Sunday, August 23, 2009

MOVIE QUICKIE 005 : SUMMER 2009 ROUND-UP

By no means a complete round-up - I've missed too many, like Coraline (waiting for the 3D), The Brothers Bloom, Thirst, etc. But this is the best of the rest... everything else, you should pretty much avoid like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, G-Force and other numbskull, brain-sucking flicks.

District 9

WOW!!! This is the most surprising movie of the decade! Completely unexpected, original and bloody unpredictable. It's a sci-fi that combines documentary-like footage with kick-ass violence, social commentary, and tremendous attention to detail. Director Neill Blomkamp has created a masterpiece that is at once unique, unerving and wholly convincing. Lead actor Sharlto Copley is simply astounding. I have no other alternative but to award this a well-deserved 9.8 muffins from ten.


Up

How impressive is Pixar's track record? Their weakest movie so far is Cars, and that was still pretty enjoyable. This one is up (couldn't help it) there with Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Wall-E... we'll you get the picture. Pixar tells perfect, timeless stories that immerse and hook you in. It had me crying buckets and laughing with absolute glee. You won't notice the seamless 3D. You won't notice the running time. You will however, be completely under the spell of the most enjoyable movie so far (any bets?) of the year or any other year. 9.5 muffins from ten


Star Trek

I was never a great Trek fan. Watched some TV episodes, old and new. Saw the movies, enjoyed some more than others. But it wasn’t essential. It was an interesting, bohemian concept, but was never that exciting. Too cerebral perhaps. Too full of itself. Not edgy enough. Well, this reboot answers all that and more. I am now a Trekkie and a Zoe Saldana worshipper. It’s that good. 8.8 muffins from ten


Watchmen

This was never a movie for the average movie-goer. The story was too dense to really condense into one movie. And it wasn’t balls-out action-packed enough to warrant a trilogy. But for the fans, it was an incredible experience that gets even better with the extended Blu-Ray. I’m a fan. 9 muffins from ten (Movie)

Angels & Demons

After the mega-huge money-making, but relatively weak Da Vinci Code, you would have thought this might not be that exciting either. But a better, tighter paced book produces a better movie. And this is as good as a thriller gets. Sure, there are plot holes. Sure, it's doesn't make sense sometimes. But I had fun. 7.6 muffins from ten

The Hangover
So wrong, yet so right. Some people loved this, some hated it. Me, I had a blast. Mike Tyson should do stand-up. 7.5 muffins from ten

Taken
Technically not a Summer flick, Taken was a huge breakout hit. Which technically isn’t such a stretch when you have a badsass Liam Neeson taking out very bad people with such clinical precision. Huge gobs of seriously violent stuff. 7.5 muffins from ten

Monsters vs Aliens
Love the concept. But it could have been so much more. Still, there is potential. Just give B.O.B. his own movie. You can ditch the rest. 6.8 muffins from ten

Fast & Furious
Crazy action sequences drown out the lame love angles and revenge nonsense. Thankfully. Great zone-out, enjoy it, don’t question it thrill ride. 6.5 muffins from ten

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Hmmm… not Pixar, but enjoyable enough. I must admit, I did doze off for a few minutes. And the last time I did that was at Batman & Robin. 6.4 muffins from ten

Knowing
When did you last see a Nicolas Cage movie that was any good? This helped, but the movie didn’t need him. It didn’t bore me, so that was good. Plus, I like Proyas, so I’m going to rate it the same as Transformers 2. 6 muffins from ten

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Hugh Jackman tried. This was just okay. You can see where they cut corners and where a lot of the money went. Some of the CGI is absolutely atrocious. The story is all over the place. But it’s a disaster that just scrapes the barrel of watchability. 5.5 muffins from ten

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