GET LOW (Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto Canada 2009)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.7|5.0 Starsììì

Get Low—partially based on a true story about Felix Bush—turns into one of the best stories of the year. However, it seems as if the director and the all-star cast took the story for granted and just had fun with it instead of getting down to the serious business of directing and acting it. This same phenomena can be seen in Expendables 2—a cast having fun rather than delivering a serious product.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) has lived for years as a hermit in the woods of Tennessee. He decides to have his funeral early, in the form of a large party, to give local residents their opportunity to tell their stories that they have developed about him through the years. To encourage a large turnout, he sells lottery tickets that will allow one lucky townsperson to own his property after he dies. At the funeral party, he reveals the startling events that led to his choice to live apart from society during his adult life.

Additional Thanks

Director Aaron Schneider and thank you to Executive Producers Daniel Baur, Rob Carliner, Beth W. Crookham, Blerim Desanti, Don Mandrik, Konrad Wojterkowski, Harrison Zanuck, Alain Midzic, C. Gaby Mitchell, Brad Park, Brandie Park, Chris Provenzano, Joey Rappa, Oliver Simon, Scott Fischer, Dariusz Gasiorowski, David Ginsberg, and Robert Duvall for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), Buddy (Lucas Black), Reverend Gus Horton (Gerald McRaney), Reverend Charles Jackson (Bill Cobbs), Carl (Scott Cooper), Kathryn (Lori Beth Sikes), WKNG Announcer (Linds Edwards), and Bonnie (Andrea Powell).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. If you want to see an all-star cast perform a great script below their capabilities, go for it.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

OCTOBER SKY (Theatrical Release USA 1999)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.5|5.0 Starsìììì

October Sky—worth your money to see—becomes a classic with Jake Gyllenhaal cast as real-life, Homer Hickam.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Homer Hickam sees Sputnik I cross the night sky and becomes inspired to find a way out of the coal town where his father, John Hickam (Chris Cooper), supervises a coal mine. Homer Hickam, with some help of school friends, begins building small rockets in the hope they can develop a rocket that will launch and continue flight in a straight line. But, the boys are accused of starting a forest fire with one of their launches and their dreams appear to be hopelessly lost due to a series of unfortunate events that follow.

Additional Thanks

Great Work for Director Joe Johnston. Thanks to Executive Producer Peter Cramer and Marc Sternberg for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Miss Riley (Laura Dern), Quentin (Chris Owen), Roy Lee (William Lee Scott), O’Dell (Chad Lindberg), Elsie Hickam (Natalie Canerday), Jim Hickam (Scott Thomas), Leon Bolden (Randy Stripling), and Principal Turner (Chris Ellis).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. Based on an inspiring true story, the film reaffirms the fact that dreams are achievable for those who persist.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

LETHAL WEAPON (Theatrical Release USA 1987)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì

Lethal Weapon—classic Mel Gibson—is one of the best police action films produced for awhile. The movie soars in likability factor due to the superb casting choice of teaming Danny Glover with Mel Gibson. Some unnecessary nudity, but generally clean. Some humor accompanied with good action scenes.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), an homicide policeman, becomes paired with Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), an aggressive narcotics officer, to investigate a possible homicide which involves the daughter of Roger Murtaugh’s Vietnam buddy, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins). The police team discover that Michael Hunsaker is involved in drug trade and the action begins as Murtaugh and Riggs round up bad guys the old-fashioned way.

Additional Thanks

Great Work for Director and Producer Richard Donner. Thank you to Producer Joel Silver for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Joshua (Gary Busey), The General (Mitchell Ryan), Trish Murtaugh (Darlene Love), Rianne Murtaugh (Traci Wolfe), Nick Murtaugh (Damon Hines), Carrie Murtaugh (Ebonie Smith), and Beat Cop (Bill Kalmenson).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s better than Dirty Harry and displays Mel Gibson’s talent almost at the level of his Mad Max films.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (Theatrical Release USA 2004)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.2|5.0 Starsììì

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed—good animation—does not improve on the previous live-action Scooby-Doo film. New cast members include Seth Green, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Blake Nelson, and Peter Boyle.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

The Scooby-Doo team finds itself confronted with the appearance of an enemy at the inauguration ceremony of a criminology museum that honors the team’s ability to solve difficult mysteries. This enemy steals the museum’s collection of criminal costumes to bring to life real monsters.

Additional Thanks

Good Work for Director Raja Gosnell. Thank you to Executive Producers Joseph Barbera, Brent O’Connor, and Kelley Smith-Wait for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Fred (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Patrick Wiseley (Seth Green), Old Man Wickles (Peter Boyle), Jacobo (Tim Blake Nelson), Heather (Alicia Silverstone), and Scooby Doo (voice of Neil Fanning).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. The film works for a bona-fide Scooby-Doo audience.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

HERCULES (Theatrical Release USA 2014)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.4|5.0 Starsììì

Hercules—beefy script with no real support—is a C-grade movie from beginning to end. The film entertains little better than The Legend of Hercules and fails on nearly every level to pull off a cohesive, well-told story. Dwayne Johnson has due respect for brawn, but is just too nice to pull the tough guy role required for this film. There is one surprising scene where Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) turns a horse over on its back while it is being ridden by Rheses (Tobias Santelmann) that presents some freshness to the movie’s action; but other than that, it’s a been there, seen that action film.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Hercules teams with a ragtag band of mercenary warriors. They are hired by Lord Cotys (John Hurt), but find that they are enabling an unscrupulous ruler rather than helping a good cause. The warriors change sides and enable the rightful king his opportunity to rule.

Additional Thanks

Good work for Director and Producer Brett Ratner. Thank you to Executive Producers Sarah Aubrey, Peter Berg, Jesse Berger, and Ross Fanger for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Amphiaraus (Ian McShane), Tydeus (Aksel Hennie), Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), Iolaus (Reece Ritchie), and King Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. Dwayne Johnson’s fans will appreciate the film despite its obvious flaws.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

GRAVITY (Theatrical Release USA 2013)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.5|5.0 Starsìììì

Gravity—terrific cinematography with phenomenal viewing depth—plays its entire story with basically one character, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock). There is one especially terrific scene when Dr. Ryan Stone opens the hatch of the space ship that can be appreciated due to its outstanding realism. The storyline is a bit thin, but somehow Director Afonso Cuarón takes that and makes an interesting film. The film dives a bit into the supernatural as character Ryan Stone receives beyond ‘normal’ help to preserve her life. Gravity is a decent film, family friendly.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a bio-medical engineer working on Hubble Space Telescope repairs, gets caught in a space debris storm. Houston orders her and co-worker, Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), to abort work and seek safety. Eventually, Dr. Ryan Stone is the sole survivor and has to find a way back to Earth.

Additional Thanks

Great Work for Director and Producer Alfonso Cuarón. Thank you to Executive Producers Christopher DeFaria, Nikki Penny, and Stephen Jones for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Mission Control (voice of Ed Harris), Aningaaq (voice of Orto Ignatiussen), Shariff (voice of Phaldut Sharma), Explorer Captain (voice of Amy Warren), and Russian Space Station Captain (voice of Basher Savage).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. The special effects are phenomenal; the widescape views are endless.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

SMALL SOLDIERS (Theatrical Release USA 1998)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.3|5.0 Starsììì

Small Soldiers—some great animation graphics—falls short of its concept. The script didn’t grasp the full potential available for the idea.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Gil Mars (Denis Leary) of GloboTech Industries desires to make toy action figures that have robotic movement capabilities. Toy engineers, Irwin Wayfair (David Cross) and Larry Benson (Jay Mohr) use GloboTech Industries’ secret government defense technology to create small soldiers who not only have robotic movement capabilities, but also have thinking ability. An initial shipment of these toys is sent to a toy store belonging to the Abernathy family. The store owner’s son, Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith), and the delivery truck driver, Joe (Dick Miller), activate one of the ‘bad’ soldiers, Chip Hazard (voice of Tommy Lee Jones), and one of the ‘good’ soldiers, Archer (voice of Frank Langella). Alan Abernathy’s girl friend, Christy Fimple (Kirsten Dunst), buys the ‘bad’ soldier as a present for her brother. When the store owner’s son takes one of the ‘good’ soldiers home, he finds that the soldier ‘thinks’. Meanwhile, the ‘bad’ soldiers activate in the toy store. When the store owner’s son complains to the toy company, one of the toy engineers finds that the toys have smart guidance systems that can be activated over time. Saving the day rests on the shoulders of the Abernathy and Fimple households as well as the toys’ engineers. 

                                                                                                        

Additional Thanks

Good Work for Director Joe Dante. Thank you to Executive Producer Walter F. Parkes for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Stuart Abernathy (Kevin Dunn), Irene Abernathy (Ann Magnuson), Marion Fimple (Wendy Schaal), Phil Fimple (Phil Hartman), Ms. Kegel (Alexandra Wilson), and Timmy Fimple (Jacob Smith).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. This animation/live action movie has an interesting twist with the introduction of warring soldiers into the animation formatting which makes the movie rather unique for an animated format. A better watch within a war theme for younger audiences is Last Action Hero.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers