C4CC Countdown: 10 Underappreciated Actors

What’s on now: Network, now streaming on Netflix. A friend told me it was a classic, and it's okay so far.

In other news: Apparently folks are talking seriously about making a Top Gun 2... erm... okay... Why?

Today's fun fact: In X-Men: First Class, it took makeup artists almost six hours to do Jennifer Lawrence's body work for her role as Mystique.

Toss a rock in Hollywood (not recommended, said rock is probably worth more than you are) and you’ll probably hit an actor, or at least someone in the food industry aspiring to be an actor. There’s hundreds of them, and they’re everywhere, not just in Cali. And no matter how hard they try, not all of them are going to make it. It’s a cold truth, and I do feel bad for those who have their hearts set on something so much and want it so desperately, but probably won’t get it. Seriously, I think I feel tears welling up.

The fact of the matter is, there is only so much room for stars in such a saturated industry. One in maybe a thousand actors actually “make it.” There are a limited number of roster slots for the Tom Hankses and the Brad Pitts and the Denzel Washingtons of the world. Everyone wants to be them, but there just isn’t space.

This post is not about those people.

There is a third category between the multi-gazillionaire superstars and the desperate hopefuls who, between busing tables, daydream about walking the red carpet someday. These are actors who I believe have made it, but for some reason don’t seem to get the respect and admiration they so deserve.

There are many reasons why these people might be perpetually flying under the radar. Maybe they keep their noses clean and their business out of the tabloids. Maybe they’re just not as pretty (which is certainly not the case for some of the gents featured in this post, I assure you). But they have proven, to me at least, that their acting chops are not to be trifled with.

I fervently believe that most if not all of the following could act circles around plenty of today’s A-listers. Where are their awards? Granted, some of them have won a couple, but mostly for indie projects that the average viewer has never even heard of let alone seen.

As part of an experiment, I read the following list of 10 men to a friend, who would consider herself to be a casual movie-watcher. She did not know a single one of them offhand. She might have recognized one or two if I had shown her pictures of them. But if I asked her about, say, Russell Crowe, she could picture him and name at least two or three of his movies off the top of her head.

The list is in reverse order, leading up to who I think is the absolute most severely underappreciated actor at the moment, including my three favorite performances done by each one. These guys deserve some recognition, even if it only comes from die-hard movie geeks like me.

There are probably some folks out there (namely those who actually went to film school and other such critics) who would look at this list and think I’m either nuts or at least my taste is in the range of "questionable" to "bloody awful." Well, my blog means my list and it took me forever so if y’all are gonna be mean, bugger off. Otherwise, read on!

10. Bill Pullman

Bill Pullman is one of those guys who, for a long time, I thought was just in every movie. No big. I seriously see him everywhere, not so much recently. I finally figured out why. The guy had been steadily working, mostly in movies, for 25 years. TWENTY-FIVE. That’s longer than I have been alive! He mostly plays the small roles, the supporting roles that most people don’t even notice, but were still important. Of the three small awards he’s been nominated for, he’s won them all. Pretty cool to be batting 1.00. I enjoy his subtlety, and I’ll always remember him as one of the coolest Presidents of the United States.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Independence Day
2. Bottle Shock
3. Spaceballs

9. Neal McDonough

Neal McDonough hasn’t been in as much, but everything he has done has been good. His acting is solid at the very least, and he does a lot of character acting, at least by my limited understand of what character acting actually is. McDonough is something of a perpetual supporter, it seems. Either that or a perpetual ensemble actor. But the reason he finds himself on my list is because even in the small roles that are his bread and butter, he always makes himself noticed. Part of it are his laser-like eyes, which are a startling blue color so intense, you half expect him to break the fourth wall with them. But the other part is how he always seems to make you care about his character, as minor as he may be.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Tin Man
2. Captain America: The First Avenger
3. Minority Report

8. Sean Astin

Seriously, where the hell is this guy’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar? He wasn’t even nominated for his performance in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as Samwise Gamgee. The award ultimately went to Tim Robbins for Mystic River, by the way. TRAVESTY. 

This man perfectly played the only thing that kept Frodo from epically failing his equally epic quest in the most epic fantasy trilogy EVER. The man was spot on in one of the greatest films of all time, and no one even knows who he is. He’s got more raw emotion oozing out of him in any performance he gives than I don’t even know what. He can cry convincingly at the drop of a hat. To me, that is a hallmark of a master. But also, Sean Astin is a pro at giving us characters that we can’t help but root for. Ever heard of a little film called Rudy? And did I mention that he is one of the few child actors out there who didn’t turn into a drug-addicted, questionably psychotic mess?

C4CC’s Picks

1. Rudy
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. The Goonies

7. Keith David

Another case similar to Bill Pullman. Keith David has been in quite a lot, but as smaller supporting roles that are important enough to have names and smallish story archs but not exactly a headliner. One thing David does quite a lot that Pullman does not, however, is voice acting. David has this rich, deep, rumbly voice that he has lent to a couple beloved animated characters.

Remember Gargoyles? If you answered no, I weep for you. One of the most fantastic Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood that managed to be funny, dark, violent and educational all at once. It successfully traumatized an entire generation into understanding the danger of playing with guns in a single episode. No other cartoon has managed so much so fast! David lent his sultry baritone to Goliath, the main character.

Seriously, check out David’s imdb profile. He works on at least ten projects a year, and he does absolutely everything. Movies, TV, video games, voiceovers, everything. The man is a jack of all trades and master of them all.

C4CC’s Picks

1. The Princess and the Frog
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Gargoyles

6. Stanley Tucci

The only reason Tucci isn’t number 3 or higher on this list is because, unlike a lot of the other fellows on this list, I think he’s starting to pick up a little momentum in his notoriety. I think if a lot of people saw a picture of him, they would say, “Oh yeah… that guy.” That guy indeed. What I love most about him is that he’s very much a chameleon. Some actors, even those that are superstars, seem to play the same guy in every movie they’re in. Rugged cowboy goes to the moon. Rugged cowboy is a single dad struggling to raise his teenage son. Rugged cowboy has to lead ragtag group of survivors through zombie-infested Wichita. You get the drift. But Tucci doesn’t do that. His characters are varied and unique with each different movie. In one film he makes you chuckle, in the next he makes you shake your fist at the screen. And his only Oscar nomination (for Best Supporting Actor) so far came from The Lovely Bones, a movie pretty much everyone I know, myself included, didn’t even like! What does that tell you?

C4CC’S Picks

1. Julie & Julia
2. The Devil Wears Prada
3. Captain America: The First Avenger

5. Michael Fassbender

Much like Tucci, Fassbender is only this far down the list because he’s an up and comer. He just hasn’t become a household name yet. He’s all the rage in the murky underworld of movie buffs, and I think he’s certainly on deck to become the next big thing. He’s even already had some pretty mainstream big-time projects out that should grab the casual moviegoers’ attention. Mark my words, in the next couple of years, everyone is going to know who Michael Fassbender is. The Fass, as he is affectionately known as to those of us weirdos who are comparable to meth-heads when it comes to the cinemas. He has a powerful presence on the screen, with the regality of a tiger. Not to mention that he can do just about anything. Action, foreign films, sci-fi, indie, drama, historical… you name it, not only has he probably already done it, but he has guaranteed kicked its ass to boot. I’m very much looking forward to watching how his career progresses. Already he is the sort of actor who will get my bum in a seat if his name is attached to a project.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. X-Men: First Class
3. 300

4. Christoph Waltz

Another fellow who could be at the top of the list, but was docked a couple points because he seems to be gaining notoriety. Waltz has been in the game for about 35 years. 35. Holy crap that’s a long time. Only thing is, he didn’t start gaining momentum in America until 2009 with Quentin Tarantino’s holy-craptastic Inglourious Basterds. Just to clarify, holy-crapstatic is a synonym for omg-that-was-so-freaking-awesome. With his character of SS Col. Hans Landa, Waltz easily became the most terrifying, hated and yet twistedly beloved character of the year. He plays evil and/or crazy ridiculously well. He’s played that guy in the couple of movies I’ve seen him in so far. I’ll be interested to see if he gets pigeonholed as a bad guy actor, kind of like the path Mark Strong seems to be headed down these days. I think he can do anything. We’ll just have to wait and see.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Water for Elephants
3. The Green Hornet

3. Jensen Ackles

I know what you’re thinking: “Who the hell is Jensen Ackles?” If you’re asking that, I pity you. Now, I’ll admit, I’m slightly biased toward this man. He’s one of the stars of Supernatural, possibly my favorite TV show ever and as such, I may have a slight blind spot for him. Not to mention that he is drop-dead gorgeous. (Never really understood that phrase… things that up and drop dead tend to not be so attractive…) But I tried my hardest to grade him based solely on his acting chops… And he still came out as No. 3. Why? I’ll tell you why. His performances move me. He makes me feel what his character is feeling. When his character is angry, I cheer for him to go on a rage rampage. When his character cries, I want to rip my heart out and give it to him just so he can have one that isn’t broken. When he cracks a joke, I laugh every time. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Jensen put some kind of spell on me. He’s something of CW stock actor, appearing on multiple shows such as Dawson’s Creek and Smallville until finally landing a lead role on Supernatural (heart times infinity). He’s only done a couple of smaller movies, though My Bloody Valentine 3D had a fairly wide release (unfortunately it was rather terrible). He seems content to stay out of the mainstream spotlight, something I respect him for. Still, I would love to seem him in a big-budget action flick or something. His talents should be shared with the whole world, not just the couple hundred thousand of us who know and adore Supernatural.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Supernatural
2. Ten Inch Hero
3. EVERYTHING ELSE

2. Jim Cummings

I guarantee you know who this is. No, really. I mean, you wouldn’t know who you were looking at if I showed you a picture of him. I probably wouldn’t know him if I randomly saw a picture of him. But once he opens his mouth, you’ll know. Cummings has lent his voice to dozens of beloved characters for decades. His most well-known is Tigger. He’s arguably the most prolific and talented voice actor in the game. He’s one of those guys that you swear has already been around forever but is still going strong. Of all the men on this list, he’s by far done the most. This guy must wake up laughing. Just the gig as Tigger’s voice alone should have him totally rolling in green. And he has the benefit of no paparazzi (who would know who he is anyway?) and no crazed fans attacking him wherever he goes. Must be the life.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Winnie the Pooh
2. The Lion King
3. Balto

1. Paul Bettany

One question: Where the HELL is this man’s trove of awards??!!

Funny truth: He hasn’t even been in much compared to some of the other guys on this list. I’ve seen 11 of his movies, in two of which he was the voice of a computer. But he’s memorable and he’s authentic. I love how he’s someone I love to cheer for, but he can also be the scariest dude ever. Just check out The DaVinci Code. His characters tend to be the ones you can’t take your eyes off of. Also, he’s someone who will get my butt in a movie theatre seat. I HATE horror movies, mostly because I’m something of a wuss with an overactive imagination. But I sucked it up and rented Legion, just because Bettany was in it. Scared the ever living out of me, but it was still worth it to see one more sample of the man’s work. He’s not exactly a spring chicken, but he doesn’t need youth to be magnetic on the screen. This is a man who will be doing this until he’s a very old man, and doing it damn well.

C4CC’S Picks

1. Wimbledon
2. The DaVinci Code

     3.  Master and Commander: Far Side of the World

I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting someone, or a few someones. There are a couple of folks like Gary Oldman and David Thewlis that arguably should be on the list, but I ended up deciding they were a bit more well-known than some of the other guys. It was hard to pick only 10. I was at this thing more nearly two months, mostly because I just couldn't make up my mind on who deserved it more. When I started compiling this little ditty, no one knew who the bloody hell Michael Fassbender was, but now that he was nominated for a Golden Globe (and should have gotten it ::angry face::), his notoriety should pick up some steam. And looking back, there are some folks who I now think would have done better in this listing than some of the people I picked. But at this point my blog-ideas notebook is overflowing with backlog, I can't stand thinking about this list anymore and my brain is about to explode.

Let's just say it'll be a while before I suck it up and make that "10 Underappreciated Actresses" list.

New Year’s Eve: Why can’t real life be more like this?

What’s on now: Watching Fast Five the old-fashioned way, with a TV and a DVD player.

There are a few reasons why I gave up listening to film critics a long time ago. Movies like New Year’s Eve is one of them.

I love Love, Actually and Valentine’s Day, and knowing New Year’s Eve would be in that style (multiple intersecting story arcs and a large, star-studded ensemble cast), I decided to give it a try despite the somewhat blistering reviews it received. And guess what? I loved this one, too!

Okay, okay. Honestly, it is basically Valentine’s Day all over again, just on a different holiday. A noticeable chunk of the cast was even the same. But then again, what could we really expect when the two flicks have the same writer and director? I don’t think it counts as a rip-off when you’re obviously not even bothering to try to hide the similarities. I prefer to think of it as a sort of Chapter 2. Coming in 2012, Chapter 3: St. Patrick’s Day! Just kidding. Although it is probably true.

One nice flavor that sets it somewhat apart from Valentine’s Day is the more diverse array of relationships explored in New Year’s Eve. Valentine’s Day is all about lovers, after all. But New Year’s Eve can include much more than that, like parent-child, lover-lover and friend-friend. Same equation, different formula, if that makes any sense. Math was never my forte.

The cast of this movie was one of the things that drew me in, since it’s one of those movies that people would say “has everyone in it.” And that’s not too far off from accurate, either. To name the main folk (and for the sake of my sanity I’m only going to list names): Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Hector Elizondo, Ludacris, Robert DeNiro, Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, Abigail Breslin, Cary Elwes and Seth Meyers. Phew.

New Year’s Eve follows multiple storylines in the style of its predecessor, with the various characters all interconnected in some way. Some of the stories include a pregnant couple hoping their baby will be the first born in 2012 (Biel and Meyers), a woman who hires a bike messenger to help her fulfill her New Year’s resolutions (Pfeiffer and Efron), a caterer at odds with the rock ‘n’ roll star who broke her heart (Heigl and Bon Jovi) and two neighbors who are trapped together in an elevator (Kutcher and Michele). There are a couple more, but those are my personal favorites.

The movie was full of laughs, smiles and “awwws,” at least from me. I loved the climax, when storylines started coming together more quickly and with more urgency and I got swept up in the guessing of who will end up with who, and will it all work out for everyone. Because they keep a thing or two secret til the very end.

If I had to pick my absolute favorite “relationship,” I think I would have to pick Biel and Meyers’ pregnant couple. They were very cute and funny together, going through all sorts of antics to desperately try and get their baby to come out at the right time. You see, whoever has the first 2012 baby in their hospital gets $25,000. The two of them end up in a hilarious competition with another pregnant couple going for the same payday. The other father-to-be is played by Inglourious Basterds’ Til Schweiger, who looks just about as scary as he did as a Nazi-killer. He’s probably a perfectly nice man, but I don’t think I would ever want to compete with him for pretty much anything. Ever. I’d be too afraid he’d snap and go all Hugo Stiglitz on me.

Favorite character on their own, however, goes to Zac Efron. I must be all girly for a moment, please excuse me. DAMN, baby boy grew up good! Hard to believe it's only been five or so years since High School Musical, but Zac seems to be growing into a big ol’ muscular heartthrob, and his acting chops aren’t half bad, either. His snarky bike messenger has a real sweet side, as evidenced when he agrees to help an older woman (Pfeiffer) realize some dreams of hers. Their story arc is one of the few not centered around a romantic relationship, but it’s still delightful, if at times slightly cougarish. And Zac’s dancing at the very end of the movie is nothing short of awesome.

Grab a date, grab a friend or go alone, but go see New Year’s Eve if you’re in the mood for a fun, sweet uplifter. Critics blasted it for being sappy. Yeah, it kinda was, but you know what? I like sappy. I don’t go to the movies to see realistic romances. Real-life romance is barely romance at all. I walked out of the theatre with a smile on my face, and I’m going to put New Year’s Eve on my shopping list for when it comes out on DVD.

Can’t wait for the next installment. I’m pulling for a St. Patrick’s Day-themed movie next. Thanksgiving is probably more likely. Or maybe the Fourth of July. Heck, they could make a movie like this about Labor Day and I’d probably still go see it. 

And like it.

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Hector Elizondo, Ludacris, Robert DeNiro, Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, Abigail Breslin, Cary Elwes, Seth Meyers

Directed by: Garry Marshall

Written by: Katharine Fugate

Rated PG-13

2011

Gnomeo & Juliet: Star-crossed lawn ornaments

What’s on now: Just finished Batman: Under the Red Hood. … Don’t judge me.

As I’ve said before, I don’t think it’s wrong for an adult to enjoy a “for kids” movie once in a while. Let’s just hope I don’t make a habit of it.

Gnomeo & Juliet was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I was going to like it for some reason. Looking back, I can’t pinpoint a specific thing about the trailer or a particular rumor that made me think that. But at any rate, it was nice that it was offered on Netflix streaming, or else I probably would have never seen it.

It’s usually a very good sign when a movie puts a smile on your face with the first line. In the case of Gnomeo & Juliet, a tiny, awkward little gnome comes out onto a stage, clears his throat, and says this, deadpan:

“The story you’re about to see has been told before… a lot.”

It’s funnier when you see it for yourself. When a movie or TV show somehow acknowledges its own quirks or makes fun of itself in some way, we’re in for a good time.

James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Atonement) and Emily Blunt (Wild Target, The Devil Wears Prada) lend their voices to the two title characters. The cast was stocked with a few other big names as well, including Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Jason Statham (Snatch.). Patrick Stewart (X-Men) even had a small cameo as the voice of William Shakespeare’s statue. Although, my personal favorite casting choice by far was Ozzy Osbourne as Fawn, a somewhat dim-witted reindeer lawn ornament.

The movie was fairly set on following the basic plot of Romeoand Juliet, so I was a little concerned about how they were going to address the whole mass murder/suicide subplot that Ol’ Bill seemed suspiciously fond of in his works. Funny thing is, they even mentioned that in the film. In one scene, Gnomeo is talking to Shakespeare’s statue, looking for advice, when the statue says in his version of the story, the lovers both die in the end. Gnomeo is amusingly horrified at the prospect and pretty much writes the statue off as decidedly nuts and walks away.

Basic plot is fairly easy to surmise for anyone who ever had to take a literature class. Two feuding families (in this case, lawn ornaments from two neighboring gardens) can’t stand each other. Odd, seeing as there’s a huge fence separating them. They are competitive, racing lawn mowers and trying to outdo each other with their landscape architecture. No dance-fighting, though, unfortunately.

Enter Gnomeo, from the blue garden, and Juliet, from the red garden. They meet, and naturally it’s love at first sight, even when they find out they’re supposed to hate each other. They continue meeting in secret, until the fateful day when the ceramic-on-ceramic carnage reaches an all-time high and they find themselves in the crossfire.

Elton John supplied the tunes, which I thought was kind of random. But it worked out fine. It lent a sort of light-heartedness to a story based on the most famed, depressing and heartbreakingly hopeless love story ever written. Let’s be real, Romeo and Juliet is the mother of all love stories, even though nobody lives happily ever after (spoiler alert). Gnomeo & Juliet was a cute, kid-friendly take on a timeless tale.

And best of all, I went this entire post without using the term “star-crossed lovers.”

I’m going on a little Thanksgiving vacation for the next week or so. But I’ll be back next week with something a little different!

Starring: James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Patrick Stewart

Directed by: Kelly Asbury

Rated G

2011

Rio: Angry Birds: The Movie

What’s on now: Alternating betwixt The Office and Glee streaming on Netflix. Or at least trying to, since the wifi is spotty at best in here.

I don’t think it’s wrong for adults to watch kids’ movies from time to time, even if they’re not parents. Let’s face it, there are usually plenty of jokes in there for us, too. And sometimes it’s nice to just watch something cute and funny and light.   

Rio tells the story of a blue macaw named Blu, voiced by The Social Network’s JesseEisenberg. See what they did there? Well, it could be worse. They could have left the e on there. It’s kind of like if they had simply named Simba “Lion” instead in The Lion King. Oh wait… they did.

Blu is caught by smugglers when he is just a little baby bird, quite possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen. The bird, not the smuggling. He ends up in Moose Lake, Minnesota in the care of a little girl named Linda. He grows up with her as her best friend, and apparently only friend, since we are shown photographic evidence that the bird was her prom date. (Now that’s a whole new level of lonely, kids.) They grow up together and when she’s an adult, Linda runs her own bookstore. Because, you know, girls who like books all wear thick glasses, are socially inept, have no friends to speak of and bring pets to prom. It was like looking in the mirror for me.

One day, a Brazilian ornithologist (word of the day!) named Tulio, who happens to be just as socially inept as Linda, shows up and asks them both to come back to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with him. Turns out Blu is the last known male of his species, and Tulio wants to breed him with the last known female, which is in Brazil. Linda agrees and we’re off on our adventure.

Things really get going when Blu and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) are stolen from their intended love shack by smugglers. I’m sensing a pattern in Blu’s life here. From there, with the help of a handful of local birds and a fruit-hat-wearing bulldog named Luiz (yes, you read that correctly), the last two blue macaws in Rio have to work together to find their human friends and escape the smugglers and the criminally insane cockatoo in their employ (yes, you read that one right, too).

My personal favorite bit was the casting of Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement as the voice of Nigel, the aforementioned homicidal cockatoo. He’s one of those people that you probably have no idea who he is unless you know exactly who he is. Kind of like in Pirates of the Caribbean, where the Isla de Muerta can only be found by those who already know where it is. Sanity-shattering paradox aside, Clement was fun in the role, and even had a very Conchords-esque musical number. Come to think of it, I wonder if he wrote it… Excuse me while I consult my sources… … … He helped write it, yes. Cool.

Overall, I would say Rio was kind of cute. Certainly not the best animated flick I’ve seen most recently. That honor at the moment belongs to How to Train Your Dragon. But Rio has a few good points.

First off, the music is pretty good. One or two of the songs were toe-tappers, and will.i.am and Jamie Foxx even had small roles as two sidekick birds with their fair share of fun quirks. The animation was as good as it typically is these days, and I do admire whoever was responsible for making sure every feather was in place and moving properly. Sounds complicated to me anyway. For all I know, it takes one guy 10 minutes during post-production.

In all, it was okay. Kids might like it better than I did. But I’ll take that as a good thing.

Come to think of it... There should be an Angry Birds movie!

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx, Jemaine Clement, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Directed by: Carlos Saldanha

Rated G

2011

Safe House: A safe bet

What’s on now: Trolling IMDB for new movie trailers.

I think I found my February movie!

Backstory: I’m on a tight budget. Now that my fledgling self has officially left the nest and I am no longer living on my parents’ dime, I have to (gasp) save whatever I can so as not to go broke or hungry. Ah, freedom. Thy name is Spaghettios.

Anywho, due to the aforementioned budget constraints, I have decided to limit myself to only one new-movie outing per month. So, monthly I spring for a ticket to the nice theatre in town (you know, the kind where the floors are not coated in questionable amounts of stickiness). That means I have to wait for the best movie and take a leap of faith. So far, the system has worked out fine, and I have yet to be disappointed by a movie-of-the-month. Captain America was September’s and Real Steel was November’s, in case you were wondering. I owe myself an October. I’m saving it for when all the big deal flicks come out during the Christmas season.

On to the real reason for this post. I recently saw the first trailer for a February release called Safe House. I’d heard rumors of it already, but nothing more than the basic plot and unconfirmed cast.

The plot didn’t draw me in so much as the cast. Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds? In the same movie?? Sign me up! Washington brings the lion’s share of the acting chops and Reynolds… well, he wasn’t voted the Sexiest Man Alive for no reason! And he can act too, of course, I’m not trying to objectify the poor man. He gets that enough from… well, everybody. But I think he’s definitely shown he can keep up with someone of Washington’s seasoned caliber, especially after Buried. That one still affects me months after watching it once. I shouldn’t have watched it alone in the dark. Lesson learned.

Even so, Safe House doesn’t exactly seem like it’s going to be the kind of flick that demands too much serious acting from either of them. It ain’t exactly Shakespeare. It looks like it’s another cerebro-politico-action movie, kind of along the lines of The Bourne Identity or Salt or maybe even a little like Mission: Impossible. Yup, you guessed it, Safe House is another CIA movie. But I don’t mean that pessimistically!

Based on the preview and online synopses, Washington plays Tobin Frost, an ex-CIA operative who has gone rogue. Reynolds is Matt Weston, a relatively green (lol) non-operative employee of the agency, whose fairly boring job is to babysit the CIA safe house in Johannesburg, South Africa. Weston wants nothing more than to get enough experience so he can do something more than sit in an empty bunker all day, but he feels like his job is a waste of time. Can you see the irony coming yet?

Weston’s boring job gets a sudden jolt when Frost is brought into the safe house as a dangerous prisoner. Then things really fall to crap when someone starts attacking the safe house, presumably to retrieve Frost. It falls on Weston to keep Frost both safe and in custody. What follows is a slam-bang cat-and-mouse game between Weston, Frost and whoever is trying to kill them. Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Source Code) and Brendan Gleeson (Troy, Kingdom of Heaven) also star.

The trailer is rife with blazing guns, car chases, car crashes, things that go boom and plenty of yelling and running. All the necessary ingredients for a halfway decent action flick!   

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to it. One thing’s for sure, something pretty crazy-awesome is going to have to come along to knock Safe House out of the frontrunner spot for my February movie.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson

Directed by: Daniel Espinosa

Rated NYR

2012

Transformers DotM: Not much more than meets the eye

What’s on now: Catching up on Supernatural. Sigh, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are so very very awesome.

Apparently I’m on a robot-violence kick.

The latest installment in the Transformers saga, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was pretty much exactly what I was expecting – a whole lot of flash, not a lot of sustenance. I do strive to be fair, however, so I have to admit I was very pessimistic about it going in. I liked the first film, but the second one was “meh” at best, "WTF" at worst. The third one was on the same level as the second.

Part of the problem, I think, was that it tried too hard to be funny. There were too many goofy antics from too many characters. If or when the robots take over the world (mostly depending on whether the aliens or zombies get there first), somehow I don’t think we’ll be laughing about it. Not until we’ve all gone stark raving mad from the post traumatic stress, that is. Snark, sarcasm, and gallows humor I could understand in that situation, not slapstick.

The plot is basically the same as the last two movies. Autobots good, Decepticons bad. Decepticons enact devious plans, Autobots team up with usual suspects consisting of awkward kid, awkward kid’s mega-hot girlfriend, and a handful of America’s finest to stop aforementioned devious plans. 

Shia LaBeouf reprises his role as awkward kid Sam Witwicky, who is struggling to find a job since there isn’t much call for people who majored in extra-terrestrial delegation. That just goes to show you, kids, getting a job is all about the interview. It doesn’t matter where you went to school or how many times you’ve saved the world or how unrealistically hot your girlfriend is, if you’re a total spaz in front of the prospective boss, you’re going to be living with mommy a little while longer.

Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro return in their previous roles as well. Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a newcomer as Sam’s new girlfriend. Megan Fox was fired from the gig for some questionable comments made in a Wonderland Magazine interview in 2009, comparing director Michael Bay to a certain insane German dictator from the 1940s. The comments, though they barely bothered Bay (say that five times fast), certainly ruffled the feathers of executive producer Steven Spielberg, and he ordered her firing.

Overall, it was just overdone, and it ended kind of abruptly. The acting was too melodramatic, except for John Malkovich’s. He usually plays crazy anyway, so his performance was actually perfectly normal. The comedy was too goofy, forced and over-done, and the action… well, it’s a Michael Bay movie. Over-the-top action is kind of par for the course and is actually excusable in this case. There are over a dozen giant alien robots doing battle on the streets of Chi-Town, after all.

I will say this, I have a ton of respect for the special effects crew. I wonder how many programmers, designers and computer geeks sacrificed their sanity to make the robot fights look so good. I mean, you could see every little sprocket, gear, plate, paint chip, speck of dirt, every part of every robot. And that scene with the skyscraper cracking in half andfalling over that was the headliner of all the trailers? That was pretty cool. Because apparently the Decepticons have access to a kraken. Deceptikraken.

In summary, if you liked the first two movies, the third is more of the same. Mindless action, weird humor, giant robot battles, loud noises and hot chicks. For me, it was only so-so. For you? I would say go by your reaction to the second film. If you liked it, you might like this one, too. If you hated it… you probably won’t miss this one all that much.

Now, I’m off to go sign up for base jumping lessons, because apparently it’s going to be a necessary skill during the robot apocalypse.

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich

Directed by: Michael Bay

Rated PG-13

2011

 

Real Steel: Bumblebee hits the boxing ring

What’s on now: Taking a break from the streaming TV shows from the moment, going with the good, old-fashioned iTunes mix. It’s the only place I can listen to Eminem, Gustav Holst, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap and the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack without ever having to switch stations.

Remember almost a year ago in December 2010 when I preliminarily reviewed a first-look promo for Real Steel? Well, break out the sparkling cider, ’cause this blog has survived long enough to follow up!

Was it an Oscar-worthy plunge into the murky, codependent relationship between man and machine? No. Was that what I was really expecting from it? Hell no. Well, was it at least fun? Totally!

I love sports movies. It doesn’t even matter that they’re all pretty much the same movie done over and over again. Protagonist has trouble winning at (insert sport here). Antagonist is egotistical jerk. Protagonist faces life-altering event. Protagonist trains butt off. Protagonist faces antagonist in final winner-take-all clash in which protagonist is the underdog is some way, shape or form. Win or lose, leave audience feeling like they could go out and win the Boston marathon right then and there. Because after all, with hard work and a give-em-hell attitude, anything is possible.

It works. It just does. It’s a recipe that never fails, kind of like grilled cheese. Place cheese on bread. Top with more bread. Insert into Foreman grill. Remove at desired level of gooeyness. And just as everyone loves their grilled cheese as gooey as possible, so does everyone like their sports movies as inspirational and exciting as possible.

Real Steel delivered that. Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Australia) is Charlie Kenton, a washed up boxer who now makes his living fighting robots. I made that sound even cooler than it already is. He does not actually fight the robots himself, he drives them, sort of like a very intense video game, and the robots fight each other. And apparently they also fight bulls… to the death… Okay… Flagrant animal cruelty aside, robots fighting robots is pretty sweet. Then again, if the robots ever gain self-awareness, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Machinery will finally have a purpose. But then the robots will rebel and kill us all, so really there’s no point to this tangent.

Back on track, Charlie is not doing so well in the business. His robots keep getting the scrap knocked out of them until they’re worthless piles of rubble and he owes money to just about everybody. Out of the blue, he is notified that his ex-girlfriend/baby mama has died, and he has just won a brand new son. Seeing as he’d pretty much a drifter living out of a truck, Charlie is slightly less than enthused about it. He’s ready to sign over custody of Max (Thor’s Dakota Goyo) to the mother’s sister, but then strikes a deal to look after him for the summer.

Turns out Max loves robot fighting as much as Charlie, though the two of them don’t get along so well for a while. Then they find Atom in a junkyard. Atom is an old-school sparring robot, built so bigger, better robots had something to practice against (Seabiscuit much?) But at Max’s behest, they outfit him to be a fighter, and surprise, surprise, he’s actually pretty good at it!

What follows is a delightful tale of love, father-son bonding, overcoming adversity, and, of course, bloodthirsty robots. Jackman plays his signature surly loner with a perpetual five o’clock shadow. You know what, when an actor does a particular kind of character as well as that, I rarely care. Goyo is a loveable kid who actually manages to not be annoying unlike some movie kids… (coughcough). Evangeline Lilly (Lost) plays Jackman’s love interest, Bailey, and I quite liked their chemistry. It was sweet, believable and never overshadowed the more important goings-on.

The effects were good, the soundtrack was great, and the inevitable final showdown was another fun addition to the sports movie archives. I thoroughly enjoyed Real Steel, and it’s already been added to my shopping list for whenever I need a good, uplifting kick of adrenaline.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Rated PG-13

2011