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Trailer for Her (2013)
Her (2013)
Her is a love story about a lonely antisocial writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls for an artificial intelligence operating system.
The film is written and directed by Spike Jonze and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara, and Chris Pratt.
Phoenix is sporting a creeper mustache and seems like he will be as weird as ever. Even though he looks like a weirdo in this movie, I’m sure he will do an awesome job. Part of me jokingly could see Phoenix be his character in real life about 20 years from now. I’m not making fun of him though, he is a great actor. It just looks like he might play his part too well.
They somehow managed to get 4 of the most famous young actresses currently working today in the same film. You don’t see that very often these days.
This film looks like it could be pretty funny in a disturbingly quirky kind of way.
The movie is set to release on 11/20/13.
Trailer for The Monuments Men (2013)
The Monuments Men (2013)
The Monuments Men is based on a true story about a team of art historians and museum curators that are brought together during World War II to save priceless works of art before Hitler has them destroyed.
The film is directed by George Clooney and the noteworthy cast includes George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Jean Dujardin.
The all-star cast would be enough to make me want to see the film, but this is an intriguing story that I know nothing about.
I would bet money that it gets nominated for an Academy Award for something, and it will likely deserve it.
The film is set to release on 12/18/13.
We’re the Millers (2013)
We’re the Millers (2013)
Longtime drug dealer David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) gets into trouble with his supplier (Ed Helms) and in order to make things right, he is forced to smuggle drugs into the U.S. from Mexico. In order to be less conspicuous and hopefully not get arrested crossing the border, David hires a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a nerdy neighbor boy (Will Poulter), and a homeless girl (Emma Roberts) to all act as his family. Together, they are the Millers.
The movie was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Matthew Willig, Luis Guzman, Thomas Lennon, and Mark Young.
Because Sudeikis is in the film, you know that you will be in for a comedy that is maxed out with gross, stupid, and raunchy humor. There is some pot humor, but it’s mostly all potty humor.
We’re the Millers is a sick, perverted version of Vacation (1983). Instead of a family going on vacation and everything going wrong, it’s a fake family going on a major drug-run and everything going way wrong.
The story is very formulaic and predictable with nasty surprises along the way. If you enjoy crass, this movie is crass. It is crude, but you can’t help but laugh at it.
It seems like Aniston has really brought herself down as an actress for making films like this one. She is way less classy than she used to be.
This is the type of movie that basically guarantees that you will never be taken seriously as an actor in the future. I understand that it is a comedy, however I think that it will be hard for anybody in the cast to not be typecast in the same kind of role and in the same kind of movie from here on out.
There is not much else to say about this film. If you like this type of comedy, then you will probably enjoy this movie. Because of how predictable We’re the Millers was, it was not quite as funny as it otherwise could have been.
It was worth the matinee price that I paid for the ticket because I knew what to expect. I most likely would not have paid full price at a night show.
I rate this movie a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Movie Picture of the Day 8/12/13
Terrence Howard and Nicky Katt entering the crime scene of a vigilante killer in the fantastic film, The Brave One (2007).
The Wolverine (2013)
The Wolverine (2013)
Recently I watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) for the first time and this made me more enthusiastic about seeing The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has won my vote for best X-Men character.
In The Wolverine, Wolverine (Jackman) is summoned to Japan by an aging, old friend whom he saved during the war. The old man has become very rich and powerful and he wants to repay Wolverine for saving his life so long ago. However, he may have ulterior motives. When he reaches Japan, Wolverine becomes caught up in a war between his old friend’s empire and the Yakuza. Wolverine becomes weakened and for the first time faces mortality.
The film was directed by James Mangold and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Hal Yamanouchi, Ken Yamamura, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hiroyuki Sanada, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, and Famke Janssen.
Some of what I especially liked about X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also what I liked about The Wolverine. The film was concentrated mostly on the life of just one X-Men character and therefore it was more enjoyable. You are able to feel more for Wolverine because you get to see his whole story. There is much more character development than the first 4 X-Men films and this allows the viewer to become more attached to the characters and the problems that they face. Also, not every single character in the movie was a mutant and that made the ones that were mutants more unique and therefore more likable.
In comparison to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I felt that The Wolverine was a slight step down. It was a little bit longer than it needed to be and it lacked the star power. The supporting cast does do a quality job, but there is not another actor in the film that can compete with Jackman. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston. The bad guys in The Wolverine were not bad enough. They did not have as much of a screen presence. Jackman dealing with his own mortality was almost more intense than the enemies that he faced. Don’t get me wrong. The film was still very fun to watch, but bigger stars could have helped make it more powerful like X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman kept reminding me of a young Clint Eastwood at times throughout the film. He was a fierce cold-blooded loaner ready to do whatever he felt was right and not caring who got in his way. Jackman is 2 inches shorter than Eastwood, who is 6’4’’, but maybe it was Jackman’s haircut, facial hair, and attitude that was reminiscent of a middle-aged Eastwood. The slight resemblance contributed in making Wolverine a helluva bad-ass to be reckoned with.
In my opinion, The Wolverine is the second best X-Men movie to date. X-Men and action movie fans alike should approve of the quality of the film. The special effects are sharp, the action is extreme, the characters are entertaining, and the movie as a whole is a blast.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
Click on the link below to see a picture and read about the time when my wife and I and some friends got into a fight with Wolverine and Iron Man.
We Got Into a Fight with Wolverine and Iron Man
If you liked The Wolverine, then you should certainly enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
Movie Picture of the Day 8/11/13
Brad Renfro and Joseph Mazzello set out to find a cure for AIDS in the touching drama, The Cure (1995).
Movie Picture of the Day 8/10/13
Matt Dillon tries to get Stephen Dorff and Norman Reedus to shake hands in one of my all-time favorite films, Deuces Wild (2002).
Elysium (2013)
Elysium (2013)
The Definition of Elysium is a place or condition of ideal happiness. The sci-fi film takes place in the year 2154. The earth is way overpopulated and very rundown. The poor people live on earth while the rich live on an enormous space station. The space station is a world in itself and it is rightfully named Elysium. Elysium is a man-made utopia. Life on Elysium is basically perfect. The air is better quality, and they have machines that cure most diseases and injuries. The poor people on earth desperately want to live on Elysium and the rich want to keep everyone else out. The Elysium government kills or captures intruders on site.
Max (Matt Damon) has wanted to go to Elysium his whole life. After a tragic turn of events, Max gets sick and has only a short amount of time left to live. With nothing left to lose, he decides to do everything in his power to get to Elysium and get healed or die trying.
The movie is written and directed by Neill Blomkamp and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, Josh Blacker, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Faran Tahir.
I hoped for more from this film. The special effects and futuristic technology in the film were outstanding, but the movie’s premise was a little shaky. The story was very predictable and I felt that not enough of it was spent on Elysium.
The film was more about trying to get to Elysium than actually taking place on Elysium and that was a little disappointing.
Foster was probably as chilling as she has ever been. She played her part almost too well.
Damon was as good as he usually is.
Copley was a fun weirdo.
Movies that are set way in the future normally show either amazing advancement in technology or the earth on the verge of destruction. This film showed both.
Overall, Elysium is an exciting, action thrill-ride complete with cool ideas and some quality acting, but a flawed story riddled with predictability. It’s a popcorn film. Sit back, relax, and you’ll probably still have a good time.
I rate this movie a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
Movie Picture of the Day 8/9/13
Natalie Portman and Timothy Hutton have a slightly awkward friendship in the dysfunctional dramedy Beautiful Girls (1996).
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