LA, CA We Want Bubba's Reviews! (no really...)

Okay, here is my review of HP and the GoF.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a fast paced, on the go movie that kept moving. There were only a few areas where it was a bit slow but the rest of it went quickly, too quickly, which of course is my biggest complaint.

I felt a lot of the details were left out of the movie and am glad I read the book first. I was disappointed with the lack of Winky and her role in "casting" the Dark Mark. I did not like the fact that Barty Crouch Jr. was present when Frank Bryce died. However, knowing the ending made me feel sad every time Cedric came on the screen. In a lot of ways, I'm glad they decided not to make Amos such a braggart and a jerk when he first meets Harry because you could feel his anguish more and empathize with him. I liked Rupert Grint's performance. I thought Emma Watson was okay. Barty Senior looked and almost acted too much like Hitler. Barty Junior was supposed to look frightened and not so defient. I thought it worked better the way the movie went because you could definitely tell that he was up to no good. I thought the graveyard scene was great. It was definitely one of the most tense parts of the movie. In both crowds, not a sound could be heard (except for me talking and complaining).

The other big complaint, as JN and I discussed during our walk back to KCET, is the lack of real character development. Sure, Ron showed more than his scared and confused faces and Hermione hardly cracked a book all year, but that was about it. You saw that Hermione really liked Ron and Viktor really liked Hermione and the whole Cho Harry shipping but that was it.

Probably the best scenes featured Fred and George. They were absolutely hilarious. Does anyone else think that they will use the "betting" money that was not in the book, well, not to the same way, any way, will become the capital for Weasley's Wizard Shop (or whatever it was called) since the prize money was never mentioned nor was it given?

Any way, I really enjoyed the movie. I think it would be hard to figure out which I liked better, PoA or GoF. I'm leaning towards liking it more that PoA.

 

HP was awesome, I didn't like the bath scene... he is 14 by the way, I guess in England There is no such thing as "jailbait" Perhaps R-Kelly should look into relocating.

Hermione was either b*tchy or P*ssed. Kinda got old 8 lines into it.

I think Ron and Harry are both played by very talented actors, they have a wonderful chemistry, and the dialogue between them is flawless. then there is hermione who has a scream, an exasperated sigh or a physical jossling incorporated. (she is always smacking or pushing those boys around)

Cho-well it would be nice to have seen her in other movies, but I am not too attached.

The twins- :::: nuff said

 

I don't think Hermione was so bad. I did like how she got all twitter-pated when Viktor talked to her.

By the way, SR and I got the Superman Returns trailer at the Paseo. Though I was uncertain about watching it, I love Supey in general so I will probably see it any way. Plus they are using the old soundtrack which I love.

Also, I watched "Little Voice" which starred our favorite Jedi, and "The Tailor of Panama" which had a very young Daniel Radcliffe. He was such an adorable little kid, I can see how they chose him. Any way, Ewan was so cute and shy in LV. It was a really good movie. I like Indie movies. I think I like Ewan best when he's shy, though I don't think that's his natural personality. He seems very gregarious in real life. I found Tailor very unsatisfying.

 

Oooooookay, am I going to have to bust out my Animator Scholar cap? *puts it on and clears her throat*

Popular references have been a huge, huge part of animation for years. Which makes little sense to me since animation should be, in all ways, timeless. There is nothing to show the talent of an age than animation becuase osmetime syou can literally see the work put into it.

It's much easier to write a script or a story with pop culture or modern references. Take for example, Shrek 1. The film (and most of Dreamworks' films, really) is just full to the brim with pop culture references that in 10 years won't make any sense. Which is why I consider Shrek a "cheap" film with no real value other than beautiful backgrounds and some nice animation textures.

Now Robots was visually stunning. It is NOT easy to create a film where the entire thing looks metallic and you're still able to distinguish between the backgrounds, the props, and the characters. If you think about it, the entire world of that film is made of metal and it still looks amazing. The textures in the film are absolutely jaw-dropping, and it was a huge step for Blue Sky studios to make.

Now. If we're talking about Serenity... pfft. It's like, the best non-SW movie evar. Duh! I could go ONNNN AND ONNNN about Serenity, but... I won't just yet.

 

CB, I found it funny how much better (in my opinion) the twin with the side part looked than the one who was still sporting the middle part. I loved the way Angelina was asked to the ball. Much better than in the book. I need to learn the baboon line.

 

Personally, I liked the other McGonagall line:

"...in a night of well-mannered frivolity."

Hahaha, I love British people.

 

well i don't know if this belongs here but i couldn't find the other thread....

So i watched Episodes 4-6 these past 3 days (work is a bit slow). I recently purchased an upgrading DVD player capable of showing dvds in either 720p or 1080i...meaning they look a lot better than normal dvd players....more lines of resolution

anyway, i highly reccommend you get one, they go for about $150 and hooks up to your HDMI input of your tv, considering you have that kind of tv.
The picture is amazing!!!
After tweeking the tv using the THX helper, i got a great picture.
I've seen things that i never noticed before. The colors, the clarity the neatness and definiton is outstanding....
This is a good way to view your dvds till the "new" players (HD-DVD or Blue-Ray) come out next year, but those will be pretty pricey to start.

 

So i just saw ROTS again with my mom...she hadn't seen it yet. She really enjoyed it. Then i had to explain the whole 4-6 were the middle to end and that 1-3 were the beggining now and that whole mess.
So, we saw ROTJ...kept skipping to the Emperor, Luke and Vader scenes to help tie it in better....
Actually, seeing EPIII followed by EPVI is very cool. it doesn't confuse you so much....

 

Went down to SD today with the fambly to the Natural History Museum down there. We saw bugs! That's why we went, of course...but the best thing is that I got a plush tarantula and a plush raven. Now I can die happy.

Plus I got a bird to eat out of my hand at the rest stop. Great day to say the least!

 

This is a pre review of a movie I know I will love, and it is a Sony so that's even better. Rent came out this week and I will see a screening of it at work Tuesday I believe. It was the first show I ever saw on Broadway in New York. It changed me. I can't wait to see it. I just hope I don't sing out loud to the songs. The rest of the audience may not like it much.

 

Over the weekend I went with ES to see Brokeback Mountain at the Grove.

This movie upset me on many levels. I felt very ill after watching it. Not only did I cry uncontrolably for hours afterwards, I also felt like throwing up. I haven't even eaten much since then. I will probably break down while typing this.

The story is about two men who during one summer while working herding sheep in Wyoming fall in love. However, because it is 1963 they won't be registering their committment ceremony at the Beverly Hills Crate and Barrel. Instead, they go about their lives in the way society at the time dictates for them: Get married, have children, get depressed, drink, and as Tammy Wynette so eliquintly put it in the movie get a D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Though they can't live they way they want to, they do manage to see each other a few times a year on "fishing trips" back on Brokeback.

I will stop there as I probably couldn't type the rest anyway and it would be spoilers for anyone who may want to eventually see it. I would wait until a wider release as ES and I got to the theater at 8pm and the movie was sold out except for the 12:45am showing.

That's all.

 

I'm sorry. (hug)

 

Your review SR makes me curious to see the movie, that and it's now been nominated for like every award. My wife and I went to see "Memoirs of a Geisha" last Friday at the Arclight. I thought the story was just o.k., it had some flaws and in general wasn't that exciting. I don't know if it's supposed to be a tragic story or one with a happy ending, because it was neither. One thing that was bothering me is the "Japanese" accents of the characters. When non-Japanese (a majority of the female cast is Chinese) speak English with a Japanese accent, I get offended sometimes. But for this movie, I thought the Chinese actresses did a good job. It was one of the Japanese actresses who was speaking English with what sounded like a Russian accent that really bothered me. Ken Watanabe was good, but his character was kind of a perv.. if you think about what happens. My wife didn't like the fact that they got a LOT of the details wrong with the Japanese aspects of the movie. My wife takes traditional Japanese dance classes, and she knows how to wear a kimono and such, so when she sees those errors in the movie, it makes her angry. Anyway, I'm sure most of you won't be seeing this movie, and you won't be missing anything.

 

Yeah, I heard that a bunch of Japanese people were angry about that, I would be too. I didn't even think about it until a week ago when I read an article on it. It's the old "i'm a famous asianso we'll use me despite the fact that there are plenty of Japanese actresses that will do well"

Reminds me of the casting they do at Dland for Mulan...ask me again some other time in person..lol

Tonight I'm seeing Narnia so I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

I haven't seen the Geisha movie but I saw an interview with some of the cast. Excuse me, but you are not Japanese. I think that is so lame. I know when I see it I'll be thinking "You are not Japanese" the whole time. Sheesh. I just think it is kind of a cultural rip-off.

 

They didn't even get the costumes (kimono) right? That's terrible. How hard can it be to do some research? I wonder if that ol' "Chinese hate Japanese" and vice versa was not somehow subliminally at work. OK, I'll stop being polemical. I once wrote an article about "Japanese costume as depicted in historical mysteries" (honest, one can actually write about things like that), and I learned so much. For instance, did you know that in the Heian Period, noblewomen of the imperial court commonly wore 15 to 40 layers of karaginu mo? Bet ya didn't . OK, no more teaching. I've hasketted this thread, too! I'll stop now.

 

Yes, I hate JR. Seriously, my sister who's crazy that way, got really mad at Mulan because of some of the stereotypical things in that movie. Did I care that Pat Morita played the Chinese Emperor or that George Takei played a Chinese ancestor or that Eddie Murphy played a Chinese Dragon? NO. Did I care that they mixed up uniforms from different eras for the army people? NO. Who cares? Get on with your life. It's just a movie.

Of course, most people don't think I'm really Chinese and I will tell most that I'm an American so whatever. Sorry for my rant.

<Steps off her soap box>

 

I'm sure you're right, DH, but costumes in a movie are very important to me. I want them to get it right, because it's easy! I'm guess I'm really into that "do your homework" thing. Yeah, 99% of movie-goers are not even going to notice or even care, but if you're trying to recreate a world, and make people care about that world, you need to do it right. Kimono are so beautiful, I just want to see more of them!

 

I read "Memoirs of a Geisha", and I must say that it is a most excellent book [Insert Bill&Ted guitar riff here]. I loved Ken Watanabe in "The Last Samurai", so I am still looking forward to this movie. John Williams did the score, since originally Steven Speilberg was hired to direct it.

I saw "Good Night, and Good Luck" over the weekend, and it was a very interesting picture. Shot entirely in black and white, it told the story of the McCarthy Hearings though the life and times of Edward R. Murrow, the Walter Cronkite of that time. George Clooney did an adequate job of directing, but David Straithern's performance as Mr. Murrow was nothing short of outstanding. We are talking Best Actor Oscar here. A very enjoyable and riveting film, especially if you are as horrified as I am by what happened as result of an arrogant, self-righteous junior senator's quest for his fifteen minutes in the name of stamping out Communism in America.

 

Saw Narnia last night with my friends. Beware, I will block outmy spoilers just in case, but most people should know the basic idea/plot, i think. Unles u live under a rock.

So my friends from work and I went, I sat next to danielle. WE talked the whole time. since we're both Christians we were both talking the whole time about the symbolism...like:


When Aslan sacrifices himself, I kept telling her: "A sacrifice must be made." and she'd say "Oh, so they'll kill the white witch..." NO! A SACRIFICE! "Oh, edmund?" NO! HEllo? Aslan="JESUS! ASLAN IS JESUS!" she almost yelled it. THen we laughed so hard during one of the saddest parts. We kept bugging Anthony saying Aslan is Jesus, and he'd say":


I just wanna see a lion fight things.
and
Let the agnostic watch the movie.

But there is TONS of symbolism. WE kept looking at each other like: wow, that was directly quoted from the Bible.

The movie isn't as entertaining as LOTR, but only by a hair. The music is remeniscent of LOTR, and therefore forgetable.
The children are darling...and...
when they grow up in the end, they are hot

If more people see the movie, my signature is chaning to: Aslan is Jesus!

 

APL, I loved your review. It made me chuckle. May I caution you on your potentially new signature line as to say that Aslan is Jesus is bordering on blasphemy. I agree that he represents Jesus but to say he is takes it just a bit further than even I can accept. Any way, that's my two cents. I hope to see it soon.

 

I also will probably see this soon. I know the story and the connections. We did this as a play in high school. I was set decorations. Not much of an actor.

I will see this and Kong in Texas probably just because there won't be anything else to do. That is if I can find a decent theater.

 

I thought you had to drive an hour to the nearest theatre in Texas. Man! That still amazes me.

I'll probably have to wait until after my padawan's done with finals before I head out to see any movies.

 

I'm going to see King Kong tomorrow at 8pm at the Arclight with my friend Mark, we have an extra ticket, so if anyone wants to go with us.. lemme know.

 

Of course I mean it's a symbol of Jesus. I know Aslan is NOT Jesus, but symbolically theoretically etc... And it is kinda a joke between me and my friend.
Plus what was weird is that Santa or a guy kinda like him..they never say his name, is in the movie. So now I really have to read the book to see if santa is in it.
How about..."Aslan is, like Jesus? Or Aslan is like Jesus."

For those not wanting spoilers, this is totally boring for you.