Movies

Crossing Over

Went to see “Crossing Over” in the cinema. Not that I was particularly waiting for it or anything – it’s just that there isn’t much else too see these days, and a duo of Harrison Ford and Ray Liotta in the same film sounded a tiny bit interesting.

The film turned out to be pretty average. There was a lot of good acting, but the script and directing just weren’t up to the par. Multiple main characters, each with his own life, all getting connected to each other the closer the movie went to the end, plus a social problem of immigration being so hot in the USA, these all reminded me of another movie. It’s surprising how similar this film is to “Crash“. But comparing it to “Crash” doesn’t do it any good either.

The story lacks depth and detail. People often behave in weird waves and no explanation is given. Or, when given, it often is unbelievable. There were suposed to be a lot of drama, but the story not having enough depth, all drama turns into depressive non-stop crying. And what’s more disappointing, after bringing up attention to a serious issue, the film fails to make any points at all, or leave any food for thought.

As I said, good acting minus good directing and holes in the story make up for an average film. Rating – 3 stars, average.

Addendum for those who saw the movie. Scene in the supermarket with four out five robbers shot. Do you still wonder what happened? He got out of bullets. Scene with the singing of the national anthem – that was a joke from the editors, which was added after the final cut. Just kidding. Both times.

Trailer : 2012

The weather is getting weirder and more unpredictable every year. Global warming and environment related topics get more and more coverage in the media. And movie industry is keeping up. First there was “The Day After Tomorrow“, and now this: 2012.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_CxIxM0Khg]

Terminator Salvation

There are a few brands in the movie industry, which you just can’t miss. Whenever a sequel comes out, whether you liked the previous or not, whether you are a fan or not – it all doesn’t matter, you just have to go and see it. “Terminator” is one of these brands. The first two films were so good, that even now, decades later, I still have vivid memories of some parts of those movies. I still sometimes wake up in cold sweat when I see a huge tank turning around on a hill of human skulls. I still ask myself a question “How do you kill a smart machine, which is made of liquid metal and can blend into any form or shape?”, and I am so glad I know the answer.

And even though I didn’t like the third film of the series, and didn’t expect much of the fourth, knowing that Arnold Schwarzenegger prefers to be a politician these days rather than his usually self, I still had to go and see “Terminator Salvation” in the cinema.

How good was it? A bit. Nothing special. It had the humans and machines, it had the time travel, it had some war, it had plenty of special effects. But it lacked two most important things which Terminator is all about, at least for me – Arnold Schwarzenegger and the huge scale. Call it ambition if you will.

The movie makers at least agreed with me on the Arny. I guess they tried to get him in, and they couldn’t, and they couldn’t make a Terminator movie without one, so they ended up rendering an artificial Anry on a computer. He didn’t come bad or anything, but it’s just not the same.

Regarding the scale, the ambition ,the “WOW! Effect”, they totally blew it. There was no scale to this movie. Nothing that we haven’t seen before, nothing surprising, nothing mind or eye blowing. Same old, same old.

While, McG knows how to make good action movies, and both parts of the “Charlie’s Angels” are here to prove that, I think it’s him to lacks the scale. Scale is something only a few directors have a feeling for. Steven Spielberg is one (and he knows war too). Peter Jackson is another (although I don’t know how good he is with machines). Michael Bay is yet another one (although he is already doing a good job with another robot-related series). McG? I’m not so sure.

And I’m pretty sure it was the director’s lack of magnitude. Because the only other possible reason for not having scale in the movie is budget. And I don’t think budget deficit applies to the Terminator movies. As I said, this is one of those well recognized brands, so there shouldn’t be any problem finding the money or bringing the profits home. I might be wrong, of course, but that is my opinion.

So. The summary. If you haven’t seen it, go and see. It’s worth it. If you are deciding between seeing it in the movies and getting the DVD, go see it on the big screen. It’s just better. But don’t expect much of it either way. And maybe then, when you don’t expect much of it, you’ll enjoy it more. My rating – 3 stars. Not bad, but average.

State of Play

Went to see “State of Play” in the cinema. I am a fan of conspiracy movies, and the trailer was good too. And I wasn’t disappointed at all. In fact, the film was even better than I expected.

While there was some action and some special effects, the core of the film is the dramatic story. And the story is about people, friendship, ethics, and passion.

When I was watching the trailer, I though that it would be nice to see Ben Affleck and Russel Crowe in the same movie. However, that wasn’t so nice. Because there’s way too much contrast. Ben Affleck, even though a popular actor, has very few things to offer except to his charm. Russle Crowe on the other hand is an actor. Who has the charm also. Putting them next to each other highlights in a very brutal way the huge difference in their acting potential.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed the movie and even now, a few days later, I keep playing back some scenes of it in my mind. 4 stars.

Fanboys

Managed to catch “Fanboys” in the cinema. I’ve seen the trailer of it some time ago and thought that I should watch the movie. And I was right. I guess most movie fans, and especially those of “Star Wars” religion among you, will enjoy the film. It’s pretty light, with lots of movie-related jokes, and a touch of drama, which only makes it so much better.

I found the cast to be quite interesting. Main characters are played by not yet so famous young actors (they needed the geeky look after all) – Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Dan Fogler. But while they move through the film, there are many familiar face such as Danny Trejo, Seth Rogen, William Shatner and even Kevin Smith. Even though their roles are very short, almost cameos.

While this film is not a masterpiece by any measure, I did enjoy it quite a bit. 4 stars.