MIA for my most anticipated movies..

I’m excited to be going to Panama soon for 6 weeks but it means i’ll be M.I.A. for some of my most anticipated movies of the summer. Will just have to wait ’til I’m back.

You know what online resource i really like?  Theatrical trailers hosted on Apple’s website.  From time to time i’ll spend 20 minutes watching HD trailers there.  Movies i’m looking forward to most in descending order:

4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1)

I grew up around comic books and X-Men was my favorite.  And Hugh Jackman is so rugged.

3. Angels & Demons (May 15)

I bought Dan Brown’s book and will be reading it during my time in Panama.

2. Terminator Salvation (May 21)

Terminator 2 is on my list of favorite movies.  T-3 was uber lame.  But this next installment looks promising.  Casting Christian Bale as John Connor fits exactly what i’d imagine in my mind.

1. Star Trek (May 8 )

I’m looking forward to this one the most! Star Trek franchise + J.J. Abrams = good odds for epic entertainment!

I’ll be back in time to watch the newest Harry Potter; the latest trailer was recently released and it looks GREAT in HD.

He’s Just Not That Into You!

A bit of a spoiler alert!

I had high hopes for this movie and am pleased that it met my expectations. It’s amusing and while lighthearted, it still addresses the weighty issues at hand.  I found myself rooting for certain characters and against others, which is what i want to be doing in a character-based movie. The A-List ensemble did well to make me believe what i think they wanted me to believe about them.

For example, I was convinced that even though Bradley Cooper looks amazing in either a tailored suit or raggedy gym clothes, he’s still a self-justifying jerk.  I was convinced that Ben Affleck is still likable despite his personal beliefs on marriage, which have no basis (not enough time in the movie to develop this).  I was convinced that Scarlett Johansson is naive and for all intents and purposes, a skank; Jennifer Connelly is uptight and insecure but finds her resolve in the end; Ginnifer Goodwin is overeager but still adorable and we are happy for her (maybe because she represents the audience the most even if we don’t want to admit it); Drew Barrymore is whimsical and aloof, about as much as you can do with such a periphery character; Kevin Connolly is the average upper-middle class Joe who tries too hard; and Justin Long is the proverbial narrating voice who arguably ends up learning the most.

Yes, some would say that it wraps up all too conveniently in the end but with so many storylines and already being 2+ hours, i am happy with it.  And hey, you might learn something.

And for the guys out there, this clip is especially for you!  It’s on the movie’s website and it’s very funny!  Here are “10 Chick Flick Cliches You Won’t Find in He’s Just Not That Into You.”

Perhaps you noticed that i missed Jennifer Aniston in my list up there.. it’s cos the only thing i want to say about Jennifer Aniston is that she is hot as ever! (And, watching her in this film made me root for her in real life, too!)

Watch a Movie to Watch a Trailer

I’m looking forward to Quantum of Solace not only for a dose of Bond but because the new Star Trek XI trailer will be shown at the beginning!  Finally!  I’ve been living off of the teaser trailer for months now… which succeeds in doing exactly what it’s supposed to do… teasing me! Luuuuuring me in.  I heard the new trailer got leaked onto YouTube but i wanna watch it on the massive theatre screen in HD and surround sound.

Yes, i’m a Star Trek fan, no reservation, no shame!  Whaddya gonna do about it??!

EDIT:  A friend who saw Quantum of Solace over the weekend said there was no Star Trek trailer???!!  Can anyone else confirm?  I hope this isn’t just for showings in American theaters…

EDIT AGAIN:  I watched Quantum yesterday… no Star Trek trailer.. so sad, i guess it’s just in American theaters.  But oh well, i gave in and watched it online.  Massive theater screen would have been excellent but the Star Trek HD Apple Trailer is good enough (found it linked from the “automated generated links” from this post.)  Soooo exciting!  Can’t wait for May 2009, Star Trek AND Terminator Salvation!

“The Happening” Sucked My Toe.. All the Way to Mexico, Ugh.

I don’t think i’ve used my blog to vent about anything before.  But for this post i will.  The consolation is that it’s only venting about a movie.. nothing of significance in real life.

Regretfully (understatement), I watched M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” tonight and hands down, no exaggeration, completely and honestly, it was the worst movie i’ve EVER seen in my ENTIRE life.  I’m not joking with the hyperbole AT ALL.  What an utter tank.

The script is horrible and awkward and the plot is choppy and random.  The acting is so bad that for a moment i thought it might be a parody, but it isn’t.  Efforts for suspense is frustrating cos it’s so ridiculous and confusing.  The intermittent gore succeeded in shock value but ultimately failed because those moments of extreme graphic violence did nothing to reel in an audience expecting intelligent suspense.  The struggling marriage sub-plot is premature and nowhere near convincing.  Close-up shots of Mark Wahlberg’s scrunched up face became redundant and painful.  The pregnancy metaphor in the end is Cliche 101.  The concept for a “Green” message with its pseudo-science basis only compels me to cut down trees (in fact, a whole forest) while facetiously singing “The Colors of the Wind” from the Pocahontas soundtrack.  (You’d understand if you’ve already seen the film — but why waste your LIFE doing so?)

I thought that in the beginning the film would progress, develop, explain itself, and simply get better.  It could ONLY get better, right??  But it didn’t.  Ugh, i’ve never been so frustrated by how poorly made a movie could be.  The only solace from it was the beauty of the Northeastern countryside. But even that, Shyamalan had to botch its tranquility and turn it into a vengeful, self-aware, tree-hugging mess.

If you haven’t noticed, i don’t read reviews before i watch movies.  I read a bunch afterwards and my favorite review nailed it, ” It is an astonishment, so idiotic in conception and inept in execution…”

Journey to the Center of.. The Dark Knight.. (title is too long)

Louise and I watched Journey to the Center of the Earth…

and got these sweet “RealD” 3D glasses…

And even though the movie is so blatantly unrealistic it was still entertaining. If possible, I would very much like to have an adventure like it. Who wouldn’t want to run for their life from a T-Rex? It also made me think, I wish i had a better imagination.

I never got around to talking about The Dark Knight after watching it 2 weeks ago.. without getting too much into it, like many others, I thought that it was a very dark and very smart film. Joker mentally freaked me out every time he gave a different story about his “smile” scar. What an enigmatic character.. the point that got me most is trying to figure out his motivation for evil.. which seems there is none.. just a plain ‘ol sociopath. Unrelenting, unreasonable, senseless. Which opens discussion to the biggest theme i draw from the film: examining sin nature. Or, without using such a spiritual term, simply asking, “What’s wrong with us? and from where? and why? as humans, people, society. not just in the “bad guys” but in the “normal guys” as well.. in Joker, in Harvey Dent, in the people of Gotham, in Batman. Where do we, all of us, fall on the spectrum of having this kind of potential for depravity?

Most anticipated movie for next year: Terminator Salvation. Christian Bale as John Connor.. perfect! This is going to be great.. especially since T3 was terrible. Ugh, TERRIBLE.