No - not on this blog. Yet. Although I totally understand why you're thinking that...
Either way, I thought I would re-visit this blog and post on a different, but related, subject - giving up on a TV show. I don't really do this readily (as evidenced by my continued viewing of all facets of "The Bachelor" franchise), but sometimes, man, things just get too hard to watch. Now I'm not really talking about shows you sort of end up sliding in and out of, with no real thought as to why you started or stopped in the first place, but shows where you make a conscious decision to quit. For good.
The first show I purposely quit watching was "Nip/Tuck." My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I devoured the first season. It was excessive, silly, over-the-top, icky, and just fun to watch. Once we got our hands on the second season our interest and tolerance waned quickly. I lost my patience for the epic rounds of bad decisions and the terrible way the characters treated each other. Were there no redeeming people left on this show after 1.5 seasons? Apparently not. As we were slogging through this second season, the final season of "Six Feet Under" came out on DVD. We watched the whole thing in one weekend and never picked up "Nip/Tuck" again - I felt like that action kind of said it all. And to be honest, I haven't even thought much about the show since.
More recently, though, we made the decision to stop watching "Glee." I know a lot of people thought "Glee" became unwatchable during the second season (or that it wasn't watchable in the first place), but I didn't have that problem. I even continued to enjoy it even through the third season (thanks, in large part, to Brittany S. Pierce). But Rachel Berry just got to be such a laborious character and especially once she and Kurt moved to NYC in the fourth season, I realized I could not CARE LESS about her or most of the storylines (involving new or old characters). The episodes were either too heavy-handed or too saccharine and I hated the high production value of the musical numbers. They were too over-produced and the kids just can't act and lip sync well enough to make it all believable. Some of them can sing very well, but I felt like it was hidden with auto-tune and instrumentation. But more than anything, it wasn't fun to watch the show any more. I didn't look forward to the next episodes. It felt like a chore, like an hour I had to get through once a week. I don't think that's what television is about, folks.
A few weeks ago I realized that I had stopped watching "Grey's Anatomy." I used to DVR it, but since I'm the only one in my household that watches it, I started cancelling it to free up that precious Thursday night space. No worries, I could just watch it on demand. I kept up with that pretty well until a 2 or 3 month spot when I didn't have time to watch anything on my own and then all of a sudden I had missed episodes that were no longer on demand. I quickly came to the realization that I hadn't really missed it at all. It was a fun time-waster to watch on my own, but I didn't care about it that much and again, some times the plots were just too labored. Just like that - I don't watch any Shonda Rhimes shows any more. Who knew it was possible?!
What about you? Have you quit any shows? Have you quit any of these shows? Do you think I should make up with one of these shows? I would love to know!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Monday, October 15, 2012
ACL 2012
Well, reader(s), I thought I'd fire up the ol' blog for my musings on the Austin City Limits Music Festival for 2012 - mostly so I can remember them in 2 weeks. I'm getting old, y'all!
Friday
First Aid Kit - Two Swedish sisters with sweet, lovely music. Such a great way to start out the weekend. Definitely look into them, key track - "Emmylou"
Delta Spirit - Excellent rocking roots/rock band. They have both a soulful and an upbeat vibe - so fun!! The lead singer climbed the scaffolding towards the end of their performance, it was impressive/scary. They were having so much fun, you couldn't help but join in! I'm glad my husband was so insistent on making it to their set.
Alabama Shakes - Only caught about 3 songs of theirs. They played at the Barton Springs stage which is such a nightmare to get in front of and to find a spot where you can hear. They sounded great from what little we could hear, but not a good enough experience all the way around to try to fight to enjoy it.
Weezer - Loved it! They cranked through the hits and were unapologetic about it. We caught about 45 minutes of their 1 hour set and I think we heard at least one song off of every one of their albums. I felt like I was in high school again, playing pool in my friend's rec room, and singing along to "The Blue Album."
Florence + the Machine - Left Weezer early to catch the end of Florence's set. She sounds great live, but seemed to take the show a little too seriously. I know she was having a great time, but referring the "the festival" over and over just isn't very Austin-y (I guess I like to think we're the only town with a festival and we do our own stuff, thank you very much - spoken like a true Austinite). Upside is she saved her 2 singles for last - so I got to hear those.
M. Ward - Still the coolest guy in music. He just plays honest, timeless stuff and sounds great doing it. Loved chilling out a little bit at a smaller stage.
The Black Keys - The Black Keys closed Friday night and it was perfect. They were high energy and really seemed to be in their element. We were able to get up pretty close, so it was great to be around people who were as into it as we were. They even played some stuff just the 2 of them. Excellent, excellent way to end the night.
Saturday
Civil Twilight - Caught about the last 3 songs of their set. My husband wanted to see them. I thought they were fine, they sound a little Coldplay/U2-ish to me, so they don't do much for me. It was enjoyable, though.
Rufus Wainwright - As I told my mother, Rufus was transcendent. He was my main draw for this year. He came out in this crazy, stripe/swirl, silk suit and sang his entire 1st song a capella and we were totally eating out of the palm of his hand for the rest of the set. He played "April Fool's" off of "Poses" and played a bunch of stuff from his newest album. He also paid tribute to both of his parents by doing one song by each of them (downside was his back-up singer sang "I Don't Know" by Kate McGarrigle and his pianist played for her - for an hour set, I would have liked for him to stay on stage). He also did a Judy song and overall just killed it. So glad I knew nothing about his live performance before Saturday, it was just incredible.
Metric - This set was really interesting because it was a slow, ethereal build. It was good, but chill, but then about 30 minutes in they really broke out with the fun, dancy stuff. The last song mellowed back out, but was a tribute to choosing a rock & roll lifestyle called "Gimme Sympathy." Can't wait to get more into them.
Punch Brothers - This was a ridiculous/awesome display of bluegrass/musical talent led by Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek). All impeccably dressed with impeccable harmonies and a multitude of solo's. If you're into this new-ish folk/bluegrass movement - check them out.
The Shins - Caught the second half of their set, it was pretty chill, but enjoyable.
Jack White - We got to see him with his all-female backing band, The Peacocks (I may be biased, but I'm glad we got them rather than his all-male band). They were all incredible musicians and I think I'm in love with his back-up singer. He played some stuff off of his new solo album, but also included songs from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather. The set moved really quickly and unfortunately ended 15 minutes early.
Sunday
Stars - This is, I think, the 3rd time we've seen Stars. They are a really interesting band in that their songs cover the gamut of moods and a lot of them were about death. Either way, I like them enough to keep seeking them out. Definitely worth a listen.
The Devil Makes Three - This 3-piece is a tour-de-force in bluegrass/folk/drummer-less bands. They have a singer/guitarist, stand-up bass player/back-up singer, and a multi-instrumentalist (mostly banjo)/back-up vocalist. They were so good that we ended up blowing off the other act we were going to catch after watching them for 20 minutes or so. I will be seeking out their music and their shows from here on out.
The Civil Wars - Even though they were on a main stage in front of thousands of people, this duo kept the subtle-ness and intimacy they are known for. Even though their songs are kind of downers, you could tell they were really enjoying the experience. Plus they did a pretty cool cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."
The Lumineers - I guess you could say we heard The Lumineers. We, at least, certainly tried to. Due to some poor planning/forecasting on C3's part it was a total cluster to get to this stage, but from what I heard - I wished I could have heard more and seen it.
Old 97's - Don't worry, the Austin Ventures stage cleared out in enough time for me to get pretty close for one of my favorite bands ever! They are currently on a 10th-anniversary tour for their album "Too Far to Care" and they played a bunch of those and songs off of most of their albums (nothing off of "Satellite Rides," my fave, though). Such a great live band, live show, whatever - go see them and buy all of their albums.
Avett Brothers - Again, caught the 2nd half of their set. I had no idea they would be so high-energy! They really relished the huge crowd and played the hell out of their instruments. It felt like a much more intimate show than it should have. They brought out Chad Smith (the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers) to drum for one song - so that was awesome. They did an encore and played "I and Love and You" and it killed me all over again just like the first time I heard it - so earnest. My biggest scheduling complaint for the weekend was putting them against the Old 97's. I wish I could have seen both complete sets.
Childish Gambino - This is Don Glover's (from "Community") rap persona. I was under the impression that it was going to be funny, although I never really looked into it at all. He had great word-play and rhythm and the energy was high high high. I guess I was expecting it to stand out a little more, though.
Well, that's that. 2012's in the books, as they say.
Friday
First Aid Kit - Two Swedish sisters with sweet, lovely music. Such a great way to start out the weekend. Definitely look into them, key track - "Emmylou"
Delta Spirit - Excellent rocking roots/rock band. They have both a soulful and an upbeat vibe - so fun!! The lead singer climbed the scaffolding towards the end of their performance, it was impressive/scary. They were having so much fun, you couldn't help but join in! I'm glad my husband was so insistent on making it to their set.
Alabama Shakes - Only caught about 3 songs of theirs. They played at the Barton Springs stage which is such a nightmare to get in front of and to find a spot where you can hear. They sounded great from what little we could hear, but not a good enough experience all the way around to try to fight to enjoy it.
Weezer - Loved it! They cranked through the hits and were unapologetic about it. We caught about 45 minutes of their 1 hour set and I think we heard at least one song off of every one of their albums. I felt like I was in high school again, playing pool in my friend's rec room, and singing along to "The Blue Album."
Florence + the Machine - Left Weezer early to catch the end of Florence's set. She sounds great live, but seemed to take the show a little too seriously. I know she was having a great time, but referring the "the festival" over and over just isn't very Austin-y (I guess I like to think we're the only town with a festival and we do our own stuff, thank you very much - spoken like a true Austinite). Upside is she saved her 2 singles for last - so I got to hear those.
M. Ward - Still the coolest guy in music. He just plays honest, timeless stuff and sounds great doing it. Loved chilling out a little bit at a smaller stage.
The Black Keys - The Black Keys closed Friday night and it was perfect. They were high energy and really seemed to be in their element. We were able to get up pretty close, so it was great to be around people who were as into it as we were. They even played some stuff just the 2 of them. Excellent, excellent way to end the night.
Saturday
Civil Twilight - Caught about the last 3 songs of their set. My husband wanted to see them. I thought they were fine, they sound a little Coldplay/U2-ish to me, so they don't do much for me. It was enjoyable, though.
Rufus Wainwright - As I told my mother, Rufus was transcendent. He was my main draw for this year. He came out in this crazy, stripe/swirl, silk suit and sang his entire 1st song a capella and we were totally eating out of the palm of his hand for the rest of the set. He played "April Fool's" off of "Poses" and played a bunch of stuff from his newest album. He also paid tribute to both of his parents by doing one song by each of them (downside was his back-up singer sang "I Don't Know" by Kate McGarrigle and his pianist played for her - for an hour set, I would have liked for him to stay on stage). He also did a Judy song and overall just killed it. So glad I knew nothing about his live performance before Saturday, it was just incredible.
Metric - This set was really interesting because it was a slow, ethereal build. It was good, but chill, but then about 30 minutes in they really broke out with the fun, dancy stuff. The last song mellowed back out, but was a tribute to choosing a rock & roll lifestyle called "Gimme Sympathy." Can't wait to get more into them.
Punch Brothers - This was a ridiculous/awesome display of bluegrass/musical talent led by Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek). All impeccably dressed with impeccable harmonies and a multitude of solo's. If you're into this new-ish folk/bluegrass movement - check them out.
The Shins - Caught the second half of their set, it was pretty chill, but enjoyable.
Jack White - We got to see him with his all-female backing band, The Peacocks (I may be biased, but I'm glad we got them rather than his all-male band). They were all incredible musicians and I think I'm in love with his back-up singer. He played some stuff off of his new solo album, but also included songs from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather. The set moved really quickly and unfortunately ended 15 minutes early.
Sunday
Stars - This is, I think, the 3rd time we've seen Stars. They are a really interesting band in that their songs cover the gamut of moods and a lot of them were about death. Either way, I like them enough to keep seeking them out. Definitely worth a listen.
The Devil Makes Three - This 3-piece is a tour-de-force in bluegrass/folk/drummer-less bands. They have a singer/guitarist, stand-up bass player/back-up singer, and a multi-instrumentalist (mostly banjo)/back-up vocalist. They were so good that we ended up blowing off the other act we were going to catch after watching them for 20 minutes or so. I will be seeking out their music and their shows from here on out.
The Civil Wars - Even though they were on a main stage in front of thousands of people, this duo kept the subtle-ness and intimacy they are known for. Even though their songs are kind of downers, you could tell they were really enjoying the experience. Plus they did a pretty cool cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."
The Lumineers - I guess you could say we heard The Lumineers. We, at least, certainly tried to. Due to some poor planning/forecasting on C3's part it was a total cluster to get to this stage, but from what I heard - I wished I could have heard more and seen it.
Old 97's - Don't worry, the Austin Ventures stage cleared out in enough time for me to get pretty close for one of my favorite bands ever! They are currently on a 10th-anniversary tour for their album "Too Far to Care" and they played a bunch of those and songs off of most of their albums (nothing off of "Satellite Rides," my fave, though). Such a great live band, live show, whatever - go see them and buy all of their albums.
Avett Brothers - Again, caught the 2nd half of their set. I had no idea they would be so high-energy! They really relished the huge crowd and played the hell out of their instruments. It felt like a much more intimate show than it should have. They brought out Chad Smith (the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers) to drum for one song - so that was awesome. They did an encore and played "I and Love and You" and it killed me all over again just like the first time I heard it - so earnest. My biggest scheduling complaint for the weekend was putting them against the Old 97's. I wish I could have seen both complete sets.
Childish Gambino - This is Don Glover's (from "Community") rap persona. I was under the impression that it was going to be funny, although I never really looked into it at all. He had great word-play and rhythm and the energy was high high high. I guess I was expecting it to stand out a little more, though.
Well, that's that. 2012's in the books, as they say.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Not too shabby...
I did actually squeeze in some viewing (movie and otherwise) over the long weekend, although I bet none of it will end up being Oscar-worthy. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that!
On Sunday we spent like $100 to see 30 Minutes or Less (I am including one medium drink and one medium popcorn in that price). This movie stars Jesse Eisenberg as a slacker, pizza delivery boy. He is kidnapped on a delivery run and then armed with bomb vest and tasked to steal $100k from a local bank and convinces his estranged best friend (Aziz Ansari) to go a long for the ride. His kidnappers are played by Danny McBride and Nick Swardson (I know, best idea ever). Our friend who read some reviews before the movie read one that said something along the lines of, "if you like to laugh at funny things, then watch this movie." The movie is super-fun and ridiculous and has a lot of funny things at which to laugh. I was not disappointed at all and I was very entertained. What else can you ask for?
We then continued our Danny McBride Love Fest by watching the first season of Eastbound & Down. See above review. Super-raunchy, ridiculous, and just entertaining from start to finish. However, there is still meaningful character development for Kenny Powers and his brother (played by John Hawkes of Winter's Bone) as well as his sister-in-law. I hear the second season is currently streaming on Netflix.
And since we hadn't ingested enough just ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous media - we also took in Hot Tub Time Machine. This movie stars John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase, and Crispin Glover. It is about a hot tub that is a time machine, taking some of these men from some sort of present time to the '80's. Really fun, really clever, and I absolutely LOVED Clark Duke as Jacob/the voice of reason and normalcy. Or somewhat normal.
Overall, if you like laughing at funny, stupid, silly things - then you will like all of these things.
On Sunday we spent like $100 to see 30 Minutes or Less (I am including one medium drink and one medium popcorn in that price). This movie stars Jesse Eisenberg as a slacker, pizza delivery boy. He is kidnapped on a delivery run and then armed with bomb vest and tasked to steal $100k from a local bank and convinces his estranged best friend (Aziz Ansari) to go a long for the ride. His kidnappers are played by Danny McBride and Nick Swardson (I know, best idea ever). Our friend who read some reviews before the movie read one that said something along the lines of, "if you like to laugh at funny things, then watch this movie." The movie is super-fun and ridiculous and has a lot of funny things at which to laugh. I was not disappointed at all and I was very entertained. What else can you ask for?
We then continued our Danny McBride Love Fest by watching the first season of Eastbound & Down. See above review. Super-raunchy, ridiculous, and just entertaining from start to finish. However, there is still meaningful character development for Kenny Powers and his brother (played by John Hawkes of Winter's Bone) as well as his sister-in-law. I hear the second season is currently streaming on Netflix.
And since we hadn't ingested enough just ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous media - we also took in Hot Tub Time Machine. This movie stars John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase, and Crispin Glover. It is about a hot tub that is a time machine, taking some of these men from some sort of present time to the '80's. Really fun, really clever, and I absolutely LOVED Clark Duke as Jacob/the voice of reason and normalcy. Or somewhat normal.
Overall, if you like laughing at funny, stupid, silly things - then you will like all of these things.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Droppin' some knowledge...
While perusing one of my favorite blogs this morning (Pop Candy) and reading my favorite daily post, The Early Buzz (a round-up of pop culture-related links), I stumbled upon this: "12 Oscar Contenders to Watch for" - just a little something to whet your appetite for the fall and the eventual awards season.
One movie not mentioned (I guess because it's not making the festival circuit) is Warrior. To me it seems like this year's The Wrestler or The Fighter. It stars Tom Hardy (who you'll remember from Inception and will also be taking a turn as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) and Joel Edgerton (the best character in Animal Kingdom) as brothers who end up MMA-fighting each other. Nick Nolte stars as their father. I think it looks good.
Otherwise, I haven't been to the movies in about a hundred years. The husband and I did go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and people (person?), let me tell you - it is good. It's beautiful and so respectful of the world J.K. Rowling created over 7-ish books. I really recommend it if you love Harry Potter. Totally excellent ending.
So what's the plan going forward now that I appear to never go to the movies ever? Well, hopefully to see one over the long weekend, even if it's some good, long weekend fluff.
What are you planning to see next?
One movie not mentioned (I guess because it's not making the festival circuit) is Warrior. To me it seems like this year's The Wrestler or The Fighter. It stars Tom Hardy (who you'll remember from Inception and will also be taking a turn as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) and Joel Edgerton (the best character in Animal Kingdom) as brothers who end up MMA-fighting each other. Nick Nolte stars as their father. I think it looks good.
Otherwise, I haven't been to the movies in about a hundred years. The husband and I did go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and people (person?), let me tell you - it is good. It's beautiful and so respectful of the world J.K. Rowling created over 7-ish books. I really recommend it if you love Harry Potter. Totally excellent ending.
So what's the plan going forward now that I appear to never go to the movies ever? Well, hopefully to see one over the long weekend, even if it's some good, long weekend fluff.
What are you planning to see next?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
X-Men: First Class (b a b y day?)
Get excited! My lovely husband graciously accepted my offer to blog about his most recent movie-going experience. This week he attended Baby Day at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek with our niece (ok, and her parents) while I was slaving away at work, supporting his lifestyle. Such sacrifice!! Anyways...onward!
"So, prior to yesterday, I was still fuzzy on some of my history facts. I am a schoolteacher, but I don’t teach history, so bits and pieces have gone by the wayside. That’s okay, though because I went to go see X-Men: First Class, a, from what I can tell, completely historically accurate retelling of world history (I’m pretty sure Sarah Palin was fact-checker on the side), but that’s beside the point.
Yes, I had checked out http://www.imdb.com/ and looked into the newest movie in the X-Men franchise and tried to do a little sneak peeking to see what Marvel would be bringing me/the world. And, I guess I didn’t pay enough attention (see back to the history lessons I also didn’t pay attention to) to cast members/mutants that would grace the silver screen, because I was still in for some surprises.
As far as major plot points go, this film (I’ll throw that word around) basically sets up the world of X-Men that we knew about from the year 2000 (picture Conan O’Brien singing that without getting sued by a major network) when the first X-Men movie fed our superhero-needing senses. For most people that I know that were excited for the first movie 11 years ago, my fellow nerds and I had a pretty firm grasp on who the main characters were, what a lot of their non-mutant aliases were, etc. I was excited to see X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, and even X-Men Origins: Wolverine (I personally feel that Hugh Jackman is a fantastic embodiment of the Wolverine character). With some slight, okay pretty glaring, graphical shortcomings in the Wolverine movie, I started to feel less excited about the prospect of a future X-Men movie (unless it centered around Ryan Reynolds’ character, Dead Pool). However, my brother-in-law and I had seen several of these movies together and decided that we would go to see X-Men:First Class together in the theaters.
I’m glad that I did see it in theaters, the action scenes were pretty great, and the graphics were much better than X-Men Origins:Wolverine. My only real complaint about the graphics in this new movie were with ships in the open ocean – I’m fairly certain that with the money Marvel has made on all of these movies that they could have afforded to at least make a scale model of a ship and have it float in an ocean made for a sound stage so that the wake and sides of the ship would look like somewhat realistic, and not like I was messing around with PhotoShop and putting a 3-D mockup of a boat into an actual picture of the ocean. Otherwise, though, the graphics and action were pretty great.
My biggest surprise (which IMDB had no thoughts about hiding, I’m just slow on the uptake, and not big on reading) was Kevin Bacon! He was phenomenal from start to finish. I assumed he was just a cameo in the beginning, maybe a long-time fan getting in touch with Matthew Vaughn, director, or one of the four collaborating writers for a bit part, but no, he was the real deal, and he owned his character. My wife and I had seen Winter’s Bone earlier in the year (or the end of last year), so it was nice to see Jennifer Lawrence acting in a very different role and showing that she can in fact pull off all blue body paint (very important fact to know about yourself). James McAvoy, you had big shoes (or a big wheelchair seat) to fill as Charles Xavier – since this movie is the beginning, a roll that would “later” be played by Patrick Stewart. There was good writing with little one-liners that foreshadow things that happen to the Professor X character. Aside from Kevin Bacon stealing the show, I think Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) was played to a T by Michael Fassbender (who you may remember from Band of Brothers or Inglourious Basterds). Fassbender took the painful rise of Magneto and played it straight and almost had me rooting for the bad guy I know he, spoiler alert, turns out to be.
So, it’s hard for me to give this movie 5 out of 5 stars, but I could give it a solid 4 with the quality of acting, the good mutant character development, and unreal historical accuracy.
-Guest blogger (the husband)"
"So, prior to yesterday, I was still fuzzy on some of my history facts. I am a schoolteacher, but I don’t teach history, so bits and pieces have gone by the wayside. That’s okay, though because I went to go see X-Men: First Class, a, from what I can tell, completely historically accurate retelling of world history (I’m pretty sure Sarah Palin was fact-checker on the side), but that’s beside the point.
Yes, I had checked out http://www.imdb.com/ and looked into the newest movie in the X-Men franchise and tried to do a little sneak peeking to see what Marvel would be bringing me/the world. And, I guess I didn’t pay enough attention (see back to the history lessons I also didn’t pay attention to) to cast members/mutants that would grace the silver screen, because I was still in for some surprises.
As far as major plot points go, this film (I’ll throw that word around) basically sets up the world of X-Men that we knew about from the year 2000 (picture Conan O’Brien singing that without getting sued by a major network) when the first X-Men movie fed our superhero-needing senses. For most people that I know that were excited for the first movie 11 years ago, my fellow nerds and I had a pretty firm grasp on who the main characters were, what a lot of their non-mutant aliases were, etc. I was excited to see X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, and even X-Men Origins: Wolverine (I personally feel that Hugh Jackman is a fantastic embodiment of the Wolverine character). With some slight, okay pretty glaring, graphical shortcomings in the Wolverine movie, I started to feel less excited about the prospect of a future X-Men movie (unless it centered around Ryan Reynolds’ character, Dead Pool). However, my brother-in-law and I had seen several of these movies together and decided that we would go to see X-Men:First Class together in the theaters.
I’m glad that I did see it in theaters, the action scenes were pretty great, and the graphics were much better than X-Men Origins:Wolverine. My only real complaint about the graphics in this new movie were with ships in the open ocean – I’m fairly certain that with the money Marvel has made on all of these movies that they could have afforded to at least make a scale model of a ship and have it float in an ocean made for a sound stage so that the wake and sides of the ship would look like somewhat realistic, and not like I was messing around with PhotoShop and putting a 3-D mockup of a boat into an actual picture of the ocean. Otherwise, though, the graphics and action were pretty great.
My biggest surprise (which IMDB had no thoughts about hiding, I’m just slow on the uptake, and not big on reading) was Kevin Bacon! He was phenomenal from start to finish. I assumed he was just a cameo in the beginning, maybe a long-time fan getting in touch with Matthew Vaughn, director, or one of the four collaborating writers for a bit part, but no, he was the real deal, and he owned his character. My wife and I had seen Winter’s Bone earlier in the year (or the end of last year), so it was nice to see Jennifer Lawrence acting in a very different role and showing that she can in fact pull off all blue body paint (very important fact to know about yourself). James McAvoy, you had big shoes (or a big wheelchair seat) to fill as Charles Xavier – since this movie is the beginning, a roll that would “later” be played by Patrick Stewart. There was good writing with little one-liners that foreshadow things that happen to the Professor X character. Aside from Kevin Bacon stealing the show, I think Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) was played to a T by Michael Fassbender (who you may remember from Band of Brothers or Inglourious Basterds). Fassbender took the painful rise of Magneto and played it straight and almost had me rooting for the bad guy I know he, spoiler alert, turns out to be.
So, it’s hard for me to give this movie 5 out of 5 stars, but I could give it a solid 4 with the quality of acting, the good mutant character development, and unreal historical accuracy.
-Guest blogger (the husband)"
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Just popping back in...
I have been negligent, but I wanted to pop in and pass along this article I came across today discussing changes in Oscar categories for next year. The most significant change? The Best Picture category will have from 5-10 nominees. Films that receive 5% or higher of the votes on the initial AMPAS ballot will receive a nomination (in past years this would have meant a field of 5-9 nominees). Thank goodness!!
1=28101&mpc=2">http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=653063>1=28101&mpc=2
Nominations will be announced January 24, 2012 - mark your calendars!!
1=28101&mpc=2">http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=653063>1=28101&mpc=2
Nominations will be announced January 24, 2012 - mark your calendars!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Round-up!!!
Generally the husband and I are able to at least round out the Best Actor and Actress categories each year, but this year we came up short. The week and weekend of the Oscar's was busy busy busy for us, but we were able to grab a couple more of the movies at home. The first was Animal Kingdom. This is an Australian film up for Best Supporting Actress for Jacki Weaver. Interesting tidbit - this film was nominated for 18 Australian Film Institute Awards (Australia's Oscar's) which is the most any movie has ever been nominated. It won almost everything with the exception of the Acting categories where more than one cast member was nominated (only one could win). Jacki Weaver plays the matriarch of an organized crime family. She has 5 sons and 1 daughter and when the daughter dies (of an overdose), Smurf (Jacki Weaver) takes in her grandson. The movie is a look at their family through his eyes. It is gritty and sometimes hard-to-watch, but it is interesting and it is good and Jacki Weaver just embodies the role. Definitely worth seeing.
Saturday night we watched Alice in Wonderland. I was eagerly anticipating this movie while it was being made because I love Tim Burton's eye, but then the reviews were pretty rough. The story meanders and feels a little disjointed - it takes elements from both books and the Disney cartoon, but is also a return to Underland for Alice - I didn't really get the framing. Either way, it does look GOOD. Colleen Atwood definitely deserved her nomination (and win) for Best Costume - I mean I wanted to wear every single thing Alice wore. But as far as this movie being something interesting or different in the Alice pantheon, I just kind of say, "meh."
SO the Oscars...I loved loved loved the idea of Anne Hathaway and James Franco co-hosting and I still think it could have been great, but somehow it just didn't quite pan out. I thought James Franco was super-stiff (and possibly high) and Anne Hathaway did her best to compensate, but it was just a bit off. I know a lot of people thought Kirk Douglas was super-charming and hilarious, but for me it was one segment that just drug on forever. His presentation coupled with Melissa Leo's long acceptance speech - I think 30 minutes ended up being dedicated to that award. I was disappointed that there were no real surprises in the winners. I really enjoyed both The King's Speech and The Social Network, but I was really hoping that by Oscar time everyone would have gotten over that and Black Swan and Darren Aronofsky could just be given their due. I was/am so happy for Natalie Portman and her win - the clip they showed from the movie made me emotional, so you can imagine I was even more so during her acceptance speech. Yay Natalie! I still think 10 Best Picture nominees is too much, but it was nice to see how spread out those films are across genre and appeal. Don't worry, Academy, I'll be back next year.
What's next now that the Academy Awards have passed? Well, Salt still arrived via Netflix, so at least one of us will watch that. Paul also opens in a few weeks and the cast is just irresistable (Seth Rogan, Simon Pegg, Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman - and those are just in the commercials I've seen).
Also - what did you think of the Academy Awards - show and winners?
Saturday night we watched Alice in Wonderland. I was eagerly anticipating this movie while it was being made because I love Tim Burton's eye, but then the reviews were pretty rough. The story meanders and feels a little disjointed - it takes elements from both books and the Disney cartoon, but is also a return to Underland for Alice - I didn't really get the framing. Either way, it does look GOOD. Colleen Atwood definitely deserved her nomination (and win) for Best Costume - I mean I wanted to wear every single thing Alice wore. But as far as this movie being something interesting or different in the Alice pantheon, I just kind of say, "meh."
SO the Oscars...I loved loved loved the idea of Anne Hathaway and James Franco co-hosting and I still think it could have been great, but somehow it just didn't quite pan out. I thought James Franco was super-stiff (and possibly high) and Anne Hathaway did her best to compensate, but it was just a bit off. I know a lot of people thought Kirk Douglas was super-charming and hilarious, but for me it was one segment that just drug on forever. His presentation coupled with Melissa Leo's long acceptance speech - I think 30 minutes ended up being dedicated to that award. I was disappointed that there were no real surprises in the winners. I really enjoyed both The King's Speech and The Social Network, but I was really hoping that by Oscar time everyone would have gotten over that and Black Swan and Darren Aronofsky could just be given their due. I was/am so happy for Natalie Portman and her win - the clip they showed from the movie made me emotional, so you can imagine I was even more so during her acceptance speech. Yay Natalie! I still think 10 Best Picture nominees is too much, but it was nice to see how spread out those films are across genre and appeal. Don't worry, Academy, I'll be back next year.
What's next now that the Academy Awards have passed? Well, Salt still arrived via Netflix, so at least one of us will watch that. Paul also opens in a few weeks and the cast is just irresistable (Seth Rogan, Simon Pegg, Jane Lynch, Jason Bateman - and those are just in the commercials I've seen).
Also - what did you think of the Academy Awards - show and winners?
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