MOVIE REVIEWS: 127 HOURS

IN THEATERS

127 HOURS



Filmmaker Danny Boyle adapts the true-life story of Aron Ralston with this Fox Searchlight production detailing the hiker's harrowing quest for survival after losing an arm to a fallen rock and the grueling five-day ordeal that finally ended with his rescue. James Franco steps into the role of the unfortunate climber. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Danny Boyle

Cast: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Clémence Poésy, Lizzy Caplan.

Release Date: Nov 05, 2010

Rated: Language and some disturbing violent content/bloody images

Runtime: 1 hr. 33 min.

Genres: Drama

Review:

Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours is an engaging incredibly impressive cinematic achievement considering the film’s plot concerns a climber being stuck under a boulder for 5 days. Boyle flexes his impressive imagination and uses various cinematic tropes to take us through the experience Aron Ralston suffered in as visceral a manner that when the pivotal scene comes you winch and squirm with each tear and rough cut. It’s an overtly elemental and primal story one that harkens back to a bevy of man vs. nature tomes from the past. James Franco owns the role of Ralston, it’s his show and if either he or Boyle falters it’s a failure of a film. Thankful Franco, like Boyle, deliver the goods. He gives the audience a clear taste of who Ralston is and lets us feel his spirit and emotional states throughout. He’s always interesting and always connects with the audience even though he has nobody to interact with besides himself and occasionally a camera. Once he’s freed, you feel that moment in a personal way. It’s a fitting tribute and testament to Ralston’s real life experience.

A

MOVIE REVIEWS: DUE DATE

IN THEATERS

DUE DATE



Director Todd Phillips re-teams with his break-out Hangover star Zach Galifianakis for this road movie concerning a soon-to-be father (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and his cross-country trip to make it back in time for his baby's birth -- with the only roadblock being the dubious passenger (Galifianakis) who's along for the ride. Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx co-star in the Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, RZA.

Release Date: Nov 05, 2010

Rated: Language, drug use and sexual content

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

Todd Phillips has made this type of film various times throughout his career; he has an almost unhealthy obsession with road trips and odd ball characters. Here Phillips throws together as many odd couple traveling clichés possible and contrived situations to make a plot. It’s barely a plot but it’s enough to give Galifianakis and Downey Jr. a showcase. Galifianaskis is in full man child mode, pretty much playing an even stranger version of his Hangover character. He gives his character enough heart to make a slightly different animal from that other role. Robert Downey Jr. delivers a strong performance as well, he’s like a tightly wound ball of rage and mania ready to burst at any point. He and Galifianakis have solid chemistry together and they are best thing about this entire film. Sadly, its strength is limited to these two and when the script tries shoe horn some sentiment or contrived connection it just rings incredibly false and hollow. These moments drag the film down and make it feel a lot longer than it actually is. Jamie Foxx walks through a few scenes and Michelle Monaghan is given less to do than Juliet Lewis and Danny McBride who both have memorable cameos. Due Date is a generally funny movie that feels like fast food and has as much nutritional value.

C+

MOVIE REVIEWS: CENTURION

ON DVD

CENTURION



A Roman soldier (Michael Fassbender) leads a small band of troops on a mission to rescue a key Roman general after becoming trapped in the territory of their sworn enemies in this period action-adventure film from director Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday). The year is A.D. 117: despite the growing strength of the Roman Empire, a fierce tribe known as the Picts has prevented Hadrian's armies from conquering northern Britain. The Picts offer a devastating display of their guerilla power when they raid a Roman frontier fort, and Quintus just barely manages to escape with his life. Thirsting for revenge, Quintus joins General Virilus' Ninth Legion as the squadron begins traveling north on a mission to find and kill Gorlacon, the leader of the Picts. That mission is complicated when the Ninth Legion is ambushed and General Virilus is captured, leaving his men stranded behind enemy lines. Now, as the Quintus and the surviving members of the Ninth Legion are hunted from the shadows, they prepare to make one last, desperate bid to save General Virilus and reach the Roman frontier before being captured or killed by the Picts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Neil Marshall

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Noel Clarke, David Morrissey.

Release Date: Aug 27, 2010

Rated R for grisly images, strong bloody violence and language

Runtime: 1 hr. 37 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Neil Marshall’s Gladiator meets The Warriors bloody exercise is a surprising film in many ways. Throughout the run time there are blood spurts aplenty, body parts are cleaved at a amazing rate, Marshall’s ability to keep this interesting and shoot it beautifully elevate this film over the usual genre garbage. Marshall has an exceptional talent to create films that keep genre fans happy (see The Decent, Dog Soldiers & Doomsday) but what’s generally overlooked is his growth as a filmmaker. Marshall gives this film an epic feel with huge expansive landscape shots that gives the audience a real scene of the location. It sounds like a small thing but visually it’s a huge plus for this film that occasionally falters with hackneyed scripting. The cast is all game with only a few hiccups. Michael Fassbender is impressively comfortable in a leading man role. He brings a nice sense of gravitas even when delivering some of the more wooden dialogue. Olga Kurylenko is hit or miss throughout; occasionally she finds the right sense of danger and menace while other times it looks like she’s just playing dress up. Marshall’s wife Axelle Carolyn actually comes off far more menacing in a small role. Dominic West delivers solid work but he’s given a terribly small role. Those looking for a strong history lesson should probably look elsewhere but those looking for a solid piece of genre filmmaking that’s fairly entertaining throughout should find plenty to like here.

B

Monsters Trailer

Alien life forms have spread throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region leading to the quarantine of half of Mexico. The U.S. and Mexican militaries are battling to contain the creatures, with a wall stretching along the American border. The story follows Andrew, an American photojournalist helping his wealthy employer's daughter, Samantha, get back to America. Their journey takes them across Central America and eventually into the 'infected zone'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters_(2010_film)



Some how I'd never heard of this UK film until a friend of mine told me about it, looks fantastic!

MOVIE REVIEWS: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

IN THEATERS

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2



Spooky hauntings are once again the main course in this Paramount Pictures follow-up to Oren Peli's wildly successful supernatural thriller, Paranormal Activity. Kip Williams directs from a script by Michael Perry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Director: Tod "Kip" Williams

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim

Release Date: Oct 22, 2010

Rated: R for some language and brief violent material

Runtime: 1 hr. 31 min.

Genres: Horror, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Paranormal Activity 2 avoids the Blair Witch sequel issue by sticking with what worked so well in the first film. Tod Williams formats his film very much like the bare bones original and opens it up more with more camera angles and is more overt about the demonic goings on. William’s smartly continues to build tension throughout and set ups up the audience for big scares. The script is well crafted and bookends the original offering insight to open story threads from the original along with some fairly shocking reveals. This prequel’s cast is a strong throughout creating an organic naturalistic feel. With a few exceptions they all feel authentic and are believable. The films faults are obvious but not unexpected. The plot is mostly the same as the original and while the scares are bigger they don’t provide the same surprise as the first. The third act is stronger and what seems like the finale is a white knuckle experience that might remind some viewer of REC. All and all if you enjoyed the first and it’s type of none splatter horror then you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.

B+

MOVIE REVIEWS: RED

IN THEATERS

RED



A group of former government assassins fights back against the CIA after they're targeted for knowing too much in this adaptation of Warren Ellis' acclaimed DC Comics graphic novels. Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) used to be a hired gun for the CIA. Along with Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich), and Victoria (Helen Mirren), Frank's specialty was carrying out contracts that the government didn't want the public to know about. These days, Frank and his old gang are all retired, but the powers that be are still concerned that they know too much, and dispatch a team of top assassins to ensure their silence. Now, Frank and his former team members realize that their only hope for survival is to break into CIA headquarters and expose the truth. But once they're in, the group uncovers evidence of a massive cover-up that promises to rock the very foundation of our government. Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ernest Borgnine co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Robert Schwentke

Cast: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker.

Release Date: Oct 15, 2010

Rated: Intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language

Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy

Review:

An uneven but mostly enjoyable romp, RED delivers enough fun to overlook some of the more obvious flaws. Robert Schwentke directs with an uneven hand, he’s unable to find a nice rhythm for the proceedings. Schwentke inability to find this results in various dead spot throughout, making what should be a very fun action comedy lose steam a bit too often. When the he hits the right notes it’s enjoyable if unoriginal, most of the credit here goes to the stellar cast which makes the entire thing watchable. Bruce Willis headlines playing a smirking knockoff of every character he’s ever played. Willis is having good fun and he and his costars have great chemistry throughout. Mary-Louise Parker is along for the ride and mainly just acts kooky and smiles a lot. Morgan Freeman and John Malkovick are both playing along with Willis and doing what they’ve done before with Malkovick’s nutty level set to 11. Helen Mirren is an incredible sight to behold once she shows up in the latter portion of film embracing her action role with great gusto. The always reliable Brian Cox and terribly watchable Karl Urban make the most of supporting roles. The story is an illogical mess that doesn’t make much sense or provide any three dimensional characters. Still as fluff it’s decent and it’s stars elevate it above the material.

C+