More Movies...! (btw)

Just a few more movies...

"Takers"

"Little Fockers"

(I like to say they "Shrekked" it--give it the "SHREK" treatment--TOO MANY SEQUELS, and it's a play on the word "wreck") (o;

TO COME!!

And I PROMISE I'll review all the others soon!!!!

(and to come: "Amadeus")

TOODLES.

PAYCE.

Splice (2009)

Hello!!

Just finished "Splice," an indie sci-flick starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. It's a sci-fi horror movie and it was actually pretty decent.

I haven't looked at reviews or plot summaries, so I went in with completely fresh eyes and POV, just off the trailer.

Hopefully it's not a disjointed experience, because I started this movie on a plane back to the States from Taiwan, and we landed halfway through. I just finished it today.

WOW.

Where to begin.

Well, it wasn't one of those jaw-dropping, eye-popping experiences, but there were edge-of-my-seat moments and a few heart palpitations.

[on a side note, that GUY! he's in "Knocked Up" and "Adventureland"--4 eyes? Jesus? lol he's in this movie as Clide's brother. Clide <<>

*ok maybe I was mistaken

BUT it did what it was supposed to.

I suppose you are all tired of hearing me say that about movies, but honestly--if you go in with an open mind and the ability to appreciate the movie for what it is, you'll never feel like you're wasting your money--or your time (theatre vs renting). And isn't life better when you can enjoy every movie you view??

So the premise of the movie is that two married scientists, played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley (Clide and Elsa), want to progress further in their genetic experiments than their science company, N.E.R.D., are willing to allow them (They have successfully spliced together a few animals to create "Ginger" and "Fred," a female and male of the same "species").

They progress to create an illicit experiment, but including human DNA. The experiments still lack a protein to be synthesized to make sure the new creature(s) would be stable, genetically.

The movie progresses well; every scene has a purpose (even when it seems like it does not--JUST WATCH!). I won't give away the good parts, but there are a few twists and turns (from beginning to end) that will keep you entertained.

Hopefully, you're not looking for some star quality, but I'd give the acting a B.

Overall, I would actually give the movie an A-/B+ rating, about ★★★★☆

[If you don't trust me, I use IMDB.com and RottenTomatoes.com as references--I used to read "Eye" section of San Jose Mercury News and "EW" regularly, but yeah...]

Happy Viewing!!

24: Season 7

Curse this season for its cliffhanger!!

And curse the internet for its many SPOILERS that exist. Harumph.

But I suppose it's my own fault.

In shopping around for "Season 8," I accidentally stumbled upon (well, not really... I should've just scrolled, but accidentally skimmed) the Wikipedia page, and found out some info I'd rather not have found out.

I was also trying to find a way to view it online.

Oh well.

ANYWAY.

Season 7... It's always the ENDS of these days (24 = 1 day = 1 season) that make me go through the eps like fire. The beginning/middle ones are sometimes a bit slow...

With that said, there is some major double-crossing(crossage?) and some plot twists in this story that make it pretty awesome.

Although I can see why David Palmer is the favorite prez of 24's world, Alison Taylor is JUST as ethical and JUST as willing to sacrifice her own personal issues/flaws (be it via her or extended) in the name of truth and justice.

Oh, how I wish America's REAL prez's were thus (instead of the conniving politicians MOST of them really are... but that's in an ideal world; someone who's willing to get their hands dirty? THAT gets results, unfortunately. Call me naïve, but I believe it thus).

24 starts off with the kidnapping of a scientist who knows how to arm a piece of machinery (software/hardware) that will aid some foreign terrorists in their plans.

The beauty of 24 is that, because it is given its 24-ep arc, and the eps range from a standard 42, 43-min to even 45-47 (in the longer range ones), MUCH of the story can be told because it is in real time. A lot of the time, a smaller conspiracy is unmasked by an even larger one by the day's end. Plot twists are always key in the 24 world, but I do feel like, with this particular season, the writers may have been trying a tad too much.

With that said, it was still an awesome season.

Again, the unfulfilling part is with the cliffhanger ending. But, I guess we should beg the question: When does "24" not end that way? An assassination attempt on the president? Jack's being abducted by foreign nationals? It leaves the viewer wanting more, no doubt. Unfortunately, what I hate about serials is the LONG WAIT in between.

So get thee to Netflix or Fox's website or a subscription service (if you must, download--iTunes offers ep's of TV serials at a fairly cheap price).

(Although I'd just RENT or borrow it from your local library--put it on hold! There's no rush. Save yourself some $$)

24: Season 7 - A-

With that, I'm signing off and out.

See you tomorrow with "Blue Valentine" 's review and some others that have been a long time coming. Meanwhile; I've got to figure a way to save up space on my hard drive for Season 8.

Much <3

Toodles.

BORAT (2006)

I'm almost done with 24: Season 7, so expect a review on that soon.

Idk what it is, but from season to season, I don't really remember too much. To tell you the truth, the season that I have the most vivid memories for is Day 1. It's somewhat like that for CSI (Las Vegas) as well. Season One stands out the most.

- - - - -

BORAT: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

This movie was just as funny as, if not funnier, than when I first saw it.

There were moments I remembered, and there were some I did not. Overall, a super delightful, enjoyable experience.

It satirizes the American population (especially the conservative and at times, ignorant, right) to a tee, and the rapport Borat builds with his unsuspecting cohorts (audience) is truly a work of art.

(I commented at one point that hopefully Sacha Baron Cohen apologized to some people [NOT ALL] after the filming of this--especially to Pamela Anderson... or NOT) <- nod to the film (o;

JUST GO WATCH IT ALREADY.

Aside from the fact that it most likely very inaccurately portrays people from Kazakhstan--it is an accurate portrayal of an unsuspecting American public.

People would be more real than they would be in a Michael Moore documentary, because they believe this movie is for a foreign audience.

He does it again in "Bruno," but I know more people found that offensive. Mostly people uncomfortable with homosexuality and homosexual scenes will not be able to stomach some of "Bruno" 's more graphic scenes.

But I digress.

This review will be short and sweet, because IN SHORT-

WATCH "BORAT."

Grade: A

I actually want to liken it to "Shrek" (don't ask me why; I find they are in the same vein--and NOT the Shrek sequels--just the first one). It's satirical--pokes fun at itself, at the genre it's supposed to be in, and at its viewers, even. I like those types of movies. (On a side note, actors willing to portray themselves as a caricature of themselves are cool in my book, too.)

I forgot--I also had a chance to go watch the Indie film "Blue Valentine" with an old roommate (friend), and I must say. I was expecting it to be good the way I thought "500 Days of Summer" was (also with the same friend--she likes Indie films!), and it was. Satisfied me.

It told a human story about love, just as "500 Days" did, and honestly, in this day and age--a realistic story that is spun well and has good acting in it deserves an A.

Review to come.

(Also, Ken Davitian did an awesome job as well. You can also find him in "Get Smart," which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although it may have seemed farcical, the scenes in the trailer were nowhere near some of the funnier scenes in the movie--a fact I like about funny movies. You shouldn't have all your funniest bits in the trailer...)

CHEERS! (o;

Mirrors (2008)

How do I start?

I really wanted to see this when it came out, and then the reviews apparently weren't too fond of it, and generally when that happens, the tv spots and trailers drop out (frequency drops) after the movie opens.

I didn't give it a second thought till recently.

"Mirrors" does what it needs to do.

As a refresher, my boyfriend and I re-watched the Trailer, and we concurred that the ending may have been what killed the ratings for the movie (there's an explosion in the trailer, so I'm not SPOILing anything). Any time there's something like that, it kinda kills what could have otherwise been an AWESOME supernatural thriller/horror story...

As a general rule, I don't like too much gore, but I think after watching CSI, I've become deadened to it, because I watched the "Saw" movies (only I-III) and felt nothing--didn't need to look away, no stomach turning. Although, I've never had that feeling before; just an uncomfy unsettled feeling because I tend to feel every cut, bruise, break happens to me, physically. Can't really explain it. Probably why I never wanted to become a doctor.

But I digress.

My boyfriend made the comment that someone had to have made a movie about this concept already! But I'm pretty sure "Mirrors" is the first of its kind.

It stars Kiefer Sutherland and Paula Patton (I actually enjoyed her performance in "Idlewild"--a movie I'd recommend!), as well as a guest appearance by Amy Smart as Sutherland's sister.

The premise of the movie (if you don't already know) is that apparently another world exists beyond the mirrors--almost a parallel universe--or something beyond the mirrors looking in to our world--as if we saw it the way a 2-way mirror works--it can see in, but we only see our reflections.

(It's actually an evil spirit of some kind, but again, you could get that from the trailer.)

My understanding from the trailer was that, no matter what happened in the mirror, if it happened in there, then it didn't matter if YOU on this side weren't doing anything, it'd happen to you.

And that's about it.

Kiefer Sutherland plays a retired cop--or in-between because he's trying to get reinstated--who takes on a part-time job as the night watchman of an abandoned department store (don't ask me why--both my boyfriend and I came to the consensus that the owners should just install a security system if they're that worried about hooligans, riffraff, and looting--unless machinery doesn't work inside, but they never explain it; also--CREEPY AS HELL--why would you work there?? He suggested that the security guard just say he made his rounds, but not actually).

Overall, it was enjoyable. Gave me some scares (as my boyfriend tried to jolt me by inhaling suddenly at various points in the movie), and I did close my eyes at some of the gorier CGI scenes.

For a horror movie and for its entertainment value (as these stories SHOULD be), I give it a B-

It came to my attention that there was a sequel. I would say skip it. For the most part, sequels seem to falter and just be worse (when I found out "Butterfly Effect" had a sequel, I was shocked. I enjoyed the movie, but didn't really seeing its needing a sequel).

Enjoy!!

Toodles.

- - - - -

Upcoming Titles: "Marie Antoinette" ; "Dreamgirls" ; "Exit Through the Gift Shop" ; "Bon Cop, Bad Cop"

AND YES. I still need to review all those other past-mentioned films.

Not to mention, a hidden Kiefer Sutherland film, "Dark City" found its way into my 24: Season 7 download (ssshh!! jk), so I may or may not check that out.

Till then... Today will see a double feature. I recently re-watched "Borat" with my boyfriend because he said he hadn't seen it all the way before (only bits and pieces). He also told me (upon finishing) that he realized 3/4 of the way through that he'd seen the first 1/3 before.

REVIEWING NOW.

Clash of the Titans

This would be the new one. With the special effects.

As a movie, it was what it was to be expected.

Special Effects--good enough.

Plotline--all right.

Acting--as expected (no Oscar noms here!).

Screenwriting--not the best, but it's not like the lines were noticeably bad (i.e. fairly decent).

It's a retelling of the Andromeda of Argos (think Jason and the Argonauts) story, with Perseus the hero.

There are some other characters--such as djinn--which are a Middle Eastern construct (I rather like when mythos cross paths--read EverWorld series to get a gist of what I'm saying).

[side note: Might read American Gods by Neil Gaiman soon... to be seen on BOOK BLOG!]

Overall, an enjoyable movie with good action scenes. SOME of the CGI was a bit obvious, but I liked the characters enough to get attached.

No tears, though. Not that kind of movie.

It did what it was supposed to.

Maybe one day I'll watch the original. Until then--

I'm signing off

OVERALL: B-/C+

(average, maybe even a "B")

~

PEACE.

Oh--would I recommend it? Yeah. For a rainy day, or day in on the couch w/some snackies.

We also finished "Green Hornet" so I'll review that next.

Back to 24: Season 7!! (BTW sad to find out Season 8 was the FINAL season, *sniff*)

[On a funny side note, my boyfriend thought Liam Neeson was Ralph Fiennes when we watched "The A-Team." I told him, that, ironically enough, they play brothers in this film. Also, was so hopeful on behalf of Sam Worthington. Hopefully he doesn't go the James Franco route... even though said J.F. is coming back up, it seems. "127 hours" was a winner, I hear. More on that later... GOOD NIGHT!!]

- - - - -

On 2nd thought, I'm regrading "TRON" w/an A-. CHEERIO!

TOO MANY TO WRITE ...!!!

I know. I know. I've promised so many reviews and I've re-read some of my old blogs and realized that I have yet to WATCH some movies and definitely to review the "SLEW" I promised.

Sadly, I'm adding 2 more movies to the list...

"Salt" starring Angelina Jolie

"The A-Team" starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, "Rampage" (UFC Fighter--Mr. T's character on the original show), and Sharlot Copley (of "District 9" fame)

Did I mention that I'd already seen...

"Cop Out" starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan ?

(btw I am still obsessed with "TRON"! the soundtrack is AMAZING, even if it is slightly repetitive--maybe that's the point?)

I also have to add "Takers" and "Splice" (if I haven't already) to the list.

CHEERS!!

.: heart :. (b/c it's recognized as some sort of HTML coding)

BLACK SWAN

Ok. I know; I know. I promised a "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra" review, but C'MON. Lol "Black Swan" 's been getting crazy buzz, so me and my boyfriend watched it.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Darren Aronofsky's outdone himself. Well, okay. Maybe just followed his typical line, but Jesus this movie was crazy.

Where to begin?

Umm--my question is, What drugs were the writers on when they crafted this piece?!

Honestly, the surreal element to the story really--excuse my Spanish--fucks--with your head. Half the events don't even make sense until you realize that Natalie Portman's Nina Sayers has started down a dark spiral into oblivion and she's lost herself in her schizoid microcosm of paranoia and cannot differentiate between that and the real world.

Enter corrupting forces Mila Kunis' Lily and artistic director (choreographer?) Tomas, played by Vincent Cassel, whom you may recognize from "Eastern Promises" and "Derailed" (or at least, I do). Even Winona Ryder gets a crack at it.

I think at about the halfway point, the movie makes a screeching, churning 180 from the direction it seems to start out from, and for the first time I felt a pang of fear--that chill that runs up and down your spine. I was sunk into my seat. I said to my bf, "Ok, now I'm scared."

Up until then it seems to just delineate Nina's life and her coming out of her über-protected shell...

Until something darker arises.

Take a look at the main poster for the movie. What's so chilling about it?

You can't really pinpoint it, but something seems off.

WELL--watch the film and you'll see what I see now.

Overall score: A/A-

★★★★ 1/2

- - - - -

REALLY want "Inception" Soundtrack (on a side note).

And I meant to give Tron 3.5 ★'s so that's what I'm amending right now.

For your viewing pleasure...

Also, as a side note--

I've been a ballet aficionado since birth. Well, it's actually been a while since I've been, but I've been having a hankering for "The Nutcracker" ever since I saw SF Ballet's "The Little Mermaid" with my friend. *le sigh* That's past now. However, I did get a chance to watch "The Swan Lake" and I even acquired a book (beautiful illustrations by Van Allsburg) that I recently re-read.

I do not really agree with the interpretation of the story as presented in the movie; however, it fits the plot line and the direction (SPOILER! foreshadowing) of the film.

Not to give too much credit to this adaptation, but go rent "The Swan Princess" (or download; whatever your pleasure) to get a general idea of the storyline.

And listen to Tchaikovsky's beautiful score!! (<- it's been haunting me since last night, and running through my mind)

PEACE!! Much <3

- - - - -

(from here on out, I will rate movies with "bites." since I am a food aficionado, I'll let you guys know just how much of these movies I'm willing to "take a bit out of" <- Cheese intended)

2081

I stumbled upon this when I was imdb-ing "The Social Network" (after having seen it). I found myself drawn to Armie Hammer and wondering why he looked familiar (I then found out it was from a stint on "Gossip Girl").

However...

It led me to a short film based upon the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. I highly suggest you click on the link for "Harrison Bergeron" because I love-love-loved that short story. It actually turned me onto Kurt Vonnegut, Jr (but then I found his other stuff is just a tad overstretched and bizarre to me).

I actually have 4 short stories I can't go without...

But I digress. (I'll include the links at the end of this post)

ANYWAY.

So "2081" is the movie version of that. All 26 minutes of it.

Yes, they dragged it out with some backstory plot line and some extra dialogue, but overall I found it enjoyable. It stayed true to the spirit of the story, and even my bf admitted to enjoying it (he tends to shy away from stuff that he isn't aware of, or older films--"classics"). He said he didn't like characters that became "soapboxes" BUT what ya gonna do? (He likened it to "V for Vendetta" and how he disliked the character of "V," played by Hugo Weaving; I actually rather enjoyed that movie, SO...) <- I like the dystopian-future-type stories (hence "Brave New World" and "1984" being some of my faves of classic lit)

Just go watch it.

It's only 26 minutes!!

AND READ THE SHORT STORY.

In short, my bf gave it a B (B-), but I'll give it one grade up. I enjoyed "Harrison Bergeron" and I enjoyed "2081." Although it wasn't a tearjerker, it was worth it to me.

A- for "2081"

Much <3

- - - - -

Short stories Links (funnily enough, "Harrison" ain't here!) <- I'll copy and paste these to my book blog as well ... with some comments (o;

* A Sound of Thunder <- the movie of which I heard was awful (and it's a short story!! can't believe they made it into a full-length feature, adding elements that probably became more Hollywood than stayed true to the story; HATE when Hollywood bastardizes themes and stories)

* The Monkey's Paw <- of which my 8th grade English teacher showed us the Simpsons ep

* The Most Dangerous Game <- chilling. In a way I haven't been chilled the way And Then There Were None did

* The Landlady <- I didn't know children's author Roald Dahl had it in him!!

TRON

Oh my goodness.

So, first off-

Let me reiterate what I have said about past movies and adaptations: Please, please, PLEASE do not go to the movies expecting Grade-A acting and an awesome storyline when the movie is clearly advertising something other than that.

With that said, "TRON" was amazing.

It offered everything I wanted--visually stunning (we saw it in IMAX 3D) and the action sequences were exciting.

The acting was cheesy (or the lines were, at least), but what ya gonna do? And really, whaddya expect?

Given that, I just have to make the side comment that CGI Humanoid characters have come a LONG way, but for some reason, the mouth has never been quite right. (it gives it away)

I have never seen the original "Tron" (*gasp*) but watched the Trailer for it last night (amidst middle of the night cramming for my Midterm today), and I must say that the special effects are definitely NOT as good. HOWEVER--it has me intrigued. The posters are somewhat parallel (throwback, it seems)

which makes it kind of cool.

Anyway.

I give this movie a solid B.

Or in the 5-star rating, ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Get thee to the theater! (if you haven't seen it already)

IMAX 3D is the way to do it for this one, unfortunately.

I'll put my review for G.I. Joe up next...

Till then!

xoxo ~ Alicea

more movies!!

I forgot to mention last time... Also watched "Cyrus."

Just finished "Brooklyn's Finest" with the bf.

Will be watching "Tron" tomorrow (was going to double feature with "Black Swan", but we may save that for another day....)

(Oh and he wants to watch "Little Fockers")

TO COME!

Oh and I kinda wanna watch "2081"

Slew of Movies...

Hello Loves-

I apologize, but with this holiday (more on that in "A Day In the Life") and crazy winter session (my upcoming graduation for Spring 2011!!) I've been spread PRETTY thin (unfortunately). Hopefully I don't overload myself like I did last semester.

Too many nervous breakdowns to speak of...

ANYwho

I have for you

(not in any particular order)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

Dinner For Schmucks

24: Season 7

State of Play (American Version)

My boyfriend and I are about to start Boardwalk Empire, so I'll let you know how that goes...

MORE TO COME!! <3