Passable B movie fare, the story is nonsensical, and both leads Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are dialing it in, but the action and CGI sequences are OK. Just from the title alone, it could have been far worse, I guess. Does what it says on the packet, no more, no less.
Tag Archives: movie
Cowboys & Aliens (2011, dir. Jon Favreau): does what it says on the packet
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows Part 2 (2011, dir. David Yates): among the superior HP films, themselves better than the books, but that’s a low bar
The fanboys (and girls) will likely be satisfied, and those others of us who trudged through the rest of the movies will find it a more entertaining and quicker-paced conclusion (certainly compared with the insufferably slow Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), and the interminably boring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)). Things come to an end, but because I didn’t much care about the characters, it really wasn’t very dramatic or triumphant or even sad. Truth be told, I did feel a twinge of regret that the vast resources of money and filmic talent could not have been put toward adapting more worthy material!
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, dir. Joe Johnston): serviceable comic book fare
Serviceable comic book fare, Captain America: The First Avenger tells a simple story which is better executed than its predecessor Avenger movie, Thor. It’s not as jingoistic as you might expect, given the name. The hook is that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was selected to become a superhero not because he knows how to beat up the bad guys, but precisely because he isn’t a bully and doesn’t want to kill anybody, even if they are Nazis.
The Tree of Life (2011, dir. Terrence Malick): impressionistic nature doco with little real drama
I spent most of this film’s running time worrying about the Bluetooth headset that I’d misplaced somewhere … to summarize the plot, Jack (Sean Penn) wakes up, walks to work, travels up an elevator, has some meetings at the office, rides back down the elevator, and walks back home as the sun starts setting. During the day, he reminisces about growing up in 1950s suburban Texas. The good parts are random scenes evoking childhood feelings, and a pretty cool but irrelevant CGI sequence showcasing the birth of the universe and of life on Earth. But nothing really hangs together
Midnight in Paris (2011, dir. Woody Allen): rom com souffle with a nostalgic Parisian garnish
Woody Allen still churns them out, this time a rom com souffle located in Paris, with a garnish of 1920s nostalgia. Owen Wilson is actually not bad as a put-upon writer, and Marion Cotillard is the luminous love interest. Add some jokes for the Hemingway/ Picasso/ Dali/ Fitzgerald crowd, and Allen’s fashioned a movie that would appeal to lovers of last year’s similarly light and fluffy The King’s Speech.
Bridesmaids (2011, dir. Paul Feig): proving gross-out comedies and chick flicks can mix
Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, Knocked Up) only produced rather than directed, but it has the same core formula: smart potty-mouthed script, hilarious gross-out set pieces piling joke on over-the-top-joke, and a likeable loser protagonist whose pride, fall and emotional growth provide the film’s pathos. The main differences this time are the female leads (compared with the usual male leads) – including a fearless star turn from SNL comedienne Kirsten Wiig – and the classically ‘chick flick’ subjects of weddings, bridal parties, BFFs and a budding romance. Certainly entertaining enough, watchable by women and men alike, though not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as its sibling films.
X-Men: First-Class (2011, dir. Matthew Vaughn): by-the-numbers revival of a flagging franchise
Best of the 2011 comic book movies so far (though that’s not a huge endorsement), this prequel revives the flagging X-Men franchise with by-the-numbers competence. While not as exhilirating or quirky as Vaughn’s last superhero flick Kick-Ass (2010), the action keeps moving, interspersed with the contrasting back-stories and philosophies of the upper-class idealist Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) and the concentration camp survivor-realist Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Goes beyond standard superhero scripts by dealing with themes of prejudice and xenophobia, and repeating the ‘smart action’ of the first flick (2000), where the mutant’s abilities are used in interesting and sometimes surprising ways.
Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides (2011, dir. Rob Marshall): time to retire this tired old franchise
“Ho-hum, ho-hum, I’d rather have a bottle of rum” than watch this snoozefest! Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) has fashioned something better than Pirates 2 and 3, but that’s not a high bar. There’s one action scene that is half-exciting (Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) escape from the London palace) but the rest seems to drag, which is a problem for an action flick. The plot’s not as convoluted as the prior 2 installments, but it still doesn’t make sense …
Thor (2011, dir. Kenneth Branagh): passably watchable big-budget superhero action
Slightly better than average for a big-budget superhero movie, especially considering Thor is positively B-list among the comic pantheon. Not bad CGI action, watchable faux-Shakespearean Asgard scenes (directed by Kenneth Branagh no less), but the movie falls apart when the action is on Earth. You’re supposed to buy that Thor (Australian newcomer Chris Hemsworth) learns humility and falls in love with a mortal (Natalie Portman), but it just doesn’t seem as believable as even the sci fantasy scenes of the Norse gods come to life.
Source Code (2011, dir. Duncan Jones): a well-made Inception-lite for more intelligent thriller auds
Above average, intelligent sci fi thriller wherein Jake Gyllenhaal makes up for his appalling turn in Prince of Persia. Interesting premise, with characters and back story you can care about, though the ending is perhaps a little too saccharine. If you digged Inception, then you’ll probably like Source Code (a little less mind-bending, a bit more action and explosions) …
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