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Saturday, October 10, 2009 ~ 2 comments so far

Last night we went to see the latest movie from Pixar.. er.. Disney.. er Pixney… Disnar? Whatever.. it’s a Pixar movie through and through.

We chose to see the version being shown in 3D (Real-D as per copyrighted technology) and all in all it was an excellent movie with a silly story underpinned by some fantastic writing and acting.

Yes, that’s right, I said acting.

As ever the storytelling is first rate, something Pixar have always been good at, and the opening scenes, tackling the early life of the main character are truly moving and, without giving anything away, tackle a “grown up” issue in a clever way. The adults will probably get more out of this section of the movie than the children but the film doesn’t suffer for that.

Of course there are some good laugh out loud moments, coupled with character development along the way, that take you on the journey with the main characters and certainly make them seem more real than, say, the characters in The Incredibles (the only other Pixar ‘people’).

And what I think is really telling is that all that stunning imagery on screen, the subtle use of the 3D technology, and some genuinely lifelike scenery at points, is the last thing I want to mention, and even then it’s to say that it didn’t get in the road at all. Not once did I find myself losing focus on the story being told to ponder how they get water to look so realistic, or how they get feathers to float on the breeze exactly like they do in real life.

It was only on leaving the cinema that I paused to reflect that nothing I had just seen exists anywhere except on a computer.

It’s also telling that despite having the 3D technology available, and unlike Ice Age 3D, there were no scenes obviously designed to ‘feature’ the technology. Instead it was used to naturally re-enforce the ‘reality’ of the setting. Very clever, and very well done.

I’ve not seen, or read, much about this movie, which is a shame because it is wonderful. Perfectly pitched as a family movie without pulling any punches, it is probably the best bit of story telling to come from Pixar since they started.

Ohhh and whilst I remember, the new short shown before the movie was brilliant, and the trailers for the new Christmas Carol movie (which DOES look likes it makes excellent use of pushing the 3D technology hard) looks cracking!

Bad bad bad

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 ~ 3 comments so far

The other day, as I was off work with a bad back, I found myself on the sofa aimlessly surfing the channels for something to distract me. I must have channel hopped for about 20 minutes before I realised it was approaching the hour and there might be a movie starting on one of the many movie channels at my disposal.

Please note that by this point I had watched all the movies and TV shows that I’d previously recorded and the prospect of painfully extracting myself from the sofa to get a DVD, and then trying to bend down to put it in the player, was not an appealing one. There was a book nearby but I wasn’t really in a reading kind of mood and frankly I was just looking for something to act as a distraction.

And that may have been why I found myself watching Babylon A.D.

Don’t get me wrong, it was certainly a distraction in as much as it was fascinatingly awful in a myriad of ways. The only way I can explain how bad it was is to suggest that for the most part, whilst watching the movie, I felt like I was watching some pre-release edit where the final scenes hadn’t actually been filmed or properly cut together. Quite bizarre. If it weren’t for the fact that I couldn’t lie down as it was too painful, I’d have guessed that I’d fallen asleep for a few minutes here and there.

In saying that it was a good distraction, yes it was dull, badly shot, woeful written, poorly edited and by and large I’d suggest you all avoid if at all costs, but ultimately it left me pondering.

Why do we watch bad movies?

I say we because I know that other people do this, that once we have committed to watching a movie then, come hell or high water, we’ll damn well see it through to the end. Oddly, for me at least, that commitment takes all of a few minutes to make but once I’m past that point then no matter how awful the acting, or directionless the directing, I will watch until the closing credits.

The same sort of weird logic applies to watching a movie from part way through. Typically this only happens if those first few minutes are enough to grab my attention, a perfect example of this would be Duel. I remember flicking through the channels late one night and happened across this movie about halfway through. There was something about the way it was shot and acted that grabbed my attention.

I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on but I was gripped, watching the rest of the movie and thoroughly enjoying it despite knowing I’d missed the opening part of the movie. But I watched it anyway. It was a few years before I finally saw the entire thing (it’s well worth a watch, early Jaws-era Spielberg without the big fake shark).

However I can find no good reason as to why I watch bad movies all the way to completion. I am quite capable of changing the channel if something bores me, and I’ve stopped watching movies because part way through i’ve realised I’m not really in the mood (movies I’ve later gone on to watch and enjoy), but if it’s a properly bad movie I’m riveted.

Car crash cinema?

RIP John Hughes

Saturday, August 8, 2009 ~ No comments yet

Being off ill, and spending most of my days dozing, means I’m slightly behind on some things. So I was very sad to hear that John Hughes had died.

I wouldn’t say I was a big fan, but given that I grew up with such movies as Pretty in Pink and Ferris Buellers Day Off, I guess I was a bigger fan than I thought.

To my shame I didn’t see The Breakfast Club until a few years ago, which is both a good and bad thing. Good in that it would probably have coloured my view of life for a while if I’d seen it as a teenager (very easily influenced), good that I probably appreciate it more as a 30-something and realise it is a very clever movie, and bad because I feel like I did actually miss out on something that was, by all accounts, quite a marker in the movie landscape.

Oh well.

Weird Science was the movie that stuck in my mind the most, although that is completely down to Kelly LeBrock, of course. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is still funny and then there is Home Alone. Without doubt one of the best comedy movies of the past 20 years, if you strip away all the schmaltz there is 30 minutes or so of, quite simply, the best slapstick humour I’ve ever seen (including THE best male scream ever).

A sad day indeed.

He seemed to have a gift for capturing the sadness we all feel from time to time, and allowing us to wallow there for a moment before reminding us that life is for living and, frankly, screw everything else. It’s a common theme in all his movies, those moments of introspection and melancholy, without which I don’t think audiences would’ve related as well as they did.

And for those who were fans I’ll point you to this blog post by another fan who ended up being pen pals with Mr.Hughes (via). It’s fascinating.

What a shame he ended up leaving Hollywood behind, perhaps the greatest lesson we should take is how he conducted himself during his life.

It’s RIGHT THERE!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 ~ 2 comments so far

I almost shrieked like a girly girl. There it was, floating a metre in front of me, within touching distance, if I just stretched out my hand I could probably feel it under my fingertips. I wondered if anyone would notice and, glancing around, I saw the same look of wonderment that I could also feel plastered across my face.

Yup, there was no doubting it. Floating in the space between my seat and the cinema screen, the Nickelodeon logo was slowly revolving and looking very 3D. Ohh sorry, very RealD.

It was quite awesome. I wish I could find some better words but, like, seriously, it was AWESOME!!

All very impressive and that was before the movie started. The movie, Ice Age 3D, was about Mammoths and Dinosaurs, some cute baby dinosaurs, a cute baby Mammoth, had no real plot but a few giggles and on that front probably met all its requirements, although to be honest, it was a largely secondary affair to the technological wonder of the evening.

I can remember when Jaws 3D came out and how underwhelming the experience was, there seemed to be a disconnect between the 3D elements and the movie which broke the suspension of disbelief, never a good thing.

But last night, once I’d gotten past the schoolboy amazement of seeing things float out of the cinema screen, it struck me (not literally, it’s 3D but it’s not THAT good) that it felt natural and connected to the movie I was watching. Ohh of course there were a few gratuitous “lets put some grass at the front to show off the 3D-ness” moments but pretty soon it stopped surprising me that some of the characters seemed to be sitting in the front row of the cinema.

I can also happily report that George Lucas will soon be remastering the entire Star Wars franchise in RealD. Well, if not, he probably should given that one of the chase scenes (featuring flying dinosaur type things) was a straight rip off of the Pod Race which was so FREAKIN AMAZINGLY AWESOME that I almost wet my pants as the winged dinosaurs flew past me, into the screen and beyond at a zillion blurry miles an hour. AWESOME!

So, all in all colour me impressed (which I believe is just a bright purple).

It’s not all roses though. Some of the trailers were in 3D whilst the animated movies looked OK, those feature live actors looked like the reality was being forced, like there was a deliberate effort being made to introduce depth where none was needed.

Safe to say though that I was hugely impressed and the novelty of watching items from the movie float around and leap past me easily got me through the movie. The fear is that it will be just that, a novelty.

Star Trek

Monday, May 18, 2009 ~ No comments yet

IMDB information
Metacritic reviews

Star Trek sucks. There, I said it. I’ve never been a fan, never really ‘got’ the whole vibe of the show and so it’s far to say that I really don’t understand the fanaticism that surrounds it. But then I don’t really understand why anyone would want to dress up as a Dalek StormTrooper Bajoran and go out and spend a weekend wandering round a lifeless conference centre with other fans.

Yet still I found myself watching the opening scenes of the latest Star Trek movie in the hope that it would prove me wrong, that this particular universe was one worth getting to know. Having seen the original TV show a few times, I had half a mind what to expect and given that JJ Abrams was at the helm I knew, if nothing else, that it would be slick and funny if nothing else.

A couple of hours later I left the movie with a big smile on my face. What a blast!

First things first, the choice of actors/accents. I think that, overall, the visual and vocal similarities to the original characters was spot on. Without losing the new actor within them, each gave a nice portrayal that gave a respectful nod to the original character. Quite a hard thing to do and whilst it didn’t always hit the mark, I think it was a nice homage.

The plot of the movie is fairly straightforward, with time travel being the main device in play. You are, of course, being introduced to Capt. Kirk, Bones, Spock, Scotty and all the others for the ‘first time’ and there were no real surprises. It’s not really about character development though, it’s about how the crew of the Starship Enterprise ended up together. No spoilers from me though.

Overall this is a big summer blockbuster movie, set in space. The fact it’s about Star Trek makes it somewhat familiar but don’t let it put you off, like me, you need no nothing about the particulars of this universe to enjoy the movie. And you should enjoy it. It’s smart enough with being complicated, well paced, the dialogue is crisp and funny, and there is a huge sense of fun about everything.

Definitely one to see if you are in the mood for a nice big sci-fi blockbuster.

Wolverine

Monday, May 4, 2009 ~ 3 comments so far

IMDB information
Metacritic reviews

I’m a big fan of the X-Men series of movies and I’m happy to say that, on the whole, this movie delivered pretty much what you’d expect. It was a big budget, action heavy story with hints of the softer side of the main character.

Not being a huge comic book reader, my bad I know, my knowledge of the various X-Men characters is largely pulled from the cartoon series and various articles read on-line. Couple that with, somehow, being able to avoid most of the trailers for this movie, I went into the cinema with no real idea of what to expect, other than the premise being that the movie would explore how Wolverine became the shiny clawed, sarcastic and bitter fighting machine that we all know (and secretly want to be).

I’d never really considered Wolverine as anything other than a mutant with adamantium claws so the opening montage, of Logan and his brother, ravaging their way through several wars helped fill out the realities of the character and his mutant powers. All of which was really little more than filler, of course, before we get to the modern day and the action heats up.

Long story short, Logan joins up a unit of mutants carrying out covert military operations, but soon things get out of hand and, with his brother the main protagonist, Logan decides he’s had enough and disappears. Cut to idyllic new life as a lumberjack, a sexy girlfriend, and a cabin in the wilderness.

Then cut to rather obvious murdering of said girlfriend to lure him back into the fold and, using his rage, getting him to agree to be injected with said shiny metal. With that done and an almost indestructable mutant created, all hell breaks loose. There are some twists and turns but nothing you can’t predict but hey, this isn’t a movie about being clever. This is a movie about action, fighting and mutant super powers.

And boy does it deliver on that front! One of the closing fight scenes is a high paced, mutant powered delight. In fact all of the fight scenes, from start to finish, are carried off with aplomb, the special effects mixing perfectly into the scene. Which makes some of the closing effects, simple ones like overlaying a group of mutant kids onto a backdrop of a forest, for instance, bafflingly bad.

However that’s a minor glitch in a movie which moves along fast enough to keep you engrossed, has some genuinely funny moments, and which delivers what it promises by the bucketload.

My only other complaint is one similar to the other X-Men movies, barring X-Men 3, in that you are suddenly presented with several mutants at once and don’t really get a chance to see them in action. But I guess that’s greedy of me, as there is plenty to see here. In what looks like it’s going to be a summer filled with blockbuster action movies (Transformers 2 & Terminator Chronicles to name two), Wolverine gets the balling roll big time.

Snip snip

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 ~ No comments yet

I need a haircut.

It’s starting to look messy, so on Saturday afternoon my niece is coming over to cut my hair. She’s a proper hairdresser and everything so I might get her to style it, colour it, or just put in some highlights, well, maybe lowlights… hmmmm not sure.

Most likely I’ll just ask for a “number 2″ round the back and sides, a trim at the front, and a “tidy up” on top. Thankfully she’s also done a course in barbering for which I modelled a couple of times. It was quite interesting getting your hair cut whilst a tutor advises on how to tell the hairline, and how best to get an even finish, quite educational.

Although I did feel sorry for my niece, it’s not like it takes long to cut my hair.

I’m not at all bothered by my receding hairline, in fact I think it may now just be a receded hairline as it hasn’t really changed much in the past few years.

I have a mix of hairlines. My Dad has a bald patch towards the back, whereas my Grandpa (and also my Uncle, his son) was completely bald bar the sides. So I’ve got hair round the back and sides but it’s much thinner on top than my Dad.

Sometimes I do consider just running a razor over my head and getting rid of the whole lot but I’m not sure I’d suit it.

I’m thankful that, at the moment, I don’t have to sit and wait in a barbershop to get a haircut. Generally I end up waiting 20-odd minutes, and 4 minutes after sitting down I’m done!

One time I was even offered a discount as “It didnae take that long…”.

Bloody cheek.