Short Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Grade: A

Mysterious visitors come to a small mining town in the old west.

Perfect summer popcorn flick. James Bond AND Indiana Jones are in it, how can you lose?

Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell

Your attention span must last 2 hours in order to enjoy.

Full Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Grade: A

In 1873, just outside a small mining town in Arizona, a man wakes up in the middle of the desert with no memory and a mysterious device attached to his wrist. He wanders into the town where he instantly makes a name for himself by teaching the son of a local business man a lesson. When it is discovered that this man is a wanted criminal, he is locked up and handed over to a federal marshal to deal with. However, that night, mysterious crafts arrive in the sky and lay waste to the small town, taking many of the residents. The man, Jake, the business man who practically owns the town, Woodrow Dolarhyde, a mysterious woman, Ella, and many other townspeople decide that they must work together in order to find the taken people and defeat the alien menace.

Cowboys and Aliens is one of the better westerns in a long time. Don’t mistake this movie for something that it’s not. It is simply a western where the bad guy is different than what you’re used to, and on that level, it completely works. It is an extremely fun movie with lots of great visuals. Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Zathura) did a great job with this movie, it looks absolutely fantastic. The creature design is very intriguing and the aliens are actually very intimidating. The writers of the movie, which includes the likes of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and more, did a great job with both the dialogue and action. This movie is based on a series of comic books of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, I have never read the comic books but after seeing this movie I’m going to pick them up.

Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Layer Cake) plays the role of Jake Lonergan, a mysterious man with a case of amnesia. Craig is an incredible actor and he does a great job in this movie. He is a lot of fun to see wandering around the old west like Yul Brynner, fighting aliens and generally kicking butt. His character has some moments that are very Indiana Jones-esque, like how he won’t let anything happen to his hat, I think they did this because of his co-star, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones, Morning Glory) who plays Woodward Dolarhyde, a man with seemingly more authority in the small town than the local sheriff. Ford is fantastic in this movie and I feel like for the first time in a long time, he was really trying and giving this role his all. Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy, The Next Three Days) plays the role of Ella, a beautiful and mysterious woman. Wilde is great in this movie and I’m really glad to see her career taking off the way it is. Sam Rockwell (Choke, Moon) plays the role of Doc, the owner of the local saloon. Rockwell is a greatly under-appreciated actor and he is really enjoyable in this movie. The movie also features Paul Dano, Adam Beach, Clancy Brown, Keith Carradine and many more.

Cowboys and Aliens tells a very interesting and fun story and is everything you could ask for out of a popcorn flick. It is an absolute blast to watch James Bond and Indianna Jones work together to kick some alien butt. This movie has all the right twists and turns with some great characters and special effects.

Short Review: Crazy Stupid Love

Grade: C+

A man gets a makeover.

Funny, great date night movie.

Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Attention span must last 2 hours in order to enjoy.

Full Review: Crazy Stupid Love

Grade: C+

Cal and Emily Weaver have been in a rut for a while now and after Emily sleeps with a co-worker, she decides that they should get a divorce. Not wanting to put up a fight, Cal moves out into a small apartment and begins his lonely, now single, life. He decides to start going to a local bar, where he meets Jacob, a young, smooth-talking ladies man who seems to go home with a different girl every night. Jacob decides to take Cal under his wing and help him become a better man. Cal gets an entirely new wardrobe, a new haircut and Jacob teaches him how to talk to women. Cal starts feeling much better about himself and soon realizes that he should be fighting to get his wife back, not just hooking up with random women.

Crazy Stupid Love is an interesting romantic-comedy that adds something slightly new to a classic formula. This movie definitely has its funny moments, like when Jacob takes Cal shopping for a new suit and other clothes and is teaching him how to have more confidence. It also hits many rom-com clichés, like in one scene, after Cal and Emily get into another fight, it instantly starts to rain. For the most part, this movie is pretty decent. It does have its faults though. For instance, I feel that it goes on a little long, the amount of “Crazy stuff that happens is, itself, crazy. The movie feels like it’s heading towards conclusion several times only to have another weird incident drag it out a little longer, and some of the love triangles are a bit ridiculous.

Steve Carell (Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks) plays the role of Cal Weaver. I have to say, this is one of Carell’s better movie roles. I usually like him, but in this movie he seems a little better than usual. He manages to handle the balance of dramatic and comedic sides to the character really well. Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright, Children of Men) plays the role of Emily Weaver. I have always liked her and she is really enjoyable in this movie. Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, The Notebook) plays the role of Jacob. I have to say, I usually don’t like Gosling and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a comedic role, but he was actually very enjoyable in this movie and really funny at times. Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland) plays the role of Hannah, a girl whom Jacob meets and changes his ways. I am a huge fan of hers and I am glad to see her getting as much work as she is. She absolutely does not disappoint in this movie. The movie also features Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Marissa Tomei and many more.

Crazy Stupid Love is a decent and enjoyable romantic comedy. Even though I personally feel that it drags on a bit longer than it should, but I still feel that this movie would make for a great date night movie. It is funny and the cast is great. If you don’t see this on a date night, wait for DVD and rent it somewhere.

Podcast: Episode 14

Episode 14 of Shut Up! The Movie's Starting, the official Podcast of Cucu for Movies, is now available at http://sutmspod.wordpress.com/

In this episode, Michael and Russell discuss Cowboys & Aliens, which is in theaters now, and Chaos Theory, which is available on Netflix Instant Watch. Michael briefly talks about Tree of Life and Crazy Stupid Love. The two then go on to talk about their adoration for Clerks II, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Behind the Planet of the Apes, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, movies hitting DVD, the trailers for In Time, Tower Heist and Battleship, Olivia Wilde’s amazing eyes, Paul Bettany, movie news and more!

Short Review: The Tree of Life

Grade: N/A

...There's dinosaurs in it.

Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, more

Attention span must last... you know what, if you don't have 2 minutes to read the full review, you don't have the patience to watch this movie and try to understand it.

Full Review: The Tree of Life

Grade: …Not sure I can give this movie a grade.

A man examines his complicated relationship with his father and his childhood in the 1950’s. He also begins to try to seek answers to the meaning of life, the origin of the universe and he questions the existence of faith.

The Tree of Life is a very complicated movie to discuss and review, so I will do my best. I would like to start by saying that this movie does not follow a normal narrative line and is not told in a linear form. It tends to jump around freely and at one point, there is a 20 minute sequence showing the creation of the planet and then life, so yes, there are dinosaurs in it. In the first 45 minutes of the movie, there is hardly a word spoken, mostly just a quiet voice over from time to time. It’s not until almost the 45 minute mark that the first clearly audible dialogue is spoken. A very large portion of this movie relies on visuals and music to tell the story.

The majority of the movie takes place during the 1950’s and centers on the O’Brien family, a father, his wife and their three boys. It shows that Mr. O’Brien was a very strict father who loved his children but had a hard time showing it. The oldest son, Jack, seems to have the most issues with his father. Every once in a while it flashes to modern day and shows a much older Jack trying to deal with modern life and trying to reconcile with his father.

Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Troy) plays the role of Mr. O’Brien. Pitt does a great job with this role. I don’t know how to talk about his performance because it doesn’t seem like much of a performance at all. The movie is shot in a way and the performances all so perfect, that it seems more like home footage or a documentary than a movie. The movie also features Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan, Fiona Shaw and more.

The Tree of Life is an extremely existential movie and requires a different level of thinking to appreciate or even fully understand. It is a movie unlike any I’ve seen before. I did not give a grade on this movie because my feelings on it are much like the movie itself, very complicated. I feel that the concept is great and it’s something new. The themes it brings up are very interesting and will leave you questioning things after as well. The visuals and directing style were fantastic. However, the movie is a bit long and very slow going. Although, I don’t think I would speed it up because the pacing works for what the movie is. I was engaged in this movie as well as bored with it. I still don’t entirely know how to feel about it. Again, it’s all very complicated. See this movie if any of what I have said interests or intrigues you, otherwise, this movie is not for you.

Short Review: Friends With Benefits

Grade: B

See: No Strings Attached

Funny, entertaining, lots of sex, Mila Kunis side-boob

Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Woody Harelson, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Jenkins

Attention span must last 1 hour 50 minutes to enjoy

Full Review: Friends With Benefits

Grade: B

Dylan works for a very successful blog in Los Angeles and has recently been offered a possible position at GQ magazine in New York. When he flies to NY, he is met by Jamie, a corporate head hunter whose job it is to convince Dylan to accept the job. He does and he moves to New York where he and Jamie continue to be really good friends. One night, after watching a cheesy romantic comedy, the two decide that to avoid the heartbreak of their recent relationships and to fulfill certain… needs, that they should just have sex with no emotional attachments to each other. Convinced that this arrangement will work and that no complications could possibly arise from this agreement, the two continue this arrangement… until complications arise.

Friends with Benefits is very similar to the recent movie No Strings Attached but with one major difference, this one is actually pretty legitimately funny… and there’s no Ashton Kutcher. This movie is very raunchy and definitely earns its R rating. Despite the fact that we just saw this movie, the writers manage to keep things somewhat fresh in this one. The jokes are very adult, sexual and pretty hilarious. On top of all of the obvious humor, there are some very interesting jokes that aren’t focused on much but are what made me appreciate this movie more. To start, there are plenty of jokes about New York versus Los Angeles. The movie basically says that people from LA are granola eating, herbal tea sipping, yoga doing hippies and that people from NY are angry, bitter, loud and crude. This movie also makes a lot of jokes at the expense of your typical romantic comedy. Throughout the movie, you will see scenes from a fake rom-com starring Rashida Jones and Jason Segel, these clips are great and really funny and show most of the typical rom-com clichés. However, this also brings up on of my few complaints about the movie. It makes fun of the extremely cheesy and sappy endings that these movies tend to have where the characters make grand gestures to win back the people they love. Well, this movie has just that kind of ending.

Justin Timberlake (The Social Network, Bad Teacher) plays the role of Dylan. I actually really like Justin Timberlake as an actor, and he’s a good actor at that. He is very funny in this movie and has perfect delivery of so many lines that it will keep you laughing throughout. Mila Kunis (Black Swan, The Book of Eli) plays the role of Jamie. She is great and really funny in this movie, she definitely manages to keep up with Timberlake. The two have a great chemistry together and really help make this movie as enjoyable as it is. The movie also stars Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Richard Jenkins, Andy Samburg, Emma Stone and more including a couple great cameos.

Friends With Benefits is the type of movie that makes for a great date night. It is fun, funny, sexy and entertaining. It keeps making fun of typical rom-coms while all at the same time falling victim to many of those clichés. Yes, it is very adult, but at the end of the day it is still a romantic comedy. It is odd that they would release two movies so similar to each other so close together but I feel confident in saying that this movie is much better than No Strings Attached.

Podcast: Episode 13

Episode 13 of Shut Up! The Movie's Starting is available now by clicking here.

In this episode, Michael and Russell talk about this week’s in theaters movie, Captain America, at length, as well as the movie Hopscotch, which is available on Netflix Instant Watch. Michael also mentions his experience at Friends with Benefits and the two discuss Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Tommy Lee Jones, Point Break, Joe Versus the Volcano, movie news and a lot more… these two don’t know when to shut up sometimes.