This is yet another iconic movie character, Indiana Jones. McClane, Bond, Luke, Hannibal, Gump, Terminator, all of them immediately recognizable, both as their characters and the actors that play them. Characters that young and old people grow to love, both for their hero qualities and the real human qualities that we can all relate to, that make us feel that we "know" what the character is going through. Indiana is clearly no different. He defines action hero. He is not the anti-hero, he is not the feel pity for me, he is the f*ck ya I am America and can get out of every situation, no matter how dire.
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg teamed up to create these adventures. Both remembering matinee shows from when they were young, short 15 minute adventures that always ended on "to be continued..." with the protagonist always getting out of the crazy predicaments he found himself in in the next episode. There was a debate between Lucas and Spielberg on who to use as Jones. Spielberg first suggested Harrison Ford to play the part, but Lucas resisted due to already casting him in "American Graffiti" and the first two Star Wars films. After a long search they settled on Tom Selleck. They were only a few weeks from filming when CBS refused to let Selleck film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" because they were set to start filming "Magnum PI". After this setback, Lucas relented and called in Ford to film. No one can argue against that the right choice was made.
Crusade is the last of the original three Indiana movies. Luckily it stayed true to the formula of the first movie, and gave just as many thrills as smiles, and still had the grand fanciful storyline to guide the adventure. The movie includes Sean Connery as Indiana's father. Both a surprising appearance, and a memorable one. Its not the Sean Connery suave that made Bond who he was, but an aloof, archaeologist who seems to lose himself in his work continuously. Once both are on screen together, their joking father son dynamic keeps the mood light, even in moments of peril. The other smaller support characters play convincing parts, and as outlandish as the Nazi characters are, it all fits.
The cinematography is great and having Spielberg direct Lucas' ideas and vision works out like most of us would have liked "A New Hope" and "Return of the Jedi" to turn out like. I say that because most will argue "Empire Strikes Back" was the best Star Wars film, and it was not directed by Lucas. The music is again spot on, and that is expected from John Williams, whose resume looks a little like this, every Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Hook,
Schindlers List, Saving Private Ryan, all of the Harry Potters, and that's not including all of his TV credits and countless other films.
Interesting tidbit about naming Indiana Jones. Originally he was to be Indiana Smith, Indiana coming from Lucas' own Alaskan Malamute. Spielberg thought Smith was a little too generic and convinced Lucas that Jones was a better fit. If you pay close attention to the film, there is an Alaskan Malamute in the Jones' house at the beginning of the film, and Connery's character calls Indy, Jr through the whole movie. Finally revealing at the end that his chosen nick name of Indiana was in fact dogs name.
Overall this is another very fun, enjoyable movie for all. Good characters that are not exactly superbly played but still great, and cheesiness that just adds to the fun. Clearly if you have not seen the orignal three, Crystal Skull is not really a must see, it is time.
Score: 8.7 Another must see classic.
Lastly my favorite quote:[after commandeering a plane]
Professor Henry Jones: I didn't know you could fly a plane.
Indiana Jones: Fly, yes. Land, no.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Movie 109 Die Hard
So finally, a truly iconic movie. there have been times, when no matter the part of the day, I could turn the TV on and "Die Hard" would be on some channel. It is a big enough movie franchise, that I bet any of you reading this, there are people reading this right, could tell me who played John McClane without me telling you the movie. I bet you could even tell me the most famous line from this franchise, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!" without skipping a beat. This movie coming out in a time where special effects were starting to become a thing of their own, and action movies starred guys with more muscles that words in their vocabulary.
Watching this movie is so easy. Although like most it takes a little while to start, but once it does, it is frenetic and fun all the way to the end. Supposedly Bruce Willis was the 6th choice of actor for the role of McClane. Behind Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. Of course like many of our favorite movie characters none of those other guys even make sense, but who knows and what if's generate a lot of office conversations.
Its hard to really talk about the technical and artistic merit of the movie. If you try and nit-pic it, like I found myself doing a little, you do notice that this is the cliché movie of cliché movies. Bad lines, barely established character relationships, guns that never run out of ammo, multiple outrageous explosions, and a bad guy that has to explicitly get shot 5 times after being strangled, and falling 30+ stories after the top of the building that he was in exploded. All of this aside, it still is a joy to watch.
Willis' performance of the tough wise cracking down on his luck hero is perfect. He gets into and out of amazing situations, each time thinking he won't see the other side. Not to mention he does all this butt kicking with no shoes on, the whole movie.
The direction of the movie is done well, especially because the viewer is never left with too much down time. It is not non-stop gun fighting and explosions, but just when the movie could have started to feel like it was dragging, it would pick right up again and off on another adventure you are. The music and ambiance of the movie definitely remind anyone of the 80's, but not in the tacky way that makes us want to forget it.
Overall it is definitely a must see in your lifetime. As much as the cliché moments bothered me, the movie never tried to be what it wasn't, and performed the crime action thriller to a T.
Score: 8.5 Fun for everyone. Lower score because compared to what I consider "great" movies, this is missing a lot, but it still is perfector a genre that led to many good, and bad, action films of the 90's that may not have seen the light of day were it not for John McClane.
Watching this movie is so easy. Although like most it takes a little while to start, but once it does, it is frenetic and fun all the way to the end. Supposedly Bruce Willis was the 6th choice of actor for the role of McClane. Behind Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. Of course like many of our favorite movie characters none of those other guys even make sense, but who knows and what if's generate a lot of office conversations.
Its hard to really talk about the technical and artistic merit of the movie. If you try and nit-pic it, like I found myself doing a little, you do notice that this is the cliché movie of cliché movies. Bad lines, barely established character relationships, guns that never run out of ammo, multiple outrageous explosions, and a bad guy that has to explicitly get shot 5 times after being strangled, and falling 30+ stories after the top of the building that he was in exploded. All of this aside, it still is a joy to watch.
Willis' performance of the tough wise cracking down on his luck hero is perfect. He gets into and out of amazing situations, each time thinking he won't see the other side. Not to mention he does all this butt kicking with no shoes on, the whole movie.
The direction of the movie is done well, especially because the viewer is never left with too much down time. It is not non-stop gun fighting and explosions, but just when the movie could have started to feel like it was dragging, it would pick right up again and off on another adventure you are. The music and ambiance of the movie definitely remind anyone of the 80's, but not in the tacky way that makes us want to forget it.
Overall it is definitely a must see in your lifetime. As much as the cliché moments bothered me, the movie never tried to be what it wasn't, and performed the crime action thriller to a T.
Score: 8.5 Fun for everyone. Lower score because compared to what I consider "great" movies, this is missing a lot, but it still is perfector a genre that led to many good, and bad, action films of the 90's that may not have seen the light of day were it not for John McClane.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Karate Kid
So I had family in town over the weekend that prevented me from working on "the list" as much as I had hoped, but I did get a fluff movie in thanks to my brothers persistence.
Now I am not one that has particularly fond memories of the original "The Karate Kid", but I at least remember the ending and the general premise of the movie. This remake version does the core of the movie the same, while of course freshening it up for a newer audience.
Jayden smith is the main attraction of the movie, if you don't already know he is Will Smiths son, and he is in nearly every scene of this 2 hour plus movie. I found it very interesting to see a few of the same facial expressions and attitudes of his father coming out in his acting, which is fun to watch for Wills fans, and shows that for a youngin this kid has at least been taught well.
Basic premise, kid and now single mother move to China, and he gets picked on for being new, and different. But I do not just mean pushed and made fun of, I mean full on fist to face, roundhouse kick beat up. It took me aback a little because I thought this movie was made for kids, and popular because of that. It shows struggles that I know many kids face, but I found it to be a little violent for small children. What probably saved it form a higher than PG rating was the lack of blood during those scenes.
Clearly the other name drawing people to this movie is Jackie Chan. I have seen many, many of his films, even going back to his Chinese "classic", "Drunken Master" I half expected to see the same goofy, trick laden performance that I have grown accustomed to. Again to my pleasant surprise, that is not what he gives. He gives a worn down old man, that has all but given up on himself and the people around him. It is a very deep performance given his few words, and fewer lines throughout the film.
Now even given the good acting performances by the main characters, and the great scenery from around China used in the film, it is by no means great. It drags on a little, due to its 140 minute run time, and there were a couple opportunities for character involvement that were left out. Mainly the first kid Dre, Jayden, meets in China. The next 10-15 minutes play out like they are going to be friends and be seen together throughout the film. I don't even know if the character shows up on screen more than two times, at most, and just in passing. Lastly romance between 12 year-olds is a little weird, and without the kissing scene halfway through the movie it wouldn't have bothered me.
Overall to say it was good, and watchable is fair, given it finished in the top ten of last years ticket sales, and many people took their families to see it last year. In the grand scheme of movies it won't be on any ones "top" lists, but for a family film and occasional fluff, not bad.
Score: 6.5 If you have not seen it, and you are interested, it is worth your time. If not, you won't miss out on watercooler talk about it.
Lastly anything rating above a 5 in my eyes means its a movie that if you have the time, get around to watching it. 5 of course doesn't mean you get Heath Ledger acting perfomances, but it won't create a hole of wasted time in your life. Next the review of "Die Hard"
I'm just sayin...
Now I am not one that has particularly fond memories of the original "The Karate Kid", but I at least remember the ending and the general premise of the movie. This remake version does the core of the movie the same, while of course freshening it up for a newer audience.
Jayden smith is the main attraction of the movie, if you don't already know he is Will Smiths son, and he is in nearly every scene of this 2 hour plus movie. I found it very interesting to see a few of the same facial expressions and attitudes of his father coming out in his acting, which is fun to watch for Wills fans, and shows that for a youngin this kid has at least been taught well.
Basic premise, kid and now single mother move to China, and he gets picked on for being new, and different. But I do not just mean pushed and made fun of, I mean full on fist to face, roundhouse kick beat up. It took me aback a little because I thought this movie was made for kids, and popular because of that. It shows struggles that I know many kids face, but I found it to be a little violent for small children. What probably saved it form a higher than PG rating was the lack of blood during those scenes.
Clearly the other name drawing people to this movie is Jackie Chan. I have seen many, many of his films, even going back to his Chinese "classic", "Drunken Master" I half expected to see the same goofy, trick laden performance that I have grown accustomed to. Again to my pleasant surprise, that is not what he gives. He gives a worn down old man, that has all but given up on himself and the people around him. It is a very deep performance given his few words, and fewer lines throughout the film.
Now even given the good acting performances by the main characters, and the great scenery from around China used in the film, it is by no means great. It drags on a little, due to its 140 minute run time, and there were a couple opportunities for character involvement that were left out. Mainly the first kid Dre, Jayden, meets in China. The next 10-15 minutes play out like they are going to be friends and be seen together throughout the film. I don't even know if the character shows up on screen more than two times, at most, and just in passing. Lastly romance between 12 year-olds is a little weird, and without the kissing scene halfway through the movie it wouldn't have bothered me.
Overall to say it was good, and watchable is fair, given it finished in the top ten of last years ticket sales, and many people took their families to see it last year. In the grand scheme of movies it won't be on any ones "top" lists, but for a family film and occasional fluff, not bad.
Score: 6.5 If you have not seen it, and you are interested, it is worth your time. If not, you won't miss out on watercooler talk about it.
Lastly anything rating above a 5 in my eyes means its a movie that if you have the time, get around to watching it. 5 of course doesn't mean you get Heath Ledger acting perfomances, but it won't create a hole of wasted time in your life. Next the review of "Die Hard"
I'm just sayin...
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Weekend box office, "No Strings Attached", and my ratings
So "No Strings Attached" won the box office this weekend, ousting "The Green Hornet" From the top of last weekends ticket sales. even though there was a lot of advertising around 'No Strings' I expected 'Hornet' to spend at least one more week atop the ticket sales. I personally do not have much interest in seeing 'Hornet', or at least paying to see it in theaters, as Seth Rogan is starting to get a little stale with his overplaying of the same characters again and again. I was also surprised that 'Tron' is still in the top ten of ticket sales, given its poorer performance over the holidays. Complete top ten listed, now. And I guess everyone that was going to see Harry Potter already has.
1. "No Strings Attached," $20.3 million.
2. "The Green Hornet," $18.1 million.
3. "The Dilemma," $9.7 million.
4. "The King's Speech," $9.2 million.
5. "True Grit," $8 million.
6. "Black Swan," $6.2 million.
7. "The Fighter," $4.5 million.
8. "Little Fockers," $4.4 million.
9. "Yogi Bear," $4.1 million.
10. "Tron: Legacy," $3.7 million.
I did see 'No Strings' this past Friday, and it was enjoyable for a romantic comedy. The first half of the movie was a little refreshing, having a little more edge to the comedy with straight forward sexual comedy, no innuendos or cutesy jokes. On screen Kutcher and Portman have fairly good chemistry, although not quite as good as something like "The Proposal" and they make everything seem at least plausible. Some of the minor characters are a little off, but do not really get enough screen time to make things bad. My favorite quote from the movie is referring to a "period mix" that Kutchers character makes for Portmans, ""I've got the whole world on a string", by Frank Sinatra, really?" Hardest I laughed during the whole movie.
Overall, it's a well made romantic comedy that only disappoints in the aspect that the second half of the movie loses the edginess that it started with. You have your predictable rom com ending, complete with tacky forced final line.
Score: I guess ill use a ten point scale here instead, and give it a 6.8. If you are in the mood for a rom com, why not.
Now I had a friend give me a fair criticism on my scoring system, as it seems somewhat arbitrary and comparing one movie to another may be difficult. I could use a 10 point system, only using whole numbers, only halves, using 5 stars and only breaking it down as far as halves, but no matter how I do it, it probably will not make sense to someone. I guess when I rate a movie, I keep in mind the overall production, acting, directing qualities, as well as social impact and viewer experience. I also think of the types of movies that are on the top of the list, you "Godfathers" and "Shawshank Redemptions" of the world, and think of how the movie I am currently reviewing compares. There will probably be some biased to certain movies, and growing up in an age where the media is heavily action oriented and the status-quo is changing image every 3 seconds, I may not like "older" style films as much. I think using a 10 point system is easier to understand because it can kind of be seen as a percentage, rather than just out of five, but I will continue to break down the points to the tenths place, because with this many great movies, I feel I need a larger range of scores at my disposal. I will go back through and edit the previous posts as well, but here is an update on the movies I have already reviewed.
Tron Legacy: 7.7
Movie 112, Princess Mononoke: 8.4
The Fighter: 7.4
Movie 111, Batman Begins: 9.4
Season of the Witch: .9
Movie 110, The Great Escape: 9.1
That's it for now, I will be finished watching "Die Hard" tomorrow night, and hopefully I have time to review it with family here. Until then...
I'm just sayin...
Monday, January 17, 2011
Movie 110 The Great Escape
It took me a while, but I finally watched the next movie on the list, "The Great Escape". Started the Netflix account so reviews should come more consistently now, every 3rd day or so depending on other obligations.
There are a couple things that you should take note of if you plan on watching this movie for yourself. Number 1, it is VERY long. 2 hours and 53 minutes to be exact. I postponed watching it twice because of commitments I had made and wanted to watch the movie in its entirety. Number 2, during World War 2, all officers of the allied forces swore an oath the escape as often as possible to inconvenience the Germans as much as possible and try to keep as many troops off the front lines as they could. The camp depicted in the movie was built to house the most persistent escape offenders, and from the small bit of research I did, it was very close to the actual conditions and many of the events happened as seen.
My first thought when seeing the opening credits and knowing that Steve McQueen was in this film, I expected him to dominate screen time. To my surprise this was not the case, and although his characters role in the escape was embellished, as well as the other American prisoner, screen time was broken up well between all the major players in the planning and digging of the escape tunnels. All the actors do a very good job at playing their roles, and although McQueen was the only name I knew, I hope to see more of the others in some of the older films still on the list. Several of the actors actually served in conflicts around the globe, and a few of those actually spent time as POWs. the one detraction I have with the performances is the characters are very nonchalant about their situation. You find out that many of them had already spent nearly 3 years as POWs which kind of explains their demeanor, but it seemed more like summer camp at times as compared to a POW camp.
The scope of the movie is very small while taking place during WW2. Two thirds of the movie happen inside the fence of the e camp, which itself only covers 4-5 football fields worth of space. Even with that focus, the movie does not feel stagnant, and it introduces you to literally every part of the escape that helps keep the 3 hour affair paced well. The end of the movie especially picks up the pace following the escapees on their respective journeys.
I have commented a lot on the previous movies on their musical scores and the impacts they had on the film. "The Great Escape" does not falter by providing one of the most recognizable theme songs of all time. You probably did not even know it came from this movie, I didn't, but you will recognize it, and probably even whistle right along with it. Start at 20 seconds if you want to skip to the main part, otherwise listen all the way through.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I could have easily fallen asleep had it not been so well done, and it kept pulling me back in with the constant interaction and maturation of the characters. It may not be your cup of tea if you cannot sit through the first hour and a half, but the ending definitely rewards you with enough action, including a motorcycle chase scene with "the king of cool" himself, McQueen, and a satisfying conclusion to a true story that changed Allied policy on how to act as a POW. If I had to pick, I would still probably watch "Saving Private Ryan" if we are talking WW2 movies, but that's the new age action man in me.
Score: 4.2 Two thumbs up, must see for anyone who enjoys historic films.
Next movie "Die Hard" until then...
I'm just sayin...
There are a couple things that you should take note of if you plan on watching this movie for yourself. Number 1, it is VERY long. 2 hours and 53 minutes to be exact. I postponed watching it twice because of commitments I had made and wanted to watch the movie in its entirety. Number 2, during World War 2, all officers of the allied forces swore an oath the escape as often as possible to inconvenience the Germans as much as possible and try to keep as many troops off the front lines as they could. The camp depicted in the movie was built to house the most persistent escape offenders, and from the small bit of research I did, it was very close to the actual conditions and many of the events happened as seen.
My first thought when seeing the opening credits and knowing that Steve McQueen was in this film, I expected him to dominate screen time. To my surprise this was not the case, and although his characters role in the escape was embellished, as well as the other American prisoner, screen time was broken up well between all the major players in the planning and digging of the escape tunnels. All the actors do a very good job at playing their roles, and although McQueen was the only name I knew, I hope to see more of the others in some of the older films still on the list. Several of the actors actually served in conflicts around the globe, and a few of those actually spent time as POWs. the one detraction I have with the performances is the characters are very nonchalant about their situation. You find out that many of them had already spent nearly 3 years as POWs which kind of explains their demeanor, but it seemed more like summer camp at times as compared to a POW camp.
The scope of the movie is very small while taking place during WW2. Two thirds of the movie happen inside the fence of the e camp, which itself only covers 4-5 football fields worth of space. Even with that focus, the movie does not feel stagnant, and it introduces you to literally every part of the escape that helps keep the 3 hour affair paced well. The end of the movie especially picks up the pace following the escapees on their respective journeys.
I have commented a lot on the previous movies on their musical scores and the impacts they had on the film. "The Great Escape" does not falter by providing one of the most recognizable theme songs of all time. You probably did not even know it came from this movie, I didn't, but you will recognize it, and probably even whistle right along with it. Start at 20 seconds if you want to skip to the main part, otherwise listen all the way through.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I could have easily fallen asleep had it not been so well done, and it kept pulling me back in with the constant interaction and maturation of the characters. It may not be your cup of tea if you cannot sit through the first hour and a half, but the ending definitely rewards you with enough action, including a motorcycle chase scene with "the king of cool" himself, McQueen, and a satisfying conclusion to a true story that changed Allied policy on how to act as a POW. If I had to pick, I would still probably watch "Saving Private Ryan" if we are talking WW2 movies, but that's the new age action man in me.
Score: 4.2 Two thumbs up, must see for anyone who enjoys historic films.
Next movie "Die Hard" until then...
I'm just sayin...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Little Fockers, Season of the Witch, List discussion
This last weekend when my cousin was in town we decided to watch a movie after eating dinner. Since I have been choosing a lot of the movies lately, and there is not much in theaters, we decided to all go see "Little Fockers". Now I do not really remember the first movie very well, as in I did not even remember Owen Wilson was in it until he showed up in this film. "Meet the Fockers" on the other hand is a movie I watch on occasion for some cheap laughs that do not put me into a stupor or a coma.
Now this franchise is something that I have always at least somewhat enjoyed, and this movie follows suit, but, is way overplayed. Obviously Stiller is not removing himself from the pity/bad luck stereotype he has made for himself, nor is the movie particularly clever on the whole. It is painfully predictable, and seeing Jessica Alba in her underwear does not really make me like the movie any more. Her character is just painful every time she talks, and although she is not a great actress by any stretch, it is a really poor performance. Overall, it is a renter, and I would be hard pressed to give it more than a 2.3 out of 5.
Bringing back the good ol' days of high school, we noticed "Season of the Witch" was starting as we got out of "Fockers" and decided to theater hop into that movie. Very few times have I ever regretted watching a movie for free more than this time. Now we all have a favorite Nicholas Cage movie. Whether it is "Face Off", "Con Air", "The Rock", or "Gone In 60 Seconds". Guess what? The newest of those movies came out in 2000, and the only good one to come after that, "National Treasure", which I cannot argue is a fun movie to watch. You want to hear some of his other "work" since then? "The Weather Man", "The Wicker Man", "Ghost Rider", "Grindhouse", "Next", "National Treasure: Book of Secrets", "Bangkok Dangerous", "Knowing", "G-Force", "The Bad Lieutenant", and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". If you have seen all of those, I am sorry for your soul, and may the gods be easy on you. "Kick-ass" was a good movie, but I will argue that Cage added nothing to it, and anyone could have played that role successfully. Not to mention two of his next films are "Drive Angry 3D", and a sequel to Ghost Rider, things are not getting better for Cage fans anytime soon.
What do you mean I have not talked about the movie yet? Here ya go, Ron Perlman is enjoyable to watch, for what that is worth. Cage does not play a knight of the crusades to any degree of convincing, although I guess the long hair and the scruffiness fit the part. The storyline? Terrible. They try and convince you that the twist at the end was something you should have seen all along, even though there was no mention that it was a possibility within the fantasy environment. Some of the other actors do an ok job of playing their dark ages roles, but of course all the face time goes to Cage. Special effects? EddieW on youtube could have done a better job, and there was not any real redeeming quality to any of the sound, music, or cinematography done either.
Overall, save yourself, do not even watch it when it comes on cable, for free.
Score: .6 I will never watch it again. I would rather watch all 3 twilight films than watch this again, and that is saying a lot.
The list.
So I have had the discussion a couple times on the validity of the List I have chosen. Biggest beef has been from the womenfolk who complain that it is a very gender biased list, and they are all guy movies. I hear you to a point. While many of these movies are more action oriented, or thrillers, those type of movies seem to be enjoyed by a wider audience than any other genre. I want to see all the guys who would put "The Notebook" in their top 20 movies of all time. Or even their favorite 100 movies, or better yet, make a list of 200 movies of the top of your head that you would watch if you were just bored and wanted to watch a movie by yourself. Do all of those lists, and I am pretty sure that almost no guy will put "Notebook" on those lists. I am not saying that "chick" flicks are bad, or not enjoyable at times, but on a wide scale, they are not well received by male audiences. so while this list does seem to have more "action" movies, these movies appeal to both genders, and most of the movies on the list tend to transcend generations as well. Lastly I chose to use the IMDB.com because it is user ranked, voted by all who chose to on the internet. And as skewed as user voted thing can get, the lowest vote count in the top 10 is "12 Angry Men" with 127,000 votes. I may compare IMDB's list with the top 100 on Empire
to see how different they are and where I might disagree.
I will get another real review done this weekend, but until next time,
I'm just sayin...
Now this franchise is something that I have always at least somewhat enjoyed, and this movie follows suit, but, is way overplayed. Obviously Stiller is not removing himself from the pity/bad luck stereotype he has made for himself, nor is the movie particularly clever on the whole. It is painfully predictable, and seeing Jessica Alba in her underwear does not really make me like the movie any more. Her character is just painful every time she talks, and although she is not a great actress by any stretch, it is a really poor performance. Overall, it is a renter, and I would be hard pressed to give it more than a 2.3 out of 5.
Bringing back the good ol' days of high school, we noticed "Season of the Witch" was starting as we got out of "Fockers" and decided to theater hop into that movie. Very few times have I ever regretted watching a movie for free more than this time. Now we all have a favorite Nicholas Cage movie. Whether it is "Face Off", "Con Air", "The Rock", or "Gone In 60 Seconds". Guess what? The newest of those movies came out in 2000, and the only good one to come after that, "National Treasure", which I cannot argue is a fun movie to watch. You want to hear some of his other "work" since then? "The Weather Man", "The Wicker Man", "Ghost Rider", "Grindhouse", "Next", "National Treasure: Book of Secrets", "Bangkok Dangerous", "Knowing", "G-Force", "The Bad Lieutenant", and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". If you have seen all of those, I am sorry for your soul, and may the gods be easy on you. "Kick-ass" was a good movie, but I will argue that Cage added nothing to it, and anyone could have played that role successfully. Not to mention two of his next films are "Drive Angry 3D", and a sequel to Ghost Rider, things are not getting better for Cage fans anytime soon.
What do you mean I have not talked about the movie yet? Here ya go, Ron Perlman is enjoyable to watch, for what that is worth. Cage does not play a knight of the crusades to any degree of convincing, although I guess the long hair and the scruffiness fit the part. The storyline? Terrible. They try and convince you that the twist at the end was something you should have seen all along, even though there was no mention that it was a possibility within the fantasy environment. Some of the other actors do an ok job of playing their dark ages roles, but of course all the face time goes to Cage. Special effects? EddieW on youtube could have done a better job, and there was not any real redeeming quality to any of the sound, music, or cinematography done either.
Overall, save yourself, do not even watch it when it comes on cable, for free.
Score: .6 I will never watch it again. I would rather watch all 3 twilight films than watch this again, and that is saying a lot.
The list.
So I have had the discussion a couple times on the validity of the List I have chosen. Biggest beef has been from the womenfolk who complain that it is a very gender biased list, and they are all guy movies. I hear you to a point. While many of these movies are more action oriented, or thrillers, those type of movies seem to be enjoyed by a wider audience than any other genre. I want to see all the guys who would put "The Notebook" in their top 20 movies of all time. Or even their favorite 100 movies, or better yet, make a list of 200 movies of the top of your head that you would watch if you were just bored and wanted to watch a movie by yourself. Do all of those lists, and I am pretty sure that almost no guy will put "Notebook" on those lists. I am not saying that "chick" flicks are bad, or not enjoyable at times, but on a wide scale, they are not well received by male audiences. so while this list does seem to have more "action" movies, these movies appeal to both genders, and most of the movies on the list tend to transcend generations as well. Lastly I chose to use the IMDB.com because it is user ranked, voted by all who chose to on the internet. And as skewed as user voted thing can get, the lowest vote count in the top 10 is "12 Angry Men" with 127,000 votes. I may compare IMDB's list with the top 100 on Empire
to see how different they are and where I might disagree.
I will get another real review done this weekend, but until next time,
I'm just sayin...
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