Summer movie blowout

Here's a quick recap of some summer movies I had the chance to see recently.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - in theaters now -

To complete my recent Guillermo-obsession, I saw the original and now the sequel. I enjoyed both of them a lot. Del Toro has a great visual style, loving the whimsical and fantasy but using it the right way. He also knows this series deserves a sense of humor, and it delivers. I don't know about the bad guys, but the heroes are great.

Wanted - in theaters now -

Another comic book adaptation, but this one is all flash and not much else. I like James McAvoy, and he does well as a loser who finds out he's actually special. This has some crazy action sequences, but it might have the most annoying script I've heard in a while. The dialogue and most of the story is grating, but the action pulls it out just enough for it to be decent.

Mamma Mia! - in theaters now -

N wanted to see this, and I can't argue with a rock musical. If you like ABBA, you'll like it. It's boisterous and fluffy without ever getting too serious.

The X Files: I Want to Believe - in theaters now -

A lot of people have been complaining about this because it's not very groundbreaking. While I do agree that it is mostly just a longer regular episode, I like that. I never thought they were great at continuing story lines; I just went for the freak of the week. This has some juicy developments on Mulder and Scully, but it's mostly just one more story of someone creating weird problems somewhere. Billy Conolly is creepy as a priest with dark secrets and maybe psychic powers. It might be a long episode, but it's a good one, and I was happy to see Duchovny and Anderson back on screen.

Step Brothers - in theaters now -

A great pairing of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly trying to outdo each other in ridiculousness, this doesn't have much structure but is hilarious for the most part. The guys do everything they can to be destructive and immature, although it nearly falls apart in the end. Add in some great cameos, and it's a lot like Apatow's recent hits: great humor, some slow spots, not much story, relationships, and male genitalia.

The New World - 2005 -

I never sat down and watched this long epic throughout, but I'm glad I did. Terrence Malik is a visual master who doesn't mind if he takes too long, because he wants to get a beautiful picture and mood down. Colin Farrell is surprisingly toned down as John Smith, early pioneer, and Christian Bale arrives halfway to keep things interesting. This was shot by Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men), so it's worth it just for the cinematics.

Lars and the Real Girl - 2007 -

As with many offbeat indies, this film has an eccentric main character, who lives in a small town and has a nowhere job... but this time, the protagonist has a real delusional problem: he's in love with a doll. It sounds silly, and it is, but of course the gentle townsfolk don't want to hurt him, so they play along. It's easy to be cynical of this movie, but the acting is good enough that you can believe it. Ryan Gosling, one of the best young actors there is, throws himself into the main role, and damned if he doesn't make you feel for him. Emily Mortimer and Paul Schneider are his family that have to put up with him. This is a sweet tale with some comedy, but it wants more touching and acceptance than all-out laughs. It's hard at times to play along, but the people in the film do, and it creates a nice indie piece.

Fido - 2006 -

Here's another offbeat indie that had a goofy premise: what if there was a big zombie outbreak, but we figured out how to control them and made them slaves? Yeah, it sounds kind of like the ending and bonus material of Shaun of the Dead, but with a satiric take on corporate life and false 50's life.... so I guess it's ripping off Pleasantville as well. But it's got some nice gags and swipes at society.

It begins as a young boy gets his first zombie (Billy Conolly, making quite a career for himself). His parents, the underrated Dylan Baker and a feisty Carrie-Ann Moss, are mixed. The dad doesn't like it, but the mom grows to understand why the boy needs him. They are threatened by new neighbor and big brother honcho Matt Czerny, who is high up at the all-powerful zombie corporation / dystopian force. Throw in a solid Tim Blake Nelson as another nutty neighbor, and this faux-50's but also post-zompocalypse neighborhood is a strange place. When the zombie (affectionately named Fido) eats the neighbor, it creates a panic, and the boy has to save him. It's a nice mix of humor and horror, but not nearly on the same level as SOTD. It's a bit too smarmy for its own good, and although writer/director Andrew Currie is cleverly trying to make a social commentary, it doesn't have the success of other new mixes. But it's a good shot, and a nice early effort for him.

films in brief

Once again, some short reviews of things I saw recently.

Super High Me - 2007 - on DVD now

Doug Benson once made a joke that he should stop smoking weed, then smoke nonstop for 30 days and make a documentary out of it like Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. Well, a couple weed-loving producers decided why not do it? And so ever-stoner Benson quits smoking, sees the results, and then goes all out and compares. In between, he does stand up, chats with pals like Paul Tompkins, Patton Oswalt, all the UCB guys, and the like, and also gives a brief history of medical marijuana and how easy it is to get in California (uhh... reallllly easy.... why didn't anyone tell me this?). This is a funny take on personal docs, but it also has more information than I expected about the fine line between legal weed and not (which has been a controversial topic out here). If you can put up with a million stoner jokes, it's a great doc/expose, funny and interesting.

Sex and Death 101 - 2007 - on DVD now

Speaking of the great Mr. Oswalt, his appearance in this film prompted us to look it up, along with an interesting premise. A man (Simon Baker) finds a list that has every woman he's ever slept with on it, but then it also has many more names, so it appears it can predict the name of every woman he will ever sleep with too. This causes him to freak out and end his engagement, while questioning fate. Meanwhile, Winona Ryder stars as a black widow woman who puts lothario men in comas... and may factor into his life.

For such an interesting premise, this doesn't live up to it, going in many weird directions. I like indie movies that take chances, but this goes way off track too often, trying to mix in romantic satire with R-rated slapstick, serious questions about fate and love, goofy sci-fi, and a host of other things that just don't quite work together.

Iron Man - in theaters now

So much has been said, so I can't add anything. For all the people who doubted Robert Downey Jr. as the lead, he's by far the best (maybe only) reason to watch it. It's a solid comic action movie, with good humor, and one of the best to come out recently.

But I overlooked some of those, like...

Hellboy - 2004

I never paid attention to it when it came out, but my new obsession with Guillermo Del Toro led me to watch this in full. He's the real master of comic books now, mixing in great visuals with fun and humor and not getting full of himself. Now I'm excited for part 2, which is right around the corner.

Gerry - 2002

As part of Gus Van Sant's avant-garde movement this decade, he has been making some minimalist films with non-actors or few actors, very long takes, minimal dialogue, long shots, and open endings. This was the first entry in that strand, but it at least has real name people in it (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck). Basically, two guys named Gerry get lost in the desert. Why did they go? What is the point? Why does one... That's up to you to decide.

Return to Me - 2000

Bonnie Hunt's directorial debut is a romantic comedy without a ton of comedy, but a lot of feeling. David Duchovny stars as a man who loses his wife, and after a long grieving period, meets sparky waitress Minnie Driver, happy to be living with a heart transplant. What they don't know is that her heart came from his wife. Sounds cheesy? It's light and heartfelt, and serious at times, and it works. Hunt puts herself and some other random people to work surrounding these two and pushing them towards each other. One of the better chick flicks, even if it sounds like a too-Hollywood premise.