Life as Jacob

On the 4th I headed over to Dixie Dozen and did a matinée showing of Hancock with Will Smith.  Wow, yet another movie of his that’s going to kick some ass.  It has a little bit of everything in it which should appeal to ladies and guys.

When I first saw the previews for this I thought it was going to be a knock off of Superman except he as an ass instead of a good guy.  What was cool was it went in a completely different direction.  There was more of a mythology to it than just some guy dropping to Earth in a spaceship.

Jason Bateman plays the role of a struggling PR director who’s saved by Hancock.  He sort of takes advantage of the situation to help the alcoholic super hero to get back some respect from the community.  You should have been able to gather most of this from the previews if you watch them.  The kicker is thrown in with Charlize Theron gets introduced.  She adds that romantic flare for the ladies.

I think the ending leaves it open for a sequel.  I don’t know where the story would go from there, but writers can come up with some crazy shit.  Something to note however, is that I don’t think Will Smith has ever done a sequel.  Hum…

Secondly, Today I went to see WALL-E.  This was another PIXAR flick.  Man, do they know how to pick the stories!  Every time I go to see one of these cartoons I punch myself for tearing up at a cartoon!

Being the MAC fanatic I am, I thought it was hilarious when WALL-E reached full charge.  Love that little tone!  I heard somewhere the people who created the movie based EVE on the classic Apple design work.  She did look very Apple-esk.

WALL-E has a great story line but something else I wanted to bring up was the stunning CGI work.  There were a few scenes in the movie that looked completely realistic.  It seems like the geeks in Hollywood are getting closer and closer to figuring out what makes something look real.  I guess I notice this since I’m a photographer.  It’s all in the details.

Anyway, both movies were great even though Hancock didn’t get raving reviews.  I would have to say WALL-E is a must see in the movie theater.  You just won’t be able to get the same experience with some of the visuals if you’re watching it on a TV.  That is unless you have a 50″ plasma in your house with surround sound.

You know, this movie has some ugly bitches in it.  One of the main characters played by Cynthia Nixon is just down right awful.  Miranda, as she is known in the movie, is a self-centered lawyer bitch.  I hate her.  She’s married to a great guy named Steve played by David Eigenberg.  You can’t help but love the guy, yet around every corner lies another bitch fit from Miranda.

Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

Since this film followed the long running TV series, women from everywhere came out of the closet to see it.  Empress Sassy and I were forced to attend the late night showing at 12:30am on Friday.  It was ok because we were upgraded to the directors hall seating.  Mine eyes did wonder as we were privy to woman after woman dressed to kill to see this thing.  There were boobs galore hanging out of halter tops and short dresses even at the 12:30 showing.  It was almost as bad as going to a Harry Potter movie with 12 year olds.

I did enjoy the movie.  I didn’t follow the show all that much since I don’t have cable.  I know most of the important parts and who is supposed to be with who.  I also know who is supposed to be with BIG.  He’s one of those guys you have to love to hate to love.  Keeping in mind the only way to keep the story going is to have the two of them break it off, get back together, break it off again, get back together, etc., etc., etc… It was a great film.  Some of the fashion was great but some was not.  One of the opening scenes is of Carrie walking down the street with a damn umbrella on her chest.  Come on people, have come common sense!  What woman would wear that? 

I have to put some major love out there for Charlotte.  “I curse the day you were born” just can’t be said with such class by any other person.  Some of the best parts of the movie were delivered by her cute scrunched up nose!

Something I don’t understand however, is how this thing only did 55M at the box office.  Last week when Stacy and I went to see Indiana Jones, the seats were not filled.  There was the occasional empty seat spread out among the theatre.  Sex in the City on the other hand had sold out showings all day long!  We checked the showtimes around 9:30 in the morning and shows at 10:00 were already sold out!  So how did the film only do 55M when Indi did over 126M?  I don’t get it.

Wow, this was way more Sci-fi than I anticipated.  I’ve seen all the other movies and was expecting mystical stuff maybe with a little religious undertone.  Instead I was smacked in the face with pure gumshoe and science fiction!

Something I need to tell you about this movie is to expect a lot of Lucas effects.  Almost too many in my opinion.  There were a couple of scenes ( which were funny by the way ) that had little CG prairie dogs.  Now, I’ve seen the need to do CG Spiderman, Ironman, and intergalactic spaceships but was there really a need to do a CG prairie dog?  Couldn’t an animal handler been brought in to do something like that in a day or so?  Not only did they do it but it was done poorly.  It was very obvious when the cut was made from real to CG.  Come on guys, was Harrison that expensive?  Couldn’t throw in a few extra thousand to get some better CG work?

Stacy pointed out to me in the first 20 minutes of the movie we were watching another version of National Treasure.  They were doing a lot of investigative work.  The first three were more action, blow-em up, stumble upon something cool.  I remember Indi from the first three movies as being more of an accidental hero.  This three-quel made him out to be more of an actual hero who can also solve math problems.

I liked watching Karen Allen.  I thought they did a good job of bringing her back into the storyline.  Both seemed to pick up on the banter they shared in the first movie.  It wasn’t fake like a lot of leading couples are.  They seemed like they could really go together and have great passion and great fights.  Isn’t that what it’s all about?  Fighting so hard you get turned on and then tear up the sheets!  Kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

If you’ve watched the old movies, you almost have to watch this one.  The question will be if you want to pay $9.00 for it or wait until it comes out on DVD.  I say, unless you want to see Harrison Ford’s HUGE nose on the BIG screen, then wait and watch it on your TV.  That schnoz is humongous. 

At no point have I disputed the hotness of Patrick Dempsy but his talents only go so far.  Something I noticed as I watched this movie about not knowing what you’ve got, is that he only has one personality.  From my point of view, Patrick can only play that arrogant ass type in film and on the small screen.  If you were to put him in an action film, it would flop.  He couldn’t do something the likes of star wars or anything like that.  He’s a man made for lookin’ and lovin’.  One hit wonder.  Now Stacy, before you slam me, I’m admitting that he does what he does really well.

When he’s playing vulnerable in Grey’s it makes him hot.  But not really hot.  Something else I noticed was his little co-star.   Michelle Monaghan isn’t exactly the hottest chick on the block.  I think this was done for a reason.  If you really look at Patrick, he’s only hot and sexy when he is amongst the normal people.  If you were to put him him in a room with drop dead gorgeous women he would loose some of his rugged charm.

Alright, as for the movie itself.  It was OK.  I think the storyline was a little over the top but it worked for me.  I gave it a solid B.  I won’t be sticking this one on the shelf of my collection or anything but I would watch it again.  I really wonder if a great love has to go thru something big before it can really be.  If you have someone you love and never have any type of crazy stuff happen, is it as sasitsfying?

The movie was freakin crazy.  Enough said.

Well, I just finished up watching the movie Prime.  I moved this up in my queue because of Stacy.  Her review of the movie was glowing so I felt confident in bumping some other good stuff so I could watch it earlier.  Staring Uma Thurman, Brian Green, and Meryl Streep…how could you go wrong?

First thing first.  This Bryan guy, drawn.  Genetically he was gifted a tone and physique which really should exist in human form.  I go to the gym, I eat freakin carrots 6 days a week and still I carry around a tire.  One day scientist will invent a pill which will allow all people to become one with the inner muscle inside.  Damn you Brian, damn you…

He’s also in October Road on ABC.  Not my favorite show, but watch-able when there isn’t anything else on.  Not a strong actor in this movie ( or October Road ) but next to Uma and Meryl, he doesn’t have to be.  I think the director said, “Okay, go stand by Uma and take off your shirt.  Ok, go sit next to Meryl and nod your head.  Ok, here’s your check, hit the gym and be back here tomorrow morning at 6am.”

Then we have Uma.  Man, love that Uma.  She’s too tall for me but I could live with it if needed.  I’ve had a thing for her since she was in Kill Bill.  For some reason I have the hots for women who can beat me up.  When women start doing that Karate and swinging a sword in my face, oh, it’s on!  I wonder what my safety word should be when I get married?

Ok, movie…

So something that caught my attention when I was listening to the director talk about this movie was his purpose for having it.  He wanted to explore if a relationship could end without being a failure.  This is real stuff here.  Too much we have relationships that must end because of the wrong reasons.  Fighting, Money, Cheating, blah, blah, blah.  What about when you still love each other but it just isn’t going to work out.

Can’t you use the relationship to grow and adjust and make life better?  Can’t you still love each other and just not be together?  Oh wait, if they’re “the one” then no… Impossible.

I liked this movie.  I, like Stacy, enjoy a happy ending.  I think this movie has one without being fake.  Even the director said it’s hard to sell real in Hollywood.  Do we always need that hook to keep us watching the movie?  I’m tired of that darn formula which says, ” Intro, meet, Hook-up, Action, Climax, Ending. “  Think outside the box here people.

This review in no way says that Sideways was a good movie.  It was just daily life with no point or reason.  Paul was great but the other dude sucked.

Stacy, why are we not seeing movies like this when we go?  All I get from you is crap, all you get from me is Sci-fi.  Why, when there is a common ground, do we not just go and see the movie!!!

I’ve just finished watching Next with Nicolas Cage. I now have an awesome travel destination.  Havasupai Falls in the basin of the Grand Canyon.  The movie wasn’t that hot, but the destination is.  From what the directors commentary talks about, it’s one of the most beautiful places he’s ever seen.  The funny thing is, it’s just sitting out there cut off from the world.  Apparently Nicholas Cage took one of his wives down there and loved it.  By putting it in a movie I’m sure the place has a new influx of tourism.  I’ll be heading out there as soon as I can afford the gas.

Holy Crap!  I loved this movie!  I’ve always known it as a classic but I’m not generally a fan of black and white movies.  A few days ago I had Citizen Kane at home and hated it.  I was expecting this to be similar.  The film completely blew me away by not only the story-line but the cinematography.

This film is just as relevant today as it was in the 50’s.  The story is clear and concise.  Joe’s voiceover dishes out the details without giving up too much.  I’m most impressed by the subtle realizations he comes to during the clips.  The same type of relationship could easily pop up on Sunset Boulevard today.  Everyone in this film is out for themselves and in turn is willing to sell themselves for any price.  For Norma its the possibility to get back on the silver screen.  For Joe, the comfortable lifestyle that of a gigolo provides.  The butler, a lifetime of servitude to be by the woman he still loves.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this movie, rent it immediately.  Not only will it impress you, it will also give you pause.  Was Norma’s psychosis caused by her situation, her long lost adoring public, or the loss of Joe’s love ( or Norma’s perception of ).  By the way, this movie has two of AFI’s top 100 movie quotes.  Both are delivered expertly by Gloria Swanson.

Even though this movie was back from ‘97 it was completely fun to watch.  Ben Affleck is pre Bennifer, pre baby, pre popularity.  It’s a love story about a dude who falls for  a girl who just happens to be lesbian.  He’s a comic book creator with his best friend Banky Edwards ( Jason Lee ).  Once he starts falling for this girl, his best friend gets pretty jealous about the whole thing because he might have a little man crush on him.

This isn’t an Oscar winner by no means but it’s just good.  There are conversations which real people would have.  Then of course since it’s a movie, they take it to that next level too.  Jason Lee is just plain funny when he’s playing an ass.  Even though Ben can’t act worth a darn, he does the part well since he’s just a normal guy anyway.

I really liked the speech the girl gives about half way thru the movie.  She’s talking about being a lesbian and going against societies norm.  Then he comes along and pushes her boundaries again.  As a lesbian she wants to fall in love with a woman but is forced to ask herself why she could no longer allow herself to fall in love with a man.  The whole point of becoming a lesbian was to not limit herself to just one sex.

Okay, so I needed something to put in my queue to keep me busy.  Alien vs Predator came up as a recommendation a few weeks ago so I stuck it in there.  Honestly, it wasn’t that bad!

There’re a few CLASSIC sci-fi movies out there.  You have Alien, Predator, Terminator, and The Matrix.  Hollywood mega-intelligence would dictate to mush two of those movies together for a boost in the weekend box office.  Same theory behind Jason and Freddy.

So basically we have a nifty satellite which reveals an ancient pyramid under a few thousand feet of ice.  Rush to the rescue some really rich people with a death wish.  Although the main character Alexa ( Sanaa Lathan ) keeps telling everyone they should go back, the people with the guns push forward.  Then, holy crap, they get stuck in the pyramid for the next 40 minutes!

It turns out that the Predator’s put the queen mamma alien in the basement of the pyramid.  She lays some eggs and they suck face with the people who mysteriously get stuck in the sacrifice room.

For me the saving grace in the movie, was of course, the cool leading lady.  Alexa does some pretty good alien ass kicking which earns her the respect of the Predator dude.  It cracks me up when he chops off the head of one of the dead aliens and gives it to her as a shield.  Boom!  Alexa goes from arctic explorer to Xena Warrior Princess!  Amazing!  Some more fun battle scenes happen so we can make it back to the surface.

Again, not that bad of a movie.  I’m glad I didn’t go see it in the theaters because it would have been 8 bucks.  On Netflix, free makes every movie worth watching.  Well, not completely free but whatever.  I gave it a B+.