The only basic instinct here, really is the drive to make bad sequels. To say the least, it’s a very unexciting thriller. It’s pretty superficial, with all the main characters designed to have motive for the following murders. Throw in some circular logic, forget all about the plot holes. And there you have it. Boring garbage. Some points go the the flesh revealing scenes, but that’s about it.3.
As expected, the powerhouse line-up (going for the names alone) of Inside Man made it the top picture this week. With ease, worth $29 million in ticket sales, it leaves the competition behind. V for Vendetta will have to settle for a runner-up spot this week, with $12.3 (a steep 52% drop).
New comer, Stay Alive, with the teen gamers as target demo, earns $11.2 million, good for a number 3 spot. Left-overs round out the top 5, resp. Failure to Launch with $10.8 million and The Shaggy Dog $9.1 million.
The boring world, Terrence Malick must’ve meant. Never in my life have I seen such a boring Pocahontas rendition as this one. Everything pointed to a sweeping love story. What you actually get is Terence thinking wide shots of the woods filled with weird moving Indians, flying birds and the supposedly romantic tumble in the long grass will keep us interested. While most movies use dialogue as glue, here it’s more like bio-waste from a liposuction. With narrative coming from 3 principle characters, it falls between bad poetry and musings from a crazy person. While I have nothing against Colin Farrell, I was actually waiting for a great character play by Christian Bale. Not only is he not named (plus he only gets to play in the last twenty minutes from those two looooong hours, but he made me wonder why he would choose such a simple role, after many critically acclaimed movies).
The only thing less boring was watching the audience between my muscle spams, and laughing when someone would get up and leave. At the end, during a slowdown in the musical queue (one of the most horrible score I’ve heard from James Horner), the whole audience (including me) was getting up. It was either that, or cut that damn finger off that was holding the 1/4 speed button.2.
Wow, my car proved pretty unuseful today. 10 minutes to downtown, 45 minutes stop-wait-2 steps forward to the parking garage, 10 minutes to the second basement level to find an empty spot, just in time for the movie. And here I was, expecting to do some shopping beforehand.
Pretty big day yesterday. When I heard the news last Monday, I couldn’t sleep the whole week.
Like the previous key I got handed (after signing for my house), this time it was for my brand new Toyota Aygo Sport.
Now I’m the proud owner of one of the few charcoal black Aygo’s in the country (though Toyota’s 300.000 European unit estimate has already been crushed, and it’s expected to be one of the best sold cars for this continent this year. That’s probably why the factory worked overtime and I didn’t have to wait till June as I reported earlier).
So here’s a picture, too bad there wasn’t a bright sunlight to amplify my metallic lacquer though:
And guess what, during the night, barely a day old, I already caught the first carjacker:
Naah, on a more serious note, I decided (after a quick poll, nobody branded me insane. Well not directly in my face, that is), I need a tough kickass nickname for my new car. Something like Black Devil or something. Help me find one ?
A new series on the CBS network, focusing on an elite military unit, working top secret missions. Nothing special there. But they reside on the base, with their families. And that creates enough atmosphere for a continuing B story arch. Still, the attempt to create depth must be applauded, but in the end, somehow, probably due to the writing team, it still feels a bit flat and bland. It’s definitely not must-see material right now, and maybe it never will be. Only time will tell, so only a couple more of these till my final judgement.
What do you get if you mix a renowned director (who’s forte is making movies involving racial issues) with a stellar cast (Denzel, Jody and Clive), and a pretty well-written script ? The answer is obvious. A pretty good movie.
You might say it’s the first time Spike Lee is actually aiming the camera to shoot for the box office (I bet you didn’t see his two last movies All the Invisible Children and Jesus Children of America). Heck, mine was 4 years back (25th Hour). But not to worry, even with a big budget under his belt, he delivers. After all, with those three screen mammoths, you get what you paid for.
The story is nicely stretched to a two full hours, filled with sharp dialogue. And without those actors, the psychological power play probably wouldn’t have been delivered that well. Only one thing on the minus side, with the movie ending winding down a bit too early, making the end feel like an anti-climax.7½.
V for Vendetta strikes back with a vengeance, as the first Wachowski brothers’ production after the Matrix trilogy gains the top spot with a $26.1 million opening.
Failure to Launch enters a lower orbit, one place lower at number 2 with $15.8 million. Tim Allen still barks loudly at number 3 with The Shaggy Dog, with $13.6 million. Teen comedy She’s the Man enters at number 4 with $11 million. Rounding out the top 5 is The Hills Have Eyes, almost dropping 50% to $8.1 million.
Zathura: Kid’s movie offers only limited fun in a constrained and repetitive way for nine-year old tops.5.
Sky High: Another kid movie that just can’t rise above the the usual coming-of-age cliches, enjoyable only for thirteen-year olds or less.5½.
Hostel: Can’t quite believe it why Quentin Tarantino wanted his name attached to this amateur project (besides the money, as most horror movie lately have a low budget/high return expectancy), as it fails on all levels of creativity.3.
The World’s Fastest Indian: A satisfactory indie drama, which really is an Anthony Hopkins one man road trip show.7+.
Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 1317 out of 432 votes > Average is: 3.049
Tommy Lee Jones was received pretty well in the indie art circuit (nominations for Independent Spirit Award, winning at Cannes) for his first entry behind the camera (one earlier job was for a TV Movie), but I don’t actually see it. Three Burials tries to be a drama without depth (of character), and adds a bit of black humor, and that succeeds to a certain level, but in the end, it’s the lack of depth that will keep nagging. The acting is up to par, but the pace is mostly too slow (especially since it has many road trip like elements in it). Pretty much a disappointment after so much hype (still, it’s not a total waste though).7.
Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 791 out of 244 votes > Average is: 3.242
How clean can it get ? (Just moved to another building (next door), so I had to anywayz)
It’s that time again. One by one, series will end their seasons, and since BSG got an early start, they will be the first to go on hiatus. And what another phenomenal season it has been. The writers always take a good look at what life is all about, instead of limiting themselves to some formulaic style of storytelling (that alone puts this show in the top 1 percentile range), and then complement it with the mysterious behaviour, of all things, machines. This conflict always leads to unexpected paths, and now that the time has come to unglue yourself from your seat, you can feel anything but sad (at least for a few months, till the series is back again). Wait, that’s what I said last time. And right now, it’s worse. Thinking of the long waiting time for the season 3 premiere actually gives me a fraggin’ and splitting headache.
No failure at all, for rom-com Failure to Launch (starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker) reached the top spot this week, with a healthy $24.6 million.
Meanwhile, Tim Allen starrer The Shaggy Dog opened at two with $16 million. Third is for horror flick The Hills Have Eyes (like The Shaggy Dog, also a remake), scaring up some $15.5 million. Horror movies are still a safe bet to go on, and like many before, this movie earns its budget back right at the premiere.
16 Blocks has to do it with half of the audience of last week, and drops to number 4 with $7.3 million, while Madea’s Family Reunion drops even steeper, rounding out the top 5 with $5.8 million.
Drama based on true events, with solid writing, making it a valid tear-jerker. In fact, enough tears are jerked to wash away the smudge that was Aeon Flux (a well earned Oscar nomination for Charlize Theron). Good allround acting and sensible direction of the camera makes it an engaging experience.8-.