Ultimately there really wasn't any need to make yet another movie in this series. But, I guess if you can get the money to get the original crew together you might as well give it another go. And it did great box office this weekend. I anticipate a major drop off though.
The Fast & The Furious was a good movie, with some great action sequences, and a good young cast. The end of it left a small opening for a sequel but, it also left limited room for what that sequel could be if it was to include Vin Diesel's character. Honestly it left little room for story ideas outside of Paul Walker's character. Which is why 2 Fast 2 Furious worked since it was centered around his character.
So it really wasn't surprising that the new one involved Dom (Vin Diesel) still being on the run from the law and up to some of his old tricks in Mexico. It was cool that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) got to do the real stunts in the opening sequence rather than just being the driver. From there however, the set up for the rest of the story was disappointing. And the rest of the movie was disappointing. Mainly it was disappointing in it's lack of car races.
The premise of using fast cars to run drugs across the border was plausible but, not executed very well. It felt like there was a lot more they could have done. They really could have incorporated some sort of actual race with it so there was more racing and cool cars. I know it's kinda been done a lot but, lets get real what hasn't been done a lot these days?
I was very disappointed at how little both Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster were in this one. It was hardly worth the effort or money they probably put into getting them.
Major spoilers:
Pissed doesn't even begin to describe my feelings over them killing Michelle's character. At least she got to do the cool opening sequence but, we never got to see her behind the wheel and they could have set up a better story keeping her character around. It's very clear that they decided there was some fan base to her and Jordana and that's why they got them to come back just for the publicity appeal of having the "big 4" back.
Jordana was again under utilized in this movie. She was wasted more this time than in the original. And she didn't even get to do any cool driving until the very last scene of the movie. In this new era of female race car drivers not letting the girls drive is unacceptable.
The drug running was a good idea but, as mentioned earlier done completely wrong. The only race in the movie was for them to get the open seat as one of the drivers. That part was good and they should have done more. After all that is the point of the original and the one thing that should always be included. This movie was more just "look at the fast cars" a lot of the time.
When they actually went to run the drugs all they did was drive in a straight line across the desert one car behind the other and then into a tunnel where they had to play follow the leader. Very poor story development there. They could have done a thing where some people where running drugs during some big race or they could have had the drugs in one car and the cops were trying to stay on the one with the drugs but, no they think the big excitement is a bunch of cars driving in single file trying to avoid camera detection.
The big chase scene at the end was decent but, not enough to save the movie.
I saw the movie at a matinee and it was barely worth the price. Just wait for the discount theaters or dvd.
Monday, April 06, 2009
ER
As anyone who follows television knows this past Thursday brought the end of ER. Over the 15 year run of the show I watched most of it. I watched it through it's ups and downs and cursed it when it decided to make it's female characters too much of secondary plot lines. There were times when you thought, "This has to be the end of the show. They've just gone too far into stupid land with this storyline." But, some how it always recovered.
The show was always at it's best when it was inside the ER. Showing the characters outside the ER in their regular lives was nice but, they had occasion to go too far and spend too much time outside the ER. I never cared too see much of their lives outside the hospital. I was more interested in the original point of the show which was how these doctors survived such a high stress job and how their outside and personal lives affected them at work.
I was very happy to see so many people come back and do appearances in the final season. It was nice that they came back to a show that really gave a lot of them their careers. And I liked how they folded some of the stories back in. While I was watching the retrospective leading up to the finale I thought to myself that it would be nice if they found a way to bring Dr. Green's daughter back into the story. But, I really didn't figure they would because she wasn't a big main character and since they had the flashback episode for him earlier that would be it. I was so pleasantly surprised when they did in fact find away to bring her into the story.
I almost cried when she told Frank who she was. That scene had so much impact because Frank was such a hard ass kind of guy. Never really seemed to care much about other people's feelings and certainly not showing his but, when he had that moment of sorrow and I guess joy at seeing her it was very moving.
When ER started there was one moment for one character that truly made me fall in love with the show. It was in the first episode when a patients heart stopped and Dr. Carter was the only one around. He called for help but, no one came. The crash cart was down the hall and instead of pushing the cart to the patient he ran over and grabbed the paddles and ran back to the patient pulling the cart behind me. That was the moment I knew the show had great potential. All that heavy drama and they never forgot the comedy that comes with life.
Unfortunately over the years they drug Carter's character down to a place that I began to hate him. I was never happier in my life to see a character leave a show because they had lost all focus of who he was and his character alone was dragging the show down. It was great that they brought him back and where able to center a good portion of the end of the series around him and that his character was back to what he once was.
My only problem with the final episode was it was too slow. They should have had a pulse pounding emergency early on in the show. In a way it would have been kind of fun if all the docs had visited and a major emergency had thrown them all into action together one last time. But, I know that would have been a little absurd. I did like how they put all the returning characters for the episode back into the opening sequence.
In the end it was a good episode and it wrapped up a lot of stories nicely.
The show was always at it's best when it was inside the ER. Showing the characters outside the ER in their regular lives was nice but, they had occasion to go too far and spend too much time outside the ER. I never cared too see much of their lives outside the hospital. I was more interested in the original point of the show which was how these doctors survived such a high stress job and how their outside and personal lives affected them at work.
I was very happy to see so many people come back and do appearances in the final season. It was nice that they came back to a show that really gave a lot of them their careers. And I liked how they folded some of the stories back in. While I was watching the retrospective leading up to the finale I thought to myself that it would be nice if they found a way to bring Dr. Green's daughter back into the story. But, I really didn't figure they would because she wasn't a big main character and since they had the flashback episode for him earlier that would be it. I was so pleasantly surprised when they did in fact find away to bring her into the story.
I almost cried when she told Frank who she was. That scene had so much impact because Frank was such a hard ass kind of guy. Never really seemed to care much about other people's feelings and certainly not showing his but, when he had that moment of sorrow and I guess joy at seeing her it was very moving.
When ER started there was one moment for one character that truly made me fall in love with the show. It was in the first episode when a patients heart stopped and Dr. Carter was the only one around. He called for help but, no one came. The crash cart was down the hall and instead of pushing the cart to the patient he ran over and grabbed the paddles and ran back to the patient pulling the cart behind me. That was the moment I knew the show had great potential. All that heavy drama and they never forgot the comedy that comes with life.
Unfortunately over the years they drug Carter's character down to a place that I began to hate him. I was never happier in my life to see a character leave a show because they had lost all focus of who he was and his character alone was dragging the show down. It was great that they brought him back and where able to center a good portion of the end of the series around him and that his character was back to what he once was.
My only problem with the final episode was it was too slow. They should have had a pulse pounding emergency early on in the show. In a way it would have been kind of fun if all the docs had visited and a major emergency had thrown them all into action together one last time. But, I know that would have been a little absurd. I did like how they put all the returning characters for the episode back into the opening sequence.
In the end it was a good episode and it wrapped up a lot of stories nicely.
A Haunting in Connecticut
I've always enjoyed horror movies. Pretty much any kind. However, of late they have begun to rely too much on the gore factor rather than the scare factor so I don't see them as much. Haunted house movies though are pretty reliable to not lose the story in blood and guts. Even at that though most horror movies of any kind don't deliver on the scares very well these days. That is absolutely not true with A Haunting in Connecticut. It delivers a good story and some legitimate scares. I jumped several times and even my boyfriend who doesn't think movies are scary anymore jumped a couple times.
I had actually watched a documentary on the story the movie is based around a week before seeing the movie. It was interesting to see how they tweaked the original story for the big screen. The underlying story was the same family with cancer stricken son moves into a new house to be closer to where he gets treatment and weird things start to happen. From there the writers spun the houses history to be more sinister but, it still worked. Other than the end of the movie they really didn't go over the top with the story the created. And even that little bit of over the top at the end didn't hurt the movie as a whole.
If you want the short and sweet high concept pitch for this movie it's Amityville Horror meets Poltergeist.
I went to a matinee showing and it was well worth the price. In fact is worth the price of full price evening admission.
I had actually watched a documentary on the story the movie is based around a week before seeing the movie. It was interesting to see how they tweaked the original story for the big screen. The underlying story was the same family with cancer stricken son moves into a new house to be closer to where he gets treatment and weird things start to happen. From there the writers spun the houses history to be more sinister but, it still worked. Other than the end of the movie they really didn't go over the top with the story the created. And even that little bit of over the top at the end didn't hurt the movie as a whole.
If you want the short and sweet high concept pitch for this movie it's Amityville Horror meets Poltergeist.
I went to a matinee showing and it was well worth the price. In fact is worth the price of full price evening admission.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Actress vs The Person (Michelle Williams)
So here it is Oscar night and we all know what moment everyone is waiting for. As the other awards have passed and tonight has approached I have realized just how great a person Michelle Williams is.
As an actress I have never liked Michelle. She drove me nuts on Dawson's Creek. I found her performance in Brokeback Mountain to be overrated. And none of her other performances have impressed me. She always winds up in things I'm going to see so it's not like I go thinking this will be the performance that she proves something to me. She just ends up being there and never does anything for me.
However, over the last year as a person Michelle Williams has greatly impressed me. She could have used Heath's untimely death as some sort of attention grab. She could have played all kinds of sympathy cards and gotten attention and probably acting roles. However, she did nothing of the kind. She has been very silent choosing to focus on her daughter and avoid the spot light. Even as the nominations rolled in she stayed quiet. At any moment she could have stepped out and taken attention or asked to accept the awards. She again chose to stay out of the picture.
This to me speaks volumes about the kind of person and mother she is. If she had sought attention it would have eventually brought attention on Matilda. She has protected herself and her daughter and their privacy.
Whether someone is a good actress is entirely up to the individual viewing their roles. But, I don't think anyone can ever say Michelle Williams is anything other than a amazing person and a great mother, and that is far more important than what I or anyone else will ever think of her acting ability.
As an actress I have never liked Michelle. She drove me nuts on Dawson's Creek. I found her performance in Brokeback Mountain to be overrated. And none of her other performances have impressed me. She always winds up in things I'm going to see so it's not like I go thinking this will be the performance that she proves something to me. She just ends up being there and never does anything for me.
However, over the last year as a person Michelle Williams has greatly impressed me. She could have used Heath's untimely death as some sort of attention grab. She could have played all kinds of sympathy cards and gotten attention and probably acting roles. However, she did nothing of the kind. She has been very silent choosing to focus on her daughter and avoid the spot light. Even as the nominations rolled in she stayed quiet. At any moment she could have stepped out and taken attention or asked to accept the awards. She again chose to stay out of the picture.
This to me speaks volumes about the kind of person and mother she is. If she had sought attention it would have eventually brought attention on Matilda. She has protected herself and her daughter and their privacy.
Whether someone is a good actress is entirely up to the individual viewing their roles. But, I don't think anyone can ever say Michelle Williams is anything other than a amazing person and a great mother, and that is far more important than what I or anyone else will ever think of her acting ability.
Rachel Getting Married
I really didn't have any expectations for this movie. Which is a good thing because I wasn't very impressed with the movie and if I had any expectations it would have been an even bigger disappointment.
Honestly all I really knew was the basic plot and that Anne Hathaway was in it. I somehow even managed to miss the fact that it was directed by Jonathan Demme.
I can not stand hand held "take you right into the middle" of it camera work. It always ends up taking me out of the story. When I walk around a room of people things are still people aren't bouncing around. Hand held camera work like they did in this movie kills the illusion.
As for the acting. Anne's performance was good but, there wasn't anything that great about it. Yes it was different from what she usually does but, I've seen better. Rent Havoc if you want to see what I'm talking about. The rest of the cast really wasn't that great.
And I know it's called Rachel Getting Married but, it was suppose to be about Anne's character getting out of rehab to go to the wedding and the wedding itself took over too much. It's like there wasn't enough of the of the main story to make a whole movie so they filled it with really annoying scenes involving the wedding. Those scenes ran way to long and really slowed down the movie.
Possible spoilers ahead:
One of the things that really bothered me about the movie was the fact that it left way too much stuff hanging. They explained how she killed her brother when she was 16 but, since that was what had cause her parents to split up you know it had been several years since that happened. But, they never explained why she ended up in rehab this time around.
The sisters best friend was annoying as hell. I could not figure out why she was constantly exacerbating the fights instead of trying to stop them. It seemed to me she would have wanted to do what she could to keep the fighting to a minimum and make sure her friend had a good wedding but, instead she took every opportunity to attack and make things worse.
I think the most powerful scene in the whole movie had to be when Kym and her mom got in a fight over why she left her in charge of her little brother when she knew how messed up she was. Wow that scene caught me so off guard. I did not see the physical part of it coming.
I saw a full price showing and it really wasn't worth it. Just wait for dvd.
Honestly all I really knew was the basic plot and that Anne Hathaway was in it. I somehow even managed to miss the fact that it was directed by Jonathan Demme.
I can not stand hand held "take you right into the middle" of it camera work. It always ends up taking me out of the story. When I walk around a room of people things are still people aren't bouncing around. Hand held camera work like they did in this movie kills the illusion.
As for the acting. Anne's performance was good but, there wasn't anything that great about it. Yes it was different from what she usually does but, I've seen better. Rent Havoc if you want to see what I'm talking about. The rest of the cast really wasn't that great.
And I know it's called Rachel Getting Married but, it was suppose to be about Anne's character getting out of rehab to go to the wedding and the wedding itself took over too much. It's like there wasn't enough of the of the main story to make a whole movie so they filled it with really annoying scenes involving the wedding. Those scenes ran way to long and really slowed down the movie.
Possible spoilers ahead:
One of the things that really bothered me about the movie was the fact that it left way too much stuff hanging. They explained how she killed her brother when she was 16 but, since that was what had cause her parents to split up you know it had been several years since that happened. But, they never explained why she ended up in rehab this time around.
The sisters best friend was annoying as hell. I could not figure out why she was constantly exacerbating the fights instead of trying to stop them. It seemed to me she would have wanted to do what she could to keep the fighting to a minimum and make sure her friend had a good wedding but, instead she took every opportunity to attack and make things worse.
I think the most powerful scene in the whole movie had to be when Kym and her mom got in a fight over why she left her in charge of her little brother when she knew how messed up she was. Wow that scene caught me so off guard. I did not see the physical part of it coming.
I saw a full price showing and it really wasn't worth it. Just wait for dvd.
Friday, February 13, 2009
He's Just Not That Into You
I'm just gonna tell you right off this is definitely a hit or miss movie with the audience. I don't think there is going to be a lot of middle ground with people. It's one of those either you like or you don't kind of movies. I liked it. It wasn't as consistently funny as I thought it would be but, it had some really funny moments.
All the performances in the film were good. For all the big name stars in the film I think it was a great move to give the true lead role to someone that people aren't as familiar with. She was very good in this role.
It's a tricky task to have interconnecting stories where the primary connection is more the overall theme of the story than anyone character. Meaning the actual character connections in this movie where very much a 6 degrees of separation kind of thing. But, in the end they actually pulled it off quite well.
The one thing I would have liked was to see a little more of the storyline for Drew Barrymore's character. In this day and age her character trying to negotiate the dating scene through all our various forms of communication technology is very spot on. It would have been nice to see a little more of her trying to figure out what's true and what's not in the cyber world.
Overall this is a pretty good movie. I know book was inspired by a line from an episode of Sex and the City but, this movie is actually put together very much like the series was. I think if you like the show you'll enjoy this movie.
I saw a matinee and honestly that's the perfect price. Good but, not quite good enough for the extra money for a night showing.
All the performances in the film were good. For all the big name stars in the film I think it was a great move to give the true lead role to someone that people aren't as familiar with. She was very good in this role.
It's a tricky task to have interconnecting stories where the primary connection is more the overall theme of the story than anyone character. Meaning the actual character connections in this movie where very much a 6 degrees of separation kind of thing. But, in the end they actually pulled it off quite well.
The one thing I would have liked was to see a little more of the storyline for Drew Barrymore's character. In this day and age her character trying to negotiate the dating scene through all our various forms of communication technology is very spot on. It would have been nice to see a little more of her trying to figure out what's true and what's not in the cyber world.
Overall this is a pretty good movie. I know book was inspired by a line from an episode of Sex and the City but, this movie is actually put together very much like the series was. I think if you like the show you'll enjoy this movie.
I saw a matinee and honestly that's the perfect price. Good but, not quite good enough for the extra money for a night showing.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
The Reader
I had no idea what to expect from this movie. I didn't even know what it was about. Sometimes that can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a very bad thing. This was a good thing. Honestly I think if you were to read too much about The Reader it would ruin the whole movie.
I don't know that I would call it a suspense or thriller. At least not in the traditional sense of those genres. It does kind of keep you guessing as too what's going to happen next. However, it's not a who's the bad guy kind of suspense.
You really have to be careful with what you say or write about it because you don't want to give too much away. And you really don't want to give too much about the characters away.
It absolutely deserved all the Oscar nominations it received. The directing nomination is totally deserved. There is scene in the film that brought me personally a feeling I have never felt at a movie. And it brought an uneasy feeling to the entire theater. I have never in my life felt something like that in a room full of people.
Kate was amazing. It's one of those roles that if you think dialogue is the most important thing you won't understand why she was nominated. But, it's a role that is perfectly suited to Kate. She has always been an actress who gave so much more to her parts through her body than her voice and a lot of this movie is like that. It's really hard to say what her chances are come Oscar night.
If this role had been nominated in the supporting category like it was at the Golden Globes and the SAG awards I'd pretty much guarantee she would win. However, in the lead category I am a little worried. The only other nominated lead performance I have seen this year is Angelina Jolie in Changeling and that was a superb performance and a true leading role. Kate's role in The Reader is at times the leading role and at time the supporting role. It's a very hard movie to figure out because honestly you don't always know which character the movie is suppose to be about. She is most definitely the lead female in the movie so in the respect it fits in the lead category. Hopefully the voters will see it as a real lead performance and finally give her, her long over due Oscar.
I am going to skip any section that would include spoilers with this review. I don't want to risk anyone accidentally reading more than they mean to when they skim over it.
This movie will definitely challenge your thought process as to the good and bad in people in the world.
Went to a matinee showing but, it totally would have been worth full price.
I don't know that I would call it a suspense or thriller. At least not in the traditional sense of those genres. It does kind of keep you guessing as too what's going to happen next. However, it's not a who's the bad guy kind of suspense.
You really have to be careful with what you say or write about it because you don't want to give too much away. And you really don't want to give too much about the characters away.
It absolutely deserved all the Oscar nominations it received. The directing nomination is totally deserved. There is scene in the film that brought me personally a feeling I have never felt at a movie. And it brought an uneasy feeling to the entire theater. I have never in my life felt something like that in a room full of people.
Kate was amazing. It's one of those roles that if you think dialogue is the most important thing you won't understand why she was nominated. But, it's a role that is perfectly suited to Kate. She has always been an actress who gave so much more to her parts through her body than her voice and a lot of this movie is like that. It's really hard to say what her chances are come Oscar night.
If this role had been nominated in the supporting category like it was at the Golden Globes and the SAG awards I'd pretty much guarantee she would win. However, in the lead category I am a little worried. The only other nominated lead performance I have seen this year is Angelina Jolie in Changeling and that was a superb performance and a true leading role. Kate's role in The Reader is at times the leading role and at time the supporting role. It's a very hard movie to figure out because honestly you don't always know which character the movie is suppose to be about. She is most definitely the lead female in the movie so in the respect it fits in the lead category. Hopefully the voters will see it as a real lead performance and finally give her, her long over due Oscar.
I am going to skip any section that would include spoilers with this review. I don't want to risk anyone accidentally reading more than they mean to when they skim over it.
This movie will definitely challenge your thought process as to the good and bad in people in the world.
Went to a matinee showing but, it totally would have been worth full price.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Changling
Awhile ago I went to see Changling. What a good movie. Not that I thought it would be bad. I'm not a big fan of Clint Eastwood as an actor but, he is a very good director. And it wasn't just the directing that was good. The acting and writing were very good as well.
The story is very good and one that really deserved to be told. As much corruption as there is in some police departments today nothing compares to the old Los Angeles police department. I think what's most frightening about it was that even when caught red handed they still act like they did nothing wrong.
The other thing that sticks with me about this movie is how it shows that the truth will always be more surprising and almost unbelievable than fiction.
Spoilers Alert:
It's really amazing the lengths people will go to, to make themselves look good. Not only did the Los Angeles police department try to pass off one boy for another they got doctors to say some of the most insane things to try and explain the differences between the two. Like saying that stress had caused the boy to shrink. And that other things just pretty much magically disappeared.
I think the most disturbing thing about the police trying to cover their butts was how they just locked women up who made a fuss. And not with fabricated crimes and into jail cells but, on basically permanent psych holds. How frightening to think that a police department could just do that because they didn't want people making them look bad.
If this wasn't a true story the movie would have been panned by critics when the twist involving a serial killer came along. A man who uses a young boy to help him kidnap other boys and then just chops them to bits for the fun of it would seem like the lamest attempt to make a standard drama a suspense thriller.
Nor would anyone buy the ending where one of the other missing boys suddenly turns up if it hadn't actually happened.
Overall this was a very good movie. If it's still in theaters near you I'd highly recommend seeing it. And it is absolutely worth full price. If can't see it in theaters be sure to put it at the top of your to rent list.
The story is very good and one that really deserved to be told. As much corruption as there is in some police departments today nothing compares to the old Los Angeles police department. I think what's most frightening about it was that even when caught red handed they still act like they did nothing wrong.
The other thing that sticks with me about this movie is how it shows that the truth will always be more surprising and almost unbelievable than fiction.
Spoilers Alert:
It's really amazing the lengths people will go to, to make themselves look good. Not only did the Los Angeles police department try to pass off one boy for another they got doctors to say some of the most insane things to try and explain the differences between the two. Like saying that stress had caused the boy to shrink. And that other things just pretty much magically disappeared.
I think the most disturbing thing about the police trying to cover their butts was how they just locked women up who made a fuss. And not with fabricated crimes and into jail cells but, on basically permanent psych holds. How frightening to think that a police department could just do that because they didn't want people making them look bad.
If this wasn't a true story the movie would have been panned by critics when the twist involving a serial killer came along. A man who uses a young boy to help him kidnap other boys and then just chops them to bits for the fun of it would seem like the lamest attempt to make a standard drama a suspense thriller.
Nor would anyone buy the ending where one of the other missing boys suddenly turns up if it hadn't actually happened.
Overall this was a very good movie. If it's still in theaters near you I'd highly recommend seeing it. And it is absolutely worth full price. If can't see it in theaters be sure to put it at the top of your to rent list.
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