Movie #213 - Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

Title: Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

Director: Peter Hewitt

Release Year: 1991

Plot Summary: A tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.

Thoughts: It's a goofy little movie, and it took me a little while to get into it honestly - it's pretty damn dated, and nowhere near as good as the original (not that this should be particularly surprising to anybody). That said, once it gets rolling - i.e., once Bill and Ted kick the bucket - it's a fun ride.

For me, the high point of the whole film is Death. It would have been so easy for him to fall into the same utterly-cheesy-humour category as mostly everything else in the movie does - instead, he goes from "grim" to "long-suffering" to "just along for the ride and having fun," and I just found myself smiling whenever he popped up. As the saying goes, "don't fear the Reaper!" ~grin~

It's too bad this movie demonstrates pretty much the entire range of Keanu Reeves' acting abilities. Not surprising really, but too bad.

Recommendations: If you're in a goofy mood, this is a surprisingly entertaining one to throw in every once in a great while.

Movie #187 - Superbad

Title: Superbad

Director: Greg Mottola

Release Year: 2007

Plot Summary: Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes terribly awry.

Thoughts: Oh man. I was lukewarm when I first saw the trailer for this one, but it steadily grew on me, to the point where I was actually interested in seeing it despite myself - generally this sort of "lowbrow" comedy is, shall we say, not overly appealing to me.

That said - I laughed my ass off through the whole thing.

It was rude, it was crude, it was gross, it was utterly ridiculous... and yet, it was hilarious. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are absolutely perfect as the typical high school "odd couple" best buds; and everyone actually looked and acted like high-schoolers rather than twentysomethings trying to pretend to be high-schoolers. However, I really think Bill Hader and Seth Rogen stole the show as probably the two worst cops in the history of the force.

In short, the story was pretty bare-bones, but it was probably behind only Hot Fuzz as the funniest movie of the year.

Recommendations: If you're not easily offended or grossed-out or what have you, you'll enjoy this movie. It's not for everyone, but if it's for you, you should get quite a kick out of it.

Movie #180 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Director: David Yates

Release Year: 2007

Plot Summary: With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.

Thoughts: I'm a pretty big fan of the Potter movies, but if you had asked me in advance, I seriously doubt I would have pegged any of them for being one of the best films of the year.

Well, so much for foresight... ;)

First off, I really liked the atmosphere. It's not a light and fluffy story anymore, not like it was in the very beginning, and I feel like Phoenix kicked off with even more of a bang than Goblet, in terms of a more immediate and direct sense of danger to our protagonists. It's still a magical world, but it's turning a lot darker and more sinister, and I think David Yates does a very good job of establishing that sort of ambience without losing a sense of wonder about the whole thing.

Second off, new characters. Imelda Staunton quite easily steals the show as Dolores Umbridge, the most saccharine-sweet character you'll ever loathe with the entire core of your being. "Loony" Luna Lovegood and Tonks are both quirky and fun little additions, in their own ways, and both brought a smile to my face with each scene they popped up in. And Helena Bonham Carter is downright creepy (and hot!) as the insane Bellatrix Lestrange. Of course the returning cast members all turn in fantastic performances as well - my personal favorites in this particular film would probably be Mad-Eye Moody and a delightfully malicious Lucius Malfoy.

Thirdly, special effects. All's I can say is - the fight scene in the Ministry at the end of the movie had me, quite literally, on the edge of my seat. Just... wow.

And I can't in good conscience go without mentioning the music. This is the first Potter movie that I've actually decided to pick up the score. It's grand and sweeping and there are a couple of amazing parts - the scene at the beginning with Harry and the others riding their broomsticks through London comes especially to mind. It's quite epic.

So, I think it's safe to say that I liked this movie a whole lot.

Recommendations: Easily the best of the five so far. If you made it past the third movie, there's no way you won't enjoy this one. ;)

Movie #179 - Transformers

Title: Transformers

Director: Michael Bay

Release Year: 2007

Plot Summary: A war re-erupts on Earth between two robotic factions, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, leaving the fate of mankind hanging in the balance.

Thoughts: Whenever anyone asked me if I was excited about this movie, my unchanging response was "cautiously optimistic." I've been a Transformers nut since I was about four years old, so knowing that Michael Bay was turning it into a huge explosive Fourth-of-July epic definitely left me feeling more than a bit leery.

Now, with that said, I have to admit that it's a fun film. If you remind yourself that this is pretty much a rebooting of the concept, and ignore the gaping plotholes that are inherent in any Michael Bay movie, there's not much room for more than nitpicking. Even Shia LeBeouf is surprisingly non-annoying - though it must be said that John Turturro's character (uncharacteristically) more that makes up for it. Blessedly, Turturro isn't in nearly as much of the movie, though. And the other actors are, if not amazing, at least inoffensive.

Voice acting: Peter Cullen is, if not God, at least vaguely Goddish. I can't imagine anyone else as the voice of Optimus Prime, and thank goodness I didn't have to. And Hugo Weaving as Megatron? Turned out amazingly perfect. None of the other ones really jumped out at me.

So, you knew it was coming: my two major complaints. One, Frenzy. Ye gods that little robot was so abysmally unfunny. I guess other people really liked him, but I thought that playing him for comedic value just flat Didn't Work. My other major issue was actually special-effects related; I know most people seemed to be in utter awe of the CGI, but I found that the character design for the Transformers occasionally made it very difficult to distinguish them from their surroundings and especially from each other. Visually it made the big climactic fight scenes rather hard to follow, at least in my opinion.

Anyways, all that aside - I liked it. Surprising, to me most of all, but I liked it.

Recommendations: A more-than-suitable summer blockbuster. Don't go into it with unreasonably high expectations, and you should enjoy yourself immensely.

Movie #178 - 1408

Title: 1408

Director: Mikael Håfström

Release Year: 2007

Plot Summary: A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Thoughts: I really wasn't particularly enthused about going to see this one, but as is more and more often the case, I was lured in with the promise of candy to munch on. So I soldiered on, and while I can't say I ended up blown away, I at least didn't feel like my time had been overly wasted.

In terms of story, there's nothing all that new here - ghost skeptic stays in haunted hotel room, and find out just how wrong he is. In terms of execution... well, let's just say that the first hour is suitably creepy, but there's a "twist" about an hour in that just left me cold for the rest of the movie. Don't get me wrong, the mood stays creepy, but I was quite unenthused with the direction the story took. Maybe that's just me though.

Usually I make some sort of comment about the acting, but in this particular case I can't say anyone really jumped out at me. Don't get me wrong, John Cusack was perfectly good, but he didn't really impress me overmuch. And since he is pretty much the only person in a good deal of the movie, that isn't really a good thing. Ah well, they can't all be Oscar-worthy performances, right?

Recommendations: Not particularly bad for a horror flick, but it doesn't really pull together very well in the end. Don't avoid it, but don't go out of your way either.

Movie #177 - The Last King of Scotland

Title: The Last King of Scotland

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Release Year: 2006

Plot Summary: Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his (fictional) personal physician during the 1970s.

Thoughts: Wow. I don't really know what precisely I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't anything this good. Forest Whitaker got an Oscar for his performance as the alternately charismatic and terrifying Idi Amin, and in my humble opinion it was one hundred and ten percent deserved.

As far as story, the physician Nicholas Garrigan (ably played by James McAvoy) is completely fictional, but the events he bears witness to are terrifyingly real and (more or less) historically accurate. It's more than a little scary to watch, and heartbreaking to realize that Idi Amin isn't even that much of a special case in that region's history, not really...

Recommendations: Forest Whitaker steals the show and makes it entirely his. Unless you have an inexplicable hatred for him as an actor, you should definitely go out of your way to see this movie.

Movie #176 - Ratatouille

Title: Ratatouille

Director: Brad Bird

Release Year: 2007

Plot Summary: A young rat living within the walls of a famous Paris bistro wishes to become a chef, but is hindered by his family's skepticism and the rat-despising staff and patrons.

Thoughts: Well in my book Cars was a nigh-impossible act to follow. With that mindset, I definitely don't think Ratatouille exceeded it in any way - but it's yet another amazing addition to the perfect streak that Pixar has kept going, if you ask me. ~grin~

My favorite character by far isn't Remy the rat, but rather Linguini the hapless kitchen boy. He's a clumsy, rather bumbling, hopeless case, even though he gains some confidence throughout the film... but it's starting to become pretty rare to find a well-done "loveable loser" character, and I'm all about that!

I think one of the things I like best about Ratatouille is the fact that the ending isn't your traditional idyllic "everything magically works out" variety. Instead it's more of a "this is what really probably would happen if a rat was running a fancy French kitchen" - but still everything ends up working out for the best. =)

Recommendations: Pixar hits another one out of the park. Fun for everyone!

Movie #175 - My Neighbor Totoro

Title: Tonari no Totoro

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Release Year: 1988 (Japan)

Plot Summary: When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby.

Thoughts: I don't feel like I have a great amount to say about this one. It was definitely cute, and gorgeously animated like all of Murasaki's films are, without exception. The story was a little on the light side - the above plot summary mostly says it all, though of course there are some subthreads and subtexts and whatnot - but then I don't feel like it was really meant to be more than a children's fable, and taking it on that basis, it's really quite topnotch.

Recommendations: Worth watching, but perhaps your kids would enjoy it a little more. If you're a Murasaki fan, though, obviously you'll want to catch this one eventually. =)

Movie #174 - Apocalypse Now

Title: Apocalypse Now

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Release Year: 1979

Plot Summary: During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.

Thoughts: Man, I love the book Heart of Darkness. With that in mind - coupled with the fact that this is probably one of the best-known war films of all time - I was really really ready to love this movie too. Damn, what a disappointment.

It started out well enough, I suppose. Guy gets sent on mission that will take him to the "heart of darkness," in this case the heart of the Vietnam War, and things get progressively more horrific and viscerally disturbing. Unfortunately, by the time Martin Sheen actually reaches his objective, the movie has devolved into a disjointed, inexplicable mess that I found pretty well impossible to care about. Which I suppose is sort of the point of the whole metaphor, when it comes down to it. I just thought it was poorly done, is all. ~shrug~

Recommendations: Meh. I'd go with Full Metal Jacket over this one, hands down.

Movie #173 - A Bug's Life

Title: A Bug's Life

Director: John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton

Release Year: 1998

Plot Summary: A misfit ant, looking for warriors to save his colony from grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

Thoughts: Ah, the forgotten Pixar movie of the bunch - inevitably the one that people either haven't seen, don't own, or just plain didn't think was all that great. As for me, I'd probably rank it around the bottom of the Pixar pile... but that leaves it miles above the vast majority of the competition.

I don't think you can help but cheer for Flik, the little ant with big ideas who just wants to help, but usually ends up bungling things somehow or other. But to me the star of the show is Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, who manages to emanate this aura of menace and total command - no mean feat for an animated bug. (Of course Kevin Spacey's voice doesn't hurt much... ~wink!~) Everyone else is pretty forgettable, though, which is probably the main reason this film suffers in comparison to other Pixar offerings.

All that said, I quite enjoy A Bug's Life whenever I sit down to watch it - it's just not one I feel compelled to return to with any regularity.

Recommendations: It's Pixar! You gotta watch it at least once. You'll probably enjoy it more than you remember.