How to Train Your Dragon

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Plot: A Viking boy named "Hiccup" lives in a village that routinely gets raided by flying, fire-breathing dragons, and the people of the town have become expert at killing dragons as they defend themselves in the raids. Hiccup injuries a dragon, and secretly tames it. Hiccup is ashamed that he has not killed the dragon although the other village kids are learning to kill them. [Minor spoiler] Soon he becomes a Dr. Doolittle/Dragon Whisperer who is able to calm a charging dragon, and leads the village to the movie's climax.

Review: How to Train Your Dragon is a fantasy story made up of a string of interesting scenes that are fun to watch. I don't expect a fantasy story to make sense, but with all the killing in this movie -- it should be a horror film. To keep the tone light the teenage characters have jokey dialog and are never afraid.  The characters and their interaction remind me of what the Illiad might have been if Ulyesses's kids were the Power Rangers.

The characters are not well drawn, and directors Dubois & Sanders have given the interaction between the teenage characters a cool, cynical attitude, especially considering that their friends and family are getting devoured routinely by flying dragons. The tone makes the film lighter and more comedic, but this plot problem prevents the movie from being anything more than pretty good.

It is pretty good though. The movie works especially the action scenes. Naturally it has a happy ending with some entertaining scenes of life in the village, and everyone leaves the theater smiling.

Directed by: Dean Dubois and Chris Sanders; based on the novel by Cressida Cowell

Rating: 2.0 flasks; Entertaining, and I am glad I saw it, but no masterpiece.


More: A great use of 3D, and nicely animated. I liked the art direction throughout, especially Stoick's beard.

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Hot Tub Time Machine

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Plot: Four guys get in a hot tub and travel back to 1986. Back in 1986 they relive their past and then return to the present. You knew that before your read this -- didn't you?

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine starts out slowly with a lot of gross-out images. After they get to 1986, the movie starts working, and it is pretty funny by the end. The humor is guy-oriented. There are a number of cover-your-eyes gross-out scenes. The characters are interesting and fairly well developed, but not very likeable.

My wife did not enjoy Hot Tub Time Machine because the sex scenes were not girl-friendly - probably misogynistic.

The movie knows that it is campy, but it plays the whole thing as a joke, and that is OK with me. You know that a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine was going to be campy.

Rob Corddry, who plays the "asshole" friend, gives a great performance and carries the film with his larger than life, fun-loving character. It would not have been enjoyable without him.

By the end of the movie, I liked it. The writer put in some interesting, introspective scenes at the end, and everyone likes a happy ending.

Cast: John Cusack, Rob Corddry

Directed by: Steve Pink

Rating: 2.5 flasks; too funny to be a 2.0; started too slowly to be a 3.0


More: Quote: "This is scientifically possible!"

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The Ghost Writer

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Plot: A ghostwriter, Ewan McGregor, is a writer hired by a British ex-Foreign Minster Lang (Pierce Brosnan) to write his autobiography. The previous writer died unexpectedly. Lang is accused of war crimes, and has continuing political and anti-terrorism roles.  Meanwhile, thugs try repeatedly to steal the book.



Review: This is an intelligent and entertaining movie that was well-acted and well-directed. Director and child-rapist Roman Polanski is a talented director, and I really liked this film. It is clearly a well-crafted movie that moves smartly from set-up to climax with building tension and intelligent dialog. There is enough comedic lightness to keep the mood up, since the basic geo-political plot line is heavy.

The co-stars Olivia Williams, who plays Lang's wife, and Pierce Brosnan give vivid, dynamic and occasionally funny contributions. I'd give Olivia an Oscar nomination.

The ghostwriter is unnamed in the film, as a joke that ghost writer's names don't appear on their work. Although a sophamoric joke, I did not realized Ewan McGregor's character did not have a name until the movie was over. 

Like last week's movie, Green Zone this is an overtly political movie, but the politics is from the British point of view, and the movie is not preachy about it -- so the movie works better.

I enjoyed this movie, and I wonder why more people don't see it -- especially with the lack of good movies in the theater now. Maybe it is too British, but I think you can get past that.

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams

Directed by: Roman Polanski, based on the book by Robert Harris

Rating: 3.5 flasks


More: I don't know how admitted child rapist Roman Polanski managed to direct a movie while he is jail. Obviously a talented fellow, but that is not a Get Out of Jail Free Card.

Even more: I never comment on sound editing. If I notice bad sound effects -- it must be quite bad, and I thought the sound-effects were un-natural throughout.

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Green Zone

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Plot: Chief Miller (Matt Damon) is raiding suspected WMD sites immediately after the invasion of Baghdad, and is frustrated he is not finding anything. He pushes and discovers a gulf between the CIA and the Neo-cons running the post-invastion administration. He finds an informant, and begins to track an Iraqi general. This leads to a raid on the general with the CIA trying to beat the army to the target.

Review: The film was entertaining, but plagued by faults. First and most obviously was the shaking, hand-held camera that bedeviled the whole film especially the action sequences. Too often, I gave up watching because I could not tell what was happening. The opening sequence is unwatchable, and the final chase is about as bad. I know this is supposed build suspense, and the movie works emotionally, but this film was frustrating to watch.

Second this film was based on a non-fiction book, but the movie does not seem true to me. I am a news junky, and I am no neo-con, but this movie is too bias in its treatment of serious matters. It is too soon to be making fictional movies about Iraq. I imagine that the Magellan character is some composite of real sources, but this is making a claim of an assassination on the part of a Pentagon undersecretary, which is a war crime. This is not appropriate in an action movie. I presume the filmmakers are trying to make a point with this movie.

There is a thirty year tradition of good spy/bad spy movies, and I can't get upset about a film on government in fighting, but this war isn't even over.  It truly would be a shame if this were all just an attempt to make money by slandering the government.

Third, Matt Damon's Chief Miller is the only well-developed character. There was no girl friend, no wife, no mother, no buddy in his squad, no peer back at the base. The character development was thin.

Finally, the movie works and is entertaining. The action comes fast enough. The plot is clever enough. It was a successful night at the movies, and I was glad I went -- though frustrated.

Cast: Matt Damon

Directed by:  Paul Greengrass; based on the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran who was bureau chief for the Washington Post in Iraq during this period

Rating: 1.5 flasks; Its entertainment value is 2.5, but it loses 1/2 star for the awful camera work, and another half star for the fast-and-loose approach to the truth.


More: Is it truth or is it fiction? A tasteless entertainment built around serious charges against the US government.

Even more: Someone buy Paul Greengrass a camera stand.

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Alice in Wonderland

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Plot: This is a reimagining of the classic Alice in Wonderland story. Alice (Mia Waskowska) is older now, and she has returned to Wonderland, now called "Underland," while she considers whether to get engaged. In this respect, the story is like Peter Pan because she is hiding from adult responsibilities in a dream world.

Review: Alice in Wonderland is a feast of wonderful visual images and outrageous characters. The creative ideas don't stop until near the end, when the movie takes up a good queen/bad queen battle scene. The movie, like the book, is an absurd fantasy, and there is little meaning to be extracted -- the absurdity of life is the message. The wild fantastic absurdity is the main entertainment as well.

Mia Waskowska as Alice is consistently likable. The other characters are extreme so that Alice has someone to react against. I enjoyed every scene with the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp,) and Helena Boham Carter is unforgettable as the Red Queen. Less interesting is Ann Hatheway as the White Queen -- just too nice and dull. Tweedlee-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are animated boys who are fun too.

 Like The Wizard of Oz, characters in the real world show up in the dream world, but it is a clever homage that might be more interesting with repeated viewings.


Even though the movie is imperfect, I recommend everyone see it since it is so memorable. I think it creates on genera for itself.


[Major Spoiler] This movie has a feminist ending, with Alice deciding for a business career. She seems to be the only modern character because she rejects the societal norms, and strikes out on her own. It is not a bad ending, but it has become common in re-imaginings of fairy tales.

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hatheway

Directed by Tim  Burton; based on the characters from the classic book by Charles Dodgeson writing as Lewis Carroll.

Rating: This is an imperfect movie that is so memorable and interesting that it succeeds in its own terms. It may be a future classic. 3.0 flasks



More: The 3D effect does not add much to the movie. Because the visuals are so important to the enjoyment of the movie, I'd recommend seeing it that way, but the 3D nature of the special effects is less impactful than in Avatar. 

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Even More:  I would like to see it again.

Precious

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

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Plot: A poor, fat, 15-year old Mom, Precious, (Gabourey Sidibe) is pregnant again, while she is abused sexually and emotionally at home. In time helpful teachers and counselors rescue her.


Review: Precious is an American story of a poor young woman who grew up under the worst circumstances, and how she received and then created an opportunity out. The film is fictional but it realistically shows that people are sometimes cruel, self-ish and evil. It reveals a world that is in the shadows of many communities.

Yes, the movie panders to poverty-porn esthetic, but it is used to set up the redemption story. Unlike many similar films, here "The System" saved Precious with caring over-worked teachers, giving way to caring-loving teachers, and hard-working but professional counselors. While the is an element of melodrama in Precious, it is in service of a larger truth, and a reminder of how bad it can be for forgotten young people.

Precious is a movie based on a novel not a true story, so there is no real Ms Rain. Still I wondered why someone so busy would do something so kind. I tend to think that the Ms Rains character is based on the novel's author Sapphire.

The performance by Mo'Nique as her Mom is especially good. Gabourney Sidbe, who plays Precious, has some excellent physical acting. She conveys her mood so well with her body. I'd like to see her in more movies.

Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey

Directed by: Geoffrey Fletcher, based on the book by Ramona Lofton, known as Sapphire

Rating: 3.5 flasks; not four stars because it is only occasionally fun to watch. Could even be three because of the emotional manipulation, but the movie worked for me.


More: Precious is a women's story. The only man in the story is a rapist. The mentor figure is a lesbian. I was not put off by the worldview, but it is overtly there. 

Even More The ending ran on too long.

The Book of Eli

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Plot:  Eli (Denzel Washington) is walking the road thirty years after an apocalypse burnt up the world and made most of the people blind. The world is devoid of plant life, and people live by scavenging and stealing. Eli seems to have superpowers and is able to defend himself against the bandits and road warriors. After while, we learn that Eli has the book of the title, and local strongman Carnegie (Gary Oldman) wants it. He sends out thugs and his step-daugher Solara (MIla Kunis) to get it.

Review: The Book of Eli starts out bleak and violent, but it is more pleasant than The Road because Eli is reluctant to kill people, and only hurts people in self defense. While the beginning is  similar to The Road, the end is very different because the Book of Eli ends with a faith-filled Christian message. The movie does a nice job of gradually introducing the Biblical references and moving from superhero action to the miraculous. The spiritual dimension does not provide a moral or theological insight, but it is clever, Christian fiction. It is a great metaphor, but not inspirational. 


I liked the art direction in The Road better, but I liked the acting better here. Both Denzel and Gary Oldman play understated tough guys, but the performances are engaging, and we care about them. The story is best part.

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, MIla Kunis, Jennifer Beals

Directed by: Allen and Albert Hughes

Rating:  2.5 flasks

More: I liked the ending when Solara takes to the road. The next generation of believers take on the journey.