Combo Review - Rango/Battle: Los Angeles/Limitless/Paul

In an effort to get caught up after my lack of posts over the last couple of weeks (you can thank the NCAA tournament for that), I'm going to provide real quick thoughts of the movies I have seen as opposed to my usual longer posts.

Rango (2011), PG, 107 minutes - Rango is a fun animated film carried by Johnny Depp voicing the main character - an acting chameleon trying to find his way in the world. There are a couple nice references to previous films including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and a very convincing Clint Eastwood impersonation by Timothy Olyphant in the form of 'The Spirit of the West'.



Battle: Los Angeles (2011), PG-13, 116 minutes - Immediately after watching Battle: Los Angeles, I didn't think very highly of it. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize that feeling was primarily because the people in the theater that I saw it in felt the need to clap and cheer when it ended. Battle: Los Angeles isn't nearly that good (although it isn't all that awful either), so it rubbed me the wrong way. The effects are pretty good and Aaron Eckhart is believable as Sgt. Michael Nantz, a career military man who gets sucked back into duty by an alien invasion just as he's been approved to retire.



Limitless (2011), PG-13 - 105 minutes - Bradley Cooper shows that he has the star power to carry a movie, and Robert DeNiro has a nice little part in this action flick about an underachieving writer who takes a newly developed drug that allows the taker to access their entire brain. The only problem is that there are some pretty hefty side effects to be worked around. I felt the ending was a little weak (I won't spoil it here), otherwise it was a pretty decent movie.



Paul (2011), R, 104 minutes- Paul is the latest Simon Pegg/Nick Frost collaboration. This time around they are directed by Greg Mottola and not Edgar Wright, but because of its stars, Paul has much the same feel as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. This time around Pegg and Frost play Sci-Fi/Comic nerds from England who have traveled to the US for the San Diego Comic Con followed by a tour of all of the alien related spots in the States. During their tour, they cross paths with Paul, an alien trying to make his way home (voiced by Seth Rogen). Shenanigans ensue with many nods to previous alien related flicks. There are other nice roles/cameos by Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Steven Spielberg and Sigourney Weaver. There is quite a bit of language and some religious lampooning so keep that in mind.

Comments

  1. Just watched Limitless... Good flick. I will definitely agree with you about the ending. And, as I'm sure you noticed, there was a pretty big plot point loose end that was never tied up.. (the girl)... but,overall... despite it's flaws, I loved it.

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