Slightly expanded review, mostly a repost from my old Flixster set Never let it be said that I only blog about movies I like. I do enjoy movies immensely, and so I do go into every one prepared to love it. Why wouldn't you? Plus, I'll admit, I'm pretty much a sucker for M. Night Shyamalan - intriguiging stories that are edgy and kind of creepy, and the promise (usually!) of a twist ending? Yep, I'm going. The trailer for The Happening was wonderfully compelling, and I once again fell victim to … [Read more...] about The Happening
Ramblings and Reviews
Hearts in Atlantis
Repost of a rather brief review of a movie I've wanted/not wanted to watch for some time. This was originally posted on my Flixster account, which I suppose could partially account for its brevity. Also, I find if I'm not interested in a movie too much, I'm apparently not interested in discussing it much! ==================================================== It really pains me to give a low rating to a film starring Anthony Hopkins, but with Hearts in Atlantis, I'm afraid I must. As a constant … [Read more...] about Hearts in Atlantis
A 2-D Rant Against a 3-D Dilemma
In a discussion with my mother-in-law about How To Train Your Dragon, she mentioned to me an article she had read about Dreamworks' tactics to "encourage" theaters to make room for the 3-D version of their film: 'Dragon' versus 'Titans' versus 'Alice' in fight over 3-D screens Basically it comes down to this: if theaters with limited 3-D screens (usually just one) choose to keep Alice playing on those screens instead of replacing it with the 3-D version of Dragon, Dreamworks may withhold the … [Read more...] about A 2-D Rant Against a 3-D Dilemma
Death Defying Acts
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm9dcGzMV_U] When I hear about a movie called, "Death Defying Acts", and find that it's a movie about escape artist Harry Houdini, I will admit that I make certain assumptions. When I find the trailer for said movie, and see a fast-paced series of action-filled scenes, I make further assumptions. Unfortunately, the movie I watched met few if any of my expectations. Don't get me wrong--this film was simply beautiful to look at, and I am quick to … [Read more...] about Death Defying Acts
Paranormal Activity
There are certain types of movies for which it makes a huge difference whether you see it in a theater or at home on your television. I knew Paranormal Activity would be one of those movies that really needed to be seen in the theater, so I was upset when I realized it had come and quickly left our local theaters last year. So when the Art Theater (a local theater house in Champaign, Illinois) advertised a special late-night showing of this movie, I jumped at the chance. I jumped at the movie … [Read more...] about Paranormal Activity
Addendum to “Alice”
Well, as you might have expected, I did go watch Alice again - this time without the 3D trappings. The colors were in fact noticeably deeper and richer, particularly in the flowers and other surroundings of Wonderland. It wasn't day-glo 70s garishly colorful (which I nearly expected), but it was definitely an improvement. And a lot of the camera angles were so oriented to 3D on their own, that I found I didn't miss the added depth very much at all. Since the 3D effects were so much more subtle … [Read more...] about Addendum to “Alice”