New movie Tuesday

Alright, let's get a little update here on the state of movies in the Missions. Again, this week wasn't so stellar for new DVD releases. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," the third installment of the franchise and "Orphan," a scary looking horror film with a little girl to play the role of Damien in "The Omen." Last week saw the release of "The Proposal" on DVD and since it was in stock when I got there, I went with that for this week's selection. I know it's a chick flick but I could use some diversity on the site, so we'll see what kind of reaction you all have. I'll try to get a review up tomorrow.

In theaters, Thursday night is your last chance to see "Where the Wild Things Are" at the Polson Showboat and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” at the Ronan Entertainer. “Couples Retreat” will run for another week in Polson. On Friday, the aforementioned two will be replaced by “Paranormal Activity” in Polson and “Michael Jackson: This is it” in Ronan. “Paranormal Activity” has gotten huge buzz since it’s release, and just was released nationwide. It is “Blair Witch Project”-esque in the sense that it is low budget and filmed with one handheld camera. Looks scary and should be a good Halloween movie. I’m sure the MJ movie will do well too. I’ll try to go see them, and “Couples Retreat” and get a review up soon.

With Halloween coming up on Saturday, it seems as good a time as ever to start a “scariest movies of all time” type of discussion. I won’t necessarily rent more movies, but talk about ones I’ve seen. I want to hear your opinions as well. Enjoy the week and go check out some flicks.

"Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen"

It's totally OK to me when movies are just so ridiculous that you only watch for the entertainment part, and not anything else. Yet when you watch "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," every single aspect of it is so absurd that it almost makes it hard to watch. Granted, it did come out in the beginning of the summer and wanted to be this huge box-office blockbuster, and it was. It made a ton of money, and will in DVD sales too I'm sure. But it's ridiculous plot, terrible acting and shameless self promotion make it almost unbearable. Oh, and it clocks in at two and a half hours; I could barely keep my eyes open....

The movie picks up where the first left off, this time with the main character Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) about to head off to college. He still has his Autobot Camaro "Bumblebee" and his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), both of whom will not be heading to college with him. But instead of a normal transition to college, Sam finds a piece of AllSpark, a necessary piece that can bring to life transformers, and is sought by the Decepticons (the bad guys). They learn that Sam has the piece, and come after him in hopes of reviving their fallen leader. Sam and Mikaela and the rest of the transformers find themselves in a battle of good vs. evil that takes place all over the world. That's about how deep I'll delve into the extremely convoluted plot.

There are some decently funny lines, and the action is intense, with lots of explosions and fighting between machines and humans. In the theaters, I'm sure it was that much better. But this is a DVD review, and I don't have a high powered home theater system, so the sound and picture wasn't as good for me. The product placement in the movie was also pretty blatant. General Motors, a company I thought could barely stay in business, is all over the place, as is Mountain Dew and other shameless self-promotion. The film is a commercial for itself, which I guess is what you should expect from blockbusters now a days. They also try to really sell Megan Fox as a sex symbol. She is a beautiful girl, and I'm sure all the guys watching the movie appreciate her, but the poses, changing scenes and her "sexy talk" are another cheap scheme to get people to watch the movie on her, not on talent.

4 out of 10 stars

Lots of 'Wild Things'

If ever there was a beloved children's book that seemed impossible to transform into a movie, "Where the Wild Things Are" would probably make that list. It's short, weird and devoid of any major character development. Yet director Spike Jonze does a nice doing just that, mixing the film with live action and CGI characters. It's beautifully shot, the music fits well and there is certainly a lot to like about this film.

Max is a loner, a kid without many friends. He tries to play with some of his older sisters friends in the snow, but when one smashes his snow igloo and leaves, Max is upset. He goes into his sisters room, breaking things and leaving snow all over the floor. Max clearly has emotional issues, possibly because of his lack of friends, attentive siblings and a father.

When he acts out one night, standing on the dining room table and then biting his mother while her boyfriend is over, Max runs out the door, heading to what seems to be his secret place somewhere in the neighborhood. In the dark, the scene changes from a park to the edge of an ocean. Max finds a boat and sails off, ending up days later on the island 'where the wild things are.' Max befriends them and becomes their king, like in the storybook. He and the wild things endure happiness and sadness, overcome bickering and the like before Max decides the time has come for him to sail home.

It's hard to give anything away about this movie because it is so simple and pure. It's not overly complicated on its face, but the issues and personalities it contains are complex. Max is an eccentric kid, and on the island faces fairly adult issues. This movie is based on a childrens book, but I wouldn't take a kid to see it. I think it's aimed for an older audience, despite its PG rating, a kid for a main character and like I said, being based on a childrens book.

While at times it is a happy film, it's also dark in a way. The themes and issues are tough for a kid Max's age to understand, but in a way, his trip to the island may have relieved some of his personal issues. Jonze takes this simplistic, short book and turns it into a beautiful but complex film.

I do recommend the movie, but I got a little bored at times. Some parts just aren't that interesting, and at times I found it hard to stay focused. I mean, it shifts from sadness and things like that to horseplay and roughhousing. It's kind of weird watching this kid play around with these giant monsters like that, and not that enthralling.

7 out of 10 stars

"Year One"

I think "Year One" thought it was made by Mel Brooks or was a Monty Python movie of sorts. But it's not, and that may have been part of its problem. It mocks conventional norms, yet still finds itself drawn to following those norms. It has funny moments for sure, but for it's stockpile of comedic talents in the cast, it falls short of expectations.

The movie follows the trials and tribulations of Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera), Zed a hunter and Oh a gatherer in a small tribe. The two are kicked out of the tribe after Zed eats an apple from the Forbidden Tree. And thus the Biblical stories begin.

The movie is supposed to be funny because the characters speak like we would today, using slang and sayings that you would only know now. And it is funny for the most part, but they take the jokes too far, eventually boring people the same joke over and over. For instance, when Cain (David Cross) kills Abel (Paul Rudd), which our duo witnesses, he hits him on the head with a rock. Thinking he's dead already, the scene continues, but Abel rises and is again hit on the head by Cain. And again. And again. And so on. That isn't funny after the fourth time, and is the sort of hunor in many of the scenes. Like I said, the cast is stocked, and full of really good, funny actors, but something about it just didn't click with me.

"Year One" is rated PG-13 for sexual content, profanity and pott humour. I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

"Sunshine Cleaning"

When I told my sister I had rented "Sunshine Cleaning," she asked me if it's a girl movie, meaning she thought it was. "Well," I said, "it has girls IN it." After watching it, it is kind of a girl movie, but not the worst of its kind that I have seen before.

The film stars Amy Adams as Rose, a single mother raising a 10 year old son who can't hold a steady, well paying job. After a tip from her police officer lover Mac (Steve Zahn), she decides to recruit her slacker sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to start a company that cleans up crime scenes.

I'd always just kind of assumed the cops took care of the blood and gore at scenes of death, not some subcontractor, so whether this movie meant to or not, it made me think about that. It is about Rose's life, and how she struggles with her son, father, love life and job, so yeah, it is sort of a girl movie. I didn't dislike it either, it's just not the type of movie I usually watch. And my sister and I both agreed it did drag on a little long.

6 out of 10 stars

New movie Tuesday

There was a pretty sparse selection of new DVDs this week, so I went with "Year One" starring Jack Black and Michael Cera. I'll watch it tonight and try to have a review tomorrow. I watched two older DVDs, "Sunshine Cleaning" and "I Love You, Man", both I which I'll try to review sometime this week.

At the Polson Showboat, "Julie and Julia" is still showing until Thursday; on Friday it will be replaced by "Fame." The second screen is showing "Whiteout," which will stay for another week. Ronan is showing "The Perfect Getaway" right now, which will be replaced by "Gamer" on Friday. I'm hoping to see "The Perfect Getaway" before it leaves, and I'll try for "Gamer" and "Whiteout" too. We'll see about "Fame".....