Category: Movies

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Comic Book Movie Musings!

Justice-League

It has been awhile since I have posted because Mrs. Shmee gave birth to a little Shmee, but it feels good to start typing something up again.  I thought since I have been away so long I would do a little comic book movie round up of things I have found interesting while in a sleep deprived stupor!

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a Hit! (Now Fox is in a Pickle):

Fox was hoping that Days of Future Past was going to revive their X-Men franchise, and they were right.  Most of that success is because of the comic book movie understanding that director Bryan Singer brings to the table.  The problem is that Singer is now in the middle of a giant underage sex abuse lawsuit.  Singer has motioned to dismiss the suit, but if he is found guilty Fox is in trouble because they have pinned all their future superhero hopes on him and the universe he is setting up.  True Roman Polanski has proven creeps can work in Hollywood for a long time, but you had better believe Fox is hoping that this suit goes away, and that they are looking for a hot new young director for X-Men: Apocalypse just in case.  They say they are sticking with the director for now, but for how long?

Edgar Wright leaves Ant Man:

This is very sad news for me because when Marvel announced that the father of the hilarious Cornetto Trilogy was directing Ant Man, I was super excited.  Ant Man was looking to be the first truly funny Marvel movie, but it looks like Edgar Wright has left the project after Marvel decided to rewrite his script.  Knowing Marvel they want a certain feel to their movies, and they need the universe to hold together in specific ways.  Wright is kind of a free spirit, so something tells me those things caused friction.  I am still looking forward to Ant Man, mostly because Marvel is on an impressive streak, but this is an unfortunate loss, and I hope that Wright makes a funny movie soon to console me.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice: What is in a name?

So they named Batman Vs. Superman, and it is Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Wow.  I didn’t think they could screw up the name, but they did.  If anything they just should have called this movie World’s Finest as a nod to the long running Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman team up, and everyone would have lost their minds, but no, with the “V.” they made it sound like a court case or something.  Though seeing Superman and Batman sanding before a judge arguing about damages sounds awesome!  Then there is the “Dawn of Justice” subtitle.  This just sounds like they are admitting to trying to doing too much with this movie.  It is like they didn’t learn anything from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  If this movie manages to be under three hours long I will be shocked.  They still have two years to prove me wrong, but I have a bad feeling about this.  At least DC is making great TV shows!

Anything else interesting happen while I was away that you would like my thoughts on?  Drop me a line, and let me know!

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Hang Out With The Millers!

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We Are The Millers was a surprise hit in 2013, proving the bankability of a funny concept and a likable cast.  The film was released by Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (DodgeBall).  While the film wasn’t wonderful, it was a funny way to spend an hour and fifty minutes.

The story follows David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a down on his luck pot dealer, as he convinces a band of misfits to pretend to be his family while he smuggles weed in to the country from Mexico.  His “family” includes Kenny (Will Poulter) a lonely kid in his apartment building, Casey (Emma Roberts) a homeless girl from across the street, and last but not least Rose O’Reilly (Jennifer Aniston) a broke stripper.

This movie progresses predictably.  They all start off hating each other, but soon they start to enjoy the idea of being a family.  It is lazy writing, and it causes the film to drag in parts.  Still even with its obvious plot, the cast has talent and chemistry, so it is easy to watch.

Jason Sudeikis and Will Poulter (Also in the excellent ‘Son of Rambow’) really stand out for me in this movie.  Poulter plays the sweet kid who just wants to be with people so well that you just want to hug him, and Sudeikis looks like he is always just about to loose it, but with a smile on his face.  Seemingly channeling Chevy Chase from the National Lampoon films.  Aniston and Roberts are also quite good, but the boys steal the show.

We are the Millers is not going to be added to my favorite films list any time soon, but it is a kind of funny movie with a great cast.  I enjoyed myself, and there are much worse flicks out there.  If they make a sequel, I hope they tighten up the script.

 

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Is A Mess!

amazing-spiderman-2

The first Amazing Spider-Man was surprisingly good since people had such low expectations for such a quick reboot to the franchise.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 unfortunately takes a few steps back from its predecessor.  It is an unfocused mess, and it is a shame because there is a good movie in middle of all that mire.

The movie picks up directly after the first Amazing Spider-Man, with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) still madly in love with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), but Gwen’s father’s death is weighing on Peter and complicating their relationship.  To complicate matters further Peter is also trying to figure out what happened to his parents.  Meanwhile OsCorp is taking over New York’s power grid, and it is being worked on by the mild-mannered electrical engineer Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx).  Plus Harry Osborn(Dane DeHaan) returns to be with is ailing father.

The problem with this movie is that there are too many things going on at one time.  You got Peter and Gwen’s relationship, Peter looking in to his parents’ deaths, Max’s transition in to Electro, Harry dealing with his father’s death, and Harry becoming the Green Goblin.  There are five story lines right there, and I may have left some out.  This movie is two hours and twenty minutes long, and there still isn’t enough time to deal with all this stuff.

The actors do what they can, and Garfield and Stone really shine in this movie with great chemistry.  They bring life to Parker and Stacy, but they also get the most air time, so their story develops naturally.  Foxx and DeHaan are not given that luxury, so they have to play their parts way over the top giving the villains in this movie a very Batman Forever feel.  Which would be fine if the rest of the movie wasn’t so serious.  It is quite jarring.

They just should have left a few things out.  Parker doesn’t need to investigate his parents’ deaths.  He already has daddy issues thanks to Uncle Ben’s death, he doesn’t need more, and it doesn’t amount to anything.  We didn’t need the Green Goblin in this movie.  They could have saved that for the third one, and given DeHaan the time his character needed.  That extra screen time would have helped Foxx’s Electro out quite a bit.  Maybe at least he wouldn’t have come off so zany.

The special effects in this movie range from excellent to crappy.  Spider-Man zipping around New York is awe inspiring.  The finally battle between him and Electro looks like a bad video game.  With a budget as big as this movie had, it seems like they could have fixed it up quite a bit.

The Amazing Spider-Man set this series up for success.  Sadly the Amazing Spider-Man 2 wastes most of that potential.  There are parts of this movie that work and are really fun, but there is so much bloat that this movie just can’t keep its momentum.  This is not the worst Spider-Man movie (That is all you Spider-Man 3!), but it is close, and I hope that for Sony’s sake they can turn this franchise around.

 

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Farewell Mr. Smee, I Will Miss You!

bob-hoskinsFamed actor Bob Hoskins died two days ago (4/29/14) from pneumonia at the age of 71.  He had a long career with a variety of great roles, but for me he will always be Mr. Smee from Hook.  I loved that movie as a kid, and while it hasn’t held up as well as some of Spielberg’s other movies, it holds a special place in my heart.

My favorite character from that movie was Bob Hoskins’ Smee.  The way he was able to be a bumbling idiot, but at times still be the smartest guy in the room.  It was kind of the way I saw myself sometimes.  Most of my friends liked Rufio or Pan, but it was Mr. Smee for me, and that wouldn’t have been the case without Hoskins’ brilliant portrayal.

I liked the character so much that when it was time for me to venture online, years ago, I tried to take Smee’s name as my own.  Sadly I am a horrible speller and it came out Shmee, and by the time I had figured it out, the name had stuck.  Still without Smee there wouldn’t have been Shmee.

Hoskins was a great actor who was very important to my childhood.  While the films he was in weren’t always great, he was always great in them.  My prayers and best wishes are with his family.  I will have to dig out Hook and watch it again to say a proper farewell to Mr. Smee.

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Star Wars: Episode VII Has A Cast!

Star-Wars-Episode-VII-cast

Just is case you were somewhere that didn’t have the internet yesterday, Disney and Lucas Film announced the principle cast for Star Wars: Episode VII.  Pretty much it is the cast from the original trilogy: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Kenny Baker (R2-D2).  Then a bunch of new young kids, plus Andy Serkis, and Max von Sydow.

So the new kids are probably playing the children of Han and Leia, their friends, and the guy from Girls is probably an evil apprentice of some sort.  Max von Sydow is no doubt the bad guy because if he isn’t they have the world’s worst casting director.  This kind of leaves the amazing Andy Serkis as the wild card.  I am sure he will be an animated alien of some sort, but whether his is good or bad is anyone’s guess.  I am just happy he is in it because he makes everything better!  The only real surprise is that Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) wasn’t in the line up.  How can you have a Han without a Lando?  I am hoping that he shows up at some point to cheat Han out of the Falcon one more time.

Now that they have a cast the movie feels much more real.  It actually feels like it is moving forward.  J.J. Abrams has proven he can direct fun and exciting films, so I just hope the script is well written.  We only need to wait a year and a half for a new Star Wars movie!  I know the last three should have made me more cautious, but I can’t help it.  It makes me giddy just to think about sitting in a theater, watching the intro text scroll, and listening to an amazing John Williams score!