Hey, that's Tom Cruise! A review of Oblivion.

Now I'm not the biggest fan of science fiction in the world.  I think the last Sci-Fi movie I saw in theaters was Prometheus...and the guys at Red Letter Media pretty much sum up how I felt about that movie:

That isn't how I feel about all Sci-Fi, I loved the original Alien, the original Star Wars trilogy, and I'm a big fan of cyberpunk (but I love most things with a noir vibe), but I never give Sci-Fi the benefit of the doubt that I'm going to enjoy it the way I do other genre's.  Would I have seen this movie if my girlfriend didn't want to go?  Probably not.  Or at least I would have waited until it was on Netflix.  But she wanted to go, so I went, and...I enjoyed it.

Not a glowing review, I know, but I would recommend seeing it and would even see it again (though probably not in theaters as fewer and fewer movies seem to get me in a second time nowadays).

As far as an actual review goes, it's hard to talk about this movie without entering spoiler land, but I'll try and avoid actual plot points.

So let's talk about the plot in the most general terms.  It was both predictable and not.  What I mean is there are a few things that just don't sit right with you from the beginning.  Part of that may be because the trailer was awfully revealing (though possibly deliberately misleading), part of that may be because we have seen enough dystopian future movies to know not to trust what we're told at the outset.  For whatever reason, they feed you a bunch of information at the beginning and you don't buy it (none of us in our group of four did).

That being said, there were ways in which it wasn't predictable.  It's like if you were at bat in a baseball game.  You've seen a couple of fastballs, so you guess the next pitch is going to be a slider.  You get a curveball instead.  You knew it was going to be offspeed, you just didn't guess the exact pitch.  That's how I feel the plot twists came at you in this film.  You knew something was coming, and even had a guess that was close, but what really happens isn't exactly what you guessed.  I think that's a good thing.  It isn't enough to blow your mind, but it is enough to keep you engaged.  One thing I would like to point out is that I've heard people say the movie is confusing.  It's not.  At all.  It jumps around once or twice in an unexpected way and forces you to realize what you're seeing, but if you can't do that...go watch Avatar, I guess...

As far as the visuals go, the film is gorgeous.  No two ways about it.  There are a lot of visually striking scenes ranging from platforms in the clouds, flights through deep canyons, gorgeous desert wastelands, and lush forests (which I wasn't expecting but I'm not revealing anything major).  The scenes are pretty, the people are pretty, everything is pretty.

The people...the acting in this movie was...adequate, I guess.  At first it's all Tom Cruise being very Tom Cruise and letting you know Tom Cruise is in this Tom Cruise film.  Tom Cruise.  I didn't mind.  That's what I expect from a Tom Cruise movie.  As far as the rest of the acting, it's okay.  It gets the job done.  You understand what they're feeling, you understand what's going on, the plot advances.  Everyone does a fine job, but no one really adds anything special to their role, nor do they detract from the movie.  I guess what I'm saying is anyone, even Morgan Freeman, could have been replaced, but no one felt like they needed to be.  It was people reading lines and emoting.

So what I felt left with at the end of two hours was a film that did it's job telling an interesting story, one that I could even be bothered to see again, one that left me entertained, but not one that blew my mind or left me wanting more.  The group I was with didn't talk too much about the film after it was over, and not in the Star Wars Episode 2 kind of way in which we were struck silent with the horribleness we had just witnessed, but in a this movie is a neat little film in a neat little box with a neat little bow on top.  Enjoyable, just not much to talk about.  Like I said, I would recommend it as a fun summer flick, just don't expect it to change your world.

Captain America: The Frist Avenger Review

Last night I went to see Captain America: The First Avenger and I have to say, I think it is my favorite super-hero movie of the summer.  I thought Thor was okay and way over hyped, I liked Green Lantern more than most people seemed to, and I didn't see X-Men: First Class because I have had no association with the X-Men since a few years ago I was having the comics pulled and, despite Marve's continued promise that there would be no crossovers, one day I opened up my newest issue to find myself smack dab in the middle of someone else's story with no idea what was going on and no idea when they would get back to the story arch I was reading.  But I digress...

The first thing I want to say about Cap is that one of the reasons the movie works so well is that Steve Rogers is such a likeable guy.  Rogers is a true patriot and more than anything wants to be on the front line fighting the Nazi's, not because he want's to kill them, but because he doesn't like bullies.  The problem is he's small, a 90lb weakling with asthma, so the army won't take him.  But he keeps trying, and eventually finds himself in a special group of soldiers - candidates for the Super Soldier Serum.

It's important that Rogers is such a good guy, because as we learn, the Serum doesn't just amplify your muscles, it amplifies everything about you.  A good man becomes great, a bad man becomes worse.  But Rogers is just the guy for the job, having been a small, bullied man his whole life, he knows the true value of power, and more importantly, he knows compassion.  Also, he's the bravest guy ever, never backing down from anything.  "Once you start running," he says, "they'll never let you stop." 

The character of Steve Rogers is in such contrast to the recent run of hero's - Tony Stark being a billionaire playboy who becomes a hero only after seeing all the damage he has done; Thor a god and heir to the throne, a spoiled brat who loves himself more than anything and has some growing up to do, etc.  Rogers is different, he is a hero from the outset, a man who want's to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.  There doesn't need to be another reason for him. 

While Roger's most endearing qualities could run the risk of making him appear naive, the movie does a good job of not letting the character come across that way (well, he can't talk to girls, but that's mostly because before he became Cap they wouldn't talk to him).  Rather, he is a man who knows what needs to be done and is willing to do it, no matter the challenge.  In light of the recent end of the American space program, with Kennedy's speech about America going to the moon and attempting other hard tasks "not because they are easy, but because they are hard," Cap's star shines even brighter. 

I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't get much further into the plot, but I do have a comment on the way the film was shot.  There is a point where Cap is going around fighting bad guys, and the movie jumps around from action sequence to action sequence.  It may seem like an unusual choice at first glance but the reason it works so well is that it is shot in the style of an old WWII propaganda film, the type of films where a voice over would read all about the brave men and women fighting overseas while showing you a collaboration of shots, tanks rolling, planes flying, someone raising the American flag.  The style wouldn't have worked for Spider-Man or Iron Man or Thor, but for Cap's origin, it is the perfect fit.

So that's my take on it.  I love a good redemption story as much as the next guy, but there is something refreshing and even inspiring about Captain America and the innocence with which he sees things.  Superman is called the boyscout, but as far as the movies are concerned, the boyscout hasn't had a strong showing since the 70's. It is great to finally see someone step up and fill the gap.

Another Crappy Amy Adams Romantic Comedy...Or Is It?

Have you seen the trailer for "Green With Envy" yet?  No, well, maybe you should, even if you dislike Amy Adams as much as I do.  Jason Segal's a plus.  And the cameo(s).  I'm going to see this movie.

It's Time for Batman...to start filming...

Apparently principal shooting has begun on Christopher Nolan's final installment of his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight rises!  You can read the details in the press release here.

I don't know about you, but these are very exciting times for me.  I am a huge fan of the first two movies, as I think most people are, and have full faith and confidence that Nolan will be able to complete the hat trick and deliver another amazing Batman film.  I'm also excited to see that all the key players, Bale, Caine, Oldman, and Freeman, are returning, and am really excited that Joseph Gordon Levitt has been added to the cast, slated to play a cop by the name of John Blake, as well as Marion Cotillard, who will be playing Miranda Tate.

One thing I'm not excited about - Anne Hathaway (as Selina Kyle).  Just not a fan.  Everyone keeps telling me how great she is but I have yet to see the performance to make me believe it.  I'm not saying she's bad, just, enh...at least to me.  Whatever though, I wasn't thrilled about Katie Holmes or the other Gyllenhaal either, but neither of them detracted from the movie.  Like I said before, full faith and confidence in Nolan.

Anyway, I know it's just starting and we have a long way to go before we see an actual movie...but good Batman news is always worth posting.