Mike's Movie Tips

2.5/4 Starring: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis Rated R for Violence including Some Bloody Images Looking at her picture, you wouldn't imagine that Aung San Suu Kyi would be the thorn in the side of a brutal military regime.  She looks kindly, soft-spoken and motherly; closer to a teacher than a revolutionary.  And yet, she ended up winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma. After her father was murdered for trying to bring democracy to the tiny East Asian nation, Aung San Suu Kyi was raised in England, where she married a man named Michael Aris (Thewlis), with whom she had two children.  Her homeland is ruled by a military junta, whose violent oppression of its people has brought about a number of massacres.  Suu's mother has had a stroke, and when she goes to visit, the academics believe that she should be the one to carry on her father's legacy.  Despite having no political experience, she reluctantly agrees. The failing...

2/4 Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, and the voice of Douglas Rain Rated G Stanley Kubrick was always an intensely cerebral filmmaker.  Even "The Shining," which was certainly terrifying, was horror of a psychological kind.  Never has that been more true than in "2001: A Space Odyssey."  There are definitely elements of this film that are worthy of praise, and the visual effects are brilliant (even by today's standards).  But the amount of time and effort (Kubrick's films are not "easy viewing") that the film demands doesn't reward enough to recommend sitting through it. The film's plot is not its strong suit.  It's paper thin and not very interesting.  A large black monolith has been discovered, and two astronauts (Dullea and Lockwood) have been sent on a secret mission, although they don't know its parameters.  The rest of their crew is in cryosleep, but when the ship's computer, HAL 9000 (Rain)...

1/4 Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, Hart Boechner, David Copperfield Rated R (Probably for Violence/Gore and Sexuality/Nudity) Everyone gives slasher movie villains such a hard time.  I mean, they do kill people, but so does Arnold Schwarzenegger.  But instead of misguided men with testosterone issues or aliens, mad slashers ensure humanity's survival by offing the species' most stupid members.  That's not villainy, it's community service! All joking aside, "Terror Train" is a pretty shitty slasher movie.  The characters are some of the dumbest people to ever wander in front of a camera (even by slasher movie standards), the script is in rough draft form, the atmosphere constantly mistakes darkness for being ominous, and the film moves along at a crawl (it's as if the filmmakers were convinced we actually cared about the characters, none of whom have anything resembling a personality). The premise for the film (a fraternity...

2/4 Starring: Kurt Russell, Madeline Stowe, Ray Liotta, Roger E. Mosely Rated R for Terror and Violence, and for Sexuality and Language "Unlawful Entry" is a mediocre "stranger within" thriller; better than " The Resident " but certainly nowhere near the level of " Fear ," or more appropriately, " Fatal Attraction ."  With its pedestrian direction, bland screenplay and flat performances, it's just poor filmmaking.  But more than that, it feels like a missed opportunity.  After all, what could be scarier than being terrorized by a police officer? Michael (Russell) and Karen (Stowe) Carr are settling in for the night when their home is burglarized.  While Karen is briefly taken hostage, she escapes without a scratch and the robber flees.  Two police officers, Officer Pete Davis (Liotta) and Officer Roy Cole (Mosely), answer the call.  Michael plans on buying a gun, but Pete talks him into getting a security system instead.  Pe...

2/4 Starring: Eamonn Owens, Alan Boyle, Fiona Shaw, Stephen Rea, Sinead O'Connor, Aisling O'Sullivan, Brendan Gleeson Rated R for Language and Violence With a title like "The Butcher Boy," one could be excused for believing it to be a horror movie about a kid.  While the film's central character is certainly a terror in his small Irish town, it's a misguided assumption.  In reality, "The Butcher Boy" is a coming-of-age story laced with some black comedy.  It's a pretty simple story, but telling it effectively requires a defter touch than Neil Jordan possesses (at least in this case). Francie Brady (Owens) is the walking definition of a "problem child."  He's a bully to Phillip Nugent (Andrew Fullerton), the son of his nemesis, Mrs. Nugent (Shaw), has a foul mouth, and will lie to and con just about anyone he can.  Considering his home life, with his father (Rea), "the best drinker in town," and mother (O'Sulliv...

3/4 Starring (voices): Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan Rated PG for Mild Thematic Elements and Some Action No other studio is as reliable as Pixar Animation.  Aside from "Toy Story 3" and " Monsters University " (I can't count "Cars" since I fell asleep during the middle of it), they haven't had a misfire, and have two undeniable masterpieces in their cannon ("Finding Nemo," " Brave ") and the rest is up there.  I think James Berardinelli put it best in his review of "Up:" "Pixar views their films as creative and artistic endeavors; Dreamworks and Fox see theirs as products. With Pixar, it's about the movie.  With most other animated features, it's about the marketing." I think that's why they are so successful (apart from utilizing top talent instead of whoever will sign the dotted line).  They tell...

2/4 Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, Stacy Edwards Rated R for Language and Emotional Abuse Let's hurt someone. That's the line that grew into this screenplay.  The premise, about two businessmen playing a cruel joke on a vulnerable woman, is sleazy, and despite aspirations to do otherwise, it doesn't do much else.  Writer/director Neil LaBute forces us to watch these characters, neither of whom is likable, talk and talk and talk.  That's fine, but they don't say anything interesting or insightful. Chad (Eckhart) and Howard (Malloy) are sitting in a nameless airport talking.  Both of them are burned from bad break-ups, but Chad is especially angry because he sees women interfering in the "man's world," and how the workplace bends over backwards for their sake, but he has to walk on tiptoes around them lest he get fired for saying the wrong thing.  Both are travelling businessmen, so on their next s...