Red Dawn (2012) - 2 stars out of 10

Red Dawn (2012) - 2 stars out of 10

The production team of “Red Dawn” has somehow managed to take an already far-fetched concept and blow the top off of it.  The opening credits bring this story into modern times by establishing our current political climate and showing North Korea as a worldwide threat.  It is all downhill from there.  If you aren’t rolling your eyes at North Korea’s sudden occupation of the United States, the group of teenagers who train in the woods in order to fight back, or their convenient access to weapons, ammo, and explosives, the frequent (and extreme) cheesy moments will certainly ruin it for you.  It is almost comical as the teens represent themselves with their high school mascot, the Marines act so impressed, and the brothers share a moment.  The dialogue is rough although the action sequences are pretty cool.  I do applaud the writers for not being afraid to kill off some of the main characters.  That is probably the most realistic part of this teenagers-turned-soldiers story.  Chris Hemsworth must have owed someone a favor when he agreed to star in this film amidst his success with “Thor” and “The Avengers.”  My best advice is that, unless you owe someone a favor yourself, don’t let anybody talk you into this one.

[Pictured: The access to advanced weaponry is quite convenient under the circumstances]

As Good As It Gets - 8 stars out of 10

As Good As It Gets - 8 stars out of 10

“As Good As It Gets” is really good, but certainly not as good as it gets.  The story is unique and interesting, complete with Oscar-winning performances by Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, but I found a lot of the comedy to lie in an awkward area between serious social issues and ironic dark humor.  I don’t know if it is the fault of the writers or the difficulty of writing a racist, homophobic, OCD character, but the tone of the film seems inappropriate at times.  Still, there cannot be enough praise given to the acting.  Nicholson and Hunt are magical together, to the point where the creepiness of their extreme age difference is barely an afterthought as the story progresses.  Hunt has a great crying scene, Nicholson flips out on a bunch of people, and that’s what we really want out of this film.  Their chemistry is everything that you would expect from these great actors, but Greg Kinnear is a great surprise.  His emotional and unfortunate existence earned him an Oscar nomination (which will also probably be his last, due to his sour grapes toward not winning).  The film contains one of my favorite lines of all time: “You make me want to be a better man.”  It might not seem like much out of context, but its simplicity is perfectly matched with Nicholson’s delivery in the film.  It isn’t my favorite film and definitely did not deserve to beat “Titanic” in the 1998 Academy Awards, but “As Good As It Gets” is one of those films that has become a staple in the repertoire and everybody needs to see it at least once.

[Pictured: Three Oscar nominees, a perfect motley crew]