Bolt

Bolt

Rated PG

Running time: 1 hr 36 mins

Voice Cast:

John Travolta
Miley Cyrus
Susie Essman
Mark Walton
Malcolm McDowell

Critical Consensus:

***1/2 out of *****

(85% Fresh Rating)

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

**** out of *****

The Premise:
The canine star of a fictional sci-fi/action show that believes his powers are real embarks on a cross country trek to save his co-star from a threat he believes is just as real.

MY REVIEW

Bolt is a pretty simple movie, so I will make this a pretty sweet, simple and short review. Bolt is a wonderful and adorable film! Now this is an animated movie, along with Wall E, that can be considered a timeless classic for kids of this new generation. There is nothing extravagant about it's story. There is no "bad guy" or protagonists. This is about a dog who gets lost, and then with the help of some new friends, tries to find his way back home to his owner. Now there's a little bit of a unique quality to the story seeing as how this dog is a TV star where he plays a superhero pup. Bolt thinks he's a superhero in real life, and does not realize he's on a TV show. Now that just adds a lot of good humor to the movie. This is a solidly written and very funny kid movie. I know for a fact that kids will LOVE Bolt. I loved Bolt. It was very entertaining. It had such great, charming and hilarious characters (The pigeons were the best!). I mean this movie is just darn good and very clean fun for the entire family, and I suggest if you have the extra money...take the kids. It would be a good time!

Bolt is in the top three of best animated films of 2008!! Hands down! Great flick!

To view this films theatrical trailer, click this link: Bolt

*This is the 156th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon

Rated G

Running Time: 1 hr 24 mins

Voice Cast:

Tim Curry
Robert Patrick
Kelly Ripa
Christopher Lloyd

Critical Consensus:

** out of *****
(17% Fresh Rating!)

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

** out of *****

The Premise:

Three young houseflies stow away aboard the Apollo 11 flight to the moon.

MY REVIEW

Blah. Man I did not realize how many cruddy animated movies there are these days. I remember when I was a kid and I loved everything that came out because they had stories I was able to understand, or stories I just found funny in my little kid brain. Remember Aladdin? The Lion King? Of course you do! Not only were they funny, but they were incredibly memorable! Those movies will stick with me forever. Who do these filmakers think kids are these days? Do they think kids have no sense of humor, or the opposite of being the most easily amused things on this Earth? Because movies like Space Chimps and now 'Fly Me to the Moon' I honestly don't think would appeal to children. It's also so rare this day and age that children get to watch movies they will remember forever. They don't get to experience movies like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Little Rascals, or even the Toy Story films. They are subjected the hollow, un-funny crap like this. Yes they have movies like Wall-E, and Cars and Monsters Inc, but these memorable films are far and few between.

You can probably tell that I didn't really care for this particular film. As an adult watching it with an adult movie watching mindset, it's a pretty bad movie, I won't lie. The story is so weak and the dialog is empty and not funny in the least. I did not laugh once. I never thought voice acting could be bad, but man this was atrocious. I mean this cast provided no energy, it was all so bland. You just don't feel for these characters or even really like them. Now if I'm reviewing it from what I think a kid's movie mindset is...this movie sucks. It's not funny and I don't think it would grab a childs attention like a movie like this should. For a kid this movie in unappealing and they would probably be just as bored with it as I was. It was full of awkward and untense moments as well. In all the scenes where there is danger and suspensful music, the characters are just suddenly are out of their situation within seconds and without even trying. If that makes any sense to you at all.

I just can't recommend this to parents with kids. I mean it vaguely has a message which is why I gave it two stars. It teaches kids to reach for the stars and keep dreaming and one day those dreams will come true as long as you keep trying. So that's an aspect I liked. But it wasn't enough to redeem the movie as a whole. Just skip it folks, there are some better kid flicks out there for your family to enjoy.

To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Fly Me to the Moon

*This is the 155th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

*This film is now on DVD.

Boy A

Boy A

Rated R

Running time: 1 hr 40 mins

Cast:

Andrew Garfield

Peter Mullan

Shaun Evans

Katie Lyons

Critical Consensus:

***1/2 out of *****
(89% Fresh Rating!)

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

***** out of *****

The Premise:

The story of a young ex-con Jack, newly released from serving a prison sentence for a murder he committed as a child.

MY REVIEW

It's the little things in life that are sometimes the best things in life. Such is true with movies. It's the little movies that are sometimes the best. Boy A is easily one of the finest films of 2008, in this reviewers opinion. It is incredibly acted, beautifully shot, and has one heck of a story to tell!

It follows a young man played by Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs, The Other Boleyn Girl) who is given a new life and identity after being released from prison for the murder of a young girl when he was just a boy. He's mentored by his guidance counselor played by Peter Mullan (Children of Men, Session 9) who himself is dealing with his own son he's barely seen. The young man, who's name is now Jack, tries to fit into the new mold of life he's not yet been exposed to. He has a job at a warehouse, he befriends some co-workers and even finds love in one of the receptionists. His new life is going extremely well until a single act of kindness changes everything. His old life as a murderer is exposed and he starts struggling with this.

This is a wonderful story of a redemption. Can a boy who brutally murdered a girl, change? Can he be forgiven for the crime he committed? Can he lead a normal life? All these questions are answered by the end of the film, but I will not spoil it. You know in a lot films about a character seeking redemption and a fresh start at life, you kind of know how it will end. You know if it will end with sadness and tears or happiness and joy. In this film, you just never know until the end. Because it's so authentic to human nature, I feel like the screenwriter and director nailed it. You feel so bad for this young man, and you can see the regret and anguish in his eyes and actions and he really just wants to be loved. But at the same time, he did kill a girl, brutally so with one of his friends. He's labled a monster, and really that's what he was. But can even a monster be forgiven? Can a monster be given a second chance. Certainly the family of the little girl probably will never forgive him, but this is more about can he forgive himself. Again, you know this answer by the end as well. I just thought it was a fantastic and sometimes dark and sad story. Really good.

The performances were brilliant. I'd like to point out Andrew Garfield for a moment. He plays the lead character, and for all intensive purposes this is his true introductory performance. He was absolutley phenomenal. He got all the emotions perfectly, and he had to go through a range of them. This young actor delivers probably one of the best and most realistic performances of this year. He really made you feel for this character, which doesn't happen a lot in movies these days. Peter Mullan was also fantastic. I've pretty much never seen this guy really act before, but now that I have, I think he's great. He has some very touching scenes with the character of his son, as well as the lead boy. He plays a guy who's spent more time with troubled kids than his own son, and now his son is troubled and depressed. So Mullan has to go through a range of emotions himself, and he did a very good job!

This really is just a brilliant film in every which way! You know if you are a fan of film, and appreciate the little known movies and those indi flicks, then I highly suggest this one to you. Boy A is a near perfect, almost flawless piece of dramatic work and is definitley one of the very best films of this year.

To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Boy A

*This is the 154th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

*This film is now on DVD.

Nobel Son

Nobel Son

Rated R

Running time: 1 hr 42 mins

Cast:

Alan Rickman

Bryan Greenberg

Shawn Hatosy

Mary Steenburgen

Eliza Dushku

Bill Pullman

Critical Consensus:

** out of *****
(21% Fresh Rating!)

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

** out of *****

The Premise:

On the verge of receiving the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Professor Eli Michaelson (Alan Rickman) learns that kidnappers have snatched his son Barkley (Bryan Greenberg), a promising graduate student. But when the captors want a ransom of $2 million -- the exact amount of the Nobel Prize money -- the self-serving Eli refuses to cough up the cash in this vitriolic tale about an acutely dysfunctional family. Shawn Hatosy and Mary Steenburgen also star.

MY REVIEW

If by some chance you are like me, and see over 150 movies a year, you may have the same feelings towards this film that I did. I'm not saying that's a fact, but just a possibility. Nobel Son falls into the category of "not all that bad, but not all that good". It's just one of those run of the mill, random, average movies that in the long run is pretty forgettable. At least for me personally. I can however see how some people would in fact be attracted to a film like this and enjoy it. So I don't want to say for sure that this film will have the same effect on everyone else like it did for me. This movie was just weird, plain and simple. It had a very eccentric cast, a very busy plotline, and an over the top musical score.

I don't mean that the cast was bad, because actually they weren't bad at all. Most of them were pretty good and entertaining. Namely the always fun Alan Rickman (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Harry Potter fame). As far as I can tell this guy never plays a likeable character, but I guess that's his thing. But he's so good at it I think! This may have been his worst persona ever (even over the dreadful Proffessor Snape and the evil Judge Turpin). This guy just hates everything that doesn't glorify him. He's selfish, he's rude, he's a jerk! But Rickman plays him in that "love to hate him" kind of way, and I just thought he was fantastic! Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard, Step Brothers) isn't someone I've seen a whole lot of, but I thought she was perfect here! She has to play the worried mother and the wife of this dreadful man. She plays this character so balanced, but in the scenes were she sort of snaps, man she's good! The rest of the supporting cast all did well too I thought. Eliza Dushku (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, TV's Tru Calling) was bizzare as heck but that was her character.

The story was all over the place! Not totally in a bad way, but it did tend to be a bit much after a while. Seriously there was like two kidnapping plots, an ATM robber plot, the story of Rickman's character and his affairs and his nobel prize, and the story of the kidnapper who may or may not be related to Rickman. I think it was to much packed in to one story in the length of time we got. If the film was about twenty minutes longer, the story may have flowed with ease a bit better. What I mean is, this movie all seemed rushed. It moved way to fast. However you still get the idea of the story, and don't lose much of it and never really get confused. So in a way, it balanced itself out.

What I really did not care for was the obnoxious musical score! I've always said a musical score can make or break a movie, and this one nearly breaks it. It was like toned down techno music that seemed to play non stop the whole movie. The music was loud and sometimes actually drained out the dialog. It was used in the wrong ways and the wrong times. Even the serious "dramactic" scenes had all the same score, it was so distracting and just weird. It's as if the music was meant for an entirely different film. It did not fit.

Such is almost the same with the rest of the filmaking. The camera jerked around so much it made your eyes blurry at times. The camera did these weird fast takes like it was being fastforwarded and it was accomanied by some weird sound effects. Maybe it was just the theater I was in, but the sound appeared to be kind of muffled. That was another issue I had. Like at times it was hard to even hear what was going on.

But listen, Nobel Son through all of this is not an awful movie. I know I may have painted the picture, but really I think this movie could appeal to some audiences. Just not so much me. I mean it was just simply OK, a little weird, and overall forgetabble.

To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Nobel Son

*This is the 153rd new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Encounters at the End of the World

Encounters at the End of the World

Rated G
Running Time: 1 hr 39 mins

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:

***** out of *****

Subject Material:

Filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica to capture its landscape's rarely seen beauty on film.

MY REVIEW

Encounters at the End of the World ranks at number one in terms of the best documentaries I've personally seen this year. This is probably the most fascinating and engaging one to say the least. I mean this truly is a beautiful piece of work by Werner Herzog. He takes us into the mysterious world of Antarctica and shows us things we have never seen. The underwater wonders that look like magnificent spectacles you may only see in a fantasy movie. Creatures that may look hideous but are a incredible thing to marvel at. There are just so many glorious and unheard and unseen things that this film allows us to watch.

There is an amazing scene where we hear seals communicating under water, and it sounds like some weird sci-fi movie computer noises. But it's the real deal, it's really these amazing creatures talking amongst themselves in some of the most incredible and unique sounds. That was awesome. We see a really sad tale of a penguin. Some penguins go a little "bonkers" and wander off there nest into the vast openness of Antarctica only to find certain death. These rogue penguins just go "nuts" so to speak, and the humans cannot touch them when the do this. It was really emotional because you see this poor tiny penguin running/waddling off to his certain death. So sad, but really cool in a weird way.

We also hear the tales of the humans who now live and work on this desolate continent. Some really brave stories in fact. People who have traveled across countries in garbage trucks and via pipelines (well sort of). People who were in Guatemala and were almost killed just for looking a child the wrong way. People who were forced to escape their homes for the sake of their own lives. These people all now find themselves where they feel they are needed and belong. They are some really cool, fascinating people who all have kind of inspiring lives and stories to tell.

This is a remarkable documentary, and if you see it somewhere on a shelf at a DVD rental place or on Netflix...check it out. It's great!

To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Encounters

*This is the 152nd new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

*This film is now on DVD.