Movie Reviews

Iron Man – 5/5 Loved It
This movie has renewed my faith in comic-based movies. Well, this and the new Batman franchise. Robert Downy Jr. was incredible. I so want to buy this movie now. Really hoping The Dark Knight can top the bar now set this Summer.

The Martian Child – 4/5 Really Liked It
John Cusack continues to put out some really good movies. I love the story of this movie. If you’re at all interested in adoption or foster care or kids in general I think you will too.

Lost In Translation – 3/5 Liked It
Interesting and artsy, and kinda slow. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson both were great, but it just didn’t hold my attention tremendously. Could have been the timing, but I thought it was just alright.

War Games – 4/5 Really Liked It
To my amazement I had only seen bits and pieces of this movie and never the whole thing. I thought it was really well done. Wonder how much Burger King paid to have that machine named WOPR.

Munich – 4/5 Really Liked It
This was like a much slower paced, and more serious James Bond movie. And it was roughly based on true events. My appreciation with this movie came especially with the internal struggle with the main character.

Highlander – 3/5 Liked It
Not bad for an 80′s classic. I’d be interested in seeing the next in the series, but it wouldn’t really hurt my feelings if I didn’t get around to it.

This Is England – 3/5 Liked It
Not a bad little flick. I felt bad for the little guy.

Rendition – 4/5 Really Liked It
Saw this on recommendation of Shaun and Portorikan, but knew nothing about it going in. I really liked the story and the internal conflict the characters played. The practice of rendition is real, and it is also real stupid.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – 2/5 Didn’t Like It
Wow. I’m starting to question the whole Indy franchise at this point. Hopefully when I watch Raiders again my faith will be redeemed, but Crystal Skull was just bad all around. I laughed out loud a few times, but I suspect they weren’t intended as laughing points.

Next 3 in the Que:
The Constant Gardener, What Would Jesus Buy, Walk Hard

Filed under: 80's, Adoption, Comics, Culture, Eighties, England, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Movies, Rendition, Reviews, Robert Downy Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Shia LaBeouf, War

Temple of Dumb

Saturday night a few of us watched 2/3 of the Indiana Jones trilogy in preparation for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull coming out this weekend (Much love to Tonia for buying me the box set last week just because she’s so awesome). I must say I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched any of these from start to finish. It has been at least 15 years, which is just crazy when I think about it.

That said, I really found that I don’t care for The Temple of Doom. After watching a nice classically cheesy 80′s flick in Raiders of the Lost Ark, I found myself confused and bored with Temple of Doom. Am I the only one that feels this way?

Here are some facts I didn’t know going in about Temple of Doom…

•  It was meant as a prequel. This second edition of Indiana Jones took place in 1935, whereas Raiders (the first movie) took place in 1936. This really confused me the entire time because I had never known that before, and the story-line seemed to ignore the first movie. Now I know why.

• It is credited with creating the PG-13 rating. The entire time I was watching this movie I was wondering how this was rated PG with all it’s heart ripping out goodness. Apparently after this movie there was an outcry from the public and Steven Speilberg suggested the MPAA create a new rating. On July 1, 1984 they introduced PG-13. (The first widely distributed PG-13 movie was Red Dawn).

Here’s hoping that the Last Crusade is all I remember it to be, and Crystal Skull exceeds my expectations.

Is Shia LaBeouf the new Indy?

Filed under: 80's, Culture, Eighties, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, Movies, MPAA, Shia LaBeouf, Steven Speilberg

Movie Reviews

Big Nothing — A poor mans Snatch or Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Only without the great soundtrack or tight writing. It does star Simon Pegg and has its moments. It kept me mildly interested through the entire movie. The plot is absolutely absurd, but they were going for that. One of those nothing-goes-right kinda movies. Not something I’m interested in watching again, but it was good for a few laughs.

Disturbia — I’ve said it before but Shia LaBeouf is one of my favorite actors. This movie grabs your attention quick. The first five minutes are wonderfully done and set the stage for a nice little spooky comedy in the mold of Scream. I usually don’t get into the Saw and Grudge type movies, but this one was more my speed. Just enough suspense to keep it intense without having a heart attack. I was entertained.

True Romance — Ummm…. another one I had to stop at the 32 minute mark. I’m pretty sure I’m not being a prude with this one. It was really awful. I think it would be more appropriate to watch Risky Business in church than to recommend this to anyone. (Sorry Jason.) It was billed as similar to Pulp Fiction, but it fell way short and went too over the top in the vulgarity department. Two thumbs way down.

Capote — Truman Capote was not only a freak, but he was a punk as well. And I suppose he was an accomplished writer too. Philip Seymour Hoffman did an outstanding job in this movie. Jason complained about the pacing, but I didn’t really mind. It was a captivating story and I enjoyed watching the emotions play out. After watching this, I’m thinking about reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And I suppose In Cold Blood as well.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest — I can’t give this movie enough praise. I’ve always thought Jack Nicholson was alright but, good night, he was outstanding in this movie. That was the best I’ve ever seen Danny Divito as well. This movie shot instantly to my must own list. This movie has won enough awards and received enough reviews that I really can’t add to it. Just see it if you’ve never had the chance. One of the best movies I’ve seen all year, maybe ever. (And that’s saying something.)

Filed under: Culture, Jack Nicholson, Movies, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reviews, Shia LaBeouf, Simon Pegg, Truman Capote