Horrible Bosses

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Plot: Three guys hate their bosses and rather than quit they decide to murder their bosses.

Review: The core unredeemable problem with Horrible Bosses is that ORIGINALLY our heros Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) are normal guys putting up with horrible mean bosses -- at first we like them and sympathize.  BUT as murderer plotters  they stop being normal humans and become unlikeable asses themselves. It is not funny to kill people. Even with goofy comic antics -- it just is not funny to kill people.

The set-up scenes of horrible office life are uneven -- only the Jennifer Aniston scenes are any good. The vast middle of the movie is so stupid that it is hard to watch. The ending is a little better -- making the overall movie bearable. When it is working, Horrible Bosses is like Hot Tub Time Machine with stupid boy jokes around a dumb premise, but Hot Tub Time Machine, was 5X better.

Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey

Directed by: Seth Gordon

Rating:   1.5 stars (Wanted to leave during the middle.)

More: I have seen several news pieces inspired by this movie on handling horrible bosses in real life. The news pieces were more interesting than the movie.

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The Tree of Life

All these pictures are in the movie, so you won't be surprised that a story about

children has nature and space scenes. 

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Plot, to the extent there is a plot: A woman (Jessica Chastain) finds out her son died. The life of the dead boy is retold in flashback. There are long sequences of wildlife and animations of astronomy to illustrate spiritual themes.

Review: Most important, this is not really a movie. It is a visual poem. It shows pictures, plays music, and whispers dialog to make people think and perhaps feel. For example the movie made me feel sleepy. Also bored. I just can't recommend a movie that I found as un-endurable as this.

There were good things in the movie. There were some great photographic shots especially of architecture, and some wonderful nature scenes.

The movie gets points for taking on big issues -- really the biggest ones about life and death, loss, children and parents. It dances around spirituality, but I don't think it says anything about spirituality, but it might provide a reason to talk about it.

There are lots of things to talk about, for example was Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt) a realistic 1960's parent, or an idealized one in that he was always talking about love and hugging his kids. Another example is what was the visual bumper that divided the sequences.

Cast: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Sean Penn

Written and directed by: Terrence Malick

Rating: 1.5 stars; I left he theater thinking that this was an unpleasant experience, and I wasted four hours (because of the long drive to the theater.) However, the film does provide the starting point for good conversation, and it grapples with big issues. I only recommend this to grieving parents and film students.

If I were rating a non-movie piece of visual art or "visual poems", then this would rate higher.



More: At the theater I saw the film at (Main Art Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan,) the colors were washed out and gray. I think that the photography was probably adequate but the theater's equipment was not up to standard.

Yet More: My wife thinks I am a troglodyte for giving a poor rating to a film that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but I am not going to sell out and give a higher rating than the movie deserves.

Still More: The art house movie circuit needs better films than this. If the big award winners are this hard to watch, who will want to come back?

X-Men: First Class

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Plot:  This prequel is the origin story of Professor X/ Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and villain Magneto/Erik Lehnsheer (Michael Fassbender).  Erik is a holocaust survivor, and he is hunting down Nazis war criminals, and especially Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a scientist who killed his mother. Shaw is busy trying to stage the Cuban missile crisis believing the radiation following a nuclear war would create millions of mutant people. Charles, Erik and the CIA work together to stop Shaw.

Review: Origin stories are the most interesting part of super hero movies, and that is true here. We are familiar with the characters, and it is interesting to see them as freaky people turning into superheros. 


Throughout there is a theme of  "I need to accept myself and my differences -- other people need to accept this too." When Stan Lee wrote  these stories in 1963, I am sure it was an allegory for race, and it still is, but today the theme of accepting diversity applies even more widely. X-Men teaches that differences are desirable gifts, which is good for young people who are certain that their differences make them rejects. 


The second theme is balance between selfish concern for the clan and humanitarian concern for the whole society. This conflict plays out with Charles against both Shaw and Erik. 


The best part is the group acting among the different minor superheros. Janes McAvoy plays Charles with a good balance of patrician wisdom and uncertainty. Kevin Bacon owns the screen during his brief scenes. The special effects are up to standard, however they did a nice job with Mystique's shape shifting, and how Angel could fly on her dragonfly wings.


Most of the superhero powers are ridiculous; they seem less ridiculous because they are familiar. The superhero battle scenes were more strange than cool, and they broke up the flow of the movie. It is not that interesting watching someone wield magnetic force. The final battle did not seem climatic or dramatic or fun. 

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Rating: 2.5 stars; An interesting and entertaining movie, but not that fun to watch.

More: 

Hank McCoy: You have no idea what I'd give to feel...
Raven Darkholme: Normal.

Super 8

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Plot: I can't tell the story without a SPOILER, so you probably want to skip this section if you have not seen the movie. 


Back in 1979, 14 year olds Joe (Joel Courtney) and his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) are making a zombie movie on Super 8 film. They recruit their friends, and invite their classmate Alice (Elle Fanning) to help too. As they are filming, there is a train crash, and something escapes from the train. The air force troops in to hide the incident, while the kids try to figure out what happened and also try to finish their movie. Joe's father hates Alice's father, and Romeo and Juliet style Joe falls for Alice.

Review: Super 8 is fun to watch, and that is why I liked this movie. The kids are crowd pleasers, and the suspenseful story kept me tuned in. The moving making premise keeps the characters running around, while the monster/air force story develops in the background, rather like the TV show Lost.

I liked all the kid's performances, but Joel Courtney is great and Elle Fanning deserves a supporting actress nomination. The rehearsal at the rail station should be required in acting school.

The directing is playful and suspenseful; the story is well-crafted to reveal plot changes gradually so they seem more to fit. At the end this is a monster movie, so it is going to be a little far fetched at the end. There is some humor and some good special effects. I can forgive the slightly sappy ending.


The movie is a lot like Lost meets ET.

Cast: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning

Written and directed by: J.J Abrams, who also made the TV series Lost. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg, and the film feels a lot like ET.

Rating: 3.5 stars;

More: Stay for the Super 8 movie shown during the credits.



Even More: This film could be a classic.


Yet More:  Super 8 needs better marketing, the trailer and poster just look dull. The film is better than its advertising. 

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Midnight in Paris

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Plot: Writer Gil (Owen Wilson) is visiting Paris with his finance Inez (Rachel McAdams); he loves Paris and she doesn't. He is romantic and dreams about the writers and artists of 1920's Paris, and then one midnight he magically goes there. Gil travels back and forth between the present and the past, meeting famous artists and writers as if he were Forrest Gump.

Review: This is an novelty movie about art and literature delivered in a time-traveling plot. I liked parts - especially the dialog, and I did not like parts -- especially the slow pacing and the awful, awful, awful soundtrack. 


I knew of most of these authors and artists, but did not know details about them. I think literature professors would like the movie more than me.

I really liked Ernest Hemingway -- he was pretty funny, and very well played by Corey Stoll. Owen Wilson was a great choice because he "reads" like a 21st century man even when he is in these old time scenes.

The movie gets credit for taking on big issues like what does nostalgia mean, and are the good old days really that good. On the other hand, it is not that fun to watch. The characters exist to play out the nostalgia theme, and aren't very interesting. The comedy is spotty, and overall the movie is not that fun. Good dialog can't get you that far. 


I am glad that I saw it -- partially to communicate to our local megaplex that they need to bring more art movies to our theater. I also have seen many Woody Allen movies -- I am an Allen fan. I don't think that makes this movie better; just  that no one else makes movies quite like this.

Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams

Directed by: Woody Allen

Rating: 2.0 stars

More: Seriously the soundtrack is bad -- awful discordant horns.  The opening sequence, which is nearly endless tourist shots of Paris, nearly drove me to X-Men.

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The Hangover 2

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Plot: The plot is the same as Hangover I, but this time in Bangkok. One day before Stu's (Ed Helms) wedding, our heros get drunk, wake up in a strange hotel room, and can't find the bride's brother. They spend the next day retracing their steps and learning about their twisted adventures with crazy friend Mr. Chow (Ken Joeng.) 

Review:  If you liked the first movie, you'll like this movie. It is not so much a sequel as it is another two hours of the first movie. The whole gag of the first movie is re-run, this time in Bangkok.

I can't resist comparing the two movies. The second movie has the advantage of the foreignness of Thailand instead of Las Vegas schtick.  The Thai father-in-law was pretty funny too. And no one will ever forget one particular penis joke. 


The first movie had more looniness, especially visual nuttiness  -- I liked the tiger and the chicken a lot.

Hangover 2 has a clever formula for appealing to men and women. The guys are always trying to get back to their wives and girlfriends, and the female part of the audience like that. The guys like the bawdy humor and party jokes. I checked out the ratings on imdb, and strangely women like Hangover 2 more than men, 7.4 to 7.2. All the penises may help that too. 


Finally Hangover 2 is not boring for a second. It has likable characters, and its is a good night at the movies.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Rating: 2.5 stars

More:  Ken Jeong, who played the cocaine-sniffing, boat-owning friend Mr Chow, is from Detroit. According to Wikipedia he was college professor and a physician before becoming a comedian. 


Even More:  According to the online buzz,  Zach Galifianakis's penis is in the closing photos -- I did not notice it . Zach said it was a rubber prop. 


Way too much more:  Supposedly, Ken Jeong's penis shot was actually his. You will remember that shot was pretty long and detailed. Physician Jeong talks openly about his distinctive physiology.  
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Water for Elephants

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Plot:  Vet student Jacob (Robert Pattinson) joins the circus after his parents die suddenly. He falls in with circus boss August (Christoph Waltz) and his performer-wife Marlena (Reese Witherspoon). August is under pressure to save the circus from bankruptcy, and he is also brutal and jealous. Water for Elephants becomes a romantic triangle with a depression era circus theme.

Review: Water for Elephants is uneven with a painfully slow introduction. So slow that I was thinking I'd sneak out and watching Ringo.    


After Christoph Waltz got in the story it got better. He has such great intensity. Reese did a nice job. I was not thrilled by Robert Pattinson. The sound track was forgettable.

Director Francis Lawrence needs to get prodded with the bull hook to keep the story movie moving.  He had a couple good moments: he made raising the circus tent at the beginning  seem epic, and he could make Jacob and Marlena kisses and near-kisses so dramatic and evocative. 


Cast: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

Directed by: Francis Lawrence, based on the novel by Sara Gruen

Rating: 2.0 stars - a very slow start and a smattering of good performances

More: Animal lovers will like this movie. There are great horse and elephant scenes. Although the animals have hard times, the characters are always trying to help them.

Even more: Who knew that circuses were so violent? How many guys got killed?

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Bridesmaids

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Plot: Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married and best-friend Anne (Kristen Wiig) is the maid-of-honor. Annie is jealous of rich, pretty, new friend Helen (Rose Byrne.) Their rivalry starts with toasts, continues enroute to the bachelorette party, and at the shower. Anne gets crazier and crazier, but she makes some new friends, fellow bridesmaid Megan and a cute cop.

Review: Bridesmaids is a very funny movie. The funniest movie so far this year. It is like Mean Girls -- most of the humor is about catty relationships. Kristen Wiig does a great job exaggerating her emotions in these scenes that happen all the time, but not bigger than life as they do in this movie.  Unlike Mean Girls, it is not all sitcom humor, Mean Girls has regular jokes and visual gags too.

The writing is clever, especially since this movie is bridging different genres.  Maya Rudolph does a great job - very engaging and likable; and I usually did not like her on SNL, but she was great here. 


The best two scenes were when Annie, at her jewelry store job, talks customers out of buying engagement rings and friendship necklaces because of her own issues. The second scene with the high school girl is a reason to buy the Blu-Ray.

There is a scene at the engagement party which is cringe-worthy as Annie and Helen embarrass each other giving tributes. Funny and memorable; although embarrassingly hard-to-watch. 


A special note is needed for Melissa McCarthy who plays the heavy butch bridesmaid. She steals every scene she is in, and she has great intensity.

Cast: Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph

Directed by: Paul Feig; Written by Kristin Wiig and Anne Mumolo

Rating: 3.5 stars. The rating revolves around two things, first it was fun to watch throughout, and second it had a serious side concerning how friends get along with each other. This movie is not going to get any Oscar nominations, although Kristen Wiig may deserve one.


More: The best thing I want to say about Bridesmaids is that I want to buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out.

Even more: Great shots of Milwaukee


Yet more: Bridesmaids is my highest rated comedy in two years.

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Thor (2D)

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Plot: Oden (Anthony Hopkins) gets mad at Thor (Chris Hemsworth) because of disobedience, and banishes him to Earth, where he crash lands. Cute scientist Jane (Natalie Portman) finds him, and gives him jeans and a T-shirt to wear, but soon they go off in search of his magic hammer. Meanwhile Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) claims the throne and sends a Destroyer to kill Thor. Action movie action follows.

Review: The Thor scenes on earth with Natalie Portman and especially wise-cracking Darcy (Kat Dennings) are entertaining -- the movie has fun with the comicbook stereotypes by having Darcy befuddle Thor with 2011 tech. The god comes to earth and is pretty clueless. Chris Hemsworth did a nice job with the part, and Natalie Portman was back to top form. 


I was less entertained by the in-fighting of the gods on Asgard, and the fighting with the ice-people was  dull. I did not like the blue animated ice King Laufey or evil brother Loki. Guardian Heimdall (Idris Elba) was pretty cool, and I'd like to see some sub-plots with him.

So the good parts were the low tech talking scenes, and the bad parts were the expensive fighting scenes and palace scenes.

The Destroyer battle in the earthtown was pretty scary -- it was the scariest monster scene I have seen in a while. I liked that part, and I was pretty into it.

The music was dull, and the art direction was spotty.

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh, based on the comic book by Stan Lee, et al.

Rating: 2.5 stars; pretty fun to watch, but un-even.

More: It looks like Jane/Natalie Portman is coming to Asgard in the sequel.

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Fast Five (Fast and Furious Five)

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Plot: Dominic (Vin Diesel) is a fugitive hiding in Brasil with his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and her boyfriend Brian (Paul Walker). Soon they need money, and they start stealing cars. The run afoul of the local gangsters and the US DEA. Soon both are hunting them. The DEA sent super-agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to Rio to catch them. The hatch a scheme to rob the Brasilian Godfather with a big team like in Oceans 11/12/13.

Review: This is a big noisy popcorn movie with lots of good moments many including automobiles, but without a heart. The best part is Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson who are better than most action heros, and they pose and posture. There is a lot of clever tough-guy  banter and a few skinny girls to provide distraction and love interests. 


There is a lot of cartoon style gunshots and impossible car stunts. People fight and shoot and no one ever bleeds. The movie gets more and more far-fetched as it goes, but that is OK because this is a popcorn movie so shut up and watch. Stay home if that is going to be a problem. 


While it has good moments the overall effect is not that inspiring. I liked some of the people, but basically they are just thieves who kill people for the money. The biggest problem is that the director seems to think we know these people already, and the characters are re-living some scenes from the earlier movies. That is why most movie series don't make it to five.

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson

Directed by: Justin Lin

Rating: 2.0 stars

More: I liked the closing credit song and the stylized race scene. The song is How We Roll by Don Omar and other artists.

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2011 Has Solid High Concept Movies

 I have given five 3.0 ratings this year, and no ratings higher than that. It bothers me that I can't differentiate between these movies which were all enjoyable, but all flawed.

It makes me think that I should adopt a ten point rating system or something.

The five strongest movies of 2011 so far are Lincoln Lawyer, Source Code, Hanna, Adjustment Bureau, and Limitless. You can find the reviews below, or on the Top 2011 Movies on the right sidebar.

Of the four movies, which one do I want to see again?

Hanna is the coolest from an action movie sense, and probably the most fun. The beginning scenes in Finland are Oscar worthy, and the overall storybook metaphor provides a good context. The lack of an ending is disturbing, but indie films often lack endings.

Nonetheless all these movies had problems too. Hanna had good problems too. Hanna and Lincoln Lawyer only had good performances from Saoirse Ronan and Matthew McConnehey. Hanna would have had a high rating if the ending would have been stronger too.

Lincoln Lawyer was clever, but at bottom it was just a clever lawyer story -- and there are so many clever lawyer stories. It was a pretty enjoyable movie though.

Source Code  was a high concept movie that involved a limited amount of time travel. The story was a little weak in that it showed the same scene over and over, but the strength was the acting. It had good supporting actor performance from Farmiga and Monaghan, but Gyllenhaal was only OK. I also liked the idea of a major character only interacting via a grainy TV. Farmiga is the reason this is a three, otherwise, it is a little weak.

 Limitless is probably the most over-rated of this group. The acting was only OK, especially DiNiro. I gave it a high rating because I like the premise of a smart drug, and the issues that it played out. In retrospect, I's probably drop it back.

The villains are pretty dumb in Limitless.

The best part about Lincoln Lawyer was McConaughey, and the flawless exposition of a complicated plot. It falls down because it has no ambition beyond entertainment, and it lacks good supporting actor performances.  Lincoln Lawyer is just for fun, and it can't get beyond that.

Adjustment Bureau is like many of the others with supernatural forces, but it engages some big issues like political manipulation, freewill and predestination. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are great, but the film is less than the sum of the parts, and it is just not that fun.

At some point we wonder when is Damon's character David going to give up and get with the program.  At the end of the movie, they punt on the big issues and go with the love story, which is fine for a Hollywood movie.

So where does this leave us?  Hanna is the strongest, Adjustment Bureau and Lincoln Lawyer are in the middle, and Source Code  and Limitless were a little weak.

The Lincoln Lawyer

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Plot: Mick (Matthew McConaughey) is a scrappy defense lawyer who is hired by Louis Roulet, a rich heir, to defend him against a sexual assault charge. The case is not so simple, and soon Mick is being manipulated by Louis as other murders enter the story.

Review: The Lincoln Lawyer has two things going for it Matthew McConaughey, and a really well written plot. McConaughey has gives Mick presence and depth. He has a low volume understated style that gives him added intensity. The story, based on the book by Michael Connelly, is full of twists and turns. Marisa Tomei is also a highlight.

The soundtrack is good. I will look for some of them on iTunes.

The Lincoln Lawyer does not have any social message, but it is fun to watch. I enjoyed seeing it.

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe

Directed by: Brad Furman; based on the novel by Michael Connelly

Rating: 3.0+ stars; Almost 3.5, but it is just a little empty. It needed a good solid supporting actor performance.
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More: I don't really believe that most lawyers would let themselves be manipulated like this. Maybe Mick needed the money. I'd think that they'd usually resign.

Even more:!! Spoiler!! How did Mama Roulet get the gun?

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Hanna

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Plot: Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a sixteen year old who was raised entirely in a northern forest by her father (Eric Bana). Her father taught her four languages, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and fighting skills. Her father gives her a mission to kill Marissa (Cate Blanchett), who is a CIA spy -- perhaps a rogue spy -- we don't know. When the CIA find her, they lock her up in Morocco, but she kills some people and escapes.

Review:  Hanna the character was mysterious and engaging. Hanna the movie has some outstanding images and artfully staged scenes. The chase scenes are really fun -- they are all on foot and with a Chemical Brother's soundtrack .

The movies best scenes are at the beginning in the woods, and the early scenes when she is escaping. There are a lot of scenes of Hanna running, which gives the movie a sense of motion. The later scenes with the adult actors are not engaging. There is a high body count in the later scenes -- almost like video game killing. 


Hanna meets a girl her age, Sophie (Jessica Barden), who helps Hanna adjust to the world, and gets her a date. The kissing scene with the boy is priceless. The pillow talk scene is also tops.


Ronan and Blanchett's acting was servicable. Bana was empty and dull. Barden stole her scenes. 


The big gapping weakness is the ending, which Hanna simply doesn't have. None of the story lines are resolved. When the ending credits roll, I felt like " Wow a great ride, Why did it end now?"

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett

Directed by: Joe Wright

Rating: 3.0 stars; Would have been 3.5 but there was no ending.

More: "I just missed your heart."

Even More: The forest scenes were in Finland where it was as cold as - 33C/-28F.

Yet More: The Brother's Grimm Amusement Park Scenes are from Spreepark, near Berlin.

Still More:  See this interesting speculation on a re-write that is more true to the fairy tale theme.