Movie Review: The Brothers Grimsby

When I first saw the trailer for The Brothers Grimsby, I can honestly say I was not sure what to expect. It looked like a comic take on a mismatched buddy action film. It also had bits of a fish out of water story, not to mention a little long lost family emotional pull. On the hand, it is also a Sacha Baron Cohen film, and not one with him in it, more like one where he is the creative driving force, like Borat, Bruno, and The Dictator. Still, it pairs him with co-star Mark Strong and action director Louis Leterrier. Whatever this thing was, the trailer looked awfully straightforward. Well, believe me when I say the trailer does not even hint at what you see in the movie.

Movie Review: Kingsman - The Secret Service

When I first saw a trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service, I was not sure what it was going for; however, seeing that Matthew Vaughn was listed as director, I was certainly interested. The guy has a solid track record, with movies like Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class on his resume. The big question going in was what he would bring to this. No, I was not aware of the comic book origins, but it seems to make sense with the over top nature of the tale. It strikes me as a blending of movies like Layer Cake and Kick-Ass, with the result being a spy movie and superhero movie being rammed into each other.

Movie Review: The Imitation Game

So, I finally had the chance to check out The Imitation Game last night and I have to report that it was a rather good movie. Honestly, I was not sure what to expect as it looked like another biopic with WWII as a backdrop. I did (do?) not know an awful lot about Alan Turing, aside from him being credited as the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. The specifics of his life were not known by me. Now, to be sure, I do not take this movie as blind fact, but as an embellishment of a reality in an effort to make an entertaining movie with a basis in fact. It is a mistake to take any movie as reality, that is where trouble begins.

Movie Review: Before I Go to Sleep

The evening was supposed to begin with a screening of Dear White People, but that was not to be. A broken projector found me migrating into another movie, Before I Go to Sleep. I know, I know, it is not exactly a one to one equation if you compare the two titles, but truth be told, it was still on my list to see and I did not want to waste my time. Granted, I was not entering into this situation with the highest of hopes. Memory loss films are not exactly new, and I think more tend towards Clean Slate than Memento. Also, to be honest, the trailer did not leave me with the warm and fuzzies.