In the past month or so, I've seen three movies at the theater. That's unusual because I typically see one, or maybe two movies a year in the theater. So for your enjoyment, and my amusement, I thought I would give you the rundown on them.
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Watchmen (R)
Starring:
A bunch of people that you've probably never heard of. Except for the guy that plays Rorsach. He's played by the same guy that played Kelly, the cigarette smoking, trash talking, long-ball hitting, punk kid from The Bad News Bears.
Based upon what is arguably the best comic ever written/drawn, Watchmen was an interesting movie. It's got costumed heroes, a gratuitous sex scene, and multiple compound fractures. What's not to like? (Please note the sarcasm.) Visually, it's a very powerful movie. The acting is good, and the story holds pretty true to the original. However, it almost feels more like a crime noir than a superhero movie.
Final Verdict: If you like superheroes or are a fan of the comic, you ought to check it out. Otherwise, not so much.
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PG-13)
Starring:
Wolverine/Logan - Hugh Jackman
Deadpool/Wade Wilson - Ryan Reynolds, the guy from Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place
Victor Creed/Sabretooth - Liev Schreiber, the Manchurian Candidate, etc.
Chris Bradley/Bolt - Dominic Monaghan, Merry from the Lord of the Rings; Charlie from Lost
Some other mutants/some other actors
If you are a die-hard comic fan, be aware that it does stray some from the original storyline. If you're not, then you are probably saying to yourself, "Comics have 'storylines'? Weird."
Final Verdict: Did you like the X-Men movies? Then you'll probably like this. Just remember, if you are thinking of taking a youngster, more Wolverine = more stabbing.
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Star Trek (PG-13)
Starring:
James T. Kirk - some guy I've never heard of...he does a good job though
Leonard "Bones" McCoy - Eomer, the young horse dude from the Lord of the Rings
Scotty - Shaun of the Dead
Spock - Siler from Heroes
Uhuru - the Voodoo lady from Pirates of the Caribbean
Sulu - Harold and Kumar...he's Harold
Chekov - never seen him
the Villain - Black Hawk Down, the Hulk in the first Hulk
Captain Pike - President Kennedy in 13 Days
Spock's mom - Wynona Rider
Kirk's mom - the girl on House that just married the Australian guy
A "red shirt" dies. All the catch phrases are worked in. F/X done by ILM. As my friend Jeff said, Star Trek brought to you by Star Wars. On top of creating a pretty good ride of a movie, they also manage to reboot the entire Star Trek universe, which opens up all kinds of future movies.
I think this movie would appeal to anyone that even somewhat likes sci-fi. My friend Tom said, "I really liked it, but there was just something..." After thinking about it, I decided that it was the fact that in all the other Star Trek movies, I came into the movie knowing the actors as the characters. This time I had to adjust to seeing each person in their new role. Not bad, just different.
Final Verdict: A really good movie. I got to see it at an IMAX, which was cool. If you have the opportunity and you like sci-fi, give it a try. I think you'll like it.
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If you're still with me at this point, thanks! One final (somewhat obvious) observation. All three of these movies have strong sci-fi elements. I guess this is the age when geeks do rule. Coming up this summer: Transformers and Terminator. More sci-fi!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Three Movies
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4 comments:
i saw wolverine and star trek, i guess it dates me (unlike anyone in high school) because i didn't see watchmen. for a confirmed geek it seems quite "illogical" that i had never even heard of "them"? before. I really liked star trek (except for the eject kirk right next to spock and find scotty coincidence, kind of implies that there is a god of sorts who has decided to change the previous reality but strings these odd events together in an improbable way despite new history. This kind of rubs the wrong way somehow. (geek credientials on display!) Anyway wolverine suffers from a little bit of a lack of coolness. The basic storyline is very nerd friendly. I, personally, and most nerds i know really appreciate subtle elements with a deep backstory (think 6th sense,Martix). i.e. lots of cool little things, well thought out which suprise you on reviewing. Final review:wolverine=fun though slightly repetitive eye candy with excellent nerd superficial appeal...Star Trek: Deeper but flawed fun with lots of upside and little touches. I would see them both again with friends that wanted to see either. I would only consider Star Trek as a "family out of town" theater repeat purchase.
Hey Steve -
Thanks for the review(s). My friend Tom's biggest problem with Wolverine was, "Why didn't they give the special bullets to the guy that never misses." Pretty funny observation.
I would guess that the reason that you haven't heard of Watchmen is the same reason I hadn't heard of Watchmen until I started collecting a few comics again. The original mini-series came out in 1986/1987. We were seniors in high school, and I was pretty much out of comics and trying to be as cool as possible (which was not very) and pick up chicks (which were few and far between). Now, I know you weren't the slave to high school peer pressure that I was, but still, I don't remember us reading too many comics from freshman year on...
I think back about those times of "peer pressure" and did suffer a bit from it. The biggest problem I had with following the crowd is that it actually made me LESS comfortable and not for the traditional reasons of feeling like I was changeing my identity to fit in or reflecting on moral dilemmas related to their/my behavior. It wasn't that. I just could have more fun with strange situations or the unusual people. I guess what i'm saying is that if the cool people were really cool I would have had more of a problem, if they are boring...not so much. It might have looked like I never tried to "fit in" which is true but I never really thought that much about it or planned it that way.
My point exactly. You were kind of "above it". Whether that was intentional or not, I just seem to remember thinking that I was more concerned about what people thought than you were. Which is not a good thing.
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