Finally a trailer for the new X-Men movie. I couldn't be more excited for this summer. Thor, Captain America, X-Men and let's not forget about Fast and Furious 5. Greatest summer ever? Probably, but only time will tell. In other great X-Men related news. I read that Darren Aranofsky told Hugh Jackman that while he was ripped in the past as Wolverine, he was too lean and wanted him to get huge. Wolverine is supposed to be short and stocky, not tall and muscular. Anyway, Jackman has since gained 20lbs and is eating 6000 calories a day. My hero. I'm off to the gym.
Go big.
-M, p, z & shredder
Showing posts with label Summer Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer Movies. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Best Of: Summer Movies 09...
Alright, as promised here is my best of list for movies this summer. I was more pumped for this summer than summers past, but it looks like it was a huge letdown. Good thing next summer can't be a let down because even if all the movies suck, Iron Man 2 will be amazing (fingers crossed Scarlett "worst actress ever" Johanssen doesn't ruin the franchise). First though, instead of doing a worst list I'll just mention some terrible movies that nearly ruined the summer. First, and by far the worst, was Transformers 2. Was that this summer? I can't believe how bad it was. I enjoyed the first one and was really looking forward to this, but it was just tremendously awful. Harry Potter 6 was also heartbreaking. The first movie in the series I didn't love. It's almost like someone read the cliff notes, decided most of it wasn't important, rewrote it, then hired someone dyslexic to put it together. I've only seen it the once so I won't say I hate it, but as of right now, I definitely didn't like it. Also making my sh*t list was Wolverine. Pretty close to hating it as much as Transformers 2 but not quite there. Way to ruin Gambit and Deadpool in one movie.
Anyway, here's the top 5 best movies. Once again these are just from the movies I have seen (May - Sept 21st) so it may not be completely accurate until I finish netflixing all the ones I missed. Honorable mentions are District 9 and Funny People.
5.) Up
Disney & Pixar did it again. I don't think they will ever make a bad movie. I haven't seen cars but I can't imagine it's bad. Following Wall-e, I didn't think they could keep up with expectations, and while this wasn't as good, it was pretty close. If that opening credits montage didn't get your eyes watery, then you have no heart.
4.) (500) Days of Summer
I love this movie. I've already talked about it a few times so I'll be brief but you could put JGL and Zooey in any movie and I'll pay to see it. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the narration, but I'm okay with it.
3.) Away We Go
Who'd have thought a guy from The Office (terrible, I mean, U.S. version) could be funny? This movie was refreshingly hilarious. I'm sick of the 'indie' woe is me dark comedies that basically need to make characters hate life in order to get the point across. This movie was great and you should all rent it asap (it just came out today).
2.) Moon
Sam Rockwell is my hero. I know I talked about this one a couple of times already, but the fact that he carried this movie by himself and it was this good is really a testament to how good an actor he is. He created this person (people) that were so real, it was hard to figure out what was happening. I'm not sure how to classify this movie, it wasn't a comedy or a drama or a thriller or suspense. It's whatever 2001: A Space Odyssey is after the apes and before sh*t gets weird.
1.) Star Trek
This movie blew me away. Repeatedly. With so many movies coming out and the fact that I see them all, it's rare that I get to see a movie 4 or 5 times in the theater, but with this I kept going back specifically to see this and not just as a third option on a slow wednesday. Only a couple movies have been this good that kept bringing me back, Batman Begins, Iron Man and Kill Bill Vol. 1. Star Trek was perfect and I can't wait until the next one. I am not a huge fan of the original Star Trek and have only ever seen one or two episodes but that didn't matter. The story was perfect, the acting, the action and everything else was amazing. JJ Abrams is somehow sneaking his way into being one of my must see directors. This doesn't come out on dvd until mid november (the 17th I think) so you've got some time before you can watch it, but you won't be disappointed when you do.
Never have Indies dominated the chart the way they have this summer. This is sort of a combination of the fact that the blockbusters sucked, and people are loving indies (which is good for my industry) and theaters are actually screening these films in much more abundance than ever before. It's awesome. Anyway, that's it. There are some gems coming out this fall so I'll post a list soon of things you need to keep an eye out for. Go big.
-M, p, z & shredder
Anyway, here's the top 5 best movies. Once again these are just from the movies I have seen (May - Sept 21st) so it may not be completely accurate until I finish netflixing all the ones I missed. Honorable mentions are District 9 and Funny People.
5.) Up
Disney & Pixar did it again. I don't think they will ever make a bad movie. I haven't seen cars but I can't imagine it's bad. Following Wall-e, I didn't think they could keep up with expectations, and while this wasn't as good, it was pretty close. If that opening credits montage didn't get your eyes watery, then you have no heart.
4.) (500) Days of Summer
I love this movie. I've already talked about it a few times so I'll be brief but you could put JGL and Zooey in any movie and I'll pay to see it. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the narration, but I'm okay with it.
3.) Away We Go
Who'd have thought a guy from The Office (
2.) Moon
Sam Rockwell is my hero. I know I talked about this one a couple of times already, but the fact that he carried this movie by himself and it was this good is really a testament to how good an actor he is. He created this person (people) that were so real, it was hard to figure out what was happening. I'm not sure how to classify this movie, it wasn't a comedy or a drama or a thriller or suspense. It's whatever 2001: A Space Odyssey is after the apes and before sh*t gets weird.
1.) Star Trek
This movie blew me away. Repeatedly. With so many movies coming out and the fact that I see them all, it's rare that I get to see a movie 4 or 5 times in the theater, but with this I kept going back specifically to see this and not just as a third option on a slow wednesday. Only a couple movies have been this good that kept bringing me back, Batman Begins, Iron Man and Kill Bill Vol. 1. Star Trek was perfect and I can't wait until the next one. I am not a huge fan of the original Star Trek and have only ever seen one or two episodes but that didn't matter. The story was perfect, the acting, the action and everything else was amazing. JJ Abrams is somehow sneaking his way into being one of my must see directors. This doesn't come out on dvd until mid november (the 17th I think) so you've got some time before you can watch it, but you won't be disappointed when you do.
Never have Indies dominated the chart the way they have this summer. This is sort of a combination of the fact that the blockbusters sucked, and people are loving indies (which is good for my industry) and theaters are actually screening these films in much more abundance than ever before. It's awesome. Anyway, that's it. There are some gems coming out this fall so I'll post a list soon of things you need to keep an eye out for. Go big.
-M, p, z & shredder
Fall...
So I guess Fall is officially here now. The nights are getting colder, leaves are falling, MSU is losing and the Pistons finally report to training camp today. Two things I'm crazy excited for are the MSU v UM game this weekend (I'm pretty sure we're going to put a stop to our losing streak and their winning streak) and the Pistons. It's going to be a strange group that takes the court when preseason starts next Monday, but I'm looking forward to it. I haven't had this much uncertainty going into a season since 2000.
I realized I haven't done a summer movie review yet so I will get on that shortly, but for now, let me just tell you a few movies not to see in case you were planning on a movie sometime this week/weekend. First is 'The Informant!' with Matt Damon. I'm a big fan of Matt Damon but not a fan of Steven Soderberg who is not a very good director, but the only thing I liked about the Ocean's movies was Damon, so I thought that this would be good. It wasn't. It wasn't bad, it was just kind of whatever, which is pretty much how the Ocean's movies are. I almost forgot that I saw the movie the same day I saw it which isn't generally a good sign. 'Extract' was another that can wait til dvd, I'm a big fan of Mike Judge but his feature's aren't that great. 'Gamer' and 'Inglorious Basterds' were both not so great though Gamer isn't really supposed to be good in the first place. '9' was pretty good, I'd definitely watch that again. It's been a pretty lackluster summer even though it was supposed to be amazing.
Anyway, I'll have a best summer movie list of the summer up later so you know what to check out on dvd. Go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
oh ps - tfln: "(559): We can get Dustin to help us. I think he'd be good at luring girls into a dark alley. " I liked this one a lot, mostly because I have a friend Dustin who I feel the same way about.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Snoozin'...
Today I went to go see a couple movies and the best part about it didn't happen on a screen. Before the first movie it was apparent that someone was sleeping. Every time there would be a break in the commercials before the previews you could hear some dude snoring loud. Very loud. Someone must have told an employee and they came and tried to wake him up. This didn't work. The dude was politely trying to wake him up by saying, "Sir. Sir. Sir, wake up." This was clearly a bad plan, so he went and got more help. Another dude came and did essentially the same thing. Then they got a third dude. This third guy came and told them to shake him, but the other guys clearly read their employee handbook and responded by saying they weren't allowed to touch anyone. So they started shouting, "Sir! Wake up!" Again, words failed. This guy actually kept snoring while yet another employee came and tried. There were four employees coming when a manager finally came and tried again. This time she shook the chair. The guy continued to sleep and actually rolled over to the side a little bit. So now there were five employees and he still wasn't awake. Then another manager, probably the highest level of authority that remained, came and shook the chair and kept shaking and shaking and shouting. The dude finally woke up surrounded by 6 people and was asked to step outside. He never came back so I assumed he was told to leave. It was ridiculous. I've never seen anything like it.
Anyway, that happened before I saw "It Might Get Loud," which was sort of a documentary where Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge got together to talk about the electric guitar. It was pretty good. Not much of a story but it was interesting watching them tell how each of them got into the guitar and see old pictures and videos of Jimmy Page way before he was in Zeppelin. Jack White is by far one of the coolest dudes on the face of the planet and this makes me want to get a poster of him so I can look at his face everyday and try and emulate everything he does. The Edge was okay, he had a couple of moments but there's only so much I can take of someone doing the same stuff over and over again. Yeah, you use effects to make your guitar sound cool, neat.
I also saw "Inglorious Basterds." The movie was ok. I wouldn't see it again. I wasn't that excited for it so it wasn't a disappointment. It was pretty much as good as I thought it would be. Tarantino isn't usually someone I get super excited about. He'll never write anything as good again as "True Romance," and he'll never direct anything again that's as good as "Kill Bill vol. 1," so I really don't have too much to get excited about. I loved Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs but, with the exception of Kill Bill, all these movie were over a decade ago. What has he done for me lately?
Pretty soon I'll do a best of the summer movie and it's not going to be anything close to what I thought it would look like back in the spring. I'm out. Go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
tfln: "(904): I just realized that "Hey girl, when you gonna let me tap that?" is in iambic pentameter. I'm going to write a poem"
Anyway, that happened before I saw "It Might Get Loud," which was sort of a documentary where Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge got together to talk about the electric guitar. It was pretty good. Not much of a story but it was interesting watching them tell how each of them got into the guitar and see old pictures and videos of Jimmy Page way before he was in Zeppelin. Jack White is by far one of the coolest dudes on the face of the planet and this makes me want to get a poster of him so I can look at his face everyday and try and emulate everything he does. The Edge was okay, he had a couple of moments but there's only so much I can take of someone doing the same stuff over and over again. Yeah, you use effects to make your guitar sound cool, neat.
I also saw "Inglorious Basterds." The movie was ok. I wouldn't see it again. I wasn't that excited for it so it wasn't a disappointment. It was pretty much as good as I thought it would be. Tarantino isn't usually someone I get super excited about. He'll never write anything as good again as "True Romance," and he'll never direct anything again that's as good as "Kill Bill vol. 1," so I really don't have too much to get excited about. I loved Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs but, with the exception of Kill Bill, all these movie were over a decade ago. What has he done for me lately?
Pretty soon I'll do a best of the summer movie and it's not going to be anything close to what I thought it would look like back in the spring. I'm out. Go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
tfln: "(904): I just realized that "Hey girl, when you gonna let me tap that?" is in iambic pentameter. I'm going to write a poem"
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Dog Days...
So summer is fleeting fast and I this month hasn't been all that exciting. After a spring filled with travel spanning three different continents not including the US, I am poised to take a short road trip with my mom and my cousin next week. Fun? Not so much. But I'm happy to be going to a few places I haven't been in a bit like DC and Niagra Falls. Should be ok as long as I remember to buy a car adapter to charge my iphone.
The reason I haven't been posting is because my life has been worthless this last month. Nothing new. Work sucks, NYC is hot humid and gross and I have yet to be floored by any summer blockbuster. Star Trek was by far the best blockbuster this year but that came out way back in April. I'm geeked for G.I. Joe even though it looks terrible, it's not ashamed of being dumb. It doesn't look like anything more than it's trying to be, a fun summer popcorn flick that they will hopefully make a sequel to. It will be silly, poorly acted and have major plot holes, but I'll love every single minute of it. Joseph Gordon Levitt is in it and I'll see anything that kid does. Did you guys see (500) Days of Summer yet? He has never let me down and neither has Zooey.
Funny People comes out today and I'm going to see it in about 3 hours so I'll let you know how it is, but I'm hoping that it redeems Seth Rogen who has disappointed me greatly with Pineapple Express and that dumb mall security movie he did and that awful Kevin Smith movie. He's about as good an actor as Scarlett Johansen - Woody Allen is the only writer/director who can make her look somewhat talented and Judd Apatow is the same way with Seth (with the exception of Superbad). Judd hasn't let me down in 10 years and I'm sure he won't start now.
Anyway, this post blooooows. Go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
oh ps - from now on I'm going to start posting some things I think are hilarious from over at 'texts from last night':
"(651): Dude I'm so glad we're not friends anymore. It would have made fucking your stepmom last night really awkward. Dickwad."
Wonderful stuff.
The reason I haven't been posting is because my life has been worthless this last month. Nothing new. Work sucks, NYC is hot humid and gross and I have yet to be floored by any summer blockbuster. Star Trek was by far the best blockbuster this year but that came out way back in April. I'm geeked for G.I. Joe even though it looks terrible, it's not ashamed of being dumb. It doesn't look like anything more than it's trying to be, a fun summer popcorn flick that they will hopefully make a sequel to. It will be silly, poorly acted and have major plot holes, but I'll love every single minute of it. Joseph Gordon Levitt is in it and I'll see anything that kid does. Did you guys see (500) Days of Summer yet? He has never let me down and neither has Zooey.
Funny People comes out today and I'm going to see it in about 3 hours so I'll let you know how it is, but I'm hoping that it redeems Seth Rogen who has disappointed me greatly with Pineapple Express and that dumb mall security movie he did and that awful Kevin Smith movie. He's about as good an actor as Scarlett Johansen - Woody Allen is the only writer/director who can make her look somewhat talented and Judd Apatow is the same way with Seth (with the exception of Superbad). Judd hasn't let me down in 10 years and I'm sure he won't start now.
Anyway, this post blooooows. Go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
oh ps - from now on I'm going to start posting some things I think are hilarious from over at 'texts from last night':
"(651): Dude I'm so glad we're not friends anymore. It would have made fucking your stepmom last night really awkward. Dickwad."
Wonderful stuff.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Best of 2008: Movies
This is late, but with award season in full force I thought it high time to get this list out there. So here is my top 10 movies of the year. It's been a very great year as far as movies go and this summer's blockbusters hold an unusually high number of spots on this list. With new summer hits coming out this year like Transformers 2, Watchmen, Wolverine, G.I. Joe, Dragonball, Fast and Furious, Harry Potter and a bunch of sweet non-blockbusters, I can only hope this year is as good as last.
There were an alarmingly number of good movies this year, which is how I am sure 2009 is going to be weak. Noticeably absent from the list is The Dark Knight. There is kind of a lot of controversy about how good it is and as I have yet to see it in I-Max to get the full effect, I'm not going to include it in my list. I think I've expressed my opinion on it enough. You have all seen it and can make up your own mind as to where it belongs. If I were to rank it, it would be somewhere toward the middle. No higher than 4 and no lower than 8. Anyways, here is the top 10.
10.) Be Kind Rewind
I love Michel Gondry. Easily the most creative and imaginative director in our generation. I can't think of anyone who uses so much and creates such imaginary realities, yet somehow stays grounded and does not turn into preposterous.
9.) Son of Rambow
If you haven't seen this, netflix it asap. It about two kids who want to remake their own version of Rambow and how their friendship evolves. It's pretty great.
8.) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Woody Allen is on a roll lately. He took Scarlett Johansen, who I don't particularly like and I think is very over rated in both looks and acting chops, and make her into someone I like. First Match Point, then Scoop and now this. Penelope Cruz is at her best and I would completely understand if any girl were to ever leave me for Javier Bardem.
7.) Iron Man
My favorite summer movie. Maybe not as good as Batman Begins but definitely better than TDK and really is set up to have a better sequel than TDK did with the addition on Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle.
6.) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Michael Cera can seemingly do no wrong. How long will it take before he bores me is another question, though if he keeps making good choices like he has been, I don't see it happening. The pairing with Kat Dennings worked great and thank god this movie had a soundtrack that lived up to it's name.
5.) Milk
If not for Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn wins the Oscar. He was so good. The whole cast was really great. I thought James Franco really got into his role and made me forget about the disaster that was Pineapple Express.
4.) Gran Torino
As if the movie wasn't going to be good enough, Clint Eastwood took the movie to Michigan and filmed it about 45 minutes down the road from my parents house. Classic Eastwood. He still manages to be more of a badass in his 70s than I will ever be in my lifetime.
3.) The Wrestler
This movie was great. It's not getting enough hype. Aside from the performance of the year (okay maybe it's tied with Sean Penn), the story was great as well. The soundtrack was a pleasant surprise as well, I didn't know anyone but me still lived for 80s hair metal glam rock. Not to mention what I think is the best original song for Bruce Springsteen.
2.) Wall-e
You've all seen it by now I'm sure. Will Disney-Pixar ever make a bad movie? Even Presto, the short film at the beginning, was better than some movies I've seen.
1.) Slumdog Millionaire
What more can I say. If it hasn't made it to a theater near you, give it another week before you decide to drive an hour to the closest theater. It's still expanding and last week opened in 3,000 more theaters. Keep an eye out for this. My pick for best film of the year.
Anyways, the worst movies of 2008 will be posted next. As always, go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
tell 'em what to watch: Trust Me (TNT @ 9 or 10pm.) I've been looking forward to this series premiere for a while. I'm not a huge fan of shows on TNT but I love Tom Cavanagh and the story looks original and like a great replacement for the dreadfully bad Grey's Anatmoy. I think I'm quitting that show.
There were an alarmingly number of good movies this year, which is how I am sure 2009 is going to be weak. Noticeably absent from the list is The Dark Knight. There is kind of a lot of controversy about how good it is and as I have yet to see it in I-Max to get the full effect, I'm not going to include it in my list. I think I've expressed my opinion on it enough. You have all seen it and can make up your own mind as to where it belongs. If I were to rank it, it would be somewhere toward the middle. No higher than 4 and no lower than 8. Anyways, here is the top 10.
10.) Be Kind Rewind
I love Michel Gondry. Easily the most creative and imaginative director in our generation. I can't think of anyone who uses so much and creates such imaginary realities, yet somehow stays grounded and does not turn into preposterous.
9.) Son of Rambow
If you haven't seen this, netflix it asap. It about two kids who want to remake their own version of Rambow and how their friendship evolves. It's pretty great.
8.) Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Woody Allen is on a roll lately. He took Scarlett Johansen, who I don't particularly like and I think is very over rated in both looks and acting chops, and make her into someone I like. First Match Point, then Scoop and now this. Penelope Cruz is at her best and I would completely understand if any girl were to ever leave me for Javier Bardem.
7.) Iron Man
My favorite summer movie. Maybe not as good as Batman Begins but definitely better than TDK and really is set up to have a better sequel than TDK did with the addition on Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle.
6.) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Michael Cera can seemingly do no wrong. How long will it take before he bores me is another question, though if he keeps making good choices like he has been, I don't see it happening. The pairing with Kat Dennings worked great and thank god this movie had a soundtrack that lived up to it's name.
5.) Milk
If not for Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn wins the Oscar. He was so good. The whole cast was really great. I thought James Franco really got into his role and made me forget about the disaster that was Pineapple Express.
4.) Gran Torino
As if the movie wasn't going to be good enough, Clint Eastwood took the movie to Michigan and filmed it about 45 minutes down the road from my parents house. Classic Eastwood. He still manages to be more of a badass in his 70s than I will ever be in my lifetime.
3.) The Wrestler
This movie was great. It's not getting enough hype. Aside from the performance of the year (okay maybe it's tied with Sean Penn), the story was great as well. The soundtrack was a pleasant surprise as well, I didn't know anyone but me still lived for 80s hair metal glam rock. Not to mention what I think is the best original song for Bruce Springsteen.
2.) Wall-e
You've all seen it by now I'm sure. Will Disney-Pixar ever make a bad movie? Even Presto, the short film at the beginning, was better than some movies I've seen.
1.) Slumdog Millionaire
What more can I say. If it hasn't made it to a theater near you, give it another week before you decide to drive an hour to the closest theater. It's still expanding and last week opened in 3,000 more theaters. Keep an eye out for this. My pick for best film of the year.
Anyways, the worst movies of 2008 will be posted next. As always, go big or go home.
-M, p, z & shredder
tell 'em what to watch: Trust Me (TNT @ 9 or 10pm.) I've been looking forward to this series premiere for a while. I'm not a huge fan of shows on TNT but I love Tom Cavanagh and the story looks original and like a great replacement for the dreadfully bad Grey's Anatmoy. I think I'm quitting that show.
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