COWBOYS & ALIENS: A fun summertime movie....

When it was first announced that Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford would be teaming up for a sci-fi/western bybrid film, I was in geek heaven. I mean James Bond and Indiana Jones in the same movie. Hell Yeah! My expectations were high for this movie, and I was not disappointed. The movie opens in Arizona circa 1873 with Daniel Craig as a man named Jake Lonergan, who wakes up in the middle of the desert with no boots, hat, or horse. And no clue as to who he is. After being stumbled upon by three nefarious men, Jake quickly dispatches the trio and heads to the nearest town, which is called Absolution. Once there he meets a mysterious woman named Ella (played by Olivia Wilde) who may have a clue to his loss of memory. Jake also runs afoul of a drunk young man named Percy (played by Paul Dano) who happens to be the son of Colonel Dolarhyde (played by Harrison Ford). Jake slaps Percy around and both men are arrested by the sheriff (Keith Carradine). The Colonel gets wind of this and rides into town to get his boy and also get his revenge on Jake, who evidently stole money from him a while back.

Once in town, some commotion occurs and lights fill up the skies. The lights turn out to be alien spaceships which attack the town and start snatching up the local townsfolk. Jake happens to have some type of alien weapon on his wrist and learns how to use it. This leads to a spectacular 15 minute sequence of cool and frenetic action. The town bands together to track down the ships that took their fellow townspeople. Lonergan and Dolarhyde put aside their differences to work together.

This movie worked on several levels and the sci fi meets western angle worked pretty good. It got kind of too much sci-fi mumbo jumbo toward the end but things turn back to the western side and everything ends nicely. The cast is top notch. Daniel Craig once again shows he is a strong actor and even a stronger action star as he has several key scenes where he gets to flex his muscle. Harrison Ford is good too as Dolarhyde and gets a few emotional scenes that let us know why he is such a hardened man. And Olivia Wilde is more than just eye candy to look at. She is very pivotal in this movie and does not disappoint in her scenes where she to explain a lot to everyone else.

So all in all Cowboys and Aliens is a cool movie. Perfect for summertime viewing. From the director of Iron Man, Jon Favreau.
B

TRON - LEGACY takes it to a new level...

The long delayed sequel to the 1982 cult classic film Tron arrives in cinema and it's awesome. The sequel picks up with a flashback to the original as game designer/genius Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is talking to his young son Sam before taking off and never being seen or heard from again. Fans of the original Tron know that Flynn got sucked into the game world he created and had to battle against the Master Control Program. Flash forward 20 years when Flynn's now grown son (played by Garrett Hedlund) ventures into the digital world called The Grid to find out what happened to his father. When arriving he is quickly captured and forced to participate in gladiator type games where the loser is killed. Sam manages to survive and meets the ruler of this world named Clu (also played by Bridges but de-aged thru digital effects to look about 30 years old). Clu wants to track down Flynn as well but for his own personal reasons and Sam is caught in the middle. He is aided by Quorra (Olivia Wilde in a terrific performance) a woman who has been Flynn's protector. The storyline is ok but it does get a little talky and bogged down at times. And the character of Clu's appearance is unsettling. Some times it looks good, other times it looks really fake. That's about my only gripe about this visually stunning film. Well also Bridges as Flynn is a little too much at times. Like he's channeling his character The Big Lebowski for the most part. Hedlund is good as Sam though. But it's Wilde who gives the best performance. She may remind you of Trinity from the Matrix films, except Quorra is a lot more fun and even human, despite being a program, more or less. Wilde infuses Tron with some personality. Of course the visual effects are the main draw of this film and they do not disappoint. The digital world of Tron is a sight to behold. And the action scenes are thrilling from the combat games to what I believe to be the best sequence in the film, the light cycle chase. It just takes hold of you and carries you along for the ride. The thumping music score by Daft Punk is another plus. It positively drives the film with all the beats and pulsating sounds. Tron Legacy is a bold new film that will please fans of the original and bring in newcomers as well. It's a must see.
B

TRON:LEGACY is almost here...

The much anticpated sequel Tron: Legacy is almost here. The film hits theatres next Friday in IMAX 3D. If there is any movie worth seeing in IMAX 3D, it looks to be TRON. Starring Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde.