That would have been my tag line for the movie. Now those of you I’ve talked movies with know that I absolutely hated the 2nd movie in this series. I absolutely despised it. When I went to it (the 2nd one) I ran into a friend who had just seen it and he thought it was horrible. I still went in to watch it because I didn’t really trust his reviews that much, lets just say they were inconsistent. I thought the first one was decent. Slick hi-tech gadgets in spy vs. spy battles. Ving Rhames was ultra cool as the gadget guy. So I was hoping of more the same from the second.

Boy was I disappointed. But then, a few days later I ended up trying to see another movie that I wanted to see but was about 15 minutes late, so to be fair knowing I had a negative connation going into it the first time, I decided to give it one more try. It was painful. 20 minutes into the movie, I kept thinking to myself “why can’t everyone just die, then the movie would be over!” No such luck. I never expect much in the way of plot from what I like to call “popcorn-flicks”, but some plot connecting the dots is always nice. The plot connecting the action sequences flat lined. It developed no interest for me, and I really didn’t care what happened. Later, I read an article about in EW that discussed how Tom and John (Woo) came up with their plot for MI2. Here’s what they conservation went like:

John: I always wanted to crash a plane into a mountain.
Tom: We can do that. I like motorcycles.
John: We’ll put in a chase sequence then. I like kung-fu.
Tom: We’ll do some kung-fu fights then, maybe on the motor cycles…

And they came up with all their action sequences, gave them to a writer and said “here, write a script for these action sequences.” I’m guessing mere minutes later a writer handed them a script going “done!” And they filmed the resulting crap.

Ving Rames was nearly non-existent and he was the coolest thing from the first one.

So now on to the newest flick in the series, #3. This time they got someone that can actually pen a decent story, Mr. JJ Abrams, to write and direct it (he’s come up with Alias and Lost in case you didn’t know). With him at the helm, I figured I give it a chance.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, not that I expected much. Ving was back, there was a plot, I actually felt some empathy for the characters and wanted them to succeed and survive. All the sequences showing Mr. Cruise running got pretty old, and if I watched it again, I’d probably find some more stuff to complain about as well, but it is a popcorn flick and for the 135 minutes or so, I was entertained. Yea, they blow up lots of stuff and cut from one bit in a fight to another so fast that you really can’t tell what’s happening, or get a sense for how the fight is going if you could really watch it, but hey, as I ate my popcorn and drank my soda, I was content.

And why do I suggest a tagline, well Tom’s engaged in the movie and his wife was kidnapped and he has to get her back. So it’s personal. Kind’ a like when in Jaws 4 (I think), the great white migrates south to the Caribbean to harass the wife of the cop that killed Jaws 1-3. The shark had a personal vendetta. Thankfully, MI3 it just a bit better the J4.

And does Tom Cruise being a complete nut case in real life affect my review. Nope, I could care less what he does off screen, just as long as he doesn’t kill people and stuff. He made Top Gun and Days of Thunder (oh wait, they’re the same movie, just one had jets and the other had race cars) two of the most kick ass popcorn flicks of all time. So in the end, I just want to be entertained. Plus, he was willing to rip on himself by spoofing MI2 in AP3:Goldmember, so in the end, I think even he realized 2 sucked.

[This is quiet possibly the longest movie review I’ve written and, surprisingly, very little is actually about the movie I’m reviewing. I guess it just goes to show how much I hated MI2.]

[Finally, I know people are looking at these blogs I’m doing. The little counter keeps going up. Will someone please post a comment? Agree or disagree with a review, random skiing tips, or just know how to keep a bird from flying into a window repeatedly, let me know.]

This is a movie that is kind of hard to describe. I’m going to assume that is an accurate portrayal of what happened that morning basically because I haven’t heard an uprising of complaints saying it is completely inaccurate, and based on its content, we would have heard those complaints if it was. I realize what they portrayed on the plane is somewhat of conjecture based on the calls they received, but they didn’t make it overly dramatic or anything like that.

I found the movie to be hard to watch. Not because it was done poorly, or was over the top, or anything bad to say about the movie. It was more because of everything going through my head as I remembered that day.

I had a meeting that morning to get my house plans approved and then drove to work listening to CDs all the way there. Upon going in to work and then up to my desk, even though it was a bright, sunny day here in Madison, upon leaving the elevator, I couldn’t help but get a strange feeling. Although it was nearly 10am, nobody was at their desks. Then I saw everyone at just a few people’s desks, huddled around the radios, listening. And then I couldn’t believe what I heard…

The movie doesn’t paint a good picture of how the government and it’s agencies operated that day, but not because of the people doing their jobs, but because the people doing their jobs knew something was happening but couldn’t do anything about it. They were screaming for help, asking for support and for the very, very difficult decisions to be made and the help and decisions were not happening.

If you can take going through that difficult day again, this movie is well worth watching. Not because you’re going to walk out entertained, not because you’ll walk out pissed at the government’s inability to do anything, but because you’ll have realized that a lot of people were trying to do something that day and we do have everyday heroes living among us. And how that one day changed your life, your country and your world.

If you don’t want a movie spoiler, stop reading now… If you read past this, you might ruin the plot, or you might not. Kinda hard to tell if there is a plot to ruin.

Yea, I went a watched a movie tonight… Caught Silent Hill. Having seen it, I’d have a really hard time telling you what I saw. Needless to say, it is a little strange. I think the writers/directors/whatever must have taken a lot drugs, then read the classic Scarlet Letter, then did some more drugs, and then decided to re-write the Scarlet Letter, but the way they remembered it in the drug induced stupor.

It was actually a horror movie that did send a couple chills through me, but more than anything, it just kinda grossed me out. Never really quite sure what is happening or why throughout most of it. Apparently there were a bunch clues we were suppose to pick up that would explain everything, but I missed them completely. Luckily, they spend about 5 minutes towards the end explaining who, what, when, where and why, but it still doesn’t quite all fit together. Luckily, they set it up for a sequel, and based on the results this past weekend, we can expect that in a year. Maybe then this movie based on a video game will make some sense.

Until then, if you lick horror movies based on video games, it would be worth a Netflix, but I’d have a real hard telling you to go spend some of you hard earned cash on this one, even if you do like horror movies.

Well, what can I say about this movie other than it made me laugh. I think it is one that you need to see the movies that they are making fun of to truly appreciate. Since I see a lot of movies, including the bad horror movies that come out, I was able to appreciate a lot of their jokes. Since that is all I expected, I enjoyed it.

Would I have enjoyed it if I had paid for the movie? Probably not so much, but well worth a rental at some point if you see a lot of movies. At times it is just fun to see what they are making fun of. Pure mindless entertainment.

In relation to the other Scare Movies, not as good as the original (they parodied a parody, did a good job of it, and that’s tough to beat), better than 2, and on par with 3.

So tonight I went and watched Ice Age: The Meltdown. When the first one came out, I loved it. Between the little squirrel like creature that was absolutely hilarious, to the beautiful animation that is reminiscent of classic Looney Tunes in look, to the general enjoyment of just watching a fun movie, it was great entertainment.

The second one had a tough legacy to full fill and it pulled it off nicely. The squirrel like creature has a bit of a bigger role in this one and I could have just watched the 15-20 minutes that feature him and his quest to get his acorn and would have been happy with the movie. But there is the rest of the story too, and it is just as fun to watch.

I won’t go into too many details, but the general plot of the movie is the ice age that they were fleeing in the first one is now coming to and end, and the valley they’ve made their home isn’t the ideal place for them to be when the glacier melts. There are a few spots where they break out in to song and dance that seem just a little out of place, but they end up working alright and don’t go on too long.

Another thing that I liked a lot about this movie, and the original, is that they make up jokes that stand on their own. In the Shrek movies, although they are also alright movies, I just felt they relied too much on parody and very simplistic jokes. The jokes in the Ice Age movies, although not completely original, stand on their own accord. You don’t need to have seen other movies to get the references or know another story to get the allusion. You can just watch and enjoy the movie.

All and all, a very enjoyable movie that for some reason, just reminds me of the Looney Tunes of old. And that is one of the highest complements I can pay a cartoon.

On Friday after work I caught the movie Slither at the theatre. Now since it was a horror movie I really don’t expect much. I usually go to see just how bad they are, hoping that they hit that sweet spot of badness where it is bad enough that it becomes funny. Unfortunately, this movie was worse than that, it missed the sweet spot, and was just outright bad.

First off, the movie starts off at a snails pace setting up the story. I think even the producers or editors realized this because 45 minutes into the movie, they went the little “3 Days Later” title on the screen and then the stuff started that was at least mildly entertaining.

Now the movie is not without merits, but they’re aren’t many. I guess if you’re determined to see the movie, you might as well show up about 40 minutes late. Yea, you’ll miss nearly half of the movie, but in reality, you won’t have missed much. The few portions that are entertaining occur in the 2nd half. I’d have a hard time recommend this movie to anyone, and would likely say just wait for it on TV, and when it does come on, skip the first half of it.

Another Monday, another movie. This week I caught Inside Job. This was a thinking man’s movie. You go in, knowing it’s a puzzle and you’re trying to figure it out before they show you the whole story. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but I know that not everyone will see it the same way. Denzel did a great job with his role, but I’m not sure if his suit really fit the role of a New York city detective. Looked more like something you’d see Horatio wear in CSI: Miami. It was nice to see a movie that isn’t your typical movie with a real straight forward plot.

So last night I watched V for Vendetta over on the local IMAX. Movies that come out in March always make me wonder just a little bit. Typically, there are some really good movies that come out over Christmas and then it kinda dies down a little bit until the summer season starts in mid to late April. Usually, everything in between is a little questionable. Studios typically use this time to dump some bad movies or release ones originally set for summer they just aren’t real confident in.

V, however, was a movie worth watching, especially on the IMAX. I had seen Goblet on the IMAX and it didn’t make much of difference to me. But with this one, wow. The best part… the movie itself is good too.

Based on the handful of commercials I had kinda half seen (I try to not pay too much attention to movie ads because they sometimes ruin the movie), I went in expected an action movie. In that I was disappointed. An action movie it is not.

It starts off with a bang, and on the giant IMAX screen it makes for a pretty big bang. But from there is turns into more of a thinking man’s movie. They tell a story that kept me entertained, waiting to find out what would happen next, even though, in the end I knew what was going to happen, but I still wanted to see how we got there.

Surprisingly, Natalie Portman even got to do some acting in this movie, which is a change from her performance in the Star Wars prequels. She showed just a little rust, but delivered a believable character.

I’ve since added the comic to my with list over at Amazon because I’m very curious to read the original story to see just how true they stayed to the story.

So last Monday I went to watch the new movie over on our local IMAX screen, Deep Sea 3-D. Once again I was pretty impressed. The movie itself was pretty typical for a nature movie, pretty much the same thing you’d see on the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. However, seeing it on a gigantic screen and in 3-D, makes it completely worth it.
Next up, V for Vendetta.

Another day, another movie. OK, that is overkill, I don’t see that many movies, but I did see another movie tonight. I watched the new Bruce Willis/Mos Def movie 16 Blocks.

I actually liked this movie quiet a bit. I walked away from feeling a little bit like when I left Crash, the feeling of having just watched a good movie. Neither of these movies are what one would call a popcorn flick (ie a movie that you go to be purely entertained), but I’m not really sure how’d I classify them. Probably as a thriller, but that doesn’t even really ring true for me. 16 Blocks is also similar to Training Day. More of a gritty, this is the life of a cop movie.

Willis seems to have a knack for nailing the portrayal of a down and out cop. He pulled it off nicely in the Die Hard’s and he does another excellent rendition here as well. Mos Def does a great job playing the criminal being taken to the grand jury as well. I first really recognized him in The Hitchkiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and he’s playing someone completely different here.

There are going to be people that don’t care for this movie. It isn’t a Die Hard. These are the same people that probably didn’t like Training Day or Crash. I thought those were both great movies and this one is too.