I will admit this is cheating when I heard this in the opening narration I immediately pulled out my phone and typed it in, I knew it would be my title for the review. Opening lines like this is why I used to tune in to Kung Fu theater every Saturday afternoon to watch this epic tales of martial artist on quests of vengeance, self fulfillment or for honor and glory. It's a story of a soon to be hero who may not be perfect but he will grow on you and make you happy to have come along for the ride, so to the movie:
The Warrior's Way
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
FASTER
This isn't a heroic story, this isn't a movie about redemption or even ascension. This movie is about death, all who wronged this walking wraith have death coming down the highway at them. Driver isn't trying to be saved, he isn't trying to be forgiven. He doesn't want to hear your tearful begging for your life.
He wants you to die, quickly. .38 justice is coming your way and if you haven't made your peace with whatever you pray to, he doesn't give a damn. From the moment the story opens you kind of realize a pent up cat is about to be released, the way he drones the warden out as the warden tries to convince him basically not to do what he can see in his eyes. His only question after the wardens impassioned speech: "Where's the exit".
And when he steps out of the jail is anybody waiting for him, no
Is his ride late, uh uh
He's got a nice long hike in the desert sun to get to a junk yard, with a black and white old school chevelle in it, with a note and a 38 waiting for him. You don't know why the first man dies but those parts of the story are filled in by flashbacks. What you do know, there were no words exchanged. And the men who died all deserved it, while it may look random now (since this revenge was 10 years in the making) these men all have an interconnected history dating back to one fateful day. As one character says "we make our own hell in our lives".
Yes these men all share one day in the past. Lives were lost, destiny was set in motion and the bill has come due. Now one of the men with this outstanding balance they kind of feel a little antsy so they hire Killer to head driver off before he gets down to the end of their list. Killer is an interesting character he is driven by issues from his past to do what he does, it's kind of impulsive he appears to be good at what he does but is he really ready to stop driver in his tracks.
If you have death of course you have to have police or in this case Cop, he's a few weeks from retirement and a complete screw up. He is basically circling the bowl and trying to do right by his ex wife and kid. And here comes this case, a bunch of random people popping up dead no theft, no arguments just dead people. The deeper you get into the movie there is a lagging question that keeps coming up: How did they all happen to meet together on that fateful day, what unfortunate soul is Driver looking for to finally bring all debts current. 2 of those on "the list" have been expecting this day for a long time, when you give birth to a demon he always comes home, 2 I guess never gave a thought to it and one of course called Killer.
So hop in the chevelle, buckle up, and hold on tight because it's time to go Faster
He wants you to die, quickly. .38 justice is coming your way and if you haven't made your peace with whatever you pray to, he doesn't give a damn. From the moment the story opens you kind of realize a pent up cat is about to be released, the way he drones the warden out as the warden tries to convince him basically not to do what he can see in his eyes. His only question after the wardens impassioned speech: "Where's the exit".
And when he steps out of the jail is anybody waiting for him, no
Is his ride late, uh uh
He's got a nice long hike in the desert sun to get to a junk yard, with a black and white old school chevelle in it, with a note and a 38 waiting for him. You don't know why the first man dies but those parts of the story are filled in by flashbacks. What you do know, there were no words exchanged. And the men who died all deserved it, while it may look random now (since this revenge was 10 years in the making) these men all have an interconnected history dating back to one fateful day. As one character says "we make our own hell in our lives".
Yes these men all share one day in the past. Lives were lost, destiny was set in motion and the bill has come due. Now one of the men with this outstanding balance they kind of feel a little antsy so they hire Killer to head driver off before he gets down to the end of their list. Killer is an interesting character he is driven by issues from his past to do what he does, it's kind of impulsive he appears to be good at what he does but is he really ready to stop driver in his tracks.
If you have death of course you have to have police or in this case Cop, he's a few weeks from retirement and a complete screw up. He is basically circling the bowl and trying to do right by his ex wife and kid. And here comes this case, a bunch of random people popping up dead no theft, no arguments just dead people. The deeper you get into the movie there is a lagging question that keeps coming up: How did they all happen to meet together on that fateful day, what unfortunate soul is Driver looking for to finally bring all debts current. 2 of those on "the list" have been expecting this day for a long time, when you give birth to a demon he always comes home, 2 I guess never gave a thought to it and one of course called Killer.
So hop in the chevelle, buckle up, and hold on tight because it's time to go Faster
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The end is nigh Mr. Potter
For those like me who have followed Ms. Rowling's tale of young Harry James Potter from young scrawny unsure little boy to the final book where he is a young man while not fully sure of himself he is sure of his task in life. The books have brought us all into a rich world of magic, muggles, and that which resides between the cracks. I have always loved how should would explain away how a world of such power and majesty has been able to hide in plain sight, especially in a place as self contained as Great Britain you would think that a school of magic people would trip over that every other day. And yet she brought such rich visuals, amazing expanse and intimate detail to this magical world, which is probably why I was so mad at so many of the movies.
Lucky I had not been doing this blog nor these reviews as long as the Harry Potter series of movies had been out. Because movies 4 & 5 would have gotten hammered. I did not like how it seemed that the directors were taking short cuts with the story just to fit it into an artificial time frame of how long people who had sat down and read the books all the way through and had been such obvious fans that they already knew the fan base to which they could expect to sell tickets and yet would not sit down to watch a long movie about characters for which they felt so deeply.
I would like to say that the Deathly Hallows does not make this mistake. Maybe it was because hey this is the last movie and we won't be able to feed off this money train much longer, maybe it's because of the travesties that have been released earlier in the last two years which basically were lampooned for ruining well known characters with HACK directing. But they decided for the deathly hallows to make a two part movie, and part one was MAGNIFIQUE.
Now yes they did add and take away some parts(as the whole Bill and Fluer meeting was ignored in the half blood prince as well as the fight that ended up with Bill being scratched by Fenrir Greyback the werewolf who had also gotten Lupin) to try and catch up to all of the story lines that were shredded in the past because "it didn't fit directorial vision". But I like the way they did it, for the most part it is true enough to the book that I could follow mentally where something fell in the book, and what they added in didn't cause a hiccup to a story that was already well paced. Kreacher, Dobby, and Griphook all make their triumphant(okay maybe not triumphant for griphook as this is just part 1.) returns and you start to see how a newbie to the wizarding world sees things. Harry not growing up solely amongst wizards does not understand how "magical creatures and non human magical folk" should be viewed because it is all new to him and thus to him all to be respected. While they didn't show Mad Eye dieing (they just described it in the book) they gave it the correct weight, like the man who had sank thousands of dark wizards, whom most would have probably considered the best fighter amongst them was gone.
As this was the movie audiences first introduction to Mundungus Fletcher I would like to say I love the casting job. He may not have been as thin as described in the books but he definitely portrayed that shady, keep an eye on your wand and wallet look that had been described since The order of the Phoenix. I also like how they portrayed the frenetic and harried way that Ron, Harry and Hermione had to fight now that the wizarding world was once again in the throws of Voldemort's terror. Like most people even the best of wizards shy in the face of what is thought to be ultimate evil. So the fact that people kind of stood to the side and no one got in the way now that the natural order seemed to be twisted around. I loved the scene with Dolores Umbridge, maybe you aren't supposed to take revenge but that "stupefy" was well earned.
I also like the kind of "Nightmare before Christmas" way they told the tale of the Deathly Hallows, the three brothers who had made the deal with death. Now being that I read the book I already know the FULL tale of the deathly hallows, as well as whom each item belonged too and the irony of when Harry puts the three parts together. The foreshadowing is great though, An unbeatable wand, A rock that can bring back the dead, and A cloak that can even hide from Death itself. I also like that they preserved the entire meaning of that moment in the story showing exactly what Voldemort's ways would lead people to do, even people who were admirers of Harry Potter and who STAUNCHLY supported him even in his darkest days.
I mean honestly while a lot of the previous movies threw in all of the explosions and the bangs they kind of forgot the STORY, yes you can nicely visualize what it is Ms. Rowling's wrote and have a nice CGI budget but if your translation of the story sucks, so does the movie. Unless in your translation of the movie that which you add better enhances said story(say like Percy Jackson the Lightning thief where Percy's final blow was dealt with a trident made from water he called to his hand instead of his pen sword. That I liked) or else is an understandable we can't do this but we will allude to it as best we can. As a friend reminded me not everyone enjoyed the books so yes in the movie you kind of have to pick what you are going to force people to wrap their minds around. I mean come on I know it's "magic" but how is a house just going to appear out of nowhere? How is somebody going to be standing right there INCHES from your face and yet not see you just because you cast a spell(and of course it shows that while outstandingly prepared even Hermione Granger doesn't think of EVERYTHING). Being the last it was also the heaviest of all the Harry Potter books, yes there has been loss before AND there has been great pain, but in this book Harry Potter is fully broken down and shown just how important it is he know his responsibility as the Hero and not just the accolades and the acknowledgments. In the first half of the book HP7 fully broke Harry down, for a time harry was starting to become overly confident and outrageously upbeat for what was to be his final battle with Voldemort, the first one with no Dumbledore at his back to give him a steadying hand.
I love how they treated the necklace that we discover had been in their possession all along, that was pretty much exactly how it was in the book and I appreciate that they didn't touch it at all. The Nagini fight was better than I had imagined it when I read the book so that was a definite bonus. I loved this movie I actually hated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the theater there were so many things that they just pissed on for no other reason then "well I'm the director and this is how I see it". The fact that this director stuck so closely to a story that didn't need his help was wonderful.
Go see it I mean my wife was mad that it was a part one and not the full story but even she liked it. And when it is sci-fi/mystical usually she is only there because I want to go with my Grown behind not because she wants to see it this was the second time she went to a sci fi movie of her own wanting.
Lucky I had not been doing this blog nor these reviews as long as the Harry Potter series of movies had been out. Because movies 4 & 5 would have gotten hammered. I did not like how it seemed that the directors were taking short cuts with the story just to fit it into an artificial time frame of how long people who had sat down and read the books all the way through and had been such obvious fans that they already knew the fan base to which they could expect to sell tickets and yet would not sit down to watch a long movie about characters for which they felt so deeply.
I would like to say that the Deathly Hallows does not make this mistake. Maybe it was because hey this is the last movie and we won't be able to feed off this money train much longer, maybe it's because of the travesties that have been released earlier in the last two years which basically were lampooned for ruining well known characters with HACK directing. But they decided for the deathly hallows to make a two part movie, and part one was MAGNIFIQUE.
Now yes they did add and take away some parts(as the whole Bill and Fluer meeting was ignored in the half blood prince as well as the fight that ended up with Bill being scratched by Fenrir Greyback the werewolf who had also gotten Lupin) to try and catch up to all of the story lines that were shredded in the past because "it didn't fit directorial vision". But I like the way they did it, for the most part it is true enough to the book that I could follow mentally where something fell in the book, and what they added in didn't cause a hiccup to a story that was already well paced. Kreacher, Dobby, and Griphook all make their triumphant(okay maybe not triumphant for griphook as this is just part 1.) returns and you start to see how a newbie to the wizarding world sees things. Harry not growing up solely amongst wizards does not understand how "magical creatures and non human magical folk" should be viewed because it is all new to him and thus to him all to be respected. While they didn't show Mad Eye dieing (they just described it in the book) they gave it the correct weight, like the man who had sank thousands of dark wizards, whom most would have probably considered the best fighter amongst them was gone.
As this was the movie audiences first introduction to Mundungus Fletcher I would like to say I love the casting job. He may not have been as thin as described in the books but he definitely portrayed that shady, keep an eye on your wand and wallet look that had been described since The order of the Phoenix. I also like how they portrayed the frenetic and harried way that Ron, Harry and Hermione had to fight now that the wizarding world was once again in the throws of Voldemort's terror. Like most people even the best of wizards shy in the face of what is thought to be ultimate evil. So the fact that people kind of stood to the side and no one got in the way now that the natural order seemed to be twisted around. I loved the scene with Dolores Umbridge, maybe you aren't supposed to take revenge but that "stupefy" was well earned.
I also like the kind of "Nightmare before Christmas" way they told the tale of the Deathly Hallows, the three brothers who had made the deal with death. Now being that I read the book I already know the FULL tale of the deathly hallows, as well as whom each item belonged too and the irony of when Harry puts the three parts together. The foreshadowing is great though, An unbeatable wand, A rock that can bring back the dead, and A cloak that can even hide from Death itself. I also like that they preserved the entire meaning of that moment in the story showing exactly what Voldemort's ways would lead people to do, even people who were admirers of Harry Potter and who STAUNCHLY supported him even in his darkest days.
I mean honestly while a lot of the previous movies threw in all of the explosions and the bangs they kind of forgot the STORY, yes you can nicely visualize what it is Ms. Rowling's wrote and have a nice CGI budget but if your translation of the story sucks, so does the movie. Unless in your translation of the movie that which you add better enhances said story(say like Percy Jackson the Lightning thief where Percy's final blow was dealt with a trident made from water he called to his hand instead of his pen sword. That I liked) or else is an understandable we can't do this but we will allude to it as best we can. As a friend reminded me not everyone enjoyed the books so yes in the movie you kind of have to pick what you are going to force people to wrap their minds around. I mean come on I know it's "magic" but how is a house just going to appear out of nowhere? How is somebody going to be standing right there INCHES from your face and yet not see you just because you cast a spell(and of course it shows that while outstandingly prepared even Hermione Granger doesn't think of EVERYTHING). Being the last it was also the heaviest of all the Harry Potter books, yes there has been loss before AND there has been great pain, but in this book Harry Potter is fully broken down and shown just how important it is he know his responsibility as the Hero and not just the accolades and the acknowledgments. In the first half of the book HP7 fully broke Harry down, for a time harry was starting to become overly confident and outrageously upbeat for what was to be his final battle with Voldemort, the first one with no Dumbledore at his back to give him a steadying hand.
I love how they treated the necklace that we discover had been in their possession all along, that was pretty much exactly how it was in the book and I appreciate that they didn't touch it at all. The Nagini fight was better than I had imagined it when I read the book so that was a definite bonus. I loved this movie I actually hated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the theater there were so many things that they just pissed on for no other reason then "well I'm the director and this is how I see it". The fact that this director stuck so closely to a story that didn't need his help was wonderful.
Go see it I mean my wife was mad that it was a part one and not the full story but even she liked it. And when it is sci-fi/mystical usually she is only there because I want to go with my Grown behind not because she wants to see it this was the second time she went to a sci fi movie of her own wanting.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Movie Review: Skyline
Now some might wonder why I didn't say "It's a bird it's a plane", "up in the sky", "Here I come to save the day" or something along those lines, well it's simple. Another superman movie is due out soon, so I don't want to waste an easy superman reference, at some point in time I'm sure Mighty Mouse will get a movie so I don't want to wast his, but on to the review.
Skyline
Jarrod and Elaine arrive from NY for Jarrod's friend Terry's birthday party. The party is epic, new opportunities are on the horizon and basically just when a guy is getting a chance to enjoy "the life" what do you know a bright blue light strikes the ground and ruins everything. This is another movie along the lines of War of the Worlds, the day the Earth stood still, and Independence Day. There is a lot of action, there is a lot of suspense what there isn't a lot of is humanity kicking bootay.
Let me be honest while I vividly remember this movie I do not like the ending, Now I don't put it up there with War of the Worlds "we are space travelers but didn't know to wear an enviro suit of some kind to protect us from Germs so we won't DIE, or even TEST for said GERMS before we expose ourselves to the environment" no it's not that bad. I just don't like you know the hmm can I say it without ruining the ending, It's a Neoish ending as in the Matrix.
The special effects were great, the aliens were big and awesome this movie should give you pause about investigating a weird light in the future. I kinda like how they handled the whole "nuclear option" ploy in this movie yup aliens arrive, act rowdy, you drop a nuke on them aaaaaand "Yaaaay we wooo, damn is he getting up really, he's getting up damn, um okay I'm out of ideas." This was kinda like the "friday the 13th" of sci fi thrillers, no there is no escape, please quit running I'm still gonna get you, oh look a blonde. I like this movie I'm trying not to give too much away because up until the ending that I don't like they did move the story along at a nice pace. What happens when it all goes to hell and you are thrown together with a bunch of people you barely know and are most likely going to die. This was no "bunch of meddling kids" here they didn't all get along and the many different ways people got taken out was jump in your seat shocking. (I was gonna say something about my wife and horror movies but she may one day read this blog and I don't feel like getting hit in my sleep) I don't really think this movie is set up for a sequel(which is the other reason I don't like the way they ended this movie, unfinished business but not a clear path on how to finish said business) this may have to be my first two part review I may wait a few weeks to go ahead and discuss WHY I don't like the skyline ending. There are a lot of explosions, a lot of bullets fired, some nice looking vehicles, pretty women(but then again the movie is set in LA), I mean in the flashback sequence you would almost think this was gonna be a buddy movie. But the only things there are about to become friends are the aliens foot and humanities behind, there are going to meet early, they are gonna meet often and yes humanity is the one picking up the tab.
I mean if you like suspenseful movies yes go see it, you don't have to stay through the credits on this one I did there is nothing there, but again I don't like this ending, if in a month it's still rattling around in my head(or I come back here reread this and decide to go down that path) I'll say why
Skyline
Jarrod and Elaine arrive from NY for Jarrod's friend Terry's birthday party. The party is epic, new opportunities are on the horizon and basically just when a guy is getting a chance to enjoy "the life" what do you know a bright blue light strikes the ground and ruins everything. This is another movie along the lines of War of the Worlds, the day the Earth stood still, and Independence Day. There is a lot of action, there is a lot of suspense what there isn't a lot of is humanity kicking bootay.
Let me be honest while I vividly remember this movie I do not like the ending, Now I don't put it up there with War of the Worlds "we are space travelers but didn't know to wear an enviro suit of some kind to protect us from Germs so we won't DIE, or even TEST for said GERMS before we expose ourselves to the environment" no it's not that bad. I just don't like you know the hmm can I say it without ruining the ending, It's a Neoish ending as in the Matrix.
The special effects were great, the aliens were big and awesome this movie should give you pause about investigating a weird light in the future. I kinda like how they handled the whole "nuclear option" ploy in this movie yup aliens arrive, act rowdy, you drop a nuke on them aaaaaand "Yaaaay we wooo, damn is he getting up really, he's getting up damn, um okay I'm out of ideas." This was kinda like the "friday the 13th" of sci fi thrillers, no there is no escape, please quit running I'm still gonna get you, oh look a blonde. I like this movie I'm trying not to give too much away because up until the ending that I don't like they did move the story along at a nice pace. What happens when it all goes to hell and you are thrown together with a bunch of people you barely know and are most likely going to die. This was no "bunch of meddling kids" here they didn't all get along and the many different ways people got taken out was jump in your seat shocking. (I was gonna say something about my wife and horror movies but she may one day read this blog and I don't feel like getting hit in my sleep) I don't really think this movie is set up for a sequel(which is the other reason I don't like the way they ended this movie, unfinished business but not a clear path on how to finish said business) this may have to be my first two part review I may wait a few weeks to go ahead and discuss WHY I don't like the skyline ending. There are a lot of explosions, a lot of bullets fired, some nice looking vehicles, pretty women(but then again the movie is set in LA), I mean in the flashback sequence you would almost think this was gonna be a buddy movie. But the only things there are about to become friends are the aliens foot and humanities behind, there are going to meet early, they are gonna meet often and yes humanity is the one picking up the tab.
I mean if you like suspenseful movies yes go see it, you don't have to stay through the credits on this one I did there is nothing there, but again I don't like this ending, if in a month it's still rattling around in my head(or I come back here reread this and decide to go down that path) I'll say why
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A touch of destiny
As I have mentioned as of late animated movies have stepped out of the realm of just kiddie fare and are actually pretty good. As such the latest in the line of the Anti hero or non traditional hero movies is here.
We start off at the collapse of 2 distant worlds far far away. From one planet comes our Antagonist, he has the brains, he has the curiosity, and he has THE MINION so obviously he is the bad guy right, I mean I said Minion not Sidekick. And from the other world comes our hero, he's handsome, he's super strong, he's invulnerable he is your TYPICAL super hero. Now their rivalry basically really does start from the crib(slash space ship) as their ships bump into each other relentlessly before they finally arrive to their respective guardians for the story.
Okay let me stop some of you are saying "wait space ships, dieing planets, crash landing on earth to guardians why does this sound like superman" well save for the other ship crash landing EXACTLY when his ship does I mean it is superman(in one of the new tellings SUPERGIRL'S ship crash lands like 30 years later but I digress). I mean all the baby needed was a spit curl and it would have been a TOTAL RIPOFF of the iconic DC character. Hell there are quite a few Lex Luthor Superman similarities throughout this story, but it's kind of fun.
Anyway Metroman(real name never discussed) bumps Megaminds ship out of the way and lands in the quaint rich estate of two wealthy parents. The mom attentive and the dad is the typical rich male stereotype(yes I know HUGE BATMAN RIP OFF in a sense) now I don't know if Metroman's parents ever die but he appears to have a normal and happy childhood. Megamind's ship lands in the prison, now wait stop I know what your saying "okay so why didn't they take a BABY out of the prison", I don't know probably because the story is more fun if the antagonist sees jail as his home. Look its a movie not real life just have fun with it. Anyway you see Metroman getting a good and normal upbringing and his super powers and in jail you see the manifestation of Megamind's intelligence. He may not have done anything to ORIGINALLY deserve to be in jail but instituting a jail break at like 18 months yup bad boy. At about grade school age Megamind is sent to Shool(I don't know he has this weird speech thing he calls school shool and Metro city{oops before I forget he's Metro man because he protects Metro city}Metrossity its goofy) and bumps into his old rival Metroman, hi jinx ensue and Megamind finds his calling as an EVIL super genius. You see him invent lots of Goofy gadgets in his attempt to fit in.
Fast forward to the future like most super villians Megamind is locked up in jail and seems to have a flair for the flamboyant (not to the level of being flamboyantly gay like some old school super villains but flamboyant), the man loves to make and entrance and or EXIT. As in most superhero stories you have seen that Megamind the bad guy has lost often crazy scheme after crazy scheme Metroman has stopped him. The thing is (this subject was broached in the Incredibles) this dynamic has it seems become monotonous to everyone. I mean this is your typical monthly installment comic book stuff, they have witty banter back and forth, a damsel is put in distress(she's a reporter so of course it is cliche') and here comes the gallant hero to save her.
Now here's the problem for me this is the "twist" of the movie where instead of waking up to prince charming the princess wakes up to THE OGRE(yeah yeah shrek reference). Now while in the trailers I have seen you kinda know what happens with Megamind you don't really know how. So this is a give away point and as I stated I hate ruining movies. Basically as was shown in the trailer the Hero would like to change careers. So the bad guy is running amok except well, you know he kind of liked the old dynamic. (another superman reference) as when in the Superman cartoon they referenced the death of ole superman even his greatest foe while he may want him out of the way it's that flight of fancy he wants it but really doesn't know what to do with it if it actually came to pass(yeah yeah Dark Knight joker to Harvey speech it's a super hero movie give me a break) and Megamind gets melancholy(he mispronounces it but that's his shtick or at least part of it).
I mean he does the whole villain victory lap, runs amok for a few days but it gets old REALLY old to him because like I said it was a flight of fancy thing he had all these plans for "the next time" that he will never get to try. Okay the whole movie seems to have stuck with me so I will stop going into details here. This movie employs some top of the line talent for the main roles:Will Farrel is Megamind, Brad Pitt is Metroman, Tina Fey is Roxy, and Jonah Hill is the cameraman Hal. Oops I almost forgot David cross plays minion, which I think is a perfect use for David Cross's talents he's great when he can let loose one liners and possibly be a suck up. I wouldn't mind seeing Cross vs Reynolds in a quip fight(not unlike spidey vs deadpool) it's just NOOOT too many places you could pull that off live action, animated somewhere sure but Ryan's been a Gym Warrior lately and Dave just looks like dude you hung out at the quad with back in the day discussing Star Wars vs Star Trek weapon output ratios.(damn digression my bad)
Anyway the voice talents mesh perfectly, again being a super hero movie yes there are some cliche's that can't be avoided, being another in a line of anti hero super hero movies it runs into a few more little cliche's but it is a fun romp through Metro City even the "love story" break doesn't seem heavy handed, actually I say break but they fit it in during the whole conversion period. There is a lot more I could say about the movie but I would be ruining it Good guy fights bad guy, bad guy falls for the girl, bad guy becomes MOSTLY good guy, and they all live happily ever after. I don't know if you can sequel this but hey kung fu panda got a sequel and shrek got 3 sequels so if you can get the original cast back together there are a few super hero premises you COULD take on if you wanted to make fun of a few of them. Take your kids to go see Megamind if you have them or if you just want to sit back and enjoy a few laughs go have some grown up fun. Oh wait I almost forget there is one EGREGIOUS form fitting pants in between the butt cheeks part in the movie and Hal had some self wedgie issues for a minute so you know you've been forewarned, you know it's coming don't be all like "AAAARGH my eyes" I'm telling you now Hal brief wedgie issue, Megamind spandex too tightly molded to the crack two scenes don't make it weird just prepare for the slight moment of awkwardness and move on, yes you can laugh(just not too hard).
We start off at the collapse of 2 distant worlds far far away. From one planet comes our Antagonist, he has the brains, he has the curiosity, and he has THE MINION so obviously he is the bad guy right, I mean I said Minion not Sidekick. And from the other world comes our hero, he's handsome, he's super strong, he's invulnerable he is your TYPICAL super hero. Now their rivalry basically really does start from the crib(slash space ship) as their ships bump into each other relentlessly before they finally arrive to their respective guardians for the story.
Okay let me stop some of you are saying "wait space ships, dieing planets, crash landing on earth to guardians why does this sound like superman" well save for the other ship crash landing EXACTLY when his ship does I mean it is superman(in one of the new tellings SUPERGIRL'S ship crash lands like 30 years later but I digress). I mean all the baby needed was a spit curl and it would have been a TOTAL RIPOFF of the iconic DC character. Hell there are quite a few Lex Luthor Superman similarities throughout this story, but it's kind of fun.
Anyway Metroman(real name never discussed) bumps Megaminds ship out of the way and lands in the quaint rich estate of two wealthy parents. The mom attentive and the dad is the typical rich male stereotype(yes I know HUGE BATMAN RIP OFF in a sense) now I don't know if Metroman's parents ever die but he appears to have a normal and happy childhood. Megamind's ship lands in the prison, now wait stop I know what your saying "okay so why didn't they take a BABY out of the prison", I don't know probably because the story is more fun if the antagonist sees jail as his home. Look its a movie not real life just have fun with it. Anyway you see Metroman getting a good and normal upbringing and his super powers and in jail you see the manifestation of Megamind's intelligence. He may not have done anything to ORIGINALLY deserve to be in jail but instituting a jail break at like 18 months yup bad boy. At about grade school age Megamind is sent to Shool(I don't know he has this weird speech thing he calls school shool and Metro city{oops before I forget he's Metro man because he protects Metro city}Metrossity its goofy) and bumps into his old rival Metroman, hi jinx ensue and Megamind finds his calling as an EVIL super genius. You see him invent lots of Goofy gadgets in his attempt to fit in.
Fast forward to the future like most super villians Megamind is locked up in jail and seems to have a flair for the flamboyant (not to the level of being flamboyantly gay like some old school super villains but flamboyant), the man loves to make and entrance and or EXIT. As in most superhero stories you have seen that Megamind the bad guy has lost often crazy scheme after crazy scheme Metroman has stopped him. The thing is (this subject was broached in the Incredibles) this dynamic has it seems become monotonous to everyone. I mean this is your typical monthly installment comic book stuff, they have witty banter back and forth, a damsel is put in distress(she's a reporter so of course it is cliche') and here comes the gallant hero to save her.
Now here's the problem for me this is the "twist" of the movie where instead of waking up to prince charming the princess wakes up to THE OGRE(yeah yeah shrek reference). Now while in the trailers I have seen you kinda know what happens with Megamind you don't really know how. So this is a give away point and as I stated I hate ruining movies. Basically as was shown in the trailer the Hero would like to change careers. So the bad guy is running amok except well, you know he kind of liked the old dynamic. (another superman reference) as when in the Superman cartoon they referenced the death of ole superman even his greatest foe while he may want him out of the way it's that flight of fancy he wants it but really doesn't know what to do with it if it actually came to pass(yeah yeah Dark Knight joker to Harvey speech it's a super hero movie give me a break) and Megamind gets melancholy(he mispronounces it but that's his shtick or at least part of it).
I mean he does the whole villain victory lap, runs amok for a few days but it gets old REALLY old to him because like I said it was a flight of fancy thing he had all these plans for "the next time" that he will never get to try. Okay the whole movie seems to have stuck with me so I will stop going into details here. This movie employs some top of the line talent for the main roles:Will Farrel is Megamind, Brad Pitt is Metroman, Tina Fey is Roxy, and Jonah Hill is the cameraman Hal. Oops I almost forgot David cross plays minion, which I think is a perfect use for David Cross's talents he's great when he can let loose one liners and possibly be a suck up. I wouldn't mind seeing Cross vs Reynolds in a quip fight(not unlike spidey vs deadpool) it's just NOOOT too many places you could pull that off live action, animated somewhere sure but Ryan's been a Gym Warrior lately and Dave just looks like dude you hung out at the quad with back in the day discussing Star Wars vs Star Trek weapon output ratios.(damn digression my bad)
Anyway the voice talents mesh perfectly, again being a super hero movie yes there are some cliche's that can't be avoided, being another in a line of anti hero super hero movies it runs into a few more little cliche's but it is a fun romp through Metro City even the "love story" break doesn't seem heavy handed, actually I say break but they fit it in during the whole conversion period. There is a lot more I could say about the movie but I would be ruining it Good guy fights bad guy, bad guy falls for the girl, bad guy becomes MOSTLY good guy, and they all live happily ever after. I don't know if you can sequel this but hey kung fu panda got a sequel and shrek got 3 sequels so if you can get the original cast back together there are a few super hero premises you COULD take on if you wanted to make fun of a few of them. Take your kids to go see Megamind if you have them or if you just want to sit back and enjoy a few laughs go have some grown up fun. Oh wait I almost forget there is one EGREGIOUS form fitting pants in between the butt cheeks part in the movie and Hal had some self wedgie issues for a minute so you know you've been forewarned, you know it's coming don't be all like "AAAARGH my eyes" I'm telling you now Hal brief wedgie issue, Megamind spandex too tightly molded to the crack two scenes don't make it weird just prepare for the slight moment of awkwardness and move on, yes you can laugh(just not too hard).
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
It all boils down to Vengeance
I was thinking Sunday night after watching Ninja Assassin, that as I look at any and all ninja stories I don't care who's they are basically all a story of vengeance there may be sub plots but it's still about vengeance and if you think about it, because of the job description well can you blame them.
This about it they are assassins, somebody wants someone else dead because of a past wrong done to them. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Master splinter and the shredder enemies because shredder killed splinters master.
Okay let me head the geekdom train off now before I go on a tangent(technically I just deleted part of the tangent) and focus on Raizo(played by Rain who I'm slapping myself upside the head about I'm trying to figure out where I had seen Rain before it was in last year's speed racer as Taejo togokhan). Raizo is a bad mutha shutcho mouf. The rebellious son of the Ozunu clan, he is on a mission to destroy that which created him.
I like the way this movie was done, it mixed in some of the mysticism, a lot of the weapons(especially the staples), some of the history, a whole lot of action and some blood and gore. Now while I am not a fan of blood for bloods sake in a movie like this, yes you need it. I am also wondering with the way this movie was rated exactly why couldn't Tarantino show the crazy 88 fight scene in full color. Another mild digression, the problem with this movie is if I start to give too much back story you will be mad at me, because this movie is just that tight. Yeah yeah maybe the name will only appeal to guys, but it also has a love story(or two) woven in, as well as some drama, some mystery, and a little bit of wise cracking humor.
I will say this the fact that a human life is worth 100 pounds of gold to some people, hmm I feel honored. And if you ever get a sealed letter and it shakes like there might be sand in it, don't open it and if the sand that is leaking happens to be of a dark hue turn all the lights on.
Go see this movie, Raizo is the best man to do it since the dragon was entered, the fists got pissed, and the chinese made a connection. When I say you will see some tail kicked, you will some some straight up and down aw hell nah I ain going out like this, Raizo ain playin wit them. You have to go see this movie, I don't care if you got to do a trade off with your girl for an extreme chick flick this movie is worth it.
This about it they are assassins, somebody wants someone else dead because of a past wrong done to them. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Master splinter and the shredder enemies because shredder killed splinters master.
Okay let me head the geekdom train off now before I go on a tangent(technically I just deleted part of the tangent) and focus on Raizo(played by Rain who I'm slapping myself upside the head about I'm trying to figure out where I had seen Rain before it was in last year's speed racer as Taejo togokhan). Raizo is a bad mutha shutcho mouf. The rebellious son of the Ozunu clan, he is on a mission to destroy that which created him.
I like the way this movie was done, it mixed in some of the mysticism, a lot of the weapons(especially the staples), some of the history, a whole lot of action and some blood and gore. Now while I am not a fan of blood for bloods sake in a movie like this, yes you need it. I am also wondering with the way this movie was rated exactly why couldn't Tarantino show the crazy 88 fight scene in full color. Another mild digression, the problem with this movie is if I start to give too much back story you will be mad at me, because this movie is just that tight. Yeah yeah maybe the name will only appeal to guys, but it also has a love story(or two) woven in, as well as some drama, some mystery, and a little bit of wise cracking humor.
I will say this the fact that a human life is worth 100 pounds of gold to some people, hmm I feel honored. And if you ever get a sealed letter and it shakes like there might be sand in it, don't open it and if the sand that is leaking happens to be of a dark hue turn all the lights on.
Go see this movie, Raizo is the best man to do it since the dragon was entered, the fists got pissed, and the chinese made a connection. When I say you will see some tail kicked, you will some some straight up and down aw hell nah I ain going out like this, Raizo ain playin wit them. You have to go see this movie, I don't care if you got to do a trade off with your girl for an extreme chick flick this movie is worth it.
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