Calgary Movies

Saw Bond last night also and as I'm not a huge Bond fan this movie was entertaining and worth seeing. Loads of action and the character is pretty intense so if you like a more realistic Bond then this is your movie. So overall check it out if you like action movies as this one delivers.

 

Not having seen Casino Royale I didn't quite know what to expect from Quantum of Solace. The last Bond movie I can recall seeing was Die Another Day,which wasn't exactly a triumphant example of the 007 franchise at its finest.

With this movie, it's clear the film is straddling a mixture of some classic Bondian tropes whilst still trying to retain that Bournesque grit of realism. The machinations of Quantum (It's SPECTRE. C'mon, that is an awesome name for a secret society, and at least better than Fleming's own SMERSH. Quantum sounds like a new luxury sedan) do tend to take a back seat to Bond's mission of vengeance.

Daniel Craig is definitely a sound investment for a Year One James Bond. He's not polished and as precise as his predecessors, but he's also not nearly as jaded as they are. In the original Bond movies 007 is a cold customer. He has a veneer of respectiability, of the suave about him but it's largely a gloss to cover up the killer who gets things done for Queen and Country on levels the average joe or jane will never ever see. With these movies, we're seeing a Bond who still has a humanity to him, and Craig really brings that pain and coiled rage out of the character in spades. The action sequences feature Bond as Killer with jaw-dropping efficiency and execution (metaphorically and literally in the course of the film), but I was touched at the little moments, such as when Bond steals a picture of Vesper and then dwells on it later on a plane, drinking in the dark as he continues his quest for justice.

The movie brings the franchise down to earth with Craig's portrayal. Judi Densch as M remains just as formidable and imposing now as she did with her debut in Goldeneye, and their relationship is one of the joys of the whole movie, the two bouncing off each other and clearly sharing a deep loyalty beneath their professional cool.

The action sequences are insane. Car chases, hand to hand combat, foot chases, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, falls. . .the choreography and work that's gone into the film shows in every reel, taking the adrenaline rush of your average action film and cranking it up to 11.

If you're a fan of James Bond, you're going to see this film but even if you just want a good two hours of escapism I say give QoS a try.

~StacyD

 

Twilight - I read the books and enjoyed them (although I can't really explain the reason why). The movie was much hyped about, and I have to admit, after watching it with 250 screaming tweens, I hated it. The raging hormones of the audience members ruined the movie for me (seriously, everytime the main character walked onto the screen all you could hear was incoherent screaming/sighing/screeching from those girls). I have, since then, managed to watch it again (sans teenage angst) and admittedly, enjoyed it more. There are really cheesy moments that still make me cringe though. I would not recommend this movie to the guys - it's really just for the girls. If you don't believe me, just ask Dooks

Australia - they're billing this as an epic on par with Gone With the Wind - I don't see the comparison at all. I just know that other than the (at times) breaktaking cinematography, I was bored throughout the 2 hours and 43 min running time. The Aussie/aboriginal character is adorable, Jackman is a great leading man, but neither of these was enough to keep me interested. I found the story confusing, and the plot meandered quite a bit.

Madagascar 2 was mildy entertaining. The best part of the movie, of course, were the penguins. But again, I could do with more penguins and less Alex the Lion (Stiller's character). The graphics on the IMAX were really sharp and crisp, but I thought the movie suffered from lack of plot. There is a great lesson on tolerance and diversity in the movie, though. And one of the more memorable moments was will.i.am performing 'Big and Chunky'

Four Christmases was okay. Not a huge Vince Vaughn fan, but I do like Reese Witherspoon. Started off with some pretty funny moments, but then it veered off into some heavy marital/family stuff that brought the movie down.

BOLT - is AWESOME!! The dog is almost secondary in the film. But Rhino (the hamster), the pigeons and Mittens (the kitty taken hostage) steal the show!! The 3-D animation is pretty cool. Details like seeing the individual blades of grass, the fur on Mitten's head - all stand out with 3-D.
Rhino has the best lines: 'Ring. Ring. Hello? Destiny? I've been expecting your call.'
'Every minute with you is the next most AWESOME minute of my life!'
I would DEFINITELY recommend this film

 

Thanks for the reviews Yrol!

So you think that the secondary characters in Bolt (the ones REALLY worth watching), just like the penguins, get more screen time than the penguins have in their films?

 

Mittens and Rhino have almost as much screen time as Bolt, which is great. The pigeons are used effectively where they are. I'm not sure they would do a sequel at this point, given how the movie ends....

 

I can't wait to see Bolt. I am going to see it on Friday. I watched the chase scene on the internet 3 or 4 times, Awesome!!! 3D is going to be better.

Darth Paul

 

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE

This movie is aptly named. It is DEFINITELY a war zone.

I really enjoyed the Thomas Jane's rendition of The Punisher, so my expectations for this new verison were low. Surprisingly though, I walked out of it pretty entertained. Don't get me wrong - the violence is EXCESSIVE, gory and shocking at times. It's NOT for the kids or the for the faint of heart. What will desensitize you to it, is that it's the bad guys who get what's coming to them - the Punisher takes no prisoners, and deals no mercy. Ray Stevenson does a good job playing Frank Castle - he says few words, but really, his actions speak for him. He isn't wholly without a conscience, but the bottom line for him is justice. Justice and the law aren't always on the same team, and Frank will do what he deems just. The villains are the most comic book-y of the film - they'll make you laugh with their over-the-top antics (Travolta's character suffered the same flaw in the last version). Wayne Knight does a good job of playing Castle's sidekick, Micro, and there are some humourous moments too.

3.75 shotguns outta 5!

 

Really enjoyed Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey. Was really funny and had me laughing for much of the film. It's great to see Jim doing what he does best.

I was disappointed in The Spirit. The graphics and cinematography are eye-catching, but the plot pacing is slow and there wasn't enough action for my liking. I found the dialogue repetative and boring. I actually fell asleep for 15 mins and when I woke up, the movie hadn't really progressed - I didn't miss anything. Sam Jackson was...Sam Jackson. He did have the best line though: 'I'm gonna kill you dead. Dead like Star Trek.'

If you like 40's comic strips, then perhaps this is the film for you.

 

Re-watched The Dark Knight in IMAX - glorious!!

Gran Torino
Not exactly sure what all the hype was about, but I found the movie a little slow. Clint Eastwood does his best 'don't mess with me' performance, but he literally looks like death, with his skin pulled so tightly over his skull. At first, the racial slurs (directed at the Asian contingent in the film) are guiltily funny - but after the first 15 mins of this, it gets tiresome, boring and even offensive. The ending is sad but sweet. It was an okay film.

Taken
Qui Gon Jinn kicks some ass sans light saber!! Liam Neeson is pretty lethal in this action thriller. There are some surprising twists in the film which really made it fun and shocking to watch at time. This movie came out last year in Europe - not sure why it took so long to exhibit here??

Am looking foward to watching Slumdog Millionaire tonight.

 

Did anybody see the trailer for PUSH. What the hell? Can you say use the force on earth. That was my first thought. Doesn't look good.

 

Saw Push last night - it was kinda meh. A mash up of Heroes, Xmen, Total Recall and a few other movies. The movie moved too slow for me, and there wasn't enough action.

Loved Slumdog Millionaire though. A very poignant film - beautiful, heartbreaking at times, but hopeful at the end. I definitely enjoyed it more than Gran Torino.

 

The kids and I saw Coraline Friday...12:10 showing...and no one else in the theater!

A definite must see, based on Neil Gaimen's 2002 novella .

"Coraline is strange and bizarre and undeniably beautiful" - Rebecca Murray, About.com.

Wonderful story and visuals in breathtaking (and first application of) 3D stop-motion animation.

Directed by Henry Selick, the same director that brought Nightmare Before Xmas to pop-culture...this movie will do the same!

The music is hauntingly enjoyable and uses lots of choral orchestrations. As well as They Might Be Giants' "Other Father Song".

 

I agree - Coraline was fantastic! So much detail in the 3-D show. I thought it was a little dark for kids though.

Having been introduced to the Watchmen graphic novel this past Christmas (thanks Stacy!), I have to say that I LOVED the movie! I thought it was spectacularly done - so many of the shots were lifted right out of the comic book. Of course, they can't fit everything in, so cuts were expected. For die-hard fans, I'm sure the changes to the ending are hard to swallow, but I really liked it. It was the only thing that I didn't like about the comic itself and hoped Snyder changed. I was not disappointed - but I'm sure the debate regarding the change will forever divide fans.

Thought the actors chosen to play the characters were bang on, with the possible exception of Ozymandias - but only because his back story wasn't developed in the movie, so he got very little exposure. Matthew Goode was great - but seeing more of him would've warmed me up to his character more. In the comic, my favourite character was Nite Owl - he had so many cool gadgets!! But in the movie, I have to give it up Rorschach - he stole the show. So INTENSE, so raw and so real.

Am happy they gave the movie an 18A rating - the violence, the gore, and the adult situations are NOT for children. IMAX is the only way to go for this film - all the wonderful attention to detail just pops off the screen in specatular fashion.

 

Yep WATCHMEN WAS AMAZING NUFF SAID!!!. Echo hit it all on the head me I liked the new ending as you have to roll with the times and update for today's audiences. Casting was right on and out of all the characters this is Rorschach movie but all the characters are great as all the actors deliver.

As Stacy says as close to perfect as you can get to the source and I loved every minute of it go see it especially in IMAX. Movie of the year so far.

 

saw the watchmen on friday and i have to agree with everyone it was awesome.. i didn't get a chance before the movie to read the graphic novel but i got to try and find time to read the novel and go and watch it on an imax screen,, the watchmen movie has set the bar so far for movies this year

 

I thoroughly enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Is it a perfect comic book movie? No. Some of the CGI could use some serious overhauling, but the majority of the fighting and stunts were fantastic!!

Is Hugh Jackman the perfect Wolverine? YES.
Does Liev Scrieber live up to the hype? YES - he's a great Victor Creed! The fights between him and Jackman (albeit too short) are intense!

Does the story suffer from too many mutant cameos? Yes - I'm not a huge Deadpool fan, so I didn't really care what they did to him. But Gambit was cool

Overall, good popcorn fun!!

 

Ok saw two movies so here is a quick review of both:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine- What can I say love Jackman as Wolverine and the passion he brings to the role and Sabertooth awesome looks cool and acts bad ass. First half of the movie is pretty good the origin is good but after that it goes down hill from there. Main problem TOO MANY CHARACTERS and the writters didn't know how to wrap up the movie just lacked in my opinion. Gambit was ok but please don't give this guy he's own movie because no one would care, Deadpool is awesome in the first part of the movie but that's it, and again too many other people just being added for the heck of it. If you like action movies and know nothing about the comics this is a good popcorn movie and kicks off the summer movie season.

Star Trek - Saw an advance screening on Saturday morning(thanks Garrett) and now I'm not a Trek fan and have watched very little of any of the shows but this movie was AWESOME!!!!. Abrams does an amazing job of making a Star Trek action movie that anyone can go in not knowing anything and have a blast. The casting is spot on the entire cast does a fantastic job of bringing those classic Trek characters to life but giving them there own touch. One thing I really like about the movie was the comedy in it which was great and Eric Banna as the villian he played it straight up bad ass. Overall an all around solid movie defiently worth going to see.

So Wolverine not so great but Star Trek bad ass now bring on Terminator: Salvation.

 

Another one lost to the dark side...

 

LOL! @ nobodyfresh - nice

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - pass on this movie. When did Matthew McConaughey become creepy?? Not many funny moments, and his sudden redemption at the end was much to contrived for me. I was bored sitting thru this....

17 Again - wasn't sure what to expect from this movie as I'm not that familiar with Zac Efron or his <ahem> work, and it's not a new storyline. But I was pleasantly suprised at how funny this movie was. Mostly due to the antics of Ned (his best friend) and resident geek. In fact, Ned is the geeks GEEK - as he's a rich software designer and his home is FILLED with tonnes of geek gadgets, props and toys. There are a few SW references, a light saber fight and some LOTR moments that had my sides in stitches! But the piece-de-resistance is Ned's Luke Skywalker Tatooine landspeeder bed - I NEED TO HAVE THIS BED!! Lots of laughs, and a sweet, somewhat light hearted storyline made this movie quite enjoyable.

 

So Dooks is this why you havn't watched the awesome season finale to Clone Wars, cause you're a Treker now?

 

SRSLY? There's some sort of rule around here you can't like both?

I'm less of a SW Tru Fan if I happen to also have other fandoms? Where's the line: LOTR, Indy, HP, Doctor Who, Whedonverse, Trek? Cuz I've crossed all those lines, and proudly too.

 

I don't care what you like...

but I like joking around with my good friend Ryan, so sorry if that bothers you.

 

That's good, I'm glad you and Ryan have an understanding and a private joke. And that Yrol apparently is in on it too.

But I don't think you're unaware of how it's also part of long-standing fandom history that there's been some love lost between Trek and SW fans. It has always bothered me, and I stand up for both/either. In fact, if you go back through this innocent thread on Movies the only movie that seems to have ever provoked a negative response (and even before it came out) was the new Trek.

Go ahead and tease Ryan about being a Trekker all you like, but remember this is a public forum and there's plenty of us SW fans who would prefer not to see Trek-bashing.

Speaking of which - has anyone seen it but Dooks yet? I saw it last night - it was excellent! Thoroughly fantastic action film, managed to keep the spirit of Original Trek alive while bringing the franchise forward! The summer line-up of movies this year is promising.

 

I don't think I actual bashed Star Trek.

 

Magpie Jen if you hate Trek- bashing then i suggest you don't see Fanboys since there is Trek bashing which i highly loved and are my favorite parts of Fanboys..