KLBJ Movie Reviews

Fantastic Mr. Fox

11/15/2009 5:12:21 PM

Release Date in Austin: November 25, 2009

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Starring: Voices of George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray

Synopsis: It is the story of one Mr. Fox and his wild-ways of hen heckling, turkey taking and cider sipping, nocturnal, instinctive adventures. He has to put his wild days behind him and do what fathers do best: be responsible. He is too rebellious. He is too wild. He is going to try "just one more raid" on the three nastiest, meanest farmers that are Boggis, Bunce and Bean. It is a tale of crossing the line of family responsibilities and midnight adventure and the friendships and awakenings of this country life that is inhabited by Fantastic Mr. Fox and his friends.

Review: Leave it to Wes Anderson to find the pitch-perfect amount of quirk and oddity to bring to life a story from the world of Roald Dahl. In his most restrained effort to-date, Anderson delivers a film that is full of energy, beautifully hand-crafted and filled with the same lumbering, odd pace that you might expect from the world of Dahl come to life. At first, the voices of George Clooney, Bill Murray and others feel as if they will be bothersome -- as does the choppy stop-motion animation. But very quickly, we are sucked into the story of Mr. Fox (Clooney) and his plight, becoming lost in this vibrant, charismatic tale about a Fox who just wants to take care of his family, all while embracing his wild nature as a hen-house burglar. It's a movie that is a lot of fun, without all the pretentiousness and über-quirk that we've come to expect from Wes Anderson. - Neil Miller

Grade: B+

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

The Blind Side

11/15/2009 4:57:16 PM

Release Date: November 20, 2009

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron

Synopsis: A poor, oversized and under-educated teenager is recruited by a major college football program where he is groomed into an athletically and academically successful NFL prospect. Based on Michael Lewis' book, "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game."

Review: As someone who is a real sucker for a well-constructed story of heart set against the backdrop of a great American sport such as football, a movie like The Blind Side stands to go one of two ways. It will either be annoyingly schmaltzy and forced, or it will be restrained, well-acted and full of heart. This film, thankfully, is the latter. Sandra Bullock delivers a performance that could inject her into the Oscar conversation for best actress by taking on the role of a rich southern housewife who takes a young boy off the streets and gives him a family to call his own. It is one of those true stories that tugs on the heart strings, but does it with a rare delicacy and grace that makes for a very enjoyable, family moviegoing experience. One of those great movies that teaches us a little more about our own humanity, setting it against something very familiar in the world of sports. If I were to be a walking cliche of a movie critic, I'd call this one a real winner. - Neil Miller

Grade: B+

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

2012

11/15/2009 4:24:45 PM

Release Date: November 13, 2009

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Starring: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover and Thandie Newton

Synopsis: An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.

Review: Loud. Huge. And almost complete devoid of feeling. Roland Emmerich takes what made Independence Day great and dispenses with it in favor for larger CGI destruction. While some might enjoy the large number of near-misses and the sheer audacity of having the physically impossible be reality - mostly it just became tedious watching John Cusack and his family outrun (by the hair of their chins) natural disaster after natural disaster after natural disaster. This would be fine if the movie had anything resembling a heart. Instead, it tells a fairly bland story and doesn't give enough time to really flesh out the characters. There are a few good ideas and a few genuine moments, but they are almost always dug into by a giant fireball. It looks great. Incredible in fact. But those cinematic fireworks aren't enough to hold interest while the dull parts play out. - Cole Abaius

Grade: C

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

Pirate Radio

11/15/2009 4:20:22 PM

Release Date: November 13, 2009

Directed by: Richard Curtis

Starring: Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Darby, Nick Frost

Synopsis: A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960's.

Review: Writer/Director Richard Curtis follows up Love, Actually with a great film featuring larger-than-life characters, big laughs, and a killer soundtrack featuring the best Rock of the 1960s. Phillip Seymour Hoffman leads a strong ensemble cast of renegades who blast the very best music the government of Britain doesn't want the people to hear. Strange personalities all collide in an Animal House-style comedy, balanced by Kenneth Branagh as the government official trying to figure out exactly all the laws the pirates are breaking. The humor is heartfelt, there's a coming of age element, and the energy of the film is infectious. - Cole Abaius

Grade: B+

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

The Box

11/6/2009 4:36:14 PM

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Directed by: Richard Kelly

Starring: James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella

Synopsis: Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

Review: For director Richard Kelly, we now wonder where he will go next. After the cult hit that was Donnie Darko and the abysmal flop that was Southland Tales, Kelly now brings us The Box, a contrived, forced and overly wooden film that traps its audience in a whirlwind of twists and terms that are delivered just for the sake of being clever. We watch as Cameron Diaz tries out her best Southern Belle accent, failing to create a character with whom we connect in any way. We watch as Frank Langella out-acts the rest of the cast, then gets bogged down by a plot that is overly explanatory while also being nonsensical. It's a delicate thing, the creation of a movie so painfully convoluted. But Richard Kelly has done it -- he's made a movie that once again proves that he's not as smart a storyteller as we once thought. He's made a movie that proves that the smartest folks are the ones who will be skipping The Box. - Neil Miller

Grade: D-

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

The Men Who Stare at Goats

11/6/2009 2:00:30 PM

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Directed by: Grant Heslov

Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey

Synopsis: A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Review: Combining an incredibly rich cast with the concept that it is funny to see Ewan McGregor be told that he's in the presence of a Jedi warrior, The Men Who Stare at Goats has a charm that is all its own. George Clooney delivers an insanely odd performance, as does Jeff Bridges. Kevin Spacey -- who stars as the chief rival of our paranormally powered hero (Clooney) is devious and fun. However, the film debut of director Grant Heslov lacks energy and never quite embodies the Coen Brothers-esque tone that it is so desperately trying to achieve. Sure, it has some fun moments and even some spots where George Clooney is his usually brilliant self, but the film's lack of investment in solid pacing and surface-level quirkiness makes for a very enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable experience. Fans of Clooney and McGregor will get a few laughs, but anyone who goes in looking for the promised delight of a Coen-esque romp through the Middle East is traveling on a path to nowhere. - Neil Miller

Grade: C+

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

A Christmas Carol

11/6/2009 2:00:12 PM

Release Date: November 6, 2009

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins and Colin Firth

Synopsis: An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Review: Robert Zemeckis' Christmas Carol is a festive mess. The most recent incarnation of the timeless Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol offers several new elements from the original text unseen in most versions. The problem is that these faithful additions are dull and far too intense for younger audiences to whom the film is obviously being sold. As some sort of misguided compensation, Disney's A Christmas Carol also provides some of the most absurdly silly scenes ever captured in gimmicky 3-D. The movie is poorly paced and while there are standout performances from both Gary Oldman and Bob Hoskins, Jim Carrey's Scrooge is a lackluster parody of this classic character. The movie's ultimate failure is that it does nothing to instill a holiday spirit in the audience when the source material is not only about personal redemption but ultimately the inescapable power of the Christmas season. Too boring and/or silly for adults, and at times far too frightening for children, Disney's A Christmas Carol hits more than one sour note. - Brian Salisbury

Grade: C-

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

Where the Wild Things Are

10/21/2009 2:15:09 PM

Release Date: October 16, 2009

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Christopher Plummer, Catherine Keener

Synopsis: An adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, where Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world--a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

Review: Something beautiful and brilliant has been done here in a film that gets told from 4-foot, 4-inches tall. Director Spike Jonze, in adapting the beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak, has created something that celebrates the joy, wonder, fear and imagination of childhood in a way that's seldom seen in movies. He's also done so while putting absolutely breathtaking images on the screen that play out like a travelogue through the imagination of youth - a time machine to ten years old. Frustrated with a world he doesn't understand, Max (a kid pretending to be a wolf pretending be a King) runs away from home and sets sail for the island where the giant Wild Things are in search of a king to make everything in life perfect. Someone to scare the pain and loneliness away. Max Records, who plays Max, is perfect whether he's expressing the fear of the unknown or the sweet hubris that comes with believing the world still revolves on you - even if life's not always fair. He's aided by a fantastic range of voice talent from Christopher Plummer to Paul Dano to James Gandolfini. Sweet, heartfelt, darker than you might expect, this is not only one of the best of the year, it will surely go down as a classic. - Cole Abaius

Grade: A

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

Law Abiding Citizen

10/21/2009 2:11:03 PM

Release Date: October 16, 2009

Directed by: F. Gary Gray

Starring: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx

Synopsis: An everyday guy decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets his family's killers free. His target: The district attorney who orchestrated the deal.

Review: What happens when the system set in place to protect and serve justice fails? When a deal being brokered becomes a higher priority than seeing a murderer put away for life? This film follows in the footsteps of several revenge flicks and vigilante films - like, for example, Vigilante - but gives the genre more production value than it's ever had. Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) witnesses his wife and daughter murdered in a home invasion, but when star lawyer Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is more interested in maintaining his conviction rate than seeking true justice, Shelton has to take matters into his own hands. Gerard Butler brings empathy and insanity to the table by creating a character we can care about even as he fires up the portable hand saw and inches it toward his victim's flesh. He also carries most of the film as Foxx's acting is merely passable for a character that exhibits almost no personality to begin with. The violence is good, and there's plenty of it - some very entertaining kills when the camera refuses to flinch. You won't want to either. Unfortunately, the film suffers from a loss of momentum heading into the home stretch and a few logical leaps that turn on a dime and drag the film down severely. Still, for action and Butler alone, it's definitely an entertaining flick. - Cole Abaius

Grade: B-

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com

Extract

9/4/2009 12:33:03 PM

Release Date: September 4, 2009

Directed by: Mike Judge

Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck

Synopsis: Joel, the owner of an extract manufacturing plant, constantly finds himself in precarious situations that steadily worsen by the minute. First, his soon-to-be floor manager acquires a serious injury in a machine malfunctioning accident. This subsequently endangers the well being of his company. Second, his personal life doesn't fair much better when he takes the advice of his bartending friend, Dean. Dean during a drug-induced brainstorming session suggests how to test his wife's faithfulness. Finally, compounding these catastrophes is new employee Cindy, who also happens to be a scam artist intent on milking the company for all its worth. Now, Joel must attempt to piece his company and his marriage back together, all while trying to figure out what he's really after in life.

Review: The third film from Mike Judge finds him returning to his workplace roots, but this time it's a comedy from the boss's perspective. Jason Bateman was a perfect casting choice as Joel, a guy who has built a nice little life for himself but is frustrated in the way many American men are - his love life with his wife has gone stale. Instead of looking inward, trying to talk to his wife about it or do the adult thing, he does (what many American men might) and cooks up an all-too-complicated scheme with his drug-addled buddy Dean (Ben Affleck) to hook up with the hot intern Cindy (the hot Mila Kunis) guilt-free. With a comedic set up the Coen Brothers could love and a passive, weak-willed main character, Judge has the makings of a hilarious comedy, especially considering that he populates the screen with a ton of talent and some incredible moments. Unfortunately, most of that fizzles because the movie lacks any sense of direction. Entire plotlines are scattered to the winds as it seems middle class ennui is a shockingly lacking fuel source to power an interesting story. What should be laugh out loud moments are surrounded by stale scenes which drag the entire thing down. However, it should probably be seen simply to see Affleck act his ass off in a role that doesn't seem to fit him at all but fits perfectly because of it. Mila Kunis is severely underused, and Joel's relationship with his wife isn't played dull for laughs or satire so much as it just isn't there. You'll be laughing with tears in your eyes through most of it, but by the third act, you'll be wondering whether there's an end in sight. - Cole Abaius

Grade: C+

Read more at FilmSchoolRejects.com