Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)


User Reviews

For years I have been a huge fan of the Ice Age series and had been expecting this new movie for months! Needless to say I was counting the days until the release of the movie and the hilarious teasers were really making the waiting difficult ...
I saw it tonight and have to admit that I feel really disappointed ... Was I expecting too much ? We were a group of young adults who grew up with the movies, or at least liked them a lot and we felt let down. The storyline feels a little weak, I thought there would be a lot of adventure and action, as in the 3 previous ones where you don't see how time flies ... This one, if not boring, is too simple, not to mention incredibly predictable. There is no twists and turns. When you think about the first episode, yes, you realize how poor the scenario is in this new one.
I admit there's been a real effort to create an original story that might bring the characters in another world and make them live another adventure, different from the previous ones. I think this part is a total failure. Not to mention the "song" they put in the movie, it was nothing but ridiculous and irrelevant, especially for a movie series as famous as Ice Age. I thought it was unnecessary.
But since I laughed a few times and feel really bad about writing such a "negative" review, I have to admit that some of the scenes were absolutely hilarious and the characters have been kept as funny as they used to be, especially Sid (and his incredible grandmother). It's just a pity that the funny parts are so negligible ... You smile a lot, you laugh sometimes, but certainly not during the whole movie.
Maybe I am too old to appreciate this movie as I should have, as I'm sure the kids will love it and the movie will have a lot of success this summer. I don't wish it the contrary, I just watched it with my not-so-kid-anymore-but-very-nostalgic-eyes and went out of the theater with the feeling that something from before was clearly missing ...

Storyline

When Scrat accidentally provokes a continental cataclysm with a storm, Manny is separated from Ellie and Peaches on an iceberg with Diego, Sid and Granny but he promises that he will find a way to return home. While crossing the ocean, they are captured by the cruel pirate Captain Gutt and his crew. However they escape and Manny plots a plan to steal Captain Gutt's ship and return to his homeland in a dangerous voyage through the sea. But the cruel pirates seek revenge against Manny and his family and friends.


Cast

John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Chris Wedge, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, Peter Dinklage, Nick Frost, Josh Gad, Nicki Minaj.

The Master (2012)

The Master (2012)


User Reviews

I was fortunate enough to see this movie much earlier than most. To me it seems like Anderson is really hitting his stride with this one. It was odd to me that upon exiting the theater the thing that I wondered about most of all is what the hell is he going to do next!
The Master is not an easy movie to sit through, and at times you don't even know what the movie wants. But then you realize that the movie doesn't want anything. All it asks is for you to observe. More so than his earlier movie, "The Master" and "There Will Be Blood" really venture into the realm of the movie as being a purely cinematic presentation of a life. Anderson doesn't pass judgment or any point of view, he merely stretches the canvas which allows his characters to speak for themselves.
Yes, there is a beginning, middle and an end, but is there? Do we really have a sense of catharsis at the end of "There Will Be Blood"? or do we simply understand "man" a little better?
Anderson insisted, as I'm sure he would say the same for this film, that "There Will Be Blood" wasn't a metaphor for anything. It was what it was. No hidden meaning, no sophisticated and often formulaic subtext. It's simply man. As Hoffman's character says in the trailer for "The Master" - "But above all, I am a man".
The movie deals with an interesting idea of the leader vs. the soldier, master vs. slave. It breaks down the anatomy of a relationship so you may interpret it in any way you'd like.
It's beautifully shot on 65/70mm movie which is the way I saw it and the way I recommend for you to see it if you get a chance to. Feels almost as if Anderson is giving the finger to the digital revolution by shooting his film on a resolution so high that digital can only dream of getting there in about ten years or so.
The acting and the dialog is superb as you'd expect. Phoenix and Hoffman are on a different level here, especially Phoenix in a role of a life time. There are definitely times in this film that he completely disappears into that role. There is also some great supporting work from Laura Dern and others.
It would be difficult to place this film in his body of work. More than anything it feels like the natural continuation of what he started with "There Will Be Blood". Not to say that he will continue on this path but just that this is definitely a more narrowly focused film than some of his earlier ensemble work.
I found it to be less engaging than some of his other work and yet there was never a dull moment. You're always on your toes, trying to understand what's going on and where the movie is leading you.
It really is simply, just like man, a fascinating piece of work.

Storyline

Returning from Navy service in World War II, Freddie Quell drifts through a series of breakdowns. Finally he stumbles upon a cult which engages in exercises to clear emotions and he becomes deeply involved with them.


Cast

Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Jesse Plemons, Ambyr Childers, Rami Malek, Madisen Beaty, Kevin J. O'Connor, Patty McCormack, Lena Endre.

The Intouchables (2011)

The Intouchables (2011)


User Reviews

Do not look at this through the prism of "Foreign Films". You'd be wasting your time and miss something far too important.
Hollywood does scale like nobody else, leaving the competition gasping in its wake. France does intimacy, and brutality. Nothing is sacred. And rather than try to revive the New Wave or emulate Hollywood like most widely seen French movie of late, "Intouchables" harnesses its core strengths - ease with intimacy, willingness to ridicule anything and brutal honesty - and delivers one of the funniest, most honest and touching movie I have ever seen.
Sy is a failed robber, going through the motions and playing the stereotypical jobless émigré. Cluzet is a romantic and melancholy mind trapped in a useless body. The circumstances that bring them together are too funny to spoil here, but meet they do, and an awkward relationship quickly blossoms as they bring out the best in each other.
The film's simplicity is delightfully misleading: the script is a masterpiece of comedy writing, and however good the rest of the cast is, the central duo is magical. Sy's comic timing will have you in stitches, but it is his honesty and vulnerability that make you fall in love with the character. Cluzet isn't your typical sad-sack, instead, much of the finest pleasures in the movie consist in watch him use his keen mind to mess with the world around him (a subplot about an abstract painting really takes the biscuit, you'll know it when you see it).
This is one of the most unique, beautiful and honest friendships ever committed to movie. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry... a delightful celebration of everything in life that makes it worthwhile.

Storyline

In Paris, the aristocratic and intellectual Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire who is interviewing candidates for the position of his carer, with his red-haired secretary Magalie. Out of the blue, the rude African Driss cuts the line of candidates and brings a document from the Social Security and asks Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job position so he can receive his unemployment benefit. Philippe challenges Driss, offering him a trial period of one month to gain experience helping him. Then Driss can decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the challenge and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe and his employees.


Cast

François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot, Clotilde Mollet, Alba Gaïa Kraghede Bellugi, Cyril Mendy, Christian Ameri, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Salimata Kamate, Absa Diatou Toure.

Killing Them Softly (2012)

Killing Them Softly (2012)


User Reviews

If you want to watch Scarface - go watch Scarface. This movie isn't. KTS is a 180 from the majority of crime classics and their many copycats.
The factor that clumps most crime genre flicks together is the top-down perspective. For instance, in the Departed it was the rats joining up with the heads of their respective sides of the law - Costello and Queenin. The same with Pauli in Goodfellas, the Don in Godfather.
KTS splits apart because it is a movie about crime from the perspective of the prey. The opening shot is a junkie in a cold, wet New Orleans wind, lost in a whirlwind of trash against harsh white sky. This is the view of hopelessness - its also the familiarity of many post-disaster neighborhoods. These characters absorbed into the criminal underworld, not because they are evil, but because they haven't many other options and they're too dumb to know the danger they are in. This is the what KTS communicates to us with the background broadcast of the '08 elections and financial meltdown.
When bullets fly in this movie - you feel it, because you feel for the characters, which is why having Cogan as its opaque center is so blisteringly effective. He is pragmatic, unapologetic and a completely objective lens to see through. He is the balance between the corrupt political overcast and slime at the bottom of the barrel.
"America isn't a country. It's a business."
Cogan is the the cleanup for the corporation. He snips the buds, ties up the loose ends. He is the inevitability of the business world.
"They are all nice guys."
The humanization of the characters drains you as one by one they slip into darkness. Cogan's jaws open and you understand that the characters are rats in a labyrinth, they are all gears that will eventually be discarded. The soundtrack rhetoric quite fluidly illuminates the movies' greater statement. With all the economic jargon in a ping-pong propaganda game there are people sleeping out on the streets - and a hungry dog has to eat. And all the way up the food chain, through a shady poker game in the back of some shut-down strip mall, to the podium and our new elected president, everyone is a hungry dog here.
This is a methodical film that takes its time with each individual scene. It plays with time and space, slowing down, drifting in and out and then exploding. Cogan walks through the sparks and smoke, he is our escort in understanding the nature and design of things, and he does with an unforgettable composure.
The elements of the movie - acting, cinematography, etc, adapt to its scope and drive, the purpose that the makers sat down and did it. Each end does its job, and considering where you end up there's not much room for improvement in any area. Is it the Godfather? No. But its something completely different, and for what KTS was intending to accomplish, it was excellent.
Don't be deterred by the negative reviews, but don't go in expecting the recycling of Scorsese and Copella. This a picture of its own kind, of its own vision. Let it move you.

Storyline

Three amateurs stickup a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the hitman hired to track them down and restore order.


Cast

Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Curatola, Sam Shepard, Slaine, Max Casella, Trevor Long.

Playing for Keeps (2012)

Playing for Keeps (2012)


User Reviews

Just saw Playing for Keeps at a preview screening last night. Few script surprises in this stock-standard romantic comedy. If you didn't see the end coming in the first 20 minutes, you weren't paying attention. Still, a pleasant date night diversion nonetheless.
Direction and photography were above average. All the actors played their parts up to the very limits of the script. Gerard Butler was quite believable in his role as the womanizing ex- soccer star ready to be a grownup. Female members of the audience voiced their approval of him right on cue throughout the movie. His lifelong real-world enthusiasm for soccer (particularly the Celtics) shone though in quite a number of scenes.
The entourage of swooning soccer moms was also a treat to watch. Judy Greer stole the show in her role as Barb. Her mercurial mood changes were simply hilarious. Dennis Quaid's turn as a mysteriously wealthy local businessman and paranoid husband was a hoot. I can't recall many roles he's played that offered the peculiar mix of affable good guy/sinister bad guy seen here.
Watch movie.

Storyline

George is a former professional soccer star who's moved to Virginia to be close to his ex-wife and son. He's broke, jobless, without a plan, and a constant source of disappointment to his son. When he takes over as his son's soccer coach, he has a new connection to the lad. He also gets the attention of three of the players' moms as well as the glad hand of a wealthy dad. His ex-wife's getting married, he has a lead on a sportscasting job, and he finds new ways to disappoint his son. Is there any way he can sort things out?


Cast

Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Iqbal Theba, Sean O'Bryan, Dennis Quaid, Judy Greer, Noah Lomax, James Tupper.

A Late Quartet (2012)

A Late Quartet (2012)


User Reviews

Most reviews of "A Late Quartet" are nonsense. Don't see this movie if you expect to better your understanding of Beethoven's last compositions. Don't see this movie if you expect to listen to his Opus 131 uncut. Don't see this movie if you have a hyper-sensitivity to melodrama. This movie isn't in the least a melodrama even if, thank goodness, it is far less heady than anything Henry James or Jane Austen might have created.
What "A Late Quartet" is is a simple psychodrama that happens to deal with the lives of performing artists in New York, New York, a particularly artistic milieu. Are artists sometimes conflicted? Do they experience loss? Do they love? Do they debate whether instinct or methodical behavior yields the better result? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
The story line is interesting enough, the acting is first-rate, the direction is tops from the top dog to the second assistant viola instructor of Ms. Keener. We liked the movie, which was apparently a big-budget production. That's a shame, because, judging from the box office numbers, it may never cover its costs.

Storyline

After a classical string quartet's 25 years of success, Peter, the cellist and oldest member, decides that he must retire when he learns he has Parkinson's Disease. For the others, that announcement proves a catalyst for letting their hidden resentments come to the surface while the married members' daughter has disruptive desires of her own. All this threatens to tear the group apart even as they are famous for playing Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, opus 131, a piece that is played non-stop no matter how life interferes.


Cast

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Imogen Poots, Catherine Keener, Wallace Shawn, Mark Ivanir, Madhur Jaffrey, Liraz Charhi, Megan McQuillan, Pamela Quinn, Brooklyn Parkinson Group.

End of Watch (2012)

End of Watch (2012)


User Reviews

The script is so well written, it almost hurts. Almost because it is really just good! And I loved the fact, that it got recognized in America too (at the Box office, it did open at Number 1). While I won't go into the story, the casting of Jake and his partner couldn't have been better. It feels like the guys know each other their whole life. Their interactions with social media and "real" life feel ... well real. Nothing in this movie feels like it is staged for entertainment purposes nor does the dialogue sound fake.
I did write drama, but there is also quite a bit of action in this one. The hand-held approach to some of the scenes does not take anything away from them, it actually heightens the experience most of the time. Of course as an Anna Kendrick fan, I would've loved to see more of her in the movie, but it does belong to our two "heroes" and what they are going through. It's nice to see a movie that keeps in touch with current events, have the courage and the quality to bring that "cop" experience on screen

Storyline

In South Central Los Angeles, street cops Brian and Mike are partners - balls-out cowboys patrolling the streets as Latino gangs are in a power struggle with Blacks. Brian and Mike get lucky a couple of times, making big drug and human-trafficking busts, so a Mexican cartel orders their deaths. We meet Mike's pregnant wife (whom he married out of high school) and watch Brian's search for a soul mate. There are internal squabbles within the ranks of the LAPD and lots of squad-car conversation. Can the lads escape the cartel's murderous reach?


Cast

bullet proof vest, u.s. marine, medal of valor, police sergeant, felon, golden gun, south central los angeles.