Flick the Button

Playing catchup here, so a few of these reviews might've gotten stale.

Flight of the Phoenix: Just didn't work for me like I hoped it would. Felt like the middle hour was just a bunch of montages set to semi-cheesey classic rock. It's also about 35 minutes too long. Some of the desert scapes were nice, but not enough for me. Otto was wasted, Quaid was on cruise control. In fact, the only actor in it whose performance I kind of liked was Tyrese (or maybe Sticky Fingaz). About 90 minutes in I was actively rooting against it being able to fly. You're fired.

...And Justice For All: I saw a long clip of this in a CLE session which interested me enough to want to see it. Mistake. I guess it might've been better before Law & Order, Homicide and a million other TV dramas that cover the same territory, but now it just feels dated and lame. And on a personal level, I can't stand the way legal-themed films or TV make me correct very basic 1L statements, even in my head. Any time something I watch reminds me that I have a legal education, it's going to get knocked down a peg or two. George Bluth Sr. was great, but this movie made want to listen to Metallica to get the right taste in my mouth when thinking of the title. You're Fired.

Slap Shot: Fuck Yeah. I'm kind of pissed at myself for not seeing this before now. I'll definitely see it multiple times. Comedy gold all over the place, boozing, fighting and womanizing. Something for everyone, especially if everyone is me. I especially liked how the lunatic supporting characters didn't feel forced, like they always do in today's sports movies. Makes me wonder about George Roy Hill and how he could've hit three high notes like Butch Cassidy, The Sting and this, but then... Anyway, there's absolutely nothing I didn't like about this movie. I can't wait to piss all over the Jimmy Fallon, Rob Schneider and Horatio Sanz remake in five years. Also, a strange side note: this movie uses Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" a whole bunch of times and when I saw this I thought how great a song it is. Now, I can't avoid it. It's in commercials for The Family Stone, Emily's Reasons Why Not, and some other retail store (Kohls or something). Did a bunch of ad execs watch Slap Shot recently or something? Cadillac.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Torn on this. I liked that it followed the book a little more closely, and the Great Glass Elevator was about what my mind had predicted (and the single biggest flaw/omission in WWatCF). Also, when there were new jokes, they were usually pretty funny. However, the Oompa Loompa songs were just about terrible, and the Daddy storyline was unnecessary. It should've listened to its own lines about how candy doesn't need to have a point. When it was inane, it was good, when it had meaning, not so much. I liked it a little more than I'll rate it, but still, You're Fired.

The Interpreter: Know this first: I'm a sucker for Kidman, and also for international intrigue. However, this wasn't all that great. It's paced too slow for the first 75 minutes. Keener has nothing to do. Penn is doing the same inner turmoil seether he's done 10 times already. The climax, however, is pretty intense (or at least it was to me). Kind of a surprise considering how bored I was for most of what led up to it. A better movie could've been made out of this. I wanted to like it, but You're Fired.

I've got some things that should be good lined up though, so here's hoping that this recent run of mediocrity stops.