Movies

[Quill]

13th Warrior--I found it outstanding, if very unsettling in parts. Definitely not for the easily squicked. Starts slow, but boy does it pick up! I was hoping for more fancy swordwork, but one can't have everything. The acting's terrific.

It's based on a Michael Crichton book? Then that one must be based on Beowulf.

[Agent M]

Yep. It's based off of "Eaters of the Dead" I'm pretty sure, the plot sounds exactly the same. But the movie looks really good but the book so far is really boring........*zzzzz*

[meteorite]

I did see I, Robot and am grudgingly able to concede it was a good techno-thriller, in a pseudo Asimov way. At least the good doctor's revolutions in his grave have probably slowed down to the point where he's not powering a whole city anymore. They should have tried to simply write a completely new plot; they kept some characters' names, the Three Laws of Robotics, and the title of the story collection, but everything else was largely whole cloth. They still needed the safety net of a recognized Name in science fiction to make it run.

[Kathy Li]

Snert. I don't think there's an Asimov fan going into it who believes it's going to bear any resemblance other than a James-Bondian-titular one.

I am behind, and finally got to see Spiderman 2 last night. It pretty much delivered on everything everybody's been saying. Raimi zaniness and goofy slapstick combined with knock-em-sock-em action, and some really robust and fun melodrama and deeply nuanced and just over the top enough acting (Alfred Molina! Donna Murphy!). And lots of Rosemary Harris's Aunt May, thank god. She was so wasted in the first movie, it was nice to see someone else felt she needed to get something to sink her teeth into. Even the CGI got better (ok, I still have quibbles with the weightless frictionless bits in the top-of-the-train sequence, but small ones).

Just shows what happens when you get the right story guys in at the right time. With Millar & Gough (Smallville) and Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Wonderboys), you got some major comic book geeks who know how to write and motivate their characters well.

I'm just sad that Bruce Campbell was only the theatre usher, and not the guy wielding the chainsaw in the OR, thus making the Evil Dead reference complete. Oh, well, at least we got to see Stan Lee save somebody's life. And how much did I love it when MJ called Peter "Tiger."

[meteorite]

You did, of course, note that Stan Lee makes cameos in virtually all the Marvel-based films. He was in the World Festival scene, once again pulling someone out of the way of collapsing scenery, in Spiderman I. He usually is in the front of crowd scenes, never speaks, but gets 15 seconds of action in front of the camera. He made a cameo in X-Men and Incredible Hulk, although I forget where, I just remember seeing him.

Looking vaguely forward to AVP, although I think the story line would have been stronger if they had stuck to the one released about 13 years ago by Dark Horse, on an offworld colony named Prosperity Wells. This weekend's flick is The Bourne Supremacy; I'm vaguely surprised that Matt Damon makes a passable spy in the original coldblooded Fleming Bond tradition.

[Kathy Li]

In the Hulk, Lee walked by with Ferrigno dressed as a security guard. That was a treat. In X-Men, he was on the beach when Senator Kelly blobbed ashore. Yes, I did know he did cameos. I'm still waiting for Chris Claremont to cameo in X-Men.

The hard one to spot is Frank Miller in Daredevil. Ok, and Joe Quesada as the pizza delivery guy in Jay & Silent Bob.

AVP looked ok, but not my cuppa tea, even when it was the Dark Horse version. The Sony presentation rocked, though, because after all the AVP stuff, Avi Arad came out and announced that principal photography had wrapped on Elektra, and he'd brought a clip, narrated by Jennifer Garner, to give us a taste, and I gotta say, I'm actually looking forward to it now given that 1) she's in red and 2) Terrence Stamp is playing Stick.

Then, the FF presentation started, and I was more than consoled for having missed Jude Law and the Sky Captain presentation, because they'd brought Ioan Gruffudd (Reed), Jessica Alba (Sue. Strangely, she looks like a John Byrne drawing as a blonde), and Michael Chicklik (Ben). The guy paying Johnny had a filming commitment and couldn't make it. Their marketing emphasis was that it was going to draw heavily on the Kirby version of the characters. And Chicklik won our hearts by carrying a Thing action figure onto the stage with him and yelling, "It's clobberin' time!" before the panel started. So, that looks hopeful, even if the Barbershop guy's directing.

But the movie presentation that rocked the house, for me, was The Incredibles. Warn folks with very small kids that this may be inappropriate. It's rated PG. And remember that Brad Bird was once a Simpsons writer, and you'll get the gist. Bird showed us two clips: one with a spherical/robot/weapon fight that is what the boulder in Raiders would dream of doing if it had the technology; the second clip was a sort of cautionary tale about why superheroes shouldn't wear capes with exmaples of them getting caught on/in things and leading to an early demise. We laughed so hard we couldn't hear the dialogue.

Good movies coming.

Best freebie: the eye temporary tattoos they were giving out at the Series of Unfortunate Events booth.

[Chani]

I am so looking forward to seeing the new Bourne movie. I have been a fan of Robert Ludlum novels for so long that I am glad that this time around they are really making an action movie out of this series. The original one, made over 20 years ago, was so boring that I nearly went to sleep.

Besides, in the late 70's early 80's, they just didn't have the technology that was written in the book. I am glad that Matt Damon is doing the movie now. I think that he makes a good Jason Bourne. Ludlum describes him as a chameleon kind of character... able to change his look around. I kinda wish they had done more of that for the first movie... They did the girl, but not him.

[Agent M]

*grins* The Bourne Supremecy (sp?) was good..... Not as good as the first, but it was good..... I saw the first one on TV the night before so it was even better. Ooh! See The Village people!! It was GOOD! I have it tied with the Sixth Sense (GOOD MOVIE).... It was by the same guy. And for the chickens out there, it wasn't scary. And I know that I've said a million times I LOVE scary movies and that might not be very reasurring but my bf saw it and she didn't think it was that scary. There were some jumpy bits, like things that pop out at you, but that was about it....

[Cress]

Uh, okay somehow I don't think I'll be seeing The Village, because when it comes to movies, i am the hugest wuss in the history of the universe. I want to see King Arthur (Keira Knightly!) but for some reason I haven't yet. Huh. And I STILL haven't seen Spiderman 2, which really bugs me.

[Agent M]

No! The Village isn't scary!!!! Hmmmm... King Arthur was good, though Kiera Knightley was a little... strange. But I think you'd like it.

[Cress]

Yeah, she is kinda weird, but she's really funny. Have you seen the commentary she does on POTC? HEHEHE! It rocks! "Why does my eyebrow do that? I don't know, you have to get control of that" Yeah, that was a kind of had to be there thing, but it's really funny. And I'm quite sure I would get freaked out by The Village. I got scared by Secret Window. Really scared, I didn't even finish it.

[Chani]

I saw Bourne Supremacy and I loved it. Probably because I really understand the story, having read the books long time ago and not so recently that I remember everything about them so that they ruined the movie for me. That is the way to go see movie that was adapted from a book. Very enjoyable!

[Agent M]

"That is the way to go see movie that was adapted from a book. Very enjoyable!"
NOOOOO!!!! Books made into movies are BAD!!! *grrrrrr* Srry, I'm still mad at Timeline, GOOD BOOK!!!! BAD movie!!!! REALLY bad movie. They changed EVERTHING!!! They changed the plot, they changed the characters and they made people die who didn't really die. *GRRR!!!* heh heh.
Cress, Secret Window WAS kinda scary, even for me. The Village was NOT scary like at all. There were some violent bits and some jumpy creepy bits, that's it. You've seen signs haven't you? It's less scary then Signs but it's got the same stuff as Signs, ya know like when the aliens randomly pop out at you? That's how it is in the Village but that's about it.

[db_pr]

M: My grandma read Timeline, she said the same thing. She's gonna buy it for her and me because she doesn't remember were she put it. She reads a lot.

[Agent M]

hahah! Finally SOMEONE who feels the same way! Even if I don't know your grandma, I like her You HAVE to read Timeline!!!! SO GOOD and I think you'd like it. Are you still at your grandma's?