Susan and I really laughed while during this one, I am not a person who usually laughs out loud while watching movies,but this one got me to almost do so, it is one of the funniest movies I have seen (new) in a theater for many years.
A really funny picture, and NOT a so-called "chick flick", I just hate that espression, and, DEFINITELY NOT FOR CHILDREN!!!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
FANTASTIC FOUR 2: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
This is an okay movie, not a really worthwhile adaptation of the comic books, which Jack Kirby co-plotted and drew, and Stan Lee co-plotted and dialogued, but an okay movie.
They took a cheap shortcut witht the way "Galactus" was depicted. he should be gigantic in size, and shown in the classic Jack Kirby costume, and, after all, he is supposed to be an entity that is big enough to eat eantire planets.
Anyway, not a horrible movie to take the family to, the parents can handle it okay, and I believe that it's safe enough for ages ten and over, but that's my own opinion.
RATING: two popcorn boxes!!!
They took a cheap shortcut witht the way "Galactus" was depicted. he should be gigantic in size, and shown in the classic Jack Kirby costume, and, after all, he is supposed to be an entity that is big enough to eat eantire planets.
Anyway, not a horrible movie to take the family to, the parents can handle it okay, and I believe that it's safe enough for ages ten and over, but that's my own opinion.
RATING: two popcorn boxes!!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
NANCY DREW is coming!!!
My friend Steve has a blog here, it is called "I AIN'T NO OPRAH", and Steve certainly is not anything like the Queen of talk shows. Steve thinks I am a "girlie man", and, if being "sensitive" and liking what many people call "chick flicks" makes that so, well, just maybe I am that.
Anyway, when I was very young, my sister and I devoured all of the HARDY BOYS and NANCY DREW mystery books. They were just right for us at the ages of seven through nine, and Deborah is two years older than I, so I got to read her NANCY DREWs and she read my HARDY BOYS, until she decided that she was too old for them.
Now, Emma Roberts, niece of Julia, daughter of Eric, is going to be in the first of what I expect will be a series of movies about the diminutive sleuth.
I saw the preview for NANCY when I went to see SPIDER-MAN 3, well, I don't think the new NANCY has that much in common with the heroine written by "Carolyn Keene", actually the "ghost writers" of The Stratemeyer Syndicate,but it does at least use the familiar names of "Carson Drew", Nancy's Dad, and "Ned Nickerson", Nancy's boyfriend, according to The Internet Movie Database, at:
www.imdb.com
So, I see this as a good sign.
The movie poster featuring a large shot of young Roberts is very appealing, and is done in an old-fashioned design, which is interesting, since the movie is very 2007-ish, but, who would go to a NANCY DREW movie made today, if it was made as a "period piece"?
Roberts looks perfectly believable as the young investigator, and, even if "I AIN'T NO OPRAH" says I am a girlie man, I will be going to see this movie.
No jokes about the title of this entry, please, Steve!!!
;o)
Anyway, when I was very young, my sister and I devoured all of the HARDY BOYS and NANCY DREW mystery books. They were just right for us at the ages of seven through nine, and Deborah is two years older than I, so I got to read her NANCY DREWs and she read my HARDY BOYS, until she decided that she was too old for them.
Now, Emma Roberts, niece of Julia, daughter of Eric, is going to be in the first of what I expect will be a series of movies about the diminutive sleuth.
I saw the preview for NANCY when I went to see SPIDER-MAN 3, well, I don't think the new NANCY has that much in common with the heroine written by "Carolyn Keene", actually the "ghost writers" of The Stratemeyer Syndicate,but it does at least use the familiar names of "Carson Drew", Nancy's Dad, and "Ned Nickerson", Nancy's boyfriend, according to The Internet Movie Database, at:
www.imdb.com
So, I see this as a good sign.
The movie poster featuring a large shot of young Roberts is very appealing, and is done in an old-fashioned design, which is interesting, since the movie is very 2007-ish, but, who would go to a NANCY DREW movie made today, if it was made as a "period piece"?
Roberts looks perfectly believable as the young investigator, and, even if "I AIN'T NO OPRAH" says I am a girlie man, I will be going to see this movie.
No jokes about the title of this entry, please, Steve!!!
;o)
Saturday, May 19, 2007
SPIDER-MAN 3: Dark and Disturbing For Kids, Still Good Viewing For Some Adults, Overall!!!
Another movie we wanted to see on the big screen, this, for me, long-awaited Summer movie is a mixed bag.
I always love Tobey Maguire in his movies, even a low-budget film he made early in his career, REVENGE OF THE RED BARON, co-starring Mickey Rooney (!!!) has a good performance from Tobey.
Aa usual, Tobey is earnest and believable as Peter Parker, Spidey's alter-ego, Rosemary Harris is lovely and genuine as Peter's Aunt May, and Kirsten Dunst does another nice turn as Peter;s girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.
One of the best elements of this film is from the unlikely Thomas Haden Church as "The Sandman". Now, I saw Church in SIDEWAYS, and he was great in that, as a despicable womanizer, having an affair with a lovely young woman just before his wedding to another. Knowing him from the television series WINGS, and, later, from the series NED & STACEY, I had mostly written him off as an actor with little importance. I must say, that, after some obvious training and conditioning, he made an excellent super-villain, in a characterization that seems to come right out of the original issue number four of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, from MARVEL COMICS, in the early 1960's.
Church is really a villain we can "love to hate", as "The Sandman", and I wonder if he will appear again as this character, in a future FANTASTIC FOUR movie, as this villain does show up in FANTASTIC FOUR comic books.
Topher Grace, late of THAT 70's SHOW, is believable as "Venom", though I don't think he is actually ever named in the movie as "Venom", I just know it because I read comic books.
I must add, as regards the "Venom", and other sections of this movie, I think it is way too rough for younger children. A family that has young children, one that my wife and I are very close to, did let their under tens see the movie, but I'd say one would have to carefully consider if this option is safe, and base the decision on the personalities of their youngsters. Our friends have kids who are used to seeing strong adventure material, but not all kids can take a movie like SPIDER-MAN 3.
The ending of the film, which, though I did like it in many ways, is a little too pat, of coure, this is to set things up for the inevitable SPIDEY 4, I'll be in line, in the hopes that they may have Spidey meet "Kraven The Hunter" or "Mysterio", but I hope that some of the excessive violence that is in this one is not in the fourth, I can accept violence in comic book derived movies, the issue that I have with it, in the context of SPIDER-MAN 3, is that there is so much marketing, tied in to the selling of it, that is aimed at kids,like McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, and action figure toys at Target Stores, which underwrote the publishing expenses of a MARVEL COMICS SPIDER-MAN 3 "prequel" that many theaters have to give to patrons, well, it just kind of catches in my throat.
I do hope that Tobey, director Sam Raimi, and all others invlved creatively, as well as Harris, Dunst, et al, will be back in SPIDEY 4, I just do not want to see some of the graphic images displayed in future sequels so aggressively targeted at children for merchandising victims.
I always love Tobey Maguire in his movies, even a low-budget film he made early in his career, REVENGE OF THE RED BARON, co-starring Mickey Rooney (!!!) has a good performance from Tobey.
Aa usual, Tobey is earnest and believable as Peter Parker, Spidey's alter-ego, Rosemary Harris is lovely and genuine as Peter's Aunt May, and Kirsten Dunst does another nice turn as Peter;s girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.
One of the best elements of this film is from the unlikely Thomas Haden Church as "The Sandman". Now, I saw Church in SIDEWAYS, and he was great in that, as a despicable womanizer, having an affair with a lovely young woman just before his wedding to another. Knowing him from the television series WINGS, and, later, from the series NED & STACEY, I had mostly written him off as an actor with little importance. I must say, that, after some obvious training and conditioning, he made an excellent super-villain, in a characterization that seems to come right out of the original issue number four of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, from MARVEL COMICS, in the early 1960's.
Church is really a villain we can "love to hate", as "The Sandman", and I wonder if he will appear again as this character, in a future FANTASTIC FOUR movie, as this villain does show up in FANTASTIC FOUR comic books.
Topher Grace, late of THAT 70's SHOW, is believable as "Venom", though I don't think he is actually ever named in the movie as "Venom", I just know it because I read comic books.
I must add, as regards the "Venom", and other sections of this movie, I think it is way too rough for younger children. A family that has young children, one that my wife and I are very close to, did let their under tens see the movie, but I'd say one would have to carefully consider if this option is safe, and base the decision on the personalities of their youngsters. Our friends have kids who are used to seeing strong adventure material, but not all kids can take a movie like SPIDER-MAN 3.
The ending of the film, which, though I did like it in many ways, is a little too pat, of coure, this is to set things up for the inevitable SPIDEY 4, I'll be in line, in the hopes that they may have Spidey meet "Kraven The Hunter" or "Mysterio", but I hope that some of the excessive violence that is in this one is not in the fourth, I can accept violence in comic book derived movies, the issue that I have with it, in the context of SPIDER-MAN 3, is that there is so much marketing, tied in to the selling of it, that is aimed at kids,like McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, and action figure toys at Target Stores, which underwrote the publishing expenses of a MARVEL COMICS SPIDER-MAN 3 "prequel" that many theaters have to give to patrons, well, it just kind of catches in my throat.
I do hope that Tobey, director Sam Raimi, and all others invlved creatively, as well as Harris, Dunst, et al, will be back in SPIDEY 4, I just do not want to see some of the graphic images displayed in future sequels so aggressively targeted at children for merchandising victims.
Friday, May 18, 2007
SHREK THE THIRD
Well, some might be surprised to hear me say this, but this is one of the few movies to come out in a number of years that does not, in my opinion, insult the intelligence of the audience.
SHREK THE THIRD, with it's appealing characters, spectacular animation, and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek approach to the portrayal of classic "Fairy Tales" is a worthy successor to the original SHREK and it's first sequel.
This series, first appearing in a book by the late cartoonist William Steig, of THE NEW YORKER magazine, continues to capture the imagination of the young and old alike.
Susan, my other half, and I, sat in between two groups, one consisted of a young mom and her two below ten age daughters, and, the other,apparently,of an elderly gentleman and his three about 40 year old offspring.
Susan and I, both hovering near the age of 50, enjoyed the picture a great deal, as our neighbors in the movie theatre did.
The auditorium was filled to "sold out" capacity, as were the other two auditoriums showing the same film at the complex we were at.
In the space of about four hours, the movie was shown three times there.
I continue to be delighted by the enormous talents the producers of the SHREK films recruit to perform voice acting in them, from Shrek himself,Mike Myers, to Cameron Diaz, as Mrs. Shrek, and on to the rest of the cast, including Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots, and such wonderful favorites as Julie Andrews, John Cleese, and Eric Idle, rounding out the main cast.
I won't spoil the film by revealing any of what happens, but there is a big bag of surprises delivered in the film,these are so cute they will be easy to come to terms with.
I believe that SHREK THE THIRD is a "true family film", one that kids will enjoy for the cute and fun characters, and Mom and Dad can enjoy the sly humor and outrageous gags that fill up Shrek's world.
This film gets my highest rating:
4 POPCORN BOXES!!!
SHREK THE THIRD, with it's appealing characters, spectacular animation, and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek approach to the portrayal of classic "Fairy Tales" is a worthy successor to the original SHREK and it's first sequel.
This series, first appearing in a book by the late cartoonist William Steig, of THE NEW YORKER magazine, continues to capture the imagination of the young and old alike.
Susan, my other half, and I, sat in between two groups, one consisted of a young mom and her two below ten age daughters, and, the other,apparently,of an elderly gentleman and his three about 40 year old offspring.
Susan and I, both hovering near the age of 50, enjoyed the picture a great deal, as our neighbors in the movie theatre did.
The auditorium was filled to "sold out" capacity, as were the other two auditoriums showing the same film at the complex we were at.
In the space of about four hours, the movie was shown three times there.
I continue to be delighted by the enormous talents the producers of the SHREK films recruit to perform voice acting in them, from Shrek himself,Mike Myers, to Cameron Diaz, as Mrs. Shrek, and on to the rest of the cast, including Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots, and such wonderful favorites as Julie Andrews, John Cleese, and Eric Idle, rounding out the main cast.
I won't spoil the film by revealing any of what happens, but there is a big bag of surprises delivered in the film,these are so cute they will be easy to come to terms with.
I believe that SHREK THE THIRD is a "true family film", one that kids will enjoy for the cute and fun characters, and Mom and Dad can enjoy the sly humor and outrageous gags that fill up Shrek's world.
This film gets my highest rating:
4 POPCORN BOXES!!!
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