Brothers review
The latest film from director Jim Sheridan (Get Rich or Die Trying) returns to the screen with “Brothers” starring Jake Gyllenhall (Brokeback Mountain), Toby Maguire (Spider-man) and Natlie Portman (Garden State). Is the film a strong thriller or a cliched love triangle?
The Good: The premise is simple. Sam (Maguire) goes to war. Grace (Portman) struggles while he is away and learns that Sam is dead. Enter Tommy (Gyllenhall), Sam’s younger brother who kisses Grace. Sam is not dead, and returns home a changed man.
The good news is that this does not play out as a melodrama, thanks to the performances by the three leads. Maguire shows his acting chops as Sam, and is down right scary in the latter parts of the films. Portman has always been one of my favorite actresses and shows once again why she is one of the bright young talents of today.
Although the love triangle set up could have lead to a disaster, the film really is a first-rate thriller. The second half of the film is tense, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and is a very good commentary on how soldiers are never truly the same after seeing the horrors of war.
Also, Grace’s two children provide some much needed humor in the film, and are down right adorable. Shepard ups the intensity to perfection, and the ending of the film doesn’t cop out with just another “hollywood” ending.
The Bad: That being said, this film is far from perfect. The first half the film plays out almost like a romantic comedy, something that it should not have. It made the film seem like two different movies, with the first half really detracting from the second half.
While the plot may not be a surprise to anyone who has seen the trailer, I did not like the predictability. I could guess what was going to happen almost to the exact words in some scenes and although the film was very intense, the film seemed almost…two cliched. You have the father who believes one son is better than the other but grows to love both. You have the guy who gets out of prison and changes his life, the soldier who returns home a changed man, every character was just straight out of a normal Hollywood cliche.
The Final Word: The film is cliched, but its at least a well made cliche. The strong performances by the three leads are almost enough to save the film. However, this film, although worth renting, isn’t worth paying for the cliched characters and story.
Lukas Eggen
Peter Berg talks “Battleship”
Since it was announced that Hasbro was turning the board game “Battleship” into a movie, many people have voiced skepticism, especially after the company also announced plans for games like Candyland. Now, director Peter Berg (The Kingdom) sat down with ign.com to give an update of the film. Here is an excerpt:
“One of the fun things about doing Battleship has been dealing with the inherent skepticism,” explains the filmmaker. “‘I don’t understand; how are you going to make the game a movie? Is Stephen Colbert going to be playing a white peg? And who’s the red peg?’ The reality is if you come into this room — this is a key set in the film — you put this screen on, it’s very easy to imagine this as a much more sophisticated Battleshipscreen from the board game. In other words, what they’re doing with this screen is basically identifying threats or identifying objects, whether those be in the air, on the sea, or underwater. They have ways of identifying them that are much more complicated than ‘B16,’ but it’s basically a version of identifying them much the way you would locate your enemy in the game. We hope to do this very intelligently and very deftly so that it feels seamless and not so transparent. Basically, the fundamental four principles of the game are very easy to expand in a really interesting, bad ass, cool, unique, intelligent way when you see how these guys do what they do in here. You’re identifying, determining something to be a threat, and you’re killing — just like you do in the game. And that’s what we hope to accomplish here in a whole new and unique way.”
You can read the rest of the interview here: http://movies.ign.com/articles/105/1050815p1.html.
Lukas Eggen
The Hobbit delayed until 2012
Fans of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy will have to wait for “The Hobbit” films a little bit longer. Filming will begin in the summer of 2010 instead of the previously reported March according to producer Peter Jackson (King Kong). The second film would be pushed back until 2013. “The Hobbit” is being directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Lukas Eggen
Iron Man 2 Poster!
Here is the first official poster for the anticipated sequel “Iron Man 2″ starring Robert Downey Jr., Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle and Scarlett Johansson. The film is directed by Jon Favreau. What do you think of War Machine?
Lukas Eggen
Ninja Assassin is a big, dumb, fun and cool action film
From director James McTeague (V for Vendetta) comes “Nina Assassin” starring Korean superstar Rain. Does this action film compare with “V” or will this be another “Speed Racer” sized flop at the box office?
The Good: It’s clear that, after the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix Trilogy) gave him “V for Vendetta”, McTeague has a very bright future ahead of him. “Ninja Assassin”, not surprisingly, shines during its action scenes. Rain is clearly a beast, and the stylized, brutal, gory and over the top killing scenes are extremely fun to watch. It’s true that the story is completely ridiculous, but you are seeing a movie called “Ninja Assassin” after all. And fans anticipating an all out action film will not be disappointed. This film earns its “R” rating, with lots of severed heads, blood, and some of the coolest kills using a chain with a blade at the end. 
Fans of McTeague’s films and the Wachowski brothers’ films will be in for a treat as the actor that plays the Key Maker, and several actors from “V for Vendetta” make cameos in “Ninja Assassin”.
It is official that Rain’s character may in fact challenge the young Leonidas in “300″ as the most badass young movie character. Let’s just say, the things he goes through will make you cringe.
The Bad: While the action was everything an action fan could want, the rest of the film was lacking. I realize the story and acting aren’t the main reason to see this film, but after McTeague directed the amazing “V for Vendetta” I was a little disappointed to see the story take such a back seat. Some of the characters overact throughout the film, and the film comes dangerously close to becoming boring near the middle when the main conspiracy in the plot is revealed.
The Final Word: Yes, this film is cheesy in parts. Yes, this film is over the top, and the plot is far from realistic. However, “Ninja Assassin” is also a lot of fun. So, while the holiday season may be a big season for family films, if your looking for a big, fun, funny, cool and kick ass action film, “Ninja Assassin” fits the bill.
Lukas Eggen
“New Moon” leads first day of weekend box office
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, earned $14.3 million on Wednesday, kicking off the long Thanksgiving weekend box office. The gross was nearly double second place’s gross, which was $7.9 earned by “The Blind Side”.
The weekend’s new releases: “Ninja Assassin”, “Old Dogs” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” all struggled, opening in fourth, fifth and eighth place.
Lukas Eggen
“Real Steel” Gets Wolverine
Hugh Jackman (Wolverine, Australia) has officially joined “Real Steel”, the new film by director Shawn Levy. Jackman will play an ex-fighter who becomes a promoter when human boxing is outlawed for being too violent. The new gladiators are 2,000-pound robots with human qualities. The ex-fighter’s access to sub-standard robot parts hampers his hopes for glory in Robot Boxing, until he discovers a discarded robot that always seems to win. The ex-fighter has also discovered he’s the father of a 13-year old son, and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
Lukas Eggen
New Moon Has Biggest Opening Day Ever!
After breaking the record for biggest midnight opening, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” earned over $72 million its opening day, breaking “The Dark Knight’s” record of $67 million. The opening weekend record of $158 million may be in danger.
What do you think?
Lukas Eggen
