Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!
Today's review is Unstoppable. Directed by Tony Scott. Written by Mark Bomback.
100th review countdown....#92
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action and peril, and some language.
Runtime: 98 min
Cast
Denzel Washington - Frank
Chris Pine - Will
Rosario Dawson - Connie
Ethan Suplee - Dewey
Kevin Dunn - Galvin
Kevin Corrigan - Inspector Werner
Kevin Chapman - Bunny
Lew Temple - Ned
T.J. Miller - Gilleece
Tony Scott re-teams with Denzel for his 5th film and this time it's another train movie. After The Taking of Pelham 123 I figured why go this route again, but just like Pelham, this one works for what it's worth.
Based on true events that took place in 2001. On May 15, 2001, a 47-car CSX locomotive left a Toledo, Ohio rail yard without an engineer and wasn't stopped until it had run 66 miles through three counties. No one was injured in the incident. This of course isn't good enough for Tinseltown so the story was punched up a bit.
In this version, the train is carrying several cars filled with a toxic chemical that if exploded would create catastrophic damage to neighboring Pennsylvania towns. Frank is a 28 year veteran train man and on this day he's breaking in Will, a rookie conductor who catches some immediate heat because he's got very influential friends that many believe is the reason he got the job in the first place. The relationship between Frank and Will gets off to a very rocky start but all of that changes when they hear about the runaway train. Realizing that the company's efforts to stop the train will fail, Frank and Will go after it and try to stop it themselves.
This movie is about as cut and dry as you can make it. This is actually a very good thing. A lot of times with movies like this where the story is very simple, the creative brain trust just takes it to a whole other level and strip away what makes the project worth doing and replacing it with a lot of pomp and circumstance. That doesn't happen here. The screenwriter here uses the K.I.S.S method and it works.
There are of course some filler scenes that moves the story along like the predictable failed attempt to stop the train that the greedy company executives employ in order to avoid property damage and lawsuits. Those scenes don't take anything away. They actually help because they were executed properly. The corporate scenes are not filled with evil villain, mad scientist type characters. Instead they are played like very greedy, lazy suits that just want to solve the problem in the most cost effective way. Those scenes inspire disdain toward those characters which is exactly the point but it's not overblown.
The most fun part of this movie is the speed. Tony Scott once again employs his hyper kinetic camera work and lightning quick editing style and it looks very cool here. You really get a feel for how fast the train is going and how fast everyone is going while in pursuit. The destruction the train leaves in it's wake as well was impressive and again not over stated. This movie was probably one of the most understated, high powered action movie that's been made in a while and it works. I wish I could explain why that is....it just is.
On the 5 star scale. Unstoppable gets 3 stars with a "Go See It" recommendation.
You're not going to be overly floored by this one but for what you're getting into here it's a very entertaining 90 minutes of fast, simple and impressive action with 1,000 tons of steel as the star.
That's a wrap for today. Got a few ones lined up in the upcoming days/weeks. Here they are in no particular order.
Fair Game
The Next Three Days
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
127 Hours
The King's Speech
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Skyline
Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!
Today's review is Skyline. Directed by Colin Strause & Greg Strause A.K.A The Brothers Struase. Written by Joshua Cordes & Liam O'Donnell.
100th review countdown....#91
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content.
Runtime: 92 min
Cast
Eric Balfour - Jarrod
Scottie Thompson - Elaine
Brittany Daniel - Candice
Crystal Reed - Denise
David Zayas - Oliver
Donald Faison - Terry
I mentioned after my Megamind review that I had some fears about this one. I figured that since I had a free movie ticket to use that if this movie sucked that at least it didn't cost me anything but my time.
I WANT MY TIME BACK!!!!
And the real frustrating thing about this is that I can't tell you why.
Jarrod brings Elaine to LA to visit his movie star best friend Terry for his birthday. Aliens invade and basically swoop up all the people. The rest of film is spent with the "main" cast members trying to figure out what their next move is. Whether to flee or stay indoors and wait out the attack.
2010 has been the year of the vampire when it comes to most over saturated genre. Now we are about to be invaded (pun intended) by another wave of alien invasion films. Skyline being the first with Cowboys & Aliens and Battle: Los Angeles to follow this summer. The premise of these films are always the same. Who knows what from who knows where comes to earth and destroys everything until the little people fight back and win the day. For the most part these films are more of a spectacle than a story. You are just treated to cool looking creatures and special effects with very little character or story development from a human standpoint. Then on the off chance that an alien film gives you some sense of character depth like Spielberg's War of The Worlds. The humans are so tumor inducing annoying that you actually root for the aliens to vaporize them. I know I was when I watching that piece of S#&T.
I wonder why writers insist on giving movie goers the option of cool aliens and crappy humans or cool humans and crappy aliens. I don't see why we can't have both. The closest you can come to that is probably Alien and it's sequel but technically they don't count because they don't fit the criteria of an alien invasion film. But those films make my initial point. They had characters you cared about, a compelling story and they were surrounded by cool looking and scary as hell creatures.
Does Skyline accomplish this? Nope but they came close.
The characters are a bunch of C or D listers so you are not invested enough in their survival or demise. Despite that though, the story does do one thing well. They keep the alien invasion a mystery. Way too often in films like this, the creative team struggle to explain why the aliens came and why they are attacking the planet. You don't need to know why when they arrive and start blowing up buildings and killing everyone in sight. That doesn't matter anymore. Skylight doesn't address it. In fact they treat the invasion as realistic as a real invasion would be like. The people try to see if the news has any info and all they see is an empty TV studio still on the air. There's also no scene with the president ordering a full military strike. It just happens. The planes come and fight.
The interaction between the survivors is thought provoking believe it or not. Some want to stay inside. Some want to take the chance and get as far away from the attack as possible. It creates a very interesting debate because both points are valid and understandable. It makes you think what would you do in this situation. If you knew you were under attack by other worldly beings and you had a chance to escape. Would you take the risk knowing that you could very easily be killed if you were seen or would you play it safe hoping that at some point eventually someone will come to your rescue. If there's anyone left that is.
The rest of the film plays this scenario out to it's conclusion and it's here where I left the theater....
FURIOUS!!!!
I really want to tell you why the ending made me so mad but it will spoil it for you if you plan to see it. You might be thinking that I already revealed too much and maybe I did but let's be real here. You're watching an alien invasion movie. What did you expect to see. If you do see this and are still curious why I HATED the ending so much then ask me and I'll be more than happy to tell you.
On the 5 star scale. Skyline gets the goose egg 0 stars. With a split "Save The Loot" "Netflix It" recommendation.
You're probably wondering why I gave it a Netflix rec if I gave it a 0 score. It's because for me the film had some decent stuff here with an ending that had the potential to be GROUND BREAKING in this genre but they played it safe instead.
Such a cowardly and nonsensical move.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Unstoppable followed by Fair Game.
Until Next episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Skyline. Directed by Colin Strause & Greg Strause A.K.A The Brothers Struase. Written by Joshua Cordes & Liam O'Donnell.
100th review countdown....#91
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content.
Runtime: 92 min
Cast
Eric Balfour - Jarrod
Scottie Thompson - Elaine
Brittany Daniel - Candice
Crystal Reed - Denise
David Zayas - Oliver
Donald Faison - Terry
I mentioned after my Megamind review that I had some fears about this one. I figured that since I had a free movie ticket to use that if this movie sucked that at least it didn't cost me anything but my time.
I WANT MY TIME BACK!!!!
And the real frustrating thing about this is that I can't tell you why.
Jarrod brings Elaine to LA to visit his movie star best friend Terry for his birthday. Aliens invade and basically swoop up all the people. The rest of film is spent with the "main" cast members trying to figure out what their next move is. Whether to flee or stay indoors and wait out the attack.
2010 has been the year of the vampire when it comes to most over saturated genre. Now we are about to be invaded (pun intended) by another wave of alien invasion films. Skyline being the first with Cowboys & Aliens and Battle: Los Angeles to follow this summer. The premise of these films are always the same. Who knows what from who knows where comes to earth and destroys everything until the little people fight back and win the day. For the most part these films are more of a spectacle than a story. You are just treated to cool looking creatures and special effects with very little character or story development from a human standpoint. Then on the off chance that an alien film gives you some sense of character depth like Spielberg's War of The Worlds. The humans are so tumor inducing annoying that you actually root for the aliens to vaporize them. I know I was when I watching that piece of S#&T.
I wonder why writers insist on giving movie goers the option of cool aliens and crappy humans or cool humans and crappy aliens. I don't see why we can't have both. The closest you can come to that is probably Alien and it's sequel but technically they don't count because they don't fit the criteria of an alien invasion film. But those films make my initial point. They had characters you cared about, a compelling story and they were surrounded by cool looking and scary as hell creatures.
Does Skyline accomplish this? Nope but they came close.
The characters are a bunch of C or D listers so you are not invested enough in their survival or demise. Despite that though, the story does do one thing well. They keep the alien invasion a mystery. Way too often in films like this, the creative team struggle to explain why the aliens came and why they are attacking the planet. You don't need to know why when they arrive and start blowing up buildings and killing everyone in sight. That doesn't matter anymore. Skylight doesn't address it. In fact they treat the invasion as realistic as a real invasion would be like. The people try to see if the news has any info and all they see is an empty TV studio still on the air. There's also no scene with the president ordering a full military strike. It just happens. The planes come and fight.
The interaction between the survivors is thought provoking believe it or not. Some want to stay inside. Some want to take the chance and get as far away from the attack as possible. It creates a very interesting debate because both points are valid and understandable. It makes you think what would you do in this situation. If you knew you were under attack by other worldly beings and you had a chance to escape. Would you take the risk knowing that you could very easily be killed if you were seen or would you play it safe hoping that at some point eventually someone will come to your rescue. If there's anyone left that is.
The rest of the film plays this scenario out to it's conclusion and it's here where I left the theater....
FURIOUS!!!!
I really want to tell you why the ending made me so mad but it will spoil it for you if you plan to see it. You might be thinking that I already revealed too much and maybe I did but let's be real here. You're watching an alien invasion movie. What did you expect to see. If you do see this and are still curious why I HATED the ending so much then ask me and I'll be more than happy to tell you.
On the 5 star scale. Skyline gets the goose egg 0 stars. With a split "Save The Loot" "Netflix It" recommendation.
You're probably wondering why I gave it a Netflix rec if I gave it a 0 score. It's because for me the film had some decent stuff here with an ending that had the potential to be GROUND BREAKING in this genre but they played it safe instead.
Such a cowardly and nonsensical move.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Unstoppable followed by Fair Game.
Until Next episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Megamind
Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!
Today's review is Megamind.Directed by Tom McGrath. Written by Alan J. Schoolcraft & Brent Simons.
100th review countdown....#90
MPAA Rating: PG for action and some language.
Runtime: 96 min
Cast
Will Ferrell - Megamind
Brad Pitt - Metro Man
Tina Fey - Roxanne Ritchi
Jonah Hill - Tighten
David Cross - Minion
Ben Stiller - Bernard
J.K. Simmons - Warden
Before I give you my take on this movie I need to give you non comic book geeks a quick lesson. Back in the late 80's, Marvel comics came out with a storyline called "What If." It was a pretty creative series of stories that dealt with the exact meaning of it's title. The premise was a character called The Watcher would present stories of the Marvel universe through the eyes of an alternate reality. So you would get scenarios like this....
What if Spiderman was a woman?
What if The Hulk joined the X-Men?
What if Captain America ran for president?
Megamind takes that concept here and tells a pretty cool story while doing it.
The premise of the film is taken directly from Superman. Megamind's planet is about to be destroyed so his parents send him off to earth. In his travels he runs into his mortal enemy Metroman. Metroman lives a life of luxury and acceptance while Megamind is raised in a prison and is taught that being good sucks. This begins the rivalry between hero and villain. Megamind who's a cross between Lex Luthor and The Leader (one of The Incredible Hulk's major enemies) never beats Metroman. Until one fateful day when he actually does defeat Metroman. Having finally succeeded in his quest to take out his foe and control Metro City what happens to Megamind? He gets bored. So he comes up with a plan to get things back on track but they go horribly wrong.
This was a very clever concept for a superhero film. Though clearly made for kids, as a kid myself it brought back those "What If" moments for me. It made me think what would happen if Lex Luthor ever killed Superman. How would the world survive? This move gives you one possible scenario. The voice acting is pretty good. Will Ferrell just basically plays himself as Megamind. Brad Pitt brings out Metroman's strength. But the highlight for me was David Cross as Minion. Maybe it was because the character was basically a goldfish with a robot monkey suit body but he was hysterical to watch.
The animation is top notch and when you add the spectacle of 3D (I couldn't avoid it) it brings out the action to a nice exciting level. There are only two things I would say against this movie is that somewhere between acts 2 and 3 the story goes a little off track. I won't say where but you will catch it when you see it. I think this had to do with the fact that Megamind's character though evil wasn't truly ruthless. The identity crisis of this villain hurts the flow of the story after he defeats Metroman.
Secondly I have a huge issue with some of the commercial music choices. In an attempt to drive home the point that Megamind was bad they played the songs "Bad to The Bone," "A/C DC's "Back in Black" and Guns N Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" These were bad choices in my opinion for the simple fact that playing those tracks dates the film tremendously. It's 2010 and you're playing songs that go back several decades. Not years, decades. The powers that be were trying to be too cute with the music and the lyrics not realizing that the kids seeing this movie won't know and won't care what songs these are. I was twice, sometimes three times the age of the kids in the theater (good grief am I old) and I didn't care about the songs.
It just didn't fit.
On the 5 star scale. Megamind gets 3.5 stars. With a "Go See It" recommendation.
This one was a very entertaining and different look with a very overdone genre. A couple of speedbumps along the way kept this one from being a classic.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Skyline. I have some serious fears about this one. Mostly because of the cast or lack there of. Thankfully I have a free movie ticket to burn on this one so if it sucks I didn't throw my $$$ at it.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Megamind.Directed by Tom McGrath. Written by Alan J. Schoolcraft & Brent Simons.
100th review countdown....#90
MPAA Rating: PG for action and some language.
Runtime: 96 min
Cast
Will Ferrell - Megamind
Brad Pitt - Metro Man
Tina Fey - Roxanne Ritchi
Jonah Hill - Tighten
David Cross - Minion
Ben Stiller - Bernard
J.K. Simmons - Warden
Before I give you my take on this movie I need to give you non comic book geeks a quick lesson. Back in the late 80's, Marvel comics came out with a storyline called "What If." It was a pretty creative series of stories that dealt with the exact meaning of it's title. The premise was a character called The Watcher would present stories of the Marvel universe through the eyes of an alternate reality. So you would get scenarios like this....
What if Spiderman was a woman?
What if The Hulk joined the X-Men?
What if Captain America ran for president?
Megamind takes that concept here and tells a pretty cool story while doing it.
The premise of the film is taken directly from Superman. Megamind's planet is about to be destroyed so his parents send him off to earth. In his travels he runs into his mortal enemy Metroman. Metroman lives a life of luxury and acceptance while Megamind is raised in a prison and is taught that being good sucks. This begins the rivalry between hero and villain. Megamind who's a cross between Lex Luthor and The Leader (one of The Incredible Hulk's major enemies) never beats Metroman. Until one fateful day when he actually does defeat Metroman. Having finally succeeded in his quest to take out his foe and control Metro City what happens to Megamind? He gets bored. So he comes up with a plan to get things back on track but they go horribly wrong.
This was a very clever concept for a superhero film. Though clearly made for kids, as a kid myself it brought back those "What If" moments for me. It made me think what would happen if Lex Luthor ever killed Superman. How would the world survive? This move gives you one possible scenario. The voice acting is pretty good. Will Ferrell just basically plays himself as Megamind. Brad Pitt brings out Metroman's strength. But the highlight for me was David Cross as Minion. Maybe it was because the character was basically a goldfish with a robot monkey suit body but he was hysterical to watch.
The animation is top notch and when you add the spectacle of 3D (I couldn't avoid it) it brings out the action to a nice exciting level. There are only two things I would say against this movie is that somewhere between acts 2 and 3 the story goes a little off track. I won't say where but you will catch it when you see it. I think this had to do with the fact that Megamind's character though evil wasn't truly ruthless. The identity crisis of this villain hurts the flow of the story after he defeats Metroman.
Secondly I have a huge issue with some of the commercial music choices. In an attempt to drive home the point that Megamind was bad they played the songs "Bad to The Bone," "A/C DC's "Back in Black" and Guns N Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" These were bad choices in my opinion for the simple fact that playing those tracks dates the film tremendously. It's 2010 and you're playing songs that go back several decades. Not years, decades. The powers that be were trying to be too cute with the music and the lyrics not realizing that the kids seeing this movie won't know and won't care what songs these are. I was twice, sometimes three times the age of the kids in the theater (good grief am I old) and I didn't care about the songs.
It just didn't fit.
On the 5 star scale. Megamind gets 3.5 stars. With a "Go See It" recommendation.
This one was a very entertaining and different look with a very overdone genre. A couple of speedbumps along the way kept this one from being a classic.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Skyline. I have some serious fears about this one. Mostly because of the cast or lack there of. Thankfully I have a free movie ticket to burn on this one so if it sucks I didn't throw my $$$ at it.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Due Date
Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!
Today's review is Due Date. Directed by Todd Phillips. Written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel & Todd Phillips. Screen story by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland
100th review countdown....#89
MPAA Rating: R for language, drug use and sexual content.
Runtime: 100 min
Cast
Robert Downey Jr. - Peter Highman
Zach Galifianakis - Ethan Tremblay
Michelle Monaghan - Sarah Highman
Jamie Foxx - Darryl
Juliette Lewis - Heidi
Danny McBride - Lonnie
RZA - Airport Screener
Coming off the huge success of The Hangover. The world was ready to see what Todd Phillips could come up with before he takes on The Hangover 2. This was his attempt to continue the momentum.
He failed.
Peter Highman is a self indulgent, prissy and very angry jerk who's trying to get home in time to witness the birth of his 1st child. After an incident on the plane gets him on the no fly list, he's forced to drive to LA with the guy that got him off the plane in the first place.
This film is supposed to be The Odd Couple meets Road Trip. Instead it a mess meets another mess. The story is so all over the place that you have no idea what it's supposed to be. The characters are also transparent. Galifianakis is just playing a watered down version of his character in The Hangover and Downey jr is such a jerk that you root for him to miss the birth of his child. There are some funny moments but not enough to fill the whole film.
This is a direct result of the poorly constructed script. It is clear here that re-writes have been done here and they were not good ones. This is a common problem when you have more than 2 writers credited with writing the screenplay. It's a simple matter of too many cooks in the kitchen. Particularly when half or more of the chef's are not familiar with the original recipe.
I would elaborate further but this film doesn't deserve any more of my time.
On the 5 star scale. Due Date gets 1 star. With a split "Save the Loot" and "Netflix It" recommendation.
For a movie about a road trip it really goes nowhere and goes nowhere fast.
I know it sounds like I'm being harsh but after The Hangover's well executed presentation, I expected more from Phillips. This now gives me pause about the Hangover sequel. The positive here is that the original cast is back so that should soften the blow because this one was a straight up dud.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Megamind to be followed by Skyline.
Until next episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
Today's review is Due Date. Directed by Todd Phillips. Written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel & Todd Phillips. Screen story by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland
100th review countdown....#89
MPAA Rating: R for language, drug use and sexual content.
Runtime: 100 min
Cast
Robert Downey Jr. - Peter Highman
Zach Galifianakis - Ethan Tremblay
Michelle Monaghan - Sarah Highman
Jamie Foxx - Darryl
Juliette Lewis - Heidi
Danny McBride - Lonnie
RZA - Airport Screener
Coming off the huge success of The Hangover. The world was ready to see what Todd Phillips could come up with before he takes on The Hangover 2. This was his attempt to continue the momentum.
He failed.
Peter Highman is a self indulgent, prissy and very angry jerk who's trying to get home in time to witness the birth of his 1st child. After an incident on the plane gets him on the no fly list, he's forced to drive to LA with the guy that got him off the plane in the first place.
This film is supposed to be The Odd Couple meets Road Trip. Instead it a mess meets another mess. The story is so all over the place that you have no idea what it's supposed to be. The characters are also transparent. Galifianakis is just playing a watered down version of his character in The Hangover and Downey jr is such a jerk that you root for him to miss the birth of his child. There are some funny moments but not enough to fill the whole film.
This is a direct result of the poorly constructed script. It is clear here that re-writes have been done here and they were not good ones. This is a common problem when you have more than 2 writers credited with writing the screenplay. It's a simple matter of too many cooks in the kitchen. Particularly when half or more of the chef's are not familiar with the original recipe.
I would elaborate further but this film doesn't deserve any more of my time.
On the 5 star scale. Due Date gets 1 star. With a split "Save the Loot" and "Netflix It" recommendation.
For a movie about a road trip it really goes nowhere and goes nowhere fast.
I know it sounds like I'm being harsh but after The Hangover's well executed presentation, I expected more from Phillips. This now gives me pause about the Hangover sequel. The positive here is that the original cast is back so that should soften the blow because this one was a straight up dud.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is Megamind to be followed by Skyline.
Until next episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
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