Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Late on a Saturday night. I was just looking for some mindless entertainment…and boy did I find it. I don’t know if this flick was meant to be in 3D, but Angelina Jolie’s character certainly was: 3D x 2, to be precise. Lara’s enhanced physique is so prevalent throughout the show that it is almost like a running—and occasionally bouncing and bobbing—joke, which is ironic since one of the key missing elements of this movie is actual humor, as in humor that is a) intentional and b) something you would actually laugh at. Further conceptual follies are found in the story’s half-assed attempts at being vaguely scientific, via some humbug about a planetary alignment, not to mention various other plot missteps. Even the raw action sequences come across as bland and not particularly inventive (a real black mark considering this film was made contemporaneously with the Matrix trilogy). If I had to point to some good aspects of this work, I suppose I could say that Jolie’s performance is decent, and she gets acceptable support from a pre-Bond Daniel Craig, plus the story does provide a bare minimum of entertainment despite its many flaws. Still, you can’t be too generous towards a dunce work like this one. Instead of pulling things out of a tomb, a better idea would probably be to bury this flick in one, and leave it there for a bad long time. 

Skyscraper

Here we have, dare I say it, a well-constructed action film. How so? For one thing, it was smart to establish the humanity of the protagonist before he is called upon to perform superhuman feats--and to do so in an organic fashion. That box gets checked early on, with considerable help from Dwayne Johnson's personal likeability as well as his character's well-cast family. Speaking of whom, making them--or at least Neve Campbell's wife/mom character--as badass as the hero himself was a good idea; it lets the audience root that much harder for each of them individually and collectively. High stakes matter in an action flick--and they rarely get higher than this one's titular edifice. The filmmakers--particularly the CGI artists--make good use of the ostensible physical locations in this story, so much so that if you're someone afraid of heights (or in my case, falls), this could be a tough watch for you. But you throw it all together and you come up with a highly entertaining piece of popcorn entertainment that's long on fun and short on mistakes (no particularly glaring plot holes, only slight absurdity in the hero's derring-do). The only real downside is the lack of any understanding, vis-a-vis building a modern Tower of Babel, that just becasue you can do soemthing, it doesn't mean you should. But this one doesn't exist for philosophizing--just for giving the ex-Rock something to make audiences go along for the roll. For that, it works.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It seems that movie producers will never learn the lesson: they're not better/smarter/more inventive than the book writers who serve as their sources. Certainly not better than Roald Dahl. This version of Dahl's classic takes too many liberties in introducing Wonka's backstory, and makes the character less a fascinating enigma and more just plain weirdo. The changes detract from what is otherwise an admirable effort--especially in the other side of the dyad, where the story makes clear what a hero Charlie Bucket is. The kid really did deserve his very own chocolate factory.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

It's weird. It's absurd. It's deadpan. It's frequently hilarious. Not everyone's cup of tea, to be sure, but those who get it will really enjoy an offbeat adventure. Special mention must go to the wonderfully mocking parodies of Cousteau-style nature films and books; the animation is a wry joy, and the artwork and look are spot on (and riotous). If you've liked other Wes Anderson movies, definitely take this plunge.

Max

An odd movie to watch, not for its content, or philosophy, or performances--more for the whole, inconsistent package. Director Menno Meyjes shows a strong visual style, and an intriguing willingness to let a scene play out in silence. The screenplay includes some interesting expressions of artistic philosophy, particularly in the exchanges between Noah Taylor's young Adolf Hitler and his Jewish quasi-friend, art dealer Max Rothman (John Cusack). The film crackles when they are on screen together. Otherwise, the pace is slow and the performances ordinary, and some of the philosophical underpinnings of Nazism are presented in a ham-handed fashion. Probably worth it for history buffs (though this is fiction) and those with an artistic bent; others might not want to bother.