Minion!

I love Minion!

Review: Buried

Buried is an impressive little film featuring a strong performance by Ryan Reynolds. Why he isn't getting any recognition for his role is beyond me. Reynolds is always a solid actor, and here he proves he can do more than play the funny and charming guy. I refuse to believe that James Franco in 127 Hours really is any better than Ryan here and James is getting love from the people who give out awards. Not that I have seen 127 Hours, but I'm pulling James into this, because I hear he also has to carry lots of screentime all by himself.

Buried is about a truckdriver named Paul Conroy, played with effective desperation by Ryan, who wakes up trapped in a coffin with a lighter and a cellphone. And that's basically it. That's the story. The film works better if you don't know more.

I, of course, want to talk about some other stuff as well, so consider this your SPOILER ALERT.

The great thing about Buried here, is that the only thing we get to see is Ryan trapped in the coffin. There are no outside shots. We don't see his kidnappers. We don't see how Ryan got into the coffin. It's just Ryan, the coffin, the phone and his lighter. And it works. I felt Ryan's desperation and frustration. There's a sequence somewhere in the film where I felt they were stretching it a bit, with the sudden appearance of a snake. It was a bit much, but other than that, the film kept it small and plausible. /END SPOILERS.

It's not a perfect film, but pretty damn great. A 4/5.

2010 Round Up!

Crap! I'm late posting this list. So I'm making this the first official post of 2011. I've seen a lot of films this year, compared to previous years, yet I still managed to miss the big one: The Social Network. I also haven't seen Black Swan yet, damnit!

Movies I've seen (in chronological order):
Valentine's Day, Alice In Wonderland, Kick-Ass, The Crazies, Hot Tub Time Machine, Shutter Island, Cop Out, Clash of the Titans, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, She's Out of My League, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Centurion, Toy Story 3, Vampires Suck, Tooth Fairy, The Expendables, Grown Ups, Piranha 3D, Iron Man 2, Unthinkable, Predators, Machete, A Nightmare on Elm Street, How to Train Your Dragon, Monsters, Despicable Me, Resident Evil: Afterlife, When In Rome, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, The Other Guys, Inception, The A-Team, Shrek Forever After, Red, The Reef, Skyline, Jonah Hex, The Town, Easy A, Dear John, Buried and Saw 3D.

Movies I wanted to see, but didn't get around to seeing (in alphabetical order):
127 Hours, The Back-Up Plan, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Devil, Eat Pray Love, The Experiment, Frozen, Going the Distance, Gulliver's Travels, The Kids Are All Right, The Killer Inside Me, Killers, Knight and Day, Leap Year, Letters to Juliet, Life as We Know It, The Losers, Love & Other Drugs, Repo Men, The Romantics, Shelter, The Social Network, Somewhere and Tucker and Dale vs Evil.

My Five Favorite Films of the Year (notice how I say favorite and not best):
1) Toy Story 3
Unlike last year, I didn't have a clear favorite this year, but looking back at everything I've seen, I have the most fondness for Toy Story 3. It's not a perfect film, but I did enjoy and love it a lot.
2) Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Along with Piranha 3D, my most anticipated movie of 2010. Edgar Wright managed to deliver an energetic, fun and original film, which is quite the accomplishment these days. I'm just sad it hasn't appeared on a lot of critics' best of the year lists.
3) Piranha 3D
What I loved about this film is that it doesn't take itself seriously. It's a fun summer flick with a nice ensemble cast.
4) Kick-Ass
I'm sure this will end up as boyfriend's #1 pick of 2010. Kick-Ass was way more brutal and realistic than I expected it to be. I guess for me, this was the biggest surprise of the year.
5) Machete
It's Danny Trejo kicking ass. 'Nuff said.

My Least Favorite Movies of the Year:
1) Vampires Suck
No, I didn't pay any money to see this flick. It's awful. Why Ken Jeong and Arielle Kebbel are in this, I have no idea. Friedberg and Seltzer, please just stop.
2) The Reef
Yeah, I'll just go watch Open Water again.
3) Clash of the Titans
It just wasn't very good, was it? I'm having a hard time remembering what I disliked about it. I think the CGI bothered me.
4) Monsters
I can totally appreciate and respect what Gareth Edwards did here. I just wasn't feeling it. It didn't keep my interest.
5) A Nightmare on Elm Street
A very unnecessary remake. Visually, it was pretty good, but the rest of it was quite a mess. I had quite a problem with Katie Cassidy, a capable actress, being set up as the lead and then getting Rooney Mara instead. Plus, Robert Englund is Freddy. Period.

Ten Favorite Performances of the Year (in alphabetical order):
1) Channing Tatum (Dear John)
2) Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass)
3) Danny Trejo (Machete)
4) Emma Stone (Easy A)
5) Jay Baruchel (while nothing stands out, he had a solid year with She's Out of My League, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and How to Train Your Dragon)
6) Jerry O'Connell (Piranha 3D)
7) Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs the World)
8) Michael Sheen (Unthinkable)
9) Ryan Reynolds (Buried)
10) Whitney Able (Monsters)

Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2011:
30 Minutes of Less; And Soon the Darkness; Bad Teacher; Battle: Los Angeles; The Cabin in the Woods; Captain America: The First Avenger; Ceremony; The Change-Up; Contagion; Country Strong; Crazy Stupid Love; The Darkest Hour; The Devil's Double; Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules; The Dilemma; Drive; Drive Angry 3D; Dylan Dog: Dead of Night; The Eagle; Every Day; Everything Must Go; The Factory; The Fields; Final Destination 5; Flypaper; Friends with Benefits; Friends with Kids; Fright Night; From Prada to Nada; Goon; The Green Hornet; Green Lantern; Hall Pass; The Hangover: Part Two; Hanna; The Help; Here; I Am Number Four; Jeff Who Lives at Home; The Other Woman; Red State; The Ward.

Review: Easy A

I can't help but get a little bit sad watching Easy A. Emma Stone is a delight. A fun and talented girl to watch. But to see Amanda Bynes play a small role like that? Five years ago Bynes would've played lead girl Olive. How quick things change, huh?

The plot: After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in "The Scarlet Letter," which she is currently studying in school - until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

While I'm not actually crazy about the plot, there's much to like about the film. It all looks great. I love the use of color in this film. I can't really explain it, but to me, it makes the film come alive. And while Stone is the shining star here, the girl is in good company. How many teen comedies have three Academy Award nominated actors in them? Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson make a great couple, seem to have fun with their roles and their characters are more developed than just the standard dad and mom roles. Thomas Haden Church is always a welcome addition. I was cheering when he got his Oscar nom for Sideways. I've liked him since his Ned & Stacey days. Penn Badgley plays likeable well, however, I think I would've preferred Dan Byrd in the role. Byrd is always good and entertaining, while Badgley, at times, not per se in this film, can come off bland. And Bynes, she's still talented and comedically gifted. Let's hope Hollywood gives her another shot.

One of the surprises of 2010. A 3,5/5.

Review: Skyline

Well Skyline came and disappeared without leaving much of an impression. Which is shame, because boyfriend and I really enjoyed the flick. It's a film with a relatively small budget, estimated at $10 million, and with effects that look much more expensive.

The always reliable Eric Balfour stars as Jarrod, who, along with his girlfriend, visits his successful best friend Terry (Donald Faison in not a comedic role) in Los Angeles. They're staying at his fancy apartment when aliens spaceships appear, trying to capture humans.

Okay, yes, the film is not highly original. Cloverfield and District 9 spring to mind, but did it bother me? No. There's only so many ways you can go making an alien invasion flick. I had a bigger problem with the lack of characterization as only Balfour's character was developed. Making someone pregnant is not characterization. Are we supposed to care for the annoying girlfriend now because she's with child? It's also a cheap way to move the plot forward. I was telling the bf how glad I was they cut out Erin (Jessica Biel)'s pregnancy in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (also starring Balfour) as the film ultimately didn't need it in terms of characterization or plot purposes.

However, I can't really hate on a film that accomplishes as much as Skyline does with a limited budget. To compare, Box Office Mojo tells me Cloverfield's budget was $25 million. Skyline visually looks great and delivers effects on par with certain bigger budget flicks. The film is entertaining and I personally love Eric Balfour so it's great to see him play a lead role in a studio film. Give it a shot and don't be too critical. A 4/5.

Welcome home, Sidney!

OHMIGOD, you guys! Scream 4 trailer! I wasn't expecting this at all, but yes, the trailer made its way on the interwebs already. Now I haven't been very pro Scream 4, mainly because of all the cast changing drama and rumors of Kevin Williamson abandoning ship, but I'm actually a bit excited. I so feel 15 again waiting for Scream 3 to be released.

Thoughts:
- Rory Culkin needs a haircut.
- Seeing Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell together on that couch looks off to me. Like it's supposed to be Scary Movie 5.
- I like Erik Knudsen and Culkin together.
- Ahh poor Gale being attacked by Ghostface! I don't think she'll die though!

Can't wait to see more footage!

Review: Piranha 3D

I've been waiting for Piranha 3D for months now and finally I got to see it in not so glorious 3D, but whatever, it's awesome! It kinda made me sad boyfriend and I made up 67% of the audience though (2 pm showing on a Tuesday).

I've never in my life been more excited to see Richard Dreyfuss. It was a pretty cool cameo. I think they could've expanded it a bit more, but overall I enjoyed his brief appearance. Same kinda goes for Christopher Lloyd. I would've liked to have seen his character be more involved in the story. I actually forgot about him until he popped up again. It was good seeing him on the big screen. I always loved him in the Back to the Future movies. I think both Dreyfuss and Lloyd's appearances are nice shout outs for movie buffs. The younger generation probably has no clue who they are (which is sad btw, cause we live in a world where the Jersey Shore losers are more famous).

The "main" cast is enjoyable as well, but I have to use air quotes, because there almost isn't a main cast. Elisabeth Shue gets first billing, but I think Jerry O'Connell and even Steven R. McQueen (who could easily play Nicholas D'Agosto's brother in something sometime) have more screentime. Adam Scott is a good actor and a gorgeous man, but when I think about the movie, he didn't have that much to do. Shame. He has a good screen presence and his role could have been more heroic. Ving Rhames is totally wasted. He's barely in the movie and I was really hoping I would see him kick lots of piranha ass. I mean, he does kick piranha ass, but they could have expanded his role. It's VING RHAMES. HE'S AWESOME SO IF YOU CAST HIM, USE HIM. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard.

I like the movie, but there is a serious lack of characterization. The only somewhat developed characters are played by McQueen, O'Connell and Kelly Brook. While I don't care for McQueen (Nick D'Agosto's name kept popping in my head every time I saw him), Jerry O. rocked his role as sleazy Wild Wild Girls director. He was great! I have mad love for that guy, he always manages to entertain. I didn't expect to like Brook's character, simply thinking she was there for the T&A, but she has a very likeable quality about her and her character was a nice girl. Jessica Szohr, who I guess we were supposed to root for(?), had nothing to work with and I didn't find her likeable at all.

Dina Meyer and Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Chavira also pop up in pointless roles. Disappointing! I know it's supposed to be a fun, cheesy, gory flick, but if you cast these people, at least give them something to work with. Eli Roth's cameo was entertaining though.

The story is good enough for what the film is supposed to be. There's not much suspense, but that's okay. The make up and special effects were very well done. The carnage was very gory; I had to look away at times. Props for the make up guys!

I wasn't too crazy about the 3D conversion. If the movie was intended as a 3D release, why shoot it in 2D and then convert it? The conversion didn't always work and it took me out the film a bit. Overall though, I have to say I would've prefered the movie to be in 2D. I think they could've done more with the 3D gimmick, but they didn't, which is a shame because it fits a film like this perfectly as it doesn't take itself seriously in the first place. Now the 3D thing feels like an after thought and I'm kinda tired of movies that are in 3D while it add nothing to the experience. Like I said, I could've worked for Piranha 3D, but they didn't make the most of it.

Now it looks like I'm being all negative, but I'm just being critical. Piranha 3D delivers: it's an entertaining flick, it doesn't take itself seriously, there are piranhas and there are boobs. Really, it's a great summer popcorn flick and you should go see it right now! A 4/5.

P.S. I keep thinking about writing something about Alexandre Aja, but I'm not sure what.