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.

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Paranorman


The Amazing Spider Man

REVIEW: The Dictator

MOVIE
The Dictator

CAST
Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Farris

RATING
R

RELEASE
May 16, 2012

DIRECTOR
Larry Charles

STUDIO
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 23 minutes






STARS
***3/4








REVIEW:

It's not necessary to take a film about a ruling dictator so seriously when the movie literally opens up with a tribute to one of the few hated men of the world that died last year. Sacha Baron Cohen has taken the world by storm in his acclaimed movie 'Borat,' but disappointed audiences with his second dip into a strange character, 'Bruno.' What's different about 'The Dictator' is that A.) this is a fully scripted film and everyone is an actor, and B.) there is an actual story rather than Admiral General Aladeen going around and interacting with ordinary people for 83 minutes. The story involves Aladeen, who wants to keep his country a dictatorship, coming to America and being removed by power and having his beard shaved so nobody can recognize him. Now Aladeen has to live among ordinary Americans and try to fit in so he can devise a plan to regain power. It should be known that if you are expecting ANYTHING rather than offensive jokes, sexual content, foul language, and at least one shot of a penis, then you are looking for the wrong movie. While this film has everything just listed, writer/star Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles have crafted an offensive, crude, yet smart and hilarious movie that may well go down as one of the funniest movies of 2012.

Sacha Baron Cohen is notorious for diving into over the top and strange characters like 'Borat' and many others, so Admiral General Aladeen should be no exception at all. Other than seeing his villainous role as Jean Girald in 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby' and hearing his hilarious voice work in the 'Madagascar' films as King Julien, this was my first experience with any of Baron Cohen's characters. After seeing one of his R-rated characters in action, I can honestly say that Baron Cohen is one gifted man. He is able to fully transform into these insane characters and act as if the characters are himself. In fact, he only ever appears in costume as the title character of his latest film whenever he does interviews and makes appearances on 'The Oscars' and even 'Saturday Night Live.' Cohen is outrageously funny in this film, with some of the jokes in this movie being so shocking and so jaw dropping that the laughs will be pouring out of your mouth like drool. Because of his crazy performance and his brilliant writing, I was laughing harder in this film than any other film this year, which includes '21 Jump Street' and 'Casa de Mi Padre.' Sacha Baron Cohen, I thank you for offending the living hell out of every race and religion in the entire world because without the racist humor, this movie would have been pretty awful.

Anna Farris has some good jokes in this movie despite playing the eco-friendly love interest. While some of the jokes involving her unshaved armpits goes a little bit over the top, the way Farris and Baron Cohen play off of each other was great to watch. Ben Kingsley felt like the weak point of the film, despite the audience knowing exactly his motivations are for doing what he does in this film. Kingsley also felt much underused because he was in the film for about 30 minutes of it, even though he is an important character in the movie. Still though, he is a very funny addition in this movie. John C. Riley has a much smaller part in the film than you'd expect. The two scenes you see him in during the trailers of the movie are the only two scenes he's actually in the film. That too was disappointing, but Riley is very funny in those two scenes. Jason Mantzoukas is hilarious as the one guy in America who recognizes Aladeen without the beard. This guy shares one of the best scenes with Cohen, in which the two are in a helicopter and stuff happens. This guy other than Cohen was the funniest actor in the film. The cast in this film is quite stellar, despite a couple of people being underused.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles are a master class duo together. While their jokes can go a bit over the top, they still manage to produce a bucket load of belly-laughs for the audience to endure. 'The Dictator' may have you rolling on the ground laughing with one joke, but could also have you easily offended in another jokes. It all depends if you are offended easily that you will enjoy this movie or not. Personally I wasn't offended much, but rather a tad uncomfortable because of how raunchy the film can get. In fact there is a scene involving self-pleasuring that had me laughing so hard that I was choking on the tears of joy coming out of my eye sockets.  If 'The Dictator' was that funny, then I wonder how much laughter and enjoyment I'll get when I eventually see 'Borat' and 'Bruno.' The cast is great, particularly Sacha Baron Cohen and Jason Mantzoukas. The script of the film is both brilliant and hilarious. Most of all, it is an overall R rated laugh fest that can easily go down as one of the funniest, maybe even the funniest movie of 2012. Films like 'The Watch' and 'Ted' still have to come out, so we all never know. However for the time being, if you are trying to get off of 'The Avengers' bandwagon (why would you be anyway) and want to see something refreshing and original, or you just do't want to see a generic action sci-fi flick like 'Battleship,' then bow down to Admiral General Aladeen, aka 'The Dictator' and bask in his oh so mighty glory.

REVIEW: Dark Shadows

MOVIE
Dark Shadows

CAST
Johnny Depp, Eva Green

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 11, 2012

DIRECTOR
Tim Burton

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 53 minutes





STARS
**1/2









REVIEW:

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton working on a movie together feels as frequent as Christmas, which means that they like to spend time together.  Add Burton's wife Helena Bonham Carter and notable composer Danny Elfman to the mix, and you got yourself a regular Tim Burton movie.  So why does 'Dark Shadows' not feel like a proper Tim Burton movie at all?  Was it because there was more of a 1970's soundtrack rather than a score?  Was it because of how creepy the film got in its final act?  To be honest I have no idea, but 'Dark Shadows' is not the film you may be expecting to see from the guy who directed movies like 'Batman' and most recently 'Alice in Wonderland.'  The trailers for this film indicate that audiences will be buying a ticket for a fun comedy with a fantasy setting and Depp being a goofy vampire.  Unfortunately they forgot to mention how creepy this movie gets about 70% in.  I saw this movie at a screening with my family, because the film was being advertised as a fun movie to go to.  Then the dark stuff occurred, and the movie just let itself go from there, which probably wasn’t a good thing.  'Dark Shadows' is not a normal Tim Burton movie at all.  Because of that, this is a pretty disappointing film with a couple of laughs, (though you've seen them in the trailers already) some good special effects, and a decent cast.  However this isn't a film that you have to rush out to go see, unlike something like 'Marvel's The Avengers.'

Barnabas Collins as a child is sent with his family to the New World (America if you had no idea) so the Collins business name can further expand.  The Collins family ends up residing in Maine and start a fishing company, which helps the Collins have the town they live in named after them.  As an adult, Barnabas has a witch fall in love with him for which he cannot return the affection.  Soon after that, Barnabas's life flips in a 180 degree rotation, and all whom he loves are killed by the witch, Angelique.  Just when you'd think that Angelique would kill Barnabas, she does the exact opposite:  Angelique turns Barnabas into a vampire so he and his suffering can live on for eternity, and has the townspeople turn on him so he can be buried alive into a metal coffin.  Two centuries past, and Barnabas through a series of events is freed from his prison and returns to his manor to meet the Collins family in the year 1972.  Times have changed, and he's trying to adapt.  Unfortunately for him, Angelique is still alive, well, and won't stop until Barnabas has her as his true love.

Johnny Depp is fantastic playing really odd and kooky characters, so it comes as no surprise that his portrayal of Barnabas is nothing short of great.  Barnabas says some great lines in this movie, and even watching his reactions to the new world around him are pretty hysterical.  I also liked how deep Barnabas got in some parts of the movie.  Barnabas is the type of guy who is friendly, but he will unfortunately kill you if you either A.) lie to him or B.) are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Depp was really the only great performance in this movie.  The others were either good or dismal.  The best performance from the supporting cast easily came from Jackie Earle Haley as Willie, the drunken caretaker of Collinwood.  The unfortunate thing about his performance is that sometimes you can't tell whether he's under the spell put on him by Barnabas, or just an idiot who is too drunk to think.  Nevertheless, Haley was good.  Chloe Moretz of 'Hugo' fame is strange in this movie. Not exactly the good kind of strange to be honest.  When you first meet her, she is this weird ass teen who almost seems a bit gothic and kind of like a spunkier Wednesday Addams from 'The Addams Family.'  Then the second half comes into play and Moretz's character has this bizarre twist that, while nobody saw coming, was just too dumb for my liking.  Depp, Haley, and Moretz were probably the best actors in the film, even though that isn't saying much.

Eva Green, whom I doubt younger audiences would know, plays the villain Angelique.  Angelique is the type of woman who you'd probably never want to be with, because she is jealous, a bit horny, and just plain evil.  I get that the character is supposed to be that way, but it seriously just got too over the top in a majority of the film.  Sure she's stunning to look at, but her villain portrayal was more cartoonish than frightening and believable.  Helena Bonham Carter is also really insane in this movie.  At first she just seems like a drunk doctor who is only in here for some dumb comedic laughs.  Once you see what she's really doing with Barnabas, it just gets crazy from there and the movie just gets really dark.  The same thing goes for Jonny Lee Miller, who plays one of Barnabas' relatives and just leaves half way into the movie for reasons I can't say.  Michelle Pfeiffer was playing a strict mom who's trying to protect her children from Barnabas and the world from his secret.  Like we haven't seen this character a million times prior.  Bella Heathcote is actually decent playing Victoria.  Even though her acting is a bit wooden, her character is still interesting, but has a predictable outcome once you get to know her.  Overall some of the cast is good, like Johnny Depp for example, and some of the cast is mediocre.

The main problem of the film is the lack of story development, along with character development.  It seemed that Burton wanted to get so much into the movie that he didn't have time to develop any other characters other than Barnabas.  For example, Heathcote is the subject of the opening credits sequence and the five minutes after that.  However once Barnabas comes into the picture, she is sort of forgotten and her story is told through bizarre and random spots in the film.  Not only that, but her story is just plain predictable.  Then there's Chloe Moretz, who we first meet as being a weird spunky teen who dances to songs in such a weird way.  Once her little twist is revealed, the audience is just sitting there saying to themselves "What the Hell?"  Also, the movie dives not just into the love show between Depp and Green, but it also goes into sub plot stories regarding the characters, the family business, etc., and that felt a bit too much.  Can't films ever stick with just one sole story and not go into multiple sub plots?  Hasn't anyone ever thought of doing that anymore?  Well, that's Hollywood for you.

The film also changes genres pretty quickly as well.  For the first half, it's just the weird and somewhat quirky fantasy film.  When the second half approaches, the film flips 180 degrees to become this freak show horror flick with a very dark tone to it.  That's probably not the greatest movie to see with your 11 year old sister who gets scared pretty easily after all.  Maybe if they didn't try to advertise the film as a comedy and showed it's dark tone a bit then maybe I might have enjoyed it more.  Just know this: 'Dark Shadows' is far from being a comedy at all.  If you have kids 11 and under who want to see it, seriously do not take them to see this unless you don't mind your kids watching a finale filled with homages to films like 'The Exorcist' and any other type of classic horror film that you wouldn't let your kids see.

'Dark Shadows' may be the first big disappointment of the summer 2012 season.  Sure 'Battleship' is getting mixed reviews overseas, but people sort of want a movie based on a board game about aliens to be a mediocre movie.  People including myself were really looking forward to this film, hoping that this could be like Burton's 'Beetlejuice' for the modern era.  The only difference there is that 'Beetlejuice' was smart enough to be funny, weird, and a little creepy.  Saying that this film is PG-13 is just a mere understatement.  The sexual content is charged up a few notches, the violence may be a bit intense for viewers, and the horror/dark tone of the film gets really amped up in the second half which could frighten younger viewers.  It's sad to see this film be a disappointment because of the people behind it.

Actors like Johnny Depp and Chloe Moretz are undeniably talented.  Tim Burton is a weird but great director who has made some very notable movies on his own part.  If only they did a better job at marketing this film, along with reduce on the story and character development.  You can't help it when actors aren't good in a movie, because that is on the actor's part.  If someone really wants to see 'Dark Shadows,' then I would say find the cheapest show to go to on a weekend, perhaps an early morning show, and see it then.  If you miss the film in theaters, the one thing that could be regretted is not experiencing the visuals on the big screen, which look really cool.  'Dark Shadows' could have been so much better, but in the end it was just a visually stunning, yet poorly developed and somewhat well-acted movie that actually drags on its 113 minute run time.  Barnabas won't suck your blood if you don't see this movie, trust me.

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REVIEW: Marvel's The Avengers: The IMAX 3D Experience

MOVIE
Marvel's The Avengers

CAST
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans
Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 4, 2012

DIRECTOR
Joss Whedon

STUDIO(S)
Marvel Studios (Disney),
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 22 minutes






STARS
****











REVIEW:

To open up the summer with proper fashion, Joss Whedon is finally going to unleash the superhero movie many have been waiting for a very long time. This film of course, is 'Marvel's The Avengers.' Comic book fans and audiences alike have been waiting for an 'Avengers' movie ever since Samuel L. Jackson appeared as Nick Fury at the end of the first 'Iron Man' film. Then, it was announced that audiences all over the world were finally going to experience their favorite Marvel superheroes all in one movie, which in other words ('Scott Pilgrim's' words to be exact) an "epic of epic epicness." To get the juices flowing, we as audience members got to meet 'Thor' and 'Captain America' in their own good but disappointing films. 10 months after 'Captain America's' release, we finally have the holy grail of superhero films. I'm not just saying that as something I made up before I saw the movie, I believe that as a 100% fact. 'Marvel's The Avengers' is everything any superhero, comic book, or movie fan could want in a movie, and much much more than that. 'Marvel's The Avengers' is a masterful piece of filmmaking with a fantastic cast and a brilliant director behind the camera. It already is my favorite film of 2012 and it's going to be hard for something to top this film.

The cast in this film is just plain brilliant. Robert Downey Jr. is better than ever as Tony Stark/Iron Man. In this film, Stark is cockier, more narcissistic, and just one plain old great character. Downey proves in this film why he was originally chosen to play Iron Man in the first place, along with the other cast members of the movie. Chris Evans gives some great work as Captain America while at the same time improves on his performance from last year's 'Captain America: The First Avenger.' Surprisingly enough, I felt that the character of 'Thor' played by Chris Hemsworth was underused quite a bit. That does not say that he was still great in this movie as well. The clear standout of the four main Avengers is Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of both Bruce Banner and The Hulk. As Banner, Ruffalo plays a Steven Hawking type guy who is worried that he'll become the Hulk at any given point in time. We of course know he's going to become Hulk eventually, and when that happens, your jaw will drop to the floor. There is even a scene involving him in New York City towards the end of the movie that will just make you stand up and cheer because of how awesome the Hulk is in that scene. The four main Avengers do not disappoint at all, which could be said about the equally as awesome supporting cast.

Tom Hiddleston is fantastic as Loki, the Norse God of Mischief. When he first appears on screen, you know that he is going to cause some serious mayhem on earth! This may be a very bold statement right now, but Loki in this movie was a bit more superior to Heath Leger's Oscar winning portrayal of The Joker in 'The Dark Knight.' Unless Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises' can be more menacing and more frightening than him, then Loki might have the award for 2012's Best Villain locked down. Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg return as Shield Director Nick Fury and Agent Colson respectively. We have really only seen Samuel L. and Clark Gregg in small roles in the previous Marvel films. However in this movie they are awesome and just two badasses throughout. They even manage to make a lot of fantastic one liners that not only are cheesy in a good way, but also carry the story along very nicely.

Scarlett Johansson is also back from her role in 'Iron Man 2' as Black Widow. Johansson is also on fire in this movie. In fact her first scene in the movie is awesome because it shows just how awesome of a secret agent she can be. Jeremy Renner, after his cameo as 'Thor,' comes up to the plate as Hawkeye. There are things that happen to Hawkeye that you would never see coming in a mile. Unfortunately like the character of Thor, I felt Hawkeye was a bit underused. That didn't stop him though from being great in this movie. Colbie Smulders is new to the 'Avengers' world as Agent Maria Hill. While being a new member of the MARVEL family might have been a bit too much for this film, Smulders makes herself at home and, like everyone else in this movie, is really good! The entire cast of this movie is spectacular, and that's where I'll leave it.

It could be found surprising that this movie is more comedic than you expected, however Joss Whedon is a fantastic writer, so the comedy actually worked. I find it kind of weird to be saying this, but 'Marvel's The Avengers' also happens to be the funniest movie of the year so far. I was surprised in a good way of how good the jokes were in this movie. Whedon has the type of funny bone that can appeal to any audience out there. There are even jokes in this film that are funny just because they are funny. There's no other way to describe it. Joss luckily is just as good of a director as he is a writer. Whedon was the absolute perfect choice to direct this film. While the only other film he has directed, 'Serenity,' didn't get out there well enough, this film proves that Joss has some serious skills and may someday become one of Hollywood's most prominent directors. He's not quite as talented as Chris Nolan yet, but if Whedon does go off to do his own 'Inception,' I will be first in line for that. I told my buddy before even seeing this movie that I wasn't sure about Joss, since he's a big fan of his show 'Firefly.' But as many "Whedonites" (cool, I just made something up) would say, "In Joss We Trust." They were absolutely right on that.

I may be making a bold statement here, but 'Marvel's The Avengers' may possibly be the greatest superhero film ever made. It may be hard to believe that with older classics like 'Superman: The Movie' and more recent successes like 'The Dark Knight' being out there, but Joss Whedon has crafted a well-acted, action packed, and often hilarious movie that deserves to be seen by any movie goer and comic book nerd out there. The performances are top notch, especially from Downey Jr., Tom Hiddleston, and Mark Ruffalo. The movie is well written, both having some clever dialogue and well written scenes, as well as some very funny lines and moments to go along with the action.  To top everything off, the final 40 minute battle sequence takes every action sequence in a movie and amps the scale up 10 notches to make one hell of an intense and fun ride that makes you feel that time has stopped and you’re simply enjoying pure movie magic. "Marvel's The Avengers' is one of 2012's most highly anticipated movies and my gosh does it deserve to be! If there is one movie to really check out this summer, avenge all of the good movies that made no money last year and see this wonderful masterpiece of a superhero movie. However if 'The Dark Knight Rises' is better than this movie, which seems very likely now that the new trailer has arrived, then 2012 may be the best superhero movie year in the history of film.




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The Dark Knight Rises

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