Saturday, January 11, 2014

White House Down (2013)


White House Down is a mess. My new resolution is to never watch another movie with Channing Tatum in it. I can think of a dozen actors off the top of my head that would have been WAY better than Tatum. It's painful to watch him on screen. Unfortunately, Tatum isn't the only thing wrong with this flick.

Recently, I reviewed Olympus Has Fallen and I was pretty harsh about it. White House Down is its brother from another mother. Although it doesn't make the White House as easy to take down as Olympus Has Fallen, they both have almost identical plots. If I had to choose to watch one or the other, I would choose Olympus Has Fallen. That should give you an idea of what a hot mess White House Down is.

Tatum is the "hero" and Foxx plays the current President of the United States. Their chemistry is awkward to say the least. Tatum's character apparently has aspirations to be in the Secret Service but when he gets a chance to interact with the President, he treats him like an inadequate sidekick and comes off as disrespectful.

The attempted funny parts are noticeable and seriously not funny. Again, I blame this one on Tatum's delivery. Another Tatum point, then I'll stop. He is severely unconvincing as a father. He comes off more like a young punk. 

Joey King who plays Tatum's daughter, Emily, is good and reminds me a little of Alyssa Milano in Commando (1985). As good as she is, she still can't overcome Tatum's inabilities.

Overall, White House Down looks like they released the movie prematurely. It's unpolished and messy. Definitely not worth watching.



Friday, January 10, 2014

We're the Millers (2013)


We're the Millers is funny, cute, and quickly paced. Everything seems to happen fairly fast. Usually movies that are paced at this speed tend to feel rushed and turn out sloppy. This movie, however, is the exception. There are no dead spots or slow, hair-pulling scenes and yet it leaves you laughing for the ride and content in the end.

I have to give credit to the cast. Jason Sudeikis who plays main character, David, really holds it all together. He has instant appeal. There is a level of comfort he has with the camera that makes it so the movie doesn't require much character development on his part.

Jennifer Anniston as Rose, the stripper, is shaky in the beginning but she picks it up about 20 minutes in. She's not completely believable as a stripper in her mannerisms, and her body looks way to killer to be a low-class stripper, but her comedic timing is still there for sure. She plays well off of everyone. Nothing we're not used to.

Emma Roberts as Casey, the "daughter," is the weakest link. Her acting chops isn't quite at the level of the rest of the cast. With that said, she's still not that bad.

Will Poulter as Kenny is so quirky and funny and sweet and everything! He almost steals the spotlight. Seriously, who the hell is this kid and why isn't he in a shit ton of movies?!?! I would love to see a comedy series all about Kenny. 

I didn't want to tick down the cast but the cast is that great! Ed Helms as Brad Gurdinger, David's "boss," Kathryn Hahn and Nick Offerman as Edie and Don Fitzgerald, they're all so perfectly awkward. Kathryn Hahn is devastatingly underrated. 

There is no special plot. It's just a vulgar, funny, vulgar, sweet, vulgar movie. Did I mention it's vulgar? The language and content is most definitely mature...and vulgar, but wonderfully so.

Watch this one!

We're the Millers trailer...


Thursday, January 9, 2014

Admission (2013)


Admission is a calm, mildly funny movie. I wouldn't mind watching this one with my parents. It's definitely not as funny as the trailer makes it seem and it has a lower energy than you would expect with two popular comedic actors, but still a pretty good movie. Don't expect boisterous laughing. It's more of a feel-good flick.

Both Tina Fey and Paul Rudd are subdued and again, it's not that this is a bad movie, it's just kind of mellow. There is no real dramatic apex. It's simply, pleasant.

Tina Fey plays Princeton admissions officer Portia Nathan. At times she seems like she's trying too hard to pull the movie higher but overall she's just fine.

Lily Tomlin who plays Tina Fey's mother, Sussanah, is perfect. I would love to see a spin-off movie with Tomlin and Fey leading.

Paul Rudd plays a "director" of an alternative high school. Being a huge Paul Rudd fan, I was disappointed. There are only a few signature Paul Rudd moments. He is still good, I just love his quirkiness and have become conditioned to expecting it.

On a final note; Admission makes Princeton seem like a school of douche bags. I wonder if they were upset with this movie.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)



Olympus Has Fallen is slightly entertaining but mostly embarrassing. The details are very messy. The first 20 minutes of the movie is the best part. Everything else is a display of severe American incompetence.

The cast is pretty spectacular and the acting is generally good. It just doesn't play out well. It's a sloppy excuse for an action movie. I really don't understand what happened here. The budget for this movie was pretty hefty at $70 million. I'm going to have to put this one on the director, Antoine Fuqua, and the two writers Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. All three of whom do not have much experience. So maybe the onus is on the producers for choosing three noobs to handle all the fire power behind the casting. Boggles my mind that so many heavy weight actors signed on for this one.

Speaking of a heavy weight, an underrated one, Ashley Judd as the First Lady is the main spark of energy; which is actually unfortunate.

The casting is the only saving grace for this one. I mean, for the most part, they have actual Korean actors play the Korean roles. That's unique! If only the writing and directing were as detailed and thorough, this movie could have been good. Instead, it will make you sigh and huff for two hours.

Olympus Has Fallen trailer...



IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2302755/

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Elysium (2013)


It's called Elysium but most of the time is spent on earth. Much more than I expected. I wanted to see more futuristic aspects; more healing, more gadgets, more space ships...just more. When they finally show a little bit of Elysium, it just looks like a typical high society suburb. The landscape and architecture is severely disappointing.

Matt Damon seems underutilized. He didn't kick ass the way I expected. Maybe the Bourne series has affected my view of him. Mostly he was simply unconvincing. He isn't the tattooed car thieving type and he doesn't try very hard to convince you of it either. On the petty side, he is clearly muscular without clothes, but in clothes he looks chubby.

Jodie Foster as Delacourt is not intimidating and her accent is a bit wonky. She's okay but Cate Blanchet would have killed it.

Overall this movie is kind of gross, perplexing, and boring. The ending picks up a little but then leaves you dry and unfulfilled.



There are a lot of aspects that aren't explained and therefore you end up with a laundry list of questions.
Here are just a few, which include spoilers...

1. What the hell is on their faces? Sometimes you think they're accessories, but other times it seems to have a purpose. It's never addressed in any way.
2. Why does anyone on Elysium lock their doors?
3. Where are the Med-Bays/magical MRI-esque healing machines manufactured? There are a lot of things that need to be assumed and one of those things is that Elysium needs Earth's residents to produce everything they use. If that's the case, why do the residents need to attempt to crash land onto Elysium to use a Med-Bay?
4. With Med-Bays keeping people alive, how do they control the population on Elysium?
5. Is everything on Elysium indestructible? If not, who fixes it?
6. They quickly mention Elysium is for the rich while Earth is for everyone else. What about the smart people? Not all smart people are rich and the rich people have to be dumb as bricks to leave the smart people on Earth.

Oye...you get the idea.

This movie is a massive question producing machine. If you approach the story with the mind of a 10 year old, you'll be entertained. Otherwise, move on.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535108/



Wednesday, January 1, 2014

The Wolverine (2013)



The Wolverine is very underwhelming. :(

There are barely 2 1/2 mutants in the entire movie! That's nuts! I understand this movie title doesn't use the term "X-Men" but barely 3 mutants? C'mon! The introduction of various mutant powers is the reason we love X-Men!

It's basically a carbon copy of Elektra, and when I say carbon copy, I mean not as good! Bad guys after the girl, reluctant loner protects the girl, loner fights the bad guys to save the girl. Elektra at least has awesome mutants, entertaining visuals, and likable characters. In fact, it's more like a cookie cutter Jason Statham movie with an X-Men title. It's unoriginal and bland.

The one good thing is Hugh Jackman. Now I may be a little biased but he is a damn good actor in what ever role he plays. There is no denying that. The only thing The Wolverine did for me was feed my Hugh Jackman fix until I watch Prisoners.

Skip this one unless you too need your Hugh Jackman fix.

The Wolverine trailer...