Dark Shadows

Plot: Local witch Angelique (Eva Green) is in love with Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), but he spurns her, so she turns him into a vampire, and traps him in a coffin until 1971, when he gets out. Angelique is immortal, so she is still around, and so are Barnabas' decedents, living in the same old house.  Barnabas quickly rebuilds the family fortune, but Angelique is still trying to win his heart -- or destroy him.  [imdb link]    [photos]

Review: Dark Shadows is a horror-themed comedy -- not a horror movie since it is not scary or suspenseful at all. It jokes about the horror genre and about waking up in the 1970's like Rip Van Winkle. 

The characters are comic personalities not real people, with the exception of 14-year old Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) who channels the rolling-eyed reactions of the audience. We like Barnabas a lot, but we never felt sorry for him. He is just too weird. 

The music is mainly 1970's tracks -- some good, some not. Some of the camera shots are artistic.

The final scene has some outstanding special effects with animated objects, and a woman turning into glass. I liked the whole final sequence.

Bottom line is that Dark Shadows was fun-to-watch. So overlook the absent character development, and roll with it. 

Cast: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloe Grace Moretz, 

Directed by: Tim Burton

Rating:   2.5 stars: very entertaining. 

More: Looks like a sequel is coming. 

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The Avengers

Plot: Seven superheroes defend the earth from a supernatural army from another dimension. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) runs a pan-governmental defense force (Shield) that is developing a high energy weapon. A shadowy mastermind in another dimension sends Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) with an army to stop Nick and to capture the weapon. Nick enlists one superhero at time, and brings them to his cool, invisible flying aircraft carrier. They quickly capture Loki, but Loki is too difficult to keep trapped. 

There are rivalries between egotistical Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and everyone else especially Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth.)  [imdb link]   [photos]

Review: Each character has a personality and a different motivation: that is the best part.  I liked the bickering and problem solving. It was good that bad guy Loki spent so much time talking directly to them. 

My favorite characters were Samuel L Jackson and Robert Downey Jr.  I loved seeing Kenosha native Mark Ruffalo in a summer action movie. He brought a good depth of feeling to Bruce Banner. His part was too small here. They hinted at a sequel when Tony Stark invited him to his lab. Hopefully he will get to be in another movie. Captain America is not my favorite hero, but Steve Rogers pays a pivotal role in keeping people motivated with his old-fashion ethics. I liked the interplay of 1940's patriotism with 21st century individualism. Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) does not have any superpower, but she had a lot of scenes, and kept the plot moving.

The action scenes were first rate. They showed action close-up which gives a sense of speed, but somewhat less spectacle. The best action scene was the big city fight scene where they are smashing the skyscrapers apart. I liked how the pieces of the buildings flaked away as they were whacked. Another great scene is the fight between Thor and Iron Man. The Hulk fight scene with Loki is so funny. 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by: Josh Whedon

Rating:   3.5 stars: A very good movie. Fun-to-watch. It is as good as last year's 3.5 movies like Harry Potter, Super 8, and Hugo. Not as good as Bridesmaids and My Week with Marilyn, or any of my 4.0 star movies. Most important is that I want to see it again.

More: Marvel says future movies with these characters will take place in the same so-called universe, so that characters can interact with each other.

Even More: When I go to a comic book movie, I know what I am getting. It is silly to say it is not realistic. You knew that before you came in. You want interesting, and fun-to-watch. This was that. 

Yet More: See it in 3D.


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The Five Year Engagement

Plot: Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) met, fall in love, and get engaged. But then, Tom's brother Alex (Chris Pratt) hooks up with Violet's sister Suzie (Alison Brie), and Suzie gets pregnant. Because of the awkward timing they cancel the wedding. Violet gets accepted into grad school at U of Michigan, and next they are living together in a bungalow in Ann Arbor. Tom is making sandwiches at Zingerman's, but he'd rather open a restaurant. One delay leads to another, and soon five years pass. [imdb link]    [photos]

Review: This is cheerful and likable movie with clever dialog and strong characters. 

Emily Blunt is engaging and likable. Jason Segel is serviceable, and likable enough. 

The movie has a lot of silly little episodes at parties, engagements and funerals. 

They show Emily doing psychology experiments, and it concerns "the famous marshmallow experiment." Emily does these experiments at school, and soon we see the whole plot in terms of the experiment. The bottom line is that they waited five years to get married, so they must be the virtuous ones.

A highlight is when Suzie and Violet have an argument in the voices of Elmo and Cookie Monster to keep the kids from getting alarmed. It was silly and funny: "C is for Condom."

The was some mixing of Northern Michigan culture with the Ann Arbor culture that felt a little odd to me. As much as the town fathers like seeing their town on the screen, they must cringe at the near-wedding in the lodge with polkas and accordions. 

Cast: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie

Directed by: Nicholas Stoller; written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller

Rating:   3.0 stars: maybe a little lower since it was not ambitious, but for a romance, this is about as good as they come. 

I have this personal connection with the story. I made my wife move with me to school and then to a series of jobs, that latest of which in Michigan. Like Suzie who gave up being a kinesiologist, my wife has been moving around a lot. So the parallel of the story with my life makes me like this movie more. 

More:  Suzie and Alex sing a wedding song in Spanish. I could tell from the audience reaction that the lyrics were funny, but my Spanish wasn't good enough to get the joke. Here is the English translation of the lyric. It is deeply romantic, but also completely wrong at a wedding. Click here for English lyrics.

Even more: [MINOR SPOILER] It is unclear where Tom and Violet end up at the end of the movie. Where did they movie to? I suppose the viewers are free to imagine whatever outcome they like the best.

Yet more: [MINOR SPOILER] Critics who complain that the end was predictable are not thinking clearly. The movie is called, "The Five Year Engagement."  

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Bully

Description:  Bully is a documentary about four middle school students who were bullied. One of them is dead. Another, Ja'Maya pulled a gun on her adversaries, Kelbe is gay and lives in a small southern town; and Alex has physical and emotional issues that make him seem odd to others. The film's end shows parents getting involved in protests and political events against bullying. link to imdb   photos

Review: Bully is thought-provoking, and we meet some interesting people. That is the best part.

It focuses on the victims in the beginning and leads to a call-to-action at the end. The call-to-action is stilted and uninspiring.  They should have stuck with victims and their stories, especially how their situations were resolved in those cases where they were. 

 For a Weinstein film, Bully is very poorly edited and the video is awful. A true amateur job. Honestly the teaser before the credits was impossible to watch because it is so fuzzy and shakes so much. Really, I closed my eyes. Shaking hand-held camera work does not make movies trendy and realistic -- it shows disrespect for the viewers.

The message of the film is hidden by the bad production. This documentary might have made a better radio show than movie. Certainly in a radio show, they could have edited the dialog to make it faster. Some of the parents were from the South, and they just talk so slow. 

Everyone watching this movie thinks about his or her own growing up. Most people get bullied some and most people did some teasing and bullying too. I know that institutions like schools could stop bullying with extreme discipline like only walking in single file and without talking. Perhaps that is better -- I don't know.  There was this one guy who picked on me; but I used to tease him when I was bored.

Directed by: Lee Hirsch

Rating:   2.0 stars:  A worthy topic, but very poorly made. It is a good conversation starter.

More: Kelbe is cool. I like her. 

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21 Jump Street

Plot: Two cops (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) go undercover at a high school trying to catch drug dealers, but end up partying and falling for girls. link to imdb   photos

Review: When I see a movie that I expect to be bad, and it turns out to be pretty good, then I am thrilled: that is the magic of low expectations.  21 Jump Street is exactly that; I thought this was going to be a stupid boy movie like The Hangover 2, but it was actually a little better and pretty funny.

What saved it was that the high school students were more realistic and intelligent. I liked that the cool kids had "crunchy, hippy" ideas, and made officers Schmidt and Jenko feel awkward and out-of-place. Instead of being competent and cool the cops were the subject of the jokes. Jonah Hill is especially good at that. 

Most of the jokes were about Channing Tatum trying to be a nerd, and Jonah Hill trying to make friends with girls, especially Brie Larson's Molly. Ice Cube as the police captain was great too.

This was not high cinema, and it was there was no love story. There were a lot of gay jokes, many dick jokes, but happily no fart jokes. The shooting scenes were surprisingly bloody. 

Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson

Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Rating:   2.5 stars: pretty funny.

More: The original 21 Jump Street ran from 1987 to 1991 and it had Johnny Depp, who did a cameo in this film.  

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Plot: Salomon Fishng in the Yemen is light drama or dry comedy about a silly venture to make a fly-fishing river in Yemen funded by an  oil sheik. Fishery expert Albert (Ewan McGregor) is brought in by Harriet (Emily Blunt) a cute British employee of the Sheik. Albert is convinced this will never work, but with lots of irony, British Prime Minister's press aid (Catherine Steadman) causes the project to go forward anyway. Soon Albert and Harriet are in Yemen getting to know each other, and developing love triangles.  link to imdb   Photos

Review: This is a pleasant movie with likable characters going through silly almost sit-com situations. It is helped by a British serious but absurd tone that includes defending against a terrorist attack by casting a fishing fly in the attacker's face.

Ewan McGregor plays his character realistically with suitable skepticism about such an outlandish scheme. The romance between Harriet and Albert is slow to develop, but of course inevitable.

I liked the political satire between the press secretary, the press and the prime minister.

We had to drive across town to the art theater to see this movie, and it was the best movie I have seen there lately. On the other hand, had the cast been American, I am sure it would have played at every multiplex, as it was not arty or daring or anything except pleasant.

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Catherine Steadman

Directed by: Lasse Hallstroem, Based on the novel by Paul Torday.

Rating:   2.5 stars: Good, but not fine cinema; Could this contend for a 3 stars? Not really.

More: Unlike the movie, there is not a lot of well water in Yemen, nor is there abundant seasonal rainfall for sport fishing. There is a fishing industry in the ocean however accounting for 1.5% of Yemeni GDP. 

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Mirror Mirror

Plot: This is the famous story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves told as a winkingly ironic comedy. There are departures from the story to make the story more modern and a better foil for the ironic humor. In this version, Snow White (Lilly Collins) escapes from stepmom, the Queen (Julia Roberts,) and is sheltered by the Dwarves. The Queen is vain and in need of a husband to buttress her finances. She targets Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer.) Soon Snow White meets Price Alcott, and next Snow White is battling the Queen for his affections. The movie ends with Bollywood-style singing and dancing.  link to imdb   Photos

Review: From its first moments, the ironic tone is the dominant element of Mirror Mirror. The Queen's monolog gets us into her head, and the comic motivations of her vanity and lust for power. Meanwhile Snow White is as nice as can be, and not at all helpless -- no 21st Century Princess is helpless. Lily Collins makes Snow White cute and likable, when she is not stabbing with her dagger or swashbuckling with her sword.

The love story is pretty weak, and the Prince is just going through the fairy tale motions. The art direction is strong and the scenes are fancy, but never really inspired. In many places it looks like a stage show. I wonder if there was a stage version.

There were some reoccurring jokes; like the dwarves stealing peoples clothes, and leaving them in elaborate under-ware. I don't think this is a movie for children, since I don't think they'd like it. I don't think it is for adults either since it is not dark enough. It is hard to tell what effect they were going for. 

Cast: Julia Roberts, Lily Collin

Directed by: Rarsem Singh

Rating:   2.0 stars: this movie is cute, and kinda fun-to-watch.

More: I did not see the twist ending. 

Even more: I liked Snow White and the Huntsman better. See my review.