trey taylor

hancock

// July 8th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // 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.

first look – rocknrolla

// June 26th, 2008 // No Comments » // 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.

get smart

// June 25th, 2008 // No Comments » // 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.

the incredible hulk

// June 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // 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.

spike jonze’s how they get there

// June 19th, 2008 // No Comments » // creative, film, video

I’m a big fan of Spike Jonze, I think he’s extremely quirky and original. I ran across his ‘97 short film ‘How They Get There’ and I thought it was pretty clever. Spike Jonze was the guy who directed ‘Being John Malkovich,’ which is a pretty great movie, plus he directed Fatboy Slim’s hilarious music video to ‘Praise You.’ He’s in production right now on next years ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ which I’m stoked about because that was my favorite book as a kid, and I think he’ll do a great job (even though I’ve read there’s was a little drama on set).

Back to this film. I think its really great, he accomplishes quite a bit in 2 minutes, without any dialogue, and nice pacing. It’s a complete story, beginning, middle, and end. Take a couple of minutes and watch it.

lessons from prince caspian 2

// May 22nd, 2008 // No Comments » // faith, film

As I shared in my previous post, there were several moments in the new Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian, that opened my eyes to truths that I needed to see. It’s so easy for our faith to become stale, and its a beautiful thing to find it reawakened in the most unexpected places, like a movie theater. 

This moment comes from the same portion of the story as the first one, but its a different statement that Aslan makes. Lucy is wondering why he hasn’t saved them the same way he did last time. Why he hasn’t swooped in and made it all better. Saved the day in the same fashion as he had done in the previous story. 

He simply says, “Nothing happens the same way twice.” 

Now my questions is this, how did that affect the way they were fighting? Were they doing the same thing they had done before expecting to get the same response from Aslan. 

How many times do I go through the same motions of worship and faith expecting God to do the same thing, give me victory over the same battle, that he did last time. Even though I’m giving him nothing new of me, just my good ol’ trusty formula that I’ve always offered up. Every week I go through my 3-step process of worship and every week I’m expecting Christ to keep showing up the same way in my life as he did last week or last year.

I’m thinking he deserves more every day, more heart felt honesty, more vulnerability, more passion, more love, more surrender than I gave him the week before. Why, because nothing ever happens the same way twice.

Give him something new, a new part of you that you’ve been trying to hide. And see if he gives you a new victory.