Mike's Movie Tips

4/4 Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, William Fichtner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, John Hawkes, Cherry Jones, Karen Allen, Bob Gunton, Janet Wright, Michael Ironside, Rusty Schwimmer Rated PG-13 for Language and Scenes of Peril The thing that sets "The Perfect Storm" apart is that once it gets going, it never lets go.  Watching the film is a maddening experience; we never get the chance to get oriented or catch out breath.  That's exactly where Wolfgang Peterson wants us.  He puts us right in the middle of the action, and it's not a happy place to be.  One person describes it as "hell."  That's an apt descriptor. The Andrea Gail is a swordfishing boat out of Gloucester, Massachusetts.  It's captained by Billy Tyne (Clooney), whose love of fishing has crossed over into an obsession.  His right-hand man is rookie Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg), who loves fishing and loves his girlfriend Christina (Lane...

The MPAA is a piece of crap.  Everyone I asked (who knows what it is) thinks so.  My parents never took it very seriously, and I doubt a lot of others do as well.  What's the point of having a rating system if none of the ratings mean anything except to the movie theaters and the filmmakers whose films could be altered to secure the desired rating? On the MPAA's film ratings website , MPAA ratings chief Joan Graves (who briefly appeared, albeit with a hand drawn face in the searing, must-see documentary about the MPAA "This Film is Not Yet Rated"), writes a note to the parents who are confused about film ratings and how the board makes their decisions. At first glance, Graves sounds perfectly reasonable.  She seems honest and is open about the ratings board being controversial.  However, it doesn't take much more than a cursory glance to poke holes in her reasoning.  Here is her letter (which was published in the Hollywood Reporter), published word for ...

3/4 Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Wole Parks, Jamie Chung, Christopher Place Rated PG-13 for Some Violence, Intense Action Sequences, and Language Shortly before its release, Columbia pushed back the release date for David Koepp's new movie, "Premium Rush."  Switching release dates from one dump month to the next is usually a sign that the movie is awful, but actually, August it the perfect time to release the movie.  It's filled with the bright sunny energy that has been missing from summer movies for the past 15 years (when did movies become so grim?).  And it won't get lost in the superhero blitz. Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) is a bike courier in New York City.  When e-mail, FedEx, or snail mail won't work, they call Wilee.  He's incredibly fast on his bike; he has no brakes and no gears.  Some of his friends think he has a death wish.  But Wilee simply likes to ride fast.  One afternoon, he's personal...

3/4 Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Bill Nunn, Harvey Keitel, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes Rated PG for Mild Violence and Language To me, one of the most unrecognized sources of amusement, or at the very least a sense of "cool," is having established characters break out and let loose.  An example is in the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," where it opens with a standard cartoon short but someone yells cut and the baby starts talking like boy from Joisey and saying things like "Hiya, toots!"  That's funny. Consider "Sister Act," where a group of nuns start dancing and singing hymns arranged to the music of showtunes.  And later, they guilt a man into flying them to Vegas to save one of their own from a nasty end.  Now, nuns are known to be dignified and proper, which most of them are, I imagine.  But I doubt they are humorless.  I think that they have more fun than we give them credit for.  Whether or not they go ab...

A while back, I posed a question on the Reelviews forum about the line between a joke being funny, and being offensive.  Humor is subjective; James Berardinelli may find "A Fish Called Wanda one of the funniest movies ever, while I find it a lifeless bore.  Edgy material is also subjective; one person might find a joke about a Jewish character hilarious, while another might see it as offensive and reprehensible. Where do you draw the line?  It really depends on the material and how it's handled.  First off, if the joke lands and gets a laugh, no apologies are necessary.  In many cases, humor is a way of breaking down barriers.  Humor lightens the mood in any situation and it brings to light the fact that everyone, no matter who they are, is prone to their own human foibles.  In dealing with controversial material, which is the lifeblood of many comics, successful comedians use humor to address the material. Not every joke works, obviously (see " Wa...

3.5/4 Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Jennifer Ehle, Timothy Spall Rated R for Some Language I've said before that there's nothing wrong with formula pictures, provided they're done correctly.  "The King's Speech" is a case in point.  There's nothing really surprising that happens in "The King's Speech."  It's really a traditional buddy picture spruced up with strong characters, superb performances and top-notch storytelling.  I'm not complaining. Prince Albert (Firth) is a troubled man.  He's got a terrible stammer, which would be more of an irritant except for the fact with the advent of radio, he's forced to speak in public.  That causes no end of grief for him and his family.  His wife, Elizabeth (Carter) is sympathetic, and determined to help him, but nothing seems to work.  In a last ditch effort to find a treatment that will help, she contacts Lionel Logue ...

2.5/4 Starring (voices): Kodi Smitt-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Jodelle Ferland, John Goodman Rated PG for Scary Action and Images, Thematic Elements, Some Rude Humor and Language Watching "Paranorman" brings to mind Steven Spielberg's early movies, like "ET" and "Hook."  It also brings to mind " Super 8 ," which was produced by him.  It's got the earmarks of it: outsider characters on the verge of adolescence, the setting in suburbia, the lead character is misuderstood by just about everyone, and the sci-fi/fantasy plot.  I was actually looking forward to this movie, since these days it's all superheroes and vampires.  Sadly, directors Chris Butler (who wrote the script) and Sam Fell aren't able to match Spielberg or Abrams' touch.  The film is lively and active, but cold.  Quite frankly, it's kind of depressing. Norman (Smitt-McPhee) i...

0/4 Starring: Sam Mraovich, Jamie Brett Gabel, Michael Haboush, Bill Hindley Not Rated (contains violence and language) For a while, "Ben & Arthur" was lurking at the bottom (or is that top?) of iMDb's Bottom 10 list.  Not that that necessarily means anything ("The Shawshank Redemption" at number one of all time?  Really?), but still. That should have been warning enough.  But for reasons I cannot explain, my curiosity was piqued.  I decided to watch it, despite the vicious reviews it got on iMDb.  I should have heeded the warnings of those unfortunate souls who have suffered through Sam Mraovich's travesty.  This is the worst movie I have ever seen. Yup, you read that right.  The worst.  Never have I ever seen a movie that made me physically ill. Boring, a failure in every department, and occasionally downright offensive, "Ben & Arthur" is truly a dreadful piece of filmmaking.  I had to pause the film frequently to ...

2/4 Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Nan Yu, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Liam Hemsworth Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence Throughout The appeal for "The Expendables 2" is the same as it was for the first one: seeing the biggest badasses from Hollywood appear in one movie to kick major ass.  The first entry was dumb fun; it would have been more so if Stallone hadn't insisted on shaking the camera into a frenzy every time there was an action scene.  The good news is that the new director, Simon West, doesn't shake the camera (he does once, and only briefly, and it makes sense under the circumstances).  The bad news is that this is movie is worse because Simon West is, and probably always will be, a hack. The gang is back.  The group of mercenaries led by Barney Ross (Stallone) and his right hand man, Lee Christmas (Statham) is up for round two.  There are two new additions: ...

2.5/4 Starring: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Sarah Baker, Katherine LaNasa, Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow, Brian Cox Rated R for Crude Sexual Content, Language and Brief Nudity "The Campaign" defines, in movie terms, inconsistent.  There are some scenes of inspired comedy.  But there are just as many, if not more, that are overlong or simply not as funny as the filmmakers think they are.  In terms of plot, it's more like a series of skits than a story.  The pacing is wildly uneven, and the ending rings false.  Still, I did laugh every now and then and chuckle a lot more than that. In a North Carolina district, Congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) is running for his fifth term in office.  He's the favorite to win because there's no competition.  But the Moch brothers (Aykroyd and Lithgow) want him out because Brady isn't willing to help them further their business agendas.  Therefore, they enlist Republican legen...

4/4 Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder Rated R for Strong Sexual Content, Disturbing Violent Images, Language and Some Drug Use Character studies are compelling because we learn about and understand a character inside out.  "Black Swan" takes this and puts two new wrinkles into it.  First, it's from the point of view of the lead character.  We see the world through the eyes of ballet dancer Nina Sayers.  Second, Nina is an unbalanced girl, and has trouble distinguishing fact from fiction.  Thus, "Black Swan" becomes not just a film, but an experience. Nina (Portman) is a shy and timid dancer at a ballet company in New York City.  She still lives with her mother, Erica (Hershey), a former dancer who had to give up her dream when she became pregnant with Nina.  Nina's ballet company is putting on a new version of "Swan Lake," and she desperately wants to dance the part of the Swan Queen...

1.5/4 Starring: Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Faris, Michael Pena, Collette Wolfe Rated R for Pervasive Language, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use, Sexual Content and Violence When you make a dark comedy like this, you either go all the way or you don't make the movie.  Last year's " Bad Teacher " worked because director Jake Kasdan and his screenwriters pulled out all the stops.  We weren't meant to like Diaz's character, and that's what gave the movie its edge.  In "Observe & Report," first-time filmmaker Jody Hill can't decide how he wants us to feel about his lead character.  Sure, he's a freak, but there are times when Hill wants us to like him. Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is the head of mall security at a local mall.  He's bipolar, has an unhealthy fixation on Brandi the cosmetics girl (Faris) and takes his job way too seriously.  That's the setup for the plot, which involves Ronnie trying to catch a flasher.  Also in the mi...

A few days ago, someone asked my why I spend my time watching and reviewing movies.  He said it seemed like a waste of time. He has a point.  After all, I don't get any money from it, and I could be spending the time doing something for financial gain. But why do any film critics review movies?  Sure, some fortunate movie fans get paid to do it, but others, like James Berardinelli, don't do it as a career.  Berardinelli has a "real" job as well as a wife and a one year old son (who, ironically, shares my name and birthday).  How he manages to balance all of these at once, I'll never know. To me, it doesn't seem unproductive at all.  It's a way to stretch and open my mind, practice and refine my writing skills (essential for everyone, especially an aspiring screenwriter and filmmaker such as myself).  More importantly, it's a way to publicize movies that people may not know about, or warn people against bad movies they may be planning on see...

3.5/4 Starring: Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brandon Sexton III, Alicia Goranson Rated R for Violence including an Intense Brutal Rape Scene, Sexuality, Language and Drug Use Watching "Boys Don't Cry" is like watching an impending train wreck.  You know what's going to happen but you're powerless to stop it.  Yet, no matte how punishing and horrible the images are, you can't turn away.  It's an unfortunate part of human nature, but that's the effect that watching "Boys Don't Cry" has on the viewer.  This is a tough movie to watch, but for those who are willing to witness this story, their time will be well rewarded. Teena Brandon (Swank) is a young woman from Lincoln, Nebraska, who, as we learn, feels that she is a man.  She gets her cousin Lonny (Matt McGrath) to give her a boyish haircut.  She stuffs a sock down her pants and goes to a roller rink for a date.  Now Brandon Teena, she appears to be a man.  ...

1.5/4 Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacey Keach, Donna Murphy Rated PG-13 for Violence and Action Sequences Call me crazy, but I was never the biggest fan of the Bourne series.  They seemed like grimmer, wannabe "Bond" movies.  I love espionage thrillers and action movies, but the films did nothing for me.  Apparently I'm the only one, since the franchise is hugely profitable.  That, by the way, is the reason this film exists.  The series has made nearly a billion dollars, although like most action movies, the majority has been made overseas.  Universal desperately wants to keep this franchise going, but since the novels ended with "The Bourne Ultimatum," Universal was at a loss for what to do.  The studio decided on making a parallel movie of its own invention, intending to use the same name for a different character.  I suppose this could work, but the movie is terrible.  It's better, albeit marginally, t...

3/4 Starring: Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, and the voice of Brad Dourif Rated R for Horror Violence and Language (I guess...) When the 1988 horror movie featuring a killer doll became a hit, a sequel was all but assured.  After all, no genre is easier to turn into a franchise than a slasher movie.  Just use some mumbo jumbo to bring the villain back from the dead, add photogenic but dim-witted characters to fill up body bags and let the carnage begin! After the events in the first film that sent a number of people to the morgue, little Andy Barclay (Vincent) is in a foster home.  His mother (played by Catherine Hicks in the first film) is in a mental institution due to the trauma, and Andy is stuck living with the Simpsons (Agutter and Graham), the "perfect couple."  But Andy's troubles are far from over.  In an act of unbelievable stupidity (although this sort of thing is a requirement of a horror movie), the compa...

3.5/4 Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Jake Weber, Dave Power, Terrence "T.C." Carson, Jack Noseworthy Rated PG-13 for War Violence When it comes to submarine movies, everyone seems to think that the king is "Das Boot."  Although it's been years since I've seen it, and I was young when I did, I remember not being particularly impressed with it.  It was overlong and I didn't really care about anyone in it.  "U-571," on the other hand, is a different story altogether.  It's leaner, meaner and consistently suspenseful.  Never have the words "depth charge" or "splashes" been so scary. The film is based on the true story of how the Allies got hold of the German code machine, the Enigma, during World War II (although based on the evidence, the filmmakers took more than a few liberties with the story.  But, as they say, never let the facts get in the way of a good story). Lt. Andrew Tyler (McConaughey) is...

3/4 Starring (voices): James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Mark Hamill, Cloris Leachman, Jim Cummings Rated PG for Fantasy Action Violence and Peril As I was purchasing some DVDs today, including Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro," I got talking with the cashier at Best Buy.  He was talking about Miyazaki and how underrated he is, and when describing him, I finished, "[He's] a master."  The cashier emphatically agreed. "Castle in the Sky" is Hayao Miyazaki's steampunk adventure.  It's got action, flying machines, pirates, a villain afflicted with megalomania, a plucky hero and heroine, and a lost city.  Yup, you guessed it, this movie is right up my alley. Orphaned teen Pazu (Van Der Beek) has long dreamed of the legendary floating city Laputa.  His father saw it when he was caught in a storm, but no one believed him.  Then one night when he's fetching dinner for his boss, he spots something falling from the sky.  It turns o...

4/4 Starring: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Scotty Leavenworth, Peter Coyote Rated R for Language "Erin Brockovich" is a legal drama, yes, but anyone who is expecting courtroom twists or grandstanding has walked into the wrong movie.  There are no action scenes or people coming back from the dead.  Rather, this is a character study about a woman who uses her personality, rather than her legal expertise, to inspire a community to fight back against a huge corporation that caused them to become gravely ill. Erin Brockovich (Roberts) is a former beauty queen whose life has not turned out the way she planned it.  She has three kids and two ex-husbands, $17 in her bank account and no job.  When she's hit by a car, she is defended by Ed Masry (Finney), who thinks she has a case.  That is until her foul mouth sinks her.  All out of options, she goes back to ED and demands a job.  Reluctantly, he hires her as a clerk.  And that...

3.5/4 Starring: George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iures, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Aleksandr Baluev Rated R for Strong Violence and Some Language "The Peacemaker" was the first film of the newly-formed production company Dreamworks SKG, headed by movie masters Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.  It's an truly amazing debut to one of the fastest growing movie studios. This is a political action thriller that not only deals with the threat of a nuclear weapon detonating in a densely populated city, but also the motivation, or lack thereof, of terrorists.  In many films, they're simply scowling faces with henchmen designed to shoot at the hero (and miss) and to fill body bags.  Here, things aren't that simple.  The lead villain's motivation is anger, not money or power. A nuclear weapon has detonated in the middle of Russia.  Nuclear expert Dr. Julia Kelly (Kidman) is assigned to find out what happened.  Almost right off the bat, s...

1/4 Starring: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carrell Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Content involving Sexuality One could argue that this film is for older people and the reason I didn't like it is because I couldn't relate to it.  I disagree.  Love, and the fight to keep it, is a universal conflict, and especially with a talented cast like this, it should have been great.  Surprisingly it is not.  In fact, it is one of the worst of the year (probably a first for Streep). Kay (Streep) is extremely unhappy.  Her husband Arnold (Jones) doesn't pay any attention to her except out of habit.  He's also a grouch and a pessimist.  In a desperate attempt to save their marriage, Kay enrolls them in an intensive couples therapy in Maine.  It's lead by Dr. Feld (Carrell), who is going to get them to open up about their need for intimacy.  Easier said than done. It's easy to define the problem with the film: the script.  It...