Rated R – 1h32 -

John Travolta serves up a lot of fromage in this (sort of) action spy thriller. Some of its tasty…but a good part of this is smelly cheese.
From Paris With Love stars Charlie Wax (Travolta) a buffed out, bad ass cheseeball American spy, sent to Paris to take out the bad guys who are involved in drugs and terrorism. He is met by the Assistant to the American Ambassador to France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who is unknowingly wrapped up in a terror plot.

Charlie provides James with some high intensity on the job training as they lay waste to Chinese drug dealers and other brown skinned men of an unclear origin, who believe blowing up Americans is the just thing to do.

Wax is another redundant action hero, who’s bulletproof, can disarm ten thugs by himself and has an endless clip of ammunition. He’s further exaggerated by having a hefty desire for Royale’s with Cheese, a clear reference to Travolta’s far superior character in Pulp Fiction. Bad call referencing a better movie the audience could be watching at home.

Then again, if not for Charlie Wax, this movie would have been a complete waste of time. Sure, his action sequences are set up, and I couldn’t imagine wanting to spend more than five minutes with him, but he’s there for a reason. It’s for us to vicariously live through him. Who wouldn’t want the skills of a ninja, combined with the bravado of a rock star?

If you do choose to see this one, prepare yourself for a pretty transparent plot and action sequences that would make any 13 year old boy smile.

As far as the title goes, Tina Turner would say…”what’s love got to do with it?”

Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews Mel Gibson’s new flick: Edge Of Darkness.

Rated R – 1h40 -

Just as much as Mel Gibson knows how to shoot his mouth off in the worst ways…he can also do just the opposite and make a really exciting action-thriller. This is one of them.

In the oddly named Edge Of Darkness, Tom Craven (Gibson) is a Boston Detective, whose adult daughter is murdered on her return home. Craven begins to put the pieces together to uncover a deeper conspiracy that proves to be a challenge to unfold.

High marks go out to our bad guy in this one. I won’t spoil who are what they are, but they are evil. They are double evil. The only way they could be worse is if they were peering out the castle tower window, tenting their fingers and delivering a low-toned bwahh-ha ha ha haaaa.

I wouldn’t justify Gibson’s acting performance here as a justification for his notable harsh words, but he does great work creating likeable characters. Tom Craven is just, honest and vengeful, like you expect a clean Boston cop to be.

Mel Gibson seems to be at his best when he plays a cop hell bent on finding the truth. seasoned few actors such as Clint Eastwood, who can enter their golden years on screen with more style than Georgio Armani.

It’s hard not to think of The Departed while watching this one considering all the similar connections. I think that’s Notably older than his Lethal Weapon mainstay, I wondered while watching this if he’s turning into the OK, because this isn’t trying to copy Martin Scorsese, it’s just got a similar background.

In any case this is probably the best flick in 2010 so far.

Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews the new movie Legion and says save your money.

Rated R – 1h40 -

If this is what the apocalypse looks like, just take me now. In Legion, they talk about how the weak minded are the first to go. I can’t see anyone but the weak minded thinking this is anything interesting.

Legion is a rip-off B-Movie posing as a major motion picture. God has become angry with the humans for squandering their gifts, and has chosen to send an army of angels to wipe them out. That is except for the Arc Angel Michael, whose gone rogue, thinking this is a test. He chooses to fall to Earth, and protect a group of strangers, which he believes hold the key to rebuilding humanity.

In many ways, this is a lesser version of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, except this is Angelnator 2: Jesus Day. Our hero angel falls from the sky, with the sole purpose to protect a child, who is prophesized to save us all. Maybe call him a Jesus 2.

He arms himself to the teeth to fight off the bad guys. Michael has tough guy one-liner after another, until the final face off between good and bad Terminator/Angel.

There’s even a scene in Legion that nearly frame for frame copies The Terminator where Sarah Connor is driving off into the desert, with an idea of the trouble to come. It’s detailed right down to the bandana worn by the woman.

To question all of the loopholes in the plot would be silly, because the film assumes we’re dumb enough to let them all slide. Yet, here’s a couple for your entertainment:

Why do angels need guns? How do pregnant women run away looking fine, just minutes after giving birth? Why wouldn’t the other Arc Angel just show up and do the job himself? Why do all the invading angels randomly stop?

The only entertainment you’ll find with this movie is dissecting it afterwards for the plot holes. This movie sucks biblically!

Rated R – 1h39 -

The eyes are the windows to the soul, and A Single Man shows the soul of good movie making.

Set in the early 60’s George (Colin Firth) is a Los Angeles English professor who has lost his lover. A Single Man follows George through a day in what may be his last day. His mountain of grief appears to be too much because of the tragedy of his loss. He finds his life to be stale and meaningless, all while the story tells the tale of his unspoken love in flashbacks.

George speaks to his class about how some people remain invisible in society, when he is actually talking about himself. The film is set in a time when people would lower their voice to say the word homosexual, let alone acknowledge a person who is.

George is forced to keep his life a secret because of societal standards and has to endure hardships that no person should. He is only told days after his lover dies of what has happened and when asked when the funeral is, George is told he’s not welcome to attend.

Still, George eerily goes about his daily routine, neatly putting his ducks in a row, as not to leave a mess for the person who would find him.

It’s a dark subject matter and I can only assume that it may have been a reality for someone in the past. What keeps you hanging onto this movie is that you feel George is a smart enough man to know that he can go on, even with his loss.

Firth does some of the best work I’ve seen him in here. It well worth the award nominations he’s already garnered, but I don’t see it taking home the metal at the end of the night.

Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews the new Denzel Washington movie: The Book of Eli.

Rated R – 1h58 -

Denzel Washington is typically good, even when the movie is bad. This movie leaves you with not much more than indifference, so I guess its one of his bad ones.

In a post apocalyptic future, Eli (Washington) walks the road, heading west looking for a better place. The future is sepia toned and grim. There are road gangs, cannibalism, water is scarce and the typical feeling that humanity is fading.

Eli is a sword wielding, kung fu fighting, road warrior disciple, who believes his mission is to carry the last copy of a certain book, to a place where it can be used for good.

He’s been walking west across America for 30 years since the war. The guy must be doubling back or something, because it really shouldn’t take 30 years to make that trek.

That peaks the interest of Carnege (Gary Oldman,) the self appointed overlord of a town of survivors. He just happens to be in search of the book in Eli’s possession. He believes the masses will follow the written word, and follow him as their leader. Trouble arises when both boys start fighting over who should be the rightful owner.

Washington is a great actor, but an awkward action hero. You expect him to deliver dialogue with a profound sense of understanding, but you don’t expect him to round house kick his opponent and cut his arm off.

There is a promise of hope, and you get a little twist at the end of the film, but reflecting on it…it didn’t click as a ground shaking reveal. In a way, the story is digestible, but if all there’s left in the word to eat are bald cats….yuck.

Rated PG-13 – 2h15 -

One basic premise in filmmaking is that for the audience to be satisfied, justice has to be served. I felt very unsatisfied and a little weirded-out after watching The Lovely Bones.

The movie adaptation is about 14-year old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who is killed by a serial killer, then narrates her story from a surrealistic world in between Earth and Heaven. From that location, she tries to help her friends and family with clues to finding her killer.

Susie takes her horrific death in great stride. You’d think a spirit that wants to figure out what happened to herself, would be more active in the pursuit. Not in this case. Susie runs and plays in the world that looks like something a young girl would imagine is heaven. (Horses, flowers, ribbons and other pretty things.) She even gets to meet up with the fellow victims of the serial killer and they hang out. Tea anyone?

Meanwhile her killer (Stanley Tucci) goes hidden in plain sight, as her family goes bonkers trying to cope. Tucci is convincing as a classical serial killer, but I think his character deserves a worse fate than what’s delivered.

Other than the light tone of a girl being murdered, I found it annoying that the film set up several ideas, told you about what was going to happen and then showed it. Why not just save me the time and tell me the entire story in the first five minutes and let me go home? Don’t spoil what’s to come next.

The story can’t be blamed on Saoirse Ronan. I liked her performance. She was what you’d expect a 14-year old girl to be. What’s wrong with this movie is the tone and emotion of it. It didn’t connect with me.

I’m guessing that The Lovely Bones was a better read than a film.

Charlie’ s Cousin Adam reviews the new geeky-teen comedy Youth In Revolt: