Tuesday Movie Reviews

Avatar
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi
Directed by James Cameron

I waited to see this. I refused to believe the hype. Over two BILLION dollars at the box office...insane. It was, um, okay, I guess. Here's my problem with James Cameron. He can make a big budget movie like no other. Special effects, sounds, action sequences are all his bread and butter. What he can't seem to do is understand characters and actors. His biggest success in my opinion has always been the first two Terminator films. All we needed to know was that this huge cyborg was trying to kill someone, and then trying to protect someone. Nice and simple, looked great and was a lot of fun. In Avatar, the main message seems to be take care of your planet 'cause it's the only one you got. Ok, cool, I get it. Stop shoving it down my throat. (Is it any surprise that Cameron decided to release his movie on DVD and BluRay on Earth Day?!?!?). Avatar looks great, no doubt. The digital effects are fantastic. The blue guys move around with human-like ease. But story, James. Keep it simple and fun like you used to. If he had, Avatar would have won every award on the planet. By the way, one nuke on Pandora and the movie would have been an hour shorter. And "Unobtanium"??? Who thought of that?? Ridiculous!

GRADE: B-

Crazy Heart
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell
Directed by Scott Cooper

James Cameron take note; this is how you write! Although we've seen this story before, and it becomes quite predictable, a meaty script like this in the hands of good actors is what it's all about. Jeff Bridges plays 'Bad' Blake, a man who used to sell a lot of records and sell out concerts who now plays at bowling alleys to fund his next bottle of whiskey. He's had a good life, but at 67, it's starting to slide quickly downhill. He meets his muse in Maggie Gyllenhaal's character and begins to try and change. But old habits are hard to break, until you reach rock bottom. Bridges is his usual great self (nobody plays horribly drunk and hungover like him) and deserved his first Academy Award for his role. But I found myself falling deeply for Maggie Gyllenhaal! I always liked her as an actress, but she really shines in this simple yet important role. Robert Duvall is nice to see as well, especially since the movie will remind you of one of Duvall's best performances in Tender Mercies from the early 80's. What I couldn't buy was Colin Farrell as the hot-shot young Country star. Colin, you gotta do something with those eyebrows! But his role was small and it didn't deter the enjoyment I had viewing this film.

GRADE: A

The Lovely Bones
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon
Directed by Peter Jackson

There are two reasons to see this film - Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci. Ronan was about 15 years old when she made this movie but commanded each and every scene she was in. I first saw her in Houdini's Death Defying Acts a couple of years ago and thought to myself "she's gonna be big". She is quite a good little actress and her piercing blue eyes are hard to look away from. Stanley Tucci is just perfect as the creepy murderer, making sure to add little quirks of character to lend to his believability. He's the image of that guy all our parents told us to stay away from, the older man handing out candy to young kids. He gave me chills. Now the bad - are we supposed to believe that disturbed spirits in between worlds are dancing and singing and painting the sky all different colours? Although the effects looked really good, I was turned off by the utter joy of a murdered girl. As dark as this movie was at times, it should have been even darker. I'm told the book is very disturbing, but the little fantasy world took away from that big time. Also, Mark Wahlberg stinks! The only thing I ever liked him in was Boogie Nights. Otherwise he can't act a lick! I even thought he was terrible in The Departed, although many disagree with me. He is so stiff in this movie, displaying emotion a couple of times, but not when needed. I have no idea why he was cast in this role when so many others could have played it so much better.

GRADE: C