written. I was surprised by how much of a plot was here in this movie. The tension was excellent; the scenery was great; the performances were super; the direction was beautiful; this movie was downright fantastic! I loved it! Rent it! My Grade: A

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Were the World Mine (2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hour 35 minutes): OK, I'm sure no one I know has seen or even heard of this movie. I didn't even know it existed until about two weeks ago. It's about this gay high school kid who gets a part in the school play and somehow gets the power to turn everyone gay with this weird flower thing. Sounds weird huh? Well it is...and I don't suggest watching it. I assumed it was going to be a funny movie, but it wasn't. It was a half musical half dramatic movie and it was super lame. The acting was pretty bad. The writing, especially the dialog, was cheeseball to the max. The music scenes were overdone, to long, and just corny! This movie was not terrible, but I say it's not that watchable or enjoyable of a movie. My Grade: D+
(This movie is available to watch instantly on Netflix)

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Glick Doesn't Do Red Carpet (2007 - NR - 30 minutes): OK this isn't really a movie. This is a half hour interview special done by the GREAT Jiminy Glick (played hilariously by Martin Short). Glick had his own Comedy Central interview show a few years back that was so, so, so, funny! Go on Youtube.com or Hulu to check out some of his interviews and I dare you not to laugh!! Obviously he is not a real person, he is a character played by Short. But this fat, sweaty character is so clueless about the actors he interviews and he talks with this range of voice (from deep to real high) and it's something you just have to see to believe. This movie was from the Spirit Awards for the 2007 year and features Glick interviewing many big name stars. It was great! Not his best interviews, but still funny as all hell! Check it out! My Grade: A-
(This special is available to watch instantly on Netflix and clips are available on Youtube.com)

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Paranoia 1.0 (AKA One Point O) (2004 - Rated R - 1 hour 32 minutes): This is a very unique film. The story kicks off the second the movie starts. There is basically no character buildup, we don't get any real insight into the main guy before the craziness starts. That's OK though, sometimes that works out well. I thought this was a super bizzare film, that I didn't quite understand fully. When it ended I felt a bit cheated because I wasn't sure if anything was really resolved or what exactly happened in the end. Sometimes I'm a bit "movie stupid" though. I see so many movies, that sometimes a film's plotline just escapes my brain. But this movie looked really cool. And from what I got from the story, I enjoyed it for the most part. The performances were good, nothing really bad or really great but they were above decent. While I can't exactly explain this movie about a mysterious empty box that shows up on a man's doorstep...I can recommend this movie. Strange I know. The look and feel of the film is really cool. The story is different and fairly orginal. I don't know...check it out if you want! My Grade: B-
(This movie is available to watch instantly on Netflix)

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The Contract (2007 - Rated R - 1 hour 36 minutes): You know at first thought, I kind of liked this movie. But the more I think about it I wonder...why the hell was this movie made? I don't want to ruin anything...but this film doesn't have a point. It's about a father/son combo who run into a crazy group of contract killers in the woods. It stars Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, Shawshank Redemption) and John Cusack (Identitiy, 1408) in a STRAIGHT TO DVD movie...who would have though those two actors would ever headline one of those! Well this movie is very much one of those now that I think of it. This is the type of movie we have seen before. The bad guy who secretly has a heart and a soft spot for the truly good people in this world. But here...it doesn't make any sense. This whole movie kind of doesn't make sense. Not a lot about it is all that fresh or all that good. I forgot about this movie actually. The ending was dumb and didn't leave any closure for the film. The actions of the some of the characters were so random and out of whack that it made the whole movie pointless to even exist. I don't know...I don't honestly suggest this movie, but of course don't let me stop you from seeing it if you have interest. Some people might like it...me...not so much. My Grade: D+
(This movie is available to watch Instantly on Netflix)

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I promise I will be back with more!! Until then...happy movie watching!

2009 Review #32: Shorts

Shorts

Rated PG
(Mild action and some rude humor)
1 hr 29 minutes

Storyline:
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.

Starring:
Jimmy Bennett
Trevor Gagnon
Jolie Vanier
James Spader
Leslie Mann
Jon Cryer
William H. Macy

Critics Grade:
D+

My (adult mindset) Grade:
D+

My (kid at heart mindset) Grade:
C+

OK when you see a movie like Shorts, and your an adult you cannot possibly critique the film from your normal adult mindset. That is just plain silly. You have to understand going into the movie that this is a film meant for children. It is not meant to entertain adults. It is meant for adults to waste their money on so their kids can get out of the house and see a flick. But if you are an adult and going to see this movie without kids (like me and buddy Matt did today...I don't know why) you cannot, cannot, CANNOT be a snob when it comes to reviewing this movie unless you are going to it from the mindset of the target audience: children.

That being said, I will give you my quick adult mindset review of the film. This movie was stupid. It lacked any kind of charm or entertaining value. The dialog was so cheesy and horrendous and it was NOT funny in the least. I don't think I laughed from any of the jokes at all. The kids were OK, but the adults were much better. The only thing I really liked about the movie was Emmy winner James Spader (TV's Boston Legal). He was pretty similar to his Alan Shore character and I thought he was pretty good for the crap writing he had to deal with. But his sinister character didn't have many corny lines to deliver, his were alright.But in all honestly...disregard that last paragraph...it doesn't matter what I think from an adult mindset about this movie. Of course it's going to be dumb! Now from a child's standpoint...I think this movie would be pretty entertaining for any kid age 5-12 (12 may be pushing it). But there were at least 10 kids in the audience today (it was not a packed house) and I really didn't hear much laughter. There was never a moment where all the kids laughed at once. There was a chuckle here, a chuckle there but no kid in my theater genuinely laughed at any part of the movie. So I base my kid like review off of that.

I think it will be pretty fun in a kid's eyes, but I don't know if many kids will honestly love this movie. A lot of the humor seemed to whiz right by the children in this audience (as it did the adults too) but some funny parts snuck in for them. The movie has kid like special effects (nothing to scary), and it's pretty faced paced. There aren't many slow or boring parts that kids would be restless in. So I mean...yeah, take your kids to see it...I don't think they would be dissapointed, I just don't think they will want you to buy it for them when it's out on DVD.

Not really to much to say about this movie though. From my snobby adult mindset though...this movie sucks. Haha.

2009 Review #31: Whiteout

Whiteout

Rated R

(Graphic violence and images, brief language and nudity)

1 hour 36 minutes

Storyline:

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko tracks a killer in Antarctica, as the sun is about to set for six months.

Starring:

Kate Beckinsale

Gabriel Macht

Tom Skerritt

Critics Grade:

F

My Grade:

D+

As of this review, this film is sitting at a 7% fresh rating on rotten tomatoes, making it one of the worst reviewed movies of the year by far. I honestly don't believe that Whiteout is worthy of a 7% rating...I'd say it's in the 45% realm. Meaning it's not an AWFUL movie like the mainstream critics suggest it's just not a good movie...whatsoever. It has virtually no redeeming qualities.

Whiteout suffers from extremely poor writing. For a crime mystery film, it is not very mysterious. It is not at all suspenseful and has not one moment of real tension. It is not scary in the least. There is never a point in the film where you feel any real danger is looming for our main character. The plot device of the murdered man in Antarctica sounds like it could be interesting...but it was major dullsville! This ranks up there with The Black Dahlia as being one of the biggest snoozefest crime mysteries in recent memory. I mean there is just no excitement. Not to mention the fact that this particular mystery is so bland and I could care a less. When the bad guy was revealed...it was like...yeah...OK...so what? Then another baddie was revealed and it was just so nonchalant and that whole thing just seemed to end abruptly. It was badly pieced together, and the whole screenplay was a sloppy piss poor mess. I mean the flasback scenes were sore corny and badly done. The dialog was lame for the most part. I don't know...they swung and missed bad on the writing aspect.The production value itself was pretty decent. You know...the movie looked pretty cool, not outstanding, but it was probably the best quality of the film. Although there were parts where the special effects snow was so obviously CGI it was almost laughable. The performances were just OK and I'm giving some leeway there too. Kate Beckinsale (Snow Angels, Nothing But the Truth) is usually pretty good, she has an incredible year in 2008. But here...she is just about average. I suspect that wasn't here fault though. I think she did the very best she could with the material she was given. The other actors were all very standard. There were some weak scenes performance wise, and there were never great scenes. But this isn't the type of movie that's about performances, it's mainly about story and execution and it failed pretty bad in that sense.

Listen, do I honestly think that this will be THE worst movie of 2009? No, not even bottom 5 probably. Like I said it's not an atrocious mess, but it's nothing even remotely good either. It teeters right in between and I don't suggest anyone I know waste money on this movie. I have a weird feeling about this movie...I can't honestly say it's terrible. Just don't see it....and I know that makes no sense.

2009 Review #30: Adventureland

Adventureland

Rated R

(language, drug use, sexual references)

1 hour 47 minutes

Storyline:

A comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent college grad (Eisenberg) who takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.

Starring:

Jesse Eisenberg

Kristen Stewart

Bill Hader

Kristen Wiig

Critics Grade:

A-

My Grade:
C+

OK so I have a few reviews to do today so I'm going to keep them all fairly short and simple. Adventureland is one of those rated R comedies that feels almost like one of the Judd Apatow flicks, but he had nothing to do with this one. But you know what I mean right? This is another film about a group of horny twenty-somethings trying to shack up and/or find love. This one is set in a summer carnival type place and it's employees are a bunch of young college bound kids.

I never really wanted to see this movie in theaters, but I did at least want to check it out on DVD. Honestly, I thought it was good but I didn't really love it. There wasn't a whole lot that was actually wrong with the movie, but I don't know...I just wasn't feeling it if that makes any sense. I think it had some definite funny moments, but this wasn't exactly a comedy in all sense of the word. Adventureland is a dramedy and most of the humor stems from sexual jokes. There are a couple slapstick, random jokes thrown in though. I appreciated the fact that the film maker actually tried to make a serious movie here, and his attempt was pretty good in the end. Some pretty decent writing as well.Performances were slightly above average for this type of film, but nothing truly stood out. I'm not a fan of Kristen Stewart (Twilight craze) by any means, but honestly she didn't really get on my nerves in this movie. She gave a fairly decent performance. Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Zombieland) was average as well, he wasn't bad at all just not all that amazing or really all that funny. I guess the roles I liked the most were from Bill Hader (Superbad) and Kristen Wiig (SNL, Ghost Town) although even they weren't up to their usual hilarious antics.

All in all this is a "good" movie but for me it's not one I'd ever buy or really ever care to watch again. That's why it gets a C+ from me. It was good without being all that appealing in the end. I don't know. Don't take my word for it, if you like this kind of flick...I suggest you go out and rent it. Why not? It ain't all that bad!

DVD Update Reviews (09/06/2009)

Well another week has gone by, and more and more "old timey" movies have blessed my eyes. Some of them were great, some were OK, and some were just plain yucky! So without further ado, here are more of my DVD update reviews. Keep in mind, I had not seen ANY of these movies before, that's why I review them on here.

American Beauty (Rated R, 2 hour 2 minutes): It's funny that I had never seen this movie until this week, because this is the type of film that's right up my alley. I love a good drama and especially one about crazy or dysfunctional families. This really is a brilliant movie, I think it did definitely deserve its win for Best Picture in 2000. It's a very well written script and masterfully directed. Beautiful cinematography. SUPER great performances from Kevin Spacey (who won the Oscar for this movie) and Annette Benning (who was nominated for her performance). Sam Mendes must like this genre, because he did almost the same thing in 2008 with Revolutionary Road with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. That movie is not as quirky as this one, but it's the same concept. Both really great movies! My Grade: A

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Ferris Buellers Day Off (Rated PG-13, 1 hour 43 minutes): Katie and Julie have gotten me to watch another 80's classic that I had never seen. I did like this movie, it was funny and simple. I can see why it's considered a classic, but to me it's slightly overrated. I don't think it's as good as everyone makes it out to be, but don't get me wrong, it's still an entertaining, fun, and good flick. I liked it, and I'm glad I watched it. I think the fact that I didn't see this at a younger age tarnished my thoughts of it just a little. Matthew Broderick was great, even though he was a 24 year old playing a high school student. Alan Ruck was 29 playing a high school student!! That was common in 80's movie though. So I've finally seen it, and I liked it for the most part...just wasn't AS good as I was expecting. My Grade: B+

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Red Mist (AKA "Freakdog", Rated R, 1 hour 22 minutes): This movie is available to watch instantly on Netflix. There's one huge problem with the movie right off the bat: the sound does not match the mouths moving. It was like an old kung fu movie. That really gave this movie some bad marks for me right away. Other than that...it wasn't really a good movie. It had a bunch of random unknown actors who couldn't act to save their lives (yeah yeah, I know I should try acting right?? Well guess what, I'm NOT a paid actor, but THEY are...). It has a silly and unoriginal plot (it kind reminds me of Final Destination in a weird way as well as I Know What You Did Last Summer). It was an all around cornball movie and it wasn't scary in the least (to me...doesn't mean it won't scare others). I don't even know why it's called Red Mist...My Grade: D

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The Sasquatch Gang (Rated PG-13, 1 hour 26 minutes): This is essentially the same type of movie as Napolean Dynamite, it even has some of the same cast. It's one of those random indy comedies that doesn't have much to do and isn't about much of anything. The characters are totally off the wall weird (there is even a character who has that weird gay lisp like Kip from Napolean). But I actually found this movie to be quite amusing. I enjoy this kind of humor. There were a lot of Hilarious moments and some great lines. Justin Long (Accepted, Drag Me To Hell) was definitely the best here. His character was so strange! This movie is ridiculous, but it's a fun kind of ridiculous. I liked it, didn't love it, wouldn't buy it, but I liked it for the purpose of a one viewing experience. My Grade: B-

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Shiver (AKA "Eskalofrio", Rated R, 1 hour 31 minutes): This is a Spanish language film from a year or so ago. This movie is also available to watch instantly on Netflix. I've come to the conclusion that America does not make movies as good as other countries. I always find myself more engaged in a foreign language film because they're usually so original or at least make an unoriginal idea unique. This is a very interesting horror flick. Some may find the protagonist of the film a bit cheesy, but I thought it was different. It had some good creepy moments. The movie was shot beautifully and sounded awesome! Good performances too! This is "monster"-esque film, and it's one of the better ones that I've seen in quite some time. It wasn't silly or stupid as much as it could have easily been. I would definitely recommend this movie to any fan of horror...as long as you don't mind reading subtitles. My Grade: A-

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The Watcher in the Woods (Rated PG, 1 hour 24 minutes): My buddy Matt got this movie from the public library...so we watched it...for fun. You know...I think I am all 80's-d out! There's only so much synth music one can take in a months time!! This is one of those random attempts at a horror movie from 1980. To make it even better: it's a Walt Disney Presents film! This isn't exactly your typical Disney movie though. It attempted to be scary...and it failed. This movie is so dumb! I think it also has one of the worst actresses of all time...and she did not do much after this movie thankfully. Even billion time Oscar nominee Bette Davis was in this movie and she was awful!! This whole movie was atrocious. The ending was ridiculous and so pieced together very badly. That being said...it was a fun movie to watch. I was entertained by how bad it was. That's why I won't give this movie an F grade. I appreciate when a bad film can at least provide some enjoyment at it's expense. No I don't recommend you watch this movie alone for any artistic value...but watch it with some movie buddy films who will appreciate how bad this is, and find entertainment from that! My Grade: D

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Well that's all for this week folks! Again these are all on DVD for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy! See ya next week!

2009 Review #29: Watchmen

Watchmen

Rated R

(Graphic violence, language, sexuality and some nudity)

2 hours 35 minutes

Storyline:

In an alternate 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it.

Starring:

Billy Crudup

Jackie Earle Haley

Malin Akerman

Matthew Goode

Patrick Wilson

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Critics Grade:

C+

My Grade:

B

OK it took me quite some time to watch this movie, I'll admit that. I honestly never had that much of an interest in seeing it when all the hype came around for this flick. Usually I enjoy a good action movie and I find superhero movies pretty darn entertaining, but there was something about this movie that never peaked my full interest. Well I finally caved in and rented it on Netflix to check it out. I have to say I really was a bit surprised by what I saw...I wasn't blown away or anything, but I found it to be entertaining enough.

The movie is visually stunning! I mean this is one of the coolest damn looking movies I've seen in a while. It used a lot of the same techniques that 300 tried to use, but I think Watchmen executed the visual stunt with more awesomeness. The slow down camera effect was actually pretty sweet in this movie whereas in 300 it seemed a little silly. That and the special effects were just amazing to look at. Everything from Dr. Manhattan to the numerous things going kaboom, I thought this special effects team did a freaking great job! This is by all means a visual effects movie, but it was never to distracting from the overall story. At times it did seem to much, but never long enough for me to really care. I liked the mask work for Rorschach...that was pretty interesting...even though they never explained how that actually works.

To go along with that, the camera work was phenomenal. I love it when a film uses brilliant cinematography, because it adds so much to how good a movie is (and a lot of people don't actually realize that). The camera work here truly captured this fictional 1985 world with such beauty and also some real grittiness. I feel like whenever a film noir type movie comes around, we usually get solid cinematography from it, and this movie is part noir. Zach Snyder has an excellent talent for directing a film to make it look the best it can be, and he definitely showcased it here. He also chose really cool music to tie into the film and a lot of it made it pretty exciting. I'm also a sucker for good use of music (soundtrack or scoring).

Watchmen had a fairly large cast, with a lot of recognizable faces (well...behind those masks of course). Honestly I was very surprised by how good the performances really were. Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake) was my personal favorite. I kind of liked how his voice in the film was just about identical to Christian Bales Batman (in those films it was annoying) but Haley's version was great. It really brought this character to life and he did a brilliant job portraying him. Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) has always been a reliable actor in his so far short career. I don't know if he actually played Dr. Manhattan or just did his voice...but he did a solid job with it I thought. The rest of the cast were all very good in my opinion. Not Oscar worthy by any means, but they carried the film rather well.

I was able to follow the storyline for the most part, and I liked what I was able to get. I like these superhero movies that have these cool crime storylines and not just stopping burglars. There was a serious story to the film and I liked it for the most part. What I didn't like, and I knock this movie down a lot for this, was that you can tell it was more appealing to fans of the graphic novel. The story had a ton going on, and it started to get a tad confusing towards the middle. The ending also kind of lost me a little. I feel like we had a film made that was pretty damn loyal to the graphic novel. That's awesome for the fans of that, but for people like me...you tend to get lost in the mix. It got jumbled at parts and I didn't understand a good chunk of this movie. I don't like that. You have to make a movie that will appeal to everyone who goes to see it. The new Batman series has done an excellent job with this. But overall, the story was pretty easy to follow. There was definitely some good writing here.

There is something I'd like to clear up. There was a lot of talk and negatively surrounding Dr. Manhattan. People made comments like "Yeah if you like to look at a bunch of blue penis you will love this movie". There was a whole hooplah of people reacting to the fact that Dr. Manhattan was naked the whole movie. Yes, he certainly was, I'm not denying that. But the stuff about seeing his genitalia "the whole movie" is a HUGE over reaction! To be honest...I didn't even notice (get all your gay jokes out now). In order to really see his genitalia...you have to actually deliberately look down to see it. Most of the camera shots of this are far enough way that it's not even THAT noticeable. This is a rated R movie not NC-17. And he was all blue so everything faded in. The people who joked about it and complained about it...well...those are the people who purposely sought it out on screen. The character is maybe on screen for a total of 35 minutes of this movie and it's a 2 hour 35 minute film. Yeah...people totally over reacted to that aspect. You all looked for it when his character was there...you know you did. And you honestly complain about it because YOU deliberately looked for it.

But yeah, overall this is a pretty good film and that surprised me. It wasn't perfect, just because it had a lot of elements that appeal only to the fans of the graphic novel. There is some sweet action scenes, some pretty awesome fight sequences, GREAT visuals, solid performances. Prepare for a 2 1/2 hour chunk of your day to go missing though. This movie does drag at times, and it feels like a long movie. There are some super long movies that are so good and so well paced that it doesn't feel like its running time (Inglorious Basterds is a good example). This movie is also pretty violent and gets pretty bloody at times so don't let your kids see it. And yes, there is penis on screen...althought not that noticeable. So really don't let your kids see it. Ha!

Check out Watchmen if you have some free time and haven't seen it yet...it was an alright movie!

DVD Update Reviews (09/01/2009)

So it's been a little over a week since my last random movie review blog. I'll try my best to do one of these every week or so, depending on how many older, pre-2009 movies I see during said week. Well since a week ago I've seen 5 more movies via Netflix or various other ways. So here are my reviews:

The Breakfast Club (Rated R, 1 hour 37 minutes): Yes, this is another one of those movies that everyone has seen but me...the supposed film buff. Look I'm working on catching up OK?? That being said, I'm so mad at myself for not seeing this movie sooner! This was a fantastic movie, probably one of the best movies the 80's ever produced! It had such a realistic story of high school kids. THESE are real kids (even though they were all in at least their mid to late 20's at the time). Not like the crap attempt Hollywood makes these days to chronicle the life of high school kids that is NOTHING like high school. This movie had a very well written screenplay and actually some pretty solid performances. I just simply loved this movie. A lot. My Grade: A+

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Noises Off! (Rated PG-13, 1 hour 41 minutes): This was an early 90's movie with quite a big cast. Michael Caine, John Ritter, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, Nicollete Sheridan, Julie Haggerty all headline this film. I think I have seen bits of this as a kid, but I really didn't remember much about it. This is one heck of a funny movie! I loved how it was put together as well: in 3 acts. The first act is all about their dress rehersal going completely wrong. One set, one long scene. The second act is my favorite. It is the matinee show. As the play is going on, a silent fight is going on backstage. It was so brilliantly done, and hilarious! The 3rd act is the play going terribly wrong! This movie was so good. The performances were very comical. My one problem is that it ended rather abrubtly. These characters had a lot of issues and it just sort of seemed to go away way to quickly. As if the ending was lazily put together. Oh well...still a fun movie! My Grade: B+

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P2 (Rated R, 1 hour 38 minutes): On occassion, I feel like watching a movie I know is going to be bad, sometimes it can be fun. And boy oh boy is this a bad movie. This is an AWFUL movie! No wonder it lasted only two weeks in theaters. The acting is atrocious (can't knock it to much for that though, this IS a horror movie). The plotline is dumb and so far from original its laughable. The characters make retarded decisions. It's overly gruesome for no apparent reason. They kill a dog (which is a big no no for me even thought it was evil). This was such a crap fest movie that it was almost fun to watch. I seriously would never suggest this movie to any living person on this earth. It isn't the worst I've ever seen though, so it has that going for it. My grade: F

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Primer (Rated PG-13, 1 hour 17 minutes): You know, I like to consider myself a fairly intelligent person. By no means am I a genious, but I know enough to get by in life. When I watched this movie, that all went out the window. I seriously felt like a moron while sitting through this movie. This movie was in some kind of nerd genious (no offense) language that I don't know if any common folk like myself could ever get. I don't know what the hell this movie was even about. I couldn't begin to explain to you. That's the main reason I didn't care for this movie. I just did not get it. If you're making a film, you should make it so that people can understand the premise. I guess maybe I am a little stupid, ha! The performances were pretty ameteur (but they were rookie actors, so that's not so bad) and very very very one note. These characters showed zero emotion. The direction was cool and the look was pretty neat. Other than that...I can't recommend this movie because I don't even know what the hell I watched. My Grade: D+

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Visioneers (Unknown rating, 1 hour 32 minutes): This is a weird, weird, weird movie to say the least. I appreciate the far out originality attempt this movie made. These characters live in a world where flipping each other off is a way of saying hello. They pronounce chaos like "chay-oss", and best of all...when they get to stressed out...they explode...literally. The movie was very well made and had a star performance from Zach Galifinakas (who was not funny in this movie) and I was surprised by his dramatic side. However, the storyline...another one I just didn't comprehend. Maybe I'm losing my brain cells or something, but I don't know exactly what this movie was supposed to be about. It was way to artsy and bizare (and I love that stuff, but this one was to much for me). I didn't feel anything from it, and I didn't get anything from it. I don't know, it looked cool, had very good performances...but lacked for me in story and all around purpose. My Grade: C

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Like usual, all of these films are now on DVD.