Goon

Goon is a nice little indie hockey movie. The overall message is a good one about finding your place in this world. Plus it's got dudes beating the hell out of each other.

Seann William Scott plays Doug. He's a big tough idiot, who works as a bouncer. He gets discovered by a local hockey team after his friend taunts a hockey player in the penalty box until he climbs into the stands. So Doug fights him and kicks the crap out of him. He can't skate, but gets put in the game as the team's "goon". He's just there to fight.

The movie has some nice themes and overall is very pleasant. I couldn't get 'Movie Mark' to attend and verify how accurate the hockey play is, but they got quite a few crowds for the big scenes, which was good. I could see the script getting one more draft and becoming a sharp narrative, but as it stands, it will definitely be a good rental or a nice surprise if you find it on TV one night.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Maybe.

Would you buy it?
No.

Would you rent it?
Yes.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.

Hunger Games

Last year when they started casting my only thought was "who cares" and "another Twilight"? Then when Amazon offered a cheap kindle copy of the book, I decided to get it. Yes, it is a young adult series. But it's definitely refreshing to see this kind of post apocalypse tale become so popular.

In the future there are 12 districts all run by "the Capitol". Every year all the districts are required to supply one girl and one boy to participate in a royal rumble. Last person standing wins. The movie plays fairly close to the book. Similar to the Harry Potter series, cuts are made where needed to be streamlined.

My main issue with the film is how it was shot. Gary Ross (the director) said he wanted to use 'shaky-cam' to give you the feel of poverty stricken District 12. It really just makes me naseous. But he's not coming back for the sequel. Hopefully the new director will be able to frame the action in more epic fashion.

Mrs. Nugget has not read the books and she enjoyed the movie. Mrs. Nugget's dad had read the book and he liked the movie better. So, there are two ringing endorsements.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Yes (and did)

Would you buy it?
No.

Would you rent it?
Maybe.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.

Casa De Mi Padre

So, now Will Ferrell is taking his grown man-child persona south of the border. But if you're looking for Anchorman en espanol, you won't find it here. What you will find is a telenovela with bad edits (on purpose) and heightened emotional outbreaks. From the first scene, Ferrell goes to pick up a cow (brown and white, probably 500lbs) and then in the next cut it's black and weighs about 70lbs. That sets the tone so you know what you're in for.

This one will be remembered mostly as a minor work and a curiosity more than anything else. Some kid in college in 10 years will say "hey have you ever seen that Spanish language Will Ferrell movie?"

Did you enjoy it?
Not as much as my Spanish speaking plus one did.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Nah.

Would you buy it?
No.

Would you rent it?
Eh.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Pralle not.

John Carter of Mars

The nefarious FILM CRITIC HULK does a great job of dissecting the screenplay to this movie here. If you have the time and interest you should definitely read it. The main problem with this movie is three fold.

1. Too late. The book used as the source material for this movie has been cherry picked of most plot points. To be fair, the book is 100 years old. Supposedly George Lucas wanted to make this into a movie in the 70's and couldn't get the rights, or funding or something. So he went ahead and made Star Wars instead. Ha. But my point is most science fiction stories (films, tv, games) have taken some part of the plot of the "Princess of Mars" books over the century. It was never going to be a fresh tale.

2. Too confusing. When Disney settled on making this film, they really wanted it to be epic. What they ended up commissioning was a jumbled mess with too many clans, characters, openings and endings. If I recall correctly, there are 5 sides to the war in this movie. The two mortal "red skins". One group wears blue, the other have red clothes. Then there are the 4 armed actual "martians". Then we have the super-beings that are like the observers (if you watch Fringe). Lastly, we have John Carter, our hero. That's just me listing the sides. The plot would take too much time for me to lay out. Plus it's not worth it.

3. Marketing. You knew the movie was in trouble when it went from "Princess of Mars" (because Disney was afraid no boys would show up) to "John Carter of Mars" (really butched it up) and then ended on the super generic "John Carter" (because the recent failure of the cartoon "Mars Needs Mom" must have failed due to the word Mars). Now to be fair, when your story is as convoluted as this movie, I'm sure it's no easy task to market. That being said, there is a fair amount of action you can cherry pick to make it seem like an action epic. Just fool enough people the first week to get butts in seats, no?

All of this really was too bad, because big budget stories should be fun. Plus the director made Wall-E for goodness sake. Come on, man! How do you go from that to this? That movie had heart, scope and action. I'm going to have to believe that had little to do with you, which might be unfair, but the proof is in the pudding.

Did you enjoy it?
Eh.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Nope. (try to find it, anyways)

Would you buy it?
Nope.

Would you rent it?
No.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Pralle not.

21 Jump Street

I think I have covered this before? It feels like deja vu. Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. Rarely are fond memories as good as what actually happened. Sometimes you get something that lives on the perifery and someone makes it even better. This is one of those times.

I vaguely remember 21 Jump Street. I don't think I ever actually saw an episode. But I am well aware of the main conceit. Send some young cops to go under cover in a high school. Sounds perfect for the Hollywood grinder remake machine.

In the film, a police captain played by Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation) admits that an old program from the 80's is being re-activated, thus making this movie exist in the same world. He says it is due to lack of imagination (take that Hollywood). And he sends down Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum to join the squad. When they arrive at 21 Jump Street (the address) they meet their new captain, Ice Cube. He admits to being the stereotypical angry captain. We see other squads who are going to other high schools. I was really glad they didn't water down the group to include too many undercover characters. Hill and Tatum went to school together (one was the nerd, the other a jock). Together in the academy they realize that together they make one whole cop.

I don't want to go beat by beat, but honestly, it is a really funny movie. It has love an affection for spoofs in the same way Edgar Wright did in Hot Fuzz. If you like silly comedy (without being stupid like all the Scary Movie knockoffs) you'll like this movie.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
Yes and did.

Would you buy it?
Yes.

Would you rent it?
Yes.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.

Woman in Black

You don't get a lot of period piece horror anymore. Now everyone is connected to everyone else and everything at all times. I think that is why movies like this can be even scarier. Besides getting a good scare, it can make you fear isolation.

The central spooky mystery surrounds a house in the middle of a marsh / bog and the spirits that reside there. An elderly lady has passed away and someone needs to put her estate in order. But no one in town dare go there, so a depressed lawyer from London is dispatched to get the papers sorted. He lost his wife in childbirth and now basically ignores the son born from her passing. He loves him, but can't get over his wife's death.

Meanwhile "The Woman in Black" is known for taking the town's children (by convincing them to kill themselves). This is because years ago her child was taken from her. As with anything in life, we search for answers. As Daniel Radcliffe tries to solve the mystery and put the spirit to rest, we are left to wonder if it is all in his fragile mind, or really happening to him.

This is a nice little haunted house movie. I got chills a couple of times from the film. I like the ending but then they tack on a little coda that was meant to make way for possible sequels, as is almost always the case with horror (Plus as I write this, they're getting ready to make a sequel). Plus I looked at that poster quite a few times at the theater before it came out and only now just noticed the hidden face.

Did you enjoy it?
Yes.

Would you see it in theaters again?
No.

Would you buy it?
No.

Would you rent it?
Yes.

Would you watch it if you saw it was on TV?
Yes.