Also old.
I didn't beat you over the head with Superman Returns, so here's another go... but I'll start wayyyyyy earlier this time. Very exciting.
24.7.06
What the Hell Happened to Rap Music?
Ever since I got to college, my music intake has changed drastically. No longer could I envelope myself in the sweet hum of MTV, or take the time out to listen to the radio (not that I ever did anyway).
As a result, I find myself comically out of touch with the modern music industry. You know that hot new thing on the Billboard charts? I don't. It's that simple.
So while I was "discovering" the greatest of whatever the people on campus decided to share through iTunes, things were apparently happening on the outside world. Namely, rap music was sucking epically.
Now supposedly we're going to see new releases from sure things like The Roots "Game Theory", Nas "Hip Hop Is Dead" and Outkast "Idlewild" very shortly-- and that's all well and good... but where is the fresh blood? I don't mean random new dudes with a record deal, I'm talking new artists of quality. Not since Kanye and Late Registration have I even considered getting a new rap album. WTF guy? WTF?
Can someone do something about this? This is where 80s Baby would come in, but he has abandoned this venture.
As a result, I find myself comically out of touch with the modern music industry. You know that hot new thing on the Billboard charts? I don't. It's that simple.
So while I was "discovering" the greatest of whatever the people on campus decided to share through iTunes, things were apparently happening on the outside world. Namely, rap music was sucking epically.
Now supposedly we're going to see new releases from sure things like The Roots "Game Theory", Nas "Hip Hop Is Dead" and Outkast "Idlewild" very shortly-- and that's all well and good... but where is the fresh blood? I don't mean random new dudes with a record deal, I'm talking new artists of quality. Not since Kanye and Late Registration have I even considered getting a new rap album. WTF guy? WTF?
Can someone do something about this? This is where 80s Baby would come in, but he has abandoned this venture.
Pirates of the Carribean 2: Dead Man's Chest
I saw this one on opening night, so this update is a bit late. Shut it.
I must say, while I did not dislike this film, I was a bit disappointed. For one thing, I feel like I could have used a refresher on POTC1 before going into the theater. Is it my fault that I couldn't immediately identify returning characters or instantly break down the connections being made on screen? Yeah, probs... so what? Shouldn't a movie-- even a sequel like this one-- be able to stand on its own two feet? Far too often, POTC2 asked the audience to bring everything together on their own. Maybe I'm just lazy.
Johnny Depp is really great as Captain Jack Sparrow, but that is to be expected. He does his thing, you watch, we all leave happy. Orlando Bloom could be doing more, but the expectations aren't really there. Keira Knightley isn't on screen very often, but she gets the job done when she's there. I could have used more screen time, regardless of what she was going to say.
Let me also note that the (I guess) Jamaican guy that appeared for one scene was completely incomprehensible and took me out of the moment. This was a pretty random cut to start with, and then when I was hit in the face with the Queen's Patois, I just about wet myself. Fix that on the DVD.
All in all, a solid lead in to POTC3, coming next year. It's a bit cheap to make an entire movie that serves simply as the bridge between the first and third installments of a trilogy, but this is Hollywood '06 baby!
I must say, while I did not dislike this film, I was a bit disappointed. For one thing, I feel like I could have used a refresher on POTC1 before going into the theater. Is it my fault that I couldn't immediately identify returning characters or instantly break down the connections being made on screen? Yeah, probs... so what? Shouldn't a movie-- even a sequel like this one-- be able to stand on its own two feet? Far too often, POTC2 asked the audience to bring everything together on their own. Maybe I'm just lazy.
Johnny Depp is really great as Captain Jack Sparrow, but that is to be expected. He does his thing, you watch, we all leave happy. Orlando Bloom could be doing more, but the expectations aren't really there. Keira Knightley isn't on screen very often, but she gets the job done when she's there. I could have used more screen time, regardless of what she was going to say.
Let me also note that the (I guess) Jamaican guy that appeared for one scene was completely incomprehensible and took me out of the moment. This was a pretty random cut to start with, and then when I was hit in the face with the Queen's Patois, I just about wet myself. Fix that on the DVD.
All in all, a solid lead in to POTC3, coming next year. It's a bit cheap to make an entire movie that serves simply as the bridge between the first and third installments of a trilogy, but this is Hollywood '06 baby!
29.6.06
Superman Returns
Well, I flooded this blog with Superman Returns posts a while back... and dammit, it paid off.
I saw this one, a practice that is becoming increasingly common (the joys of summer), and was throughly impressed. I didn't want to lead on, but I was a bit concerned about how this film would turn out. Bryan Singer has been nothing but capable in his past work, but the Kent/Kal-El of this quasi-sequel to Superman II concerned me. Brandon Routh? Who?
Superman... that's who. I don't want to gush, but he fills the boots left behind by the late Christopher Reeve ably. In fact, he fills them more than ably. Though I cannot say that he brought anything inventive or new to the work, he plays the role one would expect to a T. He is awkward and bumbling as Kent, yet gracefully powerful as the Man of Steel. The action is spectacular, with the flying CG working at an almost disturbingly high level. Routh soars, and it all feels possible, if not believable.
Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor) and Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski) turn in the kind of scenery-chewing performances required to accent this film that can be best described as "grand". Mountains rise, airplanes plummet, and globes fall, all to be addressed by the man in tights. One of my lone complaints is barely one, as the sight of Kal "Kumar" Penn as a Luthor henchman is offputting-- doubly so when he makes his move upon the hero.
in the pantheon of superhero films, this one stands tall, eclisping the increasingly overrated Batman Begins, but falling just short of the celluloid brilliance of Spiderman 2. See it, see it now. As the taglines say, you will believe that a man can fly.
I saw this one, a practice that is becoming increasingly common (the joys of summer), and was throughly impressed. I didn't want to lead on, but I was a bit concerned about how this film would turn out. Bryan Singer has been nothing but capable in his past work, but the Kent/Kal-El of this quasi-sequel to Superman II concerned me. Brandon Routh? Who?
Superman... that's who. I don't want to gush, but he fills the boots left behind by the late Christopher Reeve ably. In fact, he fills them more than ably. Though I cannot say that he brought anything inventive or new to the work, he plays the role one would expect to a T. He is awkward and bumbling as Kent, yet gracefully powerful as the Man of Steel. The action is spectacular, with the flying CG working at an almost disturbingly high level. Routh soars, and it all feels possible, if not believable.
Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor) and Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski) turn in the kind of scenery-chewing performances required to accent this film that can be best described as "grand". Mountains rise, airplanes plummet, and globes fall, all to be addressed by the man in tights. One of my lone complaints is barely one, as the sight of Kal "Kumar" Penn as a Luthor henchman is offputting-- doubly so when he makes his move upon the hero.
in the pantheon of superhero films, this one stands tall, eclisping the increasingly overrated Batman Begins, but falling just short of the celluloid brilliance of Spiderman 2. See it, see it now. As the taglines say, you will believe that a man can fly.
29.5.06
X-Men 3
I really enjoyed this one. Now, some people, including some of those I saw this with, will have a problem with the liberties taken with the storyline to put together a film version that works. I've always felt that film adaptations are meant to be interpretations of the soure material, rather than a blow-by-blow reenactment. In that sense, I had little problem with what went down here. Shock? At times, yes. Resentment or anger? No.However, I don't want to give the impression that I would agree with just anything. I've heard stories about early drafts of the new Superman movies that involved radical changes to the costume and his powers. I don't even like Superman (I guess you wouldn't pick that up from the 19 posts I've made about the new movie), but I would have had a problem dealing with that. Deviation from the canon is fine, i.e. Spiderman having organic webbing, but I don't want to see him flying and shooting fireballs or something stupid like that.
This is apparently the biggest movie ever, so you'll probably have your own views on what happened. I don't want to spoil the plot, so let's just say that it was "eventful". There was less attention paid to developing the story than in 1 and 2, but this is just something that we had to expect from Brett Ratner. He can blow things up well, and construct the huge, sweeping, epic scene... but don't ask the man to flesh-out a character.
It also felt like it could have been longer, which is a RARE feeling to leave a theater with. Word on the internets is that a lot of footage was cut from the final version, including a lot of character development- especially around Collusus. Director's Cut DVD anyone?
Rating: 8/10
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