Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Three That Just Didn't Quite Get It - Part Three

The next three movies are really hard to place. So, I've put them in a numerical order, but I think they really shift around when you analyze the different pros and cons. The list grows...


11. The Incredible Hulk


10. Hancock


09. Wanted


08. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Ok, this movie wasn't great, I think we can all admit that. But it had some major things going for it: Nostalgia, this movie does an excellent job of bringing us back into the exciting world of Indy. And not just from the movies, but the opening scene totally made me think of the Disney ride. I could swear they used some of the same sound effects from the ride in the jeep chase sequence. Shia LaBeouf, what can I say...this guy turns me on. I loved the whole greaser/jock diner scene. And I absolutely loved the motorcycle getaway, so funny (and I know it was ridiculous, but it was fun!). So the ending blew chunks, made no sense whatsoever (what was the point in even going there?!?)...but I love how the series progressed through history to the time of the cold war/area 51, etc.. I just wish they had done a better job with the whole alien theme then what they went with (thanks a lot George Lucas!).


07. The Chronic (WHAT!) cles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

I don't know how I can fairly critique this movie. After reading the book so thoroughly this year for Sunday School, I don't think I could help but be let down by the movie. Everything I loved about the book was not in the movie (k, that's a huge generalization). And I understand why it wasn't in the movie: the bits I liked just aren't adventuresome enough to make it to the big screen. And Peter's behaviour wasn't consistent with the book, that drove me nuts. Plus Susan and Caspian, that really got me going, at one point I threw my pen in utter disgust (why was I holding a pen?!?). And really, was it just me or was Aslan's role way too insignificant?

But thinking back now, if I hadn't read the book I would probably have loved the movie. It was a fun experience and did contain some of the incredible truths C.S. Lewis was trying to get across. I thought it was much better than the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as far as storytelling, special affects, and character development. So yeah, really cheesed they changed it so much, but I still think it was a worthy movie. And I also think the Susan/Caspian plot line was acceptable after all...


06. Get Smart

Hilarious!!! This movie was soo funny, and so well done. It reminded me so much of the tv series, and in fact I have to get my hands on that DVD set! I loved the tv series as a kid, and now I miss it. One thing most reviewers are saying is the difference between the movie and the tv show is the dialogue. The movie relies more on physical gags whereas the tv show relied more on the clever dialogue. I think I agree, not to say the gags weren't funny, it's just I think I would have preferred more witty dialogue. So that's my only critique of the movie, I love Steve Carell and the chemistry with Anne Hathaway. All around an excellent movie!

Next Post: The Two I Didn't Expect To Impress - Part Four

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

It Could Have Been More - Part Two

My next few posts I'll be discussing my thoughts on the summer movies I've seen thus far. I started by talking about the worst, and will now move up the scale till we get to my favorite movie of this summer.


11. The Incredible Hulk (the above would have made a better movie)


10. Hancock

This was a fun movie, I did enjoy watching it. But for me it just was lacking something, somewhere. I don't think Will Smith was right for this role. He will always been the nice guy in my mind, I can never see him play a badass. And the story was kinda cool, the action was fun, it had some good moments. But overall, the whole history of him and you know didn't really make sense, not sure they needed to get into it. So yeah, fun movie, but I think they could have done more with the concept.


09. Wanted

Wanted...another really fun movie, but sooo ridiculous. So why did it place higher than Hancock?? Because it wasn't trying to take itself seriously, it was ridiculous and proud of it. I love movies like this (Transporter 1 & 2 come to mind). You don't have to think much or nitpick, you just strap yourself into your seat and enjoy the ride!!! But I do prefer movies that make you think and have some sort of redeeming qualities, so this isn't in the top 5, but it was still a very very fun experience!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

A Great Summer of Movies - Part One

Since May 16th I have seen 11 movies in the theatre. Now, I do watch a lot of movies, but this is quite a bit for me (especially at $12 a pop). But you want to know something incredible?!? Most times I go to the movies I usually see one really bad movie out of three. But so far this summer, of all eleven movies I've seen, I would classify only one of those as bad! And that is...


The Incredible Hulk.

Not surprising to me, I knew I shouldn't have seen it. There is nothing new, original, funny, or exciting about this movie. The acting is flat, the special effects are over the top, and there are no reasons given to care about any of these characters. Now I want to go back and watch "The Hulk", because after seeing this I think that might actually be a decent movie.

Stay tuned in the next few days to see which ten movies I really liked...