Mike's Movie Tips

1.5/4 Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Simon Baker, Benjamin Bratt, Terrence Stamp Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Violence, Brief Nudity and Brief Language It's always obvious when a movie makes up the story as it goes along.  Never has it been more painfully obvious than with "Red Planet," a dull, shallow and dreadfully boring science-fiction "thriller."  Not only is it filled with stupid cliches, but they're partially baked cliches.  The characters are so undeveloped that calling them stick figures would be grossly overstating their depth, the plot has ADD, and director Antony Hoffman is completely incapable of handling a $70 million project like this. "Red Planet's" release date was pushed back twice, and it's not hard to see why.  It has the potential to be a intense science-fiction thriller along the lines of "Alien" mixed with "2001: A Space Odyssey" (or so I assume, since I haven't seen th...

3.5/4 Starring: Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, Meryl Streep, John Cazale Rated R for Strong Graphic and Disturbing War Violence, Language and Alcohol Abuse (I Guess) "The Deer Hunter" is a film in three acts: normal life, the war, and the aftermath.  It's an emotional powerhouse with scenes that rival movies like "The War Zone" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin," or more appropriately, "Saving Private Ryan" and "Platoon" in terms of being able to deliver a series of gut punches to the mind and soul. The film follows three men from a steel town in Pennsylvania.  Mike (DeNiro), the aloof serious guy, Nick (Walken), the weird looking guy with a girlfriend Linda (Streep), and Steven (Savage), who has just married his fiancee, Angela (Rutanya Alda).  The day after the wedding, the three of them are being shipped off to Vietnam, where because of the hell they are forced to take part in, their lives will be changed ...

2/4 Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Tamara Tunie, Brian Geraghty Rated R for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language, Sexuality/Nudity, and an Intense Action Sequence When we first meet Captain Whip Whittaker, he's passed out on a bed after what appears to be one hell of a bender.  He woke up next to a beautiful (and naked) woman in his bed, so it must have been a good night.  He finishes his beer, does a little coke, and he's off to work.  His job happens to be an piloting a commercial airliner. "Flight," as everyone now knows, is not about a plane crash, but about addiction.  Unfortunately, despite the promising cast and the presence of respected directer Robert Zemeckis behind the camera, the film is a bore.  The characters are strictly two-dimensional at best, the acting is surprisingly flat, and the direction is sloppy.  Worst of all, the film offers no new insights into addiction, even though there are plenty ...

2.5/4 Starring: Tim Roth, Michael Rooker, Chris Penn, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Burstyn Rated R for Violence, Language and Some Sexual Content The first time I saw "Deceiver," I got lost fairly early.  I took a chance and watched it a second time, and while I wasn't confused (usually), I can't recommend it.  For most of its running time, it's a decent enough psychological film noir, although it's by no means perfect.  Then at the end, the film loses all credibility with a predictable and unbelievable twist. A woman has been found brutally murdered.  Her body has been cut in two and the pieces were hidden miles apart.  The only lead the police have is a phone number found on the girl's body.  That number belongs to James Weyland (Roth), a wealthy heir.  Two detectives, Kennesaw (Rooker) and Braxton (Penn), are conducting a polygraph test on him, but Weyland is smarter than they think he is (his IQ is 151 while Kennesaw's is 122 and Braxt...

4/4 Starring (voices): Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Dakota Goyo Rated PG for Thematic Elements and Some Mildly Scary Action When I first saw this movie on iMDb, I was curious.  Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, Jack Frost in one movie?  Definitely intriguing.  Then I saw the cast: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Isla Fisher...I had to see this movie.  When I saw the trailer, I was hooked.  I was counting down the days to see this movie for months.  Now, after seeing the movie, I was already planning on when I could see it again. The plot isn't necessarily anything special, but that's really okay.  It enhances the dream-like quality of the film.  It turns out that Santa (Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Fisher) and the Sandman (who has no dialogue) are not only real, but when the need arises, they band together to protect the children from evil.  In this case, evil ...

3/4 Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Downey, Jr. This is the Unrated Director's Cut.  For the record, the theatrical cut was rated R for Extreme Violence and Graphic Carnage, for Shocking Images, and for Strong Language and Sexuality "Borat" became a monster hit because it unveiled the stereotypes, buffoonery and stupidity that lives in the lowest places of America.  12 years earlier, Oliver Stone peeled back the veil of civilization and exposed some hard truths: people love witnessing train wrecks, and the media is all too willing to exploit it in a quest for ratings. I remember watching the news one evening with my parents.  I was a young kid at the time, but I had seen more than a few of the local news casts.  They were filled with short stories about recent murders, arrests and other sorts of grim human behavior.  I asked my mother why the news always insisted on constantly airing these violent news sto...

3/4 Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Brett Cullen Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense War Violence and Action, and for Language The term "guilty pleasure" is thrown around every now and then by a few critics.  Everyone knows what it means, but for a film critic, it can bear a note of shame.  For example, "The Notebook" is a movie that many have derided as "corny" and "sappy."  Both of which it is, since that comes with the territory of being based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks.  But I do like it, and although I have no compunctions about saying so, it can be a little awkward to admit in front of my guy friends who boast about how much they hate romances.  Or a better example is "Tale of the Mummy," a virtually incoherent cheesefest with laughably bad special effects and terrible acting.  But in spite of (or because of) that, I do like the movie. "Re...

2/4 Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Faye Dunaway Rated R for Language, Violence and a Scene of Sexuality The longer "The Yards" goes on, the less I liked it.  Like many films, it opens with promise, but then it slowly begins to unravel when it should be tightening up. Leo Handler (Wahlberg) is an ex-con who has just been released from prison.  His best friend, Willie (Phoenix) promises him that his girlfriend's new stepfather, Frank (Caan), will be able to set him up with a job.  That job will come after a few years of schooling, however, and due to his mother's failing health, he can't afford to wait that long.  So he tags along with Willie who acts as an enforcer against the competition.  But things go wrong, and a railway worker is killed and a cop is severely wounded.  Leo is fingered for the crime, although he is innocent.  Due to the corruption scandal that ensues, everyone abandons him.  But wh...

3/4 Starring: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Scott Glenn, Michael Moriarty, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon Rated R for War Violence and Language People are obsessed about the search for "truth."  What really happened on 9/11?  What really happened to JFK?  Whether you're a witness, a historian or a conspiracy theorist, you want answers.  Sometimes, the truth is indisputable (for example, the World Trade Center towers did fall on September 11th, 2001, and cost thousands their lives).  Often times, it's less clear.  For Lieutenant Colonel Nat Serling, finding the truth about what happened to Captain Karen Walden will allow him to put his demons to rest. And boy, does Nat have some demons!  During the Gulf War, Nat gave an order to fire on an enemy tank, not knowing that it was one of his own.  Even worse, it was his best friend's (Tim Ransom) tank and he was killed.  Fortunately (although Nat doesn't see it that way), the whole event wa...

2.5/4 Starring (voice): Michael Douglas Rated R for Some Graphic Violent Images Don't you just hate it when a good movie makes a move that's so boneheaded and stupid that you wonder what the hell the director was thinking?  It happened in " Hollow Man " with the unnecessary (not to mention brutal) murder of a dog, and it happens here.  Most of "One Day in September" is an engaging documentary; it held my interest a lot more than many members of this genre.  Then at the end, the very end, it makes a decision so bad that it becomes reprehensible. Kevin Macdonald is a good filmmaker.  "Touching the Void" is one of the best documentaries I've seen, and "State of Play" manages to effectively condense a miniseries into a two hour movie with little loss or confusion.  "The Last King of Scotland" was also very good, but it required background knowledge of Idi Amin (played by Forest Whitaker in an Oscar-winning performance) t...

3/4 Starring: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, John Travolta, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence Throughout, Drug Content, Pervasive Language, and Brief Sexuality "From Paris With Love" is the action movie equivalent of an energy drink.  It's too carbonated to contain any real substance but it contains lots of energy.  It's similar to, although not quite as stylish as, " Shoot 'Em Up ," which was released three years earlier.  If you liked that live action cartoon, you'll like this one. James Reece (Rhys-Meyers) is a young agent living in Paris.  He's eager to get a promotion and start doing real work, but for the time being he has to moonlight as an aide to the American ambassador (Durden) while performing minor errands like changing license plates.  That all changes when one night (the night that his girlfriend Caroline (Smutniak) proposes to him, no less) he gets a call that one agent is held up at customs and Reece...

1/4 Starring: RZA, Russell Crowe, Rick Yune, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, Dave Bautista, Byron Mann, Daniel Wu Rated R for Bloody Violence, Strong Sexuality, Language and Drug Use RZA's "The Man with the Iron Fists" is meant to be a love letter (or should that be "blood letter?") to those cheesy kung fu specials that were a cult sensation back in the day.  I haven't seen those movies, and I'm not one who has a taste for those "so bad they're good" movies (although there are a few that I do like).  Regardless, I can still say that I saw this movie and thought it sucked. The story takes place in some warped version of ancient China, probably circa the late 1800's.  Steampunk weaponry, weapons that may well have been designed by Rube Goldberg's ancestors, and traditional Chinese buildings and clothing.  The governor (Terence Yin) wants to transport a sizable amount of gold, but to do that, he must transport it through the crime ridde...

A few weeks ago, I read an article that bemoaned the trend of video games these days.  The author claimed that they were going down the same road as movies: all remakes/reboots and franchises.  I disagree.  In fact, I believe that we are in the Golden Age of video gaming. When a big budget movie comes out, it's really almost a rehash of the first one, moreso with a remake (Christopher Nolan's movies being an exception).  When a big budget game comes out, it's substantially different in a number of ways.  The graphics are improved.  The story is different.  There are more weapons, options and locales to experience.  Take the "Halo" franchise for instance.  The original was widely hailed as a masterpiece, and a landmark in gaming history.  It raised the standard for first-person-shooters (FPSs) in a similar way that the N64 version of "GoldenEye" did.   When the sequel came out nearly three years later, the creators had improved the...

3.5/4 Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Albert Finney Rated PG-13 for Intense Violent Sequences Throughout, Some Sexuality, Language and Smoking When "Die Another Day" was poorly received ten years ago, cinema's longest running franchise was sent into turnaround once again (it should be noted, however, that the film did boast a handsome profit of $431.9 million against a $142 million budget).  James Bond was rebooted dramatically with "Casino Royale" (a serious version of the 1967 spoof starring Peter Sellers and David Niven, who were the stars of the "Pink Panther" movies).  The change was dramatic.  Gone were the days of over-the-top action, sexy ladies and cool gadgets.  "Casino Royale," which was directed by Martin Campbell (who directed my favorite Bond adventure, "GoldenEye,"), followed the trend established by Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins." ...

3/4 Starring: Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes, J.K. Simmons, Chelcie Ross, Gary Cole, Kim Dickens Rated R for Violence, Language, and Sexuality/Nudity It is one of cinema's great pleasures to see Cate Blanchett on screen.  She's immensely talented and beautiful, and she never repeats herself.  With one exception, "Notes on a Scandal," Blanchett has always given dynamite performances.  Whether it's playing England's greatest monarch (" Elizabeth ," her breakthrough role), a powerful Elf queen (" The Lord of the Rings " movies), or a dame in an homage to the classic potboilers ("The Good German"), Blanchett always delivers. "The Gift" couldn't have come at a more perfect time for Blanchett.  Although she gained acclaim and exposure (not to mention an Oscar nomination, which she should have won) with "Elizabeth" two years earlier, she was stuck in...

3/4 Starring (voices): John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch Rated PG for Some Rude Humor and Mild Action/Violence The idea behind "Wreck-It Ralph" is promising.  Video games have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment, and Hollywood has tried to tap into that (usually with subpar results, like " Wrath of the Titans ").  What makes "Wreck-It Ralph" different (and what makes it work) is that even though it is about video games, it doesn't try to be one. "Wreck-It Ralph" boasts an intriguing premise.  The video game characters at Mr. Litwak's (Ed O'Neill) arcade function in the same way we do.  They live in their games, yes, and they play their characters from open til close.  But once the arcade's doors are shut for the night, the characters go socialize with each other.  For example, the game where the player controls the bartender sliding drinks to everyone who comes in as quickly as he...

3/4 Starring: Gordon Pinsent. Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson Rated PG-13 for Brief Strong Language Although it would seem like "Away from Her," an independent film aimed solely at adults, and " The Notebook ," a tearjerker aimed at teenage girls, would have nothing in common aside from the subject matter, the truth is that they're actually quite similar.  Both deal with the sadness that comes along with the fading of memories associated with Alzheimer's.  The two films explore it in different ways, but the feel is the same. Grant (Pinsent) has been married to the lively and spirited Fiona (Christie) for more than 40 years.  But she's losing her memory, and it quickly becomes clear that these aren't just "senior moments," as they're called.  Eventually, Fiona decides to move into an assisted living facility, but they have a policy that for the first 30 days new residents can't have visitors......

1/4 Starring: Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Voight, Shaun Johnston, Taylor Handley, Terrence Stamp Rated R for Violence I suppose I should be offended by this film (like Roger Ebert was).  It portrays Mormons as traitorous, manipulative fanatics who don't have a single brain cell between them and were lead to commit a massacre at the words of a mentally ill psychopath.  Had the film been better made, I probably would have.  But the film is too silly, too badly acted and too incompetently told to take seriously.  I'm not telling you to avoid it because of its subject matter.  I'm telling you to avoid it simply because it's a terrible movie. The story takes place in the 1857 (although the film is bookended by two different sets of flashbacks.  By and large, it tells the story of imagined events leading up to the fateful massacre of over 100 men, women and children who were traveling from Arkansas and Missouri to start a new life in California. No one...

3.5/4 Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Ron Rifkin, Vin Diesel, Taylor Nichols, Tom Everett Scott, Ben Affleck Rated R for Strong Language and Some Drug Content Is "Boiler Room" a wish fulfillment fantasy that turns south?  A reflection of our culture?  An example of how an environment can turn a good kid into a narcissistic jerk?  Or is it a predictor for how we ended up in this cursed recession?  I think it's all of them...and more. Seth Davis (Ribisi) is a college dropout who is running a successful casino from his apartment.  His father (Rifkin) despises him for it.  Luck comes his way when a friend named Greg Weinstein (Katt) drops by and lets him in on a job opportunity where he can make big bucks.  It's a stockbroking firm called JT Marlin, and it's run by Michael Brantley (Scott) and Jim Young (Affleck).  In the group interview, Young promises them that they will make their first million dollars within...

3/4 Starring: Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Leven Rambin, Abigail Spencer, Elisabeth Shue Rated PG for Thematic Elements and Some Perilous Action I wish I knew how to surf.  It looks really cool.  But here in the Midwest, the closest thing we have are skaters impressing each other with how close they come to performing a trick.  So, apart from the rare trip to a coast, the closest thing I have are movies like "Chasing Mavericks," where, done right, I can surf vicariously through the characters on the screen. Jay Moriarty (Weston) is a surfer living in California.  He's basically raising himself because his mother's (Shue) drinking problem makes it difficult for her to keep a job, much less raise a kid.  But when Jay sneaks on top of his neighbor Frosty's (Butler) van and sees him surfing the mythical Mavericks (read: HUGE waves), he wants Frosty to teach him how.  Due to the nature of the Mavericks, Jay has 12 weeks to prepare for what may end up kil...

3/4 Starring: Alicia Witt, Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Loretta Devine, Robert Englund, John Noble Rated R for Horror Violence/Gore, Language and Sexual Content Call "Urban Legend" a guilty pleasure.  No, it's not a great horror movie.  It's pretty dumb, and there's about one too many murders to make things credible.  But the plot is interesting and, as is the rage in the post-"Scream" era, ironic.  And there are a some tense scenes. Natalie (Witt) is a college student at Pendleton University in New England.  When a fellow student is murdered, she becomes on edge because it was an urban legend come to life.  That's when her friends start ending up corpses (in various stages of mutilation), also in the form of urban legends.  But who is the killer?  Is it the creepy professor who is teaching the class on urban legends (Englund)?  Or is it Dean Adams (Neville), who may be covering up one of...