I am a critic who has a particular pet-peeve about films/movies using the titles from literary works with little or no similarity to said work. Just call it something else Warner Bros. You're not plagiarizing cause you wrote a completely different movie. Similarly, I wish comic book adaptations would follow suit and produce movies with a titling system similar to comic books themselves. For example, the recent run of Spiderman movies are not only not the only Spiderman movies ever made, but are also not cohesive with any specific spidey vein and should therefore have their own name (i.e. The Living Spiderman, or something less cheesey).
I digress
Will Smith did an amazing job with this role, and I was much displeased with my only way to express this with the words: "He displayed an intense array of emotional expression." He did though, and complimented with excellent directing, created an enjoyable movie experience (save the packed theatre with all the hooping and hollering that entails (okay dudes, I realize that Will is all ripped in this movie, but you don't have to express this out loud during a scene that is supposed to have emotional content)). Go see it, but don't call the movie I Am Legend in your head, and then expect to get any sort of similar story in the book. Then go read the book because it is way better then the film.
Plot- 2
Directing- 4
Acting- 4
Cinematography- 3
Gore- 1 (Its Will Smith (who never swears in case you don't know) its PG-13, however I didn't apprech the dog scene.... you'll know what I'm talking about)
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Trailer Park
Here are some trailers/posters for some films I'm definately going to see.... I can't guarantee they will be good, mainly because I like bad movies, but nevertheless....
Skinwalkers:
One Missed Call:
AVP: Requiem (trailer coming)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crustal Skull!!!! (no trailer yet)
and Finally
Hell Boy: The Golden Army
Skinwalkers:
One Missed Call:
AVP: Requiem (trailer coming)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crustal Skull!!!! (no trailer yet)
and Finally
Hell Boy: The Golden Army
The Darjeeling Limited
Went to see Wes Anderson's new film last night: 
The Darjeeling Limited. Good stuff as always. In retrospect, it wasn't my favorite Wes film. On the other hand Natalie Portman was phenomenal. Well at least phenomenally hot as always (still not as hot as Bald Natalie in "V for Vendetta" tho). And Adrien Brody was really good, but he always is. One scene that stuck out in my mind as one of the more powerful moments in the film was when Owen Wilson was removing his bandages. If you saw it, you should remember. For some reason that scene itself exuded raw emotional content, with no dialogue. You gotta like that.
One other point that this film illuminated for me, was the creative imput of Wes' brother, Eric Chase Anderson. I had seen the name before, and remember him doing much of the illustrations/wallpaper for The Royal Tenenbaums, but the larger than life plug at the beginning of this film (for the wildlife luggage i think was his credit) really made me think about him and so I checked out his work this morning. In reality, I think it is more Eric's influence as set designer that gives Wes' films there general flavor. Granted music has a huge part to play, as well as cinematography, and dialogue not to leave that out of the loop, but those images we remember about Wes' films are usually marked by Eric's creative style...
Anyway, go see it if you haven't. And if you have seen TRT or Life Aquatic, go see those too.
Plot- 3
Directing- 4
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 4
Gore- n/a
The Darjeeling Limited. Good stuff as always. In retrospect, it wasn't my favorite Wes film. On the other hand Natalie Portman was phenomenal. Well at least phenomenally hot as always (still not as hot as Bald Natalie in "V for Vendetta" tho). And Adrien Brody was really good, but he always is. One scene that stuck out in my mind as one of the more powerful moments in the film was when Owen Wilson was removing his bandages. If you saw it, you should remember. For some reason that scene itself exuded raw emotional content, with no dialogue. You gotta like that.One other point that this film illuminated for me, was the creative imput of Wes' brother, Eric Chase Anderson. I had seen the name before, and remember him doing much of the illustrations/wallpaper for The Royal Tenenbaums, but the larger than life plug at the beginning of this film (for the wildlife luggage i think was his credit) really made me think about him and so I checked out his work this morning. In reality, I think it is more Eric's influence as set designer that gives Wes' films there general flavor. Granted music has a huge part to play, as well as cinematography, and dialogue not to leave that out of the loop, but those images we remember about Wes' films are usually marked by Eric's creative style...
Anyway, go see it if you haven't. And if you have seen TRT or Life Aquatic, go see those too.
Plot- 3
Directing- 4
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 4
Gore- n/a
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Hitman
Awesome. I've had such good luck with movies this week!
So this movie is based on one of the greatest video games around (same title). At first I wasn't so into Timothy Olyphant as agent 47, as I like the big guy, but he did a good job. Tim generally does a good job in his films, even if they are generally small parts (he was in Stop-loss too). I really liked this movie, even if Vin Diesel produced it and it had the directing style of Micheal Bay ("that's not being creative, that just special effects!!"). However I can't tell you if I liked it because I played the game so much or not. However my friend Gina liked it, and she didn't play it...
Regardless, this is a action movie on the caliber of most hitman style movies (except "The Professional" which is a total classic), so if you like that sort of thing, check it out!
Plot- 2
Directing- 3
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 2
Gore- 1 for murder
So this movie is based on one of the greatest video games around (same title). At first I wasn't so into Timothy Olyphant as agent 47, as I like the big guy, but he did a good job. Tim generally does a good job in his films, even if they are generally small parts (he was in Stop-loss too). I really liked this movie, even if Vin Diesel produced it and it had the directing style of Micheal Bay ("that's not being creative, that just special effects!!"). However I can't tell you if I liked it because I played the game so much or not. However my friend Gina liked it, and she didn't play it...
Regardless, this is a action movie on the caliber of most hitman style movies (except "The Professional" which is a total classic), so if you like that sort of thing, check it out!
Plot- 2
Directing- 3
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 2
Gore- 1 for murder
Pink Flamingo's
Just got John Waters' Pink Flamingo's.... omg, that movie was freakin awesome. Kitsch, vibrant, good music and hilarious to boot. Now, the movie is not for the feint of heart. There is loads of nudity, bestiality, animal abuse, violence, murder and general filthiness.
Why can't they make movies like this anymore? oh yeah... the mpaa. You know what? Fuck the MPAA. If you haven't seen "This Film Is Not Rated"...do it. It is an exposé on the totally bullshit that is the MPAA. For the lazy ones out there, a brief description. The MPAA exists under the guise of "rating" movies so that people can more accurately determine what movies they want to go see, emphasis on families going to see movies. However, the real effect of the rating system is to solidify the ties between motion picture corporations, and their revenue via ticket sales. They claim that the ratings don't affect the revenue of a film, however movies are shown in theatres that restrict which type of ratings they show and how much they show them. So movies companies will specifically write in a directors contract that it has to get a R or below rating, or they won't let them produce it, strictly because they know they won't make the money back due to limited release etc.... So basically the MPAA and the motion picture corporations have decided to determine the american people's taste in movies, and they have tricked everyone into believing that they're right! The worst part is that the major claim of the MPAA is to protect kids/families as well as represent the "american moviegoer", since they limit who at what age is allowed to see the films, yet they are mostly cristain and single, some not even american?!? arrghhh.... Actually, the worst part is that the MPAA is entirely a private company that limits the "free speech"of film artists in the states (which in case you didn't know, doesn't truly exist) in a totally sleezey way.
Regardless, a movie like this will never be made in this country again unless it is an independent film, and not like as in warnerbros independent, but get your camera and lets go shoot independent.
Plot- 4
Directing- 4
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 3
Gore- 3 for killing a chicken in a sex scene
ps. anyone want to get my camera and go shoot?
John Waters' Pink Flamingo's.... omg, that movie was freakin awesome. Kitsch, vibrant, good music and hilarious to boot. Now, the movie is not for the feint of heart. There is loads of nudity, bestiality, animal abuse, violence, murder and general filthiness.Why can't they make movies like this anymore? oh yeah... the mpaa. You know what? Fuck the MPAA. If you haven't seen "This Film Is Not Rated"...do it. It is an exposé on the totally bullshit that is the MPAA. For the lazy ones out there, a brief description. The MPAA exists under the guise of "rating" movies so that people can more accurately determine what movies they want to go see, emphasis on families going to see movies. However, the real effect of the rating system is to solidify the ties between motion picture corporations, and their revenue via ticket sales. They claim that the ratings don't affect the revenue of a film, however movies are shown in theatres that restrict which type of ratings they show and how much they show them. So movies companies will specifically write in a directors contract that it has to get a R or below rating, or they won't let them produce it, strictly because they know they won't make the money back due to limited release etc.... So basically the MPAA and the motion picture corporations have decided to determine the american people's taste in movies, and they have tricked everyone into believing that they're right! The worst part is that the major claim of the MPAA is to protect kids/families as well as represent the "american moviegoer", since they limit who at what age is allowed to see the films, yet they are mostly cristain and single, some not even american?!? arrghhh.... Actually, the worst part is that the MPAA is entirely a private company that limits the "free speech"of film artists in the states (which in case you didn't know, doesn't truly exist) in a totally sleezey way.
Regardless, a movie like this will never be made in this country again unless it is an independent film, and not like as in warnerbros independent, but get your camera and lets go shoot independent.
Plot- 4
Directing- 4
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 3
Gore- 3 for killing a chicken in a sex scene
ps. anyone want to get my camera and go shoot?
Monday, December 3, 2007
Futurama: Bender's Big Score *spoilers*
ugghhh... It sucks when a reasonably good show is canceled, and then comes back with a weak attempt at movie entertainment. Okay, maybe a little harsh, but this flick doesn't even compare to the original show. The first hour is pretty close (with the occasionally terrible song), but the last half an hour is just terrible, with frequent terrible songs.
The original writers obviously weren't around for this one, as the story is mostly crap. I'm glad that they included a story line that detailed Fry and Leela's relationship, as that was key to the show and left vague at the end of the series (specifically in the last episode), even though left open ended again. However, the killer for me was the crappy songs. Matt Groenig's crew is renowned for their hilarious musical style song writing, which was horribly besmirched in the recent film. Horrible tunes + bad lyrics + short length = no beuno. Thank your goddess the movie was direct to dvd, and hence free thanks to Grants rental =O
Plot- 2
Directing- 1
Acting- 2
Cinematography- 2
Gore- 2 for animated violence
The original writers obviously weren't around for this one, as the story is mostly crap. I'm glad that they included a story line that detailed Fry and Leela's relationship, as that was key to the show and left vague at the end of the series (specifically in the last episode), even though left open ended again. However, the killer for me was the crappy songs. Matt Groenig's crew is renowned for their hilarious musical style song writing, which was horribly besmirched in the recent film. Horrible tunes + bad lyrics + short length = no beuno. Thank your goddess the movie was direct to dvd, and hence free thanks to Grants rental =O
Plot- 2
Directing- 1
Acting- 2
Cinematography- 2
Gore- 2 for animated violence
Beowulf 3D
Remember the red and blue specs for 3-D back in the day. When I was little I used to wear mine around all day, which is why my eyes are all fucked up now. Regardless 3-D technology has changed quite dramatically since then, now featuring polarized films which lack colour tint. I predict that polarized 3-D technology will soon make its way into our houses (hopefully a video game console will wise up!).
The film: Good stuff in general. Angelina naked, 3-D action, cgi ridiculousness... What else can you ask for? If you're into computer graphics, then that alone is enough reason to check out the film. I peed just a little during it the film it was so beautiful... As far as action movie go, it was pretty run of the mill, so if cgi doesn't impress you, think twice....
Plot- 3
Directing- 3
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 4
Gore- 1 for lite animated violence
The film: Good stuff in general. Angelina naked, 3-D action, cgi ridiculousness... What else can you ask for? If you're into computer graphics, then that alone is enough reason to check out the film. I peed just a little during it the film it was so beautiful... As far as action movie go, it was pretty run of the mill, so if cgi doesn't impress you, think twice....
Plot- 3
Directing- 3
Acting- 3
Cinematography- 4
Gore- 1 for lite animated violence
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