You Again

Marni now has a successful career in PR, but like so many people high school was her own hell – presided over by the head cheerleader Joanna. When Marni returns home for her brother’s wedding she quickly discovers that her soon-to-be sister-in-law is Joanna. While Marni tries to cope with this her mother discovers that Joanna’s aunt is her old high school rival Ramona. What ensues is a cat fight through the generations.

I wish I could praise You Again because the cast is one I adore – Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigorney Weaver, Kristen Bell and Victor Garber – but I can’t. There was very little in this film that worked…in fact, as I’m trying to come up with things to say about it, I’m blanking badly.

Perhaps where this film suffers the most is somewhere between the writing and editing. I do believe that this film was cut down for a rating. For some reason, because the trailer wouldn’t leave you to believe this, the film is PG and I don’t think the film was shot PG. Yet it was edited that way. The jokes end up feeling truncated, watered down and more than anything there’s no flow to the entire film.

The saving grace of You Again, the only good thing I can say about the movie, is the cast. Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis & Kristen Bell are wonderful leading ladies and they try very hard to knock this film out of the park.

This is a film that needed to be let loose, and it suffers because it wasn’t. But that’s okay, at the end of the day this is a pretty generic film – someone else will make it again in the next decade.



Director: Andy Fickman

Avatar

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Originally uploaded by bibadindej

Avatar. I’ve officially seen it in all three formats it’s available in – Imax 3-D, digital 3-D and Standard. It’s phenomenal in all three. Hoo rah.

If you haven’t seen it yet go see it and support James Cameron making more movies.

Avatar

avatar_poster2
Originally uploaded by wiro204sableng

Jake Sully is a paralyzed former Marine who gets a tragic, lucky break. His Twin brother Tommy was part of the Avatar program on Pandora, he had his DNA blended with the native peoples so he can be linked into the Avatar body and interact with the natives, but Tommy was killed and now The Company is afraid of losing their investment so they ask Jake as his twin to take over Tommy’s Avatar. Jake soon is caught up between the Marine Colonel that wants to exterminate the natives to get to their natural resources and Dr. Augustine who founded the Avatar program because she believes there is a greater wealth to Pandora than their natural resources.

Jake soon meets the natives princess, Neytiri who believes their diety has given them a sign that Jake is significant to them. Jake must learn the ways of the people in 3 months and get them to leave peacefully or face destruction. What Jake never expects is that he would feel more alive in his Avatar than in his human body.

James Cameron hasn’t made a narrative film since Titanic, and I have to say that I was a naysayer when I found out one of the great delays with Avatar was the 3D process. After seeing the film I have two things to say ; firstly, that Avatar was worth the 12 year wait, and secondly, that the 3D is the most astounding use of the technology I have ever seen.

I am a 3D hater, and I don’t want to make it sound like Avatar is all about technology and not a good movie. It’s actually quite the opposite. Avatar is a great movie on its own, but the addition of the 3D element takes it to a whole other realm for the audience. Most 3D is gimmicky and doesn’t add anything to the story, which is why I dislike it; but with Avatar Cameron managed to use the medium for it’s ideal purpose – the 3D pulls you into the story and makes you feel like you are on the planet with Jake & Neytiri. You forget you are watching 3D.

Cameron typically does stories that focus on strong women, and I was a bit surprised to find out that Neytiri was not the main focus of this film – Jake was. However, Jake is a great, well rounded character with a strong arch and played very engagingly by Sam Worthington. On top of that, instead of one strong Sarah Connor figure you get 3 strong women in Avatar - Neytiri, Grace Augustine & Trudy. These women play the spectrum of strong women. Neytiri is the native princess that learns to accept Jake and protect her people, Grace is the scientist who is not afraid of the military and fights for the planet and Trudy is a fighter that learns the difference between orders and what is right.

I would love to give a play by play of this entire movie, how geeky I was about it and what I loved, but I truly think this is a movie that has to be experienced. I encourage you all to go see it and be willing to shell out the extra bucks for 3D, you will be glad you did.

Director & Writer: James Cameron
Jake Sully: Sam Worthington
Neytiri: Zoe Saldana
Dr. Augustine: Sigourney Weaver
Col. Quartich: Stephen Lang
Trudy: Michelle Rodriguez
Parker Selfridge: Giovanni Ribisi
Norm: Joel Moore

Col. Quaritch: You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentleman.

Snow White: A Tale of Terror

I had another round of remote roulette – it’s been a strange day. This time I spotted a strange little movie I’d seen only once before, Snow White: A Tale of Terror.

I am a person that love mythology and fairytales in all shapes and sizes, but let me tell you this one is a little too dark and strange for me – and I am a person that loves the Grimm brothers gothic tomes. But when they made A Tale of Terror they not only made Snow White dark, but they changed elements of the story and I both applaud the filmmakers for this and question it.

In Snow White: A Tale of Terror Snow White is a noble woman (not a princess) named Lilly, the dwarves are gone and replaced by dirty miners, and the prince is not a prince but an arranged marriage, and the real “prince” is actually one of the miners. But by far the strangest thing in this version of the tale is the “queen” played by Sigourney Weaver. Weaver plays her well, but this version of the character is twisted, into the dark arts, and mentally deranged. There is also a strange sexual theme running through this whole movie that just doesn’t seem to fit. I understand that the original subtext of the Grimm story does have some sexual subtext, but this is downright overt.

I suppose I recommend that you catch this one if you are into fairy tales, but other than that this film can be forgotten.

Director: Michael Cohn
Writers: Thomas Szollosi & Deborah Serra
Lady Hoffman: Sigourney Weaver
Lord Hoffman: Sam Neill
Lilly Hoffman: Monica Keena
Will: Gil Bellows

Lady Hoffman: You seem quite alive, for a little wench who's been rotting in the ground. I felt you stir. The moment you took your first breath, it was like a knife in my heart.
Lilly: You have no heart.
Lady Hoffman: That's too simple.

Ghostbusters 2

In Ghostbusters 2 the entire paranormal crew is back only this time the fame that exploded around them five years earlier has turned on them and they are now hasbeens that not even the mayor they rescued will take calls from. However, the paranormal can always be relied on to shake things up and it does as Dana’s infant son has strange things that begin to occur around him and the boys uncover a literal river of negativity running under the city that is causing more of the paranormal to come out.

I don’t think that Ghostbusters 2 is as funny as the original, but it is definitely a worthy effort and makes me wish they might actually partake on a third installment. I was quite impressed in the follow up film that the writers chose to make the boys less successful; it definitely upped the comedy factor in a few senses and I have to say that I really laughed out loud when it was revealed that Venkman was now a host of a psychic TV talk show that no one will go on.

I have to give credit where credit is due and compliment Sigourney Weaver. This is a woman who can play just about any role (and has) and shockingly in the Ghostbusters series is a match for Bill Murray, her warm personality versus his dry and dark character is incredibly entertaining and you would not think that could be the case.

I would have to say that there is enough to Ghostbusters 2 to keep the audience entertained, but that if the leads can ever find it in themselves to make a third film in the series it would be adored by fans everywhere.

Director: Ivan Reitman
Writers: Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis
Peter Venkman: Bill Murray
Ray: Dan Aykroyd
Dana: Sigourney Weaver
Egon: Harold Ramis
Louis: Rick Moranis
Winston: Ernie Hudson
Janosz: Peter MacNicol

Ray: Ungrateful little yuppie larva. After everything we did for this city.
Winston: Yeah, we conjured up a hundred-foot marshmallow man, blew the top three floors off an uptown high-rise, and ended up getting sued by every city, county, and state agency in New York.
Ray: Yeah... but what a ride.

Ghostbusters

In New York Drs. Venkman, Stantz & Spengler have a sweet deal going at the local university, they get to continue their research into the paranormal (and Venkman gets to hit on young co-eds) without ever producing results and they continue to be funded and get paid – however, they same day they discover a genuine ghost in the New York library they get the boot from the university. Spurred by their new discovery the men decide to go into business for themselves as the Ghostbusters who will rid you of your otherworldly guests for a nominal fee.

Until last week I had never managed to see Ghostbusters; now that I have seen it I have to say that the exploits of these haphazard scientists are going to gain a permanent place on my DVD shelf. I have to say that I really did not expect the comedy in Ghostbusters to be subtle and intelligent, I kind of thought it was going to be all slime and in your face humor, or at least on par with something like Men In Black; instead, I was delighted to see that Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were left to their own devices and allowed to do the subtle, adult comedy both can be so dang good at.

While Aykroyd and Murray definitely carried the movie Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis & Ernie Hudson add to the comedy dynamic in a wonderful way that only truly good writing and direction can create. Each character manages to have a distinct personality and flavor and when everyone is woven together Ivan Reitman hit the homerun creating a work of comedy genius. It is no wonder that Ghostbusters is lauded and applauded by so many adoring fans, I have no doubt that Ghostbusters is a film that will be praised for decades to come and continue to be emulated by the ever-evolving voices in comedy.

Director: Ivan Reitman
Writers: Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis
Dr. Peter Venkman: Bill Murray
Dr. Raymond Stantz: Dan Akyroyd
Dr. Egon Spengler: Harold Ramis
Dana: Sigourney Weaver
Louis: Rick Moranis
Janine: Annie Potts
Walter Peck: William Atherton
Winston: Ernie Hudson

Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.

Wall*E

Wall-E Rubik's
Originally uploaded by The Wall-E Builders

Pixar has the market on making some of the best films that come out every year, not just the best animated films, but the best films. Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and every other Pixar film raise the bar for what is expected out of an animated film in terms of story and advancement of technology. Wall*E is no exception to Pixars standard of excellence.

The film centers on Wall*E, the last working clean-up robot on an Earth that has been abandoned by its inhabitants hundreds of years ago. Being alone for so long has evolved Wall*E from just a robot into a robot with a personality; he has a pet cockroach, he’s created a home in an abandoned truck which he has decorated with Christmas lights, and odds and ends that he’s found and he collects things that fascinate him from the rubbish he cleans and organizes including rubber duckies, spoons, forks and replacement pieces for him in case he is damaged. However, Wall*E is lonely and longs for companionship. Finally a robot probe named Eve is sent to Earth for a mission and Wall*E falls in love, and follows her back into space and discovers the human survivors.

Wall*E had some of the most spectacular animation I’ve seen yet from Pixar. There were times I could have sworn Wall*E was a miniature and not animation he looked so real. Unlike Happy Feet, Wall*E manages to blend moments of live action film into the film seamlessly so they do not stand out as glaringly outside the animated realm. I may not be sure why they chose to do so, but it worked visually.

The funny thing about my response to Wall*E is that my favorite part of the film is actually the end credits. I’m not saying that I didn’t like the film and was glad to leave. The end credits sequence was one of the most creative I’ve seen in a long time as they both continue the story of what happens after the “end” of the film and do so by showing the evolution of art from cave drawings to drawing with pixels.

My only problem with Wall*E is that it is essentially a message movie about the environment. However, the message is not slapped in the audiences face the way it is in a movie like The Happening so it is easier to swallow.

Director & Writer: Andrew Stanton
Wall*E, M-O: Ben Burtt
Eve: Elissa Knight
Captain: Jeff Garlin
Shelby Forthright: Fred Willard
Ship’s Computer: Sigourney Weaver