Archive for June, 2010

The Boys Are Back

  • Written by Jason
  • Posted June 23, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Starring: Clive Owen, George McKay
Directed by: Scott Hicks
Rated: PG-13
Movie Released: 2009
IMDB Link

As many of you may have noticed as of late, I have been trying to call attention to some of the little films out there on rental shelves that you may not know exist. The reason for this is not because I have some film “snob” like goal to bash anything that is mainstream. In fact it is just the opposite. Some of my favorite films happen to be some of the most generic, mainstream films a person could watch. If you don’t believe me, ask me how many times I have seen Office Space, or Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby in the last few months. (The answer is actually quite shameful thanks to a little help from TBS). Instead, the goal is simply to let my readers know that there are other options out there: Options that we as movie critics sometimes over look.

I can’t begin to tell you how many blogs and critics that I have read that are more than happy to tell you about the new summer blockbusters, but fail to bring to the light of day a film that few have heard of just because they fear no one will click the link, read the article or give the film a shot. Today, I bring to you one of those films, a film called The Boys Are Back.

One time Bond favorite, Clive Owen, has made a wealth of film choices since turning down the role as 007, and has led a career that hasn’t quite cemented his place in Hollywood as a leading man. Try as he may, and a gifted actor he is, he somehow has not managed to push out into the limelight the way many people wish that he would. Owen’s latest project, The Boys are Back, thrusts him headfirst into a leading role; a struggling single father fighting grief, his own demons and a way of life that he never planned.  As a once divorced, now remarried man, Joe (Clive Owen) thought he had the perfect life. He had a beautiful wife, a young son and a job as a sports writer that kept him jetting around the world. However, when his wife falls ill with cancer, Joe finds himself alone, and a newly single father with a son who’s never “lived” with his father.  While struggling to deal with his own grief and learning how to comfort his own son, Joe’s teenage son from his first marriage suddenly winds up on Joe’s doorstep asking to spend the summer with him as well. Joe is forced to find a way of figuring out what it is truly like to be a father figure.

The Boys Are Back doesn’t try to do anything crazy, or outlandish. It’s story is a simple one that tugs a bit at your heart strings. As a viewer you make a connection with Joe, and feel for him and his loss. Joe’s heart is in the right place, but he would be the first to tell you that he feels like a fish out of water with out his late wife. The Boys are Back takes you down that man’s journey and is one of those almost feel good movies that shows you that sometimes the unexpected, regardless of how terrible it may be, can become a blessing in disguise.

The films biggest draw is of course Owen, who does a wonderful job in the role. He’s heartfelt and believable and works very well with the two child actors that accompany him in the film. George McKay, who plays Owen’s teenage son, is a young up and comer that may be a person to watch in the years to come. He’s already received some critical praise over seas, and as he matures as an actor we may see more of him in domestic product as well. Directorially, Scott Hicks, does a very nice job of keeping the film’s focus tight and concise and not too over bearing. The film feels a little more “made for TV” than his previous works, 1996’s Shine, and 2001’s Hearts in Atlantis. None the less, I say “made for TV” with much hesitation; after all the film looks and feels of a higher quality than your average network TV movie.

Visually the film is filled full of the beautiful landscapes of Australia, and Hicks does a wonderful job of working with his cinematographer to bring out the beauty of the landscape around them. Somehow the setting actually enhances the film even more, and the way that Hicks and company were able to do that with such style and grace deserves a big pat on the back.

If someone twisted my arm and asked me to say something “bad” about The Boys Are Back, I think it would be simply the lack of originality. This story is one that has been told before. You’ve heard and seen variations of it for years, and to expect this film to bring something new to the table story wise would just be silly. None the less, the story is only one part of the whole, and you need to judge the film as a sum of its parts. On many levels, I felt The Boys Are Back works well as a film. It achieves exactly what it sets out to do, and is a great little film that slipped through the cracks. If you get a chance to check it out, Its a film I recommend for your next movie night.

Final Grade:

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Filed under: Drama, Movies

The A-Team

  • Written by Jason
  • Posted June 19, 2010 at 12:59 pm


A Review by Nate Grenbeck

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharto Copley, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jessica Beil
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Rated: PG-13 for action violence and sexual content
Movie Released: 2010
IMDB Link

In 1972, A crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit.  These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground.  Today, still wanted by the government, they now survive as soldiers of fortune.  If you work for Hollywood, need action movie script, and if you can find them, maybe you can re-hire….The A-Team.

That’s right folks, We’ve stooped to re-hashing the A-Team as a summer blockbuster.  And, we managed to do it sans Mr. T.!   Not even a cameo by the man who made the phrase “I pity the foo!” famous, although don’t think for one minute Hollywood didn’t try.  Mr. T just “pitied the foo” who was try to remake the magic of the A-Team.  Not agreeing with the direction the film was taking, Mr. T took a strong stance against the film saying it was too violent and contained sexual content that he didn’t agree with.  Or at least that is what we are all being told.  The real truth is, they couldn’t get him to stop playing World of Warcraft long enough to make an appearance.  (He is a Night Elf Mohwak after all).

Our summer of duds continues with The A-Team, however, not all is lost in this attempt to re-hash 80’s action gold.  Searching low and high for actors who could fit the bill of the original A-Team was certainly a difficult task, but one that Fox studios managed to do quite well if I do say so myself.  Placing Liam Neeson in charge of the group as Hannibal Smith turned out to be a brilliant plan, and I love it when a plan comes together!  Pardon the A-Team pun.  Pretty boy Bradley Cooper steps in as Faceman in the newest adaptation; a wise cracking, smart ass role that was written for Cooper’s wit and on screen charm.  Putting on his best slightly crazy pilot act, Sharto Copley, most notably of District 9 fame found himself wound up in the role Murdock, and from what I remember of the show also puts on a great performance.

Now the toughest part of the casting comes down to who do you get to play “Bad Attitude” Baraccus, the character famed by none other than Mr. T.?  The studio offered the role to UFC fighter  Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.  While Jackson certainly isn’t Mr. T., he is at least a bearable character replacement.  After all, you have to think of it this way- it could have been someone like- Ice Cube or Mos Def.  On second thought Mos Def would have been interesting.

The point of this all is, amazingly enough Fox managed to come out of the casting room with a decent enough cast that this film could work.  Along the way they also managed to pick up Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson,  and Gerald McRaney (You might know him better as Mac McGillis from the 90’s sitcom Major Dad).

Where the studio made their mistake was by picking up Joe Carnahan as the director.  Carnahan, whose previous claim to fame was the choppy, pointly bloody, hit-men movie, Smokin Aces, really only has one high point in his career, a film called Narc that few people saw and even fewer remember.  None the less, the eccentric director took the reigns of the A-Team flick and managed to give us one jumbled up action adventure.  While The A-Team sticks much more to the look and feel of a mainstream block buster that Carnahan’s other works, The A-Team seems jumbled with his less than clever attempts to jerk the camera around wildly and to jump from plot point to plot point like a little boy that forgot his Ritalin.

Despite a plot that is riddled with gaping holes the size of a BP oil spill, this film trudges onward- mildly entertaining audiences for its run time.  Once you are able to sit back and accept the fact that everything about this film is going to be over the top and ridiculous, you can find enjoyment in the little things- like the A-Team attempting to fly a free falling tank by firing its turret gun.   On the other hand, it’s moments like the end’s “elaborate plan” that make you sit there and think that there has got to be an easier way.  And while I am no Army ranger, I am pretty sure that there probably is an easier way.  In fact their plan is more elaborate and precise that Danny Ocean and his Eleven (twelve, or thirteen) friends would have thought it was way too much work would have walked away from it.  But I guess all is well that ends well- because coming up with “plans” is kind of what The A-Team does.  Which it should be noted, a fun game might be had by simply counting the number of times the word “plan” is said in the film!

The end result of The A-Team was a summer flick that turned out to be a bit of a dud.  I had a fun time watching the characters.  I loved what they did to the characters, I liked the updates and really liked their choices in actors.  But this film went stale in just about every other department.  From directing, to story to special effects, this film just reeked of mediocrity.  There’s really nothing else to say about this film other than to quote Hannibal Smith.  ”I love it when a good plan comes together.”  - I do too…problem is this good plan didn’t come together quite right.

Final Grade:

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Filed under: Action, Movies, Torque-tastic

Splice

  • Written by Jason
  • Posted June 13, 2010 at 9:32 pm


A Review by The Mike

Starring:  Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley
Directed by: Vincenzo Natali
Rated:R for disturbing elements including strong sexuality, nudity, sci-fi violence and language
Movie Released: 2010
IMDB Link

Though it’s veiled by shiny colors and hip modern characters, Vincenzo Natali’s festival-hit-turned-summer-sleeper Splice is at its core a tale we’ve heard before. Most will make a connection toFrankenstein mythology through the plot, and the fact that our primary characters are named Clive and Elsa will ring a bell for fans of a couple of films made by James Whale in the early 1930’s. As a big fan of Mary Shelley’s original novel and the films that built on its legacy, it was hard for me to not respect what Splice brought to the table. While the film isn’t necessarily original, it is definitely a unique take on the classic tale.

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley star in this minimalist tale (there are only seven credited cast members and most of the film is contained to three memorable sets) as a couple of geneticists who are science’s biggest rock stars. They’ve created a new species by splicing together the DNA of several animal species and are loving the free range they’ve been given over their lab, but the pharmaceutical company that pays the bills is ready to move on to phase two (because we all know what phase three is: profit).

Unwilling to walk away from their work quietly, Clive and Elsa – mostly Elsa – decide to move on with their own experiments, and graduate to using human DNA. After a learning curve is overcome, we meet the resulting creature that Elsa names Dren. Dren is something viewers have never seen before, a creature that exists somewhere between Species’ Natasha Henstridge and a non-assimilated portion of John Carpenter’sThe Thing; a small feminine being with a protruding forehead, knees that bend in an inhuman direction, and a probing tail that doubles as a stinger. She’s also a child who grows and learns quickly, seeming to develop new talents by the day. While Clive is disturbed by the offspring’s ability to build intelligence, Elsa takes on the role of protector and mother, allowing Dren to develop. Like most things created by nerds with intelligence,Dren becomes an obsession to those who study her.

Like Frankenstein, Splice relays the importance of looking at the morality of creation when humans tamper with the gifts of life. Clive is very grounded and offers up plenty of doubts regarding how “right” their work is, but Elsa seems to be driven by a greater calling. There’s a moment early in the film where Dren, still incubating inside her mechanical mother, flatlines and is nearly lost in Elsa’s eyes. When the machinery relays vital signs after moments of fear, she briefly glances up to the heavens, as if she’s mentally thanking God for saving her creation. In her eyes this creation is a gift that is her responsibility, and from that moment forward motherhood becomes a recurring theme between our female characters.

As she evolves mentally and physically, Dren becomes more volatile. Natali’s work to show her instability reminded me of a famous passage from Mary Shelley’s novel, in which that creation exclaims that it has the capacity for love or rage, and that if it “cannot satisfy the one, [it] will indulge the other.” These indulgences lead to a role reversal for Clive and Elsa, which works both as a statement on the difficulties of parenthood and to signify that their creation can not be fully explained by science.

Dren’s loving side does lead to an unfortunate scene of intimacy which will probably gain infamy among many viewers, but her transformations throughout the film were the most interesting part of Splice’s story to this viewer. Dren, portrayed by French model/actress Delphine Chaneac and a lot of special effects, is given just as much screen time as either Hollywood star, and the character’s expressions and actions seem to control emotions in the viewer. Like Karloff’s monster, this creation can look innocent and childlike at one moment, yet can inspire unease and dread the next.

Splice isn’t going to set the world on fire, and I think a lot of the film’s intricacies might be lost on most audiences. However, I do think the film will have staying power with horror and sci-fi fans who appreciate the theories behind their terror. At present, I think Splice will serve as great counter-programming to the mindless films of summer, and that any open-minded viewer who is up for a tale that pits morality vs. science could enjoy checking out Splice and piecing together their own conclusions.

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Filed under: Horror, Movies

In The Loop

  • Written by Jason
  • Posted at 7:27 pm

A Review by Jason L. King

Starring: Steve Coogan, James Gandolfini, Gina McKee, Mimi Kennedy, Tom Hollander
Directed by: Armando Ianucci
Rated: R for language
Movie Released: 2009
IMDB Link

I’ve always been a sucker for some good old political satire.  I think the reason is, sometimes you have to find a way to laugh at the world around you to make sense of it all.  If you’re a fear mongering, end of the world nearing, God-fearing, Palin loving, gun toting, Beck watching right wing nut job (somewhat guilty as charged at least in some of those categories), you pretty much spend your existence wearing your tin foil hat and believing that every thing that goes on in the world of politics is part of a massive Communist PR spin job that is occurring behind closed doors.  You then subsequently tell everyone you know by writing it on a giant chalkboard and create awesome acronyms!

Oddly enough, if you are on the opposite side of the political spectrum, you too most likely believe that everything is a massive Bush/Cheney/Big Oil PR spin job that is occurring behind closed doors.  These people too wear their tin foil hats but it’s to keep the government from stealing their identities with this years version of the Patriot act, while Keith Olberman tells them that Karl Rove is somewhere in an underground bunker plotting to water board a kitten for the mere fun of it.  Isn’t politics fun?

In The Loop is an independentnt film by Director Armand Ianucci that tells the all to familiar tale the United States and United Kingdom leading up to the Iraq invasion in this “fictional” telling on how the war was influenced by some of the brightest and most politically inept minds of Brittan and America.  This foul mouthed satirical look into the back door dirty dealings of politics leads you down a path of characters you love to hate, characters you just feel sorry for, and even a few that make you wonder how they even manage to get dressed every morning with out dropping the ball.

Hidden amongst this 109 minute display of foul mouthed politics is a dry hidden humor that has it’s shining moments that glimmer.  However, these quick satirical jabs are quick and far between.  Instead, the film dives headlong into making the characters over the top right from the get go.  For example, we have Malcolm, who is the ball busting “Tony Soprano” of UK politics, the Rahm “Rham-bo “Dead Fish” Emanuel -esque character who is played so over the top his character is almost too over blown.  And speaking of “Tony Soprano”, we actually have an appearance by Tony Soprano himself, as James Gandolfini makes an appearance as a peace loving General who wants to put the kibosh on the war plans before it even gets off the ground.

Alongside them we have Karen Clark (Mimi Kennedy) as a hard nosed politician with gum disease, hell bent on exposing a secret war committee and bringing it’s dealings to light, even if that means using the likes of a British Secretary of International Development, Simon Foster who’s unfortunate slip of the tongue makes him the perfect press chew toy.    While in many ways her character’s goals are somewhat admirable, you have a hard time liking her because of the way she treats the people that she is surrounded by.  It’s very hard to really enjoy a film when you’re not sure if you want either side to truly win the fight.

Perhaps the most lovable part of the film is the relationship between the Tom Hollander’s character, Simon Foster, and his intern, Toby (Chris Addison).  The two seem to find a way of working very well together on screen and compliment each other very well.  Hollander reminded much of a Hugh Grant type character trapped in the political realm in this film.  His confused, jumbled innocence made you feel both embarrassed for his doomed character, yet rooting for him at the same time.   His partner in crime, his intern, Toby, strives very hard to do the right thing and despite every thing he does- it just so happens that he does the exact opposite.  Watching these two try to fit in with the wolves in Washington is like watching a sheep dress up in wolves clothing hoping not to be spotted.  All you can do is sit back and awkwardly chuckle.

Many of you may have noted already that I have used the words “foul-mouthed” a few times to describe this film.  Now don’t worry folks.  Even though I stated in an earlier paragraph that I may or may not be watching Glenn Beck on occasion, I haven’t give into the moral majority yet.  A few curse words here or there don’t hurt.  The old saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me still rings true.  However, with that being said I was quite surprised by the thickly piled on slew of expletives that In The Loop contains.  It seems as though if you are British in this film, the only thing more prevalent than a bad teeth stereotype is to see if you can use the F word at least 5 times more than you use the word “bullocks.”  (My apologies to my U.K. readers out there for the jabs at your culture.  Please note the satire in the above sentences, after all this is a review about a piece of satire!)  All I’m trying to say folks is, while In The Loop may not have Freddy and Michael Meyers chopping people up on screen, and there isn’t a single gun fired, it’s best not to watch it with the kiddies in the room unless you want them headed off to school calling their teacher and “F*ing ol c**nt” and telling people that everything in the world is “F*ing bullocks!”

Despite many a hidden chuckles and a few lovable characters, jabs at France, and a crazy Scottish press agent “Office Spacing” a fax machine, In the Loop turns out to be a slight bit of a miss.  While I enjoyed bits of the film, and think it had some very good examples of satire in it, it is not a film for the masses.  In fact, in many ways it’s just not a film I think I can consciously suggest to others as a must see film.  In The Loop get points for trying and succeeding on some levels.  However, I think the masses will find the film to be 98 minutes of dragging conversations, filled with 7 minutes of dry humor and 4 minutes of credits.  Now, I am certainly not saying that my readers don’t and can’t enjoy satire, or don’t enjoy intellectual product, it’s just that I don’t feel that In The Loop is going to be the type of “intellectual product” that is going to resonate with most of them.   I’ve certainly seen similar satire done better before with the likes of Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog, and while In The Loop fed my craving for a satirical flick, it left me longing for something more.

Final Grade:

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Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Movies

She’s Out of My League

  • Written by Nate Grenbeck
  • Posted June 12, 2010 at 3:51 pm

A Review by Nate Grenbeck

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve
Directed by: Jim Field Smith
Rated: R for language and sexual content
Movie Released: 2010
IMDB Link

The movies love to tell the tale of the geek who gets the girl.  It always seems as though the girl comes to her senses and realizes that her guy that has evolved ever so slightly from his cave man ancestors and is a moron; and subsequently goes for the geek in the end.  In the real world, a geek’s chances are far less.  There are a multitude of reasons for this.  I suppose one of these reasons are, a geek would stay at home and bitch about movies being factually incorrect on his very own movie review site, aptly named BoxOfficeBoredom.com.  The point is, most of the time when it comes to love, the movies have turned our brains to mush.  But even though movies make our brains mush, we still love our movies.

She’s Out of My League is one of those movies that has been made about 10 kazillion times.  I’m not sure how big of a number one kazillion is, but it’s pretty big.  The point is, we’ve seen enough variations of it before, but somehow one more doesn’t seem to hurt.  A very geeky, good hearted guy works air port security and happens to return a lost item to a very attractive passenger.  As a way of saying thank you, she takes him out for a drink.  The two seem to hit it off and begin to fall in love, even though none of their friends can remotely see what the two see in each other.  After all, how could a girl who is a perfect 10 go for a guy who is barely a 1?

What makes this film so great is the performance by our geeky, lesser known actor Jay Baruchel.  While Baruchel is an actor that is a familiar face, he’s not really known as a leading man yet.  I actually wish the kid the best of luck.  Hey, if Michael Cera can continue to get work (and his awkward, low rent twin (Jesse Eisenberg)) then there is hope for Baruchel as well.  He plays that perfect loveable line between awkward and normal so well.  Too many times people venture too far on one side or the other of the line.  Somehow Baruchel finds the perfect balance.  Because of this you aren’t sitting through this film finding it too awkward to watch, but at the same time, it’s not a boring flick that’s tryingtoo hard either.

The film sports an R rating and has its moments of some sexual humor in that I’m still debating if it needed to be in the film at all, but none the less I enjoyed the flick from start to finish.  It wasn’t over the top raunchy from start to finish, but it wasn’t a cute and cuddly family comedy either.  It was a pleasant mix of adult humor.  A perfect R rated comedy for the Old School and 40 year old Virgin crowd.

I actually had a lot of fun watching  She’s Out of My League and want to give it a re-watch.  It’s nothing groundbreaking. You know everything that is going to happen because you have seen this movie over and over and over again. However, sometimes a slight variation on an old plot works.  This is one of those times.  Grab your popcorn, your sweetheart and a copy of She’s Out Of My League.

PS- Guys- If your girl asks am I a 10?  Avoid the question- there is NO right answer to that question.  Deflection is your ONLY possible defense.   If you answer 10, or answer honestly, my God have mercy on your soul.

Final Grade:

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Filed under: Comedy, Movies, Romance
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