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Showing posts with label escape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label escape. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

TRON: Legacy 3D


Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A fearless rebel (Garrett Hedlund) enters a dangerous video game to try to find his father (Jeff Bridges), who disappeared when he was a boy.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen, James Frain, Beau Garrett, Cillian Murphy

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketProceed with Caution. From the Benjamin Buttons effect to the live action video game play, the special effects are impressive. Everything else about the movie is painful.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You know, making even a single attempt at humor might've been a good idea. You don't get to make a silly movie about being a live player running around a video game AND take yourself seriously.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It's a sad story about childhood abandonment by a father trapped in a gilded cage, but I didn't cry. Maybe because I was so busy wondering what I was doing at a movie that could only appeal to 10-year-old boys. No, that's not it. It's because the writing sucked.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I hope the visual effects get a nomination, because otherwise, this the biggest waste of $300 million I've ever seen.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Garrett Hedlund had me thinking, "Why this guy?" I have to imagine they picked him because he was cheap, and they needed a nobody to counteract the high cost of special effects. But still, there are so many nobodies running around L.A. looking for a job like this one, so, "Why this guy?" Jeff Bridges, on the other hand, had me thinking, "I know why this guy!" He plays two versions of himself, and so convincingly that you sometimes forget he's talking to himself. Separately, I should mention that it's great to see Michael Sheen playing a character that's not Tony Blair.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Okay, so the guy can do special effects. But truth be told, as they were playing their death-games with their little disks, I rarely had any idea who was winning, how they were winning, what the rules were, why somebody died or disintegrated while somebody else didn't, or even who was playing to begin with. And my inability to follow the action is directly related to how the action is directed.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Father and son stories easily lend themselves to heartfelt, universal emotions, but when you bring dialogue like "The Creator" and "His Son" into it, you patronize the Christian audience you're trying to pretend this was made for, and you alienate everybody else. Not to mention that the sci-tech talk is incomprehensible, and the emotional talk is trite. But, yeah, go see it for the special effects, everybody! I know how important those are to you.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Daft Punk is getting a lot of notoriety for doing the techno-score, but musically, the thing that impressed me the most was the use of Journey to harken the 1980s, when Tron was born... Although I beg you not to do the math on that, because if Sam's dad disappeared when old- fashioned video games and arcades were still hot, Sam should be a lot closer to 37 than 27-- which is the age that he says he is... Then again, based on the city they live in and the technological advances, the movie takes place some time in the future, so realistically, he's probably closer to 127.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: TRON: Legacy Trailer
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Thursday, November 4, 2010

The Next Three Days


Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a man's (Russell Crowe) wife (Elizabeth Banks) is incarcerated for a crime he knows she didn't commit, he constructs a plan to break her out of jail himself.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Ty Simpkins, Olivia Wilde, Lennie James, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Helen Carey, Jason Beghe, Aisha Hinds, Allan Steele, Michael Buie, Moran Atias, RZA, Daniel Stern, Kevin Corrigan, Peyton Grace Allen

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketGo! Both the good guys and the bad guys are so many steps ahead of each other, that you get to a point where you're not sure if the good guys are bad or the bad guys are good.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There's not a lot of room for humor when you're trying to keep the tension high.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not really, but things sure can get awkward when your mom is in prison. And sometimes, it's really hard not to take it out on her.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Paul Haggis, Russell Crowe, and a November 19th release date... probably.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I love Elizabeth Banks, especially in comedies, but as hard as she tries in some of her difficult dramatic moments, you never forget that she's acting opposite Russell Crowe, and she's just not on his level.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: It starts out dull and boring, much like the lives of the protagonists, and it ratchets up as the suspense builds.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Paul Haggis is an Academy Award winning screenwriter, and yet there's something about this French remake of Pour Elle that feels like it's simply a translation of the original screenplay. Though, to be clear, that's not an insult to the original film... Which, to be even more clear, I didn't see.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-next-three-days/1441492/trailers

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Toy Story 3


Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When the boy who owns the Toy Story toys goes off to college, he has to pack up his toys, which mistakenly get sent to the trash instead of the attic. Their escape from the trash bag leads them on an adventure that only these particular talking toys could ever get themselves into.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, John Morris, Jodi Benson, Emily Hahn, Laurie Metcalf, Blake Clark, Teddy Newton, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketGo! If you've been following my reviews, you know I hate that Pixar continually gets praised and worshiped for everything they do, even when it's illogical and/or boring, so I hope you won't take it lightly when I say that this is the best movie I have seen all year.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: More than Tim Allen's last 9 movies combined.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Not only will it move you, it also has some of the most thrilling action sequences I've seen in a while. Take a clue, Transformers. It's okay to have action AND a story.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Both the feature and the short film that plays before it (Day & Night) will win their respective categories.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I can't believe I've seen Don Rickles in two new releases in as many weeks. And I'm equally as surprised that Barbie has finally been featured in a movie that's watchable.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Energetic and exhilarating, but I still don't see how 3D makes it any more interesting.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: They should teach this movie in screenwriting school. It has drama and humor and action and a multitude of moving parts that all come together perfectly. Not a moment is without its satisfying payoff.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/toy-story-3/22984/trailers

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