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Veronica Mars (2014) Recipe Card Movie Review

Movie Rating: 2 Joes
Two Joe's

Veronica Mars (2014)

Released March 14, 2014 /
Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy /
PG-13


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Cook Time
1 hr 48 min

Cook Time
1 hr 48 min

Ingredients
  1. Stars: Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Jason Dohring, Ryan Hansen, Tina Majorino,
  2. Chris Lowell, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Krysten Ritter
  3. Written by: Rob Thomas & Diane Ruggiero
  4. Directed by: Rob Thomas
Instructions
  1. On the eve of graduating law school, Veronica Mars has put Neptune and her amateur sleuthing days behind her. While interviewing at high-end New York law firms, Veronica Mars gets a call from her ex-boyfriend Logan who has been accused of murder.
  2. Veronica heads back to Neptune just to help Logan find an attorney, but when things don’t seem right with how Logan’s case is perceived and handled, Veronica finds herself being pulled back into a life she thought she had left behind.
Notes
  1. Make no mistake of it – ‘Veronica Mars the Movie’ is for ‘Veronica Mars the fans.’ This is very much a TV reunion movie and not a stand-alone feature film. And this comes from someone who is a real fan of the series.
  2. These reunion things never seem to recapture the magic of the series they’re based on, especially once they’ve been off the air for an extended period of time. The only one in recent memory that nailed it was the Joss Whedon feature film “Serenity” based on the “Firefly” TV series. And I have to tell you, Rob Thomas is no Joss Whedon. Thomas is TV good, but he’s not Feature Film good. He’s stuck on the small screen and so is this film. I know they only had a limited budget to work with (funds mostly contributed by fans through Kickstarter), but I still can’t help to think they couldn’t have gone bigger and been more creative with it rather than turning it into an overlong episode of the television show (which is exactly what it is).
  3. But on to the main question – will the fans of the show like it? And the answer is… probably. There is enough fan service to the series here to get one excited for the show they once loved. But I got to tell you, coming from this fan, I felt it fell short. I didn’t need all of the winks and nods. I just wanted to see a show I once loved on the small screen evolve into something larger on the big screen. I didn’t get that. I got a CW reunion episode that was, quite frankly, awkward to watch. If I was to pinpoint the one major thing wrong with it, it would be this… the chemistry was gone. It had been just too long since the series had ended for these actors to really find their characters again. The interactions didn’t feel right. The movie felt off.
  4. I just can’t help to feel there were so many missed opportunities with this film. I would have loved to see the creators expand upon this franchise and incorporate it into a larger world. Instead, they choose to keep it small and high schoolish. But if their main goal was to say ‘thank you’ to the fans, then I would say they most likely achieved that goal.
Know It All Joe https://www.knowitalljoe.com/

Citation * The Instructions are from the Official Site for the film.

Robocop 2014 Recipe Card Movie Review (with extra treats included)

Movie Rating: 2 Joes

Two Joe's

RoboCop 2014

Released February 12, 2014
Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy
PG-13


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Cook Time
1 hr 48 min

Cook Time
1 hr 48 min

Ingredients
  1. Stars: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton,
  2. Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, Jackie Earle Haley
  3. Written by: David Self
  4. Directed by: José Padilha
Instructions
  1. In the year 2028, after a tragic accident, a cop by the name of Alex Murphy is transformed into a cyborg by the evil corporation OmniCorp to protect the streets of Detroit.
  2. OmniCorp’s plan is to use RoboCop as a way to convince the public that machines would make better cops than people. But they just really want to make a lot of money and don’t really care about the people. In other words, they’re a corporation. And that’s RoboCop!
Notes
  1. It occurred to me after seeing RoboCop 2014 that it was like a bad dream I had after watching the 1987 version. In my dream, I’m watching ‘RoboCop 1987’ but my mind is warping and changing things in a nonsensical way. Some of the characters have the same names but yet are different people and although it’s the same story – it’s not. This isn’t a fun dream. It’s a scary dream and I’m struggling to wake up so I can watch the original movie that I enjoyed so much. And I might have wet my bed while I was sleeping. But we’ll save that discussion for another time.
  2. Joel Kinnaman plays RoboCop cyborg, Alex Murphy. He’s a capable actor, but looked greatly out of place here. Peter Weller owned the character in the original. Kinnaman does not. Weller wore a mask throughout most of the film and still he surged with emotions you could feel. Kinnaman’s face was shown throughout most of this film and his performance just came off as bland.
  3. Samuel (don’t confuse me with Laurence Fishburne) L. Jackson and Jay Baruchel had thankless roles and really had nothing to do. Michael Keaton was fine, but I keep wishing there is a better movie out there for him to star in. I miss Michael Keaton. And Gary Oldman … well, I hope they paid him well because he delivered, as always. He’s too good an actor for this remake.
  4. Abbie Cornish played Murphy’s wife, but I found myself not really caring about their relationship. Cornish did a fine job but because they showed so little of their relationship prior to the accident, I just didn’t find myself engaged. Wisely, they kept most of this to a minimum in the original – just enough to show us the anguish of losing his family without bogging down the plot.
  5. And for some reason, they reversed neutered the roll of Lewis, Murphy’s partner. She’s a man now. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) But it would have been nice to once again see a strong female in this role and view her interaction with Murphy. But like much of this film, Lewis was just another throwaway.
  6. So they took a very fun, memorable film from the 80’s and stripped it clean and sanitized it. RoboCop 2014 was not fun. A note to the filmmakers… A movie called ‘RoboCop’ is supposed to be fun! Oh, and speaking of fun, who the hell was the damn villain? Unlike the original, there was no disguisable bad guy. It just sort of alternated throughout. The dad from “That 70’s Show” – now that was a good memorable RoboCop villain.
  7. To sum up, toss in a small dab of 80’s, a spoon full of saltpeter, and a quart of black tar, crank the oven to 350 and two hours later you have RoboCop 2014. It’s kind of icky tasting. I don’t recommend it. So if you really want to see a RoboCop movie, I suggest that you subtract 27 from 2014 and see that film instead. You’ll have a better time.
Know It All Joe https://www.knowitalljoe.com/

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“A Fantastic Fear of Everything” Recipe Card Movie Review

Movie Rating: 1 1/2 Joes

One and a Half Joe's

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

UK Release: Friday, June 8, 2012 –
US Release: Friday, February 7, 2014 Limited –
Comedy


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Total Time
1 hr 40 min

Total Time
1 hr 40 min

Ingredients
  1. Stars: Simon Pegg, Amara Karan, Clare Higgins, Alan Drake, Paul Freeman, Kerry Shale,
  2. Zaak Conway, Tuyet Le
  3. Directors: Crispian Mills, Chris Hopewell
  4. Writer: Crispian Mills (screenplay)
  5. Based on the novella “Paranoia in the Launderette” by Bruce Robinson
Instructions
  1. Jack (Simon Pegg) is a children’s author turned crime novelist whose detailed research into the lives of Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck, persecuted by the irrational fear of being murdered.
  2. When Jack is thrown a life-line by his long-suffering agent and a mysterious Hollywood executive takes a sudden and inexplicable interest in his script, what should be his ‘big break’ rapidly turns into his ‘big breakdown’, as Jack is forced to confront his worst demons; among them his love life, his laundry and the origin of all fear.
Notes
  1. A Fantastic Fear of Everything (a clunky and not really accurate title) is a dreary exercise in storytelling. Though it’s listed as a comedy, I would have mixed it into a separate category and named it ‘manically awkward.’ Simon Pegg plays a way too over-the top character (name Jack – points for originality) that is just so manic throughout much of the film that it’s just a bit hard to watch.
  2. We start the film at a place where Jack is already terribly on edge. He’s researching serial killers for a story he’s writing. We are supposed to believe that this is the reason he’s so fearful (because he psyched himself out?). He thinks someone is out to kill him though no real threat is presented at this point. Aside from that, the movie sets up his fear of Laundromats. I didn’t really buy into the psychological reasoning behind this either. If Jack’s erratic behavior was drug induced, then I might have more easily bought it.
  3. I think the film would have been better off showing us the build up to where it first starts off. Let us see Jack mentally fall apart. Let us see him develop this fantastic fear of everything (which is stretching it because he doesn’t have a fear of everything). Maybe then, we the audience might be able to relate to his journey. As for the ultimate resolution, I do see what the filmmakers were shooting for but didn’t really agree with its execution.
  4. The movie had an interesting concept, but if you peel that away, you’ll find that it doesn’t have a good enough story to pour into a full film. The fact that the main character is named ‘Jack’ just shows there is no real originality here. Even visually, it’s all been done before. Even the love interest introduced later in the film was formulaic. I will say this though – Simon Pegg definitely went balls to the wall and gave us everything he had to try and make it work. Too bad he didn’t have better material to work with.
  5. On the up side, thanks to this film, I now know how to do a load of laundry.
  6. Step 1: Open the Door. Step 2: Get the Clothes In. Step 3: Shut the Door. Step 4: Place the Money in the Slot. Step 5: Push Your Slot In. Step 6: Add Detergent
Know It All Joe https://www.knowitalljoe.com/

Side Note * I do realize this film played in the UK a year and a half ago.  I am only posting a review now because it has recently become available for digital release in the U.S and hits theaters for a limited run in a couple of weeks (February 7, 2014).

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