Ohhh boy. :( Green Lantern -> Fail.
I went to see this one with earthson - Adam - and we were both magnificently disappointed. Yawn. The script is just .... flat. Nothing that's charming, endearing, funny, or actually even interesting. The visuals are nice - especially The Guardians. They did a great job on them. But other than that..... it was a yawner.
Ironman set the bar so high and that's the measure I still use. That movie really had alot going for it - could have played out just like reading the Ironman comic and it would have been as boring as Green Lantern. Instead Robert Downey Jr. really MADE that character. No one else would have done nearly as good of a job. In Green Lantern, we could think of a dozen actors who could have done the exact same job that Ryan Reynolds does. He didn't bring anything distinctly Ryan Reynolds to the part (other than his abs).
Ironman had a kick ass script full of surprises and laughs and updated references. Green Lantern has none of those.
If you have a kid who likes superheroes and is in the 8 - 12 year old range, I believe they may like this. Anyone else is going to be pretty darn disappointed.
Maybe there will be a sequel. And hopefully that one will include the real Green Lantern that I thought I remembered - John Stewart - who was black. And maybe they'll find a couple million extra dollars laying around and be able to hire Jon Favreau to direct it. Then they may have a movie!
We gave this one a "2"
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - great, hot fresh popcorn and sprinkle cheese. That was the highlight of the day.
Showing posts with label Movies That Got a '2'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies That Got a '2'. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Soul Surfer
This will be a very short review. The story behind Soul Surfer of Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who got attacked by a shark, lost an arm, and went back to surfing (and won a National Championship) is truly inspiring and amazing and worthy of all praise. The movie about that experience unfortunately plays like a tv movie of the week.
It has good actors, a gorgeous setting in Hawaii and does a good job of showing her positivity and allowing us to feel what she struggled with after the attack. The dialogue is pretty flat and the movie has a rushed feel to it. The visuals are beautiful, it's very interesting to watch a surf competition if you've never seen one (I haven't) and I do admire Bethany.
I believe young girls will love this as it does give a good message of hope and staying positive, and being a good sport even when others are mean spirited.
This one gets a '2'. I saw it in Walsenberg, CO at the Youth Theater (lost a bet), which is a small, very old, apparently family run theater. Good experience overall.
It has good actors, a gorgeous setting in Hawaii and does a good job of showing her positivity and allowing us to feel what she struggled with after the attack. The dialogue is pretty flat and the movie has a rushed feel to it. The visuals are beautiful, it's very interesting to watch a surf competition if you've never seen one (I haven't) and I do admire Bethany.
I believe young girls will love this as it does give a good message of hope and staying positive, and being a good sport even when others are mean spirited.
This one gets a '2'. I saw it in Walsenberg, CO at the Youth Theater (lost a bet), which is a small, very old, apparently family run theater. Good experience overall.
Thor
After much build up and much anticipation, Thor has arrived. Earthdad went along not really knowing much about this one before hand. As it was beginning he asked "Who is this guy again?" And I reminded him - "You remember - Thor - the god of Thunder, son of Odin - the guy with the hammer?" "Oh yeah" he said. We sat in silence for a minute and I whispered "I never liked him in the comics come to think of it." "Me either" So what the heck were we doing there?? :D That must be said, though - neither of us were die hard Thor fans before coming to this show.
But you have to see em all - especially all of the Marvel comics movies. They made magic happen with Ironman, but this is no Ironman. Chris Hemsworth stars as Thor. He is nice to look at but not especially charismatic as an actor. Natalie Portman is his love interest, the mortal Jane (plain?). Raise your hand if you're tired of seeing Natalie Portman on the screen. Her role is really one of be there, look cute, wait for the next movie before you really have a part.
Sir Anthony Hopkins is here - which is funny since it seems to be a lowering of his standards to be in this comic movie, yet he does get to be the god Odin. Couldn't let that one pass, I suppose. He does a decent job.
Everyone in this movie is doing a decent job. And there are plenty of explosions and fast cuts and definitely a high quality production. It was just sort of boring. Hard to explain but it didn't grab us or hold our interest.
Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as usual. :) Always nice to see him.
Idris Elba was the most controversial element of this movie - as a black man playing a Nord god - and some said they would boycott because of that. He does a great job and definitely adds a needed element here. I just wish he had a larger part.
The credits are the longest of any movie I think I've ever seen - but if you can manage to stay around through them there is a preview clip with Samuel L Jackson and Stellan Skarsgard from The Avengers.
Nearly forgot to add that we gave it a "2".
The place was Pueblo Tinseltown. Caci sold us tickets and gave some sympathy about the crazy weather, Avril did a great job quickly serving us up freshly popped popcorn and real butter (and sprinkle cheese!), and we were happy to see Super Manager Shane working hard as usual!
Looking ahead - Oh My God - Cowboys vs Aliens!!! Can't wait! Jon Favreau, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford - this one cannot miss! :)
But you have to see em all - especially all of the Marvel comics movies. They made magic happen with Ironman, but this is no Ironman. Chris Hemsworth stars as Thor. He is nice to look at but not especially charismatic as an actor. Natalie Portman is his love interest, the mortal Jane (plain?). Raise your hand if you're tired of seeing Natalie Portman on the screen. Her role is really one of be there, look cute, wait for the next movie before you really have a part.
Sir Anthony Hopkins is here - which is funny since it seems to be a lowering of his standards to be in this comic movie, yet he does get to be the god Odin. Couldn't let that one pass, I suppose. He does a decent job.
Everyone in this movie is doing a decent job. And there are plenty of explosions and fast cuts and definitely a high quality production. It was just sort of boring. Hard to explain but it didn't grab us or hold our interest.
Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as usual. :) Always nice to see him.
Idris Elba was the most controversial element of this movie - as a black man playing a Nord god - and some said they would boycott because of that. He does a great job and definitely adds a needed element here. I just wish he had a larger part.
The credits are the longest of any movie I think I've ever seen - but if you can manage to stay around through them there is a preview clip with Samuel L Jackson and Stellan Skarsgard from The Avengers.
Nearly forgot to add that we gave it a "2".
The place was Pueblo Tinseltown. Caci sold us tickets and gave some sympathy about the crazy weather, Avril did a great job quickly serving us up freshly popped popcorn and real butter (and sprinkle cheese!), and we were happy to see Super Manager Shane working hard as usual!
Looking ahead - Oh My God - Cowboys vs Aliens!!! Can't wait! Jon Favreau, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford - this one cannot miss! :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Lincoln Lawyer
Wow - what a staggering waste of talent. I guess the economy really is that bad. I can just hear the meeting at the studio where they said "Let's be on the really safe side... get every celebrity you can round up, pull a script out of the 80s that went over pretty well and let's all just go through the motions and stay afloat."
So they did. Everyone did as they were told, and this thing came out.
I'll never get those couple of hours back.
It was almost worth admission just to watch wonderful talent like William Macy and Marissa Tomei (with new teeth?) and Bryan Cranston (wow, he must have just had a few minutes to kill on the way to his set at Breaking Bad and offered to jump in for a few scenes) and John Leguizamo try to breathe a little life into the most cliche dialogue ever. Almost.
It was almost worth admission to see Trace Adkins as a tough biker. Almost.
There are a few interesting twists, but nothing you won't see coming. There are a few good courtroom scenes, but nothing you haven't seen before. This was a yawner and a real waste of big resources. I'm glad I went to the matinee - at least it was cheap. Gets a "2".
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - saw Super Manager Shane working hard and doing a great job. Fresh hot popcorn and sprinkle cheese helped to ease the disappointment of this movie!
Can't wait for .... "THOR"!
So they did. Everyone did as they were told, and this thing came out.
I'll never get those couple of hours back.
It was almost worth admission just to watch wonderful talent like William Macy and Marissa Tomei (with new teeth?) and Bryan Cranston (wow, he must have just had a few minutes to kill on the way to his set at Breaking Bad and offered to jump in for a few scenes) and John Leguizamo try to breathe a little life into the most cliche dialogue ever. Almost.
It was almost worth admission to see Trace Adkins as a tough biker. Almost.
There are a few interesting twists, but nothing you won't see coming. There are a few good courtroom scenes, but nothing you haven't seen before. This was a yawner and a real waste of big resources. I'm glad I went to the matinee - at least it was cheap. Gets a "2".
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - saw Super Manager Shane working hard and doing a great job. Fresh hot popcorn and sprinkle cheese helped to ease the disappointment of this movie!
Can't wait for .... "THOR"!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Rango
Went to see 'Rango' with my daughter and her 5 year old, so we had a whole range of ages there. We really looked forward to seeing this, were very positive going in, and got the expectant wind knocked right out of us.
This was the longest 1 hour and 47 minutes in recent memory. A few days ago I actually ran for 1 hour and 48 minutes nonstop, and that went by faster and less painfully than this movie did.
None of us found the characters to be endearing, or even interesting. The animation is purposely grotesque, the story makes no sense, the pacing is slow and boring. We kept thinking what a waste for Johnny Depp to be doing *this*. It is an easy paycheck though, I guess, just doing the voiceover for an animated movie.
We didn't find this to be for kids, and not really for adults, so I don't know who it's aimed at. It just wasn't fun and wasn't enjoyable for any of us. We gave it a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Good popcorn!
This was the longest 1 hour and 47 minutes in recent memory. A few days ago I actually ran for 1 hour and 48 minutes nonstop, and that went by faster and less painfully than this movie did.
None of us found the characters to be endearing, or even interesting. The animation is purposely grotesque, the story makes no sense, the pacing is slow and boring. We kept thinking what a waste for Johnny Depp to be doing *this*. It is an easy paycheck though, I guess, just doing the voiceover for an animated movie.
We didn't find this to be for kids, and not really for adults, so I don't know who it's aimed at. It just wasn't fun and wasn't enjoyable for any of us. We gave it a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Good popcorn!
Thursday, January 06, 2011
The Fighter
We saw the trailer and weren't looking forward to seeing what hit us at first as a mediocre Rocky knock off movie. Earthdad is a huge fight fan but even so...
BUT I saw some coverage about the movie and all about how Mark Wahlberg worked for four years to make this - worked out - really boxed, etc etc and it drew me in. We decided to check it out.
Bottom line - first impressions sometimes ARE right.
Will Mark Wahlberg EVER change his expression or actually act in anything? That is the question. He's the same guy in every movie. Soft spoken, dropping his eyes, the real good guy who shines and always wins and gets the girl and ... zzzzzzzzzzzzz
No matter if he did work for 4 years on this, got in good shape, learned to box, etc - this movie is not about him. It is stolen by Christian Bale who plays his way too accurate crackhead loser brother. He is stunning - must have lost a ton of weight and he really pulls off the role. He's also really annoying and you get sick of him and want to not be around him after a short time, much like a real crackhead.
The movie is also depressing in alot of ways, and a very close examination of a really screwed up, dysfunctional family. There's an attempt at redemption along the way that really does not work. We're left truly disliking everybody on the screen by the time it's over. :P
During the end credits the real Micky and Dicky are shown.
I think this one gets a '4' for Christian Bale but a '2' for the rest.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place and Earthdad saw Super Manager Shane for a bit but I was already inside munching my hot, fresh popcorn. :)
BUT I saw some coverage about the movie and all about how Mark Wahlberg worked for four years to make this - worked out - really boxed, etc etc and it drew me in. We decided to check it out.
Bottom line - first impressions sometimes ARE right.
Will Mark Wahlberg EVER change his expression or actually act in anything? That is the question. He's the same guy in every movie. Soft spoken, dropping his eyes, the real good guy who shines and always wins and gets the girl and ... zzzzzzzzzzzzz
No matter if he did work for 4 years on this, got in good shape, learned to box, etc - this movie is not about him. It is stolen by Christian Bale who plays his way too accurate crackhead loser brother. He is stunning - must have lost a ton of weight and he really pulls off the role. He's also really annoying and you get sick of him and want to not be around him after a short time, much like a real crackhead.
The movie is also depressing in alot of ways, and a very close examination of a really screwed up, dysfunctional family. There's an attempt at redemption along the way that really does not work. We're left truly disliking everybody on the screen by the time it's over. :P
During the end credits the real Micky and Dicky are shown.
I think this one gets a '4' for Christian Bale but a '2' for the rest.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place and Earthdad saw Super Manager Shane for a bit but I was already inside munching my hot, fresh popcorn. :)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wall Street Money Never Sleeps
The money may never sleep but I nearly did. Zzzzzzzzzz
What went wrong here? Michael Douglas is slimey enough. Snake-like, even. He talks about cancer 3 times with regard to the financial industry which now seems uncomfortably forshadowing since the man is battling cancer himself.
The performances were not the problem. Douglas - excellent. Shia LaBeouf - excellent (I'm a fan anyway tho) Josh Brolin - good enough. Carey Mulligan - eh. Susan Sarandon even shows up in a small bit and does a decent job.
The problem is the thing gets confusing - muttled - hard to follow. Then they slip in a small zinger of reality (how corrupt Wall Street really is) and then hurry and bury that again. The whole thing gets smothered in a romance/try to make up with daddy/bad guy becomes nice guy after all story. It seems like the whole financial thing wasn't that bad after all and the real people responsible get caught and punished so everything is okay now.
Huh?
For an Oliver Stone movie this is horribly disappointing. Wall Street is a huge subject, one that affects all of us and is historically the most corrupt and outlandish thing to ever happen in the country. To push all of that aside with one sweep is really dropping the ball. Stone has no stones in this one, clearly.
I'm giving it a '2'. Less for the story but more for the performances and for what was attempted.
We saw hard working Super Manager Shane today and had some of the best Hot Fresh Pueblo Tinseltown popcorn with sprinkle cheese! Everyone was friendly and doing a great job as usual. It was a good crowd for the first showing of this movie, too. Many others looking forward to it as I was, and most likely feeling a bit let down afterward.
What went wrong here? Michael Douglas is slimey enough. Snake-like, even. He talks about cancer 3 times with regard to the financial industry which now seems uncomfortably forshadowing since the man is battling cancer himself.
The performances were not the problem. Douglas - excellent. Shia LaBeouf - excellent (I'm a fan anyway tho) Josh Brolin - good enough. Carey Mulligan - eh. Susan Sarandon even shows up in a small bit and does a decent job.
The problem is the thing gets confusing - muttled - hard to follow. Then they slip in a small zinger of reality (how corrupt Wall Street really is) and then hurry and bury that again. The whole thing gets smothered in a romance/try to make up with daddy/bad guy becomes nice guy after all story. It seems like the whole financial thing wasn't that bad after all and the real people responsible get caught and punished so everything is okay now.
Huh?
For an Oliver Stone movie this is horribly disappointing. Wall Street is a huge subject, one that affects all of us and is historically the most corrupt and outlandish thing to ever happen in the country. To push all of that aside with one sweep is really dropping the ball. Stone has no stones in this one, clearly.
I'm giving it a '2'. Less for the story but more for the performances and for what was attempted.
We saw hard working Super Manager Shane today and had some of the best Hot Fresh Pueblo Tinseltown popcorn with sprinkle cheese! Everyone was friendly and doing a great job as usual. It was a good crowd for the first showing of this movie, too. Many others looking forward to it as I was, and most likely feeling a bit let down afterward.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Eat, Pray, Love
I slipped out of the heat and into Julia Robert's new movie, trying to expect nothing and keep an open mind.
The movie was made from the bestselling book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert. I didn't read the book, and felt that if I had I would have gotten more out of the movie. There seemed to be disconnections and things that were missing in the story. I found myself confused more than once over the character that Julia Roberts plays - why the major life meltdown over something that seems very small in the grand scheme of things? Many of her decisions seemed ridiculous and rambling as the film continues.
There is scenery from other countries that I found interesting - sort of like watching the Travel Channel. But there are so many contradictory and odd themes going on. The main character is looking for peace and joy but is depressing and sad and alone most of the time. Her main point seems to be that a woman doesn't need a man to be happy, yet she is unhappy without one and never successfully gets over that.
It drags along unevenly and I lost interest. I give this one a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, fresh hot popcorn and lots of AC on a hot day!
The movie was made from the bestselling book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert. I didn't read the book, and felt that if I had I would have gotten more out of the movie. There seemed to be disconnections and things that were missing in the story. I found myself confused more than once over the character that Julia Roberts plays - why the major life meltdown over something that seems very small in the grand scheme of things? Many of her decisions seemed ridiculous and rambling as the film continues.
There is scenery from other countries that I found interesting - sort of like watching the Travel Channel. But there are so many contradictory and odd themes going on. The main character is looking for peace and joy but is depressing and sad and alone most of the time. Her main point seems to be that a woman doesn't need a man to be happy, yet she is unhappy without one and never successfully gets over that.
It drags along unevenly and I lost interest. I give this one a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, fresh hot popcorn and lots of AC on a hot day!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Robin Hood
We went with this one question begging to be answered "Why did they remake Robin Hood AGAIN?" There are over 50 feature films of this legend. What will director Ridley Scott bring to this new one?
Apparently, not much.
I like to be up front with my prejudices and here are two - we don't like medieval movies usually and we especially don't like Russell Crowe. That said, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves has to be my favorite of all the Robin Hood movies. Alan Rickman is mainly the reason for that - what a spectaular villain!
But I digress...
If you love movies of this era and/or if you love Russell Crowe, you will most likely revel in every moment of this film. It is huge and broad and sweeping, no cost seems to have been spared to make it more historically accurate than others. The fight scenes are enormous and bring to life the true pain and suffering of war, not war of these days but the gritty, hand to hand, in the dirt kind of wars that were fought then.
Russell Crowe seems to be trying so hard to be so humble, so noble, so pure and honest that he just falls flat. Who wants a one note hero? I think the best heroes of all time are those that are multi-dimensional. The flawed heroes. They have issues like we all do but they rise above and come out on top when the chips are down. That's a real hero! This Robin Hood is purer than pure and borrrring.
Cate Blanchett really shines as Marion. She seemed very authentic, intense, strong, but still vulnerable. A very nice role for her and she handles it very well.
All in all we were wishing we had gone to see Ironman2 again. :) I have admiration for the time, effort and intense work that went into this movie so it can't be dissed totally or set aside. It just wasn't that enjoyable for us.
One irritating thing - it appears to be setting up a new franchise with this being the "How It All Began" movie. If the money shows up at the box office I have no doubt there will be another and another to come. That's why the film drags and milks this prequel story, I think.
We gave it a '2'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, popcorn was hot and fresh and served up with a smile by Erin.
Apparently, not much.
I like to be up front with my prejudices and here are two - we don't like medieval movies usually and we especially don't like Russell Crowe. That said, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves has to be my favorite of all the Robin Hood movies. Alan Rickman is mainly the reason for that - what a spectaular villain!
But I digress...
If you love movies of this era and/or if you love Russell Crowe, you will most likely revel in every moment of this film. It is huge and broad and sweeping, no cost seems to have been spared to make it more historically accurate than others. The fight scenes are enormous and bring to life the true pain and suffering of war, not war of these days but the gritty, hand to hand, in the dirt kind of wars that were fought then.
Russell Crowe seems to be trying so hard to be so humble, so noble, so pure and honest that he just falls flat. Who wants a one note hero? I think the best heroes of all time are those that are multi-dimensional. The flawed heroes. They have issues like we all do but they rise above and come out on top when the chips are down. That's a real hero! This Robin Hood is purer than pure and borrrring.
Cate Blanchett really shines as Marion. She seemed very authentic, intense, strong, but still vulnerable. A very nice role for her and she handles it very well.
All in all we were wishing we had gone to see Ironman2 again. :) I have admiration for the time, effort and intense work that went into this movie so it can't be dissed totally or set aside. It just wasn't that enjoyable for us.
One irritating thing - it appears to be setting up a new franchise with this being the "How It All Began" movie. If the money shows up at the box office I have no doubt there will be another and another to come. That's why the film drags and milks this prequel story, I think.
We gave it a '2'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place, popcorn was hot and fresh and served up with a smile by Erin.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Losers
Finally a movie with a PERFECT name! Wow is this one a loser.
Disclaimer - if you're a male between possibly 9 and 12, or a stoner dude with less than 5 brain cells left, you may think this one is COOOOL.
It's made from a comic, and that's a shame because many of my favorite movies ever are made from comics. This one just seems like a real bad comic. One dimensional characters and something blowing up every 10 seconds. It's also like a string of really poorly shot music videos, that use bad music. In between those there are a few lines of dialogue that try REALLY HARD to be funny and stylish and then back to things blowing up.
It was truly boring. Midway through we realized we couldn't care less what happened, would gladly walk out without giving it another thought, and if it were on tv (where it belonged... about 15 years ago) we would change the channel. Every cliche in the book is in this - the action is as old as it gets.
We were so disappointed, mainly because of Idris Elba being one of the stars - he starred in 'The Wire', HBO's runaway hit and amazing show. This man was amazing in that role but this one..... not so much. He did the best he could with a big pile of hot mess.
I'm holding my finger and thumb up in the position of an 'L' against my forehead right now. Yep, LOSERS!
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - still running smoothly - I saw Super Manager Shane and got some good popcorn so it wasn't a total waste! Too bad all the movies can't be good ones. ;) This one gets a '2'.
Disclaimer - if you're a male between possibly 9 and 12, or a stoner dude with less than 5 brain cells left, you may think this one is COOOOL.
It's made from a comic, and that's a shame because many of my favorite movies ever are made from comics. This one just seems like a real bad comic. One dimensional characters and something blowing up every 10 seconds. It's also like a string of really poorly shot music videos, that use bad music. In between those there are a few lines of dialogue that try REALLY HARD to be funny and stylish and then back to things blowing up.
It was truly boring. Midway through we realized we couldn't care less what happened, would gladly walk out without giving it another thought, and if it were on tv (where it belonged... about 15 years ago) we would change the channel. Every cliche in the book is in this - the action is as old as it gets.
We were so disappointed, mainly because of Idris Elba being one of the stars - he starred in 'The Wire', HBO's runaway hit and amazing show. This man was amazing in that role but this one..... not so much. He did the best he could with a big pile of hot mess.
I'm holding my finger and thumb up in the position of an 'L' against my forehead right now. Yep, LOSERS!
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - still running smoothly - I saw Super Manager Shane and got some good popcorn so it wasn't a total waste! Too bad all the movies can't be good ones. ;) This one gets a '2'.
Date Night
We looked forward to seeing 'Date Night', thinking it just couldn't go wrong. We love Tina Fey and love Steve Carell, and the trailers looked decent. But something falls flat.
The premise is pretty new, and the actors are wonderful, but it appears there is a great deal of ad libbing and roaming around looking for the next line. After the story idea gets announced, the rest of the movie doesn't seem to know what to do. What should have been and could have been hilarious just ends up feeling forced and uncomfortable. Tina Fey looks truly uncomfortable in many scenes.
It turns into an okay movie made with exceptional talent. You leave wondering what exactly went wrong there?
We gave this one a '2'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place and I think we enjoyed the popcorn far more than the movie. Thank goodness they now sell the good Sprinkle Cheese!
The premise is pretty new, and the actors are wonderful, but it appears there is a great deal of ad libbing and roaming around looking for the next line. After the story idea gets announced, the rest of the movie doesn't seem to know what to do. What should have been and could have been hilarious just ends up feeling forced and uncomfortable. Tina Fey looks truly uncomfortable in many scenes.
It turns into an okay movie made with exceptional talent. You leave wondering what exactly went wrong there?
We gave this one a '2'. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place and I think we enjoyed the popcorn far more than the movie. Thank goodness they now sell the good Sprinkle Cheese!
Crazy Heart
I put off writing this review for so long because I honestly don't know what I want to say. We saw this a day after Jeff Bridges won his Oscar for his performance. We'd been wanting to see it for several weeks earlier but didn't get there. Now we had an even better reason to go.
The only problem is... this wasn't an Academy Award winning performance. Far from it.
The only thing I can say is this award was given to Jeff Bridges as a sort of cumulative thing - for his life long acting, and more importantly for his whole family of actors. I know how political Hollywood is and how many many things influence these awards, so it makes plenty of sense that the 'other things' were the reason for the award. It absolutely was not because of this performance.
This movie is about a washed up, down and out country singer. If you saw 'The Wrestler' with Mickey Rourke as the down and out washed up wrestler, then you saw this movie already. Only Mickey Rourke did a MUCH better job and his script was better and the whole movie was better.
Jeff Bridges comes off only as a jerk with no redeemable qualities, frankly. Mickey Rourke was a much more sympathetic character, with a heart, and with reasons for how he lives his life. Bridges - no. Just a slobbering irresponsible drunk.
If you like country music (we don't) you may enjoy this. The songs are good imitations of real hit songs, they sound about right and are pleasant enough.
There is one truly shining element to the whole movie - worth watching but not worth the price of admission alone - and that's Robert Duvall. The man is a genius and upstages Bridges in every scene they share. Even when he's standing totally silent he's a better actor on any day of the week. I think I'd pay to listen to him read the phone book.
All in all our curiosity got satisfied and we passed some time and we got to see Robert Duvall. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - the folks were friendly and the popcorn was fresh and hot so it was a decent time at the movies.
This one gets a '2'.
The only problem is... this wasn't an Academy Award winning performance. Far from it.
The only thing I can say is this award was given to Jeff Bridges as a sort of cumulative thing - for his life long acting, and more importantly for his whole family of actors. I know how political Hollywood is and how many many things influence these awards, so it makes plenty of sense that the 'other things' were the reason for the award. It absolutely was not because of this performance.
This movie is about a washed up, down and out country singer. If you saw 'The Wrestler' with Mickey Rourke as the down and out washed up wrestler, then you saw this movie already. Only Mickey Rourke did a MUCH better job and his script was better and the whole movie was better.
Jeff Bridges comes off only as a jerk with no redeemable qualities, frankly. Mickey Rourke was a much more sympathetic character, with a heart, and with reasons for how he lives his life. Bridges - no. Just a slobbering irresponsible drunk.
If you like country music (we don't) you may enjoy this. The songs are good imitations of real hit songs, they sound about right and are pleasant enough.
There is one truly shining element to the whole movie - worth watching but not worth the price of admission alone - and that's Robert Duvall. The man is a genius and upstages Bridges in every scene they share. Even when he's standing totally silent he's a better actor on any day of the week. I think I'd pay to listen to him read the phone book.
All in all our curiosity got satisfied and we passed some time and we got to see Robert Duvall. Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - the folks were friendly and the popcorn was fresh and hot so it was a decent time at the movies.
This one gets a '2'.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Wolfman
Benicio Del Lobo! :)
When I first saw the trailer for this movie I burst out laughing (loudly, I'm afraid) and realized quickly that I was the only one. Turns out my son, Josh, in a theater several states away, had the same reaction. It just seemed like an incredible and ridiculous movie for Benicio del Toro to star in!
But we've waited with wolfbane baited breath, counting off the moon phases, and finally today it arrived.
THIS was a movie - THIS bordered on semi epic - THIS was a film that didn't need to be made!
Earthdad and I are fans of the genre, and the individual actors. We're both fans of Lon Chaney and the Creature Features of decades ago. But why remake a movie if you don't have much of anything to add to it? It follows so closely the original, even certain exact scenes and images. But the sets are larger and sweeping, and the actors are better quality. A touch of pithy dialogue, and Anthony Hopkins. Other than that it follows - exactly - it's an old movie set to a new screen. The pacing is slow, the music dramatic, at times it appears to be making fun of itself (accidentally?) and there are many moments left open for witty and silly remarks - so be sure to take a friend who has a sense of humor. We found several of those and fell into the giggles. Unfortunately the movie was moving on taking itself very, very seriously.
Anthony Hopkins is wonderful but there's not enough of him to make it worthwhile. Benicio was fine - just odd still that he's even in it. He didn't seem to bring anything special to this. Emily Blunt was an odd choice (The Devil Wears Prada) and the weak link in the ensemble. She simply is not mature enough or a strong enough actor to be the female lead here. A snapshot of her was fine - she appeared to be made up very well and fit the role, but she didn't have the presence that her character required.
For me the one who stole the show was Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith from The Matrix. He doesn't have a huge role but his scenes are excellent and his dialogue is about the best. He was worth watching.
They've left the door wide open for Wolfman 2 but I don't think the revenues will allow that to happen. Ironic that a lack of silver at the box office may be the death of The Wolfman.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - we were happy to see Super Manager Shane who served us up piping fresh popcorn with real butter and sprinkle cheese. We were unaware that today was a school holiday (or we never would have gone) but the staff were doing an excellent job moving everyone along quickly on a tough day. The crowd in The Wolfman was quite thin, but other shows (the children's movies especially) were full.
This one gets a "2".
When I first saw the trailer for this movie I burst out laughing (loudly, I'm afraid) and realized quickly that I was the only one. Turns out my son, Josh, in a theater several states away, had the same reaction. It just seemed like an incredible and ridiculous movie for Benicio del Toro to star in!
But we've waited with wolfbane baited breath, counting off the moon phases, and finally today it arrived.
THIS was a movie - THIS bordered on semi epic - THIS was a film that didn't need to be made!
Earthdad and I are fans of the genre, and the individual actors. We're both fans of Lon Chaney and the Creature Features of decades ago. But why remake a movie if you don't have much of anything to add to it? It follows so closely the original, even certain exact scenes and images. But the sets are larger and sweeping, and the actors are better quality. A touch of pithy dialogue, and Anthony Hopkins. Other than that it follows - exactly - it's an old movie set to a new screen. The pacing is slow, the music dramatic, at times it appears to be making fun of itself (accidentally?) and there are many moments left open for witty and silly remarks - so be sure to take a friend who has a sense of humor. We found several of those and fell into the giggles. Unfortunately the movie was moving on taking itself very, very seriously.
Anthony Hopkins is wonderful but there's not enough of him to make it worthwhile. Benicio was fine - just odd still that he's even in it. He didn't seem to bring anything special to this. Emily Blunt was an odd choice (The Devil Wears Prada) and the weak link in the ensemble. She simply is not mature enough or a strong enough actor to be the female lead here. A snapshot of her was fine - she appeared to be made up very well and fit the role, but she didn't have the presence that her character required.
For me the one who stole the show was Hugo Weaving - Agent Smith from The Matrix. He doesn't have a huge role but his scenes are excellent and his dialogue is about the best. He was worth watching.
They've left the door wide open for Wolfman 2 but I don't think the revenues will allow that to happen. Ironic that a lack of silver at the box office may be the death of The Wolfman.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place - we were happy to see Super Manager Shane who served us up piping fresh popcorn with real butter and sprinkle cheese. We were unaware that today was a school holiday (or we never would have gone) but the staff were doing an excellent job moving everyone along quickly on a tough day. The crowd in The Wolfman was quite thin, but other shows (the children's movies especially) were full.
This one gets a "2".
Monday, January 04, 2010
Sherlock Holmes
Just returned from this much hyped and long awaited treat. I counted the days until the release but then had plans change several times and couldn't get to the theater to see it! Months ago when I saw the first trailer for this I laughed out loud with a big DOH - what a GREAT franchise Robert Downey Jr has landed on! There are Sherlock Holmes scripts galore and if they can pull off one or two that make money he can grow old in this role! Just genius on the part of marketing, and long overdue.
I'm a Robert Downey Jr. fan - stated as such and thrilled to own my own copy of Ironman. That said.... I didn't like this movie. I wanted to like, was sure I would like it, was so happy to be finally seeing it, and didn't like it.
What went wrong? The whole personna of Sherlock Holmes seemed gone. In his place we have this clearly Asperger, Manic Depressive, super hero, drug addict, rock star type rebel. It was Monk meets Batman with some sprinklings of Johnny Depp's pirate.
The movie is a bit difficult to understand because of muttered language and gray, dreary scenes - I found myself straining to figure out what was going on many times. There are many nicely worded gems and clever lines in the dialogue, but it's like a mining expedition to dig those out.
Judd Law plays Watson and did a decent job - he seemed very Watson-like. Rachel McAdams is the sort of love interest/lady criminal character who I think could have been played by nearly anyone. She said her lines and did her thing but the character could have been so much more.
I guess if this is the New Face of Sherlock Holmes, the franchise may be in trouble. It still has lots of flash and is star studded enough that the next few installments will be well received. They all but typed out "To Be Continued" on the screen in the final scene. This movie carries right into the next chapter. It started out in the middle or toward the end of the previous chapter, and ends already into the next. That leaves perfect openings on both ends for the sequels and the prequels. I don't think I'll be as anxious to see the next.
Ironman 2 is on the way, and the unbelievable 'Wolfman' starring Benicio del Toro! That one is a must see - for sure. I still can't believe he made that movie so I have to see for myself.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Popcorn was hot and fresh and excellent!
This one gets a '2' from us. With a heavy heart.
I'm a Robert Downey Jr. fan - stated as such and thrilled to own my own copy of Ironman. That said.... I didn't like this movie. I wanted to like, was sure I would like it, was so happy to be finally seeing it, and didn't like it.
What went wrong? The whole personna of Sherlock Holmes seemed gone. In his place we have this clearly Asperger, Manic Depressive, super hero, drug addict, rock star type rebel. It was Monk meets Batman with some sprinklings of Johnny Depp's pirate.
The movie is a bit difficult to understand because of muttered language and gray, dreary scenes - I found myself straining to figure out what was going on many times. There are many nicely worded gems and clever lines in the dialogue, but it's like a mining expedition to dig those out.
Judd Law plays Watson and did a decent job - he seemed very Watson-like. Rachel McAdams is the sort of love interest/lady criminal character who I think could have been played by nearly anyone. She said her lines and did her thing but the character could have been so much more.
I guess if this is the New Face of Sherlock Holmes, the franchise may be in trouble. It still has lots of flash and is star studded enough that the next few installments will be well received. They all but typed out "To Be Continued" on the screen in the final scene. This movie carries right into the next chapter. It started out in the middle or toward the end of the previous chapter, and ends already into the next. That leaves perfect openings on both ends for the sequels and the prequels. I don't think I'll be as anxious to see the next.
Ironman 2 is on the way, and the unbelievable 'Wolfman' starring Benicio del Toro! That one is a must see - for sure. I still can't believe he made that movie so I have to see for myself.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the place. Popcorn was hot and fresh and excellent!
This one gets a '2' from us. With a heavy heart.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Vampire's Assistant
The trailers looked great! The story looked interesting! The movie looked creepy!
Buddy, buddy - none of the above.
This movie should have definitely been a Made For Tv Movie and nothing more. It is desperately trying to ride on the coattails of the current Vampire Mania that has swept the country inexplicably. It's helping to fill the gap in those poor 8 to 12 year olds who are too young for TrueBlood and Twilight but need some kind of vampire entertainment. In comes The Vampire's Assistant to try and fill that gap!
The entire movie was a setup to either a string of movies or a tv show to follow. Not sure what's in the works but it's obvious they have something in mind, everything was a setup of the characters and the only thing missing was "To Be Continued...." at the end.
It's slow... it's made for kids... it stars a young Ashton Kutcher lookalike who is supposed to be the Good Guy and his best friend who is the Bad Guy. It's not a very good movie. Possibly if you have a young kid who wants to get in on the vampire craze, fine. Maybe.
I really hope this current vampire craze dies off faster than a vampire. It's so tiresome now. TrueBlood was interesting, I am proud to say I never saw Twilght but the 2nd installment of that cash machine is about to be released. Vampire Diaries on tv, there's a vampire comedy coming out that we saw the trailer for today. Yikes.
Speaking of a cash machine - the lines were long today for the Michael Jackson movie. That's one we're so not seeing.
This one gets a '2'
Super Manager Shane served us up our fresh, hot popcorn with a smile. Pueblo Tinseltown was good - movie was not.
Buddy, buddy - none of the above.
This movie should have definitely been a Made For Tv Movie and nothing more. It is desperately trying to ride on the coattails of the current Vampire Mania that has swept the country inexplicably. It's helping to fill the gap in those poor 8 to 12 year olds who are too young for TrueBlood and Twilight but need some kind of vampire entertainment. In comes The Vampire's Assistant to try and fill that gap!
The entire movie was a setup to either a string of movies or a tv show to follow. Not sure what's in the works but it's obvious they have something in mind, everything was a setup of the characters and the only thing missing was "To Be Continued...." at the end.
It's slow... it's made for kids... it stars a young Ashton Kutcher lookalike who is supposed to be the Good Guy and his best friend who is the Bad Guy. It's not a very good movie. Possibly if you have a young kid who wants to get in on the vampire craze, fine. Maybe.
I really hope this current vampire craze dies off faster than a vampire. It's so tiresome now. TrueBlood was interesting, I am proud to say I never saw Twilght but the 2nd installment of that cash machine is about to be released. Vampire Diaries on tv, there's a vampire comedy coming out that we saw the trailer for today. Yikes.
Speaking of a cash machine - the lines were long today for the Michael Jackson movie. That's one we're so not seeing.
This one gets a '2'
Super Manager Shane served us up our fresh, hot popcorn with a smile. Pueblo Tinseltown was good - movie was not.
Whip It
Whip It is directed by Drew Barrymore, and she has a role as well. It looks like it was a LOT of fun to make - all these actresses skating and falling and crashing and playing Roller Derby. Looks like fun. Watching the movie - not so much.
I was a big Roller Derby fan way back - 1969, 1970, The T-Birds in Chicago. I'd sneak into my parents room and dig out the old black and white tv that they had stored away, hook it up and hold onto the antenna trying to get the Chicago station in that would let me cheer along for Big John and the T-Birds. :) Good times.
This movie captures a bit of that same fun, with a heavy handed coming of age story that doesn't really play out well and is lacking in realism.
Girls falling down, skating, roller derby - it's all silly fun but very forgettable.
Pueblo Tinseltown looked good - popcorn was fresh and hot. This one gets a '2'.
I was a big Roller Derby fan way back - 1969, 1970, The T-Birds in Chicago. I'd sneak into my parents room and dig out the old black and white tv that they had stored away, hook it up and hold onto the antenna trying to get the Chicago station in that would let me cheer along for Big John and the T-Birds. :) Good times.
This movie captures a bit of that same fun, with a heavy handed coming of age story that doesn't really play out well and is lacking in realism.
Girls falling down, skating, roller derby - it's all silly fun but very forgettable.
Pueblo Tinseltown looked good - popcorn was fresh and hot. This one gets a '2'.
Zombieland
Zombieland has some good trailers and a good premise but something terrible happens along the way. I've seen this movie get good reviews, but can't figure out why.
We like this type of movie, had high hopes going in and were happy for the first third maybe. Then it seems that someone maybe lost the script and everyone just started ad libbing. The story went right out the window, it becomes an awkward coming of age movie with no regard to the zombies.... and the characters begin to do things that are completely against their character.
For example, after beating over our heads the fact that two girls in the movie are smart, street smart, clever, intelligent, etc. they both just lose their brain cells and turn into total idiots doing idiot moves that make no sense.
I guess we'd give this movie a 3 for the first third to half, and a 2 for the last half. Averaging into a 2.5
Good popcorn, nice people at Pueblo Tinseltown. Marissa was our favorite employee this trip. :)
We like this type of movie, had high hopes going in and were happy for the first third maybe. Then it seems that someone maybe lost the script and everyone just started ad libbing. The story went right out the window, it becomes an awkward coming of age movie with no regard to the zombies.... and the characters begin to do things that are completely against their character.
For example, after beating over our heads the fact that two girls in the movie are smart, street smart, clever, intelligent, etc. they both just lose their brain cells and turn into total idiots doing idiot moves that make no sense.
I guess we'd give this movie a 3 for the first third to half, and a 2 for the last half. Averaging into a 2.5
Good popcorn, nice people at Pueblo Tinseltown. Marissa was our favorite employee this trip. :)
Informant
Informant.... this is bad because we saw it only a week or two ago and I can't remember a thing about it. :P
OH! A quick search on imdb.com and I remember now. Matt Damon's movie where he plays a whistleblower. He is a 'regular Joe' who becomes an informant and works undercover but he messes things up at every turn.
It's supposed to be based on a true story, which frankly are just the worst thing to make a movie from. With real stories everyone in the story has an attorney and their interests have to been looked after, no one can look too good or too bad, the truth gets homogenized and sterilized and glazed over so many times that it loses ANY edge it might have had. This movie is proof of that.
We were bored as the time drags on and nothing new seems to be happening. There's a bit of a twist at the end but by the time you get there you may be like us and not care so much.
Definitely a '2' - very very forgettable.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the theater - great popcorn, friendly folks.
OH! A quick search on imdb.com and I remember now. Matt Damon's movie where he plays a whistleblower. He is a 'regular Joe' who becomes an informant and works undercover but he messes things up at every turn.
It's supposed to be based on a true story, which frankly are just the worst thing to make a movie from. With real stories everyone in the story has an attorney and their interests have to been looked after, no one can look too good or too bad, the truth gets homogenized and sterilized and glazed over so many times that it loses ANY edge it might have had. This movie is proof of that.
We were bored as the time drags on and nothing new seems to be happening. There's a bit of a twist at the end but by the time you get there you may be like us and not care so much.
Definitely a '2' - very very forgettable.
Pueblo Tinseltown was the theater - great popcorn, friendly folks.
Friday, April 17, 2009
State of Play
In all fairness, I only saw this movie trying to kill time waiting on some better movies to get here. So far there's no Wolverine, no Star Trek, that new Jamie Foxx/Robert Downey movie,etc. So this one looked like a decent bet. I was wrong.
I simply don't get this movie. It was ridiculous, overly long, quite boring most of the time, and maybe Movie of the Week level. Russell Crowe stars as a fat, sloppy, stereotypical packrat journalist with long hair. The script is written so he ends up being hero, the coolest guy in the room, the guy all the gorgeous girls either slept with or want to sleep with, he's just the Cat's Pajamas. But why? He's horrid looking, not at all clever, pompous, not talented, and gets a bunch of people killed over his bad choices. It makes no sense that this person is idolized in this movie, except that it was written in Crowe's contract that way.
Ben Affleck does some decent acting as a Congressman. Boy did he lose weight for this role, too! He's lean. His pretty little staff member is killed and there's a whole scandal *yawn* and lots of running around by Crowe and his little dewy eyed sidekick, the young kid who runs the Internet portion of the newspaper - played by Rachel McAdams ('Red Eye'). She did a fine job of looking naive, young, innocent and sweet.
Jason Bateman ('Arrested Development') steals the show. His part is woefully small but he upstages everyone with his performance. Not sure if it alone is worth the price of admission, but he did offer a bright spot in the whole dragging thing.
Robin Wright Penn ('Oleander') was good to see in this as the Congressman's wife. She did a decent job with what they gave her to do.
Helen Miren ('The Queen') is slumming here, trying to be the hard hitting, foul but kind of sweet mouthed ball breaking editor. It's an odd fit.
I simply didn't like this movie. The biggest problem with it was this - at least 6 different times I actually said the next line before the actor said it. :\ Nope, I'm not psychic. It's just that cliche of a movie. They weren't even lines that were in the trailer.
It was forgotten before I even threw away the empty popcorn bag. It gets a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was good - popcorn was fresh.
I simply don't get this movie. It was ridiculous, overly long, quite boring most of the time, and maybe Movie of the Week level. Russell Crowe stars as a fat, sloppy, stereotypical packrat journalist with long hair. The script is written so he ends up being hero, the coolest guy in the room, the guy all the gorgeous girls either slept with or want to sleep with, he's just the Cat's Pajamas. But why? He's horrid looking, not at all clever, pompous, not talented, and gets a bunch of people killed over his bad choices. It makes no sense that this person is idolized in this movie, except that it was written in Crowe's contract that way.
Ben Affleck does some decent acting as a Congressman. Boy did he lose weight for this role, too! He's lean. His pretty little staff member is killed and there's a whole scandal *yawn* and lots of running around by Crowe and his little dewy eyed sidekick, the young kid who runs the Internet portion of the newspaper - played by Rachel McAdams ('Red Eye'). She did a fine job of looking naive, young, innocent and sweet.
Jason Bateman ('Arrested Development') steals the show. His part is woefully small but he upstages everyone with his performance. Not sure if it alone is worth the price of admission, but he did offer a bright spot in the whole dragging thing.
Robin Wright Penn ('Oleander') was good to see in this as the Congressman's wife. She did a decent job with what they gave her to do.
Helen Miren ('The Queen') is slumming here, trying to be the hard hitting, foul but kind of sweet mouthed ball breaking editor. It's an odd fit.
I simply didn't like this movie. The biggest problem with it was this - at least 6 different times I actually said the next line before the actor said it. :\ Nope, I'm not psychic. It's just that cliche of a movie. They weren't even lines that were in the trailer.
It was forgotten before I even threw away the empty popcorn bag. It gets a '2'.
Pueblo Tinseltown was good - popcorn was fresh.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Duplicity
When I first saw the trailer for Duplicity I thought, "Julia Roberts stars in her very own Ocean's Eleven.... without the eleven." That was pretty close. The only problem is that Ocean's Eleven was a great movie compared to this one.
If you are a HUGE Julia Roberts fan (I am not) and would pay money just to be able to stare are her for an hour and a half, then you'll get your money's worth.
Clive Owen is her co-star and although he's not bad on the eyes, he's also not enough to carry this tangled, complicated, convoluted, jumble of a movie.
It's supposed to be a spy double and triple-cross kind of story, but the twist is that the spies are working for corporations rather than countries. And the two main characters have a weird relationship where they sort of are attracted but never trust each other an inch and are constantly double guessing each other and themselves. It gets tiresome.
There are flashbacks that get jumbled around, and talking, talking and more talking. There are characters you don't care about at all and it all becomes quite boring in the middle. I contemplated walking out - something I just don't do. (That's the rule - I paid my money, I'm seeing this thing) Couldn't help it that I considered leaving, my mind just kept drifting off to so many other things I could be doing that were more enjoyable (I need to clean out my fridge...)
The ending was decent, so we're supposed to leave the theater with a "the end justifies all that we put you through" kind of feeling. Only I don't feel that way. They wasted a whole lot of my time unnecessarily getting me to anything resembling a point.
I'm calling this a stinker. It's someplace between a 1 and a 2.... we'll say a 2 because the popcorn at Pueblo Tinseltown was fresh and hot, and because the ending was interesting.
If you are a HUGE Julia Roberts fan (I am not) and would pay money just to be able to stare are her for an hour and a half, then you'll get your money's worth.
Clive Owen is her co-star and although he's not bad on the eyes, he's also not enough to carry this tangled, complicated, convoluted, jumble of a movie.
It's supposed to be a spy double and triple-cross kind of story, but the twist is that the spies are working for corporations rather than countries. And the two main characters have a weird relationship where they sort of are attracted but never trust each other an inch and are constantly double guessing each other and themselves. It gets tiresome.
There are flashbacks that get jumbled around, and talking, talking and more talking. There are characters you don't care about at all and it all becomes quite boring in the middle. I contemplated walking out - something I just don't do. (That's the rule - I paid my money, I'm seeing this thing) Couldn't help it that I considered leaving, my mind just kept drifting off to so many other things I could be doing that were more enjoyable (I need to clean out my fridge...)
The ending was decent, so we're supposed to leave the theater with a "the end justifies all that we put you through" kind of feeling. Only I don't feel that way. They wasted a whole lot of my time unnecessarily getting me to anything resembling a point.
I'm calling this a stinker. It's someplace between a 1 and a 2.... we'll say a 2 because the popcorn at Pueblo Tinseltown was fresh and hot, and because the ending was interesting.
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