I saw The Green Hornet last night and was trying to come up with a way to tell folks what a good movie it was. Loads of fun, completely irreverent, and a total hoot.
But while I was searching for a way to say it, I stumbled across io9's review, whose title alone said the whole thing better than I could:
So read their review, which sums it up very well, then I highly recommend going to see The Green Hornet. I laughed myself silly, and the explosions were pretty good, too.
In 1964, Stanley Kubric's amazing satire Dr. Strangelove hit the theatre. It poked fun at the cold war mindset, at the paranoia and fear-mongering of the military complex, and the laughable, horrifying idea that someone thought there could be winners in a nuclear war. Some say that it was the single best film about the stupidity of the cold war.
Also shot in 1964. Also about the cold war. Not a satire, but a riveting drama that haunts you for days afterwards. It died at the box office because Stanley Kubric found out about it and insisted his movie be released first. A serious movie released after a satire on the same subject does not make a box office smash.
The two books upon which the movies are based, Red Alert (which became Dr. Strangelove) and Fail-Safe are nearly identical. So much so that the writer of Red Alert sued the writers of Fail-Safe for plagerism. It was settled out of court.
Despite that dubious honour, Fail-Safe is an incredible film. Directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men), the use of lighting, close-ups, and silence drive the tension in this film sky-high. And the ending will leave you shocked.
If you like, you can see it on Google Video, but you'll have to watch it in pieces. I say, rent it or find it, and watch it all the way through. It's incredible.
Escaped the desk and got out to the movies tonight (last night, now). Caught a showing of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Great movie. Riveting, suspenseful, horrifying in just the right way.
The opening was mighty gory, as one might expect from a zombie movie set after the zombies have taken over. It looked like the director and special effects team had watched hyenas fighting over a still-squirming zebra decided that it wasn't enough.
But once I got past that, and it took a few minutes to get past, I laughed my ass off. The movie is funny, fast-paced and even had a couple of moments that actually tugged on the heart strings.
Plus a whole bunch of zombie-killing that was a whole lot of fun.
They set out with this movie to renew a franchise which, let's face it, has been slowly dying out. I think they just might succeed, if they can keep the writing tight and the movies looking as good as this one.
Valentine's Day today and what better way to enjoy it than going to see a creepy kid's movie?
(After a really, really good dinner. Steak oscar with crab and a shrimp skewer. Yum.
Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman, is amazing. Excellent animation, excellent combination of stop motion and CGI. And well acted, too, I thought. Fairly faithful to the book, from what I remember. And take a good look at Coraline's dad and think of who he looks like.
Excellent movie, highly recommend it. Do not take small children to it. It is rated PG-13 for a reason.
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