Saw the new Star Trek flick, was good and fun, you should go see it. I can’t remember much about the day after, it was that silly at times, but who couldn’t use some more silliness in their life? Mini skirts in the military? Wionna Ryder as Spock’s mom? The universe saved by Abercrombie & Fitch models? It’s what heaven would look like if God was a 16 year old boy with an unlimited budget. Which might explain the shape of the world…

We went to see Coraline this afternoon, on a whim, because hey, it’s stop motion animation and by Tim Burton, so what’s not to love?

Well, it was stop motion, but it wasn’t by Tim Burton and man it showed. Visually stunning (and in 3D), the first few minutes were wonderful, as we settled in to something that we just knew was going to be amazing as fantastic graphics flew out from the screen, in beautiful color and gorgeous motion.

But someone forget to get the story, characters, character design, and pacing right. The movie quickly took on a too dark tone, shepherded forwarded by an unlikable lead character and her unlikable parents in a plot that plodded along like a solar powered wheelchair going uphill on a cloud filled day. It had all the elements of a good story, but ultimately it fell down like a tired drunk person: you were glad when they finally shut up and passed out.

The worst part was the 3D glasses. When I was kid, they were cool to keep, they’d turn the world red in one eye, blue in the other. The ones we got were just cheap nerd like frames that made the regular world appear dimmer when you looked through them, which after seeing the movie, makes sense.

Partially inspired by a bull session with a friend:

“I found your lack kerning disturbing.”


“I hope so, for your sake. 80 pound text is not as forgiving as I am.”


“Luke, search your feelings, you know I am your Art Director.”


“The hipster attitude is strong with this one.”


“And now, your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Postscript Fonts…”


“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to layout a page is insignificant next to the power of the Force.”


“I sense something. A font I’ve not used since…”


“You don’t know the power of Quark!”


“Perhaps I can find new ways to kern them.”


“I’ve been waiting for you, Quark. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I can make drop shadows directly on the page.”



“It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your Art Director now.”



“He will join our agency or die, my master.”


“The arrogant ego is strong with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Creative Director yet.”


“What is thy stylesheet, my master?”


slight edit due to first comment

Cloverfield is, quite simply, a scifi/horror Blair Witch Project, wrapped up in the shell of a Lost episode. Yet as good and entertaining as the movie is , what it says about current American culture is one of the bleakest things I’ve seen in a while and I saw No Country for Old Men, which looks like a Disney musical compared to Cloverfield.

In the movie, New York City is attacked by a giant monster and all hell breaks loose. We see the attack from the vantage point of a group of 20 year old friends, who are filming the attack as they first try to escape the city and then try to rescue one of their own. They don’t know what’s happening or why. No one does, not even the US military as it tries to kill the creature. There are no quick thinking scientists who have a theory where the monster came from or a cool and calm solider who’s determined to defeat menace. One minute people are enjoying a party, the next there’s the chaos and the terror of the unknown. And the characters seem to know it on some level. Though their world is reduced to nothing and they’re thrust into a situation they couldn’t have dreamed of, they take it relatively in stride, perhaps because deep down they know, as we all do, just how close the randomness of life and death can wreak havoc on us.

Just got outta the shower. Had to take one after seeing Notes On A Scandal, starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. It’s about a teacher having sex with a pupil and how another teacher uses that piece of info. Yeah, it’s uncomfortable, as Blanchett fawns and humps someone as young as her own screen daughter. But Judi Dench takes the cake and swallows it whole as the “friend” who manipulates Blachett for her own hopeful, though sick, uses. She’s a vulture, watching and waiting for the choicest pieces of meat to gulp down. I kept turning to my wife and muttering “Creeeeeepy”. Hannibal Lector, not creepy, somewhat entertaining on screen. But Judi Dench as Barbara, the bitter and crazy old lady? That could haunt your nightmares.

Craig Brewer, writer-director of Hustle and Flow, is coming back with Black Snack Moan. I can’t describe it, you just have to watch the preview. All I can say is that it looks like I’ll be leaving the theatre feeling the same way as when I saw Hustle and Flow: loving the movie and the soundtrack and feeling kinda messed up for liking it so much.

Sometimes we might come to a movie expecting one thing and then get perplexed when we get another. Expectations can throw you off.

Freedomland throws you off. It starts off straight forward, you can see where it’s going (you think), just a standard murder/action/kidnap/mystery thing. But the film is less aobut the act and more about the people around it: how this act happened and the personal and community repercussions of the death. Good movie, but awkward in the beginning, as in gaping plot holes. Edie Falco and Julianne Moore are especially good here.

Saw To Catch a Thief Saturday over at the Lucas. Love being in that theatre, especially up in the balcony with the detail and great lighting. Was thrown by the movie at first, it seemed so unsophisticated and fairly obvious with it’s script, but Hitchcock directed and I love the way he composes scenes. But the movie gradually picked up, especially once Brigitte Auber appeared on screen. Supposedly this was the movie that made Grace Kelly big and she is charming as the lead, but the character she played wasn’t very likable and she she seemed to heavily made up, almost like a china doll (look but don’t touch!) to really enjoy. Came out pleasantly pleased and enchanted with the film though, great fun and some of the dialogue and chemistry between Kelly and Cary Grant was great.

Slate link explains the real cost of movies..