I'm not a big fan of going to the theater. There's always some asshole kicking my chair, chatting it up, etc. So, I tend to catch movies as they get
released to DVD or are aired on HBO / Starz or alternatively, sometimes see something that's free through Comcast's On-Demand service that I never got
around to seeing when it came out several years prior.
This week's viewings:
1. Johny Mnemonic - The whole time I'm watching this, I'm thinking about what a blatant ripoff it was of a William Gibson book called Neuromancer with a couple important exceptions. First, Neuromancer was even more pointless than Johny Mnemonic (plot-wise) and second, the movie had a character I could actually bring myself to almost care about. Well then, I was chuckling at the end credits when I saw that this movie was indeed based on an entirely different short story by William Gibson. I give the movie about 2 stars (out of 4 possible) and would like to state how terribly overrated I thought Neuromancer was as a full length book. FWIW, Neuromancer is reportedly coming to the big screen in the next year or two.
2. Children of Men - While there is no technical reason provided for the sterility of the human race, the social fallout of that phenomenon was captured nicely in this story. Characters were well written and the generally sober mood of the movie was evenly managed throughout. I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoys a movie that compels some serious afterthought.
3. Little Miss Sunshine - a smart and satirical look at people who are only 1 or 2 degrees from pretty damn normal, and yet it's those subtle differences that take them well off course from reality. By the end of the movie, there's a very real sense for the viewer of just how phony both their own preconceptions were and how phony the reality of beauty pageants actually is. This is a strong winner and if you thought about seeing it, do it.
Currently available on Comcast's HD free movies - Army of Darkness. I already own a copy, but getting to see this in high def will be ftw.
Movies I intend to see this week: Garden State, V for Vendetta, and maybe one other movie still sitting on the DVR drive including "The Thin Man".
Please comment on these, or any other titles currently spamming the cable networks.
This week's viewings:
1. Johny Mnemonic - The whole time I'm watching this, I'm thinking about what a blatant ripoff it was of a William Gibson book called Neuromancer with a couple important exceptions. First, Neuromancer was even more pointless than Johny Mnemonic (plot-wise) and second, the movie had a character I could actually bring myself to almost care about. Well then, I was chuckling at the end credits when I saw that this movie was indeed based on an entirely different short story by William Gibson. I give the movie about 2 stars (out of 4 possible) and would like to state how terribly overrated I thought Neuromancer was as a full length book. FWIW, Neuromancer is reportedly coming to the big screen in the next year or two.
2. Children of Men - While there is no technical reason provided for the sterility of the human race, the social fallout of that phenomenon was captured nicely in this story. Characters were well written and the generally sober mood of the movie was evenly managed throughout. I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoys a movie that compels some serious afterthought.
3. Little Miss Sunshine - a smart and satirical look at people who are only 1 or 2 degrees from pretty damn normal, and yet it's those subtle differences that take them well off course from reality. By the end of the movie, there's a very real sense for the viewer of just how phony both their own preconceptions were and how phony the reality of beauty pageants actually is. This is a strong winner and if you thought about seeing it, do it.
Currently available on Comcast's HD free movies - Army of Darkness. I already own a copy, but getting to see this in high def will be ftw.
Movies I intend to see this week: Garden State, V for Vendetta, and maybe one other movie still sitting on the DVR drive including "The Thin Man".
Please comment on these, or any other titles currently spamming the cable networks.
