Me, Her, the Boy and a Dog

I finally went to see The Dark Knight and it was pretty good. Not great, but still very good. Heath Ledger’s performance was solid, if not disturbing, but I wouldn’t say it was Oscar-worthy, though I’m sure he will be nominated for sentimental reasons.

I do have one gripe and it is one that I’ve heard from more than a few people who have seen the film; Christian Bale’s voice as Batman was a little too forced and melodramatic for my liking. It’s not so bad that I was groaning in the theatre, but it grew a bit tiresome, especially for a film that already so dark. I guess I feel like the extra effort behind the gruff voice was intended to help the audience grasp the gravity of the impossibly horrific situations in which we constantly found the main characters - but we didn’t need any reminders!

This film was a killing field and I do NOT recommend it for children younger than 13 at all. This was by far the darkest Batman movie to date and main characters are grotesquely mained and some die violent deaths. Others are put in situations that nightmares are made of; choose who you want to die, your wife or your child. This was certainly not your Michael Keaton’s and Jack Nicholson’s Batman from nearly 20 years ago … good grief, can you believe it’s been that long?

I’m not saying that it wasn’t a good movie, because it was. It was just different than what fans of the Marvel Comics’ franchise are accustomed to. If you haven’t seen it, but want to, you’d better hurry. It’s run in primary theatres is almost over as new releases are rolling out. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine give solid, albeit sparing performances, as do Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart.

I saw the video-game-turned-motion picture flick Max Payne last night. It is a complete and total guy flick and I don’t know too many women who would want to see this movie unless they are Marky Mark Wahlberg fans. Bad news ladies, he doesn’t even take his shirt off … sorry. But, he does a lot of smoldering, so revel in that.

Surprisingly, I never played the video game, but I’ve played similar games and the plot of the movie is one that most movie-goers are familiar with: a good cop’s wife and child are murdered in a seemingly random act of violence; murders are unsolved three years later; distraught cop goes rogue and is hellbent on revenge (what father wouldn’t be); angry cop literally kills everyone that gets in his way and has zero remorse. Not exactly the most original of story lines, but when it comes to a movie based on video game, plot isn’t exactly the point. Usually, the point is lots of action.

Max Payne is a good movie if you know what to expect when you shell out your $7-$10. It’s a special effects-driven film with a lot of CGI (computer-generated imagery), a lot of violence, and even some brief skin. The movie, which is rated R (duh), is not for kids - so don’t take them, no matter how much they beg!

I probably should have waited for this to come out on DVD, but my cousin, a sophomore at Virginia Tech, assured me that it was a good movie worth seeing, so I went to see it. My cousin is 19 and I should have taken that into consideration before trusting his recommendation. Oh well, lesson learned.

I liked this movie for what it was - senseless, vendetta-based violence where the bad guy gets complete and total revenge and all the bad guys get what they deserve. Of course, the aforementioned plot line hits home with me since I’m a parent, and that got me thinking (pipe down peanut gallery) about why this particular plot is so popular in action movies?

I think it is because it’s a theme that almost every human being can sypathize with, empathize with, or at least relate to. We all have family and how many times have you heard someone say, “If anyone ever hurt my family, I’d kill them.” Some of us just say that, but I’m not sure how many people would actually follow through with it - not that they wouldn’t want to, but when it came time to actually take another human being’s life, no matter how evil they were, how many people actually have that in them?

As a parent, I related to Max Payne’s … pain … at the loss of his family. I’m not sure I could go on (much less get away with) the kind of revenge rampage he did in the movie, but I’m pretty sure I’d come up with something.

I wish I could give you a more detailed review, but it’s a pretty simple movie.

For a complete synopsis of the movie, check out IMDB.com (Internet Movie Database). Warning! The synopsis contains spoiler!

Last night I went to see an all-time classic film on the big screen … Casablanca! The 1942 film is still one of the best movies of all time in my opinion. I went with my friend Ginger who had never seen the film before, which surprised me since she’s a fan of older movies that are considered classics.

I have seen Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, at least three times, but this was my first opportunity to see it on the big screen and it was quite a treat! The actual film reel was old and had the scratches and pops just like you’d expect from an older movie, but it didn’t take away from the experience - rather it added to it.

We were quite impressed with the turnout for such a classic movie and even more impressed with how many younger people turned out. At first we were a little skeptical because they (the young whipper snappers) were a bit boisterous, but once the movie started, they were as quiet as could be.

Watching this film again reminded me how a truly great movie doesn’t need special effects or CGI manipulation. Casablanca won the Oscar for Best Picture that year as well as Best Director and Best Writing. Bogart was nominated for Best Actor in Leading Role for his portrayal of Rick Blaine; and Claude Rains was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Captain Renault. Bogart was very good, but Rains was superb in his role as Renault.

While the movie is about a very serious topic, there are plenty of one-liners and humorous moments sprinkled throughout the film that got big laughs from the audience at The Lyric in downtown Blacksburg.

It’s not often you have the opportunity to see a classic film that’s 67 years old on the big screen so if you ever get the chance, definitely take advantage of it.

Great news for fans of the acclaimed 2001 HBO mini-series Band of Brothers! Producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have teams up again to produce The Pacific, a 10-part mini-series telling the intertwined stories of three Marines during America’s battle with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. (Source: IMBD.com)

According to several entertainment Web sites, the mini-series will be 10 hours long and will begin airing in 2010. Production on the series began, according to HBO.com, in summer 2007.

The mini-series stars James Badge Dale (“24,” “The Departed”), Joe Mazzello (“Jurassic Park,” “Raising Helen”) and Jon Seda (“Close to Home”) head the cast of “The Pacific.” It’s based on two books by Marines who served there, Robert Leckie’s “Helmet for My Pillow” and Eugene Sledge’s “With the Old Breed,” as well as interviews with veterans. (Source: Zap2it.com)

I love Band of Brothers - it is hands down my favorite movie and/or TV show of all time. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched the entire 10 hours. Even my dad, who is not and never has been a big movie buff, loves Band of Brothers. I will order HBO just to see The Pacific.

We went to see Disney-Pixar’s latest hit “Up” yesterday at The Lyric in downtown Blacksburg and it was really good. Nic enjoyed it for the brilliant animation, slapstick humor and the talking dogs, while the adults in the theatre enjoyed the jokes to which only adults can relate - such as when Carl Frederickson tells Russell, a young Junior Wilderness Explorer, that they’re going to play a game called called “Let’s see who can stay quiet the longest,” to which Russell exclaims with glee, “My mom LOVES that game!”

This was a very well-done Pixar movie that had a little bit of everything. You fell in love with the characters very quickly thanks to the superb story-telling of Pixar’s writers and the fantastic voice acting by the entire cast. Per usual, there was one minor character that stole the show a bit and his name is Dug. He is a loveable dog outfitted with a high-tech collar that allows him to speak to people.

If you are a fan of the Pixar films, I highly recommend “Up!” And so does Nic!

Meh. There were certainly some funny moments in the movie, but too much of it was over-the-top and in-your-face. It was insulting how they forced a lot of the jokes to the point they were terrible and not funny. Jamie Pressley and Jon Favreau were hysterical in supporting roles, but the main character, Peter Klaven (played by Paul Rudd) was such an idiot that he was beyond believable. He reminded me of Ben Stiller or Will Farrell - too stupid to be believed.

It wasn’t a horrible movie - it was a good movie, but it could’ve been so much better if the director would have had more respect for his audience’s collective intelligence. What could have been a smart and funny comedy turned into another “Pineapple Express” or “Superbad.” Shock value comedies aparently will never completely fade as a genre. Pity.