With the recent news that a certain Michael Bay will be putting his own stamp on Turtle lore, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the most recent movie.
Back in 2007, there came a new movie in the Turtle franchise, following 1993's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (They go back in time; it wasn't pretty). The catch here is that this time the film was CGI. An interesting choice this was. I thought it was a GREAT choice. It reminded me a bit of the cartoon show (of which I was a big fan). I thought the graphics looked great then, and as I watch it now, they hold up very well for being five years old.
But it was not just the return of the Turtles that got me all excited for this movie. It was the voice cast. Oh my, the voice cast. I have no idea who the voices of the Turtles are, but let's discuss the supporting cast.
I'll lead off with the big one. Sir Patrick Stewart (he played a Captain in something). Sir Patrick plays the main villain of the movie, Max Winters (aka Yaotl). That's right, no Shredder. It seems this movie does (sort of) follow the previous three, and Shredder has been defeated.
Next up, we have Sarah Michelle Gellar (you might know her as Buffy) as April O'Neil. Chris Evans (yup, Captain America and Johnny Storm himself) plays Casey Jones.
Others of note:
Laurence Fisburne as Narrator
Kevin Smith as Diner Cook
Frank Welker
Mako as Master Splinter
To the plot!
The Turtles have broken up. Leonardo is in South America on a journey of learning. Donatello is your typical frustrated IT support guy. Michelangelo is tearing it up as a kids party entertainer (see Ghostbusters II for an example of washed up saviors of the city performing for kids). And Raphael. Well, he's being all broody and vigilante as the Nightwacher.
April O'Neil and Casey Jones are now working for Max Winters, wandering the globe collecting some very specific statues.
Background on Max Winters: Thousands of years ago, he tried to take over the wold by opening a parallel dimension. Short form - he failed, and it turned his generals into stone statues and made him immortal. See where this is going?
So, the Turtles experience their growing pains as they come together to defeat Max... but not in quite the way you would think. We also have remains of the Foot Clan wandering around working for Max.
I interrupt this commentary to note that I never realized how much April looks like the Bride from Kill Bill during the final battle.
I really liked this movie. I have fond memories of the Turtles as I grew up. Had some of the toys (hell, probably still do somewhere). This is on the list of movies that I can't wait to show my son as he grows up. I'm very curious about what Michael Bay's take on the franchise will be. Personally, as long as the movie entertains me, I'll be happy. So in that respect, this film takes the cake....er pizza.
I give it 5/7 pizza boxes
So I went and saw The Hunger Games last week. Right off the bat, my wife who has no knowledge of the series really liked the movie, which is a sign at how well they handled it.
Oh... FYI, we may get spoilery here, so be warned.
So, I have read the book, my thoughts on which can be found here. I thought that the movie was a pretty faithful adaptation.
Visually, the movie was amazing. I thought they captured the look of Panem really well. In particular, I thought the Capital looked spot on. Casting was pretty good too. I really liked Woody Harrelson as the mentor, Haymitch. Elizabeth Banks was spot on as Effie Trinket. Effie is an interesting character. She so blindly buys into the world of the Capital, its painful. This is most noticeable on the ride from District 12 to the Capital.
As for Katniss, I thought Jennifer Lawrence was spot on. She fit the look perfectly, and she pulled off the role with ease. Also of note was Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, her costume designer. Not quite what I envisioned when I read the book, but very well done.
I was worried too with the violence. Given its PG-13 rating, I was worried that it might have been toned down or avoided, but it was not. So this made the battle scenes in teh Games themselves that much more exciting.
I liked it. I know there are people who rage on and on about Battle Royale vs. Hunger Games. Can't speak for Battle Royale, but everything is derivative of everything these days. Judge each on their own merits.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Time for a bit of honesty, full disclosure and the like.
I'm fat. Or, at the very least on the overweight side of life. Hell, according to my BMI, I am obese. (I think BMI is bullshit anyway.) I've been trying for a long time to get my weight down. And I have. I topped out at about 275 (124.7 kg) in 2006. As of Monday (26 MAR 12) I was 244.8 (111 kg) So, slow weight loss for sure. And I've gone up and down since. I've been less in the past six years, but its never easy.
Now, in the past year I've really started trying to make a sustained change. And I've been succeeding. A year ago I made the goal to run in a road race. And I completed that goal! Last September I ran in a relay triathlon with my dad. And in October, I started training in America's Best Defense (a combo of Muay Thai and Krav Maga). Recently, I was invited to move up to their Black Belt Training program. So, I'm feeling pretty good about how I am doing regarding my weight loss and fitness.
Now to re-wind a bit.
A couple of months ago one of my cube mates was going to order her self something from the local Chinese take out. Looking at me (and another larger co-worker) she said "Hey, you should know what item x is." Really? I know that she did not mean it in the way it came out, but there were several other ways to ask this question. But you ask the fat kid about a take out menu item. How might that make him feel? I shrugged it off as a joke and moved on.
Since then, her and the co-worker that invited my ire today, would talk about diets, and working out etc, etc. Neither of them really need to do either. But what galled me is when they would complain how they are fat. Neither of them are no where near fat.
Really? Again, you feel the need to say this in front of the kid whose been trying for years to loose weight? Typically, my skin is much thicker than this, but today it just grated on me. And in talking to various internet friends it was pointed out that people like my co-workers are just looking for attention. I know this. Which is why I did not jump down their throats.
So, rant over. As I always do, I will keep my headphones on and ignore the world around me when I am at work. I know I am doing well, my family knows I'm doing well and my friends know I am doing well. And those are the only people that matter.
Daniel Craig! Harrison Ford! Clancy Brown! Keith Carradine! Directed by John Favreau! What's not to like about this movie!
Cowboys and Aliens tells the story of a loner (Craig) who awakens with a futuristic piece of tech on his wrist. Kinda cool looking. Loner wanders into the town of Absolution where Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford) runs the town. Loner (who from now on shall be known as Jake Lonergan (cause that's who he is we find out)) butts heads with pretty much the whole town and is thrown into jail.
This is when the aliens attack.
As the townspeople freak out about what is happening, Lonergan steps up points his wrist at the alien ships and that think on his wrist? Just so happens to be a weapon. Score one for the humans! People are taken, so Dolarhyde and Lonergan team up and set off with a posse to get their people back.
You may have noticed that to this point I neglected to mention the female lead in this film, Olivia Wilde. She plays Ella, who knows more than shes letting on. Could not tell that from her acting though. She was probably the weakest link in the film. I know a lot of people think she great, but ever since I've seen her on House, its always been a feeling of meh that I get when I see her.
I liked this. Other than Wilde it was a fun and entertaining movie. I'm always a huge fan of Westerns and sci-fi, so to see them mixed together like this excited me. Its not the greatest piece of film ever produced, but its good for a watch or two.
I give it 9/13.
328/1280 on my Flickchart list (24MAR12)
Downfall stars Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler, and tells the story of his final twelve days as the Third Reich comes crashing down around him.
I liked this film. It is realistic in its portrayals of the players involved... to an almost creepy degree in some cases. Ganz's depiction of Hitler is spot on from everything I've read about him in the closing days.
I'm not sure what else to say about this film. There was one particularly creepy moment where everybody in the bunker are discussing ways to kill themselves so as to avoid capture by the Soviets.
I think this falls into a category similar to Das Boot. Yes they are both movies about the Germans during World War II. However neither one is anti or pro. They both tell a story about the people involved.
