The Hobbit Looks Awesome

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

You want two hours of fun, go see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I saw it last night and had no expectations going in. I had never seen or read any parts of the graphic novels that the movie is based on and had only seen the trailer.

I actually thought I wouldn't like it, but only minutes into the movie me and the group of friends I was with were laughing and the laughs kept coming. There was subtle humor, outrageous situations and great music.

Scott Pilgrim is a fun flick and while it may not be for everyone, if you grew up in the Super Mario Brothers generation, you will like this movie.

My Take on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Saw Half Blood Prince yesterday as it opened nation-wide, and I have to say, despite the changes from the novel, I thought it was a good movie.

I've seen mixed reviews from fans of the books (here's one from Erika Olson on Redbox) and many dislike the changes and what was left out, but with books as large as the latter in the series, it's hard to get all the details into a 2 1/2 hour movie. Wikipedia has a good summary of the differences from the book to the movie.

There were a few changes that seem to have been made just for the sake of changing something, but I think it's best to hold judgment until we see the finished product, as in the end of the movie franchise's two-part Deathly Hallows. With adapting the movies from the novels, there are a lot of considerations that are made and with similar action coming in the last two movies, the director/producers didn't want the last three movies to seem repetitive. Once we see their vision for the end of the series, our view of Half Blood Prince may change.

One thing that I did note in the film was that the ending felt rushed. No spoilers here, but once we got to the climatic ending, it just happens and boom that's it. This is the best part of the book, and it just seems too rushed on the big screen. My other concern was that the entertaining Half Blood Prince plotline (who was he? how was he so good at potions? why did he choose that name?) was sort of put on the backburner. Even the reveal of who the Prince is was quickly put out there and then dropped.

The major bright point of the movie was its humor. From Ron to Slughorn to Harry, this film was big on laughs. Overall it was a good Potter film, but like those before it, the quality of the books is hard to duplicate on the big screen, and the details of the novels win out as usual.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Only a few more days:

Indiana Jones V, really?

I was as excited as the next guy to watch Indiana Jones IV, but came away from the theatre a little disappointed with the effort. Now there's talks that George Lucas wants to do Indiana Jones V. Lucas has a reputation for wanting to milk money out of his most successful franchises (Indiana Jones and Star Wars) but this is getting ridiculous.

I am a huge fan of "The Last Crusade" and felt it was a good ending spot for the movies, but then Lucas wanted to do another one. He convinced Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to do it and now he's working them over for a 5th installment.

Does everyone really want to see a Shia LeBoeuf led Indiana Jones? That's the rumor for the next movie. Ford would take a backseat and play a role similar to Sean Connery in the 3rd film and LaBoeuf would go on the adventure.

I am a huge George Lucas fan, but I hate to see him run his successful movies into the ground. It became a running joke with Star Wars with the Special Editions and Prequel Trilogy and now its happening with Indiana Jones.

I have to admit though, I will keep paying money to see my favorite characters on the big screen, so as Obi Wan Konobi once said, "Who's the more foolish: The fool, or the fool who follows him?"

Poll: The Empire Strikes Back picked as top SW Movie

Gulf Coast Offense readers have chosen The Empire Strikes Back as their favorite Star Wars film. Here's how the poll turned out:

The Phantom Menace	0 (0%)
Attack of the Clones	0 (0%)
Revenge of the Sith	2 (10%)
Star Wars (A New Hope)	4 (21%)
The Empire Strikes Back	11 (57%)
Return of the Jedi	2 (10%)

This is not a surprising result. Empire was my choice as the top film as well. The only downfall of that movie is that there's no true ending, as its the middle of the first trilogy. But other than that, it's perfect Star Wars. Irvin Kershner took George Lucas' story and brought it to a new level. He knows how to add the little things to a movie, and he improved on the characters established in A New Hope. Empire has some of the most well known Star Wars scenes, as well as top pop culture moments...mainly Vader's "No, I am your father" line and the introduction of Yoda.

The original Star Wars (A New Hope) came in second in the poll followed by a tie between Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith. The other two prequel films didn't receive a vote. Again no surprise there.

Next poll: What's the best movie you've seen this summer?

Batman Lives up to the hype and thensome

Last night I saw The Dark Knight at the midnight opening, and it was awesome. I was worried that the movie would be a let down after months and months of hype and all the discussion of the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker...with him getting lots of Oscar buzz this past week.

Well, let me tell you that The Dark Knight met my expectations and then blew them out of the water. This movie rocks from the opening to the closing. Ledger is a scene stealer each time he's on screen. His Joker will go down as the best comic book villain ever to be adapted to the big screen. He was that good. Throw in James Gordon, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Alfred and of course Bruce Wayne and you couldn't have asked for a better Batman movie. Rachel Dawes is again being talked about as a weak point in the cast, but her role is a good one and she is key to Dent's storyline. Seeing Two-Face on screen for the first time is a shocking moment in the film as the effects team held back nothing in creating the look.

This movie was violent, funny, suspenseful, disturbing and all around entertaining for two-and-a-half hours. After watching the movie, I wondered if it was better than the excellent Batman Begins, but after sleeping on it (it was 3:30 a.m. when I got home from the theatre), I can definitely say that The Dark Knight exceeds the greatness of Christopher Nolan's first Batman effort.

I can't wait to see it again.

Iron Man Rocks

I was skeptical of seeing Hollywood's latest comic book movie effort in Iron Man, but I left the theater more than satisfied. Iron Man is definately worth the price of admission and will launch a new line of Marvel flicks, culminating in The Avengers in 2011.

I would like to commend Jon Favreau for his vision of Iron Man. He took a realistic approach in portraying Tony Stark similar to Christopher Nolan's vision for Batman. Iron Man stayed away from cheesy love triangles or a 1970s era dance sequences down the sidewalk and stuck with a good story.

I wasn't too familiar with the Iron Man comic before this movie, but after hearing about Marvel's future releases (Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers), I look forward to seeing this franchise's future. As long as they keep Jon Favreau involved in these future movies, the series will be a hit.