tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323125892145740852024-02-07T03:11:36.622-06:00Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.comBlogger1164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-23426369792447677032013-01-01T00:01:00.000-06:002013-01-01T00:01:01.517-06:00R2D2... The One Where I Kinda Lied + MonthWatch - December 2012.Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the New Year! (Unless you're reading this exactly when I post it and you're on the West coast and/or in Arizona.)<br />
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Before I get into my explanation for the title of this post, I wanted to give the final MonthWatch and wrap that whole little thing up.<br />
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<b>December</b></div>
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<b>Pulp Fiction - </b>Seeing this in theater was really awesome!</div>
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<b>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey -</b> I really liked it, but I'll need to see it again in a home setting for final judgement. </div>
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<b>Lincoln - </b>Amazing acting, but not very exciting.</div>
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<b>Django Unchained -</b> There were aspects I think could have been better, but I still loved it.</div>
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<b>John Dies At The End -</b> Watched VOD. Weird, and slightly confusing, but a lot of fun. I want to read the book now (as I've heard the film is only about a quarter of the book).</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br style="line-height: 19px;" /><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">RE-WATCH</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">(14)</span></span><br />
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<b>The Dark Knight Rises - </b>Both better and worse the second time. Saw more problems, but I love Bane more.</div>
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<b>Lockout -</b> Guy Pearce is great in this.</div>
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<b>Oldboy - </b>Showed this to a friend. Love this movie so much... </div>
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<b>Iron Man 2 - </b>First watch since theater. It's really not as bad as most people say.</div>
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<b>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -</b> Yeah, I finally got to re-watch this months after the fact for the V.G. Movies article. And... it's still not that good.</div>
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<b>The Cabin in the Woods -</b> Another I showed a friend. One of my favorite films of the year.</div>
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<b>Raiders of the Lost Ark - </b>Got the Blu-Ray collection for Christmas, so went on a marathon. Hadn't seen this one in ages, but it is quite excellent, isn't it?</div>
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<b>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - </b>A few great/iconic moments connected together with really annoying/terrible ideas (primarily Willie).</div>
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<b>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - </b>This one's my favorite, though Raiders is close.</div>
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<b>Love, Actually -</b> Christmas tradition for me!</div>
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<b>Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls - </b>It's not god-awful, but... it's not good, either.</div>
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<b>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - </b>It came on TV, and I started watching with my mom... but we were annoyed with the commercials, so we just put in the DVD.</div>
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<b>Looper - </b>Yup. Still awesome.</div>
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<b>The Avengers -</b> One last viewing for the year!</div>
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<b>Lawless -</b> Good performances... not a very exciting movie.</div>
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<b>Beasts of the Southern Wild -</b> I'll need to see this again. I wasn't overwhelmed like everybody else, but I really liked it.</div>
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<b>Second Skin - </b>For V.G. Movies. Not a bad doc... could have been much better, though.</div>
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<b>Pusher -</b> For 50/50. Surprisingly really liked it.</div>
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<b>Men in Black 3 - </b>Not too bad!</div>
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<b>Sand Sharks -</b> Sooo cheesy bad... and kinda fun.</div>
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<b>The Loved Ones - </b>Lame, derivative, and incredibly overrated.</div>
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<b>Stake Land -</b> It was... alright.</div>
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<b>Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker - </b>For V.G. Movies.<b> </b>Um, yeah... not very good.</div>
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<b>Pusher II - </b>For 50/50. Not as good as the first one, but I loved the ending.</div>
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<b>Ted -</b> It had some moments, but it really was a full-length, live action <i>Family Guy</i> episode.</div>
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<b>A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child - </b>Hated this one.</div>
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<b>Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare -</b> I kinda liked the second half of the film. First half was terrible, though.</div>
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<b>Wes Craven's New Nightmare -</b> My favorite of the bunch!</div>
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<b>Make Believe -</b> Really nice and charming documentary about teen magicians from around the world trying to make it big in Vegas.</div>
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<b>The Bourne Legacy -</b> Yeah... it's not good.</div>
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<b>Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters - </b>For V.G. Movies. Very good documentary that goes right up there with <i>King of Kong.</i></div>
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<b>Pusher III -</b> Just as good as the first film, yet very different.</div>
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<b>Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - </b>It was good, but I think I missed something having not watched the original show.</div>
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<b>Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - </b>TGWTG film <i>To Boldly Flee</i> makes SO much more sense now.</div>
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<b>Countdown: Armageddon -</b> Watched with a friend for its terribleness. And it really is. And Jesus is kinda creepy.</div>
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<b>Premium Rush - </b>For MILF. Not bad... pretty average. But fun enough.</div>
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<b>Killer Joe -</b> Great performances and crazy third act.</div>
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<b>Resident Evil: Damnation - </b>For V.G. Movies. You know... it actually wasn't that bad.</div>
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<b>Infernal Affairs - </b>For 50/50. Really good.</div>
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<b>A World Without Thieves - </b>Very slow start, but it eventually picks up and is pretty entertaining.</div>
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<b>Sleepwalk With Me -</b> It was alright. I like Mike Birbiglia, and I enjoyed it while I watched it, though I probably won't watch it again.</div>
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<b>Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale -</b> For MILF. Should have focused more on the dad than his son, but I liked what it did with the mythology.</div>
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<b>Silent Night, Deadly Night -</b> I really liked how it focused on the evolution of the killer rather than the victims.</div>
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<b>Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 - </b>Half summary of the first film, half super-cheese. GARBAGE DAY!</div>
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<b>Silent Night - </b>The remake-that-ignored-the-most-of-the-source material. It's OK for what it is, but it's really not that good of a movie.</div>
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<b>Pitch Perfect - </b>It tries <i>really</i> hard to be <i>Dodgeball</i>, but for a capella groups. It's decent, but makes some really bizarre comedic choices.</div>
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<b>FINAL COUNT - 2012</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">Re-Watch</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> - 200</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">First Time </span><span style="line-height: 1.4;">- 277</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg0aWD84OQ9uoJDZW82XurRZOoElY_lkUwMJ8ZXGJuLNSlmGJ_ODi-ELp_g52QXhMfDcADoKYLVB9jHIzaPtCuyHFwFcjCPLFZrn_uHRznxywTA2RoMtO5rfjperCn-kGYpcH2AG3lh4/s1600/doorknob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeg0aWD84OQ9uoJDZW82XurRZOoElY_lkUwMJ8ZXGJuLNSlmGJ_ODi-ELp_g52QXhMfDcADoKYLVB9jHIzaPtCuyHFwFcjCPLFZrn_uHRznxywTA2RoMtO5rfjperCn-kGYpcH2AG3lh4/s1600/doorknob.jpg" /></a>Now that that's out of the way, it's time for an announcement. This message is pretty much for those of you who didn't heed my suggestion and listen to the beginning of Lair yesterday (and I still recommend you do that anyway, because it's hilarious).<br />
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Remember that whole thing where I said I was closing down the blog because it'd been 5 years and I was gonna be moving to Korea? Well, that part was true. What I didn't tell you, however, was that I would be launching a brand new combined website with Jason Soto and Nolahn--who also closed down their sites yesterday. We've been working hard on this for over a year (since at least November/December of 2011), so you have no idea how exciting it is to finally release it (and it kinda annoyed me that the Reel Insight ladies pulled the "closing down fake-out" first earlier in the year, since I was <i>so</i> gonna be doing that, too! :P ).<br />
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So this is the last official post of Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob. If you haven't already, you can find me (as well as Jason and Nolahn) over at our new website, <a href="http://www.yourfaceisa.com/">Your Face!</a>.<br />
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Thank you.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-15575053150182497252012-12-31T00:01:00.001-06:002012-12-31T00:01:00.978-06:00Podcast: Lair of the Unwanted - Rockula.Happy New Year's Eve! If you're not doing anything else, why not hang out with me, Jason Soto, and Nolahn? We had a fun time on this episode of Lair of the Unwanted having a Rockin' New Year's with <i>Rockula</i>. The intro to the episode in particular is pretty funny.<br />
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-21789762079697968402012-12-30T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-30T00:01:00.513-06:002012 Year-End Wrap-Up.Time for my epic year-end wrap-up. Most people put these lists in separate posts... but I don't have that kind of time, so it's all going up in one! First, I want to talk about the films I saw this year <i>not</i> from 2012. My only rule (besides "can't be from 2012") is that the movies could not be from the 50/50 List either, as I already made a Top 10 for that and it wouldn't be fair to the other films not from that project.<br />
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<b><u>Top 10 Movies Not From 2012 Or 50/50 Seen This Year For The First Time</u></b></div>
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<b>10) Murder Party</b></div>
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This was one strange dark horror/comedy. A group of pretentious artist friends put out fliers for a "murder party" wherein, if somebody showed up, they would get to murder the person. They really don't want to do it, but just want to impress a friend who will give them a large sum of money to help with any future projects. Unfortunately, a hapless, lonely, and naive young man answers the flier and finds himself caught up on bizarre night. It's a pretty slow (and strange) first hour, but that last 30 minutes or so are bat-shit insane. If you're a fan of horror/comedies, even odd ones, I'd suggest this one unknown little film.<br />
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<b>9) Arahan</b></div>
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One of the most original action/comedies I've seen in a long time, coming right out of South Korea. A bumbling, naive police officer finds himself caught up in a world of kung fu and mysticism when the Masters of Tao begin training him after they believe he has a powerful Qi. Of course, another powerful warrior escapes from his imprisonment and goes after the Masters to try to find an artifact that could help him become a ruler of the world. Think like a live-action <i>Kung Fu Panda</i>, but in modern times and with people instead of animals, and where kung fu mysticism is actually secret. It's totally fun and funny and has some fantastic action.<br />
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<b>8) Perfect Blue</b></div>
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The film that inspired <i>Black Swan</i> is equally trippy, if not more so. It's pretty much the exact same story except it's with a pop singer/actress instead of a ballerina. And this version blurs the lines between reality and dreams/hallucination even more. Unlike its remake, you really don't have any idea what's real and what's fantasy in this version. The animation style took me a while to get used to, but it's definitely worth a look.<br />
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<b>7) Delicatessen</b></div>
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For a post-apocalyptic film about cannibalism and murder, you wouldn't expect it to be so charming and heart-warming. We talked a lot about this film on a past episode of DemPod, so I won't go into too much detail now. It has a great musicality and dark sense of humor to it, and it was a totally fun watch.<br />
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<b>6) Operation Condor</b></div>
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Every now and then I get into the mood to watch some Jackie Chan. And I've discovered he's pretty hit or miss (no pun intended). But this wacky version of <i>Indiana Jones</i> with Chan is an insane amount of fun. The gags are great, the action is great, and the story is typical <i>Indiana Jones</i>-type fair. I've heard the sequel is terrible, though. But this one is a hoot.<br />
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>5) I Love You, Man</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
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<br />
<br />
I'm probably one of the last people on the planet to have actually seen this movie. But I could really relate to a lot of things in this film... not to mention it's just down-right hilarious. If you haven't seen it yet... do so.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>4) We Need To Talk About Kevin</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
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<br />
<br />
Is it a 2011 film? A 2012? Apparently nobody can make up their mind on that, but the majority have decided on 2011, so I'm including it on this list. It's a little too on-the-nose with its music, but it's an otherwise horrific look at parenthood and actually made me rethink wanting kids. And Ezra Miller is fantastic in it.<br />
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>3) The Skin I Live In</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
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<br />
Another we discussed on DemPod earlier this year, so I'll keep it short. This is one screwed-up movie with an excellent turn of events about halfway through. I strongly recommend it... but if you're a guy, be prepared to curl up into a fetal position.<br />
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2) Die Hard with a Vengeance</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
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<br />
<br />
I really <i>was</i> the last person on the planet to have seen this one. While it might not be an overall better movie than the original, I think I might enjoy it a bit more. Samuel L. Jackson is great, and I love the city-wide chase and puzzles aspect to everything.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>1) Archie's Final Project</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
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</div>
<br />
And now to end on a movie only I've seen. It's a depressing topic, but the film is made in one of the most original, ADHD, and stylistic ways I've ever seen. This film is a trip to watch, but it also has the depth to back it up. Definitely, definitely check it out if you haven't.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Now, before I get to this year, I think I should share what movies I <i>haven't</i> seen as of this post which might potentially alter these lists in the future when I do see them.<br />
<br />
First up, some "good" movies I have not yet seen: Les Miserables, This is 40, Jack Reacher, Zero Dark Thirty, Hyde Park on the Hudson, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, Flight, Cloud Atlas, The Sessions, Holy Motors, Argo, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, End of Watch, To Rome with Love<br />
<br />
And now some proclaimed "bad" movies I have not yet seen: The Devil Inside, Red Tails, Journey 2, Project X, Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, A Thousand Words, Casa de Mi Padre, Wrath of the Titans, Chernobyl Diaries, That's My Boy, Step Up Revolution, Sparkle, The Apparition, House at the End of the Street, Alex Cross, Red Dawn, The Man with the Iron Fists, Oogieloves, Piranha 3DD, What to Expect When You're Expecting<br />
<br />
With all that being said, let's get into it, shall we? I'll try to keep my rambling to a minimum in the following lists.<br />
<br />
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<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Top 20 Favorite Performances of 2012</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
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</div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<b>Note: </b>These are my FAVORITE performances, not what I think are necessarily the BEST performances. If I were going with just the best, this would be a totally different list.<br />
<br />
<b>Honorable Mention: Anybody - <i>The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel</i></b><br />
<br />
With so many great actors, this underrated film rested solely on how good the characters were... and they really were.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>20) Jack Black - Bernie (<i>Bernie</i>)</b><br />
<br />
The overall film was just OK for me, but Black was perfect for the role. Probably his best performance.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>19) Michael Shannon - Bobby Monday (<i>Premium Rush</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Average, mindless movie, but I liked Michael Shannon as the bad guy who just wanted people to cut him some slack.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>18) Quvenzhane Wallis - Hushpuppy (<i>Beasts of the Southern Wild</i>)</b><br />
<br />
This was a great year for young unknowns, and this 5-year-old girl gave us one hell of a performance.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>17) Edward Norton - Scout Master Ward (<i>Moonrise Kingdom</i>)</b><br />
<br />
We all know I'm not a big fan of Wes Anderson, but I did kinda like this film, and Edward Norton was part of that reason.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>16) Emma Stone - Gwen Stacy (<i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Like every other guy, I have a bit of a crush on Ms. Stone, and her turn as the charismatic Gwen Stacy was wonderful--not to mention she had amazing chemistry with Andrew Garfield.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>15) Juno Temple - Dottie (<i>Killer Joe</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Speaking of blonde cuties, Juno Temple acted her butt off in this film.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>14) Stanley Tucci - Caesar Flickerman (<i>The Hunger Games</i>)</b><br />
<br />
I was tempted to go with either Tucci or Wes Bentley for this spot, both having expanded characters from the book (Bentley even more so), but it's hard not to love Stanley Tucci.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>13) Matthew McConaghey - Killer Joe Cooper (<i>Killer Joe</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Matty McC had quite a year this year, but his performance here definitely overshadows his other films.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>12) Karl Urban - Judge Dredd (<i>Dredd</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Urban makes this film work as well as it does.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>11) Dane DeHaan - Andrew (<i>Chronicle</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Dane DeHaan is like the next Ben Foster. Yeah... I went there.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>10) Samuel L. Jackson - Stephen (<i>Django Unchained</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Stole every scene he was in... and unexpectedly so.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>9) Tom Cruise - Stacee Jaxx (<i>Rock of Ages</i>)</b><br />
<br />
The movie is god-awful, but Tom Cruise kills it. His performance deserved a much better film.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>8) Daniel Day-Lewis - Abraham Lincoln (<i>Lincoln</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Best actual performance of the year.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>7) Javier Bardem - Silva (<i>Skyfall</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Such an fantastic villain... and you never quite knew where he was going to take it.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>6) Pierce Gagnon - Cid (<i>Looper</i>)</b><br />
<br />
One of the most surprising parts of the film was this kid. Did they just happen to find one of the best child actors in the world with him or what?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5) Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins (<i>The Hobbit</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Even people who hated the movie agree that Martin Freeman was awesome.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) Guy Pearce - Snow (<i>Lockout</i>)</b><br />
<br />
It's hard not to love the snark.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>3) Anne Hathaway - Selina Kyle (<i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>)</b><br />
<br />
Best part of the film for me.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) Fran Kranz - Marty (<i>The Cabin in the Woods</i>)</b><br />
<br />
The character of Marty was basically the heart of the film. With any other actor, the film might have crumbled and not worked. Fran Kranz owned it.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1) Sam Rockwell - Billy (<i>Seven Psychopaths</i>)</b><br />
<br />
If you've seen the film, there's no need to explain.</div>
<div class="p1">
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Top 10 Favorite Scenes</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6a4FmAp-kp3LH5xeJ0mzplPhfxTE5bYMltJeFrDSlmk3jijDRDVxyHNxpH6t6VfiXQw-9vuuz2bymawSaLIYI5SEK4kWpI4XBLFzvhyphenhyphen39kFONF9I0r4MCZt7Id9XKhMpfvq5C-ynal4M/s1600/TheHobbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6a4FmAp-kp3LH5xeJ0mzplPhfxTE5bYMltJeFrDSlmk3jijDRDVxyHNxpH6t6VfiXQw-9vuuz2bymawSaLIYI5SEK4kWpI4XBLFzvhyphenhyphen39kFONF9I0r4MCZt7Id9XKhMpfvq5C-ynal4M/s400/TheHobbit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<b>Honorable Mention: The Battle - Breaking Dawn Part 2</b><br />
<br />
It's not in the book... and it's actually really cool. But it's still <i>Twilight</i>, so I couldn't <i>really</i> justify putting it on the list.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>10) Interrogation Scene/Chicken Leg - Killer Joe</b><br />
<br />
This is the scene that either made the film or killed the film for people. It was so off the wall that I couldn't help but at least admire it. Starting with the slow interrogation of the parents, then the violence, then... the chicken leg... this is one intense and bizarre scene.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>9) Self C-Section - Prometheus</b><br />
<br />
Noomi Rapace gives herself a C-Section in a giant machine thing. 'Nuff said.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>8) Garret Dillahunt Visits - Looper</b><br />
<br />
The fantastic scene where a fellow Looper shows up at the farm to kill Joseph Gordon-Levitt... ending with a really upset Cid and a bit of gore.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>7) The Imagined Climax - Seven Psychopaths</b><br />
<br />
Sam Rockwell imagines what will happen at the final shootout in a cemetery... and it's violently hilarious.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>6) Puny God - The Avengers</b><br />
<br />
The shortest moment here, but it gets the biggest laugh. Hulk vs. Loki.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5) Riddles in the Dark - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</b><br />
<br />
Bilbo faces off against Gollum in a game of riddles, and both Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis face off to figure out who is actually better in this scene.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) The Dinner Table Scene - Django Unchained</b><br />
<br />
When I was putting together this list, I had like 4-5 scenes from Django alone. But I had to narrow it down to one. I decided to go with this scene that begins with Leonardo DiCaprio dissecting a human skull <i>before</i> things get really intense.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>3) Javier Bardem's Introduction - Skyfall</b><br />
<br />
What begins with a single take of him getting off the elevator and walking down the long room while telling a story ends in something a bit... shall we say... "suggestive" between him and Bond.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) Three-Way Climax Battle - The Raid: Redemption</b><br />
<br />
Easily the best 2-on-1 battle on film. And it just goes on... and on... and on. And it looks amazing and brutal.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1) Don't Blink Questioning - The Master</b><br />
<br />
I might not have loved the overall movie, but holy crap is this scene both amazingly well acted and intense.</div>
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<b></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Top 10 Worst Films of 2012</u></b></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE7MeAtomF6HySdqbept4QbpFHNOxlYvxWn8FwUoQVZ13wsw2QCf-Ff-2Koa6W9J2S-5NUb4Y5TOJaZVJsOCOcXuJ1K19I_7ImHL0fXvNeHi0RRkKEdVa6Uczv7w_4k4LtN5-Y410kfw/s1600/Battleship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE7MeAtomF6HySdqbept4QbpFHNOxlYvxWn8FwUoQVZ13wsw2QCf-Ff-2Koa6W9J2S-5NUb4Y5TOJaZVJsOCOcXuJ1K19I_7ImHL0fXvNeHi0RRkKEdVa6Uczv7w_4k4LtN5-Y410kfw/s400/Battleship.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>10) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2</b><br />
<br />
It's actually the best film of the series, but as I just said in the last list... it's still <i>Twilight</i>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>9) Paranormal Activity 4</b><br />
<br />
Really good characters and acting from the two leads. Terrible film.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>8) Silent House</b><br />
<br />
Good concept... really boring.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>7) John Carter</b><br />
<br />
Good concept... really boring.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>6) Underworld: Awakening</b><br />
<br />
I had actually forgotten I'd even seen this movie. Terrible, terrible film.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5) The Divide</b><br />
<br />
Good concept and some good acting in parts... but such an awful execution.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) Battleship</b><br />
<br />
Yeah, it's not even really so-bad-its-good. Well, kind of. At times. But mostly it's just bad.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>3) Rock of Ages</b><br />
<br />
Ugh. A disgrace to musicals and to rock music.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) The Lorax</b><br />
<br />
Ugh. A disgrace to children's films and to Dr. Seuss.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1) Silent Hill: Revelation</b><br />
<br />
My biggest disappointment of the year and easily one of the worst sequels of all time. How do you go from having one of the best video game movie adaptations to one of the worst? There needs to be a retcon of this sequel so they can just try again.</div>
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</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Top 20 Favorite Films of 2012</u></b></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<b>Note:</b> Again, these are my favorite films, not necessarily what I think are the <i>best</i> films. And I'm not gonna go into any explanations on these. I'll just let them speak for themselves.<br />
<br />
<b>Honorable Mentions: </b><i>To Boldly Flee</i> and <i>The Cinema Snob Movie</i>. These films were low-budget, independently produced, Direct-to-DVD flicks, so I didn't want to include them on the official list. But they are still very well done.<br />
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-18385561171896831922012-12-29T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-29T00:01:00.600-06:00DJANGO UNCHAINED.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tarantino referred to his previous film, <i>Inglorious Basterds</i>, as his masterpiece. How does one follow up one's own masterpiece and not be a failure? Why, make up your own genre, of course. Westsploitation. Is that a thing? I think Quentin Tarantino just made that a thing. Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a dentist-turned-bounty hunter who needs the help of a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), who knows what his next marks look like. Freeing Django, Schultz enlists his aid and eventually trains him to be his partner. But when Django reveals that he has a wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who was recently sold off to a new owner, Schultz vows to help Django get her back. But it won't be easy, as her new owner is Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), who owns one of the most infamous plantations in the south.<br />
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First and definitely foremost... this is one long movie. It's just shy of 3 hours, and it feels it. Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying it's slow or uninteresting. I'm just saying I really felt that 3 hours in that chair. What didn't help was a moderately slow start. To me, the start of a Tarantino movie is one of the best parts. It's always this slow, deliberate story or conversation. This was perfected, in my eyes, in Christoph Waltz's introduction in <i>Inglorious Basterds</i>. Perfect pacing. Perfect amount of tension and menace and build-up. So here, we get another introduction with Christoph Waltz, so the film automatically sets you up to want a similar brilliance. But, to me, that doesn't happen. Yes, there is somewhat of a discussion that builds up to a moment of shock. But something about it didn't feel very... Tarantino. I didn't have that same thrill at the start that his films always hit off with.<br />
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And from there it's pretty much a collection of segments that depend on who the bad guy is at the time. And the film sure does put a fair number of "boss battles" to face throughout. And more often than not, those are the best parts of the film. The last... I don't know... 30-45 minutes--starting from the dinner table scene through to the end of the movie--is purely outstanding. The dinner table scene and the scene near the start of the film when they first ride into the little town and invite themselves into the bar are two of the best performed and written scenes in the film (showcasing Leo and Christoph respectively). Those are some classic Tarantino moments... and I think my biggest problem with the film is that it's nearly 3 hours long and the film doesn't have nearly enough moments like those. Sure, they're sprinkled throughout, some suspenseful and some comical (the KKK masks scene is fantastic, as well). But I felt that, particularly in the first half of the film (prior to Leo and Sam Jackson showing up, and yes, it does take about half the film to get to them), the Tarantino dialogue wasn't up to par. And I often wondered how much of that first half was all that necessary.<br />
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All of that being said, however, the second half of the movie more than makes up for any low points the first half might have had. Hell, that last 30-45 minutes alone are worth the price of admission. The violence, comedy, blood, and mix therein is all pretty damn entertaining. Glorious, even.<br />
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The acting is all fantastic, as well, from start to finish. Christoph Waltz gives another solid performance for Tarantino. He's no Hans Landa, but he's fun enough. Jamie Foxx has a lot of fun with the titular character. Jonah Hill does show up, but it's barely a cameo. He's on screen maybe five minutes tops and he doesn't say that much. DiCaprio kills it in the dinner scene in particular (and the scene that follows), and prior to that, he shows us he's having fun as a villain. But who steals the show is, of course, Samuel L. Jackson. He has a pretty decent-sized role this time, and he is both hilarious and potentially menacing.<br />
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I thought the film had a bit of a rocky start, but it really grew on me as it went on. When the scenes hit, they hit hard and strong. While every moment isn't like a <i>Pulp Fiction</i> or <i>Inglorious Basterds</i> wherein they have amazing dialogues or monologues, there are enough throughout the film that are good enough to eventually make up for it. And the violence is exploitation-level fun and over-the-top. The comedy is great. The acting is superb. Is this Tarantino's best film? No. But that doesn't stop it from being really, really good.<br />
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<img alt="Rating System." height="70" id="Image1_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T5L_lMW4WhHd7SF93c7G_7fWBR_a6pRg_fpPoVGi8NNf3L-5uxUggwTim-9t89qSK82nsC_qIQlGf1SLkKdh6zN3vy7_ydvBLsKfgTvBDnGWnVNnBKjBYhBUaCv2kpT732if80epOcE/s170/RatinRoyale.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Royale With Cheese</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-24198711680904651122012-12-28T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-28T00:01:00.647-06:0050 Weeks/50 Movies: The Wrap-Up.Well, I made it through another project year! Yesterday I posted my <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-evolution-of-video-game-movies-wrap.html">wrap-up for the Video Game Movies project</a>, and now it's time to wrap-up the 50/50 List.<br />
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<b>Fun Fact #1:</b> Between the 60/60 and the 50/50, I have now posted a review every single Wednesday for the last 2 years and 2 months.<br />
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Of course last year, I posted up a whole ton of stats, such as number of hours watched and longest month, etc. But I don't think this year's project was even close to being as ambitious as last year's with all the Extras I had added in. So I'm not bothering with that this year. I will, however, rank months and films in some Top and Bottom lists!</div>
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But first, I wanted to share a few minor stats with you. Let's look at decades of films I watched. I saw one from the 20s, two from the 30s, three from the 40s, two from the 50s, three from the 60s, five from the 70s, fourteen from the 80s, twelve from the 90s, and seven from the 2000s. If I were to pick a favorite decade from these films only... well, if I wanted perfect track record, I'd say 20s, as that was only <i>Sherlock Jr.</i>, which I loved. But that wouldn't really be a fair choice. Between the three highest counts, I'd say 80s and 90s are pretty even. I bought two from the 80s and one from the 90s, though eventually two from the 90s (I just haven't gotten around to the other one yet). If I'm forced to choose, I'll say 80s, but just <i>barely</i>.</div>
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And how many ratings did I dish out of each type?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Royale with Cheese</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">A Keanu 'Whoa'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 20 (though I think my opinion on at least one film might have gone up since the initial rating)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">I Am McLovin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 12</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Stop Saying OK! OK.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Feed Me, Seymour </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;">- 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">The Zed Word</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">She's Gone From Suck to Blow</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 0</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">A Hot Mess</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">WTF</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"> - 1</span></span></div>
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<b>Fun Fact #2:</b> I ended the 60/60 List last year with the Jack Nicholson classic, <i>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</i>. This year, I ended the 50/50 List with <i>Infernal Affairs</i>, which is, of course, the film that inspired <i>The Departed</i>... co-starring Jack Nicholson.</div>
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But let's get to the part y'all really want to see... the lists.</div>
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<b><u>BOTTOM 10 FILMS</u></b></div>
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Based on ratings and personal memory, I ranked my 10 least favorite films of the project. Though keep in mind, there were very few I actually considered poor films. Because to me, being boring or having me not care a thing about the movie or its characters are far worse crimes to me than the film being poorly made. I watch films for entertainment, so these films had the largest portions of least entertainment for me.</div>
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<b>10) Lone Wolf McQuade</b></div>
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This is the one I hate putting on here, because by every account it should entertain the heck out of me. And Jason is going to murder me for its inclusion here. However, outside of a few scenes here and there (and those scenes in and of themselves are rather glorious), this film didn't really do too much for me. Sorry, Jason.</div>
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<b>9) My Favorite Year</b></div>
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I just didn't find it funny. I thought Peter O'Toole was fantastic in the film, but besides me realizing that it's just <i>Get Him to the Greek</i>, there was nothing surprising about this to me.</div>
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<b>8) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers</b></div>
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It had some really good ideas... but there was just some really poor execution. Amazing ending, though. I'll give it that much.</div>
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<b>7) Black Orpheus</b></div>
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I honestly don't remember much about this film except chickens and masks. I think.</div>
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<b>6) Out of Africa</b></div>
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It was a very beautiful-looking film, but I felt it was overly long and just not that interesting. And as I said, boredom is the worst thing a film can give somebody.</div>
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<b>5) Rushmore</b></div>
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I am just not a Wes Anderson fan. Though I will say, I did kinda like <i>Moonrise Kingdom</i>. But I couldn't get into this one.</div>
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<b>4) Friday the 13th - Part 3</b></div>
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The big argument between Joel and Jason on whether this or Part VI was the better film was infinitely more interesting than this film. Part VI all the way.</div>
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<b>3) The Invisible Man</b></div>
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I realize this is the 3rd film from Joel's Month to appear on this list. Um... sorry, Joel. On the upside, I can promise this will be the last one to appear. I just didn't find it all that interesting, particularly since it's a story we've all seen done a hundred times since this version. The effects in this film were good, though.</div>
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<b>2) The Red Shoes</b></div>
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There was a big dance number about halfway through, I believe, that was fantastic. Otherwise, I didn't care much about the film. Couldn't get into it.</div>
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<b>1) Richard III</b></div>
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Despite its meta aspects, this was boorrrrrriiinnngggg. I couldn't get into the story, the characters, or the language of it. Therefore, I was just begging for it to end most of the time.</div>
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(Note: The last 3 films are prime examples of what I mean by they aren't bad films, but I just didn't care for them.)</div>
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<b><u>TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS</u></b></div>
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Please keep in mind that these aren't necessarily the films I think are the best; these are the films I was entertained by the most or just feel were my personal favorites throughout the project.</div>
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<b>10) The Pusher Trilogy</b></div>
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I know it's kind of a cheat, but when you put them all together, they form one pretty dang solid experience. Let's just say it's a three-way tie.</div>
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<b>9) Naked</b></div>
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This is one film I think I've grown to appreciate more the longer I think about it. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all year since I first watched it back in February. David Thewlis gives one of the best performances of all time in this film... in my humble opinion, anyway.</div>
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<b>8) City Lights</b></div>
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While some gags go on just slightly too long, it's hard not to love this charming Chaplin film and some of the genius therein.</div>
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<b>7) Peeping Tom</b></div>
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I'm with Steve Honeywell on this... I like this much better than <i>Psycho</i>. </div>
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<b>6) Hausu</b></div>
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Talk about a trippy movie. I definitely want to see this again just to experience how bizarre this movie gets. You've not experienced weird until you've seen <i>Hausu</i>.</div>
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<b>5) Gymkata</b></div>
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And you've not experienced bad until you've seen Gymkata. I originally had this ranked much higher, but I realized I honestly couldn't justify putting it above some of the following films. It's damn entertaining, but it's almost blasphemous to put something so terribly made over the next couple films, no matter how entertained I was. (And I do now own this movie, by the way.)</div>
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<b>4) Double Indemnity</b></div>
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One of my favorite full-length feature classics. I loved every minute of this movie and how it seemed to absolutely perfect the noir elements.</div>
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<b>3) Sherlock Jr.</b></div>
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But it couldn't win me out over the brilliantly meta <i>Sherlock Jr.</i> While not a full-length feature, this is one that if you hate it, you just need to stop watching movies.</div>
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<b>2) Grosse Pointe Blank</b></div>
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I was so surprised by how much I loved this movie. I don't yet own a copy, but I will in the near future, hopefully. While it's nothing special, especially in comparison to the last couple films, it's just damn entertaining. And it has a fantastic soundtrack, to boot.</div>
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<b>1) Big Trouble in Little China</b></div>
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The second I watched it for Nolahn's Month, I went out and bought a copy immediately. And I've watched it a couple times since then, as well. I just hate that I hadn't seen this movie when I was younger, as I would have adored the heck out of it. Thank you, Nolahn, for making me watch this.</div>
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<b><u>RANKED MONTHS</u></b></div>
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And now it's finally time. I'm sure you've been wondering... whose months did I like more? Where did you make the list? I decided to remove myself from the count since I only had 2 films anyway. Plus, I think this should be more about your lists that you gave me instead. After some careful calculating with your scored films along with how I feel now, I've ranked each month from least favorite to favorite in terms of the films I had to watch and how much I liked them. So here you go...</div>
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<b>11) Joel</b></div>
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Again, sorry, Joel. But our tastes just don't mesh, it seems (though let's be honest, your taste doesn't mesh with most people's :P). <i>Open Your Eyes</i> was definitely a high point, though.</div>
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<b>10) Travis</b></div>
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This month gave me the amazing <i>Naked </i>and the weirdly entertaining <i>Hausu</i>. But unfortunately, those weren't enough to counter the boredom endured by <i>The Red Shoes</i> and <i>Black Orpheus</i>. <i>Videodrome</i> was good, though I don't really remember much now except for the stomach vagina.</div>
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<b>9) Jason</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sorry, buddy. You had some fun B-Movies in there, but while I overall enjoyed most of the films, the scores (and my feelings) weren't really all that high across the board. I will take away from this, though, that Snake Plissken is a total badass and <i>Re-Animator</i> is totally fun.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>8) Rachel</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite having my least favorite film of the project in this month, I overall enjoyed myself. I loved <i>Much Ado. Titus</i> was very strange, yet fascinating. And <i>Scotland, PA</i> was just damn fun.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>7) Steve</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm pretty sure it was <i>Double Indemnity</i> that got you super kudos here. Though <i>Body Snatchers</i> was good, the 70s version is better. I liked <i>Devil's Backbone</i>, but liked <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i> better. Peter O'Toole is the reason to see <i>My Favorite Year</i>... but I liked the overall comedy in <i>Get Him to the Greek</i> better (but not by much... didn't really love that film, either).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>6) Dylan</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The only reason you weren't higher on this list was <i>Rushmore</i>. The second half of <i>Road House</i> is fantastic. <i>Trainspotting</i> is rather respectable, though dark. And <i>Point Break</i> is... well... <i>Point Break</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>5) Jess</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was <i>High Fidelity</i> and <i>Grosse Pointe Blank</i> that shot you up into the Top 5. We already know my thoughts on <i>Out of Africa,</i> and <i>Star Trek: First Contact</i> was fun, though it did take me a while to get into it. But those Cusack films... great stuff. And I'm sad I hadn't seen them before now.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>4) Kai</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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This was one of the most solid months. I don't think I outright disliked any of the films this month, although I didn't really care much for the majority of <i>Pusher II</i>. I did love how it ended, though. The rest of the films were great crime drama thrillers... and we all know we don't get enough of those.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>3) Dan</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The comedy and charm of <i>City Lights</i>. The dialogue of <i>His Girl Friday</i>. The smooth coolness a la <i>Drive</i> of <i>Le Samourai</i>. And... a western. Though a western with both John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. This was easily the classiest month of the year.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>2) Nolahn</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was <i>hard</i> not putting you at number one, brother. Between having my favorite film of the project along with the brilliant badness that is <i>Gymkata</i>, it was hard not to put you at the top. Not to mention the hilarity of <i>Three Amigos</i>. It may have been <i>Ruthless People</i> that brought you down a bit. I remember liking it, but I don't remember much else about it, and it was the lowest rated of your month. But a fantastic month nonetheless. And I'll say... you were <i>barely</i> beaten out. And I mean by mere fractions.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>1) James</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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But I had to give the top spot to James for having consistently brilliant films. <i>Sherlock Jr.</i> is amazingly meta and charming. <i>Peeping Tom</i> made me rethink Hitchcock. <i>We Own the Night</i> came out of nowhere, but had one of the <i>best</i> car chase sequences I have ever seen on film. I don't even like many westerns, but I think my words were something along the lines of "If I really liked the genre, <i>Once Upon a Time in the West</i> would probably be my favorite." And then... <i>Suspiria</i>. Well, you can't win them all. But even that film had that crazy freakin' soundtrack. Solid month of some generally solid movies.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
--------------</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
And that will about do it! That's all I have for you in this wrap-up. I hope everyone enjoyed the project this year and enjoyed me looking over your assigned movies. I know I had fun doing it, too. Unlike the video game series, I actually often looked forward to the next movie I had to watch for the project. It's been a good year!</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-88363405518851187372012-12-27T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-27T08:56:54.708-06:00The Evolution Of Video Game Movies: The Wrap-Up.It's finally over! This was probably one of the most ambitious projects I've done on the blog--ambitious due to the fact that nobody in their right mind would want to watch every major video game movie each week over the span of a year. It was pretty much the opposite of the 50/50 and 60/60 Lists, which are movies one needs to see. But I did this so, as the Nostalgia Critic would say, you don't have to. I also did it to find the ones you might actually want to check out in the legions of dreck. Because there were some good ones. I watched pretty much everything from every genre of film (including a handful of documentaries) based on every type and style of video game.<br />
<br />
These are some stats from what I figured out over the course of this series wherein I watched 50 films (minus 4 films since they were documentaries and don't count):<br />
<br />
<b><u>BASED ON GENRE</u></b><br />
<br />
<b>Based on Fighters: 12</b><br />
(Fatal Fury/Street Fighter x3/Double Dragon/Mortal Kombat x3/DOA/King of Fighters/Tekken x2)<br />
<br />
<b>Based on Survival Horror: 11</b><br />
(Resident Evil x7/Alone in the Dark x2/Silent Hill x2)<br />
<br />
<b>Based on RPGs (including MMOs): 7</b><br />
(PokeMon x2/Final Fantasy x2/Dungeon Siege x2/Dragon Age)<br />
<br />
<b>Based on Action/Adventure: 7</b><br />
(Tomb Raider x2/BloodRayne x3/Hitman/Prince of Persia)<br />
<br />
<b>Based on Shooters: 5</b><br />
(House of the Dead/Doom/Postal/Far Cry/Max Payne)<br />
<br />
<b>Based on Platformers: 2</b><br />
(Mario x2)<br />
<br />
<b>Other: 2</b><br />
(Cloak & Dagger/Wing Commander)<br />
<br />
Ironically, some of the best and worst films come from the Top 2 categories--though statistically that would have to be the case due to the number of films of each type produced. And while Fighters are the most plentiful, they're also some of the most forgettable (which a few notable exceptions, of course). Though the Action/Adventure genre also produced quite a few duds. And while not entirely <i>bad</i> films, almost all of them aren't necessarily worth remembering. And Uwe Boll really likes his Shooters, as 3 of the 5 are his... and the genre doesn't fare well when the only two left are <i>Doom</i> and <i>Max Payne</i>. So looking at these two genres statistically, any future adaptations of <i>Uncharted</i> and <i>Halo</i> are almost destined for mediocrity unless you can get some really good talent behind the camera.<br />
<br />
Going back to RPGs for a second, this was the most intriguing genre to me. This genre more than any other seemed to want to please fans the most but, at the same time, <i>completely</i> miss the point. The <i>PokeMon</i> films didn't know what to do with themselves and would play with themes that didn't match the world it was set in or the age group it was going for. <i>Final Fantasy: Spirits Within</i> is one of the biggest bombs and question marks of all time because it was made by the originators... and had nothing to do with the games. While on the other hand, <i>FF7: Advent Children</i> is amazing, but made only <i>for</i> fans and nobody else, so it really can't prosper in the mainstream. The <i>Dungeon Siege</i> films are crazy fun, but they're Uwe Boll, so they aren't great. Strangely, though, I found them to be two of his best and most entertaining video game movies. And then there was <i>Dragon Age</i> which, from what I read, put everything in the film, yet changed up everything so it didn't make any sense. And in the end, the overall film was rather mediocre. I feel that RPGs could definitely succeed translated into film if the creators figure out who the hell they're marketing to.<br />
<br />
Then there's the oddity of the group--platformers. Prior to <i>Halo</i> and the rise of the FPS generation, platformers were considered the most popular games available. These are games like <i>Mario</i>, <i>Mega Man</i>, <i>Metroid</i>, <i>Sonic the Hedgehog</i>, <i>Viewtiful Joe</i>, <i>Crash Bandicoot</i>, <i>Ratchet & Clank</i>, <i>Sly Cooper</i>, <i>Spyro the Dragon</i>, <i>Castlevania</i>, <i>Kirby</i>, <i>Earthworm Jim</i>, <i>Jak and Daxter</i>, and the list goes on and on. Yet the only attempts at adapting these types of games was at the start with <i>Mario</i>? (Note: I think <i>Sonic</i> does have an animated movie, but we won't go there...) Granted, these are typically freakin' bizarre games and concepts, but you can't help but wonder why more companies don't try them, at least in an animated film. Even if you went to the least weird and most popular, <i>Mega Man, Metroid, </i>and <i>Castlevania</i> could all easily work as live-action films. Alas...<br />
<br />
I also noticed that 99% of the time, sequels are far, far worse than their predecessors, even if that means the original was so-bad-its-good and the camp that made it entertaining was removed. I often found that sequels were some of the worst films on this list.<br />
<br />
So now let's finally wrap this all up. Let's look at some Top and Bottom lists for the year. First up, let's take a gander at those I can't even recall. These are pretty much ranked in order of how much I can't remember a thing about them and how unremarkable they really are.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b><u>TOP 5 MOST FORGETTABLE FILMS</u></b></div>
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<b>5) Wing Commander</b></div>
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All I really remember here is Matthew Lillard crushin' on some woman... who ends up dying. Poor Matthew Lillard.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>4) Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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All I remember here is the terrible, terrible CGI shark at the beginning. And I thought I remembered the climax, but as it turns out... I was thinking of the first film. Yeah.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>3) Alone in the Dark 2</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Um... some evil thing is chasing some people into a bathroom, where they're all killed and another person sees all of it. I think that's how it opens. And that's about all I got.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>2) Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The plot had something to do with the armor of the Greek god Ares. Or at least that's what I thought until I just looked it up, and it was actually his Roman counterpart, Mars. Alrighty then.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>1) The King of Fighters</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I literally remember nothing about this movie. I don't know who starred in it, what the visuals looked like... if it was even live action or animated (I think it was live action). Zero.</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>TOP 10 MOST ENTERTAINING FILMS (SO BAD IT'S GOOD)</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
So now let's look at the films that might not have been good, but I found them immensely entertaining anyway. I bet you can't guess what director shows up here more than 3 times.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>10) Cloak & Dagger</b></div>
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It was the first film I watched for the project (and my grandpa has a speaking role appearance in it!). The tone of this movie was just so utterly strange. It was a very dark and disturbing movie, but everything was treated so lightly and kid-friendly. This film really is a sight to behold.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>9) D.O.A.: Dead or Alive</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Boobs. And it knows it.</div>
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<b>8) House of the Dead</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Uwe Boll's first American film, and it shows. It's not even close to his worst (or most entertaining), but it does so many strange things that it's hard not to have fun with it. From the video game inserts to the really bizarre slow motion and camera spins... this movie is something else.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>7) Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Easily the most bizarre movie on the list. Everybody knows when you really think about it, the Mario games are <i>really</i> weird. But what if you were to embrace that weirdness and try to make it all work in an actual world setting? You'd get this mind-melting film.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>6) In the Name of the King: Two Worlds</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Oh man did I have fun with this one. Yeah, it's Uwe Boll again. But it's Dolph Lundgren traveling back in time and/or to a parallel universe (it's not really made clear) and just not giving a damn. It's goofy and entertaining, though not nearly as entertaining as some of the following films.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>5) BloodRayne</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Yup, another Boll film. Nothing in this movie makes sense. The acting is terrible. The costumes are terrible. And I remember just laughing through the whole thing at just how silly things got.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) Resident Evil: Retribution</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
You know what? I like the fourth and fifth live-action <i>Resident Evil </i>films, and I don't care what anybody says. That being said, I know they aren't great films. But man is this a fun one. I watched and reviewed this when it was in theater... and it's now out on DVD. This is easily the most entertaining of the franchise since the first.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>3) In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
This film is so damn entertaining I can't even begin to explain. King Burt Reynolds. Prince Matthew Lillard. Farmer Jason Statham. Evil wizard Ray Liotta. Good wizard John Rhys-Davies and his daughter, Leelee Sobieski. Forest Nymph Kristianna Loken. And then Ron Perlman, because he's freakin' Ron Perlman. It's one of the most bizarre casts I've ever seen, and it is so amazingly fun.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) Street Fighter</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Of course!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1) Super Mario Bros.</b></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I know some people don't agree with me here, and it may be a level of nostalgia I have for the film. But I think this movie is a ton of fun. I actually appreciate this film quite a bit, and I think it gets too big of a bad reputation. There are far worse video game movies out there now, and I hate that this constantly makes the top of people's lists just because everyone would expect it to since you're a movie critic and that's what all movie critics have agreed upon. Nope. Not me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>TOP 5 BEST FILMS</u></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="p1">
These are the five best films I can recommend to you if you're looking for good video game movies. Good ones do exist... but again, there is a reason I could only do a Top 5 instead of a Top 10. But first...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Runners-Up:</b> <i>King of Kong</i> & <i>Ecstasy of Order</i>. This is a tie for these two documentaries. Both of these films are the only two that got my highest rating in the entire project. But as they're documentaries and not actually adaptations of games, I didn't feel it right to include them on the official list. However, these are two great films that I <i>strongly</i> recommend checking out if you haven't. They would make a great double feature, as they both have quite a bit in common with each other. Great stuff.</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5) Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
This is a fantastically made film. It has gorgeous visuals and amazing action sequences. The music, taken almost entirely from the game, is beautiful. Unfortunately, I put it in my #5 spot because the entire film is fan service. If you haven't played <i>Final Fantasy VII</i>, then you're not going to know or care about anything going on in this film... which is sad, because it's really that good. So unless you want to do a little wiki research and then appreciate it for its visuals, you'll probably not care all that much.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
An actually good <i>Street Fighter</i> movie that almost nobody talks about. No, it's not a sequel. the <i>II</i> in the title is in reference to the video game, not the film series. This actually came out before the live-action film. The animation is great. The action is done very well. And the story isn't all that bad. If you're hankering for a good <i>Street Fighter</i> film, don't pass up this little gem. (And that Chun-Li shower sequence followed up by the Vega fight is stunning.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>3) Resident Evil</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
While it has almost nothing to do with the games, it remains to be the best film of the series. It actually takes itself seriously and acts as more of a horror film than a campy action movie as the rest of the series does. There's a nice story, good characters, and fine thrills. Granted, some of the CGI is a little outdated, but the rest of it is solid.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) Mortal Kombat</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Speaking of outdated CGI, this movie is downright painful in that regard. But the rest of it is damn entertaining. This is about as close as you can get to a good adaptation of the games. It's funny, fun, and full of fan service. And the action is really good, as well. Oh yeah, and that theme song is one of the best movie themes ever.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>1) Silent Hill</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
To wrap this up, most of you saw this one coming. And most of you who have seen this film will probably agree. Sure, some of the acting isn't great, especially in the first 15 minutes or so, but by God, the story and the visuals make up for it. This is a really pretty looking film, even down to the crazy, gritty, bloody things. It's so expertly handled in all regards. And the sequel made me appreciate this film even more.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
</div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>TOP 5 WORST FILMS</u></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. After a year and 50 films, seeing practically every major video game movie ever made and in chronological order... what do I feel are the five worst films?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>5) Mortal Kombat: Annihilation</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
This is everything and more on how a sequel should not be done. When I was about to re-watch this film, I thought it was going to be so-bad-its-good quality. I remember kinda digging it for similar reasons when I was younger. But it's not. It's really not. This movie is just painfully bad. Truly, painfully bad. Nothing in this film is done competently. There's a reason most people consider this one of the worst ever made. And this is only my #5, folks.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>4) Alone in the Dark</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Uwe Boll strikes again. Even though most of his films are entertaining, they all most certainly are not. The acting in this film is atrocious. The voice-over is lazy, telling you everything that's going on as it's happening. The film goes on for 2 minutes at the start with an expository text scroll. The action scenes are done very oddly and poorly, like Boll doesn't know how to transition into a shootout. But as I said in the review, it's not the worst film I've ever seen; however, it's worst crime is that it's so unapologetically <i>boring</i>. And that's the worst thing a film can be, to me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>3) Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I tell this a lot, but I actually saw this in theater and felt embarrassed while walking out. This is coming from somebody who saw all of the <i>Twilight</i> movies in theater by himself. It was that bad. The story is all over the place and makes no sense. The action is decent, but it never lasts more than like 30 seconds. Kristin Kreuk is nice to look at, too... but that's not even close to enough to save this movie. This film fails for Chris Klein's performance alone. What was he thinking? Bad. Just bad.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>2) Silent Hill: Revelation</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Easily the biggest disappointment of any sequel I've had in a long time. To go from the first film being what I think is the best video game movie ever made to the sequel being almost the worst ever made. There is almost zero things done right in this film. It's just terrible from start to finish in every regard. If you were a fan of the original film, skip this. It's not worth it... not even to know what happened at the first film's cliffhanger. It'll just piss you off even more.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>1) BloodRayne 2</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Bad. Just... bad. Terrible acting and characters (except Michael Eklund, who is hilarious in this... the only good thing about the film). Terrible directing. Terrible mood. Terrible lighting. Terrible editing. Terrible story. Terribly <i>boring</i>. This is my second least favorite Boll film next to <i>Seed</i>, and that says a lot if you know my feelings on that movie. This film is just painfully bad. And you know you're in trouble when your main character doesn't show up for <i>20 minutes</i> into the movie. To me, this is hands down the worst video game movie of all time... thus far.</div>
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<br />Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-68535473136946458282012-12-26T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-26T00:01:00.364-06:0050/50 Review #50: Infernal Affairs.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll come out and say it--I'm not a huge fan of <i>The Departed</i>. It's not because I think it's a bad film. It's not. I even liked it. But I only saw it for the first time maybe a couple years ago, which would still be at least 4 years after it came out. This movie had been hyped up like crazy. It was lauded as one of the greatest cop dramas of not only our time, but possibly of all time. I had 4 years to let that sink in when I watched it. Then when I did, I guess I missed something within the setup of the film and was totally lost and confused for the majority of it. I didn't know who was who or what was going on. I eventually caught on, but by that point, I hadn't become overly invested in the characters. It also didn't help that, not long before I finally watched it, a major character's death was spoiled for me (to avoid spoiling others, I'll say the elevator scene death). So the shocking twist that grabbed so many... had zero effect on me. Needless to say, everything was going against me when I watched that film. And I will be the first to admit that I need to rewatch it, and I will. But first let's talk about the original version.<br />
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The film follows pretty much the same story. Sam (Eric Tsang) is a Triad leader who wants to infiltrate the police. The mole that gets in is Lau (Andy Lau). At the same time, Superintendant Wong (Anthony Wong) sees potential in a new cadet named Yan (Tony Leung), who he sets up as an undercover cop in Sam's gang. Both moles are in their respective positions for years, moving up the ranks. But when each group realizes there's a mole in their organizations, both moles are tasked with finding out who the other is.<br />
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I don't know why, but for some reason, I really liked this version more than <i>The Departed</i>. I did start out slightly confused at different points as to what exactly was going on or if it was present day or a flashback or what, but that never lasted long. I know it's pretty much the exact same story, but I did like the tension that built up in finding out who the moles are... and its the moles who have to figure it out. I think what helps this one work out a little better than the other is pacing. This has a very fast pacing. The film is only 100 minutes, while <i>The Departed</i> is 2 and a half hours. Granted, I know it takes elements from the entire <i>Infernal Affairs</i> trilogy, but the primary story is the first film. I also really liked the whole morse code aspect, which is not in the remake. I thought that was clever and fun.<br />
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Another thing I really liked in this that wasn't in the remake was Lau's novelist girlfriend. She's writing a novel about a schizophrenic who starts to lose his identity. The themes between her book and what is going on in the film is pretty on-the-nose, but I really liked that aspect of it. It added a level of meta to the story, and you know how I appreciate meta.<br />
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On the whole, though, I really don't have much to say about the film. It was cheesy in parts with the melodrama of the music during certain scenes. But on the whole, I thought it was intense, it had a great sense of character and theme, and it had a great concept that it pulled off well. And the story wasn't bloated--it had a story to tell and it told it. It wasn't perfect, but it was still pretty dang entertaining and well made. Like I said, I'll go back eventually and re-watch <i>The Departed</i> (so you don't have to yell at me in the comments about it). But as for this one...<br />
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image2_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa_dkBYnNz7lfhAmtivzqHcgvm_7vz9uzsYv78bGSZwYhT2qOKmTZi0IXDJV_6u_LLBhDPtmr_H_teGhFCRw8gRYqN_coACDnk9plC07ObCrcQxv0YU0gWCfOuH-avVcSTBxEVVR8Cec/s170/RatingKeanu.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>(P.S. And that will wrap it up for both Kai's Month and the 50/50 List! Kai had a rather solid month all around. 3 Keanu's and a McLovin! I'd say that's pretty dang good! As for this project, keep an eye out on Friday for the wrap-up post on the 50/50 as a whole. It won't be as crazy in-depth as my 60/60 wrap-up, but it'll have some good lists and fun facts. And that'll about do it!)</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-32326099767570453082012-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-25T00:01:00.034-06:00Merry Christmas!And for your aural pleasure... Put that cookie down! NOW!<br />
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(Unfortunately the amazing original video has been removed, but here's the original audio, anyway...)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vMPFA6fo72A" width="480"></iframe>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-48930519494740341372012-12-24T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-24T00:01:00.070-06:00V.G. Movies #50: Resident Evil: Damnation.<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the final film on the list.]</span><br />
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<b>THE HISTORY</b><br />
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Finally, we come to the final video game movie! And how fitting is it that it's a <i>Resident Evil</i> flick (albeit from the animated film series). There's really no special history here. I've gone over the<i> Resident Evil</i> games ad nauseam with all the other flicks. There's no real information needed that leads up to this sequel to <i>Resident Evil: Degeneration</i>. It just... happened. And it's no secret that I pretty much hated the first film in this animated "series" (there are only two films thus far, so it's hard to call it a series). I'm not expecting much of out this, but as usual... I'll try to go in with an open mind. Let's do this, shall we?<br />
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<b>THE FILM</b><br />
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In the middle of a civil war within the Eastern Slav Republic, Leon (Matthew Mercer) is sent in to confirm rumors that bio-weapons such as Lickers are being used. And not only used, but controlled. As it turns out, the freedom fighters have been given a Plaga parasite which will help them control Lickers (at least until the Plaga takes over the person's body completely). But Leon is taken hostage by a couple freedom fighters named Sasha (Dave Wittenberg) and JD (Val Tasso) and has to work with them as they prepare to overtake the capitol building and overthrow their current president, Svetlana (Wendee Lee). All the while, Ada Wong (Courtenay Taylor) has been hired to get close to the president and find the source of the Plaga herself.<br />
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You know what? I was pleasantly surprised with this film. It was far and away much better than <i>Degeneration</i>. First, the CG animation looks pretty good, with the exception of a few characters. And the lip sync with the dialogue is off here and there. But on the whole, the movie looks really nice. The Tyrants at the end in particular look really cool and intimidating. Strangely with the visual style, though, they would do weird little things from time to time. For instance, sometimes they would go into a first-person perspective for a short period. And other little things like that. They weren't bad, they were just odd choices.<br />
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The action was very good and much better than <i>Degeneration</i>. While most of it was gunplay, there were a few highlights. First and foremost was a fistfight between Ada Wong and the president. Both the animation and the actual fighting looks really good in this segment. And again, when the Tyrants show up, they're such massive, hulking creatures, and they're animated so well that you feel every heavy step they take. So when one takes so long to take down, you can really believe it, and the suspense is high. And I liked the idea of being able to use Plaga to control Lickers, even if it meant your inevitable doom. And it added some really good action sequences later on.<br />
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Unfortunately, there were some pretty big negatives, as well. First, the character of JD was unbelievably annoying. He was this Russian wannabe-American gangster type. He would talk and act in these weird and over-the-top ways that it was really hard to not want to punch him in the face. And he was supposed to be likable. Second, almost everything that came out of Leon's mouth was painful. It's like they tried to be clever and witty, but it was just terrible. And not even ironically groan-worthy where it's at least cheesy. It's just bad writing. There's this whole bit near the beginning where he compares everything to the <i>Wizard of Oz</i> for some strange reason. And then he tries to give one-liners throughout, but they just don't hit. He only has one good line in the entire film, which is near the end when they're taking down one of the Tyrants. And that's about it.<br />
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It's definitely not a perfect film, but I was really entertained by it for the majority. It does go on about 10 minutes too long as it tries to wrap up every single storyline in this film while setting up cliffhangers for the <i>Resident Evil 6</i> video game. It's like <i>Lord of the Rings</i> with all the endings it goes for. And that on top of a really long third act climax (albeit a fun one), it was just too much. The voice acting was solid, as well, even though JD got on my nerves. In the end, the decent story, nice visuals, and cool action won me over. Who'd have thunk?<br />
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image3_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45pj0etS7ugKHvgcTnW8RuVxnKu_b-f4m90j_-DhaIrnykBJrBUZvHQdR-uJ8JlI9Ads614vE-DY0AYIo4rRxTh62q5I53dyfWZG7Tak-LwYPiBGoNz2wIq4mZ8_x82czo9j0itARyQg/s170/RatinMcLovin.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>I Am McLovin!</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-26427485496647650382012-12-23T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-23T00:01:00.185-06:00The Demented Commentary #2: Season 5 (The Vlog).<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey guys and gals... I'm sorry this took so long to get out. We actually recorded this weeks ago, but I was having trouble both with my computer and with getting it online. But I finally got it done.<br />
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So this is the Season 5 Commentary Track for The Vlog. I was joined by Sebastian Gutierrez, Dylan Fields, Jason Soto, and Tom Clift. We had a really fun time recording this. So if you'd like to hear a little inside, behind-the-scenes scoop of how and/or why things were done the way they were, as well as hear all of our reactions and thoughts on the events of this final season (and just be silly and goof off), please listen and enjoy!<br />
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This has been split into four 20-25 minute parts for your viewing ease.<br />
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<b>PART 1: EPISODES 1-4 (Silent/Noir)</b><br />
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<b>PART 2: EPISODES 5-8 (Zombie/Musical)</b><br />
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<b>PART 3: EPISODES 9-11 (Adventure/Finale Part 1)</b><br />
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<b>PART 4: EPISODE 12 (Finale Part 2)</b><br />
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(<b>Note:</b> This part was originally recorded within the Part 3 chunk, but I had to cut it in half for it to upload right. So the conversation that begins here is just in response to how the last part ended.)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2yV9aiBnqXU" width="480"></iframe>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-75204729366198206482012-12-20T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-20T00:01:00.193-06:00LINCOLN.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Keep in mind while reading this review that historical dramas aren't really my cup of tea. But I saw it because, well... it's Spielberg, DDL, and full of Oscar buzz. And I was honestly a little intrigued in seeing how Lincoln's life was handled. Most notably, I mainly wanted to see how his death was handled. The film follows Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the last few months of his life, but mainly in the month he strongly pushed to have the 13th Amendment (abolish slavery) ratified in the U.S. Constitution. During this time he struggles with his marriage as his wife, Mary Todd (Sally Field), continues to struggle with the passing of their son three years prior while their eldest, Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) demands to fight in the Civil War.<br />
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First, the positive. Daniel Day-Lewis was phenomenal in this film. I never once saw DDL. This was Abraham Lincoln surrounded by more modern-day actors in a film. If he wins the Lead Actor Oscar (and I believe he will), he deserves it. Hands down best performance of the year. And the other acting was pretty top notch, too. Tommy Lee Jones was awfully entertaining in the film, though he was honestly only playing Tommy Lee Jones. Still, it was a solid performance. Sally Field does incredibly well here, as well. And while Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a solid job, I felt his role was rather unimportant to the overall film. It added almost nothing except maybe one scene of drama between Lincoln and Mary Todd. He's barely in the movie as it is, and his whole fight to be a soldier pretty much amounts to nothing.</div>
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Unfortunately, the film is a bit overlong and quite slow in parts. If one of two things was happening the film was golden. First, if at any time Lincoln was telling a story (which he does quite often), I was totally entranced. He was totally captivating to listen to, and his stories were very entertaining and often humorous. Second, if Tommy Lee Jones was on screen (and usually yelling at or insulting somebody). If either of those things were happening, I was really digging the film. However, there are plenty of times when neither of these things are happening. And it felt like by the time we were maybe an hour and fifteen minutes into the movie, and I realized I still had over an hour left, I was dying. The story moved so slowly, particularly within that first half of the film.</div>
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Moving into some spoiler(?) territory, I was incredibly disappointed with the ending. I held out for two and a half hours just to see how the whole assassination and John Wilkes Booth thing was done. And what happens? A freakin' fake-out and you only end up hearing about it happening. How do you do a Lincoln biopic and not even show the shooting? And even worse than that, they <i>pretend</i> like they're going to show you but then you realize what they just did.</div>
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Besides that, though, this is almost assuredly going to win a ton of awards. Does it deserve them? Some of them, sure. Daniel Day-Lewis deserves an Oscar for this performance. And maybe another one here or there. But I don't think it deserves the sweep that is most likely going to happen. It's an incredibly well-made film. A brilliantly acted film. A superbly written film in its dialogue. It's just not my type of film. It was entertaining in parts, but too long and slow for my liking. And it was far more a film about passing the 13th Amendment than it was about Lincoln himself (there were entire chunks of the film without Lincoln in them). So for a score that looks at my entertainment over its own quality...</div>
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image3_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45pj0etS7ugKHvgcTnW8RuVxnKu_b-f4m90j_-DhaIrnykBJrBUZvHQdR-uJ8JlI9Ads614vE-DY0AYIo4rRxTh62q5I53dyfWZG7Tak-LwYPiBGoNz2wIq4mZ8_x82czo9j0itARyQg/s170/RatinMcLovin.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>I Am McLovin!</b></span></span></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-49491470637190081682012-12-19T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-19T00:01:00.900-06:0050/50 Review #49: I'm The Angel Of Death: Pusher III.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Time to wrap up the trilogy. In this review, I'll talk about the film alone and then give my thoughts on the trilogy as a whole. But first, let's look at this. This film follows Milo (Zlatco Buric), a drug boss in the previous tow films. He's trying to kick the habit of using drugs, but it's becoming incredibly stressful due to it being his daughter Milena's (Marinela Dekic) 25th birthday, and he has to cook for 60 people. Unfortunately, after a misunderstanding with a drug trade, Milo ends up with about 10k or ecstasy instead of heroin. While waiting for his heroin to show up, he decides to entrust the ecstasy to Little Mohammed (Ilyas Agac), who says he can sell it quick. But when he doesn't show back up with the money and makes no contact, Milo gets into trouble with the other guys and has to make a deal... with some disastrous results.<div>
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Unlike the other two, I really had to think on this one. When it ended, I wasn't sure what I thought or felt. This film, while so similar in structure to the other two, feels different. It's more personal. Milo was the villain of the original film, so to have you sympathizing with him here and wanting him to succeed was an interesting maneuver. Fortunately, Milo is also a pretty great character, and I loved him in the first film, as well as his brief appearance in the second film. Radovan, Milo's partner in the first film, also makes a rather memorable appearance in this film--which is pretty cool considering he's probably the best character in the entire trilogy. But still, while the film was equally as gritty, the personal feeling of the story made everything that much more gut-wrenching (no pun intended... if you've seen the film).</div>
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But in the end, I do believe it's probably tied with the first film to me, ranking-wise. The characterization here was superb. Milo is such a complex character that you do kind of feel for, so that makes the overall film that much more depressing and difficult to watch as he just continues to lose it and slip further and further out of control. And everybody just pushes him around, from his colleagues to his spoiled brat daughter. The dangerous, in-control drug lord from the first two films is only a glimmer here, instead replaced with an old man caught in a transitory period where he wants to better himself and is failing.</div>
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It is a bit of a slow burn, though. The first 50 minutes, I found, were quite slow, and I checked the clock a handful of times. But the last hour it definitely worth the wait. Like the first film, the slow build of drama until things start spiraling out of control is needed, and the spiral itself is both suspenseful and hard to watch. The entire segment with the prostitute deal was intense, and all I wanted was Milo to snap and beat the crap out of some people. And then the final 20 minutes or so with Radovan was crazy and disturbing (and if you have a weak stomach, beware). And the way it was filmed--in Refn's style of "calm, nonchalant violence" (as best as I can describe it)--is used perfectly in the film's climax.</div>
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To briefly discuss the trilogy as a whole, it's one of the most solid trilogies out there. It's not perfect, but it's really dang good. I did prefer the first and third to the second, though I still thought the second was good... just in a different kind of way. I like the complex characters these films present, and I like how all the movies are at least loosely tied together in the characters they share. And what might feel like a flatter character in one film will be expanded on in another, which will give entirely new meaning to that character in the other film. All the films have an open-ending, and they all have different emotions that they leave you with. The first film ends almost as if it's to-be-continued and a sense of dread. The second film ends with a glimmer of hope. And the third film ends rather depressingly--empty and hopeless. To me, my favorite ending was ironically the second film, as it wrapped up things with the story, the character, and theme while still leaving it open to what actually happens. The ending to this one (the third) is currently my least favorite, as it just ends on what's pretty much a symbolic shot. It's not bad... it's just not my favorite type of ending. It's an open ending, but unlike the other two, I didn't leave the film asking (at least too strongly) "what happened next?" And, ironically, that's what made me have to think about my feelings on the film more than the other two. So perhaps that means this was the strongest ending, and to that I can easily concede. I just preferred the other two (particularly the second).</div>
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Overall, though, this third installment was very good. The acting was really good. The writing--especially the characterization--was fantastic, as it was with all the films. The direction was tight, especially when it came to any of the violence. I love Milo and Radovan, so seeing more of them is always a good thing to me. I do recommend the film, though you'll want to start with the first one. It was explained to me that this is a trilogy experience, and it really is. You don't need to see each one for them to make sense. They all stand alone. But they work best when you watch them in order, as the character connections and expansions are what make this trilogy such a treat. They're good alone. They're great together. But as for this one on its own...</div>
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<img alt="" height="59" id="Image2_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa_dkBYnNz7lfhAmtivzqHcgvm_7vz9uzsYv78bGSZwYhT2qOKmTZi0IXDJV_6u_LLBhDPtmr_H_teGhFCRw8gRYqN_coACDnk9plC07ObCrcQxv0YU0gWCfOuH-avVcSTBxEVVR8Cec/s170/RatingKeanu.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; visibility: visible;" width="135" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-47272273690261720912012-12-18T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-18T00:01:00.394-06:00THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCY7fuAXB2cA0eiOJSjeojYNodOmae_f2x9gYKchLMa2BSsFAIrCVsCCiHpQzd0nw4FLNYzvOSZIj4JAR5z_ePUV32FrFksS0T-N497z3Y5N7GwQ8W_muOwh5Fd9F_yR0cDef38kjqNE/s1600/Hobbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCY7fuAXB2cA0eiOJSjeojYNodOmae_f2x9gYKchLMa2BSsFAIrCVsCCiHpQzd0nw4FLNYzvOSZIj4JAR5z_ePUV32FrFksS0T-N497z3Y5N7GwQ8W_muOwh5Fd9F_yR0cDef38kjqNE/s1600/Hobbit.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>The Hobbit</i> was actually the first major book I ever read. I was never much of a reader when I was younger, and outside of an occasional <i>Goosebumps</i> book, I never read much of anything. But sometime in about 5th grade, I found this book and pretty much devoured it (though I haven't read it since). In other words, I've been pretty hyped for this particular adaptation. The film follows about the first third of the book. Years after an ancient dragon named Smaug takes over a dwarven kingdom, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) gathers a group of dwarves led by dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) to travel back, defeat the dragon, and reclaim the kingdom. But they need a little more help, so Gandalf asks a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to come along. On their travels, they face trolls, orcs, goblins, and an enemy from Thorin's past. There's also whispers of a new, dangerous sorcerer called the Necromancer, though he doesn't come into play just yet. Who does, though, is a strange little creature named Gollum (Andy Serkis), who has a run-in with Bilbo... who finds an important little bit of jewelry in the process.<br />
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This is much more of a children's film than the <i>Lord of the Rings</i> films. Everything is much more lighthearted here--no heavy political dramas or demonic, black-cloaked monsters. There are battles, but they're not as gritty and life-threatening. I mean, there's definitely a sense of danger, and it feels like anyone could die at any moment... but at the same time, you're pretty sure none of them will. The action is plentiful once the film gets to that part of the story, and it all looks pretty good. None of it is anything like Helm's Deep or the like, but it works for what it is.<br />
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Also, there is a <i>lot</i> of humor in this movie. I laughed quite a bit throughout. The film definitely plays up some slapstick, funny looks, and playful lines. And this is both a good and not-so-good thing. On the one hand, during some slower sections, you have Bilbo's reaction to things which are entertaining. And almost all the humor works and works well throughout the entire film. But on the other hand, sometimes it takes it a bit far. For instance, there's a moment where a big enemy is killed, and he gets a few humorous last words before dying. I get the idea of it, but it does take away from the seriousness of the situation or any drama or tension that could be been building up.<br />
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The acting is pretty top notch here. Of course Ian McKellen is still fantastic as Gandalf. And Andy Serkis' return as Gollum is probably the best part of the movie. It's fun, funny, and just pretty dang entertaining. Everybody is on top of their game in the film. But the true shout-out goes to Martin Freeman, who was brilliant as Bilbo. Everything from his comic timing to the sincere believability of his internal conflicts is just done so well. Even a simple look on his face or in his eyes was enough. Absolutely perfect casting. I think even people who might not end up liking the film could still give it up for his performance.<br />
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But now there are the two things everybody has been talking about--the look and the length. I got to see the film in a regular format. No 48 FPS or 3D. Just your average-looking film. And I must say, it looks really good as it is. Cinematography-wise, that is. Unfortunately, for some reason, Peter Jackson decided to use much more CGI in this version than guys in suits. Almost every creature is CGI in this movie, and that kind of saddens me. The Goblin King in particular looks a bit silly (and no, I dont mean David Bowie). He just overdid it on the computer graphics when he could have easily done what he did in the original trilogy. I hate that he took the easy way out and just CGI'd mostly everything. Not all of it looked bad, though, mind you. Just every now and then.<br />
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Then there's the length. It's pretty much almost an hour into the film before they even leave Bilbo's house. It feels like they're there <i>forever</i>. The beginning just drags for quite a bit, and I think they really could have cut down on a few things. There are also a few things in the middle that aren't exactly necessary for the current film, but are put in for the trilogy as a whole (like the Necromancer stuff). It also seems like there are 3 different climaxes to the film, and I was getting slightly antsy and wondering when or where it was gonna stop. Granted, it was really only in the last 10-15 minutes I started wondering. But it was like... things kept happening, so it gave the implication that the film was just going to keep going on.<br />
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Despite all of that, though, I really was into it for most of the movie. The pacing, like I said, only got to me at the beginning and right before the closing credits. And for a film that's almost 3 hours long, that's not too bad. The bulk of the film flows just fine. The action is good, the acting is really good, and the comedy is pretty dang entertaining. Don't go into this expecting another<i> Lord of the Rings</i> epic. This is still a fantasy epic, but it's much more of a children's movie than the darker, more adult themes of its predecessor. But a really good children's movie.<br />
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image2_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa_dkBYnNz7lfhAmtivzqHcgvm_7vz9uzsYv78bGSZwYhT2qOKmTZi0IXDJV_6u_LLBhDPtmr_H_teGhFCRw8gRYqN_coACDnk9plC07ObCrcQxv0YU0gWCfOuH-avVcSTBxEVVR8Cec/s170/RatingKeanu.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-47797755011243016142012-12-17T13:47:00.000-06:002012-12-17T13:47:06.609-06:00V.G. Movies #49: Ecstasy Of Order: The Tetris Masters.<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;">[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the next film on the list.]</span><br />
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<b>THE HISTORY</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs99qqNPf1zRkrRB0o1SsNguzHG4p-9AFkiM-PntJ7c8ZX2jkWAM18bSesxTI_r4FtmKGXgJVHdAHawKXdHef_P-ncTSsKzdlrgX-ZR4RGb6uioFO5rwQHkx69g0sWsqNp_VIwc54om4/s1600/Tetris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs99qqNPf1zRkrRB0o1SsNguzHG4p-9AFkiM-PntJ7c8ZX2jkWAM18bSesxTI_r4FtmKGXgJVHdAHawKXdHef_P-ncTSsKzdlrgX-ZR4RGb6uioFO5rwQHkx69g0sWsqNp_VIwc54om4/s200/Tetris.jpg" width="139" /></a>In the world of video games, most people will basically think two countries: U.S. and Japan. So it's pretty interesting that one of the best selling and most popular video games of <i>all time</i>... is Russian. In 1984, Alexey Pajitnov was working for the Soviet Academy of Sciences when he came up with a puzzle video game where every piece consisted of a design of 4 blocks. He mixed together the words tetromino (a geometric shape consisting of four blocks) and tennis (his favorite sport) and, thus... <i>Tetris</i> was born.<br />
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Numerous companies bought out the game and sold it for their consoles, though it was really the Nintendo Game Boy that skyrocketed sales of the game (selling over 33 million copies on its system alone). By 1989, half a dozen companies had rights to the game. It won plenty of awards and is still found on "best games of all time" lists all over the world.<br />
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Interestingly, whereas many people argue video games "rot the brain," <i>Tetris</i> is actually proven to be good for it. It's been proven that prolonged activity with the game increases cognitive skills and more efficient brain activity throughout the day. Even as little as 30 minutes a day for 3 months can enhance everything from critical thinking skills to reasoning and language.<br />
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Over the years, <i>Tetris</i> scores have been collected, particularly by Twin Galaxies (see <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2012/07/vg-movies-26-king-of-kong-fistful-of.html">my King of Kong review</a> for more details on them). And that leads us to the following documentary...<br />
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<b>THE FILM</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aS1QrdiKjoV9RMSCh6xYOM8nhaRmZyLse_-XUKYWEFLL5mVM_HIad-eV-wSroSxhdtASCdvnTx7q4fn9sdw0zqMg9t6nGUdDEugJ1FUoW6rV1fvAzHNtiIcT3WkPyovRgEDB66dMYk4/s1600/TetrisMasters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aS1QrdiKjoV9RMSCh6xYOM8nhaRmZyLse_-XUKYWEFLL5mVM_HIad-eV-wSroSxhdtASCdvnTx7q4fn9sdw0zqMg9t6nGUdDEugJ1FUoW6rV1fvAzHNtiIcT3WkPyovRgEDB66dMYk4/s1600/TetrisMasters.jpg" /></a>In 1990, Nintendo held the Nintendo World Championships where a boy named Thor Aackerlund (his real name) won first place, had higher scores than anyone else had ever done at that time, and became the face of Nintendo for a short period of time... until he pretty much fell off the map. He declared he reached the impossible Level 30 on more than one occasion--something nobody had ever seen before even once--though there was no video proof of this. Jump ahead through time, and people such as Harry Hong and Jonas Neubauer certainly defeated his records, though nobody ever reached Level 30. So in 2010, Robin Mihara--who came in 3rd against Thor in 1990--sets up the ultimate Tetris Championship in L.A. for the best players in the United States. And he invites the reclusive Thor to begin gaming once again and prove that he has done what he's claimed and that he's still as good as he used to be.<br />
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This is pretty much the perfect companion piece to <i>King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters</i>. It's somewhat similar in style (though it's not really a good vs. evil battle... there's no good guys or bad guys, really). But we follow a handful of the best players leading up to the tournament and then the actual events of the tournament.<br />
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What I found particularly fascinating was how Thor was treated or acknowledged throughout. Ironically, he was treated as this mythical being or god amongst men who could do these extraordinary deeds that nobody else could... except there were plenty of doubters that he could actually do it. He's really set up similarly to a Billy Mitchell, but less of a douche and more of this (overly awkward) divinity that once showed up and then just... disappeared from the public eye. So that by the time he actually shows up in the documentary and you hear his side of the story... it's that much more hard-hitting.<br />
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Everybody in the doc was pretty likable. What I might have liked more from it is a clear underdog. Outside of Thor, you don't feel ask if there's really one person to openly root for or champion. They're all good players and have relatively average life stories (again, with the exception of Thor). It's just that Thor doesn't show up for quite a ways into the documentary, so outside of introducing these people to us and building up the legend of Thor, it really needed to focus on a few other things to pad out the documentary.<br />
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And it does so pretty well. A fascinating section of the film discusses the game's psychological effects on people. Besides the aforementioned increase in brain efficiency, it briefly discusses what's called "The Tetris Effect." This is something that I myself have actually experienced in the past, when I was a <i>Tetris</i> junkie for a while. It's basically when you start seeing the shapes even when you're not actually playing, so you start playing games in your head and even in your dreams. The discussion of why this happens and the game's neurological effects was pretty interesting in and of itself.<br />
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Otherwise, there's not much to talk about here. If you like <i>King of Kong</i>, definitely seek this one out. It really does work well with the former. The film does drag for a little in parts, mainly within the first 30 minutes or so, but on the whole it's really good. The documentary actually made me quite anxious while watching all the <i>Tetris</i> games going on, so it really invests you in what's going on. I was pleasantly surprised by this documentary, and Thor's story really is filled with some twists that you might not see coming.<br />
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<img alt="Rating System." height="70" id="Image1_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T5L_lMW4WhHd7SF93c7G_7fWBR_a6pRg_fpPoVGi8NNf3L-5uxUggwTim-9t89qSK82nsC_qIQlGf1SLkKdh6zN3vy7_ydvBLsKfgTvBDnGWnVNnBKjBYhBUaCv2kpT732if80epOcE/s170/RatinRoyale.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Royale With Cheese</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>(P.S. This is the second time I've given this score for this project. The first? Yup... <i>King of Kong</i>.)</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-755012658066500302012-12-12T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-12T00:01:00.288-06:0050/50 Review #48: With Blood On My Hands: Pusher II.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6IbyvSPgD5HWZpyB4Y2LxU12PSj5UE6oMuo7PZpVPpIIwr9W6SSnL0Yj4DfaeQn7KmGf6nDTcSfuAqFf8VKexFjIdaIss2U4wS7p5O_tdA3Bm9FXMGgF5LUZIG5bP42Il16r0J-Rn_k/s1600/Pusher2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6IbyvSPgD5HWZpyB4Y2LxU12PSj5UE6oMuo7PZpVPpIIwr9W6SSnL0Yj4DfaeQn7KmGf6nDTcSfuAqFf8VKexFjIdaIss2U4wS7p5O_tdA3Bm9FXMGgF5LUZIG5bP42Il16r0J-Rn_k/s320/Pusher2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
After my surprising liking of the first film, the next two had a lot to live up to. I found out almost immediately that while this is a trilogy, it's not the typical trilogy where it picks up right where the last left off, regardless of the to-be-continued feeling the first film left off with. Though we do follow a familiar face in this film--Frank's best friend in the first movie, Tonny. At least a couple years after the first film, we follow Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen) as he's released from prison (something unrelated to the events of the first film). He goes to his father, the Duke (Leif Sylvester), to get work as a car thief for a chop shop, but his father doesn't trust or respect him. Meanwhile, he also discovers he might be the father of a baby boy from a promiscuous woman named Charlotte (Anne Sorensen). And on top of all of that, he needs to help is friend Kurt (Kurt Nielsen) get the money he owes or else it might be both their necks on the line.<br />
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This film is much more of a drama than the first film, which was basically a drama-thriller. This film is all about Tonny searching for a little respect and recognition. And if that theme isn't clear enough, the camera continually focuses on the tattoo on the back of Tonny's bald head which says "Respect." Nobody gives it to him, and he's verbally and emotionally abused throughout the entire film while he's trying desperately to please people and put his life back together.<br />
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I didn't like the film as much as the first, but I did still think it was well done. I also appreciate what it was doing by turning it into more of a character piece on Tonny and his hunt for redemption. While he wasn't as engaging of a character as Frank from the first film, I did feel for him by the end of the film and really rooted for him to come out on top somehow. Because while everybody else was calling him a pathetic loser, it always hit that much harder when you looked at how pathetic most of those people were.<br />
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Unfortunately, outside of Tonny, the film took everything I liked about the first film and pretty much dropped it. There were still hints at some of the realism of characterizations, but it wasn't as prevalent this time around. Instead, it amped up the focus on the drugs and how all the characters not only did drugs but centered their lives around them--in other words, the exact thing I appreciated the first film for <i>not</i> doing. And because of this, I had trouble connecting with any of the characters. I didn't think they were as strong as in the first film (outside of maybe Tonny and his father).<br />
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So while I didn't like it as much as the first film, I do think it's worth watching if you've seen the first. It does hint at Frank's fate from the first film, and the evolution of Tonny is done very well. I do really like the final scene of the film. And there's a pretty great scene that brings back Milo (who I believe will be the focus of the final film, as well). I wish it had the great dialogue and characterization of the first film, but what it does with Tonny is good, too.<br />
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image3_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45pj0etS7ugKHvgcTnW8RuVxnKu_b-f4m90j_-DhaIrnykBJrBUZvHQdR-uJ8JlI9Ads614vE-DY0AYIo4rRxTh62q5I53dyfWZG7Tak-LwYPiBGoNz2wIq4mZ8_x82czo9j0itARyQg/s170/RatinMcLovin.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>I Am McLovin!</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-86640280221737738882012-12-10T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-10T00:01:01.230-06:00V.G. Movies #48: Dragon Age: Dawn Of The Seeker.<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 15px;">[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the next film on the list.]</span><br />
<br />
<b>THE HISTORY</b><br />
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This is the most recent series on this list, and one that I know zero about. The first game came out in just 2009. Entitled Dragon Age: Origins, the first game was released by production company BioWare and Electronic Arts. The game's introduces a character of your creation to the country of Ferelden via a man named Duncan who gets you inducted as a Grey Warden--which is essentially a knight-type character. You eventually team up with others in order to stop an oncoming Blight--an attack of demon-like creatures called darkspawn and their archdemon leader, which is a presence that has taken over the body of a powerful dragon. The game was almost universally praised and won numerous awards.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCIZrYJaBm3R7MPU2zdAxeXXq1N51nihXKj5cyvVWT9qDXC6Rht14v_XqO_B62vD7R-yILzfkeljvsPvMa2d4pH31fus_q5UKCR860GZGpip7z_C8NJobJqR5e_uq96rJISHyISLQxMU/s1600/DragonAge2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCIZrYJaBm3R7MPU2zdAxeXXq1N51nihXKj5cyvVWT9qDXC6Rht14v_XqO_B62vD7R-yILzfkeljvsPvMa2d4pH31fus_q5UKCR860GZGpip7z_C8NJobJqR5e_uq96rJISHyISLQxMU/s200/DragonAge2.jpg" width="138" /></a><br />
After numerous expansion packs, a sequel was released in 2011. The sequel follows a man named Hawke who fled from Ferelden during the events of the first game. Over years, Hawke rises in power and fame and is involved in a handful of political-type battles, including a war waged between Templars and mages. This game also got positive reviews, though it wasn't as widely appreciated and loved as the first.<br />
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So after these two recent games became so well loved, it was clear a film was going to be made. But instead of going the live-action route, the game companies decided to take a page from Capcom and make a CG film. The film would follow one of the minor characters involved in the second game, Cassandra. So let's see how they fared, shall we?<br />
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<b>THE FILM</b><br />
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The film follows a Cassandra, a form of knight called a Seeker. Seekers and their special-ops counterparts, the Templars, are trained to take down Blood Mages--a radical faction of mages that have separated from their Circle Mage brethren. The Blood Mages, with the help of a traitor, have kidnapped another mage who has the ability to control animals. They want to use her to control dragons and wage war. So Cassandra, who hates mages, is forced to team up with a Circle Mage named Galyan to stop the Blood Mages from completing their plan.<br />
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Have you ever watched any fantasy or quest film ever? Then you've seen this movie. It's beyond predictable and by-the-numbers. Cassandra is a hot-headed young warrior out to prove herself, and she has a troubling past as her brother was killed by mages. So of course she has to team up with a mage that she hates yet inevitably befriends and might even fall for. And in the end she proves herself worthy and is honored for it. Galyan is the weak yet charming sidekick. There is a high-ranked traitor (who they, thankfully, don't even attempt to make a surprise twist due to its obviousness). There are no surprises in this film, and you've seen everything it has to offer before.<br />
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But then, on top of that, there are plot and/or logic issues galore. In an effort to make Cassandra a badass, they completely undermine all villains. She has no trouble single-handedly taking down any Blood Mage or monster thrown in her way, even if 50 of them are thrown in her way simultaneously. The mages don't really fight with magic, yet they are somehow able to take out armies of these Templars and Seekers. Where is this struggling war, again? And then Cassandra is able to take down anything, including dragons and other giant, scary creatures. And not only does she take them down, but she does so--always--in about 1-2 swings of the sword. Five dragons? No problem! Let's just jump on their backs one at a time and stab them in the spine and head and move on to the next one without any kind of reaction from the dragons.<br />
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But, believe it or not, my biggest issue was with the animation. A lot of people seem to find this the film's only real perk, but I have to disagree. It's really uneven, with monsters and smaller animals looking nice, but everything else being down in this weird cell-shaded format. It makes it look like PS2 or Gamecube-era video game graphics. So not only is the animation not up to par for movie animation, it's not up to par for <i>video game</i> animation. The film ends up looking like an extended cut scene from an old, cell-shaded PS2 game.<br />
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All of that being said, the movie isn't <i>terrible</i>. It's just nothing new, and there's absolutely nothing original or spectacular about it. Hell, with only a few alterations here and there, the plot of the film is almost identical to the <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> live-action film from 2000 (An evil mage wants to take over, so he attempts to gain the ability to control dragons and overthrow the current leader. From there, it's up to a hard-headed hero to team up with a mage (and he dislikes mages) and others to stop him). And that's not really a great comparison to make. (And the villain is equally stupid.) Overall, I didn't hate it, but I can almost assure you that I won't ever find the need to watch it again.<br />
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<img alt="" height="59" id="Image5_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffm97pNxD2tzPUFYowDTgKUxWlwkcLuydkclBMkEzsz-jXEUHlaUBbpc64M50fwtgynyCO_24J2lhsEvf_cWWNYClqH8WIRh2PSJT1o5-IG36BUUfD4Y8enajPnIt6Xwz3i-myV_bt9o/s170/RatingFeedMe.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; visibility: visible;" width="135" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Feed Me, Seymour!</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-67607862970736912832012-12-05T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-05T00:01:01.007-06:0050/50 Review #47: Pusher.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I learned last year during my 60/60 Project that when it comes to crime films, the ones centering around drugs typically interested me the least (Hell, even with <i>Pulp Fiction</i>, my least favorite part is the Uma Thurman section). I didn't know what it was about them, but I just could not get into them for some reason. But now, after watching this, I think I've figured it out. The film follows Frank (Kim Bodnia), a drug pusher with incredibly bad luck. He's already in debt to drug lord, Milo (Zlatko Buric), but he takes one more favor and gets a lot of drugs to pull off a deal with a guy Frank was in prison with. But the deal goes bust when the cops show up and Frank loses all the drugs in a lake. With seemingly the world against him, Frank is running against the clock to get the money he owes Milo before it's too late.<div>
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I realized while watching this that the reasons I typically can't get into drug-related films are 1) The characters aren't likable or relatable to me and 2) the focus of these characters is usually either gaining power or looking to make their next score. And character is really important to me in any form of fiction. Even if you have a non-existant plot, if you have strong or interesting characters, I can overcome the former issue. Fortunately, <i>Pusher</i> doesn't fall into those problems.</div>
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What I noticed first off was that these characters are human. Their entire existence isn't drugs or power or any of that. Frank and his best friend, Tonny, goof around and act normal on their down time. They have some great dialogue together, and the first 30 minutes of the film is really there to make you feel for these characters and the relationships they build with each other. Even later it discusses the lives of other characters, like Frank's kinda-girlfriend, Vic. Even more than that, there's a great scene where Milo's right-hand man, Radovan, is talking with Frank about wanting to open up a restaurant and get out of the business. But what I loved about that scene was how it wasn't like every other "This is my dream to get out of this bad business" scene in these types of films. Instead, it was just a normal, lighthearted conversation. In other words, this film builds some good, realistic characters who I can really get behind and sympathize with.</div>
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Frank in particular is incredibly easy to root for. I mean, he's a drug pusher and isn't the greatest person in the world, but he has some of the worst luck ever. Things just get worse and worse for the guy, one thing right after the other. And it's not like he really did anything wrong (in his world) to be put in this situation. It was just a combination of terrible timing and the luck of Job (biblically speaking). And when he gets betrayed by people, it hits pretty hard since the film builds up relationships very well.</div>
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Like Refn's other films, there's a lot of sudden extreme violence. And while the film might not be as artistically or stylishly made as <i>Drive</i>--or even <i>Bronson</i>--you can see that same cinematic eye beginning to come together. It doesn't linger on the blood or make a big deal out of it. It's just part of whatever is going on at the time. And I think not stylizing it or glorifying its use like practically every other action or thriller film adds a layer of gritty realism to the film.</div>
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All of that being said, the movie isn't perfect. It feels about 20 minutes too long and could have been trimmed down a bit. I felt it right before the third act (where he has about 2 hours left). There's a chunk of the movie that focuses on him and Vic that just kinda goes on for a while and could have been cut down. Yeah, it's building up their relationship, but it does so for just a wee bit too long and slows down the pacing of the film.</div>
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But otherwise, I think this was a good start. I think Netflix knew my aversion to drug-related films and scored it low, but this is one of the rare instances where I think I'd score it a star higher than suggested. It's a really good little thriller, and as it's the first part of a trilogy (which, of course, I will be watching this whole month), it ends with a to-be-continued kind of feel to it (and aspects of the story feel incomplete). So if you're going to check it out, you might as well prepare yourself to watch a trilogy rather than a solo film. I don't know how worth it the entire trilogy is just yet, but the first film, at the very least, is pretty good.</div>
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image2_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa_dkBYnNz7lfhAmtivzqHcgvm_7vz9uzsYv78bGSZwYhT2qOKmTZi0IXDJV_6u_LLBhDPtmr_H_teGhFCRw8gRYqN_coACDnk9plC07ObCrcQxv0YU0gWCfOuH-avVcSTBxEVVR8Cec/s170/RatingKeanu.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-80353342953723168612012-12-03T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-03T00:01:00.539-06:00V.G. Movies #47: Second Skin.<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the next film on the list.]</span></span><br />
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<b>(Special Note: This was originally supposed to be <i>Ace Attorney</i>, but that movie proved impossible to find. So I had to go back a few years and pop in another documentary.)</b><br />
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<b>THE HISTORY</b><br />
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This year I've talked about films based on practically every type of video game: fighters, platformers, first-person shooters, simulators, horror, action/adventure, side-scrollers, volleyball, mission-based, puzzles, and role playing. I've talked about everything from arcade to console and at least one computer-based. But in this year, I have not talked about one of the biggest and most addictive genres currently available (next to first person shooters)--MMORPGs.<br />
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The Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game genre is for the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Why? Because it takes all your time, money, and personal investment to play. Like regular RPGs, you get a character (though oftentimes you get to create that character nearly from scratch) and get to choose his or her destiny and evolution. But unlike regular RPGs, the worlds expand and evolve even when the player isn't playing as the games take place entirely online.<br />
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The genre pretty much began before it was even a genre, if that makes sense, with Dungeons & Dragons. This game inspired many types of early online games called MUDs, or Multi-User Dungeons. These were typically text-based adventure/fantasy games where you pretty much played D&D (or something similar) over an internet connection in a chat room-type setting. (They, of course, evolved from there.) MUDs soon became graphical MUDs, which--if you couldn't figure it out--added graphics to the text-based setting.<br />
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The first major fully graphical interface, multi-user RPG was Neverwinter Nights in 1991. These games continued evolving until 1997 when a man named Richard Garriott released a game called Ultima Online and coined the term MMORPG, and the genre hit its stride and became popular in 1999 with a game called EverQuest. Many incredibly popular games came out after, both for free and for pay. But none could ever come close (before or after) to the success of the fourth installment to a real-time strategy series called Warcraft. The fourth venture into the world of Azeroth changed its genre to MMORPG and has since become the most popular and best selling of its kind.<br />
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Unfortunately, with this came a whole new world of psychological studies. People became legitimately addicted, risking personal lives, health, and job security to continue playing WoW and other games like it. Entirely new ways of interacting began happening, including to the point of online marriages. These are games that can be fun in moderation but have literally destroyed many lives in the process. The following documentary follows the stories of some of these people.<br />
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<b>THE FILM</b><br />
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This is normally where I talk about the film's story or characters, but there's nothing really concrete or central to really focus on. The film actually focuses more on the positives and negatives of MMORPGs and gaming addiction rather than looking at the games themselves. There are a couple constant people and stories to follow, which includes a couple who falls in love online, a group of friends who struggle to balance social lives with gaming, a woman whose son was a huge gamer and drove her to start up a self-help group for addicted gamers, and a guy who completely hits rock bottom due to gaming and seeks help.<br />
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This documentary's biggest issue is that it has a weak "thesis statement" (to put it in academic terms) and is, therefore, all over the place. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to say. What point is it trying to make? Yes, it has a fair and balanced look at the positives and negatives of online gaming. But at the same time, it throws in all these other things, like Chinese Gold Farms ("illegal" aspects of these games where what are essentially technical support sweat shops in China are run where people can use real life money to buy in-game gold to level up their characters faster). And then there are things like focusing on people who are clearly psychologically imbalanced (or, in some cases, socially incapable) prior to being involved in gaming, so it's not exactly a fair look.<br />
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A lot of these people in this movie are incredibly unlikable. Of course, not all of them... but a good chunk. For instance, there's one story where a guy's wife is pregnant with twins. She ends up delivering both but nearly dies during childbirth. This sends a bit of a reality check to the gamer husband (though not for long, as he does eventually become obsessed again). Immediately after this happens, his gamer friend comments that what sucks is his friend is going to stop or slow down on gaming now. Yes, <i>that</i> is the terrible thing that is happening in all of this.<br />
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The most memorable story is a guy named Dan who hits rock bottom because of gaming--he loses his business, his relationship, and his home. He considers suicide because his life is in shambles. So he goes online and finds this gaming addiction anonymous place run by an older woman named Liz. She proclaims she even goes so far as to have a safe house for people considering suicide, which Dan eventually goes to. Liz is another personality they interview throughout, and she's pretty strong against online gaming and how it ruins lives. As it turns out, she's a bit of a crazy lady who actually suffered a personal tragedy and decided to blame gaming for the issues. But this 12-step anonymous program she started was worthless; the safe house was nothing more than her own house that she would force Dan to sign a lease for*; and she would go around and demean and insult Dan in front of everybody else. (*Note: Some of this information came from a personal interview from Dan after the film was released.) The program was useless, and it's somewhat implied that this woman's domineering attitude might have been at least been partially responsible for the tragedy she faced.<br />
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The film also focuses pretty heavily on romantic relationships formed through MMORPGs, though the film doesn't really come to much of a conclusion on the matter. The primary couple meet playing EverQuest II (one's from Florida and the other is from Texas). As the film portrays them, it's clear both of these people have issues--the guy is a bit of a loner with social problems and the girl is the type who probably identifies with Bella from <i>Twlight</i>... she falls deeply in love easily and is too insecure about herself to drop a failing relationship. There are red flags everywhere, and the two have zero chemistry (at least on screen), but she ends up making him move to Florida to live with her in a new house they got together. As far as I know, they're still together, so more power to 'em.<br />
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On the flip side, the documentary also shows how things could work in a very positive light. There are couples interviewed sporadically that met online and work well together (though these sections are more of an ad for online dating than MMO players). There are experts who discuss the psychological aspects of why people play these games, and it totally makes sense. One of my favorite aspects of the movie is one of the shortest--it shows a young man named Andrew Monkelban who is mute and is mostly paralyzed from cerebral palsy. All he could do is move one of his index fingers, which is how he typed and would play these MMOs. As the story goes, the director found him while playing online and got to know him... but he didn't know about Andrew's condition until they met. The director was incredibly uncomfortable during their interview and didn't stick around too long. (This is immediately followed by another brief interview with another handicapped person who shares similar sentiments.) I would have loved to see more on that aspect of this subject. What about these people who need to escape to these online worlds because that's the best way they can live and be free to be who they are on the inside? That's the best way to express themselves.<br />
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Instead, what we end up with is a mostly depressing and confused documentary. It would have even worked had they spent the majority of the film on the negative and then, bam, pulled out the positive for the last third to show it's not all lunatics or people with addictive personalities who play MMORPGs. I mean, this is a bit of an overstatement, but this film is like the <i>Requiem for a Dream</i> of online gamers. It's just uncomfortable to sit through most of the time. The negative far outweighs the positive. It's pretty clear that the director saw this as an easy documentary subject to show a negative side to gaming, but the more he got into it, the more he saw that wasn't the case... so he tried to put in some very positive things in there, too, but it was a too little too late kind of thing. All of that being said, it's not a bad film, and it does have some really interesting aspects to it, but I do believe it shows a lot of things a bit unfairly and misrepresents some other things by leaving out some key information.<br />
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<img alt="" height="55" id="Image4_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgIlo-8ppude4ZBCXy87RbZBcA4-tdaD_OnxKNd3R_qnmZakz0MR95nseMgjCTDd8b0_4narAFkmXqSYGto9L8Yqaw5YejuNayGi1nMYWoUI-QwJSdwXP4t9vNOIHCzybOYXrf7jlKFs/s170/RatingOK.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; visibility: visible;" width="135" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Stop Saying OK! OK.</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-20717219599368183562012-12-02T00:01:00.000-06:002012-12-02T00:01:00.682-06:005 Year Anniversary + Major Announcement!Hey guys and gals! Can you believe it? It's been 5 years since I started this thing. Well, technically, I started blogging before this with a site called Boomstick Reviews that lasted maybe a couple weeks or so before I switched it over to this.<br />
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Due to this blog, over the last 5 years, I've had so many great experiences and made so many great friends--and even met some of them in person! In order...<br />
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<b>Rachel Thuro (and Brad)</b> - Just as fun to hang out with as she is to podcast with--and she's so far my first and only person to face-to-face podcast with!<br />
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<b>Jess Rogers </b>- I can safely say this was the most nervous I was meeting somebody (and although we didn't eventually work out, I don't regret it for a second).<br />
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<b>Dylan Fields (and Susannah/Alexandra) </b>- It was an epic of epic days as we traversed the Riverwalk of San Antonio. Oh, and there was some extensive Vlog filming, as well.<br />
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<b>Tom Clift </b>- Really cool guy, and it was a pleasure to hang out with him for the day talking movies and being bombarded by the homeless.<br />
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<b>James Blake Ewing </b>- I assure you, he's not a robot! And I'm glad I got to find that out personally.<br />
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But anyway, as the 5-year anniversary came closer and my life started altering, I started thinking...<br />
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I've had 5 years on the blog. I had 5 seasons of The Vlog. There have been 5 seasons of The Demented Podcast. I'm finishing the 50/50 List. There were (or will be) 50 video game movie articles. (And if you don't count that, I'm sure I've eaten a $5 footlong at some point.)<br />
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In just a couple months, I'll be moving to the other side of the planet to teach in South Korea. And, frankly, I'll be too busy to keep up my blog. So I figured I might as well go out while I'm on top. That being said, I'm officially announcing that at the end of this year, after I finish the 50/50 List and the video game movies list, I'll make at least one last post and close down the blog. The timing just feels right, especially since I'll be moving to Korea for at least a year. (<b>Note:</b> I won't just be disappearing. Steve and I are still going to attempt DemPod--part of that hiatus was to figure out if we could get it to work out while I'm over there. But it won't be until at least March or April or so.)<br />
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So for this post, to wrap things up here (despite the fact I'm gonna still post for the rest of the month), I'm gonna give you 5 Top 5 lists about the blog. The first four lists are going to involve films I've reviewed on the site--so they aren't just films I've seen, but specifically films I've seen and reviewed in some capacity on the blog over the last 5 years. Also, I am not counting any films watched for podcasts or on Man, I Love Films. They had to be written reviews for this blog. The last Top list is my Top 5 favorite posts that I've done... which is pretty self-explanatory. So here you go!<br />
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<b><u>Top 5 Dullest Films Reviewed</u></b></div>
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This is a list of the most boring films I've had to sit through--and, oddly, only 2 of them were actually viewed specifically for the blog. I'm not saying these are all <i>bad</i> films. They're just ones I found the most painfully boring to sit through.<br />
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<b>5) Casino</b><br />
I had to watch it for my 60/60 List last year. I watched at least half of it while Facebook chatting with Steve Honeywell because I was so painfully bored with it.<br />
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<b>4) Funny Games U.S.</b><br />
I actually recently watched the original... which I strangely kinda liked. But this one is just bad. And it's bad because it's missing that certain something that made the original a little more captivating.<br />
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<b>3) Nobody Knows</b><br />
A 2-hour long Japanese drama (and true story) about a mom who leaves her young children alone in an apartment to fend for themselves for months on end. It's really depressing and unbelievably slow. It's a really good movie, but I don't think I could sit through it again.<br />
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<b>2) Gosford Park</b><br />
Ugh.<br />
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<b>1) 2001: A Space Odyssey</b><br />
Y'all knew this was coming. This was my most controversial post... probably ever. I reviewed this for my 60/60 List last year, and it led to quite a few arguments and one major falling out. But I still stand by my opinions--eff this movie (except the HAL9000 part. That was fine.)</div>
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<b><u>Top 5 Weirdest Movies Reviewed</u></b></div>
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This was easily the hardest list to put together. I've apparently seen a LOT of really freakin' weird movies. Seriously. I tried to narrow this down to 5 from like 15 or 20 and was <i>really</i> struggling to do so. I think I finally managed to do it, though. Here's the Top 5 Weirdest. (And I mean weirdest. When the likes of <i>Visitor Q</i>, <i>I'm a Cyborg But That's OK</i>, <i>Rubber</i>, and <i>Southland Tales</i> don't make the list…)</div>
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<b>5) Feast 3: The Happy Finish</b><br />
Let me share a paragraph from my review on how the movie ends: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So the three, including Clu Gulager's character Bartender (who is at least in his 80s), walk out into the street. So then out of nowhere, Bartender is like 'We need to repopulate the Earth! We need to do it now!' and he rips off his shirt. But then a giant robot leg comes out of nowhere and steps on the other two survivors, crushing them. Bartender walks away, and a Mexican mariachi dressed like Elvis walks on screen and serenades the audience during the credits by summarizing the last 3 movies."</span><br />
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<b>4) Eraserhead</b><br />
It's David Lynch. It had to be on this list by default.<br />
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<b>3) Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen</b><br />
Seriously. This little animated feature was BIZARRE. I mean, when you think of how a Mario movie would logistically work and how strange that would actually be... multiple that by 10 and you'll get this film.<br />
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<b>2) The Happiness of the Katakuris</b><br />
I remember basically nothing about this film except that it's directed by Miike and that it almost melted my brain from its bizarreness when I watched it. It's a dark comedy musical about a family that kills... or something.<br />
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<b>1) Hausu</b><br />
It's freakin' <i>Hausu</i>. It's like the ultimate Japanese weird-awesome movie. The weirdness level is off the charts, and the majority of the film makes no sense... but it's still so damn entertaining.<br />
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<b><u>Top 5 Best Movies Reviewed</u></b></div>
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This isn't necessarily my Top Rated films (at least at the time that I rated them). These are the films that, for one reason or another, I watched specifically for this blog that I found had the best mix of quality and entertainment. In my book, these are five damn near perfect films (mostly classics) due to that fine mix. And yes, I reviewed all of them for either the 60/60 or 50/50.<br />
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<b>5) North by Northwest</b><br />
This was my favorite from Hitchcock Month, and I pretty much went straight out and bought it right after seeing it (still haven't re-watched it yet, but... soon).<br />
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<b>4) Naked</b><br />
A flawless performance by David Thewlis with such philosophical, stream-of-consciousness dialogue. It's darkly comic, and I was floored after it ended.<br />
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<b>3) Double Indemnity</b><br />
This became an instant favorite classic after I viewed it. I'll buy it eventually. Such a perfect mix of acting talent, writing talent, directing talent... all of the above and more.<br />
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<b>2) A Clockwork Orange</b><br />
I constantly go back and forth in my mind on which Kubrick film I prefer more--this or <i>The Shining</i>. But I think the mix of colorful yet strange visuals and cinematography, classical music, and a fantastic lead performance continues to put this one over the top. I love this movie.<br />
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<b>1) Seven Samurai</b><br />
I haven't watched it since my initial viewing last year, but I still maintain that, despite its long running time, this is one of the (if not <i>the</i>) greatest movie ever made. Drama, action, romance, comedy... this movie has it all, and it has it with masterful directing and visuals, as well as a cast that can pull off the perfect performances needed.<br />
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<b><u>Top 5 Worst Movies Reviewed</u></b></div>
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Too bad I'm not counting podcast reviews, or else <i>Catwoman</i> would be on this list. This was also a tricky one to narrow down. As most of you know, I've watch <i>a lot</i> of shit films over the years. So finding the worst 5 was hard. I had to narrow the field somehow, so I decided to automatically cut the "so bad its good" films like <i>Troll 2</i>, <i>The Room</i>, and <i>Shark Attack 3</i>. From there, I basically narrowed it down to the films that gave me the strongest emotional reactions. And here is that list.</div>
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<b>5) The Spirit</b><br />
A friend actually forced me to see this in theater with her, despite my warnings. There were only about 3 other people in the theater with us. About 5 minutes in, we turned to each other and said "This is the worst movie I've ever seen." From that point on, we <i>MST3K</i>'d this bad boy, and I'm pretty sure the other patrons enjoyed our version much more.<br />
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<b>4) The Last Airbender</b><br />
What a disgrace to what is such an amazingly fantastic television show. It would have been difficult to screw this up any more than it did. Of course, it would be possible to do it. Because then you'd have...<br />
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<b>3) Dragonball Evolution</b><br />
Talk about ignoring source material. This film is so atrocious as both a film and an adaptation (and it's even worse as an adaptation). This film makes want to send a thank you card to Shyamalan for sticking as close as he did to the source material for <i>Last Airbender </i>(and if you've seen both the show and the film, you know how not true that is). Such a disgrace to the <i>Dragonball</i> franchise.<br />
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<b>2) Seed</b><br />
I think <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2010/06/week-of-uwe-boll-5-seed.html">my review</a> says it all.<br />
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<b>1) Salo, Or The 120 Days of Sodom</b><br />
Again, you had to see this coming. This movie is like my nemesis. And this is coming from a guy who has seen <i>A Serbian Film</i>. I will never watch this again. Hopefully.<br />
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<b><u>Top 5 Favorite Posts</u></b></div>
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Finally, here are my favorite posts that I've done over the last 5 years. This one, actually, wasn't that hard to narrow down. I knew my #1 and had a couple ideas for others. Otherwise, I just went through all my posts looking for anything that jumped out at my memory. And this is what I came up with. And I will also link to all of these particular ones.<br />
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<b>Runner-Up:</b> <b><a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2008/06/thoughts-on-28-later-movies_07.html">Thoughts On The 28 ______ Later Movies</a></b></div>
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I wasn't going to do runners-up, but this one has a reason. This is kind of the post that started the "war." It really started on the second ever episode of the LAMBcast (Your Face is a Zombie Movie!), but here, before all that, I felt the need to explain in detail my feelings one why they aren't zombies.<br />
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<b>5) <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2010/06/10-possible-movie-character-spin-offs.html">10 Possible Movie Character Spin-Offs</a></b><br />
This was a popular post. It's really dated now, but for the time, I thought it was pretty fun.<br />
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<b>4) <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2010/02/hollywood-darwinism-what-makes.html">Hollywood Darwinism: What Makes An Adaptation Good?</a></b><br />
An exhaustive article that I think only one person read (or at least commented on). I really, really like this post as it goes into detail of what I think makes a film adaptation (whether from a book or TV show or whatever else) work or not work.<br />
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<b>3) <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2011/10/serbian-review.html">A Serbian Review</a></b><br />
Jason Soto and I did a Joint review for A Serbian Film where we both watched it and compiled all of our thoughts into a very fun and talky review style that I think turned out very well.<br />
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<b>2) TIE: <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-10-worst-things-about-harry-potter.html">Top 10 Worst Things About Harry Potter 1-5</a> AND <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2010/11/exhaustive-list-of-harry-potter-books.html">The Exhaustive List Of The Harry Potter Books Versus The Films</a></b><br />
OK, yeah, it's a tie. But it's practically the same post... sort of. The first is a Top 10 list where I go into extreme details for why certain things in the first 5 films don't work (Spoiler alert: Most of them lead back to Alfonso Cuaron). The second one details the first 6 films and what does and does not work between the translation from book to screen.<br />
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<b>1) <a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2011/10/6060-review-48-troll-2.html">Troll 2 (Faux-Critique)</a></b><br />
My favorite post ever is easily my positive review/snob critique of <i>Troll 2</i>, which was a response to some haters who thought I wasn't going in depth enough with my reviews or giving films the time and consideration they deserve. So that's exactly what I gave them... in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion.<br />
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Anyway, thanks to everybody for following along for 5 years! Stick around for the rest of the month! There's still more reviews to come, and at least one final post at the end of the year before closing up shop. I hope y'all have enjoyed my blog as much as I've enjoyed being here with all of you.</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-58837783458122624912012-12-01T10:45:00.000-06:002012-12-01T10:46:57.217-06:00MonthWatch - November 2012.<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[I'm going to keep a monthly tally of the movies I've both watched for the first time and as re-watches. I think it'll be interesting to see what all I've watched at the end of the year and how many. That being said, let's do it. Here's the next month.]</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">November</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"><br style="line-height: 19px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">THEATRICAL (3)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Wreck-It Ralph - </b>I loved it! And I had a great emotional connection with it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 -</b> It was fun, and strangely the best of the Twilight films (unironically).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Skyfall -</b> Not big into Bond, but this was a lot of fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"><br style="line-height: 19px;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">RE-WATCH</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">(6)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>National Treasure -</b> I hadn't seen it in ages, but this one actually isn't as bad as its reputation. It's fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Cabin in the Woods - </b>Still one of my favorites of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Cinema Snob Movie (Commentary #1) - </b>The more "making of" listen, which was interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Cinema Snob Movie (Commentary #2) -</b> The "cast" listen, which is just funny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Amazing Spider-Man -</b> I still really dig it, and I prefer Garfield over Maguire, though the initial high of the theatrical love might have dipped a bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>To Boldly Flee -</b> Showed a friend... it might be 3.5 hours, but it's a fantastic and fun 3.5 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">FIRST TIME</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">(27)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ruby Sparks - </b>Not exactly what I was expecting. It was good, but a little depressing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Safety Not Guaranteed - </b>I liked it, but I wanted to like it more since I love Aubrey Plaza.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Out of Africa - </b>For 50/50. Very pretty, but a bit dull for my tastes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Cinema Snob Movie - </b>Any self-respecting film reviewer (especially if you also like exploitation or giallos) should watch this. It's so dang fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Raven -</b> I barely remember anything that happened in this movie. Pretty forgettable. The least of the 3 Cusack movies I watched this month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Tekken: Blood Vengeance -</b> For V.G. Movies. An overly WTF third act, but up until then it was pretty good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>John Carter -</b> It's not a bad movie in and of itself. It's just <i>really</i> boring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>High Fidelity -</b> For 50/50. Took me a while to stop hating John Cusack in this movie, but once I did, I really liked this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Brave - </b>Not perfect, but it's really pretty and enjoyable.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><b>The Watch -</b> </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Predictable and goes for the lowest common denominator. It's not terrible, but I'm sad this was "Moss's" big American debut.</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Shuffle - </b>Ever wanted to see <i>Memento</i> and <i>The Butterfly Effect</i> merge and be acted out by half the cast of TV's <i>Bones</i>? Then this is for you! Not too bad, though a really schmaltzy ending.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beverly Hills Cop -</b> Quite fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beverly Hills Cop 2 -</b> Still quite fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds -</b> For V.G. Movies. This movie, like the first, was so bizarre and goofy that I couldn't help but enjoy myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Savages - </b>I didn't care for it much even before the much-hated ending. It's OK, but I (for some reason) tend to have a lot of trouble getting into crime films centering around drugs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Star Trek: First Contact -</b> For 50/50. A bit disorienting at the start, but I eventually got into it and enjoyed it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>I Love You, Man - </b>I loved it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>ThanksKilling - </b>Eh. It has its moments, and it's goofy as hell, but I probably don't need to see it again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A Good Old Fashioned Orgy - </b>I thought it was pretty good... except for the fact there's almost zero drama or conflict (and what there was was very weak) and then the movie just kinda ends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Painted Skin 2: Resurrection -</b> A very pretty film with some interesting ideas, though a bit overly long and drawn out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Perfect Blue -</b> Even trippier than <i>Black Swan</i> (which is a pseudo-remake of this). They both have their strengths, but I think I prefer <i>Black Swan</i> a little more. Still, it's a <i>very</i> good movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Indie Game: The Movie - </b>For V.G. Movies. Not quite what I was expecting--much more serious and/or depressing--but I still liked it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beverly Hills Cop 3 - </b>Talk about changing genres... where'd the humor go? It was alright, but definitely not as good as the first two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Grosse Pointe Blank - </b>For 50/50.<b> </b><i>Loved</i> this movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Excision -</b> Now this was a screwed up little movie (<a href="http://dementeddoorknob.blogspot.com/2012/11/lkmynts-excision.html">which I did review</a>!). Check it out if you're into psycho-dramas. It's kinda like if <i>We Need To Talk About Kevin</i> took it to the next level... and was a dark comedy at the same time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A Fistful of Dollars -</b> For MILF. Not big on westerns, but I liked it. I like <i>Yojimbo </i>more, though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>ParaNorman -</b> The surprise of the month. For a kid's film, this was surprisingly scary and adult while maintaining some really good comedy. I loved it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">CURRENT COUNT</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">Theatrical </span><span style="line-height: 1.4;">- 23</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">Re-Watch</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> - 166</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">First Time </span><span style="line-height: 1.4;">- 245</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4;">TOTAL</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> - 434</span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-35940145276039399882012-11-29T00:01:00.000-06:002012-11-29T16:55:12.627-06:00LKMYNTS: Excision.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I usually don't do this, but this Little Known Movie You Need To See comes with a warning--this film is definitely not for everyone. I've seen a lot of screwed up movies in my day, but this film actually had me going "What the... holy... !" To me, this film is like what would happen if David Lynch directed <i>Welcome to the Dollhouse</i> as if it were a French Extremist horror film. Now, my description will not come close to getting into the visuals of the film, but... just trust me.<br />
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The film follows disturbed teen, Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord). She is a total outsider--unpopular, frumpy, and overall unpleasant. She dreams to one day become a surgeon, as she's obsessed with blood and biology. She doesn't seem to care for much except for her younger sister, Grace (Ariel Winter), who has Cystic Fibrosis and isn't doing all that well. Unfortunately, her mother, Phyllis (Traci Lords), is an overbearing, short-tempered nutcase, and they don't get along at all. Even her father, Bob (Roger Bart), is overpowered by his temperamental wife. Her mom knows there's something wrong, but she won't pay for a professional psychiatrist, so she sends Pauline to their priest (John Waters). And she also butts heads with her math teacher (Malcolm McDowell), sex ed teacher (Matthew Gray Gubler), and principal (Ray Wise). The film follows the family drama through Pauline's eyes as she tries to survive on a day-to-day basis... but her mother just makes her psychological problems worse and worse.</div>
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Now, you might be thinking "This doesn't sound that bad." Well, I have yet to mention the bizarre, Jodorowsky-esque dream sequences of her glamorized self in gory or sexualized (often a mixture) situations. Or the fact she has wet dreams/orgasms to the thought (or dreams) of sexing up dead or dying bodies in puddles of blood. Or any number of other mixture of blood and sex that happens throughout this film. And then there's the third act, which I won't spoil.</div>
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The acting in this film is phenomenal. Of course, AnnaLynne McCord totally sells this psychotic teen persona. But what's great about it is that while something is <i>definitely</i> wrong with her, you can tell she also just wants to feel loved and accepted, and her mother could easily help turn things around if she just tried (or had the mental capability of trying). This is truly a mother/daughter story, and both are basically sociopaths in their own ways. And none of it would work if it weren't for Traci Lords, who acts the hell out of this movie. You want to strangle this woman from scene one. To bring in a <i>Harry Potter</i> reference, she would be like what would happen if Delores Umbridge was a mother. Traci Lords makes the role work, though, and doesn't take it over-the-top of like something from <i>Mommy Dearest</i>. Everyone else is good, too. It's fun to see John Waters as a priest, and Malcolm McDowell as the math teacher is funny. Ray Wise is just goofy.</div>
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Though the thing that I haven't mentioned yet... is that this is a comedy. A very, very, very, <i>very</i> dark comedy, but a comedy nonetheless. There are situations of pure drama, and everything in this movie is pretty horrific--particularly the ending (and no, it's probably not what you think). But even if you look on IMDb, its first genre billing is comedy (then drama, then horror). And I can see that. It's definitely more of a dark dramedy, as it's not really your laugh-out-loud, knee-slapper kind of fare. But the dark humor is there, and it can be awfully amusing at times, despite the fact the people you're watching are, at times, despicable and/or psychotic.</div>
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If you're a fan of twisted, bizarre, or just plain screwed-up films, this is one you need to check out. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I watched it yesterday (as of this writing), so it's definitely a conversation piece. People declare it as a new type of horror film, and I can see that. It's drama-horror, which is something you don't really see. The closest comparison I can make is <i>We Need To Talk About Kevin</i>, but way more extreme and unsettling (and, at times, amusing). Do not see it if you have a weak stomach (it's not like <i>Saw</i> or <i>Hostel</i> or anything--it's not "torture porn"--but there are some pretty disturbing images nonetheless). Do not see it if you're easily disturbed. But if these things don't bother you, definitely check it out. The acting alone is worth it.</div>
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>(P.S. I just wanted to mention the make-up job they did on AnnaLynne McCord was amazing. <a href="http://images.thecarconnection.com/med/annalynne-mccord_100320204_m.jpg">Here</a> is a picture of her normally. <a href="http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article826812.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/AnnaLynne+McCord+in+'Excision'.jpg">Here</a> is a picture of her in the movie. Seriously.)</b></span></span></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-82471112240878383082012-11-28T00:01:00.000-06:002012-11-28T00:01:00.297-06:0050/50 Review #46: Grosse Pointe Blank.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Blah blah blah ambiguous intro here... why haven't I seen this movie before now? Martin Blank (John Cusack) is a professional assassin who once worked for the government and now works freelance. After screwing up a hit, the company that hired him forces him to take another job to make up for it, which just so happens to be back in his hometown... where his 10-year high school reunion is taking place. With a little push from his secretary Marcella (Joan Cusack) and kinda-psychiatrist, Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin), he decides to go and face his past. While there he meets up with an old friend, Paul (Jeremy Piven) and a long-lost love, Debi (Minnie Driver), who he stood up at prom and never saw again until now. Unfortunately, things aren't that easy. Another hitman, Grocer (Dan Aykroyd) wants to start an assassin's union that Martin refuses to join, so he hires a couple FBI agents (Hank Azaria and K. Todd Freeman) to catch him in the act to take him down. Meanwhile, another assassin (Benny Urquidez) is after him because of another previous hit he screwed up. And all Martin wants to do is make amends with Debi.<br />
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I'll just come out and say it: Easily in my Top 5 of this year's project. This movie was so much fun. The dark humor between the situations is great, which really shined in the climax where he's killing people in between a heartfelt discussion. And I loved the fact he literally tells everybody he's a contract killer the entire movie and nobody believes him. Just the idea alone that a guy who grows up to be an assassin decides to go to his high school reunion is fantastic.<br />
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This movie really works due to John Cusack's charisma and delivery. You believe his moral and/or psychological conflicts, but at the same time he's able to pull off the fact he could easily kill someone. And his little ticks, like never liking his back to an open area or a window was great. Similarly, Dan Aykroyd as the villain was totally unexpected, but it worked, since he was totally trying to be a smarmy businessman at the same time. Jeremy Piven wasn't in it a whole lot, but I loved his scenes and his chemistry with Cusack. Arkin is good in his role, of course, though his role is technically where the film falls apart a little bit. And Joan Cusack's character was a little hard to get into at the start, but she grew on me by the end. And Minnie Driver was just incredibly adorable in this film and had great chemistry with John Cusack, as well.<br />
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This is one of those "really positive... not much to say" kind of reviews. I really liked everything about it. The comedy was good--I did laugh out loud at least once. The action was solid and fun when there was some. The characters were really good. And the soundtrack to this movie was also pretty dang fantastic. I know this was kind of a lame review, but that's what tends to happen when you love a movie and don't have much to say without getting repetitive or boring. If you haven't seen it yet, do so.<br />
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<img alt="Rating System." height="70" id="Image1_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T5L_lMW4WhHd7SF93c7G_7fWBR_a6pRg_fpPoVGi8NNf3L-5uxUggwTim-9t89qSK82nsC_qIQlGf1SLkKdh6zN3vy7_ydvBLsKfgTvBDnGWnVNnBKjBYhBUaCv2kpT732if80epOcE/s170/RatinRoyale.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Royale With Cheese</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>(P.S. And that will wrap it up for Jess' Month! Got to end on a high note, huh? This month was scattered. There were low points (<i>Out of Africa</i>--good movie, just not for me), high points (this and <i>High Fidelity</i>... ironic), and mid-points (<i>Star Trek: First Contact</i>). But on the whole, it was quite an enjoyable month! And next month we wrap things up with 3 flicks that are actually a trilogy... and then the original version of a modern American classic. So for December, it'll be Kai's Month!)</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-80210360329020533842012-11-26T20:55:00.002-06:002012-11-26T20:57:14.467-06:00V.G. Movies #46: Indie Game: The Movie<span style="background-color: white; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the next film on the list.]</span></span><br />
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<b>THE HISTORY</b><br />
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This is a tough one to discuss the history of, since the documentary in and of itself follows the history of these indie games. But I guess I can talk about indie games themselves. Basically, an indie game creator doesn't have all the restrictions of a mainstream game creator and can do what they want--they just have a limited (read: almost non-existent) budget to do it.<br />
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The idea began on PCs via shareware sites in the early 90s. These can be anything from flash games (the most prominent) to engine building titles. For instance, there were pre-built engines where you basically modified characters, stories, and/or landscapes in things such as RPGMaker or modified looks and fighting movies in Fighter Maker (both of which I've actually dabbled with back in the day).<br />
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But as mainstream games became more widespread, indie games suffered a bit due to a difference in both quality and availability. But then came the revolution that was online console gaming (XBox Live, Playstation Network, etc.). Due to this new turn in gaming history, indie games made a resurgence as the developers used these systems and methods to get their games out there. The expansion of social websites also helped grab casual gamers, as well.<br />
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However, earning a profit is a very difficult thing, as most profit for console titles will go to the distributors and web-based games usually don't catch enough speed to make much of anything. Most mainstream players still stick to mainstream titles, and indie game makers try to use this method as more of a jumping point than a commercial success.<br />
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So some people still succeed quite a bit, while others struggle to even get off the ground. Now for the documentary that shows all sides.<br />
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<b>THE FILM</b><br />
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This was a very different kind of film than I was expecting. I suppose I expected something a little closer to <i>King of Kong</i>, though there are some tiny similarities here and there. But to fully talk about this film, I have to talk about it in parts. This film interweaves three games/stories that span three levels of completion and success, so that's how I'll be looking at it.<br />
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<b>Braid (The Success Story)</b></div>
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Jonathan Blow came up with the game <i>Braid</i> after a friend looked at <i>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</i> and pondered why there wasn't a game that could use time altering infinitely and could just rewind like a VCR. To date, <i>Braid</i> is one of the biggest independent game success stories both in sales and positive reviews. The documentary picks up already after the game has become a hit.</div>
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And this is the weakest of the stories, mostly because there's no story. For this film, Jonathan acts as more of a thematic focal point to the documentary--indie games are games that aren't meant to be the incredibly polished, big-budget, mainstream games. They're meant to have pieces of the creator's heart and soul. They will be very personal, taking pieces of their very essence and making something that, if it fails, it can crush/destroy the creators.</div>
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They show this story off and on for the first half of the movie but then drop it completely (bringing it back only at the very end, right before the credits, to restate the above theme to push it on home). But where this story really fails--besides the fact that it doesn't add much outside of that--is that it doesn't even match the theme itself. Jonathan comes off as kind of a pretentious douche. He's very "woe is me" about his success, complaining that all the people who praise it and love it do so for reasons that aren't connected to the real art and purpose of the game, so they miss the point. And the more success it has, the more annoyed and depressed he gets because these people just don't "get it." To me, this almost misses the point of this film, as he's bringing on this agony and depression himself since the game was almost an instant hit. Not to mention his reasoning for making the game is the least personal, and the path he takes to its release and success is (at least as shown in the film) almost conflict free, especially in comparison to the other two stories.</div>
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<b>Super Meat Boy (The Rising Star)</b></div>
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Here we follow two guys: Edmund and Tommy. These guys live in different states, though they work on the game together. Tommy still lives at home with his parents in his childhood room, and Edmund is recently married, and they're on their own. Together they're making this game that promises to be a massive success--possibly even more so than Braid--but they're really pushing time limits and deadlines to get it out and to Microsoft so they can release it in time for a major sale on XBox Live.</div>
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This story was the most conflicting for me. On the one hand, Edmund seems to be a very cool, relatable guy who is very human and sincere. On the other hand, you have Tommy. Tommy has an insanely supportive family, although they are in debt. And he seems very grateful to them in wanting to pay off their debt if he makes money off the game. But everything else... he comes off like an ungrateful asshole. He's very similar to Jonathan Blow in that he doesn't want to hear good news or anything like that since he's making this game for himself and doesn't give a damn if people like it or not (but he says this in a very rude, obnoxious way). And he takes it even further. He publicly denounces some major gaming companies and declares all these popular, award-winning games are all crap and anything he does is infinitely better. He's an enigmatic character, because he's very smug, obnoxious, self-centered, foul-mouthed, and incredibly depressed individual... who really cares about his family.</div>
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But then you have Edmund. Edmund is very gracious and personal--in fact, he is really what this film is all about. Everything he makes he really puts his heart and soul and entire life into. Everything he's ever felt or loved or been hurt or scared by... he puts these things into his games because it's his passion. Art imitates life and whatnot, and his games are very close and personal to him, so if the game fails, you really believe that he could crumble. And while every person in this documentary is very depressed, he's the only one I actually felt for (though the next guy had some legit reasons, too... he wasn't nearly as personable to me... but I'll get to him shortly). The difference between Edmund and Tommy is exemplified perfectly in a scene where Tommy is flipping out about the game not showing up on the front page, while Edmund is chilling with his wife and trying not to think about it because--what's the point in getting worked up about first day sale numbers? Another scene where Edmund is laughing and enjoying seeing all these positive reviews and videos of people playing the game and loving seeing people enjoying his creation... then Tommy moaning about how none of that matters.</div>
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Besides the people, the story itself is not as interesting as the next one, but it's still decent. This one is definitely more focused on the juxtaposition of these two people and how they react to what's going on (and fortunately, the director decided to spend much more time with Edmund than Tommy). So in a way, this was both my favorite and least favorite story of the film, since I really wanted Edmund to succeed, but I wanted Tommy to fail and get punched in the face--though I couldn't have both since they were partners on the same game.</div>
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<b>Fez (The Little Game That Could)</b></div>
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Fez was first announced back in 2008 to amazing reception. There was an award-winning demo released... and then nothing game of the game. At the start of its creation was Quebec-native (I'm assuming) Phil Fish and a business partner who helped develop the idea and whatnot. But I believe soon after the demo, the partner dropped off the project, leaving Phil to work on everything alone while making him deal with lawsuit issues, as it basically acted as a divorce and Phil needed to get all the rights from his partner who was refusing to finish signing all the paperwork. Meanwhile, his dad gets cancer, his parents get a divorce, and a hundred other really terrible things happen to this guy that slow production. And he's getting terrible, personal attacks from fans of the demo hating him since he hasn't finished the game yet (to which he lists off a handful of games that had thousands of workers that took 5 years, and he's just one guy). But now the PAX Expo is coming up and he wants to have another demo out at this point... if he can avoid a lawsuit and get his ex-partner to sign the forms so he can legally promote it on his own.</div>
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This is definitely the best story (and the most like <i>King of Kong</i> in that it tells a solid underdog narrative). You really want this guy to succeed, despite him having the luck of Job. (Things continue to go wrong throughout.) And despite everything, he comes out of it smiling, whether that's a forced smile or not.</div>
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Where this story is a little unbalanced is Phil himself. He's a very frustrated man, and understandably so. But he can be a <i>little</i> extreme and off-putting at times. We spend a good chunk of time, possibly too long, with Phil cussing out his ex-partner is frustrated rage that turns to murder threats. And at one point the interviewer asks what will happen if the game doesn't succeed, to which Phil responds "I will kill myself." And he's not kidding. He is completely serious in that he will take his own life if the results of this long venture are negative. And while I understand why they showed that in tying up with the film's theme, it really makes you uneasy. And between the suicide and murder threats, I really didn't know how to feel about this guy. But I did still really want him to succeed.</div>
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<b>Overall</b></div>
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To me, the film was slightly unbalanced. There was also a little bit of redundancy and some stuff that just went on a wee bit too long. In other words, the film could have used a bit tighter editing. Though I did really like the section of the film that went into the history of stuff where it detailed how they made the games and the levels and all that. I was waiting for a while for them to get into that, but it happens right around the halfway point (right before the <i>Braid </i>story pretty much disappears for the rest of the film). But if this were a written paper or book, I'd say it needed one more revision. I still liked it, but it could have used a little more tightening up. And it didn't help that there are really 4 people in this movie (5 if you count Edmund's wife, but I don't) and 2 of them are unlikeable, while a third is questionable (albeit being an underdog and therefore root-for-able). But in the end, it's still a fascinating film, and if you're a fan of this kind of thing, I'd definitely check it out.</div>
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<img alt="" height="70" id="Image3_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45pj0etS7ugKHvgcTnW8RuVxnKu_b-f4m90j_-DhaIrnykBJrBUZvHQdR-uJ8JlI9Ads614vE-DY0AYIo4rRxTh62q5I53dyfWZG7Tak-LwYPiBGoNz2wIq4mZ8_x82czo9j0itARyQg/s170/RatinMcLovin.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>I Am McLovin!</b></span></span></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-63278911700784117092012-11-24T16:31:00.001-06:002012-11-24T16:38:45.372-06:00SKYFALL.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not really a Bond fan. Not because I dislike the films--I'd have to have seen them for that to be the case. I just haven't really sought them out. Prior to this, I'd seen <i>Casino Royale</i> and bits and pieces of some of the Pierce Brosnan flicks (not sure I ever saw a full one of those). So when I say I know very little about the franchise (outside of all the super famous lines and cliches), I mean it. However, when the trailer for this started showing, I actually felt myself excited. It actually looked pretty dang good. And then reviews started coming in confirming just that. And I knew I had to see it.<br />
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The film starts as James Bond (Daniel Craig) is on a mission to stop a bad guy from getting a computer chip that lists all the names of all the undercover NATO operatives. But during the scuffle, it seems like Bond is going to lose. Another agent, Eve (Naomie Harris), is aimed, but does not have a clear shot. M (Judi Dench) orders her to take it, and Bond is hit instead of the bad guy, who gets away. But Bond survives only to come back weeks later to a disheveled MI6 after he was declared dead and the MI6 headquarters are blown up. M and Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) rehire Bond, despite the fact he might not be ready or able to return, to figure out who is behind all of this. And that leads Bond to a man named Silva (Javier Bardem), who might just have a closer connection to M and MI6 than they first realized.<br />
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First off, I have to start with the biggest positive: the action. The action in Bond movies is what they apparently always have going for them, believable or otherwise. Here, everything was grounded at least somewhat in reality, but was still over-the-top fun. This can be anything from gunfire to explosions to chase scenes (with and without wheels). The pace in this film is so tight and fast that it barely feels like it's longer than 2 hours. I can't really say much more about it than that--and why should I need to? (Though I do love how the third act turns into <i>Home Alone: 007</i>.)<br />
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The film also seemed to act as a kind of origin story, oddly enough, introducing characters that I believe long-time fans would really enjoy seeing. Now, I'm not one of those people, but I was aware of certain names and whatnot to where I gathered the importance of the introductions and was able to appreciate what it was doing, even if it didn't make me a giddy fanboy like it would with others.<br />
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Acting-wise, everybody did very well. Judi Dench is always fantastic, and I find Daniel Craig to be good for this style of Bond. The standouts to me, though, were Ben Whishaw as Q, who was nerdy fun; Naomie Harris, who was charismatic and absolutely gorgeous; and Javier Bardem, who was such a fantastic villain. To me, a film is only as strong as its villain. You can have a great main character, but if you don't have an equal or better villain to give that main character a strong conflict, you have nothing. It's the difference between Goldfinger and "Oh, just another Russian maniac who wants to blow up the world." And Bardem plays a guy who is always one step ahead and you know he's insane, and he plays him with just a little bit of flamboyance, but not to where it's distracting. (There was an elderly sounding couple who, at the climax of the film, said aloud "Academy Award winner!" in regards to Bardem. Now, I'm not sure if they said it in reference to this performance or in a more ironic manner... but either way, it was a compliment to his entertaining performance, I feel.)<br />
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The story didn't feel like a typical Bond film, at least from what I gather about them. This one seemed more personal, almost like last year's <i>Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol</i>. It wasn't about someone who wanted power or world dominance. It wasn't all elegance and Bond Girls. It was about revenge and redemption, and it was gritty and hard-hitting. And I found the chemistry between Craig and Harris much more fun and believable than Bond would have with any typical Bond Girl. (And I wish Harris would have actually been in it more.)<br />
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So while I've heard debates on whether this was the Bond film since the Connery era or total shite, I feel this is quite easily the best Bond film I've seen (just keep in mind how many I've seen). It was fun, exciting, fast-paced, and had a really good story to pull it all together. I really recommend it if you were on the fence or hadn't gotten around to it yet. Even if you're not a Bond fanatic, there's definitely something to like here.<br />
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<img alt="Rating System." height="70" id="Image1_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8T5L_lMW4WhHd7SF93c7G_7fWBR_a6pRg_fpPoVGi8NNf3L-5uxUggwTim-9t89qSK82nsC_qIQlGf1SLkKdh6zN3vy7_ydvBLsKfgTvBDnGWnVNnBKjBYhBUaCv2kpT732if80epOcE/s170/RatinRoyale.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Royale With Cheese</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332312589214574085.post-66260606250239217652012-11-23T16:30:00.001-06:002012-11-23T16:30:56.644-06:00THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a love hate relationship with <i>Twilight</i>... in that I love to hate it. I've read all the books and always make it a habit to see the films in theater... even if I have to go by myself. And what's best about this series is that the more the film pulls itself away from the source material, the better the movie seems to be. And its best sequences always happen to be the added fight sequences in each climax that the books never had. And out of all the films, I was most curious about this one considering Breaking Dawn had the most aggravating and lamest payoffs (or lack of payoff) in any of the series. There was absolutely no way they could keep the book's ending and make it work as a film. It's too anticlimactic. Not to mention there was like zero story left after Part 1. The book builds up an epic fight by bringing in a bunch of vampires and having everybody train their skills for 300 pages before meeting on a field and nothing happening. Then everybody leaves and goes their own merry ways. With that being the only thing of the book left, how could this possibly be a film, much less a good one?<br />
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The film picks up where the last left off. Bella (Kristen Stewart) is now a vampire. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) has imprinted on her and Edward's (Robert Pattinson) child, Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), and he will do anything to protect her. But one of their distant relatives, Irina (Maggie Grace) sees Renesmee and thinks she's an Immortal Child--vampire tots who have been banned from existence for hundred of years. She reports the Cullen's to the Volturi, the vampire governors led by Aro (Michael Sheen). When Alice (Ashley Greene) has a vision of their coming to kill all of them, the Cullen's must find some help to stand witness that Renesmee is not an Immortal Child and, instead, is a half-vamp.<br />
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I'm pretty sure this is the shortest film in the series at under two hours, but you know what? They pulled it off. By God, they took what is probably <i>the worst</i> section within the entire series of books and turned it into the best film in the series. I have no idea how that happened, but it did. Well, actually, I kinda know how they did it. They ignored most of the stupidity of the book and turned a lot of it into a guy-friendly flick. The romance is still there, but the gag-worthy melodrama romance and the constipation faces are kept at a minimum. There's only one short sparkling scene. Jacob keeps his shirt on for almost the entire movie, except for one really hilarious scene where he strips in front of Bella's dad. Similarly, there is a lot more legitimate humor in the film--yes, there's still some cheesiness to laugh at, but there are some actual, purposeful laughs to be had. And then... the ending.<br />
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<b>**SPOILERS**</b><br />
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I had the ending spoiled for me before I saw the film, though I'm not sure how I would have reacted had I gone in cold. I thought I'd be pissed. For those that are not aware, they add a huge battle sequence in the third act that isn't there in the book. And characters die--and I'm not just talking the little side characters they ask for help. I'm talking primary characters of the series. However, after the battle ends, you realize it was all a vision from Alice of what could come to pass if the Volturi decide to go through with an attack. They pull the "the whole thing was a dream" trick. In fact, it's very similar to the ending of this year's <i>Savages</i> that practically everybody hated. But somehow, and I'm not sure how (honestly, this time), they kinda sorta pull it off.<br />
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<b>**END SPOILERS**</b><br />
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On the whole, though, the big battle sequence is pretty awesome. Had there actually been blood, this would have been one of the most epic vampire/werewolf grand battles on screen. But as it is, it's still pretty cool to watch, believe it or not. Everybody pretty much gets their moment to shine. And because a lot of the new vamps have powers, you get a lot of other cool visuals, too. I also still maintain that Alice is the best character in the series and the books should have been about her. She kicks some major ass in this movie.<br />
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This would be a good time to transition into visuals. Cinematography-wise, the film looked really good. This is probably the best of the films visually (in that regard). But then there's the CGI. I think the wolves have looked better in the past, and some of the extra powers could have used a little work. But the worst offense in this entire film, by far, is the CGI baby. Baby Renesmee is one of the creepiest freakin' things I've ever seen on film. It looks so bizarre and unnatural and seriously weirded me out anytime it was on screen. I couldn't help but feel that, even after she grew to her slightly older form, there was some weird CGI going on with her face. But maybe not... it could have just been the after-effects of seeing that baby. Ugh.<br />
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The acting is actually better almost all around. Kristen Stewart gives her best performance of this series here and actually smiles. Robert Pattinson doesn't do his constipated face very often. And Taylor Lautner really grasps just how stupid everything is, as he actually spends most of the movie trying to convince the other characters in the film what they're seeing <i>isn't</i> the most ridiculous or upsetting thing they've ever seen in their lives. Billy Burke continues to be the best part of the films, as Bella's dad Charlie is more engaging and believable than any other character (and he was criminally underused in this film). But then you have the other end of the spectrum. The one actor in this film who actually has acting cred--Michael Sheen--gives what is probably the most hilarious, cheesy, and over-the-top performance of the entire series. He's so goofy in this movie and adds a level of ridiculousness that fans who love to hate this series had previously only dreamed of getting.<br />
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All in all, the film is (somewhat sadly) actually good in quality. With some good humor, excellent action, and good directing, this film exceeds the other films by far (albeit not that difficult an achievement). That being said, this is still <i>Twlight</i>. The source material is stupid, the characters (with the exception of Charlie and Alice) are terrible, and the romance is beyond awful. <i>Twilight</i> is the bane of good literature--hell, it's the bane of cheesy romances. And the films aren't much better. But as far as they're concerned, this is the best and most legitimately entertaining of them all. But <i>God</i>, what were they thinking with that baby?<br />
<br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><img alt="" height="70" id="Image2_img" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxa_dkBYnNz7lfhAmtivzqHcgvm_7vz9uzsYv78bGSZwYhT2qOKmTZi0IXDJV_6u_LLBhDPtmr_H_teGhFCRw8gRYqN_coACDnk9plC07ObCrcQxv0YU0gWCfOuH-avVcSTBxEVVR8Cec/s170/RatingKeanu.jpg" style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" width="160" /><span style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br style="background-color: #45818e; color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>A Keanu 'Whoa'</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #2f3037; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b>(P.S. Just to clarify, that rating is mostly based on entertainment quality, not film quality. Though I almost dropped it a whole rating for one reason...that closing credits sequence was by far the cheesiest and most groan-inducing moment of the entire series.)</b></span></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08092564511948736386noreply@blogger.com2