I have been fooled multiple times this year by movies I thought I just had to see. Sucker Punch being one of them. I was so excited to see that, and then they didn't release it on Wednesday. By Friday, I had heard nothing good about the movie. I guess the fact that they did not release it on Wednesday was a good litmus test.
In fact, it may be a good test for any supposed "Big" movie. Thor is the next example. If they release it next Wednesday, I will go see it. If they do not, then I won't.
These are suppose to be bankable movies. The allure of both films would seem to justify opening on Wednesday, right? Sometimes you have to ask yourself, " Should I see the "Big" film I've been waiting to see if it isn't screened by critics, and then opens on Friday?" And now you know how I decide if one of the "Big" movies is even worth my hard-earned money.
The next film I plan on seeing in the theater will open on a Wednesday. Which one will it be?
Check out one of my older posts that you may have missed. It deals with both movies and the rewrite of Monarch.
-aap
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Source Code
Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal, returns to the sci-fantasy world that made him a cult hero with the aforementioned film, and he does so with a bang. The casting of Jake as Colter Stevens must have been intentional, considering his earlier work also dealt with time-travel.
No matter how many similarities this film has to others that came before it, I want to thank Duncan Jones for bringing us something that is at the same time new. Somebody please give this guy a blank check and a few years.
Needless to say, I liked this movie and will probably like it even more once I have watched it a second time, but there were the distractions of those similarities that kept this film from being great upon my first viewing of it. While Jake was crawling around inside the "capsule" the most obscure film kept popping to mind, not so much because of similarities in story, but in the simplicity of style in delivering an idea, Stalker by Andrey Tarkovsky.
For me the most exciting part of the whole story came after the climax. We were left to envision a continuation, and I'll tell you what... if they ever need a writer for Source Code 2, brother I have some ideas.
In the end, Source Code is a nice blend of "source" material and clever new twists. It's worth seeing in the theater, but is not so grand as to not wait for DVD.
Not sure what I'll shell out $30 to see next, maybe Hanna.
-aap
No matter how many similarities this film has to others that came before it, I want to thank Duncan Jones for bringing us something that is at the same time new. Somebody please give this guy a blank check and a few years.
Needless to say, I liked this movie and will probably like it even more once I have watched it a second time, but there were the distractions of those similarities that kept this film from being great upon my first viewing of it. While Jake was crawling around inside the "capsule" the most obscure film kept popping to mind, not so much because of similarities in story, but in the simplicity of style in delivering an idea, Stalker by Andrey Tarkovsky.
When at a screenwriting conference a few years ago, I was told repeatedly: If you want to have success, write something that is similar to something that has already had success, but make it different. This movie is a perfect example of that bit of advice - same but different.
For me the most exciting part of the whole story came after the climax. We were left to envision a continuation, and I'll tell you what... if they ever need a writer for Source Code 2, brother I have some ideas.
In the end, Source Code is a nice blend of "source" material and clever new twists. It's worth seeing in the theater, but is not so grand as to not wait for DVD.
Not sure what I'll shell out $30 to see next, maybe Hanna.
-aap
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Shift in Focus
I've come to realize, after several months of updating this blog, that few people really want to know about the process of writing a book until they have actually read it. I completely understand that; I too would not want to read about someone's current project unless I had read them before. While I have no intention of discontinuing this blog or to stop detailing the process towards e-publishing, I do want to keep you, the reader, invested in my posts.
A good thing about BLOGGER is the stats. I can see what people like to read about. And in the case of my blog, more people visited this site for my take on the Oscars than for any other reason. Because of that fact I have decided to tweak my approach to this blog.
Beginning today I shall be adding my review of movies that I see in the theater -- not on DVD or On Demand-- to this site. I will only post about the movies that I actually want to see, and am willing to spend my hard-earned money to go watch in the theater. Today I will be going to see Source Code, a film by Duncan Jones. He directed one of my favorite films of the last few years, Moon -- which if you haven't seen, you should.
This begins a shift towards bringing you more content. Even though a friend suggested I might write about current events, I cannot see myself talking about politics or the economy. There are people who are much more qualified than myself to listen to on those subjects. I'm a fiction guy. I may talk about my Atlanta Braves on occasion, but my focus shall remain primarily on updating any interested party in the "process" of writing and publishing my first novel.
Oh, by the way, did you guys know that Jason Heyward was one of only two players to hit a homerun in his first at-bat of the season in his first two seasons? Kazu Matsui is the other.
Keep an eye out for my next post if you would like to know what I thought about Source Code.
-aap
A good thing about BLOGGER is the stats. I can see what people like to read about. And in the case of my blog, more people visited this site for my take on the Oscars than for any other reason. Because of that fact I have decided to tweak my approach to this blog.
Beginning today I shall be adding my review of movies that I see in the theater -- not on DVD or On Demand-- to this site. I will only post about the movies that I actually want to see, and am willing to spend my hard-earned money to go watch in the theater. Today I will be going to see Source Code, a film by Duncan Jones. He directed one of my favorite films of the last few years, Moon -- which if you haven't seen, you should.
This begins a shift towards bringing you more content. Even though a friend suggested I might write about current events, I cannot see myself talking about politics or the economy. There are people who are much more qualified than myself to listen to on those subjects. I'm a fiction guy. I may talk about my Atlanta Braves on occasion, but my focus shall remain primarily on updating any interested party in the "process" of writing and publishing my first novel.
Oh, by the way, did you guys know that Jason Heyward was one of only two players to hit a homerun in his first at-bat of the season in his first two seasons? Kazu Matsui is the other.
Keep an eye out for my next post if you would like to know what I thought about Source Code.
-aap
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