Star Trek

It's taken me longer than I expected to write up my review for Star Trek and I blame these damn spring allergies. It reminds me of that episode of Original Trek where the crew gets a dose of Alien pollen causing everyone on-board, except Kirk, to be lazy asses. I have seen the new film twice now and I am determined to fight through this and get my damn review. Before seeing Star Trek I was nervous about what J.J. Abrams and company were going to do with my beloved Trek. I can call it my Star Trek because, like the Yankees, it has been passed down Father to son. My Dad did it right too he started me off with The Wrath of Khan. As soon as I saw Kirk (William Shatner) walking out of the light and into the simulator room I was hooked forever. I truly loved these characters but as I grew I realized that not everyone saw the crew the same way I did. This became abundantly clear when I showed my wife The Wrath of Khan. Let's just say the reaction was far different than mine. How could she hate this I thought to myself--doesn't she get the sheer awesomeness of Captain Kirk and company. Sure they can be a little melodramatic and talky. So what, it doesn't mean it's any less great. She tried to be nice but I knew I couldn't get her into it. It was frustrating but now I can say all of that is now in the past/ As I write this I can happily say that J.J. Abrams has done what no other Trek writer/Director could do, he has convinced my wife that Star Trek, put simply, is--Awesome.A vengeful Romulan miner named Nero (Eric Bana) finds himself time traveling back to the early part of the 23rd century and proceeds to blow shit up thus creating an alternate Trek universe. We are shown the backstory for both Kirk and Spock and how they have been affected by Nero's actions. Kirk, (Chris Pine) tries to rebound from his fractured childhood by joining Starfleet. Spock (Zachary Quinto) finds his loyalties are torn between his Father's (Ben Cross) homeworld on Vulcan and his Mother's (Winona Ryder) on Earth.I truly enjoyed the fast pace and snappy dialogue. If you are a fan of the original show the characters are true to their original incarnations and I can even say that some of the smaller character roles have actually been improved upon. Like Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) all got a bit more to do in the new film. Chekov, especially, got some fun comedic moments reminicent of the old show. Kirk, Spock, McCoy (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg) were always well defined in the original show, as they are here. Plus it was great fun watching Karl Urban's crotchety McCoy. It was a nice tribute to Deforest Kelly, who originated the role. Chris Pine has breathed new life into Captain Kirk in ways I wasn't expecting. He has the arrogance with an added chip on his shoulder. Not to mention his constant randiness. This guy is always looking to get laid. Pine really pushes the accelerator on Kirk's personality. He's got the smarts and the instincts to get the job done. Especially in the training seminar scene. I won't go into too much detail but it was a blast watching the legend unfold. Pine is unflappable, funny and nails the scene. As much as I love William Shatner, I really felt this kid filled his shoes perfectly without skipping a beat. The pacing is fast but you do get some great moments in the begining with the origin stories and between the crew members especially between Uhura and Spock. I also really loved Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), who provides leadership and guidance to his young crew. Also I really appreciated the scenes with, as they call him, Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy). There have been many objections to Nimoy's appearance in the film but I felt that when the movie changed something from the original continuity Spock Prime was there to set the record straight. In a sense he was there for the die-hard Trek fans. He was the comforting hand that asks us to be patient and to try to go along with it. For the most part I think the strategy worked.I truly did love this movie, front to back, but there were a few things that just didn't work. For starters what was the point of the creatures on the ice planet. Kirk is stranded on an ice planet and is pursued by a big nasty monster creature that eventually get's eaten by an even larger creature. That felt a bit too much like Empire Strikes Back or the Phantom Menace. I get that they want non-stop action but this sequence was really unecessary. Also Kirk got promoted through the ranks pretty quickly. Now this didn't bother me that much--I get it. But it was a bit of a stretch for him to go to cadet to first officer without ever serving on a ship before. I also didn't think the last sequence where Spock Prime reveals himself to Young Spock was that necessary? I was always told it was a bad thing to encounter yourself while time travelling, something about the space time continuem being distrupted thereby destroying life as we know it. Words of wisdom I think.This was a great ride and it truly pumped new life into this series. It was a great homage to the show and it really paid tribute to the best film in the series, The Wrath of Khan. I really can't wait to see what they'll do with the sequel. So if you are looking for a great slam-bam action flick with awesome characters and some great Space battles, then go and check this one out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Grade 5 Buckets

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The Summer Movie Blockbusters have begun and I actually got to see the first one on time. In some ways I almost wish I had been a little late. I knew going in that Wolverine was getting bad reviews and that most critics believed it to be lacking what some may call a plot. But I thought what the hell, I'll take a chance. Wolverine ended the weekend at 87 million but, honestly, I think they could have made 80 million if Hugh Jackman ran half naked through the movie just yelling with his eyebrow slightly raised. Cause that's almost what this was.This is supposed to be Wolverine's big origin story about Weapon X and when he was born and so forth. We see Wolvie as a cub, for some un-explainable reason, he is ill and his father, who looks like Hugh Jackman, is concerned. In less than a minute there is an arguement and some guy, who kind of looks like Liev Schreiber, has apparently killed Wolvie's pop and acknowledges that the guy dead on the ground, who looks like Hugh Jackman, is actually not Wolverine's father. --Huh?-- Little Wolvie is so angry that he stabs to death his new found daddy with his bony claws and runs off with his new brother, the stable boy, Victor. Begin war montage now. This has to be the most convuluted and idiotic origin I have ever seen. What was the purpose of any of this other than to establish that Wolverine and Sabertooth, aka. Victor Creed, are brothers. I know they cribbed that from Wolverine's Origin comic book but my question is why? There is a larger story there but I guess they weren't interested in telling that story in detail. Which is the overall problem with this movie they tell bits and pieces of stories from the comics but never fully flesh them out to have them make sense in the context of the film. Which brings me back to the war montage--it looked kind of cool--Civil War, World War 1, WW2, Vietnam -- but was that it, is that all they have done with their immortality? What did they do between wars?I will say most of the action pieces were entertaining but given that almost everyone fighting is un-killable it kind of takes the suspense out of the scenes. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was really fun--for the ten minutes he was on screen. And I won't go into the mess they make of his character near the end of the film. Of course we get to see the young William Stryker (Danny Huston) spend billions of dollars making Wolverine indestructable then quickly turning on him after the operation with the intent to kill. Again, wha? What was the point of spending all of that money on Adamantium if you weren't gonna let him use it? In the end it was a showcase of characters you recognize from the comics, all thrown in for shits and giggles, but given nothing of real substance to do. The Blob (Kevin Durand), John Wraith (Will.i.Am), Emma Frost/White Queen (Tahyna Tozzi), Cyclops (Tim Pocock), Silver Fox/Kayla (Lynn Collins), Bolt (Dominic Monaghan), Zero (Daniel Henney) and Gambit (Taylor Kitsch). We got to see a hint of their power so we can say oh, yeah cool mark him/her off the list and then we move on. This is not how they should be making comic book movies. I would have thought Producer Hugh Jackman would have at least understood this. The crazy thing about the whole endeavor is that I really enjoyed Sabertooth/Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) in fact he was the bright spot of the whole movie. The only problem -- how does this version of Victor Creed fit into the continuity of the other films? As my friend Cody pointed out to me -- Liev is way smaller than Tyler Mane from the first movie and of course looks nothing like him. But Tyler Mane's Sabertooth was a brutish idiot who spoke two lines. Wolverine's Sabertooth was brutal sure but he didn't seem like a fool--not to mention he was a little blabby. In my humble opinion they should have just re-booted the X-series. Start out fresh and tell the story right for Christ-sakes. From the looks of the after-credit scenes it looks like they will be re-visiting Wolverine in Japan--could be cool just this time keep out the mutants that don't belong there ok.If you are looking for some mindless action and some pretty so-so special effects go and see Wolverine. If you are in any way invested in the character or the previous films I would avoid it like the plague because you will be disappointed.
Grade 2 and a half buckets

The Soloist

Because of my wife's impending Comps I decided to be chivalrous and let her choose the movie of the week. I was campaigning hard for State of Play, and she seemed interested at first, but ultimately she fell under the sway of the brilliant loon Jaimie Foxx. Now in my book you can't ever go wrong with Robert Downey Jr. but something about this movie just didn't interest me. Ultimately I blame the trailers they were terrible. They were overdramatic and pandered too much for Oscar consideration. But as I walked out of the theatre I discovered that I really enjoyed the movie much more than I thought I would. It is definitely the best film so far for Director Joe Wright, at least in my book. It's half bio-pic and half social awareness film. The movie deals with Psychosis and homelessness and the detrimental effects of thousands of people living in poverty on the streets of LA.Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) hears classical music coming from behind a statue of Beethoven. He discovers a homeless man, Nathanial Ayers (Jamie Foxx) playing a violin on two strings. Lopez strikes up what one could call a conversation with the very intelligent but frenetic musician. Lopez takes a liking to him as he sets out to write a human interest story. Ayers attended Julliard but over time became lost in a sea of paranoia and madness. They become friends, in a sense, as Steve tries to help Nathanial to find his way off the streets and back into his musical career.The premise is pretty cut and dried. Lopez tries to understand this extremely gifted homeless man and how he could have ended up on the streets. Honestly it reminded me a lot of the Fisher King. Which is a far better film by the way. If you haven't seen it go and rent it. Directed by Terry Gilliam starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. If you want to see a decent into madness, you won't find a better film than the Fisher King. The homeless shelter scenes, in the Soloist, I thought brought out the best elements of the film. You had some real characters in there but all felt true to life and I think it was a powerful thing to see. Also the performances from Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx were excellent, especially Downey with his sarcastic banter that never gets old. I also loved Catherine Keener, as Steve's ex-wife and editor, even though they didn't give her enought screen time. She was mostly relegated to holding the kleenex for Downey when he couldn't deal with Nathanial's unwillingness to help himself. The main problem I had with the film was the execution of the flashbacks and the directors attempt to crawl inside Nathanial's deranged mind. Both were awkward attempts. And even though there were quite a few scenes that I felt were overly melodramatic I didn't think the Director was trying to make a cookie cutter film. I won't give away the ending but I appreciate that he didn't have Steve solve all of Nathanial's problems for him or that Nathanial had some kind of quick happy ending recovery at the end. It was realistic and it got the point across about these two men and how they inspire each other.Tamar of course loved the movie--I think it's because she's a sucker for classical music--which they play throughout the film. Speaking of music they played a horrible version of Mr. Bojangles by Neil Diamond in the film. I don't ever remember hearing this version before and I think I realize why. Ugh, it just makes me cringe thinking about Neil D doing his talky croon thing mangling the life out of that great song. Now you would think a movie about musical inspiration would avoid putting a song this bad in their film. Nevertheless it was funny watching Robert Downey trying to dance to it. So if you can't get into Wolverine this coming weekend this is a nice drama with Downey in full on, "charm the pants off" mode. Plus there is a great scene where he's trying to get rid of a groundhog--I think my friend Q should take some notes for her Mom.

Grade: 3 Buckets

Observe and Report

Saturday started off on a bad note when I turned on the TV to see my beloved Yankees getting reamed in just the second inning. When it got to 14 runs I just shook my head and turned the TV off. Since I couldn't bear to watch my team blow yet another home game by double digits I was determined to go see something funny. Tamar was busy with her crafting stuff so I figured I could go and see something really juvenile, with gross out humor. At least that is what I thought I was seeing. This was definitely different from most mainstream films--it certainly felt more like an Indie. This was Paul Blart Mall Cop meets Taxi Driver. And I'm not saying Paul Blart to compare the two films--the only thing that connects Observe and Report to Paul Blart is that they both revolve around stupid Mall Cops but after that all bets are off. Observe's Ronny is a disturbed/paranoid gun nut who has the same sense of self-righteousness as Travis Bickle and it is intense.Ronny (Seth Rogan) is the head of security at the local mall. He is joined by his motley crew of Mall cops, his right hand man Dennis (Michael Pena), the Yuen Twins (John & Matt Yuen) and newbie Charles (Jessie Plemmons). Ronny is obsessively trying to track down a serial streaker who has made it personal for Ronny when he reveals his bits and pieces to Ronny's would-be girlfriend Brandi (Anna Faris). Ronny also has trouble from the Conway Police Department and Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta). Ronny wants to be a cop and the only thing, in his mind, getting in his way is Harrison and his snooping around Ronny's mall.The movie is funny as hell no question especially the back and forth between Ronny and the patrons at the mall. Ronny is not politically correct in almost any situation. As one of the funnier sequences with actor Aziz Ansari who Ronny calls Saddamn. Is it American History X uncomfortable? Not quite, but the filmmakers definitely like to put a foot over the line every chance they get. Director/Writer Jody Hill must have a soft spot for dumb rednecks with misplaced confidence because this is now the third time one has headlined one of his productions. The first was dumb karate loving honky Fred Simmons (Danny McBride) from The Foot Fist Way. The second is potty mouth ex-baseball player and all around douche bag Kenny Powers for HBO's Eastbound and Down. Out of the three of them Ronny is by far the most tolerable. I'm usually from the school of, "If your main character is unlikable in almost every way the audience will more than likely not show up." The obvious reason being because if you can't give a shit about the guy why are you watching his story in the first place. But somehow Hill and his cohorts have been successful at this formula. The fact that there are some damn funny moments in all of these productions helps I'm sure. Ronny at least seems to have a sense of right and wrong but his bi-polar nature pushes him to act out when things don't go his way.Ray Liotta, Michael Pena and Celia Weston as Mom truly helped to balance out this dark comedy. Anna Faris has to be careful though she plays yet another vapid blonde chick not unlike her Brittany Spears character, Samantha James, in Just Friends. I think she's capable of doing more but until then she can sleepwalk through these roles and collect a paycheck for as long as she likes. Seth Rogan however really showed some chops that I haven't seen before. Yes Ronny is funny and stupid not unlike Rogan's cop character from Superbad. But as the movie unfolds you get to see more layers as Ronny slowly ticks away like a time bomb. He gets bad advice from his drunk Mother and he seems to be coming dangerously close to losing his sense of reality. Rogan also showed that he can throw a punch. He beats the shit out of some skater kids smashing boards over their heads with glee. He also gets a great sequence kicking some drug dealer ass. Danny McBride makes his cameo appearance as he has the unfortunate duty of being on the receiving end of this gangland stomping. Overall the movie was funny and extremely offensive. If you have a sensitive disposition Observe and Report is not for you. But if this doesn't bother you then what the hell are you waiting for? It's much better than Paul Blart: Mall Cop this I can assure you. Actually that should be the sequel Ronny Barnhardt vs. Paul Blart. Kevin James would be a greasy smear on the pavement after about five minutes.

Grade: 3 Buckets

Duplicity

Happy Easter/Passover to everyone! It's been a busy couple of weeks but I think things are getting back to normal. My parents came up for the Holidays and my Mom got to experience her first Seder meal. The dinner turned out great and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. But it ended up being a pretty dreary and windy weekend. So since we couldn't do much outdoors we decided to go see a movie. I really wanted to see Observe and Report and oddly my Dad was interested in seeing it too. But my Mom put the kabosh on that idea. She thought it was going to be vile and disgusting. Hell I wasn't going to argue I knew it absolutely was and honestly I wasn't too pumped to see that kind of movie with my parents anyway. So we ended up seeing Duplicity instead. It is well written and sharply paced and Tony Gilroy really brings a sense of fun to the movie. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have great chemistry and it shows in this slick Ocean's 11 style heist movie.Roy Koval (Clive Owen) is a former MI-6 spy. Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) is a former agent for the CIA. The story weaves from their past together as agents to their present as corporate spies working together to steal a new top secret product that could make them millions. The only problem is can they trust one another to get the job done? On one side you have corporate Mogul Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) who is trying desperately to hold onto his secret formula. On the other you have CEO Richard Garsik (Paul Giamatti), a paranoid, and seedy exec who wants desperately to discover Tully's secret formula. Tully hires Claire to protect it and Garsik hires Roy to steal it. As you can tell there is a lot of backstabbing and moving and counter-moving. Some of the flashbacks make the story a little more confusing then it needs to be. But you do get a payoff for the flashbacks in the end.I'm always a sucker for a good heist movie like Ocean's 11 or the Sting. You have the Set-up and the Hook, which is the most fun, as you make your mark. In this case Claire and Roy seem to be deeply in love with one another yet their occupations make it difficult for them to truly trust one another. Although there were times with all of this scheming where I was thinking that Roy and Claire were not really that great at their jobs. Especially Roy who seems to really mess up a lot. Danny Ocean he aint. They certainly had the wit and ego for what they do but they both seemed bumbly throughout and maybe that's the point. I'm not entirely sure. But it was fun watching Giamatti squirm it reminded me a bit of his Pig Vomit role from the Howard Stern movie. It's a cute movie with great back and forth banter but that's pretty much about all you can say. It's not bad it's not great but it was enjoyable forgettable fluff.

Grade: 3 Buckets