I was fortunate enough to be invited to a private preview screening of a hot new Director from Central Europe. I was able to see the final rough cut version of his March 2013 release.
The movie is titled HER CRY and it is from DARK LIGHTNING FILMS.
The movie is about found video from a defunct television show called Paranormal Legends. The videos show the actions of three paranormal investigators while checking out a lead on the Spanish legend of LA LLORONA.
The movie has a couple of slow spots but the version I saw was 1 hour and 50 minutes long. It passed quickly, always a good sign. The producers of Cloud Atlas could learn from this guy.
I will not say much more because there are more scenes to work on. I will tell you this the ending was good and there are a couple of extra scenes after credits that fill in some blanks and leave open sequel possibilities.
Trailer is here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q0vjNjZ-O8&feature=plcp
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
CLOUD ATLAS
Leaving the theater scratching my head I was told this movie reminded one of the story of a man showing a card trick to a chicken. The chicken knows that it has seen a card trick but it can not explain any of it. David Mitchell's novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas refers to a "sextet with overlapping soloists," a musical composition of fetching beauty whose sheet music contains notes that convey the movement of clouds soaring, gliding, tumbling across skies. Now an epic film,(by time length standards) by Tom Tykwer and Andy and Lana Wachowski, Cloud Atlas is embraced from a series of plot strands: Its ideas are paralleled, its themes twinned, into what may be described as 164-minutes of visually stunningnesseeminglyness. Yes that is word I came up with, and as I expected, it soared as often as it thuded.
The film is opened by an old tribesman, Zachry (Tom Hanks), who sits by a fire and speaks of "all the voices tied up into one," turning his face to reveal a scar whose origins we'll understand, like the birthmarks and familiar traumas that unite characters across each of the film's six stories, as an inheritance. Each story engages with unique social conditions from our human history and foreseeable future, though all are connected by the idea that the lives of its characters, citizens of places as far-flung as late-19th-century San Francisco and a primitive, post-apocalyptic Hawaii, aren't their own. Cloud Atlas is a series of six stories intertwinned to tell one story. The major actors have roles in all six stories Hanks does a marvellous job as expected as does Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon and Hugo Weaving fill out their duplicate roles well.
I found an overstated theme of THE STRONG EAT,THE WEAK MEAT a bit too much as the film addresses its obsession with humanity's struggle to suppress the cannibal within.
Throughout Cloud Atlas, a star here becomes a supporting player there, a means of superficially drawing links between the film's six stories. But sometimes the faces and voices that carry between the film's intertwined stories are haunting, as when Doona Bae, playing a clone hungry for self-actualization in the Wachowskis' perfectly chilly, often dazzling "An Orison of Sonmi~451," meets her doom and crops up, in "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing," as the notary's wife, looking toward enlightenment with eyes that have literally seen the future.
Cloud Atlas is a film that could of been shorter and that might have helped. I feel like a chicken.
ARGO
I have the reputation of not liking a lot of movies. I quite disagree with this or I would not do what I do. I love movies and what they can represent of our culture. Maybe that is what terrifies me the most.
ARGO is a great movie. It will not be a classic in the sense of GONE WITH THE WIND or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. It is well crafted and well acted and that makes it good.
The story is well know for anyone over 40 years old and those under if they stayed awake in history class know of the Iranian hostage crisis. This is a mostly true story of the escape of 6 United States embassy workers from Iran.
The movie opens giving details of the 1979 Iranian Revolution for the uninitiated, where Tehran’s U.S. embassy is besieged in retaliation for the country’s support of a deposed Shah. Six employees evading capture and holing up at a Canadian ambassador’s residence, American intelligence in Washington, DC enlist CIA exfiltration expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to help plot a cover that would explain their presence in Tehran.
Mendez eventually devises the ingeniously demented deception; to have the six pose as members of a film crew, with Mendez purporting to fly out there to scout a location, and return with them in tow. Aiding him in his prep are Academy Award-winning make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman), and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), who will help establish the apparent legitimacy of their production – an epic Star Wars knock-off called Argo – with the Iranian government.
The movie passes the history as I remember it test. The Hollywood parts would seem to have no part of a drama happening on the other side of the planet, but it does. Arkin plays himself well as he plays his character. I say this as one who has met the man and know what a pompous actor he can be. Bryan Cranston plays Mendezs' boss in Washington, DC and is marvelous.
Two things I know about this movie that is not seen is that while they all escape safely, it was not like on the big screen. The plane they were leaving in had electrical problems and sat on the tarmac for 2 hours while it was investigated and repaired. I can imagine the thoughts going through their heads during that time. The other is that this movie ARGO was actually taken form a script called SCIENCE FICTION LAND.
Tony Mendez presented the government of Iran with a science fiction film called Argo, the materials he was presenting them with started out as a very real adaptation of a Roger Zelazny novel called “Lord of Light.” Adapted for the screen by Barry Ira Gellar, Lord of Light boasted names like Buckminster Fuller and Ray Bradbury on its staff as consultants, it was going to use design work by comic book legend Jack Kirby, it had an unheard-of-at-the-time budget of $50 million, and it was planned to eventually spawn a huge theme park complete with jet packed security guards and a holographic zoo. It either died from fraud or government conspiracy, you research it and decide. I just added it to fill out the history of the movie.
Rated R for profanity, violence, adult themes.
ARGO is a great movie. It will not be a classic in the sense of GONE WITH THE WIND or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. It is well crafted and well acted and that makes it good.
The story is well know for anyone over 40 years old and those under if they stayed awake in history class know of the Iranian hostage crisis. This is a mostly true story of the escape of 6 United States embassy workers from Iran.
The movie opens giving details of the 1979 Iranian Revolution for the uninitiated, where Tehran’s U.S. embassy is besieged in retaliation for the country’s support of a deposed Shah. Six employees evading capture and holing up at a Canadian ambassador’s residence, American intelligence in Washington, DC enlist CIA exfiltration expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to help plot a cover that would explain their presence in Tehran.
Mendez eventually devises the ingeniously demented deception; to have the six pose as members of a film crew, with Mendez purporting to fly out there to scout a location, and return with them in tow. Aiding him in his prep are Academy Award-winning make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman), and film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), who will help establish the apparent legitimacy of their production – an epic Star Wars knock-off called Argo – with the Iranian government.
The movie passes the history as I remember it test. The Hollywood parts would seem to have no part of a drama happening on the other side of the planet, but it does. Arkin plays himself well as he plays his character. I say this as one who has met the man and know what a pompous actor he can be. Bryan Cranston plays Mendezs' boss in Washington, DC and is marvelous.
Two things I know about this movie that is not seen is that while they all escape safely, it was not like on the big screen. The plane they were leaving in had electrical problems and sat on the tarmac for 2 hours while it was investigated and repaired. I can imagine the thoughts going through their heads during that time. The other is that this movie ARGO was actually taken form a script called SCIENCE FICTION LAND.
Tony Mendez presented the government of Iran with a science fiction film called Argo, the materials he was presenting them with started out as a very real adaptation of a Roger Zelazny novel called “Lord of Light.” Adapted for the screen by Barry Ira Gellar, Lord of Light boasted names like Buckminster Fuller and Ray Bradbury on its staff as consultants, it was going to use design work by comic book legend Jack Kirby, it had an unheard-of-at-the-time budget of $50 million, and it was planned to eventually spawn a huge theme park complete with jet packed security guards and a holographic zoo. It either died from fraud or government conspiracy, you research it and decide. I just added it to fill out the history of the movie.
Rated R for profanity, violence, adult themes.
Hotel Transylvania
Where do monsters go to get away from the horrors of modern life — humans?
That’s the lighthearted premise behind Hotel Transylvania, a fast, funny and wildly inventive animated tale with enough laughs and heart to appeal to audiences of all ages.
Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) is major-domo of the hotel, a secluded and welcome getaway for his menagerie of unloved fellow freaks, dead and undead.
He’s also a doting dad to Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez), who as the grand celebration of her 118th birthday approaches, longs to get out into the real world.
From the outset, we are reassured that Dracula and his ilk are far more afraid than the reverse of humankind, who long ago took the life of his dear wife, Martha. In fact, his diet consists solely of “blood substitute” rather than the real thing, which is “so fatty and you never know where it’s been.”
The rest of the monster mash-up are wittily drawn and rendered, among them slow-witted (“Fire . . . BAD”) Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James), a much-wearied Wolfman (voiced by Steve Buscemi), who must contend with a litter of furry terrors with more in the oven, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Blob and a rogue’s ghoulery of others.
The jokes, along with the animated action, come fast and furious. One particularly piquant detail: the hotel staff consists of shambling, groaning zombie bellhops, witches (with broomsticks, of course) as chambermaids and a series of shrunken-head door-hanger signs that drop amusing bon mots at every opportunity.
The festive mood is shattered for Daddy Drac when hiker/slacker-dude Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg) stumbles upon the hotel by accident, sparking a furious effort by the host to keep him away from the other guests, who would be horrified to find a mortal in their midst, and the wanderlust-struck Mavis.
The humour is largely of the slapstick variety and likely to appeal both to youngsters and to adults, for whom the vast array of movie monsters is sure to evoke a sense of nostalgia for B-grade horror films of yesteryear. There may even be a little lesson in there for the grown-ups about the perils of being overly protective parents.
Hotel Transylvania is a good-natured view for the whole family.
Frankenweenie
Director Tim Burton has worked with Mary Shelly's
Frankenstein story three times now, most
notably with his “Edward Scissorhands” (1990). His latest film,
“Frankenweenie” is a long form of his short film of the same name released in
1984. His new film is a stop-motion animation effort which looks similar to his
well-known animated tale “A Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). This one should win an Academy Award next year.
Frankenweenie is based on Frankenstein, but is not tragic and is far less threatening in tone than the original. A young boy, Victor Frankenstein, lives with his parents and beloved dog, Sparky. Victor is an outsider, shunned at school by most. When Sparky is killed by a speeding car, Victor feels he has lost his best friend. Then he gets the idea of bringing Sparky back to life.
Victor succeeds in bringing his pet back to life, but the secret gets out and other children in the neighborhood duplicate Victor's experiment with scary results. A giant turtle that looks like it came from an old Japanese horror film causes a lot of damage, and a large, menacing combination of bat and cat chases the kids around as well. It is up to Victor and his friends to try to stop these monsters from destroying his town.
There are many references to the old Frankenstein films and other old horror and science fiction films in this movie, including “Bride of Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “Gamera” and others. In one funny scene, the neighbor's dog gets a shock and gets the distinctive Bride of Frankenstein streaks in her hair. The burning windmill scene, of course, is straight out of “Frankenstein.” Another scene is reminiscent of the cartoon classic “Bambi Meets Godzilla.”
While the film may be a bit too intense for young children, it will certainly be enjoyed by older kids, teens and adults. It is funny, a bit creepy and it has some heart, too.
Frankenweenie is based on Frankenstein, but is not tragic and is far less threatening in tone than the original. A young boy, Victor Frankenstein, lives with his parents and beloved dog, Sparky. Victor is an outsider, shunned at school by most. When Sparky is killed by a speeding car, Victor feels he has lost his best friend. Then he gets the idea of bringing Sparky back to life.
Victor succeeds in bringing his pet back to life, but the secret gets out and other children in the neighborhood duplicate Victor's experiment with scary results. A giant turtle that looks like it came from an old Japanese horror film causes a lot of damage, and a large, menacing combination of bat and cat chases the kids around as well. It is up to Victor and his friends to try to stop these monsters from destroying his town.
There are many references to the old Frankenstein films and other old horror and science fiction films in this movie, including “Bride of Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “Gamera” and others. In one funny scene, the neighbor's dog gets a shock and gets the distinctive Bride of Frankenstein streaks in her hair. The burning windmill scene, of course, is straight out of “Frankenstein.” Another scene is reminiscent of the cartoon classic “Bambi Meets Godzilla.”
While the film may be a bit too intense for young children, it will certainly be enjoyed by older kids, teens and adults. It is funny, a bit creepy and it has some heart, too.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Paranormal Activity 4
Did you watch the first one and not feel totally ripped off?
Did you go see 2 and 3 and loved them and wanted more?
Then you will want to see PA4. I hated this. Movies like this are the main reason I am glad I do not pay to see these things.
If kids in Africa were starving fro entertainment they would all die after this one served to them.
Did you go see 2 and 3 and loved them and wanted more?
Then you will want to see PA4. I hated this. Movies like this are the main reason I am glad I do not pay to see these things.
If kids in Africa were starving fro entertainment they would all die after this one served to them.
Alex Cross
I have usually liked Tyler Perry but view his work with a grain of salt. A little is ok but too much ruins anything. and not having any expectations at all that made "Alex Cross" more entertaining than it had any right to be.
Tyler Perry is going to surprise you. Expecially if you love him in a dress and wig. in the movie ALEX CROSS he plas Dr. Detective Cross who is an incredibly intelligent homicide detective; his skills are nearly unprecedented. But he's also a family man with two kids, a wife, and another kid on the way. Along with his childhood best friend and partner Tommy Kane (Edeard Burns), Cross can handle pretty much anything that is thrown at him. This is his breaking point though. This is the case that pushes him over the edge. A tragic, life-changing event occurs that sends Cross into an emotional downward spiral that leads him down the path of vengeance and away from the rules of the law. Perry deserves at least some credit for portraying as much emotion as he does and is stronger during the sadder moments of the film.
Now I have not read the Alex Cross series of books but I love a mystery expecially one with good twists and turns. This one did twist and curved a little but sadly I picked the correct bad guy as soon as he appeared and the only minor surprise I had was how Cross captured him.
The main reason you should see this movie is for Matthew Fox. He is a highly skilled assassin with no name, but is known as "Picasso" for the art he leaves at the scene of his work. He has an infatuation for using a drug called TTX, which leaves his victim's completely helpless but aware of the torture he puts them through. He is one crazy killing machine who can almost out think Alex Cross, almost. Fox will always be best known for "LOST," but he role is certainly a game changer for him as one of the most memorable and chilling villains of 2012.
Perry reveals that he can portray drama well enough. and Fox is sick, deranged, and absolutely outstanding. Not one for kids with violence and torture and maybe not a date flick even. But worth seeing once.
DREDD by Andrew Simpson
I really enjoyed this review of the movie DREDD and wanted to share with you. It is from Andrerw Simpson from his blog FAN THE FIRE.
The unpromising combination of shallowness and style make for compelling viewing in Dredd, Peter Travis’ hardnosed adaptation of the long running comic book series portraying a hard-line future lawman. Previously better known for a failed 1995 Sly Stallone vehicle, this new version is scripted by author Alex Garland (rumoured to have taken over the film in is final stages), and suffers none of the earlier Dredd’s stodgy impotence. A blend of bloody action, vengeful certainty and trippy visuals that lies much closer to its source material, it is in many ways the opposite of the moral knottiness of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Yet through a kind of streamlined tautness, as well as a charismatic lead performance from Karl Urban, it stacks up well against recent, more self-important blockbusters.
After a perfunctory voiceover detailing a ‘cursed earth’ America created by an unnamed (presumably nuclear) catastrophe, Judge Dredd is introduced via the hulking, monolithic Hall of Justice, an organisation ‘fighting for order in the chaos’. Mercilessly hunting down a pack of drug-addled criminals in early scenes, Dredd’s beat is the moody, minimally realised and believable metropolis Mega-City One, a city that supposedly links what used to be Washington DC and Boston, but is actually closer to LA or Chicago in its network of grimy underpasses and hulking tower blocks.
The plot, such as it is, sees Dredd forced to babysit failing rookie Anderson (Olivia Thirlby). Considered a ‘mutant’ due to her psychic powers, her idealism is the antithesis of Urban’s Dirty Harry-esque approach to justice, a balance that predictably becomes beneficial when they are thrust into the den of the city’s major drug ring. Housed within a tower block ironically going by the name of Peach Trees, its villain is the sadistically violent Ma-Ma (Game of Throne’s icy Lena Headey, clearly having a whale of a time), and the resulting action is never less than an entertaining, unapologetically adult vision of future law enforcement.
Travis’ real coup proves to be the presence of the time-altering narcotic Slo-Mo. Dragging time to a virtual standstill, it allows for some striking and often hallucinatory sequences, brilliantly bookending Ma Ma’s involvement and otherwise offering an outlet for the inventive visual style Travis first displayed in the underrated Vantage Point. Urban, meanwhile, is clearly channelling Clint Eastwood, and makes for a charismatic and rootable hero despite never removing his helmet. It’s all good, grisly fun, and as Dredd draws to a close with an inevitable setup for a second instalment, what emerges is a stylish film that celebrates and occasionally transcends its B-Movie origins.
The unpromising combination of shallowness and style make for compelling viewing in Dredd, Peter Travis’ hardnosed adaptation of the long running comic book series portraying a hard-line future lawman. Previously better known for a failed 1995 Sly Stallone vehicle, this new version is scripted by author Alex Garland (rumoured to have taken over the film in is final stages), and suffers none of the earlier Dredd’s stodgy impotence. A blend of bloody action, vengeful certainty and trippy visuals that lies much closer to its source material, it is in many ways the opposite of the moral knottiness of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Yet through a kind of streamlined tautness, as well as a charismatic lead performance from Karl Urban, it stacks up well against recent, more self-important blockbusters.
After a perfunctory voiceover detailing a ‘cursed earth’ America created by an unnamed (presumably nuclear) catastrophe, Judge Dredd is introduced via the hulking, monolithic Hall of Justice, an organisation ‘fighting for order in the chaos’. Mercilessly hunting down a pack of drug-addled criminals in early scenes, Dredd’s beat is the moody, minimally realised and believable metropolis Mega-City One, a city that supposedly links what used to be Washington DC and Boston, but is actually closer to LA or Chicago in its network of grimy underpasses and hulking tower blocks.
The plot, such as it is, sees Dredd forced to babysit failing rookie Anderson (Olivia Thirlby). Considered a ‘mutant’ due to her psychic powers, her idealism is the antithesis of Urban’s Dirty Harry-esque approach to justice, a balance that predictably becomes beneficial when they are thrust into the den of the city’s major drug ring. Housed within a tower block ironically going by the name of Peach Trees, its villain is the sadistically violent Ma-Ma (Game of Throne’s icy Lena Headey, clearly having a whale of a time), and the resulting action is never less than an entertaining, unapologetically adult vision of future law enforcement.
Travis’ real coup proves to be the presence of the time-altering narcotic Slo-Mo. Dragging time to a virtual standstill, it allows for some striking and often hallucinatory sequences, brilliantly bookending Ma Ma’s involvement and otherwise offering an outlet for the inventive visual style Travis first displayed in the underrated Vantage Point. Urban, meanwhile, is clearly channelling Clint Eastwood, and makes for a charismatic and rootable hero despite never removing his helmet. It’s all good, grisly fun, and as Dredd draws to a close with an inevitable setup for a second instalment, what emerges is a stylish film that celebrates and occasionally transcends its B-Movie origins.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Graham Young
I missed this screening so I am reposting the review by Graham Young, Birmingham Mail
THE notoriously-perilous journey through late adolescence is at the heart of this ambitious child-to-adult drama.
Adapted from his own novel by writer-director Stephen Chbosky, the central character is a youngster who is like so many of us.
Sensitive. Apprehensive. All the more so considering a friend’s suicide.
As a new term beckons, Charlie will need all of his hidden personality, and more, to come out from the shadowlands if he is to not only survive, but thrive.
Logan Lerman plays Charlie to perfection, wondering why anybody would be interested in him.
Luckily, English teacher Mr Anderson (Paul Rudd) is understanding and gives him some extra reading.
Before long, Charlie is talking to an openly-gay classmate (Ezra Miller) whose step-sister is the fun Sam (Harry Potter’s Emma Watson).
Long before the end, he’ll be a role model for the many who think that way while letting those around them make the most of every opportunity.
I wanted to love Wallflower and left feeling underwhelmed by my own high sense of anticipation. The film’s distributors had insisted I watch it with an evening preview audience at the Odeon New Street. Unfortunately, the screening felt as if either the print was dodgy or it had not been ingested properly.
The pictures were often dark, the sound too muted. It did not come to life on the silver screen like the trailer I saw an hour later at Cineworld.
Although a universal story, the use of music in Wallflower is so specific and intrusive at times it will make it harder for older viewers to see it’s supposed to be set in early 1990s Pittsburgh.
Emma Watson, for example, doesn’t make the transatlantic journey quite as well as Dakota Fanning coming this way for Now Is Good and I nearly threw up after her ‘I love bulimia’ line.
But if Perks helps teenagers to come to terms with who they are and who they might become if only they are brave enough to raise their hand, then the film could become a classic of its kind
Read More http://www.birminghammail.net/what-is-on-in-birmingham/film-reviews/2012/10/05/film-review-the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-97319-31969061/#ixzz2AAvwoV9T
THE notoriously-perilous journey through late adolescence is at the heart of this ambitious child-to-adult drama.
Adapted from his own novel by writer-director Stephen Chbosky, the central character is a youngster who is like so many of us.
Sensitive. Apprehensive. All the more so considering a friend’s suicide.
As a new term beckons, Charlie will need all of his hidden personality, and more, to come out from the shadowlands if he is to not only survive, but thrive.
Luckily, English teacher Mr Anderson (Paul Rudd) is understanding and gives him some extra reading.
Before long, Charlie is talking to an openly-gay classmate (Ezra Miller) whose step-sister is the fun Sam (Harry Potter’s Emma Watson).
Long before the end, he’ll be a role model for the many who think that way while letting those around them make the most of every opportunity.
I wanted to love Wallflower and left feeling underwhelmed by my own high sense of anticipation. The film’s distributors had insisted I watch it with an evening preview audience at the Odeon New Street. Unfortunately, the screening felt as if either the print was dodgy or it had not been ingested properly.
The pictures were often dark, the sound too muted. It did not come to life on the silver screen like the trailer I saw an hour later at Cineworld.
Although a universal story, the use of music in Wallflower is so specific and intrusive at times it will make it harder for older viewers to see it’s supposed to be set in early 1990s Pittsburgh.
Emma Watson, for example, doesn’t make the transatlantic journey quite as well as Dakota Fanning coming this way for Now Is Good and I nearly threw up after her ‘I love bulimia’ line.
But if Perks helps teenagers to come to terms with who they are and who they might become if only they are brave enough to raise their hand, then the film could become a classic of its kind
Read More http://www.birminghammail.net/what-is-on-in-birmingham/film-reviews/2012/10/05/film-review-the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-97319-31969061/#ixzz2AAvwoV9T
Resident Evil; Retribution
Milla Jovovich is back as Alice in “Resident Evil: Retribution” wasting the undead zombies created by the Umbrella Coprporation by the thousands and thousands.
This is the fifth film in the sci-fi franchise has we get a better look at the workings of the Umbrella Corporation. The movie picks up right at the end of the fourth movie where Alice and her friends are on the aircraft carrier looking for saftey with the entire Umbrella army racing towards them. Alice is captured and awakens in a corporate headquarters where the strains of the T virus were tested to see what results could be expected. We soon learn that some people in the Umbrella Corporation have realized that maybe the zombie virus accidentally released on the world is not such a good thing. They now help Alice in her fight against the corporate baddies.
I found the 3-D effects decent but not enough. There is a nice turn of events that made me ready for the next sequel, the presumed finale.
Many of the past characters return thanks to cloning and even Alice gets some mother-daughter vibes when she befriends a deaf child named Becky.
I liked the action in the movie but the story I found weak. Couple of holes but it is fantasy. If you liked the other movies you should like this one also.
This is the fifth film in the sci-fi franchise has we get a better look at the workings of the Umbrella Corporation. The movie picks up right at the end of the fourth movie where Alice and her friends are on the aircraft carrier looking for saftey with the entire Umbrella army racing towards them. Alice is captured and awakens in a corporate headquarters where the strains of the T virus were tested to see what results could be expected. We soon learn that some people in the Umbrella Corporation have realized that maybe the zombie virus accidentally released on the world is not such a good thing. They now help Alice in her fight against the corporate baddies.
I found the 3-D effects decent but not enough. There is a nice turn of events that made me ready for the next sequel, the presumed finale.
Many of the past characters return thanks to cloning and even Alice gets some mother-daughter vibes when she befriends a deaf child named Becky.
I liked the action in the movie but the story I found weak. Couple of holes but it is fantasy. If you liked the other movies you should like this one also.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Battleship Winners
Battleship Winners
1. Kacie Sharader
2. Raphael Ramierez
3. Miquel Martinez
4. Lauren Lewes
5. T.C. Yaters
A couple of you have not responded to me still so please do so.
1. Kacie Sharader
2. Raphael Ramierez
3. Miquel Martinez
4. Lauren Lewes
5. T.C. Yaters
A couple of you have not responded to me still so please do so.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN
Latest movie from the folks at Disney. Safe for the kids but will really distort the reality to younger ones as to where babies come from.
I have always dreamed what would happen if movies went more to Frank Zappa styled music and this is abliut as close as it will get. This movie is based on a story by Ahmet Zappa (son of Frank) and it goes round and round and round until oops look there are the credits.
Movie is basicially, wife Jennifer Garner and husband Joel Edgerton can not have children of their own. They write up a list detailing what traits they would love to have in their child and bury it in the garden. Lo and behold Timothy sprouts and is everything they wanted in a child.
Fun and games as they decide to take him in as their own and then explain his arrival to friends and family.
Movie is a mess. It is an enjoyable mess but a mess. Surprises are telegraphed pretty openly.
Rated G
I have always dreamed what would happen if movies went more to Frank Zappa styled music and this is abliut as close as it will get. This movie is based on a story by Ahmet Zappa (son of Frank) and it goes round and round and round until oops look there are the credits.
Movie is basicially, wife Jennifer Garner and husband Joel Edgerton can not have children of their own. They write up a list detailing what traits they would love to have in their child and bury it in the garden. Lo and behold Timothy sprouts and is everything they wanted in a child.
Fun and games as they decide to take him in as their own and then explain his arrival to friends and family.
Movie is a mess. It is an enjoyable mess but a mess. Surprises are telegraphed pretty openly.
Rated G
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Bourne Legacy
I want to start this by telling you how much I have enjoyed the last 3 Bourne movies. All are in my DVD collection and I still view them. I will even stop when channel surfing if I catch them on USA or another cable outlet. The fact I am not a Matt Damon fan, does not matter with these movies. They play fast and keep my attention glued to the screen, not my watch.
So the fourth movie in the Bourne franchise comes out. No Matt Damon, yeaaa, Directed by Tony Gilmore, the writer of the first three Bournes, double yeaaaa. Rachael Weisz and Jeremy Renner to star and many former antagonist back also. What could go wrong here?
Backstory. Oh My Gosh. I am a fan of backstory, I usually complain when there is not enough backstory. I want to know why characters act the way they do and what inflictions they have endured to say what they say. I am a voracious reader, reading up to 5 books a week on many topics. I love backstory in the books. Now this movie in my opinion is 95% backstory. It moves with the pace of the glacier that Renner is near at the beginning of the movie. 45 minutes late we find him 1/4 mile down the road but know his history. ( maybe slight exaggeration there ) 45 minutes later we know the back story of almost everyone in the cast.
There is a new bad guy, Edward Norton as Eric Byer. He is a go getter and he wants all the participants of PROJECT BLACKBRIER removed from the scene. He does a good job with the antagonist role and you reallycan not wait to see how the Bourne operatives destroy him, or maybe he will get them all?
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, Drug use. No real profanity and no sex.
In the future I will not complain so loudly about backstory. I have seen where it leads.
So the fourth movie in the Bourne franchise comes out. No Matt Damon, yeaaa, Directed by Tony Gilmore, the writer of the first three Bournes, double yeaaaa. Rachael Weisz and Jeremy Renner to star and many former antagonist back also. What could go wrong here?
Backstory. Oh My Gosh. I am a fan of backstory, I usually complain when there is not enough backstory. I want to know why characters act the way they do and what inflictions they have endured to say what they say. I am a voracious reader, reading up to 5 books a week on many topics. I love backstory in the books. Now this movie in my opinion is 95% backstory. It moves with the pace of the glacier that Renner is near at the beginning of the movie. 45 minutes late we find him 1/4 mile down the road but know his history. ( maybe slight exaggeration there ) 45 minutes later we know the back story of almost everyone in the cast.
There is a new bad guy, Edward Norton as Eric Byer. He is a go getter and he wants all the participants of PROJECT BLACKBRIER removed from the scene. He does a good job with the antagonist role and you reallycan not wait to see how the Bourne operatives destroy him, or maybe he will get them all?
The movie is rated PG-13 for violence, Drug use. No real profanity and no sex.
In the future I will not complain so loudly about backstory. I have seen where it leads.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The Campaign
Recently screened the new Will Ferrell movie, THE CANDIDATE. First let me say that I was not totally disappointed. Just, that I was partially disappointed. More on why coming.
Will Ferrell plays a 4 time United States Congressman from the 14th District in North Carolina named, Cam Brady. Cam is the perfect politician, telling his constituents what THEY want to hear and promising anything to get reelected. Zach Galifianakis plays a local town tourism director with extremely non-male tendencies named, Marty Huggins.
John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd play the Motch Brothers. Two multi-billionaires who want control of the district and want to be in control of the congressman of that district. Cam Brady runs unopposed so they hand-pick Marty to be their man and pour 1 million dollars into his PAC to fund a very dirty campaign against Cam.
Do not feel sorry for Cam as he knows how to fight fire with fire, tit-for-tat, and this is where the funny of the movie goes. Slapstick and profanity riddled commentary comes from both political camps. Got a little much for me, although I chuckled when the baby got punched. The CGI for that was awesome.
Where I was disappointed was with Will Ferrell. He seems to just reuse story plot points from movie to movie. That just gets old. What was refreshing is the humor that Zack Galifianakis brings to the movie. I have enjoyed his work since TRU LIVES and he has yet to make me laugh.
The movie cast is rounded out nicely by Dylan McDermott, Katherine LaNasa and Sarah Baker. The scene stealer award goes to Karen Maruyama as the maid.
I will not tell you here who wins. Email me at Mark@salsatv.com for that. Or go see it yourself and find out.
Rated R for crude sexual content, language and brief nudity
Will Ferrell plays a 4 time United States Congressman from the 14th District in North Carolina named, Cam Brady. Cam is the perfect politician, telling his constituents what THEY want to hear and promising anything to get reelected. Zach Galifianakis plays a local town tourism director with extremely non-male tendencies named, Marty Huggins.
John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd play the Motch Brothers. Two multi-billionaires who want control of the district and want to be in control of the congressman of that district. Cam Brady runs unopposed so they hand-pick Marty to be their man and pour 1 million dollars into his PAC to fund a very dirty campaign against Cam.
Do not feel sorry for Cam as he knows how to fight fire with fire, tit-for-tat, and this is where the funny of the movie goes. Slapstick and profanity riddled commentary comes from both political camps. Got a little much for me, although I chuckled when the baby got punched. The CGI for that was awesome.
Where I was disappointed was with Will Ferrell. He seems to just reuse story plot points from movie to movie. That just gets old. What was refreshing is the humor that Zack Galifianakis brings to the movie. I have enjoyed his work since TRU LIVES and he has yet to make me laugh.
The movie cast is rounded out nicely by Dylan McDermott, Katherine LaNasa and Sarah Baker. The scene stealer award goes to Karen Maruyama as the maid.
I will not tell you here who wins. Email me at Mark@salsatv.com for that. Or go see it yourself and find out.
Rated R for crude sexual content, language and brief nudity
Universal Pictures hits 1 Billion Box Office
I like most of the movies that Universal puts forth. Looks like I am not the only one out there. - Mark Kennedy
NEWS RELEASE
UNIVERSAL PICTURES SETS
STUDIO RECORD FOR FASTEST CLIMB TO $1 BILLION AT NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE
Studio on Track for a Record Best Year
at Domestic Box Office
UNIVERSAL
CITY, CA—August 6, 2012—Universal
Pictures announced today that the studio has reached the $1 billion mark at the
domestic box office, three months earlier than at any time in history.
The previous record was set during the weekend of November 7, 2008 with
films that included Mamma Mia!, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted
and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This will be the
seventh time Universal has reached this milestone. With five films yet to
be released in 2012, the studio is on track to have its highest-grossing year
ever at the domestic box office, a record also set in 2008.
Universal’s
2012 success at the North American box office has been fueled by a strong slate
of films including five that became No. 1 (Contraband, Safe House,
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Snow White and the Huntsman and Ted),
two that grossed more than $200 million (Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax at $214
million and Ted at $203.6 million*) and two that grossed more than $100
million (Safe House at $126.4 million and Snow White and the Huntsman
at $153.8 million*). Universal is one of
only two studios so far this year to have two films that have grossed more than
$200 million domestically. Currently, Universal has four of the 15 top grossing
films of the year, more than any other studio.
Other Facts of Note:
- Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax was the highest opening for an animated film in 2012 ($70.2 million) and the highest-opening film for Universal this year.
- As the breakout comedy hit of the summer, Ted set a new record for the highest opening for an original R-rated comedy in history ($54.4 million) and is well on its way to becoming one of the all-time highest-grossing R-rated comedies ever.
- The studio’s February hit Safe House was Denzel Washington’s second biggest opening of his career and his second highest-grossing film ever.
- Universal
Pictures International passed $1 billion at the overseas box office on July
17, also setting a new studio record.
This
week, Universal will release the next chapter in the studio’s hugely popular
espionage franchise, The Bourne Legacy. In October comes the new
out-loud comedy Pitch Perfect, and the action-thriller The Man With
the Iron Fists arrives in November. Universal will close out 2012
with two films in December: Les Misérables, the motion-picture
adaptation of the global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in
42 countries and in 21 languages around the world, and This Is 40, the
latest comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow.
*These
films are currently in theaters.
****
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The Watch
Seeing what an 8th grader would write and find funny if he could make a movie is how I felt after this movie. If you like vulgarity, penis jokes, homoerotic references and the sort go see the new movie from 20th Century Fox.
The Watch is a science fiction comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade are the neighboors who start the neighboorhood watch. When they accidentally uncover an alien plot that threatens the world, they are the only ones able to save us all. My goodness are we doomed or what?
Rated R for vulgarity, nudity, adult situations, violence. Better to just stay away and read a book.
The Watch is a science fiction comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade are the neighboors who start the neighboorhood watch. When they accidentally uncover an alien plot that threatens the world, they are the only ones able to save us all. My goodness are we doomed or what?
Rated R for vulgarity, nudity, adult situations, violence. Better to just stay away and read a book.
Red Lights
Sigourney Weaver is listed as the star of this flick with Cillian Murphy and the fantastic actor Robert De Niro. Wow, what can go wrong here? Listed as a paranormal psychological thriller? I could not wait. Stupid me......What a waste of time. Weaver and Murphy are reasearchers who travel the country debunking fraudulent claims of ghost whispering, faith healing and other psychic phenomena. They look for what Weaver calls "red lights," the tricks behind staged supernatural occurrences. De Niro plays a TRUE psychic leaving retirement after 30 years, and WEaver and Murphy want to debunk him. Writer and director Rodrigo Cortés misses the mark thinkng this is paranormal, thrilling, or entertaining.
There are a couple of twists in the movie. I guessed both....waaaaay to early in the film.
One humorous part is the usage of birds in the movie. Rent and see.
There are a couple of twists in the movie. I guessed both....waaaaay to early in the film.
One humorous part is the usage of birds in the movie. Rent and see.
The Dark Knight Rises
I found very little to be bothered by in the lastest and final chapter in the Batman franchise. Christopher Nolan’s, “The Dark Knight Rises” delivers everything audiences could ask for and then some.
The movie starts us eight years after the end of “The Dark Knight”. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has become a recluse, seemingly still recovering from injuries sustained as Batman. His butler/confidante, Alfred (Michael Caine) informs him that Wayne Enterprises is in major financial trouble, mostly from a clean-energy research project which Wayne built then closeted away. The bad guy is a masked terrorist named Bane (Tom Hardy) who is easily bankrupts the Wayne and launches a populist uprising against the rich. Batman has to come out of retirement and fight Bane and escape from the police who are still convinced that Batman was responsible for the death of late district attorney, Harvey Dent.
Christopher Nolan’s vision and usage of Catwoman is the best so far, showing off Anne Hathaways' sex appeal, humor and scarcastic wit in equally.
Many events turn and twist between these three main characters and an assortment of others including a hot shot policeman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman.
You will either like this movie or not. I do not see a middle space for it. It does get long winded a couple of times and there are some muddled areas. I liked it found the twist refreshing, and look forward to the directors commentary on the DVD.
Profanity is minimal, sex is implied. Lots of deaths and fighting but not bloody or gory.
The movie starts us eight years after the end of “The Dark Knight”. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has become a recluse, seemingly still recovering from injuries sustained as Batman. His butler/confidante, Alfred (Michael Caine) informs him that Wayne Enterprises is in major financial trouble, mostly from a clean-energy research project which Wayne built then closeted away. The bad guy is a masked terrorist named Bane (Tom Hardy) who is easily bankrupts the Wayne and launches a populist uprising against the rich. Batman has to come out of retirement and fight Bane and escape from the police who are still convinced that Batman was responsible for the death of late district attorney, Harvey Dent.
Christopher Nolan’s vision and usage of Catwoman is the best so far, showing off Anne Hathaways' sex appeal, humor and scarcastic wit in equally.
Many events turn and twist between these three main characters and an assortment of others including a hot shot policeman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman.
You will either like this movie or not. I do not see a middle space for it. It does get long winded a couple of times and there are some muddled areas. I liked it found the twist refreshing, and look forward to the directors commentary on the DVD.
Profanity is minimal, sex is implied. Lots of deaths and fighting but not bloody or gory.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Creature
Creature - The Movie
by Mark Kennedy on Friday, September 9, 2011
I screened the movie CREATURE last night and found it to be the longest 93 minutes of my life. Here is a NON-SPOILER storyline.
A recently resigned Navy seal, played by Mehcad Brooks, his girlfriend, Serinda Swan and friends go on a road trip to New Orleans. The group stops at a roadside convenience store owned by Chopper, played by Sid Haig, where they learn the tale of Lockjaw, a fabled god-like creature who is half-man, half-alligator. The rest of the back story is told by one of the friends who states his father is well learned in these folk lore stories.
The group goes off to visit the homestead of Grimley, the man who lost his pregnant sister-wife to a giant white alligator. In his grief he killed the alligator and then becomes this Lockjaw the locals worship as a God. Of course the group gets to the cabin at dusk and decides to set up tents to spend the night. Then they learn the truth about the creature known as Lockjaw.
This movie is like a fine piece of swiss cheese. Lots of nice looks, but ends up smelly and full of holes. Watch at your own risk of loss of time.
A recently resigned Navy seal, played by Mehcad Brooks, his girlfriend, Serinda Swan and friends go on a road trip to New Orleans. The group stops at a roadside convenience store owned by Chopper, played by Sid Haig, where they learn the tale of Lockjaw, a fabled god-like creature who is half-man, half-alligator. The rest of the back story is told by one of the friends who states his father is well learned in these folk lore stories.
The group goes off to visit the homestead of Grimley, the man who lost his pregnant sister-wife to a giant white alligator. In his grief he killed the alligator and then becomes this Lockjaw the locals worship as a God. Of course the group gets to the cabin at dusk and decides to set up tents to spend the night. Then they learn the truth about the creature known as Lockjaw.
This movie is like a fine piece of swiss cheese. Lots of nice looks, but ends up smelly and full of holes. Watch at your own risk of loss of time.
Fright Night
Fright Night - A Review
by Mark Kennedy on Thursday, August 18, 2011
Got to give you my review of FRIGHT NIGHT. Yet another attempt by Hollywood writers to come up with new fresh ideas by revamping a movie made 26 years ago.
Originality has not been a trademark from there in quite a while.
The movie itself was close to the original. Casting was excellent. The part of Charlie Brewster is played by well by Anton Yelchin,(Chekov in the new Star Trek. His vampire nemesis is played adequately by Colin Farrel, who adds a charm to the villiam character. Farrel plays the vampire JERRY with an almost don't worry- be happy style. The girfriend is played like a piece of rock by actress Imogene Poots. I loved her in 28 Weeks Later and Centurian. Here she just goes through the moves. No emotion, people dying and vamps chasing and nothing from her.
The character I was actually worried about the most was the vampire hunter Peter Vincent. David Tennant,(BBCs- Dr. Who and Harry Potter) was an excellent choice. this time around the hunter is not an out of style television star but a Las Vegas illusionist who has vampires in his magic motiff. He is quite a hoot but his character tosses the f-bombs around like beads at mardi gras.
The movie has some good uses of 3D. I have always wondered why they shoot in 3D and nothing is really seen with it. This movie used good effects. Crosses falling towards us, blood shooting out of a neck, rocks crashing through glass doors. Worth is extra price of a 3D movie.
Finally without giving too much spoiler, I need to talk about Colin turning into his full blown vampire look. Watch the movie and tell me you do not think he looks like John Travolta. I do not know if it was a joke or the makeup artist feels Travolta is a frightening figure. Watch the movie and let me know.
Movie is Rated R for Violence, gore, language and sexual situations.
Originality has not been a trademark from there in quite a while.
The movie itself was close to the original. Casting was excellent. The part of Charlie Brewster is played by well by Anton Yelchin,(Chekov in the new Star Trek. His vampire nemesis is played adequately by Colin Farrel, who adds a charm to the villiam character. Farrel plays the vampire JERRY with an almost don't worry- be happy style. The girfriend is played like a piece of rock by actress Imogene Poots. I loved her in 28 Weeks Later and Centurian. Here she just goes through the moves. No emotion, people dying and vamps chasing and nothing from her.
The character I was actually worried about the most was the vampire hunter Peter Vincent. David Tennant,(BBCs- Dr. Who and Harry Potter) was an excellent choice. this time around the hunter is not an out of style television star but a Las Vegas illusionist who has vampires in his magic motiff. He is quite a hoot but his character tosses the f-bombs around like beads at mardi gras.
The movie has some good uses of 3D. I have always wondered why they shoot in 3D and nothing is really seen with it. This movie used good effects. Crosses falling towards us, blood shooting out of a neck, rocks crashing through glass doors. Worth is extra price of a 3D movie.
Finally without giving too much spoiler, I need to talk about Colin turning into his full blown vampire look. Watch the movie and tell me you do not think he looks like John Travolta. I do not know if it was a joke or the makeup artist feels Travolta is a frightening figure. Watch the movie and let me know.
Movie is Rated R for Violence, gore, language and sexual situations.
Conan; The Barbarian
Conan; The Barbarian, A Review
by Mark Kennedy on Wednesday, August 17, 2011
So I see CONAN, The Barbarian tonight. Here is my review and thoughts. First, I wish I had the concession on the fake blood used in the movie....Buckets of it. Everyone seems to have a major artery running on their back because when they get sliced the blood just shoots into the air. Second, if I could not have the blood detail I want the fake skull unit. I mean there must have been thousands and thousands of people killed around the area for the number of skulls to be just lying around. Third, whenever I get my chance to rule the entire world and have thousands of peons in my army, I will send them to kill the hero and not try to do it alone. That seems to be the one mistake in all the bad guys minds that they can do it all themselves. I ask myself, why employ all these armies when you are going to try to kill one guy by yourself. It never seems to work. Now to the movie.
Conan's birth is a violent one on a battlefield. His Mother is wounded and the Husband finishes the Cesarean that brings Conan into the world. Conan's Father is played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Season of the Witch). He seems to play sword wielders’’ really well and does so here. He gets a most fascinating death also. Conan is played by Jason Momoa,( TVs, Baywatch and Cable TV..Game of Thrones) He is a sultry and sulking young man. His main downfall is that he talks too much. I want the Arnold Swartzenegger Conan of few words. He does an adequate job though and will do better in the sequels. The damsel in distress is one very nice looking Rachel Nichols ( Star Trek and G.I. Joe) she is the true blood the bad guys played very nicely by Stephen Lang ( Avatar and The Men who Stare at Goats) and Rose McGowan (Planet Terror and TVs Charmed) In fact Rose is hard to even recognize unless you know it is her. Special effects are non obtrusive. Nice effects with some sand men. Why 3-D who knows, because they can.
There is one scene I will hint at and only say it makes you appreciate your sinuses cavity.
The Art Director was James Steuart and he used a lot of good green screen scenes that were a homage to artist Frank Frazetta who passed away in 2010. Frazetta did a lot of Conan art work in his heyday.
Go see Conan, the Barbarian. Just go and expect what the title tells you to expect.
The movie is rated R for violence,( Duh ), Sex, yes there is an copulation scene and a lot of the women wear no tops
Conan's birth is a violent one on a battlefield. His Mother is wounded and the Husband finishes the Cesarean that brings Conan into the world. Conan's Father is played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Season of the Witch). He seems to play sword wielders’’ really well and does so here. He gets a most fascinating death also. Conan is played by Jason Momoa,( TVs, Baywatch and Cable TV..Game of Thrones) He is a sultry and sulking young man. His main downfall is that he talks too much. I want the Arnold Swartzenegger Conan of few words. He does an adequate job though and will do better in the sequels. The damsel in distress is one very nice looking Rachel Nichols ( Star Trek and G.I. Joe) she is the true blood the bad guys played very nicely by Stephen Lang ( Avatar and The Men who Stare at Goats) and Rose McGowan (Planet Terror and TVs Charmed) In fact Rose is hard to even recognize unless you know it is her. Special effects are non obtrusive. Nice effects with some sand men. Why 3-D who knows, because they can.
There is one scene I will hint at and only say it makes you appreciate your sinuses cavity.
The Art Director was James Steuart and he used a lot of good green screen scenes that were a homage to artist Frank Frazetta who passed away in 2010. Frazetta did a lot of Conan art work in his heyday.
Go see Conan, the Barbarian. Just go and expect what the title tells you to expect.
The movie is rated R for violence,( Duh ), Sex, yes there is an copulation scene and a lot of the women wear no tops
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - REVIEW
by Mark Kennedy on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Ho Ho HO Chirstmas has come early to this movie goer with the release of the movie RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. To make it brief this movie is an origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. OK enough for the story everone knows.
James Franco, (Spiderman movies and 127 Hours), is the scientist who wants to cure Alzheimers. His reasons are personal having a Father (John Lithgow) who suffers from the disease. His boss, (David Oyelowo) (Last King of Scotland and the new movie The Help) wants the cure because of all the money he can make off it. The testing of the drug ALZ-112 is in the animal phase and chimpanzees are the subject. Ok we all know what happens but the way they handle it was terrific.
Lots of homages to the original Planet of the Apes with Ceasar playing with a broken Statue of Liberty toy and the Gorrilla class being the muscle for the weaker chimps.
Tom Felton, (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter fame) gets the meaty part of the bad animal handler. He plays mean really well. David Hewlitt, ( StarGate Atlantis Fame)gets all the bad in the movie tossed his way and stay just after the credits start to see how it all plays out for him and the human race.
The real star is Andy Serkis ( Gullom from the Lord of the Ring movies) he once again puts on the motion suit and plays the ape hero, Ceasar. Effects are good when you know that the apes are not real but you are not sure whch ones are not real. I loved this movie and I think you will also. Some violence so keep the small children away but profanity a minimum and no sex. I can not wait for the sequel!! Tell me what you thought of the movie.
James Franco, (Spiderman movies and 127 Hours), is the scientist who wants to cure Alzheimers. His reasons are personal having a Father (John Lithgow) who suffers from the disease. His boss, (David Oyelowo) (Last King of Scotland and the new movie The Help) wants the cure because of all the money he can make off it. The testing of the drug ALZ-112 is in the animal phase and chimpanzees are the subject. Ok we all know what happens but the way they handle it was terrific.
Lots of homages to the original Planet of the Apes with Ceasar playing with a broken Statue of Liberty toy and the Gorrilla class being the muscle for the weaker chimps.
Tom Felton, (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter fame) gets the meaty part of the bad animal handler. He plays mean really well. David Hewlitt, ( StarGate Atlantis Fame)gets all the bad in the movie tossed his way and stay just after the credits start to see how it all plays out for him and the human race.
The real star is Andy Serkis ( Gullom from the Lord of the Ring movies) he once again puts on the motion suit and plays the ape hero, Ceasar. Effects are good when you know that the apes are not real but you are not sure whch ones are not real. I loved this movie and I think you will also. Some violence so keep the small children away but profanity a minimum and no sex. I can not wait for the sequel!! Tell me what you thought of the movie.
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb: The movie - Across the 2nd Dimension
by Mark Kennedy on Saturday, July 30, 2011
Went and saw the Phineas and Ferb movie today. This is a special preview of the Disney Channel TV release next Friday, check your local times. This show has been a staple on the Disney Channel since November 2007. It shows the summer antics of Phineas and his step brother Ferb. Their big question of each episode is, "sooooo what are we going to try to do today?" They complete major undertakings suck as building rollercoasters and robots on a daily basis. Their older sister, Candance, always catches them and trys to inform their Mom, but happenchance always kicks in and Mom is never the wiser.
There is a pet platypus named Perry who is actually a member of a secret agent team that consists of all species of animals and run by a Major Momogram, and his assistance Carl. Perry sneaks away to do battle every episode with his arch nemesis, Dr. Doofenschirtz. thus the line always uttered, " Where's Perry?"
Ok so thats the major players.
This movie takes a standardsummer day and expands off it. I found it entertaining for the first hour but then got a bit draggy. Remember this is bases on a 26 minute episodic cartoon. Not to spoil the boys get involved with Doofenschmirtz and wind up in an alternate universe. They meet their alterselves and their friends and family alterselves and see what they could have to could not have been. The alternate dimension bad guy, Doofenscmitrz 2, wants to take over the normal,(our), dimension and the fun ensues. How will the boys ever fix this mess and not get caught by Mom?
If your kids watch the show they will ove the movie. all the regular voices are there and some back story to the day the boys got Perry at the pet shop is shown.
Great songs and lyrics, things the show is known for are throughout the movie.
Secret....I like the tv show, but found the movie about 20 minutes longer than I liked. Bad news because this is released to TV next Friday and with commercials will be 2 hours. Kids will eat it up though.
There is a pet platypus named Perry who is actually a member of a secret agent team that consists of all species of animals and run by a Major Momogram, and his assistance Carl. Perry sneaks away to do battle every episode with his arch nemesis, Dr. Doofenschirtz. thus the line always uttered, " Where's Perry?"
Ok so thats the major players.
This movie takes a standardsummer day and expands off it. I found it entertaining for the first hour but then got a bit draggy. Remember this is bases on a 26 minute episodic cartoon. Not to spoil the boys get involved with Doofenschmirtz and wind up in an alternate universe. They meet their alterselves and their friends and family alterselves and see what they could have to could not have been. The alternate dimension bad guy, Doofenscmitrz 2, wants to take over the normal,(our), dimension and the fun ensues. How will the boys ever fix this mess and not get caught by Mom?
If your kids watch the show they will ove the movie. all the regular voices are there and some back story to the day the boys got Perry at the pet shop is shown.
Great songs and lyrics, things the show is known for are throughout the movie.
Secret....I like the tv show, but found the movie about 20 minutes longer than I liked. Bad news because this is released to TV next Friday and with commercials will be 2 hours. Kids will eat it up though.
Cowboys and Aliens
Cowboys and Aliens - A review
by Mark Kennedy on Friday, July 29, 2011 OK saw Cowboys and Aliens earlier this week. Let me tell you....IT ROCKED!!!
I will try not to spoil anything for you.
Movie stars Daniel Craig...AKA James Bond... as a amnesic with a strange metal bracer on his left arm. Who he is, where he was, what is this on his arm all a fog.
He is accosted by a travelling pack of Indian Scalpers and lets say he gets some clothes and a horse. He has this hummingbird spirit guide but enough of that.
Once in town he meets up with the very pretty Olivia Wilde, AKA TVs House, the OC and the movie TRON. She wants to talk to him but doesnt say more.
Turns out Daniel Craig has a wanted poster out for him. He is captured and then the aliens show up.
Lots of townsfolk captured and pretty good efx.
Harrison Ford plays the role of the evil cattle barron who is trying to balance saving his son and getting revenge on Craig for some heist he pulled. Ford does a good job with the evilness but seems to lose it during the movie, I guess Speilberg and Jon Favreau did not want to make him a total jerk badguy.
There is an outlaw gang and a band of Indians who all team up to battle these aliens from a distant galaxy far far away. In real life they would of had their butts handed to them, but in Hollywood land there is a different ending.
Two real bad timing sequences in the movie but it holds together really well.
Remember this is fantasy and have fun with it. That way the movie is very enjoyable. There is much more than this sooo go see it.
Movie stars Daniel Craig...AKA James Bond... as a amnesic with a strange metal bracer on his left arm. Who he is, where he was, what is this on his arm all a fog.
He is accosted by a travelling pack of Indian Scalpers and lets say he gets some clothes and a horse. He has this hummingbird spirit guide but enough of that.
Once in town he meets up with the very pretty Olivia Wilde, AKA TVs House, the OC and the movie TRON. She wants to talk to him but doesnt say more.
Turns out Daniel Craig has a wanted poster out for him. He is captured and then the aliens show up.
Lots of townsfolk captured and pretty good efx.
Harrison Ford plays the role of the evil cattle barron who is trying to balance saving his son and getting revenge on Craig for some heist he pulled. Ford does a good job with the evilness but seems to lose it during the movie, I guess Speilberg and Jon Favreau did not want to make him a total jerk badguy.
There is an outlaw gang and a band of Indians who all team up to battle these aliens from a distant galaxy far far away. In real life they would of had their butts handed to them, but in Hollywood land there is a different ending.
Two real bad timing sequences in the movie but it holds together really well.
Remember this is fantasy and have fun with it. That way the movie is very enjoyable. There is much more than this sooo go see it.
Winnie the Pooh
Review of WINNIE THE POOH
Saw the new Walt Disney movie Winnie the Pooh tonight. First things first, I had planned all sorts of sentences using the word Pooh to make fun of the movie. In actuality I enjoyed this movie greatly. It brings back all the childhood memories I have of the Winnie the Pooh movies that I watched. Even the opening with the song and animation was simular. Songs were mostly sung by the singer Zooey Deschanel and she did a wonderful job. In fact the mucis in the movie is all well done. I noticed the crowd which was mainly on the younger side laughed at all the word jokes and of course the slapstick antics of Pooh and his friends in the 100 acre wood. John Cleese takes on the voice of the narrater, the voice I remember as Sebastan Cabot. He does an excellent job. The gag of Pooh and his friends being in an actual book and walking on words gets old the 4th or 5th time it happens but Disney animators pull off the job and it is enjoyable. The movie is only 1 hour long so do not worry about attention spans. There is a short cartoon before the feature about Nessie the Loch Ness Monster. Has a good message for the kiddos.
Lastly...stay through the credits, there is a short cut scene that you might want to watch. Credits are not boring either as Pooh and his friends play with in the words.
Winnie the Pooh..go see it with someone young. It will not dissapoint.
Lastly...stay through the credits, there is a short cut scene that you might want to watch. Credits are not boring either as Pooh and his friends play with in the words.
Winnie the Pooh..go see it with someone young. It will not dissapoint.
Harry Potter 7B
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2
by Mark Kennedy on Monday, July 11, 2011
OK, just saw Harry Potter 7b. Enjoyed it at a 8 out of 10 till then last 20 minutes. Oh my goodness...what is up with all the foot chase scenes this year? 30 minutes humans running through Chicago to kill gigantic ultrafancy robots without getting killed themselves and then Harry running through a castle with explosions and all for 20 minutes to have one of the most unfullfilling evil character deaths ever made in Hollywoods history. Where was JK Rowling? Other 7 movies were failthful to the books they were spaws fnrom. This one *poof* what book? What dramatic speech from Harry to Voldemort at the end? Where was Percy and the role of the Ministry of Magic? What about the friggin Deathly Hallows? Never really mentioned. Whatever....Movie will still make 250 million by next weekend. It was special effects laden as expected. Snapes' death was different slightly but handled well and acceptable. Go see it but do not expect the book.
Welcome
Welcome to Mark's Movie Mania.
I am a just a person who enjoys movies and telling others to watch or rent.
I feel there are very few movies that should not be seen. Someone had a vision and wanted to share that in a rather hard style with the public.
Not all are a John Ford, or even Francis Ford or a Tom Ford.
I generally dislike remakes if the original was brilliant.
I will repost some older movies I screened and then start new with hte last in the latest Batman franchise, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
I expect feedback from my thoughts.
I am a just a person who enjoys movies and telling others to watch or rent.
I feel there are very few movies that should not be seen. Someone had a vision and wanted to share that in a rather hard style with the public.
Not all are a John Ford, or even Francis Ford or a Tom Ford.
I generally dislike remakes if the original was brilliant.
I will repost some older movies I screened and then start new with hte last in the latest Batman franchise, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
I expect feedback from my thoughts.
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