The Conspirator

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★★½☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★½☆ 
Storytelling:★★★½☆ 

An interesting movie, perhaps a little slow in spots. Well acted for sure, nice scenery. Made Your Movie Monkey curious whether Mary Seurat was an innocent bystander as the movie portrays.

Captain America

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★½☆☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★☆☆ 
Storytelling:★★☆☆☆ 

Standard superhero fare.  Big budget, yet somehow charisma-free.

Thor

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★★★☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★★☆ 
Storytelling:★★★★☆ 

Really fun summer action movie. Chris Hemmerline does action and comedy both well, Natalie Portman is great. Anthony Hopkins is even decent (occasionally Sir Anthony can be a little hammy). The only thing Your Movie Monkey found a little funny was that the realm (planet) of bad guys was called Yodenheim (or Jodenheim or something). Every time Your Movie Monkey heard this, he thought it sounded like a mid-sized town that Borscht Belt comics knew well. (Oy, when you work Jodenheim, be sure to stop at Bubbie’s for a knisch!)

Your Movie Monkey was surprised it’s rated PG-13. He thinks the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was rated PG, and it was more violent. Alice in Wonderland was PG and it was way, way more violent. Very little language, and that was mild. No “adult situation”. Just a fun movie.  Your Movie Monkey took his 9 year old and had no issues with it.

Soul Surfer

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★★★☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★★☆ 
Storytelling:★★★★☆ 

So, I knew critics wouldn’t like this because it presents a family that actually likes each other and doesn’t swear. They will claim unrealistic, of course, but this movie (based on a true story) was inspirational. Sure, maybe a few times that the dialogue feels a little stiff, but my guess is that they had a much smaller budget than other big Hollywood movies. A moving story, for sure.

Hanna

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★★☆☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★☆☆ 
Storytelling:★★★☆☆ 

The pitch: “OK, let’s remake the Bourne Supremacy/Conspiracy/Oligopoly or whatever but with a 14 year old girl in the Matt Damon part and Eric Bana as her dad who jogs and swims and does calisthenics for no apparent reason. What, don’t care for Bana? He’s cheaper than any other action star… maybe we could give him an ‘accent’ and folks won’t notice who it is?” Actually, it’s decently acted, and the girl playing Hanna is great, but the story is like the Eragon of action/suspsense thrillers… you’ve clearly seen every last bit of it before in other movies. And most plot elements, many times. The movie also could have used some serious editing. The most useful thing about the movie is this… if you ever find a critic who uses the word “taut” or “crisp” (or any other word to mean “moves along at a decent pace without a lot of filler”) to describe it, definitely be skeptical of this critic in the future. It’s anything but! Nothing painful, but nothing new.

The Lincoln Lawyer

January 15, 2012
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Overall:★★★½☆ 
Filmmaking/Artistic:★★★½☆ 
Storytelling:★★★½☆ 

An enjoyable afternoon at the movies, especially if you’re too young to remember Jagged Edge.  Matthew McConnaughey does his usual shtick, which is pleasant enough in this particular film.  It’s like a really good episode of Law and Order, with decent acting.  Interestingly, the title of the movie refers to the fact that as a lawyer, Matthew McC’s character doesn’t have an office, but works out of his Lincoln.  This is presented in the movie, but it’s not a major plot point.  Your Movie Monkey thought that the setting was Lincoln, Nebraska, or that the lawyer was from Lincoln, Nebraska.  Nope.

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