Let Me In

Not even the glowing vampires of Twilight can illuminate the atmosphere of Let Me In. It’s just that dark and a bit more mature and quite better than those vampire movies that are all the rage.

Its protagonist, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is living a not so nice existence. His parents are bitterly divorcing and the school bully and his posse has taken special interest in him. So, Owen expresses his frustrations by doing serial killer role playing.

And then the new girl Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her nameless guardian (Richard Jenkins) move into Owen’s apartment complex. After a while, the two kids “go steady;” but then, Owen finds that Abby likes blood…

This is actually a remake of a VERY recent Swedish film Let The Right One In (itself based off a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist). And it’s quite similar to it except for it being in English and the addition of a policeman character (Elias Koteas). But even without seeing the original, this film for me didn’t seem some lifeless imitator.

And much of the credit goes to director and writer Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) for getting great efforts from everyone involved. From the young actors, to composer Michael Giacchino, to cinematographer Greg Fraser, all help create the film’s dark mood. On screen, the suspense, and impact of violence is quite there, and so is the blood, even if it’s not to the extent of something like Saw.

This film knows what it’s doing. If all remakes, especially those of Horror films, took cues from this, then they might become respectable again.

The Social Network

JETHRO'S NOTE: The review here is in the form of a conversation with an animal buddy named Vance (a bull).

VANCE: Why are we talking about Facebook?

ME: Because the film we’re reviewing, The Social Network, is about Facebook!

VANCE: Who’d wanna watch that?

ME: Who’d watch a film called The Accidental Billionaires, the book that the writer, Aaron Sorkin used to make this film along with the director, David Fincher? Huh?

VANCE: Ok, fair enough.

ME: So, Facebook was started by an egomaniac named Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg), miffed that his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara) broke up with him. Anyway, after his prototype Facebook, Facemash, crashed Harvard’s servers, these dudes named Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) ask him to help them make a social networking site for Harvard “creatively” called Harvard Connection.

VANCE: I saw this film, too. You don’t need to tell me.

ME: I’m telling them…Anyway, Zuckerberg and his buddy Eduardo (Andrew Garfield) take the Harvard Connection idea, make it their own, and call it THE Facebook. And then…

VANCE: AND THEN, they make it into a global empire with the help of Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), the creator of Napster, as their financial adviser. And with no help from the Winklevoss guys, and their buddy Narendra (Max Minghella), who decide to sue them for stealing their idea.

ME: What works with this film? Quite a lot. Eisenberg makes quite an effective egomaniac forcibly brought down to Earth. Timberlake is quite the scene stealer as Parker, and Garfield is also great too. This cast should win the SAG Award.

VANCE: Wait…why’d you list Armie Hammer as both Winklevoss brothers?

ME: Because he is both Winklevoss guys. With stand-in Josh Pence and the same effects that David Fincher used with Benjamin Button, Hammer is in the scene twice over and you don’t notice it until someone tells you.

VANCE: ….

ME: I know. That just helps makes The Social Network cement itself as one of the best films of this fall’s Oscar season. I don’t know about the year, I’m still in the liking for Scott Pilgrim.

VANCE: Don't know why you invited me to co-review if you're hogging it all. Grr...

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Some twenty years back, Michael Douglas won his second Oscar for staring as sinister stock trader Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s film Wall Street. Now, director and star have comeback to make the sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

In the last film, Gekko was sent to jail thanks in large part to his former protégé, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen, who cameos here). Some seven years after he is let out, it’s now 2008, when good ol’ greed throws Wall Street down for the count.

A new potential protégé named Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) comes to Gekko after sleazy trader Bretton James (Josh Brolin) sends his Wall Street firm down the tubes. Also, Jake is dating Gekko’s daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), who hates her dad. So, it’s a revenge story and family reconciliation story all in one.

Gordon Gekko here is supposed to be the star here, so he gets his own paragraph. Apparently, Stone and Douglas try to make him a more sympathetic character here as opposed to the sly dog from last time. But the trouble here is that he abruptly goes back to his old ways in a spectacularly sinister way about ¾ in.

Josh Brolin, meanwhile, made for a so-so villain. Not so nice, not so mean, just apathetic middle ground. Eli Wallach, who’s only in for a few scenes here, makes a memorable impression as an eccentric member of James’s think-tank. In fact, he’s probably the best thing about this movie.

The performances from LaBeouf and Susan Sarandon as Jake’s mother help make this film watchable too. Still, there’s the fact that the film drags quite a bit. With a few tweaks in length and script, this film could’ve been better.

JETHRO'S NOTE: In case you're interested, Michael Douglas won his first Oscar as Co-Producer of Best Picture Winner One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

In a world of 3d conversions with no foresight, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, is the latest of them to come to cinemas. Actually, the filmmakers, including director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) put much thought into the visual imagery here. In fact, this works very well on 3d screens; it’s the story here that should’ve been worked on.

Our titular heroes, who don’t show up in the film for some time, are a league of warrior owls. Long ago, they defeated a bad owl, now called Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton). Like good ol’ Voldemort, beakie decides to raise an army of warriors to make a comeback. His scheme involves something called Flex, brainwashing weak owls with the moon and, oh yeah, the army.

Before we get to the owls, we get to Soren (Jim Sturgess) and Kludd (Ryan Kwanten), who are owl brothers (no, duh?). They’re snatched by Metalbeak’s goons and taken to his lair; Kludd willingly joins the army, while Soren and his new friend Gylfie (Emily Barclay) breakout when they hear that the Guardians are real…and stuff.

The film is taken from three novels (out of fifteen) by Kathryn Lasky, and it shows. Especially with the flex, the story is quite confusing, especially to anyone not familiar with the source material. It certainly soared over my head, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it soared over anyone else’s heads.

But visually, it’s done quite well. Its 3d effects are quite noticeable, and they are amazing. If you’re looking for a visual experience, it’s quite worth it either on 3d or flat screen.

But if you’re looking for a better written film, look elsewhere.

And you know what’s frustrating? The Wily Coyote cartoon at the start of the film was much better!

The Town

JETHRO'S NOTE: Yes, I'm back. Settled in Modesto, California.

JETHRO'S NOTE TWO: Now, on to the review.

Let's go to town on The Town. Before you ask yourselves "what kind of title is that," ask yourselves what kind of title is Prince of Thieves, the Chuck Hogan novel that is the source for this film.

The town is Charlestown, a suburb of Boston. According to the film, it's the crime capitol of the world. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck, also director and co-writer) and his friends, "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), "Gloansy" Magloan (Slaine), and "Dez" Elden (Owen Burke) just so happen to have this as their profession.

On one such job, they take bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) as a hostage. Because they were wearing masks, their identities should be safe. But Doug decides to follow her to make sure. That's when they begin a relationship...

Compared to, let’s say, The Expendables, there’s not much action here. There are only three robbery sequences, which include car chases, and a few other acts of violence in this film. But when the violent scenes happen, they make the moment as tense as it needs to be. That’s what makes it work as an action film in the end.

Amongst the cast, the only performance I had issue with was Jon Hamm. As the obligatory FBI agent sent to bust Doug and his gang, he was far too one-dimensional as a character. The rest of the cast, including Pete Postlethwaite as Doug’s employer “Fergie the Florist,” did much better in their roles. While “Fergie” went from nice man to total snake, the FBI guy was a tough barking dog and nothing else.

But in the end, with Affleck on front, he proves himself capable as a director and an actor. This makes The Town quite a good visit.

The American

Perhaps because the late Martin Booth’s novel “A Very Private Gentleman” wouldn’t sell well as a film title, the film version of said novel is now “The American.”

In it, our “hero” is Jack (George Clooney), an assassin who, in his first scene, kills two other assassins and his own female companion in Sweden. His boss, Pavel (Johan Leysen) sends him to Rome to hideout from any potential repercussions. There, he meets Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), who wants him to build her a highly-efficient gun. He also meets a prostitute (Violante Placido), and a priest (Paolo Bonacelli). Thanks to the latter two, Jack, aka Edward, decides he wants out of his dangerous profession.

Yup, that’s pretty much it for the story. There is no major shootouts ala the Bond movies, or a clear-cut sense of plot. It’s just a character study of an assassin, perhaps like if it was James Bond considering retirement one movie after he killed all the real bad guys. On that level, thanks to Clooney, it succeeds.

Its director, Anton Corbijn, has mainly done music videos. To his credit, it doesn’t resemble a full length music video. His cinematographer, Martin Ruhe, and Editor Andrew Hulme, have aided him in constructing a nicely-shot, properly edited story. Thanks to the latter, the film is effectively suspenseful when it needs to be.

It does move incredibly slowly at times. But one should remember that it’s about a character’s life unraveling on-screen. Otherwise, one’ll get lost and confused at times in the plot.

Get Low

Although the advertisements of Get Low give top-billing to Robert Duvall and Bill Murray, it’s pretty much the former who’s the star of the show. And thanks to Duvall, it is quite a memorable show indeed.

Duvall is Felix Bush, a real-life Tennessee hermit whom his fellow citizens regard with superstition. His only companion is his mule, whom he tells would-be trespassers to beware of. Hearing one day that an old friend has passed on, Bush decides to plan for his own funeral…and have it while he’s still alive to hear the townsfolk talk about him!

This is a godsend for opportunistic undertaker Frank Quinn (Bill Murray). He has his protégée, Buddy (Lucas Black), make the arrangements for the funeral, including the hiring of Felix’s favorite preacher (Bill Cobbs). The plans for the big day get disrupted when Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), an old acquaintance of Felix, comes in. With her, comes the tragic secret that prompted Felix’s hermit ways in the first place.

As I said, this is Robert Duvall’s show all the way. He makes such a performance as this old coot that one is easily drawn into the story. That’s not to say that the other actors are just not worth it. Among them, Bill Murray as Frank is quite an amusing character.

Its director and editor, Aaron Schneider previously won the Oscar for his short film Two Soldiers. This is his first feature film as Director, and if this is any indication, should be the first of many fine ones.

The Kids Are All Right

An issue I had with Lisa Cholodenko’s otherwise all-right The Kids are All Right was how abrupt the ending was. I’ll get to the ending a little bit later, and instead, spend some time to dictate what this film is about.

Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and her brother Laser (Josh Hutcherson) were both conceived due to artificial insemination from the same donor. Their household is headed by their Lesbian mothers Nic (Annette Bening), the physician and Jules (Julianne Moore), the stay-at-home mom with dreams of landscaping.

Thanks to Joni, the kids’ father, restaurateur Paul (Mark Ruffalo) finally enters the picture. Despite admitting he only did his part just for cash and for the hell-of-it, he gets along quite well with the kids. He especially gets along with Jules, with whom he carries on an adulterous affair.

Naturally, the aforementioned ending is triggered once the affair is finally discovered. I won’t say further, but let’s say some of the plot isn’t clearly resolved on-screen. I think the idea was to have its audience discuss and think about the ending amongst them. I know I am as I’m writing this; it makes a little more sense.

As for the actors, they are quite all-right to say the least. As Paul, Mark Ruffalo makes a likeable guy, perhaps too likeable as a third-wheel in a relationship. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, as Jules and Nic, make for an excellent couple in love. These are the highlights of such a nice cast.

Much of the credit for the actors’ performances goes to Cholodenko and her co-writer, Stuart Blumberg. They’ve avoided potentially overused dramatic clichés in their depiction of relationships. They thus act like real people, and not actors clearly begging for the Academy’s attention. I’m quite positive it’ll get the Academy’s attention anyway because it’s one of the best films of the summer.

Nanny McPhee Returns

Released back in March in the U.K., Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, re-titled here as Nanny McPhee Returns, is the sequel to 2005’s Nanny McPhee. Both films were conceived by actress/writer Emma Thompson from Christianna Brand’s Nurse Matilda books. I didn’t see the first one when it came out, but I suggest you don’t miss this one.

Nanny McPhee (Thompson) is an ugly-looking variation of Mary Poppins. "When you need me, but do not want me,” she tells her charges, “then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I must go."

This time, she enters the household of Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), whose husband is off in World War II, leaving her with her three naughty kids, their two rotten cousins and a scheming brother-in-law (Rhys Ifans) who wants her farm. Only Nanny McPhee can provide the magic that can bring on a happy ending.

That’s the basic plot of the film, but in the meantime, there is much to be seen. Such sights include a flying motorbike, a Busby Berkley number with piglets and even a baby elephant. These are just a few of the enjoyable scenes in this feature.

This feature also has a nice ensemble of actors in fine roles. Amongst the cast, the highlights are Ifans as a perfectly smug villain and Dame Maggie Smith as Isabel’s daffy employer. Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal as Isabel makes for a perfectly convincing Brit.

Thompson, who won an Oscar for writing Sense and Sensibility, and her director, Susannah White, have made this feature perfectly accessible to anyone who haven’t seen the first. They have also made it perfectly accessible to kids and adults alike, and that is a real accomplishment.

The Expendables

The whole purpose of The Expendables is to gather every big action star in the same movie. One such star, Sylvester Stallone, co-wrote and directed what should have been a decent action-filled timewaster. Yet, for some reason, it’s not.

The heroes of this film are a team of mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Stallone) and his right-hand man, Lee Christmas (Jason Statham). Their mission, that they choose to accept, is to go into the country of Vilena and takeout its evil dictator General Garza (David Zayas), and his rogue ex-CIA backer, James Monroe (Eric Roberts). And to save the General’s daughter (Gisele Itié). Yup, that’s about it.

When Christmas lops off a Somali pirate’s upper-half with a rocket launcher in the first scene, you’ll know that this film’ll be bloody. And indeed, the rest of the film has hands flying off; guys getting shot and even a broken neck. It’s the same over-the-top action that populated such films as The Terminator and Die Hard.

And yet, the problem is that the characters are so-so. I didn’t think the characters were that interesting, not even Stallone’s Rocky IV nemesis Dolph Lundgren as an ex-Expendable turned bad. In fact, I viewed them, and consequently, the action scenes, with a big indifference.

They appear in just one scene, but Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the men who give Ross the mission, got the best laughs in the picture. There are some funny moments in the film too, but unfortunately, not enough.

The advertisements proclaim this film as “the manliest movie ever.” The truth is, I’ve seen better, both this summer and on TV.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Although it originated as graphic novels by Brian Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World plays much like a living video game. Filled with a basic plot and beyond basic visuals, this film is one worth waiting all summer for.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a Toronto slacker who plays bass in a band, once dated singer “Envy” Adams (Brie Larson) and now dates High Schooler Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). His precious little life is disrupted when rollerblading New Yorker Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) comes in. He ends up dating her, leaving poor Knives behind.

Ramona’s seven previous romances, led by insidious record producer Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) assemble into “The League of Evil Exes,” whose members come one at a time to try to kill Scott for daring to win Ramona’s attentions. Their duels involve Scott and his rivals momentarily showing off superhuman abilities that don’t seem out-of-place in their world. Defeated enemies even turn into piles of coins- and no one dares question that.

Its director and co-Writer, Edgar Wright superbly stages the fights with the choreography of musical numbers. The first ex, fireball throwing Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), even has a catchy musical number in his scene. End result is action scenes done well by a combination of actors and FX.

The cast is just great, especially the actors playing the exes, who steal their scenes. Chris Evans as jock movie star Lucas Lee and Brandon Routh as psychic Vegan rock star Todd Ingram are the highlights of the evil league. Kieran Culkin also steals scenes wonderfully as Scott’s sarcastic gay roommate Wallace, as does Anna Kendrick as Scott’s Sister Stacey.

This film has to be seen to be believed. It embraces comic bookish action, video game visuals and a decent romance story (when one stops to think about it). If there’s any flaw, then it’s an overload of visuals. In the end, however, that shouldn’t kill the overall experience of this unique picture.

The Other Guys

Earlier this year, the Kevin Smith directed Cop Out, a cop movie spoof, opened to poor reviews with proportionate box-office results. I didn’t see that one, but I did see The Other Guys, another cop movie spoof, and this one is quite worth it.

The Other Guys are Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), two NYPD detectives stuck at desk duty. Meanwhile, the city’s top cops are the wildly reckless Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Danson (Dwayne Johnson). The latter pair gets all the glory, while the former pair does not.

And then Highsmith and Danson get killed. Stupidly.

While the frontline cops try to fill the void, Gamble uncovers some financial scheming by investment banker David Ershon (Steve Coogan). With Hoitz as his unwilling partner, Gamble sets off to save the day. Somehow.

As with MacGruber, this film shows just how dumb action film clichés are. Up until they bite it, Highsmith and Danson are walking dumb action film clichés. And they work hilariously well.

As for the rest of the film, it’s also done well thanks to its stars. Ferrell is quite reliably silly, and Wahlberg makes for the perfect, would-be straight man of the duo. As their boss, the goofily deadpan Captain Mauch, Michael Keaton makes for the third-best character in the film. I could go on about the other actors here, but I'll stop here.

Its director, Adam McKay, worked with Will Ferrell before, beginning with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. The action comedic tone they establish early on makes up for a few unclear twists later on (I won’t spoil those). As long as you let yourself have fun with this one, you will.

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, the sequel to a film that debuted nine years ago, is the latest feature to debut on both 3d and flat screens. And I’d say that the film would’ve been better without the 3d effects.

The heroes of this film are an organization of secret agent dogs. Their newest recruit is Diggs, a German Shepherd booted out of SFPD for disastrously “resolving” a crisis at a Used Car lot. Lou the Beagle, head of the spy dogs and hero of the first film, recruits Diggs to the objections of his main dog Butch.

Their mission is to thwart the evil rogue cat Kitty Galore, who plots to drive all dogs mad by transmitting a horrendous sound all over the world. It’s all in revenge for her rejection by her former family after being disfigured by hair-removal cream. The heroic dogs are aided by heroic feline agent Catherine, her employers MEOWS, and the pigeon Seamus.

The 3d conversion on this film is the crummiest I’ve seen. It’s not only not that noticeable, but distracting and disorienting. What’s so special about that? Ironically, the 3d is far better in the new Road Runner cartoon that precedes this feature, so maybe it isn’t all that bad.

Strip away the 3d, and the film is actually far better. The Bond inspired credits sequence is a highlight, and a scene with hippy kitties is hilarious. Bette Midler, voice of the titular villain, is clearly having fun, as is former Bond Roger Moore as the head of MEOWS.

This’ll certainly entertain kids, and to some extent, the adults as well. But as I said, you won’t miss much if you see it on flat screen. Except for the Road Runner cartoon, and that is a frustrating dilemma.

Salt

In many ways, Salt is the opposite of Inception: a film where big stunts and effects are the stars. However, this film has a few surprises to the point where it can be considered “Inception for non-thinkers.”

The salt of the film is not a condiment, but Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a CIA operative with an arachnologist husband and good standing in the agency. One day, she stays late to interrogate Russian agent Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski). Claiming to be dying, Orlov tells Salt of a conspiracy involving KGB sleeper agents to start World War III. One such agent will trigger the conspiracy by assassinating the (fictional) Russian President at the (fictional) U.S. Vice-President’s funeral.

When Orlov names Salt as the aforementioned agent, ONCIX agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) immediately pursues her, while agent Ted Winter (Live Schrieber) tries to reason with Peabody. Of course, there’s another reason why Winter’s interested in helping Salt, but that’s a spoiler.

At times, Salt herself is convincingly desperate, while at others, she’s frustratingly chaotic evil. Some last act plot developments provide the surprises that redeem the latter a bit; however, a little more foreshadowing of her true intentions would’ve been nice.

There’s quite a bit of nice action scenes, which director Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games) has effective realized. And they help distract one from any story flaws. Yes, it’s just like the real spice, and that’s what makes it a good summer flick.

Eclipse

This is the story of werewolves, vampires and the teen girls who love them for some reason. The next two films based on Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight novels, based on her fourth, Breaking Dawn, will be directed by Oscar-winner Bill Condon (Dreamgirls). Meanwhile, this third entry, Eclipse, directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night), is what I think the first two should’ve been like.

Bella Swann (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Patterson) are lovey-dovey as ever. Her werewolf friend, Jacob (Taylor Lautner), broods in the background fuming that she’s dating a bloodsucker.

Meanwhile, vampire villainess Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) is out to kill Bella in Revenge by Proxy scheme for her mate James’s demise in the first film. That scheme involves raising an army of “Newborns,” freshly minted vampires superior to all others. To fight them, the vampiric Cullen clan must join with Jacob’s shape changing Quillite tribesmen for an old fashioned smack down.

So what has improved from the last two Twilight films? The teen soap operaness is far less over-the-top unlike the last film. The cinematography, by the last film’s Javier Aguirresarobe, suits the film’s dark atmosphere. And there is quite more action on-screen than off-camera or in flashback. Technically, this film does a good effort.

As for the “faces of Twilight,” aka the actors, they do an OK job at conveying their characters. The best one in the cast is Jodelle Ferland as a reluctant and thus, quite convincingly sympathetic Newborn vampire named Bree Tanner. Her final fate in the movie was quite effectively executed.

OK, I admit I’m not remotely in the target audience of the Twilight novels. But I think this’ll satisfy them very much; for everyone else, this film won’t do you any harm by seeing it.

Inception

If I were to explain the complete plot of Inception, director, writer and co-producer Christopher Nolan’s new sci-fi caper film, I’d take up too much time and confuse the living daylights out of my readers. So instead, I’ll parse it down in a few paragraphs.

The “heroes” of this film are Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), two thieves who steal ideas from people’s dreams. One day, businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) proposes a unique idea: rather than swipe an idea from someone’s mind, they instead give someone a bright idea. This is the Inception of the title.

The plan is to give corporate heir Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) an incentive that would cause his late father’s corporation to disintegrate. The heroes assemble their team and scam their way into Fischer’s trust so easily. But the specter of Cobb’s dead wife (Marion Cotillard) threatens to derail everything.

The film stylistically resembles Nolan’s two Batman features, especially with its cinematographer Wally Pfister filming this one. The best effects have to be either the “Shifting dream city” or the revolving hallway. The snowy fortress visited in the last part is an amazing locale. In short, as far as style goes, Inception is outstanding.

This is a summer film where effects play second fiddle to the story. It’s quite a complicated storyline that is most likely meant to make sense the more you think of it. The same can probably said about any dream, which is likely the point of this film.

Overall, Inception’s complexities help make this summer film quite a memorable one. This is the kind of films that should be coming out this summer; if Christopher Nolan keeps this up, then the inevitable third Batman feature will linger in the pop-cultural osmosis as much as this film.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

You know it better as a part of Disney’s Fantasia, but the story of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was once a poem by Goethe. Anyway, they’ll be remembered far better than this film version, which is directed by Jon Turteltaub, who did the two National Treasure films.

The film dumps its exposition in the beginning, explaining how Horvath (Alfred Molina), apprentice to Merlin himself defected to the side of the evil Morgana le Fey, and how fellow apprentice Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) sealed the villains in a magical matryoshka doll. Years later, in contemporary Manhattan, young Dave (played as an adult by Jay Baruchel) strolls in the now-immortal Balthazar’s shop and accidentally frees Horvath. The two rivals seal themselves in a vase for exactly ten years and then, the plot progresses…

As for the rest of the film, Dave learns from the now-free Balthazar that he’s the “Prime Merlinian,” the chosen one who can thwart le Fey forever. His magic ring is his weapon against Horvath and le Fey’s other servants, but he has to use it properly or else a simple clean-up job becomes a big mess.

Having spent too long on exposition, I’ll cut to the chase. There’s quite a bit of cool CGI effects, including a fight with a dragon and the obligatory walking brooms sequence. Toby Kebbell, as Horvath’s own apprentice, is quite amusing.

But still, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s not gonna match the cultural longevity of Pirates of the Caribbean with this one. Overall verdict is this: see this one if all you want is a fairly decent afternoon timewaster, for that’s all this is.

Predators

Last time we saw Fox’s extraterrestrial hunters, they hunted down Fox’s extraterrestrial terrors in two Alien vs. Predator films. Now, twenty years after they had a film for themselves, the Predators have returned in, drum roll please, Predators!

The brainchild of Producer Robert Rodriguez and realized by director Nimrod Antal, this film drops a whole bunch of soldiers, criminals and even a “pharmacist” (Topher Grace) into the jungle in the first few minutes. Led by Royce (Adrien Brody), our “heroes” quickly discover that wherever they are, they are not on Earth. Just as quickly, Royce realizes their new surroundings are a game preserve with themselves as the prey. And then the real stars of the show come in…

And, that’s it for plot. Then again, all it is supposed to be is an action film.

Yes, the film is gory, but it doesn’t really drown itself in a sea of blood. Instead, the film provides plenty of suspenseful action to go along with the blunt set pieces that highlight the film. In a way, this puts it on similar ground as Ridley Scott’s Alien from 1979.

These characters maybe stereotypical, or at worst, unsympathetic, but somehow, these characters are appealing at best. The cast highlight is Grace, as the pharmacist who starts off a hapless nerd, but is really more than he lets on. And in a cameo role, Laurence Fishburne is a nice surprise.

Unlike a few other summer films, Predators doesn’t flash the latest in visual effects and the loudest of noises. In fact, the titular creatures are effectively created by practical makeup effects. And really, there’s nothing wrong with simplicity. This is why Predators is quite worth the trip to see this summer.

Despicable Me

The umpteenth film in this short span of months to come on both 3d and flat screens, Despicable Me actually works wonders in the 3d format. Take away the fancy “throw stuff at the screen” effects and it still works.

Our villainous hero is Gru (Steve Carrel), who’s supposed to be a big time villain, but is more of a wash-up. His grand plan is to shrink and steal the moon itself, but he can’t even get a loan from The Bank of Evil (“Formerly Lehman Brothers,” as its sign proclaims) to secure his plan. When he does get the shrink-ray essential for his plan, it’s swiped from him by up-and-coming baddie Vector (Jason Segal).

Good ol’ Gru fails to steal back the shrink-ray from Vector’s fortress, and that’s when he sees three orphan girls: Margo, Edith and Agnes sell some cookies to Vector. Shameless opportunist he is, Gru adopts the girls as unwitting pawns in his scheme. Despite his efforts, Gru ends up liking becoming a surrogate father for these three.

This film’s use of 3d effects is not despicably inept in the least. Whether in the film’s amusement park scenes, or in its displays of villainous gadgetry, the 3d effects are, simply put, there. Subtlety works great in other effects films, but with a format that eschews subtlety, one shouldn’t ask for anything less.

Without the 3d effects, everything else, as I said before, still works. Gru makes a likeable anti-villain, Vector a capably smug real-villain, while Gru’s harsh mother (Julie Andrews in a Transylvanian accent) and Gru’s yellow “minions” are hilarious highlights.

Whatever the price you pay for this film, Despicable Me is worth it all the way.

The Last Airbender

I’m sure director, writer and producer M. Night Shyamalan tried, but the film of the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender isn’t really that great. It has some good spots, but not enough unfortunately.

Simply called The Last Airbender to avoid confusion with the recent blockbuster, this film is available in both flat and 3d screens. With the 3d added at the last minute, you can guess which I saw.

The cartoon and this film concern nations of people who can control, or “bend” the elements of fire, water, earth and air. The Fire Nation, led by Fire Lord Ozai is out to conquer the world. Having reduced the Airbenders to the brink of extinction, they set their sights on the other two nations.

Two kids from the Water Tribe, Sokka and his sister Katara accidentally free young Aang from a century-long slumber in an Iceberg. It turns out Aang is the titular last Airbender and the Avatar, the one bender that controls them all and thus, the one who can thwart Ozai. But since Aang’s skills in the other three elements are nil, our heroes must get him trained immediately.

This film’s fatal flaw is that it plays out as a plot summary of the first season of the cartoon. It skims through important events and leaves character development second. It’s mainly the secondary characters that ultimately suffer, although the leads get their share of it.

This film also violates the rule of show, don’t tell. Instead of showing, for instance, how Aang got frozen, Katara’s narration simply states, paraphrased, “Aang ran away and got frozen.” Those two aren’t the same.

Among the bright spots in the film is the score, provided by James Newton Howard, which helps the battle scenes. The production and costume designs should also be mentioned for their fine use of color. And the elementally-aided fight scenes are also nicely done.

In the cartoon, the Avatar is continuously reborn after death into newer lives. Let’s just hope the next incarnation is better thought out.

Knight and Day

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.

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 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 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.

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.