now fight
I have been watching a lot of movies lately, but all rented or borrowed. Except! This week I did a double and went to see two movies in the theater (at the early bird rate lol).
Both of them I would recommend, particularly if you enjoy visually awesome films. I know Sucker Punch in particular has been getting negative reviews, but on the whole I liked them both.
Both reviews below contain major spoilers.
Limitless
Cool visuals, good soundtrack, so-so plot. Would be excellent for vidding.
Not a lot to say about this one. Bradley Cooper being a smug smartass in a suit with wonky vision definitely worked for me, but the plot was pretty predicatable. Loved how they differeniated between being on the drug and off, and that there was a little twist in who the stalker guy was.
Sucker Punch
Cool visuals, good soundtrack, so-so plot. Would be excellent for vidding (lol redux). Definitely a gorgeous movie, and the music matched it awesomely. I'm including part of the soundtrack below so you can all be addicted to the Where is My Mind cover like I am.
The plot didn't totally work for me; I got bored during the middle "levels" from the steampunk Nazis through Rocket's death, mainly because it was just repetitive. I mean, those levels were extremely well-designed, but the plot for the middle was basically: get advice, find object, kick ass; get advice, find object, kick ass. I can see why some reviewers complained that it was like a video game, because yeah, definitely. Loved the beginning
sequence, the ending, and the whole premise in general though. And I loved those little charms on Baby Doll's gun, and I wish I could see a close-up of what they were. I also felt bad when they killed the people-eating baby dragon. ;_; I am predictable.
There were some elements of the movie that were problematic for me, and it certainly wasn't helped by the asshole behind me who kept on loudly whispering to his friend throughout the film that he wanted Baby Doll to blow him. Like, okay, I'm not the thought police, and this movie definitely had some fanboy fantasy at play even though the premise sort of plays against that, but 1) don't talk loudly about blowjobs during a movie and 2) don't talk loudly about blowjobs when the only people in the movie theater are you, your friend, and the girl (ie, me) sitting in front of you who can obviously hear you. It's weird, okay. And who sits directly behind someone in an empty theater anyway? ugh.
Moving on, what I would really like to see is a sequel or another adaptation (comics, whatever) of Sucker Punch, one that focuses on what happened in the "real world" while Baby Doll was having her fantasies. Like, we know from the psychiatrist that she stabbed an orderly (Blue), that she set a fire, and that she helped another prisoner escape. Presumably she also got the map. But no mention of any of the three other girls, no mention of any deaths, and the psychiatrist was confused/puzzled about why Baby Doll was getting the lobotomy, which, if she had contributed to the deaths of three other patients, probably wouldn't be confusing. We don't even know that it's Sweet Pea that she helped escape because the ending could just as easily be another one of her fantasies. So were there any other girls involved at all besides the one she helped escape? And if it was Sweet Pea that escaped, does that mean that either Rocket did die or Rocket wasn't her sister IRL? Because no way would she have left with out her.
PS: there is apparently a deleted scene where the Doctor (Jon Hamm) and Baby Doll have sex, that was cut because it was too graphic for PG-13 (and when the filmmakers cut it down, it looked like she was being forced, but yet that was fine for PG-13. oh, Hollywood. So Snyder scrapped it altogether) But I could not figure out where this scene would go in the movie? Before he lobotmozied her? When he's the High Roller in the fantasy? I can't really see that working anywhere.
Overall, I enjoyed Sucker Punch, it had a good soundtrack, and it was nice to see a movie with five awesome ladies in it. I'll probably see it again before it leaves the theater; this is definitely a movie made to be seen on the big screen.
Speaking of the soundtrack, my favorite tracks off it:
Both of them I would recommend, particularly if you enjoy visually awesome films. I know Sucker Punch in particular has been getting negative reviews, but on the whole I liked them both.
Both reviews below contain major spoilers.
Limitless
Cool visuals, good soundtrack, so-so plot. Would be excellent for vidding.
Not a lot to say about this one. Bradley Cooper being a smug smartass in a suit with wonky vision definitely worked for me, but the plot was pretty predicatable. Loved how they differeniated between being on the drug and off, and that there was a little twist in who the stalker guy was.
Sucker Punch
Cool visuals, good soundtrack, so-so plot. Would be excellent for vidding (lol redux). Definitely a gorgeous movie, and the music matched it awesomely. I'm including part of the soundtrack below so you can all be addicted to the Where is My Mind cover like I am.
The plot didn't totally work for me; I got bored during the middle "levels" from the steampunk Nazis through Rocket's death, mainly because it was just repetitive. I mean, those levels were extremely well-designed, but the plot for the middle was basically: get advice, find object, kick ass; get advice, find object, kick ass. I can see why some reviewers complained that it was like a video game, because yeah, definitely. Loved the beginning
sequence, the ending, and the whole premise in general though. And I loved those little charms on Baby Doll's gun, and I wish I could see a close-up of what they were. I also felt bad when they killed the people-eating baby dragon. ;_; I am predictable.
There were some elements of the movie that were problematic for me, and it certainly wasn't helped by the asshole behind me who kept on loudly whispering to his friend throughout the film that he wanted Baby Doll to blow him. Like, okay, I'm not the thought police, and this movie definitely had some fanboy fantasy at play even though the premise sort of plays against that, but 1) don't talk loudly about blowjobs during a movie and 2) don't talk loudly about blowjobs when the only people in the movie theater are you, your friend, and the girl (ie, me) sitting in front of you who can obviously hear you. It's weird, okay. And who sits directly behind someone in an empty theater anyway? ugh.
Moving on, what I would really like to see is a sequel or another adaptation (comics, whatever) of Sucker Punch, one that focuses on what happened in the "real world" while Baby Doll was having her fantasies. Like, we know from the psychiatrist that she stabbed an orderly (Blue), that she set a fire, and that she helped another prisoner escape. Presumably she also got the map. But no mention of any of the three other girls, no mention of any deaths, and the psychiatrist was confused/puzzled about why Baby Doll was getting the lobotomy, which, if she had contributed to the deaths of three other patients, probably wouldn't be confusing. We don't even know that it's Sweet Pea that she helped escape because the ending could just as easily be another one of her fantasies. So were there any other girls involved at all besides the one she helped escape? And if it was Sweet Pea that escaped, does that mean that either Rocket did die or Rocket wasn't her sister IRL? Because no way would she have left with out her.
PS: there is apparently a deleted scene where the Doctor (Jon Hamm) and Baby Doll have sex, that was cut because it was too graphic for PG-13 (and when the filmmakers cut it down, it looked like she was being forced, but yet that was fine for PG-13. oh, Hollywood. So Snyder scrapped it altogether) But I could not figure out where this scene would go in the movie? Before he lobotmozied her? When he's the High Roller in the fantasy? I can't really see that working anywhere.
Overall, I enjoyed Sucker Punch, it had a good soundtrack, and it was nice to see a movie with five awesome ladies in it. I'll probably see it again before it leaves the theater; this is definitely a movie made to be seen on the big screen.
Speaking of the soundtrack, my favorite tracks off it: