Next to that age old question we all ask ourselves at one point or another in our lives, “How did those AT-ATs get down to the surface of the ice planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back,” another, maybe more important, question arises:
Movies about taking down fascist governments always seem to make me hopeful. Despite the fact that I doubt I’d ever see a revolution in my lifetime, it’s still nice to see it happen on the screen.
I read the V for Vendetta comic book a few months back to prepare myself for the movie, to which I had the same reaction as I did to Alan Moore’s more well-known work, Watchmen, which was one of, “eh.” His stories tend to be more involved than one would expect from works in the “comic book” medium; always being less about right or wrong, and instead, especially in Vendetta, staying morally ambiguous and allowing the reader to decide for themselves. It’s that last part that led me to initially conclude that I didn’t like his stuff, but after a while I started to “get it” and appreciate his stuff a lot more.
And so of course I was worried when Alan Moore disassociated himself from the movie. That’s never a good sign. The movie cut out a lot from the book and changed a lot of events around in the timeline, but overall I felt the message and themes still stayed intact. While the book focused more on anarchy, I didn’t recall ever hearing that word uttered in the movie. It still made for a good movie, and maybe some people will enjoy it for the social commentary and not go see it just cause it’s “from the creators of the Matrix!”
Powazek: Just a Thought: SXSW to MPAA: STFU. There’s only so much control one can have…
Thursday March 16, 2006Holy crap is this late. In light of tonight’s Academy Awards though, I figured now was as good a time as any.
My favorite films from 2005 in, in no particular order:
Spider-Man. Could it be the Venom storyline?
Friday February 24, 2006Big theater chains refuse to show Soderbergh’s “Bubble”, apparently because it’s being released on DVD and pay-per-view at the same time. Maybe this’ll filter out all the crap that gets released into theaters.
Thursday January 19, 2006A trio of movie reviews before I get into my favorites of 2005.
I read the book back in Junior High and remembered liking it. Simple, easy-to-read, straightforward. It wasn’t until later that one of my friends mentioned the parallels with the story of Christ, and I just sort of went, “Hmm. That’s interesting.
Kurt Wimmer’s Ultraviolet Trailer Online. A little underwhelmed after loving Equilibrium so much.
Saturday January 14, 2006More Batman rumors. Angelina Jolie for Talia and Johnny Depp for the Joker? Hmmm. I still think Brittany Murphy would be the perfect Harley Quinn.
Saturday January 14, 2006Kanye West - Hear ‘Em Say - Plympton vs. Gondry. I will forever love Gondry for ESotSM, but Plympton’s version is far superior.
Tuesday January 10, 2006
Update: First nine minutes of serenity viewable at Vivadas.
I’ve been holding off on my review of Serenity so I could gather my thoughts and give a more thought-out review, as opposed to my usual first impressions.
Serenity is best described as a “western in space,” created by Joss Whedon, the mind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. While most would list it as “science fiction”, the world has nothing in the way or lasers, teleporters, or robots, but instead has people carrying revolvers and rifles, and wearing leather and trenchcoats.
Bottom line first: Serenity was really good. I’m still deciding on whether or not it beats out Batman Begins as my favorite film this summer, but the two of them come really close.
Raunchy yet it still had a decent plot considering the title of the movie. Steve Carell did a great job in the lead. Probably one of the funnier movies I’ve seen lately, yet I never got around to watching that other hit comedy of the summer, Wedding Crashers. Unfortunately it’s only playing in the second run theaters now and I might as well wait for it to come out on DVD.
Better than expected, yet I felt like it could have done a lot more. There’s some great material in this movie, and it entertained me a lot more than I thought it would, yet considering the subject matter it never quite reaches as high as it could. Ever since I saw the trailer I was expecting this to be one of my favorite movies this year, yet not quite. Worth checking out if you found the trailer interesting.
First off, I forgot that this was a children’s movie. Second, I forgot that there’d be singing in it. Aside from that though, I liked it. Maybe a bit light on the story, but just getting to see Tim Burton’s sweet claymation is always a treat. I need to see The Nightmare Before Christmas again since I haven’t seen it in ages.
Entertaining, but just a little too dumb for me. This movie had so many clichés that I finally gave out a really loud sigh in the theater when one of the most obvious plot points were revealed. Rachel McAdams is a hottie though.
I’d been given enough warning from friends who already saw Tim Burton’s take on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that it would be weird. And creepy. And not as good as the original. I agree on all points.
Very cute and fun documentary. The movie focuses more on the mating and birth of Emperor Penguins rather than going for a broader view. There, I think that’s long enough of a review to justify posting the photo of the penguins. Make sure to check this one out.
I’m backlogged on the movie reviews, so I’m just going to condense three of them.
I wasn’t aware that this was adapted from a play, so the first couple of scenes felt long and bland and too focused on dialogue. I’m a big fan of Rachel Weisz and Paul Rudd but even with that I was ready to stop watching after the first half hour. I kept going though, and the ending and pay off made it worth it, but still not a movie I could recommend.
Cinema Paradiso was the winner of Best Foreign Film in 1990. There isn’t anything special about the film that I’d want to point out, just very well told and enjoyable with a lot of subplots (although some aren’t resolved). It’s one of those movies that follows a main character from childhood to old age that aren’t really done any more these days. Watch it.
I saw this yesterday and I’m still trying to figure out just what I thought of it. Jason Kottke totally loved it and gave it his highest recommendation, comparing it even to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I got none of that when I watched it. Maybe cause I was too busy trying to grapple with the plot and timeline. I’d only recommend this if you’re into the movies that mess with your mind, like Memento.
There’s not much to say about War of the Worlds. Spielberg delivered another solid film with no low points as far as I saw, and it met right up to any expectations I had.
Great special effects and a constantly moving storyline with some really tense moments, although we get a Disney ending, yet it doesn’t entirely ruin the movie. Awesome plane wreckage, violent and eye-opening van jacking, and a hold-your-breath hiding game in a basement were the best scenes.
Since it’s the same director and major star, I’ll draw the comparison and say I enjoyed Minority Report more, even though the two movies are very different from each other.
Worth a watch on the big screen, but it’s still no Batman.
I’ve got a lot of other topics to discuss and I’m just too lazy to write them, but I’m gonna forgo them all to do a review of Van Helsing, which I won’t even write myself.
skr1bblins: dood… watching van helsing kills brain cells by itself
MyBodyIs4Sale (5:01:46 PM): dude
MyBodyIs4Sale (5:01:53 PM): i cant belive you watched that
valloq (5:01:56 PM): lol!
MyBodyIs4Sale (5:02:00 PM): at least i saw it when i had no warning
MyBodyIs4Sale (5:02:07 PM): you have had years of warning
I honestly I have no idea what I just watched. I fell asleep during the “plot twist” and had urges throughout to just fast foward to the end.
Batman is my favorite comic book hero, so saying that Batman Begins is my favorite of the comic book-based movies is probably showing a bit of favoritism.
But also know that by being a big fan, I’ve got a lot of expectations of the character and wouldn’t be happy if things were done wrong, so when I say that Batman Begins is my favorite film of the year so far, that’s saying quite a lot.
I decided to brush up on Christian Bale’s films to coincide with the release of Batman Begins. I passed on Newsies for now, but American Psycho would be good to watch in its entirety since I’ve only seen bits and pieces of it. Perhaps in the future.
Empire of the Sun features a teenage Christian Bale as an English civilian stuck in Shanghai as it is overrun by the Japanese during World War II. The story was a little slow, and it’s not something to watch when you’re sleepy, but still well done in the way we watch Bale’s character grow up in an internment camp.
The Machinist, on the other hand, was awesome — totally creepy and never had me bored. The trailers had me thinking it took place in some alternate universe or a stark future, but it actually takes place in modern day, the movie is just shot in a way to have everything appear undersaturated.
Bale is seriously just skin and bones in this movie, and to think that he bulked up to his Batman muscle mass in two months time. That’s dedication. This movie is definitely recommended.
Eric Lim smells like noodles; enjoys driving in traffic in the Los Angeles area; is scared of girls; tries to make people feel bad; is allergic to hot wings; is (almost) undefeated Go Fish Champion; is the destroyer of toasters; is a self-qualified CSS Ninja; wants to learn to ride a unicycle just so he can call himself "GizmoDuck"; and is an aspiring writer who doesn't write.
He is eagerly awaiting the revolution.
Reach him at
eric at pres.umptuo.us
Syndicate this site