Movies and more....
Hey all. Decided to do a mini-post about life at the theaters. But before I begin, gotta give special congratulations to Andrew Jenner (formerly of AWA VAT crew) on winning the Best Actor Award at the Charlotte Film Festival for his work in Altar. Also, Also, wanna say happy birthday to Mike "SolidKZ" Barranti. Hope it was a good one.
Now to the movies. Gotta say I enjoyed two flicks I caught this weekend. One was Surrogates, which I checked out with Mcwagner and his Thursday night movie group. (Thanks Matt.) I liked it for the most part. I think a lot of credit goes to director Jonathan Mostow. I've liked 3 of his other films (Breakdown, U-571, Terminator 3) and wound up not being surprised I enjoyed his work here too.
Bruce OTOH usually picks good projects to work into, though for some strange reason I was almost starting to get a Twelve Monkeys vibe as the film progressed. Think it was also fun seeing James Cromwell in essentially the same mode he was in for I Robot. Decent work all around.
The other was Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone. I'd seen it a couple times in pieces during cons, but nothing takes the place of seeing a movie in a theater alongside someone you like spending time with. Home DVD alone doesn't quite deliver the same energy. Anyways, I liked what I saw here. Very clear crisp imagery and digital effects, more so than I expected from a film print. The acting was top notch as well. I never really got into the original TV series dub so I can't make to many comparisons. My lovely companion seemed to like the new voices okay so I'll take her word as approval.
If you're not familiar with Evangelion, it's rather hard to describe, as it's a long-standing mecha anime with a TON of subtext to it. Many fans over the years have taken to giving their own interpretation as to what the subplots, imagery and religious overtones mean, and in that respect it's fun to hear how fans think of this series and what it means to them, whether you agree with their views or not. So I'd definitely recommend seeing this movie if you know nothing about the anime. There are to be four films re-imagining the entire series of which this was the first. Sadly, as I understand it, Funimation (who released this movie) doesn't yet have the rights to the other 3 films, but I do hope this is rectified in the coming years.
Looking toward the future, there's a bit of a dilemma In that I'm trying to figure out which one out of the deluge of horror films that are released this time of year is worth seeing. I've been hearing about two that have intrigued me and /or may frighten me a good bit, namely Paranormal Activity (which seems to be building the Blair Witch type buzz in recent weeks) and the fun-looking Zombieland which was shot here. The latter reminds me initially of this Australian sci-fi / horror film Undead in its tone. Hope Zomebieland is at east equally entertaining.
I saw one other trailer which really got me going called The Book of Eli where Denzel Washington kicks all kinds of ass against Gary Oldman in an apocalyptic world. Can't wait to see that one, or Shutter Island (which is being released in February 2010 instead of now. Why? Seems perfect for this time period instead, but ah well.)
Anyways, recommendations folks? What looks good to you? think my most recent enjoyable terror experiences have come from watching Rec, The Descent, and the Doctor Who episode "Blink.", so I'd like to hear some quality suggestions. Have at it.
Oh, PS: That Superman Batman movie I reviewed here comes out tomorrow officially. Definitely worth buying.
Now to the movies. Gotta say I enjoyed two flicks I caught this weekend. One was Surrogates, which I checked out with Mcwagner and his Thursday night movie group. (Thanks Matt.) I liked it for the most part. I think a lot of credit goes to director Jonathan Mostow. I've liked 3 of his other films (Breakdown, U-571, Terminator 3) and wound up not being surprised I enjoyed his work here too.
Bruce OTOH usually picks good projects to work into, though for some strange reason I was almost starting to get a Twelve Monkeys vibe as the film progressed. Think it was also fun seeing James Cromwell in essentially the same mode he was in for I Robot. Decent work all around.
The other was Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone. I'd seen it a couple times in pieces during cons, but nothing takes the place of seeing a movie in a theater alongside someone you like spending time with. Home DVD alone doesn't quite deliver the same energy. Anyways, I liked what I saw here. Very clear crisp imagery and digital effects, more so than I expected from a film print. The acting was top notch as well. I never really got into the original TV series dub so I can't make to many comparisons. My lovely companion seemed to like the new voices okay so I'll take her word as approval.
If you're not familiar with Evangelion, it's rather hard to describe, as it's a long-standing mecha anime with a TON of subtext to it. Many fans over the years have taken to giving their own interpretation as to what the subplots, imagery and religious overtones mean, and in that respect it's fun to hear how fans think of this series and what it means to them, whether you agree with their views or not. So I'd definitely recommend seeing this movie if you know nothing about the anime. There are to be four films re-imagining the entire series of which this was the first. Sadly, as I understand it, Funimation (who released this movie) doesn't yet have the rights to the other 3 films, but I do hope this is rectified in the coming years.
Looking toward the future, there's a bit of a dilemma In that I'm trying to figure out which one out of the deluge of horror films that are released this time of year is worth seeing. I've been hearing about two that have intrigued me and /or may frighten me a good bit, namely Paranormal Activity (which seems to be building the Blair Witch type buzz in recent weeks) and the fun-looking Zombieland which was shot here. The latter reminds me initially of this Australian sci-fi / horror film Undead in its tone. Hope Zomebieland is at east equally entertaining.
I saw one other trailer which really got me going called The Book of Eli where Denzel Washington kicks all kinds of ass against Gary Oldman in an apocalyptic world. Can't wait to see that one, or Shutter Island (which is being released in February 2010 instead of now. Why? Seems perfect for this time period instead, but ah well.)
Anyways, recommendations folks? What looks good to you? think my most recent enjoyable terror experiences have come from watching Rec, The Descent, and the Doctor Who episode "Blink.", so I'd like to hear some quality suggestions. Have at it.
Oh, PS: That Superman Batman movie I reviewed here comes out tomorrow officially. Definitely worth buying.