It follows Al Pacino, who has just been released from prison after taking a fall, and Christopher Walken, his best friend who has been tasked with killing him, on a night that they treat as their last hurrah. Throughout this endeavor they are joined by Alan Arkin and they go about living it up and remembering their glory days.
Movie Reviews for the Movie Lover!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Stand Up Guys: Trailer
It follows Al Pacino, who has just been released from prison after taking a fall, and Christopher Walken, his best friend who has been tasked with killing him, on a night that they treat as their last hurrah. Throughout this endeavor they are joined by Alan Arkin and they go about living it up and remembering their glory days.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Warm Bodies Trailer
This weekend the movie Warm Bodies comes out. It is about a world infested with two types of Zombies, those who look like your standard slow moving, movie zombie and the faster moving, more vicious Bonies. Based on the trailer the Bonies are attracted to people because of their beating hearts (so are the Zombie creatures). This story follows a Zombie (R) who starts to become more human due to sexual attraction and forming a relationship with a human. I am looking forward to seeing if this concept is pulled off. I think it is focusing on the comedy aspect. We shall see.
Also available to watch are the first four minutes of the movie, which goes into more detail about the set up
What I have discovered: There is a continuous voice over by the main Zombie, referred to as R, and he is talking about his day as it is to him. That he doesn't remember his name, doesn't know much about himself but that he wishes to connect with others but cant because of the whole Zombie things. It explains how the Bonies are created and that they are Zombies that give up and just become these creatures.
I hope the the whole movie doesn't follow this slow of a pace and I think I will get sick of the voice over. Hopefully it will pick up steam after the basic set up of the first few minutes. Turn in for my review over the weekend.
Also available to watch are the first four minutes of the movie, which goes into more detail about the set up
What I have discovered: There is a continuous voice over by the main Zombie, referred to as R, and he is talking about his day as it is to him. That he doesn't remember his name, doesn't know much about himself but that he wishes to connect with others but cant because of the whole Zombie things. It explains how the Bonies are created and that they are Zombies that give up and just become these creatures.
I hope the the whole movie doesn't follow this slow of a pace and I think I will get sick of the voice over. Hopefully it will pick up steam after the basic set up of the first few minutes. Turn in for my review over the weekend.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Pride & Prejudice: Happy 200th
January 28th marks the 200th anniversary of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. Anyone who really knows me knows that this is one of my faviorate books and it is one of the things that truly ignited my love of the romance story. In homage to one of my favorite stories of all time I am reviewing my three standard Pride and Prejudice movies. Although there are many movie and TV renditions of this story these are my favorites and the ones closest to my heart.
Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austin's work and was first published two hundred years ago. It follows Elizabeth Bennet the second of five daughters of Thomas and Fanny Bennet, as she navigates her relationships with Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bennet is the a gentleman who lives in a small town in Hartforshire, England. His daughters are know as the local beauties of the area. When a rich, eligible gentleman, Mr. Bingly comes into the area, he brings along his best friend Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy finds himself drawn to Elizabeth Bennet but makes the mistake of getting on her bad side, both by calling her barely "tolerable" and separating Mr. Bingley from her older sister, Jane. Throughout troubles and tribulations Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet discover their loves for each other.
Pride and Prejudice: BBC production (1995)
When I think of the ultimate Pride and Prejudice movie, I think of the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice staring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. This is the movie that catapulted Colin Firth into the role of male dreamboat. Even though it has been almost twenty years since this version had been made, it is still the one I chose and go back to when describing the true nuances of the story and because of the five hour running time, it has the time to really take its time.
When I watch this version of the movie, I think about college and my girlfriends. We used to get together for romance movie night and we ultimately always ended up putting this version in at the end of the night. Usually breaking up the two half into different nights. So not only do I get to fall into the joys of this classic romance novel, I get to remember the joys of having good girlfriends who will always be there for you. Something that Elizabeth Bennet knows enough.
Pride and Prejudice: (2005)
This version of Pride and Prejudice starts Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. This is a more reasonable length movie and can be watched without giving up a whole day. I was surprised when this movie came out that I liked it, as I was not sure how Kiera Nightly would be as Elizabeth Bennet, but I was pleasantly surprised by her portrayal and this was rewarded by her nomination for an Academy Award. This version is pretty straightforward in story and sticks only to the main plot points. Somethings are mushed together but overall it captures the reluctant tension and then surrendered of the tension between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I stop this movie before the last scene as it seriously irritates me. If only this movie ended with the double wedding of Elizabeth and Jane to Darcy and Bingly would it be one of my favorite movies of all time.
Bride & Prejudice (2004)
Bride and Prejudice is a Bollywood inspired version of Pride and Prejudice. It follows the basic story line but transport it to modern day and replaces the Bennets of Hartfordshire as the Bakshi family of India. Mr. Darcy is an American who travels with his friend to India and meets Lalita. The basic plot of Pride and Prejudice plays out but several secondary characters are removed. I am a fan of the Bollywood flavor of this movie and I love how they breakout in song and dance throughout. I have the soundtrack on my ipod.
I recommend that everyone sees a version of pride and prejudice and I think that is culturally significance, let along it continued popularity over the past two centuries is enough to support my point. I hope that anyone who likes a good romance chooses to see this movie. And in my opinion it takes a lot for any other fictional male to live up to the most fabulous and illustrious Mr. Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austin's work and was first published two hundred years ago. It follows Elizabeth Bennet the second of five daughters of Thomas and Fanny Bennet, as she navigates her relationships with Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bennet is the a gentleman who lives in a small town in Hartforshire, England. His daughters are know as the local beauties of the area. When a rich, eligible gentleman, Mr. Bingly comes into the area, he brings along his best friend Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy finds himself drawn to Elizabeth Bennet but makes the mistake of getting on her bad side, both by calling her barely "tolerable" and separating Mr. Bingley from her older sister, Jane. Throughout troubles and tribulations Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet discover their loves for each other.
Pride and Prejudice: BBC production (1995)
When I think of the ultimate Pride and Prejudice movie, I think of the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice staring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. This is the movie that catapulted Colin Firth into the role of male dreamboat. Even though it has been almost twenty years since this version had been made, it is still the one I chose and go back to when describing the true nuances of the story and because of the five hour running time, it has the time to really take its time.
When I watch this version of the movie, I think about college and my girlfriends. We used to get together for romance movie night and we ultimately always ended up putting this version in at the end of the night. Usually breaking up the two half into different nights. So not only do I get to fall into the joys of this classic romance novel, I get to remember the joys of having good girlfriends who will always be there for you. Something that Elizabeth Bennet knows enough.
Pride and Prejudice: (2005)
This version of Pride and Prejudice starts Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. This is a more reasonable length movie and can be watched without giving up a whole day. I was surprised when this movie came out that I liked it, as I was not sure how Kiera Nightly would be as Elizabeth Bennet, but I was pleasantly surprised by her portrayal and this was rewarded by her nomination for an Academy Award. This version is pretty straightforward in story and sticks only to the main plot points. Somethings are mushed together but overall it captures the reluctant tension and then surrendered of the tension between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I stop this movie before the last scene as it seriously irritates me. If only this movie ended with the double wedding of Elizabeth and Jane to Darcy and Bingly would it be one of my favorite movies of all time.
Bride & Prejudice (2004)
Bride and Prejudice is a Bollywood inspired version of Pride and Prejudice. It follows the basic story line but transport it to modern day and replaces the Bennets of Hartfordshire as the Bakshi family of India. Mr. Darcy is an American who travels with his friend to India and meets Lalita. The basic plot of Pride and Prejudice plays out but several secondary characters are removed. I am a fan of the Bollywood flavor of this movie and I love how they breakout in song and dance throughout. I have the soundtrack on my ipod.
I recommend that everyone sees a version of pride and prejudice and I think that is culturally significance, let along it continued popularity over the past two centuries is enough to support my point. I hope that anyone who likes a good romance chooses to see this movie. And in my opinion it takes a lot for any other fictional male to live up to the most fabulous and illustrious Mr. Darcy.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Parker (2013): Review
Parker is a standard action movie, where there is nothing spectacular about it, but it keeps you going with the set up and fight sequences throughout. It was good for what it is, an action movie released during award season, but it is better then the other movies released this weekend.
Parker, starts Jason Stathum as the title character, who is a thief who was double crossed by the team he works with to hit up the Ohio State Fair. After coming away with the money and refusing to put the money in the kitty for the next big job the team of four, lead by Michael Chiklis, they decided to kill him. Having failed to do this, Parker decides to seek revenge against them and steal their next score. While doing this he runs into Jennifer Lopez's character, who felt like she was there only for a female presence. She was not the love interest that I was expecting, but that doesn't stop a scene where she gets into her undies. As the movie progresses, it is sprinkled with action and fight scenes that keep me interested and the plot movie along. The plot was simplistic, but this wasn't expected. All in all it was a fair action movie, with the focus on Stathum who seems to be the go to action guy right now. I like him in this role.
My Rating: 2-
Parker, starts Jason Stathum as the title character, who is a thief who was double crossed by the team he works with to hit up the Ohio State Fair. After coming away with the money and refusing to put the money in the kitty for the next big job the team of four, lead by Michael Chiklis, they decided to kill him. Having failed to do this, Parker decides to seek revenge against them and steal their next score. While doing this he runs into Jennifer Lopez's character, who felt like she was there only for a female presence. She was not the love interest that I was expecting, but that doesn't stop a scene where she gets into her undies. As the movie progresses, it is sprinkled with action and fight scenes that keep me interested and the plot movie along. The plot was simplistic, but this wasn't expected. All in all it was a fair action movie, with the focus on Stathum who seems to be the go to action guy right now. I like him in this role.
My Rating: 2-
Friday, January 25, 2013
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013): Review
I hate to say it, because I wanted to like this movie, but it was complete and utter crap. I went in expecting it to not be the best movie I have seen recently but I expected it to be better then it was. As I was watching it, I was confused as to what it was trying to be and felt that this movies big problem was that it was having an identify crisis. It never pick a what it was going for and because of this it never really went anywhere.
Hansel & Gretel: Which hunter is based on the basic story of Hansel and Gretel and starts with their back story as the set up. The main difference is that there is no step-mother and that their father is obvious about leaving them in the forest. The kids wander and find the candy house, but the witch is OTT definitely a witch. Hansel is forced to eat and Gretel is treated by a slave. They kill the witch and then go on to become witch hunters. The main story is when they are hired by the major of a town that has had multiple children kidnapped by witches. They utilize over the top violence and swearing throughout the movie, as they hunt the witches involved. While doing this they stumble upon their past.
There was no real plot to this movie, and it seemed like they went in one direction for a little bit and then went in another one that didn't really go with the first one. By doing this neither was every really fleshed out or developed, so I found myself not really caring about any of the characters. They only one who had an charismatic quality was Hansel, played by Jeremy Renner, and the only interesting character was Ben, a local boy who idolizes Hansel and Gretel. There was a lot of violence and it was obviously OTT, there was also a lot of swearing but this dint seem to go with the feel of the movie, which was more junior. I think this movie would have been more successful, if they dropped the OTT violence and swearing and aimed for a younger demographic. How it is it is too inappropriate for a younger audience, but doesn't have anything that an older audience can grab onto and enjoy.
Again, I didn't want to say this because I was looking forward to seeing this movie, but it is not worth seeing. It is not the worse movie I have seen but there wasn't anything that I would have missed if I had not seen it.
My Rating: 1
Hansel & Gretel: Which hunter is based on the basic story of Hansel and Gretel and starts with their back story as the set up. The main difference is that there is no step-mother and that their father is obvious about leaving them in the forest. The kids wander and find the candy house, but the witch is OTT definitely a witch. Hansel is forced to eat and Gretel is treated by a slave. They kill the witch and then go on to become witch hunters. The main story is when they are hired by the major of a town that has had multiple children kidnapped by witches. They utilize over the top violence and swearing throughout the movie, as they hunt the witches involved. While doing this they stumble upon their past.
There was no real plot to this movie, and it seemed like they went in one direction for a little bit and then went in another one that didn't really go with the first one. By doing this neither was every really fleshed out or developed, so I found myself not really caring about any of the characters. They only one who had an charismatic quality was Hansel, played by Jeremy Renner, and the only interesting character was Ben, a local boy who idolizes Hansel and Gretel. There was a lot of violence and it was obviously OTT, there was also a lot of swearing but this dint seem to go with the feel of the movie, which was more junior. I think this movie would have been more successful, if they dropped the OTT violence and swearing and aimed for a younger demographic. How it is it is too inappropriate for a younger audience, but doesn't have anything that an older audience can grab onto and enjoy.
Again, I didn't want to say this because I was looking forward to seeing this movie, but it is not worth seeing. It is not the worse movie I have seen but there wasn't anything that I would have missed if I had not seen it.
My Rating: 1
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Parker Trailer
This weekend, the newest Jason Stathum movie Parker is being released. See trailer here:
In Parker, Jason Stathum played the title character who is a thief with a set of rules. Your standard criminal with a code that he wont break. He is of course, is double crossed by the team that hires him, lead by Michael Chiklis. After failing to kill Parker, he decides to seek revenge and get back the money that is owed him. He plans to do this by letting them steal something big and then stealing it from them (I am assuming people will get their butts kicked by Stathum during this part). To get an insider's view of what is being planned he get the help of Jennifer Lopez, who agrees to help him in order to get a cut of the money. She will undoubtedly be the romantic interest of Stathum as it appears this is Jennifer Lopezs return to her sex siren role. She has probably been waiting to get back at Chiklis due to some minimally fleshed out back story.
Anyway, Parker seems to be a stereotypical action flick, but I am hoping is it full of lot of fights, shoot outs, and that it keeps me entertained throughout. This is the type of film that I tend to enjoy, assuming they don't do something to irritate me.
In Parker, Jason Stathum played the title character who is a thief with a set of rules. Your standard criminal with a code that he wont break. He is of course, is double crossed by the team that hires him, lead by Michael Chiklis. After failing to kill Parker, he decides to seek revenge and get back the money that is owed him. He plans to do this by letting them steal something big and then stealing it from them (I am assuming people will get their butts kicked by Stathum during this part). To get an insider's view of what is being planned he get the help of Jennifer Lopez, who agrees to help him in order to get a cut of the money. She will undoubtedly be the romantic interest of Stathum as it appears this is Jennifer Lopezs return to her sex siren role. She has probably been waiting to get back at Chiklis due to some minimally fleshed out back story.
Anyway, Parker seems to be a stereotypical action flick, but I am hoping is it full of lot of fights, shoot outs, and that it keeps me entertained throughout. This is the type of film that I tend to enjoy, assuming they don't do something to irritate me.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter Trailer and Grimm's Fairy Tale Summary
This Friday, January 25th, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter is being released and I am very excited for this movies, because one Hansel and Gretel has always been one of my favorite fairy tale and that in this movie they seem to kick some serious butt.
Hansel and Gretel is a Brother's Grimm story first published in 1812. It starts with Hansel and Gretel living with their woodcutter father and evil stepmother, because they are poor the stepmother convinces their father to take Hansel and Gretel into the forest and leave them their. Hansel and Gretel overhear this conversation, so Hansel sneaks outside and gathers pebbles that are easily seen in the moonlight. The next day when their father takes them deep into the forest, Hansel drops the stones, which the children follow back to their house after they are left in the forest by their father. The next night Hansel tries once to go outside and get some pebbles but the door is locked. As they are taken back into the forest, Hansel drooped bit of bread on the ground hopping to follow them back home, but during the day they are eaten by birds and that they are lost in the woods. As they wonder, they come across a house made up of gingerbread, cookies, and candies, which Hansel and Gretel start to eat. They are caught by the elderly women who lives in the house, who offers the children a place to sleep but in the morning she locks Hansel in a cage in order to fatten him up before she eats him and makes Gretel work as her slaves. Hansel eats only what he has to and convinces the witch that he does not have any meat on his bones, after several weeks she decides she is going to eat him anyway. As she gets the oven ready to cook Hansel, she decides she wants to eat Gretel as well and tells her that she needs Gretel to get into the oven to see it if it is hot enough, expecting to shut her in, but Gretel pretends she doesn't know how and tricks the witch into demonstrating, when the witch crawls into the oven, Gretel shuts the door on her, and the witch screams until she is burned to ashes. Gretel lets Hansel out of the cage, they find the witches treasures, and then return home to their father and a step mother who has died.
Growing up, I would watch the Cloris Leachman version of Hansel and Gretel (1987) over and over, and it was always one of my favorite fairy tales, especially because Gretel is the one who ends up tricking the witch. When I think of Hansel and Gretel this is the version I think of. Because I have always liked this story I was super excited when I heard that it was the latest story that was being updated with the current witch, vampire, werewolf craze.
This movie picks up fifteen years after the Grimm's Fairy Tale but changes the ending. Hansel and Gretel don't make it back home to their father, they become witch hunters, with a vendetta to kill all the witches they come across and seem to be in the business of being hired to come to a town to hunt and kill the raining witch. They are hired to come to a town that is infested with a witch and discover that they are back at their old home and that they were not abandoned by their parents, but that they are murdered. The trailer seems to focus on the set up of the story, but I have a feeling that the main witch the will be battling is the evil step mother. I will see for sure this weekend, as I will be seeing this movie. Stick around for my review. I hope that it is awesome and with Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton I am expecting some serious butt kicking.
Hansel and Gretel is a Brother's Grimm story first published in 1812. It starts with Hansel and Gretel living with their woodcutter father and evil stepmother, because they are poor the stepmother convinces their father to take Hansel and Gretel into the forest and leave them their. Hansel and Gretel overhear this conversation, so Hansel sneaks outside and gathers pebbles that are easily seen in the moonlight. The next day when their father takes them deep into the forest, Hansel drops the stones, which the children follow back to their house after they are left in the forest by their father. The next night Hansel tries once to go outside and get some pebbles but the door is locked. As they are taken back into the forest, Hansel drooped bit of bread on the ground hopping to follow them back home, but during the day they are eaten by birds and that they are lost in the woods. As they wonder, they come across a house made up of gingerbread, cookies, and candies, which Hansel and Gretel start to eat. They are caught by the elderly women who lives in the house, who offers the children a place to sleep but in the morning she locks Hansel in a cage in order to fatten him up before she eats him and makes Gretel work as her slaves. Hansel eats only what he has to and convinces the witch that he does not have any meat on his bones, after several weeks she decides she is going to eat him anyway. As she gets the oven ready to cook Hansel, she decides she wants to eat Gretel as well and tells her that she needs Gretel to get into the oven to see it if it is hot enough, expecting to shut her in, but Gretel pretends she doesn't know how and tricks the witch into demonstrating, when the witch crawls into the oven, Gretel shuts the door on her, and the witch screams until she is burned to ashes. Gretel lets Hansel out of the cage, they find the witches treasures, and then return home to their father and a step mother who has died.
Growing up, I would watch the Cloris Leachman version of Hansel and Gretel (1987) over and over, and it was always one of my favorite fairy tales, especially because Gretel is the one who ends up tricking the witch. When I think of Hansel and Gretel this is the version I think of. Because I have always liked this story I was super excited when I heard that it was the latest story that was being updated with the current witch, vampire, werewolf craze.
Watch the trailer for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunter here:
This movie picks up fifteen years after the Grimm's Fairy Tale but changes the ending. Hansel and Gretel don't make it back home to their father, they become witch hunters, with a vendetta to kill all the witches they come across and seem to be in the business of being hired to come to a town to hunt and kill the raining witch. They are hired to come to a town that is infested with a witch and discover that they are back at their old home and that they were not abandoned by their parents, but that they are murdered. The trailer seems to focus on the set up of the story, but I have a feeling that the main witch the will be battling is the evil step mother. I will see for sure this weekend, as I will be seeing this movie. Stick around for my review. I hope that it is awesome and with Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton I am expecting some serious butt kicking.
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