Planes isn’t actually Pixar
Oooops! You got me on that one. Sorry…
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Some decent action and good visuals. The storytelling and romance is ham-fisted, the clues are obvious and much of the film was predictable. I really wanted to know more about the shadow hunters backgrounds, how their magic worked, and more of the society’s history and the alliances they have with different factions. Unfortunately we were denied all of that in favor of more action and uninspired romantic attempts. I am sure the book has far more meat to it than this flighty film. Teens will eat this up I am sure, it is clearly aimed at them.
I was far more impressed with Beautiful Creatures. It had a very strong cast and the writing was far more clever, and the world the writer had created drew me in far better than this one could. And the visual style of BC was more to my taste as well. I would say wait for City of Bones on Netflix and stream it. It is better suited for a small screen anyways.
Riddick
An interesting and pleasing addition to the series. I hope more is to come, I had the feeling this is opening the way for more explorations into Riddick’s past. And I would gladly welcome more of those…
The Worlds End
Not my favorite of the series, in fact it was often hard to sit through. It does have it’s moments and even has some good action in it. I wonder if this was the directors attempt to show Marvel why he should get to direct the upcoming Ant Man movie… While I could not relate to the main characters perhaps those of you who can might get more from this film than I did.
You’re Next
Loved this film! It did not follow the normal tropes, and changes direction without warning; a couple of times. And while violent, it is not a splatter film; which is nice. Builds tension well, you feel trapped like the family, the reactions are believable. And the character that steps up to face the enemies is wondrous, and quite fallible and believable. The moral I took away was: don’t frak with an Aussie! 
The last few weeks have been a bleak and utter wasteland in terms of movies worthy of my time or Quatloos. But I forced myself to get out of the bunker and see a couple anyways, and here are the results.
The Getaway:
For what it was, it was pretty decent. This is a good action popcorn flick, when this comes to Netflix streaming; watch it. Kick back with a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn and watch the cop cars pile up, I swear; the count must rival The Blues Brothers is sheer mangled metal. And the ending has a funny cameo, well… At least it was for me.
Gravity 3D:
I was excited about this at first, until I saw who the cast was; and then I lost all interest. But I was so desperate to get off the compound and see a movie I went anyways, and in the end I am glad I did. It is visually stunning, the attention to detail and just how deeply they cared about accuracy impressed me. It is a very efficient film, there is not one single wasted minute in this piece. The character building is all done through very believable dialogue, the music really ramps up the tension, and adds to the atmosphere (no pun intended) impressively. I can now see why Sandra Bullock was cast, they de-glammed her very effectively and made her an every-woman you could relate to, perfect for the audiences POV. Also she is not a veteran astronaut, which means she has to learn and adapt to the situation right along with the audience, and her reactions are much more effective and believable because of this lack of experience. Sandra is also very ‘fit’, which made her good for this role as well, because it is a very physically demanding role. As for Clooney? Well, … I shall avoid a Clooney rant and also keep this spoiler free. The 3D is exceptional, and I plan on seeing this again in a D-Back theater, I have heard it enhances the experience even more than the 3D alone.
And again as to the casting, three quarters of the screen time for the actors is done with helmets on and with accurate lighting. So hiring actors that are more ‘heavy hitters’ for the human drama would have been wasted. Since the majority of expressing emotion is done with the face, and with the face obscured much of the time… Well you get the idea. I will say this, the director got a really good performance out of Sandra during a pivotal point of the film, I was quite impressed. Her acting cred went up for me. And the writing was good.
I agree with you about Sandra Bullock. She did a fine job.
So while I was watching this, I was completely in it. I was interested.
As soon as the film was over, my reaction was a shrug.
And I couldn’t help thinking about Apollo 13 (which I’ve seen at least a dozen times). The sense of suspense -even when you know how it ends.
So as far as Gravity - a good effort, but I don’t think it’s a movie that will stay with you.
I enjoyed it.
More about the Furians please.
I love to watch Riddick just survive.
Gravity was amazing, go see it. That is all for now.
Machete:
An outrageous, raunchy, politically incorrect blood splattered romp. The violence is so over the top and so campy it cannot be taken seriously, Mel Gibson was having a blast in this as well as Charlie Sheen (why did Charlie change his name?). It sets itself up for a sequel which I will no doubt watch, all the while smiling and shaking my head yet again. Fun times.
Carrie:
The original is iconic, and I have enjoyed the spin offs and remakes in the past; but this is my favorite so far. And not just because special effects have come so far, but because the rewrite is damned good, and the performances were exceptional. The storytelling is more nuanced and I enjoyed the fact that the school-based characters were not all black and white two dimensional characters being set up like cardboard targets for Carrie to blow away latter. A lot more time was spent showing who they were, their motivations, allegiances, social status and fallibility. Something which is rather rare for a Horror movie, but which I quite appreciated. The way the plot unfolded was more realistic and believable than the old one, and because of the time spent with the side characters you cared more about what happened to them.
Chloe did a decent job of appearing meek and timid, and the changes she goes through were subtle and not overdone. I liked the fact that in this version the anger does not completely consume her, and that she at one point restrains herself at the last second from killing someone who did not do her harm. And even, at a very dramatic moment; briefly contemplates not killing the one true villain of the film. And when the horror of what she had done hits her afterwards Chloe also brings it home as well.
But the real standout performance has to go to Julianne Moore. Holy crap, what a disturbing and creepy performance. She truly came off as a deeply fractured and scarred religious fanatic, with a seething self loathing. And the addition of self mutilation just made her even more piteous.
Escape Plan:
Not bad. Not something to run out and see in the theaters. I cannot imagine the experience being that much better on the big screen, versus that of your own home theater. it is a popcorn flick. I like the chemistry of Sly and Arnold, and the action when it eventually arrives is pretty damned good. But hey, is it worth the full admission price? Nah, early matinee? Sure, but that is what I always do anyways; I hate crowds. And I am a little cheap too…
Gravity Update:
The combination of 3D and a DBOX seat is quite something. A little pricey but still damned impressive, and immersive. I recommend it!
Enders Game:
I found it entertaining and thought provoking. have not read the book so I cannot speak as to how accurate it is to the source material. Good designs, a lot of thought went into the practicality of the stations interior, and I liked the outfits. The acting was good, I was worried such a young cast, but it worked. And though I was down for the ride, not sure if I would watch I again.
Thor: The Dark World
Fun, rich visuals, good music, great action. Enjoyed the story, nice to see the cast together again.
I haven’t read Ender’s Game, but I felt that the movie jumped from scene to scene abruptly sometimes. And the ending felt a little rushed or cut short to have the movie length just under 2 hours (1:57). Those are really my only complaints. The movie was very visually pleasing and I thought the acting was pretty good.
Thor 2 was a pleasant surprise. I’ve seen Thor 1 and even though I enjoyed it, I thought it was just above being ok. Thor 2 was a vast improvement. I dare say it felt like I was watching an extension the Avengers movie. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as The Avengers, that’s a high bar, but a very solid Marvel universe movie. I felt it had the humor, heart, and came close to having the epic feel of the Avengers. Stay until after the credits. (:
I most likely won’t buy either on DVD/Blu-ray, but I’m looking forward to re-watching these on cable.
What did you think of the twist at the end of the last simulation? I felt like they didn’t protect it as well as they could have.
My biggest complaint was that it didn’t seem like much time passed in the movie. I figure it’d be tough for them to show that Ender was at Battle School for 3 years like in the book, but it felt like he was only there for 1-2 months in the movie.
If you are talking about what I think you’re talking about, then I predicted it midway through (closer to the ending) the simulation.
Agreed about time passing. That’s prolly part of the reason I feel it feels rushed.
There was something on one of the consoles in Graff’s office at Battle School that seemed to give it away to me. Of course, knowing it ahead of time might have made me more sensitive to it.
Book spoiler
[spoiler]In the book, all the simulations after Mazer showed up were actual attacks on Formic fleets and bases. I think in the movie, it was just the last one.[/spoiler]
Just saw INTERSTELLAR.
I don’t know what to say. I am so happy scifi flix are being made, but…
I didn’t find this film captivating or exciting.
Interesting ? - mildly.
I didn’t hate it, and I’ll probably go see it one more time, just to make sure of this first impression.
It’s just, that it never really grabbed me.
My taste is scifi is wide and varied.
I can forgive almost anything, if it speaks to me.