Movie Review – Red Tails (2012)
In interviews executive producer George Lucas has opined that bringing the tale to the big screen of the all-African American fighter squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, has been one of his life-long dreams which he finally has achieved with his new film, Red Tails. However, while the heart and intent of the film might be in the right place the execution is beyond trite with a flagging narrative that presents cardboard characters and a propensity to add too many incongruous elements into the plot which are resolved with the subtlety of a giant hammer to the face. As might be expected being a Lucasarts produced film its technical aspects are all top notch with some truly convincing CG of WWII aerial combat that makes the movie shine but alas just about everything else fails to make the grade.
Movie Review – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
I fully admit that it has been a very long time since I last saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest yet as one of my frequent readers has requested a review of it here I am trying to put into words an analysis of director Milos Forman’s 1975 masterpiece, a film that joins only two others as having won what is frequently known as the “Big 5” Academy Awards in one year being Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay (original or adapted). For the record the other two films are Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night back in 1934 and Jonathan Demme’s 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. Yet film critics will easily point out that winning multiple Academy Awards doesn’t necessarily solidify a movie’s inclusion on a list of the greatest or most influential films and that usually it takes the passing of time to properly place a film’s influence into context.
Movie Review – Battleship (2012)
While Peter Berg’s Battleship is not quite the total train wreck that it could have been it’s still a completely loud nauseating experience that requires suspension of disbelief on a scale not seen in many years. Just one of these days before I kick the bucket I hope someone in Hollywood has enough creativity to figure out a plausible explanation for aliens to attack Earth because everything from Battle L.A. to Skyline and now to Battleship crafts a scenario where the alien strategists base their invasion on a massively ill-advised ground assault instead of merely planting their fleet in orbit and pounding the human race into submission.
Movie Review – X-Men First Class (2011)
With X-Men First Class director Matthew Vaughn has successfully rebooted the franchise in this taut well-acted ensemble piece that, while not perfect, serves as a great example of how to properly craft a prequel while avoiding many of the potential pitfalls. That said the film’s biggest positive is actually a double-edged sword that might rub viewers the wrong way and certainly lead to a much more conflicted series of emotions from the audience.
Movie Review – The Green Hornet (2011)
A complete an utter mish-mash of a plot coupled with an unrestrained Seth Rogen usually ends up as a recipe for disaster but the Green Hornet at least manages to be sporadically entertaining until a third act where the action quotient not only goes out the window but rockets into the stratosphere towards the planet Idiotic. It would be easy for me to flippantly say that only Seth Rogen fans are going to love this film but I’m sure most viewers will find it hard to stop thinking that he’s still a lumbering goof who is more prone to shooting himself in the face than being a paragon of justice.
Movie Review – Red Riding Hood (2011)
Amanda Seyfried might be one of the bright lights from this current generation of actresses but there’s absolutely nothing she can do with this insipid material besides collect her paycheque and count her blessings that she can easily secure work on better projects. Red Riding Hood is close to a total train wreck ensuring a plethora of razzie nominations for worst movie of the year. While adapting the Red Riding Hood fairy tale initially seems like a stretch the real issue here is the ridiculous grafting of a romantic character arc along with some truly heinous sections with Gary Oldman doing his best to chew scenery with delicious aplomb that make his witch-hunt seem more like a sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Movie Review – The Beaver (2011)
Whatever one thinks of Mel Gibson nowadays there is no denying that he is a good actor and in the case of The Beaver he turns in an inherently honest portrayal of a tortured depressed man who stands at the edge of the proverbial precipice. How much of Gibson’s performance comes from his acting ability and how much comes from his real life issues is up for psychologists to debate but there’s no doubting that the movie is certainly inspired. Nevertheless, the film’s biggest problem that will stop viewers from watching is not Gibson the man but the beaver itself as the entire film hinges upon whether or not one truly believes the movie’s reason d’etre which is having a beaver hand puppet essentially become the leading actor.
Movie Review – In Time (2011)
In Time has a wholly electrifying setup which manages to not only hook viewers but will probably make for a grand conversation topic at the family dinner table regarding how the global population seems to wilfully follow any authoritative governmental system even if they know deep in their hearts that it is woefully unfair. However, while the movie has a wonderful first act it completely botches the second and third acts by squandering its intriguing intellectual premise for the sake of cheap thrills, gunfights and violence that not only is not needed but also is shot with a next to total lack of rhythm or tension sending the film’s internal cadence into the proverbial brick wall.
