An Unexpected Review...
...of things (just a few!).
Couple quick reviews for today:
Peter Pan: Because I don't remember ever seeing it as a child, and since I like to think I've seen lots of movies, I figured I'd better watch it. I popped it in at Hollywood and played it when there weren't any customers so that I wouldn't miss anything. Anyway...I bet it was probably better to kids back in the day- I couldn't quite relate to the whole London-rooftop thing or the children all sharing a room. But time aside, and since Neverland is the focus anyway, let's move on. First of all, I think the whole story (though written to touch one's inner child) may have been better as more of an "epic." A PG-epic perhaps, but an epic nonetheless. Granted, I haven't read the play or seen the newer version, but what if there was more at stake than "I'm pissed at Peter."? Hook seems so bent on killing him, but why? What happened that made the hand get chopped anyway? What if he wanted to turn Neverland into Smeeland? That would put everyone in jeopardy, including the mermaids, lost boys, Indians, fairies, whoever. I guess I wanted Peter to be fighting for something bigger than himself. But I digress. Tinkerbell was definitely my favorite character, even though she was a bit moody. She expressed so much passion without ever saying a word (why couldn't she talk, again?). Oh, and I know it probably sounds like I'm complaining a lot, but one more issue- the songs completely did nothing to help the story. Yeah I know, Disney musical blah blah blah. But take Little Mermaid- first of all, Ariel was a singer, so she had reason to sing. Second, the songs were all used to portray something about an issue or character that perhaps could not be expressed in normal dialogue. Let's go back toward this movie's time though- Snow White only had a few songs, but that was in a day where like every film (more specifically, every cartoon) was a musical, and an audience probably wouldn't know they were supposed to leave the theatre if they hadn't heard a song yet. But in Peter Pan, he starts singing about flying. Why? Because the movie was already ten minutes in and there hadn't been any songs yet. And what was with the singing tribe? I totally would have bought that whole scene if they hadn't started rhyming about why thier skin was red. Was that Barrie's idea? Anyway, that's all if it hadn't been so child-oriented. Like I said, kids back then probably loved it. But I'm not one to diss a movie just because I didn't like it. 7.
Mercenaries: Yes, this is a video game. Just came out last week. Officially, it's "Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction," (insinuating that a sequel may be in the works), but it's pretty fun. GTA meets Red Faction. You basically run around and blow up anything that has to do with North Korea. You ally with the Russian mob and Chinese army and a few other groups to fight NK because, apparently, four countries can't defeat one. They need you or they're out of luck, I guess. But it's good times- sometimes you'll be cruising the vast mountain range or countryside and you'll pass a bunch of people fighting each other and a rocket will shoot past your car (you can take almost any vehicle, by the way- except for the planes. Grr.) or you'll knock a random NK craft into the river, even though you're on your way to take out the Queen of Clubs. Explanation- there's a "Deck of 52" you're after to beat the game. Hm. Sounds familiar. But anyway, there's something to blow up everywhere you go, so if you like violence for profit (ah, the two vices of Western Civilization), you could no doubt get into this game. Besides, it's by LucasArts. Rated T for Teen. 8.
Best of '04: (according to things I've seen, btw)
Troy
Passion of the Christ
Spider-Man 2
Garden State
Worst of '04:
Catwoman
Closer
Napoleon Dynamite
Alien vs. Predator
Oh, by the way, I filmed with Kelly's child Tyler on Sunday. He'll definitely add something new to the William Steel series. It's funny, you can never quite get a 2-month-old to do what you want. Keep it.
Couple quick reviews for today:
Peter Pan: Because I don't remember ever seeing it as a child, and since I like to think I've seen lots of movies, I figured I'd better watch it. I popped it in at Hollywood and played it when there weren't any customers so that I wouldn't miss anything. Anyway...I bet it was probably better to kids back in the day- I couldn't quite relate to the whole London-rooftop thing or the children all sharing a room. But time aside, and since Neverland is the focus anyway, let's move on. First of all, I think the whole story (though written to touch one's inner child) may have been better as more of an "epic." A PG-epic perhaps, but an epic nonetheless. Granted, I haven't read the play or seen the newer version, but what if there was more at stake than "I'm pissed at Peter."? Hook seems so bent on killing him, but why? What happened that made the hand get chopped anyway? What if he wanted to turn Neverland into Smeeland? That would put everyone in jeopardy, including the mermaids, lost boys, Indians, fairies, whoever. I guess I wanted Peter to be fighting for something bigger than himself. But I digress. Tinkerbell was definitely my favorite character, even though she was a bit moody. She expressed so much passion without ever saying a word (why couldn't she talk, again?). Oh, and I know it probably sounds like I'm complaining a lot, but one more issue- the songs completely did nothing to help the story. Yeah I know, Disney musical blah blah blah. But take Little Mermaid- first of all, Ariel was a singer, so she had reason to sing. Second, the songs were all used to portray something about an issue or character that perhaps could not be expressed in normal dialogue. Let's go back toward this movie's time though- Snow White only had a few songs, but that was in a day where like every film (more specifically, every cartoon) was a musical, and an audience probably wouldn't know they were supposed to leave the theatre if they hadn't heard a song yet. But in Peter Pan, he starts singing about flying. Why? Because the movie was already ten minutes in and there hadn't been any songs yet. And what was with the singing tribe? I totally would have bought that whole scene if they hadn't started rhyming about why thier skin was red. Was that Barrie's idea? Anyway, that's all if it hadn't been so child-oriented. Like I said, kids back then probably loved it. But I'm not one to diss a movie just because I didn't like it. 7.
Mercenaries: Yes, this is a video game. Just came out last week. Officially, it's "Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction," (insinuating that a sequel may be in the works), but it's pretty fun. GTA meets Red Faction. You basically run around and blow up anything that has to do with North Korea. You ally with the Russian mob and Chinese army and a few other groups to fight NK because, apparently, four countries can't defeat one. They need you or they're out of luck, I guess. But it's good times- sometimes you'll be cruising the vast mountain range or countryside and you'll pass a bunch of people fighting each other and a rocket will shoot past your car (you can take almost any vehicle, by the way- except for the planes. Grr.) or you'll knock a random NK craft into the river, even though you're on your way to take out the Queen of Clubs. Explanation- there's a "Deck of 52" you're after to beat the game. Hm. Sounds familiar. But anyway, there's something to blow up everywhere you go, so if you like violence for profit (ah, the two vices of Western Civilization), you could no doubt get into this game. Besides, it's by LucasArts. Rated T for Teen. 8.
Best of '04: (according to things I've seen, btw)
Troy
Passion of the Christ
Spider-Man 2
Garden State
Worst of '04:
Catwoman
Closer
Napoleon Dynamite
Alien vs. Predator
Oh, by the way, I filmed with Kelly's child Tyler on Sunday. He'll definitely add something new to the William Steel series. It's funny, you can never quite get a 2-month-old to do what you want. Keep it.
