March Movie Madness! (in August)
I know I've gotten woefully behind on these entries (and I honestly had very good intentions about keeping up with it). Obviously, that hasn't happened, and I had quite a few entries backlogged to post. This is one of them, and.... it's an entry about spring break. XD That was only... 5 months ago. (wow, I really am behind!)
So much has happened in the past few months that I won't bore you with it all, but this entry just had to be posted. It took me like, 1.5 hrs to type it! It's a very long entry. Over 3000 words! Which of course means, you don't have to read the entire thing. It's way too long for any sane person to read. So, if you would like to be bored, please continue with the entry.
And now, the Me From 5 Months Ago:
March Movie Madness!
So, I spent a good deal of my spring break quite happily parked in front of a television, watching movies. Unlike othersocial people, I was actually quite happy about this. Honestly, my ideal break would be spent with friends, watching movies the entire time. Unfortunately, my movie selections weren't as nicely varied as what I watched during winter break. In my defense though, I was limited to what the CV library had. It was good enough for me though, because I'm so pitifully behind on movies that the library seemed like a gold mine. Anyway, like I did last break, I thought I would keep track of what I watched, and my thoughts/reactions to the movies.
Memento
Wow. Just, wow. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christopher Nolan, so I like this movie too. Not as good as the Prestige, I felt, but this was one of his earlier films. I give Nolan props for making this film in the first place. I think I have a thing for psychological thrillers. I'm not even entirely sure if this movie falls under that category though. It's practically a category all on its own.
I LOVE the premise and plot of the film. It's based off the short story Memento Mori by Jonathon Nolan, Christopher Nolan's brother. (Side note: I think these two make a great team.)
Lenny is a man who has short term memory loss. He sustained the injury in a home invasion, in which his wife was raped and killed. Sadly, this is the last thing he remembers. So, with his "disability", he sets out to find the man who raped and killed his wife, so he can exact revenge. However, since every time his mind "resets", and he can't remember anything that happened before his wife's death, he has come up with a rather interesting way of keeping himself in the loop. He uses a panoramic camera (I wish they still sold these) to remind himself of things, and he leaves notes for himself everywhere. There's tons of little things about this movie that keep you watching, but after awhile, you start to feel like you're not smart enough to understand everything that's going on. The ending was quite literally mindblowing to me. Oh! Also, if you rent the DVD, check out the DVD menus! They're creepily in theme with the film. (Watch them closely, because small things change!) Anyway, I would totally watch this movie again, even though I know the ending. I bet there are small things I didn't notice the first time, because I was busy being flabbergasted.
Hamlet 2
Normally I don't like movies like this, at all. They seem so stupid, and... quite honestly like a total waste of money. Maybe it's because I watched it with Chelsea, or maybe it's because it was break and I turned my brain off, but I like this movie a lot! It was totally stupid, had a billion horrible gags, and had no characterization/character growth, but it was still good. Dana Marschz is an out of work, failure of an actor, so he teaches drama at a high school in Tuscon, AZ. The drama program is pretty much a failure, with only two students. When the school undergoes budget cuts, the first thing to go are the arts programs. In a desperate attempt to save drama, Marschz writes a play to rally his students together. The play itself really is quite horrible, there's no denying it. It's a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet, and to get around the fact that everyone dies in Hamlet, Marschz has come up with the wonderful plot device of a time machine. Yeah, like I said, stupid. But anyway, I think the movie did have some redeeming moments. Nothing stellar comes to mind, but as a whole, it somehow managed to come together. Either that, or my movie tastes are seriously dying.
Defiance
Intense. Movie. That about sums up this movie to me. You really have to be in the mood for a survival war film to see this. The first time I tried watching the film, I was also trying to do something else, and so once I got about an hour in, I had no idea what was happening, and I didn't really care. I stopped watching it, and restarted from a beginning a few hours later, when I could properly sit down and watch. Once I did that, the story opened up to me. The story of the Bielski brothers is absolutely amazing to me. The Bielski's are Jewish brothers, who hid out in the Belarussian forests from Nazis. During this time, they gain other Jewish followers, and end up building a village in the forest. It's really quite amazing what these men did.
Daniel Craig was incredibly scary looking in this movie. One word comes to mind. INTENSE. His face, was just... INTENSE! the whole time. But I think all the actors did a really good job. Liev Schreiber (Keppler from CSI!) was just as good as Craig. I honestly felt invested in the story of the Bielskis. I think Asael was my favorite. His personality was just adorable. Anyway, I think the actors even did a fairly good job with their Russian accents and dialogue. Of course, I am in no way an expert in Russian, but it sounded okay to me. In any case, they weren't cheesy. I don't think a movie of this magnitude could get away with bad accents. To be fair, some characters, like Isaac Malbin, didn't have very good accents, and even the main actors slipped out of the accent a bit when they were yelling. I was thinking about it though, and it would be hecka hard to keep an accent when you were yelling at the top of your lungs! I sort of tried to do it with a British accent, and miserably failed.
Stardust
So, I pretty much wanted to see this movie ever since I went to Comic Con and Neil Gaiman was there announcing its creation. I didn't actually get around to reading the book until winter break though, and I wanted to read it before I watched it. The movie wasn't horrible, but I practically consider the movie and book to be two separate entities. While I realize a movie will never be as rich and complex as the book, Stardust's movie adaptation left more than a little to be desired. It had wonderfully cheesy special effects, and the world of Wall and beyond the Wall were mere shadows of what they were in the novel. Which is why I decided to think of the movie and book as totally and completely separate. Like um, the movie just happens to have the same character names and basic plot, but characterization and actions are completely different. Sort of like fanfiction, I think. Anyway, Charlie Cox was adorably and wonderfully dorky as Tristan. And somehow, he looks way better with long hair than with short hair (and I usually hate guys with long hair).
Tropic Thunder
Yes, I am aware how incredibly STUPID this movie is. But, I found myself strangely entranced by it. I couldn't stop watching, even though I knew I should. I love how Steve Coogan (who I just saw in Hamlet 2) was also in this film. And of course, he played an absolute idiot. Tom Cruise was surprisingly good in this movie too. Prior to this, I always thought he had a large stick shoved up his butt. I thought he was so uptight. But I'm afraid that world view has been shaken. I'm quite sure what to think about him now. Matthew McConaughey was laughably himself. I tend not to like him as an actor, because he ALWAYS plays the same kind of character. Now, he's not necessarily bad at these roles, but it does get tiresome. Honestly though, I really watched the movie for Robert Downey Jr. I was on a RDJ kick, and still am. I find the man intensely intriguing, and so was his character Kirk Lazarus! Man, he was probably one of the funniest parts of this movie. I loved his vaguely racist comments. Anyway, I.... got way too sucked in, and decided to watch the movie with the actor commentary. I was only going to watch a few minutes, but then I got sucked into that too! The commentary thing was pretty funny though. Jack Black got there late, and spent like, the first 20 minutes chowing down on a burger. And then RDJ did the whole commentary STILL in character as a black man. Hee. That was pretty hilarious too. In like, the baddest way possible. As the whole, the movie was incredibly vulgar, racist, and off the top, but for some reason, I still enjoyed the stupidity of it all.
Young Frankenstein
I had seen some of this way back when in Brit Lit when we read Frankenstein, and I knew that I had to see the entire thing. I love those lame comedy movies from that era (gotta love Mel Brooks!), and I just added another movie to my list. I mean, I LOVE Men in Tights (much more than I should, anyway). I still want to see Blazing Saddles and Springtime for Hitler. Anyway, that's a topic for another time. Young Frankenstein had some classic scenes, such as the "It's Alive!!", switching of the brains, and my favorite, the tap dancing Monster. Ahh, great things. At times I felt the gags getting a little tiresome, but I think a movie like this sort of depends on gags. I would watch this again though, if only to see the monster dancing!
Alice in Wonderland
Do I like Tim Burton? Yes, I do. Was this movie amazing? Not really. I was hoping it would be, but I wasn't blown away at all. The graphics were very cool, I'll admit (something to go see while high), but... the storyline was amazingly lacking. I don't think I was as invested or interested in the story as I would have been, had I read the actual book. And... I didn't. As a result, I took a lot of things for granted, and had to accept a lot of things as just "stuff that happened". And I don't really like movies like that. Movies should create realistic, practically tangible, whole worlds. And Alice in Wonderland didn't live up to that expectation. Oh, btw, Helena Bonham Carter's blown up head freaked me out. And I could hardly understand the Mad Hatter's accent some of the time (and it freakin' changed all the time too! One moment he was Scottish, and the next he wasn't. What was up with that?)
The Runaways
I went to see this with my cousin (of all people). You know how I said I was on a RDJ kick? Well, he was on a Dakota Fanning kick. (I know, go figure, right?) I was a bit reluctant to see the movie because of my extreme distaste for Kristen Stewart, but the movie wasn't bad. Dakota Fanning's singing chops weren't as stellar as the reviews made it out to be, but I didn't really have anything to base them off of, I guess. I honestly have never heard a Joan Jett song (as far as I'm aware), so I didn't really know any of the story at all. In terms of "woman power!" it wasn't a bad story. Joan Jett was/is a very strong, go-get-it kind of girl. And I like those kinds of people. The whole world of underage drinking/drugs/sex was sort of disturbing to me, but I think it was supposed to be. Rockstars are some seriously messed up people. And I know you're wondering, what did I think of Kristen Stewart? Well, she wasn't bad, I'll admit. If Stewart is good at anything, it's at playing depressed, stubborn, "go fuck yourself" kind of people. And that's exactly what she did. I still maintain that she doesn't "act", she just "is". Oh, if only I could make a living like that.
Rent
I've been wanting to see this movie ever since it came out in theaters (and I even remember seeing the commercials). Unfortunately, that never happened. I really wanted to see it just for Jesse L. Martin. LAW & ORDER MAN, LAW & ORDER. I love Detective Green!! I know there are a lot of people who don't like Rent, but I actually liked it. I liked how they used the original Rent cast in the movie. Tracie Thorns (from Cold Case) has an AMAZING voice, something I didn't expect. She can really belt it out though. For her supposedly "amazing" voice, I didn't find Idina Menzel much of a stand out. Certainly she has a strong voice, but... I wasn't super impressed. There's having a strong, loud voice, and then there's having range, clarity, and depth. I find that more impressive. All in all, I found myself invested in the plight of the characters (Angel!), and in the end, that's all that matters from a film. Oh, and I didn't like Rosario Dawson as much as I think I should have.
The Soloist
ROBERT DOWNEY JR!!! Of course, right? He's just as good playing an everyday guy as he is playing a superhero. He was completely believable, and um... I have no more words. Oh, and of course, Jamie Foxx was excellent too. He certainly has a knack for playing musically gifted people. Or maybe it's because he is one himself. Slightly sappy, but I would see the movie again! (As with, just about every other movie on this list... I think I'm getting less picky.)
I Am Sam
What to say about this movie that hasn't already been said? It's one of Dakota Fanning's first movies that got her into the spot light, it's about a sensitive issue, it has Sean Penn... Sean Penn, of course, was amazing as Sam. Playing a mentally retarded man, I think actor's tend to go over the top, but I found his performance completely believable. Perhaps that's just me being optimistic and not knowing enough able handicapped people though. Dakota Fanning aptly played the intelligent, endearing, little girl. And the story was so sad! But at least it had a "happy" ending. But everything he had to go through to get his little girl back... makes me tear up just thinking about it. Sort of. This movie is something that is an experience. Although, whether or not I would experience it again is up to debate. I loved the movie, but it put me through so many emotions (and some bits were a bit tedious), that I don't know if I would do it again. I do think people should experience it for themselves though.
So much has happened in the past few months that I won't bore you with it all, but this entry just had to be posted. It took me like, 1.5 hrs to type it! It's a very long entry. Over 3000 words! Which of course means, you don't have to read the entire thing. It's way too long for any sane person to read. So, if you would like to be bored, please continue with the entry.
And now, the Me From 5 Months Ago:
March Movie Madness!
So, I spent a good deal of my spring break quite happily parked in front of a television, watching movies. Unlike other
Memento
Wow. Just, wow. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christopher Nolan, so I like this movie too. Not as good as the Prestige, I felt, but this was one of his earlier films. I give Nolan props for making this film in the first place. I think I have a thing for psychological thrillers. I'm not even entirely sure if this movie falls under that category though. It's practically a category all on its own.
I LOVE the premise and plot of the film. It's based off the short story Memento Mori by Jonathon Nolan, Christopher Nolan's brother. (Side note: I think these two make a great team.)
Lenny is a man who has short term memory loss. He sustained the injury in a home invasion, in which his wife was raped and killed. Sadly, this is the last thing he remembers. So, with his "disability", he sets out to find the man who raped and killed his wife, so he can exact revenge. However, since every time his mind "resets", and he can't remember anything that happened before his wife's death, he has come up with a rather interesting way of keeping himself in the loop. He uses a panoramic camera (I wish they still sold these) to remind himself of things, and he leaves notes for himself everywhere. There's tons of little things about this movie that keep you watching, but after awhile, you start to feel like you're not smart enough to understand everything that's going on. The ending was quite literally mindblowing to me. Oh! Also, if you rent the DVD, check out the DVD menus! They're creepily in theme with the film. (Watch them closely, because small things change!) Anyway, I would totally watch this movie again, even though I know the ending. I bet there are small things I didn't notice the first time, because I was busy being flabbergasted.
Hamlet 2
Normally I don't like movies like this, at all. They seem so stupid, and... quite honestly like a total waste of money. Maybe it's because I watched it with Chelsea, or maybe it's because it was break and I turned my brain off, but I like this movie a lot! It was totally stupid, had a billion horrible gags, and had no characterization/character growth, but it was still good. Dana Marschz is an out of work, failure of an actor, so he teaches drama at a high school in Tuscon, AZ. The drama program is pretty much a failure, with only two students. When the school undergoes budget cuts, the first thing to go are the arts programs. In a desperate attempt to save drama, Marschz writes a play to rally his students together. The play itself really is quite horrible, there's no denying it. It's a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet, and to get around the fact that everyone dies in Hamlet, Marschz has come up with the wonderful plot device of a time machine. Yeah, like I said, stupid. But anyway, I think the movie did have some redeeming moments. Nothing stellar comes to mind, but as a whole, it somehow managed to come together. Either that, or my movie tastes are seriously dying.
Defiance
Intense. Movie. That about sums up this movie to me. You really have to be in the mood for a survival war film to see this. The first time I tried watching the film, I was also trying to do something else, and so once I got about an hour in, I had no idea what was happening, and I didn't really care. I stopped watching it, and restarted from a beginning a few hours later, when I could properly sit down and watch. Once I did that, the story opened up to me. The story of the Bielski brothers is absolutely amazing to me. The Bielski's are Jewish brothers, who hid out in the Belarussian forests from Nazis. During this time, they gain other Jewish followers, and end up building a village in the forest. It's really quite amazing what these men did.
Daniel Craig was incredibly scary looking in this movie. One word comes to mind. INTENSE. His face, was just... INTENSE! the whole time. But I think all the actors did a really good job. Liev Schreiber (Keppler from CSI!) was just as good as Craig. I honestly felt invested in the story of the Bielskis. I think Asael was my favorite. His personality was just adorable. Anyway, I think the actors even did a fairly good job with their Russian accents and dialogue. Of course, I am in no way an expert in Russian, but it sounded okay to me. In any case, they weren't cheesy. I don't think a movie of this magnitude could get away with bad accents. To be fair, some characters, like Isaac Malbin, didn't have very good accents, and even the main actors slipped out of the accent a bit when they were yelling. I was thinking about it though, and it would be hecka hard to keep an accent when you were yelling at the top of your lungs! I sort of tried to do it with a British accent, and miserably failed.
Stardust
So, I pretty much wanted to see this movie ever since I went to Comic Con and Neil Gaiman was there announcing its creation. I didn't actually get around to reading the book until winter break though, and I wanted to read it before I watched it. The movie wasn't horrible, but I practically consider the movie and book to be two separate entities. While I realize a movie will never be as rich and complex as the book, Stardust's movie adaptation left more than a little to be desired. It had wonderfully cheesy special effects, and the world of Wall and beyond the Wall were mere shadows of what they were in the novel. Which is why I decided to think of the movie and book as totally and completely separate. Like um, the movie just happens to have the same character names and basic plot, but characterization and actions are completely different. Sort of like fanfiction, I think. Anyway, Charlie Cox was adorably and wonderfully dorky as Tristan. And somehow, he looks way better with long hair than with short hair (and I usually hate guys with long hair).
Tropic Thunder
Yes, I am aware how incredibly STUPID this movie is. But, I found myself strangely entranced by it. I couldn't stop watching, even though I knew I should. I love how Steve Coogan (who I just saw in Hamlet 2) was also in this film. And of course, he played an absolute idiot. Tom Cruise was surprisingly good in this movie too. Prior to this, I always thought he had a large stick shoved up his butt. I thought he was so uptight. But I'm afraid that world view has been shaken. I'm quite sure what to think about him now. Matthew McConaughey was laughably himself. I tend not to like him as an actor, because he ALWAYS plays the same kind of character. Now, he's not necessarily bad at these roles, but it does get tiresome. Honestly though, I really watched the movie for Robert Downey Jr. I was on a RDJ kick, and still am. I find the man intensely intriguing, and so was his character Kirk Lazarus! Man, he was probably one of the funniest parts of this movie. I loved his vaguely racist comments. Anyway, I.... got way too sucked in, and decided to watch the movie with the actor commentary. I was only going to watch a few minutes, but then I got sucked into that too! The commentary thing was pretty funny though. Jack Black got there late, and spent like, the first 20 minutes chowing down on a burger. And then RDJ did the whole commentary STILL in character as a black man. Hee. That was pretty hilarious too. In like, the baddest way possible. As the whole, the movie was incredibly vulgar, racist, and off the top, but for some reason, I still enjoyed the stupidity of it all.
Young Frankenstein
I had seen some of this way back when in Brit Lit when we read Frankenstein, and I knew that I had to see the entire thing. I love those lame comedy movies from that era (gotta love Mel Brooks!), and I just added another movie to my list. I mean, I LOVE Men in Tights (much more than I should, anyway). I still want to see Blazing Saddles and Springtime for Hitler. Anyway, that's a topic for another time. Young Frankenstein had some classic scenes, such as the "It's Alive!!", switching of the brains, and my favorite, the tap dancing Monster. Ahh, great things. At times I felt the gags getting a little tiresome, but I think a movie like this sort of depends on gags. I would watch this again though, if only to see the monster dancing!
Alice in Wonderland
Do I like Tim Burton? Yes, I do. Was this movie amazing? Not really. I was hoping it would be, but I wasn't blown away at all. The graphics were very cool, I'll admit (something to go see while high), but... the storyline was amazingly lacking. I don't think I was as invested or interested in the story as I would have been, had I read the actual book. And... I didn't. As a result, I took a lot of things for granted, and had to accept a lot of things as just "stuff that happened". And I don't really like movies like that. Movies should create realistic, practically tangible, whole worlds. And Alice in Wonderland didn't live up to that expectation. Oh, btw, Helena Bonham Carter's blown up head freaked me out. And I could hardly understand the Mad Hatter's accent some of the time (and it freakin' changed all the time too! One moment he was Scottish, and the next he wasn't. What was up with that?)
The Runaways
I went to see this with my cousin (of all people). You know how I said I was on a RDJ kick? Well, he was on a Dakota Fanning kick. (I know, go figure, right?) I was a bit reluctant to see the movie because of my extreme distaste for Kristen Stewart, but the movie wasn't bad. Dakota Fanning's singing chops weren't as stellar as the reviews made it out to be, but I didn't really have anything to base them off of, I guess. I honestly have never heard a Joan Jett song (as far as I'm aware), so I didn't really know any of the story at all. In terms of "woman power!" it wasn't a bad story. Joan Jett was/is a very strong, go-get-it kind of girl. And I like those kinds of people. The whole world of underage drinking/drugs/sex was sort of disturbing to me, but I think it was supposed to be. Rockstars are some seriously messed up people. And I know you're wondering, what did I think of Kristen Stewart? Well, she wasn't bad, I'll admit. If Stewart is good at anything, it's at playing depressed, stubborn, "go fuck yourself" kind of people. And that's exactly what she did. I still maintain that she doesn't "act", she just "is". Oh, if only I could make a living like that.
Rent
I've been wanting to see this movie ever since it came out in theaters (and I even remember seeing the commercials). Unfortunately, that never happened. I really wanted to see it just for Jesse L. Martin. LAW & ORDER MAN, LAW & ORDER. I love Detective Green!! I know there are a lot of people who don't like Rent, but I actually liked it. I liked how they used the original Rent cast in the movie. Tracie Thorns (from Cold Case) has an AMAZING voice, something I didn't expect. She can really belt it out though. For her supposedly "amazing" voice, I didn't find Idina Menzel much of a stand out. Certainly she has a strong voice, but... I wasn't super impressed. There's having a strong, loud voice, and then there's having range, clarity, and depth. I find that more impressive. All in all, I found myself invested in the plight of the characters (Angel!), and in the end, that's all that matters from a film. Oh, and I didn't like Rosario Dawson as much as I think I should have.
The Soloist
ROBERT DOWNEY JR!!! Of course, right? He's just as good playing an everyday guy as he is playing a superhero. He was completely believable, and um... I have no more words. Oh, and of course, Jamie Foxx was excellent too. He certainly has a knack for playing musically gifted people. Or maybe it's because he is one himself. Slightly sappy, but I would see the movie again! (As with, just about every other movie on this list... I think I'm getting less picky.)
I Am Sam
What to say about this movie that hasn't already been said? It's one of Dakota Fanning's first movies that got her into the spot light, it's about a sensitive issue, it has Sean Penn... Sean Penn, of course, was amazing as Sam. Playing a mentally retarded man, I think actor's tend to go over the top, but I found his performance completely believable. Perhaps that's just me being optimistic and not knowing enough able handicapped people though. Dakota Fanning aptly played the intelligent, endearing, little girl. And the story was so sad! But at least it had a "happy" ending. But everything he had to go through to get his little girl back... makes me tear up just thinking about it. Sort of. This movie is something that is an experience. Although, whether or not I would experience it again is up to debate. I loved the movie, but it put me through so many emotions (and some bits were a bit tedious), that I don't know if I would do it again. I do think people should experience it for themselves though.