Even me! How 'bout that. This will just be a hodgepodge conglomeration of reviews of things I've watched and read recently. I do hope you enjoy it.
"I'm an international criminal...it always ends like this! I met my wife at one o' these things."
The Hangover Part II
The Hangover II was really funny. The plot line was EXACTLY the same. I can see why critics would rip it apart on those grounds. But in a way, for this kind of movie, it makes sense. The jokes were still funny. And it did feel like a sequel, not like the same jokes recycled. There were enough allusions to the first installment but not enough to confuse a first-time viewer. It didn’t try too hard to be better or different, a common issue sequels run into in any medium. They could easily make a third about Alan getting hitched (oh I hope they do). In my opinion, there were some plot holes. But they showed me enough of Bradley Cooper’s poorly clothed bod that it’s an issue I can easily overlook. The humor was smart enough that I wasn’t bored, but crass enough for the genre. I especially enjoyed the huge black guy behind me in the theatre providing his own commentary for the whole film. If you loved the first one, I’d definitely recommend going to see Part II.
"I never wanted to kill. I am not naturally evil
Such things I do
just to make myself more attractive to you
Have I failed?"
-Morrissey, "The Last of the Famous International Playboys"
Let Me In is an excellent story. The horror was beautifully written and the imagery was smart and creepy as hell. Chuck Palahniuk can’t hold a loaded gun to the description of self-mutilation and just plain gore this Swedish Stephen King created. John Ajvide Lindqvist managed to gross me out, give me chills, and impress me with his tasteful literary prowess all at once on more than one occasion. For many scenes, I felt like I was actually watching the events instead of reading them off the page.
What really stuck out to me was the way all the characters had full and believable lives outside of the supernatural and terrible circumstances that befell them. Oskar was a complete and identifiable teenage boy before and while he was dealing with meeting a vampire his own age. No character stepped out of their personal bounds in order to make the plot work or for the author to subliminally make some point or cultural commentary. Also, there is no obvious protagonist. There is neither any particular “good” character or an inherently “bad” one. Lindqvist even manages to make you sympathize with the pedophile, simply because he paints him as more than just a monster. The same goes for the vampiric little “girl” and Oskar’s bullying schoolmates. Let Me In encases myriad characters with all sorts of backgrounds and moral codes, but the plot never gets too tangled or confusing, and the conclusion satisfies all the loose ends to at least some degree. At times I felt the subject matter got a little too gruesome just for the sheer shock value of it, but the imagery and the way it helped to move the plot made up for it.
This is definitely more than your average horror story, or vampire novel, or even tale of teen angst. Let Me In addresses many issues of the mind, spirit, and body across a huge emotional spectrum, all against the backdrop of a small, sad town besotted by outside terrors that could only be rivaled by the terrors already residing within.
Plus I was totally freaked each night I had to walk home in the dark while I was reading it.
What really stuck out to me was the way all the characters had full and believable lives outside of the supernatural and terrible circumstances that befell them. Oskar was a complete and identifiable teenage boy before and while he was dealing with meeting a vampire his own age. No character stepped out of their personal bounds in order to make the plot work or for the author to subliminally make some point or cultural commentary. Also, there is no obvious protagonist. There is neither any particular “good” character or an inherently “bad” one. Lindqvist even manages to make you sympathize with the pedophile, simply because he paints him as more than just a monster. The same goes for the vampiric little “girl” and Oskar’s bullying schoolmates. Let Me In encases myriad characters with all sorts of backgrounds and moral codes, but the plot never gets too tangled or confusing, and the conclusion satisfies all the loose ends to at least some degree. At times I felt the subject matter got a little too gruesome just for the sheer shock value of it, but the imagery and the way it helped to move the plot made up for it.
This is definitely more than your average horror story, or vampire novel, or even tale of teen angst. Let Me In addresses many issues of the mind, spirit, and body across a huge emotional spectrum, all against the backdrop of a small, sad town besotted by outside terrors that could only be rivaled by the terrors already residing within.
Plus I was totally freaked each night I had to walk home in the dark while I was reading it.
"Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!"
Star Trek. Released in 2009, directed by J J Abrams.
I saw this movie when it came out in theatres, and I watched it again yesterday night. Star Trek is an excellent film on many levels and it satisfies a variety of genres. I was raised on The Original Series and The Next Generation, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a Trekkie for the majority of my 19 years on your world.
I didn’t keep up on how much more stalwart Trek fans than I reacted to this movie, but I’m sure it was a mixed bag of approval and absolute disgust. But I know that’s just the way this kind of thing goes. No X-Men movie will ever be good enough for certain comic book enthusiasts and purists, no Superman movie has ever gotten the lore exactly right, and the Hulk movies, well...there’s a certain circle of Hell reserved for those responsible for that nightmare.
Anyway. As opposed to older Star Trek films (starring! William! Shatner!) Abrams’ work is more accessible to the individual who may be experiencing the final frontier for the first time. He has smokin’ hot actors for every species to enjoy as well as breathtaking fight sequence after suspenseful space battle that kept me on the edge of my seat the second and third time watching. There are obvious Bones (yes, pun intended) thrown in for the more seasoned audience, including the cameo role of Leonard Nimoy, the original Dr. Spock, playing, well, the original Dr. Spock.
I think the movie was definitely considerate of the years of lore and character development it had to accommodate, while still creating a celluloid treasure for all kinds of viewers. I am not a purist by any means, but I know my fair share of what happened to the Vulcan people, and I think Star Trek did a good job of staying true to its roots.
I saw this movie when it came out in theatres, and I watched it again yesterday night. Star Trek is an excellent film on many levels and it satisfies a variety of genres. I was raised on The Original Series and The Next Generation, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a Trekkie for the majority of my 19 years on your world.
I didn’t keep up on how much more stalwart Trek fans than I reacted to this movie, but I’m sure it was a mixed bag of approval and absolute disgust. But I know that’s just the way this kind of thing goes. No X-Men movie will ever be good enough for certain comic book enthusiasts and purists, no Superman movie has ever gotten the lore exactly right, and the Hulk movies, well...there’s a certain circle of Hell reserved for those responsible for that nightmare.
Anyway. As opposed to older Star Trek films (starring! William! Shatner!) Abrams’ work is more accessible to the individual who may be experiencing the final frontier for the first time. He has smokin’ hot actors for every species to enjoy as well as breathtaking fight sequence after suspenseful space battle that kept me on the edge of my seat the second and third time watching. There are obvious Bones (yes, pun intended) thrown in for the more seasoned audience, including the cameo role of Leonard Nimoy, the original Dr. Spock, playing, well, the original Dr. Spock.
I think the movie was definitely considerate of the years of lore and character development it had to accommodate, while still creating a celluloid treasure for all kinds of viewers. I am not a purist by any means, but I know my fair share of what happened to the Vulcan people, and I think Star Trek did a good job of staying true to its roots.
Several of the cast members, however, really threw me. For example, watching Heroes’ Sylar (Zachary Quinto) behave like a meek little pansy was hard for me to stomach at first. But at least he is a star of the sci-fi genre. Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Cameron from House) and Winona Ryder each have small, but important roles in the film. These women are both excellent actors (especially if Ms. Morrison is not a huge bitch in real life. Sorry. But Chase is SO much better off without her. ANYWAY), but it was weird for me to watch them play beloved roles in a Star Trek movie. Research from a high school sociology project taught me Winona Ryder is a self-proclaimed “trekkie.” It’s not wrong for her to get a supporting role in a story she loves, but it made me feel like the mainstream was invading a cult treasure. This is not necessarily true, and it may have in fact made this movie an even larger gateway into keeping Star Trek alive in the cinema, which would be a huge win for everyone. It was just a little jarring for me, the same way I felt about Harold from the Harold and Kumar movies piloting the Enterprise. Again, not a big deal, but something I noticed and this is my blog, so, I’ll rant about it. But at the end of the day, this all-systems-go film performs an impressive balancing act between the cult classic and the mainstream action thriller.
BUT COME ON. WHY THE HELL WAS TYLER PERRY AN ADMIRAL AT STARFLEET ACADEMY. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT.
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| This more than consoles me. |
Live long and prosper. Bitches.
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