Mike's Movie Tips

3.5/4 Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioravanti, Kane Hodder, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo The version being reviewed is the Unrated one.  For the record, the rated version is rated R for Strong Bloody Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity and Language "Hatchet" is marketed as "Old School American Horror."  Taking the tagline for its word, I had a few expectations: a bunch of hot people pursued by a serial killer (few of which, if any, will make it to the end credits), blood and gore in copious quantities, plenty of gratuitous nudity, and lots of slicing and dicing by a big ax. I was not disappointed.  Adam Green's film has all of that, and it's put together fairly well, with a few shocks that made me jump.  But there's one thing that the movie has that I did not expect: comedy.  As intense and gory as the film is, it's more often than not absolutely hysterical.  I was s...

3.5/4 Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel Rated NC-17 for Explicit Sexual Content "The Dreamers" is alive in a way that few movies are.  It is in love with movies, ideas and its characters.  It radiates vitality and energy from every frame.  So few movies have their own identity that it is rare that there is a movie that is built from one.  It is the cinematic version of being a college student. I'm not talking about "Animal House" or anything.  "The Dreamers" has higher aspirations than that.  Its characters thirst for knowledge and ideals, although they don't necessarily know what to do with them. The year is 1968.  Matthew (Pitt) is an American student studying French in Paris.  Like many young people at the time, he is obsessed with movies (compare that to today, where people see move theaters as a way to text with their friends and go gaga over the latest teen star or superhero flick.  During some of the pro-cinema ...

1/4 Starring: Snoop Dogg, Khalil Kain, Bianca Lawson, Pam Grier, Clifton Powell, Michael T. Weiss, Sean Amsing, Merwin Mondesir Rated R for Violence/Gore, Language, Sexuality and Drugs Unleash the Dogg Clearly, the studio was trying to market "Bones" to fans of rap artist Snoop Dogg, but they had no idea they were describing the movie itself.  Or maybe they did, since they made it.  No matter.  The movie is still really lame. In 1979, Jimmy Bones (Dogg) is beloved as the neighborhood protector even though he runs a numbers racket.  Then he is betrayed by his friends and a corrupt cop named Lupovich (Weiss). and his body is entombed in a nice looking brownstone.  Years later, four young people, Patrick (Khan), Bill (Mondesir), Maurice (Amsing) and Tia (Isabelle), seek to turn said brownstone into a nightclub, unaware of its history.  But as everyone knows, history sometimes comes back with a vengeance. "Uninspired" is probably the best word to de...

2.5/4 Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette Rated R for Pervasive Strong Horror Violence/Gore, Gruesome Images, Sexuality, Drug Use and Language On some level, I have to admire "Freddy Vs. Jason" for its willingness to embrace itself.  What I mean is that it is one of those few movies that never tries to be anything than what it is.  Not out of fear of failure (its box office success was all but assured), but out of a sense of affection.  While the slasher movie genre got its start as scarefests in the late 70's, they quickly became gore and cheesefests (which the "Scream" franchise poked fun at with such glee).  "Freddy Vs. Jason" is undeniably silly, and it knows it.  It invites you to laugh along with its silliness. Freddy Krueger (Englund) is steaming mad.  As the result of a conspiracy, he's been completely forgotten.  That means that he has no power to enter the dreams of n...

The MPAA is the biggest eyesore in the film industry.  Proclaiming themselves to be a guideline for parents, they're really more like a "talk to the hand" to the audience and filmmakers without enough dough to all but bribe them.  The corrupt nature of the MPAA is so extreme that it's become impossible to hide.  People have been taking notice, but no one except critics and avid film lovers gives a damn. I think, and I'm not the only one who shares this view, that the MPAA needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.  It's not so much that there's something fundamentally bad about having the G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17, it's that they're used and abused so much that they're essentially irrelevant.  Filmmakers with big reputations and big pocketbooks can push the boundaries while little films are given the cold shoulder.  Hypocrisy is essential to the MPAA's ability to function.  Profanity and sex and nudity are no-nos, but violence is A-OK.  ...

Hollywood is bruising from what was an awful summer.  Many summer movies made a meager profit at best, but performed well below expectations.  Some did horribly, with " The Lone Ranger " and "R.I.P.D" becoming two of the biggest box office disasters in history.  Adjusted for inflation, it's number three (right before " R.I.P.D. ").  Without factoring it in, it comes in at number seven (again, right before "R.I.P.D.").  "Man of Steel," the anticipated Superman flick that was supposed to make a borderline legendary killing at the box office, made only half as much as expected.  $662 million (give or take) against a $225 million budget.  A respectable profit to be sure, but not nearly what was hoped for or expected.  Only "Star Trek: Into Darkness" did better than expected. Clearly, things need to change.  A lot. One thing that needs to change is the reliance on special effects over story and dialogue.  To be fair, once H...

4/4 Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali Rated PG-13 for Sustained Intense Sequences of Menace, Some Violence including Bloody Images, and for Substance Abuse Warning: this movie is not for people with heart problems... "Captain Phillips" has a silly title.  The movie, however, is not silly.  It's a genuine near-masterpiece.  The level of suspense is nearly unbearable, and there isn't a false note in any of the performances, four of whom have no acting experience. Captain Richard Phillips (Hanks) is a average guy who happens to be the captain of the container vessel Maersk Alabama.  They are travelling through a rough part of Africa, and are boarded by pirates. Plot-wise, there's really not much more that I can say without giving anything away.  Suffice it to say, that it goes in directions no one expects...especially not Phillips or the pirates, led by the gaunt Muse (Abdi). What makes this movie so com...

2/4 Starring: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, John Franklin, Courtney Gains, Robby Kiger, AnneMarie McEvoy Rated R for Horror Violence and Gore (I guess) An Adult Nightmare That's what "Children of the Corn" was billed as.  The idea of fanatically religious children killing all the adults in town at the behest of a cult leader (also a child) is chilling.  Unfortunately, the film doesn't exploit this effectively.  It's a gimmick, really. Burt (Horton) and Vicky (Hamilton) are on their way across the country.  They are taking the back roads (as every horror movie character does) and while they are fighting over a map, they run over a young kid.  But they weren't the ones who killed him.  He was murdered.  Unable to find a way out of town, the two look for help in the nearby town of Gatlin.  But this is no ordinary town; the adults are gone and the children are crazed killers who follow the word of Isaac (Franklin), a young prophet.  And...

1/4 Starring: Dane DeHaan, Metallica Rated R for Some Violent Images and Language The film industry depends on innovation (despite studios' preference to the contrary).  Without visionary directors willing to take chances and push the boundaries of filmmaking, it would die out.  Which is why "Metallica Through the Never" intrigued me despite the fact that I am not a Metallica fan (and harbor a mild resentment towards them after they helped bring down Napster).  The film purports to be a blend of concert footage and narrative filmmaking.  I was definitely interested. Unfortunately, what we get is a 90-minute long music video featuring a band that's so generic that all their songs sound the same.  It doesn't take long for monotony to set in.  As for the story, it's trite, undeveloped, and not very interesting (despite the presence of Dane DeHaan since he has nothing to do or say).  And adding insult to injury, it's left incomplete. The story, w...

3.5/4 Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and the voice of Ed Harris Rated PG-13 for Intense Perilous Sequences, Some Disturbing Images and Brief Strong Language "Gravity" is both beautiful and intense.  It demands to be seen on as big of a screen as possible, and for once, in 3D.  The images that Alfonso Cuaron, with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, has created are a feast for the eyes and need to be seen on as big of a screen as possible. Medical Engineer Ryan Stone (Bullock) and astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney) are repairing a satellite orbiting Earth.  Then an explosion from a Russian anti-satellite test causes debris that rips through their ship, leaving them stranded.  They must fight against impossible odds to make it back to Earth alive. It's an impressive premise and Cuaron exploits it as much as he can.  This is a visually dazzling and intense thriller of the first order.  As soon as one crisis is solved, another begins. There'...

2/4 Starring: William H. Macy, David Paymer, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Clark Gregg, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Stiles, Charles Durning, Patti LuPone Rated R for Language and Brief Sexual Images Aside from Quentin Tarantino, there isn't a screenwriter alive whose dialogue is as instantly recognizable as David Mamet (I'm not counting William Shakespeare).  Not only with the words, but how these words are presented.  His actors often speak rhythmically (Mamet uses a metronome to get his actors to perfect it).  While it's not as obvious here as it was with his 2004 thriller, "Spartan," the actors' speech does sound a little rhythmic.  Unfortunately, that little quirk is really the only thing that the film has going for it. "State and Main" details the misadventures of a film production team trying to direct a movie in the small town of Waterford, Vermont.  The film is called "The Old Mill," only whe...

3.5/4 Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Alexandra Maria Lara, Olivia Wilde Rated R for Sexual Content, Nudity, Language, Some Disturbing Images and Brief Drug Use When I first walked into the showing of "Rush," I saw that the film had already started.  Disappointed (I never review movies that I haven't seen from beginning to end), I settled into my seat to watch the remainder of the film.  As soon as I watched the screen, the adrenaline started pumping.  Once I realized that the scene was much longer than a usual opening, I asked the gentlemen behind me if this was the beginning of the movie, and he said it wasn't (I know, I broke the cardinal rule of not talking in a movie.  Forgive me...). The reason that I opened the review with this little anecdote is to explain the skill and craftsmanship of director Ron Howard.  Formally an actor famous for his roles on the sitcom "Happy Days" and in "American Graffiti," Howard has proven himse...