Fire and Ash

Well I finished Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. It’s the fifth year book. You can read the first , second, third, and fourth books in the series.

I finished this one the Monday after Thanksgiving. That’s not bad considering I started it over the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Like the last book this one came in at around 130+ pages longer. What you may not have noticed was that the font seems to have dropped by about one point size, maybe a drop from 12 pt to 11 pt. It may seem a small change, but it probably added a couple dozen pages to the book. Of course I didn’t measure it, so my eyes may be playing tricks on me. It also seems they used a thinner paper to curtail the book thickness growth as well.

Normally I don’t compare movies to the books that much. It’s a self defeating pastime in most cases. They are two different media with their own strengths and shortcomings. The storytelling has to be tailored to each in order to make the best story. I covered that in the last review. This book however, almost necessitates it. This is the longest book so far. It is jam packed with information. In fact there really isn’t much that could be removed from the book without diminishing the story. That is the problem. There was simply too much to put in the movie at its given length. You can see that in the review I wrote 18 months ago. Rereading the review I feel better about the review itself than I probably did at the time. After reading the book, I am amazed at what they managed to get in. Truly it is remarkable. I just watched the movie again to make sure I was comparing properly. There is a whole lot cut out to make the film, but the cuts were surgeon precise. They eliminated scenes that retold information and combined characters and changed who said lines. I am impressed. In fact it probably makes me admire the movie more. It would have had to have been two movies if done closer to the book. I think the movie suffered from a lack of more background, environment, and some cooling down time, but it holds up well.

This book is really just great. I think it is the best so far. There is a bunch of character development, the washing away of childhood simplicity, and the black and white nature of the world dissolves. It’s just great. It’s the first one that really had me yearning to get back to the book to finish it. I can see why some people read it straight through in one sitting, but that it a bit much for me. One sad thing though. The movie had left enough out of the storytelling that I had some hopes for some of the characters. With the book however, that seems less likely, but it is still a possibility. I’ll just have to wait to see. But honestly, this one has made it tough for me to wait my normal cycle of 2 fiction one non-fiction for the next one. I had hoped the next movie would be out now, but they pushed it back to Summer. Should I move on with the books or wait for the movie? Feel free to give advice on that one.

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Bright Shines the Shadow

Well Saturday I went to see “The Dark Knight.” I can’t wait to say it. WOW! That’s all I can say. That is the best movie I’ve seen in years. Seriously, I’m not sure when I last saw a movie that good in the theater. When you add in that it is a sequel, based on a comic series, and it’s an action/drama movie. It’s spectacular. I’m going to try to keep this short.

TDK is several times better than the first one. It’s quite a bit better than “Ironman.” This is the movie to beat this year, but I don’t know that anyone can do it. The acting, writing, directing, and special effects were great. Seriously it’s enough plot and action and drama for two movies, but they molded it all together so well. I watched it and kept wondering when it was going to climax and start the wrap up, but it just kept going and getting better. There’s not really anything I could complain about. My only fear is that they have set the bar so high that they can’t possibly come close to it for a third movie. Just Wow!

If you didn’t get it already, go see it. This is the kind of quality in cinema that we should support. I may go see it a second time myself. See it even if you have to brave lines and pay full price. I’m definitely getting this on DVD.

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Even more movies

I tell you this is a great summer for good movies. I don’t think I gave the theater this much money in all of last year. So last weekend I went to see “WALL-E.” Yeah I was lazy and didn’t write a review right away. So what the pay for writing this is crap so it say until today. And yesterday I went with some friends to watch “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

First I’ll do “WALL-E.” This is just another fantastic movie by Pixar. Frankly I don’t know how they keep hitting them out of the park. They have some talented people there and must have the management willing to let them run where they need to run. I don’t know what it’s like to work there, but I can’t imagine how overstressed, depressed people could turn out stuff like this. I congratulate everyone that worked on it.

Everyone knows WALL-E is a robot, and it takes place in the future. I’m not telling much else, because you have to see the movie. Wait. No. You HAVE TO see the movie! There. That’s better. If you like any of Pixar’s movies, then you will like this one. There’s loads of humor, drama, and moral lessons. It’s worth seeing at full theater price, and the kids should love it.

As for Hellboy, if you liked the first one you should like this one as well. Some things are done better in this one, and some things aren’t quite as good. But the action and the humor are there. I recommend anyone who liked the first one go see it. Full price is warranted if you loved the first one. If you merely liked it then catch a matinee.

And now I await “The Dark Knight.” I’m all excited.

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It’s popcorn and a movie time. It’s popcorn and a movie time. It’s…

So last week was busy. I had been meaning to go see several movies and the perfect storm seemed to form that allowed me to finally go. What follows is a ramble about each of the movies. I’ll tell you now they are, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Kung Fu Panda,” and “Wanted.”

So first I’ll do IJatKotCS. Man that is a mouth full right there. I saw it first because I was afraid it might leave the theaters first. I don’t know what some people were complaining about. Most of the movie seemed on target for the time period portrayed. I mean as far as plot points. As for the reviewers and nay sayers. It’s a friggin Indiana Jones movie. Did you see Temple of Doom? I mean come on. This was exactly on par with the rest of the movies. It was full of humor, slapstick, improbabilities, and sheer dumb luck. I thought it was nice and I enjoyed it. Frankly I don’t know what you were expecting. If you like the other IJ movies you should like this one, unless you are complete twit.

Now Hulk. You know I never understood why some people bashed the last Hulk movie. It went out on a limb on a couple things, some of which I liked and some I didn’t. Some of the high emotion scenes were tough to swallow, but it was strange characters reacting in ways unfamiliar to them. Consequently I forgive a lot. This one was better, but it’s still a Hulk superhero, kinda, movie. There are parts that are corny, some of them are simply because Bruce Banner is corny. There are some touching moments between Bruce and Betty. The general is a real f&*%er for lack of a better term. I mean lots of the plot and dialog are telegraphed. There aren’t many surprises, but it’s still a nice, fun ,pretty good movie. Well I take that back. There is a good turn at the end, that I was still hoping for but not exactly expecting them to actually do. When you last see Bruce, remember something Betty suggested that Bruce dismissed outright. At least I hope that’s what it is.

What about KFP? Well. You know. That was just a good movie right there. I had no idea the cast they got for it. The voice acting was fantastic. I mean Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane etc. I wasn’t expecting that cast, and I was well pleased by it. It’s a hoot and surprisingly has a decent moral lesson in it. I mean of course it does. It is a movie parent and child should both be able to enjoy immensely. This was easily the best of the 4 movies, and right now only Ironman beats it for the summer. I recommend everyone see this one.

Finally Wanted. This made me conflicted. Some of it is fast paced and almost blinding in speed. Some of it made me go “Yeah Kick his ass.” And some of it made me go, “Did a 10^th grader write and direct this part?” I don’t know how it got better reviews than Hulk. It was entertaining, but it wasn’t much more than decent. Though the effects are pretty sweet.

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A Prince Among Narnians

Okay I’ve been remiss in putting this up. Almost two weeks back I went to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” at the movie theater. I’ll keep this short though. There’s my original review of the book that tells about the plot and such. As far as the movie, this is a worthy successor to the first one. In fact I think I liked this one just a little better, which is opposite to the books. It is a great movie for the whole family and I recommend people go see at a matinee if it is still playing in your area. If not, then rent it.

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Solid as Iron

Well Saturday I went to see a DLP presentation of the new “Iron Man” movie starring Robert Downey Jr. I’m not even going to wait till the end to tell you. Go. Now. Watch it at full price if you have to, but go. Oh and stay through the credits. Just go. That is probably one of if not the best superhero/ comic book movies I’ve seen in a long time. The only thing that probably beats it is “V for Vendeta.” That’s right I think it’s better than “Spiderman” and “Batman Begins.” It’s already on my buy the special edition when it comes out. It looks like Marvel has some good stuff cooking up too. Go. Downey owns the role of Tony Stark. Everyone in the film really hits their performances with all cylinders. The visuals are stunning, and the CGI great. This movie should be enjoyable to anyone that likes good movies. So Go. I’ll quit talking now so I won’t delay you anymore.

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Ass Kicking for the Whole Family

So last week I went to see “The Forbidden Kingdom” at the theater. That’s the new movie starring Jackie Chan and Jet Lee. I had high hopes for the movie. I mean It’s Chan and Lee for crying out loud, but it turned out to be about what I expected. It is a pretty good movie with nice action scenes and pretty scenery. The writing and the directing is made for the whole family, including children. This isn’t like the epics of Lee or the fast relentless action of Chan. It’s so everyone can follow it. That makes it good but safe. There’s not really anything edgy about it. I say take the whole family, but try to make it to a matinee.

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I’m looking over

So this past weekend I had some friends up. We had a little frozen precipitation, but nothing stuck. So Saturday we went to the movies and watched “Cloverfield.” I had seen the trailers for it and had heard a few things. I was really anxious to see it, but I was also afraid that the camera movements would make me sick. I had a really had time with “The Blair Witch Project.” That movie had a shaky camera though the whole thing. I don’t know what possesses them to do that. Yeah it was realistic, but I had to close my eyes through about 1/3 of the movie due to a splitting motion sickness induced headache. Cloverfield had a similar camera effect, but it was easier to close my eyes during the high motion sections that didn’t really show anything. Anyway on with the review.

The movie follows a guy and his friends. The premise is someone is filming a sendoff party for one of the main characters. During the party the city is rocked by an “earthquake” and then explosion. Then it becomes obvious that it’s no mere accident. Something really big is in the city and it’s tearing up the place and killing people. The rest of the movie is about the people trying to get away.

It was pretty well done. There were some stupid parts. I always wonder if these characters have never watched a scary or a monster movie before. Here’s a tip. When stuff starts running one way you should probably follow it. And some others for people that might get trapped in a horror movie situation, when the scary things get scared it’s bad and don’t go to see what that noise is. Also, there is never too much ammunition. So in all I really liked the movie, even with the headache inducing camera motion. I’d like to watch it again, but I’ll wait for the smaller screen. I also really want to see a sequel. We talked about it at home and thought a parallel time line from the military point of view might be interesting, especially if it crosses the path of the same actors. They did a really good job making a unique monster, and driving suspense. It also leaves you with a lot of questions that never get answered. That’s for the next movie.

If you like scary monster movies then this is a must see, even at full price. If you have bad motion sickness, close your eyes when the camera is really bouncing around. At least it stops for some of the conversations.

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Movies Movies Movies

I’ve been lazy and haven’t kept up with my requisite movie reviews. I’ve got four in total that I should have done by now, but just didn’t bring myself to write. I’d feel really bad about it if I thought someone cared. Anyway, I’ll be rambling about them after the link.

First, way back before Christmas I went to see “The Golden Compass.” It got decent reviews, so I figured what the heck. Well It was a pretty decent movie. I don’t think it went as well as say “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe,” but it was pretty good for the kids. It seemed to jump a bit in the story telling. It was a bit jarring, and I sometimes felt I had missed a scene or two. Luckily there were some good actors in the flick that smoothed some of that over. Had the acting had issues it would have made the editing/directing flop. It did make me want to read the book series though. As a consequence I bought a copy at the book store after Christmas. It’s actually an omnibus of the “His Dark Materials” series by Philip Pullman. I’m hoping that, as is usually the case, the book is more thorough than the movie. It’s on my list of things to get to.

Then there was the standard Christmas Day movie my family started as a tradition years ago. We looked at what was out and decided that everyone would probably enjoy seeing “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” I did enjoy it for the most part. It wasn’t as good as the original, but the reviews said that as well. There wasn’t nearly as much problem solving and clue following in this one. Plus some of the initial drama wasn’t explained very well, nor was it pulled off that well. But it was entertaining, and they left it open for a third movie.

Yesterday I went to watch “I am Legend.” I’ve never read the book or seen the two other film adaptations. This one deviates from the book, as all good film adaptations should. First I will say that those among you that dislike scary movies probably should wait to rent this. I’m not a big fan of scary movies myself, but I will admit that I had to make sure I set my drink down at certain times. Luckily those times are well telegraphed. Smith offers a great performance that really brings home the silliness and seriousness of the human dependency on interpersonal contact. The film almost feels like it has two parts. There is the mediocrity of the daily living, the doing the dishes part of the movie, and then there is the fight for survival. It’s really a pretty good movie. You just have to get past the obvious CGI creatures. But it isn’t called suspension of disbelief for nothing.

Then today I went to see “Sweeny Todd.” Well now that was just a good time right there. I don’t get to see musicals much, unless they are made by Disney. And there is a whole lot of singing in this movie. I’ve watched musicals on television and in person before, but this was jam packed with it. I know some people don’t care for musicals, but I’m not recommending it to them. I was actually surprised at how funny parts of it were. It reminds me of the human ability to make light of almost any situation. I recommend it to anyone that likes a bit of dark, gory, funny, and musical entertainment.

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Movies of Fall

Can you believe it I’m actually making a post? This is of course about movies, but I’m not goanna spend much time on it.

First, several weeks back I saw “American Gangster” with a couple of friends. Let me tell you that is a pretty darned good movie right there. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It’s not nearly as violent as I thought it might be. Plus it doesn’t really get bogged down at any point. If I had written a review in time I would have recommended it for a definite viewing even at full price.

Yesterday my brother and I went to see “The Mist” based on a Stephen King novella. The sucker had pretty good reviews so I thought what the heck. That was quite interesting. It had the feel of a “B” movie, but the acting and writing were pretty good. I enjoyed the characters and actors quite a bit. Some might not like horror/suspense like this, don’t go if you don’t like scary movies, but this one had the right mix of stuff for me. It almost gave me a Hitchcockian feeling. All the way up to the end. You have characters that make pretty smart and understandable decisions all through a movie, and then you get to the en and they flub it. I know what it was trying to pull off, but that was the only unconvincing part. I recommend it as a matinee to anyone who thinks it might be interesting.

Now there seem to be a lot more movies coming out I want to see. I’ll try to write more.

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Illusions of Motion in Triplicate

So I’ve seen a few movies in my month off as well.

First off I went to see “The Simpson’s Movie.” It was pretty nice, but it wasn’t as good as I was hoping. It’s no Tomaco episode, but it was pretty good. I laughed, but not hysterically. I’d suggest seeing it at a matinee if you like the Simpsons. Rent it as well.

Then I saw “The Bourne Ultimatum.” That was just fantastic. If you liked the first two movies then this is a must see. I’m impressed that the movies have seemed to get better each time. It’s a rare thing, but I’m contributing it to them going with 3 good books that were already completed, and they took their time making the scripts and getting the movies out. They still did that shaky camera thing that made me feel sick in the last one, except it was more prevalent this time. Why do they need to do that? I know it changes the feel, but not all the damned time. Anyway, you must see this movie if you like action or suspense. It’s just great.

Finally, this past weekend I saw “Superbad” with some friends. That is one of the funniest movies I have seen in quite a while. It’s from the makers of “Knocked Up” and “40 Year Old Virgin.” If you liked those two this one is 30-40% funnier. It’s wrong, gross, raunchy, and full of vulgarity, but it’s just so damned funny. I laughed so hard I started coughing. Anyone who was a nerd in High School will find it all the funnier. I’m probably going to have to see it again. I recommend going on a Friday or Saturday night at a theater frequented by college students. See it at full price, but you have to see it. Man that’s funny.

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Potter’s Wheeling

Well last Thursday I went to the theater with my brother to see “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.” I reviewed the previous movie a year and a half ago. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, until you see how the actors have aged. Anyway, on with the show.

I said in the previous review that I thought the movie was rushed. It was based on a long book and there were scenes that felt like the last minute of dialog were cut. Well this movie is based on an even longer book, but there didn’t seem to be as many scene fragments lying around. It seems that they spent more time figuring out what they could prune and making the rest mesh together better. The editing was better. However, it was pretty obvious that there was a lot missing. Characters that received only fleeting air time in the previous movies were there a lot more, but didn’t develop much. New characters hit the ground running without much back story. It makes the watcher beg for more information about characters. A friend said he thought it should have been about 30 minutes longer. Well I haven’t read the books, so I don’t know all the stuff that was left out. However, listening to others talk about it indicates to me that the additional elements might have been difficult to mesh in 30 minutes, and may have already been left out of previous movies. In any event, the missing explanations and character development makes me want to read the books even more. And that should be considered a success for any author.

This one was better than the last movie. I will read the books at some point, probably when I can by all of them in one boxed set. At that point I may have some more words to say about the films, but for now it’s a good movie and worthy successor to the rest. Go see it.

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Die Cast Action

Well last Tuesday I had the day off. I have vacation time I’m having to start taking or I will lose it. So I went to see “Live Free or Die Hard.” First of all Bruce is getting a little old for these parts. Other than that however, this was a bang up good movie. And for once the good guy actually gets to beat up the villainous woman. Come on equal treatment in the workplace. It got good reviews on RT and I enjoyed it a lot. The only thing about it was not so good was the depiction of the computer stuff and the action with the plane. Who thinks server rooms look like that? I mean really. Oh well. If you liked the other Die Hard movies then go see this one, at least at the matinee.

Then Saturday some out of town friends and I went to see “Transformers.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but according to some of the reviews I was hopeful. They had the real Optimus Prime voice, and most of the geek crowd wasn’t crying foul. So how did it fare. It was a pretty good rendition of a live action Transformers movie. I was impressed. The acting was good and the story line was pretty good. It turned out better than I expected. Plus the battle scenes were awesome. There was some service for the kids and hokey love stuff, but it was kept manageable. I recommend anyone who likes action take a look at this one.

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Saturday

A few interesting things happened Saturday. For one thing the continuation of the rain storms at some point during the day continued. We got some rain in the evening. I’ve been really happy that I haven’t had to water the garden in the past several days. Watering different parts of it daily was getting to be quite a chore. Now however, the grass is starting to grow. Well you can’t have everything.

I picked okra early in the morning, since I had neglected to pick it Friday. My parents went to Commerce, GA Friday and stopped by my house that morning on the trip. They picked up something I had to exchange for my Dad and a little okra as well. I had way too much for myself to be able to prepare and freeze, so they took it. As a surprise they left something in its place. They left me some corn from my Dad’s garden, and 2 small pomegranate sproutlings they got from a friend’s yard. Now I have them in pots waiting on them to get a little bigger before I decide where to put them. I’m thinking it’ll have to be in the sunnier and drier parts of the yard. Maybe in front of the garden.

I did the requisite dish cleaning and such after some breakfast and a little TV watching. I went outside to receive my self prescribed dose of ultraviolet radiation. It’s my way of fighting the kickin’ farmer’s tan I was building up in the early spring. While outside I heard something moving around and looked up from my book. Lo and behold, what may have been a Gray fox went trotting across the back yard. I’ve been looking up information about them. The animal seemed a little tall and the muzzle was a little long and thick for a Gray fox, so it may have been something else. In fact it looked a little like a young Grey wolf, leading me to believe it may have merely been a wild dog. I’m not sure, but the scat that appeared in the front yard a week ago resembles descriptions of fox scat on the web, and I have seen several dead foxes on the side of the road over the past year. I’ll keep my eyes open and see if I can get a picture if I ever see it again.

I came back in showered and decided I was bored, so I went to see a movie. I freely admit I went to see “Evan Almighty.” I enjoyed the first movie, so I figured why not. As for the review, I give it a big meh. It was ok. Rent it if you want to see it. No need to go to a theater and pay those prices. In the end it’s a sequel that doesn’t live up to its original.

I came home made some dinner and roasted about 3 dozen little Roma tomatoes. I’m trying to make a sauce so I can freeze it for later. Then I decided to do something I haven’t done in many months. I took my blender out to make a “Purple Pomelator,” that’s a “Purple Nurple” with some pomegranate juice in there. Anyway I put the mixin’s inside and the ice and fired up the blender. I heard the normal grinding of the ice and what not and then it went WHEEEEEEEEEE. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I lifted the jar off the motor and my worst fear had happened. The danged gear on the top of the motor housing had shattered. It was ruined. I had always considered that to be my greatest concern as a point of failure, and those fears bore out. Well it did last for over 5 glorious years and lots of ice and frozen beverages. I’m going to see if I can find a way to replace the gear. I hate for a piece of hard plastic to kill an otherwise fantastic piece of equipment. Anyway, so Sunday I took my trusty 20% off coupon to BB&B to get a new one. Well BB&B doesn’t sell that model anymore. They sell a new model that has a design change that specifically fixes the component that failed on my blender. The only problem is that it comes with a polycarbonate jar rather than a glass one. Polycarbonate costs less to make and ship, but it is much noisier when you start throwing ice around inside of it. So I broke down, used the coupon, and bought the blender. It works quite nicely, but it is at least twice as loud as my old one. But I haven’t given up yet. I’m going to look for a way to revive my onyx jewel. Hopefully I can.

Update: I have just placed an order for 2 blender couplings for my little black baby. They should arrive in a couple of weeks. From forum that I have read I now need to make a special wrench to hold the shaft while I take the busted one off. I like a challenge.

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Let’s go out to the lobby

I say that fully knowing that the two movie theaters I frequent here no longer have any drinks I want. Anyway my brother and I went to see two movies recently so I thought I’d give you a rundown on them before I forget about them.

Last week we went to see “Ocean’s Thirteen.” Arguably this is probably one of the better threequels that has come out this summer, in that it most accurately channels the spirits of the first two movies. Essentially, if you liked the first two, then this one should not disappoint.

Then this past Sunday we went to see “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” This actually turned out better that I expected it to. I reviewed the original a while back, and I noted that they needed to make the sequel more like the latter part of the movie. Well guess what. They did. And the reviews on RT demonstrated that. Plus it has Jessica Alba in it. And I don’t know what happened, but Alba’s and Kerry Washington’s lips looked HUGE. And who told Alba to wear such freaky looking blue contacts. They were ok in the longer shots, but up close, strange. But it was quite entertaining. I wonder if they will make another one.

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Here Thar be Bloodthirsty Monsters

Well I had a pretty uneventful and enjoyable weekend this weekend. Each year we have to sign up for an Optional Holiday at work. I signed up for Memorial Day to offset something. Due to a State mandate we have to have MLK Jr. Day off. Well that ignored that, as an institute of higher education we don’t take many normal holidays, since they would reduce class time. That means we get MLK Day, but we don’t get President’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Veterans Day. I think it seems a little odd. Of course I think MLK probably would have preferred we celebrated Human Rights Day instead, but I digress. That means I had a 3 day weekend lined up. Work had been a little slower than expected so I asked and received Friday off. That hooked me up with a 4 day weekend. That allowed me to sit around a bit and get some things done at the house.

Friday my brother and I took advantage of being off work; he recently quit his crappy job along with 6 other people this month; and we went to see “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” RT didn’t give the movie a great meta-review, but I don’t pay them that much attention. This is a continuation of the second movie essentially, and it basically has the same feel of that movie. It’s not as good as the first one, but if you enjoyed the second one then you should like this one. I saw it at a matinee, which I recommend.

Then Sunday I went to see “28 Weeks Later.” I saw the original on DVD at the house, and I was anxious about seeing this one in the theater. I don’t normally go see scary or frightening movies. I just usually don’t enjoy them much, and sometimes the camera movements on the big screen give me motion sickness. This one was ok though. It has a lot of the look of the original, which I like. And I would say it’s close to the original in quality viewing, but it kind of grinds down a little in the last part. The really scary part is watching people make bad decisions. You sit there thinking “Shoot It. SHOOT IT!!” or “Don’t do that!” I say think. I don’t yell at the screen. What they really needed was Guy from “Galaxy Quest” to grab one of them and say, “Did any of you ever watch the show?” Well have any of you ever watched a horror movie?

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Three for the Money

Well this past weekend I went and saw "Shrek the Third" at the theater. First of all I am terebly upset. I used to go to the theater by the interstate and they were bought by Regal. They stopped honoring the free movie every 9 cards and the matinée cost went up a quarter. I was a little frustrated cause the year before they had moved from a free every 7 card to the free every 9 card. That was ok. What killed me, and made me stop going there, was that concession prices jumped 30-50%+, plus they stopped serving Mountain Dew. This was after they had removed Dr. Pepper about 1 1/2 years earlier. So I started frequenting the theater near the Lowe's and Target farther into town. The ticket prices became the same after the price increase, and the extra distance was mitigated by them having both Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. And all was good, for a time. Well we went into the theater this weekend and Dadblame it if they didn't switch to all Coke products like the other theater did. They don't even have Cherry Coke, and Mr. Pibb does not taste like Dr. Pepper any more than Pepsi tastes like Coke. But I digress.

Shrek III didn't get particularly good reviews on RT and I can understand why. It's the least entertaining of the three. I think most of the good lines and story point were used up in the first two movies. There's just too much drama and the movie takes itself too seriously. Give it a rental or go see the matinée with children, but don't bother paying full price for it.

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Last weekend

I’ve been meaning to write this since last weekend, but I’ve been busy, procrastinating, and gone. Anyway I’m doing it now. Last weekend I went to see 3 movies. Well one was on Friday and one on Monday, but it was all centered around the weekend. May seems to be the month of movies this year. I managed to see “Next” and “Hot Fuzz” with my brother, but I had to see “Spiderman 3” by myself. I’ll ramble on about them after the link.

I saw “Next” on Friday, since SIII would have been way to full. It only got a 30% on RT, but I will usually go see a movie down to about 20% if I think the idea has promise. As I’ve said before, I enjoy watching the thought process behind the movie plot and much as I like watching the actual movie. “Next” is based loosely on “The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick. I don’t think it deserved the 30% though. I was seeing it as more of a 40%, not good but not bad either. With Nicholas Cage you can never be sure about a movie, but Jessica Biel confirms B movie status. Although she did help keep eyes glued to the screen. In this one Cage has the ability to see two minutes into the future and see all possible outcomes of his decisions in those two minutes. A nuke has made its way to US shores and a federal agent believes that Cage can find it for them. As one critic said Biel proves her acting skills by almost making you believe she is seduced by Cage, 18 years her senior. Yeah. Well the ending of the movie really stuck as harking back to the short story’s origins in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Having read some short stories from that time it strikes me as a very likely ending for the story as portrayed on the screen.

Later I went to see “Hot Fuzz.” RT has it at 89%, and I dare say it’s worth all of it. It’s made by and starring the same people responsible for “Shaun of the Dead,” which coincidentally also got 89% on RT. That’s just one jolly good time right there. Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel a cop that is just too damned good at his job. His fellow officers in London get fed up with him making them all look bad, so he gets promoted and sent to the quiet village of Sandford. Once there a series of accidents causes him to begin seeing a huge conspiracy behind the near perfect facade of Sandford. It’s just great fun, and it’s British.

Then I went to see “Spiderman 3” on Monday. It got a 61% on RT. I would say that’s about a fair assessment, but I probably would have given it a 70%. It’s not as good as the first one or the second one. Not really form an acting standpoint, or a plot standpoint. It’s like they tried to do a little too much in the movie. I have been told that Venom was kind of forced on the writer, which kind of shows. He seems to be tacked on a little more. I also heard they wanted to to be 2 movies, but the studio overrode that decision. That also seems plausible. Raimi seems to have done the best he could with the short time and huge number of plot points he had to make. The problem I had is that the character development in this one is lacking. You don’t spend and lot of time with the new villains to get to know them. So to make up for that some of the character building scenes are heavy handed and hammer the point home with one hard blow rather than taking many soft blows. These also make the movie seem like it lurched forward all of a sudden. A scene would change and it would move the action straight forward. I was expecting a short character building, tender moment but got dumped into the next big plot point. I’m hoping the director’s cut will be better, but I don’t know. I’m also hoping that if they do a 4^th one that Raimi and the writer can point to the bad reviews and press and get more control back. But the bean counters will say, “Look at all the money we made on it though.” Ug. You should still watch it though. That is if you liked the first two.

So in closure, rent Next if you like stories like that, Go see Hot Fuzz now and buy the DVD when it comes out, and go see Spiderman 3 if you liked the first 2, but you may want to see it at matinee. I can’t believe I had to shift a Spidey review to an almost matinee view. Anyway I am going to post some more stuff soon I hope.

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Three for some money

I’ve been meaning to write something up for a while, but I’ve been busy and lazy. Well last weekend and the weekend before I went to see a few movies. Let me tell you about them.

First I went to see “Astronaut Farmer.” It got some pretty good reviews. It’s a pretty good movie with both realistic and unrealistic properties. Thorton always has a way of playing a likable character that’s just a little off center. I found one part in particular jolting enough to jar me out of the smoothness of the experience. You’ll probably notice it. I kept feeling that it had to be a dream. Then when I realized it wasn’t I thought, “That wouldn’t happen.” Anyway, it’s an entertaining story and would make a good rental.

Then I went to see “Black Snake Moan.” That right there was an interesting movie. What is it with Samuel L. Jackson and movies with Snake in the title? Anyway, I had a good time watching this one. I don’t know what happened to Christina Ricci, but she had skank down pat. Plus you get to see her stomach all the time, and her boobs quite a few. It had some pretty funny parts, and would make a good drinking movie for renting.

Finally I went to see “300” with my brother. He saw it in Atlanta at the IMAX a few days before- the bastard. That’s just a entertaining movie right there. It should fill most of the action that woul would require of a movie. I really liked the stylized visuals of the movie. The almost colorized sepia tone nature that uses color to emphasize certain things was lovely. The red of the Spartan cloaks really popped. The movie is an adaptation of the Battle of Thermopylae, with poetic license of course. You can also tell that this movie is from the work of Frank Miller, and its style reminds one of Sin City. That means you will see quite a bit of skin as well. Some is female, but most belongs to the Spartan soldiers. Personally I didn’t find the leather Speedos that distracting, but I did find a few things disturbing. Xerxes, the man that would be a god, creeped me out quite a bit. My brother said he knew the Greeks were supposed to be a little short, but the “tranny” was just too tall. I about fell in the floor, cause I was thinking the same thing. He’s too tall, too touchy feely, and he talks like a Goa’uld. It just weirded me out. I was actually surprised at the tameness of the violence and blood, remembering Sin City. But I recommend it to anyone that likes over the top stylized action.

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He’s Flaaaaming

Well Sunday it was raining all day, so I couldn’t very well burn some of the branches I have piled up in the back yard. So I did something else. I went and saw “Ghost Rider.”

First of all this movie doesn’t have particularly good reviews. It’s sitting at 28% on RT, but I’ll go see movies at that percentage if I find something about it interesting. I didn’t have high hopes entering the movie, but it was pleasantly entertaining. I saw it at a matinee in a theater full of people. Basically the movie isn’t a Hellboy, but it does a decent job with a character and story that sounds pretty silly to non-comic book fans. There’s some odd acting in it, but the characters are quite odd themselves. The effects and transformations are somewhat cheesy, but I’m not sure exactly how you could make them not cheesy without making the character gross to look at. In closing movie snobs stay away, comic fans only go if you can stand it not being everything you imagined, and B movie fan head to the matinee. There’s no need to pay full price for this afternoon’s distraction.

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