Sucker Punch

RATING:* (1 stars)

A young girl is institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the facility.

That synopsis is the most succinct and understandable way of describing Sucker Punch. From beginning to end, the whole narrative is extremely choppy and difficult to follow. If you want a better mental image, imagine taking Inception mixing it with Shutter Island, and toss in the play-within-a-play scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet--it's that convoluted. One would also thing that considering how sparse most of the dialogue is that it would have more weight to it, but alas most of the lines that are supposed to contain wisdom for our characters (Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Rocket, Amber, Blondie) are nothing more than recycled clichés that we have heard before.

I wish there was more positive things to say about this film aside from the visual effects, which are rather well done. For those who are fans of the genre, it is really not unlike many traditional Japanese anime except for live-action, which makes some of the over-the-top action scenes jump off the screen that much more. Alas, that is the only redeeming thing in this whole film, so if you're dead-set to see it... wait until it hits DVD--which will likely be very soon.

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The Lincoln Lawyer

RATING:*** (3 stars)

A defense lawyer takes on a high-profile client only to learn that this new client is responsible for an innocent man being convicted of murder.

The exciting thing about The Lincoln Lawyer is that while that little blurb might seem to give away the movie, the devil is really in the details. Matthew McConaughey plays Mickey, an attorney who quite literally conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car when he is not actually in the courtroom. The film is a very straight-forward drama/thriller, although exciting both in casting (lots of familiar faces like William H. Macy) and in that not all of the twists and turns are predictable.

I also have to give credit to both the director and to McConaughey for the focus throughout the film on the main characters eyes--or more appropriately, the emotion therein. Innumerable shots showing a full range of human emotion, and many of those shots are nothing more than close-ups on eyeballs, sometimes with signs of being tired, others with sweat, others with joy. Well done.

All-in-all, The Lincoln Lawyer is a good movie, but not necessarily one that you'll be itching to see in theaters. A solid rental that you won't want to miss, however.

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Rango

RATING:***** (5 stars)

Rango is a simple, pet chameleon who stumbles into a lawless Wild West-style town in the desert in need of a new sheriff.

There are a few things you can count on with Rango: beautiful animation, laughs aplenty, and a story (and soundtrack) chock full of satirical homages to spagetti Westerns of Hollywood-gone-by. From beginning to end, those above the age of 21 will be all smiles--particularly if you have seen ANY Western-style movie. Ever.

I put the age disclaimer there for a few different reasons. Firstly, there is a good amount of language in the film, the kind that you maybe didn't always hear in the older Westerns because it was implied instead. Rango does carry a PG rating because most kids won't notice it, but an attentive parent will--so just keep that in mind. I also put the age disclaimer there because the younger generation may very well laugh but likely will not catch many of the tongue-in-cheek references (like making a joke about a black sheriff to somebody who has not seen Blazing Saddles).

Honestly, I have nothing critical to say about the film. I thought it was fantastic and most certainly worth watching in theaters. If you can't scrounge up the $8 to see it there, make sure you watch it with friends for a memorable crowd experience.

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Drive Angry 3D

RATING:*** (3 stars)

When an evil cult kills his only daughter and his infant granddaughter, a man escapes from Hell to bring them to justice.

By all rights, I was expecting very little from Drive Angry. As you can see from the trailer below, it looks like very classic B-movie action fare... and ended up as a riotous good time for everyone in the sparsely populated theater. Now you will get plenty of action--perhaps not as much as some other films, but certainly enough to satisfy most people. Where Drive Angry, I think, really shines is when you couple that action with the dry and sometimes dark comedy wrapped around it.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, the effects in the film are rather well done. Visual effects one comes to expect since less than a certain standard just doesn't fly for audiences these days, but the sound effects were given extra "pop" and really help the adrenaline of the film as a whole. The plot is fairly loose and doesn't get very deep, but that's really just what this kind of film needs--light on drama, heavy on action, and with enough comedy to prove that it might not be taking itself seriously.

May or may not be worth your theater money (there is no 2D option for this one), but a solid rental that I would highly recommend.

Trailer

Unknown

RATING:*** (3 stars)

After his cab goes plunging into the freezing waters of Berlin, a man awakes in the hospital four days later to learn that no one--not even his wife--has been looking for him. Upon going to his wife, he is presented with the possibility that he is not who he thinks he is.

Unknown is an exciting thriller that is going to keep you guessing, and for those who loved Taken (2008), this is in the same vein of thriller films--albeit with less action and more suspense. Liam Neeson stars as our leading man, Dr. Martin Harris, who loses his identity after a crash and fights to prove who he is through almost the entire two hours. The supporting cast of January Jones, Diane Kruger, and Aidan Quinn are great casting choices and they help really make this film work by never allowing you to quite believe you have it figured out.

There a plenty of good things to say about Unknown, from the great casting to the well-established pace of the film, even to one of the best choreographed chase scenes of the last few years; in the end, however, it suffers just as almost all thrillers do in that your desire to watch it multiple times is very low. For many people (myself included), the only time you will watch Unknown is once in the theater--and you will certainly enjoy it. But you probably won't have a desire to watch it again because so much of this movie revolves around the twist that is spoiled once you see it, really destroying its replay value. That being said, you will really love this movie the first (and perhaps only) time that you'll see it.

Trailer