Actors: Jaime Foxx, Christophe Walz, Leonardo
DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L Jackson, James Remar
Rating: 8 out of 10, The movie was really long but I
hardly noticed because it was so entertaining. It had Tarantino’s usual snappy,
foul mouthed dialogue and lovably scruffy characters. Waltz was perfect as the
well meaning but extremely dangerous bounty hunter. It’s pretty impressive when
he steals every scene he was in from Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, and Samuel
L Jackson with all of them at the top of their own games. The action is bloody and almost comical in
typical Tarantino style. There were lots of cameos by stars, and one time stars,
which I always love. It was Tarantino – a spaghetti western set in the
pre-civil war Deep South with Jackson
setting a new record for MF’s (who thought that was even possible) - I loved it.
MVP: Walz as
the verbose and very dangerous Dr King Schultz
Actors: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William J Macy, Moon
Bloodgood
Rating: 8 out of 10, I got to be honest with you, I
saw this movie only because I heard the fabulous Ms. Hunt indulged in some
pretty extensive nudity within. I’m not
proud of it but there it is and there it certainly was. It’s a shame this is what the movie is famous
for because it hides the fact this is an incredibly funny, heartfelt movie. John Hawkes is quietly heroic as the disabled
man trying to lose his virginity and
lifting the lives of those around him through the effort. The nudity is there, evidenced
by my wife’s squawks as we watched it together, but it’s almost clinical
(almost). The scenes between Hawkes and
Macy, who plays a Catholic priest, are priceless for the understated humor that
permeates their exchanges. In the end
this is a story about the importance of loving life no matter what obstacles
you face – not a bad message. I left the film
with a great deal of admiration for the courage and wit of Mark O’Brian on who’s
life this was based.
MVP: Hawkes as the valiant Mark O’Brian
Actors: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michaelle
Rodriguez, Bingbing Li, Boris Kodjoe, Oded Fehr
Rating: 6 out of 10, I guess this movie had to be
made because there were so many unanswered questions from the previous epic “dramas”
about the zombie apocalypse engineered by the Umbrella Corporation. The movie was non-stop action and they
brought back virtually every cast member, even those killed off, from the
previous six, seven, however many of these there have been. This movie is never
going to win any dramatic acting awards but Milla seems to be holding up well while
definitely starting to show her years. She
and the other kick ass women can definitely handle the action scenes as they fight
their way through an underwater labyrinth which makes the jumping the shark
analogy leap to mind. This is one of the
movies where they make shots just to show how cool it looks in 3D. I am too old for the video game generation
that spawned this franchise but mindless action with stunning women in tight
leather spandex fighting the undead – what’s not to like.
MVP: Guillory's welcome return as Jill Valentine
Actors: RZA, Rick Yune, Russel Crowe, Lucy Liu, Dave
Bautista, Jamie Chung, Cung Le
Rating: 6 out of 10, A real, almost hopeless mess but
kind of sneaky fun to watch. I guess
this was RZA’s (whoever the hell he is – rap is anathema to me) passion project
and ode to martial arts films.
Unfortunately RZA chose to “act” in this as well which was a big
mistake. I gave this a watch because
Tarantino was involved in some murky way.
I almost gave it up and then Russell Crowe, of all people, showed up and
started to just chew up scenery. There
were a couple of other big stars in very minor roles which is always kind of cool. You could see Maximus just having a ball with
the genre, not to mention just tearing up a house of ill repute run by Lucy
Liu. I’m still trying to figure out why
the sex and bath tub scenes had fully clothed women, I mean there are over a
billion Chinese – so they know better.
Real chaos but almost mesmerizingly so.
MVP: Yune as Zen Yi, the X-Blade (I’m not kidding)
Actors: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Hall D’Addario,
Michaelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass
Rating: 7 out of 10, A very strong family drama due
to the fine acting, notably by the female leads, Banks, Pfeiffer, and
Wilde. The plot involves Pine finding
out about an unknown sister when his estranged father dies. His awkward attempts to connect with his
sister, played by Banks, form the arc of the plot. Pine is okay in a very unlikable part but
Banks a true revelation. She’s always
been good in light comedies but she truly delivers here as a recovering
alcoholic, single mother trying to put her life together. She portrays strength, vulnerability, humor,
and gravitas with apparent ease – she is truly the best thing about this movie. Wilde excels and is really carving out an
impressive list of supporting roles where she doesn’t rely solely on her looks.
My only problem was the idiocy of Pine’s
character who fails to tell Banks who he is for no apparent good reason which
leads to some serious miscalculations. That being said, the movie ends well as the brother
and sister share a special gift left by a father they both thought had abandoned
them – a nice touch.
MVP: Banks as the heroic Frankie
Actors: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John
Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler
Rating:
9 out of 10, I felt transported back to my youth last night thanks to Argo,
which depicts the rescue of six American diplomats from the Iran in 1980. The Iranian Hostage crisis –
no American of my generation was not marked by this event. This was a seminal
moment in American history, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. I was
just an enlisted Soldier at that point but seeing my country so ineffectual in
responding to those Iranian scumbags actually had a big part in my decision to
seek a commission and make the military a career. A large percentage of my 1980 OCS class felt the
same way – we all hoped we would get a chance to kill Iranians in large numbers. The movie itself was a revelation. Affleck is turning into an extremely
impressive movie maker. He even acts well in this! The film does a great job of recreating the
tensions and “feel” of the late 1970s without overdoing it. In my view the movie tried to be even-handed,
pointing out the failures of US policy in supporting the evils of the Shah
while also demonstrating the Iranian people traded this evil for an even more fundamentally
malevolent and sadistic one. Seeing the 1970’s
wardrobe fashion was a bit embarrassing – what were we thinking? I really enjoyed this movie which was “adult”
in that it creates a lot of tension without resorting to cheap tricks and
trying to over explain things. The
stressful apprehension was almost like another character in the movie when
Affleck reaches Iran
until they clear Iranian airspace. The
understated, very human reactions of the cast sell this so much more
effectively than an over dramatic action scene.
The scenes with Arkin and Goodman are also priceless as they skewer the self-important
pretensions of Hollywood
that semi-define the town nowadays. Hearing former President Carter voice over
the credits was chilling as he was still trying to gain some traction for his
totally incompetent presidency which was on full display in Argo. I felt like yelling at the screen when I heard
him – “Argo go F--- yourself”
MVP: Affleck, understated but so human as CIA
agent Tony Mendez
Actors: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, Judy
Greer, Rae Dong Chong
Rating:
7 out of 10, I didn’t know what to make of this at first. Everybody, if they’re really honest with
themselves, spends a great deal of time trying to figure out where they fit in
the world and what’s important. This little
film takes a crack at it and succeeds.
It’s billed as a comedy and while there are some awkwardly funny
moments, it’s more of a road movie even though the characters never leave Baton Rouge. Segel plays a 30 year old slacker safely
hiding out from life in his mother’s basement until sent out on a quest by a
wrong number. Helms, finally gets out of
his comfort zone of playing only “nice” guys, is an ostensibly more successful brother
who’s just as lost as the loser Segel. Sarandon
is underused and her sub-plot was a bit of a stretch but she’s welcome addition
to almost anything. It was also nice to
see Chong again; I always thought she was underrated. This turned out to be a very nice “searching
for the meaning of/in life” journey as this very dysfunctional family
reconnects with each other and with life itself. I really liked the climactic scene where all
the strands are brought together on a bridge – kind of blatant but appropriate
symbology.
MVP: Segel returns to form as part of an ensemble,
where he’s always at his best, as the lovable loser – Jeff.
