My best laid plans of seeing three movies today fell by the wayside for some house hunting...
BUT, I did manage to get to see one of the movies on my list - Sugar.
Sugar's the story of a young man from the Dominican Republic looking to make it to the big leagues as a pitcher. The story follows his path from one of the youth camps in the DR that baseball fans often hear about to spring training and... well, to preserve a non-spoiler setting, we'll just say "on from there."
I really dug the movie as I thought it painted a very strong [and probably very realistic] picture of what that transition must be like for those players. As a baseball fan, of course, I dig all the Spring Training and "on from there" stuff as it seemed more realistic than a lot of the past baseball movies have handled that topic.
The ending I also found to be very satisfying as it was one that you can take as either a depressing ending or an uplifting ending, depending on how you perceive the rest of the movie's plot as well as the main character's desires.
Give a bonus point to some excellent music including a Spanish cover of "Hallelujah" and you've got a very solid basehit on your hands. Maybe not a homerun - but definitely a line drive to the gap.
BLUE'S REVIEW: Definitely see this if you're a baseball fan. If you're not, you may not enjoy it as much but I think there's enough there for you to warrant a viewing. Fair warning though - there are some subtitles involved so be prepared for some light reading.
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
2009-05-02
2008-08-25
I'm Sorry
My apologies in advance for subjecting you guys to this but... well, I kinda had a soft spot for the first movie in this series - and then never bothered to see the others since the original cast was split up.
But this time? Well, let's just say I'm at least curious.
But this time? Well, let's just say I'm at least curious.
2008-08-24
Comics And Movies
With this summer officially the summer of the Comic Book Movie, the studios are scrambling to adapt everything and anything they can. Marvel's plans for Thor, Captain America, and eventually, The Avengers, are pretty well known. Warner Bros/DC have talked in recent days of a Superman reboot as well as developing Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc. in hopes of finally getting a JLA picture off the ground. Even the indies aren't being left out as one of my favorite comics, Sleeper, has been optioned with Tom Cruise being discussed as the lead. With The Spirit coming for the holidays, Watchmen early in '09, and G.I. Joe and Transformers 2 next summer - it's a good time to be a comic book fan if you like going to the movies.
One of my frequently checked websites, Comics2film, discussed a couple lists of comic book movie ideas. Let's take a look!
First, there was a list of the Top 10 Marvel Comics Heroes they wanted to see in the movies. Here's the list with my comments on each:
Dr. Strange
I could actually dig this one, I think. The Harry Potter movies have shown that magic and fantasy in the right hands can be a lot of fun for everyone. Something that starts darker from moment one could work nicely.
Namor, The Sub-Mariner
Uhhh. I really don't want to see this. I'd be more interesting in Aquaman, I think - and I'm not very interested in that at all. Unless Mandy Moore is playing Aquagirl - then I'm all in.
She-Hulk
Wow. Absolutely no desire to see this. Let's see if we can get the Hulk franchise nice and stable before we go there - and even then, let's not go there.
Ant-Man
Fuck. This list looked like it'd be a lot more fun to check out then it has turned out to be. This is a joke, right?
Captain Marvel
Next?
Scarlet Witch
Seriously? Next?
Nick Fury
Ahhh. There we go. With Samuel Jackson already in place as Mr. Fury, I could totally dig a 24-esque Nick Fury flick. Have him taking on HYDRA and I'm sold.
Black Panther
I actually think this could be good. The Panther background and the story of his country would be a lot of fun. This one probably could fly as a 300-ish style story actually. Just put the Panther in the leader role.
Cloak And Dagger
Never read it. Won't comment.
Power Pack
Nope. But I do think a Luke Cage movie might be fun.
The other article had to do with "unfilmable" movies based off the fact that for years, everyone considered Watchmen to be an unfilmable movie. Of course, a lot of people felt the same way about Sin City and 300 too - guess special effects are bringing down a lot of those walls. So, this was a list of comics considered "unfilmable" that they want Hollywood to tackle. Let's take a look!
The Sandman
Largely considered Neil Gaiman's greatest comic work, The Sandman has been in development hell for years. I'm not super-familiar with it sadly even though it's always been on my list to check out. I think I might even have a TPB of the first arc around here somewhere. I loved Stardust though so if The Sandman approaches the awesomeness of that [which I've always heard it does] I'd be down for it.
Preacher
Man, this list is really bringing back some memories. Preacher and The Sandman were both comics I've always wanted to sink my teeth into but never got around to. I've heard nothing but amazing things about Preacher so I'd be up for it too. However, at one point, there was talk of doing it "issue by issue" as an HBO TV Series. Now _that_ would be pimp.
Marvel Zombies
I've never even heard of this. The description talks about Spidey agonizing after eating Mary Jane. I don't understand why he'd be in agony for doing th- ohhh... I misunderstood. Hrm. I think my version makes for a better movie.
And that's that. Pretty shitty list, IMO. No Y The Last Man? No Fables? No 100 Bullets? Honestly, the entire Vertigo line is ripe to be picked for both the big and little screen. I'd love to see a 100 Bullets anthology series. Fables would be absolutely amazing - and easy to market because the characters are all familiar. Y The Last Man might be better as a TV series.
2008-05-10
Indiana Jones - I always knew someday you'd come walking back through my door
The good folks over at AICN have started receiving some reviews of the new [last?] Indiana Jones movie as it just started screening for people in sneak preview form.
The reviews are... mixed. Which is scary.
I'm not one of those guys who will run around with Lucas and Spielberg's heads on a pike screaming "YOU RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!" if the movie sucks. If it sucks, it sucks... it's a shame, but it's life, right? People make shitty movies and put them out to torture the masses. It's a test to see the breaking point of man and how far society can be pushed before we all turn upon each other and create an anarchist state of people who slaughter anyone who mentions phrases like "King Arthur" or "Air Bud."
But I digress.
I haven't followed the making of this movie very closely. It's one of those flicks where I would prefer to go in fresh, knowing as little as possible, and let the chips fall where they may. We've all heard the rumors about that Shia fellow being Indy and Marion's love child - don't want to know. We've heard that the Ark is involved - don't want to know. We've even heard that Indy may die - don't want to know.
With so little information going in, oddly, I don't feel the same sort of anticipation for this one as I did the Star Wars prequels... strangely, I don't even know if I feel the same sort of anticipation that I feel for... say... The Dark Knight. I mean, I know I want to see it and I know I probably want to do a midnight screening of it... but I'm not sitting around wondering what it's going to be like.
And the reviews coming in... the few that I skimmed the beginning of, praying for no spoilers... have done little to get me hyped up for it.
But it can't suck, right?
And before anyone points out Episodes I-III... just don't. I won't listen to you. You can stamp your feet and jump up and down and tell me how much you hate Jar Jar or little Jake Lloyd or whatever... I don't care. They weren't Ep IV-VI but they never were going to be - they never could be. But they hold a special place in this Star Wars fan's geeky heart so... just don't.
Indy can't suck. I've made that decision. I put my foot down on the baby toe of the movie gods and deny them the ability to make it suck.
Look, I can read bad reviews... I can hear bad buzz... I can not feel the hype...
But I can tell you one thing...
Before Iron Man, they ran an Indy trailer.
And I got chills. Chills at the beginning. Chills at the middle. Chills at the end.
And for now, that's good enough for me, Dr. Jones.
The reviews are... mixed. Which is scary.
I'm not one of those guys who will run around with Lucas and Spielberg's heads on a pike screaming "YOU RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!" if the movie sucks. If it sucks, it sucks... it's a shame, but it's life, right? People make shitty movies and put them out to torture the masses. It's a test to see the breaking point of man and how far society can be pushed before we all turn upon each other and create an anarchist state of people who slaughter anyone who mentions phrases like "King Arthur" or "Air Bud."
But I digress.
I haven't followed the making of this movie very closely. It's one of those flicks where I would prefer to go in fresh, knowing as little as possible, and let the chips fall where they may. We've all heard the rumors about that Shia fellow being Indy and Marion's love child - don't want to know. We've heard that the Ark is involved - don't want to know. We've even heard that Indy may die - don't want to know.
With so little information going in, oddly, I don't feel the same sort of anticipation for this one as I did the Star Wars prequels... strangely, I don't even know if I feel the same sort of anticipation that I feel for... say... The Dark Knight. I mean, I know I want to see it and I know I probably want to do a midnight screening of it... but I'm not sitting around wondering what it's going to be like.
And the reviews coming in... the few that I skimmed the beginning of, praying for no spoilers... have done little to get me hyped up for it.
But it can't suck, right?
And before anyone points out Episodes I-III... just don't. I won't listen to you. You can stamp your feet and jump up and down and tell me how much you hate Jar Jar or little Jake Lloyd or whatever... I don't care. They weren't Ep IV-VI but they never were going to be - they never could be. But they hold a special place in this Star Wars fan's geeky heart so... just don't.
Indy can't suck. I've made that decision. I put my foot down on the baby toe of the movie gods and deny them the ability to make it suck.
Look, I can read bad reviews... I can hear bad buzz... I can not feel the hype...
But I can tell you one thing...
Before Iron Man, they ran an Indy trailer.
And I got chills. Chills at the beginning. Chills at the middle. Chills at the end.
And for now, that's good enough for me, Dr. Jones.
2008-05-09
Top Five Friday: Iron Man
Grrrr...arrrrgh... nowhere in my wedding vows do I recall, "I will pause the Laker playoff game that you knew was on at 6 PM (and that I openly declared my intent to leave Happy Hour at 5:45 so I would be home on time for the game) so that you have time to get home from a trip to Aaron Brothers that you openly admit was a "last minute thing since you weren't going to be home""
Everybody got that?
So, Top Five Friday. Saw Iron Man last night. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. If I had done last week's Top Five this week, I would have had some serious difficulty pulling it off. My immediate thought walking out of the movie is that I think it's very close to Batman Begins in quality level but I'm not sure if it surpasses it.
But that's a topic for another time.
The topic for today? The Top Five Reasons You Want To See Iron Man... a slightly spoilerish edition so avert thine eyes if you're sensitive to spoilerish materials.
Images inserted as spoiler space.
5. FX
You know those moments during The Hulk? Or those moments during the trailer for the new Hulk movie? Or even some of those moments during the Star Wars prequels? You know the moments I'm talking about... the moments when you see an action sequence or a CGI "thing" on the screen that makes you scratch your chin and say, "You know, that's just not right." I never had a moment like that during Iron Man. It was all completely natural and looked/felt right. And to top it off, during the credits, I remembered that the work was a joint effort between ILM and Stan Winston [who is a mofuckin' genius.] And to pay them tribute, I say... I honestly have no idea where ILM's work ends and Winston's begins. Big props on that.
4. The little things
When making a HUUUUUUGE FX heavy action flick, it's easy to forget the little things that make movies charming and adorable. Iron Man is not short on any of those moments. Whether it's Tony being the alcoholic playboy or the little machines that help him build and test the suit and his relationship with them or Pepper Potts just being so damn adorable, this movie has all the little things that will make you smile and know it's more than one explosion after another.
3. The acting
The acting in this movie is phenomenal. There's not a single cast member that uttered a single line that felt forced or unnatural. In fact, that's a big plus for Iron Man over Batman Begins, IMO. Every member of the cast _was_ their character in my eyes and I never felt I was watching someone "play a role"... other than trying to wrap my head around The Dude being some big bald businessman. Go figure.
2. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
This is a little bit of a double-dip from #3 but RDJ _was_ Tony Stark. He had everything down pat in the way that I would envision Tony Stark if a comic book came to life. He was the alcohol-chuggin', womanizin', fast car-drivin', private jet ridin', suit of highly technological buildin' son of a gun. Everything seemed right and he seemed totally natural in the role. The frustrating thing of it all was that I watched Fantastic Four 2 yesterday before seeing this and the difference between the portrayal of Tony Stark as a brilliant scientist and Reed Richards as the "smartest man in the Marvel Universe" was absolutely astonishing. I really wish Marvel had taken creative control of their own properties sooner.
1. AFTER THE CREDITS
Well, it's not _really_ #1 probably but it was so, so, so awesome as a comic book geek, I encourage one and all to stick through finding out who the Best Boy and Ms. Paltrow's Assistant was just so you can see it. Don't be like the two people I've talked to today who missed it and then went nutty when I told them what happened. Stick around and see it for yourself so you can post a comment here saying how absolutely batshit fucking awesome it was.
And that, my friends... is that. Go Lakers!
Everybody got that?
So, Top Five Friday. Saw Iron Man last night. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. If I had done last week's Top Five this week, I would have had some serious difficulty pulling it off. My immediate thought walking out of the movie is that I think it's very close to Batman Begins in quality level but I'm not sure if it surpasses it.
But that's a topic for another time.
The topic for today? The Top Five Reasons You Want To See Iron Man... a slightly spoilerish edition so avert thine eyes if you're sensitive to spoilerish materials.
Images inserted as spoiler space.
5. FX
You know those moments during The Hulk? Or those moments during the trailer for the new Hulk movie? Or even some of those moments during the Star Wars prequels? You know the moments I'm talking about... the moments when you see an action sequence or a CGI "thing" on the screen that makes you scratch your chin and say, "You know, that's just not right." I never had a moment like that during Iron Man. It was all completely natural and looked/felt right. And to top it off, during the credits, I remembered that the work was a joint effort between ILM and Stan Winston [who is a mofuckin' genius.] And to pay them tribute, I say... I honestly have no idea where ILM's work ends and Winston's begins. Big props on that.
4. The little things
When making a HUUUUUUGE FX heavy action flick, it's easy to forget the little things that make movies charming and adorable. Iron Man is not short on any of those moments. Whether it's Tony being the alcoholic playboy or the little machines that help him build and test the suit and his relationship with them or Pepper Potts just being so damn adorable, this movie has all the little things that will make you smile and know it's more than one explosion after another.
3. The acting
The acting in this movie is phenomenal. There's not a single cast member that uttered a single line that felt forced or unnatural. In fact, that's a big plus for Iron Man over Batman Begins, IMO. Every member of the cast _was_ their character in my eyes and I never felt I was watching someone "play a role"... other than trying to wrap my head around The Dude being some big bald businessman. Go figure.
2. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
This is a little bit of a double-dip from #3 but RDJ _was_ Tony Stark. He had everything down pat in the way that I would envision Tony Stark if a comic book came to life. He was the alcohol-chuggin', womanizin', fast car-drivin', private jet ridin', suit of highly technological buildin' son of a gun. Everything seemed right and he seemed totally natural in the role. The frustrating thing of it all was that I watched Fantastic Four 2 yesterday before seeing this and the difference between the portrayal of Tony Stark as a brilliant scientist and Reed Richards as the "smartest man in the Marvel Universe" was absolutely astonishing. I really wish Marvel had taken creative control of their own properties sooner.
1. AFTER THE CREDITS
Well, it's not _really_ #1 probably but it was so, so, so awesome as a comic book geek, I encourage one and all to stick through finding out who the Best Boy and Ms. Paltrow's Assistant was just so you can see it. Don't be like the two people I've talked to today who missed it and then went nutty when I told them what happened. Stick around and see it for yourself so you can post a comment here saying how absolutely batshit fucking awesome it was.
And that, my friends... is that. Go Lakers!
2008-05-02
Top Five Friday: Comic Book Movies
With Iron Man hitting screens this week, it seems like an appropriate time to look back at some of the very best comic book adaptations to hit the big screen.
So, let's!
NOTE: I haven't seen Iron Man yet [but hope to this weekend] so that one won't make the list... yet! Also, I haven't watched Transformers yet so... well, subject to change!
5. Blade
It's odd. As I started thinking of movies to put together on this list, my mind drifted to movies that a lot of people don't even associate as having a comic book as their source materials. Things like 300 or Sin City could've easily made the list as well but just fell short. Another thing that's weird about the list I came up with is that as much of a stickler as I am for staying true to your source material, the majority of the movies that came to mind I had very little familiarity with the original source or the movie was notorious for tossing it aside. Anyways, Blade is just flat out cool. It's a comic I've never read - not even after seeing the movie and really had no desire to. But the movie version of Blade is awesome - although I think it is helped greatly by the tremendous performance of Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost, one of the all-time great movie villains that is criminally overlooked and underappreciated when that discussion comes up.
4. Batman
How could you not like things like the Bat Shark Repellant? Or the zany popups on the screen with "POW!" or "THWACK!"
...
Huh? Oh. Not _that_ Batman.
Gotcha. Well, the Nicholson one was good too. And really, isn't Nicholson the key to the first Batman movie? It may not be the Joker performance that comic book fans were dying to see... and in just a few weeks time, we may discover it's not even the best Joker performance in a movie... but it's Jack being Jack and being Jack to perfection. All the one-liners are gold. "This town needs an enema!" "Never rub another man's rhubarb!" "If you've gotta go, go with a smile!" Michael Keaton is... okay. Keaton was good as the dopey, bumbling side of Bruce Wayne... but Bruce Wayne doesn't have a dopey, bumbling side. Before Batman Begins came out, I used to say that Keaton was a good Batman but a bad Bruce Wayne - Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne but a bad Batman - Clooney was just plain bad. Christian Bale pretty much broke the mold but more on that later. Anyways, give full credit for this making the list to Jack Nicholson... or a cameo by Lando Calrissian as pre-scarred Harvey Dent.
3. The Crow
Another comic book movie that I've never read the comic book of - despite owning a t-shirt promoting the comic that I bought at Hot Topic as a youth and wore endlessly resulting in many a photo from my youth where I'm wearing the t-shirt... and I never read it... and I shopped at Hot Topic... somebody just wipe all those memories out of my head please. The Crow was an utterly fantastic movie that I just realized I don't own on DVD and felt absolutely sick about it. The epitome of a revenge flick and just about perfect in every aspect. It's dark, it's creepy, but it still tells the story and doesn't get lost in the violence. And if nothing else, it brought two quotes into my world that I love to death. The first? "It can't rain all the time." I spout this one off from time to time when it seems like things just can't get worse - a glimmer of light in a very dark and gloomy world at times. The other? The one that prompted my good friend Poff Daddy to air-hump any light post, mailbox, video game, golf club or anything else that would give him the opportunity to bellow "BANGIN' AWAY ON DARRRRLA!" at the top of his lungs on any number of nights. Ahhh, memories.
2. Batman Begins
I just couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to rank this number one for being very close to a perfect comic book adaptation, I just couldn't do it. I love the acting [for the most part,] I love the story, I love the lighting, the set design, the "toys", everything about it. Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow stole the movie for me actually - he lit up the screen with charisma every time he was on it. I could've done with him as the lone villain in it. I can watch this movie over and over and seemingly never tire of it. So, why didn't it get the top spot?
1. Superman 2
Sigh. How could I not? It was a hard choice, I'll admit. Batman Begins did a worlds better job of sticking to the source material - something I treasure in a comic book movie... hell, any adapted flick generally. But there's something magical about Superman 2. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's Superman making the great sacrifice to be Clark for the rest of his days for his love - only to realize that he was being selfish and society needed him to be Superman. Maybe it's the menacing trio of villains - the brawn, the sexy siren, or the brains. Maybe it's the face that the phrase "Kneel before Zod" is a permanent part of pop culture because of it. I don't really know what it is but I'll be damned if Superman 2 isn't the best comic book movie ever released on Planet Houston.
And that's that.
So, let's!
NOTE: I haven't seen Iron Man yet [but hope to this weekend] so that one won't make the list... yet! Also, I haven't watched Transformers yet so... well, subject to change!
5. Blade
It's odd. As I started thinking of movies to put together on this list, my mind drifted to movies that a lot of people don't even associate as having a comic book as their source materials. Things like 300 or Sin City could've easily made the list as well but just fell short. Another thing that's weird about the list I came up with is that as much of a stickler as I am for staying true to your source material, the majority of the movies that came to mind I had very little familiarity with the original source or the movie was notorious for tossing it aside. Anyways, Blade is just flat out cool. It's a comic I've never read - not even after seeing the movie and really had no desire to. But the movie version of Blade is awesome - although I think it is helped greatly by the tremendous performance of Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost, one of the all-time great movie villains that is criminally overlooked and underappreciated when that discussion comes up.
4. Batman
How could you not like things like the Bat Shark Repellant? Or the zany popups on the screen with "POW!" or "THWACK!"...
Huh? Oh. Not _that_ Batman.
Gotcha. Well, the Nicholson one was good too. And really, isn't Nicholson the key to the first Batman movie? It may not be the Joker performance that comic book fans were dying to see... and in just a few weeks time, we may discover it's not even the best Joker performance in a movie... but it's Jack being Jack and being Jack to perfection. All the one-liners are gold. "This town needs an enema!" "Never rub another man's rhubarb!" "If you've gotta go, go with a smile!" Michael Keaton is... okay. Keaton was good as the dopey, bumbling side of Bruce Wayne... but Bruce Wayne doesn't have a dopey, bumbling side. Before Batman Begins came out, I used to say that Keaton was a good Batman but a bad Bruce Wayne - Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne but a bad Batman - Clooney was just plain bad. Christian Bale pretty much broke the mold but more on that later. Anyways, give full credit for this making the list to Jack Nicholson... or a cameo by Lando Calrissian as pre-scarred Harvey Dent.
3. The Crow
Another comic book movie that I've never read the comic book of - despite owning a t-shirt promoting the comic that I bought at Hot Topic as a youth and wore endlessly resulting in many a photo from my youth where I'm wearing the t-shirt... and I never read it... and I shopped at Hot Topic... somebody just wipe all those memories out of my head please. The Crow was an utterly fantastic movie that I just realized I don't own on DVD and felt absolutely sick about it. The epitome of a revenge flick and just about perfect in every aspect. It's dark, it's creepy, but it still tells the story and doesn't get lost in the violence. And if nothing else, it brought two quotes into my world that I love to death. The first? "It can't rain all the time." I spout this one off from time to time when it seems like things just can't get worse - a glimmer of light in a very dark and gloomy world at times. The other? The one that prompted my good friend Poff Daddy to air-hump any light post, mailbox, video game, golf club or anything else that would give him the opportunity to bellow "BANGIN' AWAY ON DARRRRLA!" at the top of his lungs on any number of nights. Ahhh, memories.2. Batman Begins
I just couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to rank this number one for being very close to a perfect comic book adaptation, I just couldn't do it. I love the acting [for the most part,] I love the story, I love the lighting, the set design, the "toys", everything about it. Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow stole the movie for me actually - he lit up the screen with charisma every time he was on it. I could've done with him as the lone villain in it. I can watch this movie over and over and seemingly never tire of it. So, why didn't it get the top spot?1. Superman 2
Sigh. How could I not? It was a hard choice, I'll admit. Batman Begins did a worlds better job of sticking to the source material - something I treasure in a comic book movie... hell, any adapted flick generally. But there's something magical about Superman 2. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's Superman making the great sacrifice to be Clark for the rest of his days for his love - only to realize that he was being selfish and society needed him to be Superman. Maybe it's the menacing trio of villains - the brawn, the sexy siren, or the brains. Maybe it's the face that the phrase "Kneel before Zod" is a permanent part of pop culture because of it. I don't really know what it is but I'll be damned if Superman 2 isn't the best comic book movie ever released on Planet Houston.
And that's that.
2008-04-30
The G.I. Joe Producer Speaks... INVISIBLE!
A new interview with G.I. Joe movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura hit the Interweb today. Let's see if he can soothe some of the butt hurt Joe fans out there... yours truly included.
Here are the highlights:
** When asked about the difference between producing Transformers and G.I. Joe -
"They’re completely different. I mean, to me I don’t look at them as toy properties... I look at them as mythologies. So, G.I. Joe is a really, really in depth mythology... The characters involved and intertwined nature and G.I. Joe it’s very funny how everybody’s very intertwined. It’s very different than in a lot of the comic book mythologies I’ve run into. The lines between good and evil are drawn differently. I think the Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes, it’s a great thing and is Storm Shadow evil? Well, some people think so. I don’t. Is Snake-eyes also righteous in this? I’m not so sure, he’s blaming his buddy for something he may or may not have done, you know, so it’s that interesting duality where the characters live in a world that’s good guys and bad guys but it’s also a gray area."
REACTION: Not a bad answer. He's done some homework at least. And I _really_ hope this means that the Snakes/Stormy/Hard Master storyline will be explored to some extent as the chief conflict between the two.
** When asked the very obvious question on a lot of fans' minds about having too many characters to introduce and flesh out -
"Well, it’s a hard question to answer. We think we’re going to deliver on all the characters. We think the script actually delivers really well and sets up each character. You’re going to understand the back-stories of virtually every major character and then you’re going to understand the roles of the ones you don’t. You may not know everything you know if you’ve read the comic book but you’re going to recognize them if you’ve read the comic book and you’re certainly going to want to know more about them by the end of it which is part of the tease. And there’s some character info that will be new to the comic fans."
REACTION: I don't buy it. There's just no friggin' way to cover that many characters unless they're breaking the two hour mark for the movie by a LOT of screen time. I'm glad they recognize this could be a problem but I just don't think there's a legitimate way to resolve it without a lot of these appearances being just cameos... which I'm fine with to some degree.
** On the level of violence and the rating and target demo and such -
"You know for us, we think the people who grew up with the comic book and the animated show are going to be our core audience. We think that the older audience that identifies with the pre-83 Joe is going to have some education to go through but are going to relate to the title because the values of it are the same. The storytelling is different but if you think about the values, they’re very similar, you know? Integrity, honesty, bravery, courage, you know things like that that I think you just associate with both versions of G.I. Joe. It’s an all audience movie. I mean, there are 2 really strong romances. There are a lot of things in there that’s going to appeal to people. It’s going to be PG-13. Look I’ve been involved with a lot of R-rated movies and a lot of PG-13. You just sort of begin to understand the difference and Stephen Sommers has no intention of making an R-rated movie and it would be silly to do so because you should appeal down to kids."
REACTION: This is all well and good. No one expect G.I. Joe to be like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan, I don't think. It's a war story but largely, it's a comic book war story. I have no issue with this being PG-13. I am curious about the two romances though. It had better be Snakes/Scarlett and Baroness/Destro but I have an itchy suspicion we're going to get hosed on one of those for some romance that didn't exist in the comics or TV show.
** To address the photos of everyone in black leather -
"
REACTION: Good answer! If this is true, this eases my mind a bit. Although I really wish the interviewer would have asked about the god-awful Storm Shadow costume. I'm still hoping that's the costume he wears when he goes to a high school dance and slashes some U.S. government official's daughter's throat with a sword. Tell me that scene wouldn't rock your boat!
** When asked to compare the tone of the movie to the comics or TV show -
"That’s an interesting question. I guess it’s definitely a comic book movie and it’s definitely has a great sense of humor, so there’s a lot of humor and a lot of drama and a lot of action. I would say there’s an equal measure of all 3 of those things in the movie."
REACTION: That raises a bit of a red flag to me. The animated show had a ton of humor, for sure, but that's one of the reasons most people didn't like it as well as the comics. If they try to go too funny with this, it'll fall flat and hard.
** THE PIT!
"We built a couple of the levels of The Pit as Stephen has imagined it and Ed Verreaux, our designer, is really gigantic so you couldn’t really build all of it, but so some of it. But we built a full floor of it which is gigantic. I think everybody’s going to be really happy that we took The Pit very seriously and built it to fulfill anybody’s sense of fantasy of what it could be."
REACTION: Surprisingly, I really couldn't give a damn about what The Pit looks like. It's not like X-Men's Danger Room where it's an iconic part of the mythology and has to be done perfectly or people will be up in arms. I mean, I'm sure there are some people that will shit themselves if The Pit doesn't match the diagram that was in one of the old Marvel annuals but I'm not one of them.
And that's that. I probably should've saved this post for tomorrow so I wouldn't have to think of a new topic but... eh, this is what I do for you! This is what I do!
And now you know...
...and knowing is half the battle.
Here are the highlights:
** When asked about the difference between producing Transformers and G.I. Joe -
"They’re completely different. I mean, to me I don’t look at them as toy properties... I look at them as mythologies. So, G.I. Joe is a really, really in depth mythology... The characters involved and intertwined nature and G.I. Joe it’s very funny how everybody’s very intertwined. It’s very different than in a lot of the comic book mythologies I’ve run into. The lines between good and evil are drawn differently. I think the Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes, it’s a great thing and is Storm Shadow evil? Well, some people think so. I don’t. Is Snake-eyes also righteous in this? I’m not so sure, he’s blaming his buddy for something he may or may not have done, you know, so it’s that interesting duality where the characters live in a world that’s good guys and bad guys but it’s also a gray area."
REACTION: Not a bad answer. He's done some homework at least. And I _really_ hope this means that the Snakes/Stormy/Hard Master storyline will be explored to some extent as the chief conflict between the two.
** When asked the very obvious question on a lot of fans' minds about having too many characters to introduce and flesh out -
"Well, it’s a hard question to answer. We think we’re going to deliver on all the characters. We think the script actually delivers really well and sets up each character. You’re going to understand the back-stories of virtually every major character and then you’re going to understand the roles of the ones you don’t. You may not know everything you know if you’ve read the comic book but you’re going to recognize them if you’ve read the comic book and you’re certainly going to want to know more about them by the end of it which is part of the tease. And there’s some character info that will be new to the comic fans."
REACTION: I don't buy it. There's just no friggin' way to cover that many characters unless they're breaking the two hour mark for the movie by a LOT of screen time. I'm glad they recognize this could be a problem but I just don't think there's a legitimate way to resolve it without a lot of these appearances being just cameos... which I'm fine with to some degree.
** On the level of violence and the rating and target demo and such -
"You know for us, we think the people who grew up with the comic book and the animated show are going to be our core audience. We think that the older audience that identifies with the pre-83 Joe is going to have some education to go through but are going to relate to the title because the values of it are the same. The storytelling is different but if you think about the values, they’re very similar, you know? Integrity, honesty, bravery, courage, you know things like that that I think you just associate with both versions of G.I. Joe. It’s an all audience movie. I mean, there are 2 really strong romances. There are a lot of things in there that’s going to appeal to people. It’s going to be PG-13.
REACTION: This is all well and good. No one expect G.I. Joe to be like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan, I don't think. It's a war story but largely, it's a comic book war story. I have no issue with this being PG-13. I am curious about the two romances though. It had better be Snakes/Scarlett and Baroness/Destro but I have an itchy suspicion we're going to get hosed on one of those for some romance that didn't exist in the comics or TV show.
** To address the photos of everyone in black leather -
"
REACTION: Good answer! If this is true, this eases my mind a bit. Although I really wish the interviewer would have asked about the god-awful Storm Shadow costume. I'm still hoping that's the costume he wears when he goes to a high school dance and slashes some U.S. government official's daughter's throat with a sword. Tell me that scene wouldn't rock your boat!
** When asked to compare the tone of the movie to the comics or TV show -
"That’s an interesting question. I guess it’s definitely a comic book movie and it’s definitely has a great sense of humor, so there’s a lot of humor and a lot of drama and a lot of action. I would say there’s an equal measure of all 3 of those things in the movie."
REACTION: That raises a bit of a red flag to me. The animated show had a ton of humor, for sure, but that's one of the reasons most people didn't like it as well as the comics. If they try to go too funny with this, it'll fall flat and hard.
** THE PIT!
"We built a couple of the levels of The Pit as Stephen has imagined it and Ed Verreaux, our designer, is really gigantic so you couldn’t really build all of it, but so some of it. But we built a full floor of it which is gigantic. I think everybody’s going to be really happy that we took The Pit very seriously and built it to fulfill anybody’s sense of fantasy of what it could be."
REACTION: Surprisingly, I really couldn't give a damn about what The Pit looks like. It's not like X-Men's Danger Room where it's an iconic part of the mythology and has to be done perfectly or people will be up in arms. I mean, I'm sure there are some people that will shit themselves if The Pit doesn't match the diagram that was in one of the old Marvel annuals but I'm not one of them.
** More on Snakes vs Stormy
"We’re really exploring the mythology and we hope that the mythology, if we’re lucky enough to get to a 2nd film, we want to continue to explore the mythology of the two characters. It’s very rich and this movie explores a lot about how they met at first and how they fell apart. And yes we have shot a fight between the 2 of them and we hope that everybody’s going to agree with us that it’s going to be one of those great battles."
REACTION: Allow me a moment to give a warning that you, Mr. Bonaventura, will never read. If you fuck up this one part of the story, Snakes and Stormy, G.I. Joe fans will never forgive you. It's the one thing you can not afford to blow. You can probably get by with invisible Scarlett... you can probably get by with Destro wearing the mask because of injury... you can probably even get by with metrosexual Hawk... but if you FUBAR Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow's part of the story, you will never recover from it.
And that's that. I probably should've saved this post for tomorrow so I wouldn't have to think of a new topic but... eh, this is what I do for you! This is what I do!
And now you know...
...and knowing is half the battle.
HULKAMANIA!
With all the talk about Iron Man, the new Hulk movie is getting overlooked. There's a lot of... discussion... in the air about this one as Ed Norton is being Ed Norton when it comes to the creative side of the coin.
But... well, this doesn't look too shabby...
Check out Trailer #2 - it's the one that hit the Interweb today.
But... well, this doesn't look too shabby...
Check out Trailer #2 - it's the one that hit the Interweb today.
2008-04-24
2008-03-27
Under The Gun!
Trying to watch the Celebrity Apprentice Finale before Mrs. Blue falls asleep. So, I don't have time for a full post. Take this and enjoy it!
2008-02-27
Comic Book Movie Roundup
A few Comic Book Movie tidbits for this sorta early Wednesday morning...
NEWS: Justice League movie back on track for '09 release
REACTION: Oh, fuck a duck. I thought the strike had killed this thing but apparently not. The fact that they're already done with their rewrite that they need frightens me because from all indications, it needed a lot more work than that. On a side note on this project, some dude from Mad Max was cast as the Martian Manhunter - don't know if that's good news or not. I'm scared that we might get another X-Men 3 at best or another Batman & Robin at worst.
NEWS: Favreau to helm Avengers?
REACTION: At WonderCon last weekend, Jon Favreau cracked during his Iron Man panel that if the movie does well enough, he might get to direct Marvel's upcoming Avengers movie. See, that news makes me feel ten times more confident in the Avengers movie than in the Justice League... which is totally fucked because I'm much more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy. A JL movie is like a fanboy's wet dream and it looks to be turning into a soaking nightmare while the Avengers movie looks better and better as Marvel smartly builds towards it. I still think they need to do a Captain America solo flick before jumping into the Avengers but hey... that's just my opinion.
NEWS: Deathstroke in The Dark Knight?
REACTION: This rumor got started a couple of weeks ago when at a toy show someone snuck a shot of a Deathstroke toy from the upcoming Dark Knight toy line. The figure design was apparently approved by Nolan himself which made fanboy hearts aflutter. Problem is that with all the rumors regarding the movie, no one ever stumbled upon this one. Today's addition to the rumor is that Anthony Michael Hall is playing Deathstroke which really just sounds like someone making an educated guess to me since AMH has been signed on to the film for a while but no one knows what role he is playing. There was talk earlier that he'd be doing an Edward Nygma cameo to set up a Riddler appearance in the third [or beyond] flick much like the Joker card teaser at the end of Batman Begins. While I dig the Deathstroke character and find it intriguing what could be done in a Nolan Batman world with him, I find this one hard to believe unless it's just an Easter Egg for fans like Mr. Zsasz was in Begins.
NEWS: SHAZAM! is a go
REACTION: During the Get Smart panel, director Peter Segal announced that SHAZAM! would be his next flick. The guy sounds like he "gets" his source material and that can usually produce very cool results. It's an interesting film to tackle and I just hope he doesn't try to get too cute with it. This one will have a very thin line to tread between serious drama and over-the-top. Good luck, sir! Oh, and the best news on this one... The Rock's been approached to play Black Adam which may be the best idea in ages.
As a bonus, I'm tossing in a pic from the new Hulk movie and one from the upcoming Wolverine solo flick as well... enjoy! [NOTE: Hopefully these pics stay up longer than the GI Joe pics that got relocated right after I posted them.]
[MORE NOTES: I decided to go re-find the GI Joe pics for you guys... and I found a new one as well. Enjoy!]
Meet General Hawk - doesn't look quite right to me.
The lovely Baroness
And the not-so-lovely Duke... which won't embed in the post for some weird reason so go check it out HERE
NEWS: Justice League movie back on track for '09 release
REACTION: Oh, fuck a duck. I thought the strike had killed this thing but apparently not. The fact that they're already done with their rewrite that they need frightens me because from all indications, it needed a lot more work than that. On a side note on this project, some dude from Mad Max was cast as the Martian Manhunter - don't know if that's good news or not. I'm scared that we might get another X-Men 3 at best or another Batman & Robin at worst.
NEWS: Favreau to helm Avengers?
REACTION: At WonderCon last weekend, Jon Favreau cracked during his Iron Man panel that if the movie does well enough, he might get to direct Marvel's upcoming Avengers movie. See, that news makes me feel ten times more confident in the Avengers movie than in the Justice League... which is totally fucked because I'm much more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy. A JL movie is like a fanboy's wet dream and it looks to be turning into a soaking nightmare while the Avengers movie looks better and better as Marvel smartly builds towards it. I still think they need to do a Captain America solo flick before jumping into the Avengers but hey... that's just my opinion.
NEWS: Deathstroke in The Dark Knight?
REACTION: This rumor got started a couple of weeks ago when at a toy show someone snuck a shot of a Deathstroke toy from the upcoming Dark Knight toy line. The figure design was apparently approved by Nolan himself which made fanboy hearts aflutter. Problem is that with all the rumors regarding the movie, no one ever stumbled upon this one. Today's addition to the rumor is that Anthony Michael Hall is playing Deathstroke which really just sounds like someone making an educated guess to me since AMH has been signed on to the film for a while but no one knows what role he is playing. There was talk earlier that he'd be doing an Edward Nygma cameo to set up a Riddler appearance in the third [or beyond] flick much like the Joker card teaser at the end of Batman Begins. While I dig the Deathstroke character and find it intriguing what could be done in a Nolan Batman world with him, I find this one hard to believe unless it's just an Easter Egg for fans like Mr. Zsasz was in Begins.
NEWS: SHAZAM! is a go
REACTION: During the Get Smart panel, director Peter Segal announced that SHAZAM! would be his next flick. The guy sounds like he "gets" his source material and that can usually produce very cool results. It's an interesting film to tackle and I just hope he doesn't try to get too cute with it. This one will have a very thin line to tread between serious drama and over-the-top. Good luck, sir! Oh, and the best news on this one... The Rock's been approached to play Black Adam which may be the best idea in ages.
As a bonus, I'm tossing in a pic from the new Hulk movie and one from the upcoming Wolverine solo flick as well... enjoy! [NOTE: Hopefully these pics stay up longer than the GI Joe pics that got relocated right after I posted them.]
[MORE NOTES: I decided to go re-find the GI Joe pics for you guys... and I found a new one as well. Enjoy!]
Meet General Hawk - doesn't look quite right to me.
The lovely Baroness
And the not-so-lovely Duke... which won't embed in the post for some weird reason so go check it out HERE
The Golden Child
What the hell is going on with Eddie Murphy's career? I've been on a bit of a Dreamgirls kick lately [fuck you too] and he was excellent in that... the perfect blend of over-the-top and sympathetic while still being a complete dickhole. Perfect. Then, of course, everyone knows about Norbit. I argue that maybe he was already signed on for that before he hit dramatic greatness in Dreamgirls. But I'm looking at IMDB and I can't believe the slate of shit that awaits. The only thing that looks promising is a flick in pre-production called "1,000 Words" which has a plot synop of "What happens when a man learns he only has 1,000 words to speak before he dies" - a premise that sounds like it could be quite soulful and touching but could be turned into something far, far different. Considering Brian Robbins of Head Of The Class fame is directing and thusfar in his stellar career has turned in pics like Norbit and Wild Hogs, I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up.
That's really all I had. Sorry!
Just read that he got 15.5 mil for Norbit.
...
Those motherfuckers in Hollywood should be strung up for holding out on the writers while giving Eddie 15.5 mil for Norbit. Holy fucking shit.
In fact... look at this...
* Best Defense (1984) $1,000,000
* Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) $15,000,000
* The Nutty Professor (1996) $20,000,000
* Dr. Dolittle (1998) $20,000,000
* Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) $20,000,000 + $36,633,393 (20% of the $181,166,965 gross)
* Shrek (2001) $3,000,000
* Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) $20,000,000
* The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) $20,000,000
* Shrek 2 (2004) $10,000,000
* Dreamgirls (2006) $3,850,000
* Norbit (2007) $15,500,000
* Shrek the Third (2007) $15,500,000
* Jermaine Bolling (2010) $15,500,000
That son of a bitch is a rich, rich man. He got 15.5 mil for JUST TALKING IN SHREK 3! And they're making a Shrek 4? Didn't we all get sick of Shrek somewhere around... ohhh... the opening credits of Shrek 2: Shrek Harder?
Ok... now... that's really all I had. Swear.
He had a song called "Boogie In Your Butt?!" Why do I not own this gem?!
After downloading Bob Saget's classic tune, "My Dog Licked My Balls" earlier tonight... err, this morning... I feel the need to own all songs by comedians... whether they are intentionally funny or not.
Seriously... I'm done now.
Wait. His illegitimate daughter is named Angel Iris Murphy Brown? Seriously? Somewhere Candice Bergen is smiling since she's still relevant to someone in the world not named Aretha Franklin.
Right. I've made fun of him as an actor, a musician, and his bastard daughter.
Not bad for 16 minutes of effort.
That's really all I had. Sorry!
Just read that he got 15.5 mil for Norbit.
...
Those motherfuckers in Hollywood should be strung up for holding out on the writers while giving Eddie 15.5 mil for Norbit. Holy fucking shit.
In fact... look at this...
* Best Defense (1984) $1,000,000
* Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) $15,000,000
* The Nutty Professor (1996) $20,000,000
* Dr. Dolittle (1998) $20,000,000
* Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) $20,000,000 + $36,633,393 (20% of the $181,166,965 gross)
* Shrek (2001) $3,000,000
* Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) $20,000,000
* The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) $20,000,000
* Shrek 2 (2004) $10,000,000
* Dreamgirls (2006) $3,850,000
* Norbit (2007) $15,500,000
* Shrek the Third (2007) $15,500,000
* Jermaine Bolling (2010) $15,500,000
That son of a bitch is a rich, rich man. He got 15.5 mil for JUST TALKING IN SHREK 3! And they're making a Shrek 4? Didn't we all get sick of Shrek somewhere around... ohhh... the opening credits of Shrek 2: Shrek Harder?
Ok... now... that's really all I had. Swear.
He had a song called "Boogie In Your Butt?!" Why do I not own this gem?!
After downloading Bob Saget's classic tune, "My Dog Licked My Balls" earlier tonight... err, this morning... I feel the need to own all songs by comedians... whether they are intentionally funny or not.
Seriously... I'm done now.
Wait. His illegitimate daughter is named Angel Iris Murphy Brown? Seriously? Somewhere Candice Bergen is smiling since she's still relevant to someone in the world not named Aretha Franklin.
Right. I've made fun of him as an actor, a musician, and his bastard daughter.
Not bad for 16 minutes of effort.
2008-02-25
There Will Be Old Men
Hrmm.
I hate it when I may be wrong. It really pisses me off and is quite the blow to my eternal feeling of perfection in all things.
But...
I may have been mistaken in my movie reviews from Sunday morning. I might have been hasty and speaking before I had time to process them a bit and wrap my arms completely around them.
And no, I'm not just saying this because they were both successful on Oscar Night. I was really thinking about There Will Be Blood specifically for a large portion of the day.
As I said earlier, my only real issue with it was the lack of cohesive feel... the lack of a continuing narrative from one segment to the next... the thread that ties the movie together rather than it being four or five individual portions of a film. The ending, while very well-done, also felt a little... off... to me. It seemed extreme and out of character. But the more I've thought about the movie and done a little digging on the Interweb to get a sense of what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish, I get a better feeling about the movie. I start to embrace it a bit more and understand more of what they were aiming to do.
Yes, I know. It seems odd that you have to research a movie to figure out if you like it but... well, it is what it is. I think There Will Be Blood was going to be an easier sell to me as I liked the acting and almost everything about it... but I just needed that one thread to tie it all together to be able to embrace what the movie was _truly_ about. I knew the plot... but I didn't understand the point. I think I've got a grip on this one now and while I still don't think it was Best Picture worthy, I can see it being nominated... and yes, I think I would be more-than-willing to watch it again to see if a second viewing will make me like it as much as I think it might.
No Country For Old Men? Well, it dawned on me Sunday night that it was made by the Coen Brothers... which instantly made sense to me. Years ago, Mrs. Blue [before she was Mrs. Blue] dragged me to see some movie that was getting a lot of buzz called Fargo... yes, that Fargo. I despised it. It just didn't click for me and came off as hollow. Years later when I rewatched it, I found myself enjoying it and I've actually seen it a few times lately on Starz. It's an excellent flick that grew on me with time and... oh, let's just say "maturity" for the chance to be both "artistic" and "ironic." The Coens were also behind The Big Lebowski which I completely hated when I first saw it and now cling to like Linus to his blanket to the extreme of having bought a bunch of talking Lebowski bobbleheads at Comic-Con last year to distribute to my friends.
So, the Coens and I go way back in me misunderstanding and despising their work inititally only to find great enjoyment in it years later. When I realized that NCFOM was their work... well, let's just say I looked forward to watching it on the HD IMAX of my mind in 2013 and enjoying the fuck out of it.
I'm still not sold on NCFOM's ending... I'm just not. I loved the rest of it [minus a few snags] and thought it was very well done... until the last ten minutes or so. Can ten minutes completely kill a movie for someone? I drew the comparison earlier but there's been many a wrestling match that has gotten rave reviews that spotlight, "It would have been a Match of the Year... except for the shitty finish." That is NCFOM in a nutshell to me.
BUT...
That being said, sometimes it takes a little insight to bring enlightenment... and after a LOT of reading Sunday night on the Interweb, I think I "get" what they were trying to do. It's sad that it comes to that... but yeah, I think I get what they were trying to accomplish.
Look, I appreciate television and movies that make people think. I don't like to be spoonfed bullshit that is paint-by-numbers... all the time. Everything has it's place in the entertainment world... except King Arthur. Fuck that shit.
So, with that in mind... if I'm correct in what they were trying to accomplish with NCFOM, well... they succeeded. In trying to paint a bigger picture, the smaller details were forsaken and they left behind an audience saying, "What the fuck?" It's a bad thing short-term... but it's only a bad thing if the road ends there. If you take the time to figure it out... well, it can end up being a rewarding experience.
I think I "get it" which makes me smile a bit - at both myself for so completely reversing opinions and at the Coens for making me do so. I applaud them for thinking outside the box... as long as they knew what they were getting themselves into.
I'm being very vague here and I know it. But... well, I feel a little guilty for tearing into these two films now. Both should be viewed so people can decide for themselves. There will be movies, TV shows, albums that I will flatly tell you are not worth the shit on my shoes and should be treated accordingly. These two I'm giving advance warning that... well, you may not like them when you walk out but don't let your brain check out there.
Think a little bit about it... discuss it with others... then form your opinion. If you still think it's asstastic, more power to you.
But even the best of us still have the ability to surprise ourselves... and that's a hell of a thing to treasure.
Speaking of movies to think about, Major League is on. Man, Ricky Vaughn's motivation and drive chills me to the bone as does the director's political statement on a post-Cold War society trying to deal with the harshness of demilitarization.
Or maybe it's just a bitchin' baseball flick.
Fuck it. You figure it out.
I hate it when I may be wrong. It really pisses me off and is quite the blow to my eternal feeling of perfection in all things.
But...
I may have been mistaken in my movie reviews from Sunday morning. I might have been hasty and speaking before I had time to process them a bit and wrap my arms completely around them.
And no, I'm not just saying this because they were both successful on Oscar Night. I was really thinking about There Will Be Blood specifically for a large portion of the day.
As I said earlier, my only real issue with it was the lack of cohesive feel... the lack of a continuing narrative from one segment to the next... the thread that ties the movie together rather than it being four or five individual portions of a film. The ending, while very well-done, also felt a little... off... to me. It seemed extreme and out of character. But the more I've thought about the movie and done a little digging on the Interweb to get a sense of what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish, I get a better feeling about the movie. I start to embrace it a bit more and understand more of what they were aiming to do.
Yes, I know. It seems odd that you have to research a movie to figure out if you like it but... well, it is what it is. I think There Will Be Blood was going to be an easier sell to me as I liked the acting and almost everything about it... but I just needed that one thread to tie it all together to be able to embrace what the movie was _truly_ about. I knew the plot... but I didn't understand the point. I think I've got a grip on this one now and while I still don't think it was Best Picture worthy, I can see it being nominated... and yes, I think I would be more-than-willing to watch it again to see if a second viewing will make me like it as much as I think it might.
No Country For Old Men? Well, it dawned on me Sunday night that it was made by the Coen Brothers... which instantly made sense to me. Years ago, Mrs. Blue [before she was Mrs. Blue] dragged me to see some movie that was getting a lot of buzz called Fargo... yes, that Fargo. I despised it. It just didn't click for me and came off as hollow. Years later when I rewatched it, I found myself enjoying it and I've actually seen it a few times lately on Starz. It's an excellent flick that grew on me with time and... oh, let's just say "maturity" for the chance to be both "artistic" and "ironic." The Coens were also behind The Big Lebowski which I completely hated when I first saw it and now cling to like Linus to his blanket to the extreme of having bought a bunch of talking Lebowski bobbleheads at Comic-Con last year to distribute to my friends.
So, the Coens and I go way back in me misunderstanding and despising their work inititally only to find great enjoyment in it years later. When I realized that NCFOM was their work... well, let's just say I looked forward to watching it on the HD IMAX of my mind in 2013 and enjoying the fuck out of it.
I'm still not sold on NCFOM's ending... I'm just not. I loved the rest of it [minus a few snags] and thought it was very well done... until the last ten minutes or so. Can ten minutes completely kill a movie for someone? I drew the comparison earlier but there's been many a wrestling match that has gotten rave reviews that spotlight, "It would have been a Match of the Year... except for the shitty finish." That is NCFOM in a nutshell to me.
BUT...
That being said, sometimes it takes a little insight to bring enlightenment... and after a LOT of reading Sunday night on the Interweb, I think I "get" what they were trying to do. It's sad that it comes to that... but yeah, I think I get what they were trying to accomplish.
Look, I appreciate television and movies that make people think. I don't like to be spoonfed bullshit that is paint-by-numbers... all the time. Everything has it's place in the entertainment world... except King Arthur. Fuck that shit.
So, with that in mind... if I'm correct in what they were trying to accomplish with NCFOM, well... they succeeded. In trying to paint a bigger picture, the smaller details were forsaken and they left behind an audience saying, "What the fuck?" It's a bad thing short-term... but it's only a bad thing if the road ends there. If you take the time to figure it out... well, it can end up being a rewarding experience.
I think I "get it" which makes me smile a bit - at both myself for so completely reversing opinions and at the Coens for making me do so. I applaud them for thinking outside the box... as long as they knew what they were getting themselves into.
I'm being very vague here and I know it. But... well, I feel a little guilty for tearing into these two films now. Both should be viewed so people can decide for themselves. There will be movies, TV shows, albums that I will flatly tell you are not worth the shit on my shoes and should be treated accordingly. These two I'm giving advance warning that... well, you may not like them when you walk out but don't let your brain check out there.
Think a little bit about it... discuss it with others... then form your opinion. If you still think it's asstastic, more power to you.
But even the best of us still have the ability to surprise ourselves... and that's a hell of a thing to treasure.
Speaking of movies to think about, Major League is on. Man, Ricky Vaughn's motivation and drive chills me to the bone as does the director's political statement on a post-Cold War society trying to deal with the harshness of demilitarization.
Or maybe it's just a bitchin' baseball flick.
Fuck it. You figure it out.
2008-02-24
And the Oscar goes to...
Wow! What a day I had yesterday!
Thanks to a tipoff from a friend from college, we discovered that the AMC theater chain was showing all five Best Picture nominees yesterday for $30. Not a bad deal and since we have always wanted to see all five before the awards, we decided to do it.
Mild spoilers to come so... yeah, consider yourselves warned.
They started off with Michael Clayton. I dug it. It wasn't anything blowaway friggin' fantastic but I dug it. I could probably watch it again if I stumbled across it on HBO or something. Clooney was cool in it as he tends to be cool in just about everything he's in... except Batman And Robin. Is it just me or does that man just ooze coolness? I don't want it sound like I have a Vince Vaughn-ish mancrush on him or something but damn... he just seems cool. Did I mention yet that he seems cool? Plus, it's got the psycho mob boss guy from Batman Begins in it as he plays... well, a psycho lawyer. "Help me, help me, Dr. Crane. I can't take it anymore." Good shit. I'll give this one a thumbs up... check it out when it hits DVD.
There Will Be Blood was next. Sigh. Okay, going into this day, it was fairly obvious that everyone and their mother was calling There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men as the favorites in the Best Picture race. In fact, another friend told me there was no point in seeing anything else on the list. So, I was really looking forward to this one. First, the good... the acting in this was awesome and I believe without looking at the list of nominees, Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Best Actor nod. That being said, this movie just didn't do it for me. It was very enthralling at times and I would really get into it. But once it was all said and done, I felt a little hollow from it. It just seemed to fall flat at the finish. There was a very emotional and dramatic finish... but when the credits were rolling, I just couldn't wrap my head around what it all was supposed to mean. I couldn't put my finger on the plotline that ran all the way through to conclusion. Maybe it was just over my head. Maybe I was too distracted by how cold it was in the theater. Not sure. But it just fell flat to me and didn't seem like a Best Picture.
Atonement was next... and as much as it absolutely kills me to say it, I actually enjoyed this one. Yeah, it was a sappy love story but it had some substance to it and actually worked for me. I thought the first portion of the movie was very well-done and had me interested to see how it turned out. The second part wasn't as good but it was at least still interesting to see how things will be resolved. The finish, which some will hate, was okay to me... was logical... and was tied up nicely. It may not have the type of ending many will be looking for but at least it didn't try to get too cute for it's own good. At this point, I actually had this in the lead for my favorite of the day.
Juno was after that. We had actually already seen Juno a few weeks ago but we decided to sit through it again even though they were letting people come and go as they wanted. The second viewing didn't lose much and actually endeared it to me even more. It's a smart, funny, clever flick. It has good actors playing their roles very well and is a movie that will age very well, I think. I would be pretty shocked if they won Best Picture but I would be very happy for them as well. Whoever described it as this year's Little Miss Sunshine hit the nail on the head. It's a comedy with a lot of heart and that's a rare thing in the Meet The Spartans and whatever movie with Martin Lawrence in a fat suit is out this week.
The finale was No Country For Old Men which my friend had complained about going on last since it was "the likely winner." Hrmm. You ever have a friend telling you about a movie they saw recently and their "review" has the line, "You know, it was a really good movie until the ending." That sums up this movie to a tee. There were things about it I really liked as it was progressing and things that I really didn't like... but on the whole, I thought it was well on its' way to being the easy pick for Best Picture. But then, it ended. And I was left saying, "Wait... what?" And then you hear the rumblings like, "Well, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back." not every movie has to wrap up things in a pretty bow to be good. Sideways was a fantastic recent flick that is an example of that. But that one was just too open. It was too much of a dangling narrative with no resolution... and I suppose it may have a resolution if you imagine your own but seriously, if I wanted to imagine my own ending, I'd buy some Choose Your Own Adventure books.
In conclusion, I'd say Sweeney Todd got fucking hosed. It may not have been the best movie of the year but it damn sure didn't deserve to get shut out of this category. I'd say it was even better than a movie I liked in Michael Clayton let alone the couple I didn't care for.
But in further conclusion, I'd say Juno or Atonement deserves this win. I'd love to see Juno win it but I wouldn't be upset if Atonement got it. Michael Clayton is in the middle. It was good... but it didn't knock my socks off. I'd be surprised if it won and I'd think it wasn't deserving. The other two... I can see the lemmings following right along and voting for it since everyone told them how great it was.
I guess in conclusion of the conclusions, when the wrestling websites and newsletters are discussing the Match of the Year... I always think that the basic criteria should be that if you think you'd ever want to see that match again, you should consider it for Match of the Year. So, in the most simple terms, the movie that you want to watch again should be considered the Best Picture. And of course, you probably eliminate stuff like Walk Hard or Superbad because it's obviously not the best acting or the best plot or whatever... but yeah, at heart, I'd say it's the best movie you saw all year that you would actually want to see again... not the one that everyone else tells you is the best movie you saw all year.
Thanks to a tipoff from a friend from college, we discovered that the AMC theater chain was showing all five Best Picture nominees yesterday for $30. Not a bad deal and since we have always wanted to see all five before the awards, we decided to do it.
Mild spoilers to come so... yeah, consider yourselves warned.
They started off with Michael Clayton. I dug it. It wasn't anything blowaway friggin' fantastic but I dug it. I could probably watch it again if I stumbled across it on HBO or something. Clooney was cool in it as he tends to be cool in just about everything he's in... except Batman And Robin. Is it just me or does that man just ooze coolness? I don't want it sound like I have a Vince Vaughn-ish mancrush on him or something but damn... he just seems cool. Did I mention yet that he seems cool? Plus, it's got the psycho mob boss guy from Batman Begins in it as he plays... well, a psycho lawyer. "Help me, help me, Dr. Crane. I can't take it anymore." Good shit. I'll give this one a thumbs up... check it out when it hits DVD.
There Will Be Blood was next. Sigh. Okay, going into this day, it was fairly obvious that everyone and their mother was calling There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men as the favorites in the Best Picture race. In fact, another friend told me there was no point in seeing anything else on the list. So, I was really looking forward to this one. First, the good... the acting in this was awesome and I believe without looking at the list of nominees, Daniel Day Lewis deserves the Best Actor nod. That being said, this movie just didn't do it for me. It was very enthralling at times and I would really get into it. But once it was all said and done, I felt a little hollow from it. It just seemed to fall flat at the finish. There was a very emotional and dramatic finish... but when the credits were rolling, I just couldn't wrap my head around what it all was supposed to mean. I couldn't put my finger on the plotline that ran all the way through to conclusion. Maybe it was just over my head. Maybe I was too distracted by how cold it was in the theater. Not sure. But it just fell flat to me and didn't seem like a Best Picture.
Atonement was next... and as much as it absolutely kills me to say it, I actually enjoyed this one. Yeah, it was a sappy love story but it had some substance to it and actually worked for me. I thought the first portion of the movie was very well-done and had me interested to see how it turned out. The second part wasn't as good but it was at least still interesting to see how things will be resolved. The finish, which some will hate, was okay to me... was logical... and was tied up nicely. It may not have the type of ending many will be looking for but at least it didn't try to get too cute for it's own good. At this point, I actually had this in the lead for my favorite of the day.
Juno was after that. We had actually already seen Juno a few weeks ago but we decided to sit through it again even though they were letting people come and go as they wanted. The second viewing didn't lose much and actually endeared it to me even more. It's a smart, funny, clever flick. It has good actors playing their roles very well and is a movie that will age very well, I think. I would be pretty shocked if they won Best Picture but I would be very happy for them as well. Whoever described it as this year's Little Miss Sunshine hit the nail on the head. It's a comedy with a lot of heart and that's a rare thing in the Meet The Spartans and whatever movie with Martin Lawrence in a fat suit is out this week.
The finale was No Country For Old Men which my friend had complained about going on last since it was "the likely winner." Hrmm. You ever have a friend telling you about a movie they saw recently and their "review" has the line, "You know, it was a really good movie until the ending." That sums up this movie to a tee. There were things about it I really liked as it was progressing and things that I really didn't like... but on the whole, I thought it was well on its' way to being the easy pick for Best Picture. But then, it ended. And I was left saying, "Wait... what?" And then you hear the rumblings like, "Well, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back." not every movie has to wrap up things in a pretty bow to be good. Sideways was a fantastic recent flick that is an example of that. But that one was just too open. It was too much of a dangling narrative with no resolution... and I suppose it may have a resolution if you imagine your own but seriously, if I wanted to imagine my own ending, I'd buy some Choose Your Own Adventure books.
In conclusion, I'd say Sweeney Todd got fucking hosed. It may not have been the best movie of the year but it damn sure didn't deserve to get shut out of this category. I'd say it was even better than a movie I liked in Michael Clayton let alone the couple I didn't care for.
But in further conclusion, I'd say Juno or Atonement deserves this win. I'd love to see Juno win it but I wouldn't be upset if Atonement got it. Michael Clayton is in the middle. It was good... but it didn't knock my socks off. I'd be surprised if it won and I'd think it wasn't deserving. The other two... I can see the lemmings following right along and voting for it since everyone told them how great it was.
I guess in conclusion of the conclusions, when the wrestling websites and newsletters are discussing the Match of the Year... I always think that the basic criteria should be that if you think you'd ever want to see that match again, you should consider it for Match of the Year. So, in the most simple terms, the movie that you want to watch again should be considered the Best Picture. And of course, you probably eliminate stuff like Walk Hard or Superbad because it's obviously not the best acting or the best plot or whatever... but yeah, at heart, I'd say it's the best movie you saw all year that you would actually want to see again... not the one that everyone else tells you is the best movie you saw all year.
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