Monday, January 30, 2012
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Eastern Promises (2007)
Title: Eastern Promises
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, and Armin Mueller-Stahl
Rated: R
Released: 2007
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Oscars: Nominated for 1
Basic Plot: A woman dies in childbirth and leads Anna into dealings with a Russian mob family.
Spa Scene
Now I don't think Viggo Mortensen is one of the hottest actors out there, but he's very good looking in this movie. The highlight of his sexiness is shown in the spa scene where he fights for his life against two men while he is nude. You'll truly enjoy this scene if you are sexually into guys and like action that is VERY violent. The director and Mortensen agreed that Mortensen's character had to fight in the nude. I am VERY glad for this decision.
Normal People
There is a discussion in this movie about how Anna shouldn't go further into her investigation about the woman because "normal people" don't. The film takes this theme about normal people getting involved in something, though this theme is cliche, to a very good end. This is helped by excellent performances by the cast and the story adding up (mostly).
Hints That Are Obvious
Some movies depend on characters making stupid decisions to move the plot forward. This movie is no different. Anna takes the diary to the mob boss to translate. At first nothing is that suspicious, so I can forgive her, but then he starts dropping hints at his true intentions. It's at that point that I am angered that Anna continues to see this man.
Final Thoughts
This movie was very fun to watch. As a movie about the mob...I can't really say if it's good for its genre. This is because I'm not familiar enough with the genre. It was a decent movie with twists and turns throughout. It was not a good movie to see if you want to believe in the goodness of humanity (as only three people, at most, are good). So I would suggest not trying to think too deeply during this movie and you'll be in for a good ride.
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, and Armin Mueller-Stahl
Rated: R
Released: 2007
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Oscars: Nominated for 1
Basic Plot: A woman dies in childbirth and leads Anna into dealings with a Russian mob family.
Spa Scene
Now I don't think Viggo Mortensen is one of the hottest actors out there, but he's very good looking in this movie. The highlight of his sexiness is shown in the spa scene where he fights for his life against two men while he is nude. You'll truly enjoy this scene if you are sexually into guys and like action that is VERY violent. The director and Mortensen agreed that Mortensen's character had to fight in the nude. I am VERY glad for this decision.
Normal People
There is a discussion in this movie about how Anna shouldn't go further into her investigation about the woman because "normal people" don't. The film takes this theme about normal people getting involved in something, though this theme is cliche, to a very good end. This is helped by excellent performances by the cast and the story adding up (mostly).
Hints That Are Obvious
Some movies depend on characters making stupid decisions to move the plot forward. This movie is no different. Anna takes the diary to the mob boss to translate. At first nothing is that suspicious, so I can forgive her, but then he starts dropping hints at his true intentions. It's at that point that I am angered that Anna continues to see this man.
Final Thoughts
This movie was very fun to watch. As a movie about the mob...I can't really say if it's good for its genre. This is because I'm not familiar enough with the genre. It was a decent movie with twists and turns throughout. It was not a good movie to see if you want to believe in the goodness of humanity (as only three people, at most, are good). So I would suggest not trying to think too deeply during this movie and you'll be in for a good ride.
Micro (Michael Crichton)
Title: Micro
Authors: Michael Crichton & Richard Preston
Released: 2011
Rating: 4.5/5
Basic Plot: Peter goes to Hawaii to get Nanigen to admit that they were responsible for his brother's death. In the process he (and his colleagues) are shrunk and encounter their world in a whole new and dangerous light.
No One is Safe
Through a majority of the book you think you know who can and can't be killed. But then someone dies (this spoiler is too good to ruin) and you realize that anyone can die. I love it in a book when you fear for everyone. While I love the Terminator series, you know John Connor is safe so you don't really fear for him when he gets in trouble (or at least not as much as you could). But when this person dies you get on the edge of your seat and worry for everyone (except Danny who is a whinny bitch).
A Little Like Jurassic Park in Theme
Both Jurassic Park and Micro have the same basic theme. It's the fact that nature can't be controlled because we can't even begin to understand it. In Jurassic Park that was shown when Jurassic Park shut down and the dinosaurs were released to do what they would. In Micro this is shown in a more "classic" way by shrinking the main characters and showing our world in a whole new light. It makes things that weren't dangerous to people normally, be more than a little dangerous when those people were shrunk.
Microbots and Shrunken People
Reading the start of this book I was reminded of Prey (another of Crichton's books that focuses on nanobots). Spoiler (that you'll easily figure out) the man was attacked by microbots. Luckily the book doesn't focus on the microbots a lot and instead focuses on the natural world as viewed by shrunken humans.
Final Thoughts
This was a breath of fresh air after Pirate Latitudes (Micheal Crichton's other book that was published post-posthumously). I was excited to see a complete story in this one, plus the end leaves it open to sequels (though Crichton usually didn't do sequels). There are some very adult moments in this book that are sexual (like the giant booby moment) or very violent (especially the final death scene).
Authors: Michael Crichton & Richard Preston
Released: 2011
Rating: 4.5/5
Basic Plot: Peter goes to Hawaii to get Nanigen to admit that they were responsible for his brother's death. In the process he (and his colleagues) are shrunk and encounter their world in a whole new and dangerous light.
No One is Safe
Through a majority of the book you think you know who can and can't be killed. But then someone dies (this spoiler is too good to ruin) and you realize that anyone can die. I love it in a book when you fear for everyone. While I love the Terminator series, you know John Connor is safe so you don't really fear for him when he gets in trouble (or at least not as much as you could). But when this person dies you get on the edge of your seat and worry for everyone (except Danny who is a whinny bitch).
A Little Like Jurassic Park in Theme
Both Jurassic Park and Micro have the same basic theme. It's the fact that nature can't be controlled because we can't even begin to understand it. In Jurassic Park that was shown when Jurassic Park shut down and the dinosaurs were released to do what they would. In Micro this is shown in a more "classic" way by shrinking the main characters and showing our world in a whole new light. It makes things that weren't dangerous to people normally, be more than a little dangerous when those people were shrunk.
Microbots and Shrunken People
Reading the start of this book I was reminded of Prey (another of Crichton's books that focuses on nanobots). Spoiler (that you'll easily figure out) the man was attacked by microbots. Luckily the book doesn't focus on the microbots a lot and instead focuses on the natural world as viewed by shrunken humans.
Final Thoughts
This was a breath of fresh air after Pirate Latitudes (Micheal Crichton's other book that was published post-posthumously). I was excited to see a complete story in this one, plus the end leaves it open to sequels (though Crichton usually didn't do sequels). There are some very adult moments in this book that are sexual (like the giant booby moment) or very violent (especially the final death scene).
Friday, January 27, 2012
Terminator 2 (Part 5)
I finish this review series up by rating the movie. What do YOU think I rated it? Watch to find out!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Title: X-Men: First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Series: X-Men
Based on the Comics Started By: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence
Rated: PG-13
Released: 2011
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
Oscars: N/A
Basic Plot: Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr come together to fight a common enemy.
Overlooked Characters Shown
I think it was a good move to show mutants other than the usual ones we're used to seeing. The better thing, though, is making them just as interesting. So if you're worrying that this movie won't be good because there's no Wolverine or Cyclops: rest assured that this is not the case. I must say I wasn't familiar with Emma Frost before but grew to really love the character (in all her evilness) like I had with Wolverine.
Cameo!
I sort of lied when I said Wolverine isn't in this movie. He is in it for a small cameo. It's the part where Xavier and Erik are recruiting mutants for their X-Men team. As you can imagine, Logan/Wolverine doesn't accept the offer. Though his time on screen is so short, it was a memorable little scene.
The Final Battle
The battle at the end of the movie was just awesome. Not only was it good action, but the personal demons each character was fighting (throughout the movie) are addressed. Kevin Bacon is killed BUT that's not where the action ends. That being said: that's when Erik turns into Magneto. After Bacon is killed, the mutants have to decide how to deal with the humans who are trying to kill them. That's when Magneto and Professor X form their two different groups.
Final Thoughts
When I first heard about this movie I was a little worried. As X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine weren't received well by most people. But when I heard all the positive reviews I knew I had to check this movie out. I was not disappointed with this movie at all. It shows that the X-Men movie franchise has not yet died!
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Series: X-Men
Based on the Comics Started By: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence
Rated: PG-13
Released: 2011
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
Oscars: N/A
Basic Plot: Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr come together to fight a common enemy.
Overlooked Characters Shown
I think it was a good move to show mutants other than the usual ones we're used to seeing. The better thing, though, is making them just as interesting. So if you're worrying that this movie won't be good because there's no Wolverine or Cyclops: rest assured that this is not the case. I must say I wasn't familiar with Emma Frost before but grew to really love the character (in all her evilness) like I had with Wolverine.
Cameo!
I sort of lied when I said Wolverine isn't in this movie. He is in it for a small cameo. It's the part where Xavier and Erik are recruiting mutants for their X-Men team. As you can imagine, Logan/Wolverine doesn't accept the offer. Though his time on screen is so short, it was a memorable little scene.
The Final Battle
The battle at the end of the movie was just awesome. Not only was it good action, but the personal demons each character was fighting (throughout the movie) are addressed. Kevin Bacon is killed BUT that's not where the action ends. That being said: that's when Erik turns into Magneto. After Bacon is killed, the mutants have to decide how to deal with the humans who are trying to kill them. That's when Magneto and Professor X form their two different groups.
Final Thoughts
When I first heard about this movie I was a little worried. As X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine weren't received well by most people. But when I heard all the positive reviews I knew I had to check this movie out. I was not disappointed with this movie at all. It shows that the X-Men movie franchise has not yet died!
Oscar Nominations (2012)
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