The Eagle

The Eagle 

Rating 3 out of 10

I can't say I wasn't warned. When I talked to others about seeing this with me they said not even with me buying the ticket. Normally this is a movie I might rent when there was nothing much available.  Work is slow so I had time on my hands and thought I'd give it a try.  I set the bar low and this movie still fell below.  In reviews I read one of the big gripes was the stars (pretty boy Channing Tatum)  American accent while in Roman times.  This movie has problems in so many other levels.

The story starts twenty years before with a legion of 5000 men go into the Northern wilderness to conquer everything in sight.  Things don't go well as that legion is never heard from again.  The leader of that legion was Tatums father.  Somehow it is assumed his father made some huge mistake and is an embarrassment to Rome.  Tatum sets off to the North with his slave boy (played by Jamie Bell) to find out what happened and bring back the family name along with a huge golden eagle.

There are a few good action scenes but not nearly enough to save the plodding plot and high school drama school acting.

Rent this if you must.

Sanctum

Sanctum

Rating 7.5 out of 10

When I saw the first previews for this movie I was all in. The movie was made by James Cameron.  The same guy that made Titanic and Avatar.   I'm a scuba diver and this looked very cool.  The previews were very flashy but what in the heck is a Sanctum?   Then came the HORRIBLE reviews.  They almost scared me away from the movie.  Almost.

In this movie we have a group of cave diver/explorers that are mapping out this huge underground (mostly underwater) cave system.  A big storm blows in a couple days early and begins to flood the parts of the caves that are not yet underwater blocking their exit.  Six people are stranded with limited supplies and are forced to find another way out.  This is a rough movie to watch if you are claustrophobic.  Just ask Cassie.

The scuba and cave scenes are incredible.  I found myself gasping for a breath more than once.  Or maybe that was because Cassie was squeezing my hand so tight?

The movie lags a bit from the mostly unknown cast.  Yeah it has that stretchy guy from Fantastic Four and that other guy you've seen before but can't remember his name.  A better cast probably could have improved the reviews.

Overall I enjoyed this movie alot. Nothing groundbreaking yet a fun movie.

I am Number Four

I Am Number Four

Rating 6.5 out of 10

This is one of those "if you like these type of movies" movies.  If you watch the trailer and feel like it's a movie you want to see then chances are you'll like it.  No deep plot. Nothing too complicated.  Lots of action and a fun popcorn flick.

In this movie there is a planet far away that has been invaded by these big ugly guys with gills.  The bad guys killed everyone except the nine children that escaped to Earth. These are special kids that have talents once they get older that make them a very tough to eliminate.  For a reason not really explained the bad guys are killing the nine in numerical order.  Number three is killed at the beginning of the movie.

Number Four is a hunky blonde haired teenager that calls himself John (played by Alex Pettyfer- looks familiar but I have never seen him before) trying to blend in at a Ohio high school.  His protector is Henri (played by one of my favorites Timothy Olyphant).  The bad guys show in Ohio for the shoot out.  Lucky for John Number Six shows up too.  She is a hot blonde that knows how to kill ugly bad guys and my favorite character of the movie.

The movie is clearly meant to be one of many.  While I Am Number Four is not a great movie that will set the world of fire I did enjoy it and will go see the sequel when it comes out.

Royce's Oscar Picks

It may surprise some that I almost never watch the Oscars.  Rarely watch any awards show.  They are always too long and I rarely agree with the nominees much less than the winners.  Especially the Oscars. I think the Academy is mostly a bunch of snobs that believe a movie can't be good if the public liked it.  That said in 2010 I think they mostly got it right.  I would have probably left off Toy Story 3 (it's the THIRD best Toy Story movie!) and added The Town.  I'm not going to pick nits.  I will pick the winners though.

Best picture-

I think it’s absurd to have ten best picture nominees.  The problem was the Oscars were such snobs they couldn’t nominate movies people had actually seen.  So now they nominate ten hoping we will watch for a couple.

Black Swan- Just can’t bring myself to see a movie about ballet dancers.

The Fighter- Very good movie. Kinda low budget feel.  Good acting.

Inception- Groundbreaking.  Amazing to watch.  At 3+ hrs a little long.

Kids are All Right-  Didn’t see this one

The Kings Speech- Probably the best movie of the bunch.

127 Hours- Another very good movie. Acting is first rate.

The Social Network- Good movie but not the best.

Toy Story 3-  Not even the best Toy Story movie.

True Grit- If not Speech then this movie should win.

Winter’s Bone- Surprise.  Better than average but not Oscar caliber.

My pick-  The Kings Speech

Most likely win- The Kings Speech-  This movie seems to be riding a wave right now and should only get hotter as more get to see it.  True Grit was hot for a while but seems to have cooled as has The Social Network.  The Fighter may slip in but I’d be surprised. 

Actor in Leading Role

By far the hardest to pick.  The bottom four on this list could easily be winners any other year. 

Javier Bardem- Biutiful- Barely even heard of this movie.

Jeff Bridges- True Grit-  He was much better here than Crazy Heart

Jesse Eisenberg- Social Network- He was made for this role.

Colin Firth- Kings Speech- Absolutely incredible.

James Franco- 127 Hours- He made the movie. Many years he would win.

My pick- Colin Firth

Most likely win- I would guess Jeff Bridges except he won last year and Kings is getting hot at exactly the right time.  Jesse Eisenberg could pull off an upset, but I doubt it.

Actress in a Leading Role

Much harder since I only saw one of the five movies.  I think Bening and Kidman are vastly overrated.  Seems they get nominated every movie they make that no one ever sees. 

Annette Bening- Kids are All Right-  Didn’t see this movie

Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole- Didn’t see this movie. Looked bad to me.

Jennifer Lawrence- Winters Bone- She is very good here.

Natalie Portman- Black Swan- Didn’t see this movie.

Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine- I don’t get this one at all.

My Pick- Jennifer Lawrence- She did a great job.  Deserve an Oscar?  Probably not.  Leading lady roles are clearly hard to come by.  I looked back over the 50+ movies I saw in 2010 and didn’t see a lady I would clearly give the Oscar to.  Jennifer is as good as any.

Most Likely Win- Natalie Portman- That is the talk. Nat is the winner.

Actor in a Supporting Role

A very tough category.  All of these nominees are very good.

Christian Bale- The Fighter-  He takes a role that could be cartoonish and makes it believable.

John Hawkes- Winter’s Bone-  He made the movie better than it could have been. 

Jeremy Renner- The Town-  A little more over the top than I think he needed to be but still deserved the nomination.

Mark Ruffalo- Kids are All Right- Didn’t see the movie but usually like his acting.

Geoffrey Rush- Kings Speech- I’m not sure why he is Supporting and not Leading.  I thought he made the best movie of the year. 

My Pick- Geoffrey Rush-  He has always been a versatile actor.  He takes all kinds of roles. This is his best work by far.

Most likely Win – Christian Bale- I couldn’t argue with this pick.  He is very good.

Actress in a Supporting Role

The ladies shine in this category.  A lot of great performances that are deserving of the nomination.

Amy Adams- The Fighter- She goes from a goody girl to a tough chick that can kick your butt!

Helena Bonham Carter- Kings Speech-  Never been a fan of hers yet she nailed this part.  She was very good.

Melissa Leo- The Fighter- She is an attractive woman that plays a big haired-chain smoking white trash mom and does it well.

Hailee Steinfeld-True Grit- I think she should have been a leading lady. 

Jacki Weaver- Animal Kingdom-  I don’t know anyone that sees more movies than I do and I have never heard of Jacki or the movie Animal Kingdom.

My Pick- Hailee Steinfeld-  I know she is young and this is her first big movie role.  She nailed the part and holds her own with Jeff Bridges.

Most Likely Win- Helena Bonham Carter-  I think politics will play a part in this.  Carter was very good and deserves the nomination.  She has been a critics darling and Kings Speech is riding a wave that could take her to the gold.  I think Amy Adams will be handicapped by the roles she played in the past.  Hailee Steinfeld will be hurt because of her age.  Melissa Leo might be the dark horse that slips in if The Fighter catches fire. 

The Dilemma

The Dilemma

Rating 4 out of 10

I will start by explaining that most of the movies I see are early shows with few people in the theater with me.  I go either on rain days or early on weekends. I don't like having to sit in the front row because the theater is so packed.  That said this sometimes hurts me while viewing comedies.  A comedy is always funnier with a packed theater laughing with you than it is with ten other movie goers.

Going by this theory I would have to have a football stadium packed with laughing people for The Dilemma to even be mildly funny.  I am a fan of Vince Vaughn even though his movies are generally very good or very bad.  Unfortunately this movie falls in the latter category.

In case you didn't see the zillion commercials for this film it goes like this.  Ronny (Vaughn) and is long time best friend Nick (the usually funny but goofy Kevin James) have invented a way to make older muscle cars work as electric cars and have the sound effects of the loud rumble of old days.  They have a do or die meeting with Dodge in days when Ronny stumbles upon Nick's wife (an aging Winona Ryder) cheating with a younger stud muffin.  The "dilemma" is does he tell his best friend just before their big meeting or hold on to the information?  Nothing funnier than that, right?

There are some funny parts spaced here and far between.  I think Vaughn tries too hard to make this material work.  I would recommend waiting for the DVD if you are a big fan and feel you must see this movie.  Or find a packed theater which will be hard to do the way it's tanking in the box office.

The Company Men

The Company Men

Rating 6 out of 10

I saw the preview for this movie months ago.  It was scheduled for a December 2010 release and packed with big stars.  Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner and Maria Bello to name a few.  It was only released in LA and NYC and scheduled for a wide release on Jan 21st.  Only on the 21st it was only released on 200 screens nationwide. How could this be?  With this many big stars and the trailer looks pretty good.

Then I saw the movie.  It is a well made and well acted movie.  It's just a couple years before it's time.  The movie hits too close to home to too many people right now.

Ben Affleck plays a hot shot college grad seven years on a very high paying job that comes in to work one day to find out he has been laid off.  No problem.  Full of confidence he feels this is a minor set back and he'll find another job in a couple weeks.  Only the economy has tanked and everyone is being laid off.  Life is about to get much tougher.

This movie is not a feel good movie for the most part, but is entertaining.  It shows how you can recover from a bad situation and things are not always as important as you think they are.