Category Archives: Movies

Hot Tub Time Machine (Theaters)

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Time travel movies are very hard to pull off. There are so many rules established by previous movies, not to mention a little something called the “space-time continuum” that make it a bit difficult to make a believable time travel flick. Thankfully, Hot Tub Time Machine is nowhere near realistic and seems to make up its own set of rules as it goes along.

The story follows three best friends: Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry). After Lou has an accident that is mistaken for a suicide attempt, his two friends and their nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) decide to cheer him up by taking him on a weekend getaway to an old ski resort that used be one of their favorite party spots growing up. After another accident in the resort’s hottub changes it into a time machine, the four of them find themselves back in Winterfest ’86 with a chance to relive their past. The only catch is that they must relive everything exactly as they originally experienced it in order to not affect the future/present they came from.

That is pretty much the story in a nutshell. While the movie deals with the theme of time travel, it conveniently side steps many of the pre-established time travel rules from other films. For instance, the old rule that your future self and your past self can never occupy the same space is thrown out the window. The future versions actually replace their past selves. When ever anyone sees them, they are seeing the younger versions of the characters. The other rule about changing the past is pretty much scrapped also. While at first they try to leave the past as unaltered as possible, there comes a point where the characters just decide to change whatever they want to change at will.

While these minor details don’t really hurt the movie, the real star is the 80s setting. Anyone who grew up in the 80s or is at least familiar with the era will find alot to enjoy about this film. The entire movie is just filled with old school references and it is hilarious to see how much things have changed from a decade that really doesn’t seem like it was too long ago.

The cast is overall pretty solid. John Cusack plays the love sick regular guy role to a tee, something that he has had the chance to perfect as he has portrayed this same character countless times in his career. Craig Robinson is hilarious in the movie, but I can’t help but feel that his performance is a bit toned down, even for him. Clark Duke is great as the young voice of reason among the 4 of them. Expect to see Duke in more and more films starting with Kick Ass, due out this week. Then there is Rob Cordrry, who plays Lou the likeable asshole of the group. It is nice to see Cordrry in a role where he can finally be as offensive and vulgar as he wants to be.

The film is a fun walk down memory lane with some solid laughs thrown in. I was a little disappointed by the humor in this movie. The movie is very funny but nowhere near the laugh a minute fest that the previews or the movie’s title would have you believe that it is. Still, this is a funny movie and most of its appeal ccomes from just reliving the 80s through the eyes of the characters.

Clash of the Titans 3D (Theaters)

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To be honest with everyone, I was quite against this remake since they day I found out it was in production. Yet is was the lure of the original that brought me into the theaters today. As a child, Desmond Davis’s Clash of the Titans was nothing short of magical for me. Regardless of how cheesy it may have been, it brought to life a universe of Greek mythology which previously could only be retold though books and oral tradition. Over the last couple decades, I will proudly admit to watching the original at least fifty times over, and prior to this screening, I did spend a lazy afternoon reliving the 1981 cult classic on my living room sofa in all its glory.

I think the biggest disappointment I had with Clash of the Titans was the huge alterations to the storyline. When you remake a movie such as this one, it needs to stay true to its roots. Remakes are created to enhance the experience and retell a story using updated technology and special effects. Not ruin it by changing the very fabric of the story itself. Okay, so the basic plot of the story remained the same, (Perseus defeating the Kraken) but the storytelling and development were so foreign to me. They changed so much in the screenplay, that with a few adjustments here and there, it could have possibly been made into another film altogether.

Putting Bias and nostalgia aside, this film was still quite horrible. Besides the updated CGI monsters and action sequences, this film lacked any kind of substance whatsoever. The storyline in the original was definitely not academy award winning, but at least it had one. This film seemed to jump from idea to idea with little to no explanation. There was hardly any background info on any of the characters or development for that matter and the dialogue between the actors was just grotesque. It was really hard for me to appreciate anything in this film.

Yet despite all its flaws, I believe there will be some out there who will come out of the theaters with some sort of satisfaction. After all, the sound was great, the monsters were pretty cool, and the film maintained a nice pace. Enough to keep the average moviegoer entertained.

My suggestion? If you enjoyed the original, I’d wait till this one is released on Blu-Ray and DVD. Everything that made the original a magical experience is gone. Save yourself the time and money and rent it. If you’ve never seen Clash of the Titans, pay for the 2D version of the film. The movie was shot with 2D in mind and during its post production some genius thought it was a good idea to make it 3D. The 3D glasses didn’t enhance the story or effects one bit.

Ninja Assassin (DVD)

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Like most people, I am a sucker for ninjas. Take some of the most God awful movies and throw in a ninja or two and I’m there. I have sat through some horrendous films all for the sake of catching a glimpse of some idealized brutal ninja violence and often times I have wound up dissappointed. After seeing the trailers for this film, I felt like my search for quality ninja action had finally come to an end.

Ninja Assassin is nothing more than a bloody action flick with a fairly basic plot. To be perfectly honest, if anyone is expecting more from this film, you will be sorely dissappointed. Fortunately, the movie is VERy bloody and VERY action packed. Right from the get go, the movie opens with a crazy assassination scene complete with severed limbs and people being sliced in half.

We are then introduced to Raizo (played by Rain), a ninja assassin who has been banished from his clan and is doing freelance assasination work. Unlike the other ninja in his former clan, Raizo has developed a bit of a conscience. This is explored through various flashbacks in which Raizo reflects on his ninja training. The film cuts back and forth between Raizo’s training days and the present. In the present, Mika, a reporter, and a group of interpol agents have been tracking the ninja clan and have linked them to numerous assasinations throughout the years. When Mika discovers too much information, she is marked for death by the ninja clan. Luckily, Raizo happens to be in the right place at the right time and manages to rescue her from the onslaught of assassins. Eventually, this leads to the ultimate showdown between Raizo and his former clan family.

Plotwise- there isn’t too much going on in this movie other than your standard revenge storyline. This is actually a good thing as Raizo has all of the acting ability and personality of a concrete block. However, despite his personality shortcomings, like many other people I prefer my ninjas to be slicing and dicing more and talking less. The action in this film is very well done for the most part. Ninja stars are constantly whizzing by while swords are heard clanging together as severed limbs fly left and right. While the acting is pretty dismal overall, the flick’s saving grace is that they action scenes are excellent.

This is the bad ass ninja personification that audiences have been waiting for. I can’t even begin to count the number of wussy ninjas that have appeared on screen in other movies that have left me waiting in vain for them to just hack somebody in half. If you want bloody, visceral ninja action- this movie delivers that in spades. Unfortunately that is about all the movie delivers. Main character Raizo, as played by actor Rain, will most likely not be nominated for any academy awards anytime soon. He is entirely believable as a killing machine and he manages to pull of this role fairly well.

Overall, this is a very entertaining movie but definitely not for everyone. There is a considerable amount of violence that is not for the squeamish. The bad acting, substandard plot, and over emphasis on action are all the trappings of a B movie, yet the one thing that manages to elevate this movie above that level are its tremendous special effects and action sequences. The movie is worth seeing for the action alone, which to be honest is perhaps the only reason someone would go to watch a movie called ‘Ninja Assassin.’