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cwfilmbuffMovie 16: Iron Man
Entertaining superhero movie with a strong cast. The climactic battle isn't as engaging as it could have been, but the rest of the film holds up well enough to make the whole experience worthwhile.
M17: Leatherheads
Apparently I'm part of this movie's target audience, which wasn't large enough to make it much money. It did a great job of mimicking the style of 1930s screwball comedies. There were a few weak points (i.e. the out-of-nowhere plot point thrown in to get the two main characters on opposite teams for the big game), but they are few enough to keep the movie fun.
M18: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Not nearly the gem that the first movie was. There are some really funny bits, but they are weighed down by the rest of the film, which trades the subversive wit of its predecessor for blunt, obvious racial humor.
DVD 15: The Darjeeling Limited
This movie starts with Bill Murray, a Wes Anderson regular, running to catch the titular train and just missing it. For the next hour and a half I found myself thinking about how much better the movie would have been if he'd been on the train. Darjeeling lacks the depth, both of story and characters, of films like Rushmore and The Royal Tannenbaums.
D16: Ninja Scroll
I'd heard good things about this, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's a series of cliche-ridden battles without a strong story to hold them together. Amidst the bloodshed is a strong misogynistic streak that made the film that much less watchable for me.
D17: Southland Tales
There are a lot of interesting ideas here, and most of them don't make much sense. Granted, a good deal gets explained toward the end, but not enough to make the story work. Oddly enough, the narrator only tells us things that are obvious from the action - nothing that adds to the plot.
D18: Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score
There's a pretty easy litmus test for this one: if you like the series, you'll like the movie.
D19: Walk Hard
The musician biopic isn't really a large enough genre to warrant this kind of parody, and the whole thing plays as a sub-par Will Farrell movie that runs too long.
D20 & 21: The Muppet Show season 1, discs 3 & 4
Other than the episode with Twiggy, the series continues to be strong and funny.
D22-25: Battlestar Galactica season 1, discs 2-5
Honestly, while the story and characters are interesting and entertaining, what I'm really getting into with this series are the technical aspects. There's very clever use of camera work, lighting, and editing to enhance the verisimilitude and ground it in reality (as much as a sci-fi series can be).
Books 7 & 8: My Boys Can Swim by Ian Davis & The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion by David Port and John Ralston
Two guides for fathers-to-be written in a humorous style. Caveman's is more in-depth, but in the end they both give a basic outline of what to expect while constantly repeating one important piece of advice to the reader: "Be nice to the pregnant woman."
Entertaining superhero movie with a strong cast. The climactic battle isn't as engaging as it could have been, but the rest of the film holds up well enough to make the whole experience worthwhile.
M17: Leatherheads
Apparently I'm part of this movie's target audience, which wasn't large enough to make it much money. It did a great job of mimicking the style of 1930s screwball comedies. There were a few weak points (i.e. the out-of-nowhere plot point thrown in to get the two main characters on opposite teams for the big game), but they are few enough to keep the movie fun.
M18: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Not nearly the gem that the first movie was. There are some really funny bits, but they are weighed down by the rest of the film, which trades the subversive wit of its predecessor for blunt, obvious racial humor.
DVD 15: The Darjeeling Limited
This movie starts with Bill Murray, a Wes Anderson regular, running to catch the titular train and just missing it. For the next hour and a half I found myself thinking about how much better the movie would have been if he'd been on the train. Darjeeling lacks the depth, both of story and characters, of films like Rushmore and The Royal Tannenbaums.
D16: Ninja Scroll
I'd heard good things about this, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's a series of cliche-ridden battles without a strong story to hold them together. Amidst the bloodshed is a strong misogynistic streak that made the film that much less watchable for me.
D17: Southland Tales
There are a lot of interesting ideas here, and most of them don't make much sense. Granted, a good deal gets explained toward the end, but not enough to make the story work. Oddly enough, the narrator only tells us things that are obvious from the action - nothing that adds to the plot.
D18: Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score
There's a pretty easy litmus test for this one: if you like the series, you'll like the movie.
D19: Walk Hard
The musician biopic isn't really a large enough genre to warrant this kind of parody, and the whole thing plays as a sub-par Will Farrell movie that runs too long.
D20 & 21: The Muppet Show season 1, discs 3 & 4
Other than the episode with Twiggy, the series continues to be strong and funny.
D22-25: Battlestar Galactica season 1, discs 2-5
Honestly, while the story and characters are interesting and entertaining, what I'm really getting into with this series are the technical aspects. There's very clever use of camera work, lighting, and editing to enhance the verisimilitude and ground it in reality (as much as a sci-fi series can be).
Books 7 & 8: My Boys Can Swim by Ian Davis & The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion by David Port and John Ralston
Two guides for fathers-to-be written in a humorous style. Caveman's is more in-depth, but in the end they both give a basic outline of what to expect while constantly repeating one important piece of advice to the reader: "Be nice to the pregnant woman."
