Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Directed by Mike Newell
Written by Boaz Yakin and Doug Miro
Starring:
Jake Gyllenhaal
Gemma Arterton
Ben Kingsley
Alfred Molina
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action
IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473075/
Walt Disney's first contender in the summer lineup comes in the form of an adrenaline-fueled blockbuster that attempts to mimic their "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and appeal to the teenage crowd, with more graphic action and violence, sexy leading actors, and a fantasy backstory that draws from video games. All that being said, "Price of Persia: The Sands of Time" is nothing overwhelmingly original, but is instead lies within the realm of the mediocre, and doesn't do enough wrong to full dismiss it, but also doesn't do enough to make it stand out. Newell, veteran british director of well-known projects like "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and the atrociously bad adaption of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," does a serviceable job bringing the vivid video game world to life, and populating it with a few memorable, but mostly forgettable characters. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the handsome and daring Dastan, and is paired with Gemma Arterton's strong and independent Tamina, and both manage to pull off convincing Persian characters, considering both are caucasian, and despite some poorly-written dialogue, have a very believable onscreen chemistry with some truly enjoyable sexual tension. Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina unfortunately suffer from being cookie-cutter characters, the power-hungry family friend who betrays in order to gain power, and the androgynous good/bad guy who is always changing sides, nothing we haven't seen before.
The special effects are the selling point for this summer romp, and unfortunately this is one of the movies weakest points. A few sequences use spectacular set pieces and take the time to create exciting, large scale sequences, but most of the time, the effects are so rushed and muddled that they look absolutely horrible, and often like they were simply lifted from the video game that the film is based off of. Jittery camera movements and placement simply assault the viewer's attempts to establish what is happening as sand flies and characters leap from wall to wall, all topped off with some of the worst slow-motion CGI that I have seen. All things considered, this is the best video game film adaptation to date, but considering the past market, is that really a huge accomplishment?
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: C-
The A-Team
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Written by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom, and Skip Woods
Starring:
Liam Neeson
Bradley Cooper
Sharlto Copley
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Patrick Wilson
Jessica Biel
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking
IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429493/
When people ask me what I thought of "The A-Team," I always start the same way by saying, "It is a movie that has absolutely no right being as good as it is." I am here to admit that despite my early reluctance to see this movie, being dragged to a midnight showing of this 2010 reimagining of the 1983 cult television show is one of the most enjoyable movie-going experiences I have had this summer. A movie based on a show that wasn't good in the 80's has no business being good in the 2000's, but somehow, with an excellent cast, clever writing, and the unknown brilliant comedic timing of Sharlto Copley, "The A-Team" emerges as a truly enjoyable film, even with everything going against it. Liam Neeson's turn as Hannibal, the salty leader of the team, is made more enjoyable by the actor's inability to do a fully convincing American accent as he sucks his stogie, Bradley Cooper seems to ooze charm and sarcasm from every pore as team ladies man, Face, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a UFC fighter in his "real" life, brings heart to Mr. T's famous Pity da Fool-spouting badass, B.A. Baracus, and the icing on the cake is the absolutely hilarious insanity that is Sharlto Copley, of District 9 fame, and his take on the team's slightly crazy tech expert. All compliment each other so well, that its hard to believe that this crew hasn't worked together before.
A completely asinine story is told to pay homage to the original TV show and explain how this team was assembled, but then we are taken into a modern setting to give this new A-Team a chance to represent themselves outside of sheer comparison to the old show. And in this attempt, the movie is tremendously successful. Huge action scenes, each one more ridiculous than the last, all peppered with copious amounts of humor and bad one-liners keep "The A-Team" from ever taking itself seriously, and therefore, never watering down the fun and sheer entertainment that this movie provides. In a summer of huge action blockbusters, "The A-Team" may emerge as one of the most enjoyable.
The A-Team: B
Predators
Directed by Nimród Antal
Written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch
Starring:
Adrien Brody
Topher Grace
Alice Braga
Walton Goggins
Oleg Taktarov
Laurence Fishburne
Danny Trejo
Louis Ozawa Changchien
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language
IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424381/
"Predators" is the fifth movie in the saga that spawned from the 1987 action classic, and unfortunately, the movies have only been going downhill since the genesis of the idea. While "Predators" definitely oversteps the mangled corpses of the Alien vs. Predator movies, it once again falls short of its oldest sibling, and it fails to stand out in the summer action circuit. A cast of mostly unfamiliar faces, Brody, Fishburne, and Trejo being the most recognizable, find themselves on an alien planet that acts as a game preserve for the Predators, and as the world's most dangerous killers, must pit their skills against the supreme hunting prowess of the Predators. It has all the right ingredients to make an exciting movie, but it has a few things that hold it back from being so.
First, there simply isn't enough screen time with the Predators. We are instead strung along as the characters find out more about each other, learn to trust or suspect one another, and slowly disappear from the group, only later to reappear as a trap set by the hunters. We do get some fun throwbacks with Predator vision, and rough wood traps like the ones Arnold used to kill the original Predator, but there is so little time spent just duking it out with the aliens, that the movie feels slow and lethargic. Second, the story is so poorly told, that you walk out of the movie not knowing, or even really caring what happened. I understand the device of trying to keep the audience in the dark as much as the characters they are watching, but there is absolutely no explanation anywhere in this film, and it suffers because of it. And lastly, the biggest thing that fails to impress with this movie, is that it is one of those films that is COMPLETELY oversold by its trailer. We were shown thrilling action, screaming Predators, and true moments of urgency and suspense in the trailer, and yet when we saw the movie, we realized that every moment of the trailer was taken out of context of how it fits into the finished film, and most notoriously, we were not delivered the dozens of Predators that the trailer promised when Adrien Brody is targeted with multiple tri-dot laser scopes. The film contains 3 Predators, not dozens, and every exciting moment from the trailer represents the one moment from every ten minutes of the film that wasn't spent walking around and looking at the jungle.
Predators: C-
Toy Story 3
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Written by Michael Arndt
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Tim Allen
Joan Cusack
Don Rickles
Ned Beatty
Michael Keaton
Estelle Harris
Wallace Shawn
John Ratzenberger
Timothy Dalton
Jeff Garlin
John Morris
Blake Clark
Rated G
IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/
There isn't a whole lot I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said, so I will keep this short and sweet, because you know that you've already seen this movie. Toy Story 3 shines as the finale to the greatest film trilogy in history. Never before have we had such a consistent and enjoyable trifecta of films, that over the course of a 15 year saga, have managed to stay enjoyable, intimate, and personally responsible for its audience. Think of some other film trilogies, The Godfather followed its excellent first chapter with an even better part two, then fell apart in the final act. The Terminator opened with a hokey first part, that then spawned an incredible second movie, but then lost its way again with the third. The Matrix opened strongly, but wasn't able to fully deliver with it's final two parts, Jurassic Park did the same thing. Toy Story not only delivers, but tops itself every time. I was part of the target audience when the first Toy Story opened in 1995, and told a story that actually paralleled my real childhood almost perfectly, and considering that fact, I was the target audience for the finale as someone who has grown up with the films, and is now at a similar precipice of life as the one Andy is facing. Never before have I experienced a company like Pixar, that so perfectly understands how to touch their audience in the most raw, and personal ways, and as the film came to a close, I found myself completely dissolved in tears, barely able to speak through the overwhelming feeling of joy and sadness that consumed me. It truly is incredible to me that Pixar can produce these kinds of emotions with digital representations of silly, plastic playthings, better than any live-action, real depiction of love and loss. I can only bow to Pixar and thank them for once again delivering a nearly flawless piece of cinema. The best of the trilogy, it is hilarious, exciting, clever, and touching, and a perfect sendoff to the friends that Pixar made for the entire world to enjoy.
Toy Story 3: A
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