Quick Movie Reviews (July 2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Much improved over the Ang Lee version. Why? Because like every other comic fanboy, I want to see the Hulk smash stuff. That's what he does. I am not interested in a whole bunch of navel gazing over the whys and wherefores of who Banner is and what he's become. What does the Hulk represent? How does he make peace with himself? Blah, blah, blah. . .Please. . .let's go green! The problem with the movie is an inherent problem with the Hulk. At the end of the day, he's a big old green monster who goes around smashing stuff and killing folks -- some innocent (oops -- sorry about that!) and some not so innocent. It's just hard to care.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
You have to like the concept of Hellboy or else you're not going to like this movie. I, for one, do not consider Hellboy to be a superhero, as such. He's a spawn of Satan who has decided to help us deal with paranormal activity here on our plane of existence. Ron Perleman is great as Hellboy. Selma Blair's constant grimace wears thin after a while. And has anyone noticed that Abe Sapien's breathing apparatus doesn't seem to be necessary at some times versus other times? Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") directed this installment and you can see his handiwork all over -- he's a huge fan of creatures and there are more creatures here than a cantina in Mos Eisley. I took both my 14 year old and 10 year old. They liked it. There are scary parts -- especially some nasty flesh-eating creatures.

Wall-E (2008)
Drop what you're doing and see this magnificent piece of filmmaking. The Pixar crew has outdone themselves yet again. There are not enough adjectives to describe how much I love this movie. It is easily one of the best movies I've seen all year. The animation is spectacular. The cinematography is extraordinary (they brought in Roger Deakins as DP so they could shoot the movie as if it were live action). The sound was done by Ben Burtt (he did the sound on all the "Star Wars" movies).

THIN (2006)
This is a documentary that follows the progress of several young ladies who have been admitted to a facility in Florida designed to help girls with anorexia. There is little to no narration so you follow along as the camera guides you and you are free to make your own conclusions. To watch an 85 pound 20+-year-old woman look at herself and say she is fat is just disturbing. At the end of the movies, all I wanted to do was to sit my daughters down and tell them to eat something.

51 Birch Street (2005)
An absolutely fascinating documentary that looks at the family of Doug Block through the camera of Doug Block. A documentary filmmaker by trade, Block supplements his income by filming weddings and other special events. One of these events was the 50th wedding anniversary of his parents. Fairly typical stuff. Then, suddenly, his mother dies. His father goes to Florida, re-establishes a relationship with his former secretary, marries within a few months, sells the family home, and moves to Florida. This is a great and particularly intimate look at family dynamics. If you get the DVD. . .you must watch the video in the Extras that records the family's reaction to the film.

Grizzly Man (2005)
Wow. What a freakin' idiot. Timothy Treadwell, an out of work actor, becomes obsessed with Grizzly Bears and decides to live with them. He does so without incident for 13 years. However his luck runs out on his final trip into the wilderness and he and his companion are attacked and eaten by bears. I can understand where Timothy's heart is but he clearly has some serious mental issues and this documentary really will drive you crazy. On top of having to hear Timothy's weirdness, we are treated to narration by Werner Herzog, who sounds like someone from Saturday Night Live doing an impersonation. By the time you see Timothy actually touch and fawn over a big old pile of bear droppings, you are really wanting the bears to attack.

Into the Wild (2007)
Not my favorite movie by a longshot because the whole idea of a young man just simply getting up and leaving his family with no word about where he is going or what he is doing is simply foreign to me plus I think Chris McCandless could be one of the most selfish people I've ever seen. Now. . .given that. . .this movie is interesting as you watch Chris or Alexander Supertramp (played by Emile Hirsch) encounter good folks along the way and, of course, ends up breaking their hearts. Good performances by Catherine Keener and Vince Vaughn. However, if you don't watch this movie for any other reason then do it to watch Hal Holbrook's performance. You wonder why someone could get an academy award nomination for about 10 minutes of work? You won't wonder any longer when you see Holbrook's performance. He puts on an acting clinic.

Rambo (2008)
Yes, I know. Look. . .it was a doughnut movie. It was quick. No substance. No brainwork required. Sly is 61 years old but he has the arms of Popeye (thanks HGH!!!). John Rambo, the original human weapon, is somewhere in Thailand collecting snakes. Some Christian missionaries (of course) come to him wanting help to get into war-torn Burma. He resists. A young lady bats her eyes and tells him that, yes, people can make a difference. . .and off we go. It's gore, guts, beheadings, burnings, rapings, pillaging, bodies exploding, heads exploding from then on. If you look closely, I actually think they digitally enhanced the blood spray (a la "300"). I am a huge fan of "First Blood." But it's basically been downhill ever since. Rent this movie if you really want to see what happens to bodies when they are ripped apart by a jeep-mounted .50-caliber machine gun.

Alien versus Predator: Requiem (2007)
Oh, my gosh. Think about how many films are turned down or how many great scripts are sitting on shelves while this piece of crap gets greenlighted. Holy Moley! Let's face it. . .the one reason anyone would every rent or go see this movie is to actually see the Predator fight the Alien(s). Well. . .while there is plenty of fighting going on, you can't see any of it because everything is done in the dark. I would like to give the producers the benefit of the doubt and say that the lack of lighting was done on purpose to enhance the scare effect. But, my actual thought is that the budget was so low that they didn't want the audience to see how cruddy the production really was.

In Bruges (2008)
What an interesting movie. One minute you're laughing -- out loud. The next minute you are completely horrified by the spontaneous brutality. The next minute you are feeling despair. The basics are that Colin Farrell plays a novice hitman, who ends up accidentally killing someone he shouldn't have. As a result, his handler, Brendan Gleeson, takes him to Bruges, Belgium. Bruges is a tiny hamlet with extraordinary history but with absolutely nothing to do. But they are shooting a movie that includes a dwarf (played by Jordan Prentice). The next day I was asked if I liked this movie and I had to say that I did but I honestly don't know why. My favorite character is the boss played by Ralph Fiennes. Watching him kiss his kids and telling his wife he'll see her later on Christmas Eve before he heads out to maim and kill was just beyond fascinating for me.