(no subject)
I just got back from seeing "War of the Worlds", and I was very impressed. Tom Cruise didn't need to go running around like a maniac, spouting off his insane agenda, to get people to see this movie. It's definitely worth seeing on it's own merits.
I came in expecting something along the lines of "Independence Day"--lots of mindless action, snappy one-liners from it's leading stars, and a wholly empty but satisfying and triumphing-over-the-aliens ending. Don't get me wrong, I like "Independence Day" and all, but this movie, it is not. "War of the Worlds" was definitely more of the tone of "E.T." than a Bruckheimer blow-'em-up film. But then again, I forgot the Spielberg directed this movie until, oh, the ending credits, but that's my own stupidity. (There were no cast/crew credits at the beginning of the movie.) It was, like all of the critics are saying, near-flawless, with some minor goofs and a few plot "huh?"s, but definitely worth seeing.
It seems that I gush over all of the movies I see. Maybe it's because I don't see a lot of the crap out there, and only see the films that I really want to see. I don't know. Maybe I should be a small-market or Internet movie reviewer because I love a lot of the stuff I see. At least then my reviews would be shown as quotes in TV spots.
Anyway, back to the movie. All of the actors were great with few expectations, but what really shone was the special effects and the story. The effects would, at time, cause my jaw to literally drop, as the freeways were upended, people vaporized, planes crashed, and ferries tipped over. The took some of the design elements from the original film (the three lights on the front of the alien craft) and the effects were never pointless. Although they left out the church scene, but whatever. They scared when they needed to scare, they awed when they needed to awe, etc. The sets and its decoration were impressive as well. In the face of that kind of destruction, no wonder why the actors did so well.
The story was also an important part as to why this movie kicked so much ass. In short, a father tries to bring his kids, who are visiting him for the weekend, from New York to Boston, where his ex-wife is. In long, it's about a father who never really connected with his kids of the responsibilities that went with them and his growth to doing whatever it took to keep them safe. The movie was much more emotional than I thought it would be--it touched on Americans' fear of terrorism (Rachel, played by Dakota Fanning, initially thought that the destruction was caused by terrorists), the mob mentality in times of panic, and the depths that a parent will go to keep his child safe. I don't want to give away one of most powerful scenes, but think Old Yeller, but with a person instead of a dog. Yeah. It's pretty intense.
There were a few goof and holes along the way, that keeps this movie from being perfect, such as:
*Everything requiring electricity is wiped out, but some dude is able to video tape the aliens first "coming into" town,
*When Ray, Robbie, and Rachel (aww, I didn't even catch that they all have the same first name) are on the ferry, one moment Robbie is helping people and Ray and Rachel are yelling at his to be safe, and the next minute they're in the water--before the aliens toss the ship on its side,
*How the hell did Robbie get to Boston?! He was supposed to be torched! They could have thrown in a line for him like, "I hid," but no. No explanation whatsoever. A billion people die, but could they break up this family? Nope.
*Why the hell was the street in Boston when Robbie and Rachel's grandparents live totally untouched? In fact, they come out of the house like nothing is going on in the world, like someone just interrupted dinner or whatever. Again with the no-breaking-up-the-divorced-family-they've-been-though-so-much.
Those things aside, and I can forgive them, it's great. Fricking go see it.
On a completely unrelated note, a WGN announcer was talking about the new Narnia movie coming out this December and kept calling it "nar-ni-ah", accent on the "ni". I prononuce it "nar-nee-ah", accent or the "nar". I think the announcer was getting fancy, but please correct me if I've been wrong for all of these, you know, 17 years.
I came in expecting something along the lines of "Independence Day"--lots of mindless action, snappy one-liners from it's leading stars, and a wholly empty but satisfying and triumphing-over-the-aliens ending. Don't get me wrong, I like "Independence Day" and all, but this movie, it is not. "War of the Worlds" was definitely more of the tone of "E.T." than a Bruckheimer blow-'em-up film. But then again, I forgot the Spielberg directed this movie until, oh, the ending credits, but that's my own stupidity. (There were no cast/crew credits at the beginning of the movie.) It was, like all of the critics are saying, near-flawless, with some minor goofs and a few plot "huh?"s, but definitely worth seeing.
It seems that I gush over all of the movies I see. Maybe it's because I don't see a lot of the crap out there, and only see the films that I really want to see. I don't know. Maybe I should be a small-market or Internet movie reviewer because I love a lot of the stuff I see. At least then my reviews would be shown as quotes in TV spots.
Anyway, back to the movie. All of the actors were great with few expectations, but what really shone was the special effects and the story. The effects would, at time, cause my jaw to literally drop, as the freeways were upended, people vaporized, planes crashed, and ferries tipped over. The took some of the design elements from the original film (the three lights on the front of the alien craft) and the effects were never pointless. Although they left out the church scene, but whatever. They scared when they needed to scare, they awed when they needed to awe, etc. The sets and its decoration were impressive as well. In the face of that kind of destruction, no wonder why the actors did so well.
The story was also an important part as to why this movie kicked so much ass. In short, a father tries to bring his kids, who are visiting him for the weekend, from New York to Boston, where his ex-wife is. In long, it's about a father who never really connected with his kids of the responsibilities that went with them and his growth to doing whatever it took to keep them safe. The movie was much more emotional than I thought it would be--it touched on Americans' fear of terrorism (Rachel, played by Dakota Fanning, initially thought that the destruction was caused by terrorists), the mob mentality in times of panic, and the depths that a parent will go to keep his child safe. I don't want to give away one of most powerful scenes, but think Old Yeller, but with a person instead of a dog. Yeah. It's pretty intense.
There were a few goof and holes along the way, that keeps this movie from being perfect, such as:
*Everything requiring electricity is wiped out, but some dude is able to video tape the aliens first "coming into" town,
*When Ray, Robbie, and Rachel (aww, I didn't even catch that they all have the same first name) are on the ferry, one moment Robbie is helping people and Ray and Rachel are yelling at his to be safe, and the next minute they're in the water--before the aliens toss the ship on its side,
*How the hell did Robbie get to Boston?! He was supposed to be torched! They could have thrown in a line for him like, "I hid," but no. No explanation whatsoever. A billion people die, but could they break up this family? Nope.
*Why the hell was the street in Boston when Robbie and Rachel's grandparents live totally untouched? In fact, they come out of the house like nothing is going on in the world, like someone just interrupted dinner or whatever. Again with the no-breaking-up-the-divorced-family-they've-been-though-so-much.
Those things aside, and I can forgive them, it's great. Fricking go see it.
On a completely unrelated note, a WGN announcer was talking about the new Narnia movie coming out this December and kept calling it "nar-ni-ah", accent on the "ni". I prononuce it "nar-nee-ah", accent or the "nar". I think the announcer was getting fancy, but please correct me if I've been wrong for all of these, you know, 17 years.