DVD Voice

A night off the regular movies and a switch to a Superman animation. This one, from DC Comics and Warners Animation, All-Star Superman, is about Superman who has saved an manned mission to the Sun from certain doom. In the process, this trick from Lex Luthor, has exposed Superman to much more Solar Radiation than even he can handle. It’s souped up his energy levels and his cells are now breaking down. He’s three times as strong and fast, but will soon die.

In desperation, Superman tells Lois Lane that he, Clark Kent, is actually Superman. She goes to his super secret hideout and Superman gives her a super serum that gives her super powers for 24 hours. They meet enemies, they fight, they go to Atlantis, they have a grand old time while Lex Luthor, back in prison, works in his lab and confesses to Clark Kent, who he’s always liked, what the world would of been liked without Superman, and how he’s killed Superman – Superman is dying he says. But Lex is destined for the electric chair – reinstated just for him.

What’s the world to do? What will become of newspaper reporting without Clark Kent? Did Lois really believe Superman is Clark Kent? Will Metropolis be saved?

You have to watch to find out!

Oh … and if you don’t want to find out, you still may need to watch just to see the greatest line in the film: “You broke the moon.”

Things learned from this movie:

1. Everyone is always so polite.
2. Clark can resist fixing a breaking elevated train bridge.
3. The Daily Planet has the tallest building in the city, yet has only 1 room for newspaper writing. 1 editor, 1 photographer, 3 reporters.
4. Dinosaur people live at the center of the earth.
5. Manned missions to the Sun will be possible in the near future.
6. Time telescopes are a must-have!
7. Lois is hot in her super-suit.
8. Lex Luthor is one smart dude!

Rated PG. 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes). Cartoon violence. “Sensuality” as Lois takes a steamy room shower in Superman’s lair.

The Lookout is a movie that slipped by me. I’d never heard of it. Tonight the friendly guy at the Blockbuster store suggested this one since there was a dearth of new titles (in stock) that I wanted to see!

Basically you have Chris Pratt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, a cocky hockey player seemingly on top of the world who does a stupid stunt and crashes his car, killing two best friends and seriously injuring his girlfriend (If I have this right). He’s suffered severe brain damage and has memory issues and gets frustrated when he can no longer understand things. Everything is written down in his notebook or on stickers – like “lock the door” or “turn off alarm clock”.

He’s a night janitor at a bank and spends time after getting off work in the local bar drinking non-alcoholic beer. He lives with Jeff Daniels, a guy named Lewis, who is blind – blinded from his at home meth lab – and works in a call center. It’s sort of a symbiotic relationship with each helping the other out.

Chris is approached by a “friend” who once supposedly dated his sister. They hang out a the local bar a few times and Chris spends a late Thanksgiving with the guy. He gets lucky with one of the guy’s friends “Luvlee Lemons” and so the bonds of friendship gets even stronger. The friend then approaches him about helping them rob his bank. Chris would be the lookout. He’d have the most important job… The enticement is completed by telling him how this would help him get his old life back because having money means he has power.

Things go wrong. Don’t they always? Basically Chris decides that he doesn’t want to help them rob his bank but is forced to go along with it. When the shooting starts … well, that’s the crux of this one – I’ll not spoil it, you have to see it. It’s not a must see, like Inception, but its good. If you haven’t seen and have some downtime, try it!

The most weird (technically part) of the film was the action scene. When the gunfight erupted, the action sequences looked like they were filmed by an entirely different film crew. Like it was inserted out of a different movie, only the location and actors fit. Very strange feel. But it didn’t really detract.

Try out The Lookout today!

Things learned from this movie:

1. Brain damage is not fun!
2. Fireflies lighting up the valley are amazing to look at!
3. Don’t drive with your headlights off.
4. Calling your dad up at 3am and asking for $10,000.00 isn’t the best of ideas.
5. Don’t let outsiders who don’t know you well destroy your relationship with your family and loved ones.

Rated R. 99 minutes (1 hour 39 minutes). Swearing. The brain damaged sometimes inappropriately proposition for sex. There is a naked girl laying on a bad smiling at you as you pause the video with her great butt on the screen. Gun battles and the required blood.

Tonight the better Unstoppable!

This is the Tony Scott movie starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. I have to say that going into this I didn’t know how good it would be. I have this weakness for trains and hoped to see a lot of the inner workings of trains. Sadly, that didn’t really happen. I mean you see trains – A LOT – kinda like know that if you watch Showgirls you’ll see boobs, yes you will see trains!

This makes a remarkable string of movies by Tony or Ridley Scott that I have really liked. They have amazing consistency of putting out great films.

Basically there is a train. Its got lots of nasty chemicals on it. A train engineer puts the train in ‘slow’ and hops out to run ahead and flip a switch by the track. But said train slips into a faster gear and the fat boy can’t get back on the train. Off it goes down the track. Faster and faster she goes!

Denzel, a forced retirement staring him in the face decides to go after the train. Drama and chase and excitement ensue.

Ok, ok, its not the world’s most exciting movie, obviously. Everyone knows where the train is going. You can see the bend in the track. But still a fun ride. Great little popcorn movie.

Oh – and it’s based on a true story. There are some liberties taken, but the story is essentially true. And who knew Denzel drove trains?

Things learned from this movie:

1. Trains are cool.
2. Making people retire isn’t cool.
3. Old people – and young people – both have stuff to bring to the table and can learn from each other.
4. If your breaking up as a couple a disaster is a great thing to bring you to your senses and back together.
5. If a train moving very fast and carrying toxic chemicals is headed towards your city and the police are evacuating. Go down to the railroad track side and take your camera to get good pictures of the disaster.

Rated PG-13. 98 minutes (1 hour 38 minutes). Language. I guess you could say violence.

This little movie Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was surprisingly good! This is based on the book by Rick Riordan and was directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone 2, and the first two Harry Potter movies – Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets). You have Logan Lerman playing the title role of Percy Jackson, who unknown to him he is a demi-god and the son of Poseidon played by Kevin McKidd. Someone, it seems has stolen Zues’s (Sean Bean of the Lord of the Rings) lightning bolt and everyone thinks Percy has it. The gods will have a war if it isn’t returned in two weeks and this war would mean the end of the world … and I reckon this is the 2012 thing the Mayans were predicting.

Anyway, Percy finds out he is a demi-god, his mother (Catherine Keener) is taken off to the underworld as a bargaining chip for the lightning bolt – actually a weapon and Zeus’s special power. So he sets off on a journey to get his mother and find the lightning bolt to return it to Zeus. Along the way little things like a three headed Hydra and Medusa (by the appealing Uma Thurman) her special effects snake head is cool!

Not to give anything away if you haven’t seen or read the books, but on the recommendation of a friend I watched this and was pleasantly surprised because I thought it was a kids movie. There was several good little jokes poked in there, some jokes slid in for the adults and the CGI is well-done. It is interesting that the young Percy and his fellow demi-gods all pretty much despise their god parent (no pun intended) even though they have been told how they can’t be around them – isn’t permitted. I mean, if I just found out I was adopted and my real dad had all these powers and I’d have a few of them too, well – cool!

Things you learn:

1. If you are a demi-god you can go onto the casino floor even though you are underage.
2. If you eat the lotus flowers no one cares if you have goat’s legs – in fact women love you for it.
3. The entrance to hades and the underworld is in Hollywood!
4. It doesn’t take long to drive from Nashville to Las Vegas.
5. Maserati’s are way cool!
6. Even demi-gods love to play games and video games.
7. Swords never go out of style!
8. Apple iPods make great Medusa hunting and killing tools.

Rated PG. 118 minutes (1 hour 58 minutes). Action violence. There is a lot of fighting and the teenagers are playing with real swords and trying to cut.

Tonight I took on Amelia, Mira Nair’s biographically based account of some of Amelia Earhart’s adventures. This film stars Hillary Swank as Amelia, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor.

I must say, this is a beautiful movie. It’s not 100% true to real life, as few movies — which are entertainment ever are — but as far as what it does do for you it does well. I’m sure we are all familiar with Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, the first one to fly it solo, and who disappears attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

What this movie does show is a woman who knew something she wanted in life, that is to fly. And how the people around her try to ride along on her coattails or use her to get ahead themselves. It’s about how she empowers herself and inspires other women as well as men and children, to dream big and to reach for those dreams. It’s about how her husband discovered that sometimes you can best love someone by letting them be who they are and as he discovered letting someone go to pursue their dreams doesn’t mean you lose them, love is a powerful thing and can bring people back.

And possibly best said by Amelia in this movie, when you have a dream and something you want to do “Don’t let anyone turn you around.”

In short, a beautiful film showing the wonder and spectacle of flight and a entertaining way to spend an evening.

Rated PG. 120 minutes (2 hours).