Shmee.Me

August 30, 2013

Muppet Treasure Island: Airport Edition!

If you know me than you know that I love the Muppets, so Muppet Treasure Island is a guilty pleasure for me. It came out in 1996, and it was directed by Brian Henson. It may not be the best Muppet movie, but it is certainly not the worst.

The movie for the most part fallows Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a boy Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) and his friends, Gonzo and Rizzo, who are given a map by the ex-pirate Billy Bones (Billy Connelly). They are soon off on an adventure on the high seas, or the big blue wet thing as Squire Trelawney (Fozzie Bear) calls it. The cook/pirate captain Long John Silver is played by the always wonderful Tim Curry.

Billy Connelly and Tim Curry are perfect for Muppet movies with their exaggerated acting ability and over the top perfomances. Kevin Bishop on the other hand tries his best, but he is not as talented as the Connelly and Curry. It is a shame too since he has so much screen time.

The musical numbers are mostly good in this movie with Cabin Fever and Professional Pirate as the stand outs. Curry directing the staging as the pirates sing always cracks me up.

The puppet work by Jim Henson Studios is fantastic as always. If I could act or use my hands well, puppeteering would be a dream job! It is always amazing how quickly I forget that all the Muppets are puppets.

This is not the greatest movie in the world, but for me it is always fun to watch because I love the characters so much, and there is something about felt puppets preforming classic literature that just does it for me. I watched this movie on HBO Go, but I am sure that you can get it any number of places.

August 29, 2013August 29, 2013

Disney Has A Problem!

Disney’s new big project is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and it is supposed to relate back to the first film in some way, which sounds good, but I can’t help but feel that Disney’s live action studio is in trouble .

Their Marvel and Animated houses are doing great, or even better than that with Iron Man 3 doing over $1.5 Billion world wide, and the people behind Tangled are releasing another princess movie this fall Frozen, but to release ANOTHER Pirates of the Caribbean seems like they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

With the huge failure of The Lone Ranger, I was hoping that they would circle their wagons and come up with something more interesting, but I guess Johnny Depp acting weird is all they got. I have heard no one screaming that they need more Pirates. It has been a profitable series, but only the first one was good, so now most people hold the franchise with a little contempt.

I wish the studio the best, but it sounds like they are throwing good money after bad to try and fix their creative debt, but what they should be doing is trying new things, so they can have new franchises to milk until they die, but hay who am I, just some guy ranting on the internet.

August 28, 2013

Shmee Plays Hitman: Absolution

Hitman: Absolution came out in November of last year, and it is the fifth Hitman game. It was created by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. It was not the hit that Square Enix hoped it would be and there are some good reasons for that, but there is still a good game to be played in Hitman: Absolution.

In the game you once again play as Agent 47, but instead of taking contracts like in previous games, 47 is protecting a young girl that may be a product of the same genetic engineering that produced 47 himself.

The plot was a questionable choice for IO considering it places Agent 47, who is all about hunting, in a role where he has to run and protect. I understand the desire to change things up in video games, especially after five games, but to have whole levels where the point is just to run away is kind of disappointing.

The plot wasn’t the only change. They also decided to take out the planning before missions, so instead of buying weapons and pouring over maps to figure out what to do, now you just have to just wing it. I understand shopping and cartography are not usually thought of as fun, but in these games it was always part of the intense problem solving required to get the coveted “Silent Assassin” rank.

They also decided to try and put a focus on special moves, so as you complete tasks you unlock cool skills which sounds fun, but most of them are shooting orientated, and much like the last games the shooting is still poor and draws attention, so you never use them.

That is it for the bad however because at its core it is still a Hitman game, so all the sneaking and problem solving from the previous games is still in there for the most part, but the memorable levels are just more spread out. I also like that they got rid of the mini-map that let you see everyone in the level, and instead you get a kind of Hitman vision that lets you see though the map for a limited area which is more handy and more challenging at the same time.

Another change is that as you do stealthy Hitman-y things in this game you earn “Focus”, and you can use that Focus to add to disguises, so people with the same outfit as you do not get suspicious, or it lets you use your new special moves. But for the above stated reasons it is mostly just for disguises.

Hitman: Absolution is not as good as the previous game Hitman: Blood Money, but if you are looking for a Hitman fix, Absolution is a decent game, and you can find it on sale these days for as low as five bucks, so it is pretty cheap. I hope that they learn from this outing and bring us a great Hitman game next time.

August 27, 2013

What To Say About Four Lions!

Four Lions is a British film that came out in 2010. It was created by first time film maker Chris Morris. The film stirred up a lot of controversy when it came out, and it is not hard to see why.

The film is about a group of radicalized Muslims that are trying to plan a suicide bombing. The problem is that they are complete and utter idiots, so things do not always work out for them as planned. Yes that is the plot.

This film is hard to watch. It takes something that is a current threat and lampoons it in a very British deadpan sort of way, and because of the subject matter I felt bad every time I laughed, and to its credit it is very funny.

I think that is why it is such a brave film as well. The laughter disarms us enough that we can see the argument the film is making without instantly turning away. The film is trying to show us the real people behind these attacks, so that we can see that they are somewhat normal people with deeply flawed and twisted thinking.

The film is so uncomfortable to watch that I don’t think I would recommend it to anyone, but it is a good piece of filmmaking. Not one that I necessarily agree with, but it is filmed in a way that makes the argument palpable enough to listen too.

If you want another take on the movie Daniel compares it with some of Chaplin’s work here.

August 26, 2013

Shmee Hangs Out With African Cats!

African Cats is a nature documentary that came out in 2011. It is about a pride of lions and a litter of cheetahs. If you like Disney’s nature docs than you will like this movie. If you like a little more science in your nature documentaries you will be left wanting.

The movie follows a mother lion Layla and her cub Mara as they hunt and try and survive in the harsh African wilderness. Meanwhile a cheetah mother Sita tries to do the same with her kittens. The movie compares and contrasts the two techniques and lifestyles of these African Cats.

The problem I have with this movie is that they try and humanize the animals and tell a story instead of tell you about that cats, but the story they tell is cute and heartwarming if not super informative.

One of the major selling points for this film is how it looks on a high definition television. The picture is absolutely stunning. This is one of those Blu-Ray disks that prove the format is worthwhile. It will not look this good on streaming video.

If you like cute stories about cats or a looking for a movie to try out your new TV, African Cats might be just the ticket. If you are looking for a lot of information about the animals look elsewhere.