Diary of the Dead

Saw this a while back, but need to comment on it. Not a very good zombie movie. Basically, the only original thing here that other zombie movies have not done was that the zombie outbreak occurs during a student filming a movie. What this means is the ole' shaky camera and lots of yelling coming from off screen. Think Blair Witch, Cloverfield, only with zombies. Feel like this has been overdone enough times already.

Romero was going for some sort of commentary about the internet, social networking, maybe something claiming that Web 2.0 is making a culture of narcissism, but the analogy is not clear what this has to do with zombies. Are zombies narcissistic? Does tweeting and facebook mean you are not thinking? It just doesn't really fit very well like some of his previous social commentaries using the zombie stuff. Really, I'm stretching with this as well. The connection is not very clear, nor is the theme of the movie.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

This was a great, zany movie that was a lot of fun. A part of the tension comes from knowing that Heath Ledger died during the shooting of the movie, and there were some meta-level things going on there for a brief scene that I have to wonder whether or not were in the original script where they nod their head to people who die young.

Actually, they do have a pretty good method of seamlessly addressing how Ledger is not in parts of the movie though, and so the movie still works. Not as good as Time Bandits, but better than some of Terry G's other movies.

Deals with a Faustian trope (deal with the devil) in a creative and cool way. Lots of magical realism here though the ending was a little bit of a let down.

The Road

Not the best Cormac McCarthy adaptation. That would have to be No Country for Old Men. This movie was a pretty good apocalyptic vision though. Very similar to the book, probably scene for scene. Of course, the movie can't match McCarthy's prose, so I think his best stuff for movies is his more plot driven works like No Country.

It kept my attention though, so it may work better if you haven't read the book.

Clash of the Titans

This is a movie about some characters who are almost heroic. Fighting against Gods who seem like they should be awe-inspiring. Engaging in battles that are sort of exciting. And a story line that at times could be dramatic.

I want movies like this to succeed. And man, the material, can you get any better? Man vs. Gods. Great stuff. Medusa. Zeus. Etc., etc. You could tell they were really trying to embody all that was great about the Lord of the Rings, and you can see how they could have maybe attained it, but they fell short, far short, on just about every level.

The Blind Side

This movie is a bit sentimental to say the least. It's the kind of movie that most women would love because there isn't much drama that is not resolved within one or two scenes.

Of course, the story is true, which is why I think everyone likes it so much. I liked it because it didn't paint a bad picture of Ole Miss, as the narrative revolves around a rich white family (Ole Miss alums) in Memphis who take in a black kid from the streets, and adopt him as one of their family members. He then goes to Ole Miss to become a super star football player. It's like if someone were to write this story as fiction, no one would be remotely interested in it, but because it actually happened, it's just too darned likable not to like.

Oops, I just gave the plot of the whole movie away. Nothing too seriously bad happens in the course of everyone getting what they want. There are some tense moments, but most of the problems are solved by Sandra Bullock's southern accent, and no nonsense attitude.

It's enough to alleviate white guilt for a couple of months at least.

Seraphim Falls

I liked both Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan in this movie. Liked the revenge theme and the setting. Also liked some of the revelations that come later in the movie. But the the last 20 minutes didn't do it for me. I won't comment in detail so as not to ruin it if you guys haven't seen it. Suffice it to say, the movie took something of a surreal -- I suppose metaphorical or allegorical -- turn which didn't seem to fit at all with the gritty realism that had been established up to that point. I was pretty disappointed.

I just read someone's Netflix review who talks about the parallels with Dante's Inferno, and so maybe there is more going on in this movie that I give it credit for. Or maybe it's just not done as well as it could have been.

Surrogates

I liked this movie as good popcorn Sci-fi cinema. It does have a few character problems, and is not going to blow anyone's minds with its idea, but it was fun and worth the watch. A lot of basic premise is simply asking the question of what would happen if you were to take MMORPG's to the extreme. Everyone has a robot in real life is what happens!

After you get past that premise, the movie is basically a murder mystery. Good, clean Sci-fi fun for some Sci-fi fans!

I would give it a B+ where Blade Runner and Star Trek are A+'s. It's more along the lines of one of the Will Smith Sci-fi movies like I Robot, or I Am Legend.

The Hurt Locker

I didn't know what to expect with this, but it did live up to the hype. This is really about what a man has to become to be successful at war. I was impressed with the foil relationship between the protagonist and his comrade. I felt that the movie was elegant in its construction. Each scene did good work for the plot or for character. Very efficient. I think the movie's real success is in a serious critique of American imperialism (and how we do war) while also avoiding a pedantic or patronizing tone (AND while maintaining engaging scenes).

Although I'm not sure I would have given the film best picture (I liked a sci-fi choice for a change like Avatar or District 9), I do think the film deserved to be nominated.

Arrested Development: Season 1

Boy, great show. Hard to see how this could have been taken off the air. Love the characters and the zany story lines. Watched all of season 1 (on instant play) in about 2-3 weeks. Ready for Season 2!

Mystery of the Megaflood: Nova

Somewhat interesting but ultimately disappointing documentary about a big flood that happened in the northwestern part of North America about 15-20,000 years ago. I got this because I thought it was going to be about the theorized megaflood that happened in the Tigris/Euphrates river valley thousands of years ago, thought to have inspired various flood "myths", and recorded in the Bible. None of that here, though, unfortunately. I don't even think prehistoric man had arrived in North America yet when this megaflood took place.

Resident Evil: Extinction

I had this on while I was grading. It's the third of the Resident Evil franchise. I like the setting: it's a post-apocalyptic (in the vein of Road Warrior) zombie, horror, action flick. The visuals are good, but like most of these films, there's not much story or character. Some of it just plain doesn't make any sense, but then again, that could be because I was also grading student papers at the time. Those don't make sense either!

Believe it or not, but they actually left the story open for a fourth film which I'll probably see drunk or while grading papers.

Sherlock Holmes

Continuing the Robert Downey Jr., theme. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I really liked the frenetic energy of the movie, including the music, which is a nice match to Holmes' chaotic brilliance. Downy Jr. is excellent once again, even though the character is much different from Tony Stark (though, oddly now that I think of it, there are some similarities). I liked the reimagining of the character and story. I think aspects are actually more true to the original, in terms of Holmes' dabbling with drugs and bouts of depression. There were some things in this movie that confused me some, but overall I really liked it and hope they do a second one, which is implied at the ending.

Iron Man

In anticipation of Iron Man 2, I re-watched the original. It's just as good the second time around. Definitely one of top superhero movies. Robert Downey Jr. is great. Very little to not like in this movie. Looking forward to IM2.

Broke: The New American Dream

This documentary starts off with the standard arguments and critique of the financial system, including the trouble we are in because of TARP. It features at least three Nobel Laureates in Economics. The doc addresses the way the media and the financial system feed off each other. In fact, I thought this was going to be a bit too standard. It surprised me at the end, but not in a good way....

Mainly, the documentary makes an argument that the average investor should not be a sheep when they invest. I was expecting there to be an argument about how it's impossible to invest wisely in such a corrupt financial system, but then the doc concludes rather strangely that the best way to invest is to do your OWN research and not trust the media. Seriously, in the face of massive corruption in the government and in the financial system, this documentary concludes that you should still invest, but just don't get your advice from Cramer.

So the conclusion of this does not in any follow from the evidence that is built throughout the rest of the doc. It's almost like the documentarian was asked to change the whole argument at the last minute. As the conclusion reads now, it seems like propaganda.

2057

This is a documentary about what life and technology will be like 50 years from now. I liked this. You guys might think it's possibly overly-optimistic, which it is, and maybe kind of cheesy at times, which it is. But overall, pretty cool stuff. Just a teaser: a "space elevator"; soldiers with armor that makes them invisible; robots; and medical advances like growing your own new heart, are all included. What's missing: how about nanotech stuff, brain implants, and terraforming of Mars? Anyway, still good. I liked how they incorporate current technological advances as a way to "ground" what they predict will happen in 2057. Also like the little drama vignettes, though cheesy as they are at times.

If We Had No Moon

Narrated by Patrick Stewart, this is a pretty interesting doc about -- you guessed it -- what would happen if we had no moon. Turns out, the little guy is important! Decent visuals and lots of interesting tidbits of information illustrate the theories about how the moon itself formed (probably from a rogue planet called "Orpheus" which collided with Earth many millions of years ago) as well as what the effects of the moon on earth is. The short answer is that without the moon, Earth would be a much more unstable place, and life most likely would not have developed, at least not in the same manner as it did.

Another interesting implication: having a moon as big as ours could be relatively uncommon in the rest of the galaxy. Does this make it even harder for life to evolve elsewhere?

Big Trouble in Little China

I think Carpenter got it better in They Live, but this was more of an action romp than anything else, so I suppose he wasn't going for much more than that. There's something subterranean about his films: there's always a hidden, submerged reality that the protagonist slowly discovers (Prince of Darkness, The Thing, They Live, The Mouth of Madness). I think the theme of much of his ouevre is that reality is a much darker and deadlier place than it appears. I don't think this is Carpenter's concept only, but he does seem to repeat it often.

I do think he got the action and protagonist better in They Live. There wasn't much to Big Trouble except Kurt Russel's lines, some 80's special effects, and too much action. I watched this while grading and got a bit bored. Definitely B-rate but not one of my favorites, especially given how good Carpenter can be.

Deadwood: Season 3

Loved the first half of this season. As good as or better than Season 1. The introduction of the Hearst character really served to focus the plot and characters. I was a little disappointed with the somewhat anti-climactic ending, as well as the lack of any real closure or resolution. Since it's the last season, I was expecting more of a finale, but then went online and discovered that the creators were expecting to do a 4th season, so that explains that.

Considering all 3 seasons together, Deadwood ranks up there as some of the best dramatic TV I've seen (along with Rome, the first season of Heroes, the first couple seasons of BSG, maybe first season of Lost, etc.).

Pandorum

I liked the combination of genres and the overall concept. This is a movie that could have come straight from the Conway brothers' collective creative minds. I will admit, about half or 2/3 into the movie, I became a little underwhelmed. Seemed like a glorified B-grade movie, with some of the plot being either too predictable (the "monsters" are just humans who have evolved over time) or just not making any sense (how did that bridge officer just suddenly pop into Dennis Quaid's room?) or kind of cheesy (the one guy who told the story of the ship via wall art renderings). However, the very end of the movie definitely made up for everything, and all my previous complaints vanished. I definitely did not see the whole thing with the Dennis Quaid character. Really liked that. I also liked the final revelation of the ship's final resting spot.

Overall: 3 stars

I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel!

Terminator Salvation

I was expecting as bad as T3, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's definitely not as good as the first two, but it wasn't half bad. I'd say the beginning was a little better than the ending. I'm not sure where they are going with the franchise, so it didn't really have much closure.

Lots of cool Terminator gadget and machine stuff. Some good action scenes and visuals.

Up in the Air

Clooney plays a man without a real home who considers the airport his home. The movie is good once Clooney's character's foil is introduced. I don't really like the ending--I thought it too ambiguous without any closure. I do tend to like some closure with my ambiguity, thank you. There are a handful of little cameos as well which make the movie enjoyable. Emily would like this.

Outland

This is definitely a sci-fi Western (Neil and Chris, you guys would like it). A lone Marshall played by Sean Connery takes on corruption in a small mining town on Jupiter's moon, Io. The reveal comes early, so it becomes more about his struggle against greed and corruption. I enjoyed it. The setting was appropriate given the genre, and there is a nice little surprise performance by the gritty, foul-mouthed doctor stationed there by the company. I'd also say that the critique of the corporation feels a little bit cyberpunky as well.

I watched this on Netflix instant movie.

Pandorum

This was a great, fun cross-genre film. It had horror, sci-fi, and I would argue post-apocalyptic elements contained all in one movie! What else could you ask for!

A great ending too! Kind of a mix between Alien, Event Horizon, and get this, The Road Warrior!

The Men Who Stare at Goats

The best part of this movie is the references to Star Wars and Jedi Knights throughout, while the main character is played by Ewan McGregor.

The story is interesting and believable in the way that the military industrial complex is willing to try anything and believe in anything.

The actual storyline in the movie was disappointing for some reason. If I were judging a movie's success or failure on whether or not I want to see it again, this one would fail.

On a positive note, Jeff Bridges plays a military hippie, which resonates with qualities of the ole' Duder.

Capitalism: A Love Story

Typical Michael Moore here. Good if you are new to critiques of our current economic system. For me, I had basically heard of all of these problems before watching the movie, and Moore isn't really able to bring too much new to the table that I haven't heard before.

It was not quite the eye opener that Fahrenheit 9/11 was for me, and this movie wasn't quite as filled with the over the top antics that were present in Sicko. Still, it was nice to see the personal stories of some of the foreclosures, and see the first hand accounts from victims of some of the corporate policies. It also goes into how the banks controlled Congress during the bailouts, and interviews some congressmen about their perspective on the events.

It's a basic critique of how banks have too much influence and control over our political institutions, but after seeing a movie like America: Freedom to Fascism, this one seems quite tame.

A Serious Man

What can I say, I'm a big fan of the Cohen Brothers, and they don't disappoint with this one either!

Overall, it wasn't quite as good as the Big Lebowski, Fargo and No Country for Old Men, but it was definitely better than Burn After Reading. It had typical Cohen Brothers elements such as dark humor, quirky minor characters that can steal scenes, and a great ending.

It does have elements of academia in it, but the setting is in the 60's, so for some reason it seems believable.

Also, it does fall short on a structural note where it does not develop one of the characters enough for the ending to be quite as powerful as it could have been, but that is one of the few complaints.

9

This was more of a visual enterprise, though the premise was pretty original, the actual plot was a typical hero's journey sort of thing. For some reason it kind of fell flat to me.

Some very cool visuals though for a cartoon. In the end, it wasn't super memorable, but worth a watch for the post-apocalyptic genre.

District 9

I thought initially that the movie might be overhanded in its social statement, but the politics didn't harm the plot too much even as it did make a good critique of power and capitalism via massive medical companies and how they demean the rights of the individual.

I really liked the transformation of the protagonist as well as the story of the alien father and son. I didn't really expect to like this, so I was happily surprised!

John

Pandorum

I enjoyed this one a good deal. It had a nice surprise ending as well as some good tension. Good sci-fi/horror mix!

John