Delivery Man

Delivery Man is about that age old problem we all go through. Vince Vaughn plays a down on his luck meat truck driver who discovers he fathered 500+ children through his anonymous fertility clinic donations. With the children attempting to find out who the donor is, he has to decide whether he wants to tell them or not. We’ve all been there. The film is a remake of director Ken Scott’s 2011 French-Canadian film, Starbuck.

Vince Vaughn plays his usual lovable loser, but this time the comedy is a bit more subtle in order to emphasize the emotion in the script. After establishing the story, the character decides to get to know some of his children without telling them who he is. These are some of the best moments as they keep everything moving at a fast pace and quickly establish some personality to the 500 children that are first presented as a faceless mob. The supporting cast do well enough. But Chris Pratt, who plays Vaughn’s character’s friend/lawyer, has never been so unlikeable in his current rise to stardom. He’s funny, but that’s about it. The diverse actors who play the children complement Vaughn very well.

Delivery Man isn’t the type of movie that Vince Vaughn will be remembered for. It’s not his funniest role, but it does fit his strengths. Beyond the jokes, he gives a heartfelt performance. The scenes with one of his children who is handicapped comes across as emotional and authentic. All of the top comedic actors would not be able to pull that off. So he deserves some credit. The biggest obstacles appear with Pratt and Cobie Smulders, who plays Vaughn’s girlfriend. Both are proven in comedy, but their performances stifle the fun tone of the movie. If I had to describe Delivery Man, I would have to say it is a nice movie, nothing more and nothing less.

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 Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Oh Katniss, what are we going to do with you? In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Jennifer Lawrence returns playing the bow wielding heroine, who stuck a thorn in the side of the Capitol when she survived the Hunger Games along with her district-mate Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Now as word of a rebellion spreads throughout the districts, the two victors go on their cross-country victory tour. That seems nice. Well, it’s not and then they get thrown right back into the arena for a victors only Hunger Games. Panem is such a dramatic place.

The story is pretty clearly split in half with the victory tour and the games each taking their share of screen time. But the film, which runs close to two and a half hours, is paced out very well and is quite exciting throughout. I would even argue that a good portion of the story is more exciting than the original novel. I know Hunger Games fans, those are fighting words, but they’re true. In her first return to the franchise since winning an Oscar, Lawrence shows just how good of an actress she is, with a more balanced effort than the first installment.

A newcomer to the series, but not action franchises, Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, Snow White and the Huntsman) does very well as trident wielding tough guy, Finnick Odair. Beyond Lawrence, he is the most impressive in his role. I mean I like Peeta, but the guy just gets hurt a lot. Both fans and casual moviegoers will enjoy Catching Fire, which is a loyal and impressive adaptation of the best-selling book. What they’ll do with Mockingjay being split into two films is anyone’s guess. It could be really great like the Harry Potter 7 split or pretty dull like Breaking Dawn. Let’s cross our fingers.

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.

Thor: The Dark World

It seems every time a Marvel project hits theaters, I’m already looking past it toward the next bigger and better chapter. The extended preview of Captain America: The Winter Soldier did just that before Thor: The Dark World began. But that is a bit unfair because Thor’s second solo effort is quite successful. In this instance, Jane (Natalie Portman) stumbles on an ancient power and gets possessed. So Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, has to try and save her. The main villain is a Dark Elf, Malekith the Accursed. But don’t worry; Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is in there plenty. After all, he is everyone’s favorite Asgardian.

At this point, there isn’t much mystery about whether or not a Marvel Studios film will deliver. The Dark World has big drama, a twisting plot and some witty humor sprinkled in. One difference in this chapter is the amount of death that occurs. Characters seem to bite the dust more than usual. But that is understandable since there is now the difficult task of adding weight to the individual character movies after The Avengers. The other difficult task is trying to make the audience understand why the other Avengers wouldn’t help out with this dire circumstance.

As Hemsworth’s career defining role to this point, he has Thor pretty much figured out. The performance is solid, which allows for others in smaller roles an opportunity to shine. For example, Idris Elba plays Heimdall, a flat character, who shines in every scene he appears in. But at the end of the day Hiddleston steals the show again as the god of mischief. The after-credit stingers predictably show up also to hype Guardians of the Galaxy, but all it tells us is that this project is going to be WEIRD. Weird, but awesome. Just take my money now, Marvel.

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.

Last Vegas

After The Hangover there was Bridesmaids, which was described as The Hangover for women. Then there was Project X, The Hangover for teenagers. Well if that’s the case, then Last Vegas is The Hangover for the elderly. Is there an audience for such a thing? Not really, but luckily the movie is more than old people making idiots of themselves. There is a healthy amount of that though. In the film, Michael Douglas’ character is getting married, so a group of lifelong friends get together for a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline play those friends.

The films brand of humor is pretty predictable with old jokes ranging from medications they are taking to common injuries that come with age. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t funny. That can be credited to the caliber of the cast. Kline is most comfortable in the comedic setting, but Freeman isn’t far behind with his drunken ramblings that work very well. De Niro is mostly an annoyed grump, which is consistent with the majority of the roles he has played in the past 15 years. Douglas is the central figure of the film, playing a character that is likeable but too cool to carry the laugh heavy script.

The film’s dramatic center is passable, but the audience catches on to the story’s emotional reveal much sooner than the movie intends them too. Since there are four legendary actors who continue to work consistently, the theme of the elderly still having worth is quite obvious. Morgan Freeman was in four movies this year, it’s hard to picture him as a guy who sits home and does nothing all day. With that being said, Last Vegas is a fun effort that’s worth watching to see the four Oscar winners interact on screen.

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.

Ender's Game

There are so many sci-fi movies that it is difficult to find a new one that comes across as fresh and intriguing. But the visual styling and tactical based plot of Ender’s Game does just that. The story, based on the 1985 novel, follows Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a gifted child recruited to help save the Earth from an alien invasion. Dealing with normal adolescent issues like bullying on top of the strategic sci-fi warfare the characters are preparing for creates a layered dynamic that gives the film legs to stand on for the full running time.

The 16 year old Butterfield already has quite the résumé. He proved he could carry a big film by playing the title character in Martin Scorsese’s 2011 hit, Hugo. This time around he does very well balancing all of Ender’s necessary characteristics. From the vulnerability of a teenager leaving his family (and the planet) to a battle hardened military leader, there is never a moment where he misses the mark. It is great seeing Harrison Ford back in sci-fi as he plays Colonel Graff. The performance is balanced even if it is mostly one-dimensional. The rest of the star-studded cast follows suit as strong but mostly underutilized.

Director Gavin Hood does a great job presenting the war games and simulations as highly dramatic moments of character and plot development. The enemy is ambiguous and the inner-team politics give authenticity in place of the usual good vs. evil addressed in genre fare. A cast of teenagers hogs the screen time over Academy Award caliber adults and I’m not complaining. Throwing a teenager into a sci-fi hero role doesn’t always give us Luke Skywalker. Sometimes we get Jaden Smith in After Earth, but not this time. Ender’s Game is book smart sci-fi for the modern age. It trades in blasters for drone warfare, which is something that seems more poignant in 2013 than it did in 1985 when the book was written. Visually impressive with a story to match, Ender’s Game snuck up on me 27 years in the making.

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.