First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to my good friend Rashedah Mohammed, who turned 21 tonight. Happy birthday!!
I spent most of my night actually hanging out with her at her apartment and having an extremely good time. Well... an extremely good time except for one thing. I came to the party knowing I might do a slight amount of drinking, so I bought some whiskey and sprite for myself (I've been told by more than a few people that the combination seems strange, but it works for me). All good, right? Wrong? You see I made the terrible mistake of making sure the whiskey I purchased was Jim Beam, and... well, let's just say now I know not to buy Jim Beam in the future.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Harry Potter and the Never-Ending String of Fans who will never be satisfied by the movies because the books are so darn perfect
I know... this blog title is long, awkwardly phrased, and a even a little mean, but there's really no other way for me to put it. I have to admit I was one of the many who crammed into movie theaters Wednesday for a midnight screening of the new Harry Potter film, and I felt like I was one of the few who came out the theater truly impressed. You see I was with a group of people composed largely of fans who read all of the books and the immediate discussion after the movie was dominated by arguments over what was included and what wasn't and how the film ultimately measured up.
For my own part, I thought the film was very good. It was possibly the most emotionally nuanced and involving of all the movies and the performances were great. Most surprising about this movie was really just how fun and entertaining it was. I know this is when the series is supposed to be getting darker, but I laughed in this movie more than I did in any of the others. The reason of course was that much of the film focused on the wonderfully squemish romantic relationships of the group. Now I thought the depiction of the relationships was affecting and often hilarious, but they weren't developed in great depth.
Spoilers****
At the beginning of the film, Harry and Jenny lock eyes and suddenly their secret love for another is ignited. The same could be said for long-brewing romance between Ron and Hermione, which grows further in the film despite the fact that Ron continues to ingnore and take Hermione for granted.
That being said, I still thought that aspect of the movie was very entertaining. The film was also exceptionally beautiful. I've been nothing but impressed by the job David Yates has done with the Harry Potter series, turning in two stunningly photographed and well-directed films.
For my own part, I thought the film was very good. It was possibly the most emotionally nuanced and involving of all the movies and the performances were great. Most surprising about this movie was really just how fun and entertaining it was. I know this is when the series is supposed to be getting darker, but I laughed in this movie more than I did in any of the others. The reason of course was that much of the film focused on the wonderfully squemish romantic relationships of the group. Now I thought the depiction of the relationships was affecting and often hilarious, but they weren't developed in great depth.
Spoilers****
At the beginning of the film, Harry and Jenny lock eyes and suddenly their secret love for another is ignited. The same could be said for long-brewing romance between Ron and Hermione, which grows further in the film despite the fact that Ron continues to ingnore and take Hermione for granted.
That being said, I still thought that aspect of the movie was very entertaining. The film was also exceptionally beautiful. I've been nothing but impressed by the job David Yates has done with the Harry Potter series, turning in two stunningly photographed and well-directed films.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Public Enemies
I saw Public Enemies a couple of days ago.
Firstly, just let me say, I'm an unbelievable fan of Michael Mann; however, his recent work has generally underwhelmed me. That being said, I thought Public Enemies was very good, at times even thrilling and provocative, but ultimately it fell well short of greatness. I thought the primary reason the movie wasn't successful was character development, particularly when it comes to Christian Bale's FBI agent Melvin Purvis, the special agent leading the hunt for John Dillenger. Bale is an exceptional actor, and indeed he performs competently in this role, but his character is little more than a steely-eyed, tommy gun wielding automaton. Although Johnny Depp's performance is somewhat more interesting, even it is underdeveloped.
The best performance in the film comes from Academy Award winner Marion Cottilard, who plays Johnny Dillenger's girlfriend, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was nominated for an academy award for it.
Firstly, just let me say, I'm an unbelievable fan of Michael Mann; however, his recent work has generally underwhelmed me. That being said, I thought Public Enemies was very good, at times even thrilling and provocative, but ultimately it fell well short of greatness. I thought the primary reason the movie wasn't successful was character development, particularly when it comes to Christian Bale's FBI agent Melvin Purvis, the special agent leading the hunt for John Dillenger. Bale is an exceptional actor, and indeed he performs competently in this role, but his character is little more than a steely-eyed, tommy gun wielding automaton. Although Johnny Depp's performance is somewhat more interesting, even it is underdeveloped.
The best performance in the film comes from Academy Award winner Marion Cottilard, who plays Johnny Dillenger's girlfriend, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was nominated for an academy award for it.
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