I’ve watched a lot of stuff in the past few weeks from being off work and healing up the old eyeball. Gaming was too much of a strain so I stuck to TV and movies. So much so that it makes the most sense to make a quick hits post for it all.
Tower Heist A good movie until the last act where it turns too Hollywood. Ben Stiller leads the cast of this Robin Hood like heist movie. It’s a fun story, but when they throw plausibility out the window to get to the end, it really ruined it for me.
Safe House Excellent rental. Ryan Reynolds shows up in another movie, this time teamed up with/against Denzel Washington as the bad guy. A fun concept that’s pulled off well. Interesting action scenes, perfect run time, solid movie.
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest Really liked this documentary on a Tribe Called Quest. Fantastic soundtrack to a terrific story. Taking the viewer back to the real honest and pure days of hip hop, Beats gives the fantastic journey of one of the most influential groups in the game. The nucleus of this is the rift that came between Q Tip and Phife Dawg…a power and respect struggle that stretched for years. Director Michael Rapaport tries to lay everything out as honestly as possible and I think he accomplished that. Keeping it all down to a reasonable runtime restricts the full story and I’m not too sure who was in the wrong. I can see both angles from their specific sides…I’m really left thinking that they’re both in the right. Just personality clashes that couldn’t be avoided. Growing up seems to have helped in the end. Highly recommended.
Jeff, Who Lives At Home An arrested development coming of age tale. I’m a fan of Jason Segel and really makes the Jeff character work. Ed Helms as his brother was great casting, they work well together.
Everything Must Go This one is in the same genre as Jeff, Who Lives At Home. Will Ferrell plays Nick, a middle management type at a car dealership who has an alcoholic relapse. It costs him his job and his wife, planting him squarely on his front lawn for some self-reflection and character building. I’m a Will Ferrell fan and I like when he takes the roles where he’s not an athlete of any kind. With a more grounded role he doesn’t do anything wacky here but he is a sad character. Sad is actually too strong of a word, he’s just in a low place in his life. While being sad and angry with his life, he doesn’t grate on you. Will brings a certain level of compassion and likeability to Nick and his growing relationships with his neighbors Kenny and Samantha is a good one. While this isn’t really an original tale (changing your life, moving on, father/son relationship) it is a solid one.
Warrior I’ve read a lot of good things about this one, but the entire time I watched it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much better The Fighter is. It’s easy to compare the two with the story focused on two brothers and fighting (MMA and Boxing), but I thought the characters of The Fighter were just way better. While Warrior is well made with some good acting (I like Tom Hardy a lot), nothing about it made me think that The Fighter is not the better use of the medium.
The Woman in Black I watched this movie specifically for Daniel Radcliffe and it’s so boring that I wish I didn’t. Dark hallways and jump scares fill this movie and that’s about it. Don’t bother, just watch one of the Paranormal Activity movies if you are looking to scratch that ghost story itch.
Underworld: Awakening Kate Beckinsale back in skin tight lycra suit! Besides the obvious eye candy, Awakening continues this competent Werewolf Vs vampire franchise. Enter a new found daughter for Selene to protect and the stage is set for some more carnage. If you like the other Underworld movies, dive right in. If not, it really doesn’t mess with the formula so you won’t be missing anything.