Posts Tagged ‘movie’

3 items.

Snowpiercer – A Wild and Crazy Ride

by admin on July 15th, 2014
Posted In: Blog, Uncategorized

Snowpiercer is a crazy rollercoaster of a movie, and not just because it’s a post-apocalyptic trainride with larger-than-life characters and  intense action sequences.

snowpiercer

If you’re a fan of theme park rides, you know there are two basic types:  there are the ‘slow’ rides like Disney’s  Pirates of the Carribean, where riders drift lazily past detailed tableaus and spend time admiring the artistry and storytelling. The other type of ride is the  ‘fast’ rollercoaster-type, like Space Mountain, where it’s all about speed and sensation.

The trick to enjoying Snowpiercer is in recognizing that it’s supposed to be a rollercoaster of a movie.  If you try too hard to look for the artistry and storytelling, you’ll probably be confused and disappointed.  But if you get on board and let the movie just carry you away, you’ll  have a really good time.  I did.

My Rating 3.5 (out of 5)

└ Tags: , , ,
  Comment

Captain America – Stay for the Trailer

by admin on July 25th, 2011
Posted In: Uncategorized

Took the family to see Captain America this past weekend, and we had a good time. The movie is a summer blow-em-up blockbuster with a lot of action and explosion and spectacle. It’s definitely what my wife would call a ‘comic-book’ movie. Chris Evans does a good job as Captain America, and Hugo Weaving is a lot of fun as the Red Skull. However, the real applause should go to the effects folks who made Evans into the skinny pre-super version of Steve Rogers.

My only complaint would be that the movie ends right when you’re ready for the next chapter. Of course, if you stay for the clip at the end of the credits, you can see that the real payoff comes next summer…

└ Tags: , , , ,
  Comment

Thor – Strange but Fun

by admin on May 31st, 2011
Posted In: Blog

In all honesty,  I didn’t have high expectations when I went with the family to see ‘Thor’ over the weekend.  The movie has been getting some middle-of-the road reviews,  and I’ve always found Thor to be one of the less appealing of the major Marvel superheroes, so I was ready to be disappointed.  However,  I’m happy to report that ‘Thor” the movie was actually a lot of fun.

It helps that the movie dives right into the absurd aspects of the mythology immediately, so you know that you have to jump on board right away and accept the whole concept of Asgard and Odin and the Rainbow Bridge.  Once you’ve gotten past the inherent strangeness of it all, it’s a fun little movie.   I was even surprised how much my non-comic reading family members enjoyed the show.

A lot of the credit has to go to Chris Helmsworth,  who makes Thor into sort of a likeable blockhead (in a good way) and Tom Hiddleston as evil brother Loki who really gives the movie a strong, believable villain figure.  Apparently the upcoming Avengers movie will bring back Hiddleston as Loki to act as a major bad guy, and I have to mark that down as a real plus for that movie as well.

There are a lot of bonuses for the serious comic fans, ranging from the Stan Lee cameo, to the brief Hawkeye appearance, to the Thor as Dr. Donald Blake reference, and of course the appearance of the Warriors Three.

As far as rankings go,  for an average viewing audience,  I would give ‘Thor’ 3.5 stars out of 5.  For a theater full of Comic Book Geeks,  I’d give it a 4.5 out of 5.

└ Tags: , , , , , , ,
  Comment