Film: Super 8

GENRE: Sci-Fi/Thriller
RATING: PG-13 for violence & language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 52 minutes
STARRING: Joel Courtney (newcomer)
Kyle Chandler (FNL) Elle Fanning (Benjamin Button)
DIRECTOR: JJ Abrams (Star Trek, Mission Impossible 3)
WRITER: JJ Abrams(Alias, Lost, Felicity, Armageddon)
PLOT: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and its precious cargo escaping, all caught on their video camera.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Mix E.T. with Stand By Me with Close Encounters of the Third Kind with Cloverfield with Goonies with War of the Worlds and you’ll get a sense of what Super 8 is all about. (Not some bad company to be associated with.) This film is simply amazing and gets almost everything right.
2 My only big issue with this film is the use of Abrams patented lens flare that was used so extensively in Star Trek. There are some scenes in Super 8 that look like they were filmed in 1979 with the perfect amount of graininess and tone but the lens flare makes it look too contemporary. It’s a minor point but one I thought was worth mentioning.
3 The kids are amazing in this film. Their camaraderie is infectious. They bring so much life to this film. Joel Courtney’s performance as Joe Lamb is heads and tails above Henry Thomas’ Elliot role in E.T. I’,m just sayin’. Wow!
4 I found the ending a little too convenient and neatly done but overall a wonderful story that keeps you engaged the whole time. Makes me want to take my video camera and do some shooting this summer.
5 This film is definitely anti-drugs. They state it outright in a very hilarious scene.

RECOMMENDATION: See this in theatres now!
UPCOMING REVIEWS: 2011 Emmy nominations

Film: X-Men: First Class

GENRE: Action/Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for sexuality, violence & language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 12 minutes
STARRING: James McAvoy (Atonement, Wanted)
Michael Fassbender (300, Inglourious Basterds)
DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust)
WRITERS: Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz(Thor)
Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass)
PLOT: In this prequel, Charles and Erik recruit superhuman beings to help out during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are the heart and soul of this movie. Their chemistry and extraordinary acting propel everything about this film. It makes it all the more tragic to know what is to come in future films.
2 I haven’t read the comics so I don’t know how true they are or if the continuity rings true with the other X-Men movies but to be honest, I really don’t care. This was just plain entertaining, even if you knew nothing about the X-Men.
3 Kevin Bacon makes a great villain. He’s played bad guys before but this performance stuck out to me for some reason. Maybe it was his creepy mustache in his first scene.
4 While there are some great action sequences and explosions, there were a couple of special effects that bordered on cheesy. Beast running fast and Erik overturning the lab in Germany come to mind.
5 The parental guide states that there is “one memorable use of the F-word”. They could not be more correct. Funniest moment in the whole movie. It happens during the recruitment montage. It still makes me laugh.

RECOMMENDATION: Some nice Special FX for theatres
UPCOMING REVIEW: Super 8

Film: The Hangover, Part II

GENRE: Comedy
RATING: R for nudity, language & drug use
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 42 minutes
STARRING: Bradley Cooper (Limitless, A-Team) Ed Helms (The Office), Zach Galifianakis (Due Date)
DIRECTOR: Todd Phillips (Due Date, Old School, Hangover)
WRITERS: Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3), Scot Armstrong (Road Trip) & Todd Phillips (Starsky & Hutch, Road Trip, Old School, Due Date)
PLOT: Same “what happened last night” hangover, different location.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 When I see the words “Part II”, I expect a continuation of a story; like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II”. This is no continuation; this film is a carbon copy of the original. It’s the exact same story with different elements subbed in. Instead of a baby, a monk in a wheelchair. Instead of a precious tiger, we get a precious monkey. The beats are exactly the same. I expected some similarities but come on. It really looked like lazy writing.
2 Despite the similar storyline, the chemistry of the wolf pack remains intact. The three leads do play well off each other which made the movie somewhat bearable.
3 That was a cool skyscraper near the end of the film. It would be cool to have dinner there.
4 The music was much better in their first outing. Songs didn’t have the same punch this time around. I also missed the Dan Band for Stu’s wedding. Maybe they are too famous now.
5 Three words: too much penis.

RECOMMENDATION: DVD if you really liked the first one.
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Tree of Life, Super 8

Film: Thor

GENRE: Action/Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 55 minutes
STARRING: Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Tom Hiddleston (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, As You Like it, Dead Again)
WRITERS: Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz (Fringe, X-Men: First Class)
PLOT: Thor is cast out of Asgard and sent to Earth to learn a little humility. He also finds love along the way.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 I love mythology but knew nothing about the Marvel superhero. I didn’t feel lost at all which is what I was worried most about. Great script and directing.
2 Wonderful acting all around. Chris Hemsworth had a fun swagger and charm as Thor that made you root for him all the more. Tom Hiddleston did a great job as the villainous Loki. Talk about an up and comer.
3 Love the other Marvel references throughout the film. A couple Stark name checks and one of the Avengers makes a cameo about half-way through. Of course the post-credit sequence was intriguing. Can’t wait for Joss Whedon’s Avengers next year!
4 Rene Russo used to be a big star. She was not given much to do this film. Pity.
5 I would have never thought that Kenneth Branagh could pull off an enjoyable, big budget blow ‘em up action flick. But he does with flying colours. I had a lot of fun watching Thor. Having Natalie Portman in it also helped. Just saying.

RECOMMENDATION: Great for big screen fun
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Hangover, Part II

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

GENRE: Action/Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence, sensuality and innuendo
RUNTIME: 2 hour and17 minutes
STARRING: Johnny Depp (Sweeny Todd) Penelope Cruz (Blow), Ian McShane (Deadwood)
DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine)
WRITERS: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (Pirates 1-3, National Treasure)
PLOT: Jack Sparrow searches for the fountain of youth. Of course, he has to be held prisoner by Blackbeard and his daughter to do so.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Say what you will about sequels beating a dead horse, but I still enjoy watching Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. The run, the puzzling looks, the half-drunk accent, it all just works so well together. Way to bring it again Depp!
2 The opening action sequence was fantastic. Not much detectable CG stuff, just some fun running, swinging and jumping.
3 The story was a little too predictable. Not many twists. I would have liked something a little grittier than the usual fare.
4 The ‘bad’ pirates are not all that ruthless. I expect a lot more random killings and unsportsmanlike conduct from my evil pirates. Maybe it’s because this is a Disney film but I wanted a little more from Ian McShane’s Blackbeard.
5 I didn’t miss Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knightley at all. The hot (dentally-challenged) mermaids and the preacher (your Bloom and Knightley love-story) didn’t steal too much focus from the task at hand.

RECOMMENDATION: Fun to see in theatres
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Thor