Hancock (7-7-08)

Sometimes, it can be extremely important to avoid reading certain reviews before you see a movie.

If there happens to be a twist in the story, it can be completely ruined by some awful reviewer who just doesn’t understand how to keep a secret.

Luckily, I am sometimes able to hold my tongue, and this is one of the films where that’s important.

Before the twist comes, Hancock is a pretty interesting story of a superhero that wishes that he wasn’t. Will Smith, who is pretty amazing regardless of role, is absolutely perfect as the superhuman Hancock. The only problem is that it is a bit weird seeing him in the role of an unlikable drunk, since he are used to him playing admirable roles.

Don’t worry, his role gets admirable very quickly, with the help of a little PR. That assistance comes from Jason Bateman, whose biggest dream is to be a part of saving the world. By teaching Hancock how to interact with people, and how to improve his image, Bateman gets pretty close to accomplishing that goal.

Charlize Theron plays Jason Bateman’s wife, who is concerned (with good reason) about her husband’s involvement in the rehabilitation of Hancock. Bateman’s son, played by Jae Head, steals almost every scene in which he appears, to the point where you can almost cut the cuteness with a knife.

In the end, you will be more than pleased with this movie. Its premise is very interesting, because I am not exactly sure how I would handle Hancock’s situation.

You might not think about the loneliness that a superhero would experience, but Smith is perfect at pulling off the vulnerability of this immortal man.

As to the twist, I will let you see it for yourself.

I’ll put it this way. Things started to fall into place right as the movie hit me with a right hook, sending me in a whole new direction.

When a film can pull that off, I have to give it the respect it deserves.

This was another film that was really close to a 5 star effort. Maybe if Will Smith had been just a little bit nicer...



WIFE RATING!!!


I think that she may have like Will Smith a bit too much. I am going to have to watch that guy.

Get Smart (7-7-08)

Classic television shows are often made into movies.

To put it more bluntly, classic television shows are often made into really bad movies.

“Get Smart” is a mix between a really funny movie and a silly, senseless romp.

For me, of course, that makes for a pretty decent movie. Then again, if you put Steve Carell on a screen with Anne Hathaway and The Rock, it is going to end up being a pretty decent movie in my eyes.

Steve Carell is hilarious as usual. Anne Hathaway is a heck of a lot better looking than I remember her ever being. The Rock’s comic timing is perfect. Alan Arkin is absolutely perfect as the Chief.

The only thing that could have sunk this film would have been if the producers decided to exactly mirror the original series. To be honest, the show was just too funny, and Don Adams was too perfect as Maxwell Smart. The best thing about this movie is the fact that it is so incredibly different from the show, aside from a few references that seem to be an homage rather than an imitation.

One of the greatest things about the film version is the fact that Maxwell Smart often ends up being quite ingenious, even though he might bumble his way through it. For some reason, it almost makes you proud to see this well-meaning guy winning in the end.

The other surprising thing about this movie is the fact that it stacks up as an action movie, kind of. Some of the toys are really cool, and some of the action shots look like they are right out of a comic book movie. Even though the point of most of the action is for the humorous side of things, you will find yourself saying “wow” more than once.

In the end, it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be, a fun and silly way to spend a couple of hours. Is it a five star comedy?

Oops, missed it by THAT much.

It was fun, but 5 stars is not to be taken lightly.



THE WIFE RATING!!!


I don't think she understood how amazing looking Anne Hathaway is in this movie!

Wall-E (6-30-08)

I have not been able to find a bad review for “WALL-E” so far, and you probably will not find many yourself. This will also not be a bad review, but it is probably going to be much more honest than other sources that you might see.

When a movie begins, and in the first three minutes, you are able to tell that there is a message about the importance of saving the environment, I don’t have a problem. When you can tell in the first three minutes that there is going to be PREACHING about the importance of saving the environment, I start to bristle a bit.

The most ironic thing about this movie was that it warned about a future where robots take the place of lazy humans and perform all of the tasks that humans would normally do. This allows the humans to sit in easy chairs all day, eating themselves into oblivion.

Ready for the irony?

The movie that is telling us about this horrible future is one where the actors and actresses have been replaced by computer graphics.

So I apologize, but I have a hard time getting a message from a movie that is an example of what it is preaching against. That being said, there are still a multitude of redeeming qualities to the film.

First of all, this movie is visually stunning, as are most Pixar movies. A couple of time in the course of the movie, I actually found myself looking at the screen and wondering just how it all works, and how it can all seem so real. Even if there had been no plot at all, it would have been worth a trip just to see what the folks at Disney are up to in the production of cartoons.

However, in the end, the story just doesn’t live up to the previous efforts by the Pixar people. It’s nice, and you will feel good when it all wraps up, but there is something missing.

I don’t know, maybe they let robots write the screenplay while the humans all went out and littered.

I liked where the movie was starting to go, and Wall- E is definitely cute, but it wasn't quite enough.

WIFE RATING!!!


She was slightly disappointed, but still gave it 4 stars. That gives you an idea of the visual nature of the film.