Jun 6, 2011

An interesting movie, featuring a great cast, unfortunately drowns in its own plot holes.

Hanna is a 2011 European/American action thriller film directed by Joe Wright. The film stars Irish actress Saoirse Ronan as the title character with Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. – source: wikipedia.org

The movie is about a girl, named Hanna, who grows up together with her father in the middle of nowhere. Her mother has been murdered when Hanna was still a child. As the story begins to unfold, we learn, that Hanna is everything but your average teenage girl. Her father Erik (Eric Bana), an ex CIA agent,  has been training her as an assassin for her entire life and taught her some amazing martial arts skills. One day Hanna decides, that she is ready to go back into the real world, to find the murderer of her mother and bring her to justice.

After watching the trailer, I thought this movie was worth checking out. I first noticed the lead actress Saoirse Ronan on another movie I’ve reviewed in the past, called “The Way Back”. I really liked her performance on that one and in my opinion there is no denying, that she has done a very good job on Hanna as well. We’ve also got well known Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana, which gives us a pretty solid set of actors.

To be honest, I imagined some sorta “Jason Bourne” like story and found the idea, that a young girl would play the tough part, very interesting. Unfortunately, the script had way too many plot holes in it, that in the end never check out. This left me with many unanswered questions and a bit of a bitter taste, so to speak of. After watching it, I really thought, that this COULD have been really great, but due to the facts mentioned above, simply was the opposite.

I’d like to go a bit more into detail, but I can’t do that without spoilers. So please click below, if you’re ready.

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If you’re not that obsessed with movie details and can trick yourself into overlooking way too many plot holes, you might want to give Hanna a shot.

• Hanna on imdb

Our Rating: ;

Apr 19, 2011

Take well known actors, add a slightly below average comedy script and you end up with a product, that simply can not be funny…

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations before seeing “Just go with it“. Sure, it has Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston among the cast, but is that really enough? As it turns out, it isn’t. When you go and create a funny picture, the first thing you need, way before you even think about casting your actors, is a funny script. If the script is not funny, how can the movie ever be? Exactly, it can’t

Now, let’s take a look at the story and find out where this goes…

Adam Sandler plays a successful plastic surgeon named Danny Maccabee, who has some issues with women. At the beginning, when he’s still going to med school, we find out, that his (soon to be) wife, doesn’t really like him at all, but instead wants to marry him for his money. Danny eavesdrops on the conversation and decides not to go through with the marriage. The very same night he also finds out, that wearing his wedding ring makes him attractive to good looking women. From now on he picks up girls, telling them fake stories about his non existent wife.

Now we skip a couple years and meet Danny again when he’s already a successful plastic surgeon. We also meet his assistant Katherine Murphy (Jennifer Aniston), who is divorced and has two kids. One day Danny asks her to pretend to be his ex wife, so he can convince Palmer (played by Brooklyn Decker), to enter a serious relationship with him.

About half way through the movie, Danny, Katherine, her kids, Palmer and Danny’s cousin Eddie (played by Nick Swardson) go on a trip to Hawaii. There, things get even more confusing, since the lies they have to tell to keep their charade alive, are getting more and more complicated…

I’d flag this movie as a typical Aniston comedy. The recipe is not very original and we’ve seen similar (also better) ones in the past. To me, Aniston makes the same mistake, Meg Ryan once did. She was pretty successful doing her romantic comedy thing and instead of trying out something fresh and new, she basically played the same part over and over and over again. As you can imagine, it got pretty boring after some time. In a way, you can compare it to your favorite band from 20 years ago. Back in the days you really liked what they did. Now, they still do the same thing, but you’ve grown and moved on. Seeing them, still doing the same stuff, makes you feel sorry for them.

In my opinion, Jennifer Aniston should take the risk and try something completely different. I’d like to see her in some well written drama or thriller. Now that would definitely be interesting, don’t you think?

Anyways, Just go with it, probably does alright as a rainy sunday afternoon kinda movie, as it will at least bring you some Hawaiian holiday feeling.

• Just go with it on IMDb
• Just go with it on Rotten Tomatoes

Our Rating:

Just a couple hours ago I received an email from the guys over at blogcritics.org and they have invited me to join their writers community. I didn’t think twice about signing up and not much later they already approved my review on the television series Nurse Jackie.

So, thanks Jill for the invitation and Barbara for your feedback and help.

In case you haven’t heard about blogcritics.org yet, I strongly urge you to check out their site. Besides more Movie and TV-Show reviews, you can find lots of other interesting and valuable information on the following topics: Music, Culture, Sci/Tech, Books, Politics, Sports, Gaming and Tastes.

Apr 6, 2011

Nurse Jackie is an American comedy TV-Show, first premiered on the premium TV-Network Showtime in 2009. It follows the life of a nurse, named Jacky Peyton, who works at the fictional New York City All Saints’ hospital.

Edie Falco (remember “The Sopranos“?) as Nurse Jackie seems to be just perfect for her part. She can be funny, but also serious and sometimes even pull off both emotions at the same time. It’s really no surprise to me, she won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2010.

However, Edie Falco is not the only well-cast actor on Nurse Jackie. We’ve also got Anna Deavere Smith as the hospital administrator “Mrs. Gloria Akalitus,” Eve Best as “Dr. Eleanor O’Hara” (one of Jackie’s best on and off work friends), Paul Schulze as “Eddie the pharmacist,” Dominic Fumusa as “Jackie’s husband” and last but not least Peter Facinelli as “Dr. Fitch “Coop” Cooper.”

These characters are mainly responsible for the show’s dynamics, which very often result in funny, weird, but also serious situations. One good example would be the very well portrayed narcism of “Dr. Cooper.” Despite the fact, that he’s fresh out of med school, he never misses out on a chance to rub his social status into the face of nurses and other staff members, which he believes to be worth less than him.

Now Nurse Jackie is definitely not your average hospital TV show. It can not be compared to any of the other series out there, that have a similar health care related background story. Given the fact, that this show airs on Showtime, you can also expect some rough language every now and then (speaking of dropping the “F-Bomb”). Combined with some implied and non-nude sexual interactions between characters, Nurse Jackie does not qualify as a family show. Its target audience is definitely adult.

Apart from being a busy nurse at day/night (depending on her shift), the character of Jackie Peyton has to deal with her very unusual life style. Among other (not so important) story lines, the show primarily focuses on her addiction to pain killers and the love affair with her colleague “Eddie the Pharmacist”. She keeps her “dark sides” mainly to herself. Only her best friend “Dr. O’Hara” knows about the latter. Her husband of course does not have the slightest clue about what’s going on and “Eddie the Pharmacist” is pretty much left in the dark as well. However, given the fact, that he keeps track of Jackie’s beloved drugs, he’s occasionally responsible for hooking her up with some “goodies.” She makes him believe that they are for her back pain, and because he’s a good guy, blindsided by love, his judgement becomes automatically clouded and biased.

Already in its third season, Jackie has been through quite a lot. I do not want to spoil you too much, because finding out for yourself and enjoying the story as it unfolds, is definitely something I want you to look forward to.

If you’re not sure, whether you might like this show or not, I suggest you rent the pilot from a digital download service of your choice and just give it a shot. However, if you enjoy it, you should definitely get the available DVD or Blu-ray boxes and prepare for hours of good fun and entertainment. The advantage to getting the series on disc is to have access to the special features only availble in the box sets. I rate Nurse Jackie 5/5; I’m sure you’ll get addicted to this show in no time.

We recommend:

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Article first published as TV Review: Nurse Jackie on Blogcritics.

Apr 5, 2011

The Way Back is a war drama film about a group of prisoners who escape from a Siberian Gulag camp during World War II. The film is directed by Peter Weir from a screenplay also by Weir and Keith Clarke, inspired by The Long Walk, a book by Sławomir Rawicz, a Polish POW in the Soviet Gulag. It stars Jim Sturgess as Janusz, Colin Farrell as Valka, Ed Harris as Mr Smith, and Saoirse Ronan as Iren… – source: wikipedia.org

I’m gonna say it right away. This movie is a true masterpiece. It’s always a real pleasure to discover a diamond like that among so many shiny but worthless stones.

Believe me when I say, that this story will touch you from the very first minute. On top of that, you’ve got an amazing cast and first class cinematography.

The Way Back takes you on a journey, that you you will hopefully never ever have to take in your own life. No matter, if its a freezing cold place like Siberia or a deadly hot location like the desert, you’re definitely going to be thankful for being able to watch this from a safe distance.

Our characters develop and grow while they go through all different kinds of emotions. First, they have to escape the guards and then they have to face nature – an even more dangerous enemy. Hope and despair have never been closer and it needs no clairvoyance to understand, that not everyone will make it out alive.

Both Jim Sturgess and Ed Harris are exceptional. I also liked Colin Farrell in his part as the russian convict. The rest of the cast does not lag behind either. Everyone did a great job on this one and that’s what makes it so believable.

You definitely have to watch this movie yourself, to get the right impression. Words, simply can not describe it properly. Go and watch it alone, with friends or family. Doesn’t matter – just WATCH it!

• The Way Back on IMDb

We (highly) recommend:

Our Rating:
 

Apr 5, 2011

Battle: Los Angeles (also known as Battle: LA and World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, and formerly known as Battle for Los Angeles) is a 2011 military science fiction war film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Ne-Yo, Ramon Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan. Released in March 2011, the film is set in modern day Los Angeles and follows a platoon of U.S. Marines during a global alien invasion, who are joined by an Airman and some Army infantry. – source: wikipedia.org

This movie is really good – a really good WASTE of time! Ok, I’ll try to have some respect here. I know, there is a lot of work involved in making a movie. So, one should have a certain amount of respect, when reviewing it. However, I’m having troubles this time, not completely losing it. Let me tell you why…

This movie is so full of clichés, I’d rate it the mother of all cliché movies right away. Let’s have a little list:

• Military propaganda – Check
• Motivational Speeches – Check
• Awesome one-liners, like “I didn’t get here just because of my looks” or “Let’s blow them another ass hole” – Check
• Experienced military guy, who has trouble dealing with his past – Check
• New military guy, fresh out of the academy, who can not handle the action, but has a lot of responsibility – Check
• Tough chick – Check
• Parent, who dies – Check
• Kid, who loses parent – Check
• Heroic dude, who dies for the team – Check
• etc, etc, etc…

The list goes on and on and on, but I’m going to keep it at that. I’m not saying, all of the above is bad, but if you wanna do a movie like that, at least do it right ( ID4 for example).

The following contains quite a few spoilers, so click to read more:

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No, sorry – definitely no recommendation this time. I do appreciate the effort. Better luck next time…

• World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles on IMDb

Our Rating:

Mar 31, 2011

Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. It stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson. The film follows Lars (Gosling), a sweet yet quirky, socially inept young man, who develops a romantic relationship with an anatomically correct doll named Bianca, and the story of how his older brother (Schneider), his brother’s wife (Mortimer), and the rest of the small town grow to accept and welcome Bianca into the community for Lars’ sake, not realising that she would touch all of their lives in such a profound way. – source: wikipedia.org

As quite usual for my recent movie watching habits, I’ve discovered this one by accident. Even though it had already come out back in 2007, I had never heard about it before. A real shame, because this movie is quite exceptional.

Don’t let the premise fool you. This movie is not about some weirdo banging a life like doll. It’s about a weirdo NOT banging a life like doll No, seriously, this movie is very good. It portrays a very lonely and shy character from an equally respectful and sophisticated angle.

First, when he introduces his new “girlfriend” to family and friends, you can’t help but to laugh. It’s just so funny and weird. However, as the story goes on, you will get to know the main character a lot better and you will understand, why he is behaving in such a way.

The ending is very emotional and heartwarming.

I can highly recommend watching this movie. Don’t miss out on it! It’s a real shame it didn’t make back it’s production cost. It would have deserved a lot more attention.

• Lars and the Real Girl on IMDb

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Mar 31, 2011

22 Bullets is a French film directed by Richard Berry. It tells a romanticized version of the life story of Jacky Imbert. – source: wikipedia.org

Synopsis:

When former french mobster Charly Mattei (Jean Reno) decides to retire from his outlaw job, he lives a happy life with his family for about three years. However, one day his past catches on to him and he gets shot in a parking garage. Even though he has been hit by 22 bullets, he survives the attack and after recovering decides to take revenge…

I accidentally came across this movie, when I was in the mood for some foreign film. Jean Reno is definitely one of my favorite actors and I believe he did a really good job on this one.

As you can imagine, a movie about mobsters contains a fair amount of violence. However, be advised, that you’re probably gonna see a bit more rough scenes, than you might be used to. Besides the usual shooting and stabbing, there is one scene, that comes to mind:

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When I started watching the movie, it transported a really interesting vibe. Even if you didn’t have any prior knowledge about the story, you could tell right away, that something bad was about to happen. After some time, when Charly Mattei started to take revenge, I thought it might become pretty predictable. Fortunately, I was wrong. Towards the end, there are some powerful scenes, full of action and rich emotions. On top of that, I really enjoyed the music, composed by Klaus Badelt. He is one of the best movie composers out there and has also been involved in scoring the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.

If you’re looking for an interesting gangster movie and you’re not overly disgusted by heavy violence, you should give 22 Bullets a SHOT

We recommend:
 

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Mar 21, 2011

Hot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series centers around three past-their-prime entertainment industry veterans from Los Angeles whose lives are changed when their Paris-bound plane lands in Cleveland, Ohio. There they find a welcoming community that is less shallow, youth-obsessed and weight-conscious than L.A., and where one of them leases a home with a sassy caretaker. – source: wikipedia.org

How I found out about the show:

I’ve had this one on my list for quite some time, but never actually had the time to check it out. I now regret not having watched this show sooner, because its quite funny.

Show info:

I knew, that Betty White was in it and she’s definitely one amazing woman. She’s almost 90 years! old now and has so much energy, it’s almost scary. She’s also the last “Golden Girl” alive, btw.

Another actress on the show is Jane Leeves and I was quite surprised, when I saw her, because I first didn’t recognize her on the promo banner at all She looks quite a bit different compared to the last time I saw her on Frasier. Oh well, that has been more than 15 years ago. I also noticed, that she speaks with a more subtile english accent than she used to on Frasier. She also lisps (a tiny bit) sometimes. I’ve never noticed that about her in the past either.

Anyways, Hot in Cleveland is quite entertaining and definitely worth watching. It’s a real treat to see an elderly woman like Betty White act so fresh and deliver her lines. Sometimes, when she plays naive, you’re immediately taken back to the 80′s and one of Rose’s St. Olaf stories

• Hot in Cleveland official website

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Mar 20, 2011

Rules of Engagement is a sitcom that debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, as a midseason replacement, immediately following Two and a Half Men, in the time slot that was occupied by The New Adventures of Old Christine (9:30-10:00pm). The series is produced by Adam Sandler‘s Happy Madison Productions in association with CBS Television Studios and Sony Pictures Television. – source: wikipedia.org

How I found out about the show:

A while back, I wanted to check out a show, that had already been aired for a couple seasons. So, in case I liked it, I had many entertaining hours to look forward to. I didn’t have to browse for too long, when suddenly “Rules of Engagement” caught my attention. I noticed, that David Spade was on the promo banner and since I usually liked his work, I figured, I’d give this one a shot.

Show info:

The shows’s dynamics and jokes are usually created between the married couple “Audrey” and “Jeff” (Megyn Price / Patrick Warburton) and the engaged couple “Adam” and “Jennifer” (Oliver Hudson / Bianca Kajilich). On top of that, we also got Russell (David Spade), who is a real bachelor and not interested in long term relationships at all.

The writers usually create funny moments by either playing around with married couple jokes or bachelor stereotypes. I believe all the cast members play their parts really well – especially David Spade. He’s just the perfect bachelor. When you look at him, he doesn’t really strike you as a ladies man at all. The fact, that he usually hooks up with the prettiest women, is just so absurd, that you simply have to laugh.

Later, in season 3, the writers introduce a new character: “Timmy” (Adhir Kalyan - He becomes a regular cast member in season 4). He is Russell’s assistant and has to help him with both on and off work (private) affairs. In my opinion it was a very good idea, to introduce a new cast member, since the whole married couple comedy became a bit predictable after some time. Now, with Timmy, things are getting fresh again.

One thing I don’t like about the latest season (5), is the fact, that the writers are turning Adam more and more into a dumb dude. Maybe I didn’t notice it earlier, but recently he definitely had to say and do a lot of stupid stuff. I believe, making him act less ridiculous, would improve the overall quality of the show.

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