Hitchcock

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In limited release is the new Anthony Hopkins flick, Hitchcock.    It as it would be, this is a story about film making great Alfred Hitchcock at the time he was making his classic, Psycho in 1959 and 1960.

This film deals with Hitchcock's absolute obsession with making what would become the groundbreaking horror flick.  Psycho of course, was a different kind of movie for the era, basically becoming the first "slasher" flick.  Although it is incredibly tame by today's standards, it was huge at the time and scared people to death.  But the classic shower scene still holds up well as far as begin scary is concerned.  Psycho changed movies forever in numerous ways, and Hitchcock was the one bold enough to know that this was to become more than just a movie.

Hopkins is great as Hitchcock in about every way.  He looks like the icon, and sounds like him too.  In this picture he is in conflict with his wife Alma (Helen Mirren).   They have been married for decades, and she of course is a screenwriter in Hollywood too.  There are years of resentment, and jealousy coming to a head as Alfred becomes incredibly obsessed with this picture and it's young and beautiful star, Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson).

Even though they let us in on some of the nuances behind the making of  Psycho, this movie is generally about how making this movie affected his personal life with Alma.  This is not a "trivia" movie. Yes, they address some of the roadblocks and secrets associated with Psycho.  One slight bombshell for some may be that the book Psycho was actually based in part, on a true story from Wisconsin.  But Psycho was not  completely true, but based on real a real guy arrested by terrible crimes named Ed Gein.

This is a very nice picture that hopefully will find some success.  It boasts a great cast that also has Jessica Biel as Vera Miles (also in Psycho)  and Toni Collette as Hitchcock's trusted assistant, Peggy.  Collette is terrific in her small role, as are Johansson and Biel.   Through the magic of makeup and costuming, these women are transported back in time and look stunningly authentic as 1960 ish Hollywood beauties.  They each own small roles that they really took charge of.  All very good.   Johansson and Biel both look amazingly like Leigh and Miles.  

I can't think of a movie that Helen Mirren has made lately that she hasn't been great in.  She and Hopkins give command performances here and develop a wonderful chemistry that is palpable.  Both are outstanding.  This move also sports a respectable supporting cast, and really terrific sets and costuming.   I always think it's fun to be sent back to the golden Hollywood age in movies when done well, and this is.  This movie is quick and tidy at 95 minutes and very well conceived and edited.  Just like a real Hitchcock movie from his era.

Hitchcock. There is nothing not to love about this movie

Grown ups 2

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This could quite possibly be the shortest movie review of all time, the new Adam Sandler sequel comedy, Grown Ups 2.

This again is star studded with all the original suspects back from first film, and a ton of cameo "performances"  from many pop culture scenes.   It's the same basic premise, these four guy friends from childhood all now live back in their small home town and are reliving  their youth all over again.  Plot?  There really is none, this is simply a block of SNL type skits, welded together in a 100 minute movie. 

This is complete with humor that will make a 10 year old laugh uncontrollably.   Plenty of poop jokes, and sight gags you would rather not see.  Lots of puke too, and scads of face near the rear end shots too, just for giggles.   Lots of 5th grade stuff that gets old very quickly.   I get it, I was 10 once and of course that was hilarious then.  But a whole lot of this is targeted at those 40 plus, as our characters are about that age, and the soundtrack is clearly out of the 1980's.   The music soundtrack is actually pretty good here, would be a good one for your collection.

Honest observation here.  The 10-12 year olds that packed the theater last night were laughing a ton during this movie. The even clapped when it was over.   So, all the poop jokes and gags worked.   But a little bit of this goes a long way.   Oh, there are some funny moments here and some clever dialogue from time to time, but  not enough to save the day.  There is nothing really different from the first movie, and I did ask a few patrons when we were leaving and all of them said the original was funnier, and better. 

In the end, this actually may end up on many year end lists as one of the worst movies of the year.  It certainly is near the top so far. 

Grown Ups 2.   Nothing new here.   Same stuff.

Riddick

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In yet another installment of the Riddick movies, here comes Riddick.   The first was in 2000 that spawned a sequel or two, and video games as well.  For those late to the party, this is more futuristic Sci-Fi.

Vin Diesel stars as Riddick, an escaped con, murderer, and a man with special powers and abilities that make him awesome and tough to catch as he is a fugitive from justice.   What powers?  To be honest, not really very important, as this is simply a bunch of silliness all the way around.

In this installment, Riddick has been left for dead on a barren planet, but of course he is not dead.  He is trying to survive a horrible planet escaping attacks by huge hyena-type dogs, and huge dinosaur like monsters.  And of course he does.   He then raises a hyena-type dog as a pet and they strike out on an adventure to a part of the planet that seems more inhabitable.  There he finds an outpost station where he fires off a survival beacon.  Then two rival bounty hunter troops fly down on space ships to try to collect Riddick and the huge reward that goes along with it.  But of course, he is too much for two heavily armed troops with space ships and 11 bounty hunters.  Will he survive and get off this planet?  I'm guessin' yes.

Yes, there is a bit more to the story than just this, but not really much.   There isn't much about this that is interesting.  Oh, there is some kind of sexual-chemistry between Riddick and one of the bounty hunters named Dahl, (Katy Sackhoff,) an amazingly buxom, tough as nails woman who can kick most men's behinds, and shoot guns.  But that is about it. What this is, is a combination of average special effects, a tired premise, and a lackluster story that seems more bent on how many tortuous and gross things they can show you, as opposed to what would be interesting.  But that might be the problem.  Movie making has gone a long journey since the last Riddick or two, and it just may have passed it by.

Riddick, this won't make this franchise any new friends that's for sure.  But for hard core fans, you may be glad it's back.   Average at the very best.

Prisioner

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Listen to this cast.   Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, and Viola Davis  Most of these are Oscar nominees and Leo is an Oscar winner.  So this is all lines up to be a very good movie.  And overall it is.  But, this is certainly not for everyone.

Prisoners is exceptionally dark, bleak, and heavy.  It deals with young child abduction which sadly, is too much a part of the world today.  As skillfully as this movie is crafted, this may in some cases be simply too much harsh and real subject matter for some to see. Especially if you have young children and young daughters specifically.  So be advised going in.

This is the story of two families in lower-middle class Pennsylvania who live in a very average neighborhood who share Thanksgiving dinner together.   After the dinner, the two young girls (about 10), one from each family, leave the house under very average circumstances. They then disappear in broad daylight by someone driving an old beat up RV.  No one sees them and no one has any idea where they are.  Panic sets in.

The police are notified and they send out a lone wolf, dedicated detective (Gyllenhaal) to investigate the case.  He is determined to bring the girls home.   So the search begins, and frustration sets in with the two families over the slowness, and the bureaucracy of the system.  After a few days, the two fathers from each family  (Jackman and Howard) decide to take a vigilante approach to this. They kidnap the young man who was caught driving the said RV, who has the IQ of a 10 year old.  And begin torturing him after the police release him for no real evidence.  Will the find the girls alive?  And what will this event do to all of them?  That is Prisoners.

Yes, this is very harsh.  You have to deal with child abduction and all the feelings that go with that.  You have to witness torture of this young man, and you have to deal with two and half hours of immense mental anguish these families go through.  Plus the pain that the detective feels, as time seems to be slipping away.  Who kidnapped these girls and where are they?  Rough stuff.

But with all of that said, and accepting it if you can, this is a very well done movie that is daring enough to look at this all to often reported crime and make it real.  This movie does not sugar coat one thing.  It also makes you feel the terrible anguish all are feeling.  And it doesn't error in turning this into Taken, which is a completely different kind of movie with a very different vibe and feel.

Jackman is sensational in this huge role as a conservative, God fearing. hard working laborer who does the only thing he knows to do to try to find his young girl.  But Gyllenhaal may give the best performance of his career as the solitary detective who is only on this earth to do his job.  I thought he was strength of this movie as he is amazingly believable in this role.  The supporting cast is great, but may be a bit over-casted as there wasn't enough movie to go around at times.   As tough as this is for many, this is a pretty good and bold movie.

Prisoners.  Not for everyone, but quite good.

Thank you for sharing

Coolpicz.com

TFS is a very bold and daring movie that has the gumption to deal with real addictions.  But hold on, this time we're dealing with sex addicts.  Should be noted at this stage, this is a real adult movie that deals with super grown up subject matter.  Plus this is a "film".   A movie goers movie, meaning the once or twice a year movie goer, should see something else.

TFS is the story of 4 very different adults that live in New York City.  They are all relatively successful, and all are very different. The only thing they have in common, is they are all sex addicts. This movie deals with all of their stories collectively and individually as they strive every day to overcome the disease that has overcome them and their lives.   It is dealt with a certain amount of drama, timely humor, a strong sense of real, and terrific character development.   It is honest and sincere, and pulls no punches.  It is very direct at times, and for me scores tons of originality points as I have never seen this subject dealt with on screen like this.   I have heard this called a romantic comedy, but it's not. It's just a good movie.

As original as this story is, the real strength of this movie is the script.  Hollywood here resists the normal temptation to glorify or sugar coat this kind of story.   All of our characters are real, and have real problems.  They are not made out to be victims, but real people who have a condition that has consumed their existence.   They are all fallible, and remain that way throughout and that is a great decision.   This movie takes us to a place we have never been, and leaves us thinking we've learned something.

This stars Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwenyth Paltrow, Josh Gad and Alecia Moore or you know her better as Pink.   I thought she was simply terrific.   Her performance in this movie was really grounding.  This movie could have easily shot way over the fans heads, and been some high brow flick that would have been too uppity for many.  But as good as the starring cast is, she is the most important character in this movie.  This has a real nice feel to it, and well designed soundtrack and filmed wonderfully. You feel like you are really there.

Runner Runner

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Runner, Runner starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake is the shear definition of "swing and a miss."  

This movie is a behind the scenes look at the online gambling industry that has become huge business world wide.  Sounds like it could be interesting, but it's really not.  In fact, this movie looks bored with itself and has the look of being made a long time ago, and is just now finding itself in theaters.

It's the story of Richie (Timberlake) who is a graduate student at Princeton.  He is paying his college tuition by playing online poker.  He is about 60 grand in the hole to the university, and then loses all of this money online.  He and his brainy friends find out that they in fact, have been cheated by the online company (what a shock).   So Richie decides to go to Costa Rica where the company is based and confront the owner, a huge gangster type named Ivan Black (Affeck).  Sound ridiculous already?  It is.

He then befriends Ivan and they become partners to a degree, and Richie bags going back to the states to finish school so he can lead a life of being a big wig in the online gambling business. Trouble is Ivan is playing him, and then all the backstabbing begins and so on and so forth.  Guess what?  Ivan is really a terrible guy, and Richie is really a smart guy, and the FBI is involved, and then there is some form of a silly romance where Ivan and Richie are sharing a woman....please make this stop!

This movie could not be any less interesting if they tried. It looks like a million other forgettable movies and goes nowhere.  Right up front, do you or anyone else really care that some privileged Ivy League kid is having a hard time paying for college?  Yeah, me either.  This is one of the cardinal flaws of this flick.  No one cares one bit about our "hero."  Game over.  And Affleck is simply going through the motions here, the whole time asking, "When do I get paid so I can go home?"

You don't care about the principles, and the whole thing is just so....uninteresting.   What a waste of time and money.  And what a horrible flop its opening weekend with two big stars in the lead.

Runner, Runner.  Run...the other way!

CAptain Phillips

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Tom Hanks is back in the new action, thriller Captain Phillips.   This is based on the true story of a American cargo ship taken hostage in Somali waters in 2009.   You may not remember the actual incident, but you will remember the end game clearly.  Enough said.

Hanks is Captain Phillips.  A veteran ship captain of the huge cargo ship Maersk Alabama.  It sails with thousands of tons of cargo in sometimes very treacherous waters.  The Alabama was in waters off the coast of Africa in 2009 when it was taken by Somali pirates and was attempted to be held for ransom.  This is common practice in these waters, as the corrupt war lords and organized crime leaders in this part of the world are very powerful.   BTW, the Maersk Alabama was the first American ship pirated in over 200 years.

As the ship is taken, Phillips tries with all he knows to save his ship, and end this siege as quickly and safely as possible.  But he soon finds that to be impossible.  And he finds himself in a situation that is simply terrifying for any man, anywhere.  Hanks is great as our hero, and it is good to see him land a nice role in as story worth telling.

The real star of this movie though is an actor named Barkhad Abdi.  He is simply sensational as the "captain" (Muse) of the Somali pirates who commandeer the Alabama.  The character written for him was remarkable, and complex.  He gaunt and scary physical appearance here was amazing.  He is truly scary in this movie, in a script that had to have it.   You needed a believable, haunting, interesting and intimidating villain to pull this off and he is it.  This movie, does not work without his performance and the inner conflict of his character. His character is the single key to success here.  I don't now where Abdi came from, as there is virtually no information available on him anywhere.  But he is terrific.  Exceptionally well done.

Captain Phillips though good, does suffer from a couple of problems, first it is entirely too long at 2 hours 15 minutes.  This could have been shaved some and been far better.  It also belabors some points to point of nausea.   And there are few dead sports where it all seems so slow.   But in it's defense, it does take us where we have never been before.  On the bridge of a gigantic freighter and lets us inside that world.   And alerts of to the plight and bravery that it takes to sail these waters, and they do ti every day.  That is well done as well.

Captain Phillips.  Good, not great.  A good night at the movies.