Taken (R-2009)

This is Liam Neeson like you have never seen him before. Being an action movie fan, I like when they take a "real actor" and put him in one of these roles. It is always interesting to see if they can do things you would never expect them to do and do them convincingly. Neeson certainly delivers as Bryan Mills, a retired Federal agent who is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Maggie Grace of "Lost"). When he begrudgingly signs off on her going to Paris, the fun begins. Shortly after arriving, she is kidnapped by a ring that abducts young women, gets them hooked and drugs and turns them out as prostitutes. Luckily (which is actually the first "gee, that's convenient" moment of the film), Mills is on the phone with her when the abduction takes place. Although it is sort of a silly plot point, it does set up a great bit of dialogue when the assailant picks up the phone:
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Great lines and delivered calmly and coldly by Neeson. The rest of the movie is non-stop action as Neeson uses his skills to track down the responsible parties in a quest to save his daughter. This is a fun film and a thrill ride, but I would stop short of calling it great. It is a very good action film, but it stretches believability like most action films do. For example, in the action movie world of "rock-paper-scissors", apparently a handgun beats a machine gun EVERY time. Of course, that is exactly what you expect, so that's not a problem.

Grade: B

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Coraline 3-D (PG-2009)

It is a rare and wonderful thing when you go to a movie theater and are completely surprised by what you are watching. Even more rare is to be completely blown away. "Coraline" hits both of those marks. This is a much darker movie than I ever imagined it would be. I figured we were in for a visually stunning movie aimed for children. What we got was an incredibly visually stunning film that works for all ages and, in fact, is a little scary for younger kids (my 8-year old hid her face through much of the middle third). Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is a little girl who has just moved into a new home and is very bored. Her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) appear to be very self-involved as they keep telling her to find something to do. When she is outside and meets another child, named "Wybie"(Robert Bailey Jr.) and he explains his name as "You know, like, WHY-BE born", you get your first hint that this movie may go in some dark places. That is nothing compared to when Coraline finds a secret door to an alternate universe where her parents are super-attentive and loving and, well, too good to be true. She learns too late that they are not what they appear to be and must find a way back to her real home. When her "perfect" parents explain that she can stay with them, but she does need to have buttons sewn into her eyes, we are talking dark here!! The animation is consistently breathtaking and is stop-motion animation at its finest. I did see the 3-D version and that added an entire new level to the experience. The 3-D in this movie is not that gimmicky "hey, look what we can jump out of the screen" 3-D, but instead adds depth to the screen and images and gives life to this stop-motion animation. There are a lot of 3-D movies coming out this year and it definitely looks like they have finally figured this thing out. The 3-D now enhances the movie experience, it no longer takes the movie over. "Coraline" is a masterful, old-school fairy tale in the Grimms Brothers tradition of telling the morality tale with very horrible consequences. Time is running out to catch this in 3-D. If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend you go soon. If you saw it in 2-D, go again and see the 3-D splendor!

Grade: A+

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Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (PG-2008)

Dreamworks has cornered the market on animated films that are just outright funny and the whole family can enjoy. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" features the return of the characters you love from the original and several new ones. Of course, the penguins once again steal the show, which is probably why they have ended up with their own TV series. What I like the most about these movies, along with "Shrek", is that they are heavy on the humor and not too heavy on the message. Sure, a good family message movie once in a while is great (as long as it is not "in-your-face" propoganda like "Happy Feet"--what an awful movie), but it is also fun to just be entertained. In this chapter, the penguins have built a plane and they are ready to fly the zoo inhabitants, including themselves, back to New York City so they can be back in the place they know. Penguin engineering being what it is, the plane only makes it so far as mainland Africa, where the animals all meet up with their wild brethren and find that "city folk" are not quite on the same page with those that live in the wild. This is a very funny movie, start to finish, and it is one of those films where I just did not mind having to watch it with the family. One of the best qualities is that this movie stands on its own and does not rely too heavily on making sure they repeat bits from the first one to satisfy the audience. One character they brought back was the elderly woman that beat up Alex the Lion in the first movie. They have her on an African expedition and the scenes when she shows up are very funny.

Grade: B

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Revolver (R-2005)

Is it possible to review a movie if you are really not even sure if you actually liked it? That is the dilemma I face with "Revolver". This is an elaborate crime drama, a story of revenge and retribution, but it is so much more. Jason Statham plays Jake Green, a man just released from prison who makes it his mission to take down Macha (Ray Liotta), the man that put him there. After building up his own wealth through gambling, he is ready to go after Macha and his mission is complicated by a diagnosis that he has three days to live. He is approached by two mysterious loan sharks (Andre Benjamin and Vincent Pastore) who promise to help him complete his mission before he dies. Somewhere in the background of all of this is a mystery mobster named "Mr. Gold" who nobody ever gets to see. (Kaiser Soze, anyone?). The movie has great acting, is very cool to watch and yet, is so incredibly deep and complex that you really have no idea what it all means. They actually have people with Ph.Ds speaking over the end credits in an attempt to explain the philosophy and psychology behind everything you just saw. I like movies that make you think a little, but I'm not so sure about movies that require you to take a course afterward just to get a feel for what it was all about. I have to give this high marks for concept but it falls short somewhere in the execution. I don't need a plot spoon-fed to me, but some kind of sense-making is needed! Statham and Liotta are great. Liotta plays the high-string psycho he plays so well, with the added element of a George Hamilton-like obsession with tanning. This has all of the potential of a great film, but seems like it is trying too hard to be deep and stylish.

Grade: C+

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Gran Torino (R-2008)

Clint Eastwood has done something really interesting late in his career. In "Unforgiven", he took his classic gunslinger role and turned it on its ear. Here in "Gran Torino", he pretty much does the same thing with the "Dirty Harry"-style character. It could easily be argued that Walt Kowalski represents that character later in life, albeit a little more openly racist than Harry. Kowalski (Eastwood) is a retired man who just lost his wife and has watched his neighborhood change over into one of Asian immigrants. Kowalski has no problem expressing his displeasure with his neighbors while he proudly flies his American flag and tries to keep his little piece of the pie just the way he wants it. He finds himself thrust into the middle of their culture and conflict when Thao (Bee Vang) is coerced by the Asian gang to attempt to steal Kowalski's prized Gran Torino. Kowalski thwarts the attempt and saves Thao from the gang's wrath. When Thao's family insist he pay back Kowalski by working for him for a week, Kowalski's shell starts to soften and the two develop a lasting friendship. In fact, during this stage of the film, it begins to resemble "The Karate Kid" in many ways. Of course, street gangs are not easily discouraged and the tension escalates throughout the film, leading to a dramatic finale. Eastwood is at the top of his game as both director and actor in this effort. As the movie progresses, you can really feel his "racist" veneer doesn't really reflect how he treats people. I would argue that much of his racist rhetoric is just frustration with what he sees coupled with the awful language he likely grew up on. Somehow, Eastwood gets you to root for, understand and actually care about this "racist" man, even more than you care about some of the other people in his life. His relationship with his family is horrible and you begin to see that it is more their fault than his. While his sons are successful men, he is not proud of them. This movie worked on so many levels: a straight-forward entertaining story, a social commentary, a character study: it's all there. A final comment on whether or not this was snubbed by the Oscars: I loved this movie, I love Eastwood and thought he was great both in front of and behind the camera here, BUT I think the movie does fall just short of Oscar material. I know many will disagree.

Grade: A

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Friday the 13th (R-2009)

The slasher movie is back. This is not a rave review, by any means, but with this kind of movie, if you get what you expect, you're halfway there. "Friday the 13th" is a re-start to the franchise that, along with "Halloween", defined the slasher genre for many years. In this edition, Jason's (Derek Mears) origins are left intact. A brief opening scene sets up the backstory: Jason's mother (Nana Visitor) goes on a murderous rampage after her son drowns at Camp Crystal Lake. She is beheaded by the only survivor, which Jason (unknown to everybody, he is still alive) witnesses. This sets the scene for the rest of the movie where groups of teens end up at Camp Crystal Lake, only to find they are lining up to be Jason's next victims. As is the norm for these films, the sex and drug use is prolific, which is a sure sign someone is about to be annihilated. Even for this genre, some of the sexual dialogue and nude scenes were a little over the top, bordering on ridiculous. When it gets down to Jason on the rampage, though, the effects, the atmosphere, the music all hit the marks perfectly. Let's face it: If you are going to see this movie, you know what you are in for. You just hope it is not SO stupid as to be unwatchable. Although there are scenes that are that bad (redneck looking at a dirty magazine comes to mind), the movie manages to keep from falling off the stupidity cliff. I happened to see this in a theater which was showing it with digital projection and the crispness of the picture and the sharp surround sound definitely helped add to the enjoyment level. This is not a classic movie and will not "define the genre" like its predecessor, but it is decent escapist entertainment that marks the return of the slasher film genre.

Grade: C+

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Ghost Town (PG-13-2008)

"Ghost Town" is a movie I almost avoided for fear of it being a "chick flick". With its "The Sixth Sense as a romantic comedy" theme, it probably does meet that criteria. What made me give it a chance was Ricky Gervais, the star and creator of the original "The Office" and a very funny guy. Nobody does dry, uncomfortable humor better than Gervais and it is in full force here. Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who has a near-death experience during a routine colonoscopy and is now able to see dead people. The problem is that the dead people realize he can see them and they all seem to want something. The most persistent is Frank (Greg Kinnear) who wants Pincus to make sure Frank's wife (Tea Leoni) does not end up with the man currently pursuing her. Of course, Pincus begins to fall in love with her himself, which certainly complicates matters. Gervais is very entertaining as a man who finds people just annoying--both dead and alive, but finds himself trying to be a better person to get close to Frank's wife. This is a dry-funny movie with a good cast carried very ably by Gervais in his first leading man role. Although it does qualify as a "chick flick", Gervais' "irritated by all" character makes this almost more entertaining for the men than it is for the women. I will disclose that I am a big fan of Gervais, so that may have influenced by enjoyment, but I think it is definitely worth checking out.

Grade: B

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Igor (PG-2008)

In a city populated by two kinds of people: evil scientists and their Igors, you have "Igor" (John Cusack), the Igor who wants to be an evil scientist. In this clearly defined "class system", there is no such changing of status, but Igor is secretly working on his inventions so that, one day, he will be recognized as the genius that he is. That is the premise behind "Igor", a movie about defined roles in society and the determination to eliminate them. When Igor's scientist is killed by his own invention, it gives Igor the opportunity to create something amazing under the guise that his master is still alive. Igor's masterpiece is the creation of life itself (an obvious variation on the "Frankenstein" story line). A rival scientist hears of this invention and is determined to steal it and present it as his own. The movie is sometimes funny and is entertaining, but is definitely aimed at a younger audience. This isn't like one of the Pixar film or "Shrek" where adult audiences will be just as entertained as their children. The movie is definitely tolerable and moderately entertaining for the adult audience that watch this with their kids, but it is definitely targeted younger. There are some good twists and turns and their are even a couple of scenes that may even be too scary for a much younger audience, but nothing too intense. I think it was OK, and you should probably add half a grade point if you are under 10.

Grade: C

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The Wackness (R-2008)

"The Wackness" is the story of a very bizarre friendship set in New York City, 1994. Josh Peck (of "Drake and Josh") plays Luke, a high school graduate who deals marijuana and sees therapist Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley), who he pays marijuana in exchange for treatment. Luke is at that crossroads between the "child" in high school and the "young man" in college and is struggling with a deteriorating home situation. He is also falling in love with Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), Dr. Squires' step-daughter. The appeal of this movie for me was Ben Kingsley, who is great in everything he does, and Josh Peck, who I've been watching so long in "Drake and Josh", I just had to see him in a more adult role. The good news on both of those counts is the performances are extremely good. Kingsley is terrific as the very quirky Dr. Squires, who is a psychotherapist, but is desperately in need of treatment himself as he pops pills, smokes pot and is near suicidal. Josh Peck is also very, very good as the drug dealer who is desperately trying to get his life on some kind of legitimate course while all around him are a mess. However, the movie does have some problems. The biggest is that I was not fond of the way it was lit. It just never looked right and I think it was an attempt to set some kind of mood, but it did not work for me. The movie is also very dialogue-driven. There is some great dialogue and terrific individual scenes, but overall, it moved very slow. At first, I was going to criticize what seemed like a forced attempt to remind you the film was set in 1994: Luke is meeting with his supplier while rap music blares in the background. "What's this?", he says. The supplier responds "Aw, that's Biggie. He gonna change the world, man." It turns out that the actor playing the supplier is Method Man, who is a featured rapper on the track playing, so it was more of a "wink" to the actor and not a shoe-horned time stamp. This is a very strong script with a stellar cast with great performances, but I think many would find it too slow to call great. This one is perfect for the dialogue-driven Independent film set.

Grade: C

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Passengers (PG-13-2008)

"Passengers" is a movie that just does not know what it wants to be. At times, it is a love story, other times a mystery and tries to be a thriller. What it really ends up being is a much inferior mash-up of movies like "Fearless" and another movie I can't mention without giving too much away. Anne Hathaway plays Claire Summers, a therapist who specializes in survivors of tragedies. She is called in to work the case of a plane crash and is assigned to counsel the survivors. The first weak point in the movie is that she seems to instantly fall for Eric (Patrick Wilson of "Hard Candy"), the only passenger who is not interested in her services. I guess it helps that the first time she meets him, he is buck naked. As she works with these passengers and begins to get involved with Eric, she finds herself in the middle of what may be a cover-up by the airline. The passengers are being followed by mysterious people and begin to disappear themselves. Claire finds herself going toe-to-toe with an airline representative (David Morse) who does not seem interested in uncovering the truth. This all leads up to a final plot twist that almost..almost makes this a better movie than it is. I would recommend checking out "Fearless" with Jeff Bridges rather than this one-whether you have seen it before or not.

Grade: C-

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The Kite Runner (PG-13-2007)

"The Kite Runner" amazed me. If I had read the synopsis for this movie alone, I would never have watched it. It seemed like it was an arthouse type movie that is considered great, but is probably boring. It absolutely was not. The story engages you right from the start and keeps you focused and interested as the story unfolds. This is a story of friendship, loyalty, fear and making amends. It is the story of Amir and Hassan, two friends growing up in Afghanistan just prior to the Russian invasion. Hassan's family are servants to Amir's family and the boys are best of friends. Hassan will do "anything" for Amir, so deep is his devotion. Amir is a quiet boy who dreams of being a writer, but is a very timid soul. When they begin to get harassed by bullies, events transpire that will change their friendship forever. The movie then jumps around, following Amir's story as his family flees the country during the Russian onslaught. Amir ends up in the U.S., but is eventually summoned home when Hassan's family is in crisis. He returns to an Afghanistan under the Taliban and we get a good luck at the destruction and oppression that is now present in his homeland. This movie is very well-done and manages to tell a mini-history of Afghanistan while telling the story of these two friends. It is also interesting to see the social classes that existed in Afghanistan carry over to the U.S., illustrated through a character who was a colonel back home and still commands the respect of his people here and, in fact, insists on it. The movie was recommended to me by some friends and I am very glad they did. It is a very interesting, compelling, educational story and I found it to be one of the better movies I have seen in a while. Definitely recommended.

Grade: A

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Grace is Gone (PG-13-2007)

"Grace is Gone" is a slow, quiet but engaging family drama. John Cusack stars as Stanley Philipps, who learns early in the film that his soldier wife has been killed in Iraq, leaving him with two daughters. The movie follows the story of his immediate reaction and how difficult it is to tell his daughters. Since his initial reaction is to take the girls on a surprise road trip to "Enchanted Gardens", the film is sort of the flip-side of "National Lampoon's Vacation". Of course, with the subject matter here, this is far from a comedy. John Cusack does a great job portraying all of the emotions that his character is going through as he struggles with the realization that he is now a single father and has no idea how to tell his girls what happened. The girls are very good, also, and their interaction is very realistic. Shelan O'Keefe does a very nice job as the older daughter who knows something is not quite right and is trying to figure out what is going on. From personal experience, I can say that the initial grieving process, while trying to hold it together for the kids, is very realistically portrayed. Knowing Cusack's political leanings, I feared this would be a lecture piece on how wrong the war in Iraq is, but it is far from that. Although one character does raise the issues, he is quickly silenced, letting us know that it is not what this movie is about. Cusack's performance alone makes this worth seeing, but the movie itself was also very good and hit very close to home for me.

Grade: B-

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Mirrors (R-2008)

Kiefer Sutherland used his time off from "24" to make a good old-fashioned ghost tale. In "Mirrors", he plays Ben Carson, an ex-cop who has taken a security guard position at a burned-out historic department store to try to make ends meet. He is separated from his family and trying to put his life back together. While patrolling the department store, he sees odd things happening in the mirrors, which are surprisingly clean. This, of course, intrigues him but becomes a problem when the mirrors in his own home start behaving oddly themselves. There is a mystery in these mirrors and Carson becomes convinced that he must solve the mystery to save his family. This is a pretty good performance by Sutherland, who plays a very different character from Jack Bauer. There was, however, one scene where he first notices his home mirror reflection does not do what he does. He falls down and his sister runs in, he screams: "Get out of the bathroom, NOW!". That was very "Jack Bauer-like", which made me chuckle during an intense moment. Overall, it is a pretty good ghost story with just enough gore (the "bathtub scene" is disturbing, let's leave it at that). Sutherland does a nice job carrying the film as he is in almost every scene. This is a horror story that is not too scary, not too gory, but definitely entertaining.

Grade: C+

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