Roger Dobkowitz's Blog

July 26, 2013	The To-Do List is vulgar, crude, and not funny. It is a soft-porn teenage movie. A movie like this is the bottom of the Hollywood barrel. The fact that a studio green-lighted this film is a sad commentary on the movie-making business. The director of this movie has a four year old baby...how embarrassing for the kid when she becomes a teenager and finally sees this film..."good going, mom!"
July 21, 2013	The Conjuring is a good old-fashioned exorcist type of movie. It was filmed in 1970's style (longer shots and fewer close-ups). There were quite a few scary moments in the film. One cannot avoid the realization that this movie is, indeed, a lot like the Exorcist from 1973...however, it is still quite enjoyable.
July 5, 2013	Despicable Me 2 was pleasant and OK...it was not up to par to the first one (but how many movies are?). It was certainly better than Monsters University that recently opened..it had a bit more humor aimed at parents and adults in the audience. Steve Carell did admirable voice work...he actually used an accent and change his tone for the character...personally, I find it annoying in today's animated films where actors just use their own voice for the characters. Cartoon characters, in my opinion, should sound like cartoon characters...not Hollywood actors.
June 29, 2013	Melissa McCarthy always plays the same character, which is OK for me because her character is usually funny. In The Heat she plays a crude no-nonsense cop teamed with anal-retentive Sandra Bullock. The movie is quite funny...however, the writers tried to add a level of depth (relationship problems for the McCarthy character) which really didn't work and wasn't needed. Incidentally, I don't find anything wrong with a comedic actor or actress always playing the same type of character...Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, and others made great careers playing the same part over and over again.
June 24, 2013	Monsters University is no Toy Story or Up. Unlike Pixar's other films, this one was not particularly cleaver or funny. Usually Pixar writes movies that adults can enjoy as much as kids...they add in satire, parody, and other funny stuff that adults understand. There was none of that in this film...strictly for the kids (which is OK for kids!)
June 22, 2013	World War Z was an exhausting movie to watch...and I am not exaggeration. I was exhausted after the first twenty minutes. The film is perhaps the best of all "zombie" stories. If you accept the basic premise that there could be a zombie virus that infects people like this, they the film is done quite realistically. The special effect are terrific...they never feel like special effects. Brad Pitt seems to have finally grown out of this man-boy persona and into a grown man (it's about time...he's fifty years old!).
June 16, 2013	Man of Steel is a real dark, dark, film. Even thought the director and the writers have respected the Superman mythology, I found the movie lacking any fun that has been found in other Superman films. Nevertheless, I was never bored. I did get confused occasionally about what exactly was going on (especially in the early scenes). The film is quite dark and serious when it discusses the issues of fitting into society (Superman's big problem). I admire the director's decision to carefully align the story to the same problems of Jesus Christ.
June 15, 2013	This is the End is the funniest picture of the year and it is my favorite picture of the year so far. Everyone in the film play themselves (or a caricature of themselves). The film begins at a Hollywood party where the principals arrive. Soon they discover that the world is about to end in a way that looks a lot like the way that the Bible predicted. At times the film gets gross and disgusting, but it is always hilarious. I hope they make a sequel...but of course they can't...the world came to an end!
June 3, 2013	Despite the drubbing The Hangover Part III got in the press, I really enjoyed it. I felt the writing was up to par to the first two (yes, I did like the second one). Zach Galifianakis was the star of this one...his part was was hilarious. A word to all those that see this film, wait for the tag after the credits are shown (don't walk out early!)...it's quite funny!
May 10, 2013	I went to Iron Man 3 with trepidation disliked Iron Man 2 and I disliked The Avengers (one of the characters was Iron Man). However, the movie was getting good reviews so I thought I'd go see it. The movie turned out great! Despite the fact that logic was left out (one of my pet peeves in films) and impossible things happened, I somehow was mesmerized by the activities on the screen. Robert Downey is quite likable as a performer. I really enjoyed the villain. One of the things I really remember about seeing this film was a minor joke said by a performer...he referred to the film Westworld...my wife and I laughed loudly at the joke...then we realized we were the only ones getting the joke...no one in our theater knew the reference to the film!
April 27, 2013	Oblivion is a science fiction movie about a future earth where our planet had won a war against aliens...the earth won but it left the planet devastated. The visuals are great, and the action scenes are quite exciting...I was never bored during it I am a big fan of Tom Cruise...I find him a likable performer and I do enjoy the movies that he chooses to be in. The only problem I had with this film was near the end when things are tied up and logic is left out a little. Nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable.
April 13, 2013	The Call was an exciting film...I was on the edge of my seat throughout much of it. There are a few parts which seem cliche...such as the part in any film where the hero knocks down a bad guy, looks away, and the bad guy gets up to fight again! If I knocked down a bad guy, I would make sure he was completely out or dead! The beginning scenes are quite unnerving a great commercial why we should all have a gun in the house to protect us...without a gun, we are sitting ducks! I am happy to see Halle Berry finally choosing a story that shows off her talents as a great actress.
April 12, 2013	The worst movie this year...Scary Movie 5! The people who made the preview for this film should get some type of award for turning a completely unfunny movie into one of the funniest previews this year. I was so looking forward to it. Unfortunately, as I sat in the theater I realized after just two minutes that this film was not going to be fun. The situations fell flat. Linsey Lohan, who was in the first scene, was absolutely horrible. We hoped the film would get better and we stuck it out for awhile...but it was so bad we got up and left...something I haven't done for years>
April 7, 2013	The reissue of Jurrasic Park in 3-D shows that this movie hold up very well twenty years later. The effects are still as breathtaking as they were then when we first saw them. The 3-D adds to the movie experience and it helps that they have digitized it and the prints (oops, I guess you can't call them "prints" anymore) look sharp and the color is fresh. I wish Spielberg would still make movies like this.
April 6, 2013	Evil Dead is quite well done. Don't see it if you dislike gore, blood, and body parts being cut off! I don't think most people have a stomach for this kind of movie. It is fairly close to the original except for a added storyline about going to the cabin in the woods to help a friend get over their drug addiction. The effects are extremely well done...they, apparently, were not done digitally, and it they feel more real that way. A very exciting film.
March 18, 2013	Burt Wonderstone is a story about two magicians who team up as children and remain partners in the world of magic when they grow up. Not a very funny picture unfortunately, despite the stars of J9m Carrey and Steve Carell. All the situations were silly and unrealistic. And...I really dislike movies when the present something as a magicians trick but is done with digital special effects...there was a lot of this going on. This picture does not deserve being successful...and it isn't...it is a genuine bomb at the box office!
March 10, 2013	I don't think there was a movie that I wanted to see more than OZ---the Great and Powerful. The previews looked exciting...it was directed by a person I respected, Sam Raimi. It was about Oz! However, the picture really stunk! They really misfired on this one. There were so many things I didn't like about it...the wizard was portrayed as a slimy womanizer, the witches acted like high school girls fighting over a boy, the sidekicks were as annoying as Jar Jar Binks, and the lines spoken were trite (they were heard in dozens of other movies). And, once again, liberal Hollywood has to make a statement by making the Munchkins a diverse group of people...there were white, black, asian, and American Indian Munchkins! This was actually quite bothersome. Munchkins are not Americans (which are diverse). Munchkins are their own society, much like other closed societies like Japan, where everyone should be the same. It was embarrassing to watch a black Munchkin in the film act with urban "attitude." This picture was a horrible waste of 2 hours!
March 1, 2013	Dark Skies is a science fiction thriller which is fun for awhile, but finally runs of of steam with too many unanswered questions and too many plot holes. The characters do too many improbable things just to keep the script writers story going. Why should logic spoil a scriptwriters story! An OK movie which one can really skip.
Feb. 8, 2013	Another not-so-funny comedy, Identity Thief, is one of those "comedies" that also tries to have a serious side (why can't comedies just be straight comedies anymore?). This is also one of those films that everything that happens is highly unlikely to happen...thus, the movie, even though its a comedy, is quite hard to get into because it is so unbelievable. Melissa McCarthy is quite funny, however, this is almost the same character she played in Bridesmaids. What ruins her part is the directors decision to give her some kind of sad backstory in an attempt to give her character motivation...heck...I don't care about motivation in a comedy! I enjoyed The Hangover, and I don't remember having to sit through scenes that gave the characters motivation. I realized that this was a bad movie about 15 minutes into it.
Feb. 1, 2013	I am totally in the minority in regards to Warm Bodies...everybody seems to like it! I became bored within 10 minutes of the beginning. OK, I will accept the premise that there are zombies, OK, I will accept the premise that the main zombie can feel and think. But don't ask me to accept a dozen or so more premises. Hmmm...it's eight years after the zombie problem started, and there is electricity on the plane to run a turntable...but no electricity anywhere else. Hmmm....regular zombies can run? That's a new one. Hmmm....cars can still run after sitting idle for eight years...the battery still works!!!!! I hated this movie a lot!
Jan 23, 2013	Zero Dark Thirty was a movie that made one feel proud of being an American. It did not apologize for using torture in order to extract information from people that would like to kill all of us. Radical Muslims are a danger to the world and this movie acknowledges that...it does not shy away from demonizing them. The whole effort to find Osama Bin Laden was fascinating to watch. However, I do have to admit that occasionally during the movie I was totally confused of who was doing what...mainly because so many of those hard to pronounced Arab names were used and I could not keep track of them.
Jan 11, 2013	Mama was a disappointment. This is one of those movies where the preview sells it. the preview made it look like it was going to be real scary. However, the movie itself is rather tame with only one or two good scares. The trouble is that the entire center section of the movie is nothing more than "oooo, scary things are happening." The story does not progress for about a whole 45 minutes or so. One sits there wanting SOMETHING to happen (and it doesn't). This is a typical January release...nothing special and a movie that the studio probably wish they didn't make.
Jan. 5, 2013	If you see The Impossible, make sure you take something to wipe your tears. The movies has quite a few many happy/sad moments. I have not shed so. The special effects were amazing. The tsunami (or I as still call it...a tidal wave) looked completely realistic. Matter of fact, EVERYTHING felt real...the catastrophe, the wounds, the desolation, the feeling of being lost with no one to help. A great movie! What's amazing about the production of this movie, is that it is a Spanish production...Spanish production company, Spanish money, Spanish director, and filmed partially in Spain. However, it feels 100% like an American movie!
Dec. 25, 2012	Parental Guidance was a real disappointment. We figured how can a movie starring Billy Chrystal and Bette Midler NOT be funny. Well, it was pretty bad. Nothing was believable. The film's three kid characters are played by overacting children who exude the presence that they think they are adorable themselves. Comedic moments are forced...they would never happen. This one is not even worthy of wasting time watching on video.
Dec. 22, 2012	It was hard to tell if This is 40 is a comedy or a drama. It was very moments in parts, dealing with family problems and middle age problems. However. the subjects they were covering were very serious and often the comedy wasn't really funny...it seemed more tragic than funny. Paul Rudd is always fun to watch, however, I found Leslie Mann's character very annoying and whinny. It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to stay married to her. Overall, I found the movie only mildly entertaining...but it's not worth the full admission price...wait for video.
Nov. 23, 2012	I can't believe that I went to see The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two. I went because it was the day after Thanksgiving and I wanted to spend time at the movies with my family. I had seen the first two Twilight movies. I really enjoyed the first one but wound up disliking the second one. Therefore, I skipped the other two sequels and waited for this one to see. It was a rather silly movie. It has too many sad faces, long-full looks, and whiny characters. This final movie also seemed to have turned the vampires into superheroes! They now have powers that would make them junior members of Marvel's The Avengers. One can create fire, one can put up a shield, and one can create an imaginary vision in your mind. And near the end, there is a moment that will conjure up memories of that season where CBS tried to bring Patrick Duffy back to the TV series Dallas after he had been gone for a year. I am certainly glad there are no more Twilight movies in the pipeline.
Nov. 11, 2012	Skyfall is the worst James Bond movie ever...I don't care what the critics say. It is depressing and illogical. Daniel Craig has no charm about him. He never smiles and certainly does not show any coolness. This movie has him aging, which also interferes with the James Bond myth (he doesn't age!). Everything that happens in the film does not use logic. I understand that we have to suspend belief sometimes to enjoy a film...but this movie takes that assumption to new heights. The writers and director wanted certain things to happen and they did...they didn't bother to worry about whether it was logical or not. And, once again, the computer becomes the magic bullet in solving anything. Apparently anything can be searched on the internet to get the answer you want...and, of course, there is that nerdy young hacker that can break into any system to get the information that is needed. The film is totally preposterous. I wanted to get out of the movie theater quick!
Nov 3, 2012	I went to Wreck It Ralph because I thought the movie was going to have a collection of characters from famous actual video games of the past. I did see one of the Pac-Man characters and someone from Super Mario, but that was about it. The other characters in the movie were sort of like copies of famous video game characters. I guess there was a problem in getting the rights to them. Nevertheless, the film was cute and rather heart-warming. However, some of the characters did get annoying...especially the little girl heroine who wanted to race. I really wanted this movie to be better!
Oct. 27, 2012	This is alway a problem with time travel movies...usually because things just don't make sense when you travel around in time and change things. Looper is no exception. I think my mind exploded trying to figure out how they could travel back and forth in time and not affect the past. It was as if this film didn't care for it to make sense. I guess that's OK and fine for some people who just want to have a good time at the movies and not think...and that's fine...I do it sometimes too. However, when the film is not that entertaining, one thinks about logic. I could have done without this film.
Oct. 15, 2012	Frankenwienie is a little twisted...which I love! This is Tim Burton's remake of a movie he did very early in his film-making life. The story of a boy who brings back his dead dog to life is quite a bit of fun. Not only is it a parody of the classic Frankenstein film, it also skewers Japanese monster movies. This film was worth my time and money...unlike most recent pictures that I have seen!
Oct. 14, 2012	Argo is a very exciting movie that's supposed to be based on a true story... WARNING...SPOILERS AHEAD! Apparently the entire first part is fairly factual. However, it is the end that spoils the whole film. The film shows these diplomatic workers escaping from Iran as a white knuckle experience...they almost get caught at the last minute by the Iranian police...the film even shows the police chasing the airplane down the tarmac at the airport in their vehicles. The workers barely escape!!!! However, the truth is that, by their own reports, the escape went rather smoothly with none of that happening. Knowing the truth, I find the ending to be cheesy and only believable had it been true.
Oct. 13, 2012	I think the only reason I went to see Pitch Perfect was because Adam Devine (from Workaholics) is in it. I love that TV show and I love his performance on the show. Thus, I expected the movie to be funny. Wrong! He plays the same type of character in the movie but without any of the lovability that's present in the TV show. The movie was rather flat...it didn't know whether it should be a straight out comedy or a drama about singing competition. This film should have went straight to video!
Oct.12, 2012	The new TV season is here and it does not look good. We have been sampling the new shows and they are all disappointing. The New Normal is snarky, Animal Practice is Immature, Ben and Kate is too self-conc ious, The Mindy Project is in hyper-drive, Guys with Kids and Partners are both unrealistic and unbelievable. I hold out hope for i, except that the ratings are low and it might be cancelled...I don't want to invest hours of my life on a show that eventually won't reveal its secrets. This philosophy also hold true for Revolution...another show that has secrets. Of all of the new shows, I think the worst is Neighbors...there is absolutely no talent in their writing! I always worry that returning shows might "jump the shark." However, Modern Family and The Middle are still good (except for that awful premiere show that The Middle had). Up All Night changed its premise a little, however, it is still an amusing show to me. Revenge is getting a little annoying...TOO MUCH is going on! The situations on that show are getting a little bit too contrived. I am looking forward to sampling Nashville...the word of mouth seems to imply that it might be a success.
Sept. 21, 2012	The TV fall season is upon us! Hurray...there's something on TV again besides reality shows and talent shows. Saturday Night Live was quite funny. Most of the sketches worked. They have someone new doing President Obama...but he wasn't very good. Something unthinkable happened on the show...they made a few digs at Obama! They usually never make fun of him. Maybe they finally realize there are some funny things one can write about him (how about his unrelenting reliance on teleprompters!). The Office was horrible. The premiere episode (which was written and directed by the show's creator, Greg Daniels) was the most unfunny and most rediculous episode ever of that series. The writing was absolutely lame. The characters have no resemblance any more to what they were when the series started. They are all buffons now doing the most crazy things. Up All Night, which was one of my favorite shows last season, has made a left turn. The show that Christina Applegate works on, Ava, has been cancelled. Her husband, which was a stay at home dad, had now returned to the workplace. It is like it is a different show (a very unfunny different show). The show used to center around Christina and her husband raising a child. The premiere episode had none of that in it. It is hard to believe the producers decided to change the nature of their show...perhaps the network butted in and felt it had to go in a different direction or they would not renew it...and, of course, the producers had to go along with what the network wanted (just a theory!).
Aug. 31, 2012	Even though The Possession was nothing more than an Exorcist repeat but with a different religion, it was still fairly scary and exciting. It certainly kept my interest. In regards to the claim that this is based on a true story, I believe they took quite a bit of artistic freedom is changing the facts around! There was a box...and the owner thought it was cursed...end of real story. "Hmmm..." said the director, "let's put an exorcism somewhere in the narrative!"
Aug. 27, 2012	The Expendables 2 would have been more fun if they mocked themselves a little more. These old-time action stars are way past their prime in doing this sort of stuff and they should have laughed at themselves doing what they were doing. However, they all took themselves a little too seriously...there was too much heroism taking place without anyone getting hurt or running out of ammunition. They only time it seemed to be fun is when Chuck Norris showed up...his performance felt like he realized what the joke should be. I disliked the first Expendables...I don't know why I expected to enjoy this sequel!
Aug. 11, 2012	I found The Campaign to be on the disappointing side. There were a few funny moments (mainly during the first 30 minutes) but most of the movie was annoying. It was far to preachy. The main thought the film makers were trying to make was that money can buy an election (not 100% true...just ask Meg Whitman). But rather than subtly make that point, they pounded it into the whole movie over and over again. We got there point...matter of fact, we didn't need the movie to tell us that...most of us know that already. As far as Will Ferrell, he was doing his Anchorman routine. Zach Galifianakis was funny but only at the beginning of the film. However, I am surprised, knowing that in real life that Will Ferrell is a liberal democrat, that the republican candidate in the film came out eventually as the nice guy!
Aug. 4, 2012	If there ever was a film with TOO MUCH action, it is Total Recall (2012). It felt like every moment during the film, someone was either being beaten up, being shot at, jumping off roofs, or driving crazy. After awhile it got a little boring due to the repition of the action. Allright...jumping from one elevator to another is exciting the first one or two times, but not after they do it over and over and over again. The story is very interesting (it's about the ability to voluntarily plant memories in your brain) but it was pushed aside to make room for the action sequences. I guess I will have to take a look at Arnold's Total Recall...I seem to remember I enjoyed that version.
July 24, 2012	I usually don't see indy films, but I did go to see Safety Not Guaranteed, a quirky but sweet film about a group of magazine writers who investigate the person that originated an ad in a newspaper asking for companions to join him in his time-travel trip. As they track down the person, the mystery unfolds and keeps one interested. Along the way, we learn about the characters and what makes them do what they do. And unlike most indy films that don't have an ending (that's why I don't go to indy films)...this one has an ending! Overall, a very satisfying movie.
July 22, 2012	Before seeing The Dark Knight Rises, I wish had re-watched the first two films in this trilogy. I didn't know that this third part would depend a lot of knowing what went on before. I had thought it would be more self-contained and self explanatory. Nevertheless, after getting confused during the start of the film, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It certainly does seem to take a position on people who want to take over Wall Street and take control of society so they can run it their way. Batman (and the police) to the rescue!
July 13, 2012	The reboot of Spiderman was completely unnecessary. The first on, directed by Sam Raimi, was exhilarating. This new one just lies there flat...nothing of the film is memorable. I remember that in the first one, when Spiderman was swinging thru the streets with his web, one could almost feel it...one could see what he was seeing. This new version, the flying scenes are hard to get involved with...basically because they are filmed in shorter edited sequences and too close up. And the story...this time is was...well, quite forgettable.
June 28, 2012	Did I really go and see a Tyler Perry Madea movie?? Yes, I did! I saw Madea' s Witness Protection today and I found it to be quite funny. I have always avoided Madea movies...probably because it is aimed more for a black audience. I have seen other movies aimed for a black audience and I usually don't find them that funny. However, this movie was a lot of fun. Tyler Perry does a great impersonation of a no nonsence black woman. And both white people and black people were equally spoofed. As far as performances are concerned, I really felt that Denise Richards not only did a bad acting job, she also looks pretty bad...whatever facelift she had done has made her mouth into a perpetual frown.
June 23, 2012	Was Brave a Pixar film? It sure didn't feel like it. This movie's main character was a whiney spoiled girl that was rather unlikable. The other characters did not have too much to like about them. Where was the humor? Pixar films always have two levels of humor...one for the kids, and one for the adults. This film had neither. It took forever to get going, and once it did, the story was quite uninteresting. This is Pixars worst film ever and one of the worst films of the year!
June 22, 2012	Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter turned out to be a lot of fun. It was great how they combined real history with the premise that Lincoln was a secret Vampire Killer. The re-enactments of civil war battles were rather impresive even though a lot of CGI were used. The action finale of the film, although rather perposterous, was done with flair and excessiveness...but in a good way!
June 17, 2012	Madagascar 3 has become the most enjoyable picture so far this year forme. It was 90 minutes of pure fun. This is one of those pictures where the jokes come every second and much of the humor is aimed at the adults in he audience. I really love movies that are written on two levels...one for the kids to enjoy (funny visuals and action) and one for the parents to enjoy (satire and sarcasm). This is an excellent picture for all to enjoy!
June 12, 2012	Men in Black 3 was funny...Josh Brolin's performance as a young Tommy Lee Jones was the best part of the film. However, despite having a good time watching the movie, I felt they went a little overboard with alien creatures this time...there was too many of them...it was like the producers wanted to play witth CGI and do as much as they could. And as with all movies that deal with time travel, logic gets all screwed up and notorious time travel paradoxes arise which, if one is not careful, can short-circuit the brain!
June 9, 2012	I was really excited to see Prometheus, a movie that was supposed to be a prequel of some sorts to Alien. The visuals were exciting...and that is all that was exciting. The movie bogs down with nagging questions of why each character is doing what he is doing (a geologist, on a different planet, wants to go back to the ship and not look at the rocks!!! and he gets lost!!!). There are too many plot holes. And why in the world did the director hire a young actor to play a man that is extremely old...the "old" makeup looked completely phony). This whole movie seems like a mess.
May 27, 2012	The Chenobyl Diaries turned out to be one of the scariest films i have seen in many many years. I jumped in my seat several times. The movie is done quite realistically...there are no overly mutated animals (just a little bit mutated!). The situation the characters are stuck in is realistic and could happen and the action is believable. The film's direction helped a lot in drawing the viewer in. Most of the shots were group shots...the camera followed them during their experiences...we could watch the character that we wanted...it really felt like we were part of the group. The movie was not ruined by constant close-ups of faces and hands and insconsequential objects. Ahhh, if only more film directors understood how important wide shots are in order to pull in the viewer!
May 20, 2012	What to Expect When you are Expecting should have been done as a straight comedy. The previews of the film led one to expect just that. However, the execution of the movie was not that. The movie would go back and forth from being a silly comedy to a serious drama. There were very few likable people in the movie. And Chris Rock was so out of place. His character was one that belong to a group of Dads who would meet in the part each day with the brood. It was hard to believe that this urban wise character would hang out with a bunch of yuppie dads. The movie tried to take on all the problems that is discussed in the pregnacy book...thus it tackled too many people and too many ideas. However, as I said at the beginning of this reveiw, its main downfall was the back and forth between serious drama and silly comedy.
May 19, 2012	Don't go to see The Dictator if you are offended easily. I think every group is made fun of. This is not a politically correct film. Although stereotyping is made fun of in this film, much of the stereotyping runs true (and I guess that's why it is so funny). Overall, I found this film to be quite entertaining...it is short (under 90 minutes) and that helps it from wearing out its welcome. The only quibble I have with this film that suddenly, near the end, it gets political and expresses a viewpoint that is being discussed currently in American politics...I found it to be preachy and very one-sided.
May 12, 2012	Ever since Tim Burton's horrible Planet of the Apes and his equally horrible Willie Wonka, I have had a real adversion to see any more of his films. His reliance on quick edits and extreme closeups annoy me. However, I did go out to see his new film Dark Shadows...and I was plesantly surprised by the amusing story and by Burton's use of two-shots and extended scenes. The movie is rather humorous and since the premise is a vampire coming to life again 200 years later in 1972, there is a lot of pop culture jokes and sarcasm.
May 5, 2012	The Avengers was a big dud to me. The only thing that got me through the movie was the Hulk...his character, that is when he was the Hulk, and not the doctor who he actually is, was comical and interesting. The rest of the superheroes were extremely boring...there were a couple I didn't even know existed...e.g. the guy with the arrows and Poison Ivy! The basic problem I had with this film is that one began to realize anything could happen, even if it was impossible...therefore the superheros could escape any situation and solve any problem with little effort...there was no thinking and no "How are they going to get out of that situation?" feeling throughout the film. For instance, when Robert Downey falls from his penthouse suite, hurtling towards the pavement to face certain death, why, of course, he has a standby Iron Man suit that automatically flies out from the closet, flies directly towards the falling Downey, pinpoints his position, and attaches to Downey within a few seconds. If that can happen, then none of the superheros are ever in danger! I think there still should be a distinction between comic books and movies...this movie was 100% comic book.
April 21, 2012	The Three Stooges movie is a lot of fun. The 3 stars of the film do a absolutely marvelous portrayal of them. The production of the movie is set-up like you're watching three interelated shorts. Each section begins with the 3 Stooges music accompanied by a typical title that would be on the shorts. The schtick that they do is right out of one of their shorts...eye-poking, hammer hitting, etc. The best sequence is when the three of them have to get into a hospital---classic Three Stooges. The only thing that did bother me was near the end of the movie when everything began to get repetitious...good thing the movie was only 90 minutes long!
April 15, 2012	After seeing Titanic (in 3-D) I have come to the conclusion that this film is one of the greatest of all time. It was exciting this time as it was for me 15 years ago. The 3-D process gave it even more life because of the high definition in the picture quality (digital projection has come a real long way...and it seems to be all good). James Cameron knows how to direct action scenes...the last 45 minutes of the film is overwhelming as he photographs the panic on the ship. Scenes of water gushing thru hallways and flooding the ship are amazing. As a director, I admire his ability to show whole scenes...not just close-ups and quick edits as so many directors do today. Because of the long scenes and minimal close-ups, one can see this movie over and over again, and see something new. I have also come to the conclusion that Titanic might be my favorite film of all time. If all the films on my list of "All Time Classic Movies" were equally available (e.g. Porgy and Bess cannot be seen currently... How the West Was Won must be seen in Cinerama), I think Titanic would be my choice to watch first.
April 14, 2012	I was really looking forward to seeing horror film Cabin in the Woods. Since I didn't want to spoil my experience with pre-conceived notions of the film, I read no reviews or summaries of the story. Well, it didn't really turn out to be a horror film...it was more like a fantasy/science fiction film. Filed under the category of "what the heck is going on" this film had something to do with the "gods" wanting a sacrifice and something to do with making a reality show for those gods. Logic was thrown to the wind and events left unexplained. I later discovered that one of the writers of this film also wrote for "Lost"... a show that suffered the same problems...no logic with few explanations. This film was a huge disappointment.
April 1, 2012	Mirror, Mirror is supposed to be a retelling of the Snow White story. However, very little was retained from the fairy tale. The only things familiar were seven dwarves and a mirror. The poison apple didn't even come in until the very end...and that seemed like an after thought. The star.....was annoying and whinny. She was not a very good actress. I don't understand why they chose her for the part...he skin wasn't white at all and she wasn't very beautiful. The seven dwarves were quite obnoxious. I kept getting the feeling that the cast all had a good time making the film, laughing among themselves and complimenting themselves on how cute they all looked, but overlooking the fact that they should be concentrating on end result and what an average audience viewer would be thinking.
March 24, 2012	I went to see The Hunger Games knowing nothing about the story...I only knew that it was a hugely popular book. I was quite intrigued with the experience of seeing a movie of which I didn't even know the plot. I found the hunting plot interesting (although it has been done before) and I also was fascinated by the world and future civilization the story took place in. However, the execution of the film by the director was abysmal. Almost everything was done in close-up. We even had close-ups of the horses' faces and closeups of their feet trotting. It also was extremely hard to examine what the people were like in the main city...the director constantly cut from one scene to another. Some cuts were less than a second long. A lot of money must have been spent on costumes and hair-dos, but they were all hard to examine and see.
March 18, 2012	I've only seen seven movies this year and 21 Jump Street has become my favorite so far. A comedy based on the old TV series, the movie a creative action comedy starring two great players, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The school that they have to infiltrate is definitely 2011, however, remembering back to my long-ago high school days, I can see that the high school environment has basically not changed that much! The clothes are different, drugs (we had alcohol) are different, music is different, but the social scene stays the same...popular jocks, shy nerds, and the ever present prom night. A very funny movie that I totally enjoyed.
March 4, 2012	Ugh! Friends With Kids is marriage life as imagined by the Hollywood Elite. After seeing this film, if one didn't live in the real world, one might think that marriage is an awful state to be in, kids are nothing more than annoying pets, and that love is the same as sex. It feels that this movie was written by someone who was never married...and, it turns out, it was! Hollywood has become so distanced from the real world of middle class people that they think their world is mainstream. The average family loves their kids, cannot afford nannies, believe in the commitment of marriage, and understands that real love between two people is not just an expression that can be only conveyed in the act of sex.
Feb. 29, 2012	Hooray for Act of Valor ...finally a movie that celebrates America's servicemen with no apologies. The film is very patriotic. The enemies are jihadists! So many recent war and espionage films out of Hollywood recently seem to want to ignore the fact that our enemy right now is Islamic extremists...these other movies create enemies which are Russians or Neo-Nazis...a little bit unbelievable in these times. The movie is acted by actual Navy Seals. The acting is not top notch but just knowing that these performers have actually done what they are portraying is enough to make one forgive the stilted acting. The movie has only been out one week and it has already grossed more than those other apologetic Hollywood war films. I hope it makes much more!
Feb. 26, 2012	I didn't watch the Academy Awards this year...I had no interested in the films that they nominated. However, I did watch the opening by Billy Crystal...what a bore and flop that turned out to be. I think Billy Crystal is getting a little too full of himself...I think he has become one of those people that think, since he is in such demand, that everything he says MUST be funny...well it isn't. And the people that surround him are of course too intimidated to tell him that his jokes are not working. One of the big reasons his opening didn't work was that no one saw most of the films he was parodying...I didn't get 90% of it...it had to be explained to me by someone who saw the films.
Feb. 25, 2912	Wanderlust seems like a film that should have been made in the 60's or 70's. It's all about a couple who has gotten in over the heads trying to live the good life in New York City...they lose everything and then they wind up living on a hippie commune. All the old lessons are there....although the hippie commune looks like paradise where everything is shared and everybody is happy because they love each other, the actuality is that the hippie commune has their own internal problems. We learn that civilization is still better that communes!
Feb. 19, 2012	Chronicle is about about a bunch of teenagers who happen to acquire (don't ask how!) superhuman powers and how they use them. It's a rather interesting premise. Teenagers are going thru a lot and they have a lot of personal problems...the movie reflects that in showing how these kids use those powers to improve thier teenage lives. One of the kids is quite screwed up and the movie does climax in an amazing few moments of teenage angst destroying things! The movie turned out to quite interesting and exciting.
Jan 28, 2012	The Grey is more of a art house independent film. Even though this film deals with plane crashes, brutal killings, fights to the deaths, and survival skills, this film also tries to tackle big human subjects that are usually confined to those pictures found at the art house cineplex. Questions about the existence of God, lost loved ones, and deep thinking about the reason for life permeate this movie. Liam Neeson's character is supposed to be the "hero" and the deepest thinker among the group of men that must fend off a vicious pack of wolves. However, he doesn't seem too smart. In my opinion, almost every decision he makes for the group's survival is not the right one. Near the beginning of the film, he has the group move away from the open area of the plane crash (where search planes could see them) to the forested area where he insists they would have a better chance to fight the wolves...(in the trees?...with wolves?...I don't think so). Another compounding mistake of the film, was to save money on the depiction of the wolves...they did not look real. They are supposed to be the centerpiece of the fear and danger permeating the men's lives. However, on film, they looked fake and thus, took away for the seemingly reality of the film. Please, Hollywood, start making better films...I really would like to go every week!
Jan. 14, 2012	I love going to the movies...but, really, it is hard to find a movie worth going to. When I put down $10 for a ticket I want to be wowed and thrilled. Otherwise, I can wait for the movie to be shown on cable or on DVD. Thus, my movie going has almost ground to a halt. However, I did push myself out of the house to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I got part of my money's worth in the length! It was almost 2 1/2 hour long! I can't say that I was bored, but it could have been shorter. The story, at times, was hard to follow...too many names mentioned and it was hard to keep track. Once again, a movie used the computer as a "magic bullet." So many problems were just solved by going to the computer and getting information or hacking into a site. After the movie was over, I felt I had a OK time but hours later I kept thinking how so much of the movie was impossible or, at the least, improbable.