Mike's Movie Tips

3.5/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action Throughout Most big budget action movies are dumb fun at best, where the mind isn't exactly required to be used.  Despite having a $160 million price tag, "Inception" is different.  It doesn't just encourage thought; it demands it.  Christopher Nolan's film was described as a contemporary sci-fi action thriller "set within the architecture of the mind."  That hint is more descriptive than it seems to be for this puzzlebox of an action movie. Cobb (DiCaprio) is a specialist of a unique kind.  He is able to journey into people's minds and steal their secrets.  Cobb is the best in the business, but an event from his past forced him to flee the US.  Now, a businessman named Saito (Watanabe) is in need of his services, but there's a wrin...

0.5/4 Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Ackerman Rated R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Language and Drug Use "Wanderlust" is a terrible movie, easily the worst of this new year.  Tedious, unfunny and seemingly without end, it makes " One for the Money " look like decent entertainment. George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are a happily married couple living in Manhattan when their fortunes take a turn for the worse.  George's company goes under after his boss gets caught in some unscrupulous dealings and HBO doesn't pick up Linda's movie.  Unable to afford living in the "micro-apartment" they just bought, the two head to Atlanta, where George's brother offers him a job.  But his brother (co-writer Ken Marino) is a lunatic so they flee to the commune that they stopped by on the way to Atlanta.  But are they ready to commit to this extremely open society? It surprised me to learn that the duo ...

3/4 Starring: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Scott Wilson, Daniel von Bargen, John Michael Higgins Rated R for Language and Combat Violence "G.I. Jane" is an action movie, although not in the strictest sense of the word.  There are stunts and violence, but it's not all gunfire and blowing things up (there is one traditional action sequence, but it's brief and comes at the end).  Actually, it's more similar to "Top Gun" than say, "Navy SEALS." Senator Lillian DeHaven (Bancroft) is known for her push for gender equality in the armed forces.  In order to open up more jobs to women, she decides to have a woman undergo SEAL training, the most intense training known to mankind.  The woman selected is Jordan O'Neal (Moore), a tenacious young naval officer who doesn't want any special treatment.  But not everyone wants to see her finish; her squad, her commanding officer, nor the higher ups in the military.  Bu...

3/4 Starring: Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults, Jesse Bradford, Keri Lynn Pratt, Marika Dominczyk, The version being viewed is the unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R for Nudity, Strong Sexual Content including Graphic Dialogue Throughout, Language and Some Crude Material As I have said before, I am a huge Tucker Max fan.  Few people can make me laugh that hard no matter how many times I've read/watched their material.  His stories are so outrageous and he's such a good writer that a movie was bound to happen.  The master of the outrageous, the crude and the ego, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" has forever cemented a place in my psyche. Would that I could say the same thing about the movie.  It's not particularly great; the acting is sometimes shockingly stiff and the direction is often questionable, but despite everything, it is funny. The plot is a mixture of a number of Tucker's stories (which considering the wealth and variety ...

3/4 Starring: Will Smith, Brigette Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, Chi McBride, James Cromwell, Shia LeBeouf, Alan Tudyk (voice) Rated PG-13 for Intense Stylized Action, and Some Brief Partial Nudity Law I: A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Law II: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law Law III: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law These are the "Three Laws of Robotics" created by Isaac Asimov, and they form the foundation of Alex Proyas' film, "I, Robot."  Although flawed, one must give credit where it is due: this is a surprisingly intelligent action movie, and one that piques the mind as well as raises the adrenaline. In the year 2035, robots are a permanent part of life.  They're everywhere, and many people own one.  They are so ingrained i...

Okay, that may be overstating things a little bit.  Weinstein, a producer whose talent is outmatched by the size of his ego, is a little hard to get behind.  This is the guy who split the "Kill Bill" movies in two (which led to an unfortunate Hollywood trend), and released an edited version of "The King's Speech," which shouldn't have been R rated to begin with. But the film at the center of the controversy is a documentary called "Bully," about, naturally, bullying.  Bullying has always been a problem but it has never gotten more than token press after the suicide of Phoebe Prince and the catastrophic losses of LGBT teens.  So here is a chance to present a true face on bullying to people who are both victims and perpetrators.  So what does the MPAA do?  They give it a fucking R rating. I haven't seen the film, so I can't judge it based on content.  But think about it.  A film that was meant to be shown in schools to s...

I've heard of people who refuse to watch a movie a second time.  It makes sense, I mean, you know what's going to happen.  I'm not one of them.  There are a lot of movies that I watch more than once; some I've seen nearly a hundred times.  A movie has to be really good to be worth watching again and again. So what makes a movie worth revisiting?  It depends on a few factors.  Action movies are the ones that are the most "rewatchable" because extravagant stunts and fight scenes can provoke awe after one or two viewings (at least in my opinion).  Consider "True Lies," which has been a family favorite for years.  The scene with the Harrier jet is awesome.  I mean, it's jaw-dropping.  The sequence is so well-executed by James Cameron that it still gets the adrenaline pumping no matter how many times you see it. Sometimes it's because the story is so much fun.  I watch "Brotherhood of the Wolf" once every few months.  ...