Movies I’ve seen recently.
The Dark Knight – Awesome beyond words. Nolan and crew should walk away from the franchise and let it stand as a shining, perfect work so delicate and precise that it cannot be properly built upon. Either that, or wait 25 years and make The Dark Knight Returns with the same cast.
Pineapple Express – I saw an advanced screening of this last week. It’s pretty funny. If you liked Hot Fuzz, you’ll like it, since it’s basically the same core gag (’80s/’90s “Point Break”-style action placed in a hipster/ironic modern comedy) with extra pot jokes. Seth Rogen plays… well… the same character he plays in every movie, which isn’t necessarily bad. James Franco, on the other hand, totally steals the show. He’s so funny at times that I ALMOST felt like forgiving him for his involvement in Spider-man 3. Almost.
Hancock – Credit where credit is due, the trailer spoils very little for this one. I expected it to be godawful and, instead, it was only somewhat cheesy. It had some great bits, including one that any fans of comic book/action films will probably appreciate – namely, a super-hero being held accountable for the untold millions of dollars of damage done to a city during the course of your run of the mill act of super-heroism. Related note: Nancy Grace is usually one of the worst people on the planet, but her cameo in the film is priceless and refreshingly self-aware.
Wanted – What a terrible, terrible movie. And I should have known better than to watch it. I hated the comics it’s based on. I hate nearly everything Angelina Jolie has ever done (her one pass: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). I hate bullet-cam. As near as I can tell, the dude who made Night Watch (which is good) and Day Watch (which is not so good, but features an evil yo-yo) watched Fight Club and decided to make an absolutely horrible version of it for himself. Based on a terrible comic book. Starring horrible people. And Morgan Freeman who, I have to assume, lost a series of bets resulting in his appearing in movies like this one and The Bucket List. Did I mention the Magical Loom of Fate? It has one of those too. There is no reason to see this movie.
Conclusion:
See The Dark Knight, no matter what. See Pineapple Express or Hancock if you’re in the mood for something light and relatively fun. Stab anyone who tries to take you to Wanted in the face with a pencil and run away – that person is trying to hurt you.
The Dark Knight has grossed an insane amount of money, and some crazy folks are saying it’ll eclipse Titanic if enough repeat people go to see it.
I’m usually pretty stingy with my movie selection, but there are several that just make me want to watch them. Death Race, for example, while it could turn out to be the worst movie on the planet, still has car combat, and I have a soft spot in my black heart for Twisted Metal.
RE: Wanted. I thought the tone and pace surrounding the movie in the fightclub-esque office scene was outstanding, but the movie had some horrible plot holes that I cannot forgive. Namely, the Loom of Fate. I’m a very forgiving movie goer, liking almost every movie I watch; however, the movie ended on a plot device that was so jacked up.
I didn’t believe that Jolie’s decision was necessary or believable, altruistic assassins yea right. Morgan Freeman lied the entire movie so why wasn’t he lying at the end?
Also, I felt the same way about the Daywatch / Nightwatch movies: The movies are visually appealing and different, but the plot is meaningless and should be disregarded.
Agreed, Hancock was really good.
Not seen The Dark Knight yet so I’m sticking fingers in my eyes and avoiding reading anything about it (including that paragraph above).
The plot for Wanted was pretty abysmal but I still thought it was watchable enough – was carried by the actors.
That and the doughnut* in the final scene saves the whole film really…
*donut I should say as it’s set in ‘merka…
Saw The Dark Knight – thought it was great. My buttocks disagree, however. I wonder if in this new age of two and a half hour plus films we should bring back the intermission, preferably with the cheesy music included.
Such a spammer me, on the subject of Daywatch and Nightwatch – liked the films but, if you haven’t checked them out yet, the books are really good. Very different focus to the movies.