REVIEW - 'Muppets Most Wanted'

'Muppets Most Wanted' (PG) **1/2

Picking up literally where the previous movie ended, 'Muppets Most Wanted' follows the Muppets as they embark on a world tour and get caught up in a European caper headed by Constantine, a Kermit The Frog look-a-like and his sidekick Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), who is posing as the Muppets manager.  Includes Ty Burrell as an Inspector Clouseau-type Interpol agent named Jean Pierre Napolean, Tina Fey as a Russian prison guard, and 27 other celebrities popping up in cameo roles.  And yes, as the movie went on I was keeping count of the cameos.

I've been seeing the trailerss for this movie since last fall.  And every time I wrote about the trailers, I would always say the same thing:  it didn't look as good as the previous movie, but it could still be fun.  Even if it looked bad I still would have went to see this, being a fan of the Muppets.  And so yesterday I went to see this with my family. 

Look...it's almost impossible to hate the Muppets.  As characters they are interesting, their antics are usually funny, and usually they have plenty of one liners and good songs to go around.  And in this movie it is nice to see the Muppets on the big screen again.  And this movie does have occasional one liners and visual gags that are pretty funny.  Some songs are fun, such as the opening musical number in which it's constantly referenced how this movie is a sequel ("We're Doing A Sequel"), an interrogation musical number ("Interrogation Song") later on in the movie, and purposely horribly off key renditions of "Moves Like Jagger" (performed by Scooter and the Penguins) and "My Heart Will Go On (performed by Miss Piggy).  And before the movie there is a 'Monsters University'-inspired short called "Party Central", that is not only really funny but it's also much better than the movie it was inspired by.  And sadly it's better than the movie that immediately followed it.    

But with that said....this movie is way too long.  It clocks in at 1 hour, 53 minutes long.  Several songs just go on and on and on and on, to the point where it's bordering on boredom.  Besides the songs I mentioned in the previous paragraph, most of the other songs are just flat, uninteresting and just kinda forgettable.  For every joke I laughed at, there were a handful of others that I just kinda stared blankly at the screen.  And as far as the main human cast goes...well, Ricky Gervais just seems kinda bored.  Ty Burrell and Tina Fey both start off promising but a little of them goes a long way.  Which is a bit disappointing since all three can be funny.  Heck, if you want to go see a better movie in theaters now that has Ty Burrell in it go see 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' (he's the voice of Mr. Peabody).  

Now since this is the 8th 'Muppet' movie.  I haven't seen all of them, but I have seen most of them.  So I'll just list them all out and state my opinion about each of them: 

• 'The Muppet Movie' - never seen it.
• 'The Great Muppet Caper' - never seen it.
• 'The Muppets Take Manhattan' - I fell asleep watching this movie.
• 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' - it's been YEARS since I've seen this but I do remember liking it.
• 'Muppet Treasure Island' - it's also been YEARS since I've seen this but I do remember liking it.  But I am a bit more familiar with the 3-disc computer game based on this movie.
• 'Muppets From Space' - it's also been YEARS since I've seen this (sense a pattern?) but I do remember liking it.
• 'The Muppets' - the first time I saw this I liked it, but it did throw me off that it was a musical.  I know most of the other movies were musicals too, but it had been a LONG time since I had seen the others.  And I've seen it quite a few times since then and it gets better and better every time I watch it.  It's a love letter to the Muppets and in particular to 'The Muppet Show'.  Very funny, fairly good songs, fun cameos, and actually some pretty good acting from Jason Segel (who also co-wrote the movie), Amy Adams, and Chris Cooper.  I'll probably talk more about this when I talk about reboots.

So then where does 'Muppets Most Wanted' fit in?  Well it certainly is not up to par with the previous movie.  Can't quite compare it to the other 'Muppet' movies I've seen since it's been a long time since I had seen them.  In the case of 'Muppets Take Manhattan' I was so bored from it I just kinda fell asleep.  I vaguely remember some things from it but I mostly remember seeing the inside of my eyelids. 

Overall 'Muppets Most Wanted' is likable and funny at times, but it drags a lot.  It is a step down from the previous 'Muppets' movie but it is nice to see the Muppets on the big screen again. 



TRAILERS

• 'The Boxtrolls' - actually got a full trailer for this for once, instead of the half-footage from the movie, half behind the scenes trailer that I've seen the past few months. 

• 'Earth to Echo' - looks like a found footage version of 'E.T.', only not as good as 'E.T.'.  

• 'Maleficent' - this actually looks like it could be really good.  Although Lana Del Rey's version of "Once Upon A Dream" is extremely creepy. 
  
  

Movie Nitpicks - Part 2 (SPOILERS)

This post features my nitpicks about certain movies and contains spoilers for 'Taken 2', 'Son of God', 'Titanic' and the trailer for 'God's Not Dead'.  If you have seen all of these movies, go ahead and read.  If you haven't seen all of these and don't want to know about spoilers, don't read this until later.  If you haven't seen these but you don't care about spoilers, read on.

• Taken 2
  Now since 'Taken 2' is an action thriller, that already means any sense of plausibility is thrown straight out the window.  But even these nitpicks kinda stretch that...
  
  1. In order to determine where exactly he is after he's been kidnapped, Bryan Mills' (Liam Neeson) plan is to call his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and have her throw live grenades at various points in Istanbul so that he can time the explosions and determine how far away he is from them.  Because, you know, that certainly wouldn't attract any attention at all....from the authorities, from the villains......
  2. Speaking of Kim, it is revealed early on that she has repeatedly flunked her driver's test and still doesn't have a license.  Yet she's the one behind the wheel during an intense chase scene later on in the movie.  And evidently rather skilled at it...
  3. Now we get to my huge nitpick about the movie, and that is the villain of this movie.  Murad (Rabe Serbedzija) was the father of one of the kidnappers from the previous movie, and while burying his son he swears that he will have revenge against Bryan Mills for killing his son.  Never mind that his son was kidnapping tourists, drugging them, and selling them into sexual slavery....

• Son of God
  I saw this movie a few weeks back.  Instead of a full formal review of this movie, I decided that during Holy Week I will write a piece comparing it to 'The Passion of the Christ'.  So some nitpicks I'll save for that comparison.  
  
  1. Now 'Son of God' does get kudos for showing Jesus smiling and laughing.  Often in other depictions He is seen as serious and stern.  Now sometimes the smiling and laughing is a bit inappropriate at times.  As He is talking about how the temple is going to be destroyed in three days, he is facing a little girl, smiling and poking her.  This moment had me saying 'What?' out loud in the theater.  Thankfully I was the only one in the theater.  I highly doubt that Jesus was smiling and poking a girl as he was saying this rather serious statement.
  2. During his trial with Pontius Pilate, the guards standing outside are being selective of who is let in to watch the trial, shouting "No followers of Jesus here!  You, you, you, not you, you, not you, you...".  Would the guards really have been that selective about who would watch the trial?  Possibly.  But the way it's depicted in the movie is a bit unintentionally comical. 
  3. Malchus (Paul Brightwell) is the servant of the High Priest whose ear was cut off by Peter (Darwin Shaw) during Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus heals Malchus' ear....and then Malchus continues in his duties as servant of the High Priest.  I will go more into this when I compare it to the same event in 'The Passion of the Christ', but I simply couldn't buy Malchus just continuing on with his duties after having had a miracle performed on him.

• God's Not Dead (TRAILER)
  I haven't seen this movie.  These nitpicks are solely based on the trailer.
  
  1. The main storyline (at least that's depicted in the trailer) is that a philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) instructs all of his students to write "God Is Dead" on a piece of paper and to sign it with their name.  One student (Shane Harper) refuses to do so, because he is a Christian.  This then goes into the student and the professor having a debate over the existence of God, and if the student loses the debate he will fail the class.  Let's face it:  In real life, if this situation were to happen, the debate would probably not happen because the professor would be fired almost immediately.
  2. "Duck Dynasty" stars Willie Robertson and Korie Robertson have cameo appearances as themselves.  I am sick to death of hearing about "Duck Dynasty" and how it has permeated into pop culture.  Everywhere I turn at the store there is something that either has "Duck Dynasty" or "Duck Commander" on it.  Half of the time I browse the internet there is always at least one article that brings up "Duck Dynasty".  And my issue isn't just with "Duck Dynasty" but with all so-called "reality" shows.

• Titanic
  When I had randomly selected this for my "I Finally Watched..." series, I was prepared to roll my eyes at this movie.  But I ended up thinking that it was pretty good. 
  
  1. Let's face it:  The "Present Day" scenes could have been cut entirely.  The search for the missing 'Heart of the Ocean' diamond really isn't that interesting, and when it cuts back to the present as Rose (Gloria Stuart) tells the story of her time on the ill-fated voyage, it just kinda drags the movie down.  
  2. Now at the end of the movie, it can be interpreted that Rose dies.  She is then back on the Titanic as her younger self (Kate Winslet) and walks up the stairs to reunite with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) surrounded by and applauded by those who perished in the disaster.  Never mind that after surviving the disaster Rose did eventually get married to someone who isn't Jack, have children with the person she married (who isn't Jack), have grandchildren (with the grandfather not being Jack), and is being cared for in her elderly years by her daughter (who also clearly isn't Jack).  Considering she spent a huge majority of her life with someone else, you'd think she'd be reunited with that person and not Jack.  But I suppose audiences wanted to see Jack and Rose together again.  

6 Sequels That Sucked

Ah, sequels.  Nothing like seeing the continuing adventures of your favorite movie characters.  Some sequels can be really good and even surpass their predecessor ('The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug', 'Skyfall').  Some sequels can be good and on par with their predecessor ('The Godfather:  Part II', 'Anchorman 2', 'Shrek 2').  Other sequels can be a bit disappointing ('National Treasure 2', 'Airplane II', 'Ice Age 2').  Some sequels just flat out suck, completely ruining the good will of it's franchise and are just flat agonizing experiences that you went in wanting to like....but left extremely disappointed.  Here are six sequels that were rather horrible experiences to watch.  Some are worse than others.  Heck, I've seen two of them more than once.  But that doesn't take away how I feel about them as a sequel. 

'Alvin and the Chipmunks:  The Squeakquel' (2009)
The first sequel to the 2007 film finds the world famous singing pre-teen chipmunk trio (voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney) return to contend with the pressures of school, celebrity, and a rival female music group known as The Chipettes (voices of Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler and Anna Faris).

I didn't really care for the first 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' movie all that much but I gave this sequel a chance.  I'm the kind of person who will go to YouTube and search "Chipmunked" versions of various popular songs and listen along as the now higher pitched song sounds silly.  I have seen some episodes of the 1980's "Alvin and the Chipmunks" cartoon and I liked them when I saw them as a child and I still have a fondness for them as an adult.  So what did I think of this "squeakquel"?

$#$#$$%?%&(%!?/%$%#!$#$#!+$#$!&$#@&?%%#&!@#%$%&!##&@$%@$\%!@#+!
That pretty much sums up the writhing, head pounding agony of watching 'Alvin and the Chipmunks:  The Squeakquel".  This was painfully unfunny.  I'll give it props for introducing the Chipettes, but that's about it.  None of the songs were even all that good.  This movie was so bad that I've stayed far far away from the third 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' movie. 

 'The Bookdock Saints II:  All Saint's Day' (2009)
The long-awaited follow up to 1999's 'The Boondock Saints' has The MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) living a quiet life in Ireland with their father (Billy Connolly).  But when they learn that their beloved priest has been killed by mob forces, they go back to Boston to bring justice to those responsible and avenge the priest.

The first 'Boondock Saints' movie is a guilty pleasure.  It's violent, bloody, foul-mouthed, sometimes funny, over-the-top, and just overall a fun movie.  This sequel I actually saw in the theater during the brief time that it was in theaters....and it ruins virtually everything that made the original fun.  Some cool shoot-outs, sure.  But bad acting, bad writing, and painfully unfunny jokes supercede anything that could've been redeemable in this sequel that just flat out tries WAY too hard to top the original.  There are rumors of a third movie in the works....Sure this movie is horrible but I'd see a third movie out of curiosity. 

'Paranormal Activity 4' (2012)
The fourth installment in the successful low budget horror series takes place five years after the disappearance of Katie and Hunter in 'Paranormal Activity 2' with a suburban family witnessing strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.

This movie has one or two jump scares, but that's it.  And those are ruined by the insane amount of fake-out jump scares that are mainly there for humorous effect.  The laptops constantly filming things (even when they're supposedly turned off) and the Xbox Kinect filming things were both just tupid ideas.  By the time the movie is over and the plot has run it's course, the twist doesn't make any sense at all.  I liked the first three 'Paranormal Activity' movies, but this fourth installment is so bad it retroactively makes the other ones worse.  The tagline ironically is "All the activity has led to this" when this movie doesn't answer any questions or solve any plotlines from previous movies and BARELY movies things along with the overall story of the franchise.  I still have yet to see the spin-off 'Paranormal Activity:  The Marked Ones', so maybe that'll redeem this franchise. 

 'Quantum of Solace' (2008)
This direct sequel to 2006's 'Casino Royale' follows James Bond (Daniel Craig) descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organization from eliminating a country's most valuable resource. All the while, he still tries to seek revenge over the death of his love.

I LOVED 'Casino Royale'.  Not only was it the first Bond movie I ever saw in it's entirety, it was also the first Bond movie I had seen in theaters and it remains my favorite Bond movie.  I was heavily looking forward to 'Quantum of Solace'.  And about 10 minutes in to 'Quantum' I was already angry, annoyed, disappointed, and watched in shock.  Constant quick cut editing made it confusing to even watch any of the action scenes.  And that theme song "Another Way To Die" by Jack White & Alicia Keys that plays over the opening credits is BY FAR the WORST Bond movie theme song I've ever heard.  The plot itself (something involving stealing Bolivia's water supply to help a military takeover of the government) was also pretty lame.  Everything that made 'Casino Royale' so great was squandered in this movie.  Yes, there are worse Bond movies than this.  But none of them had to follow-up 'Casino Royale''s lofty expectations.  Thankfully 2012's James Bond movie 'Skyfall' gave me some much needed solace after experiencing the massive disappointment that was 'Quantum of Solace'

'Saw 3D' (AKA 'Saw:  The Final Chapter') (2010
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flannery), a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.

I liked the 'Saw' franchise.  Sure, every movie is almost the same but there are still enough interesting traps, twists and characters to keep my attention.  Although it was supposed to be released in 3D in addition to 2D, the AMC in Muncie still had it's 3D screens showing 'Jackass 3D' (which is a much better movie than this) so I had to see this in 2D.  And even though I saw it in 2D, the title 'Saw 3D' still came up during the opening credit scene.

This movie is horrible.  Bad dialogue, bad acting, bad twist at the end of the movie, bad, bad, bad, bad.  The traps weren't even all that interesting, and most of the time the traps are either 1)  inescapable, and 2) the people in the traps are horrible people so you don't really care whether or not they survive the trap.  This movie was so bad that it made me question why I even liked the 'Saw' movies in the first place.  Really the 'Saw' movies should've ended at 'Saw 3' and it clearly shows that they were just making stuff up as they go along.  There are rumors of a potential 'Saw 8', and I have absolutely no idea where they could even go with this franchise, but whatever.   

 'Spider-man 3' (2007)
A strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge.

2002's long awaited 'Spider-man' adaptation was pretty good, and 2004's 'Spider-man 2' was even better.  'Spider-man 3' tried to top all that, but failed miserably.  Simply put there is too much of everything in this movie.  Too long, too many villains, too many subplots, too many characters and too many romantic interests.  The villains (Venom and Sandman, played respectively by Topher Grace and Thomas Haden Church) aren't all that interesting.  A last act reveal by Harry Osbourne's butler just makes you want to slap your face and wonder out loud why this information wasn't revealed in a previous movie.  And Peter Parker, obsessed with the power and personality that the Venom symbiote has given him, dresses in all black, gets an emo style haircut, and dances down the street.  It's embarrassing to watch.  But a 'Spider-man 4' ALMOST happened, but after director Sam Raimi pulled out Marvel cancelled 'Spider-man 4' and rebooted the series.  Hence why the mediocre 'The Amazing Spider-man' exists. 




What sequels were you disappointed with?

REVIEWS: 'Non-Stop', 'Peabody & Sherman', 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

THEATERS
'Non-Stop' (PG-13) **1/2
Found a gift card in my wallet and decided to go see the latest Liam Neeson action movie.  An air marshal (Liam Neeson) springs into action during a transatlantic flight after receiving a series of text messages that put his fellow passengers at risk unless the airline transfers $150 million into an off-shore account.  Includes Lupita Nyong'o ('12 Years A Slave') as one of the flight attendants, and Julianne Moore and Corey Stoll from "House of Cards" among the many passengers on the flight.  Overall it's a solid, but ultimately kinda forgettable thriller.  It did have it's suspenseful moments and the twist was one that I didn't really see coming, but it also tends to drag.  As far as comparisons to other Liam Neeson action movies go, it's better than 'Taken 2', on par with 'Unknown', but not as good as 'Taken'.  'The Grey' doesn't count.  If you've seen that movie, it is clearly not an action movie like the others listed.    

TRAILERS
'A Million Ways To Die In The West' - This trailer was a bit hit and miss but as a fan of "Family Guy" and 'Ted' I'll still go see this movie.

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' - This sequel looks like it could be even better than 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'.

'22 Jump Street' - This is the same trailer that's been showing the last couple of months, but it still looks pretty funny.

'Edge of Tomorrow' - Not really interested, but who knows maybe it'll be good.





'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' (PG) ***1/4
The time-travelling adventures of advanced canine Mr. Peabody (voice of Ty Burrell) and his adopted son Sherman (voice of Max Charles), as they endeavor to fix a time rift they created.  Meanwhile Mr. Peabody has to deal with a CPS worker who wants to remove Sherman from his custody, and deal with Sherman getting into a fight at school.  Also features the voices of Ariel Winter, Leslie Mann, Stephen Colbert, Allison Jannet, Stephen Tobolowsky, Stanley Tucci, Mel Brooks, Patrick Warburton, Dennis Haybert and Lake Bell.  I wasn't exactly thrilled with the trailers for this, but after hearing enough positive things about it I decided to go see it.  Even though I've never seen any of the original 'Mr. Peabody' cartoons, I still thought this adaptation was a lot of fun.  The animation is pretty good, the voice acting is also good and never distracting, the story itself is a lot of fun with all of the time travel and the various historical figures they meet, and it's also very funny.  There are a few adult-oriented jokes in the movie, but they'll sail way over the kids heads and they aren't blatant enough to make an adult feel uncomfortable.  Overall, I had a blast with this movie and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. 

TRAILERS
'Bears' - Another year, another Earth Day, another documentary from DisneyNature, this time narrated by John C. Reilly ('Wreck-It Ralph', 'Step Brothers', 'Walk Hard').  I've never seen any of the other DisneyNature documentaries.  They don't look all that bad, I just don't watch a whole lot of documentaries.

'Muppets Most Wanted' - I liked the previous one enough so I'll see this at some point.  Maybe it'll be a lot better than what it looks. 


'Rio 2' - The first time I've seen a trailer for this.  The first one was all right.  This one looks like it'll be on par with the first.

'Island of Lemurs:  Madagascar (IMAX)' - Another documentary, but this time only being released in IMAX and narrated by Morgan Freeman.  It looks okay, but like I said I don't really watch a whole lot of documentaries.

'How To Train Your Dragon 2' - The first time I've seen a trailer for this.  I thought the first one was great, and this one looks like it won't disappoint.

'Annie' - The titular red-headed orphan gets a 21st Century update, with Academy Award nominee Quvenzhane Wallis ('Beasts of the Southern Wild') as the title character, Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the Daddy Warbucks-inspired role of Will Stacks, and Cameron Diaz as the cruel orphanage owner Miss Hannigan.  Rather than write out how I felt about this trailer, I'm going to let my good friend Emperor Palpatine say what I thought about it:

 REDBOX
'Inside Llewyn Davis' (R) ***
The latest from the Coen Bros. is a week in the life of a young singer (Oscar Isaac) as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.  Also features Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan as a husband and wife folk singing team, John Goodman as a jazz musician, F. Murray Abraham as a Chicago music executive, and Garret Hedlund as John Goodman's valet.

This was one that had a very limited release last year for awards contention and finally opened wide earlier this year in January.  I was interested in seeing it for a variety of reasons:  I've liked some of the other Coen Bros. movies, it was getting all sorts of acclaim, and the trailer had an incredibly catchy folk song that I downloaded after it became available on iTunes.

Overall it's a fairly good movie.  Much like 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' the main highlight for this movie is the soundtrack.  I don't really listen to a whole lot of folk music, but every song that was performed in this movie I thought was really good.  The performances are also good for the most part, although I couldn't hear a single word that Garret Hedlund was saying in his few scenes.  Llewyn Davis isn't exactly the most likeable character in this movie, but it is a relatable character to anyone who has a set goal in mind yet keeps struggling to try and fulfill that goal. Sometimes it's funny (in a dry sort of way, more chuckle worthy than laugh out loud funny), but it's mostly a drama.  I didn't think it was a great as many have said it was, but to each their own. 

Here is the song that accompanied the trailer for this movie:  'Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)' performed by Marcus Mumford (from Mumford & Sons) and Oscar Isaac.  Mumford was also an associate music producer for this movie.  Incredibly catchy and just overall a great song. 

REVIEWS - '300: Rise of an Empire' and 'Lone Survivor'

'300:  Rise of an Empire' (R) ***1/2
Based on the not-yet released graphic novel 'Xerxes', this prequel/sequel (that's also at times concurrent to) '300' follows Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), who leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and Artemisia (Eva Green), a vengeful commander of the Persian navy.  Xerxes' and Artemisia's backstories are also covered, as well as a little bit more of Sparta and Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) before and after the Persians battle the 300 Spartans.  Lots of stuff going on in this movie.

I'll get this out of the way real quick: there is a LOT of talking and exposition in this movie.  But despite a lot of talking, it never gets too bogged down with the dialogue.  Eva Green makes for a fun (and brutal) villain as Artemisia.  With the various backstories and shifts in time and perspective it sometimes gets confusing, but let's face it:  We're not here for a story.  We're here to watch highly stylized slow motion extremely bloody fight sequences.  And indeed those are AWESOME.  And it was even more AWESOME watching it in IMAX 3D.  If you liked the first '300' movie, you'll probably like this movie.  This isn't as good as the first movie, but it's predecessor this movie is still a lot of bloody fun.

TRAILERS
'The Amazing Spider-man 2' - Watching this trailer in 3D made it look like a video game.....
'Godzilla' - It's about time I finally got this trailer in front of a movie.  And it looks GREAT.
'Divergent' - Who knows, maybe I'll see this out of curiosity.  Heck, as far as recent young adult novel movie adaptations go, this will probably be better than 'Twilight'.
'Noah' - The Biblical story of Noah gets a fantasy epic treatment.  For some reason the arc looking like a rectangular box kinda bugs me.  Other than that, this could go one of two ways:  it could be really good, or it could be really bad.
'Captain America:  The Winter Soldier' - Is it just me or does The Winter Soldier look like a villain from 'G.I. Joe'?
'Transcendence' - this looks interesting.




'Lone Survivor' (R) **3/4
Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and his team (Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster) set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah in late June 2005 in a remote village in Afghanistan. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives as their mission becomes comprised.  Based on the nonfiction book by actual Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and British journalist Patrick Robinson.  The latest from Peter Berg, the director of 'Battleship' (the less said about that movie the better), 'Friday Night Lights', 'Hancock', 'The Kingdom', 'The Rundown', and 'Very Bad Things'.  Considering the title of the movie and the fact that Mark Wahlberg is the only person on the poster, you can probably guess the ending...

The first 20 or so minutes of the movie I didn't like at all.  In introducing the world of the U.S. Navy SEALs and Marcus Luttrell and his team it all played off like a recruitment ad for the Navy SEALs.  If I wanted to watch a recruitment ad for the SEALs, I'd flip on TV or I'd watch a documentary on Netflix about the Navy SEALs.  Everything just feels flat and none of the performances really come off as genuine.  It isn't as heavy handed as 'Act of Valor' was, but that's a good thing.  But once the mission is compromised and the story fully kicks in, it completely switches gears and ends up being very good.  It becomes less and less a recruitment ad for the SEALs and more like an actual movie (which 'Act of Valor' tried to do...and failed.  They might be actual Navy SEALs in that movie but you know what they aren't?  Actors.).  Yes, you can tell how it's going to end, but that didn't take away from how suspenseful it got.  Even the performances were all starting to get better, with Ben Foster ('X-Men:  The Last Stand', 'The Mechanic' and the '3:10 to Yuma' remake) in particular stealing his scenes.

Overall do I recommend it?  Yes.  At least most of the movie. 

TRAILERS
'Draft Day' - this could be good.  Or it could be ridiculously boring. 
'Noah' - the same trailer I got in front of '300:  Rise of an Empire'.  Like I said above, it could be really good....or it could be bad. 
'Captain America:  The Winter Soldier' - a different trailer than the one in front of '300:  Rise of an Empire'.  I only thought the first 'Captain America' was ok, and this could be on par with it. 
'Divergent' - once again, the same trailer I got in front of '300:  Rise of an Empire'.  I don't think I can add anything else that I haven't already said about it.

2013 Oscars Wrap-Up

Well the Oscars were last night.  The annual night where the rich and famous gather together to hand each other trophies and millions of people watch.  They were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.  I don't watch her TV show, but I have seen 'Finding Nemo' and have seen bits of her stand-up and she can be really funny.  So how did she do as host in my opinion?  I thought overall she did good.  Sure the ceremony itself is way too long but that's not her fault.  Her zingers didn't really have me laughing out loud but I was amused and chuckled at most of them.  And at first I thought it was just a funny joke when she was walking around the audience and said something along the lines of "Who's hungry?  I'm ordering pizza!"....and sure enough, later on......Ellen walks onstage carrying plastic plates and napkins, with a pizza delivery person walking in behind her carrying three pizzas.  That.  Was.  Awesome. 

I went 17 of 24 for my picks.  Not too shabby.  Could've been 19 if I just stuck to my original instincts instead of thinking them through.  But oh well.  Didn't have a bet going with anybody over these so I didn't lose or gain anything from it.  All right, enough rambling, time to break things down from last night.

All of these Best Picture nominees went home empty handed.  'American Hustle' was actually tied with 'Gravity' for the most nominations with 10 going into the ceremony.  And I'm happy that 'American Hustle' didn't win anything.  It's vastly overrated, too long, and honestly the acting wasn't all that special.  'Philomena' (4 nominations) and 'Captain Phillips' (6 nominations) were both all right and I was surprised they were even nominated in the first place.  'Nebraska' (6 nominations) and 'The Wolf of Wall Street (5 nominations) were both great and should have won at least something but oh well.  That Oscar win still eludes Leonardo DiCaprio after 5 nominations.  Maybe next time, Leo.  Maybe next time. 


Now about the winners:

 '12 Years A Slave' (R)
OSCARS WON:  Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong'o, Best Adapted Screenplay - John Ridley

'12 Years A Slave' had been quietly picking up Best Picture awards from various groups, while most of the talk had been centered on 'Gravity' and 'American Hustle'.  While I personally liked 'Gravity', 'Her', and 'Nebraska' all much better than '12 Years A Slave', I still feel that it deserved Best Picture.  Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o's award was also very much deserved.  Adapted Screenplay honestly could've went to any of the nominees.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Director - Steve McQueen, Best Actor - Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actor - Michael Fassbender, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

'Dallas Buyers Club' (R)
OSCARS WON:  Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey, Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto, Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Okay.  Did Jared Leto deserved Best Supporting Actor?  I thought Michael Fassbender was better in '12 Years A Slave' but it's whatever.  Leto dropped weight and if you watch the movie he really does look and act like someone who is transgendered.  Makeup and Hairstyling could've went to any of the other nominees as well.

Now we get to Matthew McConaughey, who also dropped a significant amount of weight (and then some) to play Ron Woodroof.  So the moral of the story is, drop significant amounts of weight and you'll win an Oscar.  Chiwetel Ejiofar should've won for '12 Years A Slave'.  Heck, Bruce Dern should've won for 'Nebraska'.  I believed those characters throughout the movie.  'Dallas Buyers Club' had many times where I really just couldn't buy into Matthew McConaughey's character and it took me out of the movie.  He still has it's moments, but it sure wasn't Oscar worthy in my opinion. 

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay - Chris Barten and Melissa Wallack, Best Film Editing

 'Gravity' (PG-13)
OSCARS WON:  Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects

The night's big winner.  As expected, it cleaned up in many technical categories and topped it off with a win for Best Director.  It's a great movie and I highly recommend seeing it.  If you can somehow watch it in 3D, do it.  It's worth it.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Actress - Sandra Bullock, Best Production Design

 'Her' (R)
OSCAR WON:  Best Original Screenplay - Spike Jonze

I'm glad 'Her' got at least one award from last night.  And indeed it is a very original movie.  Extremely strange, sure, but original. 

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Original Song - "The Moon Song", Best Production Design

 

 'Blue Jasmine' (PG-13)
WON:  Best Actress - Cate Blanchett

I rented this movie from Redbox a few nights ago.  It's.....okay.  Did Blanchett deserve Best Actress?  Well...it's not exactly a stretch for someone who is in the 1% to play someone who is a delusional, exaggerated woman who used to be in the 1% but has fallen on "hard times" and moves in with her sister (Sally Hawkins).  It's a detestable character, but you just can't look away with the extremely altered version of reality that this character has created for herself and prefers to live in.  It has it's moments but that's about it.  Bullock for 'Gravity' should've won.

ALSO NOMINATED FOR:  Best Supporting Actress - Sally Hawkins, Best Original Screenplay - Woody Allen

 'Frozen' (PG)
WON:  Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song - "Let It Go"

'Frozen' won both of the Oscars it was nominated for.  I personally preferred 'Despicable Me 2' over 'Frozen' and "In Summer" from Frozen instead of "Let It Go" but I'm perfectly fine with 'Frozen' and "Let It Go" winning.

 'The Great Gatsby' (PG-13)
WON:  Best Production Design, Best Costume Design

Old sport, 'Great Gatsby' also won both of the Oscars it was nominated for.  And indeed, the production design and costume design truly are the best parts of that movie.  DiCaprio was very underrated as Gatsby. 

'The Great Beauty' (No MPAA Rating)
WON:  Best Foreign Language Film (Italy)

I had never heard of this movie until awards season, and it started picking up awards left and right.  Apparently it's about a man who has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, he looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

'20 Feet From Stardom' (PG-13)
WON:  Best Documentary Feature

Another one I never heard of until awards season.  Apparently it's about the world of being a backup singer.  That could be interesting but I'm probably not gonna watch it. 




Other winners
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject):  The Lady In Number 6:  Music Saved My Life
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:  Helium
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:  Mr. Hublot

Oscar Predictions

At long last, here are my picks for the Oscars.  Last year I got 16 or 17 right and won a bet.  I'll probably never get that case of beer but oh well. 




BEST PICTURE:  12 Years A Slave
BEST DIRECTOR:  Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
BEST ACTOR:  *Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTRESS:  Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  **Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:  Spike Jonze, Her
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:  John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:  Frozen
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:  The Great Beauty
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:  The Act of Killing
BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT SUBJECT:  Facing Fear
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:  Avant que de tout perde ("Just Before Losing Everything")
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:  Get A Horse!
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:  Gravity
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  "Let It Go" - Frozen
BEST SOUND EDITING:  Gravity
BEST SOUND MIXING:  Gravity
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:  The Great Gatsby
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:  Gravity
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:  The Lone Ranger
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:  American Hustle
BEST FILM EDITING:  Gravity
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:  Gravity




*I really wish this wasn't the case, but he's been getting awards left and right for this role.  Sure, I didn't really care for 'Dallas Buyers Club' all that much, but there came a point early on in the movie where I just couldn't buy this character and wrote him off.  
**Another one that I really wish wasn't happening, but the awards so far have been more in favor of her miscast role in 'American Hustle' than for the far more deserving Lupita Nyong'O for '12 Years A Slave'.  If I get this pick wrong, I'll be thrilled.