August 20, 2013
Hello SG world! Hope everybody is well.
First off, before I get into my blog, I want to give a big congratulations to LaneyChantal on a successful first week on the SyFy show Face Off! The faun you and your teammate created looked amazing, and the makeup job on the first challenge was very good as well. You are an incredibly talented makeup artist, and I wish you the best of luck as the show continues! (If you guys have not seen the show before, it is one of the few reality competitions I consider worth watching. The show is a competition amongst professional makeup artists, and the things they create are amazing. I hope that the entire SG community shows their support for Laney as the show progresses!)
Lots of things on my mind lately as summer draws to a close. (Holy crap I cannot believe summer is almost over!!!) As I said in my last blog I think I am going to primarily keep this blog as a series of thought or short reviews on movies, TV shows, music, books, etc. I was fortunate enough to see some really good movies this summer, listen to some great music, and read a couple terrific books as well. I took a class called Film Arts earlier this summer and got to watch a lot of classic movies that I probably would not have seen on my own. If you are interested in reading about those movies, check out my previous blog here. For the films, shows, music, books, etc. that I review from this blog forward, I am going to grade everything on a scale from 0 to 10.
While I still intend to write some reviews and share thoughts on these various forms of entertainment, I have been rethinking my initial position about not disclosing many details about my personal life. I do not know how much I will be sharing, and I likely will not be posting anything that I would consider airing dirty laundry, but I have had some really great experiences and accomplishments that I would like to share. I have been in a particularly sentimental mood lately, so I think my next blog or two after this one will be me reminiscing and sharing these memories and experiences. Some good, some bad, but all of them have helped in some way to make me the person I currently am and am still trying to become. (I know the end may sound a bit mysterious or cryptic, but I am only trying to offer a teaser so you all will come back and read my blogs in the future! Lol.)
Anyway, on to the reviews! The summer movie season is always chock full of big budget blockbusters full of spectacle, excitement, and intrigue. While I do not think this summer has had as many great movies, and certainly not as many successful blockbusters as there have been in previous summers, there still have been some very solid to excellent movies put out this summer. Here is a list (and quick thoughts) of the movies I have seen this summer.
Iron Man 3: Like most of the country, the first big movie I saw this summer was Iron Man 3. I know a lot of people have had major problems with this movie, but I have to say I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good continuation of Tony Starks character arc. It will be interesting to see how the developments in Iron Man 3 will impact the rest of the shared Marvel universe, especially in the next Avengers movie. The one aspect of the film I had mixed feelings about was the presentation of The Mandarin. As Iron Mans greatest enemy, I was expecting The Mandarin to have a huge role in the film. And, while I thoroughly enjoyed Ben Kingsleys performance, I didnt really care for The Mandarin being turned into this almost ancillary character that was used strictly to provide laughs due to Kingsleys portrayal of a drug and booze addled actor whos lost touch with reality. Entertaining for sure, but I just wish The Mandarin would have been more of a serious threat to Tony Stark and his personal world than he actually was. The incorporation of the Extremis storyline from the comics was definitely cool, though. That is one of my favorite recent Iron Man story arcs, and I thought they adapted it well for the movie. Grade: 8/10
Much Ado About Nothing: I found Joss Whedons decision to direct a straight-forward, intimate adaptation of Shakespeares popular romantic comedy as his next project following The Avengers to be both interesting and appropriate. It is virtually impossible to top a movie like The Avengers in terms of scale, production, and overall scope of the story (aside from the upcoming Avengers sequel, of course). With that in mind, why not go in a completely different direction by gathering some actor friends at your house and spend a few days filming them doing your interpretation of one of Shakespeares classic plays? The entire cast is terrific; as each actor seems well-suited for the part they have been given. The cinematography was simple but very effective and even beautiful at times. Whedons decision to film the movie in black and white lends to the general feeling of intimacy while watching the film. The one thing that hurts the film, as with almost all Shakespeare adaptations, is the audience pretty much knows how the two main plots will end within the films first couple minutes. (If you have seen any decent romantic comedy Hollywood has ever produced, you should be able to figure it out.) This is something that Whedon cannot control, since many modern romantic comedies, dramas, and tragedies have been heavily influenced by the narrative arcs and character types created by Shakespeare. Having said that, if you are in the mood for some laughs from a straight-forward comedy with an ensemble that looks like they had a great time filming, I think you will be very satisfied with this movie. Grade: 8.7/10
This is the End: I went in expecting This is the End to essentially be a stoner comedy featuring several comedic actors that I have really come to enjoy over the last five or six years. There are plenty of stoner jokes for sure, but there is also lots of great action, special effects, elements of parody, and a series of performances from guys who are not afraid to play a caricature of themselves that usually portrays them in a negative light. All of this adds up to a very funny movie that also has a decent, but not great, subplot centered around the friendship between Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel. Probably the funniest movie I have seen all year. (Note: The Worlds End looks very promising and opens Friday, so I may end up going back on that statement in the not-too distant future.) Grade: 8.5/10
The Way, Way Back: A really fun coming of age story that has a rather formulaic plot in terms of the protagonists overall development but overcomes that with great characters, solid storytelling and many funny sequences. Sam Rockwell steals the film with his performance as the laid back, funny, slacker owner of a water park. Toni Collette, Steve Carell, and Allison Janney all turn in solid performances as well. Grade: 8.4/10
Pacific Rim: This was the first disappointment for me in the summer movie season. It is a good action film, but it has many flaws and as a fan of Guillermo del Toro I was expecting a lot more than what I got. Also, seeing it in I-Max 3D was a waste of money. The action in the fight scenes were generally good, but they were often in the dark and it was usually raining, which made it hard to see the action and especially difficult to see the awesome monsters the CGI team created. That, along with serious plot holes and lapses in logic, hurt the film considerably. Even the comedic relief provided by Ron Perlman and Charlie Day could only help the film so much before you start to get tired of it and just want to see the final fight so the film will end. Grade: 7.3/10
Fruitvale Station: Now this is the type of movie all filmmakers should aspire to create! Easily one of the best movies I have seen all year, period. Great performances by the entire cast, but especially from Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, and Melonie Diaz. All three carried the bulk of the films weight in terms of drama, humor, hope, optimism, fear, despair, and tragedy, and they all did a great job. What makes the film even more powerful is that it is based on a true story and appears to be a pretty accurate account of what happened. I will not get into the details here, but I will say this: even if you know what the film is about and how the story ends before you see it, you will still likely be holding your breath and sitting on the edge of your seat during the films final act. A film so emotionally powerful it brought me closer to breaking into tears than any film has in a long time. Grade: 9.4/10
The Conjuring: One of the best horror movies I have seen Hollywood put out in the last five years or so. I had my doubts going in about what sort of horror film this would be, considering it was directed by the man who directed the first Saw film, which re-ignited the torture porn subgenre of horror. My doubts and concerns were proven to be unnecessary and unfounded. The Conjuring has the look and feel of a classic, more old school horror film. There is next to no gore and very few cheap scares. Instead the film relies on the story to set a creepy, chilling tone that gradually builds in intensity all the way up to the climax. Definitely worth seeing if you are a horror fan. Grade: 9/10
The Wolverine: I still have yet to see Kick-Ass 2 so my opinion may change, but at the moment The Wolverine is my favorite comic book film from this summer. It has the sort of story, plot execution, action sequences, and character evolution of Logan I was hoping we would get in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Great action scenes (especially the scene on top of the bullet train thats been featured so prominently in the movies trailers), a solid script that is not convoluted and tends to be anchored in the development and psychological motivation of the characters, and most important the film is not weighed down by the appearance of one too many mutants, or characters in general. Plus, the bonus scene that gets played mid-credits at the end of the film has me very excited for the next chapter in the X-Men franchise! Grade: 8.6/10
Thats all the movies Ive seen so far this summer. On my list of films I still want (or need) to see are Kick-Ass 2, Blue Jasmine, The To-Do List, The Spectacular Now, Elysium, Were the Millers, The Worlds End, Youre Next, and A Band Called Death.
Thanks for reading everybody! I hope to have a new blog posted in a couple days that will be much more personal than what Ive shared so far. As always feel free to leave comments, message me, or add me as a friend. The more the merrier!
Peace,
Brendan
Hello SG world! Hope everybody is well.
First off, before I get into my blog, I want to give a big congratulations to LaneyChantal on a successful first week on the SyFy show Face Off! The faun you and your teammate created looked amazing, and the makeup job on the first challenge was very good as well. You are an incredibly talented makeup artist, and I wish you the best of luck as the show continues! (If you guys have not seen the show before, it is one of the few reality competitions I consider worth watching. The show is a competition amongst professional makeup artists, and the things they create are amazing. I hope that the entire SG community shows their support for Laney as the show progresses!)
Lots of things on my mind lately as summer draws to a close. (Holy crap I cannot believe summer is almost over!!!) As I said in my last blog I think I am going to primarily keep this blog as a series of thought or short reviews on movies, TV shows, music, books, etc. I was fortunate enough to see some really good movies this summer, listen to some great music, and read a couple terrific books as well. I took a class called Film Arts earlier this summer and got to watch a lot of classic movies that I probably would not have seen on my own. If you are interested in reading about those movies, check out my previous blog here. For the films, shows, music, books, etc. that I review from this blog forward, I am going to grade everything on a scale from 0 to 10.
While I still intend to write some reviews and share thoughts on these various forms of entertainment, I have been rethinking my initial position about not disclosing many details about my personal life. I do not know how much I will be sharing, and I likely will not be posting anything that I would consider airing dirty laundry, but I have had some really great experiences and accomplishments that I would like to share. I have been in a particularly sentimental mood lately, so I think my next blog or two after this one will be me reminiscing and sharing these memories and experiences. Some good, some bad, but all of them have helped in some way to make me the person I currently am and am still trying to become. (I know the end may sound a bit mysterious or cryptic, but I am only trying to offer a teaser so you all will come back and read my blogs in the future! Lol.)
Anyway, on to the reviews! The summer movie season is always chock full of big budget blockbusters full of spectacle, excitement, and intrigue. While I do not think this summer has had as many great movies, and certainly not as many successful blockbusters as there have been in previous summers, there still have been some very solid to excellent movies put out this summer. Here is a list (and quick thoughts) of the movies I have seen this summer.
Iron Man 3: Like most of the country, the first big movie I saw this summer was Iron Man 3. I know a lot of people have had major problems with this movie, but I have to say I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good continuation of Tony Starks character arc. It will be interesting to see how the developments in Iron Man 3 will impact the rest of the shared Marvel universe, especially in the next Avengers movie. The one aspect of the film I had mixed feelings about was the presentation of The Mandarin. As Iron Mans greatest enemy, I was expecting The Mandarin to have a huge role in the film. And, while I thoroughly enjoyed Ben Kingsleys performance, I didnt really care for The Mandarin being turned into this almost ancillary character that was used strictly to provide laughs due to Kingsleys portrayal of a drug and booze addled actor whos lost touch with reality. Entertaining for sure, but I just wish The Mandarin would have been more of a serious threat to Tony Stark and his personal world than he actually was. The incorporation of the Extremis storyline from the comics was definitely cool, though. That is one of my favorite recent Iron Man story arcs, and I thought they adapted it well for the movie. Grade: 8/10
Much Ado About Nothing: I found Joss Whedons decision to direct a straight-forward, intimate adaptation of Shakespeares popular romantic comedy as his next project following The Avengers to be both interesting and appropriate. It is virtually impossible to top a movie like The Avengers in terms of scale, production, and overall scope of the story (aside from the upcoming Avengers sequel, of course). With that in mind, why not go in a completely different direction by gathering some actor friends at your house and spend a few days filming them doing your interpretation of one of Shakespeares classic plays? The entire cast is terrific; as each actor seems well-suited for the part they have been given. The cinematography was simple but very effective and even beautiful at times. Whedons decision to film the movie in black and white lends to the general feeling of intimacy while watching the film. The one thing that hurts the film, as with almost all Shakespeare adaptations, is the audience pretty much knows how the two main plots will end within the films first couple minutes. (If you have seen any decent romantic comedy Hollywood has ever produced, you should be able to figure it out.) This is something that Whedon cannot control, since many modern romantic comedies, dramas, and tragedies have been heavily influenced by the narrative arcs and character types created by Shakespeare. Having said that, if you are in the mood for some laughs from a straight-forward comedy with an ensemble that looks like they had a great time filming, I think you will be very satisfied with this movie. Grade: 8.7/10
This is the End: I went in expecting This is the End to essentially be a stoner comedy featuring several comedic actors that I have really come to enjoy over the last five or six years. There are plenty of stoner jokes for sure, but there is also lots of great action, special effects, elements of parody, and a series of performances from guys who are not afraid to play a caricature of themselves that usually portrays them in a negative light. All of this adds up to a very funny movie that also has a decent, but not great, subplot centered around the friendship between Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel. Probably the funniest movie I have seen all year. (Note: The Worlds End looks very promising and opens Friday, so I may end up going back on that statement in the not-too distant future.) Grade: 8.5/10
The Way, Way Back: A really fun coming of age story that has a rather formulaic plot in terms of the protagonists overall development but overcomes that with great characters, solid storytelling and many funny sequences. Sam Rockwell steals the film with his performance as the laid back, funny, slacker owner of a water park. Toni Collette, Steve Carell, and Allison Janney all turn in solid performances as well. Grade: 8.4/10
Pacific Rim: This was the first disappointment for me in the summer movie season. It is a good action film, but it has many flaws and as a fan of Guillermo del Toro I was expecting a lot more than what I got. Also, seeing it in I-Max 3D was a waste of money. The action in the fight scenes were generally good, but they were often in the dark and it was usually raining, which made it hard to see the action and especially difficult to see the awesome monsters the CGI team created. That, along with serious plot holes and lapses in logic, hurt the film considerably. Even the comedic relief provided by Ron Perlman and Charlie Day could only help the film so much before you start to get tired of it and just want to see the final fight so the film will end. Grade: 7.3/10
Fruitvale Station: Now this is the type of movie all filmmakers should aspire to create! Easily one of the best movies I have seen all year, period. Great performances by the entire cast, but especially from Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, and Melonie Diaz. All three carried the bulk of the films weight in terms of drama, humor, hope, optimism, fear, despair, and tragedy, and they all did a great job. What makes the film even more powerful is that it is based on a true story and appears to be a pretty accurate account of what happened. I will not get into the details here, but I will say this: even if you know what the film is about and how the story ends before you see it, you will still likely be holding your breath and sitting on the edge of your seat during the films final act. A film so emotionally powerful it brought me closer to breaking into tears than any film has in a long time. Grade: 9.4/10
The Conjuring: One of the best horror movies I have seen Hollywood put out in the last five years or so. I had my doubts going in about what sort of horror film this would be, considering it was directed by the man who directed the first Saw film, which re-ignited the torture porn subgenre of horror. My doubts and concerns were proven to be unnecessary and unfounded. The Conjuring has the look and feel of a classic, more old school horror film. There is next to no gore and very few cheap scares. Instead the film relies on the story to set a creepy, chilling tone that gradually builds in intensity all the way up to the climax. Definitely worth seeing if you are a horror fan. Grade: 9/10
The Wolverine: I still have yet to see Kick-Ass 2 so my opinion may change, but at the moment The Wolverine is my favorite comic book film from this summer. It has the sort of story, plot execution, action sequences, and character evolution of Logan I was hoping we would get in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Great action scenes (especially the scene on top of the bullet train thats been featured so prominently in the movies trailers), a solid script that is not convoluted and tends to be anchored in the development and psychological motivation of the characters, and most important the film is not weighed down by the appearance of one too many mutants, or characters in general. Plus, the bonus scene that gets played mid-credits at the end of the film has me very excited for the next chapter in the X-Men franchise! Grade: 8.6/10
Thats all the movies Ive seen so far this summer. On my list of films I still want (or need) to see are Kick-Ass 2, Blue Jasmine, The To-Do List, The Spectacular Now, Elysium, Were the Millers, The Worlds End, Youre Next, and A Band Called Death.
Thanks for reading everybody! I hope to have a new blog posted in a couple days that will be much more personal than what Ive shared so far. As always feel free to leave comments, message me, or add me as a friend. The more the merrier!
Peace,
Brendan