SIP Movie Review Blog

Lockout, wish we had been...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:40:00 GMT

Wow, watched a stinkeru of a movie, Lockout, starring Guy Pearce (Hurt Locker, L A Confidential), Maggie Grace (Taken, Knight and Day), Vince Regan (300, Troy), Joseph Gilgun (Harry Brown, This Is England), Lennie James (Snatch, Sahara), and Peter Stormare (Fargo, Armageddon). Guy plays a fellow who is wrongly accused of espionage, crimes against the government. He is offered his freedom if he helps rescue the President’s daughter who is being held hostage in a space station jail floating high in orbit above earth. She (Maggie Grace) was up there interviewing the 500 prisoners to be sure they were being treated well, when one of the bad guys (Joseph Gilgun) gets a gun and takes over the station. He releases all the other inmates, it gets pretty tense. Joseph is a nasty sort, he thinks nothing of killing the guards if he doesn’t get his way, which is most of the time. Sporting some bad dental work, one cloudy eye, and lots of tattoos, he plays a good bad guy. Turns out his brother is also up there, played by Vince Regan, who has done lots of no-shirt type movies, 300 and Troy are two good examples.

Vince, being a level or two smarter, understands that if they kill all the hostages, they will be killed. So he tries to negotiate a release, or at least a hold back of the Marines who are set to charge in and blow up the station. Another bad guy we like to see is Peter Stormare, one large rascal who has been in similar movies, the most famous is Fargo, where the played the guy who used a wood-chipper to get rid of Steve Buscemi. But I digress.

The movie had a couple of major problems. First of all, it is set in 2075. When the convicts get control of the station, they have a lot of guns. Joseph has a giant Colt 6 shooter with extended barrel. Many of them have 12 guage shotguns, the cops are carrying glocks. Come on people, this is 60 years from now. Don’t ya think there would be photon guns, that sort of thing? And Guy is SO over the top sarcastic, it really gets irritating. So we were not impressed. There are a couple of neat scenes in outer space, but the last segment is way past probability. Or possibility. So we will go with a warning. Don’t pay for this one. Wait till it comes out on HBO, or one of those, shouldn’t take long. 2 Skylabs.

6 movies you can skip, or order on-demand, if the price is less than $5!

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:37:00 GMT

Just sort of a warning, here are some that we have seen on the airplane, or ordered ourselves on-demand, and were disappointed. Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, not so good. lots of computer generated graphics, some pretty scary stuff for small kids. Our 9 year old grandson said it was dumb, so there ya go! 1.5 lanterns.

Iron Lady, Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent, lots of history here. She became the Prime Minister of England, the first female to tackle that job. The movie starts out showing us an aged Margaret Thatcher, almost a prisoner in her home after the death of her husband. It is told in flashbacks, lots of flashbacks, and to make matters worse, she imagines her husband Denny is back. She has stubbornly refused to clean out the closets, throw out his clothes. So we not only have flashbacks, we are treated to her visions of her dead husband, all in rapid succession. It was a good story on how she took the Conservative party to prominence in the period of 1975-1990. We see her as she started working in government in the late 50s, and as she moved up, how she handled the "men's club" she was moving into. 2.5 pairs of shoes (if you see it, it will make sense).

The Debt, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkenson and Sam Worthington. A good movie, but again, lots of flashbacks. We see Helen and Tom as aged spys, thinking of one who got away. So they decide to see if they can hunt him down. Of course they can and do. It was good, just not great, end was sort of a twist, ended OK. 2.5 paid-in-fulls (the debt, get it?).

Rum Diary, Johnny Depp and Giovanni Ribisi, a couple of reporters working in Puerto Rico for a newspaper. They drink more than it would seem possible, and yet seem to be able to stay out of trouble. At least till Johnny Depp gets hooked up with some developers who are out to skin some folks. They believe Johnny can help them with publicity and making up some materials to sell the property with. Johnny falls in love with the head guy's girl, it goes south from there. They get thrown in jail, we have a funny scene with a small car that has been trashed, a bright spot in an otherwise depressing movie. 2 Rum and Cokes.

My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek, Shutter Island) and Eddie Redmayne. Both sort of new to the big screen, this was just not the best venue for them. We watch as Eddie talks his way into the movie industry, and ends up working on location with Marilyn Monroe as they made a movie. We expected her to be a complicated person, but she really is a mess, using alcohol and pills to get through the day. 2 movie posters.

Ides Of March, starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling, good just not great. George is running for office, Ryan is his point man, gets into a mess with one of the interns, gets fired. Finds out something about his boss, gets his job back. Would have been a good video rental, just not worth the $15 movie entry fee. 2 ballots.

Mirror Mirror, a new take on Snow White

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:44:00 GMT

So this is not your momma's version of Snow White. Oh, we still have SW, played by Lily Collins (Blind Side, Priest), who is sort of imprisoned; we have a handsome prince, Arnie Hammer (Social Network, J. Edgar); an evil queen, Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill); the Queen's helper, Nathan Lane (The Producers, Mouse Hunt); and a full set of dwarfs. SW dad is the king (Sean Bean) who has been killed in the dark forest, so Julia Roberts has taken over the kingdom. She has run though all the money, raised taxes a ton on the poor townspeople. She is not well liked, to say the least.

Arnie comes through the forest, a prince who is looking for a princess to ask for her hand. The dwarfs attack him, he is found and rescued, taken to the Queen. Now, about those dwarfs. They wear stilts, so they look like they are 10' tall. They are a feisty lot, can shoot an arrow with the best, and rule the forest, except for the beast, more about the beast later.

SW runs away, into the forest, where she is taken prisoner by the dwarfs. They plan on keeping her to do the cooking, etc, at least until Arnie comes through, attempts to save her. Lots of fighting, SW proves her ability when she takes on the Prince. The dwarfs decide to move to an easier target, hold up Nathan Lane who is taking the Queen's taxes back to the castle. Take the taxes, end up giving it back to the townspeople, they become heroes. Several scenes later, we see Julia Roberts has a special mirror. She can move about in another world, even control some items as she wishes. Hence the evil label. So she puts together a couple of puppets, attacks the dwarfs, to take back the taxes, and get rid of SW, who is actually prettier than the Queen.

Some good animation, good fighting, with the dwarfs coming out on top. So Julia summons the Beast. The beast is sort of like a dragon, but faster, and meaner. It goes after SW and the Prince and the dwarfs, it takes them all on. So the movie takes an unusual turn here, won't go farther, it is just an unusual turn. Glad we saw it, would have been OK as a TV movie, or on DVD. OK for kids, if over 7 or so, some pretty graphic scenes with the beast. Give it 2.5 poisoned apples.

War Horse, one of the best animal movies out today.

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:37:00 GMT

Just saw a good movie (so by now, you may ask, do you ever see a bad movie? I am glad you asked, have a group of movie reviews coming up next month, most were not worth seeing), by a noted producer, Steven Spielberg. One of the best animal movies out there, OK, so that is a small group. Thinking of Secretariat, it's in that league. I’m referring to War Horse, starring Jeremy Irvine (Life Bites, Now is Good), Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Tyrannosaur), and Emily Watson (Red Dragon, Angela’s Ashes). All were good, I really liked Emily since we saw her in Angela’s Ashes, but let me say, Jeremy is sort of a newcomer to the screen, but he will be involved in a ton of work in the coming years. He has intensity, depth, and works hard to get you engaged in the show. All good stuff.

So the movie opens with the birth of a colt on a farm near Jeremy’s. He watches the process with full attention, sees the colt take it’s first steps, is drawn in immediately. We see him pay attention to the colt as it becomes a horse, and soon goes off to the auction block. Jeremy’s pop, played by Peter Mullan, has a limp and a drinking problem. He is a sharecropper, working a farm with a small field and smaller crops. He goes to town to buy a plow horse, has a few nips on a flask, and soon finds himself in a bidding war with his landlord. So to spite him, he outbids him on the thoroughbred horse the Jeremy is in love with. He pays way too much, brings it home, Emily (his wife) is honked off. She tells him to take it back, no can do, and the son says I’ll tame him up, teach him to plow.

So he does, but even after plowing a rock field, planting a new crop, life deals this family a slap in the face. Rain washes out their crop, dad goes to town to sell the horse to keep the farm. WW1 has just broken out, the British are in town, they are interested in the horse, who we now call Joey. Peter sells him, off to France he goes, only to be captured by the Germans in an ambush. He is rescued by a soldier, they make off to farmland where he is hidden by an old man and his daughter. The Germans come in, but don’t find the horse originally. Later they return, take him back again, this time to pull huge cannons up huge hills. Joey bonds with another horse who also is a cannon-puller, they work well together. Spoiler, some of the scenes are tough to watch, this is war, and the animals are treated harshly.

Joey is traded off a couple of times, finally breaks free, runs into the no-man’s land between the British and Germans. Gets caught in barbed wire, trapped in the middle of the most savage fighting. A British soldier sees him, thinks it is a cow. He realizes that a horse is caught, decides to go help him. Now, remember, he has to walk right over toward the German trenches, not a smart move. Waves a white flag, you won’t believe what happens next. Probably the high spot in the movie, what looks to be a ugly story turns out well. Not gonna say, it makes the movie.

Soon, Jeremy and his horse are re-united, and the war is officially over. So Joey goes up on the auction block again. He is bought again, Jeremy is outbid by a bunch. He watches his beloved horse being taken away, it is sad. The movie ends up on a high note, e-mail me if you want to know more. So May and I liked it, but Spielberg has done better in my humble opinion. It is not a Saving Private Ryan or Schlinder’s List. But a good movie still. 3 Devoucoux saddles, which my daughter-in-law says are the best! Maybe since that is the kind she has, but just saying…

Act of Valor: thank you to our military!

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:54:00 GMT

Just saw an outstanding movie, Act Of Valor, starring real Navy SEALS. Trying to list them all and the characters they played will just not work. You have never heard of them, they are active duty SEALS. They were serving as consultants on the movie, and complained about how inaccurate the movie was going, so the producer and director put them in the movie. It was a wise move.

So here we go. A couple of SEALS were shown at the start of the movie, along with family, and we heard a voice over telling us that every person works with their own moral code. They also work with a desire to be with family, honor their country, and do what is expected of them. These guys are tough. At the same time we see some early shots of the bad guys, one is a Russian who is selling arms and drugs to anyone who wants them, another is a terrorist from the Middle East, we watch him blow up a school yard full of innocent kids to get to a politician. The Russian has been shadowed by a CIA operative who is a nurse, working in his kid’s school. She has put together a possible link between the Russian and the terrorist, we are not sure why. She makes a connection with another CIA guy, he is killed and she is captured by the bad guys.

So the SEALS are sent in to rescue her. They fly in, jump out in a HALO jump (High Altitude, Low Opening), where they leave the plane at over 30,000 feet, open the chutes really close to the ground. They end up with some Swift Boats taking them into a jungle where the girl is being held and tortured. Several incredible moments, where a sniper with a silenced rifle is on point, and the bad guys don’t have a chance. The SEALS sneak into the camp, we see the guards taken out one by one, all head shots. They catch the bad guys as they fall, so no noise at all! They even have a nifty little plane circling overhead, lots of cameras that tell them what is going on all over the compound. They find the woman, rescue her just a group of replacement bud guys comes into to stop the rescue. The SEALS pile into a old pick-up truck, head off to the river. They are SEALS, when they hit the river, they drive right in, bust out the windshield, dive into the water. The bad guys have three pickups full of fellows with m-16s, they begin to boil out, fill the air with lead. Turns out the Swift Boats have a nifty set of weapons, Gatling Guns. My friend Steve Howard says these things fire 600 rounds a minute. The sound is incredible, sort of like scotch tape being ripped off a reel. Zeeeeet. The target just sort of disappears. The bad guys decide to head for the jungle, it is not a fair fight.

So they get the girl back alive, turns out she had info the connected the Russian and the terrorist to a plot to attack America, kill a bunch of innocent people. Something involving vests with 500 ceramic balls packed around high explosives, can’t see it on metal detectors. The SEAL Team leader finds out where the Russian is hiding out, on a yacht in the ocean. Just a comment, this is a global movie, filmed on all kinds of territory. At times the real SEALS had to leave to do a mission, and the movie stopped. Not much warning, this was real time action. Back to our story. The Russian admits to being involved in the terrorist plan, tells the SEALS too late, cannot be stopped now.

They go after them anyway, figure out they are coming through Mexico, so the jump again, land in those nifty inflatable boats, head to shore. Get some help from the Mexican Police, track the terrorist group to a bunch of tunnels where they are heading into US soil. Got to stop them before they get loose inside the tunnels. Problem is the tunnels are guarded by about 100 drug lord thugs, who have nothing to lose, and will fight to the death to stop them. As Russell Crowe said, they are about to “Unleash Hell”. And they do.

Won’t go any further, but this is a war movie. Just like other war movies (Saving Private Ryan, The Hurt Locker, Full Metal Jacket) it deals with pain and death. While the good guys usually win, it is not without cost. But trust this: if you are a terrorist, beware! We are better armed, better informed, smarter, got more tools, and can move amazingly fast, you will not win. While you may affect some damage, you will not prevail. This is not a feel-good movie in the normal sense, where you walk out saying, wow, I really enjoyed the experience. Instead, it is the kind of movie that you walk out quietly, and say to yourself, I am really glad these guys are on our side. When you see the SEALS walk into a river, and just walk under the water, rifles at ready, hats on their heads, you marvel at their self-control.

It is amazing to watch the SEALS fire off one or two rounds, and a bad guy falls. Almost always a head shot. The drug lord fellows have Uzis, they fire off hundreds of rounds, rarely hit the target. It is an emotional movie, I saw it with guys from my neighborhood, one of whom had a son in the SEALS. He said the training is amazing, many leave before the 25 week program is over. These are the guys who rescued the Captain Richard Phillips, who was being held by Somalia pirates April 13, 2009. Three Navy SEAL snipers were on the back deck of the freighter, and shot three pirates who were holding guns on the freighter captain in a lifeboat being towed several hundred feet behind them, both on high seas. Eye witnesses said when the all clear was given, it sounded like one shot was fired.

The most famous SEAL action in the last few months was when Team 6 took out Osama Bin Laden. It also happened fast and was coordinated extremely well. Just be thankful these are our boys. And that brings me to the end of this message. Thank you to all who serve, in any military branch, as well as Firemen and Policemen. Thanks for your service, we salute you.

Good War Movie: Red Tails

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:03:00 GMT

Just went to see Red Tails, starring Terrence Howard (Iron Man, Hustle and Flow), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry McGuire, Men of Honour), Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, Felon), Tristin Wilds (90210, The Secret Life of Bees), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray, Take the Lead), Daniela Ruah (From TV: NCIS, Hawaii Five-O), and Ne-Yo (Precious, Stomp The Yard).

This was a great war movie, taken from actual events involving the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of black pilots who were discriminated against in WWII. I say they were discriminated against, what actually happened was the top brass made a decision that black pilots were not smart enough and did not have enough courage to engage in real battles. So they were sent off to ground targets, no real air-to-air combat for them. The movie takes place in 1944, in Italy, where Cuba Gooding Jr. is a company commander overlooking this group of frustrated pilots. They want to engage the enemy, just are not given the chance. The movie was based on the 332 Fighter Group and the 477 Bombardment Group of the Army Air Corps.

Back in the states, Col. Bullard (played by Terrence Howard) is fighting to get his men a chance to succeed. He talks his way into an attack on a beach, the pilots show they have courage and can take out the enemy. Based on that success, he gets them the chance to escort a group of bombers, provided they got new P-51 planes. They did, it was a smart move on all parts. They had the bright idea to paint the tails of the new planes red, hence the movie name. The men did exactly what they were supposed to, the bombers got over and back safely, a rare occurrence for those type of runs. So Howard got enough traction in Washington to ask for a plum assignment, escorting the bombers for a run over Berlin.

In reality they had three P-51 fighters, one B-17, and a C-47 to play with. When you see the film, there are hundreds in the sky at a time, or so it seems. Lots of CGI involved, it looks great. The movie starts with a squad of bombers and fighters protecting them getting attacked by the Germans. What the Germans did was provoke the fighter pilots, dragging them away from their job (protecting the bombers), then a second group of Germans went after the bombers, causing heavy damage. The air fights look real, you can actually follow the action.

On a sub-plot, one of our 4 main pilots falls in love with an Italian girl, they get really involved, plan to get married. Another gets captured, has to work on escaping. A third (Nate Parker) has a drinking problem, may have caused one of his pilots to crash, another to die. So we have lots going on. I guess one of the opportunities with the movie is the script. Some of the dialogue is lame: “Let’s go get them!” a little over the top, but not enough to ruin the evening. It is 2 hours, and I do believe you got your money’s worth.

Some of the fun stuff was the way these black pilots embraced religion. One had a drawing of a “Black Jesus” on the dashboard of his plane, shared openly to anyone who would listen that they should be praying to the Black Jesus. They prayed before missions, after missions, it was refreshing to see that side rather than the drinking and fighting that we normally see in war movies. There were conflicts with the white pilots, which was real life. They could not go into the officer’s club, even though they were officers in some cases. Things changed after they supported the bombers successfully, they were accepted into the other pilot circles.

The big conflict is a German pilot who leads the attacks on most of the runs, they call him pretty boy. He is good, and they have to work hard to stay up with him. Near the end of the movie, the last big run, the Germans have brought out the Me 262 jet fighters. Real jets, 540 miles an hour, 4 machine guns in the nose, they could fly 100 mph faster, higher, and shoot longer than the Tuskegee airmen could. They made their first appearance in September, 1944.

So we have a really fast, tense dogfight. Our heros have to figure out how to outsmart faster pilots in the newest technology. You will have to see that, it is worth the price of popcorn. May did not go, I went with some guys from the neighborhood, worked out well. Interesting, no real rough language, no sex, no drugs, a couple of guys get shot and die, but with dignity. When the movie was over, the audience clapped. How long has it been since you were in a movie that they clapped at the end? Have you ever? 3.5 Messerschmitts .

The Descendents, a great movie!

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:15:00 GMT

Just saw an outstanding movie, The Descendants, starring George Clooney (Up In the Air, O Brother Where Art Thou?), Shailene Woodley (TV roles on CSI, My Name is Earl), Amara Miller (first time on big screen), Nick Krause (How to Eat Fried Worms, The Garage), Patricia Hastie (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Princess Kaiulani), Beau Bridges (Fabulous Baker Boys, Stargate SG1), Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo, She’s All That), Judy Greer (Love and Other Drugs, What Women Want), and Robert Forster (Mulholland Drive, Me Myself and Irene).

This is a story about a land baron (Clooney) in Hawaii whose wife (Hastie, playing a difficult part-on life support through the movie) is injured in a boating accident. While grieving and not sure what to do, George’s 17 year old daughter Shailene tells him his wife was cheating on him. His 10 year old daughter is having some behavior problems. OK, she has turned into a little hurricane, using foul language, texting nasty comments, really stirring it up. All this is occurring while George, as the trustee in a huge land deal is trying to decide what to do with 25,000 acres that have been in their family for generations. He has lots of family close by in Hawaii, and they are all counting on becoming millionaires. Should they sell to a Hawaiian group, or a Chicago group? Tough decision and not any easier considering the mess George’s life is in right now.

So Patricia Hastie has no speaking parts, she is lying in a hospital bed the entire movie. But she is the main focus, having cheated on George. The guy she cheated with is Matthew, from Scooby-Doo fame. You can almost hear him say “who’s your best buddy?” to Scooby. With his daughter’s help, George tracks him down to Kauai, where he is staying with his wife and family. His wife is played by Judy Greer, she does well. About the 17 year old daughter. She is in a private school, George picks her up to bring her home to say good-by to mom. Turns out she is a bit of a party animal, they find her out on the grounds of the school late at night, really stewed. She has anger issues with her mom, it is complicated. By the way, you will be amazed at how much emotion she puts into the character. When you see her cry underwater, you will know why she got the part.

George is excellent as a disconnected father and husband, a lawyer who knows his way around a contract but not a family. The 10 year old daughter, Amara is great as a rebellious young girl, has a mouth on her for sure. The older daughter wants to bring a friend along, Sid, played really well by Nick Krause, he lends a bit of comic relief to a depressing situation. George’s father-in-law is Robert Forster, he plays all kinds of military types in movies and TV. Here he plays a father in torment, trying to make sense of his daughter on life support. He has other issues of his own, his wife of decades has Alzheimer’s, doesn’t recognize anyone. He blames George in some ways, if he had bought her a boat of her own, she may have not been in the accident. You see where this is going.

George has a huge family; Beau Bridges plays a cousin who owns a restaurant on Kauai. We have actually been to that restaurant in that shopping area; it was fun to see places we had been. We have been to Princeville, stayed in a condo on the golf course they drive by to the hotel, now a St. Regis.

Lots of conflict coming from all directions. George decides to confront Matthew face-to-face, it is a turning point in the movie. We see him struggle with the land decision, family issues, and his own sense of continuity with his wife on life support. I was concerned that the movie would be a downer, but it really isn’t. There is a great message here, we see people going through life in all it’s gory details. We take encouragement from the fact that everyone faces issues, no matter your net worth. On another note, we go to Hawaii every year, just spent a week over there between Christmas and New Years. We have good friends who moved there 6 years ago. They were involved in developing land on Kauai, actually it looked like the same section of land that is in the movie. We turned off the main highway, went up a dirt road, it was exactly the same!

The land had been in the same family for generations, same set-up. It was accurate as to how important the family is in the movie, which makes George’s dilemma even more critical to the movie. When his daughter tells him of his wife’s infidelity, he challenges his best friends to tell him the name of the guy, do they protect their friend or reveal his name to their neighbor and friend? You have to see it.

We enjoyed it, will go with 4.5 rip curls. Best movie of the year, still early in the year!

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Best movie of the year!

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:33:00 GMT

Just saw the best movie of the year: Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol, starring Tom Cruise (Top Gun, MI 1, 2, 3), Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker, The Town), Simon Pegg (MI 3, Star Trek), Paula Patton (Jumping the Broom, Hitch), Michael Nyqvist (All three of the Girl Who… movies from Sweden), and a whole bunch of folks who speak Russian. We even had a cameo from Ving Rhames who made $7.7 million for a 3 minute walk-on at the end.

So here we go. Movie opens with an agent (not Cruise) running from bad guys. He jumps off buildings, shooting guns as he falls, typical MI stuff. Ends up meeting an unhappy end, the thing he was carrying is stolen. Then flash to Tom in a Soviet prison. The MI team breaks him out, it is pretty impressive. They are then given a mission to break into the Kremlin; a rouge Russian agent has stolen nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike against the USA. There is an explosion, the US government issues Ghost Protocol, meaning they disavow any knowledge of the MI team, they are on their own.

So they now have to go after this mad Russian (played very well by Nyqvist), as he is attempting to buy the codes that were stolen from him by the first agent (which started the movie). The exchange is to be done in Dubai, in the tallest building in the world. Of course, our team is able to get into the building, but they want control over rooms numbers, the elevator system, everything. So they must get to the servers, on the 135 floor. They are on floor 130, so it should not be that hard. Simon tells Cruise and Renner he cannot crack the servers electronically, they must go into the server room physically. And it must be done from outside the building.

Of course we have tools. Some nifty gloves that are electronic, Spiderman type, that stick like glue to a surface. So all Tom has to do is climb up 7 floors, over 4 sections, and he is in. No hurry, he has 35 minutes. So out he goes. Now, if you are scared of heights, this will freak you out. He is standing on the ledge of the room they are in, having cut out the window, and looking down it is about a mile to the earth. OK, not a mile, but a really long way. Wind is blowing, and to add to an already impossible task, a huge sand storm is heading for the hotel.

Tom goes out, starts up, all going well. At least until one glove shorts out. This is probably the most exciting 10 minutes on film. Not gonna be a scene spoiler, it is really tense; you will need to see it for yourself. Reader’s Digest version, they get the job done, but aren’t able to stop the exchange. So we are now in a foot race to catch the Russian, running into the sand storm. We get into a BMW 6 series convertible, great choice, top down in this weather, but if you are stealing a car, you take what you can get. Still not able to stop him.

Tom uses his connections to find out where the next interchange is; turns out they are headed to Mumbai. There our group gets an invite to a rich young rulers party, a guy who has a satellite that is needed to set off these rockets. Just amazing what can be done with no money, etc, Tom and the team show up in a one-of-a-kind (literally) BMW prototype, an i8. Funky car, all hybrid and turbo-diesel, they are looking large. We are still in a race to stop the Russian, the race goes into a parking garage, which again is one of the most creative parking garage scenes ever done.

Did we enjoy the movie, absolutely! Best movie of the year. OK, so it is still Jan, but best MI movie. They introduced an anti-gravity suit, cars that we only read about, special effects that were over the top, it was well done. I would guess Jeremy Renner will be the replacement for Tom in the future. The movie ends with a set-up for the next segment, with a new assignment “if you decide to accept”. Clean movie, no sex, no drugs, not fixated on gory death scenes, lots of technology to keep you interested, and we did not hear the F word ever. We’ll go with 4.5 nuclear rockets, a great movie.

Moneyball, the best clean movie this year!

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:50:00 GMT

Just saw a great movie, with no sex, drugs, nothing blew up, not even a drunk appeared. Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt (Sev7en, Ocean’s 11, 12, 13), Jonah Hill (Super Bad, Knocked Up), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Mission Impossible III, Magnolia), Robin Wright (Unbreakable, Princess Bride), Chris Pratt (Wanted, Bride Wars), Steven Bishop (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights), and Jack Mcgee (Crash, 21) is that movie.

It is great family entertainment, and had a lot of messages for us business folks. It is based on the true story of Oakland A's GM Billy Beane, who is handicapped with the lowest salary allowance in the game. If he ever wants to win the World Series, Billy has to change the way baseball is played. Billy decides to go up against tradition and the old way of doing things, where scouts looked for young promising players, paid them a lot to join, and expected them to turn into stars a few years later. He has a salary cap of a little under 40 million, the Yankees are at 120 million. So he can’t pay the big numbers.

When he looses three key players in one season, he makes a decision to do things a new way. He meets Jonah Hill while trying to make a deal for another player, strikes up a conversation, realizes he is into statistics. Economics degree from Yale, he is using a computer program written by a security guard at a meat processing plant. Not a prescription for success. But since he has nothing to lose, Brad hires him, and they are all in.

They use statistical analysis to determine who will join their team. No matter if the guy has played somewhere else, and is too old to be productive (Steven Bishop at age 36), or if the player has played at one position and cannot play there any more (Chris Pratt, a catcher with a bad arm), they are evaluated by how many times they get on base, and how that affects the score. So the catcher is now a first baseman, who doesn’t have to throw to second base anymore. Robin Wright plays Brad’s ex-wife, lots of others you will recognize; all the scouts are famous for character parts, which is what the scouts are all about. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the team coach, who actually determines who plays what position. When he and Brad disagree as to who plays what spot, Brad trades a couple of guys, just to be sure the message gets through, he wants a certain player to play a certain spot.

So does it work, you will have to see for yourself. Let me say that it seems at first it is not gonna happen. Then momentum builds, and it looks like it is. The key to Brad’s job is the last game. If you lose it, you have lost the season, at least in his mind. You baseball fans know this already, so this is not a spoiler. They set a record of a bunch of wins in a row, a real winning streak. It is exciting to watch, the baseball game is full of superstitions. Brad never watches the team play, it is bad luck. The only game that he comes to see, they lose a 11 run lead! So some of those superstitions are not just folk-lore, they really happen.

The movie is one of those flash-back types, so popular today. We see Brad as a young boy playing ball, then in high school, then getting signed by a major league team. He moves from one team to another, not exactly on the rise with each move. In fact, it is more of a step down than up in most cases. Pretty rare not to have drinking, sex, women who throw themselves at the stars, etc. We are not shown that part of the ball game, though it is probably there, just not glorified this time.

So what is the message to a business owner? Just because we have always done it this way, don't mean it should be done this way. Don't be afraid to try something new. And when you do, don't be discouraged when your new system doesn't work the way you wanted. We see Brad pushed back by the other players, coaches, scouts, news reporters, everyone! OK, everyone except his partner in the endeavor, a 22 year old Yale guy with a degree in economics. Tough to stay the course, but he does.

You may think, not much drama in watching a ball game or several years of ball games. There is, trust me. We have emotional ups and downs, Jonah gets to be in the spotlight when it looks like the system is flawed, Brad is fighting his own demons, lot going on. The movie ends up on a good note, you will have to see it, or know you baseball to realize where it is going. Great movie, 4 innings.

Contagion, a real horror movie

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:35:00 GMT

Just saw a horror movie, Contagion, starring Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man, Country Strong), Matt Daymon (The Departed, Bourne Ultimatum), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix I, II, III), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes, Cold Mountain), Kate Winslet (Titanic, Revolutionary Road), Marion Cotillard (Inception, Public Enemies), Elliott Gould (Mash, Ocean’s 11 & 13), and Bryan Cranston (Little Miss Sunshine, Drive).

So, it is not a horror movie in the traditional sense, it is a horror movie for our times. Gwyneth is a mom who is in Asia on business, gets a mysterious virus, brings it back to Minnesota, and her family, played by Matt Damon and a young boy and teenage daughter. When I say mysterious, what I mean is that no one can figure out how it started, no vaccines work to stop it, and it kills you in less than a week. So we see it spread by air or contact, really fast. The places Gwyneth was, the cocktail parties, dinners, airplane trips, all ended up costing others their lives. Matt is apparently immune, but not his family. Laurence is a director of CDC in Atlanta, they are quickly brought in when a few dozen people have died. So when it gets to 80,000 in a few weeks, we see just how bad this bug can be. Jude Law is a blogger who is against “the man”, meaning all recognized forms of government, health care, etc, and he sees a way to profit from this crises.

Remember, it is growing all over the world. So while we have issues in America, the really populated countries that serve food on a stick from a street vendor have a huge problem. Some of those cities have 100 times the numbers of people living in close quarters that we have here, and it grows even faster. Soon we have millions dead, they quarantine Chicago, among others. You can’t go in or out, we see the police and health care workers refuse to go to work, since there is no cure. We run out of body bags, this is a disaster on a global scale.

Kate Winslet works for Laurence at the CDC, she gets sucked into going up North to find out where it started, not a good move. Marion Cotillard is with the CDC, she gets sent to Asia, where she gets into trouble, I won’t give it away, just have to see it. Elliott Gould is a research scientist who finds a clue to the origin and helps set a plan in motion to stop this viral pestilence, but can it be done in time? Bryan Cranston plays the military guy who is in charge of the medical teams fighting on the front lines. He is good, just not much of a role. In fact, Laurence plays the pivotal role of bad guy/good guy. He has a moral decision to make, and turns out he is human.

All the while, Matt is trying to protect his daughter who came home to help when his wife died (not a scene spoiler, that is in the previews). It boils down to who has the gun when the police are not available, everyone takes the law into their own hands.

I can tell you this, we are more aware of coughing, sneezing, germs in general since we saw it. Which is not a bad thing. We’ll go with 3.5 emergency room visits.

Cowboys and Aliens.

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:39:00 GMT

Just saw a much advertised movie that was good, not great. Cowboys and Aliens stars Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace), Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars), Buck Taylor (old timey cowboy from Gunsmoke, Wild Wild West), Olivia Wilde (Tron:Legacy, Next Three Days), Sam Rockwell (Green Mile, Iron Man 2), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood), Keith Carradine (Southern Comfort, Long Riders). This was a star stacked movie, just didn’t open up any new doors.

Premise is Craig wakes up in the Arizona territory, no memory of who he is, how he got there, no boots, and a strange shackle on his left wrist. He has a run-in with some tough hombres, takes them out just as Bond would, and heads into the town of Absolution. It is run by Woodrow Dolarhyde, played well by Harrison Ford. He growls his way through most of the movie. His son Percy, played by Paul Dano gets into trouble by shooting a deputy by accident. Turns out Craig is a wanted man, the sheriff (Keith Carradine) has a poster on him, puts him in the jail. Soon Percy and Craig are on the same stage coach headed to the next territory for trial. Ford comes in, says to let his son go, the sheriff played by Carradine says he can’t. It is about to get ugly, when a space ship appears and begins to lasso up the town people, taking them up into the sky never to be seen again. Craig and Percy break out of the stagecoach, and Craig figures out the arm band is a weapon, and it will knock down the space ship, in fact, the only weapon that is effective against the spaceships. So three have left already, he shoots the last one down. They approach, find it empty, but there is a battle going on in the house next to the downed ship, a man is killed violently, and the creature gets away, leaving a trail of three toed prints and green blood.

Olivia Wilde seeks Craig out, tells him she wants to help him find the aliens. They actually don’t call them aliens, in fact, they call them demons. This was before we knew about aliens, so demons seemed to be the best idea. The townspeople decide to head out the next morning to track the “demon”. They lose the trail due to rain and hole up in a wrecked paddle boat, upside down in the middle of the desert. Anyone thinking weird here? We have a boy and a dog who is investigating the boat, when the dog goes nuts, barking at something we cannot see, but feel like it ain’t good. The dog goes quiet; the boy sees the first clear view of the alien, about 7 feet tall, like a skinny green hulk. They move really fast. The boy hides, thinks the alien is gone, he re-appears, his chest opens and we see another little being inside, reaches out his arms to touch the kid. Gunfire chases him away, it is pretty creepy stuff.

So now Craig and Ford have a mission, to try and rescue loved ones who have been taken by these green men. They continue the tracking; end up making friends with a group of Indians, and finding Craig’s old outlaw gang as well. Turns out our boy Daniel had a past, and the boys are not happy with how he left them. They feel like he took a ton of gold, and left them behind. More on that later. They find the aliens; Olivia has a real important part in the latter part of the movie. These aliens are looking for gold, and these are scouts. If they get what they want, the rest of their race will come down and wipe us out. So it is important to stop them at all costs.

So we did not break any new ground here, in fact, other than the story being placed in Arizona in the 1800s, it is pretty much the same old alien story. Kind of like Super 8 150 years ago, with adults instead of kids. The aliens move really fast, have some more of those bracelets, which cause flashes of light and then no more target. They also have a monster space ship, and are mining the gold right out of the town. Spoiler alert: they have kept alive the people they lassoed, doing some sort of experiments to see how tough we are. So that is even more reason for Ford and Craig to get busy.

We didn’t see the chemistry that we expected from the two leading men, we got more from the son, sheriff and Olivia. And the putting together the team of Indians, bandits and assorted townspeople was a stretch. At any rate, it was a good afternoon spent in August, so not academy award stuff, but good summer fare. We’ll go with 3.5 warp speeds. Mostly because of Craig and Ford being involved, it was a treat to see them on the screen together.

The Help: movie of the year/decade/Century!

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:49:00 GMT

We have a winner. The 2011 movie of the year is...
The Help, starring Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland), Viola Davis (Doubt, Knight and Day), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village, Spiderman), Octavia Spencer (Spiderman, Seven Pounds), Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life, The Debt), Allison Janney (American Beauty, Juno), Cicely Tyson (Fried Green Tomatoes, Sounder), Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner’s Daughter), and Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal, Step Brothers). Actually a lot more, just named the ones who were prominent and I know of. So here’s the story, based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett. Emma Stone plays Skeeter, a recent college grad who comes home to start a career, hoping to be a writer. She is armed with a rejection letter from a New York publisher (run by Mary Steenburgen), and a can-do attitude. She comes back to Jackson Mississippi, gets on the staff of the local paper as the “how to clean things” columnist.

The movie is set in Jackson in the 1960’s, a time of deep prejudice. Soon after Skeeter settles in, she strikes up a friendship with Viloa Davis, playing the maid for a couple in town. Skeeter decides to write a book, send it off to Mary, and get herself a career in New York City. The book will deal with the trails and tribulations of “the help”, as the maids and housekeepers were called. This is not an easy book to write, there were laws on the books that kept African Americans on the back of the bus, in separate areas in the restaurant, even at the water fountains. Viola agrees to help, knowing it may cost her the only job she is trained for, helping to raise white people’s babies.

Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter) plays Hillery, the meanest woman in Jackson. She is chairwoman of a local woman’s group, fund raiser for charity, connected in all ways. She also has a mom, played brilliantly by Sissy Spacek, and a maid, played by Octavia Spencer. We will hear more from Octavia, she was excellent, funny and poignant at the same time. Cicley Tyson plays the maid that raised Skeeter, but was is not there when she returns home. She left quickly, and Skeeter is determined to find out why. That is a mistake; it drives a wedge between her and the family.

Soon both Octavia and Viola are helping Skeeter with the book, but Mary says she needs a dozen more to make a novel that will sell. No one else steps up, it seems our girl’s project is run aground. A pivotal point revolving around civil rights changes everything, the novel is given new life. It also is gathering attention, some of the maids are fired, based on trumped up evidence and sketchy charges. The girls charge on, and put together a fantastic book. It finds it’s way into town, and how they work around the fact that is it based on the locals is worth the price of admission. I am not a scene spoiler, but you will laugh out loud when you see “two slice Hillary” brought down by a maid. And you will forever look at homemade desserts in a new light.

So the movie deals with a tough subject, racial imbalances that were typical in the south in the 60’s. You must see the movie, this is coming from a guy who loves to see things blow up, and lots of action. I guessed this was a chick flick, in fact, took my wife to see it as a suck-up movie. Even told her so, she said, no, it was my choice, so she still has a suck-up movie that she can claim. That was before we went into the theater. We both came out really blessed, it is a feel-good movie, one you will not soon forget. It paints a picture of how far we’ve come in 50 years, and you get to see life as you probably have never seen it before.

My favorite movie of all time? Chariots of Fire (1981), story of Eric Liddell who won the 440 event in the 1924 summer Olympics in Paris. When you watch him fall, and then get up and win in a 440 race, once around the track, you are amazed. It is not possible, but you see it. Since May and I have been reviewing movies (late 1980s), we have rated them with up to 5 stars, the star being something connected to the movie. Only been a couple of 5 star movies since I began publishing my reviews. Forrest Gump, 5 boxes of chocolates. Castaway, 5 lonely islands. Seabiscuit, 5 laps around the track. Get it? Here we have another 5 star movie The Help, rated at 5 homemade pies. You will get it when you see it. Go see it.

Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:43:00 GMT

Now, we have just seen the final edition in the most highly publicized, longest running series on the earth. I am referring to Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. It stars a lot of the same folks: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), Emma Watson (Hermione), Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix), Alan Rickman (Snape), and finally Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort-one whose name we do not speak!).

So this starts up right where the last (part 1) ended, Voldemort has recovered the most powerful wand in the land, the Elder Wand. So now Harry and friends have to hurry to destroy the three remaining Horcruxes, the elements that give Voldemort immortality. About these Horcruxes, when one is destroyed, they can sense Voldemort getting both angry and scared. He senses the fact the gang is gaining on him, and he is not happy.

So Harry, Ron and Hermione break into Gringotts. Hermione is disguised as Bellatrix, Harry is hidden in his invisibility cloak. They find one Horcruxe in a vault, trading a magic sword for it. But Griphook, who helped them get into the vault, traps them and leaves them to fight a huge security force. They escape in a very unusual way, now down to two Horcruxes. One is located in a storage chamber in Horworts Castle, where Harry went to school.

So Harry and friends break into the castle, Voldemort is furious. He attacks, the castle puts up a protective barrier, but it soon falls to Voldemort’s power and the Elder Wand. We have a marvelous battle between the school students, teachers and a ton of Voldemort’s bad guys, including some huge giants who move slow but crush anything in their path. The school does have a weapon of its own, the stone soldiers all have the ability to fight off the wizards, just not enough of them.

Voldemort summons Snape to the boat dock, and another truth emerges. Turns out Voldemort cannot use the wand to it’s full potential, since he did not kill Dombledore, Snape did. So Snape is in a tough spot. Not gonna be a scene spoiler, but it ain’t pretty. More battles go on and on, the kids are getting spanked.

Voldemort finally tells Harry, this is between you and me, meet me in the forest tonite, I’ll pull off my men. If you don’t I will kill everyone in the school. So Harry meets him. Now, we have Voldemort and his snake (Nagini) locked in a battle with Harry. Where did the snake come from, it was in the last movie, just a huge, fast, man eating machine. So Harry is outnumbered.

I won’t go too much further, you should see this one. It ends up well, in fact, we see what the future holds for some of our friends. 4 wands, and this is the best one ever in the HP series.

Transformers, Dark of the Moon

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:36:00 GMT

Just saw a movie that is the third in a very successful series, Transformers, Dark of the Moon. It stars lots of folks from the first two: Shia Lebeouf (Sam), Kevin Dunn and Julie White (his parents), Josh Duhamel (from TV’s Las Vegas), and returning as the conspiracy theory expert, John Turturro. We also have newbies: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Victoria’s Secret Model taking the place of Megan Fox), Patric Dempsey (from TV’s Gray’s Anatomy), Francis McDormand (Fargo, Burn After Reading), John Malkovich (Con Air, Burn After Reading), and Ken Jeong (Hangover 1 & 2).

The story, the Autobots had a war going on with the Decepticons on planet Cybertron. The Autobots had set out on a ship called the Ark, when it was shot down and crashed on the moon. Yes, our moon. The US government discovered this and that is why the race to the moon came up in the the 60s. We went and brought back samples, but further missions were cancelled.

Flash forward to today, the Autobots are working with the US military in the NEST operation, trying to stamp out colonies of the Decepticons. They get a call to investigate terrorist problems at Chernobyl. There they find a giant robot drilling rig and a fuel cell from the Ark. So they head back to ask the US military what up. Francis McDormand plays the Secretary of Defense, she tells them the real reason for the moon shots in the 60s. Prime and Rachet take a ship to the moon to see what is left, find the barely alive Sentinal Prime, Leonard Nemoy. Now it gets crazy.

I’ll try to hurry, be aware; this is a 3 hour movie! Just when you think it is done, it starts a new chapter. So Autobot Prime brings Nemoy back to NEST to ask him some questions. Turns out he had made a deal with the Decepticons to rebuild his planet, and he turns traitor. The Decepticons needed him alive and the 5 pillars that powered up their army, now they have him there in NEST. Soon he has fired up a space bridge, bringing in more robots for the conflict. We see new robot things, even bigger and badder than before.

Back to Shia (Sam Witwicky). He has graduated college, got him a new girl, and now needs a job. Finds work at a defense contractor, run by John Malkovich. Shia is the mail room guy, meets the new girl who works for Patrick Dempsey, a jealous boss. So we have a cool guy versus the rich guy contest. Shia meets Ken Jeong, a co-employee, who has taken the conspiracy theory to new heights. As he shares what he has found out about moon landings, etc. he is killed by a Decepticon. Right there in front of Sam, a big surprise. Sam and the military begin to investigate the space shot program, turns out the Russians were going back several times, all those missions were cancelled. Everyone connected with that program has had an accident.

Now the movie gets into full battle armor. We have new, more advanced robots, entire cities destroyed, I understand Michael Bay blew up several hundred cars alone in the robot fights. It does get a little long, and we were tired and parts of our bodies had fallen asleep. But I’ll try to capture the action in a few sentences. We have a full scale war, Nemoy has brought in lots of robots, they take over, demand that the Autobots be kicked off the planet. The military approves it, the Autobots are loaded up and shot off into space. But the Deceptions shoot down the rocket, what are we to do? The conflict moves to Chicago, where we have robots taking over the entire city, causing complete chaos.

Surprise, the Autobots re-appear, and we have a royal battle on our hands. Not gonna tell you more, it just wouldn’t be right. It is an enjoyable movie, just had a lot of noise and robot clashes, and it is about 45 minutes too long. 3 Autobots.

Super 8

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:09:00 GMT

Finally a decent movie, actually an outstanding movie. One to start the summer with, I’m referring to Super 8, starring a gaggle of youth who are putting together a home movie. Joel Courtney (brand new) leads off as the hero, so to speak. We also have Ryan lee (Trick or Treat, Shorts) as a pyromaniac, Zach Mills (Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium) a movie set assistant, Riley Griffiths (new) the movie producer, Gabriel Basso (Alabama Moon, The Big C) the leading man in the home movie, and Elle Fanning (Yes, Dakota’s sister, has been in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Déjà vu) as the leading lady in the home movie. We also have some adults, Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, King Kong), Ron Eldard (Blackhawk Down, House of Sand and Fog) and Joel McKinnon Miller (Big Love, Men in Black 2).

First, about that home movie the kids are working on. There is some kind of contest, so they are working hard to win it. Their movie is a Zombie movie, Gabriel is a detective who is working on solving murders around a chemical plant, his wife is Elle, who becomes a Zombie. That’s all you need to know, here is how it fits in. The young movie makers are filming at night at a train station, and witness a huge derailment. Turns out one of their school teachers caused the wreck, and gives them a clue. He says not to say anything, because they will kill you and your family. Ouch!

Joel’s dad (Kyle) is the small town in Ohio’s deputy sheriff. His wife dies in a terrible accident, she was working in the local steel mill subbing for another worker, Elle’s dad, played by Ron Eldard. He is the town drunk, and Kyle feels like if he had been at work, his wife would still be alive. And of course Joel is in LOVE with Elle, she is the focus of his world. His dad is not happy about him seeing her, tells him to stay away. He ain’t gonna do it.

So when the train crashes, and it is a grand crash scene, things start to go south. We first see something banging on the rail car, trying to get out. Then we hear from the school teacher who caused the wreck, forget that you saw it, they will kill you. Sort of freaky. The next few days, all the dogs from town end up in a town far away. Like they ran away. OK, so they ran away. We have several spooky scenes with the sheriff, a 7/11 employee, some other locals getting taken away. And stuff is destroyed. Like the sheriff’s car, crushed. Then all the appliances in town disappear, along with a bunch of car engines. The electricity goes out, getting weird in here.

Our kids are still trying to make the movie, but it is a lot harder to focus. When they were at the train wreck, they were filming a key scene. So they left the camera running and they took off running. Now they realize they have film yet to be developed, it may have a clue. It does, and what a clue. Not gonna spoil it, but it involves the Air Force, Area 51, all kinds of stuff. The Air Force moves into town, shuts it down. Then evacuates everyone out to the base, start a burn to get rid of something. So here ya go, Spoiler Alert!! Don’t read any further if you don’t want to know things…

Actually, most everyone has seen the previews, and they sort of hint at the problem. The Air Force has captured an alien, and have kept him a long time. So they are moving him, and the train wreck freed him up. And he is unhappy. And very strong, fast, and extremely smart. All bad things when you are up against something you have never seen before. He manages to knock out all electrical power, including the controls on the tanks that the military brings into town to take him out. He is large and in charge. You actually find yourself rooting for this outer space thing, cause our military have treated him so bad. Not sure why I call it a him, he just seems to be male. Although we saw in Alien the females can be feisty too.

The alien is mean, and now is on the hunt. He finds the military guys who first put him in a cage, and it don’t go well for them. Guns have no effect, he is somewhat bullet proof. It is pretty intense, because the kids are in the back of the bus the alien attacks, but they get out safely.

The kids manage to escape and run back into town, now they are on to the accident-causing teacher who left behind some clues. When they find his stash, the movie goes into overdrive. The military is chasing them, the sheriff’s deputy is on the hunt, and Elle has been taken. How and why I can’t say, I can guarantee that it gets pretty tense about the middle of the movie. Then it gets worse.

So JJ Abram is the director, and Steven Spielberg the producer, a real heavyweight team. JJ Abram has a background of suspense, he bought a mystery box in a magic shop when he was a kid, he still has it, still unopened. Still a mystery. Spielberg made movies as a teen-ager, he started out young, and still loves the projects with kids involved. Think Goonies.

The sound is outstanding, should get an award. The story is excellent. Your mom will not like it, pretty loud and scary. Not only that, there are some language opportunities, the young kids have potty mouths. Guess that happens in real life. But the story is moving, and one of taking chances for the right reasons, a great message. I will go with 4.5 space ships, one of the best this year. So if you stay for the credits, you will see the zombie movie put together by the kids. Called The Case, it is pretty good, looks as if it has been filmed in Super 8. A nice finish.