Mickster Movie Review - "12 Years A Slave" (2013) ****

     On day one of the Best Picture Showcase, AMC saved the best film for last. 12 Years A Slave is one of the front-runners for Best Picture along with Gravity and American Hustle. I can certainly see why now. Slavery is obviously a touchy subject and one that is hard to put into an "entertainment" medium. Lincoln touched on the subject last year, but from the viewpoint of a white man, President Abraham Lincoln. We know how important he was to ending slavery, but the film didn't really go into what slavery was like for black people at that time. 12 Years A Slave shows us up close what that reality was and after witnessing it, I can't imagine going through what slaves went through in this country during that time. I feel like 12 Years A Slave is to slavery what Schindler's List is to the holocaust. Both are brilliant films but unflinching in what the camera sees, they challenge us to forget what we saw. Something that to me seems impossible to do.

     Directed by Steve McQueen, Slave is based on a true story by Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York. Northup lives a quiet life with his wife and kids and is well-respected in the community as he is a talented violinist. On a trip to Washington D.C., Solomon is kidnapped and wakes up chained to a floor. Two white gentlemen come in the room and when he protests his confinement, he is brutally whipped. Solomon slowly comes to the realization that he is now a slave and cannot escape. He is sold to a plantation owner and shipped to New Orleans. Over the next 12 years, Solomon experiences a brutal life filled with beatings, hangings and murder. It is personified by his most violent owner, a man named Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), who is ruthless to the core. Solomon does all he can to survive, and regain his dignity, never losing hope that one day he will be reunited with his family.

     12 Years A Slave is not an easy movie to watch. I doubt that I will be putting this on the tube on a regular basis. That being said, I think it's a film that every body SHOULD see at least once, just like Schindler's List. While these events are dark times in history, we can't forget they happened. We need to be reminded from time to time how evil humans can be and how precious life is and we should savor our freedom every day. Chiwetel Ejiofor is brilliant in his portrayal of Solomon. I haven't seen all of the other performances yet, and it appears Matthew McConaughey is the odds on favorite to win the Best Actor Oscar, but for now my vote would be for Ejiofor. But he is far from the only strong performance in the film. Lupita Nyong'o is memorable as another slave named Patsey. Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch play roles as white men who actually respect Northup and do what they can to help him, both are effective in their portrayals. Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard and Sarah Paulson are strong, as always, in supporting roles. But the real star is Ejiofor and director McQueen. They've taken a very controversial subject and looked at it with honest eyes. It's hard to watch, but very effective. I give this a very high recommendation but go in knowing that it may be hard to watch in parts.

Mickster

Mickster Movie Review - "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013) ***1/2

     Well, that was interesting to say the least.  The Wolf of Wall Street has been the talk of theaters for several months, and not all of it in a good way. While the film has received lots of critical praise, it has received it's fair share of criticism due to the profanity, nudity, and drug usage in the film. I can confirm, it has LOTS of all that. Stories of people walking out of theaters and demanding their money back make more sense to me now, but still, it is rated R so I'm not sure all the "shock" is genuine or warranted. While there are a lot of things here that will make a mechanic blush, underneath is actually an interesting story and I can certainly understand where the praise is coming from.

    Wolf is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), who rose from nothing to become a big time stockbroker, only to fall and serve time in prison for defrauding investors. Belfort's first day on the job ends up being October 19, 1987, or "Black Monday" as it's better known, when the stock market crashed. He was out of a job before he ever got started. After considering leaving the business he ends up back with a small company who sells penny stocks. He is obviously a better salesman than any of his coworkers and amazes them all by making a huge sale on his first day. He quickly rises back up and figures that he needs to go into business for himself. He befriends Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), and along with a group of friends, Belfort starts his own company- Stratton Oakmont. Before long the company is making tons of money and Belfort rises up the ranks in the business world. But with success came a party atmosphere loaded with constant drug use, prostitution and unethical business practices, all of which would lead to attention from the FBI, especially agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). As the FBI closes in, Belfort rubs his fortune in their face. His pride ultimately leads to his downfall.

     Director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have become a bit of a sure thing in Hollywood. The two have collaborated on five films now, most notably The Departed, which won Best Picture at the Oscars. I don't think this is their best film together, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not without flaws though. It is very lewd for much of the film and flirts with an NC-17 rating. It's not that I minded that, but there's just SO much of it. After awhile it seemed like there were scenes thrown in just to see how much they could push the envelope. This leads me to my biggest gripe with the film, the running time. This movie is 3 hours looooooong. I don't mind long movies mind you, but sometimes they are just simply unnecessary. This film could have cut a solid hour out of it and you could tell the same story. That's what I mean about the lewd scenes being thrown in, it just seems like Scorsese was trying to get as much in as he could. It's unnecessary though and drags the movie down in the middle parts. Had this movie but much shorter I feel there is 4 1/2 star potential there. But that should not distract you from seeing it, I still give it a solid recommend. Be wary of the content going in, but as long as you are not easily offended, there is a lot of interesting story here. There's just too much of it.

Mickster

Mickster Movie Review - "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013) ***

     Two films that I absolutely love, Philadelphia and And The Band Played On, both are human interest stories revolving around the AIDS epidemic and the struggles people with the disease, or combating it, went through, especially in its earliest days. One of the primary criticisms of the Reagan administration was his failure to acknowledge the seriousness of AIDS and do more to stop it early. Too many people viewed it strictly as a "gay disease" and did not want to be associated with it. We've learned now that while it was prevalent in the gay community, anyone was capable of getting AIDS through several different methods. Ron Woodroof was one such gentleman who contracted the virus, not by being homosexual, but living a life that was irresponsible and risky. He could have passed on and been one of the many victims of AIDS who was able to do nothing, but Woodroof did not accept his diagnosis and set out to fight it any way he could, changing his legacy in the process.

     Ron Woodroof is portrayed by Matthew McConaughey, who continues his career renaissance that started a couple of years ago, and will likely land him an Oscar for his efforts. Woodroof is an electrician and part-time rodeo bull rider, who lives an outgoing life defined by drugs, alcohol and his many different sex partners. He is a racist and homophobe who is about to get the biggest shock of his life. After passing out one night, he is taken to the hospital, where after running blood tests he is told that he has AIDS and only has about 30 days to live. Woodroof does not accept the diagnosis because he believes the disease is strictly a homosexual one. He storms out of the hospital and goes back to living his carefree ways. But the news sits on his mind and he starts doing research, eventually coming to the realization that it is possible for him to have it. He becomes ostracized by his friends and coworkers who pick on him for being queer, an accusation that causes him to confront his friends. When he is placed on an experimental medication called AZT, he learns that the medicine actually does more harm than good and sets out to fight the medical system. He sees a "doctor" in Mexico who introduces him to better medication for AIDS but the drugs are not approved for use in America. Woodroof befriends a transvestite named Rayon (Jared Leto) who has connections in the gay community. Together the two become "drug dealers" to the AIDS community in an effort to combat the medical and political machines who are more interested in profits than curing people.

     Dallas Buyers Club is good but I felt like I wanted a little more from it. McConaughey and Leto have been cleaning up the Acting and Supporting Actor awards in the various awards shows leading up to the Oscars. They are both the favorites to take home the gold statues on March 2nd. Leto plays a very challenging role as a transvestite, but I feel he is getting attention just because of that, not necessarily for the performance which I think is just okay. I understand the praise more for McConaughey but even then, I don't even consider it his best role from this past year. I think his turn in Mud was even better. Jennifer Garner is also decent as a doctor who sympathizes with both Ron and Rayon's situations. I may be coming off a little tough on this movie, but I really thought this was going to be one of the two or three best of all the nominations, and instead I think it will be more towards the bottom. So while it is good, and I do recommend it by all means, I was wanting more and I didn't quite get it. A good movie for sure, but not necessarily a best picture.

Mickster

Mickster Movie Review - "Philomena" (2013) ***1/2

     If you read my previous blog article, every year I attend the AMC Theaters Best Picture Showcase, which shows all the Best Picture Oscar nominees over a 2-day event. This is my sixth year attending the event. Every year there is one movie that sort of scares me. That movie that you know you probably won't like due its subject matter or style. Sometimes those fears become reality (Les Miserables) and other times I have been pleasantly surprised (Winter's Bone). Coming into the 2014 Showcase, the film that worried me the most was Philomena. It was a small, independent, British film with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan...not much there screams "You're going to LOVE this!". But as I do with each and every movie, I approached it with an open mind. It turns out, this one is one of the pleasant surprises.

     Philomena is based on a true story about a woman named Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), who at a young age gets pregnant. She is in a Catholic convent and the sisters do not approve of the baby. Philomena is forced to deliver the baby and give it up for adoption to an American family, which breaks her heart. She is now older but still mourns the day she had to give up her son. Her current daughter sees her crying one day, and Philomena confesses about the situation, something she had never done before. Her daughter approaches former journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) about writing a story on her mothers situation. At first he is not interested, but once he meets Philomena he agrees to do the story. Philomena and Martin head to America to find her son. They end up finding out about her son, but more importantly, they find out a lot more about themselves and their beliefs.

     I was pleasantly surprised with this film. It clocks in at just over 90 minutes which is perfect for this story. It is a little slow at first, but once we get to America and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, I was hooked with these two and was genuinely interested in seeing what would happen. You expect the film to go one way, but it does a 180 on you about halfway through and it's at that point where I was on board for good. This movie is a pure drama, but I was surprised at how often I laughed along the way. Dame Judi Dench is a real gem in this film, but Steve Coogan really makes it work. I don't know much about him at all, but I was really impressed here. The films is directed by Stephen Frears and is based on a book written by the real Martin Sixsmith and his account of the events, "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee". After seeing the film, I do want to search out this book and read more about what happened. That's probably the biggest compliment I can give it. If you're up for a good emotional drama that will make you cry and smile at the same time, I give a solid recommendation to Philomena.

A Mickster Take - AMC Theatres Best Picture Showcase

     Since I'm writing this blog, it should be pretty apparent that I love the movies. Because I love the movies, I am a fan of the Oscars. I know a lot of people don't share that love, and I realize it's often not the true reflection of what the "best" pictures are of any given year, but for one night I like to see the movie business be the center of attention and it's a lot of fun usually. For many years, I rarely saw most of the films that were nominated for Best Picture. I didn't want to watch those "dramas", I wanted to see stuff blow up. But as my movie tastes matured over the years I found myself paying more attention to what the Best Picture nominees were, and doing my best to see as many as I could. That was often difficult, assuming you wanted to see those films on the big screen, because a lot of the films wouldn't be playing in theaters during the Oscar season. So you had to wait until they were on video to check them out. That all changed in 2007.

     In 2007, AMC theaters started a new event called the Best Picture Showcase. After the nominees were announced, AMC would show all 5 Best Picture nominees over the course of one day for those who were interested. It proved to be very popular and the event is gaining in popularity each and every year. I attended my first Best Picture Showcase in 2009 and this year will mark 6 straight years of participation. During my second year, the Academy changed the rules and named 10 nominees for Best Picture, which stretched the event to a 2-day event (or 24 hours if you're one of the lucky cities to get that event). Since that change, there have not been less than 9 nominees on any given year, so it's definitely settled into a 2-day event for me. The Best Picture Showcase is one of the highlights of my calendar year. It's not for everybody but I really enjoy sitting in a theater for 10-12 hours watching the "best of the best" in the movie world. I've noticed over the years you see the same people and several of us are on a first name basis, though we only see each other those 2 days of the year. It's neat. It's fun to watch a film and then take a 30 minute or so break and talk about it with those around you. Eventually you start ranking the films and by the end of the event, everyone has THEIR Best Picture.

     The event has served up some of my favorite films that I have seen in the past decade. I'll never forget seeing films like The Social Network, Moneyball, Argo or Silver Linings Playbook for the first time. All personal favorites of mine. There have been some duds too! The Tree of Life, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and District 9, all are critically acclaimed, but I hated them so much. I have also been mesmerized by a few movies that I probably never would have seen had they not been part of the event, films such as Winter's Bone, The Help and this years Philomena. Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite actress these days, but I had never heard of her when I saw her in Winter's Bone. I remember thinking "Who is this girl?" She had so much talent at such a young age, I knew she had a bright future. I think it's safe to say, the rest is history.

     I'm not saying this event is for everyone, but if you are true fan of cinema, especially seeing films IN the theater, I really think you should give this event a try one year. It's a lot of fun, and the good movies generally far outweigh the bad. Those "Oscar films" sometimes get too bad of a rap. There's a reason most of these films are nominated for Best Picture. The Academy misses sometimes, but for the most part they do a good job. I'll be at AMC in Orange Park, FL the next two Saturdays. Maybe I'll see you there during one of those days. If not, maybe I'll see you there one day in the future. Think about giving it a shot. AMC is doing a good thing and I'd like to continue seeing the event grow every year.

“Great” Scott’s Greater than Great DVD Review of Killing Them Softly (2012)

“Great” Scott’s Greater than Great DVD Review of Killing Them Softly (2012)

Title

Killing Them Softly

IMDB Page

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764234/?ref_=nv_sr_1

One-Sentence Summary

Three morons with no backstory rob a card game run by the mob, so the mob sends Brad Pitt to kill them…softly.

What’s Great About It

The acting is solid…and the soundtrack is good.

What’s Not-So-Great About It

Pretty much everything else is horrible.  Scenes take forever to end; I don’t care about any of the characters; the story is about as bland and “from point A to point B” as it gets; and the director is clearly trying to cram in as many “look what I learned in film school” things as he can. 

Rating

Gg (1.5 out of 5)

Explanation

Boy oh boy, where to begin.  First, let’s get the good out of the way.  Every person in this movie plays their role admirably.  Brad Pitt, as mob enforcer Jackie Cogan, does a great job and you can tell he isn’t even trying.  Ray Liotta plays a sniveling weasel as good as anyone.  James Gandolfini is excellent as a drunken, sex-crazed, not-so-great-anymore hitman.  The two guys who play the lead roles are lesser-known actors, but both do a job of playing idiots really well.

That’s about where things go south.  We get no backstory on either of the two dimwit robbers except that one is currently stealing dogs to make enough money to buy drugs to sell…other than that, there’s really no reason to want to see these guys succeed or fail…I didn’t even NOT like them…I couldn’t have cared less.  The same holds true with Brad Pitt’s character…he seemed like a better guy than the two morons, but I still didn’t really care, in the grand scheme of things.

The worst part of this movie is that scenes went on for evvvvvveeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  Dear Lord, this script must’ve been three million pages long, or the actors were paid to ad lib by the word.  The worst part was that most of these verbose scenes had nothing to do with the plot.  I got that Gandolfini’s character was a sex addict after the first five minutes he talked about it…the next 15 minutes were overkill. 

Lastly, the director of this movie included so many things that just shouted, “Look at what I can do!”  Normally, I don’t spoil movies, but this movie spoiled my evening, so I’m going to return the favor.  One example is when Ray Liotta gets killed; his death is so overblown that I couldn’t help but laugh.  Another scene involves one of the idiot robbers trying to ask his friend some questions while his friend is stoned…the effects used to show the “stonedness” are cool for all of about two minutes…the next five or six minutes of it grate on the nerves.

So, if you’re up for a caper movie, go watch Usual Suspects, even if you’ve seen it already.  Or, watch the one part of Pulp Fiction again, the part where they rob the diner.  Or, if you simply MUST see Brad Pitt in a caper movie, watch any of the Ocean’s movies…even Ocean’s Twelve, which was sorta’ terrible.  Even it was better than this.

Mickster Movie Review - "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013) ***

     Forest Whitaker is one of those quiet, under-appreciated actors who is often much better than the movies he stars in. Even when his films don't work, it's usually not because of him. Director Lee Daniels hasn't made too many films and I'm only familiar with two of his works, but I enjoyed both of them: Monster's Ball (Producer) and Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (Director). This combination should have no trouble turning out a good product, and they have for the most part, but there are some flaws here.

     Lee Daniels' The Butler (named that for legal reasons), stars Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a young man who grows up in the deep south on a cotton farm, sees his father murdered by the plantation owner, and sets out on a career path that will lead him to become an expert at being a butler. His skills, and reputation, ultimately lead him to a job at the White House where he will serve the President of the US for a period of over 30 years. The film is based on a real-life person named Eugene Allen. Gaines is married to an alcoholic named Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), and has two boys named Louis (David Oyelowo) and Charlie. The story focuses mainly on Cecil and Louis and how they see things differently at a time when blacks were not considered equal to whites. Cecil believes it's best to not get involved and do his best to serve others. Louis goes off to college and becomes involved in the civil rights movement, eventually joining Martin Luther King Jr. and later the Black Panthers. Father and son do not see eye to eye on most matters and this leads to a lot of tension between the two. In the meantime, we see historical events unfold as president after president under Cecil's watch reflect their views on the world.

     I did a lot of reading about this film before and after my viewing and I've learned that much of what I saw is heavily edited for dramatic purposes. That's not at all unusual in movies, but I feel knowing some of what I do distracts from this movie a bit. Apparently a lot of the stuff inside the White House is very accurate, while much of what happens outside of the House is fictionalized or at least stretched quite a bit. What's odd, is that I find the stuff outside more interesting than the realistic stuff. I really like the performances from Whitaker and Oyelowo, as father and son and their conflicting views on the world. On the contrary, I found a lot of these stuff in the White House to be boring and unnecessary in many cases. The biggest miss for me is the selection in actors to play the various Presidents. There are some odd choices to say the least and I almost feel it was done purposely just so we can say, "HEY, look, that's xxxxxx as President xxxxx". This was a mistake as I found myself wondering who was going to be the next President more than I cared about what was going to happen next. The only one of scenes that really works for me is a scene with Lyndon Johnson in the bathroom that had me laughing pretty hard, but overall this idea was really a miss and hurts the film.

    All that being said, there is more good here than bad and I do give it a recommend. Whitaker is solid and many of the performing roles are good, if not spectacular. Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, and Cuba Gooding Jr. are almost always good on screen and that's no exception here. Oprah was getting some Best Supporting Actress love but after seeing this I think that's more for name recognition than anything else. She's really not a major character here, in my opinion at least. The movie has garnered a lot of comparisons to Forrest Gump in the way it focuses on a character over a period of time and how world events are seen through his eyes. I get the comparison but it really is different. I wanted a bit more and was somewhat let down, but still a decent watch. See it for Whitaker's performance if nothing else.

Mickster

Mickster Movie Review - "All Is Lost" (2013) **1/2

    Bummer. I wanted this movie to be great. I REALLY wanted to like this movie a lot. Unfortunately, it's just good and never ventures into that great territory. All Is Lost stars Robert Redford, and only Robert Redford, as a man who is stranded at sea when his sailboat is hit by a stray shipping container. I first heard about this movie about a year ago when it premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and received solid reviews. I've never been a huge Robert Redford fan as his glory days were a little before my time, but I've liked him enough in the movies of his that I have seen. By my own admission, I do need to make more of an effort to see some of his past work. But I was definitely intrigued by the story which involves Redford's struggle to survive on the seas by himself. He received rave reviews for his performance, which reviews almost zero dialogue the entire film. It was because of these reviews that I had this film high on my list to see throughout 2013.

     All Is Lost is a good movie. The problem is, I felt like I have seen it a million times. It's just one of those type movies. Cast Away, The Perfect Storm, and Life of Pi are just some movies that come immediately to mind when I think about this film. Appropriate enough, those are also examples of films that I enjoyed watching but don't think they are great and find no need to watch them again unless nothing else is on. I feel the same way about All Is Lost. The film is pretty straight forward and doesn't require much of a plot summary. The movie opens with Redford's character, who is never given a name (Our Man is listed on the credits), asleep in his cabin when he awakes to water rushing into his boat. He heads outside to find a shipping container has punched a hole in the side. The incident has damaged his electronic equipment and motor. He is stranded at sea with no way to communicate with land. From then on, it's just a film with how this man struggles with staying alive with no help in sight. I won't reveal how it turns out of course, that's for your to discover on your own.

      If you are a Redford fan, this certainly won't change your opinion of him. He is very good in what must have been a challenging role to film. I just felt the story lacking and familiar. 2 1/2 stars is right in the middle for me, but on my rating system that still is a slight recommendation. Go in with your expectations in check and you can enjoy this. Just don't expect too much from it.

Mickster

The Beer Man Review - "The LEGO Movie" (2014) ****

     "The LEGO Movie" is the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO (R) adventure. The original 3D computer animated story follows Emmet (Chris Pratt) an ordinary, rules- following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared. (c) Warner Bros  Courtesy of Rottentomatoes.com.

     I like legos and I like movies so when I heard about this movie I was interested but thought it would be just a shameless plug with the rating and the release date.  Wow, Wow, (EVERY THING IS AWESOME) was I wrong.  This is going to be a short review because I don't want to give anything away, I want everyone to watch this film.  The 3D, the graphics, the story line, (Every Thing Is Awesome) are amazing.  This film will blow your mind and adhere to a simple story line but promise to deliver with action and heart felt reaction to many worlds of imagination.

     This is a movie for everyone. I've had the honor of visiting Legoland and was so impressed with the great LEGO exhibits.  Well this movie surpassed those moments of admiration and imagination.  I didn't get to much in to this film as far as the story but be prepared for love, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Shaquille O'neal, Star Wars cameo, (EVERY THING IS AWESOME).  The beer I recommend for this film (this is a disclaimer by the guy typing right now... you have to be 21 to drink the beer I recommend) is Miller High Life because I think they stick to the basics of them being who they are.  This film took an amazing toy/hobby/amusement park and made it...............(Everything is Awesome).  The Beer Man gives this movie a solid 4 beer cans, if you're 21.   Please go see this movie and as always be kind.

Justin "The Beer Man" Bryan

Mickster Movie Review - "You're Next" (2013) **1/2

     One of the better horror films I've seen in the last decade was 2008's The Strangers, about a young couple who are terrorized by a group of masked invaders in their home. As is often the case, what makes some of the best scary movies are when you can imagine the events happening in real life. What would you do in these situations? It can be terrifying to think about. The Strangers was very effective in this regard and will always be a personal favorite. You're Next is a descendant of The Strangers but doesn't quite work as effectively, though there is enough good here for a slight recommendation.

     The Davison's are a dysfunctional family...to say the least. They are gathering at a large house to celebrate a family reunion. The main story focus is on one of the sons, Crispian (AJ Bowen) and his new girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson), who is several years younger then Crispian, a fact that the other family members gladly point out. There are two other brothers, and a sister, all joined by their significant others, along with the mother and father. The family seems to argue relentlessly, even right at the dinner table, which makes everyone uncomfortable. This are starting to get heated when one of the guests stands up near a window and takes an arrow to the head, killing him instantly. This sets off a panic among the rest of the family as they soon realize they are being attacked by a group of individuals who are trying to invade the home. The "invaders" wear masks of various animals and are quite effective at their jobs. That is, until one of the house guests turns out to be VERY effective themselves in the art of survival.

     You're Next will probably not be a film I remember well in 10 years, that's the state of most horror films. But you can definitely do a lot worse. It's got some pretty decent gore and may not be for the "casual" horror watcher but fans of the genre should definitely give it a shot. You may even like it more than I did, I wouldn't be surprised. There's some good fun here. I give it a slight recommend.

Mickster

Mickster Movie Review - "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" (2013) *

     This movie really should not have used the word "incredible" in the title. That makes it a form of false advertisement. I'm going to spend very little time on this movie. It's not worth putting a lot of thought into. Steve Carell is the title character who teaches himself magic at an early age. He partners up with another kid from school, played by Steve Buscemi as an adult, and the two become one of the top magic acts in the country, ultimately getting their own show in Vegas. However, their act starts to become stale, and a new street magician (Jim Carrey), in the style of David Blaine or Criss Angel, becomes the next big thing and threatens to put them out of business. Wonderstone must go back and figure out why he loves magic in the first place in order to regain his status.

     I'm being generous giving this film just one star. There was almost no substance here at all. I guess a couple of times I chuckled a bit but that was it. I don't ask too much of comedies, just make me laugh. This film did not accomplish that goal. I'm a big fan of all three of the main stars but this feels like a mailed-in performance from each and will be easily forgotten. You can safely skip this one.

The Beer Man Review - "About Time" **

     At the age of 21, Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers he can travel in time... The night after another unsatisfactory New Year party, Tim's father (Bill Nighy) tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can't change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life-so he decides to make his world a better place...by getting a girlfriend. Sadly, that turns out not to be as easy as you might think. Moving from the Cornwall coast to London to train as a lawyer, Tim finally meets the beautiful but insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). They fall in love, then an unfortunate time-travel incident means he's never met her at all. So they meet for the first time again-and again-but finally, after a lot of cunning time-traveling, he wins her heart. Tim then uses his power to create the perfect romantic proposal, to save his wedding from the worst best-man speeches, to save his best friend from professional disaster and to get his pregnant wife to the hospital in time for the birth of their daughter, despite a nasty traffic jam outside Abbey Road. But as his unusual life progresses, Tim finds out that his unique gift can't save him from the sorrows and ups and downs that affect all families, everywhere. There are great limits to what time travel can achieve, and it can be dangerous too. About Time is a comedy about love and time travel, which discovers that, in the end, making the most of life may not need time travel at all.(c) Universal.  Courtesy of Rottentomatoes.com

     This is a film that I was so excited to see. It is directed by Richard Curtis, who brought us Love Actually, a film which is very dear to my viewing pleasure and would be in my top 50 all-time, and stars Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, and Bill Nighy.  I would love to travel in time. Me and the family watched Back to the Future a week ago and I am pro time travel if we can make it happen.  With that said this film had me for the taking; it's a science fiction love story with British humor...sign me up.  The acting in this film was amazing as well as the premise of the story so showing up to this film in a tin foil hat I was set and ready to receive.  I love how this film starts and you're introduced to the characters and you connect but then when the time travel begins you find yourself trying to keep up.  There is a lot of humor and family connection in this film but then you realize it's just Tim's personal voyage to perfect his love life.  The story strays into many subplots and you find yourself wandering if you are in The Time Travelers Wife or The Butterfly Effect.  BEER SIGHTING-Heineken-there was a lot of drinking in this film an I appreciate it but it sobered the plot with a slow showing.

     I believe that this is a film that a lot of people will enjoy.  People will lock on to this as a feel good family movie that makes them appreciate the ones they love but my fault with this film is that you can't clinch your fists and fix every love/family problem that you are ever introduced with.  I think this is a great film for families and is a good Saturday afternoon movie.  I just think that the power that was given was not fully appreciated and it became personal to him.  I recommend the beer/malt beverage of Steel Reserve for this film, why, cause I think it will make you time travel.  The Beer Man classifies this film as a feel good family film but can't  totally validate it.  I certify it with 2 beer cans.  Thanks for reading and as always be kind.

Justin "The Beer Man" Bryan

Mickster Movie Review - "The Lone Ranger" (2013) ***1/2

     Can 30 minutes of good, solid action save a movie and make it watchable? Generally I believe I would answer no to that question. It would depend on a lot of factors obviously, but usually I need a little more than that. Then The Lone Ranger came along this weekend on my Netflix queue, and I realized that it was indeed possible. I did NOT want to see this movie. I totally ignored it when it was in the theater, and when the critics roundly blasted it, I felt that move was justified. It is widely considered one of the worst films of 2013. I'm not sure why I put it in my Netflix queue, I guess I'm trying to do my due diligence for people who respect my opinions. But something interesting happened while watching it this weekend. I came to the realization that this isn't as bad as it's made out to be. It IS indeed way too long and bloated. A good 30 minute minimum cut would be welcome. An hour cut wouldn't be out of the question. But I enjoyed the opening and survived the middle portions. What I was rewarded with was a final 30 minutes that is absolutely delightful to watch and had a smile on my face the entire time. Once the William Tell Overture kicks in and the masked man and Tonto are saving the day, this becomes a really fun movie and is worth watching just for the finale.

     I won't get into the plot too much, it's really unimportant here. The Pirates of the Caribbean team of Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski reunite with star Johnny Depp, who plays legendary Native American warrior Tonto. I've never been the biggest Depp fan but I understand why he appeals to people so much. He's very likable on screen and while I don't know he was right for this part, he has fun with it and it's harmless enough. Armie Hammer, an actor I loved in The Social Network, one of my favorite films of the last 10 years, gets the honor of playing The Lone Ranger/John Reid. Once again, I'm sure there better options out there for the role but Hammer does a decent enough job. This is not an actors or storytellers masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. But if you approach the movie with an open mind, and can fight through that middle hour or so, there is a lot here to enjoy. And I can't talk about that last 30 minutes enough. Sometimes we watch movies simply to have fun. I had fun. That's all that matters. It's not perfect, there are definite faults, but it's not as bad as you might think it is. Give it a shot, I think you may be surprised.

“Great” Scott’s Tremendously Great DVD Review of Mud (2012)

Title

Mud

IMDB Page

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935179/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

One-Sentence Summary

Ugly up Matthew McConaughey and have him team up with two kids to reunite with his “lost love” in this modern day Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

What’s Great About It

JOE DON BAKER BAY-BEE!!  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InHgWFrQRbI)

All kidding aside, the acting in this movie is pretty good overall, even with some of the plot brain farts.  Also, the cinematography is great…the setting really adds to the tone of the movie.  Also, the casting is really good, except for…

What’s Not-So-Great About It

…Reese Witherspoon, who doesn’t “ugly up” as well as McConaughey.  She stands out like a sore thumb in this movie where all of the actors look like real people and she looks like Reese Witherspoon…in Daisy Dukes and stripper shoes.  There are also some plot lines that wander off and don’t come back.  Finally, there’s a scene at the end that, while being a welcome change of pace, is totally out of whack with the rest of the movie.

Rating

GGG

Explanation

Ellis and Neckbone (we never find out what his actual name is) are buddies like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  One day, the stumble upon a boat caught in a tree because of a recent storm.  They claim the boat as theirs and they get a free prize…Matthew McConaughey as the titular Mud.  It appears Mud is living in the boat while he’s “waiting for someone.”  Because of what must be piss-poor parenting, the two boys (actually mostly Ellis…despite his stupid name, Neckbone has some sense) agree to help Mud get in touch with the love of his life…Juniper (Witherspoon). 

Obviously, this would be a pretty short movie if the boys just brought Juniper to Mud, so some roadblocks are thrown in…apparently, Mud has done some things he maybe shouldn’t have done.  Far be it from me to spoil things, so let’s just leave it at that.  In addition to the main “reunion” plot, there are a few other plots that the filmmakers throw at us with various degrees of success:  Ellis’ parents are contemplating divorce (which might result in Ellis’ dad losing his floating dump heap of a house); Ellis is trying to find true love himself; Neckbone’s uncle is trying to connect with him (because Neckbone’s parents died); there’s a weird old man that lives across the river from Ellis that keeps popping up; Ellis’ mom is trying to bond with him; Juniper is a bit of whore…

All in all, this movie isn’t too bad.  It’s a little slow in parts and it’s clearly trying really hard to be more than it is.  There are so many topics this movie tries to explore that you never really get to the heart of the main characters.  At the end, you really don’t feel as though you know any more about Mud than you did at the beginning…or maybe I just missed it because I was in awe of Joe Don Baker.  The name of the movie really should’ve been Ellis, because it’s his story.  Perhaps Mud is more of a description of the plot than of the title character…

“Great” Scott’s Phenomenally Great DVD Review of Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

“Great” Scott’s Phenomenally Great DVD Review of Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Title
Olympus Has Fallen


IMDB Page
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2302755/?ref_=nv_sr_1


One-Sentence Summary
Rip off Die Hard, but make it more over the top, more gratuitously violent, and less logical…and set it in the White House (the titular Olympus).


What’s Great About It
Gerard Butler is a likeable enough hero.  Some of the action scenes are good.


What’s Not-So-Great About It
Sweet baby Jesus, this movie is gratuitously violent.  It's also one of the most cliché-ridden movies I've ever watched.


Rating
GG


Explanation
Gerard Butler is a disgraced (in his own mind, anyway) CIA agent who is busted down to security at the Department of Treasury building for reasons that are somewhat ridiculous.  Anyway, fast forward some amount of time that escapes me and the White House is preparing for a meeting to help avert war between those crazy Koreans.  Aaron Eckhart’s face has clearly healed (See that clever nod to Eckhart playing Two Face?  See?) and now he’s the President.  He’s hosting the South Korean contingent when all hell and clichés break loose!!  For the next ten minutes, my television was filled with enough gratuitous violence and blood that it started leaking out of the speakers.  Gerard Butler, however, maneuvers through the chaos to help take back the White House.  There are some subplots involving the president’s son, nuclear launch codes, and inside betrayal, but are we really watching this movie for subplots?

This movie would’ve been a relatively decent action flick if it wasn’t so damned violent and pathetically clichéd.  Disgraced hero looking to redeem himself: check.  Foreign terrorists: check.  Impotent police, military, and politicians: check.  Stupid military official who won’t listen to the hero and ends up getting people hurt/killed: check.  Explosion with a timer that seems ridiculously easy to arm, but ridiculously difficult to disarm: check.  There are a few others, but I certainly wouldn’t want to spoil this in-no-way-obviously-plotted movie.  Here’s a fun game you can play while watching this movie: give everyone in the room a piece of paper (actually, maybe two or three), and write down how many ways this movie rips off Die Hard.  The person with the most correct answers wins.  I can probably come up with about 20 if I tried. 

So, in summary, do yourself a favor and watch Die Hard instead of this movie…unless you’re a huge fan of Gerard Butler or Bobby Donnell from The Practice.

Mickster Movie Review - "The Spectacular Now" (2013) ***

     I'm piggybacking on The Beer Man's review of this film, which is just below. I saw it just after him and I have some of the same feelings he has, so I won't go into things too deep. The Spectacular Now is I movie I will need to watch again down the road as I have a feeling it may be better than I'm giving it credit for. That may not make a lot of sense, but follow along with me just a minute. I feel like if you are a pretty regular movie watcher, from time to time you will run into these spurts where you tend to watch the same kind of movie over and over again. It may happen accidentally, or intentionally, but we seem to have those times where everything we watch is similar. In the last half year or so, I feel like I have watched more "coming-of-age type" films than I have previously. And most of them have been great, or at the least decent. I think of films such as The Way, Way Back, Mud, Kings of Summer, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Short Term 12 and now The Spectacular Now. All this plus I have recently re-watched Say Anything with my fiancee who had never seen that. I think I may need to back off this genre for a bit! That's what I mean when I say I need to watch the movie again, after a little time, because I feel there is more here than I am giving it credit for.

      The story is fairly simple, and Justin touched on it earlier, but basically it's about a high school student, Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), who is a charmer and the life of the party. He has a tendency to drink a little too much, a trait that we learn affects his father also, and after a drunken binge one night, he falls asleep in the yard of another student, Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), your typical "good girl". The two become friends, and an attraction slowly builds between the two opposites, leading to an unlikely relationship that almost seems destined to hurt one or both parties involved. If there is a reason to see this film, it is for the perfomance of Shailene Woodley. She is one of the brightest young actresses going today and I have a feeling we will see her on the Oscar stage before too long. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her brilliant performance as George Clooney's eldest daughter in The Descendants. She is equally great here and is supported by fine performances from Kyle Chandler, Brie Larson and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

     My hesitation on the film comes primarily from the lead, Miles Teller, as Sutter. I don't know why, but this guy just didn't connect with me. I know what they were trying to go for with the character, but the actor seemed wrong for the part. Judging from other reviews of the film, I seem to be in a minority on this, but it is what it is. I enjoyed Teller in a role he had a couple of years ago in a movie called Rabbit Hole. I don't know why, he just seemed so unlikable in this role. His character is one you are supposed to pull for, and instead I just wanted to punch him in the nose.

      With all of the negative talk it may seem like I hated this film, but that's not the case at all. I do give it a slight recommend and it is worth watching. I just wanted a lot more out of it that I didn't get. Maybe time will be good to it.

Mickster