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

UP

Pixar is one of my favorite animation houses, right behind its parent company Disney. It might sound like I am a bit biased but believe me that I critique every film on its merit. A lot of other animation companies have some great films in their libraries i.e Dreamworks Shrek and Kung Fu Panda or Blue Sky Studios' Horton Hears a Who and Ice Age.


That said, UP is a phenomenal achievement in filmmaking. This is Pixars first 3-D film and unlike this year’s big Dreamworks hit, Monsters vs Aliens, Up doesn’t exploit the 3D effects. What Pixar did was enhance the scope of the movie. It was like looking out your window as opposed to things jumping out of the screen. It allowed depth to take over, so when you are viewing the jungles of Venezuela, you are immersed in them.

Beyond the technical achievements, it’s the story that really delivers. Carl is a widowed old man who has disconnected himself from society. The world has grown around him and his only constant is the home he built with his late wife, Ellie. This part of the film is heavy for some people. We get to see how Carl and Ellie lived their lives up until her quiet end. I was in tears and the theater was silent during this part. Many animated films have shown death and loss of life in different ways but none so deeply emotional as this one (except maybe Bambi’s mother or Simbaa asking Mufasa to wake up after the stampede). Once we see who Carl is, he sets out for a wild adventure that includes Russell, the young wilderness explorer whose enthusiasm grows on Carl’s grumpy nature.


The story is involving with colorful characters. There is a lot of laugh out loud moments for me. The introduction of the dogs is hilarious. The humor is executed with perfect timing and balance nicely to heartfelt scenes. Ed Asner’s voice work is tangible and sincere. Newcomer, Jordan Nagai voices Russell and does it very well. He gets some of the best lines in the movie. Director Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) and Co-director Bob Peterson do a great job of keeping the story moving and still allowing the audience to take in its grandeur. Pixar movies prove to be the best in the industry and they have maintained that reputation with UP. Next year, Toy Story 3! Can’t wait. My Grade: A

Rich-it Rental Bites

So I’ve decided to shorten my rental reviews to allow more detailed gibberish about movies currently in theaters. I watch too many rentals to flesh them out completely. So here is the new category. Short n Sweet. Enjoy

Rich

Terminator Salvation

“Are you ready for Salvation!?”
Our Arclight Cinema usher shouts to pump up the crowd. Cheers follow and the movie rolls.

The Terminator introduced us to this universe in 1984. In 1992, T2 pushed the limits of action and VFX. It also fleshed out the grim future that lies ahead for humanity. In 2003, Arnold and company returned for T3: Rise of the Machines. The film moved the story along somewhat but it was mostly about the action. (i.e. the Crane sequence, amazing!) So what does T4, I mean Salvation, bring to the mix? I’m sorry to say, not much.

The story of John Connor (Christian Bale) has been elaborated so much over the years, most recently with the TV series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I think it’s that reason that he isn’t really the main character of this movie. Although they are trying to give more info on his journey as the Leader of the Resistance, it falls short. The real draw here is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). This character’s story adds nice undercurrent to this dull plot. Sam is going on to some pretty big things this coming year and he deserves it. He is a great actor and I can’t wait to see more from him. Other notable performances are from Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood). Sorry Christian Bale you bored me. His performance was just so forced and just not good overall.

So what’s the real reason to see this movie? The action, effects and sound are outstanding! There are so many great action scenes. If anything, these are the film’s saving grace. The sound was booming and the bass shook the theater. They really spent the money on these effects. Also, a great cameo from the governator via CGI that looks amazing! Danny Elfman scores the movie and although I am huge fan of his, the music here is lackluster. There is nothing new thematically and nothing memorable. If you’re looking for a mindless effects driven movie, that’s not as awful as Wolverine but not as Fantastic as Star Trek, Go see it. Its popcorn time! My Grade: C+

Angels & Demons

In 2006, We were introduced to the film version of the Da Vinci Code. At the time, lovers of the bestselling book it was based upon were eagerly awaiting the release. Well as often happens, the movie was not nearly as good as the book. I did not
read the book so I could see the movie for what it was. A few days before seeing the movie, I watched a documentary about the book and its secrets on the History channel. I was fascinated by the story and it was a good prelude to the actual movie. Imagine my surprise when the film bored me to tears! Ron Howard's direction was excruciating at times. The pace was very slow and the mystery not so amazing after a while.

I am happy to say that Angels & Demons is a much better film but not a great one. Tom Hanks returns as Prof. Robert Langdon, this time to assist the Vatican in a plot against them by an old enemy, the Illuminati. The movie does a good job of filling us in to understand how this volatile relationship came about. The pacing works well but of course as with the previous movie, we begin to get bogged down with what the audience already knows. A good example of this is a monologue scene with a certain character that feels heavy handed.

The acting was pretty good even though Tom Hanks loves to ham it up a bit. Ayelet Zurer plays Vittoria, the scientist assisting Dr. Langdon. Vittoria belongs to another section of the movie I take issue with. The opening scene is overwhelming in terms of scientific information. A lot of moments are very over the top. The film leaves the realm of reality in a story about murder and conspiracy. Also the score comes in at the worst times. You shouldn't have the drums thumping while you are still in a dialogue scene. The audience is trying to stay with story yet you are musically pushing us into the next scene.

Overall it's an effective thriller more so than the Da Vinci Code. I was entertained but not eager to watch it again. Its occasional moments of awe and sweeping views of Rome are worth seeing on the big screen. My Grade: C