Coming soon...but not soon enough for me

I can’t think of a time where I’ve been this excited for two movies coming out the way I am right now. Fresh off of seeing Avatar and after just Netflixing Terminator Salvation, I’m so stoked for Sam Worthington’s next big blockbuster, Clash of the Titans. Not only do I enjoy the original way more than most Technicolor movies, I like this type of movie in general. Troy received a $$$$$ rating from me, but that’s mostly because for once I enjoyed a movie with Brad Pitt in it. I fully expect this to be one of the greatest theatre movies of all time. The trailers make it look unbelievably action packed and the special effects look legitimate as well. I’m even willing to ignore the fact that Worthington plays Perseus while sporting a fresh buzz cut. The big trend in action movies is for the final 20 minutes to just be an explosion filled blowout. While there may only be a few explosions in this film, I got three words for anyone who doubts how intense this movie will be, “Release the Kraken.”

The other movie that makes me hush everyone in the room when the trailer comes on TV just so I can hear the sound of my own giddy giggling is The Book of Eli. Denzel is awesome. We all already know that. The fact that I can just say “Denzel” and you instantly know exactly who I’m talking about, proves that. He is in some of my favorite movies (Antwone Fisher and The Hurricane are both $$$$$) but so far I wouldn’t give out any $$$$$ to his action movies. Training Day is really solid and he gives a pretty convincing performance but it wasn’t Oscar worthy. Man on Fire is very good as well, and he actually does go ape shit on some guys, but it just didn’t make me leave the theatre with that blank look on my face the way a truly awesome action movie does (although my mind was blown after the prostate-grenade scene). I think he feels the need to impress fans AND critics when he selects his movie roles. This could be one of those rare opportunities to see Denzel throw that notion to the wind and FSU (F*** Shit Up) for 2 hours and let the critics be damned. This is a role you would expect to see Christian Bale play (Bale is one of my favorite actors before you think I’m hating on him, Equilibrium is a no doubt $$$$$) because yes he’s a skilled actor who could probably take on any role but he still picks movies that fit his strengths, ones where things blow up. That’s apparently what Denzel does in this movie. Yes, his acting will still be good but the main factor that excites me is how much ass kicking he’s going to be doing. I wholeheartedly plan to be waiting in line Thursday, January 14th at midnight to see this movie.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was a middle of the pack comic book movie. It is about the same as the original and almost exactly what you would expect. The main thing this movie has going for it is that it is fairly well cast and fairly fun. It is not a movie to be taken too seriously but it will definitely kill an hour and a half. I’m not going to take the time to break down this movie because there just isn’t that much to break down, with that, verdict: $$$.

The Road

The Road was one of those movies where I walked out of the theatre and it took a good deal of time to decide how I actually felt about the movie…or how I felt about life in generally really. After sometime, I have come to the conclusion that I liked it, I think. It is based on a good book by a well known author. It was made by the director of a movie I really liked (John Hillcoat / The Proposition $$$$). It has a simplistic plot that somehow works: a father and son travel down a road and try to survive after a near catastrophic event. It had a great performance by its star, Viggo Mortensen. It had a great performance by an unknown actor, Kodi Smit-McPhee. It was even adapted from the book so they could add in a few scenes of eye candy, Charlize Theron, which helped to establish the somber mood of the movie and the struggles of the two characters (even though they could have been left out and replaced with a decent fight scene or three). It had realistic scenery and wardrobe, which is important for a post apocalyptic movie to work because the tendency is to try and do too much. It was emotional, it was touching and as out there as the whole idea was, it seemed believable. It has all the ingredients to be a really good movie, but something just felt missing. As great a job as Viggo Mortensen did with the role, it just seemed like a waste to have such a badass guy not really “wreck shit” or “shoot up” anyone. While the movie has suspense (think zombie movie without as many zombies-yes there are a few, sort of) and some action, the word “thriller” does not apply here. Then there is the cameo by Guy Pearce. I get that Pearce has been in a Hillcoat movie before (he is the main character in The Proposition) so they probably like each other, hence the cameo. But this too feels like a waste as he is only in the movie for 3 minutes and this part could have been played by the principal from Saved by the Bell.. Having Pearce play this tiny part just seemed so unnecessary even though he did an effective job of playing the patriarch of a family of very creepy travelers. Same with the cameo made by Robert Duvall, he plays the part well but it wasn't necessary to have him. For me, this movie was a lot like Cast Away, a really solid movie where the actors turn in great performances but I just don’t see myself purposely sitting through the whole thing again. However, just because I may not sit down to watch it on DVD for a second viewing, does not mean I didn’t enjoy my initial viewing, verdict: $$$$.

Up in the Air

When deciding what movies to see in theatres, I generally stick to the “explosion rule.” This is exactly what it sounds like; it most likely is not what I would consider a theatre movie if there is no way I could see them having any type of explosion in this movie. Based on this, most times I will wait to Netflix a movie I want to see if I do not think it will lose any of the magic by seeing it on the small screen. However, because unlike most people nerdy enough to start a blog solely based on their meaningless reviews of movies, I do occasionally interact with girls. As I am somewhat of a gentlemen about it, I will even let them pick the movie from time to time…depending on how attractive they are (fellas, you know what I’m saying). Any ladies reading this who I never let them pick a movie, well you’re just beautiful on the inside and I would have eventually given in and seen the Ashton Kutcher movie you kept nagging me about (whew, nice save on my part). Anyways, the whole point of that annecdote is to explain why I saw Up in the Air a few nights ago… because I had nice female company AND because that George Clooney is just soooo dreamy with his salt and pepper hair and dry wit and charm…oh, right, the movie review, sorry I got carried away. Up in the Air is well written and very well acted. It is because of this that it is very relatable and very believable. It is also because of this, that being the pessimist that I am, it was very predictable. This is not a spoiler but there is a bit of a plot twist that flips the main character’s world upside down and blah blah but you kind of see it coming. There was no real solution to this or way around it for the production team but it still kills a bit of the momentum this movie builds up. It has a slow but necessary beginning, a charming middle that leaves you with a little grin and a depressing but very real ending. Many times when I watch a movie with a big name actor, I find myself saying things like “Look at the abs on Gerard Butler, jeesh” but I also say things like “Mannn, if I were Cuba Gooding Jr., I’d be grateful I had an agent like Tom Cruise." Certain times a star is just so big it becomes hard to identify with the character they are playing and just think of the actor. I did not find myself doing that during this movie, which is a credit to how perfect George Clooney was for this movie. There is literally no other feasible replacement that could have made this movie watch-able. This is taking a lot for me to say because he was one of the main doubts I had walking into the theatre. I just never really like George Clooney movies that much, he does a decent job but the movies aren’t for me. It is largely because of this I would say definitely rent this movie at some point. However, because it is so realistic and real life is depressing that I took off a few points (seems bogus on my part, I know this isn’t their fault, but its my blog so deal with it). Verdict: $$$$

Avatar

The first movie to be reviewed on the blog is Avatar, as it is the most recent movie I had seen when I decided to do this. Avatar is the best ever example of a theatre movie. Transformers and Star Trek were theatre movies, but they do not even compare to Avatar. A theatre movie has solid acting, solid writing, good casting and a decent plot. While all these areas are enough to make for a normally good movie, it is the filmmaking that puts this movie over the top. Avatar, as I’m sure everyone has already heard, is the most visually stunning thing I have ever witnessed. I saw the movie in HD 3D and because of that, I consider it the most worthwhile movie going experience I have ever had. I was literally disappointed when I left the theatre and real life did not look near as cool as the movie. I even continued to wear my 3D glasses out to a bar that night in hopes that it would make the talent pool more impressive, fellas, you know what I’m saying. Anyways, this is a movie that I highly recommend you shell out 15 bucks and go see in theatres as you will be a bit let down Netflixing it down the line. Honestly, I say lay down the 30 bucks and go twice (or sneak into it after seeing another movie by saving your 3D glasses if you are a degenerate like me). If you saw it in your home for the first time, it’d probably only be worth a very strong $$$, but by seeing it in theatres it is easily a $$$$$. Because I was smart enough to see it in theatres, verdict: $$$$$.

Welcome to M.A.T.M.

My favorite hobby in life is playing sports, but after that would be movie watching. Between the 1100+ movies I’ve rated on Netflix and the three film classes I’ve taken, I’m basically an expert. I’m generally pretty easily entertained when it comes to movies. If it takes my mind off whatever is going on in my day for 2 hours, then it is a success. I plan to provide a short blurb about my thoughts on the movie, the venue I saw it in and a basic rating. I plan to rate movies on a scale of 1-5 “$” simply because I’m sick of using stars and the thumbs thing is already played out. A movie will receive a 5, if and only if, after watching it, the film would move onto my favorite movies of all time list (Gladiator and Hoosiers are $$$$$). A movie will receive a 4 if I would recommend it to someone without hesitating (Dirty Harry). A three is a movie that kept my attention for a few hours and I would recommend to certain people if I thought it matched their movie tastes (warning: occasionally some “badddd” movies will receive a 3 because they were so bad they were entertaining and there are certain people I would recommend them to, although I will note this in my response). X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a movie I rated a $$$ because while I thought it was solid, I was not blown away and I would not recommend it to most anyone. A 2 means I was disappointed (assuming I had some expectations of decency like with The Beguiled) or that I would not recommend it to anyone in most cases. A 1 means I think this is one of the worst movies ever created, Event Horizon is my favorite example of a “$.”) I will critique movies as I see them. This may mean I have recently seen it in theatre for the first time or I have just watched it on TV for the 12th time. I will not go back and rate a movie that is not fresh in my head in hopes of seeing mildly objective about all this. I like movies, I think I offer an everyman perspective but I do have some legitimate film knowledge I use to formulate my opinions of movies. I have no desire of being some snobbish movie critique who says "The Dark Knight is too obvious to be enjoyable." I don't even entirely know what that means, because that movie is veryyyy enjoyable ($$$$$ enjoyable in fact) so that is what I plan to say here on the blog. If i enjoyed it, I'll say so. If I think other people will enjoy it, I'll say that too. Everyone has different taste in movies and I give movies the benefit of the doubt way more than most so odds are I'll recommend a few no one else would. Can't please everyone and this is more for my enjoyment than yours anyway, sorry but its true. That doesn't mean I don't want a few readers, and I definitely encourage feedback. So without further delay...welcome to Matt At the Movies.