Thomas's mini movie reviews
(This post slightly buries Chris's post about financing. Scroll down and read it.)
Mini-reviewed: Smokin' Aces, The Fountain, Children of Men, Hot Fuzz
On Sunday, my roommate and a couple friends of his got crazily trounced in WoW (see footnote 1) and were very pissed off, so to cool off we went and grabbed a couple movies to watch. We rented two movies (Smokin' Aces and The Fountain) and I bought a used copy of Children of Men, a movie that came heavily recommended by my brother. So we ended up watching all three of those movies on Sunday with only an hour break between the two rented ones and Children of Men. Hot Fuzz we watched a month ago, but I'll mini-review it anyways.
I'll give a quick summary before I start:
Best Movie Overall by far: Children of Men
Hella good Comedy: Hot Fuzz
Sucks: Smokin' Aces
and... The words Good and Bad do not apply to this movie: The Fountain
And here's the mini-reviews, in the order I watched the movies:
Hot Fuzz
From the same guys who brought us of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz is a comedic masterpiece that will have you laughing non-stop from start to end (2). Nicholas Angel, an uptight London police officer, is reassigned to a small village after making the rest of the force look bad by being too good. The village is very quiet and quite free of crime, making it a poor match for the over-achieving police officer Angel. However, after a few suspicious deaths in the community, Angel is propelled into a flurry of crime-fighting action, and even finds the true meaning of love along the way (a few of the women in the back of the theatre went "awwwww" on us).
Seriously guys, if you haven't seen this movie yet, then by all means drop what you're doing and go see it (3). If you liked Shaun of the Dead, then you'll like this movie. It's like Shaun of the Dead but no zombies and more over-the-top gore (think Shaun's body mutilation and subsequent zombie-bashing with a torn limb scene). Opinion varies on which is better (I side with Shaun of the Dead because I like zombies), but the level of comedy is all up there. The biggest drawback is that at times the English accent becomes near unintelligible. But nonetheless, this is an excellent action comedy, and was more than worth the jugular ripping $9.50 they charge for student tickets.
Smokin' Aces
It's a common trade-off to sacrifice plot for action, a trade-off that Smokin' Aces attempted at. Some succeed at it like The One. Some fail, like Smokin' Aces. No plot whatsoever, and not enough mindless violence and action to fill the void. Watching the entirety of Star Wars: Episode II for Yoda's lightsaber action is a better use of time.
The Fountain
A deep philosophical movie about death. The Fountain presents three intertwining story lines that while never meet (they are set several hundred years apart from each other) mirror and parallel each other. The first of the three is set in the past, where a Spanish conquistador is trying to find the biblical Tree of Life in an attempt to save the Spanish Queen from certain death by the Inquisition. The second is about a scientist trying to find a cure for brain tumors, which is wife is dying from. The third takes place in the 26th century, where an astronaut is traveling in space with a dying tree trying to reach Xibalba, a dying nebula. All three characters are portrayed by Hugh Jackman, and share the common goal of trying to fight off death from someone (and in the case of the tree, which is implied to be the dying Tree of Life, something) they love.
I'm very torn about this movie. It wasn't a good choice for a group of guys to watch (philosophical movies tend not to be, much less one on death), but it's a very deep and fascinating and beautiful movie, even if absolutely confusing the whole way through. I don't think I'd ever recommend this movie to anyone, largely because the subject matter is not one for casual viewing. But if by chance you want to watch a philosophical movie about death, then it might be worth your time to give this movie a go.
I think I'll buy the DVD at some point.
Children of Men
When my brother recommended this movie to me, he described it as "bladerunner kind of good." Somewhat ironically, the director of Children of Men described his movie as an "anti-bladerunner" movie. Nonetheless, this movie is absolutely phenomenal, and my top pick of these four movies. Given limited time, watch this one, unless you're really in the mood for comedy, then watch Hot Fuzz.
Children of Men takes place in 2027. For some reason, all women stop being able to conceive, and no child has been born for 18 years. The world has fallen into chaos and only Britain stands with a government intact. But even Britain barely stays standing, as millions of refugees are trying to enter the borders and an immanent danger of internal social collapse has left Britain worn and tattered. However, in the midst of the chaos and social unrest, an illegal refugee woman shows up pregnant and promises to be hope for the future. Theo, an ordinary man who has ran out of hope for the future, is tasked to deliver the pregnant woman to safety.
Part of the reason Children of Men is such a terrific movie is that it maintains Theo as a completely ordinary guy. He can't take six shots to the chest and live, he doesn't have ungodly skills with weapons and he certainly can't pull out any magical tricks and turn into a rock. He's simply a former political activist turned office worker who has just flat ran out of hope and the world doesn't give him any reason to hold any, since a world without anyone under 18 and no more on the way is just about as good as done. And yet as belittled he is in the face of the dying world, he has to do something quite epic in trying to protect the only pregnant woman. The epic quality of the movie I'd argue rivals, perhaps even surpasses, that of Lord of the Rings.
I bought the DVD, so if any of you back in 'toga want to watch Children of Men after I get back, call me up. I definitely won't mind watching it again. I should be back on the 15th of June.
That's it for the reviews. Done more or less out of avoidance of work, but hey, if this was somewhat useful to you in choosing a movie then awesome.
- Thomas
Footnotes (4):
(1) For the WoW cognoscenti: they were in a raid fighting Gruul and lacked their best geared dps and had too many healers who kept getting too close to each other and getting each other killed with shatter(1a). Wiped I believe at least seven times before they gave up.
(1a) For the WoW non-cognoscenti: Shatter is a spell that does damage to the people who stand too close to each other, and increases as they get closer to each other. So people got to watch their distances less they get themselves and the poor blokes around them killed. I actually found this very amusing, mostly because I don't play WoW but also because that's just the kind of sadistic torture they put themselves through in raids. Go Blizzard, and En Taro Tassadar!
(2) Well, not really. So don't sue me.
(3) I think it's out of theatres now. Alternate methods are probably available. Also, DVD come out in a few weeks also. But hey, that means you can go see Children of Men instead. That's a good compromise.
(4) I wonder if there is a way to do superscript with this WYSIWYG editor. Hrm.
Mini-reviewed: Smokin' Aces, The Fountain, Children of Men, Hot Fuzz
On Sunday, my roommate and a couple friends of his got crazily trounced in WoW (see footnote 1) and were very pissed off, so to cool off we went and grabbed a couple movies to watch. We rented two movies (Smokin' Aces and The Fountain) and I bought a used copy of Children of Men, a movie that came heavily recommended by my brother. So we ended up watching all three of those movies on Sunday with only an hour break between the two rented ones and Children of Men. Hot Fuzz we watched a month ago, but I'll mini-review it anyways.
I'll give a quick summary before I start:
Best Movie Overall by far: Children of Men
Hella good Comedy: Hot Fuzz
Sucks: Smokin' Aces
and... The words Good and Bad do not apply to this movie: The Fountain
And here's the mini-reviews, in the order I watched the movies:
Hot Fuzz
From the same guys who brought us of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz is a comedic masterpiece that will have you laughing non-stop from start to end (2). Nicholas Angel, an uptight London police officer, is reassigned to a small village after making the rest of the force look bad by being too good. The village is very quiet and quite free of crime, making it a poor match for the over-achieving police officer Angel. However, after a few suspicious deaths in the community, Angel is propelled into a flurry of crime-fighting action, and even finds the true meaning of love along the way (a few of the women in the back of the theatre went "awwwww" on us).
Seriously guys, if you haven't seen this movie yet, then by all means drop what you're doing and go see it (3). If you liked Shaun of the Dead, then you'll like this movie. It's like Shaun of the Dead but no zombies and more over-the-top gore (think Shaun's body mutilation and subsequent zombie-bashing with a torn limb scene). Opinion varies on which is better (I side with Shaun of the Dead because I like zombies), but the level of comedy is all up there. The biggest drawback is that at times the English accent becomes near unintelligible. But nonetheless, this is an excellent action comedy, and was more than worth the jugular ripping $9.50 they charge for student tickets.
Smokin' Aces
It's a common trade-off to sacrifice plot for action, a trade-off that Smokin' Aces attempted at. Some succeed at it like The One. Some fail, like Smokin' Aces. No plot whatsoever, and not enough mindless violence and action to fill the void. Watching the entirety of Star Wars: Episode II for Yoda's lightsaber action is a better use of time.
The Fountain
A deep philosophical movie about death. The Fountain presents three intertwining story lines that while never meet (they are set several hundred years apart from each other) mirror and parallel each other. The first of the three is set in the past, where a Spanish conquistador is trying to find the biblical Tree of Life in an attempt to save the Spanish Queen from certain death by the Inquisition. The second is about a scientist trying to find a cure for brain tumors, which is wife is dying from. The third takes place in the 26th century, where an astronaut is traveling in space with a dying tree trying to reach Xibalba, a dying nebula. All three characters are portrayed by Hugh Jackman, and share the common goal of trying to fight off death from someone (and in the case of the tree, which is implied to be the dying Tree of Life, something) they love.
I'm very torn about this movie. It wasn't a good choice for a group of guys to watch (philosophical movies tend not to be, much less one on death), but it's a very deep and fascinating and beautiful movie, even if absolutely confusing the whole way through. I don't think I'd ever recommend this movie to anyone, largely because the subject matter is not one for casual viewing. But if by chance you want to watch a philosophical movie about death, then it might be worth your time to give this movie a go.
I think I'll buy the DVD at some point.
Children of Men
When my brother recommended this movie to me, he described it as "bladerunner kind of good." Somewhat ironically, the director of Children of Men described his movie as an "anti-bladerunner" movie. Nonetheless, this movie is absolutely phenomenal, and my top pick of these four movies. Given limited time, watch this one, unless you're really in the mood for comedy, then watch Hot Fuzz.
Children of Men takes place in 2027. For some reason, all women stop being able to conceive, and no child has been born for 18 years. The world has fallen into chaos and only Britain stands with a government intact. But even Britain barely stays standing, as millions of refugees are trying to enter the borders and an immanent danger of internal social collapse has left Britain worn and tattered. However, in the midst of the chaos and social unrest, an illegal refugee woman shows up pregnant and promises to be hope for the future. Theo, an ordinary man who has ran out of hope for the future, is tasked to deliver the pregnant woman to safety.
Part of the reason Children of Men is such a terrific movie is that it maintains Theo as a completely ordinary guy. He can't take six shots to the chest and live, he doesn't have ungodly skills with weapons and he certainly can't pull out any magical tricks and turn into a rock. He's simply a former political activist turned office worker who has just flat ran out of hope and the world doesn't give him any reason to hold any, since a world without anyone under 18 and no more on the way is just about as good as done. And yet as belittled he is in the face of the dying world, he has to do something quite epic in trying to protect the only pregnant woman. The epic quality of the movie I'd argue rivals, perhaps even surpasses, that of Lord of the Rings.
I bought the DVD, so if any of you back in 'toga want to watch Children of Men after I get back, call me up. I definitely won't mind watching it again. I should be back on the 15th of June.
That's it for the reviews. Done more or less out of avoidance of work, but hey, if this was somewhat useful to you in choosing a movie then awesome.
- Thomas
Footnotes (4):
(1) For the WoW cognoscenti: they were in a raid fighting Gruul and lacked their best geared dps and had too many healers who kept getting too close to each other and getting each other killed with shatter(1a). Wiped I believe at least seven times before they gave up.
(1a) For the WoW non-cognoscenti: Shatter is a spell that does damage to the people who stand too close to each other, and increases as they get closer to each other. So people got to watch their distances less they get themselves and the poor blokes around them killed. I actually found this very amusing, mostly because I don't play WoW but also because that's just the kind of sadistic torture they put themselves through in raids. Go Blizzard, and En Taro Tassadar!
(2) Well, not really. So don't sue me.
(3) I think it's out of theatres now. Alternate methods are probably available. Also, DVD come out in a few weeks also. But hey, that means you can go see Children of Men instead. That's a good compromise.
(4) I wonder if there is a way to do superscript with this WYSIWYG editor. Hrm.
posted by Entitled2Octopus at 9:48 PM
3 Comments:
I had heard good thing about The Fountain before - I'll have to check it out. I also really wanted to see Hot Fuzz, but theatres...not really my thing.
I saw Children of Men and really loved it. The ending sequence where they're running through the ruined city really reminded me of Half-Life 2 - I'm not sure why.
thomas, i totally agree with the movie review part. children of men was very well done. hot fuzz was hilarious and was totally lost in the fountain, though my mom got it, which was very suprising. wanting to add.
NEXT (the movie) : about a guy who can see 2 mins into the future. his lover got taken away and he used his ability to try and save her.
-i thought the movie was too short but it pretty cool how they show the effect of seeing the 2 mins into the future.
i heard from ppl i work with over here that spider man 3 sucked. but i'm a spidy fan so i refuse to believe that.
-DK
I agree on hot fuzz, that was great.
I want to see children of men though I heard the end was unfufilling.
What is this fountain you speak of?
Why did you waste time on a movie titled "Smoking aces" i mean come on people.
Next looked dumb to me but maybe it was cool.
Spiderman 3 had great action sequences but was otherwise awful. I reccomend going with some friends and heckling, thats what i did and i thoroughly enjoyed myself, though i wont pay for the experience again.
And that is my two cents
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