Movies

[West]

Wow, Hank Azaria sucked? That's too bad, I think he's usually pretty underated comedic genius...

[Jmiland1]

The Adventures of Tintin

It should be no surprise that this is kid-friendly.

This was, quite simply, a lot of fun; it dragged a bit at first as the first twenty minutes or so are primarily Tintin's exposition to his dog, but that's probably to be expected when you have a mystery story aimed at kids. Once it gets going, though, it's very enjoyable. How much fun was this movie? Well, there was a fight scene where the two combatants were fencing with construction cranes. Construction cranes. And that was after an incredible chase sequence in a Moroccan city that was mostly done as one long (3-5 minute) tracking shot.

The animation is fantastic and the character designs are great--they're fairly realistic, while still clearly being based on Herge's designs, and they mostly avoid the uncanny valley. They're also incredibly detailed; in one closeup I realized I could see little shrubs of hair poking out of Captain Haddock's nose.

The voice acting was fair; nothing particularly memorable, although Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as Thompson and Thomson were a hoot.

[Jmiland1]

There's a new Amanda Seyfried movie out, so I'll just put this placeholder here for West...

[Jmiland1]

Chronicle

I'd say, not for children. There's swearing, sexual discussions (no nudity though), and what the MPAA calls "thematic material." In this case that means depictions of abuse, and elements of morality/ethics that may be beyond a pre-teen viewer (who might see something in the movie and think its "cool" rather than thinking through its ethical significance).

I have a hard time saying anything about this movie beyond "I thought it was pretty sweet." If you haven't caught a trailer, three teenagers discover an object that gives them telekinetic powers, and like real teenagers they spend most of their time using those powers to dick around. Then things take a darker turn.

The film is presented in a first-person, "found footage" style, like Blair Witch or Cloverfield, but does play with the format a bit--which is a welcome change, after the glut of these films on the market. For example, the film doesn't stick with one camera: the main action is intercut with footage from security cameras, cellphones, etc to provide more variation in the visuals. By the climax of the film so many cameras are being used that you can almost forget the "found footage" conceit entirely.

All I can really say is, if you liked Akira you will probably enjoy this. Certainly there are enough thematic/visual elements to suggest this is a better live-action adaptation of that material than the two Akira films Warner Brothers has planned. (Yes, I know how geeky I sound.) (And if you're asking, "What's Akira?" then you and I can't be friends.)

[West]

John Carter

I was pretty much a lock to go see this after having read them a long, long time ago. ERB and Heinlein were the only sci-fi back in the day, and the cover art may have been my first exposure to Boris Vallejo.

In some ways, it was good. It had that good clean fun fill of Star Wars or Flash Gordon; it was a movie I felt perfectly fine seeing with my seven year old. It flowed well, didnt get overly bogged down in exposition, and had some fun scenes.

In a lot of ways, it was bad. The intial scene where he discovers the lower gravity was horrible. It was the worst wire work I think I've ever seen, he looked like a puppet being bounced up and down on strings. It just set a disappointing tone for the movie that I never got past. It felt like a movie on a shoe-string budget, effects wise.

I wouldn't ask for my money back, but I wouldn't watch it again. Still, I give it props for being a fun sci-fi movie that's kid-safe.

[West]

Hunger Games

Saw this at the IMAX today. Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson were brilliant, and apparently I've still got a lingering man crush on Wes Bentley. If I looked like him, I'd rule the world. Just sayin'.

Peeta and Gale were good.

Jennifer Lawrence... what to say. I want to like her... but she feels so flat. She's like Charlize Theron in that she's great to look at and you fall in love with her in stills, but in live motion... something is lost.

Lenny Kravitz is Lenny muthafuckin Kravitz.

There was some substantial departures from the book, but maybe it's material from the next two in the trilogy; not having read them, I dunno. It was still fun, hit the high points, and really did a bang-up job of portraying the world setting and disparity between the Capital and the Districts... except for the near-new super sexy outfit Katniss hunts in. There was a palpable bleakness to the reaping that really set the tone for Katniss' sacrifice.

There were a couple of things that bugged me: the way her quiver was always full, and the Haymitch sent notes with the gifts... I'd almost have preferred 'thought narration' to have Katniss figure out what each gift signified. They also took out the District 11 gift, which I highly disapproved of.

All in all, a good rendition. I found myself enjoying the Capital scenes with Effie and Haymitch the most, but the rest flowed well and was entertaining.

I'd watch it again.

BONUS:

Trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman: OK this shit looked GOOD. It looked dark as shit and it all just popped. Totally seeing this.