Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sucker Punch

Alrighty then let's get into the sci-fi adventure action packed film that is Sucker Punch! Now I must say I totally understand why alot of critics did not like this movie. It is very hard to follow if you are not paying attention. I suggest going to the bathroom before hand because if you miss bits and pieces you will be ROYALLY screwed!

So our film is basically about Baby Doll a girl who her mother dies and her step-father is an epic creep who tries to rape her. So she tries to defend herself and we all know what happens to women who take power and try to fight, they end up committed! Baby Doll goes to this mental hospital where she finds out that in 5 days a man is coming to give her a lobotomy. She has that amount of time to figure out a way to escape.

Ok here is where the film gets confusing, we go from her being in a mental hospital to being in a whore-house. I wont tell you how she gets there you just have to allow yourself to believe that these same people are in this "new" location. I promise you will understand by the end but until then just follow along. If you get hung up on the how you will miss out on the whole plot of this next "chapter".

So the counselor teaches these girls that when they dance for clients it is a way to free themselves from the real world. Baby Doll seems to have this magic over people where when she dances people forget why they are there. So when she dances she goes into this little fantasy world where she can learn how to escape. The other girls trying to escape are Sweet Pea, Rocket, Blondie, and Amber (GREAT name!). When the girls decide to work together to get out they become apart of Baby Doll's magic world.

Each world is different from the next but they have a theme with what object they are trying get. So once they are in a battle in Japan, then the middle ages, then this future world and world war I trenches. Each world looks AMAZING and the action is just stellar! I wont go on with much more about the story because it will spoil the movie and we all know I do not do that!

Why did I love this movie? I loved the special effects they were fresh and new. The worlds were creative and we believed the girls were in a battle for their life. Now I know for a fact that a bunch of guys are gonna go see this for the hot girls wearing little clothing, this is true. They are sexy girls with rocking hot bodies that most women will only dream of looking like. Personally, I thought it empowered the girls. They were able to use their looks and charm to get WHATEVER they needed from the weak simple minded men. Not gonna lie, if I could rock the fishnets and a sword I'd be fighting dragons too!

Over all I think most people will be confused because it is confusing. Just let yourself go for the ride and don't question it because all the answers come at the end. Just enjoy the movie for the action, adventure and AMAZING soundtrack. Please be sure to listen because that is the best soundtrack I have heard in a long time! I might have to get it just to rock out with in the car!

Over all I give it a B+/A- because it entertained me and I give it credit for trying to be different.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Limitless

So I have to say I'm really on the fence about Limitless. I really liked what the director tried to do with the special effects but there were alot of plot holes and things that I just didn't get. Normally I understand all the crazy film talk but this one had me sitting back and thinking. Let's just dig in and try and explain what I mean.

The movie is basically about Bradley Cooper as Eddie, a struggling writer lazy guy. He looks homeless but he is just really lazy and lacks motivation. So his ex-brother in law pops in and offers him a magic pill that helps stimulate your whole brain. So he takes this pill that comes in a plastic baggy (yeah smart move there buddy, let's just take an unknown pill from a man you have not seen in 10 years and hope it doesn't royally screw me over.) So he takes the pill and he basically can use all of his brain. He can recall things he saw 10 years ago and pick up languages like nothing. It also has your body running at top speed so when you are on it you do crazy things. You want to jump off a rock, start a fight, or drive really crazy down a busy street. It makes the user become a thrill seeker.

Along for the ride is Eddies on again/off again girlfriend Lindy played by Abbie Cornish. I am not even sure why they advertised her, she is literally in it for 30 minutes. She just shows up and leaves at random parts of the movie. I really didn't get the point of her character but I guess they just needed to throw in a female to counter act Coopers sexy rocking hot self.

Then we also have Robert DeNiro as Carl, a wall street tycoon who wants Eddie to work for him. His character is suppose to be a mix between a Trump and a gangster. He does alot of big talking but very little action. He also has a bit at the end of the movie that really didn't makes sense. Carl shows up with a new title and job and is suddenly aware of everything....PLOT HOLE!!!! How the heck did he learn anything? It kind of pissed me off because he character went from being confused and lost to being fully aware of our pill popping friend??

Here is my beef with the movie, possible spoilers below
So we have Eddie taking this magic pill and getting a really REALLY big stash of it. Then he starts taking it all the time and starts to lose time. Well in the preview I figured it would be about him trying to figure out what he did during the black outs but it is hardly an issue! Then we find out that everyone who was on the drug started having problems. Eddie slowly starts to take a normal amount and is fine??? How does that even make sense? I was just mad because so much stuff about the pill goes unanswered and we are just suppose to play along and believe that it all magically fit together. Basically Eddie becomes addicted to thins pill, when he is off NZT (pill name) he is like a crackhead.

So basically I had mixed feeling about this movie. I like that the director used different colors when Eddie was on or off NZT. He used a lot of blues and greys when Eddie was clean and alot of yellows and oranges when he was on NZT. It was also really cool how the time skipping was filmed, in like a slow motion film stretch, very cool.

If you like Cooper than you will probably enjoy this film. I just left the film with more questions than I came in.
I give it a B- because of cool camera movements and Coopers rocking good looks ;)

The Lincoln Lawyer

So it was a toss up this week between seeing Limitless or The Lincoln Lawyer, no worries we picked BOTH! So first let's get to the best out of the two, The Lincoln Lawyer. This movie is about Matthew McConaughey, or Mick Haller, a dirty lawyer who is willing to represent the rich powerful and even the guilty. Mick does not have an office like most lawyers, instead he drives around in this awesome 1980’s-vintage Cartier edition Lincoln Town car. Are you impressed that I know that? Well you shouldn't be because I totally cheated and looked it up but it's still a bad A$$ ride!

So anyways back to the story, Mick is a lawyer that has no problem working for the scum of LA. We see him with dirty lawyers, drug dealers, hookers, bikers, and even rich playboys like our new criminal Louis, played by a still very sexy Ryan Phillippe. Louis is charged with attempted rape and assault. The kicker is the girl he beat up is a hooker and not trustworthy. Louis also has a very VERY convincing story, money, and great connections. So it comes down to who do we trust?

Mick gets help from his friends played by John Leguizamo, William H. Macy, and his baby-mama Marissa Tomei. Tomei is there to be the conscience that Mick has left at the door. They continue to have their romance steam up the screen and their personal problem always clash. That's one of those can't live with them, can't live without them. William H. Macy is a private detective that tries to help Mick and we get the idea that they have been friends for many many years. They count on one another and think of the other as family. Leguizamo's character was a little confusing and honestly I really didn't think they needed him but whatever, the dude took the job. His character is basically there to tell Mick what is going on in the court and stuff like that.

The film is FILLED with amazing scenes and questionable loyalties. We have no idea who to trust and we question every minute who is good or evil. Mick slowly starts going crazy because he finds things out about the past that haunt him.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending, it left a lot of unanswered questions and a bunch or confusion. The climax was fantastic but I wish we could have had 5 more minutes to wrap a few ends up. I found myself asking about characters we had not seen in a while. I suppose they probably left it open so there could someday be a sequel. I would for sure see it because McConaughey was fantastic. I am not even a very big fan of his but I was very impressed with what he did with this character. We believed he was going crazy, we believed in the love he had in his family, we believe the guilt and every other emotion. He was fantastic and brilliant and I don't say that often about actors.

Over all if you are in the mood for a good court room/living on the streets drama this is for you. It is for both the guys and the girls. It has a lot of action and tons of little puzzle bits along the way. I say check it out!

I give it a B+

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Red Riding Hood

I have been wanting to see this movie since I saw the first promo. I thought Red Riding Hood looked amazing and I figured the director was the same as Twilight so why not try it. I have to say I was a little disappointed, I thought there would be more to the story. The writing was pretty awful and the acting was so so. The thing that made me the most mad was how predictable the movie was. There was nothing left to shock or surprise me. Maybe the problem was I had my expectations much too high for a film like this. You can tell they were aiming for the younger teen crowd and I think that is what effected the story.

I must say the use of color in this movie was amazing, the only red was from the hood and it just added such a pop. It was also nice because it starts in fall and moves to winter. So we have those awesome brown and orange leaves then that awesome white snow. Also the priest played by Gary Oldman wears the only purple which makes him even more sinister.

The acting was ok, Amanda Seyfried plays a great red rider. She basically plays a girl who can't decide between two really good looking boys who both love her....Marsha Marsha Marsha. She finds out that she has a connection to the wolf and the town freaks out and claims she is a witch.

I don't know, I just had so many mixed feelings about this movie. It wasn't the worst thing I've seen but it's not the best either. It was just sort of so so

I give it a B

Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids was this little independent style film that I heard about but then it fell off the face of the earth. I saw it advertised like a zillion and a half times but then I couldn't find it anywhere. Well tonight my aunt and I were trying to figure out what movies to see and we found Ceder Rapids. I am SOOOOOO happy we went and saw this movie. I don't think I have laughed that hard since The Hangover.

Basically the movie stars Ed Helms and John C Reilly as insurance agents at a conference. Ed Helms is from a really really small town in Wisconsin. It's one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. Well a tragedy breaks out and Helms has to head out this conference.

When he gets to the big bad Cedar Rapids he meets up with Reilly who is really crazy drunk man. Reilly is the bad end of insurance and he helps Helms to cut loose. They get into all kinds of trouble together and it is a laugh a minute!

I have to say this movie was really funny, I laughed almost the whole time. You should have a head up that the language is just dirty, they go for the shock value. They talk about anything dirty and it is really funny but you just need to be ready for it.

Helms character is so sweet and innocent and you just can't help but like him. He is so sweet it's almost sad, you just don't want him to get hurt. He is so easily swayed by his new friends but in the end he becomes a better man because of it.

Over all it was really funny and I liked it alot!

I give it a B

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Drive Angry 3D

Yes I am sad to admit that I went and saw this piece of total and complete crap! I knew that this movie was gonna be dumb but I thought I would give Drive Angry the benefit of doubt.Clearly I should have stuck with my gut because I knew it was going to be DREADFUL! I never hardly ever say that a movie is just plain bad but this movie was just sad.....sick...and wrong.

Basically we have Nic Cage (who is an OSCAR WINNING ACTOR....I don't get how the mighty have fallen!) as a guy who breaks out of hell and steals Satan's gun. So a demon called The Accountant is sent up to Earth to find him. He's kinda like a mix between Saint Peter and Satan's book keeper, he knows when you will die and where you will go. So anyways Nic Cage comes back to Earth because his daughter was mixed in a cult and she gets killed and the cult steals her baby. So Cage has till midnight on a full moon to get his grand baby back before they kill her for some cult thing.

Of course no terrible movie is complete without a female who is hot but has no talent!! She is basically along for the looks because she runs around in short shorts and kicks a lot of butt and swears a lot....for no real reason.

This movie was all about the stupid shock for example it's been 5 minutes without a random and pointless nude scene....let's just throw some naked people in the background. STUPID Oh wait it's been 10 minutes better throw in an over the top sex scene that has nothing to do with the movie! The acting in this movie was just shameful....these actors should be ashamed....this is not something they should put on their resume! I mean it would have made more sense for them to hold the scripts in their hands and recite it that way. At least it would excuse the fact that it was being read instead of recited. Even Cage was terrible...I'm talking pure crap. Stupid one liners with a bunch of F-bombs shoved in there for no real reason!

The only character that I could tolerate was the Demon because at least he was a bit of humor. He was there to be a little weird because the dude is from Hell. He is a little bit on the odd side but that is what makes him so likable.

One of my major beefs with this movie was how it romanticized Hell. It made it seem like a hardcore prison that people can just break out of. At one point the Demon says the the Devil is basically a glorified warden just doing his job!! What kind of crap is that!? Plus they made it seem like ok Cage has broken out of Hell and it's no biggie because everyone is cool in the end....WHAT?! It made no sense what so ever!!!!!!

The only....ONLY thing that was cool about this movie was the cars. The 3D sucked the whole movie but seeing those cars race in 3D was cool. I would have rather watched that instead of the crap-tastic acting I subjected too!

Do not go see this movie it is a waste of time, energy, and money!
I give it a D-
(the only reason it's not an F is because of the hot cars....that's it!)