Movies I've seen...

...but neglected to talk about for the past half year:

• Reservoir Dogs
• Troll 2
• Micmacs
• The Maltise Flacon
• Amelie
• The Rocketeer
• The Graduate
• Crazy Stupid Love
• The Fall
• Attack The Block
• Paul
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Charade 
• The Lion King *in 3D*
• Saboteur
• The Muppets 
• Puss in Boots
• The Adventure of TinTin

Favorite in-theater summer movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Favorite DVD summer movie: Micmacs
Favorite DVD summer movie second place: The Fall

If you couldn't tell, this blog has been on hiatus... Maybe I'll continue it soon. It was fun writing this stuff up.

I WANT TO WATCH MORE NOW... next will probably be Mission Impossible 4 :)

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass (2010)

• Directed by Matthew Vaughn
• Produced by Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt (?!), Kris Thykier, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, David Reid
• Screenplay by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman
• Based on comic book series of the same name
• Starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage

Thoughts!

• Hit Girl is scary awesome.
• My friends kept raving about this movie and I FINALLY got around to watching it... I thought it was going to be dark, but then I didn't thinkso because my friends really liked it, but then I watched it and concluded it was kinda dark.
• The lead actors were really great, most notably Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz.
• The relationship with the main guy and the girl made no sense. MORE unbelievable is the guy's friend relationship with the girl's friend. whhHHAaat?? Maybe... to get the girl... the trick is to pretend you're gay... #lifelessons
• Good movie. Pretty kick-ass.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)*

• Directed by Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist)
• Produced by Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
• Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
• Starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis

Thoughts!

• This movie... is sooo cooool...
• This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, oddly enough. The other was Suckerpunch. I'm not exactly sure why I was looking forward to this. Maybe I just like the idea of a bunch of apes wreaking havoc on some unsuspecting humans.
• Do know that the trailer is a little misleading because it makes it look like apes are the bad guys. But they're not! They just want freedom from the oppressive humans! Even the movie poster makes Ceasar look kinda evil. I would have been fine with evil apes, but the director's choice to make the humans evil is done very well and I think the film is better off for it.
• I really liked all the references this film makes to the old movies. Spear-throwing and whatnot.
• Duuuude... that Freida Pinto is like a model....... wait I just looked her up. Apparently she was a model.
• James Franco was the weakest part of the movie, even though he did a good job. I think I was just too aware of him as a movie star that I didn't find his acting compelling, if that makes sense.
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes is such a great movie. Not so much in an artsy fartsy way, but in that it has a nice summer blockbuster feel to it similar to it. It's something you go see with your friends and have a good time.

Watching the trailer makes me want to watch it again.

Captain America

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)*

• Directed by Joe Johnston (Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo, The Wolfman)
• Produced by Kevin Feige
• Starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving

Thoughts!

• Mini Review: Not amazing, but solid.
• Review Pt.1: I liked the movie! I think one of the biggest challenges the film had to overcome was for it to not become trite. You can slap a Captain America suit on a guy and tell him to take down Red Skull, but in the end it's just a movie about a macho good guy defeating an evil bad guy. Even the bad guy isn't very creative - he has a secret weapon that he can take over the world with? Come on, I've already seen James Bond.
• Review Pt.2: Other than it being about Captain America, the film it does try to set itself apart from others in the genre. It takes place in the 1940s with Sky-Captain-esque technology flying around. Chris Evans' transformation from scrawny lil dude to big buff dude was entertaining to see (gash, if I had seen this in 3D his super pecks would have been too uncomfortable).
• Review Pt.3: In the end, the movie is just... well, solid. It has just enough stuff to not be bad, but not enough to be really good. Go ahead and quote the eloquent magnificence of that last sentence.
• The ending was sweet. (I'm referring to the non-Avengers part ending.) (Although the Avengers part was a different kind of sweet.)
• The Germans didn't speak German. DOCKED ONE POINT!
• Stan Lee's cameo was kinda dumb, the scene was such a non-sequitur.
• Mini spoiler: Question: The scene where they train-jack the train - why didn't they ALL just run up to the front? Instead of dropping down in the middle carts?
• Dag, yo, Joe Johnston directed a lot of notable movies, yet I don't think his name is very commonly spoken about.
• "Someone get that kid a sandwich." There were so many lines like this to really point out how small prepubescent Chris Evans was. We GET IT, he's SMALL, we can SEE THAT.
• Maybe I'm just bitter that I look more like small Evans than big Evans. HAHA.
• More on this subject, Chris Evans should've had a slightly higher pitched voice when he was tiny. #nitpicky
• I still remember Neal McDonough from Timeline. He was the guy in that movie who (spoiler) died... and that's about all I can recall from it. He's pretty cool in Captain America, though! He has a neat mustache.

You've probably already seen the trailer, but have you seen THIS ONE!?

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)*

• Directed by David Yates (Part 1, Half-Blood Prince, Order of the Pheonix)
• Produced by David Heman, David Barron, J.K. Rowling
• Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson

Thoughts! (Contains some story *SPOILERS*)

• The movie was good. I liked it.
• As a person who has only read 2.5 Harry Potter books, I think I can look at this movie with more objectivity than those who have read all 7. It was entertaining and the acting was good and all that stuff, but there's a certain magical touch that I thought it lacked as a film. I'd say 20% of what makes a good movie is the events that happen. The other 80% is how those events are told by the film makers. So while Snape's death was super sad, it probably wasn't as sad as it could have been.
• The movie very much plays like the last half of a book. So this is good?
• This review by Margot Harrison says a loooot of stuff I agree with: http://www.7dvt.com/2011harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-2
• Man there were so many "OH SH*T" moments. Professor McGonagall was awesooome. You go, McGona-girl!
• I KNEW IT, SNAPE WAS A GOOD GUY!! His flashback thing was the most interesting part of the entire movie.
  
• Harry should've used that time necklace to create two of him.
• The broomstick flying segments looked kinda lame. I think they went for a look that was akin to riding bikes in the air, but I think it should've been more like riding snowboards in the air in regards to resistance and weight distribution. That's just me being haughty though.

And now a letter:

Dear Hollywood,

Post-converted 3D movies are really lame. I want it 3D to feel like I'm looking through a window to really mimic how our eyes perceive 3 dimensions. But in movies like HP7, the, uh, blur effect is still used (not sure of the terminology). That is, when a character is close up in the foreground, the character in the back is blurred out in the background, and vice versa. It's a technique that DOESN'T WORK FOR FILMS LIKE THIS. It makes sense in a 2D picture, but putting it in a 3D picture just flattens the image! Our eyes should be able to focus on any part of the space in a 3D film (usually not all at once, of course, just on parts that we the audience choose to focus on). But adding 3D in post production... it doesn't work. It doesn't make sense. All I got out of the 3D glasses was a slight glare for the entire movie. Please don't do this again.

Thanks, Kevin

I'm not sure if I made sense this post. Here's a great fake scene my friend posted on Facebook!

Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich (1999)

• Directed by Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Where The Wild Things Are)
• Produced by Steve Golin, Vincent Landay, Sandy Stern, Michael Stipe
• Written by Charlie Kaufman
• Starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich

Thoughts!

• Mini review: Awesome concept, so-so execution.
• The beginning was promising, and funny parts were sprinkled around the place, but in the end I didn't like any of the characters. All of them were kind of jerks.
• It reminded me of something Michel Gondry would make.
• Speaking of which, the chase sequence reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because-- WAIT A MINUTE the writer who wrote Malkovich wrote Eternal Sunshine! Huh! That Charlie Kaufman.
• I encourage you to watch this simply for its bizarre uniqueness. Just... be sure to keep below average expectations.

If you don't know what the film is about, here's the trailer:

Midnight Run

Midnight Run (1988)

• Directed by Martin Brest (War Games, Beverly Hills Cop, Meet Joe Black, Gili)
• Produced by Martin Brest
• Starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin

Thoughts!

• I did not like this movie. Charles Grodin was sooo annoying, it didn't make sense why De Niro would even give him a chance to speak. I also didn't find the movie that funny. I found it to be, like, 10% comedic even though this is supposed to be a comedy.
  
• It's not all bad though! Robert De Niro was pretty great doing his tough guy "I ain't gonna take shit" attitude, and the other bounty hunter, Marvin, added a very interesting element to the film. The scene where they got the cash using the "litmus configuration" was also really cool. But overall... Charles Grodin was too annoying to be funny.
• It's really weird how I don't find movies like this, Ghostbusters, and The Blues Brothers that funny even though they're considered "comedy classics". I'd attribute it to the fact that the sense of humor back then was different, which could be true, but I think some 80's movies, like Beverly Hills Cop (also directed by Martin Brest), are hilarious! It must be different jokes or something.

Watch the trailer and decide for yourself if it's something you'd like...

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid (2010)

• Directed by Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2)
• Produced by Jerry Weintraub, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz
• Starring Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan

Thoughts:

• I really liked this movie! It might've been that the particular day I watched it, I was just in a good mood or something, but it was really entertaining. I enjoyed it.
• Oh, and I saw the first one but I don't remember much from it, so maybe the lack of comparison made it better. Maybe? Is that how it works?
• Best part: When Jaden was arguing with his mom and was like "I HATE IT HERE!!"
• Other best part: When Jaden was talking to Jackie Chan and he was like "Because I'm still scared..."
• Jaden was great in it. I like it when child actors don't suck.
• The romance between Jaden and Asian girl was weird.
• I like the evil coach's evil hair. Nice and foofy.
• The final blow of this movie was like the final blow in the 1984 version in that I didn't know what happened.
• Whoa if you've seen the movie before, check out this ridiculous alternate ending...

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)*

• Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• Produced by Melissa Cobb, Guillermo del Toro
• Starring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman

Thoughts!

• Mini-mini review: This movie was aite.
• Mini-review: This movie definitely got me excited from the spectacular action, but failed to instill other emotions to actually make this a solid movie.
• Review (with SPOILERS): I liked the first Kung Fu Panda. It was simple, straight-forward, a little funny, and the animation was great. This one was all that too... just not as well-done. This film was about Po's identity, but the whole theme seemed to be pushed aside in favor of following the story of "getting the bad guy!". The director never really concentrated on Po's inner-conflict, so when he finally says the line "I'm your son" at the end of the movie, I was like "WHAT did I miss the entire film?! How did he come to that conclusion!?". But honestly, everyone kind of knew it was going to happen because it was SUPPOSED to happen. Which I guess makes a non-existent character arch acceptable?
• Review pt2 (no spoilers): The action was amazing - I'd even go as far to say "inspiring". But I never felt scared for the characters because everything they did was just so awesome. They were never really in danger. I also never felt worried, sad, or even elated. Just excited.
• Review pt3 (no spoilers): I think this is how Kung Fu Panda 2 was made: A bunch of awesome storyboard artists got together to make an awesome kung fu film. They added some lesson learning blahblah in there for the kids, but forgot to add compelling non-fighting scenes that showed the development of the character. What they got was a great animated movie, but not a great movie movie.
• The 2D parts were super fly.
• Gary Oldman's Peacock character was also super fly. (A pun and a fact.)
• I think the best fight scene was the first one.

Trailer!

The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers (1980)

• Directed by John Landis (Nation Lampoon's Animal House, Trading Places, Spies Like Us Three Amigos, Coming to America, Thriller [MJ music video])
• Produced by Bernie Brillstein, George Folsey Jr., David Sosna, Robert K. Weiss
• Starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd

Thoughts!

• One of the reasons I Netflix'd this movie was because I knew the name, knew the references, but never really knew the movie (like most of my Netflix movies). And now I can finally say I've seen The Blues Brothers!.. but honestly, I thought it was a little disappointing.
• First of all, I was confused as to what genre this was. I THOUGHT it was a comedy, but the jokes were few and far between. Then there were some long musical numbers, but not enough to be considered a musical. (It turns out that this *is* a comedy, just not one with many funny parts.)
• The best scenes were when Carrie Fischer (Princess Leia) kept trying to kill the two brothers. Everything else seemed uneventful, even though things happened. The dancing/singing numbers were decent. The car chases were okay, although incredibly/stupidly and over the top. COPS DON'T JUST DRIVE THROUGH MALLS AND CRASH INTO STORES... eh maybe this film just wasn't for me. The 80s antics were too ridiculous.
• Dan Aykroyd had a great accent.
• Favorite quote I should use some day: "We're on a mission from God."
• The Illinois Neo-Nazis had a lot of potential to be funny... but nope.
• I think what really prevented this movie from just being baaad was the epic ending. The ending was really cool.

Here's the trailer. Let me know what genre you think it is...

Super 8

Super 8 (2011)*

• Directed by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Cloverfield, LOST, Alias, Fringe)
• Produced by Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk.
• Starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler

Thoughts!

• The good: Not only is this movie very well done, but the characters carry so much charm that simple dialogue scenes are such a joy to watch. It's very reminiscent of movies of yesteryear... mainly E.T. It's as if J.J. Abrams directed a Steven Spielberg movie (although that's pretty much what it is), and it's hard to go wrong with that.
• The bad: One of the main reasons this movie has the same mood as earlier films is because it shares many of the same elements. But those elements are what keep it from being completely fresh - everything feels a little TOO familiar.
• The elaboration (with a few lil *SPOILERS*): The most interesting parts were the new stuff, most notably the whole aspect of the kids filming a Super 8 horror film. Sometimes I found that more interesting than the actual alien story (maybe that's just me). But it falls into too many cliche pitholes: A guy knows something's weird but nobody wants to help him! Two best friends fight over the same girl! (Which never really gets resolved.) The kid stops the alien from messing everything up... by simply talking to it! These aspects wouldn't have bothered me as much if they were presented in a new manner. But they weren't. It's as if Abrams wanted to make old stuff new again, but without adding anything new to it other than higher definition cameras.
• But regardless: of the hackneyed elements, I still really enjoyed the ride. It was entertaining throughout, it was beautifully acted and shot, and I'd recommend it to you so long as you don't mind the pop-out kind of frights that this movie has every 10 seconds.
• (lil more *SPOILERS*):I really liked the design of the alien. It has enough whattheheckisthat's to make it look scary, but the proportions of the face are very similar to that of a chimpanzee, thus creating a humanistic quality to it.

• J.J. Abrams checklist:

1. Aliens (check)
2. Mystery (check)
3. Messed up child to father relationship (check)
4. Moody violins (check)
5. Moody violins from Michael Giacchino (check)
6. Lens flares (check)

• Steven Spielberg checklist:

1. Aliens (check)
2. A bunch of kids are the main protagonists (check)
3. Boy who looks like Elliot from E.T. (check)
4. A chubby kid (check)
5. The older siblings are kinda jerks (check)
6. Takes place during the 80s (check)
7. Nazis (not checked)

• The main kid's last name is "Lam"!! Well, "Lamb", but close enough.
• That train crash near the beginning was such an amazing train crash. Just had to point that out.
• I also want to call attention to the awesome movie poster. Even if it doesn't make sense now, it evokes a feeling of mystery by simply flipping the shot sideways (it should makes sense why it's sideways once you see the movie). It also shows that it doesn't take place in a big city, and it's an ensemble cast with what looks like a camera on a tripod. Good stuff.
• 
• I had more to say but I forgot.
• Btw, not all of my entries will be this lengthy.

Now, the trailer!

Footloose

Footloose (1984)

• Directed by Herbert Ross (Steel Magnolias, Undercover Blues)
• Produced by Lewis J. Rachmil, Craig Zadan
• Starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Dianne West, John Lithgow

Thoughts!

• Tractor chicken is pretty awesome.
• I thought it was interesting how quick the scenes were cut - it helped keep an "up beat" pace.
• Speaking of which, I think I was expecting this movie to be... uninteresting. I'm not that big a fan of musicals, so the plot of a "big-city kid" bringing dance to a small town sounds a bit silly. But I was wrong. This movie is very entertaining, and I think it really stands the test of time because the themes, ideas, and emotions are so real. It also doesn't hurt that Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow pull off great performances. John Lithgow was awesome.
• Notable quote #1: "You think he's some bitchin' heat!"
• Notable quote #2: "Hey! I'll lay you flat!"
• I'm a fan of out-of-date slang.

(Once you've actually seen Footloose, be sure to check out the Flight of the Concords version of Kevin Bacon's big dance number.)

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class (2011)*

• Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust, Snatch)
• Produced by Gregory Goodman, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer
• Starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender

Thoughts!

• Mini review: Buhgah this movie is great.
• A little longer review: There are a few corny or unbelievable parts, but there is just so much to enjoy I'm willing to look past those few scenes. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are excellent as Professor X and Magneto, and they each hold a lot of chemistry between themselves and the rest of the cast. Honestly I was a bit surprised when McAvoy first appeared on the screen because he had a PERSONALITY. Not many action movies nowadays have real characters. Speaking of which, this is the first time in a long time that the action really delivered. Ever since Iron Man 2, I got used to action movies having sparse fight scenes that end in mediocre battles. This film was an exception to the dull pattern and really "upped the ante" in the last scene. I'm starting to think that most action-movie directors don't really know how to make the third act of a film more intense than the first two... but that's another discussion. First Class is an all around entertaining movie, and definitely first rate. Wait I mean first class. Yeah that was the pun.
• Did you know Kevin Bacon is in this movie? I like to imagine he's doing his bad deeds to just have the wildest dance party ever. (Speaking of which, I think my next post will be Footloose.)

Honestly the trailer didn't excite me the first time I saw it. But now I want to watch the movie again.

Premiere

Hi. This is my third attempt at a movie blog.

There's not really a mission statement or anything to this blog, it'll be pretty much the same as my "Triple Feature" Tumblr (which you can visit if you want to look at my older posts). The only rule is that each post will be about one movie I've seen recently, and I'll probably just post my thoughts about it. The second rule is to not talk about Fight Club (unless I do end up making an entry about Fight Club).

I would now like to ask that you please silence all cell phones and babies.

Thank you.