Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012

Recliner Reviews for January 19, 2012

“Fright Night”

Colin Farrell adheres to the philosophy of a clock being right twice a day – in other words, Farrell does 10 bad movies for every two good ones. At his worst, he’s damn dreadful. But sometimes he really hits the mark. This time, the part is 99 percent swagger and there’s no denying Farrell knows swagger. This remake of an ’80s vampire classic aims at cutting the cord on the original and ramping up the content to hyper-violent vampire exploits – it distances itself from the bloodbath of bad vampire films that hopefully step out into the sunlight lathered in garlic sunscreen soon. The film almost succeeds with great cast performances that try to make you forget you’re watching another vampire movie. If they just could’ve stayed away from the video game-esque CGI effects at the end of the film. Whoops, I shouldn’t have reported the spoiler alert but really I’m not telling you anything to ruin the movie. The filmmakers accomplished that feat all by themselves when they opted to make the climax look like a cartoon. Worth a watch…until the last 15 minutes.

“The Devil’s Double”

Sometimes you read a synopsis and it makes the movie sound horrible. What would you say if I told you this movie was the true story of a man who served as a body double for Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday? Initial thought: Who cares? Well, think again. I truly underestimated the power of the lead actor, Dominic Cooper, who dominates this film, playing both Uday Hussein and his body double, Latif. Cooper makes Uday look so manically out of control that you feel sorry for Saddam as a parent (maybe I’m a tidbit extreme). But Cooper is a machine, making you sympathize with Latif while making you despise Uday. Director Lee Tamahori pegs the sights and sounds of Iraq in the late ’80s and early ’90s but more than that, he matches the dread and disillusionment of the citizens of a modern day country being lead with Roman abandon and reckless family hegemony. Worth a watch.

“Dolphin Tale”

Give it kudos for the best pun as a title – a movie about a dolphin that loses her tail after being caught in fishing net and must learn to use a prosthetic tail to swim again. OK, it’s a bit “Free Willy” and the actors deliver their lines like they’re reading off wet cue cards. But it’s a family movie and you have to rate family entertainment on a different scale. So let’s dive in with family goggles on and see if it works. The child actors are on par with a Disney Channel movie. The adults leading the cast are Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman – one out of three ain’t bad. But the dolphin steals the show. The dolphin that the story is based on, Winter, plays herself in the movie. Freeman seems like he wrote his own lines and the film really gets going when he shares scenes with Winter. I cringed when the other actors spoke but the fluidity of the story was enough to keep me watching. Don’t judge me, I’m a family man –it’s worth a watch.