Monday, March 28, 2011

A few short movie reviews...

I'll try to keep these vague and spoiler free in case you haven't seen these movies and are considering doing so.

Battle:  Los Angeles.  I'm not the biggest fan of alien movies, but I really enjoyed this one.  Unlike Independence Day, our view of the alien invasion is seen through the perspective of a marine unit as they try to survive long enough to find a way to defeat the invaders.  There are a few things that I really liked about this movie... 1.)  The action is non-stop.  2.)  There is no ridiculous developing romance.  3.)  It made me proud to be an American watching the Marines do what they do.  4.)  The main hero is the old guy.  4.5 stars.

Limitless.  I feel rather indifferent towards this movie.  The main thing it has going for it is its relatively original concept and that it isn't completely predictable.  It kept my attention throughout.  Having said that, to me the mark of a great movie is how often you find yourself thinking about it in the next day or two after having seen it, and this movie just didn't do anything for me.  It isn't bad a movie and it's always good to see Deniro in action, but I highly doubt I'd watch it again on DVD or TV.  3 stars.

Kill the Irishman.  This film is a big deal around here as the events portrayed happened in Cleveland during the 1970's.  Listening to AM radio as much as I do, I had a solid base of knowledge of the Danny Greene story going in.  I was a little disappointed.  Kill the Irishman left me wondering what is so compelling about this story that a movie had to be made about it.  Two cool features are the use of all the old school Italian mobster type actors and the real news clips and headlines from the day.  However, don't expect this one to compare favorably with mob movies from the past.  3.5 stars.

Adjustment Bureau.  This Matt Damon flick deals with the concept of man's free will.  It's crap and I regret seeing it.  1.5 stars.