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High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)
Accomplishes exactly what it wants to
OK... here's the thing. Those that expect this movie to be an adult love story grounded in reality should stay as far away as they can. This movie is the 3rd in a series that started on The Disney Channel, and that knowledge alone should provide insight on what is coming. It's a kids' movie, no more, no less, and it doesn't try to pretend that it's anything different. The people that put this movie down for being unrealistic or childish are missing the point. Frankly, this movie succeeds more than most "adult dramas" do these days. How many times does a movie come out that is supposed to be thrilling, dramatic, and emotional, only to leave you feeling dumber for having watched it? And here, we have a movie that is supposed to be fun to watch and listen to while entertaining the kids who are fans of the series (and there are a lot of them). And it does everything it sets out to do.
As a junior in high school, I played the role of "Troy Bolton" when our drama department received permission to perform the 1st HSM when the stage version premiered. As embarrassed as me and my fellow cast members were to have to perform a stage show that isn't really a stage show, I was so proud of my role in the production. It was the best-selling show in my school's history, and I was the lead. And our drama teacher knew that the show wasn't profound, so we decided to roll with it. As a viewer of HSM3, you cannot expect a deep thematic message wrapped around an Oscar-worthy screenplay and acting. Go into it with realistc expectations and you shouldn't be disappointed.
8/10
Up (2009)
Exceeded my already sky-high expectations
At this point, I expect nothing less than excellence from Disney/Pixar. It's only natural after seeing them produce 9 high quality films in a row, a streak that is unmatched by any studio in Hollywood. And the greatest thing about their films is that they continue to mature from movie to movie, both in the animation and the storytelling. Culminating in last year's triumph, "Wall-E", Pixar showed us that they can take any story, and character, and make us care about them.
Well, the trend continues and then some with this summer's "Up". Like I alluded to earlier, this film continues the maturation trend that Pixar has shown throughout their existence. In fact, this could be the most mature 'children's film' since "Bambi", both in the themes that it covers and the way that it presents them. But part of the genius of these storytellers is that they can make an extremely mature film without it losing its innocence. I personally consider that to be the greatest achievement of the film, apart from the wonderful animation.
We are introduced to balloon salesman Carl Frederickson (Ed Asner, the best voice-over since Ellen DeGeneres) early on as the movie takes us joyfully, and painfully, through his life. His wife has passed, and he is now alone living around a construction zone. When an incident with a construction worker forces him to move to a retirement home, he has trouble leaving his house. So much trouble, in fact, that he decides to tie thousands of balloons to his house and soar away to South America, a dream he and his wife shared while she was still alive. But unknown to him upon takeoff, a precocious young boy named Russel was on his porch, and becomes an unexpected stowaway on the voyage.
Once in South America, Carl and Russel run into Carl's childhood hero, an exiled explorer accused of fabricating evidence of a "monster" in South America. The explorer vowed to leave the U.S. and not return until he found the monster. Pleasant company quickly turns unpleasant, however, after the explorer thinks that Carl and Russel have come to claim the monster for themselves, and a battle quickly ensues between the two parties. By the end of the struggle, Carl is able to learn valuable lessons about life, and the small adventures that often go overlooked.
The film is incredible, the animation is stunning, the voice-over work is tremendous, and the themes are timeless and important. 15 years ago, if anybody had said that an animation company who made films on a computer would become the most consistently successful film company in Hollywood, people would have laughed.
Nobody is laughing now. Or rather, everybody is. They're just all laughing with Pixar.
10/10
War of the Worlds (2005)
Fantastic Update of a Classic
I have to give Steven Spielberg a lot of credit. If there was ever anybody who could update the H.G. Wells classic "War of the Worlds" and do it so well, it could only be Spielberg. Unlike "Independence Day", which tries too much to involve us in multiple characters' emotions and what's happening to them, "War of the Worlds" gives us one family's point of view, and it actually heightens the tension. It makes this alien invasion seem more personal, more like it's happening to us, as well. Tom Cruise gives a massively underrated performance, perhaps diminished by the off-screen distractions, as the father just trying to keep his kids safe, and Dakota Fanning may give the best performance of a young actor since Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense". All in all, a fantastic thriller. Highly recommended.
9/10
The Dark Knight (2008)
Nearly flawless.... nearly
I must give Christopher Nolan credit. He took a franchise that seemed doomed and rebooted it with "Batman Begins", taking a huge risk by making it darker and more serious. This time, now that all of the necessary background information has already been presented, he takes things one step further by making it darker, more serious, and more exciting.
"The Dark Knight" is an unbelievably exciting, funny, and creepy movie all at the same time, and they all hit the viewer in equal amounts. Heath Ledger's performance is the masterful center of the movie, complimented wonderfully by Bale's batman, Oldman's Gordon, and Eckhart's Harvey Dent. The first half of the movie sets up so many shocking moments and take-your-breath-away action scenes that it's hard to catch your breath, but I've never felt so great hardly being able to breathe.
However... the second half of the movie gets a little heavy, and to avoid spoilers I will just say that I think this movie would have worked nicely split up into two. However, that's not nearly enough to make someone forget the fact that this is the most exciting movie of the year (sorry, Iron Man) and the second movie we've seen guaranteed of an Oscar nomination (after Wall-E). Go see it now.
Soccer Dog: The Movie (1999)
Not as bad as it would seem...
OK... yes, it's a movie about a dog playing soccer. Yes, its attempts at portraying a very evil dog catcher fall flatter than every opposing soccer player seems to when the dog comes their way. And yes, most of its attempts at humor fail.
However, if you go out and rent a movie like this or watch it on TV expecting a masterpiece, what universe are you living in? Has any movie about animals playing sports ever really been that great? Apologies to all of the Air Bud fans out there, but even that movie wasn't all that great, and it's the Godfather of animal athlete movies. So, if you're holding Soccer Dog up to the standards set by other movies like it, you will find that it is actually fairly decent.
A man named Alden, once an orphan, is now happily married and living in a soccer-crazed town called Crocker. However, since he was once an orphan, he feels that it is his duty to adopt from the same orphanage. In comes Clay, the shy, chronically depressed young boy they adopt. This movie spends a little too much time being melodramatic with the attempt at chronicling the difficulties of parenting, but oh well. Clay joins the soccer team at his father's request, becoming the laughing stock of his team and the opposing team for his ignorance of the game they hold sacred. Just when all hope seems lost for Clay to fit in, he finds a dog. What happens? Lincoln happens to score a goal during a game and quickly becomes the town's biggest sensation since the sport of soccer was invented.
My favorite character in this whole movie would have to be the coach. I think he may save some of the movie with his "stand-out" humor, meaning he is the only one who is truly funny. Fans of old Nickelodeon TV shows may also recognize the referee as the head counselor from "Salute Your Shorts", making it even more enjoyable. And no movie is complete without a David Hasselhoff joke, and even Soccer Dog pulls that off.
All in all, not a bad attempt at a genre that never should have happened in the first place. 7/10
Knocked Up (2007)
Heart-warming and brilliant
Judd Apatow put himself on the map of great comedy directors with "The 40-Year Old Virgin", taking very crude humor and making it hysterical. This time around, he has put himself on the map of great romantic-comedy directors with a movie that is not only funnier, but much more real.
"Knocked Up" explores the scenario that every irresponsible but occasionally lucky man fears the most: accidental pregnancy. In this case, a successful, ladder-climbing Alison Scott goes out with her sister (hysterically played by Leslie Mann)to a club to celebrate a recent promotion. Meanwhile, slacker Ben Stone is out at the same club simply having fun with his friends. When Ben gives Alison his beer to give to her sister, a simple act of desperate charity turns into a friendly meeting, which turns into a crazy night of drunken dancing and partying, which turns into what was supposed to be a one-night stand. Eight weeks later, however, after getting sick on air, Alison discovers the horrifying truth: she's pregnant. The challenge of hiding the pregnancy from her workplace is nothing compared to the challenge of transforming Ben from a "self-employed" couch potato into a responsible father, and both parties learn a lot from the trials they go through.
This movie succeeds on so many levels, which is what makes it one of the best film of the year. The comedy is just as sharp, without being as flat-out crude, as the "40-Year Old Virgin"; it almost seems smarter. Most of the funniest elements of the movie come from what is being said quickly and in the background, forcing you to pay attention to everything that is being said out of fear that you'll miss a joke. It works, though, in making people laugh more and more as they gradually comprehend what they just heard, and these jokes are the funniest.
Where it truly succeeds, however, is the underlying reality of the situation. You can truly believe that two people would go through a situation like this, and it would happen exactly the same way as in the movie. The issue with Debbie and Pete is also very real, and is a perfect scenario to freak Alison and Ben out about their relationship together. Nothing in this movie seems unnecessary, nothing seems over-the-top, and as weird as it gets towards the end it all still fits together. The culmination of nearly two hours of stress, fights, and pregnant sex is the birth of the child, the only part of the movie that I felt was a little, how should I say it... shocking. However, with the birth of the child relieving all of the negative feelings from the entire movie, so comes the birth of a classic romantic comedy, sure to be loved for years. 10/10
Shrek the Third (2007)
Disappointing, but not bad by itself
When the first movie in a trilogy wins the first-ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and the second movie becomes the 3rd highest-grossing motion picture in American History, there is bound to be some very high expectations for the third film. Unfortunately, Shrek the Third will join a long line of threequels that has disappointed fans of the trilogy (see Godfather Part III, Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones 3, etc.). The first two movies thrived on a perfectly blended combination of smart verbal and visual humor and random, "what the hell is that?" humor. For instance, the Disneyland and Hollywood references in the first two, along with the Girl Dragon and giant gingerbread man, make for a hysterical combination in both movies. Shrek the Third really contains none of either type of humor. It's as if one of the filmmakers felt that they had wasted all of their silliness on the first two and had to present a serious and coherent moral in the third film. Shrek, however, is not a franchise built on presenting serious morals in serious manners. It presents these kinds of morals in ways that kids will comprehend without knowing that they are comprehending them.
Now, if you can get past the expectations built up from, and the comparisons to, the first two films, Shrek the Third is not all that bad. It has some funny moments, notably poking fun at high school, and some more serious moments. True, it's not as funny as the first two, but it's still funny. It's not as smart as the first two, but it's still smart.
Simply put, Shrek the Third is a classic example of a movie studio going one movie too far, hoping to cash in on the previous installment's monumental success. What resulted was a desperate attempt to stretch a plot line built for one movie, maybe (and more logically) two, over a third movie. What it lacks is novelty; Puss N Boots is no longer funny because he's new, Donkey is just starting to get annoying, and recycled jokes over three movies never work (see Pirates of the Caribbean: AWE). What it has going for it is some new characters, decent animation, and... well, decent animation.
It's an OK movie by itself, but it is very hard to overcome the comparisons to the first two. 6/10
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Fun Little Flick
Superhero movies have never been known for their Oscar-winning appeal, other than technical categories like sound and visual effects. So, it was quite a welcome surprise when Spider-Man 2 premiered and critics were raving. Still not Best Picture material, but pretty darn close to it.
Spider-Man 3 takes us back to the typical superhero movie, complete with villains (and I mean VILLAINS), internal and external struggles, and an ending that ends nothing. This movie knows it's role as a money-making machine, and it doesn't pretend to be anything more or less. It knows that, as serious as it tries to be, it will never win any major awards, so it has fun with itself knowing it really has nothing to lose.
The general story has Peter Parker returning, very in love with MJ Watson, and still confronting problems with his old friend-turned-enemy Harry Osborne. To paraphrase the plot, MJ gets fired from her Broadway show, the police make a breakthrough in the case of Uncle Ben, an escaped convict trying to support his daughter turns into a sand creature, a new photographer forms quite a rivalry with Peter, and MJ is challenged by a foxy blonde who's the daughter of the police chief. All of these elements turn into Peter straying farther and farther away from the man he wants to be, and more and more into a monster. The monster in question is a black goo which gives Peter a shiny black suit and a feeling of ultimate power. Pretty soon, Peter is dressing like a member of an emo-band, with black hair combed over his forehead, and black clothing to match. He's winking at girls, he's buying new suits, and worst of all, he's taunting MJ with the sight of him dancing with Gwen Stacey.
Eventually, Harry joins Peter's fight against the Sandman and Venom, the aforementioned rival photographer, to stop them from hurting MJ (the poor girl needs to get out of the city). The ending is mushy, tragic, and uplifting, but at the same time it doesn't really end things. It suggests an ending and tries to get you to believe yourself.
The special effects are good enough to overshadow weaknesses in plot, the villains are fun enough to overshadow the unnecessary story of Peter being taken over by revenge. It would be better if he just took on the Sandman because he thinks the Sandman is bad rather than a misunderstanding of vengeful proportions. Overall, though, the movie is entertaining, which is exactly the role of a superhero movie. People pay large ticket prices in mass quantities (see the record-breaking opening weekend), and they get their money's worth of noises, sights, and sensations of wonder. It resembles a smoke-screen used in a magic trick, designed to draw the attention of the viewer away from figuring out the trick. There is no trick here, though. The filmmakers understand their formula for success 100%. Lots of cool stunts, lots of cool villains, and lots of cool battle scenes make for a pretty cool movie. I just wish the plot, characters, and general mood of the movie had been better. 7/10
That Thing You Do! (1996)
Marvelously entertaining!
Tom Hanks got his early start in television, entertaining audiences in the "classic" sitcom "Bosom Buddies". He then moved to the big screen, nabbing an Oscar nod for his role in "Big" and becoming only the 2nd actor in history to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for his roles in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". There are very few people who can succeed in acting on television, acting in movies, and making movies.
I am glad to say that Tom Hanks is one of them.
In his first attempt at directing a movie, Hanks brings us a flat-out fun story of a small rock group who climb the charts of success, only to fall flat just as quick as they rose. The movie has everything: the comedic timing of lines delivered by Steve Zahn and Hanks himself make us laugh without entirely turning the movie into a silly comedy. There are dramatic moments with Johnathon Schaech's character without turning the movie into a drama, and there is music galore without turning the movie into a musical. Everything is wonderfully balanced, not one element overpowers the other, and it comes across as an entertaining film.
With a movie like this, certain elements need to be executed perfectly in order for it to work. When you make a movie that follows the experiences of a group of teenagers, you need to be able to like the characters. I don't know if you'll find a much more likable character than Guy Patterson, an easy-going jazz lover who stumbles into the band by accident, then drives their climb to success with a simple change of tempo. You need to make it fun without being cliché, so keeping the band from reaching #1 on the charts is a smart move. And with any movie with a song as the centerpiece, you need to like the song. "That Thing You Do!" could be one of the catchiest songs to come out of any movie in recent memory, and the other songs that you hear over the course of the movie are entertaining, as well. When you can combine the star power of Tom Hanks and Liv Tyler with the music, magic, and sheer entertainment of this movie, you can't possibly go wrong. 9/10
Poseidon (2006)
Not as bad as it seems
This movie got some pretty good reviews and some pretty bad reviews, and almost everything in between. Me, I gave it a pretty good review, and I will tell you why. It is an action movie, which historically are never that great anyway (Star Wars and Indiana Jones being some of the few exceptions), so you can't expect much more than what you got. It's a remake of one of the great action films of all-time, so you can't try to compare the two. The bad reviews were based primarily on these two factors, which to me is unfair. You should take this movie for what it is by itself, and when you do you will find that it is not nearly as bad as some think.
The story is a pretty cliché action plot, with a diverse group of survivors banding together to find a way off of the ship, which is now floating upside down. There's the rugged, "I work alone" leader, the older, more-experienced man, his daughter, and her fiancée, the pretty lady and her child, the foreign stowaway, and the old loner. The main thing that drives this story is the acting. Each actor knows who their character is and does nothing more, or less, than what is required. There is a lot of screaming, crying, and general fearfulness, but there would be in a situation like this. The only actor who overdoes his character is Kevin Dillon, but that's exactly how his character is. What prevents the movie from being another smash popcorn hit is, above all else, the writing. By trying to avoid being cliché in the script, the writers in fact made it worse, giving characters original lines that made them seem less intelligent than they really are. However, in the final action sequence, I found myself holding my breath along with the characters, struggling not to drown myself. And when an action film can make you feel like you're right there in the action, than it is a job well done. Certainly not great, but well done. 7/10
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Spielberg's Horrific Masterpiece
After directing such films as Jaws, E.T., and Schindler's List, I don't think that anybody thought that Steven Spielberg could do anything better.
Well, he did.
Saving Private Ryan, the greatest war film ever made, is undoubtedly Spielberg's masterpiece. Forget that it lost the Best Picture Academy Award to the utterly forgettable Shakespeare in Love; This film transcends all other war films before it, and will continue to be the standard for all war films after it.
From the very first gunshot on the beaches of Normandy (which is still the most shockingly brilliant scene in any movie in history) until the final shot is fired in the small French town at the end of the movie (quite possibly the 2nd most shockingly brilliant scene in history), the movie grabs your attention and refuses to let go. You squirm as the camera follows brave soldiers into the heat of battle out of fear of being shot yourself, and you feel each soldier's pain when one of their own falls in combat. After Private Ryan's thank you to Captain Miller at the end of the movie, we can't help but thank Captain Miller along with him. And we thank Spielberg, too, for creating one of the best films of all time for us to enjoy.