Tarrador's "Netflix Movies 2009"

This movie reminds me how dumb some films can be. Dumb is okay, if you are at least funny. This movie was dumb and not funny. It was crass, crude, senseless and cruel. Vile jokes just to show how vile you can be don’t win points with me. Some movies you can see the joke coming, with this one, I feared the joke coming. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Hope I don’t come across it again even by accident.

As always, the animated episodes are sassy, funny, pointed, and raw. The show continues to run,fueled by Groening strange sense of humor to which we can all relate. Happy to see these new episodes, since I had gotten the 4 year series on Cartoon Network down almost verbatam.

I saw this many years ago, and got it again when it finally became available on Netflix. It is unlike most any movie I have seen, yet like almost every movie I have seen. It features a lone scientist-hero, a man of the New Age, and his Native American side-kick who has character and presence of his own. A rich, spoiled, fearless female love interest, and a diabolical plot by the powers that be to terrorize the local peasants. The film is lush and beautiful, grim and suspenseful, relatively harmless in its bloodletting, and honorable to its genre. It goes far beyond being just a monster movie, with social and political points to make, dark emotions and secret betrayals. Monica Belluci is dark, mysterious and sensual. A bit long, in order to pack in all the dramatic elements, it is still worth sitting through, especially for the atypical climax and ending.

This movie made me want to put a bullet through my own head. Maybe a more apt title would have been Wasted. Angelina Jolie wasted as a Darth Vaderish, evil ‘til the end when she finds redemption, herione-villan. Morgan Freeman wasted as an Emperor-like, totally corrupted mentor figure pulling his own strings of fate. Terrance Stamp wasted as an Obi Wan Kenobish sage hiding the truth. Even James McAvoy wasted as a Luke Skywalkering whine bag only now discovering all his superhuman talents, tasked to avenge his murdered father. Wait, are these archtype characters seemingly drawn from another film, one that at least wowed us with its ground breaking special effects? Hhmmmmm…

Great special effects, a couple of brief decent moments, otherwise this movie was a monstronsity of boredom, anquish, unhappiness and greif. Didn’t like any of the characters, didn’t like the story line, didn’t like… well, any of it. Reminded me of Silent Running, only less upbeat. Dark Star had a better ending. That was what I found myself doing, comparing Sunshine to all the sci-fi movies I didn’t like.

Nothing wrong with this film, though highly predictable, formatted, and conflict free. WALL-E was too cute, even empathetic. The technological component of the film was terrific, and fortunately it has a story to help carry it as well. Not a super classic, but one worth seeing again.

I wasn’t going to get this movie, and once I got it I wasn’t going to enjoy it. But it is a simple, warm, and funny movie, if highly unlikely. It reaches out to all of us who felt we could have made such and such movie better, and offers clever insights into our iconic films. Jack Black was funny, and Mos Def was touching and honest. An OK movie.

Don Cheadle gets better with every role he takes. This one as a mysterious ex soldier who may or may not be a terrorist, may or may not be a spy, was very engaging. While the movie itself at times became convoluted and unrealistic, Cheadle kept his wits about him and carried the whole project forward. He was believable and sympathetic.

While this wasn’t a bad movie, it wasn’t great, either. It was slow and somber, and played like a remake, which it was, with no sense of orginality or suspense. Like a blending of “Hard Boiled” and “Unforgiven”, it trudged on with very little brightness. The ending was unsatisfactory, but the extras on the DVD offered an alternative ending that would not have worked, but was still enough to molify my western senses.

While this was not a great movie, it wasn’t all bad. A mix of Die Hard 4, Enemy of the State and The Net, this film really stretches the bounds of believeability. If you can get to that point (about the same point you have to get to to accept a maniac ghost with a razor glove killing children in their sleep) the movie carries itself okay. The less Lebouf gets to try and act the better we are, and the movie is still largely hoakey and forgettable, but not unendurable and full of gnashing moments of “WTF!!”