Magic Mike

There is a certain expectation going into Magic Mike, and that expectation is a lot of sexy men with chiseled abs.  And those who saw the red-band trailer can expect plenty more.  But for those only expecting that may be in for a surprise.  As with any stripper movie eventually the plot turns from fun and campy dancing to a look into the fast life of the exotic dancer.  That doesn't take anything away from the movie; it just becomes something different than was advertised.  Magic Mike is a fun, fast, and sexy movie for the first half and then becomes more of the same with a slip into darkness and melodrama by the halfway point.

Steven Soderbergh seems to have a lot of fun with the film and unlike many of the men in the audience doesn't seem all that uncomfortable with half naked men.  Soderbergh loves flipping the norm and focusing on the women ogling the men instead of what we usually see on the screen.  Some of the best scenes take place back in the club whether it is back stage or out there shaking it all for the women.  The group numbers are fun and will have the women cheering knowing they got exactly what they came for.  The choreography for the group dance numbers especially "Its Raining Men" are terrific.  And all the quick cuts of the guys doing their own thing are for the most part hilarious.  We even get to see Channing Tatum return to the moves that made him popular in Step Up.  And I think we get an actual look into how women act behind closed doors when allowed to, hell I think this may be the watered down version of that interaction.

The second half of the movie takes a look at the different life styles that come with stripping, including getting into the drug selling business.  This part focuses more on Alex Pettyfer as "The Kid" who was brought into this world by Tatum's character Mike.  While "The Kid" is based off of Tatum when he was 18 and getting into the stripping world (here's photographic proof of that) the drug portion is reportedly fictional.  No stripping movie can get away from this part of the story as the turn seems reminiscent of Boogie Nights or Showgirls, but the story reminded me most of Saturday Night Fever.  Indeed the movie begins with some the good times inherent with dancing and the freeing experience and then it takes the same dark turn inherent with too much freedom.

Tatum is still a stiff actor and I don't know if he will ever break himself of that trait.  I'm sure none of the women will mind as one friend who saw the movie only had one comment after seeing the movie: "He is gorgeous."  Tatum though seems to be at his best when he is allowed to riff a little bit and improvise what needs to be done.  Much like 21 Jump Street the character is written to his strengths, which makes sense as the screenwriter is also his producing partner.  Matthew McConaughey does a great McConaughey as he even slips in a couple of "alright, alright, alrights."  But he is not just a blazed actor looking to collect a paycheck; he embraces the role and portrays it not as a fool, but a savvy business man who knows what his customers want.  While all the other dancers don't add too much dialogue to the story, they do share some subtleties to the lifestyle that help develop both Magic Mike and The Kid. The dancers do much better than Cody Horn and Olivia Munn who were really only there to objectify the men, which typing now I realize is probably the point.

Magic Mike starts with women cheering and begging to see what they all came for, and while it delivers that early, it becomes a much darker if not predictable movie.  The movie is vividly shared by Soderbergh and the male cast, but it just loses any momentum it was moving towards by injecting the drug angle.  But the reason you are going to see it is for the looks and not the substance.  I see you scrolling down, hey ladies my thoughts are up here. B-

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four is based on a young-adult novel that spent six weeks on the children's chapter of The New York Times Best Seller list. It is also the first part of a six book series. No wonder this book was snagged up to make a movie, I imagine all the producers heard was ka-ching. And with producer Michael Bay on board how could this not be a hit.

The movie is about a teenage outsider named John Smith, how outside, well he's from space. He and his eight other Lorien friends are being hunted down by another alien race called the Mogadorians. Three others have already been killed and he is next on the list.

It is never made apparent in the movie why they have to be killed in numerical order, or for that matter why these Mogadorians are hunting them down. I think they tried to explain it, but really it just boiled down to them being giant douche-bags because that's what they do, kill children. But I'd probably be pissed if I had weird gill things on the side of my nose too so I'll let it slide.

Once number three is killed John Smith is escorted out of Florida and on the move again to Paradise. Ohio that is. And there he meets the other hot outsider of the high school Sarah. She used to be a cheerleader, but now is into photography and as we all know photography is the kiss of death in your high school social life. But it was all a matter of time, because everyone knows that Sarah should be spelled without an H, but what do I know. He also manages to piss off the quarterback and befriends the school nerd.

Alex Pettyfer does a solid job as the lead character John Smith/Number 4. If I was going to cast a brooding alien teenager I would probably cast a former GAP model as well. He has already done quite a bit and while he may never reach the teen heartthrob level of Robert Pattinson he could definately become a Channing Tatum. I'm still not sure if any of that was a compliment or an insult.

The movie is at its best when it is dealing with issues of Puppy love. It does well with teenage angst and doesn't linger on it too long before it becomes annoying. Dianna Argon does a terrific job as the love interest. With a couple more roles like this one to prove she can be cutesy and create on scream chemistry, she is probably the most likely of the Glee kids to break out into the film industry. Hopefully not too fast, they still need to win at regionals.

They seemed to have the timing down for this movie, because just as I was starting to wonder when the action sequences were going to start our hero meets his villain. Kevin Durand plays our Mogadorian Commander and has become a staple in popcorn action movies. He plays this character a little over the top, but it's only a little annoying, as it appears he just seems to be having fun with the role. The action sequences are also over the top, but that is to be expected with Bay. Really the most out of place part is that our hero's hands can turn into flashlights. That super power is almost as lame as the kid on Captain Planer who got heart. It also probably explains why he feels the need to flick his hair back so often rather than go and be a tough guy.

Timothy Olyphant obviously does a stand out job as the guardian for number four. He takes over as the bad ass of the film, but his trademark style from Justified is toned down a little so that the kids could shine in this one. Which is unfortunate because if he had been allowed to let loose a little this could have proven to be a darker movie that maybe more of the adult crowd could get into.

But it was never going to be that movie, this movie was put out fast to grab a quick buck and tried to follow a formula. Take the teenage angst of the CW, add the action and love beats from Twilight, find people who love Abecrombie and Fitch, insert some major explosion and you should have a winner. Basically just focus on the aesthetics of the project and everything else should follow. They paid no heed to the overacting of some of the actors and the stale writing.

Thats not to say it is entirely bad, I actually enjoyed the movie. It reminded me a little of Smallville which is a guilty pleasure of mine. I should probably feel a little ashamed of watching it but the story is usually interesting and its trashy enough for me to enjoy it and then forget about it as soon as it's over. I imagine that is how most people will feel about this movie so I doubt we'll get a chance to see this franchise continue unless the box office numbers are staggering. B-