Cowboys & Aliens Review

Cowboys & Aliens Review

I liked the idea of a sci-fi western. Like peanut butter and chocolate they are two types of movies that are good alone, and could be great together. When a movie promises spectacular action, and clever humor you hope that it delivers. The trailer for Cowboys & Aliens very much promised us this. Unfortunately it didn't deliver.

The reason that the movie doesn't work can be chalked up to one blaring and glaring reason. It was just dull. Between the action sequences, which were not very earth shattering, I would have hopped there would be some humor, or clever dialog, or even some lead up events, or exposition. Unfortunately there is literally nothing between the action sequences in this movie. The dialogue is wooden, the acting is mediocre, and the characters are flat and one dimensional.

What is even more disappointing were the action sequences. The trailer was definitely awesome, especially the action sequences, they seemed to promise something groundbreaking, at the very least it looked like a very solid base in which to build upon.  This would have been true if 100% of the action scenes weren't displayed in the trailer itself. For a movie like this, a summer blockbuster to give away all the best scenes in the trailer is unforgivable. Why pay money to see a movie like this if we already saw the best parts 10 times before in the trailer. The alien spaceships were nothing remarkable, and to be honest even the aliens themselves were bland. Jon Faverau has been very successful at blending practical and computer effects, he did a beautiful job of it in Zathura, and it was virtually undetectable in the first Iron Man, but this time he failed miserably. You can definitely see the seems in his creature effects this time

Now on to Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. Daniel Craig did a great job, of course he didn't have to do much other than pose, look tough and perform a few stunts to look like a bad ass in this movie. Harrison Ford on the other hand once again showed that it's time for him to retire the action hero, and shift to different roles. In Cowboys & Aliens I think Harrison Ford was trying to do what Sean Connery did 20 years ago with the Untouchables. What Connery did in that movie was to step back as the hero character, and become more of a mentor. Of course this character is nothing close to the character Connery had in The Untouchables. Also noticeably absent was any chemistry between the two. You would think two stars of this caliber would have had the ability to work off one another. Perhaps it is the fault of the script, but these two characters should have had more to do together. I know they were adversaries forced to work together, but even that wasn't clear in their performances.

For those who are looking for a better sci-fi film that mixes in another genre you might be better off trying to find Super 8 in your area. Super 8, which came out less than two months ago, is a far superior movie and also delivers a far scarier, and believable alien.

Super 8 Review

Super 8 Review
What exactly is Super 8. Is it a monster movie?...Yes.  Is it about aliens?...Yes. Is it a coming of age story?...Yes. Is it a military thriller?...Yes.  Some how this movie is an amalgam of several different genres and styles. It is going to be one of those great summer movies because it mimics classic films in each of these genres perfectly.

If you love E.T. Jurassic Park, The Goonies, Jaws, and Close Encounters, you will love Super 8.  The film deliberately and unapologetically steals tone, tempo, and technique from all of these films. Despite being completely unoriginal the film works brilliantly as an homage to all of these past films.  You hold a special place in your heart for films like E.T. and The Goonies, for whatever reason they resonate with you, and because this film is so reminiscent of those classics you will love this movie.

Most impressive to me in the movie was the fact that for a movie about kids, I genuinely and sincerely feared for these kids safety. Today's kid friendly adventures are way too easy.  Like children of this generation they are soft, and squishy. There is no true danger, but Super 8 puts our children in real and frightening jeopardy.  The much publicized train wreck is so much more intense, and real than the trailers teased us with, and the violent nature of both the human characters and the alien menace are just as nerve-racking. I still struggle with what was more believable, the creature or the fact that the kids survived with not much more than dirty faces, and a scrapped knee.

The creature in this movie, just like the shark in Jaws, is most effective when you cannot see it.  Once the proverbial cat is out of the proverbial bag, and we get a real good look at the monster, the creature looses is fear factor, and becomes less frightening and more foolish. I realize that J.J. Abrams purposely allows this to happen because at that point in the film we are meant to understand the creature, to sympathize with it, and realize that its just misunderstood, and shouldn't be scary at all. Of course that is difficult for us as an audience to do, especially when we spend the better part of an hour and a half scared to death of the beast.

I loved Super 8. I loved it despite the horrible 1950's B-movie style monster. I loved it despite being a complete rip off of other influential movies of my past.  I really loved it because the real heart of the movie lies in the young actors that portray the cinephiles, the group that only wants to make a zombie movie, and finds themselves embroiled and intwined in a military conspiracy.  The story of these kids, dealing with the events around them, and growing up in the midst of all this chaos is where the movie shines.

If I was a kid today, and I had never experienced the 1980s classics that were dangerous, and scary and oh yeah involved kids, then Super 8 would be an awesome experience, full of thrills, jumps and jolts. And if I was a good parent to a kid today, after I we saw Super 8 I would turn to that kid and say, are you ready to be really blown away? Then I would proceed to show him all the classic and unforgettable films that influenced and built Super 8.

Summer Movie Preview Part 2 June 2011

You have waited and waited and here is Part 2 of my Summer Movie Preview. This segment will cover all of June. May was full of hits and only a few misses. Seeing as we have now hit the stride of the summer season hopefully they only continue to get better. Without further ado here is June 2011.

X-Men First Class

When I first heard that they were going to "re-boot" the X-men franchise, I was skeptical. Then I found out that Bryan Singer was returning to produce the film, and I felt better. Then I found out that Matthew Vaughn was coming on board to direct and I got really interested. Seeing the most recent trailer sold me on the movie. I like the idea of setting an X-Men movie within an alternate US history. I also really dig the retro look and of course it looks pretty action packed. On a side note, I heard rumor of a cameo by a certain adamantium clawed mutant, that could perhaps steal the movie, fingers crossed.

Super 8

The last line in the trailer says it all "What the hell?" Quite possibly the best kept secret of the summer no one knows exactly what this movie is about. I have heard lots of theories, and lots of ideas, but no one will actually know until June 10th when the movie is released.

Beginners

I am a sucker for a good romance. This movie seems like such a great film about romantic relationships, as well as about relationships about fathers and sons. The trailer has a very Woody Allen-esque feel to it and I can see it following that style very easily. If it is anything like vintage Woody Allen it could be one of the better movies of the year.

Bad Teacher

As a teacher this movie appeals to me just because it so 100% exactly what I would love to say sometimes. This movie is the Anti Stand and Deliver, will it be as dirty and over the top as Bad Santa? There are too many what ifs to know for sure if the movie will be any good or not. But from the looks of the Restricted Red Band Trailer, it is going to be a very hard R rated film.

Green Lantern

For me this summer will be defined by how good this movie is. This is my pick for "Movie of the Summer." There is a lot riding on this movie as far as the DC universe of super heroes is concerned, and hopefully this movie delivers. From everything I have seen so far it will. Directed by Martin Campbell who is no stranger to action films, I am really looking forward to this cosmic space epic of a film.

Cars 2

I don't know if it will be good, or bad, but I am not confident in this Pixar movie. In fact I think this may be the first Pixar movie that really bombs. There are so many red flags that just spell disaster that I think people may avoid it, especially with the other quality animated films out there. Of course this is all speculation, and it could very well be something fantastic, but I just don't get that vibe.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Originally scheduled to be released on July 1st, the studio pushed its date up to June 29th earlier this week. I liked the first transformers, it was clever and cute without being to cute. The action sequences were spectacular, and it gave you exactly what you wanted from a Transformers movie, giant robots beating the hell out of each other and causing massive amounts of damage. The second Transformers film just plain sucked. The action scenes were still great, but the lack of a quality script because of the WGA strike, and the fact that they blatantly decided to accentuate the off putting aspects of the first made the second one universally hated. The trailers for this one, are fantastic, there is a paranoia aspect to the idea involving the moon race and its true motives, there is great scenes of giant robots beating the hell out of each other, and causing massive amounts of damage, oh and NO MEGAN FOX. Lets see if the trilogy goes out with a bang or a whimper

That is it for June, I am looking forward to sharing my opinions of the movies above when I see them, and hopefully you see them too so we can have good discussions about these movies and our experiences seeing them.