REDBOX RENTAL REVIEW OF THE WEEK: THE CRAZIES

In a genre that has become chalk-full of laughably bad, second-rate, worthless, generic films, finding a quality horror movie is extremely difficult to come by. In fact, even finding a simple, run-of-the-mill, average horror film is becoming just as equally hard to find; but if you've got a dollar to your name, a Redbox location nearby, and an itch for the ordinary, then I've got just the mediocre horror movie for you.
The Crazies is a remake of the 1973 film of the same name about a small farm town in Iowa trapped between the outbreak of homicidal lunacy and military madness. The film doesn't seem consciously set out to buck the common themes and trends of typical horror movies, but it doesn't necessarily subscribe to them either. The film wisely opens with one of the most haunting and enthralling scenes in the entire movie. As a sign of things to come, a "Crazy" interrupts a children's little league baseball game by wandering into the outfield armed with a rifle. Things progressively get worse as the outbreak continues. The plot is as simplistic and basic as you will find, even for horror movie standards, but it is executed in a way that still manages to keep you entertained.
Timothy Olyphant (HBO's Deadwood, Live Free or Die Hard) plays Sheriff David Dutton, a man shouldering the large burden of protecting his town, family, and friends, all while trying to solve and make sense of the recent pandemonium. With only his wife and deputy Russell as allies, they do all they can to survive the chase as they set out to find refuge in a not-so-nearby major city. The action is often and though the movie does stoop to using a few "cheap scares," it is by no means overloaded. As is the case with most horror films, the "F word" is forced into the dialogue every couple of scenes to the point of overkill, and the film could have benefited from more character development and backstories.
Overall you get what you pay for with The Crazies: it's an average, well shot, low budget, mindless, horror film. C-

The Crazies is rated R for blood, violence, and language.

REDBOX RENTAL REVIEW OF THE WEEK: SHUTTER ISLAND

Since I procrastinated too long to see Shutter Island in theaters, I have been looking forward for its release to Redbox. So fortunately for me this last week was the week.
Let me start by saying this is not your typical Scorsese film. If you are looking to see your usual Marty Sccorsese-type film i.e. The Depated, Gangs of New York, Casino or Goodfellas you've come to the wrong place. Shutter Island is primarily a dialogue driven mystery-thriller that has a dark, rich feel to it. As he has four separate times in the past eight years, Scorsese enlists possible real life boyfriend Leonardo Dicaprio as the film's central role. Like him or not, Dicaprio always gives an outstanding performance and the same can be said here. We even get to suffer through the reappearance of his Boston accent in his role as Teddy Daniels. A U.S Marshall investigating the suspicious activity, including a missing patient report, at a mental facility on Shutter Island. As long as we are throwing around the term "outstanding performance," the same can almost always be said, as well, for routinely underrated actor Mark Ruffalo. He isn't asked to carry much of the film's weight here, yet he manages to do solid, believable work as Teddy Daniel's (Dicaprio) new partner and fellow U.S. Marshall, Chuck Aule.
From opening scene to closing scene you feel as if you have been put in a bag and violently shaken, left entirely without your bearings and without a clue as to which way is up. It is best to sit back and relax and let things play out in front of you and save yourself the exhaustion of trying to actively "solve" the film; just when you think that you have made sense of things and finally have a grasp on the conundrum, the bag shakes again. With one of the best supporting casts in recent memory, Michele Williams, John Carroll Lynch, Jackie Earle Haley, Patricia Clarkson, and Ben Kingsly are sprinkled in when needed and are used more as tools to help move the film. When it's all said and done you can't help but to think that such a strong supporting cast goes largely underused and the film could have benefited with more screen time. There is plenty of disturbing and violent material in this film, but despite the constant jumble and shifting, the cinematography and tone of the film is unpredictably soft, calming, and beautiful. With a running time of 138 minutes it feels a little long, and probably could have benefited from having 20 minutes come off in the editing room.
There is sure to be many better movies released in 2010, but I have no problem saying Shutter Island is the best film released so far this year. Martin Scorsese proves he is still one of the best directors in the business and would undoubtedly benefit by taking on more projects like this in the future. Without seeing his name attached to this film you would never believe he is at the helm.
Paying only $1 to see this film just seems wrong, it is easily worth the time and effort it takes to drive to your nearest Redbox location and rent this DVD. A-

REDBOX REVIEW OF THE WEEK: NOT A "BIG FAN"

Big Fan is a film about sports fanatics that take fanaticism to a whole other level. We all know plenty of sports fans in our families or inner circles that take themselves and "their teams" way too seriously whether they admit it or not. I'm probably even more guilty than I'd like to believe in this area, though I can thankfully say I am no Paul Aufiero (Patton Oswalt). Paul is the type of die hard sports fan that wives fear their husbands will become and that some of those same husbands wish they could be but just don't have the courage, commitment, and lack of brainpower and judgement it takes to go all the way. He lives and breathes his favorite NFL team, the New York Giants. Everything else in life takes a backseat and can only come secondary. It quickly becomes clear that he cares about his team more than the team's well paid professional players ever possibly could.
All that Paul lacks in maturity and ambition in life he more than makes up for in enthusiasm for his team. This imbalanced character works as a parking lot attendant with enough downtime on the job for him to write lines of dialogue to recite for his "15 minutes of fame" as "Paul from Staten Island" on his favorite national late night call-in sports radio station. For better or worse, this is his life and he seems to be completely content with it. The problem is that #1 fan lives in a tiny bedroom plastered with NY Giants paraphernalia in his poor mother's house. She, on the other hand, would much rather see him married to a woman which is in direct conflict with her son's current marriage to his sports team. You can't help but feel for his mother and other family members as they understandably feel like he is wasting his life and do their best to try and fix him.
In an ironic twist of fate, Paul follows his favorite star player Quantrell Bishop to a "gentlemen's club" were a simple misunderstanding turns into the beating of a lifetime for Paul. The film takes an interesting turn as Paul is released from the hospital and is put to the ultimate test as a fan. With more loyalty than sense, he is pulled from all angles and forced to make the decision to either protect himself or protect his team.
Comedian Patton Oswalt is so convincing and enjoyable in this role that you would swear he was basing his performance off of personal experience. The film suffers from an underdeveloped supporting cast, but ultimately succeeds as a well crafted darker comedy showing, to the extreme, the darker side of sports. Written and directed by Robert D. Siegel, ("The Wrestler"), Big Fan manages to avoid the temptation of taking itself too seriously, yet it doesn't allow its centerpiece to be a punch-line either.
You could really go either way on this. There is enough here to make it worth your $1, but there are other movies more worth your time. C+

REDBOX REVIEW OF THE WEEK: THE MESSENGER

As of last week you can stop by your Redbox of choice and rent "The Messenger". I did just that. Let me start out by applauding the way this film was shot by first time director Oren Moverman who also co-wrote the film. He uses long, continuous, uncomfortable takes and lets the actors act, something that is rarely seen even in independent films.
Ben Foster plays a soldier recently returned from the Middle East and assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification Service, aka the delightful, nerve racking job of having to be on call 24/7 with the assignment of knocking on the doors of deceased soldiers to notify relatives with the pleasant news that their family member has been killed. For all of us that think we have the worst job in the world, see this movie. Their job makes a job in the custodial arts or customer service seem relaxing and relatively stress free. Caught between being left by his ex girlfriend who won't seem to stay gone and disobeying protocol by getting involved with with the widow or NOK (next of kin) shortly after informing her of her husband's death.
Doesn't sound like a lighthearted, uplifting, feel good movie? Its not, and thankfully it doesn't try to be.
For as impressive as he was in "3:10 To Yuma" Foster misses the mark here. In a role calling for a hardened soldier with a sensitive side wanting to reach out he instead manages to just come of way more creepy than caring and more intimidating than sympathetic. This role would have been more fitting for an actor like Ryan Gosling, Mark Ruffalo, or Casey Affleck.
On the other hand, Woody Harrelson has come on strong the last few years and he is as good as he has ever been in this movie. He completely steals the show in his Oscar nominated role as Captain Tony Stone. He is bizarrely likable playing a very complex and unlikable character... Maybe he and Foster should have switched roles. With that being said, some of the finest acted scenes of the year are shared between the two actors in key moments that anchor the film.
This film has so much going for it with a great supporting cast including Samantha Morton and even smaller roles by Steve Buscemi and Jena Malone. What this film lacks in likable characters it almost makes up for in the believability of the acting; at times you feel as if you are watching a documentary. Unfortunately it only ends up as a film that "could have been." This should have been an Oscar contender, but too much rides on Foster who only half delivers. I would normally say this is still a movie you should definitely see, but a few scenes of tasteless nudity that seem to be in the film just for the sake of nudity alone, add nothing to the film. The few moments of incredible acting are worth your dollar, just have the remote handy. B

"The Messenger" is rated R for language, nudity, sexual contact, implied violence and brief drug references.



What to watch instead: The Karate Kid (1984) A+
Giving this movie an A+ feels like an insult. I know like me you already own this time honored classic on VHS & DVD but, it was also released today at Redbox. I think they should be charging close to $10 a day to rent a film of this caliber. Do they not realize that The Karate Kid makes up 1/3 of the Holy Trinity of 80's films?!

REDBOX RENTAL REVIEW OF THE WEEK: THE INFORMANT! & BROTHERS

Have you stayed awake at night hankering to see Matt Damon operate as an overweight, thick mustached, balding corporate exec during the early 90's? Well hanker no more. The Informant! is a slow paced, quick-witted, off beat dramedy based on the true story of Mark Whitacre, president of the bio products division at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), turned FBI informant. Just imagine, if you can, a gainfully employed, more endearing George Costanza. This, my friends, is Mark Whitacre. A lovable loser played to perfection by Matt Damon.
I cannot say enough about Damon's performance in this film. He should have been nominated for his role in this film in addition to his role in the underwhelming Invictus which he was alternately nominated for. From opening scene to closing credits he puts the film squarely on his back and at times solely carries the load. I dare you to try to name one film that he has been in that was a disappointment. What's that you say? All The Pretty Horses and Stuck On You.. Okay, okay but, for the most part he has a near spotless track record.
Steven Soderbergh returns to form, directing his best work since Traffic and Oceans Eleven. Scott Bakula, (Quantum Leap anyone?), and host of E! channel's The Soup, Joel Mchale, do a fantastic job in their surprisingly dry and serious supporting roles as FBI agents assisting Whitacre.
My only complaint is the R-rating could have easily been avoided and the films slow pacing put my wife to sleep once in the theatre and twice while watching at home. Overall, this film is near flawless in what it set out to be: a dialogue driven, talky, drama with undertones of an intelligent comedy. This is without question the most underrated film of 2009. This film should be viewed with the focus on what it is rather than what it isn't. Rent this movie before you rent anything else. A-





Do you have a spare dollar? Good. Now go directly to your nearest Redbox location and waste it on the film Brothers. They should call this film, "Brothers: A Tobey Maguire Film." Actually, there should be a federal law passed that requires all film studios to include this advisory after the title of any movie featuring Tobey Maguire. He is one of the best anchors in the business; and not in a good way. He is the one friend you had in high school that could single handedly buzz kill the life of the best party. He dumps buckets of ice water down the front of the pants of any movie he is in.
Even knowing Cider House Maguire was in this film, I was still optimistic that Brothers could be a great drama for a few reasons. It stars top-notch Oscar nominated actors, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Also, it is directed by Jim Sheridan, the same guy that directed the heart warming movie, In America. Even routinely accurate film critic Richard Roeper deemed this, "The best movie of the year". I made the mistake of thinking that all these factors could some how off set the Tobey Maguire factor. I was wrong. The dead weight of the movie industry has struck again.
To be completley fair, the movie is still watchable even despite Seabiscuit Maguire. It is centered around the all-too-common problem of individuals in the military having to leave their families to serve overseas. Apparently, some film exec thought it would be a good idea to cast the very nonathletic and baby faced Maguire as a former star high school quarterback turned Marine Captain. They also thought it would make sense to have said Captain the father of two preteen children. During a tour in Afghanistan he goes missing in action and is presumed dead.
His prickly dead beat brother, (Jake Gyllenhaal), steps in to help take care of his deceased brother's grieving wife, (Natalie Portman), and daughters. This portion of the film is worth your $1. Both actors are excellent and very believable. They manage to keep the serious tone soft yet enjoyably unsettling in a film that could have easily turned dark and depressing. Gyllenhaal is always impressive whether it be as a gay mustached ranch hand or as a troubled teen named Donnie. He is no exception here playing the prodigal son/ brother struggling to find his way in a delicate new role as a fill-in-father.
All the components of a good drama start to fall into place, there is only one problem. You guessed it. Spiderman Maguire doesn't stay dead. Not only is he alive, but he manages to hijack the rest of the movie ironically ending any chance of the film living up to its potential by putting a bullet right in the back of its head with a few scenes of stiff overacting. I would say more but I've given away too much already. C+

What to watch instead: Step Brothers (2008) A