MINI-REVIEW: Men in Black 3 in 3D

MOVIE
Men in Black 3 (MIB3)

CAST
Will Smith, Josh Brolin,
Tommy Lee Jones

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 25, 2012

DIRECTOR
Barry Sonnefeld

STUDIO
Columbia Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 46 minutes




STARS
***1/4








REVIEW:

As it turns out, going backwards in time is much better than going forward in the case of 'Men in Black 3.'  It's been nearly a decade since audiences were given the mediocre sequel that is 'Men in Black II.'  Due to that fatal mistake, it seemed that there was no hope of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones donning the black suits and the sweet sunglasses once again.  But alas, Sony figured that 3D could help out the alien fighting men on their journey back to the big screen.  And 3D is what 'Men in Black 3' got treated with.  Series director Barry Sonnenfeld along with Smith and Jones have come back to make one final MIB movie that is out on a mission to restore the popularity of 'Men in Black.'  Luckily for them, that's exactly what has happened.  'Men in Black 3' is a fast paced, humorous, and fun summer movie that is one of the better films to come out this year. 

Will Smith is great as always playing Agent J.  Smith knows how to bring a modern flare properly into a 60s setting, which is always good fun to watch.  Tommy Lee Jones, while listed as a main star, is really only in the movie for the first 15 minutes of the film and the last 5 minutes of the film, so I would call it really an extended cameo or something like that.  For the 86 minutes Jones isn't in the film, Josh Brolin is playing the younger rendition of his character, Agent K.  It's incredible how similar Jones and Brolin are in terms of looks and personality traits, because Brolin was the absolute perfect choice to play young K.  If they made prequel 'Men in Black' films starring Josh Brolin as young K, I bet it would do some good business despite the absence of Will Smith.  Jemaine Clement is very enjoyable as the villain of the movie, named "Boris the Animal."  Of all of the villains from this series, I think Boris is probably the best one, because the character does much more than walking around New York City scaring people and killing us one by one.  Overall the cast was able to put on good performances and give the audience some good laughs and keep them on the edge of their seats for the whole way through.

'Men in Black 3' is what you want in a summer movie, and actually gives its audience a whole lot more than they'd expect to see.  In some ways, this is the 'Toy Story 3' of the 'Men in Black' series, because it's final 10 minutes just gets you in the hearts and makes you remember something more about why you liked the first one and wish that the second film never happened.  Etan Cohen, the screenwriter of the film, knew how to revive this once thought dead franchise and bring it to a whole new generation, which is always great to see.  I'm actually worried that this movie might be crushed by its upcoming rivals like Snow White & The Huntsman' and 'Prometheus,' because this is a movie that is actually worth going out to a theater and paying the 3D surcharge to check out.  Sure it is flawed a bit examples being the lack of Pug the Dog, the lack of much humor, and the constant plot-holes regarding the first two films, but if you put those aside then this will be a fun time at the movies for you.  Get ready to go back in time, because the Black Suited Men are back and better than ever.

PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Madea's Witness Protection


Snow White & The Huntsman


Total Recall


Skyfall


The Amazing Spider Man


Madagascar 3: 
Europe's Most Wanted


Finding Nemo 3D

Prometheus

REVIEW: The Intouchables

MOVIE
The Intouchables

CAST
François Cluzet, Omar Sy

RATING
R

RELEASE
May 25, 2012 (NY/LA)
Expanding Throughout June/July

DIRECTOR(S)
Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 52 minutes






STARS
****









REVIEW:

Taking French as a freshman in high school has some advantages when you go to see a French movie. Usually with foreign movies, there are cultural jokes that only the people of the nation or people taking the language would get. That is not the case for 'The Intouchables.' 'The Intouchables' is one of those rare films that can connect with any audience, whether they're of different race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, etc. because the story is so touching, heartwarming, and downright funny. The film is about Philippe, a man who's paralyzed from the neck down who decides to hire an assistant for his daily routines, plus to be his "partner" in life. All of the sudden Driss, an African American man from the French Ghetto comes into Philippe's life, and sparks fly. These two opposites form a friendship that should not work, but somehow it does. This is that type of film where you can go into it expecting nothing and just love the hell out of it after. 'The Intouchables' is hilarious, heartwarming, and just a sweet and great movie that might go down as one of the most under looked films of 2012.

The film stars two gentlemen that we Americans probably have never heard of. François Cluzet and Omar Sy are our two leads in this film, and my goodness are they incredible. Cluzet is charming and great as Philippe, the handicapped man. For a man who doesn't move a single muscle in his body (other than his head) for nearly two hours is something quite tricky to do. It might sound easy just to sit in a chair for an entire film and do nothing but speak, but even the slightest movement of a finger can ruin the illusion of being paralyzed. Cluzet deserves some recognition for his role in this film, because he is simply great. However as great as Cluzet is, the real standout of the film is Driss, the arms and legs of Philippe, played by the absolutely fantastic Omar Sy. Driss is the type of character who is energetic, funny, and the type of guy who you would want to be best friends with. From the first time the audience sees Driss and Philippe driving in a car, things get very crazy which all leads to them singing to Earth Wind & Fire's "September" on the radio. If you are laughing there, then it is guaranteed you will be laughing whenever Driss comes on screen. I can now see why Omar Sy won the Caesar Award last year over Academy Award winning actor Jean Dujardin for 'The Artist.'

The reason why the film works, aside from Cluzet and Sy's fantastic performances, is the chemistry between their characters. With Philippe and Driss being complete opposites of one another, they form a brother like bond that will capture the heart of any kind and loving soul out there. Writers/Directors Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano have crafted a funny, touching, and marvelous film that should be seen by any audience out there. This is the first foreign film I've seen where any audience, whether you take French or love to ditch school, can enjoy the chemistry between the two leads, have a lot of laughs, and get emotionally involved with what's going on. Even people who don't like to read subtitles will really enjoy this film as well. If this movie opens up anywhere near you, I highly recommend you checking it out. There's a reason why this is the second highest French film of all time, so all you have to do is believe what I'm saying and check out 'The Intouchables.' It's more than just a film: it's a spiritual journey worth taking. Bring that one to the bank if you're willing to.

REVIEW: Battleship

MOVIE
Battleship

CAST
Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 18, 2012

DIRECTOR
Peter Berg

STUDIO(S)
Universal Pictures, Hasbro

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 11 minutes






STARS
**











REVIEW:

It should be noted that Peter Berg's 'Battleship' off the bat is not a good movie, at all.  The idea of taking a board game involving "sinking battleships" and making it into a big film with aliens involved is completely irrelevant and serves no purpose to the movie making world.  However as bad as this movie may be, there were a few parts where I was having a lot of fun.  It might've been from the fact that my friends and I were joking around during the screening, or it could've been that I was laughing at how dumb the movie was.  This isn't something that you have to see, and it's possible that the majority of the people who see this won't like it at all.  I probably won't even see this film again, let alone talk about it once this review is at its close because 'Battleship' is highly forgettable.  However this is the type of movie where you will enjoy it if you are with a bunch of friends and are making fun of it throughout.  If you are seeing this alone, then that won't help at all, because 'Battleship' is an over-the-top, cheesy, badly written and somewhat poorly acted film that is sure to be one of the summer's most forgettable movies.

Taylor Kitsch has the potential to be a very talented actor.  I could see his potential in 'John Carter' and 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' among his film work.  In 'Battleship,' he isn't as bad as you'd think, but then again he isn't great either.  At the very beginning of the movie, Kitsch's character tries to woo Brooklyn Deckler's character by getting her a chicken burrito.  This scene made him look like he’s being the Kirk type guy from 'Star Trek' that we've been getting in many recent action/sci-fi films.  While he is good as the cocky type of protagonist, they tend to get very annoying after they've been portrayed in movies a million times before.  The other big "actor" in this movie is famed pop star Rihanna in her acting debut.  Rihanna not only is mediocre in this film, but she also plays the typical African American role in an action/sci-fi film: the comedic relief who utters god-awful lines poorly but somehow gets the audience to laugh and root for them.  I have no idea why Rihanna decided to be a part of this film since her music career is actually pretty solid.  My suggestion to her is to either find smaller films to be in where she can actually try to act, or find movies with better scripts instead of over-the-top action sci-fi extravaganzas like this film.

Getting away from the two main cast members who are terrible, the two best/underused actors in the film were Alexander Skarsgård and Liam Nesson.  Skarsgård plays Taylor Kitsch's brother who is trying to be the protective and wise soldier that knows right from wrong.  Not only was this guy the best character in the movie, but Skarsgård gave the best performance of the movie.  That's right, he was better than Liam Nesson in this movie.  Nesson was good as well; however he seemed like the cranky grandpa who is just a pain in the ass throughout the film.  Unfortunately for these two actors, their screen time was incredibly dismal and was cut down to a certain extent where one of these actors was practically cast in a cameo role.  The other character sadly is killed off 40 minutes in, which by then the movie was already losing its fun and cheesy self and started to take itself seriously.  If the movie kept itself on the track of being self-aware at how stupid it was, then it's possible that it could have been a better film.  Unfortunately you can't go very far when you have your two best actors on the sidelines for 85% of the movie.

Jon and Erich Hoeber are responsible for what I think is one of the best films of 2010, 'RED.'  That film brought so much energy and fun to the audience so they couldn't help but love what they were seeing.  I ponder how they even thought of the idea of putting aliens and explosions into a movie called 'Battleship' and make it so it's trying to be serious and kind of fun.  This movie never takes itself as a fun and over the top popcorn flick at all.  Instead that's all replaced with laughable acting, a cringe worthy script, and just a generic summer movie that anyone could make.  Peter Berg can do so much better than this movie, which has been shown in other notable works like 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Hancock.'  This film is just an easy paycheck for anyone who's involved with it.  It's ironic how I dislike this film yet I have a soft spot for the Michael Bay 'Transformers' films even though they're basically one and the same.  Actually, 'Battleship' is quite the interesting combination: if 'Transformers,' 'Titanic,' (that's right, James Cameron's masterpiece) and anything else that's in a crappy movie, then you get this film.  Too bad this 'Battleship' got sunk so early on, because it had the potential to be a fun summer popcorn flick.

REVIEW: God Bless America

MOVIE
God Bless America

CAST
Joel Murray, Tara Lynne-Barr

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 6, 2012 (VOD)
May 11, 2012 (LIMITED)

DIRECTOR
Bobcat Goldthwait

STUDIO
Magnet Releasing, (Magnolia)
Darko Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 44 minutes





STARS
****









REVIEW:

The new movie 'God Bless America' tackles on the one thing that seems to be destroying human kindness and self-awareness: pop culture and gossip.  Frank, the main character, has had enough of how corrupt human society has become, which has even affected his ex-wife and his young daughter, who in one scene complains that her parents got her a Blackberry and not an iPhone.  Frank in his hatred for the world along for his life, decides to put a bullet in his mouth.  Before he's able to do that, destiny calls him to kill a '16 and Pregnant' like girl named Chloe, along with her rich parents.  Along the way, Frank meets up with Roxy, a foul mouthed and possibly insane 16 year old who for some reason has the urge to come along with Frank and kill people "who deserve to die."  'God Bless America' may go a bit over the top sometimes (the opening scene of the film will throw you for a loop) but this movie is so controversial that it just becomes a funny, bloody, and awesome movie that will be under-looked unfortunately.  'God Bless America' is one of the best films of 2012 so far, and it may go down as one of the most under looked movies of the year period.

Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr are the two main characters that we follow throughout the movie.  Despite some scenes involving other characters (most whom eventually get killed) Joel and Tara, or Frank and Roxy in the film, are the only two characters we see in the movie.  Frank's character may be killing people because he thinks they deserve to die, but from the moment he comes on screen in the shocking and horrid opening sequence the audience absolutely feels his pain and suffering.  Frank is the type of cynical character who you actually care for throughout the film.  Murray is funny, witty, and boss as Frank, and I hope that he gets more roles after this film.  The same goes to Tara Lynne-Barr, who's portrayal of the 16 year old foul mouthed Roxy puts Chloe Moretz's Hit Girl from 'Kick Ass' to shame.  Roxy is hilarious, violent, sometimes shocking, and overall a badass with a gun.  The thing that may turn people away from Lynne-Barr is that she looks really young for her actual age (18) so it may feel a bit weird.  I still feel that she should get more opportunities soon, because she is really talented once you get past her looks and the shock value of her character.  Joel Murray and Tara Lynne-Barr may be the actors of this film, but the real star of 'God Bless America' is writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait.

During the Q&A of my screening of 'God Bless America,' Goldthwait said he wrote this film as a Christmas present to his wife.  If his wife can take a Christmas present as violent as this film is, then there shouldn't be anything stopping Goldthwait from making anything he wants to make.  Bobcat clearly has a sick way of looking at life, but that only adds to the pure enjoyment of his films.  He even describes this film as "a violent film about kindness."  I agree with him on this.  'God Bless America' is violent, funny, and tells a great message about society.  Of course people will hate the fact that (SPOILER) a baby gets shot within the first two minutes of the movie, (END SPOILER) but once you get past that, the film tells a great message about the lack of kind people in this world.  'God Bless America' is currently On-Demand and in theaters in some areas.  I would HIGHLY suggest giving it a go.  It's twisted and very cynical on all boundaries, but the script is well written and the movie is very funny.  After seeing this film, you will never look at human society, the world, or even the song you sing to during Baseball games, the same way again. 

MINI-REVIEW: Bully

MOVIE
Bully

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
March 30, 2012 (LIMITED)
April 13, 2012 (WIDE)

DIRECTOR
Lee Hirsch

STUDIO
The Weinstein Company

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 39 minutes







STARS
****









REVIEW:

13 million kids will be bullied in school this year, 2012.  Unfortunately in many schools across the country, teachers and adults aren't doing much about bullying at all.  Even when teens commit suicide, not much is done by the people whose job is to educate and protect kids from harm’s way.  Lee Hirsch, the director of the new documentary 'Bully' has admitted that he was indeed bullied as a child, which inspired him to make this movie.  I myself have been bullied and let me tell you it's not fun at all.  While 'Bully' never sees things from the point of view of the bullies themselves, this movie is an accurate depiction of kids who happen to be different that are having a hard time getting along.  The movie sparked a lot of controversy because it was rated R for six counts of the f-bomb used.  What makes the situation even crazier is that the f-bombs are hardly noticeable at all.  In fact people just don't want to see this film much at all.  However for what it's worth, go see this film.  It may still be expanding across the country, even though that might be a little bit unlikely now that this film's been out for over a month, but if you can, go see 'Bully.'  This is an effective documentary that will both touch your heart and make you sick to your stomach.  I wish that more people went to go see this movie, but with all of the controversy and fear of bullies surrounding it, odds are not many will give this film a go.  If you can, check it out on DVD at least.  If you like the film, then it would be great if you can share your feelings on bullying to the world.  If not, you might've missed out on something.  Having been bullied before, 'Bully' is a fantastic documentary, and that's all that really needs to be said.

PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

The Intouchables


Moonrise Kingdom


Brave


Paranorman


The Amazing Spider Man