Category: Movies

Primer

I watched Primer not too long ago, and overall I enjoyed it.  It’s an odd take on the ability to time travel.  The story is very well told, and comes across very realistic.  The basic gist is that two guys build a device that allows them to manipulate time, or travel through time.

While interesting, I also found the movie to be confusing.  Some of the dialogue is very technical and I had a hard time following the story line that was driven by that dialogue.  By the end of the movie I did understand what had happened, and how events had played out. 

Primer is a quiet movie, there’s not a lot of action or over the top scenes.  It’s very simple and straightforward, which I found to be a good way to tell the story.  I would say this is a more intellectual movie as you really need to pay attention to keep up with the story (something I didn’t exactly do while watching).

I believe watching it a second time might be interesting because I know the story.  That would allow me to pay more attention to the characters and the details of the science used in the movie.  Perhaps I’ll add it back to my Netflix sometime in the future and see how a second viewing goes. 

Nim’s Island

Nim's Island

Nim’s Island was a very cute movie, definitely geared towards kids.  I really had to try to suspend my disbelief because there are so many things about this movie that just wouldn’t work.  If you can let yourself get past those points, it’s really cute.  The interaction between fantasy and reality was fun.  In one scene Nim is reading a book and they show how she’s imagining the action in the book.  I enjoyed the way fantasy and reality imposed upon each other.

Abigail Breslin is a good actress and she did well.  I tend to like most of the roles she’s played, she does good at being the precocious child.  It was interesting to see the character Jodie Foster played, it’s unlike most of her roles.  Her character here comes across somewhat silly and over the top.

Overall, it’s  really cute movie for the family.  I wasn’t overwhelmed by it, but I did enjoy watching it.

 

Constantine

I watched Constantine last night.  While it’s a good movie, it’s not a great movie. I enjoyed the story, and did kind of get pulled into it.  I really like Keanu Reeves, and it was cool to see Shia LeBeouf (Transformers, Eagle Eye) and Tilda Swinton (Narnia) show up too.

I guess overall it’s an okay movie. The story was intriguing, and I even got invested in the characters, but overall it just didn’t feel great.  I’m glad I grabbed it through Netflix, rather than buying it though. 

I’m pretty sure I have the book, which I have yet to read, so I may see about giving that a try.  Often I find books are better than the movies.

I think I gave it a rating of 3 over on Netflix. I liked it.  It was okay.  Actually, I wish that were a rating option – it was okay – rather than – I didn’t like it.  Oh well, I’ll just end up with a lot of movies that have a rating of three.

Shoot ’em up

Shoot ’em up basically makes fun of action movies.  I’d say this movie was a mixed bag.  Some parts had me cracking up, and other parts just had me going ewww.  It was rather graphic, but not in a serious sort of way – if that makes any sense.  Everything was over the top, but well done.  I never knew a carrot could be so versatile. 

I think my favorite part is the rat letting him into his apt.  That was pretty cool.  And I was happy that the dog lived. 

So overall, I enjoyed it even though there were some parts that were a little too graphic for my tastes.

Get Smart

Sadly, Get Smart was a disappointment.  The movie had the potential to be rather funny, but just didn’t pull it off.  All the really good moments were pretty much in the trailer.  Maybe it was the kind of humor that I just don’t get. 

I do have to say that Patrick Warburton as HYMIE at the end was awesome.  And there were a few funny moments throughout the movie, but overall it just wasn’t that great. 

Next up I believe is Lady in the Water and Shoot ’em up.  I’ve seen Lady in the Water before and I know I like it.  And I have high hopes that Shoot ’em up will be funnier than Get Smart.