RBR: Monsters University

We have long known that Pixar spoiled movie goers with the quality of the movies that they put out for over a decade. Audiences and critics began to realize that producing classic after classic is not a given based on Pixar's recent streak of underwhelming efforts. It was not only taken for granted that each film they made would be great, but that even their sequels would be just as good as their original films. When you look at both of the Toy Story sequels, it is remarkable how they were able to maintain such excellence. A large part of that was likely due to them having a clear vision for what the stories should be for each of those films. We saw actual character development and a defined story arc related to life and mortality. The same cannot be said for Monsters University, a prequel to 2001's Monsters Inc.. Unlike with Woody and the gang, it seems as if the Pixar crew has no idea what to do with Mike and Sully. The concept of taking a look at them in college is intriguing, although a bit odd for a movie aimed at such a young audience. The fact that they essentially do a Revenge of the Nerds ripoff is disappointing. There are plenty of colorful characters and jokes that work regardless of how old you are, but none of this feels innovative or fresh. If this were merely a Saturday morning cartoon extension of the franchise, I probably would not be as hard on them. But for them to revisit these characters nearly a decade later, I expected something more worthwhile. From a technical standpoint, there's nothing wrong here. However, this film is more representative of a student who coasts through school on decent grades rather than the valedictorian who puts everything they've got into making sure they are the best. Rating: ***

RBR: RED 2 (Quick hits)

This one is not available on home movie yet, but it is long gone from the theaters, so we'll just stick it here and be done with it. Those who were fans of the first RED film, will get another dose of the same here. Thankfully I enjoyed the first one and found enough to like here as well. It mostly comes from seeing this group of aging stars have a lot of fun blowing stuff up real good. Could they have done something more interesting from a storytelling perspective? Absolutely. But this is the type of film that matinee theaters were built for. It's harmless entertainment that keeps you engaged for a few hours but then you'll likely quickly forget about a few days after you watched it. There's no need to do a third film in this series, but if they opted to do so, I wouldn't be totally against it. This was certainly better than most of Bruce Willis' efforts (A Good Day to Die Hard, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) this year. Rating: *** 1/2

RBR: Hitchcock

During Oscar season, there was surprisingly very little discussion about this film, which features previous Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren and is based on one of the most famous Hollywood directors of all time. It turns out that the reason for the lack of buzz is quite simple. Despite its pedigree, this is a rather pedestrian effort. Hitchcock plays more like a made-for-TV movie that just got lucky in scoring an incredible cast. The film focuses on the noted director's effort to make Psycho. On the way to making his most successful film, he faced several roadblocks including a lack of studio support, protest from the ratings board, and a wife, who's become frustrated with a lack of recognition for her collaborative efforts in his success. A lot of these problems seem rather interesting and yet the film opts to merely gloss over a lot of them for more melodramatic moments dealing with a possible affair between Hitchcock's wife (Mirren) and a charming writer (Danny Huston). I'm far from an expert on Hitchcock and his film and yet I felt like this film didn't really reveal anything that I didn't already know or suspect about his work. The two leads turns in excellent performance, as expected but they are working with substandard material here. Fans of the late director will no doubt be disappointed in this less than revelatory film and younger fans will likely struggle to stay engaged in this story. It's a shame that a film based on a master of suspense is filled with very few surprises. Rating: ** 1/2

Better RED than dead

Just seeing Helen Mirren holding a big ass gun is enough of a selling point for me to be excited to see this sequel. Here's your first look at RED 2

A Hitch in time

This trailer has been out for a while now, but I'm just getting around to post it. There may be a late entry into the Oscar race as this film about famed director Alfred Hitchcock's effort to get Psycho made seems to be just the type of film that the Academy loves. The fact that it stars award winners Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren only helps. Anyways, you can check out the trailer below.

RBR: The Debt

This got lost in the shuffle when it was released back in August, but it was hard for me to ignore a film that boasts acting greats like Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson, along with rising stars like Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain. The film deals a trio of Mossad agents who are attempting to hunt down a Nazi doctor. In order to do so, the film flashes back and forth between the time of the mission and current day. This can be an effective narrative device, but I didn't like it hear and thought it just made the film more confusing, not engaging. And because we jump back and forth, not enough time is given to Mirren and Wilkenson, who play the older versions of two of the agents. And while I liked some of the action scenes in the film, there was not enough of that in here. Instead, we get a deeper look into these agents personally and I just wasn't captivated by it. In its attempt to look at how these agents handle this mission, the film can't find the right voice to treat this subject (which has its roots in real life) properly. If it was trying to be poignant, it failed to do so. If you want a decent foreign espionage thriller, I'd recommend Hanna over this commendable, but otherwise confusing film. Rating: ***

NMR: Arthur

It's difficult for me to write a review for this film because it gave me nothing really to work with. It's neither great nor terrible. Ultimately, it's a wholly unnecessary remake that was done in order to combine a popular comedian with a known franchise. While I was not particularly fond of the Dudley Moore original, there was nothing I saw here that provided justification as to why this story needed to be told again. The highlights of the film come from seeing Arthur (Russell Brand) enjoy and abuse the excesses of his wealth. Things like dressing up as Batman and driving in a replica Batmobile or waging in a bidding war with himself at an auction house for old suits of Abraham Lincoln provide at the very least a smile on your face. However, there's nothing really enjoyable about the love triangle storyline that becomes the focal point of them. Both Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte, who plays her father give unlikable performances. And Greta Gerwig, the woman who Arthur truly falls in love with, has no screen presence or charm. Brand actually has more chemistry with Helen Mirren who plays his nanny Hobson. She, like John Gielgud in the original, is always reliable for a quick quip in an attempt to keep Arthur in line. It's hard to say whether a recommendation is waranted for this film. It neither pays homage nor ruins the name of the original. On its own, it provides a few mild laughs, but nothing more. This is a low risk, low return film. Rating: ***