We recently we to see two movies, Tangled and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, over the last few days. (In case you are my family reading this and are expecting to see these over Christmas, don't worry; I don't mind a repeat.)
Tangled- A+
In Tangled, Disney managed to take a very short and uninteresting fairy tale, and make it their own fun adventure, with the actual fairy tale really being told within the first few minutes, but still maintaining its relevancy throughout the rest of the film. To be honest, I was skeptical of their abilities to transform Rapunzel into a full-length feature film, but I was blown away its high quality. Disney took the idea, and made it their own. In typical Disney fashion, there was comedy, action, adventure, and romance in this digital masterpiece.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- B
In Narnia, the franchise seemed to partially rebound from a disastrous second installment. (I would rate Lion Witch and the Wardrobe as an A, with Prince Caspian as a solid C.) The film was forced to deviate from the book due to the book's lack of an actual plot as it is instead formed by a series of independent scenes strung together with no driving force behind it, but the changes were as well-done as they could be. Where Prince Caspian lacked in believable characters and in wise plot-deviations, Dawn Treader improved in both categories. The only detriments were from my favorite scene being omitted (which could be caused from the needed plot-alteration) and a few scenes that could have been directed better and with smoother transitions. It was a very difficult film to pull off, and I am confident that it will allow for The Silver Chair to follow, which has the potential to be the best in the franchise since Wardrobe. Even better, Eustace was cast extremely well and will be great for the next installment. I was also thrilled that Aslan's line about being present in our world, but with a different name, was left intact.
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Netflix Reviews
My wife and I have been avid fans of Netflix ever since we subscribed, and once they came out with their Wii disc, we have only used it so much more as we can now stream many shows and movies straight to our TV. After watching a movie last night, I thought I would make a short list of recent shows or movies we have watched on Netflix and give a short rating. All ratings are out of five stars.
2012 - C+
Just as the Mayan calendar predicts, the world will end as we know it in 2012. The movie is entertaining and has some quite excellent "end of the world" scenes. I would definately watch parts of it again just for the special effects. As for the plot, they unfortunately seem to have mastered the overuse of combing "too good to be true" with "too bad to be true." I can only take so many earthquake-created cracks in the ground which just so happen to come up right under the main character. In just about every disaster shown, the main character is a second our two from death, and it gets to be a bit much. Otherwise, as long as you overlook that the Mayan Calendar doesn't actually predict the end of the world (it is merely counting up to a cosmic event-- aligning of the planets-- that was a very sacred idea for them), it can be an entertaining movie-- it just needs to curb some of the disasters.
The Box - F
A couple is given a box with a button, and if they press the button, the get a million dollars. The catch? A stranger will die. It is an interesting concept, however they instead made a movie which dragged on and on and it was extremely confusing, and I mean that in a bad way. Mission Impossible was confusing to some, but that is why I liked it. In this case, it just missed the mark, and besides being confusing, the ending did not entirely jive with the rest of the movie, creating a minor continuity issue.
Murder She Wrote - C+
We have only watched two episodes, and although the pilot was LONG, the show is still entertaining. However, we have decided that Jessica Fletcher is far too trusting of total strangers, dark alleyways, and being alone in the same room with a murderer whom she is confronting.
Doctor Who - A+
Action combined with light British humor at its best, this is our second time through the modern series as we recap before watching the current season. The only bad thing about rewatching the modern episodes is that we know we will have to watch David Tennant leave the show.
Bones- A-
Another typical crime drama? No! The show has a unique blend of forensics, character development, and great humor as the genius (and socially inept) forensic anthropologist solves crimes by looking at bones, along with her FBI partner.
Mystery Science Theater 3000- B-
Really funny show making fun of old cheesy movies. Need I say more?
2012 - C+
Just as the Mayan calendar predicts, the world will end as we know it in 2012. The movie is entertaining and has some quite excellent "end of the world" scenes. I would definately watch parts of it again just for the special effects. As for the plot, they unfortunately seem to have mastered the overuse of combing "too good to be true" with "too bad to be true." I can only take so many earthquake-created cracks in the ground which just so happen to come up right under the main character. In just about every disaster shown, the main character is a second our two from death, and it gets to be a bit much. Otherwise, as long as you overlook that the Mayan Calendar doesn't actually predict the end of the world (it is merely counting up to a cosmic event-- aligning of the planets-- that was a very sacred idea for them), it can be an entertaining movie-- it just needs to curb some of the disasters.
The Box - F
A couple is given a box with a button, and if they press the button, the get a million dollars. The catch? A stranger will die. It is an interesting concept, however they instead made a movie which dragged on and on and it was extremely confusing, and I mean that in a bad way. Mission Impossible was confusing to some, but that is why I liked it. In this case, it just missed the mark, and besides being confusing, the ending did not entirely jive with the rest of the movie, creating a minor continuity issue.
Murder She Wrote - C+
We have only watched two episodes, and although the pilot was LONG, the show is still entertaining. However, we have decided that Jessica Fletcher is far too trusting of total strangers, dark alleyways, and being alone in the same room with a murderer whom she is confronting.
Doctor Who - A+
Action combined with light British humor at its best, this is our second time through the modern series as we recap before watching the current season. The only bad thing about rewatching the modern episodes is that we know we will have to watch David Tennant leave the show.
Bones- A-
Another typical crime drama? No! The show has a unique blend of forensics, character development, and great humor as the genius (and socially inept) forensic anthropologist solves crimes by looking at bones, along with her FBI partner.
Mystery Science Theater 3000- B-
Really funny show making fun of old cheesy movies. Need I say more?
Monday, May 24, 2010
Unforgivable Cliches
I just watched Mission Impossible 2 (or rather, it was on in the background while I used my computer-- that movie can't hold my attention the entire way through) and I was reminded of how much I hate certain cliches in movies. So, inspired by the ugly duckling of the MI series, here is my list of cliches I can't stand.
- Bad Guy cronies dying from only slight injuries instead of rightly saying "tis just a flesh wound!"
- Main Bad Guy NOT dying from MAJOR injuries. Ever seen the end of MI 2? How long can a final fight possible be dragged out?
- Main Bad Guy giving Main Good Guy one last chance rather than just ending it and shooting him in the back like any sensible villain would.
- Sequels that do not follow the basic formula of what made their predecessors great. (Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Matrix to name a few.)
- Good Guy having the Bad Guy in his sights, but not pulling the trigger because he is just that good of a guy, only to have to kill him at the end of the movie anyways.
- Plot lines where knowing how much time is left impacts your view of the events. (If it is only an hour into the movie, of course their plan to save the day will fail!)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Narnian Ramblings
I have always been interested in history, but in the last few years, my interest has expanded into various aspects such as etymology (history of words) and the truth behind mythology and legend. One example of etymology that interested me was when I formed a hypothesis about the word "won't" as to how it came to be, considering that "wo" and "not" did not form to be that one word like "can" and "not" became "can't." I realized that the words "will" and "not," when said very quickly, sounds like "willn't." After saying that word faster and faster, I started to hear an "oh" sound, and voila, just like that, "will not" sounded like "won't."
What got me thinking about this subject, however, is not the etymology; it is the legend. Though to be fair, in this case it is more of the history of a legend within a fantasy. I was watching Prince Caspian and thinking about how the book did a much better job at depicting the severity of the Telmarines' fear of both water and the forest. During the scene where the trees awaken and the river god (I can't remember if he actually has another name or not...) returns to save the day, the explanation of their fear jumped out at me. Just as much mythology and legend has its base in reality (even if a small base), so the Telmarine superstition did within the fantasy world of Narnia. In their history, when they invaded Narnia, they probably lost a great many troops while battling not just the normal Narnians, but the trees and water as well. If I were a survivor of such a mind-rattling event, I and my fellow soldiers would tell my children of the horrors of the forest and the river, and I'm sure that if the stories were retold and retold, that 1300 years later there might very well be a superstition regarding trees and water. After I realized this, I then mentally kicked myself for not making the connection for so long; it is so obvious and an integral part to the story's background, but C.S. Lewis never went and outright stated that connection, and I just never stopped to think about it.
And speaking of Narnia, my favorite in the series is currently in production! I had heard that Disney and Walden Media dropped the Narnia franchise after Prince Caspian was released, but I found out today that my fears were only half-true. Disney did drop Narnia, but Walden Media went to Fox (whom they have done every other non-Narnia project with), and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader is set to be released in November or December 2010. As stated in the blog article that I read, the magic that is notably absent in Prince Caspian (considered the hardest of the books to adapt into a decent movie for this reason) is back in full force, so I can't wait!
What got me thinking about this subject, however, is not the etymology; it is the legend. Though to be fair, in this case it is more of the history of a legend within a fantasy. I was watching Prince Caspian and thinking about how the book did a much better job at depicting the severity of the Telmarines' fear of both water and the forest. During the scene where the trees awaken and the river god (I can't remember if he actually has another name or not...) returns to save the day, the explanation of their fear jumped out at me. Just as much mythology and legend has its base in reality (even if a small base), so the Telmarine superstition did within the fantasy world of Narnia. In their history, when they invaded Narnia, they probably lost a great many troops while battling not just the normal Narnians, but the trees and water as well. If I were a survivor of such a mind-rattling event, I and my fellow soldiers would tell my children of the horrors of the forest and the river, and I'm sure that if the stories were retold and retold, that 1300 years later there might very well be a superstition regarding trees and water. After I realized this, I then mentally kicked myself for not making the connection for so long; it is so obvious and an integral part to the story's background, but C.S. Lewis never went and outright stated that connection, and I just never stopped to think about it.
And speaking of Narnia, my favorite in the series is currently in production! I had heard that Disney and Walden Media dropped the Narnia franchise after Prince Caspian was released, but I found out today that my fears were only half-true. Disney did drop Narnia, but Walden Media went to Fox (whom they have done every other non-Narnia project with), and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader is set to be released in November or December 2010. As stated in the blog article that I read, the magic that is notably absent in Prince Caspian (considered the hardest of the books to adapt into a decent movie for this reason) is back in full force, so I can't wait!
Friday, May 8, 2009
To Boldly Go....
WARNING: The entry below contains spoilers. If you have not yet seen Star Trek, read no further than the first paragraph.
This evening I went to see Star Trek with Deanna and Sue. Have already seen some of the previews, my hopes were high. I had read from one friend that it was THE Star Trek movie to see, and seeing as how it was directed by Lost's Executive Producer J.J. Abrams, what could go wrong? Not much, apparently. The movie was fantastic, though in my opinion, not perfect. The best way I can describe it is an almost flawless masterpiece. The acting, directing, casting, camera work, special effects, etc were all excellent... I could go on and on. Even the plot and the script was pretty good, especially the rich dialogue. It was interesting enough to engage the non-"trekkie" audience, while full of references that caused the hard-core trekkies, and even the casual fans on occasion, to laugh out loud, or at least let a very non-vulcan grin sneak into our faces.
SPOILERS AHEAD... Do not read unless you have seen the movie or don't intend to!!!
The only beef I have with the movie was with the plot and concerned my own expectations. Halfway through the movie we discover that the current timeline is actually an alternate dimension-- time as he know it has been altered to reflect a universe where Kirk's father is dead and Kirk entered the Academy as a much more rebellious cadet than before, as if that was even possible. (I should admit that I should have caught on to the changed timeline at the beginning when Kirk's future references to his father's influence no longer making sense as his father died before our eyes...) While this is not a bad thing in its own, I was eagerly anticipating the meeting of James T. Kirk with Mr. Spock and seeing how the two became the friends that they were. I wanted to see the beginnings of Star Trek. Because it was an alternate timeline, I was dissappointed in this one aspect of the plot, but, as I stated earlier, the extremely well-made movie made up for the setback. Everything from the casting to the cameras was done in perfect taste and was a fitting tribute to the franchise.
This evening I went to see Star Trek with Deanna and Sue. Have already seen some of the previews, my hopes were high. I had read from one friend that it was THE Star Trek movie to see, and seeing as how it was directed by Lost's Executive Producer J.J. Abrams, what could go wrong? Not much, apparently. The movie was fantastic, though in my opinion, not perfect. The best way I can describe it is an almost flawless masterpiece. The acting, directing, casting, camera work, special effects, etc were all excellent... I could go on and on. Even the plot and the script was pretty good, especially the rich dialogue. It was interesting enough to engage the non-"trekkie" audience, while full of references that caused the hard-core trekkies, and even the casual fans on occasion, to laugh out loud, or at least let a very non-vulcan grin sneak into our faces.
SPOILERS AHEAD... Do not read unless you have seen the movie or don't intend to!!!
The only beef I have with the movie was with the plot and concerned my own expectations. Halfway through the movie we discover that the current timeline is actually an alternate dimension-- time as he know it has been altered to reflect a universe where Kirk's father is dead and Kirk entered the Academy as a much more rebellious cadet than before, as if that was even possible. (I should admit that I should have caught on to the changed timeline at the beginning when Kirk's future references to his father's influence no longer making sense as his father died before our eyes...) While this is not a bad thing in its own, I was eagerly anticipating the meeting of James T. Kirk with Mr. Spock and seeing how the two became the friends that they were. I wanted to see the beginnings of Star Trek. Because it was an alternate timeline, I was dissappointed in this one aspect of the plot, but, as I stated earlier, the extremely well-made movie made up for the setback. Everything from the casting to the cameras was done in perfect taste and was a fitting tribute to the franchise.
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