Showing posts with label The Coen Brothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Coen Brothers. Show all posts

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Thirty-fifth Shit-- Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots (In Disguise)

So... The third Transformers film came out recently and we all know what THAT means!! More whiny Shia LeBeouf, more overly sexualized 20 something girl (only this time it's NOT Megan Fox!), more explosions, more lame jokes and more giant robot beat downs! The most important thing though, is more of the big budget, blockbuster, explosion, CGI filled action film directing of Michael Bay, the director that gave us such gems as Armageddon, Bad Boys, Mystery Men and Coyote Ugly (right?).

ANYWAY, we're onto the third in the epic robot trilogy, this one so wonderfully titled Transformers: Dark of The Moon.  NOW, I have not seen this film, I do not plan on seeing this film (unless I see it on DVD somewhere down the line), but I can make assumptions as to how it is (and how bad it is), based on the other Transformer films.

File:Transformers07.jpgNow, I'm going to do a run down of the Transformers films...  first in the trilogy is the 2007 film Transformers.  If you were like me, when you heard about this project way back in '07, you were thinking, "what the fuck? they're making a film about Transformers? like those little toys I played with when I was little?" (because you probably didn't see the cartoon unless you were either in your 30s or in your 10s after the film came out).  Even though it sounded weird though, you thought you'd check it out... and you did.  The other thing you probably questioned upon hearing it was Shia LaBeouf's role in the movie (considering that before this film made him an action star, he was a kid on the Disney channel).  Now that I have all of those thoughts out of the way, on to the film.  Transformers was one of those movies that was actually very interesting.  The CGI didn't make you want to completely vomit, the action was well done and it's Transformers, who DIDN'T wanna see gigantic transforming space robots fight one another?  You could even overlook some of the bad shit, like the horrible Bush spoof used for comedy that will be outdated in a year, the really lame sex jokes, the fact that a lot of the transformers had giant metal bug faces, the overuse of Megan Fox conveniently bending over in barely any clothes, how purely retarded and oblivious the parents were and Shia LaBeouf's bitchy whiny bitch-ness.  You could probably overlook how lame the term "AllSpark" was and how many times they felt they needed to say it.  This movie had it's redeeming qualities, it had a pretty cool fight scene to finish it off and it was actually decently executed.  However, it has major major flaws that just make it awful.  Other than the ones that you overlooked were, the relentless product placement (eBay, Mountain Dew, GM, fucking everything was plugged in this film!), another thing is the lame acting (John Turturro played a very annoying character, Shia LaBeouf played and even more annoying character and Megan Fox didn't really have to act, just look like Angelina Jolie and be exploited).  The movie was sabotaged with shit to sell tickets, when in all actuality just having a bunch of giant fucking robots would probably have been enough to sell tickets (dumb asses!), I would say if you're gonna watch a Transformers movie, make it the first one, otherwise don't bother.
File:TF2SteelPoster.jpg
The second film in this beautiful series of explosion filled films is titled Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen (2009).  In this film the Deceptacons revive their dead leader Megatron and try to get some shit and destroy the Earth and Sun and some shit, I don't care.  THIS time though, they're following some other long lost evil robot called The Fallen! (ooooh, aaaaaah).  This film has a lot of what the last film had girls being over-sexualized, explosions, robots, fighting, the military, yadda yadda, except THIS one had parts in Egypt and a robot broke out of the pyramids! (ooooh, aaaaah).  I dunno, really this film was a lot worse than the first one (I know, crazy right?).  It's a sequel and didn't really need to be made.  It had less impressive CGI, less of a decent plot but the same lame jokes (this time they weren't as sexual though).  In fact, this film was such a pathetic sequel I only saw it once and don't really remember it, I dunno, I don't have much to say except it made me angry that a Transformer could turn into a person, I'm pretty sure they could never copy organic things (AND she had a giant snake knife come out of her ass).  I dunno, I wouldn't watch it but you'll do what you want.

File:Transformers dark of the moon ver5.jpgAnd now the third one Transformers: Dark of The Moon (2011).  I'll say this if it's anything like the second... I will not see it, if it's anything like the first on... I will not see it.  This one has more alien robots and a plot! That I won't see, or read!! So yeah! All that!  One thing I WILL say is that, after she left the franchise, Megan Fox said that she didn't like the way Michael Bay treated her and over-sexualized her (I know right?), but the new girl they cast in her place was a Victoria's Secret model who has worked with Bay before, that must means she's more willing to be made into that? Who knows.  All I know is that Shia LaBeouf was reported saying that that's just Bay's way of doing things, making females sex symbols.


But there it is, a quickie about giant fighting alien robots.  If you loved the films and disagree with me, let me know, I dig the feedback!

Now for some good shit!  My album recommendation today is The Knife by The Knife, it's Swedish electronica so if you're into that electric sound and dig foreigners singing, this one's for you, check it out.  My movie for today is... No Country For Old Men by the Coen Brothers, the film is about a cowboy who finds a large sum of drug money and gets chased by a mercenary.  It's excellent and brutal, if you like Westerns and shit, check out this one here.

But there she is, in all her glory, my next blog post... after telling you all that I wouldn't do anymore... have a happy Saturday and enjoy life (especially if you're not being flooded).

Thursday, March 31, 2011

The First Movement-- Talking about a few Academy Award nominees

So, I've messed with blogs before but I decided to create my own to discuss film (and to a lesser extent a bit of music)... I don't feel like I know nearly enough about film, but it's a passion of mine and I am an aspiring film student, so I feel if I discuss film (and hopefully SOMEONE will respond and there will actually be discussions) then maybe I can know a bit more...

ANYWAY, in the words of Arcade Fire, now I'm ready to start...

Let's start with a review of sorts, I know it's a bit late but still appropriate but Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky just came out on DVD and I have purchased it a few days ago.  I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me, you're all entitled to your own opinion, but I really enjoy this film.

For those of you who know anything about the film, it IS about New York ballet... but for those of you that think this would be a retarded chick flick about ballet are horribly wrong (of course that this point you've probably seen the movie or at least know that it's more than that).  The movie becomes a trip into obsession, paranoia, rivalry and madness.  Natalie Portman's character eventually loses her mind and begins to hallucinate as she become obsessed with her ballet role.

Here's a more detailed synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/plotsummary

I can't say that I know a lot about Aronofsy (I haven't seen all of his movies), but what I have seen have been good movies... movies like Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan have been good, well told stories that have a good amount of a mind fuck, so to say... The Wrestler and The Fountain were also decent (however, not my favorites).  I personally think Aronofsy is a good director, he tells intriguing stories and does them very well...

As I'm sure, you also know, the film was nominated for the Academy Award (it didn't not win), however, it DID deserve the recognition it got.  Two other Academy Award nominees this year (neither of which won), that I feel deserve to be mentioned are 127 Hours and True Grit.

Many of you are aware, I'm sure that True Grit by Joel and Ethan Coen is a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film of the same name (which in turn is an adaptation of the 1968 novel by Charles Portis).  I've heard many fans of the John Wayne film did not like this remake.  I personally can't imagine this, like most Coen Brothers films, True Grit is an excellent film and another example of the Coen Brothers' ability to tackle any genre and make it their own... The film is a very well done, very good looking typical modern western, one thing I wish this movie did was get into a deeper story or a deeper moral ideal.  It literally is a standard western... here's a synopsis... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/plotsummary

The film touches on some subjects that I wish it had the time to dive into further... such as the young girl's romanticized view of the "trail" and there are many events that don't totally seem necessary, such as the "bear man"and it would have been nice for them to explain the importance of Lucky Ned Pepper as the main enemy a bit more (he just seemed to come out of nowhere and be a bigger enemy than Tom Chaney, who they set up as a major enemy at the beginning of the film).  Overall, the movie is excellent but, in my opinion, didn't deserve to win the oscar for best picture.  Jeff Bridges on the other hand, could have easily won for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn.  Jeff Bridges is an excellent actor in my opinion and I love seeing him as the aging badass cowboy that he portrays in this film... Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers, as they've shown in The Big Lebowski, are just an excellent combination.

Finally 127 Hours by Danny Boyle, is an amazing movie about human struggle against nature, the will to survive and answering for one's mistakes.  Here's the plot... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/plotsummary

What's more amazing is the fact that this movie is a true story, this movie has a lot of depth, it goes deeper than just the story of a trapped man, it dives into what he's thinking and does an excellent job to depicting his regret and need to survive and his near surrender to his plight.  I saw Slumdog Millionaire which is also by Boyle and was not totally impressed (even though it won the Academy Award for best picture in 2008),  this movie is exponentially better than that one, 127 Hours is a movie that actually makes you feel for the character and internalize his struggle.  It makes you think about what you'd do in the same situation and who your possible final thoughts would be of.  It's a powerful movie.

I would recommend any of these movies (I can talk about the best picture winner, cuz I have yet to see it haha), but it's good to see worth while movies get recognized on a wide scale in a year when the popular movies were very lacking... I'm sorry 2010, you weren't the best year for movies...

ANYWAY... that's my piece, please comment cuz I'd love to have discussions with people that truly enjoy cinema, if you think I'm retarded or wrong, let me know, everyone has their opinion...

have fun...
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3985807385/
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1984862489/
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi768149785/

Good Night and Good Luck