Jan 22
Source Code is a ridiculous film in a lot of ways and it doesn’t make much sense. Directed by Duncan Jones, it’s a movie that’ll make you think and ask a lot of questions. It just doesn’t seem to have the answers, which can potentially be part of the fun. The cast works exuberantly to cover up the holes and the Ben Ripley script is amusingly urgent in its unveiling of plot mechanics (and subsequent plot holes).
The so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe expands with Captain America: The First Avenger, yet another motion picture to build to the eventual May 2012 release of The Avengers. Directed by Joe Johnston, Captain America is a fun picture filled with good performances and some truly awesome fight and action sequences.
The more Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes pushes the line into absurdity, the more fun it becomes as a popcorn blockbuster. The 2011 picture is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, sort of a Batman Begins for the Apes mythology complete with an origin story and an open-ended conclusion that leaves the door wide open for a number of sequels and other possibilities.
J. J. Abrams is quickly establishing himself as a big name director and filmmaker. His Super 8, produced by Steven Spielberg, has all the right touches of storytelling and grandeur that make American movies so interesting and expansive. It is a well-woven tale of youthful excitement, drawing memories of some of Spielberg’s finest moments while establishing something fresh and new.
Overwhelming in its senselessness, Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues the unwieldy and garish Michael Bay franchise that began back in 2007. Bay’s utter lack of concern for plot, character development, suspense, and other general components associated with decent movies is in full effect, as is his “aggressive” style of making films that continues to rake in heavy dough at the box office.
