Green Lantern

This was the movie I was looking forward to the most this summer. It did not wow me. Everyone in it did a great job. I just don't think the script was there. The movie cost more to make then "The Dark Knight". Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, a test pilot who joins an intergalactic police force known as The Green Lantern Corp. The effects looked great. I was worried about the mask, the suit, the constructs (the stuff he makes with his ring), everything. Everything ended up looking pretty good. Except maybe Parallax. In the comics he looks like this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parallax_rebirth.jpg an almost lizard, snake looking thing. In this movie he is a giant fart cloud with a head.

I think what happened for this movie for me was that I had too much invested into it. The Green Lantern is probably my next favorite super hero, next to Batman, and I wanted this to be good. There is so much mythology that goes into this character that I think it was hard to make a movie that introduces all of these elements in a way that the audience can come in and digest it. Having to explain the Guardians, the Corp, the green energy, Parallax, Hal Jordan, why he can over come fear, all that takes time. Because of this takes time, you don't have any to develop anything. Briefly got a glimpse of the animosity that Sinestro, played by Mark Strong, has for Hal.

I think why I was disappointed with the movie is because to be the Green Lantern comics is not just about Hal. It is the plethora of characters. Again, with it needing to be a 1 hour and 45 minute movie, you cannot develop all of this.

I did like the rivalry that they played out between Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgaard, and Hal. Hector trying to figure out how Hal gets the girl and he doesn't. I wish the movie was just them, as opposed to throwing in Parallax, but then I might have complained about how the movie's climax did not have high enough stakes. I think that if they played up more of Hector's jealousy of Hal, and his desire to win the heart of Carroll Ferris, Blake Lively, that would have been a good movie.

Was it good? No. Was it fun? Yes. I hope it makes enough money to make sequels. I'd love to see a Sinestro Corp, or Blake Lively in this costume, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StarSapphires01.jpg

The Woodsman

Just wanted "The Woodsman" staring Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick. Bacon plays Walter, a man who just got released from a twelve year jail sentence for having sex with young, teenage girls. The movie is about him trying to just life a normal life, and dealing with his past. Sedgwick plays a character named Vicki, and she is almost as messed up as Walter is. The scenes where Walter and Vicki are having sex, are inter cut with scenes that you assume to be from earlier when Walter had sex with the girls. That was a little weird. The movie was based on a play, which I assume is based on Little Red Riding Hood. Has to be a reimaging of that story because of the imagery.

Overall pretty good. I enjoyed it. Giving it 3 out of 5 stars. (Going to use stars now since I am sick of making up new ratings everything I rate something.)

Super 8

This weekend on the Summer Movie Bonanza was J.J. Abram's, Steven Speilberg Produced, Super 8. I loved it. I had been my favorite movie I has seen yet this summer. It was everything you want in a summer movie. Action, Effects, Emotion. I was mildly concerned about the kids in the movies, because traditionally children in leads in movies, in my opinion, make the movies bad. That is usually because kids are leads in kid's movies. This was not the case. The kids were all very good. Seeing them all sit around the table yelling at each other after viewing the train crash was very humorous.

You can tell that this is a J.J. Abram's movie. You never see what comes out from the train completely, until the very end which I love. Having the big reveal, right at the beginning feels like a waste. J.J. Abrams, I feel, always does a good job with this. You can also tell that Steve Speilberg had his hand in it too. This movie has tons of heart.

Stay through the credits because you get to see the final film that kids were shooting within this movie.

Vegas Vacation

Watched Vegas Vacation last weekend. This time the Griswolds go to guess, Vegas. Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo revive their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold. They are always fun to see. Randy Quiad is back as Cousin Eddie. I hate his character, but that juts means he is good.

The family packs up and goes to Vegas, and as always, nothing goes right for this family. When will they learn that they cannot take vacations? Just kidding, that would not be fun.

It was fun, as they all are. This won felt a little old. Luckily there haven't been any more.

X-men: First Class

X-Men: First Class came out this weekend. Going to give my review of it upfront. I give it three out of three Lord of the Rings movies. I enjoyed it. Everything you read, where they say it is like James Bond movie is correct. It was fun.

Matthew Vaughn directs this movie. He directed Kick-Ass and I think Layer Cake. Both of which were good movies in my opinion. James McAvoy plays a young Charles Xavier. There are a few fun bits he has where he makes some joke about shaving his head, or he tries to pick up women by telling them that they are unique because of the "mutations" they have. In this case the mutations are like, freckles, auburn hair, those types of things. Not laser beams for eye. I think this is the first real thing I have seen McAvoy in, and he was good. Michael Fassbender plays Erik Lehnsherr, aka. Magneto. He was bad ass. Magneto has always been an interesting character to me. He might be my favorite Marvel villain. Kevin Bacon plays Sebastian Shaw. Wasn't too familiar with how Shaw was from the comics. That being said, he was an interesting character. He was almost like a typical Bond villain too. Secret lair, silent henchmen, world domination, you know the good stuff. Bacon was a good bad guy. I enjoyed seeing him play one since I cannot think of anything that I have seen where he is a villain. January Jones was Emma Frost which was nice. It was the sixties so everyone wore a mini skirt.

Overall, very enjoyable. There were only a view things I had a problem with and they were minor. The introduction of Xavier and Lehnsherr was a bit lame. Especially Xavier. However, that was just in the beginning and before you know it you are drawn in, and you forget that the introduction to these characters was a bit lame. The the makeup effects for Mystique and Beast I though looked weird. Mystique looked like she had a huge forehead, or her hair line did not start in the right place or something. Then seeing Beast crammed into a flight suit, with what appeared to me to be Kurt Russel hair wasn't cool. (Sorry Kurt Russel) Besides those very little pieces. I enjoyed the movie.

The Dark Knight Rises

Here are a couple links so some possible vial marketing for the new Batman film by Christopher Nolan. Makes things sounds scary.

The Lost World

This one is going to be shorter.


Finshed watching 1925's The Lost World. It was a silent film based on the book of the same name by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the first major motion picture to feature stop motion animation. This movie would have been bad ass in 1925. Dinosaurs coming to life on screen. A Brontosaurs rampaging down the streets of London. Cool stuff. You can tell that King Kong, and Michael Crichton's novels (subsequently Jurassic Park movies) were heavily influenced by this.


Over all enjoyable. Did not realize that the movie was a silent movie. Also, due to age, and restoration, the film did not look well. However, the version I saw was restored right in Rochester, NY at the George Eastman house.

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli stars Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, and Gary Oldman. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Much of the Earth was destroyed Thirty years prior. The place is a waste land and it is very much the wild west. Whoever has the resources controls the people, and whoever has the guns controls the resources. Denzel Washington plays a lone stranger named Eli, think Clint Eastwood in the Spaghetti Westerns. At the beginning he just appears to be roaming the Earth, searching for resources. Later in the film you find out that he has a book that that Gary Oldman's character, Carnegie, wants. Carnegie controls the water, and the muscle in this small town. He wants to use the book to gather more people to his town, and therefore increase his power. According to Carnegie, this book can instill hope. It can win the hearts and minds of the people, however Eli is not ready or willing to give the book up.


I enjoyed the movie. If you ready previous entries, I love anything that Gary Oldman is in. He plays a great villian I think. I need to watch more movies where he is the bad guy. Mila Kunis is alright. Her role is not too large in the film. As always, she is great to look at. Malcolm McDowell appears briefly, so that was a pleasant surprise.




SPOILERS!!!!!!!!






















Eli is blind. It is obvious from the beginning. There is a scene where he kills a cat to eat. Then you see him walking through a desert or something. Once he enters the house, it is obvious. Running into things, always rummaging and touching things. The biggest indicator to me that he was blind were the fight scenes. He never looked at where his opponent was coming from. He was always looking forward. Also, there were tons of audio clues. Things that you normally do not hear in movies, we heard in this film because the character Eli heard it.






Final review:
I give it one out of two Swanger Brothers.