Quiet on the set!

Sundance 2012 Review: Wish You Were Here

2012-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

My very first sun dance festival turned out to be quite a treat. The Aussie film 'Wish You Were Here' turned out to have quite a promising cast, a smart script and a few twists that made it more than you're average drama. The plot centers around a single couple who are dealing with the aftermath of a vacation where a mutual friend has disappeared. That, coupled with questions of infidelity, fears about their own relationship and the burden of trying to raise an ever expanding family make for a stewpot of unintended consequences.

Most would assume rising Hollywood star Joel Edgerton would be the main draw here...and while his films Animal Kingdom and Warrior bring in the audience, it's screenwriter and lead Felicity Price, playing his wife who steals the show. Her candid portrayal of a wife who is trying to care for her kids, deal with tragedy and attempt to save a crumbling marriage demands your full empathy. Joel does great as the torn and confused husband and Teresa Palmer does her part as the grieving sister who's boyfriend disappears. The ending provides quite a twist that resolves much of the moral ambiguities the movie introduces and proves that open communication and trust are needed in any marriage to make it work.

The film has problems with pacing and editing. The director could have chosen much better shots to establish location and mood. Also, the film seemed to drag at times as if the director was too in love with a lot of the content to leave it on the cutting room floor. This was detrimental to the film that seemed to waver between a crackling thriller and a domestic drama. If the director could decide on the film he was trying to make, and let the script tell the underlying story, this film would be very marketable. In the meantime we will have to enjoy the story and the acting...and wait for the filmmaking to catch up.

Sundance notes: at the screening was the director, producer and cast...who were very friendly and seemed genuinely excited to be at Sundance. They fielded questions after the screening. I was able to meet Joel Edgerton and ask how he was cast. He actually went to school and trained with the director, but had to ask to be in the film after seeing his friends notes and realizing they had proposed another actor to play the part he wanted. He is still pretty cut for anyone who remembers him as Brendan in Warrior.

UPDATE: Wish You Were Here was just aquired by Entertainment One and is expected to be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada in fall 2012.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol - A live action cartoon roller coaster

2012-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

I’m Back. I know, its been a really long time but I have re-resolutioned myself to write some actually compelling reviews with deep insight and modern interpretations….in very short form. The year begins with Mission Impossible 4 colon Ghost Protocol. No clue why they added the colon or the by line as the name Ghost Protocol merely is a mission terminology meaning that the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) has been disavowed by the government. This disavowal comes after Ethan Hawke, i mean Hunt's (couch jumper Tom Cruise) team gest set up and the Kremlin explodes. Of course a whole lot of chases, action sequences and explosions later, the final object of the team is to prevent a madman (don’t remember his name) from blowing up the world.

Nothing in this movie is remotely believable from the sets, to the stunts, to the damage a human body can take, the beauty of the participants or even the snarky humor injected under extreme duress by the assistant (Simon Pegg, whom I met in the Bathroom at a theater in Austin TX…but that’s another story). But you know what…that’s what makes the movie so gosh-darn fun. It’s a bigger, bolder, better experience in the theaters precisely because all the laws of physics and common sense have been thrown out the window. It’s like watching Looney Tunes in real life, which makes sense considering it was directed by Brad Bird (of Iron Giant, Ratatouille, The Incredibles fame). What a thrill ride. It doesn’t matter that I could care less for any of the characters; I really am not that emotionally involved with the cart I’m sitting in on a roller coaster either but I sure like the trip it takes me on.

Acting aside, it’s the special effects that steal the show. The stunts are incredible and the pace is unrelenting. Its not all testosterone either…more like dodge ball with ballerinas than a football game. The women of the movie are sadly given nothing to do but glare and act like pillars of wood, but everyone else seems to be having fun. Have a good time with it and if you can…watch it in IMAX, the audible gasp of the audience as you peer 120 stories down is worth the price of admission alone, that, and knowing it’s one of many hills this soulless yet bombastically creative roller coaster is gonna take you on.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Fun with absolutely no substance

2011-05-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Superhero movie seem to have gotten into a rut where the first ones pretty good, the second is great and the third is a jumbled embarrassment. (X-Men, Spiderman etc.) If only Pirates of the Caribbean could have had the problem. Instead it suffers from Matrix fatigue where the first is awesome and the next two devolve into silly confusion. The last two Pirate movies were atrocious so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to a 4th dose.

Fortunately, it’s amazing what a simplified plot can do. It can re-introduce something into the series that was missing from the last two films…that is Fun! Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a good movie by any means, in fact it’s even sillier than its predecessors. It’s almost completely devoid of thrills. The scariest part is when Jack jumps off a cliff (oh, and psycho mermaids). It’s plot is dumber than dumb “A bunch of people are trying to get to the Fountain of Youth including Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) Captain Barbossa (Geoffry Rush), Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Angelica-Blackbeard’s Daughter (Penelope Cruz) and a bunch of Spaniards”. There, sorry If I ruined the movie for you.

Out of the inept action sequences, silly dialog and ridiculous sincerity, comes a watchable and fun film. Granted it makes Thor look like a Terrance Malick movie, but the silliness is all a part of what we signed up for right? We want to see things blow up; pirates make for the high seas, Cannon battles (oh crud, none of those) and mystical legends. It’s exactly what we get. Credit Depp and Cruz for literally carrying the whole movie on innuendoes, and a romance between a mermaid and a clergyman to bring out the emotion.

While it was fun to watch I left feeling unfulfilled. It wasn’t until I had a discussion with a coworker that I realized why. We movie watchers like to see some progression in the characters we have invested in. Weather its changing to a new man, overcoming insurmountable odds or declining into monstrosity…its what fuels our investment. Unfortunately, all the characters remain relatively the same, never reaching beyond their idiosyncrasies. Which makes for great comfort food, but not much in the way of exciting variety that wets out palettes for more. Too bad, the ending sets us up for more weather we like it or not.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
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Thor: A great big pile of unbelievable awesomeness!!

2011-05-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Of all the comic book movies that have come out in recent years, Thor is probably the character I know the least about. An avid comic book reader, I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ve ever read a single issue about Thor other than the Avengers series. That being said, I guess I came into this movie with Fresh eyes, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. In dealing with most of the Marvel universe, there is some attempt to at least tie the movie into a hypothetical scientific equation…”what happens if there was genetic mutation?” “What would happen if you had all the money in the world for a super suit?” With Thor, that entire attempt at logic is thrown out the window. Instead we are left with a tale of interplanetary guardians, Norse gods, immortality and a really big Hammer with an unpronounceable name.

After saying all that I bet you were expecting me to tear the film apart. On the contrary, this was one silly, fun, action ride that does not relay on the audiences acceptance of physical limits to have a good time. The fist quarter bothered me because it is so fantastical and out there. Really, we are supposed to care about the problems of whinny gods on a made up planet in a gold castle? But one I took of my cheese detector, I really had a good time with it.

Thor is the God of thunder who is banished by his father to earth for insubordination and has to learn qualities of humanity to return as the rightful heir of the throne. Of course that is an oversimplification, but the rest of the story is just thrown in there to make really cool action fight scenes. Chris Hemsworth as walking testosterone plays the title character as Natalie Portman plays the “most beautiful scientist in the world” (Thanks X-Men, Transformers, Hulk) role as the girl who changes Thor’s heart. It was a little weird that Thor was able to change his heart an attitude so quickly. I guess all one has to do is spend a few days in a remote New Mexican town to prepare to rule the universe.

But if you put your facetiousness aside, this was a quite the thrill ride. Kenneth Branagh, mainly known for his Shakespearian flicks does a great job of making the antiquated speech of Norse gods seem honorable and actually makes the supporting cast earn their laughs. Kat Dennings is a scene-stealer as Potrman’s intern and the special effects (if not too many) do a great job of making sure you know there is nothing based on reality in this movie, and that’s a good thing. While we are talking about the implausible, I have decided that I am going to work on getting Chris Hemsworth physique, That’s all.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
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Sundance Review: Win Win warms the heart.

2011-04-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Win Win was a pleasant surprise for me. Funny and bleak, it was a film I really didn’t want to go see at Sundance since it already had distribution, but it was the only one that fit in with my volunteer schedule for the day. Right off the bat I found I was chuckling to myself and fully involved with the characters within the first few minutes of the movie. That’s some dang good writing to make Paul Giamatti who plays the patriarch wrestling coach of the film seem relatable. When has Paul Giamatti ever been relatable in any of his quirky movies? Here, he makes a decision to take over the care of one of his clients, and ends up getting the clients grandson whom at first seems like a burden.

Fortunately, that was just the beginning of the good surprises, which included Amy Ryan as Paul’s scene stealing wife and proved her range as a severely different person than Holly on The Office. The Grandson (Alex Shaffer) bugged me at first but gradually became the character with which I empathized with the most. As a champion wrestler, he quickly proves his worth to Paul’s character that helps them turn their dismal high school wrestling season around. It was nice to see a teenage boy who was portrayed as flawed, but ultimately a good, well-meaning child that doesn’t let a sordid past and demons turn him into the rebellious monster we have seen overplayed since Rebel Without a Cause. The supporting proves to add most of the humor and frames the story is a relatable light.

The true strength of the movie is the screenwriting (Thomas McCarthy). There is no despicable villain, only well meaning people who make horrible decisions. The revelatory part of the movie is that the characters have to deal with the consequences. There is no magic formula for fixing their mistakes and sweeping all the loose ends up. Instead, we feel for the characters, their decisions and ultimately, it presents every single one as good-natured. Its rare to find a film that presents so many problems and decisions in a realistic light, but lets the humanity in each character shine thorough. While this may not be the best-directed film ever, or have the necessary gravitas to make it truly transcendent, it did bring a little light and warmth and hope to a snowy, pretentions film festival.

I got to listen to the screenwriters talk about their experiences after the screening. They both wrestled while growing up, but what made the movie was the fact that they took little parts of their lives like getting in shape or boiler problems and put those in the film. It was those small real touches that bring this movie up above common entertainment and make it seem that much more human.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Paul exposes all its laughs in the commercials: SXSW Review

2011-03-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

I had heard almost nothing about the movie Paul when I headed out to South by Southwest. A friend of mine wanted to see it and so I hooked up my computer and watched the trailer. Yeah..."it's hilarious" I thought and so decided to go to one of the late night screenings. Imagine my surprise when they brought out Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Kristen Wiig, the stars of the film to introduce it and to answer questions afterwards. These guys truly seemed to be having a good time at the screening and an even better time making the movie.

The film itself is about two Fanboys (Pegg and Frost) from England who decide to go on a road trip to Roswell New Mexico after soaking up ComicCon. On the way they meet Paul, an alien who has escaped Area 51 and is trying to get back home with the feds hot on their trail. Along their way they meet up with Wiigs character who happens to be a christian fundamentalist until they 'educate her' and she suddenly becomes cool.

So, theres not much as plot is concerned, it seems to borrow a familiar ET premise but with an updated stoner attitude. In fact, a lot of the movie is homages to Speilberg, geek culture and alien movies from yesteryear. These homages are probably the best part of the movie. The writing was solid but I must admit that the Pegg/Frost pairing is not as good as previos endeavors like Hott Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that this film was not directed by Edgar Wright (who sat across the isle from me at the premiere...hi Edgar). Whatever the reason, the films funniest parts are summed up in the trailer that I saw before the film.

I want to like this movie more, but it wasn't the best I saw at the festival, not even of the wide releases. But there was no denying the energy of the leads who led the audience in raucous cheers and answered all the questions we threw at them with hilarity and abandon I wish I would have seen more of in the film. (left: my blurry picture of the director, Pegg, Frost and Wigg talking with the audience) After the film as I was going to the restroom, Simon Pegg was just exiting with a security guard in tow. "They have a security guard follow you into the bathroom?" I asked. His reply "I need all the help I can get". Lets hope that isn't true for his future movies.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

SXSW: South by Southwest and the ballad of no sleep

2011-03-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

So last week I had the opportunity to attend South by Southwest. Now, this festival began as a Music festival in Austin Texas and has since swelled to include an Interactive conference and a Film festival. I was there at the Interactive conference for work wich took up most of my day from about 9:30am through 6pm. Since there was nothing to do at my hotel afterwards, and since I do not enjoy the drunken party scene sprayed all over 6th street, I spent my nights watching movies....and lots of them.

The cool thing about South by Southwest which differed from Sundance is their old theaters and even the Alamo Drafthose that serves dinner while you watch the movie. There is a lot of press hype and every screening features Q&A's afterwards. It was really cool to have the actors and directors answer questions about their films (thanks Brit Marling, Guillermo del Toro, Catherine Hardwicke, Rainn Wilson). It was also really cool to see the stars, however briefly and even get to speak to a few of them (gracias Simon Pegg and Jake Gyllenhaal). In all it was a great experience and I saw a lot of movies. I will be sure to update my reviews as I get around to them, but they will be mixed in with my Sundance reviews I never got around too.

I hope you will get a chance to check some of these movies out as many may never see a large distribution or release. At least you know that somewhere, somehow....good, interesting movies are still being made, wether thats reflected in your local movie theater is another matter. Too bad you won't be able to enjoy all the Texas Barbecue that I had to compliment my experience. Thank you Rudy's and the Ironworks Grille!!

Oscars - Predictions

2011-02-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

It would seem that I would be really into this years oscar race considering I have seen more films in the theater than I have since before I had children, but alas, i seem even more befuddled than usual. It seems there are a lot of worthy contenders which I must admit I have not seen. That being said, I will open up this years oscar prediction contest by saying that the winner will receive a limited edition movie poster. This year I am going with an interactive ballot from the NY Times HERE. You will need a facebook account or sign up through the NY Times to participate. Be sure you are one of my 'friends' so I can see your results. Sorry this is coming so late but let the contest begin!!

http://oscars.nytimes.com/ballot/fb8654d7

The Sundance Film Festival made me volunteer

2011-02-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

This past year I had the opportunity to volunteer at, and attend the Sundance Film Festival. I have been wanting to do this for some time and was excited to actually be in Park City for the festivities, but more importantly the screenings. More than I love watching movies, I love watching movies nobody has ever seen. Even though it was a lot of fun it was also a lot of work. I didn't realize how time consuming it would be. I also live an hour away from park city so the commuting miles added up. Here's a picture of my odometer at the beginning of the festival (64010). We'll check back after all my reviews to see how many miles I actually used volunteering and attending Sundance.

When I first volunteered they wanted me full time because of my Warner Bros. background, but I could not quit work, so I opted for part time. The still stuck me in the Press office where I was general information for filmakers and journalists that came through. I was based in the main headquarters located in the Park City Marriott.

Hopefully one day my family will forgive me for being away so much for those two weeks, but I was very grateful they indulged my inner child. The next couple of blogs will be movie reviews and general cultural observances of the Sundance Film Festival. I know that its over, but for true cinefiles, you can never get enough of film

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The Green Hornet was more fun for me than for you

2011-02-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Its not often that I am in the critical and popular minority on a film but in the case of the Green Hornet, it looks like I am bucking my trend for being somewhat reliable to someone. It seems like I am one of the only people who likes this movie. Critics panned it and most audiences just thought that it was OK. By no means do I think this is a great film, but it’s a lot of fun, it made me laugh, it didn’t take itself too seriously and it had enough visual pizzazz and quick pace to keep me interested. Most of the complaints I hear is that the Seth Rogen thing is way overdone, but since I have never really seen any of his earlier films (raunchy comedy’s not my thing) I guess I wasn’t sick of him enough.

The Green Hornet is based off the television show and has roughly the same plot. A rich newspaper tycoon Britt Reed (Rogen) takes on the underworld of crime with his sidekick Kato (Chinese pop star Jay Chou). Just like the TV series, It’s Kato that does all the hard work coming up with all the inventions and being the one who actually fights the crime. In fact, you really have to wonder why the Seth Rogan character is in it at all. But here’s the catch. That’s the charm. He really is completely unnecessary, and half the fun is watching his out of control narcissism and self assured ways that have no basis of merit. It also goes a long way in paving the way for the films central theme of acceptance and reliance, even in a partnership that is wildly uneven and diverse.

There are other small bits here. Cameron Diaz as the hot older secretary has some comedic chops but the scene-stealer is definitely Christoph Waltz (as Chud-nof-sky). As the reigning crime lord, he hams it up in the subtlest of ways that take his character way over the top. His accented imbecile of a mastermind lends neither humanity nor complexity to his role, just plenty of laughs. Michel Gondry is in rare form here. It’s refreshing to see his quirkiness applied to such a different style of film. This is no ‘Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, and in this case that is a very good thing. We’re looking for stupid fun and that is what we get. There is even a heavy dose of satire as we see a sendup of every final action shootout scene played out at the end that is so over the top you laugh at the absurdity of the violence. Perhaps that’s the films greatest achievement, being so overtly over the top that if you get it, it just seems to work. Well, at least for me.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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True Grit: Not a great Cohen film, but a great Western

2010-12-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

One thing people need to be careful of when watching remakes of movies is the nostalgia factor. That’s when a person has seen the original film a considerably long time ago, and over the years has built ups some sort of standard of the movie made from their memories. This standard they take into the theater when they go and see the remake, and because of nostalgia, incorrectly deem the new movie far worse or better than their memories of the original. There are two problems to this approach. The first is that any film should be judged on it’s own merit, let alone someone’s memories of a previous film. Secondly, usually people’s memories of a movie are wildly skewed. They take something they may have a fond memory of and put it on a pedestal. More often than not however, the original wasn’t that good to begin with. Take my experience with the original Clash of the Titans and the original Tron. I always remembered how awesome they were when I watched them as a kid, but seeing them more recently has proven that they do not age well and really weren’t that good to begin with. All that being said, anyone who actually goes down the path of making a ‘Remake’ consciously knows they are stepping into this nostalgia factor situation, and therefore I say all’s fair in the comparison department.

The original True Grit is not the cinematic masterpiece that everyone pretends to remember. It actually was quite an odd movie with John Wayne playing a colorful and unlikable fellow ‘Rooster’ Coburn. It was fraught with a lot of slow moments and wasn’t nearly as creative as some of the westerns of the time. The problem here as far as the nostalgia factor is concerned is that it was JOHN WAYNE! Luckily we have the Cohen brothers who are brave enough to attempt a remake starring the cinematic sacred cow of westerns. Here, the ‘Rooster character is played by Jeff bridges, with all the scraggly voice nonchalant-ness that screams more ‘The Dude’ from the Big Lebowski than a disgruntled US Marshall who is forced into being saddled next to comedic Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) and a little girl. It’s this Trio that carries the movie. Good thing since they are in every shot. No disrespect to Damon or Bridges…but its little Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross who steals every scene she’s in. A little fireball of resolute temper she is proper and cordial in all the wrong ways and beyond stubborn. For a lot of the film we forget she’s even a little girl, except that the filmmakers keep reminding us over and over.

What really surprised me is how much this film felt like a traditional western. “what did you think you were going to watch” you may ask? Well, the Cohen Brothers have never bee traditional anything. Look at any of their films and you will see the quirkiest examinations of characters and frank depiction of unrestrained violence as very signature to a particularly interesting style. After watching Oh Brother, Where art Thou and No Country for Old Men, one should rightfully assume that this would also pack a few surprises. But strait across the board this is a shoot-em-up, ride the trail kind of western with not much by way of surprises, introspection, off kilter characters or even black humor. This I would argue may be their most strait forward movie to date. Perhaps the; lack of style can be attributed to the fact that they try to span a lot of different genres. Comedy, action, drama, western, etc. are all on display here which doesn’t leave much room for experimentation or bucking conventional trends like so many of their other movies do.
The lack of the Cohen style is actually a good thing here. Rarely will you see a movie where you laugh about loud one minute only to be horrified by violence the next. Rarely is there a film where you are so engrossed in the characters that you forget their acting, and most importantly it’s a Cohen brother film that doesn’t draw attention to the fact that it’s a movie. Most of the films by these brethren have so many homages, quirks, tricks and scenes that take you out of the film; they become exercises in self-reflectivity and awareness. Here, the movie doesn’t mind being just a movie. It’s telling a story without all the normal minimalist embellishments which makes for a much more fulfilling experience, despite the fact that nothing feels new or clever like in their other movies.

The special effects could have been much better and I am sad that Josh Brolin only had a very small role. He was fun. Other than that, this is quite a worthy western. Maybe not John Wayne worthy (I’ll take the Searchers any day) but good enough to do the genres proud. Taking into consideration the nostalgia factor, I won’t be surprised that many people leave shaking their heads at how it wasn’t as good as the predecessor. Only time will truly tell, but right off the bat I believe the Cohen’s have done the Wayne classic proud. There’s plenty that the film tips its hat too, but it’s enough of an original on it’s own right to merit its own viewing, despite how much you love John Wayne. It may not have the charm of the original, but it’s a better movie.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: muddled and badly acted, but better than the first two

2010-12-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite books growing up as a child were the Chronicles of Narnia series. They were subversive, irreverent and wickedly silly, yet still had those good old Christian morals that made them ok to read by any parents standards. On the flip side, I have never really been a fan of the movie versions of the books. The first two were badly paced, horribly acted and were really awkward for some reason. The costuming and makeup were pretty lame and I honestly don’t recall what either was about (except what I remember from the books). So on this third go-round, I had high hopes. Not only is Voyage of the Dawn Treader my favorite of the Narnia books, but I had assumed the filmmakers had realized their mistakes and made some needed corrections to make this third installment a lot more enjoyable…well, not really.

Dawn Treader follows Lucy and Edmund (two of the original four world hoppers) on an adventure back to the land of Narnia. In tow is their cousin Eustace, and annoying dweeb who will do anything to try and get you to leave the theater. In returning to Narnia, they reunite with Prince Caspian who is onboard the Dawn Treader, the finest ship in the Narnian fleet. In the film its not quite explained as to why Prince Caspian is sailing around other than he wants to repay the seven Lords who swore allegiance to him. (yeah, read the book for clarification). Whilst abroad, they happen upon an evil green mists that eats people and decide to find out what it is and destroy it. Hijinx ensue, funny creatures are revealed and everyone acts so horribly morose you would think they were returning a ring to Mordor expecting death.

What I really want to do is spend an entire paragraph on the actor who plays Eustace (Will Poulter). There is a common phrase I reserve for actors who are so intolerably unwatchable that I can’t really come to terms with how ridiculously over the top bad they are. In this case it is entirely appropriate. I wanted to kick him in the throat! There, I said it. I know he is supposed to be an insufferable know-it-all from the books, but the thing couldn’t open his mouth without nails on the chalkboard type reaction from the audience. Lets just say I’m glad when he…well, I don’t want to ruin the movie, but all you book readers know what happens to Eustace and I welcomed his silence.

I would also like to comment on the other actors but I’m sure you’ve seen the other movies and therefore know how bad they really are. It seems that the filmmakers have taken some notes and removed the two of the four lead actors. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmond (Skandar Keynes) have not progressed much and poor price Caspian (Ben Barnes) has maybe 10 lines in the whole film. A shame since he was the best live action actor there. Of course, they are all outdone by the large Mouse Reepicheep (Simon Pegg) and of course Aslan (Liam Neeson). Despite minimal screen time for any one character in this movie, these animated characters do enough scenes salvaging to make the characters somewhat enjoyable.

The film of course is not all bad. I really and honestly enjoyed the special effects. They have certainly stepped it up a notch in terms of detail. I think what bothered me about the first two is that everyone wore such bright neon colors and nobody ever got dirty…even in battle. Luckily, I think due to the source material, the film is distinctly darker than the other two. Perhaps because the themes of pure evil and temptation are the plotlines that actually move the story along. The editing could be spruced up a bit as there were a lot of long awkward pauses as characters reacted to lines or looked at each other after a particularly witty line. The directing seemed adequate to get such a meandering story under control and the cinematographer should have realized that this was going to be a 3D movie…meaning that close up fight scenes are a no-no. The 3D was OK; a little nauseating at times which makes me think that it was post converted to 3D rather than filmed that way.

In all the film was very serviceable. I must admit that I enjoyed it more than the previous two even though I will probably have to rely on the books again if anyone asks me what its about. Of course, that is what the movies are about. Mindless entertainment can be fun, too bad there was little fun in this adaptation. It’s just a shame that all of the subtle relationships, adventures and connections that the book relates so simply, seem so muddled and incoherent here. It is quite enjoyable, but if you want any meaning or connection to the characters, read the book.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Hunger Games - Clip

2010-11-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

So I've never read the Hunger Games books, nor do I know that much about them but they have been optioned by Hollywood and are eventually being made into 'Blockbuster' movies a-la Twilight. Well, my cousin John Lyde is quite the accomplished filmmaker (see his IMDB page here) and got together with some actors who wanted to audition for the film version of the books. They put together a scene from the book that I must say is quite impressive considering they did it in an afternoon with the cameras they had on hand. I guess it's another example that makes me question why Hollywood has to spend millions and millions of dollars on a movie, when a fan made film looks just as good. There are some overly-long sections here but as a whole, I am very impressed. Feel free to pass on the link and share the clip.... especially if you are a fan of the Hunger Games.

Harry Potter 7: A slow, dazzling, dark experience indeed!

2010-11-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 is an exercise in patience for a few different reasons. The first is that the name is so dang long; most people I know have shortened it to Harry Potter 7. Secondly, if you want to see this thing you’re going to have to wait in some pretty long and fanatical lines. Granted, my family went and saw it 5 days early, but we still had to line up at noon for a 7pm showing. My wife took on the difficult task with flying colors and had to weather the storm with three little children. The worst parts according to her was the rabid fans that tried butting in front of her stroller or push her out of line. Makes me wonder if these fans are actually fans of Harry Potter…or maybe just the Dark Lord. Thirdly, the film is a lot more slow and methodical than the previous 6 installments, and I’m here to tell you that this is a good thing.

I would usually go into a plot scenario here, but am willing to bet that people have either seen the previous movies or have read the books. Suffice to say that the film picks up with the trio of friends (Harry, Ron and Hermione) ditching everyone to search for the Horcruxes that keep Voldermorts soul alive. This decision to go rouge was brought on by the fact that Harry, by virtue of being alive, puts everyone around him at mortal risk (lots of injuries and dying in this one). What I was impressed with is the fact that the filmmakers and actors spend time to let relationships and personalities of the various characters emerge. This may seem to some that the film is rather slow and boring, but from someone who appreciates story, it was refreshing to see so many characters get some brief attention. On the peripherals, Luna Lovegood, her Dad, the Weasly twins, Dobby do an excellent job of making the most of their limited screen time. What’s truly amazing is how wonderfully invested we are in Dobby, the little house elf who is merely a computer animated character, but has one scene stealing line after another. Credit that to the writers.

Most of the film rests on the shoulders of the three leads. Watching them grow up on screen has been unprecedented in movie history and now we get to see them mature as actors. I must admit they have improved considerably since their over hammed days of deadpan Ron and fro-tastic Hermione! What seems spectacular from the screenplay and the actors is that none of them upstaged each other. They all seem to have equal importance and effect in the story, literally making the film about the friendship rather than just Harry Potter the chosen one. I was upset that Voldermort did not have a bigger part as Fines seems to relish the role of pure evil. In movies nowadays, everything is blurred somewhere gray and it refreshing to see someone who is purely evil just to be evil. No character flaws or internal turmoil. He is the closest thing modern society has to Dracula or any other fictitious monster.

I was very impressed with the special effects. The first few movies were horrible in that regard (remember the cringe worthy Quidditch matches), but now the filmmakers seem to have gone for a more grounded and realistic feel. The effects are used sparingly for story rather than just to dazzle the eye. In this regard they have become seamless into the Harry Potter experience, rather than the draw itself. The crème-de-la-crème is the story of the Deathly Hollows itself as narrated by Hermione. The animation here was extraordinary, stylized dark and intricate all at the same time. One of my favorite parts of the film. The directing was very good as well even though I felt a lot of the awkward glances and pauses could have been more tightly edited. Weather that is the directors fault in timing the actors or the editors for lingering too long I don’t know, and honestly don’t care. It was a minor annoyance.

Now, my grievances. You really have to know these3 books or movies to understand. You are thrown in without any introduction or explanation. Things you may want to catch up on are 1. Who is everyone? 2. How doe the death eaters keep finding harry when he doesn’t have a trace on him? 3. Who are the grabbers? 4. What age in the wizzarding world are things suddenly acceptable? Apparating, traveling etc. None of these questions or elements are explained and the movie assumes you already know, so if you don’t…get caught up. Also, while I appreciated the extra time the film took to grow the characters, it did slog at some points. The other films were filled with so much energy and adventure; it would be impossible to replicate that feeling with this lonely storyline. Everything seems dark and hopeless and scene after scene of the friends alone in a tent can get repetitive. (Spoiler) The unnecessary computer generated nudity/makeout vision was also dumb. I understand the feeling they were trying to go for in showing inner turmoil and the perception of betrayal, but it could have been done more tasteful and was not necessary.

Other than that I have little to complain about the film. It is much more mature and older than its predecessors which shows that the Harry Potter franchise had indeed grown up and begun to take itself seriously. All this without it loosing its edge of fantastical fun is a triumph indeed. Its not really a film for small children since the themes of love and death may be a little above their heads, especially when they have been waiting in line for tickets for hours. But that was just personal experience. Go, have a good time and enjoy one of the few quality cinematic experiences of the year. It will worth your time, or at least your nostalgia.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Megamind: A funny movie that is ultimately unsatisfying

2010-11-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

To say that there has been a lot of superhero movies lately are an understatement. It seems as though 50% of everything released by Hollywood has in some way to do with comic books, superheroes or repurposed TV shows that centered on heroes fighting crime. Luckily there have been a few films that have successfully lampooned this trend in Hollywood cinema, or at least repurposed it to create telling takes on our social conscious. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, the Watchmen, The Incredibles are a few that take the Superhero formula and show us its all a bunch of show, or that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Megamind attempts to continue this trend in superhero subversion to somewhat likable results but it too heavy laden with cliché’s and honestly, some really unlikable characters to be put in any pantheon alongside some of its more successful predecessors. This is a shame considering that since it did come after, there was some sort of expectation that it might have a little more insight or at least a better way of making the whole superhero overdone theme a little more relevant.

Megamind is about, well, Megamind (Will Ferrell). As a small baby, he is sent to earth before his planet is destroyed (ala Superman). Unfortunately for him, another being was also jettisoned to our planet at the same time who becomes a superhero named Metro Man (Brad Pitt) creating and epic battle of who is really the best. Because of their upbringings and differing powers, there was really no way for Megamind to compete in the ‘superhero’ category, so instead he opted to become the evil nemesis. The movie then moves into a love triangle by introducing a reporter (Tina Fey), and also presents a problem when Metro Man is killed off (oh, sorry….spoiler alert). This is where the film gets a little interesting. What does a super villain do when his enemy is defeated? How does he react to his newfound power and influence and above all, does any of it really mean anything without someone to share it with.

Unfortunately, the script is not able to make good on any of the questions it proposes. It seems like a juicy premise to see what happens when there is nobody to stand up to the world’s greatest super villain, but when we actually see it, my reaction was…”huh, that’s it”? There is a lot of fun and funny banter between the characters, it just seems like the premise had a lot of potential but didn’t flesh out the plot. Characters also have a hard time winning our trust. Megamind is too much of a dufus to be really dangerous, and too good-natured to even feel that there is an existential crisis brewing in his huge blue skull about who he really is. Metro man is distinctly unlikable, so we’re not too bummed when he’s out of the picture, and the news reporter is a bit of a sarcastic downer, killing a lot of the joy and sight gags the movie throws in.

On the plus side, this movie is gorgeous. The visuals are top notch and the score isn’t too distracting. Textures and colors give the sense of a candy coated worlds of wonder, and that cartoony feel does a lot to tone down the expectations as far as characterization is concerned. However, story always trumps visuals so in this case it can’t keep up. The directing and comedic timing of the film lend for more than a few laughs and help refresh an otherwise mundane script. Voice talent does a great job, but the characters seem so irksome, its hard not to look past their written flaws.

Now I’m not saying this is a bad movie by any means. As a matter of fact I explained to my wife that it was merely, ‘meh’. The most telling aspect of the film was the reaction of my 7-year-old son. A lover of movies himself, some seem to get engrained in his head and he can’t stop talking about them or something cool or funny he saw while watching them. With Megamind, he said he enjoyed it but after the movie, I never once heard him mention it again. Maybe the filmmakers need to realize that in order for something to appeal to children as well as adults, character is still your most important creation. Until then, re-watch the Incredibles for your animated superhero flicks.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

RED: Movie Review

2010-10-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

I honestly knew almost nothing about RED before I went and saw it, and maybe that was a good thing. I had seen a preview for it at some point a while back but it honestly seemed like the marketing was almost non-existent for this film. I knew that it had a lot of famous people in it and was something about retired assassins, but I almost wrote it off as another Expendables until I got the chance to see an early screening. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this mildly funny, slick action pick. Of course it doesn’t have the testosterone of the expendables, but the lighter touch I think makes a winning combination when you are telling the story of a group of assassins.

The movie is about Bruce Willis (OK, I don’t know the characters names, but in a movie that is cast with all movie stars, I don’t think the filmmakers really care if you know the characters names) a retired CIA black-ops agent who goes throughout his mundane life before a team of assassins is sent to wipe him out. He then goes on the run with his never-met-before crush Sarah (Mary Louise-Parker) to gather information and essentially reassemble a team of retired assassins including Morgan Freeman, John Malkovitch, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox. Their purpose according to the plot is to find out why they are being targeted for elimination after they have been retired, but in all actuality, it was just so they could all get together and make sly one-liners, banter about age and do some serious damage. It feels like w you are invited to a party where everyone seems to be friends and at the top of their game, and that makes it fun for the audience as well.

The supporting cast is almost as good as the principals, but their characters don’t have near enough fun and are inconsistent in their portrayals. Bane plays the heartless CIA assassin who’s tasked with hunting down and killing Willis, but come to find out he’s a family man? Richard Dreyfuss plays the bad guy and his job is to be a sniveling bad guy. Not much else for him to do. Besides the acting, there is not much here to laude. The script has some very inventive banter, but the directions, cinematography and sets…were all very Hollywood: Top notch, professional and devoid of any personality. Luckily the cast more than makes up for the deficit.

The pacing of the film, could improve. There are too many slow times interspersed by very surreal sped up action sequences that jar the viewing experience. A certain philosophy may hold that the slow times are needed to balance out the overdrive of action explosions. While I tend to agree on this point, I thought that may of the spaces, long pauses, drawn out glances and awkward silences were more of an editing gaffe than intentional timing by the director. All the same, some of these lulls do enable the cast to build relationships and flesh out their characters. Mary Louise-Parker goes through the biggest metamorphosis from harried cubicle dweller to adventure seeker while John Malkovitch’s weirdo lends most of the comedy and care free abandon one would only hope to have in your later years.

I am not one to promote mindless action films usually (see my Losers review) but in this case, I think this film deserves a lot of praise. It is way too much fun and self-aware to be dismissed as horrible filmmaking. As a matter of fact, I would go so far to say that despite the script or predictability, it’s a very good movie. I can’t believe I’m owning up to the fact that a cast can save a picture no matter how mundane the plot, direction or film itself may be. If Alfred Hitchcock is right, and actors are just cattle, then these cattle must be some seriously funny top quality solid gold Angus.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Social Network: Movie Review

2010-10-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

It’s saying something about facebooks’ popularity when most people know the new film The Social Network as “The Facebook Movie.” It says even something more that the film uses restraint in telling the story of facebook without delving much into its popularity, functionality or even purpose. If one honestly had no clue what facebook is, they would probably still not know much about it after seeing this movie and honestly probably not care. In The Social Network, facebook itself serves as a sort of McGuffin, a term Hitchcock used to describe a major element of the plot that drove the story forward, yet was really insignificant in relation to the events of the film. Instead in The Social Network, we get characters who are weak, petty, indecisive, repulsive, sympathetic, excited, awkward, conceited and most importantly…all pretty clueless when it comes to dealing with the new fame and fortune that Facebook drops in their lap quite suddenly.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerburg…the co-founder and programmer of Facebook. Now, I honestly have no clue what mark Zuckerburg is like in real life, his speech cadences or manner of addressing his fellow human beings (outside his wooden delivery as a guest on The Simpsons) so I am not able to rightly say how much Eisenberg channels the persona of Zuckerburg. It is safe to say that I am a huge fan of how Eisenberg portrayed the lead protagonist. He is not a likeable character by any means, and has the knack for alienating and making an enemy out of everyone except his best friend played by future spidey Andrew Garfield. It is the relationship between Garfield’s Eduardo and Zuckerburg that is the heart of the story, and what a twisted, innocent, backstabbing heart it is.

Garfield has the least amount of work to do in this film since he seems like the only normal down to earth person at Harvard and the rest of the film for that matter. Is he honestly the only one that is able to reason logically when this whole Facebook thing exploded? Justin Timberlake plays the napster party guy Sean Parker who seems fun at first but morphs into the slime ball you love to hate. Both actors do a pretentious best that play identical twins Winklevossi (he he) who claim the Zuckerburg stole their idea and can’t bear the thought that anyone could be more popular than they are.

As a movie…the film is actually quite boring. It’s all dialogue, which in this case is a good thing. I was a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin’s short loved but brilliant show Studio 60 and this film proves he is a genius at quick banter, meaningful introspections and very revealing personal speaking which never comes across that way. I was also glad to see David Fincher move away from his more dark and violent material (yes you Se7en and Zodiac) and prove that you don’t need blood and murder to create compelling drama. There are flashes of brilliance in his style (amen rowing scene) and he somehow keeps the audience engaged through almost 2 hours of solid dialog and talking heads.

Did I actually use compelling and boring to describe the same movie? Yes, I did…because that is what this is. No twists, no big reveal just seriously flawed people trying to navigate themselves around each other with each trying to come out as the top dog. While that may seem trite and rather a downer, Fincher does a stupendous job of showing us that in such a dog-eat-dog world nobody is a winner. All the success and money in the world will never change who you are when you started out…so make sure that someone is a person you can live with, or you will be left friendless and lonely…no matter how many facebook friends you have.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!! (not for the special effects, but just to support good moviemaking)

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

Easy A : Movie Review

2010-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today I get to be on a soapbox. I know that critics are supposed to stick with their opinion of the movie and not go off on tangents but this film brought up some cliché’s that until now I have been able to stomach. First though, I’ll give you my review of Easy A as a movie…not a societal statement. Easy A follows Olive who is goaded into a lie about being promiscuous. While she doesn’t really do any of the things she is rumored to do, she uses her notoriety to help those that have image problems by letting it seem that they scored with the school tramp. Yeah, I dunno what prompted me to see it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Easy A is a likable, funny and enjoyable film. Most of that credit goes to Emma Stone who’s sense of depreciating humor, raspy self awareness and wide eyed I Love Lucy sort of physical reactions bind her character to the audience. It is nice to see a young woman portrayed as confident, self assured and strong…except when she’s not. More on that later. Her parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are at the peak of their heavenly married banter and seem to genuinely like each other’s company. Their grounded personalities and outrageous sense of humors match closely with their daughters’ dispositions.

As far as actors go however, I’m afraid that’s all who brought their game. Of course some may find Thomas Hayden Church’s wry teacher a great role but its pretty much the same role he has played since Sideways. I do credit the scriptwriting with some snappy dialogue and playful banter. The ever-dreaded high school movie voice over is cleverly masked as a video-cast that becomes essential to the plot of the film. Everything else serves it’s purpose hear, including come of the clichéd characters (if you’re religious, you must be a psychotic wench), token hip music videos and references to pop culture (there was actually a pretty moving tribute to John Hughes…well played filmmakers, except anyone still in high school would have no clue what most of those movies are).

Now begins my Rant. Turn this review off if you prefer the women in your movies being seen as sexual marks, or really do think all guys are slimy jerks, or that religion is the poison of society. This film could have been Mean Girls or Clueless great if it weren’t so dang preachy. I am glad that the Main protagonist seemed so strong…but then why would she hide behind such a heinous lie? Not only that but don’t you think someone with that much wit and knowledge could have come up with something better. Yeah, Yeah…I know that this was the plot and that people make mistakes…I just hated to see the scriptwriters assume that everything in High School is about sex and therefore had to make her issues all about that. Was she really that one-dimensional? The girls I knew in High school were sweet, complicated and yeah, sometimes made fools of themselves. The difference here is that their lives didn’t revolve around the perception of sexual conquest.

Don’t even get me started about the guys or the rest of the school for that matter. I agree, Parts of high c\school and the pressure there is totally horrible. I did feel judged and had problems fitting in. But the film portrays every single person in this school as out for blood, willing to destroy anyone. Everyone was so selfish, hurtful and bigoted that nothing seemed fun at all. Sorry, but the majority of the people I knew in High School were good natures, well intentioned and very friendly. Granted…there was the gossip mill but it was never strong enough to ruin anyone and most people let it slide quite quickly. I inherently believe people assume the best of others, not the other way around.

And finally, religion. The enemy…and I mean proverbial horrid witch with a B played by Amanda Bynes was a Jesus freak. A complete nutzoid in my book. I understand that the Harlot in the story had to have a nemesis…but from what I can recall, it was Jesus who befriended and forgave the Harlots. Here, those who profess his love drag Olive through proverbial Hell. Yes, I know there are those fanatics about (here’s looking at you clinic bombers) but to lump anyone whose sense of spirituality leans towards Christianity as conniving, vindictive, manipulative, damaging, shallow, vile and hypocritical is alienating those who would never espouse that. Good thing Emma Stone is almost good enough to make you forget all that.

Final Consensus:

See it now!!!!

See it in theaters!!!

Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!

Wait for it on TV!

Don’t Bother

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

2010-09-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Scott Pilgrim is a different sort of movie…and that is a good thing. It’s hard to find uniquely original movie going fare in this day and age outside of cool developments in special effects for action films. Maybe that’s why I like Scott Pilgrim so much, it’s an indie comedy love story (think (500) Days of Summer) mixed with the martial arts and action of Hero. Now, I just realized that description was pretty horrible. Who would want to see a film like that? What works is that the filmmakers, cast and crew all wear the clichés that come with romance and action flicks on their sleeve, and there is a lot going for a film that a) doesn’t take itself too seriously and b) everyone’s in on the same joke.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is about…you guessed it Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). He’s a loafer nerd (can he play anything else) who for some reason gets a lot of interesting girls interested in him despite the fact that he’s not very interesting. He falls head over heals with his ‘dream girl’ and spends the rest of the film wooing her by having to defeat her seven evil exes who happen to all know martial arts and be way above Scott in terms of success and looks. Its kind of hard to imagine that alternative nymphet Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) would actually want anything to do with Scott, but I guess that’s part of the charm, maybe all she wants is a normal relationship without all the expectations that come from so overly possessive significant others.

The real story behind this whole movie is how Scott deals with dating Ramona and breaking up with his old High School age girlfriend Knives Chow (played by the iridescent Ellen Wong). Here is where the writing is at its best and that is a real compliment since the films strength is based on the script. It explores the angst, turmoil and puppy love we have all felt at some point in our life regarding exes and lovers and everyone else that comes in between. The banter between Knives and Scott is beyond adorable except when it is sickening and no matter how hard you try…there is always going to be someone hurt in a breakup. How you deal with it is another matter. Knives loyalty and spontaneous enthusiasm ignite an otherwise Dull Cera.

The casting I must say was sheer Genius. It’s not every day that the lead actors are upstaged so dramatically by everyone else in the film. The Exes go a little over the top, but look for Kieran Culkin and Anna Kendrick (she may redeem herself from Twilight) to drop some choice one-liners and zany advice. The special effects are 80’s Atari tacky, which bodes well for its Indy cred and somewhat lean the gamer audience towards a bygone era. These are the fight games that I remember from Sega and Atari, not your Xbox 360 type shenanigans, and that is just fine with me.

I read an article that talks about why nobody goes and sees different movies anymore, and yet sit and complain about all the bile that Hollywood spews forth. Well, here is your chance to do something about it even though I have a feeling that this film may not even be in theaters anymore. I guess that goes to prove that what makes little gems valuable is how rare they truly are.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Movie Comparison: Dinner for Schmucks vs. The Other Guys

2010-08-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Its not often I get to do a comparison piece, but I found these two movies to be too eerily similar and seeing them just a week apart from each other gave me a great opportunity to scrutinize them as sort of a competition. It seems that all “blockbuster” comedies are the slapstick buddy comedies (or some derivative of guys asserting their masculinity in some awkward way). Cases in point Tommy Boy, Caddyshack, Dumb & Dumber…the list goes on and on. Both Dinner for Schmucks and The Other Guys unabashedly follow this genre rule to a clichéd degree, but luckily, both know it and wear it out in the open despite the risk of appearing as been there, done that films.

In comparison, both are pretty outlandish. There are characters and situation so implausible that you laughing at the sheer audacity of the movie before the punch lines are spewed. Both have a love/hate relationship between the two leads that for better or worse makes the movie all the more cringe inducing. Both feature a kaleidoscope of characters that come passing through with more and more crazy stunts and quirks to drive home the laughs. I can honestly say that both made me laugh out loud, both had great audience reaction and both were brash, fun and a little on the edge.

In the case of these two films then, the winner was the one that showed a little more restraint. The one that knew which punches to hold back and the one that honestly developed its characters beyond the annoying weirdo and the annoyed shlub that has to put up with him. Dinner for Schmucks has a heap of Physical Comedy. Steve Carell just cemented himself in my pantheon of greatness with his turn in Dinner for schmucks. There are a few choice scenes that will have you laughing with queasy delight.

However, Dinner goes a little too far with its comedy. There are times I felt it was a little out of control, like each joke was trying to top the previous and the end result was a lot of crude humor and sexual innuendos. Don’t get me wrong, a well-placed zinger can say a lot about societies reservation and even make some commentary on our culture in general. Unfortunately, Dinner for Schmucks failed to capitalize on this when it was the film with the plot that shouted for satire. A dinner is held by bigwigs in a firm monthly to make fun of the biggest idiot. Before he is promoted Tim (Paul Rudd) is asked to come to the dinner with one Barry (Carell) putting Rudd as the identifiable character in the film. Unfortunately, we never identify with him because the premise is so dang mean and there was really no reversal or appraisal of the dinner organizers as the schmucks. There is a lesson about dreaming and moving on in there somewhere, but without the character buildup. There isn’t much payoff.

The Other Guys however shows Farrell at his best. I know some argue that Ricky Bobby or Anchorman are untouchable, but in those he played a straight up SNL character, in this film he actually plays a flawed person. Mark Wahlberg is passable as Terry his police partner, both who are absolutely going nowhere. Before going into these pics I was more excited see the Rudd/Carell pairing but who knew a Farrell/Wahlberg would have so much more chemistry. The mismatched pair stumbles upon a crime that may be bigger than they can handle. Wahlberg’s character is itching for a chance while Farrells Allen is content to push paper. What we come to realize is he is hiding some demons that he is afraid might make him revert to a version of himself he has repressed for so long.

As the hijinks ensue, Farrell lets loose with the one-liners and the bickering awkward cadence of dialogue that results in some seriously funny reasoning (who would win between a lion and a tuna). Allen’s obliviousness to the beauty of his wife (Eva Mendez) irks Terry so much it completely throws him off his game. In the end though, the bond these two develop in trying to repress what makes them the happiest sends more of a message than Schmucks ever could. Not that comedy is about message, but it sure helps to have some emotional clout behind those one-liners, and some investment in the characters that are saying them.

Final Consensus: Dinner for Scmucks
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t BotherShare

Final Consensus: The Other Guys
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t BotherShare

Inception: Movie Review

2010-07-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Movies as a general rule are a visual and audible experience. There have been attempts to add smells and or movement gags in old cinemas that never amounted to anything that stuck permanently. For this reason, Films in general are a passive experience where the most physically interactive you may get is laughter or an increased heart rate. Rarely have I had a physical experience with a film. I can remember gripping my hand rests so hard in Jurassic Park that they hurt later and that All my muscled were tense afterward.

Inception gave me a rare physical experience where after the movie I realized four things. One, I had been crying. Two, I was exhausted and needed to calm myself down. Third, I had been sweating from some physical exertion and the third is that I never realized I was going through these physical responses while the film was going…It was that engrossing. This film starts off full speed an never lets up through almost the full 2 and a half hours of screen time. It’s a huge summer spectacle with giant set pieces and action scenes that rival the matrix. On the other hand it is a tender love story, a Greek tragedy and a catharsis tale layered on top of one another. Just for good measure, writer/director Christopher Nolan throws in the most intellectual and thought provoking plots I’ve seen since artsy film school.

The big question however is does this all work. At first, I thought it was wonderful but still did not enjoy it as much as some of the lighter fare of the summer like How to Train Your Dragon. But then I realized a few hours after, and into the next day that it still had a hold of my brain, forcing me to try an figure out plot points, looking for holes or merely exclaiming in my thought... ”How did they do that?” This is a movie that will stick with you for a long time and a few minutes after seeing it, you will want to go back and watch it again. That is if you weren’t so exhausted after the first screening.

Inception centers around Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who works with his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as an extractor, someone who enters your mind through subconscious dreams to steal its secrets. Cobb has personal issues that interfere with his job in the subconscious dream state and that he must resolve to ever be reunited with his family. The main problem with this line of work though is it becomes very difficult to know if you are physically present or in some sort of dream…or dream within a dream etc. Of course this premise gives the filmmakers excuse to do anything they want…cause it’s a dream right. Hence the visuals are incredible. I give credit to the set designers and special effects crew who relied on creating and destroying physical spaces as well as using real stunts to create the scenes rather than rely on computer graphics. When the computer is used however it fits seamlessly into the story so you don’t even notice how visually ‘cool’ they really are.

Christopher Nolan has established himself here as a truly great auteur. His unblemished record…Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight have led the way to Inceptions capstone of brilliance. Here’s a director who is concerned more with the reason people do things. About ordinary men going through extraordinary challenges to get out of harrowing situations. Films where moral ambiguity is pushed aside for the protagonist to stake his claim on choosing the right path and becoming more than a regular man. These are the kinds of films Alfred Hitchcock would be making had he lived long enough to see special effects and film budgets to bloom within reach of his imagination. What both do so well is to make these grand spectacles seem very personal and human, both toughing and epic in their attempt to present a story that effects your heart and body as much as it sears into your eyes and brain. I am just glad there is someone there with enough blockbuster clout and macabre brainpower to take on the task. This is by no means a perfect movie or as much fun as some other popcorn flicks this summer, but it is a worthy and wonderful headtrip that is well worth the admission price...or two.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Killers: Movie Review

2010-06-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

I should never write a movie review on an empty stomach, which is exactly what I’m doing now. Too bad because Killers didn’t have enough filler for me to even remotely feel satisfied. I should have taken it as a bad omen that the studio refused to screen it for critics before its release but they cleverly stated that they wanted word of mouth and online buzz to push the ticket sales rather than reviews or standard advertising. Man, that advertising machine duped me. Killers is a completely forgettable experience that made me long for the smart snappy dialogue and chemistry of Carey Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief. Instead we are left with tepid performances by Ashton “I look so good I don’t have to act” Kutcher and Katherine “How did I get famous again” Heigl in a film that couldn’t decide if it was a slapstick, dark comedy or drama.

Katherine plays a stunning and smart woman Jen who has recently been dumped by her ugly looking nerd boyfriend and goes on vacation to France for the heck of it with her parents (sounds believable). Ashton plays a covert assassin Spencer on a mission in the same hotel. For some reason they find time to talk and get acquainted for what seems like months (I want that vacation) before getting married. Jen’s dad played by Tom Selek is skeptical of the union while her mom Catherine O’Hara just lets life go by with a scotch in both hands. Thank goodness for O’Hara who seems like the only one having fun in a comedy. Obviously this is her turf and Ashton, Katherine and Tom are all trying to fit in. Unfortunately they don’t.

There is no chemistry in Killers, and did I mention that for a comedy…there’s really none of that. I only laughed out loud at some parts with the mom; otherwise I sat visually perplexed. I even left the theater to go to the bathroom, get a drink and talk to some of the theater staff in the middle of the movie, and when I returned…I don’t think I missed anything. OK, so I may be a little hard on the movie. There are some pretty cool fight scenes, and some of the married couple banter between Heigl and Ashton seems funnier when killing is involved (is that possible?) The scenes in France are gorgeous and everything technically is very professionally done.

Which leads me to my biggest question. How can a film that looks great with great actors in a pretty funny set-up in a gorgeous location end up being so mundane and, well…bad? I have to blame the director on this one. The editing, script, lighting, acting in general was all very sustainable but nothing gelled. None of the parts or characters in Killers seemed cohesive, believable, developed or for that matter relatable and that job falls distinctly on the director. I won’t name him here, but if you do want an undercover crime romance set in France to watch…see To Catch a Thief with a director who knew how to get things right named Hitchcock!

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Prince of Persia: Movie Review

2010-05-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

SPOILER ALERT!!

There are stories here and there that use what we could call the ‘cop-out’. You know the ones. The protagonist suddenly wakes up in his bed to realize the whole thing is a dream. The kids finally get rid of the killer but he’s really not dead. You know. These are the films and stories I honestly believe one of two things happened. The original writer was fired and the finished the movie without a script, or the original writer died and a studio executive finished it for them. In either case, no self-respecting writer would ever do that to his or her own book, script, and screenplay what-have-you…until recently. I have seen way too many movies this year that ruin a perfectly enjoyable experience at the theater by killing the ending. They set it up for another sequel, they wrap it up to quickly or, as in the case of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time…they just pretend it never happened.

OK, sorry, now that I’ve ruined the movie for you…feel free to sit back and enjoy a movie that is actually a lot of fun and really light popcorn fare. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title character that was plucked as a homeless beggar from the streets to become an adopted son of the king. All grown up, he and his brothers are on conquest and make a fateful decision to attack a holy city who’s princess is charged with protecting a certain dagger. Of course by now you know the price falls for the princess and there is some backstabbing along the way. Believe you me; it is definitely not the plot that makes this movie enjoyable. Rather, it is the cast that seems to have a blast and we just go right along with it.

Jake Gyllenhaal has always been a conundrum to me playing in quirky 'indies' as well as spectacle pictures. But rarely has he seemed so alive and confident in this picture. And Gemma Arterton can actually act if she is given something other to do than be eye candy like in Clash of the Titans or Quantum of Solace. The real scene-stealer in the movie is Alfred Molina as the thief Nizam who throws himself with reckless abandon into the con artist ostrich-loving quasi bad-guy. Everyone else in the film is serviceable being led by Ben Kingsley doing his best Ben Kingsly impersonation and a slew of other characters that takes their roles a little to seriously for a movie based on an old Nintendo game.

The special effects could be amped up a bit, but it didn’t bother me too much since the best parts of the film had little or no effects in them. It’s a good thing the film is called Sands of Time because there is a lot of sand…I mean a LOT. So much so I started getting itchy thinking about how much sand poor Jake had to roll around in. Of course this movie is in no way a great film. I bet there are a few of you who would argue that this is an adequate film at best, but compared to some of the really agonizing stupidity that has come out this past year, Prince of Persia dares to be all out and does so with a healthy dose of tongue in cheek. Now if only we could get Hollywood to stop firing or killing of any descent writer, we might have a winning combination sooner or later.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t BotherShare

Robin Hood: Movie Review

2010-05-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Word of mouth (or of finger) has the ability to make or break a movie after its released. Take for instance How to Train Your Dragon (still my #1 of 2010), which kept doing well in the theaters week after week because people told other people how good it was. On the other hand you have Clash of the Titans, which did menial box office despite it being one of the studios larger releases of the summer. Another caveat to the word of mouth phenomenon is the critics’ score. As regular people we like to think we don’t care about what all those hoity-toity critics write, but believe me, we are all eventually influence by them. And that was the very reason I was apprehensive about seeing Robin Hood. The critics trashed it so much, I didn’t even go see it opening weekend.

But there is a silver lining to such advice. Every now and then you are pleasantly surprised because your expectations are so low. I was really expecting this movie to suck…and here’s the kicker, it doesn’t. Could it be the critics are wrong? Heaven forbid! But in this case, I can honestly say they were. Robin Hood is an adventure movie pure and simple. It has your requisite corny lines, bad guy, good guy, love interest, totally unbelievable plot points and I though it was great. What dooms the movie however is that its lead actor/director tandem don’t live up to anywhere close to their previous Gladiator. Russell Crowe as Robin Hood is just as gloomy in this film as in Gladiator, but he really doesn’t have a reason to be. And poor Ridley Scott can’t seem to decide if he wants to be the man who directed Matchstick Men or the one directing Alien.

That aside, the movie is an escapist period piece that serves for very passable entertainment. We follow Robin Longstride as he assumes another’s identity to make it in a post-war England where he has no family. His antics win him the admiration of The Loxley patriarch played by a superb Max von Sydow and the ire of the widowed wife Maid Marion (Cate Blanchet). Of course throw in the merry men and Friar Tuck and we have a good time. This plot only brings us up to the moment where Robin becomes the outlaw…and doesn’t really delve into the legend. This irked me, as it seemed the ending of the movie was quickly wrapped up, re-edited and closed down for the sole purpose of making a sequel. It was done in such a rushed way that the pace totally threw me off.

Scott is at his best filming the fight scenes here. Reminiscent of Gladiator, they none-the less pull a few punches to keep the PG-13 rating. There are great action scenes but none that rival the wow factor of the adrenaline pumping 300 or Gladiator. What Robin Hood does try to do is present the story of the man with all the requisite entertainment required. In one aspect I do agree with the critics, it does take itself too seriously at times, but it’s nowhere near as brow-furrowed as Clash of the Titans. This is by no means a great movie, but I am very glad the critics were so off on this to lead me into enjoying it so much; and after Blade Runner..I have to forgive Scott of everything.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t BotherShare

Shrek Forever After: Movie Review

2010-05-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

My wife is constantly amazed that I seem to know plot points or at least memorable sequences to almost every movie I have ever seen. This has served me well, especially when categorizing my favorite films or deciding if I want to watch one film over another. Sometimes a movie comes along that I don’t really remember. Such is the case with the Shrek films. Whenever I remember anything about the Shrek movies, for some reason it always comes from the first one. Other than that, the rest all kind of run together and there is nothing really special or memorable about any of them. Unfortunately such is the case with Shrek Forever After. After a whole week has gone by, there is very little I remember about the film at all.

According to my notes, this Shrek finds our title hero giving up a day in his life so he can be an Ogre again. I know that this is a made up animated movie, but I can’t for the life of me remember or figure out how this worked or what the reason was behind it. Shrek supposedly wanted to be mean again, but I never remember him being all that scary to begin with. Anyway, Rumplestilskin is the guy who performs this deed and gives him a day, but something-something happens and Shrek has to do something before the day is through or he’ll never go back to the way it was. Now its never hard to suspend disbelief in a Shek movie, but even my fantastical suspension couldn’t get over this horrid plot which is basically It’s a Wonderful Life, with ogres.

There were some great parts for the kids. I went with my son who laughed out loud at some parts and even repeated some lines. Unfortunately, I don’t even remember chuckling that much. That was kind of a let down considering Shrek has always been good at eliciting laughs. I really wanted to see a comedy. What did happen though was totally unexpected. The movie was actually fairly moving. I wasn’t expecting to feel so proud of being a dad or so lucky to have the family I do. Granted, It’s a Wonderful Life does a much better job of this, but when it sneaks out of know where, it kind of gets you.

As far as the animation goes…. it’s adequate. It looks exactly the same as the first Shrek, which came out almost 10 years ago. I’m glad they kept the look consistent but c’mon guys; there is a decades worth of technological advances you could have used here. We did see this version in 3-D and other than a few gimmicks, I’m not sure it actually added anything to the visual experience for me. The Voices were adequate as well and the directing…well, adequate. I guess that is the best way to describe Shrek Forever After, adequate. Unfortunately, adequate won’t pull you out of the forgetful hole that Shrek 2 and 3 sunk into. Luckily, there is a little bit of emotion to go with this one.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Iron Man 2: Movie Review

2010-05-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

For some reason we Americans love rooting for the big brash super hero, aka cowboy, aka chosen one in our entertainment (and I guess political) choices. If the said hero is also a narcissistic smart mouth we seem to love him even more. If this indeed hold true then you will have a blast with Iron Man 2. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns as Iron Man but unlike most superhero movies and cliché’s we’re used too, he doesn’t have an alter ego and isn’t in hiding. On the contary contrary, as a matter of fact, Tony Stark is louder, more childish, more irresponsible (for good reason) than ever and we love him for it. I’m not saying that these are redeeming qualities, but is nice to see a superhero with some actual character flaws beyond just a tortured past.

The film does a wonderful job pleasing both the fan-boy and the regular theater-go'er alike. As for me, I’m an avowed comic book nerd, so to see parts or at least homage paid to War Machine, Whiplash, Black Widow, Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D., Hammer, Captain America, The Avengers and Thor sure tickled my nerdy-bone. But for all you people who have not a clue what those things are…no worries. Less than two of them are actually named and the character development shows you how each superhero/villain came to be…or at least how they are tied in with Iron Man. I actually find that a rare feat to please both the comic nerds and the general audience.

A lot of that pleasing comes from the acting. Robert Downy Jr. steals the show of course as stark, but Sam Rockwell as Hammer does an equally dis-likable and smarmy arms dealing nemesis Hammer. Vanko is the real villain here; creating electric whips to take down Tony Stark after previous injustices he perceives Stark enterprises put his family through. Unfortunately, Mickey Rourke seems like a Shakespearean actor stuck in a freewheeling roller coaster ride. Maybe it was just that I couldn’t get over his horrible Russian (I couldn’t understand what he was saying…thank goodness for subtitles) or the fact that a man who lives for revenge, never gets angry.

Other actors did adequate. If it weren’t for the Oceans movies, I would have thought that Don Cheadle (Rhodes) hasn’t a funny bone in his body. I’ve never been one to like Scarlett Johansson’s inability to act, but she did OK as Natasha, Stark's new assistant, mainly because she is supposed to be full of mystery and psychologically unreadable. Perfect for an actress with the emotional range of toast. Don’t worry everyone; Gwyneth Paltro (Pepper Pots) is still on Tony’s radar, even though she has a new position that misses some of the senior/jr. employee love interest dynamic. The love triangle story is about as anemic as the first one, but does have some excellent tension and a sizable payoff…with whom, I won’t say.

Now the real question, was the movie as good as the first. The truthful answer is, yes…but the actual answer may be different to different viewers. There’s not anything totally amazing that we did not see in the first film. The requisite explosions, fast cars, cool special effects and bad guy suits but I couldn’t help but think this movie wasn’t as spectacular as the first. There are some slow parts to explain some things (a dude was snoring behind me in the theater at one point, honest to goodness), and even parts that were a little belabored (the audience figured out where the secret was before the master mind Tony Stark). But those didn’t affect the film. I think where the film suffers is in comparison to its fist incantation. When we all saw the first film, we enjoyed the humor, the over the top acting, the awesome special effects and the happy ending. The second has nothing new or different to share and so therefore doesn’t pack the same wow punch we all experienced when watching the first with fresh eyes. But I promise you; this will be no less enjoyable.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Date Night: Movie Review

2010-05-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Date Night is not the type of movie that you want to see as a single person by yourself in the theater for a few reasons.
1. It’s called Date Night – nuf’ said
2. It has some racy parts where people may think you’re a little bit twisted to be watching by yourself.
3. The jokes are funny enough that you laugh, but not funny enough that the entire crowd laughs together. Hence, you feel really awkward quelling your own chuckles down to nervous grunts.

That being said, two of my favorite TV shows, 30 Rock and The Office seemed to have teamed up here in the forms of Tina Fey and Steve Carroll (sorry, I have no clue who their characters names are, the price you pay for fame). The only problem is they really haven’t teamed up. Fey does play a version of her self deprecating awkward humor she brings to Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, but Date Night asks us to believe that Steve Carroll is a normal boring dad and not a completely embarrassing, uncoordinated, awkward buffoon that we have come to love from The Office. The result is you expect him to be a lot funnier and zany. I guess that means that people who have never seen his TV show have the upper hand here.

The film does touch on some pretty touching stuff. Fey and Carroll play a married couple stuck in a rut and decide one night to spice things up. The originality here stems from a couple that truly love each other despite their seemingly dull lives. Borrowing a page from Hitchcock, they are mistaken for the wrong couple involved with the cities biggest crime boss and go on the lam looking to clear their names before the bad guys/cops can bring them in. Yes, it is a very boring premise. No, it is not a very boring movie, just predictable. I almost wish there was more outlandishness here to make it into a sort of Adventures in Babysitting. Instead, they director and writers try grounding the movie in too much reality making for some awkward and uncomfortable moments in scenes that could be completely crazy.

I am glad the film pulls a few punches. I’m not one for the gross out R rated comedies that have been popping up recently and this one flirts with some of that humor, but Fey and Carroll are able to carry the humor, conversation and yes, even the action through some pretty stupid scenes and horrible plot contrivances. I wish the director would have let them riff a little more and come up with their own stuff and keep that in the film rather than pack it into the end credits (funniest part of the movie) So, have fun with the movie, don’t expect too much and make sure you bring a date if you decide to watch it in the theater. Otherwise, watch Fey's and Carroll's TV shows instead.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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The Losers: Movie Review

2010-04-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time so I’ll be catching you up on a few movies I have seen recently over the past few weeks. I’ll start with the most recent which was not the best by any means.The Losers is a sort of film that you watch the trailer for and hope for one of two things. A: That it will be as awesome and funny as the trailer makes it out to be, or B: That it will be better than the annoying ‘I’m cooler than every other movie’ attitude the trailer shows. Of course, I fell into the latter category, since I thought the trailer was basically a raucous music video complete with bad slow-mo shots of guys in sunglasses and glorified violence.

Alas, the movie was exactly what the trailers showed it was going to be which bodes well for all you people who fall into category A. It also means that your probably a pre-teen boy that spends most of his time playing video games and/or can’t understand why your mother/girlfriend/wife thinks your immature and insensitive. If on the other hand you fall into category B, then know this…this is a noisy, over-edited, confusing (visually, not the plot; as a matter of fact I think my 4 year old son wrote this) sometimes funny and most of the time - chauvinistic film about explosions, guns, bad guys, guns, guns and oh yeah…guns.

The Losers follows a band of specialized soldiers (see a cast list) who refer to themselves as losers (…), who are framed for a horrendous crime they didn’t commit. Now the film goes over the top here. It’s as if the screenwriters thought of the worst crime a murderer could commit, then multiplied it by 25 and added a missile and a helicopter explosion for the sake of bad-awesomeness. Anyway, in a career misstep (that’s 1 miss Saldana) Zoe plays Aisha, a mysterious girl comes into their lives to help them take down the bad guy Max (Jason Patric) who frames them while dealing with double crossings, bombs and old frenemies.

That’s it. Sorry if I ruined the movie for you but that is literally all that happens. The ending is groan inducing as we see the entire script written to have a sequel…translation: Nothing is resolved. I guess they thought this would be a wildly popular movie; but after a tepid reception to a sparsely populated theater on a Friday night, it doesn’t look like the movie will be breaking any records, even with all the game playing pre-teen boys. Other things the film is guilty of besides the slow-mo ‘we’re cool’ shots are excessive use of the American flag, swooshing noise every time the camera shot changes, very loud guitar music throughout.

Its not that I hated the film, it’s just that it really annoyed me. There are a few bright spots. Chris Evans does great as a techie punk who is kinda a nerd. I still can’t picture him as the next Captain America though (how’s that for nerdy). The actors in general seem to be having a really good time and none of them do badly, it’s just that the directors and editors never allow us much time to see anything really develop emotionally, or the characters to interact on different levels. Instead, we are thrown right into the whirlwind music video with loud music and explosions pummeling our skulls, twisted flashing images searing our eyes and are expected to cheer the whole way, rather than blow chunks.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother
Share

How to Train Your Dragon: Movie Review

2010-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

I love having a good time at the movies. In fact, I bet that’s the reason that most people go to the movies. That’s why action packed blockbusters seem to do really well in terms of tickets sold while art-house downers (I still love you Million Dollar Baby) tend not to do so well. So for the mass of humanity, a films 'likeability' factor can therefore be measured in receipts; correct? Well not really, or otherwise How to Train Your Dragon would have broken all kinds of box office records.

This is the best film of the year so far and not only because it’s a blast. DreamWorks has crafted one of the funnier, topical and downright stunning films since Kung Fu Panda. DreamWorks is not known for the high quality stories like Pixar, and recent hits like Monsters Vs. Aliens and Shrek 3 prove that there seems to be a lot lacking in their creative department. It seems they did something right here with a story that is actually poignant without being preachy and sentimental without being manipulative. As an added measure, they threw in some truly astounding visuals that literally elicit ahhs from the audience. Truly, this movie has the best use of 3D visuals since Avatar.

How to Train Your Dragon begins as a predictable fish out of water tale (covered excellently by Happy Feat) about Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) trying to prove himself to his Viking community and especially his father (Gerard Butler) by attempting to help in the centuries old fight against Dragons. While trying to prove his usefulness, Hiccup befriends a dragon thought to be the most dangerous of all. At this point the story starts to take on a few added flourishes that distinguish it above regular animated fare. What happens when you are the cause of someone’s misfortune? How should you treat the unknown? How do you heal a broken family and relationship with your father and most importantly, where does your loyalty lie…

Beyond the story there are the visuals. I cannot say enough about the amazing flying scenes through clouds, atmosphere and sunsets. It truly is a step ahead of the flying scenes from Avatar. The textures are amazing as well, hair is wiry or soft, and eyeballs have a distinct wetness and water hay as well have been real. The lighting is also perfected with large amounts of darks and atmosphere that usually animated pictures brighten up and pos. Here they are subdued and earthy. Trees, hills and backgrounds have depth and small candle lit spaces have intimate shadows.

Now I may be toting this movie too much, but what else can I do after I enjoy something so thoroughly. There are a few slow parts and an annoying story line about a girl. Also, Jay Baruchels voice is so freakin annoying. It sounds like he is whining the entire time but luckily; the story and visuals eventually take of the sting of his pinched nose. Those small gripes aside, go to this movie for the pure enjoyment of it. Use the Box office to show Hollywood they don’t have to sacrifice story for visuals. Bravo to the story for not making the ending a perfect solution and reminding us that although we may not be perfect, relying on our family and friends can somehow create a perfect match.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Movie Review

2010-03-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't complain since I knew what I was getting myself into but Diary of a Wimpy Kid might be the only film where a piece of stinky mildewed cheese is the best part of the film. Honestly. While not completely horrible, the movie suffers from a lack of good directing, special effects, acting (other than the cheese) and well entertainment. I took my two sons to see the movie with me and didn’t mind that I had to leave the film on two occasions to take them to the bathroom. As a matter of fact, later on in the day they were talking about Astro Boy they had rented on DVD and seen earlier than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. That’s the kind of impression it leaves on children I guess.

I have a read a little of the actual books with my kids and enjoy the wry observational humor that the main protagonist Greg (Zachary Gordon) narrates as he goes through his first year of Junior High School. Unfortunately, the film turns him into a smug know-it-all whose only concern is to become popular at all costs, alienating his friends, family and the entire school with his mean spirited antics and pranks. Unfortunately, the audience is left alienated too as we have to sit through minute after excruciating minute of what felt like a 3 hour movie. My son (4) put it best…”the movie kept going and going and going.”

There are a few bright spots. Of course with any made for kiddie fare, there has to be a moral to the story and this one was pretty good, even though I feel that ‘Be Yourself’ might have been a better moral to hang your plot on rather than ‘Don’t rat out your friends’. But then again, who am I to judge? I haven’t been in Jr. High for so many years maybe that’s what the main concern is nowadays, even though I must agree with Greg that Jr. High should just be discarded and skipped over. His best friend Rowley played by Robert Capron was also a breath of fresh air. The plump kid couldn’t act to save his diet, but the part was so likable you couldn’t help but root for him.

In all, the movie suffices as a glorified after school Disney special complete with zany sound effects, super saturated colors and dumb booger jokes. I guess this passes for entertainment in most executives minds when they think of children’s entertainment but as far as my kids are concerned, they would much rather watch Star Trek and Wall-E to get their imaginations going. Leave this cheese bomb alone…literally.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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'Remember Me' - Movie Review

2010-03-12T22:40:00.000-08:00

I was going to write an entire treatise about how films, despite how good or bad they may be are mainly judged by the ending of the film. This holds especially true of those films who decide to change the tone or the plot near the end to elicit some reaction or emotion. Sometime, and rarely a bad film can be totally redeemed by the filmmakers choices at the end. More often however, good films are ruined by stupid endings tacked on by studio executives who ran it through too many test groups. Unfortunately, If you were to judge Remember Me by the last 10 minutes of the movie…it would be the most exploitative and tasteless movie in recent memory. It takes a lot of narcissism to take such a collective emotional experience and use it for a films surprise ending like it was a tacked on plot point that was so movie worthy. News flash to the writer…we’re not ready.

Now I know you have no clue what I am talking about here and that is the fine line I walk as I try to review entertainment where I cannot divulge the most important part of what I’m reviewing…the storytelling. So what you get are some veiled references about aspects of the movie that tend to stick out in my mind. In general, I was really impressed with this film. There was some solid movie-making going on here. The story was approachable, the camera work was subtle and smart and the actors are adorable.

News flash, Robert Pattinson can act! Seriously. I know you may think I’m off my rocker but after the uncomfortable performance as Cedrick Diggory in Harry Potter and perfectly awkward stone performances of the Twilight nausea, he goes and does something like this and completely redeems himself. Now, I am heaping way too much praise on the guy I’m sure of it. In truth his acting was merely mediocre. But after the soul sucking performances of his previous films, it’s nice to know there is someone alive behind his brooding pursed lips.

Bravo to Emilie de Ravin for her turn as the girl who falls for Pattison’s Tyler even though they’re not supposed to be together. Her part was actually real, smart, funny and unique despite the fact that her Australian accent peaked its head through a few times. And what do ya know; James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) can act, even if it is just distancing himself from his onscreen son. It’s funny that a movie about an American family is completely portrayed by foreigners. Are we really that ugly and bad at acting? (don’t answer that) The real find in the film is the little sister played by Ruby Jerins. It’s nice to see young actors that really know what their doing, but it’s even more refreshing to see someone who completely inhabits that part. From her dry wit to her shy smiles, the real emotion of the story lies behind the girl and her relationship with the different members of her family. It should have revolved around her.

It may seem weird that I am praising and lambasting this movie in the same review but such is the nature of the beast. Think of the worst possible ending to any film that takes itself seriously and I promise you they cross the line on this one. Its not like we’re not given warnings. I scribbled random notes throughout my darkened screening exclaiming, “Why are they telling us this” and “Oh they better not go there”. Way too much foreboding and foretelling and not enough joy, promise and resolve. This could have been a surprise hit but instead they turn it into a conflicted film whose greatness and heinousness cancel each other out.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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My Oscar Predictions

2010-03-07T15:00:00.001-08:00

Im calling an audible and changing my best picture choice because I feel the Hurt Locker should win. But the academy has proven me wrong plenty of times before. So here it is, the cuttoff is now. My Academy Award selections for this year. May the best woman or man win!
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Diretcting: Katherine Bigelow
Lead Actor: Jeff Bridges
Lead Actress: Sandra Bullock
Supporting Actor: Chritopher Waltz
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique
Animated Feature: Up
Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Art Direction: Avatar
Cinematography: Avatar
Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Doc. Feature: The Cove
Doc. Short: China's Unnatural Disaster
Film Editing: The Hurt Locker
Foreign Language: The White Ribbon
Makeup: Star Trek
Original Score: Up
Original Song: The Weary Kind
Live Short: The Door
Sound Editing: Avatar
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Visual Effects: Avatar
Original Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds
Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Alice in Wonderland: Movie Review

2010-03-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have never read the original Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass and all of my knowledge regarding the tale of Alice as she goes down the rabbit hole comes from the Disney animated movie and the caterpillar ride at Disneyland. I thought this would suffice for a midnight screening of the new Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, but alas…I felt a little left in the dark. Too many references to names an places I never really new distracted me from a better experience. Everyone will have a good time, don’t get me wrong. Tim Burton has always been a master at macabre wit and fantastic set design, but here, you’ll just have to settle for the set design.

Of course this movie will be wildly popular and everyone will go see it. My midnight screening was packed. Mainly by high schoolers whom use the excuse of a midnight screening in Utah to show their rebellious side. It was weird sitting in that meat-market setting with everyone talking to everyone else, yelling at the previews, making jokes etc. But when the movie got into full swing, a hush fell over the audience as they allowed themselves to be sucked into the fantastically twisted world that Alice believes she had dreamed up for herself.

Alice, played by Mia Wasikowska holds her own as the title character but suffers the same fate as poor Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. The really have not much to do. Alice does scowl a lot and focus really intently on getting her accent right and the Queen seems to have had her arms frozen up in the air and always talks to nobody in particular like a bad version of Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter films. Its easy to see who are Tim Burtons favorite characters in this tale and that would be the Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp and the Red Queen played by Helena Bonham Carter. Both relish their parts and give all out nutty performances. You really could have a lot of fun with the two except the film never allows them to grow as characters. There is so much going on with this film; you never really feel the camaraderie of any of the characters.

That hardly matters though when you’ve got a world like Wonderland. Keep in mind this is not Pandora (nerdy Avatar reference), but it is indeed a dark and dreary place that is fits the story, but not the fun that should be Alice. It’s a lot of fun to watch things emerge in 3D and the depth and color off all the weirdness going on up on the screen. However, it’s as if little 3D gimmicks were thrown in just for the kids. Kids? I know this has a PG rating but ripping out eyeballs and moats filled with floating severed heads hardly qualify as children’s entertainment (unless you have an equally morbid son like mine). And herein lies the main problem with the film. It can’t decide if it’s a kid’s film or an adult. There is no middle ground here. The over explanation, awkward dancing, silly music score and funny characters all point to a film geared towards kids 8 and under. But the dark story, visceral visuals, twisted humor and star power all seem to model and Adult film. In general, this is a very beautiful, awkward, disjointed movie.

So, I’m really torn with this movie. The Visuals alone are worth the price of admission to the theater (especially in 3D), but the content makes me want to recommend renting it. I’ll let you decide, but if patched up endings, horrible editing and befuddled story lines bother you, I would stay away. If you love incredible imaginations, gruesome creatures and weird not-really-makes-sense randomness, then you’ll like the film. Your call.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Win FREE movie tickets and be a guest reviewer

2010-02-26T13:01:00.001-08:00

Every year I hold a competition with my family to predict the Academy Award winners. I would pit their brains and film knowledge against mine to see if anyone could out-predict me when it came to naming the winners of all the major categories. We had a lot of fun, and usually I would win out. A few times I was bested though and some of my family won some sweet prizes (trip to Hollywood, tour a studio, DVD’s etc.)

This year I am opening up the contest to EVERYONE!!! What does that mean? Well, you have a chance to outsmart me by predicting more winners of the Academy Awards than I do. I know, I know…your asking why would you be interested. The winner of the contest will get to be a guest writer on my blog and get to Review a film of their choice! In order for you to review a great film, I will give you two free movie tickets (through the miracle of a modern technology called the interweb) and a gift certificate for concessions for the theater of your choice! So…here are the rules:

1. Fill out this ballot, or write out who you think will take home the Oscar from each of the major categories.
2. E-mail me your predictions to ckhutch03@hotmail.com with the subject ‘Oscar Competition’
3. You must send your prediction by 3pm on Sunday March 7th to qualify.
4. To prove I’m not cheating, I will post my predictions here before the show begins.
5. The winner will be notified the following week and arrangements will be made through Fandango or another online site for concessions and tickets.

And honestly, if you're too lazy to send me your predictions for something so awesomely free, then you don't deserve to win anyway. Good luck and may the best cinefile win!

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'Shutter Island' - Movie Review

2010-02-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

I have this problem when I go see movies that have really great plots and leave you guessing the whole time. My problem is actually a bad habit where I predict the end of the movie to myself. Usually I watch thankfully as the movie plays out differently than I expected, but then at the last minute finishes with my predicted ending…hence killing any suspense or payoff for me since I already imagined it in my head. This happened to me with movies like Fight Club and The Sixth Sense, and unfortunately came back and did the same thing to me while watching Shutter Island.

I wasn’t planning on seeing this movie anyway, but thought it couldn’t be too bad if Martin Scorsese is directing it and Leo DiCaprio’s in it. Unfortunately, this is no Goodfellas or Raging Bull, and it doesn’t even match Aviator’s entertainment, so what I was hoping for was that somehow the story would take me for a ride that would make up for all its shortcomings and I ruin the ending for myself. Shutter Island is about Federal Marshall Teddy (Leo) and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo…who knew) investigating a disappearance at a hospital for the criminally insane. A hurricane forces the Marshals to stay on the island where they end up trying to figure out if the whole thing was an elaborate setup by the Islands head doctor (Ben Kingsley)

Scorsese knows how to do psychological. He is a master when it comes to brutality and the human condition so I can see why this story attracted him. It explores the cause of human violence and the minds ability to succumb/overcome that instinct. What bothered me about the story is that it used the Holocaust and murdered children to elicit the dread we are supposed to be sickened by. I think its personally tasteless and a cop-out. They were giving out free books to the people in my screening if we could name the author of the book, which I couldn’t. The girl next to me not only knew the author was Dennis Lehane, but told me it was the same guy that wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. Dude has serious issues murdering children. Just sayin’

I thought the film was OK. Weather this was because expectations are so high or I wasn’t planning on seeing the movie I’m not sure. What I do know is that it is not very scary, more creepy than anything. Lots of weird characters make their appearance in the insane asylum and a lot of it comes off as window dressing or merely props to throw back in your face later on in the film. When I try to dissect what really bothered me about the film I really couldn’t place it. The acting is top notch, the script is great, the cinematography is gorgeous and the directing is flawless. Unfortunately, this movie is not the sum of its parts.

I may be so bold to even preclude this film is a little boring. There is lots of talking and exposition and not enough frightening scenes. That’s not to say this movie doesn’t have mood, it’s dripping off the dirty rocks and rusted bars from the drenched hurricane. It won’t scare you as much as it will creep you out and leave you thinking Scorsese is really weird. If you want a thinking movie, this is a good stop, just don’t over think the ending and ruin it for yourself.

See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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Percy Jackson and the blah, blah, blah: Movie Review

2010-02-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

Percy Jackson has a really long movie title that I just don’t feel like typing out. Needless to say, the title of the film matches the books title and neatly explains the plot of the movie. It is about Percy Jackson…there are some Olympians and someone has stolen lightning. For a little more clarification on the plot, the Olympians are not track stars or bobsledders, but the Greek Gods on Mount Olympus. Luckily they do not appear in this movie very often because the adults who portray them seem to think they are in some Greek tragedy and not in a PG rated kids flick. Luckily Percy (Logan Lerman), his very funny and cowardly sidekick Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and warrior girl Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) have enough charm and sass to lighten up the tone a bit and save the film from the scowling Gods.

The movie is very much in the vein of Harry Potter without all the lovable character development. Percy just so happens to be related to one of the Greek Gods and therefore comes with some inherent baggage and daddy abandonment issues. Things get thrown into a tizzy when Zeus’s lightning bolt is stolen and Percy is pegged with the crime. If you can suspend your belief that “all knowing” Gods somehow don’t know that Percy has no clue who he is, then the movie is a fun romp through worlds, villains, monsters and mythology as Percy tries to clear his name. If plot holes and bad dialog bother you, then stay away from this film.

I happened to have a great time with this movie. I have not been able to decide if it is because it is the first non-chick-flick I have been able to watch in over a month, or that the filmmakers didn’t take themselves to seriously and honestly had a good time with it. Christopher Columbus has never been a great director but he has been lucky with franchises like Home Alone and Harry Potter. Percy Jackson follows a similar formula of rushing us from one adventure to the next, hopping from one plot contrivance to another with all the subtleness of a slap across the face.

The film also draws strength from its supporting cast. Valentines Day opened the same weekend (Thank heavens I didn’t have to sit through another chick flick) and had everybody in Hollywood as a part of that film. It seemed that whoever didn’t make it into Valentines Day (were they vacationing on Mars during the shoot or something) got cast in Percy Jackson. Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, and Uma Thurman all make appearances with the last three having delicious fun with the parts they’ve been given and going over the top to make the film entertaining.

The special effects are on par with the first Harry Potter film but its endearment is not. It’s the most fun that I have had this year at the movies so far, and is a much needed brainless breath of fresh air from all the contrived romances and tear jerker’s that have burned into the retinas of my eyes. It may not have the star power of Valentines Day or the magic of Harry Potter, but the sassy fun it does have…is done very well.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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'Dear John' - Movie Review

2010-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have a sneaking suspicion that Dear John will finally topple Avatars reign as the number one movie of the weekend. I went and saw Dear John on an early Friday afternoon and the theater was ¾ filled. Of course, teenage girls skipping school or groups of mothers who no longer have a Twilight film to swoon over filled the majority of those seats. I guess in the absence of the Twilight hunks, Channing Tatum is the next best thing to look at, and unfortunately, that’s his only job the entire movie.

The group of girls sitting behind me filled my ears with tales of who was kissing who, who was backstabbing who and a humorous number about some people they knew who went swimming in a local pond drunk. I was so engrossed eavesdropping in on their conversation while the previews were rolling, I almost didn’t realize the movie had begun. This is in fact a very low-key romance (no comedy whatsoever) that pales in comparison to the likes of the Notebook, which was also by the same author. In this version of his same story told over and over, we have John played by Channing Tatum who looks great and has all the personality of a pillar of granite, falling in love with Savannah played by Amanda Seyfried who has a goldfish face but can actually act enough to make their relationship seem important (if a relationship between a rock and a goldfish could be important).

What threw me for a loop was the turn of Richard Jenkins as Channing’s father. He may not have any lines and the acting may be subversive, but it was their relationship I ended up caring for more than anything else in the movie. Now, I haven’t paid much attention to Richard Jenkins much in the past, but after his turn here and also in The Visitor (you have to see that) I can honestly say he is a great actor. I also enjoyed the pacing, slow and deliberate, nothing too experimental or boring, but carefully shot and timed conversations that are backed by the right popular music doesn’t present anything new, but makes falling in love seem, well… romantic.

Of course, there has to be a major flaw with the movie that takes it down a few notches and almost destroys the warm fuzzy feelings I was beginning to have for the movie. The ending. Oh how I loathe a predictable and saccharine ending, but at the same time, I feel that if an audience has sat through the pains and heartaches of a relationship throughout the duration of the film, they should be awarded with some sort of payoff. Not so in this film. I guess they were trying to throw us off or something, but talk about a head-scratcher. Granted, the relationship between father and son is way better than the one between granite and goldfish, but as the annoying TMI girls behind me put it… “That was the worst ending ever!” All I could do was chuckle out loud.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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'Extraordinary Measures' - enjoyable actors save this made for TV movie

2010-01-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

Extraordinary Measures is not going to do well in the theaters. Not that it doesn’t try, but there was only me and two other people in the entire theater and that was a Friday Night!! I can honestly say that marketing was not where it should have been for this movie. It was actually better than I expected due mainly in part to the leads, Brandon Fraser and Harrison Ford. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this movie could just as well be on lifetime or some cable network, but I still liked it, despite how uninspiring it was.

The film follows a father (Fraser) of two children with a fatal disease that cajoles a cankerous university research doctor (Ford) into pursuing his theories into finding a cure for the disease. Now, from this description I have pretty much told you the entire movie, and I can bet most of you know exactly what happens in the movie and how it all ends. And you would be right. There is nothing special here, slick production, good lighting, quick pacing, OK dialog…but that merely makes this movie average.

What saves the film is the cast. Harrison Ford is far from charming as a dis-likable business partner. Think more ‘What Lied Beneath’ than ‘Indiana Jones’. Fraser does a good turn as a doughy executive and leaves his action persona and yelling from his action flicks to actually portray a desperate, yet very flawed friend. What really save the film are the secondary characters. I don’t know if the kids that were cast do indeed have some disease, but kudos to their very believable portrayal, quick dialog and enduring rough edges. Keri Russell as the wife and especially Courtney Vance as a father of some likewise sick kids does wonders with the five lines he was given in the film.

The film comes complete with trite music (really, have you no imagination), basic conversations and very predictable plot…yet there was nothing that actually bothered me about this movie. Usually, there is something about a film that really gets to me and distracts me from the experience I am having in the theater, but here, everything seems to work despite how boring it is. It will try to manipulate you to cry, though not nearly as shamelessly as well as ‘My Sisters Keeper’. It will also expect you to take everything for fact since it was based on a true story, but despite all its flaws, I actually enjoyed the movie, even if I should have been watching it at night on TV.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother.

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'The Lovely Bones' - some suspense, but mostly weird

2010-01-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

I have to start out by saying that a grown man should never go alone to see a movie about a grown man stalking and killing teen girls in a movie theater filled with teen girls. It’s just creepy. I unfortunately forgot my notebook, which would have been some protection, as the audience would have assumed I was writing about the movie or at the very least not that into it. Since I did not have that shield, as the movie progressed I became more aware off the odd and very uncomfortable looks I was getting from some of the other audience members. Walking out of the theater after the film, I overheard a conversation that sums up this film pretty succinctly. The guy said to his date, ‘Sorry hun, it sounded OK reading about it, but it was just weird.’

What a weird movie, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of weird movies. It’s like nothing really gelled here. Which is too bad since I had somewhat high expectations from the director of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy Peter Jackson. The movie was a drama/thriller/fantasy/love story/ whatever other genre he could cram in there and almost none of it worked. It’s as if the film couldn’t decide what it wanted to be and so it threw in the whole kitchen sink. This method however, left the movie feeling disjointed and odd. The music was really distracting as well. Why would we want to see images of mourning backed by Jazz music? Weird.

‘The Lovely Bones’ is a film about a girl (played by Saoirse Ronan) who is murdered and must watch how her family deals with the grieving process from a place in between death and heaven. I had assumed that her mission would be for her to aid her family in their grief, or lead them to her killer or perhaps grow in some way she never had a chance to in life (that last can be debated). Unfortunately, all she does is walk around weird set pieces, amazing visual effects and stand in a gazebo looking at everything going on. It’s pretty anti-climatic. She does an OK acting job, but did little to dispel the urge I had to kick her in the throat after watching her annoying turn in ‘Atonement’.

The film wasn’t all-bad. Props to Stanly Tucci for making the bad guy seem extra smarmy, and for Susan Sarandon for trying her hardest to inject some sort of fun and humor into the joyless movie. The strongest parts were the thriller parts. There was some actual tension there and you could tell the director knew what he was doing building scenes of ‘will he/won’t she get caught’. The most successful part can be attributed more to Hitchcock than Peter Jackson. As the investigation and the family searched for the girls Murderer, there are a few scenes where the killer comes ever so close to being caught, and we as an audience hold our breaths because we know he may actually get caught. I really wanted him to be caught but it was shot in such a suspenseful way that we almost feel sympathy for the criminal in that he ‘made a mistake’

That aside, those two or three tense scenes are not enough to redeem a film, which is ultimately about a girl standing around in the afterlife. I have never read the book, and hear it is great, but from this picture, I probably won’t be picking it up anytime soon. Hopefully Peter Jackson can do much better as a producer for ‘The Hobbit’ that he did as a director of ‘The Lovely Bones’. Until then, we’ll have to lament the corpse of a movie that could have been…cue the Jazz music.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
See it in BluRay!!
Rent it on DVD!
Don’t Bother.

***UPDATE***
As proof that this should not be a movie that single older men should go see, Box Office Mojo sent out this article highlighting the Audience for the film:

"Distributor Paramount Pictures' marketing targeted young females, selling the picture as a supernatural thriller, emotionally charged with its father-daughter relationship. The studio's research showed an audience composition of 72 percent female and 40 percent 20 years old and younger."

Wish I would have known this before I went to the theater by myself. I'm such a loser.

'Leap Year' - Just OK

2010-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

The thing I remember most about ‘Leap Year’ starring Amy Adams was getting there. I got a nasty piece of dust in my eye and had to pull over the car and do a bit of contact wrangling so I could see clearly enough to drive to the theater. Now, don’t get me wrong…I didn’t hate the movie, I just though it was merely adequate. I’m not saying this because I hate chick flicks either. Give me a ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Clueless’ or ‘Notting Hill’ any day of the week and I would prefer them to most movies. It’s just that this romantic comedy never showed any, well, comedy.

I have to admit that I love Amy Adams. She was completely adorable in ‘Enchanted’ and the only thing that saved ‘Night at the Museum 2’ with her spitfire portrayal of Amelia Earhart. But one thing that ‘Julie and Julia’ showed and this film proves is that she can’t play anal and bwitchy, she’s just too cute and good-natured. As an uptight apartment stager Anna from Boston, I didn’t buy it for a second, which kind of ruins the whole story about a girl learning to let her hair down. Her love interest played by Matthew Goode does so well at playing an exasperated grouch that you never really believe any type of fondness can come from him, which unfortunately messes up their chemistry.

That being said, most of the films problems don’t lie with the actors. A major issue was the pacing of this film. There are many potentially funny and awkward situations that could be played for screwball comedy or pratfalls, but end up loosing their momentum because of the slow scene. Speeding up the editing and word exchange between the two main characters would have led to funnier surprises and smart, crackling dialogue. The dismal Disney channel like sound effects and score were distracting and the predictable plot left nothing to chance.

Not everything was bad. On the contrary, most of the movie gives you exactly what the previews show. John Lithgow was a breath of fresh air as Anna’s father, too bad he only had about 6 lines. The locations and cinematography were incredible and even used some original ideas like a midnight conversation done completely in silhouette in front of moonbeams reflecting off a lake. In the end however, this movie ranks slightly below average and didn’t have enough spark, speed, or originality to make it worthwhile for a movie theater. As my mom put it, its for people who like 'no-brainer romantic comedies'.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
See it in BluRay!!
Rent it on DVD!
Don’t Bother.

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New Years Resolution - Watch More Movies

2010-01-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

So this year my resolution is to watch more movies. 1 per week to be exact so that I see a new movie in the theaters every week. Crazy yes, I know. But I am passing the benefits of this obsession onto you. Each movie I watch will be reviewed by yours truly for you to make a more informed decision on your movie going excursions. I'm no professional journalist or art house geek so my reviews will be real, twanged with a bit of humor and made for the masses. True, I may review a film here or there that nobody has heard of or might even pan a movie that everyone else loves (that's for you chipmunks) but I hope you enjoy my exercise in making me feel like I'm contributing, and bringing a more cerebral experience to the brain rotting activity of sitting in front of a screen for hours at a time. Hope you enjoy!

Summer is better than Winter: Reason # 273

2009-08-10T08:54:00.001-07:00

Over the winter I experience a phenomenon in Utah known as inversion. It’s where the air pressure forces all the pollution to the ground. As I work up on the 23rd floor, I get a pretty good view of this and here are some images showing what we live in over the winter…gross. I love summer so much I can’t even begin to describe how much I am dreading the winter…and it lasts forever.

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version

2009-06-12T14:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. It might be funnier for me though with all the film terminology.

What, me? A Marathon?

2009-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Because I am completely random and I hate running, I have decided to run a marathon. ‘Why’ you may ask? I have been asking that same question for a while now ever since I made the decision. There are a bunch of reasons why I shouldn’t: Have no clue what I'm doing, never found running particularly fun, have a sprained ankle, am in the ‘Clydesdale’, or ‘large weight’ class for all the races…. the list goes on and on. However, there are a few motivators as well: Get in shape, run for causes, demonstrate to my family that obesity can be overcome (you may not think it, but according to this chart, I am obese). Anyway, I have set my goal, chartered my course and have started training. I guess that’s the main reason for running, it gives me a focused goal that is achievable, and I think everyone wants to feel like they’ve accomplished something.

Oscar Nominations 2009

2009-01-22T12:14:00.000-08:00

Once again the Oscar race has proven it’s irrelevance with the rest of America. You can see all of the nominations here, but for all those who go to see movies to be entertained or, like the rest of us, whenever we can get out; you may not recognize much on there. There are a few travesty trends that must be pointed out…
‘Mainstream’ = No Love:
The Reader and Frost/Nixon over Wall-E and The Dark Knight? How can that be? I am more and more convinced that the elitist attitude in Hollywood prevents great pictures from being seen or considered since they were ‘mainstream’-sickening
Fame > Talent:
Jump on the Brangelina bandwagon folks, all Brad and Angelina had to do was show up on the red carpet for their movie premiers and POOF! Nominations. Its comforting to know neither will win it even though that doesn’t dull the pain from Cate Blanchet and Sally Hawkins being left out.
Political Causes & Holocaust always trump:
How could The Reader and Milk rack up so many awards? They were barely seen, positively reviewed and seriously flawed. While the acting was impeccable, both suffered from a serious case of mediocrity and left us knowing they could have both been so much more. But when you make a films that ring sentimental to agendas and races in Hollywood, you will get nominated aka Brokeback Mountain and Beautiful Life.
Good songs belong on the radio, not in movies:
Springsteen's Wrestler song being left out of the race is like denying U2 the chance to play Cochella because they are too big. Like Enchanted last year, throw in some zany dance numbers, forgettable lyrics and you have this years Slumdog Millionaire song nominations.
What exactly does a director do?:
Best director nominations are always messed up. Most people think that if they nominate a movie for best picture, they have to nominate the director as well. Hmmm, not so. Chris Nolan beat out by Stephen Daldry, Danny Boyle being nominated for one of his weaker films and Gus Van Sant for Milk over Paranoid Park? Why do we even have this category anymore if people can’t understand what a director does?
See More Films:
The one thing that the Oscars do get right is instilling that little sense of interest in main stream audiences that tend to reward the curious. There are the little gems scattered throughout the nominations that, if you take the time to find out “was she really that good?” you will be pleasantly surprised. Here’s to all the Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leos, Viola Davis' and Foreign and Documentary categories of the world. You make us proud, and barring any further ridiculous snubs by the elitist members, might even get the exposure from viewers to lift you to the level you belong.

If there is a message to this rant, it’s a plea for the academy to nominate the deserving and popular films. That way everyone gets exposure, rather than just a dwindling telecast of mediocre artsy films on a pity party watch.

Weird

2008-12-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

I lived in Gaithersburg Maryland for almost 8 years of my life and I never knew right down the street in Rockville, MD was the grave of F.Scott Fitzgerald. Why does this have to do with anything you might ask? Well, I pride myself on seeing a lot of the local culture and sites in the places I live. And to find out that I lived miles from the grave site of one of the greatest American authors of all time and never visited was a little disheartening. I guess that I have gotten a lot more adventuresome with my wife and kids...so much so that I eventually want to go out and see the spiral jetty in the middle of freakin' nowhere.

Toy Story vs. The Dark Knight

2008-10-17T22:36:00.001-07:00

Because this made me laugh, and I needed a good laugh at the moment.

Death in The Dark Knight

2008-07-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

So now that ‘The Dark Knight” did a bazillion dollars on it’s opening weekend, you know there are some movie execs in Hollywood figuring out how they can kill off one of their lead actors in an upcoming tentpole. I know it’s horrible to say, but honestly I think a big part of TDK’s success is the death of Heath Ledger. Brilliant as his acting stint may be and as awesome as Nolan is at directing, I bet a numerous host went to see Ledgers final performance, rather than just cause it was a Bat pic. Believe me, those execs look at trends, cause and effect, and somewhere out there, one of them is eyeing the WB’s haul and hoping for someone to die. I wish it were not so, but those sketchy morals and emphasis on Box office are some of the reasons I chose to eschew the lure of Hollywood. I still miss Cali though!

Dance Off!!

2008-07-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Modern street face-off's have nothing on these guys. Lets see some "SO you think you can dance" dudes pull off the accordion dance!! I freakin' love Russia!!

Sick

2008-07-08T15:57:00.001-07:00

I have been sick since last Saturday and it is not fun. Luckily, there is not the stomach, throw-uppy kind. It's the sore throat, headache, fever, aches and pains kind. Me and my son both got it while we were camping. A little freaky considering we were eaten alive by misquitoes and they carry a little virus called West Nile. We went and got some blood work done so we will find out results in a couple of days, but I'm betting it's not anything serious. All I need for it to do is go away. Life carries on as usual though so I went back to work before I was fully recovered. I had to do some more project scoping but it allowed for me to take some more pics. Hope you enjoy!

2008-06-18T15:25:00.001-07:00

My birthday has come and gone and I am officially old. I remember being a kid and thinking that if I ever got to 30, I would officially be old. The one cool part about being this age is that I still feel that there is so much ahead of me and I’m not tied down or set in my ways. It feels good to still be able to change and morph, despite my age. I had everyone sing happy birthday to me at work and they gave me a cool soda pop bottle with M&M’s and salt water taffy. The real treat was at home where I got to go bowling, have a party and got “sprinkles” cupcakes. Not the real ones from LA, but ones my wife made from a recipe she found and all I can say is…THEY WERE PERFECT. I told her she should open up a bakery they were so good. I also got the Indiana Jones Trilogy from my son and he loves watching them as much as I do. I was definitely not as brave as he is at that age since he seems to take melting heads and hearts being ripped out a lot better than I did.

How High?

2008-05-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me about where I work. I work in a skyscraper...in fact, it's the tallest one in Salt Lake City. For some reason, I think there is a myth around that the higher you work in the building, the more important you are. Well, that is not the case. Security occupies the top three floors, administration the bottom three. HR is on the first, and a myriad of other departments make up the other 23. I'm on the 23rd floor, without a window. It honestly means nothing other than I get a great view every time I go into my boss's office. He even has a telescope that we use to see what's going on around the valley. cool! Here are some pics I took of my building affectionately abbreviated to the COB.

Museums

2008-04-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

My family came to eat lunch with me at work today and it was a lot of fun. They went to the History and art museum that is here first and loved it. I am so glad that I work in a place with so many pieces of art and so much history. It's invigorating. I am actually working on doing some signs for some artwork that is around the campus here. I had a camera with me to take reference pics and got a little carried away. I have been really interested in the architectural themes of the buildings near where I work and took some shots. What do you think?

You know you're loved when...

2008-04-21T14:45:00.001-07:00

you come back to your cubicle looking like this! The pic of the family and the rotten babana were my favorite.

Signs

2008-04-18T08:01:00.001-07:00

A part of my new job is making signs. I recently toured a new building that needs signs made for it. During the tour, we figure out where the signs should go, how many, how big etc. I had a camera to take reference pictures so I can design the signs later at my office. Needless to say I got a little bored taking pictures of 6 stories of walls and doors. Once on the roof, I aimed the camera at things that interested me a little more and got some OK pics that just have some cool composition. What do you think?

Work From Home

2008-02-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've actually been able to work from home this whole week thanks to my new baby boy and very understanding supervisors. It was a pain in the what to actually get everything set-up though but it is done. I have actually done a few things here even though it is much slower than if I was working on projects at the office. Check out what I created the other day here! I really do enjoy being at home with my family, but I also prefer the face to face interaction which I get with going in. Things tend to get done a lot faster. It's also comforting to know that no matter how smart computers get...they may be able to take over accounting, mathmatics, science, databases etc...they will never be able to design or create art. Its comforting to know that I am in a profession that is distinctly human. I think I've been watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles too much. I also got a call from Sat Lake saying I was still being considered for a Job I first interviewed for back in December. Talk about a long hiring process.

Changes afoot

2008-01-28T17:39:00.001-08:00

Well, how bout that, I actually decided to write after an extended leave of absence. I am now working as a contracted Graphic Designer for the same movie studio that have been working at for over 3 1/2 years. I really enjoy what I am currently doing, and even got to do some design work for the new iTunes rentals program that was just rolled out. See if you can spot the movies I worked on. Besides that there are websites, logos, Facebook pages, animations, ads and all sorts of things I get to design every day...so there are no complaints, other than I am way more familiar with Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill than I would like to be. I am still looking for full time work however and there are a few things on the horizon, but for now I couldn't have asked for a better position. My wife is expecting our third child at any time right now, so with three boys, I decided to start another blog that focuses more on the family side than the industry side. Check it out if you wish! And let me know if you're still reading this...

Boring Update

2007-09-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

I actually get a chance to update this thing and honestly have nothing really exciting to share. I just finished a massive design project for a company pitching a mechanical idea. I don’t have much experience in Industrial Illustration, but I think they came out all right. As far as the movie business goes, I’m actually getting excited to see Beowulf and I am Legend…two movies I am working on. I think it’s fascinating some of the stuff we are coming up with. It seems internationally, there is a much more immersive digital experience with films than domestically. I’ll let you know of any cool stuff once it’s made available. On the home front, my wife and kids are out of town visiting her family, so I am left here to slave away and work. I’m going to Arizona this weekend to visit my sis and watch Colorado (my alum) take on Arizona State. Colorado should loose. Wow, this really is a boring post.

New Project

2007-08-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

I was commandeered for a design project that usually isn’t something I’d be interested in. However, it posed a significant challenge so of course I took it. I’m designing a card reader/dispenser for shipping labels to go directly on drop boxes. While the project is a little more complicated and multi-faceted than that brief description, the image should give you a general Idea of what I’ve done so far. Changes and revisions are coming soon. I found this really cool site that tracks the IP addresses of those who update or change Wikipedia articles. It actually finds out if those IP addresses are attached to any companies and then outs them for tampering with data to suit their corporate needs. Too bad changing Wikipedia isn’t illegal or that would be some rap sheet. This is by far the funniest movie review I have ever read especially the part about Peruvian chickens. This site just plain rocks! Who knew that microwaves could light up Christmas lights?

Star Power

2007-08-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

The two lead actresses in two of our upcoming films are not happy with the movies at all. In fact it was put as “Actress A hates her film only slightly less than Actress B hates her film.” Now, this may not seem like a big deal (other than the fact that they signed on for the film in the first place), but it’s really hard to market a movie when the star freaking’ hates the thing. That means no to limited press, publicity, junkets, presence of the star of the show. Can that kill a film? No, but it makes our jobs a lot harder trying to convince the peoples to watch a movie when even the lead hates it. In other news, they are trying to re-vamp the punisher movie franchise (hey, maybe third times a charm). I loved the comic but hated the movie. Oh, and I wanna eat one of these because it looks positively hideous.

RIP

2007-08-01T18:39:00.001-07:00

Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. I don't know why, but I'm a little saddened at the passing of these two directors. I'm also a little freaked out that they died on the same day. If you do not know who they are, I recommend finding out. Such subversive and lasting images.

Random

2007-07-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

I swear, there was something really cool that I was going to write about but I can’t for the life of me remember what that was. Me and my wife are going through withdrawal as our eldest son Kayden is gone for the week with his grandparents. It’s amazing how much he can brighten your day and just change the course of your whole mood. Work hasn’t let up and I’m sure it’s just going to get busier with the holiday films coming up on the slate. This position is really intriguing as I get to see the backside of how to market a movie across the globe. I am also now addicted to Facebook, it’s clean, easy to use and is much more user friendly and less trashy than MySpace. I’ve posted a lot of pics up over there if anyone is interested.

I Am Legend

2007-07-25T18:30:00.001-07:00

One of the perks of my new job is being able to read scripts of upcoming films. I was able to read the script for ‘I Am Legend’ and was actually very impressed. It made for some quick good reading and I was thoroughly engrossed. Keep in mind this movie is skewered towards my demographic, but who doesn’t like a good action/apocalypse film every now and then. It takes place in the future 3 years after the worlds population has supposedly been wiped out by an unknown virus. The last survivor holes up in NYC, looking for some hope in his bleak situation. It is ingenious what the main character does to survive in a world bent on annihilating him. Needless to say, a plot is drummed up and I was pleasantly surprised by the end…even though a little Hollywood happy, it actually brings in a message of universal love. Who’d of thought?

A New Tome

2007-07-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter comes out this weekend and I am actually excited. I usually don’t get into these things that much but I have been on a reading kick as of late. I just finished “Like Water for Chocolate” which was great and I am now half-way through “The Devils Teeth” about great white sharks off the coast of San Francisco. I think the real reason I am excited is because me and my wife have a tradition of reading the book aloud together which makes it a fun sort of bonding moment. In other news, my new job has its perks, like seeing images and trailers of upcoming movies before anyone else does. I also get to read the scripts and sometimes even get to see the movie before it’s released. Hey, I have to know what I’m marketing. There is a lot to do in this job though, that’s for sure. I enjoy learning new things and working with other countries. We’ll see where it leads.

New Job

2007-06-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that I am really updating my Blog after so long? Besides not having the time, there have been a lot of changes that have wooed me away from writing into cyber-space. I was informed back at the beginning of may that I was being let go from my job. It seems that out stellar Television Production company did not have so hot of a year. As a matter of fact, by my count…of the 28 primetime shows we had on the air last year, 17 were either cancelled or relegated to midseason this year. Wow that’s a drop. Anyway, so I was left with the impending demise of my life in film production and had to look elsewhere. After interviews with Television Producers, The Family Guy, Interactive Video Games, Music and Publicity peoples…I finally decided to accept a position handling international marketing for our studio’s feature films. Wheee…it’s not in production, but definitely a promotion. I am really excited and will be starting the middle of June. I will keep you updated on the rigors of a departing Television employee before I start with the wonders of a new marketing stooge! Let the congrats pour in….

Fire #2

2007-05-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

well, that sucks! I heard most of Griffith Park was saved, which is good since it was a favorite family spot including the Zoo, Western Museum, Travel Town, Pony Rides, Christmas Lights, Playgrounds, Hiking trails etc....we loved it. Now it's just scorched moon-face. Here are some sweet pics!

Because it's funny...That's why

2007-05-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

CBS To Release Own Version Of NBC's The Office

NEW YORK— "We changed some language and cultural references to things our audience would understand," said producers, disputing the notion that the show could only work on NBC.

Sick?

2007-04-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

My wife is sick and I am starting to feel achy all over my body. That is not a good sign considering it is horrible for both parents to be out of it and trying to take care of our boys. Luckily, they have a love for long documentaries and playing ball which keeps them busy. On another note, it looks like my favorite show “Studio 60” is going to come back on the air starting the end of May. It is definitely not coming back next season though as they have struck (taken down) all the sets for it over here. I guess I’ll never see Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry hanging out by my car anymore. Hey look…a shark!

River Trash

2007-04-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today I got to come into work late because I was down volunteering to clean up the Los Angeles River. There was so much junk, it was unbelievable. Most of it was those plastic shopping bags people get from the grocery store. I also hauled up rugs, jackets, shopping carts, a mattress, tires, traffic cones...you name it. It felt good doing something meaningful, since my job doesn’t afford me that opportunity that often. I got to see Deborah Messing on the lot today, and even Darth Vader hates those people who don't turn off their cell phones before movies.

Ouch!

2007-04-25T17:50:00.001-07:00

I know that Colorado State has always had a problem trying to tackle, but taking it out on a 4 year old has reached a new low. My boss is going to a charity dinner tonight and we got a call today wondering if Mario Lopez could sit at our studio’s table. My questions are thus; first off, why did they ask our studio to front a table for Mario Lopez and secondly, if he is a presenter, wouldn't you think that he had a space reserved somewhere? His career didn't take off like he hoped it would after Dancing with the Stars. Ouch!

Make em' Laugh!

2007-04-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Even though this has been online for quite some time it still makes me laugh. It even inspired me to "think" about writting a follow-up with my son entitled the lawyer. We'll see where that goes in all of my spare time! Anyways, enjoy. Oh yeah, here's a bonus chuckle.

The Calm Before the Storm

2007-04-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

I find it harder and harder to post on this site for the sole reason that there is little or nothing exciting with my job going on right now. I did get out of work for an hour to go to a global warming screening (and got cute polar bear cards to boot) …however, the shows haven’t been picked up yet, the parties don’t start for a few months and all I get to do is financial stuff. Hopefully, my next job will see me doing something creative, so I don’t die a little more every day. In other news, it rained today, which prompted the studio to issue flood warnings since we are across the street from where the fires stripped all vegetation and left steep muddy hillsides prime for a colossal landslide. At least that’s what they are hoping will happen for publicity’s sake.

Why?

2007-04-16T18:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, you just have to ask why. My heart goes out to all of those affected by this tragedy.

Braindead

2007-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Poison Oak

2007-04-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is this stuff...(scratch, scratch)..Is killing me. My legs are dying. Luckily my wife bought some Tecnu, it is my only relief.

Fire Forever

2007-04-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

I went on vacation last week and it was awesome. My last day of work on Friday saw a giant fire erupt to see me off. This is what it looked like from our studio.It was also pretty cool from this other perspective…everyone thought the Hollywood sign was going up in flames but it held fast.I’ll post pictures of my vacation later. Right now I’m merely basking in the warmth of the fire memories.

Vaca Fever!

2007-03-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

I’m getting pretty antsy for vacation which is coming up for me the end of this week. Other than that, there is a definite lull here. The quiet before the storm I am sure. There was a funeral today for a previous executive here at the studio. A lot of the top level executives went so there weren’t many phone calls or emergencies while they were all out. It is good to see how they do stick by each other here, even though the business itself is pretty ruthless. There is a human quotient to Hollywood, even though the most touching thing we usually see from it is their movies.

Food for Thought

2007-03-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

Of course I've taken pretend pictures of me dining on my childeren, they are so dang squishy and cute...but this pic puts me to shame and makes me laugh my head off.

Sand Clover

2007-03-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

We went to Leo Carrillo State Park for St. Patrick’s day and played around in the tide pools. I was amazed at all the things we saw there. Fish, Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Starfish, Octopus’, Sea Lions, Dolphins, Whales, Coral, Shrimp, Sea Urchins, Anemones, sea slugs etc. It was a little overcast but that didn’t stop my sons from splashing around in the cold water and getting covered head to toe in sand. I really enjoy days like that! And just because I thought you needed a laugh today…look, Cowboy Monkey!

Prepare for Taxes!

2007-03-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

So, I never started writing my novel but my parents are in town so we’re gonna eat lasagna. How that pertains I have no Idea. I am missing a screening of the new movie 300 this Thursday, which I guess is OK considering this is a movie I should really not like but for some reason really want to go see. The New York Times wrote an article about the political implications people are putting on the film even though the writer and director are pretty much saying, “uh…no…but you can believe what you want to.” Also, we did our taxes the other day and found out we’re getting a pretty hefty federal return, but that’s all getting taken away by how much we owe in state taxes. Oh well, we were excited for a little bit.

It's a novel 'dawg'

2007-03-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am going to start writing a novel. Why, you may ask? Because I feel like it. For some reason I have been itching to do something creative recently, and most of my time is tied down to work. The only thing I can do to expand my creative prospects has to be done at the computer. I would write the next great movie script, but every other writer is doing that in Hollywood and I don’t have final draft.* All that is left is either a novel, or poetry, but I have too much respect for poetry to slander that medium. Who am I kidding, I probably won’t get around to it at all…heck, I’m not even that good of a writer. BTW, I just saw a tally count of the words ‘dawg’ vs. ‘pitchy’ that are said on American Idol. So far it’s 21 to 17 in favor of ‘dawg’.

tired

2007-02-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

I am so very, very tired. I was sitting here staring at my computer and I almost dozed off! This never happens to me. But I guess I deserve it for going to bed at around 3 am the past few nights. I have been working a business on the side and editing a DVD that took forever. I guess that’s what happens when you do it all in 3 days. I will never do that again, I just need to plan more time to get stuff like that accomplished. I held an Oscar Prediction contest with all of my extended family to see if anyone could beat me predicting who would win or not. The prize was a lot of free shwag from the movie studio, but alas, nobody beat me so nobody won. The best part about the Oscars is the sound mixing name-calling fight that is emerging from all this. Ha

On the Lot Already

2007-02-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Once again I have survived a lapse in blogging. Part of it was due to the fact that I have been out of town enjoying the local amusement parks and the other part of it has been that there has really been nothing to write about. I got an e-mail from a family member asking me if I was participating in a reality show called on-the lot. It is a reality competition designed to discover the next big Hollywood director. I actually was going to but as I looked at the site, I realized most of the entries were from people who already make a living as directors or at least have financing and distribution. I still should have applied but the whole idea of “finding new talent” didn’t set well with me as most everyone on the site has already been discovered, they just weren’t good enough to make it.

Deals

2007-01-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

I’m always looking for a great deal, and sometimes I actually get one. We recently bought a Roboreptile for my son’s birthday for $35, when it is usually $100. Now, I can’t say that I am always this frugal (I splurge on my wife) there are a few places that help keep the cost down. Vicky’s Deals and Brad’s Deals are both great coupon sites. If it’s food you’re looking to save on, then the Grocery Game is probably your best bet. Why I’m dishing out these bits of wisdom to random people who will probably never read this, only my subconscious knows, but have fun anyway! I wish there were deals like that on cars, or houses.

Rating Trauma

2007-01-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

It’s crazy that anyone would take their kids to an R-rated movie but from the sounds of this article, it looks like people do it pretty often. They are re-doing the movie rating system because they want to make it more clear to the public that it is not acceptable. I don’t know how those parents pull it off, I can’t even go to a G rated film with my kids and have them sit though it. Maybe the children are so traumatized by the experience that they just sit there in some sort of fetal horror. Then the parents are like “Wow, she didn’t move the entire time, she must have really been into this one”...and the trauma continues. These ratings are probably a better guage of what to go by, and are sure a lot more fun to read!

2007-01-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

A while back I tried out for American Idol to no avail. It was fun and silly. It’s a huge cattle-call process and you are pre-screened by hired “producers” before you even get to try out in front of the judges. I was really impressed with all the talent, but nobody I was around made it behind the doors to the judges or on camera. They make you line up five across then give you 10 seconds to prove you got the stuff. Needless to say, trying to impress hired hands on the middle of the field in the Rose Bowl without acoustics in 118 degree weather is a challenge. They took a lot of psycho, crazy and horrible sounding people, and a few really good ones as well; but the majority of the talent was left outside. So when you watch American Idol and they complain about there being no talent, and all there are is horrible auditions; just remember for every good person you hear, there are about 100 more just as good that never even got the chance to be Judged.

...It's who you know

2007-01-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

A person came into my office today from an Emmy winning TV show and I started talking with her about what she does. She said she only was out of school for two years and is an assistant line producer (not a bad job). I asked her how she got the job and she said she was promoted.
“From what” I asked
“A production assistant” was her reply.
“How’d you land that job?”
“I came over from another show” she said, clearly not realizing that I was trying to figure out how she got into the show biz. When all was said and done, come to find out she got her first job because her friends dad was a producer…for a while there she had me thinking she had worked hard to get in. Oh well, looks like I really am the first person to try this. Hey look, aShark!

100

2007-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

As a tribute to my 100th blog (can you belive that) I have changed the look of my web page to celebrate. It actually isn't all that different. Other than that, really nothing new or noteworthy to write about other than Sundance is going on right now, and there's probably not a single film made for under a million dollars in the competition. So much for Indie cinema.

Baby Swap

2007-01-19T18:00:00.001-08:00

We’ve gone into the undercover child business of swapping babies. Due to the fact that your Romanic involvement as a couple significantly decreases with the addition of children, we have [paired up with some other friends to swap babies once a week for a night by rotating who watches them. The baby less couples can then go on a date and do things that grownups do. Last week, we actually went to a movie (Dreamgirls, excellent). Today however is our turn to watch all the children. If we thought it was hard with two, then I wonder what it’s going to be like with 9 kids for a night.

Flixter

2007-01-17T17:13:00.001-08:00

What is this Flixter thing?

Pet Peeves

2007-01-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

I’m a mean person. I test my boss’s pet peeves just for the fun of it. She has this thing where decaffeinated coffee must be in an orange coffee pot. Every now and then I make it in a regular gold coffee pot just to see how she will react. The conversation usually goes something like this:
“Is this decaffeinated coffee?”
“Yes, I wouldn’t make you caffeinated.”
“But it’s not in the orange pot?!”
“This is your own personal coffee machine, you’re the only one who drinks from it, and the only coffee we have is decaffeinated. The color of the pot shouldn’t change that.”
“But that’s not the right pot”
Hmmmm. She also likes this little lamp turned on over at this little table because she thinks it will make our sickly Poinsettia grow. I sometimes leave it off just to see if she says anything. She usually does. It’s mean, but it’s kinda fun. On sad news, a whale shark died.

Super Blunder

2007-01-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

The ultimate collector’s edition of Superman was released to the world in November, however, It was not released to the studio employees for some weird reason. I called the store here, and they said there was a quality control issue with the set. Come to find out, some of the disks, or the special features had un[playable glitches which the Home video dept. caught too late. Therefore, those that snatched up the collection in stores have a defective product. Surprisingly, not many have been returned leaving one to believe that most people don’t watch the special features or something. I am just mad I can’t buy it at employee prices. Also, good luck finding it for sale right now. It seems all shipments have stopped till they correct the problem.

Life is Good!

2007-01-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

I feel good about my future prospects right now. Housing in Springfield, MO is still relatively low; I’ve almost put in a year here at my current job; our “on-the-side" business is slowly chugging to life; I have a Tivo now; we received massage oils as part of our Christmas gifts. Now, these things may seem like a random and incoherent list, but they all add up to something good in some way or another. There is a lot of great potential out there. And if things do take a turn for the worst in 2007, just remember no matter how bad your life seems, it can never do as poorly as ‘Zyzzyx’.

What a Break!

2007-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Well, New Years is over, and I really am back to the Grind. I have come to the realization that almost nobody in the world reads my blog. I need to get my name out there somehow. Wait, why do I want people to read my blog. I know for a fact that this wouldn’t entertain you nearly as much as it does me. It is cool to look back on things that have happened oh so long ago and reminisce…but I’ll save that for my 100th anniversary blog or something. We went to see the Rose Parade floats, stayed up to bang pots and pans and watched movies all night while putting together a puzzle. I even got to watch the Boise State - Oklahoma game on New Years Day…now that was a treat!

Back to Life

2006-12-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Christmas holiday is now over and my son is going through Daddy withdraw. He was really upset that I had to go to work today, but when all of my vacation days were taken away when I transferred into this department, I had none left to take off the week between Christmas and New Years. Now, I am the only one in the office with my boss and it’s kind of driving me nuts since she has to know every exact detail of everything that I am doing. Right now, she’s asking me what I am typing, so officially…this is a memo to the President of the division summarizing the gifts that were sent out in his name. Fun huh. It’s back to real life I suppose. I’m reading a book called World War Z, about a worldwide zombie takeover (fiction) and it was talking about all these people who suddenly became useless during a crisis because they made their living sitting at a desk pushing papers and did not have a real contributive skill like a doctor, construction or farmer. It hit me then that I would be one of those useless ones in the event of a zombie takeover. It specifically mentioned the entertainment industry as being especially worthless. Its great to know that if there ever was any kind of natural disaster or crisis, I would have almost nothing to contribute.

Sick

2006-12-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

So I went to Thanksgiving in Utah, saw all my family there and had a great time. Then I cam home and got sick. I'm talking the really horrible kind of sick where you have no control over your body. I'm getting over it now, but this marks two thanksgivings in a row. Thanksgiving in general has never been a forgiving holiday for me, but I am thankful for it.

Reading Time

2006-11-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

For lunch I went to the back lot* to an area made to look like a small Midwestern town square. I sat on a bench and proceeded to read a book, and it was quite peaceful. Then, the TV shoot that was going on down the street got out and all the workers came out for their lunch break. They started playing this amusing game of throwing metal rings into on old wood box. I didn’t mind at first, but then more crew joined them and everyone was cheering and cussing up a storm and it suddenly didn’t seem like an old Midwestern square anymore (which it wasn’t). It sounded like I was back in my high school football locker room, so I left.

*the back lot is where they shoot outdoor scenes and usually is created with fake facades to resemble another section or theme of a city.

Ho-Hum

2006-11-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

Don’t really have time to post anything worthwhile. I did see the really tall blonde guy from the Drew Carey Show and Who’s Line is it Anyway. He was just walking around. Hey look; Sharks! And here is what curiosity for candy will get you. Poor Deer.

Game-Face

2006-11-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

My brother is completely addicted to an addicting website called Warfish. It is basically like an online Risk game but with more options and things you are able to do. The funny part is that he pays for this service, which allows him to make stupid board games like this using my fathers face. How random. I’m getting tired of trying to watch all the shows I’m addicted to. I think I want to start transitioning back into movies. Fist to go; The Nine where nothing has really happened in 5 weeks.

Halloweenie

2006-11-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

I was a boy scout for Halloween. I dusted off my old uniform, put on some bells and whistles and was set. I got a lot of compliments, but my wife was ravishing as a Geisha! Woot. My boys were a cow and a Bumble Bee, as you can tell, there was really no rhyme or reason or theme to our madness. I was going to be a ninja (similar in ethnical origin to a geisha) but it would require the purchasing of too many materials for one days use. I was gone in Providence during all the Halloween parties, trunk-or-treats and other events. It made me kind of sad. I live for those family type events. Providence was pretty though, maybe I’ll post some pictures….um, or not. Is this a boring blog or what? “Studio 60” will not be cancelled…just heard that.