Saturday Night At The Movies: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

I've read and loved all of the books in this series.  They manage to be very suspenseful.

The concept of the Peculiars with their varied abilities inspired by strange old photographs which were included in the books is just so fascinating.  I loved that they used some of them in the film as well.

The film really explains the "time loops" the children and Miss Peregrine live in, which you'd think might be a difficult concept.

 

All of the actors, particularly Eva Green as Miss Peregrine were just spot on.  Rarely has a book been brought to life so charmingly and faithfully.

Asa Butterfield as Jacob portrays the boy becoming a man under the most frightening and wonderful circumstances.  His father was exactly the silly goof that he was in the book.  Kim Dickens from Fear The Walking Dead was an odd choice for the mom.  Maybe I just can't picture her in another role now.

It was a bit of a cheat to have Jacob's grandfather alive at the end.

A few reviews compared the Home For Peculiar Children to the X-Men, how ridiculous.  The children were always in the time loop to protect them, never to train their "mutant powers".  They were just all accepted as they were in the loops.

I hope there will be more movies from the series!

Saturday Night At The Movies: Doctor Strange

I read a few Doctor Strange comics and liked the character and his occult approach to being a superhero right at the end of my comics reading years.

The movie was fun, I loved Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One and Chilwatel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo.   I loved Strange's buddy The Cloak.

Benedict Cumberbatch made for a very appealing Strange.  Brilliant but broken and ready to learn.   I thought he was perhaps too good of a student, learning way too fast.  At least he didn't gain much wisdom wise and he has a long way to go before he puts others above himself, so there is some character arc to work on ahead.

The city twisting visuals reminded me too much of Inception and took away a bit from the sense of wonder that seeing his powers develop might have had.

I liked the touches of humor throughout.  I hope Mordo will be back, by Thor's Hammer!

Saturday Night At The Movies: Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the story of a young Irish girl who leaves home for a new life in Brooklyn, New York when life seems to offer her nothing in her small Irish town.

Sick on the voyage across the ocean, terribly homesick as she struggles to adjust to life in a new country where she still seems to have nothing and noone, she meets a young man one night at a dance.

He's completely charming, and falls for her almost immediately.  Spending time with him and taking night classes at a local college give her confidence and a feeling of place.

A tragedy at home returns her to Ireland, where she doesn't reveal that she married her young man before leaving Brooklyn.

Everything she didn't have when she left home is suddenly presented to her.  With her bookkeeping certificate she has a temporary job.  She meets a young man she likes who has very good prospects.  She loves spending time with her friends and her mother.  Letters from America go unopened.

It seems she might leave the life she had in America behind to live this wonderful new life at home.

I haven't seen such a sweet movie in a very long time.  Saoirse Ronan is luminous in the role of Eilis Lacey.  The music, the costuming, the portrayal of life in the 40s, all just stunning.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Mockingjay Part 2

Saturday night, popcorn, and the last of the Hunger Games films, that's the way to live.  Mostly it was nice to see the characters a final time.  Everyone of them was so well realized.  To think before it all began, I didn't like any of the choices for the actors.  Wrong once more.

Jennifer Lawrence is always wonderful to watch, but she has been transcendant in the role of Katniss Everdeen from her first moments on the screen.  Here she finishes her heroic journey and emerges triumphant.

That said, while the movie was full of nail biting scenes, explosions, and incredible effects, I thought that dramatically and emotionally it would have been best if Mockingjay had not been split into two films.

Random Thoughts:

President Snow-deliciously evil, though I don't like evil as a rule.  Bad, bad Evil.

Peeta!  Sweetheart of the world.  Great scenes where he just went nuts.

Gale in the books seemed to be more ardently bent on the any means necessary approach.  He had more conscience about his actions here.

Poor sweet Prim.

Julianne Moore's Alma Coin was silkily Evil.  She could seem so convincing.  I loved the moment when she met her arrow of doom.  Muahhahaha.

I had forgotten what the Mutts looked like.  Icky.  Reminiscent of something else I've seen lately, that I cant put my finger on.  Maybe something from Grimm.

Saturday Night At The Movies: World War Z: Zombies Never Disappoint

In preparation for the return of Walking Dead next week, I watched this zombie fest.

Brad Pitt reluctantly leaves his family to try to find a cure for the rapidly spreading Zombie Apocalypse.

He travels to South Korea and then Jerusalem and Wales looking for answers.

For a former Operative of some sort, he seems to have more luck than talent.  I'd expect a bit of Chuck Norris or Mission Impossible but nope, just a worried looking guy just barely avoiding swarms.

The zombie swarms were impressive and frightening.  Instead of shambling dead creatures, zombies here moved like lightning.  They swarmed over walls like piles of insects.

Pitt's character is motivated by his desire to keep his family safe.  His love for them and desire to keep them safe is completely believable. He was very likeable and I was rooting for him all the way.  

I almost feel guilty saying it, but his wife and kids were so annoying.  The little girls kept wandering off, the wife was bored and kept calling him and setting off the zombies.  

A charming bit was Peter Capaldi as a scientist working for WHO.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Oz the Great and Powerful

I finally got around to watching Oz the Great and Powerful.  I hadn't seen it in theaters because I didn't like James Franco as the lead and the "romantic storyline" emphasized in trailers really did not seem like the Wonderful Land of Oz.

The plot has small time carnival player Oz schmoozing his way through performances with a new young woman frequently playing the part of an audience member who assists him in his tricks.  He gives them a pep talk before the show and "his grandmother's music box" (of which he has a seemingly endless supply in his pockets) to show how captivated by them he is.

A show goes awry when a little girl in a wheelchair asks him to fix her legs so she can walk again.  She believes in him, she says.  Stopped mid-speel, he is a bit annoyed and hasn't a quick and slick answer for her except no.  The audience, filled with an unusual amount of rowdy and disbelieving farmers, demands that Oz help her.

As they toss objects at him, he flees the stage, only to have the circus strongman chase him as well on behalf of another circus performer (his wife) lovingly holding a music box.

Safe for a moment in his wagon he is visited by a girl who he has more than the usual connection with, but he fobs her off with his tale of dreams of being a Great Man rather than a Good Man.

In crashes the Stongman, Oz disappears through an escape hole in the floor and he's off to climb into a beautiful balloon with Oz emblazoned on it.  Cue the tornado to whirl him to Oz.

Landing in Oz, he is met almost immediately by a beautiful woman in a red velvet hat and jacket with tight black leather pants.  As quickly as you can say Anachronism the movie has problems. 

Doe-eyed Theodora, a witch who seems knowing yet helpless, falls for Oz immediately and plans to be his queen.  Our slick showman is happy to produce a music box and dance the night away with her, but of course he has no attachment.

Off to the Emerald City which has been watched over by Theodora's blatantly evil sister Evanora since the tragic death of the former Wizard King.

 

The Land of Oz does have some wonders to behold.  Colors are sharp and practically scream look here, look here.

The first view of the Emerald City, done with technology that should be wondrously advanced since 1939 looks like a cheap backdrop painting.  Once in the city, you just see the throne room, no tour on the way to the palace to take in the beautiful city as seen for the first time through the eyes of newcomer Oz.

Later as he is finishing a tour given by Evanora you see the city at night from a height and it looks huge and complex.  It just isn't the introduction to this place which is the heart of Oz that it should have been.  

The great wonder that captivates our showman is a treasure room full of gold and jewels.  It is the contemplation of having this treasure that motivates our con man to leave the city at night, flying monkey companion Finlay in tow, to kill the "evil" witch Glinda.

The illusions Oz produces with the help of "tinkers" are really a great bit of showmanship, worthy of a humbug wizard.    I liked the explanation for how Oz became a face in a cloud manifest, seen by few.

The only person Franco has any chemistry with in the film is the China Girl.  I don't know why but in every scene he has with her, he is warm and charming and he connects to another human being, even though she is made of china. 

Saturday Night at the Movies: It's ALWAYS a Good Day to Die Hard!

We went to see A Good Day to Die Hard last night.  Despite reviews from critics (aka The Bozo Patrol) we knew we would like any Die Hard movie.   From the franchise one and three are our favorites.  

This installment has John McClane heading off to Russia to get his boy out of jail.  Time to warm up the explosions!  He arrives to "rescue" John Jr. right in the middle of a complicated attempt from an opposing faction to extract political prisoner Yuri Kamarov from a trial.  As the explosions begin John rushes in and tries to save his kid.  His kid, who turns out to be CIA is supposed to grab the prisoner and run to safety with him. 

Yipee Ki-Yay, like that goes well.   Soon John Jr. and the political prisoner are off on a fantastic chase scene through the streets of Moscow with bad guys (aka Scumbags) chasing in an armored vehicle and John Sr. chasing them in some sort of Jeep like truck.

Jack (aka John Jr.) apparently detests dear old dad, and his interference here doesn't help.  Soon father and son are working to get the Russian prisoner and his secret files out of the country.  I must say Jack takes a beating and you can feel his pain, while John is there all bloody and beaten and looking like he's rested and ready to hit the beach.

I didn't care for Jai Courtney who plays Jack in the previews but he turns out to be a perfect son for hard ass John.  He even calls him dad in a dire moment.  Then claims he didn't say that at all. Wouldn't be cool for a McClane man, nooo.

My favorite scene is at a safe house where the baddies break in and Jack and Yuri duck and dodge while John stands there blasting away with a gun.  Mr. Unstoppable.

Bust a move, guys!

Saturday Night at the Movies: Cloud Atlas

I wasn't sure I'd like the movie because it looked like something that would all end tragically, across varying timelines.

The story has six timelines and it jumps randomly (it feels random) between them.  I don't think because of the way it is structured you understand that these are the same individuals over time making choices for good or ill that carry down the halls of time with them and change what happens to them in their next incarnation.

A couple of people stand out for always being evil (Hugo Weaving's many characters) or always good (Halle Berry's character, Bae Doo-Na, Susan Sarandon) others go back and forth between good and evil.

I'd like to see it again to straighten out the character stories over time.  Because the overall message was one of hope and good triumphing, I liked the film enough for multiple viewings.

The most compelling tales were :

One in Neo Seoul 2144 with a "fabricant" who is made self aware by rebels.  She broadcasts a message of hope, love and humanity for all times.

Zachary (a member of a mostly savage tribe victimized by an even more savage tribe) and Meronym (one of the last of an advanced race) in a post apocalypic time struggle with ignorance, brutality and hope.

Robert Frobisher, a talented musician struggles to create a piece called the Cloud Atlas Sextet whose musical message of transcendant love ripples throughout time.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

This week's movie from my unviewed movie pile is Sherlock Holmes a Game of Shadows. 

Here we have Sherlock going against Moriarty in a deadly match of twisted minds.  The two characters have so much in common yet one has chosen good and one evil.  That is my take on things anyway.

This film was slower and darker than the original.  It seemed that there was no way Moriarty could lose the battle, yet he did at the last. 

The only humor in this one derived from the "bromance" between Holmes and Watson, which wasn't enough to carry the film.

Throughout, it seemed as if everything weighed against Sherlock and company which creates for me an uncomfortable viewing experience, I always want to know that there is hope and that the bad guys have some flaws.  It just seemed Moriarty and his sharpshooter couldn't be beaten, and somehow the ending did not lift the gloom that permeated the film.

Hoping the next is lighter and a more clever mystery.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Super 8

I finally had the chance to watch Super 8.  Set in 1979 with good old rock playing throughout, it follows a group of kids who are the film crew and stars of 8mm films produced by a wildly creative teen named Charles Kaznyk.

Charles has been working with his pals on a zombie movie which he plans to enter into a film competition.  He decides the film needs a bit of heart so he asks lovely Alice Dainard to play the wife of his film's detective.

Sneaking out at midnight to get just the right mood, they film in the light of an oncoming train.  As they work only Joe Lamb notices a truck racing to intercept and crash head on into the train.  Suddenly the train crashes and explodes, sending everyone running.  They barely recover from their shock when they are forced to flee by the arrival of a swarm of Air Force troups.

The train, as it turns out, is a military train and it was carrying odd radioactive cubes and something else, something that soon begins to turn the town into a wreckage of metal and wiring.

I love a good escaped alien film.  The kids were so smart and yet they did incredibly dangerous things to further the zombie film and then to find one of their own who has gone missing.

The romance that happens between Joe and Alice, two kids with a shared heartbreak, is sweet.  The suspense that builds as the escaped creature becomes more desperate and destructive is excellent. 

The generosity of Joe and eventually his hard, careworn, policeman father makes it possible for everyone to escape the burdens they have been carrying for too long.   I like a good happy ending.

The full cut of Charles' zombie extravaganza plays at the end of the film during the credits.