Predators

There are tons of reboots coming out these days. One interesting idea was the decision to do a new Predator movie with Adrien Brody as the lead. The original used Arnold Schwarzenegger. That’s like 100 lbs difference in muscle. But even with that in mind, Brody was pretty jacked and believable in the position as the main bad ass.

The movie focuses on a group of elite killers who are dropped onto another planet as game for a group of brutal aliens to hunt. Yes, that description is The Most Dangerous Game with aliens. However, that story always seems to stay relevant with audiences because of how obscure a concept it is. Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, and a fairly unknown cast join Brody in Predators. I hope it doesn’t spoil anything when I say that the all get picked off one by one and the confusion and fear the characters feel is similar to the original.

This time the film has better special effects than the 1987 version and the aliens are superior looking to the original. But why there was no attempt to come up with a brand new concept for the franchise baffles me. It’s basically the predators hunt humans and this time they have home field advantage. Nonetheless, the film begins with a unique establishing scene that gets the viewers heart racing immediately. After things calm down, the intriguing (yet recycled) plotline often battles with awkward and campy dialogue that is a small step below laughable. Adrien Brody shows he can be an action star, but neglects some of his Oscar winning prowess as an actor.

The supporting cast presents itself as solid for portions of the film with each individual taking their turn with cheesy lines. The predator monsters are their usual bug faced, dreadlocked selves and even with their fairly ridiculous look it is one that has become Iconic in the sci-fi world. With the clicking sound they give off it made for some dramatic encounters… that tended to end with brutal murder. It is Predators after all. (7.0 out of 10)

The Last Airbender

The films released by Nickelodeon Movies have come a long way since Harriet the Spy and Good Burger in the 90s. Even with the lack of Kel Mitchell, the studio’s latest release, The Last Airbender, wound up getting panned by critics prior to its release. Based on a Nickelodeon cartoon, the story follows Aang (Noah Ringer) who must mature in order to fulfill his destiny of becoming the Avatar, who can control the elements in a world threatened by war.

The concept is an interesting one giving unique twists to standard fantasy plot elements and character archetypes. The large flaws come with the difficult task of adapting a season of television into a reasonable length movie. Characters are not given adequate time they need to develop. Along with Ringer, Nicola Peltz who plays Katara and Jackson Rathbone who plays Sokka make up a lead trio that lacks enough personality to gain attachment from an audience. Peltz and Ringer could also have benefited from some more acting experience before partaking in such a big budget project. Rathbone actually seems respectable next to the other two, but in reality that might just be because he is way better here than he is in the Twilight series (See below for Eclipse review).

The acting strength falls with the villain… or “anti- villain.” Dev Patel plays the outcast Prince Zuko, who winds up being one of the only characters who experiences change in the film. This can be attributed mainly to Patel’s performance, which rotates between vindictive and sympathetic.

Going into The Last Airbender, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. The trailers boast tremendous special effects presenting a neat concept. All of this proved true after screening the film. However, the biggest question was whether or not the acting could keep up. With the rare exceptions the answer is no. When seeing the movie, viewers need to be patient through a slow beginning and uncomfortable dialogue to get to the meat of the project. I hope the other two films in the series are made. Firstly, because I am intrigued to see what happens, and second because this is better than everything else M. Night Shyamalan has been making. (7.5 out of 10)

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

It’s hardly worth mentioning the ridiculous hype for this movie because it’s almost as if society accepts the Twilight films as something we just have to deal with. That is of course excluding the millions of fans who counted down the seconds until the midnight release. But this, the third in the series, has enough variety for die-hards, casual viewers, and those that were dragged to the theater kicking and screaming.

This time around Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Bella (Kristen Stewart) must deal with the threat of a newborn vampire army wreaking havoc nearby. As if that wasn’t enough, Bella wants to “do it” with Edward but Edward wants to get married first… it’s quite dramatic, well at least the vampire fighting part is. Professional vampire director David Slade (30 days of Night) takes the reigns this time and is successful in presenting quality action scenes that push the film in the direction of more traditional vampire lore. Some scenes would even fit in Slade’s 30 Days. I view this as a positive to the film, however I wouldn’t be surprised if some mothers of pre-teens weren’t pleased. But that should be the least of their worries.

In between the scenes of solid vampire violence there are drawn out and flat exchanges between Edward and Bella. I feel like everything these two insipid losers say is a repeated exchange from five minutes earlier or an earlier film. Then when the script channels the campy one-liners from the novel (yes I read it) I either laugh out loud or cringe in discomfort. So, what is the solution to this problem? I have no answer, but I know that throwing Taylor Lautner’s portrayal of Jacob in between the two just makes my laughter turn into hysterics. The whole thing is just so cheesy. A lack of acting ability sure doesn’t help either. Kristen Stewart actually has improved in that department but Pattinson straddles that line between tolerable and abysmal and Lautner has devolved to the terrible performance he had in the first Twilight film.

The increase in usage of the supporting characters didn’t strengthen the film as I expected. It merely brought into question the relevance of their being there at all. Billy Burke’s portrayal as Charlie Swan is one of the few exceptions to this. He provided some comic relief that was actually intentional, unlike the awkwardness of the three leads. Bryce Dallas Howard was also a nice improvement replacing Rachelle Lefevre as the villain, Victoria.

While keeping in mind the substantial flaws just mentioned, I must admit that there were lengthy segments that were very well done, and cinematically speaking the film looked very good. Improvements have been made since the first film in regard to special effects and how to translate certain moments to screen (i.e how the vampires die, their super speed). Now it’s just a matter of adapting the romance so that the teenage girls will still love it and everyone else won’t barf all over themselves. (7 out of 10)

Knight and Day

Knight and Day was a good movie. If only it were that easy. I, like others were anticipating this to be the return of Tom Cruise to the realm of international thrillers. This is a far cry from the Mission Impossible franchise though. Cruise plays Roy Miller who is a secret agent in the middle of dispute with his agency and finds himself defending a “normal” woman, June Havens played by Cameron Diaz, who is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The film begins with quality action, and interesting plot twists. There was even a span of a few minutes where I could tolerate Cameron Diaz. Cruise’s performance has all of his normal traits including the charm, the wit and all that good stuff. I found him to still be convincing in the spy role, but making a movie less sophisticated and a step from his previous ventures made it seem a bit shallow. Plus, he has Diaz following him around almost getting them killed all the time. I kept wishing that Roy would leave June in a ditch somewhere because she was so damn annoying. Of course that didn’t happen because somehow Roy finds her “charming”. I wish Hollywood would realize that bumbling, and stupid does not always equal charming.

The plotline begins strong and fizzles out around half way when the audience learns the weak explanation of the film’s title and June somehow finds herself entitled to top secret information and thinks she is qualified for counter-espionage. Cruise’s strong performance is then pushed to the back burner and everything that was making the movie enjoyable is less prevalent.

So, now I will try and sum up this back and forth review of a movie I both loved and hated. Tom Cruise still has the acting ability to be a top billed lead in a film. Cameron Diaz does not and brings down Cruise with her unlikeable performance. The story is interesting but not able to maintain a level that would place it among classic action/romantic comedies. It always disappoints me when a movie is on the fence but can’t deliver in the final third to win over the audience. Unfortunately, this falls in that category. (6.6 out of 10)

Grown Ups

I guess it must be time for Adam Sandler’s now yearly attempt at more mature comedy. After last summer’s Funny People my interest in Adam Sandler films dipped a bit, but this time around he turned to his regular cast mates and friends instead of going with the Hollywood in-crowd actors like Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill. The result was a better chemistry and the movie was just better all around. The film focuses on a group of childhood friends, now grown up, who spend the weekend together after attending their old coach’s funeral. Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider join Sandler as the leads.

The result is a group of characters that have a surprising amount of development while rarely getting preachy. Sandler is able to present a quality comedic effort with Spade and Schneider filling in the immature potty jokes. James gives his usually brand of likeable awkwardness as Rock takes a rare step away from the type A personality the audience is used to. None of the actors overshadow the others making the variety broad and all around funny. Even someone like Spade, who plays his typical sleaze wasn’t so bad.

The majority of the story is centered on the five men but their families also play a role and add to the multiple dimensions one doesn’t usually expect from Adam Sandler. This group worked well together on screen and made some fairly inoffensive humor that is family friendly.

It wasn’t the funniest movie I’ve ever seen but its good to see these actors back on the screen in a successful effort. When pinpointing the weak points of the film none blatantly stick out. The actors don’t give award worthy performances but they are good enough. Grown Ups is the movie I’d expect in this stage of Adam Sandler’s career. Not that awkward snoozer of last year, Funny People. (7.9 out of 10)

Toy Story 3

In another summer blockbuster that seemed to spike everyone’s interest except mine, Toy Story 3 takes a humungous swipe at the box office fifteen years after the first film’s release. This time around the crew deals with their owner, Andy, leaving for college and they face the prospect of being donated or, even worse, thrown away. The plot then evolves into a take on The Great Escape as they attempt to break free from a daycare center lead by a maniacal teddy bear.

It baffles me as to how this film was able to maintain a G rating in the face of violence, bigotry, and a ton of scary moments. While the first two films play with these concepts the third installment tells the audience to never throw anything away because you may be sentencing that object to death by incinerator, or trash compactor. I’m sure this does wonders for the consciences of children who are entering their teenage years and no longer need their toys.

The movie is very well done. Disney Pixar has perfected how to appeal emotionally to an audience of varying ages, and bringing back their original Toy Story characters makes it just plain heartbreaking. The contributing voice talents of the veteran actors involved definitely helps too. Tom Hanks plays Woody and this time around the character acts as a true lead dominating the screen time more than in the original two films. The other main players, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and Jessie (Joan Cusack), take a step back to join the deep cast of toys as support.

In addition to the sheer amount of fear experienced throughout, there are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments that almost all of the characters get a chance at producing. But, it was hard for the jokes to build on each other as they traded off with the sad incidents. It’s tough to let loose at the banter of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head immediately after you find out that some of the less memorable toys from the other films were sold or thrown away. It seemed like doing stand-up comedy at a funeral. In the long run, Toy Story 3 might be considered the best of the trilogy but that doesn’t necessarily mean your toddler can handle it. Unless your toddler is a fan of Schindler’s List. Then they should be fine. (7.7 out of 10)