RED 2

— I saw “RED 2” yesterday. It wasn’t quite as entertaining as “RED”, but still passable. It would have been much better with more of Helen Mirren. Luckily, Mary-Louise Parker’s on screen a lot since she’s very good. The surprising thing is that Bruce Willis wasn’t phoning in his performance and, instead, showed some spunk and spark. [Last week I watch “A Good Day To Die Hard” (DVD) and Willis didn’t even bother trying to act in it!] I’m just a sucker for established and talented actors getting together to have fun with an “ensemble cast” film, but this one just misses being fun for the audience.

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[2013. 116 min. Directed by Dean Parisot. Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich,Mary-Louise Parker, and Anthony Hopkins.]
http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-red-2-1200562715/

The Lone Ranger

— “The Lone Ranger” isn’t the film the reviewers talked about or Disney touted. It’s actually much better than you’d expect, if you can empty your mind of memories of the original Lone Ranger. Mark Hughes hits the nail on the head when he says “The film is actually about the early expansion across the western USA, the rise of warfare between the white settlers and the Indian nations, and the way politics and business colluded to create a war with a terrible, inevitable outcome.” I almost didn’t go to see it after all the negative reviews. It’s a little long, but I’m still glad I went.

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[2013. 149 min. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2013/07/04/review-the-lone-ranger-is-a-fun-summer-ride/

Much Ado about Nothing

— What to do when your pedigree is “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, an episode of “Glee”, and “The Avengers”? Josh Whedon went for a low budget, black-and-white, modern day adaptation of “Much Ado about Nothing”, supposedly filmed at his house in Santa Monica in twelve days. It’s Shakespeare with all the iambic pentameter and a whole lot of energy for the common man. The comedy’s a little physical at times and at first I wanted a bit more subtlety, but the actors are really very good and manage to carry off their almost over-the-top performances so everything works. The audience was laughing--really, honestly laughing, more than at some other comedies I’ve seen lately. A little quirky and certainly a whole lot of fun.

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[2012. 109 min. Directed by Josh Whedon. Starring Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Fran Kranz, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, and Reed Diamond.]
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/06/20/movie-review-there-much-ado-about-quite-bit-actually-joss-whedon-takes-shakespeare/LnhTEQBNKLKau9eJNpUXEM/story.html

Liberal Arts

— “Liberal Arts” (DVD) was right up my alley, having lived in a college town for so many years and having recently retired from a University job. I enjoyed the humor, the writing, the characters, and the somewhat sitcom-ish vibe. It spends most of its time looking at youth, aging, maturing, and generally coping with growing up or not growing up, but it also touches on, among other things, the value of reading literature and of a liberal arts education. It’s written by, directed by, and starring Josh Radnor. This may not be on anyone's Top 10 List, but I really enjoyed seeing it and nodding knowingly as the characters ponder their lives.

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[2012. 97 min. Directed by Josh Radnor. Starring Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Zac Efron, and Allison Janey.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/movies/liberal-arts-from-josh-radnor.html?_r=0

The Bling Ring

— I was the only person in the theater for the 2:30 p.m. showing of “The Bling Ring”. With Sophia Coppola directing and Harris Savides as cinematographer, this should have been exceptional, but it fell oddly flat. Beautiful but lacking much emotion. It’s hard to like or dislike these vaguely high-school aged California kids and their parents come off as new age fools. You may feel a deep sense of regret that this is a society of which we are a part, that somehow we share some responsibility for this shallowness and selfishness, and this obsession with fame and style. I imagine the “Vanity Fair” article on which the film is based may have been more palatable—assuming it was shorter than the film—but the issues are interesting in either medium. Sadly, this is less successful than most of Sophia Coppola’s other films.

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[2013. 90 min. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Starring Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, and Claire Julien.]
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/06/20/movie-review-the-bling-ring-shows-what-like-live-and-steal/RY6gy8CpSm7AmkENd3LsIL/story.html

World War Z

— I liked “World War Z”, mostly because it’s more a medical thriller than horror action film, and Brad Pitt just can’t help but be impressive. It’s certainly among the best of the summer fare so far but, based on the range of previews beforehand, they haven’t figured out their target audience! Probably anyone who isn’t going to “Monsters Inc 2”! I was expecting to enjoy myself and ended up seeing something much better than I expected.

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[2013. 116 min. Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, and Daniella Kertesz.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/world-war-z-movie-review/2013/06/20/0d418ae4-d8ee-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html

Man of Steel

— “Man of Steel” was about what you’d expect. It had the flash, the action, and the volume to bring in $125 million for its debut weekend. Russell Crowe is very good as Superman’s selfless father. Henry Cavill, with his constantly furrowed brow, appears to be appropriately angry, worried, and overburdened, spending as much time dealing with his psychological scars as poised to save the world. Amy Adams’ Lois Lane may be a more interesting and updated character, but whatever attraction she and Superman have is hard to see. These darker, more brooding and introspective comic book characters are always interesting, but I think it’s time to start casting psychiatrists as part of the storyline too.

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[2013. 143 min. Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, and Russell Crowe.]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/06/16/weekend-box-office-man-of-steel-soars-to-125-million-debut/

Now You See Me

— I enjoyed “Now You See Me” for what it is: an entertaining, cleverly-designed, heist film with a good cast. Characters aren’t developed as well as I’d like, so the motivation is a little sketchy, but the film moves at a quick pace and kept me interested for the moment. It won’t change my life, but it was well worth the matinee price.

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[2013. 115 min. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Common, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla fisher, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/now-you-see-me-2013