I'm contemplating posting photos of my nail stuff here. I'm by no means turning into a nail blogger (that sounds like work!), but I might just post the stuff I do. I post pictures on Facebook already, but since I already do it there, how much more work would it be to post here too? I don't know. I change my nails so regularly (every 2-3 days, if I can manage, but sometimes as long as 4-5 days or as short as, well, every day)...So...We'll see! It will require me to download my photos more. Oh the work! ;)
At any rate, quick update on work. My normal schedule is back! After working 7 hours of overtime in 3 weeks, being short-staffed, having to work 2 hours on a day off (admittedly, it was just for fire extinguisher training so it wasn't really like work and I did get to leave 2 hours early from another shift, but I did have to be up and present at the training), and then working 6-days in a row, I am ready to be back on my normal work schedule! I'm a little worried, though, because it looks like the work-cold might be making its rounds again...I'm waiting for the time when we're all back on our regular schedules and no one is ill! This week is ill person and one person is gone for 2 days to work at another store. Tired of it! At least my schedule looks to be okay.
Okay, on to movies! Really not a great group of movies, but Brave comes out this Friday!!
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Nicolas Cage) - Okay, okay. I shouldn't have been surprised that it was horrible, but...I mean. Come on! The first one was BAD. You'd think if they're going to put the effort into a 2nd one (with a, mostly, totally unrelated plot to the first one) that they'd make it a least a LITTLE better than the first one. Nope. It's bad, if not WORSE than the first one. Probably worse because it isn't even remotely better than the first one and that's just, well, bad. How many times can I say "bad" in this short paragraph? At any rate, skip it. The only even slightly "good" part is that the CG is decent. So much money in a movie that's horrible! Grade: F (I don't think I've ever given a F before!)
The Grey (Liam Neesom) - I knew the movie was centered around survival in the snow with a pack of wolves trying to eat them. With that said, Chris and I started the odds on each person as soon as they crashed and then guessed how many people (if any) were going to survive to the end of the movie. Most times you feel a little optimistic for some people through the movie, but you quickly learn not to get attached to ANYONE in this one. I'm not even sure what the whole point was for? Not to say every movie needs a point, but I just feel like this one had a point somewhere that I missed. Perhaps something about nature? Or surviving? Or past misdeeds? Or resigning yourself to the cards life hands you? I don't know. At any rate, it ends rather depressingly. The tension/suspense in the movie is rather high (they do that well), but I could have lived without seeing it. Grade: D
Red Tails (Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nate Parker, etc) - I knew Red Tails hadn't received glowing reviews so I wasn't expecting much from it, but it certainly still missed even my expectations. There is something "off" about the film. It's supposed to be a dramatized history drama (whatever you want to call it), but even then I think I expected something more along the lines of a cross between Saving Private Ryan and Secretariat/Remember the Titans/etc. Unfortunately, the characters fell flat. Perhaps there were too many of them, but they weren't particularly likeable and it there were some you knew about more than others and it was just awkward with that many people to focus on. It also had a sense of dramatization to it like you were watching an action film. I liked the combat scenes (CG was good) and the premise is a good one, but it wasn't executed well. I think if the pilots were more likeable it'd have gone better. Grade: C
John Carter (Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins) - Not bad. It fell somewhere within my expectations. It's sort of a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars Episode I, and Somewhere in Time (with a happy ending). If you can imagine those 3 things together, that's basically John Carter for you. Except, instead of time travel, it's more like planet jumping (Earth to Mars). It starts off kind of different because it starts in the "future" and then backtracks to the "past" to tell the story of John Carter, and ends back in the "future" (or present). So it had an element of "mystery" to figure out at the very end, but wasn't totally surprising either. It's a lot of fighting and traveling. It's not a bad film, but it's certainly not fantastic either. Grade: B-/C+
This Means War (Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Hardy) - It's not too bad. I can't say it's fantastic either, but it walks a very fine line between aiming itself at males and females. It's a romantic comedy, which you instantly think would appeal more to the women, but the main characters are male (most rom-coms focus around females). In that sense, both the guys and the girl have their "relationship" issues where both sides can understand (the guys' competition and the girl's dilemma with picking and dealing with her ex). It's pretty silly and the actual "mission" is kind of thrown into the middle of it to help create an action sense to it and also some "excitement," but it's definitely the back story. I will say, this movie made me think "bros before hoes," which is crude, but that mantra would have made the two guys pitting themselves against each other to win the girl moot. They're also best friends, not only CIA partners. It's cute and they all have a good ending, but it is rather silly (sort of the same feeling as Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I do enjoy Witherspoon, Hardy, and Pine, though. Compared to some other rom-com actresses, Witherspoon tends to have the better rom-coms (unlike Hudson, who I really can't stand...). Grade: B-/C+
Rewatched Sherlock Homes: Game of Shadows too. I like the film. I still think the horse scene is the funniest scene in the movie and still makes me laugh when I see/think of it. Has one of the best lines too: "They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?" So funny.
I just figured out that I've been shooting for 80 films this year, and I, actually, was supposed to be shooting for 70. At the rate I'm going, it'll definitely be easy to hit 70 (I suspect I'll hit 60 by the end of July), so I'm officially going for 80. It's a little harder to obtain, but shouldn't be unfeasible either. We'll see if I can do it! I also realized I totally missed Beginners on DVD. How did I do that?! So I'm going to have to find it somewhere to rent now.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Kentucky Derby Point System Rant
We interrupt the normal hum-drum of movie reviews to bring you this lovely rant about the new point system to be eligible to start in the Kentucky Derby.
Today, CDI (Churchill Downs Incorporated) announced the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" to better connect with fans and to help them understand how a horse becomes eligible to start in the Kentucky Derby. You can read the Blood-Horse's article on it here: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/70551/churchill-revamps-derby-qualifying-system
My big thing: How hard is it to understand that the top 20 horses with the most earned money in races are the ones that become eligible to run in the race? Okay, there's the whole "graded system" of races, but you don't really need to know that since they (racing stewards) keep track of how much money is earned in graded races so all you have to look at (list wise) is how much money the horses have made. Sure, a lot of solo sports do use a point system (e.g., NASCAR) to determine the winner of a season and such, but, honestly, this is determining who is eligible to START in a race. I think it's an interesting system to add the points and I am glad they are trying to come up with new ways to generate more fans and to change things around, but I don't think this is it.
First off, I think the point system is incredibly limiting for the trainers because the trainers now have to make sure they enter their horses in the races with points. Some small-time trainers sometimes wait to enter their horses in the bigger races to make sure the horse can do well in it since entering a horse in the Derby isn't cheap (it costs over $50,000 to start in the Kentucky Derby, not including the nomination fee (between $600-$6,000), it costs $25,000 to enter and $25,000 to start). So instead of going about it their own way, they now have to plot a path through the number of races CDI is going to count instead of allowing well over a hundred different options.
Not only that, the new system practically makes it impossible for a filly (female horse) to enter the Derby. Most fillies who have run in the Derby have run in restricted races (i.e., against other females) and then run in the Derby. The new system makes it so fillies HAVE to run in open company (i.e., against other males) BEFORE the Derby to even be eligible on the list. I simply don't see trainers doing that to their fillies. Trainers almost from the start now have to think "Derby" with a filly rather than running her against her fellow 3yos to decide if she's good enough or not. Admittedly, in other countries, females running against males isn't an unusual thing as it is in the US, but we have our system and I don't see more females running against males to start in the Derby.
Another thing, I feel like the CDI was kind of "lame" with their list of chosen races because they didn't include some races that have produced Derby winners, but added races that haven't produced a winner. Really? Who is it for these "people" to determine where the best runners are going to come from? Mine That Bird (2009 winner) wouldn't even have made it onto the list if they had the point system back then. Not only that, they made some races more valuable than others. Again, who is to say that one race is more valuable than another?
And my last quibble (I suppose it just makes me sound lazy) is that I'm going to have to keep a spreadsheet now of the races, their point value, which horses win it, and how many points the horses earn. Course, someone else will keep that list for me, but it's more work!
I think the REAL reason they're doing this is they can market better. As they do with all other sports like the playoff season, they have a marketing strategy to point people to the lead-up to the Derby underneath one marketing banner. Sure, it simplifies things better that way, but since ESPN and NBC don't even air these races, what's the point? If they simply aired those races, I don't think you'd even need the point system to drum up interest. I think the point system is interesting because almost everyone can understand a point system and people can now tally points for their horses and keep track of them (I guess), but I'd rather they just made a blanket point system (30 for 1st, 15 for 2nd, and 5 for 3rd - as an example). Not only that, but money earnings can be easily done too if you want your horse to win...They tell you how much a race is earned for each race. Okay, I guess counting to several hundred thousand can be a pain.
To say the least, I'm not exactly thrilled by the new system. I think I'd be more thrilled for them to change the age restriction on the race (how about 4 instead of 3 year olds?) or even change the field number (how about 14 horses (like the fillies compete against) instead of 20?) than the point system. I suppose, in the end, the next year will be an interesting time to see how this point system works. It'd be great if it garners more fans, but I highly doubt it.
Next post will return to your regular movie news. I watched two movies this week. They were movie rentals as theirs nothing in theater I want to watch right now (I think Madagascar and Prometheus will be renters) until after the 22nd when Brave comes out! Chris is not looking forward to it, but I certainly am!
Today, CDI (Churchill Downs Incorporated) announced the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" to better connect with fans and to help them understand how a horse becomes eligible to start in the Kentucky Derby. You can read the Blood-Horse's article on it here: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/70551/churchill-revamps-derby-qualifying-system
My big thing: How hard is it to understand that the top 20 horses with the most earned money in races are the ones that become eligible to run in the race? Okay, there's the whole "graded system" of races, but you don't really need to know that since they (racing stewards) keep track of how much money is earned in graded races so all you have to look at (list wise) is how much money the horses have made. Sure, a lot of solo sports do use a point system (e.g., NASCAR) to determine the winner of a season and such, but, honestly, this is determining who is eligible to START in a race. I think it's an interesting system to add the points and I am glad they are trying to come up with new ways to generate more fans and to change things around, but I don't think this is it.
First off, I think the point system is incredibly limiting for the trainers because the trainers now have to make sure they enter their horses in the races with points. Some small-time trainers sometimes wait to enter their horses in the bigger races to make sure the horse can do well in it since entering a horse in the Derby isn't cheap (it costs over $50,000 to start in the Kentucky Derby, not including the nomination fee (between $600-$6,000), it costs $25,000 to enter and $25,000 to start). So instead of going about it their own way, they now have to plot a path through the number of races CDI is going to count instead of allowing well over a hundred different options.
Not only that, the new system practically makes it impossible for a filly (female horse) to enter the Derby. Most fillies who have run in the Derby have run in restricted races (i.e., against other females) and then run in the Derby. The new system makes it so fillies HAVE to run in open company (i.e., against other males) BEFORE the Derby to even be eligible on the list. I simply don't see trainers doing that to their fillies. Trainers almost from the start now have to think "Derby" with a filly rather than running her against her fellow 3yos to decide if she's good enough or not. Admittedly, in other countries, females running against males isn't an unusual thing as it is in the US, but we have our system and I don't see more females running against males to start in the Derby.
Another thing, I feel like the CDI was kind of "lame" with their list of chosen races because they didn't include some races that have produced Derby winners, but added races that haven't produced a winner. Really? Who is it for these "people" to determine where the best runners are going to come from? Mine That Bird (2009 winner) wouldn't even have made it onto the list if they had the point system back then. Not only that, they made some races more valuable than others. Again, who is to say that one race is more valuable than another?
And my last quibble (I suppose it just makes me sound lazy) is that I'm going to have to keep a spreadsheet now of the races, their point value, which horses win it, and how many points the horses earn. Course, someone else will keep that list for me, but it's more work!
I think the REAL reason they're doing this is they can market better. As they do with all other sports like the playoff season, they have a marketing strategy to point people to the lead-up to the Derby underneath one marketing banner. Sure, it simplifies things better that way, but since ESPN and NBC don't even air these races, what's the point? If they simply aired those races, I don't think you'd even need the point system to drum up interest. I think the point system is interesting because almost everyone can understand a point system and people can now tally points for their horses and keep track of them (I guess), but I'd rather they just made a blanket point system (30 for 1st, 15 for 2nd, and 5 for 3rd - as an example). Not only that, but money earnings can be easily done too if you want your horse to win...They tell you how much a race is earned for each race. Okay, I guess counting to several hundred thousand can be a pain.
To say the least, I'm not exactly thrilled by the new system. I think I'd be more thrilled for them to change the age restriction on the race (how about 4 instead of 3 year olds?) or even change the field number (how about 14 horses (like the fillies compete against) instead of 20?) than the point system. I suppose, in the end, the next year will be an interesting time to see how this point system works. It'd be great if it garners more fans, but I highly doubt it.
Next post will return to your regular movie news. I watched two movies this week. They were movie rentals as theirs nothing in theater I want to watch right now (I think Madagascar and Prometheus will be renters) until after the 22nd when Brave comes out! Chris is not looking forward to it, but I certainly am!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Movies: Snow White & the Huntsman & New Year's Eve
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-
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-
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.
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