Sunday, August 12, 2012
Five years after the Bourne Trilogy ends, another one begins. Is it a reboot or does this one lack punch?
With Matt Damon's character gone we are introduced to Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner. He's a member of a group of elite agents on high-risk, long-term missions in "The Bourne Legacy." Within the few minutes we see just how tough this new character is as he goes in search of some pills that make him physically and mentally the ultimate soldier. But his activities threaten to expose some wrongdoing inside the U.S. government, and he butts heads with Eric Byer (Ed Norton). Cross then finds himself on the run with Rachel Weisz who plays a doctor. After that it's basically one chase scene after another. When the action does arrive, it's pulsating enough. But for the most part, it is too reminiscent of previous films, only not as good, …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Spider-Man is back swinging at the box office; it's somewhat of a reboot with different actors, a different look, and a whole lot more spidey-swagger.
Spider-Man is back, and we love it! Andrew Garfield takes over from Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, a nerdy kid who gets bitten by a radioactive arachnid in "The Amazing Spider-Man." The film is somewhat of a reboot about the origins of Spider-Man. Parker gets bullied in school, meets a pretty girl, gets spidey powers. The family falls victim to street thugs; he becomes a superhero. It's pretty much the same storyline, just a bit grittier than the one 10 years ago. This one has more swagger, more angst and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, the new spidey love interest. This is not a total carbon copy of the original but it's basically the same storyline. Different actors, sure; a different director, sure. There is even a different bad guy; the CGI…
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The rock 'n' roll of the 1980s is in the spotlight this week, and, like a lot of rock from that decade and despite a bunch of A-list actors, it doesn't rock.
Boy meets girl, they rock each other's world, and it's all done to the tune of the 1980s L.A. rock scene in … "Rock of Ages." This rags-to-riches rock 'n' roll musical is set mostly in a music club on Sunset Strip. A lot of the entertainment, with some energetic musical numbers, includes several big names (Tom Cruise, Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin.) The two leads are Diego Boneta, as a bartender, and Julianne Hough, as a naive kid just off the bus from the Midwest. They prove that they too can sing covers of '80s rock classics. Basically the film is a set of songs linked together by a very weak story line (so as not to fool you into thinking you are watching a large-scale cover band concert). Honestly, it's not a good movie, but I think …
