24 Frames has the story on which film he's chosen:
It's been more than a decade since Robert Zemeckis has made a live-action film. But fans who've been hoping for the director to move away from his recent performance-capture period could soon get their wish.
According to a source familiar with the project, Zemeckis' next movie will be the live-action airplane drama "Flight," about a pilot who rescues his passengers from a dangerous situation but who turns out not to be as heroic as he appears -- he's an addict whose negligence was partly responsible for the danger in the first place. News initially surfaced about "Flight" about six weeks ago. But the project's fate had been thrown into uncertainly as both studio Paramount and the director decided if they wanted to move forward with it.
Now, however, the drama is on track and aims to shoot in the fall, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the project was still being developed. The movie has Denzel Washington attached as the pilot, but a deal and scheduling issues must still be worked out. [Update Saturday, 12:32 pm: A second source says that the movie will indeed shoot in the fall and that Washington's deal will close shortly.]
A Paramount spokeswoman and the film's producer each declined to comment.
The project looks to take precedence over several other Zemeckis films, including a time-travel movie called "Replay" and a "Roger Rabbit"-esque hybrid called "The Animated American." Both pictures would take Zemeckis back to the future, one more literally than the other.
Zemeckis' filmmaking prospects have been the subject of much speculation in movie circles, and it's understandable why. After a string of generation-defining hits early in his career -- "Back to the Future," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Forrest Gump" -- he's been a lot less influential of late as he's moved toward performance-capture pictures and away from live-action films.
The filmmaker produced the hybrid live-animated "Mars Needs Moms," which bombed earlier this year. His last directing effort was the middlingly received "A Christmas Carol" in 2009, which followed the similarly underperforming "Beowulf" in 2007. Disney spiked his update of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" several months ago after "Mars" tanked. All of his recent projects fit with his well-documented preoccupation with technology and special effects.
"Flight" fits with a different Zemeckis preoccupation: The filmmaker is a registered pilot.
The director hasn't done a purely live-action film since the Tom Hanks desert-island tale "Cast Away." That movie, which grossed a whopping $424 million around the world, capped a period in which he also helmed well-received movies with adventure and science-fiction elements, including "Romancing the Stone" and "Contact." Now he's heading back in that direction.
-Joey's Two Cents: I'd have preferred to have seen him to Replay, but this could be a cool project as well...thoughts?
70... Facebook DeFriended Sometimes, you just want to be narcissistic. Sometimes you get on Facebook and you notice that you have 2 less friends than you had yesterday. And then, another day later, you gain a friend. Could it be that people have dropped you? Could it be that people deleted their account, then recovered their accounts? If you delete your account, can you recover that account again?
Either way, Facebook Defriended will take care of your narcissistic needs. Buy the app for a buck, and you can hook it up to your account. Then go into Facebook Defriended, and it will tell you your friend list activity over the last few days... who dropped you, who added you and so on.
Why do I need this? I don't. Its a ridiculous app meant to only feed my ego and fuel my wonder of why someone would drop someone as awesome as I am (I say that with a smile and a wink), but still, I check it a couple of times per week. Because I'm me.
69... "Love the Way You Lie" Overall, I'm not a fan of Eminem. I respect what he does, and his mastery of wordplay and how he sings/raps, because if you just listen to how he does what he does, he's amazing. What he actually says, however, is quite alarming and discouraging, because he has a ton of pent up anger and aggression in his lyrics, many times towards his own ex-wife.
Sometimes, though, he does get one out there that really makes me smile, one that I really enjoy. "Without Me" was one a decade ago, while "Lose Yourself" is one that everyone likes. And in 2010, a collaboration with Rhianna led to "Love the Way You Lie", which has this infectious, memorable opening riff--"Just gonna stand there and watch me burn... that's alright... I like the way it hurts..."
And the video, starring Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie from LOST), is just awesome.
Note... Eminem is not a clean guy, so please don't take this as an endorsement of his music. As in, if you go and download this song, at least the explicit version, and are offended by the language, then don't blame me. Listen at your own risk. The album version of this song is not Emmy Turnbow Safe.
68... Danno Gets a Reboot I was never a fan of "Hawaii Five-O" in its original inception, not because it wasn't a good show, but because when it when it came on in 1968, I was a few years away from life. When it ended in 1980, I was five. When I saw re-runs in syndication, I barely remembered it.
So, when CBS decided to reboot the television show for the 2010-2011 television season, I had low expectations for the show. Truth in advertising, I have low expectations for many shows when they premiere, because networks now rarely give most shows a chance to catch on... both Seinfeld and Cheers were low rated when they first appeared, but after catching on, they were awarded further seasons, and both went on to become television classics.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I chose three shows to watch this time around, trying to watch them week by week via DVR, and those would be "No Ordinary Family", "The Event" and "Hawaii Five-O". All three shows were good, but to me, "Hawaii Five-O" was exceptional. It was funny, it was well written, and the cast is well placed. Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan lead, with Daniel Dae Kim (Jin from LOST, and its hard to see him as anything beyond that) and Grace Park, and it also stars, of course, the Hawaiian coast line, the volcanoes and the culture.
Well, we stopped watching all three show on DVR, just because we got too far behind... and I'm quite alright with that for now, because "The Event" and "No Ordinary Family" are gone. The former is in EW's "Danger Zone" and the latter is just scrubbed (which is sad, because it was also a good show). However, "Hawaii Five-O" made the cut... and we'll put it in a category with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Grey's Anatomy"... watch it on DVD and get through a season in a few days.
67... The Fury Goes Crazy Anyone who reads this blog for longer than a few days will know I'm a big Stephen King fan. And in the early 80s, there was a "Quad-fecta" of novels that I really, really enjoy. "Firestarter", "Cujo", "Pet Semetary" and "Christine", about a car, a '58 Plymouth Fury with a mind of its own, and evil side, one that cannot be stopped and is raging with jealousy and anger.
Arnie Cunningham is a loser in high school, best friends with Dennis, who happens to be kinda cool, and important enough at school to keep Arnie from getting beat up daily. This, however, begins to change when Arnie "meets" Christine, a rusty old 1958 red and white Plymouth Fury sitting in a junk yard. The car has many secrets, a horrible, evil past and slowly begins to change Arnie's life--for the worse, especially when Leigh Cabot, this beautiful chick who moves into town, goes out with him... enraging the car. Yep, I said that and meant it.
The book is a quick read, its well written and though not overly frightening, has its creepy moments. I do remember when I was a kid, having just seen the movie when it premiered on network television, walking home from a football game (we lived two blocks from the high school) and being creeped out at 10 at night because some old truck was sitting on the side of the road, staring at me. I kept waiting for the headlights to pop on.
Good book.
66... We Figure Out The Tip I've got over 140 apps on my iPhone, with games and weather and news and email and interweb capabilities and so on, but one of my favorites, one of most useful apps I have ever purchased is one called "The Tipulator".
Its quite simple. You type in the amount of your bill, say $32.89. It will automatically tell you your tip amount, then give you a total. If you have good service, and want to leave 15%, then it will tell you that you should leave $4.93, and you should pay $37.82. They give really good service? You can adjust your percentage from 15% all the way up to 50% (which must be incredible service). If you wanted to leave 18%, then The Handy Dandy Tipulator will tell you your tip is $5.92. Poor service, but you still want to leave a tip? You can knock it down to 13%, which is $4.60. Or 1%, which is 33 cents.
Other settings include the ability to round your tip up or down to the nearest dollar, or your total amount to the nearest dollar, you can split the check from 2 people to 50. I have mine set to round the total amount to the nearest dollar, with the tip set at 15% or more. The price is a mere 99 cents, and I would definitely recommend it if you ever eat out.
65... Denzel Carries The Word When movies come out in January, they are usually considered "throw away movies", that is, movies that are dumped into the post-holiday season when most people aren't going to the theaters because they spent too much money during the Christmas season.
But every now and then, they dump a movie into January that turns out to be darn good. I give you "The Book of Eli". Denzel is the title character, wandering on a mission through a post-apocalyptic United States carrying what, at that time, is a very valuable and rare artifact--a King James Bible.
This is part of my review on the film:
We see right away that Eli is not a guy to be messed with... he's got somewhere to be, and he's headed that way. And when people try to stop him, he stops them from trying to stop him in the most convincing "don't bother me" way possible. Trouble comes when he drifts through a town and its discovered by the town's "ruler", Carnagie (played by Gary Oldman, who excels in this type of role), that Eli is carrying with him last copy of the Bible.
The film is bleak in color, as many of the movies with this setting are, and language pervades throughout. The sexual moments are very few, with only a couple of allusions to it, mostly within the context of the town's danger. Violence is also heavy in this film, so expect lots of knives and gunshots and big armored vehicles. All that is to say that this movie is NOT for kids. I dare say its not Emmy Turnbow safe, but at the same time, I think Emmy Turnbow would like this movie--at least, an edited version that might come on the USA Network in June of 2012 or something.
64... Norah Gets a Duet Norah Jones is only for certain tastes, because the argument is that "all her stuff sounds alike"... and yeah, thats kinda true. But if you like that sound, you'll love this album. In her career, she's done several solo albums and has also done lots of work as a part of other bands like The Little Willies, or projects with other artists, like Ryan Adams or Willie Nelson.
Released in November of 2010, "...Featuring" is a compilation CD of Norah Jones and. Norah Jones and... the Foo Fighters. Norah Jones and... Ray Charles. Herbie Hancock. Q-Tip from a Tribe Called ?uest. And several, several others.
My favorite tracks on the CD are a cover of "More Than This" with Charlie Hunter, a cover of the 80s rock song, and a "Take Off Your Cool" with OutKast, as featured on the OutKast album "The Speakerboxxx/The Love Below".
And if you think I wanted to mention OutKast's album "The Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" because I wanted to seem a slight bit cooler, then... you may be right.
63... Bruno Loves His Woman Bruno Mars has had quiet a year... among many of the hits he's helped pen, Cee Lo's "Forget You" was a massive hit, as was Flo Rida's "Right Round", and had a couple of hits of his own, including "Grenade" and my 63rd Coolest Thing of 2010, "Just the Way You Are".
Its a fun little song about loving a woman just... well, just like she is. She's perfect. He tells her that, "when I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, cause you're amazing, just the way you are."
And in interviews, I liked the idea that he doesn't try to go too deep, he just simply says, "I'm a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker's 'You Are So Beautiful' and Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' - songs that go straight to the point. You know, there's no mind-boggling lyrics or twists in the story - they just come directly from the heart. And to me 'Just The Way You Are' is one of those songs. There's nothing mind-blowing about it. I'm just telling a woman she looks beautiful the way she IS - and, let's be honest, what woman doesn't wanna hear those lyrics?"
62... The Candlelight Processional One of our several trips to Walt Disney World found us there in December, actually getting a chance to spend a little time with one of my best friends, Melanie, and her family, that being Chris Z (the hubs), and the kids, Special K, Jay Z and The Zack Attack. And because it was Christmas time, The Lovely Steph Leann was very adamant that we see The Candlelight Processional.
What is it? Well, at Epcot, its a special Christmas presentation featuring a choir, awesome Christmas music and a reading of the Christmas story--yes, the one from The Bible--by a celebrity. The small amphitheater, near the American Pavilion, was decorated beautifully, with bright reds and greens all around, and at least a hundred poinsettias adorning the stage and spaces between choirs.
The choir itself consists of mostly Cast Members who auditioned, and local talents, as well as the orchestra
The Lovely Steph Leann saw The Candlelight Processional in 2009, and just missed Steven Curtis Chapman and ended up witn Anika Noni Rose, voice of Tiana from "The Princess & the Frog"... and this year? We still missed Steven Curtis Chapman. He was reading later in the month, but our reader was none other than Ariel herself, Jodi Benson, who I believe is a Christ Follower.
After the choirs filed in, they sang a few Christmas hymns, then Jodi took the stage. Over the next thirty minutes, music was interspersed with reading from Matthew, and at the end, she spoke briefly on the birth and eventual death of Christ. And yes, this was all at Walt Disney World, a magical place, but still quiet secular.
Jodi Benson reads the Christmas Story. We almost had Susan Lucci, but they moved her around and gave us Jodi, and I was cool with that.
61... "Kick-A**" Here's what I had to say in June of 2006:
Okay... so, for every reason I shouldn't, I thought this movie was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Its title that I feel very uncomfortable saying (and don’t, especially on a website that I like to keep PG), its got the same language you’d find in equally as funny movies like “Superbad”, its got comic-book style violence that still produces blood spatter like crazy, and it’s got a bunch of teenagers trying to get some. There is no redeeming quality to this movie.
Let's be clear here... this movie is NOT for children. As a Christ-Follower, this movie is a prime example of the topic of "what do you place in front of your eyes?", which is another conversation for another day. I've tried to give you the rundown on the film as best I can, so now its up to you as to whether to see it. Cindy Jo is probably not going to see this film. Hurricane Rhett might go out tonight and catch it.
You'll want to click over to the mothership site, Clouds in My Coffee, because if you are reading this on Facebook, you'll miss all the videos and fun stuff...
A little at a time, we will get down the list... American Idol coverage always adds a hindrance, so to say, to getting the 100 Coolest list, but we get there when we get there, don't we?
So, let's start with the 90th coolest thing of 2010...
90... Kris Allen Lives Before He Dies "...Yeah we gotta start lookin' at the hands of the time we've been given if this is all we got then we gotta start thinkin' if every second counts on a clock thats tickin... ...gotta liiiiivvvveee like we're dying... ...we only got 86 four hundred seconds in a day to turn it all around or throw it all away we gotta tell 'em that we love 'em while we got the chance to say... ...gotta liiiiivvvveee like we're dying..."
What can I say? This song, the first (and possibly only) single by American Idol winner Kris Allen, has grown on me. I can't sing the words correctly--not that stops me from trying--and yes, quick math will tell you there are actually 86 four hundred seconds in a day. So, we should liiiiivvvveee like we're dying.
89... Zoes Serves the Steak There are several restaurants in our rotation of "where we eatin'?", including Chipotle, Baha Burger, Jason's Deli, The Purple Onion and even Dale's Southern Grill... but I had avoided Zoe's Kitchen like the plague. The Lovely Steph Leann loves her some Zoe's, full of pita bread and pita chips and pasta salads and chicken salads and veggies and so on, all the stuff that didn't appeal to me in the slightest.
Enter Zoe's Steak Roll-Ups. And suddenly, Zoe's wasn't a bad thing... it is a good thing. They serve 4 small roll-ups on a plate, served with this special "yogurt" sauce (whatever that means) for dipping, and its delicious. The Lovely Steph Leann is pleased too, because I'll routinely say "Hey, want Zoe's tonight?", and that means she won't have to eat tacos or Zaxbys'.
(full disclosure... I texted The Lovely Steph Leann to ask what we were doing for dinner... she told me to pick... and I texted back "Zoe's?" So that's where we went. It was good.)
88. Assassins Get Old So, one of the most fun movies that I saw in all of last year starred Helen Mirren as a hitman... hitwoman... hitperson? And it had John Malkovich as a crazy, paranoid former agent, Morgan Freeman as a terminally ill former assassin, Richard Dreyfuss as a smarmy bad guy, Karl Urban as the young, brash detective, and Bruce Willis as the centerpiece to keep it all together.
I loved this film. It was funny, was a solid, if completely improbable, story, and it was cool to see all of these veteran (translation: old) actors of Hollywood come together in a self-deprecating, comedic fashion. Mary Louise Parker is the token love interest for Bruce Willis, and you could do a lot worse than MLP as your chick, and watching Richard Dreyfuss play up the scuzzbutt is a treat. Even Bryan Cox and Ernest Borgnine gets into the action!
When this comes on Starz in probably August or so, and/or when it starts randomly appearing on channels like TNT and Spike by next year, this will be a fantastic background movie, something to just turn on and leave while you are goofing off around the house, not doing chores.
87... Donuts See Daylight
There's a Krispy Kreme across town that takes forever to get to, and forever to get through. From The Cabana, you have to head to the other side of Hoover, sometimes taking 30 or 45 minutes through traffic, and when you finally come out of Krispy Kreme, there is a red light there that takes for-ev-er to turn.
If thats too much, there is also a local donut dive called Shipley's across the road and just down from Krispy Kreme, but again, getting there doesn't make it worth it. Also far away, but in a slightly different direction is Dunkin Donuts. Personally, I think Dunkin coffee sucks, but their donuts are really good.
But why in the world would I go to Krispy Kreme, Shipleys or Dunkin when I can leave The Cabana and literally go across the street, either driving (it would take 4 minutes in traffic) or even walk (it would take 10 minutes, maybe 15 on foot, and yes, I've done it) and visit Daylight Donuts... don't ask me why its so good, I can't tell you. Maybe because its so easy to get to, maybe because for three bucks I can get a couple of donuts and a small drink, maybe because they have the best dadblamed donut holes I've ever ever never ever had. They are fantastic. Love me some Daylight.
86... Funerals Get Funny When we had our big ordeal with DirecTV breaking up with us, leading us to start dating Dish Network, we got some free pay-per-view movies, six in all. Truth be told, we got six, and we only ended up using two before they expired in November... the first was "Letters to Juliet" which, I can honestly tell you, isn't one of The 100 Coolest Things of 2010. Amanda Seyfried being in it helped its standing considerably, but its nowhere near the countdown.
However, the other movie we used a PPV coupon for is in the Top 100 of 2010... "Death at a Funeral" is a stupid movie. Let's be honest, its a ridiculous movie with a ridiculous plot and you know, sometimes, those are the best films. The Lovely Steph Leann and I started it late, and maybe that helped us find more humor in it than was intended, but we laughed and laughed and laughed all the way through.
The plot revolves around the funeral of a patriarch of a large black family, with the two sons (Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence) trying to get the plans together. Of course, chaos ensues when you toss in a hallucinogenic drug, a coffin that gets knocked over, old boyfriends and Peter Dinklage as a midget (reprising the role from the original British film) who has some very incriminating photos of the deceased, and wants to get paid.
The ensemble cast is fun, with Zoe Saldana, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson, Keith David and a crotchety old Danny Glover as a crotchety old uncle. Its worth a view, don't expect a masterpiece, just enjoy the slapstick and the jokes.
85... Sandy Gets the Gold Sometimes Oscars are given to those who deserve it, and sometimes not. And sometimes they are given to actors and actresses for frilly movies full of fluffy costumes, English accents and Victorian locations. Maybe they deserve it, maybe they don't... but every now and then, the Academy throws the current day and age a bone and gives a gold statue to someone we love, in a move we love.
Perhaps Sandra Bullock's Oscar was more of a lifetime achievement award, but as you will see in my post about the films of Sandra Bullock, perhaps it was actually recognition for portraying a real-life character, portraying Lee Ann Touhy brilliantly in a movie, "The Blind Side", that appeals to just about everyone. I am sure there are people who don't like this movie, but I don't know many--if any--of them. This movie is so great on so, so many levels, and a huge part of that is Sandra Bullock's performance.
So when her name was read on Oscar night, when she won Best Actress for "The Blind Side", I was thrilled, almost as thrilled as when my dear sweet Kate won the Oscar the year before (which I do believe was a career recognition). Sandy Bullock, Oscar winner. I can dig that, I can dig that alot.
84... Harrison Ford Stays Cranky Here are my thoughts on "Morning Glory", the 84th coolest thing of 2010, as written on December 19th, 2010...
"Morning Glory" tells the tale of Becky Fuller, played by Rachel McAdams... Becky is a ambitious news producer that, due to layoffs, is forced to take a job with a very low key, struggling network, and is hired to take over their terrible morning show.
"Morning Glory" is fun and simple, it doesn't try to hard, and you genuinely like and root for Becky Fuller, and can even empathize with her when she and Mike do the inevitable sit down, where they have the "don't work so hard or you will end up like me" conversation. The movie is practically out of theaters at this point, so catch it as a rental.
You can read the full review by click on The Clouds In My Coffee Movie Review Page, or just going straight to the post here.
83... The Boss Goes Undercover How can you not love this show? You take a big boss or CEO of a major company--Spirit Airlines, Mack Trucks, Subway, Chiquita Brands, Great Wolf Hotels--you put a disguise of sorts on them and then they work with the "common folk". At the hotels, he's cleaning rooms and toilets, at the airline, he's emptying out sewage and screwing up the safety speech, at Chiquita, he's wrecking a forklift... the CEO gets to see what happens on the front lines of the companies.
Every episode has each Undercover Boss take on three or four different positions in the company, and each position comes with a fellow worker who usually talks about how much they love their job, or how hard the economy has been on them, or how lay-offs and pay cuts have affected them and their families (many times with handicapped children or some other hardship), and each episode has the Undercover Boss revealing himself to be the CEO to the unsuspecting workers, telling them how awesome they are, and offering some sort of promotion, monetary gift, vacation, award and the like.
Sure, it has its faults. I'm sure for every hard worker they find, that one guy who loves his job but barely makes ends meet, they find another slacker who does nothing but complain about his job and does just enough to get by. Imagine being that guy, only to find out later that the new guy you told, "Dude, this job sucks, and I take every shortcut I can." is the guy who runs the entire company... and now knows your name and your displeasure with your job. Bad times indeed.
Yes, Pedro Cerrano is also President Palmer, who is also the Allstate guy. All played by Dennis Haysbert.
82... Mayhem Hits the Streets Sometimes ads work, sometimes they don't. Insurance commercials have especially picked up their game lately, as Geico had been the front runner for years--of course, that tends to happen when you have something like forty campaigns at once... the pile of money you could be saving... the guy who says, "Can Geico save you money? Does (insert common phrase here that is acted out for sake of comedic value)"... the Cavemen... the British speaking (Australian?) Geico Gekko... I almost feel like that well dressed guy with the deep voice should come on and say, "Can Geico save you 15% on your car insurance? Do we have too many ad campaigns at one time?" then smashcut to the Caveman, the Gekko and that pile of money with the creepy eyes all playing tennis or something.
Anyway, Flo from Progressive has come on strong this year too, and strangely enough, I kinda find her sorta attractive in a Jennif strange, odd sort of way.
And though Allstate had Pedro Cerrano on its side... you might know him better as President Palmer from "24", but since I never got into that show, I'll stick to his Indians playing days with Jake Taylor and Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn... anyway, Allstate added a villain to their campaign. Mayhem.
Mayhem is all the things that can go wrong that you might want insurance for. Mayhem is portrayed as "the hot jogger" that you stare at while ramming into a tree... or the flag that tears from the car ahead of you, covers your windshield and sends you careening into a barrier... or the high school kid who isn't paying attention on his riding lawnmower and shoots rocks through your windows and all over your car... or the exec who spills the espresso in his lap, slams on breaks, has you run into him and then sues you (this one is especially wicked, as it takes a shot at Geico... "is your 15 minutes going to be enough to cover the 90,000 dollars when I sue you?") I love a good commercial.
81... Denzel Stops a Train Sometimes a movie doesn't have to be great to be great. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be good to be... well, good. "The Kings Speech" was great. "Unstoppable" was great, for entirely different reasons. The former is supposed to be great, supposed to be monumental, supposed to be amazing. The latter? It is just supposed to entertain.
Starring Denzel and Chris Pine, "Unstoppable" has a simple premise... they work on a train line. They are doing a routine train transfer in rural, blue collar Pittsburgh. On down the line is another train, full of toxic materials, running out of control. That's pretty much it.
Here's how I summed up my feelings towards this movie:
Just so happens... I loved the heck out of this movie. You know, sometimes you just want to be entertained, you don't want to think too much, you don't want to be taught anything or preached to or leave the theater dwelling on the film's message and so on... with "Unstoppable", none of that happens. Its not a dumb movie, it just doesn't pretend to be anything that its not... its simply an action film with two likable leads on one train, trying to stop another train from going really, really fast. -- read original post here.
Coming Soon... Cam has quite a year... B.A. Returns... Lady A serves up some Honey... and later... engagements all around!
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I had one really long list (and subsequently, long post) of movies that I've seen in the last few months--some are new and recently in theaters, some are just on dvd, and a few are movies that I haven't seen in a long, long time that I gave another crack at.
So, I figured I'd break this up into a two part post in that very fashion... today, its the movies that are currently in the theaters and maybe Monday, a few new movies I've seen on DVD and a few random movies I've (re)watched and can give my now somewhat refined movie critique on...
But let's start with ones I've seen in the theaters in the last few months... you can read my review of "Iron Man 2", which I thought deserved its own post, by clicking here, and in this post, we're going to talk about "Losers", "Kick A**", "Robin Hood", "Date Night ", "The Book of Eli" and my favorite movie of the year so far...
"How To Train Your Dragon" Okay... so, this was a film that I wasn't sold on leading up to its release date. Call me a Disneyphile, or a Pixar snob, but DreamWorks animation doesn't do it for me. From "Antz" to "Shark Tale" to "Over the Hedge", then toss in movies that everyone tells me I should love but don't, that being "Madagascar" 1 and 2(and 3 when its released), and Shrek 1, 2, 3 and Fourth, and you've got a studio that I'm just not wild about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Dreamworks, as I enjoyed "Kung Fu Panda" and have heard good things about "Monsters vs Aliens", but put it all together, and "How to Train Your Dragon" was a film that I'd just see when I got around to seeing it.
And if the opening numbers were any indication, I was right. It opened slow and seemed like another also-ran in DWA's studio. But... as the weeks wore on, the gross for the film kept going up and up and up, and everyone and anyone who told me about this movie didn't just like it, they loved it. Kids, adults, old and young, everyone I know liked, if not loved, this film. So, at some point, I figured The Lovely Steph Leann and I should go see it... we were even told that this is a rare case where 3-D enhances the film, not just enhances the ticket price. "Avatar" was the only other film I'd seen in 3-D where that was the case, but we went ahead and went 3-D.
"How to Train Your Dragon" follows the story of Hiccup, who lives in a Viking village where the life of a Viking is to hung and kill dragons of every size--and they are aplenty in this movie. Hiccup is a loser that is made fun of by most of the clan, mostly because his heart is not into hunting anything, much less dragons, but to please his father--who happens to be village chief, no less--he does what he can.
Hiccup ends up taking down a rare Night Fury dragon, but upon finding it in the woods, cannot bring himself to finish him off... and there, the adventure takes flight, pun intended.
I loved it. I loved every single second of this movie. I loved the main character, Hiccup, I loved his love interest, a spry pixie named Astrid, I loved the dragons, including the main one nicknamed Toothless, I loved the setting, I loved the creativity, I loved the story... I thought this movie was brilliant. This was the first time I'd ever seen a non-Pixar animated movie and thought, "This should have been a Pixar film."
The Lovely Steph Leann loved it too. As the credits began to roll, she piped up and said, "Wow. DreamWorks finally got it right."
Its one of those rare movies that I feel like was just the right length, and had very little, if any, wasted minutes. And, in another rare instance, I fully recommend 3-D glasses on this one, even if you have to see it in a matinee. Its vividly colored, and I don't feel like the 3-D dampens that, but there's something about the depth of the film and the scope of the picture that you get from the 3-D that you might not get otherwise... again, like "Avatar".
Great movie, my favorite so far of the year.
“The Losers” Okay... so, this group of guys who make up this elite fighting force are framed for a village slaughter and left for dead. And what do they do? They are on a mission to find out who framed them.
Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the best thing about “Watchmen” not named “Jackie Earle Haley” or “Malin Akerman” (mmm), is Clay, the leader of this group of “Losers”. Based on a DC Vertigo comic of the same name, its full of guns, explosions, cool vehicles and betrayals, and seriously—it’s a hoot. I think all the actors, including Zoe Saldana(“Avatar” and “Star Trek”), know this movie isn’t to be taken too seriously, and in knowing that, they can really camp it up with not just the one-liners but even with the action sequences which are improbable, ridiculous and at the same time, just plain fun.
Two standouts in this movie make it worth a glance, one being Chris Evans, who played The Human Torch in another comic book adaptation, “Fantastic Four” and its sequel. He’s right on par with the snappy come-backs and comic relief. The main villain is Max, played by Jason Patric, who I can’t decide if he’s mailing it in completely or having the time of his life cause he’s got a job. Either way, Jason from “The Lost Boys” has come a long, long way.
You might remember the director of this film also directing the Oscar winning classic that rivals “Avatar” in its splendor and majesty, that being “Stomp the Yard”, and like his actors, he films in a classic comic book camp style. I’ve never read the original material, so I don’t have a reference point as to how true this film is to the graphic novel… but if you can catch it at the Ghetto Buck Theater, or pick it up on cable, do so. Its worth a 90 minute viewing.
“Kick A**” Okay... so, for every reason I shouldn’t, I thought this movie was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Its title that I feel very uncomfortable saying (and don’t, especially on a website that I like to keep PG), its got the same language you’d find in equally as funny movies like “Superbad”, its got comic-book style violence that still produces blood spatter like crazy, and it’s got a bunch of teenagers trying to get some. There is no redeeming quality to this movie.
But still… man this was funny. Dave Lizewski is, like most protagonists of movies such as this, a dork. A nerd who has nerd friends and does nerd things. He decides that there is too much evil in his own hometown, so what better way to combat it than to make himself a “superhero” suit and become a superhero. Never mind that Dave has no skills of any kind, no athletic ability and really no fighting training of any sort. He just wings it, to sad and funny avail.
This amateur crime fighting doesn’t go down to well with two real superheroes in town, Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Big Daddy is played to the hilt by Nic Cage, who you’d think based on recent works, would be in this for the paycheck… not so, I would say, as Nic Cage is an avid comic book fan—this one really might be a labor of love. The controversy comes in with Hit Girl, who is Big Daddy’s daughter and is played by 11 year old Chloe Moretz… and who says some things in this movie that no 11 year old, nay nay, no 21 year old or anyone who keeps a clean mouth, should say. She doesn’t swear a lot, but when she does, its kinda uncomfortable.
Let’s skip that part, shall we? Anyway, Dave calls himself “Kick A**”, a… well, a stupid name for a superhero, but a name that… okay, well, it kicks… you know. Through the course of the movie, Dave figures out he’s in way, way over his head, when a crime boss comes after him. His son, Chris (a “don’t call me McLovin, even though all the characters I do now are like spin offs of McLovin Christopher Mintz-Plasse), fosters his own secret identity as Red Mist. Violence and hilarity ensues.
Anyway, I cannot in any way fathomable recommend this film. It is NOT Emmy Turnbow Safe, and sez Wiki: Australian Family Association spokesman John Morrissey, "the language [was] offensive and the values inappropriate – without the saving grace of the bloodless victory of traditional superheroes". In response to the controversy, Moretz stated in an interview, "If I ever uttered one word that I said in Kick-A**, I would be grounded for years! I'd be stuck in my room until I was 20! I would never in a million years say that. I'm an average, everyday girl.” Moretz has said that while filming, she could not bring herself to say the film's title out loud in interviews, instead calling it "the film" in public and "Kick-Butt" at home. Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed surprise that people are angry about the language but do not seem to be offended by the many people killed by Hit-Girl.
Let's be clear here... this movie is NOT for children. As a Christ-Follower, this movie is a prime example of the topic of "what do you place in front of your eyes?", which is another conversation for another day. I've tried to give you the rundown on the film as best I can, so now its up to you as to whether to see it. Cindy Jo is probably not going to see this film. Hurricane Rhett might go out tonight and catch it.
“Date Night” Okay... so, the Lovely Steph Leann and I were in Pensacola recently, and that evening, were desiring something to do. We had just had dinner at a restaurant called Hemingway’s Island Grill, and it was fantastic. The best calamari I’ve ever, ever eaten, and I’ve eaten lots and lots of calamari.
Anyway, we decided to catch a movie, one of our favorite things to do as a couple (I say that, and half the movies on this list I saw alone…). “Date Night” was one we had our eye on, and after shooting down “Letters to Juliet”, despite my slight affinity for Amanda Seyfried(is she pretty? Is she not? I dunno).
“Date Night” stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a married couple who love each other, but just need a night out, something special, away from the kids. They try to get into an exclusive uppity restaurant named Claw, and after being laughed at when they ask for a table, they sneak in and take someone else’s reservations (the idea of which becomes a running gag throughout the movie)… but when the bad guys arrive and think they are the people of who’s reservations they stole, things get crazy.
What follows is kinda formulaic, kind of been-there-done-that sort of plotline… but Carrell and Fey are awesome. Both are just plain looking enough to be believable as an average couple, but good looking enough, and likable enough, to root for. Throw in the fact that Mark Wahlberg shows up as a former client and former security agent, plus he’s not wearing a shirt, making for total comedy, and you’ve got a winner.
You know how there are movies that you can turn on, and just use for background noise, knowing that if you look up at any point, you’ll enjoy whatever you see because you kinda liked all of it. This would be “Date Night” for me when it comes on HBO in March of 2011.
I really, really enjoyed this film, and The Lovely Steph Leann laughed heartily all the way through. Its got some language, including one F-Bomb dropped at the expense of Mark Wahlberg not putting a shirt on, and the violence is cartoony and silly… catch this one on a matinee.
This was the story of Robin Hood before he became Robin of the Hood. Russell Crowe broods through this film like he does most films, and Cate Blanchett, so ravishing and Sydney Ellen Wade-esque in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, merely passes as Maid Marian. It was rather enjoyable to see LOST’s Martin Keamy and his creepy yet wildly fascinating grin as Little John, though, and in the credits playing “Will Scarlett”, I saw the name of none other than “Critters” and “Critters 2” star Scott Grimes. Looking at his iMDb page, the not often recognized Grimes has made quite a career for himself in bit parts and television appearances, even getting a recurring role in ER.
Neither The Lovely Steph Leann or I loved it, but she liked it more than me I think. Of course, she digs any story that takes place in old England where dudes are wearing chain mail and carrying big swords, while the chicks are in frilly, frumpy dresses and do things like wash clothes in a basin. Not saying she wants to live there, but she loves that crap.
Best Robin Hood? Dunno… never seen the Sean Connery version, but I’d have to give it to Errol Flynn, the original, though Kevin Costner’s merits could be argued. Best Maid Marian? Would be a tough battle between Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio, Audrey Hepburn (because she’s Audrey Hepburn) and that foxy one in the Disney version.
"The Book of Eli" Okay... so what an amazing movie... the only thing I knew about this going in was Denzel Washington was a man protecting the last Bible on Earth. And the setting was some sort of a apocalyptic, everything-as-we-know-it-has-been-destroyed, cars burned up by the side of the road and rotting kind of civilization.
Denzel is Eli, a drifter who is following a vision to go to the coast, taking with him the last copy of the Bible... all others have been destroyed. If it had been said what happened, I might have missed it, but this is a world now where books are scarce, grown people can no longer even read, and communities are many times held under rule by whoever has the most power. Sex is a bartering tool, and violence is the answer for most conflicts.
We see right away that Eli is not a guy to be messed with... he's got somewhere to be, and he's headed that way. And when people try to stop him, he stops them from trying to stop him in the most convincing "don't bother me" way possible. Trouble comes when he drifts through a town and its discovered by the town's "ruler", Carnagie (played by Gary Oldman, who excels in this type of role), that Eli is carrying with him last copy of the Bible.
Carnagie then determines that he must have this Bible... not because its a collectors item, not because he is a Bible scholar... but because he declares it "a weapon, and civilizations have been built on this book." That is... well, refreshing. I'm sure the producers of the film didn't intend on making a religious statement, but they did. The world sees the Word of God as a work of fiction, but this movie hits it dead on--its a weapon. A holy, righteous, hope filled, Christ inspired weapon used to tell the stories of our Creator and guide those wo follow Hiim.
Denzel Washington, a Christ follower himself, is fantastic in this movie, and like Robert Downey Jr being irreplaceable as Iron Man, so to is Washington in this film... you take him, out, the movie falls apart. The supporting cast, though perhaps not irreplaceable, it still strong, including Oldman, Mila Kunas and Jennifer Beals.
Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to see the ending coming, with the final twist. Most people I know predicted the little surprise in the last few minutes, but that doesn't make the journey there any less entertaining.
The film is bleak in color, as many of the movies with this setting are, and language pervades throughout. The sexual moments are very few, with only a couple of allusions to it, mostly within the context of the town's danger. Violence is also heavy in this film, so expect lots of knives and gunshots and big armored vehicles. All that is to say that this movie is NOT for kids. I dare say its not Emmy Turnbow safe, but at the same time, I think Emmy Turnbow would like this movie--at least, an edited version that might come on the USA Network in June of 2012 or something.
My third favorite film of the year, following "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Iron Man 2".
Another take on this movie can be found here, by Chandler Wallace, a staff member at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship)... he also liked the film immensely.
Tomorrow... reviews on "Crazy Heart" with Jeff Bridges, "Orphan" with Vera Farmiga and a few older films that I've re-watched... including... "Money Train"...
News initially surfaced about "Flight" about six weeks ago. But the project's fate had been thrown into uncertainly as both studio Paramount and the director decided if they wanted to move forward with it.
