John Carter

My View: John Carter (2012)   A Civil War veteran, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), is mysteriously transported to Mars, which is experiencing a war between different ethnic races, each vying for control over the planet. Because Mars has less gravity than Earth, Carter soon discovers that he has almost super-human powers. Those powers come in handy when he gets involved with a princess (Lynn Collins) whose whole race is threatened with destruction by a rival race. Carter will have to choose between his desire to return to Earth and his passion for this beautiful princess. This is a big, sweeping film with stunning special effects that make you believe in 12-foot tall, armed, green warriors. I am a big fan of the books.  This film exceeded my expectations and delivered an exciting tale of swashbuckling adventure. Kitsch gives a first-class performance as the soft-spoken man of action, but it’s Collins who makes this film so much fun to watch - a beautiful actress who also can fight with the best of them.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   John Carter Info

My View: Silent House (2012) A young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) is in the process of helping her father and brother renovate their family lake house when things start mysteriously happening. At first, it’s just noises and odd shadows, but very soon it’s evident that someone or something in the house is not happy with the home-occupiers.  Things go from bad to worse when Olsen discovers her father was beaten. This film is shot to look like it is one long continuous take, a noble experiment that gets old very quickly and, at times, almost makes you sick from the camera shaking so much. It’s very sad that a lot of audiences will get their first look at Olsen from this film because she is so much of a better actress (as proven in last year’s Martha Marcy May Marlene) than she exhibits in this film. This film wasn’t nearly scary enough, was easy to figure out and just wasn’t the exciting ride of a film that the trailer made it out to be.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Silent House Info

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Films of All Time)

#24 Worst Film

Glitter (2001) A rags-to-riches story of a singer (Mariah Carey) who makes it from the small time club-scene to jam-packed arenas. Based loosely on Carey’s own life, the sound track of this film was the worst-selling CD in her career-to-date, and the making of this film left Carey hospitalized for “exhaustion," something anyone could understand after watching her attempt at acting.   Glitter Info

Forgotten Film: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Legendary Greek hero Jason leads a band of warriors on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. Along the way, they encounter rough seas, a hydra, harpies and an animated skeleton army, all brought to life by the legendary special effects man, Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen was the master of stop-motion animation, meaning he did all his special effects with clay figures that he manipulated one frame at a time by hand. His wizardry is shown at its finest in the battle between Jason’s men and the skeleton army, where live action characters swordfight with the animated skeletons. My Rating: Full Price   Jason and the Argonauts Info

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD): Footloose (2011) A remake of the 1984 film with newcomer Kenny Wormald in the role of the man who brings dancing back to a small Georgia town that has banned it. I didn’t like this film when I reviewed it in October, as I feel the soundtrack has too many Country songs, and Wormald just doesn't have the charisma that Kevin Bacon exhibited in the original.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Footloose Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea): Wrath of the Titans (2012) Do we really need a sequel to a film that nobody cared about, other than it gave us the catch phrase, “Release the Kracken?"   Wrath of the Titans Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of John Carter: Spray tanning in England

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Hunger Games  Can a film measure up to the excitement that the book created?  I certainly hope so, and I do feel a perfect Katniss was cast in Jennifer Lawrence, who showed she can carry a picture in last year’s Winters Bone. I am still worried a little about Woody Harrelson playing the part of the alcoholic former champion Haymitch, as my wish for the part was Hugh Laurie.   The Hunger Games Website

Until Next Time!