Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Hanna

& 1/2

4 1/2 Popcorn Kernals out of 5

See Trailer Here

Smart. Quick. Unexpected. Fun.


These are all the words that come to describe Hanna, a unique thriller that appears to be actually divided into several parts, all strung together into a movie that is part mystery, part action adventure, part drama, part family bonding, and part franchise.


Hanna begins in the wilderness, and so does our little star, 12 year-old Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), as we watch her first track, then kill, then gut a deer. Then she is attacked from behind by a male stranger - who when she almost wins - we find out is her father, Erik (Eric Bana), who is somehow training Hanna for a reason we are soon to discover (and so will Hanna). He has lived in the wilderness for many years, in hiding from the CIA. He was once an agent, but during what would appear a botched attempt on his life to silence him from what he knows, he also sired a daughter, who may or may not know all of his hidden secrets. He realizes that Hanna can't remain her entire life in the woods (Red Riding Hood she is not), so this training is meant for her to eventually leave, which will also cause both of them to be exposed to the CIA; especially to a certain woman who has been after them for most of their exile, Marissa (Cate Blanchett).


Marissa, with all her grays and dark colors, her obsessive behavior, her determination, is quite the character, and is played with a calm cool, as if she were the reincarnation of a serial killer soccer-mom. This personality, with its staunch behaviours, seems as calculating on the inside, as Hanna soon reveals herself to be on the outside. When Hanna decides it is time for her to leave the nest and face her future, the movie takes off - by this time we have bonded with her, her father, and have been introduced to her nemesis (yet their ultimate connections to one another are yet to be surmised).


Immediately upon her trek into the new world, Hanna is pursued, and once captured, her survival skills kick into gear (leaving a body count in its wake). But what the writer Joe Wright (Atonement) has done, is to keep Hanna's childish innocence, by introducing her to another family while on the run, and to also form a friendship with the young yet pretentious daughter, Sophie (Jessica Barden), who reminded me slightly of Hailee Steinfield who played Mattie Ross in True Grit; a role here, that wasn't as dialogue driven as the latter, but one that was punched with the same gusto. This union keeps us grounded with the fact that Hanna is a child, who has been put into a difficult situation, and just wants to get out.


What really is the situation?


That is the mystery. Hanna, Erik, and Marissa are more that what they first appear, and each are driven by motives that are as separate as they are equal - making them forever bonded together no matter how long their separation from each other. Hanna's meeting with this stray family, creates a human element that the audience can feel, because they are only driven by an uncontrollable urge to nurture Hanna, whose independent and well-rounded spirit appears to represent a small piece of each of the four-member household.


They Care. We Care.


So when the ending of this movie arrives, it actually ends - but the mysteries that are unearthed open our minds to a "What Happens Now?", as if this was but a chapter of a larger picture, whose stories could branch off in many directions.


In the end...it leaves you very, very, excited, but doesn't leave you in the woods.

He Did The Mash...He Did The Monster Mash... - Battle L.A.

3 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Watching this movie, I had the feeling that I was watching a feature that was delivered to the studio by a guy who accidentally thought the stuff on the editing room floor was actually the film to be shown, and mistakenly brought it to the theater. Battle Los Angeles plays out as if it was part of a much larger and epic film, that somehow got cut down to an over-extended trailer.


The movie starts off with a bang, as news broadcasts announce that meteors are heading towards earth, and are going to crash land near coastal cities, most likely in their oceans, causing no immediate threat to the nearby major cities. But as we are introduced to the cast, we learn that these may not be a simple astrological event, due to their odd entry into our solar system, and subsequently our atmosphere; the military is certain that this may be an alien invasion.


It is one time the government is right.


In the cities of London, Paris, Barcelona...etc. we see the formations land, and their contents exposed (in the form of large, tactile creatures, who resemble a cross between Predator/District 9 & a Jim Henson Puppet), we immediately see they are not friendly, as they come out shooting at civilians with rays-of-fire, causing chaos and pandemonium. City after city is taken under siege...except for Los Angeles...


The special effects then take over, and the acting soon becomes non-existent, but lately this has been the trend, and with such a fine array of actors, I was disappointed at how wooden the whole performance was becoming. Not to say that this was a negative, but it was like watching Celine Dion humming the National Anthem (good to look at...but why?).

Hellooo...Is Anybody Home?

As for the cast...we first meet with Staff Sgt. Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a Marine veteran with a secret past, who was trying to retire, but had to go on this last mission in fighting these aliens. He is very dashing in this role, even though his words are few, and actions are fewer - but as far as emotional range, he has it, and I had high hopes for the rest of the cast. But alas, many of them are unknown, or known through television roles - and they stretch across the racial lines like fallen Skittles. And normally I would pinpoint a few of the outstanding performances, but in this movie, as we are shuttled through their life stories and head straight into action - as they are sent on a mission to find a few survivors who are trapped within an area of Los Angeles that's been evacuated because they plan to nuke it - they all become just simple chess pieces, with even simpler lines of dialogue; you've heard them all if you have ever seen the introduction scenes in any video game of the same caliber.


The search for a surviving family manages to keep the action going; composed of a single father with two children. Children can really save a movie like this, because the audience immediately has a connection, and the tension that builds is something I wish carried throughout the movie. But we don't interact with any other civilians in the movie, so the connection to the viewer is quickly lost.


It is this mission that takes up the whole movie, and causes it to become a mundane game of cat & mouse (hence the video-game feel to it). During this quest, we are introduced to the aliens, how they fight, what their weakness is, and get confused at who is the victim of the hour (the standard uniforms they all wear become interchangeable after a while). But what makes this film watchable, is that the actors were taking this more seriously than me, and you can see them put every bit of their skill into this appetizer of a script - while deep inside they starved for a real morsel of dialogue that just wasn't to be found. The directing and special effects however, are very good, with interesting shots from the skies, on the ground, and a scene on a bus that gets pretty riveting.


But it all seems like a long commercial...while I sat still waiting for the actual movie to start.

How The West Was Won - Rango

3 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

Watch Trailer Here

Rango was not the animation that I wanted to see - but things have a way of changing. I mean, an animated western tale, created by first time animators ILM (International Light & Magic), about a scaley lizard - and a posse of desert animals (none of which possess any Disney/Pixar type cuteness), with a theme that seemed more serious than entertaining...oh, and to be directed by Gore Verbinski (of Pirates of the Carribean fame).

I was quite suprised.


Rango has a depth and sophistication I found rather different than most animated fare. Although it may appear a kids movie, the underlying plot combined present-day complexity with a western's sense of honor. Of course, with characters that appear ripped from a child's nightmare, there would be little product-marketing, so I assume they had to at least make the story appealing across the generation board.


Rango (Johnny Depp), is the name of a chameleon, who begins by giving the audience a monologue of some sort of stage play that is going on in his head. We pull back to see that he is in some sort of tank, and instantly, realize that this tank is in the back of a pickup truck in the desert that goes awry and accidently tosses Rango over unto a desert roadway. He is now rather lost, and very out of his element. He meets an Armadillo named Roadkill (Alfred Molina), who just happens to be in the middle of the road with a tire impression run through his center. They speak about a destiny, what lies across the road, the Spirit of the West, and that there is a town in the distance that he may travel to called Dirt.


And so his adventure begins.

On his journey he narrowly escapes being eaten by a hawk, before discovering another lizard named Beans (Isla Fisher), who has the uncanny habit of blanking out during conversations to a near-petrified state. She is heading to the town known as Dirt, and he follows her. There he heads into a saloon occupied by a list of unsavory characters, and this is where he adopts the persona of Rango - a brave gunslinger who lets nothing stand in his way, except for the victims in his path. During this charade, the hawk returns to the town, remembers Rango, and through a series of mishaps, is accidently killed by Rango, which raises his status to Sherrif of the town, by the Mayor, Tortoise John (Ned Beatty), who resides over this town of Dirt, which Rango discovers, is going bone-dry because of the lack of water in its water reserves.

Johnny...Is that you

The reasons for this dryness sets him on another mission to restore the towns water, but the reasons for it being dry, and the value of the water they already have, invites trouble and scoundrals from other neighboring towns, and Rango is off to another adventure. 


During each of these adventures, there is an owl mariachi band commenting in song and guitars about the Legend of Rango.


Rango is very entertaining, fast paced, quick-witted, and extreemly adult. The look of the film is unique, and rich in detail, and the humor although on the low scale, is pretty funny (sorta sitcom funny). What really caught my attention was the plot. It seemed straight out of Chinatown (the film starring Jack Nicholson), with a western theme thrown in: a loner, a town, a woman, and town corruption. I was enthrawled. I am sure that the complexity of the script is what attracted Johnny Depp to the role - and provided him yet another opportunity to alter his voice into another character.


I haven't seen many westerns, but can immediatly tell that this was a great homage to them, their style, their sense of conviction, and their underlying message of good vs. evil.


Rango may have started off as a legend in his on mind, but he soon be came a hero in mine. 

You Take Me Round, Round, Round...baby! - The Adjustment Bureau

     4 our of 5 Popcorn Kernels

         

Watch Trailer Here

 The heart of The Adjustment Bureau is a Love Story. I just thought I'd warn you.
...and by the way, it's a pretty good one.


Philip K. Dick is an amazing science fiction writer, and when I saw his name as the inspiration to this film, it gave me hope. He creates sci-fi that has a humanity as its creamy and tasty center. Many of his stories have been the muse for films: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...and now Adjustment Bureau.

Although the story is very different from the movie - the premise is still there: that in some small way, our destinies are chosen, but in an even smaller part known as "free will" we have the ability to alter it to create a destiny all our own.

This is what happens in the movie when we meet two characters who are destined for greatness - but their ultimate meeting, and continued interactions, may in fact, be a diversion strong enough to shift those destinies in other unknown directions.


The first character is David Morris (Matt Damon), who is on the losing end of a U.S. Senate congressional campaign which he is a candidate. He visits a men's room in the hotel where the campaign is being held, in order to think of what he will say to the public before moving on. And in this restroom, out of one of the stalls, comes his destiny - dressed in high heels and a satin dress no less - in the name of Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). She's overheard some of his ramblings about what he was going to say to the press and the longer she waited the weirder it would have been to just "pop out". So they talk. He laughs. She explains she has crashed another party in the hotel and must flee. He smiles (and isn't that all that Matt Damon really has to do), and there is an instant connection. Then she is gone.


That inspiration causes David to make a most engaging speech, which swells his popularity when he runs for the same campaign again...then comes the wrinkle: That meeting was not suppose to happen, because now he can't stop thinking about her.

Run Forest...I mean David...Run!

This is where the Adjustment Bureau gets tricky, because in life there can be one event, one meeting, one circumstance, that can divert our lives in whole different directions. The Adjustment Bureau calls this "Chance". Because three years later is when they were really were suppose to meet, in a chance meeting on a bus. But that meeting has to be thwarted - why? Because if they meet for a second time, their connection with each other will become stronger, their influence upon each other will change them from strangers to friends to possible lovers and what was once two separate paths have now become one uncertain one; because they will be on it together.


It is at this time we meet The Adjustment Bureau or "The Men In Hats". Richardson (John Slattery) is one of these men, the leader of sorts, who assigns another adjuster Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie), to distract David enough so that he misses the bus on which Elise is riding. Mind you...this is three years later, and David is still awe-struck. When these two meet...oh my goodness, the fireworks may light up the eastern skies. But being an adjuster is a tiring job I would hazard to guess; going through life causing such minor distractions in ordinary lives, so that those distractions can keep these chance meetings from interrupting what appears to be destiny that touches other lives, changing their destiny...and so on, and so on...whew!

Touched By An Angel

Well, Harry misses his chance at distracting David, and he and Elise meet. This causes David to get to work a little earlier than expected because he didn't catch the later bus - and when he gets to his office (because he is now a Senator), he finds his staff has been frozen in time, and dancing around them are these "Men in Hats". David freaks out, and heads for the hills...but he is caught.


In a separate facility, David is told about the Adjustment Bureau, and how his destiny is to be great, but it cannot happen if his continues to see Elise. Her destiny too will be great...if she does not see him. But to David, love creates its own destiny, and although he is warned not to tell her (or his mind will be erased completely), he isn't strong enough to do it. He isn't strong enough to be without her. He isn't strong enough to forget her...and as events unfold, he is on the run - with Elise pulled along with him, as she too is pushed into the back curtain of reality and sees what lies there. She is scared - but she too believes in love. They are already thinking as one.


The Adjustment Bureau is very fast paced, as the two lovers first find the strength to pursue their own paths, and run from the path given them. Anthony Mackie - who plays Harry, the one who misstep at the bus stop caused much of this - soon becomes an ally, and his portrayal of a man who has empathy for his boss and his "client", becomes the voice of the audience. He delivers a great performance, one that is reserved but filled with a quiet inner strength of a man who struggles with decisions he is not sure he can no longer agree with.


Matt Damon isn't doing his Borne-Thing this time, but his versatility as an action hero really pays off in this movie, because we feel his will and determination as an unstoppable force. It is this force, and the inner conflicts these characters have, that make this less of a science fiction adventure (although the various elements are there), it is grounded in this time, this moment, and that makes it real to us too. 


We are running along with them, determined to make it on our own...and if we fail, at least we tried.

One Ring To Rule Them All - The Fighter

       5 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

Just when I thought it was safe to assume that everything about boxing had been done, every Round Girl had carried her last banner, every bloody nose had smeared yet another canvas, every motivated stair-climbing training session had reached its last apex...here comes a new and fresh approach, which taught me, what was old can indeed be new again. 


The Fighter is a different kind of boxing movie - this would be the boxing movie (albeit with a lot more staggering drama) if it were to be directed by, let's say...Francis Ford Coppola of The Godfather series. Here we have a boxing movie, that allows us to root for more than just the boxer. It is about a family, and how boxing itself, has become the protagonist driving a wedge into their seemingly perfectly-dysfunctional world. The hero tries to get out, but they keep pulling him back in, until an outside love interest comes in and shows him a way to lead his own path. It is about an underlying sibling rivalry and loyalty that is tested to its limits. It is about the boxing ring of everyone's life, and how they all fight each day to keep it.


The Fighter is about mainly about two brothers - as the opening sequence will tell you: The older brother Dicky (Christian Bale), was once a great fighter, and HBO is doing a series about him - but not as being a could-be legend who once knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard, but as a present crack-addict and how this drug has carried him (and anyone) down a rabbit hole of destruction. He however, in his Alice-of-Wonderland mind, believes that HBO is there to film his remarkable (and very unlikely) comeback into the ring of boxing. Next to him is his younger brother, whom he trains, and has hopes that he will bring not only himself redemption, but that of his whole family, as the next greatest boxer if the Century; Micky (Mark Wahlberg), who is being promoted by his mother Alice (Melissa Leo), who constantly miss-matches his fight bookings with people that can beat her son to a pulp but still leave him standing long enough to cash the check.


Then comes Charlene (Amy Adams), a barmaid with a bar-mouth and pretty eyes, who allows Micky to take her on a date, and immediately notices that it is not the fights in the ring he has to beat; his biggest competitors is his family. She sees his potential, if only he can get him away from them (and a roster of crazy sisters who look like the rejects from GLEE if it were filmed in the 80's).


And so the fighting begins...

Who Loves Ya Baby

Our main focus becomes the older brother in this story, as he deals with his loyalty in training his brother - which seems to be his only connection into the real world - and his drug addiction. Christian Bale is amazing in this role (he also lost enough weight to make him look like a waif), and his performance is sure to be a contender at the Oscars. He wears so many personalities that I would have loved to have seen the amount of energy it took during the retakes for him to get into character at each scene. Between him and Amy Adams I was mesmerized. For her, it was such a departure from her sweet personality in all her previous movies. She gives such determination in her role that I was really conflicted with who the real Amy Adams was in real life.


Micky is the string that pulls at this family, and the fighting scenes are us rooting less for the fights, and more for his freedom. We want him to win just because it will take him away from his addiction: his family. This is especially so for his mother Alice - and although Melissa Leo is getting a lot of praise for her portrait, and it is well deserved, I felt it paled in comparison with her colleague's. We feel her pain in dealing with this family, and her addiction with trying to make the dysfunction work - because this dysfunction gives her purpose, but she begins to fade into the background as the film ends.


The pacing of The Fighter is very captivating, and the only downside to all of this is the performance by Mark Wahlberg, who's character is dumbed down to a low simmer, and perhaps he should be, because in this family of estrogen and drama, maybe it is best to just disappear. Mark looks like a boxer, and so we believe him, and we admire his restraint, but we are left with concern that Charlene in time will be running his life as much as his present family does.


I was left with a very good feeling at the end of this movie, because it was more than I had expected, and delivered many victories. It showed me that when it comes to family - when one wins, we all win; whether we realize it or not.

Stung Again - Green Hornet

1 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here

There are some movies that arrive and I see, who's value is so below the radar that I am tempted to hold back in writing about it - but you can't account for taste, thus I have to give a modest review for all those that actually liked and was entertained by this movie which follows a long list of Superhero films. 


The Green Hornet comes from a radio program of the same name, and eventually from a similar film which starred Bruce Lee (non of which I have experienced). I am more attuned to the reality-based superhero movies which take on a more comic book feel - where situations mimic the lives we all live emotionally (The Dark Knight, Spiderman, Superman), but this movie falls between the realm of reality and slapstick...and not very well I might add. I had assumed that this movie would be one similar in its Suspension of Belief as Kick-Ass or Scott Williams vs The World (both great films), but this one came below My Ex-SuperGirlfriend or Hancock (still both good). This one was not.


This films stars a rich kid (or adult) Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) and his father, James (Tom Wilkinson - Why?) who runs a newspaper, and their coffee maker/chauffeur (really?) Kato (Jay Chou). After his father's untimely death, Britt has to run the paper and handle life of the rich & famous all by himself, so after a night or romping and rowdiness, he decides that the superhero life is for him...and why not bring along a guy that makes a great cup of coffee as your sidekick?

Exterminating Another Scene

Well, what sells a paper better than criminals - and if you can create crime better than the real criminals then wham! the criminals will be after you, which is better than running around the city actually LOOKING for crime. 


So The Green Hornet arrives in the guise of a criminal to...Catch-A-Thief (so to speak). It's a win-win if you ask me. The real criminal however, named Chudnofshy (who eventually becomes Bloodnofsky -  played by Christopher Waltz), is a drug king. Then there is the Evil Attorney, Scanlon (David Harbour), who wants the paper for his own ends; both go against the Green Hornet to advance their evil goals.


Oh yes, there is the love interest of Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), who's only purpose I could see is to balance out all the testosterone in this feature.


Whew...there you have it. Good vs Evil, Love is in he air, and confusion within the public ensues as to who are the real criminals. The pacing of the movie is very quick, so much so, that at times I was wondering why so much meaninglessness was happening on the screen except to be able to meet the full running time the movie had to reach to be considered a movie and not a commercial. The fight scenes were nice, but I have seen them before. I did find that the sidekick Kato (Jay Chou) was at least an interesting study, and almost wished the roles were reversed, because Britt as the Green Hornet was a little too childish, lacking of skills, and inept to be successful as a superhero of anything. His arch as a playboy-type continues throughout the movie unchanged, while Kato appears very independent at first and has to learn to act as a team player (a very submissive role that I saw as quite deterring, but maybe this is how the radio program worked, but I doubt an Asian filled that voice), and that shift in personality makes him more watchable. 


I also ached for Christopher Waltz who won an Oscar for Inglorious Bastards (was this done as a favor?) who plays his part well with dedication and I could see how fun he would be if this story were a bit more serious, but when everybody is acting like a clown, what's the point of going to the circus? We needed a lion-tamer, a trapeze artist, anything to make this more real; even if it is suppose to be comedic. And I assume because Seth Rogen did his part in writing the screenplay - this was the reason for the miscasting (of himself). A shame. 


But as I have said, this movie appealed to many (based on the opening box office sales). The Rock-Soundtrack will let you know the age group this is catered to. And if recycled action, thin storyline, and great actors taking sub-par roles is for you...well enjoy. 


As for me...watching the butter dry on my popcorn was better entertainment.

She Loves Me...She Loves Me Not... - Blue Valentine

5 out of 5 Popcorn Kernels

See Trailer Here:

There is a scene within Blue Valentine, that depicts a road leading out of town, and a missing dog. The family of the missing dog - soon finds the animal dead along the road.

This is the full premise of Blue Valentine, a movie that elicits the ultimate destruction of a relationship. It is not a sad movie, nor is it a happy one; but that road is one we all travel in a relationship; it can either lead you out - or keep you in. In this movie however - each couple understands the road, but in different ways, and those ways are laid out in a motion picture that will have you thinking and pondering its true meaning well after you have gotten in the car to drive on your own road, in your own destiny. 


Blue Valentine combines two different stories about the same people in the course of a few years of their lives: Dean (Ryan Gossling) is a simple man, with simple values. All he wants is a job and a girlfriend (in that order) - once the job is found as a mover in a moving company, he then goes on pursuit of the girl. That girl is Cindy (Michelle Williams), who is dating the college jock Bobby( Mike Vogel ), but in all actions he just seems to be a distraction. FLASHFOWARD! We meet the same couple with their daughter, speaking once again about the dog, his job, her duties as a mother, and his complacency as a father. She remembers those times in her past when she chose him over the jock, and remembers his efforts at trying to woo her; oh how times have changed - for he has settled into his role as father, dad and bread-winner, and she is waiting for her own transition and a role to settle into - she never thought that THIS would be the end of her storybook romance; where is the sequel for godssake!

Look Out For Love

Blue Valentine is a powerful story, because it does NOT have a storybook ending; it does not have the violins of forgiveness, or the somber good-feel of a romance - but what it does offer is a real-view look into two peoples lives when just living and surviving has become their sole goal in life. It charges along like a slow moving train, where you can see the bridge ahead is out and hangs over a precipice of calamity; but even as it moves, one must continue to live as best one can until the end - but by that time, there has accumulated so much tension, anger, and regret that your eventual fall may be the only excitement left.  


Ryan Gosling as Dean creates an amazing performance, and although his co-star, Michelle Williams, is of equal caliber, you can understand why his Golden Globe nomination was forthcoming. He delivers such a change, such a full range of emotions in such a short span of time; because this relationship doesn't cover decades in their lives, only a few short years but in those years you can see the toll - you can see a man that has settled for what he has, and the fear that it could be changing and his struggle to fight to save his storybook...HIS happy ending.


There is an exchange they have on a drive home where Cindy has bumped into her college jock boyfriend at a grocery store, and he still looks...well...Jocky! She is at once struck by those feelings she had long since smothered (and some secrets within their union). When she mentions it to Dean, she tries to downplay it, but he can see and hear a change in her voice. Her guard is up and he wonders why she told him of their casual meeting in the first place. It's a small town, they were bound to eventually meet anyway, and she knows their history isn't a good one, so why? Eventually that drive becomes another one of tension and escapism.  


In Blue Valentine, that same road leads them to many things; a trip to her parents, a trip out of town, a trip to her place of employment, a trip that he may ultimately travel alone. Each encounter, each stripping away of their lives, each scene of love making (which has gotten a lot of buzz as erotic but really its more of a mental-copulation) which becomes less and less about love and more and more about control when in the beginning it was more about giving in...not giving up. 


It reminded me that in love, we can all travel the same road; but its how we handle the traffic along the way that will determine our ultimate destination.