And we all know how long its been...

since an original story idea has been used at the movies or in books. For example:



Via http://funnyimagedump.com/

Faaabulous Pt 2.

"Spartan!"

No fair that you are the only one that gets to comment on 300.

I myself have not seen many movies this year, but I found 300 completely entertaining. A good movie? Frak, no. But damn enjoyable to watch. Why? I'll give you a few reasons:

1. Half-naked, well-built men. (okay, so maybe you weren't as into this as I was. Being male at all. Then again, if you were watching 300, maybe you do...)
2. Lots and lots of violence. Hee, hee!
3. Getting to yell "Spartan!" A lot.
4. Boiled skulls!

That last argument comes from the same guys that brought MST3K to you. You can download a riff track here, sync it to your DVD player, and listen to commentary so brilliant, it made 300 worth watching a second time. And darn it, looks like I am going to have to sit through Battlefield Earth and Star Wars: Episode I again.

In short, if you have nothing to do on a Friday night, grab a case of beer and drink every time you 1) hear someone yell "Sparta!" or some variation or 2) see blood fly in slow motion. If you aren't enjoying it, you'll be out cold within 20 minutes.

(In all seriousness, it actually wasn't a terrible adaptation of the graphic novel. There are a few changes that were made to flesh it out some but which I considered unnecessary. The narration was irritating. Otherwise, though, the graphic novel pretty much acts like a storyboard for the movie. )

Bourne again, and other observations

Over the last month I have managed to catch Live Free or Die Hard, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and The Bourne Ultimatum (in addition to DVD releases Hotel Rwanda, and 300 - neither of which I will address here). The three that I caught in the cinema were thoroughly entertaining. Surprisingly, I think the best of the three was the fourth installment of Die Hard.

Don't get me wrong - all were entertaining summer fare, and none were without problems - but the issues I had with LFDH didn't jar me out of the film, or force me out of the moment the way the issues with Potter and Bourne did.

Here it is in a capsule - would I recommend all three films? Yes - they were all well paced an highly enjoyable, and I would recommend them in the order in which I listed them in the first paragraph.

LFDH is arguably the best Die Hard film since the first one. Justin Long as the sidekick in what is essentially a buddy-action flick was a great addition as he and Willis play well off of each other. The addition of John McLane's college-age daughter was a pleasant surprise considering my expectation that it would be one of the movie's weaknesses.

Kevin Smith, on the other hand, I would say was one of the movie's weaknesses, and there were some minor plot issues. Beyond that, the movie was solid.

Order of the Phoenix was fairly well done for the most part, however, the movie lacked character development of the new characters it introduced like Tonks who will become more relevant in subsequent movies and there were moments that the special effects regressed to the looks of those in Sorcerer's Stone - particularly in the case of Grawp, Hagrid's brother. Grawp was rendered in a cartoonish manner that I have not seen since the troll in the bathroom.

It was jarring to say the least.

However, we were introduced to Dolores Umberage as played by Imelda Staunton. Staunton couldn't have been any more perfect for the roll.

The final installment of the Bourne films is the weakest of the three - mostly based on the following - the story line lacks the meat of the first two films as Jason Bourne continues to search for his past, the chases are not as well shot as in the previous films, and fight sequences are also not as well filmed - often coming across as chaotic and confusing. In spite of the problems, it's still an enjoyable 111 minutes worth of action and intrigue and worth the price of admission.

Faaabulous

A brief word about the adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 which I recently watched on DVD.

As bad as it was, I am glad I saw it, if for no other reason than to be able to give the film the following one sentence review -

It is the best unintentional comedy to hit the screens since Showgirls.

That is all.

A Nude Rue McClanahan

Now did that catch your attention or are you still clawing out your eyes in pain and anguish?

She's not really nude actually, but you can catch Rue McClanahan stripping in the 1968 Hollywood After Dark, with film commentary provided by Mike and the 'bots from Mystery Science Theater 3000-only it is not really "Mike and the 'bots" but rather "Mike and the human 'bot incarnations." This is part of their new (hopefully series) Film Crew project which my Mike and I rented from Netflix.

Hollywood After Dark, like most MST3K films, is incredibly painful to watch on its own, but entirely amusing with MST3K-style razzing. I think the movie itself has something to do with a bipolar junkyard supervisor/hipster/strip club administrator finding love and committing some type of crime for a man with rabbit teeth. I think someone gets killed with a lamp. Anyways, Rue places the love interest and there is a lot of stripping. Scary, scary stripping.

The host segments pretty much suck but to MST3K fans, it is gratifying to know-it's back. And with naughty language too!

But also a semi-clad Rue McClanahan.

And everybody was Kung-fu fighting...

Them cat's were fast as lightning.

Just caught Live Free or Die Hard today. It was a pretty entertaining romp through the mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. But I'm not really here to talk about that.

What I do want to talk about is the trailer for War, due out August 27.

For those of you who don't know me, I used to teach at the Boston Kung-fu/Tai-chi Club up in the Bay State. I started training in the martial arts when I was 13 in New York, learning Ryu-Renshi Dan and Shotokan Karate. I moved on to modern Wu-shu, tinged by Hun-gar, and dabbled in Aikido and Jow-Ga. I get geeked up for good martial arts films.

Honestly, they don't even have to be that good - they just need to be entertaining.

Jet Li is one hell of a martial artist, and Statham isn't shabby, particularly for someone who first learned it, by some reports, for the movies (hell, I'd known a few who had trained for years who don't look as sharp as he does). I'm hoping it's a decent script. Even if it's not, I'm probably going to see this one. After a number of poor choices that I will write off to a lack of familiarity with the English language, Li has rebuilt his reputation with movies like Hero, Fearless, and Unleashed.

Statham was entertaining in The Transporter, and its weaker sequel, not to mention the weak scripted adrenaline-rush, Crank.

So, yes, I realize there is potential for all sorts of badness here, a-la Kiss of the Dragon, but I've already got my Martial-Arts geek on, based on the trailer I saw in front of Live Free or Die Hard. And if it sucks, come fall, I'll wash the taste out of my mouth with Balls of Fury, due out August 30.

Wait...that sounded gay, didn't it?

I got a two in three chance...

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