Maybe I missed something, but this movie was dreck. A bunch of terrible, uninteresting, stupid people doing terrible, uninteresting stupid things eventually wind up being killed for terrible, uninteresting, stupid reasons.
The only character I felt any thing other than contempt for was the poor gym manager. He may have been pathetic, but he was genuine.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Alone in the Dark
This movie has all the things that make for a horror movie that is bad enough to be on SciFi Saturday. The acting is terrible, the script is banal, and it stars Stephen Dorf and Tara Reid.
What makes this worse is that it had a big budget and at least an A- list star. The typical SciFi fare is way low budget.
What makes this worse is that it had a big budget and at least an A- list star. The typical SciFi fare is way low budget.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
State of Play
A great murder mystery. The script is smart and the cast is excellent. The plot has just enough twists to keep you interested but not enough to make you feel confused. It is the clarity that makes the ending work.
Sure the set pieces are pretty tired: corporate bogey men, corrupt politicians, over ambitious reporters. Even the hero is well worn. None of that stops the film from being a fun ride that exercises your brain.
Sure the set pieces are pretty tired: corporate bogey men, corrupt politicians, over ambitious reporters. Even the hero is well worn. None of that stops the film from being a fun ride that exercises your brain.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monsters Vs. Aliens
In 3-D this movie is a good diversion. We saw it using passes and it was worth the three dollars. Not sure I'd pay full price.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Foresaken
Saw this on FEAR.net the other day. It was a good rainy day, free, vampire flick. The action was OK, but predictable. They could have done more with the blonde character. She was little more than eye-candy.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Za
H and I stopped into a little pizza and salad place on Mass Ave. in Arlington. It is called Za and is located next to the Arlington Diner. They are a high end pizza place that uses a lot of locally sourced ingredients and a lot of organic ingredients. They have an eclectic selection of salads that range from a fancy wedge salad to a greek salad on a bed of potato salad. The also have an interesting selection of specialty pizza.
I had the wedge salad and a simple bacon and jalepeno pizza. The salad came with crumbled blue cheese, carrots, and a nice dressing. The pizza was a greek style pizza and was cooked to perfection. The most interesting part of the pizza was the jalepenos. They were bread and butter pickled. They had an initial sweetness and ended with a hot kick.
H had the greek salad and portabella and goat cheese pizza. She enjoyed it.
It is one more excellent option for pizza.
I had the wedge salad and a simple bacon and jalepeno pizza. The salad came with crumbled blue cheese, carrots, and a nice dressing. The pizza was a greek style pizza and was cooked to perfection. The most interesting part of the pizza was the jalepenos. They were bread and butter pickled. They had an initial sweetness and ended with a hot kick.
H had the greek salad and portabella and goat cheese pizza. She enjoyed it.
It is one more excellent option for pizza.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Watchmen
I went to see "Watchmen" last night at the IMAX in Reading. It was worth the extra dollar to see this film on the gigantic screen. The special effects, which are good, have more punch in IMAX.
The movie itself was good, but not great. It stayed pretty faithful to the original graphic novel. Most of the changes were just to cut the length down and smooth out the story line. Of course the movie still rolls in at just shy of 3 hours, the movie is still long and could be made shorter. The love scene in Archie is needlessly drawn out. Silk Specter looks good in the buff, but it doesn't help the story at all. There are a few other spots where things could have been cut down a bit more. Maybe it could have shaved 5-10 minutes off the run time. It didn't feel overly long however.
The one major difference between the novel and the movie is how Ozymandias tricks the world into peace. While I think the story works either way, I don't see the point of the change. If there is a bigger point to be made, the ending doesn't really make that clear. The alien meme achieves the same effect as making Jon the baddy. The world would still unite to combat a new, powerful, common enemy. If the ending was turned so that humanity saw the error of relying on a single man for their safety, perhaps the altered ending makes more sense. Dan's comment to Spector at the end confuses things even more. Perhaps, I'm missing the irony in it all. Perhaps, the director wants to drill home the question "Who watches the Watchmen?"
I think the real point is not about watching anybody. It is about Rorschach's joke.
I'm not sure how people who are not Watchmen fans will like the film. It is beautiful to look at, the action is well done, and the story is good. It is a little depressing and dark. Few of the characters (OK none of the characters) are likable. (I'll admit to a grudging soft spot for Rorschach. He is the closest thing to a real hero in the story.)
Watchmen fans will likely enjoy the movie even if they don't love the movie. I'm sure a few will decry the ending, but they are little better than the characters in the story.
If you like action movies and don't have anything to do for a few hours, there are worse ways to spend your money.
The movie itself was good, but not great. It stayed pretty faithful to the original graphic novel. Most of the changes were just to cut the length down and smooth out the story line. Of course the movie still rolls in at just shy of 3 hours, the movie is still long and could be made shorter. The love scene in Archie is needlessly drawn out. Silk Specter looks good in the buff, but it doesn't help the story at all. There are a few other spots where things could have been cut down a bit more. Maybe it could have shaved 5-10 minutes off the run time. It didn't feel overly long however.
The one major difference between the novel and the movie is how Ozymandias tricks the world into peace. While I think the story works either way, I don't see the point of the change. If there is a bigger point to be made, the ending doesn't really make that clear. The alien meme achieves the same effect as making Jon the baddy. The world would still unite to combat a new, powerful, common enemy. If the ending was turned so that humanity saw the error of relying on a single man for their safety, perhaps the altered ending makes more sense. Dan's comment to Spector at the end confuses things even more. Perhaps, I'm missing the irony in it all. Perhaps, the director wants to drill home the question "Who watches the Watchmen?"
I think the real point is not about watching anybody. It is about Rorschach's joke.
I'm not sure how people who are not Watchmen fans will like the film. It is beautiful to look at, the action is well done, and the story is good. It is a little depressing and dark. Few of the characters (OK none of the characters) are likable. (I'll admit to a grudging soft spot for Rorschach. He is the closest thing to a real hero in the story.)
Watchmen fans will likely enjoy the movie even if they don't love the movie. I'm sure a few will decry the ending, but they are little better than the characters in the story.
If you like action movies and don't have anything to do for a few hours, there are worse ways to spend your money.
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