My dear, dear dears:
Salutations. I suppose I'm due for an update, so here goes.
I'm currently back in New Hampshire until the 12th of January where I've been spending a lot of time with my family, both immediate and extended. To be honest there isn't much excitement around these here parts at the moment, so I'll spare you the details of the smothering affection of my mom and dad and get on to more interesting topics.
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Sometimes I, like, watch movies and stuff. In fact I've seen a bunch in theaters over the last month so here's a little rundown with brief reviews to inform your moviegoing decisions this holiday season.
The Hobbit - I'll never refuse a return visit to Middle Earth, but this just didn't hold up to the original trilogy. The 48 frames per second bugged the crap out of my eyes. Still worth seeing in theaters.
Lincoln - Danny Day Lewis kills it. The film itself is enjoyable and well-crafted but occasionally feels a bit too much like a history lesson as opposed to a character study.
Anna Karenina - The only reason I saw this was because Keira Knightley gave a Q&A afterwards. She's very attractive. Though in the movie she just comes across as psychotic and the experimentation with stage sets didn't work for me....Keira Knightley is very attractive.
Skyfall - Baller. Probably in my top two alongside The Master.
Django Unchained - When a middle-aged white dude makes a movie where slavery motivates the entire plot, you'll get some critical backlash. But if you watch it just as a Tarantino fan, this movie is so god damn fun.
Les Miserables - Apparently if you're a fan of the book/play, you'll like it (my mom and sister cried). I thought it was ok, Anne Hathaway gives arguably the best performance in the movie and then peaces out a third of the way in. Also I might have laughed loudly when one of the characters died. It was just the funniest slapstick CRUNCH, I couldn't help myself.
Hitchcock - Fun movie, if a bit forgettable.
Rise of the Guardians - This is the one where Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost team up to fight evil. It sounds incredibly stupid, but it was actually kind of kicked ass. Unreal animation.
Life of Pi - Visually awesome, a little clunky on the religious issues and spelling out every plot point as if the audience were of a bunch of idiots.
Flight - If you're a man, go see it for the opening scene (boobies, etc.). If you're a female, wait for it to come out on DVD (boobies, etc.).
Still gotta see Killing Them Softly, Rust and Bone, Promised Land, This is 40. Let me know if you guys have any recommendations. Also I recently excavated Netflix and put together a list of around 65 titles I need to see, so if y'all are bored and in need of some suggestions, I can help you out.
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In addition to seeing a buttload of movies, I've also made another one. Oh snap.
https://vimeo.com/55694386
password: turkey club
Let me know what you think. Unless you think it's shitty. Just, you know, keep that to yourself.
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Other than that I've just been sleeping a lot, eating frequently, playing with my dog. I plowed my driveway the other day, so that reaffirmed my masculinity that I was starting to question after watching Les Miserables.
On the ladies front I have been texting frequently with this girl I met at film school. She just dumped her long-distance boyfriend so I'm feeling good. Trying not to sabotage another budding romance with over-eagerness.
Peace homies, hope to see you guys soon. Happy holidays and all that jazzy jazz.
Brian
p.s. Google image search my name and check out the meme that pops up.
Ignorant comments for the other less movie-d peoples.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am too ignorant to know what the normal frames per second is or that the Hobbit is in something different, I will say that I liked the original 3 better than this first Hobbit movie. However, it made me reread the book which is delightful if you have the time (aka til January 12th if you are Brian). Also, I think the second movie in the Hobbit series has the most potential after reading the book depending on how they break up the novel. Still that is weird to say that the middle movie could be the best. I see the third being a drawn out battle that will disappoint and be too long. We'll see if I am right.
Want to see Lincoln but I can't because Europe hates America I guess. Then again I guess it makes sense that they don't really care that much about our 15th president. For example, I can't tell you who was the leader at the time of the abolition of slavery for any major European power. If any of you do, please prove me wrong.
My mom is less attracted to Keira Knightley but Tolstoy is her favorite author of all time. Her goal after she retires is to learn Russian so she can read War & Peace in its native language. She said she didn't really like the movie and that the "play inside a movie" thing just made it worse. I however still agree that Keira Knightley is quite attractive and shall google image search her after checking out Brian's meme. Maybe see the movie on HBO sometime.
Skyfall. I also thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't decide if I liked Casino Royale better. But, they both are great reminders that Quantum of Solace was quite bad. Also, watching made me go back and watch a bunch of old Connery James Bond movies and I must say that things were a little different back then. I have to admit technology really does help that genre of movies and also that the revered Connery bond was pretty borderline on what constitutes sexual harassment in my eyes.
My mom and brother apparently walked out of Les Miserables yesterday. I don't know if my mom is a fan of the book or play, but quite clearly they weren't fans of the movie.
As for recommendations, my entire family really loved a movie called Silver Linings Playbook with De Niro, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. I had never heard of it but just watched the trailer and was interested. Most importantly, the trailer indicates Chris Tucker is in it. I didn't know he was still alive or that his contract allowed him to do any movie that didn't start with Rush and end with a number.
Brian's movie. My internet connection is slow as fuck right now and not letting me watch it. I am upset and will head to my local mall to watch it shortly. Looking forward to it.
Paison,
ReplyDeleteWell done sir. Also, in the credits I couldn't help but notice the name Aric Coppola. Any relation to someone named Francis Ford?
Liked the movie Brian, especially the music choices. And those dinners with old girlfriends where you don't have shit to talk about and are annoyed with the other person and that you're about to pay for dinner. Definitely remember those from back in the day. Andrea, I thought your acting was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI also went through the slideshow and the pictures and memes are amazing. I highly recommend starting your Monday with a spin through if you haven't in a while. Miss you guys