I Love You, Man rekalled...

I LOVE YOU MAN, the new Paul Rudd comedy was seen by me recently, twice actually. Not because I loved it that much but because I found it entertaining and was with people who hadn't seen it and I wanted to hang out with them. Anywho, the film was funny and follows the formula of the recent Apatow-style comedies. Paul Rudd gives a restrained performance when compared to some of his other comedies, although on the second viewing I did really notice his ability to personify awkwardness that has been popularized by the Office. There is one laugh out loud moment in the film with many other cringe inducing scenes just from a social awkwardness point of view. The films other star Jason Segel gives a nice performance but not his funniest, his role seems to be setting up awkwardness. Andy Sandberg and Jon Favreau also give memorable performances breaking typecast. All in all a solid comedy, definitely a renter but not one you need to rush out and see.

Knowing rekalled...

KNOWING, the newest star vehicle for Nicolas Cage is the latest film to disappoint from the superstar actor. While I am a fan of Nicolas Cage due to a few films he does take part in a lot of crap films, I am always hoping to be surprised by another Adaptation or Raising Arizona. Not the case this time out. Alex Proyas has the reputation as a visionary sci-fi director but I have yet to be impressed and this really knocks his judgement in my mind. This film has trouble balancing itself on the line of science fiction or religious moral story and fails at both. There are a couple of cool disaster scenes in the film that really come across as intense in the theater with the sound effects turned up to 11 but that is about the only redeeming thing I can mention about the film. Once again Nicolas Cage gives us his unique style for the character he portrays but the story does nothing but make one depressed at most. I was going right along with this story of impending doom until the "jumped the shark" moment, I just saw it as an uninteresting way of moving the plot along. It was just ridiculous and a let down, the story seemed to have a little more promise. Not one for the kids either, at the screening I was at someone actually brought some kids who looked to be about 9 0r 10 and they seemed rather disturbed by the ending.

Another thing is this is a very bland cast and story. Everyone one in the film is white and the special people who know what is going on are all blonde and rather aryan looking. I don't know if this is an Mormon allegory(not familiar with their story) or just what racist religious people believe will happen and their God will save the white people. I wasn't sure if this movie was meant to be racist but it appears to be that way. The only minority I remember seeing was a janitor with no speaking roll. Seems like a film from the 50's before people knew better with how diverse the story and cast were.

MILK rekall...

Part 2 of 2 political movies seen.

Milk is another "based on a true story" film based in the world of politics while focusing on one man's fight for the rights of an oppressed minority. Harvey Milk is a man at the beginning of the film whom you would not expect to be at the end of the film. Sean Penn melts into the role that I didn't expect from someone who starred in "I Am Sam" for which I have held against him for a while, a great and daring performance. James Franco also has a great subdued performance in the film and doesn't play up to any stereotypical actions, not much can be said for the mustache though. After about 3/4 of an "alright" film the last act really escalates the film into "really great" film and can be quite moving. Harvey Milk is not portrayed as perfect which makes his story more relatable but his charm and passion make his story interesting. Did I mention the film is a little gay? Maybe that is something I noticed, I can pick up on subtleties.

Frost/Nixon rekalled...

Part 1 of 2 political films seen.

Frost/Nixon is a period film about a disgraced President and his battle to tell the story he wants with a flashy television broadcaster. I had not heard of this story or the play it was based on before seeing this film and it was really fascinating. David Frost is an engaging personality who always has confidence and charm even when facing trying times and is the opposite of Richard Nixon who is interesting like a beautiful car wreck. I was worried that I would not be able to suspend disbelief of Frank Langella playing the iconic President but I was fully drawn in within the first few minutes, a great feat without resorting to a characture. Michael Sheen comes out of nowhere and creates a performance of someone I had no knowledge of and made him Nixon's equal. The supporting cast is great as well, especially the team Frost assembles. And the period setting feels accurate without making fun of the 70's, as subtle as you can make the 70's. Probably the best Ron Howard film I have seen and he has quite a few films I like. I can't think of anything that I disliked or questioned about this film, not sure if it was factual but made a damn fine film.

Watchmen rekalled...

FORMAT: At the theater on the big screen.

Watchmen, the most heralded Graphic Novel in the comics medium, has finally made it to the big screen and it was a valiant effort. Not a perfect film but it is a good movie, about what I expected after the onslaught of review love this film was getting. I didn't think it could live up to the hype that I had heard which is the best superhero film ever. I still prefer the Dark Knight, Iron Man and first 2 Spiderman films but that is said not to disrespect but to show where it could rank.

First off I will name the problems I had with the film.

Number 1, the wigs used and make-up to represent older people where not the greatest, almost gave it a campiness that was distracting. After seeing a film like Benjamin Button and the amazing aging make up done in it the bar has been raised pretty high. Plus is it so hard to have an actor or actress grow hair or maybe spend an extra half hour with the hair stylist to make it look natural?

Number 2 would have to be the choices of music for the film, a lot of well know period music that also seemed to be a punch line to a joke most of the time. It works in a couple of scenes but it felt like a crutch or shortcut to try an evoke a certain emotion for many other parts of the film. In all the great superhero films a unique score has made them more than a music video and elevated the emotional resonance of the scenes.

What worked? Everything else.

The cast was great, while not what I had in mind when casting the film myself but all great choices. Rorschach was played perfectly after my initial doubts from the trailers and was the understated star of the film. Dr. Manhattan was more subtle than I could have hoped for. Night Owl II was just the right amount normalcy and Silk Specter II was as sexy as all get out. The comedian showed a certain charm that made you believe that people could tolerate his assholeness. The only character that seemed to get a little shortchanged was Ozymandias but that might have been I found his character more interesting a just wanted more, it didn't take away from the film.

The action scenes were a lot more than I was expecting which I should have expected more since Zack Snyder's other 2 films are great auctioneers. He does use slow motion more than most but when and how he uses it really works for this film. This film has a style from beginning to end that is enjoyable. It was even a little more gory and sexy than I thought it would be even though it is an R rated film. Definitely not a kids film.

There are changes from the graphic novel that I am totally on board with, most for time constraints and other for focusing on major characters instead of digressions onto minor characters. There is one major change that will divide the nerd world but I like the change, I think it makes more sense than the original idea. I had explained this change to some people who hadn't read the graphic novel and they thought the original idea was not good. I know my explanation didn't give it the justice of reading the original but I don't think it still would have resonated with them as well either.

All in all a good film, it isn't perfect but there is a lot more than I like than I dislike with the film. If the music had been predominately a score instead of placed popular music it would have made it to the next level for me. Definitely a worthy ride if you are a fan of the superhero genre and are looking for an adult version of that world, it just isn't the end all of superhero films.