I saw me some movies...
It happens a few times a year. My friend Danny and I are able to leave our busy lives behind us and find sanctuary inside one darkened theater after another. We pick the movies, we figure out the order, and we buy the tickets.
Yes, we but tickets for all the movies we attend. No theater hopping for these adventurers...
A meal is thrown in at some point and snacks are consumed mid film. It's always a good time and we even see a few friends for one or two of these films.
This time the line up was Zombieland, Law Abiding Citizen, Where the Wild Things Are, and Paranormal Activity.
The started around 11:30. Getting to the theater we bought the tickets and then decided to get a quick lunch before the first movie began. There are a few options for lunch in the area we went to and we decided to try out the new BBQ place that had opened next door to the theater as we were short on time.
As we wandered into the eatery I noticed that there was a "Coming Soon" sign above the door. I thought maybe they weren't open for business yet but as we pushed open the door we saw people sitting at tables eating. So we figured they were open but just hadn't taken the sign down yet. We walked up near the counter and took a look at the menu to see if this was indeed the place we wanted to eat when the manager spoke to us.
"Is this going to be for here or to go, gentlemen?"
Not knowing if were going to be eating there or not I responded with "We're just looking at the moment, thanks."
"It's on us today, just so you know." he said before I could turn my attention back to the menu.
I was a little taken back by this statement and by the look on Danny's face I could see he was too. It turns out that the restaurant wasn't open yet but was doing a dry run to make sure they were ready for business when they did open in a couple days.
Needless to say, we stayed and had a really good lunch and that seems to have marked this day as a successful movie day right off the bat.
ZOMBIELAND
It was funny. I had a good time watching it. Was it the best? Was it as good as people had been saying it was for the past few weeks? Not really. I suspect there is a really good movie in the somewhere but it's hidden under the desperate attempt to be Shaun of the Dead.
The acting is there as Woody Harrelson does what he's best at. The rest of the cast follows suit and pulls off each of their characters. I didn't feel super connected to any of them on a personal level though.
There was an attempt to bring some emotion to the flick in a couple places but only one works really well but it's dropped as soon as it happens and that left me feeling a little cheated out of what could have been a good story.
Danny liked the flick more than I did, which was a surprise, as he isn't in to zombie movies at all. In the end I give it a good 3 stars.
And the secret cameo in the flick is as awesome as people were telling me it was. I won't spoil it for you though.
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
This was the movie we saw that when ever I told folks what movies I was heading out to had never heard of. It wasn't pushed hard in the marketing and even I had only seen a couple trailers for it in front of other movies.
It's about a man whose family is killed and the people responsible are not prosecuted to the full extent of the law. When his voice isn't heard the father decides to prove to the people of the city that the system is flawed. This leads to death, explosions, and a pretty good thriller/action flick.
Jamie Foxx plays the city's hot shot prosecutor and Gerard Butler plays the man who was wronged.
It was surprisingly good and turned out to be the second best movie of the day. It's not essential for it to be viewed at the theater but it's worth a rent the week it comes out. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
I didn't grow up with the book. I didn't have fond memories of this story and it's characters to pull me into the theater the second it came out.
That being said...
It was BORING. It really felt like a super expensive art film. About twenty minutes into the film I was bored and ready to move on to the next movie on the list.
The kid was a bit of a whiner, the monsters were a bunch of depressed whiners, and to top it off... there really wasn't a point to the flick. Yes, the kid decides he needs to go home and be with his family in the end but it was mostly because he had made a mess out of things with the monsters and they really didn't want him around anymore.
I don't see the allure of the film and I don't see what has people loving the book as much as they do.
I know I'm going to get some people thinking I don't know what I'm taking about on this one but I just wasn't feeling it.
1 1/2 stars.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
This is the movie I was worried about the most for the day. I love ghost movies. I love ghost stories. They creep me out. They scare me.
This flick came out in limited release at first and I kept hearing people saying that it was the scariest movie they had ever seen. This had me excited. They had a campaign for people to demand a wide release and soon it was coming to a theater near me. At this point it had hyped to the point that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to what all these people were saying. Plus, the way things had been going all year with the movies I had been wanting to see I was thinking this was going to be another disappointment.
Danny didn't join me for this one. He had no interest. So I teamed up with a few other friends and went to a later showing. At night. In the dark.
What happened next shocked me.
The theater was packed full. A sold out crowd. People were excited. They were hoping to be scared out of their minds. I was hoping that the movie could at least live up to some of the hype that had been thrown about online and in talking to friends.
And it didn't.
It surpassed them.
I am still creeped out by this flick. It is, without a doubt, the scariest movie I have ever seen. Period. And it was a very well made and well acted movie.
The story we are thrown into is that a couple has been having issues in their house. Strange noises. Things moving. the normal haunting stuff. So the man of the house has bought a camera and is going to try and catch whatever it is on tape and prove that it's not a ghost. And he does prove it's not a ghost. It's actually worse...
The flick is "Blair Witch Style" film making. We watch the footage this guy has taped over the course of a few weeks. It's not as shaky and nausea inducing as you may think. A lot of the time the camera is mounted on the tripod in the bedroom and the times it's not the footage is pretty solid and well framed. These people have figured out how to make a film in this style without alienating the folks who may not be into the other films made like this.
It's awesome and frightening and I'm still creeped out. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject because you have to see it for yourself. If someone tries to tell you about the movie don't let them tell you about anything that happens. You don't want to spoil this one. Trust me.
4 1/2 to 5 stars
.........
And that was the day. It was a successful movie day with only one movie being weak and I didn't even have to deal with stupid annoying people at any of the viewings I went to. That is a rare feat indeed.
Yes, we but tickets for all the movies we attend. No theater hopping for these adventurers...
A meal is thrown in at some point and snacks are consumed mid film. It's always a good time and we even see a few friends for one or two of these films.
This time the line up was Zombieland, Law Abiding Citizen, Where the Wild Things Are, and Paranormal Activity.
The started around 11:30. Getting to the theater we bought the tickets and then decided to get a quick lunch before the first movie began. There are a few options for lunch in the area we went to and we decided to try out the new BBQ place that had opened next door to the theater as we were short on time.
As we wandered into the eatery I noticed that there was a "Coming Soon" sign above the door. I thought maybe they weren't open for business yet but as we pushed open the door we saw people sitting at tables eating. So we figured they were open but just hadn't taken the sign down yet. We walked up near the counter and took a look at the menu to see if this was indeed the place we wanted to eat when the manager spoke to us.
"Is this going to be for here or to go, gentlemen?"
Not knowing if were going to be eating there or not I responded with "We're just looking at the moment, thanks."
"It's on us today, just so you know." he said before I could turn my attention back to the menu.
I was a little taken back by this statement and by the look on Danny's face I could see he was too. It turns out that the restaurant wasn't open yet but was doing a dry run to make sure they were ready for business when they did open in a couple days.
Needless to say, we stayed and had a really good lunch and that seems to have marked this day as a successful movie day right off the bat.
ZOMBIELAND
It was funny. I had a good time watching it. Was it the best? Was it as good as people had been saying it was for the past few weeks? Not really. I suspect there is a really good movie in the somewhere but it's hidden under the desperate attempt to be Shaun of the Dead.
The acting is there as Woody Harrelson does what he's best at. The rest of the cast follows suit and pulls off each of their characters. I didn't feel super connected to any of them on a personal level though.
There was an attempt to bring some emotion to the flick in a couple places but only one works really well but it's dropped as soon as it happens and that left me feeling a little cheated out of what could have been a good story.
Danny liked the flick more than I did, which was a surprise, as he isn't in to zombie movies at all. In the end I give it a good 3 stars.
And the secret cameo in the flick is as awesome as people were telling me it was. I won't spoil it for you though.
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
This was the movie we saw that when ever I told folks what movies I was heading out to had never heard of. It wasn't pushed hard in the marketing and even I had only seen a couple trailers for it in front of other movies.
It's about a man whose family is killed and the people responsible are not prosecuted to the full extent of the law. When his voice isn't heard the father decides to prove to the people of the city that the system is flawed. This leads to death, explosions, and a pretty good thriller/action flick.
Jamie Foxx plays the city's hot shot prosecutor and Gerard Butler plays the man who was wronged.
It was surprisingly good and turned out to be the second best movie of the day. It's not essential for it to be viewed at the theater but it's worth a rent the week it comes out. I give it 3 1/2 stars.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
I didn't grow up with the book. I didn't have fond memories of this story and it's characters to pull me into the theater the second it came out.
That being said...
It was BORING. It really felt like a super expensive art film. About twenty minutes into the film I was bored and ready to move on to the next movie on the list.
The kid was a bit of a whiner, the monsters were a bunch of depressed whiners, and to top it off... there really wasn't a point to the flick. Yes, the kid decides he needs to go home and be with his family in the end but it was mostly because he had made a mess out of things with the monsters and they really didn't want him around anymore.
I don't see the allure of the film and I don't see what has people loving the book as much as they do.
I know I'm going to get some people thinking I don't know what I'm taking about on this one but I just wasn't feeling it.
1 1/2 stars.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
This is the movie I was worried about the most for the day. I love ghost movies. I love ghost stories. They creep me out. They scare me.
This flick came out in limited release at first and I kept hearing people saying that it was the scariest movie they had ever seen. This had me excited. They had a campaign for people to demand a wide release and soon it was coming to a theater near me. At this point it had hyped to the point that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to what all these people were saying. Plus, the way things had been going all year with the movies I had been wanting to see I was thinking this was going to be another disappointment.
Danny didn't join me for this one. He had no interest. So I teamed up with a few other friends and went to a later showing. At night. In the dark.
What happened next shocked me.
The theater was packed full. A sold out crowd. People were excited. They were hoping to be scared out of their minds. I was hoping that the movie could at least live up to some of the hype that had been thrown about online and in talking to friends.
And it didn't.
It surpassed them.
I am still creeped out by this flick. It is, without a doubt, the scariest movie I have ever seen. Period. And it was a very well made and well acted movie.
The story we are thrown into is that a couple has been having issues in their house. Strange noises. Things moving. the normal haunting stuff. So the man of the house has bought a camera and is going to try and catch whatever it is on tape and prove that it's not a ghost. And he does prove it's not a ghost. It's actually worse...
The flick is "Blair Witch Style" film making. We watch the footage this guy has taped over the course of a few weeks. It's not as shaky and nausea inducing as you may think. A lot of the time the camera is mounted on the tripod in the bedroom and the times it's not the footage is pretty solid and well framed. These people have figured out how to make a film in this style without alienating the folks who may not be into the other films made like this.
It's awesome and frightening and I'm still creeped out. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject because you have to see it for yourself. If someone tries to tell you about the movie don't let them tell you about anything that happens. You don't want to spoil this one. Trust me.
4 1/2 to 5 stars
.........
And that was the day. It was a successful movie day with only one movie being weak and I didn't even have to deal with stupid annoying people at any of the viewings I went to. That is a rare feat indeed.
posted by Jason at
11:32 AM
2 Comments:
I'm jealous dude. When you say a day at the movies you're not kidding! I'm bummed you didn't like "Wild Things" I did grow up with the book (more or less)but I will wait till it comes out on disc. I watched the trailer to "Paranormal" on IMDB just a few minute ago and it looks creepy cool. Those type of movies freak me out but if I managed to get through "The Ring" I can do this one. I just saw the trailer to "Lovely Bones". I read the book so I hope the movie does it justice. In Peter Jackson we trust! Be good!
Paranormal Activity is well worth the fear, sir.
As for The Lovely Bones... I have been wanting to see that flick since the trailer came out. I might read the book first though. I haven't decided...
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