I remember seeing a preview for this awhile back and thought it looked like it could be fun and something Becky would enjoy as well. It got generally good reviews with several of them referencing The Princess Bride. Some said a Princess Bride it was not. Others called it a Princess Bride for the current generation, which might be a bit much. I could see why they might speak of it in similar fashion, though Stardust was perhaps a bit more fantastical and dark in nature.
The movie is based on a Neil Gaiman novel of the same name. The basic plot is that a young man wishes to prove his love to some evil snotty bitch by finding a star they saw fall from the sky. This journey takes him into a forbidden magical realm and yeah verily some nasty trouble as well. As it turns out the star is not a hot lump of rock but rather a hot lump of flesh in the form of Claire Danes. After an initial adversarial moment the two of them head off back towards his home. Their progress is impeded by a group of witches who want the star for nefarious purposes. There is also a subplot in which the king of this realm is having a bit of a problem deciding which of his formerly 7 sons will take his throne, and sends them off on a quest to find an amulet, which just so happens to currently be in the possession of the star. The non living sons make frequent screentime in the form of ghosts generally to great amusement.
Speaking of Neil Gaiman, I've read a two of his other books, American Gods and Anansi Boys, both of which I quite enjoyed. AG I would recommend to almost anyone. I also recently watched a bbc miniseries adaptation of his book Neverwhere. It was interesting, and I might like to read the book at some point. But the acting and of course video production standards were quite poor. Not the case in Stardust of course. They had some fun special effects like a really cool glowing effect for Claire's character on occasion and of course lots of magic being tossed around. The important actors/actresses did a great job conveying emotion and expression. De Niro had a hilarious dance routine. I definitely left the movie satisfied, tho it did seem a bit long mayhaps.
Rating: 4.25
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The After Spring Before Fall Movie Review
It's been awhile since I've wrote a movie review, despite the fact that I've seen my fair share of them this summer. I don't know how effective I will be at reviewing them this long after but we will give it a shot. For the purposes of this post I will be using a 1-5 rating scale. A rating of 1 implies a complete crapfest/waste of time and 5 means that if you haven't seen this movie, you probably are a loser and we aren't friends anymore.
Transformers: This movie kicked some serious ass. I had my slight reservations about its quality going in, and even maybe hurt my chances by "accidentally" reading some plot descriptions while looking up pictures of the kickass robots before the movie. Regardless I was enthralled watching the movie. The special effects were great, wonderful pacing, good sporadic humor throughout. Really it was an all around great movie, and I would love to see it again like right this fucking second. Can't wait for the supposedly greenlit sequels.
Rating = 5
Straight Men Marry: AKA I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
I saw this one up in Westminster in a crappy yet packed theater, with crappy popcorn and only a somewhat reasonable sized beverage, sitting almost all the way in the back. There was also a man sitting next to me that practically orgasmed every time Jessica Biel was onscreen even telling his date at one point that he so wanted to bang her. I truly hope that if this man goes to see the movie coming up where she bares all that the rest of the people in the theater bring umbrellas. I don't think, however, that seeing it someplace else would have made anything better. I have mixed feelings on Adam Sandler, he has a good number of movies I have found funny, and then a good number that I felt were not. I'm putting this one into the latter category. There were some good parts, the Asian minister who oversaw the wedding was funny and a couple other good bits. But overall the acting felt forced and there weren't nearly enough laughs to make the movie. I honestly think the hardest I laughed was when Dan Akroyd slid down a fireman's pole (no homo).
Rating = 2
Simpsons Teh Movie: Here's another I went into hoping for the best but worried it could be a letdown. I couldn't have been further from the truth. This movie wasn't just hilarious, it was groin grabbingly hilarious. There wasn't enough interaction with the plethora of side characters from the show as they mostly followed the simpsons trials and tribulations, but that didn't take much away from the film. I laughed throughout this movie and I'm sure there are plenty of hidden jokes that I missed. My only real gripe with the movie was they didn't have Kang in it, and while the credits SAID Kodos was in it, I have no recollection of seeing said character.
Rating = 5
Live Free or Die Hard: While not as good as the original Die Hard or even the Second, I felt this movie lived up to the franchise pretty well. It was an entertaining flick and as plots go it could be worse. Bruce Willis still puts on a believable tough guy performance despite his impending Alzheimer's. Even the gay Mac guy had a good showing, though I wish he had got the crap kicked out of him more. I had some qualms with the believability of some of the action in this film. I try and ignore these things because I know "It's a moooovieeee", but when a man takes out a helicopter with a car and jumps onto or off of a jet I can't help but think No WAY. Odd that I have no trouble believing in cars that turn into robots eh?
Rating = 3.5
Bridge to Terabithia: I don't know if this counts as a summer movie, but I watched it on rental during the summer so you'll sit there and like it! I had never read the book and the only thing I knew about it was that the girl was sposed to die, though someone told me that disney went crazy and changed that for the movie. I was expecting a bit more fantasy to this movie, more like Narnia, but instead the whole fantasy element was just kid's imagination. Still it was a somewhat emotional tale and the girl did indeed die. As far as children actors go these kids weren't horrible and neither was the movie, but thats about all the good I have to say about it.
Rating = 1.5
Knocked Up: This came out in June so I'm including it. I thought this movie was really funny. The general plot is of course quite simple. Girl makes mistake and hooks up with loser, some wackiness ensues preventing the use of a condom and well, I don't have to explain the birds and the bees do I? There's plenty of bickering and fighting and getting to know each other and care for each other between the two expecting parents. But throughout all that there was tons of funny material. I enjoyed myself as did my lady. Wasn't the best comedy of the year, and it wasn't 40 Year Old Virgin either, but it was a good one.
Rating = 3.5
There's still a couple summer movies I didn't see that I wanted to. Ratatouille for one, The new bourne for another. I would like to try and see Stardust and might even try and check out the Lost Legion.
Transformers: This movie kicked some serious ass. I had my slight reservations about its quality going in, and even maybe hurt my chances by "accidentally" reading some plot descriptions while looking up pictures of the kickass robots before the movie. Regardless I was enthralled watching the movie. The special effects were great, wonderful pacing, good sporadic humor throughout. Really it was an all around great movie, and I would love to see it again like right this fucking second. Can't wait for the supposedly greenlit sequels.
Rating = 5
Straight Men Marry: AKA I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
I saw this one up in Westminster in a crappy yet packed theater, with crappy popcorn and only a somewhat reasonable sized beverage, sitting almost all the way in the back. There was also a man sitting next to me that practically orgasmed every time Jessica Biel was onscreen even telling his date at one point that he so wanted to bang her. I truly hope that if this man goes to see the movie coming up where she bares all that the rest of the people in the theater bring umbrellas. I don't think, however, that seeing it someplace else would have made anything better. I have mixed feelings on Adam Sandler, he has a good number of movies I have found funny, and then a good number that I felt were not. I'm putting this one into the latter category. There were some good parts, the Asian minister who oversaw the wedding was funny and a couple other good bits. But overall the acting felt forced and there weren't nearly enough laughs to make the movie. I honestly think the hardest I laughed was when Dan Akroyd slid down a fireman's pole (no homo).
Rating = 2
Simpsons Teh Movie: Here's another I went into hoping for the best but worried it could be a letdown. I couldn't have been further from the truth. This movie wasn't just hilarious, it was groin grabbingly hilarious. There wasn't enough interaction with the plethora of side characters from the show as they mostly followed the simpsons trials and tribulations, but that didn't take much away from the film. I laughed throughout this movie and I'm sure there are plenty of hidden jokes that I missed. My only real gripe with the movie was they didn't have Kang in it, and while the credits SAID Kodos was in it, I have no recollection of seeing said character.
Rating = 5
Live Free or Die Hard: While not as good as the original Die Hard or even the Second, I felt this movie lived up to the franchise pretty well. It was an entertaining flick and as plots go it could be worse. Bruce Willis still puts on a believable tough guy performance despite his impending Alzheimer's. Even the gay Mac guy had a good showing, though I wish he had got the crap kicked out of him more. I had some qualms with the believability of some of the action in this film. I try and ignore these things because I know "It's a moooovieeee", but when a man takes out a helicopter with a car and jumps onto or off of a jet I can't help but think No WAY. Odd that I have no trouble believing in cars that turn into robots eh?
Rating = 3.5
Bridge to Terabithia: I don't know if this counts as a summer movie, but I watched it on rental during the summer so you'll sit there and like it! I had never read the book and the only thing I knew about it was that the girl was sposed to die, though someone told me that disney went crazy and changed that for the movie. I was expecting a bit more fantasy to this movie, more like Narnia, but instead the whole fantasy element was just kid's imagination. Still it was a somewhat emotional tale and the girl did indeed die. As far as children actors go these kids weren't horrible and neither was the movie, but thats about all the good I have to say about it.
Rating = 1.5
Knocked Up: This came out in June so I'm including it. I thought this movie was really funny. The general plot is of course quite simple. Girl makes mistake and hooks up with loser, some wackiness ensues preventing the use of a condom and well, I don't have to explain the birds and the bees do I? There's plenty of bickering and fighting and getting to know each other and care for each other between the two expecting parents. But throughout all that there was tons of funny material. I enjoyed myself as did my lady. Wasn't the best comedy of the year, and it wasn't 40 Year Old Virgin either, but it was a good one.
Rating = 3.5
There's still a couple summer movies I didn't see that I wanted to. Ratatouille for one, The new bourne for another. I would like to try and see Stardust and might even try and check out the Lost Legion.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Going To The Movies, Gonna Eat Me A Lot Of Popcorn
On this weeks episode of People Who Suck, we will discuss those who do their sucking at the movies. I went out to see a movie(The Invisible) over the weekend as I am want to do. I don't have much to say about the film, it was somewhat interesting, the concept was nice, but I hated some of the characters and there was some lameness throughout. Also I thought it was odd that there was a "scene" in all the commercials for the movie that both I and my girlfriend are 99% sure was not in the movie.
Back to the suck. A lot of this boils down to talking during the film. Now I'm not a total dick, I know you want to do more than just sit there with a blank stare gazing up at the movie screen for two hours. Some minor interaction with your friends, compatriots, lovers is perfectly acceptable. But there are limits, I'm sure I crossed a bunch of them when I was in high school and going out to see films with my friends and causing a ruckus. I regret my rambunctiousness to a degree and while it might aggravate me when it happens, I feel a bit hypocritical when I do.
People who have to explain things in the movie suck. I don't know if they are telling their friend because they think he/she is too dumb to figure it out. Maybe they just cant process their thought without their mouths moving and they just naturally force the air out to speak it. It always happens during the simplest most easy to understand scenes too, where the director is just forcing the explanation down your throat to the point where no one over the age of 7.166666 repeating should have trouble understanding it. Just shut up!
Idiots suck all the time, but at the movie theater they suck even more. They also seem to congregate and are possibly contagious. In this movie, one of the characters was wearing a t-shirt that said "Gluten Free" 3 women sitting near me kept tittering about his Glutton Free t-shirt. Another time, I was seeing the movie High Fidelity and I swear whenever a scene came on and both Joan and John Cusack were in the same room, people would break out with whispers of "It's his sister!!!"
Other people who are at the movies full of suckishness is those who horribly violently react to jump scenes. I understand it was totally intended to shock you so jolt a little, shake and tremble, take a quick inhalation of breath or scream slightly if you must. But when you jump 2 feet out of you chair with such speed and voracity that I sitting next to you get more freaked out by you than the movie then I have a problem with you.
In short try not to suck at the movies. Sit back and enjoy the movie, talk to your friends quietly and try and be funny like the guys from MST3K before Joel left. Either that or just make out with your significant other, I can watch that too.
Back to the suck. A lot of this boils down to talking during the film. Now I'm not a total dick, I know you want to do more than just sit there with a blank stare gazing up at the movie screen for two hours. Some minor interaction with your friends, compatriots, lovers is perfectly acceptable. But there are limits, I'm sure I crossed a bunch of them when I was in high school and going out to see films with my friends and causing a ruckus. I regret my rambunctiousness to a degree and while it might aggravate me when it happens, I feel a bit hypocritical when I do.
People who have to explain things in the movie suck. I don't know if they are telling their friend because they think he/she is too dumb to figure it out. Maybe they just cant process their thought without their mouths moving and they just naturally force the air out to speak it. It always happens during the simplest most easy to understand scenes too, where the director is just forcing the explanation down your throat to the point where no one over the age of 7.166666 repeating should have trouble understanding it. Just shut up!
Idiots suck all the time, but at the movie theater they suck even more. They also seem to congregate and are possibly contagious. In this movie, one of the characters was wearing a t-shirt that said "Gluten Free" 3 women sitting near me kept tittering about his Glutton Free t-shirt. Another time, I was seeing the movie High Fidelity and I swear whenever a scene came on and both Joan and John Cusack were in the same room, people would break out with whispers of "It's his sister!!!"
Other people who are at the movies full of suckishness is those who horribly violently react to jump scenes. I understand it was totally intended to shock you so jolt a little, shake and tremble, take a quick inhalation of breath or scream slightly if you must. But when you jump 2 feet out of you chair with such speed and voracity that I sitting next to you get more freaked out by you than the movie then I have a problem with you.
In short try not to suck at the movies. Sit back and enjoy the movie, talk to your friends quietly and try and be funny like the guys from MST3K before Joel left. Either that or just make out with your significant other, I can watch that too.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Non Home Theater Experience
Went out last night and saw Disturbia. General plot point is kid gets house arrest and spends his summer people watching in his neighborhood and ends up suspecting someone of some serious evil shenanigans. Overall I did enjoy the movie, I found it a worthwhile endeavor. I didn't get shocked at any of the jump moments but then I don't usually tend to. Whether thats because of my usual IDGAF attitude or mind altering substances I don't know.
There was a pretty cool/scary car wreck near the beginning. I don't recommend driving a SUV over a car, flipping several times, landing on the roof of your car, and then getting slammed into by another car. It did not look fun, the protagonist survived but his Dad did not. At first I thought this was going to be why the kid was forced to stay at home which seemed odd, but no. His spanish teacher said something about his dad on the last day of school and he decked him. So let that be a lesson to you kids out there, don't punch your teachers if you want to be able to enjoy your summer vacation.
Now to my list of things that made me moderately annoyed or made me think duhhh stupid movie making people. For one thing they made it a point to show that the kid wasn't allowed to have fun while he was imprisoned in his house. His mom canceled his "xbox" and "itunes" so that he couldn't use them. Well she canceled his xbox live account, so sure he couldn't play with people but thats what single player games are for. Same with itunes, its not like he didn't already have music to play. It's so sad he cant download new stuff. I know I know "it's a mooooovie," but whatever I think about these things.
Also the female lead, who most assuredly was hot, was forced into some sort of effortless prototypical male fantasy. Athletic lean hot chick, who sunbathes and swims in skimpy little outfits. Who doesn't seem to mind a voyeur and maybe even enjoys it a little, likes homemade video. A girl who makes the first move, goes in for the first kiss, apparently enjoys playing video games. She even ordered pizza and drinks beer. She also seems to have the hots for a guy who is a "criminal" but also kind of a dork, so its good for everyone! It just seemed a little bit unbelievable to me. Not that I mind a hot female actress in a movie, but I like them to seem somewhat real.
There were some okay previews. I am assuredly going to go see The Invisible or whatever. 28 Weeks Later looks kinda cool but I can probably wait for video. I didn't even realize that they made another Resident Evil movie, I don't know what I'll do about that one.
There was a pretty cool/scary car wreck near the beginning. I don't recommend driving a SUV over a car, flipping several times, landing on the roof of your car, and then getting slammed into by another car. It did not look fun, the protagonist survived but his Dad did not. At first I thought this was going to be why the kid was forced to stay at home which seemed odd, but no. His spanish teacher said something about his dad on the last day of school and he decked him. So let that be a lesson to you kids out there, don't punch your teachers if you want to be able to enjoy your summer vacation.
Now to my list of things that made me moderately annoyed or made me think duhhh stupid movie making people. For one thing they made it a point to show that the kid wasn't allowed to have fun while he was imprisoned in his house. His mom canceled his "xbox" and "itunes" so that he couldn't use them. Well she canceled his xbox live account, so sure he couldn't play with people but thats what single player games are for. Same with itunes, its not like he didn't already have music to play. It's so sad he cant download new stuff. I know I know "it's a mooooovie," but whatever I think about these things.
Also the female lead, who most assuredly was hot, was forced into some sort of effortless prototypical male fantasy. Athletic lean hot chick, who sunbathes and swims in skimpy little outfits. Who doesn't seem to mind a voyeur and maybe even enjoys it a little, likes homemade video. A girl who makes the first move, goes in for the first kiss, apparently enjoys playing video games. She even ordered pizza and drinks beer. She also seems to have the hots for a guy who is a "criminal" but also kind of a dork, so its good for everyone! It just seemed a little bit unbelievable to me. Not that I mind a hot female actress in a movie, but I like them to seem somewhat real.
There were some okay previews. I am assuredly going to go see The Invisible or whatever. 28 Weeks Later looks kinda cool but I can probably wait for video. I didn't even realize that they made another Resident Evil movie, I don't know what I'll do about that one.
Monday, March 12, 2007
It's Not the Weekend
However, it just was so we can still talk about it. Spent a lot of time with my girlfriend which was quite nice. The gang and I went out to see 300. For those who might not be familiar with it, it's a movie adaption of the Frank Miller graphic novel depicting a fictional account of the battle of Thermopylae. For those of you not familiar with that either well, basically a long long time ago the Persian empire was spreading and a group of Spartans went forth to stop them. Hopefully thats a good enough plot for you people out there, because that was about the extent of it. Lots of carnage ensued.
That carnage was really well done, the battle scenes were fraught with blood and gore. A plethora of stabbings and beheadings not to mention the occasional freak of nature and bodies so filled with arrows it looked like an acupuncturists orgasmic fantasy. The movie was well paced and kept you going and even tho the subplot really only accounted for 10 minutes of the film, I felt it was well placed and of reasonable interest. It certainly wasn't nearly as comic-booky as the last Frank Miller movie adaption of Sin City, but there were similarities in artistic vision and presentation.
All told I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, well worth seeing. Honestly, I really only had two gripes about the movie, one of which would kind of spoil the movie for some and quite possibly history itself so I wont mention it. The other thing well... it seemed to me that all women of greece in this movie have breasts that are about 95% nipple. It's weird... get some implants or something ladies.
That carnage was really well done, the battle scenes were fraught with blood and gore. A plethora of stabbings and beheadings not to mention the occasional freak of nature and bodies so filled with arrows it looked like an acupuncturists orgasmic fantasy. The movie was well paced and kept you going and even tho the subplot really only accounted for 10 minutes of the film, I felt it was well placed and of reasonable interest. It certainly wasn't nearly as comic-booky as the last Frank Miller movie adaption of Sin City, but there were similarities in artistic vision and presentation.
All told I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, well worth seeing. Honestly, I really only had two gripes about the movie, one of which would kind of spoil the movie for some and quite possibly history itself so I wont mention it. The other thing well... it seemed to me that all women of greece in this movie have breasts that are about 95% nipple. It's weird... get some implants or something ladies.
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