April 2010

The Losers

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Losers
  • IMDb: link

the-losers-poster

So far 2010 is turning out to be a good year for those who like action flicks, especially those based on comic books. First Kick-Ass gave us the bloodiest super-hero movie ever, and now the The Losers show up to give us a classic tale of wronged would-be-do-goers out for revenge.

Based on the Vertigo comic, the film begins with a mission gone wrong. The CIA Special Forces Team known as “The Losers” are betrayed by a their mysterious unseen handler (Jason Patric) and left for dead in the jungles of Bolivia. Months later the team is approached by yet another mysterious figure (are you sensing a pattern here?), a woman (Zoe Saldana) willing to offer them a chance to get their revenge.

The team includes Commander Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the hard-as-nails Roque (Idris Elba), the sharpshooter Cougar (Oscar Jaenada), the pilot Pooch (Columbus Short), and nerdy tech Jensen (Chris Evans – who manages to steal every scene of the movie, except perhpas those in which Saldana takes off her clothes).

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Chill of the Night

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Chill of the Night
  • tv.com: link

If you’ve read your share of Batman comics you know the name Joe Chill, the man who forever changed the life of young Bruce Wayne one dark night in Crime Alley. With two bullets a simple thug changed the life of one small boy, and created Batman.

For the more lighthearted Batman: The Brave and the Bold the story of Batman confronting Chill might seem and odd pairing, but it works. In “Chill of the Night” the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger place a wager (who knew they both had a gambling problem?) on how the Dark Knight will respond to coming face-to-face with the murderer of his parents. The result gives us a fresh take on the classic “The Origin of Batman” Silver Age tale.

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Kick-Ass

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Kick-Ass
  • IMDB: link

“How come nobody’s ever tried to become a super-hero?”

From one idle comment thrown out to his two friends (Clark Duke, Evan Peters) at the local comic shop begins a dream that will quickly turn into a nightmare. Into every life a little ass kicking must fall. There are those who kick the ass, and others who get theirs kicked. Based on the comic series by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. Marvel Comics’ latest adaptation takes us into the world of an unremarkable teen with a remarkable idea.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides the world could use a super-hero, and why not him? Ordering a scuba suit and a pair of billy clubs online, our new hero (under the moniker “Kick-Ass”) quickly proceeds to get his ass handed to him in all manner of ways. His attempt to stop a pair of thugs from boosting a car doesn’t exactly go as planned. The outcome leaves our hero stabbed, beaten, hit by a moving car, and naked in the back of an ambulance. Ouch!

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Meet The Joneses

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Joneses
  • IMDB: link

The Joneses are not your typical American family. Written and directed by Derrick Borte the film of suburban wealth is a social commentary on consumerism, family, greed, social prestige, and the acquisition of over-priced crap you don’t really need.

The film opens with the Jones’ move into a plush new neighborhood. The family includes Steve (David Duchovny), his wife Kate (Demi Moore), and two children Jenn (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth)The Joneses seem to have it all, except for one thing – they aren’t a real family.

Each of the four family members is actually a salesman hired by a private consortium to move into wealthy neighborhoods and attempt to show off various toys, gadgets, car, and even frozen appetizers, in an attempt to subtly entice their new neighbors to spend money on similar items. As sales practices go it’s pretty devious, and almost as lucrative.

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Greenberg isn’t As Good as It Gets

/ / Uncategorized
  • Title: Greenberg
  • IMDB: link

Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is a prick. Everything central to the character, and to the movie, is contained in that sentence. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Margot at the Wedding, The Squid and the Whale), based on a story by Jennifer Jason Leigh (who has a small, and completely forgettable, role in the film), Greenberg is yet another attempt to center a movie around an unlikeable character. Joy.

After being recently released from a mental institution (for an undisclosed mental breakdown which involved the loss of his ability to walk) New Yorker Roger Greengberg travels to Los Angeles to house sit for his brother Phillip (Chris Messina), who has taken his family on six-week vacation to Vietnam.

The fragile Roger is immediately, and awkwardly, attracted to his brother’s assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig) who, in some ways, seems even more fragile and damaged than Greenberg himself. You may be able to guess where this is headed.

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