Okay here we go... Let's first start with the movie that's not actually a 2011 Summer movie but one I just saw recently... Well, recently when I started this post over a month ago...
Knight and Day - 2010 - Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard
My Rating: 1.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A story of a girl who gets mixed up with a spy trying to clear his name.
My Review: What was Peter Sarsgaard thinking??? Was he hoping this would be his jaunt into the mainstream? Oh boy. Please be a little more discerning next time Peter - you're far better than this abysmal excuse for a movie. Special effects? Laughable. Plot? ..... I'm sorry, what? You mean the plot line that's been done and done and done and done MUCH better in other movies? Acting? Again, laughable. You already know I'm not a fan of Diaz's and this movie does nothing to help. Yeah... that's all I got.
Bottom Line: I can't believe people got paid to make this movie and I'm so glad I watched it on my grandparents TV - for free.
Now - to the 2011 summer movies! It's been a while since I've seen these so pardon the short reviews. Then again, if it's short it's probably because there wasn't much worth remembering!
Horrible Bosses - 2011 - Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey
My Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness.
My Review: I didn't have very high hopes for this movie, which turned out to be a good thing. It started off slow and never really picked up enough speed to compensate for the ridiculous number of times they said, "F**k." Aniston's character was much too far outside the realm of possibility to warrant any genuine laughs but then again, so were the other two bosses as well. That said, the trio of Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis worked well together and had their moments of amusement... too bad they were just too few and far between.
Bottom line: I'd pay the $2 at the cheap theater.
Water for Elephants - 2011 - Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A veterinary student abandons his studies after his parents are killed and joins a traveling circus as their vet.
My Review: My only problem with this movie was Pattinson. This guy has one look and it's plastered all over the internet as Edward Cullen. Separating the vampire from the veterinarian was a chore and I was pretty unsuccessful. However, I did very much enjoy the movie and no I have not yet read the book. Reese Witherspoon is so gorgeous it's easy to watch her in anything and Waltz, who plays her husband, is absolutely diabolical and perfect in his role.
Bottom line: I'd pay the $2 at the cheap theater.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 2011 - Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson
My Rating: 7 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.
My Review: I'll admit it - I loved this movie. It was a ridiculously fun summer movie. No, it's not going to win any Oscars and it's not an example of anything new... But it sure was fun ride. The campy-ness of the second Transformers movie was gone and replaced with the hilarity of the first movie. Also gone were the campy and over done mini-transformers of the second movie. I do have to say that I missed Megan Fox a bit. Don't get me wrong - she's not a good actor in any sense of the word but she was a smidge better than Huntington-Whiteley whose "to do" list for the movie only included a spray tan and several thousand trips to the gym, I'm sure.
Bottom Line: I'm happy to have paid $10 at the theater to see this one.
Bridesmaids - 2011 - Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne
My Rating: 8 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids.
My Review: Here you have it folks - the first 8! I actually just re-watched this movie this weekend and it is absolutely hilarious. It's one of the VERY few movies during which I laugh out loud. While watching by myself. With the exception of the first few minutes of this movie, it's a powerhouse of female driven comedy and each of the women in this movie have pitch perfect comedic timing with their dry and effortless humor that you can imagine overhearing in the conversation of the much cooler women sitting next to you while out on a Friday night. Melissa McCarthy is almost unrecognizable as a bizarre bridesmaid who steals almost every scene she's in and not enough can be said for how disgusting but laugh-out-loud funny Wiig's character's British roommates are. Have I mentioned Wiig's love interest? Could he be any more sweet and perfect? I could go on and on about this movie! You should just go watch it and see for yourself.
Bottom Line: I'm happy to have paid $10 at the theater to see this one and I'll definitely buy it on DVD.
Midnight in Paris - 2011 - Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
My Review: Calling this movie a "romantic comedy" is a bit of a stretch - I'd say dramedy, if anything. Because this movie was written and directed by Woody Allen and I'm not usually the pretentious movie-loving type, I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked this movie. Then again, it could have mostly been because I understood a lot of the French that was spoken and I knew or at least recognized all the names dropped in the movie. Oops, maybe I am a bit pretentious? In any case, who hasn't wished at some point to live in another time period? Watching Owen Wilson be able to step back in time to experience his idea of the perfect time to be alive made me jealous and wish I could do the same. Any movie that can successfully suspend reality to the extent that I wished I was there is a good one in my book.
Bottom line: I'd pay the $2 at the cheap theater.
Jumping the Broom - 2011 - Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Angela Bassett
My Rating: 3 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: Two very different families converge on Martha's Vineyard one weekend for a wedding.
My Review: Ugh. Okay, granted, I don't exactly fall in to their target audience for this one but it was just boring. Paula Patton is a terrible actress and Alonso was not much better. There were too many last ditch efforts in the plot to make this one interesting and I definitely was looking at my watch for more of the time than I was looking at the screen for at least the last hour.
Bottom line: I wouldn't even stop my channel surfing if it was on TV.
Thanks for reading if you're still here! Summer movie reviews still to come:
Country Strong
Cowboys & Aliens
Crazy, Stupid, Love
True Grit
The Help
The Change-Up
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Summer Movies
So far this summer I've just seen 6 movies... Because I've delayed writing the reviews for so long, these will be pretty short and just written about what I remember. But let's be honest - if I don't remember much it's probably because there isn't much great to remember.
Super 8 - Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler - 2011
My Rating: 5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.
My Review: I remember thinking during this movie that it was as if J. J. Abrams couldn't decide which type of movie he wanted this to be: sci-fi monster movie, government conspiracy movie, character development between the kids movie... ? Then apparently he decided to go with an uneven conglomeration of all three. After the scenes with the train crash and the kids decide to never talk about it again... they don't. The movie forgets about the "monster" that crawls out of the train for a good chunk of time - I even forgot what the movie was supposed to be doing. The movie failed to elicit any kind of real suspense or building of the story line and only succeeded in making me jump a few times with cheap "BOO!" moments. Watching the relationships among the young characters is what makes this movie worth it - these young actors are outstanding. Unfortunately, just as I was hoping would not happen when I wrote my previous "looking forward to" review, Abrams decides to show you way too much of the alien in the end. Plus, it's not even an original looking alien with far too many resemblances to 1987's Predator. I get that part of the reason they give you good long looks at the alien at the end is so that you can begin to feel some empathy and understand his position and understand that you don't have to be scared anymore... but the change of perspective wasn't good enough.
Bottom Line: I wish I hadn't paid $9 for this one but I'd pay $2 at the cheap theater.
The Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe - 2011
My Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills.
My Review: I didn't go in to this movie with high hopes - McConaughey as a lawyer? Come on. But I gave it a shot anyway and really only wish I hadn't seen the matinee showing with the three retirement communities that apparently decided to see the same movie at the same time. There isn't much I remember or need to say about this movie except it would have been better as an episode of Law and Order. Yawn.
Bottom Line: I'd watch it on TV if I didn't have anything else to do.
Soul Surfer - AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt
My Rating: 6 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A teenage surfer girl summons the courage to go back into the ocean after losing an arm in a shark attack.
My Review: This was a great movie about the courage of a young girl. It was a little syrupy for me but I hope that this girl and her family were exactly as portrayed: a strong Christian family that got through (and might have been better for) a horrible accident.
Bottom Line: I'm glad I (well, my mom) payed $2 at the cheap theater for this one.
Still to come: Water for Elephants, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Bridesmaids
Super 8 - Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler - 2011
My Rating: 5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.
My Review: I remember thinking during this movie that it was as if J. J. Abrams couldn't decide which type of movie he wanted this to be: sci-fi monster movie, government conspiracy movie, character development between the kids movie... ? Then apparently he decided to go with an uneven conglomeration of all three. After the scenes with the train crash and the kids decide to never talk about it again... they don't. The movie forgets about the "monster" that crawls out of the train for a good chunk of time - I even forgot what the movie was supposed to be doing. The movie failed to elicit any kind of real suspense or building of the story line and only succeeded in making me jump a few times with cheap "BOO!" moments. Watching the relationships among the young characters is what makes this movie worth it - these young actors are outstanding. Unfortunately, just as I was hoping would not happen when I wrote my previous "looking forward to" review, Abrams decides to show you way too much of the alien in the end. Plus, it's not even an original looking alien with far too many resemblances to 1987's Predator. I get that part of the reason they give you good long looks at the alien at the end is so that you can begin to feel some empathy and understand his position and understand that you don't have to be scared anymore... but the change of perspective wasn't good enough.
Bottom Line: I wish I hadn't paid $9 for this one but I'd pay $2 at the cheap theater.
The Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe - 2011
My Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A lawyer conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing a high-profile client in Beverly Hills.
My Review: I didn't go in to this movie with high hopes - McConaughey as a lawyer? Come on. But I gave it a shot anyway and really only wish I hadn't seen the matinee showing with the three retirement communities that apparently decided to see the same movie at the same time. There isn't much I remember or need to say about this movie except it would have been better as an episode of Law and Order. Yawn.
Bottom Line: I'd watch it on TV if I didn't have anything else to do.
Soul Surfer - AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt
My Rating: 6 out of 10
Summary from IMDB: A teenage surfer girl summons the courage to go back into the ocean after losing an arm in a shark attack.
My Review: This was a great movie about the courage of a young girl. It was a little syrupy for me but I hope that this girl and her family were exactly as portrayed: a strong Christian family that got through (and might have been better for) a horrible accident.
Bottom Line: I'm glad I (well, my mom) payed $2 at the cheap theater for this one.
Still to come: Water for Elephants, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Bridesmaids
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