Movie Round-Up

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

It's not so much the plot that sticks out in this movie, I couldn't really tell you any plot specifics. For me, Sherlock Holmes number 2 is more about the feel. It creates this atmosphere that is witty and slick and entertaining that keeps a hold of me. RDJ and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson are perfect. I could take or leave the guy who played Moriarty and the gypsy chick, and I wish there was more Rachel McAdams, but on the positive side, I really liked the addition of Stephen Fry as Sherlock's brother and tha we get to know Watson's wife a little better (Kelly Reilly). I'm not really sure what Moriarty's problem was, and the idea of him was more intimidating than him in real life, but overall, this movie was quirky, adventurous, fun.   

21 Jump Street

Was this movie revolutionary or creative or inspiring? No. But it was hilarious. I haven't laughed that much during a movie in a long time. And my guy, who doesn't generally like watching movies, loved it too.

Mirror Mirror

This is the more family-friendly of this year's Snow White offerings. I found Lily Collins to be lovely, Nathan Lane to be his usual quirky self, and Armie Hammer to be the perfect Prince Charming (that voice!). Unlike the KStew one, the dwarves in this movie were real little people which made them seem more legit and loveable. Where I find issue is with Julia Roberts and her Queen role. I hate to say this, but she just isn't beautiful enough or wicked enough. She never feels like a real threat to Snow White. And the magic stuff had me confused, what were her powers? What the hell was that world behind the mirror? Did they give royalties to Robax for using their weird marionettes? Not a bad movie, it was fun and cute and charming, but there was just something off with that Queen.

Wrath of the Titans

My love of Greek mythology going into this movie was probably the only thing that kept me watching. It was just weird - all the gods were just really un-god-like, we have Zeus and Ares walking through some weird cave thing, and this is where gods live? It's like they spent their entire special effects budget on Kronos and that cool labyrinth but had nothing left for that scene early on when Zeus is captured, or later when Zeus and Hades cheesily muster up all their power. And is it a rule that gods have to have long hair and wear Moses-robes? Plus, these gods are tiny! Human-sized to be exact and it all just goes back to the gods not being very god-like at all. I was embarrassed for Liam Neeson, and especially Ralph Fiennes for being a part of this silliness. I think what it really boils down to is that this movie was not concerned with story or character, but action. And while, yes, the labyrinth was super-cool, this movie was just lacking substance. And call me stupid, but who are the Titans in this movie? I know Kronos is one, but that is only one... and this movie is called Wrath of the Titans (plural). What the heck?

Snow White and the Huntsman

So, can Kristen Stewart hold her own at the box office? The answer is no, but luckily for this movie, Charlize Theron can. Snow White and the Huntsman is the darker, live-action take on the classic. To be honest, I wasn't really fussy on the Disney version, I can't pin-point why, maybe it was too scary for me. Anyways, this new one was really cool, mostly because Charlize was so amazing as the Queen and the CGI was breathtaking. Theron was beautiful and terrifying and mesmerizing. I would have liked a little more insight into her character, though. When we first meet her, she says something to the effect of once being traded in by a king for a younger model, which explains her preoccupation with youth, but we don't get the whole story. And then we later see her mother giving her the magical powers in a flashback, but it's kind of fuzzy about how legit three drops of blood are for giving people powers. Moral of the story: don't questions the gaps and you'll be fine; Charlize Theron is literally and figuratively spellbinding.

Kristen Stewart plays Snow White. I would just like to put it out there that she is never called by her name, she's referred to as the king's daughter etc. etc. but I'm pretty sure I never heard anyone call her "Snow White". I could be wrong, if anyone reads this and then watches the movie, I could use some back up. Anyways, I thought it was strange, also, the Huntsman doesn't have a name at all, which was less of an issue for me, but still, something seems amiss. So Kristen Stewart as Snow White... I hate to say this, but she just isn't good-looking enough. Her skin isn't nearly white enough, her lips not red enough. There was the odd moment or two when I could see it, and she was almost believable, but then she did her pouty face, and she was Bella all over again. I could tell she was trying really hard not to bite her lip, and I appreciated the effort, but it wasn't enough. The friend I watched it with said "I kept waiting for Edward to jump out", and I'm not saying that people can't rise above a franchise, I think Daniel Radcliffe will do great things outside of Harry Potter, but for KStew, this just wasn't it for her. She is the same sad, awkward self. She tried to inspire the masses at the end to fight, and it was just weak. Also, the brother's haircut was distracting.

As a whole though, this movie works really well. The dwarfs are all I hoped they would be, the dark forest was awesome, the fairy-land was beautiful, and there was this over-arching feeling of whimsy and magic. They romance storyline is kind of down-played at the end, which was kind of a disappointment, but also nice to see the strong female remain as such, and not melt under the charms and handsomeness of the love-interest.

There is some back info missing, and KStew wouldn't have been my first choice, but definitely an enjoyable movie.

Sunday Reminisce: Jesus Christ Superstar

I love me some musicals, and it's been awhile since I've watched Jesus Christ Superstar. If for some reason, you have not experienced the amazingness that is Carl Anderson as Judas watch this clip and recognize.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I'm not going to include a plot summary, they seem to be the most difficult part of these reviews, and it's easy enough to go find a synopsis on the internet, and I feel bad just copying and pasting...

Anyways, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a really interesting movie, it was smart and patient and strange and dark. It was also a little bit more adult than I expected, and am used to. There were boobies and sex and a jarring rape scene. Nothing wrong with some adult content, but I thought it was worth mentioning that it's no PG-13 movie.

Rooney Mara's Lisbeth is complex and puzzling, and we get a lot of insight into her character by the end of the movie. The same can't be said for Daniel Craig's Mikael. He comes off as one-dimensional, and his character doesn't show any growth, but he's definitely easy to look at and is a good actor.

It's a long movie, and while the first half was ok, things didn't heat up until about an hour and a half in when Lisbeth and Mikael start working together. And the last 20 minutes was good information to include, but it just seemed kind of trite after the emotional revelations of the previous hour. The final scene, though, is what will keep me excited for the next movie. The crime solving was fun and interesting, but what happens between Lisbeth and Mikael proved to be just as important to the story, if not more so.

The Descendants

George Clooney is the father of two daughters, while his wife is in a coma, he learns that she was planning to leave him for another man. During this time, he also has to decide who he wants to sell a large piece of his family's untouched Hawaiian land to.

This was one of this year's films that I was looking forward to watching; everything I had heard about it was positive. And I will now reveal that, drum roll please, in my opinion, the positive accolades were warranted. This was just a good story, with lots of feeling. Clooney's Matt King has some big emotions to deal with and some big decisions to make, and we ultimately care about him and think it all through with him, and that's the rub with this whole movie - you become invested in this guy and can tell what he's thinking about. Having the movie set in Hawaii gives it an extra dimension, a different atmosphere; even people who live in paradise have to deal with big issues.

The ending is quiet and perfect.

Titanic 3D

It's about the same as you remember it, only in more dimensions. The 3D effect made some weird shots in the foreground blurry, but as a whole, Titanic benefited from the extra dimension. Movies that are released these days knowing that they will be shown in 3D like to (literally) shove it in your face, but since Titanic was released without that being an original intention, it just lets the movie be the movie, but more clearer and way cooler. This movie makes me bawl every time.

The Hunger Games

A month ago you could have told me The Hunger Games was about a hot dog eating contest and I would have believed you (while being confused about all the birds on the covers). But after watching some of the trailers for the movie, and getting some information about the plot, I figured I would give into the hype.

I remember a few people from my section in teacher's college reading the books when they first came out a couple years ago, and thinking it didn't sound like it would be for me. I never got into the Harry Potter or Twilight series (though I have seen the movies) and figured it would be another thing like those. Plus, I hate being held hostage by books; that "one more chapter" feeling that turns into all night. I'll be honest, I haven't read a novel in probably a year. The last one was The Book of Negroes. It was good enough to finish, but not captivating enough that I couldn't put it down to sleep. Which brings us back to The Hunger Games...

I bought the boxed set on Amazon for about $30 including shipping and tax, which I thought was a good deal. It came in on the Tuesday, I finished the first one on the Wednesday, and the last two by the Sunday. (The movie came out that Friday, but I didn't see it until this past Wednesday.) Needless to say I was held hostage by these books. I really liked the themes and philosophical insights, there were some very likable characters, and it was, what I think could be, a warning for the future. I would have preferred the books to be a little older, as I am a little older (than the target audience) some more depth and detail would have satiated my interest in this future society. And the love thing confused me. I know it's not a romance, but either be a romance, or don't be a romance! What's with all these random kisses!?

Anyways, off to the movies I went with a pair of friends. Being that I had only just finished the books I had a hard time separating it from the movie. I know I was filling in the gaps and details from the book that were left out in the movie, making it seem like the movie made more sense than it did. If I hadn't read the books, I would have still enjoyed the movie, but there is a definite benefit to being able to make the connections that the movie doesn't make implicit.

I really appreciated the direction the director took for the movie, it didn't seem too polished, the cinematography was rough and wobbly at times which contributed to an almost reality tv feel at times. For example, when she is in the tree, the background is out of focus and the camera angle is like if we were looking up at her from the ground. Little things like that just give it a more authentic feel.

Additionally, the movie is extremely well-cast. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect as Katniss. There are definitely sparks of Peeta's charisma in Josh Hutcherson, but I would have liked to have seen more. I'm not sure if Liam Helmsworth is good-looking enough to be Gale, I'll have to wait for the subsequent movies before I decide on him. Elizabeth Banks was a great Effie, but I am also undecided on Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. I would have preferred him more surly. I really liked the idea of Lenny Kravtiz as Cinna, but I didn't think the movie did him justice by developing his relationship with Katniss enough. I'm a huge Donald Sutherland fan, and I think he will be the perfect President Snow in the next two movies. Stanley Tucci can do no wrong, and as Caesar, he delivers.

I liked the idea of including the Gamemakers more for the movie, those scenes helped to give the audience more information that would have been difficult to transpose from the first person narrator of the books, to a movie. With that being said, like most books to movies, there were definitely lots of details that were left out. I'm trying to think of examples to make this post more legit, but I can't, I should take notes whilst watching movies. The details that did make the cut (aka the entire plot of the movie) were pretty true to the story. There was definitely some differences (here's a link to a post analyzing some of the major differences) between the book and movie, but none I was really outraged about. I was not tempted to yell out in the theatre "but in the book ...!".

I want to wrap this up, but I should say something about violence first...

There has been a lot of talk about the age appropriateness of The Hunger Games. I read an article in the Toronto Star last week about what age kids should be reading this at. The general feel was that depending on the reader, grade 7 was probably a safe bet. Don't get me wrong, the books are definitely violent, and I would say the first one is probably the least so, but there is definitely a difference between reading about something and seeing it in front of you. I think the movie was successful in the amount of violence and brutality it chose to show. I am not ruling out that I am pretty desensitized to this sort of stuff, like most of us are, and I am not a tween or teen, and don't think like one, or internalize content like one. So I'm not going to say let all your twelve-year-olds go see this, but based on the book, I found the use of violence in the movie to be appropriate.

Overall, the movie wasn't as epic as I hoped it would be. Reading the book definitely helps the movie make more sense, but it does an adequate job, and I think fans of the book will be satisfied. I would need to see it again, though, to better form my thoughts on it.

 This movie made me shed exactly two tears.