It's Dangerous To Wander "Into The Grizzly Maze"

Into the Grizzly Maze (2015)

Rated R

Starring James Marsden, Thomas Jane, Piper Perabo, Scott Glenn, Michaela McManus, Adam Beach,

Directed by David Hackl

The Story:

Rowan (Marsden) and Beckett (Jane) are two brothers who haven't seen each other in ages. When Rowan returns to town in Alaska, he's on a mission to help a friend. However, those plans are in jeopardy when both brothers need to survive the Alaskan wilderness while they are being stalked by a grizzly bear.

This was a pretty effective little thriller, where the monster is told more than shown, so much like Jaws, the scares are often implied versus explicitly shown.

However, when they do allow the bear to attack, there's buckets of gore aplenty. :)

Billy Bob Thornton is on hand as the Quint character who is there to stop the bear, however, well, as the Quint character, you should already know how that's going to turn out, right?

In addition to the issues with the bear, the group also has to deal with their feelings for each other.

Even in the face of a man-eating beast, some differences don't just go away because you're in danger.

Otherwise, you've got a great cast doing their best to make you feel their fear and it's a pretty good little B movie to pass the time.
Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

Even Affordable Health Care Cannot Fix "Accidental Love"

Accidental Love (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Jessica Biel, James Marsden, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tracy Morgan, Kurt Fuller,

Directed by David O. Russell

The Story:

Alice (Biel) is about to be proposed to by her boyfriend Scott (Marsden). That's when tragedy strikes and she winds up with a nail in her head. Naturally, Scott isn't so sure he wants to risk a wedding to someone who could suffer mood swings or die because of the nail, and healthcare is too expensive to pull the nail out. So Alice heads to Washington D.C. to get freshman Congressman Birdwell (Gyllenhaal) to propose a healthcare bill that would allow for the removal of nails to the skull.

This was an odd one.

Reading up on it, apparently it was David O. Russell's attempt at a comedy/political satire that was plagued with numerous problems so he walked away and disowned it.

Ouch.

It's not that bad, and the cast he assembles gives it their all, especially a manic Marsden and a game for just about anything Gyllenhaal who brings a lot of life to a spineless politician who wants to do good things, but can't quite figure out how to do it correctly.

Much of it will seem really dated by the time you get around to watching it because it started filming in 2008, so all the zingers about affordable healthcare have the wind taken out of their sales at this point as it was finally released in a world that has healthcare mandates.

Affordable healthcare, that's a whole different ball game however.

It takes a bit for the movie to get going, but it seems everyone involved is game, and that was like the film's saving grace.

Final Grade: C

Set Those DVRs..."Welcome To Me"

Welcome to Me (2015)

Rated R

Starring Kristen Wiig, Linda Cardellini, Joan Cusack, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Robbins,

Directed by Shira Piven

The Story:

Alice Klieg (Wiig) has issues. When she ends up winning the lottery, she decides to take her winnings to a television station that makes infomercials and create her own talk show. The show is a trainwreck, yet begins to draw an audience. As her new form of therapy, Alice is about to bare her soul to the world and maybe learn a few things about herself in the process.

I don't know, this is one of those movies that is impossible to describe accurately.

A dramedy, to be sure, Alice suffers from borderline personality disorder.  Apparently this is a real thing that a lot of people suffer from, and reading some reviews around the internet, apparently Wiig nails the disorder perfectly and did indeed provide some therapeutic relief for many people who were able to go, "that...that's me!"

The supporting cast, and it is a great one, do just that, they support Wiig fully. While at first the station is eager to get their hands on the money, most of the workers there end up caring a great deal about Alice as her life unspools before them.

Get ready for a quirky experience.

Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

"Unfinished Business" Is An 'Uneven Movie'

Unfinished Business (2015)

Rated R

Starring Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, Nick Frost, James Marsden

Directed by Ken Scott

The Story:

Dan (Vaughn) has had it with his current company. He quits and tries a Jerry Maguire speech to bring his co-workers with him. Tim (Wilkinson) and Mike (Franco) are the only two that jump in with him. Time passes, and they have one final "Hail Mary" to save their business from going under, but involves a business trip to Europe to land a deal with Mr. Spinch (Marsden). They assume it's a lock, until they realize their old employer is there to close the same deal.

Tucked in this movie was a good story with some funny characters.

They emerge every so often as the film moves along.

They also get buried in a lot of "throw it at the wall and see if it sticks" moments that really do nothing except padding the runtime of the film.

It loses focus often for the sake of the gag, and the gags rarely help the overall momentum of the film. Instead it seems like a lot of pieces that are cobbled together to frame a story from beginning to end, but it's a bumpy, jarring ride to get there.

Are there funny moments? Absolutely, but they often are isolated and alone and rarely strung together.

Vaughn's attempt to help his daughter's homework project seems like a weird narrative device to shoehorn his home life into the work story.

That said, the final product that she turns in is very heartwarming and something most dads should relate to.

It's got some genuine amusement, and a fantastic cast, but just too scattershot to be worth ever revisiting.

Final Grade: C

Mistaken Identity Fuels This "Walk Of Shame"

Walk of Shame (2014)

Rated R

Starring Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Gillian Jacobs, Ethan Suplee, Bill Burr,

Written and Directed by Steven Brill

The Story:

Meghan (Banks) is a local newswoman with a shot at a Network job. Then in a stunning turn, her boyfriend dumps her and she is informed that the job is going to someone else.  So to drown her sorrows, her friends take her out on the town and she gets plastered and winds up going home with a random guy (Marsden). Then she gets the phone call in the morning, that the network is reconsidering her, and she has until 5:00 pm to get to work and wow the bosses.

But first, she has to figure out where she is, and when her car, wallet, and phone all end up M.I.A., you know this task will not be easy!

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Okay, so you've seen this story before, or some variation of it over the last few years.

However, this one is still very well made, and pretty funny throughout, so while the road may seem familiar, it's also a trip well worth taking.

Banks is game for just about anything as she has to race through the city in a little yellow dress.

Naturally, she will be confused for a hooker, among other things, and she is being pursued by various people, including the cops, who all want to chat with her.

Can you outwit them all, make it to the newscast in time to score the anchor job?

Well, duh.

But it's all in how it unfolds, and Brill brings his best work to the screen since Mr. Deeds, making us actually care about Meghan's plight and wondering if she will indeed pull it off.

That says something.

Final Grade: C+

Some Weird Things Happen In "Small Apartments"

Small Apartments (2012)

Rated R for language

Starring Matt Lucas, James Caan, Juno Temple, Johnny Knoxville, Dolph Lundgren, James Marsden, Peter Stormare, Billy Crystal

Directed by Jonas Akerlund

The Story:

Franklin (Lucas) is in a bit of a spot.  His brother (Marsden) is in an institution. The landlord (Stormare) is dead on the floor.  And the neighbors (Caan and Knoxville) are wondering what is going on next door.  Lives are about to converge and change forever in the course of a few days in some run-down apartment complex.

Well, that was something.

A dark comedy, to be sure, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this film.

After watching it, I'm still not sure!

:)

All of the names/faces are secondary/tertiary characters in the film.  It's Matt Lucas' film and you get sucked into his life.

A very weird life with a grown man running around in underwear and the occasional coat.

Seriously.

It's a movie I pondered whether I wanted to continue on past the 20 minute mark, but again, it was so strange, at that point I had to see what the heck was going to happen.

Naturally, all of the story lines converge in a finale that was both tragic and satisfying, depending on which character(s) you were watching.

I will give props for the staged suicide scene, it was pretty funny.

If you want to try something strangely different, here you go...


Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah.  It was a weird one. I've seen it, and time to move on.

"2 Guns" Are Better Than One.

2 Guns (2013)
Rated R - Violence/Language/Nudity

Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur

The Story:

A DEA Agent (Washington) and an undercover Naval intelligence officer (Wahlberg) are working together to take down a drug lord (Edward James Olmos).  Neither realizes the other is an undercover agent until after they rob a bank they think contains his money.  It turns out it holds a lot of money from the CIA, and they want it back.  Can the two put their differences aside and work together to save their own lives?

I remember watching the trailer for this movie and thinking, "that looks like it will be a pretty fun movie."

Yay!

I was right.

The chemistry between Washington and Wahlberg makes this film an enjoyable buddy cop/action flick.

Someone Is Going To Be Shot

They play very well off of one another, and I have to admit that I really enjoy seeing Denzel Washington play a little more humor with his character than he normally does.  Wahlberg coasts through his part with a wink and a smile, literally, and both are engaging throughout.

As each of their single stories unfolds, the mystery and intrigue to the plot deepens.  Layers of who do you trust? are revealed as both men find out that they cannot trust the people they work for any longer.  However, it's when they are onscreen together that the movie really shines, and the film wisely keeps them partnered up through most of the screen time.

Plus, with the bank robbery and the shenanigans that ensue with double and triple crosses, it's a heist film.

I think I've been pretty clear on my love for the heist film.

:)

Let's Play A Game...

The layers of bad guys includes the Navy (James Marsden) and the sinister head of the CIA (Bill Paxton) who want the money that has been stolen.

Based on a Boom! Studios graphic novel, it does play very much like a well-made comic book.

I approve!

Final Grade: B+

Would I Watch It Again? Yes, I would happily watch this one again.

Would I Buy This Movie? Yes, I'm adding it to the Christmas List of 2014.

"Bachelorette": Nothing Worse Than A Humorless Comedy.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should...

The Story:

Becky (Rebel Wilson) is getting married.  Much to the dismay of her best friend Regan (Kirsten Dunst) who thought she would be going down the aisle first.  Regan becomes the Maid of Honor and spends the next six months organizing the wedding.  The movie mostly takes place at the night before the wedding when all of the bridesmaids are in town, including the girls other two friends, Gena and Katie (Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher).  The three insult Becky by mistake, destroy her dress, and then spend a wild night of drugs, alcohol and stupidity trying to fix everything in time for the wedding the next morning.

Man, with friends like that...

First, the school of thought was, if the guys can have a raunchy rated R comedy, why can't girls? 
Thus, we were blessed to receive Bridesmaids, which was amusing, but not hilariously funny.
Though when put in comparison to this film, it was downright hysterical.

Nope, apparently Leslye Headland who wrote it, directed it, and based it off a play, thought her stuff was funny with a capital F.

Having ladies spew obscenities, walk around getting wasted and having sex with anyone they please isn't funny. 

And to be fair, it's not funny when guys do it either.

Unless...

The dialogue is off-the-wall insanely hilarious.

Which it isn't.

Much to the waste of these great actresses, Rebel Wilson who I found hilarious in Pitch Perfect, Kirsten Dunst who was wrong as Mary Jane Watson, but otherwise acquits herself nicely in most anything, and Isla Fisher who was great in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Here, all that talent was wasted spewing obscenities, snorting coke, or just behaving awful.

Even the always terrific Adam Scott can't rise above the material, though he is about the only bright spot in the movie (other than Rebel Wilson).  Go figure that the two characters that have the most heart and sincerity in the entire film are the bride who is barely used and the ex-boyfriend of one of the female leads.

James Marsden is also wasted in his role as the best man.

So much talent... so wrongly executed.

Now available to steam (typo, but I'm leaving it!) instantly on Netflix.

Final Grade: D+
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Never in a million years...

Initiate Self Destruct Sequence... "Robot and Frank"

You never know when, or where,  you'll find a friend...

The Story:

Sometime in the future, a former thief (Frank Langella) is getting older, and more forgetful.  His son (James Marsden) is getting tired of coming out to take care of him, so he buys a robot (Peter Sarsgaard) to tend to his dad and take care of the house.  Initially  resentful and irritated, Frank comes alive when the robot inspires him to dust off his criminal ways.



For the majority of this film, it is actually quite fun and interesting.  Frank and the robot spar verbally with each other.  Okay, Frank spars, the robot just takes it and does his job.


It turns out that the thing he didn't want, a robotic companion, makes Frank feel more alive than he has in ages.  He flirts with the town librarian (Susan Sarandon) and centers his first heist around something he thinks she'll enjoy.


Then Frank's daughter (Liv Tyler) shows up... and the movie about comes undone with her pettiness about doing what she thinks is right and not listening to her father.

It gets old after about a minute.

: /

The movie picks up steam again as Frank works to stay one step ahead of the law, however,  this movie needed about 5 minutes shaved off of it.

The ending.

The movie should have ended with the hug.

That simple scene said it all.

Instead, it went on longer, driving home the realization of how lonely Frank really was sink in, and ruin an otherwise pretty pleasant experience.


So if you do watch it, which I highly encourage, feel free to press stop at the hug.  You'll know it when you see it.

It dropped this film from a B+ to...

Final Grade: B-

Would I Own It: No, it was cute once, but I don't want to see the whiny daughter or the sad ending again.