Reviews

Thor – Review

May 10, 2011
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I saw Thor this past weekend. I don’t know much about the comic book character and the previews looked all over the place, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. But I loved it. In fact, there was a scene in the movie early on where I thought to myself “Yes, I love this movie.” It was when our heroes, who live in a completely different world than our own are riding on horseback across a rainbow bridge to a portal to send them to another realm. It was a pure, unashamed, geeky explosion. And that’s all I kept thinking while I was watching. Thor was not afraid to be absolutely, positively geeky.

As much as I love the Batman and X-Men movies, they take their comic book sources and fit them into a grittier, realer world. Thor did no such thing. Yes, half the movie took place in our world, but they didn’t try to tone down the outrageous parts of the fantasy world to cram it into the real world. They let both worlds be themselves and blended them in a way that didn’t compromise either of them. Everything else about the movie was good too, the acting, directing, special effects, story, all that nonsense. But it’s unabashed geekiness is what really made me enjoy it.

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Source Code – Review

April 11, 2011
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I saw Source Code this weekend. This is the second movie by Duncan Jones, who previous directed Moon, which I really liked. Source Code is about a man played by Jake Gyllenhaal who is sent to relive a train bombing over and over again until he is able to discover the bomber. It sounds a lot like Groundhog Day, and there’s certainly a similarity, but the movie is also a complex science fiction actioner that keeps you guessing (with the exception of a pretty obvious fake out early on) the entire time.

As my friend Michelle pointed out, it’s nice to have another movie like Inception that doesn’t just through splodey explosions on the screen in an attempt to distract the audience from the lack of plot (cough cough Battle: Los Angeles). Leaving this movie, opened up a whole string of discussion and theories that kept you wondering well after the credits rolled.

I also really appreciated the positive and optimistic message it left you with the end. A really warm freeze frame at the end was particularly welcome, especially given my Buffy the Vampire Slayer “the hardest thing in this world is to live in it” rut I’ve been in lately. Seriously, I’ve been so down on life and pessimistic lately, I don’t know wtf is wrong with me. I mean, there’s still a part of me that’s like “That optimism would never happen in real life!” But whatever, it’s nice to be a happy ray of sunshine for about 5 minutes.

But I digest! The movie was really great, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something to see.

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The Adjustment Bureau – Review

March 14, 2011
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So I saw The Adjustment Bureau over the weekend. The movie is based on the short story Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick. Movies based on his amazing short stories are always very hit or miss. Hit being Minority Report, miss being Blade Runner. OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT IT’S THE BEST MOVIE ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET YOU SHOULD DIE. Yeah, whatever, get it out of your system. Anyway, how was the movie?

I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t tell you to run out and see it right away, but it’s definitely a renter. It really focused on the heart of the story which was the relationship between Matt Damon and Emily’s Blunt’s characters which is always more important than explaining every little detail or crazy action sequences. This was definitely made on a shoestring budget and it was nice to see the filmmakers have to focus on the smaller aspects rather than throwing random stuff on the screen and hoping it made sense. The actions scenes that they did have though, were extremely well choreographed with doors leading this way and that way and capable of taking you anywhere, which was a lot of fun to watch.

The story is about a congressman played by Matt Damon (at no point do they make his party affilliation clear, which I always appreciate in movies) falls in love with ballerina Emily Blunt. But the Adjustment Bureau, a team of men with special abilities, try to keep them apart because it’s not part of ‘the plan’. Like Inception, they just kinda drop you into this world where things are possible, and they don’t try to shove explanations down your throat. Some of the rules do seem made for the benefit of the movie, which takes you out of it a bit, but it’s only momentary and the movie keeps moving at a brisk enough pace that it doesn’t bother you for long.

So yeah, I’m not telling you to run out and see it, but if you’re looking for something to see, this should definitely be a viable option for you. At least rent it when it comes out on DVD or Netflix.

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner – Review

March 3, 2011
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So I finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner yesterday. My friend Meg recommended it since she knew how much I enjoyed The Hunger Games. After a bit of a rough start (I may or may not have texted my friend Meg “If they don’t start giving Thomas some answers, I’m gonna throw this book out the window!”) I really fell in love. The beginning was just difficult to read because it reminded me a lot of the third season of Lost where the Others were in total control and were horrible to our castaways.

Because you see, the book it about a group of boys who are trapped in a humungous maze filled with these ridiculously scary monsters called Grievers and our main character Thomas is the latest one to join the group. For the first few chapters, all the other characters were absolutely horrible to Thomas and I just couldn’t stand it. Besides reminding me of my frustrations with Lost, I think another problem for me was that it reminded me of growing up and not fitting in with all the other boys. I think it just brought up some bad memories and just made me uncomfortable.

But enough of that, because a few chapters in, Thomas is (for the most part) accepted by all the other boys and the story really takes over. I don’t want to get too much into the story, but it’s about the boys living together and trying to escape the maze. I loved the way the author went into such detail about how the boys lived and the regime they established, and then having Thomas come in and throw everything into disarray.

The book doesn’t have as much wall-to-wall action as The Hunger Games, but the suspense and mystery behind the whole story kept me turning pages like a madman. Seriously, the end of every single chapter was like OMG WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?! that I read for much longer than I usually do on my train rides to and from work before passing out. Sometimes I ever stayed awake the whole train ride! Egads!

So yeah, if you’re looking for something fun to read, definitely check this out! Now I’m finally reading Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned, which my friends Donya and Travis got me over the summer while I wait for the second Maze Runner book The Scorch Trials to come in the mail.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Review

December 13, 2010
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So I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader yesterday. Even though I didn’t read The Chronicles of Narnia until I was in college when I took a Fantasy and Folklore literature class (best class ever), I like to pretend they were a big part of my childhood even though I hardly ever touched books until I got to college and fell in love with the Harry Potter books. But whatever, that’s neither here nor there, nor all the way over there. I love the books. They’re treasured memories of mine from years gone yonder.

I absolutely loved the first movie. I think I saw The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe about five times in the theaters. Shut up. Prince Caspian is my favorite of the books, and I love the movie, but I still think the first one is superior.

Now as for this one, I was a bit worried. A lot of people think that Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of the best books, but it never really did anything for me. There wasn’t so much a story as there was a series of events that were strung along. And I was worried that translating it into a movie would make the books faults even more apparent.

So how was the movie? Well it took me a little while to get into it. I still missed the magical atmosphere of the first movie, but by the halfway point I was completely in love. The introduction of cousin Eustace added a nice bit of skepticism and humor to the too-perfect-to-actually-exist Pevensie children and by the end, his story and his relationship with the valiant mouse Reepicheep was my favorite part of the movie.

As far as the story goes, I’ve never been a fan of seafaring adventures. They just always seem really limiting in terms of storytelling. There’s just not that much you can do on a boat. I think that’s why it took me a while to get into the movie, but the moviemakers added a plotline that wasn’t in the original book which helped tie the random storytelling together. But the movie really took off when Eustace’s storyline took a turn for the fantastical and from that point on I was hooked.

Overall, it was a really good addition to the franchise. I’d recommend you see it, but you already know whether you’ll like it or not from the other two movies, so I’m gonna leave it up to you guys this time. It didn’t really light the box office on fire, so I’m worried that they won’t make The Silver Chair into a movie, which was my other favorite book and introduced one of my favorite literary characters ever, Puddleglum. I want a live action Puddleglum!

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A Very Glee Christmas

December 8, 2010
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I don’t have a post ready for today, so let’s just talk about how simply amazing last night’s episode of Glee was.

Because seriously, it was one of my favorite episodes ever. The Grinch parody with Sue and Becky was absolutely genius. I nearly lost it when Becky was pushing Sue around the bottom of the tree. And I couldn’t have been happier when Brittany came in as Cindy Lou Who. I knew they were going to do a Grinch parody, but I never in a million years thought it would be that perfect. And Bieste continues to add just the right amount of heart to the show, that my heart melts every time she opens her mouth for a heart-to-heart. In my opinion, this wasn’t just a great episode of Glee, but a great Christmas episode of any show period.

What did you guys think?

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Spartacus: Blood and Sand: First Season – Review

December 6, 2010
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So I finished the first season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand over the weekend. Most everything I heard about it from viewers were positive, but they ranged between genuinely good and guilty pleasure. But when I saw the first season at Best Buy for $19.99, I just had to get it and see for myself. Besides, I’m the king of guilty pleasures, so wherever I fell on the scale, I was sure to enjoy it.

So where did I end up falling, you ask? Well into the genuinely good territory. Yes, there’s loads of vulgarity and nudity and physics defying blood, which gives it the impression of a guilty pleasure along the lines of THIS IS SPAAARTAAA!!! but there’s also a really good drama at the heart of the show that all the other vulgar stuff would be boring without.

The show revolves around a former Thracian soldier who is betrayed by the Romans, and forced into gladiatorial combat. He fights for his master’s promises to free his wife from slavery, but as the show goes on, it takes more twists and turns than a game of Rattler Race.

Andy Whitfield is simply amazing as Spartacus. He’s the perfect man to root for when cutting people’s heads off without making you feel like a crazy person. In real life he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and they were able to stall the second season by creating a prequel miniseries that doesn’t need him, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to come back at all, which is an absolute shame. There are talks of recasting the character, but I just don’t know if they will be able to strike the same balance of vengeance and heart that Andy was able to.

The other supporting actors are all really great too. I love me some Lucy Lawless, and John Hannah and Peter Mensah are fantastic as well. Viva Bianca was also marvelously wretched as the conniving Ilithyia who you just loved to hate.

I raved about the show so much that my Dad (a huge ancient history buff) watched the first episode and came up to me halfway through and was like “Seriously?” To which I had to explain that it was not a historical drama to be taken seriously, but a fun soapy show to just relax and enjoy. He ended up enjoying the rest of the episode and moved onto the second, so we’ll see.

Even though I had to tell my Dad not to take it seriously, I wouldn’t say that to everyone. Like I said, I genuinely think it’s a really great show, but I can see how others think of it as a guilty pleasure (I’m sure my Dad will be one of them). So if you’re interested, I’d definitely suggest checking it out with an open mind. It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll like it, it’ll just depend on your sensibilities for how and why you like it.

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Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men – Review

December 3, 2010
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So I finished Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men series yesterday. This was only my second X-Men graphic novel after the Dark Phoenix Saga, and I’m reminded that even though I love Batman, and his graphic novels are my favorite, I really really freaking love X-Men too. Always have. From the 90′s cartoon, to the movies, to the video games, they just kick serious amounts of ass.

Now combine that with my love of Joss Whedon and I’m in heaven. Seriously, this was an amazing series! Granted I don’t know much about X-Men from the graphic novels, but I was really impressed with what he did with Kitty Pryde. It was almost like having Buffy back in my life. Even with the bit characters like Armor, Whedon handles female characters in a way that Hollywood just can’t seem to get right.

Not to say that he doesn’t do his male characters justice, because he most certainly does. I loved the continuing beer gags with Wolverine, and his eventual relationship with Armor. And Beast had me snickering on the train like a crazy person. Particularly when him and his frenemy Agent Brand got caught in a blizzard and he said:

You’re amoral, you’re abrasive, and right now you’re looking at me like I’m a Taun-Taun.

The story begins with a “cure” for the mutant gene (a story that was then semi-used for the X-Men: The Last Stand movie) and eventually evolves into a story putting the entire world in danger. I often forget how much X-Men skews into science fiction territory, but I like it. It’s a nice change of pace from the realer, grittier Batman graphic novels I usually read.

So yeah, there’s not much else to tell. The series is full of twists and turns (the Danger storyline was great fun) with great revelations (“I object!”) and loads of Whedon wit (see above). It makes me want to read more X-Men. I have the first volume of the Grant Morrison New X-Men series I can start. Does anyone else have any other recommendations?

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 – Review

November 22, 2010
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So I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 this weekend. When I first heard they were splitting up the last book into two movies, I was pissed. I figured that it was just another way for movie studios to take our money. (Have I mentioned they only released the theatrical cuts of Lord of the Rings on blu-ray even though the extended editions have been out for years? Hoping that poor saps will once again double dip with their purchases. Well I’m not one of them! Bitter much? Maybe.)

Anyway, my initial concerns were eased a bit when I heard where they were splitting things up. It sounded like a solid place to split up the movie, not leaving things with too much of a cliffhanger like… Voldemort places his wang wand against Harry’s forehead… “Avada…!” CUT TO BLACK.

How much would that suck?

Like I said in my last post, my hope was that years from now, you’d be able to watch and enjoy this movie on it’s own. But anyway, enough about me and my stupid concerns, how was it?

It was fantastic of course. Just like everyone says it is. It’s a beautiful movie to look at, and all the kids perform admirably. They were able to trim down the wandering in the forest yelling at each other from the book and turn it into a compelling story to watch. Yes, it’s sad watching them fight, but it never gets to the point where it’s annoying to watch.

It’s not a particularly fun movie to watch though. Besides some brief laughs and a really fun moment between Harry and Hermione, the whole thing is a bit glum. That’s not so much a complaint, but a worry that in the years to come, I’m not going to be picking up this movie at a bar for a good time. I think a large part of that has to do with the lack of a climactic battle at the end.

My favorite movies in the series Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix have these fantastic final battles and climaxes. Just like Half Blood Prince, that doesn’t really happen here. People like to compare this with The Empire Strikes Back. And yes, the three of them have pretty sad cliffhanger endings, it doesn’t mean we didn’t get to watch Luke and Vader try and kill each other for 20 minutes first. I think the filmmakers are trying so hard to let us know that the bad guys are winning that they think that means leaving out any battle whatsoever.

The final battle of The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 stuck close to the book, but I was hoping that since they were splitting up the movie there that they’d amp up the action a bit more to get our hearts racing. I don’t mean it as that much of a complaint, but like Half Blood Prince, while it’s amazing to watch, it’s also a bit flat.

But that’s it. Maybe I’m just supposed to get over myself and view Parts 1 and 2 as one big movie. Lord knows there’s should be battles galore in the next one to get my heart racing. Overall this was another amazing addition to the Harry Potter franchise.

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Robin Hood – Review

October 5, 2010
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So I asked my twitter friends the other day how the new Robin Hood movie was and it was a mixture of “OMG STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS IT WILL BURN YOUR EYES!” and “It was fun, check it out.” Robin Hood is one of my favorite characters from folklore (if not for King Arthur, he might be my absolute favorite) so I was excited when the movie was coming out, but the bad reviews and the busy summer movie schedule kept me away and I never got a chance to see it.

But I was finally able to see it this weekend, and I have to agree with the more positive answers from my twitter friends. It wasn’t amazing, but it was certainly fun, and an interesting take on the character of Robin Hood. Yes, it’s odd that they told the story that they chose to tell, and it would’ve been more fun had they gone with a more traditional Robin Hood tale of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but overall I thought the story they told was pretty compelling.

The movie itself started out a bit weak, but the moment Robin Hood got to Nottingham and met Marion, I was completely charmed. I loved the relationship between Crowe’s Robin and Blanchett’s Marion. Russell Crowe was his usual self, which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing, just nothing we haven’t seen before, but Cate Blanchett’s Marion was so wonderfully charming, she made the movie for me. I don’t want to get into too much description about this scene, but there is this line of her’s “Oh, is it my turn now?” that just absolutely made me fall in love with Cate Blanchett all over again.

There was a ton of action, which for the most part was well done, though there was a bit of choppiness that was hard to follow at times. And speaking of choppiness, the movie as a whole seemed choppy. It’s as if there is another half hour of movie that needs to be reinserted into it like there was with Kingdom of Heaven (the extended cut is by far a richer experience than the theatrical cut the studio released because they thought us viewers were morons). Sadly, I haven’t heard any rumblings about director and studio discontent as far as Robin Hood goes, so maybe the choppiness will never be fixed. It didn’t ruin the movie by any means, but sometimes they would jump around making it hard to follow. Plus I think they tried to do too much in only a single movie so storylines weren’t able to get the time they deserved in order to be fleshed out properly.

All in all, I thought it was a really fun movie. Perhaps going in with my lowered expectations helped a bit, but I think it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re interested.

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