Madea Goes To Jail

Tyler Perry has a formula that works.
Take a simple story about doing the right thing and sprinkle comedy throughout the movie. Fans know what they will get when they pay to see his movies and if you are not a fan don’t try to get up and leave until the credits are finished.
Perry brings back an underrated actress named Sofia Vergara who was in Meet The Browns as well as many of the other members of his stage comedy troop. There are a few laughs but there could have been many more if Madea was in jail for a longer period of time during the movie. One casting surprise was Rudy Huxtable from the Cosby Show, Keshia Knight Pulliam, playing a prostitute. In addition Academy Award nominee Viola Davis, from Doubt, has a strong role as a reformer. It would be interesting to see Viola play a weak ass sister for a change rather than being typecast for every role.

The editing was choppy, one minute you are watching someone crying in a dramatic scene and then the next minute you are in the courthouse ready for laughs with Madea. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy revisiting Perry’s best character to date.

Verdict: Good movie however I would like to see Perry break away from formula and try harder in his next Madea movie.

He’s Just Not That Into You

For those of you who don’t know the title of the movie came from a Sex and the City episode.
Greg Behrendt wrote a book using the title and had a bestseller. He also ended up getting a talk show for a brief period and he also has a cameo in the movie as a priest. Talk about seizing the day.
The movie starts out with the worst advice a mother can give to a daughter. It continues with poor advice from friends who seem to know it all but do not have their stuff together in their own relationship. It was somewhat interesting to see familiar actors deal with lust and the ramifications of giving in to it. However the performances are dull with the exception of Scarlett Johansson who acts the same way she did in Vicky Christina Barcelona, sexy vamp. Lead character Ginnifer Goodwin as Gigi, from HBO’s Big Love, is the only bright spot in the movie.
The film drags and it seems like it will never end. No need to run and see it. You are not going to learn anything that you don’t already know and it is very predictable. The only thing I learned was that one of my favorite actors has never been married and he is allegedly very happy.

Verdict: It’s just OK.

Friday The 13th (2009)

It was over 30 years ago a man named Sean S. Cunningham decided that the 1978 movie classic Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis was making too much money and that he need to capitalize on it and make a cheap ripoff. This was how Jason was born and Sean became a multimillionaire.
I recently viewed the original Friday The 13th movie with Kevin Bacon who was the only survivor career wise. The movie is dated and was due for a remake. I looked forward to this movie because Michael Bay did a solid job with his 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre however this remake falls flat.
Yes Jason is back but there is nothing new. Same story, zero kill creativity, just a bunch of new kids getting killed while having fun. Jason jumped the shark way back in 1989 with Friday The 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

Verdict: You will be looking at your watch more than once.

Taken

Luc Besson stirkes again. The Professional, The Transporter, and now Liam Neeson?
Yea I didn’t think he was that tough but remember how he kicked Batman’s butt in Batman Begins? If you are looking for solid action this movie will make your day. Liam is a little weathered here (similar to but not as weathered as Charles Bronson in Death Wish which this character reminds me of) but he still brings the pain in order to save his daughter.
The story involves Human Trafficking and Liam is a retired spy who took care of things that need to be taken care of. It’s not fully explained exactly what he did before he retired but from the very beginning you can see that he knows how to take care of business.
This could have been The Professional 2 with Natalie Portman all grown up and Leon (Jean Reno who is now doing RUBBISH like The Pink Panther 2? ) going after the bad guys. Liam is a great replacement, he is so unassuming as Bryan Mills that one does not know they are about to get the beating of their lives. I think this is Liam’s first #1 movie ever as a leading man. His character grows on you as the movie gets into the 2nd act. I would LOVE to see this character again similar to how Matt Damon did 3 great Bourne movies.

Verdict: Instant Classic. The Bee’s Nee’s (Luc & Liam, get it)

The Uninvited

Not much needs to be said about this unoriginal movie that should have went straight to DVD.
The Uninvited is not scary at all and while watching it I started wondering what was the last movie that really gave me a jolt and scared me? I would say Saw 1 and Final Destination 1 (more gore than scare) scared me a little but they were not great horror flicks like Exorcist, Halloween, or Dawn of the Dead. The Uninvited is not one of them but it is the 100th movie taking a page from the The Sixth Sense. Elizabeth Banks, the hardest working actress in 2008, is in the movie and you are better off renting Slither to see her best horror movie performance. David Strathaim, who was passed over for an Oscar for his great performance in Good Night and Good Luck, is wasted here. Believe it or not it took 2 not 1 but 2 directors to screw this movie up. Zero creativity in this flick and in other recent horror movies which is why Jason is coming back this Friday the 13th

Verdict: Very good looking people in a very bad movie.