In Time is a movie that had so much but squandered a great idea with a half-baked screenplay, thinly written characters and a plot that is more in line with a Bonnie & Clyde/Robin Hood story than anything else. Justin Timberlake isn’t bad as the main lead while Amanda Seyfried looks good but her character isn’t fully developed, The biggest asset the movie does have going for it is Roger Deakins cinematography, otherwise this is more or less an entertaining movie, but that’s about it.
The Big Year isn’t a bad film by any stretch but boy oh boy was it boring. I’m not much of a bird person and I think the filmmakers geared this more toward that crowd but for others, you might feel left out. Even so, it’s still disappointing given the cast they manage to gather together especially the three leads.
The Double doesn’t quite capitalize on an interesting concept thanks in part to a “twist” that not only is revealed in the trailer but early on in the film itself. Despite that, I still feel the film is at least watchable due to Richard Gere and Topher Grace. The Blu-ray offers up solid video and audio transfers but falters in the features department, although the commentary is pretty good.
Real Steel is a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. The mixture of practical and visual effects is fantastic and the story has a great heart behind it. Hugh Jackman once again delivers a fine performance and the young Dakota Goyo isn’t nearly as obnoxious as other child actors I’ve had to endure in movies over the years. No, this isn’t a great movie but it’s an amiable one with a satisfying finale.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is hardly the high point of action but I must admit that I actually mostly enjoyed this installment possibly because the previous sequel was so bad that it made this film look like Citizen Kane. In any case, once again the visual effects are incredible and the story was at least acceptable.
See No Evil, Hear No Evil is Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder at their best. The story isn’t great and in fact is quite dumb but the pair’s comedic timing and chemistry makes the 100-minutes so worthwhile. As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, not surprisingly there are no features but the audio and video transfers are definitely better than the DVD counterpart.
To say the least, Abduction is not a very good movie, the acting from Lautner is pretty bad (and at best just OK) while the talented supporting cast can’t overcome a lame script and overwrought storyline. The action sequences are all fairly average but at the same time I at least found some of it to be entertaining even when things get bad.
Texas Killing Fields is a bit of a disappointment. Director Ami Canaan Mann has some of the visual talents of her father but the story doesn’t quite fit and most of all, the characters are soulless and/or un-relatable. I couldn’t care less what happened to anybody in this film and thus didn’t care for the crimes themselves. This is not a compelling movie in any way which is unfortunately given the talent attached.
Traffic still is as engrossing today as it was the first day I saw it in the theaters 11 years ago. The performances all around are fantastic while Soderbergh’s style, now a standard for him, was unique and beautiful. When it comes to the Criterion Blu-ray release, I’d say it’s on par in the video and audio realm as the Universal release but obviously this is the edition to go with as it contains several featurettes and commentaries.
Contagion has some things going for it, but mainly from an acting and technical level rather than the story. The cast is mostly good despite having a limited amount of screen time and Soderbergh’s visual style, while nothing new from what he’s done in the past, still looks stunning and gives the film a certain gravitas yet at the same time I felt like I was more or less a spectator versus becoming involved or entrenched with what was going on.
Cinemanic Chronicles| © 2000 - 2011, Movieman's Guide to the Movies | Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha |
