In general, the theme of this blog will deal with the decline of America as a world superpower and how we're handling it. However, I also work at a video store where I get ten free rentals a week and I'm an avid movie watcher. I don't go to theaters since that has become a frustrating experience for me with the prices and annoying movie-goers distracting me from the films themselves. The last good place I had to go see movies was when I was living in Atlanta and could go to the Tara, a four-plex that showed indie films and films with limited US distribution. So, you'll be getting some movie reviews from this blog but they'll be coming around the time of the DVD releases. I have to add that I'm a smiley addict when I'm typing on the web and when I'm texting but I've made a rule not to use them on this blog. So far it's a little hard-going.
So, the first movie I'll be addressing this week is Cyrus starring John C. Reilly, Johah Hill, and Marisa Tomei. I had forgotten about this one until it showed up in the store but remember seeing the trailers before its US release and it had all the markings of a film I would love. I'm a HUGE John C. Reilly fan going back to Magnolia and have always enjoyed his ensuing comedic efforts. The promos made it look like the typical movie you'd expect from both Reilly and Jonah Hill and that turned out to not be the case. Turns out this one is more of a dramedy with a pronounced indie feel. I wasn't disappointed; the film was heavy on character development and really pulled me in, but it was more of a slow-burn in the comedy department, more akin to ordering a good four star pad thai and getting a really good one star pad thai. You still love it but you wanted the BURN. Marisa Tomei is still hot and still a brilliant actor but you have to wonder if she'd really be desperate enough to fall for the John C. Reilly character. My main problem with this one, and one of my biggest gripes with a lot of movies these days, is the freaking shaky-hand camera crap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaky_camera
I know there was a time where the effect of the viewer's perspective being an unsteady hand-held camera held a certain cachet; I enjoyed it in films like Cloverfield and Saving Private Ryan, but I've grown so weary of the overuse of this effect that it's become a major distraction for me. It seems that any film that wants to come off as gritty or indie or intense has to use this effect. It's a crutch a director uses when they don't feel the acting or story-line are carrying the movie I guess? Maybe it's just a default technique employed by directors who are unsure of their abilities? At any rate, it's trite, it's clichéd, and it's time has passed.
Now for The A-Team. Wow! I was expecting so little from this one and I came out the other end realizing I had really enjoyed it. I watch a lot of films so that I can know what I'm talking about when offering help to my customers. Yeah, I actually feel that I have a responsibility to my customers like that. I never liked the original A-Team TV show so that colored my expectations to a great degree, but this turned out to be a well-shot, well-written, and generally, well-acted job. There were some nice plot twists that were far from the hackneyed story-telling of the original. Bradley Cooper was thoroughly enjoyable in the role of Face and Sharlto Copley was a scene stealer as Murdock. You'll remember Copley from District 9; his range of accents and caricatures carries several of the film's funnier scenes. I would recommend this one but here's my gripe: Liam Neeson as Hannibal.
Neeson looks the part and I love him as an actor. The problem is that he can't carry an American accent consistently and the tiniest of Irish brogues keeps creeping in just enough to jar you back to reality and make you remember that you're watching an Irishman portraying the role set in stone by the late George Peppard. Same thing gets me every time they cast Ewan McGregor as an American. The latter happens with amazing regularity for some inexplicable reason. I'm sure it's something akin to what British audiences must have felt having to listen to Dick Van Dyke do a horrible Cockney accent in Disney's Mary Poppins. I understand the Dick Van Dyke thing to a degree because the role demanded a Vaudeillian-style actor with the ability to do extensive physical comedy and have great dancing chops. I'm not sure why Liam Neeson had to be picked over an American actor for the Hannibal role. I'm never sure why Ewan McGregor is asked to play American roles. Don't get me wrong; I've liked him in many movies, namely Roman Polanski's Ghostwriter. He just can't pull off the accent. I hope they'll stop asking him to try.
Oh, and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in the role made popular by Mr. T is a huge miss. Sure he has some of the physical attributes, but the cat can't act. His role was written well though so it doesn't end up being a deal-breaker.
Final analysis: Cyrus - 3 out of 5, A-Team - 3.5 out of 5.
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