Brave by Pixar (2012)

Just watched "Brave" by Pixar. Good animation, great graphics, but all of a sudden a good cartoon for kids. It's not as good as other cartoons by Pixar that were genius in satisfying older and younger generations at the same time. Remember the magnificent "Incredibles" and many other great ones? Suddenly "Brave" was full of characters and ideas that were previously seen long before in many other cartoons. And the general idea of a generations clash or that thing with the bear... So predictable and used up that it seems that their main mojo that only original ideas and scripts used for their new creations is gone now.

Hey, what the hell, my kids loved it. Perhaps I'm more cynical
Than I like to think of myself... Gotta write a better review. See you later.

Thorough review: The Snow White and The Huntsman (2012)

Resume: Just how ugly should the Evil Queen be (Charlize Theron in that case) so that she would want to kill the Snow White (in that specific case Kristen Stewart)???


- She has Man Hands! (Jerry Seinfeld).


What's with the movie title? I don't get it. So, if you're using Miyazaki style Forest Deer, why don't you just use Miyazaki style Movie titles? :)


Why is it Bella Swann all over again? Did she forget it's a different movie now? Oh, yeah... It's Thor all over again... with an axe though... :)


The following is purely and stricly my personal opinion about the movie.

***

Snow White and the Huntman (2012).
Directed by Rupert Sanders
Written by Hossein Amini, Evan Daugherty, and John Lee Hancock
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, etc.
IMDB rating: 6.6
Metascore: 55 out of 100 (based on 33 critics)
Budget: 170 mln.
Worldwide boxoffice as of June 19, 2012: 250 mln USD.
Date of US release: June 1, 2012.

***

It's a classic story. I bet it's not worth retelling it, even though they tried to make it a bit different, add new twists and turns, still the classic remains a classic. I'm more than confident that three writers tried to do their best, and in the end we've got a (no, no, not stupid) one of the funniest movies of 2012. It's funny. There was only one irritating moment throughout the whole 2 hours and 7 minutes of running time - Kristen Stewart. I have no idea who decided to hire her as a Snow White... And then, I'm buffled as to why you hired Charlize Theron as Evil Queen? It's an equalizer for me. If you hire Kristen Stewart, you hire someone just as her. If you hire Charlize Theron as Evil Queen, you really work your ass off to find an equaly beautiful and classy girl for a Snow White. And for matter - you really hire someone who can act! Something went really wrong...

Didn't it seem hilarious when that "Mirror, Mirror" guy told Charlize that Snow White-Stewart is her menace, that she's more beautiful, that she's gonna topple her? Of course it was hilarious! Then I guess they realized that they got it wrong... Completely wrong... So they tried to smooth it out with another twist (yeah!): Snow White is Life - the deer said so! Evil Queen is Death! The Deer said so, by kneeling before Snow White-Stewart, and if so, yeah, the Queen is Death. So let the Snow White destroy her.

Oh, that mezmerizing scene when Stewart-White Snow turned out alive and brought that fascinating and hypnotizing speech before all the warriors and people with the promise to lead them to victory and they all responded with Yeah, why not? What the fuck, let's fight, that 18 y.o. will bring us happiness, life, etc., etc. What I see is this, (no, no, it's not a spoiler if you've read the classic fairy tale... If not, go and read it, it's about 20 pages long) Snow White kills the Evil Queen, brings life to all the people and lands, sees how good everything goes, and raises TAXES! You gotta pay for a good life!

What the hell about her saving the kingdom? She was in prison for so many years! WTF? What's with the Troll scene in the Dark Forest? So, for whatever reason you have subdued the Troll in the forrest, shouldn't you be able to call him/her/them to war against Evil Queen? The story was so obvious that you knew war is coming - it was a cheap war - and that's exactly why you should have called for Trolls! So, once you failed to make it fun this way, at least you should have brought it a massive scale war of Evil vs Good!

I guess I should stop here... Otherwise it turns into bullshit review. Just one more thing - the movie is really, really, really, really, really tooooo long.... Produceers! Edutors! You were really obliged to cut it to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Or just leave us all scenes where Stewart was not present...

By that I mean that all actors who starred in this movie did their best in that crapy movie! Charlize was just great! Perhaps she was too dramatic, and complex for that simplicity. I see (hope) that she saw the script and said, I don't care who plays how, I will play my best. And that she did. She simply did her best. With the lines she had to say and act for other actresses it would simply be too easy to become hysterical bitches, and you'd wish them to die as the end nears. With Charlize I really thought that the Snow White should die.

Chris Hemsworth (although I really like him) looked like Thor with an axe. But he's a good actor, and at least he did humor the movie goers a couple of times. It's just that he really looks like a rock that's impossible to move. Even when he spoke that silly monologue in front of the sleeping Snow White, he looked quite serioius. I almost screamed - Please, don't kiss her! You've got to move on! Let her go! :)

Sam Claflin (William - Snow White's childhood friend) and Sam Spruell (Evil Queen's Evil brother) - both looked good. It's just that their characters are so obvious from the screenplay. They just made them both boring. Why wouldn't Snow White-Stewart chose or wake up from William's kiss? He's almost Legolas! Nice bow shooter! As for Evil brother - they made him so weak, he just looked like some pervert whose only idea was sexual contact with the Snow White.

Well the brightest seven spots in the movies are the dwarfs. At first I thought that they hired little people for such roles. I must admit I haven't read or watched trailers for the movie, so I have no idea that the dwarfs are such fine actors! Just think about Bob Hoskins! What a nice feat for the movie! Then we've got other "so-good-to-see-you-onscreen-again" actors! It's Nick Frost from "Paul," "Shaun of the Dead," and "Hot Fuzz." It's Ian McShane from "Deadwood." It's Ray Winstone from "Sexy Beast," and "Beowulf" (the new one). It's Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Brian Gleeson. I know less about the last three, but I've seen them quite often in other movies - they are well known faces to anyone who likes and watches movies a lot. These guys are just fun, why wouldnt they give them more time onscreen? Less time to Stewart and more to them. I really thought that it's Bella all over again. Same gestures, same looks, same sad eyes, same boredom...

Resume: Screenplay and story - D. Kristen Stewart - D. Charlize Theron - B+ (great, but a bit too serious for that simple crap). All Other Actors - B (impressive, but poorly written characters). Cinematography - yeah, ok. Directing - C (give him a break, it's his first time). Don't have to watch, save time and money.

The Snow White and The Huntsman (2012).

I've just watched it. The Snow White and The Huntsman. This one deserves a thorough review... My tagline for the movie and the biggest question of the day at the same time: How ugly should the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) be, so that you'd wish to kill the Snow White (Kristen Stewart)???

Goon (2011).

Resume: This is probably the most sincere movie I've seen recently.

Director: Michael Dowse

Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates.

Written by: Evan Goldberg, Jay Baruchel.

Produced by: Don Carmody, Ian Dimerman, David Gross, Jay Baruchel, etc.

The plot of the movie is quite simple. Doug Glatt is a bouncer in a local bar. He is dumb to do anything else, and what is more important who knows damn too well that he actually can't do anything else. His family is jewish, and his father is a surgeon as well as his younger brother. That makes him some sort of an outcast in his own family, who try to deal with the fact that their older son doesn't really fit the perfect family picture (nevermind that their younger son is gay). So, very early in the movie Doug goes to a hockey game with his friend, and after his friend has a word brawl with one of the hockey players Doug ends up beating that hockey player badly. And that's when one of the coaches notices him and recruits him as an enforcer in the team. So, for a stupid Doug is all starts out anew. He gets a weird double chance of simply fighting on ice and protecting other players, never really becoming a hockey player...

As I said the plot is very simple. I don't think more should be said about it. I'm hopeful that after reading this review you'll rent a movie and watch it. After I finished the movie the first thing (besides the movie of course) that surprised me was that Jay Baruchel was not only a sidekick to Doug, but also a writer, and a producer. And for that I take off my hat... Wasn't Jay one of those  young funny looking gays in "Rules of Attraction" who almost died among his hysterical friends? Wasn't he the one talking about blu-ray and hd-dvd fight between hollywood moguls in "Tropic Thunder"? Of course that was him. But I would never imagine that he could write and/or produce and act in one and the same movie at the same time. That stuff happens rarely and most of the time ends up bad. Not in this case. His was in the movie, but wisely as a sidekick no more, no less. So, basically he can and he can do it well. I sincerely wish him succes in all that conquest. I hope that he can truly bring to the big screen other projects that would be very good.

Although "Goon" had a very limited release (only 241 theatres) and I couldn't find the movie budget on the web, it's total boxoffice was 6.4 mln USD. Can the movie be a relative success, perhaps it did ok with DVD sales and rentals, and license sale to television? May well be. May well not be. Still it doesn't undermine the goods the movie has, and the fact that in my opinion this one is probably the best role Seann William Scott had. I wrote previously that of all the American Pie gang - Seann William Scott is probably the better actor. He's got the talent. He's got the looks. And he's got some charisma. And he acted more than anyone else (nevermind that they were B movies). Seann William Scott looked natural in the movie, he was truly sincere. That's why the movie went so well and didn't look manipulative.

A good scene was when his family came to see him play/fight for the team. His happiness was beyond any doubt, while his father and mother only thought how horrible the whole thing was. So, Doug had a small chance for a mini monologue for his family: I'm dumb and he's gay, deal with it - never sounded better. Another nice scene was when he asked Eva for a kiss. And when the whole team: tired, drunken, drugged, without any goal in their minds start to believe, well that was all ok with me. Of course that was more a dramatization, but didn't it look natural?

Character build up for Doug was smooth and believable. When he says that he'll take one for the team, he'll do what it takes, and he'll fight for the team you do believe him. So, when he's left alone at the gates and takes a puck in his face, it too looked ok. I'm dumb and I'll do everything what it takes for the team. Did you see Goon? What were your feelings when Doug put his face on front of the puck? What's that? Dumb idiot? Dumbass? Couldn't you raise your hands, turn away, or do something else? Well that's exactly what he is, he is dumb.

Didn't you think that it was to artificial between Eva and Doug? No, it didn't seem like that at all. She fell in love with his sincerety, and masculinity. So, it really doesn't matter how smart you are. He's a goon, he's strong, and sincere. Don't you just love that?

So, why did I like that movie personally? Sincerety and truth. Don't you meet guys like Doug once or twice in your life? Aren't you shocked how simple-minded these guys are? Don't they leave you light-hearted and sympathetic. "You silly fool, how can you survive in that cruel world?" - isn't that the idea that crosses your mind whenever you say goodbye to them? And that's the truth, you know guys like him, you've met them, the problem is, they don't stay for long with you. Seann William Scott's Doug is a rare man, whose sincerety you need from time to time, to remind you that you're not a wolf to any other human in your world. He's there to remind you that sometimes you need to take one for your team, friends, family, wife, child, girlfriend, or baby brother wholeheartedly. You don't have to calculate the goods whenever you have a chance to help someone.

To make a much better comment on Doug's character: he's not that dumb. He sees that other team players don't really respect him, and poke fun at him, he sees that Xavier Laflamme is a drug addict, he sees that coach really has only one purpose for him, he understands his position in the team well to much. But for him being in a team is already an achievement he could never dream of. Yet, he'll waste himself for the team. It was nice to see when Laflamme finally takes him as a partner, and Doug is fully grateful for that.

Other characters were good too. I don't mean to describe all of them - but they all looked very organic in the movie. Watch that movie from time to time to remind you of simple kindness at least. I bet you'll enjoy it more at home than at a movie theatre. As I said in the beginning - it's one of the most sincere movies I watched recently.

More editing.

I must appologize to all who read my blog about movies. I'm doing it for the first time, and most of the time I'm in a rush. I feel an urge to do something as fast as I can, or try to be relevant... I do that at the expense of the quality of my writing. I shall not do this anymore. I will spend more time editing my small articles, so that you may enjoy it without saying "fuck, so many mistakes..."


Now I'll sacrifice relevance to quality. From that very moment. I've edited my piece on Prometheus. I won't edit other articles, but I'll spend a couple days more on every other new review in the future.


If you are reading my blog - a BIG THANK YOU! Stay tuned. More to come in a couple of days. :)


BR.

Prometheus (2012) final review.

Prometheus made big headlines, there was great anticipation, fine viral marketing, great teasers, and Damon Lindelof as a writer... after the hype is gone I believe that the story sucks, alien-prequel-anticipation looks like a spinoff, and the movie leaves you stumbled, or if you've got a great sense of humor, you feel amused :)


So, the story is stupid, you are wide open to make guessess and build your own interpretations of everything. And that really sucks. Some movies (for that sake even Inception is great) leave you debating, and arguing, and talking about it afterwards. Movies like Inception are a treat, they really give you food for thought, while Prometheus doesn't really "feed your brain."  We've seen stuff like that before, nothing new at all. Search for eternal life, search for "creators," "engineers" in this case, etc.??? Been there, done that before. (However, must note, I watched it in Russian in a movie theatre. Still how bad can you translate that?). So, big F for the story. Some may argue with me on that, and Prometheus may easily be likable by teens (R-rated by the way), yet there are more powerful stories on that very topic.


Let's talk about visual effects. Now that stuff is great. There's no complaining about that. And there you've got a problem as it turns out in movies like this one: hey, we've got bad story, let's make great visuals, find star cast, add sex with Charlize Theron, and we've got a hit. And that's exactly what they did.


Now the actors in Prometheus are great. Even though they have to say those stupid lines, and act in weird story arcs, they do their best. How about that ridiculous scene when Charlize and Idris talk about having sex? Absolutely stupid, served no purpose at all. Sometimes such scenes are necessary to build a character (in this case with Charlize), but it looked so artificial and so unnecessary that it rang no bell. Still Mr. Elba could make it look decent, thanks to his talent. 


Noomi Rapace acted decently, and looked good in "Ripley's shoes," but even Ripley couldn't be superhuman! I understand that it's the future, everything's evolved and progressed and the technological advances blow your mind... But, please explain it to me, how can a woman give birth to an alien creep, staple her belly, and run around like Rambo? That's no sci-fi, that's a fairy tale. I bet we'll see more of her in her Hollywood career. She's one of those actressess that can really play different roles easily due to her looks. I mean that she can easily be a badass (Lisbeth Salander) or the hero (Elisabeth Shaw). Two completely different, yet strong characters. We'll see her next year in Passion directed by Brian de Palma with Rachel McAdams (Rachel is a charming one).


Sean Harris, an assasin and right-hand of Cesare Borgia, and band leader in 24 Hour Party People, is a pleasure to see. However, they didn't give him much time, which is a pity. His talent is far beyond that nervous asshole he played. I'm sorry he died so early in the movie. He could've saved masterfully a few more meaningless scenes just by being there...


Charlize Theron was ok, but that's not her fault. Her character was actually unnecessary. And that's true, you could easily erase her character, and the story won't change much. She was the one brought for box-office success, and she did her job well. (Of course, that argument may sound weak since her other movie The Snowwhite and the Huntsman didn't do as well, although she was the main antagonist there).


Idris Elba was also fun. He could've been boring, for he is the captain of the ship, and what could you make out of it (Unless you're Mel Reynolds created by Joss Whedon). Why on earth would he give his life up just because Dr. Shaw told him something quite incomprehensible? That was very uncovincing... It made me cry.You really have to make your case, before someone agrees to die for anything. At least for us: the viewers. And if their small ship - not a battlefield one - could easily destroy "engineers' " ship, why couldn't those people on planet Earth do it just as easily without sacrificing anybody's life? Shouldn't they have a big Bomb there in 2089?


Now the two most interesting characters and two most notable roles here are of Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland and Michael Fassbender as David. I've always loved Guy Pearce. The first time I saw him in LA Confidential I loved his acting. The second time I saw him in Memento I was confident that he's one of the most talented actors of his generation. It's a pity that he's not on screen that often. And the way he played Peter Weyland is beyond any praise. Although Weyland's desires are cliche, Mr. Pearce was more than convincing in such desires. His acting was quite powerful, and due to makeup, he's done his best by acting with his eyes. Watch the scene with him and Charlize Theron as they talk. You'll know what I mean.


As for Michael Fassbender as David he easily became a center piece of Prometheus. All the weaknesses of the movie are somewhat reimbursed with his character and the way he portrayed him. He is probably the only character you sympathize with, or even more, empathize... What is more fun, he's an android. It's always a problem with androids. You're not really sure if they are half-human. First anroid in Alien was pure evil! But he was programmed to do so. Second android was a good guy. But he was programmed to be so! Here not everything is as clear... I'm not sure why writers had to mess with that idea too... Can he feel, does he understand he's AI, is he angry, did he poison Charlie Holloway out of spite, or because he was programmed to do so, or because it's both? Why did you mess with that kind of shit? He is an android who looks like an android, his facial expressions were limited, then why did you add that stupid emotional side to him? Nevertheless Michael Fassbender did a great job. Even though his character is dubious (or may be because of that) he looked more real than any other character there. And once his facial expressions were limited here, he was able (just as I said about Guy Pearce) to act with his eyes only. You could read hate, disgust, arrogance - all in his eyes!


Resume: Shity story, Alien looks like a spinoff, a certain side-effect (if you erase any mention of Alien it would even be better!), great Pearce and Fassbender. The only reason you decide to watch it is for actors like Pearce and Fassbender, for anything else it's a waste of time. If you wanna look for the meaning of life, eternal life, "creators" and "engineers" watch other movies that make more sense and will leave you in a philosophical mood... This one will not. Even Dogma has more sense, creativity, and is more controversial!

Prometheus (2012 film) by Ridley Scott.

A short note about that movie. How can an R rated movie collect 50 mln at the boxoffice? That's not all... I think I must share the fact that Prometheus is so incomprehensible and the story is so poor that I'm so freaking amazed by the fact that it could collect so much money in it's first outing. Yet the answer seems simple. Great cast, great viral campaign, great visual effects, and a lot of cash spent on marketing... they really know their job. Mark my words, it'll lose a lot during the second week run... Someone said that it's all about Charlize Theron that account for the good boxoffice run, yet we see "Snowwhite and the Huntsman" falling rapidly and Charlize Theron is the main antagonist in the movie... Moviegoers didn't really do that well for her... Or maybe that's because "Madagascar's Europe's Most Wanted" cut through it. Still Prometheus managed to get a hefty 50 mln with Madagaskar on it's way.


I should write more about, but as I see it: Pooooooooor story, gooooooood visuals, great acting from almost everyone in the main cast (Rapace, Fassbender, Pearce and others), and again pooooooooooor story (just as incomprehensible as Lost series - was that Lindelof writing for Prometheus? Now it's all clear for me)... In a couple of days I'll write more about that grand-scale scam called Prometheus.... Stay with me...

Madagaskar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

(I haven't edited this one, I just wrote it, I'll edit it later :) Just wanted to share about it asap)


Now that animation is just a feast for the eyes, and mind-bending story that goes beyond borders... Just as my wife and I watched the final titles the feeling of a celebration struck us wave after wave, as if we are both wind-surfers unexpectedly covered by those desirable ocean waves to make our great surfing show... Yes, that was just some non-stop journey, and I might say that each new sequel to the first is just better than the previous one. Madagaskar The First - was ok. Nothing so special except for the Self-Proclaimed King Julian, and those Penguins that made is so fun to watch. Now the second was even better. There it started that non-stop ride fromt the beginning till the end... and it left our main characters stuck, but with the expectation of a great ride ahead... So, right when I watched the first trailer with the "I'm sexy and I know it" song in the background I knew - that's gonna be something really, really enjooyable...


So, here's the story. Our main characters Alex the Emphatic-To-Be-Leader-Lion, Marty the Party-Animal-Zebra, Melman the Crazy-Romantic-Phlegmatic-Giraffe-In-Love, and Big-and-Chunky Gloria the Hippo are left in Africa. Penguins leave them, promise to come back, but don't want to come back and spend all the African Gold and Gems in Monte Carlo... Soon enough home sick Alex realizes that pengiins and chimps are not coming back, so, if they want to go home, they have to go to Monte Carlo and persuade them to go home... And that's where it all starts... We've got just about 5-10 minutes of all that sweet home-sick drama, and enough is enough... right after that you've got a thrill ride of your life! And that's not worth talking about, that's worth watching. Because on their way home, they meet so many wonderful and fascinating characters that their whole journey becomes a Circus... :)


Well we are all quite familiar with the main characters from two other stories, and they are basically the same... All those great voices from Stiller, Rock, Pinkett-Smith and Swimmer do their job at the best... But what is worth mentiong are the NEW crazy characters they meet on their way and the first one worth great praise is Captain Chantel DuBois by Frances McDormand! What a feat! What a character! A true fanatic of animal control, extremely professional, knows her job well better than other guys in other jobs... She has the strength to digest all those misfortunes that Alex's Gang put her through... What an acccent! You just watch how she rides on her scooter through the streets of Monaco! Now that's something that really blows your mind, as you would never expect such a crazy fantasy in action from the creators of Madagaskar 3. They way she finds the Gang, they way she sees where and how they go, and the way she deals with the Italian police!!! Worth every moment! With all her serious great drama roles in Cohen brothers' movies, you'd never expect such a character  explode in motion animation on screen (yeah, yeah! She always looks so serious!)....


Another great character of course is Stefano the Sea Lion with the well below the average IQ by Martin Short... And Martin Short we all know him! A great master of comedy, any comedy, but most of all physical... I believe that most of his physical comedy went into Stefano. He's the major force in the lacklustre circus - who actually still believes that they can regain all that glory of the past... but he's just a believer and he doesn't know what to do next... (well perhaps with the understanding of his low IQ :) he knows that he's unable to do anything, but he really believes in it.. and when he meets Alex, he blindly trusts that he can revive the show). Stefano is probably the brightest star in the third movie. My great great thanks to Mr. Short for such a character! (I'm a fan of Mr. Short from long time ago, since the first time I saw "Three Amigos!")... His dialogues with Alex and others are so funny, so entertaining, and by the end of the movie when you see him in trouble, you almost weep :) (well don't worry, Stefano gets saved by the Gang, but you've got to see it.)


A character which just had to be there for a dramatic element is Vitalyi the Russian tiger voiced by Bryan Cranston. Well this character just had to be there, so that everyone unites around him, and he unites everyone for one sigle cause. There's more fun about him when they escape the Zoo, but as for the rest of the show he remained quite predictable. Gia The Classy Lovely Jaguar is almost like that, but of course a good character, also with a quite predictable story line.Other fun characters are the little dogs, and one voiced byt Vinnie Jones. Vinnie Jones is always a nice actor to watch and hear... Well he's got that spark and that grand stature that's always nice to see and hear. Especially funny knowing that he voices the smallest dog from the Circus.


Well, another new Animal makes it curious for Madagaskar 3 is Sonya the Bear. While it's ok that all animals talk, their mimics is fun and lively, they think and act, run and plan, drive planes, fix machines and etc., Sonya is a Dumb bear... She actually is an animal unlike all those human like pengiuns, Vitalyi with his fears and past troubles, Alex with his home-sickness, Marty with his wild desires for a travelling and even Melman with his love for Gloria... All of a sudden among all those caricature wild beasts, Sonya is a real beast. She's a bear! And a true circus bear who can ride a bicycle (later a motorbike)... Her loveline with Julian is fun to watch, but why make her so different from the rest? Perhaps that was the idea, because it wouldn't be as charming between Julian and Sonya the way they made it. Their romantic trip to Vatican, their break-up wouldn't look as lovely.


Anyway - all new characters are fun, some more, some less... But that's the Circus... Some are more, and some are less... And in the end what's that all about? THE CIRCUS! The whole magic of the circus is right there, before your eyes. That colorful feast as I have perhaps said before is just what makes it so upbeat. You feel so enlivened! Madagaskar 3 is probably more enjoyable for adults for all those gags and jokes, and parodies in the Naked-Gun-Hot-Shots-Airplane style, but it is more enjoyable for kids for all those Circus shows the old Gang and the new Gang created to lift up their spirits and get their mojo back... Imagination blasts from inside of you, you're out of control! And both kids and adults watch the Circus with admiration, but having different feelings...I'm not sure what kids feel, but adults I believe simply recall their childhood, and all the magic of those circus shows from their long-forgotten past... From the times they don't really remember visually, but remember it with their guts, with that tickly feeling in the circus of their childhood...


Hoorah to creators! They've managed to create a cartoon for both kids and adults! They've managed to balance great fun, and a bit of sad! They've managed to make the third movie better than the first, and the second (and to tell you the truth I didn't like much the first one, but enjoyed greatly the second one). If you haven't seen it, do it right away! Take your family! Your kids! By the end you'll be sorry that Madagaskar finished so early... On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this cartoon an 8! It's really worth watching in in the movie theatre, rather than at home. 3D is pretty good, so don't miss it!

Those are brave men knocking on our door... Let's go kill them!

What a feat! What an episode! Oh, yeah... and Tyrion! Dinklage at his best. Though the chaos of the battle was more or less ok, it was far more complex and intense. Tyrion's decision to go for battle wasn't dictated by the fact that there was no one else to lead as it was shown there. He didn't mean for Joffrey to lead. He knew Joff would never and could never do that. His only purpose for Joff was that he simply stays in the eyes of all men fighting. Dog ran away during the battle, and Tyrion hardly knew of that. It was rage that dictated his decision to go for battle. It was his duty as a hand to go there, knowing that there's simply no one else to lead. It was fear that he could die easily, so at least half-man would die with an axe in his hand. It was a pure rage that while he was doing his best to save the city and its people, everyone in King's Landing thought he was the reason for all the misgivings (in fact most of that is Cersei's fault, due to her poor management skills, if I may put it. She didn't care, while he cared a bit, but also knew of the dangers of all those poor hungry men hold while in the city). It was also the desire to prove to his father that even though he's a dwarf, he's also a man. There's also Shae, if not him, then who would protect her. And when he was in a battle it was pure adrenaline rush when he fought more and killed more than shown in ep. 9.

So, why am I saying that? The answer is simple - they showed that he was a man put in a corner and was made to make that decision. While in a book his showed pure bravery of a little man, who knew he's there to die for King's Landing. What's good to see in ep. 9 was the fact that Tyrion was just as sorry for Stanis' men, as he was for himself and his men. Notice his sorrow as wildfire burst and destroyed the ships, and he looks at Joff who's smiling? That one was a good stroke from the creators and writers.

Nevertheless a fantastic episode. Most enjoyable - WILDFIRE! That was just awesome! Summary: Tyrion was brave and you believe when you read a book. He wasn't just cornered to go to the battle.

While also watching the final episode I realised that perhaps the best casting was that of a Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister. Why? Well because in a book that guy is cold, pragmatic, possesses great political and war knowledge, well in general he's some sort of a genius in all that stuff. It's quite easy to portray that kind of a person. Yet Charles Dance brings him as a human for a man whom Westerosi think "shit's gold." Some of the characters you would imagine yourselves as looking like this or that when reading the books, but it's only Charles Dance who fits Tywin Lannister so perfectly (of course it's my humble opinion). Not only he does portray Tywin the way you would imagine and enjoy, but he's got that great ability to add a few strokes of his own to make him even more great, dangerous, charismatic. If you were his enemy, say if it were Charles Dance, you'd certainly be afraid of him, and respectful. If you do so, you could live a few more days, but you'll lose eventually.

After a dissapointing ep. 8 - where everything went wrong, dull, and not as it was in the book (yeah, I didn't quite like it when they had to change important stuff that happened in Harrenhall so that Arya doesn't kill, why? Tell me why??? It was so important for the character development to see her kill the guard at Harrenhall to escape) ep. 9 was such a meatball to enjoy... :)

Endnote: Tyrion is as good as you expect him to be, thanks to Dinklage. Charles Dance is coming out to front stage. Witchhunt is about to begin as Dog leaves the King. Cersei is about to be... (spoilers!)... Let's wait for the season finale...

We Bought A Zoo (2011).

Directed by Cameron Crow. Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Budget 50 mln USD. Worldwide gross 113 mln USD.

It's a boring one.

Trailer for Armour of God 3: Chinese zodiac.

Hey guys! Jackie's back! That's his trailer for Chinese Zodiac aka Armour of God 3... That's his good old-fashioned style that we love him for that much... As said, Hollywood has messed with him, and reduced all his skills to bad English... After that movie, and so sorry that it's going to be his last action movie (or he's just saying it...), we may love him for what he is and what he did to kung-fu movies... Full packed action, nice humor, pure joy!

Armour of God 3: Chinese Zodiac.

Jackie's back! He's doing it in his classic style and doing it for the last time... That's a pity of course, but we've got to see his classic stunts that make him great. Well that's why we loved him, but once he got to hollywood it all went wrong. Certainly his Rush Hour trilogy went well with the general public, but that's not goold ol' Jackie we knew... So we hope that on December 12, 2012, preliminary release date for Chinese Zodiac, will be just as exciting as his other movies were and are. Hollywood spoiled his style, ruined it!!! Hoorah for the Jackie reborn!!!

Gangster Squad.

Just watched a new trailer on IMDB for Gangster Squad and I'm excited to watch that movie. Well of course the trailer for the movie is good, and those guys are good at making those trailers. It's pretty self explanatory as you watch it. So, we see here real life batman's, who with the decision of the top-top-top policy makers, policeman who really go to war with all the gangs in order to clear LA of them. The rule of law being established with blood. They go beyond doubt and never arrest anyone, since they realize that if they act according to the letter of law they will always lose that street war. They have to be unlashed so that they can level the playing field with the bad guys. Well that was always interesting to see, wasn't it? It's some kind of a mixture of LA Confidential and Untouchables, but rough for a contemporary folk. At least that's what the trailer suggests...


But what have we got more. We've got Ruben Fleischer - the guy who made the hillarious "Welcome to Zombieland." - Yeah! That's the guy who dared killing Bill Murray! And the audience loved it. Well who like if not Bill Murray could do it in such a Murray-style-hillarious fashion??? However, that's a completely different genre for Fleischer, and that's a wonder. It seems more like a genre for many other directors, who have really done something like that before. Well, perhaps, and that's my greatest hope, Ruben may just do something different or let's say add something new to the genre as he did with the "Zombieland." (Still, Zombie land was fun, hysterical at times, and a general parody, and Gangster Squad looks like the real stuff). Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.


There is a lot to hope for, and crossing our fingers may work, because we've got... Yeah, we've got them! Actors! We've got Nick Nolte as Bill Barker - the guy who says "don't arrest them!" And it's Nick Nolte do I need to say more? We've got the guy with fascinating versatility as Giovannin Ribisi, and I just love him. Wasn't he the doctor in Saving Private Ryan, and the Phoebe's brother in friends? Even if there was no one else I know in the movie, I'd go to see him in that kind of a role. But there's more. There's Josh Brolin! The characters he plays make me believe may beat anyone with a bat to death and tell a woman that he loves her with the same expression on his face. Perhaps that was some wrong comparison, but that guy's got charisma. He's that tough guy you don't wanna mess with. Just remember how desperately he ran and ran in "No Country for Old Men," even though he knew he was a deadman already? Yet he remained tough until the very end. (There's also Michael Pena there, but I don't really like him. He's always the same in every movie he plays. I don't know why. He's got the same expression on his face in every scene, and every movie. Perhaps he can do something different in that movie? Can Ruben Fleischer do something about his acting?)


We see Robert Patrick there! That T-1000 killing machine. I always like him, and felt sorry that he wasn't in many more movies. Shouldn't he have been a great star right after the movie, I mean Terminator 2: Judgement Day? Well nevertheless, it's always a pleasure to see him in any movie, and this movie may turn out something special.


There's also Anthony Mackie, Sgt JT Sanborn from The Hurt Locker. To tell you the truth I haven't seen any other movies with him, but he was quite good in The Hurt Locker. So, I won't tell more about him, just one thing, he was good in The Hurt Locker.


Then we've got Ryan Gosling, I believe many magazines would call him a heartthrob :) Well, I know that he played in many movies in that specific roles that ladies like, but more recently he starred in "Drive" and "Ides of March" for which I read some reviews from sources I respect and they put a good word for him. So, after I watch those movies, I'll tell more. Well ladies, that heartthrob is changing his amplua, he's not cliche nice-guy anymore I guess, and that movie is made primarily for male audience... So you may not even see that movie.


And now, we've finally got Sean Penn. What is funny about him, is that he's got some funny make-up on his face. Some big nose, and may be something more, but he's the guy who resembles Sean Penn. He looks funny, but we may expect such a tough line from his character who is a high-class gangster that he may look like a real menace to all...


There's no date for that movie for now (at least there's no info on imdb.com) but it may come much later... well at least after The Dark Knight, or it will spoil it all for movie. Everything realeased on a week and after The Dark Knight released is doomed. Don't do it to the "Gangster Squad."


(Let's make it top priority movie, for those who like tough-guy movies, and enjoy all those actors just as I do) :)

Once in a while...

Once in a while I become crazy about crazy social networks... This time I'm tumblr crazy... Two months ago it was teotter... Yeah, right I discovered twitter two months ago...

Children of Men.

That's the kind of a movie I want to watch now and then... Well to tell the truth I'm watching it two or three times a year... It's the kind of a movie that makes you really sad and gets you down to earth. Sometimes, especially if you're working a lot and your work is quite routine, that movie awakens you. Every time I finish it, it makes me feel that I'm underappreciating everything and everyone around me. So, I'm quite surprised that the movie didn't get major award like Oscar. Well, who cares, those guys sometimes just don't get. But that's just my humle opinion...


Anyway, that movie in the words of one reviewer, whom I respect, Alex Exler, said the movie is very honest. I can't disagree more. Once people can't give birth anymore, isn't it a worthy idea to die for a single possible idea that there may be a kid... a child, unborn, but a possibility to save humanity from itself?


Those of you who watched the movie, of course may note that it's cinematography is great, especially those long shots that are more evident by the movie's end. Those scenes when they're saving a kid in the fugee's camp, and when a child cries, everything stops... everyone stops in disbelief...


You wanna remember what you are made for, watch that movie. Everything is great about it... Everything.