Shmee.Me

June 26, 2015June 26, 2015

Shmee Hangs Out With Birdman!

Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu is the most recent winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, so when my buddy asked if I wanted to watch it I almost had to say yes. Though I was not prepared for what I saw. This was the craziest movie I have watched in some time. I thought it was fitting that the soundtrack for this film was jazzy because Birdman is the film equivalent to free jazz. You are just never sure where it is going to go.

Birdman is about an actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) towards the end of his career, and he is banking everything he has on a Broadway play he is writing, directing, and staring in based on Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”. This is his last big chance at proving his worth as an actor after walking away from the mega-blockbuster superhero movie series the titular Birdman. Oh, by the way Thomson is mentally ill and the voice of Birdman taunts him and speaks to him everywhere he goes.

As you can imagine putting on a stage play is probably not the best thing for a person with mental health issues to be doing, and the people around him are not doing him any favors. They are all just nuts, and their zaniness is pushing Thomson further and further down the rabbit hole. The whole thing makes me very wary of stage productions. If this movie is to believed, it is just full of nothing but wigged out jerks. Though it makes for an ~~entertaining~~ unique movie watching experience.

The actors in Birdman were all fantastic. Edward Norton plays the egotistical method actor perfectly, Zach Galifianakis gives his most muted part in recent memory as the manager/everything else for the play with a talent I didn’t know he had, and Emma Stone as Thomson’s daughter continues her trip to the top of the Hollywood ‘A’ list with another great performance. Though it is all anchored by Michael Keaton who breaths life in to the barely sane Riggan Thomson.

The acting and the story were good, but where this movie really differentiates itself is how it was shot, or how they made it look like it was shot anyway. The movie looked like it was one long take. With the camera always zooming and panning from one scene to the next. With no clear ‘cuts’ Birdman never lets you take a moment to breath. It just keeps going. Which adds to the perceived mania of the lead character. This was quite an achievement of filming and editing by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

While I was watching Birdman the crazy just kept washing over me, and when I had finished watching it I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. Because of the one lone shot style the film it never let me take it all in. Though now that I have had time to decompress, I have to say I think I liked Birdman quite a lot, and it was good to see something different for once. Maybe I should listen to more jazz? (nope)

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015

Shmee Takes A Trip To Jurassic World!

For some movies it doesn’t matter how well or poorly reviewed they are, they are going to be successful anyway. Jurassic World is like that. The hype was so deafening, and it had been so long since Jurassic Park III came out that the nostalgia for a those movies was flowing hard. Jurassic World was going to be hit. It was just a matter of how big of a hit. Turns out it was massive. Luckily it was also a pretty decent film. Not the classic of the original Jurassic Park, but still pretty good.

InGen is up to its old tricks and has opened a new park Jurassic World on the same island as the original. This park however has opened and is quite successful, but not as successful as the company wants it to be, so they have created a new dinosaur to stir up attendance. It of course gets loose and starts to eat everyone and everything.

The premise for this movie is just silly. Every time InGen has tried to make an attraction with one of these animals it has gone horribly wrong, so there is no way they would be willing to try again. Let alone try and find someone to insure them. Not to mention making super dinosaurs that have the same skill set as the Predator alien seems like a bad idea. Still they do, and people get eaten, and I have to admit it is still fun to watch. Which means when they make the next movie featuring dinosaurs in space I will probably be back.

As far as the acting goes in this film there is nothing to write home about, but the writers didn’t give the actors anything to work with, just bad clichés. Bryce Dallas Howard is the cold by the numbers business woman that just needs to lighten up, and Chris Pratt is the cool guy that will show her the way. Oh yeah! And Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins get to play the kids that try not to get eaten; they are very important because without them how would Howard’s character learn that she needs a family to be complete?

With the story and acting slightly below bar that leaves it to the dinosaurs to make up the difference, and they deliver. Jurassic World’s dinos are the best looking yet. Finally a Jurassic movie that has better special effects than the original. They are spectacular, and a joy to watch. You will believe that they have brought dinosaurs back to life.

Jurassic World was dumb, and had a silly story, but it had it were it counted – that being great dinosaurs! There will be another Jurassic Park movie, and I will see it. I just hope they can tighten up the story and script. If I am going to see raptors in space it had at least better make sense. Until then, Jurassic World is worth your money for its popcorn fun.

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015

Sign Up With The Kingsman: The Secret Service!

So lets say you are Matthew Vaughn, and that you just saved the X-Men franchise with First Class, but since Singer has returned to X-Men for Days of Future Past what do you do? Work on a new comic book franchise of course, and the more British the better! That is how we got Kingsman: The Secret Service. A fun spy move from a guy that you can tell loves fun spy movies.

The story is about young man, Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), who is given the chance to join the Kingsman. An elite private spy organization started by a bunch of wealthy English men with no heirs thanks to World War I with the desire to stop large scale warfare from happening again. This new recruit will have to prove that despite his lower class upbringing he is just as good as the upper crust of British society, and maybe, just maybe, save the world.

Even though the poor kid from the streets that proves he as just as good if not better than everyone else story has been done to death, Vaughn managed to keep this light, and delightfully over the top. Vaughn made sure to cram everything he loves in to this movie. Crazy action, in your face violence, and silly characters. His excesses also keep this movie from being great. While it is good fun, it is hard to get too emotionally or thoughtfully invested. It is just Vaughn showing you stuff he likes. Luckily he likes cool stuff.

Colin Firth deserves a lot of credit for making this film enjoyable as well.. He is able to play “Galahad”, one of Kingsman’s best spies, with so much British charm that the movie lights up every time he is on screen, so with him guiding the young main character, there is no way this couldn’t have been good. New talent Taron Egerton does a good job, but pretty much he just has to do his best to be amazed all the time, and then react to the stuff going on around him. With the next movie he will have to do more.

The fight coordinators deserve a special shout-out as well. There are some great fights in the film. They are well captured, and filmed in a way that you can see what is going on. Really good work. I can’t wait to see how they up the ante next time around.

I enjoyed my time with Kingsman: The Secret Service. It kept me entertained the whole way through. It managed to be light hearted and hyper violent all at the same time. It never quite gets to that upper level of amazing films, but that doesn’t mean you will not have a good time. Though if blood offends you, you may need to get your spy fix somewhere else.

June 10, 2015July 7, 2015

How About Some Comic Book Media News?!

Let’s start off with some casting news shall we? (Thanks to Hypersonic55 for the image by the way)

Netflix Casts The Punisher!

Jon Bernthal formally known as Shane from AMC’s The Walking Dead will now be Frank Castle in Netflix’s Daredevil. After two failed Punisher movies I guess the Disney execs think maybe TV is the right place for the man who wants to kill the mob. I liked Tom Jane as The Punisher, but his movie was terrible, and I think Jon will do a good job. He should be an excellent counterpoint to the anti-killing hero Daredevil. We will also get to see some good bullets versus ninja action!

DC/Warner Brother Drops The Batman V Superman Synopsis!

With Batman V Superman about nine months away DC thought the time was right to drop the plot synopsis for the flick. It is pretty much what we thought, but here you go anyway!

Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.

Like I said, it is pretty much what everyone was expecting. The question is how long will they fight each other before teaming up?

First Justice League: Gods and Monsters Short Released!

Bruce Timm said Justice League: Gods and Monsters was going to be dark, but I wasn’t prepared for how dark. This is quite the trip down the rabbit hole, but it is interesting, and it does live up to its title: Twisted. Have a look for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpu6yPAFHrs

It is not the cartoon we are used to that is for sure, but it is kind of a fun take. We will see how it pans out over the next few episodes before the movie launches.

That is my comic book media roundup. Is there anything you think I should have talked about? Let me know!

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015

Shmee Rides With Mad Max On Fury Road!

I had the pleasure of watching Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller over the weekend, and I have to say they just don’t make movies like that. I was going to say ‘anymore’, but I am not sure that anyone has ever made a movie like that. It was a non-stop chase scene in the middle of the desert with a bunch of crazy people. Sure that is similar to Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, but no where near this scale If you are not on the edge of your seat while watching this film, you were somehow not paying attention.

The plot is simple. Mad Max (Tom Hardy) and Furiosa (Charlize Theron) take a bunch of supermodels for a drive in the middle of the wasteland. Oh and they are being chased by just about every living person left on the planet. While this road trip is happening, things are blowing up right good.

I am not sure there is much more to say about the story except for the fact if you like a lot of talking in your films you will be disappointed with Fury Road. This movie goes for long stretches without any important dialog, and honestly I found it quite refreshing. Movies are a visual art, so why not show me instead of telling me. That is what this movie did. It just kept showing me things, and wonderful things at that.

This is probably the best acted film out of the Mad Max series. Tom Hardy was a great stand in for Mel Gibson, even if his Australian accent could use some work, and Nicholas Hoult brought a great deal of fun to this movie. Though the real star of this movie is Charlize Theron. She lived up to the name Furiosa. Her unyielding character drove this movie forward more than any of the several hundred cars in it. She is now my favorite pick to play Captain Marvel in the upcoming movie.

When I heard they were making a new Mad Max movie I think I audibly groaned. I didn’t think that series had anything left to show me, but George Miller proved me wrong. He had a lot left to show me, and I was glad to see it. If you haven’t seen the other Mad Max movies, don’t let that stop your from seeing this one. The movies were so influential that I am not sure any background would be nessicary. If you want to see the craziest movie to come out in a long time it would be Mad Max: Fury Road!