V For Vendetta

Alan Moore is an amazing writer; and he certainly thinks so. For my final assignment for Interactive Design 2 we're to implement everything we learned in one video. I'll be making another kinetic type assignment of the introduction speech V makes in V for Vendetta. It will form the Guy Fawkes mask when it's done, I hope it won't look too stupid and I'll have enough time to do it. I'm working in Illustrator trying to lay it out to begin with, then I should just be able to animate it in After Effects. What do you think so far?

I Watched the Watchmen

We're back from our wonderful vacation to Arizona. I'll be writing that blog soon, but I wanted to quickly write about Watchmen as well as American Idol as they've been on my mind (blogging about them) for awhile, and I want to tackle those before I get to the vacation post.

I've read Watchmen not too long ago, and it was not only one of the best Graphic Novels I've ever read, but one of the best novels I've ever read. Very intelligent, deep, engrossing, and complex, more than I thought possible in a comic book.

For those of you who don't know, Watchmen was rated "R", very R, as it deals with adult/mature/graphic topics. I will be discussing the topics as PG rated as possible, but I will be discussing them.

I loved the book so I had to see the movie, and saw it with 2 of our friends from our Book Club and Writing Group.

Short Story: I really liked it, it was very impressive to see how much of the comic was included in the movie, and there was only really one major change that worked. It would have probably been really cheesy if it was put in the movie.

Longer Story: This is definitely the most rated "R" movie I've ever seen. While the comic was dark, it was never explicit, and the gratuitous sex scene (orgasm-face to the point of being ridiculously uncomfortable) the joints breaking, Dr. Manhattan's computer generated-baby-elephant-trunk, etc., I could have done without, as I'm a firm believer in NOT showing something is nearly ALWAYS better than showing it. (whether violence, sex, or whatever).

The attempted rape scene was not gratuitous, which I was grateful for, but the later sex scene was the most graphic I've ever seen, and I don't regret that I closed my eyes for most of it.

Sex aside, it was very very true to the comic. What impressed me perhaps the most is that nearly all the actors for the movie looked VERY much like the illustrations in the comics.

Overall, very well done, and glad I saw it, recommend it to anyone who's read the book because you'll know what to expect, and caution those who haven't read it to stay away, as you'll probably be either lost, apalled, or both.

It's not Caroline

It's Coraline. This weekend (Friday the 13th in fact!) we saw "Coraline." It was wonderful. Based on a children's story by our favorite Mr. Neil Gaiman, it was a stop motion 3-D feature by the director of Nightmare Before Christmas (I thought Tim Burton was the director, but apparently not).

It was very true to the book, the largest difference I noticed was the addition of a male character that I'm not sure was necessary, but it helped explain a little bit of exposition and didn't detract from the imaginative story in any way.

Coraline is about a girl whose parents have moved into an apartment in the country. She's into exploring, and the building she's living in is hundreds of years old and very fun to explore. Her parents are a little neglectful, they're busy writing a gardening book, even though neither of them care for gardening. While exploring she finds a small door behind the wallpaper that leads her to a world very much like her own, but very different. (Think a dark Alice in Wonderland with less opium-induced influence and you'll get the idea).

The story is great, but the amazing thing was the cinematography and the visual effects. Tracie and I agree, it's one of the most beautiful and imaginative movies we have ever seen.

I'm not sure it's for very young ones, it's quite frightening in some places, but it's definitely an owner, and will eventually find itself on our movie shelf, next to "Stardust" and "Alice in Wonderland."

Movie Review Redux

I have no idea if I used that word correctly, but it sounds good to me. We rented another plethora (or plethorati to you academic types who don't know grammar) of videos, and I had enough fun reviewing the last bundle, so I thought I'd flex my critical muscles again. That picture of Roger Ebert looks kind of like my dad. Anyway,

Idiocracy: This was our token R rated movie. We're young, stupid, rebellious, and I've wanted to see this movie ever since I heard about it. It was rated R solely for swearing, and it is maybe one of the few times I felt it was justified. The plot of Idiocracy (written and directed by Mike Judge, creator of Office Space and Beavis & Butthead) is as follows: The military creates a hibernation or cryogenic freezing process to reserve their best soldiers for war time. They test it on an average Joe, (Luke Wilson, who despite his nerdiness and uncomfortable persona, you can't help but love) named Joe, and freeze him for 1 year. But, of course, something goes wrong, the project is forgotten about, and he stays frozen for about 500 years. Unfortunately, because of mass media, poor breeding control, the world is now dumbed down so much they can't control garbage, crops, or society. The president of the U.S. is a professional wrestler, and they're irrigating their crops with Gatorade, because it's what plants love. Joe is now the smartest person on earth, and, to ruin the plot even more for you, saves the idiots from destroying themselves. The profanity and vulgarity is a symbol of society's stupidity, they have vocabularies of a few hundred words, mostly swear words. But it was very funny, very smart, and a little scary, as it does seem to be the way our society is heading. If you don't mind frequent profanity and potty humor (the best picture of the year is 2 hours of someone's butt) I recommend Idiocracy, if nothing else, as a cautionary tale almost akin to Farenheit 451 or 1984. But funny. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Hellboy: I've seen this before (with Ammon, I think) but Tracie's never seen it, and we both are interested in the director, Guillermo Del Toro, because 1) he has a frickin awesome name, 2) He directed "Pan's Labyrinth" a cinematic work of art, and 3) Because he's going to direct "The Hobbit" of course! Hellboy is the story of a demon from another plane come to earth and works for a secret government group of superhero/freaks defending earth and America from supernatural threats, a la Rasputin and a Cthulhu type deity. For a movie about a 7 foot tall sarcastic, cigar smoking demon working for America, it's a very good movie. It's a super hero movie without being a super hero movie, if that makes sense. It's just a dang good movie, and makes me want to see "Hellboy II," which I may write about in my NEXT movie review blarg. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: I've wanted to see this movie for a VERY long time. I've had friends whose (who's? whooze) opinions I respect recommend it to me, as well as my favorite college professor of all time give it a glowing review. Did I love it? Yes. Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Will I tell you the plot? No, as that would ruin it. Just know it's a film in French and about the triumph of the human spirit. And try not to expect a super happy ending. As Tracie said, "no foreign film ends happily". I think it all started with Ingmar Bergman. But, having never seen a film by Ingmar Bergman, I'm not one to judge. Still, 5 out of 5 stars.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick's greatest film ever. Also known as the most boring film ever. Here's my synopsis of the classic sci-fi written by Kubrick and Mr. Arthur C. Clarke. Monkeys. Ooh ooh ahh ahh. Giant black monolith. Monkeys. Go ape-poop. Hey, I can use dead monkey parts to kill monkeys. I am the first man! Giant black monolith. HAL 9000. I am the smartest computer in the universe, though I never say 42. I can read lips. I must kill you all, except you Dave. I can't let you do that Dave. Don't kill me, I'm special. Dave. Dave does drugs. Big black monolith is back. Psychedelic. Ooohhhh. Dave is an alien baby. The end. Despite it being a "classic" I give it 2 out of 5 stars, if I gave it 1, I'd just prove my ignorance even more. ;)

Cloverfield: For some reason we didn't feel like watching it, it was the last movie we rented this time from Hollywood, and I considered just returning it unseen. I heard it was good, but we never were in "the mood" to watch it. We were in the "mood" to do other things. Like... reading. But, two nights ago, we bit the bullet and watched it, telling ourselves we would turn it off if it got to boring, scary, sickening (we heard about the handheld camera element in it). Once it started, we were hooked. Extremely frightening and intense, great characters, effects, and it led me to believe J.J. Abrams really CAN do no wrong. Quick synopsis without giving away too much: something is tearing New York apart, and our heroes need to find a way out. Great, I just gave the whole movie away. Watch it anyway. 5 out of 5.

Definitely, Maybe: Our first rental from Tracie's parents in quite awhile, we've wanted to borrow it from them since they got it. If you don't know the story, I'll be vague. (Am I ever anything else?) Ryan Reynolds is divorcing wife, his daughter wants to know about how they met, so he tells her a story, but doesn't tell her which woman her mother is. We're presented with 3 choices. It was a lot of fun, great performances from Rachel Weisz, (does she ever deliver anything else) Elizabeth Banks and Isla Fischer, but the person you really fall in love with is Ryan Reynolds. He is a very talented actor and by far the best part of the movie. A great twist on the formulaic romantic comedy genre, one of the first in a long time where I didn't know where the movie was headed. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

We've also rented The Fifth Element, which we've both seen several times before, but Tracie, who's seen it MUCH more than I have, wanted me to watch it again so I'll get more of her references to it.

Anything you've seen lately you can recommend, or advise to stay away from?

Top Ten Movies I'm Going to See in 2008

I meant to do this last month, but, since nothing's come out that I've wanted to see, (and NO Paul Walker movies...) I postponed until now.
They're not listed in want to see the most, I'll probably do that at the end. They're listed as to when they're scheduled to be released in theaters.

This is obviously what I want to see most.

But I'll talk more about him later.

Feb. 22 Be Kind, Rewind This is Jack Black and Mos Def. That on its own is enough to see it. And I don't even need Def. Jack Black on his own is more than enough for me to pay the price of admission. (Kung Fu Panda, not on this list, is not enough). What excites me the most is the premise. Jack Black accidentally erases all the videos at a video store, and, to make a little old lady happy, he and Def remake all the movies themselves. Basically an excuse for Jack Black to make us laugh, and I can't wait.

Feb. 29 Penelope This is a Christina Ricci movie with Reese Witherspoon and the weird-looking but apparently well-acting James McAvoy. Ricci plays a European princess in modern times with a fairy-tale time problem. She was cursed with the nose of a pig. To me, it sounds charming, I love fairy-tales and really love fairy-tales with a twist. Plus, Catherine O'Hara plays Penelope's mother. The only thing that makes me wary is the movie was finished in 2006, but only being released now. Maybe they wanted to wait for a leap year.

Mar. 14 Horton Hears a Who Jim Carrey as Horton aside, I don't know if I want to see this in theaters, but it's based on my favorite Dr. Seuss story, so I felt a bit obliged (or obligated, whichever is less grammatically correct) to include it for the sake of my childhood. I predict it will be as delightful as the Dr. Seuss book itself, despite the fact that the smallest Who of all looks a bit too Emo, (and, just so we're clear, any Emo is too Emo) and it will be too long. But, I'll definitely rent it if I don't shell out to watch a computer generated elephant and Who's in Who-ville on the big-screen. (I always wondered, if on that speck are the Who's in Who-ville, where's the Grinch? I thought he lived just North of Who-ville?)

April is a barren month for me, which is a bit sad, as it has my and Tracie's birthdays. When the most promising films are a Harold & Kumar movie or a Rob Schneider movie, I think I'll spend my 26th birthday away from the theaters. May makes up for it, though.

May. 2 Iron Man Super hero movies are always good. (At least, lately they've been. I'm ignoring Hulk and Dare Devil, as you should too. And I won't even mention Ghost Rider. shudder.) But this is one I've waited for. Only one movie do I want to see more. (IJ4) The trailer itself amazes and makes even non-fans of Iron Man excited to see the movie. I'm also more than excited to see Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark.

May. 19 Prince Caspian Who is not excited about this movie? The fantasy/allegory of C.S. Lewis with the budget of Walt Disney! Even if I hadn't seen the trailer, I'd still be dying to see it. My feelings of the casting for Caspian are somewhat dubious, mainly because I always pictured him younger. But, young and cute doesn't sell as many tickets as older and smoldering. And, as long as it's not Hayden Christensen, I'm as happy as Mr. Beaver when he finds out Aslan's back.

May. 23 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Bah bah buh buh, ba ba baaaaa, ba ba buh BUH! bah buh buh buh buh! Not since the new Star Wars have I been this excited to see a movie. And, like the new Star Wars, do I not really care how good it's going to be, I already love this movie. (Spielberg's directing it, and Hayden Christensen isn't in it. How bad can it be? Not too bad, unless Indy meets Jar Jar Binks...) But Shia LeBouf and Cate Blanchett are in it, who, similar to Jack Black, I would pay to see their performance in anything. Even if the movie they're in isn't that good, their performance makes up for it. And come on! Who else is going to play Indiana Jones?! Even if he is 98 or whatever. He drank from the Grail. That oughta give him enough juice to kick Nazi (or what I hear, Commie) butt one more time. The only downside is there's no Sean Connery. But, Harrison Ford's old enough.

Jun. 13 Incredible Hulk Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. That's enough to pay for the atrocity of the first Hulk movie, and most of the old TV show as well. Count me in.

Jun. 20 Get Smart Steve Carrell is hilarious. Maxwell Smart is uber-hilarious. I'll be there, even if I have a lump on my head the size of a golf ball.

July 4 Hancock Will Smith stars as a (do I need to finish? Will Smith! Come on! Wild Wild West was forever ago! I forgave him! You should too!) super-hero hated by the public. Jason Bateman is his Public Relations Manager trying to make him famous again. Will Smith without superpowers can save the world. With them, well, just watch.

July 18 Dark Knight So we're clear, Batman is my favorite Superhero. The fact that he has no superpowers make him the coolest. So we're more clear, Christian Bale is my favorite Batman, and Batman Begins is my favorite Batman movie. Even though this is Heath Ledger's last performance, if the movie is half as good as the first, I will be the happiest boy in the world, and will forgive Christian Bale once and for all for Newsies.

Wow, I didn't realize that's 10 movies. I'll call it my Top Ten for '08. The order I want to see them as follows: (10 being least, 1 being most.)

10. Horton Hears a Who
9. Be Kind, Rewind
8. Hancock
7. Get Smart
6. Penelope
5. Prince Caspian
4. Incredible Hulk
3. Iron Man
2. The Dark Knight
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull