(no subject)
Watched several movies in the past week. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Videodrome, Snakes on a Plane!, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Miami Vice, and Forbidden Zone.
I liked the Miami Vice movie a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe it's because when you first see Colin Farrell as Crockett, he's wearing a classic Don Johnson Crockett outfit, I dunno. But I did like it. J liked it too, which made me confident enough to put disc 1 of season 1 into the netflix queue...and then bump it up. I used to watch a lot of Miami Vice as a kid, and as far as cop/drama tv shows go, I still think it was one of the best. That being said, I do think Michael Mann has lost his touch a little, Miami Vice the movie still manages to fall short of being as dark or gritty or tense as I remember the show, or at least my favorite episodes of the show. Also, I thought Gong Li looked somewhat plain, which I found irritating, cause she always looks great in her other movies. Oh yah, and I found Colin Farrell to be a bit too ...greasy. Don Johnson never came off as ...greasy. I do like the actress who played Trudy, she was also the voodoo lady in Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and all in all it was pretty enjoyable. As remakes and adaptations from old shows go, this one was certainly better than most.
Talladega Nights was funny, genuinely stupid, but funny. I'm not big on Will Ferrell, and maybe it's because he had a really good supporting cast, but I think this is the most I've ever enjoyed him in something, with the exception of Celebrity Jeopardy. This is also prolly the only Will Ferrell (in a starring role) movie I would watch again. Gods know I'm not a fan of A Night at the Roxbury, despite J and Alex...or maybe because of them. I would recommend watching the movie just to see the best use comedic use of a cougar in a movie...ever. Mostly cause I can't remember any others.
What can I say about Snake on a Plane!? It was ridiculous. Impossible. Stupid. Predictable. I laughed a lot, but mostly at how ridiculous it all was and not at any real cleverness in the movie. Now, obviously, a large crate of snakes being smuggled in and then out of Hawaii is pretty much impossible. What I want to know is this, if you have a crate full of poisonous snakes, why do you need a boa constrictor? You don't. Also, snakes are cold-blooded and planes are usually pretty cold because of the air conditioning. If you keep turning up the ac, wouldn't the snakes get all lethargic and go to sleep? Yes, I know the AC wasn't working for a while, but still. And aren't cargo holds freaking cold? Now, I love Samuel L. Jackson, and I'd prolly see any movie he's in, cause I think he's so awesome, but I have to say, this was pretty bad. That being said, I did get a kick out of it. If you don't think about it too much, and even if you do, it's still pretty entertaining. Bad is good and all that. Though I prolly wouldn't watch it again if I had the choice.
J and I really liked Dodgeball. Yes yes, it was extremely predictable, but that was part of the charm. I genuinely like Ben Stiller (except when I'm cringing at Meet the Parents) and I think he's hilarious. I also love Vince Vaughn, especially now that he's not all chubby and bloated looking anymore. And the dialog was pretty damn funny and the cameos were great and the supporting cast is awesome. I thought it was funnier than Talladega Nights and I would totally watch it again. It made me want to watch more Ben Stiller movies (except Meet the Fockers, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to handle that) and more Vince Vaughan movies. It also amuses me that Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are married, as she does such of good job of being repulsed by him in the movie. Worth seeing for Rip Torn throwing wrenches at the team to teach them how to dodge.
Videodrome...why does David Cronenberg like to put orifices on people and then have things shoved into and pulled out of? Watching James Woods' stomach vagina pulsate is not exactly enjoyable. The concept of Videodrome is cool, government (or government contracter) created signals sent through the television which infect your mind and can be used to control people. Awesome. The movie? Less so. J enjoyed it more than I did. We both agreed it's rather similar to Existenz (another Cronenberg film), which I really didn't like (again, interesting concept, less than stellar execution). I thought it was neat, but not impressive in any particular way. I thought John Carpenter's They Live was a far better film, if that tells you anything. Nonetheless, it's one of those cult movies that's got a big following, so it's prolly worth seeing once.
Forbidden Zone is definitely one of the strangest movies I've never seen. Reading the trivia on the imdb, it mentions that originally it was just a series of musical shorts, and then the storyline with Frenchy and her family was added to tie it all together. I believe it as there is almost no real plot or point to the film. Danny Elfman's Satan was pretty cool though. I don't know if I can, with a clear conscience, recommend watching Forbidden Zone, though bravo if you can get through it.
Oh we also watched about 1/3 or so of Find the Lady, an old John Candy movie from the 70s. Predictable, but funny. I think I would have enjoyed it, if we watched the whole thing. Also, it's the smallest, thinnest, and youngest I've ever seen John Candy, which is fascinating all on it's own.
Classes are going well. We Watched Shadow of a Doubt this week and next week will be Rope. I love Shadow of a Doubt, it's one of my favorite Hitchcock films. After Rope we get to watch Rear Window which is another one of my favorites. Class is fun. In Disasters, I have been reading bout Yellow Fever, Small pox, Malaria, Cholera, and Typhoid. Epidemics are fascinating I must say. Apparently, one cannot be vaccinated against Cholera, even if you get it and survive, you're still susceptible to get it again. Fun! There's a good chance I will do my final project (solo, I don't like group work with people I don't know) on the bubonic plague outbreak in Honolulu and the subsequent Chinatown fire of 1900 that was intentionally set (and then went completely out of control) to battle it. Apparently no one's ever done anything on Hawaii before, so the professor seems really interested. If I decide not to do the plague, I'll prolly do something on Hawaii and tsunami risks.
Tonight will be either Librarian 2 or A Scanner Darkly...flip a coin time. Hmmm....what should I make for dinner?
I think Pinky is getting restless. The forecast says Sunday will have a high of ~11 degrees. That's just wrong. I wonder if I have to come to work in temperatures that low. I shouldn't have to, it seems unhealthy.
I liked the Miami Vice movie a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe it's because when you first see Colin Farrell as Crockett, he's wearing a classic Don Johnson Crockett outfit, I dunno. But I did like it. J liked it too, which made me confident enough to put disc 1 of season 1 into the netflix queue...and then bump it up. I used to watch a lot of Miami Vice as a kid, and as far as cop/drama tv shows go, I still think it was one of the best. That being said, I do think Michael Mann has lost his touch a little, Miami Vice the movie still manages to fall short of being as dark or gritty or tense as I remember the show, or at least my favorite episodes of the show. Also, I thought Gong Li looked somewhat plain, which I found irritating, cause she always looks great in her other movies. Oh yah, and I found Colin Farrell to be a bit too ...greasy. Don Johnson never came off as ...greasy. I do like the actress who played Trudy, she was also the voodoo lady in Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and all in all it was pretty enjoyable. As remakes and adaptations from old shows go, this one was certainly better than most.
Talladega Nights was funny, genuinely stupid, but funny. I'm not big on Will Ferrell, and maybe it's because he had a really good supporting cast, but I think this is the most I've ever enjoyed him in something, with the exception of Celebrity Jeopardy. This is also prolly the only Will Ferrell (in a starring role) movie I would watch again. Gods know I'm not a fan of A Night at the Roxbury, despite J and Alex...or maybe because of them. I would recommend watching the movie just to see the best use comedic use of a cougar in a movie...ever. Mostly cause I can't remember any others.
What can I say about Snake on a Plane!? It was ridiculous. Impossible. Stupid. Predictable. I laughed a lot, but mostly at how ridiculous it all was and not at any real cleverness in the movie. Now, obviously, a large crate of snakes being smuggled in and then out of Hawaii is pretty much impossible. What I want to know is this, if you have a crate full of poisonous snakes, why do you need a boa constrictor? You don't. Also, snakes are cold-blooded and planes are usually pretty cold because of the air conditioning. If you keep turning up the ac, wouldn't the snakes get all lethargic and go to sleep? Yes, I know the AC wasn't working for a while, but still. And aren't cargo holds freaking cold? Now, I love Samuel L. Jackson, and I'd prolly see any movie he's in, cause I think he's so awesome, but I have to say, this was pretty bad. That being said, I did get a kick out of it. If you don't think about it too much, and even if you do, it's still pretty entertaining. Bad is good and all that. Though I prolly wouldn't watch it again if I had the choice.
J and I really liked Dodgeball. Yes yes, it was extremely predictable, but that was part of the charm. I genuinely like Ben Stiller (except when I'm cringing at Meet the Parents) and I think he's hilarious. I also love Vince Vaughn, especially now that he's not all chubby and bloated looking anymore. And the dialog was pretty damn funny and the cameos were great and the supporting cast is awesome. I thought it was funnier than Talladega Nights and I would totally watch it again. It made me want to watch more Ben Stiller movies (except Meet the Fockers, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to handle that) and more Vince Vaughan movies. It also amuses me that Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are married, as she does such of good job of being repulsed by him in the movie. Worth seeing for Rip Torn throwing wrenches at the team to teach them how to dodge.
Videodrome...why does David Cronenberg like to put orifices on people and then have things shoved into and pulled out of? Watching James Woods' stomach vagina pulsate is not exactly enjoyable. The concept of Videodrome is cool, government (or government contracter) created signals sent through the television which infect your mind and can be used to control people. Awesome. The movie? Less so. J enjoyed it more than I did. We both agreed it's rather similar to Existenz (another Cronenberg film), which I really didn't like (again, interesting concept, less than stellar execution). I thought it was neat, but not impressive in any particular way. I thought John Carpenter's They Live was a far better film, if that tells you anything. Nonetheless, it's one of those cult movies that's got a big following, so it's prolly worth seeing once.
Forbidden Zone is definitely one of the strangest movies I've never seen. Reading the trivia on the imdb, it mentions that originally it was just a series of musical shorts, and then the storyline with Frenchy and her family was added to tie it all together. I believe it as there is almost no real plot or point to the film. Danny Elfman's Satan was pretty cool though. I don't know if I can, with a clear conscience, recommend watching Forbidden Zone, though bravo if you can get through it.
Oh we also watched about 1/3 or so of Find the Lady, an old John Candy movie from the 70s. Predictable, but funny. I think I would have enjoyed it, if we watched the whole thing. Also, it's the smallest, thinnest, and youngest I've ever seen John Candy, which is fascinating all on it's own.
Classes are going well. We Watched Shadow of a Doubt this week and next week will be Rope. I love Shadow of a Doubt, it's one of my favorite Hitchcock films. After Rope we get to watch Rear Window which is another one of my favorites. Class is fun. In Disasters, I have been reading bout Yellow Fever, Small pox, Malaria, Cholera, and Typhoid. Epidemics are fascinating I must say. Apparently, one cannot be vaccinated against Cholera, even if you get it and survive, you're still susceptible to get it again. Fun! There's a good chance I will do my final project (solo, I don't like group work with people I don't know) on the bubonic plague outbreak in Honolulu and the subsequent Chinatown fire of 1900 that was intentionally set (and then went completely out of control) to battle it. Apparently no one's ever done anything on Hawaii before, so the professor seems really interested. If I decide not to do the plague, I'll prolly do something on Hawaii and tsunami risks.
Tonight will be either Librarian 2 or A Scanner Darkly...flip a coin time. Hmmm....what should I make for dinner?
I think Pinky is getting restless. The forecast says Sunday will have a high of ~11 degrees. That's just wrong. I wonder if I have to come to work in temperatures that low. I shouldn't have to, it seems unhealthy.