SUPER 8: GOOD, BUT NOT SUPER

Yes, I am that one person who was not totally blown away by Super 8. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a good film and yes, I will admit to getting a little choked up at the end, however, I don't think that it came close to ET, the movie to which it was compared to endlessly. The story follows a bunch of kids who want to make a movie even if it means sneaking out at night to do the filming. One fateful night as they are filming,they are witness to a terrible train crash and they have a front row seat for the chaos that ensues. I think the thing that bothered me the most, was how the movie took such a hard right turn into sci-fi material while also trying to tug at the heartstrings. I won't say it was bad, just surprising, and just a tad off putting. Overall, however, I did enjoy the film.   

 PAUL: THE ALIEN IS THE LEAST YOU WILL BELIEVE...

Graeme Willy: Whats the matter Clive?

Clive Gollings: There is an alien in the kitchen making bagels and coffee.

Graeme Willy: Did you want tea?

Clive Gollings: No, I don't want tea!

Graeme Willy: Right, because tea is weird in America.

 

...which is to say, I didn't expect to have the following reaction to this movie about two British Comic-Con nerds and an alien; I absolutely loved it. Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are two uber-nerds who are in America for Comic-Con and a road trip across the center of America's alien highway, including area 51. While on their quest, they pick up a foul mouthed, sarcastic and surprisingly funny alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen). He is escaping being dissected by the military base where he has lived the last 60 years of his life. As in all good escape movies, there are the "men in black"; Jason Bateman, the most serious and threatening aside from the "big guy" a surprising casting coo (which I'll leave for you to find out!) The threesome become friends as they get to know each other. Be prepared for the obligatory anal probing jokes. They also add Fundamentalist Christian, Annie (Kirsten Wiig who stars in everything nowadays) who when given universal insight sets off to explore the world previously forbidden to her, more specifically the art of cursing. It sounds way out there and plausibly stupid, but I laughed out loud; many times. It had all sorts of clever jokes and inside winks to the sci-fi community. A fantastic cast, some totally unexpected. Pegg and Frost were fantastically brilliant and their chemistry was out of sight making this more than just a bromance. It also had its tender and sweet side which made the ending all that more enjoyable. I haven't laughed like this in a while. Be prepared for strong language, strong views on evolution and side splitting fun. You might say Paul was out of this world. (Of course, I would never...) Please to enjoy! (Also: be sure to watch through the end credits for additional scenes!)

REPO MEN: FILM'S ALREADY BEEN REPOED

Remy: My job is simple. Can't pay for your car, the bank takes it back.

Can't pay for your house, the bank takes it back. Can't pay for your liver, well, that's where I come in.

I'm really torn on this one. The story concept is not new. It was set to music in the 2008 production of Repo the Genetic Opera (which was previously reviewed). It was set in a futuristic goth-like world whereas Repo Men is set to a futuristic Blade Runner type world. Partners Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) have known each other since childhood and have each other's backs as they work as repo men, taking back body parts when payments have stalled. It's as gruesome as it sounds, but this movie with an excellent soundtrack softens the blow with a 1940's sort of feel mixed in. Everything is great until Remy decides he wants out and soon the hunter becomes the hunted. It was a well done movie. I watched the unreleased version which may or may not have been more bloody. Even if it was, the original still has a fair amount of blood and guts to it. The soundtrack really sets a tone that makes Remy human and likable. I did love the John Leguizamo brief uncredited appearance toward the end. Additionally both Liev Schreiber and Whitaker were strong co-stars. Alice Braga was the "girl" but had a strong enough personality that made her perfromance enjoyable. The highly sensualized "extraction" scene towards the end was a bit too much. I really don't know if I loved the ending or hated it, but it was one or the other. This will be a movie that people either love or hate. Me, I'm still in the horizontal mambo middle of it all.

JUMPER

JUMPER TAKES A BIG LEAP

"Let me tell you about my day so far. Coffee in Paris, surfed the Maldives. Took a little nap on Mount Kilimanjaro. Oh yeah, and I got digits from this Polish chick in Rijo. And then I jumped back for the final quarter of the NBA finals. Court side, of course. And all that was before lunch."

The end. Okay, but just a little more... because that's all there is, just a little more. Seemingly magically, our "jumper", David Rice, discovers he has a skill at 'teleporting' himself where ever in the world he wants to go just be willing it so. Of course he has to practise and then (of course) we find the bad guys who are looking for him. For once, I liked Hayden Christensen as David. He looked human; almost unrecognisably so. And for another 'once' I found Samuel Jackson lacking as a bad guy with a VERY bad hair day. If this movie had more of a sarcastic wit, it might have worked. Both actors played it cool, not terribly so, but enough to wish they knew how funny they looked. It almost reminded me of the Harry Potter series, with less special effects. It was passable and watchable, but before the ending could crescendo, it is left open. This means that they had so much faith in this film they were ready for another. Too large a step for a movie about "being there".
1/2 PICK: Only because it was mildly entertaining, but not much more so.