The Karate Kid

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Plot: A boy, Dre (Jaden Smith), and his Mom (Tariji Henson) move from Detroit to Beijing, where Dre is picked on by the local kids, and where he meets a girl, Meiying (Wen Wen Han). After he gets beaten up, a local man, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), teaches him Kung Fu. After he learns Kung Fu, he fights in a big tournment.

Review:  You really can't trust movie reviews for kid's movies. This film had great reviews, and it was bad.

The beginning was like an afterschool special; everything was so stereotypic and so unlikely that I couldn't bear to watch. The first hour was especially bad. The ending was especially predictable.

The flirty romance and the Chinese travelogue made the movie bearable. The training scenes dragged on forever. Mr Han (Jackie Chan) was unrealistic and odd. I suppose they were attempting to make him quirky and tormented, but that did not work for me.

I liked Jaden Smith and the smiley young girl Wen Wen Han. All the other child actors were wooden.

I can't figure why the rest of the audience liked this movie. There were some good songs though.

Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan

Directed by:  Harald Zwart

Rating: 1.5 flasks. Some scenes aspire to be 2 flasks, but they did not overcome the unbearable parts.


More:  Karate is Japanese (Okinawan) not Chinese. It should be the Kung Fu Kid. The film was partially produced by Sony, so I am sure they thought it was OK. Apparently, the first syllable of Karate means Chinese.

Even more:  I liked the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers T-shirts

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Toy Story 3

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Plot: Andy has grown up, and is packing for college. The toys end up at the local daycare, wherethey are oppressed by the other toys especially by Latso the bear. The toys want to break out, and get back to Andy. 

Review: The writers (Arndt and Lasseter) have written a clever screen play about growing up, and loss, and hurt feelings and friendship. This provides purpose and emotional weight to the various scenes where the toys trek from bedroom to trashbin to daycare and so on.

There are several cute and funny gags especially between Ken and Barbie. Ken was as gender-bendingly fabulous as he was smitten with Barbie.

I loved the Chuckles the Clown, who has led a sad life -- I'd buy one of collectable figures. It was clever to put a sad clown in the story to spin the villian's backstory.

Chuckles the Clown is probably based on the a character of the same name on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

I loved the Spanish language Buzz too.

When we get to the last scene, I was caught up in the movie and felt sad.

Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Written by: Michael Ardnt and John Lasseter

Rating: 3.5 flasks; So why isn't this a 4.0?  It was fun, but not fun enough. The characters were emotive, but not consistently. Unlike most summer movies, this movie was about something substantive. This will be on my ten-best list in the fall.


More:I loved the Spanish language Buzz Lightyear too.

Even more: I like to see kids movies in the evening when there are at least a few other adults, but the kids in the audience really added to the experience because they laughed at the sight-gags -- like the Spanish-language Buzz dancing with Jesse.
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Get Him to the Greek

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Plot:  Aldus Snow, (Russell Brand) is a washed up British rock star who makes some ridiculous rock music. Music execs Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) and Sergio (Sean Combs/P. Diddy) decide to stage a comeback concert at The Greek Theater. Aaron goes to London to bring the Aldus to the US and then to the theater. Aldus is a nightmare, and drags Jonah to bars and parties, as they travel from London to the Today Show in New York to Las Vegas to LA's Greek Theater. There is a major subplot with Aaron and his girlfriend Daphne (Elizabeth Moss) whose relationship gets a makeover from Aldus.

Review: This is a showcase for Russell Brand who owns this film with his confidence and attitude. He is perfect as a conceited, self-absorbed, drug-addicted rock star. The film is a road movie as Aldus and Aaron move from place to place through wild situations. The fun is watching Russell Brand.

This is a sequel to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," focussing on Aldus Snow, but this is not a romantic-comedy instead it is a road picture or buddy picture.

I loved Aldus' opening song African Child, which is so awful and funny and over-the-top. The funniness of the movie comes from the absurd situations and absurd people. This is an R-rated movie, so it can be pretty crude.

Like Hot Tube Time Machine guys will like this more than women. Daphne is the only sympathetic female character, and there are a lot of body-part and sex jokes.

The Today Show scenes are funny. 

Cast: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Elizabeth Moss, Rose Byrne

Written and directed by: Nicholas Stroller

Rating: 2.5 flasks


More: Albus says I am an "African, White Jesus from Outer Space."

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An Education

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Plot: Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a smart high school girl, is distracted from her studies by an affair with a thirty-something man, Jack (Alfred Molina.)

Review:  The first three-fourths of the movie are cringe-worthy as Jack seduces Jenny, and we see what a creep he is. Jenny seems oblivious -- although maybe 16 year olds are like that. I really did not like the movie, and I ultimately decided to work on my blog why the movie played. At the climax of the movie, the Jenny/Jack relationship let's say changes, and the movie becomes a lot more interesting.

I thought the parents were funny, and they lighted up the mood.

Carey Mulligan's performance was good through-out. I don't know that it was Oscar quality.

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina

Directed by: Lone Scherfig based on the memoir of Lynn Barber

Rating: 1.5 flasks; almost 1 flask since the beginning was so hard to watch. Redeemed by a likeable ending.


More:  Here is a profile on Lynn Barber upon whom the movie is based. The book comes down even harder on her parents than the movie does.

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Prince of Persia

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Plot: The Persian Empire is at the height of its power, and three Persian princes invade a neighoring city for its weaponry. The weapons turn out to be magical and guarded by the cute Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton). After the King is assassinated by a magical weapon, Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Tamina run away, and the Persian army and a league of assassins pursue. Dastan and Tamina have a magic weapon that controls time, and the rest of the plot involves controlling this weapon and using it to thwart the bad guy.

Review: I actually ate a large bag of popcorn with the movie. Popcorn eating is a major part of watching Prince of Persia. Just stop analyzing it. It is a fun movie with a cartoon story.  It is crowd-pleasing movie that relies the likeability of Jake Gyllenhaal and his chemistry with Gemma Arterton. The audience cheered at the end.

It is movie where magic is more real than history, geography, science, or certainly the role of woman in the Middle Ages. There are a lot of magical legends are essential to the plot and all are pretty arbitrary. Actually they remind me too much of objectives in a video game, but I only know the slightest bit about the game -- so maybe I am wrong.

The film is kind of fun if you don't think about it, or don't know much history, geography, or science. There is a character who is a tax protester -- making a humorous reference to the tea party and their anti-tax rhetoric. Pretty funny.

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley

Directed by: Mike Newell, based on the video game and story by Jordan Mechner

Rating: 2.0 flasks


More:   I did not see any acknowledgement that Persia is now in modern Iran, and certainly the cast was all European, except for one character from Darfur in Sudan (why Darfur?)

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Letters to Juliet

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Plot: Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) goes to Italy with her boyfriend, while site-seeing she goes to Juliet's house -- the Juliet from Romeo and Juliet. In the movie, as in real life(!), women send letters to Juliet asking advice. In the movie, Sophie finds a letter hidden for fifty years, and tries to answer the letter -- as if she were Juliet. In time, she hooks up with the now elderly Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) who brings her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) to Italy. They crisscross the Italian country-side looking for Lorenzo  (Franco Nero). In time Sophie begins to like Charlie, but she goes back to New York with her boyfriend, but wait --- the movie ends with a happy Hollywood ending.

Review: The story is the lightest fluff you could want, but it has beautiful Italian travelog photography, and vivid performances from Amanda Seyfried -- who carries the movie. Vanessa Redgrave carries off her part with dignity, but she is really to lovesick and idealistic to be believable. The whole reason this movie is not intensely awful is Amanda.

There is real chemistry between Christophen Egan and Amanda though, and this makes the first two thirds of the movie pleasant.

The movie gets stomach-wretching syrupy sweet at the end, but the characters are likeable so I wanted them to get the fairy tale ending destiny intended.

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan

Directed by: Gary Winick (written by male writers Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan)

Rating: 2.5 flasks


More: If you can believe it, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero actually were a couple in 1966, and they have a child together.

Iron Man 2

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Plot: Ironman and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) have gone fat and soft. Tony has become egotistical, and the US government is trying to get Ironman's secrets from him. Meanwhile Russian Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is puts together another Ironman suit, and ambushes Tony during a car race. Ivan brings Tony down to earth, and business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) steps in to help Ivan develop Ironman suits for the Pentagon.  Tony flirts with a cute young lawyer (Scarlett Johanson), and lets secretary Pepper Potts (Gwynth Paltrow) run the company. Guess what? In the end there is a big fight. 

Review: Ironman 2 is the Rocky 3 story of the young hungry underdog beating up on the fat and soft champion. The dynamic between Pepper Potts and Tony Stark carries the movie with old-fashioned chemistry and clever dialog. Mickey Rourke's Ivan has manic intensity and an epidermis full of tough guy tattoos. He gives the movie its intensity.

The Scarlett Johanson character produced some good fight scenes, but did not seem worthwhile. I wonder if there other plot twists left on the cutting room floor.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by: John Farveau

Rating: 3.0 flasks; Fun-to-watch, but not fun enough for 3.5 stars. The characters were interesting, but there was no deep hidden meaning or character study here.


More: Where was the Stan Lee cameo? I missed it.