Cinema Alliance Movie Reviews

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Here’s the setup: Paul Rudd’s character is trying to get a promotion to impress his girlfriend into marrying him. While working the corporate ladder, he discovers the seedier underbelly in the attitudes of those he’s aspiring to rise with. Not only does he have to kiss the right asses but he has to stoop down to playing a childish, mean game that involves inviting “extraordinary” individuals to dinner one evening for the sole purpose of making fun of them and crowing a king idiot. This all takes place without the contestants understanding the true nature of the event and the supposedly elite laughing at their guests while pretending to honor them.

Leading up to the event is where the story builds and the characters are introduced. After being faced with the dilemma of having to find his own guest for the dinner, Rudd’s character literally runs into Steve Carell through which event Rudd realizes he’s found his guest. So here’s where the conflict starts and doesn’t relent until about 3/4 way in.

Now they start to establish some of the schmucks with Carrell as the center piece. Granted he’s supposed to be annoying but I found him too much so to the point where some of the scenes were not only hard to watch but genuinely made me want to turn off or fast forward. It was hard to feel or even want to feel any sympathy for him. His rudeness, stalker-like qualities, and awkward weirdo vibe isn’t very fun or funny, perhaps that’s the point but it still doesn’t make it very enjoyable to watch.

Rudd too for that matter considering how much of a spineless dick his character is. Not only is he being a deceptive kiss ass but he lets everyone just kind of do what they want without doing much to prevent getting sand kicked in his face. It was a bit much when he had his car destroyed by a crazy ex when he could’ve simply drove off, that just seemed set up and kind of stupid.

Luckily by the time the dinner starts, there’s a shift. It’s when the characters start to arc that you not only start to feel sympathy but that they come off genuine, interesting, funny and a dare I say, endearing. When the truth comes out about the dinner and the mayhem ensues, the movie becomes a lot more enjoyable to watch, The mice segments at the end are a hoot and the redemption delivered by Rudd completes the upward trend and ends the movie on a high note.

Some good performances in here that include the talents of Zach Galifinakis, Jemaine Clement (from Flight of the Concords), Ron Livingston, Larry Wilmore, Bruce Greenwood, and Kristen Schaal. Jay Roach directs.

If you can sit through the first 3/4 of the movie, I think you’ll find the last 1/4 makes it worth the wait (hopefully).

reviewed by Sean McKnight

Ok, let’s start this by clearing up any mis-conceptions about the name. It’s called The Thing. It’s not a remake of the 1982 classic directed by John Carpenter, it’s a prequel. But yes, they named it The Thing, the exact same name of the movie it’s supposed to be a prequel to. Which is very telling of the approach to the rest of the film, it’s basically a copy. Hmmm, I see a theme already…

Oh, the irony that is just oozing out of this, this, thing.

Anyway. Here’s the scoop. This movie is supposed to be a prequel as I mentioned. If you’ve seen the ‘82 version, you know that there’s a team of Norwegian scientists that come across an alien spaceship and life-form locked in the frozen Antarctic wasteland. Said scientists dig up alien life-form to check it out and claim glory. The alien thaws, escapes, and terror ensues. Just a reminder, the alien life form clones any hosts it can find by taking over cells and replicating the host cells it absorbed. So, it copies cells and looks like whatever it copies.

Much like this film.

I had read how much this followed the original but I was genuinely shocked at just how far it went. To the point where there’s even a very MacCready-esque dude (chopper pilot and all originally played by Kurt Russell) that takes over with a flame thrower at one point. I don’t know if the unoriginality is conscious or not, either way it’s like buying a knock off that is a little shinier but is ultimately a lame imitation of the original.

Other stuff this film rips off from the ‘82 version – the pacing, the timeline, hell, the POSTER. Even the editing style is mimicked.

The effects are updated to be digital but surprisingly came off less scary to me. The first alien iteration is pretty interesting and a bit terrifying at first. After the creature’s initial introduction and subsequent demise, it melds into the familiar shapeshifter we recognize from the sequel. Ultimately, Carpenter’s creature is scarier. This new version looks CG at times and without the dark edge atmosphere that John Carpenter is so good at crafting, this version looks too slick and commercial. They even rip off John Carpenter’s music for parts of the soundtrack but simply can’t capture that special thing (get it? thing) that he brought to his version.

The end of the film ends where the sequel picks up with one key character strangely just sort of going away in a manner that doesn’t make sense. It’s almost like the writers and director went “wait, she’s not in the sequel, sooooooo, how about she just sort of wanders off or something?”.

The characters are another weak point. The 80’s version had interesting characters with distinct personalities along with a strong cast that included Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, and Richard Dysart. This version has Mary Elizabeth Winstead and a number of other actors that most people have never heard of. They’re ok, but their characters are bland and cookie cutter, no real stand outs here. Even Winstead comes off just ok and a little forced and unnatural at times.

Ugh. Just another remake not trying to be a remake but not trying to be original either. Hollywood’s just getting really freakin’ lazy at this point…

reviewed by Sean McKnight

So yeah, this is basically the popcorn, big-action flick you’d expect it to be. No surprises but entertaining to watch. Let’s break it down…

The movie starts off in the heat of the action and then back tracks to add some start-stop-start again style to it. During the back tracking period the audience is introduced to the human element part of the storyline mostly through the eyes of a marine unit that includes Aaron Eckhart’s character. He’s an older marine on his way to retirement (no, he doesn’t say “I’m getting too old for this shit” luckily). He ends up getting assigned to a unit with a much younger commanding officer and the brother of a fallen marine from his previous unit. Underlying tension is established.

Aliens have invaded and they’re after our resources (natch), namely our water (underlying environmental message regarding the importance of our water now in place). The goal of Eckhart’s unit is to rescue some people pinned down in a police station before a major bombing. During their mission they manage to uncover a hidden alien command post that, if destroyed, would be a major component to saving the human race.

The good and the bad of it…

Too much jumpy cam! Geez. Even during a damn phone call in an office before the aliens invade! Suffice it to say that the quick cuts and the shakey cam are way overdone, to the point of distraction. Next, most of the characters are pretty generic and uninteresting. You don’t mind too much if you lose one here or there. I felt a bit sad when one of them goes down, but he was one of the few I felt sympathy towards dying, the rest I was kind of “meh”.

The effects mostly look pretty good. There are times that some quick cuts, blurry backgrounds and quick camera movements are used to cover bad effects. It’s done quite a bit and easy to spot, not good. And you don’t get enough wide shots on a fixed camera to really enjoy the action, it’s more quick cuts and jittery camera. I want to bring back more of a balance to action movies where you get the pacing but you also get to see the action.

The acting for the most part is decent but average. Aaron Eckhart plays the lead well and has a solid support cast next to him which includes Michelle Rodriquez kicking ass as always as her usual tough character. Noone stands out as exceptional but they all fill their molds well.

It’s your by-the-numbers big budget aliens blow up Los Angeles popcorn flick. If you liked films like Independence Day, you’ll dig this.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

I have to admit that normally I enjoy the Mission Impossible movies, especially the first 2. You typically know what you’re getting with each film, a stylish, somewhat intriguing, action-spy flick with cool gadgets and some eye candy. Each of the first 3 also have a cool flow to the story and some mis-directs happening in terms of where things are going and how they’ll be resolved. This installment is more of the same but doesn’t quite live up to the standards of it’s predecessors…

First, the plot – Ethan and his IMF team are in trouble. They’ve been set up (again) to look like they could be a terrorist organization while the real threat lies with the extremist they’re trying to stop from setting off a nuclear bomb. The twist is that this time, the whole IMF has been disavowed and it’s down to Ethan and his team of 3 to foil the real terrorist without being able to enlist the aid of the full IMF and their bevy of money and resources. So in other words, Tom and team are roughing it (for a little while anyway).

Their chase of said terrorist leads them all over the world to different exotic locales including Russia and Mumbai as they attempt to catch the bad guy and thwart his plan. This is all going on while some sub-plots carry out in the background including some reveals of Ethan’s story from MI:3.

Yes, it’s fun to watch, the locations are beautiful, the action and effects are there and yes, Tom Cruise is doing some crazy shit. That’s all well and good. But for me this falls short of the other films in a number of ways…

The writing is ok but typical. We’ve seen this before, all too many times in fact. Why is Ethan’s team always being “set up”? You’d think they’d be better at not being set up by now, but they seem to fall into that same trap for most of the films. As for the main storyline, there isn’t much mystery to it and aside from Jeremy Renner’s character’s purpose, there isn’t much you don’t see coming. Even Renner’s character’s “twist” is more of a sidestep then it is something that really drives the plot forward.

The movie feels more like a bunch of excuses to do stuff, mainly to put Tom Cruise in a position where he can do death-defying stunts. It’s almost like he’s trying to portray himself as something beyond human. He even mysteriously disappears in the fog at the end like some sort of ghost (Ghost Protocal, get it?), which comes off a bit contrived and cheesy and wasn’t a good way to end the film. The story flows much less organically than the others and comes off much more as a set-up – stuff happens – set-up kind of formula. You’ve got Simon Pegg as the comic relief (I love Simon Pegg but he’s borderline annoying in here) as well as Jeremy Renner as the tortured agent with a secret (who’s performance is forced at times, which sucks because he’s better than this) and the angry agent out for revenge in the form of Paula Patton.

Tom Cruise and JJ Abrams are producing this time around (which would account for some of the holes in the writing and the cheese factor, sorry but I think JJ is a bit overrated personally). You also have Brad Bird directing his first major live action film with MI:4; Bird’s known more for his Pixar accomplishments. Unfortunately there are some weak points in here that would fall on his shoulders that the earlier directors of the other films were better with, especially the actor’s performances and the writing.

The acting is decent but nothing mindblowing, Cruise is ok but seems to be phoning it in at times, he was better in the eariler films, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg both have moments but don’t stand out, Paula Patton is trying way too hard and Michael Nyqvist is just not very memorable as the bad guy.

It’s fun to see in the theater but I wouldn’t bend over backwards to see again.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest installment of the story of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes along with his faithful partner Watson. This time, the story finds these literary legends facing their classic nemesis in the form of Professor James Moriarty. If you saw the first movie, you’ll know his character was introduced but not explored just yet; this time ‘round it’s all about the villain and his plot to start a world war for the sake of his power and profit.

The movie starts with Holmes foiling a plot by Moriarty that sets the chess pieces in place for the rest of the game that plays out between Holmes and his arch rival. The first 5 – 10 minutes of the movie seems a little set up and perhaps even a little forced in terms of how things play out. After that though, the rest of the movie flows very organically with some mis-direction and intrigue that will keep you delightfully guessing how things will play out during this classic showdown of the two genius minds.

Moriarty’s character is vicious, intelligent and fun to watch; it’s nice to see someone that can give Holmes a run for his money. Then there’s the relationship between Holmes and Watson (who’s almost constantly tormented by Holmes and his antics). The back and forth between the two is thoroughly entertaining as the actors have great chemistry and deliver their performances brilliantly. Some new characters have been added to the mix including Holmes’ brother who’s equally as brilliant and eccentric as his younger sibling and again, is very enjoyable to watch.

Guy Ritchie’s visual presentation is very well put together and compliments the storyline and action perfectly. His rewind/fast forward and slow-mo effects accent the storytelling in a visual structure that is dazzling to behold on the big screen. This was done in the first movie as well but is taken to a different level in this film without overwhelming it. It’s not overdone but done enough that you get your fill without getting sick of it.

As for the performances, this is a really strong cast with no weak links… Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are both excellent in their roles as Holmes as Watson while Jared Harris plays Moriarty in a subtle but sinister way that leaves you wanting more screen time for his diabolical character. The support is well casted as well and includes the talents of Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, and Stephen Fry.

All-in-all a fun, entertaining movie, try to catch this one on the big screen!

reviewed by Sean McKnight

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the latest release from director David Fincher (one of my personal favorites director-wise) since The Social Network. Check out Fincher’s other work which includes: Se7en, The Game, Panic Room, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and more…

This film is adapted from the book by Stieg Larsson about a troubled young woman (Rooney Mara) that is highly intelligent and technologically skilled as well as deeply damaged and radically minded. The story is set with her hired as a investigator of sorts working on digging into people’s lives to find out information for various organizations while she struggles with her own issues as a ward of the UK. Her counterpart, played by Daniel Craig, runs a magazine, and is known as a talented investigator as well. He’s caught in his own dilemma as his career is currently on the outs, his reputation in the dump and his business on the brink of failure. Craig’s character is recruited by a wealthy business man in Sweden to investigate a murder and Mara’s Lisbeth Salander is brought on as his assistant. Together they work on solving the mystery of a girl that disappeared and end up uncovering the path of a serial killer…

The presentation here is top-notch, just another reminder why Fincher is so good at what he does. The tone is dark, mysterious, brutal at times, and tense. One of the things that really struck me is just how good Fincher is at making something as simple as doing research build with a surprising intensity. Even during the parts where they’re simply digging up information, you feel like someone is just waiting to jump out and do something terrible to the main characters. The use of images, music and editing is what creates the heightened tension, and with Trent Reznor back at the music helm, it’s all the more effective. The opening titles are wonderfully dark and intriguing and set the stage well for the tone of the movie.

In terms of the talent, you can’t go wrong here. Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson, and Stellan Skarsgard all turn in great performances. The breakout here is easily Rooney Mara who’s passionate, dark, real, and surprisingly intense. Her method technique is refined and very convincing. I’m eager to see her in other movies as a result of this one.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read any of the books, but this movie made me want to check them out. From the people I spoke to that did read the book, the movie’s about 90% on the money compared to the first book. I’ve also discovered that there are several movies released based on the books already that were produced in Sweden. I’m told they’re worth seeing as well…

This is not something to go see with the entire family over your holiday break. The rape scene and the result that follows are a bit shocking and a little hard to watch, so remember folks, this isn’t your typical holiday fare even though Christmas is the initial time period that starts things off. Otherwise, family concerns aside, I would definitely catch this in the theater while you can and if not, make sure you rent it.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

Pixar is back with the third installment of the beloved story that started it all. And you would think that it would be tough to keep things fresh but as usual, the excellent talent behind Pixar manages to do just that…

At this point, Andy is getting ready to move off to college and the fate of the toys is in question. Off to college with Andy? Off to the trash heap? Banished to the attic? All weigh heavily on our weary heroes as they end up split up and sent off to different points including a day care center. The Sunnyvale Daycare center seems nice enough but the toys quickly find that not all is as it seems. Meanwhile, Woody is trying to get back to Andy and is torn while trying to reunite with his friends at the same.

It all plays out in a way that you would expect but that’s part of the enjoyment. This is a G film and even though all seems dire, it all works out in the end. The writing is spot on and really keeps you wondering how things will work out and who will end up where. There’s a lot of humor of course, some geared towards kids, some adults (the Ken and Barby segments are really clever). There is a moment where your heart breaks a bit, but they do a very good job at smoothing the moment over and making you glad they did it anyway.

The talent from the first films are back with some new additions. The impressive lineup includes: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Laurie Metcalf, and newcomers Ned Beatty and Michael Keaton.

See this one with or without the kids, you’ll enjoy it either way.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

Jim Carrey stars in this animated re-telling of the Dickens Christmas classic. The story goes as you’d expect and aside from being a truncated version, the story holds true to the original. Less emphasis on Tiny Tim and the other side characters and more on Scrooge in this iteration but that was kind of necessary given the nature of the presentation this time. It keeps moving, which is kind of a drawback given the pacing of the original story is slower and more detailed and seemingly by comparison, a better fit in terms of pacing.

This version isn’t necessarily bad, it has merit, especially visually. The detail and the animation is amazingly detailed, beautiful and at times, exhilarating. There are some flying scenes that made me wish I had seen the film in the theater. Unfortunately, some of the characters just look, well, creepy. Especially Scrooge, who is supposed to be not-likable and he is. The problem is, even after his character arc, he still seems creepy, maybe even moreso when he’s trying to be nice. The dour design of the characters is something that would be true to the look of the people at the time but remains resonate after the point where the story should turn more uplifting.

The voice acting is well done and includes a great lineup that includes Jim Carrey playing Scrooge along with a number of other characters alongside Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright.

Robert Zemeckis wrote the screenplay and directed.

It’s worth seeing if you’re tired of watching the black and white version and want to shake things up a bit. I would see the original first if this is your first viewing or perhaps check out Bill Murray’s Scrooged instead.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

Some movies just aren’t meant to be taken seriously. Despite the ominous title, Piranha would have to be just that kind of movie. Why, you ask? Well, the fact that it’s set on a party lake during spring break and that piranha suddenly spring up and eat Richard Dreyfuss after a sudden fissure opens in the earth’s crust should be a hint.

Knowing that the film is a bit tongue-in-cheek will make this a fun, worth-while guilty pleasure in terms of campy horror flicks (psst! don’t tell the director though, you’ll understand why a little later in this review). Here are the basic ingredients – populated lake with horny college students (check), annoying protagonist modeled after that guy from the Girls Gone Wild videos (check), struggling and desperate law enforcement trying to keep everything in control after things go horribly awry (check), a butt-load of pissed off, hungry piranha (check). Ok! Good to go!

So we have all the major ingredients, and of course the mix of all that on screen is what makes this such a delicious dish. From the copious amount of naked women (there’s even a nude underwater ballet scene) to the over-the-top violence and cheesy dialog, this movie has everything you need for a film like this. Even the ridiculous notions that play out here are fun to watch, like watching Ving Rhames attempt to attack the piranha with a shotgun is somehow satisfying and gets more fun to watch when he goes for the boat motor instead. And ohhhh, the violence and gore! Wow! The effects companies must’ve had a blast making this with the crazy amount of CG piranha and the carnage they inflict. Jerry O’Connell’s scumbag character is met with a very poetic fate which I won’t spoil here but again, the CG companies probably had a good laugh and enjoyed some high-fives when they read this script and saw what was coming.

The cast is pretty impressive and also includes Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Eli Roth and Dina Meyer.

You can rest assured that they do indeed leave the door open for a sequel (which I would LOVE to direct as it would be a fun shoot) and, I have to admit, I would definitely watch. So yeah, if you like campy horror you want to check this out. Feel free to stop reading my review here…

-Pause a beat-

The thing I wanted to point out in this part of the review was the DVD extras, particularly the interview with the director. Something I found surprising was just how seriously he does take this film. To the point where he actually said he chose the lake location partially because the mountains remind people of the skeletal structure of the piranha and that the attack of the fish on the partygoers was a display of real human tragedy and the emotion that goes with that. He thought the film was very realistic and that the suffering depicted in the film was very deep.

I really just saw a fun, campy, horror film with fish devouring semi-naked co-eds. See the film, watch the extras, judge for yourself. Good times!

reviewed by Sean McKnight