Author: Andrew

5 Great Recent Westerns

Travis said something a few posts down about westerns being an almost dead genre, and I couldn’t help thinking about what great westerns I’d seen recently. I was just going to write this in a comment, but then I thought I might as well post.

In the past 3 years there have been some incredibly good westerns. In fact, here is 5 I’d say can compete with Travis’s list of old classics.

Here is my list:

1. As Travis Mentioned, The Assassination of Jesse James was great.

2. No Country for Old Men was not only fantastic but picked up the Oscar for Best Picture.

3. 3:10 to Yuma was also released in 2007 and it was well above par as well.

4. I also have Brokeback Mountain sitting by my TV (I still haven’t felt like watching it, but it is there.) and if I recall, thats a western(ish) that won best picture as well.

But here is where I have to stop and say something about a special movie that most people probably missed.

5. Everyone should rent: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Tommy Lee Jones does an excellent job as both director and lead in this story of justice, friendship and duty. The characters in this movie are constantly faced with disappointment as their hopes for a better tomorrow are left behind.

This is well worth the rental for anyone, especially those looking for more westerns. This should give Travis a little hope about the state of the western genre.

Sorry fellas, Scarlett is off the market

Congrats Ryan Reynolds, and Best Wishes to Scarlett.

“Scarlett Johansson and her boyfriend, Ryan Reynolds, are engaged. The 23-year-old actress and the 31-year-old actor have not set a wedding date, Johansson’s publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said Monday.

Johansson’s recent credits include “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “The Nanny Diaries.” Reynolds recently starred in “Definitely, Maybe.” He was previously engaged to Alanis Morissette.”

If you want to read the AP release, you can find it here.

Gum, a paper clip, and a swiss army knife …

I used to stay home sick from school in order to watch the next rerun of Quantum Leap on USA. However, the show before Quantum Leap was my second favorite. It was MacGyver. It gave me a healthy fear of guns, and a desire to create makeshift solutions to everyday problems.

Now, it might give me a little big-budget entertainment. The blog Gizmodo put up a little post that this is a possibility. They want to know if Richard Dean Anderson is going to be up for the show, I want to know if the villain would be Murdoc and if we’d get to enjoy the antics of Jack Dalton, his sometimes sidekick.

Anyways, for those MacGyver fans out there (that’s you, Dana) keep your eyes and ears open for more news.

Review: ‘Iron Man’

Andrew:

Lucky me, I got to go see Iron Man tonight. Scott’s probably still pissed he couldn’t go, but I happily sat in for him. I’ll cut to the chase and tell you how it was:

Iron Man opens strong and keeps up the quality all the way through. I honestly have no major faults to complain about. The acting, weapons, cars, cameos and comic relief was all spot on. Marvel did me right tonight.

Downy Jr. and Jeff Bridges both did quite well. I’ve always been a Jeff Bridges fan, and, in spite of the fact that he was uncharacteristically bald, he didn’t let me down (other than looking a little soft.) Downy Jr. has never been one of my favorites, but he made the playboy arms dealer turned self sacrificing superhero seem not only believable, but almost instantly likable. Stan Lee has his best Marvel movie cameo yet, as the ultimate playboy, and Gwyneth Paltrow makes a fantastic redhead.

John Favereau (still probably best known for his writing and acting in Swingers) does a great job directing this movie and a great job with the comedic timing. He also puts forth a solid performance acting as Tony Stark’s body guard.

The Iron Man suit itself was lust worthy as all the previews have shown. They do a great job integrating the technology into the movie so that it isn’t too far over the top or distracting but still completely fascinating, especially the targeting systems. Everyone will be jealous of Tony Stark’s toys, including his lovely collection of cars.

Iron Man was great, and everyone should be thankful that Marvel has begun self-financing these films. Now Marvel is the responsible party for continuity as they move these stories to the big screen and it shows in Iron Man. I won’t claim that I’m some great comic book nerd who knows all the back story, but everyone I have spoken to greatly appreciated the consistency. Also Marvel’s increased financial and creative control means that the future mixing of characters is now possible. Big Marvel fans will notice some allusions to some of their other favorite comic characters (yes including the previously reported big green guy).

If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll get back to you ASAP with an answer (as long as I don’t have to provide any spoilers).

(5 out of 5)

Zac:

Summer season starts off with a winner with the release of the excellent debut of Marvel as a standalone entity. Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man is a success do to its excellent acting, solid humor, and creating a comic book film that is having fun without being super sappy and or hamming things up.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a weapons manufacturing super genius that has lots of money, good looks, and loves to chase women around the city. While on a weapons demonstration in the Middle East Stark is taken hostage by a terrorist cell and is asked to build them his latest missile system, Jericho. We are quickly treated to a 36 hour flash back that shows us who Tony Stark is, cocky, brilliant, quick tongued, always out to have fun, and one hell of a womanizer. We also meet Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his closet thing to a friend and US military Colonel Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), and the former successor to Stark industries and current second in command Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).
We get sent back to a cave in the middle of the desert where Stark constructs a crude iron suit, breaking himself out of captivity and having an eye opening experience to what his legacy on the world is going to end up being. With his new look on life, Stark returns to stop war instead of supply it and this is where things begin to get a little hairy for everyone.
I will share no more on the plot, but the pacing in this film is solid, never blazing, but solid. You won’t find yourself checking your watch or ever going, “when is this going to end?” The effects work is also incredibly well done, which it should be, since ILM is behind it. The suit itself, and the building of it all is handled really well and is one of the best parts of the film. The handling of stark in the suit was also done very well and could have been a spot that didn’t really work all that well, but Favreau pulls it off with ease.
The humor in the film is also worth mentioning as it is very good. From Stark’s arguing with his robotic assistants, to his womanizing, to his all around smart ass delivery to everyone and everything, it pretty much always works.
The reason it all works so well is due to the great Robert Downey Jr. He carries this film with ease and is by far the most fun and entertaining super hero alter ego since Logan “Wolverine” in the first two X-Men films. Downey is so fun and likable that his charisma alone is worth the price of admission. I would even go as far as to say that I would pay to see a Tony Stark film, without the Iron Man, he is that good.
The rest of the cast is also great with Paltrow playing the romantic card perfectly against Downey and rarely dipping into damsel in distress sappiness, maybe for like one quick take. Terrence Howard is great as well, but he will really get to shine in the inevitable sequel where he will get to throw on a suit. Jeff Bridges does an admirable job of evolving into an enemy as the power hungry executive. Though, the weakest part of the film is his arc (not his acting, that is still very good), and I am practically nit picking as he has a couple of menacing scenes.
In the end, Iron Man, is fun, has some great action, is really funny at times, and Robert Downey Jr. is a joy to watch. Any minor complaints fall in the lack of a real villain and maybe one more action set piece, but we can work on that in the sequel. If you are a fan of summer blockbusters and comic book films, this is a very good fit for you and I think that the Stark character is appealing enough and enigmatic enough to transcend the comic book crowd. This comes highly recommended and is a great start to the summer season!

(4.5 out of 5)

[rating: 4.5/5]

In case you missed it … ‘The Ice Harvest’

About a week and a half ago I promised I’d watch The Ice Harvest. This is one of those movies that I missed without any good reason to miss it. As I said before, I love Cusack and Billy-Bob (if only for the fact that he is an incredibly successful actor with the name Billy-Bob.)

So this weekend, I finally sat down and watched The Ice Harvest, and I’m so glad I did. This film-noir gem starts off with Cusack and Billy-Bob stealing from their mob boss, and the rest of the movie centers around trying to stay cool and get out of town.

The dreary but humorous depiction of Wichita, strip joints, friendship and family dysfunction is a great backdrop for a much less glamorous view of organized crime than we are used to. This movie is definitely worth picking up this weekend.

As said before, in this “How did I miss that?” segment, I’ll be watching movies that we missed and putting out a review. If you have a movie that you wanted to see, but somehow missed, shoot a note in the comments and we’ll pick it up and tell you what we think. Next on the list, I’m going to take Gavin’s suggestion and watch The Golden Compass.

What must-see movie slipped by? What flick came and went before you had the chance to see it? Post a comment about it and I’ll check it out for you. I’ll even dedicate a post to you. Lets take a movie off your list.

Rock me sexy Jesus?

“Rock me sexy Jesus” is a line, in a song, in a high school musical titled Hamlet 2, in a movie titled Hamlet 2.

I don’t really know what else to tell you, other than its written by a guy who worked on South Park and Team America.

You have to verify your age to view the trailer, and I’m not sure yet if its worth it.

www.hamlet2.com

Review: ‘Beowulf’

Zac:

Let’s get one thing out of the way, if you see this, see it in IMAX 3-D. The 3-D is phenomenal and a must see for anyone that enjoys film or wants to see the future of the medium. The 3-D gives the movie a bit more life than it might normally have had, but you accept the look and it is a part of the film after the first Grendel attack.
Now the movie. Beowulf is a pretty good, with a classic story, a beautiful look and some amazing action scenes. The movie opens with a celebration of King Hrothgar and his people when Grendel, a beast of terrifying looks and brutality, barges in and kills pretty much everyone in the hall. This leads to a call for a “hero” to come and kill Grendel and Beowulf answers the call. To tell more would take away from the film and while it is a bit predictable and there aren’t any major twists, it is still probably best enjoyed knowing as little as possible.
This movie, as you might know is animated, which looks great, but is drawn to look like the actors who filmed the movie performance capture on a blue screen. This is the best way to tell this story I feel and I don’t think it would have looked as good or as doable as a live action film with CGI elements added in. The movie being animated also allows you to easily accept and not be taken aback by the scenes that would have been blatantly CGI enhanced as it looks just like everything else in the world.
The actors do alright work here, though Robin Wright Penn is a bit too wooden even for being a sad, sad character. Anthony Hopkins is also alright as the King with Ray Winstone playing an excellent bad ass in Beowulf. John Malkovich is also good as the sleazy Unferth with Brendan Gleeason being as great as he always is. Angelina Jolie also turns in some sexy and mysterious work as the mother to the best actor in the movie Crispin Glover. Glover as Grendel is terrifying and is a character that is truly freaky on screen. Glover throws together a performance that is unsettling and just eats away at you. I would love to find out how much of the physical performance he did as well.
Another bit to note with this movie, is that it is brutally violent and in no way is it possible that this is PG-13, I have no idea how it received that rating. Be warned if you are bringing little ones, it’s scary and messed up and there is plenty of blood and bodies tossed around the screen.
Any who, the movie is worth seeing just for the 3-D alone, but you will also be able to enjoy a classic tale, beautifully realized in this animated feature. The movie could have been trimmed up a bit and the acting could have been better, but the action and animation make up for it’s shortcomings easily and it’s ultimately an entertaining movie.

(4 out of 5)

Andrew:

It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve seen this year, but it was really unmoving. First, toss out most of what you know about the real Beowulf story because we don’t that mixed in here. Second, think of a video game cut scene that started off really well, and then extend it another hour and a half. Third, get ready to feel awkward checking out animated Angelina who isn’t technically naked, I don’t think.

Now, in that mindset, sit down and watch Beowulf and you’ll be far better prepared than I was. If I pretend I was ready for those three things, I can say that Beowulf was definitely interesting for its use of animated actors. Likewise there are some fantastic shots, and fun battle scenes that wouldn’t have been possible without the animation. However, the movie ends up feeling like a final-fantasy-esque cut scene with unrealistic and almost silly characters who’s emotions seem awkward and misplaced. If you’ve gone this long without seeing it, you might as well keep it that way. Maybe I’m a snob.

(2.5 out of 5)

[rating: 3.5/5]

How did I miss that?

Every now and then I let a movie slip by me. I have a little running list of those movies that shouldn’t have gotten by me, but somehow did. Recently I saw a preview for The Ice Harvest on an old rental I had. I sat there thinking, “I love Cusack, I love Billy-Bob, I even liked them together in Pushing Tin, how did I not see this movie?”

Well I just put The Ice Harvest on my Blockbuster Online Queue and I’ll be watching it later this week. I’ll do a little write-up on it for the rest of you that missed it too.

My question for you is:

What must-see movie slipped by? What flick came and went before you had the chance to see it? Post a comment about it and I’ll check it out for you. I’ll even dedicate a post to you. Lets take a movie off your list.

A Serious Johnson

So I was checking IMDB and I took a look at Dwayne Johnson (who you probably still know better as “The Rock.†) Sometime around 2004 he decided he wanted to be taken more seriously as an actor and dropped his well known moniker, “The Rock.† So I thought I would check up on him and see how serious he is now.

His next two roles include a supporting role in the big screen version of Get Smart, and the voice of lead character “Captain Chuck† in the animated movie, Planet 51, a New Line Cinema toon about a human landing on an alien planet. Those don’t sound awful, but after that he has the following 4 movies slated for later release:

Race to Witch Mountain (In which he plays a Vegas cabbie helping paranormal kids avoid evil exploitation)

GI Joe (OK I admit I’m excited about this one)

Tooth Fairy (where, IMDB lists him cast as “The Tooth Fairy†)

And probably his most serious offering to date, Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam (need I say more?)

This is serious business.