Battle: LA

Gives Aliens and Soldiers Alike a Bad Name

This was not a movie I would have gone out of my way to see, but during my recent travels in Columbia, I decided to catch a movie at the local cinema and this was the only thing they had playing in English. My time would have been better spend looking at posters out front.

This movie has absolutely 0% originality. The plot is this - a rogue troop of U.S. Marines battling Aliens on a Los Angelous freeway. During the fight the Marines attempt to shelter a lost family. There is some plot twist where a secret about the Staff Sargent in Command is discovered, but it is not at all made clear. This movie was a lot of things, but most of all it was badly written. The special effects were decent, but tremendously overused. The action was decent, no A-List names, pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-budget action flick. I didn't expect to be impressed, but this was just a horrible movie, in every manner of speaking. Of course judging by the title, "Battle: LA" anyone with a second grade education should be able to guess this isn't a movie worth seeing. Anyone considering watching this movie should save their money and go do anything else. As of today Battle:LA is number three on my list of worst movies ever made.

1 Star

Knight and Day

R.I.P Tom Cruise

This has been a pretty good year for action comedies. We had Cop Out and The Other Guys but it stopped with Knight and Day. We all know Tom Cruise hasn't been all that selective with his movies as of late, (Vanilla Sky, War of the Worlds, ect) but this "action comedy" as it was somehow dubbed was just awful. There can be no doubt that Cruise has lost a few steps since his "Mission Impossible" days. The fact is, he hasn't made a decent action movie, or just a decent movie in general since 2003's "The Last Samurai." Granted, political thriller "Lions for Lambs" wasn't too bad, and even historical action thriller "Valkyrie" was almost worth watching, but after this, I simply cannot take him seriously. It wasn't all Cruise's fault, this movie was not well written or directed. Arn't the girls in action movies supposed to be young and beautiful? Cameron Diaz doesn't exactly match that description..just my opinion. This movie should have been labeled a spoof because thats what it comes across as - a spoof on Tom Cruise action flicks. How Cruise will land anymore action gigs or just acting gigs in general after this, I really can't imagine, but hey; I said the same thing after Vanilla Sky and he bounced back ok from that, even if it was to make movies like this. My best advice to Tom Cruise can be summed up in three short words; "Fire Your Agent."

1/2 Star

Megamind

All Star Cast, Not Much Else

Another animated superhero flick aimed at 10 year old boys...I was in no hurry to see this movie but sitting on a plane, bored out of my mind I decided to give it a try.

Megamind was about like you'd expect, with a few good twists, mainly that it was written from the bad guy's point of view. Will Ferrell was the voice of the title character, an alien sent to earth by his parents. The opening scene was a direct rip-off of Superman, where Megamind's parents shipped him to earth. On the way down though, another alien baby being sent to earth crosses his path. Thats the first encounter Megamind has with Metro Man, as his soon to be arch enemy would come to be known. Megamind ended up being raised in a prison by inmates while Metro Man was raised by rich, loving parents in a life of comfort. As adults they become rivals, constantly battling in the city, Metro Man always winning. One day Megamind thinks he's actually destroyed his arch enemy, but things in Metro City arn't always as they seem. The evil mastermind soon gets bored, having no one to battle. This isn't a bad movie but its not very good either. Anyone looking for a movie with some depth should avoid it but if you or your kids are just looking for a funny family flick, Megamind isn't a bad choice.

3 Stars

True Grit

You Can't Beat John Wayne...But Jeff Bridges Comes Pretty Close

You don't have to be a fan of the original, 1969 John Wayne classic to enjoy a movie like this. But for the thousands who are, you should be in for a rather pleasant surprise; this is actually a decent John Wayne remake.

Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed this western remake. The story stays the same, telling of a young girl who's father has just been shot down in cold blood by a cowardly whisky drinker named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Fearing justice will not be served, she takes matters into her own hands and hires a U.S Marshall, the life hardened, one eyed, eye patch wearing Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Cogburn is not an easy man to work with. Ignoring the girls pleas to go with him he sets out alone without her known. She catches up with him, but adding to the mix is a bumbling texas ranger (Matt Damon), pursing Chaney for other reasons. Wanting more than anything to see Chaney face the gallows in her home town, our young hero throws her life on the line to bring her father's killer to justice. Jeff Bridges shown as Cogburn, doing his best to fill the shoes left by John Wayne. Not an easy role for anyone, but Bridges does it very well. All the supporting cast was solid as well. Not one of my favorite movies, but certainly worth checking out.

4 Stars

Cop Out

The Other Guys With Real Action, Less Plot

It's honestly hard to tell weather Cop Out is meant to be action or comedy. It's defined as an action comedy but theres almost a laugh for every bullet fired, making it hard to tell what this movie really is. Not to say that its a bad movie, its not, at all. The acting is pretty good, a solid performance by Tracy Morgan, and Bruce Willis is good in his usual role - life hardened aging cop. Stealing the show is Sean William Scott, who costars as a talented thief with a knack for annoying the cops bringing him in. Willis stars as NYPD detective Jimmy Monroe, a desperate cop with no way to pay for his only daughter's wedding. His ex-wife's new husband, Jason Lee, offers to pay for the wedding the Jimmy won't hear of it. In a last attempt to come up with the money, he tries to sell the most valuable thing he owns, a baseball card worth thousands of dollars. Before he can close the deal, however, the card is stolen and thats where our story begins. Morgan plays his paranoid but well meaning partner who's constantly distracted by the fear that his wife is cheating on him. The bumbling duo is thrust into a drug ring, finding romance, discovering shocking secrets and much, much more. This movie ultimately seems more like an action flick but it has enough laughs to earn a comedy rating as well. Whichever is your preference, give Cop Out a shot.

4 Stars

Yogi Bear

Life's a Pick-a-Nic and So is This Movie

When I took my younger brother to see this, I didn't expect much. Right from the opening scene though, I could tell this wasn't going to be as bad as I'd thought. On the contrary, it was great! Yogi Bear is the best family film to come along in ages.

Based on the beloved cartoon, this charming family animation tells the story of two talking bears living in the beautiful but unpopular Jellystone Park. The ever cunning but somewhat dimwitted Yogi loves 'pic-a-nic' baskets and whenever a family arrives with one, Yogi tries his best to steal it. His plans however, also backfire miserably. Meanwhile, the long suffering Head Ranger Smith, known to the bears as 'Mr. Ranger' is in some hot water. The corrupt mayer of the city wants to close down Jellystone and sell its logging rights. In order stop him, Ranger Smith must come up with thousands of dollars in ten days - not as easy as you might think with Yogi running around. Meanwhile when a beautiful, nature loving film maker named Rachel arrives to film a documentary, sparks begin to fly. Yogi, despite Boo Boo warnings tries to help Ranger Smith, but despite his best efforts, he somehow manages to ruin more things than he fixes. This movie has it all, non stop laughs, action, political corruption, romance and even a good message. Truly a movie anyone can enjoy, this is not a comedy to be missed.

4 Stars