Seen Recently At Theater
- Chicken Run
- Gladiator
- The Patriot
- U 571
- The Perfect Storm
- Space Cowboys
- X Men
- The Replacements
- Remember the Titans
- All the Pretty Horses
- The Legend of Bagger Vance
- Along Came a Spider
I love the big screen and go when I can. Looking back over this list it occurs to me that this is a weak summer for cinema.
Chicken Run....A lot of fun. I understand that this film is British. I believe it because no American studio would take a chance on this type of film. This film shamelessly parodies a lot of action/adventure escape films. The best allegory; chicken coop is #17. Fun from start to finish.
Gladiator...I and every one else have covered this film elsewhere. I liked the film even with the some of the minor flaws. Russell Crowe continues to impress. This film may be his break through (even more than the INSIDER).
The Patriot.... Overhyped, over-rated and mostly overacted. Every time the action lagged in this three hour film (and this was all to often) the director decided to spice things up by putting Mel Gibson's family in danger. The villians were shallow and one dimensional. I loved Braveheart even though it trampled history, but I cannot sanction the foolishness of rewriting the American Revolution.
U 571.....A pleasnt surprise. I went expecting mindless summer drivel and got a tight, tense, well acted thriller. This film also took license with fact (the Brits actually captured the Enigma machines), but the changes were for the sake of the story and not meant to completely fabricate history.
The Perfect Storm...."Water, water everywhere and all the boards did shrink" In this case the seats seemed to shrink. Too much water, too little plot.
Space Cowboys.... See below. I loved it.
X Men.... I hate to admit this but my mutant mania goes all the way back to the early 70's. This film is great for the X Men comic fans and even good for those uninitiated to the Marvel world.
The Replacements.... Predictable, silly and yet still fun. Maybe I'm becoming mellower with age.
Remember the Titans.... This must be the time for football movies. Why are they all so predictable. This film is laid against the back drop of 1971 court-ordered busing in Alexandria Virginia. The idea is that the football team overcomes the integration issue and triumphs. Now where have I heard this before? Pretty good acting by Will Patton. Denzel is only ok. Some of the supporting cast do a good job.
All the Pretty Horses.........Now let's see, Billy Bob directs; Matt acts and they both try to out-Ford John Ford. Let's get this out of the way up front, the film was beautifully photographed and a true pleasure to watch. I hear some critics have panned the film as a snoozer. I didn't see it that way. Damon underacted, Billy Bob underdirected and what came out was way above alot of dramas I've seen lately.
The Legend of Bagger Vance.....Way too cute for my tastes although the Walter Hagan part was well done.
Along Came A Spider......Well acted and tense, if a bit unbelievable. Better than average for the genre.
Hey, sk, what did you think of SPACE COWBOYS? I haven't seen it yet myself, but how bad could it be with that cast of 'middle aged' white male stars (I mean the actors, not dear old Sol).
Ah bertie my friend you certainly can make Bennett Cerf spin in his grave and I have missed you. I enjoyed SPACE COWBOYS as much as any of these except GLADIATOR and CHICKEN RUN. It probably qualifies as a guilty pleasure. I told my date it reminds me of a cross between ON GOLDEN POND and ARMAGEDDON. Lots of fun with the Tommy Lee Jones part.
This list is begging for a little commentary to go along with each entry. I know how you feel about Gladiator and Chicken Run; what did you think of X-Men?
Good Point. Check it out.
Excellent! Glad to see you liked X-Men; I went in expecting it to be pretty good based on what I'd read, and was still pleasantly surprised.
sk, I wonder how many visitors to this list, and viewers of the movie, will get the "chicken coop #17" reference? An oldie but a goodie. One of Bill H's best.
I wonder myself. Or how many can identify the baseball and glove in the "cooler" allegory. Actually, I always thought #17 was Billy W.'s best also. Throw in Harvey Lembeck and Neville Brand and you have a classic.
Got 'em both. :)
Ah yes! poor old Steve McQueen - what a loss, and what a legacy.
Yes, Steve McQueen movies would make alot of my "guilty pleasures" list. That is if I ever get around to doing one. Either of you see "A Perfect Storm"?
Gee, I guess I'm going to have to break down and check out X-Men soon. I was quite the fan of the comics when I was younger, and I am terribly afraid of being disappointed, but it seems most fans have been pleasantly surprised by it. Hopefully, my experience will be the same.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I've heard that rabid fans have been upset by some liberties taken (mainly with the costumes, perhaps - as Brian Singer said, "you simply can't put a guy in blue longjohns with yellow briefs on the outside in front of a modern audience and expect to be taken seriously." Or something to that effect.). Personally, I'm aware of the comic and what it's about, major characters, etc., but I've never actually read it, so my "thumb's up" might not count for much, but I'm glad to see that sk -- a fan -- liked it.
I think what bothered some of the X-Men purists is the failure to incorporate several of the old team members into the story. Lets face it the 60's and 70's characters won't stand up to the cinematic light of the 21st century (although I thought the Iceman character could have stood some more exposure.) The costumes did not bother me at all. However, I always felt that the X-men's costumes were cheesy anyway. I would be very upset if the Spiderman movie changed the Webslingers costume. Lbangs if you are a fan of the comic you should see the movie.