Category Archives: movies

January 30, 2013

An Open Letter To JJ Abrams

By Canadian Bald Guy

Dear Mr. Abrams,

I recently heard the news that you were designated as the first person to take over the newly re-launched Star Wars film franchise. The first thing that came into my mind was “This is absolutely fantastic news!” and I told my 6-year-old son that they were going to make a brand-new “real” Star Wars movie in a couple of years. I’ve turned him into a massive fan (having watched the first Star Wars when he was only two) and I didn’t want to tell him the news knowing the film was in the hands of a bad director, so please know I am very relieved to find out it will be directed by you.

I mean, you’ve worked on so many things that I’ve loved over the past few years…

  • Alias
  • Lost
  • Mission: Impossible III
  • Super 8
  • Fringe
  • Cloverfield

Star TrekSo having say this, let me also say that I’m a bit surprised to hear the announcement. Why? Well, you have been designated as the person to revive the Star Trek franchise already. Your vision made the new Star Trek movie a must-see. You maintained the storyline of the original but took the film franchise into an entirely new and very cool direction without ruining continuity (alt universe, anybody?). The rumblings on this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness is already turning into buzz, and that buzz is very positive at this point.

star trek into darknessCan the man who rebooted the Star Trek franchise successfully reboot the Star Wars franchise? Can the multiple visions seen for one universe be put aside in order to re-vamp another universe? Should one man hold that much “fan boy power”?

My concern is that visions from the Star Trek universe will blend or be carried over into the Star Wars universe, so much so that while the stories and the characters will be completely different, the actual tone and style of the movies will be the same.

star wars 7As a lifelong Star Wars fan (and a part-time Trekker), I want a completely separate vision. I want to forget the “prequels” because while good, they were far from great. The best parts were the ones in the third film that Lucas didn’t have anything to do with. The video games have had more action and fun storylines and unique visions than Lucas had, so the potential is certainly out there to the new trilogy to be incredible.

I believe in you, JJ. The force is strong in you. I’m just wondering if you can bring the uniqueness required to reboot Star Wars after spending so much time bringing new life to the Star Trek universe. It’s not even for me…the legacy is strong in my mind. No, I want a new legacy built for my son. I want to have him experience the same things I did back when I was his age.

Help us, JJ Abrams. You’re (apparently) our only help. j-j-abrams

Sincerely,

Canadian Bald Guy

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in movies

January 23, 2013

This Is 40

By Canadian Bald Guy

This is 40Sunshine and I had the opportunity to catch “This is 40″ this past weekend. We’d tried to see it previously, but massive line-ups and sold-out shows had put a damper in those plans. This time, we decided to pick up our tickets ahead of time and grab dinner beforehand, making it a Saturday date night.

After eating at East Side Mario’s, we made our way to a jam-packed movie theatre parking lot. I don’t know what it’s like anywhere else on a Saturday night, but this is the second time this month (the supposedly “slow movie period”) where we’ve spent 5-10 minutes looking for a parking spot at our city’s movie theatre (there are three different theatres in the area). Are movies hurting? Certainly doesn’t seem like it to us!

So we got inside and, with 15 minutes to go, still had to sit in the front section of the theatre because it was so full already (it ended up being 3/4 full).  The movie has been in theatres almost a month (it was released on December 21st) and it’s still chugging right along (it’s hovering around $65 million so far). We had been wanting to see it since we first saw the trailer and after finally seeing it, we think it was worth the wait.

This is 40Overall, this movie had a LOT of laughs. As is the case with most Paul Rudd and Judd Apatow movies, this is definitely “adult comedy” so if you get offended easily, you probably won’t enjoy it like we did. Now that’s not to say this was an Adam Sandler “fart joke film”, but rather a more realistic take on life with a lot of cursing and some crude humour (which Sunshine and I are a fan of).

Along with the laughs, the movie also brought along a good amount of depressing scenes, as well. The main couple face a lot of relationship hurdles to overcome, many of which reflect real life. This realism adds to the “down time” of the movie, but it also makes the funny moments even funnier because the majority of the comedy isn’t too “over the top” or unrealistic, which a lot of comedies tend to do sometimes.

At the end of the day, I think that the realism really made me enjoy this movie a lot. The ups and downs…the trials and tribulations…the issues with kids and technology…the relationships between kids and parents…it all really hit close to home.

While I don’t know if this is a movie I’d watch again, it was definitely enjoyable and I’d recommend it as “date movie” for couples 30 and up.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in family, love, movies

October 29, 2012

My Top 5 Halloween Movies

By Canadian Bald Guy

I was going over a few older blog posts and found this one from 2010. I thought it needed some updating so I ended up going over the whole thing again.

Now right off the bat let me just say that I’m not a fan of scary movies.  In fact, I’m not a fan of horror movies or gory movies, either.  So you’re not going to find Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th or Halloween on this list.  Those movies just aren’t my bag.  Neither are the Saw or Hostel movies. But there are movies I do enjoy watching around this time of the year. 

Sleep Hollow. This is one of my favorite “once-a-year” movie.  I’ve always been a Tim Burton fan, although he’s really hit-and-miss lately (just saw Dark Shadows last night and was tremendously “meh” about the whole thing). This movie, however, has a lot of great actors outside of just Johnny Depp, so from that aspect it’s already off to a good start. The movie is cheesy at times with massive over-acting (which is definitely part of the point with this movie) and it’s got heads flying off in a way that’s both funny and slightly gory. Depp’s acting is absolutely brilliant in that his tongue is firmly planted in his cheek but it’s played 100% seriously.  It’s just a really entertaining movie and I’m looking forward to watching it again soon.

Rocky Horror Picture Show.  C’mon, kids…this is simply one of the most entertaining movies of all time, especially around Halloween.  And let’s be honest…the acting isn’t great, the story is kinda lame, the directing isn’t the best, and it’s one of those movies that people either love or hate.  So why is it a favorite of mine?  Very simple: the music.  Far and away this is one of the best musicals ever created (not as good as Grease, but still pretty awesome).  Hot patootie, kids…this is just a hell of a fun musical ride.  And I don’t know about you, but I could listen to The Time Warp at any point during the year.

Scream. I never found this movie overly scary or overly gory, yet it’s still considered a “horror movie” or one that “reinvented the horror genre”.  Since I wasn’t a fan of the genre to begin with, I couldn’t tell you either way.  But what I can say is that this is: from opening scene with Drew Berrymore to the very end, this is an entertaining movie.  The premise is so unique in that they skewer the horror genre and parody themselves, yet still go forward with the whole “serial killer thing”.  Then, in something that was totally unheard of at the time, they killed off one of the (supposed) main characters in the first ten minutes.  If nothing else, I just couldn’t help but respect the film for going out on a limb like it did.  But set aside the originality of it all, it was simply well-made and fun to watch.

Blair Witch Project. Now I know some people are going to roll their eyes at this one and that’s fine.  This movie is one of those “love it or hate it” movies, with very few people landing somewhere in the middle.  For me, I loved the originality of it all.  Not once is there blood or gore or some undying killer walking around…it’s just a couple of cameras and some people in the middle of the woods with a storyline.  Maybe it’s because I have a vivid imagination, but I was so freaked out watching this movie that once that final scene faded to black…with Mike standing in the corner…I had to stay sitting in the theatre trying to process it all.  It’s also one of those movies where you need to pay attention to all of the story-telling at the beginning of the movie because the ending relies so much on the plot.  Y’know, I haven’t seen this movie in awhile so it’s going to be fun to re-visit it this weekend.

The Walking Dead. Yes, I realize that this isn’t a movie…but I’m such a huge fan of this series that I just had to add it to my list. This series is simply incredible on a number of different levels. The acting is superb, the storylines are believable, and the premise is realistic. I mean…it’s a zombie show where the primary focus isn’t on just killing mindless zombies. It’s a series about people and how they change in order to adapt and survive a zombie apocalypse that they just happened to be thrown into. The third season just debuted a few weeks ago (to monster ratings, too) and I’m really looking forward to seeing how things change over the coming weeks.

*********

So what about you?  Have any movies that you enjoy watching around Halloween?

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in movies, My Top 5

August 4, 2011

You heard this movie was good? Think again.

By Canadian Bald Guy

Have you ever heard about a movie and were really looking forward to watching it, only to be extremely disappointed in the end result?  Sure, high expectations sometimes make the movie appear worse than it actually is (I think “The Hangover” is a good example of a great movie that didn’t appear to be “all that” when I finally saw it weeks after it opened), but I’m talking about much-hyped movies that just end up being really bad.

In my opinion, here are some more recent bombs you should definitely avoid…

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Listen, I’ll fully admit to loving the first movie and really enjoying the sequel. This movie, however, was such a horrific mish-mash of silliness that I’m surprised they even made it.  The whole premise on how yet another mummy was raised from the dead was laughable (just because it’s a different mummy, doesn’t make it any less silly), the chase scenes and action sequences looked like Indiana Jones rejects, the bad acting and story would cringe-worthy (no wonder Rachel Weiss decided to not come back for this one), and there were abominable snowmen who swooped in and saved the day.  And if you need any other reason than that, read that last part again.  YETI. GOOD GUY YETI.  Honestly…what a huge disappointment.

Arthur: Sunshine and I are pretty big fans of Russell Brand, especially after his scene-stealing abilities in one of our favorite movies, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  But the more this movie went on, the more I just kept waiting and waiting for something funny to happen.  And it wasn’t just about being funny, I was waiting for some type of redemption for the main character.  Isn’t that the point of these movies?  You take the lovable loser, give him some situations where he grows up and matures, then you’re rooting for his redemption in the end. Brand’s character was as dumb and ignorant and unlikable in the end as he was in the beginning…so why should I care about whether or not there’s a happy ending?  And having never seen the original, I can’t even say if this was any better or worse…although I can’t see it being better in any way.

Little Fockers: I was really hoping for some laughs in this one as I felt as though Meet the Fockers was actually funnier than Meet the Parents, which is rare when it comes to sequels. Unfortunately, Sunshine and I couldn’t even make it all the way through the movie because it was simply that bad.  It wasn’t funny…heck, it wasn’t even amusing.  It was the same old jokes and the same old tricks…so when you knew what was going to happen before it actually did, it pretty much took away all of the laughs. Hopefully this is the end of the series.

Gulliver’s Travels: Jack Black is one of those actors who you really want to root for, but ends up doing terrible movies anyway. Sometimes he’s pretty decent (roles in King Kong and Tropic Thunder weren’t too bad at all), but then other times the entire movie is an embarrassment (Year One or Nacho Libre, anyone?). This movie had a TON of potential…it really did. To remake a classic tale like Gulliver’s Travels using modern special effects and a decent cast should have been a home run. Instead, this was quite simply one of the worst movies of the past decade. Seriously…he dresses up some of the little people and gets them to perform as KISS.  I’m a KISS fanatic and even I found that to be ridiculous. Skip this movie…please. You’ll thank me later.

Land of the Lost: Let me just say that I’m a massive Will Ferrell fan. I own a few of his movies and have seen just about every one…the guy is extremely funny and I “get” his sense of humor.  This movie, though, was a bomb from the first minute.  The problem here is that it didn’t know what it wanted to be.  Was it a PG film with silly-looking aliens and dinosaurs chasing the good guys around, or was it a borderline R movie with harsh language and more than its fair share of sex and drug references.  It tried playing both sides and it ended up being ridiculous. I would have loved it if it were a kid movie, but there’s NO WAY I’m letting my kids watch the movie with all of the adult content in it.  I would have really enjoyed it if it were an adult movie, but it was just too child-like in so many aspects that it was embarrassing to watch. Trust me…this is one stinker you want to stear clear from.

*****

So what about you? See any movies lately that you would NOT want to recommend??

6 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in movies

April 12, 2011

Sick day movies, dancing Vader, thunderstorms in April, and the toothache from hell

By Canadian Bald Guy

1. I ended up going home sick from work yesterday afternoon because of a toothache.  I know…doesn’t sound like much, right?  Well, my tooth is chipped and possibly abscessed (I’m a horrific procrastinator and I hate the dentist) and the pain was so intense that I couldn’t type or concentrate on anything that I was doing. I almost got physically sick on more than one occasion.  I immediately contacted the dentist and have an appointment set for tomorrow morning. I know the tooth will need to be pulled (the chip is too big to be fixed, I think) so the whole thing is gonna suck. Hard.  Bah…I’ve had great teeth my entire life without a cavity at all, then all of a sudden I need my two wisdom teeth pulled (that was a few years ago) and now this.

2. While home I watched a couple of movies yesterday afternoon.  One of them was Tron Legacy.  Now, I watched the first Tron only last year and thought it was okay for when it was released. The problem was the concept of these computer programs actually being little people…but again, for when it was released (1981, I think) it was quite original and unique.  Tron Legacy was visually stunning, but I still had a really difficult time believing that somehow this guy had turned computer programs into little people running around.  It just seemed extremely odd to me. So in the end I liked it, but I didn’t love it. At least it had Olivia Wilde in it.

I also ended up watching Gulliver’s Travels with Jack Black.  Wow…what a giant bowl of suck this turned out to be.  I mean, the story was ridiculous (did you know that in Gulliver’s Travels that one of the little people builds a robot to fight against Gulliver??) and the acting was absolutely atrocious. I was hoping that the reviews for the movie were just a little harsh, but that wasn’t the case.  So I guess if you go into this movie expecting it to be REALLY BAD, you won’t be disappointed.

3. Over the weekend, I introduced Ankle Biter to something on YouTube that I had seen awhile ago but had forgotten all about.  Y’see, every year at the Disney MGM theme park in Orlando, FL they have something called a “Star Wars Weekend“.  I’ve never visited during this time (though I’d LOVE to) so I can’t give out details on what to expect, but one of the fun things they do is a “contest” called Dance Off With The Star Wars Stars.

Apparently this has been going on since 2007 where people dress up as characters from Star Wars and then they dance.  Makes total sense, right?  Well…I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t entertaining to see Darth Vader bust a frickin’ move to U Can’t Touch This:

I also can’t lie and say that I really think Vader should have won THIS one, too…but the stormtrooper TOTALLY stole the show:

Needless to say, Ankle Biter was thrilled with this stuff (here is 2007 and 2008) and we watched these repeatedly all weekend.  If anybody knows if there is a way to download YouTube videos so I could have them at my disposal, I’d be greatly appreciative.

4. Now I don’t know about you, but up here in the Great White North we usually get a lot of rain in April.  That whole “April showers brings May flowers” stuff.  And admittedly, it warms up a bit to the point you know it’s springtime.  Last night, though, we had a crazy thunder and lightning storm. If you live in the southern half of the United States, maybe it’s not uncommon to have lightning lighting up the night sky in April…but up here?  It’s definitely rare.  What was even more rare was the fact that it wasn’t even that warm…11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit).  I didn’t even know it was possible for thunder and lightning to be created with temperatures that low.

It was pretty awesome even though it didn’t last very long (that’s what SHE said….heh).

 

10 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in movies, Thoughts on stuff, WINNING

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