Before I give my review of this movie I must preface this by saying three things: 1) I'm going to review the trailer before hand. (Promised someone I would.) 2) It was a loooooong movie. 3) This will probably be a loooooong post, so I hope you've got a ton of food stored somewhere.
TRAILER
Got to be one of the best trailers of the year, but then again, Sucker Punch had a good trailer and I heard that movie sucked. The trailer had a lot going for it, imagery, music, everything matched the beat, and all of it built up to the title of the film. The trailer is even more perfect because it serves as an analogy to all the hype built up about this movie. I'm sure you've heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it won't make you a hipster if you have, unless you say you liked it before everyone else liked it.) It started as an award winning novel (later trilogy) and then was adapted to film by the Swedish thereby making TGWTDT (2011) a remake of a foreign film and a book-to-movie adaptation. All of this being said, I don't want to reveal my thoughts of the movie just yet, all you need to know is that it was an awesome trailer.
MOVIE
Alright, lets talk about the director, David Fincher. I've liked 4 out of the 5 movies by him. His first one, "Alien 3", sucked so hard I wonder how he even made it as a director. Then again, this is the guy who made Fight Club, Benjamin Button, and The Social Network all award winning wet dreams. So he's clearly a skilled director and it shows in TGWTDT. Every scene felt how it needed to feel and every image was captured almost perfectly. But then, I didn't really have a problem with Alien 3's directing, just the rest of it. So I'll move on from directing.
The acting was atrocious...ly amazing! As one of the people I saw the movie with said (and I'm paraphrasing): it's nice to see Daniel Craig as someone other than Bond. Rooney Mara, otherwise remembered as the chick Jessie Eisenberg bitched about in The Social Network, did all sorts of an amazing job, especially with her accent. I honestly thought they cast a foreign actress for the part, turns out Rooney's from New York, go figure. The rest of the cast is filled with a bunch of old famous people, so they obviously did good.
Now my final note of the film. So I hope I've kept you on the edge of your seat with what I thought about this film, just as the mystery of the film kept me on the edge of mine. But seeing as I've mostly given good notes, you can probably guess what I'm about to say.... I hated Alien 3... but I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Absolutely loved it. It was about 3 hrs long and had a good handful of moment where it could have ended. But just like in the Lord of the Rings, it had to close off a few things it set up in the film. No problem here with doing that, it makes the movie a far more rich experience to watch. I give it an A+, see the movie. One last thing, if topics such as rape, murder, or religion leave you with a feeling of unease, you may want to stay away from the movie, unless you think you can handle it, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo really is the feel bad movie of Christmas.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Mostly True Story of the Coolest MoFo in the World: Me. (The abridged version.)
It started in 1991 when momma Rafler and daddy Rafler had a baby together, they
named him Casey The Well-Endowed. By age 5, Casey was gettin' all the bitches at
Pre-School when he showed off his tricycle, it had tricked out rims, an awesome
stereo system, and hydrolics. The ladies couldn't resist. At age 10 Casey
developed a serious Coke addiction. Coca-Cola was his favorite soda for the
longest time. But then, in his 14 year of life, tragedy struck.The dreaded
diabetus set in and Casey had to switch to diet, no worries though, diet is
quite slimming. At age 15 Casey moved to the chillest state in the Union,
California. He was originally from the most uptight state, Kansas. It was here
that Casey spent the rest of his life up until now, age 20 (almost 21). With the
coolest friends surrounding him, in the coolest state possible, Casey Rafler
became: The Coolest Motherfucker in the World (Who's also well-endowed.) True
story.
named him Casey The Well-Endowed. By age 5, Casey was gettin' all the bitches at
Pre-School when he showed off his tricycle, it had tricked out rims, an awesome
stereo system, and hydrolics. The ladies couldn't resist. At age 10 Casey
developed a serious Coke addiction. Coca-Cola was his favorite soda for the
longest time. But then, in his 14 year of life, tragedy struck.The dreaded
diabetus set in and Casey had to switch to diet, no worries though, diet is
quite slimming. At age 15 Casey moved to the chillest state in the Union,
California. He was originally from the most uptight state, Kansas. It was here
that Casey spent the rest of his life up until now, age 20 (almost 21). With the
coolest friends surrounding him, in the coolest state possible, Casey Rafler
became: The Coolest Motherfucker in the World (Who's also well-endowed.) True
story.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Movie Review: Immortals
It's been a while since I've done a movie review, I watched Immortals on Friday and figured it was good enough for me to do a review. Here it goes!
So I should start off by saying that if you own a phone and bring it to the theater you should naturally turn it off. Another thing you can do is put it somewhere where it won't fall on the ground. I don't care where: purse, pocket, pants, where the sun don't shine; just keep it from falling on the damn ground. Anyways, I'll move on from that point.
This movie was produced by the same people who produced 300 and was advertised as being a similar type of movie. I went into it thinking they'd fall horribly short of making anything remotely as awesome as 300 simply because Zack Snyder and Frank Miller didn't work on this film in anyway. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie lived up to the action the imagry and the coolness of 300.
On that note I should mention that the director did a decent job. Yes, the narrative was a little crappy at some points, but again, the imagry, action, and coolness picked up the slack. Also, I had no clue who Tarsem Singh was before this movie and he seems like he's just beginning his career, hope he goes far.
The acting in this movie was absolutely amazing, but only with 3 people, the rest kind of sucked. The three good actors include: Mickey Rourke (Hyperion), Luke Evans (Zeus; aka Mr Mustachio), and Henry Cavill (Theseusuperman). Rourke is just a good actor, yes he was play a rough and tough bad guy as always, but he does a damn fine job of it. Luke Evans, in my opinion, is the embodiment of Zeus, I never really understood Zeus' motives as a god when I took mythology class (he just seemed like an old pervert with anger issues), but with Evans, everything about Zeus seemed to click (except for the mustache). Seriously, just watch how he acts, every scene is powerful and all the parts about Zeus that I never got (like non-interference with humans and the anger issues) all seemed to make sense in this movie. Anyways, now we come to Henry Cavill, just like Evans, Cavill seemed to embody a certain something, something awesome, something heroic, something (dare I say)... super. He's totally going to make an awesome Superman! I much approve!
Overall, this movie is an enjoyable experience. Even if you find things to hate about it I guarantee you'll find something to like about it also. Ladies and gay guys get hot man abs, dudes and dykes get a female nude shot or two, and everyone gets action and decent acting for the most part. My final grade is a B, see it if you get a chance. No loss if you wait, but if you want a fun weekend movie to see with your friends make it this one or Harold and Kumar (if you're with your stoner buddies).
So I should start off by saying that if you own a phone and bring it to the theater you should naturally turn it off. Another thing you can do is put it somewhere where it won't fall on the ground. I don't care where: purse, pocket, pants, where the sun don't shine; just keep it from falling on the damn ground. Anyways, I'll move on from that point.
This movie was produced by the same people who produced 300 and was advertised as being a similar type of movie. I went into it thinking they'd fall horribly short of making anything remotely as awesome as 300 simply because Zack Snyder and Frank Miller didn't work on this film in anyway. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie lived up to the action the imagry and the coolness of 300.
On that note I should mention that the director did a decent job. Yes, the narrative was a little crappy at some points, but again, the imagry, action, and coolness picked up the slack. Also, I had no clue who Tarsem Singh was before this movie and he seems like he's just beginning his career, hope he goes far.
The acting in this movie was absolutely amazing, but only with 3 people, the rest kind of sucked. The three good actors include: Mickey Rourke (Hyperion), Luke Evans (Zeus; aka Mr Mustachio), and Henry Cavill (Theseusuperman). Rourke is just a good actor, yes he was play a rough and tough bad guy as always, but he does a damn fine job of it. Luke Evans, in my opinion, is the embodiment of Zeus, I never really understood Zeus' motives as a god when I took mythology class (he just seemed like an old pervert with anger issues), but with Evans, everything about Zeus seemed to click (except for the mustache). Seriously, just watch how he acts, every scene is powerful and all the parts about Zeus that I never got (like non-interference with humans and the anger issues) all seemed to make sense in this movie. Anyways, now we come to Henry Cavill, just like Evans, Cavill seemed to embody a certain something, something awesome, something heroic, something (dare I say)... super. He's totally going to make an awesome Superman! I much approve!
Overall, this movie is an enjoyable experience. Even if you find things to hate about it I guarantee you'll find something to like about it also. Ladies and gay guys get hot man abs, dudes and dykes get a female nude shot or two, and everyone gets action and decent acting for the most part. My final grade is a B, see it if you get a chance. No loss if you wait, but if you want a fun weekend movie to see with your friends make it this one or Harold and Kumar (if you're with your stoner buddies).
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Pieces of Me, A Peace in Me.
Break it down bit by bit, piece by piece, what do you see? An empty shell of a man with nothing left to lose. A lonely heart standing in motion. Gone by the moment, gone by the day, fade into all that everyone sees but nobody accepts. You expect, but in return get less than put out. First you give up all, everything. Then you realize you need it all back. No worries my child, all will be well. Your wounds will be taken on in time. When the moon rises the sun does as well. Miles apart, too close for comfort. Time enough for change, the realization that you are everything you need to be. In this moment you are king. What do they make of you? What do you make of yourself? Are you everything you wanted to be? Are you at the destination of your desire? Motion stands still. Feeling escapes you and numbness is not your friend. You're wanted, dead or alive. Enter beauty. Enter the song that captures your sound, enter the girl that captures your heart, enter life. Nowhere, everywhere. Surrounding the seconds. A name eternal, but one without a name. And life will be, and you'll move closer, bit by bit, piece by peace to the soul. To morality, to intelligence, to disbelief, to sin. The motion of your heart, unstoppable, unbound. There for all to see. Gaining more than glory. Everything rushes in, and all is well.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Dreams
You ever have one of those dreams that stick with you when you wake up? I'm sure you have, I've had them. I can't be the only one who's had them, they're probably quite common. I had one of those dreams last night, or by the time you're reading this, two nights ago. I thought about it all day up until now and I'm not sure I'll be able to stop thinking about it for a while, that's why I figured I should write this. Dreams are a powerful thing.
It was quite a simple dream really, me, others, and stuff. You want me to get anymore generic? But this dream was filled with emotion and that's the stuff that sticks with you. A mix of just the right emotions and just the right imagery, well, that makes a memory and dreams like these are one's not easily forgotten.
I've seen these dreams force decisions upon people, I've seen these dreams become wishes, I've seen these dreams become reality. Perhaps that's why they are so powerful. They make you aspire, achieve, and attain. They find your deepest desires and make them a reality, at least in some world. That's what makes them so appealing, the chance that literally in your wildest dreams you can rule the world, find true love, or destroy everything around you (if you have a dark side.)
I can speculate all I want about why these dreams are so powerful, ultimately, the only answer I can come up with is: heart. Not the thing that beats in your chest. I'm talking about the existential heart, y'know, the thing Ma-Ti yells when the Planeteers call upon the Captain. Your mind, body, and soul (if you believe you have one) are all influenced by this heart. The emotions you feel in these dreams last into your waking hours, either leaving you happy about life or depressed. Your "heart" represents the deepest desires within you, conquering that world, conquering love, etc.
What you do with your heart is entirely up to you. If it's broken, mend it. If it's happy, rejoice. Accept your heart and your dreams as one. Your heart is big enough, it can hold your dreams. And always remember: don't be afraid to dream bigger.
It was quite a simple dream really, me, others, and stuff. You want me to get anymore generic? But this dream was filled with emotion and that's the stuff that sticks with you. A mix of just the right emotions and just the right imagery, well, that makes a memory and dreams like these are one's not easily forgotten.
I've seen these dreams force decisions upon people, I've seen these dreams become wishes, I've seen these dreams become reality. Perhaps that's why they are so powerful. They make you aspire, achieve, and attain. They find your deepest desires and make them a reality, at least in some world. That's what makes them so appealing, the chance that literally in your wildest dreams you can rule the world, find true love, or destroy everything around you (if you have a dark side.)
I can speculate all I want about why these dreams are so powerful, ultimately, the only answer I can come up with is: heart. Not the thing that beats in your chest. I'm talking about the existential heart, y'know, the thing Ma-Ti yells when the Planeteers call upon the Captain. Your mind, body, and soul (if you believe you have one) are all influenced by this heart. The emotions you feel in these dreams last into your waking hours, either leaving you happy about life or depressed. Your "heart" represents the deepest desires within you, conquering that world, conquering love, etc.
What you do with your heart is entirely up to you. If it's broken, mend it. If it's happy, rejoice. Accept your heart and your dreams as one. Your heart is big enough, it can hold your dreams. And always remember: don't be afraid to dream bigger.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I saw what can only be described as the best movie ever over the weekend, I am of course talking about The Change-Up, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes was really good too.
The acting in the film was absolutely wonderful. James Franco is so good at acting he can pull off a pot-head in one film and a scientist in the next. Freida Pinto was mostly good, apparently she was in Slumdog Millionaire, but it's been a while since I've seen that so I can't really analyze her acting fairly. Andy Serkis getting CGIified, pretty good, made me feel for the ape. John Fucking Lithgow, it's John Lithgow, he's just awesome. Brian Cox was good, but he reminded me way too much of James Lipton for some reason. Tom Felton pretty much played Draco Malfoy with a shotty American accent, eh, I guess our accent is becoming the hard one to do. David Oyelowo, possibly the most annoying character in the end, but played it well. Tyler Labine, this guy and James Franco actually made a believable science team. David Hewlett as Hey-That's-The-Guy-From-Stargate-Atlantis, loved him in this. That about covers them.
For a director with a pretty small resume, Rupert Wyatt did an excellent job. Every beat that was wanted and needed for this film was delivered damn near perfectly. This guy, he's going places.
Nothing else is really worth mentioning except the positive and negative aspects of this film. We'll start with the negative: some parts came off a little too ridiculously (forgivable moments), a few of the characters could get a little annoying at times (but I have a positive note about this), and Tom Felton's accent could have been better. The positive stuff: it ties everything into the Planet of the Apes franchise flawlessly and with love, the added bit of drama with John Lithgow's character was great, and it was packed full of moments that would make any nerd who has seen classic Planet of the Apes films nerdgasm. The ridiculous moments are made up for by all of the really great moments. As far as the annoying characters, I felt like most of the characters were supposed to be hated, after all, we're rooting for the Apes in this film not the humans. But Tom Felton, he really has no excuse, fuck his character and fuck his half-Draco Malfoy accent, I'm mostly teasing.
I give this film an A+, a must see. I think I've added the plus for one other film, I don't do it often. I'm just saying, this movie has something for everyone. Action, drama, romance, comedy, and apes. Even if your Mr. Negative Nancy Film Critic or even the Hipster Who Hates Good Movies I think you'll enjoy this film. Just see it and let me know what you think.
The acting in the film was absolutely wonderful. James Franco is so good at acting he can pull off a pot-head in one film and a scientist in the next. Freida Pinto was mostly good, apparently she was in Slumdog Millionaire, but it's been a while since I've seen that so I can't really analyze her acting fairly. Andy Serkis getting CGIified, pretty good, made me feel for the ape. John Fucking Lithgow, it's John Lithgow, he's just awesome. Brian Cox was good, but he reminded me way too much of James Lipton for some reason. Tom Felton pretty much played Draco Malfoy with a shotty American accent, eh, I guess our accent is becoming the hard one to do. David Oyelowo, possibly the most annoying character in the end, but played it well. Tyler Labine, this guy and James Franco actually made a believable science team. David Hewlett as Hey-That's-The-Guy-From-Stargate-Atlantis, loved him in this. That about covers them.
For a director with a pretty small resume, Rupert Wyatt did an excellent job. Every beat that was wanted and needed for this film was delivered damn near perfectly. This guy, he's going places.
Nothing else is really worth mentioning except the positive and negative aspects of this film. We'll start with the negative: some parts came off a little too ridiculously (forgivable moments), a few of the characters could get a little annoying at times (but I have a positive note about this), and Tom Felton's accent could have been better. The positive stuff: it ties everything into the Planet of the Apes franchise flawlessly and with love, the added bit of drama with John Lithgow's character was great, and it was packed full of moments that would make any nerd who has seen classic Planet of the Apes films nerdgasm. The ridiculous moments are made up for by all of the really great moments. As far as the annoying characters, I felt like most of the characters were supposed to be hated, after all, we're rooting for the Apes in this film not the humans. But Tom Felton, he really has no excuse, fuck his character and fuck his half-Draco Malfoy accent, I'm mostly teasing.
I give this film an A+, a must see. I think I've added the plus for one other film, I don't do it often. I'm just saying, this movie has something for everyone. Action, drama, romance, comedy, and apes. Even if your Mr. Negative Nancy Film Critic or even the Hipster Who Hates Good Movies I think you'll enjoy this film. Just see it and let me know what you think.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Movie Review: Transformers 3
Let me start off by saying that it's a Michael Bay film and has about as much depth as Bay is willing to put into his films (i.e. depth into female leads eyes and cleavage, depth into the center of an explosion, and depth into the interior of a really nice car.) That being said, this blog post won't have much depth to it either, not my fault, blame Michael Bay. Let's get started.
I have to get the annoying audience out of the way first. If this audience were watching any other movie besides a Bay film, I would have gone postal on the entire theater. I had a guy to the back left of me constantly expressing his suprise at the "awesome" moments depicted in the film. A lady directly in front of me kept clapping and acting giddy, not even kidding, she was a clapper; not a slow clapper either, a fast-paced loud clapper. The kid behind me kept kicking my seat. I kind of felt bad for the kid 'cause I could only assume he couldn't see over the seats (he was tiny) and therefore wanted to kick the seat in front of him in protest; dang that was an annoying audience. They're lucky it was a Transformers film and I really didn't care.
Now we'll talk about Michael Bay for a moment. I can't say much about him except that the guy is a good director... for what he directs. If you want an awesome action movie with explosions, car chases, and hot babes then Mr. Bay is your guy. Just don't expect depth from him, the only thing resembling any kind of depth in this film was the large chunk of exposition near the beginning that essentially explained why Megan Fox wasn't in the film and why Shia LaBeouf still was.
Speaking of the cast I really have nothing to say about any of them except the new love interest was a blonde English Megan Fox and that FREAKEN LEONARD NIMOY VOICED ONE OF THE TRANSFORMERS!!!!!!! Hells to the yeah, he was the best damn aspect of the entire film, they even managed to drop two, count 'em TWO Spock references into the film. One of them managed to twist a certain idiom Spock was famous for saying (during Wrath of Khan in particular.) Hells to the yeah Michael Bay, best damn thing you ever did to a movie was hiring this guy to lend his voice.
I've pretty much said everything I have to say about the movie in general: no depth, blonde Megan Fox, Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!!! So I'll just skip over my paragraph about the movie in general and just say it was awesome and leave you with my grade. I give this movie a C, make it a rental. It's still an awesome action flick and part of a pretty successful trilogy, so you may be able to enjoy a Friday night Transformers marathon in the future. Anyways, that's all I have to say, thanks for reading!
I have to get the annoying audience out of the way first. If this audience were watching any other movie besides a Bay film, I would have gone postal on the entire theater. I had a guy to the back left of me constantly expressing his suprise at the "awesome" moments depicted in the film. A lady directly in front of me kept clapping and acting giddy, not even kidding, she was a clapper; not a slow clapper either, a fast-paced loud clapper. The kid behind me kept kicking my seat. I kind of felt bad for the kid 'cause I could only assume he couldn't see over the seats (he was tiny) and therefore wanted to kick the seat in front of him in protest; dang that was an annoying audience. They're lucky it was a Transformers film and I really didn't care.
Now we'll talk about Michael Bay for a moment. I can't say much about him except that the guy is a good director... for what he directs. If you want an awesome action movie with explosions, car chases, and hot babes then Mr. Bay is your guy. Just don't expect depth from him, the only thing resembling any kind of depth in this film was the large chunk of exposition near the beginning that essentially explained why Megan Fox wasn't in the film and why Shia LaBeouf still was.
Speaking of the cast I really have nothing to say about any of them except the new love interest was a blonde English Megan Fox and that FREAKEN LEONARD NIMOY VOICED ONE OF THE TRANSFORMERS!!!!!!! Hells to the yeah, he was the best damn aspect of the entire film, they even managed to drop two, count 'em TWO Spock references into the film. One of them managed to twist a certain idiom Spock was famous for saying (during Wrath of Khan in particular.) Hells to the yeah Michael Bay, best damn thing you ever did to a movie was hiring this guy to lend his voice.
I've pretty much said everything I have to say about the movie in general: no depth, blonde Megan Fox, Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!!! So I'll just skip over my paragraph about the movie in general and just say it was awesome and leave you with my grade. I give this movie a C, make it a rental. It's still an awesome action flick and part of a pretty successful trilogy, so you may be able to enjoy a Friday night Transformers marathon in the future. Anyways, that's all I have to say, thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)