Whoa!

Okay I know its not a very original title but I had to create this new feature. Whoa is about movies that push the boundaries. I mean, movies that really push the audience's buttons or comfort meter by crossing into territories some might call taboo. So be on the look out for this new feature because I've got some real doozies to review. Believe me, this is some crazy cinema!

Enjoy!

Rich-It Rental Bites 11/25/09

Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this story about an elderly racist widower coming to terms with his changing neighborhood. His new neighbors are a very traditional Asian family (Hmong to be exact)with a young son defying to join the local Asian gang. When his initiation goes wrong, he becomes the target of these unruly thugs that inadvertently involves the angry old man next door. Eastwood delivers a good performance and the story is somewhat interesting. I think the relationship he builds with the young boy, Thao (Bee Vang) and his sister, Sue (Ahney Her)is the heart of the story. He lived as a man blind to real care or feeling from his own kids. It takes this Hmong family to finally find his redemption. My Grade: B-


Grey Gardens - HBO Films
Based on the documentary of the same name as well as other resources, Grey Gardens is the story of the Bouvier Beales, the reclusive relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Having seen the documentary, I was familiar with the story but this is a fresh cinematic take on a truly fascinating American socialite family. This bittersweet tale is achieved with fantastic makeup effects and profound performances from its two leading ladies. Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore are exquisite. I've never seen Drew give so much to a character, it is incredible to watch. Brilliant and Sad, this film deserves a lot more attention from the masses. My Grade: A


Friday the 13th (2009)
Recently the remake recycle machine is running on overload in Hollywood. After some disappointing remakes(I'm looking at you Rob Zombie's Halloween) we get Friday the 13th. This is definitely more of re-imagining than anything. Jason Voorhee's doesn't lumber along at a snails pace to get his victim.. This bastard runs!! I mean he comes at you, no mercy! And it works. The movie works as a slasher film that's actually pretty scary while being entertaining. Sure its full of stupid token characters and cheesy dialogue, but its makes it all worth it when these "teens" get their just desserts. My Grade: B


Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
The chemistry between Nick (Michael Cena) and Norah (Kat Dennings)is perfectly simple in this romantic comedy. Nick has been dumped by the pretty, popular girl at school and doesn't know that Norah has been secretly crushing on him for sometime. It takes a wild night of bar hopping and a quest to find Norah's drunk best friend, to bring Nick and Norah together. This is a sweet funny movie about the love we can't seem to get to. It's almost always in the last place you look. My Grade: B+


Taken
Liam Neeson stars in this no nonsense thriller about a Father searching for his kidnapped teenage daughter in Paris. That is pretty much the plot but its the action that drives this story home. The energy created by slick editing and some pretty violent confrontations make this a must see. You know, the story can be a bit over the top and preposterous but its done well enough for you to throw logic out the window. A satisfying movie overall. My Grade: A-

Coming Soon

This weeks trailer selection is a bit Disney-centric but none the less, damn cool and geeky delicious.

Alice in Wonderland

Visionary director Tim Burton takes us on another wild journey with his spin on the classic Lewis Carroll Alice books. I love the design work and the lighting in this trailer. Even cooler, we get to witness this in Disney Digital 3D. March 2010

Tron:Legacy

Wow, just wow. What a trailer! Well its more of a visual effects test footage that debuted at last years comic-con. If this trailer is any indication of what Disney has in store well, this is going to be huge.

Bruno

Vaz up!

Sacha Baron Cohen is back to his guerrilla mock-umentary shtick with Bruno. The tale of a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who will do anything to be famous. I think that's about all the story I got out of it. There is no real narrative to speak of. What we get are a series of vignettes, skits in which people are duped with this characters crazy antics. Some are actually quite funny if only because they are shockingly over the top and crude. However, there are too many scripted moments or scenes that didn't feel genuine to the genre so well executed by Borat 3 yrs ago.

Some of moments of note: Paula Abdul being interviewed on illegal immigrant human furniture, The Seduction of Ron Paul and a very interesting focus group. There are times when the movie works but that can't save it from being all together kinda lame. The gay "gags" work, pardon my pun but gets tired toward the end. My Grade C-

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Note: I've not read any of the books in the series and I hope to actually visit them after the films are completed. I don't want to know what happens next because I will not be able to handle the cinematic let down that this film has become for some fans.

So, We finally come to our 6th film in the Harry Potter series and things are developing quite nicely as we prepare for the next two movies, The Deathly Hallows PT1 and Pt2. Here in the Half Blood Prince, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) faces a difficult road ahead. Prof. Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) needs Harry more than ever in the effort to finally, eradicate the torment of Voldemort and his Death-Eaters.



From the opening sequence of Death Eaters run a muck in modern day London, the tone is set. This is going to be a treacherous journey for these characters.
I can't detail the story too much because, well lets face it, if you haven't been watching these films all along, its a little difficult to jump right in. I think the revelation I had during the film was the connection between the characters. The theme of unrequited, young love. The bonds between mentor and pupil. These are at the overall core of The Half Blood Prince. There are plenty of little wondrous surprises thrown in but this is truly a character tale. A dark, detailed and lusciously filmed character tale.



The cinematography is gorgeous. The lighting and the bluish hue throughout deliver a cold magical world. One shot was so perfect and effective that I could not let it out of my mind. Its rare that movies give you little gems like that anymore and I'm glad this one did. The score was dramatic and well suited for the action. The effects were outstanding as always. However, its really the performances by our three young leads and honorable mentions to Michael Gambon and Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman. They deliver a touching story as well as the keys to our next two cinematic chapters. I have one small gripe with the editing. It was very choppy at times from scene to scene. A fine addition to the series. My Grade A-

Rich-It Rental Bites 7/13/09

Knowing
Nicholas Cage stars in this apocalyptic thriller directed by Alex Proyas (I,Robot, Dark City) An elementary schools time capsule is unearthed after 50 years. Contained within is a sheet full of numbers with dates for every deadly disaster from the past 50 yrs including 3 which have yet to occur. The movie has some weak points like Cage's relationship with his son. However the shocking scenes of destruction will turn your stomach. One particular scene was very intense. The ending has some spectacular visuals and the allegories presented are very interesting. My Grade: C



Paul Blart:Mall Cop
When I heard about what a huge hit this movie was, I just had to see it for myself! I like Kevin James as a comedian. He has a physicality that delivers the punchline. The movie is very silly and groan inducing. However there is a sweetness that bring it together. Forget about the shoe-horned plot lines or the "parkour" bandits. In the end its James' prat falls and charisma that works. My Grade: B-



The Bridge
In 2004, Filmmaker Eric Steel recorded the Golden Gate Bridge for an entire year. He and his crew captured 23 out of 24 known suicides from the Bridge that year. This upsetting and graphic documentary profiles some of the "jumpers" and their families to better understand ones decision to kill themselves and the people they affect by doing so. It is a morbidly fascinating film that sheds light on those who lost their way. My Grade: A

Coming Soon

Daybreakers

A nice spin to the Vampire movie genre. Looks pretty cool.


The Box

Talk about a moral dilemma. What would you do?

Rich-It Rental Bites 6/29/09

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Director David Fincher brings the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald to life. The first thing I'd heard of the film was the run time which is 2hr 45mins. I can say without a doubt that this a beautiful and emotional movie. Its technological achievements are a marvel. The CGI used here is to tell a sweeping story of an extraordinary man. Overall a good film but be sure to make some time to watch it. My Grade: A


The Reader
Hannah (Kate Winslet) has a summer long love affair with a 15 yr old boy named Michael. Beyond there intimate relationship, Hannah loves to hear Michael read to her. Years later Hannah is on trial for Nazi war crimes. Michael is a young law student witnessing this trial that will change each others lives forever. Fantastic performances push you through this sometimes dire subject matter. My Grade: A



Religulous
Bill Maher searches for the truths behind the origins of Religion and the validity of faith. The documentary examines several religions and the consequences of the actions by humans behind the veil of faith. Although rich with satire, the film ventures into frightening territory of how misguided mankind can be. Also its very clear that Maher's atheistic views propel the narrative of this documentary. My Grade: C+



Were the World Mine
A rock movie musical based on Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream. Timothy (Tanner Cohen), a gay teen, is constantly teased by the jocks at school, except one. Timothy decides to create a love potion to win over his jock crush. However in the process takes it upon himself to turn his town upside down and cast his spell over everyone in the community. This is a charming indie film with some great music. It can get a little disjointed at times but worth it for the musical sequences alone. My Grade: B-

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The first Transformers movie made my favorite films list of 2007. It was great to see the cartoons from my childhood finally realized in a big summer action film. I liked it so much that I saw it 3 times in the theater! I know its not a "critics" film but it was so much fun.

So two years roll by and we come to number 2 in the saga, Revenge of the Fallen. Sad to say, this movie is not as great as the first. Don't get me wrong, you have some amazing action sequences (The fight in the woods, incredible!). The problem is the story has so many plot holes and idiotic characters, its hard to care about the story. Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox are always running. Lots of danger with them bots around!



I'm glad they included more scenes of the Decepticons interacting with each other. Megatron conversing with Starscream is what a lot of us remember from the cartoon. Also, We get to see our heroes, the Autobots in some upsetting predicaments. I know, I'm geeking out a bit here but its the only way I'm going to justify my grade for this one. So, what did I absolutely hate? Two words: Skids and Mudflap. Wow some of the most racist characters I've ever seen. This Autobot duo is so un-appealing and not funny! There are so many ridiculous moments its crazy. Also the movie is 20-30min too long. So much we don't need to see. How many times can I watch military mobilize to try to defeat the robots? Its like c'mon. Anyway, I had fun watching but 1 time was enough for me, at least for a while. My Grade: B-

Coming Soon

Couple of cool sci-fi trailers to share... take a look.

Surrogates

Love the premise and the look of the film. reminds me of the Matrix meets Total Recall. I am a sucker for stuff like this. Sadly no one has really done this kind of movie justice like Dark City and The Matrix

District 9

Movies like Alien Nation really brought the idea of immigration and integration to light using Fiction. Love this gritty documentary feel and some great ideas at play in this teaser. Looks interesting.

Drag Me to Hell

Horror movies need to keep changing the game to stay interesting. Something like The Descent which relies on darkness and claustrophobia or recently My Bloody Valentine in 3D. Its not that its harder to terrify the audience but it is difficult to do it well. Director Sam Raimi's beginnings were in the world of horror. Evil Dead has become a cult classic as has Evil Dead 2. The reason these movies worked well in the 80's is because they were distinctly different from the schlock being produced at the time. He was able to bring this element of goofiness and accidental humor to some pretty gory and nasty visuals.

After many years of directing in different genres, namely comic book films (yes he directed the terrible sequel, Spiderman 3 but it was also the studios fault) he returns to scare the hell out of people. Did he succeed? Well, almost.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into watching this movie. I have seen the bad reviews by the common man (you know us little people who don't get paid for our opinions) and the adoration bestowed by so many critics. I can see where and what both were witness too. The beginning is shocking and pretty effective. Overall the movie has some interesting and shocking gross out scenes. Definitely gag inducing. There are some just crazy moments that are like OMG. All of this is more of the first hour of the film. Towards the last act things get a little too wacky and silly to really care. One word comes to mind: Goat. I like the lead actress, Alison Lohman. She handles this material with a sincerity and motivation that works well within the confines of a surreal, demonic movie.

The effects are well done and the visual gags work. One Word: Gums. I can't say I didn't like the movie because I found it to be entertaining and hilarious. It did make me feel uneasy at times and some of the imagery was pretty frightening. Its supposed to be a horror-comedy but I think most won't be able to take it as such. My Grade: B-
Note: The movie is very LOUD, you've been warned.

Rich-it Rental Bites 6/5/09

Writer-Director Kevin Smith spins this raunchy tale of two thirty-something’s (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) struggling to make the rent. Their plan?, Make a porno of course. With the help of their misfit cast and crew they set out to create a sex filled spoof of a well-known sci-fi classic. The movie starts out profanely funny with rapid fire vulgarity. However, the movie takes a turn that felt rushed. It finishes on a romantic note that pretty much kills the fun I was having in the first two thirds. Never the less, performances are good and the comedy is strong. My Grade: C-



Pineapple Express
Seth Rogen and James Franco star in this mary jane laced buddy comedy. The film has great over the top action scenes and hilarious bits. Franco is good at playing the high-as-a-kite pot dealer. Seth can deliver the most insane dialogue with ease. Even though the movie has this unbelievable story, it makes everything happening on screen more ridiculously funny. It reminded me of watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. That movie was so ridiculous, so in your face WTF That it sold me. You get the same thing here with punched up action. My Grade: B


Valkyrie
Bryan Singer directs this film based on the true story about one of the many assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. A fascinating thriller that remains effective even though we all know the attempts were not successful. The cast is full of stellar actors such as Kenneth Branagh, Tom Cruise, and Eddie Izzard. It interesting, the Nazi military considered Hitler to be the menace that the rest of the world did. If only they had succeeded. What then? How different would history have turned out? The direction is also fantastic. The way Singer moves the camera is simple and effective. Overall a great story and well done film. My Grade: B