Suck Punch was one of those movies that sounded awesome, looked awesome, and I was excited for. Then it came out, I heard the reviews, and it scared me away from the theater. It has since been release on Blu ray and DVD, with an extended edition and you guys know how I am a sucker for Blu ray/DVDs.
Zack Snyder wrote, directed and produced this movie. He is of Dawn of the Dead remake, 300 and The Watchmen fame. He is also going to direct the new Superman movie called Man of Steel. So I like his body of work. The movie is about a girl, who we never learn her real name, matter of fact we don't learn anyone's real name, who accidently kills her little sister while trying to fend off her abusive step father. She then gets sent to an insane asylum, and is going to be lobotomized in 3 days, or 5 days, don't really remember. Then the rest of the movie is spent in this fantasy world that she creates to deal with the horrors of this place. The fantasy world isn't much better, because it is a brothel. They dance for 'clients' and then 'service' them. Which all the clients are actually orderlies, and service just means rape. So the movie itself sounds fucked up, but because it is this fantasy world, unless you really are paying attention you will have no idea. Everyone has a cutesy name like Baby Doll, or Rocket, or Blondie. Jon Hamm plays the 'High Roller' the man who in 3 days is going to take Baby Dolls virginity, aka he is the doctor that is going to come and lobotomize her. In order to escape they need to find 5 items, and each quest to find the item is some new fantastical adventure; shadow ninjas, Ogres and Dragons, Zombie Nazis, etc.
The effects were cool, the costumes were small, and there was a bunch of action. Didn't really care about the characters, but it looked cool. Might have used way too much CGI, but how else do you make movies like this?
4 out of 5
Friday, July 29, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger
The last big comic book movie of the Summer. Not the one I had the most invested in, (cough cough Green Lantern), but it definitely had promise. Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers, a man not physically fit to be in the army, but determined to be there just the same. Rogers lies and tries to get enlisted, saying he is from a different town every time. Stanley Tucci plays Dr. Abraham Erskine, a scientist with a special project, who Rogers is just the person to full it.
Colonel Chester Philips, played by Tommy Lee Jones, needs to set up an army of super soldiers to combat the evil Hydra, a section of the Nazi army that specialists in magic. Led by Johann Schmidt, Hugo Weaving, they are looking for ancient relics to power a super army, to conquer the World. Hydra agents sabotage the experiment, and Rogers ends up being the only super solider. Rogers must go after Hydra to stop them before they blow up major US cities.
Seeing Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark, in a pretty major role was fun. Hopefully in The Avengers movie they will play something with that. Steve- "I knew your father Tony. You are nothing like him." Something like that, something with some teeth. That would be fun. Seeing Bucky Barnes was fun. As was seeing Dr. Zola, and Dum Dum Dugan. I hope we see more of Bucky. The movie sets us right up for The Avengers. They literally could start right where this movie ended. Stay for after the credits for a sneak peek at The Avengers, (or just look for the trailer online, it is there now).
I enjoyed the movie. It was fun. There was comedy, there was action. I only got misty eyed once, and that was more to do with the period of which the movie took place, and less about the characters. Costumes were cool. The effects that they do to Weaving's character are spot on, exactly how I imagine his character to look.
During the movie, you see a USO show. Girls singing and dancing for the troops. I leaned over to Jessica and said, "Did they have breast implants in the '40s?" Trying to be funny. Without missing a beat she says, "Duh, Stark Industries." Too funny.
4 out of 5
Colonel Chester Philips, played by Tommy Lee Jones, needs to set up an army of super soldiers to combat the evil Hydra, a section of the Nazi army that specialists in magic. Led by Johann Schmidt, Hugo Weaving, they are looking for ancient relics to power a super army, to conquer the World. Hydra agents sabotage the experiment, and Rogers ends up being the only super solider. Rogers must go after Hydra to stop them before they blow up major US cities.
Seeing Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark, in a pretty major role was fun. Hopefully in The Avengers movie they will play something with that. Steve- "I knew your father Tony. You are nothing like him." Something like that, something with some teeth. That would be fun. Seeing Bucky Barnes was fun. As was seeing Dr. Zola, and Dum Dum Dugan. I hope we see more of Bucky. The movie sets us right up for The Avengers. They literally could start right where this movie ended. Stay for after the credits for a sneak peek at The Avengers, (or just look for the trailer online, it is there now).
I enjoyed the movie. It was fun. There was comedy, there was action. I only got misty eyed once, and that was more to do with the period of which the movie took place, and less about the characters. Costumes were cool. The effects that they do to Weaving's character are spot on, exactly how I imagine his character to look.
During the movie, you see a USO show. Girls singing and dancing for the troops. I leaned over to Jessica and said, "Did they have breast implants in the '40s?" Trying to be funny. Without missing a beat she says, "Duh, Stark Industries." Too funny.
4 out of 5
Take Me Home Tonight
This comedy was something that I watched on DVD.It was one of those impulse buys at Walmart that happen so frequently when I go shopping by myself.
The movie has Topher Grace, Dan Fogler, and Anna Ferris in it. Funny people so I was excited. Also, it is set in the '80s which were kinda goofy. The trailers made it look fun, so I had hopes for this movie. That being said it was not a bad movie, it just wasn't as fun as I thought it was.
Topher Grace plays a character named Matt Franklin, who has just graduated from MIT and is now working at a video store. Everyone he went to high school with is back in town, coming home from college. Matt and his friend Barry Nathan (Fogler) find out about a party where Matt's high school crush is going to be at. She was popular, he was not. Matt needs to over come his fear of asking this girl out, and with his live.
Dan Fogler has some funny parts. Not that funny of a movie. It was alright
2 out of 5
The movie has Topher Grace, Dan Fogler, and Anna Ferris in it. Funny people so I was excited. Also, it is set in the '80s which were kinda goofy. The trailers made it look fun, so I had hopes for this movie. That being said it was not a bad movie, it just wasn't as fun as I thought it was.
Topher Grace plays a character named Matt Franklin, who has just graduated from MIT and is now working at a video store. Everyone he went to high school with is back in town, coming home from college. Matt and his friend Barry Nathan (Fogler) find out about a party where Matt's high school crush is going to be at. She was popular, he was not. Matt needs to over come his fear of asking this girl out, and with his live.
Dan Fogler has some funny parts. Not that funny of a movie. It was alright
2 out of 5
Friday, July 22, 2011
Hobo with a Shotgun
Rutger Hauer stars in the title role as Hobo in Hobo with a Shotgun. Hobo roles into a town called Hope town, whose sign has been spray painted to say "Scum Town", in hopes of starting a new life. The town is full of degenerates Crooked Cops, hookers, thieves, and the town is run by corrupt mob boss, The Drake. Drake has two stupid, yet comically evil sons, Ivan and Slick. The three of the go around town, doing whatever they want. They instill fear in the town, so no one stands up to them, and that becomes a free ticket to every other scumbag in the town. Hobo just wants to get enough money so he can buy a second hand lawnmower, so he can go around town making it a better place. If he made money at it, it would be nice too. But he can not stand idle while these people terrorize the town so he has to jump into action. "Serving justice one shell at a time." That is the tag line on the box and it is correct.
The movie is based on a trailer that won the South by Southwest Grindhouse trailer contest put on by Robert Rodriguez. Remember those trailers? Werewolf Women of the SS, Machete, Thanksgiving, or Thankskilling, I cannot remember, and Don't. That was where I heard of the movie. I never saw the trailer, but when I heard the name and heard Rutger Hauer was in it I figured I was in.
The movie is an exploitation film. There is no doubt about that. The color is saturated at the beginning, and then by the end everything is dark, messy, and covered in blood. There were some ridiculous parts, of course. What Drake does to his own brother is strange, there is a scene where topless girls are using a dude as a pinata, and there are these characters called The Plague, which I would watch a movie just on these guys.
Movie was bad. But, that is ok because I wanted it to be. Violence for violence's sake. The only reason why this movie was made was so there was a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun.
3 out of 5.
The movie is based on a trailer that won the South by Southwest Grindhouse trailer contest put on by Robert Rodriguez. Remember those trailers? Werewolf Women of the SS, Machete, Thanksgiving, or Thankskilling, I cannot remember, and Don't. That was where I heard of the movie. I never saw the trailer, but when I heard the name and heard Rutger Hauer was in it I figured I was in.
The movie is an exploitation film. There is no doubt about that. The color is saturated at the beginning, and then by the end everything is dark, messy, and covered in blood. There were some ridiculous parts, of course. What Drake does to his own brother is strange, there is a scene where topless girls are using a dude as a pinata, and there are these characters called The Plague, which I would watch a movie just on these guys.
Movie was bad. But, that is ok because I wanted it to be. Violence for violence's sake. The only reason why this movie was made was so there was a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun.
3 out of 5.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Bad Santa
Billie Bob Thorton plays a degenerate Santa who steal from the malls after the season. He does a good job doing that.
Felt like the swearing was excessive, (WHAT?!?! I know right?) The little fat kid in the movie is great.
John Ritter is in this movie, and I believe it is one, if not the last thing he did before he died. Funny guy. Bernie Mac and him had a lot of scenes together, so it was weird thinking that both these dudes are dead.
Fun movie. Not great. But not Bad, as the title suggests. 3 of 5
Felt like the swearing was excessive, (WHAT?!?! I know right?) The little fat kid in the movie is great.
John Ritter is in this movie, and I believe it is one, if not the last thing he did before he died. Funny guy. Bernie Mac and him had a lot of scenes together, so it was weird thinking that both these dudes are dead.
Fun movie. Not great. But not Bad, as the title suggests. 3 of 5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Jess and I saw the final Harry Potter movie this weekend. As a person who has not read the books, and has only experienced Potter in the world of film, they have been pretty enjoyable movies. Since they broke the last book into two movies, this one takes place immediately after the previous film. The last movie as all about hiding in the woods. This movie is all about kicking ass. It was cool to see John Hurt and Gary Oldman again. If you have read any of my previous entries, you know my love of Gary Oldman. Alan Rickman does a great job. I really enjoy him as Snape.
The whole movie is everyone else fighting, while Harry and his buds run around destroying trinkets. The battles were pretty epic, and I assume that I was supposed to feel the weight of the consequences a little more. It never really felt like the "end game" that it was supposed to be. That doesn't mean that it wasn't fun. As always, Warner Bros. does a good job with the effects. I believe this is the Director's (David Yates) third or fourth time directing a HP movie, so he knows what he is doing. For the kids, most of them have primarily been doing this, and they have been for ten years, so they know what they are doing.
Only a few points. One, don't eat your candy during the quiet parts. I can hear you. Two, as a non HP book reader, some things were confusing. (SPOILERS! But can it really be spoilers about a movie based on a book that was one of the most widely read books in the world? Who knows.) Harry Potter dies? I think? But then he isn't dead? So if Harry is a part of Voldemort, and in order to kill Voldemort you need all of those horcrux (spelling?) destroyed, how can Harry Potter live and Voldemort die? Don't really explain that in the movie. Is it important? No. Was it confusing? Yes. The Slytherin house is a joke. All the bad kids go to the Slytherin house? Then they team up with Voldemort? Because the hat can read their minds or whatever? Way to just give up on those kids immediately. Does nature vs. nurture exist in Hogwarts? Guess not. And finally, in the epilogue, they didn't really try to make anyone look older. Mom jeans, a mustache, and patches on your suit jacket do not make you nineteen years older. We can make Ralph Finnes not have a nose for five movies, (and he as a HUGE one), we can put Jeff Bridges with a 20-30 year younger self (see Tron: Legacy), '80's Arnold without him ever setting foot on set (Terminator Salvation) and Gollum, but we cannot get a believable nineteen year older Potter. If you ran out of money, it is call make effects. Remember those? We used it for years to make actors look older or younger then what they really are. Think Winona Ryder in Edward Scissor hands at the beginning (she is going to be forty this year!?!?!)
Overall, enjoyable for even the non Harry Potter fan. 4 out of 5.
The whole movie is everyone else fighting, while Harry and his buds run around destroying trinkets. The battles were pretty epic, and I assume that I was supposed to feel the weight of the consequences a little more. It never really felt like the "end game" that it was supposed to be. That doesn't mean that it wasn't fun. As always, Warner Bros. does a good job with the effects. I believe this is the Director's (David Yates) third or fourth time directing a HP movie, so he knows what he is doing. For the kids, most of them have primarily been doing this, and they have been for ten years, so they know what they are doing.
Only a few points. One, don't eat your candy during the quiet parts. I can hear you. Two, as a non HP book reader, some things were confusing. (SPOILERS! But can it really be spoilers about a movie based on a book that was one of the most widely read books in the world? Who knows.) Harry Potter dies? I think? But then he isn't dead? So if Harry is a part of Voldemort, and in order to kill Voldemort you need all of those horcrux (spelling?) destroyed, how can Harry Potter live and Voldemort die? Don't really explain that in the movie. Is it important? No. Was it confusing? Yes. The Slytherin house is a joke. All the bad kids go to the Slytherin house? Then they team up with Voldemort? Because the hat can read their minds or whatever? Way to just give up on those kids immediately. Does nature vs. nurture exist in Hogwarts? Guess not. And finally, in the epilogue, they didn't really try to make anyone look older. Mom jeans, a mustache, and patches on your suit jacket do not make you nineteen years older. We can make Ralph Finnes not have a nose for five movies, (and he as a HUGE one), we can put Jeff Bridges with a 20-30 year younger self (see Tron: Legacy), '80's Arnold without him ever setting foot on set (Terminator Salvation) and Gollum, but we cannot get a believable nineteen year older Potter. If you ran out of money, it is call make effects. Remember those? We used it for years to make actors look older or younger then what they really are. Think Winona Ryder in Edward Scissor hands at the beginning (she is going to be forty this year!?!?!)
Overall, enjoyable for even the non Harry Potter fan. 4 out of 5.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Preview for Killer Elite
Before watching Transformers, as with any movie, there were previews. One caught my attention for both good and bad reasons. The movie was Killer Elite, and it stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen with a mustache and cool scars, and Robert De Niro with a crazy person beard. It looks like every other Jason Statham movie, which isn't a bad thing. He plays a bad-ass, Owen plays a bad-ass. The are fighting for some reason.
Do yourself a favor and watch the trailer. After watching it scroll down, I do not want to ruin it for you.
Was that "Rock You like a Hurricane"?!?! Seriously? While watching this I was thinking, "Don't tell me this is 'Rock You like a Hurricane,' they wouldn't do that would they? Yep. Yes it is. That is nuts."
Do yourself a favor and watch the trailer. After watching it scroll down, I do not want to ruin it for you.
Was that "Rock You like a Hurricane"?!?! Seriously? While watching this I was thinking, "Don't tell me this is 'Rock You like a Hurricane,' they wouldn't do that would they? Yep. Yes it is. That is nuts."
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the most recent movie based on the Animated series, based on children's toys. Again, directed by Michael Bay. This is the third in the series, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009, and Transformers in 2007. This is supposedly the last one Michael Bay will direct. I'll believe it when I see it. Also, this is the first to have Steven Spielberg's name attached as Executive Producer, even though he has been an Executive Producer on the previous two. That little bit was interesting. I wonder if it was to try to add some credibility to them? Or was it because this is the year of Spielberg Produced movies? Super 8 was, I believe Cowboys and Aliens is, and Real Steel (a movie about boxing robots and to be released in the Fall) is. This also is the first of the films to not have Meagan Fox in the cast. Darn... We don't get the chance to see her not act, be hot, and get the impression that she is board while running from giant fighting robots and explosions.
The movie opens with a prologe that takes place on Cybertron, the homeworld of the Transformers. You find out about their civil war, again, and you find out that there was a great leader, Sentinel Prime. He tried to escape Cybertron with a great weapon that would have won the war. He crash lands on our Moon, and we find out that is the whole reason we had the space race. Hopefully no one will become confused by this. It was cool that they used actual original footage, like of the landing, President Kennedy talking, President Nixon talking, Walter Cronkite talking, etc. They tried to pull some Tron shit where they mask someone else's face on a body. Did not actually work that well.
The we see the cliche, zoom in on Sentinel Prime's eye, it flashes up, and we go in his head for the opening title.
We meet up with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) a few years after the previous film. You know this because he is now a college graduate, with no job. You also know time has gone bye because he no longer is dating the insanely hot Mikaela Banes (Fox) from the previous movies. He is now dating this even more insanely hot Carly Spencer played by new comer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I think she and Jason Statham are an item right now. Anyways... Sam is trying to find a job, and dealing with the fact he has saved the world twice, he cannot tell anyone, and no one cares. While he is dealing with that, the Autobots are driving around the Earth, kicking ass and taking names.
Weird stuff starts happening, people start getting killed, Megatron comes back. Ken Joeng (from The Hangover fame) plays an annoying character. Surprise! Then the rest of the film is spent trying to thwart Megatron's plan.
Leonard Nimoy voices Sentinel Prime, which is funny because he voiced Galvatron in the Animated Movie from 1986. Hugo Weaving does Megatron again. That dude must have the best agent in Hollywood. Peter Cullen does Optimus Prime again.
I only have three points to make about this movie. One, if they really are supposed to be robots in disguise, shouldn't they pick more ordinary, mundane vehicles to transform into? Like a Ford Taurus? Not a giant blue semi truck with flames down the side? Two, how is it amongst all the chaos, destruction, and violence does Carly manage to not get a single smudge on her, and does it all in heels? Crazy. And finally, every female in this movie, minus Frances MacDormand and Julie White (Sam's Mom) sorry, is eye candy. Michael Bay knows his audience.
Overall, enjoyable. I think I liked it better then the second one, not sure if I liked it better then the first. For a movie about giant fighting robots, it was pretty good. 4 out of 5 stars.
The movie opens with a prologe that takes place on Cybertron, the homeworld of the Transformers. You find out about their civil war, again, and you find out that there was a great leader, Sentinel Prime. He tried to escape Cybertron with a great weapon that would have won the war. He crash lands on our Moon, and we find out that is the whole reason we had the space race. Hopefully no one will become confused by this. It was cool that they used actual original footage, like of the landing, President Kennedy talking, President Nixon talking, Walter Cronkite talking, etc. They tried to pull some Tron shit where they mask someone else's face on a body. Did not actually work that well.
The we see the cliche, zoom in on Sentinel Prime's eye, it flashes up, and we go in his head for the opening title.
We meet up with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) a few years after the previous film. You know this because he is now a college graduate, with no job. You also know time has gone bye because he no longer is dating the insanely hot Mikaela Banes (Fox) from the previous movies. He is now dating this even more insanely hot Carly Spencer played by new comer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. I think she and Jason Statham are an item right now. Anyways... Sam is trying to find a job, and dealing with the fact he has saved the world twice, he cannot tell anyone, and no one cares. While he is dealing with that, the Autobots are driving around the Earth, kicking ass and taking names.
Weird stuff starts happening, people start getting killed, Megatron comes back. Ken Joeng (from The Hangover fame) plays an annoying character. Surprise! Then the rest of the film is spent trying to thwart Megatron's plan.
Leonard Nimoy voices Sentinel Prime, which is funny because he voiced Galvatron in the Animated Movie from 1986. Hugo Weaving does Megatron again. That dude must have the best agent in Hollywood. Peter Cullen does Optimus Prime again.
I only have three points to make about this movie. One, if they really are supposed to be robots in disguise, shouldn't they pick more ordinary, mundane vehicles to transform into? Like a Ford Taurus? Not a giant blue semi truck with flames down the side? Two, how is it amongst all the chaos, destruction, and violence does Carly manage to not get a single smudge on her, and does it all in heels? Crazy. And finally, every female in this movie, minus Frances MacDormand and Julie White (Sam's Mom) sorry, is eye candy. Michael Bay knows his audience.
Overall, enjoyable. I think I liked it better then the second one, not sure if I liked it better then the first. For a movie about giant fighting robots, it was pretty good. 4 out of 5 stars.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Hawk the Slayer
Hawk the Slayer is a 1981 Fantasy movie starring Jack Palance as the villain Voltan, and John Terry as Hawk. Voltan and Hawk are brothers, and Hawk steals Voltan's love interest before the start of the film. This movie depicts the "battle" between the two. Good vs. Evil.
This movie was bad. Acting was bad, the effects were bad, the story was bad, the characters were bad. The only thing I enjoyed about the movie was Jack Palance's performance, and the fact I recognized John Terry as being Christian Shepard, Jack Shepard's dad on Lost. I consider Jack Palance to be a "real" actor, so to see him running around with a helmet, and magic, and elves is very humorous. He plays a good villain.
The action was no good, the effects were no good, and there was not even any 80's gratuitous sex either.
Cannot say it was a disappointing film, mainly because I went in know if was going to be bad.
If you expect a bad movie, and get a bad movie, it is an okay movie.
3 out of 5 stars.
This movie was bad. Acting was bad, the effects were bad, the story was bad, the characters were bad. The only thing I enjoyed about the movie was Jack Palance's performance, and the fact I recognized John Terry as being Christian Shepard, Jack Shepard's dad on Lost. I consider Jack Palance to be a "real" actor, so to see him running around with a helmet, and magic, and elves is very humorous. He plays a good villain.
The action was no good, the effects were no good, and there was not even any 80's gratuitous sex either.
Cannot say it was a disappointing film, mainly because I went in know if was going to be bad.
If you expect a bad movie, and get a bad movie, it is an okay movie.
3 out of 5 stars.
The Adjustment Bureau
The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 scifi thriller starring Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. It was based upon a Phillip K. Dick short story called "The Adjustment Team". Matt Damon plays David Norris, a NY State politician seeking a seat in the US Senate. Emily Blunt plays Elise Sellas, a woman whom fate does not want him to be with. John Slattery from AMC's Mad Men plays a character named Richardson, who is a member of the ominous Adjustment Bureau.
I had high hopes for The Adjustment Bureau. If memory serves, the trailers made it out to be a sci-fi thriller. So when I went out and purchased the movie, that was what I was expecting. That was not the case. I would have considered it more of a romance, with some sci-fi undertones. The thrills were not so thrilling. Matt Damon is a great actor, Emily Blunt is great, and I love Slattery's character on Mad Men. There were so many lines in the movie like "We cannot sense you near water," and "Our special hats are what let us go through doors," the Bureau was able to use doors to movie quickly through space, that just screamed "PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. THIS IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT LATER." Every time I hear these lines all I can think of is that scene in Wayne's World when Wayne and Garth get locked out of the Alice Cooper concert and they are talking to Chris Farley's character, the security guard. I believe the line Wayne says is "For a security guard, he had a lot of information, don't you think?" Then him and Garth giggle into the camera. Once that information because relevant again they say something like, "Aren't we lucky we were there to get that information? It seemed extraneous at the time." I feel like if I can tell that you are giving us as a viewer is blatantly a MacGuffin, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin then you need to work on your story telling.
The other thing that was disappointing was that, which I seem to always find this to be the case, but Philip K. Dick's stories are real hit and miss when translated to film. Total Recall is a mindless action movie, Blade Runner is great if you watch the correct version, Paycheck let me wanting more, as did A Scanner Darkly, and Next stars Nicolas Cage and he is never in anything good. If so many of this guys stories are "worthy" of being turned into film, why do they flop so much? Why cannot adaptations of his work be received like The Godfather, or The Lord of the Rings, or Silence of the Lambs?
Did not enjoy this movie.
2 out of 5 stars.
I had high hopes for The Adjustment Bureau. If memory serves, the trailers made it out to be a sci-fi thriller. So when I went out and purchased the movie, that was what I was expecting. That was not the case. I would have considered it more of a romance, with some sci-fi undertones. The thrills were not so thrilling. Matt Damon is a great actor, Emily Blunt is great, and I love Slattery's character on Mad Men. There were so many lines in the movie like "We cannot sense you near water," and "Our special hats are what let us go through doors," the Bureau was able to use doors to movie quickly through space, that just screamed "PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. THIS IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT LATER." Every time I hear these lines all I can think of is that scene in Wayne's World when Wayne and Garth get locked out of the Alice Cooper concert and they are talking to Chris Farley's character, the security guard. I believe the line Wayne says is "For a security guard, he had a lot of information, don't you think?" Then him and Garth giggle into the camera. Once that information because relevant again they say something like, "Aren't we lucky we were there to get that information? It seemed extraneous at the time." I feel like if I can tell that you are giving us as a viewer is blatantly a MacGuffin, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin then you need to work on your story telling.
The other thing that was disappointing was that, which I seem to always find this to be the case, but Philip K. Dick's stories are real hit and miss when translated to film. Total Recall is a mindless action movie, Blade Runner is great if you watch the correct version, Paycheck let me wanting more, as did A Scanner Darkly, and Next stars Nicolas Cage and he is never in anything good. If so many of this guys stories are "worthy" of being turned into film, why do they flop so much? Why cannot adaptations of his work be received like The Godfather, or The Lord of the Rings, or Silence of the Lambs?
Did not enjoy this movie.
2 out of 5 stars.
Friday, July 1, 2011
True Romance
True Romance features EVERYONE. These are just the people I noticed.
Christian Slater
Patricia Arquette
Dennis Hopper
Tim Sizemore
Chrisopher Walken
Gary Oldman
Samuel L. Jackson
Chris Penn
James Gandolfini
Val Kilmer
Brad Pitt
and a guy who may or may not be Willem Dafoe.
I saw a bunch of "that guy"s, and I can remember what other movies I have seen them in, but because I cannot recall their name, they are not mentioned here.
Christian Slater plays plays Clarence Worley, a comic loving, kung fu watching, Elvis fanatic. He meets Alabama Whitman, played by Arquette in a triple feature of "Street Fighter" movies. They fall in love. Clarence finds out that she is a call girl, they get married, and he goes after her old pimp to tell him that she is no longer his call girl anymore. Drexl, played by Gary Oldman, is this bizarre character. Pimp, Drug dealer, and all around low life. Things go south, Clarence kills all of them, and accidently gets away with a lot of cocaine. The rest of the movie is spent following them around, trying to disappear, and sell this coke. The final scenes of the movie are a little lame, but whatever.
You can definitely tell that Quentin Tarantino wrote this movie. Clarence goes and sees a triple kung fu feature staring Sonny Chiba. Clarence is obsessed with Elvis. The movie is violent. On every television in the movie, I think a different kung fu/Hong Kong action movie is on. Once you see the climax of the film you cannot help but thing that this is a homage to John Woo films like "Hard Boiled". Hamburgers everywhere. It reeks of Tarantino.
All the characters are great. Gary Oldman is the best. I also love how Dennis Hopper plays the only "normal" person in the whole movie.
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.
Christian Slater
Patricia Arquette
Dennis Hopper
Tim Sizemore
Chrisopher Walken
Gary Oldman
Samuel L. Jackson
Chris Penn
James Gandolfini
Val Kilmer
Brad Pitt
and a guy who may or may not be Willem Dafoe.
I saw a bunch of "that guy"s, and I can remember what other movies I have seen them in, but because I cannot recall their name, they are not mentioned here.
Christian Slater plays plays Clarence Worley, a comic loving, kung fu watching, Elvis fanatic. He meets Alabama Whitman, played by Arquette in a triple feature of "Street Fighter" movies. They fall in love. Clarence finds out that she is a call girl, they get married, and he goes after her old pimp to tell him that she is no longer his call girl anymore. Drexl, played by Gary Oldman, is this bizarre character. Pimp, Drug dealer, and all around low life. Things go south, Clarence kills all of them, and accidently gets away with a lot of cocaine. The rest of the movie is spent following them around, trying to disappear, and sell this coke. The final scenes of the movie are a little lame, but whatever.
You can definitely tell that Quentin Tarantino wrote this movie. Clarence goes and sees a triple kung fu feature staring Sonny Chiba. Clarence is obsessed with Elvis. The movie is violent. On every television in the movie, I think a different kung fu/Hong Kong action movie is on. Once you see the climax of the film you cannot help but thing that this is a homage to John Woo films like "Hard Boiled". Hamburgers everywhere. It reeks of Tarantino.
All the characters are great. Gary Oldman is the best. I also love how Dennis Hopper plays the only "normal" person in the whole movie.
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.
Cars 2
Went and saw Cars 2 last weekend. It is the twelve feature film but out by Pixar, and it is the sequel to Cars which came out in 2006. It is also the fifth Pixar movie directed my John Lasseter, the others being Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life and Cars. Right from the beginning you get the impression that this movie no longer takes place in just Radiator Springs, the small town from the first one.You'd be right, because it doesn't. You also get the impression that this is less about Lighting McQeen, voiced by Owen Wilson, and more about Mater, voiced by Larry the Calbe Guy. Again, you'd be right. So if you didn't like Mater in the first movie, which I don't know how you could not, don't go see this. This should called "Cars 2: Mater 'round the World."
The thing I was most interested about was hearing from reviews, and interviews, before the movie came out was that this was going to be almost like a James Bond film. Boy were they right. The beginning of the movie feels just like a James Bond film. Michael Cain plays an Aston Martin named Finn McMissile who is a British spy. The female intelligence office's name is Molly Shiftwell.. What is more James Bond then that? The beginning of the movie could have been straight out of a Bond film. McMissile is on an intelligence gather mission. Things go wrong, car case scene, explosions, everything you want in a Bond opening. I was expecting to see the infamous "shoot down a site" opening for all James Bond movies.
The plot is simple. Former Oil Tycoon Miles Axelrod, voiced by Eddie Izzard, develops a new form of bio fuel Allinol, and has a Gran Prix around the world to promote it. A group of cars, "lemons", want to destroy Allinol because they just found the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. To do this, they must sabotage the races to show the world that this new bio fuel is dangerous. McQueen enters the race, Mater is mistaken for the American spy counter part, Rod "Torque" Redline, voiced by Bruce Campbell. Let the hilarity ensue.
The thing I loved about this movie was seeing all the things "Cars-ified" like "Big Bently" = Big Ben, there was a Pope car, and there was a Pope Car car (a car which drove the Pope car around). After awhile, Mater's "naivity" gets a little old, but that is who his character is.
All in all, didn't love it as much as I loved Toy Story 3. I liked it better then the first Cars. As with all Pixar movies, this movie has heart.
3 out of 5 stars.
As a side note, Jess and I were the oldest non parents there, but possibly not the youngest "adults". For most of the visual gags, it was me and a three year old girl laughing.
The thing I was most interested about was hearing from reviews, and interviews, before the movie came out was that this was going to be almost like a James Bond film. Boy were they right. The beginning of the movie feels just like a James Bond film. Michael Cain plays an Aston Martin named Finn McMissile who is a British spy. The female intelligence office's name is Molly Shiftwell.. What is more James Bond then that? The beginning of the movie could have been straight out of a Bond film. McMissile is on an intelligence gather mission. Things go wrong, car case scene, explosions, everything you want in a Bond opening. I was expecting to see the infamous "shoot down a site" opening for all James Bond movies.
The plot is simple. Former Oil Tycoon Miles Axelrod, voiced by Eddie Izzard, develops a new form of bio fuel Allinol, and has a Gran Prix around the world to promote it. A group of cars, "lemons", want to destroy Allinol because they just found the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. To do this, they must sabotage the races to show the world that this new bio fuel is dangerous. McQueen enters the race, Mater is mistaken for the American spy counter part, Rod "Torque" Redline, voiced by Bruce Campbell. Let the hilarity ensue.
The thing I loved about this movie was seeing all the things "Cars-ified" like "Big Bently" = Big Ben, there was a Pope car, and there was a Pope Car car (a car which drove the Pope car around). After awhile, Mater's "naivity" gets a little old, but that is who his character is.
All in all, didn't love it as much as I loved Toy Story 3. I liked it better then the first Cars. As with all Pixar movies, this movie has heart.
3 out of 5 stars.
As a side note, Jess and I were the oldest non parents there, but possibly not the youngest "adults". For most of the visual gags, it was me and a three year old girl laughing.
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