Knight and Day

I could go on this little diatribe about the raw deal Tom Cruise got, but whatever. Dude was in love with a 25 year old, jumped on a couch, then made some stupid comments in the name of his bizarre religion. He rubbed people the wrong way and because of it he became a punchline. He has not starred in a movie in a few years and to be honest, I have missed him. Cruise was a movie star. He could do the big action picture and still make thoughtful dramas and get nominated for awards. He has a winning smile and has made quite a few good to great movies. There was a lot written about what his first project back would be. He was circling 4 movies at one point, including Salt, which now stars Angelina Jolie, but ultimately landed with Knight and Day. He was re teaming with Cameron Diaz for an action comedy that looked kind of like a throw back film. Of course, a big problem came when Killers looked just like Knight and Day, but with younger and hotter talent. That being said, I was relatively excited about the prospect of Tom Cruise toplining a summer action movie again.

June Havens(Diaz) and Roy Miller(Cruise) appear to randomly bump into each other at an airport and then they do it again right before they get on the flight. After some doing, Havens and Miller end up on the same flight, and Havens believes there must be reason and she wants to make her move, so she goes to the bathroom to pep herself up and while she does that, Miller disarms an entire flight of CIA agents trying to kill him. Miller tries to explain to Havens what is going on and while she thinks he is kidding, Miller lands the plane and knocks Havens out. However, Miller and Havens are not through with each other as Miller feels obligated to protect her, but the CIA is spinning a story about how Miller is a crazy agent who went off his mission to crazy town. It is not difficult to believe the CIA, but Havens is drawn to Miller. He is charming, extremely cool under pressure and has a way out of everything. He is carrying this self charging battery that could power entire cities and he thinks one of the CIA agents is dirty, so he is keeping it safe while trying to keep Havens safe.

Knight and Day is a pretty mixed bag, but for the first hour, the action and comedy work pretty well. Cruise wears the role of a light hearted spy like a comfortable pair of jeans and he is clearly having a good time with the jokes. He and Diaz have a nice friendly chemistry, which works for and against the movie and the action stunts are all done with this knowing tone, like everyone involved knows it is all just ridiculous and that makes everything more fun. Cruise still has that movie star look and he carries that movie star arrogance proudly, but he sometimes looks like he is trying too hard, like maybe this was not exactly the right vehicle for him to use as his comeback picture. I know he was looking for something light hearted and action packed, but there is something old about how this movie plays out.

That being said, I did have some fun with the first half of the film. I enjoyed the set and the breezy way the action was filmed and the general tone of the film. Diaz and Cruise have some great moments in that time, including a better than average meetcute that lasts through the plane crash and I wanted the relationship to stay in that area, but the movie tries too hard to shoehorn a romance between the characters and I just did not really buy into the idea that they could be in love. I could buy the flirty opening and some of the lighter things, but once there was a sweeping shot lit perfectly with them kissing, I was over it. They did nothing to earn that moment to me. Yes, they deserved a few of the funnier romantic moments, but the movie did nothing to me to think they deserved such gorgeous looking frame up for a kiss.

Another problem that started as an interesting moment was how the action was almost always told from Diaz's point of view. The first big action sequence we only get glimpses of it the way she does as she comes in and out of being drugged up. At first, it seems like a really interesting way to move the story along and it actually provides some funny moments that help the tone of the film, but as the movie goes on, I kind of wanted to get a more grand scope of the action. I wanted it more from a 3rd person view, like have the camera pull further out and let me really see what was going on. By committing to the idea that she is out POV character, the director handcuffs himself into that idea throughout the film. There was potential for some better stunts, but we only got glimpses of the daring escapes and chases.

Knight and Day is pretty messy and it ultimately does not deliver enough laughs or explosions to make the full movie experience worth it and as a romantic venture it fails even more. Diaz still has these gorgeous blue eyes and she can pratfall well, but something just seemed off. The entire thing was trying too hard to be too much and it end sup not being enough of anything. The comedy goes away to give way to a love story, Cruise is trying to regain what he had, only to falter because he is trying so hard. It is clear the movie had multiple rewrites and even reshoots because of just how messy it is. And it is not better than Killers released a month ago with the same tone and general story.

Final Grade: C-

The Karate Kid (2010)

When I first heard of this remake, I got concerned. Not because I have these romantic notions that the original is this amazing movie that should not be touched, but because I thought it was a weird choice for Jaden Smith's first starring role. The kid did well in his first two movies- The Pursuit of Happyness and The Day the Earth Stood Still- but to pin his starring hopes on a remake no one really wanted seemed like a dangerous proposition for the budding star. I think often we, as movie fans, decide the movies we grew up loving are better than they really are. The Karate Kid is a cool movie, but no remake is going to ruin my childhood, nor do I think The Karate Kid was this experience that should not be messed with. In fact, karate movies should come back. I want another Three Ninjas and Surf Ninjas as well. I know we are in an age of street fighting/Mixed Martial Arts, but the Martial Arts are a fascinating study of control and ass kicking and why shouldn't we have more movies balancing the two? Plus the first time I saw the trailer, I thought that 12 or 13 year old Kyle would be all over it!

For somewhat unspecified work related issues Sherry and Dre Parker(Taraji P. Henson and Jaden Smith respectively) are moving to China. Dre's father is dead and he is not a bad kid, just hardened. His first day in China he meets a friend, a girl and an enemy. It was a big first day! At school his enemy tortures him, and eventually Dre just starts hiding. He wants to learn martial arts, but the big martial arts school is where the bully learned all of his tricks. After a serious confrontation with 6 bullies, Mr. Han(Jackie Chan) agrees to teach Dre Kung-Fu in order for Dre to compete in a Kung-Fu tournament and get these bullies off of Dre's back. Dre is an attentive student, but he rarely sees the point of the discipline minded activities Han gives him, like making him take off, pick up and hang up his jacket thousands of times. To Mr. Han "Everything is Kung-Fu." The young Dre's attention is not fully on Kung-Fu as he starts a romance with an adorable little Chinese girl, but she is a violinist and as their budding romance takes her away from her practicing she is forbidden to see Dre. Will this underdog be able to win the tournament? Will Mr. Han find redemption in this young kid? Who knows?!?!?!

Jaden Smith will be a star for decades to come if he plays his cards right. He has this amazing pedigree, yes, but he also has instincts. he carries the heft of this overly long movie and he is up to the challenge. He is quietly charming, the way his father, Will, is outwardly charming. The young Smith finds that not saying something is, at times, the right way to act. He spends a lot of time quietly contemplating Dre's next move or anticipating Han's next move. He is a talented kid and he very much impressed me in this movie. He also seems to be void of vanity and as a young actor, that is priceless. He had absolutely no reason to play a character who gets beat up over and over again and is forced to cry and scream about hating his life and Jaden allows us to fully understand how hopeless the kid feels. He is not afraid to let his Dre very much hide from danger without making Dre feel too weak. We never call Dre names because we understand because Jaden makes us understand with his face.

The movie is surprisingly good, too. The beginning has a nice mix of action and humor, with Jaden getting a chance to show just how charming he can be, but the very first time we see Jaden get beat up is brutal. I mean the movie is hard hitting in the action. We see, hear and feel every hit, kick and every time Jaden hits the pavement. I actually flinched in a PG movie a few times. This has to be on the verge of PG13, that is how brutal the action is for a family film. It was nearly shocking how brutal it is. Jackie Chan does very little fighting, but he has slid into the mentor role nicely. He wears it the way his Mr. Han wears a rundown baseball cap, presumably to hide himself from his shame. His Han lacks the usual Jackie Chan joy, which made Han much more believable. As Chan is less able to do all of his crazy stunts with age, I much prefer him in this type of role to the crazy goofy kid comedies he is doing. Henson does not have much to do but be the overly worried, overly sassy mother, but she is a talented actress and fills the role well.

At the running time reaching nearly 2 and a half hours, The Karate Kid is just too bloated. Much of the romantic side plot could have been cut and perhaps 1 of the training montages could have been trimmed a bit. By the time we get to the tournament, the movie starts to try the patience of the audience. Now, the tournament is very cool. Again, the action is more brutal than I would have guessed and the nods to the tournament in the original are nice, if a little pandering and there is never a question as to what is going to happen, but I went with it. I knew the ending was coming and it still got me all into it. I wanted to see what was going to happen, even though I could have drawn exactly what was going to happen. Also, there is a whole lot of obnoxious shaky camera that does not serve much of a point. Not everyone needs to use it just because they can.

When it comes to underdog stories, the climax is never the defining feature. There are only two ways for it to go, either the underdog wins, or he loses but learns something valuable and gains the respect of the favorite. it is what the movie does before it gets there that makes a movie, and The Karate Kid offers enough good stuff to make it worth it. The emotional climax with Chan and the young Mr. Smith hits the right notes and shows range for Chan, but it also shows that Jaden knows what he is doing on screen. These are two actors and characters that require the other to reach the goal. They need each other, whereas it seems like Dre needs Han. So, besides a bloated midsection, I was pleasantly surprised by The Karate Kid. The world is in Jaden's hands and I am excited to see the kind of actor he will become, because he really has all the tools to do a lot of very strong work.

Final Grade: B+

The A-Team

Anyone who was with me in a theater when the trailer for this movie came on can attest to the fact that I was AMPED for this movie. It defined summer movies for me, without the female sex appeal. It looked funny, goofy, ridiculous, overblown and 100% pure octane AWESOME! The trailer was 150 seconds of pure summer movie glee and I was buying into every damn second of it. A tank falling out of the sky? Why the hell not! Bradley Cooper in all of his smug glory mixed with Liam Neeson and all of his badassery? Bring it on!! I do not care about complaints that it would not be like the television show or that the movie looked too ridiculous. I had a "Screw you" attitude towards anyone who tried to talk me out of my excitement. My excitement would not be quelled! I was so excited I went to a midnight screening! However, with such expectations could it possibly live up? Should I stop ending my first paragraphs with a leading question meant to force you to read on?

The A-Team is a team of Army Rangers who do missions together until they commit some crime and are forced to live outside of the law to avoid jail. The idea is pretty basic, but here is an origin story. Hannibal(Neeson) is a man being tortured and left for dead, but he is left unsupervised which is not good, because Hannibal is a grade A bad ass and the opening scene proves it. He rushes out of his jam to head to save his fellow ranger Templeton "Face" Peck(Cooper) who is in a jam because he bedded the wrong woman. On his way to save Face, Hannibal runs into a big black man with an attitude problem, B.A.(Quinton Jackson), who also happen to be a ranger, so he enlists his help and after the rescue, the 3 men find Murdock(Sharlto Copley) who is a helicopter pilot for the Rangers who helps them escape. Thus forms our A-Team. Cut to a few years later, the team has been in the middle east helping us win the war, and they are on their way out when they get one more mission to stop some counterfeiting. Something goes wrong and they are accused, tried and convicted of a few crimes. They break out of jail and attempt to follow, Lynch(Patirck Wilson) to figure out what happened, all while being chased by Charisa Sosa(Jessica Biel), a C.I.A agent with a past that involved Face.

Jessica Biel's character has a line in this movie that sums it up pretty well. In describing the team she says "And they specialize in the ridiculous." The A-Team specializes in the ridiculous, much to the delight of this movie fan. The wonderful opening sequence involves Liam Neeson in the shadows taking off handcuffs and cuffing two dogs together, Neeson shooting B.A in the shoulder and features Cooper rolling down a hill in a bunch of tires. From there the movie just gets crazier. The helicopter rescues is thrilling, but also with a sense of humor, which kind of also describes the movie. Everyone involved knows everything they are doing is ridiculous, but they all have this kind of childlike joy attached to their faces that they get "it." They know they are involved in shenanigans and it allows us to just sit back and enjoy it.

Cooper is clearly having all kinds of fun playing up how smug he can be, but in this movie, as opposed to so many others, his smugness is likability charming. He is also shirtless for roughly 50% of his screen time which does not hurt his likability. The only one who might be having more fun is Copley. Fresh off of his turn in the surprisingly successful District 9, Copley is a relative newcomer, but if he throws himself into every role like he has done in this movie, he is going to be a strong character actor for a long time. His crazy Murdock is a funny interesting character study. He has great chemistry with all of the other actors and he understands perfectly what kind of movie this is. Neeson continues his strong grief fueled work. He is a hard working actor working through tremendous grief from the death of his wife, but in this movie he lets loose a bit. He has that edge from Taken, but he lightens up. He looks so much like the television version of his character and he gruffly delivers all of the great lines and he makes a perfect leader. The biggest concern was, of course, Quinton Jackson filling in for Mr. T. Jackson is not an actor, but he fills in for Mr. T pretty well. His line delivery is not as goofy as Mr. T, but He is a tough dude and the camera likes him. He could probably turn into a decent action star if he wants.

Joe Carnahan, a director whose career trajectory has been all over the place, wrote and directed the wonderfully violent Smokin' Aces, so there is not doubt the guy knows how to shoot violence. What he also knows how to do is add a lightness of touch. He does not force anything. He is a good field general and knows how to shoot an action sequence. The climatic action sequence is a dazzling spectacle that required a lot of explosions, multiple cameras, a few fights and a slight of hand, in the scene and in the execution of said scene and Carnahan does not let it overpower him. He knows how much of everything he wants and because of that the climax is wonderfully executed and plays very well. Things blow up the way we want them to, people get punched in the face, guns are unloaded and cars driven just the way an action sequence should go.

But, if everything else had sucked, the movie would have been worth it for a sequence where they fly a tank. Yes, they fly a tank. They are in a plane, that get shot down, but they all get in the tank and as they are dropping in a parachuted tank, the parachute gets damaged and to save themselves and to shoot down the planes, Cooper goes to the gun of the tank and starts shooting!! A tank is falling out of the sky and he starts shooting planes, then, in order to crash into water, Cooper has to shoot the cannon in different directions so the tank moves with the force of the cannon. Yes, the manipulate a falling TANK so they can crash land in a nicer spot!! Of course, it is stupid, but it is such glorious fun and Cooper plays it so perfectly that all you can do is laugh and enjoy watching a tank being flown.

The movie fills in gaps from the show like why B.A hates flying and why he has such hatred for Murdock, and there is a wonderful scene after the credits which gives the television show fans something to get giddy over, but it also offers enough for people who just like fun movies. Sure, it is full of holes and at times the dialog and the plot are a little ridiculous and I wish Patrick Wilson had more to do, but who cares when everyone was having such a damn good time! No one is going to confuse this movie with great cinema, but in the middle of summer, I just want some fun and The A-Team has fun in almost every scene.

Final Grade: B+

Get him to the Greek

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my favorite comedies of the last few years. It was kind of unexpectedly brilliant and honest. Plus it featured a Dracula musical with puppets. It is tough to beat that. When I heard they were spinning off Russell Brand's Aldous Snow character, I was concerned, but with Nicolas Stoller (The Director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) at the helm and writing it, I thought it could work. I also think Jonah Hill has the potential to be a very funny actor, although, I think he needs to work in the darker realms of comedy to realize this potential. Yet, when the trailer came out, I was severely underwhelmed. It just did not look that funny. Trailers can be misleading, but the biggest crime a comedy trailer can commit is to not make me laugh. What is the point of going to see the movie if 150 seconds of footage do not make me laugh. When the reviews came out and were pretty positive, I did not get my hopes up, but I was certainly a little more interested in seeing it. Were the critics right?

Aldous Snow(Brand) was the world's last rock star. He was hedonistic, arrogant and knew how party, but he sobered up. He was the biggest star in the world until he tried to solve the problem of genocide in Africa with a horribly racist song and album. His girlfriend(Rose Byrne) of seven sober years dumped him and Snow did a nosedive right back into the partying lifestyle, becoming less and less known for his music. With the music business in the tank, Music Executive, Sergio Roma(Diddy) is looking for the idea that will jump start his hurting label. Enter Aaron Green(Jonah Hill) with an idea to get Aldous Snow to put on a show at The Greek to celebrate 10 years since he last played there and made a live album from it that turned out to be the biggest selling live album ever. Roma decides to let Green run point on the project and Green has 72 hours to get Snow from London to Los Angeles. It will not be an easy task, as Snow prefers drugs, alcohol and women to anything else and Green is not exactly a force to be reckoned with. There is also a side plot involving Green and his girlfriend (Elizabeth Moss) and how they cannot seem to get on the same page and even maybe break up.

For the first 75 minutes Get him to the Greek is a hilarious movie. It moves quickly, the jokes are fast and funny and the action keeps moving. We get all of the drugs, girls and alcohol a throwback rock star deserves and Diddy straight up kills the movie with his over the top persona, not unlike his actual persona. His lines are delivered with this reckless abandon and it works for me. Hill prefers a more subtle, quiet approach and his quiet demeanor mixed with Brand's outlandish personality creates a nice little balance of comic styles. Brand also does a little bit of acting that really works, especially as he orders Hill to get him drugs. You can see the recovering addict digging into his own life. The girls are sexy, the music is funny whne it is supposed to be funny and the soundtrack under the film is excellent and probably pretty expensive. The Las Vegas sequence is inspired comic genius with this wonderful physical comedy infused with just these ridiculous sight gags about petting the furry walls and this super drug called "Jeffrey."

However, once the movie actually gets to Los Angeles it just kind of dies. I honestly do not care about Snow's quest to get his girlfriend back and then the movie takes a totally weird and uncomfortable turn with an almost threesome between Aaron, his girlfriend and Snow. I am not sure if Stoller just ran out of ideas for his movie and threw together a long, unfunny and awkward climatic set piece spanning nearly 30 minutes, but it was pretty obnoxious. Not only does it stop being funny, but the pacing totally slows down. The movie just comes to a stand still and even the very last scene, which is pretty funny cannot bring the movie around fully. It is really disappointing because the movie builds up a lot of good will in that first section, but quickly destroys it all.

Russell Brand may never really get beyond this persona and Jonah Hill really needs to play in the darker realm of comedy, but the movie does offer plenty of good laughs. Diddy shines which surprised me and Stoller's loose directing style allows for some inspired moments, like Hill's drug trip with little Diddy heads popping up and each other. It reminded me of Stoller and Jason Segal's daring idea to use puppets to sing a ridiculous Dracula musical. I think Stoller has better things ahead of him, he just needs to figure out how to reel himself in when his ending start to spin out of control.

Final Grade: C

Sex and the City 2

I come at this movie having seen every single episode of the show and the first movie. I also come at this movie having enjoyed a good portion of the series and got so into the first movie, it is almost embarrassing. So, I am not one of those guys who is just out to hate the entire idea of this movie. I am invested in the characters and this ridiculous world. That being said, this movie never looked very good. The trailers were awful and when the reviews came in and they were just terrible, I second guessed my desire. However, I was more curious what the fans had to say and when the girls I know also told me the movie was pretty bad, I became less interested. Well, if not for $5.00 Tuesdays, I probably would not have gone to see it, but I did see it and was it as bad as everyone said? Read on to find out.

Carrie(Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha(Kim Cattrell), Charlotte(Kristen Davis) and Miranda(Cynthia Nixon) are back and we are reintroduced to the ladies as they make their way to pick up wedding gifts for Stanford's wedding. The wedding is the movie's first big set piece, and what a gay old time it is. However, not all is well in the world of these four ladies. Carrie and Big(Chris Noth) are in a relationship stalemate, Charlotte's new baby cries nonstop, Miranda's new boss hates her and Samantha is going through menopause. The girls still get together to complain and trade really bad puns, and Carrie still narrates. When Big proposes putting a television in the bedroom, Carrie begins to wonder if this can work. In the middle of all of this, Samantha gets the opportunity to take the girls away on an all expenses vacation to The Middle East. While there, Carrie runs into Aidan(Jon Corbett) and begins to wonder some more. Charlotte and Miranda bond over the troubles of motherhood and Samantha does everything she possibly can to offend an entire nation of people all while spouting the worst puns ever. "Lawrence of my labia" Really??

While the first Sex and the City movie put some people off by being too serious, Sex and the City 2 is not serious enough. The movie is a mix of awful scenes, throw away social commentary, disrespect and bad jokes. The Samantha character, who showed some growth towards the end of the series and regressed a bit in the first movie, is beyond obnoxious here. It is not about her portrayal of feminine sexuality, it is just the one note characterization of it. Samantha was at her best when she was trying to be in a relationship. Of course, the blatantly offensive nature of a majority of her scenes did not help. I get that in America we do not have a lot of tolerance for countries with such drastic different standards, but a lot of the jokes made at the expense of the Muslim culture gets uncomfortable. That is not even mentioning the god awful Karaoke "I am Woman" moment.

Part of the joy of Sex and the City is reveling in the excess of it all. We knew from the beginning that Carrie, as a syndicated columnist, could never afford all of those shoes and clothes, but it was an escape for the audience. However, as the recession gets worse and worse, you would think we would need more of that escape, the problem is, that escape comes with far too much whining. Miranda hates her nice paying job and is complaining all of the time despite having a paycheck and a family that loves her. Charlotte has a beautiful family, does not have to work and has a nanny on top of that, and still she complains. No, money does not make life automatically better and it is stupid to assume rich people live nothing but happy lives, but it is tough to get an audience behind all the whining when it is done in such expensive clothes and in these exotic locations.

There are a few nice moments, and it is always nice to see Aidan back, since he was always my favorite Carrie boyfriend. One of those nice moments, came during a rare sincere moment. As Miranda and Charlotte enjoy their time in The Middle East, They also take a moment to really talk about how hard it is to be a mom. It is a moment of complaining, yes, but it feels honest. It feels real. It is done with humor and class, but also brutal honesty of what it is like to be a mother. If the movie had felt as real as this more of the time, maybe it would have been easier to take the whining. When we see Aidan, yes, it is ridiculous. How in the world could these two people end up in this exact moment at the same time and to be honest his two scenes seem put in the movie just to serve a purpose of pushing Carrie and to Big, but it was still nice to see him and on a shallow level, that scene was about the only time I have ever really found Sarah Jessica Parker attractive.

Sex and the City 2 is such an unmitigated disaster, it is hard to even care if these stories continue. The movie is poorly directed, horribly scripted and badly acted, but even worse than all of that, it just is not entertaining. It is at least 30 minutes too long and when it reaches the inevitable finish, I was too exhausted to care anymore. Sure, the clothes are nice to look at, and the hotel in which they stay is gorgeous beyond belief, with a private elevator and everything, but ultimately, what is the point if it does not come with entertainment value? There are people more intelligent than I that have written about how offensive the movie is, but to be honest, offensive things in entertainment do not bother me. In fact, if done well, I can appreciate a little offensiveness to point out something ridiculous. However, what I cannot forgive is the lack of entertainment value. It is almost offensive to me that anyone thought this movie was worth making in the way it was made.

Final grade: F