Ah, January movies. Every now and then there is a great one — at least I want to believe that. This isn’t it. Of course, like any movie, “Broken City” could have been amazing.
Once again, I’ve already gone through these in more detail, so I won’t waste your time. Have fun reviewing #11-20. Next we will get to some really shitty movies, trust me.
11. Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: Dammit, this movie pissed me off. Loved the first. Loathe this piece of shit. Waste of time. Waste of film. Spends most of the movie raping the first one. Seriously. 1/10
12. The A-Tea- 2010: I’ve seen this again since the first time and still liked it. It’s not perfect but it’s a fun re-imagining of the old 80’s TV show. Check out my Kansas City TV Examiner review. 7/10
The only thing missing from Twilight was the Day Walker.
13. Twilight- 2008: You fucking Twi-Hards. I just want to go on record as saying that women obsessing about this glittery vampire crap is NOT the same us dudes like me geeking-out over Star Wars or Spider-Man or some shit. It’s not the same. This one actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be– that would be that New Moon shite. 5/10
14. State of Play- 2009: Not bad but not great. Well written and acted but kind of slow paced but a good political thriller that relies more on suspense than forcing political ideas on you. 7/10
15. Entry Level- 2007: I don’t remember shit about this movie except it was some independent movie I found on cable in the middle of the day so I watched it. It has a bunch of quirky characters but no one you’ll give a shit about. Pass on it. 5/10
16. Sex Drive- 2008: Typical teen sex comedy and not in a good way. It has a bunch of dudes that you’ll wonder “what the fuck is that dude doing in this movie?” The answer is stealing a pay check. 4/10
17. Lakeview Terrace- 2008: Samuel L. Jackson is just one of those guys that is either a total bad ass or a total jack ass. He doesn’t care either. He knows he makes more good movies than bad but when they’re bad, you get this schlock. So much drama is created simply because its in the screenplay. Crap. 3/10
18. Up in the Air- 2009: One of Jorge Clooney’s best. He’s really good at these characters that are slick and cool and like to talk. This one is directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. He’s a film maker that is going to make some good flicks as he gets older. 8/10
In case you didn't know, Elisabeth Shue is still hot.
19. The Karate Kid- 2010: I’m not going to try and convince you this movie is better than the original because it is not. But it is pretty good and waaay better than I expected it to be. It has good performances from Will Smith’s kid and Jackie Chan, who should have gotten an Oscar nomination. It’s entertaining right up until the end–when Justin Bieber sings over the credits. Hide the razor blades. But I do agree it suffers from a serious lack of Elisabeth Shue. 8/10
20. Mystery Team- 2009: You know that dude on Community, the hilarious one?– no not Abed, but Troy. He’s a funny fucker. He has a comedy group that made this movie. It’s VERY low budget but pretty funny if you like the ridiculous. Three idiots who solved neighborhood crimes when they were young, still try living off that pub as teens– and fail until someone gets killed. 7/10
Check out the rest of the Movies I’ve Never Seen Before…in 90 Days:
Who’s in it?: Ben Affleck (Armageddon, The Town), Russell Crowe (Gladiator, L.A. Confidential), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes, Mean Girls), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Teen Wolf Too) and Helen Mirren (The Queen, National Treasure: Book of Secrets)
Written by: Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Identity, Michael Clayton, The Cutting Edge)
Guess what? I’m not going to bash this movie. I probably could but I’m not. I actually liked it. Probably because it kinda flew under the radar when it came out, despite the fact that it’s loaded with top notch actors. It stars Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams who are reporters working on two separate cases and come to find out the cases are intertwined. Ben Affleck is a Congressman who may or may not know more about a murder than he is letting on.
State of Play is written by Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Bourne movies and Michael Clayton; and is one of my favorite writers in Hollywood right now. Come on, the dude wrote The Cutting Edge. You know you love that shit. Oh, come on, you know what I’m talking about: Hockey player and figure skater team up to become an Olympic hopeful pairs skating duo but they have to over come their differences and learn about each other before they can— look, you know you know what fucking movie I’m talking about and I know you know you know that I know you know what movie I’m talking about it. It’s a good movie. Toe pick.
But I digress… The point is, that it’s a State of Play is a well written movie even if it is kind of slow paced. But it’s the kind of slow pace where there is always something happening even though it doesn’t seem like it. Oh, right…it’s called plot. You’ll have to fucking pay attention to it. Sorry. It’s a good movie if you’re into political thrillers but let’s be honest, they’re all pretty much the fucking same, aren’t they? Deadbeat reporters that everyone has given up on has a murder mystery thrown in his lap and knows there’s something rotten in Denmark.
Affleck is good. Dude gets a bad rap. Russell Crowe isn’t a total douche bag in it either, which is quite a shocker isn’t it. He usually comes off as one. Maybe that dude gets a bad rap, too. But he did hit that guy with that phone once. But maybe the guy deserved it. Crowe was pretty bad ass as Maximus in Gladiator and do you remember Virtuosity? What the fuck was up with that movie? It was like The Matrix before The Matrix was cool, except it wasn’t cool like The Matrix.
7/10
Would I recommend this movie?: If you’re into movies about political conspiracies and reporters and investigations then yes. Like I said, it’s well acted. But it’s not for everyone. Then again, what movie is?
Ah, January movies. Every now and then there is a great one — at least I want to believe that. This isn’t it. Of course, like any movie, “Broken City” could have been amazing.
