Tag Archives: Movie Reviews
Movies in Bed: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Post by Mark T. Locker.
There are a lot of things to be amazed by in this movie. Or rather, in the fact that this movie even exists. This is the fourth movie in the Spy Kids franchise. FOURTH! Amazingly, Robert Rodriguez is still at the helm of this sinking ship. Okay, let’s be fair: kids will probably like this if they like Spy Kids. It’s full of kids single-handedly battling malevolent forces. It’s got potty humor. It’s got gadgets. My son thought it was a perfectly acceptable movie. The premise is that Jessica Alba is a retired spy, trying to raise a baby and be a good step-mom. Unfortunately, the bad guys have their own plans and what was supposed to be quick drop-off turns into a disaster when the children come under attack. So clock-faced criminal who is striving to control the flow of time is after them and needs the pendant Jessica Alba gave her step-daughter in an attempt to connect with the surly adolescent. It’s more than just a pendant. It’s something very powerful and the baddies are determined to get it. Action ensues. The faithful dog begins talking because he wasn’t actually a dog at all! He is voiced, inexplicably, by Ricky Gervais. I wonder what crime he committed to be committed to this movie. Also surprising is the other actors who agreed to be in this. Joel McHale, Jeremy Piven. Even Carmen from the original movies returns, this time as an adult.
It’s available on Netflix and if you have a restless kid trying to while away the hours during a spring rain shower or two, you may as well put this one on.
Movies in Bed: Star Trek: into darkness
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Post by Mark T. Locker.
This post is in memory of Leonard Nimoy, AKA Spock. You lived long. You prospered.
This movie has been sitting in my queue for a very long time. So, facing a monster pile of laundry to fold, I decided it was high time to watch it. There are certain movies and TV shows that are the best laundry-folding entertainment. Anything with beautiful cinematography has no place amongst my scattered socks and shirts. One of my favorites was Burn Notice, but I burned through all the seasons of that. This most recent installment in the most recent reboot of the classic sci-fi series is pretty good folding fodder. There are lots of high-action scenes filled with explosions and hand-to-hand combat that you can look away from while pairing socks without losing any crucial plot points.
The story is fun as it touches on characters we met in early movies, namely Khan, the ultimate bad boy whose younger self is played by the dreamy Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame. It also features a moment of young Spock conferring with future Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy for the last time. It’s touching to think of now, of course.
All in all, it’s a solid action movie with all the explosions and edge-of-your-seat excitement you could shake a sock at. Available streaming and surely for purchase.
Movies in Bed: Guardians of the Galaxy
Post by Mark T. Locker.
In a world where every superhero gets a movie, or a movie franchise, it’s hard not to feel a little bit jaded or at least completely overwhelmed by the flood of choices. It seems like there are new movies every week. So when a movie like “Guardians of the Galaxy” shows up, it’s hard not to be totally skeptical. For one thing: ANOTHER movie from the endless reservoir of Marvel characters. And another: a giant tree man and a talking raccoon make up part of this team. But all that concern falls away when you watch the movie.
Good news: this movie is enjoyable! It’s funny, it’s clever, it’s not a lot of things it could have been. Here’s the premise: Peter Quill is an Earthling who was taken from his home in 1988 and has been raised by a race of blue-skinned thieves. In a tussle to claim a mysterious orb, he and his opponent are arrested and taken to a space prison. Here he meets a giant tree man named Groot, a brilliant but bad-tempered name Rocket, and Drax, a big meaty very literal guy. This motley crew, along with Gamora, the one who fought Quill for the orb, they form an alliance when they discover they have a common enemy in Ronin, who seeks the orb.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” is peppered with funny one-liners, top-shelf cast, and plenty of action and special effects to keep viewers entertained. There is a great deal of fighting and killing but none of it is graphic or bloody. Good exciting movie for grown-ups and older children. And I bet you anything you will have “Hooked on a Feeling” in your head for days afterward.
Movies in Bed: Maleficent
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Disney has been on quite the roll lately. It doesn’t hurt that they have gobbled up a number of hugely popular dynasties recently, from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel. This time, however, Disney is not riding on the coattails of any of these, but rather on a retelling of one of their classic retellings of a classic fairy tale. I am talking, of course, about Maleficent, the dark and dramatic Sleeping Beauty spinoff, told from the perspective of Maleficent, who was so cruelly portrayed in the 1959 cartoon version. In the new telling of the story, we learn that Maleficent was a lovely and kind queen of the moors, cruelly betrayed by the greed of men. The king, her former childhood friend, is the real villain here.
Angelina plays the title role, and does a great job, although there are an awful lot of close-ups of her eyes watching through shadows. Perhaps this is some sort of tribute to the original; I don’t know because I haven’t seen it. Beyond that, though, it is a lovely movie. It has a lot of darkness; you would too if you’d been treated as Maleficent had. But Sleeping Beauty brings a brightness and joy to everything and everyone she encounters.
Don’t look for any hackneyed old plot points in this movie! Disney seems to be all about turning all the tired old clichés on their heads; especially the ones they’ve been guilty of perpetuating in the past. Now available on DVD, it’s a great movie to watch with the kids on a chilly autumn evening.
Movies in Bed: Earth to Echo
Post by Mark T. Locker.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we tend to crumple at the sight of a snowflake or a frosted window pane. Therefore, I was prepared to stay home when the first icy pellets hit my porch and the call came in that my son’s school was canceled. I still had work to do, but without any actual snow for him to play it, I was pressed to come up with activities to keep him entertained. By two o’clock in the afternoon, we were all feeling stretched so I suggested we find a movie to watch!
The moment the cover for Earth to Echo popped up on the screen, he knew that was the movie he wanted to see. He was not disappointed.
Earth to Echo is part E.T., part Cloverfield, part Goonies. Three adolescent boys are losing their homes to a freeway project. For their last night together, they decide to go on a big adventure. When their phones go all haywire, they realize, eventually, that they are suddenly showing them a map, guiding them to something out in the Nevada desert. Determined to record the whole event, they head out in the darkness on bikes, equipped with Go Pro cameras, spy cameras, smartphones. What they find is just the first piece of a puzzle that will lead them through deserts, danger, and strangers eager to get their hands on the little robotic alien nicknamed “Echo”.
This is a great fun and exciting movie for elementary age kids. Lots of action without any violence, and a satisfying, if bittersweet ending that will leave them pleased.
