"Get your paws off of me you damn dirty ape!" We were saying this line for days in preparation to see the new movie, and YAY - the line makes it into this version! :)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - yes, it is time. The star of the remake is the CGI motion capture technology - and it rocks! The apes are wonderful. Good thing, because the humans... not so much. I normally like James Franco but boy he's flat in this starring role. They should have let an ape play him.
John Lithgow is his usual wonderful self as the aging father. He's always great to see.
There is also a snippet of the original - look fast but you see Charlton Heston! That was fun.
If you saw the series decades ago you know the basic story - it's presented here with some changes but the basic theme that the apes rise up is still intact. The action is very good, the visuals of the apes is amazing (and Oscar quality) and the story moves along well. We really enjoyed this. Gave it a "4".
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - Monica quickly served us up hot fresh Reddanbacher popcorn and sprinkle cheese and it was a nice day to duck out of the heat and into a good movie.
Showing posts with label Movies That Got a '4'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies That Got a '4'. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
Insidious
Insidious means - "beguiling but harmful". Perfect title for this movie!
It's a story that could easily have gotten rehashed into the same old scary movie - a house with an entity... a child... we could be watching a cheap imitation of The Exorcist. Only this time it's very different, and fresh, and has good actors and a much better written script!
Insidious is creepy, creepy, creepy. They keep the tension and feel going throughout, which is the ultimate goal of a scary movie and so few actually achieve.
Patrick Wilson ('Watchmen') stars, along with his movie wife ('Get Him To the Greek' and 'Adam'), and they do a good job. It's important that we like or at least connect with the family members first... that's a rule of all scary movies. This one does a decent job of that.
There's a surprise part played by Barbara Hershey ('Black Swan' and 'Beaches' of course). [She looks great!] But the real star is the character named Elise - Lin Shaye. She is a wonderful character actor - once you see her face you'll recognize her. I couldn't recall her name and couldn't place her in a major role but have seen her everywhere. She's been a working actor for some time. In this movie she steals the show, as far as I'm concerned.
If you like creepy, edge of your seat, find yourself holding your breath a bit as you watch movies - you'll like this one. We really did.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. We got some great freshly popped hot popcorn with real butter from the very helpful and efficient Avril. Unfortunately we went to this one over the dinner hour so we had to get popcorn refills!
We give 'Insidious' a 4!
It's a story that could easily have gotten rehashed into the same old scary movie - a house with an entity... a child... we could be watching a cheap imitation of The Exorcist. Only this time it's very different, and fresh, and has good actors and a much better written script!
Insidious is creepy, creepy, creepy. They keep the tension and feel going throughout, which is the ultimate goal of a scary movie and so few actually achieve.
Patrick Wilson ('Watchmen') stars, along with his movie wife ('Get Him To the Greek' and 'Adam'), and they do a good job. It's important that we like or at least connect with the family members first... that's a rule of all scary movies. This one does a decent job of that.
There's a surprise part played by Barbara Hershey ('Black Swan' and 'Beaches' of course). [She looks great!] But the real star is the character named Elise - Lin Shaye. She is a wonderful character actor - once you see her face you'll recognize her. I couldn't recall her name and couldn't place her in a major role but have seen her everywhere. She's been a working actor for some time. In this movie she steals the show, as far as I'm concerned.
If you like creepy, edge of your seat, find yourself holding your breath a bit as you watch movies - you'll like this one. We really did.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. We got some great freshly popped hot popcorn with real butter from the very helpful and efficient Avril. Unfortunately we went to this one over the dinner hour so we had to get popcorn refills!
We give 'Insidious' a 4!
Source Code
Jake Gyllenhaul stars in this thriller - and right off I'm not a big Jake G fan. I went in spite of him, rather than because of him. His costars are Michelle Monoghan and Vera Farmiga - AH - Vera Farmiga is from 'Up in the Air' - that wonderful movie last year with George Clooney and the team that went around laying people off. (A Must See - if you haven't already) She is fabulous - got an Oscar nom for Up in the Air and did an equally great job in 'Source Code'.
This is a SciFi movie with several layers. None of it is convoluted or hard to grasp, and it moves along at a great pace and with intensive interest. I found every minute of this one to capture my attention. It raises many questions about science (and as Marge Simpson says to Homer when he confesses he had them deep fry his shirt at the fair, "I said you SHOULDN'T, not that they COULDN'T) Should we do certain things simply because we CAN?
Source Code is a sort of part Groundhog Day (without the tedium) and part Quantum Leap (without cutie Scott Bakula). It takes place on a commuter train going into Chicago (which my sister rides every day and I thought of her throughout). The train is about to explode and one man is 'placed' sort of 'quantumly' into a passenger's body just before the explosion. With that kind of set up it's Ready, Set, GO and we're off. This is a good movie - see it.
It's rated PG-13, nothing offensive or naughty, well paced, directed beautifully by Duncan Jones. I don't always note the director but for some movies it's clear that direction is one of the stars of the show, and this is one of those.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Super Manager Shane was working extra hard and doing a great job - always nice to go there.
We give Source Code a '4'.
This is a SciFi movie with several layers. None of it is convoluted or hard to grasp, and it moves along at a great pace and with intensive interest. I found every minute of this one to capture my attention. It raises many questions about science (and as Marge Simpson says to Homer when he confesses he had them deep fry his shirt at the fair, "I said you SHOULDN'T, not that they COULDN'T) Should we do certain things simply because we CAN?
Source Code is a sort of part Groundhog Day (without the tedium) and part Quantum Leap (without cutie Scott Bakula). It takes place on a commuter train going into Chicago (which my sister rides every day and I thought of her throughout). The train is about to explode and one man is 'placed' sort of 'quantumly' into a passenger's body just before the explosion. With that kind of set up it's Ready, Set, GO and we're off. This is a good movie - see it.
It's rated PG-13, nothing offensive or naughty, well paced, directed beautifully by Duncan Jones. I don't always note the director but for some movies it's clear that direction is one of the stars of the show, and this is one of those.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Super Manager Shane was working extra hard and doing a great job - always nice to go there.
We give Source Code a '4'.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Limitless
Limitless is a movie that outlines many of our greatest dreams come true.... Bradley Cooper finds a pill that makes him a genius. Not just an egghead genius, but expands his mind, allows him to think with total clarity, do extraordinary mental feats, make tons of money and pretty much have anything he wants. Nice, huh?
A friend referred to this as "Fight Club Lite". It sort of fits. And since Fight Club was a classic, it's actually a compliment.
It's such a thrill ride as his life changes. The direction by Neil Burger is great. Bradley Cooper is convincing and does a wonderful job as he transforms. Robert deNiro is a surprise - he has a great role as a big business tycoon - you're never quite sure which way he's moving. Solid performances by all, and a really fun ride.
I had to dial down my brain several times since a few things just don't make sense, but it's Hollywood and it's a good time.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - great people and hot fresh popcorn!
Gave this one a "4".
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Easy A
I snuck off to see this one alone, it's not earthdad's cup of tea and that's fine. I've been wanting to see it since it came out several weeks ago. It was definitely worth a look - what a good movie!
Emma Stone ('Superbad', 'Zombieland') stars as a nerdy, intelligent, quiet, wall flower girl who discovers that having a sexual reputation in high school gets you a lot of attention. She's a virgin but playing with the power of the grapevine and starts rumors about herself, at first for attention but later to help out others and earn a little cash. It's fun, it's ridiculous and it's great that we're in on the joke with her while watching the different reactions of her peers.
What's really great is watching this scheme grow - it gets complicated - it takes on a life of its own and it gets out of control. The levels the movie goes through are really interesting.
Intertwined so nicely with our current day story is the fact that her lit class is reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. We get a refresher on that story, the ostracizing of the 'bad' individual, and we see it played out in today's world. It's a great overlay of a classic with today.
- My only peeve is that our heroine ultimately uses the letter 'A' on her wardrobe to mimic The Scarlet Letter, while the 'A' stood for "adulterer" in the original story. Our high school girl is not an adulterer. But then I may be splitting hairs here... -
The story is a huge draw here, but Emma Stone is what carries the movie. She's just the perfect blend of dorky, smart, clever, cute, sexy - all of the above.
Major bright spots are the glimpses into her family life. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson play Mom and Dad and they are exquisite! The dialogue is the best this year since The Social Network, the attitudes are fun and happy and light. It's a strikingly refreshing take on parents and family life. I found myself wishing for more scenes with them!
Another big plus for the movie is the many nods to 80s movies and particularly to John Hughes. Lots of texture and content in this film - not fluff.
I gave this a '4'! Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Popcorn was great - The theater was much fuller than I'd expected considering this has been in town now for 3 weeks or more, but then word gets around when it's a good one!
Emma Stone ('Superbad', 'Zombieland') stars as a nerdy, intelligent, quiet, wall flower girl who discovers that having a sexual reputation in high school gets you a lot of attention. She's a virgin but playing with the power of the grapevine and starts rumors about herself, at first for attention but later to help out others and earn a little cash. It's fun, it's ridiculous and it's great that we're in on the joke with her while watching the different reactions of her peers.
What's really great is watching this scheme grow - it gets complicated - it takes on a life of its own and it gets out of control. The levels the movie goes through are really interesting.
Intertwined so nicely with our current day story is the fact that her lit class is reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. We get a refresher on that story, the ostracizing of the 'bad' individual, and we see it played out in today's world. It's a great overlay of a classic with today.
- My only peeve is that our heroine ultimately uses the letter 'A' on her wardrobe to mimic The Scarlet Letter, while the 'A' stood for "adulterer" in the original story. Our high school girl is not an adulterer. But then I may be splitting hairs here... -
The story is a huge draw here, but Emma Stone is what carries the movie. She's just the perfect blend of dorky, smart, clever, cute, sexy - all of the above.
Major bright spots are the glimpses into her family life. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson play Mom and Dad and they are exquisite! The dialogue is the best this year since The Social Network, the attitudes are fun and happy and light. It's a strikingly refreshing take on parents and family life. I found myself wishing for more scenes with them!
Another big plus for the movie is the many nods to 80s movies and particularly to John Hughes. Lots of texture and content in this film - not fluff.
I gave this a '4'! Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Popcorn was great - The theater was much fuller than I'd expected considering this has been in town now for 3 weeks or more, but then word gets around when it's a good one!
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Social Network
*click*
Jesse Eisenberg ('Zombieland') stars as the famous Mark Zuckerberg - a legend amongst geeks and the youngest billionaire in history. I have to add that he just has to be an Asperger person as well. If he's not, Jesse Eisenberg certainly played him to the tee as one!
This movie succeeds where no others before it have - it makes coding - actual computer programming - into an exciting lively event! The action (coding) scenes are breathtaking. At least I found them to be, but then I'm another geek. :)
We go back to 2003 when the whole thing began and see it's birth with great intensity, excitement, momentum and the best written dialogue ever. If you're not enthralled after the opening scene that lasts approx 10 minutes, maybe you should slip out and go down the hall to watch something else. For me the opening conversation is amazing and captivated me completely. I'm going to watch this whole movie again.
I realize somewhere deep in my mind that Zuckerberg is supposed to be coming off as the bad guy here.... at least that thought finally dawned on me several hours later when I was still thinking about the movie. But played by the incredible Jesse Eisenberg, all I felt for him throughout the movie was admiration. I was cheering for him to succeed on all levels. I admire genius and could only think that this guy is just amazing!
The pacing throughout the movie is excellent. Justin Timberlake shows up playing Sean Parker - the founder of Napster. His role is smooth, a little slimey and very worldly since he'd already been around the block (and lost it all). A very solid performance on all counts.
It would have been so easy for this movie to become a snoozer. Talking about code and servers and legalese, Zzzzz. Instead it's a fully entertaining story, exciting and interesting. It gives us a glimpse under the hood and into the world of creation and creativity and genius - and it's exhilarating.
I gave this a '4'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. They were unfortunately having a Fail Whale Monday... computers acting up and everything slowed to a stop. After reminding the mgr at the concession stand that popcorn was not computer operated and we *could* just pay cash and get our food before we were late for the movie... they decided to let us do that. :) Sometimes you have to just go old school.
Jesse Eisenberg ('Zombieland') stars as the famous Mark Zuckerberg - a legend amongst geeks and the youngest billionaire in history. I have to add that he just has to be an Asperger person as well. If he's not, Jesse Eisenberg certainly played him to the tee as one!
This movie succeeds where no others before it have - it makes coding - actual computer programming - into an exciting lively event! The action (coding) scenes are breathtaking. At least I found them to be, but then I'm another geek. :)
We go back to 2003 when the whole thing began and see it's birth with great intensity, excitement, momentum and the best written dialogue ever. If you're not enthralled after the opening scene that lasts approx 10 minutes, maybe you should slip out and go down the hall to watch something else. For me the opening conversation is amazing and captivated me completely. I'm going to watch this whole movie again.
I realize somewhere deep in my mind that Zuckerberg is supposed to be coming off as the bad guy here.... at least that thought finally dawned on me several hours later when I was still thinking about the movie. But played by the incredible Jesse Eisenberg, all I felt for him throughout the movie was admiration. I was cheering for him to succeed on all levels. I admire genius and could only think that this guy is just amazing!
The pacing throughout the movie is excellent. Justin Timberlake shows up playing Sean Parker - the founder of Napster. His role is smooth, a little slimey and very worldly since he'd already been around the block (and lost it all). A very solid performance on all counts.
It would have been so easy for this movie to become a snoozer. Talking about code and servers and legalese, Zzzzz. Instead it's a fully entertaining story, exciting and interesting. It gives us a glimpse under the hood and into the world of creation and creativity and genius - and it's exhilarating.
I gave this a '4'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. They were unfortunately having a Fail Whale Monday... computers acting up and everything slowed to a stop. After reminding the mgr at the concession stand that popcorn was not computer operated and we *could* just pay cash and get our food before we were late for the movie... they decided to let us do that. :) Sometimes you have to just go old school.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
The Kids Are All Right
When we went to see 'Dinner for Schmucks' we talked with Super Manager Shane and he raved about 'The Kids Are All Right' We decided immediately we had to come back to see it, when frankly we should have traded in our tickets on the spot! These two movies don't even compare and Shane was right!
What an amazing job everyone does in this film! The acting is just incredible - you would swear the scenes are real and you're spying on some of the most private and personal moments of these people's lives. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as a lesbian couple with 2 children in their teens who decide to track down their sperm donor. He enters their family and becomes a catalyst.
Mark Ruffalo is the sperm donor who starts sparks flying. He is very natural and very real - it just can't be said enough how genuine everyone seems. The dialogue feels true, the feelings and issues and events - what a good movie.
One warning - this movie is rated R and there's plenty of sex to justify that rating. All kinds - woman to woman, man to man, man to woman.... :) It's all there. There's also quite a bit of frank sexual talk. If you're disturbed by that, be forewarned and don't go.
We walked out behind a group of 5 old ladies who were loudly discussing the movie. They were very upset by the sex and thought it was out of line and out of place. One of the women reminded the others that it was rated 'R'. The others said it didn't matter, 'R' didn't mean that kind of stuff! :) If you agree with them, this is not your movie! (They did however all agree that Mark Ruffalo was cute and worth seeing - lol)
We both really enjoyed this movie. It's fun, totally entertaining, and intriguing. We gave it a '4'. I've already heard buzz about Oscar nominations for Annette Bening and Julianne Moore and they would be well deserved!
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, the popcorn was fresh and hot with plenty of sprinkle cheese. Sam sold us our tickets with a big smile and nice word and set the tone for a great time at the movies!
What an amazing job everyone does in this film! The acting is just incredible - you would swear the scenes are real and you're spying on some of the most private and personal moments of these people's lives. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore star as a lesbian couple with 2 children in their teens who decide to track down their sperm donor. He enters their family and becomes a catalyst.
Mark Ruffalo is the sperm donor who starts sparks flying. He is very natural and very real - it just can't be said enough how genuine everyone seems. The dialogue feels true, the feelings and issues and events - what a good movie.
One warning - this movie is rated R and there's plenty of sex to justify that rating. All kinds - woman to woman, man to man, man to woman.... :) It's all there. There's also quite a bit of frank sexual talk. If you're disturbed by that, be forewarned and don't go.
We walked out behind a group of 5 old ladies who were loudly discussing the movie. They were very upset by the sex and thought it was out of line and out of place. One of the women reminded the others that it was rated 'R'. The others said it didn't matter, 'R' didn't mean that kind of stuff! :) If you agree with them, this is not your movie! (They did however all agree that Mark Ruffalo was cute and worth seeing - lol)
We both really enjoyed this movie. It's fun, totally entertaining, and intriguing. We gave it a '4'. I've already heard buzz about Oscar nominations for Annette Bening and Julianne Moore and they would be well deserved!
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, the popcorn was fresh and hot with plenty of sprinkle cheese. Sam sold us our tickets with a big smile and nice word and set the tone for a great time at the movies!
Friday, April 23, 2010
How to Train Your Dragon
I saw this with my daughter and her 4 year old and everyone enjoyed it. He sat through the whole thing and was more involved in the story than an adult would be :) I'm not sure if that says alot for the movie, or more likely just says alot for this little guy. He has some amazing powers of concentration!
This movie is pretty - and we saw it in 2D not 3D - but also seemed to me to have a lot of the same kind of scenes. Since it's dragons we're talking about there was scene after scene of things shooting fire, catching on fire, blowing up with fire, fire, fire, fire. And the setting is a small Viking village so it was bleak and dark in contrast to the fire.
I was bothered by the fact that everyone in the village was a Viking and spoke with thick, old world Viking accents, except the boy named Hiccup who sounded.... well like Christian Slater. (the voice actor was actually Jay Baruchel, but he was doing an excellent Christian Slater impersonation)
Those little details aside, this is a very good movie about thinking outside of the box, challenging how "it's always been done" and having compassion toward other living things. The message is a good one and if you can get through the fire and fights you'll find it. All 3 of us - ages 49, 25 and 4, really enjoyed it.
Tinseltown in Col Springs was the place. Fresh hot popcorn and some incredible new seats that I've never seen before - these are like captain chairs with the high backs! We gave this one a '4'.
This movie is pretty - and we saw it in 2D not 3D - but also seemed to me to have a lot of the same kind of scenes. Since it's dragons we're talking about there was scene after scene of things shooting fire, catching on fire, blowing up with fire, fire, fire, fire. And the setting is a small Viking village so it was bleak and dark in contrast to the fire.
I was bothered by the fact that everyone in the village was a Viking and spoke with thick, old world Viking accents, except the boy named Hiccup who sounded.... well like Christian Slater. (the voice actor was actually Jay Baruchel, but he was doing an excellent Christian Slater impersonation)
Those little details aside, this is a very good movie about thinking outside of the box, challenging how "it's always been done" and having compassion toward other living things. The message is a good one and if you can get through the fire and fights you'll find it. All 3 of us - ages 49, 25 and 4, really enjoyed it.
Tinseltown in Col Springs was the place. Fresh hot popcorn and some incredible new seats that I've never seen before - these are like captain chairs with the high backs! We gave this one a '4'.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Spy Next Door
Jackie Chan!
That's why we went to this movie. Tell me that Jackie Chan is in it and I'll go. Unfortunately I've sat through a few stinkers because of that loyalty but hey, it's Jackie Chan!
We like him. His stunts are amazing and complicated and fluid and ... amazing. His manner is sweet and impish, he has such a good sense of humor. What's not to like?
Here we have the movie that has been made and remade and remade - there is always a big tough unlikely guy who is saddled with kids. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Ice Cube... they've all done it. Those all stunk to high heaven but what the formula was seeking was that one ingredient that makes it work - Jackie Chan.
This movie is really fun. There are some good lines of dialogue - some very cute jokes and wonderful visuals. And hey, Jackie Chan fight scenes - say no more, those alone are more than worth the price of admission!
There is a supporting cast - some very cute kids who do a great job, a mom who seemed way too smiley through most of it, and George Lopez and Billy Ray Cyrus. These two were a nice surprise and had fun parts but could have been used much more. Perhaps the funniest element is a couple of Boris and Natashia bad guys who are bad enough but also silly. They prove to be the perfect bad guys for this kid movie.
As with all Jackie Chan movies - stay in your seat for the outtakes - those alone are worth going!
Great time at the movies. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, we were served up piping hot, fresh popcorn with real butter and a smile by Super Manager Shane and saw our favorite ticket seller - the always helpful and lovely Eden. Couldn't ask for more.
This one got a '4'. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
That's why we went to this movie. Tell me that Jackie Chan is in it and I'll go. Unfortunately I've sat through a few stinkers because of that loyalty but hey, it's Jackie Chan!
We like him. His stunts are amazing and complicated and fluid and ... amazing. His manner is sweet and impish, he has such a good sense of humor. What's not to like?
Here we have the movie that has been made and remade and remade - there is always a big tough unlikely guy who is saddled with kids. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Ice Cube... they've all done it. Those all stunk to high heaven but what the formula was seeking was that one ingredient that makes it work - Jackie Chan.
This movie is really fun. There are some good lines of dialogue - some very cute jokes and wonderful visuals. And hey, Jackie Chan fight scenes - say no more, those alone are more than worth the price of admission!
There is a supporting cast - some very cute kids who do a great job, a mom who seemed way too smiley through most of it, and George Lopez and Billy Ray Cyrus. These two were a nice surprise and had fun parts but could have been used much more. Perhaps the funniest element is a couple of Boris and Natashia bad guys who are bad enough but also silly. They prove to be the perfect bad guys for this kid movie.
As with all Jackie Chan movies - stay in your seat for the outtakes - those alone are worth going!
Great time at the movies. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, we were served up piping hot, fresh popcorn with real butter and a smile by Super Manager Shane and saw our favorite ticket seller - the always helpful and lovely Eden. Couldn't ask for more.
This one got a '4'. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Up In The Air
George Clooney has been very busy lately with many movies coming out - and this one is my favorite.
I saw 'Up In The Air' by myself which seems perfect when you consider the theme. Clooney plays a loner - a person who has isolated himself from others and is happy that way. He flies continually for his job, which is going from place to place to lay people off for companies. Just that area alone was interesting - how the science of laying people off has developed, how people react to the news, what can make it better for them, what companies do to minimize their own risks, etc. Fascinating and timely stuff.
Enter an interest... I won't say love interest because this man doesn't need any of that... Vera Farmiga ("Orphan") She is just wonderful in this role - strong and confident and funny and ... well interesting. The third member of this 3 person ensemble is Anna Kendrick ("New Moon") as the very young, very ambitious woman who is out to change the world, or at least the workplace she finds herself in.
This movie is directed by Jason Reitman, who did "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking" and several episodes of "The Office". All excellent things to sit and enjoy, in my book, so it's no wonder I loved the pacing and the direction of this film. It was very absorbing.
The plot is not a huge surprise - I didn't find anything unexpected but even though I anticipated the plot turns I wasn't disappointed when they did go the way I thought. Hard to explain but maybe it doesn't have to be a huge surprise if you're just having a good time enjoying the ride already.
It was an interesting and fun movie. I give it a '4'. Pueblo Tinseltown was in great shape - popcorn hot and fresh and right out of the popper, served up with a smile by Sean.
I saw 'Up In The Air' by myself which seems perfect when you consider the theme. Clooney plays a loner - a person who has isolated himself from others and is happy that way. He flies continually for his job, which is going from place to place to lay people off for companies. Just that area alone was interesting - how the science of laying people off has developed, how people react to the news, what can make it better for them, what companies do to minimize their own risks, etc. Fascinating and timely stuff.
Enter an interest... I won't say love interest because this man doesn't need any of that... Vera Farmiga ("Orphan") She is just wonderful in this role - strong and confident and funny and ... well interesting. The third member of this 3 person ensemble is Anna Kendrick ("New Moon") as the very young, very ambitious woman who is out to change the world, or at least the workplace she finds herself in.
This movie is directed by Jason Reitman, who did "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking" and several episodes of "The Office". All excellent things to sit and enjoy, in my book, so it's no wonder I loved the pacing and the direction of this film. It was very absorbing.
The plot is not a huge surprise - I didn't find anything unexpected but even though I anticipated the plot turns I wasn't disappointed when they did go the way I thought. Hard to explain but maybe it doesn't have to be a huge surprise if you're just having a good time enjoying the ride already.
It was an interesting and fun movie. I give it a '4'. Pueblo Tinseltown was in great shape - popcorn hot and fresh and right out of the popper, served up with a smile by Sean.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Avatar
Avatar - the much hyped James Cameron epic adventure. It's finally here and we get to see what all the fuss is about!
My summation in one sentence - Fern Gully on steroids.
I don't want to come across so jaded.... would love to just be lost in the lushness and miss the obvious flaws, the rerun script, the big concepts that are really bad about this movie. I'd like to overlook the fact that it's like watching a video game, all eye candy and weak plot and weak dialogue. I'd like to just rave about the prettiness. It's almost like this movie needs two reviews. A visual review and an overall movie review.
Visually, it's beautiful and a new frontier in CG. Lush and rich and colorful, the actors have been melded with CG to produce realistic expressions. It's stunning and it IS a visual movie. On that level it gets a '5'.
The story is tired - here we have another Great White Hope - the one white American male who comes to a new land and saves all of the indigenous peoples. It is Dances With Wolves, Last Samurai, lots of movies you've seen time and time again. They are all lost and waiting for the White Man to save the day. Quite egotistical but a theme that is played and replayed and replayed.
The indigenous peoples in this one are a strange mix of pop culture, what American's perceive as attractive and figures and accessories that would make up an attractive toy line to be marketed conveniently right at Christmas, when the movie came out. Yes I know I'm wearing my jaded hat once again, but come on. The natives are clearly black people - black actor's voices, and have cool dreadlocks and braids, but are blue with tiny cat type ears and long, lean, young slim bodies. They are very, very spiritual and in tuned with the earth - a solid theme that's very popular right now - and they have neat vehicles and accessories that they plug into to 'bond' with. Then the big, bad military storms in to ruin everything.
Fern Gully is a 1992 cartoon that I guarantee James Cameron has seen. He lifted the script of it for Avatar, but stripped out the fun parts. Fern Gully starred the voices of Tim Curry, Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Cheech - it was funny and snappy. Go rent it if you've never seen it. The main character is named Zak - as opposed to our Jake in Avatar - and both young white males have alot in common as they go about trying to Save the Rainforest (Fern Gully) or Save Pandora (Avatar)
The movie runs long at 150 minutes, and in the middle you feel it drag. After the splash splash of the gorgeous graphics, and before the bang bang of the big (totally unbelievable) showdown, they don't have anything to do and it shows.
I have quite a few points that I thought were just wrong or just too silly in the plot but won't give anything away since I never do spoilers here. It's a big, blockbuster, holiday event that is very pretty and overall harmless. I give it a '3' for fun, a '5' for the original visuals but not at all for story. That seems to average out to a '4' overall.
Pueblo Tinseltown was working hard - it's holiday movie time and the crowds are much bigger so the staff is really working to keep up but they did a great job!
My summation in one sentence - Fern Gully on steroids.
I don't want to come across so jaded.... would love to just be lost in the lushness and miss the obvious flaws, the rerun script, the big concepts that are really bad about this movie. I'd like to overlook the fact that it's like watching a video game, all eye candy and weak plot and weak dialogue. I'd like to just rave about the prettiness. It's almost like this movie needs two reviews. A visual review and an overall movie review.
Visually, it's beautiful and a new frontier in CG. Lush and rich and colorful, the actors have been melded with CG to produce realistic expressions. It's stunning and it IS a visual movie. On that level it gets a '5'.
The story is tired - here we have another Great White Hope - the one white American male who comes to a new land and saves all of the indigenous peoples. It is Dances With Wolves, Last Samurai, lots of movies you've seen time and time again. They are all lost and waiting for the White Man to save the day. Quite egotistical but a theme that is played and replayed and replayed.
The indigenous peoples in this one are a strange mix of pop culture, what American's perceive as attractive and figures and accessories that would make up an attractive toy line to be marketed conveniently right at Christmas, when the movie came out. Yes I know I'm wearing my jaded hat once again, but come on. The natives are clearly black people - black actor's voices, and have cool dreadlocks and braids, but are blue with tiny cat type ears and long, lean, young slim bodies. They are very, very spiritual and in tuned with the earth - a solid theme that's very popular right now - and they have neat vehicles and accessories that they plug into to 'bond' with. Then the big, bad military storms in to ruin everything.
Fern Gully is a 1992 cartoon that I guarantee James Cameron has seen. He lifted the script of it for Avatar, but stripped out the fun parts. Fern Gully starred the voices of Tim Curry, Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Cheech - it was funny and snappy. Go rent it if you've never seen it. The main character is named Zak - as opposed to our Jake in Avatar - and both young white males have alot in common as they go about trying to Save the Rainforest (Fern Gully) or Save Pandora (Avatar)
The movie runs long at 150 minutes, and in the middle you feel it drag. After the splash splash of the gorgeous graphics, and before the bang bang of the big (totally unbelievable) showdown, they don't have anything to do and it shows.
I have quite a few points that I thought were just wrong or just too silly in the plot but won't give anything away since I never do spoilers here. It's a big, blockbuster, holiday event that is very pretty and overall harmless. I give it a '3' for fun, a '5' for the original visuals but not at all for story. That seems to average out to a '4' overall.
Pueblo Tinseltown was working hard - it's holiday movie time and the crowds are much bigger so the staff is really working to keep up but they did a great job!
Fantastic Mr. Fox
I dragged earthdad to this - he insisted he didn't want to see a cartoon and I thought it seemed to be more. I think George Clooney being the star voice is what made him give it a try. We were both pleasantly surprised!
This is a fun movie, an original and unusual movie, and a slow paced, neat to watch movie. It has great animation, dialogue, big stars (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Scwartzman, Bill Murray) and was just overall a pleasure to sit through.
Go when you're in a fun mood but quieter mood. If you are looking for a Big Holiday Shoot Em Up action flick or something on a large, loud scale you won't like this. Oh there are explosions.... :) and action, and close calls. But it has its own pacing and it a very good story.
We actually gave this a '4'! Super Manager Shane was there to greet us and serve up fresh, hot popcorn at Pueblo Tinseltown. A really fun midweek movie getaway.
This is a fun movie, an original and unusual movie, and a slow paced, neat to watch movie. It has great animation, dialogue, big stars (George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Scwartzman, Bill Murray) and was just overall a pleasure to sit through.
Go when you're in a fun mood but quieter mood. If you are looking for a Big Holiday Shoot Em Up action flick or something on a large, loud scale you won't like this. Oh there are explosions.... :) and action, and close calls. But it has its own pacing and it a very good story.
We actually gave this a '4'! Super Manager Shane was there to greet us and serve up fresh, hot popcorn at Pueblo Tinseltown. A really fun midweek movie getaway.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
I saw this one alone - the lovely Eden sold me my ticket and we joked about if I could get in without being accompanied by a kid. :) I was so pleasantly surprised!
This movie would appeal to so many ages - I truly enjoyed it, and I know alot of ages younger or older would also. It's a cartoon but it's a clever cartoon. Based on a book, they added an awful lot and expounded on the concept. Most of the times that ruins a good book but in this case it makes it so much better.
There's a mild love story, storms of food falling from the sky, funny townspeople, a learning experience, and Mr. T as a the town cop. Who could ask for more? :)
It's a great movie. Second only to "UP" and a very fun trip to the movies.
This one gets a '4'. Check it out!
This movie would appeal to so many ages - I truly enjoyed it, and I know alot of ages younger or older would also. It's a cartoon but it's a clever cartoon. Based on a book, they added an awful lot and expounded on the concept. Most of the times that ruins a good book but in this case it makes it so much better.
There's a mild love story, storms of food falling from the sky, funny townspeople, a learning experience, and Mr. T as a the town cop. Who could ask for more? :)
It's a great movie. Second only to "UP" and a very fun trip to the movies.
This one gets a '4'. Check it out!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Inglourious Basterds
Ahhhh - finally we got to see it! :) Inglourious Basterds on a Wednesday afternoon. Very thin crowd - just the way we like it!
This movie not only was hyped beyond comprehension but much anticipated for so long because of our son who works for the media group in LA that does the advertising for the Weinstein Company. He has been doing his job well because this is all we have heard about for a long time. Everyone involved is very pleased at the outrageous success of this movie at the box office so far!
I had the feeling I was going to be drummed out of the human race if I don't absolutely love this thing.... so going in with that kind of pressure..... Let me start with the facts - we both love Quentin Tarantino films usually. Love them. We both tend to dislike Brad Pitt (exception - Fight Club). We both dislike Nazi war movies. Several strikes against it already, I would say.
Now the surprise - we loved Brad Pitt in this movie. Loved every line he uttered and the way he uttered them. His character, Aldo Raine, is just wonderfully vivid and colorful and he steals each scene. He is matched only by the incredible and outstanding performance of German actor Christoph Waltz, who plays Nazi Col. Hans Landa. My bet is on an Oscar for Christoph Waltz.
The story is one of war and a band of Americans called the Basterds who go after Nazis and try to terrorize and drum up more respect for themselves by actually scalping those that they kill. The scalping scenes are gruesome. There is quite a bit of blood and violence but not nearly as much as a typical Tarantino film, oddly enough since this is basically a war movie.
I felt a wandering in the script as we move off of the Basterds and into other side stories. There are many shifts between different languages - English, German, Italian, French, and LOTS of subtitles. I had no idea of that. The subtitles are annoyingly in yellow font and are sometimes lost against a light background of the scene. Earthdad has some vision problems and had a terrible time reading the subtitles. Some I read to him and I think alot he just missed.
Several scenes really drag, or are milked, or are just played with, depending on your point of view. The direction is beautiful and elegant but many times it's elegant to the point of sort of showing off how elegant it can be, and adds nothing to the story.
B.J. Novak ('The Office') and Mike Myers ('Austin Powers') are in this, and frankly they stuck out like a sore thumb. Especially Mike Myers. They each took me out of the scene, which could have been fairly believable, and seemed strange as I watched these comedic actors in these dramatic roles.
All of these negative points said, this IS a great (both in length and content) Tarantino production. Fun to watch Brad Pitt's parts, interesting how history gets totally rewritten, but not one of the Tarantino movies that I'll watch over and over again like Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill. One time was enough. It gets a fabulous '4' rating from us, even with the drawbacks and slow parts.
We were happy to be greeted by Super-Manager Shane who offered kind words about my poor broken foot that I hobbled in on. Always great to see him - everything else was in place and moving along nicely, even on a slow weekday. Popcorn fresh and hot (and delish with sprinkle cheese and real butter) and we even got a free refill - can't remember the last time that happened! We're normally not so hungry but hey, we missed lunch and it's a long movie (2.5 hours!) :) Getting away in the afternoon on a weekday is the absolute best way to see a big blockbuster!
This movie not only was hyped beyond comprehension but much anticipated for so long because of our son who works for the media group in LA that does the advertising for the Weinstein Company. He has been doing his job well because this is all we have heard about for a long time. Everyone involved is very pleased at the outrageous success of this movie at the box office so far!
I had the feeling I was going to be drummed out of the human race if I don't absolutely love this thing.... so going in with that kind of pressure..... Let me start with the facts - we both love Quentin Tarantino films usually. Love them. We both tend to dislike Brad Pitt (exception - Fight Club). We both dislike Nazi war movies. Several strikes against it already, I would say.
Now the surprise - we loved Brad Pitt in this movie. Loved every line he uttered and the way he uttered them. His character, Aldo Raine, is just wonderfully vivid and colorful and he steals each scene. He is matched only by the incredible and outstanding performance of German actor Christoph Waltz, who plays Nazi Col. Hans Landa. My bet is on an Oscar for Christoph Waltz.
The story is one of war and a band of Americans called the Basterds who go after Nazis and try to terrorize and drum up more respect for themselves by actually scalping those that they kill. The scalping scenes are gruesome. There is quite a bit of blood and violence but not nearly as much as a typical Tarantino film, oddly enough since this is basically a war movie.
I felt a wandering in the script as we move off of the Basterds and into other side stories. There are many shifts between different languages - English, German, Italian, French, and LOTS of subtitles. I had no idea of that. The subtitles are annoyingly in yellow font and are sometimes lost against a light background of the scene. Earthdad has some vision problems and had a terrible time reading the subtitles. Some I read to him and I think alot he just missed.
Several scenes really drag, or are milked, or are just played with, depending on your point of view. The direction is beautiful and elegant but many times it's elegant to the point of sort of showing off how elegant it can be, and adds nothing to the story.
B.J. Novak ('The Office') and Mike Myers ('Austin Powers') are in this, and frankly they stuck out like a sore thumb. Especially Mike Myers. They each took me out of the scene, which could have been fairly believable, and seemed strange as I watched these comedic actors in these dramatic roles.
All of these negative points said, this IS a great (both in length and content) Tarantino production. Fun to watch Brad Pitt's parts, interesting how history gets totally rewritten, but not one of the Tarantino movies that I'll watch over and over again like Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill. One time was enough. It gets a fabulous '4' rating from us, even with the drawbacks and slow parts.
We were happy to be greeted by Super-Manager Shane who offered kind words about my poor broken foot that I hobbled in on. Always great to see him - everything else was in place and moving along nicely, even on a slow weekday. Popcorn fresh and hot (and delish with sprinkle cheese and real butter) and we even got a free refill - can't remember the last time that happened! We're normally not so hungry but hey, we missed lunch and it's a long movie (2.5 hours!) :) Getting away in the afternoon on a weekday is the absolute best way to see a big blockbuster!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
District 9
Just returned from seeing District 9 and I am BLOWN AWAY! We had been anxiously awaiting this movie and we were not disappointed - in fact we were just amazed!
In a nutshell the premise is that a huge alien ship is hovering over South Africa and there are over a million aliens that come with it. What else can I tell you that will not give something critical away? Nothing really. :)
This film is so original, interesting, funny, violent, gross, and absolutely fascinating. It has many lessons on many levels, and it flips the whole "What if the aliens come to earth" theories on their heads.
An actor by the name of Sharlto Copley stars in this movie and he is just fantastic. He has a great character arc - plays every bit of his role to the hilt and is so much fun to watch. We don't remember ever seeing him before but I know we'll see him alot more.
The aliens are stunning - amazing - never saw this kind of .... what are they? Animatronics? CG? Effects? I was stunned in scene after scene wondering "HOW did they do that?"
We are sure this will be a tremendous success and will produce some sequels.
There are some downsides - there is extreme violence, gross scenes, and quite a constant run of action, killing, shooting, action. It's definitely not for kids and may not be for some squeamish or more peace-loving adults either.
We had one big problem with the movie and that is the excessive use of the dreaded 'Shaky Cam'. Again, the handheld camera that shakes and you can't see what's going on. In our opinion it's used in faulty movies when they don't have confidence in their scenes or their actors so they just shake things around knowing the audience's mind will fill in the blanks. It's a cheap way of taking advantage of our brain's ability to see things that aren't actually there. We feel that we saw more detail and saw more amazing stuff when in fact we saw very little and that was all scrambled and shaken.
For that reason we both felt queasy with a bit of motion sickness, but the story is so strong that we were glued to our seats and eyes glued to the screen, shaky cam and all, trying to find out what would happen.
If you ask us was it a great movie - yes. Was it original? Yes. Fascinating? Yes. Great story? Yes. Was it an enjoyable movie - no not really. Hard to watch because of the grittiness, violence, gross parts and shaky cam. But it still gets a '4' from us so you know it's fresh and the story and acting is great.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. The Lovely Eden sold us our tickets with a smile and nice words, popcorn was fresh and delish with the new real butter, and we noted that the new flat screens at the concession stand are activated and full of content and motion. Much more interesting than the old menu boards. It was a nice afternoon out of the heat and into the world of aliens!
In a nutshell the premise is that a huge alien ship is hovering over South Africa and there are over a million aliens that come with it. What else can I tell you that will not give something critical away? Nothing really. :)
This film is so original, interesting, funny, violent, gross, and absolutely fascinating. It has many lessons on many levels, and it flips the whole "What if the aliens come to earth" theories on their heads.
An actor by the name of Sharlto Copley stars in this movie and he is just fantastic. He has a great character arc - plays every bit of his role to the hilt and is so much fun to watch. We don't remember ever seeing him before but I know we'll see him alot more.
The aliens are stunning - amazing - never saw this kind of .... what are they? Animatronics? CG? Effects? I was stunned in scene after scene wondering "HOW did they do that?"
We are sure this will be a tremendous success and will produce some sequels.
There are some downsides - there is extreme violence, gross scenes, and quite a constant run of action, killing, shooting, action. It's definitely not for kids and may not be for some squeamish or more peace-loving adults either.
We had one big problem with the movie and that is the excessive use of the dreaded 'Shaky Cam'. Again, the handheld camera that shakes and you can't see what's going on. In our opinion it's used in faulty movies when they don't have confidence in their scenes or their actors so they just shake things around knowing the audience's mind will fill in the blanks. It's a cheap way of taking advantage of our brain's ability to see things that aren't actually there. We feel that we saw more detail and saw more amazing stuff when in fact we saw very little and that was all scrambled and shaken.
For that reason we both felt queasy with a bit of motion sickness, but the story is so strong that we were glued to our seats and eyes glued to the screen, shaky cam and all, trying to find out what would happen.
If you ask us was it a great movie - yes. Was it original? Yes. Fascinating? Yes. Great story? Yes. Was it an enjoyable movie - no not really. Hard to watch because of the grittiness, violence, gross parts and shaky cam. But it still gets a '4' from us so you know it's fresh and the story and acting is great.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. The Lovely Eden sold us our tickets with a smile and nice words, popcorn was fresh and delish with the new real butter, and we noted that the new flat screens at the concession stand are activated and full of content and motion. Much more interesting than the old menu boards. It was a nice afternoon out of the heat and into the world of aliens!
Friday, August 07, 2009
A Perfect Getaway
A Perfect Getaway describes what we did today - ran off to the early matinee on this hot summer Friday, escaped to Pueblo Tinseltown and had a great time.
We were heading out to see Julie & Julia, frankly, but the line at the box office changed our mind. We kept hearing "Julie & Julia" over and over and over as people bought tickets. Going with our motto that a mediocre movie in a nearly empty theater is more fun than a great movie when you're crammed in like sardines, we asked our lovely ticket salesperson Eden how many were in there and with her response we switched gears to A Perfect Getaway. :) Now I'm so glad we did. This was a very good movie, and one I'm glad we saw first so no one could possibly ruin the ending for us. Don't worry, I don't give a thing away here. (I hate when reviews do that)
With the change in movie choice we found ourselves 55 minutes early. We wandered into the game room of Pueblo Tinseltown and started playing. Big Buck Hunter didn't go over very well but we LOVE the Area 51 game (where I outshot earthdad time and time again) and there's a very nice Spiderman pinball machine that I want to go back and play again. I love pinball and it's hard to find a good one anymore.
Finally it was time and we were happy to see Super Manager Shane at the concession stand, where he made sure (as usual) that our popcorn was hot and fresh and delicious (it really was). They have new flat screens up now where the menu boards used to be. I can't wait to see those come to life - there are supposed to be different things they can download onto them. Maybe a "Let's all go to the lobby" singing tub of popcorn and drink from the old drive in days?
You may think I'm stalling but I'm not. A Perfect Getaway is a really fun romp. It's 'horror', but it's not bad, ugly, sick horror crud like a Saw movie. It's more intrigue, thriller, suspense, mystery. There's a good story, great acting, and it really keeps you going. If you can do like we do and sit far away from other people because this is one movie that you'll be comparing notes and making guesses and whispering through. You'll also find yourself rehashing scenes and going "OH!" afterwards on the drive home! We did.
A couple on their honeymoon, a hike way out in the wild, a killer on the loose, various people drift in and out of the story - who is it? Who is the killer? Who can you trust? Everyone looks suspicious.
I love Steve Zahn and he stars in this one. Timothy Olyphant (which earthdad raved about from Deadwood on HBO) is in this, he's one actor that really changes from project to project, which we consider to be the mark of a good actor. He becomes that character. Chris Hemsworth ('Star Trek') does a great job with his character.
Milla Jovovich ('Resident Evil') is the female lead. Another great job. As does Kiele Sanchez ('Lost') and Marley Shelton ('Grindhouse').
We were never bored, always guessing and it was a very fun movie with a very good script. Small amount of nudity, some blood. Go soon and don't let ANYBODY tell you what happens or slip at all lest it spoils the fun.
Pueblo Tinseltown was great - popcorn fresh, hot and extra delicious today. Thanks Super Manager Shane!
Coming Attractions - we laughed out loud to see YET ANOTHER Michael Meyers movie on the horizon - this time directed by (OMG) Rob Zombie!! Wow. I think we get to see Carrie Fisher dismembered this time. That might be worth the price of a ticket. ;) They're missing a great opportunity and opening this month instead of October, though (DUH) Saw VI (yes, SIX) is coming out and THEY got it right, opening around Halloween. Also there's a Final Destination coming. This one is not numbered (FD 3 or 4?) but they're pulling the same trick that Fast and Furious did by sticking a "THE" in front of the old title for the new movie. THE Final Destination. (silly) Those are pretty gruesome but at least they tend to put some thought behind how someone *could* have accidentally gotten killed that way, rather than just a pitchfork through the throat like the slasher movies normally do.
We've still got to get to Julie & Julia this weekend. Stay tuned......
We were heading out to see Julie & Julia, frankly, but the line at the box office changed our mind. We kept hearing "Julie & Julia" over and over and over as people bought tickets. Going with our motto that a mediocre movie in a nearly empty theater is more fun than a great movie when you're crammed in like sardines, we asked our lovely ticket salesperson Eden how many were in there and with her response we switched gears to A Perfect Getaway. :) Now I'm so glad we did. This was a very good movie, and one I'm glad we saw first so no one could possibly ruin the ending for us. Don't worry, I don't give a thing away here. (I hate when reviews do that)
With the change in movie choice we found ourselves 55 minutes early. We wandered into the game room of Pueblo Tinseltown and started playing. Big Buck Hunter didn't go over very well but we LOVE the Area 51 game (where I outshot earthdad time and time again) and there's a very nice Spiderman pinball machine that I want to go back and play again. I love pinball and it's hard to find a good one anymore.
Finally it was time and we were happy to see Super Manager Shane at the concession stand, where he made sure (as usual) that our popcorn was hot and fresh and delicious (it really was). They have new flat screens up now where the menu boards used to be. I can't wait to see those come to life - there are supposed to be different things they can download onto them. Maybe a "Let's all go to the lobby" singing tub of popcorn and drink from the old drive in days?
You may think I'm stalling but I'm not. A Perfect Getaway is a really fun romp. It's 'horror', but it's not bad, ugly, sick horror crud like a Saw movie. It's more intrigue, thriller, suspense, mystery. There's a good story, great acting, and it really keeps you going. If you can do like we do and sit far away from other people because this is one movie that you'll be comparing notes and making guesses and whispering through. You'll also find yourself rehashing scenes and going "OH!" afterwards on the drive home! We did.
A couple on their honeymoon, a hike way out in the wild, a killer on the loose, various people drift in and out of the story - who is it? Who is the killer? Who can you trust? Everyone looks suspicious.
I love Steve Zahn and he stars in this one. Timothy Olyphant (which earthdad raved about from Deadwood on HBO) is in this, he's one actor that really changes from project to project, which we consider to be the mark of a good actor. He becomes that character. Chris Hemsworth ('Star Trek') does a great job with his character.
Milla Jovovich ('Resident Evil') is the female lead. Another great job. As does Kiele Sanchez ('Lost') and Marley Shelton ('Grindhouse').
We were never bored, always guessing and it was a very fun movie with a very good script. Small amount of nudity, some blood. Go soon and don't let ANYBODY tell you what happens or slip at all lest it spoils the fun.
Pueblo Tinseltown was great - popcorn fresh, hot and extra delicious today. Thanks Super Manager Shane!
Coming Attractions - we laughed out loud to see YET ANOTHER Michael Meyers movie on the horizon - this time directed by (OMG) Rob Zombie!! Wow. I think we get to see Carrie Fisher dismembered this time. That might be worth the price of a ticket. ;) They're missing a great opportunity and opening this month instead of October, though (DUH) Saw VI (yes, SIX) is coming out and THEY got it right, opening around Halloween. Also there's a Final Destination coming. This one is not numbered (FD 3 or 4?) but they're pulling the same trick that Fast and Furious did by sticking a "THE" in front of the old title for the new movie. THE Final Destination. (silly) Those are pretty gruesome but at least they tend to put some thought behind how someone *could* have accidentally gotten killed that way, rather than just a pitchfork through the throat like the slasher movies normally do.
We've still got to get to Julie & Julia this weekend. Stay tuned......
Friday, July 31, 2009
Funny People
Funny People - it's a title that is a setup. Once you give your movie that name you better be ready for it. Like the guy that sits down at the comedy club and says "Okay funny guy, make me laugh. I dare ya." Most of the time it doesn't work - the pressure to be funny, the expectation, usually it falls flat. But this time - hey, it works! Not even once did they lower themselves to the always desperate bad comedy movie barfing on someone else scene! Yay!
Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen ('Knocked Up') star in this movie about .... well about everything. That's what makes it work. It's truly funny - never lets up in that dept - and it's also very layered. There are real life issues, real stories, real problems, but peppered in with funny stuff. Sort of like life. This life happens to belong to a famous comedian.
It's really a balancing act to have drama like illness, death, adultery, faithfulness, jealousy, betrayal - all bouncing around in a movie that's actually a comedy. It would be so easy to let it slip into a stale or morose place, but this one manages to keep all the balls in the air.
There's alot of naughty bits humor (quite a few balls references) and if that bothers you then you most likely won't find it funny. Alot of that comes, as usual, from Jonah Hill ('Knocked Up', 'Superbad') and it works. We were truly captivated. It's a long movie, too - something like 3 hours including coming attractions - and we never even noticed. One of the really rare long running films that kept the interest and didn't drag.
Earthdad and I both agreed - this one gets a '4'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was in rare form today - we were sold tickets by the ever smiling and lovely Eden, and greeted at the concession stand by Super-Manager Shane who is always on the ball and a delight. Popcorn was fresh and hot and quickly dispensed by concession leader James - Good Job you guys!
Really good time at the movies!
Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen ('Knocked Up') star in this movie about .... well about everything. That's what makes it work. It's truly funny - never lets up in that dept - and it's also very layered. There are real life issues, real stories, real problems, but peppered in with funny stuff. Sort of like life. This life happens to belong to a famous comedian.
It's really a balancing act to have drama like illness, death, adultery, faithfulness, jealousy, betrayal - all bouncing around in a movie that's actually a comedy. It would be so easy to let it slip into a stale or morose place, but this one manages to keep all the balls in the air.
There's alot of naughty bits humor (quite a few balls references) and if that bothers you then you most likely won't find it funny. Alot of that comes, as usual, from Jonah Hill ('Knocked Up', 'Superbad') and it works. We were truly captivated. It's a long movie, too - something like 3 hours including coming attractions - and we never even noticed. One of the really rare long running films that kept the interest and didn't drag.
Earthdad and I both agreed - this one gets a '4'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was in rare form today - we were sold tickets by the ever smiling and lovely Eden, and greeted at the concession stand by Super-Manager Shane who is always on the ball and a delight. Popcorn was fresh and hot and quickly dispensed by concession leader James - Good Job you guys!
Really good time at the movies!
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke is back.
He earned the Academy Awared nomination - but Sean Penn took home the statue. Was Sean Penn better? Everyone seemed shocked when Rourke lost, and it can be argued that he's made enough enemies in Hollywood that they just won't give him the prize. He certainly did a great job in this movie, but one thing came to mind throughout. How much was he acting?
Sean Penn actually *became* Harvey Milk and did a fantastic acting job. Mickey Rourke was gritty, intense, real, but maybe the cameras just followed him around in his normal life and got alot of that footage.... just joking but it did come to mind. Maybe the old trailer 'The Ram' lives in is really his..... no sets needed for this movie!
This movie has been called "depressing" but I don't think that's accurate. It's reality, it's gritty, it's close up, it's unflattering - I guess that is a bit depressing. But it's actually a good story, of a man who was on top and 20 years later never moved on. I think a similar story plays out all too often here in America. How many people have had their few fleeting moments of "fame" and then have to deal with regular old life afterward? We're shown here that it can be a tough and bitter pill to swallow. Especially those who never grew past that time and didn't evolve.
Marisa Tomei is the only other lead in the movie and she is fabulous as a stripper. She is a wonderful actress. With a combination of perkiness and beauty and sweetness, she shines in the midst of the raunchiest settings and wearing the worst outfits (or nothing at all). It's really unfair that she seems to not have aged much at all since My Cousin Vinny (a favorite). *sigh*
It's not a cheerful movie, it's a slow paced, thoughtful, up close look at reality. We give it a 4.
earthdad and I liked this one - the popcorn was great - our buddy Super-Manager Shane was at the Pueblo Tinseltown box office and always a pleasure to see. It was a good afternoon at the movies.
He earned the Academy Awared nomination - but Sean Penn took home the statue. Was Sean Penn better? Everyone seemed shocked when Rourke lost, and it can be argued that he's made enough enemies in Hollywood that they just won't give him the prize. He certainly did a great job in this movie, but one thing came to mind throughout. How much was he acting?
Sean Penn actually *became* Harvey Milk and did a fantastic acting job. Mickey Rourke was gritty, intense, real, but maybe the cameras just followed him around in his normal life and got alot of that footage.... just joking but it did come to mind. Maybe the old trailer 'The Ram' lives in is really his..... no sets needed for this movie!
This movie has been called "depressing" but I don't think that's accurate. It's reality, it's gritty, it's close up, it's unflattering - I guess that is a bit depressing. But it's actually a good story, of a man who was on top and 20 years later never moved on. I think a similar story plays out all too often here in America. How many people have had their few fleeting moments of "fame" and then have to deal with regular old life afterward? We're shown here that it can be a tough and bitter pill to swallow. Especially those who never grew past that time and didn't evolve.
Marisa Tomei is the only other lead in the movie and she is fabulous as a stripper. She is a wonderful actress. With a combination of perkiness and beauty and sweetness, she shines in the midst of the raunchiest settings and wearing the worst outfits (or nothing at all). It's really unfair that she seems to not have aged much at all since My Cousin Vinny (a favorite). *sigh*
It's not a cheerful movie, it's a slow paced, thoughtful, up close look at reality. We give it a 4.
earthdad and I liked this one - the popcorn was great - our buddy Super-Manager Shane was at the Pueblo Tinseltown box office and always a pleasure to see. It was a good afternoon at the movies.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Wanted
Wanted - stars Angelina Jolie (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft) and James McAvoy (Atonement, The Chronicles of Narnia) and Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List) and Oh My Gosh is this a good movie!!
Think Office Space meets The Matrix.
Both favorites of mine so what a great combo! This movie just has it all. The basic premise is the age old Walter Mitty beginning - Mr. Nobody wishes he had A Life. He dreams of Something Else. He knows he is nobody. In this movie Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) Googles himself and finds "No Results". *sigh*
Oh but what if he truly WAS somebody? What if his father was one of the best assassins ever to live and what if he has the same blood and instincts and intuition pumping through his body? With just a LITTLE BIT of training.....
Yes the premise is familar but that's all. The visuals are fresh, the action is fresh and amazing, the effects will be copied just like The Matrix has been.
From nearly the opening scene you will be hooked. The first 10 minutes of the movie were worth the price of admission alone and frankly, by the end I had even forgotten those great minutes!
A caution - this is an adult's movie. There is a lot of blood and violence, bad language and some naughty bits. Don't take kids. But do take your adult friends and have a great time. This one is worth seeing again.
A big thumbs up - and a 4!
Think Office Space meets The Matrix.
Both favorites of mine so what a great combo! This movie just has it all. The basic premise is the age old Walter Mitty beginning - Mr. Nobody wishes he had A Life. He dreams of Something Else. He knows he is nobody. In this movie Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) Googles himself and finds "No Results". *sigh*
Oh but what if he truly WAS somebody? What if his father was one of the best assassins ever to live and what if he has the same blood and instincts and intuition pumping through his body? With just a LITTLE BIT of training.....
Yes the premise is familar but that's all. The visuals are fresh, the action is fresh and amazing, the effects will be copied just like The Matrix has been.
From nearly the opening scene you will be hooked. The first 10 minutes of the movie were worth the price of admission alone and frankly, by the end I had even forgotten those great minutes!
A caution - this is an adult's movie. There is a lot of blood and violence, bad language and some naughty bits. Don't take kids. But do take your adult friends and have a great time. This one is worth seeing again.
A big thumbs up - and a 4!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
We've waited 18 years for it - and it's here! With so much hype, so much speculation leading up to the release of this movie it is amazing that it lives up to it all! Harrison Ford is wonderful. His quiet, understated hero character lives on. Thankfully there are some jokes and mentions of his age. If they had just glazed the years without mention it would have been quite disappointing.
From the first scene you know you're in Spielberg land. It is just awesome to watch the framing of the scenes - when Harrison Ford first shows up for example, we see The Hat hit the ground and then by shadow we see Indiana pick it up and put it on. Thus giving us that trademark profile, age or no age. That is directorial poetry.
Shia LaBeouf has a major part as 'Mutt', a sort of tough kid (sort of). I was skeptical about his ability to pull that off but he does remarkably well. There are a few surprises and a few old friends show up from the past, with a bit of information about what they've all been up to. Those details are thrown in during the very brief interludes between chase scenes.
I like a good chase/action scene as much as the next guy, and I hate to say one disparaging word about this movie, but I have to say at some point the action just blurs together and my brain checks out. During the jungle chases it did just that. I believe there really is too much of a good thing. By contrast, Ironman had action and great action/chase/fight scenes, but the build up was there, the plot was there, the tense scenes were there. Then the action was the payoff. It wasn't the only thing going on.
There is a great deal of buzz right now about the Soviets being all offended over the plot. Frankly the plot was thin and I don't think one person who bought a ticket to this movie cared a hoot about the plot. That's not what we went for.
You have to laugh that the Soviets are claiming the plot was not historically accurate - do they know it is a movie? Fiction?
Kate Blanchett kept a straight face through this. It was not my favorite role for her by a long shot. It was so nice to see Karen Allen back on the big screen. We still see her on the small screen every Christmas when we have our yearly viewing of "Scrooged" with Bill Murray. She's a good actress.
All in all what a fun day at the movies - we give it a 4. Lots of good popcorn, too!
From the first scene you know you're in Spielberg land. It is just awesome to watch the framing of the scenes - when Harrison Ford first shows up for example, we see The Hat hit the ground and then by shadow we see Indiana pick it up and put it on. Thus giving us that trademark profile, age or no age. That is directorial poetry.
Shia LaBeouf has a major part as 'Mutt', a sort of tough kid (sort of). I was skeptical about his ability to pull that off but he does remarkably well. There are a few surprises and a few old friends show up from the past, with a bit of information about what they've all been up to. Those details are thrown in during the very brief interludes between chase scenes.
I like a good chase/action scene as much as the next guy, and I hate to say one disparaging word about this movie, but I have to say at some point the action just blurs together and my brain checks out. During the jungle chases it did just that. I believe there really is too much of a good thing. By contrast, Ironman had action and great action/chase/fight scenes, but the build up was there, the plot was there, the tense scenes were there. Then the action was the payoff. It wasn't the only thing going on.
There is a great deal of buzz right now about the Soviets being all offended over the plot. Frankly the plot was thin and I don't think one person who bought a ticket to this movie cared a hoot about the plot. That's not what we went for.
You have to laugh that the Soviets are claiming the plot was not historically accurate - do they know it is a movie? Fiction?
Kate Blanchett kept a straight face through this. It was not my favorite role for her by a long shot. It was so nice to see Karen Allen back on the big screen. We still see her on the small screen every Christmas when we have our yearly viewing of "Scrooged" with Bill Murray. She's a good actress.
All in all what a fun day at the movies - we give it a 4. Lots of good popcorn, too!
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