Title: Blades of GloryStarring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer
Directed By: Will Speck, Josh Gordon
Produced By: Marty Ewing, Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld
Genre: Comedy and Sports
Release Date: March 30th, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image, and some drug references
Distributors: Paramount Pictures
When rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) go ballistic in an embarrassing, no-holds-barred fight at the World Championships, they are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years on, they’ve found a loophole that will allow them to compete: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together – in pairs’ figure skating.
Will Ferrell movies aren't for everyone, including me. I am finding hard to write this review because I didn't care about it. Then again, I don't usually care for Will Ferrell in the first place. I do like him in ensemble casts like Old School and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and last years Stranger Than Fiction was one I enjoyed immensely. But the majority of his starring roles I can do without. Anyways, I just didn't care about the characters. There wasn't anything to like about them. Ferrell was his usual oblivious moron, with an added addiction: sex. Which he never gets from what I saw I might add. Heder I can't stand, I wish he would just go away. I'll give him some credit for Napoleon Dynamite, but I thought that was slightly overrated. Heder just keeps proving that he has no talent. For a comedy to work it either has to be a parody, satire or just have heart. This had none of those. It's hard to care for two complete idiots. I mean, you felt for Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber right? I got a few chuckles here and there but most were either ice skating jokes that went over my head or just plain weren't funny to me. Although it was kind of interesting to see wirework and CGI applied to the skating ring, but beyond that there wasn't much that appealed to me.
Besides Ferrell and Heder we get Jenna Fischer of The Office. She plays Heder's love interest who is supposed to be spying on them for her seemingly inbred siblings the Van Waldenbergs (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler). I can understand why she would do a film like this. With the popularity of The Office she is trying to get her name out there and I really can't blame her. She is the perfect sweetheart. But Craig T. Nelson, WTF were you thinking? Did you really need a paycheck that badly? I mean I know it's been a while, but come on! Have a little dignity. Romany Malco from The 40 Year Old Virgin makes an appereance as the dance instructor that choreographs Ferrell and Heder's routine and who should have gotten more screen time. Nick Swarsden and William Fichtner head up the rest of the first billed cast in what amounts to be stretched out cameos.And here is the kicker, I even made sure to hit the bar and get a decent buzz going before I saw this, and it still wasn't funny! So I apologize for any vagueness to this review. I am sure that this one will do pretty well at the box office and encourage Ferrell and Heder to do more crappy comedies. It's movies like this that will lead us towards a society as portrayed in Idiocracy. I can even admit that I enjoyed Idiocracy more than Blades Of Glory. And I thought Idiocracy sucked.
My final thought is of the final shot. Just ridiculous. They fly off into the sunset, literally. Jets fire out of their boots and the roof opens and they fly away. Seriously. Until Heder does Napoleon and Juliet,
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Mitch E
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
Title: Meet The Robinsons
Meet The Robinsons is the way an animated kids movie should be done. With the onslaught of CGI films in the past few years, the market has been saturated with mediocre films designed just to make a buck. Meet The Robinsons hearkens back to a day when kids movies were fun for both children and adults without having to use jokes designed to go over children's heads. Dare I say that this may be the best computer animated film since Toy Story, or at least Shrek. I really can't sing enough praise for this movie. The story is a wonderful tale of not letting failure stop you from trying. The main motto is “Keep moving forward” and that is a great lesson for our children to learn. The animation is top notch, there are reflections from glass that look like the animators inserted actual glass domes in the scenes. Textures of clothes pop without seeming repetitive. I want to mention one character design, Bowler Hat Guy. Now, I don't usually get creeped out by an animated character but there was just something about him that got to me, in a good creepy way of course.
I saw this in Disney 3-D and I must retract my statement made in my A Nightmare Before Christmas review stating that Disney's 3D didn't compare with the IMAX 3D. Well, that was a film that was converted to 3D and Meet The Robinson's was made for 3D. There is a big difference between the two and Disney 3D is just as good as IMAX. Before the film started, Carl, a robot from the film comes onto the screen to tell you to put your glasses on. He then extends his arms and various body parts out into the audience. I flinched and jerked back. No kidding. It was that good. While this extreme use of 3D isn't used in the feature, it sure impressed me.
Some final thoughts. With some twists that even got by me, Meet The Robinsons is a very refreshing children's film that gets almost everything right. I highly recommend this, and for those of you who are my Constant Readers, you know how much I don't like seeing a kids movie in a theater full of children but this was well worth it. Just the dinner scene alone is worth having your seat kicked for an hour and a half. Oh yea, you know that line that the T-Rex gives that everyone quotes? Well, there is more to it that makes it even funnier.
In Columbia Pictures' new drama Reign Over Me, former college roommates Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) and Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) meet up again by chance on a Manhattan street corner. Five years after losing his family on 9/11, Charlie – once a successful dentist – has retreated from his life, and Alan is stunned to see the changes in his formerly gregarious friend. At the same time, Alan – who should be enjoying his beautiful wife, children and career – is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Their rekindled relationship becomes a lifeline for the two men, who are both in need of a trusted friend at this pivotal moment in their lives. Reign Over Me was written and directed by Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger).
I won't sing too many praises about Sandler because I know that A – Every other reviewer will and B – I happen to like Don Cheadles performance a just little bit more than Sandler's. I know that some will disagree, but Cheadle is the one who has to deal with Charlie and bear the brunt of the two-sidedness of their friendship while also trying to deal with a woman who wants to be more than a patient, a strained relationship with his own wife and the death of his father. If it was me, I would snap like a twig under the foot of an elephant. Not to push Sandler aside because there a couple of strong emotional scenes including a court scene where an asshole lawyer (BJ Novak of The Office) puts a picture of Charlie's family right in front of him and causes a psychotic episode that is heartbreaking, but there are just too many cast members to go into detail about. Here are a few examples. Liv Tyler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Donald Sutherland, Robert Klein, Saffron Burrows, BJ Novak, Melinda Dillon (A Christmas Story and Close Encounters), John de Lancie and Ted Raimi. See what I mean?
As I stated at the beginning, you should see this so you too can help spread the word about a different side of Adam Sandler. One that may have a little golden statue in his future. Not to mention the fact that it is just a damn good movie in it's own right.
After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Master Splinter, becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Tech-industrialist Max Winters is amassing an army of ancient monsters to apparently take over the world. And only one super-ninja fighting team can stop them-those heroes in a half shell-Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael! With the help of old allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones, the Turtles are in for the fight of their lives as they once again must face the mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills behind Winters' endeavors. -Yahoo Movies
Those wisecracking, pizza loving, trouble finding turtles are back. This time with a makeover that makes them a little darker, leaner, meaner and greener. OK, maybe not greener but I had to throw that in. Animation technology keeps growing in leaps and bounds and I have a feeling that it won't be long before we won't be able to tell the difference between CG and live action. So obviously I liked that part. Especially the rooftop fight in the rain. The reflected light playing off of their skin is just gorgeous. And the attention to detail is phenomenal. The character design was really good too, everybody was recognizable and everyone got the lean mean makeover as well. For the Turtles, I found it interesting to note that all of their under shells had some variation to them. Not like the cartoon where you could only tell them apart by their mask colors and weapons. The Nightwatcher – his armor design just plain bad ass. I hate to sound like a weirdo but I found April, (Sarah Michelle Gellar) when in her ninja suit, and the new leader of the Foot, Karai (Ziyi Zhang) to be kind of sexy. The other villains looked just as cool except for Max Winters (Patrick Stewart), where they went with the super big chest that looks a little ridiculous.
Casting – What can you really say about voice acting except that when it works, you buy it without question. Sarah Michell Gellar, Chris Evans (Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four) and the Turtles are a good example. But, when it doesn't work it sticks out like a sore thumb. Case in point, Master Splinter. Now I don't want to speak ill of the deceased but Mako just wasn't right. Every incarnation of TMNT has always had a raspy voiced Splinter and while the character and his actions were the same, the voice just didn't work for me. And that my friends, brings me to my major issue: Patrick Stewart as Max Winters. Not only is the character design a bit over the top, but with Stewart's extremely singular voice I just couldn't get the picture of Picard/Xavier out of my head. That may just be me though.
For Turtle and animation fans, go see this at the theater. For non-fans or casual fans, this is a good jumping on point as well as a way to get a taste of what the TMNT are all about without having to watch the dreadful cartoon series.
Two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys from the future. The toys affect the kids intelligence levels, making them geniuses. Soon the kids, their parents, and even their teacher are drawn into a strange and sometimes terrifying world. Can they beat the clock and save the future?
First and foremost it's the children. Newcomers Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn play Noah and Emma Wilder with all the little touches that make you believe that they are brother and sister. Sure, there is the standard cuteness that seems to be a necessity in today's films but these two kids can pull the roles off without seeming like just two pretty faces. Second is the effects. While there are situations that call for some heavy duty effects, none seem over the top. I think part of that is that The Last Mimzy doesn't have any CG characters. Everything that is CG is a light show or something that effects objects. Third is Rainn Wilson, who plays the kids science teacher, Mr. White. With a slight hippieish, spiritual feel he brings some pretty funny humor into the mix. Again, without being over the top. Well, maybe his wardrobe is a little, with wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt to class (which had to be part of a deal between the studio and Roger Waters, who provides a song for the soundtrack). 
The parents, David and Jo Wilder, played by Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson, seemed to me to be little more than your stereotypical parents. Not in a bad way, dad works a little too much while mom stays home with the kids. I guess it would be better to call them the stereotypical standard family of today. The only other cast member I want to mention is Michael Clarke Duncan, who is one of the problems I mentioned earlier. He seems miscast as the Government Agent that has to deal with one of the effects of the toys. When we first see him, he is at home just after getting “the call”. He is forgetful and wouldn't be able to find his own ass if it wasn't for his wife. Then he is Mr. Government Official, all on top of things and slightly menacing. Then the major issue. After the climax of the film he just gets in his helicopter and flies away. You know if this was real life, those kids would be poked, prodded and tested for the next ten years!
So I won't hold the whole Peter Jackson and The Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings fiasco against Robert Shaye this time and give The Last Mimzy my recommendation for families everywhere. Just be prepared for a movie that may not be as memorable as E.T (which this movie reminds me of) it still shows that sometimes kids know more than we adults give them credit for. Even if they get help from a stuffed bunny.
Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), a former Marine Corps sniper who leaves the military after a mission goes bad. After he is reluctantly pressed back into service, Swagger is double-crossed again. With two bullets in him and the subject of a nationwide manhunt, Swagger begins his revenge, which will take down the most powerful people in the country. -Yahoo! Movies
The real stand out to me was Michael Pena who plays FBI Agent Nick Memphis. He is first introduced as the inept agent who lets Swagger get away. Up for a review in which he will most likely lose his job, he decides to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of a situation that just doesn't seem to add up. He ends up helping Swagger deal out his version of justice and provides a lot of the humor. Which you know every action film has to have a healthy dose of. Wahlberg is Wahlberg, he has a certain gruff appeal and that's that. Danny Glover and Ned Beatty try to be the bad guys but I will forever see them as Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon and Otis from Superman respectively. Kate Mara plays Sarah Fenn the ex-wife of Swaggers Army buddy that gets killed in the beginning of the movie. Who also just happens to be the only person he can turn to for help after getting shot. The one real surprise is that usually in a film like this Fenn would be a love interest for Swagger, and while this doesn't happen you can tell that it actually did and was edited out, quite badly I might add.
I said earlier that I liked this movie and I think I still do. I should probably try and back that statement with some proof huh? Well, the effects were great, exploding helicopters, numerous head shots, napalm bombs, self surgery and even a dismemberment. Cast wise, Elias Koteas, who I remember as Casey Jones in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is great as a sadistic henchman of Danny Glover. One of the best scenes for me is when Swagger and Memphis go see a shooting expert in the mountains of Tennessee. The old man that they see is just absolutely hilarious and almost worth the price of admission alone. And what man can resist Kate Mara in a bra wielding a shotgun?
Even though my arguments seem to cancel each other out I would still recommend this to action junkies; at least for a matinée showing. I plan on renting it on DVD if that's any indication.
