Its a bleak look at a post apocalyptic future where water, sunglasses, hand wipes, and chapstick have become valuable commodities… its a movie that is really good for its genre… dark and entertaining… but not great overall… and not for all audiences.

The warning: some of the scenes/concepts in this movie may be troubling for some audiences (cat death/brutal fights).
  

(My spoiler-free review)

The visuals of this movie set the miserable, desolate environment for the U.S. – some 30+ years in the future… there’s a lot of dramatic destruction – broken freeways, crumbling buildings, bomb craters dotting the desolate landscape, dried up rivers… highlighted by a palette of colors that are mostly brown, gray, and yellow.

Denzel’s ‘Eli’ is a bad a** hand-to-hand combatant who fights and quotes scripture… facing off against  road vehicles and bad guys reminiscent of “Mad Max” (1979).

But this is memorably different from other post apocalyptic movies like ”Mad Max” (1979) – which has more action and “I Am Legend” (2007) – which relied heavily on effects… because of a deeper story and stronger supporting cast to the main character.

“The Book of Eli” doesn’t over explain things – sometimes just visual cues or short lines of dialogue – like why his quest is so important – why people would kill for what he’s carrying, why the environment is so desolate, that bargaining of supplies and commodities are the currency.   The road scavengers are ruthless hijackers looking for anything useful to trade for more important things like water and other supplies.

I still need to see “The Road” (2009), but for my money, “The Book of Eli” may be one of the best post apocalyptic movies I’ve seen in years.

BUT…. outside of this genre…. its not one of the best movies I’ve seen because it has several flaws and creates some confusion and questions – even for this engaged audience member.   Gary Oldman is convincing as the bad guy, but he’s a little over-the-top in the last third of the movie. 

The opening scenes draw you in, but the sense of time is confusing… is this the same day.. or a longer timespan?  While it is massive and expansive, some of the destruction that Eli walks past seemed a little too much like a set piece.

( possible minor spoilers next )

Some of the things that could have used more explanation to ease my troubles: many characters are wearing lightly used/brand new sunglasses… which is odd in a dusty world of dirty, tattered clothes, and damaged goods that are the targets of scavengers.  How could an item that’s very fragile be so perfect and clean?

Also – the bad guys have motorcycles and trucks and cars… but in a world with very little water … where the source of the water is explained… where does all the fuel come from for their gas powered vehicles?   We can guess that it was salvaged from all the cars that were abandonded along the roads… or Carnegie’s community has an old gas tank… one simple scene or shot could have explained this away.

BOTTOM LINE:    

With a theme that in a world without technology and order – people revert to the most basic animal instincts – leaving the strong overpowering the weak… we can easily root for Eli to reach his goal.  And despite religious undertones, the movie is not overly preachy or heavy handed about nuclear war… its about a man on a quest, doing what he thinks he must do – at any cost.   I give it 6.9 out of 10 … mostly because of the issues outlined above… but if you like this kind of movie, I would recommend seeing it at the theater for the big screen and sound that you won’t get at home.

  “The Book of Eli”

(2010) (rated: R for some brutal violence and language)
(1 hr, 58 min)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Evan Jones, Joe Pingue, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Chris Browning

Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes (The Hughes Brothers) – “From Hell” (2001), “Dead Presidents” (1995), “Menace II Society” (1993)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Post Apocalyptic

The Plot: A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. 

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

“The Book of Eli” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

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The movie does earn its “R” rating with adult themes… its not gratuitous or overly raunchy, but it does have language that you might want younger viewers to avoid.

 Like “Office Space” and “Idiocracy” before it – Judge creates some great characters in “Extract”.   It starts with Jason Bateman’s solid turn as Joel – the boss of the factory making extract…  his talkative neighbor, Nathan, played expertly by David Koechner… J.K. Simmons nails another supporting role as Joel’s factory manager … Ben Affleck pulls off Joel’s goofy friend Dean… Mila Kunis is convincing as the scheming new girl Cindy… while Kristen Wiig, Clifton Collins Jr., Beth Grant, Gene Simmons, and Dustin Milligan add to the solid mix with their characters.

Where the characters are fun and interesting, and there are some funny jokes – the story never completely connects with everyone or gains any real comedic momentum - just several mildly amusing jokes and funnies.  The movie is very deliberate and matter-of-fact, even slow for some… and while it gets where its going in the story, it is not overly entertaining.

While the cult-classic Mike Judge movie “Office Space” focuses on workers in an office, this movie focuses more on the boss in a factory… those two differences may be the reason why it didn’t connect to me on a personal level.  I’m curious if this is funnier to anyone who has worked in a factory and/or is the boss of a business.  (If so, please post a comment below)

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The occasional moments of laugh-out-loud comedy and mildly interesting story keeps the movie going, but its headed ultimately to a disappointing end… but not because of the cast.  “Extract” is not “Office Space”, more along the lines of Judge’s “Idiocracy”.. interesting, but not great.  I give it 6.5 out of 10 … but do want to give the movie/studio credit for the scenes in the trailer being cut from the beginning of the movie – so it didn’t spoil anything.

“Extract”

(2009) (rated: R for language, sexual references and some drug use)
(1 hr, 32 min)

Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Dustin Milligan, David Koechner, Beth Grant, Gene Simmons, Matt Schulze, Jenny O’Hara

Writer/Director: Mike Judge  (Idiocracy (2006), Office Space (1999), “Beavis and Butt-Head” (1993-1997))

Genre: Comedy

The Plot: Joel, the owner of an Extract plant, tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife and employees who want to take advantage of him.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

 
“Extract” poster courtesy Miramax

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Its not Payne-ful, but its not a new action classic, its okay, but I’m not overly excited about this movie.

Maybe if I played the video game that “Max Payne” was based on, I would be more into this movie… but considering it took me about a week to actually finish this review tells you something… right? 

You may or may not know that I actually like Mark Wahlberg in the hero role of these second-rate action movies… but this one is just okay for me.
 

The action was good, the gunfights were good, but the overall feel was like a mix between “Sin City” (2005), ”The Matrix” (1999), “Blade Runner” (1982) and a little bit of “Constantine” (2005)… with the grittiness, otherworldly, and futuristic feel… but it was missing the heart that make those movies much better… except “Constantine”, this movie is better than that.

Wahlberg either ends up playing a pretty good part in movies with critical or popular success: “The Departed” (2006), “The Italian Job” (2003), “The Perfect Storm” (2000)… or playing a pretty good part in movies that don’t get the attention, or good reviews: “We Own the Night” (2007), “Shooter” (2007), “Three Kings” (1999).   For the record I like all of the above to varying degrees.

But “Max Payne” didn’t blow me away… I wasn’t wowed… I wasn’t amazed, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, surprised by the twists, or clamoring for more… perhaps its because I’m not a teenager who hasn’t seen a similar storyline in at least a dozen movies before it.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

If you’re looking for a decent action/sci-fi/game inspired movie to rent.. this isn’t a complete waste of time and money, but if you’re looking for more… there ARE BETTER OPTIONS OUT THERE… I give it 6.0 out of 10.

 “Max Payne”

(2008)
(rated: PG-13 for violence including intense shooting sequences, drug content, some sexuality and brief strong language.)
(1 hr, 40 min)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, Donal Logue, Amaury Nolasco, Kate Burton, Olga Kurylenko, Nelly Furtado

Director: John Moore

Genre: Action/Crime/Sci-Fi/Video Game

The Plot: Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin out to avenge her sister’s death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“Max Payne” poster courtesy 20th Century Fox

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“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – Hard to Forget

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a fun *adult*-comedy… more than just raunchy jokes and sexual inuendos from a cast of familiar young faces from many of TV’s top shows….  this ranks right up there with “There’s Something About Mary”, “Knocked Up”, and “Superbad” in R-Rated Comedies….   but I do have one problem… a problem that makes this movie fall just short of a 7/10 rating…

 “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

starring Jason Segel (”How I Met Your Mother”), Kristen Bell (”Heroes”), Mila Kunis (”That 70’s Show”), Russell Brand, Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Jonah Hill (”Superbad”/”Knocked Up”)