Starring Conan O’Brien
Directed by Rodman Flender
Rated R for language
1 hour 29 minutes
After he parted ways with NBC amid the Tonight Show fiasco, Conan O’Briend was prohibited from appearing on TV, radio, or the internet for six months. Feeling a need to connect with his fans, he launched a 32 city comedy and music tour. This film documents the creation, execution, and behind the scenes drama of that tour. While it does offer an interesting glimpse into Conan’s personality and the grueling nature of such a tour, I was definitely hoping for for more comedy. I think Conan can be hilarious, but the humor in this movie (and on his tour) often fell flat. In addition, way too much time was devoted to his music, which I found boring and uninspired. This movie is for card carrying members of Team Coco only.
Documentary
Directed and narrated by Werner Herzog
Rated G
1 hour 30 minutes
After seeing some of Werner Herzog‘s other documentaries, I had high hopes for Cave of Forgotten Dreams. It takes the viewer into Chauvet Cave in France, a recently discovered and nearly inaccessible cavern where paintings on the walls have been perfectly preserved for over 30,000 years. It is a fascinating subject, but one that could have easily have been covered in half the time. Go ahead and watch the first half hour and call it a night.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson
Directed by David Yates
Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images
2 hours 10 minutes
Finally all of this Harry Potter nonsense is done. I still haven’t read the books, but I have seen all the movies and have found most of them to be good but not great. This movie actually had Entertainment Weekly’s best critics’ average for 2011 and has received some best picture consideration, so I wasn’t going to miss it. Much the like Lord of the Rings trilogy, Deathly Hallows Part 2 builds up to an epic battle of good vs. evil which ultimately concludes with a satisfying one-on-one showdown between Harry and Voldemort. The special effects are quite impressive, the acting is solid, and the suspenseful plot is engrossing. Unfortunately it is a bit dark for my tastes and occasionally mildy confusing (surely not for those who have read the series), but I can appreciate a good movie when I see it. I’m sure you will appreciate it as well.
Starring Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy
Directed by John Badham
Rated PG for language and some violence
1 hour 39 minutes
I had fond rememberances of this movie from my childhood, so I thought I’d watch it again with my elementary-aged kids. As it turns out, the only thing about the movie that has held up over the years is the corny soundtrack hit “Who’s Johnny” by El DeBarge (and to a lesser extent its parody, “Here’s Johnny” by Weird Al). Looking back, I think they were trying to capitalize on the popularity of E.T. with another lovable creature and succeeded only marginally. While the story is decent, unfortunately this movie lacks the acting, directing, music, and “heart” of the Spielberg classic. I was also surprised at how much swearing is in Short Circuit – I’m guessing that I squirmed at least a couple dozen time watching it with my kids (today’s rating would likely be PG-13 as they lacked that designation in 1986). All in all, it might be nostalgic to watch this movie again, but I would suggest waiting until your kids are in middle school.
Animated
Featuring the voices of Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
Directed by Steven Spielberg
1 hour 41 minutes
A family movie from Steven Spielberg? Well, E.T. was pretty darn good, so I thought it would be worth a trip to the theater with the kids. As it turns out, this movie isn’t all that great. Sure, the animation is great (among the best I’ve ever seen) and some of the chase scenes are impressive, but I never really got into the story, characters, or attempts at humor. It’s not worth the money to see it in the theater.
Starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton
Directed by Brad Bird
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence
2 hours 13 minutes
Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to grab some popcorn, sit back, suspend all disbelief, and enjoy a good old fashioned blockbuster. As you might expect, Tom Cruise does a lot of awesome running, punching, shooting, and driving en route to saving the world from nuclear disaster in this, the fourth installment of the MI series. The stunts and special effects are top notch while the story has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. The drawbacks? At over two hours, it is a little long, and Simon Pegg’s humor sometime falls flat. The good far outweighs the bad, however, making MI4 a worthy mission for you to accept.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga
Directed by Duncan Jones
Rated PG-13 for some violence including disturbing images, and for language
1 hour 34 minutes
A soldier in an experimental program repeatedly goes back in time to try to foil a terrorist plot. It feels a bit like Groundhog Day, but with a lot more suspense. I enjoyed the plot, pacing, and Gyllenhaal’s performance. Source Code is not a masterpiece, but if you’re in the mood for a good thriller, you won’t be disappointed.
Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Rated PG (but probably would be PG-13 for violence now)
1 hour 55 minutes
In this, the first installment of the series, archeologist Indiana Jones tries to beat the Nazis to the lost ark where the Ten Commandments were stored. The story is great, the stunts are spectacular, and Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heros that the movies have ever seen. I loved it when I was a kid and finally got to watch it again with my kids. It is a bit violent for younger children, but this 30-year old movie has held up well over time. Also worth watching is a DVD interview with Steven Spielberg where he talks about making the movie with George Lucas and how his main goal was to stay within his budget and shooting schedule. Well, he did that along with making one of the best movies ever.
Grade: A
I’m not a big fan of the voiceover, but here’s the original trailer…
Starring John Brzenk, Alexy Voevoda, and Travis Bagent
Directed by Vassiliki Khonsari and Sevan Matossian
Not rated, but likely PG-13 for language
1 hour 12 minutes
Professional armwrestling. I thought they pretty much made up the sport for Stallone’s Over The Top. As it turns out, the sport is quite popular worldwide and will even be a demonstration sport at the next Olympics. The interesting part about it, however, is that there is an American named John Brzenk that has dominated the sport for over 20 years. Even more fascinating is the fact that John looks and lives like an average Joe. Now, at age 40, he faces a decision to retire or take on his fiercest competition yet.
This movie reminded me a lot of King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters in that it features an everyman hero in a world of comic book-type villains. It’s not quite as good, but it is both interesting and short.
Starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and the Muppets
Directed by James Bobin
Rated PG for some mild rude humor
1 hour 38 minutes
I liked it. Quite a bit. I mean… I was a big fan of the Muppets as a child, so I knew I was going to enjoy the nostalgia. However, I didn’t think I’d enjoy the movie at face value as much as I did. Sure, there is some childish humor and a mediocre performance by Jason Segel (why is that guy considered talented?), but it’s a very entertaining movie overall. It has plenty of clean fun for the kids, even more laughs for adults, and downright catchy songs for everyone. Even if you’re not a Muppet fan (is that even possible?), you need to see this movie.
Grade: A-
I was pretty much hooked when I saw this trailer…
… but this one captures the movie’s spirit a little better: