Here Comes The Boom

Kevin James is a likeable lead, but even for a simplistic comedy like this, the script is nonsensical. There are several amateurish and stupid plot turns, that, if you stop and think about them for two seconds, you would realize they’re are less sophisticated than the average cartoon. But, whatever. The kids seem to like it.

Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

It’s a filmed Led Zeppelin concert from 2007, which the band supposedly spent years mixing and finishing. With minimal visuals and showmanship, it’s a great concert and the band sounds fantastic. Not a lot of horsing around between songs or chit chat and the film itself is too cutty. But there are solid renditions of many of the famous tracks. Even though the band sounds tight and well-rehearsed, it’s not completely clear that they were having a good time. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones wear permanent scowls, as though they’re concentrating way too hard to enjoy themselves. Jason Bonham, however, seems elated to be there.

Seven Psychopaths

Sam Rockwell has this way of taking supporting roles and stealing movies. He does it here, too, in spite of the super-cool pedigree of the rest of the cast. It’s funny, and it was about some things I wasn’t expecting it to be – the plight of the blocked screenwriter, for one thing. So there’s lots of screenwriting jokes and lots of killing people jokes. I don’t know how the rest of the people in the world will like it, but I did.

Argo

It’s kind of an “easy A.” It’s adapted from a book based on a true story, it’s a period piece, it’s suspenseful, it’s political, it has a happy ending. It was practically guaranteed to garner a best picture nom before the cameras even rolled. Only a moron could fuck it up. Nevertheless, Ben Affleck and company go the extra mile, filming with an epic scope, pushing the suspense and basically nailing every aspect of this. The result is an almost perfect movie, combining suspense and drama, historical weightiness with Hollywood corniness. I found only brief moments of this to be hokey, like an excessive last-minute chase. But it’s lovingly hokey, a celebration of all old-fashioned Hollywood chases. A gloriously heroic, nick-of-time escape. They could have played Rossini’s William Tell Overture and it would have been okay. Kudos to Smokehouse, Affleck, and everyone involved.

Arbitrage

Richard Gere, who doesn’t have any of that neck fat that old guys get, is consummate as the anti-hero in this “the villain wins” cautionary tale. The problem with anti-hero movies is you’re not sure who to root for, and not rooting for someone can make you look inward, and who wants to do that?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

As the first half of this movie rolled by, the soundtrack was great, but I wondered what was the point of it all. The movie takes its time but it does eventually end up being “about” things – dramatically sexual things that can completely define someone’s personality for the rest of their lives. The cast was great and delivered their teenage characters easily, maybe because they’re all adults portraying children with no orthodontia, acne, or any other body issues. (Man, I could have CRUSHED high school if I had been 21!) Anyway, it’s a lovely, poetic movie, treating the very serious subject of high school with utmost artistry and seriousness. And of course, the soundtrack was good, as it should be.

Hotel Transylvania

This was a cute and inoffensive animation with a kind of manic energy normally reserved for TV cartoons. No point in rushing out to see this one, but kids might like it.