Today's a 2-fer. "GI Joe" and "Adventureland"

Today's 2-fer is brought to you by laziness. I simply don't want to write two separate blogs for these movies. Feel blessed you have a picture for each.

Adventureland:

I was rather indifferent going into this one to start. I figured it was going to be a cutesy coming-of-age story with predictable indie-humor and a similarly predictable indie-soundtrack.

Wrong.

To start, the movie was set in 1987. For no apparent reason other than to recycle some old mainstream 80's hits. And give some characters really bad hair. Other characters definitely did not have 80's hair. With the 80's style in full come-back mode, I felt like it could have been set in summer 2010 with some poorly placed feathered hair.

I had the hardest time caring about the plot. It was about a college graduate who had to take a crappy summer job at "Adventureland" because his parent's were unable to afford sending him to grad school in New York City because of a career set-back. You think that's a sob story, James Brennan (played by Jesse Eisenberg)? I call it life.

Like Superbad the character arc is about a dorky guy on a reluctant quest to lose his virginity. (Yes, this seems to be what the coming-of-age story has turned into for the 21st century.) Unlike Superbad, however, the main character made me want to jump through the screen and cause him bodily harm. He was in-genuine, flat, and far too unsure of himself to be likable.

Though it was less crass than I'd originally expected, it was also more boring than advertised. I would really compare it to a crappy job. It's not worth the time you'll spend on it.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

If you're expecting big budget special effects and marginal acting, you won't be surprised. If you're expecting no character development and a weak plot, you may feel differently as you walk out of the movie.

I'm a sucker, a SHAMELESS sucker for character flash-backs. So give me Sienna Miller with changing hair color between the past and the present, some unexpected family drama and you have a sincerely entertained Renee on your hands.

There were several slick little inventions, and I always enjoy advanced weapons technology. My favorite was Scarlet's memory/homing device/bow and arrow thing. That or the invisibility suit that projects pictures of everything behind the wearer as to make them blend into their background. It's a tie between them.

I'm not vouching for the quality of acting, which across the board was pretty mediocre. There was one moment in particular where I was amazed at the non-expression on Channing Tatum's face. I think there may have been Botox involved in the shooting of that scene. I'd like to watch the dailies to see if it was actually his best take. Wow, that's a sad idea. You'll know the scene when you see it.

Two words about the movie: Pungently cheesy. But it was actually interesting, fun and engaging.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review

Several of my closest friends and family members have asked me what I thought about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie two days after it opened. They assumed that I’d already seen it. I was slightly taken aback. Hello, I have a job, I have a life, there’s the possibility that I haven’t had time to go see it yet. Of course, these are my closest family and friends, so they all know I had already seen it.

On the surface, it was, by far, the best adaptation of any of the books. (I say that purposely leaving out movies one and two because the books were childish and simplistic, and a movie adaptation posed little challenge.) I enjoyed the scope of the movie. It boldly took on teenage angst, good versus evil, the ties of friendship and the theme of life and death. None of these topics were overworked by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the book’s overall theme of life and death, was only alluded to.

Like the book, the movie’s tone was dark punctuated with several bright spots. The best part for me was Lavender Brown. I know she’s not supposed to be a character that you love, but Jessie Cave, though slightly over-done was perfect for the role. She flounced her blonde curls perfectly, and though she stared rather sappily at Ron (Rupert Grint) I bought it, hook, line and sinker.

Daniel Radcliff (The scarred wonder himself) was also surprising. Though the liquid luck potion, Felix Felices, didn’t make Harry act almost drunk in the book, it was a good interpretation of the character growth. In this story he was far more confident and far less whiney than other years. It was a pleasure to watch the actor and the character come into a new level of maturity.

I had a hard time with Ginny in the movie. The director tried to build the teenage sexual tension between her and Harry, but it felt in-genuine, forced and a little odd. Two scenes in particular struck me as ideas that were mistakenly put into the movie from the trash can filled with writer’s discarded ideas. Once where she tried to seductively feed him a Christmas tart, and once where she noticed his shoe laces were untied and did the honors herself. This frustrated me because I felt like it was poor writing and completely unrealistic. Stick them in a broom closet together becuase they have to hide from Filch, put them in a room entirely filled with other kissing couples, or have Harry and Ron bust in on Ginny kissing her boyfriend (like the book.) Things like that can build sexual tension without being just plain weird.

The ending was a pretty large deviation for the book. I personally didn’t feel like it did the characters justice. Specifically Dumbledore. (SPOILERS AHEAD…though if you haven’t read the book by now, you almost deserve to be spoiled) The scene where Harry is keeping his promise to Dumbledore by forcing him to drink the potion to get to the locket in the cave was severely disappointing. When I read the scene for the first time, I hardly breathed. The movie didn’t show the depth to Dumbledore that the scene should require. Harry didn’t have to lie in order to keep the promise to force his headmaster to finish every last drop. I felt as though that was a distinct coming-of-age scene for Harry where he dug deep and was able to find strength that hadn’t been tapped before. Also, Dumbledore wasn’t begging Harry to stop, he wasn’t fearful, emotional or broken in the movie. I was equally unmoved. And I was a bit cranky about that because I’d worn waterproof mascara.

Honestly, the most negative things about the movie to me were the moments I found myself saying, “that’s not what happened in the book! Harry was under the Invisibility Cloak, not hiding around a stupid corner.” At which point my husband looked at me as though I had grown a third arm. I realized in that moment, for the enjoyment of the two upcoming movies, I should not touch, look at or think about the seventh book.

I would highly recommend the movie. Just keep the book on the shelf until after.

Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen

Truthfully, the first Transformers movie wasn’t too bad. And I’m surprised to say that I can say that same about the second. It had everything you could want from a sequel, call-backs to the first movie, the return of minor characters and the perfect amount of relational angst to make me not want to hurl my shoes at Megan Fox because they’re the heaviest thing I have on my person.

I’m a sucker for good characters and the character development was solid. Sam and Michaela struggled with saying the “L” word and it was bearably believable. His parents even as minor characters had arcs in struggling to let go and allow their only son become a man. For me though, it’s always about Bumble Bee. He has no arc whatsoever, but I would watch an entire movie about him alone. He was the faithful and puppy-like warrior that protected Sam at all costs. Even and especially from the girl that was trying to seduce him at a frat party. Cheater-McCheater-pants…umm skirt, got sprayed down with anti-freeze to a soundtrack of “She’s a Super Freak”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and the Jaws theme. I giggled heartily.

The place where I thought the movie was weakest was the comedic relief. They introduced two new Auto-bots. Twins. They served no other purpose to the plot than weak “comic” relief. They had horrifyingly degrading accents to black people, and all they did was bicker and hit each other. I thought of Tuck and Roll from “a bug’s life” anytime they were on the screen. Also, Sam’s roommate in college was also pretty worthless. He swaggered around the college campus with bravado, but when things got scary, he screamed, panicked, prayed and cried like a baby. Nothing special, nothing terrifically unexpected for the side-kick. I understand that there wasn’t a specific comedic character in the first movie, so a move like this is logical. I just think the comedy could have been laid on with a lighter touch.

The other thing that could have been done with a bit more subtlety was the animation of the alien robots themselves. I have the same qualm with the first movie. Looking at the original toys, there are a lot of straight lines and they almost look like they’re wearing plate armor. In the movie they literally look like they have been formed out of thousands of pieces of scrap metal. When the Auto-bots are in their car/truck/vehicle state, they are shiny and sleek, but when they transform, all semblance of sleek disappears. The battle scenes are visually confusing because of this. When there’s a battle going on, I like to know who I’m rooting for, but the Auto-bots and the Decepticons are almost indiscernible because they all look like giant trash heaps. There was some good use of slow-mo which helped at a few pivotal points. But I shouldn't have to see a scene in slow-mo to see what’s going on.

Also, I was slightly distracted by Optomus Prime's voice. I understand it's the same actor as the original cartoon, but it felt so over-the-top. I am fine with using the same actor, I would have just told him to take off about 50 pounds and it would have been perfect.

My favorite part about the movie though was the respect with which they showed the military. Usually in movies, the military is two or three steps behind the main characters. In this movie, as with the first, the military is resourceful, equipped, powerful and right on time. It made me proud to be an American. I like movies that make me proud to be an American.
To top it all off, the plot was interesting. I actually like it more than the first Transformers movie. I would recommend it. Highly.

Reflections on Year One

I’m finicky about my comedies. I’ll be the first person to tell you it's probably a bit rediculous. Most of the time I feel as though it’s a bunch of ridiculous caricatures of people running around in preposterous situations and trying way too hard to get me to laugh. I admit, more often than not, dry subtlety will have me rolling in stitches long before an overly-physical gimmick.

When I saw the preview for Year One I caught myself giggling with gusto. I promptly elbowed my husband and told him we would need to see it. My excitement for Michael Cera’s deadpan delivery overshadowed my hesitation of seeing a Jack Black movie (which usually I won’t touch with a 39 ½ foot pole.) Over the next weeks after that, each preview I saw only got funnier.

Some of my coworkers went to see the movie opening weekend. Apparently they made it about 30 minutes and walked out on moral pretenses. For you to fully understand what I am about to say would take too long to explain, so I will leave it at this: Their moral offense made me want to see the movie all the more. I was so excited, a comedy that I actually wanted to see!

When we finally got settled in at the theatre with popcorn and Dr. Pepper in hand, my expectations were this: Jack Black would be ridiculous, over-done and irritating as usual and Michael Cera would have me snorting with laughter. I would have been 100% happy with that.
Unfortunately, there was an unforeseen annoyance to bring my feelings down to a shaky 65%… David Cross as Cain. As in Cain and Able. First, let’s talk about Able. If you’re going to cast Paul Rudd in a movie, why in the world would you kill him off after thirty seconds of screen-time. He always brings the perfect amount of believability and talent to his roles, a tip that David Cross could have done well to have applied. Second, I was actually offended by the stupidity of the infamous brother-ocide scene. After smashing Able’s head in with a rock (sounding rather gruesome with some decent work by the foley department) he turns to the Heavens, shouting “What have I done?” Able sits up, clearly, not dead. Again, Cain hits his brother, and again, is overwhelmed by the severity of his crime. This happens four times.

And that’s where they lost my respect. I’m fine with funny, I’m fine with gimmicks, I am not fine, however, with the writers/producers/directors treating me like I, myself am a cave person. I appreciate smart humor.

Like Lillith. Cain’s father (who biblically is Adam, but with no reference to it in the movie) offers for Jack Black to share his daughter Lillith’s bed. Of course, Jack Black’s character tries to seduce her, until she stops him by telling him that she is a lesbian. Lillith the lesbian. That’s smart humor.

More than anything, though, I was disappointed by the overall character development. I understand that’s not the reason people line up to watch a Jack Black movie, but it wouldn’t have taken too much. As Oh (Michael Cera) and Zed (Jack Black) are beginning their journey, Zed makes a comment about how Oh is the smartest guy in the tribe, because he invented using a gourd as a water bottle. Then there was no other reference to his brains or his creativity ever again. There were a few points in the movie that I was hoping he could whip up some invention and get them out of a sticky situation. Alas, nothing.

The second thought that comes to mind is when the plot really takes a refreshing breath, and Zed prays for help. It showed vulnerability and made me believe that he might have truly had a heart as a character. However, though his prayer is exactly answered, he does not pray again, or make reference to his prayer. It would have simply brought a fulfillment and a good emotional pay off.

It just felt as though there were several balls tossed into the air and most were dropped.
I’m not touching the fact that their timeline smooshed characters together that we spread out by hundreds of years in the bible. I’m willing to follow them pretty far, and not only suspend my disbelief, but also suspend everything I’ve learned since Sunday school. I just wish there would have been a bit more to it.

Verdict:Funny, fluffy, slightly profane, mediocre. And that’s how your brain will feel when you’re done watching the movie.