Wednesday, July 20, 2005
More Movie Madness
A couple of weeks ago, I hit you with a bunch of mini-reviews of movies I have seen so far this summer. I've seen a couple more now, so without further ado....
FANTASTIC FOUR
My brother just ripped this apart on his blog (link is over there on the left sidebar), but I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will concede his point that Dr. Doom just didn't seem dangerous enough; the would-be world conqueror from the comics was portrayed here as a slimy CEO who had a hard-on for the Fantastic Four. One would assume that in the inevitable sequel, which is set up for quite nicely in the closing moments, Doom will return with much greater ambitions. Until that aforementioned sequel comes, however, we are left with this, the "origin" film. It did take just a tad too long to establish some things (about 15 minutes could have been shaved off between the time the group had their outer space "accident" and the time their powers actually manifested themselves), but taken as it is, I just thought this was a really fun ride and I had a good time with it. They nailed the group dynamic amongst the Four themselves pretty well, and Chris Evans as The Human Torch was an absolute blast. All in all, this was an enjoyable summer popcorn flick, and I look forward to the next installment.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
I had been looking forward to this for quite some time now, and I must say it was worth the wait. Johnny Depp is pretty much the greatest actor alive today, and his performance here is absolutely off-the-wall and positively brilliant. Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka is the polar opposite of Gene Wilder's 1971 version of the character (and none of this should be taken as a swipe at Wilder's performance, which remains an absolute classic). Wilder's Wonka came across as a relatively normal guy who reveled in acting like an eccentric inventor with a devilish twinkle in his eye, while Depp's Wonka feels much more like he is an eccentric. You really believe that this man has been completely cut off from society for a whole bunch of years. This version of Roald Dahl's book is also much more faithful to the source material, with the Oompa Loompas in particular being recreated much closer to Dahl's original vision than they were 34 years ago. For those keeping score at home, Veruca Salt's expulsion from the factory is also taken directly from the book this time in one of the film's best sequences (the last movie created an entirely different method for Veruca to be eliminated from contention). This movie also has a bit more closure to it, as I always felt that the original ended rather abruptly. It's hard to not keep comparing the two films to each other, but I'm going to stop now, because this is really a fantastic movie that should be allowed to stand on it's own two feet. Go see it now.
FANTASTIC FOUR
My brother just ripped this apart on his blog (link is over there on the left sidebar), but I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will concede his point that Dr. Doom just didn't seem dangerous enough; the would-be world conqueror from the comics was portrayed here as a slimy CEO who had a hard-on for the Fantastic Four. One would assume that in the inevitable sequel, which is set up for quite nicely in the closing moments, Doom will return with much greater ambitions. Until that aforementioned sequel comes, however, we are left with this, the "origin" film. It did take just a tad too long to establish some things (about 15 minutes could have been shaved off between the time the group had their outer space "accident" and the time their powers actually manifested themselves), but taken as it is, I just thought this was a really fun ride and I had a good time with it. They nailed the group dynamic amongst the Four themselves pretty well, and Chris Evans as The Human Torch was an absolute blast. All in all, this was an enjoyable summer popcorn flick, and I look forward to the next installment.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
I had been looking forward to this for quite some time now, and I must say it was worth the wait. Johnny Depp is pretty much the greatest actor alive today, and his performance here is absolutely off-the-wall and positively brilliant. Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka is the polar opposite of Gene Wilder's 1971 version of the character (and none of this should be taken as a swipe at Wilder's performance, which remains an absolute classic). Wilder's Wonka came across as a relatively normal guy who reveled in acting like an eccentric inventor with a devilish twinkle in his eye, while Depp's Wonka feels much more like he is an eccentric. You really believe that this man has been completely cut off from society for a whole bunch of years. This version of Roald Dahl's book is also much more faithful to the source material, with the Oompa Loompas in particular being recreated much closer to Dahl's original vision than they were 34 years ago. For those keeping score at home, Veruca Salt's expulsion from the factory is also taken directly from the book this time in one of the film's best sequences (the last movie created an entirely different method for Veruca to be eliminated from contention). This movie also has a bit more closure to it, as I always felt that the original ended rather abruptly. It's hard to not keep comparing the two films to each other, but I'm going to stop now, because this is really a fantastic movie that should be allowed to stand on it's own two feet. Go see it now.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Tagged?
So, apparently I have been tagged by my brother over at his blog. I have never heard of this before, nor am I really sure what it entails. According to him, I am to remove the blog at #1 from the list on his page and add mine to the #5 spot. Then I list five things I miss from my childhood, and then finally, I tag some others in return to keep things moving.
Let me make one thing clear straight away: My brother sucks. Because not only has he already tagged the only other 2 people I know who have blogs (hence preventing me from keeping this whole process moving), but the f***er has also stolen most of my childhood memories!!!
Nevertheless, I shall persevere. Here is the list...
Cannot Be Trusted
Every Passing Moment
Sixty Seconds
Always the Last In Line
The Shallow End of the Pool
The five things I miss from my childhood:
1. The complete lack of responsibility. Is it nice owning my own home? Of course. But when I was a kid I didn't have to worry about paying my mortgage every month.
2. "Thee Arcade". That second "e" is not a typo. Thee Arcade was just down the block from school, and me and Jimmy Hall would pop in every day, get change from "Pops," and spend the afternoon playing "Double Dragon."
3. Imagine That Bookstore. I used to ride my bike over to this old bookstore every weekend to buy my comics. Immediately upon entering the store, that wonderful musty old smell of thousands of used paperbacks would wash over you. You just don't get that smell at Borders.
4. My early comic book collection. After many years of collecting, the sheer volume of comics became overwhelming, and I only read most of them once. But in those early days, I would read them over and over and over again. I know those issues of "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Uncanny X-Men" by heart.
5. The Commodore 128. That Bruce Lee game ruled.
As I said, I know of no one else to tag in return. I guess that's seven years bad luck for me.
Let me make one thing clear straight away: My brother sucks. Because not only has he already tagged the only other 2 people I know who have blogs (hence preventing me from keeping this whole process moving), but the f***er has also stolen most of my childhood memories!!!
Nevertheless, I shall persevere. Here is the list...
Cannot Be Trusted
Every Passing Moment
Sixty Seconds
Always the Last In Line
The Shallow End of the Pool
The five things I miss from my childhood:
1. The complete lack of responsibility. Is it nice owning my own home? Of course. But when I was a kid I didn't have to worry about paying my mortgage every month.
2. "Thee Arcade". That second "e" is not a typo. Thee Arcade was just down the block from school, and me and Jimmy Hall would pop in every day, get change from "Pops," and spend the afternoon playing "Double Dragon."
3. Imagine That Bookstore. I used to ride my bike over to this old bookstore every weekend to buy my comics. Immediately upon entering the store, that wonderful musty old smell of thousands of used paperbacks would wash over you. You just don't get that smell at Borders.
4. My early comic book collection. After many years of collecting, the sheer volume of comics became overwhelming, and I only read most of them once. But in those early days, I would read them over and over and over again. I know those issues of "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Uncanny X-Men" by heart.
5. The Commodore 128. That Bruce Lee game ruled.
As I said, I know of no one else to tag in return. I guess that's seven years bad luck for me.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Nothing Doing
I know I haven't updated in a while, but I really haven't had much to say. This is the busy season for the little town I live in, so my life has mostly consisted of sleep and work for the past month, and will continue in that vein for the next two.
That being said, I have managed to get to my friendly neighborhood cinema several times over the past few weeks to catch a few flicks. Always eager for an easy way to fill up this space, here are my thoughts on what I've seen so far this summer at the movies.
STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH: A fantastic end to the space saga. I thought everything ended up being tied together very nicely, and George Lucas did a fine job of bridging the gap between this trilogy and the original. Not much to complain about.
BATMAN BEGINS: Wow. I loved the Tim Burton films, but this just blew the crap out of them. Everything you could possibly want from a Batman film. Joel Schumacher should watch this, then go invent a time machine so he can travel to the past and kill his younger self before he makes "Batman and Robin." Actually, good news, Mr. Schumacher: You don't have to, as this film is so good it should make everybody forget about that steaming pile.
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL IN 3-D: Robert Rodriguez is a fantastic filmmaker, but he can't win them all. To be fair, this really wasn't aimed at my age group. My 11-year old daughter loved it, for what its worth. The 3-D effects were decent, but effects do not make a story. Besides, we already saw all these tricks in Spy Kids 3-D. And that had Stallone. This one gives us....George Lopez??? No, thanks.
MADAGASCAR: I liked this more than I thought I would. Very enjoyable kids flick, with plenty of genuinely funny moments for the adults. Pixar's films are still the best of this generation of animation, though. This comes in a close second to all of those (Both "Toy Story's," "A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "The Incredibles"). This was better than Shrek, which I liked a lot, but grew tired of very quickly.
WAR OF THE WORLDS: Just saw this yesterday, and was completely blown away. Spielberg can do no wrong, and Cruise's performance is so good that you forget that he's completely lost his mind in real life. Highly recommended.
The next 2 weeks are looking promising, as I plan on seeing "Fantastic Four" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and I also have 2nd row tickets to a WWE house show coming to my town. Stay tuned to his space for all the exciting details.
That being said, I have managed to get to my friendly neighborhood cinema several times over the past few weeks to catch a few flicks. Always eager for an easy way to fill up this space, here are my thoughts on what I've seen so far this summer at the movies.
STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH: A fantastic end to the space saga. I thought everything ended up being tied together very nicely, and George Lucas did a fine job of bridging the gap between this trilogy and the original. Not much to complain about.
BATMAN BEGINS: Wow. I loved the Tim Burton films, but this just blew the crap out of them. Everything you could possibly want from a Batman film. Joel Schumacher should watch this, then go invent a time machine so he can travel to the past and kill his younger self before he makes "Batman and Robin." Actually, good news, Mr. Schumacher: You don't have to, as this film is so good it should make everybody forget about that steaming pile.
THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL IN 3-D: Robert Rodriguez is a fantastic filmmaker, but he can't win them all. To be fair, this really wasn't aimed at my age group. My 11-year old daughter loved it, for what its worth. The 3-D effects were decent, but effects do not make a story. Besides, we already saw all these tricks in Spy Kids 3-D. And that had Stallone. This one gives us....George Lopez??? No, thanks.
MADAGASCAR: I liked this more than I thought I would. Very enjoyable kids flick, with plenty of genuinely funny moments for the adults. Pixar's films are still the best of this generation of animation, though. This comes in a close second to all of those (Both "Toy Story's," "A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "The Incredibles"). This was better than Shrek, which I liked a lot, but grew tired of very quickly.
WAR OF THE WORLDS: Just saw this yesterday, and was completely blown away. Spielberg can do no wrong, and Cruise's performance is so good that you forget that he's completely lost his mind in real life. Highly recommended.
The next 2 weeks are looking promising, as I plan on seeing "Fantastic Four" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and I also have 2nd row tickets to a WWE house show coming to my town. Stay tuned to his space for all the exciting details.
