Armageddon (1998)

Will Patton, Bruce Willis, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ben Affleck, and Owen Wilson

Here for purely entertaining purposes is our review of Armageddon. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ben Affleck, all of whom are responsible for literally saving the world. We were surprised to learn that one of the (many) writers credited for this movie is none other than J.J. Abrams, who went on to create some fantastic entertainment including Alias, Super 8, and the re-booted version of Star Trek. This movie is rated PG-13 for disaster violence, language (including 2 F-Bombs), and some foreplay between Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler.

Dan -
I may get a lot of criticism for this next comment, but I’ll say it anyway: I love Michael Bay movies! I’m not sure if it is his unabashed glorification of all things American, his cool low-angle rotating shots of the heroes, or the fact that he knows how make stuff blow up real good. They are enormously entertaining (except for Bad Boys II which just sucked) and, surprisingly, they stir a sense of emotion in me from time to time. Even a movie like this one.

If I have one complaint about Michael Bay movies, it is that there is never any sense of real time or space in most of his movies. The Transformers movies are the worst offenders (There’s a giant airfield behind the Smithsonian with lots of mothballed aircraft? Seriously?), but this movie is right on their heels. And maybe that is the fault of the people who edit his movies, but he still must share some of the blame. There will be unexplained costume changes by the characters, or the sun will suddenly have set from one scene to the next without any justification of time passing. Just my own personal observances, but hey, these are movies and the beauty of this art form is that a person can create whatever reality they want (like simultaneously launching 2 space shuttles within a mile of each other, and then landing those space shuttles on a moving asteroid).

Enough negativity. This movie is for entertainment and nothing else. You as the viewer must be willing to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride, so don’t think too hard about this movie unless you just want to mock it. That being said, I like this movie. It is pure escapist fun. The plot is simple enough: A giant asteroid is headed for Earth and unless it is stopped it will impact and kill the entire planet. NASA seeks the expertise of Bruce Willis’ oil-drilling roughneck crew in order to implant a nuclear bomb in the middle of the asteroid.

I think that many filmmakers, including Bay, take great joy in thinking up ways to destroy the planet. I secretly wonder if Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich (of Independence Day and 2012 fame) were best friends as children since their movies seem to be the most detrimental to Earth. In this movie we see Paris obliterated and New York damaged severely by an array of asteroids (including a shot of the World Trade Center on fire with a hole in it, which almost gave me chills when I saw it).

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. It’s strictly a fun movie that you should not be concerned about taking seriously.

Nerd Note: Have you ever noticed just how many movies with similar plots are released, and often in the same year? I submit the following for example: Deep Impact and Armageddon in 1998, Antz and A Bug’s Life also in 1998, Capote and Infamous in 2005, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp in 1994, Mission to Mars and Red Planet in 2000, Dante’s Peak and Volcano in 1997, and Killers and Knight and Day in 2010 to name a few. One would think movie studios checked around before green-lighting some of their projects. I’m just sayin’...

Mark -
Surprisingly this was actually the first time that I have seen this film, and I really don’t feel like I missed out on waiting this long to see it. I really thought that I would enjoy this film since I really like many of the actors in the film, but this film is a classic example of how a bad script can’t be saved by good actors. I understand that this film is supposed to be enjoyed mostly for its special effects and the actors themselves, but the action-comedy approach to this film ends up creating huge problems for the plot, leaving this movie to be nothing but a head shaking joke.

The plot of this film centers around the idea that a meteor the size of Texas is headed towards Earth, and if it isn’t stopped then it will destroy everything and everyone. In order to save the world, it is decided that a group of misfit oil drillers will fly out into space, land on the meteor, and drill into the core of the meteor. Once the drillers have reached a certain depth, a nuclear weapon will be placed in the hole and detonated; theoretically splitting the meteor in such a way that no debris will hit the Earth.

So here’s my major problem with this film: Much to my displeasure every little event in this film becomes life or death. I sat watching this film thinking that I was watching the film 2012 all over again, and that anyone who survives just barely survives, yet the reasoning they use to obtain survival is absolutely ridiculous. For a film with so many characters that are supposed to be very intelligent, these so called intellects came up with some of the stupidest possible solutions or ideas when confronted with problems. Although it is quite obvious from the beginning that time is going to play a major factor in the plot, this film shows absolutely no sense of real time being used, and in my opinion shows one of the dumbest uses of effectively using time to accomplish the desired outcome.

Somehow this film helped relaunch the career of Bruce Willis, and helped to launch the careers of Michael Clarke Duncan and Owen Wilson which I am very grateful for. How they accomplished this I’m uncertain, but I guess any exposure is sometimes better than none. The funny parts of this movie were definitely the most enjoyable for me, but it still couldn’t really due much to save this film. 2 *’s out of 5

My Random Thought For Armageddon: I understand that Michael Bay probably isn’t going for realism in his films, but I unfortunately found Bay’s Transformer films to be just as, if not more realistic than this film.

Coach Carter (2005)

Samuel L. Jackson as Coach Ken Carter

We decided to go for the cliche inspirational sports movie this time around. Coach Carter is rated PG-13 for violence, language, teen partying (aka underage drinking), and some drug material (one of the characters is a dealer on the side).

Dan -
I am a such a sucker for movies that are supposed to inspire people. What can I say? I like being inspired and seeing other people make changes that will affect the rest of their lives. Whether it is fictional or based on a true story, I get pulled in almost every time and become personally involved with the triumphs and failures of the characters. And doesn't everyone love an underdog story?

Have you ever noticed that many of the greatest sports movies have a lot to do with a great coach? This movie fills half of those requirements in that it has a great coach, and Samuel L. Jackson was really good as the coach in this. His intensity along with his propensity for yelling his dialogue is actually appropriate for this movie. I really bought into him as a tough coach who would have such high expectations. And he can be classy at the same time he is yelling. If ever there was a dude who epitomized the term BMF, it's this guy.

For anyone who actually considers watching the movies reviewed on this blog, this really is a compelling story. A coach who puts education before basketball is almost revolutionary. Suspending the games because the players weren't doing well enough in class even though they were undefeated is unprecedented. I know this is Hollywood-ized, but I feel it is almost an important sports movie.

Is this movie as good as Hoosiers or Glory Road? No. But it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was good enough for repeat viewing, so I bought it (albeit used). I liked that it seemed grounded in reality. When it came time for the final game, I really didn't know who was going to win. The editing is highly stylized and the soundtrack is filled with hip-hop music (which I don't necessarily care for), and there are some really distracting subplots. Take for example one of the stars of the team, Rob Brown, has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and is having second thoughts about having a baby. I think the point was to ground the movie in reality, but it had nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Sticking with basketball and the classroom would have really helped this movie along.

I give this movie 3½ out of 5 stars. Samuel L. Jackson and his methods make this movie more than I thought it would be.

The real Coach Ken Carter

Mark -
I feel like this movie has been made so many times, and this film is just another variation of something that has previously been done. I think it’s great that so many individuals have been able to overcome difficult situations, but just because one or two films have been successful with such stories doesn’t mean that all of the other studious should try to have the same success with their own film.

The specifics of the plot of this film are centered around the Richmond (CA) High School Oilers basketball team, a low income/high crime neighborhood, whose long-time coach is ready to retire, and hoping the school’s previous biggest star will agree to take the position over. Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) agrees to coach the team, and immediately makes his presence known by having all players who wish to be on the basketball team sign a contract, stating that they will maintain a minimum 2.3 GPA, dress up on game days, and be respectful towards others. Through Carter’s hard work/my way approach he is able to transform a basketball team that had 4 wins the previous year into a team that would win every regular season game it played in his first season.

The most redeeming quality of this film for me is that there is a lot of emphasis placed on, and given to, the importance of education and its need for getting the students further in life. During a pivotal point in the film, in which the educational requirements and standards of Coach Carter are being challenged, I especially appreciated a statement made by Coach Carter where he is trying to stress the importance of accountability, a trait he feels is lacking or overlooked among professional athletes.

Finally I feel that this film was targeted too much at a specific type of audience, as is the case with most films made by MTV films. The environmental aspects of this film further accentuated by rap and hip hop music, considerable amounts of slang, and stereotypical behaviors. 3 *’s out of 5

My Random Thought For Coach Carter: Here’s a major problem I have with this movie trying to tie a past event into current events. The movie is about the 1999 Richmond team, but they make references to the character Ty Crane being the next Lebron James. That’s great but Lebron James was just entering high school at that time and was nothing of a star yet. If the writers decided to try and put things in a current context, as in the 2005 time frame which the movie was released, then the problem comes when they discuss Crane’s shoe-in to be the next number 1 pick in the NBA draft. Someone failed to do their research showing that the collective bargaining agreement which was entered for the 2006 NBA draft required all eligible players to be at least 19 years old at the start of the draft year. Sorry to whoever was trying to be clever, but clearly you were just trying to combine too many things and ended up with an inaccuracy instead.