Ex Machina: Computer Love

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

Ex Macnina seems to venture on film noir - it has a sleek look, moves fluidly, and has a story seeped in emotions and seduction. It's a film that maintains the true nature of the genre, which isn't drenched in new gadgets, or explosive CGI - but is about how one gadget is taken to its final end, and how that end affects the world around it, changing lives and how we think along the way.

Because this movie is a about pace and reveal, It means there are a lot of plot points that cannot be unveiled in a review. These are moments of shock, derived from change; where the nature of the character suddenly change and twist, based upon the changing nature of other characters (good, bad or indifferent), and their arc is changed...unexpectedly in different directions.

Ex Machina has many such moments of change, and mostly because this is psychological thriller. Those seeking a chase sequence (although there is actually a short one here...lol), a shootout, or explosives will be greatly disappointed. This is a quiet movie, where the subtle nuances in dialogue come across as explosive.

The movie begins with a contest, in a tech company (think Google-Plus), where the lucky winner has a chance to meet with the owner of the company for a week. That winner happens to be Caleb (Domhall Gleeson), a small man with mildly handsome looks (all geeks seem to look like this in cinema), with an innocence about him. Before you know it he is being whisked across the lands in a private helicopter, across an expanse of green fields and vast forests - seeing this I at once realized there would be trouble afoot, its the Beauty before the Beast in movies. It is also disarming, because you wonder, who in the world would live this far from civilization; imagine how far you would have to travel just for a Slushie.

Once landed, Caleb meets with the owner of his company, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a seemingly eccentric man himself, who appears to not be bothered by the lack of solitude, and created a world around him like a remote Planet Fitness; with weights, private rooms, juice bar, and mysterious woman-servant Kyoko (Sonoya Mizuno) - who slithers around the compound taking orders and looking very sullen and tiny. The introductions are quick, and first time cinema director Alex Garland (who also wrote 28 Days Later and Sunshine), gives us a world we can believe with minimal sets and sleek lines, in a building that could be from any era. Caleb is shown his room, and is told his real purpose: to examine a creations that Nathan has built - what he considers, the perfect A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. It's a female named Ava (Alicia Vikander) - why do all the geeks make female counterparts - and he is to test her realness while he is there.

When Caleb meets Ava, she comes across as a shy mystery, with her soft eyes, and lilting childlike voice. The special effects are very good, for while we see that Ava has a human face, the rest of her being is either made of a steel elastic or transparent with wires and lights filling her insides. We can sense Caleb's arousal (we can also understand it), for as he talks to her, understands her, we can see his giving in to her questions as more than a listener; he is captivated. Soon we begin to see her as more than a machine, and wonder as the questions and answers continue, who in fact is really interviewing whom?

Ava is very direct, and thanks to some amazing acting, her emotions seem to peep through, but not enough that you can guess what is really on her mind. She wants to be more than a machine, and the act or flirtation is handled with childlike abandon. We, as the audience, want her to be more than human too - but there is more going on in this house than meets the eye - and it is that humanity that unveils some very hidden secrets going on. Secrets that involve everyone.

The pacing of Ex Machina reminds me of A Space Odyssey, with its tranquil movements and non-overly tech look. We get small nuggets of the story, first by understanding each characters personality, and then how that changes as they interact with each other on separate occasions - each adding a little more to the puzzle - until it reaches a conclusion that chillingly affects them all. 

Like many A.I. films, this one made me also wonder: If we humans can live a life of contentment from doing every day tasks, why can't machines be content to do the same. And if you are a robot wanting to be thought of as human, do you realize you will have to just go to work and make a living just like the rest of us...and who wants that? I would rather be the A.I.

Inside Out: Mind over Matters

5 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

Pixar has done it again (just when I didn't think they could after...dare I say it...Cars 2), with a moving and touching animated feature, which I believe, is their most complicated one to date. It is an amusing fairy tale for the children, and a deep (often funny) lesson on the human condition for adults. It does all this wrapped in color and cotton candy, while giving a rather diverse pallet of characters that we all can relate to.

In and Out is about emotions. It is also about family, growing up, and the bridge between childhood and adulthood. When I first heard of this concept, I could not thing how it could be pulled off; to have a movie depict a young girl's emotions as separate characters within her head, who acted on their own, but also made up the whole of the girl...I was like..Riiiiiiiiiiiight! Not gonna happen! But Disney has put there pixels where their mouth is, and created Inside Out, which may be their best work yet.

Inside Out is the story of a little 11-year old girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), who has moved from Minnesota to San Francisco because of her father's job. This causes big changes to her socially, having to leave her friends, school, and her hobby of ice hockey behind. It is also a big change for her emotionally, which is the basis for the movie, for within Riley's brain are the 5 major emotions that make up her personality.

The first one came at birth, setting up a control panel, who is colored a sun-shiny yellow, named Joy (Amy Poehler). Joy made Riley giggle when she was a newborn when she gazed upon her parents for the first time. For a few fleeting seconds, Joy was...well...joyful, and was not only enjoying Riley and her birth, but also herself and her surroundings, seeing that she too was newly born herself.

Then Riley got hungry.

And in stepped Sadness (Phyllis Smith), with her downtrodden blue color, and pageboy haircut. She came to the control panel to display the sadness that Riley was feeling at that moment. And so it continued, with the introduction of other emotions that Riley was soon to be feeling, like her dislike of vegetables controlled by the green Disgust (Mindy Kaling), or the purple Fear (Bill Hader), or the red Anger (Lewis Black). All these emotions made up what Riley was feeling, based upon the situation she was in.

These situations became a part of Riley's growing memory, and those memories were represented as small spheres, which contained the color that was dominant within that memory. And as a child, there was a lot of yellow spheres covering the wall in her shelf-like housing to represent the joy in Riley's life. But something happened when she moved. There was a disruption of the normal things in her life, and she realized she was on her own in a sense, and the emotions in her head were going back and forth, each trying to take control, each trying to find a way back to peace...to Joy.


From the headquarters of her emotions, there are several bridges that lead to "islands" that make up Riley's personality. There is the island of her Family, and one of her Friends, and her Activities/Hockey...and so on. They remained healthy entities, as long as Riley's emotions were in check. But there is suddenly a more dominant emotion that is starting to wander towards the controls, who wants to be noticed, who is touching the beautiful yellow memories, and tainting them, and that emotion is Sadness, and Joy is not understanding. So in Riley's mind, the characters of Joy and Sadness are having a tough time dealing with each other (and it shows in Riley at school and at home) and through a small exchange, they suddenly find themselves ripped from Riley's mind, leaving only Distrust, Anger, and Fear in control. In a little girl, whose mind has not dealt with her darker emotions, to have them at the forefront of her thinking, is not a good thing. So it stands to reason, that Joy and Sadness need to find a way back home to headquarters.

And so the adventure begins, where we begin to explore other realms of Riley's brain, because in the absence of Joy and Sadness, she is losing a grip on her friends, family, and other islands that make up her personality. They begin to crumble and fall into a pit that will make up her core, lost forever. And it is this aspect of In and Out that becomes the most amazing new world I have seen fleshed out in an animated story. Along the way we visit the parents, and enter their mind as well, and see how they think. My only question was the gender-specific nature of the parents emotions as opposed to Riley's, who only had 3 women emotions, and 2 male - did this mean that Riley would have gender-identification issues when she got older? How interesting and un-Disney that would be...but we know that animation hasn't become THAT progressive (Riley after all, can be a gender-neutral name).

Peter Docter is a great director (UP, Toy Story 3), and knows how to pull the emotional heartstrings by exposing the emotions and feelings that we all share. He also has created a very well, thought out environment; with long-term memory being represented by rows and rows of spheres, that are being pulled and discarded by other characters. These spheres go into the pit, for they are memories that are forgotten, replaced by others as she grows older. We even meet a wonderful character known as Bing Bong (a combination of many zoo animals), who was Riley's childhood imaginary friend. He wanders her mind, hoping to one day be remembered, and not end up in the pit that contains her core emotions...lost and forgotten forever.

The time with Bing Bong is the peak of animation wonder from Pixar. This journey is not only touching, but it exhibits the best talent in animation I have seen from them, especially when they decide to take a short cut to catch Riley's train-of-thought. The urgency, and the animation that happens there was mind blowing to me, and it had me on the edge of my seat. I was also impressed with the diversity of the scenes as well. In a classroom sceen, I was amazed at how diverse the class was...I don't think Disney has every used this many colors from their paint pallet.

With In and Out, it was fascinating to watch the emotions learn not only from Riley, while protecting her, but to also learn from themselves. The road from adolescent to teenager is a tough one, and they are all learning to deal with the transition. These emotions guide us in our everyday lives, and affect the lives around us for the rest of our individual lives. It is nice to see a movie that speaks not only to us, but also to what makes us...us.

P.S. watch the end credits for insides to other creatures and people within Pixar-land...very funny.

Jurassic World - Jurr-Ass-Is-Grass

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

TBT (Throw-Back-Thursday), just got a little more serious with TBP (Throw-Back-Prehistoric), where dinosaurs of the past, have become trends of the day. Jurassic World isn't as good as the first two installments: Jurrasic Park, and Jurasic Park-Lost Worlds (and maybe that is because of a new generation no longer thrilled with the marvels of CGI brought to us 22 years ago by the original), but it does give you what you expect: action, adventure, suspense, a toss-away storyline, and kids who refuse to do what they are told, and wind up as a possible Lunchable for Velociraptors.

For Jurassic World, I had to put on a different lens. Sometimes a critic has to see through the eyes of the audience. Personally, there are better made movies out there than this one, and not to say this is a bad movie, I am just saying it doesn't get marks for originality. Spielberg set the bar high with the first one, and his treatment of characters and suspense was unmatched. But this one tries a little too hard to capture something the same feelings, but with less of the essential elements of the original.

This installment stars Chris Pratt as Owen (Parks & Recreation, Guardians of the Galaxy),  trying to be the sexy American sweet heart of cinema these days. His job is a sort of Dino-Whisperer to the Velociraptors of a theme park filled with a wide assortment of prehistoric creatures, called Jurassic World. It is a place safari treks, merchandising, water shows, and acres of green lush pastures where animals roam and live, both calm and dangerous (the petting station is a delight to see).

But behind this array of visitors and gift shops, like a corporation that is looking at the bottom dollar; Jurassic World has had low attendance for a time, and the people want the-next-best-thing. It is up to Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), and her job as Operations Manager to see this through, and figure out what to do to attract more visitors. Besides having this on her plate, she is visited by her two nephews Gray and Zach Young (Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson), who she assigns her assistant to watch over during their stay at the park. Her idea for increasing attendance is to create a whole new creature, from the DNA of many creatures - seems she didn't learn anything from the first two movies, and to leave Mother Nature alone.

If there is anything to be learned from these movies that constantly want to cage and capture wild, intelligent creatures, is that...these creatures don't want to be captured - from King Kong to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The only thing here is that this new species: The Indominus Rex (I-Rex), not only wants out, but also wants lunch, namely the smorgasbord of delicious visitors that happen to be visiting the island of Ilsa Nublar, where the park sits.

And so it begins...

We come back to Owen, one of the good guys, who understands these creatures, and the corporation which includes Vic (Vincent D'Onofrio), who is head of security, who wants to preserve the destructive, unpredictable creatures as future weapons of war (collateral damage be damned), and the geneticist Henry (B.D. Wong), who is aware of how the I-Rex was created, could be aware of its nature and how to tame it, but is keeping it all a secret (for ego's sake I assume). Claire unfortunately is caught between her duty to the park, its people, and the staff that seem to be getting gobbled up every few seconds she can't make up her mind.

And let's not forget the children. Who decide to have a day of it during the safari to venture off on their own, where cell phone reception just happens to be spotty, so they have no idea what is going on, until of course it happens in all it's Spielberg essence of suspense; with shadows, and clicking noises, and hidden things moving around in the foliage.

This is of course when all the action begins, and I have to admit that it jumped off rather quickly, with little exposition in getting to know the characters very much. This may be what the audience has paid for, but I still miss the quirkiness of the characters of the first two films, as in Jeff Goldbloom, and the innocence of Sam Neill, and the kids then seemed to be a little more responsible than the ones presented here. But this movie isn't about them, now is it? It is about the action, and the special effects, which are very good - CGI done right, with a little auto-matron action going on as well - and our hero's come across with great chemistry.

I have to give a special shout out to Omar Sy who plays Barry (Intouchables, X-Men: Days of Future Past). He didn't become an early victim, and plays a role along with the other hero's that is important, and feels like he is part of their team. He is a very good actor, and I hope to see more of him. He is imported from France (I will have another article about our Black imports in cinema), and has a place among the group as a true team player. 

Jurassic World is a world we have seen before, and while the direction of Trevorrow isn't like his predecessor, it is fluid and the story moves along with enough information given about a menagerie of characters, without it getting bogged down in speeches and actor-overload. I am not sure if there will be another one, because like they say in the movie, the audience wants bigger and better...and right now, this is starting to feel a little extinct.

Avengers: Age of Ultron - The Breakfast Club with Capes

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

This film reminds me of a roller coaster at an amusement park: you strap in, are pulled forward, surprised by the many dips and turns, laugh a little along the way, and propelled to an end that is at once jolting, but instantly forgettable in its emotional pull. The Avengers/Ultron feels this way - for it packs a wallop, but somehow we feel we have been here before, but with less thrills.

The premise is a simple Good vs. Evil scenario, with the usual gang of Iron Man (Downey), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Johansson), Hulk (Ruffalo), Captian America (Evans), and Hawkeye (Renner) - and of course our minority crew of The Falcon (Mackie), War Machine (Cheadle), and a little shout out to Heimdall (Elba). They bring up the rear, and sometimes you forget they are even a part of this team at all, but my beef about the Un-Diversity of the Marvel Universe will be voiced elsewhere and on another soapbox.

Avengers/Ultron is a big movie, with big stars, and big action - it's the storyline that is a bit thin for my taste, although so convoluted, that it takes forever to explain all the goings on. But in a nutshell: Tony Stark aka Iron Man is back to trying to save the world through military gadgets (when will he ever learn), and has created an Artificial Intelligence with the gem from the scepter he had stolen from Loki in the last movie. This creation is to be used as a defense system for the Earth, and its main focus is to protect it from what is dangerous (otherworldly threats most likely). It is named Ultron (Spader). Unfortunately (in a humours and frightening dialogue between it and the man-servant intelligence of J.A.R.V.I.S), it begins to realize what is really threatening Earth and the human race...is the human race itself.


And so the quest begins (once Ultron trades his digital self for a more physical self, obtaining a shell for a body), as he acquires a mechanical army, and solicits the help of two other superheroes: The Scarlet Witch/ Wanda, and her twin brother, Quicksilver/Piedro - one wields hallucinogenic and energy powers, and the other superhuman speed. They assist Ultron because their town was bombed (killing their parents), and guess who made the weaponry...you guessed it, Tony Stark. Although at first it is thought that Ultron just wants to rid the world of the Avengers, but when it is discovered that he wants to eliminate most of the world, that takes things along a whole new level of..."Oh no he didn't."

So as Ultron tries to lay waste to the land, in order to bring the Avengers to him, I am at once appalled again by the collateral damage that is presented in this movie. Although they try to evacuate the city that is being threatened, it all still reminds me of Superman: Man of Steel;  that no matter how you look at it, human beings who watch this film will still regard every smashed car that is moving, every window in a building, every leveled neighborhood, as belonging to another human being that may be occupying it. In our heads we are doing the body count, and the number is unbelievably high. How do they even have time to honor the deceased after these superheroes have done their super deeds? Why hasn't Tony Stark Industries created some super-weapon that can be installed in peoples homes, so that they can guard themselves against this kind of threat. Even The Avengers can't be everywhere at all times.

But sprinkled within this fast paced destruction, is a different kind of Adventure movie. There is a little more heart, as if this group truly spends their time together when not fighting crime. We are introduced to a Hulk/Black Widow romance that I didn't see coming, Hawkeye has a very personal life, and Iron Man and Thor have words about who has the best woman - showing us that superheroes too can find love and machismo while still wearing capes and tights.

Avengers/Ultron is a great ride, albeit a toss-away/repetitive plot of robots-gone-wild. It gives fans what they want, and we get to know the characters on a deeper level than before (Black Widow's story alone could make for an interesting subplot). It is entertaining for sure.

My only caveat is that our minority superheroes need to step up to the plate more (or at least have a stronger presence besides their stance as bodyguards and comedians to our standard heroes). I should expect more at least from Falcon, who was the very first African American superhero in comics (but then again, Storm, the most powerful of the Xmen besides Charles Xavier, hasn't gotten her due), should have a real chance to shine. Once again, we are sidekicks...but there goes my soapbox again. I'll just sit here and eat my popcorn.

Blackbird: I know why the caged bird sings

3 1/2 Popcorn Kernels

Blackbird can be a difficult movie to review. It is a movie that stands alone in its technique and character. Not many of the studios are brave (or is the work brazen) enough to put out a Gay African American coming-of-age story - leaves you to wonder who is really in the closet.

Blackbird tells the story of Randy Rousseau (Julian Walker); a young black man trapped in the cage that society and church have set for him, but like all caged animals, they yearn to be set free. In his repression he has several wet dreams about a classmate in his school, which suddenly become more intense when he becomes his partner in a rebellious play namely dubbed Romeo and Julian. These feelings are still strange to him, as he has not accepted his sexuality yet, he finds himself kneeling at his beside to an airbrushed image of Jesus above his bed, to forgive him.

Randy has a small group of supportive friends; Efrem (Gary LeRoi Gray) - the lustful realist, who cruises parks and isn't shy with his comments, and Crystal (Nikki Jane), who is also on the verge of sexual awakening and has a plan to get it over with. Both of them are aware of Randy's sexual orientation even if he isn't. They bond as the sounding board for reasoning with each other, and seem to have a natural chemistry in their acting (although Randy could use a bit more acting lessons).

Then there is the family that surrounds Randy, comprised of his mother Clair (Mo'nique), who is saddled with a heavy guilt brought about by the assumed abduction of her daughter. In her grief and turmoil, she eventually blames her son Randy, and his sins as being the cause of their grief as a punishment from God. She gives a palatable performance amidst her religiously zealot attitude, but it feels a bit too much at times, and the script doesn't do enough with it beside having her look forlorn and downtrodden with sudden bursts of anger and anguish. Her conflict is really within herself, and her emotions are hidden from others in such a way that they see her grief but don't confront it. She doesn't really get angry at her life, just at her son. It doesn't allow her to really ACT, just react, with others. And since she spends so much screen time with Randy, the son she hates, there is a distance there that the ending can't justify. It is a performance that lacks any true emotional range.

His father Lance (Isaiah Washington) is there also, having been divorced from Clair, he tries to bond with his son via short conversations while Randy walk home from school - and Lance is trailing alongside him in his pickup truck on the road (must be a kind town, that no one honks behind him at this pace). It is in these moments that have the greatest heart in the movie. In an industry where the father is deemed the ruler of bad behavior, it is good to see one who is making a difference in trying to get to know their child beyond the rules set out by society. This performance should quell the controversy that surrounded Isaiah when he did Grey's Anatomy. He shows patience, and a willingness to wait until Randy determines who he is, and that he will stand beside that decision whatever it is.

And helping him find that understanding is Marshall (Kevin Allasee), a white boy from another school, who has fallen for Randy. And while I don't like the "White Savior" in movies, where the black character comes to a cathartic experience with the help of his white counter-part, I will bypass this one, as Marshall doesn't come across as superior to Randy. Randy we can see has a lot of potential, and is very focused, and without Marshall's assistance, I can see him coming into his own. I just see Marshall as a way to get there sooner because we only have 2-hours in the movie. He is handsome, and while the interracial aspects are not brought out in this movie (which could have been a move all its own without the mother/daughter/abduction storyline), but I understand that the source material was not that of Patrick-Ian Polk.

Speaking of Patrick, who is the director, and has birthed such treats as Noah's Arch, Punks, The Skinny, and others - all giving meaning and a voice to the African American Gay Youth - gives us now a film with much less humor than I expect of him. I am sure there were such elements within the source material of Blackbird written by Larry Duplechan, but this film comes off as trying to be serious, with serious subjects, and somehow, it feels a bit watered down. I believe that may be due to the directing, but also to what is expected of big Hollywood cinema. This isn't a movie of loud talking monologues about religion, sexual orientation, or race - but it feels as if it could be. In many black movies there is That Moment - when emotions and circumstance culminates into that big moment (Malcom X his speech, Color Purple and the Juke Joint, and Selma during their confrontation), and Blackbird is missing one (despite the video/romance scene with Randy and Marshall).

But Blackbird is a movie to see, just because you can see and feel the effort it is trying to make by telling a story that needs to be told, to an audience that hasn't seen themselves represented on screen very much - and by that I mean in African American cinema as a whole. Everyone can get something out of this one, and isn't that what going to the movies is all about.

Bad Seed - We Need To Talk About Kevin

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

This is an examination of the psyche that I have not seen brought to the screen before. We Need to Talk about Kevin is a story involving a mother and a monster - the monster being her son - who ends up committing a horrible crime that effects a whole town, and how she becomes the martyr for his deeds.

The story is told in so many flashbacks/flash forwards/present day - that it reminded me of Michael Clayton in its chopped narrative, that serves as a way of presenting a story that all comes together in the end. This story is about a mother and her son, and the strange disconnected bond that they share. It is said that a mother knows her child, and in this one, we see that Kevin (Ezra Miller) was a handful from the start for his mother Eva (Tilda Swinton). At birth he came into the world screaming, and in one scene, we see Eva going to a busy and loud construction site with her crying child, only so she can get some peace. Then when she gets home and finally puts the child to bed, does the father Franklin (John C. Reilly) enter the home to come and play with the child, and to Eva's chagrin, Kevin is silent and cooing to him as if he were the perfect child. 


There is an obvious rivalry between Kevin and Eva, which is seen in Kevin's younger years with his resistance to potty training, ignores her, refuses to play, doesn't converse - until Franklin comes home, then he becomes a model son. These images are undercut with the tragedy the small town has encountered - as we witness Eva being punched in the face, ignored by her neighbors, propositioned by those she thinks she trusts, and confronted by Kevin's victims. Even when Kevin isn't there, his presence remains.

All In The Family

As Kevin reaches his adolescence, his plans become clear, and his personality becomes clever. He is very brash to Eva, and says and does things that would get him slapped in any other home. The reason Eva doesn't is because there is a deep love she has for him, and it is more in trying to understand how she has birthed such a monster, and she feels it is up to her to change him. But their personalities are so alike in some senses that she seems to have spawned an evil version of herself. They know how to push each others buttons, but Kevin knows how to push the buttons of others that are unaware that they are being pushed. When Eva has a second child, a girl named Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich), we believe that Kevin would have a sister/brother bonding - but this movie doesn't take that route. It goes off the Hollywood map of happy endings. Kevin isn't as hateful to his little sister, but his reaction to her is a hidden hate, where she is fooled into thinking he is the best thing since sliced bread.


Tilda as Eva is a deep rooted character, and her performance needs very little dialogue. The most speaking she does is when she is talking with Kevin, other times she is thinking about her time with him, wondering when she went wrong. She can't pull away from the fact that she needs to save him, even at the end of the movie she's still pulling straws. But within this silence, Tilda puts on a performance that is saturated in pain. Her eyes, her withdrawn body language, her speech, is all about shame. The town hates her, and she hates herself, but she can't seem to hate her son. This performance had me glued to the screen.


John C. Reilly is great here too, and his split reactions to his son and his wife show a versatility in his acting. He is like two different people. It seems that the whole family is caught in putting on a mask with one another. Until we reach a disturbing point in the movie when we discover at the same time Eva does, when she is running to the school where her son attends, that time has run out for her, for Kevin, for understanding him, for even the family. It is over.


But for the audience...it isn't, and We Need To Talk about Kevin, lingers on.

Cruise Control - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol

3 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, reminds me of what going to the movies is all about - an escape into another world that provides you a chance to escape from your own. It is such a fast moving adventure that I had to look at my watch when it finally ended to make sure that it kept within the 1 1/2-hour limit of most movies. It clocked in at 3 minutes past that.

The movie starts off on a run (literally), when IMF agent Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway) is on the run from an agency in Budapest named Cobolt. When Trevor jumps from a building while being pursued, an tosses a small pellet to the ground below, which inflates into a full-bodied cushion - so he in turn can shoot back up the building at his pursuers - I knew this was going to be a different movie ride altogether.


In short, the plot is sweet, swift, and to the point. There is a lot happening to set things up on screen. But I was intrigued to find a villain like the one here, Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), wanting to just take over the world by simply blowing it up - one that reminded me a little of Sherlock Holmes and Austin Powers's villains all rolled into one. This villain however knows of the IMF team, and finds the best way to take care of them is to frame them for the bombing of the Kremlin, which means that the IMF team has to fight them off radar or be branded terrorists themselves; thus begins the Ghost Protocol...and their mission..."If They Choose To Accept it."

Elevator Not Working Again

The THEY in this case is the initial team of Jane Carter (Paula Patton), the Beauty; Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), the Geek. This is prior to the Kremlin blowing up. Because initially they were after the codes for the nuclear weapons, but when they were unsuccessfully at acquiring them at the beginning of the movie (because Hendrick's team intervened), Hendricks decide to frame the IMF team to get them off his back. So the IMF team needed more men to hunt Hendricks - and they then acquired: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the Brains, from prison; and Brandt (Jeremy Renner), the Rookie - who is the connection with the audience. And as they pursue Hendricks and his team, they are also being pursued by the Russian officials who think they are responsible for the Kremlin explosion.


It is a cat-and-mouse-and-cheese game from then on.


I enjoyed the action, and special effects. There has been much talk about a scene high above the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest skyscraper), in Dubai. It is a fascinating scene, and trying to see where reality starts and special effects stops, is mind boggling. This scene sets the whole tone for the movie, because there is character development and banter that is both urgent but also funny. Tom Cruise has the ability to handle his team as a Mother Hen to a bunch of children who can get on his last nerve. He has to do all the dangerous deeds, and when any of his team is saddled with something daring, they bicker like toddlers at who will go, and while doing it, are scared as all-get-out. This is standard Tom Cruise mode - and I never get tired of it.

I Spy With My Little Eye...

Paula Patton as Jane - I have to say, is truly Tom's equal, and is unafraid of handling those tough assignments. I am glad to see her in a role like this, for it rounds off her acting resume quite well. I enjoyed her in Precious, as well as Jumping the Broom, and although it would be quite easy for her to blend her African American races in films, she stays unmistakably her heritage. She reminds me a little of Zoe Saldana or Thandie Newton (who ironically was in Mission Impossible II) - but her roles have mainly been more dramatic. It is obvious that she rounds out the diverse pallet - considering Ving Rhames isn't in this one (well almost). Although for Hollywood, an actress of Paula's caliber attracts a certain audience, and in an action adventure thriller of this nature (and others), these types blend in because the material doesn't demand much in the way of acting boundaries. With these women taking on more dramatic roles, their distinct personalities become more separated...Hollywood just need to get it to them.


As for the skyscraper scene - I was enthralled when Etan was scaling the outside of the building, but in the background you see a sand storm coming in...very slowly. I was like, "Now what is THAT all about?" but this movie is like an Indiana Jones / 007 adventure, where scenes are strung together like taffy. There are gadgets galore; from machines that can levitate you through magnetism, to instant hologram shades that can reflect images behind it without revealing the person behind it. There are actions scenes in state-or-the-art car garages where cars move around and are delivered like soda machines, and dead bodies are used as a distraction to underground gunfire. The director Brad Bird (of The Incredibles, and Ratatouille fame), knows how to frame action, and keep the action going whether it is verbal or physical.


This movie is great escapism, and I have heard the images pop even more in Imax (I'm glad it stayed away from a 3D-version). I look forward to the next installment - and while I finally see the aging of Tom Cruise, I'm glad his skills are timeless. This is one mission you should be willing to take...before it self-destructs...tick, tick, tick...

Of Elephants & Donkeys - The Ides of March

4 1/2 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

When it comes to political movies, I am not the greatest fan; but this one begins with the red and the whites, the primaries and the delegates - and manages to pull back the lining, and uncover a movie that seeps to the deepest of the human spirit. It goes from the public to the individual and how each of our dreams can create a monster inside that we never thought was there.

The title is a very interesting one, for it represents the 15th day of March in Roman history (and also in the film), when Brutus betrayed Caesar - and betrayal is a key component in this movie, but it also is a known ingredient in many political arena's. This is what makes The Ides of March so captivating (although this movie isn't for everyone), for it examines what it takes for any of us to reach a point where friends can become enemies.


The movie takes a while to gain momentum, as it delves into the life of Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), a up-and-coming campaign manager, who we first see going over a  campaign speech meant for a Governor candidate soon-to-be-president Mike Morris (George Clooney), who is running up against Senator Pullman. The relationship between Stephen and Mike is one of mutual trust, as Stephen thinks that Mike will become a president who will finally stand by what he believes.

IDES on the prize

Oh the tangled web we weave in politics.


Steven works under the senior campaign manager, Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who's strict views of loyalty determines many of his decisions. Pullman also has a senior campaign manager, in the name of Duffy (Paul Giamatti), and he wants to steal Steven away from the competition. All the while each one is being stalked by a roving reporter Ida (Marisa Tomei), who's loyalty seems to be to herself and who has the best story.


Many players, many situations - and all of them come to full momentum when Stephen meets an intern to his campaign; Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), who is no stranger in speaking her mind, and getting what she wants...even when the consequences of her actions eventually haunt her. This is a movie ripe with characters that are all out to prove something to others, as well as to themselves, so their overall motives for action can fluctuate like the wind.


The Ides of March is filled with low-level tension, and as the morals of each character begins to change, it slowly causes a domino effect on other characters involved. It moves from just a political movie to an emotional one. We will all begin to rethink the many political campaigns we all have been involved with as voters, and it will generate a dark cloud on this country as a whole.


The Ides of March manages to go beyond a race that actually deals with race. In this race the senator of each state holds the many votes (and voters) of that state, and there is a Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), a black senator who both sides are trying to promise a higher office if he would just side with them. Although it is interesting to see a minority holding such power over two non-minorities (and the irony of it is hidden, for many minorities make it possible for the upper-class to have the power they have because of the work or favors that a minority can provide them), and how Thompson waits for these opposing characters duke it out - knowing that eventually they will come to him, is one that is kept at bay. This movie is run by human decisions, not human skin-shades. The only race really viewed in this movie, is the campaign kind.


Lastly, The Ides of March so that Human nature is after all the nature of a Human - and so we aren't really voting for a dream, we are voting for a man...and all his flaws.


...of which, this movie isn't one of them.

Hand Puppets - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of SHADOWS brings an interesting element to the Sherlock Holmes series. This movie will be liked by some, and not-so-much by others, because Sherlock in this case is evolving into more of an action/hero than sleuth, and as action/hero's go: they are not for everyone. But the element here that is most appealing, is this time Sherlock has a worthy nemesis, that is both as cunning, and as smart as he (and in some cases - much more), and it not only keeps Sherlock on his toes, but it also checks his ego at the door.

Be warned: this movie takes some time in building momentum. This isn't to familiarize us with the characters, but this movie is more In Character with its Atmosphere than the previous one. The language, mannerisms, and styling is delved in the English culture, and if you have watched any British television shows such as Absolutely Fabulous, Dr. Who, or even Torchwood - you understand that there is more banter and a slower buildup of tension that we Americans can be used to. So my advice, is to wait it out for the first 15-20 minutes. This is a thinking man's movie, as is appropriate with a hero such as Sherlock Holmes at the helm.


Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.), is investigating a series of crimes, and averts another one while tracking his love interest from the previous movie, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams). She is working for a man known as Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a man that Holmes knows very well. As Holmes averts (but only for a moment) the death of Dr. Hoffmanstahl - whom Adler was delivering a dangerous package to - Holmes realizes that Moriarty may be behind the other crimes.


At the same instance, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), is about to be married, and elicits Holmes to be his Best Man, but Holmes has other interests as he invites Watson to an arranged stag party, where Holmes meets with a gypsy named Simza, whose brother may have a connection with Moriarty and his ultimate plans. There, he realizes Simza has been pegged for assassination herself, and saves her - and this action alerts Watson that this stag party will lead to more than just wine and women.


Now that Holmes is onto Moriarty, he confronts this man, who is just as smart as Holmes, and just as clever at deducing situation before they can happen. This was seen in the first movie when Holmes was able to determine the outcome of a fight before the fight has actually happened. Well Moriarty can do this too, and since he has the plan, Holmes has to not only know what he is up to, but figure out how he will carry it out, and who he will use to do it - all through deduction.


Guy Richie is once again the director of this film, and I have to say, the special effects in this movie blew me away. They were not filled with CGI, or wild explosions, or quick fight scenes where the action is blurred - although they are there - he handles this in a way that is eye-popping amazing. I will love to see the Blu-Ray on this just to witness how much of this was done (especially the forest scene, where bullets reign past our hero's, while they remain in slow-motion).


I loved the character of Moriarty, for he has a quiet horror about him, of which makes him into a most evil and cunning man who can kill without malise. He's the Darth Vadar of that time, barely lifting a finger, but shattering a world all the same. Holmes and Watson are once again a most amazing team, and I am always amused at their homo-erotic tendencies with each other. There's is a most unspoken love of friendship. Downey is in top-form, and you can see that he has honed this character and made him his own.


The mystery soon doesn't become a mystery, but it is not the solving of the mystery that frightens. It is the type of mystery or the plan that this man, Moriarty had in mind, and just how crass he is to the human race. Sometimes a crime is shown as too big and too shocking to believe that one man would be willing to follow it through.


Sherlock: Games is a movie that is very entertaining, and I think will be better played at home where you have the time to digest what is going on. It is fast moving once it begins, but may seem to dialogue-heavy for most. I found it quite a thrill...and quite elementary I must say.

The House That Jack Built - Dream House

1 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

WTF! of in the case of Dream House...WTH! How could a movie, with really the inner-workings of a great premise (one we have seen in other movies that have starred Demi Moore and Bruce Willis) - and with a great cast, have managed to have gone so the full 360-degree of wrong. If you drop the "D" in this title you would described just how I felt at the end of this horror/thriller/unexpected comedy of a movie.

Dream House, like many movies these days is told in a constant flashback/reality - and involves a story whose surprise moment is already exposed in the trailer. When a movies trailer gives up on the surprise, I already have buterflies that this-ain't-gone-be-good. I have to say, I was more angry at this movie than disappointed. It was like a cake that fell in the oven - still good on the inside, but a waste of butter and sugar.


The story begins with Will (Daniel Craig), who leaves his job in New York, to move with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their two girls, into a home in Connecticut - one of those homes where you know nothing normal can happen - so that he can work on his novel. And no soon as he moves in, does strange things start happening; Libby sees a stranger outside the window, footprints of the manly nature are in the snow, the neighborhood kids are holding a seance in the basement...and a longtime neighbor Ann (Naomi Watts), is hanging about, looking at Will strangely.

...I was wondering how this man was eating the imaginary food his illusion wife may have made for him? Or if they made love...well, let's not go there.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

This movie could have gone in a very good direction with a plot like this, and should have involved a bigger cast besides just one neighbor. How would the other neighbors feel seeing Will/Peter move back in the neighborhood? What was it like back at the hospital as he dealt with his families death? What about his wife's family? These answers are never explored, because the screenplay seems to want to get through the plot as fast as it can, and it turns into a thriller - asking the question: did Will/Peter actually kill his family?

Then it starts to fall apart like wet bread, and I was mystified at how trapped these great actors were in a script and direction that was trying to go in too many directions in too little time. The flashback of how the family died, was at once pitiful and laughable (the things Hollywood will do to keep a PG-13 rating). All of this leads to an ending that answers many of the movie's questions - but similar to an M. Night Shyamalan, the end isn't worth the two-hours leading up to it.

This movie might work for at-home viewing, with the knowledge that it is NOT to be take seriously...and hopefully if you fall asleep, YOUR Dreams, will be better than what Dream House delivers.

Eye For an Eye - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

4 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

When it comes to twisting a fable children's story into something quite the opposite of cute and cuddle, there are few who can do it as well as Guillermo del Toro. Many are in the same category such as Tim Burton (Coroline, Corpse Bride). But even theirs are sweet and sugary to what Guillermo can achieve. His Pan's Labyrinth was an excellent example of how he involves children in what appears to be a fairy tale situation only to sprinkle it with an adult reality of moralities. Here, in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, he implores the fable of the Tooth Fairy - who instead of collecting little children's fallen teeth and exchanges them for silver - he implores that the Tooth Fairy, like some otherworldly vampire, feeds on the teeth of little children, whether they have fallen out or not.

At the films beginning, we realize we have fallen down Alice's rabbit hole, when we witness a prologue that delivers us a "Once Upon a Time," start, when the great Lord Blackwood lost his child down an ash chute under a chimney, in a basement, at a huge manor called Blackwood Manor - to a creature that demanded children's teeth to live. Well Lord Blackwood having no other children to gain teeth from to which he can bargain with, and decided to use his own...


...then his maids.


The outcome was not pleasant, and Lord Blackwood vanished.


Now we return to the abandoned home whre a family with real estate in their blood, deem this home to be resealable for one of their clients. Had the couple read the brochure to Rhode Island, they would know hat any home that has more rooms than occupants living there, and stands 3-stories high, with a caretaker to boot, was only meant for trouble. But alas...they didn't.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The family consists of a father, Alex (Guy Pierce), his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), and yes, a 10-year old named Sally (Bailee Madison) - teeth and all. Sally is already upset that her mother has put her in care of her sometimes caring, but really-has-no-clue-on-fathering father, an then to seem him with a new girlfriend who's desperately trying to bond with her. It's no wonder Sally gets bored with them all and decides, as young children will, to explore. As she does, she hers voices, soothing bur eerie, that understand her feelings. That there is a place for her. There is love, fun, other children to play with ...in the basement.


Soon Sally finds a tooth in this hidden basement, and Alex is upset at her for wandering alone. Kim tries to sympathise, but in the world of adults, little creatures and voices professed to be heard by a 10-year old, just can't be takes seriously.


The caretaker, Harris (Jack Thompson), bodes them to stay away from the basement, because of the strange disappearance of Lord Blackwood and his child, who was last seen there. If a caretaker tells me anything, you best believe I would listen...but this family is not me.


But Alex and Kim do something unique in this film - the act more like real adults than acting adults. They have relationship issues, thy have parenting issues, who cares about a basement and disappearing Lord's, when they are in debt and have a house to sell. Sally has only time to focus on her and her own life, as these creatures are clever enough to realize that Sally is onto them, and if they can't have the teeth alone, then they will just have to take her.

Peek-A-Boo...I See You

Don't be afraid of the Dark then moves quickly. We feel for Sally, but understand her parents as well. So Sally has to grow up fast. This performance also takes a good actress to pull it off, and Bailee along with the direction of Troy Nixey, is able to make this horrifying without it being frightening. You can see her thinking, and not only figuring out what the motives of the creatures are, but she understands that she is in this alone by being able to analyze the reactions of her caregivers. She realizes that they are in a whole different world than she is.


Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes go through a much slower arch, but its believable as they change from guardians to protectors. This is a great acting from them both, with an ending I was not quite expecting. I was also not quite expecting the level of violence in this film, but this is how Guillermo works. These creatures manage to remain hidden from he adults, even when Sally is in the same room. Like rodents, slipping in and out like a blur in your side-vision.


Don't be afraid of the Dark is a movie that is worth watching...even with the lights on.

Ka-Choo, Bless You - Contagion

3 1/2 Popcorn Kernels out of 5

See Trailer Here

There have been many disease-of-the-month movies, and many have just turned into Zombie-of-the-Month; but this one has focused entirely on the disease itself, the course it takes, and the people it touches (regardless of race or social status). Common cold, Ebola virus, STD, or The Kissing Disease; they all could have been the muse for this - because what is interesting is not the cure for the disease, but in this one, what is interesting is its birth.

When it comes to the diversity of this movie, it has to be applauded. This is an ensemble piece, and the greatest minority in this movie is the disease - which enters the picture on many levels; the first is with a cough.




Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow), returns from a businesses trip in Hong Kong with a cough, and then a fever, and becomes very sick within a 3day timescale. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon), rushes her to the hospital where (as you see in the trailer), she dies. His troubles don't end there, but in the meantime, the doctors try to do an autopsy to find the cause of death. 


What they find is a mystery.


Contagion is not a thriller in the regular since of the word, it is more of a medical-thriller, where there are not spectacular special effects of Hollywood CGI illusions. For some, this may come across as a disappointment. If you find the History Channel intriguing, then this will appeal to you. The acting is great among the central characters, and the direction of Steven Soderbergh, keeps you interested (just as his movie Traffic had done). How society handles an unknown virus is quite interesting.

Origato Mr. Roboto

When Mitch's wife is examined and they discover a new and unknown virus in her system, the chain of discovery goes in the direction of CDC (at Homeland Security - it is amazing how threats on the human population have now involved every nature of human life, and for that matter, the involvement of Homeland Security in regarding everything as a weapon of mass destruction). We meet Dr. Ellis (Laurence Fishburne) who tries to understand the threat, and Dr. Erin (Kate Winslet) who works with understanding how the threat is spread. She has a difficult time getting a vaccination started and funded in time to have it not only produced, but distributed; oh, and to make sure that it works!


Meanwhile, the virus is spreading by the hundreds, with Mitch seeming to be immune, and having now to take care of a daughter on his own who he is not sure has inherited his immunity trait. The neighborhood is shared by a neurotic blogger Alan (Jude Law) who posts conspiracy theories about the political/pharmaceutics connections to this new disease. Then there are the scientist Dr. Ally (Jennifer Ehle) who must find a way to isolate the virus to create a vaccine - and in the end when too many failures reduces her funding, she decides to inoculate herself on the version she has more faith in.


We also have Dr. Leonora (Marion Cotillard) with the World Health Organization who is at work at trying to find where this disease originated. A disease that eventually has the population scared, the President in hiding, cities quarantined, and nations blaming nations.


The diversity in this film is refreshing, and the mesh of nationalities are neither stereotyped or exploited. In fact, they are interchangeable, and this is a good thing, for something like a disease that can be caught by a simple cough, it becomes a movie that we feel can not only happen, but one that can happen to any one of us. Each of the actors are at their best (with nods to Marion, Laurence, and Kate), with emotions that let us know that these characters are real people on the inside, with a life beyond what they do for a living.


In speaking about the diversity, what Marion's character goes through when she visits Hong Kong and a local village that wants the vaccine first - provokes anger and a realism about Power and Privilege. It is very accurate at how the world treats the poor and the minorities within its backyard.


Contagion could have been a made-for-cable movie if not for the star power that it employees. It's message is simple, and reflects all our lives, and its examination of society coming together against a common enemy is what is really contagious about contagion.