Hey folks…my honey and I caught up with some silver screen hits in the last week or so. Typically, we try to hit the theaters on Birch Street (in Brea) in order to get a little buzz on before the film. I’ve timed movie trailers to take up to 15 minutes or so, after the posted movie time. However, sometime’s it’s nice to catch new trailers. Mark’s excited about the new Doom movie with the Rock. It cracked us up to see camera angles that mimic the game play. I’m also thrilled about the first movie on the Chronicles of Narnia. It was one of my favorite fantasy series in grade school. I must have read each book in the series by C.S. Lewis at least two to three times. Seven books in all. Something about a good story providing a much needed escape from tedious Catholic school studies. In grade school, I had a longing for the magic, heroic children, talking animals and adventure. I’d like to get the Narnia series for my kids someday.
Back to current movies. Here’s a quick run-down.
It picks up the story thread for Whedon’s Firefly - a science-fiction series with a cowboy-like attitude. I caught a couple Firefly episodes on the Sci-Fi channel. It’s an entertaining show - a dysfunctional crew robbing from the rich to feed themselves. It has a touch of underdog nobility balanced with Whedon’s fantastic dialogue - witty, sarcastic and biting.
“If someone tries to kill you, you try to kill them right back.”(Capt. Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds)
According to news reports, Serenity (the name of the ship) got it’s wings from the mega-sales in Firefly DVD sales. Sweet. Mark pointed out that the Family Guy got a second chance from it’s DVD sales.
The movie was entertaining, exciting and a perfect coda to the Firefly series. It reveals a backstory on Serenity’s brother/sister stowaways. It’s also packed with explosive action scenes - on the ground and in space. I think most folks will be able to get into it without seeing the earlier episodes of Firefly. It’s fun, hip and worth watching again.
[from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broken_flowers/]
If you enjoyed Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers would be up your alley.
Once again, Murry hooks up with director Jim Jarmusch for this film about a rich playboy searching for the possible mother of his alleged son. (Murray was also in Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigerattes, playing himself). Murray’s Don Johnston (”…not Don Johnson, Johnston with a ‘T’”) is a quirky portrait of a beyond middle-aged man who’s comfortable with vague relationships and lack of emotional attachments. It’s a treat to see him roused out of his blah existence by his meddling neighbor. Johnston’s road trip across non-descript Middle America towns, is set at a languid pace by the sweet Ethiopian-influence soundtrack. Murray is subtle in his character’s transistions from boredom to frustration to tenderness. It’s a lovely character film….it’s not as good as Lost in Translation, but it’s certainly a nice runner-up.
[from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/march_of_the_penguins/]
March of the Penguins is a beautifully-shot documentary. It follows the emperor penguins’ journey across 70 miles of Antartica’s brutal ice country in order to mate. Morgan Freedman’s narration is royal and compassionate. It’s about surival and love under in one of the harshest enviorments on Earth. I’m also impressed with the dedication of director Luc Jacquet and his photography crew. They had to haul their own camera equipment the penguins - the same 70 mile journey (and back again). They had to steady their hands under the below zero weather to capture the penguins’ story on film. The outtakes at the end of the film show a playful behind-the-scenes look at their photographic journey.
« Hide it
