Cowboys and Aliens Review

Its 1875, Cowboys are alive and well and so are bandits and evil men. None of them are more evil then aliens. The film is about Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) a man who wakes up in the middle of the desert with an odd feeling and some sort of bracelet on his arm. He goes to the local town and finds out that he is wanted for many different things. Right before he leaves off for jail, spacecrafts come to the town and destroy buildings and take many of the settlers. So with the help of the town and Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) they must stop and destroy the aliens.

Cowboys and Aliens is a film I wanted to check out since it came up but stuff came up so with nothing that amazing out I finally got my chance to see it. Walking in I was a little nervous because the film got very mixed reviews and I have disliked all of director Jon Favreau films, yes yes I know Iron Man was loved by almost everyone but I am not a fan at all. Who was right the negative reviews or positive.

Cowboys and Aliens I am happy to say is one of the summers best films a true blockbuster. Unlike movies such as Transformers and even Harry Potter to a certain extent, I could not just stop being amazed on what was going on the screen. The film is just so cool and that may sound unprofessional but I felt like a little kid watching a movie. I was wide eyed and just astonished.

So what makes this different to the terrible Transformers and Battle LA, its the veteran cast that knows how to act. Daniel Craig is one of my favorite actors and Hollywood's best action star in my opinion. He is just pure stone faced awesomeness during the action scenes. The scene that sold this for me is Harrison Ford's character gives him a light shove and Craig punches him square in the face. If you can beat up Han Solo and Indiana Jones your tough. Harrison Ford is having a lot fun in here and you can tell seeing him play the old grumpy character. Olivia Wilde here pulls of the mysterious lady in the town well. The regular cast is playing there same roles like Paul Dano the smarmy man. Also Noah Ringer has very few lines and is told to man up!

The action sequences in the film are phenomenal with the best action I have seen all year. While watching you can tell that Jon put alot of care and money into them and you have to respect that. The scenes were very memorable unlike most of the action films this summer.

One complaint critics have been having with the film is that the cowboys and aliens don't mesh and disagree with that completely. The thing that makes it possible for the Cowboys to beat the Aliens is the fact that the Cowboys are going up against a scout alien ship and not a giant army of aliens.

Overall Cowboys and Aliens is one of the summers best blockbusters.

MUST SEE IT!

30 Minuets or Less Review

30 Minutes or Less is the sophomore film for director Ruben Fleischer whose first film was the comedy classic Zombieland. Here he is even reunited with Jesse Eisenberg who is fresh off his Oscar Nominated performance in the Social Network. The film also stars rising star Aziz Ansari who has been in a lot of smaller roles in Funny People and Get Him to the Greek but here gets his first major role. There is also Danny McBride who now has cemented himself as one of the best comedians in Hollywood now and Nick Swardson who is taking a break from his roles in Adam Sandler comedies.

The film has an interesting story about Eisenberg getting a bomb strapped and he is forced to rob a bank. This story line offers a lot of potential for some funny jokes and even dark turns in the story line. So does this film rise up to its potential or is it just wasted potential. Lets find out!

I’m back from 30 Minutes or Less and I am proud to say it does not disappoint. The film is just a machine gun of jokes and keeps on firing and all of the jokes are just laugh out loud material. The writers here Matthew Sullivan and Michael Dilliberti were tasked with there first writing gig and create a funny script with some dark twists and turns in the story to keep you interested and care for the characters.

Like I said before the film has a very talented cast and they deliver. Jesse Eisenberg is funny as always and has a great chemistry with fellow co-star Aziz Ansari who also is fantastic in his first major role in Hollywood. Then you have Danny McBride is rancher then ever in this film saying all sorts of vulgarity. Is this a bad thing, hell no its hilarious. Nick Swardson surprised me here toning down a bit so he is not annoying but still very funny. Swardson has a lot of comedic talent which he showcased here, I just wish he was in more of these type of films instead of the usual Adam Sandler stuff in which he is annoying in. The film also has Micheal Pena who has a little screen time but does a good job with what he has. This is a come back for him after being in the terrible Battle Los Angeles

Director Ruben Fleischer has become one of my favorite up in coming directors with this film showing the same great qualities he showed in Zombieland. He can direct actors, knows the best moments to allow or disprove of improve, and can also direct an action sequence surprisingly well. The action sequences in the film are directed perfectly. There clear, crisp, and look great. No it does not have the biggest budget but for a comedy its great. In recent comedy films such as Horrible Bosses, the action was directed so close up it was hard to see clearly here Fleischer puts an effort in to it which most studios and directors don’t care about the action scene. Fleischer next film will actually be a crime film about the LAPD vs the Los Angeles crime family. After seeing his past two films I have full confidence that he can pull it off and I can not wait to see the final product.

The thing that grabbed me walking in was the story and how I expected it to turn out. Before I saw the film I found out that this really happened to a man in Pennsylvania and it ended up in real life that a collar bomb was placed on him and he had to rob a bank. In real life it turned out he blew up before he could get them the money. Does it turn out the way in the film? Well, you have to wait until August 12th to find that out for you self!

Overall 30 Minuets or Less is a raunchy, action packed comedy that should entertain anyone who is looking for a film in that genre or was a fan of Zombieland. Just like Fleischer debut film I can not speak highly enough of the film. Also stay after the credits for a really funny scene involving some of the characters in the film. I reward it a rating of.

MUST SEE IT!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

The original Planet of the Apes films are considered classics to people. Then the visual mastermind Tim Burton took over for a reboot and everything was looking good. Until the movie was terrible and hated by most and critics and public audiences. Now the franchise has to start from ground zero with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Unlike the Burton remake, this film starts as a prequel going through the beginning of the end. Does this different approach lead to the rejuvenation of the series or like Burton’s film put the original films to shame.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is about Will Rodman (James Franco) an up incoming scientist who is working on a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease which is a disease that his father (John Lithgow) has. To make sure the drug works they decide to test this drug out on apes. The drug is meant to be a virus that not only repairs brain cells, but genetically modifies the subject giving them inhance intelligence. When tested on the Chimps it works as these Chimps get smarter but not as smart as the target intelligence.

Then one of the test Apes has a baby and this ape wows Rodman. He has inherited the intelligence of his mother and he is giving the name of Ceaser (Andy Serkis). Soon he seems to distant from the rest of the world and lives with his own kind. The apes who are mindless animals are effected by this overly intelligent Ape. Is this the beginning of the end of Earth being ruled by humans but instead by the Apes!

Going into this movie I was excited to see the results (talked about it in my preview for August). The film was getting so many great reviews so this had to be good. I am here to say, the film is fantastic. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is tied with X-Men First Class as not only my favorite film of the summer, but my favorite film of the year. This film is one of the few blockbusters this summer that displays in my mind a perfect blockbuster. The film is not just two hours of action like Transformers, instead the film is about building characters and relationships which leads to a final action climax that has some substance to it. You don’t see the action has great effects but powerful moments in the film.

The film like First Class has wonderful action. James Franco is the poster star but he is more of a supporting character to Andy Serkis. Serkis in his carer has been known for doing motion capture. He has done it twice before as Gollum in Lord of the Rings and the title character in King Kong. Here he gives his best performance showing so much emotion with only slight movements. Serkis should be considered for an Oscar because he is that good. Everyone else in the cast including Franco, Lithgow, Bryan Cox, and Draco Malfoy no I mean Tom Helton does a good job with the scream time they get.

The visuals in the film are done by Weta Digital who have done the motion capture for Avatar and Lord of the Rings. Here they bring the same effort and it shows as the visuals are stunning in this film. The apes never looked fake for a second as every scene looked very authentic. The actors should be credited here to because there’s never a moment when there starring in space where the effects would be put in. Both the actors and motion capture mesh perfectly.

The film is directed by Rupert Wyatt who like Matthew Vaughn knows that characters are more important then action. The film has the big climax full of action and that’s it. Do not go in to this film expecting the ape Apocalypse but instead the begging of the end. The first hour and half is spent with Ceaser and that is the right way to go. We go thought his good times to his bad and see why he is motivated to do what he does.

Overall Rise of the Planets of the Apes is one of the summer and years best movies.

MUST SEE IT!

Monthly Preview: August

July is over and summer is almost done with only a few weeks till schools start. So with July over its time for August which is usually a month to dump off a movie. This August we have a blockbuster, some want to be blockbusters, raunchy comedies,and teen friendly stuff. For this I have made four ratings, excited, promising, meh, and disaster in the making. I will also predict the films total box office numbers because Hollywood is about the business. Ok lets get started.

August 5th.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes



What seems to be the final blockbuster of the summer, Rise of the Planet of the Apes storms in theater today. I can not wait to see this film! One of my favorite actors James Franco stars and this is something different from his usual. The early buzz on this film is amazing with people calling this a gripping summer blockbuster with great action scenes and some truly touching moments. This is great to hear because most of the blockbusters this summer have been very hollow to this looks like a great way to end the summer for blockbuster. Hopefully the film succeeds at the box office, and with a budget of 90 million dollars I think it will surpass it domestically because of positive word of mouth. I expect good money and a good movie

110 million domestic, EXCITED

The Change Up



Another raunchy comedy opens today, staring Jason Bateman and joining him is Ryan Reynolds after Green Lantern bombed. This seems like it is going to make a good amount of cash with Crazy Stupid Love seeming that it did all of its business opening week. It will be the only romantic raunchy comedy out for the month so it should make plenty of money. The only worrying thing is that there has been so many raunchy comedies so people might be tired of the genre. Quality wise this looks just meh. Bateman is always good but the story and the film seems generic and nothing special. I think The Change Up will get good money but i am not really looking forward to seeing in theaters.

90 million domestic, meh

August 10th

The Help



Both Gwen Stacey’s star here in the Help coming out today. This has been getting good reviews but nothing to rave about. The film does look good with a good cast and story but im not excited for it. The film is based on a book so it will have a cult following of people so it wont bomb at the box office. I actual expect this film to do ok despite completion. This film mostly will be for the older audience so I expect that audience to come and support the film. This overall does not seem groundbreaking but seems like a solid film in quality and gross.

42 million domestic, Promising

August 12th

30 Minuets or Less



Since I have already seen the film and loved it I am just going to talk about how I think it does in the box office. Personally, I am hopeful people see this and it does not get lost in the crowd of movies. I think it will do well because of the fact that it is directed by the box office hit Zombieland and has a great cast that has proven they can bring in money. The films wont do amazing business but with a what seems to be smaller budget, I think it will make its budget and then some. Not as much as Zombieland, but more than Your Highness, and Arthur two other comedies that came out this year. I predict the film to gross.

48 million domestic

The Final destination 5



Today the fifth film in the Final Destination comes out. Most of these films have been bad but this one has some promise. I like the new element that there are trying to kill each other to stay alive that adds a lot off suspense to who will die when because anyone could die at any time. The scene in the trailer with the bridge destruction looks like the most grand of any of the openings of any of the films. I am still worried because the last two films were terrible so I still am keeping my guard up with this film.This film like all of them will make good money. I don’t think this one will gross more than the last one (The Final Destination grossed 68 million) but it will still get solid business. The new Final Destination 5 looks like it can be better than the last ones and gross some solid money.

56 million, promising

Glee 3D Concert Movie



Oh no this looks just bad. Sure it’s not for me but I am not sitting through a concert of this pitiful music. The movie will get good money because its fan base will come and see it but it will only be out for two weeks. Since concert movies are cheap it will make its money back but don’t expect a slam dunk hit. So overall Glee 3D Concert movie will benefit for fans and 3D pricing but wont be a huge hit. You still can not pay me enough money to go to a theater and sit through what seems to be even more dredful then the terrible show.

30 million, Disaster in the making

August 19th

Fright Night



Today, another horror remake comes out for Fright Night. I have not seen the original but people I have talked to say this is not a lot alike the original. To me this looks ok with a good cast but seems pretty silly from the trailer and the early reviews coming out from the comic con screening. It seems like it might be entertaining but I am not that hopeful. It will do good business opening week because of its following and only horror movie out but after opening week I expect a big drop off. I think it will make around the same money that Scream 4 did. So Fright Night looks ok and will do ok in the box office.

39 million domestic, meh

Conan the Barbarian



It seems as August will have its first box office bomb with Conan The Barbarian coming out this week. The movie looks really dumb and a dishonor to the first film. From the trailers this film just looks like at best it can be a dumb action film. The 3D seems like it is a cash grab after watching a trailer in 3D. The new Conan looks like he can pull it off but that’s not saying a lot. The film reported 90 million dollar budget seems impossible for the film to reach. I don’t even see this film surpassing 50 million dollars let alone 90. The trailer most likely turned off a lot of fans of the original so there will be no cult following seeing this. Overall this looks ok but a failure at the box office.

45 million domestic, meh

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World



I am rueing today because the newest installment of Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids series come out. This seems like a complete cash grab of the original trilogy which started ten years ago. It looks like complete slap stick and its sad to see Ricky Gervais wasting his time with this junk. The effects look cheap compared to the original films and in general feels lazy. The film has a reported budget of 40 million dollars and if that is true, it will barely reach that. Since its the only kid film out it will but dont expect people who grew up with the series coming out and seeing this lazy excuse of a movie. So overall the film looks terrible but will make decent money.

42 million domestic, Disaster in the making

One Day (2011)



This is one of the smaller releases and it seems that way. After watching the trailer I could predict the whole films outcome but it has a solid cast of stars and people behind it so it should be well made, just nothing that amazing or special. The film is from Focus Features which mostly does smaller nationwide films and I expect the business to be that way. It should open out of the top 5 making most of its money opening week and then get some more scraps. So nothing amazing gross, or quality wise.

20 million domestic, meh

August 26th

Dont be Afraid of the Dark



Another horror remake in August but I am more hopeful about this one. Dont be Afraid of the Dark is written and produced from the great Guillermo del Toro who is the master of creative creatures which he showed with Pans Labyrinth and both Hellboy films. From the trailer I nearly crapped my pants because this looks scary. At the end they did a jump scare and wow it got me good. I am worried because I havent seen much from director Troy Nixey and we dont see much acting in the trailer. Financially people are going to see this movie. It is going to get the college students who are in there first week to see this. The film is most likely does not have a huge budget so even if it has a sub par opening week it still will be find. Overall this looks like a scary good movie and a solid hit.

54 million domestic, promising

Colombiana



Today Luc Besson brings his latest action movie, Colombiana staring Zoe Sladana. I am really looking forward to this one it looks like a darker and better version of last years average Salt. Luc Besson latest work Taken and From Paris with Love were very entertaining with lot of great action. I do not expect anything different here and it looks like is most dramatic film. From the trailer the film had a cool look and style to it and this looks like a great action revenge flick. Money wise this film should gross around the same as the second Transporter film, Transporter 2 (grossed 43 million dollars). It seems like the name of Luc Besson can bring in audiences and hopefully the film gets Taken business. If the film doesnt boom in the box office, it still looks like a fantastic film that should do fine in the box office.

42 million domestic, EXCITED

Our Idiot Brother



Shees I am not looking forward to this one and I don’t think audiences are either. From the trailer this looks like a really stupid movie with such a good cast. I love Paul Rudd but I think his career is going down hill if he’s starring in this garbage. I hope it was just a bad trailer that I saw because this looked terrible. This seems like a smaller film so I don’t think it will make a killing in the box office despite its big cast. So overall I am not looking forward to Our Idiot Brother but I hope I am wrong because there is a very talented cast around this.

29 million domestic, Disaster in the making

August 31th

The Debt



Today August ends with The Debt. This film has a lot of promise around it starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, and Tom Wilkinson two of them Oscar nominated, directed by John Madden who directed best picture winner Shakespeare in Love (one of the more debateable winners but still it won), and written by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldmen, the same team that brought us Kick-Ass and X-Men First Class. This looks like a better version of last years The American both being Oscar contending thrillers. I hope this is good enough to earn Oscar nominations and I think it will. Box Office wise it depends on quality. If the film has Oscar Buzz business will pick up and the film will be very successful. If it is not that Oscar film, it will do decent but nothing amazing. Overall this looks like an Oscar contender and I hope it is one

62 million (if picks up Oscar buzz) If not 29 million domestic, EXCITED

So August overall is a pretty mixed month. I am excited for three films, three films look promising, four look meh, and three look disastrous. So for a rating I have to give it a.

August: Meh

The Smurfs Review

What everyone has been waiting for, another 60′S kid show turned into a movie. So far we have had The Scooby Doo films which had some promising notes (Matthew Liarld was a great Shaggy and Scobby Doo looked good) but it turned out to be a disaster. More recently we have had the Alvin and the Chipmunks film which is just three squeaky chipmunks signing for an hour and a half which is as mindless and bad as it sounds. You thought that revamp of “You spin me right round” was bad, try hearing it sang by chipmunks. So does the Smurfs have what it takes to reverse this or is it another childhood disaster.

The Smurfs is about these blue tiny creatures called Smurf who live in their small village. Each of these smurfs are unique having their own diffrent personality which chooses their name. Examples of this is Grouchy, Clumsy, and Brainy. The village for the most part is peaceful, except when they have to deal with Clumsy (Anton Yelchen) making a mistake. There is also the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azari) who tracks down the Smurfs everywhere they go so he can use them for his evil scheme. One day when he attacks, the Smurfs find a portal which transports some of the Smurfs and Gargamel to a mystical land, New York City.

When the Smurfs get here they met Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris) who is a fashion vice president who is having a soon to be child with his wife Grace Winslow (Jayma Mays). The Smurfs also find out that Gargamel is on their trail trying to track them down. So the Smurfs try to get back to their village while learning the true value of friendship, family and other messages.

The Smurfs is your usual half animated half CGI film. The film is full of pop culture refrences that seem unnatural to the show it is adapting. I dont think the Smurfs excist in the same world where Katy Perry’s I kissed a girl is a nationwide hit. The thing that made last years Yogi Bear good is it stayed true to the show it was adapting. The film had no pop culture or fart and poop jokes that are just bad. Studios cram as much relatable stuff as possible to audiences so they can get a cheap laugh because they know or get the refrence.

That goes to another thing, why make this film in New York? The original series took place in Smurf village where thousands of Smurfs live. The film starts off there and its actually enjoyable. There were some really neat cameos in the beginning of the film it gave me a chuckle. The only reason the film is in New York is to give the film a relatable human character and so we can some landmarks that’s it. Like I said before the main problem here is that it is not true or honest to the television at all. Last time I check saying a word with smurf in it was never in the show and it’s not funny here.

The film does have some bright spots. Hank Azari is a scene stealer in everything he is in and its not different here. I respect Azaria because he brings a full effort to everything he is in and he makes everything better. The special effects of the Smurfs look fantastic blending in nicely to the New York landscape. The thing is this is all the stuff I was talking about with those other adaptations gone wrong. There is one breakout performance and everything looks good. These days that it is not enough.

Overall Smurfs is another failed adaptation which is sad to see. Hopefully Yogi Bear will show that an honest true adaptation is the best way to go. Overall I have to say.

Skip It!

Friends with Benefits Review

Friends with Benefits is about Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) two people who have recently dealt with break ups and meet through Dylan getting a job at GQ and working aside Kunis. They soon grow a great friendship and are so friendly they decide to have sex for sport. “No emotion no one gets hurt they” say but soon they realize that this leads to some complications from just having sex.

So far this summer we have tons of raunchy comedies (Hangover Part two, Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, The Change Up and 30 Minuets or Less) but Friends with Benefits is the first raunchy romantic comedy all summer. Does it rank up with 30 Minuets or Less has a great raunchy film or does the comedy sink to the lowly Hangover Part 2?

Compared to this years just sex film No Strings Attached this is a great film. That’s not saying much because I am not a fan of No Strings Attached. While watching Friends with Benefits throughout, I saw so much potential to be something unique and one of the best romantic comedies in recent years but it falter to live up to its potential. That’s not to say it has its moments.

The film has a very star studded cast they perform well here. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis both have a fantastic chemistry together and that leads to the films laughs. There is Patricia Clarkson here who was last seen in Easy A. Here she plays it over the top and it just did not feel organic. Richard Jenkins is great in everything hes in and there is no difference here. In the film he has Alzheimer’s and he pulls it off. The film also has Emma Stone, Andy Samburg, and Jenna Elfman who do fine with there small screen time. The one problem in the cast is Woody Harlson as a gay sportscaster. Here they play him up as a stereotype gay person and it is just hard to watch and some what offensive.

The film is directed by Will Gluck who is fresh of the surprise teen comedy hit Easy A. In that film he had a lot of clever jokes and they all hit, here the jokes are very hit or miss. Like I mention before, mostly all the jokes come from Kunis and Timberlake and there fantastic chemistry together. The problem is the writers of Easy A did not write this and you could tell. There is certainly not enough witty comedy here to be held up with Horrible Bosses or even the weak Bad Teacher.

Another thing is I had a lot of problems in the story. Both Kunis and Timberlake are suppose to be emotionally damaged but they do not sell this quality. It dose not seem like the break ups they went through in the beginning of the film. They kind of just forget about and even joke around about it. Throughout the film had some surprising elements in the story that was unique but by the end of the film, it was just your average romantic comedy story line.

Overall Friends with Benefits had a lot of potential but by the end I was left feeling empty. It hurts even more to see it fall apart depite it having some fun moments. Sadly overall, I have to say you should.

Skip It!