Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jared Harris Rated PG-13 for Intense Battle Sequences, Disaster-Related Action and Brief Sexual Content "Pompeii" isn't so much a bad movie as it is a disappointing one.  Essentially, this is a doomed love story set against a huge disaster.  Unfortunately, a frantic pace and mediocre storytelling nearly sink the movie. In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii under a fountain of lava and ash.  Estimates vary (in fact, it's highly unlikely that a conclusive number will ever be reached), but around 16,000 people died in one of the most devastating natural disasters in human history (the film's bookending sequences come a little too close to exploitation because of this).  The majority of the film takes place in the days leading up to the eruption. Milo (Harrington) is a young gladiator who is dominating in t...

3/4 Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Garrow, Michael K. Williams Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Action including Frenetic Gun Violence Throughout, Brief Strong Language, Sensuality and Some Drug Material The good news about the "Robocop" remake is that it hasn't been dumbed down.  In fact, it's a bit better.  The script is stronger, and while it's nowhere near as violent as Paul Verhoeven's film, it's an effective piece of filmmaking. Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is a good cop, even if he is a little impulsive.  After his partner (Williams) is nearly killed, Alex makes it his mission to take down Antoine Vallow (Garrow), the drug lord responsible.  Unfortunately that ends badly, Alex is left on death's door after his car explodes.  Enter Omnicorp.  The company has robots keeping other countries safe, but a law prevents robots from bei...

2.5/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Ellen Barkin Rated R for Strong Language and Sexuality Strange, this movie is.  Not in so much that it's a weird movie (it's a relatively normal biopic), but in how close it comes to a solid recommendation.  There's a lot of good stuff here; the performances are consistently excellent and the characters are well-developed.  Unfortunately, it suffers from awkward editing and a meandering script. Caroline Wolff (Barkin) has bad luck when it comes to relationships.  The men she gets involved with are jerks, abusive or perverts.  She and her son, Tobias (DiCaprio), decide to head out west (this trait of moving after a relationship goes south brings to mind the much better and insightful "Tumbleweeds").  After a uranium search in Utah, they end up in Seattle.  Caroline meets the handsome and charming Dwight (DeNiro) soon after.  She's smitten (or at least convinces herself that she is), but Tobi...

3/4 Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard, Louis C.K., Michael Stuhlbarg Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Material, Language and Sexual Content I first became aware of Cate Blanchett the same time the rest of the world did.  It was in 1998, when she came out of nowhere to become Gwyneth Paltrow's number one rival for the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards (an award that she should have won, by the way).  Her career is as diverse as her talent, having starred in movies for everyone from Jim Jarmusch to Steven Spielberg.  With one exception ("Notes on a Scandal"), I have never been less than floored by her performances.  Her performance as Jasmine, a modern day Blance DuBois, has once again put her in the Oscar spotlight (she's the frontrunner now, and will likely win the award). Jasmine (Blanchett) has lived extravagantly all her adult life.  Having been married to Hal (Baldwin), a Wa...

3/4 Starring: Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, Isabella Rossellini Rated R for Sexual Content and Language In order to appreciate "Roger Dodger," two things are required.  First, you have to have a pretty extensive vocabulary.  This is a talky movie, and for the lead character, "words are my business."  Second, you have to be willing to spend 90 minutes with an arrogant, chauvinistic jerk. Roger Swanson (Scott) is an advertising executive living in New York City.  His boss, Joyce (Rossellini), has just broken off their sexual affair, which leaves him stung (he then goes to a bar and tries to destroy the self-esteem of two women as some sort of revenge).  The next day, his nephew Nick (Eisenberg), shows up in his office.  Nick had an interview at Columbia University, and wants to hang out with Roger to pick up some tips on how to score with women.  Roger takes him on a night on the town and tries to get Nick la...

3.5/4 Starring (voices): Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Allison Brie Rated PG for Mild Action and Rude Humor "The Lego Movie" appears to be like " Battleship ," a movie that was made solely because it's a brand name.  While that may be the case, this is a project where the cast and the crew worked hard and tried to make a truly good movie.  And they did. This is one of those movies that never stops re-inventing itself.  The film constantly moves in unexpected directions, and while I suppose it sticks to a formula, it does so in endlessly creative ways.  It's also not above poking fun at itself.  The film, in addition to containing so many references and in-jokes (everything from Abraham Lincoln to "Air Force One") that it's impossible to list them all, goes a step beyond self-aware.  While much of the film's humor is more of a "wit" variety, there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. E...

3.5/4 Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Shaun Toub, Zekeria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, Atossa Leoni Rated PG-13 for Strong Thematic Material including the Rape of a Child, Violence and Brief Strong Language Guilt and redemption are common themes in storytelling because they are so powerful.  We make mistakes as human beings; it's how we grow up.  But when we do, we must make amends no matter how much it hurts. Afghanistan was a much different place in the 1970's, before the Soviets invaded.  People danced, music played, and lamb kabobs cooked in the streets.  Amir (Ebrahimi) lives with his wealthy father, Baba (Ershadi) in Kabul.  His best friend, Hassan (Mahmoodzada) is a servant there with his father.  The two are as close as can be, and make a killer team when it comes to kite fighting.  After winning a tournament, Hassan chases the fallen kite, but is brutally assaulted by a bully.  Angry and confused, Amir betrays his...

3/4 Starring: Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts, Liev Schrieber, Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Kieran Culkin, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Jack McBrayer, Kate Bosworth, Aasif Mandavi, Justin Long, Jason Sudekis, Uma Thurman, Kristen Bell, Leslie Bibb, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jimmy Bennett, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Gerard Butler, Seann William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, Halle Berry, Stephen Merchant, Terrence Howard, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Duhamel The version being reviewed is the unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical cut was rated R for Strong Pervasive Crude and Sexual Content including Dialogue, Graphic Nudity, Language and Some Violence "Movie 43" is like one long episode of "Saturday Night Live," only with a running story that fills in the space between the segments instead of a host, and a cast of movie stars instead of stand-up comics trying to act.  There's also no hint of Judd Apatow's crew around (considering how far Rogen and Co have fallen, n...

4/4 Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Ben Savage, Peter Falk, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn Rated PG (for Mild Action Violence and Brief Language, I guess) "The Princess Bride" is an absolutely marvelous movie.  It's an enchanting story that contains just about everything.  Romance, adventure, revenge, action...you name it.  But it's most notable for its humor.  There's plenty of humor in this film (much of which is truly inspired), which is befitting for a movie that is as much a spoof as it is a genuine adventure.  In a sense, it's like "Kick-Ass," which pokes fun at the genre while embracing it (only this movie is much more family friendly). Buttercup (Penn) delights in tormenting her stableboy, a handsome man named Wesley (Elwes).  Every time she makes a demand of him, he simply replies, "As you wish."  Of course, it doesn't take long for Buttercup to realize that she lov...

2.5/4 Starring: Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightly Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Violence and Intense Action, and Brief Strong Language Paramount must love Chris Pine.  He's the star of the "Star Trek" reboot, the studio's cash cow, and he's headlining a reboot of the Jack Ryan franchise (a character that has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck).  It's not hard to understand why.  He's handsome, talented and charismatic.  What more do you need? For starters, you need a better script than the one that this movie has.  It often doesn't make a lot of sense, and when it does, what we see and hear isn't particularly interesting.  The strong performances from the cast help a lot, but as everyone from George Clooney to Uwe Boll has claimed, you can't make a good movie without a good script. This is an origin story (a decision that is kind of questionable since the franchise is too low profile fo...

3/4 Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson, Kevin Costner Rated R for Language and Brief Nudity Anyone who has spent time looking for a job, especially in this economy, will be able to identify with the characters in this film.  I spent my fair share of time waiting for one.  Dressing up and going to interviews, thinking that I nailed it until I got a pre-written email saying that "unfortunately they were going in another direction" or something like that.  I kept thinking, I have a college degree from a state university!  What did someone else have that I didn't?  I now have a job that I love, but that didn't stop me from having a sense of deja vu while watching this movie. It would be an honest mistake to claim that John Wells's film, "The Company Men," is a drama about unemployment, when it is in fact satirical.  Ordinarily that may make a person think that the film would be humorou...

3/4 Not Rated (contains Language and Graphic Discussions of Sexual Abuse involving Children). Amy Berg's incendiary documentary, "Deliver Us From Evil," will leave anyone who views it sick to their stomach and boiling with rage.  Those are compliments. Everyone has taken care to remind people that the sleaziness of the priests in this documentary is not typical behavior among the men of the cloth.  Most are good people who wouldn't hurt a fly, much less rape a child.  People like Roger Mahoney, who let their ambition and ego overrule the need to protect children, are the exceptions. Berg focuses on Oliver O'Grady, who openly admits to molesting so many children that he has lost count.  At first glance, he seems almost grandfatherly with his boyish face and kind voice.  But he is a far more terrifying individual than most horror movies can come up with.  He is a pedophile whose acknowledgement of the pain he caused is debatable.  Also featuring ...

3/4 Starring: Ryan Gosline, Theresa Russell, Summer Phoenix, Billy Zane, Elizabeth Reaser Rated R for Strong Violence, Language and Some Sexual Content Now here is a truly challenging film.  Fiercely controversial and always provocative, "The Believer" refuses to be ignored.  No distributor would touch it after it inspired protests at the Simon Wiesenthal Center.  A small company called Fireworks Pictures picked it up after a showing on Showtime was cancelled after 9/11. The subject matter alone will turn off most people: the film is about a Jewish neo-Nazi.  It is inspired, but not based on, the true story of Daniel Burros, a high-ranking neo-Nazi who killed himself after a journalist for the New York Times published the fact that he was Jewish. Danny Balint (Gosling) is a fervent anti-Semite.  He has such vicious hatred and anger towards the Jewish people that he can hardly contain it.  The bile he spews is so poisonous that it almost turns-off ...