Gary Wolcott's "Mr. Movie" column has appeared in the Tri-City Herald since 1992. The Tri-City native now lives in Portland, Ore., and watches about 250 movies each year. This member of Portland's association of movie critics, Far From Hollywood, believes movies are made to be seen on theater screens and should be seen there and not on television screens. Have a question for Mr. Movie? Click on "Add Comment" below. Mr. Movie has joined Twitter. Follow him here.
'The Book of Eli' one of 2 Apocalypse movies this week
By Gary Wolcott, atomictown.com
By Gary Wolcott, atomictown.com
A humorless and all-business Denzel Washington is Eli.
He lives in the U.S. after a great disaster, a super war of some kind caused the ozone to rip open. Everyone in the open and exposed got fried. The survivors stayed inside or underground and werent really all that lucky.
The war wiped out the population, and the chaos that ensued destroyed nations infrastructure. Roads are littered with rusty old cars, big chunks of freeway ramps are missing.
You get the picture.
For the survivors, food and water are scarce. Starvation means cannibalism. Youre never told, but there are hints that much of humanity
hides in hovels while others survive in small towns run by war lords. Everyone is dirty, armed and dangerous.
On a mission from God, Eli carries a special book west. He has been heading that way for 30 years. A stop in a town run by the brutal Carnagie changes Elis destiny. The villain for once nicely underplayed by Gary Oldman has been killing people for years to try to find that book. The book has all the power.
Eli is no pushover and has highly honed killing skills. They impress Carnagie, who wants him to stay. Killing machines are a valuable commodity when you want to conquer whats left of the country.
Then, he learns that Eli has the treasured book.
Menace II Societys the Hughes Brothers (Albert and Allan) bleach all the pigment from their apocalyptic vision. Their production is dry and dusty. Waterless. Colorless. So is the script. And you know its coming. It is just a matter of time. Wait. Wait. Wait. Not too long into the production the words get uttered; words so cliche that they turn a stylish, well-done, well-acted production to commonplace, predictable mush.
The words: In the time before
Gad. Then learning what the time before is comes at you in cliche chunks. By that time, the film is packed with characters as cliche as the dreaded line.
Mr. Movie rating: 3 stars
Rated R for violence, language, mature themes. It opens Friday, Jan. 15 at the Carmike 12 and at the Fairchild Cinemas 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
Anna Faris is the insecure Ally Darling, and relationships never seem to work out for her.
On her way home after just being fired from a job — and just before the pathetic Ally ends up sleeping with the boss that fired her — she reads an article about the number of lovers women have for their entire life.
Families — before you pack up the kids and head to the movies, be warned.
By tradition, horse movies are a family fit. War Horse is not.
I hate to be so blunt. Normally, I say think for yourself, but War Horse is far from family friendly and the warning is appropriate. It’s quite violent. By the time you get to the climax, the warm fuzzy you’re supposed to get at the happy ending, isn’t so warm. Or fuzzy.
'My Week with Marilyn' elevates Michelle Williams' career
As a snapshot of history, My Week with Marilyn is fascinating.
Take that thought another step into good movie territory, and My Week with Marilyn isn’t that great. It’s not bad, but this is not a story that will wow you.
What does grab your attention are the great performances that dot its landscape and will have you leaving the theater jaw agape.
'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' not worth the trip
I think Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a sequel. It’s ill-defined but it appears to be the next step after 2008‘s Journey to the Center of the Earth . The tie is Josh Hutcherson’s character Sean Anderson. He and his dad — done by Brendan Frasier — went to the center of the Earth.
No word in the sequel about what happened to dad.
New to the cast is Dwayne Johnson — AKA the Rock. He’s Sean’s stepfather, Hank. They have no relationship. When Sean gets into trouble with the law, Hank steps in and learns that Alex is a Vernian. Those who think author Jules Verne’s books are more biographical than fiction.
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