Now I love Greek mythology, and I enjoyed the movie 300, so I was expecting a good representation of both in this movie. I was wrong. The graphics were so terrible they made me laugh, and it looked like this should be shown on the history channel - but I don't think they did their research in that respect either. Kellan Lutz (Twilight of all things) was tolerable as Apollo in Immortals (good movie) but was extremely insufferable in this role. The costumes were horrid and the slow motion scenes were just annoying. I had to shut the movie off within 20 minutes, so I guess it could have improved, but that's 79 minutes of my life I won't get back.
I do not recommend you see this "movie" or even glance in its direction.
Ray (Colin Farrell) is a funny, begrudged rookie hit man riddled with guilt after his first job went wrong. Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is the older, experienced colleague. They are both sent to Bruges, Belgium by their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to hide out for a while after Ray's bad hit in London. Bruges is a fairytale town filled with medieval buildings and bosch art, beautiful waterways swimming with swans, and a film crew shooting a piece of "Euro trash" starring a midget in a dream sequence. Ray does not want to be here.
The movie was really entertaining and filled with dark humor and Scottish accents. You should know there is a fair amount of gore, language, and disturbing images, but they don't overdo it. Colin is just wonderful, and this character has a softer, more vulnerable feel than his usual roles. Brendan really grounds the movie, and his character becomes the hero of the show. It's definitely worth seeing, and I would watch it again in a second.
This is my second favorite, if not my favorite, Wes Anderson movie behind Moonrise Kingdom. It's so detailed and chock-full of interesting dialogue, colors, textures, feeling, and story. The costumes really give you a sense of the characters (especially Margot's black eyeliner and straight blonde hair).
The characters are so thought out and unique. My favorites were the Tenenbaum children and Pagoda, the Indian butler-man who stabs Royal twice and then tends to his wound or bring him to a hospital. Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the sullen, secluded, adopted daughter that was a playwright as a child and smoked since the age of twelve. Richie (Luke Wilson) is Royal's favorite child, the tennis star who is in love with Margot, his adopted sister. Chas (Ben Stiller) is the business man who made a fortune when he was little and now has to raise his two boys alone since his wife died in a plane crash. Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) is Richie's best friend and a Tenenbaum wannabe that wrote a successful book and gets addicted to drugs with horrible consequences. He also had an affair with Margot, who is married to a writer named Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray).
Royal is the Tenenbaum patriarch who has not been present during most of his kids' lives, until he becomes broke and makes up a story about having cancer so he can stay with them. Etheline (Anjelica Houston) is an archeologist and mother of the Tenenbaum children, who raised the little "geniuses" by herself. She ends up falling in love with her accountant, Henry Sherman (Danny Glover).
This movie was very addictive and the cast is wonderful and spot on. I loved Gwyneth's moody Margot and Luke's sensitive Richie that fall in love with each other, even though it may be frowned upon. I also laughed hysterically at times (probably due to Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson). This is definitely one of my all time favorite movies; I suggest you see it.
There are some Wes Anderson movies I don't like very much... this is not one of them. Bill Murray is a comedic genius, but we all knew that. He plays Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau-like character who is on a mission to find a mythical shark that killed his best friend while on a dive. He takes along his crew, his estranged son he just met (Owen Wilson), a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), a handful of unpaid interns, and his film crew to make the documentary about his travels. The cast is superb (Willem Dafoe plays a funny little man who thinks of Steve as a father, even though they look the same age, and Jeff Goldblum plays Steve's snobbish competition). The film itself is full of exciting moments, explosions, pirates, stop-motion animation creatures under the sea, and Bill Murray in a speedo. Not as bad as it sounds...
Wes' movies always read like a story book and are executed like a play, this is no exception. They built a ship, and cut it down the middle so they could shoot long continuous shots of Bill and other characters walking from room to room, up and down ladders (from the sauna to the kitchen to the engine room, etc.). It looks fantastic and I bet that would have been fun to work on.
The music is wonderful; it's a mix of songs I've never heard before, and ones I recognize. The imagery is vibrant and full of bold colors, like most of his movies. This is one of my favorites that Wes has made, along with Moonrise Kingdom and The Darjeeling Limited. Give it a watch.
We know Mathew McConaughey is his own hero, but he's actually not a bad person to look up to. In Mud he really got his character to seem gritty and tough, but also vulnerable and good hearted, and made me root for him in the end. The boys (Ellis and Neckbone) elevated the movie and brought a real genuine feel to it. Filmed in Arkansas, it shows life on the Mississippi river, and is a portrait of small town life.
Best friends Ellis and Neckbone set out down the river following a rumor of an abandoned boat stuck in a tree after a storm. They immediately claim it for their own, until they notice the fresh groceries inside... They then encounter Mud, a homeless fugitive living on the island to rendezvous with his one true love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis (Tye Sheridan) takes it upon himself to reunite the long lost lovers, to prove to himself that love is real, and doesn't always fail like it has with his newly separated parents. This movie is definitely one of McConaughey's best, Tye brings real heart to his role, and the shootout at the end is pretty exciting. Give it a watch.
First, I have to say, this movie was much better than the last movie Rachel McAdams was in where she fell in love with a time traveler. That's mostly due to Domhnall Gleeson and Bill Nighy.
Tim and all the men in his family have the ability to time travel, but only to the past and within their own timelines. They can't travel to the future, because that would be silly. He uses his miraculous talent for love - love for Rachel's character Mary, love for his eclectic purple-loving sister Kit Kat, love for his ginger children, and love for his father. He can use his ability to relive the same day over and over again if he wished, or he can go back to correct a mistake like offending a lesbian, which can come in pretty handy. He later realizes he doesn't have to use time travel, he just has to live every day appreciating the little things to be happy.
I enjoyed this movie; Bill Nighy's wit, Domhnall's heartfelt performance, and Kit Kat's personality kept me watching 'till the end. I even came to care about Tim so much, that I was scared he was going to mess everything up with the careless use of his powers!
This is a Ron Howard film starring Chris Hemsworth as Formula 1 driver James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as his rival driver Niki Lauda. James and Niki compete for the world champion title in racing, and become enemies that actually need each other. The sport is very dangerous; at 180mph one wrong move and you could die. Based on a true story, this movie takes place during the '70s and follows the two young drivers as they strive for the title and butt heads with each other. James likes girls, partying, and drinking, while Niki is calculated and focused on being the best. A terrible crash burns half of Niki's face and lungs, and leaves him in a hospital bed to watch James win the races he should have been in.
The film is thrilling, and if you're like me who knew nothing about Lauda or Hunt beforehand, the ending is a surprise. For those of you who know the outcome, the movie is still worth a watch. I'm not a racing fanatic, but I still enjoyed watching Niki and James' rivalry play out. Also, it doesn't hurt that Chris Hemsworth is nice to stare at.
This movie was surprisingly enjoyable to watch; it felt like a very smart movie that dealt with how communication can be a force of good or evil. Benedict Cumberbatch, of whom I am a huge fan, was mesmerizing to watch as Julian Assange, and Daniel Bruhl played an interesting character as well. I couldn't keep my eyes off the white flowing hair and aussie accent on Julian - Benedict really nailed it. I thought this movie would be kind of boring because I didn't really know what WikiLeaks was and I thought "Why would I want to watch Ben in that stringy white hair and weird accent," but that's what made the character really come to life for me. I wasn't watching Ben, I was watching Julian.
There's some surprise guests in this movie that made me gasp at the sight of them, namely Peter Capaldi (the new Doctor on Doctor Who), Dan Stevens (Mathew on Downton Abbey), and David Thewlis (Remus from Harry Potter). This really was a very interesting movie and is worth a watch.
From the trailer, I didn't really have a burning desire to see this movie, mainly because it looked like a generic Marvel superhero movie - and it was. Some evil magic dust gets put someplace "no one will ever find it" so of course it is found about twenty minutes later (by the wrong people) and is released to wreak havoc, superhero has love interest(s) and they get together, someone dies, good wins over evil in the end, there's an ugly bad guy, etc. Also the "witty" banter exchanged throughout the entire movie was sometimes annoying. The only good thing about this movie was Loki and possibly Kat Dennings. I was basically just waiting for Loki to come on screen so I could stare at him.
If you have the need to see all the movies in the Marvel universe so you're in on everything by the next Avengers movie, then by all means give this a watch. But I don't think it's worth a second watch for me, unless I get an itch only Loki can scratch...in which case I'll probably watch the Avengers or the first Thor.
Despite the not-so-good reviews I read about this movie, and the controversy over the book's author being homophobic, I actually enjoyed watching this. This may be due to my low expectations from the start, but I think it was mostly because of Asa Butterfield (Ender). I first saw Asa in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and his performance in Hugo was memorable (I think it's those striking blue eyes) but Ender was a much more grown-up role for him and I think he did really well. Because of the heart Asa brought to the role of Ender, this movie did not suck as the review in EW had eluded to. The music was a big part of that too, I'm debating looking for the soundtrack. Hailee Steinfeld was okay... it wasn't anything like her performance in True Grit. And Harrison Ford brought a menace to the overbearing colonel Graff, but it wasn't his best role either.
This is your typical alien invasion movie: lots of alien vs. human dogfights in the air, insect looking creatures that can't communicate with us and are here for our planet, Americans kicking ass, etc. But this does make you think about the morality of war and how children should not be soldiers. The only thing that really annoyed me is where they ended the dumb thing - setting up a big quest for the next installment. But this better not be like other movies that leave off in the middle of the freaking story and anticipate sequels that never happen. This didn't do as well in theaters as they thought it would (being a big YA fandom like The Hunger Games) so we may never find out what happens next... unless I read the books that is. I would definitely check this one out, it's good fun with a big climax at the end.
This was another Miyazaki movie I enjoyed, albeit a little sad. Okay, it was very sad. But Miyazaki's imagination is boundless, I have to say. There's the little clicky woodland creatures that bring luck, the nasty demons, the ape tribe that slink around in the dark and try to plant trees, and the amazing forest spirit that holds it all together - it's just magical. The sad part is that beautiful creatures have to die, but there is rebirth in the end and a peace hard won.
Characters voiced by Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Gillian Anderson (X-Files), Jada Pinkett Smith, and randomly Billy Bob Thornton who plays a chubby Asian dude. This is not exactly a kid's movie because there's limbs being torn off, brothel ladies running around, and very heavy, dark themes playing out. Also lots of death, more than any other Miyazaki film I've seen. But don't be dissuaded, this movie is worth watching for the magical creatures and wonderful expanses that he's painted.
His movie echoes the recent feelings of loss for our own world's forests and ecosystems that are today being destroyed to reap the monetary benefits, as his "iron-town" rips up the mountainside for precious ores. He also shows us that some people have good and bad in them, and that everyone deserves to be saved, no matter how much you want them to die (*cough* Lady Eboshi). Definitely worth a watch :)
Wow. This is a great show. There are 10 episodes at 30 min each and I loved every second. Lena Dunham is genius and hysterical, and the other girls are really entertaining as well - especially Jessa. I can't wait to get the next season!
Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna live in New York and are trying to make their dreams come true...but do they know what those dreams are? Sounds like me haha. This is an HBO show so it's explicit, just as a warning. Definitely check it out, I know I learned something :)
Hayao Miyazaki's beautiful movies from studio Ghibli are favorites of mine, and the first one I ever saw was Kiki's Delivery Service. I hadn't seen this one before, so me and my brother sat down to watch it. It was aimed at children, but it has a magical quality that makes it fun for any age to watch. The best part about this movie was the cat bus, yes, a cat bus. Furry seats, and multiple legs like a centipede, the cat bus ran across the countryside using it's eyes as headlights and being unseen by adults (they could feel the wind it created though).
A wonderful movie (even though me and my brother made fun of it the whole time, it was aimed at kids if you remember) definitely worth watching, at least for the cat bus haha. Totoro was really funny too, he doesn't talk but he really doesn't need to. This is one of the best of Myazaki's that I've seen.
I had been meaning to read this book for years, and finally
got around to it because they're going to make it into a movie. I think it's
always better to read the book first, that way your take on it isn't
contaminated by Hollywood.
I really liked this book, even though it was a little hard
to wrap my head around it at first. I think Lois Lowry should have painted a
better picture of Jonas' world in the beginning using more imagery. After
a while though, I had a clear picture of this dystopian world I had entered
into, and it was pretty horrifying. This book makes me appreciate things I take
for granted every day like love, diversity, and even color.
Jonas lives in "The Community" and everything is
under the spell of sameness - it's been that way for as long as anyone can
remember. There are no choices, no colors, and no real feelings. Everyone
receives a bicycle when they're nine, everyone is assigned a job at twelve
which you will begin training for, you can apply for a spouse and one will be
assigned to you, etc. Oh everyone is well cared for, and there is no pain, war,
or fear. But what are the consequences of that? Jonas is picked for a
special job - the man who has the burden of the world's memories to carry with
him throughout his life - called the Receiver. The man who transfers these
memories is called the Giver.
This is an important book to read, and once you get into it
you have to read it all the way through. I'm excited to see the movie,
they're making Jonas sixteen instead of twelve, and he's played by a hot
new Australian actor named Brenton Thwaites. Also, Jeff Bridges plays the Giver
(he originally wanted his father to play the part, but he passed away before
they could film it) and Meryl Streep plays the chief elder, which has a more
prominent role in the movie than in the book. It comes out in August of this
year.
I watched this because I love sweet Ewan McGregor, and I kept watching it because it was a pretty great movie. At times disturbing, repulsive, and heartbreaking, but also funny, uplifting, and exciting, this was a rollercoaster of a film. The scene where Johnny Lee Miller's character (sick boy) cries is heart wrenching, and I have much more respect for that actor after watching him in this. Ewan McGregor carries this movie with grace, and it wouldn't have been the same without him.
A bunch of friends are junkies in Scotland during the '90s and things don't go so well... but it's very interesting to watch Ewan's character's progression from junkie to normal person and back again. I had to have the subtitles on a few times because the Scottish accents caught me off guard, but the script is actually very well written. The music is an accumulation of pop hits from that era (Iggy Pop, etc.) and it really propels the movie and gives it an energy an original score just couldn't match. Directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), this is a movie you don't want to miss.
John Green writes about a 16-year-old girl named Hazel who meets a 17-year-old boy named Augustus at a kid's cancer support group in the basement of a church (the literal heart of Jesus). It's laugh out loud funny, romantic, and very touching. I read this 313 page book within a 30 hour period - yeah, that's a rarity for me. It usually takes me forever to read a book, but I had to know what happened next. I said "one more chapter" like, oh 25 times.
Hazel reads the same book over and over again and has terminal cancer, so her parents think she needs to go to a church support group to make friends. Augustus Waters has one leg and enjoys holding an unlit cigarette between his lips to feel the killing thing but not give it the power to kill, as a metaphor. Kinda like putting a loaded gun in your mouth but not pulling the trigger, except it's a little less shocking and less dangerous with the cigarette embodiment of the metaphor.
I started reading this book because they're making a movie with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as Hazel and Augustus respectively (it comes out this June). I'm excited to see what they do with this amazing story, but I expect the book will be the better of the two (that's usually how it is). What a read, definitely check it out.
This is a really great movie. Is it because Josh Radnor is one of the cutest people on the Earth? Probably. Or maybe it's because he's one of the best film makers. He wrote and directed and produced and starred in this movie, which is awesome. It's completely character driven (I love watching those) and the script is witty and really funny, but also really smart and moving at the same time. You really feel for/with these characters as you step into their lives for 97min.
Elizabeth Olsen (yes, Mary- Kate and Ashley's sister) is a joy to watch, she just reminds me of my friends and even myself, and I could stare at Josh forever as he smirks with his little bearded face and makes me laugh. Zac Efron made a surprise appearance as this guy in a red hat who becomes Jesse's (Radnor) friend that hangs around campus all the time and spouts out optimistic freethinking ideas that help Jesse through his present dilemma, "Everything is okay..." and it's really funny.
I found this movie very interesting and it made me think about my life. Not all movies do that, but all of Radnor's movies that I've seen have. The other one I saw was "Happythankyoumoreplease" which you should seriously check out, because he also wrote and directed that one as well. This film made me happy and gave me something to think about, and that's all I can ask for really :)
*Sigh* where do I begin... Well, this movie was a failed attempt at "artful chaos" if you wanna call it that. Just a bunch of bad girls partying and screaming in the back of a truck after holding up a chicken shack, then using that money to go on spring break, end up in jail in their bikinis, get bailed out by a sleazy gangster, then do a lot more naughty things with almost no repercussions. There's the cheesy voice-over montages, the glorification of violence, sex, drinking, drugs and partying, the bad acting, etc.. James Franco portrayed a very unlikable gangster/rapper named Alien, which was not his best work. The girls didn't really pull it off for me either; Selena Gomez was the best of them, but that's not saying much. I didn't really get the movie; it just didn't make sense to me. They were trying way too hard to make it artsy, and ended up making it artificial. Not really worth seeing - the only thing I got out of it was a few good examples of wasted lives and bad wild-child behavior I'd be smart not to emulate.
Two
families get together for Thanksgiving, and lose two little girls. Anna and Joy
disappear when they run down the street to Anna’s house…but they never come
back. Anna’s brother remembers a suspicious-looking camper parked down the street
that has since vanished. They find the camper within hours, and the young man
inside is taken into custody. No sign of the girls, but it had to be him right?
He tried to run when the cops approached him, he told Anna’s father (Hugh
Jackman) “They only cried when I left them,” but the cops can’t get anything
out of him. That’s when Anna’s father takes matters into his own hands… The movie is full of twists and red
herrings, and Hugh Jackman plays a very convincing scary-hunter type with
nothing to lose. Jake Gyllenhaal is the
real surprise here, with a great portrayal of a cocky detective that’s never
left a case unsolved, and HARDLY EVER CALLS FOR BACKUP! I kept yelling at the
screen, “why don’t you have a partner! I bet Mariska Hargitay would come in
pretty handy right now!” But to no avail. Paul Dano plays
a damaged young man that has the IQ of a ten year old, and he does it well. This is a good thriller
that keeps you yelling multiple theories at other people in the room (to their possible annoyance).
Three high school boys build a
house in the woods to get away from their parents, and end up being brought
closer to them, and each other. This movie is really funny, but also kind of
heartfelt. Hilarity in this movie was mostly due to Moises Arias who played
Biaggio, an odd kid that the other two boys kind of adopt, “I don’t see myself
as having a gender,” he says to Joe. He is the best thing about this film,
seriously. Nick Offerman is pretty funny as well, and Patrick’s parents crack
me up (including Megan Mullally as his mom). One of the only complaints I have with
this movie is the slaying of a poor innocent rabbit and snake (I don’t care to
watch the killing of animals, even if it’s for food or safety). So, if you’re
ready for a good movie to watch tonight, consider this little gem – and let the
laughing ensue.
What happens if maternal instincts
never kick in? Tilda Swinton’s character Eva has just born a son, Kevin, who
won’t stop screaming. He gets older but still needs diapers at age five or six,
yet he can obstinately count to fifty when asked what number comes after seven.
He constantly sports a look of contempt for his mother, yet runs to Daddy
smiling, and cheerfully asks how his day went. John C. Reilly’s goofy “hey,
buddy!” character Franklin thinks, “Oh he’s just being a kid,” but Eva sees
that there is in fact something very wrong with Kevin. The movie weaves together a story through
flashbacks to Eva’s past from her depressing, bleak, and terrifying present. Kevin
has done something unspeakable, and in the end we find out just how rotten he
is. What went wrong? Was it nature, or nurture? Maybe it was both. Tilda does
an exceptional performance as a woman who was once happy, but ends up living
every parent’s nightmare, and Ezra Miller hits the menace and madness right on
the spot. A really weird movie, and one I won't be seeing again.
