Mission Impossible III is not going to win an academy award, nor is it the best film you will see this year. However it may be one of the most fun movies to watch if you’re into action, and you also keep in mind the prior stated implications.
Director J.J. Abrams has crafted a film that is essentially one extra long action sequence from start to finish. There are only a few times the movie slows down and those moments are to set up more action as the movie soon kicks right back into insanity. Don’t look for a deep plot, character development, or heart felt moments. Rather, cram some tissue up yer nose because it’s going to be bleeding after the 100 thing explodes in your face. Truthfully I did not really even notice the complete and utter lack of dialogue because I was to busy watching the screen as my eyes blistered over.
The film makes use of tones of cool gadgets that make it look frighteningly easy to infiltrate high security areas. Everything is done with the precision of a Rube Goldberg contraption. Each IMF member dose they’re part and helping towards mission complete. There is very little explanation provided on the planning and how the hell they do what they do, but it is a joy to watch things unfold.
Towards the end the movie loses a bit of the crisp strength of it’s beginning, and the ending seems a bit abrupt, unfulfilling, and generic, but as an action film that is my only real complaint. I had a great time watching it, and would recommend it to anyone who’s looking to get they’re summer fix of gadgets, stunts, and explosions. This film really is a no-brainer.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
**TUNE IN**
SITE: YAHOO! MOVIES
DATE: Thursday, April 27
URL: http://www.movies.yahoo.com http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/cars.html
SUBJECT: CARS
NOTE: Exclusive Slideshow: Animation Progression and Gallery: The Stars of Cars
This film surprised me in that it was not as bad as I had thought it was going to be. However, it was not something to write home about either. For the movie, film makers decided – for whatever reason – to go with a realistic looking environment and realistic looking animals. For me, this removed a lot of the appeal that comes from watching an animated film. None of the characters were really stylized and this created a realistic yet flat and boring texture for the film. However, the opening sequence looked amazing. The animation was so, so, but the characters were super stylized and the colors were vibrant and fun. This short but sweet part of the film – I was told – was not done by Disney.
Ok, on to the story. This is what hurt this film the most. Simply put, it lacked any kind of pop or memorable moments. The story just was. It lags in a few parts and fails to make you care about the any of the characters in the film. During certain moments I knew they movie was trying to be emotional but I just did not have a strong enough connection with any of the main characters to feel anything for them. The other big issue I had was with the jokes. All of them were either toilet humor, or someone running into a wall or getting hit with something. This lends to the whole feeling of “been there done that,” which the film already has because of it similarities with DreamWorksâ’ Madagascar. Oh and the snake was kind of annoying.
On the other side of things, Iâ’m sure kids will like the movie because of the previously stated humor content. However, one of the young viewers who was watching the film seemed just as content at screaming random words and slamming his to toy cars together.
The Wild is a movie that just is. It is nothing new, and it feels uninspired. Its unfortunate the story was lacking because of how long this film was in production. But… if you build a house on a bad foundation all of the building will suffer.
I would like to send my props out to my cousin Josh Gold who did an amazing job with the sound design. Congrats man and I am sorry about the review. The sound rocked.
Score 6 out of 10
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I would like to start off by mentioning that I was really, really excited about the Silent Hill movie. When I first heard about it, I thought that it would make a great film but was skeptical of Hollywood’s ability at producing a competent game to film adaptation, and for good reason. Hollywood has never produced a good game to film movie. Though when I heard that Uwe Boll was not involved in the project I got very excited. So, with all that said, I walked into the theaters with and open mind, despite there being zero reviews available on the movie opening day. The light’s dimmed,Hollywood steps up to the plate. The screen begins to glow.
-Swing and a MISS!!!
Silent Hill is plagued with really bad acting across the board with the main offender being Sharon whom is played by Jodelle Ferland. Any sense of believability is stripped away by poor acting made worse by bad writing. Sometimes the characters say really odd things at the wrong time and it becomes comical. They will say things that are out of character, or out of the moment, or restate the obvious. It becomes increasingly difficult to believe in them even when they do act well. The story it’s self is also a little incoherent at times and jumps around with seemingly no connecting narrative thread.
However, there are times when the film shows a glimmer of hope and is genuinely creepy. Some of the creatures are extremely chilling and they defiantly give off the Silent Hill vibe. The same goes for the look of the town. The falling ash and the €œworn and torn look,€ work extremely well. Also some of the camera angles intentionally mimic those from the game. When the film is firing on all six cylinders it’s really entertaining, and a joy to watch. However, these moments are far and few between and are usually interrupted by a bad line, bad acting, or something just plain dumb.
All and all – if you could not tell by now - I am disappointed in the effort. They had assembled what looked to be, the dream team that was going to break the game movie curse. They nailed the look, but failed in pretty much everything else. If you are a fan, go see it in theaters. You will most likely find things in the film that you’ll like, and these moments will make it worth your time and money. For everyone else; rent it, buy it, or skip it.
5 out of 10
**TUNE-IN**
SHOW: ACCESS HOLLYWOOD
DATE: THURSDAY, APRIL 13TH @ 7:30PM PST
STATION: KNBC (CH 4)
SUBJECT: CARS
NOTE: LIFE-SIZE CARS, “LIGHTNING MCQUEEN” AND “SALLY” IN–STUDIO FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW! SEGMENT ON CARS FEATURING PAUL NEWMAN AND OWEN WILSON B-ROLL PLUS ROAD TRIP ‘06 AND SOUNDTRACK MENTION For those of you who have not yet seen our life-size cars–Lightning McQueen and Sally–and the official Mack Truck carrier, please tune in to “Access Hollywood” tonight.
The cars make a local appearance in a San Francisco location to be determined on May 7th… details to follow!
The night started out at around 6pm. Eric and I sat around calling people trying to figure out what was going on. We knew we were going to eat at Bubba Gump’s but that’s where the plan stopped. Eventually we got a hold of Adam who said the he and his girlfriend would be delighted to join us: (sweet. More company!!!)
We walked to Ghirardelli Square where we met up with the Adam-zis and headed on out for Bubba Gump’s. When we all got there we were told it was going to be about a 64 minute wait. Holy Crap! So we sat at the bar and had drinks and appetizers – onion rings, and Cajun shrimp – to pass the time. Eventually we were seated and while were waiting a fire truck and an ambulance pulled up below us. We could see them through the window as they took a stretcher and four firemen past a gate that led through to the dock area and onto a large boat. So we ended up with a dinner and a show, though no one left on the stretcher.
Are food came and while I cannot speak for the others, my fish and chips was good but nothing special.
During the meal the Saltine Cracker Challenge that I had instituted at Adam’s Halloween party was brought up. For those that don’t know its mighty feet where you try to eat 6 crackers in 60 seconds and you cannot drink anything while you are doing it. (I know what you’re thinking but it’s extremely hard.) Adam had gotten close on Halloween and – remembering that fateful night – told us that the trick was to, “stay moist.” This became the slogan of the night at Bubba Gump’s. Strange, I know.
At the end of the meal a whole team of Bubba Gump employees came out and had Eric and Adam stand up on chairs. They then announced very loudly that it was Eric’s and Adam’s birthday and proceeded to lead the restaurant in a clap along version of they’re own version of the happy birthday song. It was amusing and the two honored birthday men got free ice cream. Friggn’ sweet.
After dinner, it was about 11:30pm and Eric and I met up with Ryan and company and drove to a rather upscale Bar/Restaurant called, “The Cosmopolitan.” The restaurant was closed but the bar was open. We spent the rest of the evening nursing beers until 2:00am when they kicked us all out. Ryan drove Eric home and myself back to my car, and thus ended the Birthday of Eric. Congratulations to the birthday boys once again. A quarter a century old… DAMN.
Until next time faithful readers. “Stay Moist!!!”
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(Click on the pics to see larger versions.)
Eric enjoys a pre party beer:
The A team is assembled outside of Bubba Gump’s:
Our meal:
The birthday guys get a song and a show:
The ice cream is eaten:
Ok. SO about A week ago I posted about how I was going to get patches put onto my Cars jacket. I also mentioned that I would show you before and after pictures. I forgot to take pictures of my coat without the patches on it, or un-attached¦ Sorry. Any who, here are a few shameless pictures of me wearing my freshly patched threads. Click on the thumbnails to make them larger if you wish.
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Ice Age: The Meltdown is a very entertaining film with many things to offer for kids and adults alike. Scrat is back and just as funny, bringing with him a whole host of painfully funny site gags. However his presence somewhat pulls the viewer in and out of the movie. This made it hard for me to get completely lost in the film. Sometimes the Scrat scenes are two entertaining for there own good, and distract from the progression of the main storyline. That being said Scrat had myself and my theater busting a gut. He continues to be one of my favorite animated characters of all time.
Manny and company are back along with a few new faces. The Two possums Crash, and Eddie are funny and Queen Latifah did a great job voicing the strangely naive Ellie. I was happy to see that there wasn’t an over abundance of sass in her character. Having a group of this size – at times – split the focus, and some characters that I really like such as Diego, kind of took a back seat in the over all film. Also, For me, the movie did not carry with it the same emotional weight that the first one had. However the ending of The Meltdown does have some power of it’s own.
I apologize if the above statements come off as a bit negative. Please don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was incredibly entreating, and I would recommend it as you will see from my score. Blue Sky has successfully created enduring characters, and to get to see them again back up on the big screen was a treat. Parents nag because they love, and I nag for the same reason. There were just a few things keeping this film from being even better. I hope, if there is a story that warrants the making of a third Ice Age, that it gets put into production pronto. I can’t wait to meet up with my friends from Blue Sky in they’re somewhat warmer home once again.
Score: 7.0 out of 10
I would like to extend a hearty congratulation to my personal friends who worked on this film, Leif Jeffers, Stephen Wong, and Nick Rosario. You guys rocked it!!! Your awesome. Congrats to all who worked on this film. You all worked hard and it shows.
After months of waiting the Cars patches that I had the opportunity to order have arrived. I picked mine as an attempt to represent as many aspects and characters in the film as I could without having seen the film. I also had to pick based on the little amount of cash I could spend. I also wanted to keep them all in kind of the same color range. I’m going to get them stitched onto my jacket soon. When it’s done I will post before and after pics.
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On Friday I got to see and interesting horror/comedy film called Slither, and was fairly satisfied with what was presented on screen. The movie, for the most part used makeup pothstetics and practical effects to achieve its monsters and gore. Doing this I think served two purposes. The first was to give the film a more visceral and tactile feeling that comes with using practical effects. The second was to make the movie seem more like the horror films of the 80’s and early 90’s. Slither achieved both these goals very nicely. The film does tend drag a little in parts and could have benefited from some editing to help keep it flowing. The dialogue wasn’t Shakespeare, but it was not suppose to be. It instead, it was very funny and heavy on the amusing profanities that all the characters spew in they’re disgust and horror. Speaking of which, the gore in this film was very well done. Personally, I could have used even more but that’s just because I’m completely desensitized and seeing exploding heads is how I get my jollies. Slither is a nice campy treat for horror fans that have had to deal with more recent scary movies that have become increasingly more about physiology – not that there is anything wrong with that – or have been down right unsatisfying. Slither is not an amazing movie, but it knows how to have fun with itself and that’s worth the price of a ticket.
Score 7.5 out of 10
