Premium Rush

It seems that with almost every career choice Joseph Gordon Levitt is moving closer and closer to a defining role. It doesn’t come in Premium Rush, but it shows his ability to play the leading man. The story follows Gordon-Levitt’s character, Wilee, a New York City bike messenger, as a he tries to protect a friend’s parcel he’s carrying from an unknown pursuer. The film then morphs into a mystery based on not-quite-legal China-town dealings. The innocent bike messengers bring to screen the result of a “kill the messenger” scenario.

The movie is full of strong drama based around the high speed bike chases. Though after a few short minutes the plot becomes crime focused and the fresh perspective of the cyclist is slightly neglected. Even so, the intensity level is through the roof. The film opens with Wilee in a violent accident and then brings the audience back to hours earlier. This knowledge really makes each scene powerful and interesting with the risk of the collision looming. It doesn’t hurt that the mystery elements are also intriguing. Except for the crash, the backtracking timeline stalls the pace a bit, causing the 91 minute film to feel much longer. I found myself embracing that however, since the film is entertaining.

The truth of the matter is that Gordon-Levitt is a good actor. Premium Rush defends that claim. There are a number of moments in the film where everything could get cheesy and with the exception of a bit character’s strange habit of staring at things surprised, that doesn’t happen. The script is well written and executed by David Koepp who directed the film and wrote it with John Kamps. They had me legitimately considering becoming a bike messenger for a few hours. But it seems like they get hit, arrested and caught up in criminal dealings a lot (in this movie, my one experience with bike messengers.)

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2, it turns out, is much closer to the all-out collection of action superstars that Sylvester Stallone initially promised for the series’ first film. With Stallone passing the directing responsibilities to Simon West, the film brings in some more of the biggest action stars around. Though even more importantly, the film places the over the top action at the lead with tongue in cheek comedy accompanying it. The Expendables 2 rarely takes itself seriously, which allows for the audience to laugh with the characters as opposed to at them.

The story follows the Expendables team into a plot to stop a villain named “Vilain” (Jean-Claude Van Damme) from selling a ridiculous amount of plutonium to terrorists. So from that end, this is a pretty straight forward action movie. But when every other scene dramatically unveils a different action icon, the standard plutonium caper gains a different element. From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s back and forth with Bruce Willis and Stallone to Chuck Norris dropping a “Chuck Norris Fact” in between Lone Wolf McQuade references, it’s obvious that this movie was made with very clear intentions and awards season was not one of them.

Take out the gimmicks and the big names and the movie isn’t amazing. There are a number of well-choreographed fight scenes with the likes of Jet Li, Jason Statham and the final showdown, which was choreographed by Van Damme himself. But for the most part it’s just “shoot ‘em up” and explosion style action. The dialogue isn’t good, but very little is terrible so that should be seen as a victory. I can’t help but rooting for The Expendables 2 because the movie is so much fun. If you fall in that niche demographic who has watched enough action movies to appreciate the scale of this one, then you’ll probably enjoy it. For those pessimistic computer chair critics out there, watch out for the 20 roundhouse kicks coming your way from the credible cast members.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

ParaNorman

Have you ever sat back and noticed how creepy the 2009 animated hit Coraline is? If you haven’t, trust me it’s a bit creepy. Laika, the studio which made the film, returns with ParaNorman, the story of a boy who can see and converse with the dead. Sure, this one is a bit funnier, but it is also creepy and sad at times. Norman is an outcast because of his obsession with zombie movies and the fact that he’s constantly seen speaking to people who aren’t there. While the film uses these moments to make a case for those who may seem a bit strange, it could very easily be a cautionary tale about handling mental illness.

The beginning of the film is almost painful to watch because of its stalled pace and the verbal abuse Norman takes at the hands of his father and the school’s bully, Alvin. It does liven up a bit when the audience learns that Norman isn’t actually crazy and supernatural events begin to take place based around a colonial witch who haunts the town. The loner tale turns to an ensemble adventure when Norman is joined by his whiny sister, his only friend, the friend’s muscle-bound brother and the bully to escape a band of zombies and stop the witch.

A talented cast provides the voices of the characters, which includes some lesser known actors like Kodi Smit-McPhee (Norman) and big names like Casey Affleck (Mitch). To be honest, the lesser known voices are a bit of fresh air now that Hollywood A-listers tend to oversaturate the animated voice acting market. Ultimately, ParaNorman is a blatant attempt at an anti-bullying crusade. It begins with how Norman is treated and continues with his chubby friend, the zombies and ultimately the witch. It’s just too much. Since the film is too creepy for small children and too preachy for adults, there is a bit of a question as to who the audience should be. Maybe schools should screen it for bullies.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

Total Recall

Total Recall is a typical summer blockbuster, but not in a negative way. It has everything that sends moviegoers to their Twitter pages to insult the film, which they haven’t seen. It’s a remake of the 1990 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was based on a short story by the renowned sci-fi writer, Philip K. Dick. It’s also a big budget action film with well-known actors fighting alongside robots wielding powerful weapons. But the reason the film is successful is because of its ability to stay in the heads of the viewers with lingering questions and high-concept suspense.

Colin Farrell plays Doug, an average guy bored with his life in a dystopian future. But when he visits Rekall, a company that will implant memories in your brain so you feel more accomplished, he finds out that he was once a spy who had his memory erased, or maybe not. Kate Beckinsale, who plays Doug’s wife and Jessica Biel, a former flame, provide sturdy support in roles which surprisingly have emotionally driven moments. Farrell is constantly on the verge of falling into his habit of coming across as droll and apathetic. Though as the plot thickens, his performance improves and he gives a lively rendition of the character.

The movie is much less ground-breaking than its predecessor since we’ve had more than 20 years of sci-fi since then to set the standard. But the balance of style versus substance that occurs until the final act makes Total Recall worth watching. Sure, everything eventually deteriorates into chase scenes, shootouts and fist fights, but there’s a reason movies do that. It’s exciting. The movie pays homage to the original story while changing enough for it to stand on its own. In fact, a few of those references take away from the film. The original is a cult hit; don’t make viewers wish they were watching that instead.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

I read an article recently referring to Diary of a Wimpy Kid as a very unlikely film series. But given the popularity of the children’s books they’re based on and the success with which the actors play out the hi-jinx, the series, which now has a full trilogy, can probably be considered a success. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the main character, Greg, (Zachary Gordon) takes on summer in his constant quest to avoid work, improve his popularity and impress his schoolyard crush, Holly Hills (Peyton List).

The vague theme for the movie allows for a different approach. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid stories had relied on an episodic approach during the first two installments. The way each plot point would come and go seemed fitting for a Nickelodeon type sit-com, but also worked on the big screen. Now with the third title, there is more of a traditional story arc. There are instances though where this development takes away from the number of laughs that occur. That can also be attributed to the nature of the jokes being told. The older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostwick) comes across as more of a pathetic character than the witty but clueless teen he was previously presented as. And the time spent with the best friend, Rowley, (Robert Capron) and his family are a bit on the awkward side. There is much more cringing while watching this one.

The film still fundamentally succeeds in presenting a family friendly story that doesn’t come across as censored or forced. The characters are realistic and while the themes and messages parents would be happy about are there (building a father/son relationship, spending time together as a family) Greg never has a fundamental change of heart that breaks authenticity. He wants to sit inside all summer playing videogames and in the end he still feels that way. Dog Days falls short of its predecessors, but it still succeeds in presenting a fun story for children of many demographics.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.

Step Up Revolution

I think Step Up Revolution is probably one of those movies the studio decides not to screen for critics. If not, it probably should be. In this installment, the fourth in the loosely associated series, a group of flash mob style hip hop dancers are making a name for themselves in Miami and on the internet. But then when a real estate mogul (Peter Gallagher) purchases the land that many of the dancers’ homes are on, they use their break dancing skills to protest the move. I’m actually impressed by how legitimate I made that sound… because it’s pretty cheesy in actuality.

If one were to judge this Step Up movie without taking into account its predecessors, the verdict would not be good. This could have gone straight to DVD and no one would really be surprised. The film’s acting is shoddy at best due to the fact that casting was obviously a dance first, act second affair. But the dancing itself somehow doesn’t come across as impressive as the other films. The attempt at scale causes some of the thrill to disappear while the audience is looking at such large groups of dancers.

I’m no hip hop expert, but if the script and acting are as sub-par as Step Up Revolution, I’d like to think that the dancing will pick up the slack. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. The film relies too heavily on its grand finale dance scene, which brings back some familiar faces from the past films. What is meant to reward fans of the franchise only exposes how much more fun the past movies were. Overall, that’s great that people want to dance to express their political opinions. But here is my grandpa moment of the day. Get a freakin’ job and make a difference that way. Remember kids, don’t expect some multimillion dollar real estate plan to change because you jumped on a trampoline or can spin on your head. It just isn’t going to happen.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.