Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)


User Reviews

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away is fantastic. You see segments of most of the Cirque du Soleil shows, which are all terrific. The cinematography is excellent, the music is beautiful, and the acrobatics are incredible. There's a weak story line that does not interfere with the beauty of the movie at all. If fact, there is hardly any dialogue. You just sit back and enjoy the amazing sights on the screen. If you've seen any of the Cirque du Soleil shows, you'll enjoy recognizing them again on screen. The ending aerial act will take your breath away. Additionally, before the movie starts, there's a brief documentary about the making of the film, which makes the movie even more enjoyable.

Storyline

A young woman in a small Mid-Western town goes to a traveling carnival one evening, where she is urged by a silent clown to visit the carnival's circus and see The Aerialist, the show's star attraction. She is entranced by The Aerialist, but during his act he misses a catch and falls to the ground. She rushes to help him, but then the ground beneath them gives way and they fall through into the dreamlike world of Cirque du Soleil. Separated, they travel through the different tent worlds trying to find each other, interacting with the strange and wonderful performers and performances of Cirque du Soleil.


Cast

Erica Linz, Igor Zaripov, Matt Gillanders, Jason Berrent, Dallas Barnett, Sophia Elisabeth, Lutz Halbhubner.

This Is 40 (2012)

This Is 40 (2012)


User Review

Wow, this film seems to be generating a lot of hostility: I am not quite sure what's behind it. I guess people went into this expecting a sitcom-like, snappy feel good film, like 40 Year Old Virgin? Or goofy, happy-go-lucky characters such as Seth Rogen's posse in Knocked Up? Did these people not see Funny People? I am all in favor of letting Mr. Apatow develop as a director. To be clear here: this film follows Pete and Debbie's story arc from a few years after the events in Knocked Up. The are both turning 40, and neither is handling it particularly gracefully, but they weren't handling their lives and relationships particularly well in the earlier film. I found this movie to have a Larry David Show quality to it: however irrationally and offensively our protagonists behave, there are always others who will go them one better (or worse). Yes, Debbie and Pete are defective human beings; but so, I would argue, are all the people inhabiting this world, excepting the very gentlemanly Graham Parker (and Billie Joe Armstrong). Such is the stuff of comedy. Are these caricatures? Surely, and yet they are caricatures of realities which I see every day. Is the teenage daughter given to histrionics? You bet, but that is what teenagers are like, and the fact remains that teenagers turn their parents into equally irrational and histrionic characters in that relationship; I actually found it refreshing to find a teenager in a movie, played by a teenager, who isn't a wisecracking savant commenting on the follies of her elders.

To sum up, this felt to me like a mature work from a good director. There are moments of farce, slapstick, and outrageous humor, surrounded by moments where things just happen. For people who can't handle that kind of pacing, you are welcome to stay out of movie theaters, and sit in front of your TV sets: the networks are sure to have plenty of non-challenging sitcoms that are specially designed to pander to you.

Storyline

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are turning 40. But instead of celebrating, they're mired in a mid-life crisis with unruly kids, debt and unhappiness mounding. Pete's record label is failing and Debbie is unable to come to terms with her aging body. As Pete's 40th birthday party arrives, Pete and Debbie are going to have to rely on family, friends, employees, fitness trainers, aging rockers and ultimately each other to come to terms with life at age 40.


Cast

Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Maude Apatow, Megan Fox, Lena Dunham, Melissa McCarthy, Charlyne Yi, John Lithgow, Robert Smigel, Albert Brooks.

Jack Reacher (2012)

Jack Reacher (2012)


User Review

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is the tale of a very astute ex-military policeman. The army training came in quite handy as he digs into the evidence of a heinous crime that turns out to be not at all what it seems to be on the surface. I was surprised at how funny the dialogue in this film was, it is definitely not a comedy, but the sarcastic and comedic one-liners kept coming, even in situations that were completely devoid of a humorous setting there was some very amusing conversation. There was even a scene in which Reacher is attacked in a bathroom that had me cracking up at the bumbling bad guys. The comedy was heightened even further with the old codger Cash (Robert Duvall). Mr. Duvall always delivers a convincing performance, same here. As with any film that features Mr. Cruise the expectation is that it will be fast paced and very entertaining, same here. The only thing missing was his trademark sprint to or after something or anything. I've just come to expect to see him running, really running but we are getting older. The trailer is the only kind that I like, the ones that do not give away the whole movie. It shows that Reacher is bad a$$ without playing out every aspect of the story. David Oyelowo (Emerson) is one to watch, he is building an impressive resume and it is easy to see why because whenever he portrays a character he is that character. When he played a pilot in Red Tails, I totally believed he could fly a plane. When he was the head of a company experimenting on Apes, I was again thoroughly convinced and I believed every aspect of his being a police detective. One of the best car chase scenes that I've seen lately was in this film. There were so many attributes of this film that I liked, including the sexual tension between Reacher and Helen Ronin (Rosamund Pike) that I will just sum it up by saying. Everything just seemed to be genuine and authentic, even though I know that the fights are staged they looked logistically correct, but Steven Segal did come to mind. I liked that the film had a legitimate beginning and end, even if there are subsequent Jack Reacher tales to follow, there was no gaping wide open door of a final scene leaving the audience wondering 'What's up with that?!?'. But I do hope there are sequels, at least one. I give it a green light.

Storyline

In an innocent heartland city, five are shot dead by an expert sniper. The police quickly identify and arrest the culprit, and build a slam-dunk case. But instead of confessing, the accused man writes the words, "Get Jack Reacher." Reacher himself sees the news report and turns up in the city. The defense is immensely relieved, but Reacher has come to bury the guy. Shocked at the accused's request, Reacher sets out to confirm for himself the absolute certainty of the man's guilt, but comes up with more than he bargained for.


Cast

Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Werner Herzog, Jai Courtney, Vladimir Sizov, Joseph Sikora, Michael Raymond-James, Alexia Fast, Josh Helman.