Movie Reviews

Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee and Frank head straight to DVD and Blu-Ray with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas, a mildly funny, 45-minute incarnation of the off-color FX television series.

Now available in stores, A Very Sunny Christmas has the irreverent characters realizing that their holiday traditions are based on false assumptions (one thought it was customary to sneak into other people’s homes and steal presents, while another assumed that all of the Santas that visited his mom and paid her money to visit her bedroom was standard practices) and trying to convince their step-father that over the years he completely ruined Christmas for them.

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A little over a month ago, I decided it was time to go on a Rocky marathon. I’d seen the first one several times, but had amazingly never seen the second, third, fourth or fifth ones (I did see Rocky Balboa in theaters), so I added those films to my Netflix list. One by one, I watched Rocky conquer. The second movie was excellent. The third movie was excellent. The fourth movie was quite good (though much more dated due to its strained Cold War commentary and uber-80′s styles). The fifth one, pretty decent (the street fight just wasn’t as compelling as 15 rounds in a boxing ring).

Then, MGM and Fox release Rocky: The Undisputed Collection Blu-Ray box set and send it to me. Damn. Just a month too late.

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Easily one of the most unique and memorable movies of 2009, <i>The Fantastic Mr. Fox</i> is funny, clever and Wes Anderson’s best movie in years. Forget <i>A Christmas Carol</i>. Featuring an all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon and Owen Wilson, <i>The Fantastic Mr. Fox</i> is the family movie to see this holiday weekend – though parents will likely enjoy it much more than children.

View this Fantastic Mr. Fox, The movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

While hordes of young girls swarmed in and out of theaters showing Twilight: New Moon last night, I forced my friends to go to the star-studded comedy Pirate Radio, about a group of disc jockeys on a ship off the coast of England who broadcasted “illegal” rock ‘n roll music during the 1960′s. In other words, I forced my friends to watch an uninformative, plot-less and pointless movie for $10, which was about $9.50 too much.

View this Pirate Radio movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

The newest film from acclaimed director Pedro Almodovar, Broken Embraces, starring Penelope Cruz and Lluis Homar, delivers visually, but falls short of the mastery of story present in Almodovar’s best films (i.e. Talk to Her).  The film is about a famous film director, Mateo Blanco (AKA Harry Caine), who in a car accident loses both his sight and the woman he loves (Cruz), and discovers new ways to channel his talent.  As the story twists and turns new information is revealed about the cause of the accident including the involvement of certain characters closest to him.

View this Broken Embraces movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

Hi, my name is Stephen Sommers and I’m the director of the drama called G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. I’ve been making movies since 1989, and in that time my goal has been to win an Oscar for Best Director. Or win a Razzie. I have yet to win either because Hollywood just doesn’t understand my sophisticated storytelling techniques or complex, layered characters. They just don’t understand. But audiences love my movies. They told me The Mummy was good, so I made a sequel. That movie made a lot of money, so I learned that people like ridiculous plots with terrible special effects. That’s how I came to make Van Helsing, one of the most celebrated films of this generation.

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It’s been six years since we last heard from John Woo, and even longer since he directed a good movie. For a short while, Woo was my favorite action director – that is, until he made Windtalkers. Oh, and Paycheck. Jesus, Paycheck. But Woo is back with an all-Chinese, all-battle epic called Red Cliff (Chi Bi), and it his best movie this decade. Of course, that’s not saying much.

View this Red Cliff movie review at its original location – FilmJabber!

First rule about Fight Club: Talk about Fight Club.

Brad Pitt and Ed Norton return to the small screen in a 10th Anniversary Edition of the cult classic Fight Club, which is directed by David Fincher. This is the first time the infamous film has been released on Blu-Ray. While I’m not as huge of an advocate of the movie or its ending as many fans, Fight Club is still a movie that should be in a guy’s collection – and what better time to add it than the holidays?

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Kevin Smith. Not many directors have consistently delivered as many entertaining and hilarious films as he has, though he evokes a love-him-or-hate-him reaction from many (my mom shakes her head disapprovingly in his general direction). Let’s look at his movies: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. He has quietly (or not so quietly) built up an incredibly strong resume.

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There are two camps: those who like Bruno and those who don’t. Those who like Bruno are wrong. And stupid-heads.

Bruno is, by far, one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a long while. My friend and I almost walked out of the theater multiple times while watching this disaster, but didn’t because we were just hoping – hoping – for something funny.

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The boombox is back! Say Anything, one of the quintessential romantic comedies of the 1980′s, is coming to Blu-Ray in an all-new 20th Anniversary Edition.

Say Anything marks the directorial debut of Cameron Crowe and stars John Cusack as a young man named Lloyd Dobler, who’s one mission in life is to date Diane Court (Ione Skye). The movie looks at the rise and fall of their relationship in a very sincere way, which sets it apart from a lot of the teen comedies that were to follow.

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Two years ago, their movie won Best Picture. Last year, their follow-up starred Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich. This year, the Coen brothers’ latest film – A Serious Man – stars no big-name movies whatsoever. It’s also one of their funniest films yet.

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Ashton Kutcher may have four million followers on Twitter, but that alleged popularity didn’t transfer into box office dollars as his latest film, an R-rated sex drama titled Spread, garnered less than a million dollars, albeit in a very limited release. The movie, coming to DVD and Blu-Ray this Tuesday, is surprisingly decent, but “decent” is as good as it gets.

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From the writer and director of The Foot Fist Way comes Observe and Report, a dark and surprisingly disturbing comedy starring Seth Rogen in a role that’s considerably different than anything he’s played before. The result: a love-it-or-hate-it film that doesn’t always hit the right notes but is still consistently entertaining.

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Can you believe it’s November already? I can’t believe it’s November already. October flew by like a house on balloons, and now it’s the all-important time of year where the holiday decorations come out and the movies start vying for the oh-so-coveted end-of-year awards. Practically a shoe-in for Best Animated Picture of 2009, and perhaps a Best Picture nominee given that the Oscars are now nominating 10 films in that category (so far, there hasn’t been much to choose from), Up comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on November 10, 2009.

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