Hunger Games

Actors:  Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harellson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz, Amandla Stenberg
Rating:  9 out of 10, I was really looking forward to this movie after my daughter gave me the books and I read them in very short order. The books were very good and the movie had some really good reviews so I was set up to be disappointed. I was not. The movie was loyal to the books and the small diversions did not impact in a big way.  There’s always a problem when a movie tries to capture the plot that has so many levels but this movie does.  Harrelson proves he can still do more than just crazy and Kravtiz was extremely memorable in a very small part.  This movie though is carried by the persona of Katniss Evergreen played ably by Lawrence.  After reading the books I was wondering if any actress would be up for the central character but Lawrence is more than able.  I really like her as an actress because she takes chances and she certainly does here.  She’s okay with being less than likable in some of her scenes because that was what the scene called for.  I think she will be the next great American actress.  Some of the best scenes were the ones she had with Stenberg who is another young actress we should all keep an eye on for future greatness.  Hutcherson was a bit of a miss as Peeta because he didn’t have the physicality I imagined with the character but he can certainly act and that covered up what I thought he was missing to a large extent.  I was really wondering how they were going to pull off the action scenes of the games themselves but this was the strongest part of the movie.  If anything I think they missed out on the opportunity to show more and especially how the games were being viewed in outlying districts. It’s rare that a movie with its limitations as a media format can capture the depth and texture of a well loved book but this movie achieves it, thanks in large part to the delightful Ms. Lawrence.
MVP:  Who else but Jennifer Lawrence as the deadly but vulnerable Katniss Evergreen

Red Tails

Actors:  Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, Michael B Jordan, Andre Royo,
Rating:  8 out of 10, I missed this movie in the theaters and due to the recent poor luck with buying films unseen I checked this out as a Netflix rental.  I hadn’t heard anything good about this movie so I wasn’t expecting much and was truly pleased with how well done it was.  I’m in the middle of watching the final season of The Wire and many of the same actors show up in this movie which made it even more enjoyable – like seeing old friends.  There’s been a lot written about the real world heroes who flew as African-American pilots in World War 2 but this was the most enjoyable I’ve seen.  Most of the other movies about the Tuskegee airman focus on the social struggle they faced and give short shrift to the combat action which is where they ultimately proved their worth and validated their place as icons of US military heroism.  This movie rectifies that in a big way as the action is almost non-stop and the aerial combat scenes are breathtaking.  George Lucas was involved in this and you can see the special effects expertise manifest itself in the dogfights.  The writing is a little more lightweight but this is a fantastic group of actors who elevate the work above the content even though some 21^st century lingo does sneak in (obviously (hopefully) ad libs).  The only miss in the cast was Oyelowo who was not convincing as the supposedly brash guy.  He didn’t strike me as very American and after watching the film I learned he was British.  With so many talented American actors surrounding him he just didn’t come across as genuine.  It was great to see a movie about African-Americans that allowed them to be action heroes and not beat the audience over the head with the message of racial equality.  The message is there but rightfully and accurately demonstrated by the combat prowess of the pilots.  The first hour of the movie is riveting and while the plot gets bogged down in the last half this is still a very well done and fitting tribute to some of the greatest Americans to ever wear the uniform.  While I was serving I had the honor to meet some of the actual Tuskegee airman and they were some of the nicest, most self-effacing gentlemen I ever met, true heroes.  This movie soars and will soon occupy a position on my movie shelf.
MVP:  Howard as Colonel Bullard in a small but important part as the leader of the Red Tails

The Grey

Actors:  Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson
Rating:  5 out of 10, I finally snuck a movie (Netflix rental) in around Olympics watching and now I’m wondering why.  Neeson is one of my favorite actors and he holds his own in this as does the rest of the cast but the story is just ludicrously stupid.  The plot revolves around a group of oil roughnecks who survive a plan crash and are hunted by a pack of wolves.  The cold arctic weather is like another character in the movie but again not realistic.  It’s just too hard to believe that this pack of wolves would act so completely different than normal in hunting men who they avoid whenever possible in real life.  There was a real sense of Darwinism at work here though because this had to be the stupidest bunch of supposedly tough men.  If they were being stalked by killer wolves would they abandon safety just to take a wiz?  Maybe it just might be a good idea to take along something to fight back with – like a metal club from all the plane debris lying around.  I guess the writer and director were going for some deeper meaning here about the evil oil men invading a pristine wilderness that fights back but they sold it as an action movie and it wasn’t.  The characters, outside of Neeson, were so uniformly unlikable and you almost root for the wolves, like they’re doing us a favor.  I think this was a case where Hollywood tried to capitalize on Neeson’s recent action successes by packaging this film as something it wasn’t.  It fooled me and stole a couple hours of my life that I’ll never get back.  Avoid this film.
MVP:  Neeson as Ottoway, the suicidal leader and least unlikable survivor

Lockout

Actors:  Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joseph Gilgun, Lennie James, Peter Stormare Rating:  9 out of 10, a really fun movie that totally snuck up on me when I saw it in the theater.  This kind of stuff is right in Luc Besson’s wheel house which he did so well with the 5^th Element.  Two actors completely dominate this movie.  Joseph Gilgun is mesmerizingly evil as the totally daft bad guy.  It’s impossible to look away when he is on screen and equally tough to understand what he is saying at times.  Pearce is even more effective as the wise cracking hero, channeling Bruce Willis.  He has too many great one–liners to recount but he takes serious moments and takes the air completely out of his superiors with incredibly funny jabs.  The action is almost non-stop as Pearce has to rescue the president’s daughter, Maggie Grace, from a prison located in space.  Grace holds her own with Pearce which is a challenge because he is so good.  The supporting cast is also superb although some of the American accents fray at times.  The dynamic between the two bad guy brothers was also well done and explains why Gilgun’s character survives his outlandish excesses.  The only thing that keeps this movie from achieving top ranking are the special effects which are not up to par.  Some of the early scenes look like they were done for a 1990’s Atari game.  That being said, this is a great movie for we lovers of popcorn escapism.
MVP:  Pearce as the witty, sarcastic but very effective CIA Operative Snow

American Reunion

Actors:  Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Mena Suvari, Chris Klein, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy and John Cho

Rating:  6 out of 10, I actually enjoyed this when it came out in theaters a couple of months ago but when I watched it at home it had lost a lot of its comedic punch.  It was clear that some of the leads are less than gifted actors and were merely reading their lines instead of trying to emote.  It was interesting to catch up with the characters from the original American Pie movie and see them wrestling with adulthood.  The best part of the movie was the relationship between Jason Biggs and his dad Eugene Levy, who’s still the funniest guy in the movie.  Stifler‘s act is a little lame now and they made no attempt to make the high schoolers look anything less than mid-twenties in age.  Jim and Michelle’s relationship was the sweetest thing about the other movies and it didn’t seem right to threaten it.  I loved the turn about between Finch and Stifler and their respective maternal quests.  Overall this was a nice, little movie where hopefully these characters are saying goodbye to us, one can hope.
MVP:  Levy as Jim’s Dad once again steals every scene he’s in and tries to show the younger actors what comedic acting is all about

Murder By Death

Actors:  Peter Falk, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Truman Capote, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Eileen Brennan, Alec Guiness, Elsa Lanchester
Rating:  8 out of 10, an extremely intelligent comedic parody of film noir  detectives that shows its age but is still laugh out loud funny.  The film was penned by Neil Simon and his sharp wit gives real traction to what would otherwise be extremely silly.  The story has five famous detectives based on Hercule Poiroit, Sam Spade, Miss Marple, Nick and Nora Charles, and Charlie Chan who are challenged to solve a murder by/of Truman Capote.  You can take a look at the cast and realize this was a lot of fun to watch.  As with most of Simon’s work the best part were the one liners and most of those fall to Falk in what I believe to be his best film role.  They even made a sequel featuring his character, called the Cheap Detective which was horrible.  I didn’t realize how hot Maggie Smith was at the time but she is also very good in a small part.  Alec Guiness is so funny as the blind butler James Sirbensonmum and shows a real flair for physical comedy, although I ddi keep flashing back to Obi Wan hearing his voice.  The only misses were Coco and Sellers who overdid their parts, maybe because they were surrounded by such talented actors.  I still love this movie and could not believe it was not in my collection until now. 
MVP:  Falk as the over the top tough detective Sam Diamond steals scenes even in the august company of this cast

21 Jump Street.

Actors:  Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Brie Larsen, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube

Rating:  8 out of 10, this movie was so funny and Tatum is an absolute revelation in the film.  He demonstrates real comic timing which is not easy.  He is quickly establishing that he is much more than just a pretty face.  This is of course the homage film to the 80’s iconic TV show and they decided to make it a comedy which works on a number of levels.  It was funny to see the differences pointed out with today’s high school kids, mostly positive.  I won’t ruin the surprises but there are some very funny cameos in this as well.  Cube once again plays the angry black guy but also pokes fun at himself.  I think this was supposed to be a Hill vehicle also but he’s just not that funny as a lead and the movie slows way down when it focuses solely on his story line.  He is much more sympathetic and funny when he works as part of a duo.  This movie was just a whole lot of fun to watch. 

MVP:  Tatum as the clueless Jenko is a breakout comedy star in this