Counting Down to In Time

Yes, it has been a long time since I last posted, but between internet problems at home (the only kind of domestic problem a single guy living alone may have other than cooking) and traveling by car on the weekend I’ve been hard pressed to write about let alone see a movie.

This weekend a potentially good movie is back on the silver screens of America, In Time.  In Time looks to further the string of movies designed to turn Justin Timberlake from teen heartthrob singing sensation into a multi-talented superstar (some would say he already is due to his popular appearances on Saturday Night Live).  Coming off successes in The Social Network and Friends With Benefits, the superior movie to No Strings Attached from what I’ve heard, In Time should cement Timberlake as an actor who can open a movie if it can win the #1 spot from Paranormal Activity 3: Most Paranormal, Most Active [ed. note, not actual title].  

Rango is not a children’s movie

Well that was not what I was expecting.  The original teaser trailer for this movie was pretty off the wall, since it was just the plastic fish floating across the road, but I didn’t think that would be a more accurate portrayal of the movie than any of the subsequent trailers.  This movie is flat out weird, in typical Johnny Depp fashion.  The fact that it’s animated does not take away from that weirdness at all, it might even add to it.  This starts out as a fish out of water tale, where our hero who is initially nameless but dubs himself Rango finds himself lost in the desert and eventually finds Dirt, a town low on water that could use a hero.  Out of practically nowhere and through a series of misinterpreted events, Rango is dubbed that hero and works to save the town.

The Thing is, it’s pretty freaky

If you haven’t seen John Carpenter’s The Thing, please see that before seeing this movie.  Since this is a prequel you don’t really need to see it to understand the story, but I feel as though it would be ruined by seeing this one first.  It is a classic horror movie, and was amazing effects for its time, and really the new The Thing is the same basic film, just prettied up with modern effects.  And that is not a bad thing!  The movie is still terrifying and Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. (don’t ask me to say that out loud) made it his own with the monster effects and the kills, and it will still get you to jump out of your seat several times.

Rocky, but less robotic

Real Steel is a good movie.  There, I said it.  Everyone was initially turned off by the over-simplified premise, in that Hugh Jackman was going to be a trainer for robot boxers, or Rock-em Sock-em Robots THE MOVIE!  But really, instead of a modern underdog boxer story like Rocky, or a boxing story from the past like Cinderella Man, this is the same basic formula, but set in the future.  It’s not just about the boxing though, Hugh Jackman’s character, Charlie Kenton, has a son Max that he is taking care of who is played by Dakota Goyo, who may be the breakout star of this whole movie.  Charlie is basically the unsuccessful jerk of a father that Max never had, while Max is really the one that bring all the personality to this movie.

Anticipating Election Season with The Ides of March

The Ides of March is directed by some actor named George Clooney, and I’ll say this now, it will be good.  In all likelihood, it will be very good but still may disappoint me because it didn’t actually meet my lofty expectations for it.

Like many movies that I expect to enjoy, this one has a solid cast featuring the Oscar nominated and/or winning Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man), and of course, George Clooney.  Even better, none of these people are the protagonist of the film, that character is played by Ryan Gosling, hot off his recent successful performances in Drive and Crazy, Stupid, Love.  

Conan Can't Stop, and I Don't Want Him To

Well, after a brief lay off due to the real world and a test I took Saturday that I had to study for, I’m back. So lets get down to business.

Ever since my 2^rd year in college, I’ve most frequently fallen asleep doing one of two things, watching tv, or watching something, either tv or a movie, on my computer. The latter can be dangerous because you could potentially roll over and destroy your computer so I don’t wholeheartedly recommend it.  This week I went to Netflix in the hope they might have updated their Watch Instantly programming with something I hadn’t seen before and was interested in watching, and they came through in a big way, with the documentary Conan Can’t Stop.