No proper story development, no proper character development. Are animated movies just being lazy nowadays? It sure seems so!

Is it fair to say that the CG animated movie genre is past its prime? Most genre movies nowadays seem to be simple rehashes of other ones and come across as quick cash grabs. It's as if the studios aren't trying as hard anymore to come up with anything unique or special anymore. As long as the movie sells and they can make some extra bucks on merchandising, the people up top are happy. It are movies like this that are causing the genre to come to a screeching halt, instead of helping it to move forward and keep pushing the envelop, with new techniques and approaches to the genre. There are just too many genre movies like this nowadays, even coming from some of the bigger and more 'revolutionary' animation studios, which is all sad and disappointing to note. The true creativity, drive, passion and love, that always could be found in these genre movie, seems all to be gone by now.

The fact that this is a mostly formulaic genre flick is only part of its problem. It's a way bigger problem for the movie that it just isn't a very well executed one. It doesn't even take the time for things to get set up and introduced properly. In the first few minutes we are introduced to a farm turkey, that thinks differently and looks different from his fellow turkeys, who are all living there with him, but how or why, we simply never get told. A few minutes later he's living in the White House (yeah, I know, don't ask) and a few minutes later again he gets recruited for a secret mission by some other turkey and together they travel back into time. Everything happens so fast and without a logical explanation. It's annoying really, especially when the movie keeps coming up with its own new convenient rules, right till the very end.

Everything about this movie is just too simple. I'm not even necessarily just talking about its story but also all of its characters and jokes, for instance. Of course there is a love interest and another character who is standing in the way of their love. And of course there is a villain who is just evil for the sake of being evil. And of course the two main characters have a falling out at one point. I know this is something basically all animated movies feature but it usually is something that isn't as distracting or becomes all quite as annoying and predictable as is the case in this movie. It's all because most other movies at least make an effort to be remotely creative or original with anything. This one isn't ever trying hard enough though.

It's also disappointing really how this movie is just barely ever becoming anything funny. The comedy, just like the entire movie, is far too simple, lazy and predictable. Even little kids will have to agree that this isn't a very funny movie, with also no real likable and entertaining enough characters in it. It's all far too forgettable, which is perhaps the best thing about this movie; it luckily won't stay in your memory for long.

Worse than "Planes" in my opinion, for what it's worth.

4/10

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Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the holiday menu for good. From: IMDb.com

Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the holiday menu for good. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Jimmy Hayward

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dan Fogler and others

Current release date: November 1, 2013

A comedy centered on an aspiring singer who becomes a reality-show sensation. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: David Frankel

Starring: Julie Walters, Colm Meaney, Mackenzie Crook and others

Current release date: 2013

Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the holiday menu for good. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Jimmy Hayward

Starring: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler and others

Current release date: November 1, 2013

Directed by: Declan Lowney

Starring: Steve Coogan, Sean Pertwee, Colm Meaney and others

Current release date: 2013

Directed by: Declan Lowney

Starring: Steve Coogan, Colm Meaney, Sean Pertwee and others

Current release date: August 7, 2013

This movie overall came across as a pretty pointless one to me. I mean, what is it trying to do or say with its story? Most of the times it feels that the story is going nowhere and it also never really reaches a very satisfying conclusion with anything.

Main reason why this really isn't the most engaging or interesting movie to watch is due to its main character, that just isn't a very likable one. He's a scoundrel, who uses women for either pleasure or to gain more power. Movies like this could still work out but you need to have a charismatic and likable enough main lead and character in it, to allow it to work out. Something that, lets say, movies like "Catch Me If You Can", "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Barry Lyndon" all pulled off. I am not saying that Robert Pattinson is a bad actor but he doesn't have the right required charisma or star-power, which this movie and his character needed.

There also is a political plot line in the movie, that feels like I should have been the main focus of the movie but instead it's more of a subplot, that gets neglected for most part, until it's final 30 minutes or so, when it's just too late to start caring about it. It makes the story a sort of messy one, that's lacking a good main focus and it's perhaps also part of the reason why the final minutes of this movie feel incredibly rushed. And really, what does the ending say? It's one of those endings that's not even an ending really, since nothing really got resolved. It's just the beginning of a new chapter, that you'll never get to see. Far from satisfying, in my opinion but maybe the novel by Guy de Maupassant, on which this movie got based, provides some more answers.

As far as these type of costumed dramas go, it's still not the worst and also not the worst looking one. The sets, costumed and such are all decent enough, though it's nothing that is going to blow you away. It's obvious this was a somewhat cheaper film to make.

It has some many good and well known actors in it, just not the type of actor that makes you want to go run out to see it. Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci and Colm Meaney are all decent enough actors in this but you feel that at least one of them should have had one big emotional, dramatic or tense scene, in which he/she could show off their acting skills and range. The movie never really its actors very well, making this also an ultimately shallow movie experience.

Really can't say that it's one of the worst movies I have ever seen but everything about it still feels incredibly meh. No good emotions, no interesting drama, no intriguing developments but above all things; no charismatic and likable enough main lead it.

5/10

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(Review originally written at 28 September 2007)

This is a rather well made and flashy movie, that in the end is still nothing more than an average British crime movie.

The fact that this movie doesn't really raise above the level of average is due to the story. It's not necessarily a movie with a confusing story but its more a movie that makes things unnecessarily hard on itself, just to let the story seem more complex than it in fact truly is. It's as if the movie tried too hard to be something that it just isn't. On top of that the story also isn't always interesting or original enough to follow. The beginning is good and so is the ending but the middle drags a little and offers little new.

So you can say that the story-telling is worse than the actual story. Sure the movie is made with lots of pace and style but it seemed to me as if the director lost track of things at times. Matthew Vaughn is also still a beginning director, so I'm sure of it he will learn from his mistakes and he'll become a better director one day.

It isn't really a tough gangster flick, though the intentions are definitely there. I feel that the movie would had been a better one of it was even more brutal and straight-forward. Also some more humor and less serious characters would had worked out better for the movie. No, this really unfortunately ain't no Guy Ritchie movie, who still makes the best British gangster movies.

But of course this still obviously is a good movie to watch. The actors carry the movie and in the end the movie also offers some nice and thoughtful twists, like you always could expect from a British gangster movie.

Daniel Craig was a surprising and great leading actor. It's not his best role but still he mostly carries the movie entirely on his own. The movie is still filled with lots of fine supporting actors, such as Colm Meaney, Michael Gambon, Dragan Micanovic, Sienna Miller, Dexter Fletcher and George Harris. Especially nice to see Colm Meaney in a big production again. Sienna Miller's role seemed to be completely redundant on some other characters on the other hand got underused, such as the Dragan Micanovic's one.

A rather good movie to watch but not the must-see everyone makes you believe it is.

7/10

(Review originally written at 4 August 2006)

This movie is one of the best Steven Seagal movies but not that that is saying much of course.

It's a pretty simple action movie, as action movies are supposed to be. It has a simple plot and basically only serves as an excuse to let the Seagal character kill as many villains as possible, preferably with a knife. It however is a better than average movie for a couple of reasons.

Most important reason for this are the villains. Not the characters themselves but more the actors that portray them. Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey and Colm Meaney play the main villains. Three awesome actors. Especially Tommy Lee Jones is great, namely toward the ending when all the breaks are off by him. And I never expected to see Gary Busey as a drag queen. That was awesome, as well as unexpected (and completely unnecessary by the way once you really start thinking about it). I however felt that the villains were not enough present in the movie and the movie mainly was a Steven Seagal-flick, which will definitely still mainly pleases his fans of course.

The action is good, although it mostly consists out of only shootouts and a couple of explosions. The knife fights were a bit too ridicules in my opinion but I guess Seagal himself enjoyed it more as I did. It didn't exactly made the movie any more credible. The movie itself is quite honestly nothing too spectacular, just an entertaining enough action-flick. The movie its reputation is definitely better than the actual movie itself.

The musical score by Gary Chang is surprising good and worth owning and listening to.

In the end the movie is nothing more than a "Die Hard" wannabe set on a ship this time. It still has power and quality on its own but not quite enough to regard this movie as one of the best or most memorable movies out of the genre. The movie is only maybe a little memorable thanks to its three main villains.

6/10

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