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The Lone Ranger

Like my dad, I love a good Western, and I was really looking forward to this updated Lone Ranger. This version is a fast-paced action, action packed thrill ride. However, it gets bogged down by switching to San Francisco scenes which interrupts the flow. It also saddled a good 10 minutes of screen time that were not necessary to the plot. The action is superb. The CGI effects were well done and only noticeable on a few scenes. Johnny Depp is fantastic as Tonto and Armie Hammer makes a convincing Lone Ranger. While mot perfect, this movie was enjoyable and I didn't feel bored even with the long runtime (149 minutes).

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Sweet! 

Man of Steel

I grew up the the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, so I was skeptical about the reboot, Man of Steel. I wasn't impressed with the original reveal of /Henry Cavelli/ as the new Superman, nor of the first movie poster (which was just a screengrab from the film). I found the teaser trailer to be less than compelling. But I tried to keep an open mind. And I'm glad I did.

This version of Superman is grittier, more action focus and quite simply, super. It took awhile to build a good pace, but then the movie took off. Zod was badass cool. Lois Lane was even more fierce and tenacious than ever.

And Superman was a bit more real. The visual effects were incredible, seemlessly integrated with the live action. The Metropolis fight scene was a breathtaking, no-holds-barred battle truly fitting of the Superman legacy.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Silver Linings Playbook

I have heard great things about this movie from my friends and it's won a lot of awards, so I figured Silver Linings Playbook had to be good, right? Wrong. This movie is crazy boring and painfully slow going. Perhaps it is because it's billed as a comedy. There is very little comedy here, mostly drama and way too much of it. The only saving graces are two: Jennifer Lawrence is hot and the last 30 minutes. Within that last 30 minutes are what the movie could have been and clearly where it hit its stride. Yes, I know some movies do need to take time to build up, but this movie spent too long on it and as such, they had to end it quickly or risk running over time.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Bah.

Hitchcock

Fantastic. Hitch is well played by Anthony Hopkins, so much so that if I closed my eyes, I would swear that Hitchcock had come back from the dead to star in this film. Compelling and unusual just like the man himself. I liked the mini mystery within the movie as well as seeing the behind-the-scenes of the filming of Pyscho. Not sure how much was real vs. "artistic license", but it played well on screen and felt authentic through and through. If you are a fan of Hitchcock movies, you have to see this delightful romp.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Les Miserables

Andrew Lloyd Weber was at his height during my teen years I pent many an hour listening to Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis on CD. It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally got to see the stage production of Les Miserables. it was so totally worth the wait. Then the theatrical version came along. It looked good, but coming off the high of watching the stage production, I wasn't sure it would quite live up to the hype. Thankfully, this movie delivers a compelling version of Victor Hugo's masterpiece. It downplays the humor a bit, but it is compelling and moving experience. All the stars performances were utterly amazing. It would be difficult to chose a fav, but I think that Hugh Jackman has the edge here. The visual effects are. Perfectly integrated into the scenes, enhancing them, but staying subtle so as not to disrupt my suspension of disbelief. For any fan of Les Mis, this is a must-see.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome! 

The Great Gatsby

When I first heard about Gatsby, I wasn’t interested. but then I heard it was directed by Baz Luhrman, my ears perked up. I loved his version of Moulin Rouge, so I was excited to see what he'd do with Gatsby. Perhaps I was expecting it to be more like Moulin Rouge, but boy was u wrong to be excited. What a waste of time this movie was. It was a painfully slow buildup to more slow. Way too much time was spent on exposition, and the movie was way too long at over 2 hours and 30 minutes. The music was good, but the dance scenes were a chaotic mess that did not flow well together at all. Honestly, I fell asleep for about 30-40 minutes (which is rare for me) and was happy that I woke close to the end of the movie. Don't wast our time on this one.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: WTF?

Star Trek: Into Darkness

I loved rebooted Star Trek movie released in. 2009. So naturally, I was awaiting the sequel with great anticipation. Of course, I was also skeptical: could they match the great mix of action and story while remaining true to the Star Trek legacy? The answer is mostly yes. Star Trek Into Darkness is a fantastic movie and a worthy successor to the original. More action and a great story that honors the Star Trek heritage. 

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

For me, the only part that really made no sense was when "young" Spock calls old Spock for advice. WTH? Spock is a rule follower and loci gal, and calling his other self is neither of these things. The only other small issue I had was the final fight scene. First they beam down Spock, he gets his ass kicked, so then they beam down Ohura, why?! Spock should have been able to beat Kahn on his own. 

Other than these minor issues, the movie was fantastic and a must-see for any fan of the rebooted movie series.

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Oz the Great and Powerful

Many people across the world love The Wizard of Oz, so to take on this prequel Oz the Great and Powerful is truly a challenge. I went into this movie with skepticism, but came out a believer. I was convinced almost as soon as the curtain went up with the gorgeous opening title cards that captured the era and the spirit of Oz perfectly. The storyline is great, it honors the original Oz and its characters while expanding upon each in a fresh way. The movie has a good pace throughout. The visuals were amazing, fitting of such a magical world.. Some scenes did seem a bit obvious they were on sets, but I find it forgivable in this instance since the rest of the movie was spectacular. Nice action, excellent characters and performances throughout. A must see, especially if you have children.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Lincoln

Daniel Day Lewis was pretty fantastic as Lincoln and Sally Field portrayed a Mary Todd very well. However, this movie was a bit overhyped. While it seems pretty authentic in the portrayals, I just had a hard time swallowing the Lincoln "Yoda moments" where he just surreptitiously sits down and starts spouting off a famous quote. Felt a bit too contrived. Perhaps it really happened that way, but the way it came across in the movie was lame. The movie captured an interesting time in the history of our country and Lincoln's life, but it feel like a drag. Although I'm not sure what could have been cut, it probably could have been about 30 minutes shorter and still had the same effect. The CG was beautiful and conveyed the time period very well. It rarely seemed noticeably as it mixed with the live actors. Bottom line is if you are a Lincoln fan, you will love it and if you're not, well, wait til it comes up on your Netflix queue.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Meh.

Iron Man 3

Wow, what a letdown. Iron Man 3 is easily the worst of the trilogy and possibly the worst movie Marvel has made since Daredevil. It starts out slow and goes, well slow, most of the movie. If you're looking for heavy action, look for a different movie. The visual effects were amazing. The story itself wasn't bad. The performances were good. But it just wasn't as action packed nor as good as it could have been. The last 30 minutes have some great action scenes and and feel more like the first Iron Man movies than the first 1 and a half hours.

SPOILERS AHEAD...
That and, they completely wasted the talents of the very esteemed Ben Kingsley. They relegated The Mandarin to nothing more than a farce, a joke. This is one of Iron Man's top arch enemies and he's turned into a doped up actor that is a patsy for the real bad guy?! You fucked up Marvel, plain and simple. Then there's the trip to Tennessee and a whole 30 minutes Tony spends befriending this kid, which completely stops any momentum the movie had going.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Bah.

Oblivion

I've just seen Oblivion. Wow. What an amazing movie. This is not a shoot 'em sci-if adventure, but rather a mystery wrapped in an enigma. There are many levels to this movie, I would love to see it again to see what I missed the first time. The story is compelling, as are the characters. The design aesthetic is fantastic. All clean lines, great tech, beautiful to look at. The visual effects were top-notch, no flaws from live action to CG work that I could see. I did have a few small quibbles with few plot points, but they are minor and in no way detracted from the experience.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

A Good Day to Die Hard

I remember how cool the first Die Hard was: the bad guy really did count to four and then did what he said. No fuss, and well there was a mess...poor Mr. Takagi. Fast forward through four sequels to Die Hard 5. A short, action filled romp in Russia. The storyline was a bit thin. Had the writers bothered to flesh it out a bit, I think this movie would have been almost as good as the original. As it stands, it is good and entertaining. However, the original still dominates with its boldness, clever humor, and badass bad guy, none of which seems fully realized here. It was an average action movie with the Die Hard name tacked on and a few plot points to tie it into the series. Had the creative team spent just a bit more time on it, they could have had a real winner here. Why am I going to rate this higher than I should? Because I loved all the action this movie had to offer, even if by Die Hard standards it is far from awesome, it still is an entertaining movie and I enjoyed it.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Sweet!

Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians features an interesting twist on beloved characters from our childhood: Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost. They are guardians of the children of the world fighting to stop the vile Boogeyman. It's a great concept and well executed. The story sucks you in right away and there are fantastic little moments throughout the movie that really make it enjoyable. The character designs are top-notch. The subtle textures of frost on Jack's Frost's hoodie, the Naughty and Nice tattoos on Santa's arms really enrich each character. While he doesn't say much (anything really) I think the Sandman is my favorite character. Kids will love seeing these characters in a new light. As a designer, one of my favorite parts was the end credits with the cool icons for each character that reinforces the mythology of this universe.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Awesome!

Wanna Watch: Oblivion

Why? Not for Tom Cruise, that's for sure. But it is a scifi movie that looks to have an interesting story, co-stars Morgan Freeman and has fantastic looking poster and aesthetics.

Will it live up to the hype? I'll find out soon enough...stay tuned moviedoods!

The Last Stand

When my friend and I saw the preview for The Last Stand, we all said we needed to see it. I mean Arnold doing an action movie at his age? Gonna be good or gonna suck (and be funny). This movie is not extraordinary. It's not great. There are plot holes you could drive a Terminator tank through. But you know what? The movie was fun. It made fun of the aging action actor. It had a decent enough plot. It had gunfire and explosions! It had a cool little town set. It had some crappy green screen/CG work. But that's okay. I forgave most of it due to the fact that I enjoyed the movie. Would I see it again? No. Would I buy it on DVD? No. But maybe it's just me.
THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: Meh.

Skyfall

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm not a James Bond fan. On occasion, my friends have persuaded me to see a movie or two, but I missed most of the older Bond films. I did see Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Both were good, but Solace left me in confusion and not really wanting to see another Bond film. But the preview for Skyfall looked really good and my buddy and I had some free time on a trip, so I went to see it. Loved how we were dropped right into the middle of the action right away. Nice tension and action got me excited to see where the movie went next. The opening title sequence was beautiful, but like all Bond openers that I've seen, looks like it was a drug induced hallucination. Don't get me wrong, the imagery was beautiful as was the song by Adele. But it just makes me think of drugs for some reason. The dialog was sharp and had just the right amount of wit. The photography and locations, especially Shanghai and Scotland were gorgeous.

The best part for me, visually speaking was that the effects were seamless. Not once did I feel as if something was greenscreened or shot on a soundstage. Oh I know parts were, but you couldn't tell. So a big kudos to the visual effects artists on this one! Bond's gadgets were well designed, simply elegant in their form and function. For the most part, the plot did move along at a fair pace. The villain is a hardcore bad guy, twisted and one step ahead most of the movie. I really enjoyed the "back to basics" feel to the movie and I'm hopeful that Skyfall will be starting a good trend in Bond movies for the foreseeable future. 

THIS MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: AWESOME!

42

Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson in 42 with a great balance of dignity, power, and vulnerability. Wow, I didn't recognize Harrison Ford at first as Branch Rickey! Probably one of his best performances ever. The storyline flowed pretty evenly throughout, except near the end some quick cuts and  sequences played out of order seemed a strange choice. Looked like they were trying to cram too much into the ending. However, this did not lessen the emotional impact of the story in any way. The CG stadiums for the most part were nice to look at, but a bit too obvious that they were shot green screen. Despite my few nitpicks, 42 is a fantastic movie and is not to be missed!
MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: AWESOME!

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

I admit it, I had my hopes up for G.I. Joe: Retaliation when I saw the previews. But then there was the almost-year delay to convert it to 3D. Seriously? Did they do it because they knew this movie would suck? I will admit this movie is better than the first, but that's really not saying much. The basic plot is ok and could have worked had it not been marred by horrible dialog. I could stand the cheesy jokes, but some of the dialog was just plain stupid. The HISS tanks were cool, but where the hell are all the cool Joe vehicles from when I was a kid? They did finally get Cobra Commander to look right, and Firefly's outfit was done some justice. But it's a real shame that the rest of the cast was unrecognizable as being from G.I. Joe. They had some potential when the Joes met up with General Colton, but they wasted it on a bunch of old guys in the back that had no relation to G.I. Joe. General Coton, who the hell is that? Where is General Hawk? C'mon Hollywood, you can do this right so easily! And what the hell was up with the odd cut from the scene where Lady Jaye and the senator were crossing the street to being inside the SUV? I felt like I missed a minute of the movie. Speaking of Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), she and her sexy outfits were the only saving grace to this movie besides the credits roll. Bottom line for action movie lovers: see something else. If you were a fan of the G.I. Joe franchise, see it, but don't expect it to be the G.I. Joe you remember and loved when you were a kid.
MOVIEDOOD RATES IT: BAH.