Movie Review - Goats

After having picked this movie up several times in the video store I finally decided it was time to rent it.  The movie is called Goats.  This film was equal parts beauty and chaos.  The story centers around a teenage boy named Ellis Whitman and his incredibly messed up family.  I know everyone thinks their family is screwed up but this family is a real gem to watch.

The film starred David Duchovny as Goat Man, the Whitman's pool boy and gardener.  David Duchovny is fantastic in this role, he is so chill and smooth he really brings a deepness to the character of Goat Man.  

Also of notable mentions is Ellis's father Frank who is played by Ty Burrell from TV's Modern Family.  It is pretty interesting to see Ty play a serious character; especially since his Modern Family character is such a klutzy, goofy person.  The rest of the cast was amazing as well.  The cast works really well together overall and they are quite amusing to watch.

The production value of this film is great.  They spent a great deal of effort making the film look great.  Half of the film is set in the Arizona desert which is a beautiful set for this often melancholy film. The beauty of the dessert is an interesting backdrop for the this dysfunctional family's misadventures.  The other half of the film is set in the city, and it is interesting how the city scenes have a very different feeling to them.  It also shows the different sides of Ellis' life in this film.

This film has an original score and the composers did a very good job with the film score.  The music was always perfect for the emotions that were being displayed in the various scenes.  You really can't ask anything more of a film score.

The costumes are perfect for the characters in every scene.  The costumes really helped to define each characters individuality.  Ellis' mother is always brightly attired while his father is very professionally dressed.  The costumes are just part of the devide between Ellis's parrents.  This devide makes up the majority of the angst in this film.  Ellis loves his mother, and he wants her to be happy, but he also wants to reestablish a relationship with is father.  Throw in Goat Man, a jerk of a boyfriend and you have a crazy amusing mess.

Overall this is a great film the characters are very memorable and the production value is high.  There were a few scenes that were not critical to the movie but they were few and far between.  If you like films that show personal development in the characters and make you feel better about yourself, then this film is for you.

I rate this film four out of five smiley Mike heads.  It was amusing to watch and the characters were certainly memorable, but it had a few scenes that were a bit uncomfortable; otherwise I would have rated this film higher. 

Movie Review - Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

 This movie manages to show you both the worst and the best of humanity all at once.  The film is Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

This is another one of those awkward films that I love so much.  The end of the world is not a popular subject with most people, however this film does an amazing job of portraying it with grace and dignity.  The acting is simply amazing, and really is the highlight of the film.  While there are explosions, and action, this film is truly a story about the human experience.

We start the film in a car parked on the side of the road.  Dodge (Steve Carell) and his wife Linda (Nancy Carell) are listening to the radio they are absolutely quiet and still.  There is an announcer stating that our last chance to divert the giant asteroid headed for earth has failed.  In the next moment Dodge looks over to his wife and says "honey I think we missed our exit", she gets out of the car and runs away as fast as a woman in heels can run.  This event sets Dodge on his course for the rest of the film as he tries to find what is important in life, so he can hang onto in in his final moments.

Steve Carell is terrific as Dodge the character of Dodge is very beaten down by life.  He is so stuck in his daily routine that you wonder if he even knows the end of the world is upon him.   Steve brings such a quiet intensity to this role.  Sometimes you can really see the gears turning in his head and other times he is a veil of ambiguity.

Along his journey Dodge meets Penny (Keira Knightley).  Penny is very vibrant and full of emotion, the polar opposite of Dodge in every way.  Where he is clean and organized, she is dirty and chaotic.  Keira Knightley is an amazing actress and she really brings a much needed vibrant energy to the role or Penny. 

As I mentioned, this film sheds light on both the best and the worst of humanity.  We see looters, rioters, sleazy guys who are taking full advantage of the end of the world.  Yet in the midst of all this negativity we find love, kindness, and compassion for fellow human beings.  This is the first film I have watched, in quite some time, to truly make me feel something.  Happiness, sadness, remorse, longing, and heartache, all in the span of 101 minutes.

I will admit that because Steve Carell does such an amazing job playing an unfeeling character it does take a little while to really care about his character.  I thought a few times, why do I care about Dodge, he is a human twig, devoid of all emotion.  Having said that, this film is also a great study of the human condition.  It seems like the writers spent some time researching what makes us all tick when writing this film.  There is never a moment where the dialog felt forced or unnatural.  All of the characters in the film are very believable, I could imagine myself in their position very easily acting the same way.

I would highly recommend this film if you like movies that dig deeper into who we are as a species.  Heck, even if you like to people watch you might enjoy this film.  Watching people deal with the biggest dilemma in the history of humankind is pretty interesting to watch.

Because of the amazing way the film portrayed humanity's final moments and still managed to end the film on an up note, I rate this film five smiley Mike heads.
 

Movie Review - Dredd

I am the law, so says Judge Dredd.  The movie is Dredd, the new one from 2012.

This is a very different film form the first film about the Judge Dredd character.  The first film was a grand story arc told in a very short amount of time.  This film however is a much more detailed account of a very short amount of time in the world of the character.  Like many of the recent superhero movie retellings this one is very realistic and gritty.  It is filmed in such a way that you can really get a sense of what is going on in the different characters heads.  In some characters this is exactly what is happening.

In this film Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is breaking in a rookie Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) who happens to be psychic.  They work this power of hers in a much more personal way then I have ever seen.  The scene is not overloaded with special effects and it does exactly what it needs to do to tell the story.

Karl Urban does an great job playing the law enforcing, crime fighting, sentence delivering hero.  He manages to follow the sentiment of less is more.  Even though we can only see half his face Karl manages to display a full range of emotions.  Even though I have not read any of the Judge Dredd comics I can imagine that he isn't much for small talk, and Karl Urban manages to deliver a lot with very few words.

The rookie Anderson on the other hand display a wide range of emotion from fear to anger.  Olivia Thirlby plays the character of Cassandra Anderson very well.  She brings a bit of innocence to the character but also a toughness as well.  This character undergoes a wonderful transformation throughout the film that is fascinating to watch.

The cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking.  Director seems to have a great vision of the world of Dredd, along with a high working knowledge of what works on the film.  Watching the making of revealed to me that there was a great deal of experimentation in the filming of this movie.  They shot the film in 3D and the director had never worked in 3D before this film, the results are truly amazing though.  This is really the first film that I have seen that has a valid use for the super slow motion photography, that has been highly overused in films since the Matrix came out.

The bad guys in this film are pushing a drug called slo-mo which slows down time for the user of the drug.  All of the scenes filmed with the super slow motion photography are filmed from the perspective of one of the drug users.  This use of the "bullet-time" effect certainly sets this film apart for me.

As for sets and costumes they were both exactly what you would have expected of a major Hollywood production; however this was a fairly low budget film.

If you really like superhero movies then I highly recommend this film.  If you don't mind a fairly moderate level of gore in your films then this one is highly entertaining to watch.  Honestly even the gory scenes are filmed in a very artistic sort of way.

For the high art value while still telling a compelling story and actually having a good use for Bullet-time filming techniques I rate this film four and a half smiley Mike heads.

Move Review - 30 Minutes or Less

When I saw this movie at the video store I expected another dumb guy movie.  Well, I did get another dumb guy movie but, this film was written better then I  expected it to be.  The film is 30 Minutes or Less.

The characters are very believable and realistic.  They are really just normal people put into extreme situations.  It is fascinating to see how they all cope with the stress of their individual situations.

The protagonist of this film, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a down on his luck 20 something who is in a dead end job delivering pizza's.  Jesse is fantastic in this role, his natural energy really lends itself to Nick's manic state of mind.

Nick's best friend Chet (Aziz Ansari), is a bit high strung, but he means well.  Aziz plays the nerdy teacher really well, his nervous energy is very much needed.  There are several scenes where Chet tries to help only to make things worse.

The antagonist of the film comes in the form of Dwayne (Danny McBride).  The first time I saw Danny McBride was in the K-Swiss commercials as Kenny Powers and I thought he was the dumbest guy ever.  After watching him in a few other movies I think I can finally appreciate his brand of humor.  Which is good since he is the exact same character in this film that he always plays.  His father is a huge douchbag and treats him like crap; which is what sets the entire crazy plot of the movie in motion.

The acting is what really makes this film great.  There are special effects in the film, they are really well done.  The special effects team does what they are supposed to, create an illusion of reality in an otherwise unrealistic scene.  There are car crashes, shootouts, and explosions, and they all look pretty cool.  While not a costume film (big dresses, fancy suits), the costume department did a great job dressing everyone look like you would expect them to be dressed in their roles.

Overall this was a great film, and if you are a fan of stupid guy humor then this film is for you.  .  If you are offended by strong language then I would recommend that you steer clear of this movie though.

I rate this film four out of five smiley Mike heads since it is very well written and never predictable.  It was a bit too stupid humor though for me to rate it five smiley Mike heads.

Movie Review - Seven Psychopaths

This is the first movie that I have seen where the name is exactly what the movie is about.  The film is Seven Psychopaths.  The premise is quite simple, everyone in this movie has issues.

The acting in this film is really exceptional.  Christopher Walken, is a psychopath in every role he has ever played, so he is perfect for this movie.  Christopher Walken plays Hans.  Hans seems like another ordinary guy when we meet him, with the exception that he is a dog kidnapper.  Although as the film unfolds you start to learn more about Hans and his troubled past.

Collin Farrell plays Marty, Marty is an alcoholic writer who is struggling to keep his relationship with his girlfriend.  Marty is writing a screenplay called Seven Psychopaths.  His best friend Billy is trying his worst helping Marty to finish his screenplay.

Sam Rockwell plays Billy.  Billy who turns out is the real protagonist of the movie.  He is like that one annoying guy you sometimes hang out with who doesn't have the best social skills and always has awkward things to say.  He means well but is a bit misguided, and as the film progresses you find out how misguided he really is.

As Marty discusses the screenplay there are cut-scenes that play out his narrative.  It is a clever device used in the film to progress the story line.  The film does a wonderful job of taking the stereotypical action, tough guy movie and changing it up a bit.  There were many scenes where you think you know what is coming, but it doesn't work out quite the way you expected.  The film is very well written, and keeps you guessing all the way up to the end.  Speaking of the ending is was a surprisingly good ending for a movie of this nature.  In the end the characters get run through the ringer, but they learn from these experiences.

There are some really great sets in this film as well and the cinematography is nothing short of stunning.  The scenes filmed in the desert are almost like moving artwork.  The special effects are pretty good, even though there are some that are a bit cheesy.  Of course the cheesy effects are done that way on purpose, to illustrate a point.  Overall it was very well produced and filmed.  It was very fun to watch with pretty scenes and interesting characters, all written so wonderfully dysfunctional.

This film is fairly graphic, but it isn't for mere shock value, it is needed to tell the story.  There are a few scenes where the film flashes back to tell someone's story which get a touch disturbing.  Despite these scenes it is still very enjoyable to watch.  If you are a fan of movies that make you think a little bit, and blood and guts doesn't upset you too much, I would highly recommend this film for your viewing pleasure.

Overall this film was excellent, with a few minor bumps in the road along the way.  I am going to give this film four smiley Mike heads for originality and great acting.

Movie Review - Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence

I saw a making of for this movie before it released into the theatre.  They talked about how they were doing innovative shots with hand held cameras.  After having watched the film I would translate that to mean low budget.  The film is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence.

I am certainly glad I didn't watch this film in HD.  Everything I have seen in HD makes me a touch queasy when the camera moves, pans or tilts.  This camera in this film almost never stops moving.  There are entirely too many tight shots where the film would have benefited from having a stationary camera.

While the acting was pretty good overall, even for the relatively unknown actors in the film, the poor writing and shaky cameras made this film really feel much less like a sequel to the amazing first Ghost Rider film with Nicolas Cage and more like a B-Movie rip off.  While I will admit I liked some of the special effects in this film better, effects alone don't make a movie.  In fact given the overall poor quality of the script I'm surprised that Nicolas Cage even agreed to be in this film.

There was a really bad scene where you first see Ghost Rider.  He rides into the middle of a gang of bad guys and takes his sweet ass time getting off his motorcycle and stands there posing while the bad guys stare at him.  Perhaps you should, I don't know, kill them or something.  It gets worse, once he manages to get his hands on one of the bad guys he proceeds to do what appears to be the penance stare in this close up shot with the bad guy.  What it feels like is Ghost Rider's attempt to kill the guy with his bad breath.  The scene is just way too long, kudos to the actor playing the bad guy for his performance, however he should have died much sooner.  Not to mention if he was performing the penance stare his eyes never turned all ashen like in the first movie.

The film goes on in pretty much this same manner, there is no real transition between any of the scenes.  It feels like the location scout said, "Hey I found all these cool locations" and the writers said "hey, lets write a reason for them to go there into the story."  In the end I just wanted the film to be over.  Who cares if the bad guys wins just put me out of my misery.

Near the end of the film there is a chase scene just as the sun is starting to rise.  Of course you are expecting that the Ghost Rider will be banished by the light.  They film it all dramatic like the good guy are going to lose, yet  Ghost Rider walks out into the daylight and chases after the bad guy on his bike.  Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure that Ghost Rider cannot ride in the daylight.  They established this in the first film, and even hint at it in the beginning of this film.  Apparently shooting a cool scene is more important then sticking to the rules of your own universe.

If you are a sucker for super hero movies and you don't mind a sub par flick then this might just be for you.  While I did enjoy a few scenes, and there were a few special effects that were really well done, this is just a case where the sum of the parts does not make the whole great. 

I rate this film three smiley Mike heads, it wasn't great, but I have seen much worse films.  Perhaps you should watch this film first and then the original, you will be much less disappointed that way.

Movie review - The Dark Knight Rises

It has been six movies and over a month since my last post to my movie review blog.  I figured if the Dark Knight could rise, so could Baatezuu, to write a review for this film.  The movie of course is The Dark Knight Rises.

This film truly tells a story, it is not simply a bunch of spectacular action scenes tied together with a thin string like other superhero movies have been.  Like The Dark Knight before it this film feels much longer than it really is.  There is so much going on that you really feel like you are living through it with the characters.  This film however doesn't have the same creepy overtone that The Dark Knight seemed to have.  Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job throughout this trilogy making the mythos of Batman believable, and fresh.  The story really comes to life on screen for all of us to experience.

The acting is amazing, Christian Bale's performance as Bruce Wayne is phenomenal, he really brings an emotional pain to the character.  Christian's performance as Batman was pretty good as well.  This is a hard feat to accomplish too, others have tried in the past and only one has succeeded in playing both roles equally well.  Batman actually has more dialogue in this movie than any of the other films in this trilogy.

The always beautiful Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman).  Not the person that I would have expected them to cast in this role; however she was amazing in her performance.  She brought a great strength to the character that was really needed to make her feel genuine.  She was the yin to Batman's yang, willing to do what he wasn't to get the job done.  Her moral flexibility certainly made Selina a much darker character then Batman was.  In the end of the film she felt much like the character of Han Solo in Star Wars.  Not used to playing as a team, and conflicted between doing what's right and saving herself.

There is such a strong cast of supporting characters in this film.  Their stellar performances really draws you into the film and make you feel like you are apart of the city.  My short list of amazing actors is as follows; Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordan; Tom Hardy as Bane; Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake; and Michael Caine as Alfred.  The actors in this list were simply fabulous at portraying their characters in a believable and realistic fashion.  The emotion they put into their roles was well worth watching.

Unlike the last time we saw Bane on the big screen, this character was very much a proper villain.  Plotting, scheming, and even outsmarting Batman along the way.  This film really does the character of Bane justice on the big screen.

The costumes of course were amazing.  I was perhaps most impressed with that of Selina Kyle's cat burglar costume.  You can tell that much thought was put into its creation.  Sexy but functional, it was never too revealing but every part seemed to serve a purpose, right down to her heels that she was wearing.  She had goggles on that when flipped back on top of her head looked very much like cat ears.  I found this to be a very clever trick of the costume.  Considering this trilogy has seemed to completely rethink things like the Batman costume and vehicles this only seems fitting for Catwoman.

This film has seemed to really expand on the events of the last two movies in a truly unexpected way.  This really neatly tied up the story arc while simultaneously leaving things open for the imagination to wander in new directions.  Christopher Nolan is a true master of his art, having co-authored the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, produced, and directed this film.

I rate this film five out of five smiley Mike heads.  If you are at all interested in superhero movies, or if you simply like a good action movie, then this one is for you.