movie reviews: 500 days of summer, g.i. joe, avatar, sherlock holmes
I tend to watch the most movies in the fall, I need to post my thoughts on these before I get overwhelmed! I still never posted here about Thirst but I'll do that another time.
500 Days of Summer
Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschenel as Tom and Summer.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie! Its like my fav of 2009. The movie is about Tom who works as a copywriter at a greeting card company, and Summer is a temp secretary at the office. Tom develops an intense crush on her, but Summer says that she doesn't believe in relationships, eventually they start dating but Summer won't call what they have a relationship. Tom's character is very idealistic about relationships and believes in love and karmic coincidences and such, whereas Summer is more logical and kind of guarded. I would say I used to be Summer in college but I was Tom in my previous relationship haah. I related a lot to this movie since I had gone through my own breakup at the beginning of the year, and a lot of the stuff that happens in the movie was pretty close to my own experience post-breakup.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Tom and he's soooooooo ENDEARING and ADORABLE AND HANDSOME and omg at the end of the movie I wanted to be his girlfriend so bad! I mean he's such a good guy, and to see how he changed, how Summer affected him. I was like THAT HAPPENED TO ME TOO TOM! I FEEL YOU! Its seriously well written movie but to be honest it made me really depressed at the end. I think its one of the best "romantic comedies" that I've ever seen. I highly recommend checking it out.
G.I. Joe
Channing Tatum as Duke in G.I. Joe
I'm only reviewing this because it relates to my Avatar review and Joseph Gordon Levitt is also in this movie, he plays Cobra Commander! Imagine that! LOL. I was on a JGL high after I watched 500 Days of Summer so I got this on demand and wanted to watch something mindless but my god not THIS mindless. This is seriously one of the stupidest fucking movies that I've ever seen.
I liked the G.I Joe cartoons as a kid but this movie, I suppose the plot in itself isn't too bad but the acting is atrocious. The most offensive being Channing Tatum as Duke. This is some kind of new male archetype that's developing in movies recently, this character and Jake Sully from Avatar are like the same fucking person! Two white male heterosexual meathead military jocks with very little intelligence, but lots of idealism. They both infiltrate these organizations/societies and excel at the training they're giving in little to no time and then guess what? They end up leading the offensive! The last 20 min are just one huge explosion after the next and I was like ughh end! I have to say that at least Duke had marginally better tactical plans than Jake Sully.
Avatar
Neytiri, one of the few aspects that I liked about this movie
This movie is about humans going to planet Pandora to mine for unobtanium (which is a source of energy), but the natives of the planet live in this tree (yes i'm serious) that is right on top of the largest source of unobtanium. The humans want to get rid of the tree so they can start mining and making money, but they need to convince the Na'vi to move out of the tree lol. Anyway they have developed these avatars to go out into Pandora since the environment is toxic to the human body. The avatars are controlled mentally and the military uses Jake Sully (who has access to one of the avatars) to infiltrate the Na'vi population and learn their secrets, BUT HE FALLS IN LOVE with the Na'vi warrior Princess and shit that you've seen in 20 other movies happens.
BADASS! This character is a one dimensional bigot, but his stamina for fighting and the situations he gets in and survives are amazing. He's the definition of tough-as-nails!
Every time I think about this movie I get more pissed off. Reading reviews for it is even more infuriating because everyone is so distracted by the technology that went into it that they seem to basically ignore the fact that the plot is so lame, the characters so paint by numbers and the ending so predictable. Just from a cinematic standpoint this movie is so bad, I mean I'm not even taking into account the racism (1) accusations (2).
The movie IS incredibly beautiful, its too bad all the technology is wasted on such a lame plot. This movie is seriously a compilation of like 20 other movies, complete with the storyline of the Princess being promised to the alpha male of her tribe, but then the shiny new White dude comes along and they connect and eventually him and the other alpha male fight over her and omg guess who wins? Also he masters their hunting and flying techniques in a matter of months when other native members train their entire life to master these things.
Zoe Saldana did an amazing job bringing Neytiri to life.
The best things about this movie are the female characters, analyzing this movie from a gender lens I think its fairs better than if you look at it through a racial lens. Neytiri is one of the better heroines that I've seen in these types of movies, and I'm glad she stayed fierce and strong throughout the movie, and wasn't neutered after she bangs the lead male character (like what happened to the Baroness in G.I. Joe.) To be honest I wish the movie was just about HER and her life on Pandora. Their mythology and life is really interesting and I really wanted to learn more about them and didn't care to see just small glimpses of their ways through the eyes of Jake Sully.
Neytiri and the avatar version of Jake Sully
Dr. Grace and Jake Sully
I was just offended by the fact that the main male character is aforementioned dumb meathead who basically gets called as such from every single character he encounters in the first 30 min of the film! But all his idealism elevates him throughout the movie. Eventually he stops identifying with the humans and goes full native and unites all the tribes on Pandora so fight the humans. The ending of this movie pissed me off the most because he gives this big speech about THIS BEING OUR LAND, when he's the alien on their planet, and then he leads the natives to one giant slaughter. I was like you've got to be kidding me? The natives didn't have the technology NOR the right tactical leader to take them up against the humans with their bombs and guns, but all the idealism from the White guy got them killed. It was SO GODDAMN SAD! I felt so bad :/ The Na'vi are a peaceful race but they let themselves be convinced by this outsider to enter a fight they could never win but in this movie they somehow end up winning with their bows and arrows. History has shown us that the civilization with the most advanced technology will ALWAYS win!
Anyway I could write an entire essay about the problems in this movie but JUST from a visual standpoint its probably one of those things you should check out in IMAX or 3D to savor the technology, it really is impressive. Hopefully the next time its used, its attached to a better movie plot-wise.
Sherlock Holmes
I LOVE RDJ!!!!!!
To be honest I dunno if I'm capable of giving a non-biased review of a movie starring Robert Downey Jr, and he's soooo charismatic and crush-worthy as Sherlock Holmes *-* Aesthetically this movie appealed to design elements that I love, the opening scenes of London are gritting and amazing and they're so many little details that I loved, specially all the typography work. Visually it reminded me of some of the set design of Deadwood, which is another great period piece but it takes place in gritty burgeoning U.S of A. Anyway this movie! So much fun, and very well acted for the most part, expect the women who were severely underwritten, it seems their only purpose is to shield Holmes and Watson from being seen as full on homosexuals.
The connection between Holmes and Watson is amazing, it is a bit slashy I mean they bicker like old housewives but there's a great friendship and respect there. The women in their lives will obviously never, ever have that kind of connection with either men and it was even more painfully obvious by how poorly written they were.
Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler
Irene Adler is supposed to be Holmes love interest I guess, this is the kind of character Angelina Jolie perfected. You know she's a bit dangerous, very seductive, skilled in some art (this one being conning and thieving) but can show vulnerability when needed, is also good at kicking butt. For some reason they cast Rachel McAdams in this role, by the end of the movie I wonder if a lot of her scenes were cut because its just bizarre her inclusion, the movie could have gone on just fine without her. There's an A plot and B plot going on, and the B plot in which she's involved has more to do with the eventual sequel of this movie. The A plot is complex and intriguing enough so its kind of information overload. Also I kept wondering she got her tailored man suits from hahaa, and her makeup seemed not right for the period.
Its elementary...
WHAT MATTERS IS THAT RDJ IS AWESOME and this movie is really entertaining and funny. A good one to watch with your family or your girlfriends so you can drool over RDJ's physique and the slashy-ness 8D; I highly recommend it!
500 Days of Summer
Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschenel as Tom and Summer.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie! Its like my fav of 2009. The movie is about Tom who works as a copywriter at a greeting card company, and Summer is a temp secretary at the office. Tom develops an intense crush on her, but Summer says that she doesn't believe in relationships, eventually they start dating but Summer won't call what they have a relationship. Tom's character is very idealistic about relationships and believes in love and karmic coincidences and such, whereas Summer is more logical and kind of guarded. I would say I used to be Summer in college but I was Tom in my previous relationship haah. I related a lot to this movie since I had gone through my own breakup at the beginning of the year, and a lot of the stuff that happens in the movie was pretty close to my own experience post-breakup.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Tom and he's soooooooo ENDEARING and ADORABLE AND HANDSOME and omg at the end of the movie I wanted to be his girlfriend so bad! I mean he's such a good guy, and to see how he changed, how Summer affected him. I was like THAT HAPPENED TO ME TOO TOM! I FEEL YOU! Its seriously well written movie but to be honest it made me really depressed at the end. I think its one of the best "romantic comedies" that I've ever seen. I highly recommend checking it out.
G.I. Joe
Channing Tatum as Duke in G.I. Joe
I'm only reviewing this because it relates to my Avatar review and Joseph Gordon Levitt is also in this movie, he plays Cobra Commander! Imagine that! LOL. I was on a JGL high after I watched 500 Days of Summer so I got this on demand and wanted to watch something mindless but my god not THIS mindless. This is seriously one of the stupidest fucking movies that I've ever seen.
I liked the G.I Joe cartoons as a kid but this movie, I suppose the plot in itself isn't too bad but the acting is atrocious. The most offensive being Channing Tatum as Duke. This is some kind of new male archetype that's developing in movies recently, this character and Jake Sully from Avatar are like the same fucking person! Two white male heterosexual meathead military jocks with very little intelligence, but lots of idealism. They both infiltrate these organizations/societies and excel at the training they're giving in little to no time and then guess what? They end up leading the offensive! The last 20 min are just one huge explosion after the next and I was like ughh end! I have to say that at least Duke had marginally better tactical plans than Jake Sully.
Avatar
Neytiri, one of the few aspects that I liked about this movie
This movie is about humans going to planet Pandora to mine for unobtanium (which is a source of energy), but the natives of the planet live in this tree (yes i'm serious) that is right on top of the largest source of unobtanium. The humans want to get rid of the tree so they can start mining and making money, but they need to convince the Na'vi to move out of the tree lol. Anyway they have developed these avatars to go out into Pandora since the environment is toxic to the human body. The avatars are controlled mentally and the military uses Jake Sully (who has access to one of the avatars) to infiltrate the Na'vi population and learn their secrets, BUT HE FALLS IN LOVE with the Na'vi warrior Princess and shit that you've seen in 20 other movies happens.
BADASS! This character is a one dimensional bigot, but his stamina for fighting and the situations he gets in and survives are amazing. He's the definition of tough-as-nails!
Every time I think about this movie I get more pissed off. Reading reviews for it is even more infuriating because everyone is so distracted by the technology that went into it that they seem to basically ignore the fact that the plot is so lame, the characters so paint by numbers and the ending so predictable. Just from a cinematic standpoint this movie is so bad, I mean I'm not even taking into account the racism (1) accusations (2).
The movie IS incredibly beautiful, its too bad all the technology is wasted on such a lame plot. This movie is seriously a compilation of like 20 other movies, complete with the storyline of the Princess being promised to the alpha male of her tribe, but then the shiny new White dude comes along and they connect and eventually him and the other alpha male fight over her and omg guess who wins? Also he masters their hunting and flying techniques in a matter of months when other native members train their entire life to master these things.
Zoe Saldana did an amazing job bringing Neytiri to life.
The best things about this movie are the female characters, analyzing this movie from a gender lens I think its fairs better than if you look at it through a racial lens. Neytiri is one of the better heroines that I've seen in these types of movies, and I'm glad she stayed fierce and strong throughout the movie, and wasn't neutered after she bangs the lead male character (like what happened to the Baroness in G.I. Joe.) To be honest I wish the movie was just about HER and her life on Pandora. Their mythology and life is really interesting and I really wanted to learn more about them and didn't care to see just small glimpses of their ways through the eyes of Jake Sully.
Neytiri and the avatar version of Jake Sully
Dr. Grace and Jake Sully
I was just offended by the fact that the main male character is aforementioned dumb meathead who basically gets called as such from every single character he encounters in the first 30 min of the film! But all his idealism elevates him throughout the movie. Eventually he stops identifying with the humans and goes full native and unites all the tribes on Pandora so fight the humans. The ending of this movie pissed me off the most because he gives this big speech about THIS BEING OUR LAND, when he's the alien on their planet, and then he leads the natives to one giant slaughter. I was like you've got to be kidding me? The natives didn't have the technology NOR the right tactical leader to take them up against the humans with their bombs and guns, but all the idealism from the White guy got them killed. It was SO GODDAMN SAD! I felt so bad :/ The Na'vi are a peaceful race but they let themselves be convinced by this outsider to enter a fight they could never win but in this movie they somehow end up winning with their bows and arrows. History has shown us that the civilization with the most advanced technology will ALWAYS win!
Anyway I could write an entire essay about the problems in this movie but JUST from a visual standpoint its probably one of those things you should check out in IMAX or 3D to savor the technology, it really is impressive. Hopefully the next time its used, its attached to a better movie plot-wise.
Sherlock Holmes
I LOVE RDJ!!!!!!
To be honest I dunno if I'm capable of giving a non-biased review of a movie starring Robert Downey Jr, and he's soooo charismatic and crush-worthy as Sherlock Holmes *-* Aesthetically this movie appealed to design elements that I love, the opening scenes of London are gritting and amazing and they're so many little details that I loved, specially all the typography work. Visually it reminded me of some of the set design of Deadwood, which is another great period piece but it takes place in gritty burgeoning U.S of A. Anyway this movie! So much fun, and very well acted for the most part, expect the women who were severely underwritten, it seems their only purpose is to shield Holmes and Watson from being seen as full on homosexuals.
The connection between Holmes and Watson is amazing, it is a bit slashy I mean they bicker like old housewives but there's a great friendship and respect there. The women in their lives will obviously never, ever have that kind of connection with either men and it was even more painfully obvious by how poorly written they were.
Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler
Irene Adler is supposed to be Holmes love interest I guess, this is the kind of character Angelina Jolie perfected. You know she's a bit dangerous, very seductive, skilled in some art (this one being conning and thieving) but can show vulnerability when needed, is also good at kicking butt. For some reason they cast Rachel McAdams in this role, by the end of the movie I wonder if a lot of her scenes were cut because its just bizarre her inclusion, the movie could have gone on just fine without her. There's an A plot and B plot going on, and the B plot in which she's involved has more to do with the eventual sequel of this movie. The A plot is complex and intriguing enough so its kind of information overload. Also I kept wondering she got her tailored man suits from hahaa, and her makeup seemed not right for the period.
Its elementary...
WHAT MATTERS IS THAT RDJ IS AWESOME and this movie is really entertaining and funny. A good one to watch with your family or your girlfriends so you can drool over RDJ's physique and the slashy-ness 8D; I highly recommend it!