Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Edward James Olmos, Evalina Fernandez, William Forsythe, Daniel Villarreal, Danny De La Paz Rated R for Strong Violence and Sensuality, Language and Drug Content I'll give Edward James Olmos credit for one thing: he chose a difficult project for his directorial debut (aside from one episode of "Miami Vice").  The story of the rise and fall of a Chicano gang leader is a complex and deep story, one that would try the talents of many actors, writers and directors.  Unfortunately, Olmos doesn't have the directorial prowess that Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese have (they, of course, directed "The Godfather" trilogy and " Goodfellas ," two films that Olmos is clearly trying to emulate here). Olmos tells the story of Santana (played by Panchito Gomez as a teenager, and Olmos himself as an adult).  As a kid, he and two friends, JD (Steve Wilcox) and Mundo (Richard Coca), started a gang in order to get respect.  After taking...

4/4 Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Conrad Veidt, Dooley Wilson, S. Z. Sakall, Peter Lorre Rated PG for Mild Violence What can I say about "Casablanca" that has not already been said?  One of the most famous, if not the most famous movies of all time (" Gone with the Wind " and "The Godfather" give it a run for its money), there is little that an amateur film critic like me can add to the multitude of myths (such as the one where Ronald Regan, Ann Sheridan and Dennis Morgan were the original choices for the leads...this was planted in the news to keep the actors' names in the press) that stemmed from the film. It's probably best to start with how modern the movie is.  Putting it simply, the movie has aged tremendously well.  Director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Arthur Edeson made a visually dynamic movie that captures the eye as well as a Michael Bay film (although this is co...

2/4 Starring: Emile Hirsch, Kieran Culkin, Jodie Foster, Jena Malone, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Richardson, Tyler Long Rated R for Language, Sexual Content, and Youth Substance Abuse There are some elements of "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" that work, and there are some that don't.  The minuses of the film more than outweigh the positives, but at least it's not a complete disaster, thanks to some effective performances. This is a coming-of-age story, and those are a dime-a-dozen.  Done well, such as " The Way Way Back " or " Black Irish ," they can be rich, rewarding experiences.  Done on autopilot, the best they can hope to be is watchable.  Sadly, it's the latter route that director Peter Care (making his first, and thus far only, narrative film) chooses to tell the story based on the novel by Chris Fuhrman. Four friends are the troublemakers at Saint Agatha's, a private Catholic school in Savannah, Georgia (only iMDb ide...

0.5/4 Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson Rated R for Language and Some Bloody Violence "The Rover" is one of those movies that gives independent movies a bad name.  There's no plot, no character development, not much action, and plenty of characters spouting senseless profundities and staring off into space.  Yep, that's entertainment! The film takes place ten years after society collapsed, although so little is done with this idea that it could have been set in the Australian outback and only one or two lines of dialogue would change.  A drifter named Eric (Pearce) has wandered into a gas station/bar/dollar store/whatever else it needs to be.  Right outside, a group of criminals (thieves?) are racing down the road.  One, named Henry (Scoot McNairy), has been shot in the hand and is whining about leaving his brother behind, even though everyone else thinks he was shot dead.  They fight, and the car flips over.  This leads to the only entert...

2.5/4 Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp Rated PG-13 for Some Thematic Elements, Violence and Language "The Signal" almost works.  I can't in good conscience recommend it outright, but it is compelling and strongly acted.  It will appeal most to those who love the "mindfuck" genre.  This is one of those movies that screws with your head. Three friends, Nic (Thwaites), Hayley (Cooke) and Jonah (Knapp) are on their way to California.  Their main purpose is to take Hayley to California (for reasons that are never identified), but Nic and Jonah have an additional purpose.  A hacker named Nomad hacked into MIT's networks, including their own, and pinned the blame on them.  They want to find him, but in order to do so, they're forced to play a creepy game of cat and mouse.  He leads them to an out of the way house where something happens.  The next thing Nic knows is that he's woken up in a hospital and is b...

3/4 Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens, Jimmy Tatro, Jillian Bell, Peter Stormare Rated R for Language Throughout, Sexual Content, Drug Material, Brief Nudity and Some Violence "22 Jump Street" is a comedown from the first installment , which made my Top 10 list two years ago.  The first one made me laugh so hard that my sides hurt.  Despite having a sharp satirical edge, this one produced more smiles and knowing grins rather than full-bellied laughs, although there are more than a few of those. After the events of the first film, Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) are normal cops again.  They've just gone after a drug lord named The Ghost (Stormare), although he slipped away.  Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) has once again pulled them back into the old unit (now called 22 Jump Street after the Koreans bought back their church).  With a bigger budget, he's sending them to college in to find who is making and supplying a...

3/4 Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Action and Violence, Language and Brief Suggestive Material "Edge of Tomorrow" requires that the viewer pay attention to what is going on in the film.  It's not as dense as say " Inception ," but those who spend their time texting during the movie (shame on you!) will get lost.  It is, after all, a time travel story, albeit an unorthodox one. Earth has been invaded by aliens known as mimics.  They're like the sentinels from "The Matrix" trilogy, only much faster and more aggressive.  They're also almost impossible to stop, and have overtaken most of Europe.  There is one ray of hope, and her name is Rita Vrataski (Blunt), a woman who led the humans to victory in Verdun. A general by the name of Brigham (Gleeson) intends to send an army reporter to sell an invasion into France, one that will cost many lives.  Tha...