Trying to be better about reviewing more regularly or perhaps my 12 hours of sleep last night have motivated me and given me energy!
This last week at work has been absolutely draining. I worked two 11.5 hours work shifts (we get a half hour lunch) in a row in the middle of my work week on Friday and Saturday, which just happen to be our 2 busiest days. Not to mention, we were seriously understaffed on Saturday since one employee called out and our manager wasn't available. One of the other employees also did a 11.5 hour shift on Sat. Crazy, I tell you! We're doing surveys too, which adds *that* much more stress onto the day. I've been joking, though, saying I run a tight ship because we've managed to never get too behind on getting stuff out while I've been there. Sure, the store could look prettier, but we'll worry about that after our staff all come back! We have all been working really hard, though. I did get to leave early on Monday because I've got fire extinguisher training on Wed so, as to not work overtime this week, I got to leave early! I don't think training is going to take 2 hours, but I guess I'll worry about that tomorrow if it does take less than 2 hours and talk it over with my manager. Be interesting to do the training, though. I thought our acronym "PASS" (Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep) was supposed to make us capable? I get to work 4-days in a row this week, which is great because Saturday is an auction Sat (i.e., ALWAYS crazy Sats!) and I'm doing the auction 100% alone. The other 2 people who help (1 closes out the auction, 1 helps set it up the new one, and I help pack-up and ring-up the closed out and write the paperwork for the new one) are gone. However, I get 4-days in a row, but I then get to work 6-days in a row. Woohoo! Work is treating me well while our manager is gone. I don't get overtime for the 6th day either because in the actual week (Sun-Sat) I'm only working 5 days. My 6th day rolls into the next week (my "normal" days off are Tues/Wed, but I get Mon/Tues off one week).
Anyway, with that...Movies! Because I got off early on Monday, Chris and I went and saw Snow White & the Huntsman and I rented New Year's Eve last week.
Snow White & the Huntsman (Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron) - I liked it, but Chris found it boring. It could have been better and I still think Stewart is a bit of a flat actress, but I thought Theron and Hemsworth were good. Theron really did a good job playing the unstable sorceress queen. Her brother was equally creepy. I liked Hemsworth and thought he was a good Huntsman, but the age situation between Stewart and Hemsworth really bothered me! I'm not sure why, but it did. I was all for William over the Huntsman and I don't think you should be thinking that during the movie. With that said, Chris said to me, "In the medieval time, no one would have thought anything weird about that." True that. The writing could have been better too. There were some really bad lines, especially at the end ("You look fetching in mail" (ahahaha) or after a very poignant pause, "You can't have my heart" (what?!?!)). Chris and I were making fun of them after we left and how some of them could have been changed or left out completely. I will say, I liked the beginning and middle of the movie far better than the end. Something "wrong" happens towards the end and it just doesn't work. I'm not sure if it's because it's sped up (you spend 3/4 of the movie on this "journey" and the last quarter is the battle/finale/everything). They could have cut out some of the journey and made the end flow a little better and I think I'd have enjoyed it better. It is far darker than Mirror, Mirror, but, in that way, this film is more of an adventure story rather than a comedy/family film. It's more to my taste and the soundtrack is really good. I'm not sure if it's a good thing when you start noticing how good the soundtrack is in comparison to the movie, but I thought Newton Howard did a good job. Some pieces did remind me of various movies (Narnia and Pirates of the Caribbean), but I listen to so many soundtracks that it's hard for me NOT to hear some notes in other movies. There were some moments in the movie where I went, "NARNIA!" and I was telling Chris during a chase scene I, kid you not, was trying to count the "shadow soldiers" chasing them to see if there were 9 of them (i.e., Ringwraiths from LotR). At any rate, I liked it, but it could have been better with just a few changes in the writing of the script. I wouldn't mind seeing it again on DVD, but I wouldn't readily recommend it. Grade: B/B-
New Year's Eve (Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Effron, Ashton Kutcher, etc) - I like these sappy movie ensemble casts where there are a lot of various well-known actors/actresses in them. Chris just went, "Another one?!" I think I've pretty much seen most, if not all, of them (Valentine's Day, Love Actually, etc) and I enjoy them as fluff films. I don't think this one was as good as the others, but it was okay. I think my favorite pairing was Pfeiffer and Effron. I also like in these films how everyone is connected to each other in some way. Heigl was in this one (totally forgot) and Chris made a comment how I've been watching a lot of Heigl lately. I think I rewatched something of hers the other day and after seeing One for the Money, I apparently have been on a Heigl kick lately. Her pairing is with Bon Jovi and it was okay. In general, this film is as you would expect it to be with all manners of relationships (neighbors, father-daughter, mother-daughter, ex's, etc). Wouldn't really recommend this, unless you were inclined to watch it. Grade: B-
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Life Update and Movies
Since I haven't posted about my life lately, I thought I'd do a small update. :)
Other than work, Aquarium report (it lingers!), the pets, movies, and nail polish, life is pretty much the same. Reading and Harry Potter have sort of felt abandonment issues given my new found love in nail polish and movies/tv shows. Right now, it's mostly just nail polish and movies since TV shows have tapered off and I'm waiting for the summer shows to kick in.
I can actually say, of all the nail polishes I own -- I own quite a few and will never say on here how many I have -- that I have used EVERY single polish I own! It was a crazy few days of swatching (think of a paint "swatch" when you're trying to figure out what color to paint your house/room in as to what "nail swatching" is) and smelling fumes (admittedly, I don't smell/remember nail polish fumes much anymore), but I did it! I'm quite proud of myself because I never liked having so many untried polishes and now I can say I've tried them all! It's a matter of keeping up with them now, which isn't a big deal. I also found a great combo for chunky glitters to make them smooth. So, in the nail department, I'm a rather happy camper. :)
Work is going okay. We've had our employee drama and, for the most part, it's calmed down some. We have some minor issues here-and-there, but it's pretty good. One of our favorite employees left us for another job the other day so we're trying to get into the swing of our new employee (who happens to be a friend of the employee who left). Work is still showing me quite the personal look at consumerism. I still buy the odd-ball item that I just think is an amazing deal, but you definitely learn what is considered a "good deal" and what is actually "unique" while working here. I will say, for as much plasticware as companies create and the amount people donate, no one wants to buy it even if it's super, super cheap. Glassware (pyrex for example) and metalware (tin pans, etc) sell far better, which makes you wonder why plastic has been so popular!
I did, I can say, update my "books coming out" list last night and found out one of my favorite childhood authors (Robin Jones Gunn) had new books involving the Christy Miller world that I TOTALLY missed somehow! They were snuck in somehow without me knowing late last year...At any rate, read the last Katie book last night (read it in 3.5 hours...) and I loved it. It was a good ending and I'm hoping she'll continue Katie's adventures because I can see there being PLENTY more adventures there. Sierra's book I haven't read and she wrote another book that is, pretty much, standalone, but it has Todd's dad in it! Yes, oh yes, I do need to read those two. End of summer/fall is the best time of the year for books this year for me. It was last year too.
With that said...Pets are good. Having to re-potty train the rabbits because we were really bad with changing their box so they unpottytrained themselves. At least re-potty training isn't too bad, but their rug and old blanket both had to go since they pee'd all over it. We bought them a new blanket from Goodwill and have to figure out how to redo their pen situation since we want to utilize the cubes and take up less space with them, but the cubes can't support the pen on top and aren't strong upon to be on top of the pen either. Conundrums...
TV show this summer I'm looking forward to Suits! Yes! I'm hoping it can keep up its momentum because I really enjoyed it last summer and it's rewatchable worthy (i.e., DVD buying worthy). I will get season 1 eventually...I'm currently rewatching all of Numb3rs, which I haven't done in a little over a year (I tend to rewatch it every year or so). I also want to buy season 1 of Once Upon a Time. That season finale BLEW my mind away. Did NOT see that coming, but I also wasn't reading interviews either so I was totally in the dark. Excellent show and Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin is by far my favorite character.
With that...On to movies! I've been watching a lot of "not on my radar" movies lately. These will help me make my goal...Because they're on my radar, they'll mostly be PG-13 action/suspense films.
Men in Black 3 (Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin) - It's a decent film. I can't say it's fantastic and it's not as good as the first one (a film sequel rarely is!), but I enjoyed it. Brolin made an interesting young Agent K. You still don't learn a whole lot about why K is the way he is, but you did have a small insight into Agent J's father. The bad guy was okay. You wish the movie was a little funnier, though. It falls a little flat like there should have been laughs where there just weren't any. I liked the film, but would probably recommend a movie rental for most people. Grade: B-/C+
Rampart (Woody Harrelson) - I got this just because Harrelson was in it and I was looking for something to watch. I sporadically watched it so this review is probably not reliable, but it is a drama and, mostly, chronicles the trouble that Harrelsons's character (a cop) gets into. He has sex with a lot of random women, is distant with his two daughters, uses police brutality to get people to confess and even, "the big problem," is caught on film beating a man. It's a rather downer of a film, but you do learn whether he did really "commit" a crime he is nicknamed for. It's good acting and it's nice to see Harrelson in a more "serious" role than the ones I've seen him in recently, but it's not the typical film I'd normally enjoy watching. Grade: C
Contraband (Mark Wahlberg) - Finding a film to watch, again, this one was kind of interesting in the fact Wahlberg's character is a top-notch smuggler. His wife's nephew or brother-in-law or something gets into trouble (lost several hundred thousand dollars worth of drugs) and he's threatened and Wahlberg's family is also threatened if they can't come up with the money to replace the drugs. Wahlberg who used to smuggle stuff in all the time (fake cash for instance) is out of the game to protect his family, but decides to take on a job to get the money to protect his family. The story unfolds in two parts: 1) Wahlberg trying to get the stuff to smuggle and is on a cargo ship to central America and 2) Wahlberg's family back home and the "thugs" and "best friend" interacting with them. Movie is sort of bland in the middle and kind of picks up towards the end when you figure out who is behind the threats to his family and how he got his "goods" (counterfeit money) into the country after his ship was searched. My normal type of "fluff action," albeit the topic isn't one I normally gravitate towards. Grade: C+
Gone (Amanda Seyfried) - Sort of a suspense thriller (or maybe it was supposed to be?). Basically Seyfried's character was kidnapped, but no one believes her. Her sister disappears and she's convinced it was the same man who kidnapped her and goes to the police and they don't believe her. So she heads out on the hunt to find the man who kidnapped her sister. It winds around and up and down and gets to the end. It's a somewhat interesting end, but nothing surprising. It was not that great. Grade: C-/D+
Man on a Ledge (Sam Worthington) - Having seen the trailer for it more times than I wanted to, I had to watch it just to see what happened. It's actually a little more interesting than I suspected. I thought it would be more man on the ledge trying to proclaim his innocence and then it'd flashback to what happened, but...it actually was more flashback, man on ledge proclaiming innocence, while, at the same time, a break in is occurring to prove his innocence. The cast was really kind of funny as I kept ticking off all the movies/TV shows I've seen them all in recently (a lot of B actors). It was more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be (did induce some palm sweating), but it still wasn't great. Grade: C
Up to 46 movies now! Snow White and the Huntsman comes out Friday, Brave June 22nd, and I've got 6 films coming out in June I want to see on DVD. So...54 movies by end of June? Maybe. :)
Other than work, Aquarium report (it lingers!), the pets, movies, and nail polish, life is pretty much the same. Reading and Harry Potter have sort of felt abandonment issues given my new found love in nail polish and movies/tv shows. Right now, it's mostly just nail polish and movies since TV shows have tapered off and I'm waiting for the summer shows to kick in.
I can actually say, of all the nail polishes I own -- I own quite a few and will never say on here how many I have -- that I have used EVERY single polish I own! It was a crazy few days of swatching (think of a paint "swatch" when you're trying to figure out what color to paint your house/room in as to what "nail swatching" is) and smelling fumes (admittedly, I don't smell/remember nail polish fumes much anymore), but I did it! I'm quite proud of myself because I never liked having so many untried polishes and now I can say I've tried them all! It's a matter of keeping up with them now, which isn't a big deal. I also found a great combo for chunky glitters to make them smooth. So, in the nail department, I'm a rather happy camper. :)
Work is going okay. We've had our employee drama and, for the most part, it's calmed down some. We have some minor issues here-and-there, but it's pretty good. One of our favorite employees left us for another job the other day so we're trying to get into the swing of our new employee (who happens to be a friend of the employee who left). Work is still showing me quite the personal look at consumerism. I still buy the odd-ball item that I just think is an amazing deal, but you definitely learn what is considered a "good deal" and what is actually "unique" while working here. I will say, for as much plasticware as companies create and the amount people donate, no one wants to buy it even if it's super, super cheap. Glassware (pyrex for example) and metalware (tin pans, etc) sell far better, which makes you wonder why plastic has been so popular!
I did, I can say, update my "books coming out" list last night and found out one of my favorite childhood authors (Robin Jones Gunn) had new books involving the Christy Miller world that I TOTALLY missed somehow! They were snuck in somehow without me knowing late last year...At any rate, read the last Katie book last night (read it in 3.5 hours...) and I loved it. It was a good ending and I'm hoping she'll continue Katie's adventures because I can see there being PLENTY more adventures there. Sierra's book I haven't read and she wrote another book that is, pretty much, standalone, but it has Todd's dad in it! Yes, oh yes, I do need to read those two. End of summer/fall is the best time of the year for books this year for me. It was last year too.
With that said...Pets are good. Having to re-potty train the rabbits because we were really bad with changing their box so they unpottytrained themselves. At least re-potty training isn't too bad, but their rug and old blanket both had to go since they pee'd all over it. We bought them a new blanket from Goodwill and have to figure out how to redo their pen situation since we want to utilize the cubes and take up less space with them, but the cubes can't support the pen on top and aren't strong upon to be on top of the pen either. Conundrums...
TV show this summer I'm looking forward to Suits! Yes! I'm hoping it can keep up its momentum because I really enjoyed it last summer and it's rewatchable worthy (i.e., DVD buying worthy). I will get season 1 eventually...I'm currently rewatching all of Numb3rs, which I haven't done in a little over a year (I tend to rewatch it every year or so). I also want to buy season 1 of Once Upon a Time. That season finale BLEW my mind away. Did NOT see that coming, but I also wasn't reading interviews either so I was totally in the dark. Excellent show and Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin is by far my favorite character.
With that...On to movies! I've been watching a lot of "not on my radar" movies lately. These will help me make my goal...Because they're on my radar, they'll mostly be PG-13 action/suspense films.
Men in Black 3 (Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin) - It's a decent film. I can't say it's fantastic and it's not as good as the first one (a film sequel rarely is!), but I enjoyed it. Brolin made an interesting young Agent K. You still don't learn a whole lot about why K is the way he is, but you did have a small insight into Agent J's father. The bad guy was okay. You wish the movie was a little funnier, though. It falls a little flat like there should have been laughs where there just weren't any. I liked the film, but would probably recommend a movie rental for most people. Grade: B-/C+
Rampart (Woody Harrelson) - I got this just because Harrelson was in it and I was looking for something to watch. I sporadically watched it so this review is probably not reliable, but it is a drama and, mostly, chronicles the trouble that Harrelsons's character (a cop) gets into. He has sex with a lot of random women, is distant with his two daughters, uses police brutality to get people to confess and even, "the big problem," is caught on film beating a man. It's a rather downer of a film, but you do learn whether he did really "commit" a crime he is nicknamed for. It's good acting and it's nice to see Harrelson in a more "serious" role than the ones I've seen him in recently, but it's not the typical film I'd normally enjoy watching. Grade: C
Contraband (Mark Wahlberg) - Finding a film to watch, again, this one was kind of interesting in the fact Wahlberg's character is a top-notch smuggler. His wife's nephew or brother-in-law or something gets into trouble (lost several hundred thousand dollars worth of drugs) and he's threatened and Wahlberg's family is also threatened if they can't come up with the money to replace the drugs. Wahlberg who used to smuggle stuff in all the time (fake cash for instance) is out of the game to protect his family, but decides to take on a job to get the money to protect his family. The story unfolds in two parts: 1) Wahlberg trying to get the stuff to smuggle and is on a cargo ship to central America and 2) Wahlberg's family back home and the "thugs" and "best friend" interacting with them. Movie is sort of bland in the middle and kind of picks up towards the end when you figure out who is behind the threats to his family and how he got his "goods" (counterfeit money) into the country after his ship was searched. My normal type of "fluff action," albeit the topic isn't one I normally gravitate towards. Grade: C+
Gone (Amanda Seyfried) - Sort of a suspense thriller (or maybe it was supposed to be?). Basically Seyfried's character was kidnapped, but no one believes her. Her sister disappears and she's convinced it was the same man who kidnapped her and goes to the police and they don't believe her. So she heads out on the hunt to find the man who kidnapped her sister. It winds around and up and down and gets to the end. It's a somewhat interesting end, but nothing surprising. It was not that great. Grade: C-/D+
Man on a Ledge (Sam Worthington) - Having seen the trailer for it more times than I wanted to, I had to watch it just to see what happened. It's actually a little more interesting than I suspected. I thought it would be more man on the ledge trying to proclaim his innocence and then it'd flashback to what happened, but...it actually was more flashback, man on ledge proclaiming innocence, while, at the same time, a break in is occurring to prove his innocence. The cast was really kind of funny as I kept ticking off all the movies/TV shows I've seen them all in recently (a lot of B actors). It was more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be (did induce some palm sweating), but it still wasn't great. Grade: C
Up to 46 movies now! Snow White and the Huntsman comes out Friday, Brave June 22nd, and I've got 6 films coming out in June I want to see on DVD. So...54 movies by end of June? Maybe. :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
2 months is a little long to post...
I thought the last post was a huge movie backlog, but this one is just ridiculous! It's practically half the movies I've seen this year. I have more-or-less caught up on all my fall movies I wanted to see (most of this list). Now it's that awkward wait for the summer movies to come out. The Avengers certainly kicked off the summer movies and boy, oh boy, did it kick the summer off!
With that said...Movies! They're going to be short reviews, unless I have something to really say given there are so many of them...
Mirror, Mirror (Julia Roberts, Lily Collins) - Clever portrayal of the dwarves, but the movie is definitely more a comedy than an action/adventure film. So, basically, don't take it seriously. Roberts nails drove me nuts through it because it was some sort of silver chrome and then they changed it at the end. I was trying to see what it was each time! I enjoyed it, but it did leave a feeling of "weird" and "bizarre" when I finished watching it. Grade: B/B-
Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson) - There were some minor things I didn't like that they changed (e.g., where she got the Mockingjay pin from and its importance), but I overall really enjoyed the film. I didn't cry in the beginning during the reaping, but I did in the other parts I thought I would. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next ones. Grade: A-
21 Jump Street (Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum) - Surprisingly very funny (a la Bridesmaids, but in a male dominated film) and it's nice that they a) didn't take themselves seriously and b) didn't make it a remake. I liked the surprise cameos also and who'd of thunk Tatum was so funny? Basically the two points I made above is what made it work. If it was a remake/reboot, it would have been a little awkward and because it was very slapstick-comedy, it was funny. Grade: B/B+
Happy Feet Two - Good sequel, but it's not quite the first one either. I liked it and it was about family, helping each other out, and perceptions of each other. The environmental theme for this one was about climate change and the melting of the ice, but it wasn't as strong of a theme as the first one. There was less singing in this one too. Or so it seemed. Grade: B/B-
Tower Heist (Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, et al.) - Interesting cast for the film and they all worked well together. The movie was more the "mystery" of where the money went and the end. It was an okay film. There was something sort of "docile" about it. It doesn't have the glam appeal like Ocean's 11 and isn't an espionage, adventure, or straight comedy film either. Grade: B/B-
The Muppets (Jason Segal, Amy Adams) - I rather enjoyed the movie. It was a nice film and I liked the new muppet. I can't say the musical pieces always grabbed me, but I overall liked them. I liked all the little cameos from various people too. I think it was a nice film that sort of fit in the rebooting of The Muppets too. Grade: B+
Young Adult (Charlize Theron) - Definitely not what I expected it to be. It was more of a midlife crisis type of film and is titled Young Adult because Theron's character is a YA author who is trying to write her final book to her series. Her life is basically not going according to plan and she tries to get her old bf back and all this other stuff. Don't particularly recommend it. It's definitely not "light and fluffy" either. Grade: D
My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne) - An interesting film and though Williams can't ever really be Marilyn, I think she did a pretty decent job at it. Marilyn was certainly an interesting person and the movie shows the various sides to her. How true/accurate the film is I can't say, but I enjoyed it and thought the acting was good. Grade: B/B+
Three Musketeers (Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, et al.) - Not what I expected...It's sort of "over done" by over-the-top production/costumes. I can't really describe it other than to say that I was a little confused by it and am so glad I didn't see it in theater. It's less adventure-y and more about redeeming themselves and everything. It also adds a 4th Musketeer and Orlando Bloom is the bad guy. So, yeah. I sort of rank this up there with Mirror, Mirror for "odd" and "bizarre" feeling after I watched it. Grade: C+
Adventures of TinTin - Okay, I admit it. The animation in this was AMAZING. No wonder it got such great reviews for the animation. It was amazing. It was still cartoon-y, but had that edge of realistic animation to it that simply wow'd you. The story wasn't fantastic and was lacking a little, but it is based off the kid's series and I think it kept well to being a kid's movie while trying to appeal to adults also. If there is no other reason to watch it, I'd just watch it again for the animation. Grade: B
Footloose (Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough) - Admittedly, I've never seen the original (don't throw things at me!), so I can't compare. I think they "updated" the film rather well, though. Basically a fatal car crash because of drinking (where dancing also took place) is what caused the town to have its no dancing rule. I liked Wormald and Hough, but the film was just "okay." Grade: B/B-
Carnage (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly) - What superb acting! This film is based off the play, which took me a while to figure out. The movie does, I think, a pretty good job trying to bring the play to the big screen, but I do think the play would be far more powerful to see in person rather than it being on the big screen. With that said, the acting was amazing and Foster and Winslet were definitely the two stars of it. Both characters, by the end, are completely drunk and Winslet has to do a throw-up scene and it's just hilarious, sad (at what they're arguing over), and fantastic to watch. It's pure acting with nothing else but them moving between 4 areas (the living room, the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway to the elevator). The grade is almost purely for the acting job. Grade: B+
A Dangerous Method (Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley) - Having learned about Jung in high school, I was curious to see the movie, especially since the cast intrigued me. I enjoyed it. It does deserve its rating and I think Knightley does a good acting job in the beginning when she's "deranged" (the jaw/muscle contortions is just...Wow...) and is trying to recover from her sexual issues. Mortensen is an interesting Freud and Fassbender and Mortensen play off each other fairly well. It's kind of sad to see their friendship devolve over differences in philosophy, though. The movie is kind of a biopic of their relationships (all 3 of them) more than anything, but there's just something slightly off about it. Perhaps it moves too quickly? Is too caught up in patient-doctor-mentor? I don't know...It had good acting, but the movie is definitely not lightweight or anything. Grade: B-
The Descendants (George Clooney) - I liked this film. There was something in it that really worked. I think Clooney did an excellent acting job and the story about families, our family history, moving on, the pain we cause each other, etc is interesting. I also liked seeing Clooney's character learn to build a bond with his oldest daughter and come to terms with his wife's cheating. There's something somewhat poignant and gentle about the film even though it deals with a fairly heavy topic. Grade: B+
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock) - Horn was really surprising at how good he was. Oh my goodness...He has these monologues that just astound you because he is rambling on a mile a minute and it's just amazing to see. Okay, maybe it's just astounding to me because I don't think I could ever do that so well! The depth of the emotion in the film is rather deep at times and I think he did that pretty well too. I really enjoyed the film. It has a really touching ending that both is healing and sad and you definitely go along the journey that Horn's character is trying to accomplish. It is somewhat rambley and there is probably a portion of the movie you don't necessarily have to see, but I liked it. I liked Bullock and Hanks too. Grade: B
War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) - Once again, it's no wonder the film was so well liked. I think Speilberg did an excellent job with the film. For as tough of a subject the film is, you can definitely feel its aim towards being a family movie rather than an adult film. The horses in it are amazing, but so are the people. It sort of reminds me of Black Beauty of how the movie follows the horse around and who the horse touches rather than the people. It does have some sad parts, but the ending is a happy one and, I think, more happy than Black Beauty. I did have my "Ginger moment" that is similar to Black Beauty in War Horse, but it was slightly (JUST slightly) better. The film is well done, though. It truly was handled really well. Grade: B+
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, et al.) - What has an amazing cast, I felt they were a little wasted. Supposedly the book reads far better than the movie and even watching the movie the movie felt flat. The acting is amazing (it is Oldman, Firth, Hurt, Cumberbatch, etc for goodness sake!), but there's just something that doesn't really jive well in the film. I wanted it to be better and it just never quite got there...This film is rather docile for being an espionage movie too. Course, it's more about finding the traitor or what went wrong during a mission so there's a lot of sleuthing of facts and accusations. So, in a lot of ways, the acting is rather guarded and underhanded. It's yelling at each other without really yelling, sort of. Grade: B-
Immortals (Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke) - Well, it was what was to be expected? The mythology was a little odd to me at times, but the movie was interesting. The special effects were interesting and the end was interesting. It's not too surprising of a film and isn't my normal cup of tea, but it was okay. Grade: B-
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) - Surprisingly, it was rather good. I have never seen a MI film all the way through, but everyone said that Ghost Protocol was pretty good. This movie was rather funny at times and I enjoyed it. It's your basic MI film (or so I would assume) so it's nothing too out of the ordinary, but it passed the time well and you didn't feel cheated out of your rental or anything. I'd watch it again. Though, my palms sweated through one scene. Goodness! I'm glad they have cool gadgets, but that one I would still be iffy about... Grade: B
Haywire (Gina Carano) - It's kind of a combination of Bourne and Salt. It's the type of film where it's a lot of action and trying to clear your name where you've been wrongly set-up. It was okay. It felt a little "been there, done that" to really grab you. I think if there was just a slight change, it could have been better. I can't pinpoint what could have been changed, but it certainly could have gone another angle and perhaps done better. Grade: C+
We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson) - I liked this film more than I thought I would. It's a somewhat gentle film, but I can't fully say it's a family film. It could be, but it really settles more on the adults and them trying to pull the Zoo together. It's definitely about loss and learning to move on and getting past your grief. I suppose the other theme is rooting for the underdog too. I liked it. I think older kids would be more appropriate to watch this than really young kids. Grade: B
The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, et al.) - So far, my favorite film of 2012! I've seen it twice in theater and I'd even be willing to see it a 3rd time. Yes, it's an action film (my favorite), but the acting and script are great! Not to mention the CG is fantastic! Hulk definitely has the funniest parts in the film, but there are just so many amazing small things throughout it that really make it enjoyable from start to finish. I still get excited when Iron Man shoots his lasers off Captain America's shield (it's in the video game!) and it's just fun. I'm a little mad at Whedon for killing off a certain someone (why does Whedon feel the need to kill people off in everything?!) even though the death served a purpose (I'm convinced they could have written it differently where said person didn't die!). It kind of felt like a geekfest, truth be told, having all those superheros in the film and all this action going on. I think everyone's strengths were well portrayed in the film too and it all just jived well. Definitely makes you excited for the next one and it's a well deserved movie for breaking records right and left. Grade: A+
One for the Money (Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara) - NY accent on Heigl? Hmm...This film is based off of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum (bounty hunter) mystery series. It's the first book in the series (the number in the title denotes the book number in the series - I sold quite a few of these books...). I've watched so many Heigl rom-coms that I couldn't pass this one up even though she's very much a hit-or-miss. This one I'm sort of calling a draw. I can't say it's her worst one, but I can't say it's her best either. I think the biggest thing in the film was her accent sort of bothered me. I'm not sure why it should bother me, but it did. Other than that, it's your pretty basic rom-com where Plum is trying to learn to be a bounty hunter (she knew nothing at the start of the film) and track down an old ex who is wanted and, at the same time, is trying to clear his own name from the crime he supposedly made. So...bounty hunter crime solver...? It's okay. Grade: B/B-
With that...I am up to 41 movies for the year! I've got 7.5 more months to surpass 80 films. At the rate I'm going, you'd think that would be easy (only 40 films), but the summer slows me down a lot since there are far fewer films I want to see from earlier this year. I'm sure the fall will pick up with summer movies, but then the fall hits and I typically miss out on those in the theater. So...we'll see. I've only seen 5 movies in the theater or 6 movies total so far. The summer has some good ones (MIB3, Dark Knight Rises, Brave, etc), but we'll see. By my quick calculation, I only have 25 films left I want to see (DVD or theater). Course, I'm sure I'll pick up some extras, but getting to 80 will be harder than it looks!
With that said...Movies! They're going to be short reviews, unless I have something to really say given there are so many of them...
Mirror, Mirror (Julia Roberts, Lily Collins) - Clever portrayal of the dwarves, but the movie is definitely more a comedy than an action/adventure film. So, basically, don't take it seriously. Roberts nails drove me nuts through it because it was some sort of silver chrome and then they changed it at the end. I was trying to see what it was each time! I enjoyed it, but it did leave a feeling of "weird" and "bizarre" when I finished watching it. Grade: B/B-
Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson) - There were some minor things I didn't like that they changed (e.g., where she got the Mockingjay pin from and its importance), but I overall really enjoyed the film. I didn't cry in the beginning during the reaping, but I did in the other parts I thought I would. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next ones. Grade: A-
21 Jump Street (Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum) - Surprisingly very funny (a la Bridesmaids, but in a male dominated film) and it's nice that they a) didn't take themselves seriously and b) didn't make it a remake. I liked the surprise cameos also and who'd of thunk Tatum was so funny? Basically the two points I made above is what made it work. If it was a remake/reboot, it would have been a little awkward and because it was very slapstick-comedy, it was funny. Grade: B/B+
Happy Feet Two - Good sequel, but it's not quite the first one either. I liked it and it was about family, helping each other out, and perceptions of each other. The environmental theme for this one was about climate change and the melting of the ice, but it wasn't as strong of a theme as the first one. There was less singing in this one too. Or so it seemed. Grade: B/B-
Tower Heist (Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, et al.) - Interesting cast for the film and they all worked well together. The movie was more the "mystery" of where the money went and the end. It was an okay film. There was something sort of "docile" about it. It doesn't have the glam appeal like Ocean's 11 and isn't an espionage, adventure, or straight comedy film either. Grade: B/B-
The Muppets (Jason Segal, Amy Adams) - I rather enjoyed the movie. It was a nice film and I liked the new muppet. I can't say the musical pieces always grabbed me, but I overall liked them. I liked all the little cameos from various people too. I think it was a nice film that sort of fit in the rebooting of The Muppets too. Grade: B+
Young Adult (Charlize Theron) - Definitely not what I expected it to be. It was more of a midlife crisis type of film and is titled Young Adult because Theron's character is a YA author who is trying to write her final book to her series. Her life is basically not going according to plan and she tries to get her old bf back and all this other stuff. Don't particularly recommend it. It's definitely not "light and fluffy" either. Grade: D
My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne) - An interesting film and though Williams can't ever really be Marilyn, I think she did a pretty decent job at it. Marilyn was certainly an interesting person and the movie shows the various sides to her. How true/accurate the film is I can't say, but I enjoyed it and thought the acting was good. Grade: B/B+
Three Musketeers (Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, et al.) - Not what I expected...It's sort of "over done" by over-the-top production/costumes. I can't really describe it other than to say that I was a little confused by it and am so glad I didn't see it in theater. It's less adventure-y and more about redeeming themselves and everything. It also adds a 4th Musketeer and Orlando Bloom is the bad guy. So, yeah. I sort of rank this up there with Mirror, Mirror for "odd" and "bizarre" feeling after I watched it. Grade: C+
Adventures of TinTin - Okay, I admit it. The animation in this was AMAZING. No wonder it got such great reviews for the animation. It was amazing. It was still cartoon-y, but had that edge of realistic animation to it that simply wow'd you. The story wasn't fantastic and was lacking a little, but it is based off the kid's series and I think it kept well to being a kid's movie while trying to appeal to adults also. If there is no other reason to watch it, I'd just watch it again for the animation. Grade: B
Footloose (Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough) - Admittedly, I've never seen the original (don't throw things at me!), so I can't compare. I think they "updated" the film rather well, though. Basically a fatal car crash because of drinking (where dancing also took place) is what caused the town to have its no dancing rule. I liked Wormald and Hough, but the film was just "okay." Grade: B/B-
Carnage (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly) - What superb acting! This film is based off the play, which took me a while to figure out. The movie does, I think, a pretty good job trying to bring the play to the big screen, but I do think the play would be far more powerful to see in person rather than it being on the big screen. With that said, the acting was amazing and Foster and Winslet were definitely the two stars of it. Both characters, by the end, are completely drunk and Winslet has to do a throw-up scene and it's just hilarious, sad (at what they're arguing over), and fantastic to watch. It's pure acting with nothing else but them moving between 4 areas (the living room, the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway to the elevator). The grade is almost purely for the acting job. Grade: B+
A Dangerous Method (Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley) - Having learned about Jung in high school, I was curious to see the movie, especially since the cast intrigued me. I enjoyed it. It does deserve its rating and I think Knightley does a good acting job in the beginning when she's "deranged" (the jaw/muscle contortions is just...Wow...) and is trying to recover from her sexual issues. Mortensen is an interesting Freud and Fassbender and Mortensen play off each other fairly well. It's kind of sad to see their friendship devolve over differences in philosophy, though. The movie is kind of a biopic of their relationships (all 3 of them) more than anything, but there's just something slightly off about it. Perhaps it moves too quickly? Is too caught up in patient-doctor-mentor? I don't know...It had good acting, but the movie is definitely not lightweight or anything. Grade: B-
The Descendants (George Clooney) - I liked this film. There was something in it that really worked. I think Clooney did an excellent acting job and the story about families, our family history, moving on, the pain we cause each other, etc is interesting. I also liked seeing Clooney's character learn to build a bond with his oldest daughter and come to terms with his wife's cheating. There's something somewhat poignant and gentle about the film even though it deals with a fairly heavy topic. Grade: B+
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock) - Horn was really surprising at how good he was. Oh my goodness...He has these monologues that just astound you because he is rambling on a mile a minute and it's just amazing to see. Okay, maybe it's just astounding to me because I don't think I could ever do that so well! The depth of the emotion in the film is rather deep at times and I think he did that pretty well too. I really enjoyed the film. It has a really touching ending that both is healing and sad and you definitely go along the journey that Horn's character is trying to accomplish. It is somewhat rambley and there is probably a portion of the movie you don't necessarily have to see, but I liked it. I liked Bullock and Hanks too. Grade: B
War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) - Once again, it's no wonder the film was so well liked. I think Speilberg did an excellent job with the film. For as tough of a subject the film is, you can definitely feel its aim towards being a family movie rather than an adult film. The horses in it are amazing, but so are the people. It sort of reminds me of Black Beauty of how the movie follows the horse around and who the horse touches rather than the people. It does have some sad parts, but the ending is a happy one and, I think, more happy than Black Beauty. I did have my "Ginger moment" that is similar to Black Beauty in War Horse, but it was slightly (JUST slightly) better. The film is well done, though. It truly was handled really well. Grade: B+
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, et al.) - What has an amazing cast, I felt they were a little wasted. Supposedly the book reads far better than the movie and even watching the movie the movie felt flat. The acting is amazing (it is Oldman, Firth, Hurt, Cumberbatch, etc for goodness sake!), but there's just something that doesn't really jive well in the film. I wanted it to be better and it just never quite got there...This film is rather docile for being an espionage movie too. Course, it's more about finding the traitor or what went wrong during a mission so there's a lot of sleuthing of facts and accusations. So, in a lot of ways, the acting is rather guarded and underhanded. It's yelling at each other without really yelling, sort of. Grade: B-
Immortals (Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke) - Well, it was what was to be expected? The mythology was a little odd to me at times, but the movie was interesting. The special effects were interesting and the end was interesting. It's not too surprising of a film and isn't my normal cup of tea, but it was okay. Grade: B-
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) - Surprisingly, it was rather good. I have never seen a MI film all the way through, but everyone said that Ghost Protocol was pretty good. This movie was rather funny at times and I enjoyed it. It's your basic MI film (or so I would assume) so it's nothing too out of the ordinary, but it passed the time well and you didn't feel cheated out of your rental or anything. I'd watch it again. Though, my palms sweated through one scene. Goodness! I'm glad they have cool gadgets, but that one I would still be iffy about... Grade: B
Haywire (Gina Carano) - It's kind of a combination of Bourne and Salt. It's the type of film where it's a lot of action and trying to clear your name where you've been wrongly set-up. It was okay. It felt a little "been there, done that" to really grab you. I think if there was just a slight change, it could have been better. I can't pinpoint what could have been changed, but it certainly could have gone another angle and perhaps done better. Grade: C+
We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson) - I liked this film more than I thought I would. It's a somewhat gentle film, but I can't fully say it's a family film. It could be, but it really settles more on the adults and them trying to pull the Zoo together. It's definitely about loss and learning to move on and getting past your grief. I suppose the other theme is rooting for the underdog too. I liked it. I think older kids would be more appropriate to watch this than really young kids. Grade: B
The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, et al.) - So far, my favorite film of 2012! I've seen it twice in theater and I'd even be willing to see it a 3rd time. Yes, it's an action film (my favorite), but the acting and script are great! Not to mention the CG is fantastic! Hulk definitely has the funniest parts in the film, but there are just so many amazing small things throughout it that really make it enjoyable from start to finish. I still get excited when Iron Man shoots his lasers off Captain America's shield (it's in the video game!) and it's just fun. I'm a little mad at Whedon for killing off a certain someone (why does Whedon feel the need to kill people off in everything?!) even though the death served a purpose (I'm convinced they could have written it differently where said person didn't die!). It kind of felt like a geekfest, truth be told, having all those superheros in the film and all this action going on. I think everyone's strengths were well portrayed in the film too and it all just jived well. Definitely makes you excited for the next one and it's a well deserved movie for breaking records right and left. Grade: A+
One for the Money (Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara) - NY accent on Heigl? Hmm...This film is based off of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum (bounty hunter) mystery series. It's the first book in the series (the number in the title denotes the book number in the series - I sold quite a few of these books...). I've watched so many Heigl rom-coms that I couldn't pass this one up even though she's very much a hit-or-miss. This one I'm sort of calling a draw. I can't say it's her worst one, but I can't say it's her best either. I think the biggest thing in the film was her accent sort of bothered me. I'm not sure why it should bother me, but it did. Other than that, it's your pretty basic rom-com where Plum is trying to learn to be a bounty hunter (she knew nothing at the start of the film) and track down an old ex who is wanted and, at the same time, is trying to clear his own name from the crime he supposedly made. So...bounty hunter crime solver...? It's okay. Grade: B/B-
With that...I am up to 41 movies for the year! I've got 7.5 more months to surpass 80 films. At the rate I'm going, you'd think that would be easy (only 40 films), but the summer slows me down a lot since there are far fewer films I want to see from earlier this year. I'm sure the fall will pick up with summer movies, but then the fall hits and I typically miss out on those in the theater. So...we'll see. I've only seen 5 movies in the theater or 6 movies total so far. The summer has some good ones (MIB3, Dark Knight Rises, Brave, etc), but we'll see. By my quick calculation, I only have 25 films left I want to see (DVD or theater). Course, I'm sure I'll pick up some extras, but getting to 80 will be harder than it looks!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Oh the movies...
I thought the last post was a huge movie backlog, but this one is just ridiculous! It's practically half the movies I've seen this year. I have more-or-less caught up on all my fall movies I wanted to see (most of this list). Now it's that awkward wait for the summer movies to come out. The Avengers certainly kicked off the summer movies and boy, oh boy, did it kick the summer off!
With that said...Movies! They're going to be short reviews, unless I have something to really say given there are so many of them...
Mirror, Mirror (Julia Roberts, Lily Collins) - Clever portrayal of the dwarves, but the movie is definitely more a comedy than an action/adventure film. So, basically, don't take it seriously. Roberts nails drove me nuts through it because it was some sort of silver chrome and then they changed it at the end. I was trying to see what it was each time! I enjoyed it, but it did leave a feeling of "weird" and "bizarre" when I finished watching it. Grade: B/B-
Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson) - There were some minor things I didn't like that they changed (e.g., where she got the Mockingjay pin from and its importance), but I overall really enjoyed the film. I didn't cry in the beginning during the reaping, but I did in the other parts I thought I would. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next ones. Grade: A-
21 Jump Street (Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum) - Surprisingly very funny (ala Bridesmaids, but in a male dominated film) and it's nice that they a) didn't take themselves seriously and b) didn't make it a remake. I liked the surprise cameos also and who'd of thunk Tatum was so funny? Basically the two points I made above is what made it work. If it was a remake/reboot, it would have been a little awkward and because it was very slapstick-comedy, it was funny. Grade: B/B+
Happy Feet Two - Good sequel, but it's not quite the first one either. I liked it and it was about family, helping each other out, and perceptions of each other. The environmental theme for this one was about climate change and the melting of the ice, but it wasn't as strong of a theme as the first one. There was less singing in this one too. Or so it seemed. Grade: B/B-
Tower Heist (Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, et al.) - Interesting cast for the film and they all worked well together. The movie was more the "mystery" of where the money went and the end. It was an okay film. There was something sort of "docile" about it. It doesn't have the glam appeal like Ocean's 11 and isn't an espionage, adventure, or straight comedy film either. Grade: B/B-
The Muppets (Jason Segal, Amy Adams) - I rather enjoyed the movie. It was a nice film and I liked the new muppet. I can't say the musical pieces always grabbed me, but I overall liked them. I liked all the little cameos from various people too. I think it was a nice film that sort of fit in the rebooting of The Muppets too. Grade: B+
Young Adult (Charlize Theron) - Definitely not what I expected it to be. It was more of a midlife crisis type of film and is titled Young Adult because Theron's character is a YA author who is trying to write her final book to her series. Her life is basically not going according to plan and she tries to get her old bf back and all this other stuff. Don't particularly recommend it. It's definitely not "light and fluffy" either. Grade: D
My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne) - An interesting film and though Williams can't ever really be Marilyn, I think she did a pretty decent job at it. Marilyn was certainly an interesting person and the movie shows the various sides to her. How true/accurate the film is I can't say, but I enjoyed it and thought the acting was good. Grade: B/B+
Three Musketeers (Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, et al.) - Not what I expected...It's sort of "over done" by over-the-top production/costumes. I can't really describe it other than to say that I was a little confused by it and am so glad I didn't see it in theater. It's less adventure-y and more about redeeming themselves and everything. It also adds a 4th Musketeer and Orlando Bloom is the bad guy. So, yeah. I sort of rank this up there with Mirror, Mirror for "odd" and "bizarre" feeling after I watched it. Grade: C+
Adventures of TinTin - Okay, I admit it. The animation in this was AMAZING. No wonder it got such great reviews for the animation. It was amazing. It was still cartoon-y, but had that edge of realistic animation to it that simply wow'd you. The story wasn't fantastic and was lacking a little, but it is based off the kid's series and I think it kept well to being a kid's movie while trying to appeal to adults also. If there is no other reason to watch it, I'd just watch it again for the animation. Grade: B
Footloose (Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough) - Admittedly, I've never seen the original (don't throw things at me!), so I can't compare. I think they "updated" the film rather well, though. Basically a fatal car crash because of drinking (where dancing also took place) is what caused the town to have its no dancing rule. I liked Wormald and Hough, but the film was just "okay." Grade: B/B-
Carnage (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly) - What superb acting! This film is based off the play, which took me a while to figure out. The movie does, I think, a pretty good job trying to bring the play to the big screen, but I do think the play would be far more powerful to see in person rather than it being on the big screen. With that said, the acting was amazing and Foster and Winslet were definitely the two stars of it. Both characters, by the end, are completely drunk and Winslet has to do a throw-up scene and it's just hilarious, sad (at what they're arguing over), and fantastic to watch. It's pure acting with nothing else but them moving between 4 areas (the living room, the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway to the elevator). The grade is almost purely for the acting job. Grade: B+
A Dangerous Method (Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley) - Having learned about Jung in high school, I was curious to see the movie, especially since the cast intrigued me. I enjoyed it. It does deserve its rating and I think Knightley does a good acting job in the beginning when she's "deranged" (the jaw/muscle contortions is just...Wow...) and is trying to recover from her sexual issues. Mortensen is an interesting Freud and Fassbender and Mortensen play off each other fairly well. It's kind of sad to see their friendship devolve over differences in philosophy, though. The movie is kind of a biopic of their relationships (all 3 of them) more than anything, but there's just something slightly off about it. Perhaps it moves too quickly? Is too caught up in patient-doctor-mentor? I don't know...It had good acting, but the movie is definitely not lightweight or anything. Grade: B-
The Descendants (George Clooney) - I liked this film. There was something in it that really worked. I think Clooney did an excellent acting job and the story about families, our family history, moving on, the pain we cause each other, etc is interesting. I also liked seeing Clooney's character learn to build a bond with his oldest daughter and come to terms with his wife's cheating. There's something somewhat poignant and gentle about the film even though it deals with a fairly heavy topic. Grade: B+
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock) - Horn was really surprising at how good he was. Oh my goodness...He has these monologues that just astound you because he is rambling on a mile a minute and it's just amazing to see. Okay, maybe it's just astounding to me because I don't think I could ever do that so well! The depth of the emotion in the film is rather deep at times and I think he did that pretty well too. I really enjoyed the film. It has a really touching ending that both is healing and sad and you definitely go along the journey that Horn's character is trying to accomplish. It is somewhat rambley and there is probably a portion of the movie you don't necessarily have to see, but I liked it. I liked Bullock and Hanks too. Grade: B
War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) - Once again, it's no wonder the film was so well liked. I think Speilberg did an excellent job with the film. For as tough of a subject the film is, you can definitely feel its aim towards being a family movie rather than an adult film. The horses in it are amazing, but so are the people. It sort of reminds me of Black Beauty of how the movie follows the horse around and who the horse touches rather than the people. It does have some sad parts, but the ending is a happy one and, I think, more happy than Black Beauty. I did have my "Ginger moment" that is similar to Black Beauty in War Horse, but it was slightly (JUST slightly) better. The film is well done, though. It truly was handled really well. Grade: B+
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, et al.) - What has an amazing cast, I felt they were a little wasted. Supposedly the book reads far better than the movie and even watching the movie the movie felt flat. The acting is amazing (it is Oldman, Firth, Hurt, Cumberbatch, etc for goodness sake!), but there's just something that doesn't really jive well in the film. I wanted it to be better and it just never quite got there...This film is rather docile for being an espionage movie too. Course, it's more about finding the traitor or what went wrong during a mission so there's a lot of sleuthing of facts and accusations. So, in a lot of ways, the acting is rather guarded and underhanded. It's yelling at each other without really yelling, sort of. Grade: B-
Immortals (Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke) - Well, it was what was to be expected? The mythology was a little odd to me at times, but the movie was interesting. The special effects were interesting and the end was interesting. It's not too surprising of a film and isn't my normal cup of tea, but it was okay. Grade: B-
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) - Surprisingly, it was rather good. I have never seen a MI film all the way through, but everyone said that Ghost Protocol was pretty good. This movie was rather funny at times and I enjoyed it. It's your basic MI film (or so I would assume) so it's nothing too out of the ordinary, but it passed the time well and you didn't feel cheated out of your rental or anything. I'd watch it again. Though, my palms sweated through one scene. Goodness! I'm glad they have cool gadgets, but that one I would still be iffy about... Grade: B
Haywire (Gina Carano) - It's kind of a combination of Bourne and Salt. It's the type of film where it's a lot of action and trying to clear your name where you've been wrongly set-up. It was okay. It felt a little "been there, done that" to really grab you. I think if there was just a slight change, it could have been better. I can't pinpoint what could have been changed, but it certainly could have gone another angle and perhaps done better. Grade: C+
We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson) - I liked this film more than I thought I would. It's a somewhat gentle film, but I can't fully say it's a family film. It could be, but it really settles more on the adults and them trying to pull the Zoo together. It's definitely about loss and learning to move on and getting past your grief. I suppose the other theme is rooting for the underdog too. I liked it. I think older kids would be more appropriate to watch this than really young kids. Grade: B
The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, et al.) - So far, my favorite film of 2012! I've seen it twice in theater and I'd even be willing to see it a 3rd time. Yes, it's an action film (my favorite), but the acting and script are great! Not to mention the CG is fantastic! Hulk definitely has the funniest parts in the film, but there are just so many amazing small things throughout it that really make it enjoyable from start to finish. I still get excited when Iron Man shoots his lasers off Captain America's shield (it's in the video game!) and it's just fun. I'm a little mad at Whedon for killing off a certain someone (why does Whedon feel the need to kill people off in everything?!) even though the death served a purpose (I'm convinced they could have written it differently where said person didn't die!). It kind of felt like a geekfest, truth be told, having all those superheros in the film and all this action going on. I think everyone's strengths were well portrayed in the film too and it all just jived well. Definitely makes you excited for the next one and it's a well deserved movie for breaking records right and left. Grade: A+
One for the Money (Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara) - NY accent on Heigl? Hmm...This film is based off of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum (bounty hunter) mystery series. It's the first book in the series (the number in the title denotes the book number in the series - I sold quite a few of these books...). I've watched so many Heigl rom-coms that I couldn't pass this one up even though she's very much a hit-or-miss. This one I'm sort of calling a draw. I can't say it's her worst one, but I can't say it's her best either. I think the biggest thing in the film was her accent sort of bothered me. I'm not sure why it should bother me, but it did. Other than that, it's your pretty basic rom-com where Plum is trying to learn to be a bounty hunter (she knew nothing at the start of the film) and track down an old ex who is wanted and, at the same time, is trying to clear his own name from the crime he supposedly made. So...bounty hunter crime solver...? It's okay. Grade: B/B-
With that...I am up to 41 movies for the year! I've got 7.5 more months to surpass 80 films. At the rate I'm going, you'd think that would be easy (only 40 films), but the summer slows me down a lot since there are far fewer films I want to see from earlier this year. I'm sure the fall will pick up with summer movies, but then the fall hits and I typically miss out on those in the theater. So...we'll see. I've only seen 5 movies in the theater or 6 movies total so far. The summer has some good ones (MIB3, Dark Knight Rises, Brave, etc), but we'll see. By my quick calculation, I only have 25 films left I want to see (DVD or theater). Course, I'm sure I'll pick up some extras, but getting to 80 will be harder than it looks!
With that said...Movies! They're going to be short reviews, unless I have something to really say given there are so many of them...
Mirror, Mirror (Julia Roberts, Lily Collins) - Clever portrayal of the dwarves, but the movie is definitely more a comedy than an action/adventure film. So, basically, don't take it seriously. Roberts nails drove me nuts through it because it was some sort of silver chrome and then they changed it at the end. I was trying to see what it was each time! I enjoyed it, but it did leave a feeling of "weird" and "bizarre" when I finished watching it. Grade: B/B-
Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson) - There were some minor things I didn't like that they changed (e.g., where she got the Mockingjay pin from and its importance), but I overall really enjoyed the film. I didn't cry in the beginning during the reaping, but I did in the other parts I thought I would. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next ones. Grade: A-
21 Jump Street (Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum) - Surprisingly very funny (ala Bridesmaids, but in a male dominated film) and it's nice that they a) didn't take themselves seriously and b) didn't make it a remake. I liked the surprise cameos also and who'd of thunk Tatum was so funny? Basically the two points I made above is what made it work. If it was a remake/reboot, it would have been a little awkward and because it was very slapstick-comedy, it was funny. Grade: B/B+
Happy Feet Two - Good sequel, but it's not quite the first one either. I liked it and it was about family, helping each other out, and perceptions of each other. The environmental theme for this one was about climate change and the melting of the ice, but it wasn't as strong of a theme as the first one. There was less singing in this one too. Or so it seemed. Grade: B/B-
Tower Heist (Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, et al.) - Interesting cast for the film and they all worked well together. The movie was more the "mystery" of where the money went and the end. It was an okay film. There was something sort of "docile" about it. It doesn't have the glam appeal like Ocean's 11 and isn't an espionage, adventure, or straight comedy film either. Grade: B/B-
The Muppets (Jason Segal, Amy Adams) - I rather enjoyed the movie. It was a nice film and I liked the new muppet. I can't say the musical pieces always grabbed me, but I overall liked them. I liked all the little cameos from various people too. I think it was a nice film that sort of fit in the rebooting of The Muppets too. Grade: B+
Young Adult (Charlize Theron) - Definitely not what I expected it to be. It was more of a midlife crisis type of film and is titled Young Adult because Theron's character is a YA author who is trying to write her final book to her series. Her life is basically not going according to plan and she tries to get her old bf back and all this other stuff. Don't particularly recommend it. It's definitely not "light and fluffy" either. Grade: D
My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne) - An interesting film and though Williams can't ever really be Marilyn, I think she did a pretty decent job at it. Marilyn was certainly an interesting person and the movie shows the various sides to her. How true/accurate the film is I can't say, but I enjoyed it and thought the acting was good. Grade: B/B+
Three Musketeers (Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, et al.) - Not what I expected...It's sort of "over done" by over-the-top production/costumes. I can't really describe it other than to say that I was a little confused by it and am so glad I didn't see it in theater. It's less adventure-y and more about redeeming themselves and everything. It also adds a 4th Musketeer and Orlando Bloom is the bad guy. So, yeah. I sort of rank this up there with Mirror, Mirror for "odd" and "bizarre" feeling after I watched it. Grade: C+
Adventures of TinTin - Okay, I admit it. The animation in this was AMAZING. No wonder it got such great reviews for the animation. It was amazing. It was still cartoon-y, but had that edge of realistic animation to it that simply wow'd you. The story wasn't fantastic and was lacking a little, but it is based off the kid's series and I think it kept well to being a kid's movie while trying to appeal to adults also. If there is no other reason to watch it, I'd just watch it again for the animation. Grade: B
Footloose (Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough) - Admittedly, I've never seen the original (don't throw things at me!), so I can't compare. I think they "updated" the film rather well, though. Basically a fatal car crash because of drinking (where dancing also took place) is what caused the town to have its no dancing rule. I liked Wormald and Hough, but the film was just "okay." Grade: B/B-
Carnage (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly) - What superb acting! This film is based off the play, which took me a while to figure out. The movie does, I think, a pretty good job trying to bring the play to the big screen, but I do think the play would be far more powerful to see in person rather than it being on the big screen. With that said, the acting was amazing and Foster and Winslet were definitely the two stars of it. Both characters, by the end, are completely drunk and Winslet has to do a throw-up scene and it's just hilarious, sad (at what they're arguing over), and fantastic to watch. It's pure acting with nothing else but them moving between 4 areas (the living room, the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway to the elevator). The grade is almost purely for the acting job. Grade: B+
A Dangerous Method (Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley) - Having learned about Jung in high school, I was curious to see the movie, especially since the cast intrigued me. I enjoyed it. It does deserve its rating and I think Knightley does a good acting job in the beginning when she's "deranged" (the jaw/muscle contortions is just...Wow...) and is trying to recover from her sexual issues. Mortensen is an interesting Freud and Fassbender and Mortensen play off each other fairly well. It's kind of sad to see their friendship devolve over differences in philosophy, though. The movie is kind of a biopic of their relationships (all 3 of them) more than anything, but there's just something slightly off about it. Perhaps it moves too quickly? Is too caught up in patient-doctor-mentor? I don't know...It had good acting, but the movie is definitely not lightweight or anything. Grade: B-
The Descendants (George Clooney) - I liked this film. There was something in it that really worked. I think Clooney did an excellent acting job and the story about families, our family history, moving on, the pain we cause each other, etc is interesting. I also liked seeing Clooney's character learn to build a bond with his oldest daughter and come to terms with his wife's cheating. There's something somewhat poignant and gentle about the film even though it deals with a fairly heavy topic. Grade: B+
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock) - Horn was really surprising at how good he was. Oh my goodness...He has these monologues that just astound you because he is rambling on a mile a minute and it's just amazing to see. Okay, maybe it's just astounding to me because I don't think I could ever do that so well! The depth of the emotion in the film is rather deep at times and I think he did that pretty well too. I really enjoyed the film. It has a really touching ending that both is healing and sad and you definitely go along the journey that Horn's character is trying to accomplish. It is somewhat rambley and there is probably a portion of the movie you don't necessarily have to see, but I liked it. I liked Bullock and Hanks too. Grade: B
War Horse (Jeremy Irvine) - Once again, it's no wonder the film was so well liked. I think Speilberg did an excellent job with the film. For as tough of a subject the film is, you can definitely feel its aim towards being a family movie rather than an adult film. The horses in it are amazing, but so are the people. It sort of reminds me of Black Beauty of how the movie follows the horse around and who the horse touches rather than the people. It does have some sad parts, but the ending is a happy one and, I think, more happy than Black Beauty. I did have my "Ginger moment" that is similar to Black Beauty in War Horse, but it was slightly (JUST slightly) better. The film is well done, though. It truly was handled really well. Grade: B+
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, et al.) - What has an amazing cast, I felt they were a little wasted. Supposedly the book reads far better than the movie and even watching the movie the movie felt flat. The acting is amazing (it is Oldman, Firth, Hurt, Cumberbatch, etc for goodness sake!), but there's just something that doesn't really jive well in the film. I wanted it to be better and it just never quite got there...This film is rather docile for being an espionage movie too. Course, it's more about finding the traitor or what went wrong during a mission so there's a lot of sleuthing of facts and accusations. So, in a lot of ways, the acting is rather guarded and underhanded. It's yelling at each other without really yelling, sort of. Grade: B-
Immortals (Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke) - Well, it was what was to be expected? The mythology was a little odd to me at times, but the movie was interesting. The special effects were interesting and the end was interesting. It's not too surprising of a film and isn't my normal cup of tea, but it was okay. Grade: B-
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner) - Surprisingly, it was rather good. I have never seen a MI film all the way through, but everyone said that Ghost Protocol was pretty good. This movie was rather funny at times and I enjoyed it. It's your basic MI film (or so I would assume) so it's nothing too out of the ordinary, but it passed the time well and you didn't feel cheated out of your rental or anything. I'd watch it again. Though, my palms sweated through one scene. Goodness! I'm glad they have cool gadgets, but that one I would still be iffy about... Grade: B
Haywire (Gina Carano) - It's kind of a combination of Bourne and Salt. It's the type of film where it's a lot of action and trying to clear your name where you've been wrongly set-up. It was okay. It felt a little "been there, done that" to really grab you. I think if there was just a slight change, it could have been better. I can't pinpoint what could have been changed, but it certainly could have gone another angle and perhaps done better. Grade: C+
We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson) - I liked this film more than I thought I would. It's a somewhat gentle film, but I can't fully say it's a family film. It could be, but it really settles more on the adults and them trying to pull the Zoo together. It's definitely about loss and learning to move on and getting past your grief. I suppose the other theme is rooting for the underdog too. I liked it. I think older kids would be more appropriate to watch this than really young kids. Grade: B
The Avengers (Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, et al.) - So far, my favorite film of 2012! I've seen it twice in theater and I'd even be willing to see it a 3rd time. Yes, it's an action film (my favorite), but the acting and script are great! Not to mention the CG is fantastic! Hulk definitely has the funniest parts in the film, but there are just so many amazing small things throughout it that really make it enjoyable from start to finish. I still get excited when Iron Man shoots his lasers off Captain America's shield (it's in the video game!) and it's just fun. I'm a little mad at Whedon for killing off a certain someone (why does Whedon feel the need to kill people off in everything?!) even though the death served a purpose (I'm convinced they could have written it differently where said person didn't die!). It kind of felt like a geekfest, truth be told, having all those superheros in the film and all this action going on. I think everyone's strengths were well portrayed in the film too and it all just jived well. Definitely makes you excited for the next one and it's a well deserved movie for breaking records right and left. Grade: A+
One for the Money (Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara) - NY accent on Heigl? Hmm...This film is based off of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum (bounty hunter) mystery series. It's the first book in the series (the number in the title denotes the book number in the series - I sold quite a few of these books...). I've watched so many Heigl rom-coms that I couldn't pass this one up even though she's very much a hit-or-miss. This one I'm sort of calling a draw. I can't say it's her worst one, but I can't say it's her best either. I think the biggest thing in the film was her accent sort of bothered me. I'm not sure why it should bother me, but it did. Other than that, it's your pretty basic rom-com where Plum is trying to learn to be a bounty hunter (she knew nothing at the start of the film) and track down an old ex who is wanted and, at the same time, is trying to clear his own name from the crime he supposedly made. So...bounty hunter crime solver...? It's okay. Grade: B/B-
With that...I am up to 41 movies for the year! I've got 7.5 more months to surpass 80 films. At the rate I'm going, you'd think that would be easy (only 40 films), but the summer slows me down a lot since there are far fewer films I want to see from earlier this year. I'm sure the fall will pick up with summer movies, but then the fall hits and I typically miss out on those in the theater. So...we'll see. I've only seen 5 movies in the theater or 6 movies total so far. The summer has some good ones (MIB3, Dark Knight Rises, Brave, etc), but we'll see. By my quick calculation, I only have 25 films left I want to see (DVD or theater). Course, I'm sure I'll pick up some extras, but getting to 80 will be harder than it looks!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Huge movie backlog (and neon tetra death)
Been too tired, busy, and then totally forgot to actually post my movie list. I've been keeping this post for a while and keep forgetting to post it because I never manage to finish it in one sitting so there is quite a few movies to go over.
Contagion (Gwenyth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, etc) - Interesting ensemble cast and an interesting movie. I can't say it's as "exciting" or "riveting" as it's made out to be in the trailer (it's supposed to be a sort of medical thriller), but it was interesting on how accurate it is on how a disease can be transmitted and stuff. I also like how the movie was set-up, but it did take me a little while to figure it out. You essentially start the movie on day 2 and work your way across the days (several hundred) to how the disease spreads, how the vaccine is created/distributed, how the investigation of what it is, etc. At the VERY end of the movie, it shows you day 1 to know how correct or incorrect the CDC was and how the disease came about. In a lot of ways, the movie has a feel to a CSI episode (I suppose that's sort of fitting since Fishburne was in CSI for 2 seasons). Good rental. Grade: B
Real Steel (Hugh Jackman) - Not too shabby of a movie. Not quite your stereotypical ending, but, at the same time, wasn't earth shattering or anything. I enjoyed Jackman and the robot was pretty neat too. It's a pretty good famly-ish movie and something different than Jackman being Wolverine. I liked the boy too. He was likeable and tough, whereas Jackman's character in the beginning wasn't as likeable. In a lot of ways, it was the instance of the kid teaching the parent, I suppose. If there's not a whole else to watch, I'd recommend Real Steel, but it's nothing to run out and watch or try to watch. Grade: B/B-
50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - Well. It's definitely on the "crude" end given it's a Rogen film; however, for a Rogen film, it's not that bad since it is based on the serious side with the cancer. I liked it, but it's definitely not going to be for everyone. It's a film about dealing with cancer and how those around you also deal with it, but it's also about finding your life. I really liked Gordon-Levitt, but I also like him in general too. Grade: B-
Abduction (Taylor Lautner) - I still can't decide if it's not as bad as I thought or if it's as bad as I thought. It's somewhere in the middle maybe? The story is mostly pretty boring and the acting isn't spectacular, but it also somehow passed the time rather well without realizing it. So, maybe it's where your expectations lie. I expected it to be bad, but also had a friend who said it wasn't that bad. At any rate, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you already want to see it. There really isn't much beyond what the trailer shows you, except maybe who his parents really are. Grade: C
What's Your Number? (Anna Faris, Chris Evans) - Well, this went somewhere exactly as I thought. It was rather predictable from the get go, but it wasn't horrible either. Course, it certainly wasn't great even amongst other chick flicks. The concept is rather stupid, though. All starts with an article in Marie Claire that women, on average, sleep with 10.5 (I think) men and Faris's character panics and starts counting and realizes she's slept with 19 people (far more than sister's bridesmaids). She makes a promise that she won't sleep with another man and #20 will be her husband. She gets drunk and ends up sleeping with a former co-worker and panics and, thus, with the help of her male neighbor who sleeps around, tracks down all her former boyfriends to see if one of them is "the one." Yup. That's the premise! It just doesn't work as well as other chic flicks and it's probably to do with the premise. Grade: C
Scorpion King 3 (Dave Bautista, Bostin Christopher, etc) - Wow...Scorpion King movies have definitely tanked. #1 and #2 isn't too bad (#1, of course, is the best), but I thought I'd see this one anyway. Yeah, it was bad. The acting was bad. The special effects were bad. The fight scenes were sometimes like a scene from a bad wrestling match. It was also predictable too. I knew who Cobra was the first time we saw Cobra, etc, etc. I watched What's Your Number? after this and it made What's Your Number? seem far better than it should have been (at the time) because SK3 was so bad. So, don't bother seeing this. At the same time, it did hold some interest because I did manage to finish it...LoL Grade: D
Rum Diary (Johnny Depp) - Best thing? Harry the jewel encrusted tortoise. Hands down it was the best thing in the movie! Not to say the movie was horrible, but it does appeal to a certain audience. I think Depp's performance is great (when isn't he?), but the movie sort of rambles on as Kemp (Depp's character) learns the culture, lusts after a woman he can't have, and drinks too much. There are some funny moments here and there and the other actors were also excellent, but it just wasn't my type of movie. Grade: C-
Hugo (Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz) - Good film. It's definitely family friendly and makes me want to finish the book. I bought the book when it came out (it's signed by Selznick) and started reading it, but never finished it. It's a rather BIG book, but it's mostly because about 1/3 of it is all illustrations. I liked the filmography too. The look and feel of the movie had a neat non-real look to it so it felt a little more "magical" I suppose. It's a slight mystery, but it comes down to the end of the film about each of us having a purpose and need to have a purpose. I liked it, but it is rather "docile" and I was tired when watching it and had to make sure I was staying awake. You do get to a point where you're engrossed in it and then I was fine. I definitely don't think it deserves Best Picture. It's a good film, but not THAT good. I do think the cinematography is pretty amazing and I liked the "feel" of the movie. The look also worked for the storyline and what the story was. Grade: B
The Big Year (Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson) - Last year I got the opportunity to see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform in Santa Barbar and, during their performance, Martin talked about filming The Big Year. So, naturally, when it came out I had to see the film. I had looked at the ratings for it, which weren't particularly high, but still wanted to see it. I'm glad I did. It's a nice film. It's got heart in it and has an interesting message/point that winning isn't everything because of what you give up to achieve that. Jack Black's character is the narrator of the film and I really enjoyed all 3 of them. I like Jack Black when he's not doing his "stupid comedies" and this movie is no exception. Owen Wilson was good at being the "bad guy" in this film (more like "the competition") and Steve Martin has a nice role of being the older birder with a wife he's had for a long time, successful businessman, and new grandfather. You also learn a little about birding too. I knew what a Big Year was, but...wow! I didn't think about it being so intense! At any rate, I recommend the movie. It's clean, some funny moments, and it has heart in it. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Grade: B+
In Time (Justin Timerblake, Amanda Seyfried) - I wasn't sure how this movie would play out: bad or good. It turns out it's pretty good. I'm very glad I didn't see the extended trailer before watching it (ironically, saw it in the previews of The Big Year, which I watched after In Time) because it's the entire movie in 2.5 minutes minus knowing if they live or not. It's an interesting concept that currency changes to "time." Humans became genetically engineered to stop aging at 25; however, that's when your clock started. Everyone gets 1 year and if you can't earn more time after that, you'll die when your clock runs out. Timberlake's character is in a different "time zone" as Seyfried's character and is, therefore, living from day-to-day trying to make ends meet with his mother, Olivia Wilde. I will first say, everyone stopping at the age of 25 is interesting, but most of the actors were all around 30 (or even slightly older)! That point sort of annoyed me, but it's mostly besides the point. I liked the feel of the movie because it was our world, but the small changes they made gave it a futuristic feel without hitting you upside the head that it was in the future. Just the simple change of the cut of Seyfried's dresses and the way her hair and make-up were styled was enough to give her that edge. The cars had an electric sound to them, but looked mostly like ours or cars of the 1970's (or earlier). It was a clever tweaking here and there. At any rate, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would. It's kind of silly at the end, but it has an interesting angle about economics and how "the system" works and the acting wasn't too bad. The premise was interesting too. If you're thinking of watching it, I wouldn't say no to it, but it's definitely not great movie making or anything either. It's a good renter. Grade: B
Puss in Boots - Another Dreamworks and it didn't win Best Animated Picture. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I had a feeling Rango would win since it has some realistic animation in it rather than the more cartoon-y feel of Puss in Poots or Kung Fu Panda 2. Plus, it figures the Academy would pick the movie I have bad memories of thanks to my fellow moviegoers next to me! At any rate, I liked it. If you're a cat owner, I think a lot of the cat references would make more sense -- there are a lot of them. The dance off was funny with the "kitty litter move" and the "butt crawling move" (considering my own cat, the butt crawling one made me laugh in remembrance). This story has Humpty Dumpty, Jack & Jill (thugs, basically), the Goose that laid the golden egg, and the beanstalk/castle in the sky. I really liked Kitty Softpaws. The story wasn't bad and the animation, of course, was excellent. I will say it's a little weird seeing a cat be a "player" (he's a "lover not a fighter") when it's a family movie, but oh well. I'm glad I saw it, but I don't know if I'd buy the DVD. Grade: B
J. Edgar (Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer) - It's definitely a biopic rather than a historical film. It starts with Hoover, in his later years, talking to a writer to tell the story of how the FBI came about. It chronicles the more important parts of his life and culminates with his death. This film does have Hoover be gay and there's a quick kiss between DiCaprio and Hammer after they have an argument and have a physical fight, but it doesn't really go beyond that. I thought the acting was good. I liked DiCaprio as Hoover and Hammer as Tolson. The accents and aged make-up did bother me a little. It's not to say the accent or make-up was bad, but I think I've gotten too used to DiCaprio without any accent and looking like, well, himself that it was just odd seeing him in the make-up with the accent. Sometimes I'd forget, but sometimes it'd come back too. It has a similar style to most of Eastwood's film too. I enjoyed it, but there did seem to be just something small missing. The history facts were interesting about Hoover, but I think the connection to Hoover was slightly missing. Not to say you couldn't like him, but there was just something a little off with the way the movie portrayed him or was organized or something. I will say, just from the movie, it definitely portrays him as an interesting person. Grade: B/B-
With that...I think I'm FINALLY caught up on all the movies I've seen!
Footloose, TinTin, The Three Musketeers, The Muppets, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Tower Heist are next movie rentals. Might rent Young Adult. I'm interested in in Melancholia, but highly doubtful I'll see it. Ghost Rider is in theaters, but not seeing it in theaters. Looking more like Lorax I'll see on DVD too. So I guess that means Mirror, Mirror is really the next movie (3/16) I'll see in theater.
With that said, onto something more personal. My crooked neon tetra was euthanized today. I bought it when it was crooked (v-vent shape in the middle of its body) and I thought it'd die soon afterwards or be the smallest, but it turned out to be my most active and biggest neon tetra. However, last week it lost the ability to float and was struggling to swim. It wasn't too bad for 2 days, but we both thought it'd die within a few days. Last night, after watching it severely struggle (it had been 6 days of this), I decided I wanted to do something to help ease its suffering. It was to the point where it was swimming more and more at a more vertical angle than horizontal, it couldn't swim through the current of my pump (admittedly, it's rather strong), the other fish were out competing it for food (it did okay for the first few days), it seemed to get more cooked (if that's possible), and my shrimp had taken to trying to grab it to eat it (normally my shrimp leaves the fish alone). So, I Googled last night how to euthanize a fish, which then sent me into a panic because I can't deal with dead fish! I think a childhood event with a dead fish left in the fish tank too long so it molded has severely left me severely scarred (and traumatized) over dead pet fish. At any rate, I told Chris he had to do it, but when I was at work! The end result was the fish being put into a baggie with water, put into the freezer, and then flushed when it was dead. The cold water makes it go to sleep and then it dies from the cold (similar to us humans). I just couldn't take watching it anymore, which I suppose says something about my animal suffering tolerance -- it's rock bottom low. If I can't stand seeing a fish suffer, I definitely can't see a bigger animal suffer! So, yes, I had the fish for about 1.5 years (probably alive 1.5-2 years) and it lived a good life. With that said, I'm down to 1 algae fish, 1 ghost shrimp (who is getting quite old at over 2 years old), 2 glowlight tetras, 2 neon tetras, and a bazillion snails. I have yet to find a good private freshwater fish store in the Monterey area so I'm not sure if I'll ever restock. There's a place in Salinas I need to check, though.
Work at Goodwill has been good and I'm still plugging away at my Aquarium report. Work has been exhausting lately and drama issues have cropped up, but it's work. When isn't there some sort of drama? Report is consisting of a lot of emails to people in foreign countries (India, China, Indonesia, Australia, to name a few). It's been an interesting and frustrating process of trying to get information, which isn't really unusual. The report does make me feel like I'm back at school, though.
Well...Time to eat, shower, and go to bed for work tomorrow.
Contagion (Gwenyth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, etc) - Interesting ensemble cast and an interesting movie. I can't say it's as "exciting" or "riveting" as it's made out to be in the trailer (it's supposed to be a sort of medical thriller), but it was interesting on how accurate it is on how a disease can be transmitted and stuff. I also like how the movie was set-up, but it did take me a little while to figure it out. You essentially start the movie on day 2 and work your way across the days (several hundred) to how the disease spreads, how the vaccine is created/distributed, how the investigation of what it is, etc. At the VERY end of the movie, it shows you day 1 to know how correct or incorrect the CDC was and how the disease came about. In a lot of ways, the movie has a feel to a CSI episode (I suppose that's sort of fitting since Fishburne was in CSI for 2 seasons). Good rental. Grade: B
Real Steel (Hugh Jackman) - Not too shabby of a movie. Not quite your stereotypical ending, but, at the same time, wasn't earth shattering or anything. I enjoyed Jackman and the robot was pretty neat too. It's a pretty good famly-ish movie and something different than Jackman being Wolverine. I liked the boy too. He was likeable and tough, whereas Jackman's character in the beginning wasn't as likeable. In a lot of ways, it was the instance of the kid teaching the parent, I suppose. If there's not a whole else to watch, I'd recommend Real Steel, but it's nothing to run out and watch or try to watch. Grade: B/B-
50/50 (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - Well. It's definitely on the "crude" end given it's a Rogen film; however, for a Rogen film, it's not that bad since it is based on the serious side with the cancer. I liked it, but it's definitely not going to be for everyone. It's a film about dealing with cancer and how those around you also deal with it, but it's also about finding your life. I really liked Gordon-Levitt, but I also like him in general too. Grade: B-
Abduction (Taylor Lautner) - I still can't decide if it's not as bad as I thought or if it's as bad as I thought. It's somewhere in the middle maybe? The story is mostly pretty boring and the acting isn't spectacular, but it also somehow passed the time rather well without realizing it. So, maybe it's where your expectations lie. I expected it to be bad, but also had a friend who said it wasn't that bad. At any rate, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you already want to see it. There really isn't much beyond what the trailer shows you, except maybe who his parents really are. Grade: C
What's Your Number? (Anna Faris, Chris Evans) - Well, this went somewhere exactly as I thought. It was rather predictable from the get go, but it wasn't horrible either. Course, it certainly wasn't great even amongst other chick flicks. The concept is rather stupid, though. All starts with an article in Marie Claire that women, on average, sleep with 10.5 (I think) men and Faris's character panics and starts counting and realizes she's slept with 19 people (far more than sister's bridesmaids). She makes a promise that she won't sleep with another man and #20 will be her husband. She gets drunk and ends up sleeping with a former co-worker and panics and, thus, with the help of her male neighbor who sleeps around, tracks down all her former boyfriends to see if one of them is "the one." Yup. That's the premise! It just doesn't work as well as other chic flicks and it's probably to do with the premise. Grade: C
Scorpion King 3 (Dave Bautista, Bostin Christopher, etc) - Wow...Scorpion King movies have definitely tanked. #1 and #2 isn't too bad (#1, of course, is the best), but I thought I'd see this one anyway. Yeah, it was bad. The acting was bad. The special effects were bad. The fight scenes were sometimes like a scene from a bad wrestling match. It was also predictable too. I knew who Cobra was the first time we saw Cobra, etc, etc. I watched What's Your Number? after this and it made What's Your Number? seem far better than it should have been (at the time) because SK3 was so bad. So, don't bother seeing this. At the same time, it did hold some interest because I did manage to finish it...LoL Grade: D
Rum Diary (Johnny Depp) - Best thing? Harry the jewel encrusted tortoise. Hands down it was the best thing in the movie! Not to say the movie was horrible, but it does appeal to a certain audience. I think Depp's performance is great (when isn't he?), but the movie sort of rambles on as Kemp (Depp's character) learns the culture, lusts after a woman he can't have, and drinks too much. There are some funny moments here and there and the other actors were also excellent, but it just wasn't my type of movie. Grade: C-
Hugo (Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz) - Good film. It's definitely family friendly and makes me want to finish the book. I bought the book when it came out (it's signed by Selznick) and started reading it, but never finished it. It's a rather BIG book, but it's mostly because about 1/3 of it is all illustrations. I liked the filmography too. The look and feel of the movie had a neat non-real look to it so it felt a little more "magical" I suppose. It's a slight mystery, but it comes down to the end of the film about each of us having a purpose and need to have a purpose. I liked it, but it is rather "docile" and I was tired when watching it and had to make sure I was staying awake. You do get to a point where you're engrossed in it and then I was fine. I definitely don't think it deserves Best Picture. It's a good film, but not THAT good. I do think the cinematography is pretty amazing and I liked the "feel" of the movie. The look also worked for the storyline and what the story was. Grade: B
The Big Year (Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson) - Last year I got the opportunity to see Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform in Santa Barbar and, during their performance, Martin talked about filming The Big Year. So, naturally, when it came out I had to see the film. I had looked at the ratings for it, which weren't particularly high, but still wanted to see it. I'm glad I did. It's a nice film. It's got heart in it and has an interesting message/point that winning isn't everything because of what you give up to achieve that. Jack Black's character is the narrator of the film and I really enjoyed all 3 of them. I like Jack Black when he's not doing his "stupid comedies" and this movie is no exception. Owen Wilson was good at being the "bad guy" in this film (more like "the competition") and Steve Martin has a nice role of being the older birder with a wife he's had for a long time, successful businessman, and new grandfather. You also learn a little about birding too. I knew what a Big Year was, but...wow! I didn't think about it being so intense! At any rate, I recommend the movie. It's clean, some funny moments, and it has heart in it. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Grade: B+
In Time (Justin Timerblake, Amanda Seyfried) - I wasn't sure how this movie would play out: bad or good. It turns out it's pretty good. I'm very glad I didn't see the extended trailer before watching it (ironically, saw it in the previews of The Big Year, which I watched after In Time) because it's the entire movie in 2.5 minutes minus knowing if they live or not. It's an interesting concept that currency changes to "time." Humans became genetically engineered to stop aging at 25; however, that's when your clock started. Everyone gets 1 year and if you can't earn more time after that, you'll die when your clock runs out. Timberlake's character is in a different "time zone" as Seyfried's character and is, therefore, living from day-to-day trying to make ends meet with his mother, Olivia Wilde. I will first say, everyone stopping at the age of 25 is interesting, but most of the actors were all around 30 (or even slightly older)! That point sort of annoyed me, but it's mostly besides the point. I liked the feel of the movie because it was our world, but the small changes they made gave it a futuristic feel without hitting you upside the head that it was in the future. Just the simple change of the cut of Seyfried's dresses and the way her hair and make-up were styled was enough to give her that edge. The cars had an electric sound to them, but looked mostly like ours or cars of the 1970's (or earlier). It was a clever tweaking here and there. At any rate, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would. It's kind of silly at the end, but it has an interesting angle about economics and how "the system" works and the acting wasn't too bad. The premise was interesting too. If you're thinking of watching it, I wouldn't say no to it, but it's definitely not great movie making or anything either. It's a good renter. Grade: B
Puss in Boots - Another Dreamworks and it didn't win Best Animated Picture. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I had a feeling Rango would win since it has some realistic animation in it rather than the more cartoon-y feel of Puss in Poots or Kung Fu Panda 2. Plus, it figures the Academy would pick the movie I have bad memories of thanks to my fellow moviegoers next to me! At any rate, I liked it. If you're a cat owner, I think a lot of the cat references would make more sense -- there are a lot of them. The dance off was funny with the "kitty litter move" and the "butt crawling move" (considering my own cat, the butt crawling one made me laugh in remembrance). This story has Humpty Dumpty, Jack & Jill (thugs, basically), the Goose that laid the golden egg, and the beanstalk/castle in the sky. I really liked Kitty Softpaws. The story wasn't bad and the animation, of course, was excellent. I will say it's a little weird seeing a cat be a "player" (he's a "lover not a fighter") when it's a family movie, but oh well. I'm glad I saw it, but I don't know if I'd buy the DVD. Grade: B
J. Edgar (Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer) - It's definitely a biopic rather than a historical film. It starts with Hoover, in his later years, talking to a writer to tell the story of how the FBI came about. It chronicles the more important parts of his life and culminates with his death. This film does have Hoover be gay and there's a quick kiss between DiCaprio and Hammer after they have an argument and have a physical fight, but it doesn't really go beyond that. I thought the acting was good. I liked DiCaprio as Hoover and Hammer as Tolson. The accents and aged make-up did bother me a little. It's not to say the accent or make-up was bad, but I think I've gotten too used to DiCaprio without any accent and looking like, well, himself that it was just odd seeing him in the make-up with the accent. Sometimes I'd forget, but sometimes it'd come back too. It has a similar style to most of Eastwood's film too. I enjoyed it, but there did seem to be just something small missing. The history facts were interesting about Hoover, but I think the connection to Hoover was slightly missing. Not to say you couldn't like him, but there was just something a little off with the way the movie portrayed him or was organized or something. I will say, just from the movie, it definitely portrays him as an interesting person. Grade: B/B-
With that...I think I'm FINALLY caught up on all the movies I've seen!
Footloose, TinTin, The Three Musketeers, The Muppets, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Tower Heist are next movie rentals. Might rent Young Adult. I'm interested in in Melancholia, but highly doubtful I'll see it. Ghost Rider is in theaters, but not seeing it in theaters. Looking more like Lorax I'll see on DVD too. So I guess that means Mirror, Mirror is really the next movie (3/16) I'll see in theater.
With that said, onto something more personal. My crooked neon tetra was euthanized today. I bought it when it was crooked (v-vent shape in the middle of its body) and I thought it'd die soon afterwards or be the smallest, but it turned out to be my most active and biggest neon tetra. However, last week it lost the ability to float and was struggling to swim. It wasn't too bad for 2 days, but we both thought it'd die within a few days. Last night, after watching it severely struggle (it had been 6 days of this), I decided I wanted to do something to help ease its suffering. It was to the point where it was swimming more and more at a more vertical angle than horizontal, it couldn't swim through the current of my pump (admittedly, it's rather strong), the other fish were out competing it for food (it did okay for the first few days), it seemed to get more cooked (if that's possible), and my shrimp had taken to trying to grab it to eat it (normally my shrimp leaves the fish alone). So, I Googled last night how to euthanize a fish, which then sent me into a panic because I can't deal with dead fish! I think a childhood event with a dead fish left in the fish tank too long so it molded has severely left me severely scarred (and traumatized) over dead pet fish. At any rate, I told Chris he had to do it, but when I was at work! The end result was the fish being put into a baggie with water, put into the freezer, and then flushed when it was dead. The cold water makes it go to sleep and then it dies from the cold (similar to us humans). I just couldn't take watching it anymore, which I suppose says something about my animal suffering tolerance -- it's rock bottom low. If I can't stand seeing a fish suffer, I definitely can't see a bigger animal suffer! So, yes, I had the fish for about 1.5 years (probably alive 1.5-2 years) and it lived a good life. With that said, I'm down to 1 algae fish, 1 ghost shrimp (who is getting quite old at over 2 years old), 2 glowlight tetras, 2 neon tetras, and a bazillion snails. I have yet to find a good private freshwater fish store in the Monterey area so I'm not sure if I'll ever restock. There's a place in Salinas I need to check, though.
Work at Goodwill has been good and I'm still plugging away at my Aquarium report. Work has been exhausting lately and drama issues have cropped up, but it's work. When isn't there some sort of drama? Report is consisting of a lot of emails to people in foreign countries (India, China, Indonesia, Australia, to name a few). It's been an interesting and frustrating process of trying to get information, which isn't really unusual. The report does make me feel like I'm back at school, though.
Well...Time to eat, shower, and go to bed for work tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Oops...
How weird...I could have sworn I wrote a post about two movies I watched...I must have written it, left it, and then forgot to actually hit "post." Oh well...I just watched a new movie since then so I'll write about all three. :)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow) - Having never seen Planet of the Apes, I can't definitively say whether this keeps the "feeling" or "answers" all the questions from the movie; however, I can say that I enjoyed the movie for itself. In addition, knowing OF the original does, for me, answer the question of how Earth became ruled by apes. So, I suppose it does achieve that big question. Although the motion capture (thanks to Andy Serkis again) is great and the story is good, I found the lack of a consistent "enemy" disruptive to the movie. Sure, Tom Felton's character is pretty nasty and you don't really like the head of the laboratory either, but what do you do when that creature you cared for and rooted for to be treated well suddenly becomes more dominate than a human? I will say, the apes, more-or-less, didn't actively try to kill someone and it wasn't exactly their fault that the human population dwindles to almost nothing (blame that on the reason why they all became smart), but still. It's a little disconcerting! Also doesn't help when the apes break out that you do feel for them too and the way they were mistreated. So, it's a mixed bag of emotions as you watch, but it's a good film. If you've got nothing else really to do and want to watch an action film and prequel to Planet of the Apes, I'd recommend it. I don't think I'd actively say "go see it," though. Grade: B
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - This is actually an Australian film, which makes sense as to why Hugh Jackman gets a small role in the film as the, well, Australian male interest for one of the girls (he's in it for about 10 minutes?). I really enjoyed the film and it even put the desire to read the book (by the same title) in me, which is kind of amazing. Most times I watch movie adaptations and don't have that feeling, but this one managed to do it for me. As much as I liked the film, I do think part of the reason I want to read the book is the name confusion. The book starts in the 20th century (1980's?), but flashes back to China of old (19th century?). In other words, it's kind of a story within a story. The main characters of the story are Nina and Sophia who are best friends. Not an issue, but it starts off with them as adults and then it flashes back to when they are teenagers. So in the first 10-15 minutes of the movie you're trying to establish who-is-who in the two "modern" time frames (from adults to teens and back). Then...one of the girls ends up in a coma in the hospital and the other girl finds out she (the one in the coma) wrote a story in 19th century China about a similar friendship they had. So you see them in modern times and then it flashes to the 19th century China and the story her friend wrote. So, once again, you need to establish who-is-who (played by the same actresses). You think that wouldn't be so hard, but the story starts off when they're young girls and finishes when they're older. So, again, you need to establish which girl is which and the girls switch economic roles (poor to rich and rich to poor) after they marry. So, I think I spent half the movie trying to remember the names and connecting them to their modern, past, or 19th century China versions. It was rather confusing for a while. Once I got that all established, it was pretty smooth sailing from there. I enjoyed the acting and the story a lot, but I have a feeling the book (given how popular it is) probably is far better. Grade: B/B- (mostly for the name issue)
Ides of March (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney) - Huh. Movie was not what I expected it to be. The trailer is, basically, the premise of the movie (Gosling's character really believes in his candidate, Clooney, but something happens so he questions his beliefs in Clooney), but it's the situation and how it plays out that was surprising to me. First off, if you're watching this because it's a political campaign movie and you like politics, don't watch it for that reason. It's not West Wing; however, it is an interesting snapshot of the political promises and maneuvers that are done to get ahead in a campaign. The movie, though, revolves around Gosling and something he finds out about Clooney and the aftermath of that information. He tries to work around it, but events start spinning out of control (from another blunder) and, in a lot of ways, he becomes what he didn't want to become to save himself. So, perhaps this was me, but I felt a little sad at the end of the movie because, in many ways, he compromised his beliefs, became a person who got down in the mud with the others, and, basically, thought only of his career. The acting was good and Gosling does a good "serious" face that's always just slightly showing what he's feeling (wariness, mirth, anger, sadness, etc), but the movie definitely was not what I expected it to be. It's almost like it has a hint of a "thriller" feeling in it and it's not strictly the drama-like film I thought it would be. So, would I recommend it? I don't think so unless you think it's something you'd like to see, but it is a good film. I will say, if you do see it, remember that the politics are subtle and the movie really is more about a person's character. It also drops the f-bomb and other foul language quite a lot (Gosling, I have heard more swear words from you than any other actor lately!) Grade: C/C+
Next up? Not sure. Abduction and Dolphin Tale are out, so maybe. First, though, I really need to finish Downton Abbey (plugging away on season 1) and start researching for the Aquarium.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow) - Having never seen Planet of the Apes, I can't definitively say whether this keeps the "feeling" or "answers" all the questions from the movie; however, I can say that I enjoyed the movie for itself. In addition, knowing OF the original does, for me, answer the question of how Earth became ruled by apes. So, I suppose it does achieve that big question. Although the motion capture (thanks to Andy Serkis again) is great and the story is good, I found the lack of a consistent "enemy" disruptive to the movie. Sure, Tom Felton's character is pretty nasty and you don't really like the head of the laboratory either, but what do you do when that creature you cared for and rooted for to be treated well suddenly becomes more dominate than a human? I will say, the apes, more-or-less, didn't actively try to kill someone and it wasn't exactly their fault that the human population dwindles to almost nothing (blame that on the reason why they all became smart), but still. It's a little disconcerting! Also doesn't help when the apes break out that you do feel for them too and the way they were mistreated. So, it's a mixed bag of emotions as you watch, but it's a good film. If you've got nothing else really to do and want to watch an action film and prequel to Planet of the Apes, I'd recommend it. I don't think I'd actively say "go see it," though. Grade: B
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - This is actually an Australian film, which makes sense as to why Hugh Jackman gets a small role in the film as the, well, Australian male interest for one of the girls (he's in it for about 10 minutes?). I really enjoyed the film and it even put the desire to read the book (by the same title) in me, which is kind of amazing. Most times I watch movie adaptations and don't have that feeling, but this one managed to do it for me. As much as I liked the film, I do think part of the reason I want to read the book is the name confusion. The book starts in the 20th century (1980's?), but flashes back to China of old (19th century?). In other words, it's kind of a story within a story. The main characters of the story are Nina and Sophia who are best friends. Not an issue, but it starts off with them as adults and then it flashes back to when they are teenagers. So in the first 10-15 minutes of the movie you're trying to establish who-is-who in the two "modern" time frames (from adults to teens and back). Then...one of the girls ends up in a coma in the hospital and the other girl finds out she (the one in the coma) wrote a story in 19th century China about a similar friendship they had. So you see them in modern times and then it flashes to the 19th century China and the story her friend wrote. So, once again, you need to establish who-is-who (played by the same actresses). You think that wouldn't be so hard, but the story starts off when they're young girls and finishes when they're older. So, again, you need to establish which girl is which and the girls switch economic roles (poor to rich and rich to poor) after they marry. So, I think I spent half the movie trying to remember the names and connecting them to their modern, past, or 19th century China versions. It was rather confusing for a while. Once I got that all established, it was pretty smooth sailing from there. I enjoyed the acting and the story a lot, but I have a feeling the book (given how popular it is) probably is far better. Grade: B/B- (mostly for the name issue)
Ides of March (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney) - Huh. Movie was not what I expected it to be. The trailer is, basically, the premise of the movie (Gosling's character really believes in his candidate, Clooney, but something happens so he questions his beliefs in Clooney), but it's the situation and how it plays out that was surprising to me. First off, if you're watching this because it's a political campaign movie and you like politics, don't watch it for that reason. It's not West Wing; however, it is an interesting snapshot of the political promises and maneuvers that are done to get ahead in a campaign. The movie, though, revolves around Gosling and something he finds out about Clooney and the aftermath of that information. He tries to work around it, but events start spinning out of control (from another blunder) and, in a lot of ways, he becomes what he didn't want to become to save himself. So, perhaps this was me, but I felt a little sad at the end of the movie because, in many ways, he compromised his beliefs, became a person who got down in the mud with the others, and, basically, thought only of his career. The acting was good and Gosling does a good "serious" face that's always just slightly showing what he's feeling (wariness, mirth, anger, sadness, etc), but the movie definitely was not what I expected it to be. It's almost like it has a hint of a "thriller" feeling in it and it's not strictly the drama-like film I thought it would be. So, would I recommend it? I don't think so unless you think it's something you'd like to see, but it is a good film. I will say, if you do see it, remember that the politics are subtle and the movie really is more about a person's character. It also drops the f-bomb and other foul language quite a lot (Gosling, I have heard more swear words from you than any other actor lately!) Grade: C/C+
Next up? Not sure. Abduction and Dolphin Tale are out, so maybe. First, though, I really need to finish Downton Abbey (plugging away on season 1) and start researching for the Aquarium.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I've signed up for what?
So, I meant to blog about this a month or so ago (basically, right when I signed up), but FireFox ate the post and I didn't have the heart rewrite it then (same time I wrote those movie reviews). Then I simply forgot to post about it and now, well, I am posting about it!
I have jumped off the cliff with everyone else -- I have joined Twitter. Me, the person who said she refused to join Twitter and wouldn't join! Sadly, I only signed up in December because a nail polish company I like was doing FlashPromos (mostly giveaways) and were posting some on FB and some on Twitter. So I signed up so I could better track them. I have yet to really do anything with it other than follow a bunch of nail polish people. I probably won't do anything with it either since I can't text on my phone. My Twitter name is mjk1221 if you want to follow me. Who knows, maybe I'll post someday. :)
I also signed up with a tumblr account. I have a lot of friends who use Tumblr and I was curious about it so I signed up. I initially thought I might use it more given it has a spiffy "share on tumblr" hot bar thingy, but I've posted once on it other than my initial one. So...I guess that was sort of a bust. However, maybe I'll actually use it at some point. I suspect it'll end up mostly as pictures and possibly a nail blog. I haven't decided yet. I already post all my nail stuff on FB, but tumblr might be easier? I haven't decided or figured it out yet. That is one I don't want to totally want to give up on, but I guess I'll figure out one day what to do with it. That account name is also mjk1221
In other news...Day 4 of the year and I've watched 4 movies! Granted, I already watched one (Cowboys & Aliens), but it's still 4 movies. Which....makes me have to rethink my total movie count from last year. I should say that my movie watch list is for all movies that are NEW and have never seen before. I rewatch a good portion of my movies every year and, of course, rewatch some of the better releases of the year again. At any rate, I won't be changing anything of the movie thing, but it was just a random point I wanted to make. :)
So, on to the 3 movies I haven't seen before!
The Debt (Meryl Streep, Sam Worthington) - I didn't realize, for whatever reason, that it was basically one big flashback and then the present day. For an espionage thriller, that did make things a little confusing and disjointed. You spent the first 20 minutes or so trying to place who the two guys were from young to old. At least there was only 1 female so you knew the old and young versions were the same female, but it was a little more difficult for the males. You do figure it out eventually, but I can't say the movie was that surprising either. The big "twist" I guessed in the beginning of the movie so it wasn't so surprising. I also got a little confused at the end because there was a repeat of a scene we'd already seen in the present and it took me a minute to realize I'd already seen it and it wasn't new information. It was an interesting premise, I suppose, and it had good acting, but I didn't think it was that great. I feel like it fell just a little shy of its potential or something. Grade: C+/B-
I Don't Know How She Does It (Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan) - I don't think this film is as bad as it was made out to be, but I can't say it's particularly great either. For a rom-com, it's more drama leaning and it's kind of "wholesome." SJP's character, Kate, is a married working mother and they really stick to the fact she's married so she doesn't have any ideas of running off or having an affair with Brosnan's character, Abelhammer, and her character makes sure whatever she writes and stuff isn't construed as flirting (or very well tries to). She does have her quirks, but the main point, from my point of view, is that a woman can have it all -- high profile job, marriage life, and kids. However, it does make the point that she has to have her priorities or work will overtake the home. It does poke at working mothers vs stay-at-home mothers and working women vs working men. For example, the "does everything right" mother basically drops her kids off at school, goes to the gym till they're off, picks them up, and goes home to make dinner. As for the professional woman vs the professional man, if a man has to do something for the family and be late for work, it's seen as endearing and sweet, whereas if a mother does that, she's seen as lazy and incompetent. The style of the movie is semi-documentary-ish as it "interviews" several people throughout the movie to weigh in on things. In all, it's a cute movie, but has some stereotypes ("trying to be a man is a waste of a woman") and slight feminist feeling. On the other hand, she is completely loyal and loving to her husband (who is pretty accommodating and understanding) and basically says that having kids doesn't have to be the end of a woman's career (there is a nice point where her assistant gets pregnant and thinks of aborting, but she talks her out of it) if she can set boundaries. (Though, I suppose that career + family thing comes after she neglects her family for a while too...Hmm...). At any rate, if you've got nothing else better to watch, maybe you'd want to, but I can't say it should be anywhere near a priority. Grade: C
Hangover Part II - Said it'd be for sure in 2012 and it's 2012! Just came out at RedBox yesterday. It's not as good as the first one and I'm not saying that because the skeleton of the movie is exactly like the first one. I'm saying it because the hangover trail (or what they did while hungover) just wasn't as funny or good as the first one. The beginning was kind of funny because there were references to the first one and all that, but as it progresses, it's just not as funny. I didn't particularly enjoy the missing brother theme, whereas the first movie was the missing groom. They couldn't just repeat exactly like that, but the things they did along the way just weren't as funny. It was much more slapstick and deserving of its rated R too. I can't say the first one doesn't deserve its R rating either, but it had a different feel to it. The first one was more like it was part of the situation rather than it WAS the point, if that makes sense. Mostly disappointed, I suppose, but I guess I shouldn't be either given I kind of knew from the reviews it wasn't going to be as good as the first. If you really liked the first, you might want to watch the 2nd, but I wouldn't watch the 2nd if you haven't seen the first. Nor would I suggest the 2nd over the first one. Grade: C
With that...Off to finish Cowboys & Aliens and to repaint my nails. :) Happy New Year!
I have jumped off the cliff with everyone else -- I have joined Twitter. Me, the person who said she refused to join Twitter and wouldn't join! Sadly, I only signed up in December because a nail polish company I like was doing FlashPromos (mostly giveaways) and were posting some on FB and some on Twitter. So I signed up so I could better track them. I have yet to really do anything with it other than follow a bunch of nail polish people. I probably won't do anything with it either since I can't text on my phone. My Twitter name is mjk1221 if you want to follow me. Who knows, maybe I'll post someday. :)
I also signed up with a tumblr account. I have a lot of friends who use Tumblr and I was curious about it so I signed up. I initially thought I might use it more given it has a spiffy "share on tumblr" hot bar thingy, but I've posted once on it other than my initial one. So...I guess that was sort of a bust. However, maybe I'll actually use it at some point. I suspect it'll end up mostly as pictures and possibly a nail blog. I haven't decided yet. I already post all my nail stuff on FB, but tumblr might be easier? I haven't decided or figured it out yet. That is one I don't want to totally want to give up on, but I guess I'll figure out one day what to do with it. That account name is also mjk1221
In other news...Day 4 of the year and I've watched 4 movies! Granted, I already watched one (Cowboys & Aliens), but it's still 4 movies. Which....makes me have to rethink my total movie count from last year. I should say that my movie watch list is for all movies that are NEW and have never seen before. I rewatch a good portion of my movies every year and, of course, rewatch some of the better releases of the year again. At any rate, I won't be changing anything of the movie thing, but it was just a random point I wanted to make. :)
So, on to the 3 movies I haven't seen before!
The Debt (Meryl Streep, Sam Worthington) - I didn't realize, for whatever reason, that it was basically one big flashback and then the present day. For an espionage thriller, that did make things a little confusing and disjointed. You spent the first 20 minutes or so trying to place who the two guys were from young to old. At least there was only 1 female so you knew the old and young versions were the same female, but it was a little more difficult for the males. You do figure it out eventually, but I can't say the movie was that surprising either. The big "twist" I guessed in the beginning of the movie so it wasn't so surprising. I also got a little confused at the end because there was a repeat of a scene we'd already seen in the present and it took me a minute to realize I'd already seen it and it wasn't new information. It was an interesting premise, I suppose, and it had good acting, but I didn't think it was that great. I feel like it fell just a little shy of its potential or something. Grade: C+/B-
I Don't Know How She Does It (Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan) - I don't think this film is as bad as it was made out to be, but I can't say it's particularly great either. For a rom-com, it's more drama leaning and it's kind of "wholesome." SJP's character, Kate, is a married working mother and they really stick to the fact she's married so she doesn't have any ideas of running off or having an affair with Brosnan's character, Abelhammer, and her character makes sure whatever she writes and stuff isn't construed as flirting (or very well tries to). She does have her quirks, but the main point, from my point of view, is that a woman can have it all -- high profile job, marriage life, and kids. However, it does make the point that she has to have her priorities or work will overtake the home. It does poke at working mothers vs stay-at-home mothers and working women vs working men. For example, the "does everything right" mother basically drops her kids off at school, goes to the gym till they're off, picks them up, and goes home to make dinner. As for the professional woman vs the professional man, if a man has to do something for the family and be late for work, it's seen as endearing and sweet, whereas if a mother does that, she's seen as lazy and incompetent. The style of the movie is semi-documentary-ish as it "interviews" several people throughout the movie to weigh in on things. In all, it's a cute movie, but has some stereotypes ("trying to be a man is a waste of a woman") and slight feminist feeling. On the other hand, she is completely loyal and loving to her husband (who is pretty accommodating and understanding) and basically says that having kids doesn't have to be the end of a woman's career (there is a nice point where her assistant gets pregnant and thinks of aborting, but she talks her out of it) if she can set boundaries. (Though, I suppose that career + family thing comes after she neglects her family for a while too...Hmm...). At any rate, if you've got nothing else better to watch, maybe you'd want to, but I can't say it should be anywhere near a priority. Grade: C
Hangover Part II - Said it'd be for sure in 2012 and it's 2012! Just came out at RedBox yesterday. It's not as good as the first one and I'm not saying that because the skeleton of the movie is exactly like the first one. I'm saying it because the hangover trail (or what they did while hungover) just wasn't as funny or good as the first one. The beginning was kind of funny because there were references to the first one and all that, but as it progresses, it's just not as funny. I didn't particularly enjoy the missing brother theme, whereas the first movie was the missing groom. They couldn't just repeat exactly like that, but the things they did along the way just weren't as funny. It was much more slapstick and deserving of its rated R too. I can't say the first one doesn't deserve its R rating either, but it had a different feel to it. The first one was more like it was part of the situation rather than it WAS the point, if that makes sense. Mostly disappointed, I suppose, but I guess I shouldn't be either given I kind of knew from the reviews it wasn't going to be as good as the first. If you really liked the first, you might want to watch the 2nd, but I wouldn't watch the 2nd if you haven't seen the first. Nor would I suggest the 2nd over the first one. Grade: C
With that...Off to finish Cowboys & Aliens and to repaint my nails. :) Happy New Year!
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