Cowboys & Aliens Review

Director:Jon Favreau

Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach

Plot: A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist that isn’t man made.

Now before I do the review I want to say something. Ever since the trailer to this came out people have been saying this movie looks stupid or even worse saying it doesn’t make sense like saying “But the aliens are going to win duh” and what I want to say to those people is…are you fucking kidding me? I’m sorry I thought you go to the movies to enjoy what you’re watching on screen (or not). Thinking that EVERY movie has to make sense is really stupid because people seem to like the true story of transforming alien robots coming to save the world. We go to the movies to lose ourselves not question everything we see on screen (well sometimes but not all the time anyway). So lets get to review

Cowboys & Aliens is loosely based on a graphic novel of the same name, is a sci-fi/western mashup set in the Arizona Territory and follows Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), a gunslinger who wakes up in the middle of nowhere with a futuristic gauntlet on his arm and no idea of how it got there. He eventually arrives in Absolution, a small town where meets preacher Meacham (Clancy Brown) and comes to the aid of saloon owner Doc (Sam Rockwell) who is being harassed by young thug Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano) and his cronies (including Adam Beach). Later he is approached by the Ella (Olivia Wilde) who like Jake is a little mysterious and who knows more about Jake’s gauntlet than he does. But before Jake can get any answers, Sheriff Taggart (Keith Carradine) and his deputies come to arrest him. It turns out Jake is quite the outlaw who, although he has no memory of it, allegedly stole from the all-powerful local rancher (and Percy’s badass dad) Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford).

Before Dolarhyde can take Jake away to punish him distant lights signal the sudden and violent arrival of the alien invaders. The brutal attack on Absolution plays out really well with the alien ships destroying the town and abducting some of its inhabitants before Jake destroys one of the spacecraft with his strange gauntlet. This otherworldly threat forces Jake and Dolarhyde to team up and take Ella, Doc, Meachum and Taggart’s grandson, Emmett (Noah Ringer) to rescue the townsfolk. Of course this is a western  so along the way, they join meet up and eventually forces with Apaches who have encountered the aliens as well.

Now don’t be fooled by the title (like other people are) this is at most times a straightforward western, with elements of the sci-fi genre. In fact like alot of zombies movies (not that I’m comparing the two genres) the word alien is never mentioned. In fact alot of people see the aliens as either demons or a curse in some way.

Now on the cast, Craig is as always cool playing a man of a few words trying to figure out why he’s in this mess while Wilde’s character Ella is more of a presence than her underwritten role provides, however she does have a very important role in the movie next to Craig. But it’s Ford who is the one most people will probably be watching, primarily because he’s such a bastard or badass for most of the movie. Rockwell and Beach do a pretty good job playing his supporting role and both have their moments to shine in the movie. The aliens themselves are not something we haven’t seen before (expect for maybe one thing) they’re big greenish monsters. Also some people might find why the aliens are here kinda ridiculous but like I said it’s a movie just enjoy it.

Cowboys & Aliens is fun overall and some might like the western aspect more than the aliens and other it might be the other way around. However, as far as summer popcorn flicks go, Cowboys & Aliens gives us a bit of originality in a season of sequels/reboots/remakes etc.

Cowboys & Aliens

4 out of 5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

Director: Michael Bay

Cast: Shia LeBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand

Plot: The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets

Okay we can all admit that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a huge disappointment right? Good and since then Shia LeBeouf has gone out and said that we were all right. So with Dark of Moon was announced everybody kinda of cringed. Bay even came out and said he would change everything and make his and Shia’s last Transformers movie more of a darker tone then the first two. Did he do it? Let’s get to the review.

The movie actually starts off with two past events. One, being what we saw in the teaser, the “real” reason we went to the moon and two is the war of Cybertron. Of course we fast forward to the present where Sam (LaBeouf) is out of college and looking for a job, while the Autobots and NEST led by Lt. Col. Lennox (Duhamel) work to take out the remaining Decepticons around the world. However, the evil ‘bots eventually get the upper hand and begin an invasion to conquer the Earth with Chicago as Ground Zero in this final war between the Autobots/humans and Decepticons. There’s more going on, but for the sake of spoilers we’ll keep it at that.

Let’s get to the good, Transformers: Dark of the Moon definitely has more of a plot than the others but not then again not many people see these movies for the plot. It’s also the only one that you actually get some sense of physical or emotional consequence. Also believe it or not the 3D in this is actually not that bad however its highlights mostly happen during the final hour in Chicago!! (I’m from Chicago hence the exclamation mark), such as the wingsuit jump sequence (which was not CG they actually did it) and where Sam, his new girlfriend Carly (Huntington-Whiteley, which I’ll get to later) and Epps (Gibson) are inside a collapsing skyscraper. The Chicago action sequence is the best of the whole movie and that alone makes the movie good and worth while.

Of course Bay is known for his big action sequences and this one is no different, they are more brutal than any in the first two films and ALOT more. As I mentioned before there is more plot in this movie but the performances in the movie are okay at best. Shia remains the lead and keeps the viewer interested in whatever happens and also of course keeps the comedy in the loop. It was nice to see Sam still having to struggle to prove his worth despite having saved the earth twice before. Victoria’s Secret model-turned-first time actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley plays Carly who is charming, sweet and, yes, hothothothothot. Also the fact that many people many people are bashing her performance in the movie is getting me. Remember people this is her FIRST movie, also I liked her character better than Megan Fox’s. Patrick Dempsey makes for a great douchebag as Carly’s boss Dylan Gould, who of course hits on Carly even in front of Sam.

Duhamel and Gibson provide the movies military muscle in their again and underwritten, one-dimensional roles. Cohen Brothers veteran Frances McDormand classes things up and brings seriousness as National Intelligence Director Mearing. John Turturro again plays supporting role of Simmons, which to be honest I never liked his characters luckily there isn’t that much of him and he’s a little more serious. Another great veteran actor John Malkovich makes a cameo as Sam’s new boss and is well lets just say over the top. Alan Tudyk of Firefly fame plays the real comic relief in my mind. And, of course, Sam’s parents make an appearance in a couple of scenes.

Of course the real reason we watch these movies (or at least are suppose to) are the robots. Optimus Prime is finally the badass robot warrior we all wanted as his battles here are the best he’s ever had in the trilogy. Megatron (yes he’s back, although he really does nothing). Starscream, Shockwave and the Wreckers have their scene-stealing moments. Unfortunately the leg humping robot known as Wheelie is back and this time has a sidekick, Brains. The biggest ‘bot role here besides Optimus is the new one Sentinel Prime, voiced by Leonard Nimoy, yes that Nimoy. He’s Optimus’ mentor and the Autobot discovered by the Apollo 11 astronauts during the film’s opening sequence.

The effects in the movie are great as almost always but the score of the movie, especially at the end really sets the tone for what’s going on. However, there is one certain piece that really surprised, not because it was good although it kinda was, it was the fact that it sounded ALOT like Zack Hemsey’s “Mind Heist” which was used in Inception (the trailer at least). By the way the composer was not Hemsey. Unless the score was great.
Michael Bay try to redeem themselves for Revenge of the Fallen and I don’t know what it is but I felt that they were trying just a little too hard. Question is did they do it? Sort of. The movie still suffers a bit from it’s slow pace at times and unnecessary scenes between certain supporting characters. Of course, those who loathe the series won’t be convinced no matter what, but why bother watching the movie then? The last hour is the full-on human vs. robot war film. Transformers: Dark of the Moon may not be a great film, but it is a summer great fun movie.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

4 out of 5

Super 8 Review

Director: J.J Abrams

Cast: Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills

Plot: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined

Now I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t all that excited for this movie and it’s not because I don’t like Abrams or Spielberg but I was still going to see it. However, more toward the release date I was letting myself get into the movie knowing that these two great filmmakers could make a descent movie. Abrams of course kept the secret of the film which knowing him wasn’t a total surprise (Cloverfield ring a bell). Nonetheless, Super 8 lives up to the hype that’s behind it and now onward to the review.

Super 8 is not just a mystery creature movie oh no it’s about a young kid played by Joel Courtney who just recently lost his mother and what happens afterwards. Of course this doesn’t help the situation that there is a creature running around. The two arcs (Joel characters and the monsters) eventually do come together and it actually works, not like most movies that just throw them together. One of the things I liked about the film is that it takes place in Smalltown, U.S.A. (somewhere in Ohio) in 1979 and not a big city in modern times. It tells the story of a group of teens making a zombie movie in their backyard when their camera catches a massive train wreck on film. The train wreck was one of the best sequences of the movie and probably the best wreck I’ve ever seen in film.

Anyway,Joe (Courtney) is still processing the recent death of his mother, as his father, Deputy Jackson (Kyle Chandler), wrangles the town crisis and as people and things disappear, the rift between Jackson and his son widens. This is proven by one scene in particular that is probably one of the many great dialogue scenes in the movie and actually intertwines the movies plot points and backgrounds of these two characters.

In between the mystery and suspense, a romance develops between Joe and his first crush, Alice Dainard played by Elle Fanning, who was great in the role. Alice is the last person Jackson wants Joe to see (got going to ruin that for you), and she emerges as the only one Joe wants to be with as the creature goes running around.

Abrams’ did a terrific job focusing on the characters as we actually care for what happens to all them and not just Joe and Alice. He gives each character the right amount of personality to make them well human, which pays off when things start exploding and people start dying. Also a little side note most the kids here, most in particular Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths who plays Charles, this is there very first movie and they did great). While we know Spielberg loves his Sci-Fi, Super 8 wants to earn its place next to the other movies like E.T. and if there was ever a time to use the the term “love letter” to a certain type of genre this would be it. While the idea isn’t really original it did at times feel like it was something new and I hadn’t seen before.

The end result of Super 8 is a mix tape from other films, such as E.T. and The Thing and that’s a good thing. Like I said before Super 8 truly lives up to the hype behind it, with elements like horror, sci-fi, action, romance, and comedy this is by far the best movie of the year. By the way the creature of the film is great, maybe you know what it is and maybe not but nonetheless it was a great ride.

Super 8

5 out of 5

Battle: Los Angeles Review

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez

Plot: A Marine platoon faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles.

No it’s not summer yet but some say Battle: LA is the first real summer movie to be released. Battle LA is of course another alien invasion movie but this time focuses on just one city which of course is Los Angeles. The film follows a platoon of Marines led by veteran Staff Sgt. Nantz (Eckhart), who was on the verge of retiring after twenty years and a history he would like to forget and younger first time squad leader Lieutenant Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez). While LA is being attacked and blown up by aliens their mission is to rescue a small group of civilians (including Bridget Moynahan, Michael Pena and three kid actors) trapped in a police station in the middle of the craziness. Also along the way, they encounter a Tech Sergeant Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez), who is on a mission to locate the enemy’s command and control center. Together, they fight their way across the city and hopefully find a way to defeat the invaders.

Liebesman does something interesting with Battle that has been done only a hand-full of times with invasion movies and that is focus on the military’s perspective and not the everyday people’s point of view. In the beginning of the movie we get to meet the marines that we are going to follow through out the movie and get to know some of their personalities. The second thing I liked was the look of the film not only did it have a gritty look but it had well integrated CGI in to the environment and of course the intense and fantastic looking action sequences.

The acting in the movie isn’t speculator but considering this is an invasion movie that really is not surprising. Eckhart probably gives the best performance playing the experience and grizzly veteran next to Michael Pena who plays a father of one of the kids and just wants to get him out of the city. Rodriguez plays the usual role of playing a badass but it takes awhile until it happens.

However, despite it being a sci-fi movie Battle: Los Angeles is a down to the bone war film (think Black Hawk Down with a sci-fi twist) with its loud shootouts and explosions through out the movie. The movie does slow down once the civilians are introduced, even when Eckhart goes and makes a speech to hype up his marines to make a final stand, but not so much that it becomes boring and takes away from the action.

Battle: Los Angeles

4.5 out of 5