Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A Sports' Writer's Take On Movies, Traveling, And Getting Old
Joe Posnanski gives Up In The Air two thumbs up. Here are my two favorite paragraphs:
"I have not seen a great movie in a long time. It seems like I used to see great movies constantly — every few weeks, at least. Good movies were great. Mediocre movies could be great too. Maybe it is because my expectations were different. Maybe it’s because i was different. I could get lost in a movie when I was younger. It didn’t have to be brilliantly acted or snappily written or even plausible … as long as it had something real about it, something that could take me from here to there … I would go. I could go. Maybe that’s a child’s gift. I could disappear. The bright lights when the movie ended were blinding...
When Up in the Air ended, I wanted to sit there for a while and think about it. Maybe it was because I travel so much. Maybe it seemed well written. Maybe I like George Clooney. Whatever, this was an old feeling — the feeling I used to have about movies when I was a kid. I think the movie was great, truly great, but I’m not sure about that. In my younger, movie-loving days, it did not matter if the movie was “good” or “bad” or “OK” or any of the places in between. All that mattered was the feeling when it was over."
Read the whole post.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Questions About Terminator Salvation
My dad (Pete) and I watched Terminator Salvation last week. We both enjoyed it. (Dad only slept through twenty minutes of it.)
Neither of us had watched the earlier Terminators in a few years. We are not Terminator junkies. I think both of us saw the second one before we saw the first one. I don't remember ever seeing Terminator 3, so maybe that holds the answers to our questions. So as much as we enjoyed it, we were both dumbfounded by it.
How in the world can Skynet "the machines" create a Terminator out of the murderer Marcus, get him to do everything they want, then have him turn? Don't you think "the machines" would have been able to predict him turning? Don't you think they would have known to immediately kill Connor's father Kyle Reese? Why would they allow any humans to survive? And what is the point of the whole movie series. We know the end. John Connor saves the human race from the machines. He even sends his own father back to procreate with his mother. (Think about this for a minute. He chooses his own father.) He wins. He is destined to win. The audio tapes his mother leaves him ensures him of his future. (And as my dad pointed out, cassette tapes don't last that long.) I get this idea that "There is no fate, but what we make." But shouldn't there be some type of Back to the Future moment where John Connor's picture fades or his tapes become blank or disappear.
Maybe the point is to trust your instincts. Maybe the point is you need some type of faith to achieve success in life. Those are good messages, but probably, the big point is not to take Hollywood movies too seriously, especially if they are about time travel.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Older Movies That We Just Got In
The Insider--Nominated For 7 Academy Awards
The Limey--Just A Good Movie
Howards End--Won 3 Oscars
The Class--French Film Nominated For An Oscar That Comes Highly Recommended
Arthur (1 And 2)--The Original Arthur Won Two Oscars And Was Hilarious
True Romance--I Haven't Seen It But Another Recommended Movie
On The Beach--Based On The Great Book And Nominated For Two Academy Awards
The Jacket--Starring Adrien Brody And Keira Knightly
Hope Floats--Starring Sandra Bullock And Harry Connick Jr.
Four Elvis Movies--Kissin' Cousins, Live A Little, Love A Little, Girl Happy, Tickle Me
The Limey--Just A Good Movie
Howards End--Won 3 Oscars
The Class--French Film Nominated For An Oscar That Comes Highly Recommended
Arthur (1 And 2)--The Original Arthur Won Two Oscars And Was Hilarious
True Romance--I Haven't Seen It But Another Recommended Movie
On The Beach--Based On The Great Book And Nominated For Two Academy Awards
The Jacket--Starring Adrien Brody And Keira Knightly
Hope Floats--Starring Sandra Bullock And Harry Connick Jr.
Four Elvis Movies--Kissin' Cousins, Live A Little, Love A Little, Girl Happy, Tickle Me
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Movies I've Seen Recently
In no particular order:
I enjoyed Whatever Works. Watching a Woody Allen film isn't like Forrest Gump's "a box of chocolates." You know what you're going to get. It isn't going to be sweet. It isn't going to be dark. It is going to have a few nuts in it. But when you're finished, you're going to say "that wasn't too bad." You are also going to laugh.
I enjoyed Whatever Works. Watching a Woody Allen film isn't like Forrest Gump's "a box of chocolates." You know what you're going to get. It isn't going to be sweet. It isn't going to be dark. It is going to have a few nuts in it. But when you're finished, you're going to say "that wasn't too bad." You are also going to laugh.
I also enjoyed The Assassination of a High School President. Both it and State of Play openly plagiarized All The President's Men. But at least Assassination and Bruce Willis had a sense of humor. State of Play had better actors, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't make it a fictional All The President's Men. I have never liked when a fictional movie tried too hard. All The President's Men was true, and that is what it made it so good. State of Play wasn't true, and that is why the twists and turns kept me watching but didn't impress me in the end.
I really liked Management. I thought it was funny and also spoke to the struggle of "home" versus "the world" and "ramblin'." Life, love, charity, and moving forward isn't simple. And neither is being part of a family business.
Like Assassination, Adventureland impressed me. A "coming of age" story that uses Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" reminded me of listening to U2's cover version on their "One" single and marveling over "I love to watch things on TV." Like the characters in Adventureland, I soon realized that watching things on TV and dreaming about things on TV and looking up to guys like Ryan Reynolds' character did not get you closer to "being on TV." In fact, all it did was keep you stuck.
I did not like Transformers 2. I slept through a 1/4th of it. I liked Transformers as a kid. I usually like cartoon super-hero movies, but no matter how much action and noise Transformers 2 had, I didn't care about what happened to any of the characters including my friend Optimus Prime. It was disappointing.
My wife made me watch Confessions of a Shopaholic. I will never get that hour and forty minutes back.
Observe and Report was absolutely crazy, a manic movie about a bi-polar person. It was funny and deeply sad at the same time similar to Swimming With Sharks. A demented world can be entertaining to watch, and I couldn't wait to see what happened at the end of Observe and Report or Swimming With Sharks.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Steve Zahn Is A Hard Working Man
Thursday night, I watched Zahn in Sunshine Cleaning. Saturday night, I watched Management. Last night, I (accidentally) watched him in a rerun of Friends. (I try and not make it a habit of watching reruns of Friends.) This morning, I pre-ordered Perfect Getaway.
I have always thought of him as the goofy guy in Saving Silverman and National Security, but he has done a lot of stuff including Happy, Texas and You've Got Mail and That Thing You Do.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Other Movies That Came Out Yesterday
Friday, October 23, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Poll Questions Explained
We are thinking about starting a subscription plan similar to Netflix at MMV. A possible example would be for $19.99 a month, a customer could check out any two DVDs they want for as long as they want. The subscription plan would require us to upgrade our software and hardware to give us credit card capabilities, so don't expect anything immediate, but your thoughts are welcome in the comments.
We are also thinking about taking pre-orders for some of the movies coming out this Christmas season. You would have to let us know your intent to buy a DVD a month before the movie comes out, and the prices would be around $22-23. For example G.I. Joe comes out November 3rd, it would cost $23, and you would have had to give us your orders by last week. I would post the the upcoming releases, and you could Email me directly or tell somebody at the store. Again, there are a lot of details like deposits to be worked out, so don't expect anything immediately.
Please leave your comments and vote in the polls to the left.
Friday, October 9, 2009
In Honor Of Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat comes out in theatres today. Here are some other movies with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau:
1. Rudy--an inspirational classic.
2. Swingers--a cult comedic classic.
3. Made--which I enjoyed.
4. The Break-Up--I always thought Jennifer Aniston was the most attractive Friend.
5. Four Christmases--which I enjoyed and comes out November 24th.
Any other ones that I forgot?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Other Movies Coming Out Tomorrow
Assassination of a High School President
Seventh Moon
It's Alive
When a young woman (Bijou Phillips) learns she is pregnant, she leaves graduate school to move to the country with her boyfriend in this remake of the classic 1970s horror film. The fate of the happy new family takes a gruesome turn when animals and people end up brutally dead – all with a strange connection to their newborn. Could their new child be the monster responsible for the gruesome murders?
Seventh Moon
It's Alive
When a young woman (Bijou Phillips) learns she is pregnant, she leaves graduate school to move to the country with her boyfriend in this remake of the classic 1970s horror film. The fate of the happy new family takes a gruesome turn when animals and people end up brutally dead – all with a strange connection to their newborn. Could their new child be the monster responsible for the gruesome murders?
Friday, October 2, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Other Movies Coming Out Tomorrow
In addition to Monsters Vs. Aliens, Management, and Away We Go, we will have:
What happens when the people we count on to hold us together... are barely holding it together themselves? Jonas Pate's Shrink is a striking, fast-paced exposé of the “other” Hollywood, featuring folks living outside their comfort zone and the people who put them there. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey) is a psychiatrist with an A-list clientele, including a once-famous actress (Saffron Burrows), an insecure young writer (Mark Webber), and a comically obsessive-compulsive superagent (Dallas Roberts).
Henry is not in a good place, however. He has been asked to take his first pro bono case, a troubled teenage girl from a neighborhood far from the Hollywood hills. Considering his present state of mind, is he ready for the real-life troubles of a young woman who loves the world of movies he has become so jaded by?
At its core, Shrink is a study of control and our endless need for it, even when it grows increasingly impossible to obtain. Writer Thomas Moffett uses classic archetypes in this modern Hollywood tale, but never pushes them over the edge of credibility. Performed by a well-matched cast at the top of their form, the result is both satisfying and exhilarating. Watching Shrink makes us feel like voyeurs looking through a window into the lives of people who look great, feel worse, and end up behaving badly.
Henry is not in a good place, however. He has been asked to take his first pro bono case, a troubled teenage girl from a neighborhood far from the Hollywood hills. Considering his present state of mind, is he ready for the real-life troubles of a young woman who loves the world of movies he has become so jaded by?
At its core, Shrink is a study of control and our endless need for it, even when it grows increasingly impossible to obtain. Writer Thomas Moffett uses classic archetypes in this modern Hollywood tale, but never pushes them over the edge of credibility. Performed by a well-matched cast at the top of their form, the result is both satisfying and exhilarating. Watching Shrink makes us feel like voyeurs looking through a window into the lives of people who look great, feel worse, and end up behaving badly.
Welcome to the world of The Brothers Bloom, where deception is an art and nothing is as it seems. The brothers have perfected the art of swindling fortunes through years of fraternal teamwork. Now they've decided to take on one last spectacular job—luring a beautiful and eccentric heiress into an elaborate plot that takes them around the world.
For as long as they can remember, the Brothers Bloom have had only each other to depend on. From their childhood in a long series of gloomy foster homes to their highflying lives as international con artists, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) have shared everything. Stephen brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he’s still searching for the perfect con, the one where “everyone gets what they want.” Meanwhile, Bloom yearns for “an unwritten life”—a real adventure, one not dreamed up by his old brother.
Eager to retire, Bloom agrees to take part in one last grand scam. He insinuates himself into the life of Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), a bored, single New Jersey heiress. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them, he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait: She impulsively joins Bloom, Stephen and their “associate,” a sexy Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), on an ocean liner to Greece. Penelope is convinced she’s happened upon the adventure of a lifetime and offers to bankroll a million dollar deal. As the quartet makes their way from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Penelope quickly becomes addicted to the illicit thrills. But as Stephen’s elaborate web of deceit pulls tighter, Bloom begins to wonder if his brother has devised the most dangerous con of his life.
For as long as they can remember, the Brothers Bloom have had only each other to depend on. From their childhood in a long series of gloomy foster homes to their highflying lives as international con artists, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) have shared everything. Stephen brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he’s still searching for the perfect con, the one where “everyone gets what they want.” Meanwhile, Bloom yearns for “an unwritten life”—a real adventure, one not dreamed up by his old brother.
Eager to retire, Bloom agrees to take part in one last grand scam. He insinuates himself into the life of Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), a bored, single New Jersey heiress. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them, he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait: She impulsively joins Bloom, Stephen and their “associate,” a sexy Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), on an ocean liner to Greece. Penelope is convinced she’s happened upon the adventure of a lifetime and offers to bankroll a million dollar deal. As the quartet makes their way from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Penelope quickly becomes addicted to the illicit thrills. But as Stephen’s elaborate web of deceit pulls tighter, Bloom begins to wonder if his brother has devised the most dangerous con of his life.
Chad and Scarlet leave their old life and horrifying secrets behind in search of a fresh start. But when a near-fatal car accident leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere, they turn to a mysterious farm couple for shelter.
Chad and Scarlet soon realize that this shadowy pair is somehow linked to their past and the fate of their future is held in unforgiving hands. Together, Chad and Scarlet endure immense torture and heartbreak in an attempt to make amends for their past mistakes, but will they be able to attain salvation, or will it be too late?
Chad and Scarlet soon realize that this shadowy pair is somehow linked to their past and the fate of their future is held in unforgiving hands. Together, Chad and Scarlet endure immense torture and heartbreak in an attempt to make amends for their past mistakes, but will they be able to attain salvation, or will it be too late?
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