Mr. Popper's Penguins Trailer

Jim Carrey in a scene with four live penguins.

Have you been wondering what the comic-genius Jim Carrey has been up to lately? Apparently he has been busy babysitting six penguins. Mark Waters, the director for "Freaky Friday" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles", is at the helm of this project. It seems like a fun little family movie that everyone from the age of 3 to 60 will enjoy. Who doesn't like awkward penguins running around? It also looks as if they will be using mostly live penguins on set as well as CG penguins for some sequences. Carrey is already a wacky actor, but when you mix that up with six live penguins, something either catastrophic or monumentally entertaining.

Unfortunately you have to go through Fandango to see the trailer.

To see it click here!

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New Captain America Trailer!

One of the sweetest posters I have ever seen...

Here is the newest trailer featuring the upcoming summer blockbuster "Captain America: The First Avenger." They reveal more of Steve Rogers before he is experimented on as well as what he will be doing once he becomes the first Avenger. I was never into comic books as a kid, but this movie really  seems like it would make sense to those who didn't read the original comics. There has been so much hype behind this movie from all sides that you can't help but get excited about it. Those who made it seem to be intoxicated by it and can't wait to release it to the public. I can tell you that I will be one of the first to see it when it finally comes out on May 6, 2011.


My only concern is how Chris Evans will look before he becomes all hot and buff. His body will obviously be replaced by a smaller actor, and his head will be put in with computer effects later. But this is an extremely delicate operation. They did this with Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and it seemed to work well there. But they also made Pitt look like he was in his seventies so that's a little different than taking Evans' original face and positioning it on another body. In this trailer it looks like it will work, but his head still looks a bit too big for that tiny body.


What do you all think?


The trailer is the first one. (posted 3/24/11)

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Battle: Los Angeles

What happens when you combine deadly aliens, poor writing, incomprehensible screaming, Bourne-like camera techniques, and loud, obnoxious battle sequences? Battle: Los Angeles.

When scientists discover asteroids headed towards Earth, basic evacuations begin. After the asteroids start slowing down before entering the atmosphere, it’s apparent they aren’t dealing with simple asteroids. After turning in his resignation letter to the army following twenty years of service, SSgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is forced to co-lead a team of marines into the heart of Los Angeles. Their mission is to save pedestrians stranded in a police station as an unknown enemy destroys their way through LA.  

Nantz narrowly survives alien encounters as he and his team fight their way to the civilians. When men start dropping left and right and with an advanced alien force coming from every direction, all seems hopeless. Few aliens die in comparison to the thousands of civilians and soldiers fighting for their life. With guns shooting wild and men constantly screaming at one another it’s hard to imagine a way out.

The majority of the movie is spent in battle sequences. The camera is shaky, intense and at times, overbearing. They present a unique alien species that I have never seen before, which was refreshing. The team move their way through the city and with each new location, they are able to adapt and fight. Through battles in houses, streets, freeways, sewers, and buildings, they keep the action moving and alive.

The most troubling part of the movie was it’s writing. Most of the dialogue in the movie was indecipherable because it was shouted from one person to the other. The characters were talking so fast and so loud that almost nothing was understandable. This was made especially difficult when they threw in army lingo that the average person doesn’t understand. To make it worse, the dialogue that was spoken at a normal level was not great. In the middle of the movie, Eckhart gives a speech to his men explaining to them why he fights. This is supposed to be this grand speech to get his men’s support, but instead it falls flat. There were many awkward moments where I caught myself picturing the writer scratching his head, trying to write something emotional and then asking his mom for answers.

Along with too many characters with needy plotlines, subpar special effects, poor casting, and Bourne-like camera techniques, this movie didn’t impress me like I hoped it would. However, even with all of its inadequacies and disappointments, I still had fun watching it. In my opinion, it is not worth paying money to see at a theatre. Recently, second-rate movies have had wonderful trailers, therefore my new rule for which I will base going to the theater is such: the better the trailer, the worse the movie will be. 


FINAL GRADE: B-

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RED

Bruce Willis must have had a boring year because this isn’t his usual movie. His most recent movie, “Red”, was full of explosions, large guns, punches to the face, and big movie stars, but it had a really rough time with it’s writing and basic plot line. Willis plays an old, down and out CIA retiree who is trying to get used to a life outside of war. When his retirement is threatened, he has to uncover who is after him and why they are out to destroy his peaceful life.

Frank (Bruce Willis) finds joy in his quiet life by wooing Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), a woman who craves adventure in her boring life. They begin an unusual relationship via phone. Just as this romance begins to bud, turmoil ensues as his old team is targeted as well. As Frank punches and shoots his way through would-be assassins, he gathers his old friends who are retired and just as bored as he is. Through every battle Frank’s team never miss a beat and can solve every, and any problem that faces them.

Frank leads this team through their pasts as they try to figure out why they are being targeted. Joining his team is Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Victoria (Helen Mirren), and the crazy Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich). They blow their way through police squads, trained soldiers, the CIA headquarters, and eventually the secret service, as if it were child’s play. Whatever is standing in their way, they have the way out as well as a snappy comeback to boot.

The only positive attribute to this movie was John Malkovich. He looked like he had a blast playing his character. He was witty, funny, and after laughing for the first hour being how awful this movie was, Malkovich adds an even quirkier element of humor. If it weren’t for his character, this movie would have been funny for all of the wrong reasons on top of being extremely boring.

The writing and production is unrealistic and extremely over the top, but that can be assumed to be on purpose. In the beginning they may have tried to set that ridiculous tone, but it doesn’t stick. Knowing Bruce Willis and his extraordinary action adventure movies, everything he does is usually seen as believable. In previous movies, the circumstances were over the top but Bruce handled them like it was his normal routine. In “Red,” the two mentalities do not go together. It is only when Malkovich enters the picture that we finally understand that it’s supposed to be funny. This story is nothing but new writing with older movie stars in places where one would normally see a younger, sexier, less clothed actor.

The actors look like they are just hanging out and filming a movie in their backyard. Which can be a great feel to a movie. They have fun playing their parts and make it extra goofy and entertaining. Malkovich did such a wonderful job building off his character’s quirkiness and making it his own. What made this movie bearable was the fact that Malkovich was in it. It’s just too bad that for an entire hour we had to sift through Bruce Willis playing the same character he always plays before getting to the funny stuff.

FINAL GRADE: C

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127 Hours

"127 hours" is a gripping tale of survival and perseverance. Aron Ralston, a mountain climber, becomes trapped in a canyon and tries to find a way out. No one knows where he is and he is completely alone. Aron has to fight against time and his own mind to make it out alive.

Aron (James Franco) goes through many trials in trying to free his right arm from underneath the boulder that traps him but for unknown reasons he can't seem to figure out a solution. As we go through this process with him we start to feel that there truly is no way out. It is a fact. He is going to die. He is beginning to lose his mind and slip closer and closer to death. As an audience, the world is aware of Aron’s situation through the book he wrote, the cleverly titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place. We know he gets out by cutting his arm off, but it is still very hard to watch this man struggle to come to terms with this reality.

Within fifteen minutes of the film Aron is stuck in the canyon and for the rest of the movie so are we. I can't believe they spent $18 million on this movie. Most of the movie was spent in one set! What did they use that money for? Anyway, after Aron figures out that he needs to break his arm to get out, frees himself by cutting off his arm. As stated above, this is not a shocker. Even though we all know what's coming, no one is used to seeing someone cut his or her arm off.

When asked about this film Aron says, “The movie is so factually accurate, it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.” Knowing that what we are seeing on screen is close to the actual event is somewhat disturbing, but only makes me respect Aron all the more. This movie won James Franco an Academy Award nomination for best actor. I, for one, was genuinely surprised he was nominated. He did a great job but I do not believe it was Academy award winning acting.

Even though ninety percent of the movie is spent in a two-foot wide canyon, I never felt bored by the lack of camera angles, but I was surprised by how they used the cramped space to their advantage. Danny Boyle, the director,  didn’t let the audience wander from the canyon any further than Aron could reach. We were with him till the very end. The fact that they were able to keep thousands of people interested on one person (who is in fact slowly dying in front of our eyes), and in one tiny cramped space is extremely impressive. Anthony Dod Mantle, the cinematographer Boyle also used on “Slumdog Millionaire” and “28 Days Later,” was able to create very unique ways to view Aron’s battle for survival. The editing and cinematography definitely felt similar to Slumdog, but at the same time had a feeling of newness and unfamiliarity.

This movie is tough to watch at times but it does what every great movie should be able to do, it manipulates the viewer’s point of view by placing you in the situation along with the character. “127 hours” brings moments of happiness and humor, as well as sadness and desperation. This movie resonates so well with audiences because it is so primal. Human survival. It’s our most primal instinct. Just survive.  It is an intense ride, and for those who can take the two minutes of gore, I definitely suggest it. Just bring something to drink. You will inevitably become extremely thirsty.

FINAL GRADE: A

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