caught somewhere between real life, simple faith, & raw emotion
Movie Reviews
Movie Review:The Happening
216 years
I saw M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie,The Happening, this weekend. M. Night has made some of my favorite movies. For me, he hit it out of the park with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. He hit a double with The Village and hit a single with Lady in the Lake.
The Happening was a double. Overall, it was a good movie. As always, Night has a way of telling a very scary story without being graphic or obvious. I love the way he uses subtlety and imagery to tell the story.
What I also really like about his work is that his movies have an Alfred Hitchcock-ian feel to them. Hitchcock’s movies were also very scary through their subtlety. It is a very minimalist way to make a movie. One in which what is not said or done tells the story as much as what is said or done. I also like how Night incorporates his hometown of Philadelphia in his movies.
The reason I didn’t like the movie more was personal. It had an environmental message to it. Not that I hate the environment, but I get tired of political hot-button agenda issues always being pushed in my face. I hope this doesn’t ruin it for you if you haven’t seen it, but the implication was that the environment is getting humanity back for its offenses against it. When I go to see a movie I want to escape reality. I don’t want to be preached at and be told how to live.
Oh yea, Mark Wahlberg did a fine job too. I actually think he is decent actor.
The Happening was OK.
Movie Review:Kung Fu Panda (and a thought)
13116 years
We took all the kids to see Kung Fu Panda this weekend. It was awesome!
Jack Black did the voice for the the star, Po (the panda), and he was amazing. The movie was absolutely hilarious. Jack was perfect for the role of a lazy, fat, nervous eater. Me and the dad behind me couldn’t stop laughing.
It was a great story in the line of the antihero with a little anxiety and quirkiness for good measure. It showed that you don’t have to be perfect to accomplish something great.
My kids loved it too. Even the baby was good in the theater. If you have kids I definitely recommend this movie as a family outting. My favorite line in the movie was:
“Squadoosh!”-Po said it as he laid the smack down on the villain in the end of the film.
But something about going to the movies with my kids always seems to bother me. It’s that all the things before the movie (the trailers, commercials, mockumentaries etc.) always have something inappropriate for kids in them. This time there was a commercial for the upcoming movie Get Smart(which looks hilarious) that doubled as a ‘please turn off your cell phones’ announcement. In it one of the characters said ‘damn!’
Am I knit picking? I hate this stuff. It’s not like the theater doesn’t know kids are going to be there. What do you do with a 6, 4, and 1 year old? Do you not go to the movies? Do you talk to the manager?
Movie Review:Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
116 years
I saw Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was Jonesin’ for Jones, but I was worried. Of recent, several movies have been made that I grew up with (Rocky, Rambo, Alien, Superman, Star Wars). Certainly, I love the idea, but there is always the thought that they may ruin it. Like Rocky 5, Alien 3, Alien 4, Superman 4. Ever see them? They really take away from the power and mythology of those stories, if you ask me.
So I was very worried. Indiana Jones is one of the most amazing characters in movie-making. The first three movies in the series are unparalleled stories. They embody the magic that is movie-making in every sense of the phrase. He is a beloved character that embedded deep in all that is Americana.
Well, I liked the movie. It was well worth the price of admission to see it in the theater. And I must not be alone as it has grossed over 300 million worldwide already. I think it was my least favorite of the four movies, but it was still good. Why?
There were parts of the story that reached beyond the action-adventure genre, which I believe Indiana Jones has helped to define, and touched on sci-fi. I had a problem with that. To me, that’s just not Jones. Apparently, this element of the story was what Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas have been going back-and-forth over for the last five years.
But Harrison Ford looked amazing for his age. He was Indy all the way. Funny, clumsy, and tough all at the same time. They also totally set it up for more movies to be made, hinting at Shia LaBeouf taking the mantle.
Go see it. It’s a fun adventure.
Movie Review: This Is Spinal Tap
316 years
I watched This Is Spinal Tap weekend. OK, it wasn’t the first time I saw it. But it’s been about 20 years since I’ve seen it so it was like watching it for the first time all over again. Plus, I watched it with my wife and she has never seen it. Although her looks at me as we watched it (and I cracked up) communicated something other than enjoyment. Disdain is a good word. It was as if she was saying with her beautiful brown eyes, “Why are we even watching this? It’s not even funny.”
This movie is quite hilarious, I assure you. If you have never seen it you are definitely missing out. It is a poke at the post-70’s to mid-80’s Glam Rock and Metal bands. It chronicles the fictional legendary band Spinal Tap as it struggles to hold on to its fame. And it is quite accurate in its humorous portrayal of these ailing washed-up rock stars. It was also way ahead of it’s time.
I love this movie.
Favorite quotes:
“Ours go to 11.”
“It’s in the key of D minor. I find that to be the most depressing of all keys. People literally start weeping when they hear it.”
“Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It’s just not really widely reported.”
Favorite album:
Toss up between Shark Sandwich and Smell the Glove
Movie Review & Question: Ironman
516 years
I saw Ironman with Robert Downey, Jr. this weekend. It was a great movie. I really enjoyed it. The story was good and the effects were amazing. CGI is getting to a point where you can hardly tell something is animated these days. So I highly recommend it and plan on owning it when it comes out on DVD (another way how I gauge how good a movie is).
Robert Downey, Jr. was very good. I’ve always liked him. Gotta love movies like Weird Science, The Pick-up Artist, and Less Than Zero. Now if he could just stay of the dope, he’d have an even more amazing career.
There were, however, what seemed to be a few small comments that hinted at anti-Americanism. After all, you know how fashionable it is these days to point out how ‘evil’ America is, even though it is the most generous country in the world and nearly every other country is happy to take our money in the form of aid (including countries like France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, etc).
It basically came as the main character, Tony Stark, saying he wanted to change his legacy (of being the major weapons manufacturer for America) because he saw how bad it was, thereby alluding to America as being bad as well. The thing is, he himself became the weapon so I don’t really get it. I don’t see how that’s different. This isn’t really any moral high-ground, if you ask me. Maybe I’m just too dumb to get this elite type of double-thinking. But the movie was still amazing.
The best line in the movie went something like this:
“I’ve been held captive in cave for 3 months. The first thing I want is an American cheeseburger.”
Here’s my question, can you be a superhero if you don’t actually have any super powers? That’s kind of how I define a superhero. Otherwise, aren’t you just a guy in a suit? Or is it that if you accomplish a high enough volume and intensity in heroic acts, that you can attain the status of super-hero even without super powers?
