Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category
Gotham City has mostly recovered from being nearly stripped down by R’as al Ghul, the Scarecrow and Gotham’s local mob boss, Carmine Falcone, and the city’s inhabitants have settled into a routine of normalcy.
Part of that normalcy is the ever vigilant Batman (Christian Bale) prowling the city at night, rounding up all the escaped patients from Arkham Asylum. He’s given hope back to the people of Gotham and all seems well. Especially with the appointment of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as the District Attorney, who promises to end corruption in the government and law enforcement and deter crime in the streets. The time that Bruce Wayne no longer needs to don the Dark Knight’s dress seems to be imminent.
However, with Batman nearly crushing the local crime syndicate, the criminal leaders get some help from the Joker (Heath Ledger) who leads Batman, via a trail of bodies, on a game that will answer the questions: “Can the Joker break the Batman?”, “Will the Joker succeed in destroying good and hope and bring Gotham City down into Chaos?”
All the actors played their parts well from Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox to Maggie Gyllenhaal, who replaced Katie Holmes, as Rachel Dawes, but none so well as Heath Ledger. Of all his roles, this final one is his best. He didn’t just act the part, he lived it. Personality and mannerisms are a given, what he did was bring the Joker to life. Posture, ticks, inflections—every element of the character felt spot on. Great action sequences and a few twists aside, The Dark Knight is well worth the full price of admission just for Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker.
How does a century old assassins guild with members that have mastered gun use to the point where they can impart curve in a bullet’s trajectory, like the massé shots in billiards, sound to you? What if they added the ability to increase their heartrate to incredible levels and pump an excess amount of adrenaline in their bodies to react faster than normal men and women? Sounds pretty interesting?
Well, that’s what Wanted is made up of and while it’s no Summer Blockbuster, it’s a decent action flick worth watching in the theaters for a matinee price.
The story revolves around a young man named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) going through life apathetically. He has a deadend job, mean boss, cheating girlfriend, and an all around crappy life. Until he encounters Fox (Angelina Jolie) in a convenience store and his life turns upside down. He learns about his father, who left him and his mother when he was just born, and learns the lineage of weavers turned assassins that have gone through the ages killing people according to fate, maintaining balance in the world.
The film is based upon a comic miniseries by Mark Millar, which I’ve never read so can’t comment on how faithful the movie is to the written piece. However, the action scenes were great and there were some segments that caused chuckles in the theater. There was one scene that didn’t make sense after watching the entire movie, but still looked cool at the time. All the actors, ranging from Morgan Freeman to James McAvoy did a pretty good job. One actor I was pleasantly surprised to see was Konstantin Khabensky who is the main protagonist in Nightwatch and Daywatch (film adaptations to the wonderful books by Sergey Lukyanenko).
All in all, Wanted is worth watching in the theater to see those bullets curve and home in on their targets, but I’d say catch it at a discount.
Zohan is an Israeli counterterrorist soldier and darn good at his job (as well as pleasing the ladies), but has a dream of becoming a hairstylist in New York, even working at the Paul Mitchell Salon. Faking his own death, he sneaks into America and finds out that materializing his dream job is a little more difficult than beating up terrorists.
You don’t mess with the Zohan was a pretty good movie. It induced a copious amount of laughter from my friend and I, as well as the other viewers in the theater. It’s not necessarily a must-see movie, but if you’re wanting to watch a movie out, I’d recommend it.
Most of the comedy range from dumb humor (for example, that slo-mo flying kick you see in the trailer) to sexual jokes (things like hidden nudity scenes akin to Austin Powers), but no matter as most are appreciably funny. And of course, there are some jewels that come out from left field and cause an uproar of laughter. “Teh funneh” is in no short supply.
It’s amusing to note that there are real life people that Adam Sandler took inspiration from for his role. Three brothers (Nezi, Shaoul and Shalom Arbib) are former Israeli soldiers and have become hairstylists in California.
If you can appreciate the humor, there really isn’t any drawbacks to the movie. However, if you’re looking for intelligent comedy, you won’t find much of it in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.
If I had to sum up The Incredible Hulk in one word, it would have to be “action.” There seemed to be nonstop conflict in the movie, whether it was from locals in Brazil hating on Bruce Banner or armed forces trying to take down the Hulk. I don’t recall there ever being a dull moment where I was left thinking, “What’s next?” However, it wasn’t on-the-edge action, it was just palpable; stuff you’d expect to see in any superhero movie.
The CG was impressive, much like the previous Hulk. What I enjoyed about this “reset” though was the fact they didn’t blow the mutation out of proportion. They kept it as real as you could expect from such a concept. And honestly, it seemed that the CG and action was what really kept this movie together, with the acting being a bit on the lower threshold.
Edward Norton did a good job as Bruce Banner, but I think Eric Bana did better. Edward Norton’s physique in the movie really accentuated the colossal difference in relation to the Hulk and he did pass of as a nerdy scientist, but it just didn’t feel right. Liv Tyler, as much as I think she’s hot, just didn’t fit as Betty Ross. I kept thinking, “Arwen.” Of course, the previous Betty was Jennifer Connelly and she’s my all time favorite actress, so perhaps I’m just being biased. The actor, William Hurt, playing General Ross did very well coming off as a jerk and Tim Roth did a great job as the main antagonist, Blonksy. But I’m thinking, take this movie’s CG and storyline and the previous movie’s actors and you’ll get something superior.
I also appreciated some of the comedy elements in the movie, particularly a scene at the tail end. All in all, I’d say The Incredible Hulk was a 6 or 7. It’s worthy of a rental and I’d even bump it up to matinee level, just because any action film is best seen on a huge screen with loud speakers.
I love my action flicks, but I’m also a sucker for romance films. The Lake House is a romantic comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Both are lonely individuals trying to make a fresh start for themselves. Complete strangers not really separated by space but by time and only connected via a glass house on a lake and a scruffy dog.
The story takes place in two timelines. For Alex (Keanu Reeves) it’s 2004, while for Kate (Sandra Bullock) it’s 2006. The two meet by correspondence through the lake house’s mailbox. As the shock of what they’re able to do wears off, they begin to open up to, and fall in love with, each other.
There are very few “time bending” themed movies that I like, particularly due to the ease with which time paradoxes occur and the equal ease that they are unobserved by the writer. However, I found The Lake House more enjoyable than not. I have many friends who are unimpressed with the acting talents of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, but I feel that they did a good job with their characters in this film. The cinematography was also very good; the imagery and colors were vivid and impressive.
There was a niggling at the back of my mind that this movie was a remake or adaptation and I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover that The Lake House was, in fact, a remake from a Korean movie (Il Mare). Yet the thought in my mind was referring to The Love Letter.
Although I really enjoyed the film, if one was perceptive enough, s/he could guess the various plot points, which is probably one of the reasons I liked it; my guessing the events leading to the ending before they were revealed.
All in all, I’d recommend The Lake House worth renting.
First post for the new year and it’s a tie-in to last year. Over the past weekend, I went into movie marathon mode and rented a few movies from Vudu as well as purchased a couple (I wouldn’t have but it was the only way to watch them). While I was disappointed that Minority Report and Donnie Darko weren’t in the library, I was pleasantly surprised with a couple of foreign movies I wouldn’t have watched otherwise. Video quality was very good for all but one movie and the sound quality was still pretty good even coming out of the TV stock speakers. Since I don’t have a sound system, I won’t get into the audio. Even though I don’t have an HD TV, my set is relatively new so the display is pretty vibrant. There were no artifacts (except for that one movie, but I think it’s just how old that film may be) and, if I didn’t see the download progress whenever I paused or rewound the playback, I could be fooled into thinking the movie I was watching was on a DVD and not streamed to the Vudu box.
I mainly used the “My Wish List” feature to bookmark movies I was interested in but didn’t want to watch right away. While the “Find Movies” search is pretty nifty, I do get lost in the moment of perusing the titles and “waste” time. So, before the weekend arrived, I added a few movies to my wish list and waited for the weekend before starting my marathon. This method worked out pretty well but also made me miss some of the featured movies on the home screen. The featured movie list is great for newly available movies.
I think the Vudu system works well for anyone who wants to watch a movie “right away” aka to impatient to wait for delivery of the movie or too lazy/uninterested in driving to a movie rental shop. Although you might not find exactly what you’re looking for, you may be surprised to find a few gems you may not have come across otherwise.
After unboxing the “Vudu”:http://www.vudu.com/, I checked out the quick-start guide. The very first thing they tell you to do is slap the batteries into the remote. It melted in my hand (not literally melted, mind), which I’m guessing is due to its snazzy design. I’m hoping the experience of using Vudu is as elegant.
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I recently purchased “Blade Runner (The Final Cut)”:http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/ as the older version I had seems to have disappeared. Along with that, I also got “Renaissance”:http://video.movies.go.com/renaissance/ and I must say that I’m glad I bought it. Everything in the movie was very well done, from the storyline to the animation.
Renaissance is set in Paris in the year 2054. The story revolves around the kidnapping of a gifted researcher by the name of Ilona Tasuiev where the main protagonist, Barthelemy Karas, is an officer of the police taskforce Section K. He is very good at his job and thus is assigned to find Ilona who is an employee of Avalon, a huge company specializing in beauty products. In his quest to find Ilona he meets her sister, Bislane, as well as other figures that were prominent in Ilona’s life. Everyone seems to have a secret to hide. Will Karas find Ilona before it’s too late? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out.
And watching it is a visual treat. While the movie is in a black and white style, the characters and environments are digital 3D models. The characters incorporate motion capturing and move realistically. Paris itself is a beauty. To support the population growth in 2054, new homes are built on top of older structures, with glass being a prominent building component for not only visual appeal in the movie but also in a realistic sense to allow sunlight to filter through to the older buildings. Also, Paris has expanded underground too. Obviously, space is a commodity, which is futher reinforced with architecture being built in every available space (like the 71 dance club being built under a bridge). All of this is in beautiful detail in spite of (or in light of?) the movie being in black and white.
Renaissance does well in following the Blade Runner style, while simultaneously making its own distinct mark in the Cyberpunk genre.
I’m sorta looking forward to the movie Hitman, which is based off of the video game series of the same title. In my opinion the storyline of the series isn’t complex and the only really great feature of the game was the freedom of operation for each mission, so Holywood can’t screw this up, right?
Then again, the whole premise of Doom was that a rift to Hell was opened (very straightforward, no twist no turns), whereas in the movie, it was changed to genetic mutation. Very disappointing, especially since I’ve gone through the Doom remake, which provided a better cinematic atmosphere. Out of the two Resident Evil movies I’ve seen (I didn’t see the third, Extinction, yet), only the second one (Apocalypse) was entertaining and that’s only because they had Jill Valentine in it. The first Resident Evil movie could’ve been so much more. It could’ve been a great horror/thriller movie sprinkled with some gun fighting action.
The failures of the recent video game to movie adaptations have me feeling a little discouraged with Hitman, but the trailer (always the trailer!) has sparked my interest.
Of course, there’ve been a few adaptations that were successful. Like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Tomb Raider and Silent Hill.
“Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions”:http://na.square-enix.com/fftactics/ is launching tomorrow. I’ve got it pre-ordered so that’s no problem. The trick would be to acquire the movies, Transformers and 28 Weeks Later. Actually, just Transformers. I don’t think it’d be too hard to get the other movie.
Circuit City is always the best place to get new movie releases, but do I take up lunch hour and scramble to Pearlridge, or do I wait and go through traffic and thus take up time I could be spent driving to Gamestop to pick up my FFT?
I must come up with a solid battle plan.
Speaking of battle plans, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is out and has gotten good reviews. I’m assuming it’s like Battlefield and pretty much completely online with no single-player story to burn through.
Spotted an “article”:http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2007/07/sunshineQA on Wired News about a new sci-fi movie called _Sunshine_. I love me some science fiction, especially ones that put in doses of realism. But I wonder just how “real” this movie will be when the director can’t even get his movie release dates right…
There was a strong strain of it into the ’70s that tried to depict space realistically, but it’s been replaced. Alien, one of the great masterpieces, was quickly followed by Star Wars. And Star Wars, of course, led everyone to fantasy sci-fi, that playground where anything goes. You can imagine any creature, on any planet. And they all talk English.
As commenters pointed out and anyone who’s even dabbled in the sci-fi genre could tell you, _Alien_ was released two years after _Star Wars_. Oh… and it’s funny, but I don’t remember Jawas speaking English.
Suddenly, I’m not all that inspired to watch _Sunshine_. Maybe I’ll watch it when it gets to DVD but I’d be afraid of how much things would be “wrong” in the movie.
Transformers was awesome…
More later when I’m not reeling.
Edited July 5th, 2007
So, Transformers could’ve been written better. The dialogue was kinda cheesy. But some of the one-liners were funny. Especially those that related to quips from the cartoon series.
Campy aside, the robots were awesome. Good CGI and interaction with real life stuff. In this day and age, it’s not really saying much but when was the last time we saw huge honking robots? And ones that could transform to boot?
That’s what I thought.
I do hope they’re able to make a sequel. I’d pay admission.
I’d love to go about the visuals but the movie’s still new and I’d hate to spoil it. I’ll say this though… these Transformers can kick ass!
I don’t often make it a point to expand my horizons and look up movies I wouldn’t normally watch. However, there are times when I find myself channel surfing and I stumble across a movie that captures my attention, even if it’s not something I’d think would be good. Or understand for that matter. “Brazil”:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/, a black comedy, is one of those movies that made me go “huh?” but ended up being a pretty good movie to watch.
I still don’t understand why the movie is titled Brazil when it has nothing to do with the place, but the freaky psychological mind twists that keep popping up distracted me from this wonder. Throughout the movie, I didn’t know which was reality and which was all in the potagonist’s mind. The ending was somewhat of a let-down but made sense.
I would dread living in a world governed so strictly.
Watched “300″:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/ last night and I really liked it. A slightly slow start but the pace picked up fairly fast. While there were 300 Spartans, only a handful were noteworthy and took the spotlight at times. In terms of character development, there really wasn’t any as they all were badass from the start.
Great visceral action and the choreography was impressive. Something to give more inspiration to play my Warrior in WoW.
The Spartans were Fury/Protection, imo.
Leonidas’ captain was a Paladin. His shield toss proves it. srsly.
