We went to see I Think I Love My Wife today.  We picked it because I wasn’t sure if it would even still be in the theater next weekend.  Its box office sales haven’t been that great, but I thought the trailer looked good enough to give it a shot.  Besides, I like Chris Rock movies.  Anyway, I see why it hasn’t done well at the box office.  It’s not really a very good film.  I get the feeling that Chris Rock wrote it and hopes to get enough money to pay for it (I never even saw them plugging it on the late night shows).  That way he got to do all the various scenes with however many cuts and do it for “free”.  I don’t recommend it.

We went to see TMNT tonight.  I made sure to keep my expectations low.  The fact that it was going to be animated had me disappointed, because I really liked the live action films that came before it.  Also, I read a brief review of it by a syndicated review (seems like it was from the AP).  Having seen the film, I think they didn’t.  It’s actually pretty good.  It’s not a “great” film or something I’d put on a level with The Last Mimzy, but it was good.  The CGI was well done.  It had a consistent style and worked well portraying old characters in a new way.  It certainly allowed for some aspects of the characters to be more comic book and the wide array of creatures to be more easily brought to life.  Monsters really seemed to be rehashes of things seen in a million different films.  Voice casting was fairly good.  I don’t agree with Ziyi Zhang being the voice of the female leader of the foot.  I mean, she’s not exactly known for her great English readings, much less voice acting.  It was obvious she struggled to get any decent bits of dialog out.  The fact that it is the first film to beat 300 since it’s release says something.  If you are an old fan of the series definitely go see it.

We went to see The Last Mimzy tonight.  I loved this film.  It was basically nothing like what I expected.  Had the trailers more accurately portrayed the film and it would have topped my “to see” list.  This is probably the first PG film in a *long* time that I would say that about.  The casting was perfect, the dialog was great, the story was wonderful.  I am already thinking about having this on DVD with a big screen to watch in the house when it’s finished.  I’m pretty sure I’ll own a copy of it.  This really isn’t a little kid’s movie, though.  I imagine that below about age 7 or 8 would be a total non-starter.  Depends on the kids, of course.  The audience we were in had 2 kids, probably about 8 years old.  Everyone else I’d say was at least 20 and many were senior citizens.  I don’t want to give away anything, just go see it!

We went to see Shooter today (well yesterday, depending on the time zone you’re in).  I certainly enjoyed it.  It’s a summer blockbuster kinda film — lots of action, explosions, etc.  It works.  It’s not totally believable and there are certainly some elements that don’t make sense if you think about them very much.  It does contain quite a bit of the usual Hollywood dribble containing their political beliefs and the standard Hollywood firearms misconceptions and mistakes (like the 800 round M16 magazine, yet only 4 rounds in a 1911).  Also they love to pull up gadgets that don’t make sense like the mercenaries mostly carrying G36′s.  Why would anyone but the Germans be carrying G36′s?  Even they have had problems with them.

In terms of casting and the writing, I think things were right.  They meshed well.  The little clues that let you in on the bad guys at the beginning (if you haven’t seen the trailers) was done well.  Basically, if you ignore all the little details that Hollywood tends to get wrong, the other details are well done.  Despite what looks like a negative review, I recommend this film.

It’s been a while since I posted. I guess I’ve just been too lazy. There’s been a decent amount of things going on, but not so much I couldn’t have posted something. Anyway…

So we rented Flyboys a couple of weeks ago. Wow what afilm! It didn’t get a lot of theater time. It wasn’t widely loved by audiences, but the aviation crowd loved it and I agree. The acting and story were just a bit short of the mark I’d hope for, but for the most part everything fell together fairly well. It covers a period rarely seen in contemporary films and a subject that is totally unseen. Not since Howard Hughes’ prolific film Hell’s Angels has WWI flying been so exciting. I highly recommend renting it. Especially if you are an “air head” like me.

We went to see Wild Hogs on Sunday.  This is the best comedy I’ve seen this year.  Okay, we aren’t that far into 2007 yet.  This is the best comedy I’ve seen in the last several months.  As usual, it’s all about expectations.  I went into the theater with a fairly low set of expectations.  The trailer and star appearances on the Tonight Show had me thinking it was just a so-so film with a big advertising budget.  I was wrong.  They had a decent budget, decent writing, good casting, and a good follow through. The obvious audience is the family, especially with middle aged fathers.  It’ll make you laugh.  Go see it.

We went to see The Astronaut Farmer on Sunday. I’m a sucker for these kinds of films. Others of the genre I have enjoyed are October Sky and Space Cowboys. Anyway, this is a nice family film. Like Breach, it’s not something you should to think too hard about. Aside from some logical incongruities, there are some obviously over-the-top, campy kind of things in it too. Things that almost lead me to think this might have been conceived as a comedy. The end result is good. I certainly recommend it for some easy viewing.

We went to see Music and Lyrics on Sunday.  I say, this is a great film.  Well, maybe great isn’t the word to use, it was very good.  Certainly it’s not a life altering affair, but it is good.  The previews and trailers were a horrible horrible thing.  They didn’t do the film justice.  Casting was good, the story was good, the dialog worked for me.  There were some great transitions and special effects (not something I’d expect).  I liked how they were poking fun at Christina/Britney/Shakira/Madonna and the current ostentatious generation of pop stars.  I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the fake songs.  Some of them I think could do quite well in the real world.  Go watch it!

We went to see Breach on Saturday.  I really liked the movie.  It’s a semi-clever film that you shouldn’t think too much about.  In fact, after getting home and thinking about some of the scenes a little more, I started to realize how they didn’t make sense.  In fact some of the characters were insanely stupid.  Things look fine if not scrutinized too closely, but the details and continuity are quite lacking.  My biggest question, how much is actually “based on a true story” and how much is Hollywood?  I tend to believe that the only thing that was real is that a Robert Hanssen was convicted of treason.

We went to watch Children of Men today.  I must say, it is an amazing film.  The level of technical skill demonstrated in this film is simply awesome.  Very few directors today seem to be able to accomplish such technically difficult shots.  I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys the art of film making.  In terms of the story, I found it compelling, interesting, and woefully hopeful (yes, woefully hopeful).  There is obviously intent to comment on current events and has a political statement, but I just looked past that.  I’m a bit disappointed in how blatant the messages were, but they were weaved well into the story.  I wouldn’t recommend this for all viewers, but I would for people like me.