40Cent @ the movies

[BanzaiCat]

One of my favorite early-80s comics ever...

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

So the Mrs. and I went to see John Wick, and I really don't know what to make of it.  The reason is that I was expecting a typical kind of revenge flick, and John Wick is not that.  It is a fantasy, sort of in along the lines of "Wanted" (where there was a league of assassins), only without special powers.  It caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting to be taken into a hotel for assassins, where the currency is large gold coins, and the house rules exclude conducting business on the grounds of the property. Like a gentleman's club for mass murders. The critics seem to like the movie, but I'm not sure that I did.

To be fair, I like shoot-em-ups with big kill counts.  For example, I loved movies like "Smokin' Aces".  But you knew that was going to be somewhat farcical when you sat-down.  I didn't expect it here.  "John Wick" is deadpan farcical with an immense kill count.  I heard the guy behind me in the theatre say that he gave-up trying to count the kills about half-way through the movie.  There was plenty of movie violence, lots of gun play and split wigs.  Yet it still left me unsatisfied, somehow. But I still can't figure out why.

25/40

I liked it well enough.  I kept thinking "BOOM!  Headshot!" each time someone took a round to the melon.  The movie earned bonus points because it had my shotgun in it.

[Centurion40]

Yeah, there were some spectacular head shots.  Real wig-splitters.

[Bison]

Went to see Paddington tonight with the kids.  Excellent family film.

[Centurion40]

Saw The Interview on Netflix last night and I really enjoyed it.  I almost died laughing, as I have a puerile sense of humour, at one scene where Seth Rogan is discussing Miley Cyrus' camel toe with a female North Korean senior officer.



The movie certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it; and I would watch it again.

33 out of 40

[Centurion40]

Took the family to see Jupiter Ascending, and 40Jr (he's 11) says it is the best movie that he has ever seen.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, especially how I think that Channing Tatum is a dud as an actor.



I didn't see it coming, but this movie is brought to us by the Wachowskis and their touch (in hindsight) is somewhat obvious.

SPOILER INFORMATION TO FOLLOW, WHICH I WILL SOMEWHAT OBSCURE USING A DIFFERENT COLOUR

The movie is about Jupiter (Mila Kunis), who (like Neo in The Matrix) is drawn into a world that she never knew existed.  She discovers that she is the reincarnation of the matriarch of a Dune-esque intergalactic noble house, with the legal rights of being her own heir and successor.  She is saved by a genetically engineered ex-space soldier (Tatum), complete with lots of predictable sci-fi action.

As in the Martrix, terrestrial humanity is commodity.  But instead of us being batteries for machines, this time humans are a type of cattle; harvested to create an elixir that gives extra-terrestrial humans virtual immortality.  Jupiter discovers that she is the reincarnation of the matriarch of House Abraxas, a human family that owns and "seeds" planets with human life.  When the human population of a planet grows to the point where the planet can no longer support life, the planet is harvested (meaning all of the people are killed) and an elixir is created.  This elixir is the most valuable commodity in the universe; a commodity which as given the Abraxas' wealth beyond measure, and it is something that others will steal and murder to procure.  The Abraxas' have a base and harvesting facility inside the gasses of the planet Jupiter, and the giant red spot on Jupiter is actually the entry and exit gate into the Abraxas' facility.  They use aliens (such as our stereo-typical "greys") to tend the human flock on Earth, ensuring that the quality of the herd is maintained and that the herd continues to be ignorant of their situation.

The Abraxas family is every bit as grand as House Corrino in Dune.  Their ships are massive and opulent.  They tend to do whatever they want, in the face of smaller and bureaucratic "federal" authorities.  The authorities are reminiscent of those portrayed in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I wish that more time was spent dealing with the politics and intrigue, rather than the action.




The effects were great, the story had some depth; but it was predictable.  It was like the Matrix meets Dune (the good parts), then gets spliced with Spy Kids & the last couple of Transformers (poor Chicago gets the snot beaten out of it again).  Which is probably why the critics panned it as it never really settled into the deep "Matrix/Dune" camp, or the shallow "Spy Kids" camp.

Overall, I liked it and would see it again.

30/40

[BanzaiCat]

I just can't get past Mila. She's a horrid actress IMO. I'm sure I'll watch this sometime, but will avoid it at the theater.

[undercovergeek]

Had a double movie day with junior - Shaun the sheep movie - which was hilarious, lots of things for adults that the kids would miss but we both laughed - highly recommended

And big hero 6 - great film, I cried, she didn't!

[Centurion40]

I just can't get past Mila. She's a horrid actress IMO. I'm sure I'll watch this sometime, but will avoid it at the theater.

Yeah, her & Tatum in the same movie!  >:(

But it was ok, really.

[Nefaro]

I just can't get past Mila. She's a horrid actress IMO. I'm sure I'll watch this sometime, but will avoid it at the theater.

Mila is hot but I'm puzzled as to why she has been getting cast in some action-ish femme hero roles.  She looks to be about 5'4" and too feminine for such action movies.  Doesn't look like a badass at all.    Should stick with the comedy - she probably did best at playing parts like the controlling bitch in That 70s Show or the manipulating thief in Extract.

[Centurion40]

I just can't get past Mila. She's a horrid actress IMO. I'm sure I'll watch this sometime, but will avoid it at the theater.

Mila is hot but I'm puzzled as to why she has been getting cast in some action-ish femme hero roles.  She looks to be about 5'4" and too feminine for such action movies.  Doesn't look like a badass at all.    Should stick with the comedy - she probably did best at playing parts like the controlling bitch in That 70s Show or the manipulating thief in Extract.

Tatum did all the action.  Kunis fell, screamed and was carried.

[Nefaro]

I just can't get past Mila. She's a horrid actress IMO. I'm sure I'll watch this sometime, but will avoid it at the theater.

Mila is hot but I'm puzzled as to why she has been getting cast in some action-ish femme hero roles.  She looks to be about 5'4" and too feminine for such action movies.  Doesn't look like a badass at all.    Should stick with the comedy - she probably did best at playing parts like the controlling bitch in That 70s Show or the manipulating thief in Extract.

Tatum did all the action.  Kunis fell, screamed and was carried.

Nevertheless, it was still a full on action film.  Remember her in The Book of Eli, with Denzel?  She was pretty much the same damsel in action distress with aspirations.  I thought it was a very odd casting, and the previews to this one gave me the same impression.

[MetalDog]

I didn't look very hard on iMDB, but, it is my understanding that the studio has been sitting on this one for a while due to its...crappiness.  I haven't seen it, and will wait until it hits HBO.  And I agree on Kunis.  Not action movie material at all.

[BanzaiCat]

I took my daughter and a couple of her friends to see Kingsman: The Secret Service this past Saturday. She and her buddies wanted to see The Lazarus Effect, but after seeing the crappy reviews of that one I wouldn't even watch the trailer for it. Hell, even after seeing the trailer for Kingsman, I wasn't expecting anything more than a Brit version of some dopey Agent Cody Banks movie. The trailer reallllllly doesn't sell the movie well.

The movie itself was phenomenal; I was blown away by the action, dialogue, and the fact that the plot was nothing extraordinary (crazy dude wants to destroy life on the planet and repopulate with a few chosen, good guys try to stop them) but still kept me hooked. It was nothing like what I was expecting, and I very much like it when a movie does that to me. Very shades of James Bond (old school) in this one; a very respectful production with some great humor in it as well. Not to mention a twist or two here and there I didn't see coming.

Only thing I didn't like (at first) was Sam Jackson's stupid lisp, but that was part of the schtick of the film. I laughed every time he opened his mouth, and did not like him at all at the start of the film. But he grew on me a bit throughout, and by the end of the film I had a little more respect for him as an actor, putting himself out there like that.

I'll give it easily 35/40, probably more like 38/40. Easily one of my new favorite films.

[Centurion40]

I took my daughter and a couple of her friends to see Kingsman: The Secret Service this past Saturday. She and her buddies wanted to see The Lazarus Effect, but after seeing the crappy reviews of that one I wouldn't even watch the trailer for it. Hell, even after seeing the trailer for Kingsman, I wasn't expecting anything more than a Brit version of some dopey Agent Cody Banks movie. The trailer reallllllly doesn't sell the movie well.

The movie itself was phenomenal; I was blown away by the action, dialogue, and the fact that the plot was nothing extraordinary (crazy dude wants to destroy life on the planet and repopulate with a few chosen, good guys try to stop them) but still kept me hooked. It was nothing like what I was expecting, and I very much like it when a movie does that to me. Very shades of James Bond (old school) in this one; a very respectful production with some great humor in it as well. Not to mention a twist or two here and there I didn't see coming.

Only thing I didn't like (at first) was Sam Jackson's stupid lisp, but that was part of the schtick of the film. I laughed every time he opened his mouth, and did not like him at all at the start of the film. But he grew on me a bit throughout, and by the end of the film I had a little more respect for him as an actor, putting himself out there like that.

I'll give it easily 35/40, probably more like 38/40. Easily one of my new favorite films.

Amen.