Friday, May 6, 2011

MOVIES FOR THE WEEKEND

I'll be seeing Thor this weekend, though I'd like to see it in 2D rather than 3D.  I only want to plunk down the extra greenbacks if the movie has been SHOT and CONCEIVED in 3D (like Transformers 3 or Avatar).  I'll likely see it Sunday.  Thor was never my favorite superhero (Batman, Supes, Capn America, Ironman and Green Lantern action figures were always played with before Thor) but I still always enjoyed the cosmic aspects to his story and the fact that he seemed like such an outsider.

Shipping today from Netflix is the 2010 Oscar winner for best foreign language film, The Secret in Their Eyes.

Just sent back Conviction. Very compelling story, another great performance by Sam Rockwell, and a reminder that one is capable of doing anything. Yes -- there was definitely a TV-movie/Lifetime sheen and storytelling quality to the whole thing but it was still a solid piece of work. I just can't believe that guy got screwed like that; further proves the point that legal injustice happens everywhere. How did Melissa Leo's cop not go to jail?  It's based on a true story so you can't really say too much about the fact that the characters don't really grow or change -- it is what is so not much you can really do. What I find fascinating is that the guy died about 2 years after his sister got him out of jail -- after getting wasted and falling off a ledge, or some bogus shit like that. The idea that she did all that for her brother was inspiring and I had no real problems with Swank (she's always good) despite her sketchy Bahstan accent. And as mentioned before, Rockwell was a powerhouse. Also -- Juliette Lewis NAILED her cameo.

5 comments:

Joel said...

"Thor" is pretty good! The earth-bound sequences are a bit lacking, but when it hits Asgard, the film goes to "300"-level greatness. The storyline while on Asgard is thrilling, emotional and cumulatively kind of powerful--dead serious. Unfortunately, for me, when it's on Earth, the film almost screeches to a halt. It's all really entertaining, but it actually has an astounding cosmic element that I think it could've stuck with. If it did, it would be on the level of stuff like "Watchmen" or "300."

Actionman said...

Interesting comments. You see it in 3-D or 2-D?

Joel said...

3D, which was a mistake. The most thrilling sequence, set on an ice world, is rendered almost completely dark by the 3D (since the process darkens the natural images by a few shades). But I didn't mind it, really, and it didn't give me a headache. Seeing it again tonight in 2D.

Actionman said...

Everyone is saying that the 3D is useless and simply tacked on to make an extra buck. I will definitely see it 2D.

Actionman said...

Thor was Masters of the Universe with a budget. It was enjoyable but nothing incredible. It fits in nicely with the Marvel movie world and Chris Hemsworth will be a good addition in The Avengers. I liked the stuff on Asgard -- pretty cosmic/trippy.