Rapid-fire Movie Reviews

In an attempt to get back into the spirit of blogging after a two-week family vacation, I'm going to get these out of the way as soon as possible, before I forget all about these films. Although it's out of character for me, I'm going to try to bang these reviews out in as few words as possible. There's a bit of everything in here - and they're mostly good.

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The Men Who Stare at Goats

My wife brought this one home, having purchased a pre-viewed copy from Blockbuster. I was wanting to see the film, but I was a little skeptical about owning it. I guess I'm pretty skeptical about everything, actually....

Anyway, this is a great, great film! An all-star lineup of actors - Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Ewan MacGregor and Kevin Spacey; all at their very best here. The film is all about former top secret government operations involving psychic warriors, aka 'Jedi'. Jeff Bridges steals the show as the radical hippie General, with George Clooney as his star pupil. Kevin Spacey is the ambitious and ruthless rival determined to run things his way. If you like any of the abovementioned actors at all, you'll enjoy this film. The funniest thing about it is watching George school Ewan MacGregor in the ways of the Jedi....

Overall, I'd give it a solid  A

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The Road

Great performances. Great atmosphere. Great message. Excellent, intelligent storytelling. Depressing as hell.

Watch this film if you need some heavy drama to keep you awake at night....

B+

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Son of Kong (1933)

(This one may not be so 'rapid-fire')

 I've been on a bit of a Kong kick lately. Having seen just about every Godzilla movie out there (see: All About Godzilla from way back last year), and I decided to branch out into other giant monster franchises, and the next logical choice was obvious.  Everyone and his dog has seen the original King Kong from 1933 and the subsequent remakes, but how many of you have seen this one? Son of Kong was actually made later that very same year as a quick cheap sequel. The quality in terms of sets, locations and actors is a lot lower, but this film actually serves up a good helping of stop-motion creature action, and it's a lot more ridiculous and fun.

The story involves Carl Denham being forced to flee New York, pursued by lawsuits and debtors and all the folks holding him responsible for Kong's destructive rampage. He seeks out Captain Englehorn and they sail away to Southeast Asia, coincidentally very close to the location of Kong's home island. Along the way, they meet the runaway damsel in distress and the cowardly drunken sailor who leads them back to the island to seek out the fabled 'Lost Treasure' and later betrays them.

When they get to Skull Island (or Kong Island or whatever it's officially called), the natives aren't too happy to see Denham, who of course stole their living deity and led him to his doom. The protagonists explore the island yet again, and of course are immediately set upon by dinosaurs and other jerky stop-motion terrors. Denham and the heroine come across the Son of Kong, who is stuck in quicksand. They free him and he becomes their protector, battling a giant cave bear, a serpent-like dinosaur and other beasties along the way. 'Little Kong' even helps them to uncover the treasure, just before the island begins to sink in a devastating earthquake. The traitorous drunken sailor tries to escape with the treasure and gets eaten by a waterborne dinosaur. At the very end, Little Kong saves Denham from death by sacrificing himself to the pounding ocean waves and the good guys escape with their lives and a fabulous treasure - this is true cinematic spectacle sort of stuff!

That's the movie in a nutshell. The first 30 minutes or so is a little tedious, but once they get to the island it's pretty much action all the way....would one expect any less from a Kong movie? There's even some semi-comedic moments, like Little Kong rolling his eyes (a la Wile E. Coyote) after getting whacked in the head by the giant bear. Of course the special effects and cinematography are pretty dated, but the movie is older than your Grandma. Loosen up and enjoy it for what it is. I definitely did.

A-

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Shutter Island

Highly suspenseful, well-acted movie with an atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. Highly predictable and a little slow in parts, but definitely worth watching. A good 'date movie'.

B

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Date Night

Speaking of 'date movies'..... Just saw this one last night. I guess I'm kind of a fan of both of the lead actors, even though Steve Carell has been in absolutely everything in the past 4 years - just like Seth Rogen, but I'm not as tired of Steve. He's pretty much the same here as in Get Smart but I think I enjoyed this one more. The comedy is quite a bit better, and Tina Fey (Sarah Palin impersonations aside) is hilarious. I guess I can really relate to the working parent types that the Fosters are portrayed as. The story and action are mostly stupid and same-old same-old, but I guess the writers just needed some good filler and set-ups between all the jokes. Ray Liotta's cameo as a crime boss (what else?) is a little disappointing, but Mark Wahlberg's cameo is pretty much bang-on. I liked it. I didn't love it. At least I didn't hate it.

B-

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I suppose that's enough for now. I haven't actually seen too many movies lately, and I need to get back on track with this. As I mentioned above, I've been away on an awesome vacation for the past two weeks, and I'm going to be featuring some stuff on that soon. There's also some more goodies in store for the next few posts, so stay tuned!

May the Force be with you...