Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 110

Just "new to me" movies this time. Also trying to get back to smaller reviews.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	70	Decent “origin” story. Not among the best Jack Ryan tales.
Grand Budapest Hotel (The)	68	Quirky, as expected from Wes Anderson. Worked for me.
Despicable Me 2	65	Funny again.  Less innovative than the first time.
Land Ho	55	Independent “buddy” film with retirement age buddies.  I liked it.  You might not.
American Hustle	64	The memorable cast played with commitment. Doubt I’d see it a second time.
Jersey Boys	60	Pros and cons compared to the stage version, but good music.  Not something I’d watch over and over, though.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 109 - Amazing Spiderman 2; Heaven Is For Real; Book of Eli

A few older movies, and a couple of new ones.

Book of Eli (The)	91	This is what a post-apocalyptic sci-fi story should be like!  OK, there are a couple of kinds of endings such a story can have, and they chose one which was very satisfying.  Denzel Washington was exceptional. Gary Oldman was frightening. Don’t let someone spoil this movie for you.  See it for yourself – if you can handle the violence. P.S. Mila Kunis is not “Jackie” – and by her last scene could be a young Angelina Jolie.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes	70	I really liked the first half of this story, partially because John Lithgow improves anything he’s in.  And I was totally taken with the animated apes.  Somehow, this just didn’t make me say “it’s good enough to own.”  But worth seeing, sure.  [And we do own it, now.]
Divergent	71	Sci-fi allows us to examine aspects of humanity very directly. Here: classes and labels. Broadly done, visually interesting, with a few well-considered surprises.
Heaven is for Real	60	This was a lot less preachy, and a lot more like just telling a story than I expected.  The child actor played his role very well, Kinnear and Riley were quite believable.
Amazing Spiderman 2	66	I liked the new take on Electro, and the introduction of Harry Osborne Jr.  But the movie almost felt like a transitional story, but I don’t know if they will continue.
Noah	64	If you’re going to retell a well-known story, decide what points you’re trying to make. Some enjoyable additions (e.g. the Watchers). The effects were great. The acting was good. But if the directors had an ultimate point to make, it got muddled.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 108 - Guardians of the Galaxy, Her, The Butler

Her	60	Unique look at what Artificial Intelligence might mean. Also a statement on our love of our devices and the isolation it causes. Joaquin Phoenix had a very tough acting job, and did it extremely well. But they could have done more.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler	74	Very personal look at the civil rights movement through an “ordinary” family in an extraordinary situation. Cameos as the Presidents (and a First Lady) were a treat.
Still Mine	67	Independent films can tackle more intimate topics – aging, personal responsibility in the age of regulation, family.  James Cromwell gets to carry a movie, as a husband trying to do right by his aging wife. Recommended.
Iron Man	83	What fun!  I believed Stark could make it, and make it fly.  Downey had just the right confidence.  Paltrow as Pepper was excellent.  Howard’s line as Rhodes – “Next time” – perfect!  The updated origin was very close to the original, and worked.  And comic relief!  Way to go.
Guardians of the Galaxy	71	I laughed; I had fun; I enjoyed most of the characters. They went for a light mood and might have gone a bit too far at points.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 107 - Book Thief, August: Osage County, RED 2

It's been a while.

Sky High	55	Silly.  Predictable.   But fun.
RED 2	61	Fun. Not as good as the original, but fun.
Thor: The Dark World (Thor 2)	59	Hard to recommend. I liked it enough, given it’s Thor, and Tom Hiddleston is so good as Loki.  It was often amusing, but more often confusing.  There was opportunity for emotional connections, but it didn’t happen.  Ah well, the effects were good, and Hemsworth makes a good Thor. (The third or fourth time, the plot elements start making more sense.)
Book Thief (The)	80	Sadness and happiness, hate and love, suspicion and trust, death and life.  The story of a girl growing up in Germany as it deludes itself  into following Hitler. A very good drama, with great characters.  And Geoffrey Rush, which is always a good sign.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows	90	Mystery, deduction, action, suspense, and one of the greatest villains ever written.  Better than the first, and worth seeing many times.
August: Osage County	63	Meryl Streep plays a thoroughly mean old woman, but the story is really about her three daughters and the damage they’ve been done.   Julia Roberts gets to truly act. So much family conflict, it’s quite uncomfortable. Good performances, and I am glad I saw it, but it’s a tough movie to recommend to everyone.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 106

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	83	The first movie is about Bilbo.  The second is about Thorin, but Bilbo still has good things to do. The added material fits OK, and the book material is faithful and marvelous.  And let’s be honest, the stuff pulled from the Silmarillion is far more engrossing on film than it was in the book.
Maleficent	71	Reimagined fairy tales are big, and Disney did this one well. Amazing visuals. Good story.  See it.  (I saw it twice in two weeks.)
The Sixth Sense	94	Engaging characters; well acted; perfectly set-up; great second viewing.
Unbreakable	93 95	Another case of "It makes perfect sense" once you see it.  An "Origin" story for sure.  Gets better with time – I used to rate it an 83. Now, I think it’s a better movie than “The Sixth Sense.”
Signs	80 70	Gripping, suspenseful.  A message, too – and some nice surprises.
Red	72	Cast was great.  A fun ride.  Some unexpected turns, and all together fun.

Movie Micro Reviews: Edition 105 - X-Men and Me

While on vacation, we did a marathon of X-Men movies.  Today's Micro-reviews gather all of those together.  I want to caution you:  I am Very Easy when it comes to X-Men movies.

The X-Men were, by far, my favorite superhero group while I was growing up.  My first X-Men comic book was the beginning of the X-Men renaissance, Uncanny X-Men #94, which was the introduction to the new team -- well, except for Giant-Size X-Men #1, which was very hard to find once the new team took off.  I was among the group of comic lovers who got swept up by Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and the rest. 

The way I remember it, that particular issue was among a short stack I brought along on a vacation with my family in 1975.  I'll have to check with my parents, but I think we were visiting Canada, though it might easily have been a Lake trip.  In any case, the story was thrilling, I read it many times on that trip and in the ensuing years, so these characters -- these X-Men -- have been a part of my life for a long, long time.

(They also have a connection to my marriage, but that's a story for another time.)

You will see below that I have down-graded some of the ratings over time.  (And raised a couple, too.)  But I am still pretty certain I rate them higher than most other reviewers.  And, you know what? I can live with that.  These micro-reviews are my reactions to movies, not some assignment for a film criticism class in college.  So, here they are: the collected micro-reviews of the X-Men movies, to date.

X-Men	92 88 82	[I meant to review this way back in Edition 8, but apparently never did. Last rating was back in Edition 91, the last time I did an X-Men movie marathon.  We’re doing it again.] OK, Batman was darker, and more stylized.  But I can't say it was better.  Certainly this was more true to the characters.  It whets my appetite for more.  Oh, and I was wrong: Hugh Jackman and Wolverine were the center of the movie for good reason.
X-Men 2: X-Men United (aka X2)	90 84	What a fun, intense story!  We get Nightcrawler!  We give Phoenix a reason to arise.  We get some of Logan’s mysterious past, but not all of it.  And we see just how dangerous mutants can really be.  Loved it.
X-Men 3: The Last Stand	85 68	Re-reviewed. Sadly, it doesn’t hang together.  Some good scenes; some good concepts; but as a complete story – sorry.  My initial excitement at Dark Phoenix carried me away. --- (initial review) --- Excellent movie for traditional comic book story and action.  Characters sometimes acted out-of-character, though.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine	88 83	Very fun, and since I didn’t know most of the story ahead of time, I got to be surprised.  “The best X-Men movie?”  Not quite.  But very good.
X-Men: First Class	82 84	A worthy entry in the genre. I liked the Xavier/Lehnsherr relationship.  Kevin Bacon made a good villain.  Mystique as a teenager – loved it.  Consistency with the comics must be sacrificed.  A couple of cameos made me smile – even laugh!  Rating: Remember this – I am “easy” when it comes to the X-Men.  Always will be.
Wolverine (The)	77	Wolverine had two loves of his life.  This is the story of the second.  Pretty good, too.  I like the tie-in with Japanese history.
X-Men: Days of Future Past	80 85	I didn’t believe they could have so many heroes and villains in one movie and still make the movie flow.  They did it!  The time travel aspect was well done, the key actors got good work, and the action and story were quite comic-book fun!