Tag: movie review

Master of Suspense

On By Brandon1 Comment

Good eeevening.

Had a chance to view the new movie Hitchcock in the Mess Tent the other day. I have been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s for a while with my favorite movies of his being Rear Window, The Birds and Psycho. This movie is a look into the life of the director and his wife Alma just before and during the shooting of Psycho. I have no idea how true to life the movie is but I know enough about Hitchcock to know most of it actually happened.

Hitch was an odd fellow and is played brilliantly by Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins doesn’t look exactly like Hitch but makes an effort to appear as close physically as possible which assists the illusion. Beware if you are looking for a movie all about making Psycho. Psycho is dealt with but the thrust of the story is the sometimes tenuous but loving relationship between Alfred and Alma. I think Alfred’s fascination with the Grace Kelly blonde is widely known by now and this is one of the director’s faults that impede his marriage. If you enjoy watching biopics and find Hitchcock’s movies fascinating then by all means watch this movie. You will not be disappointed. Just watch the first step, you’re liable to loose your head.

Knife to see you.
Knife to see you.

Of Monsters and Men

On By Brandon2 Comments

Had the chance to see Pacific Rim yesterday and took it. I have been eager to see the movie since I first heard it was about giant robots and Kaiju and Guillermo del Toro was directing. I’ll get right to it…it was incredible. Not that it was loaded with Oscar-winning performances or high art aspirations, but it was chock full of high-octane action, heroics and amazing world building. When I left the theater and drove home, I expected to see a giant monster rise up from under the overpass or out from behind a hill ready to destroy. That is powerful movie-making.

The giant robots called Jaegers in the movie, were impressive. Each one having its own fighting style and weapon payload. Two pilots aligned with the machine and each other through The Drift, Each of the major characters were well-defined and interesting. Ron Perlman nearly stole the show as Hannibal Chau, a black market dealer of Kaiju body parts. Charlie Day was also very good as the Kaiju expert.

The giant monsters named Kaiju were incredible and given believable life that reminded me of the first time I saw Jurassic Park and marveled at the dinosaurs. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the hype issue. Pacific Rim is not Star Wars, no matter how much a group of rabid fanboys wish it to be. Will people go wild for Pacific Rim and see it multiple times, eat up all things related to the movie and form a loyal club? No doubt. However, it will not reach a fever pitch as Star Wars did and has in our time. There are no instantly remembered characters with equally remembered costumes or actions. I had to struggle to remember the names of each of the characters in Pacific Rim and, as much as I love the movie, don’t find myself wanting to create a costume based on one of them. The musical score for Pacific Rim is good and the main theme inspires giant monster bashing but it is nowhere near iconic as Star Wars. It is really a moot point anyway. I doubt very much that del Toro was trying to make the new Star Wars. He aimed to tell a story that only he could. A story of honor, duty, retribution, humanity and giant monster smack down.

Now hook up, ride the drift and go show that yellow belly slobber face Kaiju what your made of.

pacific-rim-poster

Boom!

On By BrandonLeave a comment

Occasionally, they show movies to the troop in the mess hall to let a little steam out and bolster morale. Last night they showed Here Comes the Boom with Kevin James. I have been a fan of James since The King of Queen days and, yes, I did see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Even I can admit that Paul Blart was not a good movie. Though it had its scant charms and made a boat load of money at the box office (much more than its budget). Here Comes the Boom is a home run compared to the base hit of Paul Blart.

Here Comes the Boom is about a disenchanted biology High School teacher that takes to Mixed Martial Arts fighting (all he has to do is loose) to win enough money to save the music department from going under, taking the best teacher in the school and genuine nice guy under with it. It didn’t win an Oscar or anything but I feel it is a movie you should certainly try to see. It is a very nice showcase for James’ talents and also includes charming parts for Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler and MMA fighter Bas Rutten. Have we seen the framework of this story before? Yes. Is it side-splitting funny? Not really. However, it is chuckle funny and a nice alternative to the R rated comedies laced with profanity and gross out humor popular at the moment.

James also co-wrote the movie and it seems that he is taking great care to make certain kinds of vehicles for himself. If Here Comes the Boom is where his groove is, I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. You may rarely hear a kind word from the film critics for what James makes, but James doesn’t really make films. I don’t think he wants to make films. He makes movies. He wants to entertain in the most genial way. All he wants is your smile for an hour and a half. This time, he got it from me.

That Salma Hayek is a wildcat.
That Salma Hayek is a wildcat.

Knowing Is Half The Battle

On By Brandon2 Comments

How is everything at the castle? I am doing well. Last night I had the chance to see the new movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation. We have one movie house out here and it was actually the only movie showing. If knowing is half the battle, as the Joes used to tell us, then I feel we are still waiting for whatever the other half is. From all accounts, the director of Retaliation (Jon Chu) is a fan of the original G.I. Joe material including the cartoons and comic books. This is certainly a good thing. The director of the previous G.I. Joe movie had minimal knowledge of the original material and it showed. However, the first movie did have an unabashed and over the top joy in what it was doing. This second movie seems to be missing some of that. If only someone could bring the best of the two movies together.

What spark there is in Retaliation is supplied mainly by Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock and Ray Stevenson as Firefly. Johnson is great and I hope he returns in the next one. Stevenson is dangerous and menacing as Cobra’s explosives expert. D. J. Cotrona is serviceable as Flint but is given little to do and missing his trademark beret. Adrianne Palicki is good as Lady Jaye but not as memorable as Scarlett in the last film. Bruce Willis looks like he’s having fun as the original Joe.  Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes are super cool as always, but a little less so than in the first movie. There are some illogical plot points and the dialog in places is a bit too on-the-nose but you have to remember that the movie is based on a cartoon property so cut it some slack. Overall I would suggest you see Retaliation if you are a fan of G.I. Joe or a fan of action movies. It is a movie I will certainly be adding to my collection.

The good thing is that there are a plethora of G.I. Joes that we still have not seen and that can pop up in the next movie. We can see Gung-Ho (which had only a brief cameo in the first movie), Shipwreck, Cover Girl, the Cobra twins, Bazooka, Wild-Bill and Spirit to name a few. I also request that Destro and the Baroness return.  In addition, don’t be afraid to make Cobra Commander a little whinny and cowardly; that is what makes him sort of endearing and more fun to foil.

Yo Joe!

Where's the Flint love in this poster?
Where’s the Flint love in this poster?