Winter Semester of Movies

Holy heck, it's been a long time since I posted!  Again with a movie review post, this one with a whole semester of movies.  Hopefully I can do these more often over the summer, especially since I'll be watching even more movies!  Enjoy!

Jodhaa Akbar - (watched 1.8.11)  I actually enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I was going to.  I had been told by Kellie that it was a Bollywood movie, so I was kind of scared.  However, it was definitely not what I was expecting.  There was a bunch of action, and the story was pretty awesome.  Final rating: 4/5

Unstoppable - (watched 1.28.11)  This movie grabs you about 10 minutes into it and just doesn't let go, right up until the end.  It's an action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end.  Some of the points seemed kind of outlandish, but it does get points for at least being based on a true story.  Plus, Chris Pine and Denzel Washington.  Nuff said.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Step Up 3 - (watched 2.5.11)  The third movie in the 'Step Up' series delivers exactly what I was expecting.  After watching the first two, I knew that the plot wasn't going to be that great, but that the dance scenes were going to be phenomenal.  These dance scenes definitely do not disappoint.  Final rating: 3/5

Red - (watched 2.19.11)  This was a rather awesome movie.  Kind of exactly what I was expecting.  I've found that they key to enjoying most movies is to know what to expect going into it.  Since all I was expecting was just a lot of explosions and cool action sequences, I enjoyed it.  Also, Bruce Willis can make almost any movie more amazing.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - (watched 2.21.11)  And on the other hand, sometimes not knowing what to expect can make watching a movie even more awesome.  I had heard a little bit about this movie, but honestly, I had no idea....  It's just so wonderfully weird!  It starts with a very unique premise, and the presentation was just as original.  I don't know what it is about me and weird movies, but I just love them.  Final rating: 5/5

Ever After - (watched 2.26.11)  Now, I've seen this movie before, but it has been several years, so I decided to re-review it, from an older perspective.  I don't think I really got how funny this movie is back when I first watched it.  Also, I had totally forgotten that *spoiler alert* she really does get to punch her evil step-sister in the face!  That totally made my day.  Final rating: 4/5

3:10 To Yuma - (watched 3.11.11)  I didn't think I'd like this movie, since it's pretty much super western, but I thought it was really good.  Obviously, it's got Christian Bale in it, so it can't be all bad.  Plus, Alan Tudyk!  I'd probably watch it again, if friends were watching it.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Sucker Punch - (watched 3.26.11)  This movie was ridiculous.  Completely ridiculous.  But in an awesome way.  I don't think there is any way this movie could have been more of a 'man' movie.  Explosions, giant samurai, chicks with swords, and a dragon v. airplane dogfight.  Sure, the plot was rather thin, and most of it didn't make much sense, but who cares?  It was pretty.  Final rating: 4/5

The Green Hornet - (watched 4.1.11)  So, going into this movie, I had heard that it was terrible.  However, I actually enjoyed it.  Although it was completely over the top and ridiculous, at least it knew it was being ridiculous, and milked it for all it was worth.  I thought the Kato vision was a pretty sweet effect, although other people in the theater started laughing.  I enjoyed it though.  Final rating: 3/5

Blade Runner - (watched 4.3.11)  I had heard so many things about this movie.  It's been on pretty much every 'Top 10' sci-fi movies list I've ever seen.  I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this movie.  It was super weird, and I'm pretty sure I need to watch it about 4 more times before I get it all the way.  That being said, I actually want to watch it again, so that's promising.  Final rating: 4/5

Unknown - (watched 4.13.11)  I enjoyed this movie.  I mean, it's basically Liam Neeson kicking trash.  (aside: I've decided they should just make a movie called 'Liam Neeson Kicking Trash.'  It would be wonderful!)  I didn't like this one as much as Taken, but there were definitely some good twists there at the end.  Final rating: 3/5

The Next Three Days - (watched 4.17.11)  This movie was pretty darn awesome.  Perhaps a bit slower paced than I would have liked, at least for the first two-thirds or so.   Also, for a bit in the middle I wasn't sure which kind of ending to root for.  Nonetheless, it was quite an enjoyable movie.  Final rating: 3.5/5

True Grit - (watched 4.17.11)  So, going into this movie, I was expecting just a standard western type movie.  This movie was freaking hilarious!  I didn't expect to be laughing as hard as I was.  Also, the young girl actress was amazing!  I was super impressed with her acting.  Final rating: 4/5

Source Code - (watched 4.20.11)  I really enjoyed this movie.  After seeing the trailers, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but it ended up being somewhere in between an straight-up action movie and a sci-fi thinker.  There were some interesting twists in the storyline, and somewhat different than what I was expecting, but it was way good.  Final rating: 4/5

The Adjustment Bureau - (watched 4.21.11)  This is another movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.  When seeing the trailers, I knew that it was based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick.  That was enough to have me intrigued, since I've enjoyed other movies based on his stories.  I really need to read more of them.  And by that, I mean I need to read them.  At all.  Final rating: 4/5

The Hunt for Red October - (watched 4.26.11)  I had also seen this movie before, but it was before my mission.  Now that I know Russian, it's fun to watch and see how good or bad the actors' Russian is.  For the record, Sean Connery's is absolutely terrible.  Alec Baldwin's isn't too bad; then again, he said like one line....  This movie ages well.  Although it's from 1990, it's still a good, quality movie.  Final rating: 4/5

Pick of the post:  You see, since I have so many movies, I'll probably have to pick two or three.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sucker Punch, and Blade Runner.  Again, hopefully I'll be able to post these more often over the summer so that I don't have to have like 20 movies in one post! Until next time!

Thoughts pt. 2

This week has been kind of interesting for me.  I feel like I've learned something.  (which would be great if I wasn't DEAD!)*  Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.  Sometimes life gives you lemons.  Sometimes life even kicks you when you're down.  

But you know what?  Life goes on.  When life gives you lemons, throw them back and then punch life in the face.*  Tell life that you are not going to stand for that business.  Then mom sends you and life into separate corners for a time out.  After that, you're friends again, and you go do epic things.

Speaking of epic things, this weekend will be pretty epic.  Ward activity, party, leadership meeting, basketball game, and Divine Comedy, all in the next 36 hours or so.  Wish me luck!  I hope I survive.

*see me afterward if you don't get the movie references.

In other news, check this out.  I'm kind of excited for this summer.

Many Marvelous Movies

Lots of movies to review this time, probably since I haven't posted a movie review since September. Goodness....  Well, here we go!

Memento - (watched 9.17.10) Totally blew my mind!  I can definitely see the comparisons that people were drawing between this movie and Inception.  Even after the first twist, there were more coming.  The non-linear structure of the movie is key in creating the suspense.  Also, the juxtaposition of the b/w scenes with the color scenes, and then when they change with the picture, etc.  I loved it!  Final rating: 4.5/5

Flyboys - (watched 9.28.10) I enjoyed the fact that this was a movie about WWI instead of WWII.  Nothing wrong with WWII movies, but there's just a ton of them!  Another thing that intrigued me was that this movie is based on the true story of a group of Americans who joined the French in the war before the US officially became involved.  The dogfight scenes are absolutely incredible, and despite a few chronological inaccuracies (according to imdb), I felt like the feeling of the war was very well portrayed.  Also, the music is kind of amazing.  Final rating: 3/5

Juno - (watched 10.20.10) I feel like this movie does a really good job of showing a sequence of events accompanied by some sweet indie music, but it doesn't really tell a story or express a message.  Taking it for what it is, it's quite enjoyable.  The soundtrack is pretty darn awesome, and the characters all feel real.  I guess Hollywood has trained me to think that movies have to have some sense of heightened reality to them; believable, but still fantastic.  This movie feels like it's just everyday life.  I'm leaving my mind open to a change in my opinion, but for now, I'm going to say it was just alright, not amazing, but also not bad.  Final rating: 3/5

Equilibrium - (watched 10.22.10) This is another one of those futuristic dystopian movies that makes you think a lot.  Christian Bale stars as an Enforcer in a society that has outlawed emotion.  He is tasked with tracking down and destroying anything that can cause a person to 'feel' anything.  It's really interesting to see the inner conflict when Bale's character begins feeling things himself, and he has to decide what he really believes in.  Final rating: 4/5

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - (watched 11.19.10) I was kind of 'meh' about this movie.  The actual experience of going and seeing it at midnight was wonderful!  We had a bunch of friends that all dressed up and went, and we even saw a little tiny girl dressed up as the cutest Dobby you've ever seen.  As a movie though, I wasn't impressed.  I understand that it's kind of necessary to do a bunch of setup for the big finale in Part 2, which is why I'm giving this one a bit of a pass.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible movie, but not the greatest.  Final rating: 3/5

Tangled - (watched 12.7.10) I absolutely loved (!!!) this movie!  I've since seen it a second time with my family.  It really goes back to the good old Disney princess movies of yesteryear, complete with several awesome musical numbers.  I honestly wasn't sure how much story they were going to get from Rapunzel, but it turned out to be a really moving story.  Basically, if you haven't seen this movie yet, go watch it!  Final rating: 4.5/5

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - (watched 12.10.10) I was pretty impressed with this movie, actually.  Now, I haven't ever read the books, (I know, I am ashamed, and they're all on my list, I promise) so I can't compare that, but as a movie, it was pretty good.  I'm really happy that they didn't try to remove the Christianity from the message of the movie.  It's very blatant at the end, and appropriately so, since C.S. Lewis wrote the books as such.  Also, it is a fairly intense PG, younger kids might not be able to handle the ending battle sequence.  It's more intense than the first two, for sure.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Despicable Me - (watched 12.10.10) This movie was hilarious!  When I first saw the trailers, I thought it was going to be pretty good, but kinda shallow.  On the contrary, this movie has an amazing message in addition to all the humor.  Another part of the movie that I really enjoyed was the music.  Normally, I don't notice music in movies unless it's spectacular.  In this case, it was a really unique blend of kinda big band with almost hip hop for the main title.  Anyway....  Good movie, go watch it.  Final rating: 4/5

Tron: Legacy - (watched 12.17.10) I really liked this movie.  I'm not going to say loved yet, although it may grow into that after several viewings.  Part of why I loved it so much is the fact that I got to see it in IMAX 3D.  I absolutely endorse seeing movies in IMAX if at all possible.  It's definitely worth the extra couple of bucks.  Anyway, although the plot wasn't spectacular, the special effects were awesome.  I also really enjoyed Olivia Wilde's character Quorra, and her innocence and naivete when it comes to real world things.  All in all, this movie was a nice popcorn flick.  Although it's not extremely thought provoking, it doesn't pretend to be, so that's ok.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Pick of the post:  (I'm doing two, since I have so many on this post)  Memento and Tangled.  I know, two complete and polar opposites, but both awesome in their own way.

Until next time!


P.S. Happy New Year!  :D

I like to watch movies!

Here goes another round of movie reviews.  Yay for movies!

The A-Team - (watched 8.6.10) This is another movie that I'm glad I waited to see in the dollar theater.  I knew that I was going to at least enjoy it because it has Liam Neeson in it.  Other than that, it was a fairly standard action flick.  One thing that I did enjoy is the huge amount of humor in the movie.  Even though some of the action scenes were ridiculously over the top, the jokes were always funny.  Final rating: 3/5

District 9 - (watched 8.7.10) (disclaimer: I watched an edited version, so some comments might be directed at that. (further aside: any time I review an 'R' rated movie, it will be edited, just so I don't have to clarify that every time.))  I was actually quite impressed with this movie.  I think that it definitely deserved the Best Picture nomination.  The cinematography was awesome, and the story really made me think.  Rarely do you have a film that falls so completely in the Sci-Fi category that is also this critically acclaimed and thought-provoking.  The editing in the version I watched was very well done, and I could only tell in a couple places.  If you're a fan of Sci-Fi in general, or alien movies in particular, I'd recommend giving this one a try.  Final rating: 4/5

Primer - (watched 8.14.10) To be honest, when I finished this movie, my brain hurt.  The premise goes like this:  two engineers accidentally invent a time machine, and paradoxical craziness ensues.  I feel like I need to watch it several more times to actually comprehend what's going on, but I was impressed, especially for a movie that was shot on a budget of $7K.  Final rating: 4/5

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - (watched 8.14.10) Holy crap this movie was freaking amazing!  I've been excited to see this movie since I saw the trailer for the first time back in May.  I bought all the comics (from amazon.com, even!) and read them in like a week.  The whole movie (and the comic series that it's based on) is basically a love letter to everything video games.  And I love video games, therefore, I love this movie!  The acting is spot-on, the dialogue is extremely funny, and the fight scenes are very well done.  My only minor complaint is some small but fairly significant changes to the comics.  I understand that these are necessary to squish 6 books down into two hours, but still....  Final rating: 4.5/5

Seven Pounds - (watched 8.20.10) Honestly, the less said about the plot of this movie the better.  Before watching it, I had heard a little bit, but even that was too much.  In many ways this is kind of a successor to The Pursuit of Happyness, also starring Will Smith and directed by the same director.  Will Smith's performance in this movie is amazing.  It's very different from any of his action movies, and in my opinion, even more demanding than his role in Happyness.  If you enjoyed that movie, I would recommend this one.  Fair warning though, it might make you cry.  Just sayin'.  Final rating: 3.5/5

Pick of the post (something new I'd like to try): Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
For all the reasons I listed above and more, go see this movie!

Best movie ever?

So, I just got back from watching Inception for the second time.  (I know, it's taken me too long to see it twice, but oh well.)  I was just as impressed as the first time.  Honestly, I think that this might be my favorite movie.  I know, I have lots of favorite movies, and my favorites change from time to time, but this is definitely going to be one of them for a long time.  I don't think I can find a single thing to complain about.  Also, I absolutely love how the whole thing is pretty much open to interpretation.  I haven't talked about a single movie and what it could mean this much in a really long time.  The point of this post is basically to convince anyone that hasn't seen this movie yet that it's worth seeing, and to convince anyone that has seen it that it's worth seeing again.  It's just that good.

Movie Madness

Rrather than doing a review every time I watch a movie, I've decided to save up a bunch of reviews to do all at once.  So, without further ado, here are my reviews for six movies that I've watched over the past month or so.

Terminator Salvation - (watched 6.29.10) Honestly, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this movie.  I had heard that it was kinda lame, and didn't really live up to the hype.  Even then, I was a bit underwhelmed.  The action was pretty cool, and lots of things blew up, but the plot seemed contrived, and the characters seemed really flat.  Even the big 'twist' halfway through was shown in the trailer, and thus wasn't a twist at all.  It was a decent movie, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again.  Final rating: 2.5/5

Surrogates - (watched 7.12.10) This movie was actually a lot better than I expected.  Of course, some of that is because I wasn't expecting it to be good at all.  I was expecting a similar experience to Terminator, with lots of stuff blowing up and no plot.  The thing is, there were lots of things blowing up, and lots of action-y scenes.  But there was also a plot and a message.  Some of the metaphor was a bit heavy-handed, and the plot device at the end was rather too convenient for my tastes, but it was still a good action flick.  (As a side note, I haven't read the graphic novel that it's based on, although after watching the movie, I'm intrigued and will look into it.)  Final rating: 3.5/5

Harold and Maude - (watched 7.12.10) I watched this movie based solely on the recommendation of a friend, not knowing anything about it beforehand.  This was probably a very good thing, since if I had heard what it was about, I might have been to weirded out to actually watch it.  I'm definitely glad that I did though.  This movie is really weird, but it's a cinematic masterpiece.  The humor is really black (Harold fakes his own death several times....) but it's hilarious.  And Maude is just about the spunkiest and most off-her-rocker 79 year old you'll ever meet.  Definitely recommended for anyone who loves film, and/or is in the mood for a quirky, darkly funny movie.  Final rating: 4/5

Inception - (watched 7.16.10) So, I had been excited about this movie ever since before I knew what it was called.  Ever since I heard saw The Dark Knight and knew that Christopher Nolan was making another movie, I've been excited for this.  I was honestly worried that it couldn't live up to the hype.  Thankfully, it did all that and more.  I was expecting to have my mind blown by this movie, and it was blown.  And then the pieces of my mind that were left were also blown.  I won't waste any time/space here trying to summarize or explain the movie.  Let me just say that this is the perfect movie for people who love to think about movies.  Sure, you could watch this as just another summer action flick, but it's so much more than that!  Final rating: 5/5

Corpse Bride - (watched 7.19.10) Watching this movie I was expecting a typical Tim Burton movie with dark humor and highly contrasted environments.  And that's exactly what it was.  That isn't a bad thing at all; in fact, I thoroughly enjoy Burton's films.  One thing that I really enjoyed about this movie is the fact that the 'real world' was the environment that was drab, melancholy, and boring in contrast to the 'underworld' that was highly colored and vibrant.  If you enjoy Tim Burton's movies, this will entertain.  If his style isn't your thing, skip this one.  Final rating: 3/5

GoldenEye - (watched 7.20.10) So, the only James Bond movies I'd ever seen were the two new ones, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.  Not gonna lie, those two were kind of ridiculously awesome.  I had heard that earlier Bond movies were cheesier, but I guess I just didn't expect them to be THIS cheesy!  Some of the lines were just so ridiculous that I literally laughed out loud.  Despite all that, the action was pretty good, so I've gotta cut it some slack.  Plus, it came out like 15 years ago.  Final rating: 3/5

101 List 1 Month Update

Well, it's now been officially one month since I started my 101 list, so I figure it's time for a quick update.  I've completed 5 goals already, and there are 3 more that are in progress.

Completed goals:
13 - See a movie I've never heard of without learning anything about it
I completed this goal last night, actually, when I watched a movie called Harold and Maude with some friends.  I've been saving up reviews of several movies to post all at once, so this one is forthcoming.  The short review is that I liked it, although it's fairly odd in places.
14 - Run a 5K race
I completed this goal last Saturday, the 10th.  I finished with a final time of 29:10, which I hear is pretty good for my first 5K.  More detailed recap of this race is also forthcoming, possibly later tonight or tomorrow.
63 - Go to the dentist
I went, I promise.
73 - Climb a tree
This one was fun!  I went with some friends to Kiwanis park here in Provo, and we climbed nearly to the top of a tree.  We were so high that we could see out to Utah Lake.
100 - Get a library card
This is the first goal I completed, and has actually helped a lot with several of my other reading goals.  I've definitely enjoyed having a library close to my apartment.

Goals in progress:
3 - Read my height (5'8") in books
I'm sad to say that in a month, I've only read one book.  I need to pick up the pace on this one if I want to finish it.  I read Everything Is Illuminated (1") by Jonathan Safran Foer, and I was really impressed.  Like the movie reviews, I'll be saving several book reviews to post at once.
5 - Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet
I've watched 5 movies for this list:
B - Behind Enemy Lines
C - Clash of the Titans (2010)
H - How to Train Your Dragon
S - Surrogates
T - Toy Story 3
40 - Eat at 20 new restaurants
I went to eat at a place called Thai Mango with my coworkers last week.  It was decent food, but not incredible.  I'd probably go again, if the opportunity arose.  On the other hand, I probably won't go out of my way to visit again.

Well, that's where I'm at so far.  I'll probably give another update in another month, so until then, stay tuned for more reviews and randomness.  :)

Can I have one?

A Dragon.  I want one.

Again this past weekend I went to a movie at the dollar theater.  However, this time I wished that I had gone to see it earlier.

How to Train Your Dragon - I went to see this movie late Friday night.  In short, it blew me away.  I had heard good things about it from friends, and I had read a few reviews of it online, all of which were full of praise for it, but I didn't want to get my hopes up to high.  I mean, it's from Dreamworks, after all.  They make good solid movies, but let's face it, they're no Pixar.  Perhaps it was because of my low expectations that I was so thoroughly impressed.  Hiccup, a misfit viking in a village full of dragon-killers, finds and befriends one of them, a dragon.  All sorts of hijinks ensue, both funny and touching.  This is probably the first non-Pixar movie that I would feel perfectly fine putting up on the same level with the rest of Pixar's films.  And coming from me, that's high praise indeed.  If you have yet to see this movie, go see it.  Like, right now.  Final rating: 4.5/5

Also, I hear there's a sequel in the works too.  :)

Movie reviews

So, over the weekend, I watched three movies in three days.  As part of my goal to blog about all of the tasks on my 101 list, I'll be doing reviews of all the movies that I'm counting towards the list.  Below I'll provide some short (mostly) spoiler-free reviews.  Enjoy!

Clash of the Titans (2010) - I saw this movie at the dollar theater Friday night.  Let me just put it this way:  I'm definitely glad that I waited for the dollar theater to see it.  It was an enjoyable flick, don't get me wrong, but it wouldn't have been worth paying full price to see.  Some movies make you think.  Some movies create deep, thought provoking discussion.  This is not one of those movies.  This is a movie that you simply turn your brain off and enjoy the action.  Even taking that into consideration, however, it was still merely mediocre.  The acting was fairly shallow and the plot fairly thin.  The special effects were pretty awesome, and I can't really complain about any movie with Gemma Arterton in it.  Final rating: 2.5/5

Toy Story 3 - I got to watch this movie at a 3D showing on Saturday with my family.  In a word, amazing!  Honestly, a Pixar movie has yet to disappoint me.  I don't think I like it as much as I like the second one, but it was still awesome.  The whole film has a bit of a melancholy feel to it, since Andy is moving away to college, and leaving his toys.  I'm not going to lie, there was a sequence near the end of the movie that nearly had me in tears.  And I don't cry in movies.  Trust Pixar to create an awesome movie that also touches people emotionally.  One of my criteria for judging movies is how much I can feel for the characters, and believe me, you're feeling everything right along with Woody, Buzz, and the whole gang.  Also, as a side note, they got the same voice actor back to play Andy.  Just another example of Pixar being amazing, down to the fine details.  Final rating: 4.5/5  (Bonus info: go here)

Behind Enemy Lines - Sunday night I watched this movie that I got from Netflix and I've had sitting on my desk for probably a month.  I had just never gotten around to watching it.  I wasn't expecting a whole lot, so I think I ended up enjoying it more.  I had heard that it was cool, but not much more than that.  I was impressed with certain action sequences, and the story was pretty gripping and intense.  I do have a few complaints, though.  Admittedly, I know next to nothing about war and military activities, but it seemed that much of what was going on was somewhat abnormal even to the point of 'that could never happen in real life.'  Also, the soundtrack was a bit eclectic and didn't always fit together that well.  For example, I don't imagine patriotic marches with snare drums galore next to a bass-heavy, techno-inspired piece underscoring a chase scene.  All in all though, a good movie, and one I'd recommend watching at least once. Final rating: 3.5/5

Also, as an aside, I accomplished my goal of climbing a tree this afternoon with two friends.  Admittedly, I didn't make it all the way to the top, but that's because someone was already up there, and she had to come down.  So I'm now 2/101 on my list, along with progress made towards watching all the movies as well.