TRON: Legacy

RATING:**** (4 stars)

Twenty-five years after the disappearance of Kevin Flynn, his son Sam goes to investigate his old office where apparently a call was made from a line that has been disconected for years. Sam is transported into the virtual world his father created and has been trapped in, and fights to escape and save them both.

The sequel to the popular cult favorite from 1982 about the virtual reality program, and to the films benefit the major actors are back reprising their roles: Jeff Bridges as both Kevin Flynn and Clu, and Bruce Boxleitner as both Alan Bradley and Tron. This time we are also introduced to Kevin's orphaned son Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde), a program within the virtual world that has allied herself with Kevin Flynn while he lives in exile.

Noticeably the visuals for TRON: Legacy have gotten quite the upgrade since the first film, and they really make everything come alive. Perhaps even better than the CGI was the very clever use of 3D in this film, much as color was used in The Wizard of Oz--the film does not switch to 3D until we are in the virtual world, and helps to further differentiate that otherness from reality. Everything about the TRON universe has been given a similar kind of slim, barely noticeable makeover that just makes a huge difference on the large scale that the whole world really just jumps off the screen.

The same things that people didn't like about the original film are present here as well, namely character development and plot. With the exception of in this case a single character, all of the characters are very static throughout the film. The plot is nothing fancy either, just another take on the reunion with estranged family with a "save the world" twist thrown in. To detract from TRON:Legacy on those two points, however, is silly because this is not a film pretending to masquerade as a powerful drama. From beginning to end, this is merely a fun film with some spectacular use of CGI and creative use of 3D. Obviously to fully enjoy the 3D, you'll have to catch it in theaters.

Trailer

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

RATING:***** (5 stars)

With Voldemort beginning a reign of terror after the death of Dumbledore, Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione embark on a search for the remaining horcruxes--the key to Voldemort's power.

Disclaimer: Arthur has not read any of the Harry Potter books. Whether by popular demand from fans or otherwise, the final Harry Potter installment has been broken up into two parts, with the second being released in 2011. For those who have been following Harry since his debut on the silver screen back in 2001, you should be well-acquainted with the knowledge that evil wizard Voldemort is quite immortal and that Harry Potter is the "chosen one" needed to defeat him. You should also have a solid grasp of all of the major (and many minor) characters that have already been introduced over the last six films as HP 7.1 (as I am dubbing it) wastes no time in exposition.

One of the beautiful things about a cast that has stayed with a franchise as long as Harry Potter is watching and truly appreciating the growth of the young actors and actresses, particularly in this case when they have been surrounded by such a large assortment of Britain's finest actors and actresses themselves. Our three lead characters get plenty of chance to stretch and demonstrate their acting skill this go-around, with quite a large chunk of the two-hour film consisting of them on-screen by themselves.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 delivers much of the same in terms of music, effects, cinematography--a good number of things to be consistent with throughout any franchise remains true here. What is markedly different in this latest installment is the tension of our protagonists to the world around them and to each other. Without spoiling any of the details for any movie-goers who like myself are not familiar with teh book and do not know how things turn out, rest assured that HP 7.1 is exciting, funny, dramatic, and sets the stage beautifully for the finale next year.

Trailer

Unstoppable

RATING:**** (4 stars)

Two blue-collar men working together for the first time decide to chase down a runaway freight train with dangerous materials that threatens a heavily populated area.

Starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as our two primary leads, the star power alone almost demands a theater viewing. Luckily, we are given a tense drama with very human characters that can deliver an experience worthy of the big screen.

There really is not a whole lot of depth to the story: Frank (Washington) is a veteran of the train industry who has only a couple weeks left before his forced early retirement, while Will (Pine) is a young dad with marriage trouble who from one perspective got a nice job because he has relatives in the industry. The tension starts at the very beginning of the movie, and rides hard until the very end, so all of the character development (what little there is) comes along the way and cuts to the point--not unlike many people having normal conversation. It is in this aspect that Unstoppable really shines. We see two men that by all accounts are very "normal" people put into an extraordinary situation, and do the best they can under those circumstances.

Trailer

Due Date

RATING:*** (3 stars)

When a stressed-out father-to-be gets put on a no-fly list, he ends up taking a cross-country jaunt with the aspiring actor who got him put on the no-fly list.

There has been a lot of buzz recently over Due Date, in no small part because of the trailers loaded with choice bits of comedy from the film. As expected, the story focuses on Peter Highman (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) and the many misadventures they have from the moment they meet as they travel to Los Angeles for the birth of Peter's first child. The story is pretty straight-forward, our two characters meet briefly outside the airport, get put on a no-fly list shortly thereafter, and share a rental car as they both travel halfway across the country to California.

While there is plenty of comedy to be had here, much of it feels forced. The story seems to serve only as a vechicle to take us from one ridiculous situation to the next, where there will be similar-but-different hijinks going on. This is not to say that you won't laugh--there is plenty to laugh at in Due Date. You might feel a bit swindled that much of the best comedic moments were in the trailers and that you've already seen them, but otherwise there is some good comedy here.

Maybe not worth theatre money, but definitely worth a rental. Also as a note to parents, plenty of marijuana jokes and smoking on-screen.

Trailer

RED (2010)

RATING:**** (4 stars)

When a retired CIA operative is targeted for elimination, he assembles his old team to find out who wants them all dead.

Many Americans (myself included) have been looking forward to RED since the first trailer came our earlier this year. If you haven't even heard of this yet, prepare for another action movie in a year of action movies--except this one has an all-star cast and is liable to make you laugh the entire time as well. Our hero this time around is Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), who thinks he might have found a girl (Mary-Louise Parker) who will let him put his past behind him and lead a "normal" life. A professional hit squad, that he deals with rather well I might add, lead to a more awkward first meeting than he hoped for. So he rounds up friends from the old days to figure out what is going on (Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) while they are pursued by young CIA operative William Cooper (Karl Urban).

RED delivers on everthing the trailer promised, from beginning to end. We have more than enough action to classify this as an action movie, and more than enough one-liners and laughter-inducing scenes to call it a comedy as well. In addition to the cast above, you can expect some notable roles from Richard Dreyfus and Brian Cox to give you even more of a reason to get to theaters this weekend and see this film.

Sure, some of the camera-work could have been a little better and the plot itself isn't anything outstanding. Let's face it, we're not exactly looking at anything that is likely to get anybody an Academy Award in a few months. But that also is part of the reason you want to go and see it--because it's a blast to watch and sure to sate your movie appetite for the month. Unless of course you wanted lots of drama and romance, but there are other movies in theaters to provide that.

Trailer