It has been awhile since I posted and even longer since I had a movie post. And so I am here to do just that. Last weekend I watched "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows Part 1" and this weekend I watched, "Rabbit Hole," "Gulliver's Travels," and "The Way Back." So I'm going to have to do a few mini reviews instead of a long review for each. Plus I'm a tad low on energy and am afraid if I try for long in-depth reviews they will come out sounding strange and not thought out. So here goes.
Firstly there was "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows Part 1." This is the first part of the seventh installment of the Harry Potter saga. For those out there who have read the books we already know the story. And for those out there simply skating by on watching the movies you at least have an idea of where the story starts. Harry, Hermione, and Ron aren't going back to Hogwarts, they are headed out to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes. While the war between the Order and the Death Eaters continues Harry and his gang camp atop mountains and in the middle of forrests, searching for any clue to finding the only weakness that Voldemort has, his Horcruxes. The film is full of adventure, drama, excitment and sorrow. While the movie is well done, definetly in keeping with the Harry Potter tradition, there are points that prove it's nearing the end of it's reign.
While the movie in itself is a darker part of the Harry Potter saga I thought that the lack of lighting was going a bit overboard. The movie was almost too dark to see which made it hard to watch. That was a disappointment. Now while I never go into watching these movies with any level of true expectations I have watched the last couple of films with more of a feeling that the actors should at the very least know their characters. I know that they are not the greatest actots, nor do I expect them to be. However they have now spent many years as these characters and should have grown into them by now. Rupert Grint, Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson, Hermione Granger have indeed done this. And of course the adults of the production know what they are doing. There is however a weak link and that unfortunately Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter, himself. He can't seem to grow into his role the way that the others have. It's a shame. Other than that and the lighting the movie was pretty good. It ended at the perfect moment to make me want to go and see the second part. So good there.
On to "Rabbit Hole." Starring the nominated Nicole Kidman, and Aaron Eckhart the movie is full of pain. It's all about these two people, a husband and wife who are trying to figure out how to go on with their lives after the death of their two-year-old son. It's eight months after their son's death and they are trying to find some sort of normal routine. They have been going to grief group and suddenly Becca, Nicole Kidman, decides she wants to quit. After that Becca and Howie, Aaron Eckhart, begin to live seperate lives. Becca has just found out that her sister is pregnant. And in the spirit trying to move on she goes to deliver Danny's, her son's, clothes to her sister. On her drive home, from eventually dropping the clothes off at Goodwill, she sees a young man in a school bus. She follows the bus to his stop and from that day on she continues to watch him. All the while Howie is going to group, making new friends, and trying to find a way to move on. Seperate lives going on.
The movie was well done in many respects. Superbly acted, beautifully written and directed. And though the film was nowhere near as heavy as "Precious" was it was still hard to watch. The pain of losing a child has to be the hardest thing that parents can go through. And that pain was wll played out in the movie. I do recommend this movie but with a disclaimer. You really have to be ready to experience the sadness and pain that is interwoven in the silences as well as every word spoken. But it is indeed a really good movie.
"Gulliver's Travels," was a fun flick. Starring Jack Black, Amanda Peet, Emily Blunt, Jason Segal and Billy Connolly. All in all a fun cast for a fun movie. Anyone who is familiar with the tale of "Gulliver's Travels" knows pretty much what the story is. Although this is a modern take on it. With iphones and Star Wars refrences the movie was full of odds and ends that made the movie silly and fun. For something that is light and funny and nothing too intense this is the movie. There were a few really nice laughs and some good old fashioned Jack Blackness so it made it worth it. I recommend it.
"The Way Back" based on an incredible true story about seven prisoners escaping from a Siberian prisoner in 1940 and how they survived until they got to India. Not all of them survived but the ones that did left behind an incredible story. Starring Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, and Saoirse Ronan (which is pronounced SEER-shuh RO-nuhn) the movie is full of talent. Though the story itself is a tough one it is also one filled with hope, and one of the things I liked best about it was that they escaped into the winter night, in Siberia, knowing that some would die but knowing that those that did would die free men.
It is a beautiful story of survival and hope and one that really makes you look at people differently. It made me realize that there really were some truly remarkable people in the world. The movie was a tad long and there were some weird time confusions that happened but it was a good movie. The story was incredible and a little mind blowing, the movie was good, well acted and intruiging. It's something that I would recommend though.
Anyway there they are, the movies that I watched in the last little while. Good ones, nothing that blew me away but good movies. Which is more then I can say for a lot of the movies in the past little while. It was a nice change to get some good movies rather then a whole bunch of nothing. Also I would like to note "The King's Speech," is out on dvd this week as well. So if you are local come buy the store and pick up a copy it is well worth it!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A Mythical Adventure
I recently read "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. I have a friend who has been recommending it to me for quite awhile now. I went to visit her and her boyfriend, they live in Portland and near Powell's bookstore, and naturally due to the fact that we are both kind of book freaks we got to talking books. And we of course went to Powell's. This is a dangerous place to be for book lovers, true book lovers. You have to be the type of book lover that literally can't get by for even a day without out SOMETHING to read. If you are that type of book lover Powell's is nirvana. The place that you could go and live and die happily. Anyway while there I started talking about how I really wanted something new to read. A new author, a new genre and my friend once again suggested Neil Gaiman's "American Gods." Seeing as I had already gathered quite a few titles I decided against getting it. However when I returned home and went to a used bookstore I picked it up. Then promptly forgot about it.
Eventually I started getting interested in the book. There it sat on my bookshelf staring me in the face. And I started talking about it with my friend and she urged me to give it a try. And so I did. I read it in a couple of days. I loved it. It surprised me, from the very beginning it swept me up and kept a hold on me. Now I'm not usually one for the fantasy genre but this just interested me from the beginning and kept me interested until the very last page.
The story begins with Shadow. An ex-con just getting out of prison, on his way home to bury his wife. A wife who died just a few days before he got out of prison. On the plane ride home he meets a man calling himself Mr. Wednesday. A man that at first seems harmless and then starts telling Shadow things that he shouldn't know. It scares Shadow enough that when they get to the airport instead of making his connection Shadow decides to rent a car and drive the rest of the way home. Somehow Mr. Wednesday catches up to him and offers him a job. After a few drinks Shadow agrees. What follows is an adventure that shakes Shadow to his very core and makes his soul soar to new heights.
He meets gods and goddesses and speaks to them as equals. Although he is at times thrown for a loop he learns to find his footing in this new world. The world of gods from the past and gods of the present. He dines with Thoth and Anubis, meets Bast, plays chess with a Russian god of darkness and is given the moon. It's a world that most of the time confuses him but one that he ultimately feels comfortable in. And one that I grew to love.
This was a great book, one that will stick with me always, one that made me want to read more of the fantasy genre. Something I know will make my friend happy, and one that makes me happy due to the fact that this opens up a whole new world for me. If you enjoy fantasy or are trying to break into that genre "American Gods" is a great place to start!!! I highly recommend it!
Eventually I started getting interested in the book. There it sat on my bookshelf staring me in the face. And I started talking about it with my friend and she urged me to give it a try. And so I did. I read it in a couple of days. I loved it. It surprised me, from the very beginning it swept me up and kept a hold on me. Now I'm not usually one for the fantasy genre but this just interested me from the beginning and kept me interested until the very last page.
The story begins with Shadow. An ex-con just getting out of prison, on his way home to bury his wife. A wife who died just a few days before he got out of prison. On the plane ride home he meets a man calling himself Mr. Wednesday. A man that at first seems harmless and then starts telling Shadow things that he shouldn't know. It scares Shadow enough that when they get to the airport instead of making his connection Shadow decides to rent a car and drive the rest of the way home. Somehow Mr. Wednesday catches up to him and offers him a job. After a few drinks Shadow agrees. What follows is an adventure that shakes Shadow to his very core and makes his soul soar to new heights.
He meets gods and goddesses and speaks to them as equals. Although he is at times thrown for a loop he learns to find his footing in this new world. The world of gods from the past and gods of the present. He dines with Thoth and Anubis, meets Bast, plays chess with a Russian god of darkness and is given the moon. It's a world that most of the time confuses him but one that he ultimately feels comfortable in. And one that I grew to love.
This was a great book, one that will stick with me always, one that made me want to read more of the fantasy genre. Something I know will make my friend happy, and one that makes me happy due to the fact that this opens up a whole new world for me. If you enjoy fantasy or are trying to break into that genre "American Gods" is a great place to start!!! I highly recommend it!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Something So Sad About Comedy
This past weekend the movies that were for viewing were mostly comedies. I was looking forward to them due to the fact that it has been a dry time in the workld of good comedy. There was a Jim Carrey/Ewen McGregor comedy that looked promising as well as "Little Fockers." This was the third installment in the "Meet the Parents" saga. Also something that looked promising. I generally find Ben Stiller to be amusing and I thought that RObert De Niro and Ben Stiller made a good team in the other two. Needless to say I felt that this weekend just might be a good movie weekend. Wow when I'm wrong, I'm REALLY wrong.
Starting with "I Love You Phillip Morris" starring Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor, written by John Regua and Glen Ficarra and directed by the same team this is a story about a gay con man. Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell a man who grows up living a lie. He is gay but he gets married, has a daughter, works on the police force and goes to church. He joined the police force to find his real mother, he had been adopted, and when he finally does and she rejects him he decides he is going to move his family to Texas and start over. While there after a night spent with a lover he is driving home and gets into a car accident. This is when he decides to change his life and just be gay. He moves to Miami and moves in with a boyfriend and starts living the expensive "gay lifestyle." This is where things start going awry.
Steven decides that in order to keep things the way they are and treat his boyfriend the way he deserves to be treated he starts running insurance scams. Finally he gets put in jail and there he meets Phillip Morris, played by Ewen McGregor. After a whirlwind courtship they fall in love and bunk together. After Steven gets out he promises to get Phillip out as well. What follows is the two of them living together happily for awhile, Steven goes to work and Phillip stays home. But it's in Steven's nature to go hunting for more. He continues to pull scam after scam. And he continues to get caught. Until finally he ends up in prison for good.
This is supposed to be based on true events and it's based on a book written by Steve McVicker. The whole time I was watching the movie I felt like instead of being a comedy about a con man it was a movie poking fun of gay men. It kind of made me sad in that respect. I felt that Jim Carrey's portrayal was over the top and the sex scenes, and yes there were a few, were over done. I was really pretty disappointed in the film. I felt that Ewen McGregor and Jim Carrey were an awkward match for the movie. I thought that they should have used Jim Carrey and someone equally outrageous and make it a complete farce or use Ewen McGregor and someone as tame and make it more a dramedy but the two of them were too opposite and the movie turned into a strange mix of real acting and one liners. I don't recommend it. It's a 2.
Onto "Little Fockers." The movie is pretty much what you expect, starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Blythe Danner and new comers Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel the best part of the whole thing was the cast. I thought that this was going to be a sure thing in the laughter area but it was not to be. It is the story of the Focker's getting ready for their twins' 5th birthday party. A few weeks before the party Jack Byrnes, Robert De Niro, has a heart attack. And realizes how life just might be shorter then he hoped. He calls Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, and informs him that he is now the "GodFocker" of the family. Things kind of proceed from there. The whole "GodFocker" thing goes to Greg's head as well as his new happy relationship with Jack. When Jack and Dina come to visit for the party things go back to the way they were. In the first two movies that is.
The whole thing is a repeat of the first couple of films. The jokes are pretty much identical to the ones in "Meet the Parents," and "Meet the Fockers." It's the same misunderstandings and the same joke of Jack not liking Greg. It was pretty boring. And I think the only reason they had Jessica Alba in the cast was so that she could take her clothes off. I was really disappointed with the whole thing. It's a 4, maybe, out of 10 and although I know it won't stop people from renting it, due to the series it is a part of, I don't suggest it. Then again I might end up once again in the minority in this.
I also watched a TV movie called "The 19th Wife" based on a book with the same title. It was all about the murder of a polygamist man. And his 19th wife is accused of the murder. It stars Chyler Leigh and Matt Czuchry, both best known for other TV roles. Chyler Leigh is probably best known for her role in "Grey's Anatomy" and Matt Czuchry is most likely best know for his role in "Gilmore Girl's." The movie was like a long episode of the TV show "Big Love." It really wasn't much. If it is a story that interests you then go for it, and I didn't think that it was horrible. But it also wasn't anything to get all that excited about.
I guess none of the movies this week were really all that great. It's too bad. Tomorrow there will be a book post, I have finished a couple of books and will review at least one of them on the morrow. Until then gentle readers.
Starting with "I Love You Phillip Morris" starring Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor, written by John Regua and Glen Ficarra and directed by the same team this is a story about a gay con man. Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell a man who grows up living a lie. He is gay but he gets married, has a daughter, works on the police force and goes to church. He joined the police force to find his real mother, he had been adopted, and when he finally does and she rejects him he decides he is going to move his family to Texas and start over. While there after a night spent with a lover he is driving home and gets into a car accident. This is when he decides to change his life and just be gay. He moves to Miami and moves in with a boyfriend and starts living the expensive "gay lifestyle." This is where things start going awry.
Steven decides that in order to keep things the way they are and treat his boyfriend the way he deserves to be treated he starts running insurance scams. Finally he gets put in jail and there he meets Phillip Morris, played by Ewen McGregor. After a whirlwind courtship they fall in love and bunk together. After Steven gets out he promises to get Phillip out as well. What follows is the two of them living together happily for awhile, Steven goes to work and Phillip stays home. But it's in Steven's nature to go hunting for more. He continues to pull scam after scam. And he continues to get caught. Until finally he ends up in prison for good.
This is supposed to be based on true events and it's based on a book written by Steve McVicker. The whole time I was watching the movie I felt like instead of being a comedy about a con man it was a movie poking fun of gay men. It kind of made me sad in that respect. I felt that Jim Carrey's portrayal was over the top and the sex scenes, and yes there were a few, were over done. I was really pretty disappointed in the film. I felt that Ewen McGregor and Jim Carrey were an awkward match for the movie. I thought that they should have used Jim Carrey and someone equally outrageous and make it a complete farce or use Ewen McGregor and someone as tame and make it more a dramedy but the two of them were too opposite and the movie turned into a strange mix of real acting and one liners. I don't recommend it. It's a 2.
Onto "Little Fockers." The movie is pretty much what you expect, starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Blythe Danner and new comers Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel the best part of the whole thing was the cast. I thought that this was going to be a sure thing in the laughter area but it was not to be. It is the story of the Focker's getting ready for their twins' 5th birthday party. A few weeks before the party Jack Byrnes, Robert De Niro, has a heart attack. And realizes how life just might be shorter then he hoped. He calls Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, and informs him that he is now the "GodFocker" of the family. Things kind of proceed from there. The whole "GodFocker" thing goes to Greg's head as well as his new happy relationship with Jack. When Jack and Dina come to visit for the party things go back to the way they were. In the first two movies that is.
The whole thing is a repeat of the first couple of films. The jokes are pretty much identical to the ones in "Meet the Parents," and "Meet the Fockers." It's the same misunderstandings and the same joke of Jack not liking Greg. It was pretty boring. And I think the only reason they had Jessica Alba in the cast was so that she could take her clothes off. I was really disappointed with the whole thing. It's a 4, maybe, out of 10 and although I know it won't stop people from renting it, due to the series it is a part of, I don't suggest it. Then again I might end up once again in the minority in this.
I also watched a TV movie called "The 19th Wife" based on a book with the same title. It was all about the murder of a polygamist man. And his 19th wife is accused of the murder. It stars Chyler Leigh and Matt Czuchry, both best known for other TV roles. Chyler Leigh is probably best known for her role in "Grey's Anatomy" and Matt Czuchry is most likely best know for his role in "Gilmore Girl's." The movie was like a long episode of the TV show "Big Love." It really wasn't much. If it is a story that interests you then go for it, and I didn't think that it was horrible. But it also wasn't anything to get all that excited about.
I guess none of the movies this week were really all that great. It's too bad. Tomorrow there will be a book post, I have finished a couple of books and will review at least one of them on the morrow. Until then gentle readers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)