Adam Sandler Needs To Grow Up!

Everybody knows that Adam Sandler is one of the few actor whose movies are critic proof. Adam Sandler has been around since the '90's and his movies were bad then, but they were entertaining. Happy Gilmore will always be one of my all time guilty favorites. However, the '90 are behind and the Sandler movies I used to love went down significantly.

However, in 2002, Sandler starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love. At that point I realized that Sandler could act. In Punch Drunk Love, Sandler did play the same immature character as always, but in this movie he takes it further. As a result, Adam Sandler tapped into some deep feelings and made the character seem real.

Adam Sandler kept doing the occasional serious role and was quite good at them. Movies like Spanglish and Reign on Me made me respect him as an actual actor. His comedy movie movie started getting worse with each money with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry being the lowest point. Then he starred in last year very underrated Funny People, which is his Magnum Opus.

Now we have Grown Ups and instead of growing up Sandler has stayed in the same safe territory that he is accustomed to. Grown Ups has an all star cast that includes Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. The plot is simple and thin. It's about these five friends reuniting at a lake house for the 4th of July after their old basketball coach dies. There is no plot after that and it's basically a bunch of one liners after that. What I did like about this movie was the chemistry between the three leads. They really having good comedic timing and they mildly entertained me.

Nevertheless, there was a lot of flaws in the movie. Some of the jokes just fell flat and they were too far in between. David Spade and Rob Schneider were the weakest of the bunch as they just leeched off the other actors. The film is very immature, but if its done right it can be funny like in Step Brothers. It was worse than other Sandler fare because the script just felt so stale and it's like jokes are being recycled from other movies.

All in all the film is bad and it might be worse than Chuck and Larry. I wish Sandler would do more mature stuff because he is certainly more than capable of. This movie looked like a lot of fun to make. The end result generates some laughs, but ultimately unsatisfying. The film will please Adam Sandler fans, but it fails on every other level. This is a rental at best. 2 stars out of 5. The end.

Melinda and Melinda (Throwback Review)

The 2000's was a cruel decade for Allen with his only standouts being Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. His worst film of the decade was Anything Else, which tried to be Annie Hall for this generation and failed miserably. Melinda and Melinda had potential and there were some good moments, but there are times where the story just falls flat.

The Good: The film's premise is about some writers gathering in a coffee place. They argue whether life is a comedic or tragic. This sounds like an interesting premise and for the most part it is. The comedic and tragic stories revolve around one character named Melinda (Radha Mitchel). I have to say that her performance is very good and she handles both sides well. Allen wrote a complex character and Mitchel lived up to the performance.

The Bad: The comedic side of the movie fails big time. I think I chuckled a few time and that's it. it's disappointing since you had Will ferrell and Steve Carrell in that segement. Of course Carrell had hardly any screen time at all. Will Ferrel could just not play the famous neurotic woody allen character.

So despite a strong performance by radha Mitchel, Melinda and Melinda fails short of its interesting premise. It's a very uneven film and I can only recommend this as a rental for Woody Allen fans. Plus just like with all of Woody Allen's films wedon't get any special features. There isn't even a trailer for this one. Now that is just messed up. I'd give this a 2.5 out of 5.

The End of Fullmetal

Well, after 10 years the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has ended. I didn't get into the series until like 2005 or 2006 (I can't remember). I started watching the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, and then I switched over to the manga. If you've read the manga and seen the anime then you know that the two series go into a completely different direction after the Elric Brothers encounter Greed. I loved the ending of the 2003 series because it was dark and mature. However, it was bittersweet because it would have been nice if the anime was able to follow the manga more closely.

However, in 2009 Bones (animation company) decided to make another FMA series based more on the manga. This did not seem necessary at first, but now I am glad they did it. FMA Brotherhood has been going on for a year now in Japan and is almost over.

This leads me into the main point of the article. The manga ended this June and it ended pretty nicely. It's just what I expected really, but a couple of thing I did not see coming.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!

After Alphonse sacrifices himself to give Ed's arm back, Ed opens a can of whoop ass on Father. Since Father has no energy left from the philosopher's stone, Ed finishes him off. When Father ends up at the Gate of Truth he is sucked into despair. In order to get his brother back Edward performs human transmutation. However, he doesn't give up his soul or body. He sacrifices the truth in order to get his brother. The truth is basically the ability to perform alchemy. So Ed and Alphonse are finally reunited again except now Alphonse has his body back. From then on the ending is pretty conventional. Mustang's eyes get fixed, relations between Amestris and Ishval are patched up, Ling Yao becomes Emperor of Xing, etc...

It's a nice happy ending and it is cool to see all the loose ends tie up. I assume this is how Brotherhood is going to end, but you never know. The question is which ending is better? Is it the 2003 anime ending or the manga/Brotherhood ending better. It's really hard to say, but I like the manga ending a little better.

The 2003 series became really dark in the later episodes, but it is really mature and deep at the same time. Plus a lot more characters like Marcoh, Scar, and Selim Bradley die. The ending was very bittersweet because on one hand Alphonse got his body back, but in order to do so Ed had to transmute himself to an alternate world (our world). Plus Al did not have any memory of anything after the day the brothers first tried to transmute their mother back alive. In FMA movie Ed and Al reunited, but in our world, and not in the Amestris universe. Like I said earlier, it was satisfying, but still bittersweet.

The manga had more at stake in the end because Father was going sacrifice Amestris (Pop. 50 million) in order to obtain the power of the truth. So yeah...it was much more tense. Plus Father was just a better villain than Dante. Dante was menacing, but Father was cold blooded. It makes it all the more sweeter when Ed beats the shit out of the homunculus in the end.

I also liked the homunculi in the manga better than the 2003 series. In the 2003 series, It was neat to find out that homunculi are formed whenever someone tries human transmutation. You had sloth, who was born as a result of the Elric brothers' failed transmutation of their mother. Plus you had Wrath, who was the failed transmutation of Izumi Curtis' newborn infant. Plus Wrath could do alchemy, which was pretty bad ass.

In the manga I like Sloth, who ended up being King Bradley's son Selim Bradley. That was probably the most shocking thing about the series. I did not see that coming at all. I liked Pride because he was the strongest homunculus and the coldest one. King Bradley was Wrath in this series instead of pride and he had a lot more character development in this series.

In addition to the homunculi, other characters got more face time and more character development. Ling Yao and Mei Chang (both from Xing) were welcome additions not included in the 2003 series. Armstrong's sister is a cold blooded general who kicks so much azz. Even Kimblee is given more to do in the series because he was very underused in the first series.

So in wrapping up, I like the manga better than the 2003 version, but the 2003 series was awesome too. I would recommend watch both of the series, and to decide for yourself which one is better.

Nicolas Cage Wants Cake

The Karate Kid a.k.a. The Kung-Fu Kid

The Karate is a fan favorite from the 80's. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood decided to remake the film. Most remakes are always inferior to the original. However, this remake of the Karate Kid is decent, but still has spme noticable flaws.

The movie's plot is simple and surprisingly faithful to the source material. In the original a handyman/martial arts master Mr. Miyagi (Pat Norita) agrees to teach a bullied boy (Ralph Macchio) karate and shows him that there is more to the martial arts than fighting. It's predictable, but still heartwarming. The only differences is that Macchio is replaced by Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith), Jackie Chan steps into the role of Mr. Miyagi, and that the setting is moved from America to China. The movie has the heart of the original and still has some nice karate scenes. There is good chemistry between Smith and Chan. The film has some humorous moments also. Jaden Smith stars as the main character and this is the young actor's first leading role. Smith has charm, but he just tries to hard. Some of his dialogue feels forced and he tries to be smart and charming, but unlike his father, it doesn't come naturally to him.

In the latter half of thew film Jaden started feeling more comfotable with the role. It is his first real role as an actor and it shows. In addition, the film clocks in at about two hours, which really drags the film down. The first act of the film is okay, but nothing exciting happens. The film has to set up the story, but there still could have been some significant cuts. The film doesn't pick up until the second act and it leads to a satisfying, yet predictable ending. The audience can see all the points coming from a mile away, but the second half of the film almost makes up for the first half. This remake is decent and could have been worse. If you are into a feel good movie then Karate Kid might be up your alley. Nevertheless, this still doesn't match up to the original.

Tony Stark Returns!

So I finally got to see Iron Man 2 and I loved it. I even loved it more than the first one. Ever since I saw the first Iron Man back in 2008 I was in love with it. Iron Man was not the conventional superhero movie. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a narcissistic and cocky weapons designer who becomes a superhero after a life changing experience. Stark has no super powers just like Batman, and builds his own weapons. However, unlike Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is not all dark and brooding. It maintains a good balance of seriousness and comedy, but without it being corny like the Fantastic Four films.

The second Iron Man takes all of the best elements from the first movie and makes it bigger and better. The best thing about the Iron Man movies is Tony Stark, who was born to play Tony Stark. He is very likable and brings a whole lot of charisma to the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. has always been a good actor and it help make the character more three dimensional. The rest of the performances are solid too. Gwyneth Paltrow isn't given much to do, but she and Downey have good chemistry on screen. Although I like Don Cheadle I found myself missing Terrance Howard. Maybe because Howard was in the first movie and not this one. Still, Don Cheadle is a good replacement.

One weakness in the first Iron Man is that the villain was okay. Jeff Bridges played the menacing Obadiah Stane a.k.a. Iron Monger. Jeff Bridges was great because he had a simple objective, but not much depth in that plan. Mickey Rourke is really creepy as Ivan Vanko, who claims that Tony's father stole the arc reactor technology from Ivan's father. So Vanko goes after Tony with his own Arc reactor and uses electric whips to try to take him down.

Another villain is Justin Hammer, who is Stark's rival. Hammer wants to destroy Stark and realizes that Vanko can build computer controlled robot suit weapons to make a profit. I loved Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, but he gets too much screen time. He hams it up as Hammer, but this guy can't be taken seriously as a menacing villain. The main conflict should have been between Vanko and Stark.

To be honest, this film is a mess, but its not a disaster like Spider-Man 3. Unfortunately, I blame the screenplay by Justin Theroux, who also co-wrote the screenplay for Tropic Thunder. I was always hesitant about the decision, but did not count him out. The script is not as stellar as it could have been, but this story had so much potential. There are moments of brilliance, but too many plot points. Plus, unless audiences pay attention really well then some things can be confusing. For example, Sam Jackson appears in the movie as Nick Fury, Agent of S,H.I.E.L.D. Unless you stuck around to the end of the credits in the first movie you'll be scratching you head saying "who the fuck is this guy?".

The movie kept me entertained, but it is more flawed than the first one. The film improves on the action and Robert Downey Jr. is as good as ever. This is a good effort and hopefully Iron man 3 will be more focused. I like how this film, along with the original Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk are in the same universe and setting up for an Avengers movie. Thor and Captain America are coming out next summer and The Avengers is coming out in 2012. There are hints in the film like you can briefly see Captain America's shield in Tony Stark's lab. In addition, if you stay until the end credits there is a scene which sets up for the next Marvel movie, Thor. I just hope more Marvel characters can be incorporated into this universe.

The 3-D Epidemic (Don't Waste your Money)!

Back in the '50's television was stealing audiences away from the theaters. Obviously the studios and theater owners were concerned so they developed a number of methods to improve the theater going experience. This is 3-D was born. At that time 3-D was a joke. In fact you looked like a jackass wearing those lame glasses. Then of course the studios put out some bad 3-D movies. Eventually, this fad ran out of steam and disappeared forever, well until they made a slight comeback in IMAX theaters and theme park attraction.

It's 2010 and 3-D has taken the throne again. In fact the first 3-D film that I saw was not at a theater, but in a theme park. Times have changed so much. 3-D has left a generally taste in my mouth. I used to love it, but now I almost despise it. One of the main reasons is that the 3-D effects overwhelm the story. A whole lot of 3-D films have things popping out a screen and totally distract from the story. That annoys me so fucking much and it is ridiculous.

However, there are rare exceptions when 3-D is actual integrated into the story very well. A very good example is Avatar. The most beautiful film that I have ever seen in my life. The 3-D just doesn't pop out at you and the film just immerses the viewer into the movie. It feels so natural that viewers forget that they are watching in 3-D, James Cameron spent 12 years working on the film and while Cameron is an average director at best, he knows how to use the newest technology to its fullest. He know how to use 3-D and is damn good at it.

IMO Avatar, Beowulf, X-Mas Carol, and possibly Tintin are the only films that I have been satisfied with seeing in 3-D. A whole lot of other films do not need it at all. Disney was one of the first to hop the 3-D bandwagon. I saw Meet the Robinsons (bad film) in New York and it did not make the movie any better. In fact it made it worse. I saw Disney's latest film version of A X-Mas Carol and it did look nice, but did not really convince me why I wanted to see it in 3-D.

It also kills me that some film will get released and have only 20 minutes or so in 3-D. Superman Returns and Harry Potter 6 are examples of this. If I am going to pay for a 3-D movie I want it to be in 3-D for the whole damn time. These movie weren't designed in 3-D and the studio throw some 3-D paint on the film in post production and market it as a 3-D experience. It looks fake and rushed! It's a waste of money!

Thanks to the success of Avatar, How to Train Your Dragon, and Alice in Wonderland, the studios are trying to strike while the iron is hot. There are plenty of 3-D films that are going to be released for the rest of year like Shrek 4, Toy Story 3, Step-Up 3-D, Cats and Dogs 2, Piranha 3-D, Resident Evil Afterlife, Legend of the Guardians, Alpha and Omega, Jackass 3-D, Saw VII, MegaMind, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Tangled, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Trader, Tron Legacy, and Gulliver's Travels.

That is just ridiculous. That is 17 more unnecessary movie converted into 3-D. Seriously, do we need to see a shitty dance movie in 3D or a shitty horror movie that has been declining since the first movie in 3-D. Also do we need Cats and Dogs 2 in 3-D? I speak on behalf of everyone in saying FUCK NO!!! Next thing you know they're going to make a Yogi Bear movie and put it in 3-D. Oh wait, they are making a Yogi Bear movie and it's going to be released in 3-D this December, and Justin Timberlake is going to voice Boo Boo bear. I am not joking! Justin Timberlake is going to voice Boo Boo and Dan Aykroyd is going to be Yogi. Real shit!

If you think that's fucked up then check out 2011 where there are already 25 films guaranteed to be shown in 3-D. Tat body count will increase dramatically, trust me. Hollywood is a business and 3-D is a very profitable move right now. However, people do not think about the long run. 3-D was a gimmick back in the '50's and it is still a gimmick now. This is not the future of the film experience and unless the film is directed by Zemeckis, Cameron, or Spielberg, I will not even consider watching a film in 3-D. The 3D train is going to derail, crash, and burn to the ground. When that happens I am going to say I told ya sold....you greedy Hollywood bastards! Don't waste your Money!