Iron Man 3

Plot: Terrorist 'The Mandarin' (Ben Kingsley) nearly kills a friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man's (Robert Downy Jr) and Tony gets on TV and threatens the Mandarin. Almost immediately the Mandarin destroy's Tony's house and workshop full of Iron Man gear.  Soon Tony is off in Tennessee with a broken down Iron Man suit looking for clues with help from a middle school kid. Meanwhile wife/girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is double-crossed by an old friend and is in danger from the glowing fire-people who are bioengineered stooges for The Mandarin. Tony gets back in the fight with low tech tricks, and then reboots for a final battle. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: In the third installment, the Iron Man schtick is getting familiar, but the writers know that. They overlay three new things in Iron Man three: Tony becomes a less egotistical; that Tony is the hero not his armored suit; and his home life with Pepper. Despite the writer's efforts to freshen the story up, "3" is not as fun as in the first movie, and the drama is not as strong as in the second movie.

Tony does a lot of the movie without it or in a broken down suit and this creates more death-threatening scenes. We see Tony and Pepper's home life, and  Pepper becomes a 2010's feminist ideal -- a high powered exec who can take care of herself. 

A highlight was Tony sparring with the middle school kid in Tennessee and the snarky dialog. As funny as this was, it was something we expected from the egotistical and smug Tony Stark. By the end of the movie, Tony learns not to be such an ego-maniac, and creates a twist in the Iron Man legend.  Robert Downey Jr is a good actor and he gives a great performance again. Gwyneth Paltrow is also good. Villain Ben Kingsley is a comic element and villain Guy Pearce is disappointing. 

A better villain with a better super-power gimmick might have saved Iron Man 3. It is dumb to complain about superpowers that don't make sense, because they never do, but the battle scenes with the fire people aren't very satisfying. The main villain has a back story, but it doesn't seem substantive enough.

There is a floating brain sequence that seems made for 3D. I recommend the 3D glasses. Flying scenes are always good in 3D. 

The end was clever, and I liked the twist in how the bad-guy finally dies.  

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

Directed by: Shane Black

Rating: 2.5 stars - a little stale. It has good parts, but not satisfying .

More: It seems clear that this is the end of Robert Downy Jr in Iron Man movies, and the next movie will be a reboot with younger actors. I still expect to see Downy in The Avengers 2. It would be fun to see Gwyneth there too!

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The Place Beyond the Pines

Plot: Luke (Ryan Gosling) finds out he has a boy in Schenectady, so he moves to town, and robs banks for money. He gets caught by local cop Avery (Bradley Cooper), and unexpectedly the movie starts following the cop -- who has a son the same age. After a subplot involving police corruption, suddenly we start following the now high school aged boys Avery's son Jason (Dane DeHaane) and Luke's son AJ (Emory Cohen), who unexpectedly become friends in school. Avery finds newspaper stories about the fathers, and reenacts the drama between the fathers. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: The Place Beyond the Pines is three related stories, and like Cloud Atlas each story is in a different style. The first story is about outlaw Luke, who is colorful and dynamic even if he makes bad choices about risk-taking. Luke meets his friend Robin (Ben Mendelsohn) riding his motorcycle beyond the pines. 

The second story is a cop drama with police corruption and threats of getting snuffed out by cops in the woods beyond the pines. It feels cold, calculating and political.

In the third story, the two boys meet and talk with well-written dialog, and they get in various kinds of trouble. Without giving too much away, AJ forces a final confrontation out beyond the pines too.

At the very end, a final scene wraps the three stories together. 

Beyond the Pines is always interesting and keeps you watching with a fast moving, plot-intensive story. There is a good chase segment at the end of the 1st story with a jerky motion that seemed artificial and little distracting, but increased the energy and tenseness too.

The photography is gritty, grainy and conveyed the mood well; however there is little spectacle. The soundtrack is unexceptional, and the closing credit song was singularly awful and made me want jump up and leave the theater so I could avoid it.

I liked Ryan Gosling's acting -- he made a bigger than life character believable. Eva Mendes has a pivotal role in the story, but the movie would have been stronger with bigger parts for the female characters.

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Dane DeHaane, Emory Cohen

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance, who is also credited as a writer.

Rating: 2.5 stars: Like a page-turner novel. You need to keep watching to see what happens. 

 

More: I did not like the ending for Avery and Jason, although the ending for AJ seemed appropriate. 

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Oblivion

Gray. The movie poster is all gray. Look at
the plastic rifle. 

Plot: In a post-apocalyptic world, aliens have invaded, and earth has been evacuated. Jack (Tom Cruise) repairs robots including killer robots that hunt down the enemy called Scavs, aided by fellow service member and bed-mate Victoria (Andrea Reiseborough.) The rebels have been shooting down a lot of robots while Tom and Olga try to last just 2 more weeks until they evacuate to the Tet -- a giant tetrahedral satellite in the sky where humans go for evacuation to a new planet.  After Jack meets mysterious survivor Julia (Olga Kurylenko) and rebel chief Beech (Morgan Freeman,) everything is not what it seems, but Jack finds his core values to push through to the heroic conclusion. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Not Fun. Empty with work-a-day doggedness. Colorless scenery with colorless dialog and a soundtrack that is too quiet.  Yes, all the special effects must have been expensive, and there is something cool about their base on a tower in the clouds, but there are too many scenes of Jack working in solitude.

Writer-Director Kosinski probably thought the aseptic coolness and frigid relationship between Jack and Victoria was foreshadowing the conclusion. However Beech with his fat cigar, and Julia in her flying casket were just as emotionless as Victoria. The only homey place was Jack's earthy hideout on a lake where he listened to 1960's rock on vinyl and stared at the lake.  Why and where was the barren earthscape hiding this idealic paradise? Somehow this is tied in to their mantra, 'Another Day in Paradise,' but I can't figure out how.

This movie could have used a better villain -- one evil mastermind would have helped a lot. Fighting robot villains makes blowing them up less morally offensive, but where is the drama? Jack could have used a better sidekick than his bobblehead doll.

This movie needed more drama, more fun -- less glass & shiny plastic.

Cast: Tom Cruise, Andrea Reiseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski, based on the comic book by Joseph Kosinski and Arvid Nelson

Rating:  1.5 stars: not very fun. Boring characters. Personality-free villain

More: I liked the visual allusions to older Sci-Fi movies. Inside the Tet was like V'ger from Star Trek TMP. The flying robots looked like Darth Vader's fighters in Star Wars. 

Even more: Why is the movie called Oblivion?  Try a Google search on Oblivion -- there are a zillion comic books with Oblivion in the name or characters called Oblivion. This goes to the lack of creativity in the film. 

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Olympus Has Fallen

Plot: Korean terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart). It is up to ex-Secret Service agent Mike Banner (Gerard Butler) to rescue hostages and save the day. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Bang, Bang, Guns, Missiles, Crashing Fighter Jets, Blackhawk Down! Nuclear Launch Codes. It's all action during Olympus has Fallen -- non-stop and full speed. 

The action is so fast that you might miss how unrealistic most of the story is.  And if you are loving it, you will miss how shamelessly jingoistic and saccharine patriotic it is too. 

The special effects are good. The plot, such as it is, keeps the action rolling. The villain comes up with enough plot twists for 120 minutes, and the end feels satisfying. Gerard Butler's Banner is a pretty good action hero that is likeable, human, and not a too much of a super-hero. 

I was put off by the pandering patriotism. How many shots of the flag did we need? Did it have to flutter down to the ground in slow motion? I get that it was the White House, and how symbolic that is. 

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Rating: 2.0 stars. A little too melodramatic for me. Fun to watch.

 

More: So ironic that the villains were North Koreans, and right now they are threatening nuclear war. Even more "Life Imitates Art," that Kim Jong Un had a map of the US with targets on it on the wall of his command center. 

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Plot: Childhood friends Burt (Steve Carell) and Anton (Steve Buscemi) learn magic as kids and grow up to have a show in Vegas. They grow old and get stale, and upstart magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) comes to town with a bold street magician act. Soon Burt and Anton are booted out and are doing birthday parties and old folk's homes. At one home they meet old-time great magician Rance (Alan Arkin). Rance re-inspires Burt about the wonder of magic, and soon they are back out hustling. In the end there is a magical face-off with rival Steve Gray.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: The funny parts are funny, but the majority is dry and a bit dumb. Overall, I was glad I saw it, because it was light and likable. 

Highlights are the intro scenes with kid actor Mason Cook as young Burt. Those scenes were very evocative. Any scene with Jim Carrey was good. Jim Carrey was so intense that his stupid tricks seemed great. I loved the swollen cheek trick. 

I liked the soundtrack too, but sadly the pop songs were left off the soundtrack album. 

Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Jim Carrey, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin

Directed by: Don Scardino

Rating: 2.0+ stars: Some parts are very funny, and maybe that makes it 2.5, but mostly its just a little too dumb. A little life from Steve Carrell might have kicked it up a rating point. I am glad I saw it on this relatively weak movie weekend.

More: The guy in the poster just doesn't look like Steve Correll. There has never been such a poor likeness. 

Even More: Real magic shows are more fun than movies about magic because all the tricks in a movie are special effects.  The illusionist aspect of magic is missing, and that makes magic seem retro. 

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Admission

Plot: Portia (Tina Fey) is an admissions officer at Princeton, and high school principal John (Paul Rudd) invites her speak at his school, which is progressive, rural and odd. Portia falls for John. Almost immediately John brings senior Jeremiah (Nat Wolff) to Princeton and tells Portia something that I won't reveal here, but Portia tries hard to get Jeremiah into Princeton. This leads to funny sitcom situations. There is a subplot with Portia's mom (Lily Tomlin) who is a hard-core 1960's feminist.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: This is a well-written story that primarily features sitcom humor in embarrassing situations. The film has a ironic, wry tone that I liked. I like relationship-based humor, and there are many cringe-worthy situations which are hard to watch because the audience knows more than the characters.  

Tina Fey does a great job playing a neurotic every-woman who gets trapped in circumstances. I am not so fond of Paul Rudd, who seemed generic. I thought Susannah, Lily Tomlin's character,was inspired, but Lily Tomlin herself was just OK. 

I really liked the admission committee meeting because of the all the relationships between people at the table. I have been at meetings like that. Director Weitz did a great job of capturing it -- very clever. 

Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Lily Tomlin, 

Directed by: Paul Weitz based on the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Rating: 2.5 stars:  pretty funny, good dialog -- it just does not feel like 3 stars. 

 

More:  I liked Mom's Bella Abzug tattoo. No one in the world has a Bella Abzug tattoo, but it was very funny to have it on Susannah. 

Even More: DW Jenny says, it is "Admissions" in more ways than one because the characters are admitting things about themselves. 

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Warm Bodies

Plot: After a zombie apocalypse, the humans have walled themselves into a single walled city, and the zombies and their more demented cousins, the skeletons, rule the world outside. Julie (Teresa Palmer) and her boyfriend Perry leave the walled city to scavenge for supplies, but get surprised by R (Nicholas Hoult), M (Rob Corddry) and other zombies. R eats Perry's brain and acquires his memories including his love for Julie. R is immediately smitten by Julie, and can't kill her. Instead he disguises her and takes her into the zombie city. Soon she begins to trust R, and hate the skeletons who are meaner and more aggressive than the ordinary zombies. She meets M and their zombie friends, who also don't eat her, and like having her around. The skeletons force them to run, and in time R arrives at the human city where he is not wanted.  In the end, there is a battle between humans, skeletons, and zombies, and the movie proceeds to its ending/s. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Warm Bodies is Romeo and Juliet with R, the zombie, as Romeo, and Julie as Juliet.  M is Mercutio, and Nora is Juliet's Nurse. Plus there is a scene with Julie on the balcony and R calling up to her, as in the play. 

Since R is a zombie and can't emote very well, most of the movie is carried by Palmer's Julie; we never get much emotion from Nicholas Hoult's R -- although he gives a voice over narration to tell everyone what he is thinking.  Aside from some nice facial acting by Teresa Palmer, the middle of the movie is slow. Zombies are dull monsters.

The skeletons are faster moving and clearly animated, and often they were scary. The photography is serviceable, and the sound effects were good, which made the average sets seem better.  The soundtrack by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders was great; there were multiple good songs.

There is a symbolic meaning, which is the love can redeem the world -- bring dead people back to life. That was a nice plus. 

Cast: Teresa Palmer, Nicholas Hoult

Directed by: Jonathan Levine based on the novel by Isaac Marion

Rating: 2.0 stars: possibly 2. 5 stars if you like the Shakespeare angle a lot. Some good parts, but only occasionally fun. Although advertised as a comedy, it is not funny -- see the SPOILER section below.

 

SPOILER: Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, and this movie is advertised as a comedy, which means a happy ending. There is a symbolic death scene that is supposed to serve as the tragic death of the play, and a rebirth: I like the idea that when zombies 'die' they come back to life. If Julie had stabbed herself after R died as in Shakespeare's original, it would have felt wrong because the evil skeletons would have won.  By introducing a common enemy of skeletons, the writers create the option for a happy ending. 

More: As everyone knows, there is no such thing as zombies, and you can't ask a movie like this to make sense. If you need sensibleness, you should stay home and read -- I was going to say watch CNET on TV, but that isn't very sensible either -- maybe you should read geometry.

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