Nuke's Blog
Periodic ramblings by an old geek…

This is the second half of movie reviews for the past year, not the past three weeks.  That would be insane.  This is clearly not insane at all.  If you missed part one, you can get there from here.

 

Megamind (2010)

Rating:  

I couldn’t help but love this one.  Here we find ourselves rooting for the bad guy, in an interesting twist from other "hero" movies out there.  The animators did a great job bringing life to Will Ferrell’s off-screen voice antics.  The family and I watched this one several times before finally shipping back to Netflix.

 

Monsters (2010)

Rating:  

This movie reminds me of the love I had for Cloverfield, where we again have gigantic, alien monsters on the planet messing life up for everyone.  It’s simply fascinating to watch the characters work against that backdrop.  For those who rely on explosions for enjoyment, this probably won’t suit you.  It’s more of a character study than anything, being an indie flick and all.

 

Nanny McPhee Returns (2010)

Rating:  

The first movie was charming, and I suppose this one is to some extent.  However, I just found it to be a tired repeat of the original.  Check the first one out and move on to something else.

 

Ninja (2009)

Rating:  

I don’t have much to say, so will let a Netflix reviewer chime in: "The highest praise I can heap upon Ninja is that there is absolutely no fat on this thing. It’s lean and mean and gets right down to the point: ninjas! It’s a scientific fact that ninjas are way cooler than pirates and robots combined. Even dead people know this to be true. That’s why it’s hard to even muster the energy to attempt to try to bag on a movie like Ninja."

 

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Rating:  

I never did play the video game this movie is based on, but had understood a bit of the deal with the special dagger.  I thought they demonstrated the idea in neat ways, and the movie felt a bit like watching a fourth installment of the Mummy franchise… which is not a bad thing.  Worth checking out for some good adventuring fun.

 

Rango (2011)

Rating:  

I’m sorry.  I don’t get it.  It seems they tried to adapt the magic of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns to animated animals.  Sorry, but it didn’t work.  I have too much respect for the master of the western… perhaps the only one who could take out Chuck Norris if it came to that, but I digress.

 

Restrepo (2010)

Rating:  

Fascinating documentary of a platoon in Afghanistan working to hold a deadly valley.  I think this is one you just have to see for yourself to form an opinion, which is hard to do when it’s real-life thrown at you with not much held back.  As for my middle of the road rating, I guess I expected the documentary to make some sort of statement, which I feel it never did.  I suppose that was the point… just show soldier life in the mountainous war zone.

 

Rio (2011)

Rating:  

The kids watched this several times before they let me ship it back.  I have no idea why.  I didn’t get this movie either.  I say skip the movie and check out the game version: Angry Birds Rio.  You’ll get far more enjoyment over a couple hours.

 

Robin Hood (2010)

Rating:  

Sorry for all those haters of this movie out there.  I did enjoy it, though that was probably helped by the low expectations I had going in based on RottenTomatoes’ 43% rating on the Tomatometer.  I hope to see the rest of the story told at some point.

 

Season of the Witch (2011)

Rating:  

I didn’t expect much out of this movie, as I do with most of Nicolas Cage’s films ever since Con Air appeared.  It was not too shabby, actually.  Interesting way to imagine the spiritual side to the events of the bubonic plague during the Middle Ages.

 

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Rating:  

Even though I’m rating this positively, I’m positively positive I don’t need more Shrek movies.  Could we please stop?  I dread that feeling of "there’s no way this is going to be any good, yet here I am laughing and enjoying myself once again to the tune of two green ‘monsters,’ a stupid donkey, and a really messed up cat that sounds a lot like Antonio Banderas."

 

Shutter Island (2010)

Rating:  

Gripping thriller, but I still find it so hard to deal with DiCaprio in serious roles… especially serious roles for which he has attempted to grow a moustache or anything else resembling facial hair.  It just doesn’t suit him.  Kingsley holds the movie together as he tends to do whenever he appears.  The movie definitely keeps you guessing.

 

Stone (2010)

Rating:  

Pitting De Niro and Norton against each other?  Great plan.  These two are great in these kinds of roles.  I wouldn’t call it a complete masterpiece like some of the Netflix reviewers did, but it will keep you watching to find out what happens next.

 

Surf’s Up (2007)

Rating:  

Ugh.  Skip it.  Just skip it.  It’s slightly interesting just for the idea that it is an animated documentary, if you will, but that is not enough for me to recommend it to anyone.

 

 

Tangled (2010)

Rating:  

I enjoyed this animated movie.  I thought they did a pretty decent job reimagining the story of Rapunzel as a girl who can do anything for herself, empowering all those young girls out there to kick the tar out of any guy who tries to mess with them… using only her hair.  Sorry, got carried away a bit there.

 

Thor (2011)

Rating:  

This was far superior to Captain America and The Incredible Hulk, and right on par with Iron Man 1 and 2.  The kids were able to watch this one, and we immediately threw it on the family Christmas list after their first viewing.  Here’s to hoping The Avengers movie next year, where they all come together, is tame enough for the kids to enjoy.

 

Three Kingdoms (2008)

Rating:  

Anyone who has followed my reviews for some time will probably notice I have a special place in my heart for samurai sorts of flicks.  This was very well done, but there are so many others out there to compare to that are just better enough to attain four stars over this one.  Great stuff though.

 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Rating:  

Amazing effects.  Big explosions.  Sweet visuals of U.S. military weaponry.  What more could a movie viewer want?  I could use some better plot.  I could use *far* less of John Turtorro’s character and even far less of Shia’s parents.  Here’s to hoping #4 in the series has some redeeming quality beyond the awesomeness of the special effects.

 

Tron: Legacy (2010)

Rating:  

You know, I suppose I should only rate this three stars, but they brought the original Tron "universe" back to life beautifully.  The retro effects are simply magic.  What saddens me is probably nobody will read down this far and will miss out on this gem.  By the way, why does Jeff Bridges feel the need to reprise his role as "The Dude" from Big Lebowski no matter what part he’s playing these days?

 

The Warlords (2007)

Rating:  

Here’s another very well done samurai sort of flick.  I enjoyed this one just slightly more than Three Kingdoms.  Both are worth watching if you are into these films like I am.

 

Winter’s Bone (2010)

Rating:  

Well, I just didn’t find this movie as good as those nominating it for awards did.  You can read some other reviews and decide for yourself if you want to try it out.  There are so many I would put ahead of it though.

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