Okay...

I REALLY don't want to sound like a whining fanboy when I start talking about this movie.  Because I'm not.  Anything I say will make it sound worse than it was.  Cuz I did enjoy it.  Just not as much as the first time I watched the first one.

So I'm gonna go with this for now, and I'm gonna try to keep it brief.  I might open up a bit more later, but it's almost 11 and I'm tired.

( Transformers 2 Spoilers Ahoy! )

Star Trek: The reboot that knows it's a reboot.

It is, at the same time, a re-boot, an alternate history, and a direct sequel to Nemesis.  IT WORKS.

Bloody brilliant.  It's a different Kirk, a different Spock, a different Uhura, and it ALL MAKES SENSE.

I can't even try to explain how all of this fits, but it does.  Just go see it, it's a fun fun movie that can have as many sequels as it wants without fucking up the Trekkies definition of how things "should be."

Oh, I should mention, since it is Abrams, pay attention for Grunberg and Slusho.  They're both pretty much requirements for anything he does.

Rotten Tomatoes posted their summer movie guide.  First time I've ever really sat down and looked at what's coming out when.

I loves me some summer movie time.  It's so popcorn.

I'm gonna try to do a running list to see what I end up, well, seeing this summer.  Hopefully I can get to a decent number.  They're not all gonna be quality, but whatevah.

So here's the ones that I KNOW I want to see in-theater:

May 1: Wolverine
May 8: Star Trek
May 22: Terminator
May 29: Up
June 24: Transformers
July 1: Public Enemies
July 17: Half-Blood Prince
August 7: GI Joe
August 21: Inglourious Basterds

Then there's the ones that I'm might see if time and money allow:

May 29: Drag Me to Hell
June 12: Taking of Pelham 123
June 19: Year One
July 24: G-Force
August 28: The Boat That Rocked

So I'll keep you updated.  Hopefully I'll get some sort of semi-review of whatever I see in the next few months.

I know I shouldn't complain, since my teeth end up pretty damn good compared to my friends and/or fam, but LORD amighty that appointment took too long this morning.  Easily THE chattiest hygenist I've ever been with.  And not in a good way.  Talk at me for two minutes, scrape for thirty seconds, pull back and talk for another minute, scrape another thirty seconds.  Swear to God, I would have gotten out of there ten minutes earlier if she would have at least WORKED while she was talking at me.

I guess some dentists just enjoy having a captive audience.

Not a low-key weekend last weekend.  Not a high-key one, either.  It was just a key weekend.  BBQ and laundry with the fam on Saturday, a subpar gathering with some theatre folk Saturday night.  I left after an hour, I was the youngest there by a good fifteen years on average, and none of the people who decided to show were close buddies.

Sunday I did the Easter Buffet thing with my friend hear_my_song_07 .  Granite City does Sunday buffet goooood and souped it up a bit more for the big E.  I also discovered that the assistant who gets a coffee pot smashed over his head on the fifth season of Angel went to high school with me.

Rented Bolt last night.  Good stuff, it's going on my buy list.  Watched Dollhouse on Saturday morning cuz, again, I forgot that it was on Friday night.  This is me not paying attention to TV, apparently, when I completely forget about the one show that I DO want to watch.

It's getting good still, by the way.  I dunno how far back the episodes go on Fox and Hulu, but if you're into Whedon at all I say give it a shot.  Dushku's the weak link in the cast by far, but the others are picking up the pace.  Sierra, Victor, and Boyd are great, and I came out of this last episode actually appreciating Dominic, which is a surprising thing to say considering how much I loathed him up until the end of this ep.

Finally, I finished a chapter and am ready to start up on the next.  Unfortunately, I'm having major conflicting issues writing a chapter ( SPOILER ).  I'm trying very VERY hard not to let one affect the creation of the other.

So here's the lineup so far for Stallone's new movie, The Expendables:

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Forest Whitaker, Eric Roberts, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Dolph Lungdren, Mickey Rourke.

And Charisma Carpenter.

Huh. Between Carpenter and Benz in Rambo I think Stallone has a thing for casting Buffy alum in his movies.

Either way, I can't stand most Stallone movies (except for Demolition Man), but I'm gonna have to see this one. Jesus, that kinda cast would just make the camera roll up into a ball in the corner and whimper, wouldn't it?

Confession: I have only read Watchmen once.

Yes, I know, I should turn in my nerd cred right now, but its true. I bought it ten years ago, read it, was confused fairly often as I read it, then proceeded to loan it out to numerous people and NEVER SAW IT AGAIN.

Seriously. No clue where it went. I've asked four different people if I gave it to them, and no dice. I always loan it out with Dark Knight Returns, and I'm currently staring at my copy of DKR. So, yeah, it sucks. I need to buy a new copy next time I get a Borders coupon emailed to me.

But, anyway, that's where I'm coming from as I saw the movie Saturday afternoon. So, as someone who's only read the comic once and absorbed maybe 10% of it (Mostly the interrogation scene and Naked Nuclear Dream Sequence), I can say that Watchmen: The Movie was quite satisfying. A bit long, yes. Probably could have cut 15 minutes just by trimming the fat from some of the scenes. Can probably get pretty confusing to non-fans at times, which ultimately hurts it. But as someone who HAS read the comic, and as someone who WAS confused about what was going on in the comic the one time I read it, I can say that the movie makes me think I can go in with a clearer head about it.

Good movie, fantastic visuals. PLEASE remember that this isn't a "super hero movie." You can't bring your kids to it and buy toys afterwards. Its R for a reason: broken arms with bones sticking out of the skin, exploded people hanging from ceilings, realistic sex scenes, suggestions of rape and child mutilation (and sometimes more than suggestions). And Dr. Manhattan just has no problem wandering around with his wedding tackle out there in all its glory.

So, you've been warned: No kids, despite the giant ship that looks like an owl's head.

Then again:



If you haven't seen it, I say take a shot.  I'm curious to see what you think, especially if you haven't read the source material (considered the cornerstone of modern comic books and the greatest graphic novel of all time).  If you have seen it (or haven't, but are curious), the company who was hired to make the opening credits now have the opening credits online.  They're fantastic.  And they're Dylan.

Okay, two weekends ago.

Transformers 2 Theatrical Teaser.

More than the Super Bowl commercial.

Eeee Heeheeheehee!

Quoth David Willis:  Eeeeee hee hee hee heeeee!!

Okay, so, am I reading this receipt right?  If you don't return a movie to Blockbuster within 7 days you'll be charged $9.99, but you get to keep the movie?

Dood.  I rented In Bruges for free.  No way it's going back now.  $10 for a used movie is pretty dang good, isn't it?

Finally, FINALLY saw In Bruges tonight.  It certainly wasn't what was advertised, but that's not to say it was bad.  It's definitely going on my purchase list.  Just be warned, there's a lot more "dark" than "comedy" in this dark comedy, even if the ads had made it look like Belgium's answer to Guy Ritchie.

But I will say that Colin Farrell needs to do this kind of movie more often.  He's been in lord knows how many movies, and how many of them has he actually been able to use his native accent?  We need grumpy/witty/suicidal Irish Farrell more often!

Oh, and Brendan Gleeson's fucking fantastic, good to know they both got Golden Globe nominations out of this, even though I doubt we'll see them at Academy time.

The Lonely Maiden
Opens: May 29th 2009
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy
Director: Peter Hewitt

Summary: The film centers on three museum security guards who have become attached to the artwork they've watched over for decades. When they learn their beloved pieces are to be transferred to another museum, they concoct a scheme to "steal" them back.



OH GOD!  THIS IS THE GREATEST CAST EVER!

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD


Yes. Yes. Yes.

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 minutes.

Volume VI will be here.  It'll just be FAIL, cuz I only have two or three pictures.  I had many pictures that I WANTED to take, but spending 12 hours of the day with one person kinda makes you forget to take the pics fairly quickly.

Also, ended up NOT seeing Indy for a second time yesterday.  Saw Narnia for a second time instead.  Just as good the second time out.

So what is there to say about Indy?

It was a good movie.  Not a great movie by any stretch, but a good movie.  I still enjoy Ark more, I still enjoy Last Crusade more, but I dislike Temple of Doom a LOT more.  What can I say, there's just something about the constant gross-out factor of ToD that bothers me every time out.

I saw Prince Caspian on Friday night.

Fun movie.  Tough to get into at first, as you kinda just have to embrace the absurdity and block out Spritle and ChimChim, but by the time they get to the cross-country race it gets fun and it sticks around till the end.

Too bad it didn't do so hot at the box office this weekend, but I kinda expected it.  It's a REALLY tough sell, as the people who would really like it (aka the kiddies) have never heard of Speed Racer, and those who have heard of and grew up with Speed Racer look at it as one big joke.  It'll probably come out of the summer as one of its bigger bombs, but it's mostly a movie that most people wouldn't really get.

But it's a mostly good movie, the special effects are pretty much a reefer smoker's nightmare, and the acting's fairly quality for what it could have been (*cough*AttackoftheClones*cough*). 

PS for niteflite, I also rented Meet the Robinsons this weekend.  THAT is an odd movie.  Good, though, although I don't think it'd be quite as good the second time through.  Just soooo random that a lot of the humor's gotta be lost on the second read.