Men in Black III was good. Much better than the second movie but perhaps not quite as good as the first. Josh Brolin should win an Oscar for his performance as young K – his mannerisms, facial expressions, everything is just spot on. I’d say it’s worth it to rent this purely to watch him act the part.
I also loved the villain. He is quite disturbing and somehow oddly charming..and the visual design and costume for him is fantastic. Jemaine Clement was perfectly cast for the role. Emma Thompson was great as O and I would like to see more of her in the future – she was a nice balance for J and K’s banter. I don’t really have any complaints about the movie as a whole. It’s not life-changing or groundbreaking, but it’s an excellent part to the series, in fact, I think the second one should be abolished (SO BAD) and this should replace it. The humor is fun and the jokes weren’t overdone. Definitely rent!
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Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter impressed me. I was expecting a very corny hack-and-slash Resident Evil type flick. Definitely not the direction they took it in. It’s serious, yes, which I have read many reviewers complain about – but it’s not so serious that it undermines how awesomely silly the premise of the movie is. They maintain a solid pace and storyline, which made it more entertaining, at least for me. Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian. Who knows. Altering important political history to include the supernatural…epic.
In any case, I found the fight scenes extremely fun yet dramatic, colorful, and well-thought-out..very Matrixy. They provide an excellent counterbalance to the serious political tone. And they’re ORIGINAL – when’s the last time you saw two men fighting while jumping through and over a stampeding herd of horses? Never. Elegance and an almost comic-book exaggeration combined to make this so cool. The acting was pretty good. I’m still not sure I’m 100% sold on Benjamin Walker as Abe, but besides that I don’t recall anyone bothering me. Sturgess is a quick and easy favorite, very likeable, and I would have liked to see more of him.
If you’re a serious patriot who is very gung-ho about politics and/or America, you probably won’t like this movie. You probably also won’t be reading this review because you’re busy getting your guns ready to prepare yourself for government invasion, so I most likely don’t need to worry. ;)
I would definitely advise Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for a rental, especially if you like old-style movies or are in an action kind of mood. You can’t really go wrong. The movie has a nice wave pattern in terms of action versus story, so don’t expect constant mind-shattering explosions, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t enjoy at least some of the ride.
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Hope Springs is arguably one of the best serious movies I’ve seen in a while. Yes, it’s sad..and romantic. I’ve read lots of complaints from men on Rotten Tomatoes who thought it was a “total chick flick” and that they should have “left it for the wife to watch”…but really, as long as you don’t have an ego the size of the Death Star and you can admit that as a man, you have emotions too, you might enjoy it. ;) People who complain that romance between elderly people is creepy, seriously, you need to grow the fuck up – you’re going to be old some day too. And yes, you’ll have sex. And no, you won’t look sleek and well-muscled anymore. Surprise!!
The acting, as expected, is phenomenal. Meryl Streep is never bad. Tommy Lee Jones..also never bad. And Steve Carell, while in a serious movie, still manages to make us giggle even though most of his lines are actually quite serious. I thought it was an excellent transition for him from comedic to serious, especially in comparison to some of the crap Paul Rudd or Adam Sandler have done when trying to jump from one to the other. He actually makes it work here.
A major flaw of many romantic dramas is that the conflict is often forced. I.e, the woman THINKS the man is doing something and rather than talking about it for 30 seconds and finding out it’s untrue, she immediately has a conniption fit and leaves the country. No forced conflict here. I thought the movie had a very real flow with very real things happening. I felt like just slapping both of them in the face occasionally and saying “GUYS!!! WHY DID YOU LET IT GET LIKE THIS!!”, but I think that’s the point…to jerk you around emotionally and make you feel for their situation, whether you can relate to it or not.
Rent this but be prepared for sad. It’s not a comedy – don’t get it if you think you will spend your time laughing. Just like love, it’s a bit of a struggle with ups and downs, but in the end – well, you’ll have to see. ;)