Movie review: The Muppets

My family took a break from the hecticness that is December to check out the new Muppet movie. My husband and I were fans of the original Muppet Show. We've even shown a few of the episodes to my daughter. (I think it was, specifically, the Star Wars episodes.) Needless to say, this movie was right up our alley.

Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) are brothers that share a love of The Muppet Show. Years later, even after the show has gone off the air, the two of them continue to watch old recorded episodes of the show. When Gary decides to take his long-time girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles for their 10th anniversary, he decides to take his brother with them to see The Muppet Studio. Walter accidentally finds out that oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is going to buy the studio in order to tear it down so he can drill for oil. Together, Gary, Mary, and Walter help Kermit the Frog get the gang back together to raise $10 million to keep their studio and the Muppet name.

Despite a tiny candy problem (my daughter lost a tooth in a Milk Dud), we all had tons of fun. As usual, there were a bunch of cameos that we giggled over. The songs were extremely fun, if a little cheesy. My favorite was Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" sung by Camilla and her chickens. And there was even a montage for finding some of the Muppets. Miss Piggy got a "let's travel by map!" (Even though some cheap conferencing could have done the trick.) Everything was perfect for a Muppet movie. Jason Segel hit this out of the ballpark.

Movie review: Green Lantern

My husband and I got the chance to go to a screening of Green Lantern last night. Unfortunately, we had absolutely terrible seats. (We were the second row from the front on the left side of the screen.) As a result, the 3D effects were completely lost on us. Luckily, that didn't effect my enjoyment of the film.

For those of you that know nothing about Green Lantern, here is your Cliffs Notes version. Hal Jordan is an irresponsible test pilot. He comes across a dying alien that gives him a ring that allows him to harness the green power of will. The enemy is the yellow power of fear. Hal needs to come to terms with his fear in order for him to save the Earth and become a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

Ryan Reynolds did an amazing job as Hal. It's almost like Reynolds was made to play superhero roles. This time around, he has some pretty good writing to back up his acting skills. Blake Lively played the love interest, Carol Ferris. She was OK but everything she said felt really forced and unnatural. I think my favorite character was Hal's best friend, Thomas, played by Taika Waititi. Not only does he have some of the best lines, the two actors make it look like they have been best friends behind the scenes for years.

I wish I could comment more on the graphics of the film. We do plan on seeing it again at some point though. Maybe then I'll be able to ooh and ahh. Until then, you should see it yourself. There are even a few hints to some other DC characters in there! See if you can spot them.

Movie review: Hop

Since I didn't really want to sit through Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, I elected to take my daughter to see Hop. I'm glad I did. While the critics have mostly panned the movie, I found it to be funny and enjoyable. Is it the best kid movie ever? No. But it's a lot better than sitting through another Barbie animated movie.

Russell Brand lends his voice to E.B., the son of the Easter Bunny. Unfortunately for his dad, E.B. doesn't want to be the new Easter Bunny. He wants to play the drums in a band. When it comes time to hand down the title, the young bunny runs away to Hollywood. He winds up meeting Fred, a (human) son that also wants more than what his father has planned. The two dodge an elite force of ninja bunnies as they try to find their place in the world.

To be honest, I really like Russell Brand. I was very surprised to hear that he was going to be in a family-friendly film. (Maybe Katy really has mellowed him.) Amazingly, I even liked him toned down. James Marsden, though, takes a little bit of getting used to. It's OK for a cartoon rabbit to mug for the camera. It's not so cute when it's a grown man. I didn't let him get in the way of enjoying the movie though.

I suppose this is a movie that completely depends on your mindset going in. If you are going to to see a funny animated movie, you'll probably like it. If you're going in looking for the best of everything, you won't find that here. It's just a cute feel-good movie.

Movie review: Easy A

Olive (Emma Stone) is a normal high school girl. When she figures out that one's popularity doesn't rest on actual events in one's life, she begins rumors about her sex life to skyrocket her social standing.

The movie opens with Olive trying to avoid going on vacation with her best friend, Rhiannon, and Rhiannon's hippy parents. She lies about having a date with a college boy, which leads Rhiannon to believe that Olive will lose her virginity. When Monday morning arrives, Rhiannon grills Olive for details. Initially, Olive says nothing happened on her date. After attempting to endure Rhiannon's antics, Olive lies about having sex. The rumor quickly spreads around the entire school and Olive finds herself slightly more popular as a result.

In class, where they are learning about "The Scarlet Letter," Olive is harassed by one of her classmates. She uses a vulgar retort and ends up in the principal's office, receiving detention as a punishment. In detention, she meets Brandon (Dan Byrd), a gay classmate with bully problems. The two become quick friends.

Brandon convinces Olive to pretend to have sex with him a party so the other guys will think he is straight and stop bullying him. Olive goes along with the plan, believing that more fake sex will raise her popularity even more. When she receives a gift from Brandon afterward, she realizes that there is a financial gain as well.

Soon, word gets out among the unpopular kids at school. Olive will have fake sex with people for gift cards. Unfortunately, this leads Marianne (Amanda Bynes), the leader of the school's religious group, to try to reform Olive's evil ways. The two strangely become friends. Until Marianne's boyfriend, Micah (Cam Gigandet), lies about contracting a sexually transmitted disease from Olive. An enraged Marianne tries to get Olive expelled.

With her reputation in the trash, Olive realizes that this type of popularity isn't what she actually wanted. As she tries to figure a way back to normality, she finds out that her old friend, Todd (Penn Badgley), has been in love with her the entire time. He never believed any of the rumors about her sex life. Together, they crash the school pep rally, telling everyone to watch a webcast. Of course, everyone believes the webcast will be of Olive having sex with Todd. Instead, it is Olive telling the truth about everything.

This is one of those movies I wanted to see as soon as I saw the first trailer. Unfortunately, I ended up having to wait until it hit the RedBox. I'm sad that I waited so long because this was an awesome movie. I had a little bit of difficulty believing Amanda Bynes as a Bible Thumper, but that didn't detract from its enjoyability. Emma Stone was absolutely perfect as Olive. She has managed to perfect the sarcastic wittiness that the character needed. I'm sure many people will write this off as a terrible teen flick. Don't. Go see it!

Tron: Legacy 3D

Yesterday, my husband, my daughter and I went to see Tron: Legacy 3D. My daughter doesn't particularly enjoy 3D movies, but we had no choice since it wasn't available in 2D anywhere near us. Twenty years ago, Kevin Flynn disappeared. He left behind a 7-year old son, Sam, and a major computer software/video game company, ENCOM. Today, Sam has grown into a man disappointed by what his father's company has become, yet he is not ready to take the reigns as the major stockholder. When Kevin's friend, Alan, gets a page from this missing man, Sam goes to his father's old arcade to find out what is going on. Little does he know that his father has been trapped inside a computer program, The Grid, this entire time. With help from a program named Quorra, Sam tries to rescue his father from CLU, the program currently running The Grid.

Like many people my age, I have a fondness for the original Tron. When I heard they were making a sequel, I had my doubts. However, I was determined to not make a decision before seeing the movie. Graphically, the movie is beautiful. The reality scenes are in 2D while the scenes inside The Grid are 3D. I think that made the differences between the two worlds easier to understand. Unfortunately, I found most of the movie boring. (I actually almost fell asleep three times.) The Daft Punk soundtrack is awesome, but the storyline is bland. Absolutely everything is spelled out for the viewer. Even the 'twists' were easily predicted. Perhaps it would have been better with a few more fights. Instead, the movie is almost entirely a game of cat-and-mouse. In short, pretty but dull.

Movie review: Cop Out

Cop Out is a comedy directed by Kevin Smith (of Clerks and Chasing Amy fame). Bruce Willis plays a cop who decides to sell his rare baseball card so he can pay for his daughter's expensive wedding after he gets suspended without pay. When his card is stolen, his jealousy-ridden partner (Tracy Morgan) helps him track down the thief.

I've watched almost all of the movies that Kevin Smith has directed and I've enjoyed them. I wasn't sure what to expect from Cop Out. Especially considering it's been awhile since Willis has done a comedy. Luckily, the stars have aligned themselves and the result is quite hysterical. Though, I have to admit, a good chunk of that credit is due to Morgan. His performance as Paul is comedic brilliance. It's been a rather long time since I laughed so hard. Definitely worth it!

Movie review: The Losers

Much like The A-Team, The Losers are a black ops team that has been betrayed. However, The Losers are a CIA black ops team and they are left for dead after an operation that would have required them to kill children. (Again, like The A-Team, they have a soft spot for the kiddies.) Now living in Bolivia, a strange woman brings the group back together with promises of revenge against Max, the mysterious voice that sent them to their doom, as well as a promise to give them back their lives.

Despite making tons of comparisons to The A-Team, I found myself enjoying the flick. Both my husband and I felt that Chris Evans as Jensen was the best of the bunch. There isn't a lot I can say about the movie without giving away spoilers so I'll leave it at this: If you are a fan of action movies like Die Hard, you'll definitely enjoy this one. While there are a lot of fight scenes, this isn't the movie to watch if you're just looking for explosions. The awesomeness comes from the mixture of comedy and action. Enjoy them both and you'll have a great time watching this.

Movie review: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson thinks he is a normal kid with normal deficiencies. Much to his surprise, he finds out that he is anything but normal. He is a demigod - the son of a god. To be specific, he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He soon finds out that there are problems in Olympus. Zeus believes that Percy stole his lightning bolt, the source of his powers. If the bolt is not returned within 14 days, war will be declared among the gods.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a bit of a Greek mythology freak. (For the record, Cassandra is a woman that Apollo fell in love with. He gave her the gift of prophecy. When she did not return his love, he placed a curse on her. No one would believe her predictions.) Needless to say, I was intrigued when I was the commercials for the movie. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard of the books so I wasn't able to read them ahead of time. I went in with an almost-clean slate.

I absolutely loved the movie. The graphics were awesome. My favorite was when Percy and his friends were fighting the hydra. The writers didn't mess with the gods to make them more politically correct or fashionable. For the first time in a long time, I've seen a movie that actually makes me want to read the original source material. Luckily, my local library has copies of the series. I haven't heard anything about the next book - The Sea of Monsters - being made into a movie, but I'll be crossing my fingers!

Movie review: The Fourth Kind

The Fourth Kind is a sci-fi thriller starring Milla Jovovich, The title refers to the four "kinds" of alien contact. The first kind is a UFO sighting, the second kind is observation of a physical result (like a crop circle or radiation), the third kind is contact, and the fourth kind is abduction. Jovovich plays a Hollywood version of "real life" psychologist Dr. Abby Tyler. The movie shows both "real" footage from wireless cctv cameras, as well as a "Hollywood" version with actors in the roles of the participants. According to Dr. Tyler, her husband was mysteriously murdered. As she takes over his life's work, she finds that the people of Nome, Alaska have been unknowingly abducted every night by 'non-human intelligence.' Through hypnosis and therapy, she tries to get to the bottom of what is going on in this small town.

I was skeptical about the validity of the "real life" portions of the movie. Hey, I remember when The Blair Witch Project pulled the wool over my eyes. I wasn't about to let it happen again. Needless to say, the movie is entirely fiction. There is no real life Dr. Abby Taylor and the movie wasn't even shot in Nome. (It was shot in Bulgaria because it's prettier than Nome.) Since the movie pretty much revolves around you believing that this stuff really happened to people (the movie starts off with Jovovich speaking to us out of character about how this is a dramatization of real life events and that real life video and audio recordings will be shown), it's difficult to get invested in the characters. I spent a good portion of the movie waiting for the big death scene. In case you didn't know, the movie is rated PG-13...there isn't a whole lot of really scary things that happen. It's mostly sudden screams and things like that. I think that the movie might have been better if they went for the R rating and added a bit more blood. Not necessarily exploding head type things, but maybe some severe nosebleeds or bleeding from the ears.

If you can suspend your belief for awhile, it's not really a terrible movie. There's some interesting side-by-side video comparing the "real" footage to the "Hollywood' footage. Granted, it would have been better if the grainy footage was actually real footage instead of video that was separately shot by different actors. Overall, I just found it bland and uninteresting.