In this week of rentals I found myself disappointed with many of this years “better” comedies, where two other films ending up where I expected them to be.  If you’re considering renting The Alphabet Killer, Horrible Bosses, Your Highness, or Win Win then read my thoughts before making your choice this coming weekend.

The Alphabet Killer (2008)

Last week was Case 39, this week’s entry into the “you should have known better, but you watched it anyway because you are willing to watch almost any horror film” is The Alphabet Killer.  This time around I was drawn in with Eliza Dushku’s name in the cast list, as well as because of the title.  Not only did it make me chuckle, but even with low expectations I thought it might have a chance to be decent because the name reminded me of Zodiac, and I thought the premise might do the same.  But meh.

Dushku plays a detective that has a psychological break during a case that overwhelms her.  She sees connections and a possible serial killer in the making, and her insight brings out a hidden mental disorder that ruins her life for her.  Years later she is working in the station once more, just in a demoted position.  However, when a case comes in bringing similarities to the first, she is brought back in to the story.

Her deteriorating state allows for a few cheap scares in the form of hallucinations, but I still have trouble believing that she would have been brought on the case as she was.  But hey, I’ll go along with it.  However, what I cannot go along with is the cheap reveal of a killer at the end.  It would have been just as satisfying had the killer been the neighborhood milk man or something, because then at least I could make a joke about how he probably picks his victims based on the last letter left in his bowl of Alpha-Bits and milk.  But no, the reveal is completely unsatisfying, only made worse when the killer’s motives for choosing certain victims is revealed.

Final Grade:  D

Horrible Bosses (2011)

I don’t know if it is just because of all the hype surrounding this film, but I’m not seeing it.  Don’t get me wrong, it has its moments, but a lot of the comedy was falling flat with me.

I’m just going to move past the unlikely premise because it serves its purpose in creating hilarious situations, but some things just weren’t as funny as they thought it was going to be. Starting with the bosses themselves.  Sure, the fact that they are described as being horrible means that they will probably be hard to like, but the only one that ever had any funny moments for me when it came to interacting with their employee was Jennifer Aniston.  Everyone else was just meh, with Colin Farrell being on the bottom of the list because all his character had were his trailer moments.

And now that I think about it, Jennifer Aniston was only the best boss because she had the best employee to work against in Charlie Day.  He ended up being the highlight of ever scene he was in on most occasions, including a long stretch tainted by the side effects of accidentally sniffing coke, with Jason Sudeikis being the least favorite.  Don’t get me wrong, when he was actually being an integral part of the team he was fine, but his character’s one-track mind towards women was just annoying.  This is always expected in a male character so it wasn’t anything new, but it was just frustrating that the need was felt to always have him randomly hooking up with people, especially when it just didn’t make sense.

Overall there were some great bits of dialog here and there, as well as situational/physical comedy, but in the end this film disappointed me because of my high expectations for it.  Better than Bridesmaids my behind…

Final Grade:  B-

Your Highness (2011)

First thing’s first: How the heck does someone do a summersault up stairs?  I just don’t see how that is possible, let alone why someone would have the urge to do that.

Ok, so that question might seem a little ridiculous, but this question shows just how much this movie asks of you if this is the most thinking I had to do throughout its run time.  To put it simply, it is a very unsophisticated comedy, at least in terms of the comedy element.  As Zac says in his review, it is a fantasy throwback film and I can appreciate these moments, but when they are surrounded by penis joke after penis joke, as well as any other sexual aspect that can be laughed at, the depth they are trying to reach gets a little lost.  So where this might have made the film a solid go for him, I just can’t say the same.

Personally, the main thing that I can say that I did enjoy was the relationship between James Franco and Danny McBride as brothers, the former being the hero and the latter being the slacker.  Their journey together to get back Franco’s love does bring out great moments between the two, as well as bits when they are apart and McBride is complaining about how great his brother is that are truly enjoyable.  And then there was yet another penis joke and I am reminded why I am having trouble truly enjoying it.

Final Grade:  C-

Win Win (2011)

When a teenage boy shows up on the doorstep of one of Mike Flaherty’s clients, circumstances lead to the Flaherty family gaining a member.  Some monetary issues and a drug-addicted mother lead to some drama, but the main draw to this movie is the bond between the family as they bring in a child with no one else to turn to.

Paul Giamatti plays Mike, a couch for the high school wrestling team that has possibly seen better days (though possibly not), until Kyle decides to get back on the mats.  Seeing as Alex Shaffer has a background in wresting, he does a great job in these scenes, but my biggest question comes in his moments of acting.  Win Win is the first film in his filmography, so I can’t quite tell if he still has plenty of room to grow as an actor, or if he is actually so good that the quite, slightly monotonous tone he takes with the character was all by choice.  I am going to choose the latter though because I was a fan of this portrayal.  As a strong combatant on the mats, almost every other moment on screen is one of serenity.  He speak in almost a matter of fact manner, doesn’t have an emotional inflection, things just are and he takes them in stride.  However, all this means is that when he finally decides to show emotion it will be quite the expression.

Though these two are front and center on many occasions, the supporting cast is just as strong.  Bobby Cannavale plays Terry Delfino, a man who wrestled with Mike back in high school and has reverted back to this teen in many ways as he deals with his divorce, choosing instead to dive back into the world of wrestling by living vicariously through Kyle.  However, my favorite would probably have to be Amy Ryan as Mike’s wife, Jackie.  She takes Kyle in out of necessity since he has nowhere else to go, but she quickly includes him in her mama bear mentality.

In the end Win Win is just a feel good movie that will have you smiling.

Final Grade:  B

Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass have teamed up on an adaptation of Imperial Life in the Emerald City and the result is a decent political action hybrid that runs into some pretty big third act issues that really hurt the picture.

The story follows Chief Miller a WMD team leader for the Army and is coming up empty repeatedly on sites that are supposed to be legit and he begins to wonder why the hell he is over here in Iraq if there are no WMD’s.  After getting a tip from a local citizen, Freddy, who sees some top officials ducking into a secret meeting, Miller, is pulled into a chain of events that might uncover one of the government’s biggest secrets about the war.  Miller then starts to get pulled from both sides by a pair of clashing department heads for the White House and the CIA and he has to sort out whose intel he will believe to actually making a difference here in Iraq.

Now be warned, this is not an action movie, don’t believe what the trailer is selling.  With that said, the film does move along without any dry spells and there are a number of set pieces built more around tension rather than action that will hold your attention.  The characters though are paper thin with little to no depth to them and everyone is clearly playing a part.  Some characters even seem completely useless, i.e. the reporter, but I won’t complain too much because their scenes didn’t drag the picture down they just didn’t do much when you look back at the picture.  The film is solid, nothing amazing but quality stuff, until the third act hits and things begin to just get a bit ridiculous.  The film turns into a cat and mouse game and logic gets thrown out the window and I will just leave it at that.  The preachy stuff also starts to eek out at this point and the last two scenes are a bit too much if you ask me.

The actors in the film while given pretty thin roles at least do a fine job in the picture even if nobody delivers their best work.  Damon is serviceable as a military man and we believe that he cares as much as Miller does, I just don’t know how believable the character is when starts to go off the reservation.  This isn’t Damon’s fault though, I think his work sells the character and saves the believability of some of the bits and successfully creates an original character to add to his repertoire.  Greg Kinnear plays sleazy White House rep Poundstone to a T though we have seen him in this part before.  Brendan Gleeson plays one of the most reserved characters in his career but it would have been nice to have his character be a bit more illusive, but again this isn’t really his fault.  Amy Ryan is completely wasted on as the journalist trying to get to Poundstone’s source on WMD’s and does nothing but help move the plot along when necessary.  Jason Isaacs stars as the pseudo bad guy in the movie, a Special Forces member, and again he is serviceable but has nothing to really do other than be bad for no good reason.

In the end, Green Zone starts as a serviceable enough political thriller but runs into some issues in its third act that make it a tad forgettable.  The movie is still very watchable but don’t expect anything special or new brought to the table.  This isn’t the next Bourne movie like they are selling it and you can get a much better Middle East thriller out of recent entries like The Hurt Locker or Body of Lies.  There isn’t a lot to be learned here as most of the facts they throw at us are common knowledge about the War and the political message is tired and been beaten to death.  So if you are looking for a mildly entertaining thriller, that doesn’t have a ton of thrills and throws logic into the wind in the end game then go ahead and check out Green Zone as it is fairly safe and sterile experience.

Green Zone is a C-

Clint Eastwood’s latest is a child abduction mystery that is a horse of many colors, and all are done very well, with a great turn by the lead Angelina Jolie, but something keeps the film back from being truly as great and powerful as some of his recent work.
In 1928 Christine Collins is a floor manager at the Pacific Bell switch board, rolling around on her skates taking care of unruly customers and making sure the lines stay up and open. She lives as a single mother with her son and they have an amazing relationship, taking Walter to school every morning on her way to work. One Saturday she is called into work to fill in for a missing worker, and she leaves Walter at home with a word to the neighbor to check on him in a coupe hours. When she gets home, Walter is gone, and a quick search of the surrounding area yields no results, which leads her to calling in a missing person report. After a few months pass, Christine receives word that her son is found and alive, and the police escort her to the train station to meet him upon his return. But when Christine sees him, she proclaims, “that’s not my son,” and it takes some quick words from, Capt. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) who is in charge of juvenile cases in the LAPD, to convince her to take him home for a trial run, since the boy might have changed in appearance due to her and his stress over the time he was gone; though Jones’ words don’t stick for long.
Also getting involved in the investigation is a Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) who spends much of his time calling out Chief James E. Davis (Colm Feore) for his and his police departments corruptive acts all around the city, [Briegleb] attempting to bring public justice and reform to the LAPD. Also falling into play is a child deportation case that leads to much graver implications to everything in play.
Eastwood has crafted a very effective mystery here that moves from one storyline to another without getting jumbled up or dragging. He makes all threads compelling, slowly bringing them together, while simultaneously creating a beautiful recreation of the era to the screen along with some haunting visuals added in as well. Eastwood also does a fine job at lightening up the proceedings from time to time, which is necessary with this subject matter that can get grim and depressing, and he shows great range in taking us from a serious moment to making us smile, sometimes even in the midst of crisis. The movie is about two and a half hours long, but it never bores and constantly engages and that is thanks to the great cast Eastwood has going for him.
Angelina Jolie is great in this film. She is distraught over her loss, but holds her head up with strength and manages to work through her grief while never giving up hope. She also just commands a few scenes that really pin you to your seat at how powerful she can be; especially breaking out of her quiet shell that Christine is day to day. She also does some great work with the kids she works with, especially creating such a strong bond with Walter (Gattlin Griffith) in such a short amount of screen time the two have together. John Malkovich brings humor and courage to his role, and makes the most of his short amount of screen time. A straight forward guardian angel roll over Christine allows the viewer to easily get behind him and hoping he is able to help her along. Jason Butler Harner and Eddie Alderson also deserve praise for their work, as they both step up in creepy and unsettling roles later on in the film. Geoff Pierson also chews up and steals every scene he is in and has one of the most uplifting lines and moments in the film as a prosecuting attorney. Lastly, Amy Ryan also makes the most of her scenes, which I again, can’t really elaborate on without being a spoiler.
In the end, Changeling is a very effective period drama missing that magic bit that puts it with the elite. Full of suspense and drama, with just enough laughs when needed, it is expertly crafted by Eastwood and acted by Jolie, I just wish something would have clicked and made this amazing in my mind because it is a movie that you can complain very little about.
B+

Another movie dealing with the loss of a child, this one excels on pretty much every level. Gone Baby Gone is an adaptation of the Dennis Lehane(Mystic River) novel by Ben Affleck in his directorial debut. I have always been a fan of Affleck and I am glad that he does a great job here which is supported by his great cast.
Leading the cast is Ben’s brother Casey who, along with Jesse James, is having a breakthrough year. Casey is just as good here as he is in Jesse James but is playing a completely different animal. As a private investigator contracted to help with the “neighborhood” investigation of the disappearance of a little girl he is a great as the evolving investigator gaining experience on the job. Affleck is accompanied by his girlfriend, Michelle Monaghan who helps with the detective work; though Affleck is usually figuring out most of the turns. As Affleck moves through his investigation we find twists and turns and fall onto some unexpected paths with some amazing tense scenes that get the blood rushing and wont let up.
The rest of the cast is rounded out by a couple of legends, Morgan Freeman as a police captain and Ed Harris as the cases detective. Freeman is more in the background, but good as always, while Ed Harris is fantastic as the rough detective willing to do anything to get the girl. He gets so intense and so scary with some of the investigated sometimes you are glad you don’t have to deal with his tactics.
Another great turn is by, Amy Ryan, as the mother of the missing girl. You completely forget she is some actor and totally buy into her as this horrible druggie mother that is lost in the trash and underworld of Boston. You just don’t really like her, might even hate her, yet she maintains some sympathy. But when you really hate a character, you know the actor is doing a pretty damn good job.
Ben Affleck does a great job at making this movie feel real as well, which makes it easy to buy into the world. No one is really attractive in this, its gritty and dirty, and it’s a place I wouldn’t want to be in. Even Amy Ryan and Michelle Monaghan some how manage to be not very appealing for being beautiful women. As the rest of the directing duties go, Affleck has some great moody scenes and shoots tension incredibly well and crafted a story that for the most part stays entertaining; rarely slowing up at all.
The movie is carried by a good story with great actors doing what they are supposed to do for a fantastic debut for Ben Affleck as a director. I hope he gets behind and in front of the camera a lot more in the future and that is brother becomes the star that he deserves to be sooner, rather than later.
A-