Tuesday August 9, 2011

Rise of the Planet of the Apes- This is a quality science fiction film that easily forgets the previous Tim Burton film. Outside of Andy Serkis, who is brilliant in his motion capture performance as the ape, Caesar, nobody else is fantastic but they all do their part and are effective at playing their roles. The movie shows a greater duration of its length in the perspective of Caesar, and tells more of its story as the idea of poor treatment towards animals that ought to be our equals. It's fascinating and makes you think, but audiences that would think that it's an action film will be mistaken and most likely a little disappointed. Despite its repetitive and redundant title (too many "of the"s for my taste), I would definitely recommend it.



The Change-Up- Funny but pretty bad. It's 'Freaky Friday' with dudes, and for dudes. Definitely a FDBD (think FUBU) film. There's plenty of sex, nudity, and shit jokes that make up this film. Some of it works really well... but most of it doesn't. It's a movie that gives you what you would expect. Which is kind of disappointing since you don't expect too much. Jason Bateman does a lot of complaining (even when he's supposed to be Ryan Reynolds' character in Bateman's body) and Ryan Reynolds does a lot of advising (especially when he's supposed to be Jason Bateman's character in Reynolds' body). Finally, Olivia Wilde makes her real life public image more appealing, by choosing to appeal to everything guys like this summer (in 'Cowboys and Aliens' and 'Tron: Legacy', she's appealing to nerds, and in this one, she's appealing to 'normal' or (SPIKE TV/MANswers type) dudes) while Leslie Mann ends up being the pitied wife with bowel issues. Yup, that's about it. It is watchable, but good? I think not.



- Jeff Bassin

Monday August 8, 2011

Astro Boy- I enjoyed this animation far more than I though I would. First, because it isn't just a simple robot hero story. This is the story of a kid who's death causes a heartbroken father to build a robot using his DNA, creating a robot with the same memories, but with a slightly different personality. The father dislikes him, because he reminds him of his departed son, so he chooses to kick him out of the home, leaving the emotion filled robot to find his purpose in this world. Pinocchio. It has an interesting premise and highly interesting themes for what I thought would just be about action. Robot (Slave) equality, Upper class vs. Lower class, the Struggle for Political Regime, yep they are there. This is more than you would think, and I enjoyed a large portion of it. Although I can't say much for the voice cast (especially that Nic Cage), I wouldn't let that sway my viewing. Considering that nobody I know has really seen it (kind of old for this kind of movie bro… Good point parenthesis response person) this is what I like to call underrated.



- Jeff Bassin

Sunday August 7, 2011

Little Monsters- A fun kids movie from back in the day that is a good watch but there is so much to pick on that its partially hard to enjoy. Howie Mandel's impression of Betelgeuse only goes so far, and it's the mean spirited attitude of the monsters that provides odd humor for a children's movie. Even if the kid has a bully that makes fun of him and picks on him, does that really give him the right to sneak into his house late at night and pee in his apple juice container. But I can forgive that, only there's more. At the end of the film, their entrance way to the mortal world from the monster world is closed because the sun is up. This should mean that the kids are trapped and will become monsters. Only the loophole is that they can go to a different state around the world to find a place where they can exit without the sun. Doesn't this mean that nobody has to become monsters? Was everyone too stupid before them to run to a different time zone? Oh well, this is a 'Goonies' level movie with a horror lime twist to it, so its all in a playful spirit, but if I'm watching something with my future kids or am feeling nostalgic, I should probably just go with 'The Goonies'… also, I feel like this one could scare kids, so obviously that's not great for the family.



Don't Look Under the Bed- Another horror kids film, this from the Disney Channel Original Movie brand (though I found a copy of it on Youtube after feeling nostalgic for this one after 'Little Monsters') and I like it much more than Little Monsters… although it is much creepier. Despite overusing the Dutch 'Sideways' Angle to create an eerie abnormal effect probably way too much, it is used for the right purposes. Anywho, I wanted to begin by saying, now this is quality for an old kids movie. It is certainly scary (gives me a bit of chills after its done, but when I saw it when I was younger, I was fearing' like crazy cause of this one… Well, not as bad as 'The Ring', but you get the idea. Anyways, the leads are both solid, it is filled with fun moments and creepy ones, and everything almost ties up perfectly. Except for never telling us why the lead could see the imaginary friend but not the Boogeyman character, and then letting her see the Boogeyman character at the end with no explanation, this is a kids film I mark with an appropriate amount of good nostalgia.



- Jeff Bassin

Friday August 5, 2011

Rio- Started this last night and finished it in the morning. This was a really fun movie. I can completely understand why critics praised what seemed like a mindless effort. It depicts brazilian culture quite accurately, it includes many real locations of brazil, and it is mighty colorful. It also doesn't hurt to have voice talent like Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg on the group, especially Eisenberg, who is coming off of 'The Social Network'. The songs are cute and sometimes funny (Jermaine Clement of 'Flight of the Choncords' has a great one where he emulates his song style from the tv show, and the big "Rio" number that repeats is also quite good). It's childish at times, with pretty much all of the jokes passing by with mostly smirks from my part, but they were enjoyable smirks. Overall, this is an interesting an fun animated movie for adults, but I'm certain kids will enjoy it way more. Of course, I would be willing to watch it again with them.



Hobo with a Shotgun- Despite having an interesting look (odd choices for colors of the film, claiming to be in technicolor (some real "Wizard of OZ' s@$t), it just took itself too seriously, even when it was being silly, thus making the gory sequences (a girls arms being chopped off and then her lifting a sewer grate by just a bone arm) all the harder to watch. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but most of the fun comes from juvenile punchlines and over the top gore. Nothing special, but somehow entertaining.



Source Code- Duncan Jones scores again (definitely enjoyed his first feature, 'Moon') with an even better and original effort with the use of a more generic plot line. What could be described as a rehash of plot lines for the movie 'Deja Vu' with Denzel Washington, Jones quickly turns it over its head with more complicated theology, and a much more thrilling adventure. From minute one, the viewer sits at the forefront of excitement, and from train explosion one, it doesn't really let go until the end. The idea of parallel realities may have been hard for some viewers to concentrate on, but Jones figures his viewers will either be the kind to shrug off his film, or analyze it enough to understand it. And while the idea of nothing in the film technically taking place in the reality it originally began in can stump the reward of a 'real' happy ending, it has more truth based in it than most hollywood films and there is merit in that. It's that copout ending, there's a happy ending in some universe, even though ours doesn't have it… Wait… that really hasn't been done before to that extent. Like I said, Original.



- Jeff Bassin

Wednesday August 3, 2011

Quest for Camelot- A thoroughly generic attempt at a disney styled hand drawn film and proof that if it's hand drawn, it doesn't have to be mind boggling. It's not terrible, just not eventful. It's completely predictable, not in the least successfully comedic, nor are the songs catchy (though there is one duet I liked). The movie is overall just more of a pamphlet of how to make a generic animated film. Re-watching this as a 19 year old instead of whatever age I was when I saw it in theaters makes me wonder what I originally thought of it. Curious, how a good film can become bad film with years added to the equation.



- Jeff Bassin

Tuesday August 2, 2011

Bridge to Terabithia- This was a great family film, one that practices what it preaches, and ultimately leaves the audience (adult and child) pretty emotionally involved. Josh Hutcherson (Jess) and AnnaSophia Robb (Leslie) give out great childish performances and have good chemistry, and it's fairly well directed by Gabor Csupo to a level that really respects the novel. It's a movie about opening your imagination and carrying the ideas of possibility into the youth. While some elements of the film are too childish, such as the bullies and how they transition into the magical realm of Terabithia, its all in good fun and doesn't take away from the emotionally impacting moments such as the forming adolescent love between the two protagonists, the death of the Leslie, the sequence where the Jess finally receives the love from his father he always wanted, and when Jess finally brings his sister to share in the world of Terabithia. So go ahead and give it a shot if you are looking for something to view on the PG family friendly line of things.



- Jeff Bassin

Sunday July 31, 2011

A Serious Man- Coen brothers at their finest. But not really. Still great though. Just underwhelming. It's a movie that builds up so much electricity, but refuses to shock the audience with it. Don't blame the bros. for doing a movie their way. After all, "True Grit" ends with the chick losing her leg and feeling "sad" about stuff, and "The Big Lebowski" ends with his friend dying, him having a possible kid on the way, and bowling. The whole film interests you with the misfortune of its protagonist, but it ends with something that amounts to nothing so it really is just a religious metaphor. It presents us with the question, but leaves us completely answerless. It's a movie that ends right before its climax, so the audience wishes they could have saw more, or that the brothers are just to lazy to work their movie another 20 minutes more. It poses the same example that it points out in the beginning. The protagonist professor tells his failing asian student, that although he understands the pictures and fables that he presents to describe physics, without understanding the mathematics, the picture is meaningless. So too is the religious questions posed. 'A Serious Man' is a fable, one with only the picture, but no mathematics behind it. I enjoyed the questions it poses, because as religion is as a concept, each individual must decide on their own.



Crazy, Stupid, Love- An ensemble film piece with great chemistry between Steve Carell (the normal suburban divorcing father/husband) and Ryan Gosling (GQ styled and womanizer extraordinaire). Everybody else does their part and they do it fine, but it is these two men, that truly shiny. Yes, a corny rhyme. So too, does this film present a background of reality, but is cushioned by a foreground of cliche and happiness. The true love/ soul mate schlock is fine… but the real problem is the ending that chooses to give everybody their soul mates, which ruins the illusion of reality. At least one couple shouldn't have survived this film's cycle. But no, even the 13 year old boy gets with the 17 year old girl, at least eventually he will. But if you look at it from a different angle, one ignoring the ending, this film is very enjoyable and lasting, and vastly different in comedic style from 'Friends with Benefits', which will pay off in years to come for viewing. Because, after all, love, is the most powerful story of them all. So, for a funny, but more dramatic version of the latter described, this one is the way to go.



- Jeff Bassin