In case anyone is curious, I've been doing quick reviews lately because of the high volume of movies I've seen in the last few days...blame it on my newly discovered Redbox Addiction
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Comedy
George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Directed by Grant Heslov
McGregor Plays Bob Wilton, a reporter looking for a good story while waiting for his pass into Iraq (where all the 'good' stories are). He stumbles across Lyn Cassady, an ex-soldier of the "New Earth Army," a secret sect trying to develop psychic super soldiers in the 70's and 80's.
This movie was divided into 2 separate segments for me: the first hour, and the rest of it. I really enjoyed the first part, but I thought the rest of it really dragged on and seemed like it was completely pointless. Clooney was awesome, but when isn't he? The flashbacks with the New Earth Army were definitely the highlight, and I wish there could have been more development there.
Final Score - 6/10
Ninja Assassin
Action
Rain (aka Jung Jihoon), Naomie Harris
Directed by James McTeigue
A ninja (Raizo) turns his back on his clan and the "orphanage" that raised him, causing conflicts between him, his former allies, and their new marks.
The title is kind of redundant if you think about it...aren't ALL ninjas assassins? Also, why is the entire movie in English, even the parts that take place in Japan where everyone is Japanese? I guess subtitles have no place in an American action movie, so I'll give them a break. The gore is very obviously CG for the most part...I think Kill Bill definitely handled that better. Well, enough about the bad, now for the good: The action scenes (and there are a ton) are quite well made, even if there is a lot of CG. The flashbacks to the Ninja Training were the best parts of the movie, in my opinion. There isn't much story to speak of, but who goes to a Ninja movie for the storyline anyway?
Final Score - 7.5/10
Leap Year
Romantic Comedy
Amy Adams, Matthew Goode
Directed by Anand Tucker
After dating her boyfriend for 4 years without becoming engaged, a frustrated woman (Anna - Adams) follows him to Ireland, where there is a tradition that on February 29th, a woman is "allowed" to propose to a man. There, she meets Declan, a pub owner. Misadventures ensue as they try to get anna to Dublin before the 29th.
Overall it was a very average chick flick. Nothing surprising at all...I really could have told you the entire storyline and ending from just the trailer, but then again originality was never part of romantic comedies. However, Amy Adams is always entertaining, if nothing else than a pretty face to look at for 90 minutes, even if her character is ready to give up a four year relationship to marry a guy she met a few days ago....was the a spoiler? cause I'm pretty sure everyone knew it would happen. Also, I LOVE the scenery in the whole movie...Ireland is really a beautiful country. Overall a decent crowd-pleaser and just a relaxing flick
Final Score - 5/10
From Paris With Love
Action / Thriller
John Travolta, Johnathan Rhys Meyers
Directed by Pierre Morel
In Paris, the young assistant to the US Ambassador (James Reece - Meyers) becomes involved with Charlie Wax (Travolta), an American super spy, in an attempt to foil a terrorist plot.
Right away I can say that this was a pleasant surprise, as when I saw trailers for it I wasn't too excitied about seeing it. I wasn't a huge fan of Johnathan's character, but luckily Travolta made up for it with his very cool Wax character. The storyline was actually pretty decent for an action movie. Also, I tend to get easily bored by action movies, but this one had me totally engaged for the entire run.
Final Score - 8.5/10
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