THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

Warner Bros.

Rated PG-13

Running time: 116 Minutes

Click below to watch a movie trailer of The Man from UNCLE from YouTube.

In Warner Bros. The Man From U.N.C.L.E., CIA agent Napoleon Solo/Henry Cavill must join forces with KGB operative Illya Kuryakin/Armie Hammer to track down a private atom bomb.

Based on the television series The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the movie is Written and Directed by Guy Ritchie. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is set during the height of the Cold War of the 1960's in 1963, soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis. News archive footage from British Pathe, including footage of President John F. Kennedy and World War II and atomic bomb footage, as well as the graphics at the beginning of the movie and throughout the movie reflect that time period. Not only does having the film set during the 60's retain the flavor of the TV series and the spy movies of the 60's, along with the music in the film, the 60's style separates the movie from the current series of spy films set in today's world. It was also nice that they incorporated the theme song from the TV series into the movie.

In a most dangerous time of our history, top CIA agent Solo/Cavill extracts Alicia Vikander, the daughter of Nazi scientist turned US collaborator at the end of World War II Christian Berkel from East Berlin - evading the best KGB operative within three years Kuryakin/Hammer. Vikander's uncle Sylvester Groth works for a shipping company owned by Elizabeth Debicki and Luca Calvani who are Nazi sympathizers and have ties to an international criminal organization that want to destabilize the fragile balance of power and intend to use Berkel to build thier own private atom bomb. Rivals used to working independently - Solo/Cavill and Kuryakin/Hammer are ordered by their governments to work together on this mission, as well as with Vikander to act as Kuryakin's/Hammer's fiancee, in order to locate Vikander's father Berkel and to stop Debicki and Calvani from succeeding in having Berkel developing the nuclear weapon.

I felt that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is more fun than a James Bond movie in that the comedy comes from the character relationships, rather than the plot. I always felt a lot of the plot in a James Bond movie was contrived. It is curious that Ian Fleming developed both James Bond and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. A couple of the dining scenes reflect the humorous character relationships between Solo/Cavill and Kuryakin/Hammer when they are working together in the field as well as the relationships during the various chase scenes.

I loved the rivalry between Solo/Cavill and Kuryakin/Hammer and how they grew to respect each other. Actually, personally I related to Cavill more to his role as Napoleon Solo rather than Cavill in his role as Superman as Solo uses his criminal talents in infiltration as well as overcoming security systems. It is curious that Armie Hammer was once considered for the role of Superman. Cavill and Hammer did most of their own stunts, which I think was great - especially as Kuryakin/Hammer had more of a temper and Hammer doing his own stunts which would be shown onscreen. With Kuryakin/Hammer having a temper as well as being Vikander's "fiancee" and his relationship with her, it feels that Kuryakin/Hammer is more of the protagonist of the movie during most of the film instead of Solo/Cavill and Kuryakin/Hammer being equal.

I did not recognize Hugh Grant as Commander Waverly  as his hair has changed from the last time I saw him. It is funny that Grant is the only principle character that used his own accent in the movie.

Due to the various languages spoken in the film, such as Russian and Italian, there are subtitles in the movie. The movie has in international feel as it travels from East Berlin, to Rome.

The graphics of the end credits show the dossiers of the agents of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

I am looking forward to more of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. films, even hopefully a film of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.

On a sad note, before the movie started, the theater showed a video of emergency procedures for the theater in case of an event. It is a shame that with events that are happening in today's news that the movie going experience has come to this.

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual situations, nudity. Running time: 116  Minutes.

Click below to watch another movie trailer of The Man From Uncle on YouTube.



Click below to watch the Comic-Con movie trailer of The Man From UNCLE on YouTube.



Click below to watch a 60's style movie trailer of The Man From UNCLE from YouTube.



Pancho
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MIRROR MIRROR

Relativity Media

Rated PG

Running time: 106 Minutes



Click below to watch the Mirror Mirror trailer.



In Relativity Media's Mirror Mirror, evil Queen Julia Roberts steals control of her dead husband's kingdom and exiles her step-daughter Snow White, Lily Collins.

This retelling of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story is a cute retelling of the story by The Brothers Grimm, and reminds me more of The Princess Bride rather than of the Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie. The seven dwarfs also have different names in this movie than what they had in the Disney movie, such as Grimm, Butcher, Wolf, Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, and Chuckles. The dwarfs on their stilts make awesome bandits and adds to the stylized look of the movie. When Collins discovers that Roberts servant Nathan Lane is collecting taxes from the poor people of the kingdom, Collins has the taxes returned to the people and credits the dwarfs for the money's return. Feeling appreciated, the dwarfs decide to teach Collins how to fight, and Collins soon learns to kick butt - thus making the movie a swashbuckler. Collins sword fight against Prince Armie Hammer is reminiscent of the sword fight in The Princess Bride, despite the fact that Collins loves Hammer. Having the Queen wanting to marry Hammer, both for his money and his looks is almost obscene - especially when she uses a love potion on him. It made me want Collins to thwart Roberts wedding plans and win back Collins birthright, which Collins was determined to do.

Instead of just talking with the magic mirror - which would have made me think that would have been one of the main points of the movie considering that the title of the movie is Mirror Mirror. Roberts walks into the mirror in her castle, and winds up in some type of other dimension besides a lakeside hut which houses the real magic mirror which contains Roberts reflection - who continually warns Roberts of the consequences of using magic.

The scene that got to me, was the scene where Roberts is undergoing a "beauty treatment" - with foul substances, as well as a "beauty treatment" with insects. Having all of that put on me would definitely creep me out. I could not watch that scene with the bugs. Arghhh! While the beast of the forest looks like something that could have survived in the forest, I wanted something bigger and scarier. At least the beast was something similar to the Disney beast from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which made the beast somewhat acceptable to me.

I liked the musical dance number that the characters did during the end credits of the movie.

Rated PG for violence. Running time: 106 Minutes.

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J. Edgar

Warner Bros.

Rated R

Running time: 137 Minutes



In the true story of Warner Bros. J. Edgar, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - J. Edgar Hoover, Leonardo DiCaprio, dictates his life's story to varous Federal agents.

Based on the true story of Hoover's life, and Directed and with Music by Clint Eastwood, this film is a very dramatic history of both J. Edgar and the FBI. It is amazing how much forensic proceedures J. Edgar developed in both library research and criminal science. These proceedures were very critical in the solving of the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping case. The film makes references to various criminal related cases the FBI was involved with, such as the notorious gangsters as well as the Charles Lindberg baby kidnapping. Throughout the 20th century, these cases of the FBI helped make J. Edgar a national hero. The private files J. Edgar supposedly kept of various political figures, including Presidents also made J. Edgar notorious and a person you did not want to make a political enemy of.

When a bomb explodes at the home of his boss, J. Edgar (DiCaprio) becomes driven throughout the rest of his life in dealing both with radical groups, as well as the subversives against America, and also in dealing in criminal science - such as having criminal's fingerprints being registered and centralized at the FBI. J. Edgar is soon made Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has a career that lasts half a century and eight Presidents. The film goes back and forth between the mature characters of the present, and their younger selves. J. Edgar struggles in gaining respect for the Bureau, in that he has strict standards for his agents, getting proper jurisdiction and funding for the Bureau during Congressional Hearings - as well as getting loyalty and respect for himself. As a result, J. Edgar's biography "The Untitled FBI Story" is rather embellished with stories about J. Edgar.

The film also deals with J. Edgar's relationship with his mother Judi Dench, and his "daffodil" relationship with agent Clyde Tolson, Armie Hammer. While I knew of this relationship from various studies, the relationship was subtly played in the movie. Although it is interesting J. Edgar originally wanted a relationship with his new secretary Helen Gandy, Naomi Watts. However Watts only wanted a business relationship with J. Edgar. As a result, J. Edgar becomes uncomfortable with girls, and has a different relationship - although the FBI continues to deny any such portrayals of J. Edgar. It is ironic of having Armie Hammer in the movie when Armie Hammer's great-grandfather, tycoon Armand Hammer, was suspected by J. Edgar Hoover of having Soviet ties.

There was definitely an older crowd for this movie in the theaters. I am not sure if that is because of Clint Eastwood, or that the older crowd is more familiar with J. Edgar Hoover. Most probably it is because of the relationship the older crowd has with J. Edgar despite the star power of Leonardo DiCaprio. J. Edgar was the reason I saw the movie. I would not be surprised if DiCaprio is nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this movie.

Rated R for langauge, violence, and sexual situations. Running time: 137 Minutes.

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The Social Network

Columbia Pictures

Rated PG-13

Running time: 121 minutes



Click below to watch The Social Network trailer.



Columbia Pictures The Social Network is about the creation of the website Facebook and the legal problems Harvard computer undergrad creator Mark Zuckerberg had as a result of the website's creation.

With flashbacks between the creation of Facebook and the legal problems Zuckerberg goes through, and a script by Aaron Sorkin, there is twice as much dialog in this film than in a normal film which can be exhausting if you are not used to that much dialog. This is evidenced by the first five minutes of the film of an intense dialog with Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, and his then girlfriend who are sitting in a bar before the opening credits roll. That was supposed to be eight pages of dialog crammed into five minutes of film - where normally it is a minute's worth of dialog per page. Although there is a lot of dialog, with David Fincher's direction, this is not a talking-heads movie. The dialog basically shows what an intense jerk Zuckerberg is in the movie and you can imagine how his personality could lead him into trouble as he goes about creating what was then known as The Facebook, a social networking site allowing people to stay connected with each other which was originally created for Harvard. When Zuckerberg gets involved with Justin Timberlake, as Napster creator Sean Parker, the business potential for Facebook grows into the billions - where most of the legal troubles begins.

Watching the movie initially brought back memories of college for me, both with the intense academic life and the sorority life. It is interesting that while the Facebook website was originally created for college students, a lot of the movie-going audience that I saw the movie with was of an older crowd. While it is said that a lot of the material was created for the movie, and is not real, the movie gave me an idea of what goes on behind the scenes of such a big business.

Another aspect of the movie deals with the twins Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, with Armie Hammer playing both parts. The Winklevoss twins - Hammer - got Zuckerberg involved in creating a Harvard social networking website for themselves. One interesting thing about the Winklevoss twins, aside from their legal actions against Zukerberg for stealing their idea, is that the Winklevoss twins were part of Harvard's Crew Team. As a videographer who spent a season videotaping the Orange Coast College's Crew Team - who are known as "The Giant Killers" for defeating well-known crew teams such as Harvard, it was a delight for me to get a glimpse of this sport again as it is rare that I get to see crew in a movie. It was also a delight to see Disney Channel star Brenda Song in an adult role for once as the girlfriend of Zuckerberg's friend and co-creator of Facebook Eduardo Saverin, Andrew Garfield.

There is talk of an Oscar and I could see an Oscar for this film.

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations, language, and drug use. Running time 121 minutes.

Pancho
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