Role Play Gone Wrong

So a friend discovered this little Canadian indie film on Netflix and decided to bring it to a movie night.  It was described to me as "Laire gone wrong." Laire is the name of the live action role playing game that Christopher Mintz-Plasse's character plays in the movie Role Models. If you haven't seen that yet, do it! I was intrigued to say the least.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Role Models.


The movie is called The Wild Hunt, a film debut by director Alexandre Franchi. It won awards at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival. Aside from some bad lighting, it is a pretty enthralling film. You expect it to be about a bunch of dorks dressed up in medieval costumes with foam swords who talk in flamboyantly loud voices and say things like "I will kill thee a hundred and fifty ways!" I mean, it does include those things. It has a kind of realistic humor to it because you can imagine people actually doing things like this, maybe at a renaissance fair? Who knows, I've never been. Either way, I wasn't expecting the end result. Basically, it starts off with a normal guy named Erik who has a falling out with his girlfriend. She is a moody little tramp who joins up in a role playing game with Erik's brother to play the princess who is captured by the shaman on the other team. He then follows her to the game and ruins their fun by attempting to take her back. The Shaman doesn't like this very much and he nerd rages into a fit of violence. Before you know it, people are actually beating each other up, trying to rape the women, and killing each other. Then you have the epic vengeful ending carried out by Erik's brother, Bjorn, on the crazed Shaman guy for being such a d*ck. My friends jumped up in rejoice.

Very disturbing movie. You realize that these violent fantasies that overwhelm these people run so much deeper than just a desire to escape from reality. With the right spark, these fantasies become their true reality.

I felt so weird after watching it, and I couldn't understand why. I realized it's a rare thing for a movie to provoke an unsettling emotion within me like that. When that happens, you know those filmmakers have done their job right. Gotta love those indie films.

Bad Teacher

I'm not going to write out a full review for this because it came out two weeks ago (June 24th) and anyone who wanted to see it probably already has. But for those of you who haven't yet (I only just saw it yesterday), it is definitely worth the watch. Funny and entertaining. Cameron Diaz was great, except I just can't get over how old she looks now (sorry). I also liked Phyllis Smith (The Office), and Jason Segel as always. Justin Timberlake, wow, didn't really understand if his character was for real or not, but kudos to him for being able to pull off some pretty diverse roles in his acting career. I forget that he was ever even in N'Sync.

It's not as inappropriate and over the top as the Hangover II, but that's definitely a good thing since we've realized that just because you can put a lot of penis in a movie, it doesn't mean it's going to be a comedic hit. I wouldn't say that it's the funniest movie of the year, but summer matinee worthy for some good laughs to break the monotony of your day.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (PG-13)

Directed By: Michael Bay

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tyrese Gibson

Released: June 29th, 2011

So this review is a bit overdue, but I think it's always important for people to share their opinions, whether they are late or not, on the big blockbuster movies which are famous for robbing people of their money 95% of the time.

The good news is, I don't believe that this movie did rob me of my money unlike the train wreck that was Transformers 2.  It did have its faults though. To put it bluntly, this movie was better than the last, but not as good as the first. At least there was a story this time, however confusing it might have been for some people.  But of course, you have your usual mindless explosions as well.

I'm not going to try and summarize the story here because, well, I'm not entirely sure what the story was. Something about a bridge, and the Decepticons taking over Earth? Maybe I was tired. Either way, it was interesting to say the least.  Shia LaBeouf spends the beginning of the movie feeling sorry for himself because he can't find a job. I guess saving the world from an alien take over doesn't make you qualified to work in an office. But it does help with getting a girlfriend who looks like a super model to replace your equally hot ex-girlfriend. Oh, and Patrick Dempsey is still good at playing an a**.

The movie works at a pretty steady pace up until you get to the last hour or so. How can I describe this part of the movie? I think I'll spare you from my horrible analogies and just say it straight. Basically there is no positive correlation between a lot of action and holding the interest of the audience. The part of this movie where the Decepticons start destroying Chicago and the Autobots come and fight the Decepticons is just a ton of nonstop action. After about 20 minutes of this nonstop action, my interest was lost. I started getting antsy and uncomfortable in my seat and I found myself checking the clock on my phone every 5 minutes thinking to myself, "When the hell is this movie going to end?" It did drag on..A LOT.  If Bay had kept it to a good 2 hours, it would have been great. But the 2 1/2 + hours I spent sitting there watching the same stuff over and over again just tortured my soul. I like a great action movie just as much as the next person, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing. It also didn't leave enough time to have a good ending. The ending was extremely rushed and there was no time to wind down from the chaos. BAM..BOOM..POW...END. It was like getting hit in the face only be to left completely alone and disoriented 2 seconds later, I walked out of there not knowing what the hell just happened.

However, this is really the only negative thing I have to say about this movie. The first 3/4 of the movie kept me pretty entertained. I enjoyed the new characters John Malkovich and Ken Jeong played. Funny as always. I also feel that Bumblebee and Optimus Prime somehow became more badass than they were in the last two.  I don't remember Bumblebee being able to dish out endless rounds from machine guns while he's in his Camaro form, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, the 3D was great. Not unnecessary like in some other recent blockbuster movies like Pirates 4 and Thor. 

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a bit long, but a decent movie in my opinion.

Catching Up

So I haven't been keeping up with my posts as I said I would. It's been a busy month with a side of "I'm too lazy to write posts." But I want to briefly share my movie going experiences since the last time I posted.

Let's start with The Hangover Part II (May 26th). There really isn't much for me to say about this movie except that if you saw the first one, you pretty much have already seen this one. It is exactly the same. Yes, new funny stuff happens to the characters, but this time around you are expecting it, which makes it pretty unsatisfying. Part II is what I'd like to call your typical "milking for all it's worth." With the success of the first Hangover, how can filmmakers not be tempted to try their hand at a sequel?

Like I said, it's pretty much the same as the first except that it's Stu's (Ed Helms) wedding and it takes place in Thailand. Instead of losing their best friend, Doug (Justin Bartha) they lose the bride's younger brother. The rest of the movie involves them traveling all around Thailand to find him.

Unnecessary and not worth the money, unless you're going to matinee and just want some cheap laughs, of course.

The next movie I want to talk about is X-Men: First Class, which was released on June 3rd. Definitely my favorite movie of the summer thus far. I always appreciate a movie that has a new twist on historical events. Magneto was a young boy during WWII and had watched the murder of his mother by the Nazis. This sparks the great emotional performance Michael Fassbender brought to the character. Magneto has never been more likeable. Professor X (James McAvoy) is also not the humble, wise man we know him to be. He is a youth in his prime, he likes to party and flirt with women. It's nice to see a less serious side to him this time around, it makes him easier to relate to.

The movie takes place in the 60s during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Xavier and the rest of the X-Men believe that if they help protect the U.S. from attack, then people will learn to accept them instead of fear them. Magneto is convinced that this plan will never work. He has seen humans do terrible things from his experience with the Nazis and he has already begun to lose faith in mankind. This is how the rift between Xavier and Magneto's once beautiful friendship is started.

This installment is not meant to be an actual prequel to the previous X-Men films, as you will notice the storyline does conflict with times and events in the other three. It is meant to be more of a reboot, and a very successful one at that.

This movie accomplishes what most superhero movies usually fail at: being an epic hero adventure with an actual quality storyline, acting, and emotional depth. I highly recommend it to anyone who has not yet seen it.

Let's move on to Super 8 (released June 10th). This movie is everything you would expect from filmmaking sci-fi "nerds" J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg. The pairing of these two talented men is the one main thing that attracted me to this movie.

The movie involves a group of young filmmaking kids who use an 8mm camera to film a zombie movie. They end up in the middle of a derailing train where an unknown creature escapes and wreaks havoc on their small town, and they manage to capture footage of it on their camera. This movie did not fail to keep my attention the whole time. There were rumors that this movie was related to Cloverfield or that it is similar to it, and that is not true. Yes, in both movies people are terrorized by some unknown alien creature, but the stories are very different. Plus, Super 8 is a lot better than Cloverfield in my opinion. For one, the camera style doesn't mimic a handheld, which is always a good thing. On top of that, Super 8 has great character development, an interesting and fun story, great kid actors, and it is just a great film overall. Definitely my second favorite of the summer.

I did also see Transformers: Dark of the Moon last night, but I will do a separate post for that review.

In other news...a new trailer was released not too long ago for the last Harry Potter movie, which is the next movie I am dying to see. Where I am, tickets are already sold out. Anyone wanting to see it opening night should definitely buy their tickets now! Here's the trailer!

That's all for now. I'll check back later with my review for Transformers!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (PG-13) 
Directed By: Rob Marshall
Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin R. McNally, Sam Claflin, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Stephen Graham
Released: May 20th, 2011

I wasn't sure what to expect from a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film after the franchise has been so tired and stretched out in the previous 2 1/2 hour long films. On Stranger Tides is definitely the shortest of the four (that's a good thing) and a new director, Rob Marshall (Chicago) has taken the place of Gore Verbinski. Because I'm teetering on the edge between liking it and disliking it, I think I will list the pros and cons of this seemingly unnecessary addition to the Pirates franchise.


Pros:
Like I said before, this is the shortest installment of the four, which is necessary, because no one likes to sit in the movie theater for almost three hours watching a story that has been stretched so thin you wish you can get up and leave early if only your ticket didn't cost $11 or more.


The addition of Ian Mcshane who plays the infamous pirate Blackbeard was a good choice for a fresh new villain.  If no one knows anything about pirate history...don't worry, I don't either...you should at least know that Blackbeard was an actual pirate.  Was he a murderous pirate who sailed around seas searching for the Fountain of Youth? No. But who cares. Pirates was not made to act as a history lesson. Plus, movies are always better when they try to incorporate some history in the plot, whether it is true or not.


Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is still here, except now he works for King George (Richard Griffiths) which is a strange but interesting transition from being the skeleton captain of the cursed Black Pearl. He always has been, and still is one of my favorite characters. In this movie, he crosses paths with Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) once again as he is also searching for the Fountain of Youth.  He is also the ruthless Blackbeard's biggest fear, as there is a prophecy that a "one legged man" will kill him, hence Blackbeard's reasoning for wanting to visit the Fountain so badly.


In order for the Fountain of Youth to work, the pirates need a tear from a mermaid.  This is where one of the best scenes of the movie comes in. At first glance, the mermaids are beautiful and seductive women, like the sirens you'd see in Greek mythology.  Then as soon as one gets too close, they turn into creepy, violent beings with sharp teeth and they drag you down into the ocean! They catch one, of course, a poor helpless mermaid named Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) who the cleric (Sam Claflin) onboard Blackbeard's ship falls in love with.  Leave it to the religious man to have a romance with a fish. However, their story was the only one that had any real emotion throughout the movie.

Cons:
I don't think that Captain Jack works as a main character. We have become so used to him being on the sidelines acting as the comedian who makes the funny comments in serious situations. He is the one who plays off of everyone else's plans and intentions, sometimes acting as the double-crosser that the other characters love to hate. The role he plays in this movie really took away from the Captain Jack that we know and love. Suddenly his jokes aren't funny anymore, and he does not give the type of satisfaction to the audience as he used to.

Penelope Cruz's character Angelica didn't really impress me. I wasn't sure what her purpose was in the movie besides being the girl in Jack's past and the daughter of Blackbeard. I couldn't call her a "love interest" for Jack because there was absolutely nothing going on between them, no spark, no interest at all.  Jack had more of a spark with Elizabeth Swann in the previous movies.  If her character wasn't included in the movie, it wouldn't have taken away from the story much at all. I'm going to guess her real purpose was to be the female buffer in a cast full of men, a.k.a. useless character.

Although it is a good thing that the storyline did not drag on like the previous two movies, it was a bit dull. The journey of finding the things needed to activate the Fountain of Youth wasn't all that fun.  The only fun part was trying to obtain the mermaid tear, everything else was a complete bore. I believe I nodded off in the theater for a minute or two at least three times during this movie, and that never happens to me.  That was enough right there to tell me that this movie wasn't nearly as interesting as it could have been. I would still have to say that nothing will compare to the first Pirates movie, and this one certainly didn't come close.

So the real question is, is this movie worth seeing in the theater? If you have kids or you're a die hard Pirates fan, I'd say yes to seeing it as a matinee.  The $16.50 I paid to see it in IMAX 3D, definitely not.

Trailer:

IMAX: Awakening the Senses...Too Much?

Along with 3D, IMAX has become the new trend in the movie watching experience.  It has been around for years.  Just recently, however, IMAX is becoming increasingly popular because of 3D movies. A few years ago you might have had to drive out of the way to find an IMAX theater, but now most people can just go to their local movie theater to enjoy the experience, as popular cinemas are keeping up with the trend by installing IMAX in their venues.

What's so great about IMAX? Well the most important thing that separates IMAX from normal theaters is the size of the screen.  A standard IMAX screen is about 52 x72 ft., much larger than a normal sized theater screen. So when you watch a movie in IMAX, the picture is so large you will be "immersed" in the story. When you go see a 3D movie in IMAX, the immersion is even better, so not only will there be images popping out of the screen, but they will be LARGE images popping out of the screen. Another thing is that IMAX sound is louder and crisper than in normal theaters.

And this is where I stop complimenting IMAX.

I, personally, have become annoyed with seeing movies in IMAX lately. Don't get me wrong, my eyes love the experience, but my ears...not so much!  The most recent movie I saw in IMAX was Thor. I think I had my fingers in my ears for about half of the movie. Action movies like Thor in IMAX is death to my ears. I come out of the theater with an annoying ringing sound that will last the rest of the night. I am seriously cringing at the thought of seeing Transformers 3 in IMAX in July. Something tells me the loud sound of clashing metal is going to send me running and screaming. Of course, I can always look like a complete dork and put some nice foam earplugs in my ears like the kind people wear at rock shows, and then hope that no one laughs at me for acting like an 80 year old woman.

Most theaters will claim that they measure sound levels throughout a whole movie before showing it, and that sound decibels do not reach 120dB (the maximum level that is considered to be damaging to hearing), and if they do come close to 120dB, it only peaks for a second or two.  In order for hearing to be damaged, it is said that you need to have a lengthy exposure to sound that is 120dB or higher.

I believe that it really depends on the person. If IMAX doesn't seem louder to you than normal, chances are you probably already have some hearing damage, and I doubt it will make it any worse. Some people's ears are also more sensitive than others. Mine are very sensitive, and I already suffer from some minor tinnitus. I've noticed that no one else I go to the movies with or any people sitting around me don't seem to be affected, I don't see anyone else sitting there covering their ears. I guess I'm the only loser I know! But I can't be the only one in the world. If you have sensitive hearing, I would suggest bringing earplugs to an IMAX movie, you might feel stupid, but just know that you won't be the only one! :)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Weird Name, Goofy Guy

Does anyone else think James Franco is way too goofy of a guy to be playing a scientist who is responsible for the advanced intelligence in apes? I give him credit for taking on different roles throughout his career, and he is obviously a good actor as he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 127 Hours. However, he has this goofyness about him that I can't overlook.  Maybe I've become biased after seeing him fit perfectly into "stoner" movies like Pineapple Express and the more recent Your Highness. Not to mention he seemed completely "out there" while hosting the 2011 Academy Awards show. But I do like James Franco in general, I'm curious to see him pull off the role as Will Rodman in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Speaking of the name...Rise of the Planet of the Apes? Just doesn't flow. One too many of the same prepositions in a title, I think. Unlike any previous Planet of the Apes movies, this remake will be focused on apes before they fully evolve into a human-like, speaking species. It is also not meant to be a prequel to Tim Burton's adaptation, or any of the originals. The director, Rupert Wyatt, means for this film to be a complete reboot, with an original story.

The story goes...Will Rodman, a scientist who is trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's, tests a new drug which rapidly repairs brain tissue, on an ape named Caesar, mutating him into a more intelligent species. Caesar becomes the ape who will lead the revolt against the humans, and then the humans will be all like "Oh no what have we done?!" while running for their lives.

Tom Felton (Harry Potter) will also be part of the cast, playing a jerk who mistreats apes, acting as one example of why the apes decide to revolt in the first place.  I mean, what can you expect from Draco Malfoy anyway?

Andy Serkis, the awesome guy who plays Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, has been casted as the part of Caesar the ape. Can't say this guy doesn't have a unique acting career.

Although I did enjoy Tim Burton's 2001 adaptation of Planet of the Apes, I feel like I might enjoy this one even more. Yes, the apes aren't as human, but it's always fun to see scientific developments completely backfire on humans!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes will be hitting theaters on August 5th!

Trailer: