The Weatherman

The Weatherman with Nick Cage. I did not like his character. I felt like shouting out, “It’s over. You failed at your marriage. Get over it.” I also did not like the relationship that the weatherman had with his father. I didn’t understand it. Plus, it seemed as if the father should’ve shaken his son a little bit more. Damn get your son on target. With that said, it wasn’t a bad movie. I laughed. Funny thing about it I thought it was an Alexander Payne film, but it was a Gore Verbinski.

This had Oscar try written all over it. I don’t think it was great, but it was good. If you can get over the nastiness that was the characters.

3 of 5 stars. (I would give it a half a star if I gave them out).

The Fog 2005!

Since it is spook time here in the US, I thought it would be grand to catch a “scary” movie. So I caught the remake of The Fog. I don’t know why.

I don’t know why they had to remake it. The original was perfectly workable scary movie in its own right. I don’t know why they had to make it PG-13. All the scares were removed. I don’t know why they cast Selma Blair in the Adrienne Barbeau role. She’s no where near as old to have a son. What, was she 12 when she had her kid? That’s a frightening thought.

Anyway. Not scary enough. Dumb plot twists. Dumb casting.

2 of 5 stars.

Stick to reading ghost stories this Holloween.

Wallace & Grommit

What better way to start celebrating the scary holiday than some cheesy animated film. I am a fan of Wallace & Grommit. Also of animation. Stop motion is fun to watch. I thought the movie, though, was too long by a half hour. Wallace & Grommit are best as a short film. This was a bit stuffy too.

3 of 5 stars.

Fort Awesome

Short title, becuase I am sick and tired at how the recent links look. All cluttered and all.

It’s been slow trying to slog through my Quixotic Quest, but I did read 23 Days in July: Inside Lance Armstrong’s Battle to Win a Record Sixth Tour de France. Good read. I could not put it down, and afterwards I wanted to ride. Yet, I am so lazy that I didn’t. There are no excuses, but I seem to find one any way.

I liked the book. I love the Tour de France. Even if Lance Armstrong wasn’t in it, I would still watch. I was a fan of bicycle racing since I was a little kid. And I have watched the Tour on TV even before there was a Lance Armstrong to root for. Actually, my favorite is Jan Ullrich. Always the perennial bridesmaid.

Anyway the book was pleasant. It gave me more insight into the team strategies involved in racing. I was only disappointed in the fact that the author did not focus on the French rider, Thomas Voekler, much. For me, he embodied the spirit of the 2004 Tour when he defended his yellow jersey in the 15th stage finishing at the top of the Plateau de Beille. He rode the race of his life and just maintained his lead over the unstoppable Lance Armstrong at 0:22 seconds. Incredible! What gusto! He would lose the yellow jersey the next day, but it was amazing.

B+.

“Steven Seagal? That fat fraud is a disgrace to the martial arts.”

Transporter 2. Not as bad as it would’ve been. It was the best comedy of the fall. Unfortunately it wasn’t supposed to be. There were a lot of unbelievable things happening in this movie. And you’ve seen them all in the commercial. Except for the way he disarmed a bomb with a hook, a wooden bridge, and an Audi. If you saw Diamonds Are Forever you’ll know the stunt.

Jason Statham is being considered as the new Bond. That would not be such a good idea. He should be the new Seagal.

3 of 5 stars.

“I wanted a house just like Xanadu, but without a dorky name.”

I am really getting lazy with my movie reviews. Here’s a quick roound up of the last few I saw.

40 Year Old Virgin – 3 of 5 stars. Could’ve been 20 minutes shorter seems to be the running complaint this summer. Don’t see it with your mom. Even if you’ve been laid it will make you feel like your the titular character.

The Constant Gardner – 3 of 5 stars. A challenging movie for the summer. First, the accents where somewhat hard to decipher that it made it hard to catch some of the plot points. Are they speaking in English?

Red Eye – 3 of 5 stars. Sweet 90 minute movie! Not enough of Rachel McAdams running. The script writes itself — See these people. They’ll be part of the plot soon. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.

End of Summer Movie Season

Pretty soon it will be September. Hurrah! As it is my favorite month. Yet I have not finished this summer movie season strong. My attempts have trailed off the last couple of weeks. In fact I have seen some movies but have not posted my reviews because I essentially forgot that I did see them. Well, let me wrap up the latest films I have seen.

The Island is as absurd a movie as there ever was. Supposedly, Micheal Bay’s comeback to action vehicle. Umm. Has he ever been away from that genre? The most absurd aspect of that movie. Scarlett Johanson running away from god knows what. Ewan told her to run so she ran. Not like Tia Leone. Why did she run?
2 of 5 stars.

Valiant. We took my nephew. He got frightened from the evil hawk. I was wondering why none of the pigeons died. Come on it should’ve been the standard war movie plotting. Rag-tag bunch. Each one to die.
3 of 5 stars.

The Cave was not this year’s Deep Blue Sea. It should’ve been. Sad. It was not even good. But it was better than The Island.
3 of stars.

Quick Summer Reviews

It’s been a while since I have posted a review on this blog. It seems that the last thing I told you guys that I have seen was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s also been a while since I posted anything. I have seen some movies since last month and also read a book. So my movie viewing habit continues unabated and my quixotic quest continues slowly but surely. Here’s the ratings for the last thing I saw and read.

The Dukes of Hazzard 2 of 5 stars. (I would’ve given it 1, but there was some funny business with an armadillo helmet and Sean William Scott carried the day)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A- (You know you like a book when at the end you wish you could learn more about the characters. This deserves a longer review and/or a discussion.)

Movie Review: Charlie and The Chocalate Factory

Tim Burton’s version of Roald Daahl’s Charlie and The Chocalate Factory was an unexpected pleasing movie. Very different than my childhood favortie Willie Wonka, yet eerily similar. Plot very much the same. Supposedly, Tim Burton’s film hewed to the book much better. The most striking part was the music. The lyrics are directly from the book, but the backing rythms are today. I didn’t like it. I missed the campy oompa loompa songs of the earlier one. Danny Elfman is really becoming an annoying composer.

3 of 5 stars.

Quixotic Quest: A July book review

How to be Alone by Jonathan Franzen. A collection of essays which deal with reading or writing. It is about the insular world one escapes to when reading. As well as other essays about living the world.

It was the book I brought on vacation. I only read half of it.

B-