Finally, a new journel entry.  Since I really needed to post something new I figured why not talk about something I really like.  The movies I've seen this year   These will be spoiler-free mini reviews  



Iron Man 2: you can read my full review here



Clash of the Titans  3D (very lame-ass 3D   )

Now I saw the original "Clash of the Titans" in the theaters when I was a kid (even had a few of the action figures), even a few times on cable throughout the years as I grew up.  I even recently saw it on DVD for the first time about three years ago.  And it stills hold up pretty well, not really for anyone who has never seen it before.  The special effects look extremely dated (they were state of the art way back when). While it was never a favorite of mine, I do have some fond memories of it as it has a lot of memoriable things about it: shiny swords, Medusa, invisibility, winged-horse, the kraken, and yes, Bobo

The day before I saw the new "Clash of the Titans" I read the article in that week's Entertainment Weekly about how Sam Worthington was pactically having a menstral cycle over Bobo's short cameo in the movie, afraid that it might "bring down" the whole movie.  After watching the movie, I remembered the article and was nearly reduced to tears laughing.  He was afraid Bobo would bring down the movie?!  How about the total lack the characters had of actual character?  Or the "is something there?" plot that only served to get the movie from one action piece to the next?  I have to mention that Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the guard captain/general gave the best performance of the movie, mostly by default, but he's actually the only character I really started to pay attention to when he spoke.  And in a movie where Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes could do little with their godly characters, that is saying something.

Now I certainly don't mind a movie that is nothing more than action spectacle and eye-candy, (there are times when I actually prefer it   ) but when people start talking about the importance of character depth and story in such a movie **coughShaiLabeoufcough**  I just have to say "get the *uck out of my face!"  The new movie actually makes the original "Titans's" story look like "The Lord of the Rings"  

So once I realized that was the kind of movie the new "Titans" was I just sat back and I actually enjoyed the movie a lot.  It certainly is the best non-3D 3D movie I've seen so far  





Prince of Persia The Sands of Time

Now this was a better movie than "Clash of the Titans" in every way.  The action may not have been as big, no giant monsters, but it was definitely better.  Not only did this movie have a plot, but they honestly tried to tell a story.  And more importantly, the characters actually had character and the actors were actually given something to do. And Gemma Arterton was just a lovely here as she was in "Clash of the Titans" though she does get better outfits in this movie  

It's unfortunate that the movie in only enjoying half the box office of "Clash of the Titans" because it certainly deserves it more.





The A-Team

I did watch "The A-Team" regularly as a kid.  I think just the first couple of seasons though.  Aside from I remember liking it most of my memories of the show would be Hannibal's disguises, the fight scenes, usually of Mr. T throwing guys through the air in slow-motion, and every one shooting at each other without hitting anybody (much like GI Joe   )

So I thought the movie was really good.  Each of the actors I think gave the characters a lot of depth.  Though Quintan Jackson seems to get a lot flack for his portrayal of B.A. Baracus.  That Mr. T did a better job with the character.  Which I think is true since I believe Mr. T was basically playing himself, Mr. Jackson is literally being criticized for not being Mr. T.

Unfortunately, the director of the film seems to be one of the last few holdouts who still subscribes to that jerky-camera Michael Bay wannabe style that I was sure went out style a few years ago, but there were a couple of times where the action was hard to follow.  Thankfully it wasn't enough to completely ruin any of the action scenes, unlike how all the fight scenes in "Batman Begins" were incoherent messes.

So I did enjoy the movie, but based on it's less than good box-office it seems highly unlikely there will be a sequel, which is too bad.





Salt

Another movie I really enjoyed.  Angelina Jolie proves once again that not only is she an action star as good as the "male" heroes, but that she is actually better than most of them   But damn!  She is just too skinny   Seeing her scrawny legs in "Wanted" nearly made me cry.  But you know what . . . her performance and her ability to do great action still made me love her in this movie.

Her character is basically a cross between Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt (ironically the movie was originally written for Tom Cruise) and she pulls it off extremely well.  They have a great character in Salt, a sorely needed action heroine, so I hope the box office does prove good enough for them to turn this into a true franchise.



The Last Airbender: you can read my full review here





Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief:  DVD

Yeah, I know the full title is "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" but I don't have that kind of time to write such a long-ass title  

In what is ultimately another failed attempt to start another big franshise based on a bestselling series in the tradition of "Harry Potter"  (see: "Eragon," "The Golden Compass" and "Chronicles of Narnia" (though Narnia did make it pass their first movie   ) but then again not really in the same tradition since a lot of love and effort goes into adapting the Harry Potter movies and in these others....not so much

Percy Jackson isn't a bad movie, it does have some really cool things going for it and some great ideas, but it's just presented in that half-assed "safe-for-kids" PG-13 way that does little to make it stand out from the rest of the.... half-assed PG-13 crap out there.  And they have a huge cast of big named actors who are nearly totally wasted in this movie (no they're not drunk, they're just not given much to do in this movie    )  I'm not very familiar with the books but apparently the child characters were supposed to be about the same age as the Potter kids in their first year of Hogwarts, but I don't mind that they're teenager here.  If anything, Alexandra Daddario, who is apparently playing a decade younger than she really is more than makes the movie worth watching (afterall, she did inspire the current look for my original character     )




The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo  DVD

Last year when I saw "Watchmen" on DVD it was halfway through the summer so I had seen most of the big "blockbusters" of that year by then.  Most of which were PG-13, so seeing "Watchmen" with it's R rating was such a breath of fresh air, it was very welcomed.  Last month I rented "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" (it actually took awhile because Blockbuster only had a few copies and they were almost always rented out, now they have about 30 copies   ).  A couple months back I started hearing about the books, the Millennium trilogy, and was going to get the book but couldn't find the paperback at the time, so I watched the movie first.  Now the DVD does have a fairly decent english dub but, like with most anime, watching it in its original language is so much better.

Now when I go to the movies I do want to watch big actiony, eye candy, exciting thrill ride movies.  I save the drama crap, romantic comedies, and otherwise boring inspired by true stories for DVD.  So by the time I saw "Dragon Tattoo" I had already seen most of the major PG-13 releases this year, and, just like "Watchmen" it was great change of pace.  I felt, finally, a movie for grown ups.  And it was a dramatic, mystery, thriller with very well-rounded characters (something most of this year's movies lacked) and it wasn't boring. It did start out a little slow, but once you get caught up in it you can't stop watching (though I did pause it acouple times to microwave some popcorn).

And I hear they're going to make "American" or english versions of the books, or at least the first book, with the possibility of doing the entire trilogy I'm sure.  Since they're doing an adaptation rather than a remake of the film, unlike with "La Femme Nikita" (anyone remember the name of the American version?    )  I think they can make a good movie, even though I still haven't read the book yet.  I cannot recommend this movie any strongly




Kick-Ass  DVD

I will write up a full review once I have a deviation for it, but let me just say the movie KICKED ASS!!!  





Inception

Now if I hadn't already seen "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" this movie would have been the breath of fresh air in a the sea of PG-13 clout of this summer.  True "Inception" is also a PG-13 movie, but it's a movie that keeps your brain on its toes   Very, very few movies have great visual spectacle, good action, great cast, emotional weight, and well written story.  A couple of years ago "The Dark Knight" had nearly all these things.  I am man enough to admit when a movie makes me cry like a bitch   Though "Inception" wasn't one of them, it did get me all misty eyed a couple times something "The Dark Knight" never did.

We already knew director Christopher Nolan can do great drama and weave a good story, and he did redeem himself from "Batman Begins" with great action scenes in "The Dark Knight" and in "Inception" he proves again he can stage great action scenes (the rotating hallway is my favorite) but the action is barely half the suspense.  Once the dream starts the tension remains high even when there is no action going on, as the characters are racing against the clock and it just keeps building and building till the very end.

And I know there are a lot of people who were pissed at how the movie ended, but I thought it was just perfect  

So "Inception" is probably my favorite movie of the year, mostly due to lack of competition, but that doesn't belay the fact that it is a great movie.  We still have "Deathly Hallows" on the way so the field is still open