4 posts tagged “review”
So, last night was spent putting Ethan to bed, Fandangoing a ticket, and going out to see the new Harry Potter movie (showtime: 9:15). Jeremy's not a huge fan, and I'm not sure he's even seen the last two or three, and he doesn't read the books, so he wasn't up for the movie, so I went off by myself. Happily, one seat next to me was empty (in a pretty full theatre), but the other had some annoying tweenie girls, one of which had seen the movie already. (Said to the other just as they sat down, "I'll hold your hand during the intense parts." Oh, and she gave us running commentary during the previews.)
I'll not write much about the movie itself, except to say that it was fantastic, I highly recommend it, it was sufficiently dark for the tone of the book (though it's been a while, so I can't completely compare it), and I am really loving Daniel Radcliffe as an actor. The biggest problem I had with the book (except for the ending) was that Harry was all whiney teenage emo angst the whole time, and it really bothered me. The movie played up the Sirius/Harry relationship a bit more, I think, so that cut the angst a little, and there was a really great scene where Harry got to vent to Sirius, and I think he gave him a little perspective on the situation. Which was great.
Still hated the ending of the movie. I can't tell you if there was anything on after the credits, as I was booking it out of the theatre. I didn't want to be that person alone at the movies sobbing their eyes out. Yes, I was ready to start bawling, and probably would have had I gone with someone else. Two reasons for this:
I grew up pretty emotionally-neutral. Sure, I had my emotional teenage moments, but I felt that being too emotional was "weak", and willed myself not to be. Probably not the smartest choice, but hey. After growing up a bit, I started to really feel things. And, after I had Ethan, which really unlocked everything and sent me into the wonderful world of Post-Partum Depression, things will really get to me. Especially movies with a family story line. Especially where you have that one parent who tries really hard and just messes things up and has that moment that they admit it. Not a "RAAAAAAARRRRRI'MSOTERRIBLEANDHOWCOULDIHAVEMESSEDTHINGSUPWORSE?!RAAAARRR!!!" moment, but a "wow. I kind of messed things up here. I'm an awful parent." moment. Take, for example, The Incredibles. I came out of that movie BAWLING, and had a nice mini-breakdown in the car.
So to kind of build on that, there was a huge family theme going on in the Harry Potter movie. Mainly, Harry's lack of family, except for Sirius, and the promise of having a family with him after this whole Voldemort thing is over. Add on top of that the numerous memory flashbacks from the other films (particularly the first one, when Harry was a virtual baby), and I just got all maternal over Harry. So, when that Horrible Thing happens, it just killed me. And, to top it off, the director went into slow-motion/no-sound mode. EXCEPT for a sob coming from Harry. That did it...pushed me right off the edge.
So, yeah...a very good movie. Of course, I'll be getting the DVD. And, I have just pre-ordered the final book (at the 11th hour), so I'll be starting to read that one next week. And I will kindly ask you all to please not tell me how it ends!!
So, since today is my anniversary (6 years!), husband and I let MIL watch the Ethan and went out to dinner and a movie. We didn't leave early enough last week to see Pirates, but since MIL was putting Ethan to bed, we seemed to have plenty of time. Still...got out of the movie at midnight.
Overall...I was...er...disappointed. And it's really hard to tell you why without giving away the ending, as I didn't understand one of the major points of the story. But that should give you a hint there...I'm a very good movie watcher, and can follow plots fairly easily (hello...Theatre major!), so when I miss a pretty big point like this...there's a problem with your movie.
First off, the movie was three hours long. Second off, the movie didn't need to be three hours long. I'll argue for plot and character development 'till the cows come home, but this movie did not have three hours worth of that. There were many points where it really should have been edited a lot better. I think they probably could have got it down below two and a half hours easily.
Secondly, there were some conventions introduced that annoyed the crap out of me. Biggest one: the multiple Jacks. I understand that people like Johnny Depp Captain Jack Sparrow, but having an entire ship full of them? I understand Jack isn't altogether there, or so it seems, but do we need to see Jack talking to little versions of himself? Or big versions of himself? Totally unnecessary...and we're not even getting into the idea of introducing new conventions in the third installment of a series...
Aside from those two things, and the ending, which I can't talk about, it was a good-to-look at movie. The technical stuff was really good (though I did see a couple stunts where it was obviously a CGI person, which was also a little annoying), and I loved the maelstrom at the end. If it wasn't for the ending of the second movie, I might say that this one really didn't need to be made, but I will probably still buy it.
Oh, and there was obvious set up at the end for one or two more sequels. Please, please, don't make any more. I think this series has finally run its course.
Saturday night was date night. We went out with the intention of getting dinner and seeing a movie. Dinner was very good. I likes ribs. :) Went to Texas Station to see a movie, which I thought started at 8:30...but it didn't until 10. So we scrapped that and ran to Red Rock to catch a 9:20 show. Jeremy suggested we go home instead...I should have listened to him.
We went to go see Eragon.
I've read the book, and got really into it, in a sort of Harry Potter way. The book is very engaging, and one of those that I had to sit down and read the last 200-300 pages straight out before I could go to bed. I cared about the characters, and looked forward to the sequel book. I was pretty impressed that it was apparently written by a teenager.
To quote one reviewer, the movie was apparently written by a retarded teenager. It seems like he said, "Hey, let's take the 4 most BITCHIN'EST parts of the book and put them in the movie. Since they're BITCHIN', the movie will be BITCHIN'! And people will watch the dragon, so we won't need any of that pesky 'character development' and 'plot' crap!" As I said, I read the book, so I was able to follow what they meant to do with the story. Which mainly involved taking an epic novel spanning over a year and fold it into a semi-epic movie spanning a week.
I knew it sucked, but I didn't think it could suck that much.
We start off with John Malkovich playing John Malkovich, who suffers without his stone. Oh, and he has a dragon super-weapon hiding behind his map, but is too lazy to use it. Instead he sends out Robert Carlyle to find his stone, which hatches into a dragon, then kill the kid who has the dragon. Robert Carlyle has super-hot brown eyes, so, of course, he had blue contact lenses. Jeremy Irons is very pissed off at his agent, and apparently drunk, so that was worked into the movie, changing his character from an Eccentric Story-Teller to Town Drunk. Sorry...Angry Town Drunk. The "hero" is a newcomer, who's a little Luke Skywalker, a dash Harry Potter, a smidge Bilbo Baggins, and a good measure Dalton. Yes, when people meet him, they say, "I thought you'd be bigger." Oh, and he likes to homoerotically wrestle with people. Like his cousin. And Jeremy Irons. And Emo Guy Who Has A Much Larger Role In The Book, But Barely A Mention In The Movie. (You can tell he's Emo 'cause he has black hair and it hangs in his face.) Oh, and the dragon should have a MUCH different voice, so that pretty much sucked too. At least she was cute when she was a puppy dragon.
In short, save yourself some time. Read the book. Stay home and watch Showgirls. Stab yourself in the leg with a fork. Play knife games on your kitchen table. (Remember to use a cutting board, kids!) You'll have much more fun, and spend your time more productively than going to see Eragon.
I'll have to title my movie reviews "Night at the Movies," as I do fully intend to give you the entire evening's events. Because, really, things and people here are just too weird not to share...
I asked Jeremy on Thursday if he wanted to go out on Friday or Saturday to go see Clerks II, and he visibly flinched. Turns out, the boy is not a Kevin Smith fan. More to the point, he hates Kevin Smith movies. *GASP* The only reason I could figure out is that the boy has not worked in the customer service field...like ever. Whereas more than half of the 24 jobs I've had (seriously...I've counted...though that doesn't include the two times I went back to work somewhere I previously worked) have been in customer service. So, I thought Clerks was insanely funny, and I love Kevin Smith. So I went to the movies by myself.
After I put the Ethan down, I ventured out into the night. I went to our usual movie place (inside Sunset Station Casino), but just missed their showing. Not wanting to wait until 10, I ventured back out and ended up at Sam's Town Gambling Hall (built in the 70's, with an Old West theme, in case you couldn't tell) for the 9:20 show. I had some free time before the show, so I poked around the place, since we hadn't been in there before. First off, the ceilings are really low. They have a neat little atrium in the middle with a waterfall (and alleged laser shows, but I didn't see one). Oh, and they have a Shepler's Western Wear, where I poked around. So if anyone needs any Jack Daniel's attire, cowboy hats, or chaps for your kids, let me know and I'll hook ya up.
Went back to the theatre, hooked myself up with kettle corn (they had kettle corn!), and got the first seat in the auditorium. Most of the crowd was about my age, give or take a couple years, which was to be expected. Most everyone looked as if they'd just come out of a comic book convention...also to be expected. The only exception was a large group of what looked like middle schoolers who stormed in and took over the last row. As they chattered and laughed while people were coming in, the older members of the audience started wondering aloud what the rating of this movie was, and if they were indeed old enough to watch it. One guy even said, "They better not be talking during the movie. You don't mess with Kevin Smith fans."
I like this movie theatre, not only for the kettle corn, but also because they don't show commercials. And, only 3 previews. W00t! Down sides: it's in Sam's Town, which is a locals casino, which are, by definition skeezy. Sam's Town also has the most insanely confusing exit lanes. But anywho...the movie:
I loved it. But, I love Kevin Smith, and loved Clerks. If you fit both of those categories, you too will like the movie. Seriously, Randal and Jay are my favorite Kevin Smith characters, and they were drop dead funny. The things that come out of Randal's mouth just make you wonder about him. I will also have to add Elias as one of my new favorites. (If you've seen the commercials, Elias is the other kid who works at Mooby's.) I have so many favorite lines from the movie, but I really can't share them in an open forum. But that's Kevin Smith.
There were some slow points, as with Clerks. Occasionally, there would be the Dante scene of "Hey, we're getting old and is this how I really want to be living my life." or "I'm ready to begin my life!!!!" As compared with Clerks, these scenes are much more poignant, particularly as the target audience (those in their late 20's/early 30's) can completely identify with the idea. And society tells us that it's just sad for people our age to not know what they want to do with their lives yet. Having just started a major career and life change, this whole theme just resonates with me.
Of couse, then we cut to Jay and Silent Bob, and Jay's in the middle of doing Jamie Gumm's dance from Silence of the Lambs.
Overall, excellent movie. I shall be purchasing the DVD, then tying Jeremy up to watch it.
Oh, and one last comment on my night out: I did not get a strawberry milkshake. I tried while we were out that day, only McDonald's (which has pirates in their Happy Meals) didn't have any ice cream. The Fatburger (best milkshakes ever) had a line at Sunset Station. I didn't want to try the one on Nellis before going to Sam's Town, as I didn't know the casino, so didn't want to get lost. I got my heart set on a Fatburger shake, so didn't get one inside Sam's Town. After the movie, someone cut me at the drive-through, and the restaurant wasn't open. Sad, sad Jenn. I need to venture out today to drop off my jackets to be cleaned, though, so I should swing by ye olde Fatburger.
