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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Reviewer Guy Happily Wanders Thru Land of the Lost
For those of you over 30 and remember a little Saturday morning kids show in the 70's by Sid and Marty Krofft called Land of the Lost about the Marshall family who fall through a rift in time into an alternate prehistoric universe where they encounter dinosaurs, primates and lizard beings called Sleestacks was campy good fun. The effects were cheesy but as a kid, who care. Now, 25 years after its debut, the Kroffts have produced Land of the Lost (LotL) to the big screen starring Will Ferrell as Dr. Rick Marshall. It is a blast. After seeing clips and endless promotion of the film, I admit it looked dumb, but I was pleasantly surprised. You can say this is more of a reboot than a remake, as Rick Marshall goes into LotL with Will and Holly, but Holly is a scientist and Will is a trailer trash owner of a pathetic cave ride and souvenirs tailored for the mind of pre pubescent boys.
The film opens with a hilarious interview of Dr. Marshall on the Today show with Matt Lauer (Matt Lauer can surprisingly act) where Dr. Marshall is a quantum paleontologist. The interview is a disaster and Dr. Marshall becomes a laughing stock in the scientific community. But, a sexy scientist from Cambridge, Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) pays him a visit and gives him the strength to complete his invention that could make them travel sideways in time. They set out to prove Marshall's time travel theory correct, where they encounter Will Stanton (Danny McBride) and they get sucked into a space-time vortex, where they save the life of a primate name Chaka (Jorma Taccone) and the adventure to try to find their way home begins. Here they try to survive a grumpy Tyrannosaurus Rex, blood sucking bugs, hallucinogenic coconuts, pterodactyls and a plot by the lizard creature Sleestacks to take over the world.
Now, done the wrong way, this movie could've descended into a giant painful cheeseball fest, but Brad Siberling's direction keeps the film flowing, funny and entertaining. Don't get me wrong, this is not a film to be taken seriously, but in the silliness that it is intended. There are some truly laugh out loud moments in here. Sure, there is predictability and corny lines (mainly from McBride, who I felt overall was the weakest of the actors) but the film works and I am surprised by how much it is getting trashed. Taccone was a treat as Chaka, Friel is solid enough as Holly but this is clearly Ferrell's vehicle and he does not disappoint. I am not the biggest fan of Ferrell (especially his sports related films) but he is hilarious and perfectly cast as Marshall. There is no denying his strength as a comedic actor. Land of the Lost is much better than its given credit for. If you like the TV show, you will really enjoy this version and even if you never saw the show before, you will have fun. Give it a chance. I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars and is now playing in a theater near you.
The film opens with a hilarious interview of Dr. Marshall on the Today show with Matt Lauer (Matt Lauer can surprisingly act) where Dr. Marshall is a quantum paleontologist. The interview is a disaster and Dr. Marshall becomes a laughing stock in the scientific community. But, a sexy scientist from Cambridge, Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) pays him a visit and gives him the strength to complete his invention that could make them travel sideways in time. They set out to prove Marshall's time travel theory correct, where they encounter Will Stanton (Danny McBride) and they get sucked into a space-time vortex, where they save the life of a primate name Chaka (Jorma Taccone) and the adventure to try to find their way home begins. Here they try to survive a grumpy Tyrannosaurus Rex, blood sucking bugs, hallucinogenic coconuts, pterodactyls and a plot by the lizard creature Sleestacks to take over the world.
Now, done the wrong way, this movie could've descended into a giant painful cheeseball fest, but Brad Siberling's direction keeps the film flowing, funny and entertaining. Don't get me wrong, this is not a film to be taken seriously, but in the silliness that it is intended. There are some truly laugh out loud moments in here. Sure, there is predictability and corny lines (mainly from McBride, who I felt overall was the weakest of the actors) but the film works and I am surprised by how much it is getting trashed. Taccone was a treat as Chaka, Friel is solid enough as Holly but this is clearly Ferrell's vehicle and he does not disappoint. I am not the biggest fan of Ferrell (especially his sports related films) but he is hilarious and perfectly cast as Marshall. There is no denying his strength as a comedic actor. Land of the Lost is much better than its given credit for. If you like the TV show, you will really enjoy this version and even if you never saw the show before, you will have fun. Give it a chance. I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars and is now playing in a theater near you.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Reviewer Gets Dragged to Hell
Drag Me to Hell written and directed by Sam Raimi is to put it bluntly...Awful. I have to say that when I heard Sam Raimi was taking a break from Spider Man to go back to directing his first true horror film since Army of Darkness, I was looking forward to it. Then when I saw the trailers and now the film, I feel like telling Sam to stick, with Spider Man for now because he's lost his horror movie directing edge.
A tale of bad things happen to good people is taken to the extreme when a sweet, innocent loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) fails to give an extension on a mortgage to a decrepit gypsy woman Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver), Mrs Ganush decides to put a hex on sweet little Christine whereby a demon will come to...you know, the title gives it away, unless she can find a way to reverse the curse. She sets out doing this with the help from her ever so accommodating boyfriend Clay Dalton (Justin Long) and a psychic medium Rham Jas (Dileep Rao).
The film is boring, full of horror cliches that are not scary and the laughs are not that funny. There is one scene featuring embalming fluid that was pretty funny, I'll give it that. The key ingredient missing in this film was Bruce Campbell not having a cameo, which would've provided needed comic relief. The acting is sorely lacking. Alison Lohman just doesn't live truthfully under any of the given and imaginary circumstances that befall her. She certainly didn't have a feeling about what was happening to her. Don't get me started on Justin Long. He simply looks clueless and I am just not sure why he is so popular. He looks like he is sleep walking through the film. I will say that Dileep Rao brings some sort of depth to his character as the medium and there are times when I felt something from him. Lorna Raver does a good job as the hexing gypsy woman but unfortunately neither she nor Dileep can save the film.
As for Sam Raimi, I was expecting more from the horror maven. This is a boring and sloppy film. I felt cheated. He essentially rigs up a lot of the same cheap gimmicks from the Evil Dead series into this mind numbing story. It was disappointing because it feels like Sam just needed something to do while waiting to make Spider Man 4. If you are a fan of mainstream horror that lacks any depth or thrills than this is the film for you. Otherwise, save your money. I give Drag Me to Hell 1 out of 5 stars. It is currently playing at a theater near you.
A tale of bad things happen to good people is taken to the extreme when a sweet, innocent loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) fails to give an extension on a mortgage to a decrepit gypsy woman Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver), Mrs Ganush decides to put a hex on sweet little Christine whereby a demon will come to...you know, the title gives it away, unless she can find a way to reverse the curse. She sets out doing this with the help from her ever so accommodating boyfriend Clay Dalton (Justin Long) and a psychic medium Rham Jas (Dileep Rao).
The film is boring, full of horror cliches that are not scary and the laughs are not that funny. There is one scene featuring embalming fluid that was pretty funny, I'll give it that. The key ingredient missing in this film was Bruce Campbell not having a cameo, which would've provided needed comic relief. The acting is sorely lacking. Alison Lohman just doesn't live truthfully under any of the given and imaginary circumstances that befall her. She certainly didn't have a feeling about what was happening to her. Don't get me started on Justin Long. He simply looks clueless and I am just not sure why he is so popular. He looks like he is sleep walking through the film. I will say that Dileep Rao brings some sort of depth to his character as the medium and there are times when I felt something from him. Lorna Raver does a good job as the hexing gypsy woman but unfortunately neither she nor Dileep can save the film.
As for Sam Raimi, I was expecting more from the horror maven. This is a boring and sloppy film. I felt cheated. He essentially rigs up a lot of the same cheap gimmicks from the Evil Dead series into this mind numbing story. It was disappointing because it feels like Sam just needed something to do while waiting to make Spider Man 4. If you are a fan of mainstream horror that lacks any depth or thrills than this is the film for you. Otherwise, save your money. I give Drag Me to Hell 1 out of 5 stars. It is currently playing at a theater near you.
The Reviewer Takes On Terminator: Salvation
Another summer blockbuster is upon us with McG's Terminator Salvation. A prequel set in the future to the Terminator series. To those familiar with the Terminator story, the film takes place in 2018, years after the military computer system called Skynet has become self aware. Having deemed humans a threat and in what humans call Judgement Day, Skynet launches a nuclear assault wiping out most of mankind. The rest are hunted by machines called Terminators. However, there is hope for mankind in the form of the legendary resistance fighter, John Connor(Christian Bale). The film centers around the resistance to the machines. Connor is tasked with finding a teenage Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who is our hero from the first Terminator who, as you recall, traveled back in time to save John's mother Sarah Connor) who, like Connor is targeted for execution. Into the mix is a mysterious "man" called Marcus, who in 2003 was executed but donated his body to Cyberdyne Systems (and for those Terminator fanboys and girls, we know who Cyberdyne is) and resurfaces after 15 years. But is he friend or foe? It is a race against time for the resistance against the dreaded machines.
Now, I'm a huge fan of the Terminator series, except for the terrible TV show. I had always been curious about what a film would be like that explored the time of John Connor taking on the machines in the future. However, I was skeptical when I heard McG would be the one to show us this future. But, he does a pretty decent job. The action is really good and the effects are fantastic. The first half of the film is exciting and keeps your interest. Unfortunately, it cannot sustain itself as holes in the plot become apparent and there is suspension of disbelief that is just too unbelievable to the point of laughable. There are some clever references to the previous Terminator films and a very special surprise in store. You will recognize the catch phrases, although one made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger is force fed into the dialogue that it is just too contrived.
As for the acting, a lot has been made of Christian Bale's meltdown on the set that became viral several months ago and I for one have been very critical of Mr. Bale for doing that. But, he does a good job as John Connor. He did not play him with any Hollywood swagger, but a believable soldier who is in a very tough spot, he is reminiscent of the way Michael Biehn portrayed Reese in the first Terminator. All business. But, Bale does it with more finesse and frankly is a better actor. He was living out his imaginary circumstance with truthfulness and is effective. Anton Yelchin, (certainly has a good agent, getting the job as Reese and also portraying Chekov in Star Trek) does an adequate job as Reese but is fairly forgettable. Sam Worthington as Marcus is a worthy partner for Bale and they seemed to play off each other fairly well. Rounding out the cast are veterans, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Ironside who also do a good job in their respective limited roles.
Overall, this is a so so film with great action sequences. I give Terminator Salvation 2.5 out of 5 stars and is currently playing at a theater near you.
Now, I'm a huge fan of the Terminator series, except for the terrible TV show. I had always been curious about what a film would be like that explored the time of John Connor taking on the machines in the future. However, I was skeptical when I heard McG would be the one to show us this future. But, he does a pretty decent job. The action is really good and the effects are fantastic. The first half of the film is exciting and keeps your interest. Unfortunately, it cannot sustain itself as holes in the plot become apparent and there is suspension of disbelief that is just too unbelievable to the point of laughable. There are some clever references to the previous Terminator films and a very special surprise in store. You will recognize the catch phrases, although one made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger is force fed into the dialogue that it is just too contrived.
As for the acting, a lot has been made of Christian Bale's meltdown on the set that became viral several months ago and I for one have been very critical of Mr. Bale for doing that. But, he does a good job as John Connor. He did not play him with any Hollywood swagger, but a believable soldier who is in a very tough spot, he is reminiscent of the way Michael Biehn portrayed Reese in the first Terminator. All business. But, Bale does it with more finesse and frankly is a better actor. He was living out his imaginary circumstance with truthfulness and is effective. Anton Yelchin, (certainly has a good agent, getting the job as Reese and also portraying Chekov in Star Trek) does an adequate job as Reese but is fairly forgettable. Sam Worthington as Marcus is a worthy partner for Bale and they seemed to play off each other fairly well. Rounding out the cast are veterans, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Ironside who also do a good job in their respective limited roles.
Overall, this is a so so film with great action sequences. I give Terminator Salvation 2.5 out of 5 stars and is currently playing at a theater near you.
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