Archive for the ‘film’ Category
Filed Under entertainment, film
The Dark Knight is definitely not your father’s Batman, there’s no Adam West or grey spandex anywhere to be found. This was an incredible movie, a movie that technically doesn’t fit in the array of typical summer movies because its not a popcorn movie. I think TDK was as much epic crime saga as it was superhero movie, maybe more. It was ‘Heat‘ with capes, gadgets and a chaotic clown. Its flawless.
If you were to break it all down, every piece of the film added up to make this an epic that won’t soon be forgotten. The soundtrack, the stunt work (very little CGI used - love that), the acting, the story, the themes, cinematography and on and on and on. It’s truly an amazing movie. Everything I’d hoped.
Not that its any surprise, but Heath Ledger was amazing… as usual. It’s so sad that we’ve lost a true artist at the prime of his artistry. There’s a huge difference between a movie star and an artist, for an artist its a real expression or emotion, its something true from deep within their soul not just a mask they put on for a take. I admire the artistry of Heath Ledger and every other artist in this film. His portrayal of the Joker will go down in history as one of the “best” villians of all time.
I believe this will be one of the best films of 2008, and the greatest superhero film of all time.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Filed Under entertainment, film, friday faves, random links
Here are a few of my favorite things from this past week.
/1. Lars and the Real Girl. A story about a guy who buys a sex doll and thinks that its his new girlfriend may seem like every other movie you’ve seen, but let me assure you its not. Rent it, download it, pay-per-view it, or buy it… I promise you won’t be sorry. Look for my review to be up soon.
/2. The Superhero Guide to Famous Pastors. If you haven’t started reading Stuff Christians Like yet, you really should, especially if you’ve been in the church world for any amount of time. This post is hilarious, and there’s a sequel.
/3. Michael Bay’s rejected Dark Knight Script. Hilarious. What if Michael Bay had written The Dark Knight? Spill has “found” pages from this fictional spec screenplay which was “ultimately rejected by Warner Bros.”
/4. Brad Ruggles Muxtape. This week Brad did a post featuring his favorite music and he followed that up with a muxtape with the top song from each of those albums. Take a listen, its good.
/5. iPhone 2.0 Apps. My top app so far is Twitterific, but I’m also liking the Facebook app, Yelp, and MixMeister Scratch which is a DJ scratch machine for your iPhone. I’m still exploring the App Store, but I’m most disappointed that there’s not a Wordpress app yet.
Filed Under entertainment, film
Aight, whats the deal people, why’s everybody hatin’ on Hancock. It wasn’t that bad. Before I walked into the theater I’d heard quite a few folks bash it for being a terrible movie. I couldn’t disagree more, and I don’t think its just because I love Will Smith. I think the problem was that most went in expecting Iron Man or any other typical superhero movie. Honestly I don’t even really think it was a superhero movie, it was really a dramatic story of redemption that only uses the superhero thing as a device in telling the story.
It’s obvious that Director Peter Berg and the writers were trying something new with the storyline itself. I’m not even sure it even followed the 3-act arc, it seemed to be more like 2- 45 minute movies slapped together. They did the whole Kill Bill thing but didn’t wait 6 months to release the 2nd, they just decided part 1 wasn’t long enough to release alone, so they went ahead and attached the sequel. 2 birds people. At least they tried something new, it worked for Tarantino in Pulp Fiction (trying something new that is).
Big negatives: the CGI wasn’t great. Thats a big deal for me. If your gonna spend $150 mil on a movie, a “superhero” movie… make sure the CGI is freakin’ good! The other misstep I think they made was in the promotion, which is why folks went in expecting a hilarious version of Iron Man. The marketing wanted us to believe Hancock was a special effects riddled action comedy centered around the hilariously cranky (and drunk) superhero as he botches every attempt to be a hero. In steps Bateman, who is the down on his luck PR guy who sees a golden opportunity in rehabilitating the public image of L.A.’s very own superhero. Ok, so thats what we were led to believe was the whole story, which in reality on took about the first 25 minutes or so. This is should be a lesson in marketing who you are, not who you wish you were. We’ve seen this type of promotion work before, but in this case, right smack in the middle of superhero summer, people needed to be pleasantly surprised, not disappointed.
I liked it, because right smack in the middle of superhero summer, they tried something risky and different. Hancock definitely does not conform to the typical superhero arc whether you like it or not.
I’m gonna give it a 3 out of 5.
Filed Under entertainment, film, video
This is definitely a guy post, actually its a Guy post. I’m a very big fan of Guy Ritchie, the dude that brought us ‘Snatch’ and ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’. He seems to have gotten a little off course lately with his last movie being the ‘Swept Away’ remake, but his new film, ‘RocknRolla’, looks like a return to form. And it has an incredible cast. This is gonna be good. Watch the trailer here.
Filed Under entertainment, film
If you’re wanting some mindless comedy, then Get Smart is for you. It’s very true to the original series, which I’ve always been a big fan of… I love some Mel Brooks. Get Smart is not a spy spoof movie, its a spy movie with a lot of comedy thrown in. It’s obvious that the cast had a great time making this movie, it shows through in almost every frame. Steve Carrell was perfect for the Maxwell Smart character. I love his comedic timing. The man has a gift. I also think Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) did a really good job. He’s actually very funny. I loved the chemistry between them all, they all seemed to work well together.
There was a cool scene where Maxwell and Agent 99 crash a party and Maxwell winds up dancing with an overweight lady, by his choice. At the end of the scene you expect her to be the joke, for them to make fun of her, but they flipped it on its head and instead of mocking her, she winds up with the last laugh.
There may have been a few jokes that fell flat, but overall it was a very fun movie that never slowed down. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Filed Under entertainment, film
I’ve been meaning to write this review for a week now and I just keep putting it off (I am the king of all procrastinators). I saw The Incredible Hulk opening weekend, and I really liked it. It wasn’t as good as Iron Man, (review) but it was waaay better than Ang Lee’s Hulk a few years back. This is definitely the summer of the superhero, and once the summer is over, I don’t think it will land at the top of the list, but that doesn’t mean its not a great movie. Also, I’m a huge fan of Ed Norton, he is as great as usual.
I loved the way the story started, with greenish flashbacks of the gamma radiation that created the beast, which is better than spending half the movie telling us a story we already know. Then it fast forwards to Bruce Banner hiding in Brazil while trying to find a cure for his condition, when the U.S. government find him and the chase begins. The chase through the barrio of Brazil was a very cool scene, I kept waiting for the Hulk to emerge, but director Louis Leterrier waited and waited to reveal his monster. And when he did, it was worth it. I wouldn’t say it was the best CGI ever, but the close-ups of the hulk were really amazing.
It’s definitely worth seeing in the theater. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Dark Knight is definitely not your father’s Batman, there’s no Adam West or grey spandex anywhere to be found. This was an incredible movie, a movie that technically doesn’t fit in the array of typical summer movies because its not a popcorn movie. I think TDK was as much epic crime saga as it was superhero movie, maybe more. It was ‘Heat‘ with capes, gadgets and a chaotic clown. Its flawless. 
