Welcome to the Family

The Family stars Robert De Niro as mafia boss Fred Manzoni, whose family is relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. However, assimilation is never easy for the Manzoni family. Despite the best efforts of CIA Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred and his family revert to their old habits and attract trouble along the way.

De Niro breaks no new ground in this role, but he plays what he does well, which is a mafia type role. This is a relief considering that he has been doing a lot of subpar projects in recent years. The Family even has some meta-humor thrown in with several references from past mob movies like Goodfellas, which also starred De Niro. This makes the movie even more enjoyable.

The Family is darkly comic, but most of the action and gun play does not come until the end of the movie. Director Luc Besson does not break any new ground with the film, but it is better than some of his latest. The other members of the family, which include Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, and D’Leo share some good chemistry with De Niro ,and it shows on the big screen. They all make for a very convincing family. In addition, Tommy Lee Jones brings some much-needed deadpan humor to the movie. The only factor this film lacks is a menacing villain. A truly frightening villain could have brought this film to a new level and increased the stakes for the Manzoni family. Nevertheless, the film still succeeds, and it is enjoyable for a September release. While this is not one of Besson’s best films, the strong performances and dark comedy help the film rise above your average mob movie.

The Family - 3.5/5

Giant Robots Vs. Big Monsters (Pacific Rim Review)

Pacific Rim takes inspiration from the elements of any material that involves giant creatures and robots. When monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, start rising from the ocean, a war erupts that destroys cities and consumes humanity resources for years. The nations of the world come together to face this threat by building Jaegers. Jaegers are basically giant robots controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. However, kaiju get stronger with each battle and the forces defending mankind must turn to two unlikely heroes – a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee rookie (Rinko Kikuchi) – who are teamed to drive a legendary, but seemingly obsolete Jaeger. Together, they are mankind’s last hope against the upcoming apocalypse.

Pacific Rim is the latest film from visionary director Guillermo del Toro, who has directed films like Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Devil’s Backbone. Pacific Rim is easily his most mainstream and blockbuster film. The large-scale battles between the Jaegers and Kaiju are spectacularly well done and are very thrilling. The designs of the creatures and robots are simply marvelous and stunning. The backstory involving the Kaiju, the mechanical details of Jaegers, and how society has become affected due to the Kaiju attacks is very fascinating. Basically, the film plays homage to monster movies, which is filled with anime inspired robots.

Nevertheless, while the film does satisfy on a visuals effects level, it is greatly lacking in substance. The story is rather weak and is filled with clichés and generic plot points. Plus, while the cast is talented they are only playing stock characters, which are the norm in almost every other science fiction movie. In addition, while the film looks extraordinary, the majority of the battles take place at night, sometimes in the rain. While the battles are amazing in that setting, it does make it hard to keep up with the fighting sometimes. Despite those problems, it is still a fantastic movie.

While Pacific Rim is not completely groundbreaking, it is still a movie that is best experienced in theaters. The film is intriguing and action packed, but sadly the plot suffers from some lackluster storytelling and one-dimensional characters. However, it is a monster vs. robots type of story, so I cannot expect too much depth from it. If you liked the Transformers series, then you will definitely appreciate this movie.

Pacific Rim - 4/5

The Man of Steel Returns

Superman is the most iconic superhero in the world. Although you would not know it judging by the last several films released. It seems like the last great Superman film was Superman II, but that was nearly decades ago. Superman III was a joke, and the less said about Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the better. Superman Returns, which was supposed to relaunch ended up falling flat despite its good intentions. So I was hesitant when Man of Steel was announced. I was even more apprehensive when Zack Synder was going to direct it. Synder knows how to direct action well, but his last two projects are mediocre at best. However, Christopher Nolan was a producer on the film, so I still had some optimism about the film. After seeing the film,I have to say that it greatly exceeded my expectations.

Everyone should know the origin of Superman, but here it is anyway. The planet Krypton is in ruins. After years of depleting the planet’s natural resources, the Kryptonians face imminent destruction. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara have given birth to their son Kal-El, which is Krypton’s first natural birth in centuries. Before Jor-El sends his son off to space, he implants him with the genetic codex of the entire Kryptonian race. Decades later Kal-El, now named Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), is living on Earth and trying to find his purpose in life. However, when General Zod (Michael Shannon), Jor-El’s old nemesis, comes looking for him, Clark must embrace his Kryptonian heritage and protect his adopted home world.

The movie is simply fantastic as it provides exhilarating action and spectacle. The frantic battle scenes in Man of Steel are some of the best I have ever seen. It even beats Iron Man 3, which came out earlier in May. Henry Cavill is a great Superman but still does not reach the same heights as Christopher Reeves. Cavill does not try to imitate Reeves, which is what Brandon Routh tried to do in Superman Returns. He puts his own spin on Superman, and it works for the most part. Amy Adams shines as Lois Lane because the script actually gives Lane something to do this time. She is not just the damsel-in-distress and actually contributes to the main plot.

The main problem I had with the film is the tone. Superman is supposed to be upbeat and inspiring, but at times the film can be dark and brooding. That kind of dark tone is okay for a Batman film, but Superman is supposed to be a little more uplifting. However, it still did not prevent me from liking the film.

Man of Steel is a great summer blockbuster with spectacular action, good performances, and it is definitely the best Superman film I have seen in a long time.

Man of Steel - 4.5/5

Oblivion Review

Oblivion is takes place in the year 2077, which is set 60 years after Earth is attacked by aliens known to humans as Scavengers. The humans and the aliens go to war, with the human race emerging victorious. Sadly the earth is left largely uninhabitable due to the moon being destroyed and the overuse of nuclear weapons during the war.

Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, a technician and one of the few humans stationed on the planet with the task extracting the earth’s remaining resources for the new planet called Titan, where the rest of the surviving humans have settled. He does this by fixing drones, which help drain the resources and are used as weapons. One day everything that Jack knows is brought to a halt when he discovers a beautiful stranger in the wreckage of a downed spacecraft. Jack is drawn to her arrival and it triggers a chain of events that makes him question everything he knows about his mission and himself.

Joseph Kosinski directs the film and it looks beautiful. It is a visually striking movie that portrays apocalyptic earth brilliantly. Of course, this is not a surprise considering that he also directed the visually stunning "Tron: Legacy". Although the drones look simplistic, they also give off a menacing vibe at the same time. Plus Tom Cruise gives a pretty good performance compared to his last several films.

However, this film suffers from the same problem that Tron: Legacy suffered from, which is that the film is stunning, but thinly scripted with weak characters. With the exception of Cruise, all of the actors are flat and undeveloped. It is especially disappointing that despite giving Morgan Freeman top billing, he is still given nothing to do.

Unfortunately, Oblivion ends up being an empty experience despite having flashy special effects and a good performance from Cruise. Kosinski will make a great science fiction film someday, but as long as he places special effects over character development his efforts will be mediocre.

Oblivion - 3/5

Iron Man 3 Review

The first Iron Man movie was an immediate blockbuster mainly due to the casting of Robert Downey Jr. The smooth-talking actor fitted the role of the eccentric billionaire and philanthropist turned superhero perfectly well. Iron Man 2 was not as good as the first one, but Downey Jr.’s performance still made the film bearable. However, in The Avengers, Downey Jr. shows that he is still one of the most beloved superheroes in film today.

Iron Man 3 takes place several months after the events of The Avengers. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the battle in New York presented in The Avengers. He seals himself off of the outside world and keeps building Iron Man suits to try to forget about the trauma. As a result, his relationship with girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) becomes strained. Soon, a terrorist who goes by the name of the Mandarin, (Ben Kingsley) starts a series of bombings that concern the American people. When Stark’s limo driver Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) gets injured in one of the bombings, he issues a televised threat to the Mandarin. Of course, things do not end well as Tony’s house in Malibu is destroyed, Pepper gets kidnapped, and he is left stranded somewhere in rural Tennessee with a low powered Iron Man suit. Now, Tony must overcome his demons and must find out: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

In the third installment of the Iron Man franchise, Shane Black takes over the director’s chair from Jon Favreau who previously directed the first two films. Black, who also co-wrote the script, is basically one of the pioneering screenwriters in the action genre for films like Lethal Weapon. He has previously worked with Downey Jr. in the very underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It is a good idea to bring in Shane Black because his style has a nice fit with Iron Man. Black draws a nice balance between action and humor. Naturally, it’s a Shane Black film so it takes place around Christmas. I think it is a nice touch because we never really see any superhero movies take place around the Christmas season. 

The action in this film is spectacular, and what makes it stand out is the fact that for most of the movie it is just Tony Stark. Tony’s armor is out of commission for a good chunk of the film, so he has to rely on his intellect and instincts. At its core, it is kind of like a detective story. In his battle against The Mandarin, Tony is forced to go on a full-tilt investigation, revisit crime scenes, dig through evidence and even interview witnesses. The scenes with Downey, Jr. and James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) are very enjoyable. Black really taps into a Lethal Weapon type of relationship between these two characters.

However, I did have a couple of gripes about the film. Halfway throughout the film Stark teams up with a little kid named Harley (Ty Simpkins) while he is stuck in rural Tennessee to investigate the remains of a local explosion caused by The Mandarin. While Downey, Jr. and Simpkins play well off of each other I really did not understand why the kid needed to be in the story. Also Iron Man 3 was marketed as a story where Tony Stark would meet an opponent that would break him physically and mentally. The trailer made it seem like the film would be dark and gloomy. In reality the film basically had the same tone as the previous Iron Man films. I ultimately had no problem with it, but it felt like a classic bait-and-switch, which I do not care for. Speaking of bait-and-switch, there is a big twist involving the identity of The Mandarin. I did not like the twist, but fortunately the film did not suffer too much from it.
 

Iron Man 3 was not the superhero film I was expecting, but that is not a bad thing at all. It has surprising twists, thrilling action, good amounts of humor, and another flawless performance from Downey, Jr. Recently he signed another contract to appear in The Avengers 2 and The Avengers 3, but no word on whether he will be in another solo Iron Man film. If this is indeed the last Iron Man film with Downey, Jr. as the title character, then this was a great final solo outing despite its flaws.

 

Iron Man 3 - 4.5/5

42 Review

Brooklyn, we go hard.

I am not particularly a big fan of sports dramas. It is mostly because they are too formulaic and overly sentimental, but this movie is a notch above most of them. 42 is about the life story of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman), the first African American baseball player to break the color line in Major League baseball.

The film focuses on Robinson’s first couple years in the big leagues. Robinson is recruited by Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) to come over from the Negro Leagues to try out for the Dodgers. He spends his first season playing for the Montreal Royals, but the next year he is signed to the Dodgers and the rest is history.

Boseman turns in a fine performance as Jackie Robinson and really portrays all of the quiet strength and internal struggle that Robinson went through during his first major league baseball season. Boseman absorbs the role and you really believe that he is Robinson himself. Harrison Ford gives one of his most lively performances in years as the over-the-top baseball manager.

The director of the film, Brian Helegand, best known for penning Oscar winning films like L.A. Confidential and Mystic River does an adequate job with the film, but you can definitely tell that he is a better screenwriter than director. Events that sound epic on paper do not necessarily translate great on the big screen. It seems like Helegand wants every scene to be Oscar worthy when it is really not. The film does look good and he does direct the cast well, but it seems like at times he plays it too safe.

Plus while I liked Boseman’s performance, I would have liked to see more of Robinson’s background. For example, we never see Robinson’s days at UCLA and only see a tiny part as his days playing in the Negro Leagues.

42 is a good film, but it could have been a great one. It plays it too safe and is too old-fashioned for my tastes. If the film went a little deeper it could have been an early Oscar contender. However, 42 is still an earnest and respectful tribute to one baseball’s most iconic figures and will satisfy audiences.

42 - 4/5

Dark Skies Review

Writer and director Scott Stewart, who has made awful special effects extravaganzas like Legion and Priest goes the original thriller route this time around. However, Dark Skies is not really that original at all. The movie seems to be a compilation of bits and pieces of movies like Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Birds, and more. Since all the second-hand ingredients are delivered without much style or flair, the movie makes for a pretty insipid dish.

Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton play Lacy and Daniel Barrett, a couple whose world has been shaken ever since Daniel has lost his architect job. After a couple of weird, unsolved break-ins, their teenage son Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and his little brother, Sam (Kadan Rockett), start acting strangely. Sam insists “the Sandman” has come to visit them each night, and strange things keep happening to the family until they realize who the culprits are.

There’s nothing really new in this story, but the Stewart does initially get some mileage out of the economic anxieties reflected in the family’s descent. Russell and Hamilton actually do a good job and take their roles seriously, and this helps the emotional impact of the movie. The movie starts off strong, but for a while it just wanders around as the pace is tedious, and the action is not that thrilling. It’s really a pleasure when J.K. Simmons shows up as a wise paranormal expert, but it’s disappointing since he’s only in the movie for about five minutes.

Ultimately, Dark Skies is one of those mediocre genre mash-ups that really has no reason to exist and will be forgettable in a few months.

Dark Skies - 2.5/5

Snitch Review

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is arguably the most successful pro wrestler turned actor. He is a great action star, and he is not afraid to go out of his comfort zone. This is ranging from family comedies to artsy films. Now he is trying for a more dramatic role.

Snitch stars Johnson as John Matthews, the owner of a small, but successful construction company. His college bound son Jason agrees to let his friend ship some ecstasy to his house, but Jason is immediately arrested by the DEA for distribution of illegal drugs. Despite not being a dealer and being set up by his friend, he is facing a minimum 10-year prison term. In order to lessen his son’s prison time, Matthews agrees to go undercover for the DEA to catch the most dangerous drug kingpins.

Even though the trailer portrays the film as action packed, it is actually quite dramatic. The movie spends time developing its characters like Susan Sarandon as an ambitious prosecuting attorney or Jon Bernthal playing an ex-con who is trying to leave his old life behind, but is dragged into Matthew’s plans.

Nevertheless, Johnson’s performance is just average. In fact, that goes for everyone else in the movie. I appreciate this film for trying to be something more than a straightforward action film, but Johnson’s performance just isn’t convincing enough for me. Plus, there is so much exposition for the first hour and too much preaching about drug laws. To be honest, the best part of the movie doesn’t even come until about the last 15 minutes of the film.

Snitch would have been better as an action film as this is what Johnson does best. This is just another forgettable drama, but even if it were an action movie, it would still be forgettable. At least Johnson is trying to expand his acting range, and hopefully he will find better material next time he decides to do a drama film.

Snitch - 3/5

Escape from Planet Earth Review

The story takes place on planet Baab where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population. A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy brother, Gary (Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA (Baab Aeronautics and Space Administration). When BASA’s chief Lena (Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a dangerous planet, which is Earth, Scorch doesn’t listen to Gary’s warnings and goes off for another exciting mission. However, once Scorch lands on Earth he finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil General Shanker (William Shatner). As the interplanetary stakes rise, it’s up to Gary to save his brother.

Escape from Planet Earth has been in development at the Weinstein Company since 2007 and finally got released in February with little-to-no marketing, and I can see why. Compared to the animated films released by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks, it pales in comparison. However, compared to earlier animated films released by the Weinstein Company like Hoodwinked and Doogal it is a huge step forward. That’s still not saying much though. There are a couple of good jokes, and some of the characters are well-designed and voiced with standouts being Jane Lynch, William Shatner, Ricky Gervais, and Brendan Fraser. The prison-like setting where Scorch, Gary, and the other aliens are kept and much of the humor is reminiscent of films like Paul, Monsters, Inc. and Monsters vs. Aliens.

Nevertheless, the characters are poorly written and many of plot arcs fall flat. The film is filled with a plethora of pop culture references and satire that will pass right over kids' heads. At the same time, the plot is presented in such a muddled and emotionally unsatisfactory fashion that older audiences will dismiss the film. It also doesn’t help that the Weinstein brothers forced 17 rewrites on the script. Ultimately, Escape from Planet Earth had potential, but it’s just another forgettable animated film.

 

Escape from Planet Earth - 2.5/5

Die Hard 5 Review

Well, at least it's rated R

The Die Hard franchise is probably one of most consistent action series in terms of commercial and critical success. The thing that has made this series so successful is the appeal of John McClane, played by Bruce Willis. McClane is a wisecracking New York cop who is always thrown into dangerous situations. The man basically attracts terrorists, but always emerges victorious in the end thanks to his instinct, luck, and determination. I have enjoyed all of the films in the series despite the last installment, Live Free or Die Hard, being bombarded with CGI effects. The latest film in the franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard is a huge step down from the previous Die Hard movies.

This time, John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Russia to help out his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney), only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist. Now McClane and his son must team up against underworld forces.

It is great to see Willis as John McClane again, but writer Skip Woods and director John Moore clearly miss the whole point of the character’s essence and likeability. In this movie, John McClane is an invulnerable super cop. The problem is that McClane is a vulnerable human being. He is a reluctant hero in the first four films and can get seriously wounded, as he is up against worthy adversaries that are cool, calculative and almost one step ahead of him. Here, McClane immediately causes mass vehicular damage just to stop thugs from attacking his son, and has no qualms about killing the bad guys wherever they pop up here. His son Jack tries to fill in for a sidekick, but Willis and Courtney have no chemistry at all. There are times when the film shows a few glimpses of character development in the relationship between McClane and his son, but it is cut short by the merciless and absurd action sequences.

A good action movie has to have a good villain, and this movie has none. The first Die Hard had Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the second one had Colonel Stuart (William Sadler), and the third one had Gruber’s brother (Jeremy Irons) as the main villain. Even the villain in “Live Free and Die Hard” is more memorable, which is pretty sad. This film has three primary villains who are all forgettable. They are not intelligent, menacing, or memorable in any way.

John Moore is a passable director, but for some reason he feels the need to place smash cuts in every scene, which gets tiring after a while. The movie relies heavily on CGI for most of the action sequences. Some of them look very good, but If you think the action scenes in the previous movie are too over-the-top, then wait until you see this movie. It is full of them.

The action scenes are satisfying even if it is borders on the absurd side sometimes. Nevertheless, thanks to a weak script, lack of worthy villains, and incoherent direction, the fifth installment in the beloved Die Hard saga ends up as the worst of the series so far. 

A Good Day to Die Hard - 2/5

Bullet to the Head Review

It is always nice to watch old school action movies. They are movies that do not rely too much on CGI, and the action scenes and stunts are real. This is why I liked Schwarzenegger's The Last Stand. This movie is entertaining despite its ridiculous plot and stock characters. Plus, I think Schwarzenegger makes a good comeback movie despite his age. However, it is a box office flop. Now we have Sylvester Stallone’s new movie, Bullet to the Head, which is Stallone’s first solo movie in nearly five years. So, can Stallone still sell this movie on just his name alone?

Bullet to the Head stars Sylvester Stallone as Jimmy Bobo, a New Orleans hit man who is hired to eliminate corrupt ex-cop Hank Greely. Bobo and his partner Louis Blanchard (Jon Seda) accomplish this task, and wait at a local bar to receive their payment from their employers. However, Bobo realizes their employers have set them up when an assassin kills Bobo’s partner.

Meanwhile, Washington D.C. detective Taylor Kwan (Sung Kang) is sent to New Orleans to investigate the murder of Greely, but the local police chief does not like Kwan’s intrusion in their investigation. Eventually, Kwan meets Bobo and he tells him that he knows that Bobo and Blanchard killed the ex-cop. When Kwan brings up the possibility of Bobo getting revenge for Blanchard’s’ death, Jimmy leaves. While Kwan is following Bobo, two corrupt cops attempt to kill Kwan and Bobo saves him. Now the two decide to work together, and their investigation leads to a wider conspiracy involving an African gangster, corrupt politicians, and dirty cops.

This film tries to pay homage to the mismatched buddy cop action films like Lethal Weapon, Running Scared, and Tango and Cash, but it fails to do that. Stallone is one of the kings of 1980’s action movie, but during this movie he seems to be on autopilot. Director Walter Hill, who jump started the buddy cop film genre with 1982’s 48 Hrs., does nothing new here. Given the director’s long and interesting career, I had expected something better than this stale film. The movie treats itself so seriously that it has no time to develop any type of buddy relationship. Kang and Stallone have no chemistry at all, and that really hurts the film.

Ultimately, Bullet to the Head does not add anything to the action genre. The movie is based off the critically acclaimed French graphic novel, “Du Plomb Dans Tete”, but something obviously gets lost in translation as this is just a generic action movie. There are so many recycled elements in this film from better action movies. This movie has nostalgia on its side, but besides that aspect, this is cliché action film that can easily be labeled as direct-to-DVD material.

Bullet to the Head - 2.5/5

Amour Review

Amour tells the story about Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne Laurent (Emmanuelle Riva), an elder couple who lives in their apartment in Paris, France. Georges and Anne's companionship is unbreakable, but their relationship changes when Anne is struck by a stroke and becomes dependent on her husband who does everything humanly possible to comfort and encourage his beloved friend and life partner.

The director of the film, Michael Haneke is best known for his bleak and sometimes depressing films. While most of his other films focus on violent and psychotic youths, this is a more intimate project for the director. Haneke creates a memorable and meaningful portrayal of a loving and faithful relationship between two aging human beings, and their somewhat estranged relationship with their daughter. Everything from the production design to the cinematography is done very well. The lack of score in this movie makes this dialog-driven and intimate coming-of-age story even stronger. Nevertheless, if you do not like foreign movies, then this movie is not going to change your opinion of them.

Amour is a poetic, atmospheric, quick-witted and universal love-story about two musicians who are faced with one of the many unpredictable moments in life. The movie has a brilliant narrative structure, subtle character development, and great performances by authentic and reverent acting performances by Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film clocks in at about two hours, which may seem like an eternity for people who hate reading subtitles. However, if you keep an open mind, you will appreciate this bleak, yet moving film.

Amour - 4/5