In a Better World

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two outcast school boys (William Johnk Juels Nielsen & Markus Rygaard) begin to retaliate against the violence and injustice of their assaulters and it goes too far.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, William Johnk Juels Nielsen, Markus Rygaard, Bodil Jorgensen, Toke Lars Bjarke, Simon Maafaard Holm, Odiege Matthew, Elsebeth Steentoft, Anette Stovelbek, Kim Bodnia, Martin Buch

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. As is the case with most of Susanne Bier's films, you have to have a strong stomach and a fair amount of patience to endure it, but if you can, you will find you have a lot of respect for how angry she makes you feel.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Susanne Bier doesn't believe in humor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Cry for a better world maybe. But mostly, it will inspire you not to have children, because they are the ones who will have to live in this one.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I predict that it will win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, last year.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If the Academy really felt compelled to nominate kids for acting awards, these are the ones they should've nominated. Both Markus Rygaard and William Johnk Juels Nielsen blow Hailee Steinfeld out of the water. And if their characters had met her in a swimming pool, they probably would've done it literally.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Susanne Bier is one of the original Dogme 95 crew, and 16 years since that Danish filmmaking philosophy was founded, she hasn't seemed to veer too much from it. Some of the rules she still follows are: shooting solely on location and hand held. One of the rules she no longer follows is: The director must not be credited.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Intense, vicious, and true to how quickly sorrow, depression and desperation can turn even the most average of us into destructive psychopaths.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: In a Better World Trailer

Back To Top

Source Code

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An Afghanistan war vet (Jake Gyllenhaal) is part of the "Source Code" program which forces him to repeatedly go back in time, to the 8 minutes leading up to the moment when the train he is on will blow up. There, he must figure out who planted the bomb, and then deter the terrorist's plan for an even bigger attack.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden, Cas Anvar, Russell Peters

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Don't try to understand why the ending works, I'm not sure it does, but somehow that doesn't seem to lessen the entertainment value of this sci-fi premise.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There is exactly one funny line, and it didn't come from the stand-up comedian.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Now that I think of it, all of the emotional beats are very surface. You know what, maybe don't give this movie too much thought after you see it. Because while some movies get better with reflection, this one is the opposite of that.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Most Engrossing Plot that Makes No Sense, Ever!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The best actor in the cast, Vera Farmiga, has the most boring role. As far as Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan go, I have fairly low expectations for both, so I'm just happy when they don't annoy me.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Duncan Jones, who directed Moon before this, is already demonstrating the kind of track record that will soon have him stealing jobs away from Michael Bay.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The structure is unpredictable, as are many of the choices the character makes during his 8 minute train rides. When we grow to know more about the character, his choices begin to make more sense, and the seeming randomness of the choices make the movie feel original. At the same time, it's pretty easy to figure out who the terrorist is and the major twist isn't that surprising either. Maybe because it's sci-fi, and so completely make-believe from the start, but for some reason, you find yourself compelled to forgive all the major flaws in the plot.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Source Code Trailer

Back To Top

Fair Game

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The true story of how Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, CIA agent Valerie Plame, had inside information about how the reasons we waged war against Iraq in 2003 were a lie. They knew for a fact that we'd been lied to because they were the ones who had done the reconnaissance proving that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction. But when Wilson spoke up about his findings-- or lack thereof-- Vice President Cheney's office outed Valerie Plame's status as a covert agent, compromising all of the missions she had been working on for her country, and causing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. And that's not counting all the soldiers and civilians who were killed in the war.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, David Andrews, Michael Kelly, Sam Shepard, Bruce McGill, Noah Emmerich, Liraz Charhi, Brooke Smith, Ty Burrell, David Denman, Tim Griffin, David Warshofsky, Kristoffer Ryan Winters, Anand Tiwari, Ashley Gerasimovich, Quinn Broggy, and George W. Bush as himself.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! We were lied to. You should care.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If any of Joe Wilson's dialogue is accurate, he's a funny guy!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Excuse me? You've read this review this far and you're not crying already?

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Hopefully Best Picture, but I'm giving it the Patriot Award, because these people stood up for what's right, even though it was the President who was wrong. And you'd have to be a true red-blooded American to do that.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Having seen two Naomi Watts movies back to back, I can honestly say that she's always the same. By the same but different token, Sean Penn is always the same level of amazing.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: As Doug Liman himself said in the Q & A, his style is recognizable from one film to the next because he doesn't know how to do anything else. And in the long run, that's the kind of comment you come to regret having said.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It starts out heady and hard to follow, but fear not, before long it all becomes clear, emotional, and engrossing, and you realize that you didn't really need to understand any of the things that were going over your head.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: I'm sure some idiot out there will find a way to say that this movie is a lie. And that's why that person will be an idiot.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/fair-game/1428068/trailers

Back To Top

Hereafter

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A man in America (Matt Damon) struggles with his gift for talking to the dead, while a woman in France (Cecile de France) struggles with the aftermath of a near-death experience, while a boy in England (Frankie McLaren/George McLaren) struggles with the sudden loss of his twin brother.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Matt Damon, Cecile de France, Jay Mohr, Frankie McLaren, George McLaren, Thierry Neuvic, Bryce Dallas Howard, Richard Kind, Lyndsey Marshal, Rebekah Staton, Declan Conlon, Steven R. Schirripa, Jean-Yves Berteloot, Niamh Cusack, George Costigan, Jenifer Lewis, Marthe Keller, Derek Jacobi

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! I was so into it, that I couldn't stop thinking it was a true story. It's not... But I still think the basic principles of it are.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Clint Eastwood wouldn't know humor if it landed on his head and farted ... Okay, I may just be saying that to get a rise out of the idiot commentators who threatened to rape and kill me when I compared Clint Eastwood's performance in Gran Torino to Will Ferrell. I've erased the comments because they were so incredibly graphic and offensive, but I still wanted to take this occasion to say F-U!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: As I learned from the aforementioned commentators, death is a very sensitive subject, especially when it's threatened on you. But the answer to this question would have been yes anyway. You will cry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I kind of hope so, even though this is the kind of "Hollywood" movie that will have all the die hard cineastes up in arms if itwins. It's got a similar vibe to Crash.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The young boys and their heroin-addicted mother (Lyndsey Marshal) are the surprise break out performances. And Cecile De France has a charm that's reminiscent of Meg Ryan in her prime-- with a cute little French accent to boot.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Anyone who shoots a movie that takes place in not one, but both of my favorite cities in the world, is all right with me. Go ahead, take a guess. Hint: they're the two cities I grew up flying back and forth between. If you've been reading my reviews, you should be able to answer this one by now.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Let me tell you why Peter Morgan is a great writer: even as I'm predicting what's going to happen next, I'm not feeling like I'm watching anything formulaic. Try to figure that one out.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/hereafter/1421819/trailers

Back To Top

Salt

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A secret agent (Angelina Jolie) is accused of being a Russian spy working as a mole in the CIA and must go on the run to prove her innocence.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Salt is serviceable summertime action fare that doesn't exceed expectations nor fall below them. You've probably seen most of it before, and it's pretty illogical, but it at least it zips along. And hey, it's a decent way to cool off for 100 minutes if the hot summer sun is wearing you down.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If watching the heroine survive unbelievable stunt after unbelievable stunt with nary a scratch makes you guffaw, then you will be rolling in the aisles. Otherwise... no.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If watching the heroine survive unbelievable stunt after unbelievable stunt with nary a scratch makes you cry, then your seat will be soaked from the waterworks. Otherwise... no.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Most Watching of a Heroine Surviving Unbelievable Stunt after Unbelievable Stunt, and Getting Out with Nary a Scratch. Do you get what this movie is about yet?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Angelina Jolie gets credit for being one of the very few American actresses who can pull off this type of action-y ridiculousness and not come across as completely ridiculous. And she even has a few moments that will remind you of what a fine dramatic actress she is as she conveys her double-spy loyalties with a quiver of her lips and a watery eye. Makes you wish she was doing Wanted Part 2 instead of this though.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Phillip Noyce can bring it, but Salt is not his finest hour. The action sequences are disjointed and much of the editing makes it look as if the latter part of the stunt didn't really work so they just cut to the result creating a jarring effect that leaves the viewer confused.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It doesn't make a lot of sense. But if you like watching Angelina Jolie run around, blow stuff up, and shoot people, then you probably won't care all that much. Doesn't seem like the screenwriter did.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/salt/37107/trailers

Back To Top

The Losers

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a comic book, The Losers are a team of covert operatives who are set up to be killed on a mission. Once they are presumed dead, they use their deceased status to get revenge on the man who tried to kill them.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada, Jason Patric, Holt McCallany, Peter Macdissi, Peter Francis James

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. At a certain point, when a genre starts to get over-saturated in the marketplace, you start to see movies that are clearly meant to cash in on the trend that has made others lots of money, but without the passion that led to the success of those original films. This movie is further proof that the comic book genre has gotten to that point.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: The jokes are like, "Hardy-har-har, that was so funny I forgot to laugh."

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The good folks at Warner Brothers may cry when they realize that you have to put in a little more effort than that, if you want to get the return on investment I imagine they were hoping for.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: While it's completely improbable, I kinda hope they get nominated, because it's the only way I can figure to explain why they're called The Losers.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Zoe Saldana does a decent Latina accent. And Jason Patric is one of the best bad guys in acting. But there is something plain off about it when he tries to do it for laughs. It's like when DeNiro does the Analyze This movies, and you feel like he's spoofing himself.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It's like an intricate collage of shots borrowed from previously released comic book movies. Even the opening credits sequence has been done before. This is especially disappointing when you consider that Sylvain White was trained by Michel Gondry.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Not only is the dialogue right out of the play book, but the twists are upsetting and unredemptive, and the ending is unsatisfying. Here's a piece of advice: why don't you try to make a movie that works before you start worrying about leaving things dangling for the sequel.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-losers/21411/trailers

Back To Top

Terminator Salvation

(Guest Review by Russ)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Future savior, John Connor (Christian Bale), leads a human resistance in a war against Skynet machines in order to save mankind.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Anton Yelchin, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Jane Alexander, Michael Ironside

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The Terminator franchise, which now consists of four movies (and one TV show, RIP), includes two bona fide classics (the first and second films), a boring one I can’t even remember (#3) and now Salvation which lands somewhere in the middle. The action is pretty cool and the machines are sort of like transformers with no paint, but the biggest thing missing is still James Cameron in the director’s chair.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you've heard the recording of Christian Bale's on-set freak out, then it probably already has.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Isn't it enough to know that he made his cinematographer cry? And he should be very proud of that, too, because it would certainly be the first time anyone has laughed or cried at one of his films.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It actually already won a secret underground award for Film Most Likely to Make you go Deaf. And it turns out someone snuck out a snippet of audio from Bale's acceptance speech. I have titled it, "Ohhhhhhh, good for you!" (*warning: contains foul language) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvMTv_r8sA

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Does anyone care about the acting in Terminator movies? Maybe James Cameron once did. Sam Worthington who is the real star of this movie actually makes an impression and from what I can tell he does it all by himself since the script did him no favors. And speaking of James Cameron, he cast Worthington as the star of his next movie, which is called Avatar and is supposed to blow everyone away when it comes out on December 18th. Proving once again James Cameron knows good acting. Anton Yelchin pops up in yet another summer blockbuster and you’d never know he’s the same guy who played Chekov in Star Trek – the kid has a future. Moon Bloodgood has a cool name and gives a cool performance to go with it. I think maybe Christian Bale is in this movie too, but he did not have pointy ears and a cape so it was hard to tell.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: McG can definitely direct action, and boy is there a lot of it in this movie. Pretty much wall-to-wall and some sequences are genuinely riveting. But there is so much of it, it only makes you recall what made the first two Terminator movies so good; namely the subversive humor, suspense, character development and quiet between the big action set pieces. There is no salvation from the noise in Salvation, and we learn almost zero about any of the characters. I mean, Bryce Dallas Howard plays a pregnant woman who is in a bunch of scenes with Christian Bale, but by the end I still had no idea if she was his wife or his maid. (And really, it didn’t matter either way but I’m thinking it should have.)

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story is sort of interesting and has a decent twist to it, but it could have been way better and executed for more suspense. It all revolves around Marcus Wright, the Sam Worthington character and the less you know about him going in the more satisfying it will be. There is still that whole time-travel tripiness to the story, so it helps to have seen the first two films (at the very least). Maybe the fact this movie isn’t horrible is a triumph in itself. Or have my expectations for summer movies just fallen way too far?

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/terminator-salvation/31561/trailers

Back To Top

The Hurt Locker

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An elite Army bomb squad is in constant peril, as they go around Iraq’s war zone finding and disassembling camouflaged, hand made bombs.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: : Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christan Camargo, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lilly, David Morse, Suhail Aldabbach

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! Plot-wise, this movie would’ve worked better as a video game. Mainly because it’s the same scene over and over: We find a bomb, we disarm it. We find a bomb, we disarm it. We find a bomb, we disarm it. At least if it were a game, we’d get to participate at levels of ever-increasing difficulty.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Why anybody would want to see a movie that tries to make you feel like you’re in the middle of the Iraq War, at this particular juncture in our history is beyond me, so if you’re going to this, I probably can’t relate to you enough to tell you if it will make you laugh…

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: …or cry.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won several awards at the Venice Film Festival (none of which I’ve ever heard of), and it was up for 2 Spirit Awards for acting. But before you question my harsh judgment of this film, may I remind you that I’ve watched it, you haven’t.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Jeremy Renner is the most under-rated actor in Hollywood, and has been for years. Maybe because he tends to pick dark, interesting roles in dark, uninteresting movies.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: As proven by her body of work, Kathryn Bigelow is a director who feels more confident about shooting action scenes than telling a story. This frantically shot film, with only a semblance of a story, continues in the tradition.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Some of the characters are interesting, but you won’t gain much insight beyond the fact that war is Hell… And we already knew that.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: If you still want to see an Iraq war movie after reading this review, rent Traitor. Here’s a link to my review of Traitor: http://moviereviewfaqs.blogspot.com/2008/08/traitor.html

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/the%20hurt%20locker/trailers

Back To Top

Valkyrie

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The true story of a group of high level German politicians and military men who attempt a coup on Hitler's life and regime during World War II.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Sizemore, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Christian Berkel, Kevin McNally, Tom Hollander, David Bamber, Halina Reijn

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! It's Tom Cruise presents: History for Dummies! And let's face it, there's no better way to learn history than in a dark theater with a bucket of popcorn and a dramatic score pounding through your bones and pushing you to the edge of your seat.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Unfortunately, he doesn't talk about Scientology or how much he loves Katie Holmes at any point, so the movie is basically humorless. Thankfully, if you need a good laugh at Tom Cruise's expense that stuff is all up on YouTube.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not really, but it's always inspiring to see resistance forces rising up and committing high treason in order to do the right thing, in a society filled with sheep following orders. There was a time when people were willing to die for what they believed in. So maybe you'd die a little bit sooner? But at least you'd go down knowing that your life had purpose and meaning.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As entertaining as it is, it's got one major thing going against it, when it comes to award recognition... It's entertaining.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Take Tom Cruise's performance from any other action thriller where he plays a ballsy hero who will stop at nothing to see that justice is served, and cut and paste it here. He never seems to get tired of that same old performance, and apparently neither do we.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The pace and the music keep the story suspenseful, making it not just a war movie, but also a political thriller that actually is thrilling.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: For such a complicated political plot, the writers manage to keep it as clear and simple as they can. You still need a military school degree to catch all the nuances of this intricate plan to make the army eat its own tail, but it's a good introduction to how clever they had to be to get as far as they did.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: [http://www.moviefone.com/search/valkyrie/trailers

Back To Top

Get Smart

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Loosely based on the TV series of the same name, secret agent Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) of CONTROL must bring down the powers of KAOS, despite his supposed absent-mindedness.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, James Caan, Terry Crews, David Koechner, Patrick Warburton, Masi Oka, Nate Torrence, Ken Davitian, Dalip Singh

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The joke behind the Get Smart series is that he's a James Bond-style spy with none of the smooth moves and only half the intelligence. In the movie, Maxwell Smart is socially awkward, for sure, but after a series of highly intelligent problem solving spy moves it becomes clear that this Maxwell Smart is not all that bumbling, hardly stupid and possibly even a genius. Unfortunately, the movie would've been a lot funnier if the main character didn't Get quite so Smart.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: So softly, only a person with dog-hearing would know it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but you may find yourself wondering if you're not a little bored from time to time.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The trailer was nominated for an award. Which isn't that surprising when you consider that most of the funny parts were in it.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Solid performances across the board, except Bill Murray, who is in the film for about two minutes. And while the purpose of his appearance is not entirely clear to me, he does manage in that limited time to have several moments which are completely false.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: What little comedy there is gets covered pretty well. But in some of the action scenes, it's hard to tell what exactly is going on.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The funniest part of the movie is in the opening credits, when you find out that one of the writer's last name is Astle. Go ahead, say it out loud. It's pronounced like "Castle" without the "C."

Back To Top