Been taking some long flights, Rym? Catching up with movies?
Thor: Dark World = dumb but fun. Elysium = dumb and dull. Dumb can go a long way as long as you are entertained. Elysium should have avoided the dumb entirely.
The only dumb thing I liked in the second half of the movie was how the computer was reprogrammed to include everyone by using a wildcard operator.
Frozen wasn't anywhere close to as enjoyable as I expected, based on everything I'd heard about it. It took a loooong time before anything happened that I found fun. Jar Jar Binks was okay in this movie, but his big moment and song happened immediately after he turned up. It didn't feel like he earned the right to have such a good musical number.
Then again, I'm not a 10 year old girl. I guess the movie just isn't for me. But I really, really enjoyed Tangled...
Jar Jar Binks was okay in this movie, but his big moment and song happened immediately after he turned up. It didn't feel like he earned the right to have such a good musical number.
This. Whenever I try to express this opinion to people who adore the movie, they get all uppity.
I forgot to mention that we watched the big wave surfing documentary Riding Giants the other day. I've seen it twice before, but it's always worth watching again. We watched it after seeing this video:
While that video is pretty crazy, the documentary puts that wave into historical context, as well as some of the people riding it, and also the different techniques.
That said, the documentary does have Laird Hamilton as an executive producer, so it's not exactly as objective as it could be about him as a surfer compared to others.
I saw Wes Anderson's newest film today: The Grand Budapest Hotel. A full review of it that details my exact thoughts about it will be published on Population GO (one of the two blogs I write for) by tomorrow which I will post the link to here.
The short version of my thoughts, without giving too much away, is that it is a good movie and is much grittier and violent than a lot of Anderson's other movies. Yet, it is a film that has deep flaws which weigh the film down and keep it from being great. Despite that, it is totally hilarious and has amazing performances from the cast. Definitely worth seeing however, no question about that.
The only thing stopping me from going and seeing that movie is that the closest showing to me is at least 35 minutes away, and the closest good theater showing it, is almost an hour drive. It's tough to do when I don't have good car access. But the movie looks so good.
The only thing stopping me from going and seeing that movie is that the closest showing to me is at least 35 minutes away, and the closest good theater showing it, is almost an hour drive. It's tough to do when I don't have good car access. But the movie looks so good.
I haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but Tucker and Dale versus Evil is enjoyable. It's not great, but it's pretty well made in a workmanlike fashion.
College kids go for a holiday in the woods and meet scurvy looking rednecks. College kids thing rednecks are axe murderers, but they're actually as sophisticated or perhaps more sophisticated than the college kids. Hilarity ensues as mistaken intentions abound.
We watched Ender's Game the other night. It was a strange experience where both of us were totally underwhelmed for the first third to half. Then, about half way through, it kicked into gear and was suddenly really engaging. By the end it had completely won me over. I was surprised at how little emphasis was put on the famous twist ending, and instead brought out the moral and political ambiguities in a fashion more satisfying than the novel.
Unfortunately the lead actor, Asa Butterfield, never convinced me he could act, let alone convince me he was a good Ender.
Overall I'd guardedly recommend it, but you need to stick with it. I'm not sure what people who haven't read the book might think though.
Hi, Victor Khaze, Nielsen MovieView invites you and your guests to participate in a FREE movie screening!
Movie Details: Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels return to their signature roles as Lloyd and Harry in the comedy sequel DUMB AND DUMBER TO! Older, but no wiser, Harry and Lloyd set off on a road trip to find a child that Harry never knew he had, and a responsibility neither should ever, ever be given. DUMB AND DUMBER TO is produced and directed by the Farrelly brothers (whose other movies include the original DUMB AND DUMBER, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and HALL PASS).
Probably going to go see this. It's either going to be really bad or really good.
Ro and I ventured out to go see 300: Rise of an Empire this weekend. I really like 300, not because it is a great film, but it is fun to watch with some awesome and brutal sword and sandals action. The sequel is a lot of action, but isn't very good. The director, Noam Murro, hasn't really done anything else. He has an HBO short and a movie called Smart People. It seems like he wanted to emulate Zack Snyder's penchant for ramp up slo-mo and ended up WAY over doing it. A lot of the action sequences tend to be too close or too brief to really enjoy properly. There were several cameos from members of the original cast, both through flash backs and visits back to Sparta, which were cool, but unnecessary.
It wasn't the worst movie I have seen (Sharknado still takes that spot), and it may not even be the worst Swords and Sandals movie (I think Immortals may have been worse), but it was a pretty poor movie overall. Luckily, we had a gift card to the theater we saw it at, so it didn't actually end up costing anything to see it.
Pro's: Eva Green (Artemesia) was pretty awesome, and Sullivan Stapleton (Themosticles) did a good job portraying the Greek fighter. The sets looked good, though the movie was darker in general than the original.
Con's: The dialogue at times was pretty bad. Some of the plot elements (like Artemesia and Temosticles meeting) were really unnecessary. A lot of the ramp up slo-mo was badly done, and some of the scenes straight up suffered from its gratuitous usage. The blood was poorly done too, as most of it looked like very thick corn syrup.
Conclusion: If you can shut your brain off, and see this movie for free, and you enjoyed the original 300, then watch 300 again. If you must see the sequel, I encourage you to not spend money doing so.
Watched Catching Fire over the weekend. Much like the first movie, it was very solidly done, and I enjoyed it more than the book. I want to see how much of the final book they change for the movie(s?) because if they don't, it'll be Mopey Zoo Lion: The Movie.
I watched the Girl Who Played With Fire this weekend and I was not disappointed.
I also watched about 30 minutes of Atlantic Rim... Maybe if I had a keg of beer and a bunch of friends over I could have watched more but 30 minutes was all I could take while alone and sober.
The final movie in the kung fu movie night with friends: Project A, starring Jackie Chan, also written and directed by Jackie Chan. It's stupidly good fun, with great stunts and fight sequences, plus some of the best comedy, story and characters of any of his movies. Probably the best example of all his talents coming together in a single movie.
Saw Particle Fever, about building the Large Hadron Collider and the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle. Highly recommended if it's playing near you.
Ender's Game This was a lot better than I expected, however the compression of the story really left me wanting more of the universe or a longer movie (yet if it had that I might not have liked it as much).
Comments
Thor: Dark World = dumb but fun. Elysium = dumb and dull. Dumb can go a long way as long as you are entertained. Elysium should have avoided the dumb entirely.
The only dumb thing I liked in the second half of the movie was how the computer was reprogrammed to include everyone by using a wildcard operator.
Then again, I'm not a 10 year old girl. I guess the movie just isn't for me. But I really, really enjoyed Tangled...
While that video is pretty crazy, the documentary puts that wave into historical context, as well as some of the people riding it, and also the different techniques.
That said, the documentary does have Laird Hamilton as an executive producer, so it's not exactly as objective as it could be about him as a surfer compared to others.
VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The short version of my thoughts, without giving too much away, is that it is a good movie and is much grittier and violent than a lot of Anderson's other movies. Yet, it is a film that has deep flaws which weigh the film down and keep it from being great. Despite that, it is totally hilarious and has amazing performances from the cast. Definitely worth seeing however, no question about that.
As promised. Here is my review.
College kids go for a holiday in the woods and meet scurvy looking rednecks. College kids thing rednecks are axe murderers, but they're actually as sophisticated or perhaps more sophisticated than the college kids. Hilarity ensues as mistaken intentions abound.
Unfortunately the lead actor, Asa Butterfield, never convinced me he could act, let alone convince me he was a good Ender.
Overall I'd guardedly recommend it, but you need to stick with it. I'm not sure what people who haven't read the book might think though.
It wasn't the worst movie I have seen (Sharknado still takes that spot), and it may not even be the worst Swords and Sandals movie (I think Immortals may have been worse), but it was a pretty poor movie overall. Luckily, we had a gift card to the theater we saw it at, so it didn't actually end up costing anything to see it.
Pro's: Eva Green (Artemesia) was pretty awesome, and Sullivan Stapleton (Themosticles) did a good job portraying the Greek fighter. The sets looked good, though the movie was darker in general than the original.
Con's: The dialogue at times was pretty bad. Some of the plot elements (like Artemesia and Temosticles meeting) were really unnecessary. A lot of the ramp up slo-mo was badly done, and some of the scenes straight up suffered from its gratuitous usage. The blood was poorly done too, as most of it looked like very thick corn syrup.
Conclusion: If you can shut your brain off, and see this movie for free, and you enjoyed the original 300, then watch 300 again. If you must see the sequel, I encourage you to not spend money doing so.
I also watched about 30 minutes of Atlantic Rim... Maybe if I had a keg of beer and a bunch of friends over I could have watched more but 30 minutes was all I could take while alone and sober.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rikc7foqvRI
This was a lot better than I expected, however the compression of the story really left me wanting more of the universe or a longer movie (yet if it had that I might not have liked it as much).
News flash: Tom Hanks is an amazing actor!
Best line: "I hate space."