Quick Fire Movie Reviews: July

With the exception of Harry Potter, I can't justify spending movie theater prices for the less than entertaining films Hollywood has released lately.  So this review round is for RENTALS.

Burlesque: Normally, a concoction of Xtina, Cher, Stanley Tucci, stilettos, and peek-a-boo outfits all wrapped in a musical package with an over-the-top glittery bow is a recipe for fantastic.  And let me say, Burlesque has its moments (not really) BUT... I was bored.  It's the same Cinderella story about the same small town girl with the same big talent (hey! this gal can sing-- give her a record deal!) trying to make it in show business-- all of which I knew-- but the lack of Cher and overabundance of Xtina made the film more painful than fun.  See it if you like this sort of thing, but have your fast forwarding finger ready.

Faster: Originally we rented Faster as a "Good Bad Film" rental, aka a movie that takes itself seriously yet is completely ridiculous and cheesy.  Surprisingly... it was actually a serious film with a powerful story about revenge and a great performance by Dwayne Johnson (how far he's come from Smackdown).  If you like a darker, grittier story then check it out.

Dylan Dog: Oh my... what can I say about this movie... don't bother.  It's not horribly offensive, gory, scary, funny, entertaining-- nothing.  Dyaln Dog is simply boring.  It's so dull I can't even make the review interesting.  The jokes fall flat and I'm not sure if that's because of the writing, directing, acting, or everyone was hoping for a quick buck.  Brandon Roth is usually great. I have a feeling the graphic novel about an investigator for the undead "living" among us is far more interesting than the film.  

Limitless: First let me say-- Bradley Cooper is the type of guy who will become more and more delicious as he gets older... and those eyes.  Back to the point, Limitless was a good film and has me intrigued for the book (yes, like most interesting plot-based movies, this too was an adaptation).  It's intense and has you asking: what would you do if you could take a pill that made you limitless?  And I wasn't entirely sure about where the film was going and if it would work out, but the last 30 minutes really brought everything together.  A must rent.

Source Code: If you love Chicago and have a blu-ray player... SEE THIS IN BLU-RAY!  It's beautiful. At first I really liked the film-- I became invested in Jake's character, the story (even though it was incredibly predictable... all the way through the end)-- but then it ended.  The ending went just one step too far and that's when I became confused... like Inception confused.  But with Inception I'll allow it because you know going into the film that there are layers upon layers of realities to be discovered; with Source Code they take the time to explain what's going on throughout the movie... then contradict it at the end.  ARGH!

If you like to think about films after you watch them, avoid this movie-- it will just make you angry.

Sucker Punch: This film is HORRIBLE.  Being from the director of Watchmen (awful) and 300 (good) you can expect great visuals: color themes, unique costumes, and lots and LOTS of slow motion.  While slow motion can be a great visual accent in action scenes, Zack Snyder's overuse of it made the action boring and repetitive-- we fast forwarded after awhile.  And then there's the sad sack of a story: you need a stiff drink after watching this film.  Yikes. Part of the problem could be that Snyder wrote, directed, and produced the film; in other words, he bit off way more than he could chew. Definitely felt sucker punched after watching this movie.

And finally...

The Mechanic: That's right, it's Jason Statham in a typical Jason Statham film!  How can you not love Jason Statham doing what he does best: kicking ass and taking names?  Well... he didn't kick that much ass and took almost no names in this film.  It's more about him training a younger "Jason" to be an assassin-- nothing we haven't seen before.  And then there's the usual random sex scene.  This is definitely not a worthy "Good Bad Film."