Bryan's Movie Blog

Fast & Furious

2011-08-14T18:04:00.027-06:00

I watched this today for probably the fourth time. I still enjoy it. I think it's easily better than FF2 or FF3. For the most part it's unfair because in FF4 the original gang is back, which 2 and 3 didn't have. But what I think really makes this movie better is that it has a significant plot besides "Brian is trying to take down Person X through street racing."

One of my favorite parts of the - scratch that. My favorite part of the first movie is when Dom gets into the Charger and fires it up to go after Johnny Tran. Man! That is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world! So, I was glad to see the Charger return (tho slightly different and much less pronounced in the audio of the movie).

Beyond that, I didn't pay much mind to the cars in the movies. I mean, I enjoyed seeing them, but I don't know enough about cars, especially imports, to really know and respect the cars they chose to put in the film. But a bonus feature on the BD filled me in. It surely must have been fun to have "tryouts" for cars.

The cars are great, I'm sure a lot of guys enjoy the women (as with Fast Five, the leading cast has never done much for me, so I don't notice the girls much), the movies are full-throttle most of the time, but there's one thing about this film that I really think is the best part. It has many throwbacks to the first film and even follows some of the same structure. As you're watching, you're not only enjoying this film, they also have somehow managed to have this film make you re-enjoy the first film.

Faster

2011-07-29T23:07:00.003-06:00

I wasn't sure if I would like this movie after I read the synopsis, but Dwayne Johnson is one of the few actors because of whom I'll usually watch regardless. When it came up in my Netflix queue, all I remembered is that it was about a guy revenge-killing a bunch of people. And honestly, that's most of the movie on the surface.

The movie does prompt the active watcher (I'm usually not) to question the morality of the main character, Driver. The character himself seems to wonder, for short moments, a few times during the film. If I had to guess, I think people would be pretty well split on whether or not his actions were "right." It's definitely a sad thing to say the least that he lost his brother in such a way. But the truth is, he went out and killed people who were brothers too, and also fathers, mothers, sisters, aunts, mentors, etc. As they say, 'An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.'

Another character, a gun-for-hire, struggles with a similar conflict. He seems to have lost the enjoyment he once had in his job and hasn't been able to find it in any other activity (mountain climbing, yoga, martial arts). He ends up finding happiness in leaving his work behind, settling down with his girl, and starting a family.

There was one thing that bothered me. They didn't catch him in the end, not really. Maybe it was a cheap ploy to leave the ending open for a sequel (please, no, we have enough sequels), but I'm not sure. It just seemed off that the 'good guys' didn't catch the 'bad guy.'

One way I enjoy measuring movies is by the cars. There's some nice eye-candy in this one.

Transformers 3

2011-07-05T22:53:00.006-06:00

Went and saw this with a buddy of mine while I was visiting him in Arkansas. Between summertime and being the day after July 4th, a blockbuster, popcorn movie like this felt right. It was enjoyable once through on that level, but for me the whole Transformers thing just felt tired. (I suppose I should admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Transformers 2, though mainly because of how that girl turned into...that.) There are worse ways to kill a couple hours, but for some reason when I walked out of this movie I was much more aware of the fact that that is exactly what I had just done. However, it beats trying to be one of those people who only watches what critics like or whatever. You know, I think maybe I'm just 'over' movies. Very little seems to be that good anymore. I'm really hoping it's because Hollywood is desperately grasping for dollars because of the economy and when things are really going again they'll start to relax.

If you've really enjoyed the other Transformers movies, especially 2, then you're probably not going to want to miss this. If you're among those who hated 2, missed it, or didn't bother, you should probably pass on this. At least wait until you can see it for free or for $1 at Redbox.

Training Day

2011-06-06T22:42:00.024-06:00

This is a very interesting and entertaining movie about "How far is too far?" in law enforcement. The rookie sees all the crime that the veteran detective overlooks, and sometimes even participates in, under the guise of creating the possibility of the bigger bust. So the question of the movie is, "Who's right? The veteran or the rookie?"

Denzel Washington is generally a sure thing for me. This movie has very few downsides. Because of the plot and material of the movie, there is foul language and drug use throughout. These are things I wish I could live without in film, but in this case they exist for realism instead of for, well, no real reason at all.

I don't think this is one of those movies that will incredibly shock its audience, but it is good and entertaining. I know I put "buy" down below, but you should at least rent this one.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

2011-05-27T11:18:00.003-06:00

I went to see this with my brother before he left CO as one last thing to do together before he left and because he's really enjoyed the series so far. I've enjoyed them as well, but as with most every series, they get at least a tiny bit worse with each installment. From what I've seen, a lot of people agree that this is the least of the Pirates movies so far (I think it's mostly because they miss Bloom and Knightley).

Much like the Fast & Furious series, if you've liked the others, you're likely to enjoy this one as well. There was nothing too surprising. Captain Jack Sparrow is in some sort of pirate trouble and he has to deal with some mythical thing to get out of that trouble. In this case it's the Fountain of Youth. The twist on mermaids was interesting, but clearly a bit much for the young crowd these movies draw - grade schoolers might be afraid of the ocean for a little while.

The single best thing about Pirates 4 is Ian McShane. In losing some 'star power' for this and future movies, Disney picked the best person to fill that void. I love listening to this guy talk. I thought Sparrow's 'pirate speak' was fun and interesting, but I would pay money to be able to talk like McShane's Blackbeard.

All in, a fun 'popcorn' movie for most ages.

Fast Five

2011-05-13T23:35:00.005-06:00

Having enjoyed all the previous Fast & Furious movies to some degree, I have a bias. This installment deviated significantly from the others, though. Instead of being a racing movie, this one is more of a heist movie.

Unless you're some sort of F&F hater, this movie will be equal parts what you expect and awesome new direction. The one thing that really stood out to me was how funny the movie was. A good portion of the comedy was reference to the previous films, so my advice is watch those first.

Other notes: Fun seeing Dwayne Johnson. The girl on the F&F team wasn't hot (but these movies were never about the girls for me).

Unstoppable

2011-04-29T22:17:00.004-06:00

Denzel Washington stars in this movie; that should be enough cause to rent. But for the sake of this blog, I'll say more. :)

My first concern was that it was a Denzel Washington movie involving trains not very long after Pelham 123. I knew the movies had different plots, but I was pleasantly surprised by how different the movies really are (most importantly, for me, Denzel's role). Rosario Dawson's character is closest to Denzel's in Pelham 123 and Chris Pine's character ends up being the [biggest] hero.

The movie had all the expected suspense and action, but what was really eating at me throughout was how the 'corporate machine' wanted to handle the situation. The most unnerving part was the feeling that it was probably too accurate.

You know, I'm really not sure what else to say about this movie except "go see it." I almost want to mark this a buy, but I know most people wouldn't enjoy it more than once because they would already know the ending. So I'm calling it a rent, but you should probably put it near the top of your list.

Social Network

2011-04-29T21:59:00.005-06:00

I watched this movie because a friend told me it was really good. I enjoyed the beginning where the kid is talking really fast, but he's being pretty mean. It was a little like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and I was imagining all the Facebook fans who went to see the movie and didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Shoot, I'm not sure if they were even keeping up because I was working just to hear every word he was saying. I understood some of it, but I've never known much about that part of computers.

Overall though, while there are worse ways to spend a couple hours. It was a good performance and the movie is enjoyable, I'm just pretty far from Facebook's biggest fans. Actually, I was one of the few who walked away liking Facebook less than before. It seems most people side with the main character, but I think he pretty severely betrayed his friends who helped him build Facebook. But most of those billionaire hotshots have walked all over their partners, so maybe this Mark guy isn't that much different. I say, just watch it like any other story than as a documentary.

Outsourced

2011-04-27T23:51:00.004-06:00

I decided to watch this because I've been enjoying NBC's TV series based on this and because I could stream it on Netflix. I only made it about 40 minutes deep before I stopped the movie because I was too tired. However, I got a pretty good idea of what to expect and noticed some major differences between the movie and the TV show.

The movie seemed to work very hard to show the viewer what it would really be like to be dropped into India with little preparation. The TV show feels like an American capsule with some Indian decorations outside the office. There are some parts where they talk about how the food is different, some language and mannerism differences, and one episode with a touch of religious/cultural differences. The movie on the other hand has the main character about as lost as he would be on an alien planet - all the way down to a strange toilet. Then there's the office itself. In the movie it looks like something straight out of the 80s while the TV show has very up-to-date tech. Which do you think is more accurate?

I think it would be best to combine the humor of the TV series with the truth and reality of the movie. If I had to choose though, I'd probably stick with the TV show; but that's only because the character Rajiv is so much better on the TV series and the TV series also has Charlie - a character I'm not sure exists in the movie (I'd have to watch more to find out, but it wouldn't be the same without the same actor).

I Love You Philip Morris

2011-04-26T21:59:00.002-06:00

I saw a commercial for this claiming it was one of Jim Carrey's best movies. Being a Jim Carrey fan and hearing that claim, it was hard to not watch this despite the main plot of the movie. It certainly wasn't fun watching two men kiss for me, but there were some funny moments. It is Jim Carrey, after all. I've seen Carrey's co-star, Ewan McGregor, in a few things and that was another reason I decided to watch. Very few moments of his role remain in memory.

I really only have one thing to say about this film - unless you're a die hard Jim Carrey fan or you enjoy watching man-on-man kissing, you can live without seeing this. You're not missing any Jim Carrey you haven't seen elsewhere. Matter of fact, I now object to the claim I heard in the commercial - you can find better Jim Carrey elsewhere. If you want funny, go to Ace Ventura; Liar, Liar; or Yes Man. If you want drama, go to Eternal Sunshine, Truman Show, or Man on the Moon.

Oh, and I would also like to add that I liked that Hollywood left no possibility of impressing the viewer that either of these men were turned gay because of their time in prison. Hollywood is almost always terrible at portraying what prison is really like and this was one, itty-bitty step in the right direction.

The Other Guys

2011-04-13T23:40:00.002-06:00

I really didn't like this movie. I'm surprised by that though, because I've enjoyed everything I've seen Mark Wahlberg in before this. Granted, his performance kept this movie from being completely terrible (Dwayne Johnson might have helped too if his character didn't die almost instantly in the movie), but it just wasn't enough. I may have missed a lot of buddy-cop-movie references, but even so I wasn't laughing much and this is supposed to be an action-comedy.

In short, a waste of however many minutes they let this movie go on for.