And finally, a rarity these days: a summer blockbuster that’s not a sequel, adaptation or remake. This is Knight and Day, and with Tom Cruise in the lead, it makes for a genuinely good time killer.
Here, Tom is Roy, a secret agent who bumps into June (Cameron Diaz) at the Witchita Airport. June is on her way to Boston for her sister’s wedding, and she and Roy become seatmates. They strike up a few talks and hit it off quickly.
Then, when she’s not looking, everybody else on the plane, even the pilots, tries to kill Roy. Roy kills them back which bring their plane down in a cornfield.
It turns out Roy is out to deliver the world’s most powerful battery out of the hands of bad guys. The bad guys target June for associating with him, which results in them going on the run.
The best part of the movie is the two stars themselves. They go well together and separately in their comedic roles. It’s especially true with Tom Cruise, who as Roy is the perfect straight man. It makes the delivery of his lines, especially his poorly-worded fake hostage taking just funny.
In fact, these two more than make up for some weak spots in this script. At one point, we allegedly learn of Roy’s true colors, but that barely comes up again. And some of the supporting characters, except for Viola Davis as Roy’s boss and Paul Dano as Roy’s genius friend are poorly defined. And even the title itself is only half-defined.
I’m not gonna spoil the movie. You’re going to have to watch it yourself. In addition to the leads, the film’s climactic car chase during Spain’s Running of the Bulls makes it worth the while.
About Me
- Jethrotcat
- This is the blog where I talk about the latest movies I've seen. These are my two Schnauzers, Rufus (left) and Marley (right, RIP). As of now, the Double Hollywood Strikes are officially over. May the next strikes not last as long as these ones did.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Toy Story 3
It’s been eons since the first Toy Story introduced the world to CGI animated films. Now, ten years since its first sequel, Pixar’s only franchise returns in Toy Story 3, which can be seen on 3d and Flat Screens. I’ll say here that the long wait was worth it.
The miniature heroes, once again led by Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks), realize that their human, Andy, has outgrown them. That means that soon, with Andy going to college, it’s the trash bin, attic, or donation box for them.
Accidentally sent to the trash, the intrepid toys escape to be donated to the local daycare. There, the king toy, Lots-O’-Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty) introduces the toys to the laws of the toyland. But when the toys learn just how rough these kids play with them, “Lotso” reveals himself to be a nots-O’ nice bear.
So, what do our heroes decide to do? Escape, of course!
Unlike Shrek’s fourquel, this threequel knows what it’s doing. It doesn’t trade story for gimmicks; in fact, its story, crafted by writer Michael Arndt, is greatly executed. It’s simple for kids to understand, but it’s fully-realized for adult viewers too. End result is a funny movie that knows how and when to be serious.
It also helps to have some great characters in this story. All are well-defined, including the returning characters and especially Lotso, who makes for a mean, but sad villain once you know his story.
Let’s just say at this rate it’ll take forever before Pixar makes a true stinker. As such, Toy Story 3 is yet-another memorable film that needs to be seen first on any screen.
The miniature heroes, once again led by Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks), realize that their human, Andy, has outgrown them. That means that soon, with Andy going to college, it’s the trash bin, attic, or donation box for them.
Accidentally sent to the trash, the intrepid toys escape to be donated to the local daycare. There, the king toy, Lots-O’-Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty) introduces the toys to the laws of the toyland. But when the toys learn just how rough these kids play with them, “Lotso” reveals himself to be a nots-O’ nice bear.
So, what do our heroes decide to do? Escape, of course!
Unlike Shrek’s fourquel, this threequel knows what it’s doing. It doesn’t trade story for gimmicks; in fact, its story, crafted by writer Michael Arndt, is greatly executed. It’s simple for kids to understand, but it’s fully-realized for adult viewers too. End result is a funny movie that knows how and when to be serious.
It also helps to have some great characters in this story. All are well-defined, including the returning characters and especially Lotso, who makes for a mean, but sad villain once you know his story.
Let’s just say at this rate it’ll take forever before Pixar makes a true stinker. As such, Toy Story 3 is yet-another memorable film that needs to be seen first on any screen.
The Karate Kid
Yet another name from the 1980’s, The Karate Kid, makes its return to cinemas in the form of a new film. Does it live up to the original film? Who cares?! It’s a good film in its own right.
The new Karate Kid is Jaden Smith, who plays Dre Parker. Dre moves to Beijing with his working mom (Taraji P. Hensen). There, he meets aspiring violinist Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), and incurs the wrath of Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), the star pupil of a brutal kung fu master.
The local handyman, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), steps in one day to save Dre from Cheng and his fellow bullies with his Kung Fu skills. Mr. Han agrees to teach Dre Kung Fu to prepare him for an upcoming tournament against Cheng’s school. And thus begins the kinship between student and teacher.
As Mr. Han, Jackie Chan has his best role to date. As an eccentric master, or as a broken man with a sad past, Chan creates a believable character. His chemistry with the much younger Smith also works well as does Smith’s own performance.
The filmmakers are also experts in picking locations. Director Harold Zwart and Cinematographer Roger Pratt film in such locations as The Forbidden City and the Wudang Mountains. Simply awesome visuals, almost like a travelogue of China and a very amazing one at that.
This is a remake done right. It’s not manipulative in the least; instead, it lets the characters act for themselves to get the appropriate audience reactions. It’s also around two and a half hours long, but it holds interest for that long. That’s what makes it worth whatever you pay for it.
The new Karate Kid is Jaden Smith, who plays Dre Parker. Dre moves to Beijing with his working mom (Taraji P. Hensen). There, he meets aspiring violinist Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), and incurs the wrath of Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), the star pupil of a brutal kung fu master.
The local handyman, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), steps in one day to save Dre from Cheng and his fellow bullies with his Kung Fu skills. Mr. Han agrees to teach Dre Kung Fu to prepare him for an upcoming tournament against Cheng’s school. And thus begins the kinship between student and teacher.
As Mr. Han, Jackie Chan has his best role to date. As an eccentric master, or as a broken man with a sad past, Chan creates a believable character. His chemistry with the much younger Smith also works well as does Smith’s own performance.
The filmmakers are also experts in picking locations. Director Harold Zwart and Cinematographer Roger Pratt film in such locations as The Forbidden City and the Wudang Mountains. Simply awesome visuals, almost like a travelogue of China and a very amazing one at that.
This is a remake done right. It’s not manipulative in the least; instead, it lets the characters act for themselves to get the appropriate audience reactions. It’s also around two and a half hours long, but it holds interest for that long. That’s what makes it worth whatever you pay for it.
The A-Team
There was this TV show once, called The A-Team, that was on in the 1980’s. I’m not gonna talk about that here; instead, I think I shall talk about the film of the 80’s action show.
The film’s heroes are, obviously enough, The A-Team. They consist of Hannibal (Liam Neeson), Faceman (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Barracus (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) and “Howling Mad” Murdock (Sharlto Copley). The four are a military unit who, during the Iraq War, are called upon to thwart a counterfeiting scheme in Bagdhad. But some higher-ups don’t want them to do it; yet, they do it anyway.
When their commanding officer, the only proof they weren’t going AWOL on this mission, is blown to bits, our heroes are sent to their own prisons. But Hannibal has a plan for revenge, and that involves busting himself and the others out.
As Hannibal says, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Unfortunately, this film doesn’t really come together as it should. The plot, which involves a Blackwater analogue pulling the strings, is lost in the explosions and gunfire. By the time the truth is revealed, the reaction is more “huh?” then “whoa!”
Perhaps the one star who saves this is Sharlto Copley. As Murdock, he’s perfectly loopy and insane. He gets the best scenes and the best lines; so much so that he outshines the others.
If it weren’t for Copley, I’d say you can probably forget about this one. However, Copley makes this movie worth it. Now, if only the rest of the film came together well.
The film’s heroes are, obviously enough, The A-Team. They consist of Hannibal (Liam Neeson), Faceman (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Barracus (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) and “Howling Mad” Murdock (Sharlto Copley). The four are a military unit who, during the Iraq War, are called upon to thwart a counterfeiting scheme in Bagdhad. But some higher-ups don’t want them to do it; yet, they do it anyway.
When their commanding officer, the only proof they weren’t going AWOL on this mission, is blown to bits, our heroes are sent to their own prisons. But Hannibal has a plan for revenge, and that involves busting himself and the others out.
As Hannibal says, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Unfortunately, this film doesn’t really come together as it should. The plot, which involves a Blackwater analogue pulling the strings, is lost in the explosions and gunfire. By the time the truth is revealed, the reaction is more “huh?” then “whoa!”
Perhaps the one star who saves this is Sharlto Copley. As Murdock, he’s perfectly loopy and insane. He gets the best scenes and the best lines; so much so that he outshines the others.
If it weren’t for Copley, I’d say you can probably forget about this one. However, Copley makes this movie worth it. Now, if only the rest of the film came together well.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
A big video game requires a big cinematic treatment. And such a big video game is The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; and its film version, directed by Mike Newell, is unashamedly a big blockbuster.
The titular prince is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), adopted into the royal family of King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). After leading the armies of Persia in a successful campaign against the city of Alamut, Dastan comes back a hero. He also gets the “honor” of getting tricked into causing his adopted father’s demise.
Now a wanted man, Dastan goes on the run with Alamut’s Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who hates his guts, and a dagger that holds the titular time-reversing sands. The Sands are sought after by evil Uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley) for purposes most evil. Naturally, our heroes must thwart him from realizing those schemes.
As I said, it’s a big blockbuster, so the effects and action scenes are the star. They’re quite decent for the most part; the best effects were the sands themselves. Their time-bending powers were simply great, like a neatly realized video game trick. Speaking of which, this movie made me want to play one.
The actors, meanwhile, play their best in their stock character roles. The best notice goes to Alfred Molina as an Anti-Tax, Anti-Government Business Sheik. The spotlight’s always on him when he’s around, and with his charismatic exuberance, that’s never a bad thing.
Is this a decent timewaster? Yes, it is. Will it enter the pop-cultural osmosis for all time like producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Carribean? Not exactly; however, it’s worth to see at least once. And there’s no harm to be undone if you do.
The titular prince is Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), adopted into the royal family of King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup). After leading the armies of Persia in a successful campaign against the city of Alamut, Dastan comes back a hero. He also gets the “honor” of getting tricked into causing his adopted father’s demise.
Now a wanted man, Dastan goes on the run with Alamut’s Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), who hates his guts, and a dagger that holds the titular time-reversing sands. The Sands are sought after by evil Uncle Nizam (Ben Kingsley) for purposes most evil. Naturally, our heroes must thwart him from realizing those schemes.
As I said, it’s a big blockbuster, so the effects and action scenes are the star. They’re quite decent for the most part; the best effects were the sands themselves. Their time-bending powers were simply great, like a neatly realized video game trick. Speaking of which, this movie made me want to play one.
The actors, meanwhile, play their best in their stock character roles. The best notice goes to Alfred Molina as an Anti-Tax, Anti-Government Business Sheik. The spotlight’s always on him when he’s around, and with his charismatic exuberance, that’s never a bad thing.
Is this a decent timewaster? Yes, it is. Will it enter the pop-cultural osmosis for all time like producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Carribean? Not exactly; however, it’s worth to see at least once. And there’s no harm to be undone if you do.
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