Hellboy

When I saw this in the theatre I didn't care for it too much. Not that I disliked it, I just didn't like it much either. Pan's Labyrinth floored me though, so I decided to take a second look and I'm glad I did. Although it seems like there is a bit too much crammed into this film (I think he felt like it was his only shot to make a Hellboy life action movie) the film really shines at times. The motivation for Rasputin (HELLBOY WE NEED YOUR MITTENS!) is kind of cheap but otherwise a very well done film with the occasional spark of brilliance.

A- and I am excited to see the sequal, although I'm waiting for HD. Also, if you liked this film at all you should watche the animated ones (also by DeToro). Good stuff.

Rambo

Well it's better then I thought. It's a man-fantasy of one man takes all, but a well done one. Still not a huge STalone fan but he does a good job in this film even if most of his lines are grunts. At least most of the characters have beliveble motivations.

B+ for taking the pure action movie genre to it's limit in a semi belivable way.

Battlestar Galactica (Remake)

My sister was the first person to tell me about how good this series is, and I can see why she likes it. They manage to crank up the suspense every episode, but it's not done subtley. In fact I feel like I've been beat with a psychic hammer after watching a few episodes. The actors for the most part don't have the chops to pull off some of the scenes that are written for them and there are invariably some really bad spots in each episode. That being said they do a great job showing the interpersonal dynamics of people under immense stress. I really enjoy the father-son interaction between the commander of the shop and his son, the portrail of the chain of command and personal responsibility and the fight that the XO has to live up to the expectations of the CO he obviously idolizes. Certainly good for television, but it's no Heroes season 1

A-

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This movie was a delight. It's basically a tounge in cheek take on film noir and the pulp detetive films of the past (think Mike Hammer). If you like that kind of thing and are willing to take meta-cinema with a grain of salt this is a great film where the people are real people, just a bit smarter (and braver) then most.

An A

Highlander

A cult classic I loved as a kid (I think I saw it when I was 14 or so), this film has aged reasonably well. Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery both do a decent job but I think that Clancy Brown (the evil Kurgan) is probably my favorite, walking a fine line between camp and horror. This film could use a remake with modern fight scenes and special effects, but it's still a great flick. And a remake might fail, although you could get the brothers W to do it and have a fantastic film.

A-

Pirates of the Caribean:At the World's End

I liked the first movie in this series and didn't care for the second at all. This film lies somewhere in between, taking advantage of the moral abiguities between the main players to decent effect, but a deep film it's not. Lack of focus really hurts this film and the fact that it's a purely fabricated sequal made to cash in on the franchise in Holywood style shows. Still it's not boring so I'd say it's a B-, which I am pleasantly suprised at, mostly due to Depp.

Conan the Barbarian

This was pretty much what you expect...but a well done version of it. If you ever wanted a simple life of rutting like a dog, killing anyone that pissed you off and drinking yourself into a stupor then this will appeal to you. The granddaddy of epic fantasy, don't watch this film if you're looking for good acting or deep characters, but if you want to see bad guys get chopped to pieces and check out Arnie back in the steroid days this is not a bad flick.

B+, just keep in mind the genre.

More movies faster

For some reason I think I should post this, even though I know I'm the only one that reads it. But hey, what the hell. I upgraded my netflix account to 2@time so should have more films then before.

100 Girls

This is a movie I never heard of before, and that's a shame. It's a sometimes pedantic and at times really crude look at the roles of men and women in our world. It's also really funny, as the main character says, he's "tragically glib". I really enjoyed watching this film, something I'd recommend my sons watch once they are old enough to be confused about man's greatest conflict.

An A film.

Sin City

This was a dark movie about bad people doing really bad things to even worse people. Don't look for knights in shining armor, although generally the protagonist has a solid reason for his actions. Generally fast paced, this film is a series of short stories all set in the same city but never really intersect. I really enjoyed it, if you saw 300 and thought it was meh (I figure it's a B- at best) this is much better.

A-, would be higher but I enjoy longer stories, or at least an over arcing story line. I think it would also have been better to split Bruce Willis's story so the time he spent in prison was the break, not the death.  Oh well.Publish Post

Mallrats

This a great movie about only the interesting part of pretty much normal people's lives. Really it's what Kevin Smith does very well; presenting the lives of the folks on the cusp of adulthood but not so sure they want to "grow up".  This was the extended edition, but desipte the director's warning aside from some weird bumps in the film it was worth the extra time. I am sure editing it would have made for a tighter movie, but no one watches Kevin Smith for that style of directing. Ambling around a mall with him seems just fine.

A-

Renaissance

This film is a great example of using animation to do things that would be prohibitive or impossible in a live action film. The artists vary the resolution of the different scenes to emphasize action and the use of color has a very specific meaning. With a deep theme this movie will really make you question something we all take for granted. Lots of action but really it's a drama over all I recommend it if your in the mode for something artsy.

I give it an A-, really solid film overall.

Face/Off

My biggest single problem with this movie is that I had to stare at John Travolta and Nicholas Cage the whole movie. They did a pretty good job but there is some quality that they both have in common that constantly irks me, so my views on this film are probably somewhat irrational. The action schenes where pretty good but didnt even pay lip service to reality. If your going to ignore the laws of physics at least take advantage of it. The other thing that bothered me was it got kind of smaltzy at times. Oh well.

Still a solid action film. Entertaining if you at least like the genre, I'd say a B film. Certainly worth the time if you feel like watching stuff blow up.

Speedracer

So this movie was more of a homage to the original, although it has a signifigant re-write (well, it takes liberties anyways), but it's kind of cool the way they did it. I don't think I've ever watched the original cartoon all the way through, but I'm familiar with the basic premise (complex it is not). The race scenes are genius, the rest smaltz.

I'd say it's a B-, if they could have taken maybe 15% out and erased the geeky dude that never had a full shirt it would have been an A-, sorry W brothers, this is nothing like the original Matrix or even V. Not too bad for a movie you can watch with your kids though.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Despite it's rather slow start (and the fact that the main character is not really that likeable, at least not at first) this is a a powerful film that just builds steam as it progresses. It's certainly not an easy story and if you only like action movies then this is probably not for you. Otherwise this is a fantastic picture. The sparse landscapes, difficult visuals and slow pace give you the tiniest glimpse of what it must be like to communicate through such a cumbersome processes and the longer you watch the more you can sympathize with the main character. I can see why this was such a sensation when it came out. Just be aware that it's very slow paced, especially at the start.

A definate A film.

Goodfellas

This is Scorsese's masterpiece as far as I am concerned. I both enjoyed this movie as entertainment and it made me think. Basically it's the story of a reasonably charismatic guy who has no other redeeming qualities. It's like an advertisement for the mob life, but only would look good to someone who really would enjoy living as a parasite on society, his leech friends and no so intelligent wife. The movie is not one I'd recommend to my mom (according to IMDB they say "fuck" more then once a minute) and it's quite violent, but the true interest in this film is the fact that it's closely based on how things really work. It tells the same story as the (much uglier and not nearly as sympathetic) movie on 50cent's life 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', this film does make you understand how a kid could slip into this life. The acting is superb, the cinematography incredible (be sure to pay attention to the shot where he enters the club with his wife-to-be for the first time) and the story as well known ahead of time as a greek tragedy, except he basically has the best of all possible endings, which is not all that great.

Anyways, an excellent movie. I never though I'd find a film that was as good as the Godfather in this genre but this truely is. I wondered what the hubub around Departed ( a decent film but nothing we've not seen over and over before) was, this is it. If you liked Departed but have not see Goodfellas you need to see it, right now.

A+