Short Movie Review: Red Tails

Despite having taken vast historical liberties at times (Really? Four ME262's shot down in the air in the same dogfight? And weren't the Tuskegee Airmen known for flying P-51B's and C's -- not the D? But I guess "sex sells" applies to airplanes, too, and the D was the most disgustingly sexy plane of the war...), a rather predictable romance subplot (here's a clue--the guy who falls in love is the guy who dies in the last battle), some terribly wooden acting (especially the bomber crews, who sound like they're reading their lines off of a card), Red Tails contained quite a lot of very excellent airplane porn. 

Make your own decisions on whether or not that matters to you--it's entertainment, not a documentary.  And I should point out that it's probably going to be the last Lucasfilm movie I ever see, what with the way ol' George is looking down his nose at his fans.

What we're watching

Awesome! "Forever Plaid" is on Netflix!

A Short Movie Review: Adventures of Tintin

We were given some movie tickets for Christmas, and since my mother doesn't often go to the movies, and Tintin had a dog in it, she decided on it. Despite having absolutely no knowledge of the Tintin comics, and the film itself being a little too "Uncanny Valley," I thought it was a nicely entertaining adventure story, with swashbuckling, mystery, a great voice cast, some excellent CGI visuals, and a surprising amount of gunplay. A quality film, being that it was made with both Steven Spielberg's and Peter Jackson's involvement.

I'd recommend it.

Oh dear

I was somewhat looking forward to seeing Red Tails when it comes out (about the Tuskegee Airmen in WWII), but I saw a trailer for it on the TV yesterday that had a Dubstep soundtrack.

Look, I like dubstep as much as the next guy, but there is a line that was crossed there.  I'm not saying my entire collection of hopes and dreams was shattered, but it was dented a bit.

And for tonight's entertainment

MST3K: Final Sacrifice! I love Netflix!

'Twas the day after Christmas

What to watch for the evening's entertainment? Hmmm... Blazing Saddles?

It's kinda christmas-y, right?

A Short Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows

Went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 over the weekend. I really enjoyed the first one, but I wasn't expecting much from the second. Came out pleasantly surprised. The first one was good because, I think, it was so unexpected--a different style than most other action-y movies coming out nowadays. The only reason the second one isn't as good as the first is because you go in to it knowing what to expect. This doesn't mean that the quality is any different, though.

The plot involves Prof. Moriarty, an arms buildup in Europe, Dr. Watson getting married, and averting a world war, culminating in an ending that will separate those who know their Sherlock lore from those who are just looking to kill a couple hours (seriously, lady in the back who gasped--you didn't know enough about the story to expect that?).

While the slow-mo may be a little bit over used, it is so much better than the jerky shaky cam that most action movies use these days--and it will lend itself well to dubstep remixes on Youtube once it comes out on video! 

If you enjoy a good Hollywood flick, especially one with nice Victorian era trappings, or if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan who can stand to have their heroes put in to a bit more action than is possibly canon (though I do remind you that Sherlock was an amateur boxer, and Dr. Watson did always carry his revolver), I highly recommend this.

And it has made me want to go and dust off my copies of Sherlock Homes again, which is never a bad thing.

Muppet Christmas Carol

A real true family tradition. Hard to beat Michael Cane as Scrooge, and Gonzo as Charles Dickens.

Recommendation

Watched National Geographic's "Lost Fleet of Guadalcanal" last night on Netflix, and I have to say, this is a very good documentary.  Made before the Nat Geo devolved into complete and utter global warming alarmism (seriously, have you tried to read any article in one of those magazines lately? The pictures are still pretty as always, but the writing is only pretty sad), it comes in three main parts--Dr. Robert Ballard's expedition to find all of the sunken warships in Iron Bottom Sound (that guy was a childhood hero of mine), historical footage and commentary about the Battle of Guadalcanal (covering the land sea and air), and interviews with veterans from both sides of the war, getting together with Dr. Ballard to see again the ships they served on after being at the bottom of the sea for 50 years.  For me, someone who has been interested in the history of WWII, particularly in the Pacific Theater, since elementary school, it was very neat, and even moving at times. 

Two thumbs up.

There you are

A hard bit detective with steely blue eyes, a green '68 Mustang, and a snub nose Diamondback, when suddenly...



...those horns... those cymbals... that suspended chord... a base line...

It's time for a car chase.

Just seems appropriate

The theme song from 28 Days Later:



Are you ready for the zombpocalypse? Seems like it ought to happen any time, now.

Fun fact: I got to watch this movie for a social sciences class back in college. Yes, the class was a joke. But the movie was ok.

Oooo! There's a dubstep remix! Those are always good for a laugh!

You got an hour? Cry Wolf.

Here's an interesting documentary by a first-time young film maker, detailing the story of the wolf in MT and Yellowstone.

As always, there is more to the story than what the government and its agents tell you on the national geographic.

From a friend in MT, who sent it to me saying:

"It is a rare occasion that I find something of value on the internet worth passing on.

When you have an hour, you should watch this movie made by a local Montana kid. You can watch it for free on his website, or you can buy the dvd and support a local.

Most of you whom I am sending this to I think already know a lot about the impact wolves have had on the western states. Some of you I am sending this to will think I am a right wing conspiracy nut. I really don't care."

Word.

I would have to say that this video is heavily biased in the other direction, and some might not care for the Christian theological arguments at the end, but that doesn't mean it should automatically ignored. The points that interested me the most were that Yellowstone was not the natural habitat of the wolves in the first place, and that Fish and Wildlife used money (the guy in the documentary says "stole") that was supposed to go to the states via the Pittman-Robertson Act to fund the Wolf project.

Pretty good for a first time documentary.

Remember remember

It's the 5th of November. Better watch V for Vendetta.

A Short Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

An excellent summer blockbuster--with cowboys and aliens in it!  The cowboy bits are solidly western--the gruff mean old guy who turns out to be ok, the man with no name, the Indian sidekick--and the alien bits are entertainingly sci-fi-y--abductions, probing, lasers--and it all comes together surprisingly well.  The production values for the aliens and the ships are off the scale, and there are tons of good ol' single action revolvers.  Really, the worst part about it is the cognitive dissonance of seeing James Bond as a cowboy--Daniel Craig does a fine job but you just have to work through it in your brain.

The best movie I've seen in theaters all year (though that's not saying much--the others were Sucker Punch and Thor).  Well worth my $8.50 matinee ticket, and probably even worth the 11 bucks for an evening one.  I would even be willing to see it in theaters again, which is certainly saying something.

Oh, and at the end, all I could think was "I really want to see what Thomas Edison and/or Nikola Tesla are going to do with all those bits of alien technology just laying around..."

A Short Movie Review: Prince of Persia Sands of Time

Scorpion King was better.

Three words for you...

Blade Runner. Booyah.

Israel

I watched an interesting documentary last night, that one of my Aunts bought when she visited Jerusalem. It's called "Israel's War History." It was interesting for two reasons, really. One, it was just a good history of all the the wars Israel/the Jewish population of the Middle East has been involved in since 1914 or so. They interviewed about every prime minister that Israel has had who was still alive when they made it. And two, it was interesting to see something about Israel that didn't start out with the bias of "THE JOOOOOOOS ARE EEEEEEEVIL!" that you always get (and I do mean always) from the US media. In fact, I think they only mentioned the US twice.

In the end, though, the overriding message was this: don't mess with the Jews, man. They're on a mission from God. And they will beat you up.

Great music from a great film

Back when I first saw it, Spirited Away was the first (and only) movie I ever saw that I sat down to and didn't move a muscle until the end. Quite amazing. Half of the magic was from the score.



It's not often that I agree (or even pay attention to) the Oscar award, but I have to say that this movie certainly deserved the one it won.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  And all of Hayao Miyazaki's other films.

A Short Movie Review: Six Sting Samurai

After Russia bombed and invaded in 1957, Las Vegas is the last bastion of freedom.  When Elvis, the king of renamed Lost Vegas, dies, every rock-n-roller out there starts to cross the wasteland, vying to be the new king.  There, that gave you the basic premise. What about the movie itself?

It is awesome. Even though it's a low-budget thing, everything came out impressively well.  The guy who played the main character (a Buddy Holly look-alike) is a real martial artist, so the fights felt more authentic than you usually get from something like this, and the rest of the movie just goes to show what can be accomplished with a judicious level of grunge and the proper application of slow motion.

If you like post-apocalyptic things, ridiculous characters,  Rock and Roll, kung-fu movies, Communist armies, and/or nice shoes, you will be entertained by this movie.  I mean, when you have a character named "Death," who looks like Slash and, upon finding the broken bodies of a Commie army says, "Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me,"  how can you go wrong?

Now, I think I need to go and make sure my truck has a ratchet in it.  Just in case.

A Short Movie Review: Sucker Punch

I paid $10.50 to see it.  It was probably worth $4.

If it wasn't trying to be "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," it would have been a lot better. As it is, I just feel let down by the excellent (and short) action scenes. It needed more B-25's and Steampunk Zombie Krauts. Now, two hours of that would've been amazing.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't have enough like this.

It's weird that the parts that are set in the real(er) life were the parts that strained credibility.

Oh, and by the way, there was quite a bit of 1911 action going on in there, so it was good that I saw it on the 100th anniversary of the Army's adoption of the 1911 pistol.