At The Movies

UP - Pixar has done it again with this one. This is a rather odd tale about an elderly man who leaves the city and travels to South America...while at the same time never leaving his house. There's a cub scout, lots of talking dogs, biplanes, zepplins, jungles, and giant birds. Yet somehow it all comes together in the end with lots of warm messages and lots of fun. We own most of the Pixar movies, and I'd have to say this is one of the best I've seen from them. And as for Ben...he loved it.

TERMINATOR: SALVATION - I have to admit, I was very interested in checking this one out. Following the usual Terminator storyline, we see lots of robots and terminators going after John Connor, this time played by Christian Bale. However, in this installment, we actually get to see the "dark times" when the robots launched war against the humans. Up to now we've only ever heard about it and seen bits and pieces of the war. This movie IS the war, which i really liked. Like STAR TREK, this is also a "reboot" of sorts, with Bale taking over the reigns of the franchise from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bale doesn't play Connor quite as well as he plays Bruce Wayne in the BATMAN movies, but he plays it well enough for you to buy into it. But let's face it, this is not one of those movies where you want a lot of story. You want to see lots of robots, explosions, and terminators...and that's what this one delivers. I admit...I liked it.

STAR TREK - Let me preface this by saying...I'm not, nor have I ever been...a "trekkie." Yet somehow I always see the movies when they come out. Director J.J. Abrams (of TV's "LOST") has rebooted the franchise by traveling back in time and putting a fresh face (or faces) on all the familiar characters that we've grown to know over the years. We see the origins of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk, Spock, etc...and the special effects are really dynamic. Overall...there's a lot to like here. However, I thought it was simply okay. I found the story very slow and boring, which can be typical in an origin story such as this. One thing that bothered me was it seemed like Abrams had a checklist that he was going down throughout the film, as if he were telling you..."Okay, if you'll look to your left you'll see a young Kirk...and over here you'll notice the Enterprise being built...and then over here...etc." Instead of everything flowing naturally, the story felt very formulaic. Overall...this is a fine summer movie. Lots of eye candy and lots of action...which has been missing in lots of Trek movies in the past. In my opinion it's not bad, but it's not great either.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN - Jenny and I took a date night one night, and it was either this one or ANGELS & DEMONS. Well...we took our chances with this one because we knew ANGELS & DEMONS was going to be bad. Well...after having watched this one I'm very confused. Why you ask? Well...I couldn't stand this movie, and Jenny fell asleep...literally. However, everyone else who I've talked to LOVED this movie. I can't find anyone else who didn't like this one...other than Jenny and I. So...I don't know what to tell you. To me...it seemed like all the actors were bored in this one, and didn't have anything to work with. The jokes weren't funny, and the antics were corny. However, everyone I talk to say it was hilarious. So I don't know. What did surprise me was the realization walking out of it that we could have taken Ben to it. It was very tame, and more kid friendly than I expected.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON - This is a great...great...GREAT documentary on the United States space program in the 60's and early 70's...and specifically the Apollo program. From Producer Ron Howard, the film offers testimonials from all the surviving Apollo astronauts that walked on the moon and participated in the missions. There's lots of archival footage here from that time, and it's still breathtaking to watch after all these years. Combine that with incredibly heartfelt interviews from the astronauts and you have one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. I put this up against anything Ken Burns has done, or any of the great documentaries out there. Great...GREAT film!

APPALOOSA - Ed Harris starred and directed this period western about two "peace keepers" trying to restore order in a small New Mexico town. If you're one who likes westerns (which I do) you'll find lots to like here. The performances of the two peace keepers, played by Harris and Viggo Mortensen, are great as you would expect, and Jeremy Irons does a surprisingly good job playing the villain. The story takes a couple of weird turns along the way, thanks in part to Renée Zellweger's odd performance. But overall as a western this is a pretty good one. The story is a classic western formula, there's some cool gunfights, and lots of great cinematography to look at. This isn't as good as UNFORGIVEN or even OPEN RANGE, but it's still pretty good and worth checking out.

HENRY POOLE IS HERE - Wow! Luke Wilson CAN make a good movie. Seriously though...this movie really surprised me. Wilson plays Henry Poole, a man who has just about given up on life. He moves into a new house in Los Angeles, and finds his neighbors all flocking to his house with the belief that a stucco stain on the exterior of his house is the spitting image of Jesus Christ. The movie explores all avenues of what faith means to a person, and what it's like to start one's life over. However, there's an edge to this film as well. There's some dry humor here that keeps the film from being preachy, and the indie-rock soundtrack is very moving and fits perfectly. I really enjoyed this one.

THE WRESTLER - Mickey Rourke plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a wrestler who's way past his prime but who doesn't know how to do anything else. The story is kind of like a modern day tragedy, as Randy tries to find someone to love and restore a relationship with his estranged daughter. The performances from Rourke and Marisa Tomei are very strong, and makes the movie worth checking out. My only gripe about this one is some of the wrestling scenes go on way too long. But still though...this one was pretty interesting.

THE HAPPENING - I used to watch M. Night Shyamalan movies because I thought they were going to be good. Outside of his first film, THE SIXTH SENSE in 1999, I haven't seen a good movie from him since. Nowadays, I watch his movies to get a good laugh, and this one provided PLENTY of laughs. And no...it's not a comedy. In THE HAPPENING, we see a strange phenomena affecting the northeast states. I won't spoil anything for you here, but the explanations we're given here aren't convincing. And as for the dialouge, well...it's so bad it's laughable. Mark Wahlberg plays a high school science teacher trying to find the cause of the phenomena...while at the same time he's trying to patch up his relationship with his wife Zooey Deschanel. Yep...that's right. In the middle of all the dead bodies the two are going at it about who's to blame for what. Like I said...very funny. Anyway, I think it's obvious how I felt about this one. Another rediculous effort from M. Night Shamma-lamma-ding-dong.

CELEBRITY - Speaking of bad efforts...here's one from Woody Allen. CELEBRITY is supposed to be a comedic spoof about the media and celebrities, yet I had found it impossible to find anything to laugh at here. With actors such as Kenneth Branagh, Joe Mantenga, Charlize Theron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Melanie Griffith I was surprised to see how disappointed I was with this one. Allen tries to spice things up here by filming in black and white, but the attempt doesn't seem to help things much. Just not a lot to like here.