Quick recap of last week's movies

I did not get a chance to write reviews last week due to being busy with schoolwork, but now I am back, and am prepared to review once again. Last weekend I viewed both Pride and Glory, and Saw V, two violent movies, but one definitely triumphed over the other.

First I will touch upon the long-delayed Police tale Pride and Glory, staring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. The two play brothers-in-law ( Farrell is married to Norton's sister in the film) who are also cops, and in conventional form, one is good and one is inevitably bad. Edward Norton is trying to figure out who killed a group of four fellow police officers in the line of duty while Farrell is trying to get to the killer before ol' bro-in-law does. The plot is by no means original, but it is extremely entertaining none-the-less. The acting is top notch, especially the two leads, but all around is solid. Besides a plot hole or two, there's not really much negative to say. If I had to put a solid negative thing about this film, I think I would say it is a little bit too long, clocking it at 2 hours and 13 minutes. Personally that didn't bother me, but it may cause restlessness for some.

Grade: B+

I will next discuss the disappointment that is Saw V. I am a huge fan of the series, and this is the first one that has, in my eyes, been truly bad. I cannot say much about the plot without giving it away, except it was definitely lacking in this year's addition to this overly gruesome franchise. Hopefully they can redeem themselves with the inevitable sequel next year, though I'm not entirely sure which direction they could take it.

Grade: D

Max Payne

Video game movies have never been great. They are often predictable and don't usually translate well into film. Max Payne is no exception. Let me just get the pun out of the way and mention it is Payneful to watch. I'm not trying to be cute, it really is painful to watch. For being based off of a M-rated action video game, there is surprisingly little gunplay until almost the last 10 or so minutes of this tame PG-13 film. The plot is completely predicatable, cliched, and does not explain several of whom you might think are key characters. The acting was overall pretty poor. Even Mark Wahlberg was stiff and non-convincing. Even more out of place than the poorly developed character of Mila Kunis, is Ludacris, unbelievable as an Internal Affairs cop. The signature gameplay of bullet time from the video games is only slightly transparent in this movie in 3 brief shots, one where he dives through a door, another where he dives backwards and shoots a bad guy above and behind him, and a slo-mo shot from his pistol. The only thing that saves this movie from a total fail, is the visual style, while often inconsistent, it blended decently to detract from the god-awful plot and even worse acting.



My rating: D

Body of Lies

The latest project of Ridley Scott, Body of Lies, is the story of a CIA agent Scott Ferris (Leonardo Di Caprio) and his handler in Virginia (Russell Crowe) attempting to find and take down a known terrorist in the Middle East. While this idea has been done in several different manners in the past few years (Don Cheadle's Traitor, and George Clooney's Syriana just to name a few), this movie does not suffer from a feeling of deja vu. Both Di Caprio and Crowe are excellent in this thriller CIA tale. Crowe is looking rough, gaining 60 pounds for the role of the corpulent CIA agent.
While the film is not extremely long by today's standards (clocking in around 2 hours and 8 minutes), it did seem to drag on a bit. Other than that, the film is enjoyable and intense. I recommend a viewing.


My rating: B

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Simon Pegg fan. He is one of the most brilliant comedians of his time. I am afraid though, that after his solid performance, however, there is not much left positive to say about his newest film, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Aside from Pegg, the movie was largely unfunny, getting a few laughs here or there, but all together a pretty poor attempt at a satirical look into the life of an entertainment journalist. Along with Pegg, the film stars Kirsten Dundst, who, in my opinion, isn't a very good actress, and a disappointing Jeff Briges, who wasn't really right for the role as the Senior Editor of Sharpe's magazine, and didn't get very much screen time otherwise. I'm not positive, but it really seemed like Megan Fox was playing herself, which is unfortunate because she created a pretty unintelligent picture of herself if that is the case. I really wanted to like this film because of my loyalty to Simon Pegg, but I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy it. It just simply wasn't all that funny (aside from the occasional laugh from Pegg).


My rating: C-

As always feel free to comment on this site or email me at atn5022@psu.edu if you have any questions or comments

Religulous

The first thing to understand going into this movie, is that it is, first and foremost, a documentary. Yes, it is absolutely hilarious, but that is not the movie's purpose, and that is perhaps one of the biggest reasons I enjoyed it. It isn't forcing comedy upon us for the most part. There are sarcastic subtitles that are not necessary for any other reason than to be funny, and they do work well. Bill Maher takes a logical approach to religion, simply that we can't PROVE anything. I personally share this sentiment, but that is neither here nor there. By trying to take this approach, and asking people of different faiths, (ranging from christians, to jews, to mormons and muslims) how do they know that their religion has it right and all others are wrong. Many of these people are offended, several of them insisting on ending the interview early due to their disgust of even the notion that they may not have it right.

Religion is a controversial subject among most people, and are often afraid to speak about it. Bill Maher takes it head on and drives into the belly of the beast, so to speak to seek answers. I highly recommend this film, if you are lucky enough to have it released in your area. It is well worth the watch.

My rating: A

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

I must admit, not too many romantic comedies catch my eye, but Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist pulled me in. Starring the increasingly popular and consistently awkward Michael Cera and equally as awkward much less known Kat Dennings, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a tale of two teenagers trying to avoid ex's, find Norah's missing drunk friend, the hilarious, scene-stealing Caroline, and finding their favorite band, Where's Fluffy. An all night adventure ensues as they search around New York City, learning more about each other and themselves, and meeting some interesting people along the way. Possibly some of the funniest lines in the film belong to Nick's gay bandmates, discussing what their band name shall be, etc. There are many cute moments in this movie, but I will refrain from mentioning them as not to spoil them. One thing that i can mention is the great soundtrack. Filled with some great indie rock tunes, it captures the moments and tone of the city well. I highly recommend checking it out.

One thing that does worry me, not about this movie, but in general, is the type-casting the lead actors have already begun to inherit. Michael Cera, while solid, is still the same shy, awkward kid we grew to love in Superbad, Juno, and even his cancelled show, Arrested Development. I would really like to see him branch out and try a different acting method. It works well here, but it may get repetitive in the future. The same goes for Kat Dennings, though solid, she has the same character she has played before. There's nothing wrong with it, just something for her to consider in the future.


All in all, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a solid movie that I believe most people will enjoy. As always if you have any questions or comments you can email me at atn5022@psu.edu or leave a comment on my review. Check back in a few days for my review on How to Lose Friends and Alienate People starring Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dundst.

My rating for Nick and Norah: B+