Date- Sunday November 20 2016
Time- 1:15pm
Location- Pocono Movieplex (honestly, we go there all the time... I should just leave this field unchecked unless I'm going elsewhere)
Party- 4 (my mom, sister, aunt who loves the same books/movies, and myself)
Director: David Yates
Writer (book AND screenplay): J.K. Rowling
Composer: James Newton Howard
Notable Cast:
Newt Scamander- Eddie Redmayne
Jacob Kowalski- Dan Fogler
Tina- Katherine Waterston
Queenie- Alison Sudol
Graves- Colin Farrell
Credence- Ezra Miller
American Minister of Magic, Seraphina Picquery- Carmen Ejogo
Duration: 133 minutes (+3 trailers)
Write-up:
Audience & Coming Attractions
The next time we go to the movies (which will be later today), we need to bring a flashlight or at least light up a smartphone when we enter the theater. It's getting kind of annoying that we can't see where we're going or which seats are taken because the theater is darkened to show a dozen commercials. Seriously, if I want to see commercials, I could just stay home.
Couldn't even see how many people were in the theater, but there weren't as many as we expected. It was miserable and raining outside at the time.
It seemed like all three trailers figured we were all into Sci-fi (almost spelled that like the network... I don't even watch it that much) because they all fell into that category. I didn't even think Harry Potter fit there (it's more of a fantasy type deal, isn't it?).
First: Valerian- which is based on a graphic novel. I recognized Cat Delevingne from "Paper Towns." (Not quite who I pictured to play Margo Roth Speigelman, but she grew on me pretty quickly). The other guy, not so much. But the trailer promoted it more as a Luc Besson film (since he recently had a lot of success with "Lucy" which I've yet to see, but might need to).
The special effects and the environment look amazing. Not quite at the "Avatar" level, but the closest I'd seen in a while. Unfortunately, I have a gut feeling it's going to do about as well as "Jupiter Ascending."
Second: Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson. I'd heard of the animé series it was based off, but I never watched. It seemed too dark and too sci-fi for my personal tastes (just to give a clearer picture of my tastes- InuYasha, FullMetal Alchemist and Bleach were my favorite series on Adult Swim).
But the way this movie is set up and rendered, it looks really impressive. And Scarlett of course playing a kick-ass bad-ass. Something she brought to Black Widow and "Lucy" (yep, that Luc Besson movie I just mentioned) and may have perfected here.
I also remember the major controversy with this movie for casting her because she isn't Asian.
:sigh: will it ever end?
Finally, the trailer Comic-Con probably saw of the new "Power Rangers" movie.
I grew up on that franchise... well, 2-3 years of my childhood was wrapped up in it... I think I got into Pokémon shortly after I lost interest (which was when David Yost was written out of the show- he played my favorite character).
And I get the feeling that I am going to hate this movie because it's going to rewrite the entire mythology of the franchise. Two characters, I heard called Jason and Zack. And it sounds like they found the Command Center and Zordon instead of the other way around. Not to mention they're all "bad kids." That's completely wrong. The Power Rangers were chosen by Zordon because they were exceptional teenagers that were active in their communities. Unless they're opting for the angle "they're good inside, but have just gotten a raw deal in life"... I don't buy it.
Speaking of race, it looks like they might be doing that thing that got an outcry with the original series- the Black ranger was black and the yellow ranger was Asian. Honestly, I didn't really notice that when I was a kid and it really doesn't matter to me either way.
I remember the names of all the original actors except the Yellow ranger, Trini. Only that she died in a car accident. I know how to pronounce it, but I'll probably spell it wrong. Truy Thang, I think. [okay, I was close- I got two letters mixed up in her name- Thuy Trang].
Quick note: IMDB is great for a lot of things, but I don't get how they know the last names of the characters (when they were never mentioned on the show, yet they don't know Zack was the Black ranger and Trini was the yellow ranger).
Anyway, they lost me after they did an entire recast... end of story.
The Main Event in a Nutshell
What you need to know about the basic story: Newt Scamander is a British Magizoologist (studies magical creatures) who travels to America in the 1920's to release one of his magical creatures to its native habitat in Arizona.
But he picks a pretty bad time to go. New York is currently under siege thanks to something dark and destructive. What that is remains to be seen. But it's been terrorizing the Nomaj (American muggles) and the magical world is trying to solve the problem before their world is exposed and comes under fire. It is believed to be the work of a dark creature, which automatically makes Newt the #1 suspect.
Actors and Actresses
I don't know if I imagined the success Eddie Redmayne what have in his career after being in "Les Mis"... but it's been pretty fantastic. His performance of Stephen Hawking, while it was SO obvious he was going to win... I know the man is a super genius, but I gained so much more respect for him after seeing the movie. And he is great in this one as well. There were just some time I wish I had subtitles. He kinda mumbles sometimes, you see.
Dan Fogler, I knew from "Fan Boys" and it's cool to see him in a role like this. The man isn't obnoxious. He's just a lovable Nomaj that is having trouble getting his dream of owning a bakery. He meets Newt at the bank where he's trying to get a loan, but can't due to lack of collateral. He unwittingly becomes part of this journey into the magical world due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not to mention a "comedy" of errors.
The actresses, I hadn't really known before this, so I don't have much to say for them. Tina (Katherine Waterston) had gotten Hermione comparisons. Some of it is well-deserved. She's very smart and calculating. But her talents aren't taken as seriously due to actions taken before the movie begins.
Queenie is a bit of a scene-stealer and her storyline with Jacob is one I hope gets continued in future movies, despite the fact Nomaj are not supposed to be knowlegeable about the magical world. He's just such a great character.
Colin Farrell, I'd had a lot of moments on this blog where I've given him a hard time. My only complaint with him... he's Irish and he's playing an American character. Seriously, what the hell?! He plays a pretty complex character in that you really don't know what side he's on. We see him in the alleyway a lot talking to Credence, the adopted son of a woman who's been trying to organize a witch hunt.
Credence is played by Ezra Miller, who I know from "Perks of Being a Wallflower"... this was a good role for him, although a pretty sad one. He gets a raw deal and it extends past the fact his mum abuses him.
Same World, But a Different Place and Time
David Yates directed the last four Harry Potter movies and did so very well. We have the same visual look here as well, but considering it's New York in the 1920's, it's a bit different. But an interesting good different.
Visual and Special Effects
My other big negative with this movie... the effects are too chaotic in the action scenes. This is a good movie to see on the big screen, but it was still hard to see what was going on.
As for the contents of Newt's suitcase... well, you have to see it to believe it. It's the most jaw-dropping moment I think I'd had out of all the Harry Potter movies and there was a lot of that back then.
The first creature we meet is a Niffer. It looks like a black roly-poly platypus with maybe some echidna-like spines. I think I heard Ron mentioned in one of the books that he'd like to have one because they're good at finding treasures and shiny things. The one Newt has in his suitcase escapes into a bank, so you can imagine the shenanigans it gets into there. Everything else- I don't remember what any of them are called (like I said, Newt mumbles), but they're just amazing to look at. Hopefully we'll get to see more of them in the upcoming films.
What the Future holds...
I was skeptical at first when I heard that this movie adapted from a Hogwarts textbook was going to be make into a five-movie franchise. But taking into account who the ultimate villain of this movie turned out to be, I have a very good feeling I know what the ultimate goal of this new magical franchise is... and there is one very important casting choice coming up.
I'm sure a lot of Harry Potter fans have already figured it out.
Let's just say I got my idea from a Chocolate Frog card..
Grade: A-
(just to give an idea- I'd give "The Sorceror's Stone" an A+, "Prisoner of Azkhaban" an A, and the "Order of the Phoenix" maybe a B+)
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Theatrical Review: Doctor Strange
Date: Saturday, November 5th 2016
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 2 (my mom and I)
Director: Scott Derrickson (mainly psycho-horrors like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"
Writers: Scott Derrickson, Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill, Steve Ditko
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Cast:
Doctor Stephen Strange- Bendict Cumberbatch
"The Ancient One"- Tilda Swinton
Christine Palmer- Rachel McAdams
Mordo- Chiwetel Ejiofor
Wong- Benedict Wong
Kaecilius- Mads Mikkelsen
Jonathan Pagborn- Benjamin Bratt
Opening Remarks:
This was one of those weekends I was dying to see a movie. There were three I had in consideration and I thought for sure my dad would want to see a couple of them (the "Jack Reacher" sequel and "Inferno"). Instead, my mom and I opted for Dr. Strange simply because he's another part of the Marvel Universe. Plus, it's Benedict Cumberbatch. Kind of hard to resist and he definitely made the trip worth it.
The theater had maybe a dozen people in it. Some were families with kids between the ages of 6-13. Maybe not as lively as the "Avengers" crowd we were a part of in 2012, but pretty darn close. The movie's mix of comedy and drama was greatly appreciated if crowd participation was any indication.
That series of rhyming just came out that way... completely unintentional.
As for why it took me two weeks to write this movie review... well, a lot of stuff happened. The election for starters and the ups and downs of that (sorry, no further details on that, this isn't a political blog). Things at work have been good and busy. And simply, I just haven't felt like writing a review... not because I didn't like it. I've just been lazy about it for some odd reason.
I'm off to see "Fantastic Beasts" today so I wanted to try to hammer this out before I do. And hopefully I'll be more prompt with that review.
Trailers:
Luckily there were only three trailers because there's no way I would have remembered more two weeks after the fact. I need my ticket stub just to remember the time and whether I saw this movie on Saturday or Sunday.
First: a teaser for the newest "Pirates" movie. The one that's been delayed for ages either by Disney or Johnny Depp's personal shenanigans. And he doesn't even appear it. But there is a bounty hunter (I think?) looking for him. He has a crew that reminds me a little of Davy Jones's and he asked this of someone who looks a lot like Brenton Thewlis (it is him! everyone from the original cast is back except Keira Knightly and I'm just going by the first page on IMDB).
Next- the teaser from "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" that premiered some week my folks were away. Not much on the plot except Starlord still has the hots for Glamora but she has still that case of "Footloose" that's making things difficult. And love that shot of Rocket with a mini-Groot on his shoulder in a matching costume.
Then we have another trailer for "Rogue One"... not sure what to expect from this movie, but it is interesting to see how many roles Felicity Jones has gotten since her Oscar nomination.
The Story:
I hate to make this comparison because it sounds like a self-serving cop-out... but Dr. Stephen Strange is pretty much like Tony Stark, except that he's an exceptionally talented and rich surgeon. It's the ego that makes the comparison unavoidable, not my personal inclination for a particular actor. There's also the fact he likes to play music while he's working, but instead of ACDC, it's Earth, Wind and Fire in the one scene this comes into play. He also is a wealth of pop culture knowledge (the conversation in surgery was about when a certain song by a certain artist was recorded and released- no surprise, Strange is right).
But while he's very successful in his professional life, his personal life- not as much. He still works side-by-side with his ex-girlfriend, Christine, who entertains his personality flaws, but doesn't go much beyond that.
So naturally what happens when you have someone with a massive ego and a particular skillset... you put him into a situation where all that is stripped away and he's forced to cope with the aftermath. [There's actually a PSA at the end of the credits- as if to say "this entire story would never have happened if this person didn't do this"].
After exhausting all of his options, both medically or financially, Dr. Strange finally entertains the pseudoscience of spiritual healing and spends his final cent to Nepal in order to purse it. His inspiration comes from another case of someone who came back from a life-altering injury, whom he meets (I hadn't seen Benjamin Bratt in ages and this was a small, but interesting/different role for him) and we see again in a post-credits scene that leaves the door open for future sequels.
Needless to say, the journey he must take upon reaching his destination (where he meets Mordo, Wong, and the leader of this spiritual movement, "The Ancient One")... it is not easy. And the biggest obstacle is none other than Strange himself.
On the other side of things, we have an ex-disciple of this movement, Kaecilius (who I thought for sure was Viggo Mortenson- who I saw in commercials doing press- but is actually the "Casino Royale" Bond villain), threatening to change the fabric of the world this movement was meant to protect.
Characters and Comments:
I thought for sure with this movie, Benedict Cumberbatch would be a shoe-in for "Sexiest Man Alive"... but then again, PEOPLE still hasn't given that honor to RDJ, so I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about them getting it right for once.
But even without his British accent, he was amazing in this. He's not very likeable, but he does grow on you. His sense of humor serves him well.
There's also the matter of the cape he attains halfway through the movie. Maybe the best "inanimate" object scene-stealer since the Magic Carpet in Aladdin.
Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses and another great addition to the Marvel universe. She tries to help Strange through his difficult period, but even she has her limits. But when they next meet, after Strange goes through some training with his new mentor, it's fraught with excitement, drama and humor.
Chiwetel Ejofor, whom most people know as the "12 years a slave" Best Actor Oscar nominee has a great opportunity with this role and if the future is any indication, it's going to be used to its full potential. The events of the film have a profound impact on him and how he evolves a person.
Tilda Swinton is completely unrecognizable as "The Ancient One," but another amazing character.
Wong, who minds the library where all the books of this "religion's" teachings are kept. I read a review that said he was a scene-stealer and I agree. Especially when Strange's pop culture knowledge comes into play. Hilarious stuff.
Our villain, Kaecilius, while powerful, he does present an interesting challenge for our protagonist. When they finally meet and have a conversation, Strange is left to reconsider, yet again, all the things he thought he knew about the life he leads.
What sets this movie apart from other Marvel movies- the effects are BEYOND amazing. They're meant to be seen on a large movie screen. As for them being in 3D IMAX... I'm not sure if I'd recommend or engage in it personally. I did sustain a little bit of a headache afterwards from the 2D version.
One scene in particular was enamoring and dizzying like a rollercoaster. I didn't want it to end, but once it did, it was almost a relief. My stomach needed to catch up with the rest of my body.
My initial impression from the trailers held up rather well: this was Marvel universe meets Inception, but without the dreaming aspect.
Maybe the only downside of the movie overall... the head villain that Kaecilius reports to... Doctor Strange faces him. The way he was defeating was a little gimmicky and lacked imagination, Not to mention a little too repetitive...
Also: stick around for the credits. There're two scenes. One that may help usher Dr. Strange into the next Avengers movie. And another that leaves the door open for a sequel. One is more humorous and the other is more dramatic. Take a wild guess which is which.
Grade: A (93%- a notch above an A-)
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Party: 2 (my mom and I)
Director: Scott Derrickson (mainly psycho-horrors like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"
Writers: Scott Derrickson, Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill, Steve Ditko
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Cast:
Doctor Stephen Strange- Bendict Cumberbatch
"The Ancient One"- Tilda Swinton
Christine Palmer- Rachel McAdams
Mordo- Chiwetel Ejiofor
Wong- Benedict Wong
Kaecilius- Mads Mikkelsen
Jonathan Pagborn- Benjamin Bratt
Opening Remarks:
This was one of those weekends I was dying to see a movie. There were three I had in consideration and I thought for sure my dad would want to see a couple of them (the "Jack Reacher" sequel and "Inferno"). Instead, my mom and I opted for Dr. Strange simply because he's another part of the Marvel Universe. Plus, it's Benedict Cumberbatch. Kind of hard to resist and he definitely made the trip worth it.
The theater had maybe a dozen people in it. Some were families with kids between the ages of 6-13. Maybe not as lively as the "Avengers" crowd we were a part of in 2012, but pretty darn close. The movie's mix of comedy and drama was greatly appreciated if crowd participation was any indication.
That series of rhyming just came out that way... completely unintentional.
As for why it took me two weeks to write this movie review... well, a lot of stuff happened. The election for starters and the ups and downs of that (sorry, no further details on that, this isn't a political blog). Things at work have been good and busy. And simply, I just haven't felt like writing a review... not because I didn't like it. I've just been lazy about it for some odd reason.
I'm off to see "Fantastic Beasts" today so I wanted to try to hammer this out before I do. And hopefully I'll be more prompt with that review.
Trailers:
Luckily there were only three trailers because there's no way I would have remembered more two weeks after the fact. I need my ticket stub just to remember the time and whether I saw this movie on Saturday or Sunday.
First: a teaser for the newest "Pirates" movie. The one that's been delayed for ages either by Disney or Johnny Depp's personal shenanigans. And he doesn't even appear it. But there is a bounty hunter (I think?) looking for him. He has a crew that reminds me a little of Davy Jones's and he asked this of someone who looks a lot like Brenton Thewlis (it is him! everyone from the original cast is back except Keira Knightly and I'm just going by the first page on IMDB).
Next- the teaser from "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" that premiered some week my folks were away. Not much on the plot except Starlord still has the hots for Glamora but she has still that case of "Footloose" that's making things difficult. And love that shot of Rocket with a mini-Groot on his shoulder in a matching costume.
Then we have another trailer for "Rogue One"... not sure what to expect from this movie, but it is interesting to see how many roles Felicity Jones has gotten since her Oscar nomination.
The Story:
I hate to make this comparison because it sounds like a self-serving cop-out... but Dr. Stephen Strange is pretty much like Tony Stark, except that he's an exceptionally talented and rich surgeon. It's the ego that makes the comparison unavoidable, not my personal inclination for a particular actor. There's also the fact he likes to play music while he's working, but instead of ACDC, it's Earth, Wind and Fire in the one scene this comes into play. He also is a wealth of pop culture knowledge (the conversation in surgery was about when a certain song by a certain artist was recorded and released- no surprise, Strange is right).
But while he's very successful in his professional life, his personal life- not as much. He still works side-by-side with his ex-girlfriend, Christine, who entertains his personality flaws, but doesn't go much beyond that.
So naturally what happens when you have someone with a massive ego and a particular skillset... you put him into a situation where all that is stripped away and he's forced to cope with the aftermath. [There's actually a PSA at the end of the credits- as if to say "this entire story would never have happened if this person didn't do this"].
After exhausting all of his options, both medically or financially, Dr. Strange finally entertains the pseudoscience of spiritual healing and spends his final cent to Nepal in order to purse it. His inspiration comes from another case of someone who came back from a life-altering injury, whom he meets (I hadn't seen Benjamin Bratt in ages and this was a small, but interesting/different role for him) and we see again in a post-credits scene that leaves the door open for future sequels.
Needless to say, the journey he must take upon reaching his destination (where he meets Mordo, Wong, and the leader of this spiritual movement, "The Ancient One")... it is not easy. And the biggest obstacle is none other than Strange himself.
On the other side of things, we have an ex-disciple of this movement, Kaecilius (who I thought for sure was Viggo Mortenson- who I saw in commercials doing press- but is actually the "Casino Royale" Bond villain), threatening to change the fabric of the world this movement was meant to protect.
Characters and Comments:
I thought for sure with this movie, Benedict Cumberbatch would be a shoe-in for "Sexiest Man Alive"... but then again, PEOPLE still hasn't given that honor to RDJ, so I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about them getting it right for once.
But even without his British accent, he was amazing in this. He's not very likeable, but he does grow on you. His sense of humor serves him well.
There's also the matter of the cape he attains halfway through the movie. Maybe the best "inanimate" object scene-stealer since the Magic Carpet in Aladdin.
Rachel McAdams is one of my favorite actresses and another great addition to the Marvel universe. She tries to help Strange through his difficult period, but even she has her limits. But when they next meet, after Strange goes through some training with his new mentor, it's fraught with excitement, drama and humor.
Chiwetel Ejofor, whom most people know as the "12 years a slave" Best Actor Oscar nominee has a great opportunity with this role and if the future is any indication, it's going to be used to its full potential. The events of the film have a profound impact on him and how he evolves a person.
Tilda Swinton is completely unrecognizable as "The Ancient One," but another amazing character.
Wong, who minds the library where all the books of this "religion's" teachings are kept. I read a review that said he was a scene-stealer and I agree. Especially when Strange's pop culture knowledge comes into play. Hilarious stuff.
Our villain, Kaecilius, while powerful, he does present an interesting challenge for our protagonist. When they finally meet and have a conversation, Strange is left to reconsider, yet again, all the things he thought he knew about the life he leads.
What sets this movie apart from other Marvel movies- the effects are BEYOND amazing. They're meant to be seen on a large movie screen. As for them being in 3D IMAX... I'm not sure if I'd recommend or engage in it personally. I did sustain a little bit of a headache afterwards from the 2D version.
One scene in particular was enamoring and dizzying like a rollercoaster. I didn't want it to end, but once it did, it was almost a relief. My stomach needed to catch up with the rest of my body.
My initial impression from the trailers held up rather well: this was Marvel universe meets Inception, but without the dreaming aspect.
Maybe the only downside of the movie overall... the head villain that Kaecilius reports to... Doctor Strange faces him. The way he was defeating was a little gimmicky and lacked imagination, Not to mention a little too repetitive...
Also: stick around for the credits. There're two scenes. One that may help usher Dr. Strange into the next Avengers movie. And another that leaves the door open for a sequel. One is more humorous and the other is more dramatic. Take a wild guess which is which.
Grade: A (93%- a notch above an A-)
Friday, November 4, 2016
Batman (1989)
Director: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Songs Written and Performed by Prince
Main Cast:
Batman/Bruce Wayne- Michael Keaton
The Joker/Jack Napier- Jack Nicholson
Vicki Vale- Kim Basinger
Commissioner Gordon- Pat Hingle
Alfred- Michael Gough
Knox- Robert Wuhl
Opening Comments:
I'd been meaning to see this movie again within the month of October. Batman seems to fit right in with the Halloween motif, especially since Tim Burton is helming this particular film. That's part of the reason.
The other reason, I kinda fell into. Opportunity presented itself and I took it.
Batman the franchise:
My feelings about Batman are mixed at best. He's a great character. Bruce Wayne is easily one of the most complex characters in comics. He has a dark past that he lives with every day because it is his reason for becoming Batman. It is his motivation. He's a powerful figure in Gotham, but while he has everything, he has also nothing. Other than his lifelong butler and confidante Alfred, he has no one in his life that's particularly close with. In other words, it's easy for him to get a date, but it's hard to have a long-lasting relationship.
I said my feelings are mixed because I am not a fan of how he's been rendered in most of the films. The TV series "Gotham" is definitely on the right track with their young Bruce Wayne, but I keep waiting for that great epiphany, that transformation that makes him become Batman.
"Batman Returns," I need to give another shot because like this particular movie I'm about to discuss, I wasn't a fan.
Really, my first Batman film was "Batman Forever" and it's still my favorite. Even after rewatching it a few months ago, that hasn't changed. I enjoy it very much and "Kissed by a Rose" is a great song. I don't care what anyone says.
Then Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale and the "Bat Voice" happened and I just haven't been satisfied since. I mentioned in my "Batman Forever" review that I'm one of the few people that HATES "The Dark Knight."
Funny coincidence or brilliant marketing by HBO, who knows, but after Batman, they showed a trailer for the upcoming showing of Batman vs. Superman. I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, but the film as a whole... I don't have a lot of hope for it.
Ok, now for this one.
"Batman" in a nutshell:
Batman is first introduced as this mysterious character lurking in the shadows and taking out bad guys. Taking out means beating them up and terrifying them until the cops show up.
Jack Napier is a gangster, but the night he becomes The Joker, he is double-crossed by his own men and his crime boss Grissom, assaulted by Batman and falls into a vat of acid. Somehow he survives. The same can't be said about the nerves in his face, which have left him with a permanent smile on his face.
Vicki Vale is a photographer who comes to town interested in the rumors of Batman. Immediately, she teams up with reporter Knox, the only person crazy to pursue the lead that Batman presents.
There's a party at Wayne Manor where a lot of government officials are hanging out and having a good time. The two journalists wander off into a room full of artifacts from other countries and meet Bruce Wayne himself. Naturally, Vicki Vale is enchanted by him and the feeling is mutual. But with him being Batman, that comes with complications.
The movie is mostly The Joker wrecking havoc around Gotham and the blossoming relationship between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne.
At over 2 hours, the movie runs a little too long for me. Particularly in the last hour where not a whole lot is happening.
Comments on Cast and Crew:
the "Batman" world hasn't been quite the same since Tim Burton left to pursue other projects. Really love the look of Gotham City- something that hadn't really been captured again this well until maybe "Gotham"- but even then, it's not quite the same. Not that comic-booky gothic look.
Michael Keaton plays a good Batman and Bruce Wayne. Strong in the costume and no need for that stupid Bat-voice. As Bruce Wayne, he has an enigmatic personality. He's so mysterious and you don't really know what to expect. You want to pull back the layers, but at the same time, why ruin a good mystery?
As Vicki Vale, Kim Basinger was good... love her tenacity about getting close to Bruce Wayne and finding out about Batman and such. But I just got so sick of her screaming. That had to have been the only reason she was given the role.
At least it's not the Kate Capshaw/Temple of Doom situation...
and Jack Nicholson as The Joker... c'mon... it doesn't get any better than that. except maybe the animated series- I haven't seen much of it, but for me, that's still kinda the standard of what this comic and series should be.
And it's also because of Jack Nicholson that Prince got involved in the soundtrack
The Batman soundtrack:
For starters, Danny Elfman is awesome. Especially when he's doing movies like this where it's all dark and dramatic and stuff. It gives an added dimension to it.
Comparatively, Prince's contributions feel like a footnote.
He's the reason I gave the movie a second chance years ago after my first watch wasn't a big success. Some of those same feelings are true- the pacing gets painfully slow in the latter portions of it.
As far as his albums go, after revisiting it a couple times the last two weeks... he's done so much better. I think the story goes is that Jack was a fan and wanted Prince to get involved. After meeting him, Prince wrote "Partyman" and then wound up doing the entire musical soundtrack.
I have a lot of unless information in my head about him, but this is one of those areas I'm not as knowledgeable about.
Going through the trivia, Tim Burton wasn't a fan of Prince's music for the movie. And critics said his songs were out of place.
Me, I had trouble finding them :P the songs aren't all that great when taking his entire discography into account.
And I agree that the way they were used... they didn't make a lot of sense. I must have missed "The Future" because it was in the very beginning after the opening credits- I had to go out and walk the dog.
During the Wayne Manor party, I think I heard "Vicki Waiting" softly in the background in one scene and "Electric Chair" (maybe my favorite on the whole album) shortly after.
Then there's a huge gap until the infamous "Partyman" scene- where The Joker and his men trash the art museum. That is such a fun scene, even though it's a villain scene, that I hated when they cut the music off.
The way The Joker's men show up with a giant boombox for the music... Prince did something similar in "Under the Cherry Moon" where he and his partner Tricky brought it to liven up a really stuffy night club full of rich people.
I thought I heard "Scandalous" in the score during one scene where Vicki tells Bruce Wayne "we could try and love each other." But it's featured more prominently in the ending credits for maybe 2 minutes.
Then "Trust" you can hear when The Joker has his parade where he says he'll be throwing money into the streets. The dialogue backs it up somewhat (or is it the other way around?) because The Joker asks "who do you trust? me or The Batman?"
The other songs that weren't in the movie at all... "Batdance" is cool, but it wouldn't have fit anywhere.
I hate that "Electric Chair" were just thrown into the background because it is such a kick-ass song.
The "gimmick" of the album was that songs were credited to different characters.
"The Future" is Batman.
"Electric Chair" and "Partyman" are The Joker.
On those two alone, you see that he's really playing up the Gemini perspective of his personality. In this particular case, I like his "Joker" tracks a lot more.
"Arms of Orion"- a duet between him and Sheena Easton is credited to Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale- but the lyrics don't quite work in the context of the movie. It's also one of those universally hated Prince songs. I don't mind it, but it's also very cheesy.
"Vicki Waiting"- I recently found wasn't even an original for the movie- it was written for/about Anna Fantastic- one of his girlfriends. One I don't think I'd even heard of before I heard about her on a podcast. The more I hear it, the more I like it.
"Trust" is very fast paced and fun... but lyrically, I don't quite get it.
"Lemon Crush"... I am still figuring out my feeling on it. I thought I hated it, but the last time I heard it, considering the title being "having a bitter crush on someone"- another thing I picked up from a Prince podcast I'd been listening all this week [Peach & Black]
"Scandalous" is one of his most loved ballads... personally, it's not one of my favorites. It runs a little long in the latter portions, almost like the movie, and the vocal, to me, it's like he overdoes it to the point his voice sounds scratchy. But I think it might be growing on me. A slow seductive ballady love song.
Then "Batdance" is a mixture of dialogue from the movie set to music.
Throughout watching the movie this time around, I picked up nearly every sound bite from it.
So yeah... I'm kinda sorry that I gave myself an excuse to talk about Prince here and it's been mostly negative.
Considering all he did in the 80's and the decades since... this album was cool when I first got it, but in the context of everything else... it doesn't shine all that brightly.
Next year I plan on going through all the albums I own by him and really go in-depth with them. To decide how I'd rank them and my favorite songs. But I'll do that on the blog I began because of him- all the way on dreamypoproyalty.wordpress.com [which has covered more figure skating lately than Prince- but after he died, he has been popping up a lot more over there]
One more thing:
I usually start these posts with awards and accolades. I double-checked really quickly.
"Batman" won an Oscar for Best Art Direction.
And Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe... although it almost felt like he had more screentime than Batman/Bruce Wayne
And with the screaming... someone actually asked on Imdb how many times during the film. Kim Basinger screamed 22 times throughout the movie.
I'll be seeing her soon in the 50 shades sequel... first time I'd seen her really since this movie, so it should be interesting on a number of levels. Starting with her being "Mrs. Robinson"- the person that made Christian Grey the kinky sex freak he became.
There are rumors (not sure how true they are) that she had a relationship with Prince. He did compose an album she sung on. But where I was leading with this... if they were together, I hope her screams in the bed were more pleasing to his ears than what she did in this movie. [according the imdb messageboards- it's not her only occasion of screaming too much in her movies]
Composer: Danny Elfman
Songs Written and Performed by Prince
Main Cast:
Batman/Bruce Wayne- Michael Keaton
The Joker/Jack Napier- Jack Nicholson
Vicki Vale- Kim Basinger
Commissioner Gordon- Pat Hingle
Alfred- Michael Gough
Knox- Robert Wuhl
Opening Comments:
I'd been meaning to see this movie again within the month of October. Batman seems to fit right in with the Halloween motif, especially since Tim Burton is helming this particular film. That's part of the reason.
The other reason, I kinda fell into. Opportunity presented itself and I took it.
Batman the franchise:
My feelings about Batman are mixed at best. He's a great character. Bruce Wayne is easily one of the most complex characters in comics. He has a dark past that he lives with every day because it is his reason for becoming Batman. It is his motivation. He's a powerful figure in Gotham, but while he has everything, he has also nothing. Other than his lifelong butler and confidante Alfred, he has no one in his life that's particularly close with. In other words, it's easy for him to get a date, but it's hard to have a long-lasting relationship.
I said my feelings are mixed because I am not a fan of how he's been rendered in most of the films. The TV series "Gotham" is definitely on the right track with their young Bruce Wayne, but I keep waiting for that great epiphany, that transformation that makes him become Batman.
"Batman Returns," I need to give another shot because like this particular movie I'm about to discuss, I wasn't a fan.
Really, my first Batman film was "Batman Forever" and it's still my favorite. Even after rewatching it a few months ago, that hasn't changed. I enjoy it very much and "Kissed by a Rose" is a great song. I don't care what anyone says.
Then Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale and the "Bat Voice" happened and I just haven't been satisfied since. I mentioned in my "Batman Forever" review that I'm one of the few people that HATES "The Dark Knight."
Funny coincidence or brilliant marketing by HBO, who knows, but after Batman, they showed a trailer for the upcoming showing of Batman vs. Superman. I'm willing to give Ben Affleck a chance, but the film as a whole... I don't have a lot of hope for it.
Ok, now for this one.
"Batman" in a nutshell:
Batman is first introduced as this mysterious character lurking in the shadows and taking out bad guys. Taking out means beating them up and terrifying them until the cops show up.
Jack Napier is a gangster, but the night he becomes The Joker, he is double-crossed by his own men and his crime boss Grissom, assaulted by Batman and falls into a vat of acid. Somehow he survives. The same can't be said about the nerves in his face, which have left him with a permanent smile on his face.
Vicki Vale is a photographer who comes to town interested in the rumors of Batman. Immediately, she teams up with reporter Knox, the only person crazy to pursue the lead that Batman presents.
There's a party at Wayne Manor where a lot of government officials are hanging out and having a good time. The two journalists wander off into a room full of artifacts from other countries and meet Bruce Wayne himself. Naturally, Vicki Vale is enchanted by him and the feeling is mutual. But with him being Batman, that comes with complications.
The movie is mostly The Joker wrecking havoc around Gotham and the blossoming relationship between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne.
At over 2 hours, the movie runs a little too long for me. Particularly in the last hour where not a whole lot is happening.
Comments on Cast and Crew:
the "Batman" world hasn't been quite the same since Tim Burton left to pursue other projects. Really love the look of Gotham City- something that hadn't really been captured again this well until maybe "Gotham"- but even then, it's not quite the same. Not that comic-booky gothic look.
Michael Keaton plays a good Batman and Bruce Wayne. Strong in the costume and no need for that stupid Bat-voice. As Bruce Wayne, he has an enigmatic personality. He's so mysterious and you don't really know what to expect. You want to pull back the layers, but at the same time, why ruin a good mystery?
As Vicki Vale, Kim Basinger was good... love her tenacity about getting close to Bruce Wayne and finding out about Batman and such. But I just got so sick of her screaming. That had to have been the only reason she was given the role.
At least it's not the Kate Capshaw/Temple of Doom situation...
and Jack Nicholson as The Joker... c'mon... it doesn't get any better than that. except maybe the animated series- I haven't seen much of it, but for me, that's still kinda the standard of what this comic and series should be.
And it's also because of Jack Nicholson that Prince got involved in the soundtrack
The Batman soundtrack:
For starters, Danny Elfman is awesome. Especially when he's doing movies like this where it's all dark and dramatic and stuff. It gives an added dimension to it.
Comparatively, Prince's contributions feel like a footnote.
He's the reason I gave the movie a second chance years ago after my first watch wasn't a big success. Some of those same feelings are true- the pacing gets painfully slow in the latter portions of it.
As far as his albums go, after revisiting it a couple times the last two weeks... he's done so much better. I think the story goes is that Jack was a fan and wanted Prince to get involved. After meeting him, Prince wrote "Partyman" and then wound up doing the entire musical soundtrack.
I have a lot of unless information in my head about him, but this is one of those areas I'm not as knowledgeable about.
Going through the trivia, Tim Burton wasn't a fan of Prince's music for the movie. And critics said his songs were out of place.
Me, I had trouble finding them :P the songs aren't all that great when taking his entire discography into account.
And I agree that the way they were used... they didn't make a lot of sense. I must have missed "The Future" because it was in the very beginning after the opening credits- I had to go out and walk the dog.
During the Wayne Manor party, I think I heard "Vicki Waiting" softly in the background in one scene and "Electric Chair" (maybe my favorite on the whole album) shortly after.
Then there's a huge gap until the infamous "Partyman" scene- where The Joker and his men trash the art museum. That is such a fun scene, even though it's a villain scene, that I hated when they cut the music off.
The way The Joker's men show up with a giant boombox for the music... Prince did something similar in "Under the Cherry Moon" where he and his partner Tricky brought it to liven up a really stuffy night club full of rich people.
I thought I heard "Scandalous" in the score during one scene where Vicki tells Bruce Wayne "we could try and love each other." But it's featured more prominently in the ending credits for maybe 2 minutes.
Then "Trust" you can hear when The Joker has his parade where he says he'll be throwing money into the streets. The dialogue backs it up somewhat (or is it the other way around?) because The Joker asks "who do you trust? me or The Batman?"
The other songs that weren't in the movie at all... "Batdance" is cool, but it wouldn't have fit anywhere.
I hate that "Electric Chair" were just thrown into the background because it is such a kick-ass song.
The "gimmick" of the album was that songs were credited to different characters.
"The Future" is Batman.
"Electric Chair" and "Partyman" are The Joker.
On those two alone, you see that he's really playing up the Gemini perspective of his personality. In this particular case, I like his "Joker" tracks a lot more.
"Arms of Orion"- a duet between him and Sheena Easton is credited to Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale- but the lyrics don't quite work in the context of the movie. It's also one of those universally hated Prince songs. I don't mind it, but it's also very cheesy.
"Vicki Waiting"- I recently found wasn't even an original for the movie- it was written for/about Anna Fantastic- one of his girlfriends. One I don't think I'd even heard of before I heard about her on a podcast. The more I hear it, the more I like it.
"Trust" is very fast paced and fun... but lyrically, I don't quite get it.
"Lemon Crush"... I am still figuring out my feeling on it. I thought I hated it, but the last time I heard it, considering the title being "having a bitter crush on someone"- another thing I picked up from a Prince podcast I'd been listening all this week [Peach & Black]
"Scandalous" is one of his most loved ballads... personally, it's not one of my favorites. It runs a little long in the latter portions, almost like the movie, and the vocal, to me, it's like he overdoes it to the point his voice sounds scratchy. But I think it might be growing on me. A slow seductive ballady love song.
Then "Batdance" is a mixture of dialogue from the movie set to music.
Throughout watching the movie this time around, I picked up nearly every sound bite from it.
So yeah... I'm kinda sorry that I gave myself an excuse to talk about Prince here and it's been mostly negative.
Considering all he did in the 80's and the decades since... this album was cool when I first got it, but in the context of everything else... it doesn't shine all that brightly.
Next year I plan on going through all the albums I own by him and really go in-depth with them. To decide how I'd rank them and my favorite songs. But I'll do that on the blog I began because of him- all the way on dreamypoproyalty.wordpress.com [which has covered more figure skating lately than Prince- but after he died, he has been popping up a lot more over there]
One more thing:
I usually start these posts with awards and accolades. I double-checked really quickly.
"Batman" won an Oscar for Best Art Direction.
And Jack Nicholson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe... although it almost felt like he had more screentime than Batman/Bruce Wayne
And with the screaming... someone actually asked on Imdb how many times during the film. Kim Basinger screamed 22 times throughout the movie.
I'll be seeing her soon in the 50 shades sequel... first time I'd seen her really since this movie, so it should be interesting on a number of levels. Starting with her being "Mrs. Robinson"- the person that made Christian Grey the kinky sex freak he became.
There are rumors (not sure how true they are) that she had a relationship with Prince. He did compose an album she sung on. But where I was leading with this... if they were together, I hope her screams in the bed were more pleasing to his ears than what she did in this movie. [according the imdb messageboards- it's not her only occasion of screaming too much in her movies]
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)
Director: David Yates
Writers: J.K. Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)
Composer: Nicholas Hooper
Cast:
[returning cast]
Harry Potter- Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley- Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger- Emma Watson
Professor Dumbledore- Michael Gambon
Ginny Weasley- Bonnie Wright
Neville Longbottom- Matthew Lewis
Draco Malfoy- Tom Felton
Professor McGonagall- Maggie Smith
Professor Snape- Alan Rickman (RIP 2016)
Hagrid- Robbie Coltrane
Fred and George Weasley- James and Oliver Phelps
Lupin- David Thewlis
Mrs. Weasley- Julie Walters
Mr. Weasley- Mark Williams
Bellatrix Lestrange- Helena Bonham Carter
[newcomers]
Horace Slughorn- Jim Broadbent
Narcissa Malfoy- Helen McCrory
Lavender Brown- Jessie Cave
Write-up:
Opening Comments
Looking over my previous entry, which I wrote about in January... oh man, 2016 needs to end soon... too many great people have died since David Bowie and Alan Rickman... some of old age, so I don't feel nearly as bad about them.
Just please, no one else... Prince was the deepest cut of all, but at least when I listen to him, I can trick my mind into believing he's still alive. His spirit certainly is.
Anyway... onto the movie...
For starters...
By the time the movie came out, I'd only read the book once and it wasn't as fresh in my head. Meaning that I didn't pick the movie apart and say how they skipped a certain scene from the book or reinterpreted some things. If there were any changes, they made sense and the overall story pretty much stayed the same.
If you read my "Order of the Phoenix" post, this might be a bit of a reprieve. Although there are one or two scenes I could nit-pick at. More on that later...
Firstly, there was a mighty big spoiler about this book that has worked its way into pop culture. And by that, I mean it was referenced on "Big Bang Theory." Leonard runs off to Penny's apartment because Sheldon spoiled the main event in the Half-Blood Prince. Then again, Leonard waited until that particular time to start reading the books...
I'm not sure if there's any truth to this rumor, but I heard there was a midnight book release where people were still waiting in line and someone who got their book ahead of them ran down the line and shouted the spoiler.
Seriously, this turn of events was like the major spoiler of Games of Thrones...
By the way, I will be mentioning it further down the line. If not in this entry, then in the 2nd Deathly Hallows post.
The StorySpoilers ahead... read the books!!
The wizarding world has now accepted the fact Voldermort is back from the dead. And it's just a matter of time before the world crumbles apart. The only things keeping things generally stable is that fact Harry Potter and Dumbledore are alive. Because of Harry, there is hope. And because of Dumbledore, Hogwarts is still a safe haven.
We begin our journey with Harry when Dumbledore takes him a trip. His mission: convince a former Hogwarts professor to return. Horace Slughorn is reluctant at first, but because he gravitates towards exceptionally talented students. He even has a shelf of photographs of students he had that later became famous or have connections to famous wizards and witches.
It later becomes clear that Harry is to get close to Slughorn because he has something valuable for Dumbledore's plan to put an end to Voldermort.
On the other side of things, Snape meets with Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy, wife of the now-disgraced Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy's mom.
Draco has been assigned a particular difficult, potentially dangerous task, and Narcisssa asks him to protect him. And he agrees to make this Unbreakable Vow.
While with his friends in Diagon Alley, Harry follows Draco Malfoy to a store in Knockturn Alley called Borgin & Burkes. Based on what he witnesses, he believes that Malfoy has become a Death Eater, one of Voldermort's circle of followers.
Eventually, we get to Hogwarts where a lot is going on. Slughorn is the new potions teacher. Harry is finally doing well in potions class thanks to a used potions book said to be property of "the half-blood Prince" and Snape finally gets his chance to be Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ron gets a position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and a new girlfriend. Hermione also comes to grips with her own feelings about Ron and Harry is doing the same regarding Ginny Weasley.
At the same time, Harry has regular meetings with Dumbledore where they go into Voldermort's past to learn more about him. And thanks to a memory they recover from Slughorn, they learn about Horcruxes--a object a person uses to hide a piece of their soul, which allows them immortality.
Throughout, we also have a number of incidents where Dumbledore was the intended target, but other students wind up getting hurt instead.
HighlightsFor starters, Jim Broadbent is a great addition to the cast as Slughorn. I didn't remember liking this character quite as much in the book. The whole thing about him "collecting" students as if he could take credit for their achievements because he taught them... seemed a bit egotistical to me. At least in the movie, he can have a good sense of humor about things, but also heart in the times that really mattered.
My favorite scene has to be when Harry takes the Felix Felicius (basically a "liquid luck" potion) to talk to Slughorn and he seems to be high on some odd sort of adrenaline. Lots of great comedic lines. But also when Slughorn finally levels it with Harry, it was a great emotional scene and it harkens back to when Harry's parents were killed. Not just Harry embracing his destiny, but more background information.
Draco Malfoy gets a lot of great character development. It seems in the beginning that he was just a pompous bully from a rich family. But he gets more dimension and Tom Felton does a great job bringing that out of him.
Harry, while he was right to be suspicious, you have to admit he goes too far at one point. And I can't help but wonder (as I'm sure a lot of people have)- how the hell did he not get expelled for what he did to Malfoy? Especially since Snape catches him afterwards...The chemistry between the young actors and actresses really shined here. They've gotten so close after spending years working together, you'd think this was just another normal day. The Ron and Hermione relationship really gets tested here, particularly how Hermione feels about Ron.
To his credit, though, Rupert Grint does have a few great comedic moments in the movie. First, I believe, was a scene added for the movie. Harry and Ron were goofing off during a free period where they would have had Potions. Professor McGonagall, in her own dry humor way, breaks up the party. At the end, she adds "take Mr. Weasley with you, he looks far too happy over there."
Then later Ron is crippled by a love potion originally intended for Harry. The sheer goofiness is worth all the laughs. But this being a Harry Potter film, things do have to get serious.
While the climax isn't as substantial as it was in the book, the tension brought in by the 3rd act.... it's catastrophic. The bad guys get the upper hand in the situation and everyone can feel the devastation of it.
The build-up of Harry and Dumbledore's "lessons" on defeating Voldemort leads up to finding a Horcrux. and it's easily one of the most troubling, scariest scenes in all of the movies. Neither of the two goes completely unscathed.
On a final positive note, it's great to see Quidditch back in the Harry Potter movies. We got short-changed at the Quidditch cup and absolutely no Quidditch in the 5th movie (where Harry, Fred and George get banned for beating up Malfoy... at least I think they beat him up, it's been a while since I read the book).
Ron finally gets his time to shine and it happens thanks to a little white lie from Harry.
Lowlights
While there aren't a lot of lowlights in this movie, considering it's based on a great book, there's always going to be nitpicks.
First of all, Harry's first scene makes no sense. He meets a waitress at a restaurant, she's into him and Dumbledore shows up to whisk Harry away for their mission.
In the book, there are a great scene where Dumbledore finally tells off the Dursleys for their mistreatment of Harry. All this movie scene does is kill time and set up the fact Harry is a teenage interested in girls.
I also never really got Harry and Ginny becoming an item. It just felt so random to me... about as random as how Harry and Cho were broken up in the last movie. I would have been fine if Harry never wound up with anybody. At least Ron and Hermione made sense.
Also: Snape finally gets to become Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and we don't see him teach a single class? Talk about a rip-off. All that build-up through the course of the films for nothing. I can't even remember in the book if we had a scene with him teaching.
I could nitpick on Luna finding Harry on the train after Malfoy cursed him... in the book, it was Tonks, who was there to help guard the castle after the last attacks from Death Eaters. She and Lupin become an item in this book, something that was barely touched on in the movie. But for me that was another random coupling... just didn't make sense.
I could live without the "Battle of Hogwarts" scene that led to a couple deaths and Bill Weasley (Ron's oldest brother) becoming a werewolf.
But I can't understand the scene where The Burrow is attacked. It wasn't in the book and really served no purpose other than for Harry and Ginny to have a good battle scene together. The result was the Weasley house being cast into flames... yet the house was perfectly fine in the next movie. To me, it just felt like they decided they needed an extra action scene. And the explanation I found of them needing to bring the fight to Harry to make it more real... sorry, don't buy it.The Elephant in the Room...
Snape killing Dumbledore... that was maybe the biggest blow in the entire series. I wasn't upset about Sirius because I didn't really get to know him until the movies. But this was a guy you thought was invincible. The only wizard Voldemort ever feared. It was one of those things that didn't make sense because you thought he'd always be around. But if we wanted things to get REALLY real for Harry, that was the one thing that made the most sense.
As for Snape being the one doing it... my reaction was "I KNEW IT"... all this time, Snape was meant to be the bad guy. Everyone said how Dumbledore trusted him and therefore we should, but there's just that feeling there where all the pieces only added up one way. Between that scene and the earlier one where he makes the Unbreakable Vow and explains (in the book anyway... I'm sure in the movie if they had the time, they could have done that whole chapter through flashbacks) all the moments he could have killed Harry and why he didn't.
Writers: J.K. Rowling (novel), Steve Kloves (screenplay)
Composer: Nicholas Hooper
Cast:
[returning cast]
Harry Potter- Daniel Radcliffe
Ron Weasley- Rupert Grint
Hermione Granger- Emma Watson
Professor Dumbledore- Michael Gambon
Ginny Weasley- Bonnie Wright
Neville Longbottom- Matthew Lewis
Draco Malfoy- Tom Felton
Professor McGonagall- Maggie Smith
Professor Snape- Alan Rickman (RIP 2016)
Hagrid- Robbie Coltrane
Fred and George Weasley- James and Oliver Phelps
Lupin- David Thewlis
Mrs. Weasley- Julie Walters
Mr. Weasley- Mark Williams
Bellatrix Lestrange- Helena Bonham Carter
[newcomers]
Horace Slughorn- Jim Broadbent
Narcissa Malfoy- Helen McCrory
Lavender Brown- Jessie Cave
Write-up:
Opening Comments
Looking over my previous entry, which I wrote about in January... oh man, 2016 needs to end soon... too many great people have died since David Bowie and Alan Rickman... some of old age, so I don't feel nearly as bad about them.
Just please, no one else... Prince was the deepest cut of all, but at least when I listen to him, I can trick my mind into believing he's still alive. His spirit certainly is.
Anyway... onto the movie...
For starters...
By the time the movie came out, I'd only read the book once and it wasn't as fresh in my head. Meaning that I didn't pick the movie apart and say how they skipped a certain scene from the book or reinterpreted some things. If there were any changes, they made sense and the overall story pretty much stayed the same.
If you read my "Order of the Phoenix" post, this might be a bit of a reprieve. Although there are one or two scenes I could nit-pick at. More on that later...
Firstly, there was a mighty big spoiler about this book that has worked its way into pop culture. And by that, I mean it was referenced on "Big Bang Theory." Leonard runs off to Penny's apartment because Sheldon spoiled the main event in the Half-Blood Prince. Then again, Leonard waited until that particular time to start reading the books...
I'm not sure if there's any truth to this rumor, but I heard there was a midnight book release where people were still waiting in line and someone who got their book ahead of them ran down the line and shouted the spoiler.
Seriously, this turn of events was like the major spoiler of Games of Thrones...
By the way, I will be mentioning it further down the line. If not in this entry, then in the 2nd Deathly Hallows post.
The StorySpoilers ahead... read the books!!
The wizarding world has now accepted the fact Voldermort is back from the dead. And it's just a matter of time before the world crumbles apart. The only things keeping things generally stable is that fact Harry Potter and Dumbledore are alive. Because of Harry, there is hope. And because of Dumbledore, Hogwarts is still a safe haven.
We begin our journey with Harry when Dumbledore takes him a trip. His mission: convince a former Hogwarts professor to return. Horace Slughorn is reluctant at first, but because he gravitates towards exceptionally talented students. He even has a shelf of photographs of students he had that later became famous or have connections to famous wizards and witches.
It later becomes clear that Harry is to get close to Slughorn because he has something valuable for Dumbledore's plan to put an end to Voldermort.
On the other side of things, Snape meets with Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy, wife of the now-disgraced Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy's mom.
Draco has been assigned a particular difficult, potentially dangerous task, and Narcisssa asks him to protect him. And he agrees to make this Unbreakable Vow.
While with his friends in Diagon Alley, Harry follows Draco Malfoy to a store in Knockturn Alley called Borgin & Burkes. Based on what he witnesses, he believes that Malfoy has become a Death Eater, one of Voldermort's circle of followers.
Eventually, we get to Hogwarts where a lot is going on. Slughorn is the new potions teacher. Harry is finally doing well in potions class thanks to a used potions book said to be property of "the half-blood Prince" and Snape finally gets his chance to be Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ron gets a position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and a new girlfriend. Hermione also comes to grips with her own feelings about Ron and Harry is doing the same regarding Ginny Weasley.
At the same time, Harry has regular meetings with Dumbledore where they go into Voldermort's past to learn more about him. And thanks to a memory they recover from Slughorn, they learn about Horcruxes--a object a person uses to hide a piece of their soul, which allows them immortality.
Throughout, we also have a number of incidents where Dumbledore was the intended target, but other students wind up getting hurt instead.
HighlightsFor starters, Jim Broadbent is a great addition to the cast as Slughorn. I didn't remember liking this character quite as much in the book. The whole thing about him "collecting" students as if he could take credit for their achievements because he taught them... seemed a bit egotistical to me. At least in the movie, he can have a good sense of humor about things, but also heart in the times that really mattered.
My favorite scene has to be when Harry takes the Felix Felicius (basically a "liquid luck" potion) to talk to Slughorn and he seems to be high on some odd sort of adrenaline. Lots of great comedic lines. But also when Slughorn finally levels it with Harry, it was a great emotional scene and it harkens back to when Harry's parents were killed. Not just Harry embracing his destiny, but more background information.
Draco Malfoy gets a lot of great character development. It seems in the beginning that he was just a pompous bully from a rich family. But he gets more dimension and Tom Felton does a great job bringing that out of him.
Harry, while he was right to be suspicious, you have to admit he goes too far at one point. And I can't help but wonder (as I'm sure a lot of people have)- how the hell did he not get expelled for what he did to Malfoy? Especially since Snape catches him afterwards...The chemistry between the young actors and actresses really shined here. They've gotten so close after spending years working together, you'd think this was just another normal day. The Ron and Hermione relationship really gets tested here, particularly how Hermione feels about Ron.
To his credit, though, Rupert Grint does have a few great comedic moments in the movie. First, I believe, was a scene added for the movie. Harry and Ron were goofing off during a free period where they would have had Potions. Professor McGonagall, in her own dry humor way, breaks up the party. At the end, she adds "take Mr. Weasley with you, he looks far too happy over there."
Then later Ron is crippled by a love potion originally intended for Harry. The sheer goofiness is worth all the laughs. But this being a Harry Potter film, things do have to get serious.
While the climax isn't as substantial as it was in the book, the tension brought in by the 3rd act.... it's catastrophic. The bad guys get the upper hand in the situation and everyone can feel the devastation of it.
The build-up of Harry and Dumbledore's "lessons" on defeating Voldemort leads up to finding a Horcrux. and it's easily one of the most troubling, scariest scenes in all of the movies. Neither of the two goes completely unscathed.
On a final positive note, it's great to see Quidditch back in the Harry Potter movies. We got short-changed at the Quidditch cup and absolutely no Quidditch in the 5th movie (where Harry, Fred and George get banned for beating up Malfoy... at least I think they beat him up, it's been a while since I read the book).
Ron finally gets his time to shine and it happens thanks to a little white lie from Harry.
Lowlights
While there aren't a lot of lowlights in this movie, considering it's based on a great book, there's always going to be nitpicks.
First of all, Harry's first scene makes no sense. He meets a waitress at a restaurant, she's into him and Dumbledore shows up to whisk Harry away for their mission.
In the book, there are a great scene where Dumbledore finally tells off the Dursleys for their mistreatment of Harry. All this movie scene does is kill time and set up the fact Harry is a teenage interested in girls.
I also never really got Harry and Ginny becoming an item. It just felt so random to me... about as random as how Harry and Cho were broken up in the last movie. I would have been fine if Harry never wound up with anybody. At least Ron and Hermione made sense.
Also: Snape finally gets to become Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and we don't see him teach a single class? Talk about a rip-off. All that build-up through the course of the films for nothing. I can't even remember in the book if we had a scene with him teaching.
I could nitpick on Luna finding Harry on the train after Malfoy cursed him... in the book, it was Tonks, who was there to help guard the castle after the last attacks from Death Eaters. She and Lupin become an item in this book, something that was barely touched on in the movie. But for me that was another random coupling... just didn't make sense.
I could live without the "Battle of Hogwarts" scene that led to a couple deaths and Bill Weasley (Ron's oldest brother) becoming a werewolf.
But I can't understand the scene where The Burrow is attacked. It wasn't in the book and really served no purpose other than for Harry and Ginny to have a good battle scene together. The result was the Weasley house being cast into flames... yet the house was perfectly fine in the next movie. To me, it just felt like they decided they needed an extra action scene. And the explanation I found of them needing to bring the fight to Harry to make it more real... sorry, don't buy it.The Elephant in the Room...
BIG SPOILER ahead
Snape killing Dumbledore... that was maybe the biggest blow in the entire series. I wasn't upset about Sirius because I didn't really get to know him until the movies. But this was a guy you thought was invincible. The only wizard Voldemort ever feared. It was one of those things that didn't make sense because you thought he'd always be around. But if we wanted things to get REALLY real for Harry, that was the one thing that made the most sense.
As for Snape being the one doing it... my reaction was "I KNEW IT"... all this time, Snape was meant to be the bad guy. Everyone said how Dumbledore trusted him and therefore we should, but there's just that feeling there where all the pieces only added up one way. Between that scene and the earlier one where he makes the Unbreakable Vow and explains (in the book anyway... I'm sure in the movie if they had the time, they could have done that whole chapter through flashbacks) all the moments he could have killed Harry and why he didn't.
Meanwhile, my mom reads it and still believes that it's way too easy to assume Snape is the bad guy and there has to be an explanation.
I'll go into this more in the final entry on this film series... but by the end of it, obviously, only one of us is going to be right about him.
I'll go into this more in the final entry on this film series... but by the end of it, obviously, only one of us is going to be right about him.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Theatrical Review: The Magnificiant Seven
Date: Sunday September 25, 2016
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 12:30pm
Party: 2 (my mom & I)
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Based on Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"
Cast:
The Seven
Sam Chisolm- Denzel Washington
Josh Faraday- Chris Pratt
Vasquez- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Goodnight Robicheaux- Ethan Hawke
Billy Rocks- Byun-hun Lee
Jack Horn- Vincent D'Onofrio
Red Harvest- Martin Sensmeier
The Farmers
Matthew Cullen- Matt Bomer
Emma Cullen- Haley Bennett
Teddy Q- Luke Grimes
The Villain
Bartholomew Bogue- Peter Sarsgaard
McCann- Cam Gigandet
One Eyed Lucas- Jackson Beals
Duration: 132 minutes (+3 previews)
Write-up:
Opening Remarks
Easily one of the best audiences I'd been in for a long time. We got in kinda late (not so late that we missed previews, however) so it was too dark to see who was there. Just enough light to find seats.
But it was lively. Lots of laughs, oohing and aahing during the gun fights.
Why this movie got bad reviews, I have no idea. I mean, it wasn't a masterpiece, but it wasn't terrible. It was a fine callback to old westerns with some current big names.
And seriously, people these days want more diversity in movies yet when they get it, they complain... I just don't get it.
Backstory
I'd never seen the original "Seven Samurai," but one day, I hope I get that chance. If not on YouTube, then hopefully TCM will compensate me one of these days.
When I was younger, "A Bug's Life" was one of my favorite movies and I found out later on that was a version of this story.
But I know something about the original story thanks to my college animé club. Now that I think about... I think the story I'm about to relay took place 10 years ago almost to this day.
(after checking a calendar)
I believe our first meeting was September 27, 2006. And my first series ever (not counting Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh or CardCaptors- which some die-hards don't consider true animé series, but kiddie versions. Although the 4Kids English dubbing might have contributed... ok, moving on)...
My first ever series at the club was "Samurai 7." It's about these farmers whose land is taken over by bandits. In this version, they were robotic and mechanical. So a small party consisting of the village high priestess, her younger sister and a farmer goes into town to hire an army of samurai to defeat the bandits so they can have their village back.
Along the way, we meet these remarkable men who agree to fight for payments of rice. All with their unique personalities and contribute something different to help the overall cause.
The series only lasts 24 half-hour episodes, so it isn't a massive undertaking. I'd highly recommend it.
Previews
There were three. None of which were movies I really want to see.
Although with "Arrival" starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, it's hard to say 100% no to it. Maybe not in the theater, but in the future when it arrives on network television. It looks like a modern take on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." But since I hadn't seen that movie, I can't be 100% sure of that.
"Incarnate" stars Aaron Eckhart as this man who gets inside the heads of possession victims and helps them break Satan's hold on them. I don't know what a better movie would be to air this trailer at, but I sure didn't appreciate it. Those kind of movies freak me out and really shouldn't have been attempted after "The Exorcist" succeeded over 40 years ago.
"Kong: Skull Island"- I saw Tom Hiddleston and I immediately got a feeling that I knew what movie this would be before it got 10 seconds in. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I retained that fact and the fact that Universal Studios is putting together a new attraction with this same title.
My question: they already remade King Kong 10 years ago with Peter Jackson. Why do they need to do another one? Unless they're leading up to another King Kong vs. Godzilla movie, I don't really see the point.
But then again, I didn't grow up on these movies like some people in the previous generations.
The Main Event
The movie is very nicely split into three parts. Four if you include the prologue.
The prologue sets up how Bartholomew Bogue came to take over this particular town. We meet some characters that become important later on (namely, Haley Bennett's character, Emma Cullen) and the audience is set up to HATE the villain.
Part 1: we get to meet and know our seven outlaws. Emma and one of the other townfolk, Teddy, approach Sam Chisolm, an ex-outlaw turned bounty hunter to help them build an army to defend the town and take it back from the bad guys.
One by one, we meet the outlaws. Some are developed more than others, but everyone is free to judge them for themselves and find favorites.
Of course, Chris Pratt was a huge reason I wanted to see the movie in addition to knowing/loving the story of it. He'd been riding high (pun absolutely intended) in the box office between Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. His character isn't nearly as stupid as he looks (like his Guardian's character, Peter Quill/Star-Lord), but not surprisingly draws the most laughs of anyone in the movie.
Another of my favorites was Billy Rocks. He was part of a package deal with the legendary Goodnight Robicheaux and his specialty is knives. He is some kind of bad-ass and a good-looking one at that.
Red Harvest, an outcast Native American, also has some cool moments.
And Jack Horn got some good laughs as well. Vincent D'Onofrio, it feels like, has been everywhere since I saw him in "The Judge" and this is somewhat different than the past two times I've seen him. And it's kind of a nice change of pace.
Certain outlaws reminded me of certain samurai from that series.
Sam Chisolm is obviously Kambei, the strong, solemn leader of the group.
Jack Horn is like Kikuchiyo, who is a large mechanical samurai that's a klutz and the comic relief of the series.
And Red Harvest is like Kyuzo, although with a slightly different backstory. They're both men of few words that favor a bow and arrow. But Kyuzo originally started as an antagonist- a samurai employed as the bodyguard of the city's royal family (that's another side-story entirely and it doesn't carry enough relevance to this movie for me to dive into it too far).
Other than that, I don't see any other distinct similarities worth bringing up.
Part two is them getting to the town and making preparations for battle. This includes a montage or two good for a few laughs. Particularly when trying to teach the townsfolk how to shoot or handle knives (the latter was one of my favorite moments).
The movie slows down a little bit at this point, but that's made better with the comic relief moments as well as some back and forth between the town and what's going in the enemy's camp in Sacramento.
Part three is our big battle scene where anything and everything can happen. Lots of excitement, some heartbreak, but some pretty awesome conclusions to all this.
Emma Cullen also has a great moment towards the end that makes it all worthwhile. She's every bit as bad-ass as the high priestess Kirara in the animé, but she gets to do some actual fighting. Which is nice. #GirlPower
Conclusion
What can I say? I had fun with this one. Other than some pacing issues and running a tiny bit long in places... just don't listen to the critics on this one. Especially if you like Chris Pratt or Denzel being awesome ;)
Grade: A-
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 12:30pm
Party: 2 (my mom & I)
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Based on Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"
Cast:
The Seven
Sam Chisolm- Denzel Washington
Josh Faraday- Chris Pratt
Vasquez- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Goodnight Robicheaux- Ethan Hawke
Billy Rocks- Byun-hun Lee
Jack Horn- Vincent D'Onofrio
Red Harvest- Martin Sensmeier
The Farmers
Matthew Cullen- Matt Bomer
Emma Cullen- Haley Bennett
Teddy Q- Luke Grimes
The Villain
Bartholomew Bogue- Peter Sarsgaard
McCann- Cam Gigandet
One Eyed Lucas- Jackson Beals
Duration: 132 minutes (+3 previews)
Write-up:
Opening Remarks
Easily one of the best audiences I'd been in for a long time. We got in kinda late (not so late that we missed previews, however) so it was too dark to see who was there. Just enough light to find seats.
But it was lively. Lots of laughs, oohing and aahing during the gun fights.
Why this movie got bad reviews, I have no idea. I mean, it wasn't a masterpiece, but it wasn't terrible. It was a fine callback to old westerns with some current big names.
And seriously, people these days want more diversity in movies yet when they get it, they complain... I just don't get it.
Backstory
I'd never seen the original "Seven Samurai," but one day, I hope I get that chance. If not on YouTube, then hopefully TCM will compensate me one of these days.
When I was younger, "A Bug's Life" was one of my favorite movies and I found out later on that was a version of this story.
But I know something about the original story thanks to my college animé club. Now that I think about... I think the story I'm about to relay took place 10 years ago almost to this day.
(after checking a calendar)
I believe our first meeting was September 27, 2006. And my first series ever (not counting Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh or CardCaptors- which some die-hards don't consider true animé series, but kiddie versions. Although the 4Kids English dubbing might have contributed... ok, moving on)...
My first ever series at the club was "Samurai 7." It's about these farmers whose land is taken over by bandits. In this version, they were robotic and mechanical. So a small party consisting of the village high priestess, her younger sister and a farmer goes into town to hire an army of samurai to defeat the bandits so they can have their village back.
Along the way, we meet these remarkable men who agree to fight for payments of rice. All with their unique personalities and contribute something different to help the overall cause.
The series only lasts 24 half-hour episodes, so it isn't a massive undertaking. I'd highly recommend it.
Previews
There were three. None of which were movies I really want to see.
Although with "Arrival" starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, it's hard to say 100% no to it. Maybe not in the theater, but in the future when it arrives on network television. It looks like a modern take on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." But since I hadn't seen that movie, I can't be 100% sure of that.
"Incarnate" stars Aaron Eckhart as this man who gets inside the heads of possession victims and helps them break Satan's hold on them. I don't know what a better movie would be to air this trailer at, but I sure didn't appreciate it. Those kind of movies freak me out and really shouldn't have been attempted after "The Exorcist" succeeded over 40 years ago.
"Kong: Skull Island"- I saw Tom Hiddleston and I immediately got a feeling that I knew what movie this would be before it got 10 seconds in. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I retained that fact and the fact that Universal Studios is putting together a new attraction with this same title.
My question: they already remade King Kong 10 years ago with Peter Jackson. Why do they need to do another one? Unless they're leading up to another King Kong vs. Godzilla movie, I don't really see the point.
But then again, I didn't grow up on these movies like some people in the previous generations.
The Main Event
The movie is very nicely split into three parts. Four if you include the prologue.
The prologue sets up how Bartholomew Bogue came to take over this particular town. We meet some characters that become important later on (namely, Haley Bennett's character, Emma Cullen) and the audience is set up to HATE the villain.
Part 1: we get to meet and know our seven outlaws. Emma and one of the other townfolk, Teddy, approach Sam Chisolm, an ex-outlaw turned bounty hunter to help them build an army to defend the town and take it back from the bad guys.
One by one, we meet the outlaws. Some are developed more than others, but everyone is free to judge them for themselves and find favorites.
Of course, Chris Pratt was a huge reason I wanted to see the movie in addition to knowing/loving the story of it. He'd been riding high (pun absolutely intended) in the box office between Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. His character isn't nearly as stupid as he looks (like his Guardian's character, Peter Quill/Star-Lord), but not surprisingly draws the most laughs of anyone in the movie.
Another of my favorites was Billy Rocks. He was part of a package deal with the legendary Goodnight Robicheaux and his specialty is knives. He is some kind of bad-ass and a good-looking one at that.
Red Harvest, an outcast Native American, also has some cool moments.
And Jack Horn got some good laughs as well. Vincent D'Onofrio, it feels like, has been everywhere since I saw him in "The Judge" and this is somewhat different than the past two times I've seen him. And it's kind of a nice change of pace.
Certain outlaws reminded me of certain samurai from that series.
Sam Chisolm is obviously Kambei, the strong, solemn leader of the group.
Jack Horn is like Kikuchiyo, who is a large mechanical samurai that's a klutz and the comic relief of the series.
And Red Harvest is like Kyuzo, although with a slightly different backstory. They're both men of few words that favor a bow and arrow. But Kyuzo originally started as an antagonist- a samurai employed as the bodyguard of the city's royal family (that's another side-story entirely and it doesn't carry enough relevance to this movie for me to dive into it too far).
Other than that, I don't see any other distinct similarities worth bringing up.
Part two is them getting to the town and making preparations for battle. This includes a montage or two good for a few laughs. Particularly when trying to teach the townsfolk how to shoot or handle knives (the latter was one of my favorite moments).
The movie slows down a little bit at this point, but that's made better with the comic relief moments as well as some back and forth between the town and what's going in the enemy's camp in Sacramento.
Part three is our big battle scene where anything and everything can happen. Lots of excitement, some heartbreak, but some pretty awesome conclusions to all this.
Emma Cullen also has a great moment towards the end that makes it all worthwhile. She's every bit as bad-ass as the high priestess Kirara in the animé, but she gets to do some actual fighting. Which is nice. #GirlPower
Conclusion
What can I say? I had fun with this one. Other than some pacing issues and running a tiny bit long in places... just don't listen to the critics on this one. Especially if you like Chris Pratt or Denzel being awesome ;)
Grade: A-
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Theatrical Review: Kubo and the Two Strings
Date: Sunday August 21 2016
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 12:30pm
Party: 2 (my sister & I)
Director: Travis Knight (1st time director, worked on "Boxtrolls" and "Coraline")
Writers: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler (wrote/directed "ParaNorman") and Shannon Tidle
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Cast:
Kubo- Art Parkinson
Monkey- Charlize Theron
Beetle- Matthew McConaughey
The Sisters- Rooney Mara
Moon King- Ralph Fiennes
Duration: 101 minutes (+3 trailers... that seems to be the standard)
The Audience:
It was a decent group of people. Mostly families with kids between the ages of 8 and 13. They enjoyed it right along with us. Laughed at all the same moments.
Coming Attractions:
A Monster Calls
I had the hardest time deciding whether this was a kid-friendly movie or a horror movie. It's about a boy who goes to private school who is bullied and his mom is also diagnosed with cancer. He summons an imaginary friend, who I think at first is might be Slenderman (an Internet phenomenon that is reportedly behind some gruesome murders committed by kids). But there's more to it than that.
Plus, a monster voiced by Liam Neeson can't be all bad, right? I think this monster is a metaphor for helping this kid deal with his mom's cancer.
Sing
Looking at the first trailers of this, I thought it was a cute gimmick, but didn't know how much substance it could possibly have. Animals singing pop songs. But after seeing this full-length trailer... I think I might actually want to see it.
This singing competition was created to help save a dying theater, but there are all these animals that are just trying to achieve their dreams or change their lives. Who isn't gonna relate to that?
Storks
I'd already discussed this trailer in a previous movie. It'll be interesting to see how it goes when it's released, but I don't have a lot of expectations about it.
The Main Event:
Speaking of not having a lot of expectations...
My sister wanted to see it and I had absolutely no idea what to expect.
This movie is seriously so good that I really don't want to go into too much detail about it. I bet it probably be great in 3D with the animation. Really impressive. And you get sucked into it and it's hard to break free from it.
The story is also really good for an animated film. It could appeal to people of all ages. I'm sure people that are older than the intended age group might get a little more out of it. But I see this as the type of movie where, if you grow up watching it, it will be a different movie each time and you'll get a different message from it.
Kubo is an 11-year old boy who lives with his mother. During the day, he goes to a local village where he entertains them with stories, which he tells with his trusty guitar and the magic to make origami figures move. But he has to return home before the sun goes down. Not only to take care of his mother, but also because the two of them are hiding from her family. And they come out at night.
This family is her two sisters and her father, who murdered her husband (Kubo's father), and want to steal Kubo's remaining eye and steal him away to the heavens where they live an immortal life away from humanity.
There's a little more to it than that, but I don't want to go into it. Other than saying that there is some deep stuff here. Including what it is to be human and whether immortality is worth it when you consider what you're sacrificing.
The gist of the story is that there's the one time Kubo stays out after sunset (he wants to take part in a village tradition of honoring the spirits of loved ones and he loses track of time), his aunts find him and using her last bit of magic, his mother sends him away and brings the monkey charm he carries with him to life.
And along the way they meet this guy they call Beetle who says he was with Kubo's father's legion of samurai.
Their journey is to find the three pieces of legendary armor, which they will use to defeat Kubo's grandfather the Moon King.
The rest of it... I'll let play out as it does on the screen.
There are some funny moments, a lot of heart, some drama, action... just a little bit of everything. Something for everybody like I said before.
I'm surprised that it only made $12.6 million so far because it is definitely worth seeing.
As much as I liked "Finding Dory," this is the movie that really should win Best Animated Film at the Oscars next year. It's something special and unique.
I'm sure there will be a handful of people who will complain that, despite the fact this takes place in Japan and it deals with a lot of Japanese culture and values, none of the main characters are played by Japanese people. There are several Japanese cast members, but none play characters that are referred to by name in the actual movie.
At the same time, I think this would be a great film for my college animé club to go out and see. The values and symbolism used throughout the movie, I'd seen explored in some of the series we watched. If the movie is still playing by the time the club has its first meeting, I really hope they give it a shot.
But of course I'd been out of college for 7 years now (OMG!), so what I say really doesn't count for all that much. It's still worth a shot, though.
One final thing: stick around for some of the credits. Regina Specktor sings a really cool version of "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" while some animation plays out in the background. We also get a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of the film's big action scenes.
Grade: A
(If not for a bittersweet ending, I might have given it an A+.)
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 12:30pm
Party: 2 (my sister & I)
Director: Travis Knight (1st time director, worked on "Boxtrolls" and "Coraline")
Writers: Marc Haimes, Chris Butler (wrote/directed "ParaNorman") and Shannon Tidle
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Cast:
Kubo- Art Parkinson
Monkey- Charlize Theron
Beetle- Matthew McConaughey
The Sisters- Rooney Mara
Moon King- Ralph Fiennes
Duration: 101 minutes (+3 trailers... that seems to be the standard)
The Audience:
It was a decent group of people. Mostly families with kids between the ages of 8 and 13. They enjoyed it right along with us. Laughed at all the same moments.
Coming Attractions:
A Monster Calls
I had the hardest time deciding whether this was a kid-friendly movie or a horror movie. It's about a boy who goes to private school who is bullied and his mom is also diagnosed with cancer. He summons an imaginary friend, who I think at first is might be Slenderman (an Internet phenomenon that is reportedly behind some gruesome murders committed by kids). But there's more to it than that.
Plus, a monster voiced by Liam Neeson can't be all bad, right? I think this monster is a metaphor for helping this kid deal with his mom's cancer.
Sing
Looking at the first trailers of this, I thought it was a cute gimmick, but didn't know how much substance it could possibly have. Animals singing pop songs. But after seeing this full-length trailer... I think I might actually want to see it.
This singing competition was created to help save a dying theater, but there are all these animals that are just trying to achieve their dreams or change their lives. Who isn't gonna relate to that?
Storks
I'd already discussed this trailer in a previous movie. It'll be interesting to see how it goes when it's released, but I don't have a lot of expectations about it.
The Main Event:
Speaking of not having a lot of expectations...
My sister wanted to see it and I had absolutely no idea what to expect.
This movie is seriously so good that I really don't want to go into too much detail about it. I bet it probably be great in 3D with the animation. Really impressive. And you get sucked into it and it's hard to break free from it.
The story is also really good for an animated film. It could appeal to people of all ages. I'm sure people that are older than the intended age group might get a little more out of it. But I see this as the type of movie where, if you grow up watching it, it will be a different movie each time and you'll get a different message from it.
Kubo is an 11-year old boy who lives with his mother. During the day, he goes to a local village where he entertains them with stories, which he tells with his trusty guitar and the magic to make origami figures move. But he has to return home before the sun goes down. Not only to take care of his mother, but also because the two of them are hiding from her family. And they come out at night.
This family is her two sisters and her father, who murdered her husband (Kubo's father), and want to steal Kubo's remaining eye and steal him away to the heavens where they live an immortal life away from humanity.
There's a little more to it than that, but I don't want to go into it. Other than saying that there is some deep stuff here. Including what it is to be human and whether immortality is worth it when you consider what you're sacrificing.
The gist of the story is that there's the one time Kubo stays out after sunset (he wants to take part in a village tradition of honoring the spirits of loved ones and he loses track of time), his aunts find him and using her last bit of magic, his mother sends him away and brings the monkey charm he carries with him to life.
And along the way they meet this guy they call Beetle who says he was with Kubo's father's legion of samurai.
Their journey is to find the three pieces of legendary armor, which they will use to defeat Kubo's grandfather the Moon King.
The rest of it... I'll let play out as it does on the screen.
There are some funny moments, a lot of heart, some drama, action... just a little bit of everything. Something for everybody like I said before.
I'm surprised that it only made $12.6 million so far because it is definitely worth seeing.
As much as I liked "Finding Dory," this is the movie that really should win Best Animated Film at the Oscars next year. It's something special and unique.
I'm sure there will be a handful of people who will complain that, despite the fact this takes place in Japan and it deals with a lot of Japanese culture and values, none of the main characters are played by Japanese people. There are several Japanese cast members, but none play characters that are referred to by name in the actual movie.
At the same time, I think this would be a great film for my college animé club to go out and see. The values and symbolism used throughout the movie, I'd seen explored in some of the series we watched. If the movie is still playing by the time the club has its first meeting, I really hope they give it a shot.
But of course I'd been out of college for 7 years now (OMG!), so what I say really doesn't count for all that much. It's still worth a shot, though.
One final thing: stick around for some of the credits. Regina Specktor sings a really cool version of "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" while some animation plays out in the background. We also get a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of the film's big action scenes.
Grade: A
(If not for a bittersweet ending, I might have given it an A+.)
Saturday, August 13, 2016
The Way, Way Back (2013)
Writers/Directors: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (also co-wrote "The Descandents")
Sound Editing/Mixing: Rob Simonsen
Cast:
Duncan- Liam James
Pam- Toni Collette
Trent- Steve Carell
Betty- Allison Janney
Kip- Rob Corddry
Steph- Zoe Levin
Peter- River Alexander
AnnaSophia Robb- Susanna
Joan- Amanda Peet
Owen- Sam Rockwell
Caitlin- Maya Rudolph
Introduction
I think I first heard about this movie on Reelz channel. Leonard Maltin or Richard Roeper said it was one of the best films to come out in the upcoming summer. I remember seeing commercials for it when it was getting critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
Then I watched it for the heck of it one night when it premiered on HBO. First because of the props and second because Steve Carell was in it.
Little did I know how terrible a character he was playing. One of the biggest jerks I've come across in recent memory... more on that later.
Summertime Comparisons
Much like with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High [scroll to the way bottom for what I'm talking about here specifically]
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2015/04/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-1982.html
I got the idea to review this movie because I heard a song from the movie and immediately thought of it.
That's an aspect of music I love so much- you hear a song and it automatically transports you to another place. And sometimes that's a movie where it's featured prominently or at least referenced in the dialogue.
The song in question: "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister
It's playing in the background and the actors are putting their own words to it. Steve Carell I think was the one who said it was "carry a laser."
I remember looking it up myself and I had no idea what the words were.
Here's the chorus, in case anyone cares and wants to save themselves the Google search:
"Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light"
Apparently the first two words is Greek for "Love, have mercy."
You learn something new every day.
As for the whole comparison bit...
I guess you could say that this movie has a lot of similarities to "Adventureland," which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds. Both take place in summertime and the characters are working at a theme park.
Ok, maybe just those two similarities. It's not a coming-of-age story because Jesse Eisenberg seems well established as a person. And working at the theme park is equivalent to purgatory for him. He'd just graduated and was planning on going to college, but his parents spent all the money he/they saved up... so he needs to take a summer job.
The main difference between the two: this one is way better.
"Adventureland" loses its way when it gets to the third act. Most of it is the fault of Kristen Stewart's story arc.
unrelated SPOILERS
She gets a raw deal from a lot of people over "Twilight" and the fact she cheated on Edward Cullen [yeah, WTF happened to Robert Pattinson?] with the "Snow White and the Huntsmen" director. People have picked her acting apart for years following those movies.
While I DO NOT understand why her character had to be involved with Ryan Reynold's [it's icky- she's practically a teenager and he's a married adult], I feel bad for her character and how she feels out of place in her family. Her step-mom is such a bitch.
And the ending was kinda... blah... didn't do a whole lot for me and it felt thrown in at the last minute.
Also, both movies have memorable moments involving 80's music.
"New Sensation" by INXS is another from this one that I recall.
Meanwhile, "Adventureland" had a lot more songs (apparently it takes place in 1987 despite all the anachronisms) including "Obsession" by Animotion and ...
"Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus, Amadeus, oh, oh, oh Amadeus"
and this exchange to follow:
James: Jesus F***ing Christ! They play this song like 20 times a day!
Joel: F***ing Sadistsl F***ing Sadists!
***
ok, I'm done talking about unrelated movies. Maybe the next time I see "Adventureland," I'll give it its own review. It has its issues, of course, but I still enjoy it and its characters very much.
But for now, back to this movie.
By the way, here are the quotes about their "Kyrie" lyrics... and my bad, it wasn't Steve Carell. It was Allison Janney and Corddry.
Joan: Carry a laser down the road that I must travel!
Kip: Why would it be 'carry a laser'?
Joan: Because it's a song about outer space.
That dude plays such a jerk in this movie [I know, I already said that, but it's a valid point] that I shouldn't be giving him any more credit than he deserves... which is none.
I love Steve Carell, don't get me wrong. But movies like this... I guess I just prefer he does comedies because his dramatic roles aren't as fun to watch. You know, because they're all dramatic and shit...
sorry...
The Story
FINALLY moving on... my apologies. I could edit all that out, but I want my creative process to be there. In fact, I'll just put a notation in the beginning that say to scroll down to this point.
related SPOILER ALERTS
The trailer includes the very first scene. And actually, the first time I saw the movie, I had to miss the first 10-15 minutes because I had to finish watching something else... I was kinda broken up about it. I hate watching movies mid-progress. I worry that I'm going to miss a crucial detail or I'm going to be lost.
[Goes to make a reference about catching "Purple Rain" halfway through and realizes that a future entry needs to address Prince's short-lived cinematic career... and by that I mean he only did 4 theatrical releases, all in the 80's, and one practically was a concert film]
Enough stalling!
The scene in question: Steve Carell asks our protagonist how he rates himself on a scale from 1 to 10. Duncan says he's a 6 and Steve Carell says he's a 3. Mainly because he lacks ambition, doesn't put himself out there and hangs around the house all the time.
Sure, he might have a point, but saying someone is a three is just mean. And who's he to say that? He's only the jerk his mom is dating. And even if they were married, he still had no right to be such a jerk to him.
Okay, I'm done Steve bashing... for now.
Duncan is a very withdrawn teenage boy that really doesn't know what to do with himself because he lacks self-esteem more than anything else.
I saw comments in the IMDB messageboards that made reference to this: why are all these types of roles done by guys?
[Personal rant and some unrelated SPOILERS... again, feel free to skip]
On the plus side, they had this characterization for Duncan without using childhood molestation as an explanation for it. I say this now because that plot device was used in "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Love Letters for the Dead." The latter has a female protagonist and that about ruined the story for me. Mainly because I am an introverted wallflower myself and I don't have that in my past.
I had pressure from my parents to succeed in school and [non-condescending] tempers flared the few times I was getting C's and D's [9th and 11th grade nearly killed me]. Also, kids were mean to me in elementary school and in high school, I didn't really succeed in making m/any friends. That's always been hard for me and I don't know why. Breaking the ice in of itself is terrifying and I feel like I can't add much to an ongoing conversation unless I REALLY know the subject matter. I'm 30 now and I still have social anxiety issues that I can't explain and have no real way of resolving other than practice makes perfect.
Makes me wonder sometimes if I'm borderline autistic or I need Xanax or a therapist to cut down my anxiety.
At least my temp job recently got an upgrade to full-time, so I have one less thing to worry about for a while.
... I'll make another note. I don't know what's with me today, honestly :P it's been a pretty good day for me, albeit an uneventful one in my case.
I didn't even think any of this when I was watching the movie the first time. And it would have made sense to do so... I was in a major rut with my unemployment status.
***
"The Way, Way Back" got its title: 1) because "The Way Back" was already taken and 2) it refers to the wayback seat of a station wagon, which Duncan was occupying at the start and end of the movie. But he's in a much different state of mind from start to finish, which we get to see unfold.
He's going with his mom, his mom's jerkish boyfriend and his daughter, Steph, to his summer home upstate that's nextdoor to his sister... my bad, it's not his sister. They're just neighbors.
I feel like the worst person that could write for this movie. I forget all these details.
Anyway, Allison Janney's character almost reads like an audition for her current role on "Mom" where she's an alcoholic. Except she's far less apologetic in "Mom"... which I'd barely seen, so I really shouldn't comment.
She has a son and daughter. Peter wear an eye patch becausehis eyes are cross he has a lazy eye. And Susannah kinda becomes Duncan's love interest, but the romance gets to a VERY slow start due to his sheer awkwardness.
There's a cute scene (which I only just remembering searching for that "Kyrie" quote) where he's singing some REO Speedwagon ("Can't Fight This Feeling"), she catches him, he dismisses it as something from his mom and she jokes that he practically screamed it at the top of his lungs just for the hell of it.
Zoe Levin plays Steph and her role, I could say a similar thing about. That it was practically an audition for her character in "Red Band Society"- except she has a little more character development in the latter.
Sometimes, I REALLY miss that show. It really deserved a 2nd season. And a 3rd and so on...
One day, he decides to get out of the house and ends up meeting Owen (Sam Rockwell) at a local dive. They immediately develop a rapport over a Pac-Man machine. Duncan says "you know there's a pattern, right?" and Owen dismisses him, saying that he needs to make his own pattern.
He sees that he's wearing a T-shirt that has the name of a local theme park, so he goes there another day to find him again. He winds up getting a job there and really finds himself as a person.
So many cute scenes where Owen is teaching him the ropes and in trying to put a stop to a break-dance party, he gains a reputation and a cool nickname. I think it's Back Slide?
I'm sorry, I'm so bad at remembering this movie :P
Mainly because Sam Rockwell practically STEALS the show for me in the best possible way. I didn't think too much of him after "Iron-Man 2" (I SO wanted him to be collateral damage in that movie- payback for being such a jerk).
He has a wicked sense of humor, some I think was even improvised. And he's also very good to Duncan. He really seems to care about him and gives him so much good advice.
I actually spent a great amount of this movie hoping and PRAYING that there wouldn't be this great reveal later on where Owen is revealed to be a bad person or he does something really bad to tarnish everything Duncan and I liked about him.
THANKFULLY, that was not the case. But you have to admit- movies do that so often that it's cliché at this point.
And Owen has a cute love-hate relationship with Maya Rudolph's character. She can be really over the top on SNL and stuff, but here, she was a little more serious and heartfelt. So that was really nice to see. [And the fact she loves Prince as I do doesn't hurt either]
At least Duncan gets the courage to finally speak his mind to Trent (Steve Carell) and also lets his mom know what he thinks of him. This is coupled with the fact Trent is having an affair with one of the neighbors.The ending of this movie where Duncan reveals what he's been doing all summer and his mom meets "[his] friend Owen"... it's one of the best pay-offs you will ever see in movies. It's really nice to see it when the bullied and downtrodden find confidence and get acceptance from their peers or families.
Sound Editing/Mixing: Rob Simonsen
Cast:
Duncan- Liam James
Pam- Toni Collette
Trent- Steve Carell
Betty- Allison Janney
Kip- Rob Corddry
Steph- Zoe Levin
Peter- River Alexander
AnnaSophia Robb- Susanna
Joan- Amanda Peet
Owen- Sam Rockwell
Caitlin- Maya Rudolph
Introduction
I think I first heard about this movie on Reelz channel. Leonard Maltin or Richard Roeper said it was one of the best films to come out in the upcoming summer. I remember seeing commercials for it when it was getting critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
Then I watched it for the heck of it one night when it premiered on HBO. First because of the props and second because Steve Carell was in it.
Little did I know how terrible a character he was playing. One of the biggest jerks I've come across in recent memory... more on that later.
Summertime Comparisons
This area runs a little long, so feel free to scroll to the 2nd spoiler alert banner
In all likelihood, this is going to become one of my summer staples. The trick is getting the DVD so I can leave it at our shorehouse. So much time has passed since it came out that I could probably get it for cheap at Target or Wal-Mart.Much like with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High [scroll to the way bottom for what I'm talking about here specifically]
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2015/04/fast-times-at-ridgemont-high-1982.html
I got the idea to review this movie because I heard a song from the movie and immediately thought of it.
That's an aspect of music I love so much- you hear a song and it automatically transports you to another place. And sometimes that's a movie where it's featured prominently or at least referenced in the dialogue.
The song in question: "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister
It's playing in the background and the actors are putting their own words to it. Steve Carell I think was the one who said it was "carry a laser."
I remember looking it up myself and I had no idea what the words were.
Here's the chorus, in case anyone cares and wants to save themselves the Google search:
"Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light"
Apparently the first two words is Greek for "Love, have mercy."
You learn something new every day.
As for the whole comparison bit...
I guess you could say that this movie has a lot of similarities to "Adventureland," which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds. Both take place in summertime and the characters are working at a theme park.
Ok, maybe just those two similarities. It's not a coming-of-age story because Jesse Eisenberg seems well established as a person. And working at the theme park is equivalent to purgatory for him. He'd just graduated and was planning on going to college, but his parents spent all the money he/they saved up... so he needs to take a summer job.
The main difference between the two: this one is way better.
"Adventureland" loses its way when it gets to the third act. Most of it is the fault of Kristen Stewart's story arc.
unrelated SPOILERS
She gets a raw deal from a lot of people over "Twilight" and the fact she cheated on Edward Cullen [yeah, WTF happened to Robert Pattinson?] with the "Snow White and the Huntsmen" director. People have picked her acting apart for years following those movies.
While I DO NOT understand why her character had to be involved with Ryan Reynold's [it's icky- she's practically a teenager and he's a married adult], I feel bad for her character and how she feels out of place in her family. Her step-mom is such a bitch.
And the ending was kinda... blah... didn't do a whole lot for me and it felt thrown in at the last minute.
Also, both movies have memorable moments involving 80's music.
"New Sensation" by INXS is another from this one that I recall.
Meanwhile, "Adventureland" had a lot more songs (apparently it takes place in 1987 despite all the anachronisms) including "Obsession" by Animotion and ...
"Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus
Amadeus, Amadeus, oh, oh, oh Amadeus"
and this exchange to follow:
James: Jesus F***ing Christ! They play this song like 20 times a day!
Joel: F***ing Sadistsl F***ing Sadists!
***
ok, I'm done talking about unrelated movies. Maybe the next time I see "Adventureland," I'll give it its own review. It has its issues, of course, but I still enjoy it and its characters very much.
But for now, back to this movie.
By the way, here are the quotes about their "Kyrie" lyrics... and my bad, it wasn't Steve Carell. It was Allison Janney and Corddry.
Joan: Carry a laser down the road that I must travel!
Kip: Why would it be 'carry a laser'?
Joan: Because it's a song about outer space.
That dude plays such a jerk in this movie [I know, I already said that, but it's a valid point] that I shouldn't be giving him any more credit than he deserves... which is none.
I love Steve Carell, don't get me wrong. But movies like this... I guess I just prefer he does comedies because his dramatic roles aren't as fun to watch. You know, because they're all dramatic and shit...
sorry...
The Story
FINALLY moving on... my apologies. I could edit all that out, but I want my creative process to be there. In fact, I'll just put a notation in the beginning that say to scroll down to this point.
related SPOILER ALERTS
The trailer includes the very first scene. And actually, the first time I saw the movie, I had to miss the first 10-15 minutes because I had to finish watching something else... I was kinda broken up about it. I hate watching movies mid-progress. I worry that I'm going to miss a crucial detail or I'm going to be lost.
[Goes to make a reference about catching "Purple Rain" halfway through and realizes that a future entry needs to address Prince's short-lived cinematic career... and by that I mean he only did 4 theatrical releases, all in the 80's, and one practically was a concert film]
Enough stalling!
The scene in question: Steve Carell asks our protagonist how he rates himself on a scale from 1 to 10. Duncan says he's a 6 and Steve Carell says he's a 3. Mainly because he lacks ambition, doesn't put himself out there and hangs around the house all the time.
Sure, he might have a point, but saying someone is a three is just mean. And who's he to say that? He's only the jerk his mom is dating. And even if they were married, he still had no right to be such a jerk to him.
Okay, I'm done Steve bashing... for now.
Duncan is a very withdrawn teenage boy that really doesn't know what to do with himself because he lacks self-esteem more than anything else.
I saw comments in the IMDB messageboards that made reference to this: why are all these types of roles done by guys?
[Personal rant and some unrelated SPOILERS... again, feel free to skip]
On the plus side, they had this characterization for Duncan without using childhood molestation as an explanation for it. I say this now because that plot device was used in "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Love Letters for the Dead." The latter has a female protagonist and that about ruined the story for me. Mainly because I am an introverted wallflower myself and I don't have that in my past.
I had pressure from my parents to succeed in school and [non-condescending] tempers flared the few times I was getting C's and D's [9th and 11th grade nearly killed me]. Also, kids were mean to me in elementary school and in high school, I didn't really succeed in making m/any friends. That's always been hard for me and I don't know why. Breaking the ice in of itself is terrifying and I feel like I can't add much to an ongoing conversation unless I REALLY know the subject matter. I'm 30 now and I still have social anxiety issues that I can't explain and have no real way of resolving other than practice makes perfect.
Makes me wonder sometimes if I'm borderline autistic or I need Xanax or a therapist to cut down my anxiety.
At least my temp job recently got an upgrade to full-time, so I have one less thing to worry about for a while.
... I'll make another note. I don't know what's with me today, honestly :P it's been a pretty good day for me, albeit an uneventful one in my case.
I didn't even think any of this when I was watching the movie the first time. And it would have made sense to do so... I was in a major rut with my unemployment status.
***
"The Way, Way Back" got its title: 1) because "The Way Back" was already taken and 2) it refers to the wayback seat of a station wagon, which Duncan was occupying at the start and end of the movie. But he's in a much different state of mind from start to finish, which we get to see unfold.
He's going with his mom, his mom's jerkish boyfriend and his daughter, Steph, to his summer home upstate that's nextdoor to his sister... my bad, it's not his sister. They're just neighbors.
I feel like the worst person that could write for this movie. I forget all these details.
Anyway, Allison Janney's character almost reads like an audition for her current role on "Mom" where she's an alcoholic. Except she's far less apologetic in "Mom"... which I'd barely seen, so I really shouldn't comment.
She has a son and daughter. Peter wear an eye patch because
There's a cute scene (which I only just remembering searching for that "Kyrie" quote) where he's singing some REO Speedwagon ("Can't Fight This Feeling"), she catches him, he dismisses it as something from his mom and she jokes that he practically screamed it at the top of his lungs just for the hell of it.
Zoe Levin plays Steph and her role, I could say a similar thing about. That it was practically an audition for her character in "Red Band Society"- except she has a little more character development in the latter.
Sometimes, I REALLY miss that show. It really deserved a 2nd season. And a 3rd and so on...
One day, he decides to get out of the house and ends up meeting Owen (Sam Rockwell) at a local dive. They immediately develop a rapport over a Pac-Man machine. Duncan says "you know there's a pattern, right?" and Owen dismisses him, saying that he needs to make his own pattern.
He sees that he's wearing a T-shirt that has the name of a local theme park, so he goes there another day to find him again. He winds up getting a job there and really finds himself as a person.
So many cute scenes where Owen is teaching him the ropes and in trying to put a stop to a break-dance party, he gains a reputation and a cool nickname. I think it's Back Slide?
I'm sorry, I'm so bad at remembering this movie :P
Mainly because Sam Rockwell practically STEALS the show for me in the best possible way. I didn't think too much of him after "Iron-Man 2" (I SO wanted him to be collateral damage in that movie- payback for being such a jerk).
He has a wicked sense of humor, some I think was even improvised. And he's also very good to Duncan. He really seems to care about him and gives him so much good advice.
I actually spent a great amount of this movie hoping and PRAYING that there wouldn't be this great reveal later on where Owen is revealed to be a bad person or he does something really bad to tarnish everything Duncan and I liked about him.
THANKFULLY, that was not the case. But you have to admit- movies do that so often that it's cliché at this point.
And Owen has a cute love-hate relationship with Maya Rudolph's character. She can be really over the top on SNL and stuff, but here, she was a little more serious and heartfelt. So that was really nice to see. [And the fact she loves Prince as I do doesn't hurt either]
At least Duncan gets the courage to finally speak his mind to Trent (Steve Carell) and also lets his mom know what he thinks of him. This is coupled with the fact Trent is having an affair with one of the neighbors.The ending of this movie where Duncan reveals what he's been doing all summer and his mom meets "[his] friend Owen"... it's one of the best pay-offs you will ever see in movies. It's really nice to see it when the bullied and downtrodden find confidence and get acceptance from their peers or families.
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