I would say that Wes Anderson films are the hardest to write about for me. They're all brilliant, but they're also so similar in their style and humor that the only thing I could really ever comment on is the story. So this may be a short one. But I will try my best.
Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of a loaner "khaki scout" (boy scout) who flees his troops base camp in order to meet up with the girl he loves and run away with her. Of course, the small island they reside on goes into panic mode and puts all of their resources into finding the two kids. Wes-Anderson-esque-hilarity ensues.
As usual with Wes Anderson films, the way this film plays out is perfect for the story. The straight on, perfectly framed shots, the dry, unemotional humor. The quick and witty dialogue. It can only be done by a few people. Mostly, just Mr. Anderson.
The story is wonderful, the Actors are fantastic and the Cinematography is superb. And unfortunately, thats all I can really say about this film. Usually, words can not describe Wes Anderson films. One can only trust me that it is great and go see it.
On a different note, here is my favorite commercial ever. Oh, would you look at that! It features Wes Anderson himself!
Let me just say, if I am around for the end of the world, I hope it's as fun as this.
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World... is a long title. But a great one. There is no doubt what the movies about if you are walking up to the box office without any idea of what it's about. It even sounds like a comedy, which is exactly what it is. In case you can't tell by the title, or even the trailer above, I got your back.
This movie is about two people that don't meet until the end of the world is imminent. Dodge, played by Steve Carell (40 Year Old Virgin), has his wife leave him the second after they both know the world is going to end. He goes on about his normal routine as chaos ensues around him.
He then meets another tenant of his apartment building, Penny, played by Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean). They soon make a pact that if Penny can get Dodge to his old ex-girlfriend, Dodge would provide a plane for her to flyer to England to spend her last days with her family. And, of course, they bond as they push forward on their journey.
I have never seen a movie about the apocalypse that has made me smile and laugh as much as this one did. It is refreshing to see a movie where people aren't panicking about the end of the world, and just accepting their fate and enjoying their last days on Earth. It really highlights the small moments in your life and helps you appreciate them more.
The two protagonists are a great combination. Dodge went about life following all the rules and Penny was a free spirit. They make for two very different and interesting views of every situation they encounter.
I can see this movie being a hit and miss. For some reason, people don't like to laugh at tragedy. Even when it's fictitious and hilarious. But all comedy is derived from tragedy, so I don't see how these people can differentiate from the two. Even then, this movie is not about death. (Cue cheesy music) It is about life, and enjoying the little things. And how happiness can come from where you least expect it.
Even if you are a high-stung-have-no-fun kind of person, as always, you should see it for yourself and form your own opinion.
That is the theme ofthe book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. But that theme is lost in its translation to screen. I still really enjoyed it. It was just different. But I realized something after pondering on the movie for a few minutes after I saw it.
The book is far to deep and filled with character development (I know, hard to believe, but it is) for the average movie goer, and to completely ridiculous for the philosophical thinkers of the movie world. So it puts itself in a pickle. And justifiably so, it goes for the easier target, the action-seeking-summer-movie-goers.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is exactly what it sounds like. It is a retelling of history in which the great 16th President is, in fact, a vampire hunter. The vampires or the nation, who mainly live in the south, use slaves to feed off of. Abraham finds himself in a pickle when he seeks revenge on the man who killed his mother when he was 8 (historically accurate... just in case you care).
He soon finds himself under attack from the man he thought he just killed via a bullet in the eye, however, this man is a vampire. He is saved by a man who followed him from the bar named Henry Sturgess. The man trains him to hunt vampires and Mr. Lincoln uses his talent while gaining political popularity and becoming the great man we all know and love!
Now, the book is so different, I find it hard to compare the two. The are both great in their own ways. The book is more historically accurate and has a deeper undertone than its theatrical counter part. But, as I said, the book is to deep for some and to ridiculous for others and just right for a few insane people such as myself. When it comes down to the wire, you gotta make your money back and then some. So, they changed it.
The changes made it a fun, adventurous movie that I feel, those who don't care for history (also known as fools) will still enjoy it. There is a specific antagonist in the film, which is not in the book. Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist) plays a very sinister leader of the vampires known as Adam. Which leads me to believe he was the first vampire. Adding this character made the on screen transition more smooth, since most people don't like films in which there isn't an obvious villain.
I guess, within all of this rambling, I am trying to say the differences made for this movie were necessary. That is what many people do not realize. Not everything is about pleasing the fans of the book (although I was pleased with the movie). The fans of books are just a small percentage of who the studios are trying to target. They are trying to open people up to the movie who have never heard of it before.
I loved the book and really enjoyed the movie. Can't we all just get along? I'm talking to you book purists! It's ok if the movie isn't exactly like the book!
I haven't written anything in awhile because I just moved back home from Florida where I went to school. But I am back now, not that anyone noticed I was gone since no one follows this, but just in case.
This weekend I saw 3 new releases, so brace yourselves. For a storm of movie critic proportions is coming!
There is a debate among filmmakers and film fans alike. Is Prometheus a prequel to Alien or not?
The answer is both yes and no.
Prometheus tells the story of several scientists, from different fields, traveling to the moon of a distant planet where they believe the creators of man kind to live. Led by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, played by Noomi Rapace (the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), the team finds that the creators of the human race had an outbreak of a virus they were going to use as a weapon. But are they all gone?
The debate among the audience is a ridiculous one, as are most other debates. For one, Ridley Scott, the director, stated that it wouldn't be, but acknowledged the fact that it would take place in the same universe as the Alien movies.
This is the filmmaker we are talking about. I feel he would know more than anyone.
"But, Mike! The ship they find in the Alien is the same ship in the trailer!"
May I point you to a dictionary?
pre·quel
[pree-kwuhl]
noun
aliterary,dramatic,orfilmicworkthatprefiguresalaterwork,asbyportrayingTHE SAME CHARACTERS AT A YOUNGER AGE
The characters in Prometheus are not the same characters in Alien. However, the event in Prometheus lead up to the events in Alien. Therefore, it is and isn't a prequel at the same time. NOW STOP ARGUING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER.
I digress.
Prometheus is a great movie that stands out from it's alleged sequels. It has a completely different feel and has more story behind. It has been a while since I've seen the Alien movies, but I don't remember much back story for the characters in it. Prometheus reveals much backstory for certain characters.
There are some great characters in this film as well. David, played by Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, Inglourious Basterds). David is a robot, created by the financier of the mission. He follows the agenda of "his father" which at times can seem sinister. Michael Fassbender was great. He really sold the fact that he was a robot. The little things he did to portray the character made the character complete.
Overall Prometheus is a fantastic movie that separates itself from its counter parts.
If there is one thing you should know about me when it comes to movies, it is the fact that I do not care for horror movies. I give them all a shot, but I find that many of them are the same, formulaic, predictable story with the same stupid characters. It also doesn't help that it takes a lot in a movie to scare me. The Chernobyl Diaries is no exception.
Written by Oren Peli or Paranormal Activity fame (also a lackluster movie), the film revolves around a group of 20-somethings vacationing in Europe who decide to go to Chernobyl, in Prypiat, Ukraine, where the biggest nuclear plant disaster in the history of man kind happened in 1986. After walking around the abandoned city for a few hours, they find that their van had been tampered with while they are gone.
Now trapped in the abandoned, radioactive city, they do what all stupid characters in horror movies do. They split up. And, of course, they start dying.
I had a problem with this movie before I even went into it. In the trailer, they make it look like what they're doing is illegal and extremely dangerous. They even call it "extreme tourism". It's not illegal, nor is it extremely dangerous or even that "extreme" (depending on your definition of extreme). In fact, it is so not illegal, dangerous or extreme that they have a website to sign up for tours (With a 100% money back guarantee!).
I am one of the biggest babies when it comes to doing extreme things (I would never go sky diving or bungee jumping. Or even ride a bike one-handed) and this has been the only thing on my bucket list since they've started doing tours.
But, I was willing to push that aside. So I went in to see it, and they still acted like it was a highly illegal tour. But that is not why I didn't care for this movie.
None of the character seemed important to the filmmaker. They all seemed expendable. It felt as if the filmmaker didn't care about any of them, thus making it nearly impossible for me to care about them. I didn't worry about them when they went missing. I didn't care if they were in any real danger. I didn't care what happened to them. All of the characters felt like supporting characters and the acting wasn't impressive or even believable.
The only great thing about this movie was the scenery. I love abandoned buildings. There are a lot near where I live, and there is something so humbling about them that they just give me a great sense of calm. The scenery and locations in this movie were great, but they didn't have to try to hard with that, since the sets were more or less already created for them.
I could see horror fanatics enjoying this a lot. I know a friend of mine who has a terrible taste in movies and loves horror films loved this movie. But for movie-goers who only like GREAT horror movies, such as myself, you could skip this one if you want.
When you are in a relationship, you have to make sacrifices. Whether it be selling some prized possessions or working a job you don't like to make ends meet, sacrifices are made. For me, I have to see movies I know won't be good.
First World Problems.
Snow White and the Huntsman is the same story, more or less, that we all know but closer to the original German version than the fabricated version, filled with flowers and rainbows that most people know from Disney. An evil queen, who rules the land she stole from Snow White and her family with an Iron fist, becomes jealous when Snow White is declared the fairest in the land by the magical mirror. She then demands that Snow White be brought to her so she can steal her heart and become immortal, forever being the fairest of them all.
I really enjoyed the fact that this steered away from the cutesy Snow White that Disney has created and leaned more towards the dark Adventure written by the Brothers Grimm. The German version of all the fairy tales are one thousand times better than the versions tainted and softened by Disney. That being said, the could have picked a better actress for the title role.
Kristen Stewart was definitely at her best in this movie. But that is still relatively average. As always, her face didn't change much.
This is obviously a joke, and exaggerated, but its not far from the truth.
There were times where she was supposed to be happy and she looked angry, and times where she was supposed to be sad but looked surprised (with no hint of sadness). And it didn't help that she was surrounded by good actors.
Chris Hemsworth, who for some reason has been almost all of the movies I have reviewed on my blog, had so much more skill than Stewart, and it made her look even worse than she would normally. But at the same time, I think it raised her skill. She had to keep up with him, but it was still like seeing the Big Mac they put together for commercials next to the one you actually get at McDonald's.
Overall, this movie was sub par. But there was one aspect of it that was amazing. The dwarves. Unlike other Snow White movies, they didn't get little people to play the dwarves. They had such great actors as Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan and Toby Jones playing them. Their heads were superimposed seamlessly onto the bodies of little people. I think. I'm not even 100% sure how they did it. It was the first time in a long time that I had seen something I knew was a visual effect, but couldn't see the flaw in it. It was fantastic.
And the characters were hilarious. I felt no connection with any of the characters until the dwarves came on screen.
