NMR: After the Sunset

Pure popcorn fare here, which is about as best you can hope for when Brett Ratner is directing a film. This is a really good movie for someone who doesn't have the time and/or money to go on a real vacation. The locales shot for this movie are just beautiful and make you feel as if you're living in paradise.

The premise here is that Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek are a pair of jewel thieves who have supposedly decided to retire from the heist business and settle down in the Caribbean. Woody Harrelson plays the FBI agent who is tracking them down, convinced that they are planning another burglary.

If you try to think too much about all the supposed twists and turns offered by the film, you'll just make your head hurt, so it's better to just sit back and watch Salma Hayek in various stages of undress for 90 mins. There are a lot of contrivances found throughout the film, particularly in the relationship between Brosnan and Harrelson. But the film never takes itself too seriously, so it's not that bothersome. This one is the epitome of average and probably worth skipping unless you're desperately seeking some mindless entertainment. Netflix rating: ***

Epitomies of professionalism

To give you a couple of laughs, here's some more fun from the world of local news:





This one is my favorite:

NMR: Double Feature

I'm still trying to play catch up with posting everything I've seen lately, so here's a pair of mini-reviews for the last couple of movies I've caught on Netflix.

Gone Baby Gone: A very well made film, especially considering it's by first-time director Ben Affleck. He does a good job of making the city of Boston (practically a character itself in the film) seem realistic, yet not grating to someone who doesn't live there; unlike in The Departed where I was sick of the accents, course language, and inflated egos within the first 20 minutes of the film. This storyline is a difficult one to watch as it involves the kidnapping of a 4 year old girl from a mother, who is a junkie. As the mystery unfolds, the audience is presented with a dilemma that has no clear cut answer. If you're looking for a good debate, watch the film with someone and you'll have something to talk about for hours. Credit goes to Casey Affleck, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman who all turn in fine performances. Amy Ryan as the deadbeat mom is so realistic, you wonder if it's acting or if they just pulled someone off the streets of Boston. This is a solid film, but probably one I can't see myself watching again. Netflix rating: ****

Fracture: Those that saw this, (which wasn't very many) naturally made comparisons between the character Anthony Hopkins plays here and his famous role as Hannibal Lecter. The comparison is fair as once again Hopkins plays a devious man who enjoys playing mind games with a young, naive person who's on the other side of the law. While this film is no Silence of the Lambs, the interactions between Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, playing the cocky young prosecutor are just as enjoyable. I may have even appreciated them here more because I didn't find Gosling's character to be that likeable, so seeing him get cerebrally beatdown was fun. Gosling's character is one that I could see being given to Tom Cruise ten years ago. This is a guy who is so smug and arrogant yet we're supposed to root for him because he goes after 'bad guys'. Aside from the acting, the film works because it does a good job of keeping you guessing as to how Hopkins (nearly) gets away with murder. Be warned, though, the longer you think about the film after it's done, the more plotholes you will find. However, if you just enjoy it for what it is, this is an entertaining legal mystery. Finally, I'll just point out that the film also boasts a solid supporting cast with David Strathairn and Rosamund Pike in smaller roles. Strathairn is solid as Gosling's boss, but Pike's role in the film is unfortunately unnecessary and implausible. Overall, this is a simple, but effective thriller. Netflix rating: ****

Remaking it happen

So I'm finally getting around to the final spring break movie I saw; Be Kind Rewind. And like the adage goes, I ended up saving the best for last.

While not a perfect movie, the film's core idea is what drives it to success. For the unaware, Mike (Mos Def) is a video store clerk, who is best friends with Jerry (Jack Black), who is a little on the crazy side. After Jerry unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the local power plant, he becomes magnetized and ends up erasing every single VHS tape in Mike's store when he visits him. In order to save the store, the two friends decide to make their own versions of the films and sell them to customers. Lo and behold, their remakes (they refer to them as 'sweeded' versions of the originals) become a huge hit with the local townspeople.

Seeing Mike and Jerry remake classic films is where the money is at in terms of this film. We get to see them do their versions of such films as Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2, Boyz N the Hood, and Driving Miss Daisy. The two have a real chemistry and the scenes involving their filmmaking are a riot to watch. Their versions are skewed just enough to make them funny, yet realistic enough for you to understand what movie they are doing. In addition to being hilarious, I found it interesting to watch their creativity in making these sweeded versions. It gave you a nice insight into the lengths people will go to try and make unreal scenarios seem realistic. In an age where all the visual effects seem to be computerized, it was nice to see a call out to the classic methods of filmmaking.

As Jerry and Mike's films grow in popularity, they bring on other people to help them out. Most notably is the dry cleaner's sister, Alma. Played by newcomer Melonie Diaz, Alma is hired by the guys to start playing the female roles in their films. She ends up bringing an added level of excitement to the filmmaking scenes. This was a character that was clearly going nowhere in her current job and we see how these films end up bringing out the best in her. There are hints of a possible romance between her and Mike, but sadly this subplot never truly gets developed.

That lack of subplot development ends up being the film's one flaw. Directed by Michel Gondry, the films ends up leaving too many ideas up to the audience's imagination. Gondry is best known for directing the quirky film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Known for his stylistic direction, I feel he was a bad fit for this film. Typically, I will criticize directors for hammering the audience over the head with the film's story, but the opposite is true here. There are too many loose threads that Gondry never delves into. For instance, there appears to be some sort of connection between the VHS store owner (played by Danny Glover) and the kooky Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow), who frequents the store and is the first to rent one of the fellas sweeded films. Having an concrete idea of what their relationship is/was might have added another dimension to those characters.

The simplistic approach that Gondry takes is annoyingly noticeable in the film's final scenes. After the government shuts down Mike and Jerry's versions of copyrighted films (another subplot that could have been further developed), the store creates one original film that involves the entire town, in the hopes that the screening of the film will generate enough money to keep the store from being torn down. The film ends with the screening of this film and no sense of resolution. I can respect when directors want to end on an ambiguous note, but that only works when you leave certain questions unanswered. The end of this film answers nothing. It seems to insinuate that having everyone come together to work on and then watch this film is enough of a happy ending. Nevermind the fact that we have no idea what happens to any of the characters that we have become invested in over the past hour and a half.

It is hard to say at this point whether successive viewings of this film may soften or harden my criticism of the film's flat ending. On one hand, knowing what to expect may make it easier to digest on future viewings. On the other hand, seeing a lack of resolution over and over again may just cause a buildup of frustration.

Overall, I think the fun and enjoyment that is experienced watching these two friends make these new versions of classic films is predominate enough to recommend this film to others. Since this concept is focused on for the majority of the film, it is likely that the film's flaws won't be that noticeable. Perhaps I have done a disservice by pointing out what annoyed me about this film in this review. However, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't express all of my thoughts on the films I review.

This film was only given a limited release when it first came out, so it's unlikely that you'll be able to find it in a theater at this point. My best suggestion would be to check it out in a couple of months when it's released on DVD. Who knows, maybe someone will agree with me that the film is underdeveloped in certain spots and end up making their own sweeded version of this movie. I know that there are certainly worse things that have been created and put on the Internet. Grade: B

Could lightning strike twice?

No wonder I keep hearing rumors about how much this show is overbudget this year. At least this guy didn't embarass himself upon hearing the news.

Views to a kill

I'm still trying to play catch up on all the stuff I've gotten to see this week, so bear with me. Next up on my spring break movie marathon is Vantage Point. The film's advertising was equal parts enticing and frustrating. I was sold when I saw this would be a film that would use the Rashomon style of filmmaking by showing a singular incident from multiple perspectives. However, I was dismayed to see a critical and surprising plot point get revealed during the commercials. Still, with a limited amount of films to choose from at the theaters right now, there was enough here to get me to go watch up.

The basic premise involves the president of the United States attending a summit in Spain and as he's prepared to speak, he's shot. We then see this assassination attempt from the eyes of many different characters including Dennis Quaid as a Secret Serviceman, who's just returned to the job after being shot himself, Forrest Whittaker as a tourist watching the historic moment, and Sigorney Weaver as a cable news channel producer who is covering the summit. With each person's story, the film rewinds back to noon and replays things, each time adding something new.

In general, I like the idea of telling a story from multiple perspectives. I do wish that the director had chosen some more stylistic ways to shift from one person's perspective to the next. His transitions give the sense of repetitiveness and frustration. We didn't need to see the seconds ticking up to noon each time a new character's perspective was shown. We also didn't need to see the same shots so many times. I'm not talking about seeing the same events over and over again, because that is necessary for this style of storytelling. Rather, I'm talking about seeing the same visuals each time. This, to me, just reeked of lazyness.

While some of the characters' stories built nicely upon each other, others felt forced. There were too many times where characters nonsensically interacted with each other or acted in certain ways that weren't plausible, yet needed to be done in order for the multiple perspectives method to work. I got the sense that the filmmakers fell in love with this method of storytelling, yet did not come up with a robust enough story to make it work.

As I mentioned before, the commercials gave away a major plot twist in their commercials. Now this is not the first film to do this and it certainly won't be the last. However, as annoying as that can be, it was even more problematic for this particular film. When you use this method of storytelling, it means that each story is to provide us something new and interesting. Well, if your commercials reveals something interesting that doesn't occur until halfway through the film, then you're forcing your audience to sit through 50 minutes of unnecessary storytelling. If you have been fortunate enough to miss most of the advertising for this film, you may not care about this criticism since you should still be able to enjoy the film and not realize what will happen.

The film does have one other twist in it, but it's reveal is equally annoying, yet for different reasons. At the end of Dennis Quaid's storyline (which is the second one shown in the film), he spots something on a TV monitor, which shocks him, yet the audience doesn't see it. What he saw isn't revealed to us until the end of the film. That would be fine suspenseful drama if it were not for the fact that we had to sit through a bunch of ancillary storytelling before that point. If we could have just seen what was on that screen during Quaid's story, it would have moved things along much quicker. But on the other hand, the film would have probably only been about 20 minutes long then.

Even though I have been critical of the approach the director took with the multiple perspective method, I could have overlooked at lot of it, had he stayed true to this method. Once the final perspective is shown and we learn the big twist, the film shifts gears into generic action film and spends a significant amount of time on a generic car chase. The chase scene goes on too long and is poorly shot. Many people complain about the shaky cam method of shooting a scene that is seen in films like The Bourne Supremacy, but I typically do not have a problem with it; usually because the people filming them are skilled filmmakers. However, the camera work during this chase scene nearly made me nauseous. I could not believe how long they let this scene go on for, especially considering we basically knew how it would end thanks to some of the earlier scenes from other characters' perspectives.

As the film comes to a close, it can't even find a way to include all of the characters. This just confirmed to me that some were added as mere plot devices. To me, if you're going to provide multiple characters' perspectives, then they should all be involved in how the film is resolved. Instead, the film continues to retread into generic action film territory and loses any goodwill it may have gained with it's initial unique method of storytelling. Worst of all, we never get a good understanding of the villains motives in the film. Would it have killed them to come up with a story from their perspective to make us understand why they chose to attack the president?

I really wanted to like this film and there are certainly elements touched upon the film that make you see it could have been something special. Issues such as media censorship, country loyalty, heroicism, and the importance of family are all introduced but never developed. Instead, we get a half-baked action film filled with actors who seemingly chose to do this in order to make a quick payday.

Despite my complaints, the film isn't exactly terrible. It just came off worse to me given what I had hoped it would be. Perhaps with this review, I have lowered your expectations enough that if you decide to watch this on DVD or cable that it will seem a bit more palatable to you. The film does enough to work as a simple action film, but fails at being an intelligent thriller. Depending on where your tastes fall on that spectrum, this one may just fit the bill. But from my vantage point, the film doesn't offer a fresh perspective on the genre. Grade: C

It's like Mortal Kombat, only gassier.

Check out this video from Gamespot where they preview an upcoming game called Major League Eating: The Game that will be released exclusive on WiiWare. If you're unfamiliar, WiiWare is the new channel that will be offered on the Wii which allows people to download games through their server. It works just like the Virtual Controller games, only these are brand new games instead of classic Nintendo ones.

Rim shot

Semi-Pro ended up being the first movie I saw over spring break (there will be more reviews forthcoming) and unfortunately it did not begin on a positive note. Will Ferrell has been pretty consistent when it comes to funny movies (we'll just pretend that 2005, in which he made Kicking and Screaming and Bewitched, never existed). His track record gets marred here, though, as this is one of his lesser efforts.

It would be easy to simply criticize this film as being a carbon copy of his past successes. It is true that there are scenes in this film that feel like retread (i.e. we've seen Ferrell get attacked by several animals in films; this time it's a bear). However, I'm not going to complain so much about that, because I'm of the belief that what's funny once typically remains funny. You don't want everything to be the same, but reusing certain proven jokes is not the worse thing that you can do.

Rather, my primary complaint with the film is that there were too many times where they couldn't follow through on a potentially good joke. There were several instances where I could see a joke being set up and when the punchline was delivered, I was disappointed. A perfect example of this is when owner/coach/player of the Flint Tropics, Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is trying to stop his team from scoring 125 points because that would mean all fans would get a free corndog and he doesn't have any corndogs to give away. When the Tropics do manage to score the 125 points, you're excited to see how Jackie will handle the situation. Will he talk his way out of it? Will the fans riot? Will he try giving them other things and pass them off as corndogs? Nope, none of those viable choices happen. Instead, when the game ends Jackie simply runs out of the arena and the whole scenario is never brought up again. Talk about a major letdown.

Perhaps the most obvious evidence of lazy writing is the film's decision to use coarse language as a substitute for actual humor. The film garnered an R rating purely for its language, most of which was unnecessary. It's not that the language was offensive; it was merely unnecessary. Using foul language sporadically can often produce funny situations, but when it's an endless barrage of f bombs and c words it grows tiresome. The writers needed to use some imagination and not just resort to old tactics when seaching for a laugh.

This is not to say that I sat stonefaced throughout the entire movie. There are several moments of hilarity sprinkled throughout the film. I enjoyed when the Tropics and their opponents engage in a brawl only during a commercial break so that the ABA commissioner won't see any of it occurring. Will Arnett and Andrew Daly as the Tropics announce team also provide a lot of laughs. While the laughs here may have been acceptable in a different comedy, when you go see a Will Ferrell movie you expect a better laugh to dud ratio.

Perhaps the laughs could have been better had they not decided to devote so much time to a subplot involving another Tropics player, Ed Monix (played by Woody Harrelson) pining over a past girlfriend (Maura Tierney). The story is almost a carbon copy of the Tom Berenger/Rene Russo subplot in Major League, but it seems really out of place in this film here. It's not given enough time to make sense and produces zero emotional ressonance with the audience.

In many ways, the film resembles the ABA. It is a cheap imitation of a quality product. It relied on heavy promotion to stay relevant (how many commercials did Will Ferrell do dressed as Jackie Moon?) It contains appealing elements, but the product as a whole isn't sustainable. And finally, it too will end soon and become a mere footnote in its industry.

Those looking for a cheap laugh can probably catch this at the cheap theater and enjoy themselves. For most people, however, waiting until this comes on cable will probably be your best bet. Believe me, having the film's language cleaned up on TV will not eliminate the few jokes that exist in the film. I would have liked another Ferrell gem, but I should have known that this wouldn't be up to snuff with some of his other classics when it got a February release. To finish off my basketball analogies, I would say that this film isn't a complete air ball, but the shot definitely falls short. Grade: C

Boobies!!

In case you haven't seen them yet, here are the photos from the Playboy shoot featuring WWE's own, Maria. It probably doesn't need to be said, but just to be safe: WARNING! Pics are NSFW.

For my two cents, it's great to see someone who I actually find attractive do the annual WWE Playboy shoot as opposed to the usual bimbo or tranny (coughAshleycough). But these photos seem like the exact same photoshoot I've seen from Playboy ever since I began checking out the magazine. The photos are rather boring and do not exhibit Maria's personality whatsoever. So while I'll never look a gift boob in the mouth, color me unimpressed with this shoot.

Little Miss Punshine

Don't worry, I'm still alive. Last week was a hellish week for me at school and right now I'm in the middle of spring break and my mom came down for a visit. So posts will be a bit few and far between. But I did have a bit of time tonight and I wanted to post my review for Juno since it's been over a week since I've seen it and if I wait too much longer, I'll start to forget aspects of the film.

Juno was a film that piqued my interest last fall before it came out. It certainly had a lot of pedigree behind it; stellar cast (including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, JK Simmons, and Rainn Wilson, just to name a few), an up and coming director (Jason Reitman), and a buzzworthy writer (former stripper Diablo Cody). After seeing the trailer I was sold on the film, but also convinced that this would not click with a mainstream audience. However, it turned out I was wrong and this became the only bonafide hit of the best picture nominess. Now that I have seen it though, I'm a little perplexed as to why it did become a hit.

In many ways, the film is perfect and exactly what I expected it to be. There are several hilarious one-liners strewn throughout the film that are so random and funny that you have to wonder who's clever enough to come up with this stuff. You also have wonderful performances being delivered by almost everyone involved. Everything that I found appealing in the trailer was magnified in the actual film.

Unfortunately, these strengths of the film also end up being a detriment to the film's quality. The first and most glaring problem comes from the witty dialogue. The film seems so deadset on bombarding the audience with pop culture references and sarcasm that it at times takes away from the reality of the story being told. Naturally, Juno (played by Ellen Page) is the greatest abuser of this. And because she is the central character of the film, it poses a big problem. Her use of this type of dialogue prevented me from feeling an emotional connection between her and the characters around her. While her character supposedly goes through some emotional growth (to go along side her expanding belly), I never felt that a change had actually occurred.

This emotional distance is particularly noticeable in her relationship with her baby daddy Paul Bleeker (Cera). On top of Juno's sarcasm keeping him at arm's length throughout most of the film, Cera's character does not get enough screentime for us to truly understand or appreciate their complicated relationship. What ultimately led her to sleep with him? Why does she feel the need to exclude him from all pregnancy matters when he actually seemed willing to particpate? Perhaps if their dynamic had been developed more, I would have felt more about their coming together despite Juno's acid tongue.

Michael Cera is not alone is getting the shaft when it came to screentime. For my personal tastes, I felt like we didn't get to see enough from most of the adults. Most of the actors absolutely shine in their appearances, yet it seems that some of them are merely there as props to allow Juno to spout off more of her bon mots. JK Simmons, in particular, is underutilized as Juno's blue collar father. Perhaps seeing more of him could have given us a better perspective of how Juno became the way she did.

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner playing a couple planning on adopting Juno's baby actually do get enough screentime to have their characters fleshed out. This is one of the bright spots of the film as their characters seem to be very stereotypical at the beginning, yet as the film unfolds we get to see very different sides to both of them. Had the film just focused on them and Juno, it would have been fine. But because they introduced so many other potentially interesting characters, it was a bit more frustrating.

There is one final aspect that made the film grate on my nerves; the soundtrack. If Juno's dialogue doesn't scream out indie film to you, then the music sure will. Every scene seems to be peppered with these annoying little ditties that think they are clever but instead are just pretentious. Having one song like this during the opening credits would have been tolerable, but they are endlessly played throughout the film.

At the end of the day, I feel so torn on this film. Some aspects of this film I absolutely adored, while other parts really annoyed me. I think because I have such strong emotions for it on both sides of the spectrum, that the film easily warrants my recommendation. It's a film that is great for discussion. I would not be surprised at all if there are some people who absolutely agree with me and other who will love and hate the exact opposite things that I do about this film. I also think that the passion I have for this film is common, which is why it ended up scoring a Best Picture nominee. While it would not have been my pick to win, I can easily accept it's nomination. So go out and see this when you can and then tell me how right or wrong I am about this film. Grade: B+

NMR: The Machinist

This was another Christian Bale flick that I decided to check out since I've become such a fan of his. Unfortunately, I cannot heap on the amount of praise that I usually do for his films. This film is notable however for establishing Bale as truly the most masochistic actor out there today. If you're unfamiliar with this film, Bale lost a significant amount of weight to play Trevor Resnik, a man who hasn't slept in a year. Bale is so emaciated in the film, it is often too difficult to look at the screen. As much credit as I give Bale for committing himself to the role and doing a good job at portraying this tortured soul, it made me too uncomfortable for me to truly appreciate it.

Ultimately, that feeling of unease is what causes me to give this film a less than favorable review. However, it should be noted that even if Bale's appearance wasn't a factor, I still found the film to be flawed. It tries to do something creative in the lines of Memento by leaving the audience as much in the dark as the title character about what has actually happened, but I just don't think it's fully achieved what it set out to do. There is a lot of good in this film, but given how difficult it was to watch, I can't rate it very high. Unless you want to be squemish for an hour and a half, I probably wouldn't recommend this film to you. Netflix rating: **

The big night is upon us!

OK, so it's Oscar night and for the first time in quite a while the show has some intrique for me. This year there are no front-runners and most of the big nominess are films that I'll be fine with winning. Usually these awards are a foregone conclusion or given to films I can't stand (i.e. The English Patient, Chicago). I really have no idea who will win, so it should be fun to watch. Here now are my fearless picks for the winners in the major categories, but I have no confidence in them whatsoever:

Best Picture:
No Country for Old Men

Best Actor:
George Clooney

Best Actress:
Julie Christie

Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett

Best Director:
Joel and Ethan Coen

Best Original Screenplay:
Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay:
No Country for Old Men

Best Animated Film:
Ratatouille

Litagation Sensation

I almost didn't make it, but I just managed to see at least one Best Picture nominee before the big awards show. If I was a betting man, I would have figured it would have been Juno, but since I haven't found anyone willing to go see it with me yet, I had to settle for catching the only one that's made it to the budget theater yet; Michael Clayton.

Settling for this film though is no burden as this was a superb film that is easily worthy of it's nomination. It's an intense legal thriller that had me riveted from start until finish. Even if you have a good idea of how the film will end, the film is so intricate that you'll want to see how they handle all of the small details that make up the story.

This film was written and directed by Tony Gilroy. This is actually Gilroy's first stab at directing and he hits a home run on his initial attempt. He's not overly stylistic and he doesn't go for any outside-of-the-box techniques, he just puts together a strong, cohesive film. Gilroy also wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Ultimatum, so I'm glad to see that at least one of his films got recognized by the Oscars.

Of course, it goes without saying that a lot of the film's merit is based upon the terrific acting jobs found throughout. We'll start with George Clooney who is really good in the title role. Many people complain that he's just playing himself, but I detect small nuances in his performance that allows me to seperate the actor from the character. You can really feel the weight of the world on his shoulders as he has to deal with a number of problems both personally and professionally.

As good as Clooney is, however, Tom Wilkenson is the one who truly shines in this film. Playing manic depressive lawyer Arthur Edens, Wilkenson takes command of the screen every time he is on and leaves you wondering what this guy is all about. I had ridiculed Wilkenson in the past for his bombastic performance in In The Bedroom, a film that the Academy loved and no one saw. However, after seeing his work in Batman Begins and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I've really begun to be impressed with his work and look forward to seeing more films with him in the future. But back to this film, enough can't be said for how good he is. The film begins with a monologue by his character, that immediately hooks you into the story.

Tilda Swinton, playing the slimy lawyer for the corrupt UNorth corporation also does a fine job as an exec who is in way over their head. As much as I liked her performance, however, I actually thought her role could have been fleshed out a bit more. She does well with what she has, but I really think that we could have seen a whole lot more from the character and her struggles in this situation.

One of the things that I think works so well for this movie is that it doesn't waste a lot of time with exposition. They make you work to understand what's going on and the motivations behind each character's actions. So many films today feel like they have to drop an anvil on your head so that you don't fall behind with the story. Because this film opts not to do that, it gives the story a more realistic feel. Let's be honest, two people plotting to kill someone don't take ten minutes explaining to each other why they're going to do that, so why should we see it in a film. Those that are too slow to follow along may not care for this movie, but if you appreciate when a film doesn't take you for an idiot, then you'll enjoy this film.

I think the best proof I have to show you how well this film captivated its audience is by explaining the scenario that occured as the film ended. Without giving anything away, the credits begin to role while there is still action on the screen. This final scene involves no dialogue and is rather simplistic; however no one in the theater left their seat. Some may have been waiting to see if something else would happen, while others were probably still trying to process everything that had taken place. But the bottom line is that there was no rush to the exits, despite the fact that the credits were beginning. A truly impressive feat, especially from the usually less than sophisticated budget theater crowd.

I enjoyed this film so much that I already went out and picked it up on DVD. It not only has a good story and fine acting, but there was so much going on that I feel a repeat viewing will only enhance my enjoyment of the film. Given how everything has gone down this awards season, I don't think this film has enough momentum to win Best Picture, but that's ok. Whether it wins or not, should not deter you from making an effort to watch it at some point in the future. This is a great legal thriller filled with intrique and suspense and it doesn't dumb things down for the lowest common denominator. What more could you ask for? Grade: A

The next time you see me, I may weigh 300 lbs.

For those of you who have visited me before, you'll know that my apartment shares the same space with a strip of stores. There a grocery store, video store, dry cleaners, etc. Well recently, they tore out a bunch of the parking spaces from this shopping area and they were building something new, which of course piqued my curiousity. As the building started to get erected, it looked like it was going to be a gas station. Not very exciting, but I was at least excited about the possibility of not having to go far to get gas.

However, I learned yesterday that I was wrong. Instead of a gas station going in there, they are putting in a Sonic restaurant. This is the first one of this chain in this area as far as I can tell. Now I have never been to a Sonic before, but based on their awesome commercials, which make everything look amazing and from high recommendations from friends who have actually been to one, I cannot wait to try it out. If it's as good as it looks, I could be in trouble. I may have to start doing laps around my complex before running over there, just so I can keep my already amazing physique.

But as excited as I am for its arrival, I hope it doesn't open for another month or so because I gave up all fast food for Lent. I feel like Beau Bridges in Airplane..."Looks like I picked the wrong time to give up fast food".

If anyone has any recommendations for what I should get from there, please let me know!

OMG!

From last night's Price is Right primetime special:

NMR: The Ex

In a word, terrible. I had known that the reviews were bad and it had tanked at the box office, but I still ended up renting this because I love Jason Bateman and it had a variety of other funny people in it. I figured, how bad could it really be. Well I found out the hard way. They had a decent, albeit familiar premise. Zach Braff and Amanda Peet are newlyweds, who move back to Ohio. Braff takes a job at his father-in-law's company and meets an old friend of Peet's, Chip (Bateman). Everyone loves Chip, but Braff thinks he's evil, a liar, and still lusting after his wife.

Instead of doing anything fresh, the films provides some expected gags. The story just meanders all over the place and throws in a lot of unnecessary subplots. Worst of all is that Braff's character isn't likeable in the least, so you have no interest in seeing him succeeding in exposing Chip for who he really is. Bateman has moments of brillance as Chip, but ultimately gets buried amongst the dreck that surrounds him. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect here is that this film marked the return of funnyman Charles Grodin to film and they do nothing with him. It's a shame he couldn't have come back in a better film than this. This movie goes right up there with The Brothers Solomon as an epic waste of true comedic talent. Netflix rating: *

RIP HD DVD

Toshiba quits HD DVD 'format war

Since I have yet to buy any high def. technology, this comes as good news to me as I don't have to worry about buying the losing product. It sucks for those that have already bought HD DVD players though. I guess Blu-Ray's victory is a nice retribution for Sony after their failure with Betamax.

A Mistery of Violence

The second film adaptation of a Stephen King work for 2007 finally made its way to the budget theater. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long considering it underperformed at the box office last November.

My initial reaction coming out of the film was that I enjoyed it, but I felt that what I enjoyed about it probably had more to do with King's story than with anything the film actually did. However, in investigating the differences between the film and the novella, I learned that the film decided to radically change the ending; more on that in a bit.

The premise is that a mysterious fog has rolled into a small Maine town trapping many of its citizens in a supermarket. Opinions as to what the mist is and what dangers it poses varies amongst the various townspeople. As we learn what's in the mist, the thrills and chills really get amped up. It then becomes a story of survival for all those trapped.

Most of the actors have a lot of fun with their roles and make the most of their screen time. Andre Braugher is good as a skeptical big city lawyer. I really like Toby Jones (who played Capote in that other film about his life), who plays Ollie, the supermarket's assistant manager. Marcia Gay Harden is the one who truly shines here, however, as the religious nutcase who believes the mist is a sign of the end of days.

The one anomolous acting performance, unfortunately comes from the film's lead, Thomas Jane. He plays David Drayton and leads the efforts to save everyone from whatever is out there. The film uses Drayton's relationship with his son as one of the core emotional cruxes, but I personally didn't feel that connection. For too much of the film, Drayton's action are seemingly motivated to prove that he's right moreso than to rescue his son from these potential perils. Despite that, there are several emotional scenes where Drayton is seen crying. Jane's efforts to emote though come off forced and unintentionally funny.

Speaking of things that came off more hokey than real, I was somewhat unimpressed with the film's visual effects. Without giving too much away, there are scenes that involve some monsters. Some of the smaller creatures look pretty cool and creepy, but the larger creatures have a definite B-movie feel to them.

For me, the film was at its best when it was dealing with human relationships and how people deal with scary situations. When faced with unknowns like these people are, we begin to see who the true monsters are. As the townspeople in the supermarket become divided, the film's energy really picks up. I would have gladly sacrificed one scary monster scene for some more interpersonal communication.

As much as I enjoyed those interaction, the film's cheese factor still had me leaning towards a thumbs down on this movie for most of the way, until the end came. While far from optimistic, The Mist has one of the gutsiest endings for a film that I've seen in a long time. I'm sure many did and will hate it, but I really appreciated it for being so unconventional. If I had any gripes about the finish, it would be that it could have used a little bit more explanation for why the events unfolded as they did. But I can certainly understand why the filmmakers opted not to do that. In many cases, some things are better left unsaid.

The Mist is by no means perfect, but there is a lot there for different audiences. The film does succeed in providing a number of genuinely scare moments, while will please the thrill seekers. It also provides enough interpersonal communication to appeal to a more cerebral crowd. And if you're a person that loves to debate about films after you've watched one, well then this one has an ending that will spark plenty of discussion. In the battle of the Stephen King films for 2007, I'll give this one the slight nod over 1408. However, both are decent and worthy of a rental. Grade:B+

NMR: The Lookout

What's The Lookout, you say? Well I was just as in the dark as you are now about the film until Richard Roeper (of Ebert and Roeper) put it #3 on his list of best films for 2007. It's an indie crime thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun) as Chris Pratt, a guy who's life became a mess after a car accident left him with a serious head injury. Working as a janitor at a bank in a small Kansas town, he gets manipulated into helping some crooks rob the place, but as usual, nothing goes as planned.

I thought the film was solid, but I'm still in the dark as to what Roeper saw that was so special about it. Most of the characters are well defined (Jeff Bridges does a nice job as Pratt's blind roommate) and the story keeps you involved. But at the end of the day, I saw nothing terribly unique or captivating about the film. I've heard some comparisons to Memento, which is an injustice to that film. I'd more closely compare it to Fargo, which was a solid movie, but nothing that I would go out of my way to rave about. Stil, if you're looking for a crime thriller, this is certainly a good choice. However, if you don't see it, it won't be like you're missing out on some piece of cinematic history. Netflix rating: ****

Summer starts to take shape

Within the past few days, there have been a number of trailers for some of the big summer movies set to come out. Take a gander at them and see what you think:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull


The Happening


Here are links to a couple of redband trailers (aka NSFW) for a pair of films that have some Apatow connections to them:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The Pineapple Express