MOVIE REVIEW - The Rite

The dead of winter generally is movie purgatory. A virtual no mans land where far below than average movies show up in new release form. But alas, The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins is here to help dispel that theory.

The Rite is said to be inspired by real events of a few years ago. It's the latest in a line of demonic possession movies. And for a change this subject is approached and portrayed in a fashion that is a a bit more tolerable than normal.

The Rite is about a young man who is studying to be a priest. At the end of his theological education, he decides that the priesthood is not for him and he leaves the order. He is then convinced by his teachers to go to the Vatican and study the newly instated course on exorcism There, he is in contact with an aging priest, (Hopkins) who is well versed on the ancient rite, and he comes face to face with demons. Both in forms of possession of others, and his own personal ones. Will this experience convince him the order is for him? Or is he a young man craving faith, but not able to accept it?

This movie is certainly compelling, and scary. This is a tough subject to tackle as a movie maker. Not simply because of the touchy subject matter, but the challenge is try to do it in a way that hasn't been done before, or doesn't look silly and special effect laden. This story is told in a straight forward, and easy to follow fashion. Very exciting at times, riveting too. I was enthralled by the direction this movie took, and found myself unable to figure out the eventual end. For the most part this is pretty darn good. And Hopkins is very, very good.

As word of extreme caution. This movie is laden with numerous scenes of extreme demonic possession. If you are uncomfortable at all with this, steer clear. Although these scenes are done very well, they could still be difficult for many and just flat out not some people's cup of tea.

The Rite. For what it is, well done and thought provoking. Hopkins is at his best.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Mechanic

Action star Jason Stratham is back in another shoot-em-up modern day action flick, The Mechanic.

In this movie the term "mechanic" is referring to a hit man. Stratham plays Bishop, who secretly woks for a company that pays him big dollars to kill various types of people that the company's clients request and pay for. He does it with skill and precision, and usually very discreetly. After power struggle within the top level of his employer, he is forced to kill his mentor and boss. Afterwards feeling remorse, he takes in his dead bosses young adult son, who wants to get into the killing business too, (for some reason, never completely made clear.)

Doesn't all this sound so lovely? Well that's a Stratham movie. He generally plays the same kind of character. The lone wolf, never smiling, always glum, trained killer of some kind. And for him this is working. He always seems to find an audience and a following. This of course is nothing new, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal before him, Sly Stallone too. Lots of creative, and not so creative ways to kill people and tons of things blowing up, and even more gratuitous violence. That's just the formula that has worked for years, and will work long after Stratham ages out, and someone else takes his place.

This is not a bad movie. It's not a good movie. It's just a movie.....and for me that's the sign of the fact that I may have just wasted my time, and you may feel that way too. Granted, Stratham is who he is, and you're not expecting miracles here, but I think you are entitled to see something new, something exciting, and maybe something you have not seen before a hundred times. At the very least a signature scene that you can take with you to work and talk to your buddies about. But nothing new happens here at all. It's a video game come to life.

The Mechanic. Not bad, not good, not anything. For an action based, blow-em-up movie it just kind of lays there. Netflix in 90 days at best.

Oscar Preview

This week the Academy Awards nominations were announced. A few surprises. We'll get to those in a minute.

But the big news is twelve nods for The Kings Speech, True Grit gets 10 and the big winner at the Golden Globes, The Social Network gets 8. Let's look a the major categories and I'll give you my picks for the years best.

Best Picture

True Grit -Fantastic job by the Coen Brothers casting and adapting this movie for a 21st century
fan base. This is great movie making in every regard. The King's Speech is a close
second. The Fighter is also terrific. Best three of the year.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges - True Grit. He is simply Hollywood's best actor these days. This is not the
Slam dunk best performance like his last years Crazy Heart. But he is great as
Rooster Cogburn. Think winning back-to-back is deserved.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman - Black Swan. There's a lot of momentum for Annette Benning to win
this year. But in fairness, Portman is the years best in this category by far.

Best Supporting Actor

Geoffery Rush - The King's Speech. Fantastic as King George's speech tutor. For me, this is
the runaway performance in a category this year. Simply great.

Best Supporting Actress

Hailee Stienfeld - True Grit. It's very difficult for a 13 year old to star in a movie with Jeff
Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and look like you actually belong there.
She does. This in one of the best child performances in cinema in a long time.
Plus, this is her first role. Amazing.

And as far as the big Oscar surprise was?

Biggest Oscar Snub

Justin Timberlake - The Social Network. His supporting role in this movie was the best
thing in it, and not by a little. Certainly should have had a nomination.

The Academy Awards are handed out February 27.

Feel free to e-mail me with you thoughts at scott@wqmx.com

MOVIE REVIEW - No Strings Attached

He are clearly in the depths of slow movie season, and the new movie No Strings Attached is more proof positive of that fact.

NSA stars Natalie Portman, and Ashton Kutcher in that story of a young woman Emma (Portman) a medical student who is pressed for time. She meets Adam, (Kutcher) who is just this dude with a so-so job who has all the time on earth. The basic premise of this romantic comedy is, Emma just wants Adam to be her sex partner only. They together come to this agreement that he is to meet her any place, any time she wants to end up in bed with her. And the whole thing is there will be no strings attached. Emma is very emotionally non connected with the whole relationship thing. But can this kind of thing be sustained?

First off, this basic story is so uninteresting it's almost pathetic. But be that as it may, that's what we've got here. This is so predictable, you already know the end at the beginning. You care so little about these two especially in the first hour, you wish this thing would just limp to the finish so we can go get coffee. This ridiculous story does improve as it goes on, but can't shake off that damage that has been already done.

On another point, this movie is so incredibly immature. Line after line of locker room dialogue, from all characters. Written again by a generation that thinks that the more references to body parts is actually funny for us to watch. And I unerstand there is a sect out there that thinks that is really funny stuff. They ask Portman to do physical comedy at times, and let's hope we don't have to see that again. And Kutcher is the exact same dude in every movie. He is among the least versatile actors out there today. And this whole movie with Portman, after her stellar performance in a real movie, Black Swan is nothing short of career self sabotage. I know, check her bank account. But there is a credibility factor. I would like to think that some of these guys do care about how they will go down in history, but maybe not.

One thing more to observe. For a lot of this movie, most of our young characters are terribly drunk, smoking weed with their dads, trolling for anyone to have sex with, and are projecting an attitude that all of this is just the way it is. Keep in mind our characters are way more 30 than 20 in this flick. Sad state. This is the killer. You just don't really care about this bunch. And that is the key to a romantic comedy. You have to like, care for and be pulling for the principles to have an interesting outcome. Here, you just are hoping that they grow up to sophomoric.

No Strings Attached. If you must. Netflix in 90 days.

Hollywoods Best Actor

Lots of actors have their great run. The few years when they are not just doing good work, but the best work of their already great careers.

I can think of Tom Hanks in the 1990's. Oscars for Forest Gump, and Philadelphia. Great performances too in Sleepless In Seattle, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and The Green Mile. George C. Scott with Oscars in Patton and Hospital. And the list goes on. But is there anyone in Hollywood on this kind of roll right now. Yes.

Jeff Bridges is right now, Hollywood's single best actor. Now a bunch of this has to be attributed to the wonderful roles he's gotten the past two years, but everyone on our list was the beneficiary of the same fate. Once you land the role, you then have to make the best of the rarest of opportunities. Bridges has cashed in in 2009 and 2010.

Son of veteran actor, the late Lloyd Bridges, Jeff and brother Beau both took off on a nice career path early in their young lives. Jeff has been making movies for almost 40 years. There have been numerous Oscar nominations, and finally a win last year for Crazy Heart. Bridges has also made his share of dogs too. Who can forget King Kong 1975. One of the real disasters of the decade.

Bridges in Crazy Heart last year, was the runaway single best performance in any movie by any actor in 2009. He played Bad Blake in a fictional story of a down and out country singer who was a serious drunk. But no matter now far down he falls, the music is still in him. Bridges is so believable you forget he's really not Bad Blake. Bridges does his own singing of some fantastic T Bone Burnett songs, and that is the separator. This is one of the most compelling performances in many years. Simply great!

Let's flash forward to this year. Bridges cast as the iconic U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn in the Coen Brothers stellar western True Grit is amazing again. Cogburn is the only role John Wayne ever won an Oscar for the 1969 original. The challenge here, make viewers not see Wayne. Mission accomplished. Wayne was playing Cogburn. Bridges is Cogburn. A coveted role, that is Oscar worthy again. He is simply terrific playing a character I'm sure many would have loved to play. Funny too, in the last two years seems the worse he looks on camera, the better he is.

If you have not seen Crazy Heart, rent it, and watch one of the greats be great. See how an Oscar is won. Same for True Grit, get to the theater and see it on the big screen. The jury is still out as to whether he will repeat or not, and I'm hoping he does. Huge roles, huge performances.

Jeff Bridges. Right now, Hollywood's best actor.

MOVIE REVIEW - The Green Hornet

Seth Rogan produces and stars in the new action flick, The Green Hornet this week.

After on hour and forty-eight minutes, I was walking out of the theater literally talking to myself saying, "Sheesh, hope we don't have to go through that again!" Good gravy man, are we really out of ideas to the degree that we have to go see Seth Rogan as a supposed superhero?

TGH is based of course on the 1960's TV show of the same name. A young son of a media tycoon has to take over the newspaper that his father founded after his untimely death. Trouble is, all Britt (Rogan) wants to do is party and womanize. Britt then meets Kato. Kato was his fathers most trusted employee. Kato is also a mechanical genius who invents amazing gadgets, and he is a martial arts expert. This role is what made the late Bruce Lee a star at the time.

Together Britt and Kato somehow decide to become crime fighters under the name of The Green Hornet, and his side nameless side kick. The rouse is, they operate under the assumption that they are the bad guys, so they can infiltrate the gangs on the street. OK, I've spent enough time on the basic premise of this thing, let's get on with some serious wood-shedding.

Where to begin. Rogan is terribly cast. The script is so juvenile it seems to be targeting 14 year old boys. The story is... well lousy, and it is so busy trying so hard to be so many different things it's just a mess. It's trying to be funny, charming, exciting, suspenseful and ten other things, and it ends up being none of them. Lots of good people in this movie too. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as the villain, and Cameron Diaz as Lenore, Britt's secretary. By they way, Diaz looks fifteen years older than Rogan here, and that really falls flat. I don't think she's supposed to be. Bad casting again, not her fault.

Tons of action, in fact way too much...very fatiguing. Silly punchlines and just a big bag of mess here. This idea is really not very good, and Rogan who can do really funny work at times, is hopeless to pull this off in his own movie.

The Green Hornet. Hoping against hope I fear. Hoping for one and done.

A Quote To Remember

Earlier today, my partner Sue Wilson was checking her e-mail. She showed a message that a listener had sent to us regarding our Quote Of The Day feature we air every day at 6:45 on our show on WQMX. The quote hit him deep in the heart as he had made the very tough decision to put down his dog that he loved endlessly, who was suffering so.

The note was extremely eloquent and heartfelt. He went on to say the quote was his beloved pooch sending him words of comfort through our show. Sue and I were both very moved. Both by the note, and by the fact that someone would take the time to sit down and send us such a powerful letter thanking us, at a time when he needed comfort. Humbling to say the least. But Sue and I are both "dog" people and we really took it to heart. I can not thank him enough for sending that note in.

After I left the office it got me thinking of a day I have not really thought of in a decade or two. The one and only day, I too had to make the same decision our listener friend did. My dogs name was Taffy. Taffy was originally my brothers dog, and after he left for college, Taffy became my dog. Taffy was a border collie. Taffy and I were both children together doing child-like things. We had a huge backyard and we'd play for hours on end. Taffy had a good life, she was a part of everything we did as a family. Even after an accident where she lost a front leg, Taffy lived the second half of her life with three, but was just as wonderful as the first half.

Years later on a late Friday afternoon, I came home to find Taffy in a chronic seizure state in the bushes. It was clear that Taffy was in serious peril and suffering terribly. And because neither one of us were children anymore, I knew that this was the day I always knew would come, and always hoped wouldn't. It was dinner time and the vets were closed, and I was alone for the night with almost no money. I called my friend Joe. I was about 18 or so, and I was crying, watching Taffy suffer so. I explained my situation to my friend. And somehow we found a vet that was willing to wait for us.

This was about a year or so after my father died, and I was still struggling mightily with death and dying. I was not afraid, I do remember that, but I was sad, simply sad. As Joe drove Taffy and I to the vet, the drive of a couple miles seemed so long. The whole thing is still so fuzzy to me. I remember the faces of the office staff as I carried Taffy in. They were very nice to me, and assured me all would be alright. And then, slow motion.....that's all I remember.

Days later I was told that Joe's mom and dad had stepped in and paid the vet to end Taffy's suffering. I don't think it was considered a whole lot of money even then, but it was to me, and I didn't have it. I said I would pay it back, and they lovingly said, no thank you. To this day I still owe them the money, but I owe them much, much more. I think to be honest, it's maybe the best money ever spent on me. It certainly still stirs me when I think of it. Every time I see Barb and Paul, it's the first thing I think of. The huge act of kindness shown to a high school boy at a time Taffy needed a hero.

In my life I think it was landmark day. I loved Taffy more that day than any other. Her final day. And that day she loved me same. And the love shown to me that day by my friend and his family has always been close to my heart, even on most days when I keep that memory far from my mind.

Bless you our listener friend. Bless you and the walk you had to take. It may feel like a walk taken alone, but you're not alone...not alone.....

Oh, and the Quote Of The Day? "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" - Dr. Seuss.