Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
The Mandalorian | Season 2 Official Trailer
This looks neat. I'm not convinced that they are going to recapture the magic of the first season.
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Dune Trailer #1 (2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r-WSSbKUC8
I read the entire Dune series of books in the 1970's. Although good books, I can't imagine them making good movies. The story is overly convoluted and probably not very cinematic.
The previous attempt at a Dune movie was of questionable quality.
I read the entire Dune series of books in the 1970's. Although good books, I can't imagine them making good movies. The story is overly convoluted and probably not very cinematic.
The previous attempt at a Dune movie was of questionable quality.
Frank Herbert tended to write very weird novels. His "Whipping Star" series of books are a good read, but weird as all get out.
The trailer gives us nothing to indicate that it will be any good. It could be another Battlefield Earth.
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Friday, September 4, 2020
John Boyega DESTROYS Disney Star Wars!
https://youtu.be/lwGLZa-io9U?t=473
In this video, Matt Jarbo actually says he is hoping that someone can "red pill" him on The Last Jedi.
I had to take my shot:
I'm not sure if you have seen my previous comments over the last 2+ years defending The Last Jedi, because you never respond, but please allow me to make my case. There are several minor problems with the film that I didn't find too objectionable. I'll cover these, but first, let me say that if you look past these things then there is a pretty entertaining story there. There is so much in the movie that I like: All the interaction between Luke and Rey. The force bond between Rey and Kylo. Rey's vision. Everything that happened in the throne room is gold, and it concludes with Ben practically proposing to Rey which is even more interesting. The Canto Bight story is not the best, but neither does it take up as much screen time as people claim it does. Parts of it, such as the chase scene, are interesting. Everything that happened during the Battle of Crait was also excellent, except for the stupid Rose scene. I liked being surprised by Luke's force projection. His passing, or becoming one with the Force, moved me to tears. If you look at Rey's vision, I really feel that they were going to make her a clone, but changed their minds later. For me, the good parts outweigh the bad by a good margin. The first time around I was a little uncertain how I felt about broom boy. I found the scene both emotionally moving and a little cheesy, but this scene has grown on me. It creates hope for the future. Also, The Last Jedi takes Star Wars in a slightly new direction and I really felt like it needed that. It needed something fresh, and not just you have to have the right bloodline to be a Jedi. The Last Jedi does what Lucas always did, which is to take us to new exotic locations and introduce new ideas that are controversial. (Ewoks, Jar Jar, Midichrorians.) Compare that to The Rise of Crapwalker which hardly does anything original. (I like the movie, but it is my least favorite of the nine. There are real logical problems, like Rey and Kylo both wanting the same goal, which is to go to Exegol to kill Palpatine, but somehow these two characters who have the same goal are fighting each other to the death.) Most of the things that people complain about as cringe-worthy didn't feel that bad. The big one was the direction that they took Luke in, but I feel like we don't own the story. It is up to them to tell the story that they want to tell, and if they want to make Luke a burned-out Jedi, then this actually makes for a pretty interesting story. It is not the story I would have chosen to tell, but I'm not a good storyteller. If they gave me exactly what I expected then I would be bored. I didn't mind the scene with Leia saving herself because I liked seeing her use the Force. It is logical that she could do that. I dislike people comparing this scene to Mary Poppins. I went and looked at the scene in Marry Poppins and they are nothing alike. The Poe joking around bit was not the best, but I kind of enjoyed it anyway. General Hux was always a comical character. His grand speech in The Force Awakens is over the top, so I never saw him as a serious character. Things I don't like in The Last Jedi: 1. Laura Dern's Professor of Gender Studies character. She does not look like a rebel and feels out of place. They are beating us over the head with Social Justice Warrior messages. 2. Rose's very bad dialog More social justice warrior messages along with her stupid dialog in saving Finn. I like Rose Tico, but I don't l like her dialog. 3. Since when has fuel ever been an issue in a Star Wars movie? 4. The slow-speed chase doesn't make sense because the First Order could hyperspace ahead of the rebel fleet. Although I like The Force Awakens, I have some problems with the movie because they don't explain or set up anything. We learn nothing about the new Republic and there are so many unexplained things that the movie feels like it is full of holes. I had high hopes that the third film would pull it all together in a way that would redeem the trilogy, but the third film only proves that they didn't have a plan.
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Re: Ben Shapiro Ranks Every Star Wars Movie!
Three of the movies that he considers unwatchable I very much like, The Phantom Menace (which I think is vastly underrated), The Last Jedi, and The Force Awakens.
I think that "Solo" is mediocre. It is not bad, but it is not great either.
On Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 3:21 AM Albert Nelms wrote:
Just in case you ever wondered what Ben Shapiro thought about Star Wars movies.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Terminator 3 movie
I watched Terminator 3 on Netflix, which I had not seen since it came out in the theaters in 2003. The problem with this film is that the entire movie is almost one long chase scene. It is lacking in the interesting characters and emotions that the previous film had. Despite this, it manages to be moderately entertaining, but it hasn't aged well. For the 167 million dollar budget, it feels only slightly better than a made for TV movie. Rating: B-.
I liked the 4th film in the franchise, but not everyone did. No matter how many times they have tried, they can't seem to recapture the magic of the first two films.
I liked the 4th film in the franchise, but not everyone did. No matter how many times they have tried, they can't seem to recapture the magic of the first two films.
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
The Secret Life of Pets II
The Secret Life of Pets was way too dark for a kid's movie, with a psycho bunny who wants to kill humans. This movie is definitely not funny and has completely the wrong tone for an animated film. The bunny gets reformed at the end of the film, and in The Secret Life of Pets II becomes more of a nutty character who desperately wants to be a superhero. The best thing that I can say about the sequel is that it is not as dark as the first film, is somewhat funny, and has a brief sequence with Harrison Ford as an old farm dog who teaches the main character how to be brave. There is a second plot where the bunny rescues a tiger from a stereotypical abusive Russian circus master, and this part of the movie is still kind of dark, which bothered me a bit. Mostly the stereotyped cruel Russian circus master bothered me, and it still feels like the wrong tone for a kid's film. However, overall the movie is passable entertainment and parts of it are exciting. Without Harrison Ford as the crusty old farm dog, the movie wouldn't be worth my time.
Rating: B. The Secret Life of Pets II is available on Netflix streaming.
Get Free Coffee at Panera Bread
I've been getting free coffee for about 3 weeks. I need to cancel the coffee subscription by the end of September in order not to be charged.
Friday, July 31, 2020
The Seventh Seal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal
This is described as one of the greatest movies of all time. I thought that it was a little boring. The movie seems pretty dated now.
Friday, July 10, 2020
Thursday, July 9, 2020
28 Days Later
The 2002 "28 Days Later" was a pretty good zombie film. It was about the same level of quality as the Will Smith "I am Legend" that came out in 2007. Also out in 2007 was the sequel to "28 Days Later" called, guess what, "28 Weeks Later." It was okay. It was a good movie.
For a long time now, fans of the first two films have been demanding a third film. After years of telling us that a third movie was never going to happen, apparently it is now starting production. All these years the fans have been assuming that the next film would be called "28 Months Later" since we seem to be following units of time measurement. I see no reason why they would have to stick to this naming convention, but reportedly they are going to comply with the fan expectations.
If we take this naming scheme to its logical extreme, then the following two films will be called "28 years later" and "28 Decades Later."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later
For a long time now, fans of the first two films have been demanding a third film. After years of telling us that a third movie was never going to happen, apparently it is now starting production. All these years the fans have been assuming that the next film would be called "28 Months Later" since we seem to be following units of time measurement. I see no reason why they would have to stick to this naming convention, but reportedly they are going to comply with the fan expectations.
If we take this naming scheme to its logical extreme, then the following two films will be called "28 years later" and "28 Decades Later."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Onward
A long time ago there was magic. Magic was used to help people and to make their lives better. However, magic was difficult to master, and once people discovered technology which was easier, they forgot about magic.
This feels like a world that could have been much more explored, but the movie plays it safe by having all the characters be no different than modern boring humans. However, that is part of the point, since this is a culture that has lost its heritage. The movie holds a surprise for us, because what seems on the surface like a three-star film, delivers in a big way with a four-star ending. This is by no means the best Pixar film, but Pixar can still work a magic of their own.
Our two main characters, both elves and both brothers, go on a quest to find something magical that will bring back their long-deceased father just for a day so that they meet him. As a result, they discover more about themselves and help their culture regain some of what it lost.
Rating: B+. I would love to see a sequel where they better explore this world.
P.S. There is much stuff in the trailer that didn't make it into the movie. This happens sometimes when a movie undergoes many revisions before being released.
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Cloud Atlas on Netflix
I was way impressed by the movie and its ambition. but the execution isn't quite as good as its vision. As good as the movie is, it drags on a little too much.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Star Wars sequel trilogy
The three movies of the Disney made Star Wars sequel trilogy, episodes 7, 8 and 9, were entertaining enough, but they really feel like a huge opportunity lost to do something better. The movies could have been another Lord of the Rings, or another Game of Thrones, not that I'm a huge fan of either one of these things, but the new Star Wars trilogy had a chance to be epic, but instead, it was splintered into different creative visions that did not mesh well. I had high hopes that there was some master plan that would pull it all together in the end, but the final film pretty much proved that there was none.
The seventh film was largely a remake of the original Star Wars with new younger characters. Although it might have a few new ideas, it doesn't feel very original and its goal was to just evoke nostalgia. This is not how George Lucas made Star Wars movies because every one of his movies introduced new and sometimes controversial ideas and took us to new unfamiliar exotic locations.
J.J. Abrams, the writer and director of Episode 7, reportedly had a master plan in the beginning. Part of the plan involved Carrie Fisher being critically important to the 9nth film, but she died three years before the movie came out, and a year before it went into production. They did manage to use some old footage of Carrie Fisher in the movie. Colin Trevorrow was scheduled to write and direct Episode 9, and reportedly he had some really interesting ideas, but he was fired over creative differences that conflicted with Episode 8, so J.J. Abrams ended up also writing and directing the 9nth movie.
Part of the problem was that a mostly unproven director, Rian Johnson, was given free rein by Lucasfilm to do whatever he wanted in Episode 8, The Last Jedi. It appears that Rian Johnson ignored any plans that J.J. Abrams had, and made the movie that he wanted to make. Rian Johnson admitted that he had no concern for continuity or what came before, and that he was only interested in his own vision. Johnson introduced some news ideas that could have taken Star Wars in a slightly new direction, and I think that this had the potential to be interesting.
However, in Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams appears to have gone out of his way to disregard everything Rian Johnson did.
The problem is that Episode 8, The Last Jedi, split the fanbase. It was a little inconsistent with the Star Wars that fans were familiar with. Although I liked The Last Jedi a great deal and it is my favorite of the trilogy, at least half the fans hated it with an almost irrational passion. The was a major backlash to the film.
Because of the backlash to The Last Jedi, this created strife between Disney and Lucasfilm. There was an edict issued by Disney that Episode 9 had to please *all* the fans and not just half of them. George Lucas was brought back to act as a script consultant and introduced some of his ideas, but midway through filming Lucasfilm informed Disney that the new film might not please all the fans as they wanted. This caused the parent company, Disney, to put their foot down and demand rewrites and reshoots.
What we got with Episode 9 feels like it is too crammed full of crowd-pleasing moments. The story proceeds at such a frenetic pace that the audience doesn't have time to notice that much of the movie doesn't make logical sense. I think that the last act is way over the top. The problem is that movie is very entertaining just so long as you don't think about it too much. This might explain the critic score of only 52%.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Saturday, March 14, 2020
The 2011 movie Contagion
The 2011 movie Contagion is starting to look prophetic. Fortunately, COVID-19 is not as deadly.
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