Posted by: Mike on Nov 21st, 2009

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It’s a sad day for us The Dark Knight fans. Or for those of us who just love movies in general.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon has set a new opening day record of just over $72million.  That beats the previous record, held by our loved The Dark Knight by just over $5.6million.

New Moon has also set a new “single day” record, and a “single day – Friday” record, for its opening day.

Despite making a boatload of money, people don’t seem to be enjoying the latest “Twilight” movie.  As of now, Rotten Tomatoes’ current rating is 29%, and IMDb is only at a 4.4/10.

Have you seen New Moon? Is it as terrible as I’d guess it’d be?

Posted by: Mike on Nov 15th, 2009

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2012

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: 2012 is not nearly as horrible as you may have read.  Pulling $65 million in its first weekend, it doesn’t seem like people are caring what reviews say, anyway.  Given my unhealthy love of John Cusack, I had to see the movie.  It looks like others had the same desire, as 2012 was number one at the box office this weekend.

Roland Emmerich’s known for primarily one thing: destroying the entire freakin’ planet.  Proof? He’s directed The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and Godzilla.  If you need more proof that this guy wants the planet to be destroyed, you need to get out more.  What better person to helm the direction of 2012?  None, I say.

For those of you living under a rock, here’s the rundown of what 2012 is about:

The planet is doomed.  It’s 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar, and they’ve predicted we’re all going to die.  Some scientist type folks discover that the center of the Earth is heating up too fast and that we’re all doomed.  The Governments of the world get involved, and begin a plan to save the human race.

That’s the summation of the film.  The actuality of the movie is that there’s tons of action, lots of destruction and a whole ton of amazing CGI effects.

I’ll admit that I didn’t think the movie was perfect, far from it.  But I didn’t have the expectation that this was going to be the next The Prestige or The Wizard of Oz or anything. I expected to have a good time watching things explode, fall apart, and a bunch of humans fight for their lives.  I got what I wanted.

I could have done without some parts, certainly.  I wouldn’t have objected if the movie was an hour shorter.  Would that have worked? Doubtful, given the importance of pretty much everything that happens in the film. But I still would have liked it to be a bit shorter.  Action type movies should be pushing three hours, especially mindless ones where you can doze off at times because you don’t have to pay attention to anything that isn’t exploding.

The ultimate message of the film is one of hope. It’s Hollywood trying to badger into our heads that humans are good at heart. (I feel like there’s a lot more of these movies lately than there used to be, which is fine. I’m just sayin’.)

I’m glad I saw this on the big screen.  However, doing so made me realize something: big screen films aren’t as impressive as Blu-ray discs are.  While the sound is still better than what most people have at home, Blu-ray is a far superior picture to what I’ve seen in theaters lately.  Movie theaters need to step up the game if they want to keep butts in seats.  While you certainly can’t compete with a big screen at home, watching it on a smaller screen with people you won’t be afraid to “shush” is certainly worth it. Price of tickets and snacks aside, watching at home is generally a more enjoyable experience, for me at least.

My wrapup: if you dig any of Emmerich’s films about the world falling apart, 2012 is for you.  It’s got everything you’d expect from seeing the trailer: the world falls apart, John Cusack is the everyman, the kids are adorable, a surprise spot by a wacky Woody Harrelson, and overall catastrophe.  What more do you want from a feel-good mindless film?  Check out 2012 while it’s still in theaters.  It’s not as bad as you’re thinking it’ll be.

Posted by: Mike on Nov 15th, 2009

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Zombieland

It’s been a long six months since I saw Star Trek, which was my favorite movie of the year.  It’s been six months, so it’s tough to compare that with what could be my absolute favorite movie of the year, Zombieland.

Thinking back on how much I enjoyed both films, Zombieland stands out more.  I had more fun with Zombieland. I left the theater smiling after both flicks, sure.  But was Zombieland a better movie than Star Trek?  I think, in the end, it was.

For those of you who haven’t seen Zombieland yet, you’re missing out on a world of pure awesome.  There’s absolutely nothing, at all, wrong with Zombieland in the slightest bit.  It’s picture perfect in every aspect of the digital world.  There’s gore. There’s zombies. There’s a love story. There’s a hysterical cast.  There’s an epic tale of trying to survive when every odd is stacked against you.

Did I mention the zombies? Good, because there’s a ton of them. And they all want to eat our main characters (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin.)

If you enjoy the “comedy horror” genre at all, I absolutely guarantee that you’ll love Zombieland. There’s no doubt about it.

And it’s not just the zombies and the story and the script that make the movie so brilliant.  It’s the little things, like how the shots are put together.  The great use of onscreen graphics when each of the “rules” to survive is talked about by our main character Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg).  It’s everything all put together that makes this movie so fantastic.

You’re reading this thinking to yourself “you sound like a rambling idiot”, and you’re right, I do.  There’s just not enough good things I can say about Zombieland, it’s just that good.  Enough ramblin’, go see the movie before it’s too late.  You won’t regret it.  This is certainly one for the DVD shelf when it comes out on Blu-ray.

Posted by: Mike on Aug 16th, 2009

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District 9

When the film first started, I was a bit turned off.  The first bit of it (half hour, maybe?) is very shakey cam ala Cloverfield.  Which I definitely didn’t care for.  However, overall, the way this movie is filmed is pretty amazing.  You almost forget you’re watching a motion picture for a while, and think you’re watching a documentary.  I think that’s the goal.

I was taken aback by some of the CGI in the film.  Where movies these days tend to shy away from over the top violence, District 9 embraces it.  Showing people’s heads explode, their bodies being torn apart, that’s definitely not shying away from anything.  District 9 has their CGI down pat. And it shows throughout the entire movie.

There were a few scenes where the prawns (the aliens that look like giant shrimp) didn’t look quite as real as scenes where you could tell they were actors in costumes.  Overall though, the aliens looked pretty amazing, and very well done.

The story of movie is one that you don’t realize until after it’s over.  And it’s a good one.  In the majority of alien movies of today, the aliens come to earth, and they’re immediately the bad guys. They’re here to kill us and take over.  That’s not the case with District 9.  In District 9 the humans are the bad guys.  We fear what we don’t understand, and I think that message gets through loud and clear.

Unknown actor Sharlto Copley plays Wicus, the lead guy in the film, and the relocation of the aliens project in the movie.  According to IMdB, he’s never acted before, and this is not only his first movie, but his first anything. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be getting plenty of work after this. He’s simply amazing.  He steals the entire movie, and portrays an amazing character on screen.

I really liked the movie. It could have been a lot better, but it also could have been quite a lot worse.  I felt there were parts that could have been cut out, to get the runtime down to an hour and 45 minutes. But overall, I don’t have a lot of gripes about it.  If you had an inkling to see the movie, and haven’t yet, definitely go see it. It’s worth the price of admission, and I imagine it’s going to look amazing when it comes out on Blu-ray.

Posted by: Mike on Aug 11th, 2009

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I Love You, Man – Blu-ray
17 Again – Blu-ray

Posted by: Mike on Aug 4th, 2009

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The Soloist – Blu-ray
Race to Witch Moutain – Blu-ray
Obsessed – Blu-ray
My Cousin Vinny Blu-ray

Posted by: Christine on Aug 1st, 2009

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

There’s not much to be said about this movie that either hasn’t already been said or wouldn’t be assumed by Harry Potter fans. It’s a long movie. They leave stuff from the book out and add a couple of scenes in. The CGI is fantastic. It’s a lot darker than the movies before it. But you knew all that.

I enjoyed the movie, but not with the usual level of joy and excitement I have when seeing a Harry Potter film. This movie marks a very dark turn for the story, and it’s hard to get that tingly, magical feeling from it when terrible things are happening on screen.

(On a related note, this is not a movie to bring young children to see. If you’re considering bringing your five- and six-year olds, perhaps consider renting Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone instead.)

Half-Blood Prince finds Harry fresh out of battle with Voldemort’s Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange has killed Harry’s only version of family, his godfather Sirius Black. Voldemort is returning to power and wreaking havoc on both the wizarding world and the Muggle one.

Harry’s greatest ally, Professor Dumbledore, asks Harry for help once again. Now, more than ever before, Dumbledore needs Harry to help defeat Voldemort. In the midst of all this, Harry, Ron, & Hermione are going through the usual teenage issues. Dating and jealousy feature more prominently than in past films. Some foreshadowing of their eventual romantic leanings occurs.

Harry learns more about Voldemort’s rise to power, including his start as a young orphan “different” from the others, being invited to Hogwarts. Harry has to learn more about Voldemort’s past in order to help Dumbledore defeat him.

The movie is well done, although it has been quite a while since I read the novel, so I might not be as picky about it as other Potter fans. It felt, more so than the other films, like a setup for the next one. I felt similarly about the novel – Half-Blood Prince is an interesting story, but has less of a solid resolution than the other installments. It feels less like a standalone story and more like a stepping stone. However, I expected that, having read the novels.

The highlight of the film, for me, was watching the young actors handle the darker material. In the first film, the trio of lead characters were cute kids, kind of precocious, and looked just right for the part. Over the years, however, they have truly grown into themselves as actors. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Bonnie Wright (the actress who plays Ginny Weasley, who joins the lead characters to make it a quartet) show in this film that they can handle the dark, nuanced acting required of them in the final two films. I have a feeling they will have little trouble shedding their Harry Potter typecasts should they choose to do so. Also worth noting, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) has also grown into his role nicely. He’s changed from the snot-nosed little brat that tries to steer Harry away from “the wrong sort” in Sorcerer’s Stone into a confused and manipulated young man.

I definitely recommend checking the movie out on the big screen. The special effects never disappoint. While it’s less of a cheery adventure tale than the previous films, it’s definitely worth seeing.

Posted by: Christine on Aug 1st, 2009

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The Uninvited

I rented The Uninvited from Netflix for one reason, and one reason only: Elizabeth Banks. The woman is a comedic genius, so I was interested in seeing her play a (presumably) crazy/evil person. Judged solely on Banks’ performance, it was a great movie.

Unfortunately, movies are more than their stars, and this movie’s plot and other characters just didn’t live up to the immense talent of Banks. Not to mention David Strathairn, a former theater actor who has starred in movies like The Bourne Identity and A League of Their Own – why on earth would he do this little semi-horror flick?

If you’ve seen the trailer, you know that the movie is about two teenage girls who think Dad’s new girlfriend killed their Mom in a horrible explosion. Little sis also happens to have horrendous nightmares which she thinks contain clues to the potential murder.

Sounds interesting, right? Wrong. It’s cliched. The acting isn’t awful, but it’s also not great. I guess the best word for it would be tolerable. The story isn’t really interesting and doesn’t have any real drive to it. The “twist” isn’t all that surprising, which defeats the whole purpose of having a twist ending.

The one thing I will credit the movie with, other than Banks’ acting, is the scare factor. Despite not having a great story or great acting, the scares, thrills, and spooks were perfectly executed. The jump-out-of-your-seat factor is definitely here. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to keep the movie from sucking. Take it from me – don’t waste the hour and a half of your life on this.