Men In Black 3

Jemaine Clement and Josh Brolin were both pretty good in this. There were fun bits here and there, but nothing too memorable.

Ted (2012)

Meh...all I was hoping for was that it would be funny and it wasn't.

Take This Waltz (2012)

A very very astute film about the perils of a long-term relationship. And full-frontal nudity to boot!

To Rome With Love (2012)

Better than I expected, though not great.  2 1/2 stars. 

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

This was fun and fairly well-made.  Reminded me a little of "Happy Accidents," in a good way.  Also, admitted I have a crush on Aubrey Plaza.

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)

One of my all time favorite movies is Don McKellar's 1998(9) Canadian Apocalyptic Comic-Drama, "Last Night."  When I first saw the trailer for Lorene Scafaria's "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World," I couldn't help but note the strange similarities between scenes in the trailer and McKellar's film.  The opening scene of the trailer features a Radio DJ uttering the line "We'll be bringing you our countdown to the end of days along with all your Classic Rock favorites," which instantly made me think of the DJ in "Last Night" opening the movie with "Coming up on the last night on the planet and you're listening to CKRT, the Top 500 Songs of All Time, with you right until the end."

The next scene in the trailer is of Steve Carell walking into a semi-abandoned office building, pointlessly going to work, which made me think of David Cronenberg's fate in McKellar's film.  Cut to the scene in the trailer with the celebratory friendly gathering, in which the charming, but depressed leading man is being pressured by his friends to "hook-up" and avoid "dying alone."  Then there's a distraught girl directly outside our lead's apartment, she needs help.  Together, the two set of on a journey trying to help one another (in Mckellar's film, the lead only wants to help her).  This stuff was all in the trailer.  To be fair to the movie though, there are plenty of differences between the films, foremost among them being the fact this movie is much more of a "road movie" than "Last Night" is.   

So going into the movie, you have to believe me when I say that I tried very very hard to remain objective while viewing "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World."  And to it's credit, for much of the movie, I was enjoying myself, for the most part.   Keira Knightly was pretty bad in the movie, especially when she cried.  Usually when people cry in real life, they're either in pain or trying to manipulate someone.  When she cried in the movie I didn't believe she was in pain, nor did I find her convincing enough to be manipulated by her.

I was really hoping to like this movie more, if for no other reason than that I like Steve Carell and want him to make good movies.  That being said, I liked him in it, but overall I thought the movie was a 2 1/2 star effort.

As far as remaining objective went, I felt like I was doing a pretty good job until the last 15 minutes or so.  The ending of the movie, while not the exact same, bore enough of a similarity to send me fuming from the theater as the credits rolled.

On a side note, how much do I love "Last Night?"  When I was programming for the Austin film series, Cinema41, the first movie I chose was "Last Night," and we even finagled Don Mckellar himself and Cinematographer Doug Koch for a Skype Q&A.  Here is the Q&A in it's entirety.

 

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

In Roger Ebert's 2001 review of the Ryan Phillippe movie "Antitrust" he begins by discussing the concept of "The Goofy Meter," a hypothetical needle that regulates the level of goofiness in a given movie.  Throughout the years since, my friend Daniel & I have semi-regularly referenced the Goofy Meter, whenever a movie somehow registers a "Too Goofy" in our minds. 

For me, "Moonrise Kingdom" is the first Wes Anderson movie to sway the Goofy Meter.  It happens in the third act, pretty much from the point that lightning becomes involved.  From that point on, the movie just seems to derail a bit.  On paper, the narrative wraps up nicely, but as a viewer, it all just seemed too goofy.  Fortunately the first 2/3rds of the movie is strange and interesting enough to merit a mild recommendation.  The first-love courtship of two quirky 12 year-olds in the 1960's is the centerpiece of Anderson's strange world.  The film does a great job of articulating the ultra-seriousness and over-romanticizing of youth and contrasts it well with Bill Murray and Francis McDormand's crumbling marriage. 

In typical Anderson fashion, the film is very detail oriented and in some cases too eccentric.  The two young leads are interesting to watch; their wooden disenchanted performances would seem out of place in any other movie other than Anderson's.  Also, Edward Norton is really good in it.

Dark Shadows (2012)

I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping to enjoy this.  I haven't enjoyed a Tim Burton film since, oh I don't know, "Corpse Bride."  Prior to that, "Mars Attacks."  Even though Burton has basically become a parody of himself, there was a part of me that was rooting for him in this one.  In the end, the real problem with "Dark Shadows" is that there are just way too many ingredients in the pie and not enough room in the pan.  To be honest, it's just one big mess.

Bernie (2012)

Always been a Linklater fan although he's had a few misses over the years.  He's an interesting filmmaker.  Jack Black & Shirley MacLaine are both very good in this.  A lot of the times whenever a comedic actor takes on a dramatic role there's usually a lot buzz calling for Oscar noms and such, but I doubt that will happen with Black's performance, but it is quite good.

The use of the real residents of Carthage, TX in the movie provides an inspired mix of documentary and narrative.  On a side note, Matthew McConaughey is not very good in this, but he did remind me of my former boss, complete with the same hair, huge glasses, jacket, tie, and even the gut.

Cabin In The Woods (2012)

I'm sure you've been there before; you're thoroughly enjoying a clever movie and then the credits roll, the lights come up, and the people behind you open their big dumb mouths.  "I would of rather watched 'Spongebob," the person behind me said to his friends as "The Cabin In The Woods" ended.  Now I have nothing against our yellow spongy friend, nor do I really have anything against others opinions about art, I mean it's all subjective.  That being said though, it is daunting sometimes when someone has such an opposing viewpoint to yours when you both just experienced the exact same thing.

I don't watch a lot of modern Horror films, so to be fair I'm not exactly in-tune with what the modern Horror fan likes.  My big criticism of modern Horror is that it tends to lack any sense of fun or originality, two things "The Cabin in the Woods" has no shortage of.  Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's satire of Horror tropes is both fun and original, but unfortunately for some, it's not very scary.  Once again, I suspect that expectations will play a big part in how much you enjoy "Cabin in the Woods."   

American Grindhouse (2010)

This was pretty good, though by the numbers.

The Avengers (2012)

This was basically what I expected.  Every Marvel movie since "Iron Man" has been fun, smart, and competently made.  The one thing that they really haven't got a lot of credit for is how funny they are.  Even the worst of them, "Iron Man 2," was really funny (intentionally or not). 

Anyway, this was a lot of fun.  I'm not going to lie though, after a decade of superhero films, I'm pretty burnt out.

Greenberg (2010)

Meh...

Beyond The Black Rainbow (2012)

This took a fully 30 minutes to really get going, but I thought it was an interesting ride in the end.  The aesthetic is great, both visually and musically.  For some I imagine it will be a case of style over substance, but I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Casa De Mi Padre (2012)

This was a lot of fun.  I appreciated that it wasn't necessarily a straight-forward Comedy, there's subtle bits of Drama mixed in.  I have a feeling it will age very well.

21 Jump Street (2012)

There was something about the way the proposed "21 Jump Street" movie originated that seemed different than most "reboots," specifically the spearheading of it by Jonah Hill. Much in the same way Jason Segal took the reigns of the Muppet franchise, Hill's affection for the 1980's Johnny Depp-fueled FOX TV Cop drama is evident in the movie adaptation, which is in a lot of ways nothing like the original. For starters, it's a straight-up Comedy which actively satirizes the sillier aspects of the show, particularly the idea of grown men passing as high school students.

The early buzz on this movie was surprisingly positive. Everyone I knew who had seen it prior to me had told me that it was very funny. In some ways, I wish I would have not had my expectations raised by the hype. Not because it ruined my experience, but just because it would of made it even better.

The movie is very funny and really well done. The genre satire is effective, the subtle self-referential jokes worked, and even the action sequences are decent. Surprisingly, even Channing Tatum is good in the movie and he's been terrible in the last two things I've seen him in, "Haywire" and "SNL." The cameos are fun as well. The only thing I really didn't like about it was the horrible CGI. My biggest pet-peeve with CGI isn't just that it's horrible, but I really hate when it replaces things that really don't need to be CGI'ed, for example, exploding limos.

The Sitter (2011)

Well, on the heels of watching "Date Night," comes my viewing of "The Sitter," which is another movie that really wants to be "Adventures In Babysitting." I liked it more than "Date Night," but it's still pretty mediocre. There's a lot of hate directed toward Jonah Hill these days, it seems like he can't win sometimes with the public. Either he always plays the same characters or he has the nerve to try to be taken seriously when he should just be the "fat funny kid," as some strangers walking behind me remarked the other day. I've always like Hill, he reminds me a lot of Chris Penn.

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2012)

"We Need To Talk About Kevin" is a film made up of memories and dreams. The narrative is fragmented, the spaces and times shift with the length of Tilda Swinton's hair. She is Eva, the mother of Kevin, and wife of Franklin (John C. Reilly). Kevin may or may not be evil and Eva may or may not be crazy, but they are linked together from birth, whether they want to be or not, and the film does a good job of maintaining a certain amount ambiguity in it's depiction of their relationship. The audience spends much of the movie piecing together not only the story, but the realities that the characters perceive.

"Kevin" is one of those movies whose plot is actually quite simple, but it unfolds in an intentionally deceptive way. Some audience members will be turned off by that, and some will telegraph the resolution well in advance, but that's the point. The pieces are all there, the movie is just putting them together. As a result though, some people might find the ending underwhelming, but if there's one thing I've learned from watching movies, it's that most of the time the best ending is the most obvious.

I liked the movie a lot, even in spite of the nearly year-long hype I had for it. It is perhaps a little too stylish, but I have a feeling that it will age well, and upon future viewings, the style will not be so distracting.

--Popkoff

Date Night (2010)

I'll keep this one short. This looks like a movie and sounds like a movie, but it doesn't feel authentic in any way. Steve Carrell and Tina Fey never seem like real people. From the opening scenes, their marriage feels fake and the plot feels forced. They merely seem like actors pretending to be married.

The sad truth about "Date Night" is that it's one of those movies that you want to like because you know that there is potential for a good movie in it, but that ultimately disappoints (like so many modern offerings). I chuckled a few times, but it was not consistently funny. There was one inspired action sequence, and a few scenes where Carrell and Fey have chemistry, despite not having characters. The plot at times requires the audience to not ask questions like "why wouldn't you just tell the cop that those cops are crooked?"

When it was over I told my girlfriend that I thought it would of been better if it was made in the 1980's, or even the 90's, if that makes any sense. It wants so badly to be something as good as "Adventures in Babysitting."

Wanderlust (2012)

Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston play a young married couple who ditch their lives in New York and move to a hippie commune in the country when Rudd suddenly finds himself without a job. The movie is directed by David Wain and it toes the line between mainstream fare and the surreal absurdity he and his cronies (Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black) are known for. Ken Marino ("Children's Hospital") wrote it and has a supportive role as Rudd's obnoxious successful brother.

The first act of the movie is very economical and uses the quick beats of the narrative to it's advantage, especially in the sequence illustrating the cross-country car ride Rudd and Aniston undertake while moving to Atlanta. The first 2/3rds of the movie in general is very solid, the last act feels a little long, but it has a nice resolution.

The cast is filled with great players all-around and some of them are really swinging for the fences here, namely Aniston, Alan Alda, and the great Justin Theroux (who is virtually unrecognizable in the film). It might also go without saying, but Rudd is really in his element here, and has a few scenes that are absolutely classic and rest solely on his shoulders.

Overall, "Wanderlust" was a fun time at the movies.

--Popkoff