Here it is... my obligatory "Hunger Games" post.

Entertainment is such an interesting concept. We use entertainment to cure boredom, to keep us company, to kill time. My deep and never-ending curiosity of the psychology of the human mind is what makes this book/movie series so compelling (for me). I saw the movie opening weekend (nearly two weeks ago), but I can't seem to wrap my mind around what it is that I feel necessary to say, so I'm going to do this in the best way that I know how to: the list method. In other words, here is a list of thoughts/feelings/reactions/whatever else that occurred to me after seeing this film. Let's hope that this list finds its way to an ending at some point in time...

1) How is it that so many liberals are enjoying this film? I read a review opening weekend that praised Collins for her pro-environment film. ....really? At what point in the film did the reviewer mistake the cries of children and their families for that of the trees and oceans? Am I the only one that saw the anti-government main theme of the film? We've all heard the Thomas Jefferson quote saying something along the lines of "a government that is big enough to give you everything you need, is big enough to take away everything you have." Call me crazy, but I feel like Collins was trying to make a point. Panem is the future of America (I've noticed that movie watchers that didn't also read the book had assumed that the "it's America's future" concept was all assumption, but the book does identify Panem specifically as a future America). I think that the message here is one of warning; it's a warning of the dangers of big government, and trusting-or worse still-EXPECTING the government to take care of you.

At any rate, I'm not surprised that liberals refuse to face the music on this one; I mean, it is entertainment, and people aren't often quick to accept the idea that their principles are drowning our society (and if that offends you, I'm really not even sorry, because I do think that it's true), but what humors me is the fact that so many of them have found ways to make it feel like a liberally-themed flick---of which it most assuredly is not.

2) Panem is completely religiously deprived. I didn't think about this much when I read the books, but when I watched the film it really stood out to me. It's interesting to see a people stripped of all religion. Our society now is working overtime in an effort to rid our country of religion. Our post-modern ideals tell us that truth is relative and that no one standard can be held across a diverse population. Well to Hell with that! (and by "hell", maybe I'm referring to Panem, where children are forced to kill each other off in the name of "entertainment"...?)

Among my circle of friends, Christians are seen as hypocritical, pompous, dogmatic, self-righteous, ignorant and otherwise. People view Christians as weaklings in need of a crutch to hang on to because they're simply too weak to walk life alone. Well here's a thought to ponder: what would the world look like without them? Would it be something similar to Panem, where people look for fulfillment in personal appearance, wealth, status, and fun?

NOW-Onto items that relate more to the film itself.

3) It's always difficult to take a perfectly good book and make a film of it, and it's even harder to make me enjoy it. This film-love it or hate it-stayed very close to the book. A few minor details were switched around to avoid either a) a 4 hour movie or b) a bunch of confusion. The majority of the book is told from Katniss' POV, and you lose a lot of those details in the book to movie transfer, but I do give them props for staying basically as close as possible. That's one thing that I certainly can't (and don't need to) pick on!

4) Acting=well done. I wasn't a big fan of Katniss' personality in the books (heck, in a world like Panem, I'd like to see a girl with a weakness SOMEWHERE). The all-powerful female theme that is prevalent right now kind of drives me nuts. I understand that people are capable of rising to the occasion, and that this sort of confidence and ability to stand and be strong in the face of danger is possible, and that females are no exception to this rule-even if they are teenaged girls required to kill their peers-but I feel like I'm being lied to. Why would it be so bad to show just a sliver of weakness? Would that not make her human, and therefore relatable? You can make her strong, but perfect? C'mon. ANYWAY-that's all to say this: I did not like Katniss' character traits (that were as strong in the movie as they were in the book), but I thought that she was very well played by Jennifer Lawrence. I was skeptical when I saw the first trailer, but I wasn't altogether negative about it when I watched the film in full. All of the acting was strong, really. Peeta and Gale were both cast exceptionally well, in my opinion.

4) Music=A+ I thought the soundtrack was excellent when I watched the movie. I was in a newer theater with a bangin' sound system, and the score made a solid contribution to the movie as a whole. I always appreciate a "less-is-more" concept when applied correctly, and this one was executed with precision. After my first watch/listen, I have no complaints in this department.

5) Camerawork=wow, why are you trying to make me vomit? I felt like there were two types of camerawork in this movie... it was either REALLY CLOSE SHOTS, or extremely shaky movements. I was uncomfortable either way. I'm not sure why this is becoming a fad, as most people I talked to shared my feelings. The shaky camera worked for the fight scenes, but I don't understand the point of using them throughout the entire film. It loses its luster after a point. That was my main annoyance.

6) Violence. Yow. Sex is different in books, and violence is too. You just don't get the same effect when you're reading. Children fighting/killing each other was a strange concept when I read it, but it was straight up disturbing when I saw it on the big screen. I think this was the intent of the story to begin with and therefore an accomplishment, but wow... talk about a sobering concept. Rome was a sick society-I pray and hope that we never find entertainment in the slaughter of any living creature, much less children.


My conclusion? I did like the movie. I liked more about it than not, and I thought that it was very well done, and that it did the book justice. My favorite part is that I can't get my mind off of it; I keep thinking about the different themes represented, and the disturbed feeling that I've been experiencing since I saw the film is almost pleasant in that I'm glad to know that I'm bothered by it. I feel like-between reality TV and the sort of music that we listen to, etc-we are becoming incredibly desensitized as a society. We're also looking for the "shock" value to amuse us. It's kind of scary to think that a person needs to see a movie like The Hunger Games to realize how messed up we're allowing ourselves to become. My main fear and concern about this movie is the same one I had following the books: does it have this impact on the target audience? I mean there are so many important lessons to be learned from this series, and the unfortunate fact is that our teenagers are trained to be entertained, and not to think. They see the love triangle, they see the violence, the see the costumes, and the actors, and the sets, and the camerawork, and they hear the music. But do they think about what's really happening? Honestly, I don't know... but I hope so.

Reasons I hate movies, Part 1: "The Vow"

Once upon a time, watching movies was fun.


I was going to write a long post about how disappointing movies can be, but I decided that it would benefit no one and deleted my rant. I'll just go ahead and review the movie I last saw in the same fashion I would review any other movie....





THE VOW




..............................




Frankly, I have nothing to say.



But if I was going to say something, the one and only word that comes to mind is, simply: "WHY?!"

I went to see this movie-in the theatre, no less-with friends. This is probably why I take to a blog and other online social medias at the end of the day--because I am friends with the sort of people that enjoy these films.

I really don't even know where to begin with this one, so I've decided to save my time and just give a brief explanation for *part* of the reason I hated this movie.

NOTHING IS ORIGINAL!

I always have and [hopefully] always will hate the dramatic love story chick flick movies (and books) that teenybopper girls dig. Even AS a teenybopper I hated them because they seemed to be trying to distort the line between real life and lovey dovey dreams in an attempt to make me believe that people live happily ever after even in the midst of complete and utter chaos in their lives. That isn't real life. I like entertainment because I appreciate the opportunity to leave my own problems behind for a few hours, that's the fun in it for me... but I don't like it when they make every attempt to show you how real life fantasies CAN COME TRUE... because really, sometimes they can't. BUT THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE ALTOGETHER.

As much as I didn't like "The Notebook", I will give it a point or two for originality. The love story in and of itself was corny and predictable, but the Alzheimer's/dementia/whatever it was twist actually made that insanely boring movie all worth it, for me... because the twist was completely unexpected, as I have never seen anything like it before. Movies like "Inception", "Edward Scissorhands", "Forrest Gump" or even "Napoleon Dynamite" catch my attention and entertain me because they are stories that I never would have dreamed of in my own head. They use everyday principles and happenings, but show them to us in a new and unpredictable way. Even true[ish] stories like "Slumdog Millionaire" (which I happened to watch the same weekend as The Vow, unfortunately) show us a horrible side of the world that we'd like to believe doesn't exist, and makes an amazing movie out of it that both moves AND entertains us.

I need to stop now. I know that this post is full of error and probably won't make sense to any mind besides my own, but I'd just wanted to take a moment to defend my cynicism. Maybe I wouldn't be so critical if the movies were actually good, capiche? I'm really REALLY hoping that "The Hunger Games" lives up to my expectations....


Also-I don't think I'll be watching the Oscars tonight. I humbly refuse to participate until someone makes a movie worth an award.

PS-I'm just in an especially crabby mood today. Bad movies don't actually make me as mad as I sound-I just haven't gotten over the fact that I paid $10 to see The Vow, yet...

Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and The Hunger Games

Last film I watched in 2011 was Sherlock Holmes, first film of 2012 was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The fact that I a) watched the second one and b) paid to see it in theatres says quite a lot for the first film.

Honestly, I thought the first movie was fantastic. It wasn't at all true to the books (since when is Sherlock Holmes a eccentric kung fu master?!), but if you watch it as a movie and not an adaption from an incredible book, it's pretty great (I didn't think I'd like it after hearing it bore little if any resemblance to the book, but I was pleasantly surprised).

Things I didn't like:

-I loved the book(s), and this was not the book(s).
-Abuse of slow motion.... It was cool the first 10 times. After that it bored me...


Things I liked:

-I thought it was casted perfectly. The characters were very well played (even if they were completely original and nothing like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's...)
-The humor was actually really funny, in my opinion
-Watson was perfect, and his dog was hysterical
-The action sequences were epic
-The sets were impressive, as were the lighting and camera angles (London was perfectly depicted, I think)


Things I loved:

-Holmes. For a character who was nothing like the original, this one was definitely an acceptable replacement. I clearly loved the book(s) (who didn't?!), but this made the story a lot more fun and entertaining. Staying true to Doyle's work could have gotten boring, I'll admit. And for someone as incredibly intelligent and observant as Sherlock Holmes, crazed, anti-social and completely consumed by his work is exactly how I'd imagine him. Using those characteristics to create humor was a bit of a risk, in my opinion, but I do believe it was a success.
-The soundtrack. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes Hans Zimmer writes every soundtrack in every movie released. I thought this one was clever, especially in a couple of intense scenes (if I had written this or taken notes during my watch I'd be able to give an example... unfortunately I did not...).
-Screenplay-A+. Not sure it could have been better.




SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS:

Things I didn't like:

-Kind of got boring. Movie 1 was exciting and intriguing and kept my attention from start to finish. Movie 2 didn't capture my attention to begin with and seemed to abuse some of the better aspects from Movie 1 in an attempt to continue with some of the humor and ambience I so much appreciated this first time around... it worked in some places, but not so much in others.
-The story didn't really catch on and left me confused more often than not. I understood it by the end, but everything before was just a blur of random confusion, for me (although I often feel this way when viewing with friends, unfortunately). I would have appreciated a few more hints, even some misleading tips to keep me more involved in the mystery.
-More abuse of the slow motion. I mean really...

Things I liked:

-Basically the same things from Movie 1; characters, humor and action were all up to par, for the most part

Things I loved-

-Nothing in particular, really.



These reviews aren't really fair considering I'll admit to the fact that I wasn't completely engaged in either viewing, but overall I did enjoy the two films and have plans to own them and watch them a good few more times as I found them to be quality entertainment.




As far as books go, I've been reading The Hunger Games trilogy to prepare myself for the March (I think it was March...?) release of the first move. Once I finish the third book I'll do an actual review, but I will say that I am enjoying them and do plan on seeing the movie (the first preview just freaked me out... now I understand the story and it isn't quite as horrific of a concept... not QUITE, anyway). Simple reads, big thoughts.... more on that when I can!

AFI's Top 100 Movies-AKA the goal that will take me the rest of my life to accomplish.

My AFI Top 100 list update for 2011: I doubt that I'll be adding to it before the year ends (Ben-Hur is a possible addition, though). Highlighted in yellow are, unfortunately, NOT the movies remaining on the list... they're the few that I've managed to watch not just in 2011, but in all years of my life to date.  There are 23 1/2 highlighted (the half being on account of the fact that I can't seem to finish A Streetcar Named Desire... hopefully someday I will, but I strongly doubt it. I have a low tolerance for films that haven't sparked ANY interest in the first 35 minutes). This brings me about 21 closer than I was this time last year (I kid... a little), so I guess I did accomplish something. 

Other notes about movies not pertaining to "the list".... I watched far too many war flicks this year and I'm still mildly depressed (I kid... again). Can't lie though; there are few genres that I truly enjoy, and historical films are probably #1 for me. I tried to balance my viewing by watching at least one comedy/chick flick/stupid movie/animated film for every 1-3 war films. This method worked fairly well, and I actually enjoyed a ton of stupid movies simply because they made me laugh (a feat never before accomplished to quite this extreme, for me). 

And can I tell you how excited I am for 2012 films?!!! The top few that I can think of off of the top of my head:

1) The Lorax

2) The Hunger Games 

3) Titanic in 3D....?

4) Beauty and the Beast in 3D....??

5) Men in Black 3...???

6) Snow White and the Huntsman

7) Spiderman (another?!)

8) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

9) Ice Age (another?!)

10) The Bourne Legacy (another?!)

11) TWILIGHTTTTTT!!!!ASOEIFJF!!!!! (lol jk... my online persona may be nebulous at times, but rest assured-I am no tweenie)

12) THE HOBBIT!!!!!!! 

In yellow are the ones that I am legitimately excited for, in the bright, painful to look at bluish color are the ones that I will watch (though probably not in theatres) just.... because, and the rest I find both amusing and also relatively disappointing, but might go see if I am especially bored. I hate the 3D thing, though. Just a note.

1.CITIZEN KANE (1941) 

2.CASABLANCA (1942) 

3.GODFATHER, THE (1972) 

4.GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) 

5.LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) 

6.WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939) 

7.GRADUATE, THE (1967) 

8.ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) 

9.SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) 

10.SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) 

11.IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) 

12.SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) 

13.BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957) 

14.SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) 

15.STAR WARS (1977) 

16.ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) 

17.AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951) 

18.PSYCHO (1960) 

19.CHINATOWN (1974) 

20.ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) 

21.GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940) 

22.2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) 

23.MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941) 

24.RAGING BULL (1980) 

25.E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) 

26.DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) 

27.BONNIE & CLYDE (1967) 

28.APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) 

29.MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) 

30.TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) 

31.ANNIE HALL (1977) 

32.GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974) 

33.HIGH NOON (1952) 

34.TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) 

35.IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) 

36.MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) 

37.BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946) 

38.DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) 

39.DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) 

40.NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) 

41.WEST SIDE STORY (1961) 

42.REAR WINDOW (1954) 

43.KING KONG (1933) 

44.BIRTH OF A NATION, THE (1915) 

45.STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951) 

46.CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971) 

47.TAXI DRIVER (1976) 

48.JAWS (1975) 

49.SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937) 

50.BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) 

51.PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE(1940) 

52.FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) 

53.AMADEUS (1984) 

54.ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930) 

55.SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965) 

56.M*A*S*H(1970) 

57.THIRD MAN, THE (1949) 

58.FANTASIA (1940) 

59.REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) 

60.RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) 

61.VERTIGO (1958) 

62.TOOTSIE (1982) 

63.STAGECOACH (1939) 

64.CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) 

65.SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991) 

66.NETWORK (1976) 

67.MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE (1962) 

68.AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN (1951) 

69.SHANE (1953) 

70.FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971) 

71.FORREST GUMP (1994) 

72.BEN-HUR (1959) 

73.WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) 

74.GOLD RUSH, THE (1925) 

75.DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) 

76.CITY LIGHTS (1931) 

77.AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) 

78.ROCKY (1976) 

79.DEER HUNTER, THE (1978) 

80.WILD BUNCH, THE (1969) 

81.MODERN TIMES (1936) 

82.GIANT (1956) 

83.PLATOON (1986) 

84.FARGO (1996) 

85.DUCK SOUP (1933) 

86.MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) 

87.FRANKENSTEIN (1931) 

88.EASY RIDER (1969) 

89.PATTON (1970) 

90.JAZZ SINGER, THE (1927) 

91.MY FAIR LADY (1964) 

92.PLACE IN THE SUN, A(1951) 

93.APARTMENT, THE (1960) 

94.GOODFELLAS (1990) 

95.PULP FICTION (1994) 

96.SEARCHERS, THE (1956) 

97.BRINGING UP BABY (1938) 

98.UNFORGIVEN (1992) 

99.GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967) 

100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

ADDED MOVIES:

The General

Intolerance

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Nashville

Sullivan's Travels

Cabaret

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Saving Private Ryan

The Shawshank Redemption

In the Heat of the Night

All the Presidents Men

Spartacus

A Night at the Opera

12 Angry Men

Swing Time

Sophie's Choice

The Last Picture Show

Do the Right Thing

Blade Runner

Toy Story

Finally remembered my username/password combination...

I've watched probably 10 movies, read maybe 5 books, and listened to about a million songs since my last post. I had intended to write reviews on each and every one of those (well, the books and movies, anyway), but I could not-for the life of me-remember my password. Getting old is a real pain. At any rate, I can't actually remember everything that I've ingurgitated over the past few weeks (or months?), so I'm just going to write about what stood out. 

MOVIES

FINALLY watched Saving Private Ryan. Finally. And now I understand. I read a review on the film awhile back that described it as "devastating"... and I concur. The opening soldier's eye view of the D-Day invasion is horrifyingly well done. This is probably the first scene in a movie where the camera angles were used in a way that I was able to appreciate them (and by that, I simply mean that this is the first time I've even NOTICED the camera angle in a movie, much less felt moved by it). After that scene, I was admittedly sick to the stomach and concerned that the entire movie would be just as gut-wrenchingly realistic and grotesque. While the movie remained realistic, the story turned enough to give my weak organs a break. Besides the amazing depiction of what happened on that day, the story and dialogue were also incredible (not to take away from the actors, who were exceptional). While I'm not a huge fan of Tom Hanks, I felt like his performance in this film was very, very convincing (especially towards the end of the film when his character's colors really begin to show). 

So yes-this film was incredible. I don't often remember much from a movie after just one viewing, but there are some that I probably won't have the heart to watch twice (war flicks, typically... of which this one is certainly included). I always try to be careful when watching a film by a well-known and much respected director like Spielberg (especially when he's accompanied by his right-hand-man, John Williams), because I don't want the reputation to become the film and influence my opinion of the movie. That being said, I dare you to find a subpar Spielberg movie that has not lived up to his usual standard of excellence. I certainly can't name one. 

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World-I didn't get it...? I really didn't. Maybe I don't play enough video games (actually, I'm certain I don't), but the whole thing seemed like a lame trip. The humor was relatively funny, but I could never understand what was going on, and that was kind of frustrating. That's about all I have to say about that!

Bringing Up Baby-Pure, unadulterated humor. Funniest movie that I've seen in a good long time. I watched it a few months back so I don't remember all of my initial thoughts, but the screenplay and acting were incredible. Movies like these really make me resent a lot of the stuff coming out of Hollywood recently. Comedies today are unrealistically raunchy and rude. Older films like Bringing up Baby are refreshing in that they use clever and thoughtful means to produce the kind of humor that I actually find funny, without insulting me in the process (since when is insulting a person funny? I feel like 90% of humor today is found in hurting another person [usually by making a crude joke]). Anyway, the acting made this movie... and I'd love to see something like this find its way into modern production!

I know I watched more than that, but everyone and his mom is blowing up my phone right now, and this has already taken me far too long to write. I'm gonna stay signed in and try to pick this up again at some point...

MORE MOVIES


The Pianist-Another overwhelmingly realistic depiction of the horror that was The Holocaust. I've also recently watched Schindler's List, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Watching these movies was a truly disturbing experience; the Nazis weren't inhumane... they were absolutely possessed by a disgusting hatred against fellow members of the human race, and these movies capture these emotionless beings in a VERY realistic way. It is difficult for me to believe that anyone could actually manage to be THAT repulsively gross to another living being, but that's why I appreciate these movies; they show the reality that was The Holocaust.
Schindler's List was especially brutal, and there were many times where I honestly didn't think that I could handle any more of the violence. The realistic intensity of the film-although horrifying to watch-allows one to enter the world of Nazi Germany. It also allows the viewer the chance to see that Germans were not ALL as disgusting as Amon, the commander who shoots Jews from his balcony just for the sport of it. The movie is a reminder that sometimes we do things because someone says we should; sometimes we trust our leaders blindly, without justification. And sometimes, even Germans knew that what they were doing was wrong. It's easy to lump all of the Nazis into one big pile of hateful, angry killers... but this movie really made me wonder how many of them were just that cold because someone told them to be.
And that same thought continued when I watched The Pianist. Although not nearly as grotesque as Schindler's List, The Pianist still brought both the violence and human sides of the historical event. The music was, of course, fantastic, and I loved the way they incorporated his talent and passion for music throughout the film. I especially appreciated the fact that it was his ability as a pianist that softened the heart of the Nazi who could have killed him but decided instead to provide Szpilman with food and information that helped him survive to see his freedom become a reality. Another heartbreakingly brilliant film!

On a COMPLETELY different note! The Social Network-The Facebook movie! A very good movie, I must say. Although I need another watch before knowing for sure whether or not I really appreciate this film, the first watch did give me enough to want to see it again, at the very least. My only complaint is that the movie was difficult to hear; the college life (AKA noisy scenes with lots of party sounds and loud music) made the movie feel very busy, not to mention the fact that Zuckerberg's character talked a mile a minute about things that would be confusing to me even if I understood what he was saying. I feel like a second watch will solidify this as a good film, because other than that which I just mentioned, I did think that it was well acted, well scripted and overall a good movie.

There are more movies where that came from but at the moment I'm either A) not remembering which movies I've left out or B) not in the mood to write about them for various reasons. yeapy!

NO STRINGS ATTACHED


Pretty good movie, actually... although I suppose that was to be expected considering it IS Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The story worked a lot better than I had expected though; a couple of friends decide to use each other for sex and eventually fall in love-obviously. I feel like the characters were very believable, with one exception being Adam's (Kutcher's character's) father... do dads actually [knowingly] date and seriously consider reproducing with their son's ex-girlfriends in real life (and, for that matter, is there such a thing as an ex-girlfriend that would ever be gross enough to go for that?!)? Not that I've ever heard of. I guess Emma's mom is also a little goofy as a character, what with her hooking up with a guy called "Bones" whose biker-dude character seems completely contrary to her more sophisticated looking lifestyle only a few years following her husband's death. That ludicrous aside, I thought that the dialogue and flow of the movie was for the most part realistic and humorous. I'm not usually one for romantic comedies, but this one was entertaining. What I'd be interested in seeing now would be Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake... as far as I can tell the only difference between the two movies is the actors (if you want to call Timberlake an actor....).

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes


Definitely a Franco fan through and through, but he's not the only reason I enjoyed this movie. As far as acting goes I think the cast was exceptional with another favorite (playing Caesar the ape), Andy Serkis. I originally assumed that the apes were all CGI and figured the job had been very well done... until later I had no idea that Serkis was behind yet another captivating character (Gollum was brilliant, you can't deny that). Especially in the last portions of the film, Serkis had me completely convinced that he is Oscar worthy. I think his performance blew Franco's out of the water (although I don't think that this was by any means Franco's best showcase of his acting abilities). At any rate, I'd love to see the Academy award Serkis for his efforts, but I guess that'd probably be reaching a little bit too far out of the comfort zone for them.

Other than acting I thought that the dialogue was also very good and told the story well; at no point did I feel confused or over-informed. The movie just seemed to flow well. Soundtrack was also quite good. Although I've only seen it the one time and might have a slight change of heart in future viewings, this movie is at least 4 stars in my opinion!

First Attempts at Reviewing Movies

MOVIES Shockingly, I'm having a hard time even remembering all of the movies I've watched recently. The fact that I'm finding (or making) this much time for movies is quite unusual. But I'm definitely enhancing my movie buffedness. I love reading reviews but I'm horribly bad at critiquing movies myself, so here goes nothin'... (movies I've seen in theatres) Mr. Popper's Penguins- Jim Carrey... what else do I have to say? Although I don't possess the ability to REALLY focus and pay attention on the first watch (especially in theatres) to give a real critique, I definitely enjoyed this one and actually wanted to see it again. It was funny and cute, and the story made me happy but wasn't too outstandingly, lovie dovie perfect. Although my favor for the film may be accredited entirely to Carrey's acting, I do plan on watching this one again... so that's pretty good. Lord Of The Rings, Extended Versions of the Trilogy-Yeah, so I actually watched all three of the extended movies in theatres over a three week period. I didn't get LOTR'd out until the 4+ hour finale. They're beautiful movies and I'm sooo glad I could see them in theatres. Like I said, though... the 4+ hours was a bit much. There was a little too much information in the final installment. But of course this was an overall enjoyable experience! (movies that I've watched outside of theatres) The Witness-Harrison Ford... DUH! He's great, he really is. But this movie did tend to drag a little. Ford plays a police officer who is trying to solve a murder to which the only eye witness is a young Amish boy. Ford's character ends up hiding out in the Amish [village?] until his location is discovered, and in the meantime he falls for the boy's very-much-Amish mom. It's a pretty good story, but I wouldn't watch it again. Moved really slowly, and the music was disappointing. Not a bad movie, though. Edward Scissorhands-It was brilliant. I loved every minute and each element of it. I love Johnny Depp, I love[d] Danny Elfman's soundtrack, I absolutely LOVE what Tim Burton did with this film. I won't claim to understand any factor of this movie (not until a 3rd or 4th viewing, at the very least!), but I will say that it intrigued me. It plucked a heartstring and left me feeling slightly confused yet very content. The complexity of the characters and the mystery of the story kept me in a constant state of haunted, imaginative, dreamlike awe... and I haven't really recovered yet. Definitely loved this movie! 2001: A Space Odyssey-......... Well what else is there to say? Much of the movie was empty space, and an absolute waste of my time. The famous "Open the pod bay doors, Hal" and "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that" lines were the movie's saving grace (although it would take a lot more grace for me to ever watch or recommend this movie again). The music had good moments, of course, but certainly not enough to make this film anything more than BORING. The Maltese Falcon-Loved this film! It was classy and smart. It moved along well and actually wasn't very long (I enjoy a good long movie, but a concise film [especially one that is a good as this one] impresses me!). It was a clever mystery, and I loved the romance... and especially how it ended! Great movie and I'll watch it again someday. Rebel Without A Cause-Mmmmm James Dean. HUNK. Almost cried when I realized that he actually died one month before this film was released... and, naturally, it was his most celebrated role. It's a very well told account of the emotions and resulting rebellion of suburban teenagers who "have everything", yet lack the most important things in life. Money don't make everything good. Sometimes you need love and REALITY. Great, great movie.