Film: A Good Day to Die Hard

GENRE: Action
RATING: 14A for violence and language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 38 minutes
STARRING: Bruce Willis (Red, Looper, Expendables 2)
Jai Courtney (Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Jack Reacher)
DIRECTOR: John Moore (Max Payne, Behind Enemy Lines)
WRITER: Skip Woods (The A-Team, Wolverine, Swordfish)
PLOT: John McClane goes to Russia to help his rebellious son who happens to be on a CIA mission.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 The genius of the original Die Hard was the restriction of the building and the fact that John McClane was in the wrong place at the wrong time but able to use his cunning to outwit his opponents. Now he’s not even restricted to the States, he’s looking for trouble and he just uses a lot of firepower to get out of situations. Way to be like everyone else. Boring.
2 What an incredibly dumb storyline. I didn’t care about anything or anyone in this film. Well, maybe John McClane, but only because of some of his comments. I didn’t care for the villain, the mission or the son.
3 There is an entertaining, long, destructive car chase but it reminded me of the Bourne series.
4 There’s a helicopter scene that is simply laughable. 
5 The director shows every Russian landmark to remind you that they aren’t filming in California or New York. They filmed in Budapest, Hungary.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for TBS
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Oz the Great and Powerful

Oscar Results

 So I only got 17 out of 24 categories right. I unfortunately picked the wrong Disney films.  The show was lacking this year. Seth McFarland was pretty hit and miss. I did enjoy his “We Saw Your Boobs” number and the VonTrapp introduction but it got pretty annoying when he kept laughing at his own jokes. There were some really weird moments this year as well, like including Captain Kirk in the festivities, Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy bumbling their way through scripted ‘improvised’ patter, and Michelle Obama adding her two cents to an already overtime show (and who were those people behind her). I did enjoy the Jaws music playing people off, the fact that there was a tie in a category and the freakishly long hair of sound people accepting awards. But enough about the ceremony, lets trip our way through the winners, like Jennifer Lawrence on the auditorium stairs:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
CURFEW (predicted) 

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
PAPERMAN  

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
INOCENTE 

SOUND EDITING
SKYFALL (predicted) & ZERO DARK THIRTY 

SOUND MIXING
LES MISERABLES (predicted) 

ORIGINAL SCORE
LIFE OF PI (predicted) 

ORIGINAL SONG
SKYFALL [SKYFALL] (predicted) 

VISUAL EFFECTS
LIFE OF PI (predicted) 

MAKE-UP
LES MISERABLES 

COSTUME DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA 

PRODUCTION DESIGN
LINCOLN 

FILM EDITING
ARGO (predicted) 

CINEMATOGRAPHY
LIFE OF PI (predicted) 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (predicted) 

ANIMATED FEATURE
BRAVE 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AMOUR (predicted) 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO (predicted)=

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DJANGO UNCHAINED (predicted) 

BEST DIRECTOR
ANG LEE [LIFE OF PI] (predicted) 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANNE HATHAWAY [LES MISERABLES] (predicted) 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPH WALTZ [DJANGO UNCHAINED] 

BEST ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE [SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK] (predicted) 

BEST ACTOR
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS [LINCOLN] (predicted) 

BEST PICTURE
ARGO (predicted)

How did you do?

Oscar Predictions

It’s that time of year again for my fearless Oscar predictions. The only film I wasn’t able to see before voting time was Amour which is too bad. I think not seeing it kept me from swaying a couple of categories to the French film. Just as a reminder, I’m not predicting who I want to win but who I think the Academy will vote for. From smaller to bigger, here we go:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
CURFEW
(Adventures in babysitting looks interesting)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
ADAM AND DOG
(People like dogs. I think Pixar made this.)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
OPEN HEART         
(Rwandan children. ‘Nuff said.)

 SOUND EDITING
SKYFALL
(It Bond’s year to win some stuff)

SOUND MIXING
LES MISERABLES
(Live singing is hard to mix with film)

ORIGINAL SCORE
LIFE OF PI
(Lots of Indian and New Age stuff blended) 

ORIGINAL SONG
SKYFALL [SKYFALL]
(C’mon, it’s Adele people)

VISUAL EFFECTS
LIFE OF PI
(Bengal tiger)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
(Lots of dwarf make-up)

COSTUME DESIGN
LES MISERABLES
(Lovely ladies and Javert’s hats)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
LES MISERABLES
(Epic musical, epic film)

FILM EDITING
ARGO
(Usually accompanies the Best Picture winner)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
LIFE OF PI
(Beautifully shot on the water)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
(Apparently has already won some awards)

ANIMATED FEATURE
WRECK-IT RALPH
(Nostalgic games beats Pixar this time)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AMOUR
(Hands down the winner.)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO
(A pretty entertaining yet tense script)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DJANGO UNCHAINED
(More fun than Zero Dark Thirty)

BEST DIRECTOR
ANG LEE [LIFE OF PI]
(Successfully filmed the unfilmable.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANNE HATHAWAY [LES MISERABLES]
(For “I Dreamed a Dream” alone)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
TOMMY LEE JONES [LINCOLN]
(I think grumpy-pants was more fun to watch than DeNiro)

BEST ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE [SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK]
(She played a good kind of crazy. Go Katniss.)  

BEST ACTOR
DANIEL DAY LEWIS [LINCOLN]
(It’s a lock. There’s no way this guy is losing.

BEST PICTURE
ARGO
(Not because of guilt but well-structured drama)

Let’s see how I do on Oscar night this Sunday.

Film: Identity Thief

GENRE: Comedy
RATING: R for sexual content and language
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 52 minutes
STARRING: Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Gilmore Girls)
Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses, Arrested Development)
DIRECTOR: Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, King of Kong)
WRITER: Craig Mazin (Hangover Part II, Scary Movie 3 & 4)
PLOT: A mild manner businessman has to find and bring in the con-woman who has stolen his identity.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 I found the film to be just a bit better than okay. Most of that is due to the talents of Bateman and McCarthy. They play very well off each other and are fun to watch on the screen. They both play to their strengths: Bateman with his gullible exasperation and McCarthy with her larger-than-life commitment. But there is not much new stuff here.
2 Like a Judd Apatow film (Funny People, This is 40), this one suffers by being too long. Too much stuff gets added on with very little payoff. Ninety minutes people! How hard is that?
3 What drags this movie down is some terrible subplots involving mafia henchmen and a bounty hunter competing to take down the main characters. Why couldn’t this film just be happy being an updated Planes, Trains and Automobiles?
4 It was fun (and disturbing) to see Eric Stonestreet (Cam on Modern Family) as a kinky Texan who joins McCarthy for an amorous night.
5 I can usually suspend disbelief but is it so hard to call collect and get friends or family members to wire you money? Losing your cell phone doesn’t necessarily mean being completely shut off from society.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for the DVD or TBS
UPCOMING REVIEWS: A Good Day to Die Hard

Superbowl Commercials

So, being a Canadian, we got robbed of the fun that is USA Superbowl commercials. Thanks CTV for your sub-par advertising. If I have to see another Panago ad with that that stupid guy in a bee costume, I'll go crazy like that Do No Harm guy. So after the game I need to go online and check out what I've missed. I have to admit, it wasn't as great as in past years. Bud Light did not bring the funny and I missed the Snickers ads. Here are my favourites (or at least the ones that got me smiling or smirking):

1. Oreo - Whisper Fight
The whisper fight reminds of the arguement at the funeral in The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell. I also like the fact that it takes place in a library.
2. Doritos - Goat 4 Sale
I like the sound the goat makes when he finds all the Doritos are gone.
3. M & M's - Love Ballad
I've always liked the M & M guy.
4. Toyota RAV4 - Wish Granted
I like the talking chipmunks, much funnier than Alvin and the Chipmunks.
5. Kia - Space Babies
I like how convoluted the story is. The island, the space walk, the entry. Cute stuff.
Best Celebrity Appearance: Best Buy - Asking Amy
Sorry Paul Rudd & Seth Rogen but I liked Amy Poehler in the Best Buy ads. She always makes me laugh.
Best Ad Image: Hyundai Santa Fe - Team
I loved the image of the child wrestling the bear for some reason.
Best Ad Tagline: Axe - Lifeguard
Nothing Beats an Astronaut
Worst Ad: Ram Trucks - Farmer
I guess you'd love this if you were a farmer. I'm not.
There you have it. What were your favourites?