"Brave" and "The Bourne Legacy"

Brave

Voices of Kelly McDonald and Emma Thompson

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%

My Grade: B+

I'll be honest, I was not looking forward to this new effort from Pixar. They had an INCREDIBLE run of movies but tanked badly for the first time with Cars 2. This movie looked like it had taken a totally different turn from all the movies in Pixars past. It looked to Disney Princess-y. Well I finally managed to watch the movie, and to be honest...I was pretty surprised. This is the first Pixar film with a female protagonist and that could have been a risky move. I liked the lead character, but she didn't completely grab be in to the movie. I didn't love her like I have loved Woody and Buzz or Nemo or Mike and Sully. There was that element of lovability and fun missing from her which to me knocked the movie down a few pegs. But it's not always about characters with Pixar, they know how to tell a good story, and they did not disappoint here. Brave has a very charming, magical story that is wonderful for the entire family. It took a turn I was not expecting involving bears and witches. But it was a good surprise, I loved the adventure. However, there was still something missing for me. I can't exactly pin point either. All the other Pixar movies were extremely memorable and are timeless. Movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo will stand the test of time, but I didn't feel that with Brave. I will forget about this movie, even though it was a pretty good flick. It didn't have that oomph. Good, but not memorable.

The Bourne Legacy

Starring Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz. 

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%

My Grade: C-

I had never seen any Bourne movies up until about 3 weeks ago. I watched all three back to back to back. They are very exciting films, especially the third movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. All three had brilliant blends of story, intrigue and incredible action. There was a car chase scene in the third movie that absolutely blew me away. These movies you have to suspend belief or you won't have fun. Now we have the Bourne Legacy, without Matt Damon. Now we have Jeremy Renner as a new super soldier thing who is now on the run after it was decided to destroy the program after Jason Bourne caused a whole lot of chaos. Well they screwed up again and now they have another agent on the run, this time with a trusty female sidekick played by Rachel Weisz. This movie was a serious drop in excitement from the previous trilogy. Renner was great, but the character was no Jason Bourne. Pretty much the whole movie was him not only escaping the people trying to kill him, but it was about him trying to get his pills. Now these super soldiers need pills to make them what they are and he is desperate to get them. Weisz plays a scientist who is also a target to be killed but also knows where to get the meds. There was a LOT of talking in this movie, and the action took a major back seat this go around. The first half of the movie was all set up and a lot of quick and poorly edited tie in's to the third movie (this new installment is happening at the same time as Ultimatum). It was jumping all over the place and the pacing was dreadfully slow. We finally get some action in the second half but it's pretty much all jumbled in in the climax of the movie. There is a big motorcycle chase that lasts about 20 minutes and ends rather abruptly and in a very silly way. Then the movie just ends. I was not expecting it to end when and how it did. I was left feeling totally unsatisfied. As if nothing actually happened in the movie. I didn't really see any major progression in the story. It was kind of an empty experience. Much like the recent film "Prometheus"...if there isn't a sequel...then this was a big waste of time. It was pointless.

"Ted" and "The Dark Knight Rises"

Ted

Starring Mark Whalberg, Mila Kunis and Seth McFarlane

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

My Grade: A

A big warm welcome to the big screen for Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. Ted is without question the funniest movie of 2012, just barely beating out 21 Jump Street (at least for me personally). McFarland does not give up what he does best...and that is being downright ridiculous. This is a buddy, bromance comedy, but as if it were pumped full of cocaine and awesomeness. The premise, is obviously insane, but McFarlane works best in that realm, it's his comfort zone and he does it so perfectly. Just because it has a cute little teddy bear folks, does not make this is family friendly movie. It's rated R for a reason. McFarlane let's loose here, and his writing has probably never been better. He is a funny son of a bitch, and there are numerous topical jokes thrown all around this movie. It is a laugh a minute riot. Mark Whalberg is PERFECT for this movie. He gets to be weird and goofy, and have a lot of fun with this role. McFarlane voices Ted and he does sound a LOT like Peter Griffin, but holy crap was he hilarious! Listen people, this movie won't win any Oscars, but that doesn't it stop it from being a darn fun movie! I really really loved it! Funny mother effing movie!

The Dark Knight Rises

Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon Levitt, etc...

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

My Grade: B+

**SPOILER ALERT**

I have been looking forward to this movie for a few years now, and I think I over hyped it for myself. On another note, and I won't really talk much about this, but I saw this movie the Friday night directly after the shootings in Aurora, CO that left 12 dead while viewing of a screening of this movie. Say what you want, but I don't think there was a person in any theater in the days that followed who wasn't a little bit nervous or scared. I don't think there was a person in a theater in the days that followed that wasn't profiling everyone they saw come in. Personally? I was terrified to be in a theater, especially the night after in a sold out theater. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families. What a horrible tragedy. One of my reasons for bringing this up though, is the events that happened, and the fear it provoked, seriously clouded my view of The Dark Knight Rises. Every five minutes I would be looking around the theater, every time a gun shot went off in the movie, I cringed. It completely took me out of the movie experience. I've only seen it the one time, so I can only review it based on that.

This was nothing compared to the Dark Knight. Not even close in my opinion. I think a lot of people were so pumped up to see this movie and were always going to love it no matter what. I thought I would also be that person, but turns out that was not the case. My biggest issue with this one was that there was WAY to much going on. Way to many characters, including a slew of new ones. Several different stories going on at the same time, and honestly it became a convoluted mess that it was almost distracting. The Dark Knight was complex within it's simplicity. A flawless story that was so tightly put together and there were no loose ends. This movie just jumps all over the place and I got lost at times. Another big miss for me? Barely any Batman. He shows up briefly towards the beginning and in the big climax in the end, but for a good two thirds of this movie, there is no Batman. It's Bruce Wayne locked away in an underground prison trying to find the strength and  courage to escape and save his precious city. That's all fine and dandy, I would have very much loved this aspect to the story had it not taken up SO MUCH TIME! Honestly...it was boring.

I don't understand the people who say Bane is the best villain of the series. In what possible way does he outshine The Joker? To me, Bane was a character in this film that slipped out of the realistic tone of the first two movies. He became to comic booky, to cartoony. I understand it's based off a comic book, but Christopher Nolan has recreated the world of Gotham in such a breathtaking, realistic, and frightening way. The Joker was not invincible. He was flawed and it could be taken down by a bullet. But he was the definition of chaos and sinister. To me, he was terrifyingly realistic character. Bane however came off as a typical comic book villain. He had the strength of 20 men, and I didn't find him to be on the same intelligent level as the Joke or even Scarecrow from Batman Begins. He was my least favorite villain of the three movies. He was silly and yeah...it was hard to understand him half of the time. And then he just dies in the end without any problem, because it was essential for the story.

I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Joseph Gordon Levitt shined. Michael Caine was a scene stealer as well. The whole cast, acting wise, were fantastic as usual. The visual effects and set design were amazing, the musical score was heart stopping. The action scenes were really well done and intense. I just could not get into the story this time. It was just to big, to much going on and there was not a clear cut story arch going here. Point A to Point B took so many unnecessary wrong turns and detours. I love Christopher Nolan, he is my favorite film maker, but I think for me, he kind of missed the mark this time, which really pains me to say. As a whole, this was not a bad movie. In fact, it was an above average movie experience, but I did not get any of that epic feel from it. It did not come off like the perfect conclusion to an otherwise brilliant film trilogy.  With SO much going on in the movie, it still seemed to lack a lot of heart and emotion. I felt like I was watching just another comic book movie.

"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" & "Snow White and the Huntsman"

Seeking A Friend For the End of the World

Starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightly

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%

My Grade: B-

Seeking A Friend for the End of the World is basically two films in one. Both don't work so well separately but when meshed together, I actually found it to be a sweet, somber, entertaining piece of movie. The first half of this movie plays out like a buddy road trip comedy. Two unlikely people set across the country to find the things they have been missing and the things they want to spend the rest of their lives with (which just so happens to be about two weeks as the world is literally going to end). It's funny, and we get a slew of great cameos. Carell and Knightly are wacky pairing to be in a film together, but it worked well. The initial story was very charming and quirky at times. Then the second half of the film takes a pretty sudden turn. It goes from happy go lucky to downright dark and depressing. But I applaud this movie for doing this. Because while it's fun at first, this is a movie about the end of the world, and there has to be elements of fear and sadness. The second half becomes real, and the two leads bond and find that maybe what they were looking for is each other. If the world wasn't ending, this coupling would probably never happen in a million years, but they are there for each other when no one else would be. It becomes an odd little love story. And if you are looking for a happy ending...look elsewhere. It is happy for the characters, so to speak, but...well...this is a movie about the world ending. Put two and two together there folks. Overall, the movie was fun. The drastic tonal shift however jolts the movie out of sync and might leave an audience a bit overwhelmed. Personally the change in pacing could have been a little smoother, because it took me a bit out of the "moment". But once you get used to it, when the dust settles, Seeking a Friend is a very sweet film. Flawed, yes. I wish they would have kept even a LITTLE bit of comedy in the second half, but they don't. It's downright serious, and that was a bit bothersome. But Carell and Knightly turn in some really solid performances, and all the cameos are fantastic and are in the film for the exact amount of time they should be. I'd say this is a great one time viewing.

Snow White & The Huntsman

Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

My Grade: C

I was never really truly excited to see this film, and maybe that ruined my overall perception of it as I watching the movie. Here's what I liked: I was a fan of the very dark tone of a story that is usually very vibrant and chipper and colorful. We have kind of been bombarded with Snow White over the years, especially as of late. There are only so many versions of the story that can be told before it gets to be incredibly redundant and boring. I definitely appreciate the creepy atmosphere, and the overall epic grandeur of the set pieces. I enjoyed the few battle scenes (which is new to the story, at least in the versions I've seen), and the visual effects were top notch. Everything about the look and feel of this movie was absolutely stunning. My problem lies in the fact that the story itself doesn't take that much of a leap. I know you can't really take liberties with a classic story, but I just kind of got bored with it. I also, like a lot of people, have a general bad taste in my mouth for a one Kristen Stewart. Look, I know the movie was intended to be dark, but Snow White has always been a vibrant character with charm and some form of appeal. Dear God, Stewart has a complete inability to show emotion. She is statue in all of her roles, a brick wall. Can she even smile? I think if she tried, she might perish, I don't know. Her performance really brought the movie down for me. I wish they had someone with more charisma play this role. The best performance I thought was Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. She was superb and stole the show from everyone. I would love to see a movie about her character...a prequel or something, I don't know. So for me, this movie wasn't a dreadful piece of garbage, but it was entirely forgettable. I think it's a decent one time viewing in a theater, but this is not a movie I could ever be excited to watch again.

My Absence

Wow...it has been a long time since I posted any kind of article or review. Yikes. I don't really have much of a reason for that, I guess we can chalk it up to pure laziness or forgetfulness. I've only seen seven movies since my last review, but I really need to get on the ball with reviewing them wouldn't ya say? So I will hopefully be posting reviews over the next few days to get all caught up. They will not be long reviews, in fact they will be very short, and I might even do a combo review, and bunch a few together just so I can catch up quicker. So be on the lookout for that! Thanks for reading!

Mike