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Articles from
March 2007
I had high hopes when I started Highlander  season 3 , but those didn't last long. I was hoping MacLoed and Richie would start a trek across the world together. That's kind of the feeling I got when season 2 ended, anyway. Well, that didn't quite happen. In fact, almost the opposite. As with the first two seasons, this season consisted of a mix between the US and Paris, France. Gee, you'd think these guys would find someplace new to go. Well, I think we're pretty sure there won't be much back-and-forth for Richie, now; but I can't say what's going to happen with MacLoed. The future is unknown. I'm not as pumped for season 4 , but I hope it brings back some of the excitement. This marks the middle of the series, so there are three more seasons left. Given the fact that I still don't know what the "Gathering" was about, I'm hoping that's answered at some point.
I heard about The Last Castle a while ago and finally got around to watching it. I'm very glad I did. This movie was outstanding. I'm not sure if its my military background or rebelious nature, but I loved this one. I didn't realize it was a military movie, which made me hesitate to watch it; but since others seemed to like it, I figured I'd give it a chance. I'm glad I did. I definitely suggest you give this one a shot.
Mon
Mar
26
2007
Shooter
It's no secret that I'm a fan of Mark Wahlberg and Michael Peña , which is exactly why I knew I'd enjoy Shooter . If you like action movies, check this one out. The premise seemed slightly familiar, but I'm fine with that. Of note, US Marshalls and Murder at 1600 come to mind. Speaking of which, looking up Wesley Snipes brought my attention to something very interesting. Apparently, Snipes is in a movie called The Shooter . Looking at the plot-lines, both movies are very similar. This is pretty funny. Considering I haven't heard anything about Snipes' movie, I'm guessing it'll be the one left in the shadows. Then again, if there's a decent amount of time between the two, perhaps Wahlberg's movie will by the end of the year.
If you liked Shooter, I'd suggest US Marshalls and Murder at 1600.
As one might imagine, Talledega Nights is a pretty stupid movie. In the same breath, I did enjoy it to a certain extent. There were some very funny parts, but there were also parts I had to roll my eyes at. If you're a consummate fan of Will Ferrel , this one should be right up your alley. Either way, I think most will enjoy the movie.
If you liked Talledega Nights, I'd suggest Anchorman .
I'm not sure what I rented to recommend Rest Stop , but I wouldn't suggest it to anyone. Not that the movie's horribly bad, but it's not good. It's one of those movies that just kind of sits there in the middle. I had high hopes, but I'm not really sure why. In a sense, the movie was similar to Wolf Creek ; but Wolf Creek was probably 10x's better. By the end of the movie, I questioned everything. I'm not sure if I missed something, but I couldn't discern what actually happened. Maybe it's just me.
If you liked Rest Stop [or expected more], I'd suggest Wolf Creek.
Admittedly, I haven't seen any of the older King Kong movies , so the story is somewhat new to me. Sure, I knew it was about some big monkey (minor understatement), but I didn't really know the story behind that. King Kong was absolutely fantastic! I didn't expect it to be as good as it was, so I'm very happy with it. Jack Black played a role that isn't quite his typical role and did it masterfully. I'm not a huge fan of Adrien Brody , but he did a good job, as well. I would definitely suggest this one to anybody. The only thing I would've liked to see was an explanation as to how the heck he got so big. There's gotta be another one out there, too. I also have some other questions about the island they found him on, but I won't mention those so I don't ruin the movie for anyone.
Sat
Mar
10
2007
300
Wow. I didn't expect anything spectacular when I went to see 300 , but I was very happy with it. I'll admit that parts could've been better, but I loved the movie nonetheless. Gerard Butler , who played King Leonides, was perfect for the role; he was very passionate and did a fantastic job. Trying to think back to the scenes I liked was hard because there were so many. The fighting sequences and imagery were both outstanding. The squeemish may not be interested in this one for the blood, but I didn't think it was all that bad. Then again, I did like Hostel , which was a lot worse. If you can deal with a little blood here and there in the fight scenes and like a good action movie, I definitely suggest this one.
North Country was a good story about a woman who struggles for her right to work. If you don't like movies that touch on sensitive topics, you'll want to avoid this one. On the other hand, if you enjoy a passionate movie meant to bring forth an array of emotion, this is definitely a must-see. The movie angered me, but that's why I liked it.It's meant to open your eyes to the ignorance of our past.
Wrapping up the old Superman movies, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace goes a bit far. I questioned a number of scenes, but don't remember them all. Two I remember are when Superman was able to partially erase Lois' memory with a kiss and when he was able to put part of the Great Wall back together with some sort of telekenesis from his eyes, which he repeated again later. Another issue I have with each of the Superman movies is Lex's predisposition with how brilliant of a criminal he is. He mentions it so many times and doesn't ever seem to prove it. I honestly just got annoyed with Lex in each movie.
Now that I've watched the previous 4 movies, Superman Returns isn't any clearer. They seem to pick up from a place that wasn't left off at. Clark/Superman and Lois never hooked up... well, they did in Superman II , but Superman turned the world backwards to take that back, so I don't know if that counts. I'm not really sure where Superman Returns was supposed to pick up, but it'd be nice to find out.
I have been eagerly waiting for The Number 23 since I first heard about it. I'm a fan of Jim Carrey and am always glad to see him in an atypical role, like this. I definitely enjoyed the movie, but it wasn't as dark as I really expected. I will say I didn't expect what ultimately happened, which is always a bonus, but I can definitely see how someone would foresee it -- FYI: if you haven't seen the movie, don't look at the IMDB page I linked to above; there's a spoiler. The funny thing is, you realize you can break just about everything down into the number 23. When we got out of the movie and started the car, it was 9:32. 9 is 32 and 32 is 23 backwards. Of course, this just became a game on the way home as I looked for everything that could possibly equate to 23. There were some wild equations to finally get 23, but I'd have to say that 9 out of 10 times, it could be done. Then again, with someone who has more of a math background and wanted to be psychotic about it, I bet it'd be possible to get 23 every time. As if it weren't enough to do this on my way home, I did it in the movie, too. Granted, I kept those all to myself so not to annoy everyone, but it was kind of fun to see how quick I noticed things throughout the entire movie; especially before it became a point for Carrey's character to notice them. I can see this being one of those drinking games like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon , or whatever that was. Every time you find something that equates to 23, everyone else has to take a swig -- or a shot, if you really want to get wasted. Ahh, fun times...
If you're into dark thrillers and/or like puzzles, check this one out. Either way, you'll find yourself entertained.
The Return wasn't what I expected; then again, I'm not too sure what that was. After watching the trailer, I was kind of stumped. The trailer made the movie seem like it was a horror flick, but it was missing something. Perhaps the fact that this one came out at the same time as Grudge 2 might have something to do with it -- Sarah Michelle Gellar was in both -- but I doubt it. I just think they did a bad job at bringing forth the true essence of the movie in the trailer. If you don't typically like horror, don't let that scare you away from this one. Don't get me wrong, it still won't win any block-buster awards, but it's worth a shot if you're into thrillers. I'd say more about the class of thriller, but I don't want to give anything away.
On a side, but related note, I just found out that Ms Gellar will be playing April O'Neil, the reporter in the forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . I just saw the trailer and am kind of looking forward to the movie. The past movies have degraded in quality with each sequel, but I'm hopeful that this one will start fresh. The fact that it's animated will hopefully lessen the cheesiness of it.
I thought A Good Year was a very good movie. Russell Crowe plays a man whose uncle died and left him everything, through lack of a will. Later, of course, there's a complication -- I won't say what it is so not to ruin the movie. The movie is basically about Crowe weighing his life in London as a major player in the stock market or in the depths of France on a vinyard. Of course, with any life-changing moment comes the love of a good woman. Seemingly, there's a comparison between his big-city life as a bachelor where money rules all and the possibility of a life with his "family."
Sun
Mar
04
2007
Babel
I never really saw much of the trailer for Babel before seeing the movie. I saw a part of it and thought I had the gist of what the movie'd be about, but I have to say I was slightly off... then again, not by much at all. I was never really drawn to this movie and for good reason. I don't think the movie was bad, but it was kind of slow and bored me, in a way. The movie consisted of several storylines, which reminded me of Crash . I think this can make or break a movie and I don't think the writers really got the mix right in this one. If you have a chance, definitely check out the movie, but don't go rush out to get it. While the movie reminds me a lot of Crash, it doesn't come close to it.
If you liked Babel, I'd suggest Crash.
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