Super 8 - Movie Review

I went and saw Super 8 this weekend.  It was really really good. Another JJ Abrams home run (and no I do not like everything he does so I'm not that biased.

It is a sci fi monster movie.  The plot is really well done making it more of a thriller kind of monster movie.  It has a really old time feel with this.  Not a lot of monster shots and there is a lot of non-monster movie time.  This is perfectly paced though, so you never go "I wish they would just get on with it." The movie is just very well written with great believable dialogue and a strong sci-fi plot with believable science.  It is set in the past and has great sets for this.  The casting is great with just great actors in all the roles.  Everyone fits their part.  The young cast making out the group of friends is perfect.

They writing is particularly good at this as they all feel like real boys you might meet.  The young cast is so excellent and the parts so well written that it is apt to remind you of Bad News Bears or Goonies.  Which is of course good.  I would really recommend it.  You don't have to be super in to sci-fi and don't worry it isn't super scary - thrilling - but not terrifying.

Jane Eyre!

Last night I saw the new Jane Eyre movie . . . and it was great.  I think it might be my movie version for the story.  It was actually a bit creepy, even though I knew what was going to happen.  It just completely captured the creepy Gothic style of the book.  That is a very good thing.




Mia Wasilowska was fabulous.  The very best part of the movie.  She did a great job of portraying pent up strength and power.  While she isn't plain, her looks are odd enough to believe that at the time she wouldn't be considered a great beauty.  She did a great job being a bit fey as well.

Jane

Michael Fassbender did a great job with the feel of Mr. Rochester, but he was a bit pretty for the part.  Not quite the gruff version I had in my head from the book.

Rochester

Note:  Jane Eyre is my all time favorite book.  It is the only book I have read many many times.  I highly recommend it.  Its a classic, but it is really accessible.  It is also a bit creepy and dark, which is funny.  Jane Eyre is also my favorite heroine ever.  I just love her quite strength. I read mostly genre fiction now, Sci-fi and fantasy, but his is still and will always be my favorite book.

Hanna/Gone

Well, I'm going to be gone and computer-less for a week at a conference.  I did not prepare some blogs up ahead of time . . . oops.  So, there is going to be a delay.  I should have something up next Saturday.  :)



I just wanted to say a word about Hanna as well.  The movie was great.  Really interesting and beautiful to watch.  It is a quite sort of action movie, which I always enjoy.  The actors all did a fantastic job.  Saoirse Ronan does a fantastic job as the Fey little Hanna. I found Kate Blanchets accent to be a bit distracting, but other than that good. 



The movie has a real German feel to it to me.  I don't think the director is German, but it had surreal or hyper-real quality to it and a creepy whimsy that I generally associate with German movies.  Overall, I really enjoyed it.  If you like films like La Femme Nakita, Bourne Identity, or Run Lola Run you will probably like this.  If you like those you should also try The Princess and the Warrior (weird German movie for you).

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a Korean remake/homage to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Guess who is weird . . .

First, it is important to point out that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of the best Westerns/movies of all time.  That's right one of the best movies of all time.  So, paying tribute to it is kind of risky.  That rubs some people the wrong way sometimes.  Whats good with the original is that its difficult to tell, which character is the Good, which is the Bad, and which is the ugly.  I mean the easier interpretation is there for you, but there is some leeway in the behavior of the characters.  It is a classic in part for its use of silence and singularly off putting but catchy theme music.  It has a lot of visual silence in it to.  It just kind of unfurls. It really is a must see.  



What I just described to you is not the part of the movie The Good the Bad and the Weird pay homage to.  It uses a flashy variety of songs and has more than a few long dialogue scenes. The character are even labeled good, bad, weird.  That being said, they somehow did make it feel like the original.  They got the humor and the sadness in it.  The Korean version is also interesting and fun in its own right.  The characters are interesting.  The fight scenes are great.  It is like gun fight/sword fights.  What's not to like about that?  I was impressed with the look of the movie too.  It is beautiful in a odd steam punk western kind of way.  The Bad in this one is also strangely anachronistic, but it all somehow works.  It is the idea of what the west would have been like in Korea while the Japanese army was in control . . . good re-visioning.  If you like action or westerns or both I would highly recommend it.  To give you a taste.



Actually, watch them both.

The Movie List(s): Part 2

Movie lists part two!  Here are some more great movies listed by even more genres.  I prefer lists of this kind, so that is what you get.  I do love lists, yay!

Top 20 Comedies:

I don't love traditional and stupid comedies.  I like silly, creepy, and interesting.

20. Evolution- very silly, but still pretty smart. 

Ya, the make 7up yours guy is in it!

19. 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag- super weird, but still funny.

18. Kuffs- an 80s classic. 

I love Christian Slater

17. Get Smart - I really liked it and I don't usually Steve Carell comedies.

Just silly.

16. The Matador - Odd but awesome.

Kinnear and Brosnan are great together.

15. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day - adorably funny.

The whole cast is great, but France McDormand is amazing.

14. Enchanted - ridiculous spoof on Disney movie model.

Be warned there is singing involved.

13. Pirates of the Caribbean - swashbuckling fun.

Oh, Jack Sparrow.

12. My Left Eye Sees Ghosts - and odd concept, but so good.

Worth the subtitles.

11. Run Fat Boy Run - the man child has to grow up sometime.

Simon Pegg is the best.

10. Twins - funny and a ridiculous plot.

weird genetics

9. Galaxy Quest- a great star trek spoof.  It probably helps to know some star trek.

It is just all great.

8. Kinky Boots - A great comedy with boots and cross-dressers.

Save the boot shop.

7. Harold and Maud - kind of morbid and awesome

Harold may be trying to kill himself . . .

6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (new) - so creepy and hilarious.  Better than the original, which I never really cared for.  Creepy to me makes it more like the book.

so creepy

5. Juno - hilarious teen pregnancy

I'm pregnant what other shenanigans can I get into

4. Dummy - awkward funny

the actual dummy is creepy

3. Shaun of the Dead - Zombies are funny, too.

More Simon Pegg and this tie with Nick Frost!

2. Harvey - funny invisible bunnies.

Jimmy Stewart is awesome.

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I quote it all the time . . . .

I'm not dead yet

Top 20 Dramas:

As a whole dramas are not my favorite, but sometimes they are great.  There are different types here, but they all have heart.

20. As Good as It Gets - good drama is often also funny.

Jack at his best.

19. Suicide Kings - Kidnapping Christopher Walken is a bad idea.

look at all that duct tape

18. The Usual Suspects- a very complicated movie and pretty stressful.  If you haven't seen it someone probably told you the ending already.  Sorry.

Now that's a great line up

17. To Kill a Mocking Bird - A classic and a good version of the book.

Everything about Gregory Peck is good

16. Good Will Hunting - awesome despite or because of the Boston accents.

The oscars are never wrong, right?

15. Schindler's List - a brutal and uplifting Holocaust story.

the black and white really sells it

14. Sling Blade - a odd quite story about love . . . kind of.

13. Invincible - an inspiration sports movie.

Just makes me feel good

12. The Station Agent - a touching and odd story.

Life is funny

11. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - another jimmy steward classic.

Classic

10. Little Miss Sunshine - quirky look at the importance of family.

Every character is brilliant

9. Stand and Deliver - teaching troubled inner city youth may be a movie cliche now, but this one is based on a true story and started the trend.

Sometimes people give you what you expect from them

8. Stranger than Fiction - quirky and existential and perfect

Will Ferrell is actually delightful in this

7. Stand by Me - a drama about growing up.

6. Heart and Souls - sometimes you have to die to learn how to love.

I'm so happy he's having a come back!

5. The Departed - I usually do do gangster movies.  This is an exception.

4. Amilie - a true romdramedy. perfect.

Beautiful too.

3. The Shawshank Redemption - an unfortunate name, but fantastic.

The leads have great chemistry together

2. Conspiracy Theory - this movie really got broken people.

Mel really is the best crier.

1. Life is Beautiful- Perfect.  That's all I can say.  Perfectly beautiful and touching.

I don't know if I've ever been so happy and sad at the same time before.

Top 20 Westerns:

20. Dances With Wolves - kind of long, but a modern classic.

Yes there are wolves in it.

19. Once Upon A Time In the West - a fun one.

It's legit Henry Fonda is in it.

18. Young Guns- trendy and filled with cute 80s stars.

Lou Diamond Phillips was always a favorite.

17. Open Range - Kevin Cosner knows what he is doing.

Look at all those guns, must be good.

16. The Quick and the Dead - a bit quirky and good.

Yes a lady with a gun in a western.

15. Wyatt Earp - I love the story of Wyatt Earp and this one is very well done.

Two guns means he is cooler than you.

14. Unforgiven - dark western drama.

Clint hides his gun.

13. A Fist Full of Dollars - Spaghetti Westerns are a must (if you don't know what that means google it)

now that's a hat

12. Support Your Local Sheriff- Fun and ridiculous.

campy fun.

11. Maverick - funny and great.

Look a lady made the cover!

10. The Good the Bad and the Ugly - classic. mostly silent and violent. (great score too)

I love Clint's squinty eyes.

9. Seven Ways from Sundown - Hard to come by but worth it.  One of Audie Murphy's darker movies.

the poster does not help sell the movie . . .

8. Quiggly Down Under - Australian western and its great!

Now that is a gun . . . and a mustache!

7. Two Mules for Sister Sara - another Clint classic.

The nun is what makes it great.

6. The Cowboys - A great movie about growing up.

Still with the big gun.

5. Magnificent 7 - Based on 7 Samurai with a bonus of Yule Brenner.

Riding your horses side by side is a MUST.

4. Silverado - Modern, silly and I love it.

A variety of guns.

3. The Sons of Katie Elder - funny plus you get Dean Martin!

sometimes standing in a line works too.

2. True Grit (new) - I want to read the book now as this is a way more awesome story then the original.

Even with one eye he can shoot straightish

1. Tombstone - May favorite telling of the Wyatt Earp story. Val Kilmer is the best Doc Holiday, my favorite old west guy.

Walking abreast, guns, and fancy mustaches!  See why is my favorite.