Tag Archives: movie

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows – AMC 12 at Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA

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Absolutely beautiful. I wish I could talk more about how beautiful this film was, but I have to be really careful and not spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie(s). Sufficeth to say, if you’ve been waiting for somebody to encourage you to go see it, this is that moment (or it would be if you respected my opinions at all). ;-)

The film picks up about 6 months or so after the first one ended and it does so perfectly. It immediately finds it’s groove again and just runs with it. It’s so beautiful to see Holmes face off against his greatest opponent yet!

The acting is top notch! So great to see Stephen Fry as Holmes’ brother, Mycroft (unparalleled brilliance).

Hans Zimmer delivers another amazing score. While listening, I at first made the mistake of trying to compare his work for this one with his work on Pirates 4 (on the premise that they were composed in a similar time frame), but Laura helped me quickly realize that I really needed to compare the music for this film with Dead Man’s Chest because they’re both first sequels and both contain a pot-load more new, original, fun, and exciting themes.

Pretty much everything else I want to say about this amazing film is going to be in the following censored area to preserve the film’s beauty for everyone else. Sorry!

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

  • It was so absolutely fascinating to watch Holmes’ further descent towards madness – especially when I was reminded of the article I posted with my first review that talked about Holmes’ Cocaine Habit. The seeds are there in the first film (“You do know what you’re drinking is meant for eye surgery”, “There’s enough of that poison in his system already”, and “My mind rebels at stagnation), but his manic tendencies are that much more highlighted in this film. Note how his slow-mo action sequences are more … shall we say, nutty and amusing and how his inventions and commentary are that much more “out there” then previously. The adrenaline injections and whatever he was drinking this time around are all just icing on the already delicious cake as Robert Downey, Jr. knocks another performance out of the park! I’m so happy he turned his life around and got off drugs.
  • Yay for respecting the books! Or at least as far as I’m concerned. But then again, I’ve only read a portion of “The Complete Adventures” and am here referring to the “Great Illustrated Classics” version. They were really cool in that they gave you a page of text on the left and a picture/subtitle on the right. When I think of Sherlock Holmes, my memories are directly tied to Moriarty and Holmes’ plunge down the waterfall. As soon as we cut to the exterior shot showing us the villa or whatever where Moriarty’s grand scheme would bear fruit and there was the waterfall, I could barely contain myself with hope that the film would pay homage to the books – and it did! :-D
  • Questions in view of the first film:
    • Was the wireless transmitter from the first film at all used here in the fruition of Moriarty’s grander machinations?
    • Yay cameo’s! Clarkie, Inspector Lestrade, Mrs. Mary Watson, and more!
    • “My brother has an estate near Chichester…” – Mycroft’s first mention in the original.

Real Steel – Century 20 @ Bella Terra, Huntington Beach, CA

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The poster logo

What an amazing movie.

Yay! Danny Elfman has a career outside of Tim Burton movies and it’s really good! Really impressive, dramatic, and powerful stuff.

Amazing acting.

Of course Hugh Jackman takes his shirt off at least once. It’s gotta be in his contracts or something.

Dakota Goyo is incredible (go baby Thor!).

It was really nice having a loser, lovable scoundrel as a hero again…Laura says it’s just like 40s noir films and that gets us all excited for the future.

If you place this film in the context that next year’s Über-fail (it’s like epic fail but in German) / box-office-bomb is based entirely on the game Battleship you can’t help but compare this film to Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots. However it is my opinion that the comparison only works as an initial story idea: “Hey you know what was a great game? Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots! Hey what if the robots were 8 feet tall?”

The Bing Arena and the XBox 720! BWAHAHAHA!!!

Transformers: Dark Side Of The Moon – AMC 30 @ The Block, Orange, CA

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The best Transformers movie yet. No seriously. I mean it. The first one had a lot of characters and things to introduce, but I stand firm in my belief that the film would have been monumentally better if Anthony Anderson and John Turturro’s roles were smaller. The second one was lots of fun with the 1920′s Transformers and I enjoyed the plot, but this one really takes the cake. First there’s no more Megan Fox. Second the story’s conspiracy angle has just enough for me to believe it. Third it’s got Alan Tudyk and he doesn’t get killed (damn you Joss Whedon!). All in all I had a fantastic time at this mind-numbing, action-packed blockbuster.

Lenonard Nimoy returns to the Transformer universe! For those of you playing the home game, he voiced a souped up Megatron called Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

I was really excited to get to see this film in theatres, let alone IMAX 3-D for only $10 a piece! Go AMC! It was also really awesome that theatre attendance didn’t even break double digits.

Cowboys & Aliens – AMC12 @ Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA

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Fun. Pure, simple, action/sci-fi fun that just happens to be a Western. It’s got a few more jumpy moments than ID4 did, but the film paces itself fantastically enough that I didn’t really mind (i.e. I wasn’t scared out of my wits the whole time waiting for the next “jump” moment, I was able to enjoy the movie). I’m so happy Jon Favreau got this movie made – I really like his directorial style. There was this one really simple shot (Laura says it’s a crane shot) at the beginning of the film – Daniel Craig has just woken up in the desert and the scalpers are spreading out around him and the camera just pulls back and up and it looked really cool!

I am intrigued to see what they changed from the comic book.

Yay grumpy Harrison Ford!

Yay Keith Carradine! It isn’t really a Western without him! ;-)

Also had the “pleasure” to see a trailer for Battleship, as in, “You sunk my….” At first the premise was fairly interesting, or at least a little more interesting that Battle: LA looked (or maybe I was just happy to see Liam Neeson acting all grumpy…), but the title card just made me scoff. It’s only saving grace would be if Liam Neeson at some point says in a confrontation with the aliens or whatever, “You sunk my battleship! I will have my revenge!” You know what, not even that would really be enough to save this film.

Captain America: The First Avenger – South Bay Galleria 16, Torrance, CA

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Absolutely amazing! So beautiful!

Fantastic job by Chris Evans.

Hugo Weaving is an amazing villain.

When I grow up I want to be Stanley Tucci. He’s such a great and dependable character.

Yay for Stan Lee’s cameo!

Awesome music by Alan Silvestri. I’m glad I didn’t know it was him going in because it would have distracted me, but one I knew it was him I could hear bits of Van Helsing in the credits.

Yay Howard Stark’s Expo! They re-used the Sherman brothers song from Iron Man 2! :-D And that new song, “Star Spangled Man” is so pretty! And it’s written by Alan Menken and David Zippel (the song-writing duo behind Disney’s Hercules)! Yay Marvel and Disney synergy!!! :-D

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – AMC 12 @ Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA

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No parts 1 and 2 or A and B here. I took part in AMC’s two part premiere and watched all 6 hours…well 4 hours and 36 minutes, but really, who’s got time to count when everything’s blowing up? Well I guess you could count during the camping scenes… ;-)

It was actually a very nice treat to revisit the first movie because there were some really good parts in it that I forgot to mention in my first review: primarily when Harry, Hermione and Ron are running from the snatchers in the forest, there’s this absolutely gorgeous tracking shot that just looks so large and complex. And that whole chase is very visceral and really enjoyable.

Stunning. Gorgeous. And emotionally satisfying. I would definitely say that I am on the whole satisfied that this is where it all ends (see what I did there? Tying in the marketing campaign to my blog? Nice huh?).

McGonnagal always wanted to try that spell. Oh Maggie Smith, you’re adorable!

Not my daughter you b-word! Yay Mrs. Weasley! Take that Bellatrix!

Ralph Fiennes takes Voldemort to a whole ‘nother level and it’s amazing.

Yay more Polyjuice potion! It’s always funny to see actors play like they’re uncomfortable in their own skin.

I am very excited that Ciaran Hands plays Aberforth – I barely recognized him, but then his name pops up in the credits and I’m all agog and excited.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Century 20 @ Bella Terra, Huntington Beach, CA

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Amazing! Also a sad but amusing commentary is that the moment the credits started rolling, I turned to Laura and said – “OK I’m ready for the 5th one now!” I guess it’s just a mark of how fun, engaging and exciting these piratical tales are. Plus I can’t wait to see what Jack does next…

The Disney logo is super cool! Once again loving that with major films releases they do funky/cool things to the normal intro – although I think TRON:Legacy still holds the record as the coolest logo modification, this was still very pretty.

I miss Pintel and Raghetti (as well as Murtogg and Mullroy), but with a cadre of new characters to enjoy, you don’t miss them that much.

Laura would like to know for certain what happens to Phillip and Serena at the end and I admit I am curious as well.

Ian McShane is INCREDIBLE as Edward “Blackbeard” Teach (on a side note, I love that everybody calls Blackbeard by his real name…something of a pirates trivia factoid for people to learn as they watch the movie?).

Penélope Cruz is amazingly fun as Jack’s erstwhile love interest.

They’ve got a skeleton captain in a bed!!! Just like in the ride!!! And it’s not forced in or anything!!! It fits the story!!! Yay!

Obviously be sure to stay to the end of the credits. If you didn’t…go see it again! If you forgot to a 2nd time, shame on you. And here’s a spoiler.

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

Penélope Cruz has been marooned on her little island. She has removed her black vest and is sitting lonely on the beach. The tide washes in and she gazes intently at something on the beach...something that looks a lot like her father's voodoo doll of Jack Sparrow...

I’m really happy that Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio are executive producers as well as the authors of the screenplay – their master strokes on the previous films would have made this a shallow venture without them, but it’s almost like they enjoy these stories too much to give them up!

What’s this? There’s a novel/suggestion behind the bulk of the story? (stares at Wikipedia) Most intriguing! I am very much interested in procuring this “On Stranger Tides” novel by Tim Powers from my local library now….

Both Laura and I were pleased as punch to see that Directed By was one of the few things to change at the beginning of the credits. By this I mean we were happy to spot the same screenplay authors, the same costume designer, the same director of cinematography and the 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator. Really helps the film feel like the others to keep all the same people in place.

Yay for Dame Judi Dench’s cameo!!!

The music was very enjoyable – plenty of rearranged older themes, but some delightful additions (especially cool that Gabriella y Rodrigo are the featured guitarists – they do an awesome cover of Oogie Boogie’s Song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, check it out here!).

I love that Barbossa’s right hand men are Groves and Gillette from the previous films – Gillette is embarrassed by Sparrow and run over by the Endeavour in Curse of the Black Pearl and Groves has two excellent lines – “That’s got to be the best pirate I’ve ever seen” (Curse of the Black Pearl) & “Do you think he plans it all out or makes it up as he goes along?” (At World’s End).

Spoiler thingy about the plot because it’s interesting to me (highlight to see):

Spoiler Alert! (place and hold your mouse over the bar to see)

I was fascinated that when the Spanish marched into the Fountain of Youth, they declared that the only way to eternal life was through faith and that this pagan temple needed to be destroyed. Is this what the kingdom of Spain was like? Is this what the Inquisition was all about? Something inside of me wants to applaud their zealotry except I'm sure it will go too far...

Well none of my predictions came true with this film, but they were mere trifles in the broad scope of things. I predicted that Elizabeth would plead her belly to delay any punishment due to her piratical activities(as Anne Bonny and Mary Read did), I predicted that Barbossa would at some point captain the Wicked Wench (as he does at Disneyland) and I predicted Jack Sparrow would dispatch someone after telling them to “Give my regards to Will Turner!”. But like I said, these are just funny one-liners stemming from the results of the first three films and would have been additional geek outs in an already amazing (and geek out prone) movie.

The more I watch all the movies, the more I want some prequels including but not limited to: how does Jack coerce Davy Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the depths? Why does Barbossa (a pirate lord in his own right) subjugate himself to Jack Sparrow (another pirate lord)…is it just for the treasure on Isla De La Muerta? Jack and Hector have been through a lot and it would be fun to see some of those stories instead of just hearing them. I would also like a little more information on what the rest of Mrs. Elizabeth Turner’s life is like…does she inherit her father’s estate? How does that whole thing at the end of “At World’s End” play out for the Caribbean? You can’t just commandeer an armada there and then give up…can you? Eh whatever…I just like to rant and rave sometimes. Probably just because we did a mini-movie marathon before seeing this one and they’re all bouncing around in my head…

All in all a fantastic sequel worthy of it’s predecessor’s and I hope this franchise lives on! I’m also really hoping for comic books, but I’ll take whatever Disney will give me. :-)

Sucker Punch – Incline Village Cinema, NV

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This film is absolutely phenomenal! We first became aware of this film as a series of posters in the theatre lobby when Laura and I went to see Green Hornet, and it looked like fun (sexy girls with advanced weaponry in fantasy/sci-fi environments). Then we watched the trailer and I was completely blown away and couldn’t wait to see it. Actually I desperately wanted to know more about it, but luckily my wife was able to curb my need for spoilers. And of course seeing that it was a Zack Snyder production automatically made it a definitely-worth-seeing flick (based on my appreciation for his handling of 300 and Watchmen – I can’t WAIT to see what he and Christopher Nolan cook up for Superman). Apparently this is based on an original story by Zack Snyder, which makes this all the more interesting – we’ve seen how he handles other comic book material, now let’s see how he handles his own material.

I absolutely LOVE the character names.

It was also interesting trying to figure out the time period of the movie – if I had to guess I would say mid to late 50s. The costume design was absolutely gorgeous.

The cast is phenomenal. Carla Gugino (Dr. Vera Gorski) is a nice little holdover from Watchmen. I couldn’t remember where I’d seen Rocket (Jena Malone) before, but then IMDB just flooded details back to me and I was like – oh yeah! Vanessa Hudgens (Blondie)?!?! When did she grow up to adult movie roles? Just kidding. Yay for Scott Glenn as the Wise Man! Oscar Isaac is absolutely phenomenal as the chief antagonist, Blue Jones. And he sings too! Jon Hamm “guest stars” as the mysterious High Roller.

The music was awesome. I only recognized one of the songs (well technically two because Queen’s “We Will Rock You” is snippited) from the first fantasy sequence and only because Blue Man Group performs it (“White Rabbit”).

I need to go and see the movie one more time. Not just for the amazing action sequences, but for the opening and closing monologues – they are very heavily layered with the purpose of the film, why it was created, what it represents, etc.

Here is a lovely article/interview with Zack Snyder talking about the film which just makes me laugh out loud.

I have an idea about a part of what the fantasy sequences represent. It is strictly opinion. It revolves around the aircraft used in the three major fantasy sequences representing the global conflicts that America has been involved with: we started with World War I (or The Great War) flying ace biplanes; then we moved on to World War II bombers; then we ended with choppers (symbolizing a mish-mosh of jungle and desert missions a la Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars).

Be sure to stay all the way through the credits to enjoy the full out musical number which I hope is in it’s unedited form on the home release (it’s so PURDY!!!!).