Mike's Movie Tips

2/4 Starring: James Purefoy, Paul Giamatti, Aneurin Barnard, Kate Mara, Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Jason Flemying, Jamie Forman, Vladimir Kulich, Mackenzie Crook, Charles Dance Rated R for Strong Graphic Brutal Battle Sequences, and Brief Nudity For a movie that advertises itself as "Heavy Metal Gets Medieval," which is a great tagline by the way, "Ironclad" is little fun.  Nor is there any of the advertised heavy metal in the soundtrack, unless you count swords and shields clashing. King John (Giamatti) is a tyrant of the worst kind.  He's so bad that the local barons rebel and he's forced to sign the Magna Carta, which leaves him on the throne but limits his power.  As you can imagine, King John isn't too happy about this, so he teams up with a 1000 Dutch mercenaries, led by the ferocious-looking Tiberius (Kulich).  His first objective is to take the castle at Rochester, which would allow him to control all of Southern England.  Realizing that th

0.5/4 Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo, Tommy Lee Jones Rated R for Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality "The Family" is a complete disaster. It is amazing how often this movie misfires.  And how badly.  Apart from a few (I counted four) amusing moments, there isn't a single element that works.  It's so bad that I am in awe.  With some movies, like " Strangeland ," it's not really a surprise if the movie turns out to be shit.  But this movie stars three legendary actors and is directed by Luc Besson, a French filmmaker who knows what he's doing.  Then again, so does Robert Redford, and he made " The Conspirator ," which is just as bad. The Manzoni family used to be part of the mafia in New York.  But after Giovanni (De Niro) became a rat, they went into the Witness Protection program.  They've had trouble adjusting to civilian life, so they've been relocated for the umpteenth time

2.5/4 Starring: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, John Ireland, Joanne Dru Not Rated (probably PG for Violence) I have nothing against the Western genre on principle.  I'm sure you can make a great movie with horses, six-shooters and cowboy hats (and tumbleweeds, of course).  It's just that I haven't seen any good entries.  The ones I've seen are either overrated ("Unforgiven," the "3:10 to Yuma" remake) or horrible (" Shane ").  Surely one starring John Wayne, whose name is synonymous with the genre, would be great.  In truth, not really. Thomas Dunson (Wayne) is as stubborn as they come.  If he makes a decision, he sticks to it no matter what.  Not even his best friend Groot (Brennan) can change his mind.  So when he decides to abandon a wagon train to grow a cattle herd, he and Groot do so despite the objections of the train leader.  It turns out to be a smart move, as the train is attacked and everyone, including Fen

1.5/4 Starring: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca Santos, Douglas Smith, Shelly Hennig, Lin Shaye Rated PG-13 for Disturbing Violent Content, Frightening Horror Images and Thematic Material "Ouija" exists for one reason only: to extract money from texting tweens who pay more attention to what they read on social media than what's on screen.  It's the ultimate paper tiger; there's nothing here.  It's all marketing and branding.  And with Michael Bay producing it, you know he's going to make sure that every teen has to see this movie or risk being out of the loop. The story, for anyone who cares, is about a group of stupid teenagers who learn that trying to contact the spirit realm generally isn't a good idea (haven't any of them seen any horror movies?).  A pretty blonde girl named Debbie (Hennig) has just killed herself.  Her friends, led by the adult-like Laine (Cooke), decide that using her old Ouija board to contact her is t

3.5/4 Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Mackenzie Foy, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Topher Grace Rated PG-13 for Some Intense Perilous Action and Brief Strong Language Note: Normally I don't go back and re-edit a review. although I do occasionally change a film's rating (" Hollow Man ," " The Descent ," and " Carriers " are three examples).  But with "Interstellar," a second viewing was mandatory.  There was some brilliant stuff in this movie, but the overbearing sound drowned out much of it.  Having seen the movie the way it was meant to be seen, I can say that the original rating was totally inappropriate, and have given it the one it deserves. One thing I like about Christopher Nolan is that he is a risk-taker.  While it's true that he has a number of stylistic touches and a way of telling stories that make it clear that he's the one in charge (downbeat storylines, color desat

3/4 Rated PG-13 for Drug Content and Some Strong Language James Berardinelli said in his review of "American Movie," a documentary about a filmmaker trying to make a movie, "to succeed in the independent film industry, a director must possess three critical attributes: luck, drive and talent.  The absence of any one of those characteristics can be fatal."  I think that's true of any industry with a lot of demand and few opportunities.  Berardinelli was describing Hollywood, but it applies to other areas of life, from being President of the United States to the next Mark Zuckerberg.  Or an NBA star. Actually, Berardinelli simplified things for the purposes of making his point, and "Hoop Dreams" proves just how much.  Becoming a "star" of sorts in some respect takes those things that he listed, but it also takes incredible drive and sacrifice.  It's also a situation where if one small thing doesn't line up in your favor, everythin

2.5/4 Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Disturbing Images and Thematic Material I'm not the world's biggest fan of this franchise, and that's mainly because the world the story takes place doesn't seem very real or interesting.  The settings of "Harry Potter" and " The Lord of the Rings " felt alive; it was as if the filmmakers had created whole entire worlds rather than just telling the stories.  Middle Earth and the Magical World of Harry Potter had personality.  Panem is just a word. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) has been responsible for turning her world entirely on its head.  An act of defiance has caused her home district to be flattened by the Capital, which is led by the ruthless President Snow (Sutherland).  There are survivors, including District 12 President

3/4 Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, Olek Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershalalahshbaz Ali Rated R for Strong Creature Violence/Gore and for Pervasive Language To be quite honest, I wasn't all that enthused with the original " Predator " starring Ah-nuld.  I gave it a 3/4, but if memory serves me correctly, I wasn't very enamored with it.  The 2010 reboot produced by Robert Rodriguez isn't a classic (and neither was the original), but it's better. A man wakes up to find himself falling through the sky.  It's a common nightmare, only this guy (he's named Royce, and played by Adrien Brody), isn't dreaming.  Fortunately a parachute opens up and he hits the ground in one piece.  Shortly thereafter, he hooks up with a number of other people in the same position.  None of them know where they are or how they got there, but that's going to be the least of their problems.  It turns o

2/4 Starring: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis, Chi McBride, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Vanessa Bell Calloway Rated R for Domestic Violence, Strong Language, Drug Use and Some Sexuality Few things are more dull than a paint-by-the-numbers biopic, and that's what this is.  Not only does the film recycle old cliches without giving them any sort of life, it doesn't even fully present them.  So not only are we seeing things we've seen in just about every other showbiz drama (the film opens with one of those generic Deep South settings, with the minimalist bluegrass soundtrack...yawn), we're not even seeing all of it. That's a shame, because Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne give performances that should be seen.  Both were given Oscar nominations (deservedly, I might add), but neither the script by Kate Lanier and director Brian Gibson do them justice.  The story is generic and the script is weak.  Only in the second half are the two allowed t

3.5/4 Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabella Adjani, Bruno Ganz Rated PG (probably for Scary Images) Watching Werner Herzog's re-imagining of of F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic starring Max Schreck will make you realize how twisted the " Twilight " franchise actually is.  While there's certainly no rule against taking common folklore and putting your own spin on it, I'd be less eager to use that as a counterpoint if it wasn't so awful. "Nosferatu the Vampyre" is unlike any vampire movie you've ever seen (unless you've seen the 1922 film).  There's little in the way of violence and almost no blood and gore.  It's all atmosphere.  This is a movie that works because Herzog takes his time.  Rarely has the presence of evil slithered off the screen like this. The story is like a bare bones version of "Dracula" (the copyright on "Dracula" expired long before this film was made, which wasn't the case with the

3.5/4 Starring (voices): Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, Daniel Henney, Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk Rated PG for Action and Peril, Some Rude Humor, and Thematic Elements "Big Hero 6" is big time fun.  That's probably the best thing I can say about the movie, but since a single too-cutesy sentence isn't a review, I'll go on.  Happily. "Big Hero 6" is a superhero movie that doesn't feel like a superhero movie.  It uses a number of the same conventions but in different ways.  For example, many films, such as " Spider-Man " and it's way too early reboot " The Amazing Spider-Man ," use a tragic death to jump start the story.  That's the case here, but whereas the Spidey movies used the death of Uncle Ben as a way to launch the plot, "Big Hero 6" uses a superhero story to explore it.  Really, this is an animated action comedy about the grievi

3.5/4 Starring: Jason Statham, Agata Buzek Rated R for Strong Brutal Violence, Graphic Nudity, and Language Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light. That's a quote from John Milton's "Paradise Lost."  It was used as a tagline for the serial killer thriller, "Seven," and oddly, enough, it's an appropriate descriptor for "Redemption."  You couldn't find two more different films, but the idea applies to both of them. It is human nature to make mistakes.  It's how we learn.  Anyone who says otherwise is only kidding themselves.  When we screw up, we have to make things right, and often times that easier said than done.  Especially when by trying to do right, you inadvertently make things worse. John Smith (Statham) is an ex-Special Forces soldier who ran away from facing a court-martial because of something that happened in Afghanistan.  He's a full-time drunk and living on the streets of London, and sh

2/4 Starring: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Stellan Skarsgaard, Sam Reid, Tanroh Ishida, Hiroyuki Sanada Rated R for Disturbing Prisoner of War Violence This review contains spoilers.  I try to avoid spoiling anything, but here it's necessary to give a little more information than I usually do.  That being said, I don't think it will have much of an impact on the viewing experience if you read the whole review before you see the film. When we study wars in history class, or see war movies, we like to think that once the white flag goes up, it's all over.  Win or lose, you go home and live your life.  We know that that's not the case, but it gives us comfort. Few movies take the time to remember this.  I haven't seen "The Best Years of Our Lives," arguably one of the first, and definitely most famous, movies to look at the emotional scars of war, but I did see "In the Valley of Elah," which was haunting and sad, but its emot

2.5/4 Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace Rated PG-13 for Some Intense Perilous Action and Brief Strong Language Christopher Nolan is one of the most popular filmmakers working today.  Apart from Steven Spielberg (who at one point considered directing the film) and James Cameron, no one can claim a mastery of popcorn entertainment, and no one's next project is ever more highly anticipated by the public. There's a reason for this: Nolan is one of the hardest working and most talented directors in the industry.  Unlike Michael Bay, he doesn't waste his talent in the search of a quick and easy buck.  Nolan is always challenging himself, willing to take that chance and do something different.  Many filmmakers, even the best ones, shy away from taking risk.  Not so with Nolan.  He's always pushing himself to do something totally di

2/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench Rated R for Brief Strong Language The structure of "J. Edgar," a biopic of the man who built the F.B.I. as we know of it today, is that of Biopic 101: an elderly character reflects on the most important events in his life through rose-covered glasses.  Such a choice is odd, since J. Edgar Hoover's story, as screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and director Clint Eastwood see it, is filled with darkness and pain.  Surprisingly, this storytelling decision of theirs works, but it's one of the few that does.  What doesn't work is an unfinished screenplay and a sorely miscast lead actor. Shortly after WWI, there was a large Communist following in the United States that threatened to destabilize the country.  The Bureau of Investigation is impotent because they cannot arrest people simply for their beliefs.  But an ambitious young agent named John Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio), or "Edgar," as

3/4 Starring (voices): Percy Rodriguez, John Candy, Eugene Levy "Heavy Metal," the cult animated film from Canada (of all places) is all 80's.  From the garish visuals to the cheesy animation, it can't be mistaken as being from any other time than from when Reagan was President and Michael Alig and his friends painted the club scene red. Based on science fiction and fantasy stories from "Heavy Metal" magazine, this film is an anthology of short animated stories that radiate with pulp energy.  Nolan's " Dark Knight " has no place here.  Think " Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ."  Granted, it's nowhere near as innocent as Kerry Conran's criminally underrated movie, but it has the same "gee-whiz" energy.  A better analogy would be the "Spaceman Spiff" strips from Bill Waterson's "Calvin and Hobbes." The stories vary in terms of plot and quality.  Most are sci-fi and fantasy, althoug

3.5/4 Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton Rated R for Violence including Graphic Images, and for Language Sorry comic book nerds, this isn't a film version of the "X-Men" character (thank God...).  Instead, it's about an odd duck who finds a niche, and will do anything to rise to the top. Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is a strange young man living in Los Angeles.  Blessed with extremely limited social skills, he uses petty crime to get by.  Then he sees an accident on the freeway where two police officers are pulling a woman from a flaming car.  Also on the scene is Joe Loder (Paxton), a "nightcrawler."  A nightcrawler is a someone who records footage of crime scenes (the more carnage the better, and preferably without police interference) and sells them to news stations.  Lou thinks that this would be an easy way to make a quick buck, and decides to do it himself.  He turns out to be very good at it, which earns him the admiration

0/4 Starring: Lukas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall Not Rated (Probable R for Language, Some Strong Violence, and Sexual Content involving Molestation) I watch movies to be told stories through images and sound.  I want to get sucked into a compelling narrative filled with interesting people.  I also want to be viewed with respect by the filmmakers.  If I wanted to inflate someone's ego by looking at their crap, I'd go to the nearest museum of modern art. Either someone didn't tell Justin Kurzel making a movie isn't a testament to his ego, or people actually like watching pretentious puke like this.  Surprisingly, Roger Ebert loved this movie (he gave it a 3.5/4).  He might have been the only one. This is a movie where the director mistakes blank looks for deep thought, and thinks he can make jumping on the trampoline artistic.  If the film wasn't so deadly dull, I'd be laughing at what a clown Kurzel is.  If I want to see a movie about a serial killer (or k