Movie Reviews – May 2008

Here is what we saw:

Here are my reviews:

Underdog

Wally Cox, who was the voice of Underdog in the old cartoon series, was always someone I liked, even back to Mr. Peepers days. I can’t say that I remember one thing about that show or even Underdog for that matter, but I have a warm and fuzzy feeling about both of them. The interesting part about this movie was it wasn’t a cartoon like the original, but was live-action. Underdog was a beagle who was trapped in Simon Bar Sinister’s illegal, biological testing program. Simon injected him with some concoction and the dog developed superpowers he didn’t know that he had. He escaped and was adopted by a boy who just happened to be the son of the good lab assistant. It looked like he was going to be able to lead a normal life finally. At first he was fairly inept at using his superpowers, but as time went on he got better and better. Simon and his evil assistant tried to get Underdog back time and again but failed. Eventually they suckered him into a trap and took the superpowers away. Simon then injected himself with superpowers of his own and also gave the serum to three big mean dogs. The boy saved the day by restoring underdog’s powers and they were set for the final showdown. Underdog wins of course and gets Sweet Polly Purebred, the main squeeze of the movie. This movie was not a serious piece of work but it was fun to watch. I liked it.

Netflix – 3 stars

In the Valley of Elah

A soldier, home from Iraq, dies under it mysterious circumstances and his father, a retired military investigator, sets out to find out what happened. The police are investigating but when they discover that the body is actually on military land the Army takes over. The father discovers that the murder actually occurred on the shoulder of the road that runs by a military base and convinces the local police that they have to take the case back. Especially since the Army does not seem particularly interested in following up. The soldier has been stabbed, dismembered, and burnt. He is only just barely identifiable, presumably by DNA evidence. The way the investigation proceeds is the main action in this movie. In the end, the crime turns out to be fairly senseless, sort of like most murders I guess. The reference to the Valley of Elah has practically nothing to do with this movie. It is a reference to the place where David and Goliath did battle and applies to some problems the son of the police detective is having. The ending is sad but all in all, this is a pretty good movie
Netflix – 3 stars

Babel

This movie consists of four storylines that are more or less interconnected. The first tale is about a poor Moroccan tribesmen who buys a rifle from his friend so his sons can shoot the coyotes that are attacking his sheep. The second story is about a man and his wife who are on a sightseeing tour in Morocco. The third is about the couple’s nanny back home in San Diego who is taking care of the couple’s two children. And the fourth story is about the deaf-mute daughter of a Japanese businessman who had been on Safari in Morocco once and who gave his rifle to his Moroccan guide. The sons of the Moroccan tribesman who bought the rifle from the guide are testing it out while they are tending goats and aim at a tour bus that’s driving down the highway. The bullet hits the wife, one of the vacationing American tourists, putting her life in mortal danger and delaying the couple’ s departure. They tell the nanny she has to stay with the kids. She doesn’t want to miss her son’s wedding so she decides to take the kids with her to Mexico. Over in Japan the daughter of the businessman is having coming of age problems, compounded by being a deaf-mute. She starts to exhibit some self destructive behavior in order to get attention from normal “hearing” people. All four storylines are intertwined and are developed a little at a time, and as you can probably guess, each is fraught with peril. I found the movie dissatisfying but I do have to say it was well done. I give this one a low three.

Netflix – 3 stars

In the Name of the King

This movie is a fantasy adventure based on the video game Dungeon Siege. Farmer, a man who lives in a small village but who can somehow fight with the best of them is called to action when his town is attacked by the evil and brutish Krug. In the process his son is killed and his wife is kidnapped. He sets out to rescue her and along the way he more or less joins forces with the King’ s men. The evil sorcerer is in cahoots with the Kings nephew. They make off with two of the Kings legions and are determined to overthrow the King and put themselves in power. When the legions find out what’s going on they declare that they are loyal to the King, they desert the evil nephew, and start doing battle against the Krug. There is lots of daring-do and swordplay here with a climactic final battle and the desperate mission by our hero and his pals into the heart of the wicked sorcerer’s lair. Farmer turns out to be the king’s long-lost son. He rescues his wife. And by the end becomes the King after winning the battle where the old king is mortally wounded. Despite the fact that there are many big stars in this movie, this film is a real clunker.

Netflix – 2 stars

The Last Mimzy

A family goes to their beach house for a little vacation and while there, the children discover an intricate box on the beach. They bring it home and when it opens the boy discovers a crystalline object that has shifting triangular patterns in it. Later, it opens for the girl and she finds a stuffed rabbit that can talk to her. It tells her it’s name is Mimzy. Each of the children starts to develop amazing abilities. The boy becomes an engineering genius. The girl can levitate objects. And they both can communicate with each other by telepathy. These abilities are toward some purpose, but as things develop you are not sure whether these are benevolent or harmful. As they noticed the changes in the kids, their parents and teacher become more and more concerned. When the boy inadvertently causes a power outage the Department of Homeland Security eventually traces the problem to the kids’ house. They are not amused. The family is held in isolation but using their newfound skills, the kids escape and head for the beach house where some of the objects from the box are still around. They discover they have to send Mimzy back to where she came from. And everyone is desperately trying to stop her because they are scared of what will happen. Of course, only good can come of it. I’ll leave you to watch the movie to find out what it’s all about.

Rachel DVD – 3 stars

Erik the Viking

Erik the Viking is a Monty Python movie made in 1989. Erik is tired of living in the age of Ragnarok and longs for the sun. He sets out across the western sea to find the horn of resounding. On it he can blow three notes; the first to take him to Valhalla, the second to awaken the gods, and the third to bring him home again. He does all these things but the plot really doesn’t exist to tell a story, it’s merely there to provide a framework to hang all the Monty Python type jokes on. There are some pretty funny lines and site gags, unfortunately not quite enough.

Netflix – 2 stars

Ironman

Tony Stark is a brilliant inventor and the heir to a weapons industry empire. While demonstrating his latest invention, a deadly missile, he is taken captive by Afghani rebels and forced to re-create that weapon for them. Locked in a cave with a doctor who is also being held captive, instead of making the missile, he fashions a suit of iron from leftover parts, wrecks havoc, and escapes. The doctor has taught him a valuable lesson about wasting his life and on his return to civilization, he re-creates the suit that saved his life, but with access to all his technology, improves upon it. Once clad in this high-tech outfit he starts saving the day. For the exciting conclusion he is betrayed and challenged by his once close friend. This movie is so darned fun you can hardly stand it. I thought Karen would think it was so-so, but she liked it as much as me.

Theater – 4 stars

Inside Man

A semi-disgraced detective is put in charge of a hostage negotiation team. A gang of robbers has taken over a bank and is holding about 50 hostages. They make a lot of demands but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. As the movie progresses we realize that they have a different agenda than robbing the bank. Another “negotiator” appears and she too has an agenda of her own. When all is said and done the hostages walk out of the bank and the robbers seem to disappear into thin air. How they accomplished whatever it is that they did accomplish is a clever twist at the end of the movie.

Netflix – 3 stars

Deja Vu

An ATF agent is called in to help the investigation of a senseless bombing of a ferry full of sailors that are on leave. Invited to join an exclusive team that is part of the investigation he soon discovers that they possess a technology beyond anything he had imagined. If you can suspend your disbelief about the preposterous plot, the midstream plot redefinition, and the ending, you will have a good time here. Let’s just say this movie deals with the manipulation of time, and the inevitable attempt to travel therein. One of the funnest factoids about this movie is that James Caviezel who plays the villain also played the son in “Frequency” from 2000. Both of these involve playing with time.

Netflix – 3 stars

Lord of War

A struggling Russian immigrant in the Little Odessa District of New York decides that he wants a life as an international arms dealer. He tries to get a job with an established merchant but is told he is nothing but an amateur. He decides to go into business for himself and has a certain amount of luck. Over the years he becomes one of the world’s top contenders. Interpol is after him and he has a don’t ask/don’t tell relationship with his wife about what he does for a living. Eventually she suspects what he’s doing and things start to break down. It’s not like this is a bad movie. There are moments of humor but it’s not a comedy. Mostly it just drags and is dreary. Just when you think there is going to be a moral, he keeps on keeping on.

Netflix – 2 stars

Transformers

A father buys his son a ramshackle old Camaro which turns out to be a Transformer. The Transformers, it would seem, are on earth to recover the cube or spark of life or something like that. And of course there are two sorts, good and evil. The Camaro whose name is Bumblebee is one of the good ones as it is Optimus Prime, their leader. On the other side we have the evil Megatron. They have various high-tech battles throughout the movie and eventually they find the cube which plays a major part in the final showdown. I can’t say I really expected too much from this movie being based on a bunch of kids’ toys. And it was probably better than I expected. But unlike the kids toys where you can recognize the parts of the car or truck or boat or what ever, the Transformers in this movie transformed completely. The only thing recognizable about the shape they changed from was the color scheme. It was very hard to make sense of the transformation and the movie makers saw to it that the action was so fast you couldn’t get a good look at anything. That was really frustrating.

Netflix – 2 stars

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This is the latest adventure in the Indiana Jones saga. He’s back after a 20 year absence and does look 20 years older, but he is still buff and ready to go. The movie starts with him being hounded by FBI agents and he runs into a boy who tells Jones his mother is in trouble and has sent for Jones to save the day. But before he can go, he is kidnapped by Russian agents and taken to Area 51 to raid a warehouse of who knows what treasures. This one apparently being an alien. Somehow he survives an atomic explosion inside a refrigerator. He makes his way to Peru and then the Amazon taking the boy along with him. They find a mysterious crystal skull. It turns out the skull has been stolen from a ruin and is actually the real skull of an alien. The movie brings together all the signature devices of an Indiana Jones movie, ancient monuments that still function to threaten intruders after thousands of years, treasures, and in this case even aliens from another dimension. All in all, it’s the same old Indiana Jones fun and despite how ridiculous the whole business is, you can’t help but like it.

Netflix – 3 stars