The Theater

I just want to see the little squid that squirts out ink when he gets scared.

The Animatrix DVD is very good. It's got a lot of the backstory to Reloaded. Final Flight of the Osiris shows how the humans discover the sentinal army and their plan to drill to Zion. Kid's Story shows the saga of the kid in the movie that Neo saves, and The Second Renassaince shows the machines rise to power. I haven't watched the other shorts yet.

Oh, and I rented Cube 2 last night. It's not too good. Stick with the first Cube movie if you want to see a good flick. Skip the second.

My favorite from the Animatrix is "Detective Story", though I saw it off of the official site a few weeks ago.

And Finding Nemo is the best movie I've seen this year...


~ James

I have seen some of the Animatrix online, and they are pretty cool. I haven't seen Finding Nemo yet.

Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop, wrote and directed both "Detective Story" and "Kid's Story" for the Animatrix. They have radically different types of animation too. This DVD makes me miss the old Liquid Television show and it's sometimes oddly different animation.

So, anyone like time warps and remember the movie Say Anything... (Kate, I'm looking at you )? Because I love Cameron Crowe's work, but this movie's my favourite of his. I relate so well to the characters. I'm a lot like Diane Court, and shoot, I'd fall for Lloyd Dobler

Yeah, Say Anything is a great movie. But my favorite Cusak flick is Better Off Dead - "Go that way. Really fast. If something gets in your way...turn."

I thought I'd share on the most recent movies I've seen.

I rented Comedian last week, and it's not bad. Its a documentary about Jerry Seinfeld's return to stand up work, and it compares his job to another, younger comedian just starting out. It's interesting to see how their lives mirror each other. But I think the more interesting aspect is the network Seinfeld seems to have built up from his days on the comedic circuit. He's friends with Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Jay Leno, Chris Rock, and a host of others. They all have a great comraderie. Anyways, the movie is alright, but nothing fantastic.

I also caught the Italian Job this past weekend. It's a remake of an older 50s movie. So it's no surprise that this movie comes across like Ocean's 11, but with more chase scenes. Eh, it's not bad, but it's pretty average.

Okay, finally saw The Pianist this weekend. Well, I thought it was very well done - pretty damn graphic and all - and it's Brody winning Best Actor isn't a big surprise, although I'm not sure if he gave the performace to beat out some of his other nominees.

It's worth renting as it is based on a true story. It didn't affect me as much as some of the other WWII dramas like Schindler's List, but it was worthy of acclaim.

The other rental was Maid in Manhattan. Meh. This was not my choice, but I wasn't adverse to seeing it either. It was average. Typical Cinderella story but, unfortunately, neither Fiennes or Lopez is interesting enough for me to care if they get together or not. Plotwise it's pretty cliche so that didn't help matters any.

Anyone here plannin' on checkin' out HULK on Friday? I know I plan to...it looks fantastic...and early buzz suggests that it is!

I may see it just for curiosity's sake. I'm not really convinced it will be all that good. Maybe it will surprise me.

I still have to see Finding Nemo!

If things work out, I'll be seeing Cowboy Bebop on Friday.

I hear ya, Kate. I'm keepin' my expectations in check on HULK as well. But I'm willing to give the flick a chance since I love the character...the actors involved...and the effects company that brought him to life.


And yes....you definitely need to get to Finding Nemo. Brilliant stuff...


Hmmm...I've heard of this "Cowboy Bebop" but have absolutely no clue what it is. I'm intrigued, however...

Is Bebop still showing in theaters? It's out on DVD next Tuesday. The movie is pretty good, it's a bit slow in spots. It feels kind of like a 30 minute episode expanded over 2 hours. Still, it's better than 90% of anything else out there.

I'm renting a movie tonight. I'm not sure what I'll get. Maybe the Pianist. Maybe About Schmidt or something. I still haven't seen Spirited Away.

What--exactly--is Cowboy Bebop, John? ?


I was thinkin' about renting About Schmidt sometime soon as well. I've heard good things....and Nicholson is the ****...

Spirited Away is great. I loved it.

Apparently I'm "unworthy" to find-out and be made privy to the deep and profound mystety that is "Cowboy Bebop"... ...Ah well...


//sniffs battery acid//


HULK SMASH!!!

You really don't know what Cowboy Bebop is, Sammy?

It's anime...well, kind of. It's certainly not typical anime. It's very stylized, like a 50s spy movie. There's lot's of Jazz music and references to everyone from Charlie Parker (bebop jazz) to the Rolling Stones. It's set in the future when interplanetary travel is an everyday thing, like getting on the highway. It's about a group of bounty hunters and their misadventures through the solar system.

It's not your typical "battlin' giant robots" or "girls clothes coming off for no reason" anime. It's got a very western theme. A lot of the songs on the fantastic soundtrack have English lyrics.

There were 26 episodes in the series, and they're all worth watching. The movie doesn't quite live up to the series, but it's good just as well. The series runs late at night on Cartoon Network currently. The edits aren't too bad either. I'd recommend renting it if you can find it at the video store, if not, set your VCR It's on at 1:30 EDT, I think.

It's probably one of the best shows to ever be on television, honestly. That goes for all genre's. I like it better than Friends, that's for sure.

Wow...cool. I love anime. I haven't watched much Cartoon Network of late...so that's why I'm unfamiliar. This show sounds pretty interesting...I'll make sure to check 'er out...Thanks.


I like it better than Friends, that's for sure.




I would hope so...



HULK SMASH!!!

Another thing that makes it different from most anime is that the episodes can stand alone. There's a slight developing story, but it has to do with knowing the characters personalities. So you should be able to jump right in to any episode.

If Rachel and Ross were time traveling midgets on Friends...I might, I might like it a little better. Do people really drink that much coffee like they do on that show?

Wow...that sounds awesome!


If Rachel and Ross were time traveling midgets on Friends...I might, I might like it a little better.



Same here.


Do people really drink that much coffee like they do on that show?



I seriously doubt it...


HULK SMASH!!!





7 Fresh...2 Rotten @ RT.com thus far...

So, who's going to see the Hulk today? It should be interesting to see people's reactions to it. I don't anticipate it being action oriented, not with Ang Lee involved. I expect it will be much like Crouching Tiger: introspective scenes followed by some action scenes and ending in ambiguity.

I rented About Schmidt last night. It's pretty good, really. And you get to see Kathy Bates naked! Whoo-hoo!

John, I wouldn't advertise the Kathy Bates thing too loudly.

I'll see The Hulk, but at a matinee. I'm not convinced I'm going to like it so I don't feel like paying full price for the flick.

I went to see the Hulk last night. It was one of the worst theater expieriences I've ever had. Bad sound, bad picture, people talking through the film, cell phones going off, babies crying, the whole kit-n-kaboodle. I could have waited six months for the movie to show up on DVD, watch it on almost as big a screen with a better picture and better sound and not put up with irritation ghetto hoochies!

Despite all that, I still liked the film. It was what I expect. A long, slow developing movie focusing on relationships with panning landscape shots to the sound of soothing cello music. It was Ang Lee.

I went to HULK today as well. It was pretty good. Man...is it just me...or is that movie depressing as hell? It isn't "light" like the other comic book movies. I mean, sure, X2 is dark...but it still had alot of humor in it. This movie was just very dark...very forboding...very depressing. But I liked it. It was very well done.


A few things:

- The performances were great. Bana, Nolte, Elliot, Connelly. Great performances all around. Is it just me, or is Jennifer Connelly absolutely stunning? Wow. I think I'm in love. And damn....Nolte was a total frikken' psycho. Awesome stuff.

- I loved the narrative. The split-screen, zoom-screen stuff was very ingenious. It reminded me of the show "24"...which I absolutely loved. Perfect.

- The action scenes rocked. The HULK looked great. Especially in close-up shots. I think some of his expressions looked kinda cartoony...but that's a minor quibble. Overall, great effects. Is he Gollum or Yoda quality? In my opinion, no he isn't. But those two are very tough to match/beat.


I have to say that my favorite part of the movie was when the jet fighters were attacking the Hulk when he was on the bridge. One of the fighters lost control and was about to crash into the bridge...and the Hulk jumped onto the plane, righting-it and forcing it under the bridge so it didn't crash. He did something very heroic...yet...he's misunderstood to the point that they kept attacking him. I don't know...I just thought that kinda subtle thing was awesome.


It's left-open for a sequel...but I'm not sure what exactly they could do in terms of a sequel without it being a rehash. I guess they have the origin story out of the way...so is Banner gonna be a drifter just like Bixby from the TV series...getting into all-kinds of misadventures? Hmmm...that would be kinda cool...


Overall, a great flick that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would like to see it at least one more time to solidify my full-take on it...so my score could change. And I definitely plan on owning the dvd.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Monkey Heads