FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL
Small and smart British sci-fi comedy that's worth checking out. Last I saw it was available via HBO GO.
B
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
Worth seeing only for the depictions of the the haunted woods and the faerie themed forest. All of the action is incomprehensible due to shakey cam idiocy and Kristen Stewart is her usual vapid self.
C-
PROMETHEUS
Visually amazing and chock full of really cool ideas that unfortunately never get properly developed, this movie really suffers from its poor script. For every really cool, smart, or awesome thing in the movie we have another two that are just plain dumb. Ultimately disappointing, but still worth seeing.
C+
ABRAHAM LINCOLN - VAMPIRE HUNTER
Ridiculous in nearly every aspect but played completely straight. I had a lot of fun with this one.
B+
BRAVE
Beautiful and fun. Maybe it's not as good as some of Pixar's other movies, but it's definitely better than
Cars.
B+
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Pretty good reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. The Lizard really isn't a very strong villain and his plot to turn all of Manhattan into lizard people is pretty silly, but Andrew Garfield and Emma tone as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy really are great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of these two in future Spider-Man installments.
A-
LET THE BULLETS FLY
Really fun period gangster/bandit film set in China of the 1920s. Unpredictable and fun. Recommended.
B+
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Worthy conclusion to Nolan's Batman trilogy. Aside from some unimaginatively choreographed fight scenes between Bane and Batman the action is top notch. Anne Hathaway made for an excellent Selina Kyle (she's never referred to as Catwoman) and Tom Hardy makes for a formidable villain in Lord Humongous, I mean Bane. Very satisfying overall.
A
THE BOURNE LEGACY
Jeremy Renner is excellent, but, again, extreme shakey cam excesses ruin every single action scene. Frustrating.
C-
TOTAL RECALL
Excellent action set pieces but next to no story or character development so it's hard to care about the outcome of the various battles, no matter how well they're done. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel are both
super-fine.
C
THE WATCH
Funny and dumb. Not as funny as it wants to be sometimes, though.
B-
THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN
Good performances from all, but you'll roll your eyes throughout.
C-
THE EXPENDABLES 2
Better than the first
Expendables, this one features well shot and choreographed action from director Simon West and a string of silly and sometimes groan-inducing callbacks to action movies of yore (Schwarzenegger: "I'll be back." Willis: "You've been back enough -- Stay here; I'm going!")
B