Iron Man 2

The inevitable sequel. I was pleasantly surprised by the first Iron Man. I went in thinking it would be another garbage superhero movie, but it turned out to be pretty decent. Iron Man 2, however, does not hold up. It turned into the same generic crap I expected the first one to be. Boring action sequences, unfunny jokes, and an overall lack of excitement or tension. The best part of the whole movie was Scarlett Johansson in her bra. I like Sam Rockwell, but in this movie it just seemed like he was trying to do a Gary Oldman impression. Maybe Iron Man 3 will be better . . . but probably not.

Hot Tub Time Machine

A hot tube transports four guys back to the 80s. This movie is what it is, boobs, gross out, and jokes about sucking dick. It's pretty funny, but they could have done more with the whole 80s thing. One of the quotes on the case says "funnier than the Hangover", which it isn't, but it's still worth a watch.

Mystery Team

Teens who play detective need to solve a murder. Really Good. Derrick comedy have some funny sketches, and Donald Glover is awesome on Community, but that doesn't necessarily translate in to a good movie. In this case, thought, it did. Laughs throughout, and the pace was good, no dragging. There are a couple of pretty gross parts, i'm not sure how they managed to get a PG in Canada. Great first film from Derrick, and i hope the get to make another.



Also, RIP Dennis Hopper. i'm going to try and watch The Osterman Weekend soon.

Art & Copy

Documentary about Advertising. Doug Pray does it again. I can't say it's as awesome as Scratch, but it's still a pretty entertaining doc. Interviews with big names in advertising, and a look at some of the most famous campaigns they created. Never dull, and there's no real agenda, just information.



Also watched recently: The Hurt Locker, I don't know if i would have pegged this for best picture, but it's pretty good all the same.

Astro Boy

Robot boy is a hero. What can i say about Astro boy, i've read a lot of the original manga, and loved the 80's tv series, so i consider myself a fan, and that might be why i didn't really like this movie. The animation was fine, and the original characters worked well, but the astro boy parts just didn't do it for me. Why not make up a new hero or something, there's no need to take an established character with a rich history and fuck with it. They did the whole origin thing too, which just burns up screen time and doesn't really add anything to the movie. It's not as horrible as i thought it might be, but it's still not very good. I'll take my animated astro boy in 2-D with an awesome theme song thank you.



Also watched recently: Ninja Assassin. Fun, never tries to be anything more then what it is, straight action.

Where The Wild Things Are

Boy runs away to a fantasy world inhabited by monsters. Too damn serious. They took away a lot of the whimsy that the book had in favor of a slightly more detailed plot that didn't really add anything to the movie. Visually it was great, but the sense of fun just wasn't there. Might have worked better as a cartoon, or better yet, just a short film.



Also watched recently: The Box. Not that great, over-complicates what was a decent short story.

Surrogates

People use robot doubles to lead their daily lives. I didn't expect very much going into this movie, but it turn out to be pretty good, which was kind of a surprise. The concept was really interesting, and although they didn't use it to it's fully potential the end result was still entertaining. The "robot" Bruce Willis was kinda funny looking. Decent action-y sci-fi.


Also watched recently: Planet Hulk. These new Marvel direct-to-dvd cartoons come pretty close to being good, but just fall short. It's like they haven't quite decided if they're targeting kids or adults.

Big Fan

A football fan gets brutally beaten. Marketed as a dark comedy, this movie was kinda dark, but not really that much of a comedy. Patton Oswalt is great as the NY Giants fanatic which i guess comes in part from him channeling his own nerdiness. Overall it's a good movie, but my one major problem with it is that it's a bit too short, it starts to end just when it really gets going.


Also watched recently: I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell. Boring, not very funny, and a lot less boobs then i expected.

Youth In Revolt

Dude wants to get laid. It's been said before, and it's true, Michael Cera plays almost the same character in every movie, and this one is pretty much no different. The whole awkward nerd thing is getting a bit played. His alter ego was funny, but wasn't on screen a whole lot. It's hard to knock a movie that has Zach Galifianakis, Fred Willard, and Steve Buscemi, but really it was light on laughs.

Also watched recently: Moon. Excellent Sci Fi, highly recommended.

Train

Thora Birch hitches a ride on a torture train. Was this movie gory? Yes. Was it scary? No, in fact it was kinda boring. Fake blood is cheap, so i guess it's easier to fill up the movie with that then pretty much anything else. Another lame entry in the tourist torture sub-genre. Thora Birch wasn't even naked, so basically it was a total let down.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

Amateur scientist invents a machine that makes it rain food. Pretty much everything an adult could want in a kid's movie. Nice visuals, great cast, and actually really funny. The plot is fairly predictable, but that's par for the course as far as kid's movies go. Way better the shrek sequels and all that other garbage. I only wish Will Forte had a bigger role.