my "flickfessions" for last week

NewtonCrosby

Borrowed the idea of "Flickfessions" from a movie podcast I listen to. The idea is this: confess the flicks you've watched in the past week. Give your opinion. Maybe a rating (I like to use the American grading scale these days, but 1-10, stars, thumbs-up, etc. are all acceptable). It can be an old movie, in theatres, documentary, even a made for TV movie (but not TV shows). So here are my Flickfessions…


Letters to Juliet – 2010 (PG)
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, & Christopher Egan
6.3 out of 10 on IMDB and 41% on Rotten Tomatoes
It took me a good 15-20 minutes to actually care about this movie. It’s listed as a romance, comedy, & drama. There is nothing overly dramatic and no slap sticky hijinks which to me is a good thing. You won’t cry and you won’t laugh out loud although some scenes might put a smile on your face. It was a sweet/cute movie. It’s pretty predictable and by the numbers but still enjoyable. I wouldn’t say rush out to go rent it or move it to the top of your Netflix queue but if it shows up in one of those red envelopes or you catch it on HBO or something its worth a watch.
My rating (American grading scale): C+

Wanderlust – 2012 (R)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux
IMDB= 5.7, Rotten Tomatoes= 60%
I wanted to like this movie. I like the guys from The State. Love me some Paul Rudd. It looked like it was just going to be a silly fun comedy but it was just not good. I didn’t care for any of the characters really; I thought they were all kind of a-holes. There were a few funny moments but not enough considering all the funny people involved with this movie. I’m pretty sure they didn’t even have a script. The movie felt like someone just said “what if a New York couple had to leave NY and then went to live on a commune?” then they got some money and cameras and just winged it.
My rating: D

Get the Gringo – 2012 (R)
Starring: Mel Gibson, Peter Stormare, Kevin Hernandez
IMDB= 7.2, Rotten Tomatoes= 80%
Say what you will about Mel Gibson. I don’t know the man personally and have nothing invested in him, so I could care less whether anyone “refuses to watch his movies”. If I refused to watch movies based on actors or actresses being douche-bags, I probably wouldn’t watch a whole lot of movies. That said, I think Mel Gibson is a great, fun-to-watch actor who I enjoy watching in movies. Get the Gringo is no exception. I thought it was great. Very reminiscent of Payback (which I like a lot and thought was underrated) but in a good way. It didn’t feel like a rehashing to me but could have been a sequel with the right story line tweaks. The movie was fun, action-packed, and well-paced. If you are a Gibson fan or liked Payback I would definitely recommend checking this movie out.
My Rating: B+

The Way Back – 2010 (PG13)
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell
IMDB=7.3, Rotten Tomatoes=75%
A group of men escape a Siberian gulag and walk 4000 miles to freedom. There are a couple of problems with this story. One being the journey itself is so vast it is nearly impossible to tell this story without taking out large chunks of travel and time. One minute the escapees have shaved heads and faces and the very next scene, full heads of hair and crazy homeless dude beards. That’s fine and all but during their travels its never clear how much time has passed or how far they have travelled. Also there is almost zero character development. There are some really good performances (I thought Colin Farrell’s character was very well played and interesting) but the characters have no depth to them. I never really cared for any of them because I never felt like I got to know them. It’s a decent survival movie with some good performances.
My Rating: C-

The Dark Knight Rises – 2012 (PG13)
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway
IMDB=9, Rotten Tomatoes=87%
The third and final installment of the Nolan Batman series. This was a really good movie. That said, I thought The Dark Knight was much better. I really liked Tom Hardy’s Bane and despite the many complaints I’ve heard, I was able to understand him perfectly. I really enjoyed Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (although she is never referred to as this in the movie). I didn’t expect to like Hathaway in that role but she was easily one of my favorite characters. Christian Bale’s Batman is pretty much standard for the series, nothing new and exciting there but good none-the-less. That's all I’ll say with this one as I don’t want to spoil anything.
My Rating: A-

d0gma

Good idea, I'll play.

Here are the ones I remember.

Mission: Impossible III
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Crudup and Lawrence Fishburne
Right out of the gate, this movie grabs you. Probably the best of the series (I haven't seen the 4th one). Hoffman is a great villain and he really sold me on this movie. Definitely worth checking out, and you don't need to have seen the previous ones to enjoy it.
Grade: A

The Caller
Starring: Rachelle Lefevre, Stephen Moyer, Luis Guzman and Ed Quinn
Excellent premise with lots of promise. A woman, recently separated from her abusive husband, starts receiving phone calls from 30 years in the past, and the caller is not happy that she doesn't want to talk. I really liked this movie, nothing was over the top, everything was played straight (although some of the main character's decisions weren't very bright). Movies involving time travel (no actual travelling in this movie) are tricky, but they did a good job. The ending was a letdown, though. Still worth a look.
Grade: B+

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Starring: Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Brian Tee, Sung Kang and Nathalie Kelley
You can't go into this movie expecting an Oscar winner. I had a little trouble remembering that and didn't get into it until I could let go of the fact that Lucas Black was playing a 17 year old. It's a typical "hero's journey" movie with fast cars thrown in. The stunts are really the highlight of this movie and they don't disappoint. If you like mindless action, check it out.
Grade: B-

Fast and Furious
Starring: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez
The fourth installment in the franchise goes back to the formula presented in the second movie. No ambiguousness regarding our main characters, it's good guys vs bad guys. It was great seeing the main characters back together for the 3rd sequel after only glimpsing one of them in the third one. Aside from that novelty, the main draw is the stunts and I have to admit, I was disappointed. The main action piece is a tunnel drive, which in person, would probably have been terrifying and exhilirating. But, seeing it on screen, it's nowhere near as impressive as you'd hope.
Grade: C

Fast Five
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, alot of the secondary characters from the previous movies.
The formula for the fifth installment is much the same as for parts 2 and 4. This time, however, there's the bad guys, the good guys (Dwayne Johnson's group) and our heroes (who, while not good, aren't really bad). While it was good to see all the secondary characters from previous installments show up, I think the movie would have been better served if they kept this a secret (it's a good 35 minutes before they show up) instead of touting it in the trailers. This one was probably on par with the first movie in terms of the quality of the story and enough stunts and action sequences to keep you from thinking about it too hard.
Grade: A-

The Girl Next Door
Starring: Daniel Manche, Blythe Auffarth and Blanche Baker
A hard movie to watch. While the framing of this movie is really awkward, the story itself is not bad, though (and I can't stress this enough) difficult to watch. The writer and director really help you to feel the helplessness of the situation and keep you rooting for the protagonists, even though you know it's probably in vain. Definitely not recommended for the squeamish (although there isn't really any gore) or people who are very sensitive. It's based on the novel by Jack Ketchum, which is in turn based on true events. Worth a look.
Grade: B+


I think that's all I've watched this week. Enjoy.

NewtonCrosby

Yeah, I used to do flickfessions when you used to be able to connect your Netflix account with your Facebook, then they took that away and now I do something similar whenever I get together with buddies. Between the lot of us we watch a ton of movies. So I figured why not do it here.

I watched the first two Mission Impossible movies and thought they were good but haven’t seen 3 & 4. I hear the third one is really good and I know its somewhere in my Netflix queue. Thinking I might move it closer to the top.

I’ve never seen any movies from the Fast & Furious series. I was just never that much into cars or street racing and such. Also I thought Vin Diesel did a fine job in Saving Private Ryan and thought he was pretty badass in Pitch Black but other than that I was never really a fan of his. That said, I really want to see Fast Five (recorded it on my DVR over the weekend). I hear good things even from people who don’t follow the series, so I’m glad to hear yet another good review of it. Maybe Five will invigorate me to see the earlier movies or at least get me excited for F&F 6 (which according to work has just gone into the production stage)

When I first read the title “The Girl Next Door”, I thought oh I saw that movie with Emile Hirsch and he dates a porn chick, but quickly due to actors listed and your review realized it was not the same movie, haha.

d0gma

I'm definitely not a car guy, but I do enjoy the occasional action movie.. I saw the first F&F when I was working at Blockbuster and would get 5 free rentals a week, so I saw a great number of movies I never would've watched otherwise. I watched the second one because I'd seen the first, but didn't bother with the third because it didn't look like it had any characters from the originals. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly suprised. I had heard good things about the 5th one, so I decided to revisit the series.

I'm afraid to read your review of The Dark Knight Returns because I haven't seen it yet and don't know if you have spoilers. Heh.

NewtonCrosby

My Dark Knight Rises review doesn't have any spoilers. I don't say anything about plotline and such so not to spoil anything.

Here is my review in a nutshell, no spoilers at all
Rating: A-
Really good movie but I thought second one was better.

NewtonCrosby

7/30/12 – 8/5/12
(This has been a slow week for me, between weddings and family events I only got to watch 2 movies and unfortunately it looks like next week will be similiar, but here they are)

Jeff, Who Lives at Home – 2011 (R)
Starring: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer
IMDB=6.7, Rotten Tomatoes=77%
Jeff (Segel) and his brother (Helms) run around town and try to find out if Helms’ wife is cheating on him. Good little flick. Good pacing and acting. Funny at times, touching at other times. It’s an independent movie and it feels like one so take that for what it is. Nothing here is going to blow your mind but it’s worth a watch.
My Rating: B-

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star – 2011 (R)
Starring: Nick Swardson, Don Johnson, Christina Ricci
IMDB=3.1, Rotten Tomatoes=0%
This movie was pretty awful. I went into this movie expecting absolutely nothing which is how anyone planning to watch this should go into it. As a straight-up movie it is TERRIBLE. As a mindless, over-the-top, ridiculous comedy it’s ok. There were some laugh-out-loud moments for me, mostly coming from Kevin Nealon. Swardson had a few (just a few) funny moments. If you want to just zone out and not think and love raunchy jokes this might be a decent time waster.
My Rating: D

NewtonCrosby

Week of 8/5/2012 – 8/11/2012

Another slow week for me. Between going camping for 3 days, a concert, and trying to wrap up work projects before my camping trip, I only had time for 1 movie.

Dolphin Tale – 2011 (PG)
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr.
IMDB=6.7, Rotten Tomatoes=83%
This was a good, fun, heart-warming family flick. Harry Connick Jr. was charming as always, Ashley Judd was solid, and Morgan Freeman (is that guy ever terrible?). I thought the main kid was the worst actor in this, but he is a kid and it’s a family film so it didn’t take too much away from the movie. Besides the main kid everyone else was great. This is very loosely based on a true story. The true parts are; there was/is a real dolphin who lost his tail due to a crab trap injury and there was a group of scientist who cared for this dolphin (although not a family unit as depicted in the film), and there was a prosthetic developer who found out about the dolphin and volunteered to try and help. Everything else was Hollywood trying to create a more interesting story for a younger audience. The actual true story is quite interesting and could easily stand on its own in a documentary format but let’s face it a PG family movie with big stars will out earn a doc much more often than not. That said, I really enjoyed this movie, it was easy to watch and I actually felt for and cared about many of the films characters, especially the dolphin named Winter. They used the real dolphin throughout the film and as a nice little bonus after the movie wrapped up they have actual footage of Winter when she was first found and the actual people involved with helping her along with updates about her life now.
My Rating: B+

NewtonCrosby

Week of 8/19/2012 – 8/25/2012

Let Me In - 2010 (R)
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins
IMDB=7.2, Rotten Tomatoes=89%
This is an unusual story within the vampire genre. Part vampire movie, part love story, it is the story of a bullied 12 year old boy from a broken home who meets and forms a relationship with a vampire in the form of a twelve year old girl (her real age is never given but she does say, when asked her age, that she is 12 but has been 12 for many years). This is an American remake of a 2008 Swedish movie titled Let the Right One In. The remake is almost shot for shot and wisely the people involved decided not to dumb it down or sensationalize it for the American audience. The original tone and pacing were on par with the original. I have seen both the original and now the American remake, both are really good films. If I had to recommend one to see over the other, see the Swedish version, I thought the child actors were a little bit better in that version. But if you’re not one for reading your movies (foreign films) the remake is just as satisfying.
My Rating: B+
(2008 Original – Let the Right One In= A-)

CB4 – 1993 (R)
Starring: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D
IMDB=5.8, Rotten Tomatoes=52%
A documentary style comedy about gangsta rap in the early 90’s. It has some legitimate very funny moments and some ridiculous unfunny moments. I feel like with a movie like this you need to be fans of either the genre (Mockumentary comedies/spoofs) or the subject matter (gangsta rap) so if you are not a fan of either of those don’t waste your time. I’m a fan of both, rewatching it now, I thought it was funny (Charlie Murphy’s outfits are hilarious) and at times clever…it’s also dated, so keep that in mind.
My Rating: C+

Beginners – 2011 (R)
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent
IMDB=7.2, Rotten Tomatoes=84%
Record this on my DVR on a whim and turned out it was a really good movie. A story about McGregor learning to love, all while reflecting on and dealing with the passing of his father who “came out” as a gay man in his 80’s. The parts with McGregor and Plummer were charming, funny, at times heartwarming, and well-acted. Mélanie Laurent was delightful as the love interest. One of my measures of a good romance/love story is whether or not I (as the viewer) “fall in love” with the girl playing the love interest (her character). Mélanie Laurent succeeded in doing that early in the film and I wanted their relationship to work out. Worth a watch.
My Rating: A-

NewtonCrosby

8/26/2012 – 9/1/2012

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – 2009 (PG-13)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans
IMDB=5.7, Rotten Tomatoes=34%
There is lots of action in this movie. That’s really the only semi-positive thing I can say about it. The writing and dialogue were horrendous. I loved G.I. Joe toys as a kid, watched the cartoons, even collected the comics and I was excited to see this movie. Now…it feels like they raped my childhood. Wow this was bad! What they did to the Snake Eyes character alone should be criminal. Nobody involved with this was a fan originally or they would have put a little more effort into it. A couple of examples of how not well thought out this was; for one thing in this movie ice sinks (think about that for a second) that’s all I’ll say as not to spoil anything, also the Joe’s can detect a dude walking his camels at night, in the middle of the desert but can’t detect their own secret super lair being violently breached by a good amount of bad guys, wtf. Hopefully the sequel will redeem the G.I. Joe franchise; I know the director and writers have all been changed, don’t like the new director but the new writers have shown potential.
My Rating: F+

The Lucky One – 2012 (PG-13)
Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner
IMDB=6.2, Rotten Tomatoes=20%
This is just an ok love story. Feels like it was made for TV, more specifically The Hallmark Channel. Zac Efron seemed like he didn’t really have his heart in this one. The girl was not particularly likable. The characters weren’t developed as much as they needed to be. And the antagonist was ridiculous.
My Rating: D+

In Time – 2011 (PG-13)
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy
IMDB=6.6, Rotten Tomatoes=36%
A little preachy, some bad writing (not all), some bad acting (not all), but overall pretty good movie. I really enjoyed the concept of this movie and thought for the most part it was executed well. Timberlake, Seyfried, Murphy, and even Vincent Kartheiser (you’ll know him from Mad Men) all did great jobs with their parts. I think the biggest problems with In Time come from the unresolved subplots (Will’s dad) and the fact that I really wanted to know more about Cillian Murphy and Matt Bomer’s characters. Both characters were extremely interesting but never really developed past what was needed to move the Timberlake story along.
My Rating: A-

The Change-Up – 2011 (R)
Starring: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann
IMDB=6.4, Rotten Tomatoes=25%
Certainly not the best of the body switch genre but entertaining nonetheless. I thought Bateman was great. Reynolds and Leslie Mann pulled adequate performances. Ryan Reynolds character is not very believable which carries over to Bateman after the switch. Not believable but at times pretty funny. The movie was predictable as body switch films tend to be. It had funny moment and it had some stupid moments, take it for what it is.
My Rating: B-

Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron – 2012 (TV documentary)
Starring: James Cameron, Bernard Hill, Ewan Stewart
IMDB=7.6, Rotten Tomatoes=N/A
This television documentary basically puts James Cameron and a team of scientist, historians, and computer graphics specialist into a room to discuss, debate, and hopefully come to a conclusion about what actually happened the night the Titanic sank. Very interesting if you have any interest in Titanic or maritime disasters in general. Although James Cameron (at times) comes off as sort of a jerk, quickly dismissing theories that don’t agree with his own. The whole “sit in a room and hash this out” thing feels partly staged. If it wasn’t I would imagine there would be so much more interesting discussions going on that we didn’t see. I assume it was a mix of reality and staging that was chopped to bits in the editing room. The theories and discoveries they did make are interesting and to a layperson such as myself, seem plausible. Pretty good although as I said, I think the best stuff got left on the edit room floor.
My Rating: B

d0gma

I know Vincent Kartheiser from Angel.

d0gma

Haven't watched too much since the last time I did this.


A Perfect Getaway - 2009
Starring: Steven Zahn, Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez
A couple honeymooning in Hawaii meet another couple along the same hiking trail. Things get tense when word reaches them about the hunt for a murderous couple who have already struck once in Hawaii. I'll start by saying I am a big fan of both Zahn and Olyphant, so I wanted to like this movie. Unfortunately, too much of this movie did not add up for me (I am specifying "for me" because the message board on IMDB for this movie is full of people defending it). The movie is set up as a whodunit without enough suspects. No complaints about the acting, but I was left wishing they had something better to work with. Not a bad way to spend 98 minutes, but there are better movies out there if you're looking for a clever whodunit.
Grade: C+

Pandorum - 2009
Starring: Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue and Cung Le
A crew member aboard a spaceship wakes up into a nightmare. The ship is failing, he can't find the other crew members, and there are monsters in the shadows. I can't help but feel that this movie would have been better if it had been lit a little better. it seemed like they were going for atmoshphere, but I ended up squinting at most of it trying to figure out what was going on. The story had promise and I would love to have seen it fleshed it out. Unfortunately, they let it trail off and just went the horror route. Maybe it was just me but Antje Traue's role seemed reminiscent of Jovovich's Resident Evil character (the characters even look alike) and I found it distracting.
If you're looking for a horror movie set in space, go watch "Event Horizon" or "Alien".
Grade: C

Campfire Tales - 1997
Starring: Jay R. Ferguson, Christine Taylor, Christopher Masterson and Kim Murphy
A good old-fashioned anthology horror movie. A couple of teens going home from a concert get into an accident and sit around telling scary stories while they wait for the police. There is nothing original to be found here, but the earnestness of the performances carry the movie and help to make it enjoyable. Kind of refreshing to see a horror movie that relies more on suspense and atmosphere than gore.
Grade: B

Disturbing Behavior - 1998
Starring: James Marsden, Katie Holmes and Nick Stahl
Kind of an "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" in high school (6 months before the similar "The Faculty"). Steve is new in town, he is quickly befriended by Gavin, who tells him something sinister is going on in town. Steve blows him off, but ends up wishing he hadn't. This story has some serious plot holes, especially the ending, but it's still enjoyable. Marsden doesn't do much more than stare, and Holmes poses her way through, but Stahl and Williiam Sadler, in a supporting role, give the movie their all. Definitely a good time if you don't think about it too hard.
Grade: B+