Juno is totally boss!
I just watched Juno courtesy of Netflix and can’t resist telling people to see this movie. I figured that I should give it a shot after hearing all of the buzz it got when it hit theaters late last year. The dialog in this film is some of the best I’ve heard since Kevin Smith’s early work (Mallrats, Chasing Amy). It’s a funny movie that has several emotional moments and some good music sprinkled throughout. Oh and Rainn Wilson plays a convenience store clerk. You should see the movie for that alone!
Best movie I’ve seen this year.
Reasons why War of the Worlds SUCKS
NOTE: Please do not read on if you intend to see War of the Worlds because I reveal some of the weak storyline.
Let me start by saying the beginning and ending of Steven Spielberg’s latest movie is quite good. Of course I’m talking about the narration by Morgan Freeman and not the actual storyline. A story about an alien race deciding it was time to use a planet that they had claimed millenniums before somehow got turned into a movie about one man’s quest to shut up his obnoxious 10 year old daughter. Don’t get me wrong, the effects were spectacular. But, just like a hot blonde model, this movie is pretty on the outside but has absolutely nothing past the surface. I still don’t understand why Tom Cruise’s character had to go to Boston other than to shut his daughter up. Did anyone else think that the little girl played by Dakota Fanning was annoying and took away from the movie? She wasn’t cute, she was just plain obnoxious. She repeatedly begs for answers to such thoughtful questions such as: “Is it still lightning? “, “What’s that stuff on you?” and my favorite, “Are we still alive?” Unfortunately, yes, you are still alive. I am not even going to go into how the plot just magically seems to fall into place as if the aliens themselves wrote the screenplay. I made the comment upon leaving the theater that if I were Spielberg and saw the final cut of this film, I would burn every copy and never admit to having made it (like George Lucas did with the Star Wars Holiday Special).
Scene any good movies lately?
It only takes a walk outside to realize that summer is upon us. This summer, I’m left wondering “where have all of the blockbusters gone?” This year’s summer lineup leaves much to be desired. Forgive me if I don’t consider White Chicks, Dodgeball, or Garfield blockbuster movies. On the horizon there are movies such as Will Smith’s AI meets Men In Black techno-thriller “I, Robot.” Haven’t we seen Will Smith save the world from an army of bad guys before? Next we have the Spiderman for girls movie Catwoman. This movie looks great if you’re into the whole S&M thing. Matt Damon returns as that obnoxiously annoying confused ex-killer, Jason Borne in The Bourne Supremacy. Is it a bad sign when even the trailer is predictable? I’m told that The Bourne Legacy has recently been released in print so look for a third movie coming to a theater near you soon. The only movie that I can see upcoming that is worthy of blockbuster status is Alien vs. Predator. Maybe I’m just biased because I am a video game nut, but this movie has the potential to blow the audience away. Overall I give this summer’s movie season an F+.
You may be wondering if I’ve seen any good movies lately (among other things). The answer is an enthusiastic YES! The other night I sat down to watch a movie that never made it to theaters in Monroe or much of the rest of the country. I’m sorry to report that this movie did not hang out with the cool kids. It did not conform with the status-quo, read Seventeen magazine, or try to be something that it wasn’t. This movie was simply, Bubba Ho-Tep. The plot was simple: Elvis and JFK team up to save their nursing home from a soul-sucking mummy. As soon as you finish laughing at that summary, seek this movie out and watch it. You may not get back those 2 hours you wasted seeing The Day After Tomorrow, but you will laugh a little.
Friday night I joined at least a hundred level headed, open-minded citizens of Monroe and its surrounding area (the number surprised me too, don’t worry) to see the premier of Fahrenheit 9/11. The movie was VERY well received here in Monroe. The audience chuckled constantly at the film, hissed at members of Bush’s administration, and gave a wild round of applause for Moore when the movie ended. I had already seen the film on the 3rd of July (I felt it was my patriotic duty) and found the showing in Monroe to be better received than the showing in south Louisiana. There were at most two dozen empty seats in the entire theater. If you are in an area where this film is showing and you have not yet seen it, please take the time to go and see it. If you are short on money, I’ll tell you how to see it for free. You were probably planning on going to see I, Robot next weekend. An army of service robots suddenly become aware and start terrorizing the country. Will Smith makes it his duty to stop the robots, who are led by an evil greedy CEO, from taking over the world. Smith destroys all of the robots and then has a showdown with the CEO only to defeat him and get the girl in the end. Now that you know this, you can spend the $7 on Fahrenheit 9/11.
NERD NATION!
Tech TV just aired an episode of Nerd Nation that documented the release of Star Wars: Episode 1 back in 1999. It was basically a documentary on the CountingDown.com guys and their staking out of the Chinese Theater in California. I was, of course, wrapped in the StarWars hysteria back then too. Watching this documentary has brought back fond memories of which I’ll blog about now.
I’m sure it doesn’t surprise anyone that I had to be at the premiere of StarWars Episode 1. For big movie releases, I have to be at the first showing!
It was my senior year in high school, right around finals. I left school early to wait in line for tickets a week before the movie was released. Of course I was wearing a Darth Maul costume! I got my picture in the paper but didn’t get tickets to the midnight showing. Those sold out in under 15 minutes. I did manage to get tickets to the first evening showing (7pm) of opening day. Driving back from New Orleans I was rather upset at not being the FIRST to see this movie. I stopped off at the crappy Covington theater and picked up a few tickets to their midnight showing. I figured at least I’d see the movie at midnight.
The day before the show we got to the theater about 6 hours before the showing. My friends and I were about 10th in line at that point. Well we saw the movie a day ahead of everyone else. On the way home (3am) we stopped at Pizza Hut and.....noticed that some Star Wars flags were flying unattended. Those flags somehow found their way into my closet.
The next day I stopped by the high school and picked up some friends that had just finished taking their finals (I was exempt...go me!) We got to new orleans around 2pm, a good 5 hours before our 7pm showing. Oddly enough, there was no line for this sold out show. I planted myself first in line and didn’t move. It was great. I’ve got pictures from the event but they’re all back home stashed away. I’ll have to post them someday.
For StarWars Episode 2, I upped the ante a bit. I was determined to see the movie at least twice in the same day. I ended up seeing it 3 times in one day. I was in line for the midnight showing 6 hours early when someone approached me and asked if I wanted to go to the screening at 7pm. I had a friend save my place in line and saw the movie before ANYONE. I rejoined the line just as they were entering for the midnight showing. After that showing, I drove to Monroe and saw the flick at 7pm with my north Louisiana friends.
What will happen for Episode 3? All I know is that I must up the ante even more. Perhaps seeing it 3 times in one day in 3 different cities? New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Monroe? Maybe Lucas will have a 6 movie marathon! If so, I’m there!
