“It’s a mystery what happened in the few days prior to Poe being found near death on a park bench.”  Oh really, movie!?  I’m pretty sure had Edgar Allan Poe been a part of a pretty notorious crime spree there would be record of that.  PREMISE BLOWN!

Phew, got that out of my system.  Let’s just say that if you want to start a film with a line like that, how about adding: “therefore we are going to make something completely ridiculous up that actually makes no sense with what we just said if you use your brain.”  I am all for mixing fiction with history, and adapting a real individual from history to a completely made up premise is fine by me (I am excited for Abraham Lincoln to fight vampires soon, just as an example), but let’s not set it up as if this story could have possibly been his unknown days.  Just let it be a pretend factoid from his life.

I wish this was the end of my anger, but really this random outburst is the result of sitting through a movie that I just could not enjoy no matter how much I tried.  To put it simply, there is far better out there to compare this to.  The first episode of Castle comes to mind premise wise, but even closer than that in cinematic relevance is the recent break out star known as Sherlock Holmes.  Now that man knew how to solve a mystery.

Obviously Sherlock had being a detective on his side, but more importantly, he had a collection of people who all came together to make one BA movie in his honor, making him cool to a new generation (mostly the first one, less the sequel).  These people came to play, and The Raven doesn’t stand a chance.  Let’s start with the man.  Now I have only read one or two of his works, but there is no denying that Edgar Allan Poe knew what he was doing as a wordsmith of the dark and morose.  He could turn a morbid phrase, which is probably why someone thought it would be a great idea to make him the protagonist in a story in which his works come to life in a slew of murders (an interesting dichotomy that is touched on in the one scene of the film I actually liked).  However, unlike Sherlock, he doesn’t actually know how to solve them.

Then again, I am really not sure if anyone in this movie knows how to solve a crime (so much as conveniently has the knowledge to figure out that clue, or knows someone who can help).  As the law runs around one step behind the murderer as bodies continue to pile up on their door rather quickly, the story never manages to obtain any depth.  In actuality it was rather weak from start to finish, including the glaring fact that there isn’t so much detective work done, so much as John Cusack’s Poe and Luke Evans’ Detective Fields having shouting matches to make the other think.  It was all rather dramatic, as was Cusack’s peacocking (in a manner not entertaining like Robert Downey Jr.’s arrogance as Sherlock the majority of the time) and Alice Eve’s soft-spoken manner and chest heaving during the worst of it all.  Now add this to the awkward editing that led to a few moments of confusion and we have the makings of something playing with the art of distraction.

The scene I mentioned enjoying before comes towards the end of the film so I can’t go into detail on it, but I can say that it hints at a truly great idea and conversation worth having.  The problem is it isn’t brought up until this point, as it should have been throughout the film.  Maybe it had been in there in the beginning of production, but whatever was left and put on screen was not that.  It is truly surface level, undeserving of the man this was meant to honor.  At least, I think it was to honor him.

Final Grade:  D           Follow @BewareOfTrees

Lauren: Maybe it’s just me, but Safe House is possibly the worst title for this film. We’re talking Alanis Morissette levels of irony; at least upon first glance, anyway. After all, before long it is easy to lose track of the meaning of “safe as houses” as Denzel Washington brings down a heap of pain on Ryan Reynolds and the US government.

But like I said, this is first glance. For the characters within the film the title is worthy of a chuckle for sure, but when you break it down Safe House is actually just that, safe. There are no surprises as the plot progresses, once again there is a story involving the underbelly of our government, and best of all, there are a whole heck of a lot of comparisons to The Bourne Series in the action sequences (a comparison probably not helped by the fact that a trailer for The Bourne Legacy played before my screening).

Zac: Agreed, the film doesn’t do a whole lot new when it comes to plot. The film in fact harkens back to the action movies of old, setting up Denzel Washington as the ultimate bad ass at every turn during the first act. “That’s Tobin Frost;” “No way, Tobin Frost;” “He is the most dangerous man on the face of the Earth, and Mars;” these are a sampling, more or less, of lines you might have heard uttered in the film describing Denzel. We get it; he is awesome. Reynolds on the other hand is sold as “less than” even though he is a trained CIA operative and, obviously, he is going to prove he is more than his superiors think he’s worth by the end of the film.

Luckily, the familiarity of the material doesn’t ruin the film, it just make things uninspired. In fact, when the film isn’t in an action scene it is rather dull, and at times slow. Even with both stars doing fine work and being more than likable, nothing was able to suck me into the story more than simply wanting the next action scenes; which are really good.

Lauren: Ryan Reynolds is less than? Are we looking at the same beautifully sculpted male specimen? Ok, so at the start he is a little green because instead of acting like a glorified field agent living the life of action and adventure, he has spent the last year staring at walls as he acts as Housekeeper. So mistakes are to be had because he is a noob, but I think he does a great job of leveling up rather quickly.

Zac: I don’t think Reynolds is less than, they just sold his character short is all I meant.

Lauren: Oh ok, you’re forgiven.  So maybe I was a little more willing to follow Reynolds around during the non-action bits, because it is Reynolds, and he is dreamy, and there was a slight romance story (that was pointless to a large degree), but I can’t deny the appeal of the action sequences. No matter where they are staged, each one is pretty much as exciting as the last, whether it is a quick spat in a bathroom stall that lasts about two seconds, a close quarter battle in a moving car, or just a good all out punch fest.  As the males beat each other down, even I got physically tired as I watched them stagger around from the pain and lack of energy as they did what they could to be the one left standing in the end.  Point is, each and every one of these scenes could be accompanied by the audio track of the little boy from The Incredibles belted out “that was totally wicked!” and I could not agree more, little tricycle boy. They were totally wicked.

Zac: The action scene that stood out the most for me was the extended car chase early on where Reynolds is escaping the first safe house, yes there is more than one (not so safe), that might have a smidge too much shaky camera, but keeps the intensity high and the surprises coming.  The shaky camera, quick editing style and poor lighting are the biggest determents as a whole to the action scenes; especially when Denzel is involved.  Most of Reynolds action beats are well lit and easy to follow, but you could see them cut the corners when Denzel was supposed to throw down.

Speaking of Denzel, as much as I like the guy, I wish he would do something different for a change.  People come out to his movies because they love “Denzel,” but I wish the guy wasn’t afraid to take some chances.  Tobin Frost is barely a “bad guy” here, and nothing about the character is terribly original for him or similar “bad asses” in other films.  Come on Denzel!

Lauren: That’s just silly; he drove trains in one of his last movies. That’s screams new dimension to the BA Denzel.  Eh heh heh… But I see what you’re getting at. Frost definitely wasn’t that complex, but I still loved seeing him mentally attack some of the other characters, like when he was trying to get into the head of Reynolds in the first safe house. Then again, for a man who was supposed to be off the charts in psychological warfare, he sure didn’t get to play that up. Perhaps that was what all the mumbling was about. Build up the other person’s anger because they can’t hear a word that he is saying.  Yeah, I’m going to go with that.

Zac: All the little head game stuff made me chuckle from time to time, but it seemed to just be trying so hard to be clever and cool, and if Denzel wasn’t the one spouting the lines I don’t know if it really works.  You could apply that last statement to almost the entire film as a whole, actually; if the top notch cast isn’t there, this film doesn’t resonate at all.  Sure director Daniel Espinosa brought something to the action, but I don’t think general audiences would be as kind as I think they are going to be towards this film if it wasn’t for the first rate actors. The film isn’t as sharp and original as I think it thinks it is.

Lauren: Agreed, originality doesn’t really imply the ability to read surprises from a mile away, which is exactly what this film allows us to do.  In actuality I was rather satisfied for a little while that the story wasn’t trying to be too complex, but it should not read like it was based on a “how to” guide for creating a film of this genre. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the “twists” and “turns” to this one, that’s for sure, which unfortunately may be because of the message of the film. At least I think there was one. Don’t trust the government, right? People do bad things for good reasons? Current action films must end in a certain way? (See Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol for another example that made me angry grumble).

Zac: I think they had the potential for a rather interesting ending, they had an opportunity to go dark, but what we end up getting is one that hits every note you expect it to be. (Sigh)

All in all, Safe House‘s action is great, but it takes more than that to be a great action movie. Everything is serviceable, the actors are all as good as you expect them to be, and Denzel does Denzel. If that is what you are looking for then I am sure you will enjoy yourself in the theater, I had a good time. But, if you ask for a little something more than paint by numbers cinema you will find plenty to pull apart in Safe House, and that’s a shame because it could have actually been a great action movie.

Zac: C
Lauren: C+    Follow @BewareOfTrees

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-

In Bruges came out on video this week and you should rush out to buy it as it is currently in the top 3 standings of movies of 08 by my book. Here is my original review!

In Bruges

Martin McDonagh’s feature debut is an impressive one that weaves dark humor with a bit of action while diving into the psyche of a hit man.
Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, respectively) are instructed by their employer Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low in Bruges, Belgium after performing a hit in London while the crime cools down before they are allowed to return. Bruges is a medieval town filled with canals, steeples, and stone buildings and tourists must see if you ever happen to visit Belgium. Ken is in love with the town, seeing the sights and enjoying his days touring the locales while Ray feels as he is in Hell and loathes every moment he has to spend there.
As details unfold about the hit we are allowed to look deeper into the minds and philosophies of these two men and as we learn more and more the plot thickens and the circumstances for these two raises in a hurry.
Ray finds a girl while Ken finds Bruges and the story is about both of them trying to come to terms with what they have done while finding something they never thought they would In Bruges.
I won’t delve into the plot any further, as it has some twists and turns, but the story is top notch and applies a nice spin to the hit man film that you normally don’t get to see. The film is also very brutal at times, so be warned as there are a few bits not for the squeamish.
Farrell is fantastic here and I hope he will be allowed to reach the career he deserves and has had success in hit last couple of films as an indie film player. Farrell is able to carry the humor, irreverence, action, and emotion that come with Ray and he does it with ease, creating one of the more fun characters in a film in this young year.
Brendan Gleeson is also great as usual in a lead role that he is not usually accustomed too. Gleeson is almost always plays a fantastic over the top supporting player in his films, but here he is quiet and subdued and a man coming to grips with peace of mind and it’s refreshing to see his range and to see that he is just as good in a role of this nature.
Ralph Fiennes is nothing but a voice for the first 2/3 of the film and plays a crazy son of a bitch that is forced to finish a job and Fiennes is just having a blast as the manic Harry. Gleeson and Fiennes have some great scenes together as well and we really get to know these two characters and their relationship with minimal screen time due to the great work these two do on screen together.
Go into this film expecting a hit man action film and you will be disappointed possibly as it is more of a look into these guys’ minds and their paths in life as they discuss religion, death, and life while they wander Bruges. But the experience is funny, twisted, and always interesting that will be a rewarding experience and only get better upon further viewings I imagine. All the actors are fantastic and I didn’t even begin to touch on the dwarf sub plot or the romance involved around Ray. This is a great, darkly humorous, film that is the cream of the crop of 08′s early offerings.
9/10

Martin McDonagh’s feature debut is an impressive one that weaves dark humor with a bit of action while diving into the psyche of a hit man.
Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, respectively) are instructed by their employer Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low in Bruges, Belgium after performing a hit in London while the crime cools down before they are allowed to return. Bruges is a medieval town filled with canals, steeples, and stone buildings and tourists must see if you ever happen to visit Belgium. Ken is in love with the town, seeing the sights and enjoying his days touring the locales while Ray feels as he is in Hell and loathes every moment he has to spend there.
As details unfold about the hit we are allowed to look deeper into the minds and philosophies of these two men and as we learn more and more the plot thickens and the circumstances for these two raises in a hurry.
Ray finds a girl while Ken finds Bruges and the story is about both of them trying to come to terms with what they have done while finding something they never thought they would In Bruges.
I won’t delve into the plot any further, as it has some twists and turns, but the story is top notch and applies a nice spin to the hit man film that you normally don’t get to see. The film is also very brutal at times, so be warned as there are a few bits not for the squeamish.
Farrell is fantastic here and I hope he will be allowed to reach the career he deserves and has had success in hit last couple of films as an indie film player. Farrell is able to carry the humor, irreverence, action, and emotion that come with Ray and he does it with ease, creating one of the more fun characters in a film in this young year.
Brendan Gleeson is also great as usual in a lead role that he is not usually accustomed too. Gleeson is almost always plays a fantastic over the top supporting player in his films, but here he is quiet and subdued and a man coming to grips with peace of mind and it’s refreshing to see his range and to see that he is just as good in a role of this nature.
Ralph Fiennes is nothing but a voice for the first 2/3 of the film and plays a crazy son of a bitch that is forced to finish a job and Fiennes is just having a blast as the manic Harry. Gleeson and Fiennes have some great scenes together as well and we really get to know these two characters and their relationship with minimal screen time due to the great work these two do on screen together.
Go into this film expecting a hit man action film and you will be disappointed possibly as it is more of a look into these guys’ minds and their paths in life as they discuss religion, death, and life while they wander Bruges. But the experience is funny, twisted, and always interesting that will be a rewarding experience and only get better upon further viewings I imagine. All the actors are fantastic and I didn’t even begin to touch on the dwarf sub plot or the romance involved around Ray. This is a great, darkly humorous, film that is the cream of the crop of 08′s early offerings.
A-0

HP and OTP is the best film in the series and sets the tables for the thrilling conclusion of the last two films to come. The book and the film both serve as set-ups for the last two plot lines but that doesn’t hurt the material as it is both full of information and adventure.
David Yates is a first time film and Harry Potter director and he knocks it out of the park. Known for great character drama’s on British television he brings that alleged greatness to the series that has been getting stronger ever since Azkaban. Yates also does an excellent job with the action with some major props to his work with ILM.
Harry is dealing with some weird dreams of Voldemort and is a bit of an outcast after his claims of the dark lord’s return fell on many deaf ears. It doesn’t help that he is also being smeared by the Ministry of Magic as a liar along with Dumbledore. And speaking of Dumbledore, the headmaster is avoiding Harry and all this thrown together is making Harry a bit angry. He has one shinning point in his life, his Godfather Sirius Black, and Harry desperately wishes for them to be a proper family and move on to a time where just the two of them can be together.
The story is given a new villain in Dolores Umbridge, played by the amazing Imelda Staunton, which you just want to punch in the face by the third time we see her. She begins to slowly gain power at Hogwarts as she is a not so covert snake for Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, at Hogwarts; keeping an eye on Dumbledore.
The rest I will let you discover for yourself, but just know that the cast is solid, all but a couple shaky moments from Emma Watson as Hermione, with Rupert Grint out acting all of the kids in the movies. All the regulars return on the teaching side, though most of them just make brief appearances and take a backseat to Umbridge.
The movie is dark and not full of a ton of fun, but it allows the material to be taken more seriously and shows the maturation of the series, just as the books grew as they went along. Order of the Phoenix is another great entry into the franchise and I can’t wait to see what Yates and company do with The Half Blood Prince in a year from now.
A-

Let’s get one thing out of the way, if you see this, see it in IMAX 3-D. The 3-D is phenomenal and a must see for anyone that enjoys film or wants to see the future of the medium. The 3-D gives the movie a bit more life than it might normally have had, but you accept the look and it is a part of the film after the first Grendel attack.
Now the movie. Beowulf is a pretty good, with a classic story, a beautiful look and some amazing action scenes. The movie opens with a celebration of King Hrothgar and his people when Grendel, a beast of terrifying looks and brutality, barges in and kills pretty much everyone in the hall. This leads to a call for a “hero” to come and kill Grendel and Beowulf answers the call. To tell more would take away from the film and while it is a bit predictable and there aren’t any major twists, it is still probably best enjoyed knowing as little as possible.
This movie, as you might know is animated, which looks great, but is drawn to look like the actors who filmed the movie performance capture on a blue screen. This is the best way to tell this story I feel and I don’t think it would have looked as good or as doable as a live action film with CGI elements added in. The movie being animated also allows you to easily accept and not be taken aback by the scenes that would have been blatantly CGI enhanced as it looks just like everything else in the world.
The actors do alright work here, though Robin Wright Penn is a bit too wooden even for being a sad, sad character. Anthony Hopkins is also alright as the King with Ray Winstone playing an excellent bad ass in Beowulf. John Malkovich is also good as the sleazy Unferth with Brendan Gleeason being as great as he always is. Angelina Jolie also turns in some sexy and mysterious work as the mother to the best actor in the movie Crispin Glover. Glover as Grendel is terrifying and is a character that is truly freaky on screen. Glover throws together a performance that is unsettling and just eats away at you. I would love to find out how much of the physical performance he did as well.
Another bit to note with this movie, is that it is brutally violent and in no way is it possible that this is PG-13, I have no idea how it received that rating. Be warned if you are bringing little ones, it’s scary and messed up and there is plenty of blood and bodies tossed around the screen.
Any who, the movie is worth seeing just for the 3-D alone, but you will also be able to enjoy a classic tale, beautifully realized in this animated feature. The movie could have been trimmed up a bit and the acting could have been better, but the action and animation make up for it’s shortcomings easily and it’s ultimately an entertaining movie.
B-