Rosemary's Baby: Why do I fall for things like this? With a running time of 3hrs (absent the commercials) the new version feels padded to fill two two-hour time slots. it substitutes gore for psychological shocks; Zoe Saldana is pretty good (though Rosemary Woodhouse will not become her signature role, as with Mia Farrow); Patrick J. Adams is look lightweight to make the role of Guy interesting; though Jason Isaacs is quite menacing as Roman Castevet. And like most TV movies, there's a lack of real suspense. This new RB has it's moments, but they present nothing new--we've seen it all before with the 1968 film. The setting change from New York to Paris is the best thing about the movie. On the bright side, Polanski's masterpieces seems even better in comparison. A mildly interesting interesting timewaster.
2.5/5
Godzilla: Twenty-nine Godzilla movies and this one is arguably the best. Finally restored to satisfying effect, this Godzilla reboot makes the 1998 Matthew Broderick vehicle look like "Godzooky" (anybody remember him?) And there's plenty of gorgeous effects in this movie. After a nuclear reactor incident, two spores are thrown up onto Japan's mainland that eventually transform into nuclear-powered monsters (even sillier-looking than the monsters from Pacific Rim). Godzilla to the rescue. The human drama is recycled from a hundred other disaster flicks and the dialog is second rate, but a slam-bang opening gets the movie off to a great start. There's a real sense of dread here from the get-go and some terrific old-school set pieces make for some great scenes. If I could wish for something more out of this Godzilla movie, it would be a few more crazed reactions from the townsfolk (after all, that's one of things that made the original so fun); a little more human involvement in the story (the last half hour is some terrific post-nuclear saurian combat, but little human involvement); and more Bryan Cranston--he's the kind of person I want to see squaring off with this crisis: smart, wily and acting his butt off; and maybe a little more fun. But why carp? Godzilla's finale FATALITY! brought the house down. Plus, Las Vegas AND San Francsico got totally destroyed! (Which qualifies Godzilla as the "feel good" hit of the summer.)
I skipped the IMAX showing of this and instead went for the 3D Dolby Atmos showing complete with subwoofers under the reclineable seats. A great movie-going experience!
Agree in most ways with the Godzilla review. Effects were top notch though it kind of felt at times that certain scenes were pulled directly from Jurassic Park. From kids in verhicles to the attempt to keep a monster down in a wire cage that reminded me a lot of a certain opening scene.
I will say the destruction of the cities was great and the sound was perfect. I saw it in IMAX and it was visually stunning. I don't quite understand why we had the character development with two characters that (spoiler alert) never make it beyond the first third of the film. The characters we were supposed to root for we never actually met and it felt rather forced to root for them. But my only serious ding on the movie is the same one SRBoone noted. The cities were getting destroyed by monster and people were just going to work and sitting at their desks working as buildings were getting destroyed. I mean come on...Godzilla is attacking wouldn't you call in sick that day?
Well.....I've seen all Godzilla movies, and was really looking forwards to this new effort.
Was I disappointed? yes and no.
No, because the money's right there on the screen. Never has a Godzilla movie been more convincing.
And yes, because I missed Ifukube Akira's gorgeous music:
Of course I didn't expect to hear the well-known Godzilla theme, but I still missed it.
Plus, Godzilla's too fat, his head's too small and there's something wrong with his feet....almost looks like he's got no toes...
Still, I had a great time and am glad there will be a sequel.
Her: Of course I'd heard all the positive praise for this movie, but what I wasn't expecting was it to actually be that good. And it was. What could have been a pretty one-note affair turned out to be a rather deep look at relationships (albeit strange, since Samantha is an operating system). It was also nice to see Joaquin Phoenix stepping away from his rather strange antics a few years back and really remind us what made him famous to begin with: his superb acting ability. And Scarlett Johansson's performance was awesome considering that she had to portray every emotion through just the tone and inflections in her voice.
The film was also funny. There were two scenes in particular that had me pausing the movie because I was laughing so hard. A fantastic movie that lives up to its hype.
Grade: A
I watched 1988's Pumpkinhead on Netflix last night! I remember watching this "back in the day". Pretty bad actually, but decent sfx, and storyline wasn't too bad.
Absolutely!!! Wouldn't miss it for the world! Already have my ticket. The surviving members of Monty Python are getting together this summer for a one-night event. It's going to be beamed live into movie theaters, but I haven't seen anything pop up on fathomevents.com yet.
Sweet!
I contacted FathomEvents and they said they had no plans to host the Monty Python Reunion event at this time.
X-Men: Days of Future Past: If ever there was a Marvel series that NEEDED to be rebooted, it was X-Men. Not just rebooted, but recreated. So re-enter Bryan Singer, the man who started it all. In this witty and clever movie, he brings together the old class of X-men with the new generation for a time-bending extravaganza that should please both the comic book fans as well as the general viewing public. As with most comic book movies, logic must be checked at the door; but, despite the disparate storylines, Singer balances his movie deftly while juggling dozens of characters (some old, some new). As much an homage to the cinema of the 1970's (love those camera shots of the back of a character's head as he turns around quickly and faces the camera) as it is a 21st century reboot,, this seventh X-Men movie has solid performances, a terrific sense of humor, great special effects and flashes of brilliance--the scene where Quicksilver demonstrates his mutant ability when retrieving the young Magneto is quite memorable. The movie sags a little in the middle, but never goes off -track. See it in 3D on the biggest screen available. It's worth the extra cash.
Going to see Godzilla....at the Goochland, Va Drive-in tonight. The perfect drive-in movie. I'll let you know how it goes.
Mike
I wish they still had drive-ins where I am at. Long gone for the super cinemas. One was actually built on the site of an old drive in where I saw Star Wars and The Great Muppet Caper as a kid!
I believe there was an independant one built in the last year or 2 way out in the county (35 min drive), but have not ventured out there yet (if it's even still open).
It was about a 45 minute drive, but worth it. It was really neat to see all the families, kids at the playground, a cool retro snack bar. So, Godzilla a B, the Drive-in experience A. I hope Y'all get a chance to go this Summer.
Mike
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