BRAVE

Pixar has done it again…made a classic that will generate/has generated a princess line of a different sort.  Set in the times of William Wallace and the Highlands of Scotland, there’s a mystic connection to magic and legend as a young woman tries to alter her destiny.  The dilemma…how does she change her fate without mucking up the lives of everyone she knows.

Merida, our heroine, is of an age, I’d say mid-teens, fiercely independent, is an exceptionally talented archer, and definitely a “Daddy’s Girl”. She has triplet younger brothers (a handful for anyone, animated or not) and a Queen Mother, whose job is to make sure her “tomboy” grows up to be a lady and a suitable future queen.  Of course, when you’re dealing with a teenager, you’re not going to see eye-to-eye, especially in a mother/daughter relationship…it’s part of growing up.

This is a beautifully presented film, start to finish, cartoonish, but then again, almost real in the way the background is designed.   The voice actors include Emma Thompson, Kelly McDonald, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, and Craig Ferguson, only to name a few.  There’s action and adventure, tenderness and comedy, however, there’s a portion of the story that will frighten very young children, and I would recommend that you hold off taking any of the more impressionable children under the age of 6 or 7 to see the film, unless you really like halting your personal life to deal with nightmares in regard to large bears.  I tried to get a Scottish Gaelic translation for “Go see this movie”, but I can’t tell if I did it correctly.  Cha d’fhuaireadh am facal Beurla   Rating:  4 dead-on target arrows

Prometheus

Prometheus, Prometheus, where for art thou, Prometheus?  So many questions and so few answers, but that being said, Ridley Scott's prequel to the Alien quartet is by far one of the best sci-fi films I've seen in years.  Why, you may ask.  Well, ever since I saw the first, Alien, and screamed my bloody head off as one-by-one the crew of the Nostromo is picked off by acid dripping double metal-jawed giant metallic pecan-headed "bugs", I've wondered about those eggs and the space ship that they stumble across.  Yes, for the scientific community, you have to disregard logic, but for thrill-seekers and those who don't give a hoot about whether or not this is/could be real, it's great.  A ton of tension, wonderful special effects, set-design is pretty spectacular, sound and cinematography are all top notch.  Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and an almost unrecognizable, Guy Pearce, are an ensemble which, like their followers in this case, lay the groundwork for a cinematic classic 30 years it's senior.  Rating:  3.25 stars and for Pete's sake quit touching stuff, you have no idea where it's been or is going to be.

Rock of Ages

Saw a free preview of this the other night. I was surprised by the musical talents of all the main players. Cruise can carry a tune, who knew. Cheesy, but yes, the 80's were. Spectacular and the mixes of the songs, inspired...like an R-rated version of Glee on steroids with a heavy dose of metal and a baboon. Believe it or not, I get that, the baboon, I mean. Classically campy and will be a favorite at outdoor cinemas everywhere...insert dialogue here. The crowd was mixed and a lot of them didn't get the fact that it was a musical and people will spontaneously break into a song. They laughed until they figured out that the first part of the song was the words that they couldn't hear in so many other instances. The worst was a dance number in a church, but the songs were great and handled correctly. It was actually very well done. Cruise did his best rendition of Axl Rose, less skinny, and his voice isn't as high, but it's up there and does have an edge to it. He really was well cast. I think a lot of people missed his performance in Magnolia. Weird as that film is and disgusting as his character is, he nailed it and he pretty much does it here, too. Survey sez...grab a can of hairspray and Ratt your bangs up high. You'll be glad you did. 3.5 stars

Men In Black 3

If you’ve ever been confused by why J and K are a pair of alien busting bad boys in black suits, you’ll wonder no longer after viewing this atomic fly-swatting romp that covers the space-time continuum from New York to Florida and back. Tommy Lee Jones as K, now, and Josh Brolin as K in 1969…perfect. Josh has the character to a “t”. Deadpan with just the tiniest hint of emotion. Emma Thompson glides into the role of O, the new head of the organization (similar to Judy Dench’s M in the Bond series, but with a ton more tongue in cheek). She delivers a flawless eulogy that you won’t soon forget, you probably won’t understand it, but you’ll enjoy it. Of course, there’s a new bad guy and he’s really nasty (reminiscent of Tim Curry in anything where he plays the bad guy). You may not want to eat sushi or Chinese food after this, just sayin’. Don’t dump your pets (goldfish, baby snakes, alligators, etc.) into the sewer…you never know what they’ll grow into. There’s a much more serious tone to this episode, not the laugh fest of the first or second, just toned down on the comedy and ramped up on the special effects. Probably more eye-popping in 3-D, but this writer opted for 2-D as the cashier put it. I countered with, you mean just a movie, right? Yikes, what’s the world coming to when someone doesn’t understand that most films aren’t 3-D? She realized her faux pas and laughed, thank goodness. So, look into the neurolizer and forget everything I told you here. Let’s go get pie…I like Loganberry best, and you? Oh, and don’t forget to leave a tip. Rating: 3 Exhilarating Stars

The Avengers

Smashing! That’s what I say. Marvel Comics come to life, what was anyone thinking! Superheroes, dynamic duos, big green guys who bounce off walls and crush aliens like flies? Absolutely loved the fact that this bunch of unlikely collaborators: Captain America, Ironman, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and The Incredible Hulk; come together and deliver the goods many times over. It’s a great start to the summer movie season, even though you couldn’t prove it by the weather here in the Great Northwest as anything more than a very soggy spring. We’ve sprung a leak and so has the sky by bringing back Thor’s nasty old adopted bro—Loki-- to wreak havoc on Earth. Gadzooks, how will he ever be stopped from destroying life as we know it and most of Manhattan in the process? All of the players: Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Ironman), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/The Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki and Johnny Weir’s Irish twin), Clark Gregg (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson), Colbie Smulders (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill), and bringing up the rear, Stellan Skarsgard (Dr. Selvig) rip a new one in the space/time continuum. Comicon will be having a field day with all of the characters, actors, and writers trying to find out what’s next, much like the comic books that this film is drawn from (sorry, that was a pun). Not recommended for small children and even though it’s difficult for some people to realize that your five year old doesn’t get it as being a fantasy, they do see violence, blood, destruction of tall buildings and in this case, the aftermath, as very real and scary. So parents, even though it’s from a comic book, remember, it’s rated PG-13 for a very good reason. We had to convince my brother that flying monkeys weren’t real, too. His comment, and I quote, “It’s only trick fertography, it’s only trick fertography” as he went running out of the room scared out of his mind. I’m also one of those people who don’t leave until the credits are completely over. You never know what you might see before the last logo hits the screen. Just sayin’. Rating: to the moon, Alice – 4 stars and stripes

The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence, who gave an Oscar worthy performance in Winter’s Bone, has become the “combination of Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker” for the next generation. This isn’t set on a different planet, but it is in a different time when the post-apocalyptic United States has become the epitome of a totalitarian society that punishes it people in the name of a televised sporting event on a yearly basis. The children from 12 to 18 from 12 districts specializing in different industries, i.e., coal mining, agriculture, textile manufacturing, technology, etc., are pitted against each other in a highly elaborate fight to the death after having their names drawn from a lottery. Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is from District 12, the mining district, and in an effort to save her little sister from going to certain and immediate death in the Capitol, volunteers to take her place. She’s paired with a boy from town, the baker’s son, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). There are similarities to Star Wars, 1984, A Clockwork Orange, First Blood, Metropolis, Spartacus, and oh so many other films, it’s hard to list them all here. I’m still reading the last book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, and hadn’t finished the first one when I saw the film, but never fear, you won’t be disappointed by either and it’s not necessary to read the books first. Yes, the film is violent and not recommended for the very young. It has a gritty edge to it and once you understand how the characters fit together you’ll have a hard time turning away from the screen. I, myself, can’t wait for the sequels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, if handled correctly will become classics akin to the Star Wars series and Harry Potter. “May the odds be ever in your favor” is our new mantra taking the place of “May the Force be with you”. Rating: 3.89 stars

The Tree of Life

Terrance Malick has done it again…he’s made a film that is visually beautiful, confounding, disturbing, trippy, is the explanation of everything and nothing, all at the same time. There’s a mother, a father (not a “Daddy” as he would have been known in Texas where most of the action seems to take place), and three brothers. Their lives are steeped in faith in God, appearances, impressions, guilt, and resentment. This is not exactly your happy little family of the 50’s. The performances are believable. Brad Pitt exemplifies a semi-Daddy Dearest that can be perceived as the epitome of fatherhood and scariness, without being a serial killer or the Texas Chainsaw massacre leatherface character. You feel for his wife, his children, and can tell there’s an undercurrent of tension once the children become cognizant that life is not going to be carefree or easy. This was an extremely difficult film for this writer to wrap her head around, or even sit down to watch all the way through. Mr. Malick apparently saw 2001, A Space Odyssey, too many times. The minute it became apparent that this took place in Waco, the thought of the Davidians and the tragic results of religious cultism came to mind. Best picture, maybe the French saw something I didn’t at Cannes. Cie la vie. Rating: 2.75 stars

The Artist

Wait, don’t speak…oh that’s right, nobody does in this film…it’s a silent movie. Filmed in glorious black and white and spanning from 1927 through the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression, we follow the careers of George Valentin (a silent screen star somewhat like Douglas Fairbanks who has a Jack Russell Terrier –a pint sized version of Lassie) and Peppy Miller, whose star is rising and all because she bumped into George. It’s a little like “A Star Is Born” and does contain some sound during key scenes, but for the most part, you need to pay attention because the characters are talking with their expressions and the dialogue is via screen shots. The background music is eclectic and adds to the cinematic ebbs and flows of the action. The two leads, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, are probably more well known in France, however, you’ll recognize some key players, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, James Cromwell, and Missi Pyle (who gives a performance that reeks of Singing In The Rain’s Lena Lamont (Jean Hagen). If you could hear her speak, you’d probably hear the line…”and I can’t stan’em”. The film is deserving of the many kudos it’s been receiving and will walk away with several more well deserved awards. Sets, costumes, vehicles, everything is period perfect and this writer recommends this gem. Rating: 4 stars and a really smart, cute dog.