Contagion (2011)

Back in 2009, the H1N1 Pandemic had a worldwide death toll of less than 19,000 people. The seasonal flu kills between 250,000 - 500,000 people a year. Smallpox used to kill well over 2 million people a year. The Spanish Flu of 1918 killed between 20 million - 100 million people (3%-15% of the world population). Imagine a pandemic like the Spanish Flu in modern society. Now imagine it being one that is not only transmitted airborne, but by any touch. This is the story of Contagion. Contagion follows the lives of the victims, the health professionals trying to find a cure, and the survivors. It shows what might happen to society and the moral fabric of man.

I was not all that excited to go see this movie. The trailer did not excite me, and I've watched enough History/Discovery and the News to know that a pandemic is bad juju and that there will be panic, riots, etc. With that in mind, I'm very glad I did go and see it. The movie is extremely well written and directed. Each of the main characters delivers a great performance. The cinematography is beautiful and the lighting really sets the appropriate mood. The musical score fits very well with the mood and story. Overall, I'm highly impressed.

Now this movie does show several people dying and numeorus dead people, including children. I would not take kids to this, nor would I recommend it for a date. It is however an excellent piece of character driven story telling. I give it a 9 / 10.

Cars 2 (2011)

My wife and I decided to take my 2 year old special needs son, and my 5 (going on 12) year old daughter to see Cars 2. We are all fans of Pixar animated movies and we thought they would get a kick out of seeing one on the big screen. My daughter did, my son did too…for a while. Although we went for the kids, my wife and I both enjoyed the movie.

In Cars 2, Lightning McQueen is prodded into racing in the world cup where cars from all styles of racing compete against each other. Nascar, Formula 1, Rallycross, etc. Lightning’s faithful, yet simple-minded buddy, Mater, is accidentally pulled into the world of espionage and finds himself working alongside British intelligence to defeat a plot that could lead to McQueen’s death.

One thing Pixar is great at is knowing who their audiences are. It is primarily kids, and their parents who have been stuck going to see a children’s movie. Any parent who has had to sit through a 2 hour kids movie has wished they had a book to read, etc just to overcome the boredom. Pixar has always been great at subtlety injecting adult humor into their movies. The jokes are almost always over the kids head and often involves a double entendre. This makes the movie bearable for parents, and while keeping it kid friendly. Cars 2 is no exception.

Several times my wife and I (and another dad in the theater with his kids) found ourselves laughing hysterically at jokes that our kids didn’t get. The movie itself was not bad. It wasn’t Pixar’s best but it was still enjoyable. The voice acting was funny, and pulled in some perfectly cast voice actors. The storyline was silly yet fun. The biggest indicator was how long it held our children’s attention span.

If you are looking for a family friendly film, and have seen the original Cars, then check out Cars 2. I give it a 7.5 / 10.

Fright Night (2011)

If there is one movie genre we have had an overabundance of in the last several years it is vampire movies. Not surprisingly most of them suck more than the undead nosferatu that populate them. I was fully expecting Fright Night to fall in line with all the others. Instead I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of a not-scary horror film (or the other type of popular vampire move, the lame romance film) I found myself watching a campy action film that reminded me of watching The Monster Squad (1987) back when I was a kid. It has the same “geek vs overwhelming odds” feel to it.

When the teenage Charley (Anton Yelchin) realizes that his neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire, he struggles to protect his mom and his new hot girlfriend while keeping them both in the dark about what he suspects. Along the way he tries to defeat Jerry but finds that he is ill prepared, and Jerry instead plays with him like a cat toying with a mouse.

While the movie is not going to win any Oscars, it is quite entertaining. Farrell delivers a very convincing performance. I was quite impressed. Everyone else’s performances were acceptable, but nothing that stood out. The movie successfully combined action and humor with a little bit of suspense. While there were the normal “oh how convenient” issues, they weren’t so much so that they detracted from the story.

All in all, this movie was quite fun and worth seeing. It is rated R, and I’d agree with the rating. While it has a “The Monster Squad” feel, it would not be appropriate for younger kids. I give it a 8 / 10.

The Help (2011)

The Help is set in Mississippi during the segregated 1960’s. It tells the tale of a group of black women who come together to help a white woman write a book detailing their lives as the maids of the upper class white families in a small town.

When Skeeter (Emma Stone) decides to try and break into the publishing world, she decides to interview maids to find out what their lives are actually like. When she cannot get anyone to go along, she learns that the Jim Crow laws actually prohibit what she wants to do. Finally, one brave woman, Aibileen (Viola Davis), agrees. As the civil rights movement continues, and violence against blacks escalates, more women agree to participate. The stories they tell are touching, hilarious, infuriating, and sad; but each has the overall mood of despair. Through telling their stories, the movie progresses to a sense of hope.

The acting in this movie is above par. In fact several actors, especially Davis and Octavia Spencer, deliver excellent performances. You can’t help but feel connected with the characters, their emotions and struggles. The cinematography is excellent. The set design, and wardrobes feel period accurate.

I really enjoyed this movie. It is one of the best “feel good” movies I have seen in a long time. My co-critic Tony Route (a black male) and I couldn’t help but reflect on how far our society has come since the 1960’s. While we still have a long way to go toward realizing Dr King’s dream of a colorblind society, I’m certain if you asked a black maid living under Jim Crowe if she believed a black man would be president in her lifetime, the answer would be no. I would highly recommend you see this film. I think there may be some Oscar nominations for The Help and its cast/crew. I give the movie a 9 / 10.

Columbiana (2011)

In Columbiana, a young girl witnesses the murder of her mother and father, who is a Columbian drug cartel lieutenant. She flees to the United States and her equally criminal uncle takes her under his wing. She learns to kill and grows up to be a deadly contract killer. Eventually she begins to seek out those who killed her family so she can exact revenge.

The beautiful Zoe Saldana plays the lead character Cataleya. She is gorgeous and athletic. That is about all the good I can say about the movie. Acting is mediocre to poor. The storyline is ridiculous and horribly predictable. As with nearly every other movie involving law enforcement, and a computer, it is more science fiction than fact; and the cops are all idiots. There were so many stupid scenes in the movie that I felt like I was perpetually sighing.

The movie is so bad that I think the writer, director, and producers all must have been snorting some of Cataleya’s father’s product. I give it a 3 / 10.