Category Archives: Flicks

Big Screen: Inception.

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The must-see movie of this year. I was thrilled, entertained, captivated. I loved the cinematography and the fake worlds they found in dreams. When they step onto that beach with the crumpling city…wow. There were so many great performances, so many neat things that come back and fold in on themselves and show up to mean something different later. Really great filmmaking, in my opinion.

But I find my friends are quite split. One said it didn’t trick him enough, the way Memento did. I guess I wasn’t really in it to be tricked. And Nolan can’t just remake Memento everytime he gets behind the camera…

Big Screen: Winter’s Bone

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I am always hesitant to see movies made from books I really loved. This one lived up to my imagination. The casting was excellent, a lot of the dialogue was straight from the text, the atmosphere was just right. One side character was changed from boy to girl in what seems a random decision, but nothing else stood out as “wrong” to me, the way things often do when filmmakers sometimes seem not to have read the books they’re working with.

Just as sad and beautiful as the book. Heartbreaking really.

Definitely in my top 10 for the year. (Although when you’ve only seen 18 movies so far, that’s perhaps a dubious honor.)

Big Screen: Robin Hood

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Why didn’t anyone see this? Bunch of yahoos. It was capital-G Good. And not at all a Gladiator remake. Yes, it’s a period piece and yes, it stars Russell Crowe but the similarities really end there.

Well done. Compelling. He and Blanchett have great chemistry. This is really the pre-story of the legend.

I think my parents are likely to both vote this one picture of the year. It was quite good.

Perhaps it’ll make back the kajillion it cost to film on the international circuit since it got panned so badly by obviously moronic US reviewers that no one went to it here.

Big Screen: Iron Man 2

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[Yes I am finally reviewing movies I saw back in May. That’s how we roll.)

YAY IRON MAN IS BACK. You may remember me loving the first one to a crazypants degree.

This one continued mostly in the same vein with one eyesore: The casting of Mickey Rourke was completely wrong. He plays the role as a complete thug — in actuality his character is supposed to be another dude JUST AS SMART as RDJ’s character. This would have been MUCH better done by Sam Rockwell (who is genius in the role he does play but a lot of people could have done that part).

Otherwise: Loved it. Great action, great humor, great interplay between RDJ and GP, great bit parts by other people. Mostly a win.

Oooorah.

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Why is it so entrancing watching a boy learn to be a soldier (and, presumably, a man at the same time)? I don’t know, but it is and not only do I love Officer and a Gentleman, but I also love every movie since then that is a cheap O&aG copy. Such as Annapolis. And The Guardian (on cable yesterday when I needed some downtime. Altho I do own it on DVD as well). (And one could even argue Top Gun belongs in that list.)

Big Screen: Clash of the Titans (3D)

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Soooo hilariously cheesetastic. One of those movies where you’re laughing at stuff that the movie seems to want you to take seriously but it’s such bad dialogue that there’s just no way to hold your giggles in. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes had particularly cheesalicious hilarious lines.

The 3D didn’t look that great to me and honestly during really fast action scenes = it loses all effectiveness.

The only two not horribly ridiculous things about this movie?

a) Sam Worthington. Nom. So earnest.

b) Mads Mikkelson. Nommity nom nom. I have been a fan of his since he played Tristan in that also-not-very-good, but better-than-this 2004 King Arthur movie (Clive Owen / Keira Knightley)–but most of you probably know him as one of the villains in the last two James Bond movies. He’s fantastic. Dear US Movie Producers, GIVE HIM MORE WORK. KTHXBAI.

Big Screen: Kick Ass

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So! Much! Fun!

There were only two things I didn’t like about this movie:

1) the casting of Nicolas Cage; and
2) the way Nicolas Cage played the dad like some kinda pervy pedophile instead of a dad out for justice. This part would have been done soooo much better by, say, the likes of Bruce Willis of 10 years ago. Or Michael Keaton. Or Jason Bateman.

But other than that I LOVED it. Despite the fact that all you want to do after watching it is call people lots of nasty names and get in some rowdy fights.