Tower Heist
From Netflix: When a group of workers at a ritzy Manhattan condo realize their boss has swindled them out of their pensions, they vow to reap their own justice. With the cooperation of the building manager, the group devises an ingenious plot to recover the funds.My Take: Hey I never said they were going to be good movies. Actually though, for a light-hearted Ben Stiller movie, these aren't that bad. Ben Stiller is an interesting cat. He's got the fun-loving, family-friendly, "Night At The Museum" movies, and then he has the hard-hitting, trying-to-hang-with-the-big-boys, dirty movies like "Tropic Thunder." Both of these seem to work for him. But when he tries to combine the two, like he did with "Tower Heist," it misses the mark.
Unlike Adam Sandler, who is almost making movies just to see how stupid people are for going to see them, Stiller at least tries to make a silly concept somewhat relevant. But I think another problem with this movie is that he plays it too straight. Stiller is a color guy... he's supposed to be the weird, haphazard nutjob. That's when he's best. When he's the straight-forward, clean-cut, hero-type character, he's just not as strong.
That said, he does know how to cast a movie... and he cast this one extremely well. His support characters were all spot-on and hilarious. Incidentally, I don't think I've ever written a review with this many -dashes- in it.
Overall, I would give this movie a "meh," and say pass. But if you're looking for something harmless to put on while you're doing other stuff (like putting a bunch of work contacts into your phone), then this is definitely the movie for you.
Megamind
From Netflix: When a cunning supervillain (voiced by Will Ferrell) accidently kills his crime-fighting nemesis, the rogue suddenly finds life boring and uninspired. So, he creates a new enemy (Jonah Hill) who seeks to destroy the world, forcing Megamind to play the hero role for once in his life. This hilarious animated feature from director Tom McGrath (Madagascar) also features the voices of Brad Pitt and Tina Fey.
My Take: Ah, another animated movie from "that other" 3-D animation studio. Dreamworks I believe? You know, it's really interesting to see the different strategies play out. Pixar seems determined to come out with new, powerful stories that captivate audiences, and then group that with gorgeously rendered animations. Dreamworks seems to say "throw as many big name actors in there that you can and hire some folks to do some animation stuff and you're done." Sure their stuff looks good, but compare "Megamind" to "Up" and there's just no comparison.
Still, I was interested in this movie. What a concept: a movie where the bad guy wins? And then what? It's something I think a lot of kids wonder... they're so used to seeing the good guys persevere, but somewhere, deep down, they have to be wondering... well, what if they didn't?
So I watched "Megamind" because they went there. They took a shot and asked the question. And I gotta say, they did a pretty good job with the story, all things considered. Really the biggest pet-peeve for me was Brad Pitt voicing the good guy. Well, that and how all the sudden he had redeeming qualities at the end. Tell me that didn't come from some kind of consultant ha ha.
As far as these types of movies go, I would say "Megamind" is actually pretty enjoyable. I never got into the "Ice Age" franchise, or the one with all the animals from the zoo. I'm sure they're funny, but they're just churned out every year to make money. "Megamind" may not enjoy the level of success that those movies have, but it's a reach... and for that I salute them.
The Big Year
From Netflix: Inspired by Mark Obmascik's nonfiction book of the same name, this high-flying comedy concerns a trio of competitive bird watchers who vow to win a contest by spotting and recording as many avian species as humanly possible.
My Take: No way in a million years did I think this was going to be a good movie. Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson... bird watching? Is this some sort of joke? Nope. It's a real movie. And turns out... it's really, really good.
The movie is about bird watching, or "birding," but it's not really about birdwatching. It's really about relationships. It's really about what happens when a passion becomes an obsession. When something is so ridiculous, and yet we cling to it just for the sake of keeping our name on it. It's about how different all of our lives can be, and how they can still be the same and meld together so well. It's innocent, it's goofy, and somehow it is endearing.
Yeah, I'm talking about "The Big Year." Maybe you're like me. Maybe you saw the preview for this and said "what the hell?" and left it there. Maybe you looked at it as another "Snakes on a Plane" ridiculous movie and forgot about it altogether. But if you're anything like me, or if you share my taste in movies, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this one. If you do watch it, go in with an open mind. Watch it by yourself if you have to (I won't tell anyone). But I dare you to not enjoy this movie. Good luck.
Another Earth
From Netflix: After a strange Earth-like planet is discovered, astrophysics student Rhoda accidentally slams her car into the vehicle of John, killing his family. In time, Rhoda and John begin an unlikely romance, but Rhoda begins to wonder about the other planet.
My Take: There goes Hollywood again... trying to weave a love story into science fiction. But I have to admit... this movie has intrigued me for quite a while. I remember when it first came out, the concept astounded me. A movie where another earth mysteriously appears? Fascinating! Then I dove in a little deeper and discovered, oh yeah, it's about a chick who has a bunch of regrets. Still... interesting idea. The fact that it's all about righting wrongs and the wonder of how an alternate you would have reacted differently. It's compelling stuff.
What bothered me about this movie wasn't actually the story. It wasn't the acting either. It was the way it was shot. Raw. Documentary-like. Shaky. It reminded me of an episode of "Friday Night Lights." I get that it's a style, but it just doesn't do anything for me. It seemed to me like they were using here to try to hide all of the imperfections and weird looks and feels from a cheap-o camera (relatively speaking, of course).
It was like it was trying to be indy, but at the same time have a full-blown Hollywood style storyline. I don't think you can go both ways. I can't think of a time when I've seen it work before. Movies like "Cloverfield" work, but look at the image quality in that movie. WAY better than a handycam would actually give you. Here's one shot on a handy-cam (or prosumer-grade camera, whatever)... and it shows. If you're going to go indy, go full indy. Don't try to Hollywood up your story so that it gets more recognition from the big boys. That's like sucking up to someone else's boss. Weaksauce.
See this movie though. There are a few great moments that you will really appreciate. They are spread out, they are short-lived, but they do enough to make you glad you took the time to sit down and watch this movie. Enjoy.
Alright folks, hopefully I'll get into a more regular rhythm here. If I can, maybe I'll actually have something to talk about. Until then...
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