Super 8

When I reviewed X-Men:First Class I indicated that while the movie was entertaining it certainly wasn't worth seeing at 12:01. While worth the price of admission it wasn't worth getting to bed that late. I am happy to say that Super 8 would have truly been worth the late bedtime. If you enjoyed movies like The Goonies then you will love this movie. It has all the ingredients you would expect a movie like this to have. There are true moments of charm, heartbreak, excitement, fear, and love. Super 8 is a job well done by JJ Abrams.

I haven't always been a fan of JJ. I completely missed his work when Felicity was on the air and I never did get into his Alias tv show or the phenomenon that was Lost. I did enjoy his work on the last Mission Impossible movie though the plot did have that network TV feel to it. JJ finally impressed me with Cloverfield. He didn't direct it but he did produce it. It was entertaining and I really enjoyed the premise so I didn't hesitate to see his Star Trek reboot back in 2009. That movie whetted my appetite for Super 8 and JJ did not let me down. In my opinion Super 8 has a bit of E.T. in it. Okay it actually has a lot of E.T. in it but that's never a bad thing.

The story behind Super revolves around Joe Lamb played by newcomer Joel Courtney and this kid actor carries the movie like a seasoned professional. He's joined by his four friends Cary played by Ryan Lee, Preston played by Zach Mills, Martin played by Gabriel Basso, and Charles played by Riley Griffiths. Charles is a filmmaker and the group of kids are all knee deep in making Charles' zombie movie a reality and to make it competition worthy. Charles enlists Alice Dainard played by Elle Fanning to be the wife of the male lead in his movie "The Case" and they are filming a touching scene at the train station when a US Air Force train is derailed by Glynn Turman who plays middle school teacher Dr. (Old man) Woodward. The kids flee, their camera falls and captures not just the derailment but the creature that is freed in the process.

Odd things begin happening in the small town of Lillian Ohio like the dogs fleeing to the neighboring counties, electronics vanishing, and power outages. Suddenly the towns people start missing. The military then gets involved and as well know when the military gets involved nothing good comes from it and things go from bad to worse. Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb who is Joe's dad and a deputy on the police force. When the sheriff ends up missing the job falls to Jackson to look after the town and soon he gives into his suspicions as to what's going on in Lillian and starts looking for answers.

There aren't many mistakes or holes in this movie and the DVD will indeed fit comfortably alongside The Goonies and other movies of the sort where the world is seen through adolescents eyes. Super 8 is loud and the score put together by Michael Giacchino who's done some great work for movies like The Incredibles, JJ's Star Trek, Up, and Mission Impossible III is sadly forgettable. Fret not my dear readers for yet again this is a movie that really didn't need any music (although I do wonder what the maestro John Williams could have done to enhance this movie with his music). JJ does have one annoying thing and it's that "light glare" that flashes across the screen. He did it almost non stop in Star Trek and does it a lot in 8 but that's nitpicking. All in all this is a great start to the summer movie season and I highly recommend it so GO SEE THIS MOVIE! And I'll see you at the theater.

P.S. Stay through the credits so you can see Charles' zombie movie by Romero Productions (wink wink). It's hilarious.

The Hangover II

Let me just say going in that I had no desire to see this movie AT ALL! I saw the first one and really wasn't impressed by it. Needless to say the second one didn't impress like the first one didn't. Same foolish cast of characters making the same foolish mistakes before a wedding but this time instead of them being in Vegas the setting is Thailand. Now if you laughed at the first Hangover then you will more than likely laugh at the second but if you thought the first one was insipid then do NOT see this movie. You'll consider it a step above garbage.

Starring the same cast of characters as the first movie Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Ed Helms who's character Stu is the one getting married this time around. The first movie had Justin Bartha's character Doug stuck on the roof of their casino while the others couldn't remember their actions from the night before. Same premise this time around except now it's Stu's future brother in law Mason Lee who plays Teddy that gets stranded and cannot be found. Stu, Phil played by Bradley Cooper, and Alan played by Galifianakis rush to the roof just in case Teddy is there which he isn't (of course). So the three "wise" men go running around Bangkok trying to piece together the night before in the hopes of finding Teddy and making it back to the wedding ceremony with the groom in time.

The only real surprise this movie held for me was the casting of Paul Giamatti. He was a pleasant shock but there wasn't much else in way of a surprise. The cinematography was lovely and the movie looked like they spared no expense on anything except the wardrobe. Directed by (if you can call it that) the same man that brought you Old School, Due Date, and yes the first Hangover Todd Phillips doesn't change much up this time around except make Alan a more annoying character. I guess he and the brain trust behind this movie thought that's just what this movie needed. They were wrong but hey, it's not my movie.

This movie was only made because the first one was a box office smash and you can tell that because this is pretty much a carbon copy of the first. The many producers are hoping this one will break the bank too but as everyone knows you don't pull the same gag twice. Not because it's not good but because it's disrespectful and a real pro tries to improve on the old gag. In my opinion these guys missed the mark by more than half. See you at the theater!

X-Men: First Class

Okay, I saw the 12:01 showing of this movie and I very rarely see the first showing of any movie because I'm usually under the impression that no movie is worth getting to bed that late for. The Lord of the Rings was one of those movies as was Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Those were just two of the movies I've done that for so you know this movie is in rare air. Now while this movie is entertaining and worth the price of admission, it definitely isn't worth 12:01. Directed by relative newbie Matthew Vaughn, the man behind the lens of Kick Ass and Layer Cake does an admirable job pulling this story together on the screen but there are a few times, okay a LOT of times where this movie loses steam. I can only blame the director for that and it makes me think this movie in the hands of a better more talented director would have been worth getting to bed late for.

X-Men: First Class could have actually been called The Rise of Magneto since the movie pretty much circled around the Cuban missile crisis and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto's need for revenge over the murder of his mother. He is without a doubt the most fascinating character on the screen from start to finish. Michael Fassbender plays Magneto with a seething anger just below the surface that could erupt at anytime which makes him the anti-hero and we always root for the anti-hero (see Wolverine). Now the man fueling this anger is Sebastian Shaw, the leader of The Hellfire Club played surprisingly well by Kevin Bacon (yes we have a Kevin Bacon sighting and who knew the man could speak German?). While Erik hunts down Sebastian Charles Xavier is doing his own hunting, of young nubile and naive college girls while writing his thesis on the mutant gene. He's sought out by the CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert played by Rose Byrne after she watches a General be manipulated to sign off on the US installing nuclear weapons in Turkey at the hands of Sebastian Shaw.

In dealing with the CIA, Charles meets Hank McCoy/Beast played by Nicholas Hoult who introduces Charles to his creation the mighty Cerebro. Through Cerebro Charles finds a handful of mutant teenagers to build a team that can go up against Sebastian's lethal Emma Frost played by January Jones and the rest of his hardened Hellfire Club. That would have been fine but the problem is the producers choose to have these two groups meet during the Cuban missile crisis and it's during all of that when this movie loses it's momentum. This movie would have been worth the 12:01 viewing time had it just dealt with mutants coming into their own and dealing with the choice of showing themselves to the public at large. Instead you get an altered history lesson and if you plan on seeing Transformers: Dark of the Moon prepare yourself for another one of those altered history lesson.

Don't get me wrong however, X-Men: First Class is a quality movie and far better then that last crappy X-Men: Last Stand movie. There are nice casting surprises that I won't give away here but they will make you laugh and remember the earlier movies. This movie is visually arresting if you pine for 60's fashion and cars. I would imagine a good portion of the budget was blown on skinny slacks, turtle necks, and classic cars. Scored by Henry Jackman who's over time only scored lighthearted films like Monsters Vs. Aliens, Gulliver's Travel, and Winnie the Pooh does a very good job for this being such a heavy handed and dramatic film. His theme for Magneto is not only menacing and dark but addictive and appropriate as well.

Worth seeing? Absolutely (just for Kevin Bacon alone). It just wasn't worth seeing it at 12:01. See you at the theater!