G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the sequel to 2009’s cash cow G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, is one of those “so bad that it’s good” movies. However, I’ll take it even a step forward. This movie was so awful that it was awesome. It won’t get reflected in my rating, and this is the type of movie that I usually would rip to shreds (aka White House Down, The Day After Tomorrow, and numerous others), but this was a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed while, at the same, chastising it throughout my entire viewing. Perhaps I was kinder to this film because of how much G.I. Joe was part of my childhood. At the same time, that should also be the reason I should be ripping it the most. If I’m willing to give another franchise a chance to ruin some of my childhood memories, then I would hope that the movie is a success at the box office and with critics so that the franchise will continue. Before getting into the specifics of what I liked and didn’t like about this movie, I will say first that they probably had hundreds, if not thousands, of potential scripts that they could have pulled for both this movie and The Rise of Cobra. I don’t remember The Rise of Cobra enough to comment on it right now, but the script for Retaliation was utterly insane. Continue reading G.I.Joe: Retaliation (2013)→
What a depressing movie Mike Nichols’s Closer was. And this is coming from a guy who loves this genre. But I’m not a fan of movies where all of the lead characters intentionally hurt other people just so they can feel better about themselves, just like I’m not a fan of people hurting other people intentionally in real life. But this movie was all of that and a bag of chips. I THINK I knew that was going on. I remember seeing previews for this way back in 2004 and thinking that this was not a movie that I had any interest in seeing. It made me think of the Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal for some reason, a film that I saw in theater at age 17 that I had no business seeing as a 17-year-old. Talk about a couple of movies that destroy the sanctity of marriage. So while this movie held my interest, primarily because of the actors involved, it’s a movie I’ll remember for a while that I wish I could forget instantly. Continue reading Closer (2004)→
Sinister is easily the creepiest movie of 2012, a year that did not feature much in terms of great horror movies. It was a movie that I thought I would easily pass on when I first saw the previews. I knew for sure I would not be seeing it in the theater. Ethan Hawke is a good actor who can sometimes be incredible (Training Day, Before Sunset) but also lay some serious duds (Brooklyn’s Finest, The Getaway). Seeing him in a horror film was a change for him and one I didn’t think he would be good at. I’ll be the first to say that I was wrong. He did well in this movie.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler was a well-made movie that many thought would receive multiple Academy Award nominations. It was a good movie, but certainly not one of the ten best of the year. There were fine performances given by the leads Forest Whitaker – (The Last King of Scotland, The Crying Game) and Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple, Beloved). Still, neither gave one of the top five performances of the year in their category. In addition, director Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, The Paperboy) told a story that keeps you interested and involved, but this did not match the direction of Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) or Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity). In short, this was a good movie worth seeing, but one that most likely would not have been nominated for an Academy Awards, regardless of the year of release. Continue reading Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)→
I’m a huge fan of small-town dramas (not the ones that are dispersed with quirky, sarcastic, or black humor, but the really heavy dramas), so when the unheard movie Snow Angels fell into my lap, it felt too good to be true. This movie made less than $500,000 at the box office despite some mostly positive acclaim from the critics (67% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It stars a couple of A-list celebrities, Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Brokedown Palace) and Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Way Way Back), and some unknown actors and actresses who gave some dynamite performances. While the moving will depress you, it is a wonderfully crafted movie that fans of these small-town dramas would most likely enjoy. Fans of Rockwell should most certainly see this movie as this is one of the finest performances of his career. Continue reading Snow Angels (2007)→
G.I. Joe: Retaliation, the sequel to 2009’s cash cow G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, is one of those “so bad that it’s good” movies. However, I’ll take it even a step forward. This movie was so awful that it was awesome. It won’t get reflected in my rating, and this is the type of movie that I usually would rip to shreds (aka White House Down, The Day After Tomorrow, and numerous others), but this was a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed while, at the same, chastising it throughout my entire viewing. Perhaps I was kinder to this film because of how much G.I. Joe was part of my childhood. At the same time, that should also be the reason I should be ripping it the most. If I’m willing to give another franchise a chance to ruin some of my childhood memories, then I would hope that the movie is a success at the box office and with critics so that the franchise will continue. Before getting into the specifics of what I liked and didn’t like about this movie, I will say first that they probably had hundreds, if not thousands, of potential scripts that they could have pulled for both this movie and The Rise of Cobra. I don’t remember The Rise of Cobra enough to comment on it right now, but the script for Retaliation was utterly insane. Continue reading G.I.Joe: Retaliation (2013)
What a depressing movie Mike Nichols’s Closer was. And this is coming from a guy who loves this genre. But I’m not a fan of movies where all of the lead characters intentionally hurt other people just so they can feel better about themselves, just like I’m not a fan of people hurting other people intentionally in real life. But this movie was all of that and a bag of chips. I THINK I knew that was going on. I remember seeing previews for this way back in 2004 and thinking that this was not a movie that I had any interest in seeing. It made me think of the Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal for some reason, a film that I saw in theater at age 17 that I had no business seeing as a 17-year-old. Talk about a couple of movies that destroy the sanctity of marriage. So while this movie held my interest, primarily because of the actors involved, it’s a movie I’ll remember for a while that I wish I could forget instantly.
Sinister is easily the creepiest movie of 2012, a year that did not feature much in terms of great horror movies. It was a movie that I thought I would easily pass on when I first saw the previews. I knew for sure I would not be seeing it in the theater. Ethan Hawke is a good actor who can sometimes be incredible (Training Day, Before Sunset) but also lay some serious duds (Brooklyn’s Finest, The Getaway). Seeing him in a horror film was a change for him and one I didn’t think he would be good at. I’ll be the first to say that I was wrong. He did well in this movie.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler was a well-made movie that many thought would receive multiple Academy Award nominations. It was a good movie, but certainly not one of the ten best of the year. There were fine performances given by the leads Forest Whitaker – (The Last King of Scotland, The Crying Game) and Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple, Beloved). Still, neither gave one of the top five performances of the year in their category. In addition, director Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, The Paperboy) told a story that keeps you interested and involved, but this did not match the direction of Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) or Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity). In short, this was a good movie worth seeing, but one that most likely would not have been nominated for an Academy Awards, regardless of the year of release. 
I’m a huge fan of small-town dramas (not the ones that are dispersed with quirky, sarcastic, or black humor, but the really heavy dramas), so when the unheard movie Snow Angels fell into my lap, it felt too good to be true. This movie made less than $500,000 at the box office despite some mostly positive acclaim from the critics (67% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It stars a couple of A-list celebrities, Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Brokedown Palace) and Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Way Way Back), and some unknown actors and actresses who gave some dynamite performances. While the moving will depress you, it is a wonderfully crafted movie that fans of these small-town dramas would most likely enjoy. Fans of Rockwell should most certainly see this movie as this is one of the finest performances of his career.