Pixels (4/10): Recycled Sandler humor with a bit of action adventure in the mix.

“I believe that some alien life-force, has sent real life video games, to attack us.”

Chris Columbus, the man who directed the first two Harry Potter films as well as Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Adventures of Babysitting, and many more family friendly films that I actually enjoyed, now directs Adam Sandler in Pixels, a film that aims to appeal to those adults that grew up in the early 80’s playing classic arcade games, but unfortunately it only ends up being entertaining for younger audiences due to its cliche jokes and formulaic structure. I must confess that I once was a huge Adam Sandler fan and watched everything he did from his Billy Madison days up to Jack and Jill in 2011 (with Chuck and Larry being the only exception, which somehow I miraculously missed). As a young teen I found his movies hilarious, but as I grew older his schtick got repetitive and I somehow decided to give up on him. I hadn’t seen another film starring Sandler since Jack and Jill, but decided to give this one a try for nostalgic sake and because Columbus’s films usually appealed to me despite his films being overly sentimental at times. It didn’t hurt that Peter Dinklage was also starring in this film since I love what he does (his short scene in Elf is one of my favorites and he is awesome in Game of Thrones). All these factors managed to convince me to watch Pixels despite my low expectations and I honestly got what I was expecting. It’s as if Adam Sandler directs all his comedies because they are so similar in tone despite never having directed, but I guess the directors always let him improvise and he ends up making the same jokes in every movie. The only positive feedback I’ll give Pixels is that it did manage to engage with the younger audiences; my ten year old brother had a blast, so it might make some money at the box office.    

Based on Patrick Jean’s own screenplay for a short film he made in 2010 (which seems far more appealing to me), this feature film opens in the 80’s with a group of kids who grew up loving arcade games. Brenner (Anthony Ippolito) is so good at predicting these game patterns that he signs up to compete in an arcade national championship. His closest friend, Cooper (Jared Riley), is there cheering for him and he truly believes Brenner is destined for great things in life. During the tournament they also befriend a young boy named Ludlow (Jacob Shinder) who is obsessed with a cyber game character named Lady Lisa (Ashley Benson). Unfortunately, Brenner is defeated by Eddie (Andrew Bambridge), a loud mouthed arcade lover who goes by the nickname of fire blaster. The film then jumps to the present where we discover Brenner (Adam Sandler) hasn’t really accomplished anything in life. He installs technical equipment for a company called Nerd. Cooper (Kevin James) however has become the President of the nation. Nerd sends Brenner to Violet’s (Michelle Monaghan) home to install the latest gadgets for her young son Matty (Matt Lintz). Brenner and Violet have a small moment, but when he tries to lean in and kiss her things get ugly between them. Right after that awkward moment Brenner receives a call from Cooper about an alien attack on Earth (and so does Violet who is then revealed to be a Lieutenant). Apparently these aliens have attacked using the arcade game format created through pixels, and the only way to defeat them is similar to the way they played the game. Brenner enlists the help of Ludlow (Josh Gad) and his archenemy Eddie (Peter Dinklage) to try to defeat these alien invaders and save the Earth.

As ridiculous or appealing as the premise sounds (depending on wether or not you’re nostalgic over these classic arcade games) the greatest problem with Pixels is that its incredibly hard to believe some of the relationships between these characters. The first time Adam Sandler and Michelle Monaghan’s characters meet, the dialogue between them is so phony and forced that it makes it impossible to relate to. That scene was probably one of the worst I’ve seen all year. Kevin James, Josh Gad, and Brian Cox can be funny people, but they play the same characters they’ve been playing in recent years. Dinklage’s Fire Blaster seems to be either hit or miss for some people, and I actually found his character to be the funniest in the movie. No one here is actually trying hard and the film is proof of that, but audiences that are simply looking to escape for a couple of hours might find it amusing. I still don’t know what Jane Krakowski was doing in this film since her character isn’t given anything to do despite her comedic talents. She should’ve been used more. Pixels is recycled Sandler material that will only appeal to hardcore 80’s nostalgic gamers and young kids who enjoy pretty much any adventure.   

My Review: Penthouse North (2/10)

¨Sarah just tell me where the diamonds are.¨

Penthouse North is a thriller that unfortunately never manages to thrill because of the terrible screenplay. This is one of those movies that you know is going to be bad from the opening scenes, and despite starring two reliable actors like Michael Keaton and Michelle Monaghan the film is really dull and predictable. The film was directed by Joseph Ruben, who is mostly known for his 1991 film Sleeping with the Enemy, but is responsible for other titles such as The Forgotten, Money Train, and The Good Son. Most of the movies he´s directed have been bad, but this is probably his worst film.  Ruben teamed up with the screenwriter he worked with in Money Train, David Loughery, and if you thought the action in that movie was laughable just wait until you see Penthouse North. The only positive thing I can say about this film is that it is only 80 minutes long, but even at that amount of time it still felt long because of how dull the story was. I was excited to see Michael Keaton back in a bigger role (I think the last time I saw him in a lead role was in White Noise) and he is probably the best thing about this movie, but it is still not worth the watch.

Sara (Michelle Monaghan) was a photographer during the war in Afghanistan where she suffered a severe accident in an explosion and was diagnosed with permanent blindness. Three years later we see Sara living in a nice penthouse with her boyfriend, Ryan (Andrew Walker). It{s the last day of the year so she decides to go out to the store to buy some drinks and when she returns she finds her boyfriend´s body covered in blood. The killer is still in the house and  begins to ask her about the whereabouts of the money that Ryan had stolen from him. The criminal´s name is Chad (Barry Sloane) and he holds her kidnapped in her home until she tells him about the money. Michael Keaton also has an important role in this film, but I don´t want to give too much of the plot away despite the twists being rather predictable.

This is yet another failed attempt at a home invasion thriller (as bad as the one starring Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage; Tresspas). The plot is predictable, the dialogues are stupid, and the performances are nothing out of the ordinary. There is no character development whatsoever and the flashbacks with Monaghan´s character are completely pointless. There is no tension at all in this movie and there isn´t even a moment of suspense. Everything is pretty much just unremarkable. This is an early contender for worst film of the year, but no one is probably going to see it anyway. 

My Review: Tomorrow You´re Gone (1/10)

¨You want to tell me what went wrong last night? ¨

I think I just found the number 1 contender for worst film of the year, at only 90 minutes long this film is so tedious and pointless that I felt it was never going to end. It tries too hard to be an art house film, but we´ve seen these character driven neo noir films done much better in the past. I don’t even think this film makes sense or tries to deliver any sort of message. You don´t even know when the main character is imagining things or living reality; everything is so ambiguous and vague. Tomorrow You´re Gone never goes anywhere and it´s a shame because Stephen Dorff and Michelle Monaghan are pretty good actors. This is just a waste of their talents and a waste of our time. Director David Jacobson (Down in the Valley) has made one pretentious movie  and with the help of screenwriter Matthew F Jones (Deepwater and A Single Shot) he has made one of the worst films I´ve seen in a long time. I usually take something positive about a film no matter how much I dislike it, but I cannot say anything good about this movie. There is not one single thing that I like about this pretentious thriller. Willem Defoe could be the best thing about this film, but he is in this movie as much as he is in the trailer. This is a complete waste of time so stay away from this film.

Charlie Rankin (Stephen Dorff who gave his best performance in 2010 in Somewhere) is getting out of prison after four years, but before he leaves he receives a letter from his mentor in prison, the Buddha (Willem Dafoe), who asks him to kill someone for him. As soon as Charlie gets out of prison he goes looking for this man and receives a special payment from the Buddha. However, something goes wrong with the hit and Charlie can´t quite settle his debt with him. Along the way Charlie encounters a mysterious woman named Florence (Michelle Monaghan) who for I don’t know what reason sees the good in Charlie and tries to rescue him from his pain. Together they embark on a road trip and half of the time you don’t even know what the two are talking about. It´s hard to explain the plot of the movie when nothing really makes much sense and most of the things going on seems like they are all imagined by Charlie. There is a thin line between reality and fantasy here, and Charlie has some serious and dark unresolved issues going on. I really hated this movie and I can’t say it enough times, stay as far away from this film as possible.

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My Review: Machine Gun Preacher (8/10)

¨Why don't you fight the evil in this place your way, and let me fight it mine.¨

Marc Foster has directed some interesting movies in the past such as Kite Runner, Quantum of Solace, and Monster`s Ball, but in my opinion his best film is Finding Neverland; a movie I absolutely fell in love with; so each time Foster makes a new film I am always looking forward  to what he is going to do next. His latest film, Machine Gun Preacher, was a very emotional and entertaining film. It combined a lot of action with an emotional drama that worked really well thanks to the lead performance from Gerard Butler. I enjoy these types of inspirational movies where we have a lead character with several flaws who tries to change his life around and redeem himself from his past. I`ve witnessed several of these cases in real life where people have been able through their faith to do great and honorable things despite however dark their past might have been. I believe the world can be a better place if we can learn to let go of our past and live a life of love and service for those in need. Foster makes a very interesting film here and delivers this message in an unorthodox way. The main character isn’t your ordinary converted Christian. This guy has a Bible in one hand, and a machine gun in the other. He is willing to protect those in need by risking his own life. At one point he becomes so immersed in this calling that he puts aside even his own family. Machine Gun Preacher is based on the real life of Sam Childers, a former gangster who becomes a Christian and who`s life changes when he travels to Africa on a Mission trip. I found it to be a really emotional story, but at the same time very entertaining as well. Childers shares even the darkest side of him in this story.

The story begins with Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) being released from prison after having spent there several months for dealing drugs. He is a redneck who loves to hang out with his biker friends in bars around Pennsylvania. He has a wife named Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) and a daughter named Paige. Lynn worked as a dancer at a strip club, but Sam discovers she hasn`t been doing that anymore since he was in prison. Lynn doesn’t smoke or drink either, she claims to have found God and has decided to turn her life around. Sam is not happy about this one bit and continues to live his normal life spending time doing drugs in bars with his best friend Donnie (Michael Shannon). One night his life changes when they pick up a homeless man who tries to steal from them and Sam ends up stabbing him several times. He realizes he has hit rock bottom and agrees to go to church one Sunday with Lynn. He ends up finding God and being baptized. Sam`s life turns around completely as he abandons his life as a drug dealer and begins to make a living as a construction worker. A few months later his hometown is hit by a devastating tornado which works out really well for Sam because he has much more work to do now and ends up managing his own construction business. Sam hears about a mission group that is going to Africa and decides to go. His life changes when he arrives in Sudan and experiences the horrors of the civil war as young kids are being taken from their villages by the rebel army. He befriends one of the army officials named Deng (Souleymane Sy Savane) who tells him what is going on in the country. Sam decides to help out by building an orphanage for the kids and rescuing those who have been taken by the rebels, but he will realize just how big the fight really is as it takes up most of his time and resources.

I already mentioned that Gerard Butler is good and believable in the lead role, but he also had a strong supporting cast to rely on. Michelle Monaghan was surprisingly good in last year`s science fiction thriller Source Code, and here she delivers a strong dramatic role. She is very supportive of her husband and always has a word for him when he`s discouraged. Michael Shannon received a lot of praise for his role in Take Shelter, and in this film he`s good although he doesn’t have much screen time. He`s a great actor, and in the little scenes he was in he was good. I really want to speak about Souleymane Sy Savane, an actor I loved in the small film Goodbye Solo where he played a taxi cab driver who befriends an old man. Savane is really good and it was a real pleasure to see him in this film. I really felt emotional during some scenes which were difficult to watch or really opened my eyes as to the necessity that some of these people have. I might not agree with the way Childers does things, but I was touched by the passion he had for those kids. This is a very powerful and emotional film and I think Foster doesn’t disappoint with the way he directed this movie.

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My Review: Source Code (8/10)

¨What would you do if you knew you only had one minute to live?¨

Source Code is a great action thriller directed by David Bowie`s son, Duncan Jones, who is beginning to make a big name for himself in Hollywood. In 2009 Jones directed a small film starring Sam Rockwell called Moon, and it was among my top films of that year. It was a great science fiction thriller that reminded me a lot of Kubrick`s 2001 A Space Odyssey. Jones does very interesting work once again with Source Code; although this time he didn’t come up with the screenplay. This was a much bigger project and Jones probably had to deal with producers this time around. There are some great and inventive moments, but there are others (like in the ending) that remind us that this is another Hollywood popcorn movie. The movie works in most part thanks to a great performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. Source Code ranks among one of his better performances at least in an action film. Due to the premise the story could have become predictable, repetitive, and boring, but thankfully it doesn’t because of the twists (at times it goes entirely a different direction than what we expected) and because Gyllenhaal gives it the freshness it needs. Monaghan didn’t seem to be up to par with Jake, but it doesn’t matter because she was just a supporting character. Some credit has to be given to Ben Ripley, who although being relatively unknown in Hollywood came up with a fresh, innovative, and interesting script. The action thriller worked really well and I hope Hollywood keeps introducing some new and fresh ideas like they did with Source Code.

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a soldier who from one moment to the next goes from being in a helicopter in Afghanistan to finding himself on a train in Chicago with the identity of another person. Stevens doesn’t understand what is going on as the girl sitting in front of him, Christina (Michelle Monaghan), is talking to him. Colter doesn’t recognize anyone in the train and when he sees himself in the mirror he realizes he is in someone else`s body. Suddenly in the mix of all this confusion a bomb goes off and everyone in the train explodes. Colter wakes up inside a pod without understanding what is going on. There is a lady on a screen talking to him and informing him of his situation. Her name is Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) and she tells him he is part of a program called the Source Code. A train has exploded in Chicago and they are sending him back in time to try to figure out who the bomber is before another explosion takes place. Colter is being sent into a sort of parallel universe in an attempt to discover who the bomber is, not to prevent it from occurring because it already has happened. The program seems to be able to create a worm hole that is plugged to a human consciousness. The data it receives comes from the dead people on the train. Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright) is working with Goodwin; he is the scientist behind this program and he explains to Colter what is going on. They obtain this data because the human mind retains the last eight minutes of their lives, therefore they are able to connect Colter into their consciousness and send him into this parallel universe in order to identify the bomber. He only has eight minutes to make the discovery and if he doesn’t the train explodes and he has to be sent each time.

Scott Bakula`s voice can be heard when Colter calls his father from the train. Bakula is known for the TV series, Quantum Leap, which has a premise similar to the one in this movie. Jones probably added his cameo in order to credit the series for the similarity. This action thriller begins with a bang. We are put right in the middle of the action and there is no need for us to be told what is going on. Jones leaves us out from the introduction and allows us to be just as confused as Gyllenhaal`s character is. We are just as lost as he is and we begin to make discoveries along the way at the same time he does. This is what makes Source Code really work: it hooks our attention from the beginning and makes us pay close attention to the action. Jones respects his viewers and doesn’t dumb down the plot, he makes us think and get immersed in the plot. Source Code is really short (93 minutes long) and it moves at a very fast pace. If Jones would have slowed down and tried to explain what was going on then the movie wouldn’t have the impact it did, but by letting us figure out what was happening as the plot unraveled we became more and more engrossed by the action. Source Code is one of those movies that grab us by surprise, one that we didn’t expect much from, but end up leaving with a smile on our face because it comes as a sort of fresh air after a hot day. Hollywood doesn’t make much of these movies anymore, but when they do come out its exciting to see something different. Too bad they ended up giving Source Code a typical Hollywood ending, but beside that I have no complaints. This was a great action thriller.

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My Review: Due Date (4/10)

¨My father loved coffee, and now we loved him as coffee.¨

Todd Phillips is the man responsible for directing The Hangover, one of my favorite comedies of the decade. He`s also directed some other funny movies like Old School and is currently working on the sequel for The Hangover. However his latest film, Due Date, was hugely disappointing. Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis are among today`s best comedic actors, but they were badly miscast in this film. The biggest mistake was the approach this road trip/comedy took because the lead characters were immensely annoying and very unlikeable. Robert Downey Jr. `s character is really mean spirited and hateful. He yells at people all the time, easily losses his temper, hits kids, spits at dogs, and even fights with a guy in a wheelchair. It’s impossible to sympathize with him even if he`s Robert Downey Jr. Zach Galifianakis on the other hand has to play the typical annoying character, but he hugely exaggerates it in his approach. He`s really annoying and not someone you actually feel sorry for or could wish the best for him. He`s just way too immature and a little too crazy. It’s impossible in this genre to avoid comparisons with Hughes` 1987 film: Plain, Trains, & Automobiles, one of the all time best road trip comedies. Phillips could have learned several lessons from that movie before directing Due Date. Steve Martin`s character is in no way as mean or hurtful as Downey was, and Candy might have been annoying, but he was still a likeable guy who made you feel sorry for him, unlike Galifianakis. There are really very few funny moments in this comedy (and the best were already shown in the trailer). Due Date relies too heavily on pot jokes, foul language, and masturbating dogs; and it has no heart.

The story is actually not very different from any other road trip comedy. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is an architect and expectant father from Los Angeles who happens to be working in Atlanta. He is trying to make it home on time for the birth of his son/daughter because his wife, Sarah (Michelle Monoghan) is expecting him to show up at the hospital, but an unexpected problem surfaces when Peter has a discussion with one of the passengers of the plane, Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), and both end up on the no flying list. Peter is forced to travel to LA in a rental car along with Ethan because he left his wallet with money and documents on the plane. As much as Peter seems to despise Ethan he decides to travel with him and their troubles begin. Ethan is not the person with whom you`d want to travel with on the road from coast to coast across the States, much less when he also carries around a masturbating dog with him that believes he`s human. Along their journey we meet some other characters like Heidi (Juliette Lewis) the drug dealer, Lonnie (Danny McBride) an ex War veteran working at Western Union, and Darryl (Jamie Foxx) a long time friend of Peter and Sarah. Neither of the supporting characters have enough screen time to make their performances any memorable although some of the funniest scenes revolve around them.

Whatever Todd Phillips did right in The Hangover, he failed to do so with Due Date. There are very few laughs, and there are characters we can`t sympathize with despite the fact that the actors are hugely talented. I can`t even imagine how these two films were directed by the same guy, but I hope he redeems himself with The Hangover sequel. Due Date is a forgettable comedy and a really mean spirited film. Phillips goes a little too over the top in his approach to this road trip comedy. Perhaps the best and funniest moments of the film come from the individual performances of the actors, like the scene where Galifianakis begins to act out a scene from The Godfather. There is also a SNL like moment in the scene at Western Union between Danny McBride and Robert Downey Jr. It`s a funny scene, but if that`s one of the highlights of the film I`d rather watch a full episode of SNL. The truth of the matter is that the movie fails because the audience is unable to connect or find sympathy with any of the characters. There is not one likeable person in this film and that makes us care less whether or not Peter and Ethan make it to Los Angeles on time together. Skip this film and watch Planes, Trains, & Automobiles instead because that is how you make a hilarious road trip movie with likeable and memorable characters.

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