Triumphant Return!

Alright, here's what I've been up to. Movie-wise. I think I may be forgetting some things, but I haven't watch TOO much since I've been so busy.

Movies Purchased
Very little purchased recently (although, quite a bit of TV on DVD/Blu-Ray)

8 1/2
Picked up Fellini's masterpiece for $6 at Blockbuster, very happy about that. The very best film about film (though it's about much more than that). It has inspired a play, that was turned into a novel, that inspired a musical, that is being turned into the movie Nine. So now's a good time if you've never seen this one.

Australia
Bought this one at the behest of the girlfriend. I have to agree with almost every other review I read on this one. First half good, second half bad. Looks pretty nice though.

Vicky Christina Barcelona
Good movie with some great performances. The best Woody Allen has done in quite some time. Although, being a painter makes it weird to watch movies about painters, but I have to say this is better than most others in that respect.

Fanboys
A strong comedy for Star Wars nerds (like myself). Worth the wait? Probably not. Don't expect too much, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Seth Rogen fighting himself is good for a few extra laughs too.

Movies Rented
I am having trouble getting a good rhythm going for my Netflix, but I'm working on it.

Yes Man (Blu-Ray)
I wasn't really expecting too much with this one, but it's actually very good. Does it have similarities to Liar Liar? Of course, the comedy is the same but the jokes are all new, so I don't have a big problem with that.

Twilight (Blu-Ray)
Alright, so I figured I had to watch this one, seeing as I'm supposed to be reviewing movies now. I have to say it wasn't horrible, it was worse than that. It was mediocre at times and just plain stupid at others. This movie is written to be over-acted, but somehow they manage to push it beyond acceptable limits. And yet, my girlfriend is demanding we see the next one as soon as it comes out in theaters. Girls.

Elizabeth & Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Another request from the girlfriend. I had never seen either of these. The first was great, but the second was a sub-par movie with a great performance by Cate Blanchett.

Milk (Blu-Ray)
A decent biopic that may have stuck a little too closely to the facts. Why this got so much more mainstream attention than Van Sant's far superior Paranoid Park I may never understand.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-Ray)
A solid, enjoyable film that got a little too much praise. The whole movie looked fantastic, and the concept could make for a great movie, but the story just doesn't cut it. That said, this type of special effect/makeup work being used in period drama like this was great to see, and I hope this establishes a strong enough precedent for other films to follow (and it seems that Criterion agrees with me).

Movies Watched

Les Chansons de Amour (Love Songs)
A French musical about the relationship between a boy and two girls (yes they are all involved with each other). Sounds great right? Well, it was, just not exactly what I thought it would be. It is more about people dealing with a terrible tragedy, with singing!

The entire Planet of the Apes collection
Ah, Planet of the Apes, a great Sci-Fi film followed by a couple terrible films and a couple good ones. A fun way to spend a Sunday morning regardless.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I've been reading (yes, I still do) X-Men comics since I was six or so. So everytime a new movie comes out, I'm expecting a lot. I am always as least a little disappointed (X2 came so close though!). This time, not only was it as X-Men movie, but we finally got to see Gambit and Deadpool! So you can imagine how disappointing it was when this movie was just plain terrible. Cheesy does not even begin to describe this one. Ryan Reynolds did not disappoint as Wade Wilson (who will become Deadpool), but that lasted a solid 5 minutes. It was all downhill from there unfortunately.

Star Trek
Now this is what a summer movie should be. Explosions and aliens. It was exactly like any other Star Trek movie, except it was exciting and fun to watch. Now, I love Star Trek (although Star Wars is better), so it's a bit sad to think there won't be any more movies or shows based in the original continuity, but if the new continuity is always this good, I'm sure I'll get over it. And, no, you don't need to know anything about Star Trek to see this film.

Broken English
Watched this little indie romantic comedy on Netflix Watch Instantly. Nice little film. Clever at times, inexplicable at others. Parker Posey is great, as she often is. It was refreshing to see a RomCom about a girl finding the right man that didn't make the girl the perfect woman. I was amazed that I didn't think I would want to date this girl even though she was Parker Posey. That said, I was happy when things started to go her way.