10 posts tagged “movies”
ahh, dreamworks. when this came out, there were way too many trailers and way too much hype associated with this--so i never really thought much of it, in response. people tell me it's good, but then people me everything is good. so what the heck.
i especially liked the turning point in the fight, when we find that panda's weakness is why he was chosen--but i won't spoil it. it's enough to say that it's loads of cuteness, and the bunnies walking across the bottom of the screen never fails to amuse. i got sniffy through several scenes, especially in the fight between taipo (sp?) and the master. which was pathetic, because i watched this with mike -__-;;
ah well, what else can i say? i'm trying to find things to actually write down to remember later, but this is just one of those movies--supremely entertaining, but lightly plotted, which is the way i prefer my light movies anyway. jack black is hilarious. i didn't know jackie chan was the monkey. angelina jolie?? REALLY?? lucy liu as snake was unexpected--and the little bows they give her for "hair" decoration was adorable too. but oh well. enough ranting then, and onward to reading!
i know this is a classic, and i guess my interest in movies has never really been that great, because that could be the only reason it took me 18 years to get around to this movie. as chick flicks go, this one was actually pretty good, i found, but there has to be a reason why it became a classic, right? julia roberts still looks weird to me half the time, but i actually found myself thinking she was pretty from time to time. richard gere looks freakin young, compared to him as of now. but uhh, yes, real life and all that.
now damn it, i don't even really remember what i was going to say. i found it amusing that maya from just shoot me (laura san giacomo, i think her name was) was in it as a hooker, and george from seinfeld (now his name i really don't know) was generally the bad guy in here. they made the classic fairy tale a little more realistic, i think. it's a little easier to accept this world they're trying to portray when there is rape and class prejudice, or something close enough to the message anyway. i found it extremely unnecessary when they would do close-ups of the hotel manager just standing there and smiling about something vivian did though. i got the msg, but they could've done it once or twice, instead of panning out with his mug in front every time. maybe he's a famous guy or something? because i don't know who he is. but that's ignorant ol' me.
maybe one of these days i'll get around to checking out runaway bride, eh?
another mediocre chick flick. i actually wanted to see this since i was just fresh off enchanted, and since james marsden carried the appeal of that for me, i figure he'd do the same here. but umm.. no.
first off: katherine heigl's character is creepy, and a bit annoying. i could understand her plight most of the time, but i really can't stand all the cheesy "and then i knew that was the moment when.." i personally like her as an actress, actually, but i found that the script was completely lacking. her supposed "arguments" with marsden were fake and just a ploy on the writer's part to get the actors' faces as close to each other as possible, especially that stupid scene with her trying on the dresses and posing for him. no chemistry, or terrible writing? i suspect, actually, a little bit of both, which is a disaster.
in fact, the dialogue was very much shallow--it doesn't explore deeper meanings behind anything, like any good flick should. i understand that it's a chick flick, but i've seen ones way better. this is trying to copy the formula of a successful chick flick, but it doesn't provide characters that people can relate to, or even care for. marsden's character works mostly toward an objective, and i never really see the attraction or the affection building, it just randomly happens and *SPOILER* bam, they get married. WHAT?
or maybe i missed something and i really shouldn't be whining. or maybe i was just expecting too much, again. i hear from people who've seen "made of honor" with patrick dempsey that that is just like this. shame that both male leads in enchanted go on to make only mediocre chick flicks, but i guess it's not the actors' faults, since the writing was this crappy to begin with. so i guess my bottom line is that the plot was poorly planned, there was no direction at all, and the dialogue was juvenile and predictable. there was no fresh twist, it doesn't even try. utter disappointment.
i really wanted to like this, since the premise sounded so interesting. unfortunately, i couldn't even get into it enough to let my inner fangirl do the rest, since the actors were so marvelously bad. and hey, if the plot was actually any good, it might even actually rate okay on my list. this is, however, not the case.
i remember sitting to near the end of the movie, there was maybe like 15 min left on the disc, and i just suddenly realized that nothing really happened throughout the entire hour or so i sat there, which is pretty sad. i can tell they spent a rather lavish budget on this thing since the effects were pretty darn cool. i just couldn't get over the fact that nothing at all happens. just when i think they are going to introduce a subplot or a central storyline to it, they completely brush that aside for a little more special effects. and they barely gave any background to any of the other characters, and barely even gave much of the history behind what's going on, and why. all i know as the viewer was that there was something going on. and they run back and forth. the end.
well, that was exciting.
*rolls eyes*
the beginning of the movie, about their adolescence, was the best part. anything after that was a downward spiral. i have yet to find someone who can disagree with my opinion on this.
ehh, this is pretty much what i expected. well, maybe i expected the main chick to be less annoying, but i enjoyed it for what it is nonetheless. it was simply very typical disney, so thank god i didn't actually pay to see this in the theaters.
- scene in ballroom - how come only they get a spotlight? that's hardly fair, is it? and the other couples have different steps, less flashy ones. it was very obviously choreographed, and they had her spinning too much, i thought. i was getting dizzy just watching her. plus, everyone else was wearing historical costumes of some kind, and only she was wearing the regular modern nightgown. i guess they figure she'd been wearing the other stuff long enough?
- i didn't find patrick dempsey all that appealing as a love interest. in fact, there was nearly no chemistry between the ditz and dempsey. although i suspect that's more the fault of the lines they have to work with than their actual performances.
- james marsden was awesome as the prince. it was so obvious he had fun in the role, and i actually found myself getting sad that he wouldn't end up with the girl. i think most of the movie is made thanks to his performance, or his character, anyway. i like an innocent pompous bastard every now and then :)
so i mean, overall, it wasn't awesome, but it was a good enjoyable 2 hours. last thought: i wonder what sex in andalasia would be like? how do you make sex fairy tale-like? HMM.
:T mm, imperfect pic, but what can i do. so, after all the hype, i guess i finally decided on watching this. plus, i was pretty bored, but what's new. as much as i hate natalie portman, i actually liked her role in here, so i guess it balances things out for me a bit. but the show-stopper is of course hugo weaving, and the thing is you don't see his face one bit throughout the entire movie. how the movie accomplishes this amazes me a bit, because it's the mystery behind the man that makes him so alluring. i have to admit though that this is the weirdest pairing EVER. romantically, i mean. no way i could've seen this coming, anyway.
the message, also, i think is the main reason for the regard people have given it. what's that saying, is it something like life, liberty, and justice? well, it's about the latter two of those, and it illustrates perfectly the beauty of that need for freedom, of being oppressed, and it sort of reminds me also of the matrix, not sure how. hugo weaving cuts a nice figure in black, though the wig really creeped me out for the majority of the film. when he stepped into the jail cell with natalie portman, i knew who he was not only by the voice, which was apparent, but i loved that detail where they gloved him. the ending, where they storm parliament, when all the Vs unmask themselves and it was the faces of all of those who have been oppressed, was also ingenius. everything connects together quite beautifully, and the imagery itself isn't half bad. the only part i laughed was when natalie portman got shaved xD but who didn't? they did a good job portraying much of the mystery behind V, and also to an extent his loneliness. i wiki-ed this before watching it though, and it says in the synopsis that evey becomes the next V--i wonder why they left it out of the film? but regardless, both sound like suitable endings, and i'm not opposed to the ending of the film. and i really actually thought she was going to unmask him and take on the role in the film, but it was equally satisfying either way.
bottom line, if they should be making a comic book adaptation, it should be done like this. although admittedly, this one has a better message than most. after the matrix, it seems both keanu reeves and hugo weaving go on to make comic adaptations, but those are the two of my favorites, ever. and by the way, i wiki-ed guy fawkes too. he was most definitely dead before he was hung, unlike his portrayal in the movie, because he jumped off the scaffolding to break his own neck before they could draw and quarter him too. imagine if they stuck to historical accuracy and portrayed THAT. *shudder* oh, and did i mention how much i LOVE the scene of portman in the rain? they did this awesome comparison to him in the fire. just AWESOME. anyway.
more please, wachowski bros. :D
i actually set out to dislike this movie, and managed to for about half of it, but rather enjoyed the ending, actually. another thing i was most impressed by is that meryl streep looks gorgeous, even as the older character she plays in this. (maybe especially because?) anna hathaway actually managed to look pretty here, and it's about time. and while initially the marketing for this movie was the usual about how an ugly girl trying to survive in the fashion industry (cue ugly betty), i felt that the theme behind it is more of a form of self-discovery tale, of a fledgling journalist trying to discover herself in the working world, rather. and of course, the ultimatum of what matters more to her, her job or her life, or whether there needs to be an ultimatum at all. favorite scene right now is the part when they're in the limo, and miranda's telling her how much she reminds her of herself. and the ending, where perhaps she sees a reflection of herself if she had chosen freedom instead? anyway, i totally thought meryl streep stole the show, anne hathaway was decent but not overly impressive. i wish we'd seen more of the boyfriend so we'd care more about what happens to their relationship, but i suppose the movie really isn't about them. and why does that journalist have such a fixation on her? regardless, it may just because i went into the movie expecting the worst, but i actually found it rather decent. at least it's not all fluff like the other movies of similar topic.
uhh.. frankly, does it matter all that much whether it's widescreen or fullscreen? but, umm, i digress. this is a nice enough movie--i thought that jessica biel managed to look pretty without looking overly marketed, like she usually is. you know, pretty in a natural way. and edward norton is awesome in his stoic way here, too, but i was mostly impressed by the twist they manage to add in by the end. oh, and the acting on the part of the inspector. and all the pretty posters for this movie :D
the dude who played the prince was also in tristan & isolde as lord marke, i think? i recognized him by the voice, but couldn't place him until i looked it up on wiki. i found his character in here almost pitiable--and, were it not for having crossed these lovers, whether his political vision might have accomplished something. his speech at the end was very moving, and to know that he died for nothing was a bit tragic. the character was sort of like caesar, who was reckless and brutal but efficient and passionate. he says something to the effect that everything in the government was corrupt, and how he had this vision to put order to things once he usurped the throne, but people were too stupid to see things for what they are, which is perhaps a reference to the illusionist himself? or might this be a double meaning in the title too? i think his pride was probably his downfall, because otherwise the inspector would have remained by his side. nonetheless, strangely satisfying conclusion. maybe i'll go and actually see the prestige after this.
cute enough movie, for a chick flick i mean. there were certain humorous scenes that i actually laughed at, the romance was ALMOST believable, if only there was an ounce more chemistry between the actors. hugh jackman is a good actor, and meg ryan is a good actress, but somehow the two don't really mix. in fact, meg ryan came out as downright annoying sometimes, whereas jackman was charming throughout, though i think this is more so faulty on the part of the writers rather than the actors themselves.
hmm. i don't actually know why i just watched this. i was bored, needed entertainment seriously, and i'm so fucking tired i'm at the point of falling asleep with my eyes open (not a comment on the movie, mind you). point of the matter is, i actually think that trailer that i saw a long ass time ago when this came out actually made an impression on me, and so randomly, that was it, that was what came to mind as most appealing at the moment. i guess i can also claim that my memory is also quite faulty, because despite remembering the trailer made an impression, i had no idea what it was really about, who the actors were, or even uhh.. what the trailer really looked like. so, yeah, in the long run, i'm pretty glad i stuck with that because this actually wasn't quite as bad as people were making it out to be. or maybe i'm just not that picky when it comes to movies. who knew.
oh, there was one aspect of this movie that wasn't appealing, at all. there was NO resolution to the conflict that went on between their characters. it worked out more like a formulaic equation than a human relationship, and that was that it pretty much went boom, and things were okay. you see how it happened, but not exactly why. actually, maybe not even that how, really. it left me scratching my head and a big "HUH?" tattooed on my forehead. so uhh, have to take off a star for that. poor writing, damn it. well, not ideal chemistry in the cast either, but i can work around that and use a little imagination. but an otherwise engaging and entertaining 2 hours, so i guess i can't complain too much.
whoa, ewan macgregor is mustache-less in the cover of the dvd. wow. well, nice to know. and anyway, i actually rather liked his mustache self, despite the old-fashionedness of it. since this is the first time i've seen a movie in a long time, i figure i might as well jot down thoughts before i forget what this movie is about.
interestingly, the only reason i was so hyped up to actually go and watch this was because deanna raybourn recommended it heavily from her blog. i'm not a particular fan of renee zellweger, but i figure hey why not, she's as good as anybody else. i have to admit to actually really liking this movie despite misgivings in the beginning, especially because renee overacts SO much. i did find the dude who played her love interest (damn it his name is a bitch to type) quite charming, especially that scene where he's in the foyer and heading for the exit, and he trips on his way out and stammers nervously a bit--it was really endearing. and the tragic parts i found sad, because it was in some ways directly caused by her (parents). the duck is really the cutest thing in the world when it wags its ass at him :D
there were some things that could've been done better i guess, but the portrayal of the time was believable enough. ultimately, i wish i'd gotten the sense of some sort of conflict resolved, which i quite expected by the end of this movie. but in fact, there was none. or maybe i'm so dense it passed right by me, but when i'm hanging onto every scene, i kinda doubt it. i'm VERY prone to crying, so it's not really a great feat that this got me in tears, but still. good stuff there. there's one other notable fact that i thought might have been suggestion on the part of the makeup artist: her eyebrows are not tweezed! in fact they're quite bushy, and at times she looks quite manly, especially with the outfits of the time (with the big emphasis on puffy sleeves, giving her square broad shoulders). just a thought.
