Holy Shit. Until tonight, I did not know what my favorite movie was. And now,wow.
The Joker, brilliant. Perfect characterization. Perfect.
Harvey Dent/Two Face, awesome. Two Face was sick.
Batman, Batman.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Love Guru
I saw The Love Guru the other night at the local Cinema 10 (otherwise known at the Pecanland mall theater). I want to make it clear that I did not want to see this movie, I only saw it because I needed to write a review for a movie and really did not want to see The Happening with Joe and John. So basically I went into this movie with the sole purpose of writing a review for it later. Even though I had heard negative reviews about the movie, I went into with an open mind and an open heart. I loved the Austin Powers trilogy and I was willing to give Mike Myers a shot to prove to me that he was still funny.
The movie was scheduled to begin at 7:20 and I walked in at 7:30ish expecting to see the opening credits, instead I got a black screen that showed the movie for a split second. I immediately regretted spending the $4.50 it cost me to get a ticket for this even more than I did already. I waited patiently with the other 6 people in my theater for the movie to reappear. I told myself that at 8:00 I was going to get up and ask for a refund, but of course as I was getting up, the movie finally appears on the screen. This already had me in a less than happy mood, but I tried, I swear I tried to give this movie a real chance.
A brief plot synopsis: A self help specialist or "guru" from India (Mike Myers) is summoned by the Toronto Maple Leafs and their owner (Jessica Alba) in order to help their star player regain his confidence so that they can win the Stanley Cup. Yes, it is partly a sports movie, who knew? In order to regain to help the superstar regain his swagger, the "guru" is given the task of reuniting the superstar and his former girlfriend, who currently dating the goalie of the opposing team (Timberlake).
Now, as I watched the movie, I took some notes by keeping count of certain things in the movie. And now I present to you my in-depth and highly scientific notes taken during The Love Guru,
-3 half-chuckles
-2 chuckles
-2 laughs
-1 lol omg that was legitimately funny moment (this was provided by Steven Colbert's character)
-6 idiotic celebrity cameos including Val Kilmer, Jessica Simpson, some lady from Law and Order, Oprah, Mike Myers, and Kanye West, all playing themselves.
-5 fart jokes
-1 career dying in front of my eyes (Myers)
-1 Driving Mrs. Daisy reference (who the fuck in their target audience were they expecting to catch this???)
-1 celeb I was disappointed in (Colbert, until he provided me with the aforementioned moment)
-1 "damn Jessica Alba is HOT" moment (which was disappointing, I was expecting at least 3)
-2 fucking elephants
-1 Steve Miller Band sing-along (WTF????)
So as you can see this movie nearly had it all!..., or not. This movie seemed like it was made by a 13 year old kid who was trying to make a movie that his 18 year old brother would find funny. The movie was filled with stupidity but it did not make me angry. Instead I just felt sad watching Mike Myers trying to be funny. It was pitiful really. The script was bad, the delivery was worse, which spells disaster for a comedy in which script and delivery are highly important. The Love Guru was a complete mess of movie and really a poor showing from everyone involved.
2.5/10
Tha Carter III
I downloaded "Tha Carter III" at four in the morning, about 24 hours after it leaked onto the internet. I had been anticipating this album for almost a year, so I was ready to see if it would live up to the hype. As I was listening to the album, I was waiting patiently for the moment or song that would blow me away, but unfortunately that moment never really came. I enjoyed the album, but it was not the classic that I hoped it would be.
I listened the the album many times over the next few days, and it began to grow on me. With every new listen, I would pick up on something that I had not heard before. The tracks, "3-peat", "Mr. Carter", "Dr. Carter", "Phone Home", and "Tie my hands," especially stood out to me.
Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" is an album that gets better with time. While it was not the instant classic that some hoped it would be, it did silence the doubters (yet again) that claimed Wayne was nothing more than a mixtape artist who could not put out a successful studio released album.
Initial take- 7
Final Verdict- 8.5
Saturday, July 5, 2008
How The Dark Knight Got Me Into Comics.
When Batman Begins came out in 2005, I didn't really care. I actually saw it twice in the theater but never really paid attention to what I was seeing or hearing. I was relieved that the franchise had moved away from the utter shit that was Batman Forever(1995) & Batman and Robin(1997) but at 15 I had lost interest in super heroes and and was eating up all the nineties indie movies I could (I was a Tarrantino freak). I was way too distracted to notice what director Christopher Nolan was building. He was setting up something huge.
Skip to last summer, I watched Begins again sometime that year and realized it was really good. And then I learned that the sequel would be coming out the next year and that it was to be called The Dark Knight. So I started doing some research what it was going to be about. All I really learned was that it would involve the Joker. But during my research, I learned about a comic book Frank Miller(Sin City) had written in the Eighties called "The Dark Knight Returns." Based on the title, I assumed that the upcoming film would be based on this book, so I went to Books-A-Million, and I bought it.
The first and only time I had ever bought a comic book before this was when I was 7 0r 8. I was obsessed with the Alien and Predator movies at the time and I was again in Books-A-Million wandering around. I found myself in the comic book section and saw and issue of "Alien Versus Predator." "OMG," I must have thought. I got it and read it. Actually I don't know if I even read the story but I did look at the pictures and awful lot and wasn't impressed. I never bought a comic book after that.
And now, at 17, I was in the comic book section again, more than a little embarassed just to be there, looking for a "graphic" novel called "The Dark Knight Returns." I found it, bought it, and read it. It was absolutely amazing. After opening it though, I quickly deduced that there was no way it had any connection to this next Batman movie. "The Dark Knight" tells the story of a future in which Batman has been retired for more than 20 years. Gotham is more overrun with crime and suffering than ever before and many people remember Batman as only a legend. A new gang calling themselves "The Sons of Batman" control the streets unchallenged by the police.
Meanwhile, billionaire Bruce Wayne looks on in frustration. In his late fifties, he has put Batman behind him but with recent events, he can't just sit back and watch his beloved city crumble around him. And so the Dark Knight returns, hence the title. What follows is a story brilliantly told about a man reclaiming his place in the world but the crazy and frightening depiction of the Joker and a dramatic fight with Superman are worth the read alone.
I was hooked, though I didn't immediately start buying comics. As it turns out, it's possible to download pirated scans of comic books though bit torrent and other p2p networks. So I did that for a while, reading everything I could. At first I was just reading old Batman stuff that the internet generally agreed to be the best. But after a while I became increasingly interested in the rest of the DC Comics universe. Occasionally other heroes would pop up in the Batman stuff I was reading, and if they were interesting to me, I read their stuff too. Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and various other things all caught my eye and I would illegally eat them up. Eventually I would start for the most part buying the comic books I really liked. I read that in October, there would be a major story that would take place throughout all the Batman related books(Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, and Robin) and so in October, I started buying the monthly Batman series.
I was doubly hooked.
Now I find myself in a real comic book store (Clint's Comics, 101 Darbonne St.) at least twice a month picking up Batman, Green Lantern, Action Comics, and now, DC's new big event, Final Crisis. I really love these stories, and as much as my friends make fun of my new hobby, I don't see myself ever giving it up.
In two weeks The Dark Knight will open to praise and controversy. I will be there at midnight on Thursday. I have never been so excited to see a movie. I get giddy everytime I see the trailer on the big screen before a movie. And I feel like I owe this film a lot and I can't wait to see it.
Skip to last summer, I watched Begins again sometime that year and realized it was really good. And then I learned that the sequel would be coming out the next year and that it was to be called The Dark Knight. So I started doing some research what it was going to be about. All I really learned was that it would involve the Joker. But during my research, I learned about a comic book Frank Miller(Sin City) had written in the Eighties called "The Dark Knight Returns." Based on the title, I assumed that the upcoming film would be based on this book, so I went to Books-A-Million, and I bought it.
The first and only time I had ever bought a comic book before this was when I was 7 0r 8. I was obsessed with the Alien and Predator movies at the time and I was again in Books-A-Million wandering around. I found myself in the comic book section and saw and issue of "Alien Versus Predator." "OMG," I must have thought. I got it and read it. Actually I don't know if I even read the story but I did look at the pictures and awful lot and wasn't impressed. I never bought a comic book after that.
And now, at 17, I was in the comic book section again, more than a little embarassed just to be there, looking for a "graphic" novel called "The Dark Knight Returns." I found it, bought it, and read it. It was absolutely amazing. After opening it though, I quickly deduced that there was no way it had any connection to this next Batman movie. "The Dark Knight" tells the story of a future in which Batman has been retired for more than 20 years. Gotham is more overrun with crime and suffering than ever before and many people remember Batman as only a legend. A new gang calling themselves "The Sons of Batman" control the streets unchallenged by the police.
Meanwhile, billionaire Bruce Wayne looks on in frustration. In his late fifties, he has put Batman behind him but with recent events, he can't just sit back and watch his beloved city crumble around him. And so the Dark Knight returns, hence the title. What follows is a story brilliantly told about a man reclaiming his place in the world but the crazy and frightening depiction of the Joker and a dramatic fight with Superman are worth the read alone.
I was hooked, though I didn't immediately start buying comics. As it turns out, it's possible to download pirated scans of comic books though bit torrent and other p2p networks. So I did that for a while, reading everything I could. At first I was just reading old Batman stuff that the internet generally agreed to be the best. But after a while I became increasingly interested in the rest of the DC Comics universe. Occasionally other heroes would pop up in the Batman stuff I was reading, and if they were interesting to me, I read their stuff too. Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and various other things all caught my eye and I would illegally eat them up. Eventually I would start for the most part buying the comic books I really liked. I read that in October, there would be a major story that would take place throughout all the Batman related books(Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, and Robin) and so in October, I started buying the monthly Batman series.
I was doubly hooked.
Now I find myself in a real comic book store (Clint's Comics, 101 Darbonne St.) at least twice a month picking up Batman, Green Lantern, Action Comics, and now, DC's new big event, Final Crisis. I really love these stories, and as much as my friends make fun of my new hobby, I don't see myself ever giving it up.
In two weeks The Dark Knight will open to praise and controversy. I will be there at midnight on Thursday. I have never been so excited to see a movie. I get giddy everytime I see the trailer on the big screen before a movie. And I feel like I owe this film a lot and I can't wait to see it.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Mini-Reviews
We here at RSV have been slacking pretty badly for a while now. So I'm going to try to make up for that with a few four-sentence-max mini-reviews. Some of these really deserve full reviews, so I'll try to get my or Dylan's lazy ass to do them sometime. First up...
Kung Fu Panda
It wasn't bad at all. The voicework was solid and the animation was good. The story wasn't too bad but the climax was very anticlimactic. Plus, Dustin Hoffman is a little raccoony thing - HA.
6.5/10
===========================================
The Incredible Hulk
It's definitely a Hulk Movie. The action was awesome but it was a little lacking in the story department, though there is another 70+ minutes that were cut out so I'm holding my judgment on star Edward Norton's screenwriting abilities. There's also a lot of stuff in there for hardcore Hulk fans that most audience members won't pick up. Overall, it really exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed it a lot.
7/10
===========================================
WALL-E
This movie is so crazy. It's one of the best straight hardcore sci-fi movies I've ever seen. The people at Pixar are seriously geniuses and they've proved it again. See it.
9.5/10
===========================================
Hancock
I don't really know my opinion on Hancock yet. I didn't hate it or like it. It just didn't really do anything for me. One word does come to mind though: unbalanced.
5/10
Kung Fu Panda
It wasn't bad at all. The voicework was solid and the animation was good. The story wasn't too bad but the climax was very anticlimactic. Plus, Dustin Hoffman is a little raccoony thing - HA.
6.5/10
===========================================
The Incredible Hulk
It's definitely a Hulk Movie. The action was awesome but it was a little lacking in the story department, though there is another 70+ minutes that were cut out so I'm holding my judgment on star Edward Norton's screenwriting abilities. There's also a lot of stuff in there for hardcore Hulk fans that most audience members won't pick up. Overall, it really exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed it a lot.
7/10
===========================================
WALL-E
This movie is so crazy. It's one of the best straight hardcore sci-fi movies I've ever seen. The people at Pixar are seriously geniuses and they've proved it again. See it.
9.5/10
===========================================
Hancock
I don't really know my opinion on Hancock yet. I didn't hate it or like it. It just didn't really do anything for me. One word does come to mind though: unbalanced.
5/10
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Iron Man
As a movie buff (buff rhymes with muff) and a comic book reader (though I don't really know anything about the Marvel side of things) I can honestly say that Iron Man is the best comic book movie I've seen pretty much ever (except for Batman Begins). It was just great all around, for the most part at least.
Robert Downey, Jr. stars as billionaire weapons designer, Tony Stark. He's an arrogant chauvinist capitalist who witnesses his weapons in the hands of terrorists killing American soldiers. After being kidnapped by said terrorists and nearly killed but a piece of shrapnel in his heart, he is forced to build them a supermega rocket. But he doesn't. In stead, he makes a suit. A suit made of awesomeness and scrap metal which he uses to kick ass and bust up out of the cave of his imprisonment.
So, he gets back to America and turns his life around. But not really. He's still arrogant (what billionaire wouldn't be?) What he does attempt to do though is stop making weapons. Then blahdy blah blah... he becomes a super hero. But let's get to what I loved about it.
The action is exciting and very cool-looking and the humor is clever and funny but not distracting. John Favreau really did a great job writing and directing here.
The acting was awesome. Downey is great, and from what I hear, pretty dead on as Tony Stark. Everyone else does a good job as well, especially Jeff Bridges who I didn't even recognise the first time he was on screen. Samuel L. Jackson has a cameo after the credits where he plays himself, I mean Nick Furry, one-eyed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and procedes to give Marvel fanboys boners.
Iron Man went way above and beyond my expectations and left me anticipating the sequel and the forthcoming Avengers movie. And the best part is that it was just the beginning of what looks to be an awesome summer movie season. The Dark Knight, I'm looking at you!
9/10
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