Just got back from seeing Attack the Block. It was outstanding. If you like action/horror alien films, and you also like British humor (a la Guy Ritchie films), and if you happen to be living in one of the few cities it's playing in (Seattle, NY, LA, SF, Chicago, and Austin in the US), GO SEE IT!
On a side note, when I heard the name, I really wanted it to be a sequel to Attack the Gas Station! To be fair though, the main characters in AtB are very similar to the ones in AtGS, just with a lot more aliens.
Earth is destroyed, humans almost lost all hope except that there is a chance from a chosen person with a special power who was raised alone. That makes for a pretty good story if it was a tv series.
I see. Yes, the raised alone part is kind of fun. His character growth in the movie reflected his penile growth. "Hey, pretty girl. Oh, okay, I'll save humanity. Can we boink yet?" Perhaps outside of a movie context, with enough time to truly develop, he might grow as a character in some other way and come to decide to save humanity; or, more darkly, he doesn't.
I was amused at seeing that Joss Whedon being one of the people who worked on the screenplay because throughout the movie I thought about how it reminded me a bit of Firefly.
Exit Through The Giftshop. Very good documentary. Not sure if troll.
The Kids are All Right. Good acting. Not as funny as I thought it would be.
Paul. A fun take on science fiction movies. I spotted most of the references as listed on the IMDb. However, I've worked out that I've not watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind all the way through, even though I once read the novelization. Also my girlfriend has never seen either Alien or Aliens. We'll have to remedy this situation.
Exit Through The Giftshop. Very good documentary. Not sure if troll.
The Kids are All Right. Good acting. Not as funny as I thought it would be.
Paul. A fun take on science fiction movies. I spotted most of the references as listed on the IMDb. However, I've worked out that I've not watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind all the way through, even though I once read the novelization. Also my girlfriend has never seen either Alien or Aliens. We'll have to remedy this situation.
The Kids Are All Right was definitely more of a drama, but I thoroughly enjoyed it because of the adult actors, and it's good to see a great indie movie succeed.
I really enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, primarily because the science was so understandably executed and the motives was completely solid. For setting up a scenario like this, those are probably the biggest issues. Andy Serkis totally sold Cesar to all of us, and the relationships were incredibly well done. (With the exception of James Franco and his girlfriend) I want to see it again and want to see a sequel, I enjoyed it that much.
The Help was also a really good drama, but primarily because of the audiences. It shouldn't be sold so much as a comedy, because it does reflect on how the ideals at the time were really unethical. Viola Davis was easily my favorite part, at the ending is hopeful, but tear-jerking. A lot of the characters were entertaining, but showed a decent amount of dimension. There was only one character arc that was handled poorly, and that was with Octavia Spencer's character.
Today I watched The Lives of Others and High Noon.
The Live of Others had some slowish bleh parts in the middle. Could have compacted that a bit and got some better pacing. It started strong, and I started to source, but towards the end I sweetened big time. I wondered why it was on the IMDB top 250 list until it started to wrap up.
High Noon is an above average western, but it didn't blow me away. My favorite part was that the name of the bad guy is Frank Miller. I could only think of Batman every time they mentioned him.
Hobo with a Shotgun is streaming. Thank you internet gods. So is Tangled!
So far tonight I watched Ramona and Beezus, some Spice and Wolf, Hobo with a Shotgun, Paper Man and now Tangled. Sleep is a fucking slut who visits everyone but me.
World's Greatest Dad. A dark comedy, and nothing like I expected it to be. In fact it's quite unlike most comedy movies, and in a good way.
I watched this a while back and thought it was really good. It sort of pulled a punch at the end, but I don't think the movie was any worse for it. I definitely wish I knew less about the plot before I saw it though. If you're going to watch this movie (and you probably should if you like dark comedies or Robin Williams), don't read anything about it. Not Wikipedia, not anything. Just trust me, it'll be more effective that way.
World's Greatest Dad. A dark comedy, and nothing like I expected it to be. In fact it's quite unlike most comedy movies, and in a good way.
I watched this a while back and thought it was really good. It sort of pulled a punch at the end, but I don't think the movie was any worse for it. I definitely wish I knew less about the plot before I saw it though. If you're going to watch this movie (and you probably should if you like dark comedies or Robin Williams), don't read anything about it. Not Wikipedia, not anything. Just trust me, it'll be more effective that way.
That is certainly true. I wanted one final twist (not a plot twist, more of a knife twist) at the end, but was happy with it overall. But you should just watch the movie. Even if you don't think it is a good movie, it is worth watching just for the different take on reality compare to every other movie you have ever seen.
I just saw Captain America and X-Men: First Class. I know - I've been busy.
I liked Cap, and I really, really liked the introduction of the Strategic Scientific Reserves. I don't understand why they changed Bucky's character so much, other than to save story time. There's never been even a hint in the comics that Cap knew Bucky before the war, much less that he was big friends with him. If the movie had taken the time to develop the more traditional Bucky, they could have built that much more interesting character of the last few years where it's been shown that Buck was not so much a kid sidekick (and actually, not even a kid), but the guy who did most of the dirty wetwork that Cap couldn't get near and keep his honor/nobility intact.
It's also odd how, in such a nominally rah-rah WW II patriotic movie, we don't see that many references to actual Nazis. I know they wanted to develop the whole Hydra storyline and all, but come on. Cap should have been shown fighting more simple, run-of-the-mill Nazis.
That said, I think First Class missed an opportunity to maybe make some sort of throwaway reference to Hydra. It would have been easy, since Magneto was hunting down Shaw over the years, that he might have heard some rumors about Hydra. Or - maybe when they showed Charles meeting Mystique when they were kids during the war, they could have had a Captain America commercial play on the radio. The radio was playing when they met, as far as I recall.
Missed opportunity in Captain America: They could have shown or just had a reference to rumors about Wolverine and Sabretooth. Both of them fought in WW II. It could have been easy. Tommy Lee Jones could have just said, "I've heard some weird rumors about these American soldiers who seem to fight with some sort of animal abilities.", or some such thing.
Note about Mystique: I wish I had been able to say to her when she appeared to Charles late in the film, flaunting her mutant-ness, and asking him whether he was shocked by it that, "Frankly, I'm okay with you being a mutant and all. The main reason I'm shocked right now is that you're naked. Your nakedness shocks me much more than your mutant-ness. Furthermore, you might look less shocking if you colored your hair. That wouldn't be denying your mutant-ness. People dye their hair all the time. Red hair against blue skin kinda makes my eyes hurt. Why don't you dye it black? Black and blue go together much better than blue and red. Now, you might want to put something on because I want to fry up some bacon, and, mutant or not, flying hot grease popping out of a pan doesn't go well against naked skin.
Oh - also saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. IMHO, the only good Apes movie in the franchise.
I liked Cap, and I really, really liked the introduction of the Strategic Scientific Reserves. I don't understand why they changed Bucky's character so much, other than to save story time. There's never been even a hint in the comics that Cap knew Bucky before the war, much less that he was big friends with him. If the movie had taken the time to develop the more traditional Bucky, they could have built that much more interesting character of the last few years where it's been shown that Buck was not so much a kid sidekick (and actually, not even a kid), but the guy who most of the dirty wetwork that Cap couldn't get near and keep his honor/nobility intact.
They sort of hinted at the dirty work in the movie but yea, it was just lightly covered.
It was definitely a good summer for Marvel movies though Thor, Captain America and X-men were all entertaining and in most cases were actually good. Didn't see DC's Green Lantern though.
I've always wanted to like Lantern. The character has potential for some good stories. However, as of yet, I have rarely seen a Lantern story that was up to the standards of even a mediocre Batman story.
That said, I think First Class missed an opportunity to maybe make some sort of throwaway reference to Hydra. It would have been easy, since Magneto was hunting down Shaw over the years, that he might have heard some rumors about Hydra.
Fox doesn't have the rights to HYDRA.
Missed opportunity in Captain America: They could have shown or just had a reference to rumors about Wolverine and Sabretooth. Both of them fought in WW II. It could have been easy.
Marvel Studios doesn't have the movie rights to any of the X-Men characters.
Seriously, Fox and Sony need to give up on the Marvel franchises as so that there can be the full Marvel universe in 1 franchise.
Marvel Studios doesn't have the movie rights to any of the X-Men characters.
Seriously, Fox and Sony need to give up on the Marvel franchises as so that there can be the full Marvel universe in 1 franchise.
True, but they can hint at them - Like, rather than having Logan slamming tequila shots with Steve Rogers in a french bar, they could just mention some "crazy canadian guy with claws" or something.
Hell they could even do it like they did in the Avengers cartoon show. Use Logan's real name, get someone who kind of looks like him, drop a "bub" here and there, and never show the claws.
Hell they could even do it like they did in the Avengers cartoon show. Use Logan's real name, get someone who kind of looks like him, drop a "bub" here and there, and never show the claws.
The new Avengers cartoon? What episode? I really do not remember this.
Hell they could even do it like they did in the Avengers cartoon show. Use Logan's real name, get someone who kind of looks like him, drop a "bub" here and there, and never show the claws.
The new Avengers cartoon? What episode? I really do not remember this.
See the first one about Cap'n America. Logan is quite clearly one of the Howling Commandos.
Thanks. Well as of this second I am watching a film called River's Edge. It is an independent film from 1986 staring Crispin Glover, Keanu "I know Kung Fu" Reeves and Dennis Hopper. So far it is pretty good.
Comments
On a side note, when I heard the name, I really wanted it to be a sequel to Attack the Gas Station! To be fair though, the main characters in AtB are very similar to the ones in AtGS, just with a lot more aliens.
The Kids are All Right. Good acting. Not as funny as I thought it would be.
Paul. A fun take on science fiction movies. I spotted most of the references as listed on the IMDb. However, I've worked out that I've not watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind all the way through, even though I once read the novelization. Also my girlfriend has never seen either Alien or Aliens. We'll have to remedy this situation.
I really enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, primarily because the science was so understandably executed and the motives was completely solid. For setting up a scenario like this, those are probably the biggest issues. Andy Serkis totally sold Cesar to all of us, and the relationships were incredibly well done. (With the exception of James Franco and his girlfriend) I want to see it again and want to see a sequel, I enjoyed it that much.
The Help was also a really good drama, but primarily because of the audiences. It shouldn't be sold so much as a comedy, because it does reflect on how the ideals at the time were really unethical. Viola Davis was easily my favorite part, at the ending is hopeful, but tear-jerking. A lot of the characters were entertaining, but showed a decent amount of dimension. There was only one character arc that was handled poorly, and that was with Octavia Spencer's character.
The Live of Others had some slowish bleh parts in the middle. Could have compacted that a bit and got some better pacing. It started strong, and I started to source, but towards the end I sweetened big time. I wondered why it was on the IMDB top 250 list until it started to wrap up.
High Noon is an above average western, but it didn't blow me away. My favorite part was that the name of the bad guy is Frank Miller. I could only think of Batman every time they mentioned him.
So far tonight I watched Ramona and Beezus, some Spice and Wolf, Hobo with a Shotgun, Paper Man and now Tangled. Sleep is a fucking slut who visits everyone but me.
I liked Cap, and I really, really liked the introduction of the Strategic Scientific Reserves. I don't understand why they changed Bucky's character so much, other than to save story time. There's never been even a hint in the comics that Cap knew Bucky before the war, much less that he was big friends with him. If the movie had taken the time to develop the more traditional Bucky, they could have built that much more interesting character of the last few years where it's been shown that Buck was not so much a kid sidekick (and actually, not even a kid), but the guy who did most of the dirty wetwork that Cap couldn't get near and keep his honor/nobility intact.
It's also odd how, in such a nominally rah-rah WW II patriotic movie, we don't see that many references to actual Nazis. I know they wanted to develop the whole Hydra storyline and all, but come on. Cap should have been shown fighting more simple, run-of-the-mill Nazis.
That said, I think First Class missed an opportunity to maybe make some sort of throwaway reference to Hydra. It would have been easy, since Magneto was hunting down Shaw over the years, that he might have heard some rumors about Hydra. Or - maybe when they showed Charles meeting Mystique when they were kids during the war, they could have had a Captain America commercial play on the radio. The radio was playing when they met, as far as I recall.
Missed opportunity in Captain America: They could have shown or just had a reference to rumors about Wolverine and Sabretooth. Both of them fought in WW II. It could have been easy. Tommy Lee Jones could have just said, "I've heard some weird rumors about these American soldiers who seem to fight with some sort of animal abilities.", or some such thing.
Note about Mystique: I wish I had been able to say to her when she appeared to Charles late in the film, flaunting her mutant-ness, and asking him whether he was shocked by it that, "Frankly, I'm okay with you being a mutant and all. The main reason I'm shocked right now is that you're naked. Your nakedness shocks me much more than your mutant-ness. Furthermore, you might look less shocking if you colored your hair. That wouldn't be denying your mutant-ness. People dye their hair all the time. Red hair against blue skin kinda makes my eyes hurt. Why don't you dye it black? Black and blue go together much better than blue and red. Now, you might want to put something on because I want to fry up some bacon, and, mutant or not, flying hot grease popping out of a pan doesn't go well against naked skin.
Oh - also saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes. IMHO, the only good Apes movie in the franchise.
It was definitely a good summer for Marvel movies though Thor, Captain America and X-men were all entertaining and in most cases were actually good. Didn't see DC's Green Lantern though.
Seriously, Fox and Sony need to give up on the Marvel franchises as so that there can be the full Marvel universe in 1 franchise.
Well as of this second I am watching a film called River's Edge. It is an independent film from 1986 staring Crispin Glover, Keanu "I know Kung Fu" Reeves and Dennis Hopper. So far it is pretty good.