Welcome to Movie Reviews by Wes blog

Hello and welcome to Movie Reviews by Wes blog

Thank you for checking out my movie review blog. I have a passion for movies and movie-going and this blog is for reviews of first-run films in the theater.

I also have a more "general life" blog at http://movieopinionsfromwes.blogspot.com/, so check out that blog as well. I also write reviews for a couple of other websites: Pop Syndicate and the Neighbors Go blog of the Dallas Morning News.

Don't hesitate to let me know what your opinions are as well, I would enjoy hearing from you and if you see me at a movie, please say hello. Thank you again and enjoy the reviews!

See you at the movies,
Wes Singleton

Member
North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA)

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Did You Hear About the Morgans? - D

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence, 103 minutes

Yes we saw "About the Morgans" and it's not good

It's always a tricky thing to have your movie title end with a question. If it's not very good, be prepared for critics like me to make fun of it because it's so bad. And that's the case with the awful new Hugh Grant-Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" With the bad word-of-mouth it's generating, people are likely to stay away in droves to see the far more exciting "Avatar" this weekend. Grant and Parker should leave "Morgans" off their film resumes in the same way Sandra Bullock should forget about "All About Steve," that hideous comedy sandwiched between her big hits this year.

The set up for "Morgans" is an easy one and played in all the trailers for the film, which show the best parts of the film. Grant and Parker play self-absorbed, wealthy New York socialite couple Paul and Meryl Morgan, who are having marital issues and separated and on an evening out trying to patch things up when they're witness to a murder by a well-known killer (Michael Kelly), who's now out to get them. They're placed in witness protection in Wyoming with sheriff and deputy couple Clay and Emma Wheeler (Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen, definitely slumming it here). They're fish-out-of-water escapades will either bring them closer together or further drive apart the already bickering couple.

"Did You Hear About the Morgans" is a horribly flat, derivative comedy that plays to the most annoying aspects of the two stars: Parker's whining and Grant's mugging for the camera. Grant's facial expressions are easier to tune out than Parker's incessant, nasally complaining, and the mismatched pair have zero chemistry together, making it baffling how these two such selfish people were able to get together in the first place. It's meant to be a star vehicle for the two, but the plot is so familiar, unfunny and pointless that "Morgans" ends up a badly edited, disjointed mess, which is a mild surprise given that director and writer Marc Lawrence has worked with Grant twice before, in "Music and Lyrics" and "Two Weeks Notice," both far better films than this.

If you've seen the trailers for the "Morgans," then you've seen the best 2-3 minutes (or less) the film really has to offer. It wastes a talented supporting cast too, in veteran actors Elliott and Oscar-winner Steenburgen, who come across as far more stable, interesting and humorous (not to mention a smidgen creepy) than Parker or Grant. It doesn't help that the unflattering lighting Lawrence uses only highlights Parker's even more unflattering, mannish features. Also wasted is broadway actor Kelly as the bad guy, who somehow manages to track the two down in a series of contrived, rather stupid coincidences.

They go to the ranch. They attempt to ride horses, do manual labor and encounter a bear. They go to the county fair and run from the bad guy. This type of thing has been hundreds of times before in movies, and most of them better than the "Morgans." Grant usually can save a movie by merely looking befuddled, but he looks more confused and angry than befuddled, which will certainly explain audiences reaction to it after they pay money to see it.

"Did You Hear About the Morgans" comes at a bad time when critics tend to remember bad movies most, and "Morgans" may end up on some end-of-year lists, just not the good ones, and will likely end up as one of Parker and Grant's worst films. Stay away from this one and see "Avatar" instead this weekend.

Avatar - A-

Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking, 162 minutes

Cameron's "Avatar" nothing short of spectacular

I don't give an "A" to many films because I feel it has to earn it. The phenomenal new epic James Cameron film "Avatar" earns that and more. Sure, it's too long and some may not enjoy some of the tree-hugging atmosphere of it, but "Avatar" is a 2-hour and 40 minute fantastical journey to another place, and what a visually stunning experience it is. It's a labor of love that you'll see and feel in every minute of the spectacle, but you'll enjoy this ride immensely.

When his identical twin brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully ("Terminator: Salvation's" Sam Worthington) decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's (Giovanni Ribisi) intentions of driving off the native humanoid people called Na'vi in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland and seemingly using a group of scientists led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), who utilize "avatar" technology i.e. alien bodies, to mingle with the Na'vi and gather some important information.

In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang, perfectly cast), while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with his avatar identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri (voiced by Zoe Saldana), the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

"Avatar" is one of the year's best and most thoroughly enjoyable films, an astonishing visual feast full of life and imagination, with first-rate action and visuals that will keep you interested from beginning to end. A new version and combination of live-action and photo-capture CGI, it's a breathless experience and one that is best experienced in IMAX 3-D, if at all possible.

Cameron has spent the time, effort and loads of money (with a production budget of about $250 million, excluding marketing costs for the film) and it's evident in every shot. There's not a dull moment in "Avatar," even when it's story veers off into saving the planet/tree-huggers unite type of territory. Among the wonderful creatures: a pteranodon-like mountain banshee with adept flying skills that come in handy in during the climax, not to mention the colorful blue feline-like alien creatures that are at the core of the film.

But most of all, "Avatar" is terrific entertainment, and he keeps the action pumping, particularly in its heart-racing final act. It helps that he has a great cast too, with Australian actor Worthington, who already headlined one action-adventure, ironically "Terminator: Salvation," which Cameron himself has roots in with the first of those two films. But it is "Avatar" that he'll be best remembered for, and he grounds the film well, providing both the narration and the true heart of the film. Weaver, who'll always be Ripley in my book, is back as the strong female center for the film, while character actor Lang (seen recently in "The Men Who Stare At Goats") makes for a strong, genuinely fun bad guy.

While the breathless special effects are the real star of "Avatar" (and expect Cameron and his technical team to take home Oscars for the the film), the energetic, popping musical score is provided by Cameron stalwart James Horner, who won awards for Cameron's "Titanic" and should do the same here. First-rate editing and beautiful cinematography only serve to enhance "Avatar's" visuals.

The story lacks a powerful focus and central emotional core and loses a little steam late in the film, but a genuinely rousing climax and fight at the end reels you back into "Avatar" in no time. At 162 minutes, it's too long, but unlike "Titanic," you won't feel it, with enough action and visuals to keep you engaged throughout. It's also a little intense and overlong for the young ones too, though they'll get a kick out of some of the action scenes (however, those canine creatures are a tad scary).

James Cameron has done it again. Add the astonishing, captivating "Avatar" to his impressive resume that already includes "Titanic," the first two "Terminator" films and "Aliens," the best of that series of films. "Avatar" earns its stripes as one of 2009's best films and comes highly recommended.

The Princess and the Frog - B

Rated G, 95 minutes

Old-school Disney "The Princess and the Frog" predictable fun

The fun new Walt Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog" harkens back to the days of pre-"Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E" when 2-D hand-drawn animation was the norm. Disney returns to its roots with a new twist on the classic fairy tale "The Frog Prince" with a young black woman as the title character and a largely African-American cast. On that level, it's groundbreaking, though otherwise it's pretty standard animated kids fluff: loads of colorful talking animals, a love story and a happy ending that'll everyone will find pleasure in. Enjoyable but predictable, "The Princess and Frog" is suitable fun for the whole family.

The Princess and the Frog is a fairy tale finds the lives of arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen (TV actor Bruno Campos) and hardworking New Orleans waitress Tiana (Broadway actress Anika Noni-Rose) crossing paths at the turn of the 20th Century. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician (familiar character actor Keith David) and Tiana, following suit, upon kissing the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley), a Cajun firefly (Jim Cummings), and an old blind lady (Jenifer Lewis) who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams.

Nimble, sharp and funny, "The Princess and the Frog" is pleasant entertainment from the folks at Disney, though certainly not on the level of the Pixar computer-generated animated efforts over the last decade. The movie is well-voiced and technically well-crafted from co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker, the directing and writing team from esteemed Disney efforts "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin" and "Hercules" that rejumped Disney 20 years ago. But the story, very loosely based on the fairy tale "The Frog Prince," is an odd one to remake with a black cast in 2-dimensional form, and doesn't provide any new surprises.

"The Princess and the Frog" still manages to entertain with some vibrant voices and fast-paced plot. Stage actress Noni-Rose is a delight as the title characters, as is largely unknown TV actor Campos as the frog. Character actress Lewis is always good for a few laughs, as is Disney stalwart Cummings as the Firefly. Listen closely for New Orleans native John Goodman as a Tennessee Williams-style Big Daddy character, while Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey each have a couple of lines in what amounts to voice cameos (and in Oprah's case, a drawing card). Many of the talking animals (particularly Cummings' firefly) provide the film's more memorable, funny moments.

While it's nice seeing traditional animation, "The Princess and the Frog" reveals two of Disney animators biggest flaws, which is bland music and cliched characters. Veteran music composer Randy Newman's song are a pleasant afterthought, whie Disney again plays to stereotype in some of its characters (yes, the Louis Armstrong-style alligator is a nice homage to the beloved musician but still doesn't seem fresh), not to mention its overly predictable plot. Will the frogs regain human their human standing and find true love? If you've seen any Disney in the last 20 years, you'll know the answer to that without even seeing the film.

There's nothing wrong with "The Princess and the Frog"" it's a modest, decent animated effort with fair treatment of all its characters, a zippy feel and brightly drawn animation that will certainly appeal to the younger set (plus New Orleans always has tremendous appeal). However, Disney wants you to believe this is groundbreaking stuff, and on the surface that may be true, but a closer look you'll really see that's its nothing new; to be considered genuinely groundbreaking (and in some ways, fair), Pixar should've undertaken this with a stronger, more original story and CG 3-D animation.

I'll wait to see if that happens, and while "The Princess and the Frog" doesn't always work perfectly, kids and families should still enjoy it this holiday season.

Invictus - B+

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, 134 minutes

Stirring "Invictus" a true, old-fashioned story

"Invictus" is an uplifting but old-fashioned factual sports-movie that's more inspiring by the fact that it actually happened. Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, it's a little too earnest for its own good in places, but the inspiring tale is well-acted and a nice change of pace for Eastwood, who normally directs heavy crime-related dramas.

"Invictus" tells how Nelson Mandela (Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team Francois Pienaar (Damon) to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Eastwood's affecting, soul-searching drama "Invictus" attempts to rally the troops and in many succeeds, aided by strong performances from Freeman as Mandela and Damon as the rugby captain who become allies during a crucial time in South Africa's history. Fortunately, Eastwood's direction and the script by Anthony Peckham (who also penned the upcoming version of "Sherlock Holmes"), have a poignancy that keeps the film moving and clear of too much heavy-handedness. The film starts out too slow as it focuses on Mandela's rebuilding of South Africa, and picks up through an engaging last act during the big stadium game.

Freeman is inspired casting as Mandela, casting the perfect amount of stoicness for the role, while Damon actually has the more subtle, complex role of the captain who's propelled to change by the President. Eastwood could've tightened up certain areas of the film to make it flow easier, and some of the music, jazz-flavored and mixed with some African beats and harmonies (handled by one of Eastwood's own sons, Kyle, while his other son Scott has a featured role in the film as one of the soccer players), is a pleasant but odd choice for the film.

The title "Invictus" comes from British poet William Henley poem of the same name, and means "unconquered" or "invincible" in Latin and a portion of which is quoted in the film: "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." Inspiring and appealing enough to make you want to actually learn more about the sport of rugby, a weird, very rough but often fascinating sport to watch (one that most American audiences won't know much about) but one that's highly popular overseas.

Still, even with all the earnestness, Eastwood's lighter touches here make "Invictus" a solid, warm choice with some old-fashioned holiday cheer, and it's one of his more accessible, least heavy films in years.

Brothers - C

Rated R for language and some disturbing violent content, 110 minutes

Thoughtful but uneven "Brothers" gets lost in cliches

The heavy drama "Brothers" is well-directed and sublimely acted by the guy who played Spider-Man. It's too bad that the story, based on a Danish film with roots in Homer's "Odyssey" is overly familiar and cliched. The actors are plausible, even when the story falters, especially near its downbeat ending.

Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and his younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) are polar opposites. Sam is a dutiful marine about to go back to Afghanistan on his fourth tour of duty. He has a lovely young wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and two precious young daughters that love. Tommy is getting out of jail for bank robbery, and things are a little tense between him and his parents (Sam Shepherd and Mare Winningham). When Sam's helicopter crashes and he and a buddy are taken as a prisoner of war, he's assumed for dead by Grace and the rest of the family. Tommy comes around to console Grace and they end up falling for each other and sleeping together. However, things drastically and unexpectedly change when Sam is found and brought home to circumstances he'd hoped would never happen.

"Brothers" is a well-acted but unrevealing, uneven drama that plays out too melodramatically, which is unfortunate given that the director is Jim Sheridan ("In America," "In the Name of the Father") and the strong performances from its young cast, especially Maguire. It's told with parallel stories, showing Sam's capture and return, and Grace and Tommy falling in love. You have a tragic sense of what's going to unfold when Sam returns, and the film takes its time when it could've been accomplished much sooner.

Maguire is excellent as the young, stout Marine whose life is shattered upon learning his wife has been sleeping with his troubled young brother, in a subtle turn from Gyllenhaal in the film's trickiest role. Gyllenhaal is good but seems too well-scrubbed to playing a misfit; Portman gives a strong turn as the wife, though most of the melodramatics come from her end. The war scenes are far more captivating and engaging than the banal scenes at home.

"Brothers" is good but not great, and doesn't establish enough sympathy for any of the characters involved, and you may not care much what happens. There's not enough emotional payoff given the circmumstances, which would've helped the overly familiar, somewhat predictable script. The story of "Brothers" has been told and seen before many times, most of them better than this.

Armored - D

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense violence, some disturbing images and brief strong language, 88 minutes

Don't let the silly, contrived "Armored" hold you up

"Armored" definitely makes the case for not screening films in advance for critics. It really doesn't make any case well, as this heist movie is the most ridiculously contrived, badly acted and written film that I've seen in some time. It starts out modestly well, then falls apart late in the first act with some of the dumbest plot twists and turns since "Transformers 2." After seeing this heist film, you'll feel like your money's been stolen from you.

A newbie guard (Columbus Short) for an armored truck company is coerced by his veteran coworkers (Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, Amaury Nolasco and Skeet Ulrich) to steal a truck containing $42 million. But a wrinkle in their supposedly foolproof plan divides the group, leading to a potentially deadly resolution involving a young police officer ("Heroes" Milo Ventimiglia).

"Armored" is a heist movie that lacks any coherency or smooth story telling and will leave the audience baffled by some laughable, preposterous plot twists that just won't stop. The story starts off well in some early exposition, but it comes undone when the main character is stuck in an armored truck with all the money and won't come out. The other characters work trying to force him out, though they don't even realize he can get out and move around but they can't get in (something I just didn't buy from the get-go).

What's even more surprising is that it wastes a decent, talented cast who's better than this. Dillon and Fishburne are particularly wasted as the leaders of this inept team (both of them are Oscar-nominated actors, but you wouldn't know it by their hokey performances here), who somehow manage to steal the trucks and then don't know how to get in them. Veteran character actor Fred Ward shows up in a couple of scenes (and by that, I mean just a couple of scenes) looking as confused as the audience.

Seemingly, much of "Armored's" plot exposition, character motivation and depth and any semblance of good acting must be on the cutting room floor, and it seems quite disjointed and uneven, particularly the baffling ending, all of which is mishandled by director Nimrod Antal ("Vacancy"). I wouldn't waste my time with the just plain awful "Armored," as it will likely have a short life and find itself on DVD within the month.