Thor

The date on your calendar is correct, today is indeed April 30th and Thor is not yet released (May 6th) but I found myself in the fortunate position of attending a premiere showing today so voila!  Here I am with my feedback on the much-anticipated Thor.

On a movie-but-not-Thor related note let me start my saying that I am not a fan of 3D.  Unbeknownst to me I walk into the theater this morning and the showing was IMAX 3D.  From previous 3D experiences (Avatar, Resident Evil: Afterlife) I have discovered that messing with my eyes while watching a large screen is not good for my brain.  But hey, third times a charm, right?  So glasses in hand into the theater I proceeded.

The beginning of the movie, not so great.  Bad CGI, tepid acting (poor Anthony Hopkins), and scraggly plot.  But then enter our characters on Earth, who in my mind saved the movie - Natalie Portman was adorable and charming, Stellan Skarsgard (very underrated actor), and Kat Dennings' hilarious personality gave the film the extra oomph it needed from "eh fantasy flick" to "fun summer film".  If you gloss over the attempted inner-emotional moments and focus on those three, as well as the badass character of all-seeing Heimdall (played by Idris Elba) you should have a light-hearted good time at Thor.

Oh, and I still don't like 3D.  Anyone have some Advil?

Buried AND The Next Three Days

Just a couple posts in and I am already falling behind here!  But not to fear, I have two movies recently watched that I feel have completely fallen under the movie-watcher radar and both of which were wonderful surprises.  Going in I did not expect much, not having heard any chatter or read any reviews, and maybe that contributes to how good I thought they were.  You go in with low, or no, expectations the movie's odds of pleasantly surprising you are pretty high.  But I don't think that is the case here.

Buried was unlike anything I have watched in a long time.  The entire film takes place inside a box which has been buried, with one man inside (Ryan Reynolds, the only actor in the film).  Technical elements are impressive (camera placement, lighting), as is Reynolds' performance.  Wish I had seen this one on the big screen.

The Next Three Days is an action-thriller starring Russell Crowe, and since it has to do with an elaborate prison escape I was automatically interested.  While you have an idea of where the film is going to end up you never quite know how they are going to get there so the interest level remains high throughout.  What I also liked was that the film covers all its bases, I hate it when a movie sets up something and then just leaves a loose end!  As if the writers got confused or bored or lazy (kind of like Lost... "it is a magical island, just accept whatever we throw at you" haha But before all you Lost lovers go hating on me you should know that yes, I did watch Lost and, for the most part, did enjoy it)

That's it for now, woot

I Love You Phillip Morris

Starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor I was surprised how under-the-radar this movie was, but after watching it I have a better understanding as to why.  Will certainly never look at Jim Carrey the same way again...

Now due to my love of con flicks my opinion here may be admittedly skewed, but I found Phillip Morris to be quite entertaining.  Some really enjoyable montage scenes of multiple prison breaks, and an overall very light-hearted feel.  Supposedly based on a true story (although we all know that means diddily when it comes to hollywood) that fact stills lends an extra air of bravado to the tale of the texas-cop-turned-brilliant-gay-con-artist and the prison cellmate whom he fell in love with.  Intrigued?  hahaha

Unstoppable

I am off to an interesting start here with Unstoppable - released in 2010 starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine (who was Kirk on the recent Star Trek).  This movie was action-thriller indulgence at its best, exactly what I needed tonight - some cool-headed Denzel, bit of Pine eye candy, and a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals headed for, you guessed it, small-town USA.  This movie is just right for anyone ready to let some good nail-biting high-speed action wash right on over them.  Good for a pizza party, as if people are talking you won't worry about missing much.  Characters are trying to slow down and stop an uncontrolled train, not much plot here to get confused by... hahaha

Let the Movie-Watching Begin (or should I say continue? ha)

Hello my fellow movie lovers, friends, and family

There are lots of different ways to rate a movie:
- So bad I turned it off part way through
- Watchable, but not necessarily enjoyable
- Brainless, guilty pleasure, as are most action flicks
- Amazing movie, but not sure I would want to watch again
- I need to see this again right now.  And tell everyone about it.  Right now.

There are of course levels in between, but you get the general idea.  When people ask me what my favorite movie is, my answer will depend on who is asking me.  Now don't get me wrong, I won't lie, but the truth is I have loads of favorite movies and which one I choose depends on your definition of "favorite".  An overall excellent film?  Hmmm let's go with Schindler's List.  But do I want to watch that over and over?  Heck no.  For that category of "favorite" I may go with Zoolander or The Count of Monte Cristo.  "Foreign favorite" definitely deserves its own category in my book - and the winner is Mongol, or maybe Life is Beautiful.

I digress.  The point of my first post is to let you know that in my following daily movie commentary, as I am not so sure I would go so far as to call them "reviews", I will be as clear as I can regarding my feedback.  Last thing I want to do is refer to the movie as "four stars" without any context as to what the stars mean or who they were meant for ;)

Off to another movie...