Review #199 - The Debt

A bit of casting problem but other than that, a classic, well written spy drama

The Debt (2011), Rated-R, 104min

In 1997, retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) find out about their former teammate, David (Ciarán Hinds)'s death. All three have been praised for decades by their country because of the mission that they took back in 1966, when they (portrayed by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) hunt down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. The team's mission was accomplished successfully...except there is a big secret that those three only know about...

It is nice to see a film like The Debt, a classic, serious spy thriller. Sometime it's fun to watch action packed spy thrillers such as Jason Bourne series or say something like Mission Impossible. But sometime those movies can't beat the seriousness and the heaviness of real spy thriller...like The Debt. 

The Debt is serious, can be graphic time to time and is definitely dark. But all those pieces are necessary in order to create that thrilling spy atmosphere from Cold War period - hunt or be hunted. In addition to this great thrilling atmosphere The Debt provides to audiences, the film also shows emotional sides of each character. The film portrays spies' lonely, desperate, sad life overseas so well that it adds another layer of seriousness to the core storyline. 

Although the movie switches back and forth between now and 1960s, I would say that the movie is really consist of two main parts. One is lead by Helen Mirren and the others - what the retired spies are doing now, and the other part is lead by Jessica Chastain and the others - young spies on their mission in East Berlin. That being said, if I have to name one negative thing from this movie, then that will be casting. Because of this nature of the film (time-shifting, kind of like TV show, LOST), you see young Rachel and old Rachel back and forth....eventually you end up comparing those two. And the thing is, both of actresses give fantastic acting in this film but....they don't quite match well together. What I mean by that is, is Helen Mirren really a good choice (so as the other characters) for aged Rachel (portrayed by Chastain)? I am not sure. Putting their acting performance aside, if we focus visually more, then I would say...they could have come up with better casting for each character, either young version or old version of each. 

Other than that, The Debt is a rare spy thriller you get to watch, especially now days. It is smart, well written and is powered by great acting. If you are looking for a serious movie to watch and want to be satisfied, The Debt will be a great pick!

Overall grade: B+ 

Review #198 - Insidious

A new concept but silly haunted house style movie

Insidious (2011), PG-13, 102min

A family moves into an old house and begins to think that there is something wrong with the house when their young son inexplicably falls into a deep coma. Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) struggle to uncover the root cause of their son's condition, they start to discover some truths as they experience paranormal activities around the house...

Insidious is based on this new concept of paranormal activity...which I have never seen (in other movies) or heard of before.  I don't want to give any spoiler for those of you who haven't seen it yet but it's basically a concept that, some people can "detach" their spirit from their physical bodies and can travel around....and that causes many paranormal activities including getting haunted by evil ghosts...etc

I guess, if you are interested in paranormal activities, then you might be familiar with this concept. That being said, at least from movie point of view, it is fresh and intriguing. And I think the director and the actors did fine job to visualize this new concept - I don't have any problem with that.

The problem is that Insidious forgot what the horror movie is supposed to be. The horror movie is supposed to scare people, correct? Your flesh skin is supposed to crawl, you are horrified, frightened...you name it. And that's exactly Insidious fails to do so. Yea, conceptually speaking, it is fresh and interesting to watch but in this current movie industry where there are simply too many horror flicks (both good and bad) and many of them tend to follow same style/format now days...Insidious is nothing special and it also bring some silliness to your home. There are some "creepy" scenes but that's about it - it gets dumber and dumber as it goes. Visually speaking, it really gets disappointing as the movie goes on. When the movie is powered by all those silly visuals, the concept itself starts to look more stupid as well. So, I'm not going to lie, after I finished watching this movie, all I got was "wow, that was stupid movie" rather than "wow, I won't be able to sleep tonight". 

Nonetheless, I would say that Insidious is slightly above average horror flicks, so if you are searching for a new horror movie to watch, it maybe worth a try. However, I can promise you, if you are experienced horror movie watcher like myself and looking for the "real" horror movie, Insidious is far, far away from being satisfactory . 

Overall grade: C 

Review #197 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

More CGI ape actions, less human dialogues. 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), PG-13, 120min

During scientific/medical experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically enhanced chimp uses its developed intelligence to lead other apes to...freedom

This one will be a hard one to review. Right off the bat, I will tell you this: despite all those positive reviews it got, I honestly thought it was "okay" movie. Don't get me wrong, it is a good movie and probably, one of good entertaining films of this summer but it isn't a super-fabulous movie. I'm a bit surprised that it got many positive reviews from critics. 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (RPA) is nothing close to what we saw in many years ago. There are no ape suits! There are no cheap, fake sets! It's all about next generation CGI effects. In fact, apes and chimps (all other kinds of monkeys you see in this film) look all super realistic that the film will definitely give you "whoa" factor. It is smooth, realistic and natural. I know our CGI technology got advanced but comparing to those old, classic Planet of the Apes movies? RPA can't be even compared. 

Now, there are some good actors in this movie, mainly James Franco (and maybe John Lithgow). But as far as I saw, there weren't much of those "human dialogues", rather 80% of the movie is probably made of monkey-talking and monkey gestures...etc So bottom line is this, although the movie seems to deliver some important lessons/messages (don't harm weaker ones, be nice to animals, family love...etc) but this movie doesn't probably require much of actual "acting" to deliver those messages anyway because it is all about...apes. It starts with apes and it ends with apes. Franco is more like a sidekick rather than he is the leading actor (on a paper, yes he is - you can't really name CGI created chimp a leading actor, can you?)

In terms of story, it is very straightforward and pretty much explains everything how the planet of the apes starts. If you feel like the movie doesn't explain much..etc, then you are definitely thinking too much and asking too much from this movie. After all, please remember it is "Planet of the Apes" franchise - we all know how the series goes from previous films. I would say that it is better not to expect something very precise, clear to understand from this movie (or series in general). 

Nonetheless, RPA is a fun, entertaining summer blockbuster that many people can enjoy. Splendid CGI effects, engaging story, good tempo...and doesn't destroy good old the Planet of Apes movies from the past.

Overall grade: B 

Review #196 - Paper Man

Good performance but horrible story.


Paper Man (2009), Rated-R, 110min
Richard (Jeff Daniels) is a novelist who still talks to his imaginary friend, Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds). As he struggles to write his new book, Richard decides to move to a house near the beach for the winter season. There, Richard meets 17-year-old Abby (Emma Stone) and hires her as a weekly babysitter, even though he has no children. Their friendship soon becomes more complicated as Richard's and Abby gets closer and closer. However, the two must face the reality of their lives, with Abby standing up to her boyfriend and Richard dealing his marriage and bidding goodbye to Captain Excellent once and for all...

Ok. Paper Man. It is a semi-indie film with pretty good casting line up - Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Lisa Kudow...etc. Speaking of casting, Ryan Reynolds is basically an accessory to this film, he doesn't make any significant impact....and honestly, it didn't make any different if "Captain Excellent" is performed by someone else. So don't get excited about Ryan Reynolds (which I did unfortunately...), the movie focuses much more on Jeff Daniel and Emma Stone. 

Speaking of Daniel and Stone, they are bread and butter of this movie. They are the main driven forces, their interactions, dialogues and chemistry are main assets and strengths of the film. That being said, their acting performance is above average - they really do have this "odd" chemistry to get this movie going. Usually we see Emma Stone in high school/teenagers dramas and we know exactly how she performs in those environments. So it is interesting to see Stone in this type of indie film (although her role is a high school teenager) and how she reacts/performs with the older actors. And I think she did just fine and like I said, her honest performance (powered by Jeff Daniel) is one of the reasons why this movie is watchable. 

Now what makes this movie bad? Well, other than Jeff Daniel and Emma Stone's pretty strong performance (and semi-good casting), Paper Man is directionless, loses its point, is not polished enough....and it's very flat as it gets to the ending. I understand that the director was probably trying to create this sad, depressive emotional environment of lonely writer but there seems to be no ups and downs. It is almost like you are watching a documentary film of lonely writer who doesn't do much other than talking awkwardly. Yea, if that's the point of movie/character development, then I get it but nonetheless, it is too flat overall, it loses your interest very quickly. As for the ending, it answers some questions but many of them are not...and the way it ended the film is mediocre comparing to its progression. 

Overall, I would say that Paper Man is less than mediocre indie film. If you are Emma Stone fan, then it may not hurt to check it out...other than that, I suggest you to pass it.

Overall grade: D 

Review #195 - Captain America: The First Avenger

Better than Thor.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), PG-13, 121min

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that changes him into the super soldier known as Captain America. Steve joins forces with Colonel Chester Phillip (Tommy Lee Jones) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to find and destroy the evil HYDRA organization...

I am not sure if I were right on this but I assume this is the last installment before they make The Avengers movie next year. They so far got many of the major characters (i.e. Iron Man, Thor, Hulk...etc) and now, it's Captain America's turn. The movie explains how "Captain America" was created (just like other installments) and also explains how the guy from 1940s still looks like...well, a guy from 1940s.

Overall, I have to say that Captain America is definitely better than Thor in terms of the quality and completion of the film. It has more retro feeling (by default) and that actually helps to make this movie more refreshing comparing to the other super hero films. Like I said, in terms of the storyline, it is exactly the same as the other ones - so although it's based on different time period, you can pretty much expect whats coming. That being said, it is interesting to see how Captain America tries to differentiate itself from others...other than using "retro feeling".

One factor is that Captain America is more than a super hero film. If you actually remove those super hero elements from this movie, it is basically a love story between a young man and woman during the war period. It is about the little man who has no talents or skills but eventually romantically involves with his crush by being "genuinely nice". And if you consider this as a love story, its sad ending also helps to generate some sentimental moment and creates a nice dramatic flow.

Nonetheless, be aware that there are some cheesy scenes and you might feel little silly watching the movie. But, remember, it is a comic book based movie and it tries to follow what's on the comic book - if you think that way, Captain America won't make you feel any more silly than reading the actual comic.

As a summer blockbuster, super hero film, Captain America definitely beats Thor and will give you similar satisfaction to X-Men: First class (in a good way). The casting lineup is decent, the story is well written - it's one good comic based movie to watch.

Overall grade: B

Review #194 - The Adjustment Bureau

Starts out strong....ends with silliness.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011), PG-13, 99min

When he is about to win seat in the U.S. Senate, a politician David Norris (Matt Damon) meets beautiful ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). But mysterious men try to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the men of The Adjustment Bureau--who will do everything to prevent David and Elise from being together. Now David must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to be with her...

The Adjustment Bureau is a psychological thriller-romance starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. It's based on a short sci-fi story. From what I saw, it was a bit of The Box (Cameron Diaz) and a bit of Butterfly Effect (Ashton Kutcher). It's basically about a man and a woman trying to be together but there is this "thing" preventing them from being together. It may or may not sound typical to you. Nonetheless, its premise is strong, so it should be interesting enough for you to stick with it (at least, you will want to know how this movie will end).

Like my first line suggests, The Adjustment Bureau starts out strong - it's interesting and somewhat addictive. It makes you feel you want to know David Norris' Fate...it is similar to the sense you get from The Box (hopefully, you do), you want to know that the box is so bad. Now. It starts out strong but slowly it gets..."meh". I understand that it is supposed to be a romance movie rather than straight-up psychological thriller but the film becomes really unbalanced as it gets to the ending. It tries to focus more on romance factor, thus the movie roughly covers and tries to explain how this "adjustment bureau" works - there will be lots of unexplained "why"s "hows" and "what"s after you finish watching it. Acting wise, you probably don't have to worry about it but it isn't the best you will see. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt seem to be working well together but other than that, there is nothing special - ok overall acting, ok supporting actors/actresses.

Overall, The Adjustment Bureau is an okay movie. Of course, it somewhat depends on which aspect of the movie you would like to focus more - is it romance aspect? psychological thriller aspect? Or sci-fi aspect? I hate to see a movie starts out strong and has fairly strong premises but...loses momentum, gets off balanced and ends weak.

Overall grade: C

Review #193 - Gulliver' Travel

Jack Black fails.

Gulliver's Travels (2010), PG-13, 85min

A mailroom clerk, Lemuel Gulliver (Black) discovers an island in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle where he is the biggest occupant in comparison to its tiny inhabitants...

So this modern remake version of Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black...happens to be a failure. It's very lazy and poorly directed/written/produced. I don't think it's Jack Black's fault but all you see is a typical Black unleashing himself in usual manner...and keeps failing. The movie starts out in somewhat good way (I'm talking about before Black gets lost in Bermuda Triangle) but once Black is discovered by tiny people, that's when non-stop failure begins. The movie has lots of unnecessary jokes and plays...and at some point you feel speechless because they aren't even funny.

The biggest disappointment is this movie's take on modern Gulliver's Travels. If by any mean, Star Wars, Transformers like robot, 24, Titanic, Ipod, Guitar Hero are definitions of modernity, then the director/producer/writer all failed to create a movie. It is just so dumb to see Gulliver playing Guitar Hero...or tiny people watching Start Wars...etc. I mean, it can be sometime "cute" but most of the times, it's just plain bad. And if this is the modern interpretation of Gulliver's Travel, then I would call it a complete disaster.

Having Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Amanda Peet also doesn't help this movie to be rescued either. Their scripts are so cheesy and poorly written, thus they actually help to accelerate the failure with Jack Black's silliness...

So the bottom line is this: if you are looking for some time to waste, wait this movie to come on TV someday, sometime in the future...other than that, it is so horrible that there isn't really a good reason to check it out. Stay away from this junk.

Overall grade: F