Your Highness, Paul, Soul Surfer

Another weekend past, another movie review in store for those of you that read these writings.  This weekend the movies we gathered from the RedBox were Your Highness, Paul, and Soul Surfer.  Again, I'll jump right into the reviews rather than spending time on a big build up.

Sucker Punch, Scott Pilgrim, Beastly, Star Trek, Skyline

It's that time again, time for my report on the movies we watched this past weekend.  It must seem like we really don't do much, but that isn't the case really.  We just tend to watch a movie or two on weekend nights and this week was no different with another five movies to review.  I won't waste a lot of time getting into them though, so here we go.

Insidious & Take Me Home

This past weekend another pair of movies were on the agenda, and finally after having a number of movies that I liked I hit a couple that were just "meh".  Those two movies this past weekend were "Insidious" and "Take Me Home Tonight".  I won't spend a lot of time on either one (not that I spend a lot of time on any movie it seems), as I have a lot of other stuff to get done and I have a number of other posts that I have in my head to spend time on as well even if they may get done one per day.

A Bunch of Movies

This past weekend we watched a number of movies once again as we relaxed around the house.  I figured five was a bit much for the title of the blog so didn't put them all in there, but those five movies were "No Strings Attached", "Red Riding Hood", "Source Code", "Lincoln Lawyer", and "Arthur".  Yes, we do more than just watch movies but we do enjoy a good movie and it is a good way to relax at night, especially now where we don't have many shows that we're watching as seasons have ended and we haven't really found that replacement for "Lost" on Netflix.  I'll take on the reviews in the order that they were watched once again.

Tangled, Rango, Witch, Hall Pass and Rio

I have had a chance recently to see a number of new movies.  Most were watched this previous week, and one was watched just last night.  I didn't get around to reviewing them prior to now but before too much time passes or too many movies pile up I want to get a little something about each of them posted.  Thus, here we go in the order they were watched.

Transformers from the Moon

Recently the wife and I took the kids to see "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (that really is the title I guess, not "Dark Side...").  I used to have some Transformers when I was growing up and watched the cartoon as well.  I really enjoyed the first one, the second one was ok, so I was unsure about this one coming into it.  Just as with the second one though I found it to be ok, and for many of the same reasons.

Killers - the movie

This one is going to be short, I'm sure, but a couple of nights ago we watched the movie "Killers" via Netflix instant play (you really have to love technology today).  The story is about a couple who meet, and the guy who previously was a hit man type gets out after falling in love, then later he becomes the target.  A pretty done over storyline with little originality, though this one was a comedy rather than a thriller.  It wasn't great, wasn't horrible, but rather was an ok movie that was worth spending the evening watching.

Go With It, The Hangover II

This past weekend I got to spend some great quality time with my wife.  We were able to take in a couple of concerts at Nebraska Land Days, seeing a few country artists including Brad Paisley, then seeing My Darkest Days and Hinder the next night.  Both were great shows and worth seeing.  Before we came home we went to see Hangover II in the theater, and then watched Just Go With It when we got home.

Number 4 Bear Fockers

Another weekend has passed and we again watched a movie a day.  This weekend it was "Yogi Bear" followed up with "Little Fockers" the next night and then "I Am Number Four" on Sunday.  None of them were mind-blowingly good, however all were at least decent as well.

Pirates - Stranger Tides

Friday night my soon to be wife and I went out for dinner and a movie.  That movie just happened to be the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  I truly enjoyed the first three but coming into this one with two thirds of the main cast not coming back I wondered how this movie would turn out.  As it turned out, the show could go on and do so quite well.

Tron, Hereafter, 127 Hours

Yet another weekend has passed and we got the chance to watch a few more movies.  This week I got to check out the new Tron, then watched "Hereafter" which I knew little about going into it, and we also got to see why all the awards were talking about "127" Hours and James Franco (or as you'll come to read, we didn't get to see why in my opinion).  Without further ado, here are my brief thoughts on those movies.

Plenty of Movie Time

I swear that we did more than just sit around and watch movies this past weekend even if it doesn't appear that way.  In fact we spent almost an entire day down the road doing shopping and stuff.  However we did fit in four movies again this weekend (Due Date, Sex and the City 2, Love and Other Drugs, and Case 39), and while I won't go into great detail on any of them, I will comment a bit on them all.

Ford or Spielberg???

Yesterday there was a Star Wars marathon on one station and an Indiana Jones marathon on another.  During this I got to thinking what great careers both Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have had.  Which is greater though ... or who would you rather be?

Plenty of Movies During a Busy Weekend

Still got tons of stuff to do before the big date (and the second slightly smaller date on which we'll hold the reception), but did get quite a bit accomplished this past week and got the tux figured out Saturday.  As I said, plenty to do still but a trip to Denver soon should help wrap up a bit more.  As such, this weekend we did get to watch a few more movies which I'll take a moment to comment on here.  Actually we ended up watching four movies (and again I love RedBox and Netflix instant play) which did cut into our time for sleep a bit but that's ok I suppose.

How are a Raven and a Writing Desk Alike?

Recently we again watched Alice in Wonderland and again I really enjoyed it.  We first watched it at the theater some months ago in 3-D, a format that I really enjoy seeing movies in, and liked it then as well.

Everyone knows Alice and the story pretty much.  The movie is fun and enjoyable throughout and the characters are a joy to watch. I especially liked the performance of Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Mia Wasikowska as Alice but there weren't any performances that I disliked.  Visually I loved the movie.  The effects, the colors, the scenes created ... it was a huge success from the beginning to the end.  It did cross my mind though during the growing and shrinking why clothing growth and shrinking wasn't across the board, either all clothes grow or shrink or all don't ... but that's just one of those random thoughts that really don't have an effect on the movie that tend to pop up in my head from time to time.  (...and really, why would certain clothes grow and shrink and others wouldn't???)

Date Night/Inception

First off let me state that I will have spoilers scattered in my reviews from now on, much like I already have, because I have found that doing these blog posts without spoilers isn't as easy or enjoyable when I'm watching what I say.  Thus, spoilers can be found at any time ... just a warning.

Now on to the reviews.  This past weekend we got in a couple of movies amongst the housework and wedding planning, those movies being "Date Night" and "Inception".  For the first time in a while both movies that I got from the beloved Redbox I really enjoyed.

Eat, Pray, Zzzz...

This past weekend we rented "Eat, Pray, Love" from the local RedBox.  I knew going into it that it was a "chick flick" but that's ok, I don't mind those types of movies at times.  I had also seen some reviews on Facebook where people had said that they had liked it.

They must have been suffering from insomnia and they are thankful the movie gave them some sleep.  Ok, it might not have been quite that bad but it wasn't good either.

Again, as has turned into a bit of the norm, "spoilers" start right away...

The story is about a woman who found herself in a marriage that she didn't want to be in.  She then left her husband and found herself in a relationship with a younger man.  As is with the character, she finds that she isn't happy in that relationship before long as well.  Having been in and out of relationships she decides that instead she is going to remain unattached and travel to Rome, India, and Bali (or somewhere equally unimportant to the whole story).  In Rome she finds some friends and becomes "happy" again so she moves on to India where she lives at a temple/religious location.  There she finds herself very unhappy and another American there gives her grief until he reveals that he is there because of past things he has done as well.  He leaves and shortly after she "forgives herself" and leaves as well for the beach.  There she "interns" under some religious guy she met on a previous trip there, gets run off the road by a guy who ... surprise, surprise ... becomes her love interest, and then after fighting to not get too attached at the end (but only at the end) finally gives in to him ... though you still don't know how it all turns out down the road.

The movie wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything better than just ok either.  In fact as a chick flick my fiancee found herself losing interest quite a bit and looking around the room or doing whatever caught her attention until she realized she wasn't watching the movie.  I think that is the best proof I can offer to my views on the movie.

The plot is just slow and plugs along, never really rising or falling and thus is just kinda flat.  Adding to that the movie was fairly long and felt even longer than it was.  The transitions from place to place weren't well done either.  There weren't any real surprises either, with a pretty predictable storyline from the start to the end, and that also added to the 'meh' factor of the movie.

The characters weren't all that interesting either, and granted the only one that was in more than a third of it was the main character but there was no real connection to any of them nor were they developed well. 

Overall despite being not bad but ok the movie really isn't worth seeing in my opinion.  They say the book is better than the movie but I'll likely not find out.  I have plenty of things to read already with not enough time to read them all and this just doesn't fit in with the things that I like to read in the first place.

"Social Network"

"The Social Network" ... and nope, I'm not talking about blogs or Facebook or any of that.  I'm talking about the movie.  I didn't expect much from this movie but was surprisingly pleased with it.  It basically tells the story of the founding of Facebook from the early days.

The movie used a current day/flashback style of storytelling in which two lawsuits were going on current day and the story was told through flashbacks.  The story was well told and enjoyable and while I don't know how closely or loosely it stuck to real life it was a good watch.  The end just kind of happened which was a bit disappointing but overall a good movie worth watching.


I also watched "Marmaduke" this weekend which while decent was kinda dull for the most part.  Not a bad movie, but nothing special either.  Had some humorous moments and good for kids but as an adult don't expect too much out of it.

"The Great Mouse Detective", one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, was watched also.  Enjoyable and fun and while not as great as it was when I was younger still good...

Guardians and Easy A

Watching movies on the weekend seems to be a pretty regular thing in my household.  This weekend wasn't any different and now I will review two of the movies that we watched this weekend, Legend of the Guardians and Easy A.  Again spoilers will be spread about here...

The first, "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole", is a movie geared more towards kids, and in fact we got it mostly for the kids, but I will admit that I can certainly enjoy and appreciated "kid movies" as much as "adult movies" if they are deserving of such.  This was one such movie.  The movie did a good job of making characters unique and enjoyable right from the beginning.  It was well done visually and the story was a good one and well told.  The pacing throughout the movie was very good as well.

The Owls are basically made up of three different sets of owls, the guardians which are a nearly mythical group even to the owls, the "evil" owls, and the regular owls.  The story begins by focusing on a pair of brothers, one who believed in the Guardians and the stories, the other which didn't and felt under appreciated.  One night they fell from their tree and were then taken by the evil owls.  There the "good brother" sided with another owl and sought to escape where the "evil brother" accepted training from the evil owls to become one of them.

Eventually the good owls escaped and flew off to find the Guardians meeting a couple of others along the way.  Finally they reach the tree of the Guardians and tell their story.  They begin training while their story is checked out, however it is looked into by one who had betrayed them and when he returned he led them all into a trap.  The Guardians became trapped and it was up to the new heroes to save them.

The movie was very well done, told a good story, had good characters, and overall I recommend this movie to anyone who is a kid or can appreciate well done movies targeted at a younger audience.

The second movie we watched was "Easy A".  I really enjoyed this movie as well.  It flowed well and had some humorous moments and while the story wasn't entirely unique it did have its own feel and flavor.

The basics of the movie were that the main character who was a bit of an outsider in her school told her friend that she had lost her virginity and another girl overheard it and spread it about school.  She noticed that she had gained notice of the others from it and eventually one of her gay friends convinced her to fake having sex with him so that he would be accepted as well.  It worked and after that she basically started selling "fake encounters" to kids seeking approval until the point that she became someone many wanted to see gone and felt that she was seen for all the wrong reasons now.  I won't really say too much more about what happens in the movie but it is certainly worth seeing.

Remakes, Remakes, and more Remakes

What is up with Hollywood today?  Are new fresh ideas really hard to come by?  What's with all the 80s remakes of late ... and those being planned?

This all stems from the kids having watched the new Karate Kid at their dad's house (I believe) and wanting to watch the original on Netflix last night.  I loved the Karate Kid movie, and even enjoyed the sequels.  However I hated the fact that they were remaking it.  I have no desire to see the new one ever.  I might see it eventually but I'm not going to go out of my way to do it and will choose it behind whatever else might be my options at the time.

It seems that Hollywood is in full gear with remaking the 80s right now.  "Karate Kid" was just done, "Clash of the Titans" as well as "Wall Street" ... and there are plans to remake "Footloose", "Commando", "The Crow", "Porky's", "Short Circuit", "Top Gun", and others as well.

WHY?

Why is it that so many of the Hollywood classics are being re-made?  Are they running out of new ideas?  Honestly it just seems that instead of having an original thought they want to make money on movies that succeeded before.  Most of those movies don't have special effects which would make the movies better if redone today, and they were classics of their times.  Do they really think remaking them is going to make them better?  What are they going to do to improve on them?  Even if they are just going to remake them as "sequels" are they really even going to come close to the originals?  No 'Crow' has ever come close to the first, what are you really going to do with "Top Gun" to make it worthy of that name and make it interesting, and what about the others?

Ok, so maybe that's not entirely fair.  Most ideas play off ideas that someone else has had previously and there are just new twists and new ways to tell stories that have been told for ages.  The remake though isn't trying to put a new twist on an old story though, it's just retelling the same story.

There are also some fairly unique and new ideas put into the movies each year too I suppose.  Take Avatar for example.  I loved it and found it pretty original and it was awesome to look at ... but even that I suppose could be said to follow an oft used theme where group 'A' wants something group 'B' has and thinks they are below them, then someone in group 'A' gets to know them and realizes that group 'A' is in the wrong and there is much more to group 'B' than thought and sides with them to eventually turn the battle.

Heck, I'm even guilty of watching a number of remakes and really enjoying them, often times not even having seen the original.  Most of these movies I've noticed come originally from the 70s or earlier.  Movies such as "The Thomas Crown Affair", "Get Carter", etc... are all remakes that I haven't seen the original of and honestly don't have a desire to but like the remakes.  Perhaps it has something to do with growing up with those movies (for me the 80s) and remembering them for what they are and not wanting to see them ripped off because they are classics of your time.

I suppose one reason to remake movies besides refreshing the franchise that makes some sense is today's movie producers are capable of much, much better visual effects.  It makes some sense to remake effects heavy movies from ages past giving them a new look and feel with visuals well beyond what was available when the movies were originally made.  In fact I don't mind a movie remake as much in a visually heavy movie but one that doesn't have a lot of effects and just tells a story (and did it well the first time) ... why remake it?  It doesn't really make the movie new though, and perhaps those who watched them originally feel the same as I do about the remakes currently being done.

I suppose just like anything else Hollywood is just a business looking to make money.  If something succeeded in the past such as these movies why not try to capitalize on that and make your money.  Other businesses do.  However it still irks me a bit that they're messing with my classics and I'd prefer to see more new ideas or at least new ways to tell old ideas instead of seeing something I watched 20 years ago just get re-done and put back on the big screen...