Jay C. Schulzs Blog

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Edge of Darkness (R, 117 min)

Director:  Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye)

Cast:  Mel Gibson, Ray Winston (Beowolf), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins:  Wolverine)

Summary:  Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) investigates the death of his activist daughter and uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent (Winston) tasked with cleaning up the evidence.  This is Gibson’s first movie since 2001 ‘Signs’ and is based on the British series from the 60s of the same name with the same director.

Review:  No one does pure rage and revenge better than Mel Gibson (see ‘Mad Max’ or ‘Lethal Weapon 1 or 2’).  It has been a long time since we have seen him consumed with vengeance and I think with any other actor this movie would have been a huge disappointment.   Campbell is a veteran director who is obviously very familiar with this material.   The pacing is fine but it seems as if some pieces of the movie may have been cut out to reduce overall length.  Specifically, there is a story line that explains Ray Winston’s motivation as the fixer that is never fully developed.   Danny Huston is extra slimy as the CEO of the corporation that is the object of Gibson’s ire. Winston and Huston are fine in supporting roles but have no doubt – this movie is carried by Gibson.   Without him, you are looking at a movie of the week on NBC.

Rating:  3 stars

Toy Story 3 (G, 103 min)

Director:  Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2)

Cast:  Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles,  Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenburger; Timothy Dalton, Laurie Metcalf, Whoopi Goldberg

Summary:  Andy has grown up and is headed off to college.  Woody, Buzz, and the rest of their toy-box friends are accidentally dumped in a day-care center that is more like a prison.   They struggle to find a way home and to escape the grip of Lotso Hugs Bear who is enforcing his will upon the toys at the center.

Review:  15 years ago, Pixar changed the industry with ‘Toy Story’.  We had never seen anything like it before and it captivated us.  Once again, they have hit one out of the park.  They have continually set the bar in the industry and have done so again.  Not only do they make the best animated films, one could argue they make the best movies period.  The first half of the movie was standard fair.  We all know and love these characters and we see them in their normal environment.  The film really takes off in the last half hour and the ending is quite simply perfect.   There is no need for another sequel as this was the only way this series should end.  I am sad to see this end but I am extremely pleased with how they finished the arc.

Rating:  3.5 stars (not Pixar’s best but still very, very good)

The Road (R, 112 min)

Director:  John Hillcoat (The Proposition)

Actors:  Viggo Mortenson, Charlize Theron, Guy Pierce, Robert Duval, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Summary:  A post-apocalyptic tale of a man played by Mortenson and his son trying to survive by any means possible.  The earth has been rendered lifeless by some unknown disaster and Mortenson is desperately trying to get his son (Smit-McPhee) to the coast where he feels they will find hope.  The characters have no names. 

Reviews:  ‘The Road’ is based on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy who also wrote ‘No Country for Old Men’.  As with most movie adaptations, this is not as good as the book.   Given all that, it is still enjoyable.   However, I would stay away from it if you do not like dark films – this one is fairly depressing.  The director does a good job of setting the tone.  Even though it was filmed in color, everything appears colorless.  Mortenson is terrific as the father who knows his time is short and must do whatever he can to protect his son.  Kodi Smith-McPhee is fine in his first film appearance.  Charlize Theron appears in flashbacks as his wife and is not on the screen enough to really make an impression.  Ditto for Robert Duvall who plays an old man the characters meet on the road.   

Rating:  3 stars (not as good as the book but good enough)

Crazy Heart (R, 112 min)

Director:  Scott Cooper (actor turned director)

Actors:  Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall

Summary:  Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake a faded country musician.   He is an alcoholic who is playing gigs at bowling alleys to simply get by.  Blake’s real talent is writing music but he is too stuck in the bottle to pull himself out of his fade.  He meets a young reporter, played by Gyllenhall, and they begin a doomed romance.   Blake is forced to re-evaluate his life after a near tragedy occurs. 

Review:  Cooper does a great job as a first time director.  I was very impressed with the pacing.  I never looked at the clock.  The acting was outstanding.  Bridges has been better but he did deserve the Oscar.  Farrell has done a good job re-establishing his career and Duvall was solid as always.   I am extremely disappointed Maggie Gyllenhaal did not win an Oscar.  She was simply amazing; her best work by far.  I predict she will eventually grab the trophy. 

Rating:  3.75 stars a very, very good film

Iron Man 2 (PG-13, 124 min)

Director:  Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura, Iron Man)

Cast:  Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johanssen, Samuel Jackson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle

Summary:  Billionaire Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, as well as new enemies due to his superhero alter ego Iron Man.

Review:  Let me preface my review by saying very rarely do you see a sequel better than the original.  There is no exception here.  Iron Man 2 has more villains, more characters, more special effects, but is definitely not as good as the original.  Favreau has shown he can handle the event picture with the original and simply carries over into the sequel.   The acting is fine (Downey Jr. and Paltrow continue to mix well).  New additions Johanssen and Rourke definitely add to the product, however, Rockwell was annoying as the industrial villain.  I think what was lacking here was the story.  The original did a great job of showing us RD Jr. as a faulted being.  The second film really never digs into the characters and that may be simply because it is a sequel.  I did enjoy this film I just felt it fell short of the original.   

Rating:  3 stars

Daybreakers (R, 98 min)

Director:  Michael Spearig, Peter Spearig  (Undead, The Big Picture – too small films)

Cast:  Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, William Dafoe

Summary:  In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival.  Sam Neill is the head of the world’s largest supplier of blood.  They capture humans and harvest their blood similar to the set up in Matrix.  Ethan Hawke is one of the firm’s scientists who is working on a blood substitute.  Events lead him to start working with a covert band of humans and vampires led by Dafoe on a way to save humankind.  Neill plays the head of the world’s largest supplier of blood.

Reviews:  This film had a terrific concept with great visuals but, ultimately poor execution.  It is apparent 10 to 20 minutes of this story was left on the editing room floor as the film is very choppy.   The violence at the end of the film is a bit over the top.  Hawke held up well as the vampire with a desire to save the human race.  Neill is fine as the main protagonist but I have always enjoyed him more as the hero (aka Dr. Allen Grant is Jurassic Park).  Dafoe’s character simply wasn’t developed enough.  It is clear the studio told the directors to keep this film short and, in the end, the quality suffered from it.

Rating:  2.5 stars but could have been much better

Big Fan (R, 86 min)

Director:  Robert D. Siegel

Cast:  Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport

Summary:  Paul Aufiero, a hardcore New York Giants football fan, lives with him mom and works in a dead end job as a parking lot attendant.  He spends his free time calling a late night sports radio show to taunt his Philadelphia Eagle fan nemesis Phil.  One night, Paul spots his favorite player and his attempt to meet him has dire consequences which he struggles to deal with. 

Review:  As a big sports fan and someone who listens to sports talk radio often I can really relate to this film.  To the casual observer, the characters would appear to be way over the top.  To me, however, I could actually see people living their entire lives vicariously through sports.  The director really shows us the dark side of being a sports fan and the levels of obsession some sports fans will go to.  Oswalt was perfectly cast in this role.  You can really feel the pain he goes through trying to reconcile his hero’s actions on the field as compared to off.   Every single member of the cast left you feeling they all are in need of help in someway.  My one regret with this film is the Michael Rapaport, who is a very good character actor, did not appear on screen until the last 10 minutes.

Rating:  3 stars  – very good but dark

Box Office

1. Nightmare on Elm Street                           32.2 million (1^st week)
2. How to Train Your Dragon                        10.8 million (192 mil)
3. Date Night                                                        7.6 million (73.6 mil)
4. The Back Up Plan                                           7.2 million (22.9 mil)
5. Furry Vengeance                                            6.5 million (1^st week)

 News

•  Batman 3 set for July 20, 2012.  Christian Bale is back as Batman with Christopher Nolan returning as director.
• Rumor has Ron Howard directing the film adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’. 
• Katie Holmes has been cast to play Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming History Channel series.

Review

 The Blind Side (PG-13, 128 min)

Director:  John Lee Hancock (The Alamo, The Rookie)

Actors:  Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron

Summary:  The true story of Michael Oher (Aaron) a homeless teenager in Mississippi who has been traumatized by his upbringing.   Michael is taken in by the Touhy’s, a wealthy southern family led by their mother Leigh Ann (Bullock).  The Touhy’s make Michael part of their family and, over time, he becomes a top football prospect who is eventually drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

Review:  A feel good sports story that follows the typical formula for the genre.  Director Hancock has had success in this area previously with his 2002 film ‘The Rookie’ which was also based on a true story.  The story is compelling, the characters are likable, and the acting is solid.  Bullock is very good as Leigh Ann Touhy.   In my honest opinion, she didn’t deserve to win the Oscar.  Carey Mulligan was much, much better in ‘An Education’.  Bullock was given this award because of the tenure in Hollywood and the fact she is so well liked.  This takes nothing away from her performance which was her best work ever.

Rating:  3 stars

Box Office

1.  How to Train Your Dragon             15 million (178 mil)
2. The Back Up Plan                                      12.2 million (1^st week)
3. Date Night                                                  10.6 million (63.5 mil)
4. The Losers                                                 9.61 million (1^st week)
5. Kick Ass                                                    9.5 million (34.9 mil)

 News

•  Alien prequel directed by Ridley Scott will be set 30 years in the past from the original.
• MIB 3 in on.  Barry Sonnefeld, director of MIB 1 & 2, has confirmed that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have signed up.
• Brett Eisner, son of Michael Eisner, will direct the remake of Escape from New York. 

 Review

 The Lovely Bones (PG-13, 135 min)

Director:  Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

Actors:  Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Saoirse Ronan, Michael Imperioli

Summary:  Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is the 13 year old daughter of Jack and Abigail (Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz) growing up in the early 70s.   She is going through the normal teen angst falling in love with a boy in school.   She is murdered by her creepy neighbor (played by Stanley Tucci) and is then stuck between heaven and earth.  She struggles with her desire for vengeance and her need for herself and her family to move on.

Review:  Director Peter Jackson may have been a bit out of his element here.  His movies (LOR Trilogy and King Kong) specialize in amazing special effects and that is no different here.  The special effects were simply amazing but this is a very human story and Jackson seems to struggle a bit with this element.    The material is based on a book and is very sensitive. In fact, Jackson removed the sexual assault and murder aspect in order to get a PG-13 rating.  I think this film could have been much better if they left that material in and given us the entire impact.  Ronan does a fantastic job as Susie.  This is her second big film (Atonement) and she really has the ability to grab the screen.  Wahlberg and Weisz just seem to drift through the film and that may have been the product of their roles.  Sarandon was quirky and, at times, annoying which draws away from the film.  Tucci was very, very good and I can see why he was nominated for an Academy Award.  

Rating:  3 stars (4 stars special effects, 3 stars acting, 2 stars story)

 The Box (PG-13, 115 min)

Director:  Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko)

Actors:  James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella

Summary:  Marsden and Diaz play a married couple in the mid 70s.  Marsden works for NASA as an optics inventor who dreams of being an astronaut.  Diaz is a private school teacher who lost the toes on her right foot in a freak accident as a child. A small wooden box arrives on their doorstep one morning.   A mysterious man named Stewart, Langella, arrives later in the day to offer the couple a deal – push the button on the box and they will be granted one million dollars.  However, it will kill someone they don’t know.

Review:    Directory Kelly is a cult hero for his 2001 Donnie Darko.  This movie is thought provoking but falls short of his original film.    The acting is fine (Langella is extremely creepy) and the tempo of the film is adequate.  The film contains a very deep level of conspiracy that is never really answered.  I believe Kelly is trying to convey that our actions all have consequences and that, in the end, we pay for them in some way.  This was an entertaining but flawed movie.

Rating:  2.5 stars