Let's talk movies! (spoilers abound)
First up....Safety Not Guaranteed.
Aubrey Plaza plays her character, April Lite, just fine. But the love story between her and the yahoo who wants to travel through time is unconvincing- possibly due to the age-gap, which seems really wide, and possibly due to the fact that he's a little off his rocker. There are men in black chasing after him- or ARE THEY? No, they are, and when he gets in a boat made of stolen lasers they sort of stand on the edge and watch him rather than- arresting him? recording this? just what the hell are they there FOR? Why did they trail him for several years and never oh-so-casually break into his secret lab thing? Lazy. The whole movie's pretty lazy.
My is-this-movie-good? test is usually how long before I pull out my cell phone? Forty minutes or so
.
The Amazing Spider-man
It was a movie! And it happened, and then it was over, and I sort of shrugged. There were some good moments- I liked Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield when they had scenes together, the skateboard tricks were totally bitchin', man, and I cried over Uncle Ben, but you can't kill President Martin Sheen without causing me to cry a little. But generally, the movie left me cold. I think they rushed the Spider-stuff- for instance, Peter's first swing from his newly-made webshooters is from a thirty story building. Does this kid have no fear whatsoever? His costume goes from a sort of red sock over his head to a full-on suit, just like that. He never seemed afraid, which is not compelling.
And the lizard is terrible. Might have worked better if they kept him in the shadows, but then he challenges Peter to a fight in his high school in the broad daylight, and just no. No. I think half the problem is that it's way more interesting if we can see a villain that's more human- maybe still part lizard, or whatever, but still clearly human. And this guy wasn't. Which was a choice, but maybe not the best one.
Also, Peter? Sort of a jerk.
Oh! And what the hell is a high schooler doing as an intern for a prominent scientist at a SCIENCE LAB? That whole thing seemed lazy and silly, as did the "LIZARD ANTIDOTE" machine they just happened to have, which, whatever. Sure there is.
But I would love an AU movie where a be-uncled Peter flirts with Gwen Stacy and they go to prom together with the mean jock kid.
(If you go see it, don't leave when the credits start, because SEQUEL BAIT)
Moonrise Kingdom
Holy crap, I loved this movie. I mean, really loved it. It was a bit of a trial getting to see it, as the power went out twice the first time- meanwhile, Battleship played just fine- but I got to go back and finally finish it and it was glorious. Every moment was a visual delight- I enjoy the 1960s aesthetically, and this movie just dives right in and plays.
The two stars, Jared Gilman and Kara Haywar, were fantastic. I predict great things for those kids. I loved every moment they were on screen, but probably my favorite scene was the letter-writing scene.
Of the adults, I loved everyone, of course, but Scout Master Ward is a personal favorite.
The whole thing is beautiful and well-orchestrated and a little gut-wrenching. There was only one sour note for me- Sam getting struck by lightning, which was predictable. I rolled my eyes. But other than that, just flawless.
Two shallow notes: in keeping with tradition, one of my key take-aways from the movie is that I need to wear my eye makeup like the star, and thus will be incorporating blue eyeshadow into my life. And I need the soundtrack like I need oxygen.
See what would-be long-distance movie date ballroompink had to say about it here.
Aubrey Plaza plays her character, April Lite, just fine. But the love story between her and the yahoo who wants to travel through time is unconvincing- possibly due to the age-gap, which seems really wide, and possibly due to the fact that he's a little off his rocker. There are men in black chasing after him- or ARE THEY? No, they are, and when he gets in a boat made of stolen lasers they sort of stand on the edge and watch him rather than- arresting him? recording this? just what the hell are they there FOR? Why did they trail him for several years and never oh-so-casually break into his secret lab thing? Lazy. The whole movie's pretty lazy.
My is-this-movie-good? test is usually how long before I pull out my cell phone? Forty minutes or so
.
The Amazing Spider-man
It was a movie! And it happened, and then it was over, and I sort of shrugged. There were some good moments- I liked Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield when they had scenes together, the skateboard tricks were totally bitchin', man, and I cried over Uncle Ben, but you can't kill President Martin Sheen without causing me to cry a little. But generally, the movie left me cold. I think they rushed the Spider-stuff- for instance, Peter's first swing from his newly-made webshooters is from a thirty story building. Does this kid have no fear whatsoever? His costume goes from a sort of red sock over his head to a full-on suit, just like that. He never seemed afraid, which is not compelling.
And the lizard is terrible. Might have worked better if they kept him in the shadows, but then he challenges Peter to a fight in his high school in the broad daylight, and just no. No. I think half the problem is that it's way more interesting if we can see a villain that's more human- maybe still part lizard, or whatever, but still clearly human. And this guy wasn't. Which was a choice, but maybe not the best one.
Also, Peter? Sort of a jerk.
Oh! And what the hell is a high schooler doing as an intern for a prominent scientist at a SCIENCE LAB? That whole thing seemed lazy and silly, as did the "LIZARD ANTIDOTE" machine they just happened to have, which, whatever. Sure there is.
But I would love an AU movie where a be-uncled Peter flirts with Gwen Stacy and they go to prom together with the mean jock kid.
(If you go see it, don't leave when the credits start, because SEQUEL BAIT)
Moonrise Kingdom
Holy crap, I loved this movie. I mean, really loved it. It was a bit of a trial getting to see it, as the power went out twice the first time- meanwhile, Battleship played just fine- but I got to go back and finally finish it and it was glorious. Every moment was a visual delight- I enjoy the 1960s aesthetically, and this movie just dives right in and plays.
The two stars, Jared Gilman and Kara Haywar, were fantastic. I predict great things for those kids. I loved every moment they were on screen, but probably my favorite scene was the letter-writing scene.
Of the adults, I loved everyone, of course, but Scout Master Ward is a personal favorite.
The whole thing is beautiful and well-orchestrated and a little gut-wrenching. There was only one sour note for me- Sam getting struck by lightning, which was predictable. I rolled my eyes. But other than that, just flawless.
Two shallow notes: in keeping with tradition, one of my key take-aways from the movie is that I need to wear my eye makeup like the star, and thus will be incorporating blue eyeshadow into my life. And I need the soundtrack like I need oxygen.
See what would-be long-distance movie date ballroompink had to say about it here.