Mike's Movie Tips

1.5/4 Starring: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt Rated R for Some Strong Sexual Content including References, Pervasive Language and Violent Images "The Watch" was re-titled from its original title, "Neighborhood Watch," after the horrible Trayvon Martin shooting.  All things considered, it won't make much of a difference.  This movie sucks.  It's overlong, unfunny and boring. Evan (Stiller) is the nicest guy in Glenview, Ohio.  He's founded a number of neighborhood clubs and dotes on his wife, Abby (DeWitt).  He is even supportive of his friend, Antonio Guzman (Joe Nunez) gaining American citizenship.  But when Antonio is savagely murdered, Evan forms a Neighborhood Watch.  Joining him are motormouthed father Bob (Vaughn), wannabe cop Franklin (Hill), and neighborhood newbie Jamarcus (Ayoade).  No one takes them seriously, however.  And the only one who takes The Watch seriously...

3/4 Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh Rated R for Language, Some Strong Sexual Content and Nudity I am not an Alexander Payne fan.  I didn't care for "Citizen Ruth," "Election," or "The Descendants."  Despite being beloved by critics, I found them to be the definition of mediocrity.  Feature-length sitcoms with all their  pitfalls.  I came across "Sideways" on TV once, and although I came in during the middle, I enjoyed it.  It has taken me until now to view the whole film and my opinion is still the same: it's a fun, low-key romance with some human comedy sprinkled in for seasoning. Depressed writer and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) has been in a rut since his divorce a year and a half ago.  His best friend Jack (Church) is getting married on Saturday, and Miles is taking him on a wine tasting trip through the vineyards of California.  While there, they meet the lovely Maya (Madsen), a w...

3/4 Starring: Ryan Guzman, Kathryn McCormick, Misha Gabriel, Peter Gallagher Rated PG-13 for Some Suggestive Dancing and Language The 80's and 90's were filled with movies like "Step Up Revolution:" formula pictures designed to showcase what the film was really about, be it dancing, sports or spelling bees.  Granted, none of the characters are three dimensional and there are no performances crying out for Oscar attention, but its a refreshing change of pace from sequels, reboots and superheroes. Sean (Guzman) and his best friend Eddy (Gabriel) are members of The Mob, a group of dancers who appear suddenly and put on elaborate dance routines.  Their goal is to be the creators of the first video to get ten thousand hits, which will earn them a cool hundred grand.  Sean meets Emily (McCormick), an aspiring dancer, at a party and she wants in.  Reluctantly, Sean and Eddy agree.  But when a business mogul named Anderson (Gallagher) decides to make a resort in...

Film critics view movies in different ways than general audiences.   By nature, they analyze film whereas most people who watch movies simply decide whether or not they like a movie or actor.   They write about the movie and why they feel something does or doesn't work. The trouble with this is that sometimes they use their critics' mind in movies where one is not needed.  Take "National Treasure" for instance.  Critics were, at best, dismissive of it.  James Berardinelli wrote that Nicolas Cage's character "acts like an autistic Sherlock Holmes, alternating between genius-like leaps of intuition and moments of astounding stupidity."  True, the film isn't exactly a life-altering experience and no one's mind will grow by watching it, but "National Treasure" isn't meant to be that kind of a movie.  You don't watch a movie like "National Treasure" with the same mindset that you watch " Michael Clayton ."  If y...

3.5/4 Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Malcolm McDowell Rated PG-13 for A Disturbing Image and a Crude Gesture "The Artist" is retro in every sense of the word.  It breathes life into a genre that, outside of films that belong in MoMA, has been dead for nearly ninety years.  While flawed and formulaic, it's well acted and well told. George Valentin (Dujardin) is the biggest star in Hollywood.  A silent film actor during the Roaring Twenties, he is famous for his roles opposite his dog (played by the adorable Uggie).  He's also proud and vain.  One day after coming out of a successful screening, he is bumped into by a beautiful young woman.  She kisses him and becomes the talk of the town.  Her name is Peppy Miller, and with George's advice, she becomes a rising star.  But with the rise of the talkies, George's career is in the toilet while Peppy become's Tinseltown's newest star. Ever wonder what happ...

1.5/4 Starring: Tara Reid, Kip Pardue Rated R for Language and Some Violence As you all know, I'm a huge fan of the "stranger within" genre.  Even though they're all the same in a general sense, it doesn't take a lot for them to work.  Compelling characters, escalating tension and heavy on the atmosphere.  If you have those three things, the movie will be good at the very least. Unfortunately, that's not what happens with "Devil's Pond."  The acting is good enough for the film's purposes, but it lacks any atmosphere or pacing.  Those two are the most important for a film like this to work, but first time director Joel Viertel can't accomplish either.  Although not as bad as " The Resident ," it's still a waste of time. Julianne (Reid) is on cloud nine.  She's getting married to the handsome Mitch (Pardue).  For they're honeymoon, they're staying at an out of the way cabin in the middle of a lake for two...

0.5/4 Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Alexis Bledel, Colm Meaney, Justin Long Rated PG-13 for Some Violent Content Words fail me.  How can I begin to comprehend how bad "The Conspirator" is?  It has such a strong cast and director that expecting something entertaining if not provocative is completely fair.  Yet what is on screen is a misfire in just about every department. April 1865.  The Civil War has just ended.  The North is rejoicing while Southerners are burning with resentment.  Tensions overflow when a group of men assassinates President Abraham Lincoln.  One of the accused is a woman named Mary Surratt (Wright).  A young lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy) is assigned by a senator (Wilkinson) to defend her.  Aiken doesn't want the job; as a former soldier, he saw first hand what the South did to the North and feels that she deserves exactly what's coming to her. ...

1.5/4 Starring: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and Action I haven't read Stephanie Meyer's popular book franchise.  Based on the evidence, it's entirely possible that within the pages of her books there is a lot of potential.  What is on screen, however, is anything but.  The first entry, " Twilight ," was dumb, but it was at least watchable.  "New Moon," however, is anything but. After nearly being killed by a vampire in the first film, Bella Swan (Stewart) is recuperating under the watchful eyes of her father Charlie (Burke), and from a not-so-great distance, Edward Cullen (Pattinson).  But after she gets a cut on her arm during her birthday party at the Cullens, and Edward's "brother" Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) tries to drink her blood, Edward and the Cullens flee.  That leaves Bella pining for him.  In walks her old friend, Jacob Black (Lautner), who has a ...

4/4 Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Peggy Wood, Charmain Carr, Richard Hadyn Rated G It is arguably the most famous, and without a doubt the most successful musical of all time.  Nearly every song has earned a place in our hearts and our culture.  And, surprisingly, it's nearly 3 hours long.  Time really flies when you're watching it however. Maria (Andrews) is a young nun living in Austria.  She's enthusiastic, energetic and devoted, but a little scatterbrained.  After inadvertently causing enough trouble, the Mother Abbess (Wood) sends her to be the new governess for the Von Trapp family.  This is not a normal family.  Captain Georg Von Trapp (Plummer) is an ex-naval officer who runs his family as such.  They are called by whistles, stand in formation and their only release for their energy is to walk around the garden.  Maria is horrified, but quickly makes an impression on the children with her singing and ...

Shortly before the Aurora massacre, the news was dominated by the fallout of Jerry Sandusky's criminal trial.  Sandusky molested over twelve boys and as a result is spending the rest of his life behind bars.  Few will disagree that justice has been served, although the pain for his victims will never go away. Penn State is also in hot water, not only in public opinion but from the NCAA.  A number of high ranking officials at the school, including legendary coach Joe Paterno, were fired or forced to resign.  The NCAA imposed devastating sanctions and fines against the Nittany Lions football program.  Penn State football, once highly esteemed across the country, will be forever tarnished. Some have argued that the NCAA's sanctions are too harsh since the students are paying the price.  Such a response is disgusting and reprehensible.  Sandusky's victims are going to carry their wounds for the rest of their lives.  No, it's not the student's faul...

4/4 Starring: Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Mary McDonnell, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, River Phoenix, Ben Kingsley Rated PG-13 for Some Sexual References "Sneakers" is one of the most fun capers I've ever seen.  Filled with wit and suspense in equal quantities, it's truly an underrated classic. Martin Bishop (Redford) leads a ragtag group of outcasts who make their living breaking into buildings to test their security systems.  Apart from Marty, they include: Crease (Poitier), who is ex-CIA.  Mother (Aykroyd) is a conspiracy theorist techno-geek.  Whistler (Strathairn) is a blind man with exceptional hearing.  And Carl (Phoenix) is the muscle (oddly enough).  One day, they are contacted by two men from the NSA (Timothy Busfeld and Eddie Jones).  They want him to steal a mysterious black box that helps with code-breaking.  Marty turns them down, but as they put it, he doesn't have a choice since they know that he's really Martin Brice...

3.5/4 Starring: Judy Garland, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Joan Caroll, Leon Ames, Henry H. Daniels Jr Not Rated Next to "The Wizard of Oz," Vincente Minelli's "Meet Me in St. Louis" is Judy Garland's most famous film.  It's not hard to see why.  It's fun, the songs are catchy (especially the Oscar-nominated Trolley Song) and the characters are people we can relate to.  Despite being nearly 70 years old, "Meet Me in St. Louis" has lost none of its power to entertain. The film details six months in the lives of the Smith family in 1903.  Father Alonzo (Ames) is a successful lawyer.  Mother Anna (Astor) dotes on the family.  Eldest son Lon (Daniels Jr) is in college.  Eldest daughter Rose (Bremer) is awaiting a marriage proposal from her suitor.  Her younger sister Esther (Garland) has her eye on John Truett (Drake), the handsome new neighbor next door.  And the little girls Tootie (O'Brien) and Agn...

3/4 Starring: Aaron Schwartz, Tom McGowan, Ben Stiller, Shaun Weiss, Kenan Thompson, Leah Lail, Paul Feig Rated PG for Some Rude Language and Pranks To me, "Heavy Weights" represents more than just a movie.  It's all about nostalgia.  This is a movie that I would watch at friends' houses during sleepovers or at summer camp.  It feels so personal to me than I can hardly believe that this was made to make money for Disney.  True, it's not particularly a good movie, but it is special to me. Gerry Garner (Schwartz) is an overweight kid living in suburbia.  On the last day of school, he arrives home to find that his parents (Jeffrey Tambor and Nancy Ringham) have brought in Roger Johnson (Tim Blake Nelson) to tell him something no portly kid ever wants to hear: he's going to fat camp.  Naturally, Gerry is against the idea, preferring to lounge around, but he's won over by the promotional video (especially the go-karts).  So Gerry flies to a p...

By now, most of the world has learned of the terrible events in Aurora, Colorado.  At a midnight showing of the summer's most anticipated film, "The Dark Knight Rises," 12 people were gunned down and 58 people were wounded.  It was a horrible and completely senseless crime. Media pundits on both sides of the fence are going to cry out about gun control.  I agree that gun control is an issue that needs to be talked about (allowing guns on college campuses to allow potential victims to fight back against a shooter?  Is everyone high?).  But far more pressing is the need for discussion about mental health. Anyone who thinks that the alleged shooter was in a clear mental state is either naiive or deluding themselves.  No sane person would do something like this.  While one might wonder why, the bottom line is that he needed medical treatment in order to prevent this from happening. One thing that would help is to create discussion.  Mental illne...

3/4 Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Sensuality and Language This review contains vague spoilers.  I don't think this review spoils anything, but I need to give warning to rest my conscience. The trilogy is complete.  Christopher Nolan has concluded his legendary film series that began seven years ago (he will not return to the franchise, and Bale has said he won't return without Nolan on board).  In a way, the success of the film's predecessor, " The Dark Knight ," works against this film.  "The Dark Knight" raised the bar to astounding heights, not only for superhero movies but for movies entirely.  It will be a long time before any movie achieves that kind of unpredictability and narrative thrust.  "The Dark Knight Rises" is a good film, and I don't hesitate to recommend the film (no...

4/4 Starring: Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan, Angus MacFayden, Sophie Marceau, Brendan Gleeson, David O'Hara, Catherine McCormack, Brian Cox Rated R for Brutal Medieval Warfare "Braveheart" is an epic of a grand nature.  It's got all the required elements: a larger than life hero, a hissable villain, awesome battle scenes, emotional highs and lows, and of course, a passionate romance.  When these movies work, especially to the extent that "Braveheart" does, they can be truly amazing experiences.  It's a shame that there aren't more of them. William Wallace (Gibson) is a young man who has just returned from abroad.  After his father and brother were killed in battle against the tyrannical English king Longshanks (McGoohan), he was raised by his worldly uncle Argyle (Cox).  Now he's back in Scotland intending to live a simple farmer's life.  But resentment towards English rule, particularly after Longshanks institutes prima noctis, a barb...

3.5/4 Starring: Richard Thomas, Harry Anderson, Annette O'Toole, Tim Reid, John Ritter, Dennis Christopher, Jonathan Brandis, Brandon Crane, Seth Green, Emily Perkins, Adam Faraizl, Ben Heller, Marlon Taylor, Richard Masur, Olivia HusseyTim Curry Not Rated (contains Violence and Gore.  Should be PG-13) At over three hours long, Stephen King's "IT" is an unusual horror movie (well, TV miniseries).  After all, who else but a masochist would want to be scared for 192 minutes straight (even if a director can manage to keep the tension up that high for that long)?  But "IT" works because it is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a horror movie.  There is an atmosphere of evil in every scene, but at its heart, "IT" is about growing up and doing what's right. Famed writer Bill Denbrough (Thomas) gets a call that shakes him to the very core.  An old friend, Mike Hanlon (Reid) tells him, "It's back."  He remembers how his brothe...

4/4 Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Embeth Davidtz Rated R for Language, Some Sexuality and Actuality Violence 6,000,000.  Six million Jewish people were murdered during what has infamously become known as the Holocaust.  Numbers on the page of a history book or spoken by a narrator do little to express the magnitude of those whose lives were taken from them simply because of their faith.  With "Schindler's List," director Steven Spielberg does what that cannot: put faces behind the number. Oskar Schindler (Neeson) is the man who has everything.  In a time of war, pleasurable goods like good wine and fruit are hard to come by, but Schindler can get it for you.  Like all businessmen, he makes money for a living.  He wants to open up a factory to profit from the war, and he wants to use Jews to run it because they're cheap.  He hires a Jewish man named Itzhak Stern (Kingsley) to run the factory while S...

2.5/4 Rated PG for Some Suggestive Content, Language, Thematic Elements and Brief Smoking The documentary about pop sensation Katy Perry is not as good as it could be, but nowhere near as bad as you think.  Katy is an interesting enough person to spend about an hour with, but unfortunately the movie is 93 minutes long.  Things start to drag in the third quarter, but pick up again once it changes direction. At first glance, this film seems little more than a fluff piece that you'd find on MTV or ET.  Katy was a good girl who had lots of talent and grew up in a devoutly Christian home.  She had a dream and worked hard to achieve it.  Yadda yadda yadda.  Like we haven't seen that before. The film does do a few interesting things.  For example, it shows how Katy was tossed around at Columbia Records because she was told to be like Avril Lavigne or Britney Spears.  She was then taken by an executive over to Virgin Records.  This stuff is p...

I don't envy Christopher Nolan right now.  It's a week and a half away from the release of the most anticipated movie since " Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ," and that was nearly fifteen years ago. For months before its release, there was a sense of frenzied mania with anticipation.  Charity screenings, people waiting on sidewalks...it was pandemonium. The film was a success, to be sure.  There's no doubt about that.  It was a major box-office success when it was released (despite mixed reviews), and it earned over a billion dollars worldwide all in all. But now, everyone hates it.  You can't go to any major internet or media source or person alive to find a (new) positive viewing of the three Star Wars prequels.  I for one loved them, and in some ways they are superior to the originals.  But as the great James Berardinelli put it, " it   was probably the most overhyped motion picture of the last decade (if not longer), and its rep...

3/4 Starring: Glenn Close, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Frances McDormand, Jennifer Ehle, Julianna Margulies, Elizabeth Spriggs Rated R for Prisoner of War Brutality and Violence In a way, "Paradise Road" is a victim of its own length.  Even at a hair over two hours long, it's too short.  In an attempt to keep things to a "reasonable" length, director Bruce Beresford cuts out too much and shortchanges more than a few of the relationships that make up the story. In 1942, a group of women are with their husbands/boyfriends in Singapore dancing at a gala.  But the base is attacked and the women and children are rushed out of the Philippenes.  Their ship is attacked, however, and the survivors are sent to a Japanese POW camp in Sumatra.  There, they undergo grueling work and face the threat of death by execution or disease.  Two of the women, Adrienne Partiger (Close) and Margaret Drummond (Collins) decide to form a vocal orchestra to keep thei...

2.5/4 Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Sean Cullen Rated R for Language including Some Sexual Dialogue When I saw "Michael Clayton," I couldn't make heads or tails of it.  It was so densely written that one had to be a MENSA member to figure it out.  I watched it a second time tonight, and I was surprised at how clear it actually was (although I still didn't get everything).  And while I find it to be well acted and compelling, I can't recommend it. Michael Clayton (Clooney) is a fixer for the law firm of Kenner, Bach and Ledeen.  He deals with the firm's dirty business and makes sure that their clients don't have anything that could screw up their cases.  For example, in an early scene, one of their regular clients has hit a pedestrian with his car, and Michael goes to the man's house to tell him what to do.  Michael hates his job, but as his boss Marty Bach (Pollack) points out, he's good at it.  He...

3.5/4 Starring: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore, Terror and Language "P2" is your basic horror movie done very well.  It's got your terrified heroine (complete with great cleavage and a great set of pipes).  And it's got your creepy villain, who reminds us why seemingly nice guys are sometimes the scariest. Angela (Nichols) is a workaholic New Yorker staying late on Christmas Eve.  Her family is nagging her to come home ASAP, and she's got a lecherous co-worker (Simon Reynolds) apologizing for getting to frisky with her after the office Christmas party.  When she finally gets her work done, she finds that her car won't start.  The garage attendant, Thomas (Bentley), is helpful, but doesn't fix the car.  A cab comes, but the door is locked.  That's when she's attacked with chloroform and is chained up in Thomas's office wearing a new dress for his Christmas dinner. The film is essentially a fright...

Before " Titanic " hit the big time, action movies were crammed with lots of action.  The more intense the action, the better.  Movies like "Die Hard," "True Lies" and the "Terminator" movies relished the R rating, cramming in lots of brutal violence and copious amounts of profanity.  That changed when Hollywood realized that teenagers were the new lifeblood of the film industry (at least in movie theaters), and they started toning down the violence and especially the profanity to get the lucrative PG-13 rating.  For a while, that was all we had: action movies with neutered action.  Even horror movies were toned down.  That's fine for teenagers, but what about people such as myself, who have been waiting patiently for years to be able to see an R rated movie with no fear of being turned away by the ushers (admittedly this rarely happened, but I got turned away from seeing " Troy " on opening night, which was my birthday, a movie tha...

On principle, I don't mind superhero movies or sequels.  In fact, some of them are quite enjoyable.  " Green Lantern " made my Top 10 list last year and I love " The Dark Knight ."  We get a chance to vicariously kick ass and use superpowers that we wish we had, and we get to revisit characters that we know and love. The problem, however, is that they're all we get.  Can someone name a big budget action movie that hasn't had a superhero in it or been based on a comic book?  Apart from the "Transformers" movies and " Battleship ," which are based on toys, I can't. It would be fine if they didn't come at the expense of other types of movies.  In an effort to target foreign audiences, Hollywood does only one type of movie: the big budget comic book movies.  From a financial standpoint, it makes sense.  These movies rake in billions, and a studio head would have to be mental to turn that kind of money down.  But they're al...

4/4 Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Matt Bomer, Gabriel Iglesias, Adam Rodriguez Rated R for Pervasive Sexual Content, Brief Graphic Nudity, Language and Some Drug Use What really impressed me about "Magic Mike" is its authenticity.  Almost everything that happens in this movie rings true, from how the characters act to the situations that they find themselves in.  There's not much in this film that is surprising, but it's written and directed in a way that makes it come alive. Much of the reason for the film's success is due to Channing Tatum.  A former model who got into acting because he wanted a bigger challenge, Tatum has never particularly impressed me with his acting abilities.  That all changed with " 21 Jump Street ."  His performance as Jenko was very good, and he demonstrated his ability to get a laugh.  As the title character, Magic Mike, Tatum gives a performance of near brilliance. ...

3.5/4 Starring: Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenburg, Meryl Streep, Jon Abrahams Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content including Dialogue, and for Language "Prime" is one of the best romantic comedies to come along in years.  I haven't seen one better since it was released, and I certainly can't remember a movie that balanced romance and comedy this well off the top of my head.  It's at times very funny, but there's also an element of emotional honesty running through it as well.  We believe in the characters and their situations. Rafi (Thurman) is as 37 year old living in New York City.  She's smart, cultured and beautiful.  She's also coming off a messy divorce and is seeing a therapist, Dr. Lisa Metzger (Streep).  Almost immediately after the divorce, she meets David Bloomberg (Greenberg), a handsome, smart and funny young man.  He asks her out and the two hit it off magically.  There's a problem, however.  David is 23.  And what neither of ...