Movies
Movie Night: The Cabin in the Woods
Two amazing Joss Whedon movies in one month! In this case, he co-wrote and produced this collaboration with Drew Goddard, who directed.
Truly clever horror gore-fests are few and far between. The Cabin in the Woods is reminiscent of Evil Dead/Evil Dead II, and it definitely knows it. While the Evil Dead movies are a fun romp through horror tropes, The Cabin in the Woods takes it one step further and comes up with an innovative spin on the genre.
There are plenty of familiar Whedon-crew faces, and I was pleasantly surprised with the woman behind it all.
4.5/5
Movie Night: The Avengers
My love for Joss Whedon is no secret. Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog… let’s not forget Toy Story, and I’ve even watched every episode of Dollhouse. Whedon is a genius, and that shines through in his latest turn with Marvel, The Avengers.
Even though I’m a Marvel girl, I was never a huge fan of The Avengers. I thought Captain America was lame, and I was into real Norse mythology, not a modern re-imagining of it. Now, I’m kind of sorry that I never got into The Avengers as a kid; the dynamics of a disparate group of heroes can obviously yield wildly entertaining results, in the hands of a good writer.
So, when the world is in danger, and there seems to be no hope, to whom can we turn? Humanity’s last hope — a ragtag group of heroes that can barely stand one another long enough to work together. The characters are well-cast; I was worried about the change from Edward Norton (whom I love, and was a huge step up from Eric Bana) to Mark Ruffalo, but it worked. You’ve got to love Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, and he continues to inhabit the role in a way I can’t imagine anyone else could achieve. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor works a lot better as a member of a group than as the main character in its title film, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki is definitely my new comic-book-movie crush. He’s delightful.
Some people may think comic book movies are just for kids, but this has a rating of PG-13 and I saw a 19+ showing; people were laughing out loud and cheering throughout the film. (All right, there’s a slim possibility that this was because you can drink at the show.) The script is filled with Whedon’s characteristic quips, and the movie was well paced — it certainly didn’t feel like I’d sat through a two-and-a-half hour movie when I got up to leave. A note on that: like all Marvel movies, stay until the end of the credits. I mean all the way … there are two additional scenes after the end of this one.
5/5
Fan Trailer: Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion)
If you haven’t seen this yet, you owe it to yourself to press play on the video below. Youtuber Jaronpitts created this drool-worthy fan trailer of an imaginary Green Lantern movie starring Nathan Fillion. It’s so authentic, that if it all didn’t feel a little geekily familar (the sounds and images he’s manipulated are CHOICE), I could swear this was the real deal.
I want this movie to happen. Make it so.
Terminator Salvation
I usually try not to post any spoilers in my blog. In this case, I think it would be hard to, even if I tried. There’s not a whole lot of plot here that can be spoiled; the movie is mostly a series of explosions, punctuated with short bursts of inane chatter and Christian Bale doing his Batman voice. The explosions are cool, sure, and I’m a big fan of gravelly-voiced Bale, but this movie left me seriously disappointed. Maybe it’s because McG doesn’t have a real name. Maybe it’s because Star Trek set my summer movie bar impossibly high. All I know is, I feel like I might have gotten the same result with the following recipe:
Insert the following DVDs into microwave:
Terminator 1-3
War of the Worlds
The Princess Bride (i.e. “Do you know what that sound is, John Connor? Those are the shrieking eels!”)
Independence Day
Bladerunner (I assume this is where Moon Bloodgood gets her makeup advice.)
Battlestar Galactica (not just the obvious toaster stuff, but also: “Lucite hardening… Must end life in classic Lorne Greene pose from Battlestar Galactica!”)
Cook on high for 1 hr 54 mins.
Film resulting explosions.
Package as new movie, roll with it all the way to the bank.
Endorse checks with three simple letters: “McG”.
Overall, not the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It might be worth your hard earned cash if, like me, you enjoy most summer movies for the LOLs. 2.5/5.
Star Trek!
Wow! I went into Star Trek expecting a whole lot. The reviews were through the roof, from Trek fans and the uninitiated alike (yes, I do believe there are only two kinds of people: those who love Star Trek and those who *will* love Star Trek. So sue me). Somehow, with even these loftiest of expectations, I was blown out of my seat.
The movie is well paced, exciting, funny, and stylish. Abrams’ use of light is gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous … I know we were all prepared for this new, youthful cast, but I still have to say it: it is so fun to see a Trek movie full of hotties. Zoë Saldana is ridiculously gorgeous, and Zachary Quinto has now officially become my imaginary boyfriend. Not only does the cast look good, but their performances are great. There isn’t a bad acting job to be found here, and each of them feels like an homage to the actor who played the part before, without coming off as something akin to an impression.
Below, there be spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, run to the theatre right now. I’ll be waiting here to discuss these points with you when you get back. Go on, now. If you aren’t going yet, just look away and scroll past this next paragraph to the conclusion. Spoiler alert on the conclusion: I’m gonna give this one a good rating.
Here is the point on which the people I saw the movie with split: this notion of an alternate timeline in which these events (and any subsequent movies would, please please please) take place. I like this narrative device, it starts the slate over again to allow a new set of stories using some of my favourite Trek characters (Sulu! You are FINALLY included in this list!) without making me paranoid about conflicting events in the canon. Others felt uncomfortable with this, and wished that the movie would end with time straightening itself out and returning back to the old storyline. Everyone had a few minor problems with some character motivations, and the fact that some of this movie was “so totally ripped off from Star Wars” (you can quote me on that, I stand by it).
In conclusion, (welcome back, my spoiler free friends) this is the summer movie to beat. Terminator, Transformers, G.I. Joe, you all have some mighty big space boots to fill. This may be my highest ever rating: 4.5/5
