Mike's Movie Tips

2/4 Starring: John Cusack, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chow Yun-Fat, David Morse Rated R for Strong Violence, Some Drug Use and Brief Language Ever since I heard about this project a few years ago, I was dying to see it.  I'm a huge fan of Gong Li, and the thought of her (not to mention two of Asia's biggest male stars appearing with her) made me drool with anticipation.  I waited patiently for its release.  And waited.  And waited.  Anticipation gave way to frustration as the film had been delayed for two years (even though it had been submitted to the MPAA), and through research I concluded that the film would never see the light of day in the U.S.  Finally, I decided to see if I could get it on Blu Ray, which I eventually did. The obvious question is why the film wasn't released in the U.S.?  I mean, it has John Cusack and his Asian co-stars aren't exactly unknowns.  Ken Watanabe got an Oscar nomination for " The Last Sa...

.5/4 Starring: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Burton, Clifton Collins Jr., Delroy Lindo Rated R for Language and Violence Movies like "The Last Castle" piss me off.  It's unbearably boring, serious to the point of making a funeral look happy, and lacking in any sort of intelligence.  What kind of a moron thought that this could work?  Sure, there are a few nice performances, but for what?  To speak asinine dialogue in the service of a story that is afraid to have any shred of darkness?  To continually insult the brainpower of anyone who watches it?  To put insomniacs to sleep?  I don't know, but I'd like to ask director Rod Lurie and screenwriters David Scarpa and Graham Yost.  And I want payment for my pain and suffering for watching this garbage. The film can boast at least a semi-interesting idea: a prisoner rallies up the fellow inmates to take over the prison from the brutal warden.  Unfortunately, any shre...

2/4 Starring: Charlize Theron, Johnny Depp, Joe Morton, Clea DuVall, Donna Murphy, Nick Cassavettes, Blair Brown, Tom Noonan Rated R for Violence, Language, and a Strong Scene of Sexuality Psychological thrillers are fairly risky to make.  A good thriller in general is hard to get right, but a thriller like "The Astronaut's Wife" can't fall back on action scenes or chases to keep the audience from falling asleep.  Done right, you can end up with " Single White Female " or " The Debt ."  Done poorly, you can end up with something like "The Astronaut's Wife." Rand Ravich's directorial debut is not a terrible movie.  Despite his miscalculations, his two stars, Charlize Theron and Johnny Depp, are consistently good.  The story is engaging enough, and he effectively sets up the story.  That being said, there are plenty of serious problems that keep this "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" movie from being the terrifying ...

3/4 Starring: Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe, Temura Morrison, Brian McCardie Rated PG-13 for Frenetic Disaster Action and Violence " Speed " was an unexpected blockbuster for 20th Century Fox.  Originally an August release, it was moved up to July when a producer for the studio realized that he had a hit on his hands when test audience members were walking backwards to the bathroom so they would miss as little as possible.  Easily one of the best and most original action thrillers ever committed to celluloid, the box office success demanded a sequel.  Which brings us to "Speed 2: Cruise Control."  While it has earmarks to its successor (including the return of the leading lady, Sandra Bullock), they're wildly different movies.  "Speed" was a white knuckler with moments of humor to release the tension.  "Speed 2" is more comical, almost to the point where it is appropriate to classify it as an action comedy. The film begin...

2.5/4 Starring: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, Anne Revere, John Garfield, Albert Dekker, Dean Stockwell Not Rated It's easy to "talk the talk" but difficult to "walk the walk."  What I mean is that it's easy to say that we'd stick to the moral high ground, but when push comes to shove, we usually give in to social, economic or political pressures to make life easier.  But as Phil Green learns, appeasement only keeps the vicious cycle of discrimination going. Widower Phil Green (Peck) has just moved from California to New York City to write an article for a left-wing magazine.  His editor, John Minify (Dekker), wants him to do a piece of anti-Semitism.  Initially, Phil is enthusiastic, but becomes despondent when unable to find a new and interesting angle.  That's when he decides to use his well-worn tactic of immersing himself in the stories he writes.  He'll pass himself off as Jewish to get a first hand look at anti-Semitism and its ef...

2.5/4 Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike Rated R for Pervasive Language including Sexual References Everyone seems to "get" British humor but me.  I'm not a Monty Python fan, and I didn't care for "A Fish Called Wanda."  In both of those, I saw the jokes but found them to be so lacking in life and energy that I wasn't laughing.  The same goes for "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz."  Could see the humor, but wasn't laughing.  Which brings us to "The World's End," the final film in the trilogy which Simon Pegg and co-writer/director Edgar Wright dubbed, "The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy."  It's the best of the three, with more than a few laugh out loud moments, but it's too inconsistent for me to recommend. The plot sounds like "The Hangover" meets last years misfire " The Watch ."  Five friends reunite twenty three...

1/4 Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Rob Moran, Margaret Laney, AmySeimetz, Barbara Crampton Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence, Language and Some Sexuality/Nudity Why would anyone want to see this movie?  Seriously, there is nothing of value here unless you're looking for a bunch of generic slasher movie scenes strung together with a plot too thin to sustain a ten minute short.  The acting is lousy, the characters are boring and stupid and annoying.  And the camera rarely stops shaking. For their thirty-fifth anniversary, Paul (Moran) and Aubrey (Crampton) are bringing their children (plus each's romantic interest) to celebrate at their out of the way vacation home.  Crispian (Bowen) brings his new girlfriend Erin (Vinson), Felix (Tucci) brings goth Zee (Glenn), Drake (Swanberg) brings Kelly (Laney), and Aimee (Seimetz) brings Tariq (" The Innkeepers " director Ti West, who might want to deny ever appearing in thi...