Defiance (R-2009)

"Defiance" is the true story of the Bielski brothers: Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schrieber) and Asael (Jamie Bell), who escape when the Nazis invade their town and hide out in the woods. As their hideout progresses, they come into contact with other Jewish refugees and have to decide whether they can "save everybody" or just keep their group small to survive. Tuvia and Zus have very different opinions on the subject, leading to some conflict among the brother and tension in the camp. Tuvia is determined to help all that need them, which certainly becomes an ominous task. Of course, the other complication is that they are being looked for by Nazi "Jew hunters" and must occasionally fight them off. This is a riveting story of a community being built by the necessity of survival and struggling to define what is "the common good". The performances by Craig and Schrieber are top-notch. Those looking for a "James Bond" type performance from Craig WILL be disappointed. This is a much more conflicted role and shows Craig's range as an actor. Schrieber is also very under-rated and has basically been very good to great in everything I've seen him do. Sure, the movie does get slow at times as we are watching the emergence of a new community with the conflicts, in-fighting and politics all come into play with different people trying to set or influence the rules to their own liking. Despite occurring in the relatively modern World War II era, you really get a sense of what it might have been like for the Europeans who first arrived in the New World and began to build what would become the United States. The story builds to a climax in which the Nazis bear down on them, forcing them to fight for their lives as they try to escape, using the "Exodus" story from the Old Testament to guide them. While more dialogue-driven than I would have expected, I still found the movie to be very entertaining.

Grade: B+

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The Uninvited (PG-13-2009)

When I see that a horror movie is rated PG-13, I immediately become concerned that it is too watered down to really be any good. Some things just need to be rated "R" to be effective. However, I have found that if it's done right, it can be pretty good. "The Uninvited", though, actually plays more as a suspense film than horror. Sure, there are some ghosts and some attempts to shock, but the horror element is really not a factor. It actually plays pretty well as a mystery. Anna (Emily Browning) is just being released from a psychiatric hospital after a suicide attempt following her mother's death. When she arrives home, she finds her father (David Strathairn) is now living with his mother's former nurse (Elizabeth Banks). When her sister (Arielle Kabel) tells her the new woman in the house is scheming to take their father, Anna begins to get some guidance from some ghosts around the house to help unravel the mysterious past of this "evil" potential stepmom. The movie plays out pretty well and all leads to a Shymalan-ian twist near the end. (Hey, look, I invented a word!!). It's not a great horror film, but it's a pretty good and entertaining mystery.


Grade: C+

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The Rocker (PG-13-2008)

Quick analysis of "The Rocker": A poor man's "School of Rock". Is that a bad thing? Not really. Robert "Fish" Fishman (Rainn Wilson) is a middle-aged ex-drummer whose former band went on to greatness while he has languished as a slacker. While staying at his sister's house, his nephew (Teddy Geiger) loses the drummer in his garage band. He reluctantly asks Fish to sit in with the band and the veteran rocker's influence helps the band take off. As they become more and more famous, their path puts them right in the path of Fish's former band, Vesuvius. Vesuvius itself is sort of a "Spinal Tap"-type with Will Arnett, Bradley Cooper and Fred Armisen as his former bandmates. My first instinct was to say that this is a very different Rainn Wilson from the one you are familiar with in "The Office", but as the movie progressed, he is really a variation of the same character. Of course, since that character is very funny, he does not disappoint here. This is a pretty funny movie throughout, though I would not go so far as to say it is a classic comedy. Fish really is reminiscent of Jack Black's character from "School of Rock" and, in some ways, I could almost see this movie having been done as a sequel to that film. It is definitely an entertaining watch and pleasant. For Rainn Wilson/"The Office" fans, this is definitely worth a look.

Grade: C+

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (PG-13-2008)

I'll start with all of the things that were good about this movie and there were plenty. Front and center is Brad Pitt. With all of the time "Brangelina" spend in the tabloids, it is easy to forget how immensely talented this guy is. In the title role as Benjamin Button, he hits it out of the park. The acting as a whole in this movie was top-notch. There really wasn't a bad performance. I also loved the concept of a person born as an old man and begins to age backwards. The cinematography was also very good and was shot to sort of look "of its time" (much of the movie takes place in the 30s and 40s). The film looked a little darker than I would have liked, but that was an intentional effect. Now, after all of that positivity, there was also a lot that went wrong. For one, the running time is simply too long. Many lengthy novels have been turned into shorter films and this was based on a short story!! I think I would have loved this film if it was edited a little more tightly. The opening sequence where a man builds a clock that runs backward goes on for about 20 minutes and adds nothing to the story. It merely sets up the concept of time in reverse, but has no other ties to this story. The sequence was completely unnecessary. The main plot of the movie is Benjamin and his relationship with Daisy (Cate Blanchett), who he meets as a little girl (he himself is around the same age, but appears to be around 80) and they remain in contact while they "grow up" and end up meeting in the middle and getting married. Of course, this becomes an issue as she starts to grow older and he is headed toward childhood. It is the story of a love that never wavers despite all of the reasons it just could never work. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. Sadly, when you boil it all down, it felt like a missed opportunity for something great (despite the Oscar nomination).

Grade: C

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (PG-2009)

The problem with "high concept" sequels is that they lose the ability to surprise. When you are "wowed" by a movie, the "wow" is what you expect and that is very hard to deliver. In this case, it doesn't help that they show what would have been some neat surprises in the commercials! With all that in mind, the question is: Did this sequel overcome those problems? The answer is yes and no. This was definitely an entertaining adventure in the halls of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, but it did not have quite the impact of the original. As the story opens, the Museum of Natural History in New York is being closed for a major overhaul and the exhibits we all know and love are being packed up and shipped to permanent storage in the National Archives (under the Smithsonian). Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) no longer works at the museum as he has managed to succeed in the "As Seen on TV" inventing business. On the last night before shipment, the exhibits sort of let him know he let them down by leaving them and off they go. Of course, problems ensue when the magical tablet brings Egyptian King Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) back to life and Larry knows he must rescue his old friends. What follows is plenty of action and major set pieces which do a nice job showing off the Smithsonian. Hank Azaria is very funny in his role as the leader of his own "axis of evil" who is actually not all that frightening. Amy Adams joins the cast as Amelia Earhart, an excitable woman with a thirst for adventure. One of the main shortcomings of the film is that SO much is going on, it becomes difficult to follow (not the story, which is straightforward, but the action). They seem to be trying just a little too hard to get all of the various parts of the Smithsonian involved. Did I like this movie? Absolutely. It is a lot of fun and the kids certainly enjoyed. I just found the massive advertising gave away too many of the bits that should have been surprising. The cast all delivered and Ben Stiller actually was reduced to being a foil for Hank Azaria and Amy Adams. Go see it, just don't expect to be blown away.

Grade: B-

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Gridiron Gang (PG-13-2006)

This one has been sitting on the shelf awhile, so I popped it in the ol' DVD player last night. Being a fan of Dwayne Johnson and football, I knew I would get around to it eventually. Johnson plays Sean Porter, a man working at a juvenile detention facility that has an idea: What if they can get these kids to channel their anger and aggression and learn to play football? To give them a sense of "team" would help to take away their gang affiliations and give them a chance to think outside themselves and the horrible neighborhoods they come from. At first, he is met with opposition at every level: his bosses, the kids themselves and the communities that have no interest in putting a team of criminals on their schedules. Eventually, he works it all out and starts to build "The Mustangs". While I definitely enjoyed this movie, I can't go too high on the rating as you have seen much of the elements of this film before. The concept of misfits coming together to become winners is an age-old concept. It is a good entry in the "inspirational sports" movie genre, however, and I did enjoy it. Dwayne Johnson shows some acting ability here, even if the role is not exactly a stretch, and some of the backstories of these kids is very interesting. While this is not a must-see, I definitely recommend it. It is just a little disconcerting during the end credits when they show the real people the movie is based on and "The Rock" is actually some pasty white dude with a bad moustache!!

Grade: C+

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Laid to Rest (UR-2009)

"Oh, yes, there will be blood" is one of my favorite tag lines for a movie. It was used for "Saw II", but could have easily been used for this movie. "Laid to Rest" is a low-budget slasher film that wants to be "Halloween" but falls well short. The movie follows the trials of "The Girl" (Bobbi Sue Luther) who wakes up as the movie begins in a casket. After freaking out (who wouldn't??), she manages to rock the casket, which falls over and she spills out. She finds herself in a mortuary, not knowing who she is or how she got there. Of course, that turns out to be a minor issue as she quickly learns she is being pursued by a psychotic killer who wears a chrome skull mask and videotapes his crimes. As the movie unfolds, she enlists the help of some others as "Chrome Skull" (Nick Principe) cuts a path of blood and destruction as he relentlessly pursues her. "Chrome Skull" doesn't waste time or take names as he wield his military-issue K-bar knife, killing people quickly and brutally along the way. The question that is never answered is: Having many opportunities to quickly dispatch our heroine, why does he never do so, seeming to want to "save her for later". We get to see a videotape late in the movie that explains how he met and captured her, but it doesn't even begin to explain why she is not "just another victim" (Of course, maybe it's simply that ol' Chrome Skull is a boob man). The film follows the "Halloween" framework of faceless boogeyman pursues determinedly pursues female victim, but this movie does not hold a candle to that classic. It did not bother me that Chrome Skull did not have a backstory as the mysteriousness of that faceless boogeyman could work, but they did try to hint at some kind of past and then never went anywhere with it, which did bother me some. The one scene I thought hit the mark was when Tucker (Kevin Gage), the kind-hearted stranger, separates himself from the group simply because he needs to "lose it" completely for a few minutes, breaking down crying over the horror he was witnessed to that point. That was a nice element of realism that almost elevated this movie above the genre. This movie was simply a non-stop bloodbath, but did not deviate from that enough to fulfill its promise.

Grade: D+

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College (R-2008)

"College" is basically a movie that attempts to combine elements from "Animal House", "Old School", "Superbad" and other movies of similar ilk to varying degrees of success. Drake Bell, best known as Drake from "Drake and Josh", is clearly in this to get some distance from his Nickelodeon-star past. This is a comedy that is packed with debauchery from beginning to end. Bell plays Kevin Brewer, a high-school senior, who is starting to think about college. When his girlfriend dumps hims for being too "boring", he hears about a local college where you can go to get a weekend tour, and also have an amazing time along the way. He enlists his two buddies, Carter (Andrew Caldwell) and Morris (Kevin Covais AKA "Chicken Little" from American Idol), to join him. When they find their assigned dorm to be dull, they wander around campus and find themselves invited to spend the weekend at a frat house. They do and, of course, all sorts of lewdness ensues. Most of the comedy in the movie has been done before, as mentioned earlier. Did the movie work? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I will admit that I laughed a bunch of times, but I can not go so far as to say it is a comedic classic. It was funny at times and had lots of requisite nudity. If that's a combination you can get on board with, give it a try. Otherwise, it has an overall feeling of "been there, done that".

Grade: C-

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Quarantine (R-2008)

"Quarantine" is one of the "hand-held single camera" movies in the tradition of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield". The premise is sort of the same: A building in Los Angeles was sealed off by the government and none of the residents have ever resurfaced. What you are watching is essentially footage discovered from a news camera which details "what happened" in that building that day. Then, what you have is pretty much a zombie movie. Angela Hernandez (Jennifer Carpenter, best known as "Dexter"'s sister) is a news feature reporter who does stories about the night in the city. Her current assignment is to spend a night with a Los Angeles Fire Department crew and record a night in the life with them. When they get a call, she and her cameraman climb aboard and get to see the men in action. They find themselves in a building helping police open a door that a tenant they want to talk to will not open. What they find inside leads to the building being completely sealed off with them inside while the federal government and the Center for Disease Control tries to determine what to do next. The movie is shot entirely from the point of view of the reporter and her cameraman through footage recovered from the camera. If you don't like these POV "shaky cam" films, this one won't change your mind, but I liked both movies mentioned earlier, so that was not a problem for me. There is really nothing new here story-wise as you have the "infected" (aka zombies) running loose in an apartment building. It does a nice job early on building the tension and then keeps it going with some scary attack scenes and a sense of helplessness as the tenants are completely cut off from the outside world. I liked it and found it to be fun and scary. My wife, however, was not a fan, so this kind of movie is not for everybody.

Grade: C+

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17 Again (PG-13-2009)

For anyone who has ever thought: "If I could go back to high school knowing what I know now!!!", there is "17 Again". Zac Efron stars as Mike O'Donnell, a hot-shot basketball star at his high school who finds through the years that the further you get from high school, the more that glory eludes you. As a 37-year old (in the form of Matthew Perry), he finds himself disappointed with his life and about to lose his family when his wife (Leslie Mann) files for divorce. Feeling like his young potential has gotten away from him, a mysterious stranger (Brian Doyle-Murray) asks him if he wishes he could get another chance. When that wish is granted, Mike finds himself 17 again and returns to the school he ruled 20 years earlier. Of course, he now has to deal with the fact that he is in school with his son (Sterling Knight) and daughter (Michelle Trachtenberg). He finds his son has trouble fitting in and is often the target of bullies and his daughter is dating the biggest bully of them all. What looked like a second chance to fix his own life has turned into an opportunity to get his kids on the right path. The movie is a good story of how "making things right" isn't always what you think it is. Zac Efron does a surprisingly great job as he really has to carry this film to make it work and carry it, he does. He is funny, sweet and out of place all at the same time and he really gets to show he is more than High School Musical's teen idol here. He shows he can actually act and carry a movie. The supporting cast is all very good and Efron's performance is matched by a very funny turn by Thomas Lennon, who plays O'Donnell's nerdy best friend who is forced to pose as his father. Sure, I was "dragged" to this movie by my Zac-loving daughter, but found that I really enjoyed it.

Grade: B

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Hotel for Dogs (PG-2008)

One word keeps coming to mind when trying to describe this movie: "cute". "Hotel for Dogs" is a nice story of a couple of kids (Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin), who are orphans themselves, dedicating their free time to rescuing stray dogs and giving them a home. Early in the film, we find the kids in their latest foster home with two parents who really want no part of them as they work on their rock band (Kevin Dillon and Lisa Kudrow, who provide the comic relief). Their social worker (Don Cheadle) is very frustrated as he is running out of homes for them to try. In the meantime, their dog gets out and they stumble upon an abandoned hotel where some stray dogs have been living. This gives them the inspiration to make it a "hotel for dogs". The movie overall is a very pleasant time to spend with the family and is a very warm film. There is nothing that particularly stands out, either good or bad. It is just a good, wholesome family movie.

Grade: C+

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