Goodbye 2008. Did it end like a Hollywood kiss, complete with a camera pan to the sky? Or was it full of hype, yet utter disappointment? With the year come and gone, here's the top ten money-makers. And not a single pretentious art-house flick amongst 'em. Suck on that, Ebert.
#10) Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! - $155M
Never did see this. I hear it's popular with the lil' ones. But so is Speed Racer. Yeah.
#9) Quantum of Solace - $165M
Not nearly as good as Casino Royale. But I still like this start, restart Mr. Bond.
#8) Twilight - $170M
A vampire movie that feeds on testosterone. Just like the undead in Sex and the City.
#7) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - $175M
I must say, this is surprisingly high considering the first was pretty weak.
#6) Kung Fu Panda - $215M
It's so full of awesome, not even Chuck Norris could squelch it.
#5) WALL-E - $224M
Really close to The Dark Knight for my best of the year. It warrants a second watching.
#4) Hancock - $228M
How Hancock beats WALL-E is unfathomable. Seriously? Hopefully none of you bought the DVD.
#3) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $317M
Yeah, yeah. You like Hancock and I like Indy. We're even.
#2) Iron Man - $318M
Great story. Weak villian. Definitely awaiting the sequel and the VH-1 Behind the Movie special.
and of course...
#1) The Dark Knight - $531M
I've seen it twice and still want to see it again. They are re-releasing it in theaters ahead of the Oscars to build up hype for Heath Ledger and to try and topple Titanic's $601M total. Go see it in IMAX if you can.
Thanks 2008. Now get out of here and fetch me Twenty Oh Nine.
Merry Christmas everybody. I hope in this season love, friendship, and togetherness you didn't leave out that most important of traditions - consumerism. What Would Jesus Buy indeed.So yeah, this movie is about the American Commercialization (thanks, Scott!) of Christmas. More to the point, it's about how evil it is. The plot follows "Reverend Billy" and his Church of No Shopping as they protest in a bus. I guess the Church of No Originality was already taken.
"Billy" isn't a real person. He's more of a caricature of a televangelist. I found myself wondering what Billy was like with the cameras off since he never seems to drop the act. For example, when the church is performing an exorcism on the sign outside Wal-Mart headquarters, he falls face first into the Hedge of Protection around it. No, literally, he fell into the bushes. In the scene following, he's all depressed that he didn't actually fly into the sign. Bravo for staying in character, Billy. Unless that's really you. Then I'll back away slowly.
You would think that Wal-Mart plays the Great Satan in this church. But you'd be wrong. The Great Satan is Mickey Mouse. Maybe it's because I don't have kids, but when I think of over-consumerism, Disney's not that high on my list. I'm guessing the Church of No Shopping needed a mascot to crucify and since Wal-Mart doesn't have one, the Mouse would have to do.
So the movie is odd, to say the least. So odd that it detracts from its message. Yes, hyper-consumerism is bad, but our economy depends on Black Friday. So like everything in this world, use some wisdom and find the balance.
And may you all have a very Merry Christmas.
Grade: C
When was the last time you saw an episode of The X-Files? The shark-jumping movie came out ten years ago and I stopped watching the show long before then. So now you know how I went into the latest X-Files flick.Because it's been long enough for Scully and Mulder to have been replaced with Spears and Lohan in our collective memories, The X-Files: I Want to Believe has a stand-alone plot, having nothing at all to do with the series. I guess Hollywood decided to give the aliens to Indiana Jones this year. What? Too soon?
Unfortunately, the movie both succeeds and fails because it stands alone. Since I can barely remember what Scully and Mulder look like, I can watch this without being an X-phile. That's a good thing. It probaby would have helped if I had remembered why Mulder's sister was so important, so if you do, you'll catch a few more things than I did.
The bad part is that the plot does not belong in the X-Files universe. There's some surfacy psychic/religious nonsense, but the basic plot really belongs in an Ashley Judd movie. Mulder has no use in a normal murder mystery. Is the movie creepy? Yes. Supernatural? Nope. But you will definitely remember the big reveal for a long time.
So yeah, this movie only got made for the diehard fans. If that's you, you saw it over the summer. If you have any passing interest, give it a go. There's plenty of worse stuff out there.
Grade: B-
"Klaatu barada nikto" is one of the most famous lines in science fiction. From the X-Files to The Rockford Files, the line has been referenced everywhere (Wikipedia is awesome). It even made a special appearance in The Greatest Movie Ever Made, though not in it's original form.The phrase originated in the, um original The Day the Earth Stood Still from 1951. For a simple, stupid phrase, it's sure got some legs. But now, Hollywood has decided to repackage the movie all Keanu-fied with new effects. Whoa.
I've yet to see the 1951 version. It's a classic and the one thing Version 2.0 has going for it is the desire to watch the original. If you've been reading RottenTomatoes, you'd think that's all it's got going for it. I didn't think it's bad as everyone says it is.
Regarding Keanu... Let's face it, the man was made for Neo. But in a world devoid of The Matrix, Keanu would have been made for Klaatu, the humanoid, stoic alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Now let's just hope for Point Break 2: Point Breakier.
So I didn't know much of anything about this movie, and while what I saw wasn't the best ever, I enjoyed it. I may have gotten a little preachy at times, but this one's definitely worth a rental.
Oh, and that famous phrase? Yeah, it's not in this. Go figure.
Grade: C+
Every now and then I come across the "Pfft, You Are a Movie Idiot Unless You've Seen These" list. Inevitably, Dark City is always on it and my ego turns into Eeyore.
But recently, the Director's Cut was released and I finally sat down to watch it. The first character you meet is Jack Bauer. Except he's playing a slightly deranged doctor instead of Chuck Norris' worst nightmare. That caught me off guard a bit, but eventually I settled in.
As I've started watching more movies for this blog, I've been noticing more of the style directors throw into a movie. For example, did you know that in The Fifth Element, there is a full circle in the background of nearly every shot? In Dark City, Alex Proyas puts most of the lighting in the background so that everyone is shadowed or a complete silhouette. Foreground light is used sparringly, mostly to highlight something important or Jennifer Connelley. Can't say I'd do things any different if I were Alex.
One last thought. What's the difference between a "twist" and the big "reveal" at the end? I think they've meant the same thing to me, but after Dark City, I'm going to start paying more attention. The big "reveal" in this is the reason it's on so many of those lists. Maybe it's a twist. I don't know. But it goes on my list of Best.Endings.Ever. Seriously. Watch this movie.
Grade: A
Guy Ritchie is the poster boy for British Heist flicks. Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels are classics filled with great scenes and memorable characters. He even did those BMW commercials that were all the rage a few years ago.But then Mr. Ritchie married Madonna and everything went down the crapper. Or the loo, as they say across the Pond.
Revolver was Guy Ritchie's project back in 2005 - around the time things started getting bad with the missus. (side note: That's the first time I've written "missus" other than "Mrs." I had to look it up). Instead of being a heist movie, Revolver is the familiar cousin - a British Con flick. Since "con" has a negative meaning, I'm assuming this was done on purpose as a reflection of his marriage.
The movie is a complete mess. The plot is all over the place and for some reason, there's an excessive use of famous quotes. There are four or five in the opening credits, and if that wasn't enough, all of the characters join in the fun throughout the movie. It's like Bartlett's Familiar Quotations was passed around set and everyone had to work his favorite into the film somehow.
Despite all the flaws, I can't blame Guy Ritchie. After all, how could anyone create a complex con story, full of twists and red herrings, with the wife nagging about Kabbalah classes.
Grade: D
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