once

the music. oh, the music! i was lucky enough to see this film in the theater (twice) and be swept away by the melody it brings. its a simple story of a man who loves to sing and play his beaten up guitar. his path crosses with a foreign woman who talks with him. they form a friendship and play music together for a while. their stories, music, and hearts intertwine for a short time, but it is magic to behold. the film is, in essence, a musical. the great thing though, is that it is not a traditional musical where the characters are talking and then break out in song and dance, rather the characters in it sit down and sing. they make music together as musicians, which leads them to a recording studio and briefly into each other's souls. its a love story, but more a love story about the love of music than any romantic type of love. soon their paths take them in different directions, but the music they shared and created continue to exist even after their time together. i must admit that immediately after walking out of the theater the first time i saw it i went straight to the store to buy the soundtrack- that song 'falling slowly' is one of the most beautiful and melancholy songs i have heard in years! the whole movie is inspired and moving.

rocky balboa

ive never been into the whole 'rocky' thing. in fact, i dont think ive ever actually seen any of them the whole way through. still, for some reason, i wanted to see this latest sequel. maybe out of morbid curiosity, just to see how badly stallone has aged, maybe because of the many good reviews it got when it came out, or maybe because it was free at the library. im not sure which was the reason for picking it up, but i watched it a couple days ago, and was somewhat impressed.

though unfamiliar with the previous 5, i could tell that most of the movie was filled with references to what had come before. it didnt seem excessive, just the opposite in fact, the movie is all about finishing strong and moving on, so it was altogether fitting that there would be frequent referencing of the past. the idea of one last fight was played out pretty well, and the final fight was actually quite exciting. it almost made me want to go back and check out the originals. or not.

quick hits

ive been watching a ton of movies lately, so i figured id do a quick fire review of some of them:


'bourne ultimatum': really good! this was a satisfying end to a consistently good trilogy. the action was insane, and the twists and turns along the way were very satisfying. its always an amazing thing when a series can start strong, and end even stronger. the questions raised in the first two are neatly tied up in this one, and done in such a manic style that it kept the immediacy and tension the whole way through. my only complaint is that by the end it seems that borne has turned into an invulnerable superman. does this man never get hurt?!?


'say anything...': though it pains me to say this, being a john cusack fan, this movie is rather lame. the pacing is poor, and the characters do not follow any sort of clear motivation. i had never seen this one before, so i cant rely on a nostalgia factor like most people. the characters were not real, and they acted more like they were in some strange stilted theater production than actual high school kids. disappointing.


'pathfinder': a unique tale about a viking boy left for dead in the new world. it mostly deals with finding a place with those that are different than you and coming to terms with where you came from. actually, it mostly deals with swords and axes. a bloody action movie that actually has some pretty cool action in it. when it was released it got a bum rap because it came out a week or two after '300', and tried to do similar things with its action scenes. not as successfully, but still a story i havent seen before.


'hot fuzz': this one was a treat. its a buddy cop movie from the guys that did 'sean of the dead'. needless to say, its quite funny (i do love british humor) and never falls into the cheesy spoof category. there are some really great homages to other american movies, but it certainly stands on its own. my one qualm- there are about 3 or 4 endings that make the film feel longer than it is.

'contract': sorry to be dogging john cusack again, but this one stunk. jeffry lee and i have a habit of renting straight-to-video movies based on cover art or who is in them. we figured 'cusack and morgan freeman? what could possibly go wrong?' well, turns out, a lot. the movie was generic and uninspired. i always wonder what caught the attention of such good actors to such a mediocre film?



'daniel tosh: completely serious': i dont know what exactly it is i like so much about this off-color comedian, but i love it! this is the full length stand-up concert video of what was shown on comedy central a couple months ago that first got me into him. his routine is hilarious in its blatant offensiveness. oh, but it hurts so good...

tmnt

dont let its categorization fool you- this is much more than a childrens movie. i saw this one in the theater in the spring, and recently got the dvd and watched it again. and boy, am i impressed! this movie is a lot better than it needed to be- it could have been just a basic retread of the old cartoons, but instead it is a well-crafted thoughtful examination of what it means to be a family and a friend.

the story picks up a few years after where the first live action movie left us. the turtles have, in a way, all gone their own separate directions and have lost touch with their dreams of being heroes. due to the recent appearance of strange monsters and ancient statues, they are required to step back into action. they arent quite ready for it, and must relearn how to work together as a team. there are some really great moments of character development which are surprisingly touching and honest. the animation is very stylized, and the camera shots and framing are creative and impressive. one scene in particular, a rooftop battle between leonardo and the night watcher is both strikingly beautiful, and emotionally powerful. by the end of the film the turtles, casey jones and april, as well as the 'bad' guy, have all taken an important personal journey.

this is one of the rare animated movies that actually left me pondering some of its ideas for quite a while after the credits rolled.

ultraviolet

i just rewatched this movie on demand. i was one of the 12 people who actually saw this when it first came out in theaters. i must admit, i was not very impressed with it then. the style of the movie is mostly cg effects, kind of like 'sky captain and the world of tomorrow', its very fuzzy and out of focus.
the story itself is fairly bland. its a sci fi futuristic fanasy story about a bad girl with a gun who must get a package and keep it safe as everyone around her is trying to take it from her.
i could see what it was trying to do, but it was obvious that it needed a ton more money to pull it off. but then i watched 'eaon flux'. at which point i realized that even with a lot of money, this genre kinda sucks.
one think i must admit though- after watching it again it got a lot better. the action was better than i remembered it being, and there were some really cool scenes that gave it a very unique feel.
i guess i would change its rating from 'uggh', to 'not bad'. take that for what its worth.

legend

a couple nights ago the guys and i, at rexs request, rented the movie 'legend'. its a ridley scott film starring tom cruise, tim curry, and that one girl from ferris beuller. i remember seeing small bits and pieces of the movie on cable in the past, but rex was adamant that we needed to watch it. i wasnt very excited for it, i figured it was going to be another clunker like ive been suckered into before.

jeffry lee and i went to go get it anyway and we watched it when rex arrived. and to be totally honest with you, i was quite impressed! its very fantasy-like, kind of along the lines of labyrinth, except with out the muppets. the premise is that there are two unicorns alive and they are the most magical beings in the world. if they die then the evil will defeat the good. tim curry as the bad guy with ridiculously large horns, intends to do just that. as he does that he also kidnaps the princess and forces her to marry him. cruise, the love interest, doesnt like that idea, so he goes off to save her and the unicorns. cheesy, i know, but the visuals are just amazing.

if you are even a little bit familiar with any of ridley scotts work, then you know that he has a penchant for having stuff falling in the air around his characters, often in slow motion. in gladiator it was sand and ash, black hawk down it was debris, kingdom of heaven it was sand and fire. well, it would seem that this is the movie where he was able to hown that skill. about 90% of the movie has stuff falling around in the air! he even gets creative- he uses snow, leaves, dandelion seed, flower pedals, and even bubbles! i wasnt even annoyed, i was impressed! though he has these signature flourishes, i must admit it looked amazing! the costumes and makeup looked perfectly believable.

the problem was the story. it flowed well, each step was a (kind of) logical one, but the editing and cutting were choppy and hard to follow. it was hard at times to understand what was going on. we watched 'the directors cut', but rex had seen another version and told us some of the stuff that was in it, and it sounded like some of the things this one would have benefited from. over all, a decent story thats lovely to look at.

gleaming the cube

have you ever heard of this movie? its a classic (ie terrible) 80s movie about skateboarding that stars christian slater. in junior high i had a friend, david carrol, who was obsessed with this movie. he was kind of a skater-wannabe, so it made sense. i just never got around to watching it and attempting to shair in his love for this movie.

well, this morning i had nothing to do, so i was surfing around on my dads 'on demand' cable thingy. i happened to notice this movie in the free section, and figured out of respect of david, and a never fulfilled curiosity, i should watch it.
surprise! turns out, its pretty lame. slater plays a kid whose brother is killed but the guys responsible for it make it look like a suicide. slater takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. there are many moments along the way where he must spend some time in self reflection, which of course is shown though 'cool' skateboarding tricks and campy electric guitar riffs. in a ridiculous turn of events it turns out that it is a group of vietnamese arms dealers who are responsible, and slater ends up saving the day single handedly. oh, and he gets the girl. and skates a lot. i hoping it was a lot cooler at the time, otherwise david had a really bad taste in movies...

thank you, come again

as movie tie-ins, there are some seven-11s around the country that have changed their sign and decor to mirror that of the simpsons 'kwik-e-mart'. along with that, they are selling funny product tie-ins as well- you can get a box of krusty-Os cereal, a six pack of buzz cola, and a squishee!

there arent any around stores with the sign change around here, but rex and i found one with the novelty simpsons products! so today we went there and some up. and we both had an orange squishee- resulting in an orange tongue. got to love that!

children of men

just watched this one last night. it was good, but im not entirely sure what all the hype was about? i remember when this one first came out in the theater and all the critics were clamoring and saying how amazing it was, but i guess i just dont see it. dont get me wrong, i thought it was good, but thats about it.

the concept was quite interesting: the idea that there hasnt been a child born anywhere in the world for almost twenty years is a great premise. then, miraculously they find a woman who is pregnant, and they must keep here away from the government for some reason. this is the part where the story falls apart, i think. the basic setup is filled with great conflicts and studies of human nature in the face of realizing the end of our species is in site. but... for some reason the story seems to focus more on immigration and the legalization of drugs. what? where does that fit in? you know, im not sure. it seems like there is an opportunity missed here. the story is too sidetracked to really deal with the powerful impact this situation would have on a society, let alone its individuals.

that being said, the cinematography and camera moves are truly something to behold. some directors like quick editing and split second cuts in their films, while others like to have long takes that create a mood. well, this movie takes the idea of a long take to the extreme. there are many times where the camera will continue rolling, uncut, for three or four minutes. sure, thats not groundbreaking or anything, until you realize this: all the long shots take place during the action sequences! there are hundreds of extras, tons of explosions and effects, along with the main actors who must all do their job perfectly, or else the whole long and expensive shot would have to be redone. talk about pressure!

the movie itself was kind of a miss in my opinion, but its almost worth watching for the uncut action scenes alone.

transformers

tuesday night i went with all the guys to go and see transformers. we have been pumped about this one for quite a few months now, so we were quite excited. i went in expecting a dumb movie, but a good dumb movie. fortunately, i wasnt disappointed! when you think about it, really, as long as they stick to the basic premise, the cant really go wrong: giant robots fighting. whats not to love?

the whole movie had that good old fashioned epic feel to it, a grand story of good verses evil with the main character mostly just getting in the way until he has the courage to stand up and fight along side the warriors. the story line is a bit cheesy, but i think that the film makers used that to their advantage. they took those cheesy elements and mixed them up a bit and had some fun with those standard elements. the acting was better than i would have thought (well, except for the austrailan girl- she totally sucked!), and im really taking a shining to that shia labeouf guy, he was perfect for this role.

oh, and the robots? awesome!!! the effects were so flawless that there was almost no point in the movie where i thought 'ok, that looks fake'. the best job they did was with bumblebee. they gave him such a cool personality, with out a voice even, that you couldnt help but love him! the other robots had great personalities too, well, except for jazz. he was such a lame stereotype that i just rolled my eyes ('oh, the black guy who likes to break dance, isnt that clever?').

the movie is very fun and a frenzy of cool effects. i left the theater very satisfied. now i must go, because i want to head back to see it again!!!

the simpsons

im not really very excited for the movie, but the in-theater advertising is totally awesome!

a hostile hostel

over the past week or so there has been a bit of a 'situation' going on over at my favorite online movie critic's page(s). its been very interesting, and also a bit humorous too.

here is the situation: david poland, the movie critic, got a bootleg copy of the movie 'hostel 2'. he said he would turn it into the authorities (which i assume he did), but on a whim he watched parts of it first. he was repulsed, and said so on his website here (warning: he gives spoilers and some rather graphic descriptions of scenes from the movie). he speaks about the film and how disgusting it is. he speaks of the movie and questions how something so "disgusting, degrading, misogynistic, [and] soulless" could have been released by a studio. he goes on to question those who greenlit it and financed it, he then asks what the director/writer, eli roth, was thinking and how he could justify the exploitation of the movie.

then, eli roth responds to polands accusations during an interview on 'attack of the show' (if you would like to see it, go to this site, then type 'eli roth' in the search bar, and its called 'the loop one on one: eli roth'). he claims that 'hostel 2' is a movie about female empowerment and is packed with political and social commentary. he goes on to call out poland and demand that his journalistic credentials be stripped away.

david then responds on his website here, and there is a flood of comments posted after his response. much of the reactions and discussion is actually quite intellectual- it rarely falls into the standard 'you suck!' internet debate one would find on most sites.

i have no interest in seeing the film (before or after all this went down), but it has been very interesting to follow the feud and resulting discourse. if you have any interest, the links above could provide you some thought-provoking conversations.

Pirates of the carribean: at world's end

what is everyones deal? almost every review ive read for this movie talks about how its too long, nonsensical, all over the place, and just plain bad. i dont get it. it sounds like a lot of people just want to complain about something, and so they decided to complain about this.

maybe they are right. but my approach to this series, ever since the first one, has always been just a willingness to go for the ride and not worry about it too much. i dont always take this approach, but i figured i was in good hands with johnny depp, so i didnt give it a second thought. the first one was a big dumb fun ride. it seemed that most people agreed. the second one was just a bigger dumber funner ride. it seemed that most people did not agree. and now this third one is just more of the same mindless fun, and its got people in an uproar! dude, just turn off you brain and enjoy!

the one complaint that i cannot understand at all is this: 'its too long!' what?!? you just paid between six and ten dollars to be entertained, and now you are going to complain that there was too much entertainment? i know there is something to be said for pacing and structure of storytelling, but ive always been of the mind that the longer time i can spend with these characters, the better. thats one of the reasons ive always liked kevin costners films- we always get to spend a lot of time with them! if its complaining because they cant sit still for that long, then thats even worse! grow up and get an attention span! or, just leave. see? an easy solution.

ok, enough ranting. i liked the movie, and hope they make more. the end.

ring tones

i dont know if youve ever seen the movie 'crank', but its really cool. i wrote about it when i saw it in the fall. the idea is there is a guy who has been given a poison that will kill him his his adrenaline goes down. crazy setup, crazier movie. but one of the really memorable and cool things in the movie is the ring tone of the main character. the whole movie feels like a drug trip, and the ring tone has that feeling as well.

my good buddy rex happened to find that ring tone on line. i have no idea where. but over the weekend he was kind enough to share it with me, and now it is my main ring tone. and it rocks!

spiderman 3

the first big movie of the summer finally came. i went to a midnight showing (against my better judgement) and really enjoyed it. the only problem is that it becomes less enjoyable the more i think about it. and now, after a second viewing, i have become even less fond of it.
as a comic book nerd growing up i always longed for movies about the heroes i loved on the big screen. ive gotten to see many of those dreams fulfilled- through x-men, batman, blade, and even hellboy. now, i must admit, ive never really cared for spiderman. he just never grabbed my imagination. comics aside, his movie adventures have often found me cheering. the first spiderman movie was a lot of fun and a joy to see the cool effects of spidey swinging around the city. the second spiderman was infinately better, it had a good villian, a great story, and all the fun and adventure i could have asked for. i would say it is one of the best comic book movies i have ever seen. needless to say my expectations were quite high for this latest outing. the previews looked great, and venom is definitely the best spiderman bad guy out there.
unfortunately the movie doesnt live up to the standard set by the second one. the problem is one that plagued another superhero '3' movie- x-men: the last stand. its got too much going on. i dont know why they thought they needed three bad guys, two love interests, and a total reworking of stuff they already covered in the first one. it just ends up being overkill. i can understand the culmination of harry's story, its something that has been building since the first movie, but the other two bad guys are contrived and poorly executed. who thought it would be a good idea to totally rewrite the murder of uncle ben? by doing this it totally throws out the whole reason peter parker become spiderman in the first place. what ends up happening to sandman? why does harry flip his alligance so quickly- and so often? why introduce a new love interest for peter, hes having a hard enough time trying to make it work with mj as it is. and whats with the black goo from space? no attempt is ever made to explain it. we just have to accept it and move on because thats obviously what the writers did.
even with all those questions though, it is still a fun movie and is quite entertaining. it has its flaws, but the action and effects are good at distracting attention away from them. at least for a while. but eventually even all that shiny stuff cant keep you from realizing its a bit of a dissapointment.