In other movie news, Bolt is fantastic. I kind of hate to say awesome, since it's kind of THE word of the movie and I don't like being all played by movie marketing.... but I'm a sucker, and it WAS awesome.
Most people to whom I say, "I saw Bolt last weekend," respond with, "What's Bolt?" So in case that's you, here's the scoop:
Bolt is an animated Disney movie about a dog TV star who thinks he has super powers. He gets separated from his person, Penny, and has to team up with a sardonic cat named Mittens and a crazy hamster named Rhino to get back to her.
It's simple, sure, and a kids movie. But it's SO GOOD. The animation, for one, is beautiful. The characterization of the animals is spot on in the funniest possible way. Rhino in particular was killing me, repeatedly. He speaks, I laugh--it's that simple. The message about keeping and loving your pets is great, and anyone who's ever had a pet will get teary--you can't help it. All the Hollywood TV production stuff is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek. And, with the exception of John Travolta as Bolt and Miley Cyrus as Penny, the voices aren't this huge, distracting cast of A-list actors. This is fantastic, because you don't spend the whole movie trying to place the voice or name the actor--you just enjoy the story.
So, this Thanksgiving weekend, if you want to escape the Black Friday madness or just need an activity to enjoy with the whole family, I highly recommend checking out Bolt. We went with our staff, and all 7 of us enjoyed it. I can only imagine how much kids would like it.
Let it begin!
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
I am not 14 years old
Twilight movie review: spoilers abound, proceed with caution!
I saw the movie last night, and when it was over one of my friends said, "Don't let anyone make you feel bad for liking it." But what if I feel bad because.... I didn't like it as much as I feel like I should have?
What was good:
My two biggest problems with the movie:
So....not horrible, but disappointing. I'll watch it again on DVD, and I'll check out New Moon for sure (I never thought I'd be on Team Jacob, but for the movies, yeah. For starters, he's WAY CUTER). But overall, it was uneven and fell way short of its potential.
Then again, I am not 14 years old. I'll ask my niece what she thought of it, I bet her opinion is way different.
I saw the movie last night, and when it was over one of my friends said, "Don't let anyone make you feel bad for liking it." But what if I feel bad because.... I didn't like it as much as I feel like I should have?
What was good:
- Everyone in the cast who WASN'T Edward & Bella. Charlie was AWESOME, all the high school kids were great, Jessica was a surprise treat, and Jacob was darling. The Cullens were mostly okay, except that Emmett's sideways hat was stupid and Jasper looked like a Fraggle.
- All the scenes with high school kids interacting like normal high school kids. These were fun and well done and provided great normal contrast to the whole vampire thing.
- Sweeping shots of the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. Amazing.
- Scenes with Bella & Charlie. Again, I thought Charlie was the best. I loved how when he showed her around her room and pointed out, "This is a good work lamp." Just exactly like a dad would do.
- Vampire baseball. And Alice pointing her toes when she pitches.
- The fight at the end--particularly how Alice, well. I don't need to spoil everything, but she's awesome.
- Edward popping the dent out of Bella's truck--that was my favorite Edward & Bella scene, which should tell you something.
- Carlisle Cullen/Peter Facinelli in BAD vampire makeup strolling through the hospital door like it's his first scene of Can't Hardly Wait: "Huntington Hills, kiss my ass!"
- Way-too-skinny Angela saying, "I'm taking control of my life!" and my friend Molly leaning over and whispering, "Girl needs to take control of a cheeseburger."
- Bella Googling "cold ones" and Mac whispering, "Like that wouldn't bring up 'Beer'." And then the phrase "The Immortal Drink" floating past us on the screen.
- Edward reacting to Bella's scent in biology for the first time.
- Edward and Billy staring at each other from their cars.
- Edward's sparkly skin. Honestly, he just looked sweaty. Hopefully we get a bigger special effects budget for the next one so the whole skin thing looks a little less stupid.
- The screenplay: the narration and all the Edward/Bella dialog in particular. I mean, it's way cheesy in the book, but I thought they were going to make this better? If they thought they did: FAIL.
- Robert Pattinson's "acting."
- Kristen Stewart's "acting."
My two biggest problems with the movie:
- This was not a good movie; it was a faithful adaptation. There's a huge difference. It was painfully clear to me while I was watching that they were so focused on making fans of the book happy, that they forgot to make a good movie. So, you know, some stuff was good and fun for me, because I like the book and they put that on screen for me. But other stuff was just an uncreative, verbatim lift off the page that didn't translate to the screen at all, so it fell flat.
- My biggest problem with the movie, though, was this: I liked Twilight, and the rest of the series, because while the vampire stuff is fun, it's the whole First Big Important Love story that's really thrilling. First love is THRILLING. Or at least it's supposed to be. It felt that way in the book. In the movie, all the Edward & Bella scenes were drawn out with so many Dramatic! Pauses! Neither of them EVER looked happy to be in each other's company, like, don't they enjoy each other ever? I know there's a whole primal attraction vs Danger! thing going on, but in the book it seemed like they enjoyed and liked each other more. I can't claim credit for this description because I read it somewhere last week, but it's apt--basically, Robert & Kristen just made me feel like they were engaged in a 90-minue-long Intense-Off.
So....not horrible, but disappointing. I'll watch it again on DVD, and I'll check out New Moon for sure (I never thought I'd be on Team Jacob, but for the movies, yeah. For starters, he's WAY CUTER). But overall, it was uneven and fell way short of its potential.
Then again, I am not 14 years old. I'll ask my niece what she thought of it, I bet her opinion is way different.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
you hadda be there
Trying to choose just one phrase from this fantastic R.E.M. concert review was so difficult. My mom should go to more shows and write more reviews, I think. Don't you?
Hi--
Last night we attended the REM concert at Red Rocks, and it was quite a memorable experience on many levels. First of all, I insisted that with GA tickets we needed to get there fairly early to get good seats, because it's first come, first pick of seats. So with the gates opening at 5:00 for a 6:30 concert I didn't feel it was unreasonable to get there around 4:00. Arriving at 4:15 at the parking lot at the "top," we only had a 45 minute wait in beautiful sunny weather till we could enter the gate from somewhere near the middle of a long line. But before we could enter, all our drinks had to be de-capped....yes, apparently they're afraid we'll toss our bottles of water and pop at the performers if they have caps on them. Fortunately, I had put the drinks into a plastic lunch bag so they didn't get all over the place as we carefully avoided getting knocked over as people tore past us to get the best seats! I made no mention of the two frozen bottles of water that were keeping our sandwiches cold, but Bud probably would have had he known. Think what good missiles they would make!!
Even though we parked at the top lot, we decided to go on down to the front section and were able to get seats in row 20. We proceeded to enjoy our ham and cheese on rye sandwiches and a couple of $7.00 beers (while our opened drinks went flat). The first two bands were not our favorites, but they did have their following of adoring kids. "The National" was tolerable, but in retrospect, not loved too much because people actually sat in their seats for most of the performance. A group of old hippies/bikers? in front of us started passing joints early in the show. So I didn`t feel too bad about my hidden frozen capped waters. I guess the no smoking rule doesn't apply to anything but tobacco! Ha, ha! Anyway, no one seemed to mind about the smoke. I think they were all jealous that they didn't have any.
After enduring the loud grueling throb of "Modest Mouse" or, as one of our fellow folks in line called them, "shy rodents" we were starting to wonder if we'd made a mistake in spending $150 for this lovely evening. Bud kept trying to determine if he was the oldest person there when a REALLY old hippie with a long white beard and wild white hair with little braids here and there came around selling hemp ice cream. Tourists were getting their pictures taken with the hemp ice cream sellers. Anyway, we decided that Bud was indeed older. After all, we are older than the hippie generation. We passed on the ice cream.
After an intermission, during which time they set up for the Main Event, we were all poised for a fabulous show. Needless to say, it was beyond any expectations I had. By then it was dark, the rocks around us were lit so they jumped out like a surreal Parrish print. When the music and the accompanying light show commenced, we were bowled over! When they played the second song, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth? " from my favorite Monster album, I was totally hooked. It was incredible. The light show, which included a grid of moving faces of the band members and colors and shapes and words to appropriately accompany each song,
only enhanced our nearly overloaded senses. I thought it was amusing when they played "Losing My Religion" that they focused the lights and cameras on the audience as they sang, "that's me in the spotlight losing my religion." And then the audience was on the screen. Well, you can read the reviews, but you hadda be there.
Well, a good time was had by all. And those great seats? No one sits during these concerts--the whole time!! But I didn't mind standing during the REM segment as we'd been sitting for 3 hours before that! I was able to navigate the stairs with frequent "rests," but I noticed a lot of young people resting too! I am experiencing considerable soreness in my calf muscles, but that's fine. I don't want to wait too long before we go again.
I hope you've enjoyed my "review."
Love you,
Mom
Hi--
Last night we attended the REM concert at Red Rocks, and it was quite a memorable experience on many levels. First of all, I insisted that with GA tickets we needed to get there fairly early to get good seats, because it's first come, first pick of seats. So with the gates opening at 5:00 for a 6:30 concert I didn't feel it was unreasonable to get there around 4:00. Arriving at 4:15 at the parking lot at the "top," we only had a 45 minute wait in beautiful sunny weather till we could enter the gate from somewhere near the middle of a long line. But before we could enter, all our drinks had to be de-capped....yes, apparently they're afraid we'll toss our bottles of water and pop at the performers if they have caps on them. Fortunately, I had put the drinks into a plastic lunch bag so they didn't get all over the place as we carefully avoided getting knocked over as people tore past us to get the best seats! I made no mention of the two frozen bottles of water that were keeping our sandwiches cold, but Bud probably would have had he known. Think what good missiles they would make!!
Even though we parked at the top lot, we decided to go on down to the front section and were able to get seats in row 20. We proceeded to enjoy our ham and cheese on rye sandwiches and a couple of $7.00 beers (while our opened drinks went flat). The first two bands were not our favorites, but they did have their following of adoring kids. "The National" was tolerable, but in retrospect, not loved too much because people actually sat in their seats for most of the performance. A group of old hippies/bikers? in front of us started passing joints early in the show. So I didn`t feel too bad about my hidden frozen capped waters. I guess the no smoking rule doesn't apply to anything but tobacco! Ha, ha! Anyway, no one seemed to mind about the smoke. I think they were all jealous that they didn't have any.
After enduring the loud grueling throb of "Modest Mouse" or, as one of our fellow folks in line called them, "shy rodents" we were starting to wonder if we'd made a mistake in spending $150 for this lovely evening. Bud kept trying to determine if he was the oldest person there when a REALLY old hippie with a long white beard and wild white hair with little braids here and there came around selling hemp ice cream. Tourists were getting their pictures taken with the hemp ice cream sellers. Anyway, we decided that Bud was indeed older. After all, we are older than the hippie generation. We passed on the ice cream.
After an intermission, during which time they set up for the Main Event, we were all poised for a fabulous show. Needless to say, it was beyond any expectations I had. By then it was dark, the rocks around us were lit so they jumped out like a surreal Parrish print. When the music and the accompanying light show commenced, we were bowled over! When they played the second song, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth? " from my favorite Monster album, I was totally hooked. It was incredible. The light show, which included a grid of moving faces of the band members and colors and shapes and words to appropriately accompany each song,
only enhanced our nearly overloaded senses. I thought it was amusing when they played "Losing My Religion" that they focused the lights and cameras on the audience as they sang, "that's me in the spotlight losing my religion." And then the audience was on the screen. Well, you can read the reviews, but you hadda be there.
Well, a good time was had by all. And those great seats? No one sits during these concerts--the whole time!! But I didn't mind standing during the REM segment as we'd been sitting for 3 hours before that! I was able to navigate the stairs with frequent "rests," but I noticed a lot of young people resting too! I am experiencing considerable soreness in my calf muscles, but that's fine. I don't want to wait too long before we go again.
I hope you've enjoyed my "review."
Love you,
Mom
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
I really and truly thought I was gonna hurl
I don't want to get in trouble for reviewing the movie too early or something, but by now you've probably started seeing ads for Cloverfield, and may be considering checking it out when it hits theaters January 18. By all means, go with your own gut on this, but I saw an advanced screening of it today and, if I may, here's a quick word about your gut before you take on this movie.
It's shot entirely with a hand-held camera. ENTIRELY. The whole concept of the movie is to really try and put you IN the experience. So it's all hand-held camera work, and the sound can get really brutal. There's also a fair amount of screaming and lots of people talking at once.
There were a truckload of people in today's screening, and lots of them seemed unfazed by this whole deal. I, on the other hand, really and truly thought I was gonna hurl about 10 minutes in. About 10 minutes after that, I moved as far back in the theater as I could, and still had to look away from the screen a lot. And the loudness, screaming, and talking-over thing made my head hurt. Basically I really wished I could lie down after it wrapped, and it's not even that long (about 1 hr 15 min).
So, you know, if you're curious about the movie but found the Bourne Ultimatum to be a bit too shaky and Blair Witch made you vomit in your mouth a little, then maybe this isn't the movie for you. Or, if you really want to check it out, but are concerned about the motion sickness, maybe sneak in some Saltines & ginger ale in your bag. Or some Dramamine. Or a barf bag. Those squooshy ear plugs you can get for concerts might not be a bad idea either.
I'm not saying the movie is bad--there's a lot about it that's really cool and interesting and creative and authentic and I don't mean to review it. I'm just saying, if I'd had anything in my stomach besides coffee, and maybe some earplugs, and my seat was even further away, I might have enjoyed the movie a little bit more. Just a little public service announcement from me to you, my fellow movie fans.
It's shot entirely with a hand-held camera. ENTIRELY. The whole concept of the movie is to really try and put you IN the experience. So it's all hand-held camera work, and the sound can get really brutal. There's also a fair amount of screaming and lots of people talking at once.
There were a truckload of people in today's screening, and lots of them seemed unfazed by this whole deal. I, on the other hand, really and truly thought I was gonna hurl about 10 minutes in. About 10 minutes after that, I moved as far back in the theater as I could, and still had to look away from the screen a lot. And the loudness, screaming, and talking-over thing made my head hurt. Basically I really wished I could lie down after it wrapped, and it's not even that long (about 1 hr 15 min).
So, you know, if you're curious about the movie but found the Bourne Ultimatum to be a bit too shaky and Blair Witch made you vomit in your mouth a little, then maybe this isn't the movie for you. Or, if you really want to check it out, but are concerned about the motion sickness, maybe sneak in some Saltines & ginger ale in your bag. Or some Dramamine. Or a barf bag. Those squooshy ear plugs you can get for concerts might not be a bad idea either.
I'm not saying the movie is bad--there's a lot about it that's really cool and interesting and creative and authentic and I don't mean to review it. I'm just saying, if I'd had anything in my stomach besides coffee, and maybe some earplugs, and my seat was even further away, I might have enjoyed the movie a little bit more. Just a little public service announcement from me to you, my fellow movie fans.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
side-holding, couch-shaking, milk-snarfing, tear-inducing
If you haven't figured this out yet then I'm just going to tell you: This year's Thursday night lineup of sitcoms on NBC really is Must See TV. Scrubs is a mean-yet-heartwarming, random and hilarious gem. My Name is Earl actually left me cold in it's first couple episodes, and now I love it so much I can't wait to go back to Season 1 and get caught up on everything. The Office is a shameless addiction--the second it's in TiVO I have to watch it. And 30 Rock is straight up brilliant.
There are a million things I love about these shows, but one is that they all feature some of the funniest women on TV, EVER. It's a bold statement but I'm sticking with it. Sarah Chalke, Jaime Pressley, Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer--LOVE THEM.
But also, besides being funny on their shows, they're also completely charming off camera. Check out this TV guide interview with Jenna and Tina. Absolutely DARLING. I don't want to go all stalker-y, but seriously it's stuff like this that makes me want to be all BFF with these women.
In the meantime, I'll settle for side-holding, couch-shaking, milk-snarfing, tear-inducing peals of laughter every Thursday night. You rock, ladies.
There are a million things I love about these shows, but one is that they all feature some of the funniest women on TV, EVER. It's a bold statement but I'm sticking with it. Sarah Chalke, Jaime Pressley, Tina Fey, Jenna Fischer--LOVE THEM.
But also, besides being funny on their shows, they're also completely charming off camera. Check out this TV guide interview with Jenna and Tina. Absolutely DARLING. I don't want to go all stalker-y, but seriously it's stuff like this that makes me want to be all BFF with these women.
In the meantime, I'll settle for side-holding, couch-shaking, milk-snarfing, tear-inducing peals of laughter every Thursday night. You rock, ladies.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Gwen Stefani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
You know, I love No Doubt. I've also gotten into it with more than one person in just the last couple months on whether or not Gwen is anything without the kickass band, or if she can even sing (they say nay, I say whateverNoDoubtrocks). And after listening to her debut solo album, I'm not entirely convinced that she really can sing. And yet, I did make this discovery:
I totally don't care.
"Love Angel Music Baby" is weird, infectious, addictive fun. I first listened to the album in a traffic jam trying to get the hell out of LA for Thanksgiving, so I was a little headachy and cranky. Not in the mood for Gwen. And yet 4 days later when it came time to drive home I found I'd totally been hankering for it.
The album is all over the freaking map, from bubblegum dance pop, to Euro-pop that you'd swear was totally New Order (and then you discover that, well, it is), to over-produced-yet-satisfying R&B tunes, to show tunes. Track two starts the journey into a state of mind best characterized by, "What the...? Niiiiiice!" with the Fiddler on the Roof-inspired "Rich Girl." Then suddenly you're transported to your high school gym for a basketball game and the catchy "Hollaback Girl." After the game, you stay in the 80's as your parents drive you home in the station wagon with the pop FM station blaring, "Cool," which you sing along with while playing with your spiral-permed curls.
From there it just keeps jumping all over the place. You know how you get that one song stuck in your head, but instead of singing the whole song, you'll just randomly bust out one line over and over again until your whole office thinks you have Tourette's and they're just thankful you're not swearing? For me, all day, it's been, "Take it to the back seat. Run it like a track meet." By the way, Gwen plus Andre 3000? Inspired. I want to sprinkle "Bubble Pop Electric" all over my cereal and eat it for breakfast.
My favorite thing about this album is that so much of it sounds like the album I would have made if any of the pop songs I wished I could write in junior high had ever come true. For that, I say good on you, Gwen. I'm glad one of us realized that dream, and it was the talented one, at that. You did your thang, and I for one totally dig it.
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