I’m in Florida taking care of my mother who had a stroke a few weeks ago… so I haven’t seen any movies in a while – hence the lack of posting. I’m coming back next week and will get caught up with previews and start reviewing again now that the summer blockbuster season is fast approaching! Sorry for the lack of new posts, but finding time to do it while I’m here just isn’t possible. I will be back, though!
Thanks,
Helena
“Justice is coming to all of us. No matter what we do.”
We saw Watchmen last night and it was every bit as good as we’d hoped. I started reading the graphic novel, but didn’t get that far, so I can’t give much of a comparison [I'll update when I do get through it if anyone cares...]. For what I did read, the movie followed it pretty closely. Now I’m excited to read the rest to see what they left out and how they actually ended it in the book since I read they went with an alternate ending to cut the runtime down. It’s rumoured that the special edition DVD will be closer to 4 hours long.
Watchmen is about an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still President, it’s the height of the Cold War, and costumed super-heroes are a thing of the past. When one of them, The Comedian [Jeffrey Dean Morgan] is murdered, fellow costumed vigilante, Rorschach [Jackie Earle Haley], is set on finding out why – and whether the rest of their retired fraternity has anything to worry about. It’s Rorschach’s investigation that leads to a much larger plan. Good or bad, you decide.
What I loved about this movie were the characters, as well as the parallels to what we’re going through right now with the economy and things heating up with Iran and possibly our old foe, Russia. The darkness of the story actually felt close to home, and my husband and I walked out in deep thought. We both enjoyed it, but it prompted a lot of discussion about what’s going on with us now, both as a nation and globally.
My favorite character by far was Rorschack, played perfectly by Jackie Earle Haley, with his ever-changing, ink-blot ‘face’, his uncompromising way of life and his brutal efficiency. It took some getting used to Dr. Manhattan [played by Billy Crudup... Warning - he does walk around nude most of the movie so if you're squeemish about radioactive blue full-frontal male nudity, you might think twice about seeing it... I got used to it fairly quickly... kind of like taking life-drawing class. You giggle for a sec and then get down to business and forget you're looking at a nude person... I didn't feel like it took away from anything... it made sense in the context of the movie. I don't get what the problem is with nudity in this country anyway... but that's another discussion]. ;)
Watchmen is a great story with plenty of stylized visuals, ala Zack Snyder, the man who directed 300, and plenty of fight scenes, action and effects. The characters were well played with a great ensemble cast, and so was the period – the early to mid 80s – between hair, makeup and costumes [superhero and otherwise...]. Everything was over the top back then, and this WAS a graphic novel, and it felt it – in a good way. It’s LONG… so go prepared if you’re seeing it in the theater, clocking in at almost 3 hours. It kept my attention the whole time so it didn’t feel Lord of the Rings III long or anything. lol
4 out of 5
Add’l Info: Released: Mar 6, 2009 • Runtime: 163 mins • Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language • Photo credit: © Warner Bros. Pictures via allmoviephotos.com
“He’ll Find You. And He’ll Kill You.”
Taken was exactly what I wanted it to be: a fast-paced action/drama with a satisfying ending. This movie has a bit of a Ronin feel to it – probably due to the seriousness of it and the European city backdrop. Liam Neesen was terrific – convincing, despite his age and you go the sense that he would do whatever it took to get his daughter back. His character, Bryan Mills’ family life leaves much to be desired – divorced from his wife [Famke Janssen] who’s remarried to a seemingly perfect rich guy [Xander Berkele] whom is daughter now calls ‘dad’, but he’s making an attempt to have a relationship with his daughter after being absent most of her life – due to ‘the job’. His daughter goes to France with a friend and gets… you guessed it… TAKEN. The cat and mouse game begins.
What I loved about this movie was how much I felt for Neesen’s character. What I didn’t love was his daughter’s character played my Maggie Grace. I think being a LOST fan, I just feel like she’s older than the part called for [17 year old girl], so she was a little over the top on the naivité, but she’s a small enough part that it wasn’t a deal breaker. She did a good job, I just think it was a miscast. That aside, all the other supporting cast did a great job. I’m actually looking forward to seeing this one again on DVD. Directed by Pierre Morel and written by Luc Besson, whom I’m a big fan of…
For the action and the revenge – because who doesn’t love a good revenge story?
4 out o 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Jan 30, 2009 • Runtime: 93 minutes • Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language • Photo credit: Stephanie Branchu. © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved via allmoviephoto.net
“When you can live forever what do you live for?”
I’m late in getting to this review – partly because I wasn’t excited to see it in the first place. We saw Twilight while on vacation a few weeks ago, when there wasn’t anything else worthwhile to see. We were pleasantly surprised that it was pretty entertaining, but teenage vampires really don’t do it for me. I prefer adult vampires who can have great vampire sex and not just LONG for it. lol… that being said, Rob Pattinson did a great job displaying the yearning and intensity that any male vampire seems to feel when they fall for a human woman [or in this case, kid] and needs to protect her, not only from himself, but from his friends… and enemies.
When we saw this, it was in a tiny theater in the back of a 14-theater megaplex, and it was my husband and I, 2 dozen teenage girls and a strange row of teenage boys down front. Every time Rob Pattinson had a closeup and said one of his intensley conflicted romantic lines, inevitably, one or two of the girls around us would pine, “he’s sooo coool!” or “he’s sooo awwwwesommmmeee!” Needless to say, we felt really REALLY old. lol…
This was decent entertainment and because I’m a big vampire fan I enjoyed it, but I also had a HUGE beef with the movie [and I suppose the book series, that I have NOT read]… there are certain rules that must be followed to qualify a person as a vampire and this series breaks 2 of them, that in my opinion aren’t breakable. So I did leave somewhat annoyed. But also infatuated with Rob Pattinson and his magical hair, making me feel kind of pervy because he’s so much younger than I am [how did that happen???] lol…
Anyway… sorry, this review is terrible, I know… back to business: The visuals were decent, the story and action wasn’t bad, the acting for the most part was pretty good. The lead girl Kristen Stewart who played ‘Bella Swan’ was a better fit than I initially expected, but her acting style got old pretty fast for me – like she went to the ‘party of five’ school of acting with the confused stuttering while looking hurt thing. Pattinson, who played Edward Cullen did a great job and he’s probably the only reason I’d see the sequel, if and when it comes out. [seems like a done deal, though...].
As an adult fan of vampire flicks I’d say Twilight is just a 2 1/2 out of 5.
Worth a rent if you love vampires – especially if you read ‘paranormal romance’ novels… If you don’t fall into either category, or if you’re older than 18, I’d say skip it.
Add’l Info: Release Date: Nov 21, 2008 • Runtime: 122 minutes • Rated PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality • Photo credit: © Summit Entertainment, via movieweb.com
State of Play looks like a great whodunit type drama/thriller with a pretty hefty cast. It was originally a BBC mini series – here’s a great synopsis from Universal Pictures via ComingSoon.net:
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Plot Summary: Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation’s most promising political and corporate figures in “State of Play,” from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald (”The Last King of Scotland”).
Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party’s contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.
McCaffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar® winner Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer’s identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.
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In doing some reading, this script initially went into production around the time of the writer’s strike and no changes were allowed to be made. As a result Brad Pitt left due to concerns about the script at that time. Russell Crowe stepped into the vacated role of the lead reporter. Edward Norton also left, but it was due to scheduling conflicts, so Ben Affleck stepped in for that role as the young Congressman.
I can’t seem to find the trailer anywhere on the net at the moment, but as soon as I do, I’ll update this post with a link…
UPDATE 1-13-09: IMDb.com has trailers posted HERE.
Add’l Info: Release Date: Apr 17, 2009 • Runtime: TBD • Rating: TBD • Photo Credit: Courtesy of FirstShowing.net
The hubs and I are on vacation this week, but I do have to write reviews for Bolt:3D, The Spirit and Twilight, which I will try to do in the next few days… some really good previews to talk about, too. Stay tuned…
Happy New Year!
~ Helena
“They Took His Daughter. He’ll Take Their Lives..”
Taken is coming out relatively soon. We’ve seen the preview a few times but I haven’t had time to post it until now! It comes out on January 30th and stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a former spy who’s daughter is abducted while on vacation with a friend in Paris [played my Maggie Grace of Lost fame], and sold into some sort of prostitution slave trade. Mills will have to use his years of training and experience to get his daughter back – and if he does, kill whomever is responsible…
From the preview, Taken looks like a great fast-paced revenge flick. Check it out here: Taken Official Site
Written by Luc Besson and Directed by Pierre Morel who did the cinematography for the original Transporter… So I have decent expectations. Famke Janssen also co-stars.
Add’l Info: Release Date: Jan 30, 2009 • Runtime: 94 minutes • Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language • Photo Credit: © 20th Century Fox & Europa Corp. via Taken Official Site Trailer
We saw what I’m assuming is the first teaser for 2012, which states in the preview, “How would the governments of our planet prepare 6 billion people for the end of the world? They wouldn’t.” Then it tells you to “find out the truth” by googling “2012.” Being a sucker for viral marketing, I did. Turns out the Mayan calendar runs out on December 21st, 2012 because some believe the Mayans predicted the world would end… [queue Smashing Pumpkins' "Doomsday Clock"...].
The visuals are pretty cool from the little we could see. Check out the official site and teaser here: 2012 Official Site, Sony Pictures
Packed with star power including favorite John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor and others. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the man behind Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and Godzilla, among others, 2012 will probably be an action-packed ride, if nothing else.
Add’l Info: Release Date: Jul 10, 2009 • Runtime: TBD • Rating: TBD • Photo Credit: © 2008 Sony Pictures via 2012 official site, all rights reserved.
“There is a pattern to predicting the future… there is an order to our deepest fears.”
Knowing is about teacher Ted Myles [Nicolas Cage], his son and a time capsule his son’s school digs up from a fellow elementary class of 50 years ago, that contains what those students thought the future might hold… one being just a page full of numbers. Ted realizes these numbers aren’t random, but are a sequence of dates and deathtolls of catastrophic events of the last 50 years and beyond. Can these remaining predicted events be prevented? How is Ted and his family involved? Are we all going to die? Will it be Ted’s fault? lol…
Knowing actually looks pretty good… An interesting thriller. You can check out the trailer here: Knowing Official Site.
Nicolas Cage is still sporting that strange hairdo, but it seems to work better in this role… and his face doesn’t look as weird [his face was puffy to the point of distraction in the last National Treasure movie... most likely due to swelling after having some work done]. Depending on what else is out around that time, this one might be worth checking out… Directed by Alex Proyas, who directed I, Robot, which was fantastic, so hopefully this one will be on par.
Add’l Info: Release Date: Mar 20, 2009 • Runtime: TBD • Rating: TBD • Photo Credit: Still from the official trailer, TM & © 2008 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
“12.12.08 Is The Day The Earth Stood Still.”
The Day The Earth Stood Still is the updated version of the original which came out in 1951. I went to see it without any expectations. Coming out of the movie, I liked it. I thought it was a decent balance of action and drama. It was fast-paced, and I thought they did a good job of getting the overall message across without overdoing it or dragging out dialog scenes. And I thought the ending was thought provoking. My husband and I had a decent discussion about it last night that carried over to this morning because his perspective on it differs from mine. We had planned on seeing the original before seeing this one, but it didn’t happen, but I’m glad. If I had gone in with preconceived notions, I may not have liked it as much.
Keanu Reeves was perfect for the role of “Klaatu”, the humanesque ‘visitor’ sent here as an emissary to talk to the leaders of our world. I know a lot of people think Reeves is a horrible actor, but I’m not one of those people. Not anymore… I used to. It took seeing him on Jay Leno, hearing how he speaks in real life to understand than he has a weird accent that makes him sound like a bit of an airhead, but he isn’t. lol… so I got over it.
Jennifer Connolly did a great job as well. She is very expressive with those crazy eyes of hers. The fact that she looked like she weighs 98 lbs was a bit distracting, but not nearly as distracting as the obnoxious row of 10 year old boys sitting behind us who felt the need to try and predict every scene and narrate everything. With repeated ’shushing’ they finally shut the hell up… [yes, I'm still angry].
There was a great supporting cast as well with Jaden Smith as Jennifer Connolly’s rebellious step-son, John Cleese as Nobel Prize winning professor, Jon Hamm as a fellow scientist, Kathy Bates as the Secretary of Defense and a few others.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It had plenty of action, it was visually entertaining and I enjoyed the drama… There was plenty of suspense and they did manage to pull off a few things that could have been horrifically hokey.
3 1/2 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Dec 12, 2008 • Runtime: 103 minutes • Rated PG-13 for some sci-fi disaster images and violence • Photo credit: WETA. TM and ©2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved via allmoviephoto.net.
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