Starter for 10

I have to admit that I was a little smitten for Alice Eve after seeing She's Out of My League. So smitten, that I browsed her IMDB.com filmography and came across, Starter for 10. The plot summary described it as being about a young man, hailing from Essex, UK, from a working class background going off to study at Bristol University. The young man is James McAvoy, who you might know from Wanted or the Last King of Scotland. McAvoy plays Brian Jackson, who since his childhood has had a passion for knowledge, watching a college quiz show called, "University Challenge", with his father.

The movie has a rather standard format, a coming of age story where the protagonist is put into a new situation, finds love (Or thinks he does rather), makes foolish mistakes, but grows from them. But, Starter for 10 is one movie that uses the blueprint to its benefit and really achieves something spectacular. The combined acting from McAvoy, Eve, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Tate, and Dominic Cooper makes this a compelling story that shouldn't just appeal to a British audience.

The set and art decoration were also very memorable, with the choice of Essex, as Brian's hometown, being a very wise one because of how breathtaking the scenes shot near the beach were.

Starter for 10 imparts some wisdom who shouldn't be lost on people of my generation, especially at at time like this, which is one reason why I really liked it. The stellar soundtrack and Alice Eve were basically just a bonus.

The Crazies

Overture Films recently released an update to a George Romero classic from the 70's titled, the Crazies, and I saw it in the middle of the day at an out of the way theater. I've always been a big fan of the horror genre, since really falling in love with movies in the late 90's with the release of Scream. The genre has certainly seen its ups and downs since then going from the Scream trilogy, to the Saw saga, to new Halloween installments, to the Ring and Ring 2, and eventual parodies like the Scary Movie pics. It saw unprecedented success for an independent film with The Blair Witch Project, so it tends to be a genre that Hollywood studios will gamble on. But, when your talking horror it's usually never a gamble when Romero's name is attached, especially when it's a remake from almost forty years in the past.

Breck Eisner knew this and he was successful in crafting a film that is still rooted in the same primary elements that Romero was using in his original film. The updated version is ripe with tense scenes oozing with blood and gore, so much so that I had to remind myself that there would still be daylight when i exited the theater. Timothy Olyphant, plays the lead role of Sheriff David Dutton, and he does so very convicingly. I always pay close attention in these apocalyptic styled movies how it seems like the actors are coming to grips with the death and carnage around them. Alot of times it doesn't seem believable, but Olyphant and his co-star Radha Mitchell, with help from a solid script made it seem as authentic as I could imagine.

Minus a period during the middle of the movie where the outcome seemed obvious and the action had sort of puttered off, The Crazies constantly brought it and brought out emotions in me that really good horror flicks are supposed to.

The Bounty Hunter

I went and saw The Bounty Hunter the other night(Mostly for this blog, partly for Jennifer Aniston, and partly out of boredom). Aniston plays leading lady, Nicole Hurley, a reporter for the Daily News. Gerard Butler stars opposite her as, Milo Boyd, her ex-husband and ex-cop turned bounty hunter. The movie uses a nonlinear narrative structure, like Memento or (500) Days of Summer, and shows Hurley escaping from Boyd's trunk only to be tackled several yards away, then cuts to a different scene telling the audience it's 48 hours earlier. This allows for the viewer to know where the story is going and quickly addresses scenes in the trailer which the audience is surely expecting. Let me just say that this is one of the only clever things that was done on this movie and it needed a lot more than this to save it.

The promo poster boasts the obvious draw of the movie with Butler and Aniston being handcuffed to each other (I don't think they ever were in the movie). It also reads from the director of Hitch, Andy Tennant, who manipulated the roles played by Eva Mendes and Will Smith, into a romantic comedy that five years down the road is as watchable as any movie that reruns that often on cable television. But, where Hitch was great, the Bounty Hunter was mired in mediocrity. Hitch had a pretty solid supporting cast, good writing, a decent amount of predictability, and Will Smith, of course. The Bounty Hunter didn't have a "Kevin James" to carry the film when the two stars weren't on screen. There wasn't anything memorable from the dialouge and Butler hasn't reached the level that few actors in Hollywood like Smith have. Also, his accent felt forced, not that he couldn't do it well, but knowing he's a Scottish actor I had a tough time accepting the role he was portraying.

The small role put in by, Christine Baranski, as Kitty Hurley, Aniston's mother in the film, was the only memorable supporting role. Her phone conversation with her fictional daughter is one of the funniest moments of the movie.

This will be a movie that a lot of couples go to see and I really pity all the men who are dragged to this by their girlfriends. But, it could be an opportunity for you to give her one and get one later, and in that case see Green Zone or Shutter Island sometime down the road.

Green Zone

Recently I saw Green Zone, which starred Matt Damon. Besides his involvement, there wasn't much to pitch the movie other than Paul Greengrass' attachment as director. The two worked together on the second and third Bourne installments. With the success of the latter though this was clearly a pretty good sell. I went into the movie hoping for a lot of the same stuff that made The Bourne Ultimatum spectacular, picturesque sets, intelligent, witty dialogue, and tons of action. In brief, the movie delivered just that, minus maybe the picturesque sets part of that (It was mostly filmed in Morocco, the United Kingdom, and Spain, but the backdrops seen in the movie were of decrepit areas of war ravaged Iraq).

Matt Damon has truly learned to embrace this type of role because he is seemingly convincing in his role as, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller. The way that he commands his squad in the early scenes of the movie is very believable. But, more about the film, right off the bat it's packed with action and it doesn't really let up for the first 45 minutes of the film either. Greengrass, or perhaps the Director of Photography, uses a camera style that benefits from the fast paced action where he has the camera basically next to the actors. This creates the illusion that the audience is right on top of the action, which is definitely really cool. I can only imagine what this movie would've been like shot in 3D (Intense! In a word). But, on a much more serious note, because I've read a few reviews about this movie, notably Roger Ebert's, that say it isn't merely just an action thriller, but that it has a point to argue. That point being that, and this is taken from Ebert's review,"The fatal error of the United States was to fire the officers and men of the Iraqi army and leave them at large with their weapons. The Iraqi army had no great love of Saddam and might have been a helpful, stabilizing force. Instead, it was left unemployed, armed and alienated". There's a scene with Damon and an Iraqi informant named, Freddy, about 40 minutes in that is truly moving and does well to sort of give a snapshot of Iraqi feelings towards the war and the Americans involvement.

The most surprising thing about this movie to me though doesn't have anything to do with any content that occurs during it's running time, but rather the very disappointing domestic box office numbers that it posted. Maybe it had to do with the marketing of the film or its competition, but it's a little saddening to know that studios will certainly be apprehensive to open their wallets for another Damon/Greengrass pic that isn't Bourne 4.

Anyways, I thought this was an awesome edge of your seat thriller, which also forced you to think about the Iraq war and reminded you to not blindly trust everything that your government tells you.

She's Out of My League

I saw the movie, She's Out of My League, a couple days ago and to be honest it did not disappoint. It's from the production company, Mosaic Media, the same people who brougt us, The Breakup and Talladega Nights:The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. My expectations for it weren't sky high, but I did expect to laugh out loud a few times based on television spots I'd been seeing for a couple weeks.

The movie's tagline is, "How can a 10 go for a 5?" and the way that this happens in the movie isn't too far fetched, but certainly doesn't happen often in the real world. Jay Baruchel plays the leading role as, Kirk Kettner, a dorky looking airport security worker who somehow finds his way into Alice Eve's character, Molly's good graces.

The movie had a bunch of really funny scenes, especially the pool scene where Molly meets Kirk's brother and ex-girlfriend, also, a scene on an airplane where Kirk gives his family a piece of his mind and probably the funniest scene involving Kirk and Molly and an untimely drop-in from her family. The dialogue between Kirk and his TSA buddies is basically what makes this movie enjoyable and T.J. Miller's acting as, Stainer, Kirk's best friend, pretty much steals the show. I could've gone for a bit more screen interaction between Stainer and Patty, Molly's best friend acted by Krysten Ritter, their on-screen hate for each other was outstanding.

Alot of people have called this movie a romantic comedy or a "RomCom" as one of my friends cleverly calls them. But, I think it weighs much heavier on the comedy side, there are romantic scenes, I'm just not sure how well it would go over as a date movie. I say see it while it's still in theaters, but to all of you "5's" and below out there don't let it give you false hope about landing a "10", this is Hollywood.

The Wolfman

Just saw The Wolfman, I remember seeing the trailer during another movie last year and thinking that it looked really good. But, I guess that just proves the effect that trailers are meant to have.

I was actually a little late getting into the theater, so I missed the first 5 minutes. But, I think I only missed the death of Benicio Del Toro's brother in the film. Anyways, Benicio Del Toro, played the lead role of Lawrence Talbot, and I think he was cast very well for the role. It was a dark, eerily filmed movie and Del Toro managed to be persuasive enough in his early interactions in the film. Early in the movie there's a scene in a dimly lit tavern where Talbot sits alone at a table, he listens as the townspeople discuss who they believe is responsible for the slayings, because his brother's death is just one of many, some think a bear is responsible, others think a more powerful beast. The scene is semi-crucial to the progression of the plot, but I only mention it because the elements of the scene are pretty fantastic and are a major reason I enjoyed the movie. The lighting for the scene is very dim, the sound is a little scratchy, the winds and other noises from outside can be heard. It paints a very vivid picture for what tumultous nights like this were like in 1891 Blackmoor, England.

The musical score of the film didn't really blow me away but I didn't really expect it to. It definitely could've been better in my opinion, but I thought the sound in the movie was right on pitch. The mixing of different weather sounds was great, as I said before it vividly painted the picture.

I really liked Emily Blunt in this movie, the role was essentially made for her with her being a highly marketable, very attractive British actress. But, I only wish she could've had a bit more screen time. I think she really has become an incredible actress and roles like this one will give her a wider exposure to worldwide audiences.

I'm not sure I've ever seen the original Wolfman movie, so I cannot draw any comparisons with this one, but this new release is an entertaining, gory update that will definitely hold your attention for a few hours. My only suggestion is that you wait till it's released on DVD to see it. Sometimes the cost of admission for two, snacks, and whatever else you need to see a movie can raise expectations and this movie might not live up to those. Don't get me wrong I did like it though, I just didn't love the Wolfman's makeup, it looked too much like Beast from X-Men for me.