Triple Header or maybe not....

Wake up call 9:00 AM.......time to get up if I am going to make it to movie one at 9:45 quick shower and then jump into the car.

Movie #1 Avatar

First thing I had to check is that this film was in 3D, I mean why wouldn't I see a film that has spent 12 years waiting for 3D technology to catch up with James Cameron. Unlike Titanic where I knew that I was getting into a Historical Fiction Romantic Comedy (mouthful) I had no idea what Avatar would be, really it could be anything. What I got was a fully realized world with it's own language, own ecosystem, and spiritual ideology; what I didn't need was the cliche antagonists. Avatar story telling is at it's best when it's allowing you to see what's going (the power of nature) on instead of clobbering you over the head about the evils of imperialism. Avatar works because it is a simple story of a man learning and living the life Na'vi the same people that he's suppose to kill, but this film shines when you get to watch the action unfold in beautiful world of Pandora. The film runs around three hours which never feels that long as there is always something that is moving the plot forward. Will I watch Avatar again in theaters? Maybe I don't necessarily think I have to but if friends wanted to get together and check out the film in full IMAX 3D then I might be curious.

Film lets out around one o'clock giving me plenty of time to enjoy a hot dog and cherry coke before heading into film two at 1:40 PM

Movie #2 The Road

Having previously read (and seen) All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and No Country For Old Men I had a pretty good idea on what kind of film I was walking into with. The Road; Romantic Comedy of the year.....Dark gray, if I had to describe this film that's how I would start. The film spends the majority of the time covered in the bleakness that is gray. The Road is a post-apocalyptic film that stars a father and son as they travel in hope of finding a better life on the coast. There just isn't a single smile to be had with this movie, most of the time your left thinking about how people act this way. With no food, no animals, trees dying the people have turned to cannibalism, the two main characters at several points think about killing themselves to avoid this fate. Even with the color palette so dark, the flashback that show life before the event (something that is never clear) in such a wide range of color that when you leave those flashbacks your mind races as to what really happened. The film does make you think about what you do to survive and how to survive if we didn't have the luxury of power, water, and food. One of the main ideas is child's innocent. Although the boy has to come to grips with death of his mother, cannibals, and a world with no friends there still moments when the Father shelters the child away from taste of alcohol and cigarettes. Most of the film is spent on how the Father is teaching boy to survive in a harsh world in reality boy is teaching his Father how to not lose faith in humanity. The scenes involving the Mother are just haunting as you watch her bring life into this world and how she leaves it. One of the better films of the year, although I don't see myself watching it till it's out on DVD.

After that heart tugging and emotional roller coaster I had just watched I wanted something that was mindless and just plain fun. Next film started at 3:50 PM so I had a few minutes to refill the cherry coke and get a crunch bar.

Movie #3 Ninja Assassin

These are the best kinds of movies. Where you just let yourself fall back and turn off what's really possible in this world; just watching a movie because it's 'made believe'. The Brothers Wachowski make good action films, it's hard to denied them that. Yes the last Matrix may have spiral a bit out of control but other then that their films are enjoyable, I just have one problem they need to stop making the hero Jesus or having some sort of Baptism occur. Ninja Assassin (stupid name I agree) is over the top with the gore and action just the way it should be. The plot and supporting characters aren't very useful at all or just typecast. The real reason anyone is going to see this is for the fights, they deliver on that note. There is great cinematography here giving you good detail of what's happening, none of that shaky camera work that's has been the normal as of late. Rain and Sho Kosugi are the only ones pulling their weight and you have to feel bad for Naomie Harris who has the role of the cop friend that been done a thousands time over. I wouldn't pay to see this film unless you really enjoyed this genre, one can only hope that the Brothers can pull it together for whatever they have planned next.

Car ride home, talk to the parental for a bit then have some dinner and a bonus flick.

Movie #4 Public Enemies

This film brought to you by Coke. Not really but it's what I had with my dinner and there was a great scene in The Road that I was reminded of as I enjoyed my beverage. Talk about bland at the end of the day. The adaptation of John Dillinger life at the height of his crime wave was weak at best. At no point did I root for Johnny Depp's or the opposite side lead by Christian Bale. It's a cops and robbers movie that tries to do too much and doesn't success. You have the bank robber who's suppose to charming but he kills people, then you have the FBI who are shown in the light of we'll do anything to catch the crook. The end result is a sloppy film with most of the time your wondering why the characters are doing what they are doing and what's their motivation? Not only that the pacing is atrocious, most of the time I wondering if was over yet, the film needed to leave something on the editing floor. It's clear the film does take some liberty on the work that it's based off (most of them being extra gun fights) or shuffling around when events actually did take place, but it does do one thing right......make J. Edgar Hoover look like the bastard we all know he was. I could only recommend this to people who are just in love with Johnny Depp and even then I'd say watch Edward Scissor hands or the first Pirates movie. 


Double Bonus!?!  After trying to get some sleep I found that my insomnia was wining the war so I decided to watch another movie.  


Movie #5 Jacob's Ladder

Unlike the previous four movies in this post Jacob's Ladder was not released durring 2009, in fact it barely made it into 90's.  Starring Tim Robbins in the best thing I've seen him in since Shawnshank Redemption, there's also cameos by Jason Alexander and Macaulay Culkin.  The movie plays out like a Vietnam nightmare as Jacob (Robbins) relives the memories from Vietnam and tries to remember/discover what happened to him and the platoon he was in.  The film plays with your head often as Jacob tends to halcuinate quite often showing us different terrors in his everyday world.  It's one of the better movies that shows what it's like to slip into madness and more so the movie doesn't peter off at the end.  There's a strong ending that really pulls together everything that had been building up.  If you have a chance to see this movie take a chance, (the film is just under two hours) I found it in a two (I got Millers Crossing as well) for $10 bargin bin at F.Y.E.