Movies Seen: *First Time Viewed
Hot Fuzz*
Annie Hall*
The Twilight Saga: New Moon*
Coraline
This is Spinal Tap*
This was a week of movies I “had to see”. You know, the kind of films where people’s jaws drop as they exclaim “You haven’t seen ??? (insert movie here)”. With the exception of Twilight that is. That was my gentlemanly duty, escorting my girlfriend to her chick flick. I did some pushups before hand, I like to work out, I’m a real man. Then I watched some football. Yeah, that’s me all over. Just because I cried during some of the sensitive parts doesn’t make me less of a man. In fact, I’m pretty sure those were man tears. I think I heard them sexually harassing someone as they slid down my cheeks.
Hot Fuzz:
Bloody brilliant. I am a fan of Simon Pegg. I am a fan of Shaun of the Dead. But this movie, I just did not expect it to be so freaking GOOD! It was funny and fascinating. I can’t believe how many times I was laughing out loud while watching this. Damn you Aaron! Stop introducing me to such good stuff! Next thing you know I’ll be getting a Hellboy tattoo. Anyway, the movie. From the previews I thought this would be a lot of action in stupid ways straight off. But the movie starts by introducing you to the main character, and from there it starts a very steady progression of story. It is never boring, but quirky in a British humor kind of way. I just cannot say how much I enjoyed this film. It’s on par with my love for the movie Snatch, and if you know me, you know I love me that movie (you thought I was going to say something dirty didn’t you?).
Annie Hall:
I don’t know if you know this, but Woody Allen writes some funny stuff. And acts it out. And directs it. He’s good, I’ll leave it at that. I find myself at a blank when trying to describe this movie. I would hate to under represent it, because it means a lot of things to a lot of people. It’s referenced in a hundred other movies and countless other media forms. This is what I am going to say as my initial estimation (having only seen it the once): It was a very funny comedy. It has a lot of camera shots that, as far as I know, were unusual for a comedy. And that’s why I’m getting my blank, it’s not just a comedy. Annie Hall seems really important. I can see myself going back to it every few months to see those conventions again that I have and will see repeated in tons of other movies. Does that make any sense? Sorry if I’m being totally confusing.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon:
Let’s get this out of the way: I have not seen that first movie. Why would I want to watch a movie about sparkly emo vampires? I stand by that, as there was at least one extremely emo vampire in this movie. But God help me, I enjoyed New Moon. There were some boring parts, like when they show a progression of time by spinning around Bella sitting in a chair (frankly, I got a little ill), but I found it really interesting most of the time. I love stories (yes, in general). My favorite section of the movie, and the part that will get me to watch other movies in the series, are the last 30 minutes or so. They introduce a set of characters that I found fascinating right away. There is a lot of action in New Moon, and I liked the way the effects were done, although the slowing down-speeding up thing may have been overdone. There was really only one part that REALLY bugged me. I’m not going to spoil anything. These wolves are fighting, and they rush into the forest, and knock over the camera. What was the point of that? I can understand going for realism, especially when the wolves are nothing but CGI, but to knock over the camera was to take me out of the story world. To indicate that, yes, this is a movie and being filmed. If it had happened on set, that’s one thing, but like I said, these weren’t real creatures, so I doubt that. So what’s up with that? Bad move I say.
Coraline:
3rd time I have seen this movie. I am officially all about it. This time around I really paid attention to the sound. Each character in the movie has their own music. It is really fascinating to me how much thought went into this movie. I saw the correlation between the bright/faded real world and the neon/dark other world. I noticed the way that in the real world Coraline herself is the only one with any bright colors. I recognized how the sewing theme and the spider go together so naturally. I cannot believe I did not notice before! And finally the voice acting, which is done so well. I just looked it up on IMDB and I was pleased to note that both Keith David (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202966/) and Ian McShane (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574534/) do voices in the movie. I had NO idea it was them. Pleased as punch, that’s me. I have to say that the first time I watched Coraline I was not wowed at all. I don’t know what that says other then I am seeing that you can’t really start to “get” a movie until you have seen it a few times. Maybe I owe Buffalo ’66 another run through…
This is Spinal Tap:
Mockumentaries… Christopher Guess movies on a whole… not really my bag. They consist of extremely dry humor. The kind of stuff you barely have time to chuckle at before they throw more at you. I think I’m smart (I cannot suppress my ego enough to think otherwise), but I need more time to process stuff. MORE TIME! Even so, This is Spinal Tap was really funny. I was amazed to find I liked the music being played, and it was hilarious. Part of the reason it was so funny was that I thought it wouldn’t at all be farfetched if a rock band would write lyrics like they had in the movie. And it is really good music. Great guitars, great singing. For some reason I thought the movie would be more raunchy. Cucumbers in tin foil aside it didn’t really push that envelope. I advise anyone who likes Flight of the Conchords or the Office to watch this movie, because I think you will get a kick out of it. I wish I had more to say. Sigh.
I love movies. Keep them coming. I feel like I am starting to get a hold on the big picture, even if it’s only a few threads at a time. If you have any recommendations for me that I haven’t watched, please let me know. I started a Twitter account, but I have no idea how to use it, so bollocks to that. Cheerio and happy movie watching to all!
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