Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Mr. skin went to art school "Anne Hathaway"




The Dark Night Rises




Christopher Nolan's third installment of his Batman franchise is epic in its scale and story. Nolan has stripped Batman of all its kitsch and caricatures throughout his trilogy. Anne Hathaway betrays Catwoman a.k.a. Selena Kyle as a straightforward cat burglar less of a victim, as we saw in Tim Burton's Batman Returns. Tom Hardy's Bane is not a steroid driven Mexican wrestling masked villain as in the comic books, but a very politely spoken mass murdering terrorist. Nolan's cast looks very familiar, it seems that once you make a movie with him he's going to cast you again. There's lots of ah-ha moments especially with the Joseph Gordon- Levitts character John Blake, and Marion Cotillards character Miranda Tate. Film historians will look back at the early 21st century as a comic book hero era in cinema. Marvel comics, DC comics it seems that will never get enough of our superheroes. I think Nolan has turned the greatest of these superheroes, the most human, Batman into this Shakespearean tragedy. There is a lot of social and political insights here too,it seems Nolan has his finger on the pulse of the 99%

Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Hobbit

So Shelly and I went to see the Hobbit today. It was a first on two levels. First it was the first 3-D movie I've seen in the theater. Second the theater is in my neighborhood. After 20 years living in the north of Brooklyn, they finally constructed a new movie theater here on the south side Williamsburg. The famous J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy comes life thanks to the one and only Peter Jackson. If you liked the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you're not a serious Tolkien head thats going to be pissed off by the lengthening of the story, then you'll probably love it. Technological advances in CGI has turned middle Earth into a practical reality. Jackson's native New Zealand is a beautiful Middle Earth. Most of the cast returns from the original trilogy, sometimes just in cameo appearances, that's obvious. There's a slew dwarves if your not aware dwarves like to sing. So be prepared for singing. Lots and lots of action that will not disappoint if you're into this kind of thing. Which I am if you didn't know I used to play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and Middle Earth R.P.G.s.in college. Which Shelly would call middle dork. Even she eventually got into the Tolkien. So go see it if not in 3-D then regular viewing is ok too.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Total Recall

3 breasted women from orginal film
 
Total Recall not so much a remake but a reboot of Paul Verhoeven's 1990 film of the same name. This time Colin Farrell plays the hero Quade in this adaption of Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember it for you Wholesale". I assumed the new film would be more like the short story, but alas it was not. The screenplay was more like the first film minus the whole Mars thing. The supporting cast has two sex symbols Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel. There are several homages to the original film with twists. Returning was the three breasted prostitute. I can honestly say I love the 1990s version. I was shocked that they remade it. The typical Hollywood ending ruins the remake.  The reboot felt and looked like a videogame . It seemed like director Les Wiseman stole his set design for the "colony" right from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.Costars in the Underworld franchise Kate Beckinsale is reunited with Billy Nighy.Bryan Cranston plays the heavy Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen