My wife and I decided to see the movie "RED" on Sunday. We went to an early show (1:20) and settled in to watch the movie.
Only a couple minutes into the movie you get some action, and it pretty much continues throughout the movie, but not rediculously so. Every few minutes. Bruce Willis was good in the movie, as was Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovitch was hilarious. Even my wife enjoyed the movie.
The movie wasn't simply an action film, either. There was just a touch of romance, and plenty of funny stuff, mixed in with the action.
Basically, Bruce Willis and the other main characters are all retired CIA agents, living their lives peacefully spread throughout the United States. Then they all come to realize that their lives are in danger, possibly by the same CIA that they worked for, so they team up in an effort to find out who's trying to kill them, why, and put an end to it.
Over all, the movie was extremely enjoyable, and I would recommend it to just about anyone. It was well worth the money, and I would not have been disappointed if we had paid the normal evening price.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Let Me In
My wife and I decided to see "Let Me In" today. We went to the 4:20 matinee and settled in for the movie.
The movie starts out okay, slightly suspenseful, but keeping my attention. It takes place during the early 80's so the hairstyles, clothing, and home decor took some getting used to. Trying not to give too many details, this preteen boy lives with his mother and when some new people move into the apartment next door, he tries to make friends with a girl near his age. He slowly comes to discover that something isn't right with her, but desperately needs a friend to help him deal with his school bullies, and the stress of his religious alcoholic mother divorcing his father.
Overall, the movie wasn't bad, especially for a matinee. I thought that several scenes were dragged out a little bit too long, but not rediculously so. Also, there were several smaller climaxes, instead of one major climax that turns the movie. This slightly disappointed me, because I kept asking myself, when is the movie going to peak? And it kind of never did. Not that it was bad. I still enjoyed the movie...it just never really reached one MAJOR climax. In the end, I felt mostly satisfied, but did have several questions.
So in conclusion, I would recommend this movie, but I would say go to the matinee. It was pretty good, not extremely scary, but had decent suspense. Not a bad movie to take a girl to if she likes scary (but not too scary) movies.
The movie starts out okay, slightly suspenseful, but keeping my attention. It takes place during the early 80's so the hairstyles, clothing, and home decor took some getting used to. Trying not to give too many details, this preteen boy lives with his mother and when some new people move into the apartment next door, he tries to make friends with a girl near his age. He slowly comes to discover that something isn't right with her, but desperately needs a friend to help him deal with his school bullies, and the stress of his religious alcoholic mother divorcing his father.
Overall, the movie wasn't bad, especially for a matinee. I thought that several scenes were dragged out a little bit too long, but not rediculously so. Also, there were several smaller climaxes, instead of one major climax that turns the movie. This slightly disappointed me, because I kept asking myself, when is the movie going to peak? And it kind of never did. Not that it was bad. I still enjoyed the movie...it just never really reached one MAJOR climax. In the end, I felt mostly satisfied, but did have several questions.
So in conclusion, I would recommend this movie, but I would say go to the matinee. It was pretty good, not extremely scary, but had decent suspense. Not a bad movie to take a girl to if she likes scary (but not too scary) movies.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Hurt Locker
Well, this was a movie I had been wanting to see for some time now, and I was lucky enough to receive it as a birthday present. I had been looking for it ever since it came out on DVD, and couldn't find it anywhere, so I was pretty pumped when I opened the wrapping paper and saw what it was. My wife and I decided to watch the movie that night, and here is my synopsis.
The movie immediately begins with a small Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad, checking out a large Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a mule cart on some city street in Iraq. It's a stressful situation, as the EOD squad attempts to disarm the IED, and a subsequent explosion kills off the only actor I recognized and assumed was going to be a main character. A little bit of a surprise there. The soldier killed off is replaced by Jeremy Renner's character, Sgt. James. We learned very quickly that Sgt. James is slightly eccentric, and extremely unorthodox, much to the chagrin of his two squadmates. The next hour and a half go by showing the EOD squad encountering different forms of IED's and trying to disarm them. It was all very interesting.
However, I did have a few issues with the movie. I have read many, many books about military special forces (of which EOD is considered), and I coincidentally watched a documentary about EOD the day prior to watching this movie, and I noticed several things that bothered me. EOD squads are made up of 5-6 members, and not 3. If it takes, 1-2 men to disarm an IED, it will take several more to set up a small perimeter around the other 2. In this movie, 2 men set up a perimeter, while one man disarmed the IED. Two men cannot effectively set up a safe perimeter. And who did these men report to? We never saw a commanding officer, or a platoon sargeant, or any other form of the chain of command.
I also noticed that when the squad returned to base, the two lower ranking guys appeared to share quite a large, pristine barracks room. Just the two of them. And Sgt. James had an identical room all to himself. Now I have to admit, I have not been to Iraq, and I cannot not honestly say that I know what kind of living conditions our troops are residing in over there. But from documentaries that I have seen, and from my own experience in the military, I do know for a fact, that the military, no matter what branch, does NOT waste space by giving 1-2 guys a large space like that. And, officers get the nice stuff, while the enlisted guys get whatever is left over.
The only other thing that really bothered me, was while Sgt. James' team was patrolling one day, they came across some private contractors. I thought they were actually British SAS (Secret Air Service), which is Britain's version of Navy SEALs. In other words, they are complete badasses. However, I found out while reading the credits, that this British team was actually made up of contractors. Anyway, the EOD squad and the contractors come under sniper fire, killing off three of the contractors. The contractors immediately begin to panic, and freak out, acting like dumbasses. The EOD guys remained extremely calm, and took the contractors' 50cal. sniper rifle and proceeded to take out the Iraqi sniper. It bothered me that the contractors, who realistically would have been former special forces and should have remained calm under pressure, completely freaked out when some of their guys got shot. And how the EOD guys just picked up the 50cal., and calmly returned fire, killing the sniper. Did they have any sniper training? I don't know. Not that I know of.
Also, the Iraqi sniper could be seen from his point of view, pointing an AK-47 without a scope, at the EOD guys from several hundred yards away, and firing accurately. The EOD guys, picked up the 50cal. and took 3-4 shots to even hone in on the sniper. Even the contractors, who should have been trained to use that rifle, took a few potshots before getting shot in the throat, while lying on their stomach, behind the rifle. That Iraqi sniper must have been quite the deadeye.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the movie. I love military movies, and I was not altogether disappointed, except for the issues I previously mentioned. Overall, I would give this move a solid "B."
The movie immediately begins with a small Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad, checking out a large Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a mule cart on some city street in Iraq. It's a stressful situation, as the EOD squad attempts to disarm the IED, and a subsequent explosion kills off the only actor I recognized and assumed was going to be a main character. A little bit of a surprise there. The soldier killed off is replaced by Jeremy Renner's character, Sgt. James. We learned very quickly that Sgt. James is slightly eccentric, and extremely unorthodox, much to the chagrin of his two squadmates. The next hour and a half go by showing the EOD squad encountering different forms of IED's and trying to disarm them. It was all very interesting.
However, I did have a few issues with the movie. I have read many, many books about military special forces (of which EOD is considered), and I coincidentally watched a documentary about EOD the day prior to watching this movie, and I noticed several things that bothered me. EOD squads are made up of 5-6 members, and not 3. If it takes, 1-2 men to disarm an IED, it will take several more to set up a small perimeter around the other 2. In this movie, 2 men set up a perimeter, while one man disarmed the IED. Two men cannot effectively set up a safe perimeter. And who did these men report to? We never saw a commanding officer, or a platoon sargeant, or any other form of the chain of command.
I also noticed that when the squad returned to base, the two lower ranking guys appeared to share quite a large, pristine barracks room. Just the two of them. And Sgt. James had an identical room all to himself. Now I have to admit, I have not been to Iraq, and I cannot not honestly say that I know what kind of living conditions our troops are residing in over there. But from documentaries that I have seen, and from my own experience in the military, I do know for a fact, that the military, no matter what branch, does NOT waste space by giving 1-2 guys a large space like that. And, officers get the nice stuff, while the enlisted guys get whatever is left over.
The only other thing that really bothered me, was while Sgt. James' team was patrolling one day, they came across some private contractors. I thought they were actually British SAS (Secret Air Service), which is Britain's version of Navy SEALs. In other words, they are complete badasses. However, I found out while reading the credits, that this British team was actually made up of contractors. Anyway, the EOD squad and the contractors come under sniper fire, killing off three of the contractors. The contractors immediately begin to panic, and freak out, acting like dumbasses. The EOD guys remained extremely calm, and took the contractors' 50cal. sniper rifle and proceeded to take out the Iraqi sniper. It bothered me that the contractors, who realistically would have been former special forces and should have remained calm under pressure, completely freaked out when some of their guys got shot. And how the EOD guys just picked up the 50cal., and calmly returned fire, killing the sniper. Did they have any sniper training? I don't know. Not that I know of.
Also, the Iraqi sniper could be seen from his point of view, pointing an AK-47 without a scope, at the EOD guys from several hundred yards away, and firing accurately. The EOD guys, picked up the 50cal. and took 3-4 shots to even hone in on the sniper. Even the contractors, who should have been trained to use that rifle, took a few potshots before getting shot in the throat, while lying on their stomach, behind the rifle. That Iraqi sniper must have been quite the deadeye.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the movie. I love military movies, and I was not altogether disappointed, except for the issues I previously mentioned. Overall, I would give this move a solid "B."
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Last Exorcism
Okay folks, since this one is still in the theaters, I need to be careful about what I post. But judging that my previous post has not been read by one single person, I can probably post whatever I want, and you'll never know.
So the wife and I went to see "The Last Exorcism" this afternoon. I'm picky about the horror films that I want to see, and this one didn't qualify, but the wife wanted to go, so off we went to the 4:45 matinee.
The movie starts out well enough, being filmed as though it's a documentary. The movie actually kept my attention the entire time, and I was never bored or disinterested. The suspense was good, and I was always curious about what was going to happen next. The creepy parts seemed to have just the right amount of creepy. I'm not certain how long the movie was, but I was thoroughly entertained until the last 5 minutes.
The last 5 minutes got really weird, really quick. Neither my wife nor I fully understood what was happening, or why. Then the movie just ended. Abruptly. All in all, I was going to give the movie a B+, but because of the last 5 minutes and the ending, I give it a C-. We think we figured out what was going on during the last few minutes during our drive home, but we're not sure, and the movie certainly didn't make it clear.
Ultimately, my opinion is that this movie would be okay to rent, but not under the "New Release" price, and it might even be better after the consumption of alcohol. So, in a word, I would describe this movie as "ehhh."
So the wife and I went to see "The Last Exorcism" this afternoon. I'm picky about the horror films that I want to see, and this one didn't qualify, but the wife wanted to go, so off we went to the 4:45 matinee.
The movie starts out well enough, being filmed as though it's a documentary. The movie actually kept my attention the entire time, and I was never bored or disinterested. The suspense was good, and I was always curious about what was going to happen next. The creepy parts seemed to have just the right amount of creepy. I'm not certain how long the movie was, but I was thoroughly entertained until the last 5 minutes.
The last 5 minutes got really weird, really quick. Neither my wife nor I fully understood what was happening, or why. Then the movie just ended. Abruptly. All in all, I was going to give the movie a B+, but because of the last 5 minutes and the ending, I give it a C-. We think we figured out what was going on during the last few minutes during our drive home, but we're not sure, and the movie certainly didn't make it clear.
Ultimately, my opinion is that this movie would be okay to rent, but not under the "New Release" price, and it might even be better after the consumption of alcohol. So, in a word, I would describe this movie as "ehhh."
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
There Will Be Blood
Okay, welcome to my first blog entry...ever. To get things started, I'll tell you that I like to ramble, but to all my faithful (yeah right) readers, I'm going to give you my honest opinions about movies that I've seen recently. Because of work and responsibilities at home, I don't get to the theater often, so many of the movies will be ones that I've seen on TV, or maybe even on DVD. We'll see.
So, let's get started. Several days ago, I watched "There Will Be Blood," with Daniel Day Lewis (who I'll refer to as DDL). It was on AMC, and the description of the movie stated that DDL gave an Oscar winning performance as a self-made, but evil oil tycoon. I figured that although the movie is 3 1/2 hours long, DDL is an outstanding actor, and if he won an Oscar for this movie, it ought to be good.
The movie starts by showing how DDL's character, Daniel Plainview, progresses in the oil industry in the early 1900's. First, he's seen digging coal out of a deep hole in the ground by himself. The next scene is similar, except he had a couple of guys helping him. And the third scene shows even more guys working on an oil derrick. These scenes show the first 10-15 minutes of the movie, and there still hasn't been any dialogue. And I have no idea how much time has passed through these scenes. 6 weeks? 6 months? 6 years? I don't know. After one of his workers is killed on the job, Plainview begins to care for the deceased employee's infant son. Where's the mother? I don't know. The movie never says. Or if it did, I COMPLETELY missed it.
The following scene shows Plainview talking to a crowd of people, offering his services on drilling for oil. There is a boy with him who appears to be 8 or 9. I assume this is the same kid that was an infant in the previous scene, but the movie never states how much time has passed. And Plainview has named the kid "H.W." but never states what it stands for. A short time later, this guy shows up, wanting Plainview to drill on his town's property, but seems more obsessed with his church, and how much money his town will make when oil is struck. Plainview takes the job, and this weird guy, Eli, reappears quite a few times, and is really bizarre. He is obsessed with his church, and his people, but we never learn if he is the teenage minister, or just a self proclaimed savior to the people. But ALL of his scenes are just kind of creepy, and I don't quite see how Plainview is "evil," as described by AMC.
The movie goes on for another two hours, and not a whole lot happens through it. H.W. loses his hearing in an accident, is sent away to a special school, and comes back a short time later, due to Plainview's guilt for sending him away. The rest of those two hours just shows Plainview running his business. NOT very mentally stimulating.
With approximately 30 minutes left in the movie, I'm STILL waiting for something good to happen. I see Plainview in a mansion, shooting a pistol across several rooms at furniture. Why? I have no idea. How much time has passed? I don't know that either. Next, I see a young man, probably in his late 20's, come in and sit down in front of Plainview. He had an interpreter, because he was using sign language. This must be H.W. I have no idea what is going on, but H.W. tells Plainview that he his moving to Mexico with his wife (his wife?) and starting his own oil company. Plainview gets angry and tells H.W. that he's not really his father, and then H.W. leaves. Oooooookaaaaaay. The next thing I know, Plainview is passed out in the middle of his private two-lane bowling alley. He's passed out on the lanes. Was he drunk? I don't have a clue. And then Eli shows up. Eli? I was really hoping I was done with him.
So Eli asks for money because he claims that he's in a bad spot, but we never learn what that "spot" is. Eli and Plainview talk for a bit, and then Plainview gets mad, I have no idea why, and frankly, at this point, I don't care. I've lost interest. So then Plainview chases Eli around the bowling lanes, and beats him to death with a bowling pin, and then the credits start rolling. That was the best part of the movie. I just wish it had happened three hours prior.
Overall, the movie was 3 1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back. The scenes of the film were all very dark, and it proved hard for me to see what was going on. I lost details in the darkness. Time passed, but I never knew how much, and I'd have to say at least 1/3 of the movie was without dialogue, just showing people working. How DDL won an Oscar for this is beyond me. He's still a great actor, but the movie just plain sucked. What the plot was, I'll never know. I guess then, it's obvious to say that I did not enjoy the movie.
So, let's get started. Several days ago, I watched "There Will Be Blood," with Daniel Day Lewis (who I'll refer to as DDL). It was on AMC, and the description of the movie stated that DDL gave an Oscar winning performance as a self-made, but evil oil tycoon. I figured that although the movie is 3 1/2 hours long, DDL is an outstanding actor, and if he won an Oscar for this movie, it ought to be good.
The movie starts by showing how DDL's character, Daniel Plainview, progresses in the oil industry in the early 1900's. First, he's seen digging coal out of a deep hole in the ground by himself. The next scene is similar, except he had a couple of guys helping him. And the third scene shows even more guys working on an oil derrick. These scenes show the first 10-15 minutes of the movie, and there still hasn't been any dialogue. And I have no idea how much time has passed through these scenes. 6 weeks? 6 months? 6 years? I don't know. After one of his workers is killed on the job, Plainview begins to care for the deceased employee's infant son. Where's the mother? I don't know. The movie never says. Or if it did, I COMPLETELY missed it.
The following scene shows Plainview talking to a crowd of people, offering his services on drilling for oil. There is a boy with him who appears to be 8 or 9. I assume this is the same kid that was an infant in the previous scene, but the movie never states how much time has passed. And Plainview has named the kid "H.W." but never states what it stands for. A short time later, this guy shows up, wanting Plainview to drill on his town's property, but seems more obsessed with his church, and how much money his town will make when oil is struck. Plainview takes the job, and this weird guy, Eli, reappears quite a few times, and is really bizarre. He is obsessed with his church, and his people, but we never learn if he is the teenage minister, or just a self proclaimed savior to the people. But ALL of his scenes are just kind of creepy, and I don't quite see how Plainview is "evil," as described by AMC.
The movie goes on for another two hours, and not a whole lot happens through it. H.W. loses his hearing in an accident, is sent away to a special school, and comes back a short time later, due to Plainview's guilt for sending him away. The rest of those two hours just shows Plainview running his business. NOT very mentally stimulating.
With approximately 30 minutes left in the movie, I'm STILL waiting for something good to happen. I see Plainview in a mansion, shooting a pistol across several rooms at furniture. Why? I have no idea. How much time has passed? I don't know that either. Next, I see a young man, probably in his late 20's, come in and sit down in front of Plainview. He had an interpreter, because he was using sign language. This must be H.W. I have no idea what is going on, but H.W. tells Plainview that he his moving to Mexico with his wife (his wife?) and starting his own oil company. Plainview gets angry and tells H.W. that he's not really his father, and then H.W. leaves. Oooooookaaaaaay. The next thing I know, Plainview is passed out in the middle of his private two-lane bowling alley. He's passed out on the lanes. Was he drunk? I don't have a clue. And then Eli shows up. Eli? I was really hoping I was done with him.
So Eli asks for money because he claims that he's in a bad spot, but we never learn what that "spot" is. Eli and Plainview talk for a bit, and then Plainview gets mad, I have no idea why, and frankly, at this point, I don't care. I've lost interest. So then Plainview chases Eli around the bowling lanes, and beats him to death with a bowling pin, and then the credits start rolling. That was the best part of the movie. I just wish it had happened three hours prior.
Overall, the movie was 3 1/2 hours of my life I'll never get back. The scenes of the film were all very dark, and it proved hard for me to see what was going on. I lost details in the darkness. Time passed, but I never knew how much, and I'd have to say at least 1/3 of the movie was without dialogue, just showing people working. How DDL won an Oscar for this is beyond me. He's still a great actor, but the movie just plain sucked. What the plot was, I'll never know. I guess then, it's obvious to say that I did not enjoy the movie.
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