Archive for ‘movie’

August 29th, 2010

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

The other night, Lyndon and I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

I really really really REALLY enjoyed it. It’s a perfect example of graphic novel adapted to a live action movie. I feel like some scenes were exact images of the illustrations from the book. Also the floaty words did a neat job of tying them together. Again, I’m a sucker for that kind of thing. I loved the video game sounds and felt immediate attachment when I recognized sounds from childhood (as well as not that long ago times).

I was highly entertained throughout and loved every minute of it. I downloaded the soundtrack – FANTASTIC! Next I will download the musical score, which I’m hoping contains a lot of the video gamey sounds.

I usually route for the good guys, and I did route for Scott Pilgrim but I couldn’t help being a little disappointed when he defeated an evil ex though I did like the sound of the coins crashing to the ground at the moment of defeat.

So, Brandon Routh is in this movie and I was so looking forward to seeing him but I was kind of disappointed at the look of his bleached hair and his cheesy dialogue. Disappointment. Wah-wah.

But I’ll tell you what I really liked and was surprised about. Jason Schwartzman cute nerdy powerful guy. He’s so tiny. I also liked Kieran Culkin as Wallace. He was charming and had the best lines and screen moments. Cute.

I really love watching Edgar Wright movies. Always keeps my interest and hooks me. My favorite, still, is Hot Fuzz. I think it’s mostly because I love watching Simon Pegg play the badass, straight man – especially next to Nick Frost’s funny man.

Favorite part: Toss up between the Battle of the band performance 1 – Sex Bob-omb’s Garbage Truck song and Battle with the Katayanagi Twins because that was just spectacular.

Rating: 5 Stars.
(based on Netflix’s 5 star rating system)

August 25th, 2010

Beautiful and Strange

Satoshi Kon, amazing japanese filmmaker has passed away. He’s made some of the most beautiful and strange animated movies I’ve seen.

On August 23, the last tweet was posted on Kon’s Twitter site. It reads: “I might be old-fashioned, or maybe it’s just that I still admire the old values.”

This is the trailer for Paprika. Fantastic animation and visual scenes. I love the realism and dream world mixture. And I’m a sucker for well drawn city scapes. I can stare for hours. I can’t look away. Paprika was a great movie, especially when seen more than once.

(via Kotaku)

P.S. I kind of dislike it when people say japanimation.

August 21st, 2010

Despair

Alex Prager’s film “Despair” starring Bryce Dallas Howard.

I love her big, dreamy, pools of glass eyes. I love her red hair. I love the color and style of her dress. I love the music – the haunting, sad stings. And I love the sound of her shoes hitting the pavement.

August 15th, 2010

Wild Rumpus!

The other night we watched Where The Wild Things Are.

Let me just say that I enjoyed this film for different reasons than I expected to. Part of me was a little disappointed for it not being exactly what I expected. But I don’t know what I expected. I didn’t know how they’d play out a small illustrated book in ‘real life’. I didn’t enjoy what a little shit Max was for most of the film. But he’s cute and he’s a kid – a wild kid – and I forgive him. And so were some of the wild things. Everyone was kind of a bit of a shit. It felt like watching a family of people and being invisible so all the weird family dynamic behavior came out without holding back. That kind of thing makes me slightly uncomfortable. So the story kind of disappointed me. It was more sad and depressing and a bit darker than I wanted it to be.

BUT I did enjoy the movie because it visually appealed to me. A lot more than I expected. I liked the creatures, the wild things. I liked watching the expression on their faces. Much more expressive and beautiful than I thought possible on a creature, costume, puppet. I’m not sure how much of it was CG’d if any. I liked the sound of the voices. Especially Lauren Ambrose. Everything regarding the creatures and suits surprised me.

The cinematography was lovely. It felt like a dream world. A dirty, lovely dreamworld. And with the creatures it was a little funny and whimsical.

I’m not as into darkness as I think I am. I sometimes think I like movies that are kind of sad or depressing that have some dark quality to it. But really, I like movies that are more light and happy. And this movie wasn’t as happy as I was expecting. But I didn’t dislike it. But I liked it more for visual reasons. And a sad movie every now and again is just what I need for balance.

My netflix rating for this would be (if possible) 3.5 stars.

My favorite thing: The raccoon in KW’s body.

August 10th, 2010

You know I’m a dreamer…

At work today, while chatting with Lyndon online, he made me laugh so hard I spit on my desk. Like SPIT spit. I had to wipe it up with a tissue. Buzz saw me and asked what I was doing. I told him and he said I was gross.

I think I do about one thing like this per day. Makes life interesting.

Boy, have I been bad about posting or what?

Work is keeping me very busy. And when I’m not at work, I’m at home being mindless. Playing video games, reading books, watching movies. The last couple of movies I watched were The Princess and the Frog and Hot Tub Time Machine. How much do I love saying Hot Tub Time Machine? So flippin’ much! It sort of comes out like a wimpy Redd Foxx. I also liked the movie. It was cheezy and dumb but what else can be expected? Hot Tub Time Machine! It was like every 80′s ‘thing’ all rolled into one movie (Lyndon said this). My favorite thing about it was Crispin Glover George McFly. Fanfreakintastic. And the music. The music was awesome.

The Princess and the Frog was great. I nearly forgot how nice 2D animation can be. What with all of this 3 Dimensional hullaballoo. (I like saying words like hullabaloo.) I’m happy about it being set in New Orleans with all the crazy voodoo. I’m also happy about the brown main characters! Entertaining and fun.

I don’t know when I’ll post again. If I do, it’ll be cheap…like a video or a photo or something. Bwehehe.

kthxbai.

(Title to this post is the first line to Mötley Crüe’s song Home Sweet Home. Now go watch Hot Tub Time Machine.)

August 5th, 2010

I love it when a plan comes together.

Okay how happy am I that I went to go see The A-Team before it left the theaters? Super freaking happy!

It was fun and entertaining and better than I expected. I guess I went in with low expectations. After seeing how the G.I. Joe movie turned out to be. (poop!) I went in almost already sad that the A-Team might be shitty. Because, man, that show brings me back to when I was younger. I loved the A-Team TV show! I had a crush on Face because he WOW he was also Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica and I had a crush on him in that as well.

The chemistry between the four of them was funny and endearing. I love movies/tv shows where the characters seem like they’re actually friends and colleagues. Liam Neeson’s Hannibal was the perfect kind of patriarch of the group, strong and reliable. Bradley Cooper’s Face was more than a pretty face, he was no. 2 and quite living up to Hannibal. Sharlto Copley’s Murdock was a different kind of crazy from original Murdock. He was perfect crazy and adorable. I have quite a crush. <3 <3 <3 Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s B.A. was a surprise to me. The look of original B.A. was on him so I was prepared to watch a guy ripping off Mr. T. But it wasn’t like that at all. There were lots of similarities and nods to the original but Jackson wasn’t a cheap copy. None of them were. They were their own versions of the originals that I may almost love better. Loved all of them.

The movie was over the top and spectacular to watch. It was just enough over the top not to get bored but not too much over the top where it was unbelievable and shitty. I was able to suspend just the right amount of belief for me to enjoy watching the crazy hijinks and antics. I think I had a giant smile planted on my face the entire length of the movie. The nostalgia made me happy and the newness even happier. This was one of the more enjoyable films I’ve seen this year. There were a few surprising cameos, both in the movie and after the credits. It sealed the deal for me. I loved this movie.

Favorite thing: Dr. Murdock. Also, almost everything he says in the entire movie. (Seriously. A crush!)

July 30th, 2010

Indulgent Weekend of Bliss

It’s been a busy week. Both at work and at home. Last thursday, Hiyas came to visit and so began indulgent weekend of fun. We watched a couple of movies, played a few games, ate at some great places and laughed nearly the whole time. Gosh, this post is coming so late but here were the highlights from the last weekend:

Thursday, after eating a big Thai dinner, we played Rock Band for a few hours. Lyndon sang a few songs! He was not very good (but neither am I, so who am I to judge?) but it was so very cute and it made me proud.

Then, on Friday, for work – we had a team building offsite. Really, it was a chance for us all to relax and celebrate all the hard work we’ve done in the past year as well as have the holiday party we never got to have because we were all so busy. We gathered at my boss’s cabin at the lake – what!? It was a gorgeous surprise. It was beautiful and sunny outside and we were able to eat, drink and be merry.

I got a magnifying glass at Anthropologie. I really like odd, old looking things.

Saturday we watched Eclipse.

I enjoyed it. As I’ve come to like the movies more and more, I’ve come to like the Bella-Edward love conversations less and less. I know they talk a lot in the book but it seems so much more obnoxious when you have to watch it. But don’t misunderstand. I enjoyed the movie overall. I loved the action and history and wished there were so much more. Supernatural fights are always so exciting to watch because there’s so much they’re able to get away with. Defying natural laws of physics a lot of the time. It can be a lovely dance. I enjoyed the stories and history of Jasper and Rosalie. Jasper is so adorable and I’m happy they’re fixing up his hair. <3! Favorite thing: the wolves. Not necessarily the characters..I’m talking about the actual giant wolf animal. I would want to wrap my arms around them and squeeze. I know they’re supposed to be kind of scary but I found them really cute! I want my kitties to be giant like that! Dream come true! I have a huge soft spot for animals.

Saturday night, we went to Lark.

Oh my my my my my. I loved it. The chef – Johnathan Sundstrom. The food was amazing. It’s small plate dining so we ordered lots of plates where we were able to have a few bites each of each plate. I enjoy this way of eating because it allows to try many different foods. With all the different (and yummy) flavors, our mouths were alive with surprise and delight. I was a little hesitant at going to a place where I’d have to order 3 plates of food at once to enjoy the experience. But I was told once (by a very experienced foodie) that one’s mouth only tastes the first few bites of a plate. So, a giant plate of something loses it’s glamour after the first probably quarter of consumption. This foodie recommended Lark. And boy, was he right. This is a good way to eat! This time, we skipped the cheeses and charcuterie and went straight for the meats and fish dishes. Next time, I definitely want to do some veggies and cheeses.

On Sunday we saw Inception.

I really enjoyed it. I didn’t find it overwhelming or difficult to understand. Overthinking and trying to ground everything in reality is what could cause a problem understanding. But being open to the story and the concept creates a wonderful world where lots of things are possible. The whole idea of dreams and dreaming and the architecture of it all makes perfect sense. It’s as if something we’ve all been thinking about on a subconscious level has come to life in Christopher Nolan’s writing and direction. Notable things: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is extremely well dressed and pressed in this movie. Marion Cotillard is great at playing intense slightly crazy and beautiful loves. <3 Ken Watanabe, I get weak for older, handsome well put together japanese men. Leonardo DiCaprio is better as a grown up. I like this tiny top and the idea of totems. I want to carry one around myself. Must find totem…. Favorite thing: (It might be a spoiler but with this movie you have to see it for it to make sense.) The scenes where they cut between the first kick and Arthur gets slowly thrust to the side in slow motion, the music’s playing and his head and limbs tilt and get flung up into the air. Also, I very much love the zero gravity flying around on the ceilings and hallways of the hotel. Lovely beautiful.

There was much much much much more. But this post has taken me days to write in between work and life. I can’t seem to find my groove. Our waltzing days have come to an end. We may take other classes, we’ll see. Maybe something less rigid and easier to follow than the waltz even though for a short time I felt fancy.

Happy Friday!

July 18th, 2010

Nice ascot!

This weekend we finally made it to a movie!! Yay! I missed seeing Prince of Persia in the theaters but I guess what I’ve read, I didn’t miss much. But still! Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch The A-Team.

Anyway, we made it to Toy Story 3.  What a fantastic flick. I kind of had doubts but it’s not that often that the entire trilogy (or however many movies in the set) end up being fantastic. This doesn’t get old. It was as funny and as eye-poppingly gorgeous as the others. It made me laugh and cry. Yes…I cried like a baby. Lyndon said he got choked up a little bit. I’m sad that not all the characters could have been there but it wouldn’t have been realistic for all the toys to still be around. My favorite toy is Bullseye. I just want to hug him. I like his floppy legs. He reminds me of my kitties. I love all the toys. !!spoilers for the rest of this post!! I loved spanish Buzz. Haha. I loved the focus of the relationship between Buzz and Jesse. Favorite part: Ken’s wardrobe and the fashion show with Barbie.

“Are we going to Addis Ababa, Mr. Luthor?” Lotso was a bastard.

July 8th, 2010

Hot as a…

…two-dollar whore on the 4th of July.

It is very very very hot right now. I’m at the bottomest floor of my house. The coolest part. In the dark. Trying not to move. The kitty’sesses litter is in this room and I’m sure one of the little bastards is going to take a hot steamy dump soon. I’ll then be in the coolest, darkest, stinkiest part of my house.

But, it’s all fine and dandy because I found out the release date of the cd I’m designing got pushed back a few months. Hooray! The stress has eased up a little bit. I. Am. Very. Relieved. I don’t think I could do more of days like yesterday. I will go mad for sure.

Today, while in a meeting we started talking about Back to the Future. And you know what? I really really REALLY love that movie. Here are 5 things I love in that movie (among countless other things): Marty’s big orange puffy vest, the Delorean time machine, “What, Lorainne? What?”, Doc’s miniatures, and “Last night, Darth Vader came down from planet Vulcan. And he told me that if I didn’t take Loraine, that he’d melt my brain.” I can’t wait for 2015 when hover boards and those cool Nike Air McFly’s come out! And don’t forget the food hydrators and the flying cars! I also enjoy Back to the Future III a lot because of the old west and because of Doc’s love story. Cuuuute!

Nugget. I’m adding to my playlist. (original nugget.)

May 22nd, 2010

How To Train Your Dragon

Today, Lyndon and I saw How To Train Your Dragon in 3D.

How to Train Your Dragon movie image

Ok. I can easily say this is the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. Including movies I’ve seen on DVD. I do tend to like a lot of movies but this one could easily be the best one. I loved everything about this movie. It was gorgeous. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It gripped me and held me in a great big bear (er…dragon) hug. I adore the dragons. The animation of the entire movie was amazing and beyond beautiful. My heart was in flight when the dragons took flight. The ocean and the rocks were gorgeous. The sky and the clouds were magnificent.

I would like a dragon of my own, please. I think I have an affinity for flying mythical creatures (i.e. Pegasus). They always just seem to remind me of my kitties. And I have a definite soft spot for my little kitties.

Favorite thing: Toothless and his big green eyes.

One of my little dragons:

dsc00572.jpg

May 20th, 2010

Date Night

Last night, Lyndon and I went to see Date Night. Date Night on our date night. Har har har. Lyndon loved saying that all night. Anyway, now that that’s out of the way…

DATE NIGHT

It was a great movie. I’m not sure that I’m happy we spent nighttime movie prices. But a great movie all the same. Definitely a fun movie to watch on a night out. It was like mild Michael Scott and mild Liz Lemon went on a date in the city and got into crazy trouble. It’s like I wanted it to be Michael Scott and Liz Lemon but I guess that would be a whole other movie. The bad guys were a little obnoxious but it made me route for the funny couple more. Ohmygosh and that Audii was there again! It’s becoming my new favorite car to stare at. Favorite thing: (spoiler kind of) couples robot love pole dancing.

Afterwards, we had dinner at our favorite Pho place. I had way way way too much to eat. Then, finished off with Beatles Rock Band. After that, snuggle time until we passed out. I love date nights. I never get to finish the books I’m reading but still. I love date nights.

May 16th, 2010

Iron Man 2

Today, Lyndon and I saw Iron Man 2 I liked it a whole lot. I love going to movies. I think it might be my favorite thing to do.

ironman2-poster1.jpg

Anyway, Iron Man was great. Not as good as the first one but there were things that I really really did like and thought were big improvements. Here’s a list of things I adored about Iron Man 2.

  1. I am so glad that Don Cheadle is now playing Rhodey. He’s so much better in the role.
  2. The Black Widow. OMG can she kick ass, or what?!? Wow.
  3. Pepper Potts. Cute as a freaking button. Love the way she wears bangs and a ponytail. And can her outfits be any more adorable? Hello, polka dotty dress!
  4. That white Audi he drives around in. Drool. Lyndon and I had another one of our movie moments where we turn to each other at the exact same moment and say the exact same thing. It happens every single time it’s starting to get eerie. This time it was about this car.
  5. Captain America nod (again).
  6. Robert Downey Jr. I have a crush.
  7. Jon Favreau. Funny and endearing.

And lastly, my favorite thing, (kinda sorta spoiler) I loved the race car scene where Whiplash reveals. I love when Tony Stark is getting thrown around and beat up but then gets his hands on the suitcase suit. THE SUITCASE SUIT!! What a total badass. I love it.

Here’s what I have to say about Mickey Rourke. Gross. Get a manicure, friend. And please wash your hair once in a while. But despite all that, he was a good bad guy still.

In all my nerdiness, during the trailers I got super excited for Prince of Persia, The A-Team, and Super 8. Yayyayyay!

PS posting from my phone is baloney. I’m too lazy to go to my computer but this takes almost as much energy it seems. Fooey!

April 12th, 2010

Clash of the Titans

Yesterday, Lyndon and I went to go see Clash of the Titans. I enjoyed it. 4 stars (really liked it).

kraken_1600x1200

My sister used to read a lot of greek mythology books to me when I was a child. Stories of greek gods and creatures make me feel nostalgic. Clash of the Titans brings me back to childhood. I remember watching the 1981 movie and being frightfully afraid of Medusa yet at the same time, powerfully intrigued.

This remake is getting bashed by people all around. This is another instance of me liking a movie not doing so well in the theaters. It really doesn’t take too much for me to like a movie. If it keeps my interest the entire time, if I like even one bit of the entire movie, if I leave the theater thinking I’d stop and watch it again if it was playing on TV then that’s enough for me.

I remember more of what I liked about this movie than what I didn’t like. In fact, I’m not even sure there was anything I didn’t like about it. What’s not to like really?

Here’s what I liked about this movie (in no particular order):

Greek Mythology, Sam Worthington, Perseus’s and his relationship with Io, Perseus & Pegasus flying around the Kraken, Zeus’s Armor, the tiny world below that all the gods were standing upon, the skeleferryman (scary but cool), Medusa with her bow & arrow – but I think I’m a sucker for a chick wielding a bow, that whole Medusa part, the music…

And my very favorite thing: Pegasus.

clash_of_the_titans_pegasus-poster-10-1209-kc

Yeeeeeh. Hey Lyndon, can our next pet be a Pegasus? Pleeeeeeeeeeese?

April 1st, 2010

EAM List update

As I find movies and trailers (I already have some going), I will add to this list.

I’ve left in a word or to things I’m excited for and highlights for me.

added

  • Prince of Persia The games were beautiful and fantastic. Fun to play/watch. The movie looks exciting and as (if not more) beautiful than the game. And scruffy, rough, burly Jake Gyllenhaal? That definitely adds to the appeal. Hubba Hubba.
  • Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger Ok so… 1. Her name is Esther. She’s a nerdy girl with glasses. 2. Sometimes they call her Esther Cheeseburger. And 3. Toni Colette. Why wouldn’t I see this??
  • Toy Story 3 I don’t really need to say more about this, right?

Speaking of sequels, I hear they’re making a Paranormal Activity 2. What the hee-haw? How do they even make a sequel to that? It kind of blows because it cheapens the whole experience. I don’t know…

…more to come.

Nugget!

March 29th, 2010

This land is my land.

This land is your land.

I saw 2 movies yesterday. Zombieland and Shutter Island. The land I loved was zombie.

Shutter Island. It was okay. I’d give it a 3 star rating. All the scary bits were in the minute long trailer. The rest of the movie was long and drawn out with dramatic music. It felt like an old movie. An old Hitchcock movie. I liked a lot of the artsy scenes. With the dramatic musical score. The story seemed a little Hitchcock except for one thing: about halfway through the movie, I leaned over to Lyndon and whispered ‘Ok…this is how it’s going to play out…(insert movie ending here)’ which, is pretty much what happened. Did I dislike the movie because it was predictable to me? Not necessarily. Had I spent the money to watch it non-matinee show (Thanks, Dave – for treating!) I might be a little irked. It would be a movie rental/instant stream movie for me.

Zombieland movie image Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone

Zombieland. This movie was awesome. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Maybe it’s because I tend to like movies/shows that incorporate floaty text into the scenes (Stranger Than Fiction, Heroes). Maybe it’s because I love Left 4 Dead so much and lots of this movie reminded me of L4D2. Maybe it’s because (!spoiler begin!) I got to see Bill Murray zombified and play out a scene of Ghostbusters with Tennessee and Wichita. I’m still mad that he got killed! And for kind of a stupid reason! Rar! (!spoiler end!) I enjoyed that the comedy was enough to ease me into the horror. There were some really nasty bits though, but it was easily forgotten because there was so much more funny. Favorite thing: see spoiler above.

I would so love to be a zombie in a movie someday. One of these halloween’s to come I will successfully pull off a zombie costume.

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