Attention Teenage Girls,

I understand you all think Robert Pattinson is gorgeous and that’s fine and all. Though, I would like you to restrain yourselves in theatres as a common courtesy to us who are watching the film for more than man flesh. Please, no high-pitched squealing.

Also, I have no concerns with how you perceive Mr. Pattinson, but I do wish you would see Taylor Lautner as more than just a piece of perfectly toned man-meat. True, he is a beautiful boy-not-yet-a-man (so close…) but he is also the better of the young actors in this film, going so far as to change his appearance for the role; the sign of a true actor. Look beyond that perfect smile, piercing dark eyes… what was I – Oh yes.. actor. It does seem to come to him naturally and I can’t wait to see his future endeavors (far far from the Twilight series…).

Another problem I have is all of you youngsters touting Twilight as the best movie ever. I read the books, they were mediocre at best, and I watched the movie which was better than the novel but far from perfect. Now, you can go ahead and claim that New Moon will be the best movie ever since I love and trust Chris Weitz. Not to mention, it was the better of the novels. Just realize that there are much better movies out there. Thus is my opinion. Feel free to continue your sparkly vampire love campaign, if you must.

Lastly, I would like to recommend another series of novels to you because if you liked the Twilight saga you should enjoy these as well. Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments trilogy is similar but has far more action and, dare I say it, far more romance. Pick up City of Bones if you get the opportunity. I promise you’ll love them and I would love to see it get a movie.

In conclusion; remember your movie going courtesy, respect the actors (please), and expand your horizons by picking up City of Bones. I don’t mind if you think Twilight is the best series of books and movies ever. To each his (or her ^_~) own. Just.. tone it down a tad, if you can. If I can contain myself when Ron is on screen during Half-Blood Prince, you can do the same with Edward.

-Dustyn of Team Jacob

P.S. Here are the Comic-Con clips. =) I’m here for ya.

Hope

Hollywood has always been notorious for remakes, reboots, and adaptations of other media. Loyalists of the originals are, more often than not, petrified by the idea of seeing there favorite stories being told in any other format than the one already accepted. I strongly oppose this position for a couple of reasons. First of all, when an adaptation of anything comes out it (usually) gives us the chance to see our beloved stories from someone else’s point of view. Secondly, and most importantly, any new adaptation always brings attention to the original. Broadening it’s audience and, if it’s worthy enough, it’s fanbase.

Sometimes reboots are successful. Take the recent Star Trek for instance. Only three weeks after it’s release and it’s almost made 150 million which is already more than the production value. Hardore fans have very few gripes and the ones that have the ultimate complaint, that the reboot completely tramples on the old story, have no leg to stand on. The old storyline is still there and, if I’m not mistaken, the DVDs and recordings of the original series and movies didn’t just vanish. Moot. Now, some adaptations are met with mixed reviews. Speed Racer did not do well in the box office but did well with DVDs. Purists hated it. Critics, too. Yet, there was something about the film that appealed to some. (Perhaps it’s because it was genuinely fun and intuitive. I don’t know.) Then there are the films that are, well.. Dragonball is all I have to say. It made 9.1 million total. So sad.

So, recently, it has been announced they are making a film based on the anime Cowboy Bebop. For those who don’t know, it’s a very episodic show that follows bounty hunters Spike, Jet, and Faye as they hunt their bounties and recount their past. It’s atmosphere is hard to explain but I can tell you it’s a treat to experience. Anyways, the film will star Keanu Reeves as Spike. Peter Craig is the screenwriter (with nothing to his name thus far) and the original writer on the show and creator will be executive producers.

It didn’t take long before the nay-sayers started their flame wars. The announcement of the film itself caused an underground uproar but the announcement of Keanu Reeves… I just heard a gathered cry of agony simply by recounting it. I have hope for this film because I know it takes more than one person to bring a film down. Not to mention, I like playing devil’s advocate.  My Own Private Idaho showed me Keanu’s potential. I’m not even that worried about Spike since he’s not the deepest character anyways. Jet gives me pause. I still have hope, though.

Another recent article (which can be found here) tells of a potential reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the big screen. If you scan through the comments you can feel the animosity. If you don’t know what Buffy is (where the hell have you been) it’s the epic story of a chosen warrior and her friends defending their town (and the world) from a parade of paranormal villains. The story the show told came to a close (though it continues in comic form presently) so a continuation is impossible. In stead they want to reboot for a potential franchise but they want to do it without the brilliance behind the show’s success on board. I don’t think it can be done. I do think they can put the Buffyverse on the silver screen though. My recommendation is adapting Fray but there are a million ways it can be done.

Regardless of my own attachment to any story, I think adaptations are a good idea. Calling something unoriginal simply because it’s based on something that’s already done is stupid. Everything deserves a chance. If you can make something thats already readily available better and more accessible, good for you. If not, at least me and my friends have something new to sit around and MST3K.

MBK: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ali Larter?

Another weekend at the drive-in, another round of reviews. Sure, they may be late but I’m lazy so I feel no shame. Might as well get started.

I was really excited for this movie. I had read the book way back when Da Vinci Code came out simply because everyone had said it was the superior novel. They weren’t wrong. So when it turned out I really liked the Da Vinci Code move I figured Angels & Demons could only be better.

Sadly, I was mistaken. It wasn’t a bad movie but it was, regrettably, not as good as its  predecessor. Tom Hanks did his best with the role and the actress who played Vittoria was so much better than whats-her-face in Da Vinci Code.  Ewan McGregor surprised me with a believable man of the cloth and Stellan Sarsgaard can do no wrong.

I’m still having an internal struggle where I’m not sure whether I liked this film or not. It upset me in more than a few ways. It wasn’t as exciting when Langdon figured his clues out. In Da Vinci you were right there with him and when he solved a clue it was like figuring it out for yourself. You got that moment of “Holy crap! I could have solved that!” Where as in A&D the reaction was more like “Oh, he found a clue… that’s cool.” This is really unfortunate as the A&D novel was so much more thrilling to read.

I had read the book twice prior to watching this film. I’m pretty sure they changed the ending… and I usually like when a movie does that but it seemed to throw off some of the previous actions of the characters involved. I don’t wish to spoil the film so you’ll have to watch it to understand what I mean. It was a pretty movie to watch but I will more than likely have to give it another watch before I make my final decision. I urge you to read the book if you haven’t.  It was far superior to both the films and novels.

Obsessed

On my drive-in excursion I also managed to sit through Obsessed. I wanted to like this movie if only because I love Ali Larter but it just wasn’t happening.

Boy and girl get married. Other girl starts working with boy. Other girl is a crazy psycho. Boy’s life is ruined for no reason. Boy and girl break-up.. but get back together. Crazy girl messes with girl. “No she di’ent.” Catfight. End.

In all honesty, this movie wasn’t horrible. The acting was pretty solid and the story had potential.. It was pretty to look at too. The pacing was just atrocious though. I kept begging for the story to hurry up, move along. It was, too, it just felt like it was going no where. Some parts were really frustrating to watch. It felt like the whole movie was just an excuse to have Ali and Beyonce have a catfight which was, honestly, the only real interesting or fun part of this movie to watch. It’s a shame you have to sit through the first hour and a half to get there.

Sylar In Space

Best part? Leonard Nimoy.

So, I had the chance to go see Star Trek on Thursday at the drive-in. The epic factor of that sentence is off the fucking charts. I got to see STAR TREK a day EARLY at the DRIVE-IN…

Anyways, In case you didn’t know, Star Trek is J.J. Abrams latest film starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and a veritable handful of surprising, little-known talents. It’s probably needless to say but I thought the acting in this film was phenominal.

I am far from being a Trekkie. The most I’ve seen of the original TV series are the clips that show up on Digg which has actually been quite a lot lately. I also saw a few of the films but they don’t cound because it was the TNG crew and not the Shatner/Nimoy goodness everyone loves. My knowledge of the characters, their backgrounds and interactions are very limited, so keep that in mind, nerds, when I rant about how awesome this movie is.

As I said earlier, the acting is brilliant. Chris Pine’s Kirk is just as cocky, sex-crazed, and kick-asstastic as the nerds wanted and Chris did it with such majesty you knew he was worthy of his captainship. Zachary Quinto as the new Spock… flawless. Even original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, said Zachary was amazing. The little guys of the supporting cast were naught shy of epic as well and it’s a shame some of them get so little screen time though J.J. did a wonderful job of giving each member a memorable scene. The villain, Nero, played by Eric Bana.. he was a mystery to me and I know the next time I watch this movie (which I so will), I will pay more attention to him because I’m certain he was a good character. Perhaps I was just too distracted by the rest of the movie to get him.

I would also like to point out that this move is STUNNING to look at, and I’m not just talking about the crew. There are scenes of destruction that are so beautiful… I was quite literally in awe on more than one occasion. Every scene is visually pleasing. I was trying so hard not to blink because I didn’t want to miss a thing. The score was not the most moving piece of music but the way it was used in the film was, again, flawless. The use of silence was very efective, too, often causing me to hold my breath. The whole scope and feel of this movie… It almost felt tangible… alive.

Lastly, the story. I saved it for last as it is probably the least captivating thing about this film. Being pretty much an origin story, this is to be expected. That’s not to say that the story wasn’t glorious, you could just tell it didnt take up a whole lot of space on paper. I will give it a tip of the hat for feeling very Trekish though. With time travel and Leonard Nimoy… This film may have looked modern and been filled with action from beginning to end, but those two things made it feel like Star Trek. If I had one complaint, and I hear nerds every where say the same, it would be the lack of Shatner. It didn’t take away from the movie that he wasn’t there but you have to admit, it would have been truly epic to hear him do the voice over for “boldly going…”.

And The Award Goes To…

The Academy Awards are coming around again, and it’s always fun to try and predict the outcome. You can see all the nominees here. I’m going to tell you who I want to win but I’m also going to put who I think will win, as very rarely are they the same. Here we go:

Best Picture of the Year:

• Want : Milk
• Prediction : Slumdog Millionaire

Best Leading Actor:

• Sean Penn – Milk

Best Leading Actress:

• Want : Angelina Jolie – Changeling
• Prediction : Meryl Streep – Doubt
• Dark Horse : Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Supporting Actor:

• Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress:

• Want : Penelope Cruz – Vicky Christina Barcelona
• Prediction : Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
• Dark Horse : Amy Adams – Doubt

Best Animated Feature:

• WALL-E

Achievement in Directing:

• Want : Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
• Prediction : Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Peter Morgan – Frost/Nixon

Best Original Screenplay:

• Dustin Lance Black – Milk

Achievement in Art Direction:

• Want : Changeling
• Prediction : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Cinematography:

• Changeling

Achievement in Costume Design:

• The Duchess

Best Feature Documentary:

• The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Best Short Documentary:

• The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306

Achievement in Film Editing:

• Want : Milk
• Prediction : Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film:

• Waltz with Bashir

Achievement in Makeup:

• Want : Hellboy II – The Golden Army
• Prediction : The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Score:

• WALL-E

Best Original Song:

• Want : “Down to Earth” – WALL-E
• Prediction : One of the Slumdog Millionaire songs.

Best Animated Short:

• Want : Presto!
• Prediction : This Way Up

Best Short Film:

• Toyland

Achievement in Sound Editing:

• WALL-E

Achievement in Sound Mixing:

• WALL-E

Achievement in Visual Effects:

• Want : Not Benjamin Button
• Prediction : Benjamin Button

Well thats the skinny of it. I tend to lean toward the underdog but thats why I included my ‘logical’ predictions. Dark Horse are my close seconds and I only included them if they have a real chance of winning. I can’t wait to hear the winners and see how I did! That’s all for now, I promise reviews when I finally get settled here… fucking move.

Old News

After trying Squarespace to host my blog and loving it, I cried when my trial was up because I can’t afford a real web site at the moment. So, I started using my MySpace blog to post my movie reviews. MySpace is hard to read and just optically unpleasant so I’ve decided to move to WordPress (Blogger just annoys me).

As I said, I write movie reviews. Not for just new releases but for anything I happen to see that I feel deserves writing about. I actually have a set list of movies I plan to review and then a separate list of movies I just plan to watch (the Tish List). I watch a new movie every day but as I said I won’t write a review for everything because I have not the patience nor the time but I will write as often as possible.

Here is a list of most of my old reviews:

• Dead Like Me (TV)
• Go
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Milk/24th Day/Tan Lines/Poster Boy
• Adam & Steve
• City Of Ember

Also, I would like to introduce you to the Tish List, a list of movies my friend (Tish..) said I should watch. There’s quite a few so I haven’t been writing full reviews for them but I have been writing mini-reviews on twitter, if you’d like to hop over and read them or, even better, follow me!

 

The Anniversary Party Bad Education The Ballad of Jack and Rose         Basquiat       The Baxter Beautiful Thing Before Night Falls Before Sunrise Before Sunset Being John Malkovich  Be With Me The Big Lebowski Bobbie’s Girl Breakfast At Tiffany’s The Broken Hearts Club But I’m A Cheerleader Cecil B. Demented The Celluloid Closet Children Of Men The Dreamers Drop Dead Gorgeous Garden State Velvet Goldmine Trainspotting To Wong Foo. Thanks For          Everything, Julie Newmar The Incredible True Adventure    Of Two Girls In Love

Ghost World Gone With The Wind Grey Gardens Happy Endings Heathers Hedwig And The Angry Inch High Art What’s Eating Gilbert Grape Jesus Camp Kids Notes On A Scandal Me, You, And Everyone We Know My Own Private Idaho The New World Kissing Jessica Stein Pieces Of April Run Lola Run Rushmore Shortbus Slums of Beverly Hills From Heaven Welcome To The Dollhouse