Quick Movie Reviews: Vol 10

Another batch of movies, and yet again surprises from films I would have never given a chance normally. This time I’m catching up on mostly 2011 movies. Looking back on 2011, I must admit there hasn’t been a movie that’s completely blown me away yet. Tree of Life was close but I had some issues with it. As it stands a comedy movie seems set to be my favourite film of 2011. Still plenty of time left in the year and with a David Fincher movie due at the end of 2011, things could change.

Horrible Bosses (2011)

This was just a solid comedy. With an idea I’m sure many people have thought about, it seems destined to be a comedy that pleases speaks to everyone. However with something as dark as people trying to kill their bosses, it doesn’t seem to really push the concept as far as you would like. Also the ending is a little to neat for my liking. Still everyone involved seems to be giving their all, and I was laughing a lot during the movie. The actors playing the bosses were a particular delight. Kevin Spacey is an excellent psychotic, but then we knew he can play roles like that. Jennifer Aniston plays sexpot really well and I think people have over looked her slightly. Finally Colin Farrell steals the whole damn show, and isn’t in the movie enough for my liking. Still it’s a funny movie, and people need to get out there and see it.

Priest (2011)

Being a vampire science fiction movie, this is pretty much in my wheelhouse. Still I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie. Colour me surprised when I walked out not only really happy with what I had just seen, but really wanting to see more movies set in this world. Now it’s certainly not the best movie in the world, some of the acting is a tad off, and the script is not as tight as it could be. I think the biggest flaw is that this movie almost feels like they were expecting to make sequels. As such it doesn’t feel that fulfilling as there is so much more to tell. Still Paul Bettany is decent as the priest, though I wish he would get away from these genre movies as he’s a better actor than what his movie choices suggest. Also Karl Urban as Black Hat makes for a decent villain who actually felt threatening. This movie is like a combination of Judge Dread, a cowboy movie and a vampire movie, does that sound exciting? If so go and see this movie.

Mutant Chronicles (2008)

Almost opposite of Priest, I thought that I would actually enjoy this. I remember playing the card game this movie was based off, and thought the world sounded interesting. The movie also stars Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman who always brings a level of awesome to the proceedings. But what I was greeted with was a movie that just felt really flat. Characters were underdeveloped which really doesn’t work when one of the main themes is sacrifice. What do we care about the sacrifice these characters are making, when we know nothing much about them? The look of the movie tries for something like 300, yet the special effects aren’t that great. The only positive is that the world has potential, but that doesn’t mean much if you don’t have a story that engages.

I Am Number Four (2011)

I heard that this movie is like Twilight but with aliens instead of vampires. As such I wasn’t interested in the movie at first, but was pleasantly surprised when I finally watched it. This type of teen movie isn’t really my cup of tea, but damn it if I wasn’t interested in the alien background and the villains. Add to this some decent action set pieces, and a great performance by Timothy Olyphant, I had a good time. Being based of the first book in a series, it does suffer from the same problems as Priest. There are more stories to come, so questions are left unanswered, and it’s not as fulfilling as self contained movie.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Holy cow did this come from no where and just grab me by the balls. Both Matt Damon and Emily Blunt give excellent performances, and I believed in the love that they had for each other. The plot is also pretty unique dealing with notions of destiny, free will and god. There are some elements that get a little silly, but overall the performances, the look and the story are strong enough to kind of drive over these problems. I would recommend this for most people to try, as I think it did get overlooked when it first came out.