At The Movies

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Well...our wait was finally over. We finally were able to catch this one. It hardly stayed long enough at our theater for us to go see it, and then we had to wait of course for the DVD to come out. Anyway, I would say we liked this one, but I don't think we loved it like lots of other people did. It's a good film, and worthy of its nomination for best film but I don't think it deserved to win. The style and look of the film is very interesting, and the use of the energetic music keeps you engaged in the story. But if you ask me BENJAMIN BUTTON was a more complete film and I still feel that was the film that should have won best picture. Still though I recommend Slumdog to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Good film.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE - Here we have the first "prequel" to the existing franchise of X-MEN movies. In this one we see the origin of Logan as "Wolverine" (played by Hugh Jackman.) The background story isn't quite as interesting as the character himself (an immortal who has claws made out of a kind of steel material.) Jackman always plays Wolverine well, and the first two X-MEN movies in particular are excellent. However, this installment doesn't quite measure up to the better X-MEN movies, but is however better than X-MEN 3. So I guess in a nutshell I thought this one was about what I expected...an entertaining action movie with little substance. After the emergence of the DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN last year the bar has been raised for super hero movies, and this one here doesn't quite measure up. Still though it's a fun movie.

YES MAN - Jim Carrey plays Carl...a man who decides to say "Yes" to every question he is asked. As he answers yes repeatedly to everything he finds new and interesting opportunities pop up before him. Situations that he would never have found himself in before he was a "Yes Man." There's some simple laughs here as you might expect, and the story is rather similar to Carrey's 1997 film LIAR LIAR. But unlike LIAR LIAR the story here never takes a depressing turn and instead always stays light and upbeat. This is definitely one of those films that is good for a rental and a bucket of popcorn. Not much to think about here...so just kick up your feet and chill out.

VICKEY CRISTINA BARCELONA - Here we have Woody Allen's latest film..."Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Shot on location in Spain, we follow the story of two female American tourists who get wrapped up in a love triangle with a local artist. To further complicate the story the love triangle soon becomes a square...with a 4th love interest entering the picture. The story is well written of course, and the characters are your typical Allen characters (young and old bohemians all searching for love.) I haven't really cared for Allen's recent "european" movies (MATCH POINT, SCOOP, CASSANDRA'S DREAM) but I would say this 4th one is the best of the group. Worth checking out for any Allen fan.

BODY OF LIES - This is the story of two CIA agents with two different agendas both fighting the war on terroism. The acting is pretty good here, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe playing the leads...and the directing is pretty strong thanks to the talented Ridley Scott. So overall I'm surprised to say this is a very average film. The story is rather dull and very confusing, as the two agents try to manipulate each other for their own purposes. I even had the feeling I had seen this movie before. It's has a very similar look and feel to the 2001 film SPY GAME starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. If you're interested in this kind of movie, might I recommend SPY GAME over BODY OF LIES. Much better film.

30 ROCK: SEASON 1 - Jenny and I have always been interested in this series, but we had never taken the time to try it out. So we decided to check out the first season. For those of you who don't know, "30 ROCK" is about a ficticious late night comedy show, similar to Saturday Night Live. There's good writing here, good acting, and overall the show is well done. However, I have to admit I didn't really care for it. I laugh because I don't really know why. Jenny liked it more than I did, but I admit it's a good show. It just didn't connect with me I guess. I have never been a fan of the show "SCRUBS," and "30 ROCK" has a very similar feel in my opinion, so maybe that's the reason I feel the way I do.

THE VISITOR - Thomas McCarthy (THE STATION AGENT) wrote and directed this excellent film. I'm actually surprised that I liked this film as much as I did. I thought it would be pretentious and preachy, but it's not. This is the story of Walter who is a lonely university professor making a presentation to some colleagues in New York City. He has a chance meeting with an immigrant couple, and they all form a friendship despite their many differences. As the story develops Walter's friends have Visa problems with the government and are being threatened deportation. Walter then finds himself in the center of the conflict as he tries to keep his friends from leaving the country. Like I said, I thought this would be a preachy film about the government's immigration issues, but it's really not. The story is wonderfully told and the acting is first rate. This is a very interesting, yet simple film. Highly recommended.

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY - (sigh) Why did I bother watching this? I actually remember kind of enjoying the first one. Not that the first one was good or anything, but it had a fun "goofiness" to it. This one however was just awful. As I watched this I thought to myself now that Guillermo del Toro (the director) has had some success and recognition (Pan's Labyrinth) the studio here probably gave him unlimited control and money so he could do whatever he wanted. The result is this messy gumbo of a film. Terrible.