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I have been looking forward to watching Invictus for quite some time now. I was able to finally take the time to watch it (thanks to Redbox availability!). Now I am not wholly sure why I was so looking forward to this story. It could have been the intriguing story of Nelson Mandela and the beginnings of his presidency, or how it so involved the South African Rugby team, or it could have possibly just been the fact that Morgan Freeman was the lead actor. In all honesty, it was probably the latter. It didn’t dawn on me until the credits had rolled that this was another of Clint Eastwood’s directorial works. I have to say that the movie was engaging, well paced, and overall entertaining. I was able to overlook the somewhat difficult accents both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon used in this movie. Granted, I am no expert when it comes to South African dialect, but it just felt stiff in comparison to the dialogue heard in “District 9″ (also based in South Africa). That aside, I felt the performances given by each actor was solid and heartfelt. If you look at this movie as an inspirational sports movie like “Miracle”, “Remember the Titans”, “Rudy” or similar movies, then you will likely be disappointed. If you look at the movie as a journey of a fledgling leader attempting to unite his people through any means necessary, then you will likely enjoy the story. This movie ultimately succeeds in inspiring the viewer with an unlikely combination of politics and sports while rarely ever going “over the top.” And, to answer your question, which I also asked, of “What does Invictus mean?” Well, I learned that it is Latin for “unconquered”. An apt title for this journey.
Brandy and I went to see Iron Man 2 last night.
Let’s start the story with the trailers. “Inception” (the next Christopher Nolan movie) looks to be fantastic. It looks like what would be created if Momento had a baby with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, infused with parts of Departed. Next, “Super 8″. This is one of JJ Abrams flicks, produced by Speilberg. Another monster flick, ala Cloverfield, but looks much better. Should be interesting.
On to the main event: Iron man 2. It was a solid flick, but not as good as the first, as I expected. I am glad I watched it, and will likely own it on Bluray when it comes out. I missed Terrance Howard in the role of Rhodey… Don Cheadle, while I like him as an actor, just didn’t have the same swagger. Downey, Jr continues to own the role of Tony Stark and it was a phenomenal performance. Without his charisma, the film likely would’ve fallen apart. Surprisingly enough, I truly enjoyed the casting of Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Strange choices that just seemed to click.
The plot was typical comic book fare. It was passable, but not overly groundbreaking. There wasn’t an overload of action, but the scenes that were there were pretty fantastic. I will say, i am disappointed that the final battle between Iron Man and Whiplash was just a tad short. I was expecting a bit more of a spectacle. Not to say that I wanted to watch a 30 minute battle of fisticuffs, as in the Hulk and the Abomination in “The Incredible Hulk”, but just something a bit more than what was offered.
What truly sold me on the movie, though, was the polish. There were so many little nods and details that just made this movie shine. From Jarvis (the return of Paul Bettany) to Cap’s Shield… Garry Shandling as Senator Stern… Sam Jackson’s “Nick fury” cameo… and the teaser after the credits. I don’t exactly know how to explain it, but they all just worked. I know Marvel Pictures is frantically piecing together the continuity of multiple stories to ultimately line up the Avengers movie, and I think their work is paying off. I am looking forward to Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and ultimately Iron Man 3 (which, I hope, finally brings the Mandarin into play).
I would definitely catch this movie in the theaters and look forward to experiencing Iron Man in the comfort of my own home later this year.
I guess I am a purest when it comes to movies based off books. The more I think about this movie, the less I like it. Don’t get me wrong, there are several high points to the film:
- Cinematography
- Some extremely funny moments (especially Ron with the love potion and Harry with the luck potion)
- Jim Broadbent (as Horace Slughorn)
- Alan Rickman (as Severus Snape)
- The whole underground cave sequence
But, as a whole, I found the movie extremely lacking. I found the general pace of the movie to be slow and found that David Yates (director) tended to focus a lot of screen time to items that seemed inconsequential. And then there was the whole “lack of climax” during the third act. Yes, there is an important event that takes place and it is sad, for those who love the books. However, when a book has several large sequences that, in my opinion, MAKE the book great, one would expect those sequences to get the film treatment. Not so much in HP6. Where was the Battle of Hogwarts? Where was the White Tomb? I sit through this 2+ hour film and am not treated to, arguably, the best scenes in the entire series? How disappointing… By the end of the movie, I have forgotten why I even care who the Half-Blood Prince really is…
Yes, I know I have plenty of complaints… it doesn’t mean this movie is necessarily bad, just lacking. If you haven’t read the books, you will probably love this movie. I am just a bit picky when it comes to film adaptations of novels… I would encourage you to see the film because there are some truly great moments, just go into with a heads-up on what to expect.
There have been plenty of rumors flying about the potential for a third Ghostbusters movie. And while many of them are fruitless, I am drawn in by this particular doozy.
Reading through my RSS feeds directed me to this site, BLDG|BLOG. This post, the author writes up his rendition of a Ghostbusters III script pitch, in the unlikely case they were tapped to write the screenplay. I have included a brief snippet for your enjoyment, but highly recommend you going to read the full post. I have to admit, I think this would be a great movie… especially if it involved the Ghostbusters mythos.
BLDGBLOG: NYNEX, Embedded Angel of New York City
The opening scene: a pay phone on a sun-splashed street near Washington Square Park. You can see the famous arch in the background. A man is sitting nearby, outside a deli. He’s got a bagel and a coffee and he’s reading the New York Times. The phone starts to ring. He looks at it. It rings and rings. He gets up, finally, and approaches the phone – and he answers it. It’s his dad. But he thought his dad was dead. Ghostbusters III. The city’s telecommunications system is not some mere collection of copper wires and fiber optics, the film will suggest; it’s actually the subtle anatomy of a barely understood supernatural being, an angel of rare metals embedded in the streets of Manhattan. Somewhere between AT&T and H.P. Lovecraft, by way of electromagnetized Egyptian mythology. These metals, Harold Ramis will explain, pushing up his eyeglasses, also correspond to materials used in pre-Christian burial rituals throughout Mesopotamia. Copper coffins. Traces of selenium found in embalming tools. He refers to Tiamat, dragon of multiple heads, and he draws mind-bending parallels between Middle Eastern mythology and the origins of NYNEX. NYNEX/Tiamat. NYNEX/Michael. NYNEX/Metatron. Certain members of the audience think the whole thing sounds like bullshit. But they like the special effects. And who cares, anyway.
We decided to watch Taken last night on Bluray. What we saw was not a great movie, but definitely an entertaining flick.

The film starts a bit slow as we are introduced to Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is an ex-spy, or Preventer, for the US Government. We also see that his job has cost him his family and how this fact pains him deeply. We then meet his old team of super-military mercenaries who attempt to convince him to get back into the business. A few other things happen and then Mills takes off to find his daughter after threatening to find, and kill whoever took his daughter.
Now, a few questions come up:
- Why does Mills go solo on this quest for vengence when he obviously has some supremely capable people on call?
- Why does Mills seem to be living in destitution even though he apparently made tons of money doing the whole merc gig?
- Should I be concerned that I, as the viewer, don’t really care about anybody else in the money other than Mills? (Short answer: no.)
It is at this point that the movie kicks into overdrive and never looks back. We are taken (no pun intended) on an adrenaline rush of a ride as Mills picks up on small clues to find just about everybody involved in his daughter’s taking. Not only does he find them, but he disables, manages, and/or kills every last one of them — granted, many in unlikely circumstances. However, this movie provides an escape from reality and a chance to root for a “hero”, so I find that I can forgive the many gross misgivings, including the fact that it seems that no one other than Mills could shoot the broadside of a barn.
This movie has some gritty violence and fight sequences. Neeson came across as a believable tour de force when it came to the hand to hand fighting, which was a surprise. It was an exhilirating ride for the most part which left me feeling like I just watched a Charles Bronson flick… A great movie, this is not… but it is a great time.
You can find this movie on Netflix and at Amazon.com.
RottenTomatoes.com has it at 37%. 
I
say that is about spot-on… I love Simon Pegg in most of his roles and
say that he did as good a job as he could given what he had to work
with. I never read the book on which this movie was based, so I can’t
say how closely it stuck to the point of the book. Pegg was the only
redeeming quality in the movie. Megan Fox played the role of eye-candy
and showed just how poorly she can “Act” playing the role of an
award-winning actress. Personally, she should stick to just looking
sultry and I’ll be happy.
In the end, I didn’t regret wasting my
time with the movie, but I can’t say that I’d recommend going out of
your way to watch it. If you happen across it on television or want to rent it,
then by all means give it a chance… if for nothing else other than
Pegg.
This past weekend, we gathered a group of friends and went to the local cinema to watch “Star Trek” as directed by J.J. Abrams. I didn’t fully know what to expect when we walked into the theater. The level of hype around this movie equaled that of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and we know how that panned out.We were all pleasantly surprised to be treated to a fantastic film.
Who would’ve thought that this movie could live up to the hype and standards set by, not only, hardcore Star Trek fans, but avid Abrams followers? There are so many reasons this movie could have failed: poor casting, blackhole-sized plot holes, terrible script, lack of respect for the source material… and this film managed to walk all of these tightropes with grace and ease. And to top it off, it was an exciting journey from the first frame to the final fanfare.
Most Star Trek folks know that the series focuses on the characters… and this film is no different. All of the players enter the story as the plot demands, which allows for the proper introductions to be made for each and every character. And while Scotty shows up a bit late in the film for my tastes, it makes sense in the grand scheme of the movie.
The cast was spot on for each role. Chris Pine took command of James T. Kirk with reckless abandon. Zachary Quinto embodied the youthful Spock. I could take you through the entire list, but I will leave you with these two: Simon Pegg as Scotty (excellent, if underused) and the return of Leonard Nemoy (trust me, it just worked).
There is plenty of action to go around. In fact, there are only a few lulls in the entire 2 hour running time. The starship battles are spectacular, the halo-jumping skydive is amazing, and well… plenty of handy fisticuffs.
There is no better review for a movie than wanting to go right back into the theater and watch it again immediately. If I hadn’t have had plans already for the evening, that’s exactly what I would’ve done. This franchise reboot worked and worked well. It got my excited about Star Trek and anxious to see the next installment. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a theater viewing of this movie.
I was recently looking for a way to enjoy Divx-encoded videos on my Zune — you know for road trips and such. Apparently some work has been done in this field, yet I have had little success in duplicating the effort.
The folks over at Techmixer.com have suggested the following steps:
- Copy and paste the following lines into a text edit program and save it under .reg extension.
Windows Registry Editor Version5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Multimedia\Zune\Extensions\.avi]
“Extension.Handler”=”Microsoft.Zune.1.AVI””MediaType.Description”=”Video Clip”
“MediaType.Icon”=”C:\\Program Files\\Zune\\ZuneLoc.dll,-736?”Extension.MIME”=”video/avi””AlreadyRegistered”=”no”
“Runtime”=dword:00000007?PerceivedType”=”video”
“Permissions”=dword:0000000f
“UserApprovedOwning”=”no”
@=””
- Double-click the newly .reg file and the register information will be added to your registry.
- Restart Computer
- After restart, you start dragging your divx movies using Zune software into your zune player. The files will synced with Zune devices and force the zune software to convert the files.
You may have to locate a file called “zuneloc.dll” for this to work too…
It is important to note that your mileage may vary with this and to proceed at your own risk. You will be mucking around in the registry, which can do serious harm to your computer. And, I’ve not tried this out yet, so be warned… I am just passing along what information I have found so far.
If you haven’t seen this yet, you owe it to yourself to watch Neil Patrick “Doogie” Harris, Nathan “Captain Mal” Fillion, and Felicia “Felicia” Day sing in Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.

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“Be Kind, Rewind” by Michel Gondry was an imaginative adventure starring Mos Def, Jack Black, and Danny Glover. Being a fan of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and Jack Black, I was expecting an off the wall comedy explosion with a unique narrative style. I was not disappointed by the imagination, but a little underwhelmed with the comedy. It’s sad that Mos Def was completely overshadowed by Jack Black in this film.
Gondry shows his brilliance once again with his clever perspectives and artist design. The plot was somewhat flimsy and I never really became truly concerned about the relevance of Fats Waller.
However, I enjoyed the film. The sweded film concept was new to me and I enjoyed it. The “Rush Hour 2″ sequence was highly entertaining. It looked like the actors had a blast making this movie, which made me enjoy the film all the more. This movie is definitely worth the time.
7/10 |
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