If You Like This You Should Watch:  Sideways, Duets
Better Than:  Valentine’s Day
Worse Than:  Little Miss Sunshine

Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore

It’s become apparent that Steve Carell has been able to develop his niche on the big screen. He’s essentially the male version of Jennifer Anniston, only much funnier. Give him credit for being willing to step into the Hollywood void of a charismatic male actor who can make a pretty damn good living playing the victim. He does it like no one we’ve seen before. The problem is, it’s starting to get a little irritating. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still love the guy. I think he’s hilarious. But I’m hoping that sometime in the near future he decides to play something other than the wounded, naïve, woe-is-me character he’s been recycling since The Office. With that being said, Crazy, Stupid, Love is not a bad flick. It’s somewhere in between decent and good. There are quite a few very funny parts and a couple of plot twists that aren’t entirely obvious from the get-go. For that, it’s worth you renting and getting a couple of giggles for the night. Unfortunately there are a couple ginormous errors in the film that I can’t get over and thus prevent it from becoming more than a run of the mill romantic comedy.

(more…)

If You Like This You Should Watch:  Sideways, Duets 
Better Than:  Michael Clayton
Worse Than:  Little Miss Sunshine

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Shaffer

For the most part, The Movie Mind tries to avoid the lame, stale, clichéd play on the movie title that most cheeseball critics throw out there. At some point you may have read from some hack, “This film was “The Perfect Storm” of drama, intrigue, and excitement.” How clever. Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time avoiding that cliché here because simply put, watching this film is a Win Win scenario for all viewers. Want a sports movie? It has some decent elements of competition without the typical Hollywood sports movie ending that we all usually see coming from miles away. Do you like family and real life drama? There’s plenty of real world relationship dynamics and family conflict that most people can relate to. It’s not too goody-two-shoes, yet it still has some life lessons and positive messages without being too overbearing. Overall, this is just one of those rare well-written, well-acted, original stories that flies under the radar because it’s not one of your typical big budget remakes.

(more…)

If You Like This You Should Watch:  Knocked Up, Adventureland
Better Than:  Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Grown Ups
Worse Than:  The Hangover, Wedding Crashers

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne

From now on I refuse to hear any of The Movie Mind’s female readers ever complain about crass dude-humor because Bridesmaids was full of it…and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more if I tried! I’ve heard many comparisons saying this was the female version of The Hangover. I couldn’t disagree more. Bridesmaids had much more of a Swingers – like feel to it thanks to the genuine buddy-comedy components and believable characters. What Swingers was to Vaughn and Favraeu, Bridesmaids will be to Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. Mark my words, this is one that you’ll want to watch over and over, as there’s sure to be jokes you missed from laughing so hard at the ones before. Aside from the last 30 minutes of the film and portrayal of the male characters, there’s nothing “chick-flick” about it. This is straight-up guy-comedy cloaked inside some dresses. And if the female contingent is cool with that, then hot-damnit so am I!

(more…)

There’s only so long The Movie Mind was going to be able to stay silent on the latest happenings in the ever so entertaining land of the NFL. After 14 weeks, we’ve got an undefeted team in the Packers who are showing no signs of slowing down and a winless team in the Colts who are showing no signs of life. It just so happens that the winless Pack roll on into Kansas City this weekend to play my beloved and agonizingly frustrating Chiefs. On paper this one should be a sleep-walker for the Pack. Man, it might be less painful to watch as a Chiefs fan if they really did just play it on paper. Unfortunately this one has to be played out on the field, and while part of me wonders if it can get any worse, the logical part of me knows it sure as hell can.

As a Chiefs fan, the least I can say is that this season has been entertaining. Unfortunatley some of that entertainment is of the “train-wreck” variety. As it happens, earlier this week KC general manager Scott Pioli pushed former head coach Todd Haley right in front of that very train when he sent him packing. While I have never been Haley’s biggest fan, and in fact I thought he was a fraud of the Herm Edwards variety from day 1, I also think he got the shaft from Pioli. Let me be clear in saying I do not think Haley was a good coach. I don’t think his players cared for him, nor did his other coaches. But the fact of the matter is that Pioli is the “genious” who allowed this team to go into the season with Tyler “Shane Falco” Palko as the backup QB. I hate to pick on Palko because at the least the kid has guts, but we’ve also learned that in about 3 more weeks he will be bagging groceries.

(more…)

If You Like This You Should Watch:  Showtime, Cop Out
Better Than:  I Spy, The Man
Worse Than:  The Other Guys, Inspector Gadget, Bowfinger

Starring: Ben Stiller, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck

What usually happens when you combine a supposedly all-star cast with a very shoddy story and writing for simpletons? Pure crap. Also known as, Tower Heist. The biggest heist that was pulled off here was when the ticket booth took my money for admission to this lame piece of trash. You all should know by now that The Movie Mind certainly appreciates his share of stupid comedies that would make more intelligent folk cringe after mere minutes of viewing. Yet even I can’t defend this one since there is a key component missing from it that those other stupid comedies had: comedy. This movie is simply the most boring “caper” film I’ve seen in a long time. I kept waiting for it to pick up but instead I went a solid hour without even so much as a chuckle. If this film isn’t up for a year-end Razzie then I’m boycotting movies.

(more…)

If You Like This You Should Watch:  Rendition, The Good Shepherd
Better Than:  Syriana
Worse Than:  The Hurt Locker, The Bourne Ultimatum

Starring: Matt Damon, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear

If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought Oliver Stone was the conspiracy theorist/nut-job behind this political action thriller starring do-it-all Matt Damon. The main reason we know he’s not though, is that the writing isn’t nearly as compelling as it would have been if he wrote it. The beginning of the film feels rushed and forced, which shouldn’t be the case in a 2 hr. film. Nonetheless there are some good action scenes as long as you don’t get queasy too easily (aka handheld camera work and lots of shakiness). I feel like there should be a warning that says, “Not based on a true story” just so we don’t have a coup on our hands. The film was a flop at the box office which leads me to believe the viewing public has had enough of the Iraq war fairytales and left-wing slant designed to do nothing more than mislead.

(more…)

First of all the article was meant to be funny…not really his strong suit if you ask me. He’s a very talented writer but he’s not exactly Bill Simmons when it comes to the satirical wit category. Nor is he Bill Simmons when it comes to on-screen appearances (thankfully). Nonetheless, his poor attempt at mocking “Joe Fan” who rocks a replica jersey so he can show off his team allegiances illustrates to me just how far removed he is from actually being “Joe Fan”. You’d think a guy who started off as a football beat writer only to have one of the most successful sports columns in the most notable sports magazine on the planet (Sports Illustrated), not to mention a show named Homecoming, would remember to stick to his roots a little more. Apparently having a co-writer credit of the smash-hit Leatherheads wasn’t enough to knock him down a peg (or two, or three…dozen). Seriously I think he could have written a better movie if it was just Ben Stein sitting on camera reading Reilly’s 25 years worth of columns. But instead he gets an even cushier gig writing a new column for ESPN, for all of 2 seconds, before parlaying that into the pinnacle of sports-writing…not actually being a writer anymore and turning into yet another talking head/annoyance for ESPN.

The point is that he is the last person that should ever create rules for when it is or isn’t ok to sport a jersey. Someone hobnobbing with Jim from The Office and starring in beer commercials with super models shouldn’t be the guy to set the barometer for what’s appropriate fan behavior. Instead, let a true fan who doesn’t sit in private boxes or blabber away on ESPN (yet) be the guy who makes this distinction. It’s time for The Movie Mind’s Rules for Wearing  a Jersey.

(more…)

If You Like This You Should Watch: 21, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Better Than: Mr. 3000
Worse Than: The Blind Side, Charlie Wilson’s War

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Life is all about expectations. In most cases, so is movie-going. The Movie Minds’ expectations were set extremely low for Moneyball, which is sold as a true baseball fan’s dream yet a gripping overall story of triumph for those who’ve never watched a game. Frankly, I didn’t buy how a book written about the first GM to widely utilize the sabermetrics concept of statistical analysis in baseball, only to have his team fall short of ever really winning anything, could actually turn into a good movie. After serving up a big promise, it struck out. The one redeeming quality is that there are a few decent laughs which I found were a completely integral part of being able to get through this film.

(more…)

With the emergence of streaming video and live TV, The Movie Mind’s Rating System has started to resemble an outdated business model, much like the now defunct Blockbuster. No longer do we run out to the local video store and scan the walls lined with new DVD releases like the movie-fans’ own Dewey Decimal system. There is very little “window shopping” as most movie decisions are made from a Google search or streaming advertisement on your phone. Yes the times they are a-changin’ and it’s time The Movie Mind jumped aboard.

The ratings may be new but the premise hasn’t changed. True movie ratings are not about giving “two thumbs up” like we’re deciding on whether a Gladiator lives or gets fed to the lions. It’s not about stars, or tomatoes, or any other type of condiment or galactic object. The Movie Mind tells it like it is and the ratings reflect that. You know when you should watch the film, how you should watch it, what other films it’s better and worse than, and maybe you’ll even find out why I felt that way.

The Movie Mind’s reviews and commentary are meant to entertain the real movie fans and provide some information that you can actually use. Any life advice or philosophical perspectives you take from it means you need some friends and should probably be reading more (and I don’t mean the back of the cereal box). I’m not interested in inundating you with obscure literary references and details or cinematographic elements you could have learned by opening IMDB or taking a 30-minute online film class. I am a fan of movies and my reviews are written and rated from that perspective.

The NEW “Official” ratings for The Movie Mind are as follows:

(more…)

The Movie Mind

I’ll look at a different film for each segment and profile the characters’ current whereabouts and exploits. Post your requests for other films and characters to report on, and feel free to chime in if you have a different take on their life’s travels!

This first segment will look back at the gang from an all-time classic, Swingers.

(more…)