The Movie Thread

[Gazoo]

So the Chronicle's review of Angels & Demons was written by ... Amy Biancolli. Who she? she's identified only as "Hearst Movie Writer". Turns out she's the critic for the Houston Chronicle (also owned by Hearst).  Nobody in SF was available to review a huge blockbuster?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/15/MVEM17JSLJ.DTL

That sort of syndication marked for me the beginning of the end at the Village Voice.  We started running reviews from the alt papers in Denver and I forget where else; and it's not that they were horrid critics, but they write for less demanding audiences and so turn in reviews that are heavier on plot summary than interpretation and broader cultural implications.  I thought this did our readers a disservice and was branded an NYC elitist for saying so.

[Gazoo]

Also: I watched Talladega Nights last night.  A lot of really funny moments, but a *lot* of gay jokes, and I often find myself lacking a sense of humor in that realm: it fatigues me that in comedies, a person's gayness is always a punchline, never merely an attribute.  Leaves me feeling, as so often, outside looking in.

[RGMike]

Also: I watched Talladega Nights last night.  A lot of really funny moments, but a *lot* of gay jokes, and I often find myself lacking a sense of humor in that realm: it fatigues me that in comedies, a person's gayness is always a punchline, never merely an attribute.  Leaves me feeling, as so often, outside looking in.

I would argue that in TN the punchline was the yokels' reaction to the Sacha Baron Cohen character's gayness. I've seen the sort of thing you're describing, but I didn't think TN was that.  Wait'll you se the Bruno movie!

[urth]

*insert Sulu joke here*

Just saw the movie, and boy is it ever awesome.  Absolutely everything a summer blockbuster should be.

Agreed and agreed! Finally saw it today and loved it. Every actor captured their character perfectly; I especially loved the guy who played Spock (but that 2-Spocks-in-one-place time-warp mumbo-jumbo totally confused me); and the writing was at a pretty high level too.   

Finally saw it this afternoon (I think I was the last one of us to do so, yes?), and was pretty well satisfied. They have done right by the franchise, so I'd be happy with a sequel or two, so long as they keep up the level of writing. Yes, the Spock/Spock Prime meetup was kind of a cop-out, they probably could have come up with something a little more interesting. Also didn't appreciate some of the factual inconsistencies with the original series. But mostly that was small potatoes.

Did anyone else realize that Winona Ryder was playing Spock's mother? I sure didn't.

[Lightnin' Rod]

*insert Sulu joke here*

Just saw the movie, and boy is it ever awesome.  Absolutely everything a summer blockbuster should be.

Agreed and agreed! Finally saw it today and loved it. Every actor captured their character perfectly; I especially loved the guy who played Spock (but that 2-Spocks-in-one-place time-warp mumbo-jumbo totally confused me); and the writing was at a pretty high level too.   

Finally saw it this afternoon (I think I was the last one of us to do so, yes?), and was pretty well satisfied. They have done right by the franchise, so I'd be happy with a sequel or two, so long as they keep up the level of writing. Yes, the Spock/Spock Prime meetup was kind of a cop-out, they probably could have come up with something a little more interesting. Also didn't appreciate some of the factual inconsistencies with the original series. But mostly that was small potatoes.

Did anyone else realize that Winona Ryder was playing Spock's mother? I sure didn't.

I saw it Saturday, so I must be the last.  Enjoyed it very much.  It got a little sappy towards the end.  The scene where Captain Pike was in the wheelchair at the end was a nice touch.  When Kirk relieves him of command of the Enterprise, I soooo wanted Pike to respond "boop ... boop".

[Tinka Cat]

*insert Sulu joke here*

Just saw the movie, and boy is it ever awesome.  Absolutely everything a summer blockbuster should be.

Agreed and agreed! Finally saw it today and loved it. Every actor captured their character perfectly; I especially loved the guy who played Spock (but that 2-Spocks-in-one-place time-warp mumbo-jumbo totally confused me); and the writing was at a pretty high level too.   

Finally saw it this afternoon (I think I was the last one of us to do so, yes?), and was pretty well satisfied. They have done right by the franchise, so I'd be happy with a sequel or two, so long as they keep up the level of writing. Yes, the Spock/Spock Prime meetup was kind of a cop-out, they probably could have come up with something a little more interesting. Also didn't appreciate some of the factual inconsistencies with the original series. But mostly that was small potatoes.

Did anyone else realize that Winona Ryder was playing Spock's mother? I sure didn't.

I saw it Saturday, so I must be the last.  Enjoyed it very much.  It got a little sappy towards the end.  The scene where Captain Pike was in the wheelchair at the end was a nice touch.  When Kirk relieves him of command of the Enterprise, I soooo wanted Pike to respond "boop ... boop".

I saw it Saturday, too. (Went to Daly city Century theaters, our friends got there a tad late so we sat in the SECOND row.  Yeeesh.  The whole movie felt like it was filmed w fisheye warp speed camera...)  The time travel, the dual Spocks, that's JJ Abrams' (producer and director) stock and trad stock-in-trade (See ABC's Lost).  we had great fun w the weird science : one drop of red stuff can annihilate a planet, while 100 gallons of if takes a good three minutes to chew up a Romulan ship while the Enterprise can escape it. 

The casting was very good, but I thought the actor who played Bones was esp great.  And Deep Roy played a good 4 foot tall alien.

[RGMike]

stock and trad

is that anything like "stock in trade"?

[Tinka Cat]

stock and trad

is that anything like "stock in trade"?

trad(e)itionally, yes

[RGMike]

did the PPV thing this weekend and saw The Girlfriend Experience, Steven Soderburgh's current low-budget/indie experiment starring actual porn star Sasha Grey as a Manhattan call girl.  I liked it; though some of the swooning reviews are a bit over-the-top IMHO.  It was filmed last October, so there's a lot of dialogue about the upcoming election and the financial meltdown; some critics seem to think this is very profound but I'm thinking it's more... coincidence (and luck on Soderburgh's part).  Certainly worth $6.99 on Comcast, if not 10 bucks + at the Embarcadero.

[Tinka Cat]

did the PPV thing this weekend and saw The Girlfriend Experience, Steven Soderburgh's current low-budget/indie experiment starring actual porn star Sasha Grey as a Manhattan call girl.  I liked it; though some of the swooning reviews are a bit over-the-top IMHO.  It was filmed last October, so there's a lot of dialogue about the upcoming election and the financial meltdown; some critics seem to think this is very profound but I'm thinking it's more... coincidence (and luck on Soderburgh's part).  Certainly worth $6.99 on Comcast, if not 10 bucks + at the Embarcadero.

from the trailer her acting looked pretty bad.. wooden, maybe?  or was her jaded look and 'tude part of her characterization?

Soderbergh has some real hits or misses, doesn't he?   At least the dude takes risks.  I saw this strange one a while back called Schizopolis which had all sorts of playful weirdness.  Out of Sight and King of the Hill were fairly conventional, but then he did Bubble which was really low-budge and used non-pro actors.

[mshray]

Did anyone else realize that Winona Ryder was playing Spock's mother? I sure didn't.

I posted about her being in the movie long ago, when the cast was first announced, and wondered what role she could *possibly* be playing.  So when I saw her as Spock's mom, I nearly laughed out loud in the theater.

Did anyone else recognize the actor who played Sarek?  Hint:  He was the lead in a Best Pic Oscar-winning film once upon a time.

I saw it Saturday, so I must be the last.  Enjoyed it very much.  It got a little sappy towards the end.  The scene where Captain Pike was in the wheelchair at the end was a nice touch.  When Kirk relieves him of command of the Enterprise, I soooo wanted Pike to respond "boop ... boop".

LOL!  I wanted his face to be all half-melted too!

The time travel, the dual Spocks, that's JJ Abrams' (producer and director) stock-in-trade (See ABC's Lost). 

The casting was very good, but I thought the actor who played Bones was esp great.  And Deep Roy played a good 4 foot tall alien.

...and see Fox's Fringe (also by Abrams).  The final episode of the first season was entitled "There's More Than One of Everything", and Nimoy shows up in the very last scene, where he greets the main character, Agent Olivia Dunham, in an office high up in one of the towers of the World Trade Center, proving to her that she must now be in a parallel universe.

The actor who played Bones is Karl Urban, who was Eomer in the LotR movies, and also the Russian asssassin in the 2nd Bourne flick.  I was pleasantly surprised that he could do comedy that well. 

[RGMike]

Saw Sam Raimi's delightfully old-school horror flick Drag Me To Hell last nite; it's as much fun as the reviews have indicated. Very well-made (terrific sound design especially) and since it's PG-13, not R, it's just gross enough without being over-the-top.  A good time at the movies.

[RGMike]

Saw Sam Raimi's delightfully old-school horror flick Drag Me To Hell last nite; it's as much fun as the reviews have indicated. Very well-made (terrific sound design especially) and since it's PG-13, not R, it's just gross enough without being over-the-top.  A good time at the movies.

speaking of old-school: this movie scared the crap outta me when I was 8; the '80s remake sucked. But what's funny about this trailer for the orig is the super-saturated color -- I've never seen it in color, I saw it on B&W TV in the early '60s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz6NIlygpWo

[RGMike]

Saw Pixar's Up last nite; gawd is it ever wonderful. If the opening sequence doesn't make you cry you must be dead. (I rarely cry at movies but I was bawling.)  I've heard arguments for and against seeing it in 3-D (Roger Ebert thinks the colors are brighter in 2-D) but I thought 3-D enhanced the experience. And if you can see it at the Castro while it's there... they play a 20-minute Disney music medley on the Mighty Wurlitzer before the show.

[mshray]

Saw Pixar's Up last nite; gawd is it ever wonderful. If the opening sequence doesn't make you cry you must be dead. (I rarely cry at movies but I was bawling.)  I've heard arguments for and against seeing it in 3-D (Roger Ebert thinks the colors are brighter in 2-D) but I thought 3-D enhanced the experience. And if you can see it at the Castro while it's there... they play a 20-minute Disney music medley on the Mighty Wurlitzer before the show.

We saw it on Sunday as a family and I agree with all of the above.  This is not an animated movie with a few inside jokes for the adults (a la Shrek), this is a fully grown up animated film that happens to be very kid friendly.

A must see, and I was also glad to catch the 3D.  Mike did you see the short feature that preceeded it called Partly Coudy?