Kevin Fair
Van Damme, Sam Raimi, Ed Helms and More!
I’ve seen a number of good movies recently but haven’t gotten around to posting my reviews so I’ve decided to merge them all into a single post. If you’ve seen any of these you would probably agree that it’s been a pretty good run, without any stinkers spoiling the fun.
JCVD
Rating: 
7.5/10
I meant to see this in the theater when it first came out, but didn’t manage it. I mentioned it in the video store while renting another movie and the guy there told me it was the best movie he had seen in the last few years. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it definitely was a quality film.
Jean Claude Van Damme plays a fictional version of himself – an aging, has-been action star. This Van Damme stumbles upon a bank robbery and becomes mistaken by the police as the robber.
This film was made in a very realistic style and was believable in a sort of surreal way. I liked the unique and interesting plot which made it stand apart from many of the unoriginal movies coming out these days. The biggest surprise for me was that Jean Claude seems to be a talented actor. Who knew?
Drag Me To Hell
Rating: 8.5/10
I loved this movie. Some horror movies are just downright scary (think – The Omen) and then there are some that are both scary and fun (think – Evil Dead). This one fits in to the latter category and, like Evil Dead, it was directed by the genius Sam Raimi. The last few years saw Sam Raimi wasting his talent directing the Spiderman movies so it’s good to see that he still has the touch.
I laughed my ass off, and jumped out of my seat. If you enjoy horror movies, you have to check this one out.
There is one disappointment that I just can’t get over (which knocked my rating down half a star). The great Bruce Campbell, a Raimi regular (who even made an appearance in each of the Spiderman movies) was NOT in this movie. Booooo!
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Rating: 7.5/10
This is a movie that’s hard not to have fun watching. I saw it with the family and I can tell you that it was, in fact, “fun for the whole family”. James loved all the crazy characters, and hasn’t stopped imitating The Thinker (“boom, boom … firepower”).
My enjoyment was derived mostly from the great cast. Top among them was the Amy Adams (is there anything that she’s not great in?) who played Amelia Erhart in a way that was reminiscent of a young Katherine Hepburn. It’s also hard not to like a movie that features the likes of Christopher Guest, Ricky Gervais, Bill Heder, and Hank Azaria.
The Hangover
Rating: 8/10
The Hangover has been described as the surprise hit of the summer. Considering how entertained I was by the trailer, I wasn’t really surprised at all.
The cast may not feature big stars, but these guys are great. Ed Helms was not one of my favourites on either The Daily Show or The Office, but he was awesome as the insecure/hen-pecked member of this group of bachelor party revelers. I didn’t really know who Zack Galifinisashsdkos (sp?) was, but I do now (even if I can’t spell his name). He’s the bearded guy on the movie poster above and he was hilarious.
This movie is benefiting from the recent interest in raunchy or R-rated comedies that was spawned a few years ago by Judd Apatow with 40 yr Old Virgin and Knocked Up. It was a lot more similar to last year’s Pineapple Express than it was to 1984’s Bachelor Party. It was lots of fun, and I hope to see more of the same (particularly from some in this cast).
Taken
Rating: 7.5/10
I’ve considered writing a post proposing that The Bourne Identity was one of the most important and influential movies of the last 10 (or more) years. Taken is one of the movies I would cite in that assertion (along with Casino Royale and others). Recent action movies – particularly successful ones – have adopted the same quick camera work along with the close-in and fast hand-to-hand fighting.
When I saw that Liam Neeson was cast in an action movie like this I admit I was a little skeptical. I have to say though that he really pulled it off. The action was good and it kept the pace up throughout. It wasn’t as good as the Bourne movies, but it is probably better than it would have been had Bourne not existed.
Up
Rating: 7/10
There’s no question that Pixar knows how to make movies. Not only are they technically amazing, but they incorporate a lot more depth and character development than the similar movies by Dreamworks and others. I was a little surprised even at how serious (and kind of sad) parts of the movie were. There was even a little crying going on nearby in the theater.
It wasn’t all tears though and there were plenty of laughs to go around. There were definitely enough funny and repeatable lines to keep everyone talking and joking about it long after the movie was over.
For my part, I enjoyed Up a little bit less than most other people I’ve spoken to. I’m not sure why this is, but I didn’t like Wall-E at all and everyone else seemed to love it. But, just because Pixar movies aren’t my most favourites, I do recognize quality and I can appreciate it for that.
So that’s all the movies I’ve seen in the last little while. The movies that I’m looking forward to and will post reviews of include the following:
- Whatever Works
- Year One
- Public Enemies
- Brüno
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Paper Heart
- Inglourious Basterds
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