The Long Kiss Goodnight: CR #32

Happy Easter everyone! I would review an Easter themed movie, but the only one that doesn't involve Jesus being horribly crucified is that Russel Brand movie "Hop", and, yeah, not going there. Instead, I'm going to review an action movie that's written by the legendary Shane Black. Who is Shane Black? Well, he's just the guy who wrote Lethal Weapon at age 18. He also wrote and directed "Kiss Kiss Band Bang" and the upcoming "Iron Man 3". So, get ready for my review of...

PLOT
Samantha Caine is your average woman. She has a great husband, lovely daughter, teaches elementary school, and lives in a small town. What makes her different is that, as she says "Was born 8 years ago". This translates to her having Amnesia. She has no idea what her real name, age, or life was before all this . That is until people from her past start to show up and attack her. She now is slowly regaining her memories and goes with her hired private detective Mitch to find out about her past, which may be more deadly and bloddy then she originally thought.


PROS
Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson are great in this film. They also have some really great chemistry together, making for fun moments and witty banter.

The dialogue is suburb and feels like a Shane Black script. That is to say it's very funny, and very sarcastic. There are some awesome and memorable lines, one of my favorites being " Samantha: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Mitch: I hope not, cause I'm thinking about how much my balls hurt."

The idea and premise are very interesting and catches you immediately. I was enthralled in the film from start to finish because of this plot.

The action scenes, while nothing too special, are still fun and never boring.

The villains of the film are a lot of fun. They're the type of villain you love to hate, and when the final show down, which you know will eventually happen, happens, it is so satisfying.

The film's soundtrack is awesome, full of great blues and funk songs, basically anything before the 80's.




CONS
Samantha's family is very plain and not deeply developed. They're just the nice people that Samantha loves, that's about it. The worst of the two is the father, who literally is perfect and never reacts to anything Samantha does, he just blindly supports her. I wish we could've gotten a little bit more development than "the nice family".

The film does have some of those old dumb action stuff that in reality is impossible to even attempt. While they're not a huge issue, some of them I just can't get past, like escaping an explosion by jumping out of window into a frozen lake and getting up like it's nothing.


CONCLUSION
This is a fun action movie that while never becomes a Lethal Weapon level of good, it's certainly close and still worth you time. If you want an action that has little substance but still doesn't insult your intelligence, this is a great one to watch.


RATING
WALK TO


Want to read more of my reviews? Well here's last week's review, just for you! No, not you, you: http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-cr-31.html

What's Love Got To Do With It: CR #31

This week's film is about the true story of a famous singer and her struggles with her abusive marriage. A film that I've been very excited to see, even though I admittedly don't know much about the person the film is about. This is...

PLOT
This film follows famous singer Tina Turner on her rise to fame, her abusive relationship with her husband Ike Turner, and the courage it took to leave him and move on.



PROS
Everyone in this film gives an amazing performance. The stand-out is Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner. He's truly terrifying in this role and makes a serious impact.

The concert scenes are a lot of fun and well choreographed. They also help to create an interesting parallel where her on-stage life seems happier than the living hell she experiences off stage, which I'm sure was how it felt in real life.

The scenes where Ike is beating Tina are genuinely scary. While at first I thought they were overly exaggerated, it turns out that the film isn't too far off. This only makes those scenes even more effective and hard to watch.



CONS
Ike Turner seems like a very one-dimensional character in the film. While Fishburne does help to add some depth with his performance, overall he's portrayed as a monstrous brute and nothing more.

There are a few scenes that seem too "Hollywood". While I understand stretching the truth a bit, some scenes seem too far-fetched. Not a huge problem, but it did bother me a bit.


CONCLUSION
This is a great movie that easily gets you involved in the story, whether or not you know who Tina Turner is. I loved it, and while it's not perfect, it's certainty worth a look.


RATING
RUN TO

Oz: The Great and Powerful: NR #39

Sorry I missed last week, but when stuff comes up, there's not much I can do about it. Anyway, this week's movie is one I'd been hotly anticipating, mostly because it was directed by the all mighty Sam Raimi. This week's movie is...

PLOT
Oscar, primarily known as Oz, is a magician with a traveling circus that's currently stopped in Kansas. His not a good man, and certainly not a great one, but he truly wants to be great. After escaping a fight through a hot air balloon and being sucked into a tornado, Oz get's his chance at greatness. The tornado spits him out in the magical land of Oz where a prophecy is foretold that a great wizard by the same name will defeat the wicked witch and return Oz to peace. There's only one thing, Oz is no great wizard. Now he must find a way to defeat this wicked witch with his ordinary con man skills and hopefully become the great man of legend.


PROS
The film is gorgeous to look at. It has amazing special effects that make the land of Oz seem like it's full of life and pops right off the screen, even without the 3D.

Director Sam Raimi is known for his inventive camera work, and he does not disappoint here. All of his old staples are back, including an awesome cameo by a particularly "groovy" actor

*HINT**HINT*

The film never feels like a slave to the original "Wizard of Oz". What I mean is that it doesn't feel the need to throw references in your face every five seconds or just rehash the same characters. "Great and Powerful" feels like it's own beast, but connected enough to the original that it's still a prequel.

Oz's companions, Finley the flying monkey and China girl, a girl who's made of china, are great characters and are some of the best parts of the movie. Finley is, surprisingly, very funny and China Girl is extremely sympathetic with a back story that's sad without being manipulative.

The tone of the film never gets to dark, which is great. While it does have dark or scary elements, it never gets darker than the original. It keeps a light-hearted tone throughout, never losing the land of Oz's signature whimsy or magic.

The action scenes are extremely fun and constantly exciting. There were many times where I was on the edge of my seat or just laughing at how much fun I was having.


CONS
Oz is not a likable character for most of this movie. While that's the point and he's supposed to redeem himself in the end, I still wasn't truly rooting for him. Now you know who could play that part and still be likable...

Come on! The part was made for this guy! Look at dat chin! How can you say no to that?!

Not to spoil anything, but the person who plays the wicked witch didn't really sell it for me. While her make-up looked good, she just wasn't right for the part.

CONCLUSION

This is an amazing movie. It does what Tim Burton's "Alive in Wonderland" should have done. That movie is too serious and too Tim Burton-y to be enjoyable. This one. thankfully, pulls everything off with flying colors. Don't go into this thinking it's going to be like the Judy Garland classic, cause it's not. Take it and accept it for what it is, and what it is is a great and powerful film. Ya done Raimi, ya done good.

RATING

RUN TO

The Secret of NIMH: CR #30

Once again, nothing came out this week. Thankfully, next week look's to be pretty exciting. But this is besides the point. Today's review is of a movie that I hold dear from my childhood. It was one that I saw on a whim and had forgotten about a little bit. That was until I heard about people who called this film one of animation guru Don Bluth's best. So, after many years I returned to this movie, does it hold up as much as people say? Let's find out in my review of..

PLOT
Based on the book "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", "The Secret of NIMH" follows the story of Mrs. Brisby, a field mouse whose husband has recently died and one of her four children has fallen severely ill. After seeking advice from the Great Owl, Mrs. Brisby must now go into the rosebush in search of the super-intelligent rats of NIMH to save here family. There, she finds that she has more of connection with these rats then she originally thought.



PROS
This film was made by the incredible Don Bluth, who you must likely know as the director of "An American Tail" and the video game "Dragon's Lair", He's known for his amazing animation, and his team doesn't disappoint here. The animation, while just over 30 years old, still holds up and looks impressive to this day. It's tiring just to think about all the work that went into making this movie look as good as it does.

This was made back in the day when kids films rarely talked down to their audience, and this film is a prime example. While it does have its childish moments, it still treats its audience like human beings, allowing for slow are dark moments to be the focus. While it never goes too far that kids won't like or understand it, it still feels edgy and challenging for kids, while still being entertaining for the adults as well.

There's an interesting theme about magic vs science. This film incorporates both aspects yet find a balance between both of them. While none are that well explained, they're hinted at enough that you can put the pieces together.



CONS
There's a character in the film named Jeremy, who's a clumsy crow. He seems like an extreme attempt to pander to kids. While he never got too on my nerves, and does actually serve a spot in the plot, he did ruin some scenes that he was in.

The film is just under an hour and a half, and it feels rushed because of it. The movie moves at a break net speed and I was surprised when it ended because it felt so short. While it's not too big of a problem, I just wish they had extended the film so we could clarify or explore more of the rats or the characters.


CONCLUSION
This is a great kids film that thankfully still holds up to this day. It's dark while still being light-hearted, it has a plot that challenges not only kids but their parents as well. Overall, this a great animated film that if you or your kids haven't seen yet, is the very next one of the list of stuff to see.


RATING
RUN TO


Want to read more of my reviews? Well here's last week's review:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2013/02/sinister-cr-29.html

And here's the link to the New and Classic Reviews archive:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/p/new-and-classic-reviews-archive.html