Movie Review for July 18, 2014

PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE
Rated - PG
Stars: Dane Cook, Ed Harris
Plot: Dusty becomes a firefighter after pushing his engine too hard while racing.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

This movie has a lot of action and adventure for the younger crowd, but parents will not be amused. The plot has potential but the execution is fair at best. It feels like the honchos on this film just went through the motions knowing that no matter how good or bad it is it will still draw crowds and make a nice profit.

I will say that the animation in PLANES is spectacular. In fact, there are a couple of scenes that I thought might be real. If incredible, true-to-life animation is your motivation then this movie will blow your mind.

One aspect of the film that some movie-goers will not appreciate is the seemingly constant use of plays on words to make it sound like the characters are cursing. One example being when Dusty says, "I kicked As...ton Martin." I'm really not sure why the creators of films for kids do this. It adds nothing to the movie and offends a portion of the crowd.

The movie does have a few good lessons on listening, patience and perseverance, but I wouldn't say that it is worth the price of a movie ticket. If your child can't wait to see this movie then they will like seeing it in the theater, but if your child has a take-it-or-leave-it view then the DVD will be satisfactory.



SEX TAPE
Rated - R
Stars: Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz
Plot: A couple tries to rekindle their sex life by making a sex tape that accidentally gets uploaded to the internet.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters (if you are married)

I saw this movie with my wife and I can't remember the last time she and I laughed so hard at a movie. For all of you married couples out there, this film absolutely nails it when it comes to romance after marriage. This is not a date movie for the newly-in-loves.

As the title implies, this is a raunchy movie, but it also has a compelling plot and great chemistry between Diaz and Segel as their characters work to rekindle the fire from their early relationship days.

Go watch this movie with your spouse, but be prepared because you are probably going to pee a little from laughing so much.



THE PURGE: ANARCHY
Rated - R
Stars: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zoe Soul
Plot: A man hits the streets bent on revenge during the annual 12 hours of legalized crime, but a small group of helpless people change his night.
Trailer

Clint Says: See it in theaters if you can check your brain at the door

The premise of this film franchise is so ridiculously moronic that I was surprised the first film did well enough to warrant a second. Apparently there are enough people out there willing to go beyond a typical suspension of disbelief and wander into the theater in a zombie-like trance to make these films successful.

That being said, the film is actually very suspenseful and thrilling throughout. It will give you all the jumps and chills that you would expect from a movie like this, and it will give you several eye rolls as well.

The plot holds up fairly well until the last 20 minutes of the movie when everything goes off the rails. But really, by that point you've already signed your free thought over to the Director so what's a few more ridiculous breaks from reality.

This is a fun, suspenseful popcorn flick. Just don't think about it...at all.

DVD Review for July 14. 2014

RIO 2
Rated - PG
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
Plot: Blu and his family go to the Amazon jungle to find a group of birds just like them. When they do, Blu finds himself amid several rivals.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent the DVD if you have kids that liked the first one

RIO 2 is your typical sequel. It's not quite as good as the original movie in the series and the story is so thin they have to use a lot of filler. In fact, if the decision makers on this film just stuck to the story, the movie would be about 30 minutes long. Instead, there is about 60 minutes of useless, but colorful, choreographed filler.

It kind of reminded me of watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It's quite a spectacle, but when it's all done you quickly forget it.

There are several scenes that may be a bit too scary for the under 5 crowd and there isn't enough entertainment value for the adults, so I would suggest only seeing this move with older children, and then only if they really loved the first movie.

Movie Review for July 11, 2014

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Rated - PG-13
Stars: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke
Plot: Humans and apes are on the brink of war for control of the earth as the apes get stronger and the humans get weaker.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

Like this first in this series, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, this movie does an exceptional job at showing us the emotion of the apes, but unlike its predecessor, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES falls flat at the end.

This film has a Shakespearean vibe to it in that most of the plot centers around betrayal and misunderstandings. However the director chose to leave the ending a little too open for a third installment of the franchise, (currently unnamed, but due out in 2016). It almost feels like they wanted to end the movie well, but to do so would have meant a three hour long movie so they chose relative brevity (two hours and ten minutes) over a solid ending.

If you liked RISE you'll be fine with DAWN, but it is in no way better than the first. There is nothing that happens in this movie that makes it necessary for you to spend the money to see it on the big screen. Just wait for the DVD and you'll be satisfied.

Hopefully the third film will regain the glory of the first one.

DVD Review for July 8, 2014

BAD WORDS
Rated - R
Stars: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney
Plot: An ethically-challenged man competes against kids after he finds a loophole in the rules of a spelling bee contest.
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent it if you've got a coupon

Jason Bateman makes his feature directorial debut with the darkly funny BAD WORDS. While the movie isn't awful (it's actually quite good in several parts), it tries to be too many things to suit too many people. It is full of the raunchy joke style we saw from Bateman in HORRIBLE BOSSES, but it also tries to be heartwarming in the end.

This movie could be so much better if Bateman decided to choose one or the other. It is worth a rental if you've got nothing else going on, but don't expect to be wowed in any way by this film.

Movie Review for July 4th, 2014

EARTH TO ECHO
Rated - PG
Stars: Teo Halm, Astro, Reese Hartwig, Ella Wahlestedt
Plot: A group of friends find an alien and are trying to return it to space before the authorities capture it.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

This film is essentially a mashup of THE GOONIES, LEAN ON ME and SUPER 8, and like those movies it holds it own and will even have you on the edge of your seat at certain moments.

I am not a big fan of movies that are supposedly shot by one of the main players, mainly because I dislike the shaky camera effect. This movie almost entirely eliminates the shaky camera effect, but still makes it feel like these are just a group of kids filming what they see.

I was surprised at how intense and suspenseful the film is, but it's still tame enough and clean enough to take kids probably as young as 7 or 8.

Overall, this is one of the better "coming of age" movies we've seen in the last couple of years.




TAMMY
Rated - R
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon
Plot: A middle-aged, down-on-her-luck woman tries to find herself while on a road trip with her grandmother.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD

The trailers for TAMMY are almost completely misleading. This movie sits on a throne of lies! Yes, this movie is funny, but it's not nearly the slap-stick riot the trailer portrays it as. In fact, this film is much more of a relationship film that is heartwarming. heartbreaking and will make you cry with a bunch of Melissa McCarthy humor thrown on top.

I won't say I didn't like the film, because I thought it was fine, but I felt like I had been misled by the trailers. I saw it in a packed theater and halfway through the movie a few people had already walked out and never returned. I don't think it was because they hated it, they were simply expecting something different.

If you are not a fan of bad language you'll want to avoid this movie as McCarthy is in rare form throughout, even by her standards. But for those of you that are Will Ferrell fans, he is one of the producers of this film so you'll see the typical Ferrell cast of characters in several different roles.

If you are wanting a full-fledge comedy, this is not a good choice for you, however if you are looking for a knee-slapping STEEL MAGNOLIAS go buy a ticket to TAMMY and enjoy.




DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Rated - R
Stars: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn
Plot: A cop tries to stop a group of criminals that may be possessed by demons.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters

This is a well-done horror movie. I am not a fan of scary movies at all, but this is not a "scary" movie, it's a horror movie that will scare you. Only a few times does it use the lame jump-out-and-get-you trick to get a few jumps and bumps out of the audience.

The story is intense and compelling and if you are a person who believes in demon possession this movie will be downright terrifying. Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez have a great on-screen chemistry that really makes the audience believe that you are in it with them and there is a lot at stake.

It takes a lot for me to recommend movies like this, but this is true horror and it may very well be the best horror film of 2014. If you can take it, go see this one in theaters soon.

DVD Review for July 1, 2014

We have reached the time of the year that is the vast wasteland of DVD releases. There are no major DVD releases today and it's pretty sparse for the next few weeks.

I suggest going out and buying THE LEGO MOVIE.

Movie Review for June 27, 2014

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION
Rated: PG-13
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Nicola Peltz
Plot: A down-on-his-luck inventor finds one of the few remaining transformers and sets off a chain-reation of events that may lead to the end of humanity.
Trailer

Clint Says: Wait for the DVD and let someone else rent it

This may become one of the highest grossing films of 2014 just by the nature of the franchise and its "summer blockbuster" release date, but this movie is horrible. The only thing it has going for it are the incredible special effects and world-class explosions.

If you care at all about plot, character development, or meaningful dialogue go see something else. If you are only interested in things that go boom while spouting off cheesy lines you'll still think this 2 hour and 45 minute movie is an hour too long, but you'll be relatively happy. I would compare the cheese factor of this movie to a lame Saturday morning cartoon, but that would be an insult to the cartoon.

I also found the way the film treats the female lead throughout the movie to be thoroughly offensive. She spends the entire movie in tight shirts and either super-short cutoff jeans or painted on pants, her dialogue mainly consists of her yelling for her dad to rescue her, and her age is mentioned several times as 17. So, basically, she's supposed to be a minor that has daddy issues and is only there to provide eye candy rather than have a meaningful role. It's frustrating to see another summer blockbuster that uses the female lead as scenery rather than a legitimate plot-important character.

Just over halfway through the movie I was begging for it to end. When it finally did end it was left so wide open for a sequel that they barely finished this movie.

Save your money and wait for a good action flick.