After receiving his Masters in Film and Video Production from one of the most prestigious film schools in the country, Mike spent 2 years working in Hollywood, easily discovering that it's much more fun to review a film, than it is to actually work on one! He's been published in half a dozen entertainment outlets and has seen almost 10,000 movies . Think of him as a guide... a movie guide. Your movie friend, here to help you save or spend your hard earned money, one...film...at...a...time.


DON\'T BE AFRAID OF DARK & OUR IDIOT BROTHER

Mike Mechanick reviews the new horror re-make, DON\'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, and...

Mike Mechanick reviews the new horror re-make, DON\'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, and the dramedy, OUR IDIOT BROTHER.

  • CHRONICLES OF NARIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
    C+ Very mediocre. It's kinda exciting. Kinda engaging. The 3-D is kinda cool. The story is kinda fun. It just isn't worth 12 and a half dollars a person. Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. I guess, you can forgive the blatant allegories for religion and Christianity here. You try to get involved in the journey these characters are taking. It tries to be an adventure in it's purest form. The problem is... you don't really like any of these characters! Maybe Lucy... but um... that's about it. And when you don't really like characters, you end up not really caring about them. Ho-hum. It was ALMOST a good movie.
  • THE TOURIST
    C Yawn. Potential? Sure... but ultimately disappointed and predictable. While it's nice to watch Jolie and Depp "go at it," there really is something missing. Was this movie just a vehicle for it's stars? Or, are the stars, the vehicle for this movie? Now, the cinematography here is gorgeous... the landscapes of Venice are something to behold here... but so what really. Elise (Angelina Jolie) randomly sits next to an American tourist, Frank (Johnny Depp), on a Venice-bound train. The police have been following Elise for over two years waiting for her to contact her lover, who embezzled over $2 Billion from a mobster. The British Economic Police want to collect its share (taxes) of over $775 Million to be paid on this money. Frank, a math teacher, and Elise must evade the police, and also the mobster who's money was stolen. The storyline is not complicated; the mobsters money man steals a large amount of his money, and he is now on the run for his life, plus the police want him too. The police don't know what he looks like, so they need Elise to identify him. Of course, there's a twist at the end, but really, I don't think it fooled anyone in the audience. In fact, you can probably figure it out just by watching the trailer. Basically, if you looking slow moving deliberate wanna-be thriller, with beautiful scenery and beautiful actors... than you might appreciate it.
  • BURLESQUE
    D- Seriously? The proper investment here is in the soundtrack... NOT the movie. This picture is almost "Showgirls" bad. I suppose if you put a camera on Stanely Tucci the entire time, you might get some praise, but this attempt at putting Ms. Aguilera in movies is pure folly. Tess, a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali, a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by new found friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue. It's funny, because I though Cher would bring a certain panache, or vibe to the movie but strangely, she just doesn't. Her own fake face just gets too distracting. Don't get me wrong, she is one of the most talented women on the planet, and you'd think here, this was a role just made for... but um... the writing is so laughably bad, you just can't blame her.
  • LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
    B+ A surprise! I thought this was going to just a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and boy was I wrong. More of a "romantic dramedy" this film deals with issue far great than of love. From the state of mind of life in the '90s, to prescription drugs, to Parkinson's disease, the great sex scenes between our stars, and an Oscar worthy performance from Anne Hathaway, this film gets inside, and just won't let you go. Maggie (Hathaway) is an alluring free spirit who won't let anyone - or anything - tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie (Gyllenhaal), whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie's evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love. It one thing to want to see Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal naked, but it's another to see them at the top of their acting games. Um, ya get both here. I think there enough here for people who just like generic rom-coms, but there's a lot more, for the movie lover who likes a lot more.
  • DUE DATE
    C- If I wanted to see Planes Trains and Automobiles, I would have just rented Planes Trains and Automobiles! Forget the fact that this film is a complete rip-off, it's just not that funny. Oh don't get me wrong... it tries to be, very hard. But Robert Downy Jr is playing the "strait" one here. Eh... major mistake. Zach Galafinakis, who is a very talented and funny man is just TOO OVER THE TOP. He over does it everywhere, and makes his character completely non-believable. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) must get to LA in five days to be at the birth of his firstborn. He is about to fly home from Atlanta when his luggage and wallet are sent to LA without him, and he is put on the "no-fly" list. Desperate to get home Peter is forced to accept the offer of Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) to hitch a ride with him cross-country. Peter is about to go on the most terrifying and agonizing journey of his life. There are a few touching scenes in the movie that were well done, but came out of nowhere. I mean, I suppose I did chuckle a few times, but ultimately, I just wanted it to be over.
  • UNSTOPPABLE
    B+ For being a movie about a train... this will keep you on the edge of your seat almost the entire time! While filled with one-note stereotypical characters, Tony Scott's film still can claim it's a pure adrenaline rush. But the best part is... it's base on true events... which it makes it pack that much more a punch... i think. Denzel is very good here, but then again, when is he ever not? Unstoppable is a drama about a runaway train carrying a cargo of toxic chemicals. Pits an engineer and his conductor in a race against time. They're chasing the runaway train in a separate locomotive and need to bring it under control before it derails on a curve and causes a toxic spill that will decimate a town. The bottom line here is that if you're looking for an action film, one with no guns, no sex, and no swearing... this is perfect for you!
  • HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS 1
    B+ It?s amazing that after 7 films (and counting) there is still plenty of magic in this franchise! It?s the series darkest film for sure. The acting is the best we?ve seen so far, and the dynamics of each character just gets stronger and stronger. Now, for people who have NOT read the books or seen the previous films, avoid The Deathly Hallows at all costs and start from scratch. You will be lost and scratching your head. But for the avid followers and fans of the franchise, this first part of the two part finale is exquisitely executed. In this seventh and final installment of the beloved Harry Potter series, Harry faces new troubles; he must collect all of the Horcruxes that the evil Lord Voldemort has left behind. He has no idea where these are and he has to destroy them all, even without the faintest idea how to do so. The trio of Harry, Ron, & Hermione find themselves on the run from everything they know and love, trying desperatly to figure out how to defeat the dark lord. The problem here, is that this is just half a story. It?s HALF of the final book. So really, you don?t get the satisfaction of everything planted at the beginning here. I?m sure when the conclusion comes around next spring, people will be going ga-ga over it. There?s plenty of neat film nuances here that aren?t in the book, as well as a plenty of great stuff from book, left out of the film. The bottom line: HP7 part 1 is still magical, dark, and completely worthy of your money.
  • HEREAFTER
    D For the first time in Clint Eastwood's directorial career, he completely misses the mark. It wasn't 30 minutes in I was already looking at my watch! This is a boring, aimless, trite film about what exactly? . . . Death? Life after death? Near-death? Featuring the stories of three people across the...
  • RED
    B+Funny withouth being silly. Exciting without being A.D.D. Action packed without being CGI heavy. RED is a winner, through and through! While the premise a little tired, and the film, a bit predictable, the ride getting to that point is as entertaining as any action laugher you'll see this year!...
  • LIFE AS WE KNOW IT
    C-Almost a joke. With the exception of a few heart warming scenes, this almost romantic comedy-almost coming of age-almost fish out of water movie is as silly and as predictable as it gets! Holly Berenson (Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Duhamel) is a promising network sports...
  • SECRETARIAT
    C+Its not that "Secretariat" isn't crowd-pleasing. It is. But that doesn't make it a great movie. If you take away the horse racing action, everything else feels hollow like a glossy statue of nothing. Diane Lane offers one of the finest performances of her career... but that still just isn't...
  • THE SOCIAL NETWORK
    A Taut. Twisted. Dark. Resonating. Excellent. What more can I say about David Fincher's newest hit, "The Social Network." Jesse Eisneberg delivers a performance of an "Anti-hero" on par with that of Orson Wells in "Citizen Kane!" This is a topical film about a website phenomenon that is as addicting...
  • LET ME IN
    AOne of the greatest remakes ever! The Swedish verison, "Let the Right One In" was in my top ten movies of the year a few years ago... and I can't believe I'm writing this, but the American version, is even better. Wow. This is an ANTI vampire, vampire movie. It's sublte, eerie, deliberate, paced...
  • WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
    B Oliver Stone's still got it. Michael Douglas, awesome. Carey Mulligan, brilliant. Josh Brolin, masterful. This is a movie where aspiring actors should watch and learn. Though the film's topical nature and blatent commenraty on the recent Bank Bailouts seem more vital to the film than they actually...
  • LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GAHOOLE
    BWho knew Owls went to war? This epic tale of the owls comes both as the first part of a larger series, and an attempt to actually make 3-D animation look cooler than you've seen it yet this year. Both accounts, work beautifully. The director, who gave us "300" and "Watchmen" blends his slo-mo...