(no subject)
Lots of movies to review because it's been far too long...
Alice in Wonderland: Forget what you knew about the Disney cartoon. This is Alice as a teenager. She goes back to Underland (as it's really called) and has to prove to everyone, including herself, that she's the Alice by slaying the Jabberwocky. Not a complicated plot nor as outright weird as other Tim Burton movies, but Johnny Depp was brilliant as the Mad Hatter, and I really appreciated Stephen Fry as the voice of the Cheshire Cat. Overall, it was a fun new take on an old story...
Did You Hear About the Morgans?: Watched this one on the plane and was pleasantly surprised. I usually don't care for Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, but I absolutely love Sam Elliott. It was actually pretty fun; the plot and the acting were good and it was funny without being stupid. Not to mention the story was at least different and involved a bit of danger. I won't run out and buy the dvd, but it was worth seeing once and maybe I'll pick it up if I ever find it really cheep...
Legion: For a bad horror movie, this one is becoming a favorite. When I say bad, I mean that it didn't scare me at all - it was a zombie movie with an added twist of angels. Would have been better with more angels and less angel-possessed zombies and if 98% of the main characters weren't obviously expendable. Enjoyed it anyway because I didn't think Paul Bettany could do bad-ass - he can, and very well apparently. Overall, just watch the action-y bits; the rest is nice noise...
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time: Look, it's Pirates of the Caribbean in a different location without Johnny Depp and with less plot. The story literally goes nowhere (even backwards a bit maybe) because it's a giant oh-shit, rewind button. The video games were great. The movie was just okay - lots and lots of action and special effects with a little comic-bantering between the male and female leads and nothing else. When are people going to learn: NEVER TRUST BEN KINGSLEY...
Shutter Island: This is one of those extremely rare cases of my loving the movie as much as I loved the book. Actually, as I read the book, I could already hear Leonardo DiCaprio's voice as the main character, so it was very well-cast. Ben Kingsley was also deliciously creepy as the administrator of the hospital. And even if I already knew the ending, I was still kept enthralled by the whole weird journey that kept you guessing. Can't wait for this one on dvd...
The Tooth Fairy: Another one I watched on the plane. Actually saw it twice (once without sound) and kinda liked it. For being a children's movie, I was surprised that the story wasn't as stupid as the title suggests and the acting was surprisingly good - always thought of Duane Johnson as a big, dumb wrestler, but apparently he can act too. The whole thing was strangely fascinating. I won't go out of my way, but I might actually own this one at some point...
When in Rome: A cheesy chic flick that I watched out of desperation on the plane. It was a cute enough story - girl picks coins out of a fountain of love and those guys suddenly fall in love with her and she spends the rest of the movie trying to get rid of them while keeping the one she really does love. Overall, there's only so much you can do with one of these cliched movies so I wasn't expecting groundbreaking. I'll only say that it at least kept my mind off flying...
Also on the plane, tried watching Book of Eli and The Lovely Bones but they failed to hold my interest so I never finished them. Would still like to rent at least Book of Eli at some point because I do like Gary Oldman...
Of them all, I think Legion, Shutter Island, and Alice in Wonderland were my favorites...
Alice in Wonderland: Forget what you knew about the Disney cartoon. This is Alice as a teenager. She goes back to Underland (as it's really called) and has to prove to everyone, including herself, that she's the Alice by slaying the Jabberwocky. Not a complicated plot nor as outright weird as other Tim Burton movies, but Johnny Depp was brilliant as the Mad Hatter, and I really appreciated Stephen Fry as the voice of the Cheshire Cat. Overall, it was a fun new take on an old story...
Did You Hear About the Morgans?: Watched this one on the plane and was pleasantly surprised. I usually don't care for Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker, but I absolutely love Sam Elliott. It was actually pretty fun; the plot and the acting were good and it was funny without being stupid. Not to mention the story was at least different and involved a bit of danger. I won't run out and buy the dvd, but it was worth seeing once and maybe I'll pick it up if I ever find it really cheep...
Legion: For a bad horror movie, this one is becoming a favorite. When I say bad, I mean that it didn't scare me at all - it was a zombie movie with an added twist of angels. Would have been better with more angels and less angel-possessed zombies and if 98% of the main characters weren't obviously expendable. Enjoyed it anyway because I didn't think Paul Bettany could do bad-ass - he can, and very well apparently. Overall, just watch the action-y bits; the rest is nice noise...
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time: Look, it's Pirates of the Caribbean in a different location without Johnny Depp and with less plot. The story literally goes nowhere (even backwards a bit maybe) because it's a giant oh-shit, rewind button. The video games were great. The movie was just okay - lots and lots of action and special effects with a little comic-bantering between the male and female leads and nothing else. When are people going to learn: NEVER TRUST BEN KINGSLEY...
Shutter Island: This is one of those extremely rare cases of my loving the movie as much as I loved the book. Actually, as I read the book, I could already hear Leonardo DiCaprio's voice as the main character, so it was very well-cast. Ben Kingsley was also deliciously creepy as the administrator of the hospital. And even if I already knew the ending, I was still kept enthralled by the whole weird journey that kept you guessing. Can't wait for this one on dvd...
The Tooth Fairy: Another one I watched on the plane. Actually saw it twice (once without sound) and kinda liked it. For being a children's movie, I was surprised that the story wasn't as stupid as the title suggests and the acting was surprisingly good - always thought of Duane Johnson as a big, dumb wrestler, but apparently he can act too. The whole thing was strangely fascinating. I won't go out of my way, but I might actually own this one at some point...
When in Rome: A cheesy chic flick that I watched out of desperation on the plane. It was a cute enough story - girl picks coins out of a fountain of love and those guys suddenly fall in love with her and she spends the rest of the movie trying to get rid of them while keeping the one she really does love. Overall, there's only so much you can do with one of these cliched movies so I wasn't expecting groundbreaking. I'll only say that it at least kept my mind off flying...
Also on the plane, tried watching Book of Eli and The Lovely Bones but they failed to hold my interest so I never finished them. Would still like to rent at least Book of Eli at some point because I do like Gary Oldman...
Of them all, I think Legion, Shutter Island, and Alice in Wonderland were my favorites...