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Flash Movie Review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
If I knew the world was coming to an end, no carb would be safe near me. Having had to spend most of my years thinking about what I was eating, I would consume anything and everything I could get my hands on. It really would be a dream come true. Right at the beginning of this movie we found out the final attempt to destroy the asteroid Matilda had failed. It was still headed on a collision course with earth. Dodge, played by Steve Carell (Date Night, Evan Almighty), and his wife (real life wife Nancy) heard the news while they were in the car. She bolted from the car in a panic, never to be heard from again. Even with such a morose topic, the humor did not seem out of place to me. When back at his apartment, Dodge witnessed his neighbor Penny, played by Keira Knightley (A Dangerous Method, Pride & Prejudice), breaking up with her boyfriend. From this point on I felt the story began to break down. With chaos exploding around them, Penny and Dodge wound up taking a road trip; he to find the first love of his life and her to get back to her family. Keira did a good job with what she was given in the script. She certainly has that single tear rolling down the face thing that Demi Moore used to be known for. My problem with this film was how scattered it came across. Going from funny to sad, improbable to silly; I quickly lost interest. Another reason could have been Steve Carell; he was not strong enough to be the lead in this role. And here again, I blamed the script for most of it. Sitting in my seat I was more preoccupied with seeking relief at the movie ending than the world coming to an end.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Lola Versus
Everyone has their own way of dealing with the heartache from a breakup. For me, I lose my appetite, fall into a depression and if you can believe it, watch more movies. It is a real challenge when I still need to be upbeat and motivate the members in my classes. Lola, played by Greta Gerwig (Greenberg, Damsels in Distress), was only a few days from being married when her fiance called off the wedding. The story followed Lola as she free fell into a chaotic life filled with eating, drinking and a whole lot of confusion. I have enjoyed Greta’s performances in the past and though I thought she was okay in this film, I felt she was directed poorly. Her character was not as sympathetic as it could have been; I lost interest within the first half of the movie. Interestingly, I thought her fiance Luke, played by Joel Kinnaman (Safe House, The Darkest Hour) did a sufficent job with his role. I am not comfortable with things that are extreme. With Lola, I felt she was acting out in such a drastic, negative way that it was not likable to me. By the end of the movie I felt ambivalent, just grateful I did not have friends like that around me.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hop
When I am not teaching my classes, some days I can be found in aisle 9, candies and cookies, of my local grocery store. The rush I get while I peruse the assortment of delicious treats was the same feeling I felt at the opening scene of this combo animated and live action movie. My television screen was filled with delectable sweet delicacies from the Easter Bunny candy factory. I enjoyed the beginning of this fanciful film. The story was about the Easter Bunny’s son E.B., voiced by Russell Brand (Arthur, Get Him to the Greek), who did not want to take over for his Dad and become the Easter Bunny. Instead, E.B. wanted to become a famous drummer, running away to Hollywood to fulfill his dream. It was at this point of the movie where things began to fall apart for me. Enter James Marsden (Enchanted, Hairspray) as Fred O’Hare, an unemployed slacker who accidentally injured E.B. with his car. From the wonderful opening the rest of the movie was lackluster with primitive humor. What could have been an interesting story just never clicked with me and I found myself being bored. Out of the choices available to see an animated, fantasy movie; I felt like I just pulled out the green Life Saver from my assortment pack–my least favorite flavor.
2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Mirror Mirror
What do you think the Grimm brothers would have thought about this movie version’s twist on their original story? My guess would be none too happy about it; for I am afraid this mirror needed some polishing if it wanted to reflect a happy audience. Please do not get me wrong, there was nothing horrible about the movie; it just came across disjointed for me. On the plus side it was colorful, had a couple of good special effects in it and had kid friendly humor. The queen was played by Julia Roberts (Closer, Erin Brockovich) and it seemed she was having fun with the role. Some of her lines had a sickly sweet, sarcastic coating that played off well against the rest of the cast. Where I had an issue was the Snow White character, played by Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Abduction). I did not feel she had any chemistry with the other actors, especially with what should have been the most important one, Prince Albert played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network, J. Edgar). The story line of this movie was a combination of parts from various fairy tales. When Snow White’s father the King mysteriously disappeared from the kingdom, her stepmother the evil Queen took over the throne. Letting her true colors come out, she started to treat Snow White like a pseudo Cinderella. As you can see, I found the story odd. But in the scheme of things, this movie was harmless and acceptable for a family outing. Instead of casting a charming spell on you, this film will only cast a forgetting spell.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wrath of the Titans
This is today’s lesson: size does not matter, when it comes to making an evil character. Just because a character is the largest one on the screen doesn’t make them the meanest or scariest. The character I am referring to is Kronos, father of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Though the studio had the key pieces to make a blockbuster of this movie, they did not follow through in taking the parts and expanding on them. The perfect example was the Kronos character. After draining the power from Zeus, played by Liam Neeson (Taken, The Grey), the audience was led to believe this power would give Kronos the energy to break free and destroy the world. At least that is what Hades, played by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter franchise, The English Patient) was telling us after he imprisoned his brother Zeus in the underworld. Talk about your family dysfunction. The hero coming to save Zeus was his son Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar, The Debt). I give credit to Sam, for his role appeared to be a truly physical one as he was being beaten and thrown around. As I mentioned, the pieces were all here: from the love interest, to family betrayal, to battle scenes, to the love between a father and son. However, the story was not able to glue these parts together and create some excitement. It was not like I was totally bored with this movie; there was some good special effects that entertained me. But at one point of the movie I did wish they would have brought back the Kraken and let it destroy everyone in the movie, so there would not be any further sequels.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Footnote
Sometimes a father and son have a mercurial relationship. I have seen instances where the father was disappointed his son did not meet his expectations. Or there was the father that always tried to upstage his child in being the center of attention. In this dramatic movie, father and son Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik, played by Shlomo Bar-Aba (Half a Ton of Bronze, Kvalim) and Lior Ashkenazi (Walk on Water, Kalevet) respectively, were both scholars at Jerusalem University. Where the son sought the limelight and alcolades from his peers; the father focused on a narrow range of study, seeming to ignore the establishment. But was that really the case when Eliezer was mistakenly phoned with news he would be the recipient of a prestigious award? Having seen the trailer for this movie and with it being an Oscar nominee, I expected much from this film. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the story. There were some humorous scenes, but the more I watched the characters, the less I cared about them. Without that connection, my overall feeling for this film was one of boredom. As the credits were rolling a thought came to me–I hope I was not turning into a one of those reviewers with high expectations, just because a film received a nomination.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Contract
I had high hopes for this film. Why wouldn’t I when it starred Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, The Dark Knight) and John Cusack (HIgh Fidelity, Must Love Dogs). And the added bonus was Morgan’s character, Frank Carden, was an assassin. Sadly, the script was poor and a bit ridiculous. John’s character, Ray Keene, wanted to bond with his son by going on a father/son weekend trip. During a hike they came across two nearly drowned men who were handcuffed to each other. I don’t know about you, but if I saw two people handcuffed together, I would keep my distance, calling the police instead. And it was at this point where the story took the silly path: Father Ray could not get reception on his cell phone. So instead of trying to find help or phone reception, Ray decided he would bring Frank to the police and become a hero in his son’s eyes. The rest of the movie was one long chase scene. As the police were trying to catch up with Ray and his group, Frank’s villainous associates were chasing them, trying to kill Ray and his son. When I turned off my reasoning power, I was able to sit through this movie. Besides, I enjoyed the scenery. So what if the lines were cheesy and some of the situations were loony. I did not mind as the story jumped from one predicament to another with bullets flying and perilous dilemmas defying reality.
2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
This movie should have been rated MHC: Must Have Child. I do not see any other reason why you would want to see this film. It has been marketed as a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, but the only connection between the two movies was the character of Sean, played by Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right, Bridge to Terabithia) and both movies had CGI special effects. In this movie Sean, accompanied by his mother’s husband Hank, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Fast Five, Tooth Fairy), go on an adventure in search of Sean’s grandfather. Watching Dwayne I wondered if they enhanced his appearance, since he almost looked cartoonish with his massive build. Though I have to say his character was likeable and well directed, to deliver his lines in a playful, sarcastic way. What I found interesting was the way the movie was shot. I viewed the 2D version, yet in many scenes it was obvious they were filmed in a particular way for the 3D effect version. It annoyed me slightly, thinking they used the action for 3D as the center point to the set up of the various scenes. The humor was childish, hence why the MHC rating, the dialog was bland; the only reason to see this movie would be for the variety of colors used and special effects. Outside of that, for me, the movie was silly.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wanderlust
The only wandering that was done in this movie was the story line. What I thought would be a fun movie, turned out to be flat with a handful of chuckles. Paul Rudd (Role Models, I Love You, Man), who is always consistent in his performances, could not save this film. I would love to know how much ad libbing Paul did in an attempt to save this movie–the raunchy talking to himself in the mirror scene comes to mind. His wife Linda was played by Jennifer Aniston (Marley & Me, The Bounty Hunter). I only wish Jennifer would change her management company and get a new acting coach. There never seems to be any growth in her performances; she always is the same, with a narrow range of ability. After striking out in each of their business professions in New York City, the couple set out to stay with George’s brother in Atlanta, where a job was waiting in the brother’s waste company. During their road trip south, Linda and George stumbled upon a bread and breakfast owned by a commune. The members’ non pressured, laid back lifestyle intrigued the couple to extend their stay. What could have been a gold mine of hilarious material never took place, with the last half of the movie taking on a ridiculous quality. Such a shame a good idea went up in a haze of smoke. But at least Jennifer got a boyfriend out of the experience. If you insist on seeing this movie, stay through the credits.
2 stars
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