Friday, May 29, 2009

I love summer movies





Terminator Salvation


I saw this the same day I saw Angels and Demons - big movie day for me.

Terminator movies have scared me for pretty much my whole life. I remember watching the first ones and hiding behind the sofa cushions. I did go see the last one, T3 or whatever it was called and thought it was eh. I'm a big believer in Christian Bale so I had high hopes for this one.

I don't think it delivered. I mean, yeah, I was scared. I bit off all my nails before the movie was half over but still.

Basic plot: John Conner is trying to take down Skynet; Skynet is trying to kill all those pesky humans. Nothing new there. Conner is also searching for Kyle Reese, the teenager who needs to get back to the past and get with Conner's mom so John Conner can exist. Side note - have I mentioned before how much I love time travel? I do, a lot. Anyway, also in play is this guy Marcus, who is executed on death row in modern times and wakes up in future L.A.

But I don't know that I saw anything new. John Conner's running around trying to kill all the machines and have meaningful moments with his preggers wife in a future where California is pretty much a barren wasteland. The machines are cool, but nothing is as scary as the T-100 from Terminator 2. The big machines that captured people reminded me too much of the alien ships from War of the Worlds. The really big guy's face also looked like one of the clones from the Star Wars movies.

And I have an issue with the Marcus premise. I don't know how much of a spoiler this is because it seemed obvious to me but maybe it isn't and you don't want to read the rest of this if you haven't seen it. - Anyway, with Marcus we learn that Skynet is building machines (or for now a machine) that are part human and think that they are human. I felt like they wanted this to be shocking and emotional, but frankly I've read way too many Philip K. Dick short stories for this to be a surprise. It was like reading the Second Variety, only with a happier conclusion.

Bale talked in Batman voice for a lot of the movie. I know he can sound different, why, why is Batman yelling in this movie? And seriously, he just walks into Skynet and they only send ONE terminator after him? Come on Skynet - it's like you're not even trying.

I said above that I love time travel in movies and books and just in general. It was surprisingly absent from this movie! I mean, you could argue that Marcus travels forward in time, but that's not cutting it for me. Pretty disappointed in that.

Shout out to Anton Yelchin who plays Kyle Reese and also is Chekov in Star Trek. I was actually really surprised with how different he was from each character. Reese was the one character in this movie that I was mildly interested in.

Looks like McG (who I still can't help but connect with the O.C.) is geared up to do at least two more of these suckers. How about spending some time on some character development next time dude?

In the end, this movie was predictable and I didn't care too much for any of the characters. Well, I care about the characters, but only the ones from previous movies. What they do in this movies doesn't endear them to me that much. Except for cutie Reese.


Summer blockbuster movie ranking so far:

Star Trek (by a lot)

Terminator Salvation

Angels and Demons


Oh, and I got really excited because I saw the preview for the Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. So excited for that one.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Movie time!


Well, girl went to the movies this weekend. First up was Angels & Demons.

I did go see The Davinci Code when that came out, however I have not read either of the books. Which is kind of weird if I think about it. Anyway, I feel that I was able to enjoy the first movie more because I hadn't read the book. Judging by my father's and littlest brother's reaction on this movie, I'm glad I didn't read this book either. They wouldn't shut up about the differences.

Basic premise of this movie is that the Pope has died, and before a new one gets elected there are some Illuminati terrorist acts. They kidnap the four favorites to be Pope and are going to blow up the Vatican. Luckily, Tom Hanks - Robert Langdon - is on the case!

What was cool for me about this movie is that I was just in Rome. I was hanging out at the Vatican and running around all the old churches. The driving in the movie was pretty much how it is all the time over there - everyone is in a super hurry and no one pays attention to pedestrians.

The other cool thing about this movie for me was the whole notion of science and religion being at war. It's no revelation that these two butt heads all the time, but it is nice to get a little kick in the pants to start thinking about it.

Religion in general is always a touchey subject. For me, watching movies like this causes me to feel a spilt in two different ways. On the one hand, I feel very much rooted in this word, science and reason. I see a lot of hypocrisy, hate, and general unpleasantness that stems from religion and I don't want to be connected with that. On the other hand, I have a hard time giving up the idea of God. And I see the comfort that so many people take from church and tradition. I had a hard time not feeling moved in all of the churches in Rome. I'm just not sure. Langdon is asked at one point if he believes in God and he respones with something like he isn't part of the church but then is asked again if he believes in God, not what men say about God. Which is a really good question.

My problem with this movie is that I saw where everything was going. Nothing really surprised me, and I could tell they were hoping to shock me. I did find myself hoping for the "bad" guy to get away with it - just to illustrate how things can go horribley awry when you but so much faith into set systems and so much faith in people.

I thought this was a good movie. I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit predictable.

My thoughts to my family as we left the theatre:
"All I'm saying is that if Ewan McGregor was Pope, you'd see my ass in church a lot more often."

So far, summer-blockbuster-movie-wise Star Trek is wining. By a lot.

weird

I am having a weird week.

I feel restless and crabby and a little sad. Well not sad-sad, but just discontent. Family stuff, work stuff, friend stuff, lots of stuff is a little off right now.

I should be happy since I just had a super long weekend, got an iphone, and had a lot of fun seeing friends and family. I'll just blame in on the weather how bout?

btw, I watched the end of last year's spelling bee last night and was amazed at how fun it was to watch. And with how bored the guy reading all the words sounded.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

how bout this crazy show huh?

Hey have you guys heard about this crazy show called Heroes? Holy crap this show is nuts.

I've been a long time Heroes hater just becuase I think it's a lamer version of X-Men, but ummm I caved and rented the first two discs tonight. Quinto may or may not have been a big reason.

son of a bitch someone ate those people's brains!

uuug damn now I'm going to have to stay up watching all of these.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Worth it

This is going to be a shameless ramble; you've been warned.


I'm was at my momma's the other day and we were talking about how things are going with me and all of a sudden I started crying. A lot. I'm not big on crying. And she started saying things like I've had a really rough year and she was amazed I'm still out having fun and not crying myself to sleep in the bathtub. Which got me feeling reflective.

This year sucked. Like majorly, majorly sucked. I was supposed to be married and well on my way to being a happy homemaker mommyblogger by now. But instead I am single and kind of live like most college kids. I've lost my best friend and had to watch him make a royal mess of his life without being able to help him. Without really wanting to help him.

This year has also been one of the best years I've known. Awesome in fact. I've travelled to San Fransico on a whim for a weekend. My dad and brother and I went to Yosemite park where I hugged a redwood and stood at the edge of a cliff. I went on a trip to Philly and NYC with a guy whom I hardly knew before this year to visit a girl I hardly knew as well. I hopped around Italy for two weeks with my brothers and father. I got promoted at work. I moved to a new and amazing apartments closer to downtown. I go out all of the time and I see more of my family.

And then I start thinking about my friends. I was kind of at a loss for awhile in my city - I had a couple of girlfriends but we only saw each other every now and then. I am so grateful for my friend Josh. We worked together and I blabbed on and on about my relationship issues and he (and everyone else at work) could see how sad I was. So he invited me out a few times. I don't really remember the first time or two I went - I'm sure I wasn't too much fun but at least I was out. And I met a group of people that have made this year out of this world amazing.


I now hang out with a handful of people that now feel like a family. We get together at least once a week and usually much more often. I wasn't really sure about where I was going to fit in with this group. I wasn't dating any of the single guys and I didn't want to feel out of place with the couples. But they all embraced me and took me in. I was continually excited when the girls invite me out or any of them call me to do something. A lot of this is my insecurity - I usually feel like people who invite me out don't really want me to come over or whatever, so when I get to the point where I feel comfortable going over to someone's house just becuase, it's a big deal for me. We joke that I ninjaed my way into this group, that they just came around one day and I was there, part of the gang. And I am. I no longer need Josh to go hang out with any of them - in fact I see some of these people more than he does.


Now most of them are moving closer to where I live and I could not be happier. I feel like I've found my own little sense of community and family really. One of them offered to drive me an hour to get me to my car once - without being asked. We talk about taking trips together - heck Josh and I went to Philly/NYC on a whim. Concerts, movies, camping trips - we have our own shared google calendar to keep up with each other. When we get together a lot of the times we'll sit down and eat "family dinners."

What I guess I'm gushing about is this: I've had a rough time lately, but it was worth it. I'd do it again next year if I had to, if these people were the payout. I'll take seven friends over one crummy relationship. It's taken me awhile people - but I think I learned a little something this year.

Friday, May 15, 2009

HEY GUESS WHO CAN BREATH AGAIN?

it's me!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Let's talk about those eyebrows

I haven't been to that many movies lately. But, my brother came home this weekend and I was craving popcorn like whoa so we hustled over to the theatre to see Star Trek. If you haven't seen it then don't read the rest of this sucker.



So, here's the deal. I'm not a trekkie. I am pretty sure I've never seen an episode of Star Trek in any of its variations. I maybe caught a few minutes at a high school party one (yeah B-town parties know how to rock) but that's about it. So I did not expect to get a whole lot of the inside jokes or have any preconceived notions of the movie. I also only saw one trailer way forever ago.



That being said I was ah-mazed at how much of this movie felt familiar to me. I think that Star Trek is so ingrained into cultural consciousness that it's hard not to be somewhat aware of it. Although I do watch a lot of Futurama which references Star Trek a lot, maybe that's just it. After the movie my brother and I were talking about it and he pointed out that I know a lot more about this Star Trek world than I think. We had a fun time at the movie, thought there were a lot of points where some die-hard fans were laughing or clapping and I was just like uhhh whut? But at the same time I don't think I really missed anything that kept me from enjoying the movie.



I like to see movies a lot. Now I'm all for seeing Oscar-worthy, meaningful, change-my-life movies, but there is just something about summer blockbusters that gets my ass into the theatres. This movie reminded me why I love going to movies, because this movie has so much of what I love to see in movies. Space, romance, time-travel, bar fights, back stories, witty banter, and eyebrows. I loved this movie.



Now sciencey people are harping about how black holes just don't work that way - but frankly I don't care. It worked for me in Donnie Darko and it's working for me now. There's no other way to restart a series and maintain room for a creative storyline. Otherwise all the bigger geeks would ruin what is going to happen and then I'd be pissed. Now I can enjoy the sequels they do (what what rumor has it that the cast is signed for at least two!) without knowing what's going to happen.



This movie was visually appealing. I'm not really sure what that big canyon is doing in Iowa, but hey it looked really good so I'll take it. The space ships, the buildings, ice caves, everything just looked impressive.



I thought the acting was really good. Pine managed to have a little Shatner in his performance but didn't go over to cheesy - all I can picture now is the Shatner from the Family Guy episodes hopping all over the place. The secondary characters were all pretty good too. Though, I have to wonder why all of the kids snuck into these big jobs and the other senior officers just shuffled away. Especially with the dude Uhura replaced. He didn't even say anything - he was just like oh yeah I can't speak Romulan, peace out guys. But whatevs.



What was Winona Ryder doing in this movie? I saw her face and just what the hell?



Annnnnd can we talk about Spock? I didn't know that guy could kick so much ass. From the moment he stuck it to the man by rejecting the Vulcan something-something academy, I knew I was going to like him. I loved the dialogue between him and Kirk. And that scene where Uhura was all pissy about him not treating her like teacher's pet. Even though he's this big stoic guy with emotional repression issues, I think that the movie did a great job in balancing the human and Vulcan in him. I love, love that he's got the girl that Kirk's been eyeing up. And Quinto looked like he could be related to Nemoy. Freaky. As I said on twitter, I would get all makey-outy on this Spock. Contrary to my dating record, smart guys are pretty high up on my hot list.



The bad guy in this movie seemed almost like an afterthought though. I mean he's there, destroying planets and what-not, but I'm more interested in Spock kicking Kirk's ass. I think for me it was because Nero wasn't that distinguishable from the other Romulans on his ship. At least not to me. It was hard to tell sometimes who the main bad dude was. Although, to be fair, face tattoos.



I'm not even going to try to hide how much of the dork that I am about this movie. I'm seeing this one again, at least one more time. Hopefully at the Imax this week. And I may have loudly claimed that I'm buying the d.v.d. as soon as it comes out.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

4 or 5??

Dude do I work until four or five today? I cannot remember for the life of me and I'm the only one in the office today. I could bail I guess but I'd rather get paid.

That's all!