I'd been waiting to see this movie for a long long time, and I almost didn't see it in the theaters because it really wasn't playing anywhere local. But CJ and I decided to push and headed all the way out to the Hollywood Hits Discount Theater, which is a rip off, because it's really not that discounted at all. Hanover is much cheaper. BEWARE THE HOLY SPOILERS.
7-14-04 "Saved!"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"Mean Girls", "Napolean Dynamite"
CJs excited
abortion clinic scene kinda wrong
ok, short shorts like those would NOT be allowed
Emmanuel shooting range-"An eye for and eye"
your differently-ableness
Mandy is very...militant....reminds me of.....hmmmmm
"Let's get our CHRIST on!"
"We're gonna kick it Jesus-style!" (oh! STOLEN from DCTalk!)
"Are you DOWN with G-O-D?"
internal prayer monologues
I like Pastor Skip...what's the catch.
"It's all about population of the planet, and don't get jiggy with it until you're married."
"Not born a gay, born again."
"No, I was thinking something a little less gangsta."
Exorcist theme! Classic!
"Last year I got saved so I could go on the ski trip."
gold loincloth....ugh
"It is not cool in the eyes of God"
Huh...she lost her halo.
Looks like Skip's had a rough night.
Ok. Ok. This review is going to an interesting one to write, and I have to gear myself up for it. Ok. All right, first off, to anyone who doesn't know, I'm a born-again Christian. Yes, I am proud to admit it, it changed my life and I am happy to be one. That being said, I amso glad I went to see this movie, even though every Christian south of the Mason-Dixon line was running around screaming about how awful it was. I thought this was a fantastic movie. But let me recap the movie first, before I start in on what I thought.
This movie is about a Christian girl named Mary, played by Jena Malone, who became a Christian when she was three, and was raised in a Christian home. She has the perfect Christian boyfriend, and the perfect Christian friends, and is about to start her perfect senior year at a Christian high school. Then she finds out her boyfriend is gay. So she decides to try and "de-gayify" him by having sex with him. It doesn't work, Mary ends up pregnant, and her boyfriend, Dean, gets sent to a half-way house. Mary can't understand why God would mess up her life like this, and soon her perfect Christian friends are ostracizing her because she is suffering from a crisis of faith. She is also trying to hide her pregnancy. She finds help from the school outcasts, one of which is wheelchair bound Roland (Macaulay Culkin), who happens to be the brother of Hillary Faye (Mandy Moore), Mary's former best friend. He also happens to be an athiest. The other is Cassandra, the only Jewish kid in the entire school. Mary also finds a new boyfriend in Patrick, the skateboarding son of the school's hip principal, Pastor Skip. Eventually, her pregnancy becomes known, and Mary and her new friends must find a way to stay in school and end the year well.
They acting was fabulous in this movie. It was the first time I'd seen Macaulay Culkin in anything in years, and he did a great job, meaning, I forgot I was watching Mac, I was so absorbed in his character. Jena Malone I had seen a few times before in things like Contact and Stepmom, and this was a real stretch for her. Glad to say, she stretched well. Mandy Moore did a Jekyll and Hyde thing from her performance in A Walk to Remember, and it was just eerie. I mean, she was CREEPY. The script was well written, someone had obviously done their homework. But, the main problem I had with this movie I have heard echoed by other Christian movie reviewers...there was no balance. All we saw were "bad" Christians. The only ones who showed Mary love were the Jewish kid and the athiest kid. I really wish we had seen a strong, loving, Christian-we're not all bad!
I will be the first to admit I am not the perfect Christian. Is there such a thing? I mean, we all make mistakes. But the Christians in the movie were portrayed as more akin to Pharisees and hypocrites. More about giving off an Christian look, than about acting as a true Christian would, out of love. That was the main argument CJ and I both had. I lost count of how many times we turned to each other and said, well, I would have done it this way, or I would have said this, or acted this way. But who can say until we're put in the position? I like to think I would have acted a certain way. I mean, I've never bombed an abortion clinic. I have friends who are Jewish, athiest, what have you and that doesn't mean I can't be friends with them because they believe a different thing than I do. I certainly wouldn't bar them from my life. Unless they were Satanist, that I would have a problem with. But I'm digressing all over myself.
I tried to put myself into the character's shoes. I'm a youth leader at my church, and if I had found out one of my teens was gay, and another one was pregnant because of trying to "help" him...it would be a problem, yes. I'm sure I know of some teens who would act the same way as Hillary Faye put in the situation. As a matter of fact, Hillary Faye reminded me so strongly of someone I know, it kinda freaked me out.
As a Christian, I believe that making a decision to ask Christ for forgiveness for the wrong things in your life and following his teachings is an important one. But this belief has become so politically incorrect, I am not as forward with my beliefs as I should be. I will willingly share them with anyone, and most, if not all of my friends know of my Christian beliefs. If you want to know more, I will gladly tell you. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that many Christians live in a bubble, with their Christian music and their Christian friends, their Christian T shirts and their Christian movies. What they don't realize is that they're never gonna reach anyone unless they come out of the bubble! The large majority of people are not going to come to the bubble on their own, so we have to leave the bubble to come to them. That was the mistake Hillary Faye made. She was so stuck in the bubble, so stubborn about leaving, that she was really building walls to keep her people in and everyone else out.
People have said this movie promotes tolerance. It does. Do I agree with tolerance? To a degree. I will tolerate things, but I will not condone them. For example, I tolerate abortion because it is legal and I must. But I do NOT agree with it in any way shape or form, for several reasons, one of which being I think there are too many childless couples to waste human life like that. BUT...I also understand that not everyone in this world has a Christian viewpoint, and I cannot force them to believe like I do...only explain to them WHY I believe what I do. I leave the decisions on what to decide up to them. It's like what I do with teens...I offer counsel, give examples from my own experience, and I'm not afraid to say I don't know if I DON'T know. But I do offer to help them find answers. And I pray, which helps a great deal more than some would think.
Wow...that was a lot more than I planned to say. Anyway. It was a great movie, I really liked it. It's the kind of movie I would LOVE to show on movie night at my church...but probably couldn't get away with it. But see it, by all means. You might discover something more about yourself....and those "crazy fundamentalist whacko Christians". And the gospel was shared...sorta!
Until the next time this is Sarah saying, "I crashed my LIFE into JESUS!"
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
7/13/04 "Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy"
Movie Night with Niki again, yay! It's been so long...and she drove down because she said I drove up the past few times and it was her turn...I love my friend. BEWARE THE GROOVY SPOILERS.
7-13-04 "Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-saw the tail end of something called "Collateral"? We got to the theater late and were darn lucky just to be seated together.
"God, I look good. Everyone, come and see how good I look!"
"By the beard of Zeus!"
lots of random undies at that party
"You have a breathtaking heinie. I wanna make friends with it."
jammies and headgear
"Are you paying attention, Ron?" "Nope."
"LOUD NOISES!"
Vince Vaughn!=Wes Mantooth
"We could have some chicken, some sex."
cologne closet
"That smells like a used diaper filled with Indian food!"
"It smells like a turd covered in burnt hair!"
jazz flute?
"Take me to Pleasure Town!"
"I friggin love you!" "I friggin love you, too!"
Afternoon Delight
odd uneven mustache
crazy cat show
Jack Black!
"I'm in a glass cage of emotion!"
"I'm gonna punch you in the ovary. Yup, right in the baby-maker."
Luke Wilson! Tim Robbins! BEN STILLER!
"Son of a bee-sting!"
"No touching of the hair or face."
Planet of the Apes, Spartacus riffs
"You POOP mouth!"
Superman quick change in bathroom
"Newsteam ASSEMBLE!"
"I'm riding a big, furry tractor!"
Oh, this movie was a stitch. I heard one critic say "This is the movie you'll be quoting the rest of the summer." So right on. I've already used the ovaries line about a dozen times.
So, this movie takes place in the seventies, in San Diego, and it focuses on a news team, headed by Ron Burgundy, the man's man, played by Will Ferrell. He, and all his news room cohorts, are all huge male chauvanist pigs. So when Christina Applegate, who plays Veronica Corningstone, arrives to join the news staff, she finds herself the butt of all their jokes. Her biggest dream is to the first woman anchor, which the men think is hilarious. But when Ron has a run in with a biker and can't make the 6 o'clock news, Veronica covers for him and does a splendid job. She is hired on as his coanchor, much to the chagrin and dismay of Ron and his sexist friends. A war of words and practical jokes begins, and when Veronica takes advatage of the fact that Ron reads EVERYTHING that appears on the teleprompter, he is fired. Will he regain his anchor position? Will he and Veronica ever date again? Will he best the other anchors and keep his ratings? Tune in and find out!
Will Ferrell is so darn funny. The guy is the most amusing person I've seen in movies since Mike Myers. I really really need to hunt down some old SNL reruns and catch some of his past action. All I've ever really seen him do were the Spartan cheerleaders,Alex Trebek, and the "Cowbell" sketch. Christina Applegate seems to be keeping a career nicely, if not widely. I was mainly impressed with her ability to deliver the snappy comebacks. I found myself thinking, wow...I wish I could do that. Of course, the writers write hers for her, but she still delivered them wonderfully. But the guy who really stole the show was Steve Carell, the weatherman with an IQ of 48. Will some one please give thisguy more to do?? After seeing him as Evan in Bruce Almighty and now as Brick...riding a big furry tractor...I about died. The guy is TALENTED.
I don't know why I loved this movie, and hated "Old School" and loved "Elf". They all had the same guy...oh well. This movie was worth it just for the "Rumble" scene between the rivalling newsteams. I spotted "Spartacus" and "Planet of the Apes" riffs in there...brilliant. Also the funniest darn scene in the movie. Niki and I frist thought it was some sort of odd dream sequence...and when it wasn't, we just shrugged and went with it. And it was fun to see random cameos by Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, and Luke Wilson. I heard someone refer to them as "the comedic Rat Pack"...could be...until someone thinks up a better name than that. Any ideas?
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Stay Classy, Massachusetts."
7-13-04 "Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-saw the tail end of something called "Collateral"? We got to the theater late and were darn lucky just to be seated together.
"God, I look good. Everyone, come and see how good I look!"
"By the beard of Zeus!"
lots of random undies at that party
"You have a breathtaking heinie. I wanna make friends with it."
jammies and headgear
"Are you paying attention, Ron?" "Nope."
"LOUD NOISES!"
Vince Vaughn!=Wes Mantooth
"We could have some chicken, some sex."
cologne closet
"That smells like a used diaper filled with Indian food!"
"It smells like a turd covered in burnt hair!"
jazz flute?
"Take me to Pleasure Town!"
"I friggin love you!" "I friggin love you, too!"
Afternoon Delight
odd uneven mustache
crazy cat show
Jack Black!
"I'm in a glass cage of emotion!"
"I'm gonna punch you in the ovary. Yup, right in the baby-maker."
Luke Wilson! Tim Robbins! BEN STILLER!
"Son of a bee-sting!"
"No touching of the hair or face."
Planet of the Apes, Spartacus riffs
"You POOP mouth!"
Superman quick change in bathroom
"Newsteam ASSEMBLE!"
"I'm riding a big, furry tractor!"
Oh, this movie was a stitch. I heard one critic say "This is the movie you'll be quoting the rest of the summer." So right on. I've already used the ovaries line about a dozen times.
So, this movie takes place in the seventies, in San Diego, and it focuses on a news team, headed by Ron Burgundy, the man's man, played by Will Ferrell. He, and all his news room cohorts, are all huge male chauvanist pigs. So when Christina Applegate, who plays Veronica Corningstone, arrives to join the news staff, she finds herself the butt of all their jokes. Her biggest dream is to the first woman anchor, which the men think is hilarious. But when Ron has a run in with a biker and can't make the 6 o'clock news, Veronica covers for him and does a splendid job. She is hired on as his coanchor, much to the chagrin and dismay of Ron and his sexist friends. A war of words and practical jokes begins, and when Veronica takes advatage of the fact that Ron reads EVERYTHING that appears on the teleprompter, he is fired. Will he regain his anchor position? Will he and Veronica ever date again? Will he best the other anchors and keep his ratings? Tune in and find out!
Will Ferrell is so darn funny. The guy is the most amusing person I've seen in movies since Mike Myers. I really really need to hunt down some old SNL reruns and catch some of his past action. All I've ever really seen him do were the Spartan cheerleaders,Alex Trebek, and the "Cowbell" sketch. Christina Applegate seems to be keeping a career nicely, if not widely. I was mainly impressed with her ability to deliver the snappy comebacks. I found myself thinking, wow...I wish I could do that. Of course, the writers write hers for her, but she still delivered them wonderfully. But the guy who really stole the show was Steve Carell, the weatherman with an IQ of 48. Will some one please give thisguy more to do?? After seeing him as Evan in Bruce Almighty and now as Brick...riding a big furry tractor...I about died. The guy is TALENTED.
I don't know why I loved this movie, and hated "Old School" and loved "Elf". They all had the same guy...oh well. This movie was worth it just for the "Rumble" scene between the rivalling newsteams. I spotted "Spartacus" and "Planet of the Apes" riffs in there...brilliant. Also the funniest darn scene in the movie. Niki and I frist thought it was some sort of odd dream sequence...and when it wasn't, we just shrugged and went with it. And it was fun to see random cameos by Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, and Luke Wilson. I heard someone refer to them as "the comedic Rat Pack"...could be...until someone thinks up a better name than that. Any ideas?
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Stay Classy, Massachusetts."
Friday, July 09, 2004
7/9/04 "King Arthur"
Ok, so we were SUPPOSED to go see "Anchorman", except it was sold out. So we went to see this instead. BEWARE THE LEGENDARY SPOILERS.
7/9/04 "King Arthur"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-"Alexander", "Without a Paddle" (Seth Green AND Matthew Lillard-let the chaos commence), "Ladder 49", "The Village" (I'm DYING to see this movie. No pun, no pun!)
ok, so far this is Braveheart wanna be...not too impressed
Who plays Lancelot..he's kinda hot
"I'm gonna drink til I can't piss straight."
Who is Galahad?
hmmmm...Arthur prays for his pagan knights....huh...even offers his life in exchange.
No human should fear to kneel before his faith.
interesting look at first century Christianity
sword in stone-father's burial mound
"Those Saxons are so close behind my arse is hurting."
Ugh...Keira too young for Arthur.
Lancelot/Saxon death by sword/arrow-funny
cool soundtrack
Stonehendge of course
Ok, this movie I had heard both good and bad things about, but it was one of those ones I had to see for myself to judge. It's a new take on the King Arthur legends. This version has Arthur being born in Britain, but raised as a Roman soldier. He is a good and fair man, believeing, as he was taught by his teacher, that all men are created equal. He is also a Christian, which puts him sometimes at odds with his pagan knights, who were conscripted into his service. These include Lancelot, Boors, Galahad, and Gawain. After being in Arthur's service for fifteen years, they are finally to be granted their freedom...but Rome has one last job for them to do. Arthur and his knights must trek across country to evacuate a Roman senator and his family from their home and keep them from harm at the hands of the vicious Saxons, headed be Stellan Skarsgard (whom I totally thought was Geoffrey Rush the whole movie, but I digress).
Guinevere pops up as a Celtic Xena-like battle queen and Merlin as a sort of Druid shaman of the Celts. Lots of blue facepaint abounds. Lots of battles. Arthur and Guinevere get married in the end at Stonehenge.
Ok, not a bad movie, but not a great one either. This film was basically a Braveheart wanna-be. But it never quite hit the emotional vein that Braveheart did. Oh, it came close a couple of times, but it just didn't stick by you in the same way. The battle scenes were mediocre, but then, after Return of the King, ALL battle scenes not hand crafted by Weta are mediocre.
Guinevere sort of irked. I kept going back and forth on whether I liked her or not. I just had a really hard time getting the virginal, lady-in-waiting version of Guinevere out of my head. But on the other hand, it was rather cool to see her stand as an equal with Arthur. And the traditional love triangle between her, Arthur, and Lancelot was almost non-existent. The most the movie made of this was a few looks between Lancelot and Guinevere as if to say, "Hey...you're pretty interesting. I'd like to know you better." But nothing ever comes of it. Oh, and the sex scene was just CREEPY. I really felt this Guinevere was too young for Arthur and that just made it uuuugggggllly.
Arthur's Christianity was interesting. He obviously relied a great deal on his faith in God, even when his closest friends were pagan worshippers. But, his faith did not keep him from sleeping with Guinevere before they were married...or marrying outside his Christianity. But, perhaps he was disillusioned due to the atrocities he witnessed others carrying out in Christ's name during the course of the movie. I found it very touching how he prayed for his men even though they held no belief in his God.
Ok, spoiler here-when Lancelot dies, I laughed right out loud...it was too funny, I couldn't help it. He gets an arrow in the chest from the Saxon guy, and then he turns around and hucks his sword in the guy's chest! It was like he was saying, "Oh yeah? Well, well, screw you! Take THAT!" It was funny, and I felt kinda bad, because I know it was supposed to be sad...oh well.
Personally,my favorite King Arthur movie is Excalibur. It just feels right, it feels like the legend we all know. But my favorite King Arthur is Sean Connery. Because if any man was born to play King Arthur, it's Sean Connery. But Nigel Terry is a REAL close second.
So see it if it sounds interesting, but it's different..just warning ya.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Excalibur's better."
7/9/04 "King Arthur"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-"Alexander", "Without a Paddle" (Seth Green AND Matthew Lillard-let the chaos commence), "Ladder 49", "The Village" (I'm DYING to see this movie. No pun, no pun!)
ok, so far this is Braveheart wanna be...not too impressed
Who plays Lancelot..he's kinda hot
"I'm gonna drink til I can't piss straight."
Who is Galahad?
hmmmm...Arthur prays for his pagan knights....huh...even offers his life in exchange.
No human should fear to kneel before his faith.
interesting look at first century Christianity
sword in stone-father's burial mound
"Those Saxons are so close behind my arse is hurting."
Ugh...Keira too young for Arthur.
Lancelot/Saxon death by sword/arrow-funny
cool soundtrack
Stonehendge of course
Ok, this movie I had heard both good and bad things about, but it was one of those ones I had to see for myself to judge. It's a new take on the King Arthur legends. This version has Arthur being born in Britain, but raised as a Roman soldier. He is a good and fair man, believeing, as he was taught by his teacher, that all men are created equal. He is also a Christian, which puts him sometimes at odds with his pagan knights, who were conscripted into his service. These include Lancelot, Boors, Galahad, and Gawain. After being in Arthur's service for fifteen years, they are finally to be granted their freedom...but Rome has one last job for them to do. Arthur and his knights must trek across country to evacuate a Roman senator and his family from their home and keep them from harm at the hands of the vicious Saxons, headed be Stellan Skarsgard (whom I totally thought was Geoffrey Rush the whole movie, but I digress).
Guinevere pops up as a Celtic Xena-like battle queen and Merlin as a sort of Druid shaman of the Celts. Lots of blue facepaint abounds. Lots of battles. Arthur and Guinevere get married in the end at Stonehenge.
Ok, not a bad movie, but not a great one either. This film was basically a Braveheart wanna-be. But it never quite hit the emotional vein that Braveheart did. Oh, it came close a couple of times, but it just didn't stick by you in the same way. The battle scenes were mediocre, but then, after Return of the King, ALL battle scenes not hand crafted by Weta are mediocre.
Guinevere sort of irked. I kept going back and forth on whether I liked her or not. I just had a really hard time getting the virginal, lady-in-waiting version of Guinevere out of my head. But on the other hand, it was rather cool to see her stand as an equal with Arthur. And the traditional love triangle between her, Arthur, and Lancelot was almost non-existent. The most the movie made of this was a few looks between Lancelot and Guinevere as if to say, "Hey...you're pretty interesting. I'd like to know you better." But nothing ever comes of it. Oh, and the sex scene was just CREEPY. I really felt this Guinevere was too young for Arthur and that just made it uuuugggggllly.
Arthur's Christianity was interesting. He obviously relied a great deal on his faith in God, even when his closest friends were pagan worshippers. But, his faith did not keep him from sleeping with Guinevere before they were married...or marrying outside his Christianity. But, perhaps he was disillusioned due to the atrocities he witnessed others carrying out in Christ's name during the course of the movie. I found it very touching how he prayed for his men even though they held no belief in his God.
Ok, spoiler here-when Lancelot dies, I laughed right out loud...it was too funny, I couldn't help it. He gets an arrow in the chest from the Saxon guy, and then he turns around and hucks his sword in the guy's chest! It was like he was saying, "Oh yeah? Well, well, screw you! Take THAT!" It was funny, and I felt kinda bad, because I know it was supposed to be sad...oh well.
Personally,my favorite King Arthur movie is Excalibur. It just feels right, it feels like the legend we all know. But my favorite King Arthur is Sean Connery. Because if any man was born to play King Arthur, it's Sean Connery. But Nigel Terry is a REAL close second.
So see it if it sounds interesting, but it's different..just warning ya.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Excalibur's better."
7/6/04 "Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story"
Ok, this movie was pretty much what I expected-complete and utter foolishness on the scale of Old School. But, CJ really wanted to see it, so, we did. BEWARE THE STUPID SPOILERS.
7/6/04 "Dodgeball"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-I have no idea...we got to the theater late just as the movie was beginning.
Ben Stiller is BUILT
guy from Office Space
pirate Steve?.....ok....weird
Ben Stiller's spandex...oy
scary cut out Ben Stiller w/ freaky eyes
pump up package? sigh...
camera in cut out eyes! good call by CJ
"L for LOVE!"
Troop 417-"You're all adopted, your parents don't even love you!"
It's Booger!
Drug screen-good call by me
"I didn't think Nazi camp got over until 8."
"we will...we WILL..rock you."
"You're about as useful as a poopy flavored lollypop."- (I just have to say, this one line made the movie worthwhile.)
"Time to put your mouth where our balls are."
"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood."
It looks like the eighties threw up in her house.
ESPN 8-the Ocho...if it's almost a sport, we've got it.
Jason Bateman is a spaz (and the second reason the movie was worth going to see.)
David Hasselhoff!!!!
Lumberjacks, Kamikazes, the Skillz that killz....She-mullets??
Is that a hickey on her neck?
Lance Armstrong!!
SHATNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CHUCKNORRIS!!!!
"Thank you, Chuck Norris!"
Ok, this review is going to be short, because this movie was ultra silly and really had no redeeming film qualities except for the random star cameos, Jason Bateman, and the great line "You're about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollypop."
The plot, which was pretty much given away in the trailer, centers around two gyms-a snobby high tech gym where the people are full of themselves, and a crappy, rundown gym where everyone loves you just the way you are. Of course the run down gym, owned by Vince Vaughn, is going to run into problems with the the rich gym, owned by Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller wants to take over Vince Vaughn's gym. So the run down gym enters a dodgeball tourney in Vegas to win the money to save their gym from destruction. And of course they win. And if you think I've spoiled the ending of this for you, you can't really tell me that you thought they were going to lose. Come now. Honestly.
Ben Stiller was pretty funny, but a bit manic for the role. He was really built tho, which you don't usually see and was quite nice. Vince Vaughn was ok...just ok. But the star cameos were the best. CJ and I were constantly going, BOOGER! SHATNER! HASSELHOFF! CHUCK NORRIS! Yeah, that was us making all the noise down in front. What can I say? The movie was boring and we were amusing ourselves. Don't come with us next time. And I can never, never see Christine Taylor without thinking, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! And there was this scene in the trailer where Ben was showing Vince his cowboy cardio class...and it was missing...huh.
The movie is one of those mindless humor movies which you go to when you've had a long day at work and there was nothing good for lunch in the cafe, and CVS didn't put your pictures on disk like you asked them too and you had to work late and spilled soda on your shorts and the candy bars you snuck into the theater melted all over your bag and to top everything off, you're still exhausted from your crazy Fourth of July weekend. I probably wouldn't have gone if I was in the mood for a REAL movie. So, yeah...skip it. But most of you probably know that already. Unless you have some extra brain cells you don't care about, then by all means, attend. But if you have that much brain matter you don't care about, then you probably didn't need me to tell you to go see it, because you probably already have.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "This MOVIE was as useful as a poopy-flavored lollypop."
7/6/04 "Dodgeball"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-I have no idea...we got to the theater late just as the movie was beginning.
Ben Stiller is BUILT
guy from Office Space
pirate Steve?.....ok....weird
Ben Stiller's spandex...oy
scary cut out Ben Stiller w/ freaky eyes
pump up package? sigh...
camera in cut out eyes! good call by CJ
"L for LOVE!"
Troop 417-"You're all adopted, your parents don't even love you!"
It's Booger!
Drug screen-good call by me
"I didn't think Nazi camp got over until 8."
"we will...we WILL..rock you."
"You're about as useful as a poopy flavored lollypop."- (I just have to say, this one line made the movie worthwhile.)
"Time to put your mouth where our balls are."
"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood."
It looks like the eighties threw up in her house.
ESPN 8-the Ocho...if it's almost a sport, we've got it.
Jason Bateman is a spaz (and the second reason the movie was worth going to see.)
David Hasselhoff!!!!
Lumberjacks, Kamikazes, the Skillz that killz....She-mullets??
Is that a hickey on her neck?
Lance Armstrong!!
SHATNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CHUCKNORRIS!!!!
"Thank you, Chuck Norris!"
Ok, this review is going to be short, because this movie was ultra silly and really had no redeeming film qualities except for the random star cameos, Jason Bateman, and the great line "You're about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollypop."
The plot, which was pretty much given away in the trailer, centers around two gyms-a snobby high tech gym where the people are full of themselves, and a crappy, rundown gym where everyone loves you just the way you are. Of course the run down gym, owned by Vince Vaughn, is going to run into problems with the the rich gym, owned by Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller wants to take over Vince Vaughn's gym. So the run down gym enters a dodgeball tourney in Vegas to win the money to save their gym from destruction. And of course they win. And if you think I've spoiled the ending of this for you, you can't really tell me that you thought they were going to lose. Come now. Honestly.
Ben Stiller was pretty funny, but a bit manic for the role. He was really built tho, which you don't usually see and was quite nice. Vince Vaughn was ok...just ok. But the star cameos were the best. CJ and I were constantly going, BOOGER! SHATNER! HASSELHOFF! CHUCK NORRIS! Yeah, that was us making all the noise down in front. What can I say? The movie was boring and we were amusing ourselves. Don't come with us next time. And I can never, never see Christine Taylor without thinking, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! And there was this scene in the trailer where Ben was showing Vince his cowboy cardio class...and it was missing...huh.
The movie is one of those mindless humor movies which you go to when you've had a long day at work and there was nothing good for lunch in the cafe, and CVS didn't put your pictures on disk like you asked them too and you had to work late and spilled soda on your shorts and the candy bars you snuck into the theater melted all over your bag and to top everything off, you're still exhausted from your crazy Fourth of July weekend. I probably wouldn't have gone if I was in the mood for a REAL movie. So, yeah...skip it. But most of you probably know that already. Unless you have some extra brain cells you don't care about, then by all means, attend. But if you have that much brain matter you don't care about, then you probably didn't need me to tell you to go see it, because you probably already have.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "This MOVIE was as useful as a poopy-flavored lollypop."
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
6/22/04 "The Terminal"
I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time, both because it looked really good and also because it was a Spielberg film. It did not disappoint, and get ready for a major Spielberg praise-fest. I'm just warning you now. You can stop reading if you like, I won't mind. BEWARE THE DELAYED SPOILERS.
6-22-04 "The Terminal"
Notes From the Red Book
Trailer-"The Bourne Supremacy" (This might be interesting. Perhaps I should see the first one first.)
cool opening credits
doors are important symbol
finds out about war on TV
"You no look at trash without appointment!"
SEE!? That's why you should ALWAYS carry a Swiss Army knife!!!
reflection-city/face
reminds me of Truman Show-cameras watching
lots of cute vignettes
teaches himself English-interesting and original
"she's a Trekkie!" HA
Stanley Tucci is brilliant
Well, I guess if you've got nothing else to do.
X-Ray
peanut can is big symbol
"19 dollars cash...under the table...that's more than I make!"
becomes legend in airport
suit reflection-nicely done
nice dinner on terrace
wedding chapel..just married, cute
fountain reminiscent of Splash
great shot of plane/Gupta with mop
Dixon's problem with Viktor-one of those things you end up obssessing about
backlighting getting kind of annoying
God, I LOVE Spielberg. He makes (mostly) such great movies, such feel good movies. He reminds me of Capra. He's like the Capra for the new millenium. And if Spielberg's the new Capra, then Tom Hanks is his new Jimmy Stewart. Please, film purists, don't misunderstand me. I LOVE classic movies, and I ADORE Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart. If you disagree, that's ok. I mean merely to say that I get the same warm fuzzies from Steven and Tom. So, on to the movie.
The Terminal is based on a true story. The film centers on a man, Viktor Navorski, from Krakosia, who is traveling to America to fulfill a promise he made to his dying father. While in the air, his country suffers a military coup and a civil war. So, when he lands in New York, his passport is no longer valid, and he is ineligible to enter the country. The Director of Security at the airport, Dixon, is played by Stanley Tucci. It is his job to make Viktor understand that he cannot enter America, nor even leave the international terminal. He assures him it will mostly likely be for no more than a day or two. Viktor is left to his own resources, and tries to make the best of it, even though he cannot speak the language, understand the people around him, or even understand what has happened to his country, except for a few news clips he catches on CNN on the airport TV.
The days stretch into weeks and then months, and Viktor supports himself by making friends and connections. They supply him with food, a job, and companionship. He makes especial friends with a pretty stewardess, Amelia, played by Catherine Zeta Jones. Dixon continues to try and make things difficult for Viktor, in hopes he will get fed up and make a break for the door, thereby breaking international law and allowing Dixon to arrest him and get him out of his hair.
I loved this movie. It was so Spielbergian is so many ways that I love. It's been a while since he turned out a real feel-good movie, it reminded me why I became a fan in the first place. Some director trademarks that Spielberg always uses in his movies are father references and use of reflection. He uses both in this movie and I picked up on them right away. The father reference was used when Viktor's whole reason for coming to America was revealed to be a promise made to his dying father. The reflection was used in a very clever way, when Viktor was checking out how he looked in certain suits in a store window by standing in front of them so his head matched the suit. Very clever. BUT, he made a lot of use of backlighting in this movie and it BUGGED after a while.
I was also fascinated by Stanley Tucci's character. I spent much of the movie wondering just what the guy's problem was, why he treated Viktor like crap. He obviously was kind of a social climber, and his office was full of those pictures that say stuff like "Success" and "Attitude" and "Victory" and have photos of trees and canyons and stuff. He constantly was trying to get Viktor out of his airport so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. But Viktor refused to go. I think in the end, Dixon's attitude towards Viktor just descended into one of those things you obssess over. We all have them, the small things that, for whatever reason, start to bug us, and in our minds, get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Until finally you go postal, like the postal workers. "NO RETURN ADDRESS, AAAHHHHHH! Where's my rifle?!?" I don't believe Dixon was a truly evil guy, I think he just wanted his terminal to run smoothly and on his first day he gets stuck with this small problem which just won't go away, and is the one thing that keeps everything from running perfectly.
I love the way Viktor teaches himself English-he uses two guidebooks, one in English and one in his language...neat!
I had a small problem with the Amelia/Viktor relationship...I just felt they didn't have much gel.
I really enjoyed the friends Viktor made and the ways he helped them and they helped him. The final shot of Gupta with his mop taking on a 747...funny AND sweet.
And the ending, when all of his friends are around him and wishing him luck....aaaah...that's what a Spielberg film is. Yup.
So, until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Gotta go...life is waiting."
6-22-04 "The Terminal"
Notes From the Red Book
Trailer-"The Bourne Supremacy" (This might be interesting. Perhaps I should see the first one first.)
cool opening credits
doors are important symbol
finds out about war on TV
"You no look at trash without appointment!"
SEE!? That's why you should ALWAYS carry a Swiss Army knife!!!
reflection-city/face
reminds me of Truman Show-cameras watching
lots of cute vignettes
teaches himself English-interesting and original
"she's a Trekkie!" HA
Stanley Tucci is brilliant
Well, I guess if you've got nothing else to do.
X-Ray
peanut can is big symbol
"19 dollars cash...under the table...that's more than I make!"
becomes legend in airport
suit reflection-nicely done
nice dinner on terrace
wedding chapel..just married, cute
fountain reminiscent of Splash
great shot of plane/Gupta with mop
Dixon's problem with Viktor-one of those things you end up obssessing about
backlighting getting kind of annoying
God, I LOVE Spielberg. He makes (mostly) such great movies, such feel good movies. He reminds me of Capra. He's like the Capra for the new millenium. And if Spielberg's the new Capra, then Tom Hanks is his new Jimmy Stewart. Please, film purists, don't misunderstand me. I LOVE classic movies, and I ADORE Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart. If you disagree, that's ok. I mean merely to say that I get the same warm fuzzies from Steven and Tom. So, on to the movie.
The Terminal is based on a true story. The film centers on a man, Viktor Navorski, from Krakosia, who is traveling to America to fulfill a promise he made to his dying father. While in the air, his country suffers a military coup and a civil war. So, when he lands in New York, his passport is no longer valid, and he is ineligible to enter the country. The Director of Security at the airport, Dixon, is played by Stanley Tucci. It is his job to make Viktor understand that he cannot enter America, nor even leave the international terminal. He assures him it will mostly likely be for no more than a day or two. Viktor is left to his own resources, and tries to make the best of it, even though he cannot speak the language, understand the people around him, or even understand what has happened to his country, except for a few news clips he catches on CNN on the airport TV.
The days stretch into weeks and then months, and Viktor supports himself by making friends and connections. They supply him with food, a job, and companionship. He makes especial friends with a pretty stewardess, Amelia, played by Catherine Zeta Jones. Dixon continues to try and make things difficult for Viktor, in hopes he will get fed up and make a break for the door, thereby breaking international law and allowing Dixon to arrest him and get him out of his hair.
I loved this movie. It was so Spielbergian is so many ways that I love. It's been a while since he turned out a real feel-good movie, it reminded me why I became a fan in the first place. Some director trademarks that Spielberg always uses in his movies are father references and use of reflection. He uses both in this movie and I picked up on them right away. The father reference was used when Viktor's whole reason for coming to America was revealed to be a promise made to his dying father. The reflection was used in a very clever way, when Viktor was checking out how he looked in certain suits in a store window by standing in front of them so his head matched the suit. Very clever. BUT, he made a lot of use of backlighting in this movie and it BUGGED after a while.
I was also fascinated by Stanley Tucci's character. I spent much of the movie wondering just what the guy's problem was, why he treated Viktor like crap. He obviously was kind of a social climber, and his office was full of those pictures that say stuff like "Success" and "Attitude" and "Victory" and have photos of trees and canyons and stuff. He constantly was trying to get Viktor out of his airport so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. But Viktor refused to go. I think in the end, Dixon's attitude towards Viktor just descended into one of those things you obssess over. We all have them, the small things that, for whatever reason, start to bug us, and in our minds, get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Until finally you go postal, like the postal workers. "NO RETURN ADDRESS, AAAHHHHHH! Where's my rifle?!?" I don't believe Dixon was a truly evil guy, I think he just wanted his terminal to run smoothly and on his first day he gets stuck with this small problem which just won't go away, and is the one thing that keeps everything from running perfectly.
I love the way Viktor teaches himself English-he uses two guidebooks, one in English and one in his language...neat!
I had a small problem with the Amelia/Viktor relationship...I just felt they didn't have much gel.
I really enjoyed the friends Viktor made and the ways he helped them and they helped him. The final shot of Gupta with his mop taking on a 747...funny AND sweet.
And the ending, when all of his friends are around him and wishing him luck....aaaah...that's what a Spielberg film is. Yup.
So, until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Gotta go...life is waiting."
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
6/15/04 "The Stepford Wives" vs. "The Stepford Wives"
After an exhaustive search, I finally came up with a copy of the original "Stepford Wives", with Katharine Ross, by pure dumb luck. I called West Coast and they said it was in...except I went there and it wasn't. I called Blockbuster and they said it was in...but I went there and it wasn't. So I went on chance to Video to Go, and lo and behold, it was there. The lesson here? MAKE THEM GO AND CHECK THE SHELF, AND IF IT AIN'T THERE, IT AIN'T THERE. So, let's compare, shall we? First, my take on the new "remake". BEWARE THE PERFECT SPOILERS.
Notes From the Red Book
6/15/04- "The Stepford Wives"
trailers-"Wimbledon", "Vanity Fair", "Alexander", "The Manchurian Candidate"
cool retro opening, women ecstatic over appliances
man, she's already like a Stepford TV exec.
Nicole has brown hair...that's new
Stepford's a GATED town? creepy
uh...scary house
Geez, exercise group sounds like an AA meeting
"Clairobics"
funny gay couple
remote control inflatable boobs
"Are you making anthrax?"
boy, video games, beer...it's a man nirvana
"Let's celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with yarn!"
ATM woman
Orlando Bloom! Viggo!!!!
men from Microsoft, NASA, Disney
eeewwww....NO eyes, just sockets.
interesting twist on ending
perfect doesn't work...yeah
Ok...this move isn't so much of a remake as I would say more of a spin off. Well, I don't know if spin off is the right word I'm looking for either, but these were two COMPLETELY different movies. The new "Stepford Wives" has Nicole Kidman as Joanna Eberhart, a harsh TV executive who's practically plastic already. She specializes in reality TV shows, the really crappy ones my mother gets guilty pleasure from, like Temptation Island. (Let me go off on a rant for a second and say, GOD, has reality TV gone into the toilet. I still love Survivor, of course, and I can be persuaded to watch the occasional Fear Factor or Amazing Race, but DAMN. Let's watch women whore themselves for money on national TV. Let's watch people humiliate themselves for money on national TV. Let's watch people get plastic surgery so they can look like the star of their choice on national TV?!? God has turned his face away, ladies and gentlemen. Ok, I'm done.) Anyway, she suffers a nervous breakdown when she is fired, and her husband moves the family to Stepford to chill out. At first Joanna is intrigued, and thinks that this may be just what she needs to be a better wife and mother...but she begins to be wary when first her gay friend Roger, then her slobby friend Bobbie, become "Stepfordized". Finally Joanna realizes her time is up, and she must think of a way out or spend the rest of her days "Squeezing the Charmin".
The movie was all right, I guess. I liked Bette Midler, even if she did come off as more annoying that Paula Prentiss' version in the original. Bette was loudmouthed and rude, Paula was sassy and brassy. Glenn Close was so over the top as the matriarch Stepford Wife Claire, I thought she was going to fall off the screen into the front row or explode or something. She looked like she had plastic surgery to get such a wide smile. Christopher Walken as Mike was just...Christopher Walken. He's the same in every role...with a few exceptions. Oh my gosh...I just remembered seeing Glenn Close and Christopher Walken together in the "Sarah Plain and Tall" movies...wow. That's quite a head rush...this was quite different. Huh. Anyway. Matthew Broderick was unremarkable, except I remember thinking he was a lot less weeny than the trailer made him out to be.
Now, in the original, Katharine Ross played Joanna, a fairly ordinary woman who has a photography hobby. Her husband moves the family (Mary Stuart Masterson as her daughter!) to Stepford, and Joanna is mainly bored. She meets Bobbie and Charmaine (Tina Louise-Ginger from Gilligan's Island! Oh, and have you heard about THAT reality show? Don't get me started.) who are very bored with the other wives also. They are all very soft spoken, polite, and obsessed with cleaning. But after a weekend away, the women begin to change, one by one. Joanna is at first nervous and confused, which gives way to irrational and paranoid. The ending is chilling.
Ok...the new version...ok. Not great. And not one of Frank Oz's best, either. That belongs to "Bowfinger". Someone should've told him, "Eh, Frank, leave that one alone. How about The Bad News Bears? That'd be a funny remake!" (I personally would LOVE to see Frank remake some old Neil Simon films like "Barefoot in the Park" or "Califonia Suite" or something like that, but I digress yet again) I admit, when I first heard Frank Oz was remaking the Stepford Wives, I just couldn't picture it. I was all...but Frank Oz makes FUNNY movies. I think he tried too hard. It had funny moments, and it had moments that were supposed to be creepy, but really weren't because the whole feel of the movie wasn't creepy, it was just satirical. The movie also focused less on "There's something wrong in the town of Stepford", and more on "There's something high-tech in the town of Stepford." Everything was about computers...smart houses, etc. One of the women could spit out money like an ATM, which made a gaping plot hole if they were all controlled by brain chips like it was stated. And the robot dog was just dumb. It looked like the AOL man's dog.
The original movie, even thought it feels dated due to raging feminism subplots, was chilling, because it starts out feeling like such a normal film. Even when Joanna starts feeling like something's not right, that's all you feel, too. Hmmm...something's not right. The scene where Joanna visits a therapist and breaks down saying "She'll look like me and talk like me, but she won't take pictures and she won't be ME," is creepy. And the end scene where she comes face to face with her robotic clone and it moves towards her, smiling peacefully, clutching a stocking in a very threatening way...then the sharp cut to the supermarket....yeah, that's creepy.
So, while some remakes can be done very well, ie "Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap", most should just be LEFT ALONE, like this one should have been LEFT ALONE. Sorry, Frank. Loved "Housesitter" tho. And "In and Out". And you're my favorite Blues Brothers cameo. Just...don't do remakes, ok? Leave it to the Myers-Shyer crowd.
So yeah...skip this movie, rent the original instead. If you can find it, that is!
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Perfect definitely DOESN'T work." Thank God.
Notes From the Red Book
6/15/04- "The Stepford Wives"
trailers-"Wimbledon", "Vanity Fair", "Alexander", "The Manchurian Candidate"
cool retro opening, women ecstatic over appliances
man, she's already like a Stepford TV exec.
Nicole has brown hair...that's new
Stepford's a GATED town? creepy
uh...scary house
Geez, exercise group sounds like an AA meeting
"Clairobics"
funny gay couple
remote control inflatable boobs
"Are you making anthrax?"
boy, video games, beer...it's a man nirvana
"Let's celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with yarn!"
ATM woman
Orlando Bloom! Viggo!!!!
men from Microsoft, NASA, Disney
eeewwww....NO eyes, just sockets.
interesting twist on ending
perfect doesn't work...yeah
Ok...this move isn't so much of a remake as I would say more of a spin off. Well, I don't know if spin off is the right word I'm looking for either, but these were two COMPLETELY different movies. The new "Stepford Wives" has Nicole Kidman as Joanna Eberhart, a harsh TV executive who's practically plastic already. She specializes in reality TV shows, the really crappy ones my mother gets guilty pleasure from, like Temptation Island. (Let me go off on a rant for a second and say, GOD, has reality TV gone into the toilet. I still love Survivor, of course, and I can be persuaded to watch the occasional Fear Factor or Amazing Race, but DAMN. Let's watch women whore themselves for money on national TV. Let's watch people humiliate themselves for money on national TV. Let's watch people get plastic surgery so they can look like the star of their choice on national TV?!? God has turned his face away, ladies and gentlemen. Ok, I'm done.) Anyway, she suffers a nervous breakdown when she is fired, and her husband moves the family to Stepford to chill out. At first Joanna is intrigued, and thinks that this may be just what she needs to be a better wife and mother...but she begins to be wary when first her gay friend Roger, then her slobby friend Bobbie, become "Stepfordized". Finally Joanna realizes her time is up, and she must think of a way out or spend the rest of her days "Squeezing the Charmin".
The movie was all right, I guess. I liked Bette Midler, even if she did come off as more annoying that Paula Prentiss' version in the original. Bette was loudmouthed and rude, Paula was sassy and brassy. Glenn Close was so over the top as the matriarch Stepford Wife Claire, I thought she was going to fall off the screen into the front row or explode or something. She looked like she had plastic surgery to get such a wide smile. Christopher Walken as Mike was just...Christopher Walken. He's the same in every role...with a few exceptions. Oh my gosh...I just remembered seeing Glenn Close and Christopher Walken together in the "Sarah Plain and Tall" movies...wow. That's quite a head rush...this was quite different. Huh. Anyway. Matthew Broderick was unremarkable, except I remember thinking he was a lot less weeny than the trailer made him out to be.
Now, in the original, Katharine Ross played Joanna, a fairly ordinary woman who has a photography hobby. Her husband moves the family (Mary Stuart Masterson as her daughter!) to Stepford, and Joanna is mainly bored. She meets Bobbie and Charmaine (Tina Louise-Ginger from Gilligan's Island! Oh, and have you heard about THAT reality show? Don't get me started.) who are very bored with the other wives also. They are all very soft spoken, polite, and obsessed with cleaning. But after a weekend away, the women begin to change, one by one. Joanna is at first nervous and confused, which gives way to irrational and paranoid. The ending is chilling.
Ok...the new version...ok. Not great. And not one of Frank Oz's best, either. That belongs to "Bowfinger". Someone should've told him, "Eh, Frank, leave that one alone. How about The Bad News Bears? That'd be a funny remake!" (I personally would LOVE to see Frank remake some old Neil Simon films like "Barefoot in the Park" or "Califonia Suite" or something like that, but I digress yet again) I admit, when I first heard Frank Oz was remaking the Stepford Wives, I just couldn't picture it. I was all...but Frank Oz makes FUNNY movies. I think he tried too hard. It had funny moments, and it had moments that were supposed to be creepy, but really weren't because the whole feel of the movie wasn't creepy, it was just satirical. The movie also focused less on "There's something wrong in the town of Stepford", and more on "There's something high-tech in the town of Stepford." Everything was about computers...smart houses, etc. One of the women could spit out money like an ATM, which made a gaping plot hole if they were all controlled by brain chips like it was stated. And the robot dog was just dumb. It looked like the AOL man's dog.
The original movie, even thought it feels dated due to raging feminism subplots, was chilling, because it starts out feeling like such a normal film. Even when Joanna starts feeling like something's not right, that's all you feel, too. Hmmm...something's not right. The scene where Joanna visits a therapist and breaks down saying "She'll look like me and talk like me, but she won't take pictures and she won't be ME," is creepy. And the end scene where she comes face to face with her robotic clone and it moves towards her, smiling peacefully, clutching a stocking in a very threatening way...then the sharp cut to the supermarket....yeah, that's creepy.
So, while some remakes can be done very well, ie "Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap", most should just be LEFT ALONE, like this one should have been LEFT ALONE. Sorry, Frank. Loved "Housesitter" tho. And "In and Out". And you're my favorite Blues Brothers cameo. Just...don't do remakes, ok? Leave it to the Myers-Shyer crowd.
So yeah...skip this movie, rent the original instead. If you can find it, that is!
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "Perfect definitely DOESN'T work." Thank God.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
6/15/04 "The Stepford Wives"
Grrrr....ok, a full review will have to come later, because I really really really want to watch the original Stepford Wives so I can compare the two, and it's out, out, out everywhere. Even tho I CALLED the West Coast Video and was TOLD, YES, it was THERE....alas, no copy was to be found when I showed up. So, I'll be reviewing this fully after I can get my hands on the video. Until then, it wasn't a bad movie, not fantastic, but entertaining, like most of Frank Oz's movies, and it had an interesting twist at the end, different from the original. So, later.
Friday, June 11, 2004
6/8/04 "Supersize Me"
I was thrilled when this movie came to the local downtown theater, the Loring Hall. It's known in Hingham as a bit of an artsy-fartsy film place, a place you can go see indy films if you don't wanna hump all the way into Cambridge. It's nice, also very historic and a source of fierce personal pride to many residents in Hingham. I can remember going to see things like "Clash of the Titans" and "Popeye" there. And it's got a balcony! As always, BEWARE THE FATTENING SPOILERS.
Notes From the Red Book
6/8/04 "Supersize Me"
trailers-"The Terminal" (Yes! Can't wait to see the next Spielbergian feel good flick.)
Mississippi is the fattest state.
three doctors-cardiologist, gastro-entemologist, and gen practitioner
starting-168 cholesterol, 185 1/2 lbs
more McDonald's in Manhattan than anywhere in the world.
a 7-11 double big gulp = 2 liters of soda?!?!
"I've got a McStomachache...I got the McGurgles and McSweats....some McGas...this is making me McCrazy."
heckling smokers vs fatties
drive by McDonald's, punch my kid in the face
10lbs, in five days???
kids know Ronald McDonald, but not Jesus
17 lbs in 12 days
210 final weigh in
Houston is fattest city.
This movie was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I'm never eating again. Ok, I am. But it gives you a lot of heavy info in a light way, and made it very very interesting. In this movie, Morgan Spurlock, the director with the Fu Manchu moustache, decides to go on a McDonalds-only diet after hearing about two overweight girls who were trying to sue McDonald's for making them fat. Before beginning, he consults three different doctors, a fitness expert, and his own vegan girlfriend. They all basically tell him, hey, it's your funeral. But he is determined, and goes for it. There are rules-he may only supersize if he is asked to do so, and he has to try everything on the menu at least once. He also cannot have ANYTHING unless it's on the McDonald's menu-including water. After five days, he's gained ten pounds. 10 POUNDS in FIVE DAYS. I was horrified.
The film follows Spurlock's thirty day fast food odyssey, interspersing his menu choices with information, interviews, and visits to various schools, businesses, and McDonald's around the country. At the end of his experiment, his liver is almost toxic, he has gained almost thirty pounds, and his cholestorol had gone through the roof. His vegan girlfriend puts him on a diet immediately after and he has since "returned to normal".
I found this movie fascinating. I eat at McDonald's maybe once a week. It's fast, it's cheap, it tastes good, hey, who doesn't like Mickey D's? My favorite foods there are the fries, the quarter pounders, and the steak bagel sandwiches. I am probably going to food hell. But since I saw this movie, I have become hesitant about eating there. Some information provided by Spurlock-McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the entire population of Spain. You would have to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fry and Big Mac. McDonald's says: "Any processing our foods undergo make them more dangerous than unprocessed foods". I found a lot of this information scary and hard to believe, yet, Spurlock has done his homework.
Another amusing quote came when Spurlock was speaking to an expert on how fast food chains achieve lifelong loyalty because people keep fond memories of the fast food places they ate at as children. Spurlock retorted, "Every time we drive by a McDonald's I'm gonna punch my kids in the face."
As some one who is overweight, and someone whose mother is diabetic and whose grandparents died of stroke and heart attack, I found this movie speaking to me and making me feel not a little bit uncomfortable, and my mind was definitely echoing what I heard many others saying as the theater emptied, "Why did I visit the concession stand?" I know my main reason for eating at McDonald's is not the taste of the food, it's because it's A-quick, and B-cheap. Dieting is expensive. And Roger Ebert had an interesting quote in his review of this movie-"You didn't ask, but what I Truly Believe is that unless you can find an eating program you can stay on for the rest of your life, dieting is a waste of time. The pounds come back." So true, Roger, so true. And Morgan also made statements about exercise and how no one, especially children in schools, is getting enough. Basically, America wants it quick, fast, easy, and tasting good, and McDonald's gives it to them. But in taking it, not just from McDonald's, we are giving ourselves diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and even cancer. Not from the McDonald's food...but from the obesity that results.
I can't say honestly that I will NEVER eat at McDonald's again. I'm sure I will. But this movie really makes you think, and many of the pictures were worth a thousand words of well meaning advice. At the very least, now whenever I'm feeling hungry, instead of grabbing the first thing I can lay my hands on, I find myself stopping to think..."What else (as in alternative) can I have?"
On a different note, the scariest thing I saw in the movie occured during a piece when Spurlock was sitting down with some first graders and showing them pictures of George Washington, George W Bush, and Ronald McDonald. He then showed them a hidden picture, and all of the kids couldn't figure out who it was, and only one even made a guess, "George Bush?" The picture was of Jesus. I freaked out and actually yelled, "No WAY!!!" in the middle of the movie theater. Yeah. We have our work cut out for us.
See this movie. It'll get inside your head...in more ways than one. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "DON'T supersize me, please."
Notes From the Red Book
6/8/04 "Supersize Me"
trailers-"The Terminal" (Yes! Can't wait to see the next Spielbergian feel good flick.)
Mississippi is the fattest state.
three doctors-cardiologist, gastro-entemologist, and gen practitioner
starting-168 cholesterol, 185 1/2 lbs
more McDonald's in Manhattan than anywhere in the world.
a 7-11 double big gulp = 2 liters of soda?!?!
"I've got a McStomachache...I got the McGurgles and McSweats....some McGas...this is making me McCrazy."
heckling smokers vs fatties
drive by McDonald's, punch my kid in the face
10lbs, in five days???
kids know Ronald McDonald, but not Jesus
17 lbs in 12 days
210 final weigh in
Houston is fattest city.
This movie was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I'm never eating again. Ok, I am. But it gives you a lot of heavy info in a light way, and made it very very interesting. In this movie, Morgan Spurlock, the director with the Fu Manchu moustache, decides to go on a McDonalds-only diet after hearing about two overweight girls who were trying to sue McDonald's for making them fat. Before beginning, he consults three different doctors, a fitness expert, and his own vegan girlfriend. They all basically tell him, hey, it's your funeral. But he is determined, and goes for it. There are rules-he may only supersize if he is asked to do so, and he has to try everything on the menu at least once. He also cannot have ANYTHING unless it's on the McDonald's menu-including water. After five days, he's gained ten pounds. 10 POUNDS in FIVE DAYS. I was horrified.
The film follows Spurlock's thirty day fast food odyssey, interspersing his menu choices with information, interviews, and visits to various schools, businesses, and McDonald's around the country. At the end of his experiment, his liver is almost toxic, he has gained almost thirty pounds, and his cholestorol had gone through the roof. His vegan girlfriend puts him on a diet immediately after and he has since "returned to normal".
I found this movie fascinating. I eat at McDonald's maybe once a week. It's fast, it's cheap, it tastes good, hey, who doesn't like Mickey D's? My favorite foods there are the fries, the quarter pounders, and the steak bagel sandwiches. I am probably going to food hell. But since I saw this movie, I have become hesitant about eating there. Some information provided by Spurlock-McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the entire population of Spain. You would have to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fry and Big Mac. McDonald's says: "Any processing our foods undergo make them more dangerous than unprocessed foods". I found a lot of this information scary and hard to believe, yet, Spurlock has done his homework.
Another amusing quote came when Spurlock was speaking to an expert on how fast food chains achieve lifelong loyalty because people keep fond memories of the fast food places they ate at as children. Spurlock retorted, "Every time we drive by a McDonald's I'm gonna punch my kids in the face."
As some one who is overweight, and someone whose mother is diabetic and whose grandparents died of stroke and heart attack, I found this movie speaking to me and making me feel not a little bit uncomfortable, and my mind was definitely echoing what I heard many others saying as the theater emptied, "Why did I visit the concession stand?" I know my main reason for eating at McDonald's is not the taste of the food, it's because it's A-quick, and B-cheap. Dieting is expensive. And Roger Ebert had an interesting quote in his review of this movie-"You didn't ask, but what I Truly Believe is that unless you can find an eating program you can stay on for the rest of your life, dieting is a waste of time. The pounds come back." So true, Roger, so true. And Morgan also made statements about exercise and how no one, especially children in schools, is getting enough. Basically, America wants it quick, fast, easy, and tasting good, and McDonald's gives it to them. But in taking it, not just from McDonald's, we are giving ourselves diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and even cancer. Not from the McDonald's food...but from the obesity that results.
I can't say honestly that I will NEVER eat at McDonald's again. I'm sure I will. But this movie really makes you think, and many of the pictures were worth a thousand words of well meaning advice. At the very least, now whenever I'm feeling hungry, instead of grabbing the first thing I can lay my hands on, I find myself stopping to think..."What else (as in alternative) can I have?"
On a different note, the scariest thing I saw in the movie occured during a piece when Spurlock was sitting down with some first graders and showing them pictures of George Washington, George W Bush, and Ronald McDonald. He then showed them a hidden picture, and all of the kids couldn't figure out who it was, and only one even made a guess, "George Bush?" The picture was of Jesus. I freaked out and actually yelled, "No WAY!!!" in the middle of the movie theater. Yeah. We have our work cut out for us.
See this movie. It'll get inside your head...in more ways than one. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "DON'T supersize me, please."
Monday, June 07, 2004
6/5/04 "Shrek 2"
I have been trying to see this movie for like TWO weeks...finally saw it. It was SO funny. Funnier than the first one, actually. I'm definitely going to see it again if I can. As usual, BEWARE THE MASKED SPOILER.
Notes From the Red Book
6/5/04 "Shrek 2"
trailers-"The Incredibles", "Spiderman 2", "Shark Tale"
home video at Hansel's Honeymoon Hideaway
Little Mermaid, Spiderman, heh
LOTR ring! YA!
"Sgt. Pompous and His Fancy Pants Club Band"
Far Far Away = Hollywood
Funkytown! YA!!
Tower of London Records, Olde Knavery, Versarchery, Burger Prince...heh
fairy godmother in bubble
"Stop being such a drama king!"
Charming wearing Burger King crown from Friar's Fat Boy..heh
trees from Wizard of Oz!
Sir Justin...heh
cat out of chest = Alien
Puss in Boots = Zorro
"Let's neuter him right now! Give him the Bob Barker treatment!"
"Join the club, we got jackets."
aw, cute lil kitty
Puss grabbing hat = Indiana Jones
"Shrek?" "For you baby, I could be."
banging on window = "The Graduate"
Farbucks coffee!
Joan Rivers
Medevial E! television!
KNIGHTS = COPS
pepper! catnip!
Love Potion #9
Pinocchio wears a thong? eeeeeewwwww
gingerbread man's legs stitched back on!
giant gingerbread man = Frankenstein, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters marshmallow man
2 "Farbucks" across from each other...heh
"beeee gooood" = ET
"He croaked."
"Pigs on blanket!"
stage looks like Hollywood Bowl
Flashdance!
aaaawww, lil mutant donkey dragon babies
Oh my gosh, this movie was SO funny. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and it didn't disappoint. This sequel picks up right where the first Shrek left off, with Fiona and Shrek on their honeymoon. When they get back to their swamp, they find a message from Fiona's parents inviting them to a ball celebrating their marriage. They go, Shrek rather reluctantly. Donkey also goes along for the ride. As Shrek expects, Fiona's parents are less than pleased with her choice. Fiona's father (voiced brilliantly by John Cleese) even hires sleazy hit man (cat) Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas in full Zorro mode) to "whack" him. Instead, Puss ends up helping Shrek on his quest to make himself more worthy of Fiona and her love, no matter what changes or sacrifices need to be made. But neither of them realize that Fiona's fairy godmother and her son, Prince Charming, have made plans of their own. But it all turns out all right in the end, just like the first movie.
My favorite thing about this movie was the spoofs. This movie is the kind of movie I wish I had a remote for. I kept wanting to stop the movie because there was SO much going on in the background. And the spoofs were like my own personal movie game...how many movies can you spot? It was great. Although I did go see this as a matinee and had so many little kids staring at me, like, what the heck are you laughing at? Yup, two different kinds of funny were definitely going on there, which is another reason this is practically a perfect movie. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a tad, but this IS a great movie to take your kids to, because you enjoy it and they enjoy it. But getting back to the spoofs-let's start with the stores-Versarchery, Olde Knavery, Tower of London Records, and Farbucks coffee. I almost died. Very clever. And then the movie homages...I lost count. ME. I lost count. But I did catch a bunch of good ones. My favorites were the Indiana Jones and the Alien homages. Again, very clever. But I think the funniest one was the KNIGHTS show, which was a COPS spoof. The KNIGHTS were chasing "a suspect on a white bronco"...suffice to say, I almost wet my pants. Very clever movie, very clever.
Other things I thought-
I like Julie Andrews as Fiona's mother the queen...her and John Cleese were really inspired casting there. Also Rupert Everett and Jennifer Saunders as Charming and his mom, Dame Fortuna. Fortuna's advertising her as basically a Hollywood madam...and how she kept screaming for "something deep fat fried and smothered in chocolate". Oh, I could go on for hours.
It's interesting to see this kind of environment that Fiona grew up in. It sort of explains why she was so snotty and hung up on handsome princes and the way things "were supposed to be done" in the first Shrek. I liked it.
Excellent movie! See it. Several times. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "For you baby, I could be."
Notes From the Red Book
6/5/04 "Shrek 2"
trailers-"The Incredibles", "Spiderman 2", "Shark Tale"
home video at Hansel's Honeymoon Hideaway
Little Mermaid, Spiderman, heh
LOTR ring! YA!
"Sgt. Pompous and His Fancy Pants Club Band"
Far Far Away = Hollywood
Funkytown! YA!!
Tower of London Records, Olde Knavery, Versarchery, Burger Prince...heh
fairy godmother in bubble
"Stop being such a drama king!"
Charming wearing Burger King crown from Friar's Fat Boy..heh
trees from Wizard of Oz!
Sir Justin...heh
cat out of chest = Alien
Puss in Boots = Zorro
"Let's neuter him right now! Give him the Bob Barker treatment!"
"Join the club, we got jackets."
aw, cute lil kitty
Puss grabbing hat = Indiana Jones
"Shrek?" "For you baby, I could be."
banging on window = "The Graduate"
Farbucks coffee!
Joan Rivers
Medevial E! television!
KNIGHTS = COPS
pepper! catnip!
Love Potion #9
Pinocchio wears a thong? eeeeeewwwww
gingerbread man's legs stitched back on!
giant gingerbread man = Frankenstein, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters marshmallow man
2 "Farbucks" across from each other...heh
"beeee gooood" = ET
"He croaked."
"Pigs on blanket!"
stage looks like Hollywood Bowl
Flashdance!
aaaawww, lil mutant donkey dragon babies
Oh my gosh, this movie was SO funny. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and it didn't disappoint. This sequel picks up right where the first Shrek left off, with Fiona and Shrek on their honeymoon. When they get back to their swamp, they find a message from Fiona's parents inviting them to a ball celebrating their marriage. They go, Shrek rather reluctantly. Donkey also goes along for the ride. As Shrek expects, Fiona's parents are less than pleased with her choice. Fiona's father (voiced brilliantly by John Cleese) even hires sleazy hit man (cat) Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas in full Zorro mode) to "whack" him. Instead, Puss ends up helping Shrek on his quest to make himself more worthy of Fiona and her love, no matter what changes or sacrifices need to be made. But neither of them realize that Fiona's fairy godmother and her son, Prince Charming, have made plans of their own. But it all turns out all right in the end, just like the first movie.
My favorite thing about this movie was the spoofs. This movie is the kind of movie I wish I had a remote for. I kept wanting to stop the movie because there was SO much going on in the background. And the spoofs were like my own personal movie game...how many movies can you spot? It was great. Although I did go see this as a matinee and had so many little kids staring at me, like, what the heck are you laughing at? Yup, two different kinds of funny were definitely going on there, which is another reason this is practically a perfect movie. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a tad, but this IS a great movie to take your kids to, because you enjoy it and they enjoy it. But getting back to the spoofs-let's start with the stores-Versarchery, Olde Knavery, Tower of London Records, and Farbucks coffee. I almost died. Very clever. And then the movie homages...I lost count. ME. I lost count. But I did catch a bunch of good ones. My favorites were the Indiana Jones and the Alien homages. Again, very clever. But I think the funniest one was the KNIGHTS show, which was a COPS spoof. The KNIGHTS were chasing "a suspect on a white bronco"...suffice to say, I almost wet my pants. Very clever movie, very clever.
Other things I thought-
I like Julie Andrews as Fiona's mother the queen...her and John Cleese were really inspired casting there. Also Rupert Everett and Jennifer Saunders as Charming and his mom, Dame Fortuna. Fortuna's advertising her as basically a Hollywood madam...and how she kept screaming for "something deep fat fried and smothered in chocolate". Oh, I could go on for hours.
It's interesting to see this kind of environment that Fiona grew up in. It sort of explains why she was so snotty and hung up on handsome princes and the way things "were supposed to be done" in the first Shrek. I liked it.
Excellent movie! See it. Several times. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, "For you baby, I could be."
Saturday, June 05, 2004
6/4/04 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
Oh, Niki has been waiting to see this FOREVER. I like the Harry Potter pictures, too, so I've been looking forward to it as well. Not as much as Niki, because Harry Potter to Niki is Lord of the Rings or Star Wars to me. But I was extremely flattered that I got to go with her on her maiden viewing. BEWARE THE PHANTOM SPOILERS.
6-04-04 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"Catwoman", "Vanity Fair" (I wanna see this...love those period pieces.), "The Aviator", "Thunderbirds", "The Princess Diaries 2" (Dying to see this movie!), "A Cinderella Story", and "Polar Express" (Niki was lamenting long trailers until she saw this one and it made her happy-astounding CGI!!!)
cool WB logo
cool set dressing
Marge blowing up-finger, stockings run, buttons pop off, ha!
flying like a balloon in the sky
Stan is guy from Ever After
fast bus=smushed face, heh
a shrunken Jamaican head
stirring coffee w/out touching spoon
Fudge has pinstripe robes
Monster book of monsters...well done!
cool Egypt picture
Sirius picture in foreground is somewhat distracting...
choir and singing frogs...sounds good
great CGI use on Hagrid's height
new Dumbledore looks good, like old one
cool picture art
nice animal candy scene in dorm
oooo...cool scary flying dementors
that's a huge pile of teacups
nicely done grim in tea leaves
Neville has grown up nicely
cool flying scene with hippogriff
"You and your bloody chicken"
HA! Snape in granny's clothes!
beautiful soundtrack...almost Irish or Celtic..you go John Williams
cool sketch/bird from Malfoy
eeeeeewwwwwww-dementors have CREEPY mouths!
cool merge of seasons change
twinspeak-heh
wow, lotta swears for a kid's movie
Ron's sleeptalking..heh
Peter Pettigrew? What?
Ok, Draco's a big pansy.
Go Hermione!
gorgeous scenery....but pumpkins in spring? Well, they are wizards.
shrieking shack sways
interesting werewolf
is that a body mike on Hermione?
"Come get the nice dead ferret."
"I'll have a nice cup of tea or a large brandy." "No small glasses in this house, Professor." Heh.
"Professor Lupin's having a really tough night."
funny jazz music
abrupt ending
Obviously, this movie was an adaption of the book by JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's my favorite book so far in the series, and Niki's too, so she was extremely nervous about seeing it. The movie covers Harry's third year at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But this year there is a dangerous escaped convict, Sirius Black, on the loose, and dangerous guards from the wizard prison, Azkaban, hanging around the school looking for him. Hagrid has been promotes to a teacher, in the Care of Magical Creatures, and there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as well, Professor Remus Lupin, who has dark secrets of his own. Harry must discover the secret of why Sirius wants him in particular, what his links to him are, and not get killed doing it.
This movie did very well as a MOVIE. The acting was great. I love the three main characters, especially Ron. They really have grown into their roles and act them with ease. It's been fun to watch the kids grow into teenagers. I hope they can stick around for awhile. And the new Dumbledore was great...he really looked like Richard Harris! But I read somewhere that Michael Gambon was actually his stand in, so that would make sense.
The special effects were also great. A lot of the CGI was well done CGI. If there's one thing I can't stand is cheesy or unecessary CGI, makes me crazy. But Buckbeak, the dementors, the invisibility cloak, the boggarts, the moving pictures, Hagrid's height, the Marauder's Map, Malfoy's sketch/bird, and all the wizarding effects..I loved it all. It fun to see CGI done in good ways, because it can make abnormal things look perfectly normal, and hence, much more believable.
The cinematography was amazing...Alfonso Cuaron gives the most beautiful vistas and wide shots...nice. It also seemed like Hogwarts had moved it's setting from some lawn in Britain to the Pacific Northwest...hey, they're wizards, they can do it if they want. Not a bad change, just different.
I just really enjoyed all these little things, like a huge pile of teacups in Professor Trelawney's room, or the fact that the Minister of Magic wears pinstripe robes. I wish I could've seen more of the Quidditch game, looked like a good one. For the first time I noticed Harry's number seven on the back of his robes. Ron's talking in his sleep was hysterical and I think we all cheered when Hermione punched Malfoy. Yeah...simple things make me smile.
Now I did have just a few problems, and mostly they fall in the category of things left out of the movie that were in the book. one of the biggest things was therevelation that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. This is done completely different in the book, although I can see how it worked in the text of the movie. But I was disappointed how it was never revealed that Lupin, Black, Pettigrew, and Harry's Dad were the Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs of the Marauder's Map. I thought this was key info. Niki was also disspointed with the scene in the Three Broomsticks where it's revealed that Sirius Black killed Harry's parents. Apparently it was her favorite scene she was looking forward to. I can understand, I had the same kind of reaction when I saw Return of the King, and my favorite scene was when Sam find Frodo in the tower and rescues him. I was a little disappointed there, too. But I guess that's the risk you run when you go see a movie adaptation of a book...you're always seeing someone else version, and not your own. Sometimes they mesh, but most of the time, they don't.
So, not a bad movie, all in all. I'd go see it again, if only for the reason that Cuaron had SO much going on in the background I wanted to take a closer look at.
Until the next time, this is Sarah, saying "Mischief managed!"
6-04-04 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"Catwoman", "Vanity Fair" (I wanna see this...love those period pieces.), "The Aviator", "Thunderbirds", "The Princess Diaries 2" (Dying to see this movie!), "A Cinderella Story", and "Polar Express" (Niki was lamenting long trailers until she saw this one and it made her happy-astounding CGI!!!)
cool WB logo
cool set dressing
Marge blowing up-finger, stockings run, buttons pop off, ha!
flying like a balloon in the sky
Stan is guy from Ever After
fast bus=smushed face, heh
a shrunken Jamaican head
stirring coffee w/out touching spoon
Fudge has pinstripe robes
Monster book of monsters...well done!
cool Egypt picture
Sirius picture in foreground is somewhat distracting...
choir and singing frogs...sounds good
great CGI use on Hagrid's height
new Dumbledore looks good, like old one
cool picture art
nice animal candy scene in dorm
oooo...cool scary flying dementors
that's a huge pile of teacups
nicely done grim in tea leaves
Neville has grown up nicely
cool flying scene with hippogriff
"You and your bloody chicken"
HA! Snape in granny's clothes!
beautiful soundtrack...almost Irish or Celtic..you go John Williams
cool sketch/bird from Malfoy
eeeeeewwwwwww-dementors have CREEPY mouths!
cool merge of seasons change
twinspeak-heh
wow, lotta swears for a kid's movie
Ron's sleeptalking..heh
Peter Pettigrew? What?
Ok, Draco's a big pansy.
Go Hermione!
gorgeous scenery....but pumpkins in spring? Well, they are wizards.
shrieking shack sways
interesting werewolf
is that a body mike on Hermione?
"Come get the nice dead ferret."
"I'll have a nice cup of tea or a large brandy." "No small glasses in this house, Professor." Heh.
"Professor Lupin's having a really tough night."
funny jazz music
abrupt ending
Obviously, this movie was an adaption of the book by JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's my favorite book so far in the series, and Niki's too, so she was extremely nervous about seeing it. The movie covers Harry's third year at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But this year there is a dangerous escaped convict, Sirius Black, on the loose, and dangerous guards from the wizard prison, Azkaban, hanging around the school looking for him. Hagrid has been promotes to a teacher, in the Care of Magical Creatures, and there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as well, Professor Remus Lupin, who has dark secrets of his own. Harry must discover the secret of why Sirius wants him in particular, what his links to him are, and not get killed doing it.
This movie did very well as a MOVIE. The acting was great. I love the three main characters, especially Ron. They really have grown into their roles and act them with ease. It's been fun to watch the kids grow into teenagers. I hope they can stick around for awhile. And the new Dumbledore was great...he really looked like Richard Harris! But I read somewhere that Michael Gambon was actually his stand in, so that would make sense.
The special effects were also great. A lot of the CGI was well done CGI. If there's one thing I can't stand is cheesy or unecessary CGI, makes me crazy. But Buckbeak, the dementors, the invisibility cloak, the boggarts, the moving pictures, Hagrid's height, the Marauder's Map, Malfoy's sketch/bird, and all the wizarding effects..I loved it all. It fun to see CGI done in good ways, because it can make abnormal things look perfectly normal, and hence, much more believable.
The cinematography was amazing...Alfonso Cuaron gives the most beautiful vistas and wide shots...nice. It also seemed like Hogwarts had moved it's setting from some lawn in Britain to the Pacific Northwest...hey, they're wizards, they can do it if they want. Not a bad change, just different.
I just really enjoyed all these little things, like a huge pile of teacups in Professor Trelawney's room, or the fact that the Minister of Magic wears pinstripe robes. I wish I could've seen more of the Quidditch game, looked like a good one. For the first time I noticed Harry's number seven on the back of his robes. Ron's talking in his sleep was hysterical and I think we all cheered when Hermione punched Malfoy. Yeah...simple things make me smile.
Now I did have just a few problems, and mostly they fall in the category of things left out of the movie that were in the book. one of the biggest things was therevelation that Peter Pettigrew was still alive. This is done completely different in the book, although I can see how it worked in the text of the movie. But I was disappointed how it was never revealed that Lupin, Black, Pettigrew, and Harry's Dad were the Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs of the Marauder's Map. I thought this was key info. Niki was also disspointed with the scene in the Three Broomsticks where it's revealed that Sirius Black killed Harry's parents. Apparently it was her favorite scene she was looking forward to. I can understand, I had the same kind of reaction when I saw Return of the King, and my favorite scene was when Sam find Frodo in the tower and rescues him. I was a little disappointed there, too. But I guess that's the risk you run when you go see a movie adaptation of a book...you're always seeing someone else version, and not your own. Sometimes they mesh, but most of the time, they don't.
So, not a bad movie, all in all. I'd go see it again, if only for the reason that Cuaron had SO much going on in the background I wanted to take a closer look at.
Until the next time, this is Sarah, saying "Mischief managed!"
Friday, June 04, 2004
5/30/04 "The Day After Tomorrow"
I originally wasn't incredibly interested in seeing this movie, and after I saw it, remembered why. This movie was sort of silly. I went to see it at the Majestic Theater in Williston, VT, with my friend John. I had been up there for a wedding of a mutual friend of ours, Matt, and it was kind of the wind-down to the weekend. I originally had been lobbying for Shrek 2, but this caught my eye and I decided we should go see this instead. Also, John's kind of a science-head, so I figured he might enjoy it too. And we both liked Independence Day. So we thought we'd give it a try. BEWARE THE CREEPING SPOILERS.
5-30-04 "The Day After Tommorrow"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-"Dodgeball" (I must see this!), "I, Robot" (oooo, first big trailer)
guy who played Lynn on Felicity?
Hey, it's Bilbo!
man, mean hail
wow-big storm shot from space
Emmy Rossum-Phantom's Christine
ooo...lots of birds...
Jake Gyllenhaal is SO Peter Parker
cool tornado formations
wow, cool tornados! Holy cow they're big.
Goodbye Hollywood sign. Goodbye Capital Records.
Hey, VP's kinda jerky.
"The world's finest collection of stuffed animals."
"We've enough tea and biscuits to sink a ship."
Freezing is kinda creepy.
BIG WAVE....
Sela-you cry fake.
"Nietzche was a chauvanist pig who was in love with his sister."
"There's a whole section on tax law we can burn."
At least deaths are tasteful.
crappy CGI wolves.
cool Statue of Liberty shot, cool frozen sets.
Whole movie is farfetched and sensationalized...but fun at times.
This movie details what supposedly could happen if global warming ever catches up with us. One of the results is shown to be a new Ice Age, with floods, hail, snow, tornados, and hurricanes. Dennis Quaid plays a paleoclimatologist, Jack Hall, who witnesses a "Rhode Island" sized chunk of ice wall break and away from its shelf and suspects that maybe something's not right in the ozone layer. Ian Holm plays a weather monitor from England , Dr. Rapson, who begins to first notice definite changes in the weather and the Gulf Stream itself. He also notices people freezing to death in seconds flat. But by the time they bring their findings to the world, it's too late. Jack's son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a super bright kid who has traveled to New York to compete in the Smart Kid Olympics and to follow his dream girl, Laura (Emmy Rossum-Christine in the new Phantom movie!) The city begins to freeze while they are there, and the two get trapped in the New York Public Library along with a handful of others. Jack must make the dangerous trek to New York from Washington DC to try to save them as the newly fatal weather rages around them.
I guess my last Red Book note pretty much sums it up. This movie was ok. DEFINITELY not an Independence Day, which I really liked. I've read a whole bunch of articles saying the director knew that all this weather couldn't have happened in the way that it was portrayed, that he meant it to be that way to sensationalize it...but I think it just seemed a bit too much of a stretch for me. The thing I liked the best about this movie were the great "pretty" shots. Gigantic waves, huge tornados, the weather as seen from space...nicely done. The acting was all right, nothing to write home about. Jake Gyllenhaal did a good job, but ever since I read the article on how he almost took over for Tobey Maguire in Spiderman 2, I couldn't stop thinking of him as Peter Parker...it was downright eerie. Oh, I did like the way they handled the death of some semi-major characters...they didn't really show them actually dying, it was refreshing...most of the deaths were implied and everyone seemed to die with dignity.
Some things I thought while watching this movie-
Wow. I didn't know frost could chase you down a hallway like that...I figured it would just freeze...period.
So I wonder what's going on in the rest of the world...like outside Mexico, England, DC, and NY.
I'd rather watch Independence Day.
Watch it if you must, but I'd wait til video. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, for heaven's sake, don't go outside and burn everything you can to stay warm!
ps-comments from me and john on my posting of this review-
-For the record, while Independence day was kinda fun, I can't say for sure I actually "LIKED" it... I LOVE to tease it, though (I'm surprised http://www.badastronomy.com/ hasn't touched it yet!)I remember going to see that one with you on the day it came out... sitting in the theatre and watching Bill Pullman give his little Independence Day speech... and LAUGHING. Everyone else was into it, feeling the love, so-to-speak, and I was laughing (and a few people looked rather put-off by my snickering such a poigniant moment). Why was I laughing: because the speech was STOLEN from Henry V... worse still, the blocking was lifted whole from the Kenneth Branagh Henry V. Watch them both... Its the St. Crispin's day speech from Henry V. the basic flow of the speech. The theme. The freakin' setting (Henry V standing on the back of a cart, president whats-his-face on the back of a truck). "Today we celebrate our independence!" versus "On St. Crispin's Day!" I couldn't help but laugh at the extreme grand-mal cheesiness of it (Cheese factor is high, repeat, cheese factor is high... like camembert time here).Comment from jmh921 - 6/14/04 12:37 PM
-That's right, we did go see Indepedence Day together, didn't we? Ok, ok, so it was pretty cheesey. But Jeff Goldblum has HOT in that movie...I just love it when he plays sexy nerdy scientists. And it was cool to see the White House blown up. NOT THAT I WANT TO SEE THE WHITE HOUSE BLOWN UP. I LIKE THE WHITE HOUSE JUST THE WAY IT IS, I SWEAR. So...yeah.Comment from nubule - 6/14/04 5:01 PM
5-30-04 "The Day After Tommorrow"
Notes From the Red Book
trailers-"Dodgeball" (I must see this!), "I, Robot" (oooo, first big trailer)
guy who played Lynn on Felicity?
Hey, it's Bilbo!
man, mean hail
wow-big storm shot from space
Emmy Rossum-Phantom's Christine
ooo...lots of birds...
Jake Gyllenhaal is SO Peter Parker
cool tornado formations
wow, cool tornados! Holy cow they're big.
Goodbye Hollywood sign. Goodbye Capital Records.
Hey, VP's kinda jerky.
"The world's finest collection of stuffed animals."
"We've enough tea and biscuits to sink a ship."
Freezing is kinda creepy.
BIG WAVE....
Sela-you cry fake.
"Nietzche was a chauvanist pig who was in love with his sister."
"There's a whole section on tax law we can burn."
At least deaths are tasteful.
crappy CGI wolves.
cool Statue of Liberty shot, cool frozen sets.
Whole movie is farfetched and sensationalized...but fun at times.
This movie details what supposedly could happen if global warming ever catches up with us. One of the results is shown to be a new Ice Age, with floods, hail, snow, tornados, and hurricanes. Dennis Quaid plays a paleoclimatologist, Jack Hall, who witnesses a "Rhode Island" sized chunk of ice wall break and away from its shelf and suspects that maybe something's not right in the ozone layer. Ian Holm plays a weather monitor from England , Dr. Rapson, who begins to first notice definite changes in the weather and the Gulf Stream itself. He also notices people freezing to death in seconds flat. But by the time they bring their findings to the world, it's too late. Jack's son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a super bright kid who has traveled to New York to compete in the Smart Kid Olympics and to follow his dream girl, Laura (Emmy Rossum-Christine in the new Phantom movie!) The city begins to freeze while they are there, and the two get trapped in the New York Public Library along with a handful of others. Jack must make the dangerous trek to New York from Washington DC to try to save them as the newly fatal weather rages around them.
I guess my last Red Book note pretty much sums it up. This movie was ok. DEFINITELY not an Independence Day, which I really liked. I've read a whole bunch of articles saying the director knew that all this weather couldn't have happened in the way that it was portrayed, that he meant it to be that way to sensationalize it...but I think it just seemed a bit too much of a stretch for me. The thing I liked the best about this movie were the great "pretty" shots. Gigantic waves, huge tornados, the weather as seen from space...nicely done. The acting was all right, nothing to write home about. Jake Gyllenhaal did a good job, but ever since I read the article on how he almost took over for Tobey Maguire in Spiderman 2, I couldn't stop thinking of him as Peter Parker...it was downright eerie. Oh, I did like the way they handled the death of some semi-major characters...they didn't really show them actually dying, it was refreshing...most of the deaths were implied and everyone seemed to die with dignity.
Some things I thought while watching this movie-
Wow. I didn't know frost could chase you down a hallway like that...I figured it would just freeze...period.
So I wonder what's going on in the rest of the world...like outside Mexico, England, DC, and NY.
I'd rather watch Independence Day.
Watch it if you must, but I'd wait til video. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, for heaven's sake, don't go outside and burn everything you can to stay warm!
ps-comments from me and john on my posting of this review-
-For the record, while Independence day was kinda fun, I can't say for sure I actually "LIKED" it... I LOVE to tease it, though (I'm surprised http://www.badastronomy.com/ hasn't touched it yet!)I remember going to see that one with you on the day it came out... sitting in the theatre and watching Bill Pullman give his little Independence Day speech... and LAUGHING. Everyone else was into it, feeling the love, so-to-speak, and I was laughing (and a few people looked rather put-off by my snickering such a poigniant moment). Why was I laughing: because the speech was STOLEN from Henry V... worse still, the blocking was lifted whole from the Kenneth Branagh Henry V. Watch them both... Its the St. Crispin's day speech from Henry V. the basic flow of the speech. The theme. The freakin' setting (Henry V standing on the back of a cart, president whats-his-face on the back of a truck). "Today we celebrate our independence!" versus "On St. Crispin's Day!" I couldn't help but laugh at the extreme grand-mal cheesiness of it (Cheese factor is high, repeat, cheese factor is high... like camembert time here).Comment from jmh921 - 6/14/04 12:37 PM
-That's right, we did go see Indepedence Day together, didn't we? Ok, ok, so it was pretty cheesey. But Jeff Goldblum has HOT in that movie...I just love it when he plays sexy nerdy scientists. And it was cool to see the White House blown up. NOT THAT I WANT TO SEE THE WHITE HOUSE BLOWN UP. I LIKE THE WHITE HOUSE JUST THE WAY IT IS, I SWEAR. So...yeah.Comment from nubule - 6/14/04 5:01 PM
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
5/25/04 "Mean Girls:Part Two"
So I went to see "Mean Girls" again with Niki, because she really really wanted to see it and I was so glad to see her I would've gone to see "Grind" even though that movie was horrendous and sucked donkeys. So I just have a few other notes from the Red Book and a couple of observations. As always, BEWARE THE ROGUE SPOILER.
5-25-04 "Mean Girls" (2nd showing)
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" (Niki was thrilled), "Shrek 2" (I STILL haven't seen this), "Dodgeball" (I really want to see this movie), "Sleepover", "White Chicks", "The Stepford Wives" (I think they give too much away in the trailer-no fair!)
Hey, more trailers for my money!
Regina's mom is freakin' HYSTERICAL.
Tim Meadows is a riot.
Interesting transformation for Cady...Regina made a monster!
Amy Peohler as Regina's mom was even funnier this time around. I truly think she was one of the funniest things about the movie. Of course, the truly sad thing is I KNOW moms like that..ones that are in the midst of their mid-life crisis, and are trying to stay young by being the "cool" mom, and as a result, embarass the daylights out of their daughters as a result.
Tim Meadows as the Principal had reminded me of something the first time I saw this movie, but I couldn't put my finger on it. This time I remembered-he was like Principal Joe Clark in "Lean on Me". Of course, in a twisted, rather meek way.
That's about all. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, stay away from the marijuana tablets!
5-25-04 "Mean Girls" (2nd showing)
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" (Niki was thrilled), "Shrek 2" (I STILL haven't seen this), "Dodgeball" (I really want to see this movie), "Sleepover", "White Chicks", "The Stepford Wives" (I think they give too much away in the trailer-no fair!)
Hey, more trailers for my money!
Regina's mom is freakin' HYSTERICAL.
Tim Meadows is a riot.
Interesting transformation for Cady...Regina made a monster!
Amy Peohler as Regina's mom was even funnier this time around. I truly think she was one of the funniest things about the movie. Of course, the truly sad thing is I KNOW moms like that..ones that are in the midst of their mid-life crisis, and are trying to stay young by being the "cool" mom, and as a result, embarass the daylights out of their daughters as a result.
Tim Meadows as the Principal had reminded me of something the first time I saw this movie, but I couldn't put my finger on it. This time I remembered-he was like Principal Joe Clark in "Lean on Me". Of course, in a twisted, rather meek way.
That's about all. Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, stay away from the marijuana tablets!
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
5/18/04 "Mean Girls"
Beware the Spoilers
5-18-04 "Mean Girls"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"Dodgeball" (more Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller funness), "Shrek 2" (new trailer, wooo!), "The Stepford Wives" (could be interesting)
Lorne Michaels-good sign
home schooled-scary religious, really smart...heh heh
1st day of health class-abstinence!
"One time, she punched me in the face....it was awesome."
"You can go shave your back now."
"If you're from Africa, why are you white?" "Karen! You don't just go ask people why they're white!"
Cool watering hole/animal scene
Man, there are SNL people EVERYWHERE.
How it would be settled in the animal world....heh.
"Say crack again."
"Man candy stage right."
"If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor."
This movie was pretty funny. It about this girl Cady (pronounced Kay-D) who's lived in Africa her whole life and been homeschooled by her zoologist parents. She finally goes to school and it's major culture shock for her. She is quickly taken under the wing of goth girl Janis and her gay friend, Damien. They are quick to point out all of the cliques in school, including the Plastics, your basic Barbie doll hos. The Plastics take a shine to Cady and at Janis' urging, she begins to hang out with them, solely to gather info to use against them. But it backfires when Cady becomes more plastic than the Plastics themselves. And when Regina, the Plastic Queen, takes revenge, Cady must start all over again to make things turn out all right in the end, which of course, they do.
Obviously, the thing I liked best about this movie were the quotes...incredibly freaking funny. And it was interesting to see how this brand new student dealt with issues in the high school hierarcy like slang, hall passes, and how girls act around guys.Tina Fey did a great job as screenwriter as well as acting as Cady's sarcastic teacher. And Lindsey Lohan was much better than in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and even Freaky Friday. The movie was also rife with Saturday Night Live casters. Tina Fey, of course, but also Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler, who did a crazy turn as Regina's mother with literal boobs of steel.
I think this movie was telling me I need to start watching SNL again. Perhaps it's gotten funnier.
My sister said it made her feel uncomfortable. Heh heh.
So, this is Sarah saying, until next week, practice abstinence or you will get Chlamydia and die!
5-18-04 "Mean Girls"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"Dodgeball" (more Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller funness), "Shrek 2" (new trailer, wooo!), "The Stepford Wives" (could be interesting)
Lorne Michaels-good sign
home schooled-scary religious, really smart...heh heh
1st day of health class-abstinence!
"One time, she punched me in the face....it was awesome."
"You can go shave your back now."
"If you're from Africa, why are you white?" "Karen! You don't just go ask people why they're white!"
Cool watering hole/animal scene
Man, there are SNL people EVERYWHERE.
How it would be settled in the animal world....heh.
"Say crack again."
"Man candy stage right."
"If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor."
This movie was pretty funny. It about this girl Cady (pronounced Kay-D) who's lived in Africa her whole life and been homeschooled by her zoologist parents. She finally goes to school and it's major culture shock for her. She is quickly taken under the wing of goth girl Janis and her gay friend, Damien. They are quick to point out all of the cliques in school, including the Plastics, your basic Barbie doll hos. The Plastics take a shine to Cady and at Janis' urging, she begins to hang out with them, solely to gather info to use against them. But it backfires when Cady becomes more plastic than the Plastics themselves. And when Regina, the Plastic Queen, takes revenge, Cady must start all over again to make things turn out all right in the end, which of course, they do.
Obviously, the thing I liked best about this movie were the quotes...incredibly freaking funny. And it was interesting to see how this brand new student dealt with issues in the high school hierarcy like slang, hall passes, and how girls act around guys.Tina Fey did a great job as screenwriter as well as acting as Cady's sarcastic teacher. And Lindsey Lohan was much better than in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and even Freaky Friday. The movie was also rife with Saturday Night Live casters. Tina Fey, of course, but also Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, and Amy Poehler, who did a crazy turn as Regina's mother with literal boobs of steel.
I think this movie was telling me I need to start watching SNL again. Perhaps it's gotten funnier.
My sister said it made her feel uncomfortable. Heh heh.
So, this is Sarah saying, until next week, practice abstinence or you will get Chlamydia and die!
Sunday, May 16, 2004
5/15/04 "Van Helsing"
So I'm taking a note from John and opened up a new online journal. I guess this could officially be called a "blog", since my other journal is on LJ...but no one seems to know about it, except Stef. Anyway, this one I want to try and post mainly movie reviews in, because, dang, I gotta do something with this Comm Arts degree so people will stop bugging me.
These reviews will probably end up being fairly eclectic, because, hey, I write them. I'll start off with notes from the Red Book, which is the notebook I takes notes in in the movie theater. It originally got started when Ray left to join the Marines, and I started taking notes so I could send him mini-reviews of stuff Niki and I had seen. It's usually the equivalent of a cross between chicken scratch and a three year old's handwriting, because I write in the dark. But I can usually decipher most of it. I'm sad though, I lost my first notebook somewhere, and it had great notes from the summer, like from Terminator 3 and Pirates of the Carribbean and Underworld. Oh well. Anyway.
Some info on the Red Book notes-I am transcribing exactly as it was written, typos and all...so if it doesn't make much sense...sorry. Makes sense to me, anyway. Also beware...spoilers may abound.
5-15-04 "Van Helsing"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"White Chicks" (this looks completely bizarre and yet I am compelled to want to see it), "Chronicles of Riddick"
Black and white Universal logo, cool, very retro...cool, bursts into flame!
Who is Igor? Sounds familiar
Frankenstein monster has mechanical leg!
Frank also has cool electric head/brain...huh
dude...whole section beneath Vatican is COOL...like James Bond
Now THAT guy is Q...yup, def James Bond...19th century Bond.
Q guy is Faramir! Holy crap! Framir is in this movie???
"Actually, I'm still just a friar, I can curse all I want....dammit." (hee!)
Kate is almost unrecognizable in that lipstick
Geez, Dracula is overacting...I hope he gets better.
wow...so werewolves peel off their skin?
BENNY! THAT's WHO IGOR IS! Benny from the Mummy.
cool music during carriage chase scene...I like it
Wolfman is kinda hot
"How many commandments can we break in one day?"
So are those Cirque du Soleil extras at the Halloween ball?
Frankestein quotes the Bible...huh.
Cool! Vamp vision!
Basically, the story focuses on Gabriel Van Helsing, who is the younger brother of Abraham Van Helsing, although this (amongst other things) is never made clear in the movie. He also has some sort of amnesia about who he was before he became a Vatican assassin, and has some sort of history with Dracula, again, never made really clear. He is sort of a special assassin under Vatican employ who goes after all sorts of nasty monsters. And yet, people hate him and want him dead. After trashing the Notre Dame cathedral, and killing off its hunchback-oh wait, it was Mr. Hyde...they should make that more clear!!!-the Vatican sends him off to Transylvania to bust a cap on Dracula, his brides, Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, and anyone else that happens along. While there he meets a gypsy girl played by Kate Beckinsale, who must kill Dracula or her whole dead family goes to hell. And this whole time they've been residing in...purgatory, I suppose. I thought this movie was ok. It had some decent special effects, and I loved the homages to classic Universal monster movies, but on the whole I wasn't thrilled by it. It didn't suck, but I didn't come out of the theater going, "yay", either. I really liked David Wenham's character Carl. It was such a departure from his Faramir, and he was terrific comedy relief, pretty much the most enjoyable thing about the movie. One thing I've got to give Steven Sommers, is the man writes excellent comic secondary characters, ie, Jonathan in the Mummy movies...loved him. Kate Beckinsale was ok...I guess I'm still used to seeing her play things like a fresh-faced Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, so it kinda throws me when I see her played hard-edged girls like Selene in Underworld. She looked different in all that gypsy make up tho. Hugh Jackman was Hugh Jackman. With longer hair and a silly hat. CJ thought he looked hot. I just thought he looked like a scrub.
A few things I was feeling while I was watching this movie-
"Holy cow, it's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen all over again." Like, an action movie that wants to get a sequel, SO badly, and will cram as much action into itself as possible, hoping to coast the viewer along on it's own little visual roller coaster, when all you really end up thinking is, just KILL the guy already.
Hugh Jackson just looks silly in that hat.
Frankenstein sounded like quite an educated man...I SO was thinking of Albert Brooks from Young Frankenstein...how cool would it have been if he'd been in the movie?
I'm beginning to miss the days when movies were made not ENTIRELY in CGI...feels that way anyway.
Was anybody else thinking Matrix or X-Files in the Vampire embryos scene? Maybe it's just me.
When Van Helsing jumps six horses and a carriage over a broken bridge, I actually said right out loud, "Yeaaaah, RIGHT." It was like, 50 yards! Geez.
I totally called the ending.
This movie will never have a sequel. I could be wrong...but I don't think it will.
Overall...if you must see this movie, wait until it's in a cheap seats...don't blow your nine fifty just for the surround sound...cause it does put it to heavy use. So that's all I have for now. I'll try and post from other movies I've seen, and if I can't do that, at least keep up with weekly movie nights.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, keep your stakes sharp and your silver bullets loaded!
These reviews will probably end up being fairly eclectic, because, hey, I write them. I'll start off with notes from the Red Book, which is the notebook I takes notes in in the movie theater. It originally got started when Ray left to join the Marines, and I started taking notes so I could send him mini-reviews of stuff Niki and I had seen. It's usually the equivalent of a cross between chicken scratch and a three year old's handwriting, because I write in the dark. But I can usually decipher most of it. I'm sad though, I lost my first notebook somewhere, and it had great notes from the summer, like from Terminator 3 and Pirates of the Carribbean and Underworld. Oh well. Anyway.
Some info on the Red Book notes-I am transcribing exactly as it was written, typos and all...so if it doesn't make much sense...sorry. Makes sense to me, anyway. Also beware...spoilers may abound.
5-15-04 "Van Helsing"
Notes from the Red Book
trailers-"White Chicks" (this looks completely bizarre and yet I am compelled to want to see it), "Chronicles of Riddick"
Black and white Universal logo, cool, very retro...cool, bursts into flame!
Who is Igor? Sounds familiar
Frankenstein monster has mechanical leg!
Frank also has cool electric head/brain...huh
dude...whole section beneath Vatican is COOL...like James Bond
Now THAT guy is Q...yup, def James Bond...19th century Bond.
Q guy is Faramir! Holy crap! Framir is in this movie???
"Actually, I'm still just a friar, I can curse all I want....dammit." (hee!)
Kate is almost unrecognizable in that lipstick
Geez, Dracula is overacting...I hope he gets better.
wow...so werewolves peel off their skin?
BENNY! THAT's WHO IGOR IS! Benny from the Mummy.
cool music during carriage chase scene...I like it
Wolfman is kinda hot
"How many commandments can we break in one day?"
So are those Cirque du Soleil extras at the Halloween ball?
Frankestein quotes the Bible...huh.
Cool! Vamp vision!
Basically, the story focuses on Gabriel Van Helsing, who is the younger brother of Abraham Van Helsing, although this (amongst other things) is never made clear in the movie. He also has some sort of amnesia about who he was before he became a Vatican assassin, and has some sort of history with Dracula, again, never made really clear. He is sort of a special assassin under Vatican employ who goes after all sorts of nasty monsters. And yet, people hate him and want him dead. After trashing the Notre Dame cathedral, and killing off its hunchback-oh wait, it was Mr. Hyde...they should make that more clear!!!-the Vatican sends him off to Transylvania to bust a cap on Dracula, his brides, Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, and anyone else that happens along. While there he meets a gypsy girl played by Kate Beckinsale, who must kill Dracula or her whole dead family goes to hell. And this whole time they've been residing in...purgatory, I suppose. I thought this movie was ok. It had some decent special effects, and I loved the homages to classic Universal monster movies, but on the whole I wasn't thrilled by it. It didn't suck, but I didn't come out of the theater going, "yay", either. I really liked David Wenham's character Carl. It was such a departure from his Faramir, and he was terrific comedy relief, pretty much the most enjoyable thing about the movie. One thing I've got to give Steven Sommers, is the man writes excellent comic secondary characters, ie, Jonathan in the Mummy movies...loved him. Kate Beckinsale was ok...I guess I'm still used to seeing her play things like a fresh-faced Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, so it kinda throws me when I see her played hard-edged girls like Selene in Underworld. She looked different in all that gypsy make up tho. Hugh Jackman was Hugh Jackman. With longer hair and a silly hat. CJ thought he looked hot. I just thought he looked like a scrub.
A few things I was feeling while I was watching this movie-
"Holy cow, it's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen all over again." Like, an action movie that wants to get a sequel, SO badly, and will cram as much action into itself as possible, hoping to coast the viewer along on it's own little visual roller coaster, when all you really end up thinking is, just KILL the guy already.
Hugh Jackson just looks silly in that hat.
Frankenstein sounded like quite an educated man...I SO was thinking of Albert Brooks from Young Frankenstein...how cool would it have been if he'd been in the movie?
I'm beginning to miss the days when movies were made not ENTIRELY in CGI...feels that way anyway.
Was anybody else thinking Matrix or X-Files in the Vampire embryos scene? Maybe it's just me.
When Van Helsing jumps six horses and a carriage over a broken bridge, I actually said right out loud, "Yeaaaah, RIGHT." It was like, 50 yards! Geez.
I totally called the ending.
This movie will never have a sequel. I could be wrong...but I don't think it will.
Overall...if you must see this movie, wait until it's in a cheap seats...don't blow your nine fifty just for the surround sound...cause it does put it to heavy use. So that's all I have for now. I'll try and post from other movies I've seen, and if I can't do that, at least keep up with weekly movie nights.
Until the next time, this is Sarah saying, keep your stakes sharp and your silver bullets loaded!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)