Misleading Rating

The film has a PG-13 rating, but should probably be rated R. A lot of sexual innuendos that are not suitable for young teens. If you were a fan of the TV show you may not like this slapstick version, but if you have a pretty good sense of humor "Land of the Lost" is very funny. Matt Lauer's cameo is absolutely hilarious and really makes the film. The three stars is purely because of the misleading rating. Easily a four star rating for those who loved "Anchor Man" and "Talladega Nights."

Kids Will Be Bewitched By Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain is a remake of the 1975 Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain, they just tricked us into thinking it was new by using a different name and adding some gnarly (though admittedly violent at times) special effects, not to mention they included their secret weapon: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Through the use of this diabolical scheming, they were able to create a movie that is as close to genuinely family friendly as we get these days and so entertaining to young’uns that it’s downright disgraceful. How dare they make a movie that will capture the attention of kids of all generations? Ok I digress, in all seriousness, this is one movie out right now that promises some worthwhile entertainment for the kids for at least the duration of its running time, after that parents, you’re on your own.

Witch Mountain begins by reeling through a montage of tons of tales about reported U.F.O sightings, alien abductions, and government cover ups. Of course, most people believe it all to be the figments of some paranoid sci-fi fan’s imagination but there could be no greater skeptic than Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson), a Las Vegas cabbie well beyond desensitized to the world of the weird. His distaste for all things alien becomes apparent when he tags the local U.F.O meeting as the “Nut Job Convention”, much to the chagrin of his astrophysicist passenger Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) who is scheduled to speak at the conference. His luck doesn’t improve much with his next passengers who happen to be two oddly robotic, frantic teenagers with a wad of cash wishing only to travel in “that direction.” Wary as he might be, Jack Bruno takes on the task and thus unknowingly begins his adventure with the aliens Seth (Alexander Ludwig) and Sara (AnnaSophia Robb).

Through a series of paranormal and frankly, freaky events, the identity of his two passengers is revealed. Once the truth is discovered he retires his previous skepticism and agrees to help the pair of pint-sized aliens. However, he doesn’t feel fit to be their sole guardian and seeks the help of former passenger and alien specialist Dr. Friedman. Together they risk life and limb to help return Seth and Sara to their fallen spacecraft hidden deep within the government run Witch Mountain, which is apparently like Area 51 on steroids. To do this though they must continuously evade capture from government agent Burke (Ciaran Hinds), a Siphon, an alien bounty hunter trained to kill, and about 150 other guys who all had guns and fired at will (seriously, the amount of gunfire in this movie was a little over the top). Despite all the obstacles, nothing on earth can stop this team from accomplishing their mission.

Some critics would like to compare this movie to the original and pick it apart based on nostalgia, primarily. To do this is almost preposterous. I mean, yes this movie is based on the original but it had to be adapted to today’s generation. If Escape was premiered today, kids would be bored out of their mind. They thrive off of visual effects, intense fight scenes, and loud soundtracks. So, yeah, if you are hoping to see a favorite childhood movie brought to life again, you may be disappointed. But, if you go into it with a blank slate you may be pleasantly surprised. Sure, some of the lines are cheesy and the incidence of unlikely serendipitous circumstances is high, but they also have cool new gadgets (like a key that goes to everything). Not to mention, the acting isn’t half bad. Dwayne Johnson actually has pretty good comedic timing and shows some depth of character as well with his relationship to the twins, Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb. All in all, I enjoyed it for a kid flick and you just may too.

1 comment:

Submitted: 2009-05-09 09:16:31

Madea Makes Me Laugh

Typically, watching a film in which one actor plays multiple characters is just plain irritating… well, at least it is when Eddie Murphy does it. Tyler Perry, however, pulls it off. Maybe it’s because he allows the audience to really connect with his “alter-ego” characters over him. They take center stage in his stories and they rightfully deserve it. Tyler Perry’s character “Madea” is a larger than life, unruly, unrepentant, uncompromising woman that you just can’t help but love.

In this chapter of Tyler Perry’s narrative of Madea’s life, we learn about all of Madea’s past indiscretions. In fact, there’s even a little slide show that goes through her life in mug shots. This time, she gets dragged in because she set the “po-po” on a car chase and then, once she was caught, beat them senselessly. She is brought into court for the umpteenth time and is, yet again, released, this time because the pulverized po-po neglected to Mirandize her at the scene. She is let go on a provision that she seek anger management and Jesus. She refuses Church, but does attempt one session with the one and only Dr. Phil for anger management counseling, but to no avail. She gets in a tussle with a red convertible sporting, tennis playing, pretentious white woman over a parking spot and yada yada yada… ends up in jail.

There is another story line playing alongside this one and that is of Assistant District Attorney Joshua Hardaway (Derek Luke) and a young street walker, Candace Washington (Keshia Knight Pulliam aka Rudy from The Cosby Show). Hardaway is a walking success story. He made a lawyer out of himself despite all odds, he has a successful career, and he is about to marry the woman of his dreams. All of this comes to a screeching halt when he runs into Candace, a long lost childhood friend, in court on prostitution charges. He makes it his mission to save her from a future on the streets forsaking all the rest. However, he can’t save her from her past and she ends up in jail with none other than Miss Madea. Together they help each other through the hard time.

While Madea keeps you laughing, the film also deals with Candace’s situation and addresses some really difficult issues concerning rape, prostitution, and the long road to recovery. Perry, it seems, tends to incorporate an underlying drama into the majority of his comedy productions. While he lets the audience have a good laugh he also weaves in issues that he believes are in need of critical examination within the black community, especially. There was a genuine message that, I believe, he hopes will reach out to anybody who wishes to receive it.

Madea Goes To Jail is not necessarily the best movie out right now, but if you’re looking for an easy laugh that might give you something to talk about on the car ride home this may be just good enough for you.

I Confess, Shopaholic is Cute

The film, Confessions of a Shopaholic, adapted from the novel by Sophie Kinsella bearing the same name, is one of those movies that can only really be described as “cute.” While this classification may be extremely appealing to girls aged tween and up, it may also be a turn-off for other moviegoers. However, the film does touch on a couple of themes that reach a bit deeper than one would think the “cute” range was capable of. The film not only has time to deal with fashion and romance but also weaves in cautionary tales concerning fiscal responsibility and closet addictions (pun intended, unfortunately).

Isla Fisher plays Rebecca Bloomwood, a young fashionista with a very serious problem: she is a shopaholic. Of course, as it typically goes with everyone with an addiction in the beginning, she is in complete and total denial. Her relationship with fashion feels more like a romance than, what is in reality, a debilitating obsession. It isn’t until she starts to be harassed by a certain collections agent that she really uncovers the whole truth of her unhealthy relationship with couture. It doesn’t help that she has also lost her job and has no income to even attempt to pay her debt. She decides then and there to make her love of style into something a little more profitable, and she tries for a position at the esteemed Alette magazine, a high-end fashion mag. Unfortunately, that falls through, and she is again thrown into the reality of her situation. She finds herself in debt so deep that she can see no way out, so she hides. She hides in a place where no one would look to find her: a savings magazine.

Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy) is the editor of Successful Savings, the financial magazine that hired Bloomwood after reading a piece she did relating making good investments to the way that women buy shoes. Of course, the twist is that she never really was writing about financial responsibility at all, and was actually just writing about her unconditional love for all things Gucci, Prada, and Jimmy Choo. Oblivious to this fact, Brandon finds her piece fascinating and fancies her edgy, refreshing writing, believing that it could be exactly what is needed to revitalize the foundering publication. Rebecca carries on with the charade flawlessly, gaining admirers along the way, including her boss, Luke Brandon. It seems that he can no more resist her charm than we as an audience can.

Yep, things were really starting to turn around for her until the moment when she is exposed for what she really is: a fraud. Of course, this is the classic time in the movie when the man finds out who the woman “really is,” scolds her for lying to him and walks out, leaving the heroine alone with nothing us but the resolve to get him back and make things right. It is here that the movie takes a turn from just being cute to really dealing with issues of debt management and overcoming addiction. She sets out to turn her life around in hopes that she can make it right.

It was interesting to see how the issue of addiction was handled in this film. I was pleased to see that it was not played as merely an out-of-control obsession, but as a compulsion to be addressed when Bloomwood was ready to come to terms with it. And, though it may have been difficult in the beginning to watch such frivolous and excessive spending, especially in times like these, it was good to see a message going out that frugality can actually be in vogue.

All in all, this cute little rom-com is a delight to see for some light moviegoing, but it also carries with it some important undertones that may benefit some of the younger viewers.

Creepy Crawly Coraline

From director Henry Selick, who brought us James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas, comes Coraline, a gripping story brought to life through the remarkable craftsmanship of Selick’s stop-motion animation. The tangible grain of the world that Selick creates is absolutely astounding, and one cannot help but be drawn into the colors and textures that set the scene of Coraline’s tale. If the mere artistry were not enough, the film grabs the audience through the use of 3-D technology. Not only do you get to experience some real onscreen magic when seeing this film, you get some sweet 3-D glasses as a bonus.

The film begins drearily, and you as an audience member are very quickly transported from your cushy movie seat to a rainy, muddy, gray place with the quite unsuitable name of the Pink Palace. The Pink Palace is, in a word, creepy. It is a dilapidated house that could very well be older than time itself; and, much to her chagrin, it is to be Coraline Jones’ new home. Coraline (played extremely well by Dakota Fanning) is a strong-willed adventurer who is not afraid to take the first step or get the last word. She’s feisty, to say the least. Coraline’s personality is sharply contrasted with those of her edgy, overwrought parents who never seem to have the time or energy to indulge their ever-eager daughter. Coraline’s frustration with her parents and her lackluster existence mounts by the day until she discovers a secret door that unlocks a whole new realm of possibilities.

The door leads her to an alternate version of the life she already leads, but it is more fantastical and glorious than she could have ever imagined. She walks out on a life where she is ignored and overlooked into a world that practically revolves around her. The first person Coraline encounters after going through the door is her “Other Mother” (Teri Hatcher) who welcomes her with loving arms. The trouble begins when these loving arms turn into prison bars and the Other Mother attempts to keep Coraline on her side of the door forever. The fantasy very quickly dissolves into a nightmare as Coraline begins to realize the gravity of the situation she is now in. To escape the clutches of the Other Mother, Coraline must utilize every ounce of her determination, cunning, and bravery to get back to the home that she originally fled.

The cast of this story did a fantastic job with their respective characters. Dakota Fanning really brought Coraline Jones’ particular tenacity to life for me through the use of her youthful timbre and dynamic tone. I really enjoyed the other characters as well, including Coraline’s parents, played by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman. The eccentric neighbors including Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders), Miss Forcible (Dawn French), Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), and Wybie (Robert Bailey, Jr.) add great dimension to the story as well. All in all, I will say that I was completely enthralled by the film from start to finish. I applaud Focus Features on what I consider to be a stellar pick for their premier animated film.

I will add though, for parents, the film is eerie and could even be considered scary at parts for young children. If you plan to take your youngsters to see it, be forewarned.

1 comment:

Submitted: 2009-02-26 16:10:43

New in Town: not new, but doesn’t get old

Though Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) may be new in the town of New Ulm, Minnesota, her tale is not exactly new to the box office. The story of city girl meets backwoods boy has been done hundreds of times, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like to see it time and time again, especially when that backwoods boy happens to be a good lookin’ fella like Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.), the local union representative that becomes Lucy’s beau in the flick.

The story runs much like that of Sweet Home Alabama and Hope Floats (another of Connick’s films, where he plays the Southern remedy to a woman’s woes) in which a strong but single-minded woman is rescued by a country boy who rocks her world. Lucy Hill (Zellweger), a highfalutin’ woman in power heels wielding a sharp tongue and Starbucks, is forced to relocate temporarily to, well, the middle of nowhere as far as she is concerned. As an up-and-coming executive at Munck, the firm that controls the plant in Minnesota, Lucy is sent from her beautiful sunny beach house in Miami to reorganize the plant in the frostbitten tundra that is to become her new home. She is greeted warily by most in town, except for Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan) her personal secretary who welcomes her with open arms and tons of tapioca (don’t worry, this will make sense later). She introduces Lucy to the culture of scrappers, ice fishing, and Jesus - none of which Lucy is personally enthused about. Blanche also introduces her to Ted Mitchell (Connick), whom Lucy proceeds to insult over a lovely meatloaf dinner, brushing him off as a beer-loving truck guy who obviously does not deserve her attention, much less her affection. Boy, was she wrong. It turns out that Ted is actually the union representative that she must work very closely with on a daily basis.

Ted is the least of her worries, though. Her mission is to restructure the plant by mechanizing production and downsizing the labor force by half. Her first “termination” is a town favorite, the foreman of the plant (J.K. Simmons), who sabotages her efforts on more than one occasion. You can imagine how this particular pink slip makes the town feel about her, but it does not faze her; she was sent there to do a job and she refuses to make it personal. One person changes all of that. One night, on her way back from a failed attempt at escape at the airport, she runs off of the icy roads and into a snow bank where she is stuck for the night. Ted happens to drive by and (trumpet sounds) rescues her from her plight. This act of altruism from the “sexy” (Lucy’s word, not mine; although, I don’t disagree) Mr. Mitchell breaks the ice surrounding her frigid, corporate heart and warms her to the frosty town and its people. From then on, it becomes her personal mission to save the plant and the town. Does she succeed? Well, I guess you will have to see it to find out.

All in all, though the plot line is overdone and the accents were overplayed, New in Town was charming in its own right. I mean, for moviegoers who enjoy a feel good flick every now and again, I would recommend it. For serious film critics who cannot stomach another small-town love story, this may not be the movie for you.