I'll add a few things to Neil's comment about this great movie: Wahlberg's love interest was played by Amy Adams who I believe is a female version of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in her ability to play a variety of different roles. She played a little innocent girl in Catch Me if You Can as well as one of the young nuns in Doubt (which actually features Hoffman as a priest). Adams plays an experienced young woman who is tough and has seen it all in this movie. Like Hoffman she is able to convincingly play contrasting personalities in a way which doesn't make you think she's trying too hard. I like watching her alot.
I also liked The Fighter. How can you not like it?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Clash of the Titans 2010
I agree with Chris: this movie just didn't cut it. You really wanted it to be good, especially with the visual effects. This movie managed to mess up the great characters and plot of the original. Liam Neeson was just a pretty dull Zeus, so you have to imagine something was not going right there. The original was much better, so I give this version 1 star.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Angel Seasons 1-5
This is a spin-off from one of the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show is based on a character named Angel, who was one of Buffy's loves. He's also a vampire with a soul, so he's a good vampire. Long back story that is explored throughout Buffy and this show. I believe it starts around the time of season 4 in Buffy.
This show is actually as good as Buffy, if not a little better at times. It is a little more grown up, and a bit darker. More in line with Firefly in how it explores the meaning of loyalty, the conflict of good and evil, and the main story line of Angel attempting to atone for a hundred years of evil that he had committed.
The minor characters are a little more interesting, and the setting is Los Angeles, so it feels more grown up than Sunnydale, which is where Buffy takes place. Sunnydale is more of a fictional small town that seems to be really generic. Whedon does a great job of mixing demons in the culture of Los Angeles that makes sense and is fun and believable, while at the same time dark and creepy enough when the show needs it to be. There is more room for the epic storylines to take place in Angel with this setting than in the setting of Buffy.
I won't comment in too much detail about the final season, but I will say it was not as good of an ending as Buffy's ending was. I think they were at least purposefully going for something with the final sequence in Angel that would resolve his arc and solidify the change in his character that would make the audience feel satisfied with the ending. This attempt just didn't feel satisfying to be though, and felt a little too open ended. Also, they left one important plot thread unresolved, which is always going to be aggravating.
One interesting thing about this show was that it basically serves as a supplement to Buffy at times, and the two shows often play off of each other. You could see it as pretty much the same show, and so in all, between Buffy and Angel there are twelve seasons.
This show is actually as good as Buffy, if not a little better at times. It is a little more grown up, and a bit darker. More in line with Firefly in how it explores the meaning of loyalty, the conflict of good and evil, and the main story line of Angel attempting to atone for a hundred years of evil that he had committed.
The minor characters are a little more interesting, and the setting is Los Angeles, so it feels more grown up than Sunnydale, which is where Buffy takes place. Sunnydale is more of a fictional small town that seems to be really generic. Whedon does a great job of mixing demons in the culture of Los Angeles that makes sense and is fun and believable, while at the same time dark and creepy enough when the show needs it to be. There is more room for the epic storylines to take place in Angel with this setting than in the setting of Buffy.
I won't comment in too much detail about the final season, but I will say it was not as good of an ending as Buffy's ending was. I think they were at least purposefully going for something with the final sequence in Angel that would resolve his arc and solidify the change in his character that would make the audience feel satisfied with the ending. This attempt just didn't feel satisfying to be though, and felt a little too open ended. Also, they left one important plot thread unresolved, which is always going to be aggravating.
One interesting thing about this show was that it basically serves as a supplement to Buffy at times, and the two shows often play off of each other. You could see it as pretty much the same show, and so in all, between Buffy and Angel there are twelve seasons.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons 1-7
I'll go ahead and review all seven seasons, as I watched them between January and April of this year in a marathon viewing of three to four episodes a day on average. It was fun to totally immerse myself in this series.
The genre is right up our ally. Buffy is a chosen superhero that slays vampires/demons and other evil nasties that lurk in the world unknown to most people. She discovers this while still in High School, so the show explores typical Suburban American themes, but with vampire slaying going on in the foreground. The first three seasons of when Buffy is in High School are as good as any televisions series I have ever seen, including Star Trek.
The show's creator is Joss Whedon, who did Firefly. The same style of dialogue is present in Buffy as well. Also, the characters are as three dimensional. While Firefly feels older and more mature, Buffy tackles typical American teen stories, but still is able to explore the nature of good and evil.
It is interesting to draw parallels between the two series. In Whedon's worlds, often the evil characters are those that think they are doing good, or those that start off doing good, but then become too self-absorbed to objectively view their own actions. Of course, there are lots of demons, monsters, and creatures of the night that are just inherently evil as well. Also, like the Reivers, some of the nasties are created by characters who think they are doing good.
The series then moves on in Season 4 to follow Buffy at college, and I think it loses some of its spunk at this point. Of course, at this point you may be too drawn in by the characters to notice it objectively, but the show in Seasons 4-6 started to feel formulaic, and a bit unoriginal. In the final season the show returns to form, and ultimately it does resolve itself in a satisfying manner, concluding all of the character points of conflict, and all of the plot threads that it had explored. I'm not sure I have ever seen a television show successfully do this other than a few of the Star Treks.
Great show that I would highly recommend.
The genre is right up our ally. Buffy is a chosen superhero that slays vampires/demons and other evil nasties that lurk in the world unknown to most people. She discovers this while still in High School, so the show explores typical Suburban American themes, but with vampire slaying going on in the foreground. The first three seasons of when Buffy is in High School are as good as any televisions series I have ever seen, including Star Trek.
The show's creator is Joss Whedon, who did Firefly. The same style of dialogue is present in Buffy as well. Also, the characters are as three dimensional. While Firefly feels older and more mature, Buffy tackles typical American teen stories, but still is able to explore the nature of good and evil.
It is interesting to draw parallels between the two series. In Whedon's worlds, often the evil characters are those that think they are doing good, or those that start off doing good, but then become too self-absorbed to objectively view their own actions. Of course, there are lots of demons, monsters, and creatures of the night that are just inherently evil as well. Also, like the Reivers, some of the nasties are created by characters who think they are doing good.
The series then moves on in Season 4 to follow Buffy at college, and I think it loses some of its spunk at this point. Of course, at this point you may be too drawn in by the characters to notice it objectively, but the show in Seasons 4-6 started to feel formulaic, and a bit unoriginal. In the final season the show returns to form, and ultimately it does resolve itself in a satisfying manner, concluding all of the character points of conflict, and all of the plot threads that it had explored. I'm not sure I have ever seen a television show successfully do this other than a few of the Star Treks.
Great show that I would highly recommend.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Source Code
I can't really say much without plot spoiling, so I'll just say that this is a good one. The Conway Boys will like it. I'd say it's a sci-fi/thriller. There are some great views of Chicago, and the red brick building next to where the train blows up is a building on the campus of Illinois Technical Institute (it's the oldest building on the campus) where Kurt Haenicke works. I saw that building last week!
Four stars.
Four stars.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Switch
Romantic comedy with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston. I really wanted to like this movie: there are some really funny moments with the sidekick characters played by Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis, but the plot was predictable and a bit boring. Jennifer Aniston looked bored the entire movie, and they didn't give her many funny lines. Jason Bateman is funny, but the movie was dull. If you are going to have a bad, predictable plot, you really need to cash in on the laughs, and this movie didn't do that. Two stars.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Fighter
Good all around boxing movie here. You could probably kind of guess the plot line if you've seen the trailers or heard anything about this movie. No real surprises here, though Christian Bale is very scary in how much he resembles a real addict. Mark Wahlberg is pretty sympathetic as well.
What separates this from simply being a Rocky cover song is how messed up and dysfunctional the main character's family is. The dysfunction is not drawn out in an exploitative, my mother's a crack whore kind of way, but in a more believable, working class kind of way, where no one wants to be the one who lets the family down. Seems like they really got the gritty details and the extras straight off the streets of Boston too.
Four out of Five stars for this one.
What separates this from simply being a Rocky cover song is how messed up and dysfunctional the main character's family is. The dysfunction is not drawn out in an exploitative, my mother's a crack whore kind of way, but in a more believable, working class kind of way, where no one wants to be the one who lets the family down. Seems like they really got the gritty details and the extras straight off the streets of Boston too.
Four out of Five stars for this one.
Iron Man 2
This wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't a great movie. It was just pretty good. I guess after the first one, it's pretty difficult to come up with a great sequel?
I didn't really care for the main villain, though Sam Blackwell is great as usual. The story line for the main character isn't as interesting as the first one's was.
I didn't really care for the main villain, though Sam Blackwell is great as usual. The story line for the main character isn't as interesting as the first one's was.
The A-Team
If you've watched the original show lately, then you know what to expect here. They did a good job of capturing the cheesiness that was at the foundation of the predecessor. Also, the campy back-story of each character is intact as well. I'm not sure why they would even want to call this a remake other than there are different actors, more explosions and violence, and the story's setting is a bit updated. Also, it's the origination story of how they become soldiers of fortune in L.A, and not the team actually soldiering of fortune in LA.
Other than that, it's just like the TV series. That being said, the directing wasn't the greatest. I think they could have slowed the tempo down a bit for each scene, and there were some disagreeable conceited moments in the plot line where the writers just seem to have gotten lazy, and found an easy fix that doesn’t really make sense. Of course, certain catch phrases and motifs from the original are intact.
All in all, watch it if your brain needs a break from reality, and you want to see stuff explode.
Robin Hood (2010)
This was a surprise! I wasn't expecting much. This was Ridley Scott's film. He took major liberties with the old Robin Hood story, so the only thing that really resembles Robin Hood of old are the names and certain aspects of the setting. Besides that, it's a pretty good movie about 13th century politics and war. Some good fighting. Russell Crowe is good. They totally set it up for a sequel which I wouldn't mind seeing.
Black Swan
Jen and I were expecting some awful, over-the-top movie since this was Darren Aronofsky. Turns out the movie was good. The grotesque elements weren't overdone, and they were employed at the right times. Watching Portman pluck one tiny, black feather is much more horrific than a full-out transformation. The plot and characters are simple and elegant. The movie moved nicely, so we both really liked it. I'd give it four stars.
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