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Review: “The Perfect Storm” (2000) starring Clooney & Wahlberg gets 3 stars (out of 4)

11 Jun

“Who wants to go swordfishing?”

This phrase won’t be met with much enthusiasm from anyone who just finished watching The Perfect Storm, which spends much of the time dousing its actors in hurricane waves strong enough to send a man overboard at any second.

Thankfully director Wolfgang Petersen (Outbreak, Air Force One) had the sensibility to cut to what’s happening on the mainland at least once every 15-20 minutes, otherwise the constant beating of the 20′ whitecaps might get a little old after awhile.  With this nice balance, the storm special effects create such an immersive environment I would probably have freaked out if I spilled my drink during the movie.  The last thing I want to feel is being awash with water after seeing Marky Mark get blasted with massive waves for about 2 hours!

The Perfect Storm came to Blu-ray not too long ago, so I felt it deserved a review after joining my collection this weekend.  Some critics hated this film (only 47% on Rottom Tomatoes), but it definitely paid for lunch with a $325 MIL haul on only a $120 MIL budget.

Clooney & his men are quite the river boat gamblers in this adaptation of a real tragedy.

Many people like to think that this movie is an accurate representation of what really happened to the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat from Gloucester, Mass. that encountered a ”perfect storm” in late October / early November of 1991.  However, it only claims to be based on a 1997 non-fiction book called “The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger. 

Worse, the book itself has been accused of having factual errors, one-sided details & a bias against the fishing industry in its telling of the 1991 event.  So, just remember that Warner Bros. needed to have a story to tell, & so it took some liberties with the known actual events.  Examples of this include making more of George Clooney’s relationship with The Abyss alum Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s character, & attempting to recreate what happened to the Andrea Gail after it lost radio contact (which is of course unknown).  I have no problem with this, as the film had a very dramatic ending filled with strong special effects.  In fact, if the final 15-20 minutes didn’t break the way they did, I probably would’ve only given this film 2.5 stars.  Thankfully it closed strong, so it gets a 3 star rating.

The casting in this movie was all over the place: Mastrantonio was perfect for her role, & Christopher McDonald plays an obnoxious weatherman like only he can.  McDonald was so good as villainous jerk golfer Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore that I almost couldn’t see him as anything beyond that, but his dark sense of humor definitely adds to the film.  The scene where he checks out his Doppler radar stormcenter is hilarious!  As McDonald excitedly explains to a disinterested female coworker how 3 massive hurricane storm systems are about to converge, he sounds like he’s about to spray his khakis!

Clooney was solid, as was Diane Lane.  Lane’s fisherman love interest in the film was supposed to be played by Drive Angry‘s Nic Cage, who had to back out due to other commitments.  As a result the role went to Wahlberg, who (surprise, surprise) played a tough Boston character to perfection.  While Cage was on a hot streak in the late 90s with The Rock, Con-Air & Face/Off, he could’ve easily sunk this film! (no pun intended) 

Can you even imagine Cage in Wahlberg’s role??  The waves are beating down on the boat, Clooney looks to him for confidence, & Cage just leans in & groans in his tough-guy voice: “We need to launch the green flares & wait for the cavalry” (quote from The Rock) LOL

The one guy I could never take seriously was John C. Reilly.  After seeing him in that vulgar yet funny ”Boats ‘N Hoes“ music video for Step Brothers, it was tough to see him in a dramatic role as a scruffy swordfisherman.  To be fair, Step Brothers came out much later (2008), & when The Perfect Storm finally came to Blu-ray the editors could hardly have taken him out of the film due to logistal & contractual constraints. 

James Horner adds an inspired soundtrack, & the Blu-ray comes with 3 documentaries & 3 audio commentary tracks.  If you like action/aquatic films, add this one to your collection!

Verdict: 3 stars (out of 4)

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Disturbia (2007) starring Shia LeBeouf & David Morse gets 2 stars

14 May

Disturbia isn’t a particularly bad film, but it just never quite takes off. 

The story starts out with some promising suspense, but then lulls you to sleep with one headfake after another.  Part of the problem is the producers & screen writers didn’t know the film’s identity – something that should have been decided before any sets were constructed.

The 1st 2 acts are slow movers intended to build plot, while the final 1/3 of the film is a pure slasher flick.  Given how boring it is to watch Shia LeBeouf horse around with his binoculars on house arrest, I imagine the studio execs would have just made this a horror movie if they had to do it over again.

Disturbia, like so many movies of this decade, suffers from the problems of having no really likeable characters & a villian who you only get to really hate for a short period of time. With a different screen writer, this movie could've been much better.

LeBeouf’s character seems almost exactly like the kid he played in the fantastic 1st Transformers film – a hyper, funny, nervous teen with raging hormones.  Unfortunately his character spends so much time being a brat & oogling girls that it’s hard to really cheer for this little voyeur.  During the 1st hour we get a steady diet of LeBeuof drooling over little-known actress Sarah Roemer from afar, as if she’s Megan Fox strutting by Bumblebee in her breakout film.

The best thing about Disturbia is the villainous performance of David Morse, who you may remember as George Washington in the 2006 HBO miniseries John Adams.  Morse is the right mix of reputable neighbor/potential creeper in Disturbia, & even proves he can be quite the action star when given a chance.  If this movie had a much faster pace or became a horror flick, Morse would probably even gain greater respect.  Unfortunately it has a rather sloppy ending that leaves you understanding the basics of the action’s aftermath, but yearning for some clarifying details you never get (I’d say more but I don’t want to ruin the plot).

This movie reminded me of a much better film with a bipolar plot, 2005′s The Island starring Ewan McGregor & Scarlett Johansson.  The Island lures you in with suspense in a controlled environment for the 1st half of the film, then all of sudden it’s a frenetic action blockbuster the rest of the way.  Oddly enough, in that film it works!  Disturbia‘s surprise morph from thriller to slasher doesn’t.

Verdict: 2 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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“Fast Five” (2011) starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson gets 4 stars

9 May

Fast Five gets an A+ for degree of difficulty, & the action scenes are top-notch too.  While I loved the 1st & 4th installments (in order of release, not story chronology), Fast Five is the best in the series.  It recently opened in theaters at the end of April, so I thought I’d give it a review.

The screenwriters for this gearhead action flick showed tremendous guts for writing such an ambitious & risky script – this movie is either going to be celebrated or a complete disaster, plain & simple.  Fast Five is a major departure from past Fast & Furious films, filled with storyline development and hilltop gunfights rather than street races.  Incredibly, this strategy works! 

I’ve seen (& enjoyed) all 5 Fast & Furious movies, but I have to believe someone who has never seen the prior 4 would still really like Fast Five.  The box office proves this, as Fast Five had an $86 MIL opening weekend – best in the franchise!  It was also the best opening weekend for ANY Universal Studios picture, & the ALL TIME highest-grossing opening weekend in the month of April!

Fast Five is sort of like merging the 1st & 4th installments with The Italian Job...surprsingly this is not a bad thing.

Still, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 made money, as did Transformers 2, & all 3 of those movies were terrible.  What makes Fast Five so great besides the fact it more than paid for lunch?  It makes 130 minutes seem like half that!

Set between Fast & Furious (2009) & Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast Five does start off with an initial chase scene like the rest of the franchise, though this one is even bigger & better than the rest.  After that, a great deal of character & story development takes place.  I don’t want to say too much more about the plot, though I did fear early on it was too elaborate for some of the loyal fans of the series who just want to see some great nitrous (NOS) car races & action stunts.  About halfway through, the story really starts to hit its stride, & the final 45 minutes are an epic rush!  There are several impressive plot twists, & the film closes strong! 

I was also impressed by the bevy of action scenes involving a real attempt at using the physics of cars, buildings & other large objects to make complicated explosions/collisions possible.  So often in action movies cars just blow up for seemingly no reason after a collision, or other items will break apart/fly off/get crushed in scenarios that force you to have to totally suspend belief.  I never felt that way with Fast Five. 

Justin Lin has directed the last 3 films in the series (including Fast Five), & does try to minimize the use of CG to put action shots together.  Lin has said that CGI “never replaces the real thing.”  This just adds to my level of respect for the series.

I have to imagine a big reason why the writers put in so much story dialogue was to set up the 6th installment in the future.  Reportedly, the 6th movie is going to be tied to Fast Five as another heist action thriller rather than a racing flick.  You can call Universal sellouts, but the studio execs are smart enough to realize that pure racing films have a revenue ceiling that heist films aren’t constrained by in today’s market.  The Fast & Furious series may have died out if it was more of the same, but with a redesigned focus on mass appeal action/heist storylines & some car scenes interspersed, the franchise is able to live on.

For those of you who are totally lost as to the story chronology of the films, here’s the order:

1. The Fast & The Furious (2001)
2. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
3. Fast & Furious (2009)
4. Fast Five (2011)
5. Tokyo Drift (2006)

It seems like the producers thought, “If we just cut out a lot of the engine talk, street racing showdowns & car part specification comparisons, we can get a lot more viewers!”  Of course, someone at the Universal roundtable had to have asked, “Ok, what are you replacing it with?”  The answer is lots of action scenes from Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) & Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)!  As for GTA IV, there are several scenes where people go flying off bikes, gunfire erupts with lots of hard talk from drug runners, & there’s even a character named Niko!  

Many of Fast Five‘s action scenes take place in this Brazillian ”favela” shantytowns in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro - Modern Warfare 2 actually has a popular map in the game called “Favela” too that looks just like this!  I don’t think the shootouts in the favela detract from the movie at all, just funny to see them if you’ve played the Modern Warfare game.

Fast Five has a thrilling story and fantastic action scenes, & is an absolute must-see if you like these types of heist/action/gearhead movies.  If you don’t at least give this a rental when it hits your local Redbox/Netflix rotation, you’re cheating yourself out of a fun 2 hours!

Verdict: 4 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman & Mila Kunis gets 1.5 stars

1 May

Black Swan is billed as a psychological thriller.  It’s really only about 20% thriller & 80% psychologically frustrating.

The audience is constantly forced to see potentially critical events in the storyline that may be mere hallucinations or dreams.  Usually the viewer has no clue whether the scene is really taking place or just a figment of the character’s imagination – this is true as the scene is happening & often the case after the scene is over!

Portman & Kunis both give inspired roles as ballet dancers trying to prove they have what it takes to be the lead in the NYC “Swan Lake” ballet production.  Unfortunately at times their characters are so manipulative and selfish it’s hard to root for either of them.  It’s too bad, b/c most of the other characters in this movie are even more selfish, controlling, and abusive.  I’d elaborate on this, but I don’t want to give away the plot.

Black Swan has great acting, symbolism and motifs, but much like the new BK Stacker Value Meal, is not worth the sum of its parts.

Even though I’d like a character or two who I can at least tolerate, I appreciate an entirely dark film if it has an engaging story.  A perfect example of this is 2000’s Requiem for a Dream, an extremely dark film about addiction from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky.

Aronofsky considers Black Swan a companion piece to his 2008 film, The Wrestler.  This is about like Steven Soderbergh saying his Ocean’s 12 was a companion piece to Traffic.  Yes, both were ensemble casts on missions involving greed vs. justice, but that’s where the similarities end.  Ocean’s 12 was a meandering mess, while Traffic had a thrilling, focused storyline. 

The Wrestler consistently gained momentum and I found it easy to relate to the “live hard-die hard” lifestyle of semi-pro wrestlers.  With Black Swan, I struggled to understand the emphasis on mental illness and general direction of the plot.  While both films are very gritty, Black Swan’s hallucination-filled story arc royally frustrated me about every 25 minutes!  Often when I wasn’t driven crazy by the story, I was totally bored watching the dancers practice their ballet moves for seemingly no reason – other than to set up another chance for conflict between Portman & the supporting actors.

I respect Aronofsky’s attempt to make ballet gripping and intense, and his ability to direct an interesting climax to this film kept me from being totally disappointed.  Portman & Kunis both gave strong acting performances, & Aronofsky vet Clint Mansell did a great job with the music score as well.

Still, the plot exhausts & frustrates the viewer who’s really paying attention, and bores anyone who isn’t. 

Oh, and unless you’re age 18-35 or really open minded, there are a couple scenes involving Portman getting some “satisfaction” that will probably make you pretty uncomfortable watching this movie with others.  This is probably NOT a film you want to watch with your parents!  And if you choose to watch this with kids, good luck explaining to them what’s happening in those scenes LOL 

How Black Swan is rated just R & not NC-17 is beyond me!

Verdict: 1.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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African Cats (2011) narrated by Samuel L. Jackson gets 1.5 stars

26 Apr

This isn't exactly "The Lion King" in HD...save your money & just watch the next lions documentary on Animal Planet instead!

“They deserved to die, & I hope they burn in hell!”

That was Samuel L. Jackson at his best, in A Time To Kill.

African Cats is Samuel L. Jackson at his worst…no yelling, no genuine excitement, & no swearing of any kind!  After seeing the movie I really can’t fault Jackson for this narrating atrocity, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch.  Jackson was left to read a contrived plot by DisneyNature, a brand I will avoid with a passion from now on.

African Cats is rated G, so I didn’t expect any swearing, but how about a nice relaxed tone & some interesting facts about the lions in this picture?  As a big fan of the Planet Earth series, I had high hopes for this movie & saw it the 2nd day it was in theaters, but walked away pretty disappointed.

DisneyNature butchered this production, fumbling the easiest of tasks.  All African Cats needed to be was March of the Penguins on land & Disney had it made.  Kids will think the lions & cheetahs are cute, adults will be entertained by learning stuff about nature they forgot from grade school, & the documentary will be a box-office smash.  Then, you can sell it on Blu-ray & people will love the joy of watching nature unfold in 1080p, something they currently can’t get with HD Theatre, NatGeo HD, etc. (only 720p, plus commercials to skip or sit through).

I’m sure if they would’ve offered enough money, Morgan Freeman would’ve walked into a studio & narrated the thing in a day…done!

But we didn’t get that.

Instead, the audience is force-fed this contrived story with names attached to the lions, making the film seem less & less authentic with each scene.  Worse, Jackson seems bored out of his mind reading the lines!  As usual with Disney (see Bambi, Up, etc.), serious adult/violent themes that parents probably don’t want to explain to 4 year olds are shoved into the movie (savage killings, cubs getting eaten, mothers choosing a place to die, etc.), making everyone uncomfortable.

I could look past all this if the movie were at least rated PG & we got some solid educational info about the lions, but DisneyNature is so centered on developing the storyline we never get to that.  As a result, if you aren’t interested in the storyline, you’re in for a long movie unless you walk out.  African Cats was only about 90 minutes, but felt like 3 hours!

Verdict: 1.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Review: “Turistas” (2006) starring Josh Duhamel, Olivia Wilde & Melissa George gets 3 stars

11 Apr

Set in a remote part of the Brazillian coast, Turistas is a solid horror/thriller film that never got the respect it deserved.  All that could change next month when its sequel, Turistas 2: Jungle Fever is released.

Back in 2006, Turistas was viewed as a direct-to-DVD flop.  Unfortunately it did not pay for lunch, costing $30 MIL to make yet only grossing $7 MIL in sales.  Part of the film’s problem was it entered the market right after Hostel made some noise & the Saw series was still gaining its audience.  As a result, many horror fans passed on Turistas at their local Blockbuster Video in favor of something they’d seen in the theaters. 

Incidentally, Blockbuster is where I was able to BUY this DVD for a mere $3 today (thanks to that Blockbuster store having a massive “going out of business” sale with DVDs 80% off – the fact that so many Blockbuster stores are going under is a whole other conversation worthy of its own post at some point).  

Adding to the movie’s downfall was the fact that some horror fans who actually rented Turistas when it was a new release felt it basically stole its plot from Hostel, further discrediting Turistas (I do not think this is the case, especially based on the release timeline – Turistas came out less than a year after Hostel, so Turistas‘ script was almost certainly well in the works by the time Hostel came out). 

Will Turistas finally get the respect it deserves? Only time will tell...

Now that it’s 2011 & we’ve had some time to reflect, Turistas shows much better in a 2nd viewing.  One reason is the advent of Blu-ray players, which were uber-expensive and just coming into popularity back in 2006.  Most Blu-ray players (including my Sony PS3) come with a built-in DVD upconverter.  This magically improves the picture on your DVDs from 480p to 720p, enhancing our appreciation for all the great beach panoramas and intense underwater cave scenes in Turistas. 

A big reason why those underwater shots look so good is the effort from John Stockwell (Blue Crush, Into The Blue), who puts his experience with aquatic action scenes to good use in this film.  Stockwell also produced along with several others, including entreprenaur & Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban.  Yes, that’s right – The Cube had a hand in this sleeping dandy.

The acting is not great, but certainly good.  Duhamel & George add suspense with their believable performances, & Wilde had quite a few dramatic underwater moments that left me wondering how even the stunt double (assuming they used one in any of the semi-dangerous scenes) was able to come up for air.  Often it seemed the cave shots were all on location where there was very little clearance for the actors to pierce the surface to breathe.  This meant they had to make sure they didn’t pop up too high out of the water, or else they’d get a nasty head injury from the cave ceiling or stalactites hanging above!

As for the story, yes it starts out a little like Hostel, but there are several key twists that differentiate Turistas pretty well from the competition.  I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that the villains’ goals in Turistas aren’t the same as the bad guys in Hostel.  This is a big deal, b/c it leaves you wondering what will happen to the good guys even if they can be attacked or captured.

Turistas has some great action scenes, and some fantastic special effects for a horror film.  Due to its low budget and 2006 release date, it was probably not shot with HD cameras or old school film that can be converted to HD 1080p, so a Blu-ray release is unlikely unless the sequel really drums up some serious interest in re-releasing the original.

So, if you’re looking for an entertaining horror/thriller on DVD that doesn’t run too long, Turistas is a good way to spend 93 minutes.

Verdict: 3 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Review: “Case 39″ (2010) starring Renee Zellweger gets 2.5 stars out of 4

18 Mar

I was hoping for a mystery thriller in Case 39, and the beginning of the film did not disappoint; the first few scenes immediately rope you in with suspense.  Unfortunately, the film’s major plot twist comes way too early on, making the rest of it seem like a bit of a letdown.  Had the screenwriters of this film let us wonder in anticipation another 25-30 minutes longer as to who was pulling the strings, the big surprise might have had a much greater impact. 

There are several legitimately scary scenes in Case 39 - so much so that you come away feeling the film is more horror than thriller.  It would’ve been even scarier if the storyline set up some of the scary scenes a little better.  Sometimes you have to suspend belief to buy in to the plot – this can be a lot to ask in the latter half of the film. 

Bradley Cooper goes Ryan Gosling-in-The Notebook soft in this film, incinerating Case 39's thriller credibility in the process. Bradley Cooper, really?? What, was Vince Vaughn already entrenched in another project?

I was impressed with some of the computer-generated (CG) creatures & environments, especially for a film that only had a $27 MIL budget.  Some of special effects are unforgettable; there’s one particularly priceless scene involving Bradly Cooper in his house - I’d say more but I don’t want to spoil it for you. 

Cooper’s overall acting job as a soft-spoken shrink in this film is not bad, but he was so hilariously miscast that it’s just impossible to take him seriously at times.  To be fair, this film was shot back in 2006 and then sat on the shelf for awhile; the trajectory of Cooper’s career was uncertain then.  Unfortunately for Cooper, in the meantime audiences had the chance to see him as a renegade partier in Wedding Crashers, The Hangover (a role he’ll reprise in the sequel) & as a macho lord of war in The A-Team.  Not exactly the type of guy you want to cast as your Dr. Paul Weston from HBO’s In Treatment series.

On the other hand, Zellweger & youngster Jodelle Ferland are simply tremendous in Case 39.  Zellweger shows her strong range, handling bonafide action scenes and intense moments that prove she’s more than a rom-com/chick-flick actress. 

Case 39 has some great scenes and surprises at times, but the overal payoff of watching this thriller isn’t worth the sum of its parts.  If you love horror-thriller movies, then give this one a rental.  If that growing blended genre isn’t your thing or you have no patience for a frustrating plot, then move elsewhere down the On Demand queue.

Verdict: 2.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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2009 dolphin documentary “The Cove” finally released on DVD in Japan this Friday, Feb. 25th!

21 Feb

This is what you'll be seeing this Friday, Feb. 25th at the Best Buy stores in Tokyo. Finally the truth about Taiji, Japan comes out!

From the Ocean Preservation Society:

We have been looking forward to this Friday when The Cove  DVD gets released throughout Japan. The limited theatrical run last summer was met with protests by violent extremist groups, who threatened the film distributors as well as theatergoers. Hopefully now Japanese citizens can view the film in the safety of their own homes and come to their own conclusions.

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Review: Grown Ups (2010) starring Adam Sandler gets 2.5 stars

20 Feb

“Grown Ups” is an okay 2010 comedy that could’ve been great.  Not “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” great, but maybe “Knocked Up” great.  Those 2 films had something going for them that “Grown Ups” doesn’t – their producers were smart enough to make those movies with R-rated scripts!  “Grown Ups” is stuck in a PG-13 world that plagues the film throughout…jokes they can’t land, words they can’t say, & racy moments the audience never sees.

Not particularly strong in terms of 1-liners nor full of memorable crashes/falls/disasters, “Grown Ups” lacks an identity and starts to drag about an hour into the film.  It reminded me a lot of an arguably better comedy, 2009′s “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” starring Entourage’s Jeremy Piven.

“The Goods” dies off after about 40 minutes, but had so many great one liners you don’t even care!  The opening 5 minutes of “The Goods” are so laugh out loud funny you feel like no matter what happens the rest of the way, what you just saw was worth the price of admission.  “Grown Ups” never has a stretch like that but still has enough silliness to maintain your attention for the most part.

Sandler’s interaction with his wife (played by Salma Hayek for reasons unknown) & kids is hilarious at times, & Kevin James’ path of destruction involving pools, trees & water skiing is fun to watch.  My favorite part of the film involves the eccentricities of Rob Schneider’s character annoying everyone else at a cabin.  He gets carried away with a food dehydrator - pretty creative writing to think of something as obscure as that (I’d say more, but I don’t want be a spoiler…no food dehydrator pun intended).

I’m sure Hollywood will be churning out more of these PG-13 letdowns, as “Grown Ups” grossed $271 MIL on an $80 MIL budget.  While the aforementioned “The Goods” only grossed $15 MIL on a $10 MIL budget, “Knocked Up” grossed a whopping $219 MIL on a $33 MIL budget and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” grossed $177 MIL on a mere $26 MIL budget.  Moral of the story to studio execs: Make a good R-rated comedy that adults want to see, & you can make an even greater % return on your money with less risk (smaller budget).

If you’re a fan of slapstick falls & some raunchy humor, then “Grown Ups” is disappointing but still worth a rental.  If you’ve never liked Sandler & Spade /SNL-type comedy, then nudge other video store customers out of the way for a better comedy on the shelf.

Verdict: 2.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Pirates of the Caribbean 4 trailer in HD

17 Feb

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides looks a lot more like the instant classic that started the series than the last 2 additions to the series that almost ruined the franchise!  Hopefully this film is shorter with a more straight-forward plot than the last 2 Pirates films.  While Penelope Cruz replaced Keira Knightley, everything else about this film seems like a big improvement from recent efforts in the series.  More fun, laughs, & explosions are pretty much all you need to satisfy moviegoers looking to beat the heat with a summer blockbuster, & this latest Pirates installment looks like it has all of that & more.

Click below to check out the trailer:

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