Time for some brief thoughts on movies I saw on--you guessed it--cable! Premium cable, that is.
Paul Blart, Mall Cop: This wasn't a disaster or anything. I mean, it wasn't, like, good, per se, but it didn't totally stink. So, hey, I guess it exceeded my expectations!
You saw most of the humor in the previews, and you know what kind of a movie it is--the kind of movie where Kevin James can win over a pretty young thing like Jemma Mays (as a kiosk worker in his mall) by just going over, talking to her, and not splitting her head open with an axe. Even when he acts like a complete buffoon later after getting drunk around her (in a scene that makes little sense except as a way to get some wacky hijinks into the story), she still reciprocates his interest.
It's also the kind of production in which the lead character is really good at what he does, focused and committed, until the plot demands that he not be. Yes, folks, in other words, "Mall Cop" is a MOVIE, and a dumb one at that. But if you like James and the previews amuse you, it's not a bad way to kill an hour and a half when it comes on TV.
You saw most of the humor in the previews, and you know what kind of a movie it is--the kind of movie where Kevin James can win over a pretty young thing like Jemma Mays (as a kiosk worker in his mall) by just going over, talking to her, and not splitting her head open with an axe. Even when he acts like a complete buffoon later after getting drunk around her (in a scene that makes little sense except as a way to get some wacky hijinks into the story), she still reciprocates his interest.
It's also the kind of production in which the lead character is really good at what he does, focused and committed, until the plot demands that he not be. Yes, folks, in other words, "Mall Cop" is a MOVIE, and a dumb one at that. But if you like James and the previews amuse you, it's not a bad way to kill an hour and a half when it comes on TV.
Frost/Nixon: I'm not a big fan of "Person/Person" titles. I mean, did anyone really think Coverdale/Page had a shot? I am a fan of history, though, and while I wouldn't call myself a fan of Richard Nixon, I'm intrigued enough by the former Prez to have bought two campaign buttons last month. Nixon--Now More Than Ever!
So I find Ron Howard's dramatization of the famous Frost/Nixon interviews entertaining, but how could I not? What I do NOT find the movie is, however, is Oscar-worthy. That is, the whole enterprise seems to strain for a weight that I just don't get from what's on the screen. The feeling I get from watching this well-made, well-told story is, "OK, that was pretty good, but what of it?" And I just want to go see more of the actual footage.
So I find Ron Howard's dramatization of the famous Frost/Nixon interviews entertaining, but how could I not? What I do NOT find the movie is, however, is Oscar-worthy. That is, the whole enterprise seems to strain for a weight that I just don't get from what's on the screen. The feeling I get from watching this well-made, well-told story is, "OK, that was pretty good, but what of it?" And I just want to go see more of the actual footage.
Why did I watch this? Well, I was half distracted, half lulled by the oppressive force of a winter storm, and half compromising my wife vetoed my other choices for On Demand viewing. It's not very good, but it offers a couple of revered veteran actors, so that has to count for something. It offers some ludicrous CGI work when Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson embark on their Bucket List Tour, and it's almost bad enough to make the movie worthwhile. I can only imagine how cheesetastic it looked at the multiplex.
So to recap: "Eh" to "Blart," thumbs down to "Bucket List," and Nixon's the One in 2012.
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