Lucy - movie review

First of all thank you to all of you who have requested that I get back to doing my movie reviews, and that you missed them.  Thankfully, I'm feeling much better now and my hands can type effectively for a longer period of time. So I'm back!


Just home from seeing the movie Lucy.  I thought I was going to see an action movie, with quite a bit of 'killing' in it.  Well, yes, there was killing, but the hidden story, of our human mind potential was PHENOMENAL.  I think everyone should see this movie, if only for the information it imparts.
The main character Lucy is played by Scarlett Johansson, and if there was any doubt that she can act, then this role dispels that. She was brilliant in this role. She ends up being coerced into being a 'mule' for an Asian cartel, when the substance she has been implanted with begins leaking which expands her mind. Then the fun begins.
Due to Lucy's brain being developed more than the usual 10% it is often said that we use, she began to use more and more brain power at one time.  So the action, often taking place with her mind power in command, is intersected with wonderful visuals of nature, or of Morgan Freeman lecturing on the function of the brain.  It is these inserts which make this movie totally worth while. 


Nothing like great acting, and then more importantly, the storyline, written and directed by Luc Besson, to educate us into realizing we are more than acquiring things and going for power.  All of us interested in humanity and its growth realize we need to move beyond the smaller thinking, and this movie gives us a glimpse at what it might be like with a 'mind' at full potential.  Whether that would be how it is truly like, who knows, but it certainly makes you think. 
I give this 4 1/2 out of 5.  Worth seeing for sure if you are interested in philosophy, the evolution of human kind and the potential we all know we have.

Delivery Man - movie review

After all the advertising, which seemed to go on months before this movie, Delivery Man, came out, I wasn't really sure I even wanted to see it. To my surprise I enjoyed it.  Vince Vaughn, who I often find over talks in his roles, was great in this role as the man who has unbeknown to him fathered over 500 children. In the movie you discover why he donated so much sperm.

It is touching, funny and a statement about relationships.  Father/son; Boyfriend/girlfriend and family. How when the 142 of them, who are contesting in course to find out who their father 'Starbuck' really is, he says, you have found each other.  Family....that is the hidden message behind this.

Vince Vaughn is good in this role, Chris Pratt as his friend creates some laughs and Cobie Smulders playing his pregnant girlfriend, all give their roles justice.  Writer/Director Ken Scott should be proud of this. A great combination of comedy with emotion of a serious subject.

Not much to really say except, for a movie which brought a tear to my eye, lots of laughs and a couple of hours well spent.  Go see it.
3 1/2 out of 5.

Fast & Furious 6 - movie review

I could not wait to see this movie. My appointment book had when it was opening Fast & Furious 6. Unfortunately I had to wait a whole day before I could go and see it, but last night saw me and my movie goer friend Trish walk in and take our seats (I had bought them ahead when I went back to see Star Trek - phenomenal movie - again.).
I own the DVD's of the other movies and just loved seeing, Van Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordara Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris aLudacrisa Bridges and Elsa Patakg with Dwayne Johnson from Fast and Furious 5, and then adding Michelle Rodriguez who had died at the end of Fast and Furious but was reborn (having forgotten her memory) in 6.
I found it a bit slow for the first quarter (picky me) but then the action started and once again was tremendously impressed with the stunts.  Wow, there are some beauties in here. Worth seeing again for that. The plot was not as important to me as the message 'family is the most important'.  I could not agree more.
You want action, phenomenal stunts, and seeing the 'gang' back in action, then you have to see this movie. There are some surprises and yes, some deaths, but the ending sets up for Fast and Furious 7. Can't wait.
4 out of 5.

Iron Man 3 - movie review

While I was in Edmonton last week I went to see Iron Man 3 in 3D. In the last two Iron Man's I have found the character of Tony Stark always aptly played by Robert Downey Jr hard to take, after all his attitude was arrogant and 'know it all'. This time however, Tony Stark is humbled and with most of the movie having him out of his 'suit' and being a plain human, though ever smart, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie throughout.  Robert Downey Jr gives a great performance as the humbled Tony Stark. Guy Pearce as the 'bad guy' of behind everything, while the usual cast of support, Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle perform their roles as usual. But the movie belongs to Robert Downey Jr and especially Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin. He was superb.  For a wonderful few hours of entertainment, then this is a must.  3 1/2 out of 5.

Movie Review - Seven Psychopaths

A wet, holiday Monday and what do I do, go and see Seven Psychopaths.  Within minutes I was wondering if I was out of my mind. First of all I don't like a lot of language which begins with F and I was fearful that would be too much for my tender ears. Luckily it subsided and I did not feel I had to leave the theatre, but I still wondered what on earth was I doing sitting there.  Did I laugh?  At times yes, it was so ridiculous I had to laugh, and at the same time, internally asking myself was I as crazy as the people on the screen seeing I was laughing.
The premise a struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.sounds harmless, if not funny. Right - Wrong. This movie is for those who like the bizarre story plots, the f language and find lots of blood spurting out of peoples clothing fun. Not really my cup of tea.
Regarding the acting, Colin Farrell as the struggling, alcoholic writer was his usually good self. Sam Rockwell, truly the main character in this movie, is funny in his crazy psychopathic way. Christopher Walken (who always unsettles me in his parts, even when he is great) walked easily through his role. Woody Harrelson, was great as the criminal boss whose love of his life - his Shitzu dog who gets taken. All the characters except Colin Farrell get killed or end up in jail by the end of the movie. There is a lot of killing in this movie.
The interesting part of me, interspersed in between the killing and f language was some great philosophy. These psychopaths do know a thing or two about the meaning of life, or the exploring of the meaning of life, or just plain life and death. That made it worth while.
1 1/2 stars.  (I read it was given an 8 - wow I'm certainly getting old and expect some well crafted meaning in the movies I watch).

Gulliver's Travels

I'm a Jack Black fan, so when my plans got changed I decided to drive north and see Jack Black's new film Gulliver's Travels. It is hard to describe what this movie is - of course it relates to the well known Gulliver's Travels, visiting the land of little people where he is a giant and then the land of giants where he is little. But, is this a children's film, an adult film a comedy or what? Somehow I felt it did not fall into any category completely. Its all of the above, yet not totally one of each. But it is a Jack Black film and I enjoyed it. I came away feeling contented and quite happy I had driven north. It is entertaining, funny in places, forced in others, but on the whole quite enjoyable. Want to spend some enjoyable time, then go see Gulliver's Travels. But don't look too hard for anything else but an enjoyable time.
I give this 3 1/2 out of 5.

Little Fockers

I finally made it to see Little Fockers. My friend Jeanne came with me for an afternoon showing. I was looking forward to this show, as I knew I would get some laughs and I wasn't disappointed. I did laugh, but I would have liked to have laughed more. At the end of the movie, I turned to Jeanne and said "I did not think this is as good as the other two", and she replied. "I thought it was the best".  So there it is, different strokes for different folks.
In reality, is it worth seeing? Oh yes of course. Some of the scenes, especially with Dustin Hoffman (who I wished had a bigger part in this one) and the faces of the ever cycnic Robert DeNiro are priceless. The introduction of the twins was also great. Both so different, the 'smart' girl and the 'feeling' boy. Loved that. Also Jessica Alba, looking great in her bikini type underwear. One always has to mention the ever lovable Barbra Streisand, who again it would have been great to see more of. But perhaps that will happen in the inevitable number four - after all they are moving two houses down.  I loved the look on Teri Polo's face when Barbra announced she and Dustin (oh never mind their movie names) were moving two houses down and then Blythe Danner and Robert DeNiro announce they could move too....yes I will go see it. You can depend on laughs and Robert DeNiro is definately priceless as the father-in-law. The Focker world rocks on! If you are a Focker fan, you do not want to miss this one.
I give this 3 1/2 out of 5.

True Grit

Just got home from seeing True Grit.  I thoroughly enjoyed it. I vaguely remember John Wayne and Kim Darby in the original. This version was hilarious in places. It was watching the credits at the end that I realized the Cohan Bros wrote produced and directed it. No wonder it was funny. The seem to get better and better. The only problem I had with it was I had to listen really hard due to the accents they were using. Jeff Bridges is phenomenal in this role, (perhaps another Oscar nomination) the young girl was great....she really pulled the role off (but off the top of my head I can't remember her name - age, I worked to remember it off the screen too). Matt Damon I'm not sure of, but he is Matt Damon, I think other kinds of roles suit him better. Josh Brolin was great as the villain (although there were many villains).  Yes, go see this movie, it is definitely worth seeing, for the laughter. If you have a strange sense of humor like I do, you will laugh often even when no one else is. I give this movie 4 out of 5. 

movie review - The Tourist

Just in case you are reading this movie review before Tron: Legacy I went north to watch two movies, Tron: Legacy and The Tourist.
The Tourist was my second movie of the day and as I'm a huge Angelina Jolie fan (not so hot about Johnny Depp) I was looking forward to it. I had been disappointed in Tron: Legacy (but please read what I wrote) and as I sat down to see this movie I was hoping for the best. The last movie I had seen Angelina in was Salt, which I loved. But, once again this afternoon brought some disappointment. Angelina played the mysterious lady, and luckily she is so beautiful so the shots of her face and wondering on the miracle of make up to hide her numerous tattoos during different shots, did not thoroughly disappoint. But this woman is a phenomenal actress and I felt like she was walking through the part, hardly any movement except to walk and drive a motor boat (oh yes the dance scene - that was good) but she came over mysterious but cold.  Which was her part, it just seemed so one dimensional. I only found a little bit of this movie I could get my teeth into.  Everytime the movie would 'take off' it stopped.
I'm also a fan of Paul Bettnay (must not forget him) and even he seemed to play this role stiffly, while Johnny Deep seemed out of his league somehow. Regardless of my disappointment, there were some great moments. On the dance floor, then the twist at the end (which by this time I had figured out) after all there were several hints along the way.  I don't know who the director was, but I think a different director might have produced a different movie. one in which we all would want to pour in to see, after all the scenery of Venice is always a treat and the suspense as different peoples were chasing each other could have produced more tension than it did.  The question I ask myself is The Tourist worth seeing. Probably yes, which is why I give it a 3 out of 5, but you don't want to have to travel to far to go see it.
Over all, although I enjoyed my day off to go see two movies I wanted to see, I was disappointed but still glad I had seen them.  Now onto the Fockers. At least I will laugh there.

movie review - Tron: Legacy

Yesterday I decided to take a day off and travelled north to catch two movies. The first one I saw was Tron: Legacy.  Now I loved the first Tron. I always figured it was way before its time, but it had lots of action (which I enjoyed) and the story line was intriguing.  I can't say the same for this one. I thought the story line was slow, and yes the computerization was phenomenal, but I do like personality and the characters in the main were like the computer programs they represented. Dull. The think men would like looking at Cora and the other spandex/plastic glad gals. To say I was disappointed would be correct. Was it worth travelling north for - no, but on the other hand, I can say I've seen it, and it did have a couple of moments which were worth seeing. I just wish somehow they were able to make the characters more believable.  Therefore I give this 2 1/2 stars out of 5.

movie review - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Last night I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I had heard a review where the person gave this movie a one star, so it was with some trepidation that I went. Well I give it much more. I liked this one more than the last Narnia movie and although I'm not sure if it is totally on par with the first which was so delightful, but it most certainly held its own. The only thing I did not enjoy (well I guess there was two) was I thought the scene with the sea serpent went on too long (I'm picky) and the horrid cousin, could have transformed sooner. He was a bore, I could not help sitting there wondering where his voice came from, I wonder what it will be like when his voice changes (or perhaps he just looks young and his voice already had changed). For an evening of entertainment, dotted with wonderful phrases of philosophy with the usual fight on Narnia between good and evil I think it is worth viewing. I found the quotes delightful, and wished I had a pen to write them down so I could remember them. Mind you, I have not read the books, so not sure if the movie reflected the book. From the movie I gather this is the last one, although they did leave the door open for the cousin. Not sure about that, a movie without the delightful Lucy acted by Georgie Herley. would not be the same. Aslan, with his wisdom will be missed though. 
I give this movie 3 out of 5.

Unstoppable - movie review

Denzel Washington - no matter what movie you see him in he is good! In fact in Unstoppable he gives his role this basic calm yet speaks volumes. A master of the understatement, is the understatement. He is great in this role. Chris Pine (of the new Star Trek fame) with those wonderful eyes complemented him well. They were able to play off each other - whoever casted this did a great job. Beginning with tension between them, they end up working well together as they undertake the 'job' of stopping the runaway train. I enjoyed this movie, caught up in the drama of these two. I nearly did not go and see it, due to the promotion I thought someone was going to get killed. Luckily a friend told me she had seen it so I asked her if anyone died. I was not in the mood to see death on the screen. When she told me no, no one died and it was a good movie, I made the time to go see it, and I'm happy to report I did enjoy it.
It truly is a two man movie. With the other actors playing bit parts, even Rosario Dawson, who is listed as a 'star'. She did a great job, although I picked up an editing issue, which is unusual for a large budget film. In one scene she is tying her hair up, in the next it is back down on her shoulders. It would not have fallen that fast. As you know I'm a editor fan.  Good editing makes the movie. Mind you the editing was not Rosario's fault. Regardless of the small editing slip, this is a movie, if you like, tension, drama and great exchanges between twos great actors, then go see this movie. Unstoppable is unstoppable.
I give this 4 out of 5 stars for an enjoyable ride.

RED

I did not realise I had not given my review of RED yet. In fact I've seen it twice, once here in Penticton and once while in Vancouver. I loved it and will see it again I'm sure. What fun to watch these great actors all together responding, in satarical style to them being anialiated by the "who?". Each actor was great in their part, like it was written for them. Mary Louise Parker was the surprise. She was wonderful and some of her lines were delivered so well, I think I laughed the hardest with her transition from a kidnapped phone worker to "lets get 'em" person. Yes, want a laugh, see great acting, this is the movie for you.
4 1/2 stars out of 5.

movie review - Hereafter

Last night my friend Anne and I went to see Hereafter.  I had read a couple of reviews which said this movie was slow and did not catch on till near the end. I totally disagree. I thought, it was carefully constructed so that you really understood the characters contained within the main story. Bit by bit it took your through their struggles, pain and then the ending where the three stories merge. As a working psychic I totally related to Matt Damon's character George. The different between him and myself, is he can't turn it off. Whenever he touches someone he immediately sees who is on the other side who is close to the person. Whereas I'm a trained psychic and turn it on to work, and off when I'm not.
The script though, truly showed George's dilemma It is not always easy to give people information that they may not want to hear. So although I work as a psychic, my work is very different, but I could relate and empathize. It is really a gentle movie, a movie which shows people's frailties, of people coping with disappointment and heartbreak and it is also a movie of hope. Hope of the hereafter, hope of people being in the right place at the right time to support and love. I found one scene which I thought could have been done better and that is when he is talking to macus's brother and says he is leaving, and when George sees Marcus is upset has him returning to give him more message. That did not ring true to me. Something was out a bit, but otherwise I thought it was well done.
I give this movie 4 out of 5. A movie to be seen because it makes on ponder, think and question what is the hereafter and there is someone for everyone.

The Secret in their Eyes

It seems funny to me that again I read a book and see a movie which has the same theme. Yesterday I went to see the movie The Secret In Their Eyes. This is an Argentina/Spain collaboration set in Argentina and therefore was in subtitles. To think I would sit through a subtitled movie for over two hours and think nothing of it contributes to the magnificence of this movie. Within the first few frames I had the thought "this is an ART movie". In other words not the usual movie we are subjected to.  The cast, Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil and Guillermo Francella did an absolutely wonderful job of displaying this story of unrequited love, coupled with a murder mystery and everything else thrown in. Shot in present day, plus their memories back 25 years, the story holds you enthralled wondering what is coming next. It slowly builds the characters, but somehow you don't mind because the photography, the editing, the direction is all working towards some dramatic conclusions. My friend Jeanne and I just sat after it was finished while the credits (in  Spanish) rolled by. Yes another magnificent movie, where one is left wondering the conundrum of life.
Now to the book which is completed this morning. The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton. Again working in two times, a 99 year old remembering her years at Riverton House where she entered service when she was 14 and all that happened in between. Again unrequited love,  mystery and intrigue set in a Victorian, yet also modern time, as she jumps between the time periods, filling in the gaps of what happened to the main characters, but the subcharacters all play a huge part of the story. Well worth the read.
So two magnificent pieces of art. One in movie form, one in written form. Both speaking how opportunities not taken or misread lead to other events. The book is easy to get, its Kate Morton's latest. The movie, look for it, I'm sure it will come in DVD form soon, and it is worth the just over two hours, after all you don't see a full frontal male in full bloom too often these days.

Our Town

Last night I ventured out with the wind whistling away, like a storm was going to come, but it didn't, or if it did it was when I was asleep. Asleep I wasn't during the movie Our Town. Ben Affleck has always been a favorite of mine, even when Hollywood seem to be dissing him. He was smart, took a break from movies, got his personal life sorted out and came back with some great acting and directing. In Our Town he does both, it most certainly had action, yet the acting from the main characters was really good. Last year's Oscar winner certainly did his role proud. His was the harder part to play, I thought, in order to convince us of his complicated character. I definitely got it, all the complexity of growing up in a certain neighbourhood, believing certain 'honor' is the way to do things. Ben himself was his excellent self and his directing skills are certainly as good as many.
The question is "did I enjoy this movie?" Well can't say I enjoyed it, with all the guns blazing and people dying, but the story was told well, the acting was good with the characters believable. On that level yes, and of course my usual complaint about editing seemed fine too.  All in all a well done movie. The question for me is it a 3 1/2 or 4 stars.  I think 3 1/2. Well worth seeing if you can take guns blazing, shootouts with a love story. But no happy ever after ending, but then that is what made it a good movie.  Still 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Killers

Saturday night came and I was restless. Looking at the four movies available at my local theatre I chose Killers. Luckily I knew inspite of the title that it was Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel in a romantic comedy. By the amount of people in the audience, others did not. What a stupid title - whoever picked it should have been shot. With a different title the movie might have had more success. The title does not portray the movie at all - anyway I went.
I truly did not have any expectations of this movie, I just wanted out of the house where there as nothing on TV (which seems like every night these days.) I was pleasantly surprised.
I was surprised because I laughed often and I was hugely (is that a word) thrilled to see Magnum - Tom Selleck - he will always be Magnum to me, playing Katherine's Dad. He always bring such strength to the screen these days. Like a lot of men when they hit their 40's they seem to grow bigger all over -- well he is over 40 - but still looks, big, strong and Magnum.
Again the movie seems filled with craziness, but both Ashton and Katherine pull it off - somehow she does the dumb but beautiful, but not too dumb roles wonderfully well and Ashton always surprising pulls off his roles.
Yeah, hate to say it, I enjoyed this movie. I go to the movies for several reasons, one to be entertained, which this movie did. Two to enjoy the views, this one has wonderful views of Nice, France and then uptown subdivision and a construction site and office, but I sure enjoyed the views of France's coastline. Third I like to learn something from the movie, a moral, a mental or emotional connection. I did not in this movie, but I laughed and that is worth something when you are feeling tired and a bit out of sorts. Yeah I enjoyed it. Therefore it is worth 31/2 out of 5.

Prince of Persia

I thought when I saw Robin Hood that it would be hard to beat. But Prince of Persia does just that. I enjoyed this movie on every level. My friend who I saw it with and I both agreed - It was great!!! What did I like - everything!
First of all I find that movies depend upon the editing of a movie. I think Editors are not rated high enough. I have seen movies which were really good destroyed by bad editing. The editing in this was wonderful. Scene followed scene in quick succession and you got to follow the story line easily. The director, playwright, whoever took their time setting up the story you got to understand who this Prince was. you got to understand the underlying tensions existing and then when the story finally kicks into high gear you get the full picture. It is exciting, it is colorful (the colors were wonderful) it is well acted, well directed, well everything and I cannot believe anyone would not enjoy this movie. The beautiful scenes of the desert, the colors were magnificent, never mind the body on Jake rippling away. I also loved the jumping (which reminded me of 007 0 Daniel Craig in Casino Royale at the beginning of the movie, jumping over buildings etc. Also some of the scenes reminded me of Indiana Jones movies. I did not care, because it was fun. This movie is worth seeing, once, twice, maybe every three times. Therefore it gets 5 out of 5 stars.

Karate Kid

Sometimes one goes to the movies just to be entertained. I thought going to see the movie Karate Kid I would be doing that. Entertaining myself for a few hours rather than watching TV or reading. Well it was more than that. It was entertaining, but the message of the bully can be overcome through discipline, hardwork and dedication and never giving up truly is relative today with all the bullying that goes on in schools and some communities. Plus its a life lesson for us who want to achieve things in life.
I especially enjoyed young Jayden Smith who definitely shows the skills of his father Will and mother Jada - he was delightful. But the scene stealer is Jackie Chan. Some of the shots of him walking along as the older, defeated man, shuffling along with stiff joints etc, your heart goes out to him and when his story comes out you understand and then you watch the transformation of him as well as his young student of Kung Fu Drey. I thought he did wonderfully well in the part and was well picked as the older maintenance man.
The scenery of when they visited the monastery climbing steps which go forever and seeing the monks of the temple in their different practices I found fascinating, especially the lady with the cobra and how the lesson that the cobra was following her dance, not the other way around. Also seeing the Great Wall of China in the movie was inspiring, but is the one part which had my brain doing a double take.
I think editing is such an important part of a movie. How a movie is edited can make or break it. Well they made a mistake here. When they went to the monastery it was explained why and you saw them on the train on the way there and back but all of a sudden the Great Wall of China appears with Drey doing his Kung Fu practices and then a shot of him back in the backyard doing his exercises and then back again to the Great Wall. "What"? I thought. There was no explanation of the great wall, there was no reason for it, except for us to see it (mistake) it took you away from the continuity of the movie, especially throwing a scene in between the other scenes of practice. Other than that momentarily craziness on part of the editors, the movie was cute. It was fun, sad and I found myself clapping at the fight scenes, which were very well done .... yes it was worth the couple of hours to go see.
3 1/2 out of 5.

Hurt Locker

Hurt Locker came out right when I as extremely busy getting ready to go to New Zealand. So I missed it at my local theatre. Therefore, when I saw the DVD available I snatched it up ready to watch the movie which took best picture. I was not disappointed. What a movie, the understanding of the characters feelings and what they go through in war I thought was really well done. The sensitivity of the subject matter - war - was displayed so well, you just got caught up in the 'horror' (the streets littered with debris never mind the bombs plus a young man being made into a human bomb). Then the interrelationships of the characters showed the many different types of personality are involved in war and ho they deal with the risks and the uncertainty of whether you life or die. You felt for the main character when he went home and felt overwhelmed just by choosing a box of cereal from the many displayed. This scene really brings home the post traumatic stress which most returning soldiers experience. Then the final scene when he is back for another year of going about his job of defusing bombs. Definitely a winner and one of the war movies to have in your collection.