Green Lantern

My View:  Green Lantern  (2011)  Is it a problem when the leading man shares a makeup artist and hairstylist with his leading lady?  It is when you have a storyline that appears to have been written in crayon and special effects that make the film look like it’s a Japanese animated T.V. show in the 80's.  It's too bad, because Ryan Reynolds is likable as the pilot chosen by the green ring to become a superhero, but this film depends on its special effects way too much.  They just don't cut it.  The film also wastes a great supporting cast that includes Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins and four time Academy Award nominee (one win) Geoffrey Rush (who does the voice of one of the badly animated Green Lantern troupe members).  This film has one of the most anticlimactic battle sequences that I have ever seen to resolve the film’s conflict.  If you do make it to the end, there is a bonus scene after the main credits that sets up the sequel.  Please, no one wants a sequel!  Don't see this film in 3-D, as it was made in 2-D.  3-D was added in post-production and definitely isn't worth the extra bucks.  My Rating:  You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Green Lantern Website

Forgotten Film:  Meatballs  (1979)  The tagline for this movie says it all - "The Summer Camp that Makes You Untrustworthy, Disloyal, Unhelpful, Unfriendly, Discourteous, Unkind, Disobedient, and Very Hilarious".  Bill Murray, in his first starring role, plays the laid-back senior boys counselor who runs the camp behind the back of the Camp Director.  This is Murray at his best, delivering timeless one-liners and several scenes where it’s obvious he has gone off-script (and the rest of the cast is trying to keep up).  Chris Makepeace plays the kid whom Murray decides to make his summer project, and pursues teaching him how he should be spending his life.  This is a warm and entertaining film, and very unlike the gross-out teen comedies of today, this film can be seen and enjoyed by the whole family.    Meatballs Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD):  Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)  Written, Directed and Starring Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), this ensemble piece is about a group of twenty-somethings who begin to realize they need to find their way before adulthood finds them. Radnor plays a struggling writer who encounters a lost boy in the subway.  Instead of turning him over to the authorities, he decides to let the boy tag along.  Radnor meets a girl (played by the cute Kate Mara), whom he quickly becomes enamored with, but she doesn’t want a serious relationship.  In this movie, everyone has to make choices:  choices to stay together or move apart, take a chance on love or run away, to always be looking for the perfect man or finally choose the one who is right for you.  My Rating:  Full Price    Happythankyoumoreplease Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Conan the Barbarian  (2011)  It's not a good sign when, in the trailer, your lead says only a few lines and is barely seen.  Starring Jason Momoa, an unknown, unless you watch the geek sci-fi show, Stargate Atlantis, this is the retelling of the Robert E. Howard story.   Can Momoa fill Arnold's larger than life sandals?  I have my doubts.   Conan the Barbarian Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Soul Surfer:  Hawaiian Nose Flute Preformed by

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)  Am I the only one bugged by the title, as if it's missing something, or maybe I just keep flashing back to Pink Floyd?  Michael Bay has promised that the third installment of the Transformers series will give us more background into the machines’ origins.  Of course, what is on every fanboys mind…will newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley makes us forget Megan Fox.  I hope so…I really do.   Transfomers: Dark of the Moon Website

Until Next Time!

The 50 (a movie from my best/worst films of all time):

#41 Best Film:

Stagecoach (1939)   This western, directed by John Ford, made John Wayne an unforgettable movie star.  Until this film premiered, Wayne was mostly known for doing B-movies and "2 reeler" westerns.  Ford fought for Wayne to play the Ringo Kid and man, did he live up to Ford's faith in him.  Stagecoach is a story of a group of travelers thrown together for a ride across Indian country and, as with any good western, it's more about how people interact with each other than the fight scenes between Cowboys and Indians.  Wayne plays a man who is wanted by the law but feels he must avenge the murder of his father and brother.  Wayne is magnificent in this movie, and the first time we meet his character, he is in a sweeping shot that is one of the greatest intros of all time.  The film has a memorable cast including Claire Trevor, who plays a prostitute with a heart of gold, John Carradine as the dashing gambler and in an Academy Award performance, Thomas Mitchell as the washed up, alcoholic doctor.  The movie ends with one of the most exciting chase sequences that sets the standard for all westerns after.   Stagecoach Info