Kimputer's Weblog

Of course I knew the movie wouldn’t blow my mind away (though the original was quite special), so I went purely to assess the current 3D technology. The movie is quite predictable, and follows the same mold and story points of the previous movies. Add some unknown actors, and you have a 3D movie well within a reasonable budget. Nothing to write home about.
So on to the 3D experience, quite a few scenes work really well, though sometimes it’s too chaotic, or not blended well (different object distances are too distinct), but mostly it works to give it that little bit extra. However, the darkening glasses do take away about 30-40% of the incoming light (either light filtering or polarisation, I’m not quite sure), and makes the movie darker than it should be, while also taking away contrast and lively colors. On top of that, the glasses do feel a bit heavy on the nose after while and you will see most people constantly fidgeting with it.
All in all, it has potential, but hopefully, the upcoming December tentpole (the long awaited James Cameron’ Avatar) won’t suffer the same detractions.6-.

A fictitious WWII movie, which in its own might be a fresh change with all those currently released “based on true facts” movies.
A “typical” Quentin Tarantino flick, as this movie is setup in Chapters, lots of characters fueled by heavy dialogue, bombastic music/sound effects, and on screen weirdness (including visual cues). Story seems original enough, and the expected weird twists are there. It’s a unique movie experience, but still doesn’t move me all the way, and sometimes borders boring during those lengthy dialogue (as it did in his last outing Death Proof).
Even though I don’t think it’s a masterwork, I still recommend everyone to see it at least once.7½.

The fourth Tony Scott/Denzel Washington collaboration already (there will even be an upmcoming fifth), and most of them were better than good. This one, while the story is a bit more limited and has less character depth, is still gripping from the start. Tension is a thing Tony Scott is good in, and barring the anticlimax, it’s still a good movie.7½.

The expectations for another surprise hit movie franchise by toy company Hasbro (Transformer) seems totally crushed, after seeing this high budgeted, but poorly executed CGI fest.
The story is obviously absolutely crap. The fact that the producers tried to makes this movie ultra-serious is another mistake. If you can’t laugh at yourself, being spun-off from a toy product line, you have a serious flawed point of view. Now were stuck with no plot, and no fun to be had at all.
As expected, writer/director Stephen Sommers drops the ball here and there (remember the bad special effects on his Mummy series ?), some unintentionally bad sequences are jaw-droppingly bad.
The serious acting is laughable too, with Dennis Quaid as a stern General Hawk shouting commands around counted as carreer low point.
This movie is only interesting to max. 12 year old boys and even then, you’d probably have to cut 80% to keep them interested throughout.5½.

A Weinstein Company movie that seems to have a limited run only, despite carrying big names (Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd). Very topical, all strands of the story have something to do with immigration, and while heavily dramatised, it looks like it could be the gritty reality.
Spread throughout the film are valid tear-jerkers, while other parts are intended to spark controverisal discussions. And right in the middle of this is a stunning performance by (my guess, up and coming star) Summer Bishil.
All in all, drama-wise, it’s a well made movie.7+.

Being a Michael Mann fan, I couldn’t let this one pass. However, it seems he’s either slipping, or it’s the “based on true facts” thingy, but this movie is borderline boring ! Something I wouldn’t expect, as you’d know most of his films are dark and gritty, and very much character driven. While not totally documentary style, it feels flat and fact based. Despite good acting (Johnny Depp, Christian Bale), it’s mostly devoid of in depth drama. All characters are totally uninteresting and dialogue doesn’t provide any depth of character.
If the last few months of the life oof one of the most beloved (???) bank robber in the US history doesn’t interest you, this is one to skip.5½.

Typical love story comedy, geared towards the ladies. Everyone is in that particular “comedy acting mode”, which might be disturbing sometimes. Still, it’s enjoyable, though somewhat predictable. Mostly a showcase for Ryan Reynolds ability to be funny (excellent timing) and charming at the same time. Pacing makes up a bit for the other flaws.7-.

A pretty ordinary thriller, starring Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich) but one that hinges too much on the big twist. You could sense that during the movie, but people catching the trailer might already know the outcome too.
Personally, I think they’re just cheating their way through the story, and to cover the big twist, they build in an uncheat mode, but in the end, it’s just not believable anymore, whichever way you look at it. (While reading discussion forums later on, you might see it could all fit, but when you’re sitting there, it just doesn’t do the trick, like the Sixth Sense did).
Also, as a thriller, it’s rather light-hearted, with only a handful of tense scenes. That said, it’s still mildly entertaining (mostly due to Timothy Olyphant role).7-.

It’s been 4 yours already since his first venture into his solo career, so expectations were high. Add the fact that he’s proven to be one of the most talented singer/songwriter, and you can imagine how sky-high I was when the wait was finally over.
A whopping full CD (14 tracks, excluding several bonus tracks to be found elsewhere), it’s full of his signature “let’s change the game a bit” style, so it doesn’t resemble anything before. It’s a feat not a lot of artists can replicate (pick up any CD from any artist, and you can either always hear the resemblance with their previous material). But here we have it again, and just after 2 listens, I the wait was all worth it. While the excellently smooth power ballads are mostly gone (Ever The Same, Problem Girl, etc), it’s replaced with some more fast paced rocky attitude songs (including a more predictable layout with clear chorus lines, bridge etc, something I actually don’t fancy that well), but still containing his uniquely soulful voice.
Statistics wise, it’s even better. Even with the best albums, as picky as I am, I usually don’t like a lot. But the percentage of damn good songs, good songs, and acceptable songs are even higher this time around.
Seems this is the gem of this year to cherish. A definitely must-have, regardless of your favorite musical genre.9-.

Ouch. Who to blame ? First of all, the story can be basically told in mere 5 lines. Not only that, I could predict everything happening. The simplistic storytelling is kind of inexcusable for this 6th installment, where there’s no evolving whatsoever for the better. In the world of spells, everything should be possible, including the cliches. Except, in this case, those even don’t hold ground, as the relationships are there just to be there, and have no basis at all. Same goes for character interaction, and story line, totally uninteresting for a pre-finale chapter. And it bugs the hell out of me. Everything feels so fake, even the loss of a major character makes me feel indifferent and only strengthens my aversion.
With 2.5 hours of mostly nothing but the most obvious happening, I really wonder if I’m able to sit through the last book, which will be split in two (released in 2010 and 2011)! As a franchise, it gets the dollars in the massive enchanted chest, but I still wonder why, as nothing spectacular can be said about most of these chapters.5-.

A small-ish comedy featuring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn. These types usually seems very grounded, but this one differs in abnormal human behaviour. Hence it takes a high level of suspension of disbelief, plus another huge leap of faith (considering the deepening dialogue about the characters, but nothing is shown on-screen to relate to it, which has an averse effect), all of which I’m not willing to take.
In essence, the whole movie you’re wondering who does what for whatever strange reason, and it just doesn’t feel right. Coupled with some predictable melo drama, and few real laughs, it’s actually a bit boring.5½.

Obviously, this movie rides on Borat’s coat tail (surprise sleeper hit in 2006), as it follows a similar pattern that actor/writer Sacha Baren Cohen sets out again. A warning though, f you’ve loved Borat, you may feel a bit disappointed with Brüno.
Reasons are clear, as this time, it doesn’t follow a too intricate story. Also, the mix of staged/scripted and interactions with real people seems unbalanced, while also not soliciting enough surprise responses from unknowing participants.
Yes, there are still outrageous scenes. And yes, he still knows how to show people’s ridiculous nature in his funny interview technique. And yes, he puts himself in real grave danger a few times. And yes, you will smile a few times. But no, it’s not as good as Borat.7+.

Sam Raimi returns to his horror roots (at least as a director, he continued producing) after a few Spidey flicks, and he still has it in him. This movie combines low budget scare tactics (most of it works) with dark twisted humor, in a slightly different dosage as what you’ve loved it on the Evil Dead series.
If you don’t go nitpicking about specifics, this is a scary ride from beginning till end. Definitely good for a few dozen tight grabs of the arm from the girl sitting next to you.7½.

With the main TV season down for hiatus, a few special shows left the airwaves for good. Most painful to watch go is not a small list, namely: Eli Stone, Battlestar Galactica, Boston Legal, ER, My Name Is Earl, Prison Break and Pushing Daisies.
A few amusing shows came and go before I even reviewed them (My Own Worst Enemy, Life on Mars, Kings).

But now the summer is upon us and the cable shows show what they’re worth, mostly opening new medical shows, soon after the long-running ER said goodbye. With more shows opening in the fall, these are what you can watch now:

Hawthorne (TNT): Starrring (and exec produced by) Jada Pinkett Smith as a Chief Nursing Officer, as a still grieving alone mom raising a teenage kid, has to handle nurse problems, mostly antagonising doctors. Themes seem pretty straightforward, and doesn’t seem too cutting edge.

Nurse Jackie (Showtime): Nurses seem to be this years theme (with the upcoming NBC’s Mercy also being about nurses), again they have problems with their superiors. Makes one really scared to go to a hospital with the war within going on all the time and all. Nurse Jackie (Edie Falco from the Sopranos) is the central character, having a nice family, but still finds time for substance addiction and some adultry on the side. Being darker, with dryer humor, it sets itself more apart from other shows, so if Jacke and Hawthorne had to battle it out, I’d say Jackie deserves to win.

Royal Pains (USA network): Previously fired ER doc finds a new job in the wealthy suburbs of the Hamptons. Having to solve medical crisis on the spot and under the radar, it’s a McGuyver style show, filled with fancy big houses, fast cars, swimming pools and sunny beaches all around. It’s a big question how this show will survive with these elements being the only driving force. Still lightly amusing though.

Previous shows all have some character with British accent starring, but two new shows have them as the headliner.

Mental (Fox): About a psychiatrist (Chris Vance, from Prison Break, season 3) who treats his patients in unusual ways, of course, causing conflicts with some superiors and colleagues. Co-star Jacqueline McKenzie (The 4400) actually has an Ozzie accent, but hides it for most TV roles.
Overall cases don’t seem too interesting though, seeing the patients deranged view of the world is not that interesting.

The Philanthropist (NBC): Corporate CEO (James Purefoy) lost his son a year ago, and somehow lands on the path of being an all-round do-gooder. Traveling all around the world (with the pilot having location shootings of Africa, including a variety of village and forest wide helicopter shots), it’s a question how long the budget will last. Slightly inspiring, though I don’t have millions to spend.

It’s definitely true, the mystique and the build up of the original movie is gone. Replaced by more outrageously big war scenes and chaos, this movie is still enjoyable though. Awe-inspiringly big, I might add. Explosions in wide screen shots as you’ve never seen before.
The fast paced action is sometimes hard to follow, and remembering all the characters is a real no-go. Humor, luckily is still there, but not as subtle as before. Story isn’t first grade either, now more leveling off between a cat and mouse race and non-stop war.
The previously spotless visual effects are still there, but in a few scenes, they drop their guard and reveal some sloppiness (with the robots colors, reflectiveness and sharpness standing out). In old school explosion scenes, Michael Bay shines in making it more exiting, with dust and timing the explosions causing those “wow” scenes.
If you’re ready to get a sensory overload (both visually and auditory), this is for you. This time though, the girlfriend can stay at home (Michael Bay used a lot of nice slow-mo shots of Megan Fox, yay).8-.