So you're aching to go see the new movie coming out this weekend. It's being hyped to high heaven and commercials are everywhere. The movie itself may deal with Jedi, superheroes, Hobbits, Boy Wizards or girly-man vampires and everyone you know wants to see this flick.
Okay, you think to yourself, I'm gonna check this bad boy out! You grab a group of friends, maybe six or so, and on opening night, you are more than ready. You check the listings online to confirm that it's a 7:30 showing and at 6:50 you leave, knowing you have plenty of time. Heck, it only takes five measly minutes to even get to the Bijou. Goodness, your stomach is rumbling and your friends agree that a run to the Border is in order.
Chowing down your chalupas and gorditas, you make it to the theater two minutes before showtime. Perfect timing! Ooh, ooh and bonus! You don't have to suffer through the annoying advertisements the theater insists on forcing down your throats. Its movie time, baby!
Then you step into the auditorium right before the lights go down and you are shocked, absolutely stunned. The place is packed. Oh... my.... GOD! And the only six seats you can find together are on the front row. The neck breaker section. But you don't give up, not right away. The theater darkens and you audibly grumble as you go up and down the aisles, attempting to find something. You can't even find two seats together. You and your posse head up to the front, pissing and moaning the whole way. Unbelievable! No seats! What kind of place is this!
From my seat, I roll my eyes as I watch you trudge to the worst seats in the house. I shake my head at your pitiful grumbling. That's right, I shake my head and I don't pity you. I'm sitting in a great seat because I actually had enough presence of mind to get there 20 or 30 minutes early for the opening weekend of a high profile movie, you idiot. You get there that late, you lose your right to grumble, so sit down and be quiet so I can enjoy the show.
Enjoy that well deserved crick in your neck.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Last Five Movies I Have Seen
On Facebook there was this Pick 5 app where you could pick the last five movies you have seen so everyone of your buddies know how bad your movie taste is. Since I did that and since I'm off work today and bored, I thought I'd expand on it a little. Without further ado: THE LAST FIVE MOVIES I HAVE SEEN!!!!

Ah, the much debated vampire movie based on that ever popular book series. Now, I'll be up front and totally honest with you: I had no desire to see this movie. Based on the previews, the plot and the, let's be honest here, overall demographic of fans (insane preteen/teen girls) of this series, I didn't think it was for me. But there's this guy I was working with at the time who assured me it wasn't nearly as girly as it was made out to be and I should give it a shot. So I did and, frankly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Do I still get all the hoopla? Not really. I understand the Harry Potter craze (and still easily prefer the boy wizard over this stuff), but I just don't get the craziness surrounding this. The movie was entertaining and and well done for the most part, but if I were so inclined, I could probably rip it to shreds. But I found myself drawn into the story and the acting was decent enough, so it didn't bore me to tears for two hours. My main problem with it was there didn't seem to be much conflict until the end where it was as if the movie decided "Hey, we're making a movie about vampires here, we better have some bad guys fight some good guys", and seemed a bit rushed. Of course, this is just part one of a larger story, so I'm sure that plays into it, but I was just viewing it as one movie, not a part of a larger whole. Anyways, the movie was enjoyable enough that I'll probably check out the sequel but not mind blowingly awesome that I'll check it out the moment it hits theaters.

I've seen it said that this movie suffered from false advertising, and it most certainly did. The commercials and trailers told us to expect another wacky comedy in the vein of such films as Superbad and Knocked Up! Not that I saw those movies, but when I watched Adventureland, it was because I was in the mood for something funny and for better or worse, it wasn't exactly a comedy. More of a classic coming of age type movie where we meet all these characters working at the amusement park as they are at certain crossroads of their lives. With my background and the way I grew up, I didn't exactly relate to these characters a whole lot, but it was interesting to watch them deal with the things that popped up in their various experiences. I can see why critics loved this thing. But I thought it was well made, well acted and it did a good job of capturing it's time period (mid to late 80s) that brought to mind other movies that are age setting specific, such as American Graffiti or Dazed and Confused, and it fits well into that type of genre. Not what I expected, but I enjoyed it.

Another movie that turned out much different than what I thought going in. It's one that I can't really get into without ruining it for those that haven't seen it. We have Nic Cage and his son finding a page full of numbers from a 50 year old time capsule at the son's school. Nic Cage, being the brilliant mind that his character is, deciphers the meaning of these numbers and comes up with specific dates and victim numbers of catastrophes that happened on those dates. Every major catastrophe in the last 50 years is covered plus a few more dates yet to happen. Nic Cage and his hair decide that perhaps these catastrophes can be avoided with the prior knowledge of their occurrence. After a couple of really nifty disasters (the plane crash is really chilling), this movie in which Nic Cage and the daughter of the person who wrote the numbers fight to avert disaster takes a turn that takes the movie to a deeper, horrifying, more unpredictable and (in my opinion) much cooler place that leaves what went on up to the viewer and up for debate. I went into this movie thinking I'd like it, ended up liking it a lot.

Based on the novel by Stephen King and staring Kathy Bates, this isn't as good as Misery but is still pretty decent in its own right. What's genius about this movie isn't the storyline, but how the storyline is constructed. We go into it not knowing a whole lot about what's going on and finding out that even what we did know didn't exactly happen how we thought. Dolores Claiborne is accused of killing the rich lady that she had been a housekeeper for for the previous 20 years. Things about Dolores' past might indicate that she would be capable of it. Even her disturbed journalist daughter thinks she's capable of it. The only one in the movie who sees the whole picture is Dolores and it comes out piece by piece in the form of flashbacks that don't fully come together until the last flashback (by a different character) is seen. None of these characters are particularly likable, but you will root for them. Christopher Plummer as the lead homicide cop on the case really makes you want to kick him in the teeth. While there are tense moments and bits of unease and violence, this isn't the type of horror or thriller you expect from Stephen King. Just a good old fashioned drama with good acting.

It's said they don't make this type of movie much anymore in lue of the special effect blockbusters and raunchy comedies that permeate the theaters these days and it's a shame. There's something refreshing about watching a bunch of well known actors (Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren) navigate a well written and directed dramatic thriller. Russell Crowe is the old school newspaper man who takes a blogger (another interesting kind of side theme to the movie, the death of the classic newspaper and the rise of internet news) under his wing to investigate a scandal involving Ben Affleck's congressman who just happens to be an old roommate and friend of his. It's interesting to watch him juggle going after the story while at the same time watching out for his buddy's interest. Despite the fact that this could have turned into a boring movie, there's an energy to it, an unease that permeates through the movie that keeps you glued to it, watching these people uncover bits and facts and try to put it all together and then the movie takes you where you didn't expect it to, using the relationships established before to put a twist on everything that went down earlier. (What a run on sentence that turned out to be). I really liked this
movie and it'd be nice to see more of it's ilk being put on screens nowadays.

TWILIGHT
Ah, the much debated vampire movie based on that ever popular book series. Now, I'll be up front and totally honest with you: I had no desire to see this movie. Based on the previews, the plot and the, let's be honest here, overall demographic of fans (insane preteen/teen girls) of this series, I didn't think it was for me. But there's this guy I was working with at the time who assured me it wasn't nearly as girly as it was made out to be and I should give it a shot. So I did and, frankly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Do I still get all the hoopla? Not really. I understand the Harry Potter craze (and still easily prefer the boy wizard over this stuff), but I just don't get the craziness surrounding this. The movie was entertaining and and well done for the most part, but if I were so inclined, I could probably rip it to shreds. But I found myself drawn into the story and the acting was decent enough, so it didn't bore me to tears for two hours. My main problem with it was there didn't seem to be much conflict until the end where it was as if the movie decided "Hey, we're making a movie about vampires here, we better have some bad guys fight some good guys", and seemed a bit rushed. Of course, this is just part one of a larger story, so I'm sure that plays into it, but I was just viewing it as one movie, not a part of a larger whole. Anyways, the movie was enjoyable enough that I'll probably check out the sequel but not mind blowingly awesome that I'll check it out the moment it hits theaters.

ADVENTURELAND
I've seen it said that this movie suffered from false advertising, and it most certainly did. The commercials and trailers told us to expect another wacky comedy in the vein of such films as Superbad and Knocked Up! Not that I saw those movies, but when I watched Adventureland, it was because I was in the mood for something funny and for better or worse, it wasn't exactly a comedy. More of a classic coming of age type movie where we meet all these characters working at the amusement park as they are at certain crossroads of their lives. With my background and the way I grew up, I didn't exactly relate to these characters a whole lot, but it was interesting to watch them deal with the things that popped up in their various experiences. I can see why critics loved this thing. But I thought it was well made, well acted and it did a good job of capturing it's time period (mid to late 80s) that brought to mind other movies that are age setting specific, such as American Graffiti or Dazed and Confused, and it fits well into that type of genre. Not what I expected, but I enjoyed it.

KNOWING
Another movie that turned out much different than what I thought going in. It's one that I can't really get into without ruining it for those that haven't seen it. We have Nic Cage and his son finding a page full of numbers from a 50 year old time capsule at the son's school. Nic Cage, being the brilliant mind that his character is, deciphers the meaning of these numbers and comes up with specific dates and victim numbers of catastrophes that happened on those dates. Every major catastrophe in the last 50 years is covered plus a few more dates yet to happen. Nic Cage and his hair decide that perhaps these catastrophes can be avoided with the prior knowledge of their occurrence. After a couple of really nifty disasters (the plane crash is really chilling), this movie in which Nic Cage and the daughter of the person who wrote the numbers fight to avert disaster takes a turn that takes the movie to a deeper, horrifying, more unpredictable and (in my opinion) much cooler place that leaves what went on up to the viewer and up for debate. I went into this movie thinking I'd like it, ended up liking it a lot.

DOLORES CLAIBORNE
Based on the novel by Stephen King and staring Kathy Bates, this isn't as good as Misery but is still pretty decent in its own right. What's genius about this movie isn't the storyline, but how the storyline is constructed. We go into it not knowing a whole lot about what's going on and finding out that even what we did know didn't exactly happen how we thought. Dolores Claiborne is accused of killing the rich lady that she had been a housekeeper for for the previous 20 years. Things about Dolores' past might indicate that she would be capable of it. Even her disturbed journalist daughter thinks she's capable of it. The only one in the movie who sees the whole picture is Dolores and it comes out piece by piece in the form of flashbacks that don't fully come together until the last flashback (by a different character) is seen. None of these characters are particularly likable, but you will root for them. Christopher Plummer as the lead homicide cop on the case really makes you want to kick him in the teeth. While there are tense moments and bits of unease and violence, this isn't the type of horror or thriller you expect from Stephen King. Just a good old fashioned drama with good acting.

STATE OF PLAY
It's said they don't make this type of movie much anymore in lue of the special effect blockbusters and raunchy comedies that permeate the theaters these days and it's a shame. There's something refreshing about watching a bunch of well known actors (Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren) navigate a well written and directed dramatic thriller. Russell Crowe is the old school newspaper man who takes a blogger (another interesting kind of side theme to the movie, the death of the classic newspaper and the rise of internet news) under his wing to investigate a scandal involving Ben Affleck's congressman who just happens to be an old roommate and friend of his. It's interesting to watch him juggle going after the story while at the same time watching out for his buddy's interest. Despite the fact that this could have turned into a boring movie, there's an energy to it, an unease that permeates through the movie that keeps you glued to it, watching these people uncover bits and facts and try to put it all together and then the movie takes you where you didn't expect it to, using the relationships established before to put a twist on everything that went down earlier. (What a run on sentence that turned out to be). I really liked this
movie and it'd be nice to see more of it's ilk being put on screens nowadays.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen!

I know everyone is just dying to know what I thought of the new Transformers flick: Revenge of the fallen. Allow me to scratch that itch.
Let me set the scene as far as I personally am concerned. I loved the old Transformers cartoon when I was a wee lad, but I haven't seen them since then. I'm also pretty sure I once owned an Optimus Prime toy. I've gotten to be pretty far removed from those years, so any storylines or whatever from yesteryear I do not hold dear. As far as I remember, the cartoon was about a bunch of good robots led by Prime, who transformed into vehicles and fought a bunch of evil transforming robots led by Megatron and the movie keeps that idea going, so I'm okay with that.
So, let me start out with the bad.
THE BAD:
*Shaky cam. I've said it before, so allow me to repeat myself: I don't care for feeling like I'm in the "middle" of the action. I prefer to "watch" the action. So for crying out loud, pull the camera back a little! Michael Bay - watch some classic Spielberg action flick to see how it's done. Holy Crap! Spielberg was Executive Producer? Well, when the master is watching you work and you still pull that crap, maybe there's no help.
*Simplify the look of the robots. There's just too much going on with nuts, bolts and gears and crap. Too much for the eye to take in. The only way to tell which robot is what is what color they are. And I'm color blind.
*Shoulda cut out a bit of the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum of gangsta autobots to concentrate on cooler autobots I could give a poop about.
*Trim some time off this thing. I had to pee really bad by the time the credits rolled.
THE GOOD:
*Turturro - I don't care how goofy John Turturro's Agent Simmons was in these two movies, the man made me laugh.
*Optimus vs. Several Decepticons in the forest. This is why Optimus is king.
*The humor is sometimes goofy, but it's what keeps these movies entertaining.
*LaBeof. He gets a lot of crap for being popular and in a lot of movies and it's true, he seems to play the same type of neurosis in all these movies, but it works for this one. I like him and his character and I won't apologize. So there.
*Flat out entertaining. There's a lot going on with this movie, and though there's a sequence here or there that could be trimmed, it keeps moving. A lot of action and humor and "Holy Crap that's cool" scenes rank it high on the entertainometer. Too me, that's the strongest point. You could nitpick this movie to shreds if you wanted to, but the entertainment factor overshadows. For me, it always does. Entertain me and I'm happy.
THE OVERRATED:
* Megan Fox. Okay, I'll give you that she ain't ugly, but c'mon. If it wasn't Michael By shooting her the way he does, she wouldn't make near the blip that she does. Besides, I would rather the return of the Aussie hacker gal from Part 1.
So all in all, I was quite entertained. This thing isn't gonna win any Oscars, but that's okay. It kept me in a good mood for 2 1/2 hours and you can't beat that. What can I say? Being easily entertained keeps me a happier movie goer.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
10 Good Guys You Do Not Wanna Mess With
Here is a list of 10 characters I wouldn't wanna get on the bad side of. These are good guys. .
10. The Bride (Kill Bill): Never, never, NEVER tick off a woman. Especially one trained in the most ancient of martial arts and spends more time with her sword than actual humans. You could send 20 well trained ninjas at her and in five minutes limbs, eyeballs and buckets of blood would be flying everywhere and she would still be standing there staring at you even MORE pissed off. Several people have done evil things to her. They all have one thing in common: their body parts are scattered to the four winds.
9. Sayid (Lost): Would you like to be tied to a tree and have your toenails ripped off? Then I would suggest not getting on the bad side of our man Sayid. In fact, if he wants info from you, I would highly recommend you just be up front with him. Because, unless you are a creepy balloon guy, you WILL end up talking to him. All he needs is a screwdriver and some pepper juice and you'll be trusting him with your deepest, darkest secrets.
8. John Rambo (Rambo): I should have to say no more. Bad guys just read his name on report and melt with fear. Once, a Russian General refused to leave his house because someone told him that Rambo was in the next town carrying his bow and arrow and everyone knows that Rambo could put the eye out of a gnat at that range. Bad guys are rightly frightened to wander out into the jungle for fear that Rambo could leap out of a puddle of mud and decapitate them with that 10 foot knife of his.
7. Wolverine (X-Men): He's got a temper and indestructible claws come out of his hands. Who would wanna mess with that? And to add to that, if you hurt him, he heals right up. That leaves you with a pissed off killing machine that you really can't harm. I would wager that if you were a bad guy and you woke up in the middle of the night to find that muttonchop framed face grinning down at you, you would need to change your underwear.
6. Superman (Superman): He doesn't have much of a mean streak, but you should fear someone who could knock you to Pluto with a flick from his pinky. I myself would be scared to face a dude who has bullets bounce of his EYEBALL. Unless I had Kryptonite, of course, but we all know how rare that precious stone is (Unless you live in the town of Smallville, apparently). Just refrain from harming his girlfriend, Lois Lane. He has been known to reverse time by spinning the world backwards and a guy who can do that you should never piss off.
5. Anyone Played By Samuel L. Jackson: The steel in his eyes. The righteous furor in his speeches. If you were to look the wrong way at any character played by the great Sam Jackson, he would likely call you a MF and shoot you between the eyes, then continue on his way with one arm around the shoulder of his lady friend. He can do it all: Philosophizing hit man, Jedi Master, bad to the bone private detective; he's the only man to go to if you find your flight infested by bloodthirsty snakes. And if you're the bad guy responsible for putting those reptiles on the plane, don't be surprised if you find yourself hanging out the window of the plane with a snake as your noose as Sam Jackson kung fu's the rest of the snakes off the plane.
4. Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon series): This guy is simply insane. What normal person would talk a guy out of jumping off a building by handcuffing himself to that person then jumping himself with the guy in tow? No sane person I know of, but for Riggs, it's a normal day at the office. This guy is willing to dislocate his shoulder just to make a few bucks off his buddy cops and then laugh about it. All in all, not a guy you would wanna make your enemy, but if you ever need a friend who'll sit with you while you're on the pot with a bomb ready to go off the moment you flush, you'll find no better.
3. Aragorn (Lord of the Rings): Don't be fooled by his calm exterior and polite manners, this guy is quite capable of tearing your face off if he felt the need. Sure, until he was crowned, he was content to play second fiddle to Gandalf, but once it was time to go into battle and kick butt, he turned it on. Watch out if you happen to be an orc who's foolish enough to challenge Aragorn (aka Strider), you may find yourself standing in a pool of your own blood as your head rolls down a hill knocking other useless orcs down like mere bowling pins.
2. Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Star Wars Saga): Jedi Knight who is fond of throwing down wise sayings as if they come second nature to him. Listen closely to these catchphrases, you may be able to unlock the secrets of whuppin' butt. This is a guy who will chop his buddy's legs off and let him take a lava bath for something simple as turning absolutely evil. He chopped another Sith Lord COMPLETELY IN HALF and is on record as having chopped at least too low-lives' arms off. Bottom line, mess with Obi-Wan Kenobi and you will likely end up dismembered in some painful way.
1. Jack Bauer (24): I've only seen the first four and a half seasons of 24, but that's more than enough to know that I'm dealing with one cold blooded kicker of butts here. We're talking about a guy who will calmly feed you your brains after you literally torture him to death (Death can't stop Jack). His only concern is the safety of the USA and if you get in the way of that, prepare to be reduced to a bloodstain on the bottom of his patriotic boot. All I know is every January when you turn it on Fox and you see the commercials saying "Jack is Back", it's clear that some unsuspecting terrorist sap will be no more than a rotting carcass by June. The only weakness that he seems to have is his perplexing loyalty to that annoying, spoiled rotten ungrateful daughter of his, Kim.
10. The Bride (Kill Bill): Never, never, NEVER tick off a woman. Especially one trained in the most ancient of martial arts and spends more time with her sword than actual humans. You could send 20 well trained ninjas at her and in five minutes limbs, eyeballs and buckets of blood would be flying everywhere and she would still be standing there staring at you even MORE pissed off. Several people have done evil things to her. They all have one thing in common: their body parts are scattered to the four winds.
9. Sayid (Lost): Would you like to be tied to a tree and have your toenails ripped off? Then I would suggest not getting on the bad side of our man Sayid. In fact, if he wants info from you, I would highly recommend you just be up front with him. Because, unless you are a creepy balloon guy, you WILL end up talking to him. All he needs is a screwdriver and some pepper juice and you'll be trusting him with your deepest, darkest secrets.
8. John Rambo (Rambo): I should have to say no more. Bad guys just read his name on report and melt with fear. Once, a Russian General refused to leave his house because someone told him that Rambo was in the next town carrying his bow and arrow and everyone knows that Rambo could put the eye out of a gnat at that range. Bad guys are rightly frightened to wander out into the jungle for fear that Rambo could leap out of a puddle of mud and decapitate them with that 10 foot knife of his.
7. Wolverine (X-Men): He's got a temper and indestructible claws come out of his hands. Who would wanna mess with that? And to add to that, if you hurt him, he heals right up. That leaves you with a pissed off killing machine that you really can't harm. I would wager that if you were a bad guy and you woke up in the middle of the night to find that muttonchop framed face grinning down at you, you would need to change your underwear.
6. Superman (Superman): He doesn't have much of a mean streak, but you should fear someone who could knock you to Pluto with a flick from his pinky. I myself would be scared to face a dude who has bullets bounce of his EYEBALL. Unless I had Kryptonite, of course, but we all know how rare that precious stone is (Unless you live in the town of Smallville, apparently). Just refrain from harming his girlfriend, Lois Lane. He has been known to reverse time by spinning the world backwards and a guy who can do that you should never piss off.
5. Anyone Played By Samuel L. Jackson: The steel in his eyes. The righteous furor in his speeches. If you were to look the wrong way at any character played by the great Sam Jackson, he would likely call you a MF and shoot you between the eyes, then continue on his way with one arm around the shoulder of his lady friend. He can do it all: Philosophizing hit man, Jedi Master, bad to the bone private detective; he's the only man to go to if you find your flight infested by bloodthirsty snakes. And if you're the bad guy responsible for putting those reptiles on the plane, don't be surprised if you find yourself hanging out the window of the plane with a snake as your noose as Sam Jackson kung fu's the rest of the snakes off the plane.
4. Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon series): This guy is simply insane. What normal person would talk a guy out of jumping off a building by handcuffing himself to that person then jumping himself with the guy in tow? No sane person I know of, but for Riggs, it's a normal day at the office. This guy is willing to dislocate his shoulder just to make a few bucks off his buddy cops and then laugh about it. All in all, not a guy you would wanna make your enemy, but if you ever need a friend who'll sit with you while you're on the pot with a bomb ready to go off the moment you flush, you'll find no better.
3. Aragorn (Lord of the Rings): Don't be fooled by his calm exterior and polite manners, this guy is quite capable of tearing your face off if he felt the need. Sure, until he was crowned, he was content to play second fiddle to Gandalf, but once it was time to go into battle and kick butt, he turned it on. Watch out if you happen to be an orc who's foolish enough to challenge Aragorn (aka Strider), you may find yourself standing in a pool of your own blood as your head rolls down a hill knocking other useless orcs down like mere bowling pins.
2. Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Star Wars Saga): Jedi Knight who is fond of throwing down wise sayings as if they come second nature to him. Listen closely to these catchphrases, you may be able to unlock the secrets of whuppin' butt. This is a guy who will chop his buddy's legs off and let him take a lava bath for something simple as turning absolutely evil. He chopped another Sith Lord COMPLETELY IN HALF and is on record as having chopped at least too low-lives' arms off. Bottom line, mess with Obi-Wan Kenobi and you will likely end up dismembered in some painful way.
1. Jack Bauer (24): I've only seen the first four and a half seasons of 24, but that's more than enough to know that I'm dealing with one cold blooded kicker of butts here. We're talking about a guy who will calmly feed you your brains after you literally torture him to death (Death can't stop Jack). His only concern is the safety of the USA and if you get in the way of that, prepare to be reduced to a bloodstain on the bottom of his patriotic boot. All I know is every January when you turn it on Fox and you see the commercials saying "Jack is Back", it's clear that some unsuspecting terrorist sap will be no more than a rotting carcass by June. The only weakness that he seems to have is his perplexing loyalty to that annoying, spoiled rotten ungrateful daughter of his, Kim.
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