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Watchmen Reviews Now Out

March 11, 2009 By Polly

Watchmen is now officially a “must watch” movie of this year. Moviegoers apparently agree as the box office reflects. Watchmen debuted this weekend and automatically hit the No. 1 spot at the box office with $55.2 million. So far it has the biggest opening this year.

So box office has given its nod but what about the critics? Quite frankly I can’t give a review yet since I have yet to see the movie but believe I’m going to remedy that problem this week. So far here’s what other reviewers had to say.

Long story short, if you’re not a fan of the book and can tolerate unintentional camp, give it a try. It’s not terrible. If you are a fan, try not to get your hopes up too much; just enjoy it for what it is. Zachary Lee of StudentPrintz.com

The film had outsized ambition, an obvious passion for the source material and some truly great moments…but long chunks where it feels somewhat hollow. I found myself wondering how anyone who hadn’t read the book could hang in for the loooong haul of the movie. Geoff Boucher of LATimes

Snyder does an overall good job with this depressing world… A problem that Snyder does have, though, is in elongating scenes. The first half of the movie is plagued by an overabundance of dialogue. It may be necessary in order to set the stage for a complex plotline, but it seems like Snyder simply refused to cut certain parts; perhaps blinded by his devotion to the novel. Antonio Hernandez of the RoundupNews

Still a gorgeous film in most senses, ‘Watchmen’ is best praised for knowing how to express itself. If you don’t agree with the viewpoint one character espouses there’s an eloquence that makes you listen. More weaknesses could be dredged up, but the strength of purpose and fascination of the players in ‘Watchmen’ makes me forgetful of criticism. Rewriting things as stable as facts, it arrives at a rarely expressed vision. Star Community

There you go. Yet again reading other people’s reviews won’t tell you how you’ll really like it because it all depends on your preference…Faithful or not? The eternal question for films anything adapted from books and comic books. At least they all said that the movie was enjoyable and had good scenes now its up to you to see just how much enjoyable it is.

Gran Torino: More Than Dirty Harry

January 7, 2009 By Polly

Premiere Of Warner Brothers'

Who doesn’t love Clint Eastwood? Men admire his tough characters. Women gush over his manliness. It is always a win-win situation for this veteran of the movies. With his latest stint in the movies, any doubts as to his versatility and star power are certainly dispelled.

The advertising posters for the move Gran Torino portray the usual scowling face of Clint Eastwood, giving the impression that his Dirty Harry character would be coming alive on screen yet again. However, even Eastwood himself says that the movie is more than the bad boy dirty Harry image he became famous for.

Gran Torino is all about a recently widowed Korean War veteran named Walt Kowalski, whose greatest challenge at the moment is to sit back and watch his neighborhood evolve. The issue of race is at the center of this movie as much as the struggle of one person as he recalls his own dark deeds in the past.

And where did the title come from? Eastwood’s character, Kowalski, has this most prized possession of his sitting in his garage – a 1972 Gran Torino.

I have not seen the movie – but I will definitely see it as soon as I can – but judging from the trailer and what other people have been saying, Gran Torino is something worth watching. It is bold, it does not hold anything back. Just try listening for all the racial slurs that you can catch and you will know what I mean. Probably not for those with delicate sensibilities. But that’s Dirty Harry for you.

The Dark Knight Disappoints

December 29, 2008 By Polly

You all have probably seen The Dark Knight – who hasn’t, right? I just read an article from Popwatch, written by Mike Bruno, which highlights how disappointed the writer was with the movie. Apparently, he only saw the movie over the weekend due to a busy schedule. His main message is this: he thinks that all the hype ruined the movie for him. He writes:

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed The Dark Knight, and I was not disappointed in the slightest by Ledger’s freakish, lip-smacking fiend. But at the same time, I was let down given the movie’s gargantuan box office haul, the almost universal critical praise, and the Oscar buzz surrounding it and its fallen star. I could see Ledger taking Supporting Actor, but while I haven’t yet seen all the other Oscar contenders this year, I would be a bit surprised if The Dark Knight took Best Picture.

Mostly, I think this movie was successful –- as well as hugely popular –- because it featured a character that we couldn’t take our eyes off of played by an actor who recently died way too young. Before it appeared on a single screen this summer, the movie was already larger-than-life because of Ledger’s passing, and six months of the hype machine working at full steam had no doubt set my expectations way too high. So maybe this really is an Oscar-worthy movie and I just need to hire a babysitter more often and catch movies earlier and with less context. But if I’m to be honest, I was disappointed with The Dark Knight and hope for more from this year’s other Best Picture contenders.

I have to agree with him that one reason behind the movie’s success was Heath Ledger’s untimely death. In fact, that was one observation I made right after seeing the movie – The Joker overshadowed Batman. However, I do think that the movie deserves an Oscar. How about you?

Valkyrie Something To Look Forward To

December 21, 2008 By Polly

Premiere of

In spite of the fact that Tom Cruise’s credibility has suffered from some serious blows (yeah, who can forget his sofa-jumping episode at Oprah?), we cannot discount his talent as an actor. This is the man who brought Jerry Maguire – among many other movie characters – to life.

Come Christmas Day, I find myself looking forward to seeing Valkyrie, Tom Cruise’s newest movie. It is actually more than a good movie – as many critics are already saying – as this year marks his 25th year since Risky Business, the film that many say made Tom Cruise into what he is today.

In Valkyrie, Tom Cruise plays a real life character. The last time that he did this was in the movie Born on the Fourth of July, which was way back in 1989. Undoubtedly, that movie was a success. Would Valkyrie prove to be the same?

Tom Cruise, the director and star of the new movie, has done as much as he could to make that possible. He actually did research on his own – research on Germany, its history, the Third Reich, and even met some of von Stauffenberg’s descendants; von Stauffenberg being the main character of the film.

What does the star have to say about his latest film?

Because the picture is a suspense-centered film, to really understand von Stauffenberg was obviously very important. You try to comprehend the kind of pressure he was under. Things he couldn’t even discuss with his children. The odds that he was up against, and to make the choices that he made — I found it to be inspiring and very interesting.

I am hoping that my anticipation – and yours – will not be unfounded.

Movies That Changed Lives…

December 20, 2008 By Polly

Faye Dunaway

That is, with respect to style. For many people, style is everything. What they wear, how they wear it, and when they wear it – these are very important factors. And what better inspiration than the movies? How many times have you walked away from a movie thinking, “Wow, I should try to emulate the style of so and so!” I be that you have experienced this more than once – and you are not alone.

In the history of films and movies, there is probably a small percentage of flicks which actually held the power to influence the general public in terms of style. I think that The Los Angeles Times hit the nail right on the head with its list of 10 classic style movies that inspire moviegoers. Interested in finding out if you were ever influenced by the “right” movies? Here’s a snippet of the article:

Movies have always influenced style. In 1934 — when Clark Gable shed his shirt in the Frank Capra comedy “It Happened One Night” to reveal his bare chest — men’s undershirt sales reportedly plummeted. Men didn’t suddenly tire of layering. They saw an easy “in” to becoming a bit like Gable, who played an extraordinarily dashing ordinary Joe.

A woman slips into her husband’s trousers and striped necktie and she suddenly has entree to be as zany as Diane Keaton in “Annie Hall.” A guy, tired of his milquetoast silhouette, adopts the gait of a hungry thug wearing a slim-cut suit and Wayfarers, à la “Reservoir Dogs.” Clothes help shape our identities, and copying a film icon is like taking a shortcut to cool.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, folks. You can read the whole story in the link above. Reading this left me wondering, though…are we ever going to have movies that would leave us wanting to be like the characters like the old films?

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