Movie Review - "War Horse" (2011) ****

     War Horse kicked off day one of AMC's 2012 Best Picture Showcase, and what a way to start the day it was. Early on, War Horse seemed to be considered one of the front-runners for Best Picture, primarily due to the fact that Steven Spielberg was the director, and we know what he is capable of pulling off. Matching Spielberg with a war story seems like a sure fire way to get yourself nominated, but it's easy to say that because he does it so well. As we got closer to December, and ultimately to the pre-Oscars awards, it was clear that War Horse had lost a step and for a while it appeared it would be shut out of a Best Picture nomination. It managed to persevere though and while its odds of winning are very long, the nomination is the recognition here and it is well-deserved.

     As War Horse opens, English farmer Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) attends an auction where he needs to buy a good plow horse for his farm so he can provide for his wife Rose (Emily Watson) and son Albert (Jeremy Irvine). At the auction though, a young thoroughbred horse catches his eye and despite the advice from friends that he should pass on it, Ted takes a gamble on the horse and pays way more than a horse of its kind should cost. This upsets Rose who begs him to take the horse back and get their money returned, but Albert senses the same things his father did about the horse and asks for one month to train the horse. Rose reluctantly agrees and right away Albert starts developing a bond with the horse, which he names Joey. Albert teaches the horse some basic commands but when it comes to plowing the field, the horse doesn't seem fit for the task. As the Narracott family is about to lose their farm, Joey is able to come through, with some help from rainy weather, and the plowing is completed allowing Ted to plant produce to grow so he can earn money.

      Joey becomes stronger with Albert's training and just as it seems all is going well for the Narracott family, World War I breaks out and the family is forced to sell Joey to a British cavalry major, who gives his word to Albert that he will take care of the horse. The middle portions of the film show Joey's many adventures as he passes through the hands of many people; among them soldiers in the British army, the German army, and a French farmer and his granddaughter. The horse ends up touching the lives of many individuals as the war progresses, where eventually Albert is old enough to join the British army and wonders if he may be lucky enough to find Joey.

      War Horse is a touching drama that finds us questioning a lot about the human race, and how one animal can unite many different individuals and teach us something about compassion, friendship and love. Spielberg turns the sap up quite a bit throughout the film and he had a lot of the audience in tears. Even though I am prone to crying in movies from time-to-time (yes, I admit it), I didn't fall for this one. I thought it was a touch over-the-top at times and it went for the heart strings too much. That being said, the movie did make me feel good and I was sold on it from the get go. Spielberg just has a way of catching great shots and the cinematography by Janusz Kaminski provides us with some amazing visuals. Another sweeping score from the great composer John Williams doesn't hurt either when it comes to capturing emotions. The acting is all acceptable, nothing earth-shattering but nothing offensive either.  Fine jobs all around. War Horse is not going to win the Best Picture Oscar, but it is well-deserving of the nomination and I highly encourage you to give it a shot.

    

2012 AMC Best Picture Showcase

     Day 1 of the 2012 AMC Best Picture Showcase is in the books and I had a wonderful time as always. For the past several years, AMC Theaters has sponsored this program where they show all of the films that were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars in a marathon format. This is my fourth year attending the event and it is a blast for movie lovers. The first year I attended, in 2009, it was only a 1-day affair since there was only five films nominated for Best Picture. I was a rookie to the event so I didn't come prepared, and by the time the fifth movie started I was extremely tired and just wanted it to end. It didn't help that the group of movies that year I found pretty weak. I learned some lessons that first year though that would help make the event the highlight of the movie year for me in coming years.

     The next two years saw a change in the Oscar process and 10 movies were nominated for Best Picture. This caused AMC to change the program a bit and it became a 2-day event, with 5 movies each Saturday over the course of two weekends. There actually are a handful of theaters that run a 24-hour marathon where all 10 movies were shown back-to-back. While fun to try one time, I'm glad my theater isn't one of them because I'm pretty sure I couldn't make it. I would fall asleep after midnight sometime for sure. And I don't want to do that, because I enjoy the event and want to appreciate the movies as much as possible. I don't want my appreciation of a film to be soured due to a lack of rest. So I like the 5 movies a day routine.

    To accomplish this, you need to be prepared, a lesson I learned after the first years event. First and foremost, you have to get a great nights sleep the night before. I have learned that I need to get about 8-10 hours of sleep the Friday night before the event. If I accomplish that, I find that I do not get tired during the marathon unless there is a boring movie. That's a whole other issue you can't control, and one I ran into this year (more on that in my reviews). The second tip is take advantage of the break times to stretch your legs and move around. Between each film, you are given about 30 minutes to go to the bathroom, get concessions, and all that good stuff. Typically there is also an hour break before the last film, so you have time to leave the theater if you want to get food outside of the cineplex. It's imperative that you use this time to get away and refresh yourself. Even if you don't do anything, just get up and walk around, loosen up those joints that have become stiff from sitting for hours. But you want to make sure you are back about 10 minutes before the next film because the employees at the theater come in and do trivia questions for prizes, usually movie posters. That's always a fun time, and I have collected my fair share of posters over the years this way.

     Another tip is to bring something to keep you comfortable, like a blanket or pillow, or both. These have become must-haves for me during this event. Not that I'm wanting to take a nap by any means, but lets be honest, after a few hours in those theater chairs, you need some comfort. I like to sit on the last row on the end against the wall. This way nobody blocks my view of the screen as I'm watching the movie down the side aisle. It allows me to prop the pillow up against the wall so I can rest my back against the wall and stretch my legs out on the chairs. Trust me, it's comfortable to sit like this from time to time. That's another good thing about this event, the theater is never full so you can generally take up as many seats as you want, within reason. There's elbow room for everyone. Speaking of the crowd, it's another reason I love this event. This is not your typical movie crowd. These people are FANS of movies and appreciate them. Therefore, there is almost never talking or people using their phones, they have too much respect for everyone there and that is a blessing. Also, you form a bond with these people since you spend so much time with them. By the end of the event, I have usually met some interesting people that share a common interest with me. You will see the same people at the event each year, so that's cool as well.

      The Best Picture Showcase isn't for everyone, but if you are a movie fan, I encourage you to try it one year. For $60-70 you can enjoy some of the best movies of the year, meet a lot of interesting people, perhaps win some prizes, and just simply have a great time. Day 1 of this years event has come and gone and I'm already set for part 2 next Saturday. There were only 4 movies yesterday since there are only 9 nominees this year, but it was still a full day. I saw 3 movies that were very good to great, and then 1 dud, but overall I like those odds. The reviews will be coming shortly. This is by far the highlight of my movie year and I would like to thank AMC Theaters for sponsoring the event. It is one that I have enjoyed for going on 4 years now, and hope it continues for many more.

Movie Review - "Contagion" (2011) ***

     Well, here's a nice little movie that will make you never want to go out in public again. In recent years, outbreaks of SARS and H1N1 have caused quite a panic worldwide, and while those viruses unfortunately claimed many lives, the fear caused by them seemed to be the bigger story. While most of these viruses in history are contained in a relative quick manner, with minimal loss of life, the possibility is very real that one day something will come up that does claim the lives of many millions of people worldwide. It's not worth fearing over, but it doesn't hurt to take precautions. I know I for one find myself washing and sanitizing my hands more often than I did say 10 years ago. I'm still prone to touching my face, as most people are, old habits die hard I guess. But seeing films like this will certainly make you think of it more.

     Contagion tells the story of what one of these serious outbreaks could be like, and how simple it is to start spreading quickly. As the movie opens, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) has just returned to the U.S. from a business trip to Hong Kong. She becomes sick and her illness causes her to deteriorate rapidly, within days she is dead. Her young son also perishes after catching the virus from his mother. Beth's husband Mitch (Matt Damon) seems to be immune from the virus though and he is quarantined immediately after their son passes. Doctors initially can't seem to figure out what's wrong but reports of similar deaths start rolling in from all over the world. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) realize that a serious epidemic could be starting and jump on the case right away, led by Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne). Cheever sends Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to the frontline of the disease to try and find a way to contain the virus. Another doctor, Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard), is sent to Hong Kong to try and track down the origins of the virus. Together, these individuals along with many others, will fight to figure out a cause of the virus and come up with a vaccine, that could take months to develop, in the hopes of saving as many lives as they can.

     Contagion has its fair share of flaws but overall I thought it was pretty good, and there are times when I could sense a really great movie trying to poke out through the shell, but it just couldn't get there in the end. What I liked most is that I got the feeling, this was a pretty realistic interpretation of what could go on in a situation like this. There have been many movies that have touched on the same subject, but ultimately they seem to descend into your basic action picture where someone has to get a vial of medicine somewhere in a matter of hours or the world will end. So we get car chases and stuff that really take away from the seriousness of the situation. This movie doesn't fall for those traps. It plays everything close to the vest, and people act like how you would expect them to act in this situation. While the cast is full of stars, no one is out to be bigger than the movie, and that was refreshing to see. Damon, Paltrow, Fishburne, Winslet, Jude Law, these are all actors that have given great performances over the careers, but none of them gives their finest performance here. And I'm okay with that, it made the story stand out more. Kudos to director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns for making those decisions.

     My biggest gripe with the movie was the character played by Jude Law. He is Alan Krumwiede, an online blogger who at first seems to be your typical conspiracy theory nut. He runs around telling everyone how the government has a vaccine, but they are keeping it for themselves. He creates a panic among his followers who end up raiding pharmacies and looting stores. In the end, we see there are things that motivate him and he is no different than the people he criticizes. I don't know, this whole character subplot just didn't work for me. Law plays it fine, it's not a knock on his acting, I just feel it should have been cut out of the movie completely. It just didn't fit with everything else and seemed to ruin the pacing at times, which was my other minor issue with the film. We are following several different stories, in different parts of the world, and I sometimes found the stories getting mixed up. That could be me not paying enough attention as the viewer, but I was hooked with the movie, I just got confused with it a couple of times. These are minor complaints though. I do recommend seeing Contagion, just keep some hand sanitizer close by.

Thoughts on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3-D

      May 19, 1999 is a day that I will always remember. It's the day that a new Star Wars film returned to the big screen for the first time since 1983's Return of the Jedi. The Phantom Menace was arguably the most anticipated film in cinema history. Star Wars fans had been clamoring for years for George Lucas to make more films since there was rumors for many years that nine films were originally planned. When word finally arrived that a prequel trilogy was coming, Star Wars fans celebrated and began a wait that seemed like it was an eternity. It seemed like that fateful day would never arrive...and then it did.

     Initial reviews for The Phantom Menace were actually positive. One of the first I remember seeing was Roger Ebert's, who gave it 3 stars out of 4. Others followed with similar praise, with the early consensus being that it was a fun movie, gorgeous to look at with amazing effects, but not as good as the original films. I saw the movie three times on opening day and five times total the opening weekend, after each one of those showings the crowd gave the movie a standing ovation. I had never witnessed anything like it. I loved the movie, especially the podracing sequence and the lightsaber duel at the end. Those two scenes to this day are still some of my favorite in the Star Wars saga. The word of mouth that I heard outside of theaters is that people seemed to really enjoy the movie for the most part. People seemed generally excited that Star Wars was back on the big screen.

     Then something funny happened. After that first weekend, I started hearing some negative things about the movie, most of them centered around the Jar Jar Binks character. While Jar Jar was not my favorite character by any means, I could tell he was put there for the kids and he didn't bother me as much as some people did. Oddly out of all the chatter I heard personally outside of the theaters that first couple of days, I never heard someone say they disliked Jar Jar. I believe it was Jay Leno on the Tonight Show was the first person I heard making fun of Jar Jar and bashing him (this is not a statement against Jay Leno by the way, I'm just stating where I remember seeing the negativity first). After that, it seemed the negative press towards Jar Jar, and the movie itself, really started to take off and it wasn't long after that when it seemed you couldn't hear anything positive about the movie. Over time the negativity spread to the point where it seemed you were an outcast if you liked the movie. Even many die hard Star Wars fans fail to recognize it as a movie in the series they will ever watch again, they are that disgusted by it. In my opinion, it became the cool thing to dislike The Phantom Menace and that attitude would haunt George Lucas as he made the next two installments in the franchise.

     I do not agree with the negativity. While I agree The Phantom Menace is not as good as most of the other films, I still love it and am happy with its place in the Star Wars saga. So when I heard a couple of years ago that they were going to be converting the films to 3-D and re-releasing them in the theaters, I was stoked. I didn't know what to expect as I've never been a huge fan of 3-D but then I saw what the medium was capable of when Avatar was released. I was completely blown away by that movie, most notably in its 3D form. I have seen it on a regular screen, and while I still liked it, it just wasn't the same. That movie was made to be seen on the big screen and in 3D. So that movie really got me excited for what the Star Wars films could be like in that form. Which leads us to present day and the screening I had of The Phantom Menace in 3D this weekend.

      Unfortunately, all that being said, I was not a fan of the 3-D. I just didn't feel it added anything to the movie. It certainly didn't hurt it in any way so I was still excited to see a Star Wars film on the big screen, but I didn't get that Avatar experience I was hoping for. Perhaps if the film had been filmed in 3D instead of post-converted it would be different, but it is what it is. There are definitely scenes here and there where it works and I got an idea of what it could possibly be like. Those scenes were few and far between, but they were there. A lot of the stuff on Tatooine, especially the scenes with Watto, worked. You could see the depth and you felt immersed in the atmosphere, which is what it was supposed to accomplish. Because of that, I do want them to make all of the films on 3D. They will have more time to work on each one so hopefully they can perfect the technique and get it right as we go along. The movie looks like it is going to pull in about $24 million on opening weekend which seems to be pretty good. That should be good enough to green light the rest of the films I would hope. So while I would recommend going to the theater and catching The Phantom Menace on the big screen, do it for the love of Star Wars, not for the 3D.

Movie Review - "Rango" (2011) **

     When it comes to things you can count on in life, we always hear about death and taxes. A third item you could add to that list is that a Pixar film would win the Best Animated Feature award at the annual Oscars. Pixar films have claimed the last four Oscars in the category and six of the last seven (all brilliant movies and well-deserved by the way). Then something happened this past year, Pixar bombed. Cars 2 is considered the studios first mistake, despite making over $190 million at the box office. It was greeted to generally negative reviews, including a 1-star result for me. Because of this, Cars 2 did not earn a nomination this year in the category which guarantees another studio will take home the statue on Oscar night. The movie that is considered the front-runner to benefit from Pixar's misstep is Rango. Directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp as the voice of Rango, the film has received lots of positive press and is the movie to beat on Oscar night.

      Rango is the story of a pet chameleon who finds himself accidentally stranded in the desert. He comes upon the town of Dirt, a lawless Wild West town where water is a rare commodity and what the community needs most. The courage needy Rango uses some false bravado to fool the locals and a lucky series of events sees him fell a dangerous hawk that scares off the locals. Because of his actions, Rango is made sheriff of the town by the Mayor, a tortoise voiced by Ned Beatty. As the new sheriff, it is suggested to Rango that he solves the towns water problem. Rango assembles a posse and heads out searching for answers, which leads to several action-packed scenarios involving Rango's team taking on a group of nasties. During his adventure, Rango learns that the water mystery may involve a cover-up and it is up to him to solve the crisis and save the town.

     While Rango may be the odds-on-favorite to win Best Animated Feature on Oscar night, I was not that impressed. The movie sort of falls into three distinct sections and the middle of the three I think is pretty good. When Rango makes his way to Dirt and starts mixing in with the locals, I feel the movie really works here. It's funny seeing him use this false bravado to make himself seem like more of a hero than he actually is. Depp's voice work is at its strongest here and these scenes work. Unfortunately, it is offset by the first and third segments of the film. I thought it started slow and I was a little bored until he gets to the town. The ending is okay, it just felt a bit empty to me. I think by then I was already partially checked out mentally and nothing could really save it. The movie clocks in at an hour and forty-five minutes. I think this would have worked better with about fifteen minutes cut somewhere. I just felt it dragged on a bit too much. The animation is perfectly fine, and the voice work is good for the most part, but the story drags things down a bit. I'd say give it a shot one day if you see it on cable but I can't recommend spending money on it. 

    

Movie Review - "Paul" (2011) *

    If anything looked like a sure thing for me, it was this movie. Strong reviews and word-of-mouth...Check. A comedy about sci-fi geeks on a road trip...Check. A smart aleck alien....Check. Lots of pop culture references...Check. Everything about this movie seemed to lead to a finished product that I would really enjoy. Unfortunately, this was a complete miss for me.

     The film stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Graeme and Clive, two British sci-fi fans who have traveled to the states for the annual San Diego Comic Con. While here, they decide to take a road trip and visit the UFO heartland of America. On their travels they encounter the real thing, an alien named Paul who has escaped from government captivity and is on the run. The duo is amused by the wisecracking Paul and eventually they agree to help him get back to his mother ship. They are being pursued by government agents, most notably Agent Zoil who is portrayed by the always enjoyable Jason Bateman. Along the way, the trio accidentally ends up kidnapping Ruth (Kristen Wiig), the daughter of a fanatical man who also is in pursuit of the group. Can Graeme and Clive get Paul back home before the government catches them?

     I'm not really sure what to tell you about this movie. I was never pulled in at all and only Jason Bateman piqued my interest at all. I've read reviews and heard people say how funny this movie is, and I don't know if it's a British humor thing that I don't get or what, but I do not remember laughing during this movie. I may have smirked once or twice as I picked up on some of the pop culture references, but never once did I laugh out loud. If I did, I don't remember it. All I remember is being bored out of my mind and wanting the movie to end quickly. I cannot recommend this in any way.

Movie Review - "Man on a Ledge" (2012) **

     There are times when we are in a mood to watch a movie that we don't have to think about much. As much as I love to catch the small movies that make you think, I'm not opposed to throwing on a Weekend at Bernie's or Police Academy when I want to have something on that I don't have to think about. Then there are the movies that we "shouldn't" think about, because the more we think about them we realize how absurd they are. Looking for a perfect example of that? Check out Man on a Ledge.

      Man on a Ledge stars Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy, a former cop who is now a wanted fugitive on the run. After escaping police, he checks into a local high-rise hotel, orders a meal from room service, is careful not to leave fingerprints anywhere...and then climbs out onto the ledge of the building. An onlooker notices him and it isn't long before cops, the media and hundreds of New Yorkers are watching him from the ground below. Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns) is the cop assigned to talk to Nick, but Nick has other ideas. He requests a different cop, specifically Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), who has an interesting past that we are not subject to at first. As Mercer tries to talk Cassidy in from the ledge, something else interesting is going on nearby. A jewel heist is taking place that may or may not be related to what is happening on the ledge. As Mercer, and the police force, start to learn more about Cassidy it becomes increasingly apparent that not only is everything not as it seems, but we start to question who is good and who may have a darker side.

      This isn't a terrible movie by any means. It is fast-paced and you certainly are never bored with it. While none of the acting is top notch, Banks turns in a decent performance as the negotiator and the wonderful Ed Harris has a supporting role that allows him to spew forth nastiness that we aren't accustomed to seeing from him. It's obvious he is having fun playing this type of role, one he isn't given often. The problem is the story and there are several times where the plot will have you rolling your eyes. At the start of the review, I stated there are movies we shouldn't think about too much. What I mean is that if you watch this movie and forget about it right away, it's an okay way to spend 100 minutes. But the more you think about it, the more you will realize how certain things don't make any sense and you will question it way too much. This is a movie you should just let play out and then go on to the next thing. If you do, you may find some enjoyment here.