Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Okay, I haven't posted in a week because I was on vacation. After the holidays, I was in need of a vacation, so I kept an eye out for cheap airfare to places friends of mine live. I found cheap airfare to Arizona and the Penguins happened to be playing the Coyotes around that time, so I decided to vacation in the bright sunshine of the desert. I got tickets to the hockey game three rows behind the penalty box. They were amazing seats and I got to see the Pens win 7-2 and see an amazing goal by Sidney Crosby. It also means I completed the first (goal #4) of my 2007 goals.
Speaking of my goals, I got in a few movies on my trip. I got emergency row seats on the plane in both directions, which means I had plenty of leg room and I had noone sitting beside me, so I had plenty of shoulder room. Between the plane flights and just lounging around Arizona, I saw eight movies, including six that I have never seen all the way through. Here are the reviews/comments:
#10 Wonder Boys: What can I say, being in the desert made me feel like watching a movie set in Pittsburgh in the winter. This is the great movie. Definitely worth the price of admission. Some of the dialogue between Michael Douglas and the other characters is some of the best of the past ten years.
Watching it again did make me wonder about the scene where they move the dog from one trunk to another. They do so in the CFA parking lot, a parking lot I would walk through as many as ten times a day or more. I wondered if, even late at night, someone wouldn't have been walking by and see them handle it. Then I started wondering if, had someone seen them, would they have even blinked. I saw weirder things than two guys stuffing a canine corpse into a trunk when I was a student. I think most students would think it was some drama department thing and the dog was just a corpse.
Also, I wondered what happened to Katie Holmes. She was at her peak in this movie. Now I see pictures of her and I don't even recognized her. And she was totally wrong for Batman Begins. For starters, there is no way she looked to be no less than seven years out of law school.
#11 Beerfest: the guys at work who are just out of college raved about this movie. I was highly disappointed. I love Broken Lizard's previous films, but this one included jokes that weren't that funny and just rather ordinary. Maybe it might be a victim of higher expectations for this movie, but I was bored. It's predictable and even the "shocking" jokes weren't so shocking. If you're in college, you might want to own this movie and it's worth a rental. Otherwise, wait til it hits the cable movie channels.
#12 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: I had seen bits and pieces of this movie, but not all of it, so this was the first time to see it all the way through. I know people who think this movie is one of the all-time great comedies. I found this movie to be amusing, even funny in parts, but I wouldn't even call it great. It's a solid rental, maybe even worth matinee price at the theatre.
#13 Children of Men: This was a great movie, pure and simple. It will be definitely in competition for my favorite movie I've seen this year. It has a sci-fi premise, a world with no young people, but no technology that isn't around these days. The story is compelling and contains enough twists not to be predictable, but never cheats. The acting is top-notch. There is also a long uncut sequence that I found amazing and must have required amazing camera work and technical skill. I can understand now the people I've heard say that this should have gotten a best picture oscar nomination. This was definitely worth the price of the picture and I would have no qualms about seeing it again in the theatre.
#14 Little Miss Sunshine: This is a movie about an eccentric family trying to get from New Mexico to California so the daughter can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. It was a good light-hearted movie. I can't call it great, but it was good enough to be worth the full price of admission at the movie theatre, especially if you're looking for a movie that isn't dark or bloody like alot of movies that came out at the end of 2006. The climatic scene seemed sloppily done but was still funny.
#15 Red Dragon: I've seen bits and pieces of this on cable. It's the prequel to Silence of the Lambs that stars Anthony Hopkins. It's interesting to see how they captured Hannibal Lecter and what led up to the SotL. This movie is nothing special. It almost seems like a tv movie if compared to SotL. It's a solid rental, but I don't think I'd pay to see it in the theatre.
#16 Garden State: There is a type of movie where the main character(s) is at a crossroads in his life and trying to figure out what to do with his life. It often involves a coming home of sorts to reflect on his life up to that moment. This is one of those movies. It was interesting, but underwhelming. Worth a rental, if there's nothing else that catches your interest.
#17 Casablanca: One of my all-time favorite movies. I would love to be able to see this in a theatre. It'd be worth the price. I already knew all the classic lines from this movie before I first saw it, but I would love to be able to see this movie without knowing before hand the outcome. Either way, this movie is a must-see. If you haven't seen it, rent it.
Speaking of my goals, I got in a few movies on my trip. I got emergency row seats on the plane in both directions, which means I had plenty of leg room and I had noone sitting beside me, so I had plenty of shoulder room. Between the plane flights and just lounging around Arizona, I saw eight movies, including six that I have never seen all the way through. Here are the reviews/comments:
#10 Wonder Boys: What can I say, being in the desert made me feel like watching a movie set in Pittsburgh in the winter. This is the great movie. Definitely worth the price of admission. Some of the dialogue between Michael Douglas and the other characters is some of the best of the past ten years.
Watching it again did make me wonder about the scene where they move the dog from one trunk to another. They do so in the CFA parking lot, a parking lot I would walk through as many as ten times a day or more. I wondered if, even late at night, someone wouldn't have been walking by and see them handle it. Then I started wondering if, had someone seen them, would they have even blinked. I saw weirder things than two guys stuffing a canine corpse into a trunk when I was a student. I think most students would think it was some drama department thing and the dog was just a corpse.
Also, I wondered what happened to Katie Holmes. She was at her peak in this movie. Now I see pictures of her and I don't even recognized her. And she was totally wrong for Batman Begins. For starters, there is no way she looked to be no less than seven years out of law school.
#11 Beerfest: the guys at work who are just out of college raved about this movie. I was highly disappointed. I love Broken Lizard's previous films, but this one included jokes that weren't that funny and just rather ordinary. Maybe it might be a victim of higher expectations for this movie, but I was bored. It's predictable and even the "shocking" jokes weren't so shocking. If you're in college, you might want to own this movie and it's worth a rental. Otherwise, wait til it hits the cable movie channels.
#12 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: I had seen bits and pieces of this movie, but not all of it, so this was the first time to see it all the way through. I know people who think this movie is one of the all-time great comedies. I found this movie to be amusing, even funny in parts, but I wouldn't even call it great. It's a solid rental, maybe even worth matinee price at the theatre.
#13 Children of Men: This was a great movie, pure and simple. It will be definitely in competition for my favorite movie I've seen this year. It has a sci-fi premise, a world with no young people, but no technology that isn't around these days. The story is compelling and contains enough twists not to be predictable, but never cheats. The acting is top-notch. There is also a long uncut sequence that I found amazing and must have required amazing camera work and technical skill. I can understand now the people I've heard say that this should have gotten a best picture oscar nomination. This was definitely worth the price of the picture and I would have no qualms about seeing it again in the theatre.
#14 Little Miss Sunshine: This is a movie about an eccentric family trying to get from New Mexico to California so the daughter can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. It was a good light-hearted movie. I can't call it great, but it was good enough to be worth the full price of admission at the movie theatre, especially if you're looking for a movie that isn't dark or bloody like alot of movies that came out at the end of 2006. The climatic scene seemed sloppily done but was still funny.
#15 Red Dragon: I've seen bits and pieces of this on cable. It's the prequel to Silence of the Lambs that stars Anthony Hopkins. It's interesting to see how they captured Hannibal Lecter and what led up to the SotL. This movie is nothing special. It almost seems like a tv movie if compared to SotL. It's a solid rental, but I don't think I'd pay to see it in the theatre.
#16 Garden State: There is a type of movie where the main character(s) is at a crossroads in his life and trying to figure out what to do with his life. It often involves a coming home of sorts to reflect on his life up to that moment. This is one of those movies. It was interesting, but underwhelming. Worth a rental, if there's nothing else that catches your interest.
#17 Casablanca: One of my all-time favorite movies. I would love to be able to see this in a theatre. It'd be worth the price. I already knew all the classic lines from this movie before I first saw it, but I would love to be able to see this movie without knowing before hand the outcome. Either way, this movie is a must-see. If you haven't seen it, rent it.
Labels: 2007, goals, hockey, movies, sporting event, vacation
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