Catching Up: 8 Mini Movie Reviews of 2014

So I let my blog lapse a little.  Truthfully, I haven't been to the movies that often.  The economy has prevented me from indulging in this particular vice.  I generally have been waiting for movies to come out on video.  (Perhaps another blogging opportunity.)  So rather than try to blog for each movie I've seen individually, I decided to write eight mini reviews for each of the movies I have seen in 2014, all in one post.  Here it goes:

Orlando Bloom as Legolas

1.  The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug - Okay, I went to see this one three times while in the theaters, and I already own this one on Blu-ray, and I just purchases the extended version.  Peter Jackson would crap, and I would probably give it a good review.

This second installation of the film version of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic picks up where the first left off - with Thorin's company continuing their trek towards the Lonely Mountain to confront the dragon Smaug and reclaim their lost treasure.  Their adventure will have them face dirty spiders, cruel elves, and greedy humans before circumstances bring Bilbo (Martin Freeman) face to face to Smaug, played to the hilt by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The movie is great, but it gets frustrating to have your viewing experience broken into three parts.  I spent way too much time during this movie worrying about when they would end the movie, And it ends, predictably at a cliffhanger.  Many have argued that the original trilogy was better.  That may be true.  But it is still wonderful to be back in Middle Earth, again.

Russell Crowe as Noah

2.  Noah -  There were a few things I liked about Noah.  Being somewhat of a biblical historian, I liked that they portrayed the antediluvian society as industrial.  I liked that they dug into the apocryphal "The Book of Enoch" and implemented the Nephilim, or giants.  But I was vastly disappointed that they turned them into stone giants.  There were some superb special effects - battle scenes and epic flood waters.  There was some fine acting - Russell Crowe as Noah, Jennifer Connelly as his wife, and Emma Watson as his daughter-in-law.  Ray Winstone was positively frightening as Tubal-Cain, and Sir Anthony Hopkins was perfect as the ancient Methuselah.

But none of these was enough to save this from being just a plain bad story.  Imagine for a moment if a Hollywood atheist made an environmental movie using a story from the Bible.  What would you expect?  Certainly a trashy movie, just like this one.

Geoffrey Rush & Sophie Nelisse in "The Book Thief"

3.  The Book Thief - Based on a novel of the same, this story centers around a young girl named Liesel in wartime Germany (played by the brilliant Sophie Nelisse).  Her mother is being transported by Nazis to a camp for being a Communist, and she is placed in custody of Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson), a childless couple.  After adjusting to her new life, she finds entertainment by books - sometimes stolen - from the private library of a Nazi commander.  The family also finds itself in peril when they take in a runaway Jew, Max (Ben Schnetzer).  Max and Liesel spend their days with Max teaching the young girl how to read.

Colorful and hauntingly beautiful, this film gives a different perspective to World War II and shows what it is like to live right in the middle of the conflict.  Newcomer Sophie Nelisse gives a convincing performance, and Geoffrey Rush is superb, as always.  This movie is definitely worth seeing at least once.

Sherman & Mr. Peabody

4.  Mr. Peabody & Sherman - I am definitely a child of the '70s.  I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons.  Faithfully, I watched "Superfriends", "Schoolhouse Rock", and "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".  I knew these shows well.  I especially liked a segment of Bullwinkle that featured Mr. Peabody, a genius canine, and his adopted son Sherman.  The two would take adventures through different periods of history a la Bill & Ted.

That's why it was nice for me - more than 40 years later - to be able to introduce these characters to my kids when they released an animated movie.  Peabody - I was surprised to learn was played by Ty Burrell of "Modern Family" fame - is forced to travel back in time with Sherman (Max Charles), along with Sherman's classmate Penny (played by another "Modern Family" veteran, Ariel Winter).  This movie is a delight.  It has plenty of cultural references and tongue-in-cheek humor geared towards a Generation X audience, and there is plenty of action and funny moments for kids.  Add some snazzy cameos by Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, and Stanley Tucci, and you have the perfect family movie.

Chris Evans & Scarlett Johansson

5.  Captain America:  The Winter Soldier - The merger of Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm was genius.  Seriously, between the three, that's all my kids watch.  Not that I am complaining; I really think all of the Marvel movies are really cool.  The new installation of "Captain America" is no different with Chris Evans reprising his role as the patriotic superhuman.  It takes place two years after the events of "The Avengers", and the captain must combat a hostile takeover of the super-secret government agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. by Hydra, a neo-Nazi organization.  (Those who watch the TV show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." can witness this infiltration from a different perspective.)  Scarlett Johansson resumes her role as resident badass, Black Widow, and the ever-present Samuel L. Jackson stars as Agent Nick Fury, all of them together with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) confront Hydra, and their mysterious warrior called "The Winter Soldier".  This film is action-packed, and, in many ways, better than the first movie.  A definite see for your kids.

How To Train Your Dragon 2

6.  How To Train Your Dragon 2 - Honestly, I wasn't that excited to see this movie, but my kids were.  I thought it was alright, but my kids loved it.  The fact that the kids loved it was good enough for me.  The story picks up several years from the first movie where Hiccup (Jay Barushel) discovers a Viking tribe that captures dragons and makes slaves of them, endangering the good rapport that Hiccup's village has created with the dragons.  Along the way, he meets his mother, played by Cate Blanchett, who has also mastered the art of training dragons.  The movie climaxes with an amazing battle scene that includes behemoth dragons.

The true mark of a movie - do I look at the time all through the movie to see if it is almost over?  Sadly, yes.  But go for the kids.  The kids will love it.

Seth MacFarlane & Charlize Theron

7.  A Million Ways To Die in the West - My older kids took me to this one for Father's Day.  This film was directed and stars Seth MacFarlane of "Family Guy" fame.  It became very distracting watching it, because, every time he opens his mouth, one hears Brian or Peter speaking.  The humor was typical of MacFarlane - that is, some of it is hilarious, and some of it is just plain crude.  I did chuckle quite frequently, but, honestly, this movie is now out on video, and I have no desire to own it.  Not even the stellar cast could save this film, which included a sneaky villain (Liam Neeson), a love interest (Charlize Theron), and many other colorful characters played by Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sarah Silverman (whose dialogue made even me blush), plus many, many other cameos.  Some great moments here, but I think MacFarlane should stick to animation.

Guardians of the Galaxy

8.  Guardians of the Galaxy -  This is possibly the perfect summer flick I have seen in a while.  This Marvel epic has action, special effects, and a great story.  But most of all, it is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.  There are no angst-ridden superheroes, but a group of five selfish characters who do not hesitate to screw each other over, but have to learn to work together.  I won't sat much about the plot.  I will just say - you need to see this movie, if you haven't already.  I have seen it twice, and that says something.  The cast is superb - Chris Pratt as Starlord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, and my kids' favorites - Vin Diesel as Groot, who only speaks three words throughout the film ("I am Groot"), and the machine-fun wielding raccoon, Rocket, played by Bradley Cooper.  The dialogue is witty, and the visuals are panoramic.  Quick, go see this movie!