movie reviews

we've been to/seen quite a few movies lately.  a couple that are not on this list because they aren't super-recent: robin hood (very mediocre); how to train your dragon (awesome); and iron man 2 (could have been so much better).  sorry this is quite long...

- eclipse: i'll spare the great detail and refer to my previous post for this one.  better than the others in the series does not a great movie make.  i want to like kristen stewart a lot, but mostly she just seems sulky and kind of annoying.  2 out of 5 stars.

- gasland: my friend w. had knee surgery last week, so we brought over food on friday night and watched this movie at their house.  wow.  so much information about a topic i had never really given much thought (natural gas fracking).  obviously, this was a documentary, so the views presented were biased to the filmmaker's opinions, but i thought it was really well done.  it was also terrifying and heart-wrenching to learn about what's happening to small pockets of people across the country (short summary: the fracking poisons ground water and people are getting very sick.  they are also able to light their water on fire as it comes out of the tap).  i don't think you can unilaterally say that extracting natural gas is a bad idea (we have energy needs, there is a huge supply, etc), but the lack of accountability for major companies is startling.  this is a classic david vs. goliath story (think erin brokovitch on steroids) and it seems inevitable that david is going to lose this battle in a very profound way.  anyway...incredible flick, highly informative and engrossing.  4 out of 5 stars.

- cyrus: i think this movie could have been way better than it was.  there were some great actors in it - catherine keener (who i love), marisa tomei, john c. reily.  but none of them really did anything spectacular with the roles, and my guess is that a sub-par plot progression is to blame.  the story is about john (reily's character) meeting molly (tomei) and the wrench in their little love story when he meets her 21 year-old son, cyrus (jonah hill).  anyway, cyrus and molly have a bizarre relationship, and wacky antics ensue.  except that they don't, really.  the premise of the movie leaves a lot of opportunity for hilarity and humanity and in the end, i didn't get my fill of either.  most movies are too long, this one was over in a hurry and i think they left out some valuable character development that would have helped the authenticity a little bit....3 out of 5 stars.

- get him to the greek: it's been a few weeks for this one, but i am still on the fence about it.  i think i just don't really like jonah hill that much.  anyway...in this one, he works for a record label that is trying to get a washed up rock star to perform a show at the greek theatre.  hill is the go-to guy that becomes responsible for getting him there.  there are some hilarious and excellent moments involving p. diddy throughout the movie, and russel brand does his russel brand thing quite well, but the whole thing takes a really serious turn that just doesn't flow with the irreverence and insanity of the majority of the film.  couple that with some less-believable (and less interesting) sub-plots and i was left feeling just sort of bleh about it all.  3 out of 5 stars.

- toy story 3: despite the fact that i cannot remember the first toy story, and i never saw the second one, and this one is in 3D which makes my eyes twitch in ways i'm not really comfortable with, this movie was phenomenal.  it's always so refreshing to me when a movie has everything - character development, cohesive plot, humor, the human experience, and a little dash of nostalgia.  it's clear why pixar is so successful - we went to see this with another couple, none of us has kids, and at least 2-3 of us shed a little tear and left the theatre feeling warmer and fuzzier than we were when we got there.  4.5 out of 5 stars.

- the a-team: i am aware that movies like the a-team aren't actually good, but i like to see a fun, mindless, crazy budget, blockbuster, especially during the summer.  the trailers for the a-team looked super entertaining and funny.  and the movie was enjoyable enough - at least, i was fine sitting in the theatre for the 110 minutes or so.  unfortunately, it left not much else on the table.  i love liam neeson and bradley cooper, but neither of them blew me away (haha, puns!) in this one.  the highlight was sharlto copley, the same guy who was the lead in district 9 (probably my favorite movie of last summer).  that guy is tremendous and i hope he is in lots more movies down the road.  2.5 out of 5 stars.

- shrek 4 (i think it's 4?): again, i saw the first one forever ago, and hadn't seen one of them since, but i thought shrek was very cute.  nothing earth-shattering, and not as well done as toy story, but entertaining nonetheless.  the animation was great and the story, while predictable, was engaging.  3 out of 5 stars.