DVD Review For November 4, 2014

MALEFICENT
Rated PG
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning
Plot: The untold story of how Maleficent came to be and the story behind the story of Sleeping Beauty is finally revealed.
Trailer

Clint Says: Buy this DVD now

Unlike many film critics, I am a sucker for a good Disney flick, so walking in to see MALEFICENT I had high hopes that it would live up to the incredible trailers and that the story they chose for her would be worthy of a film of this magnitude. My high hopes were met with an astoundingly epic movie that was suspenseful, charming, and funny.

Kudos to the special effects team. If they aren't nominated for an OSCAR there is something wrong in Hollywood. The creatures' texture and movement is as close to real as I have ever seen in a movie. Their attention to detail was so precise that you almost feel like you can reach out and touch the scenery.

Angelina Jolie puts the entire cast and crew on her back and carries them all to the finish. She is Maleficent, and if you aren't completely enamored with her by the end of the film we probably need to break up. As for the secondary characters (read: everybody but Angelina), they do a fine job of supporting Jolie without getting in the way of her stellar performance.

My only beef with this film are two gaping plot holes near the end that are obvious enough that even casual movie-goers will most-likely notice them. Aside from that though, MALEFICENT is one of the best movies of the year.



HERCULES
Rated - PG-13
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane
Plot: A mercenary fights alongside a small band of warriors while trying to live up to the legend of Hercules
Trailer

Clint Says: Rent this DVD as soon as you can

This film really surprised me. I'm typically not a fan of Greek legend movies because they are either over the top with violence or long and plodding. HERCULES is neither. It is action-packed, fast-paced, thrilling, humorous, and the story is compelling and well done.

This is a new take on the legend and myth of Hercules that will satisfy fans of the classic Hercules story as well as fans of good action flicks.

Dwayne Johnson does a marvelous job of portraying Hercules, but in a way that doesn't make the demi-god too serious. Ian McShane is a scene stealer throughout, and the rest of Hercules's team round out a fun cast with great on-screen chemistry.

The special effects are well done and not overbearing. You'll want to see this on as big a screen with the best sound system possible.

It's nice to see that someone finally made a movie about Hercules that is worth seeing and is not only entertaining, but fun and exciting as well.



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: Rent this DVD for the kids and leave the room

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 buying the DVD. A single viewing will be satisfactory for most people.

Movie Review for September 26, 2014

THE EQUALIZER
Rated: R
Stars: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz,
Plot: A retired FBI agent is pulled back into the game of taking out bad guys when he meets a girl in a lot of trouble.
Trailer

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

Denzel does it again with another well done performance in a movie that is predictable, but still highly entertaining. His understated demeanor and his ability to portray a tough calm while dealing with high-stress situations make this movie much better than it would have been with a lesser actor.

The film is a bit slow in places, but it doesn't bog down too much. The compelling nature of the story and the characters keep the audience interested even in the down times.

My only real beef with this movie is the climactic scene, in which we see the big showdown between Denzel and the bad guys. It's like a grown up, killer version of HOME ALONE. And the death scene for one of the main bad guys reminded me of Paul Reuben's death scene in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

That aside, this is a fun flick that will have you cheering for Denzel from start to finish.



THE BOXTROLLS
Rated: PG
Stars: Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning
Plot: A young boy and girl try to convince their town that the trolls that live below are not vicious monsters, but an evil exterminator stands in their way.
Trailer

Clint Says: Don't even bother

This is one of the worst movies I've seen in years. It could possibly be the worst film I've seen this year, and it may even crack my top 10 bad movies of all time.

I will say one positive thing about it. The stop motion animation is incredible and if you stick around through the first half of the credits you'll actually get to see some of that in action.

I'm really not sure who is going to like this movie. It will be terrifying for younger kids, it's too simple for adults to enjoy, it's too artsy for typical moviegoers, it's too commercial for artsy movie lovers, and teenagers won't go because it looks like a kids' film.

I can't even begin to tell you how creepy and weird the town exterminator is. I'll probably have bad dreams about him. I can't imagine what he would do to the thoughts of a six year old.

Much of this movie has to do with cheese, so I will stick with that theme here. The plot has more holes that Swiss cheese, it stinks worse than Munster, and it's cheesier than a seven cheese tortellini.

Basically, this movie is not Gouda. (If you thought this review was bad, go see the movie. You'll nominate this for a Pulitzer).

Movie Review for May 30, 2014

MALEFICENT
Rated PG
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning
Plot: The untold story of how Maleficent came to be and the story behind the story of Sleeping Beauty is finally revealed.
Trailer

Clint Says: Drop everything and go see this movie now

Unlike many film critics, I am a sucker for a good Disney flick, so walking in to see MALEFICENT I had high hopes that it would live up to the incredible trailers and that the story they chose for her would be worthy of a film of this magnitude. My high hopes were met with an astoundingly epic movie that was suspenseful, charming, and funny.

Kudos to the special effects team. If they aren't nominated for an OSCAR there is something wrong in Hollywood. The creatures' texture and movement is as close to real as I have ever seen in a movie. Their attention to detail was so precise that you almost feel like you can reach out and touch the scenery.

Angelina Jolie puts the entire cast and crew on her back and carries them all to the finish. She is Maleficent, and if you aren't completely enamored with her by the end of the film we probably need to break up. As for the secondary characters (read: everybody but Angelina), they do a fine job of supporting Jolie without getting in the way of her stellar performance.

My only beef with this film are two gaping plot holes near the end that are obvious enough that even casual movie-goers will most-likely notice them. Aside from that though, MALEFICENT may be the best movie of the year so far. (An award it will lose next week).




A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST
Rated: R
Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron. Liam Neeson
Plot: A meek farmer must stand up to a rough cowboy to fight for the woman he loves.
Trailer

Clint Says: Don't even bother

If you are in the mood for a completely mindless, boring, useless flick full of juvenile humor this film will still disappoint you. I can't stress enough how bad this movie is. Seth MacFarlane wrote, directed, produced and starred in it, and apparently he didn't have anyone around him willing to tell him "no".

MacFarlane must have compromising pictures of Liam Neeson and Charlize Theron or they owe him a huge debt. Those are the only plausible explanations as to why they would be in a horrific train-wreck of a movie like this.

On the plus side, I will admit that there are a couple of good laughs in this flick, but only a couple. And having to sit through almost two hours of clichéd crap for two or three laughs is painful at best.

The best thing about A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST is that it is so bad there is zero chance we will have to see Seth MacFarlane screwing up the OSCARS again.