The Hunger Games - The Movie

A decent conversion from book to movie although the final battle scene didn't quite live up to what I remembered in the book.  Good characterization although Peeta I thought was better looking than what I thought in the book.  I thought he was more wimpy so to speak.  Either way it will be interesting to see how the trilogy plays out on the big screen.

John Carter (of Mars)

For a movie that was marketed horribly, marginalized, and destined for failure, I actually thought it was pretty good.  A fairly decent translation of E.R.B vision.  Hard part for the maker's is to make something original from a work that has been stolen from to make many of the modern day sci-fi classics.  Anyone who likes Slave Leia only has Dejah Thoris to thank. 

It is unfortunate that it is unlikely this world will be revisited.  A shame because there is a lot of good material still out there.

Underworld - Awakening

Don't remember the first three, well sort of vaguely but I know the 3rd wasn't as good because there was no Kate.  So with Kate back in the picture well you just couldn't pass up Kate running around as a gun toting, latex wearing vampire.

Was it a good movie...doesn't really matter, it was just a fun no brainer.  Ain't that what a movie is suppose to be?

Tin Tin - The Movie

A marvelous little movie.  Hard to believe a Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg movie got so little love.  Hard to figure what the average movie goer really wants to see these days.  If I had to guess it is a bit difficult to make a move that straddles animation/computer generated vs real people.  That tweener movie like this just doesn't appeal to people.  They either want real people in a computer generated world or animated people in an animated world.  Not both.  

Plus I imagine while this was a boyhood fantasy to make this movie it probably didn't translate to boys today.  Boys today get their fantasy from video games like Halo and such so it would be hard to say a boy of today would really find Tin Tin all that exciting.  So really you end up with parents dragging their kids to movie they fondly remember in print and the kids have no clue.

In the end, good movie although some parts really could have been left on the floor (is it easy to cut millions of dollars of animation time?).  Interesting to see if more are given the green light...

Captain America

Expectations high, movie OK.  Mark of a good movie is whether I want a digital copy.  This one not so much.  Back end was good...middle part painful although I understand they had to build the character for the Avengers.  

Iron Man set the expectation but Thor and Capt A are just previews for what Marvel hopes to be a blockbuster of biblical proportions.

Super 8

The perfect summer movie.  Perhaps it is nostalgia but wow what a great movie.  For once a movie actually lived up to the hype.  Hard to do when you start seeing ads almost a year before the movie was probably even filmed.  Lots of review I have read are hesitant to admit they liked the movie.  I don't understand why they don't admit that they enjoyed the movie?  I mean this movie is obviously a descendant of E.T. and a mash up with that classic and the Goonies.  I didn't go in wanting an Oscar worthy movie, I wanted to leave having enjoyed a couple of hours of escapism and an ode to my childhood.

Now granted when growing up I didn't have an alien running around in my backyard but I did have friends and we used to play pretend all day during the summer.  It was good stuff and watching these kids on the big screen made me feel young again.  Made me feel like the world was out there for the taking without having been beaten down by the woes of being an adult. 

An intelligent movie, decent plot, a reason to care for the characters, and of course plenty of Abrams token lens flares!  Heck of a movie thanks JJ for keeping the dream alive that a summer movie can be good without having been a sequel!

Thor

Great movie. Not over the top but extremely well done. Actor who played Thor channeled the comic book character just right.  Not for sure what the purpose of Natalie's role but whatever. Thought her friend was more entertaining especially her little tirade on Mjolnir!

Two Avengers make an appearance...Hawkeye and Luke Cage (?).

Source Code

Source Code is Duncan Jones second movie (?).  Being the son of David Bowie must be daunting but he has been able to cut out a niche in the film world without really reeling in any father favors.  His first big time movie, Moon, was creepy good and his sophomore effort, while stealing a lot of different movies, makes it his own. 

Hard to make a main stream sci-fi film which is actually fun to watch.  While the circular logic can make you go batty thinking about it, I enjoy at least being challenged when watching a movie.  Good stuff.

Super 8 - Magic Continues

I can't wait!

Inception

OK first there is this representation:

Here

then this one:

Here

And to my mind they are both wrong. My thought is that the Plane is actually Level One and all that is shown above is simply the MacGuffin to get Cobb well again (i.e. to stop mourning his wife and returning to life so that he can raise his kids). Of course if this is true then at the end of the movie the top doesn't stop. But if you believe above, then the top would stop.

Another reason I thought Cobb was still in the dream at the end is that in other dreams he would see his kids but they never would turn around. At the end when he is finally over his wives passing he can finally finish that dream and in fact the kids do turnaround to face their daddy. Of course the costume designer did let slip that the children's outfits were different thus probably indicating that Cobb was in fact not in a dream but I'm sticking with my convoluted thought. And Han Solo shoots first and Deckard is a replicant, so there!

Great movie by the way, it will receive my highest honor which is purchasing the DVD!

Predators

The original was simply a classic 80s summer action flick. I remember seeing it, being enthralled for 2 hours, and walking out loving what was done. My highest honor to any film is to actually buy the DVD which I did a few years back when it came out with a special edition.

Since then the predator franchise has been hit with a bunch of mediocre crap. The sequel was just a blur (remember the sequel to the Highlander, yeah just like that) and painful to watch. Although it did have the greatest easter egg in any film and that was showing the Alien skull in the ship. Because of that teaser we had to settle for two awful Aliens Predators flicks (OK full disclosure, I never saw them).

So finally Predators comes out this summer trying to add some sheen to the franchise and taking the model that work in the 80s as it attempts to assemble a cast of characters to fight the Predators. While overall it is an OK action flick, has elements of excitement, but ultimately gets lost in an ugly script and characters that really can't hold the jock of the original crew. Now that team had comic book size characters. WHAM BOOM POW. So another movie can be added to the junk pile of retreads and sequels...thankfully Empire Strikes Back, T2, and Aliens can let us fans dream that sequels can be better than the original.

The A-Team

Goofy shoot'em up Summer Action flicks is what I miss from the late 80s. Buddy films with an assembled cast of characters having a good time saving the world. Perhaps the formula has gotten stale but every once in a while a decent film resembling those films actually appears. The A-Team certainly fills those shoes and imagine that such a film would make me relive those 80s. I mean it was a cheese ball 80s TV show! Man I remember watching the TV show. Either way this is a perfect popcorn summer movie. It is good to watch something that doesn't take itself too seriously and stops and has some fun and laughs!

Super 8

JJ Abrams is at least the master of the setup. Cloverfield was the first now comes Super 8. Now whether Super 8 turns out to be any good is probably irrelevant. The marketing will at least assure a decent opening weekend.

Here is a link to the trailer

Updated 5/18/10 - First viral stuff. To read about the excitement this is a decent news site

Hubble - IMAX

Saw the new space IMAX film, of course ;-). Still the best part on any of these movies is when they show the shuttle launching. This one was a bit of a stretch as far as being very exciting. I mean fixing the Hubble just isn't all that. Maybe they should just turn the camera on and let the earth spin by...maybe even send one up to the space station? I wonder what IMAX will do when there is no shuttle left. Of all of the launch vehicles the shuttle is the one that truly makes you go wow. I mean it looks like a space ship. To think we will be going back to capsules just sucks. Thank god for Branson.

Avatar

Wow...wow! To be honest, I went in not expecting much. It has been a long time since I saw a movie that really lived up to expectations. I mean ever since the Star Wars reboots, which I really wanted to be more than they were, Directors have been given the tools to wow us but I am convinced that even with all of the technological wizardry you still have to have a story.

Which brings us to Cameron. Cameron has an incredible ego and he is an arrogant SOB. This attitude can really grate on people and I think it can translate to their view of his movies. Thing is regardless of this opinion going in, his movies tend to work. I mean looking at his resume, Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, and Titanic. I mean these four movies were epic. T2 trumped Terminator. He pushed the special effects and advanced effect expectations for years. Liquid metal terminator...awesome. Aliens from the opening to the end was just a roller coaster. I mean Sigourney Weaver got an Oscar node...for a scifi movie! Of course he has had some flops...remember Abyss and True Lies? All the same I think you have to consider Cameron to be truly one of the best American directors of all time. Spielberg is probably the best but I think Cameron comes in second behind Lucas.

Anyway back to Avatar. At over two and half hours I came out of the movie drained. You can look at all the underlying messages, read the criticism (Alien Dance with Wolves), anti-imperialism, Earth Day message, blah blah blah but come on movies are supposed to make you laugh, cry, and take you away to someplace else. Sure you can read it into but I think it is simply easier to sit back and let the movie take you someplace. This movie takes you to a dream. Who wouldn't want to visit Pandora? Sure the story has been told a dozen times...couple weeks ago I listened to Connie Willis and she simply said that all of the great stories are either based on Shakespeare or Dickens. Point is that every story plot is a take off of something but the key is put it a new spin on it. It doesn't matter that Avatar has been written before the point is that his spin along with great special effects makes a hell of a movie. Sure the movie is kind of corny but it is was made for popcorn. It is the essence of what makes a great movie.

Cameron's quote in Wired magazine sums it up pretty well, "If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success." Avatar certainly doesn't fail and any movie studio is shaking in its boots for any movie coming out this summer or due in the next year. The bar has been set so high now that rest of the movie world is going to be playing catch up...

Risky Business

You know every so often you should say what the f@%k, it brings you opportunity, it brings you success...but I digress (but at least I don't have an algebra mid term tomorrow and I am definitely not being chased by Guido the Killer Pimp).

Every so often you should just watch those old movies...could a movie like this even hope to be made today? Probably not but the 80s had a lot of those "good" movies. This one was made in 1983 and featured:

Tom Cruise - before he was a whack job...

Tangerine Dream - great sound track

Kind of Risky "Ferris" movie

Sherlock Holmes

Guy Richie's take on the super sleuth was a welcome diversion during the Holidays. Having read one Holmes book and seen all the other iterations (hey what about the Young Sherlock Holmes...), I thought this one hit the target. Holmes, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., was convincing. Not for sure if Holmes was really that rough and tumble (a boxer?) but a younger version simply kept the action up. We can only hope that sequel does contain his nemesis. Maybe even an appearance by Mycroft ;-)

John Hughes R.I.P

A true movie artist has passed on today. A huge part of my childhood was filled with Hughes imagery and imagination. Many of Fri/Sat afternoons friends and I would watch the Breakfast Club. Anytime Simple Minds comes on you have to think of high school detention! Then came Ferris which during my junior became somewhat an obsession and eventually formed the basis of a classic skip day with 3 really close friends. Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles didn't do too much for me but the love triangle of Some Kind of Wonderful really did it for my romantic side. I always remember the opening scene with her hitting drums...crazy cool! Back then not for sure if I had a bigger crush on Lea or Mary! Weird Science was fun but kind of silly. Finally the last really good movie I remember he did was Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. For anyone who travels a lot for business this movie is just too classic...too true, too true!

A true genius it is sad to see him go. Never has someone matched a movie to the music as well as he could. Amazing...

Star Trek - The Movie

Saw the first summer's movie blockbuster.  And I have to say that it was a hell of a start for the summer.  If the rest of the summer's movies hold up to this then it will be the best summer ever.  

I wouldn't call myself a Trekkie.  I respect the franchise.  Enjoyed the TNG and Voyager.   Thought DS9 was a good experiment.  TOS was before my time but Wrath of Khan was the best in theatre.  Anyway I had no expectations but heard the good reviews and at least expected a decent go.  Paid the extra and saw it on IMAX because a big movie has to be seen and heard.  It was definitely worth it.  

Great move, great characters, J.J. hit it huge...although not for sure what was up with the engineering section of the Enterprise (or should I say the LA Budweiser Plant). For God's sake you put the money in a great bridge, great special effects and the freakin Engineering section is a Bud plant...Ughhhh.  I wonder what other Easter Eggs were in the movie beside the Rambaldi red ball!  Ughhhh great movie except I wanted some Kirk kick assing and some Khannnnnnnn!

Coraline 3D

My interest in Neil Gaiman's work as steadily risen over the last couple of years.  It started with American Gods, which was a really good book, and boy did one need a guide for that one.  I have been slowly getting though the Sandman collections and have read his follow up to American Gods, actual a prequel, Anansi Boys.  Read through Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of short fiction, which has some freaky stories.  Think what I like most about his work is the diversity of the mediums he chooses to work in.  Most people work in one but he seams to tackle them all.  I read his blog and get his twitters.  It is interesting to see how a writer lives and sometimes I have to wonder with his constant travel how does he ever find time to write? 

Anyway back the movie and I thought it was a visual cornucopia.  Beautifully done and a great story to boot.  I saw the 3D version because I figured that would be a one time thing as they haven't master the 3D TV yet.  The black cat in the movie was the best.  Very enjoyable and I hope that maybe Gaiman makes it to the Oscars this time next year with the ideal of getting a screenwriting credit perhaps?