Friday, October 28, 2011

The Rum Diary

As most of my ten readers know, I have a top five favorite actors. My top five actors are JohnnyDepp, Robert Downey Jr, John Cusack, Hugh Jackman, and Jeremy Renner. To be fair, the 5th does tend to change depending on the month. Anyways when I heard about the Rum Diary TWO YEARS AGO I knew that I would love it because it mixes Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson. The movie is based on the book that Hunter wrote in 1961. Now I have not read the book, so this is not a compare and contrast, although I was told that it is very different from the book. So this is strictly a review based on the movie and not the book. I should probably read the book, I heard it was great!

The movie starts just as every Hunter story should, waking up from a binder the night before. I like those kind of openings, it just puts you right into the story and you get to know the character right away, no foreplay if you will. Our main character is Paul Kemp played by the lovely, beautiful, and talented Johnny Depp. He is a writer with a 'slight' alcohol addiction, although he doesn't know it. Kemp is down in the lovely Puerto Rico during the 1960's looking for a new job. The editor in chief, Lotterman, is played by Richard Jenkins and he is perfect for the role. He is a newspaperman just trying to keep the paper going. He is stressed and everyone knows it.

As soon as Kemp walks in he also meets Sala, played by the sensational Michael Rispoli. Sala and Lotterman both welcome Kemp to Puerto Rico and warn him about the locals and the corrupt people the dwell in the town. Kemp gets the golden opportunity to meet Moburg, played by the psychotic Giovanni Ribisi. Moburg is a writer that has taken so many drugs, he is hard to understand. He just keeps showing up and getting paid even though he hardly ever writes a story.

Kemp also meets his lovely Mermaid named Chenault, played by Amber Heard (yeah for the Ambers!!!) This is the mystery girl that Kemp falls head over heels for, but who wouldn't fall for a beautiful girl skinny dipping the in the ocean? Sadly she is the girlfriend of the local wealthy over powered Sanderson played by Aaron Eckhart.

Kemp is pulled into the Rum and lust of Puerto Rico but he sees the people and the pain that they go through trying to fight for their land. The land is now being invaded by fat Americas who only want an expensive view of the ocean. Sadly, every time Kemp tries to take a stand against the wrongs and corruptions, he is shot down. None of his stories are published because no one wants to anger the powers that be.

The whole movie is filled whit HILARIOUS moments that only Depp can deliver. He is so funny without even trying. The film does have alot of Hunter hints, it reminded me of Raoul Drake in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is not a bad thing. There are the quirky moments and of course the crazy drug induced delusions.

The actors in this movie are amazing, such a great cast that will probably will never get the credit they deserve. Rispoli is by far the stand out to me, he is so funny but has so much heart. It is hard for actors to hold their own against Johnny but Rispoli does it. Ribisi is so creepy as the drugged out, wash out. He almost plays that role too well, it makes you wonder if he needs a hug in real life. I guess that should be seen as a great actor and nothing less!

I was very surprised by the performances of Amber Heard and Aaron Eckhart. Heard is honestly not one of my favorite actors. I have seen her in a few B rated movies and I have not been impressed. I must say that she blew me out of the water in this movie. I thought it would just be her running around in a bikini being hot but she brought so much more to the film. Her character is so trapped by the life is living that her only way out is Kemp. She sees him as a conquest at first but then sees that he is the only guy that truly sees her. Not gonna lie, I really wanted her job in this movie. Running around Puerto Rico with Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart....yes please! Some girls have all the luck!

Aaron Eckhart surprised me because I didn't understand his character. He is portrayed as this bad guy but how he became a bad guy is confusing. He starts as this nice guy and then all of a sudden he is angry. It almost seemed like there was a scene missing that would explain this transformation. His actor was great but the character confused me.

Over all the movie has so much to offer, it has heart and emotion. Sure is also has some very funny moments and is very dialog heavy but it's all quality! The acting is amazing and it will make you wanna travel to Puerto Rico, maybe with a good looking guy like Kemp ;)

If you are in the mood for a good movie I say check it out!

Action: So So

Humor; Yep!

Over All: A-

The Thing

To start let me make it very clear that this is not a remake but a prequel. They are not trying to recreate the classic film from the 80's. To be a total snob the REAL movie came out in the 1950's and it was in black and white. Now THAT was a good movie but I'm a purist so it's really not fair to compare. This movie takes us back to how they found this creepy creature in the ice.

Our leading lady is Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate, she is a student that is sent to Antarctica to dig up this frozen creature they found. She meets up with her friend Eric, played by Eric Christian Olsen and together they work on this dig. The only other actor I knew was Joel Edgerton. I had just seen Warrior and was excited to see him again.

So the movie is basically this, They dig up a frozen Alien and it comes back to life. Now the kicker is this, the Alien can adapt on to a person and become that person. The whole movie we have no idea who to trust and then everything falls apart as the creature starts to kill. People turn against each other and no one is to be trusted.

Honestly the movie was visually NASTY! Seriously it made my tummy turn, it was very graphic. It was like mutants attacking more mutants. The movie did have some great actor and fun fire burning! I'm all about the flame thrower!

The only good acting came from Edgerton, he was a character I believed and rooted for. The others were ok but I really was not emotionally invested in any of their characters. It was the classic scary run around movie. Alot of action but not alot of substance which is not a bad thing, it's just mindless entertainment.

Over all it's bloody and creepy

I give it a C

The Three Musketeers

I have loved the Disney version of Three Musketeers since I was little. The name Athos has been one of my favorites since I saw the movie. The new Three Musketeers is a very modern day adaptation of the traditional story. That is not a bad thing it is just trying to update a classic. Normally I would be very disappointed but they did a good job trying to stay true to the classic story.

This story starts with Porthos, Athos and Aramis (played by Ray Stevenson, Matthew Macfadyn, and Luke Evans) looking for something in Venice. They have the help of Milady DeWinter played by Milla Jovovich as a skilled theif. She is not afraid to make the amazing Athos fall in love with her and then leave him as soon as she gets what she wants. Sadly, the boys are betrayed in the first 5 minutes of the movie when Milady teams up with Buckingham played by Orlando Bloom.

We then flash ahead a few months and see a very young D'Artagnan, played by Logan Lerman, in swordplay with his father. D'Artagnan is on his way to Paris to become a Musketeer. Once he gets to Paris he teams up with our boys who are out of their luck. Together they fight for France against Cardinal Richelieu, played by Christoph Waltz. He is by far the best actor in the film with Matthew a very close second.

The whole film is basically funny moments making fun of the King and seeing the cool special effects. It is very historically far-fetched but still enjoyable to watch. It was basically fun sword fighting and funny boys plotting. I do not mean that as a bad thing, that's just what it is.

Over all the movie was ok, not the best thing I have seen but fun to watch if you are bored or if you really like Musketeers adventures like I do. I say check it out if you are bored, it's a fun sit and watch and don't think movie.

Over all B-

Paranormal Activity 3

Ok so this movie is a mix bag for me. I really enjoyed the movie because it scared the crap out of me. I was literally clinging to my aunt's arm watching this movie. My only beef with this movie is that all of the good stuff in the trailer did not appear in the movie. Now I understand not wanting to give too much away but you are actually hurting the movie by deceiving the audience. I was expecting more scary moments in the house and more ghost-like occurrings with the girls but it was all taken out. I am pretty sure that they did that because they wanted the ending to be more climatic or to make the movie shorter but there are some MAJOR points taken out.

We know for a fact that from the other movie, the girls house sets on fire. We know that they lose everything and that the monster attacks in the house. None of this happens in the movie! In the trailer we see the house starting on fire but that never happens! It doesn't make sense because the movie ends with a huge gap in the story. I don't know if they are thinking of doing one more and that is why it ended that way, but it didn't make any sense.

Other than that HUGE issue I have with the movie, it was very scary. The movie is very short at a whopping 1 hr and 20 mins but it's long enough. It's the same style with the hand held cameras so it ends in good time.

The movie does what they do best, start to scare you with the little things occurring in the house. A few jumps and screams in the middle and then a few things you can not rationalize in your mind. The ending is so creepy that people were yelling and freaking out, myself included! I can't say much more than this because it will ruin the good parts for you. Just watch this movie and keep your eyes WIDE OPEN!

Over all:B-

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Real Steel

I have been waiting for Real Steel to come out for months! I think I was starting to go through Hugh Jackman Withdrawals! I have to say it was well worth the wait! This movie was fantastic!

Real Steel is about Hugh Jackman playing Charlie, a former boxer down on his luck. The game of boxing changed in this not to distant future (I think it takes place around 2020ish) Now boxing is done by Robots because they can take a hit better and have more carnage than real people. They can take each other apart in the ring and it's all OK because no one get killed. Charlie controls a fighting robot in this new boxing style. We find out his is down on his luck and honestly his robot kinda sucks. Within 5 minutes the robot starts to fall apart! Even with the help of his friend and former girlfriend, Bailey(played by Evangeline Lily) they can not get this robot to improve.

In the meantime Charlie finds out that his ex-wife has died and now his son needs a guardian. His son(Max) is played by new comer Dakota Goyo who is sensational. This kid is going to have an amazing career, he is so funny and charming. Anyway I'll get to that in a minute! Max's aunt Debra (played by Hope Davis) wants to adopt Max. Charlie ends up making a deal with Debra's husband for them to have custody of Max for money. Part of the deal is that Charlie has to take Max for a few months and then Debra will take full custody. There is alot more to it to that but I don't wanna ruin bits of the movie for you so I'll just leave it at that.

Max finds a robot in the junkyard and together Max and Charlie teach this robot called Atom how to box.

The whole movie is just fantastic! The fighting Robot special effects are sensational! I could not tell what was real and what was CGI and that is saying something because I am picky when it comes to CGI. The robots were believable and I could see something like that being created in the next 10 years. The fact that it was a little in the future really helped the story. Everything was the same but slightly upgraded.

The relationship between Charlie and Max is amazing. You really feel like Jackman and Goyo are father and son. They have this great on-screen chemistry together. They play off of each other so well and they are both so funny. Little Dakota is an amazing little actor that is going to have a long and successful career. He already can keep up with big screen leading man Hugh Jackman, this kid is great. The humor in this movie is so quick and realistic and so funny!

I loved the movie because it had great action with the fighting robots but amazing heart between the actors. At points you forget that Atom is a robot and you feel like he can understand you. The movie shows you that even the toughest creatures have a weakness in them. I'm telling you to go see this movie NOW! I'm already trying to figure out when I can go see it again. It was so good I could have sat and watched it all over again. I never do that but this movie was just that good. A MUST SEE!!!

Over all A