Observe and Report

I often pick movies based on who is playing in it. This movie started Ray Liotta(as Detective Harrison) and Seth Rogan(as Mall Cop Ronnie Barnhardt). Both of whom I have liked in pervious movies they have made. Unfortunately, good actors can’t make up for a bad movie. In addition to it not making any sense, the characters where not very believable and the words they were made to say were just plain stupid. Furthermore, am I the only one that noticed they ripped off the storyline of “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (2009). The movie is “R” rated and earns it with a surprise ending you will wish you hadn’t seen! Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sunshine Cleaner

Life is messy. We make our choices and live with the consequences, Sometimes our choices lead to “Game over”. Sometimes our actions and their outcomes are part of a bigger story yet to be told. Rose Lorkowski(played by Amy Adams) with little choices in front of her decides to “cash in” on the lucrative business of crime scene cleanup. In need of a partner, she drags her younger sister Norah into the business(played by British actress Emily Blunt). The business causes them to intersect with people’s life’s when things are at the worst for their clients. Rose deals with the horrific crime scenes by believing she is helping others. The interaction between the two sisters is well done. I hope to see the actresses that played them in another movie together. Alan Arkin plays the girl’s father; an off-beat salesmen/peddler. If you like him this movie make sure you see Alan in “{Little Miss Sunshine”(2006). As a black comedy, this movie will not appeal to movie goers just looking for some laughs. (The crime scenes get a little gross). However, the characters are very real and the story line is interesting and thought provoking.

Fast and Furious 4

My three fish rating for this movie is based on me being a Gearhead(not sure what a “gearhead” is..go here). My wife(who wouldn’t go see this movie if I agreed to do her dishes for a month) thought I was being too generous with my Swedish Fish rating. I love fast cars and this movie had a lot of them. Fast and Furious 4 brings back the original cast from its debut movie “The Fast and the Furious” (2001). The two heavy hitters in both movies are Vin Diesel(who plays Dominic Toretto the tough bad ass) and Paul Walker(who plays Brian O'Conner the undercover cob). Vin has tried other more sensitive roles but always goes back to this one. Paul Walker’s character is a little confusing. He puts one foot in Dominic’s world and the other on the side of the law. It makes for some interesting chase scenes but does not seem to be grounded in reality. So if you are looking for a movie that fits the bill for the guy’s night out, Fast and Furious 4 will do the trick. If you are picking a movie for your date night, I would look elsewhere! Will there be a Fast and Furious 5? My prediction is yes. Why not ride this one until it runs out of gas.

Knowing

What if you knew when and where a disaster was going to happen? What if you were told the date of your death? How would you live the last moments of your life if you could predict the total destruction of the world? These are the questions put before us in the movie “Knowing” staring Nicholas Cage. I happen to be a big fan of Nicholas Cage and have seen most of his movies (looking for a good Nic Cage rental try Matchstick Men 2003) However, I don’t expect Nic to “knock one out of the park” like a Tom Hanks. His performance in “Know” was consistence with my expectations. Two supporting actors in this movie also did a great job-Chandler Canterbury(who plays Nicholas’ son Caleb Koestler) and Lara Robinson. Lara plays both the disturbed school kid of 1959 and her present day grandchild. Parents should pay attention to the PG-13 rating of this movie. In my movie theater, one mother brought her 8 year old daughter and spent most of the movie sitting in the lobby. Today’s special effects can seem very real!

I Love you, man!

I Love you, Man!

As Peter Klaven(played by Paul Rudd) prepares for his wedding to Zooey(played by Rashida Jones) he realizes that he has no one to be his best man(usually reserved for your best friend). This motivates him to go “shopping” for someone to play this role. His process for finding a best friend resembles that of finding a soul mate. This leads to the kissing of some frogs (both figuratively and literally!) Like dating, when you least expect it, your “intended” will appear. Peter finds kinship in the likes of Sydney Fife(played by Jason Segel) Jason Segel is hilarious as usually. Jason (who also started in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Knocked up”) has no trouble carrying the movie. Because Peter never had a best friend(or many guy fiends for that matter) growing up, he does not know the vocabulary and mannerisms of the average American Neanderthal male. Learning to talk and act like a guy puts Peter into some funny scenes. It is not surprising that the king of male testosterone (Lou Ferrigno/The Incredible Hulk) makes several cameos in the movie. As an added bonus, Peter and his new best friend Sydney share a love of the 70’s rock group RUSH. They go to a RUSH concert that features their hit “Limelight”. The movie earns its “R” rating due to its dialog. A must see for any guy that enjoys poking fun at the strange things guys do and say.

Push

Like many movies before it, Push uses the “humans with special powers” formula to entertain its audience. Set in Hong Kong, Push introduces us to: Watchers(can see the future), Pushers(can influence your thoughts), Movers(can move objects with their mind), and several others. I especially liked the scenes containing both the good and bad characters possessing the same special power. The result is both physical and mental warfare. Dakota Fanning plays the main character(Cassie Holmes) and is the big star in the movie. She did a great job and I look forward to seeing her in many future mature roles. A wide age range of viewers will enjoy this movie. The younger viewer will appreciate the special effects and the older viewers (like me) will enjoy the plot. One test of a good movie is its ability to bring you back for a sequel. The writers leave that door open and I believe I would go see it.

Milk

Milk is the true story about Harvey Milk and takes place in the Castro District of San Francisco in the 70’s. Harvey Milk was California's first openly gay elected official. He held the office of San Francisco Supervisor. At first glance, you might think this is a movie about gay rights. You would be right but it is about much more. It is about human rights. It is about living a meaningful life and it is about being brave and doing what’s right. Sean Penn and James Franco did an awesome job as Harvey Milk and Harvey’s gay lover respectively. Although the love scenes were uncomfortable, it added realism to the movie. That being said, it is “R” rated for a reason and is not appropriate for younger kids. Because it is a true story, we all know that Harvey Milk(and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone) is shot and killed by another San Francisco supervisor-Dan White. For those of you that are too young to remember seeing this on the TV News in 1979, Google the term “Twinkie Defense”. It will make you think twice about consuming mass quantities of junk food high in sugar!

Slumdog Millionaire

This is my first five Swedish Fish rating and for good reasons. The movie has everything I enjoy in a movie: great plot, believable story, intriguing characters, and an interesting backdrop for the movie (Mumbai, India). Slumdog Millionaire’s underlining theme is we are all a sum total of our experiences. Jamal Malik(played by Dev Patel) uses his experiences to answer obscure questions while on India’s version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire”. Watching a very poor and homeless Jamal (and his brother Salim played by Madhur Mittal) growing up in Mumbai; my first thought is “how can anyone live like that”? The answer came again and again as Jamal and others are determined to survive doing wherever it takes. If you watch closely you will notice several subplots: the love and the betrayal of a brother, rags to riches physically but never really leaving the slums mentally, the desperate children that are ultimately stronger than those that take advantage of them. Freida Pinto plays Latika who is Jamal’s friend as a child and who becomes his destiny as an adult. Slumdog Millionaire gets my vote for Academy Award’s Best Picture. Not too bad for a movie that was originally scheduled to go directly to DVD!

Yes Man

I find people either love or hate a movie where Jim Carrey is in the starring role. You couldn’t pay my wife to sit through a movie with him in it but I am the exact opposite. In his comedy movie’s (i.e. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective-1994) he is “spilt-the-gut” funny. In his serious roles (i.e. The Truman Show-1998) he is very believable. This is one of his classic comedy movies. Yes Man has your standard gags but also has your unexpected twists that keep the movie interesting. The movie also stars Zooey Deschanel who plays Carrey’s love interest- Allison. I have never seen her in any other movies but I think she did a great job alongside Carl Allen (Jim Carey). The movie pokes fun at the motivational speaker stereo type with the all too real “cult-like” following. However, before the movie ends, it does show you the “man behind the curtain”. A very funny supporting character is Carl’s boss Norman played by Rhys Darby. Norman’s “Harry Potter” and “300” theme parties are very comical. If you like Carrey’s type of humor you will enjoy this movie.