Totally late on some of these, as they're mostly gone from theaters, but figured why not:
The Last Stand
Silly, slow, and stupid, I still enjoyed myself, even though it's a depressing reminder that the heroes of our youth get old and frightening looking. Still, this movie has some fun parts, but that may have been because I saw it with some friends (2 whom were named Jack and Daniels) and we were the only ones in the theater, so we could be jerks and make Forest Whitaker lazy eye jokes. (Seriously did that. I'm not too proud about it). Worth the rental, at the least.
Bullet To The Head
Wow. Now this feels like an 80s Stallone throwback, where nothing makes any sense, there are pointless scenes of awesome violence, the only dialogue spoken is expository (Seriously, the whole movie) and "witty" one liners you know Stallone came up with that nobody had the heart to tell him they weren't funny. This movie was something special. I can't even recall anything from this movie at all, but I know I enjoyed myself and it's retardation.
Side Effects
Surprised by this neat little thriller. They don't quite make them like this anymore. It felt like one of those early 90's "sexually tinged" thrillers, like Final Analysis or Malice. The less you know about the plot the better, as it's fun to enjoy the ride. Steven Soderbergh continues to surprise me with his movies lately. Hope this retirement thing he keeps bringing up is just a phase.
Life of Pi (in 3D!)
RICHARD PAH-KER!!!! While not quite the life changing, make you believe in God, 3-D successor to Avatar I was led to believe, I found myself totally drawn into the tale of Pi as he survives a shipwreck in a lifeboat with a tiger and the elements constantly surrounding him. It's genuinely moving, with some great performances and astounding visuals. Ang Lee really did deserve his Best Director for this, as I could have atchd another hour of this tale.
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| If only... |
Olympus Has Fallen
It opens AND closes on images of the American flag while the snare drum rattles off underneath. In between is a movie of such staggering violence and ugliness that it takes away from any inherent "fun" allowed by such a premise. That being said, there's totally an awesome line in this movie that is actually uttered by a human being: "I'm going to stick my knife in your brain."
Spring Breakers
Still processing this one. It's Harmony Korine's latest flick, it's his most mainstream movie to date (though that's not saying too much) and depending on how you look at it can be a vapid exploitation crime thriller capitalizing on the premise of Disney girls shedding their former image, or a bleak portrait of a generation of self-entitled young adults that are absolutely the worst. Or something in between, that runs out of steam despite some gorgeous neon soaked imagery and ethereal score by Cliff Martinez. All that matters is there's a ridiculous amount of nudity (It's almost like Piranha 3D without the fish attacks) and that James Franco is sublime.
Wreck-It-Ralph
I totally loved this movie. It might replace Dredd as my favorite movie of last year. I loved everything about it. It made me want to seek out an arcade and play as many cabinet games as I could. Just a great job all around, and a shame that it did not win Best Animated Flick at the Oscars. (For a fun time, play the game!)
