As I sat in the theater on Saturday night awaiting the start of The Losers, I saw trailers for The Expendables, Takers, and The A-Team.  I’m not sure exactly what genre this is, but it seems to suddenly be popular.

With those four movies alone, you’ll see Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana (x2), Chris Evans, Idris Elba (x2), Hayden “Anakin” Christensen, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Jay Hernandez, Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Stone-Cold Steve Austin, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brittany Murphy, Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel — and I’m sure I’ve missed a few.

Hollywood better hope that this military-like action group comedy genre works out because those actors could not have been cheap.  The upside is that at least one of the four will surely have a combination of actors that you dig.  If only we could mix and match.

But it was The Losers that I watched on Saturday night, so we’ll start with that.

The Losers is based on a DC comic.  I doubt most people know that because it wasn’t really hyped much during the advertisements for the film.  It’s an important fact, though, because the comic book format is embraced with the cinematography in this film.

A lot of movies have tried to give live action movies a comic book feel in various ways.  The Watchmen is noticeable for it’s tendency to linger on faithful reproductions of specific comic book panes.  But The Losers does an admirable job as well, and it’s almost a shame that such fun cinematography was showcased in this relatively small film rather than some of its bigger competitors.

The plot of The Losers is pretty bad.  There are a lot of holes and impossibilities in it, and I’m sure there are tons of factual errors with the weaponry and sketchy descriptions of the various US agencies.

But you won’t care.  The Losers has a cast that will convince you to ignore all of those inconsistencies.  Start to wonder about feasibility?  A slow motion shot of Zoe Saldana’s backside while she shoots guns at Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  Feeling like the Snuke is not a realistic weapon?  Chris Evans starts talking about his love for little kids’ soccer league.

I admire The Losers because it does something that a lot of movies don’t do these days; especially in this genre.  It relies on its cast and characters to get the job done.  There are no contrived twists or unexpected action sequences.  There are few character motivations and little angst.

The story is straight forward, predictable and unoriginal.  But the characters — the characters are a delight.  The cast that plays them are phenomenal.  And the explosions are kind of cool too.

The Losers didn’t bother dressing a lot up because they knew they didn’t have to.  They had already done 80% of their job when they cast the film.  Of particular note is Chris Evans, who outdoes himself in this film; almost making up for some of the cheesier Fantastic Four moments.

Zoe Saldana is also hot.  So far we’ve seen her as Uhura and a digital blue creature so it’s good to see her as a normal human being.  It’s not 100% clear why her and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character hit it off, but it’s fun to watch them do so.

At the end of the day, for all of the technical and artistic reasons that should trap The Losers as a failure, it manages to put a smile on your face and really be a fun time.  It hearkens back to the day when films were simple, low on special effects, and primarily an excuse to sell buckets of popcorn.

You could do a lot worse than watch The Losers.  It is the romantic comedy of the action genre.  You know where it starts, you know where it ends, and you know exactly how it’s going to get there.  But you can’t help but smile when the plan comes together.

Verdict: B Tilt: A-

It seems almost sacrilegious to have watched Date Night at 2:30 in the afternoon, but that’s just how I roll.  The theaters are so much more pleasant during the day…

So what is there to say about Date Night really?  It was fun to watch.  I laughed some.  I’ve seen worse comedies.  I’ve seen better comedies.

And this is definitely a comedy.  Though it does involve a couple rediscovering their love for one another, don’t let that plot element fool you.  This does not qualify as romantic comedy.

Steve Carell and Tina Fey are funny people.  That cannot be denied, and this movie rests squarely on their shoulders.  They look at the camera and they do what they do.  And they do it well.

The outtakes from the credits make it clear that this movie was solely based on the improvisational abilities of its leading actors.  I’m grateful that they know what they’re doing, because premise alone would have left this movie out in the cold.

I know that all sounds harsh.  It sounds like I don’t like the movie.  But that’s not the case.  It just didn’t blow me away; or have me laughing with any sort of oomph.

There is a hilarious bit with James Franco and Mila Kunis, as well as a pretty fun time with Mark Wahlberg.  Faces that you recognize just seem to pop up all over this movie, making it fun even when it’s slow.

Olivia Munn even drops by for a very small cameo which left me wondering why she hasn’t managed to break into mainstream acting yet.  She’s one of the funnier females on television, and there just aren’t enough female comedians out there for us to watch.

I particularly liked the recurring joke of the disdain that people had for the couple upon finding out that they had stolen someone else’s reservation at a posh NYC restaurant.  From NYC cops to hardened criminals, it seems that everyone thinks it wrong to steal a reservation.

In keeping with Carell’s recent movies, there is a surprising amount of action with the comedy.  One fairly long sequence involving an audi sports car and a NYC taxi cab is pretty classic.  While watching the scenes I couldn’t help but wish that the same premise could be done in a real action movie.

If you’re the type of person who has a crush on Tina Fey, then you’ll certainly like her here.  She manages to be ‘geek sexy’ with ease in this movie, which allows us to readily believe that Carell and her would have really hooked up.  The chemistry between the two is pretty solid.

Overall, Date Night is a decent movie.  It is what I expected it would be.  No more, no less.

Verdict: B- Tilt: B-

I watched Clash of the Titans from the balcony of Washington DC’s historic Uptown Theater this weekend.  I’ve never watched a movie from a balcony before so that was a neat experience.

Sadly, the historic venue could not save Clash of the Titans for me.  Though I haven’t watched the original in many years, I have fond memories of daring swordfights, giant stop-motion enemies, and a generally exciting time.

I’m not sure where the excitement went, or how they managed to suck it out of this film but for the most part I was just bored for 3/4 of the movie.

It’s not really that Clash of the Titans is a bad movie; just a boring one.  Many people probably view those two as interchangeable, but it really is the best description I can think of for the movie.

It’s not that the movie is poorly made.  It’s not that Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson didn’t give it their all.  It’s not that the special effects weren’t beautiful and realistic.

Everything was well-done.  Each piece was carefully crafted; from costume to set design.  Each monster was appropriately terrifying, and each display of derring-do expertly rendered.

But somehow with all of those perfect parts, the movie managed to add up to something that equaled far less than the sum of its components.

When Perseus finally faces off against Medusa, the movie picks up and enthralls you from that point forward.  Sadly, the encounter with Medusa isn’t until the last quarter of the film.  By that time, you’ve already nodded off.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that the characters are poorly established.  With the exception of Perseus, Hades and Zeus, it’s hard to even tell the difference between the rest of the characters.  People would die and then seem to show up again in the next scene.

Of course, they didn’t really.  It was just another character that looked an awful lot like the previous and happened to fill the same character niche as the first.  It was literally as if Perseus had an infinite supply of Argosian Warlords behind him.

Add to that the very sad omission of the helm of invisibility and the lack of the otherwordly origins of Perseus’ shield, and you’re just left with a lot of well-done special effects with no heart.  Your heart is pumping, but you don’t end the movie feeling like you’ve gotten any exercise.

This movie could have been so much more.  It had everything a great movie should have, but it just couldn’t pull it together into a coherent script or render memorable characters.  Had I not known as much as I do about Greek Mythology, I think I would have just been lost.

Verdict: C- Tilt: D

It’s always good to start off my Summer Movie List by actually watching the first movie on my list.  Getting a healthy start can only help me to follow through and try to watch them all.

What’s even better than that, though, is starting my Summer Movie List with a success story.  With an insanely high 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, you shouldn’t need my endorsement to go watch How To Train Your Dragon, but I’m going to give it anyway.

How To Train Your Dragon is Dreamworks Animation’s newest entry, still desperately trying to catch the monolith that is Pixar.  They have historically been hit or miss, but Dragon shows that when they’re on their A-game, they can certainly compete.

The movie follows the somewhat predictable story of a young viking named Hiccup who’s not exactly ideal viking material.  Although a mechanical genius, he lacks the oomph of his people.

A longstanding war with the dragons frames his entire village — a village that is overseen by his father, Stoick.  Stopping dragons is the name of the game, and you’re just not a real viking if you haven’t killed at least one.  That’s bad news for Hiccup.

A desperate attempt for acceptance leads Hiccup to invent his own bola-firing contraption which he uses to bring down the most elusive of all dragons — a Nightfury.  The only problem, of course, is that no one sees him take the shot so he doesn’t get any credit.

Up until Hiccup finds the dragon that he downed (wounded in a canyon), the story is a bit slow.  When dealing with such tried and true tropes, it’s hardly necessary to devote as much time as was allotted to Hiccup’s plight with his people.

Once Hiccup finds the dragon, though, this movie hits full stride and doesn’t slow down.  With his inventive genius, Hiccup is able to gain the loyalty of this new dragon, nursing him back to health and learning a lot about the species along the way.

I watched this movie in 3D, and it was well-utilized.  Hiccup and Toothless (the dragon’s ill-fated name), soar through the skies with beauty.  The dragons’ wings and fire pop out of the screen in some fun and innovative ways, with a particular chase scene near the end really stealing the 3D show.

Although Jay Baruchel’s voice is a bit awkward even as a cartoon character, other voice talent is spot on.  Adult Vikings speak with a Scottish accent, but you’ll never question the validity since the main characters are voiced by native Scotsmen Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler.

Dragons can’t speak, but the emoting is beautifully animated for Toothless making him a valid and central character to the story.  You believe the relationship that’s built between a boy and his dragon, which makes the story all the more compelling as you move along.

The general premise is certainly nothing new, but Dragon does tend to throw things at you from time to time that you didn’t quite expect.  Most impressively, it manages to do this without really painting either side as too much of a villain, which saves it from getting too preachy.

The final scenes see the Vikings setting sail for Dragon Island, and this leads to one of the most exciting last few minutes of a movie I’ve seen in a while.  You’ll get so attached to the characters, that you’ll ride the emotional coaster right along with them.

A special mention should go to the character of Stoick.  Perfectly voiced by Gerard Butler, the film manages to portray Stoick as an overbearing father that cares.  Even though he is often used in the villain role, you never really hate Stoick which pays dividends at the end.

With both Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4 coming out this summer, How To Train Your Dragon has set the bar high for animated films.  I’m sure Toy Story 3 will walk away with the most money, but Dragon may walk away with the highest ratings.  It’s just that good.

Verdict: A- Tilt: A+

Welcome to the inaugural post in my new (likely short-lived) blog series — Ten From My TiVo.  I’ll use the inspiration of shows that my TiVo records for me every week to come up with various top 10 lists.

The first list in the series is the obvious one.  Without further ado, I present to you Ten From My TiVo: Hottest Women.

#10 Julie Bowen (Modern Family)

Sure, she plays a mom of three on Modern Family every week but Julie Bowen is smokin’.  Though Phil often steals the show with the laughs, Julie’s character, Claire, adds her own manic humor to the mix.  Julie Bowen is both hot and funny — double threat!

#9 Alison Brie (Community)

Perhaps one of the most under-utilized actresses on Community, Alison Brie manages to play her honor student character with glee.  If her big puppy dog eyes can melt Jeff Winger every week, then consider me melted.

#8 Parvati Shallow (Survivor)

In her third season as a contestant on Survivor, Parvati has been called a lot of things on the show.  Her victorious run in Fans Vs. Favorites earned her the ultimate title of Survivor’s Black Widow, and she most recently charmed the immunity idol out of Russell Hantz on Heroes Versus Villains.  It’s never been so fun to distrust someone this much.

#7 Erika Christensen (Parenthood)

Though a new show, Parenthood is a show that has it all.  And one of those great things is Erika Christensen.  She is superb as Julia Braverman-Graham, desperately trying to juggle a successful law career with attentive parenting, leading to both laughs and tears.

#6 Jessica Stroup (90210)

Just to be clear, Jessica Stroup is an adult despite playing a high schooler on the new 90210.  Despite being thrown into a show full of hotties, Jessica stands out as the queen of them all.  She’s also a refreshingly good actress, able to play the panic and angst of high school with ease.  Just don’t look into her eyes; you may become hypnotized.

#5 Sofía Vergara (Modern Family)

A true Colombian, Sofia draws you in with her looks and then slays you with her accent.  As the much younger wife of Ed O’Neill, Sofia excels as the awkward stepmother to a couple of kids who are her age.  There’s nothing like an exotic accent to draw you in.

#4 Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory)

Kaley Cuoco first caught my eye a few years ago in 8 Simple Rules, but now she graces my TiVo every week in The Big Bang Theory as the curiously last-nameless Penny.  Kaley’s genuine demeanor makes her the perfect choice to portray the hot girlfriend of a socially awkward physicist, but it’s her comic timing that keeps you hooked.

#3 Lauren Graham (Parenthood)

Sure I’m a dude, but I was an avid fan of Gilmore Girls.  Lorelai Gilmore was the role of a lifetime for Graham’s effervescent personality, and I was afraid we’d lose her forever after its cancellation.  Imagine my relief when Parenthood snagged her for yet another hot mom role.  I won’t complain — there’s no such thing as too much Lauren Graham.

#2 Stana Katic (Castle)

I came for Nathan Fillion in my usual blind Firefly loyalty, but I stayed on Castle for the adorable but stern Stana Katic.  Keeping up with Nathan Fillion is no easy task, but Stana Katic plays Detective Kate Beckett with a rapier wit that keeps Castle in check.  The facial expressions that she musters in exasperation are some of the best on television.

#1 Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck)

Of course #1 would go to Yvonne Strahovski by default — I do run a website dedicated to her afterall.  Every bit as sweet as she is hot, Yvonne Strahovski wows us every week with her amazing portrayal of Agent Sarah Walker.  Fresh from Australia, Strahovski has quickly made it clear that there’s no one on television hotter than her.