Long day today, but I got a lot done, so I am off to the couch to watch some movies. In the cue are March of the Penguins and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
I wonder if I will experience the rapture from the penguin movie. I am pretty sure I will watching Angelina Jolie, who makes me titter like a nervous schoolboy every time I see her.
I will see you all tomorrow.
*** Update ***
I try to keep my religious beliefs to myself, but I am pretty firmly convinced that whoever decided that new DVD’s need to be shrinkwrapped and have that plastic damn tape adhered to every edge of the plastic cover making removing a new DVD a sisyphean ordeal has a special place in hell reserved for him/her. Right next to the jackass who decided that aspirin bottles need a plastic shrink-wrapped seal, a child safety lock, a seal over the container under the child safety cap, and then 3 inches of protective cotton stuffing, making pain relief from tequila hangovers almost impossible. Which is why I keep a hammer under my sink for just those occasions- there is more than one way into an aspirin bottle, I tell you.
*** Update #2 ***
Quick reviews- If you have seen the War of the Roses and are thinking about watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith, don’t. Jolie is still hot, but no one is hot enough for me to honestly recommend this. I didn’t finish the movie, and will try to watch it tomorrow when I am riding the exercise bike.
March of the Penguins– Everything that is right about movie making, in particular documentaries. While not as visually stunning as one of my all-time favorites, Winged Migration (which I really think sets the standard for this type of endeavor), March was amazing. I have long joked that I like Morgan Freeman’s voice so much I would enjoy listening to him recite the dictionary. I don’t think I am joking when I say that, anymore. There is just something about his voice that I really love. Amazing film, and a welcome addition to my collection.
BTW- If you enjoy documentaries/wildlife as much as I do, check out some of the IMAX films which you can buy for DVD. A lot of those are great. I have vvrtually every one, so if you want to know something about one before buying it, let me know. Personal favorites- Africa: The Serengeti, Ring of Fire (which I saw in an actual IMAX once), and Beavers. These are all family safe, if that is a concern.
Steve S
Mr. and Mrs Smith wasn’t that good of a movie.
Anderson
Au contraire, MMS was hilarious, with many great scenes.
Are you married, Steve? Because I might not have liked the movie as much back when I was single. Every couple who’s ever felt like they were “trying to kill each other” should see this movie.
smijer
MMS was cute, but too often to the point of cutesy… and the fights were incredibly unrealistic.
That doesn’t keep me from salivating profusely over Angelina…
And my wife thanks you for the google images link JC – now she’s not going to get any sleep.
Anderson
Of course the fights were unrealistic, it’s a comedy.
And btw, Jolie is indeed jolie in this one–I’m not usually a fan, but watching her call Brad Pitt “Pussy!” is not to be missed.
N.b. that the same director did “Go”; wonder if fans of “Go” liked MMS?
Gold Star for Robot Boy
This made me and my GF laugh.
As for MMS, I can’t help but wonder if Jennifer Aniston has ever watched it.
Brad R.
I just got done watching War of the Worlds. Oh my God did that piss me off. The “surprise” ending was just… *shaking with rage* Let’s just say it sucked and leave it at that.
ppGaz
You know that the cotton is in there to keep the pills from banging around and getting chipped up, right?
Plain aspirin will turn itself to powder if you don’t protect it from rattling around in the bottle.
smijer
They weren’t funny, either. True Lies had better fight scenes… at least one could suspend disbelief with a heavy duty cable and a crane… Rule for comedians – if your fight scenes aren’t funny, at least make them remotely believable.
Joel
Wait, what was the “surprise” ending to “War of the Worlds”? I don’t remember there being one. I definitely don’t remember being surprised, just annoyed. Endings obviously aren’t Spielberg’s strongpoint these days. The theater I saw “AI” in broke out in near unanimous laughter at the ending of that.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Some hear “AI” and think, Speilberg.
I hear “AI” and think, Iverson.
Otto Man
You know what makes me titter? A sentence with the voluptuous Angelia Jolie and the word “titter” in the same sentence.
Kazinski
Wait, the same guy complaining that the TSA is allowing 4 inch scissors on planes is complaining about shrink wrap and childproof caps on aspirin?
Make up your mind, do you want an over protective nanny state or not?
Joey
War of the Worlds wasn’t a surprise ending. That’s how the damn story ends. If you don’t like it, don’t blame Spielberg. Blame Wells. The son still being alive was a little weak, I’ll grant you. But I still loved the movie. Some of the best direction you will ever see, period.
RSA
I was going to add my review of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which I just saw last week, until I realized you weren’t talking about the Hitchcock version, with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. Good romantic comedy (Lombard is simultaneously adorable and intolerable); I sometimes forget what a light touch Hitchcock could have.
scs
I bet if you had seen March of the Penguins in a theater you might have been more impressed with the visuals.
jaime
If you like March of the Penguins, might I suggest Microcosmos. It’s Winged Migration, but with Bugs.
Also I would suggest the -katsi trilogy, Koyaniskatsi, Naqoiqatsi, and Powasqatsi.
donald
Get a close up on Jolie on high def, and get back to me. That woman is frightening, and being from Georgia, I know from flawless beauty attached to knock out bodies.
Nikki
I enjoyed Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The whole thing was unrealistic, but it was fun. My favorite scene was the car chase, especially when she found out he had been married before.
Nikki
BTW, Queen is coming to DC. Does anyone know what they sound like now?
Rusty Shackleford
Personal favorites- Africa: The Serengeti, Ring of Fire (which I saw in an actual IMAX once), and Beavers. These are all family safe, if that is a concern.
I have a copy of Beavers and I can tell you it is not “family safe.”
Oh wait, maybe we’re talking about different movies…
Krista
Angelina Jolie is pretty, but I think she’s got a faddish sort of beauty…one that won’t stand up to the test of time. Now Halle Berry, on the other hand…
demimondian
Yeah, she’s the one who timelessly apologized to her “audience” in _Catwoman_, right?
Krista
I said she was pretty, not that she picked good movie roles.
Slartibartfast
Angelina Jolie was at her peak in Hackers (which, speaking of awful movies…) and Foxfire, which was…well, I suspect that maybe it was good, but something was lacking, there. I probably think that because I knew much less about her then. That bit with the vials of blood was just a bit too creepy for me. I do realize this is a matter of opinion, though.
Pitt I’ll always associate with Fight Club, which is one of my favorites. Whether he’s a good actor or whether his roles are written around his limitations is a topic that holds some debating potential that’s of little interest to me; I just think most of his parts have been memorable, from 12 Monkeys to Meet Joe Black to (of course) Fight Club, he’s always had interesting characters.
Krista
He has taken some interesting roles, hasn’t he? I enjoyed him in Snatch.
(And don’t bother teasing me, I know exactly how that comes out sounding.)
Jon H
John writes: ” I have long joked that I like Morgan Freeman’s voice so much I would enjoy listening to him recite the dictionary. I don’t think I am joking when I say that, anymore. There is just something about his voice that I really love.”
It’s probably that you’re flashing back to comforting childhood memories of Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader on Electric Company.
Jon H
“Yeah, she’s the one who timelessly apologized to her “audience” in Catwoman, right?”
Not so much *in* it, but she showed up at the Razzies ceremony and gamely gave an acceptance speech for her trophy, even thanking her agent for getting her to do that piece of crap (paraphrasing Berry’s words).
That’s pretty cool. On the other hand, she ain’t been working much.
SomeCallMeTim
So “Yes” to Flight of the Penguins, “No” to Angelina Jolie. Why not just come out, John?
demimondian
I had forgotten that.
Damn it! Now I’m going to be wandering around singing “Silent E” all day. Does somebody have an earworm treatment anywhere?
demimondian
I actually don’t think she’s very pretty, but I concede that to be a matter of taste. Then again, I never thought of Jolie as tres jolie, either, so maybe I’m just a bad judge of female beauty.
But you’ve got to admit, Catwoman was a mistake for the ages — that is on my all-time top ten movies to only watch when you’re dead.
demimondian
As what? An emperor penguin?
Krista
demimondian – proud to say that I’ve not seen Catwoman. Usually, I like to judge a movie for myself, but when the rotten tomatoes are being flung as fast and as furiously as they were for this movie, I tend to say, “Hm. That many people can’t be wrong.”
Mind you, I also only go to see about 6 movies a year, so they have to be worth my while. Right now, I want to see Walk the Line and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I live 45 minutes away from a movie theatre, though, so it’s not like it’s something I can just do spontaneously.
jg
Catwoman sucked beyond belief. A fistfight with Sharon Stone is the climax? WTF? I’d say the people who made this movie are the stupidest people on the planet but they’ve been outdone by the management of the Boston Bruins who traded Joe Thornton last night.
Don
Morgan Freeman will eventually rule us all.
Mr & Mrs Smith was garbage but overall funny garbage. It had the sense to ratchet the action and goof up fairly quickly and keep it there and wrap up quickly so the idiocy of the ending didn’t stick with you long.
I just saw the Penguins in a 2nd run theatre last week and enjoyed it. Are the DVD extras worth a damn, John?
Anderson
Wow, that makes some pretty pessimistic assumptions about where you’ll end up in the afterlife, eh?
My all-time worst flick continues to be Shanghai Surprise …
Jaybird
I saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith as a great example of what happens when you put a movie together by committee.
“We want a movie that guys will drag their girlfriends to and girls will drag their boyfriends to. Throw out some ideas.”
“Explosions.”
“Great outfits.”
“Guns.”
“Decorating.”
“Snappy guy talk.”
“Romance.”
“Hi-tech gadgets.”
“Female empowerment.”
“Good job. Let’s put those into a script.”
And what we got was an overproduced piece of crap that may have looked interesting if it were being fast-forwarded.
sean
isn’t it “queue” ?
John Cole
I thought you could use either one…
Who knows, though. Since I started reading student papers years ago, I have a helluva lot more trouble with homonyms. I read so much bad English, I think it has rubbed off.
John Cole
Don- That was genius.
Louise
I saw “Beavers” in an IMAX theater and loved it, particularly because whenever a beaver would come out of the water after a long diving sequence, the entire audience would gasp; demonstrating that we’d all been holding our breath. Too funny. Plus, there’s a baby bear subplot and just amazing dam building.
james richardson
I recently got hooked on the IMAX films. My fav are the space ones… bholes, hubble images, nasa,etc.
jg
Get yourself a hidef television and access to channels Inhd and InHD2. They show IMAX films all the time. Usually 2 back to back. They show the Beaver one all the time. I saw a really cool one where some divers dove into a water hole in a glacier in antartica, coolest cave dive I’ve ever seen on tv.
http://www.inhd.com
Slartibartfast
I think I’ve tried that. Apt name.
Bruce Moomaw
“Which is why I keep a hammer under my sink for just those occasions- there is more than one way into an aspirin bottle, I tell you.”
I personally find that teeth work well.
“But you’ve got to admit, ‘Catwoman’ was a mistake for the ages—that is on my all-time top ten movies to only watch when you’re dead.”
This is the movie for which Halle Berry was given the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress of the Year AND SHOWED UP TO ACCEPT IT, delivering a moving speech: “I’d like to thank all the people who helped me damage my career by starring in this piece of shit.”
BIRDZILLA
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS little penguin to papa PAW IF THERES GLOBAL WARMING HOW COME WE STILL HAVE ICE? papa penguin BECUASE SON ALL THE HOT AIR IS ON THE GREENPEACE SHIP WHERE EVER IT IS