2013 List Part 4: 94. Bullet to the Head (4/10) While its always nice to see Sylvester Stallone playing an action hero, except for a couple of action scenes, there wasnt much to this movie besides being another generic action movie. 93. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (4/10) This was originally set to be released on June 29, 2012. But just five weeks before release, it got delayed by a whopping nine months...to add 3-D. While I can understand it being delaying the movie to a later date in order for it to do better at the box office (it would lose traction with The Amazing Spider-Man and then run into the ground by The Dark Knight Rises), they didnt need to delay for so long. I would have only been okay with that move if they hadnt done it on such short notice and if they were doing it to make sure it turned out good. Sadly, that wasnt the case. Like its predecessor, The Rise of Cobra, this was just a cheesy action movie. There was some good action sequences in it (the ninja mountain fight in particular) and Dwayne Johnson does good, but still not that good. There was also plenty of lost potential by killing off Duke, played by Channing Tatum, when the movie had only just started. While the dialogue wasnt that great, there was evidence of comedic chemistry between Dwayne and Tatum. It would have been fun to see them playing off of each other like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover did in the Lethal Weapon franchise. G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was better than its predecessor, but thats not saying much. 92. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (4/10) Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a mixture of both the action and horror genres. While it looks very good with its set designs, practical effects and over-the-top violence, thats pretty much all it really has to offer. With the exception of Famke Janssen as the witch, Muriel, the acting isnt that impressive. Jeremy Renners seems to being doing his action hero routine that he got off of The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy. Gemma Arterton, who I remember as the throwaway Bond girl Strawberry Fields from Quantum of Solace, was just eye candy. This has guilty pleasure written all over it. This might be a good watch if all you want is over-the-top spectacle, but I have The Fifth Element for that. 91. The Counselor (4/10) This was another one of 2013s disappointments. Despite having the talents of director Ridley Scott, Cormac McCarthy and five big name actors (Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt) involved, instead of turning out another masterpiece from Scott, it was more of a bombastic mess. The plot wasnt really that interesting and there were a few scenes that felt rather bizarre (the car scene in particular). However, on the bright side, the movie did look good and Fassbender and Cameron Diaz gave good performances. But, on the whole, this is among Ridley Scotts weakest films. 90. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (4/10) I was disappointed with Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. While it did have some good cheesy fun, it was a poor adaptation of a decent book, especially since Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, was directing. Sea of Monsters was a little worse. It does attempt to redo a few of the mistakes the first made, but its a little too late for that and there were still plenty of inaccuracies from the book (especially towards the end). What I did like was that there were a few fun moments, but their fewer. The only real bright side from this sequels predecessor was Logan Lerman, who gives a good performance as the title character. He was right for the part, but is wasted due to its mediocrity. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has shown that he is quite a capable actor, so I do hope to see him get better roles. Percy Jackson, like many other adaptations coming to theaters today, is a miss opportunity. 89. The Family (5/10) There was plenty of potential in this movie. It had a mostly likeable cast, but the script and story brings this down. While Robert De Niros performance here is better than in The Big Wedding, its just standard. While his 10 reasons for being a good guy was really amusing and I liked when he recounted a certain part of his life after a viewing of GoodFellas (which he ironically starred in and excellent choice to watch for the audience watching it), its not that interesting. Michelle Pfeiffer wasnt too interesting, either. The two teenagers expressed more personality, but their parts were left underdeveloped. Tommy Lee Jones was just there and does little. While this had a its amusing moments, The Family I can do without. 88. Romeo & Juliet (5/10) Another adaptation of the famous play, Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. This is a story that has been done so many times. As an adaptation, its rather weak. On the good side, this had decent performances from Hailee Stanfield as Juliet and Paul Giamatti as Friar Laurence, as well as good production and costume designs. But Douglas Booths Romeo was uninspired, he and his co-star had little chemistry, the other characters werent that interesting and it still used some of that Shakespearean dialogue (which I found really annoying in the stylized 1996 adaptation) even though it was toned down some. This doesnt do anything new with the story. 87. Jobs (5/10) A lot of people like to complain about Ashton Kutcher. Ive always enjoyed him as Michael Kelso on That 70s Show (hes one of my favorite characters on the show). Fans would say that Two and a Half Men went downhill when he replaced Charlie Sheen. While he will never replace Charlie, he was far from being the worst thing about it. While the material didnt help, he at least does try with what he has. The writers and Jon Cryer turning Alan Harper from the voice of reason to a sociopathic leach were what really caused the show to fall from the tree. Among those issues, Kutcher seemed dignified. Anyways, I thought that Ashton Kutcher gave a good performance as Steve Jobs. He doesnt deserve to be nominated for the Razze for Worst Actor. If anything, Liam Hemsworth should have been nominated for his terrible performance in Paranoia. But while Kutcher does well, the movie itself wasnt that good and felt like something that was meant for TV instead of a theater treatment. 86. Closed Circuit (5/10) Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall give decent performances, but there wasnt much in this movie to keep me invested. But its not too bad. 85. To the Wonder (5/10) Terrence Malicks To the Wonder is a step down from The Tree of Life. While it had good performances from Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck was underused. His character didnt have much dialogue and is only seen through the eyes of Marina and Jane, so he lacks any personality of his own. If this had taken the time to examine both sides of the issues between the them, this might have been good. But like The Tree of Life, this was a very well shot film. However, in the history of cinema, the only thing To the Wonder will even be remembered for is that it was the last movie that Roger Ebert reviewed before his death in April 2013. 84. Were the Millers (5/10) This was much better than most comedies come out today, but it was still missing something. There were plenty of funny and amusing moments, but there wasnt too much chemistry between the four cast members. Jennifer Aniston was the best of the lot and she delivers her dialogue with a lot of wit. But the other three dont do as well. This is worth a rental, but thats all I can recommend. Part 5 coming tomorrow.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 05:56:52 +0000
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