By Jason Haskins and Paco McCullough
Rango is the chameleon Western animated film released earlier this year starring Johnny Depp as the titular character who becomes makeshift sheriff of the town of Dirt—which is experiencing a strong drought amongst other problems. It wasn’t one I was really interested in seeing, but the animation is definitely very intriguing as the animators actually used a new system of developing the visuals by having the actual actors act out the scenes. Depp is pretty entertaining here, which was very surprising as he’s been extremely boring for the past fifteen years or so. It’s very cute for a kids’ film, but like the Pixar brand it is actually really pleasing to adults as well and a cool film at that. It’s not extremely original nor one of the best films I’ve seen, but it serves as a great rental and a solid film for the whole family.
If you’ve been asking yourself, “Where’s the McConaughey?”, look no further than Brad Furman’s The Lincoln Lawyer. This a movie based on the Michael Connelly novel of the same name about a sleazy defense attorney representing a douche accused of raping a prostitute when some of the cards come crashing down and he realizes there is more to the case than initially thought. It’s been a while since a solid courtroom drama/thriller has surfaced so this was a fresh piece of cinema in that regard. However, I couldn’t stand Matthew McConaughey’s performance (he’s very full of himself) nor all of the plot twists you’re constantly berated with as the movie continues. Surprisingly, it’s actually a well-told story with some great moments in it and was pretty entertaining. Overall though, this movie is made to play to the Law and Order crowd.
3 out of 5 stars
Arthur is the remake of the popular 1981 David Gordon picture of the same name starring Dudley Moore. This one, starring Russell Brand, was in and out of theaters in a blink of an eye for some good reasons: the script is terrible and the performances by everyone including Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner made me want to poop on someone (I need to stop using this analogy). It’s not a very funny movie- even Brand’s style of humor doesn’t really surface as much as it should and we’re left with a neutered movie that should never have been released.
1 out of 5 stars
Insidious
Ah, the latest movie from Saw-makers James Wan and Leigh Whannell. As much as I don’t like the Saw franchise, the first flick was pretty outstanding and easily one of the top-notch thrillers this side of Se7en. So I was excited about seeing them collaborate again on a new feature—especially one made for 1.5 million bucks, which made over fifty times that amount at the box office. Unfortunately, I have not screened this movie, but it’s one I’ve been looking forward to ever since I saw the trailer, which has this creepy haunted house vibe to it. The word of mouth has been fairly positive and this is definitely one of the newer films I’ve been anticipating.
Miral
Miral stars Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) as a troubled Palestinian girl who is drawn into the Palestine/Israel conflict. Most critics didn’t like it, and it has only a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. I didn’t screen it, but it sounds like one that’s only worth watching if you’re really interested in the Palestinian conflict or really like Pinto.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while. This Thai film won the Palme d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Uncle Boonmee is dying, and travels into the countryside to visit his family. While there, he is visited by ghosts of those he has known in his life, as well as some of his very own past lives. Culturally, this film may be confusing to Western audiences, but critics say that the heartfelt beauty of the film makes it worth checking out. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m gonna pick it up as soon as I can. Check it out if you’re a daring cinephile.
© Jason Haskins and Tanner McCullough, 2011
3 out of 5 stars.
The Lincoln Lawyer
3 out of 5 stars
Arthur
1 out of 5 stars
Insidious
Miral
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
I’ve been looking forward to this film for a while. This Thai film won the Palme d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Uncle Boonmee is dying, and travels into the countryside to visit his family. While there, he is visited by ghosts of those he has known in his life, as well as some of his very own past lives. Culturally, this film may be confusing to Western audiences, but critics say that the heartfelt beauty of the film makes it worth checking out. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m gonna pick it up as soon as I can. Check it out if you’re a daring cinephile.
© Jason Haskins and Tanner McCullough, 2011
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