“Die Zombie.” The Darkest Hour is NOT a zombie movie but this was what a child at our screening uttered when one of the aliens was killed. This was just one of many utterances that were overheard while watching this movie. The film stars Emile Hershe (Into the Wild, Milk), Max Minghella (The Social Network, The Ides of March) and Olivia Thirlby (Juno, No Strings Attached) as people who get stranded in Moscow, when aliens start attacking Earth. The aliens come down and suck up all the energy and try to wipe out the planet. This sounds absolutely dreadful and it absolutely was. I walked out at the end of that movie and all I could say was GARBAGE; ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. I don’t think I have seen a worse movie this year. Nope that’s a lie that honor still belongs to that absolutely horrendous Drive Angry.
This movie was so bad one of my friends walked out. It was so frustrating watching this because first of all there were too many stupid characters and if you have read some of my posts you know I hate stupidity and irrationality. Things just made no sense. There were some really huge plot holes that just kept this movie irritating to me. My friend said he was at 119 and counting for number of plot holes in the story. If anyone can come up with a higher number please let me know. I wouldn’t wish this movie on anyone though so disregard that last statement. Oh one of the other awful things about this movie is that it is in 3D; FOR NO REASON. If I didn’t hate 3D before this makes it worse because there was no reason for it. There aren’t any things flying out or coming at you. It’s a 2D movie and if you like torture and want to go see this for yourself then I would only get the regular and not waste money on 3D.
The Darkest Hour is in theaters everywhere Christmas Day.
I have not read this book, nor have I watched the Swedish adaptation of the books so I went into this movie not really knowing much about the story. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a film based on the first book in Stieg Larson’s Millennium series trilogy. The film is directed by David Fincher (Social Network, Seven) and stars Rooney Mara (Social Network, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Daniel Craig (007, Cowboys and Aliens) and Christopher Plummer (The Beginners). Craig plays Swedish journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who loses a libel case against a big billionaire and is ordered to pay damages and fees. He soon meets Henrik Vanger, who commissions him to investigate the murder of his great-niece, Harriet, whom he believes was murdered by a family member 36 years before. Blomkvist asks Lisbeth Salander, a researcher and surveillance pro, to assist him with his investigation. From there they delve deeper and deeper into Vanger’s family dynamics and secrets and discover a serial killer that has been at it for many years.
I really enjoyed this movie. It was great. Rooney Mara DID HER THING. Well deserved Golden Globe nomination indeed. Like I have been told happens with the book, the film starts off a little slow. I would say for maybe the first 20 – 30 minutes there is some questioning about when it will pick up but then boy does it pick up. There is so much build up in the story that it had me on the edge of seat the whole time. I think I said “Oh s***” over a dozen times to myself the whole movie. I love suspense thrillers and this did not disappoint.
There are some gruesome elements to the film though. There is a pretty nasty rape scene and crime photos of women that were tortured and murdered as well as lots of violence. There are also a couple of sex scenes with plenty of Mara in the nude. If you are a prude and not comfortable with nudity I would wait until you could Redbox it and fast forward through those scenes because the movie is definitely worth watching. I don’t know how it compares to the book or the Swedish adaptation and I don’t care. I’ll make that comparison after I finish reading the book and watching the Swedish version but for now as a stand alone movie it was wonderful.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is in theaters everywhere now.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol or Mission Impossible 4 is one of the best straight action movies I’ve seen this year. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It is almost the best of the series. MI3 directed by one of my favorites, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Star Trek), is the best to me. This one is a very close second though.
The film directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Iron Giant) is your standard action formula film. The IMF team; Jane Carter (Paula Patton), William Brant (Jeremy Renner) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), led by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is framed for a bombing at the Kremlin by a crazed mad man intent on the world going into nuclear war. They have to go out to investigate and clear their names while the Russian police are after them.
The action is wonderful. Crazy landscapes, death defying stunts, crazy cool gadgets, beautiful international locales make up the backdrop of the movie. The shots in Moscow, Mumbia and Dubai were especially beautiful. There is a scene shot in Dubia with Tom Cruise scaling the tallest building there that is something crazy. Cruise is one insane man. All of the stunts for the Ethan Hunt character were done by Cruise himself. He did a great job of with those. The spy gadgets are pretty nice as well. Don’t get me wrong they are no James Bond but they were pretty nice. The vehicles in the movie were also crazy. Hotness.
The supporting cast was pretty good. I would say that this is the reason that this movie didn’t move up to number one for me. Simon Pegg (Shaun of The Dead, Hott Fuzz) and Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker) were good. Renner was greatly underused in this movie. If they make another movie and Cruise’s character has the same team, I would like to see them give Renner more to do. Paula Patton(Jumping The Broom, Precious) does not ruin the movie like some were thinking. She’s not the best actress but she isn’t awful. Her role in the movie is that of a supporting player and the story and action move along so quickly that you don’t really dwell on her acting. Go see this movie, It’s definitely a must if you like action movies and liked the other Mission Impossible films, just like I said in my Fall Movie Guide.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol opens in IMAX on Friday 12/16 and everywhere 12/21
Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, is a film based on Steve Harvey’s best selling book of the same title. The movie has a plethora of stars on it including Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson, Meagan Good, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown, Kevin Hart, Terrance J., Regina Hall, Romany Malco, and Jerry Ferrara. It shows a group of women and men in various relationships who aren’t having any luck finding luck in love. When a self-help book comes out they use it help them figure out how they can make them better.
The trailer reminds me of a black version of He’s Just Not That Into You, a movie I absolutely hated. It also reminds me Two Can Play That Game with Vivica A. Fox. I don’t know about this movie. Kevin Hart is pretty hilarious but this looks a little terrible. Meagan Good is just such a bad actress. She seriously hasn’t been good since Eve’s Bayou and she was like 11 when she did that. With all that said I’ll be seeing this. What do you guys think?
Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man hits theaters April 6th, 2012.
The Thanksgiving holiday just ended and that means holiday music, television and movies are going to be everywhere and everything is in reruns. During this time when there isn’t much to watch I secretly love watching holiday themed tv movies. Not just any holiday themed movies, the romantic ones that Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and now ABC Family specialize in. I don’t know what it is about these movies that I like. They are seriously the cheesiest. All I know is that while I was channel surfing on Thanksgiving Day, I flipped to Lifetime and discovered them showing holiday movies. I quickly perused the guide and found that I had watched every single movie that they were showing that day; in fact I had watched every single movie except one that Lifetime was running the entire weekend. WTH? When did that happen? That’s when I realized I secretly enjoy these movies. They always have the same formula. It always calls for a single, widowed, divorced or in a relationship with the wrong person man or woman who is a workaholic; has a name with a Christmas theme like Nick, Noelle, or Joy; a Christmas Eve or Christmas deadline, and some kind of mixup that makes them fallout at the end before they finally get together at the end. You may also, if you choose to, add a child who has sent a letter to Santa or some local radio/tv station wanting a new mommy or daddy for Christmas; or a twist on A Christmas Carol that gives them some kind of alternate life.
I’m excited to get to the new batch of movies that are going to be rolling out. Lifetime is about to start their Falalala Lifetime of holiday movies, ABC Family is doing their 25 Days of Christmas and Hallmark Channel is doing a countdown to Christmas. They always play some of my favorite ones like A Diva’s Christmas Carol which stars Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives) and Borrowed Hearts that stars Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel) and Eric McCormack (Will and Grace). If you get excited over holiday movies check out the holiday schedules on Hallmark, ABC Family and Lifetime.
My Week With Marilyn stars Michelle Williams (Dawson’s Creek, Blue Valentine, Shutter Island) as Marilyn Monroe and takes place in the time when she was filming the 1957’s The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier who is played by Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Director of Thor). It centers around Monroe’s experiences with Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), the third assistant director on the film. I saw this earlier this week and I liked it. I thought it did a good job with the pacing. I wasn’t bored at all like I was at J. Edgar. I think Michelle Williams did a great job playing Monroe. She had her look, mannerisms and her voice down completely. I don’t know much about Monroe except for a few things that I have seen but she was definitely annoying to me and such a manipulator. She just knew how to turn on that charm and have men doing anything she wanted. She was also very insecure and in the movie you can see that in the way she was with her then husband Arthur Miller played by Dougray Scott (Ever After, Desperate Housewives), whom I did not recognize at all. They also show her excessive drug use. This movie has Oscar written all over it. It’s a true story and there are a bunch of Brits in it ,including Judi Dench, Emma Watson and Dominic Cooper, so it’s definitely going to get some nominations. Williams is definitely going to get a nomination for Best Actress. I don’t think she should be. I think she was great and played the role really well but not Oscar performance. I would recommend you watch the movie. For people who are fans of Marilyn definitely see it and if you are like me and don’t know much about her but like good acting, go watch it.
Fairy tales are the new black apparently. There are so many fairy tale projects this year (Grimm on NBC and Once Upon A Time on ABC for example) that its become official that Hollywood has no new ideas. Universal and Relativity released their trailers for their respective Snow White projects this week. Universal’s project is Snow White and the Huntsman which stars Kristen Stewart (Twilight, Panic Room), Charlize Theron(Monster, Italian Job, Hancock), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor). The film is a twist to classic story in that the Huntsman (Hemsworth) is sent to kill Snow White (Stewart) by the evil queen (Theron) but he then soon becomes her protector and they all fight to take out the evil queen.
Relativity’s film is Mirror, Mirror which stars Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Abduction), Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman, Closer, Erin Brockovich) and Armie Hammer (The Social Network, J. Edgar). It is more of the classic story that we all know and love. Roberts plays an evil queen that steals control of the kingdom and has the princess (Collins) exiled. She gets the help of seven rebel dwarfs to win back her kingdom. Hammer plays Prince Alcott, the object of the princess’ affection.
So after watching the trailers I can say that I’ll definitely be seeing both movies but I’ll looking forward to Snow White and the Huntsman more because Charlize Theron looks amazing as the evil queen. Just so deliciously evil. I’ll see this movie despite of Kristen Stewart. You see they didn’t have her say anything in the trailer. The whole selling point of the movie is Theron. Mirror, Mirror reminds me of The Princess Bride. It looks like it has that same campy, fun factor that Princess Bride had. Hell it looks very 80s. I’ll see this because there are actors in it that I like. I watch everything Julia Roberts and I have been enjoying Armie Hammer’s movies since he did TheSocial Network last year. Mirror, Mirror hits theaters March 16th, 2012 and Snow White and The Huntsman will be out June 1st, 2012. Which will you see? Snow White and the Huntsman? Mirror,Mirror? Neither?
Thank you its the weekend. I can sleep in and catch up on some shows and movies. But before it ends and the new week starts lets recaps some of the stories and events from movies and tv this week.
Lets start off with NBC. They released their mid-season schedule this week and truly just said f*@% it to any kind of common sense. They have taken off Prime Suspect and Community and moved almost every show around. Whitney is moving to from its nice post Office spot to Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30c. It will follow the new Chelsea Handler show, Are You There Chelsea (Vodka got taken out of the title because this is family hour). It makes sense to pair these 2 shows together but 8/7c family hour is definitely not the place. These shows are supposed to be rude and crude and make lots of sex jokes. Both of these shows would be way better on cable where there is more freedom to do all that not on broadcast television. Up All Night will be taking over Whitney’s spot on Thursday nights. 30 Rock will take over Community’s spot. NBC says the show isn’t cancelled but you have to wonder when it will return. Prime Suspect looks like it’s getting the ax. They say they haven’t made a decision but they already stopped production on the show and are shooting the final 13th episode next week so you tell me if that isn’t a decision. New show, The Firm, based on the John Grisham novel, will take over the slot. Here is the rest of NBC’s schedule.
MONDAYS: 8-10 PM – The Voice (season premiere February 5 after the Superbowl; series resumes February 6); 10-11 PM – SMASH (February 6)
TUESDAYS: 8-10 PM – The Biggest Loser (January 3); 10-11 PM – Parenthood (through February 28); 10-11 PM – FASHION STAR (March 13, 9-11 p.m. with two-hour premiere; one-hour episodes resume March 20)
WEDNESDAYS: 8-8:30 PM – Whitney (January 11);8:30-9 PM – ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? (January 11); 9-10 PM – Rock Center with Brian Williams (February; 10-11 PM – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
THURSDAY: 8-8:30 PM – 30 Rock (January 12); 8:30-9 PM – Parks and Recreation; 9-9:30 PM – The Office; 9:30-10 PM – Up All Night (January 12); 10-11 PM – THE FIRM (two-hour premiere January 8; Thursday time period premiere January 12)
FRIDAY: 8-9 PM – Who Do You Think You Are? (February 3); 9-10 PM – Grimm; 10-11 PM – Dateline NBC
ABC also unveiled their mid-season schedule and one of my favorite shows was notably missing from the lineup. CougarTown staring Friends alum, Courtney Cox Arquette (she might not be going with Arquette anymore; Kanye shrug) was not in the line up and this coupled with the mess that was NBC made me angry about the coming mid-season. The show will air sometime in March with a shorter season as the episode count been cut down to 15 instead of the 22 that were going to air. This isn’t a great sign for the show but hopefully when it does return people watch and the ratings go up because the show is quite hilarious.
Good news Arrested Development fans. The show is officially returning. There had already been an announcement about the show returning but it hadn’t found a home yet. This time it has. The series will be shown exclusively on Netflix starting in 2013. No word on if all the cast members will be returning or if the long-awaited movie is going to happen but the show is back and that’s all that matters.
Ugh Twilight: Breaking Dawn pt 1 came out yesterday and is on track to make almost $140 million. It started off the weekend with midnight showings making over $30 million and $72 million total on Friday. It’s the 3rd biggest opening day ever behind Harry Potter and The Deadly Hallows: Part 2 and the second Twilight movie, New Moon. Everyone I know who has seen this is raving about it and saying it was actually really good. I don’t get it. I watched the first one and that was awful and nothing ever convinced me to see any of the other ones. Kristen Stewart is also one of the worst actresses. Hell the whole main cast is pretty bad. Glad this is the end of this franchise because these kids are gonna disappear after this. Their movies that ventured out of the Twilight franchise have been less than spectacular and have not been seen by many so I look forward to the day I don’t have to see another Twilight ad or Kristen Stewart’s awkward and unsmiling face.
The trailer for a new Denzel Washington movie Safe House came out this week. The film stars also stars Ryan Reynolds and Vera Farmiga (with really bad hair). It’s about young CIA agent (Reynolds) who must watch a fugitive being held in a safe house (Washington). The house is attacked and they must work together run to get to a secure. Love Denzel and love Reynolds so I was already in without seeing the trailer but man when I saw it, I was in. I love when Denzel goes bad. Training Day was a great movie, I don’t think he should have won an Oscar for that but it was a great movie. Denzel plays bad so well. Why he didn’t do it more often I don’t know. The premise of this movie is not anything new. Its been done before but it definitely looks awesome and they use one of my fav songs from Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne album that features the lovely Frank Ocean called “No Church in The Wild.” Good action, acting and eye candy what more can you ask for. The movie is in theaters February 2012.
Brad Pitt says he is going to be retiring from acting in 3 years. He did an interview this week with the UK version of 60 minutes. He said “I am really enjoying the producing side and development of stories and putting those pieces together. And getting stories to the plate that might have had a tougher time otherwise…” If I had read this in the late 90s or early 2000s, I would have been upset because Brad was making some wonderful movies at that time. Now I would say ok if he wants to I’m fine with that. The peak of his acting career has passed and while he still makes plenty of good movies, he could retire and not be missed. There are many younger actors that have taken the place that he held during the 90s when he was making hit movies and named People’s Sexiest Man. I would miss Pitt movies but I’d be ok just watching his old ones like Legends of The Fall, which is one of the best movies ever.
Like Crazy is a romantic drama in realm of 500 Days of Summer that stars Felicity Jones(Brideshead Revisited, Doctor Who) and Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog, Charlie Bartlett, Fright Night) as Anna and Jacob, a couple that meet in their last year of college. Anna is a British exchange and overstays her student visa after graduation to spend more time with Jacob. She is detained and sent back to England by immigration and this begins their awkward long distance relationship. The movie is a realistic take on how first love can be great and wonderful but also very devastating. This movie annoyed the hell out of me. It was a good movie but it really annoyed me. I hate stupidity in people and this was basically all the stupid things that people do in relationships to screw them up. I haven’t been in a relationship but I don’t think I would do some of the things this couple did or said to each other. My friends that I was with completely related to the story and said that they had done some of these stupid things that happened in the movie. I don’t know. The movie also ended quite ambiguously and left what happens to your interpretation. I would recommend this movie because its beautifully directed by Drake Doremus and the acting is great as well. It won the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic film and acting at the Sundance Film Festival. It also has Finola Hughes in a small role. I loved her on General Hospital and All My Children and haven’t seen her since she was on Charmed so I’m glad to see she’s still acting.
OMG The Hunger Games trailer premiered today on Good Morning America and it is just as awesome and amazing as I thought it would be. If you are not familiar with Suzanne Collins’ series you need to get on it. The story is set sometime in the future after North America has destroyed and becomes known as “Panem.” It consist of a rich Capitol and 12 poorer districts that are under the rule of the Capitol. There were formerly 13 districts but one rebelled and got destroyed and as punishment for this rebellion the Capitol pulls a boy and girl ages 12 -18 from each district in a lottery and forces them to compete in the Hunger Games. The games are a televised event where these children fight to the dead until there is one victor. The winner gets and their district gets heavily rewarded. The trilogy consists of the books, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The film version of the first book started filming this year and stars Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone, X-Men: First Class) as our main heroine, Katniss Evergreen, Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are Al Right, Bridge To Terabithia) as Peeta Mellark. Others in the cast include Lenny Kravitz (Precious), Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song, Thor’s brother, Miley Cyrus’ boyfriend), Elizabeth Banks (Definitely Maybe, Role Models, 40 Year Old Virgin), Stanley Tucci (Lovely Bones, Julie & Julia, The Devil Wears Prada), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, The People vs Larry Flynt, The Messenger), and Wes Bentley(American Beauty, Four Feathers). I will definitely be seeing this movie and I’ll probably actually pay for it that’s how much I’m looking forward to this. Here is the trailer.
The Hunger Games opens nationwide March 23rd, 2012.
Lets start off with NBC. They released their mid-season schedule this week and truly just said f*@% it to any kind of common sense. They have taken off Prime Suspect and Community and moved almost every show around. Whitney is moving to from its nice post Office spot to Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30c. It will follow the new Chelsea Handler show, Are You There Chelsea (Vodka got taken out of the title because this is family hour). It makes sense to pair these 2 shows together but 8/7c family hour is definitely not the place. These shows are supposed to be rude and crude and make lots of sex jokes. Both of these shows would be way better on cable where there is more freedom to do all that not on broadcast television. Up All Night will be taking over Whitney’s spot on Thursday nights. 30 Rock will take over Community’s spot. NBC says the show isn’t cancelled but you have to wonder when it will return. Prime Suspect looks like it’s getting the ax. They say they haven’t made a decision but they already stopped production on the show and are shooting the final 13th episode next week so you tell me if that isn’t a decision. New show, The Firm, based on the John Grisham novel, will take over the slot. Here is the rest of NBC’s schedule.
iwatch2much.com 