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