I wanted to wait a day to post since I jumped into Wanted without looking and caught immense amounts of crap from J when I changed my iScore for that flick. Well, I’ve waited sufficiently and my mind has not changed at all about Avatar. I am still giddy from this movie. I have the same feeling that I had when I saw Star Wars when I was a kid. The spectacle of this film is astounding. The realism, the believability is just nothing short of groundbreaking. James Cameron and his team have taken us to a world that is 100% believable and engaging.
I think the most curious thing about Avatar is that it is clearly an artistic culmination of James Cameron’s entire career. You can see influences from every single one of his films and for a film geek, that’s just plain FUN to look for. The action of Aliens, the mech/tech of Terminator, the emotion of Titanic, the teeth of Piranha 2, the glowy alien stuff from The Abyss, I could go on. James Cameron is a true artist combining past work and marrying technology and story telling in a way no one else has done before. I am officially on the JC fanwagon (As if I wasn’t before). Continue reading ‘Avatar completely blew me away’
So I got a chance to catch Zombieland last night and let me tell ya. Freakin’ awesome. When I received a text message from Dodge, that said “I’m kinda embarrassed, I actually liked Zombieland,” I knew it was gonna be good, Dodge is notoriously picky and he is usually dead on.
Now I had heard it was good, and I am pre-disposed to like this movie already, but all that aside…this movie kicked in high gear from the getgo and didn’t stop. Great writing, tight editing (only 1hr 21m), great tongue-in-cheek acting (and even some surprising dramatic moments), and a nice retell of a crowded genre. Continue reading ‘The best thing about Zombieland? Zombieland.’
Yes, I hate movie reviewers. I am including myself to some degree, although no one is paying for my opinion. I read the reviews for Wolverine yesterday before seeing it at the midnight showing and all of the bashing had me concerned. Don’t believe the bullshit. It’s a great, fun(ny) and action packed start to the summer movie season.
Hugh Jackman was great, fully embracing the character and story and making even preposterous scenes feel genuine. This is another case that depending on your knowledge of the original comic books your mileage may vary as far as overall enjoyment. If you’re going to get pissy about every little detail not being carried over from the books, or about the filmmakers taking certain liberties then you’ll have some issues. If you haven’t read the books or are more forgiving, I think you’ll enjoy the crap out of this like I did. However, I do wish Deadpool, Agent Zero and Gambit got a bit more screen time because what was there was simply awesome. Continue reading ‘Wolverine (I hate movie reviewers)’
So apparently an early version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked on the internet. It’s missing key scenes, finished effects, and finalization but clearly this sucks for all involved in the making of the film. Certainly from a creative level (it’s not finished), and less so (I think) from a financial level and here’s why. A film like this which has, arguably, the most popular Marvel comic character AND a rabid fanbase that has been aching for a Weapon X story is going to get butts in the seats opening weekend. Continue reading ‘Dicks leak Wolverine workprint’
Ok guys, since I am apparently the biggest dick on this site, I felt the need to review Tales of the Black Freighter before the other softees did. I don’t know if it was evident from the most recent podcast, but I was not enamored with Watchmen. It really had nothing to do with what they left out, and what they changed or any of that, it was more a fact that the movie just can’t be made with the source material provided. Now I’m not about to say I hated the movie completely because I liked nay loved certain parts. The way they Snyder altered the ending for example…better than the book. Rorschach was awesome and Jackie Earl Haley was the highlight of the whole move. In fact I agree with one of the commentors that an all-Rorschach movie would have been sick. Nonetheless, I left the theater feeling underwhelmed and under-entertained, but in reality I don’t think it could have been better, unless they made a miniseries…and at that, who knows. Now, onto the supplemental material that was released this week. As a whole, it was much better than the theatrical release. The Black Freighter story is very gritty and dark, it is certainly not for the faint at heart. Snyder and Co. left no stone unturned here and gave me exactly what I wanted…a faithful replication of the story within a story. Gerard Butler’s voice over was ominous and angered. As Chuck and I left the movie we both were wanting more of the MinuteMen back story…well you will get that here with the Under The Hood interview by the original Night Owl. It is done in such a way that it seems like you are watching a 60 Minutes-like show from the 1960s with Seiko commercials included. As such, a lot of Sally Jupiter’s story shone through here as well as the original masked vigilante Hooded Justice. When Watchmen come out on BluRay, I will rewatch both in tandem and I feel that this may change my opinion for Watchmen, even possibly raising it’s iScore for me…nah.
Luckily that question is not the only one I have answers for today as we were able to catch the Watchmen at a midnight showing last night.
Here’s another question: Was it any good?
Hell yes it was. Brutal, graphic, pretty to look at, well paced, well acted and it hit a very large majority of the books major points right on the head.
Here is where things get tricky. If you did not read the book, you’ll likely be confused as hell at times and you’ll probably be surprised by the overall adult nature of it. You see this is not the Xmen, or Spiderman or any other average comic book. The majority of the ‘heros’ have some heavy pyschological issues, 0 superpowers and are basically masked vigilantes that the majority of society would like to see locked up permanently. The only guy that actually has any real super-type abilities is mostly devoid of emotion and really doesn’t give a shit about the human race.
So if you read the book and loved it and you’re not a detail nazi (ZOMG!!!11!! RORSHACH IS SUPPOSED TO GO HOME FOR HIS SECOND MASK!!! THIS MOVIE IS RUINED!!!) then you’ll love it. They pulled no punches when it came to the graphic nature of the novel, so don’t be surpised to see shredded flesh, attempted rape, a bunch of breasts, compound fractures, blue penises (penii??) and more.
Bottom line is this. It’s not for everyone, but for the fans of the graphic novel it seems like the movie version you could have only hoped for.
BTW: yes the ending has been changed and that entire plotline that goes into the construction of the ’squid’ has been scrapped, but I think it’s for the best. The movie’s ending not only performs the exact same function, it actually feels more legit.
I know I haven’t posted much in quite a while. Call it what you will, but I just saw The Wrestler and was inclined to give you my highly critical opinion.
For starters, I loved it. From the opening credits with the panning wrestling Promo’s from the 80’s and even the Ram-green font, to the final image of Mickey Rourke (more on him in a moment) giving his fans what they wanted, I was hooked. Darren Arronofsky’s use of a documentary-style single camera shooting made this movie feel very authentic.
As an avid wrestling fan in my younger days, which I’ve since let fall by the wayside, Mickey Rourke sold me 100% on his performance from his first elbow drop, to the final RamJam. Not only did he deserve the Golden Globe for Best Male Actor, as well as his forth coming Oscar win…this was one of my top 10 performances in a while. I don’t know whether it was the 80’s vibe he exuded, the low IQ he was portraying as a lovable fuckup with many apparent prior transgressions, or just his overall “badassness” but Mickey Rourke has some chops. I can’t say I’m well versed in his Filmography (besides SinCity of course) but I’ll surely be adding some of his flicks to my Netflix queue.
Marisa Tomei was phenomenal as the odd relationship between the two characters unfolds throughout the films 115 min run time.
That said, even if you weren’t a fan of the Hulk Hogan’s and Iron Sheik’s of the 80’s, you will dig this movie based on the incredible character development and Rourke’s painful attempts to reconnect with his daughter (a very solid Evan Rachel Wood). It seems as though this year’s Oscar season is full of very strong candidates…while I haven’t seen a majority of the noms yet, I can’t imagine many of them containing a better lead performance than this one. Check it out.
*Note – Bruce Springsteen’s song written and titled for this movie did not go unnoticed…I loved it
Essentially, King sold the rights for The Dark Tower series to JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof for $19. Yep, that’s right nineteen bucks. Damon expresses that this will probably happen after LOST wraps. It’s an exciting proposition. I think Abrams and Lindelof can do a good job. Roland’s story is such a complex tale and I think if anyone can do it, these guys can.
I am currently reading the last book book now (I took a break to read Watchmen). I’ve been a fan of this group of stories since the came out and I for one, am very excited about this development. I’ll continue to dig up some info and post any developments.
Clooney, Pitt, Swinton, Malkovich and McDormand in a film by the Coen brothers.
Obviously, this should interest you.
I’ve been following this one for some time now, and I was definitely not disappointed. Burn After Reading is easily one of the most entertaining movies I have seen this year. To prepare mix: 3 parts funny, 2 parts bizarre, a splash of violence… sprinkling on a few sex toys for good measure.
The entire cast give fantastic performances that should not be missed. Clooney the neurotic womanizer, Pitt the personal training dumbass, Malkovich the asshole, Swinton the cold bitch and McDormand the ditzy self desctructing center of it all. What I admire most is the stretch of some of these characters, except perhaps Tilda Swinton playing the exact same role she played in Michael Clayton. She still did a great job, and it was what the role called for but I’m hoping she doesn’t end up type cast for future gigs.
As I said, everyone was great. I would have to single out a non headliner in the form of J.K. Simmons (aka Juno’s dad or J Jonah Jameson). He nails some of the best lines in the film as a detached, unflinching CIA director. His only concern being that the entire case/situation simply just go away. It’s just about worth the price of admission for him alone.
The Coen brothers, after No Country for Old Men have returned back to the offbeat, seedy characters that made Fargo, O Brother, Lebowski and Raising Arizona such entertaining films. I’m not sure that this one will win an Oscar like No Country (only because the academy is filled with a closed mindedness to anything that can be percieved as ‘main stream), but I am sure it’s far more enjoyable.
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Ok guys, since I am apparently the biggest dick on this site, I felt the need to review Tales of the Black Freighter before the other softees did. I don’t know if it was evident from the most recent podcast, but I was not enamored with Watchmen. It really had nothing to do with what they left out, and what they changed or any of that, it was more a fact that the movie just can’t be made with the source material provided. Now I’m not about to say I hated the movie completely because I liked nay loved certain parts. The way they Snyder altered the ending for example…better than the book. Rorschach was awesome and Jackie Earl Haley was the highlight of the whole move. In fact I agree with one of the commentors that an all-Rorschach movie would have been sick. Nonetheless, I left the theater feeling underwhelmed and under-entertained, but in reality I don’t think it could have been better, unless they made a miniseries…and at that, who knows. Now, onto the supplemental material that was released this week. As a whole, it was much better than the theatrical release. The Black Freighter story is very gritty and dark, it is certainly not for the faint at heart. Snyder and Co. left no stone unturned here and gave me exactly what I wanted…a faithful replication of the story within a story. Gerard Butler’s voice over was ominous and angered. As Chuck and I left the movie we both were wanting more of the MinuteMen back story…well you will get that here with the Under The Hood interview by the original Night Owl. It is done in such a way that it seems like you are watching a 60 Minutes-like show from the 1960s with Seiko commercials included. As such, a lot of Sally Jupiter’s story shone through here as well as the original masked vigilante Hooded Justice. When Watchmen come out on BluRay, I will rewatch both in tandem and I feel that this may change my opinion for Watchmen, even possibly raising it’s iScore for me…nah.
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