Rise of the Planet of the Apes
We went to see this based on it having a lot of good reviews, because our first reaction to the trailer was, "oh noooo, not another Planet of the Apes rehash!!!" Glad we overcame that reaction and saw it though, because this is not just a prequel that looks like it was done only to scrape some more money off the bottom of the barrel. There's some thought put into the premise, and like any good sci-fi, there's enough plausibility in it to make you think. It does have super-plenty trivia references to the original Planet of the Apes, and I liked the more subtle ones but some of them were just blatantly over-the-top. I would say if you have been living in a human zoo and haven't seen the original 1968 film - see that one first.
Seen in the theater:
Cowboys and Aliens
This was a movie I was looking forward to ever since seeing the trailer. I didn't see any way that it could miss. Harrison Ford AND Daniel Craig? As cowboys? Look at this awesome poster!! Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano are in this too. It wasn't terrible, but I thought it did not live up to its potential. It's worth a rental, and I would still put that poster on the wall.
Seen on DVD:
Masked and Anonymous
This is from 2003, so it's been out awhile. I had not heard good things about it, but we were curious to see it anyway. It has an amazing cast of really actors that I enjoy watching: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Val Kilmer, Luke Wilson, Angela Bassett, Mickey Rourke, Christian Slater, Bruce Dern and more. The most important star is Bob Dylan. Larry Charles directed, and he co-wrote this with Bob Dylan. It almost seems like he also let Dylan direct it too. Maybe the director was just really star-struck at getting to make a movie with/about Dylan that he allowed the musician to take the reins, and even permitted him to narrate. The dialogue was pretty bad, and the characters were flat and uninteresting, the best acting was in the bonus features where some of the actors stated how much they liked the script. Amazing. (It reminded me of the 3 Star Wars prequels that have a lot of good actors in them but they are completely wasted by bad directing, dialogue and script. {curse you, George Lucas!!!!! :::shakes fist::::} ) Back to the Dylan vehicle, it did have some good parts, and those were the music performances, Dylan and his band. Guitar player Charlie Sexton (the one with the cheekbones that won't quit) is from Austin, he's someone we've seen play a lot. The rest of the movie was a waste of everyone's talent, in my opinion. If you are a big Bob Dylan fan (and I haven't been one of those since the 1960s) you might really like this, and most likely have already seen it.
9 comments:
I absolutely love Ed Harris. Can he ever give a bad performance? Anyway, so you can answer my conundrum and, coincidentally, it involves both of the 1st 2 movies reviewed. So in Cowboys & Aliens, the cowboys with antiquated weapons defeat the much better equipped aliens yet the US military with WMDs and such cannot defeat primates with only their "natural" weapons. HUH? The premise of each seem so implausible to me I saw no reason to see either of them.
Oh and the Star Wars comments. I seriously hope no one under 30 reads your blog. They will be outraged. They will consider your comment blasphemous. The 1st Star Wars will always be the original to me. And regardless of advanced technology, it's the best because it was a life changing moment in time. And the one bright spot in the year Elvis died.
I wait for the video..because the Goddess knows if I'm sitting in a theater and someone starts talking or texting on their phone or talking out loud to the screen I will be arrested for bitch slapping someone.
Connie: As for the cowboys lo-tech vs. aliens hi-tech... think Ewoks... plus that shiny thing on Daniel Craig's arm is pretty powerful. No more spoilers on that one though. As for people vs primate, there's a game-changer in it... and again... no spoilers from me, other than that one.
YDG: if you go to the Alamo Drafthouse, you can bitch-slap them by having them thrown out for that!
Well if you're satisfied with whoever wins in the end, that's good enough for me. Still not interested in seeing them. I rarely go to the movies any more. I think the last movie I saw in the theater was "How to Train Your Dragon." Loved it. And I really want a dragon!
Don't know if you can help or know others who can (and I don't have your email) but got this on Facebook:
No Kill Nation
ATTENTION ALL!!! HELP NEEDED NOW! The Bastrop Animal Shelter is evacuating due to this fire. Austin Pets Alive! is taking 75% of the animals (AHS is taking the remaining 25%). APA needs dog and cat fosters RIGHT NOW at 2807 Manchaca Road. If you cannot foster, PLEASE DONATE NOW HERE: http://bit.ly/ozRoLq. THANK YOU!!!
Oops, should have read the updates first. All APA dogs/cats have been fostered. They have 60 dogs from Bastrop and are having a giant adoption day today for fosters and Bastrop animals. If only folks would rally like this all the time and not just during a disaster. Every day is a disaster in shelters across the country. RANT OFF.
Connie: this entire area has got massive fires going in all directions. It was very windy yesterday and will be again today, and will very low humidity. We are still without rain and there is none expected any time soon. Fires are NOT under control yet. Can't smell any smoke from our location yet.
Glad you are safe. Looks like APA has things under control and did lots of adoptions today. So sorry for what you and others in the state are going through.
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