Again, not much to say about this one. Partly because I'm just not really in the mood to post anything, but I might as well.
The only reason I saw this movie is because I read the book. And just in case you were wondering, all Nicholas Sparks books are pretty much the same. While reading a few of them I kept noticing certain plot points and details that seemed to be duplicates of each other.
As far as the movie goes, it was okay. Of course it strayed a little bit from the book -- some character development was greatly shortened and the general emotion in the book just didn't present itself in the movie. And let's face it, Miley Cyrus is a much better actress when she doesn't speak. Sad, but very true.
Also, this book/movie seems like a total rip-off of Life as a House. Before Garden State existed, Life as a House was my favorite movie. Phenomenal acting by the entire cast. While that will be reviewed in another post at some point, I'll still say here that Hayden Christensen was amazing in his early days. Not too crazy about his movie choices as of late, but give Life as a House a go and you'll know that Hayden does have some serious credibility.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Hangover
I don't really have much to post about this movie.
Was it funny? Yes.
Was it funny enough for all the hype and claims about how awesome it is? No.
Was it funny? Yes.
Was it funny enough for all the hype and claims about how awesome it is? No.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I was so excited to see this movie in part because the book was great and in part because so many people on Netflix gave it 4 and 5 stars, praising how great of an adaptation it was. Remind me to never again base my expectations on such comments.
Yes, it was a good movie and a decent adaptation. However, this movie bothered me more than I enjoyed it. There were so many pieces that they changed in some way or completely left out, and some of the plot points that were left out were important. I realize that things have to be altered and cut in order to get a long book to fit into a normal movie length – this movie was still 2 ½ hours even with the plot changes. They also added a few things though, which didn’t seem necessary to me when you consider what they cut out. Maybe what they added has more to do with foreshadowing the next movie? I couldn’t say because I haven’t read the next book yet.
The actors did a good job – but again some of their parts were drastically cut down. I’m curious to see how the American version of the movie will turn out, where Daniel Craig is said to be the lead character, Mikael Blomkvist. I’m not sure why the Swedish version isn’t good enough and we have to go and make our own… Who am I kidding; of course I know why. Our country loves to make money and capitalize on other people’s accomplishments.
Anyways, overall it’s an okay movie. Not amazing and not horrible. But as usual, the book is far better.
Yes, it was a good movie and a decent adaptation. However, this movie bothered me more than I enjoyed it. There were so many pieces that they changed in some way or completely left out, and some of the plot points that were left out were important. I realize that things have to be altered and cut in order to get a long book to fit into a normal movie length – this movie was still 2 ½ hours even with the plot changes. They also added a few things though, which didn’t seem necessary to me when you consider what they cut out. Maybe what they added has more to do with foreshadowing the next movie? I couldn’t say because I haven’t read the next book yet.
The actors did a good job – but again some of their parts were drastically cut down. I’m curious to see how the American version of the movie will turn out, where Daniel Craig is said to be the lead character, Mikael Blomkvist. I’m not sure why the Swedish version isn’t good enough and we have to go and make our own… Who am I kidding; of course I know why. Our country loves to make money and capitalize on other people’s accomplishments.
Anyways, overall it’s an okay movie. Not amazing and not horrible. But as usual, the book is far better.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Blow
Who doesn't love Johnny Depp? Aside from his good looks, he's one of the most diverse actors ever. Throw any role his way and he'll give it 110% -- and do it well.
Blow is based on a book and a true story, about a guy who grows up in a mid-low class family that always has financial issues. He doesn't want this life, and after he and his best friend move out to California, they discover how much money you can make when you're in the drug business. Over time he goes from weed to cocaine, and of course there are some bumps along the way.
Even though this guy is a drug dealer that makes millions of dollars illegally, you still can't help but like him and feel sorry for him when he is forced to face certain consequences. Penelope Cruz also does a great job portraying a very hypocritical woman, in my opinion. I've seen this movie quite a few times now, and just now I realized that the little girl in the film is played by Emma Roberts. Amazing, she was actually a cute and decent little actress before she started growing up.
I'd definitely put this movie towards the top of my Johnny Depp favorites list.
Blow is based on a book and a true story, about a guy who grows up in a mid-low class family that always has financial issues. He doesn't want this life, and after he and his best friend move out to California, they discover how much money you can make when you're in the drug business. Over time he goes from weed to cocaine, and of course there are some bumps along the way.
Even though this guy is a drug dealer that makes millions of dollars illegally, you still can't help but like him and feel sorry for him when he is forced to face certain consequences. Penelope Cruz also does a great job portraying a very hypocritical woman, in my opinion. I've seen this movie quite a few times now, and just now I realized that the little girl in the film is played by Emma Roberts. Amazing, she was actually a cute and decent little actress before she started growing up.
I'd definitely put this movie towards the top of my Johnny Depp favorites list.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Snow Angels
In general, Snow Angels is a solid film. Impeccable acting and a heart wrenching story. I would actually like to read the novel it’s based off of and see if the adaptation was worthy enough.
The dynamic of the main family in this movie is pretty heartbreaking. Started a family too young and ended up completely broken. I feel bad for the little girl – stuck between two parents that hate each other, one more than the other, but is too young to really understand what is going on. I’m definitely not an advocate for staying together for the kids, but I wish people could just learn to be civil. Apparently that’s too hard for some people.
In this story the mother, played by Kate Beckinsale, is supposed to be the responsible one and has custody over her daughter. The dad is the crazy one that tried to commit suicide, then found God, but still has a dark side and a horrible temper. The mother, however, is completely irresponsible and has an affair with her friend’s husband and falls asleep one day while her daughter wanders outside and falls in a lake and gets trapped under the ice. I’d go with the conclusion that they’re both actually crazy and couldn’t get past their own issues to give their daughter a proper environment. If the father weren’t a total maniac the tired mother that had a cold could have asked him to watch their daughter. But they’re both crazy and she’s stubborn, so that didn’t happen.
Another little storyline in the movie is about a high school boy that works with the previously mentioned mother at a restaurant. She was his babysitter when he was a kid and he had a huge crush on her. But honestly, who wouldn’t have a crush on Kate Beckinsale? As he’s coming of age and dating the somewhat odd, new girl in school, he still finds himself connected to the mother since he’s known her practically his whole life. He’s the one that actually finds her daughter. I can’t imagine finding a 4-year-old girl floating beneath the iced-over lake. I also couldn’t imagine losing your child, especially your only child. That, in my opinion, would be the most devastating thing that could ever happen in life.
In the end, the crazy father stays his crazy self and kills his ex-wife then commits suicide. So much for finding God. The one thing I did like about the crazy guy was that before he killed himself while sitting in his truck, he let his dog out and run free so he wasn’t left in the cab with his dead owner.
Overall I think the film is done beautifully and is very well acted. Definitely worth a watch.
The dynamic of the main family in this movie is pretty heartbreaking. Started a family too young and ended up completely broken. I feel bad for the little girl – stuck between two parents that hate each other, one more than the other, but is too young to really understand what is going on. I’m definitely not an advocate for staying together for the kids, but I wish people could just learn to be civil. Apparently that’s too hard for some people.
In this story the mother, played by Kate Beckinsale, is supposed to be the responsible one and has custody over her daughter. The dad is the crazy one that tried to commit suicide, then found God, but still has a dark side and a horrible temper. The mother, however, is completely irresponsible and has an affair with her friend’s husband and falls asleep one day while her daughter wanders outside and falls in a lake and gets trapped under the ice. I’d go with the conclusion that they’re both actually crazy and couldn’t get past their own issues to give their daughter a proper environment. If the father weren’t a total maniac the tired mother that had a cold could have asked him to watch their daughter. But they’re both crazy and she’s stubborn, so that didn’t happen.
Another little storyline in the movie is about a high school boy that works with the previously mentioned mother at a restaurant. She was his babysitter when he was a kid and he had a huge crush on her. But honestly, who wouldn’t have a crush on Kate Beckinsale? As he’s coming of age and dating the somewhat odd, new girl in school, he still finds himself connected to the mother since he’s known her practically his whole life. He’s the one that actually finds her daughter. I can’t imagine finding a 4-year-old girl floating beneath the iced-over lake. I also couldn’t imagine losing your child, especially your only child. That, in my opinion, would be the most devastating thing that could ever happen in life.
In the end, the crazy father stays his crazy self and kills his ex-wife then commits suicide. So much for finding God. The one thing I did like about the crazy guy was that before he killed himself while sitting in his truck, he let his dog out and run free so he wasn’t left in the cab with his dead owner.
Overall I think the film is done beautifully and is very well acted. Definitely worth a watch.
Garden State
Ah, my favorite movie. Before Garden State blossomed out of Zach Braff’s mind, Life as a House was my favorite movie. And that’s one I’ve yet to replace and put back into my movie collection. I should do that soon – I haven’t seen that movie in years. But as far as Garden State is concerned, it still reigns as the top contender on my list.
It’s the perfect mix of tragedy and drama and humor and romance. Even in the midst of great tragedy can come pleasantly unexpected things. Such a simple concept makes people hopeful about life and what might be coming their way.
One thing in particular that resonated with me this time is the conversation that Large and Sam have in the pool. The point Large makes is that at a certain point home becomes an imaginary place that doesn’t really exist anymore. That is, of course, until you make a new home for yourself with your family. One day you wake up and realize that home isn’t there anymore, and now it’s up to you to create a new home. This exact thing hit me today, realizing that my best friend and my dad are both leaving what I call home, Florida, and soon my mom and my best friend’s dad will be leaving also. My home really isn’t there anymore, and I don’t know where home will be for me. I’ve always willingly left home, whether it be for school or an internship, but it never really hit me that one day everyone else would move on to and my idea of home will disappear. And as of now I have no idea where I’m going to end up. It’s kind of a scary thought.
Back to Garden State. Another reason I love this movie is because of the actors. In particular Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. Zach Braff does a great job too, but in this case I commend him more for his writing and directing skills. Natalie Portman portrays the perfect amount of quirkiness and naivety. Peter Sarsgaard, well he’s just an amazing actor in general. He’s capable of doing such a wide variety of roles, and he does the too-old-to-still-be-living-at-home stoner type flawlessly. Not to mention he has the pleasure of saying my favorite line in the movie, “Don’t tease me about my hobbies; I don’t tease you about being an asshole.” Love it!
It’s the perfect mix of tragedy and drama and humor and romance. Even in the midst of great tragedy can come pleasantly unexpected things. Such a simple concept makes people hopeful about life and what might be coming their way.
One thing in particular that resonated with me this time is the conversation that Large and Sam have in the pool. The point Large makes is that at a certain point home becomes an imaginary place that doesn’t really exist anymore. That is, of course, until you make a new home for yourself with your family. One day you wake up and realize that home isn’t there anymore, and now it’s up to you to create a new home. This exact thing hit me today, realizing that my best friend and my dad are both leaving what I call home, Florida, and soon my mom and my best friend’s dad will be leaving also. My home really isn’t there anymore, and I don’t know where home will be for me. I’ve always willingly left home, whether it be for school or an internship, but it never really hit me that one day everyone else would move on to and my idea of home will disappear. And as of now I have no idea where I’m going to end up. It’s kind of a scary thought.
Back to Garden State. Another reason I love this movie is because of the actors. In particular Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. Zach Braff does a great job too, but in this case I commend him more for his writing and directing skills. Natalie Portman portrays the perfect amount of quirkiness and naivety. Peter Sarsgaard, well he’s just an amazing actor in general. He’s capable of doing such a wide variety of roles, and he does the too-old-to-still-be-living-at-home stoner type flawlessly. Not to mention he has the pleasure of saying my favorite line in the movie, “Don’t tease me about my hobbies; I don’t tease you about being an asshole.” Love it!
Daybreakers
Let me start off by saying that is was nice to see some real vampires for a change. Not that there’s anything wrong with the pretty vampires that sparkle, but getting back to the horror of the vampire world is refreshing.
For those of you that aren’t a fan of seriously creepy looking monster-types and a decent amount of gore (but nothing over-the-top in my opinion), be cautious when watching this movie. When these vampires become blood-deprived they turn into ghastly creatures that even I wasn’t too fond of. And I’m the type that usually laughs during horror movies.
Other than the occasional appearance of the creepsters, this movie was very good. The entire concept was interesting and well played out, and the various ways that the concept of humanity was tested was very nice.
And who doesn’t love Willem Dafoe? “Being human in a vampire world is about as safe as bare-backing a $5 whore.” If I were one of the 5% of humans left in 2019 and the rest were vampires, I’d definitely have a less stressful time if Willem Dafoe was there with his perfectly humorous lines.
For those of you that aren’t a fan of seriously creepy looking monster-types and a decent amount of gore (but nothing over-the-top in my opinion), be cautious when watching this movie. When these vampires become blood-deprived they turn into ghastly creatures that even I wasn’t too fond of. And I’m the type that usually laughs during horror movies.
Other than the occasional appearance of the creepsters, this movie was very good. The entire concept was interesting and well played out, and the various ways that the concept of humanity was tested was very nice.
And who doesn’t love Willem Dafoe? “Being human in a vampire world is about as safe as bare-backing a $5 whore.” If I were one of the 5% of humans left in 2019 and the rest were vampires, I’d definitely have a less stressful time if Willem Dafoe was there with his perfectly humorous lines.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Inception
I had made a sort of deal with myself that I wasn't going to go to the movies again until I went out and met some people that I could go to the movies with. Well, since that process has been going fairly slow for me, I just couldn't wait any longer. How can you pass up a Christopher Nolan film (he directed 'The Dark Knight' for those of you who don't know) with a cast as amazing as Leonardo Dicaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Caine. Leo has come a long way from his 'Growing Pains' days, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt the same from his '3rd Rock from the Sun' days. They've both grown tremendously as actors, and have gotten much better looking with age, in my opinion. That definitely adds to the reason to see this movie. Ellen Page was fine -- she still has some maturing to do as an actor. Even with a more serious role, I still picture her with SunnyD and a hamburger phone (and it probably doesn't help that even though she's a year older than me, she still could pass as a 15-year-old).
This movie was very interesting. The entire concept of invading people's dreams, and especially multiple times over, is very cool. There was a perfect mix of action and drama, and I think it could please just about anyone no matter their particular genre preferences. I honestly don't have much to say about the movie itself -- partly because I need to start writing these things much sooner after I see the movie and also because it was so mind-boggling and amazing that I'm left with few words. It's a must-see, even if you wait until it comes out on DVD. Just see it! If you're disappointed then you can blame the time you wasted on me.
I do still wonder about the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that it left me flustered.
This movie was very interesting. The entire concept of invading people's dreams, and especially multiple times over, is very cool. There was a perfect mix of action and drama, and I think it could please just about anyone no matter their particular genre preferences. I honestly don't have much to say about the movie itself -- partly because I need to start writing these things much sooner after I see the movie and also because it was so mind-boggling and amazing that I'm left with few words. It's a must-see, even if you wait until it comes out on DVD. Just see it! If you're disappointed then you can blame the time you wasted on me.
I do still wonder about the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that it left me flustered.
Precious
If you know me at all you know that I try and make time to watch the majority of Academy or Oscar nominees/winners. After picking up some sugar-free syrup and reduced-sugar cake mix (kill me now) I decided to see what the redbox had to offer. I was hoping to get Youth in Revolt but found it was out of stock. Then I stumbled upon Precious and remembered that I have been meaning to give that movie a once-over for quite some time now.
At first I was very bored. I’d look at the clock and only ten minutes had passed when it felt like an hour. A slow start, but definitely something worth getting through. The woman who played Precious’ mom did an amazing job. How she managed to portray a mother with so much passionate hatred toward her daughter is beyond me. While some of her actions were completely uncalled for, some of it did remind me of reality. I don’t mean to sound stereotypical or racist at all, but it is more common to see black women smacking their kids around, even in public. It’s very sad to think there probably are some children out there, and by children I mean anyone under the age of 18, that are so intensely abused by their parents.
Another major topic in the movie has also been popping up often in the past couple of days. In the movie, Precious’ mom hates her because the mom’s boyfriend/Precious’ father sexually abused Precious and gave her 2 children. The mother blamed Precious for “taking her man from her” while the mother did nothing to stop the abuse. Just last night on the show “Rookie Blue” a domestic violence case was dealt with, and in the end the woman who was being beat up blamed herself and basically said if she just behaved and didn’t argue he wouldn’t hurt her again. I hate to be so blatant about this, but women can be so helpless and just plain stupid. Of course men can too – helplessness isn’t discriminatory – but I really just don’t understand how those types of women can’t see that somewhere out there is a better life for them.
And that’s the one thing that Precious did do. She realized she had potential, no matter how many people told her she was worthless and dumb, and she got herself and her two children out of a bad situation. Now that’s a pretty smart move for someone who was apparently so dumb, if you ask me.
At first I was very bored. I’d look at the clock and only ten minutes had passed when it felt like an hour. A slow start, but definitely something worth getting through. The woman who played Precious’ mom did an amazing job. How she managed to portray a mother with so much passionate hatred toward her daughter is beyond me. While some of her actions were completely uncalled for, some of it did remind me of reality. I don’t mean to sound stereotypical or racist at all, but it is more common to see black women smacking their kids around, even in public. It’s very sad to think there probably are some children out there, and by children I mean anyone under the age of 18, that are so intensely abused by their parents.
Another major topic in the movie has also been popping up often in the past couple of days. In the movie, Precious’ mom hates her because the mom’s boyfriend/Precious’ father sexually abused Precious and gave her 2 children. The mother blamed Precious for “taking her man from her” while the mother did nothing to stop the abuse. Just last night on the show “Rookie Blue” a domestic violence case was dealt with, and in the end the woman who was being beat up blamed herself and basically said if she just behaved and didn’t argue he wouldn’t hurt her again. I hate to be so blatant about this, but women can be so helpless and just plain stupid. Of course men can too – helplessness isn’t discriminatory – but I really just don’t understand how those types of women can’t see that somewhere out there is a better life for them.
And that’s the one thing that Precious did do. She realized she had potential, no matter how many people told her she was worthless and dumb, and she got herself and her two children out of a bad situation. Now that’s a pretty smart move for someone who was apparently so dumb, if you ask me.
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