MOFFAT - Movie Reviews

by Andrew McEwen

Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)***
(Jim Carrey, Bob Haskins, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth)

Yet again, another person has decided to take on the job of recreating this age-old tale for the new generation. Everyone knows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and all the themes and Christmas cheer that comes with his hum-buggard character. Jim Carrey carries the acting in this film doing the voice for Scrooge, and all the Ghosts of Christmas. There are also a few surprise appearances by some other actors. This time though, we find ourselves re-living the epic in Disney's revolutionary Digital 3-D. Now, I'm not referring to the actual animation of the film but the fact that it was literally jumping out of the screen the majority of the time. You do have the option of seeing it without the 3-D glasses but it's definitely worth the extra dollar to treat yourself to the full 3-D experience. The film itself maintains the colloquial feel it always has and presents us with a film very true to the previous ones. I would definitely recommended this film for all this Christmas Season, children and adults alike. Though for the children, it does have its frightening moments, but overall it is an excellent film with a kind touch.

Role Models (2009) ****
(Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J. Thompson)

The hilarious comedy about two guys, Danny and Wheeler, who are forced to join a big brothers foundation named "Sturdy Wings" to work off their three hundred hours of community service. The film opens with them working for an energy drink company where they go from school to school and promote the drink to the students. One day Danny, who can’t stand his redundant and repetitive job, has had enough and freaks out on a by-law officer ticketing their truck. This in turn results in the community service. The films is hilarious and is chalked full of original and well-timed humor. The two kids they are teamed up with have their own quirky sides that only add to the laughs. Of course, the film does have an underlying theme of self preservation and bonding, yet it still manages to make a pretty good comedy. But it was definitely no Hangover.

Stargate Universe (2009) *****
(Robert Carlyle, Justin Louis, Brian J. Smith.)

I know this is not technically a film, but I was so impressed watching the first episode that I just had to mention it. As many of you may or may not know Stargate started out as a stand alone film back in the early nineties. Many years later a show spawned off the film called Stargate SG-1, shortly followed by Stargate Atlantis. Now, these two shows did take an especially nerdy outlook to enjoy to their fullest and were definitely targeted towards a niche audience. With the release of Stargate Universe, we see an evolution of the Stargate Franchise into a show almost everyone can enjoy. The story starts with a group of science and military people having to use the gate to leave their base which is under attack. They end up accidentally "Gating" to a ship seven billion light years from home. Every week they must deal with a new problem as the ship itself is also billions of years old. This, of course, will inevitably lead to another problem. The crew must also struggle with each other. Considered by themselves to not be the right people or qualified enough to actually lead this mission. The show itself is filmed more like CSI or Law and Order and carries the same feel as the new Battlestar Galactica. Also, it is bursting at the seems with fantastic writing, acting, action, drama, and solid plot and character developments. I would recommend that everyone at least give the show a chance and watch the first three episodes. You many not consider it you typical "cup of tea" at first, but you never know you may develop a taste, and it might even open your eyes to new possibilities.

Year One (2009) ***
(Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt)

A new age comedy set in well, Year One. It's not really clear as to the specific time frame but suffice to say it takes place along time ago. Starring Jack Black and Michael Cera and is jammed packed full of laughs and at times goes the extra mile to pull off an incredulous joke. There are moments of vulgarity spiced throughout, but it is usually softened by the bonds these two characters enjoy. The story begins with the two deciding to leave their village to see what lies beyond the next ridge, where they believe the world just ends. The film is a good laugh and I would recommend it for a boring Friday night.

Gran Torino (2009) **
(Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang)

Clint Eastwood stars, writes, and directs his latest film about a Korean War veteran who takes it upon himself to help the young Asian boy next door learn some lessons about life. The story begins with the death of his wife and this inevitably leads to him contemplating his place in the world. With his family disowning him and urging him to join a retirement home, it becomes clear that he really has no place left. One night a local Asian gang vandalizes his pride and joy Gran Torino. Clint catches a small boy in the act of scratching his car and scares him off at the point of his rifle. Soon it becomes apparent that the boy was being pressured to commit the act. Clint decides to show the boy how to fend for himself. This movie spells the end of Eastwood's glorious career and unfortunately he goes out without the proverbial bang. I found it lacked the certain thrilling elements that make up that classic Clint Eastwood film. Instead, I found myself watching a man who was too old to recapture his typecasted character. Overall, the acting was terrible, the story was mediocre, and the theme of the film was opaque at best. For those of you who love Clint Eastwood and his stone cold charm you might have a reason to see this film. For those of you who don't, I'd recommend something else.

District 9 (2009) *****
(Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and Robert Hobbs)

One of the most unique and original Sci-Fi films in, well, probably ever. Of course I'm not saying it is the best one, just the most unique. Given that the budget for this film was a mere thirty million dollars, what they were able to achieve makes you wonder where the big budget films spend all their money. The story revolves around Johannesburg, South Africa, where an Alien ship has suddenly appeared. A massive vessel that assumes a low hovering position over the city. For five years after appearing there is no movement of any kind. This is when the local authorities decide to make the first move and cut their way into the vessel. What they find inside is thousands of PRAWNS, a derogatory name give to the aliens, which appear to be sick and malnourished. The City takes it upon themselves to help these aliens and creates a small community for them to live. This area is titled District 9. Twenty years have passed and the District becomes a slum supporting theft and illegal arms trading. When the government decides to evict the aliens and move them to a more secured location the real action starts. The actors are all fresh blood but manage to pull off formidable and convincing scenes. The special effects are utterly amazing and appear to be very high budget. Overall, don't go into this movie expecting another Star Wars or Blade Runner but do go expecting the un-expected.

My Best Friends Girl (2009) *****
(Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Alec Baldwin, Jason Biggs)

An unusual comedy about a guy named Tank who makes a living off of being an, well let's just say, a mean guy. Say you have a horrible break-up with your girlfriend. Well, give Tank a call and he'll be there to take them on their first date after the break up. During this date he makes himself look like the worst guy possible and this in turn makes her rethink her decision to break up with you. As the plot moves along we discover that he lives with his roommate and best friend Dustin. Dustin is madly in love with his new girlfriend Alexis and when she does not return the feelings and breaks up with him he calls in his friend Tank to show her the other fish in the sea. Unfortunately, Tank suddenly falls in love with Alexis when none of his usual tricks work. This is a hilarious movie riddled with Dane Cook humor and antics. Suffice to say if you like Dane Cook you'll love this movie. If, on the other hand, you don't well it's still a great romantic comedy for anyone. Oh and be mindful there are a lot of vulgar jokes.

Watchmen (2009) ***
(Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley)

A stunning visual roller coaster ride but lacking the story to back the effects. When watching this film it felt strikingly reminiscent of watching the first Matrix film. You're not quite sure what's going on and if you miss even the slightest line of dialogue you may as well start the film over again. This is definitely not your typical super hero flick. Essentially, back in the early 40's dressing up like a super hero became something of a fad. For two generations the idea of being a crime fighter was widely accepted as the norm. Until President Nixon came along and decreed that acts of vigilantly were to be outlawed. Then along comes Dr. Manhattan, a man glowing blue at all times, the only hero with any actual powers. Unfortunately, I don't believe my description of how he got these powers would do it justice. As a last point, I found that Dr. Manhattan's storyline was so interesting that it overshadowed the rest of the characters. I began to feel bored when ever the film cut back to the regular hero's plot lines. Nevertheless, if your looking for a movie where you shut off all the lights, unplug the phone, and are willing to loose yourself for three hours than I recommend this film.

The Hangover (2009) *****
(Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha)

One of the best and most original comedies to hit the big screen in a while. One thing that stands out about this film is how natural the humor is. The jokes don't seem to be forced. It is almost as if this is how these guys would really react in this situation. What creates the many memorable comedic moments throughout the film is the relationship and unique personalities of each of the characters. All you really have to do, as the film maker, is throw these guys into any situation and it just becomes hilarious. The humor is vulgar sometimes but is possible to bear considering the context of the film. If you are looking for something to make you laugh, without stretching any personal moral barriers (Bruno), then I recommend you see this film.

STAR TREK (2009) *****
(Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana)

I have been an ST fan since falling to sleep every night as a kid listening to my Dad watch ST: The Next Generation. So, as you might guess I was a little hesitant when I heard that they were going to make a new movie about the Original series. Also, the idea of a new group of actors playing the iconic characters of Kirk, Zulu, Chekov, Spock, Mckoy, Uhura, and Scotty led my mind straight to doubting whether or not this could actually be pulled off. Once seeing the film though, all doubt quickly vanished. This film is a little more action based than anything a typical ST fan is use to, but if you look at it as something to keep the next generation interested, it definitely has its own unique feel and still maintains the underlying theme of Star Trek. The actors successfully pulled off each of the original characters mentalities and besides a few of them lacking aesthetic similarities, I found myself believing they were actually the younger versions of the crew. Over all, this film was awesome, with outstanding special effects and a solid ST plot. This is a definite must see for Star Trek fans and those just looking to see a great modern age Sci-Fi flick.

Terminator Salvation (2009) ***
(Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin)

For those of you who have watched the first three I'd say your in for a treat for those who haven't it's your risk to take. This film has wicked special effects and great action sequences. But, one thing that it did lack was a viable storyline. The film takes place during the fabled Robot-Human war in the near future. Skynet, the computer network behind the robots, has found a way to create some sort of human-robot hybrid (Not Arnold yet...) that is suppose to be the perfect assassin. The network has somehow managed to take a criminal on death row from the past and transfer his thoughts over to the new body in the future. The assassin himself is not even aware he is a robot. From there it is a race against time to find the boy who will be John Conner's father in the past. At the end of the film we realize that this actually takes place before the first Arnoldnator has even been sent back in time to kill John Conner's mother. Anyway, LOL, it all seems pretty confusing. It almost requires that you see the first three before watching the new one. For those who have, there's a special treat at the end which I'll leave a mystery. The film is a little dark and pits the human race against what appears to be impossible odds. In the end I enjoyed it, but still recommend watching the originals just to get at least a little history about what the %!#* is going on.

UP (2009) ****
(Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Edward Asner)

Again Pixar delivers. Somehow they have managed to come up with another extremely creative, humourous, and fun film that fits right in with previous Pixar films. Expect great graphics and unique characters that successfully help drive the plot along. The film is basically about an old man who has become a grump towards life because years ago he lost his sweetheart. His wife had always wanted to follow the foot-steps of a famous explorer (I can't recall any names lol) to a mysterious land that the explorer had discovered. Having never achieved this she eventually passed away due to old age. Now, stuck in a small house surrounded by commercial development the old man has become a grouch who refuses to move out of the house at the city's request. As a final straw of defiance he ties hundreds of balloons to the house, it lifts off the ground, and he is off in search of the mysterious land. The afternoon before lift-off, a small boy attempting to get his helping-the-elderly badge for scouts knocks on the door. Having lead the boy on a wild goose chase to find some sort of rodent, the old man heads back inside. A few scenes after take-off the boy knocks on the door and to the old mans surprise he is standing on the front porch of the flying house. If you like Pixar you won't be disappointed the film is ripe for any age and maintains strong and fresh humor through out.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) ****
(Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox)

To start.... I LOVE TRANSFORMERS.... now that that is out of the way. This film was everything you would expect from a Transformers movie. It had the absolute best special effects available today and was an amazing action/sci-fi adventure. Again, as in the first, the film starts off with a highly intense action sequence but this time with Optimus Prime taking out a gigantic Decepticon. It has been two years since the events of the first film and the United States government has been busy. A new group called NEST has been created to work in consort with the Autobots. NEST is a top secret special forces unit put together to hunt down the remaining Decepticons. Prime notices that there seems to be a pattern to where they are finding the Decepticons and realizes that they must be searching for something. After these first few intense scenes we find ourselves back with Sam Witwicky who is now heading off to college. He finds a remaining sliver of the All Spark in his clothing and begins having visions. Visions that soon become central to the plot. I only gave this film four stars because the weak attempts at humor, the failed love story plot between Sam and his girlfriend, goofy characters, and some over ridiculous types of Decepticons that seem just a little to unreal in an already unreal universe. Also, the film seemed a little too similar to the first. One thing I did really enjoyed was that they really juiced up the Optimus Prime fight scenes. Keep an eye out for them cause in my opinion they are the highlight of the film.

Up Coming Films

The Last Air Bender
G.I. Joe: The Rise of The Cobra
Inglorious Basterds
Zombieland
Sherlock Holmes
Clash of the Titans

ABOUT Andrew McEwen - Andrew is currently working as a file clerk with our firms. He is a graduate of Algonquin College with both a Media and Communication Diploma and a Post-Graduate Screenwriting certificate. Andrew, runs a part-time film production company in Ottawa and was director of the Rogers Cable 22 show Cultural Window. He has worked on other shows including Swap Shop, Big Bad Sports Show, and Talk Ottawa. Andrew also worked as the Creative Director on Jay TV, Ottawa's first broadcast Secondary School announcement system. Andrew has pitched concepts and shows to CTV Globemedia, Global, The Discovery Channel, Space, CBC Radio Canada, and The Linda Saint Agency. Andrew tells us that he defines his life by the films he has watched.

You may contact Andrew by Email at andrew.mcewen@moffatco.com

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