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My online journal of my amazingly boring life. Don't expect anything juicy. I write those in my real journal at home safe away from prying eyes. Except for maybe my sister.
This is another movie in a string of retellings of well-known fairy tales. Little Red Riding Hood is certainly not little in this interpretation but except for a romp in the hay the movie remains safely PG. It has themes of fantasy, horror and love all jumbled together. I would say it is more a thriller than a love story though it is obvious it has Twilight influences (not surprising since it has the same director). Broody and angsty teenagers who both want the girl...Familiar to anyone? The story also is very similar to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village in setting and premise - isolated village with an unknown beast prowling the surrounding woods.
The whole story is one big guessing game. Who is the wolf? By process of elimination you MIGHT be able to guess who the wolf is but it isn't easy. Suspects disappear and reappear to keep the viewer guessing and errie music is played to intensify the moments of uncertainty. Some parts of the movie reminded me of the Blair Witch Project with the shaky hand held camera movement. Some of the story was predictable and some of it was over the top, with the excessive and unnecessary killings and torture. But if you like a good mystery with some love in thrown in the mix you'll like Red Riding Hood. Twilight fans will love the ending. Especially if you are Team Jacob.
Red Riding Hood opens in theatres Friday March 11th, 2011.
Want more Red Riding Hood? Here's a post that nicely reminds me of the story and has beautiful wolf pictures: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/little-red-riding-hoods-demise
Beastly is the modern retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in New York City. Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer of I Am Number Four) is a handsome but arrogant high school student who cares only about himself and his looks. That cocky attitude however won him the title of President of an environmental club even though he doesn't care at all about the environment. When goth classmate Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) protests against him, Kyle gets revenge by making fun of her looks and humiliating her in front of everyone at a party. In retaliation, Kendra casts a spell that transforms Kyle into a disfigured freak with tattoos and scars all over his body that mirrors the ugliness in his heart. She gives him one year to get someone to fall in love with him and say "I love you" or be forever trapped in that form. Kyle turns to his father for help only to be banished to Brooklyn with nobody but except his housekeeper and a blind tutor to keep him company. Desperate for normality, he attends the school Halloween party only to find out that everyone who said they liked him actually hated him, even his old girlfriend. He bumps into Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a classmate who he had felt a connection with prior to his transformation, at the party and begins stalking following her. When Kyle saves Lindy and her father from drug dealers, he makes a deal with Lindy's father to help him protect her from the vengeful dealers by making her move into his home in Brooklyn. After a rocky start, the two forge an unlikely relationship and slowly Kyle starts to change but will it be enough to break the spell?
I was impressed with Beastly. Except for some cheesy dialogue it was pretty good. The interpretation of the story was believable in modern times and the make-up and costume design were amazing. I loved Kendra's outfit and shoes! The jokes were funny and kept the story from getting too serious. That said, Vanessa Hudgens acting could have been a little better. She was a bit stiff at times and I found it hard to believe her feelings toward Kyle.
It was almost a full house at the screening. Mostly young girls and women and the guys they brought along. So if you are into love stories like Twilight (but with better acting), you will enjoy Beastly. Go see it! Even if it is only just to see Alex Pettyfer's beautifully sculpted body again...You know what I mean...
Beastly opens in theatres Friday, March 4, 2011.
I got nothing from the trailer, I went to the movie not expecting very much but I was pleasantly surprised! The movie is funny, witty and extremely entertaining. It will definitely appeal to the older crowd as well as older kids. There are some parts that may scare younger children such as the parts with the villain Rattlesnake Jake. It also may be a bit violent and dark for the younger audience and there are certain references and jokes that only the older audience will get.
Rango is beautifully animated - all the textures of the animals and environment were very realistic. The score by Hans Zimmer set the tone of the movie very well and Rango was also directed by Gore Verbinski, the same person who directed Pirates of the Caribbean! A lot of the music reminds of that same adventurous tones that Pirates had. This is a movie that shouldn't be missed.
Rango is in theatres Friday, March 4th 2011. I recommend you go see it!
I Am Number Four is based on a the book of the same name by Pittacus Lore (pen name of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and follows a special teen "John Smith". Unlike other teens he is actually an alien from the planet Lorien on the run from other aliens called Mogadorians. They destroyed John's home planet but not before he and 8 other children and their guardians escaped. These children are special since each of them possess special powers called Legacies. Now the Mogs are hunting them down one by one in sequence (Don't know why...I guess I'll have to read the book). They've killed three already and John is Number Four. Because of this John and his guardian Henri have to move around a lot. Their latest move takes them to Paradise, Ohio where he falls in love with a girl from school named Sarah, an avid photographer. This makes it all very complicated since his powers have started manifesting themselves and the Mogadorians have picked up his trail...Now John must learn to control his powers to protect the ones he cares about.
I did enjoy it...it kind of reminded me of Smallville and a little bit of Dark Angel where instead of escaped mutants being hunted you have escaped aliens with superpowers. I loved the action and the story is interesting but the movie leaves A LOT of unanswered questions. Like what's in the box? What's the significance of the symbols? Scenes in the trailer don't even make it into the movie! I guess Dreamworks leaves it very open so that more movies can be made. I want to learn what happens...Time to go to the library!
I Am Number Four is out in theatres on Friday February 18th.
Apparently this movie is based on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility". I haven't read the book yet but I bet I would have gotten more out of it than this movie. The plot was just all over the place. It tried to fit in their brother's story but failed miserably and the relationships that formed were very rushed. If you are looking for a light movie with no real sustenance then you don't have to look any further but don't expect to enjoy it that much.
From Prada to Nada opens in theatres in Canada tomorrow, February 11, 2011.
Incendies begins with the reading of the will of Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal) to her twin children Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette). Naval's last requested to her children is to deliver two letters - one to their father, whom they thought was long dead and a letter to a brother they never knew existed. This sets the twins off on a journey to the Middle East where they start to discover their mother's horrific and heartbreaking past and in turn discover theirs as well. The movie shifts back and forth in time following the twins’ journey to find their brother and father and Nawal’s journey to find the son that she was forced to give up. The movie just builds and builds until the shocking revalation at the end.
How to describe this movie? Incendies has me leaving the theatre reeling. Montreal filmmaker Denis Villeneuve draws us into the tangled story of Nawal Marwan and her children with great skill. It is not a feel-good movie but I cannot deny it is very good storytelling.
Incendies has already won a lot of awards and there are rumours that it will be up for an Oscar in February.
Turns out you don't need to watch the original at all to enjoy this movie. It did a very good job of providing backstory and stands very well on its own. Garrett Hedlund stars as Sam, Kevin Flynn's son (the protagonist from the previous film). Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn and also plays Clu.
Kevin Flynn is a genius programmer and the CEO of Encom. A sudden and mysterious disappearance of Kevin Flynn leaves his young son Sam orphaned. Years later, Sam recieves a message from his dad's friend Alan Bradley regarding a page he received originating from the office of the abandoned Flynn's Arcade. Sam investigates and discover's his dad's secret office and is somehow whisked away into the Grid - a digital world of his dad's creation. There he meets Clu, a program his father create years ago to handle things in the Grid but apparently he has turned bad and gained control of all the Grid. Sam manages to escape from Clu with the help of Quorra (Olivia Wilde from House), a fearless and mysterious program of the Grid who knows where his father is. Together they must race against time to make it out of the Grid alive.
The movie had awesome special effects - did I mention cool glowing costumes and set? An amazing musical score by Daft Punk carried the atmosphere of the movie very well. The actors did an amazing job but the only thing I didn't like was how fake the younger Kevin Flynn seemed. Disney had to digitalize Jeff Bridges' face to turn back the clock but everytime younger Kevin or Clu spoke it was rather uncanny. But that is a small detail. This move is full of eye candy and you will love it. I would recommend the movie to everyone whether or not you are a Tron fan! But if you are a Tron fan, I am told that there are many references to the original movie. It is not likely to disappoint. However if you can watch in non-3D choose that option. The movie had practically no 3D effects!
Tron: Legacy is in theatres today! Go see it! I highly recommend it. I want to go back and watch the original Tron now. And I hope they will make another one!
This movie is actually pretty good! For someone who knows absolutely nothing about boxing, this movie was very entertaining. It was about family and rising up to meet all the challenges life throws at you. It was humourous, heartwarming and will have you cheering for Micky until the end. This inspirational movie is about never giving up and how important family is - just when you think someone is going to lose, they come back and surprise you.
The Fighter opens in theatres Dec 17, 2010.
I have to say Tangled is AWESOME! I was looking forward to watching it and Disney did not disappoint! I loved the animation, the story, the music, everything.
Rapunzel is voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (from TV series Chuck) voices Flynn Ryder. They did a very good job of making their characters come alive. One of my favourite non-voice characters is Rapunzel's pet chameleon, Pascal. He didn't need to utter a single word but he made the audience laugh all the time. As with all Disney movies, there is singing. Alan Menken does it again with an awesome set of songs and score. I loved all the songs and I might even purchase the soundtrack!
Tangled is shown in 3D but I thought that it wasn't necessary. There weren't many places where Disney took advantage of the 3D effect. The movie would be enjoyed the same if watching on regular screen.
If you are planning to bring your kids to watch a movie, you can't go wrong with Tangled. Disney delivers a very entertaining, humerous and unique spin to a story that kids and even adults will love.
Tangled is in theatres Wednesday, November 24, 2010.
If you want to leave the theatre feeling happy, this is definitely the wrong movie to see. Buried left a bad taste in my mouth. It is about a US supply truck driver who was attacked by Iraqis and buried alive. Ryan Reynolds plays Paul Conroy trapped in a coffin with only a cell phone an a lighter (at first) and his time running out. Don't get me wrong Reynolds performance was spectacular but he is also the only one we ever see. Everyone else in the movie are only voices coming from the cellphone, Paul's only link to the outside world. Even though the entire 94 minutes is spent within a box, it was at times thrilling and the ending will shock you. Buried that leaves you feeling very uneasy and thinking about real current situation in Iraq is and how it might not be too far off from fiction. Not a movie to take your date to.
Buried opens in theatres tomorrow Friday October 8.