The Watch

It was Friday night, and I was looking forward to watching a mindless comedy. Unfortunately, this movie was less than mindless and barely watchable. I was quite disappointed, as I like Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and aliens. They have all made decent comedies in the past, but somehow the four of them together just never gelled. Ben Stiller's character was flat and lifeless. Vince Vaughn was even more over-the-top than usual. Jonah Hill probably had the best character of the three, but his understated humor clashed with the over-the-top bits throughout the movie. And unfortunately, the aliens were just remakes of all the other alien movies I have ever seen. They did not even bother to create original looking monsters. The writers resorted to too much crude sexual humor and weird bouts of schizophrenia in all of the characters. I was never able to truly connect to any of them, and I really didn't care if the aliens skinned them alive for not. It's so hard to find a decent comedy these days that has a real story and believable characters – sophomoric humor and 30-second gag jokes just don't cut it for me anymore. It's a shame, because this movie had potential. There were even a couple of scenes that were minimally funny, they just never carried through to make the plot or the characters anything but shallow shells. I did watch the entire movie, however, at the end I felt like I had wasted two hours. Don't bother with this one!

Love in the time of cholera

Occasionally, I'll enjoy watching a love story, if it's well-written and acted. This relatively unknown movie set in Columbia in the late 1800s and early 1900s, fits the bill...The movie is based on the novel by the Colombian Nobel Prize winning author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Without giving too much away, I'll say that it's a story about a young Colombian man, Javier Bardem, named Florentino. He falls in love with a beautiful woman way out of his league. They have a brief romance through the letters only, when finally, the young woman marries a rich and handsome doctor, Benjamin Bratt. To compensate for the loss of his one true love, Florentino becomes a Colombian "Don Juan" keeping a record of the many women he makes love too. He enjoys the sex, but he's a hopeless romantic, and never forgets his first love. Fifty-three years later, (Florentino is able to count exactly how many years, days and hours since he first had fallen in love with her), the doctor dies and Florentino makes his move. That's all I'll say... Not wanting to spoil the movie for you. The acting is superb, Javier is excellent. The poetry, language, monologue and dialogue are wonderfully deep and yet accessible. The background of Columbia is beautiful. This is not a movie about cholera, it's about romance and the essence of love. If you're interested in a decent love story, not your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy or overly dramatic teenage love story, this will entertain you. I recommend it.

Killing Them Softly

A dark and gritty crime drama set in 2008. Somehow the writer, director and producers tried to make the connection between the 2007 – 2008 United States/Wall Street financial collapse and the economic collapse of a local crime community because a couple of mob-protected poker games get robbed – pretty far-fetched! It didn't work for me. Instead of music or other white noise in the background, we hear radio and television snippets of the Wall Street collapse, government reaction, and Obama's 2008 election campaign speeches... This connection may have worked for some, but it just seemed to be out of place to me. The crime itself, robbing mobsters in their own poker game, seemed a little bit underwhelming as the main plot for a gangster movie. Though, the actual robbery was a little bit suspenseful. The crooks were dirty and greasy, you immediately don't like them. This is in almost comical contrast to the slick and clean Brad Pitt, who played the hitman hired to clean up the mess. Brad likes to "kill his victims softly," without fuss or emotional attachment – but the actual murder scenes are filmed with a gritty slow motion violence that is actually quite gripping, if you're into that kind of stuff. Normally, I find it entertaining, but only if there is a decent full-fledged story behind the violence – this film however, was all quite shallow. The actors were decent, and some of the dialogue was quite good. James Gandolfini (the Sopranos) played a sad but interesting part in the movie – I think this was his last major role. Unfortunately, this movie was a waste of time and a rental. Not recommended.

Trouble with the Curve

Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman a good lineup for a baseball film, so I thought. Turns out this movie wasn't very much about baseball. Instead, it was about the grumpy old typecast Clint Eastwood father figure, trying to reconcile with his ambitious therapy ridden thirty -something daughter. Baseball was sprinkled around the periphery, giving the characters something to do and talk about. Unfortunately, the movie was slow and predictable. The directors and writers never really decided if this was a movie about a father daughter relationship, a romance, or baseball. The acting on the whole was dismal... Poor Clint, it really is time for him to give Up acting. I have a lot of respect for him, I loved him as Dirty Harry and as the ultimate gunslinger in the old spaghetti Westerns, but recently he has just played the old-timer with failing health, trying to hold on to old traditions and misplaced nostalgia. I still watch his movies, though, hoping he'll pull out a 45 Magnum and tell a bad guy to "make my day!" However, he didn't come anywhere close to that kind of glory in this movie. It seemed like he was still talking to the empty chair at the Republican convention – he meandered through the movie and when he tried to show some real feelings or emotion, it was painful to watch. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake were not much better – I think they're both decent actors, but two 30-year-old adults throwing baseball trivia questions back and forth is not my idea of romance. Do people really do that? It was just not believable, especially since most of the questions they asked each other were obscure baseball facts that happened way before they were even born. John Goodman was the one bright spot in the movie. I hope someday, he is rewarded with a good leading role in a film. Well, I've bashed this movie enough. Oh, one last thing, I do think if this movie script had been combined with "Money Ball" and they focused on the traditional scouting methods versus the computer and analysis of the modern era, they would have come up with a great baseball movie. On the whole however, it was a "nice" movie and pleasant to watch. If you're tired of over-the-top action films, stupid sophomoric comedies, overly dramatic love stories, then this movie might be for you!

Parker

I was in the mood for a decent action movie, and movies about clever thieves are always interesting to me. I was leery 10 min. into the film, and sadly, I was very disappointed two hours later after watching the entire thing. Jason Statham has made a few good movies in the past – he's a great action star. But, unfortunately the script and story just did not make muster on this one. His attempt at a Texan accent was laughable. He strode to the movie lifeless and uninspired.  J-Lo offered a little bit of "eye candy" but it was not enough to overlook her dismal acting skills. She really should stick to commercials and music. Nick Nolte was barely understandable. He played Jason's father, and murmured and grumbled through the dialogue. He needs to retire. The bad guys were stupid, almost comical. The story and character development never really occurred, we were supposed to empathize with Jason somehow – he's supposedly a thief with a code. That was explained with only a few feeble lines of dialogue and never really was solidified. And another thing, I do like action movies with some semblance of reality – Jason was shot three times and stabbed two times and never missed a beat – "come on man!" If I wanted Superman, I would've rented that. Not recommended!

Dexter, Season Seven

Have you heard of the new trend "binge watching"? It's when you watch a full season of TV episodes in a short period of time. I indulged in this modern day practice over the Memorial Day weekend watching Dexter, Season 7. For you Dexter fans, I probably don't need to give you an explanation of why I would watch 12 episodes in four days. For you folks that are not familiar with Dexter – it's a quite popular crime drama presented on Showtime – I'll try to give a short summary of why I enjoyed this series so much. I have watched this series, Dexter and a plethora of engaging characters grow over the last several years. It is the only TV series that I would ever rent or buy. Each year I look forward to the season coming out on DVD, as I don't subscribe to Showtime channel. Dexter (Michael C Hall) is the ultimate likable serial killer/psychopath. He is a crime scene investigator, a blood spatter specialist, for the Miami Metro. The stories are gruesome, dark and horrifying, yet Dexter has a tragically heartfelt back-story and a magnetic inner humanity. He has a method and a code to his darkness and need to kill, but the series is more about family, love, loyalty, compassion and the complexity of the human condition than it is about murder. The cast of characters, his constantly stressed out sister who is a police woman, his dead stepfather who taught him the code and still guides him, the beautiful and intriguing women who come and go in Dexter's life, the horrible criminals that Dexter meets and kills, and his Miami Metro colleagues, are all expertly written and acted. I think the program, last time I looked, has at least seven or eight Executive producers – Showtime definitely puts a lot of time, money and effort into the program. It's a amazing program, and a yearly indulgence to my own dark side, which I rarely have any tolerance for – most of you know that I am the total optimist. Dexter fans, don't miss Season Seven. For those of you not initiated into the Dexter world, start with season one or two. The show is so well-done, and highly recommended for adults only.

Cloud Atlas

An epic science-fiction/fantasy covering six time periods. Starring Tom Hanks, Halley Berry as the principal actors, and produced and directed by the Wachowski brothers (think The Matrix) – what's not to like? At least that's what I thought before I rented the 179 min. extravaganza. The problem for me is that these type of movies that involve multiple stories/plots and numerous flashbacks and forward-flashes require a lot of attentive listening and thinking – something that I often find difficult when watching a movie. The short duration of each flashback or "stay" in each time period/subplot, and the transitionless jump to each of the different stories (especially during the first half of the movie) made it difficult to remain engaged. I want to relax and be pulled along effortlessly. I don't want to have to stop in the middle and try and figure out what is motivating the characters, what time frame it is, or how the developing stories fit together. If I have to do that, I'd rather read the book. One of the six subplots could've easily been a full-length feature film. However, this movie did have everything – the past, the present and the future. Fine actors and actresses playing multiple roles. Excellent makeup and costumes. Wonderful cinematography and special effects, and I believe, if I understood the whole thing correctly, and interesting story. Without giving anything away, I can say it is about reincarnation and the interconnectivity of our lives throughout space and time – an intriguing premise that I have often included in my own writing/stories. With that said, if you like science fiction/fantasy and you don't mind following six different stories at the same time, then you might enjoy this movie. Otherwise, there's lots of other, better rentals out there.

Promised land

Matt Damon and John Krasinski did a great job writing the screenplay and acting in this thoughtful film drawn directly from modern headlines. They do a decent job of addressing the issue of fracking, attempting to show both sides of the argument. America, especially America's small towns, needs the energy and the wealth the technology brings. It promises to help us gain some independence from foreign oil. However, there is a rush to develop these wells in rural America too quickly. The technology is new, and the long-term dangers are unknown. It's clear after watching the movie where Damon and Krasinski sentiments and beliefs lie, but unfortunately as the main character says early in the film, "the energy companies have already won." Fracking is here to stay. A June 2012 study reported over 680,000 underground injection wells in the US, I'm sure there are many more than that now. Back to the movie – well acted, nice cinematography, good characters, and a strong story. Sadly, the writers decided to put in a couple of surprise twists at the end that were totally unnecessary. I was entertained by the sudden and unexpected twists, but afterwords felt that it somehow cheapened the well-developed first 7/8 ths of the movie. Worth a rental if you're interested in fracking and its effects on rural towns.

The Bone Collector

I watched this movie more than 10 years ago. It was released in 1999. I watched it again, just yesterday, for research for my first attempt at a crime novel. If you have seen this movie and you know a little bit About my health condition, you'll understand why I chose this movie for research purposes. It helped somewhat, but the lack of depth in the back story and the flimsy motivation of the murderer, made me realize how difficult it will be to write an engaging, realistic, and enjoyable crime saga. On the whole, however, this movie is worth a rental if you enjoy crime dramas and especially if you like Denzel Washington and/or Angelina Jolie. The two main characters were believable and nicely developed. The action was suspenseful, but sometimes I thought the murder scenes were overly gruesome and not very well defined. It's not as good as some of the other crime dramas during that time, such as "Seven", "Kiss the Girls", "Fallen" or "Silence of the Lambs", but if you haven't seen it and you're looking for a good, but relatively light weight crime movie – this one might fit the bill.

Lincoln

Awesome historically based film by Steven Spielberg; easily his best effort since Saving Private Ryan. I read that Spielberg took great pains to make the movie as accurate as possible. I'm so glad he took that extra time and effort, as it made the film realistic, authentic and horribly engaging. I believe that it succeeds not only as a superb piece of art, but also as an excellent educational endeavor/near-documentary. If I were still teaching ESL, I would show this film along with Glory when introducing the Civil War to my students. It is slow moving at times and the dialogue is occasionally hard to follow. The audience has to pay attention to the words Lincoln and his colleagues have to say—every phrase has important nuance and deep meaning. This is not a movie to watch if you want to relax or enjoy a roller coaster ride. It's a serious movie about slavery, morality, war and politics. If I had my wish, I would lock President Obama, the Congress and the Senate into a large theater and make them watch the movie over and over again until they learned their lesson and promised to attend to the business of governing. Even though the split over the issue of slavery was divisive and deadly, and the debates were ferocious and ugly, the Congressmen of that day understood that to preserve the union they had to vote and no matter which way the majority swayed, the nation had to move on. Obama and our current government officials need to learn the same lessons so we can solve the issues of deficit, health care, immigration, gun violence and global climate change. I was delighted, however, that the movie was much more than a history lesson and a political thriller. There was a story about a father and a husband that jumped off the screen. The cast of characters was spectacular. Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing as President Lincoln. He somehow channeled the emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical essence of the man. I truly believed I was watching and listening to Abraham Lincoln. I thoroughly enjoyed all two hours and 29 minutes! Bravo!

Zero Dark Thirty

A powerful film, though it was difficult for me to get through the first 45 min. of CIA operatives torturing enemy combatants, but perhaps that is what the writer/director Ms. Bigelow wanted – if so, she succeeded. I believe the beginning could have been edited to ten minutes or less. However, the wait was worth it and the rest of the movie was much more espionage driven and suspenseful. There is some controversy about the blending of fact and fiction, and the use of torture, but that did not bother me at all. From the outset, I was completely brought in to the world of the CIA and our fight against Al Qaeda. The characters were interesting and well developed, though it seemed the main character played by Jessica Chastain remained the same youthful and high intensity female CIA agent throughout the entire movie. Perhaps she changed emotionally during the 12-year span of the movie – her growth could have been emphasized a little bit more. The plot, which most of us lived through, was engaging and even though it covered over a decade, it was nicely paced. It was interesting to relive some of the terrorist attacks and to be reminded that we are still at war. Zero Dark Thirty is military slang for 30 min. past midnight – often considered the darkest hour of the night. It is also the time, Pakistani local time, when the special operation to kill Osama bin Laden occurred. You have to look closely at the clock just above Jessica Chastain to see this fact in the movie – a nice touch by Bigelow. Hopefully now, in 2013, we are beginning to emerge from the darkness...Definitely worth a rental.

Django Unchained

Quintin Tarantino has created another masterpiece. I enjoyed every moment of this two-hour and 45 min. roller coaster ride of entertainment. I was engaged from the very beginning. I love Westerns, especially the old Spaghetti Westerns and Tarantino did an excellent job paying respect to that genre, while adding his own unique modern twists and techniques. I believe this is Tarantino's best move since "Kill Bill." Quintin Tarantino is able to create a certain unique atmosphere with his movies that no other writers, producers and directors have been able to successfully copy. It starts with an excellent story and superb characters. A bounty hunter, Christoph Waltz, and his freed slave partner, Jamie Foxx, make a powerful and dynamic duo. Waltz, even though he is a vicious bounty hunter preferring to collect his reward with dead bodies, for reasons that are not totally believable or clear, has a certain moral code and empathy for his black partner and his bleak situation – together they set out to find and free Django's wife. Throughout the movie, their dialogue and actions made me cringe at times and smile at others. I burst out laughing during the scenes when the white people in the movie were aghast at seeing a black man riding a horse. Of course, they did not refer Django to slaves as blacks, but use the "N-word" throughout the movie – some critics and people found this offensive, I just thought it gave the movie a realistic sense of the times and an accurate portrayal of the pre-Civil War Southern United States. Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson, and the other supporting actors were all very believable and did an excellent job. I love Tarantino's ability to create suspense through dialogue and painstakingly choreographed scenes – even when there is not a lot of physical action on the screen, the subtle movements, expressions, and careful use of language create a palatable tension. Then suddenly the movie explodes with violence and gore! Amazing, mesmerizing, entertaining! If you're a Quintin Tarantino fan you will love this movie, if you're not, I still believe it's worth watching.

Seven Psychopaths

If a movie about psychopaths can be considered funny, then this film fits the bill. It is as violent and intense as it is comedic and touching. It's really a story about friendship. Colin Farrell plays a likable drunkard trying to make a living in LA writing a movie script – he starts off with no ideas, just a good title "Seven Psychopaths." His best friend, Bill Rockwell, supports him, even going as far as creating his own version of a psychopath to be included in the script. Christopher Walken is another psychopath – friend with an amazing story. I always loved the understated comedy of Christopher Walken – and this movie is just perfect for him. The money he and Bill Rockwell make  from stealing dogs goes to pay for cancer treatment for Walken's psychopath wife. While Colin struggles with his script, his two friends continue to steal dogs in the neighborhoods of LA, and collect the monetary rewards from unsuspecting owners. Unfortunately, they steal a cute Shitzu from a gangster and bona fide psychopath, Woody Harrelson. These four actors do a superb job! And the supporting actors and actresses are so unique and well developed that they add significantly to the film. There really are seven psychopaths, each with their own horrible and unique story. The writing is clever, and the story is extremely intense and engaging. I found myself laughing at times, and at other times, cringing from the senseless violence. I immediately began to care about these psychopaths, and hoped that they somehow could escape the hellish world they had created. For adults only, certainly worth a rental!

The Campaign

A senseless comedy full of foul language and crude behavior – sounds like politics! And perhaps it was a good satire of politics today, but instead of being funny. It just felt cruel, crude and sad. Stupid can also be thrown in there! Will Ferrell, I usually enjoy, but in this movie he was just overly loud and over the top. I'm sure there were some scenes which he even couldn't believe he was doing. The other guy, Zach G., From the hangover movies, was actually the better actor and had a more likable character to play – stupid, but likable. Unfortunately, the move was not likable at all. I smiled, perhaps twice, and never laughed out loud. Not even once. The funniest part, which they showed in all of the previews, they actually changed in the movie – it made the change less funny. There were lots of cameos in the movie, but no amount of guest stars could salvage the poor writing and crass humor. Don't bother with this one.

Saying goodbye to Blockbuster

Sadly, I have to cancel my DVD by mail subscription with Blockbuster. I remember when the first Blockbuster stores came to Honolulu, gosh, those were exciting days! Remember going to the video store and being totally amazed at all of the choices on the shelves. My wife, son and I used to spend hours there, sometimes getting so overwhelmed with all the choices that we would end up walking out of the store with nothing! Then came DVDs by mail. What a wonderful service that was... It was especially great for me since my diagnosis with ALS. I could select my movies on the Internet and they would be delivered to my door. Now however, times are changing again and "direct streaming" is the new way to watch videos/TV/movies. Blockbuster has not kept up with the times, and their streaming selection is very poor. I was hoping that they would continue to emphasize movies by mail, but even their availability of new titles by mail has gone below satisfactory. I also prefer Blu-ray, and that has made the availability of movies that I want to watch even more difficult. So, I say goodbye to the convenience of movies by mail and now begin to embrace the wonderful world of "streaming" movies. I think the cost will be somewhat more expensive, but the selection should be more current and immediately available. I will be using Netflix and Oceanic Cable on demand, initially until the next big thing comes along!

The Hobbit

I loved reading the books as a teenager. Tolkien had a way of bringing me into a totally new world, with lovable characters and a fascinating adventure. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by Peter Jackson, was amazing. It's actually one of the few movies that I have purchased and watched more than once – it's very rare that I would buy movies, and rarer still to watch a movie more than once. The Hobbit, however, is a disappointment. I will not be purchasing this one, well I guess it remains to the be seen how well the next two movies are presented. I think Peter Jackson should have stopped while he was ahead. He did try to stay relatively true to the original story, but unfortunately, the original Hobbit was much better as a book, rather than a movie. It took 49 min. before Gandalf the wizard, the 14 dwarves, and our hero, Bilbo, even started on their quest. Two hours later, I didn't feel satisfied. The characters seem flat, the story contrived. I was entertained however, and it was fun to watch, the movie just didn't live up to my high expectations. If you are a fan of the original movies, you of course have to watch this movie. If you're not a fan of the original movies or the books, you can probably skip it and not be missing that much.

Life of Pi

This move is now out on DVD, and I was really looking forward to watching it. I was pleasantly surprised, but also slightly disappointed. I was disappointed because the movie promised to be spiritual in breath and depth – it was, but in a shallow way. I enjoyed the little boy's attitude about God and religion at the beginning, he believed in everything. He was Catholic, Hindu and Islamic in his beliefs as a little boy growing up in a confusing world. But his father's words, "if you believe in everything, you believe in nothing" seemed to resonate through the entire movie. This tainted the all-encompassing spiritual feeling of the story, and it seemed that the boy only really believed in God because of the horrific adventure he survived. The main character of the story promised that in the end, the person who was going to write a book about his adventure, would believe and understand God. Unfortunately, I didn't get that from the movie. I think the connection could've been stronger. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the story as a whole – a story of adventure and survival, inner struggle and courage. The special effects were dazzling. I was totally engaged for the entire two hours plus. I sympathized with the character, and empathized with his setbacks and victories. A mystical and entertaining movie. I recommend it!

The Avengers

It took a long time for this movie to move to the top of my Blockbuster queue, I almost deleted it several times, but I was glad I didn't. It turned out to be two hours of comic book action fun and entertainment. I watched it this Friday night, morphed into my 12-year-old boy-geek mode, suspended my reality and sensibilities – and just enjoyed the show. Nick Fury had some pretty stupid lines and moments in the movie, but turned out to be a decent leader of the Avengers. I felt sorry for Samuel Jackson, but I'm sure he made a large paycheck. The Black Widow was slick, sexy and cool. Scarlett Johansson always looks good in black spandex. The Hawk, Jeremy Renner, a pretty decent actor was part bad and part good – same as the character in the movie. I don't understand where he kept getting the unlimited supply of arrows. The Hulk, I don't know this actor's name and I'm too lazy to look it up, was perhaps the most entertaining of all the superheroes. I like the way he is angry at everything and loves to smash the daylights out of whatever is in his way. Somehow, though in the end he turns out to be a reasonable green monster. Thor, also don't know this guys name, sorry, I have to do more research in the future before I start writing my reviews, was perhaps the most unbelievable and silly character of them all, but he had probably the best fight scene with the Hulk – they duke it out quite convincingly. Captain America was ridiculous, and he had worse lines to say than Nick Fury, but every comic book action movie needs a patriotic hero. He served his purpose. Iron Man was technologically, and in terms of substance, probably the most interesting and full-bodied character in the movie – too bad I dislike Robert Downey Jr. so much. He's just too arrogant for my taste, in life and on the big screen. So, did I like it? Yes I did. If you can suspend your adult sensibilities for a couple of hours and engage your 12-year-old comic book action imagination, you'll probably enjoy this movie as well.

Flight

This movie is not about flying. It's about alcohol and drug addiction. There is one fantastic, well choreographed plane crash, that's bound to scare the heck out of anyone who flies frequently. Other than that it's all about Denzil Washington's struggle with alcoholism. He uses alcohol to deaden the pain, and drown himself from the world – then cocaine to boost him up for the incredible task of flying an airplane. Washington's acting is superb, he makes a fantastic and unbelievable drunkard, and when he snorts the cocaine his courage, competence and bravado come alive. It's really difficult to watch some of the sad and depressing drug induced scenes, but very powerful. It's hard to imagine someone so addicted to drugs and alcohol, but I guess it's much more prevalent than we realize as a society. Washington's transformation throughout the movie is well written, though the end I found to be a little bit hokey. A great movie, but a hard look at this terrible problem. Not for kids, though I might like my teenagers to watch it with me. Could lead to some great discussion. Worth a rental.

Argo

Best picture of the year? I'm not sure I can't compare, as I haven't seen any of the other nominated movies, but this one was available on Oceanic Cable on demand for six bucks! Money well spent! A thoroughly enjoyable two hours of entertainment. I don't remember a lot about this event because it was 1980 and I had just graduated from college – didn't watch much news, was more interested in working, girls and having fun. However, it seems as if Ben Affleck and his crew did a great job capturing the 1980s and the Iran hostage crisis. Based on a true story, but embellished for sure. I particularly enjoyed the fashion and music. It even seemed like the film they use was Technicolor and vintage 1980s. The suspenseful telling of the events was also very well done, without any real explosions or big special effects, I was still on the edge of my seat (just a figure of speech, as actually I watch from my hospital bed, laying down). It was well-written and very well acted. If you're one of the few people that I haven't seen this movie yet, go ahead and rent it. Well worth the time.