Mike's Movie Tips

The way the media and politicians are going on about it, it is only a matter of time before this Ebola outbreak becomes a modern day Black Death (which killed around 75-100 million people from 1346-1353, including 30-60% of Europe's population).  In reality, it's more like the O.J. Simpson trial: a moderately interesting news story that doesn't deserve a fraction of the coverage it gets. Don't get me wrong.  Ebola is a deadly disease with a fatality rate between 25 and 90% (admittedly, not a very specific statistic).  There is also no standard treatment except to try and alleviate the symptoms.  It is also highly contagious. It sounds very scary, but here's the thing: transmission is difficult.  In order to become infected, you have to have contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is infected...and that's only AFTER they begin to show symptoms.  If a person isn't showing symptoms, they're not contagious (and if they are, they're going...

3.5/4 Not Rated A few years ago, I recall seeing a story about Kelsey Grammar (I think) falling onstage.  He didn't get hurt, and it wasn't even a big fall.  If I remember correctly, he was on the edge of the stage and his foot slipped.  He fell to his knee and got back up.  I remember thinking to myself...so?  Who cares? To be perfectly honest, the concept of celebrity bores me.  I really don't care what so-and-so does in their free time.  I'd rather watch one of Angelina Jolie's movies than see a gossip spread in US Weekly about what the interior of her home looks like.  And I really could care less about what Nicole Kidman was wearing when she took out the trash yesterday. Apparently, though, there are people who drink this stuff up.  Celebrity photography is a billion dollar industry, and the problem is only getting worse.  Major news outlets are running celebrity gossip stories now too.  A story about whatever Branjelin...

3.5/4 Starring: Ben Schnetzer, Joseph Gilgun, Faye Marsay, Dominic West, George McKay, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Jessica Gunning, Paddy Considine Rated R for Language and Brief Sexual Content Gay movies are common enough that they are their own genre, but they're mostly direct-to-DVD (and for good reason...remember " Ben & Arthur ?").  Gay movies that are strong enough to get a theatrical release are rare.  "Pride" (not to be confused with the 2007 sports movie starring Terrence Howard and the late Bernie Mac) is among the select few that is a gay movie of high quality. It's 1984.  Margaret Thatcher has closed down a number of mines, which has led many miners to go on strike.  A young activist named Mark (Schnetzer) decides that the gays and lesbians of London should support them.  He faces hostility from his fellow "gays and lezzies" ("What have the miners ever done for us?" one asks), but he is undaunted.  The few who agr...

2/4 Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola Rated R for Intense Sequences of Disturbing Violence and Terror There are four things every horror movie must have: a threatening atmosphere, a sense of rhythm and pacing, identifiable characters, and a plot that establishes a set of rules about what can and cannot happen...and follows them.  These are absolute and non-negotiable.  No horror movie can succeed without them.  "Annabelle," the prequel in name only to last year's surprise hit " The Conjuring ," only succeeds in one area.  I bought into the world that the filmmakers established and believed that everything that happened was plausible in it.  Unfortunately, more is needed.  The film doesn't have a lot of atmosphere, is poorly paced and the characters are boring. The film opens with a short clip of four girls being interviewed the Warrens (it's from the original film).  The clip is a mistake; it's inclusion is...

3.5/4 Starring: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Shia LaBoeuf, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs Rated R for Strong Sequences of War Violence, Some Grisly Images, and Language Throughout In 1998, Steven Spielberg released his revisionist WWII epic, " Saving Private Ryan ," which changed the face of war films forever.  The days of gung-ho macho warriors were over.  Movies like "Black Hawk Down" and " Enemy at the Gates " were the face of war in film. This year, screenwriter-turned-director David Ayer has tried to do something similar.  "Fury" isn't as innovative nor is its punch as strong as "Saving Private Ryan," but Ayer takes some of Spielberg's ideas and further develops them.  Next to the battle scenes, the most impressive aspect of the film is Ayer's attention to detail, which is fine-tuned and adds to the sense of realism. "Fury" is more of a slice-of-life movie than a story-oriented one, although th...

2/4 Starring (voices): Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Kate del Castillo, Hector Elizondo, Carlos Alazraqui, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube Rated PG for Mild Action, Rude Humor, Some Thematic Elements and Brief Scary Images Guillermo del Toro really wants "The Book of Life" to be just like something out of the Disney canon (the good ones from the early 90's).  He and his director, Jorge R. Gutierrez, even borrow from the best of them, the most obvious being " Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin" and " Hercules ."  Sadly, it doesn't really come together.  The film definitely has its moments and gets points for spectacle, but it lacks the one thing that made the Disney greats so special: humanity.  The characters in movies like "Beauty and the Beast" felt like living, breathing creatures.  The ones in the book of life are stick figures. A group of kids are being herded to a museum for a field trip they ha...

1/4 Starring: Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Liana Liberato, Luke Bracey, Gerald McRaney, Sean Bridgers Rated PG-13 for Sexuality, Violence, Some Drug Content and Brief Strong Language Nicholas Sparks has distilled the "romantic tearjerker" genre down to a science.  He's become a genre all on his own.  When someone says "a Nicholas Sparks movie," you know exactly what you're getting: relaxed, Deep South culture, rich girl meets poor guy (both of whom are very photogenic), romance that most are against except a sage old man, violent/deadly plot twists and and ending that wraps everything up in a nice tidy little package.  No, it's not realistic, but Nicholas Sparks is not Richard Linklater, and none of his movies have ever been " Before Sunset ."  Sparks sells a fantasy, and he knows how to package it and sell it so that people will come back again and again. I haven't seen every movie based on his books (I've seen " The ...