Cryptkeeper wrote:"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" may just be the worst movie I've seen all year.
Ouch. What's the movie about? What are those "mosters" really? How is katie Holmes?
If only the board had a spoiler tag! As bad as the movie is, I don't want to ruin it for anyone that wants to see it.
Still, I'll say that the "monsters" are miniature versions of hunchback gollums (from Lord of the Rings). They're not scary at all and are honestly laughable.
Katie Holmes gives a very wooden performance in the movie, IMHO. No good at all.
I'm shocked how much positive buzz this movie is getting thus far. I saw it w/ 2 friends, and one also thought it was one of the worst movies of the year, and the other person hated it, but didn't rank it as one of the worst movies of the year. *shrugs* Maybe you'll enjoy it, but if you don't, don't say I didn't warn you.
It is a joke that Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is rated R. I've seen more blood, guts, and scary crap on shows like Harper's Island or Supernatural than in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.
On another note, I saw Contagion tonight. The audience seemed rather split about the movie from what I heard from their comments afterwords. I'd say that, even if you like it, you probably won't love it, so if you want to see it, wait until you can rent it.
At a screening of Final Destination 5 that I attended a few weeks back, Tony Todd (Mr. Bludworth - the coroner) said during the Q&A that took place post screening that one of the options on the table for a sequel is to explore his character's back-story. That would take the franchise in a whole new direction, that's for sure.
Still, he didn't know for sure if that would happen, nor did he know if they would even make yet another sequel because, of course, it depends on the box office haul for this #5. Though....that's definitely an interesting thought! It could definitively be worth finding out what that guy's story is exactly!
Guess it's time for a recap of some thoughts on the movies I've seen of late...
"Warrior" - Opening today, this is a very well produced movie. You don't have to be a fan of MMA (and I am not) to enjoy this flick.
"Contagion" - The critics loved it, but I did not. The movie is filled w/ nothing but short 60 second scenes - which for me at least, results in me never getting to know or care for any of the characters fates.
"Drive" - This is an interesting, lower budget flick that is quite entertaining. The director is color blind, dyslexic, and didn't go far in school, yet has just made a movie that's getting lots of critical acclaim. That's quite impressive to see he could overcome the curve-balls that his life has thrown at him.
"50/50" - Probably the best "drama-dy" I've seen all year, this movie has awesome performances by both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. You'll laugh, you may cry, but most important of all, you'll enjoy this movie about what happens to a man and his relationship w/ his father, his best friend, his mom, and his girlfriend when he finds out that he has cancer. I HIGHLY recommend this movie.
"Moneyball" - This movie is about how the GM of the Oakland A's, Billie Beane, has an epiphany one day and decided that conventional baseball wisdom on how to build a team was wrong. Despite his very tiny budget, his unique approach lead to success. I enjoyed this movie, despite not being a huge baseball fan. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill put in very good performances. The movie does suffer from being a bit too long, though, with it coming in at almost 2 hrs. and 15 mins. long.
"Machine Gun Preacher" - This is a movie that no one can really enjoy because of the content of the story in the movie. Based on a true story, it's a depressing tale about Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes a transformation into a freedom fighter for children at risk throughout the world. This movie is so sad that Gerard Butler, who plays Sam Childers, often gets choked up when being interviewed about this movie - as you can see in this photo taken last Thursday in Chicago - http://tinyurl.com/3cvzxrg (the real Sam is on the left). I would recommend this movie to those who think that this country is one of the most screwed up countries out there. Compared to places that Sam travels to, the US is heaven.
I Thought it was gonna be like a Rambo Prequel/Spinoff/Ripoff. WRONG! It's pretty-much a Documentary about britsh/UK kids making a short film of Rambo.
"What's Your Number" and "Dream House," two of this week's releases, are bad, bad, bad. Definitely skip them both. "50/50" is the only good new release this weekend!
Just got home from seeing Breaking Dawn at midnight. Start bashing all you want about it but I loved it. It was such a great movie. I won't spoil it for anyone who does want to go see it. I am still a team Jacob fan..always will be. He is so cute....I'm sorry all Edward fans but that's just weird that a vampire sparkles. But whatever anyways..very well done. Can't wait to go see it again. Kristen Stewart..not my favorite actress but still did a good job. My favorite vampire though does have to be Emmett...he is quite funny. I give it 8/10. Better than the other 3. Funny in the beginning and then closer towards the end....got really good that's all I'm saying. Go see it...I recommend it.
The plot is straight foward. An evil oil barren is going to destroy the old Muppet Show theater unless Kermit can raise $10 million dollars. In Blues Brothers fashion, he gets the group back together for just one more show to raise the money they need to save the theater. They get help from a new Muppet named Walter, his human brother Gary, played by Jason Segel, and Gary's girlfriend Mary, played by Amy Adams, who plays these types of roles perfectly. There are several cameos in the movie, with the best one being Jack Black, who attends anger management with Animal, and one with Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory. All of the Muppets are here.
I am not big on musicals with the exception of the Blues Brothers, and South Park, but this movie is simply fantastic, and there are a few catchy tunes. I would be suprised if not one of them was nominated for an oscar. I had a smile on my face throughout the entire movie, and when Animal finally got his drum sticks back during a classic Kermit / Muppets song, my smile couldn't have gotten bigger.
"Would anyone even care?, or did something break we can't repair?", sings Kermit, and I can say, yes, atleast I care Kermit. Jim Henson may be gone, and Frank Oz thumbed his nose up to this movie (his loss), Segel, and Stoller has done a remarkable job bringing the group back together. If your a Muppet fan, see this movie. If your not, see this movie.
The Muppets - 10/10
If it walks like socialist, quacks like socialist, smells like a socialist, .... it's a socialist. Hope, and change we can believe in.
Muppets was great, as has already been mentioned. Tis sad it didn't make trillions at the box office (Twilight..seriously? )
The Sitter was mildly funny, but not worth the price of admission. If you really want to see it, rent it.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal is an action movie that is filled w/ suspense. The IMAX scenes are amazing. Though the plot is nothing to write home about, the movie is still thoroughly enjoyable.
The Dark Knight Rises prologue was pretty sweet to see on the IMAX screen. It's too bad I could only make out 50% of what Bane was saying...seriously, Chris Nolan, SERIOUSLY? Oh well, at least I got a free shirt when I saw it.
War Horse, out on Christmas day, is a well made Spielberg flick. It's a well told tale about a boy and his horse...told through the fog of war.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, also out on Christmas day in very select cities, is a VERY difficult film to watch as it pertains to how a kid handles the horrific events that occur on 9/11. Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock play the parents to this kid. The actor who plays this child is amazing...and the strange thing is, his only previous experience ever was being a Jeopardy champion. Talk about a strange transition!
Up next this weekend-ish are TinTin, The Girl w/ The Dragon Tattoo, and The Darkest Hour - three movies I really, really hope are as good as I've heard they may be.
Just saw: Hangover 2. I thought it was funnier than the first one. Fright Night Remake. This was such a good remake Peter Vincent was hilarious. Falling Down With Micheal Douglas: It was a great Movie.
I recently saw I am Number Four. I usually hate sci fi movies but because i read the book (I hate sci fi books even more but i picked it up thinking that they were being chased by the government not aliens). Overall i was rather impressed. Thinking about going out to buy it. 8/10
I recently saw I am Number Four. I usually hate sci fi movies but because i read the book (I hate sci fi books even more but i picked it up thinking that they were being chased by the government not aliens). Overall i was rather impressed. Thinking about going out to buy it. 8/10
w00dland wrote:I was going to write a review on the Muppets because I loved it so much, but after reading yours I don't have to.
^What he said
PS - I can't believe Ms Piggy fell for Muppet Man.
Im glad that three songs are up for possibly oscar nominations.
Ms Piggy falling for Muppet Man was priceless, and also when the dejected Muppets are walking out of the theater, admist the silence, Fozzie was still wearing his fart shoes.
If it walks like socialist, quacks like socialist, smells like a socialist, .... it's a socialist. Hope, and change we can believe in.
Chronicle is a very good movie. It really surprised me how well it was. One of my favorite movies of the year.
Woman in Black...more like Woman in bleh...nothing interesting to see here.
Now on to movies opening soon...
Project X is a movie about the craziest party of all time. The only problem w/ the movie is that, while the party is as insane as can be, it's not really all that funny. Just because something is "crazy" doesn't make if laughable. I think the producers of this movie forgot this when they went to make the movie. Though the movie does have some laughs, I honestly wouldn't recommend it.
21 Jump Street is a movie that looks horrendous in the previews you've seen on TV. However, it is in fact the opposite. Though the year is still young, it is, by far, the funniest movie I've seen all year. Yes, the humor is quite adolescent at times, but that doesn't mean it's not funny!
The entire cast does a very nice job in the movie. Channing Tatum, not known for his acting chops, is surprisingly quite funny in his role.
There are some ties in to the original 21 Jump St. tv series that those who are familiar w/ the original show will definitely get a kick out of.
Agreed on Woman in Black, was was pretty poor in my opinion.
As for Project X, literally 2/3 of the movie is the/a party scene. And if you've ever been to a great party you can relate for about the first 10-15 mins of the scene then it just gets totally out of hand, really silly and very un-believable. And you watch this party scene for well over an hour. It literally feels like you are an unpopular person at a party, that you're the guy standing in the corner holding a diet coke just watching everyone else have fun and get messed up. It's like being forced to look at someones vacation footage. Looks great, but you weren't there so you don't really care one way or the other. And on top of that, what could be the funniest moments of the movie are mainly repeat jokes from the hangover which were great the first time, then they were rehashed in the second movie and they went down to acceptable, and this time around they are just old and you see it coming from a mile away, besides the fact that the trailer shows the midget in an oven. That's clearly from both hangover movies with the asian guy in the trunk of the car which was over the top hilarious, one of the best movie comedy scenes in recent memory due to it's sheer surprise and randomness, then same asian guy in the ice machine in the second one which you saw coming but was still good for a chuckle. Now it's just worn out and the trailer alerted you to it's presence. While the movie had it's moments, overall it was pretty bad and I'd recommend against it, or at least wait til it's at a second run theater. Also the premise of the movie is that it's shot on hand held cameras, and that gets really annoying really fast.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 222, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 822, Wood: 178, Total: 1000
Went and saw Hunger Games. I never read the books but I thought the movies was really good. I liked it a lot and will probably take my mom to go see it. I heard it was dark in parts and the people that told me were right but it's one of those movies you don't have to read the book to understand..at least in my opinion.
Let's see..what have I seen of late? Way too many damn movies..that's what.
Raid: The Redemption - An Indonesian film that will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, rank as the best or ALMOST the best action movie you have ever seen in your life. It's only playing in 2 places in Chicago now, but it's worth the drive. You NEED to see this on the big screen before the US re-makes it and screws it up (and yes, it's already supposed to be remade). If you love action movies, missing this movie would be a crime.
American Reunion: I forgot just how raunchy and disgusting American Pie was! This movie is even more vulgar and nauseating and the first one, which obviously means it's just as funny! If you you liked the first movie, w/ just about the entire cast getting back together, even more minor actors from the first one back just to make cameos, then you will definitely like this one.
Wrath of the Titans: Amazing visuals w/ characters I didn't really care about. While the movie looks good, there's not much else going on. If you want more from your movies other than seeing cool CGI, then skip this sequel.
Mirror Mirror: This movie definitely surprised me. It has action, adventure, comedy, romance, good performances, and is visually breathtaking. This is definitely one of those rare movies that is good for dates, for the entire family, and for..well, anyone.
Cabin in the Woods: Yes, it was shot years ago, and yes, the project lingered between studios for awhile, but that doesn't mean this movie isn't damn entertaining! This horror movie, which also has many comedic elements, has quite a bit to say about what's going on in the horror genre these days. It's a pretty good movie going into knowing nothing about it as it has a few surprises to it. Skip the commercials, skip the reviews...just go and see it and enjoy the experience.
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