Many Many Movies to Review

It's been a while since I've reviewed movies, so this will be a long one with a record number of movies...for this blog anyway.  I still can't compete with Nuke's blog for movie reviews, though I'll try to put more behind my reviews than Nuke does (see how I complimented Nuke and picked on him in the same sentence):

"The King's Speech":  Amanda had watched this one a while ago in the theater and she loved it.  Netflix kept recommending it for me, so despite my usual tendency to not watch Oscar Winners, I decided to give "The King's Speech" a try.

I really enjoyed this movie.  I give it 4.5 stars.  It was funny, clever, heart warming and moving all in one.  This is the story of King George VI, who struggles with a speech impediment...or as he put it in the movie, "I bloody stammer!".  After not having success with any doctor, George's wife introduces him to Lionel Logue, who helps the King and forms a life long friendship. 

Colin Firth is fantastic as King George VI.  I can see why he won best actor for this role.  Helena Bonham Carter plays Queen Elizabeth (George's wife), and she does wonderfully.  It was so weird to see her play a "normal" character.  Finally, Geoffrey Rush portray Lionel Logue.  Rush is such a great actor.  I'm very glad I decided to see this movie.

"Defiance":  Why is it that Daniel Craig is so good in everything, except James Bond movies?  I haven't found a Daniel Craig movie I don't like, yet I think he's completely ruining James Bond. 

Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski, one of 4 Jewish brothers who escape the Nazis in Belarus during World War II, and survive in the forests of Russia for the duration of the war.  "Defiance" tells the story of how Bielski eventually saved over 1200 Jews, forming a community in the forest, while being constantly on the run from the Nazis.

This was another really good movie...another 4 stars.  Daniel Craig is excellent as the tough, yet compassionate Tuvia Bielski.  I found the story compelling, and decided to read a little more.  From what I've read, the movie is fairly accurate, though somewhat dramatized.  If you are a fan of World War II history, "Defiance" should be on your list.

"Planet Hulk":  Based on how much I enjoyed "Avengers" as well as the fact that I've enjoyed many of the DC Comics full length cartoons, Netflix has been recommending a set of Marvel cartoons for quite a while.  With the family gone, I decided to give these a shot over instant watch. 

"Planet Hulk" was the first movie I watched.  It was ok...3 stars.  The premise is interesting.  The heroes of earth, tired of the Hulk's constant raging, banish him to a far away planet.  But the Hulk gets angry and throws a fit causing the ship to go off course.  Hulk ends up on a planet ruled by an evil dictator, and through a series of Gladiator like battles earns the respect of the people of the planet.  Hulk then participates in/leads a revolt against this evil leader.

Not a bad movie, but not on par with the movies that DC comics has been putting out.  It may just be due to the fact that the brooding Hulk annoys me a bit.

"Ultimate Avengers:  The Movie":  This was the worst of the movies I saw.  There's just too much going on in the Avengers to pack it into 81 minutes.  Plus, the Hulk was able to lift Thor's hammer...that's just not accurate and really annoyed me. 

This movie is mostly a story about Bruce Banner and Captain America.  Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man and Wasp play supporting roles.  While I really enjoy Captain America, the version of the Hulk in this movie is not likable at all, and really saps the entire movie.

I'd give this one 2 stars and suggest not watching it.

"Doctor Strange":  I think "Doctor Strange" was the most well done of the 3 full length cartoons I watched.  Perhaps because he's a more obscure Marvel character, we got a lot more plot development in this movie than the other two. 

Doctor Strange is actually a medical doctor, until an accident ruins his hands.  After hitting rock bottom, he meets a mysterious man who tells him he can heal him if he comes to Tibet.  Why do you always have to go to Tibet?  Anyway, Strange makes his way to Tibet and discovers his power as a magician, and begins to use those powers to save humanity from the forces of darkness.

As I said above, this movie was really well done.  I actually rated it 4 stars, and think it's on par with anything DC Comics is putting out there.

"Hoosiers":  I've seen this movie before, but I've never reviewed it.  I decided to watch it on Tuesday night, as I was off on the 4th of July.  It had been years since I'd watched "Hoosiers" all the way through, and I'm so glad I decided to watch it again.

For those who don't know, "Hoosiers" tells the story of the fictional Hickory High School basketball team.  Hickory is one of the smallest schools in the state of Indiana.  When Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) comes to town to coach the team, he initially turns off the townspeople with his style of coaching, and his attitude.  But through the movie, Dale turns the team and the town around, eventually leading the team to the Indiana High School basketball championship  This story is loosely based on the 1954 Milan High School team that won the title against the big schools

To me, "Hoosiers" is Gene Hackman's defining performance.  He's perfect as Norman Dale.  The rest of the cast compliments Hackman well, including Dennis Hopper who nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.  This movie has everything you could want in a sports movie.  Easily 5 stars and definitely worth watching over and over again.

"Gettysburg":  Rarely is a movie worth over 4 hours of my time, so when I got this one from Netflix a while back, I ended up sending it back without watching it because I just didn't have 4 hours.  I borrowed it from Nuke a few weeks later as he agreed that I didn't need to return it right away.  I told him it would probably be Christmas break before I got to watching it.

Well, with the family away, I spent the evening of the 4th of July watching this Civil War classic.  "Gettysburg" tells the story of the most famous battle of the Civil War from the perspective of several of the participants.  Most notably, Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels), General Buford (Sam Elliot), General Longstreet (Tom Berenger) and General Armistead (Richard Jordan).  General Robert E. Lee (Martin Scheen) also plays a prominent role.

This is a fantastic, epic movie.  I learned a lot about this famous battle by watching this movie.  The story jumps around to each of these characters, but not in a bad way.  You really see the struggle that Armistead feels, going up against one of his best friends.  To me, the story surrounding Chamberlain was the most compelling, as I was not aware of his contributions to the Union victory...darn public schools! 

"Gettysburg" is a 4.5 star movie and definitely worth 4 hours and 14 minutes of your time.

"Real Steel":  Hopefully you are still with me.  This is the last movie I have to review.  I had heard "Real Steel" was a chick flick, dressed up as a robot boxing movie to attract male viewers.  That's not quite an accurate description, but close.  Think "Rocky" but with robots instead of real boxers.  Throw in a tenuous father/son relationship and you have a good idea of what "Real Steel" is all about.

It's the year 2027, and Robot boxing has replaced human boxing and become one of the biggest sports going.  Hugh Jackman is Charlie Kenton, a down on his luck former boxer, trying to make his way in the robot boxing gig.  Early in the movie, he finds out that the child he fathered (Max) 11 years ago is now in need of him after the death of his mother.  Kenton plans to sign custody rights over to Max's aunt, but swings a deal to take Max for the summer.  After Max finds an old fighting robot and begins to restore/reprogram him, Charlie and Max's relationship takes off.  With Charlie to teach the robot how to fight, they begin to win some bouts and catch the attention of the world champion's team, leading to a turning point in the father/son relationship and a bout with the undefeated world champion.

This was a really good movie...again think "Rocky".  If you don't get a little choked up at the end, you have no heart.  I liked "Real Steel" a lot and give it 4 stars.  Jackman continues to impress as an actor, and the kid that plays Max (Dakota Goyo) is actually a good actor, which is rare for so many child actors.