My posts have always been so organized. I think I’ve come to realize that organization is one of the reasons I struggle to update my blog on a regular basis. Rather than just come in here and talk about recent stuff or what I’m feeling, I feel compelled to write out a complete movie review and well, quite frequently, it just doesn’t get done. So here’s to a new strategy.
This past week I watched The Heat starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. My biggest takeaways from the film were that a) Sandra Bullock was really fucking good in Gravity and b) Melissa McCarthy is extremely funny but this might as well be a continuation of her character in Bridesmaids as a police officer. I can’t say I’m a big fan of Bullock’s work and this is more of the same, which is why her performance in Gravity is so special; it’s completely unlike anything she’s ever done–or, in other words: good. The Heat is funny though, thanks to McCarthy carrying the film, but she’s obviously being typecast (as many rising comedic actors are) and one has to wonder how long before fans start tiring of her schtick. Overall, The Heat was funny and enjoyable, and ranks amongst 2013’s funniest films in a year of mostly unremarkable comedies. 6/10
I also had a long overdue viewing of Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) The Place Beyond The Pines starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes. One of the more highly acclaimed films prior to awards season, I actually found Pines to be quite disappointing. Mostly it just didn’t live up to the hype built from one of my friends constantly praising it and urging me to watch it. It’s a three part story that stretches over a roughly 17 year time period and certainly has the running time of an epic, clocking in at nearly two and a half hours. Naturally, it’s quite boring at times and the pacing makes it difficult to watch. Ryan Gosling is great, as usual, and Bradley Cooper appears to be turning into a pretty respectable actor. I wasn’t a huge fan of the story though. I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit contrived, especially the third act when everything ties together in a way that isn’t all that believable. Pines isn’t a bad film, but it’s an overly ambitious one, with a story that doesn’t quite deserve its epic running time. Definitely not the must see film people are claiming it to be. 5.5/10
I revisited Man Of Steel last night and I have to say my opinion of the film has dropped somewhat. I initially gave it a 7/10, which is a must see on my scale, and I can’t say it’s that strong of a film. That’s what’s difficult about reviewing films. I can’t imagine that people that criticize movies for a living can really get a full grasp on a film after one viewing. For me, Man Of Steel was a bit overwrought. The aspects I liked in my earlier review remain the same, but some parts of the film are increasingly tedious upon a second viewing. The Smallville battle is still epic. I mean seriously awesome. But the next part of the climax is a big WTF. I’m talking about when Zod is creating Krypton on earth and Superman is battling some ship over the Indian Ocean. I mean, what the hell is really going on here? For some reason, I remembered the finale being incredibly epic, but really there’s the Smallville battle and the final battle with Zod and a huge gap in between that just sucks. Also, now that Superman vs Batman has been announced for a 2015 release, you have to think watching this movie that the filmmakers really had no idea what they were going to do next. After seeing Superman go toe-to-toe with Zod and other Kryptonians–and all the property destruction those fights caused–it’s difficult to imagine a human–even one as resourceful as Batman–being a formidable opponent for Superman. The writers seriously have their work cut out for them.
The Bat Cave 