Larry Crowne

      So let's get right into it. Tom Hanks shows his true colors both directing and starring in his new movie "Larry Crowne." He isn't one of my favorite actors but he proves himself to be one of the hardest workers in the business. Take a look at his resume you'll find that he produced thirty four titles, directed eight others, and played sixty-four different characters. He is someone that is worth watching and has shown talent from day one. In his new movie, "Larry Crowne", Hanks shows poise and never loses his composure. It's most likely the cause of years of experience and a state of seriousness. Just think about it. If you had to work for money, instead of just borrowing it from your parents, you'll be less likely to splurge with it. Since Hanks directed the movie, his acting must have improved with that fact.

      Hanks plays the role of Larry Crowne, who is a dedicated salesman and has been employee of the month a total of nine times. The only problem with his superiors is that he doesn't have a college degree. After being fired and with a little help of Cedric the Entertainer, he heads back to school to forge new friendships and relationships. What do I think about Cedric in this movie? I thought he did a satisfactory job. Nothing too special there but he's Cedric the Entertainer...I don't mind him in any movie. There were points in the script in which I started out wanting to rain hell on the movie and then ending up not knowing what to do. Hanks kept it for the most part original and always changed things up on me, except for one scene. Keep on the look out for it.
      Julia Roberts plays the role of Mercedes Tainot, a tired college professor with a crumbling marriage, who is on the cusp of being an alcoholic. She faces the grim theory that she can't help any of her students because of their lack of cooperation and attention, that is, until Crowne becomes her student. I don't know what to say about Roberts other than her laugh scares me. For me, she's in the grey. I don't really like watching her but at the same time she makes me want to shield her from the injustices of man. I don't quite get it. Would I watch this movie again? Probably not. There were several instances of "forced" acting and powerless lines in clutch scenes that I very much dislike. In the end, it is a nice family movie that leaves the viewer with not much to complain about. Just do me a solid and please tell Wilmer Valde-what's his face to get off the set, please. Thanks.

Conan the Barbarian

     There were only a couple of movies this year that I was looking forward to watch. These included: Captain America; The First Avenger, Transformers 3; Dark Side of the Moon, Real Steel, and Conan the Barbarian. Let's try something. Imagine yourself stumbling upon a trailer of a movie that picked feverishly at your curiosity. Now, your friends started talking about it and they even sent you little links referring to the movie that brought your excitement to new levels. So you wait and wait until the months have passed by and the movie finally went public. What if it ended up being half of what you thought it would be? That's what happened to me with Marcus Nispel's Conan the Barbarian.

       Jason Momoa, known for his roles in Baywatch and Game of Thrones, played Conan who is a scarred wanderer who is on the lookout for those that killed his father and villagers. In his defense, his expressions and the aura of blood-lust around him added to the viciousness of his character. But as the movie went on he started to resemble Karl Urban's Ghost in Pathfinder. Guess who directed that movie? Marcus Nispel. Makes sense but I enjoyed watching Pathfinder. What's Nispel's excuse with this? The lack of character development and unsatisfactory transitions in this movie was something that could have been easily avoided. There is no doubt that Momoa had great potential for this movie but, unfortunately, what can one do if the writers took one night to write the screenplay? At least, that's how it seemed.
       On top of all this, the movie included a narration which sounded extremely out of place. The voice in the background sounded strangely like Morgan Freeman and I believe the movie would have been better off without it. It made the movie seem a little less believable than it already was. I know it's a fictional story, I don't need Freeman to indirectly repeat it to me whenever he speaks. (The voice actually did belong to Morgan Freeman.) The battle scenes of this movie were slightly above average solely because of the attitude Momoa brought to the table. Other than that, don't expect to have a lot to say to your poor friend who you dragged along with you to the theater.
     

The Help

      I am a thriller genre kind of guy. I like thriller movies and action packed books that could I cruise through at sixty miles per hour. But recently, I took it upon myself to launch myself out of my comfort zone and into a deeper genre. Yesterday, I struck gold with "The Help", based on Kathryn Stockett's book and directed by Tate Taylor. Don't be surprised to see the name of this movie multiple times on the 2012 Oscar nomination ballot. You heard it here first.

     "The Help" takes us back into the 1960's, where the idea of African Americans being treated as equals disturbed a large portion of the white community in their sleep. Place a young white woman, who had enough of the oppression, in the mix and you get one inspiring movie. Taylor did a great job in making the gravity of the situation flow smoothly with a good amount of witty humor. The story was serious but with just the right hint of comedy to keep your lips ready to crack a smile but fist armed and loaded to pulverize the closest wall.
     Both Viola Davis and the jovial Octavia Spencer thrived in their respective roles as housemaids. Although Emma Stone, the quick mouthed journalist, may have seemed like the main protagonist but these three characters played roles of equal and important value. The musical score embedded within the scene was subtle but it quietly spurred within me a desire to start mouthing off at Bryce Dallas Howard for being a pain in the ass. All in all, a must watch movie that will not disappoint.
     On that note, I will now be heading into the depths of New Jersey to spend a couple of nights with some faces I haven't seen in a long time; the church folks. I'll be back on Sunday.

 

     

The Beaver

          Another long day of work...another movie night! I wanted to break away from the thriller genre and sit in on a family drama. For a couple of nights now, I've been skimming through the titles, just to see my options, and I passed by "The Beaver" once or twice. The strange feeling that the title gave off caught my attention and I ended up giving it a shot. 

      Bad idea. This movie, directed by Jodie Foster, stars Mel Gibson, Foster herself, and Anton Yelchin. It is about a depressed and mentally ill executive and father who decides to use a hand-puppet to turn his life around. Foster should have given this role to someone else. Sorry to say this but the story line isn't original, it has a take on the 2007 Oscar Nominee, "Lars and the Real Girl." Add this into the mix with Gibson's carefree acting and the only way this movie will shine is through the hard work of the supporting characters. You would think that Gibson, being a two time academy award winner that he is, would be able to really sell it. No dice. His character situation was serious but he turned Walter Black into someone to laugh at. 

     In my eyes, the only hope for this movie lies within Anton Yelchin's fresh acting. He certainly is the person to watch in this movie. He plays the role of Walter Black's son, who wants to be the exact opposite of his father. He plays this role with finesse. If it wasn't for his presence in the movie, I would have pressed the stop button midway. Overall, sorry Gib, I loved you in Braveheart, but you can't ask me to watch this movie again.