Short Summer Movie Reviews

I've officially started my summer movie viewing season. So far I've to two huge blockbuster summer films, Toy Story 3 and Eclipse.  Check out my brief reviews below (coming soon). My next movie will probably be The Last Airbender despite horrendous critic reviews (hence my lack of movie news).

Sex & the City 2
So my first brief review is of Sex & the City 2. I think I wrote about this movie before, so I'll real short. It was insufferable, fake and a disappointment. I don't care to see the DVD and I rather just pretend like the movie was never made.

Iron Man 2
This sequel was not as disappointing as SATC2, but it wasn't exactly astounding.  It was funny, had good characters (I thought Whiplash was a good addition), but I didn't really feel a good connection to the characters and their problems.  It's been a while since I've seen this movie, so I don't think I have much else to say.

Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Overall, this movie was pretty good. I admit I've mostly enjoyed these movies for their eye candy, so I can't say that the plot has really been a deciding factor for me.  I fell in love with Edward in Twilight and drooled at Jacob's abs in New Moon, this movie didn't really have that factor.  There was no new hot dude, although Riley was defiinitely attractive.  However, the story, special effects and just the look of this movie was great. The actors have obviously learned to act without being awkward.  There were some awkward lines ("I'm hotter than you"), but they didn't distract from the interesting and well paced plot. I would definitely recommend that you see it.

Toy Story 3
So, I wasn't really sure I was going to see this movie in theaters, but after hearing about how brought most viewers to tears I figured it wouldn't hurt to see it in the movie theaters in 3D.  I am so glad that I made that decision.  This movie is one of the best of the year.  I guess it meant a great deal to me because Toy Story was one of the first kiddy movie that I saw as a child.  It was also the first feature length computer animated film, so the touching story of Andy giving up his toys meant a great deal to me.  I managed not to cry by the end of the film, but it did solidify to me the significance of this film in my life.  I would say see it enjoy it and even buy the DVD.

Inception
WOWWW!!! I think that is the one word that sums up this movie to me.  This film pretty much established that Christopher Nolan is my favorite director.  Before I saw the film I read an article about some of the films Nolan directed which includes many of my favorites like The Dark Knight, The Prestige (blew my mind), and Batman Begins.  But by the end of the article I learned that he also directed Memento another movie that blew my mind and really challenged the way I thought a movie story could be told.  I decided from that moment that if I really liked Inception Nolan would be my fave director. 

Now, I've already said that he is my fave director, so now you know that I loved this movie.  First of all the look of the movie.  I love a movie that is clean cut and clear. Second, the cast.  All members of the cast were good characters, believable, and good looking.  Third, but most importantly, the intricate and intense plot.  A lot of reviewers said that the movie was really confusing, but luckily it wasn't that confusing. I didn't really grasp a moment at the end, but I was able to get through the story with a good understanding of everything that happened. The ending was open ended, but I feel like that it didn't need to end any other way.  A huge part of my appreciation for this movie is that I decided not to overanalyze it.  I think Lost took away my ability to get too deep into what can be an inexplicable plot.  I've learned to "let go" and enjoy something for what it is.  So, no, I didn't go home thinking about kicks and totems.  Instead I went home thinking about the incredible and challenging experience that I had in the movie theaters.  It could only compare to The Prestige, which I also saw in theaters. I hope to see this movie again soon, but in IMAX. Can't wait! If you haven't seen it yet, see it now!

Still haven't seen The Last Airbender and may not be able to (they're not playing it in the city much), but hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon.  There no other movies on my movie horizon at the moment, but I hoping to see some other things and give some more reviews in the future.

"The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: In 3D! On Ice!" My Thoughts

Wow what a special. I thought it was really good. I didn't really want to do a full recap or just review, so I decided to just mention some things I thought were really interesting and a bit of why I thought it was interesting.

The special was hosted/documented by Morgan Spurlock, the guy from Supersize Me. I don't know about you, but I was a bit surprised to see him hosting this special. I didn't do much research on the special beforehand, so everything about it was a suprise. But I guess he's a big Simpsons fan. There were a lot of guests on the special including all the voice actors, the creators, producers, and a great deal of fans.

I learned alot about the special for this program. Some of the most important information is that it's the longest running primtime show, has won 25 Emmys, it's broadcast in over 90 countries and has been translated into more than 45 languages. The word d'oh was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2003, and it is used to market everything. In other words, it's a global force.

They spoke about the fact that the show has a world characters. I still need one of those posters with all the character on it. On the street they interviewed people about the character and a guy I know from NYU actually was filmed saying Hans Moleman...such a small world. Some of the fave characters were Apu and Moe. Others mentioned were Quimby for be a JFK like, corrupt politician and Mr. Burns for being super old and rich. A GLAAD spokesmen spoke hoped that Smithers would come out of the closet and Brian Williams anchorman for the NBC evening news really likes Kent Brockman because he feels he is doing the most important job in the world...obviously (in Snape's voice).

Matt Groening then speaks about how Springfield is based on his hometown of Portland, Oregons. Some of the characters names are based on streets there such as Kearney, Lovejoy, and Tirwiliger. There is even a a Springfield Elementary with the same silhoutte as the one in the show, except the principal seems 10 times cooler than Skinner. Krusty the Clown is influenced by a clown from the city name Rusty Nails, but they are exact opposites.

There was a segment where they show all the super fans, that I'm unfortunately not a part of. One is Chad Rowland who has a crazy Simpsons tattoo on his back. At the San Diego Comic Con, we met even more fanatics like a lady who claimed that learned most her life lessons from The Simpsons. I totally agree with her on that, but I feel like my life experiences also mirror many moments on The Simpsons. There were other fanatics that could answer the most difficult questions on the series that left me clueless and others who could imitate voices. We also met a fan named Glynne Williams who has one of the largest and craziest collections of Simpsons merchandise. I think having that much stuff in a home could be considered a fire hazard.

Next, we learned about the controversy that followed The Simpsons. They were able to get away with a lot of things because they were animated, but that didn't stop many people like George and Barbara Bush and the Catholic League for hating it. Many individuals in the in Nuclear Energy also found that they got a great deal of negative feedback from the show based on the industries portrayal. For example, they say that there are no 3 eyed fish out there as a result of nuclear waste and they would let an idiot like Homer work there. Groening takes this as an opportunity to describe how writing for Homer is like writing for a dog that can talk. LoL

One thing I learned and had no clue of beforehand is how the show makes American look to people outside the US. As an American I knew it parodies US life, but I never thought that it was possible that foreigners took it seriously. Some people actually believe Americans are as crazy and dysfucntional as the show.

In terms of foreigners, we also learn that Argentinans love the show and have their own duff brewery that is now involved in a lawsuit. On the other hand, Brazilians are not as fond after seeing their portrayal in the episode "Blame It on Lisa". I guess I would be mad if they portrayed my city as being overrun by monkeys, kidnapping and candy colored rats. The people of the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen are trying to claim Groundskeeper Willie as a resident of their city.

They also addressed the complainers by saying you weren't as good as you were 5 years ago along with other comments because they find the negative comments really hurtful.

The show ended speculating about why the show was so successful and many point to the love between Homer and Marge. I disagree. I think that it is successful because the love between everyone in the entire Simpsons family. They may not get along, but in the end they are strong family.

On that note the show felt complete, but The Simpsons were disappointed by the fact that it wasn't in 3D or on ice. So, at that moment the television said put on your 3D glasses and the Simpsons proceeded to skate and it was kind of blurry, so it could have been in 3D, but I didn't have glasses to tell. Overall, incredible special! I bet all the complainers will want to watch The Simpsons, including the new episodes, from now on :)

By the way if you haven't seen the special...watch it on Hulu.com