chronovore | Entries tagged with movie

Reuters: U.S. to announce $1 billion aid for Georgia: official : I'm so US-centric that at first I thought, Did the state of Georgia get hit by a hurricane?! Or is this to address the report that they rank 41st out of 50 for "smartest state"? Then I remembered it's not the only Georgia in the world, and I felt like a clod.

Then again, it's also a brand of canned coffee here in Japan, so I could have done worse, and assumed that the US is trying to get itself really high on caffeine and sugar.

And just to maintain the rambling tone: During my trip to the USA, I found a copy of Max Max WITH The Road Warrior new for 10 bucks, American greenbacks. I have been sour on Mel Since he started made that romantic comedy with Helen Hunt, and she'd hinted in the PR tour that Mel's an abhorrent human being, and then much later he did that "sugartits/jew" thing in Los Angeles, confirming that he's bad... BUT IT WAS THE ROAD WARRIOR! I bought it, watched it while making tonight's dinner (before going to work), and it turns out to be 1 DVD, two-sided, and pan-and-scan 4:3, and a miserable transfer to boot.

Epic. Fail. I gave Mel Gibson 10 dollars, and didn't even get what I want.

Saturday, I saw Star Wars, which was prettier than it was good. It was better than Episode 1, maybe better than Ep.2, but most suprisingly it had more laughs in it than anything since Empire. Lots of fun moments and guffaws. But most suprising is the visual language; it was just gorgeous. Dark, but very painterly and lush.

Story-wise, I tried really hard but was unable to get past the damage that Lucas did to the franchise with the prequels. There is just no getting past the bad-ass Jedi being constantly unable to see the Sith Lord RIGHT in front of them. That may be the Siths' ultimate ability, but it's never explained in the movies, which otherwise go out of their way to over-explain anything else.

It's impossible for me to like the Old Republic troopers. They're stormtroopers. They're mass-created clone warriors who are fundamentally wired to betray those Jedi who have been fighting alongside them for the entire war against the secessionists. They're never cast as tragic in this regard; it's just a switch in their head, and as such it's impossible for me to feel like they're deserving of empathy or support.

And lastly, Anakin himself, who was supposed to have been "seduced" by the Dark Side, who was supposed to have had a gradual, one-bad-choice-after-another slide into darkness, but instead basically does a big flip-flop at the most critical juncture in the story, and suddenly becomes the world-destroying analog for Hitler and Satan or whatever, he's the most difficult of all to feel any sympathy for.

He gets a charming, plucky Padawan, Asohka, with major attitude and skills to back it up, and he has to learn how to deal with being a teacher. Handled a little more skillfully, the story might have shown how this was another chance for Anakin to avoid sliding into the Dark Side, and then give a nudge or hint as to why it wasn't ultimately effective in changing his ways, such as the padawan being injured or killed, and that experience would further distance Anakin from emotional attachment or taking others into his care.

Nope.

Anyway, it was fun. I will probably buy the DVD, which I should have waited for to begin with.

Today I took The Girl to see the latest Pokemon movie, Diamond and Pearl, Platinum: Guillotina's Flowerbed in the Sky; or something like that. Anyway, toward the end, there is a moment when a famous Pokemon is dying, and the newest pokemon suddenly evidences a previously unannounced ability, reviving it, bringing it back from the edge of death: AROMATHERAPY.

I was the only person in the theater laughing.

[Error: unknown template video]
WARNING: Only watch this if you have no interest in the movie, or have NO CARE of spoilers. Most of the explosions, characters, and plot points (as well as reveals) appear to be in the trailer.

That said, I'm still hyped to see it. I like rollercoasters, even though I can see where the tracks go.

http://www.doomsdayiscoming.com/

...WOOT.

I watched this on my iPod during my commute last night and on the way in today. The way it started off got me thinking that this was going to be another disappointment, like Garden State: too posed, too precious, and with little or no point in the end. Instead I ended up trying not to cry just as I'm arriving at work. Ellen Page is charming without guile, and Michael Cera plays a track / academic geek that is readily accessible to any guy who has liked a girl and felt awkward about it.

The soundtrack, I think, is what got me wary. About 1/3 of the songs featured really resonated; I picked up Sonic Youth's cover of The Carpenters' "Superstar" on iTunes due to this movie. However there is a bunch of music that just feels like "oh, hai! we're analog and off key! isn't that precociously endearing?!" No, it's just annoying.

(via Twenty Sided)

First Blood
Rambo: First Blood Part 2
Rambo 3
Rambo

That is worse than the titling sequence that a child might make. Boo. What will the next one be called? Rambo 2: First Blood Part 5? Man, I hope so.

If the recent Will Smith movie wasn't your thing, or even if you just want a comparison, try Vincent Price in the adaptation of "I Am Legend" called "The Last Man on Earth" - it's up for grabs in the public domain at The Internet Archive. [waxy.org]

The cold caught up with me. I'm cracking my neck every five minutes; I should just go to sleep. I'm brain dead and tired, and all my joints ache. I had a fever of 38.4 last night, and have had smaller fevers occur and break today.

Want to play games or read, but don't have the brainpower. I watched "300" last night; it was more repetitive and preachy than I'd expected. I kept hearing how it could have benefited from being "more ambiguous" or "less direct" and now I understand what the reviews meant. Beautiful, gorgeous film with only a few shots that looked as though the group were being awkwardly greenscreened against a virtual set. I watched "Children of Men" today, and it redeemed my faith in cinema. Good grief, what an amazing film. It's ugly and beautiful, horrifying and inspiring all at once. I actually had to get up and walk away from it for awhile, to get my mental bearings back.

So, yes: sleep. Now.

Apple - Trailers - 01-18-08:　CLOVERFIELD - Godzilla (or Cthulhu?) meets The Blair Witch Project.

Exclusive excerpts from 'Zeroville' - Entertainment News - Variety.com:

On Vikar's shaved head is tattooed the right and left lobes of his brain. One lobe is occupied by an extreme close-up of Elizabeth Taylor and the other by Montgomery Clift, their faces barely apart, lips barely apart, in each other's arms on a terrace, the two most beautiful people in the history of the movies, she the female version of him, and he the male version of her.

This is the summer of 1969, two days after Vikar's 24th birthday. He's been in Los Angeles an hour, after a six-day bus trip from Philadelphia, and eats a French dip sandwich at Philippe's. A hippie nods at Vikar's head. "Dig it, man. My favorite movie."

"I believe it's a very good movie," Vikar agrees.

"Love that scene at the end. There at the Planetarium."

Vikar stands and in one motion brings the food tray up --

-- and then crashing down on the blasphemer across the table. He catches the napkin, floating like a parachute, in time to wipe his mouth. " 'A Place in the Sun,' George Stevens," Vikar says to the fallen man, pointing at his own head, "NOT 'Rebel Without a Cause,'" and strides out.

Current Mood: intrigued

The Bourne Supremacy (2004): This is the 2nd movie in the Jason Bourne series; I watched and mostly liked the 1st movie. After seeing several good reviews of The Bourne Ultimatum, I decided I'd better catch up before watching the 3rd movie. Shaky-cam fight scenes aside, it's a great movie. It's a shame that the fight scenes weren't filmed as well as the INSANE car chase in Moscow was. Against all reason, I like Karl Urban, and he was fun to watch. Storylines appeal to me where the government has bad guys who do arrogantly try to do "the right thing" through all the wrong methods, and put themselves above the law. Brian Cox was very good in this role, almost managing to inject believability into lines which were all too clearly pure exposition.

With reference to the recent mite problem: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bug Bomb Explosions

Claim: Insect-infested house is destroyed when too many "bug bombs" set by owner are ignited.
Status: True.
Origins: In December 2003, an overly determined householder in San Diego, California, took on the bugs and lost her home in the process.

In other news, it's good to see people are still idiots: Raid Insect Bombs - Johnson Wax - "directions don't say prouduct is harmful to pets."

Current Music: Starlit Hour - Ella Fitzgerald

Brick (2005): Exceptional. If you love pulp, noir, and interstitial flims, you'll love this. Then again, if you don't live in Japan, you've probably already seen it. The dialog is so thick I nearly choked, but in a good way. I'll have to find the script next, and soon.

Big note of cultural dissonance: I really didn't care much for Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 10 Things I Hate About You, but he was very good in this. In fact, I spent a lot of time wondering if he wouldn't have done a better job with Heath Ledger's character in that movie: another quiet, antisocial, quietly competent antihero for whom the audience cheers.

Current Mood: enthralled

Dog Soldiers (2002): I just saw this the other day, on my iPod, over a couple days' commute. I'd heard from several people that it's a better movie than you'd expect. Man, that's so true. It's structured like a combination of Night of the Living Dead and Predator, with hints of Evil Dead and Alien thrown in. I might give it a 7.5 normally, but Scottish accents push it to an easy 8.

But it turns out I'm late to the party on worshipping Neil Marshall; he wrote and directed The Descent, one of the most acclaimed horror movies in recent memory, and he's doing Doomsday, which

sdemory was just talking about.

Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: Take a Chance with Me - Roxy Music (via Pandora)

Via the 1UP newsletter: Pretty damned neat. I like the effects - I wonder how they're matching their CG effects shakycam with their actual real-life shakycam. Are the home-tools for that stuff this advanced and easy to come by now? Probably easier to come by than the explosives they used...

Current Mood: impressed

Kalifornia (1993):

ADELE: Tell me more about California. The moonlight illuminates his face when he looks up at her.

EARLY: Well... for one thing... They think faster out there, on account of all that warm weather they got; cold weather makes people stupid, that's a fact.

ADELE: I guess that'd explain why there's so many stupid people around here.

EARLY: Yeah, and in California you never have to buy fruit 'cause it's all on the trees everywhere you turn... (beat) ...and, 'course there ain't no speed limit out there, and all drugs are legal... And I heard your first month's rent is free; state law. I figure 'til we get settled we can just move around month to month...

ADELE: What'll we do out there? EARLY Well... the very first thing we're gonna do... is get us a couple of six packs of Lucky Lager and climb up on toppa' that famous Hollywood sign and howl at the moon...

Early lets out a playful howl, as Adele looks up over her shoulder at the moon.

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001):

El Santo (a masked/luchador professional wrestler): "I know why you are here, My Saviour. I have chosen to call myself 'The Saint,' and as such I am your servant. To you, My Lord, my face is forever naked."

One word review: Sacrilicious!

Current Mood: cheerful

The heroine drives a Dodge Dart
The heroine was not particularly good looking - I hate it when a movie has some gorgeous girl that everyone hates and no-one will go out with, even though she's gorgeous. Vile, unconscionably antisocial girls can get just about any guy they like in highschool just by being pretty and stringing them along. This woman was just plain enough that it's believable that no-one would be willing to look past her barbs to see the intelligence and charm she contains. I'm speaking strictly in a Taming of the Shrew sense; I'm still not convinced Julia Stiles can act, though it simply may have been bad direction.
Heath Ledger; the man rises above the material -- and it was pretty dreck-like, even for washed and re-painted Shakespeare. I'm still not forgiving him for The Brothers Grimm, though.
The soundtrack includes a Joan Armatrading song.
There is no #5; I lied. The movie was otherwise without merit. I chuckled twice, and didn't laugh outright once. The humor is utterly predictable, and though there's a way to make predictable humor still work this movie is woefully unaware of that technique. 以上。もうぅ。無駄だった。

Kyle MacLachlan as Superman
Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman
David Borneaz as Green Lantern (Hal Jordan vers.)

Silver Age origins of the Justice League, told by people who love that era. I am moist with anticipation.

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Page generated Jul. 18th, 2025 11:46 am

rebootied

Journal for Kids Who Don't Read Good

Entries tagged with movie

(no subject)

star wars, the clone wars

pikachuu, i choose you

NEW Death Race (2008) Trailer

The new trailer for Doomsday is up:

Juno

Hancock. I want to see this.

someone else's quote, via benchilada

i am legend

took the day off

(un)holy crap!

quotes within quotes within quotes

movies and bugs

Brick

woof!

Live Action Halo Short Film

underappreciated

"the third testament kicks ass!!!"

5 things i liked about 10 things i hate about you

Justice League: New Frontier (via chadu)