In my theater....no one can hear me whimper like a little girl

In preparation for the June 8th release of Prometheus I plan on watching the first three Alien films. Even if the connection between Prometheus and Alien/s/3 is tiny, I think it is good to revist this world. I just need to find time to watch after Annette goes to bed. I will be watching the following versions of the films:

Alien-Original Theatrical cut

Aliens-Directors Extended cut

Alien3-Assembly Cut (a re-do of the film that is closer to Fincher's original vision. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_3#Special_Edition_DVD_.26_Blu-ray)

If you have any thoughts of seeing Prometheus, I recommend you do the same.

The Tarantino Mix Tape

I have a well known love/hate relationship with Mr. Tarantino. I think however, the following video has allowed me to appreciate him as an artist fully. My issues with his work lie in his overuse of homage and blatant straight theft of scenes. He writes some snappy awesome dialog, but I keep being disappointed by lack of something new to be shown. But my criticism of his work may have been a bit over zealous.

I just need to accept that Tarantino is the king of the mix tape.

(warning: contains all of the usual violence and language one finds in a Tarantino flick)

The Tarantino Mixtape from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Samuel L. Jackson as the 12th Doctor:

"I want these mother fucking Daleks off this mother fucking TARDIS."

"...and you will KNOW my name is The Doctor when I lay my vengeance upon thee" [Activates sonic in bad guys general direction]

Ancient world Fantasy Weekend

This weekend turned out to be an interesting foray into the Ancient World Fantasy film genre. First up:

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)



Not sure why this film got a bad rap. It is a fun little adventure, captures the feel and movement of the games quite well and gives us a great little twist on the whole time travel genre. Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job (although his accent was a bit wobbly surrounded by a cast primarily made up of British citizens)bringing a likeable character and a physicality to the role I didn't know he was capable of. Beautiful scenery and decent script. For a good action adventure film, this one is just fine.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10


Conan the Barbarian (2011)



I will freely admit I am a huge fan of Jason Momoa primarily from his work on Stargate: Atlantis and Game of Thrones (I like to ignore the fact he was on Baywatch) so I went into this film already planning on enjoying it due to his presence. However, I walked out of the film realizing I had just seen something great. Not spectactular or "oh my god you have to see this" caliber, but a fun adventure that met every expectation I would imagine out of a Conan film.

If your only exposure to Conan has been the early 80s film, please clear it from your head when considering the new one. While Arnold and John Millius gave us a fantastic film, it really morphed into it's own thing and shied away from the original source of Conan. The new film manages to be much closer in spirit to the original books and has a great time doing so. Let me share with you the Just Another Movie Geek Official Conan Check list©:

-Copious sword play with blood lettings: check
-Ample bosoms on screen: check (and before I am accused of misogyny, I would say the male and female bare chest time was fairly even in the film)
-Evil bad guy that only our stalwart hero can bring down: check
-The riddle of steel: check (and I liked it better in the new one!)
-Witchcraft, sorcery and other black magics: check
-Other worldly-ness and ancient-ness to the setting: check

The only fault I found in it was as fantastic as the world we were given was, it did seem that travel time was completely ignored in favor of quick narrative. Not that I wanted a LOTR rehash showing Conan riding the sand for hours and hours, but things just seemed to happen a bit quickly. And not a complaint, but I was actually expecting a bit more gore. Sure there was plenty of blood flying, a few dismemberments and the such, but when shows like 'Spartacus Blood and Sand' manage to up the sword level gore gratuity to a new level I feel a bit let down when I don't get it here as much.

If you like yourself a good sword, sandal and sorcery flick, ignore the bad reviews this one is getting and check it out.

Overall: 8 out of 10

Side note: The universe apparently wants me to have more Alfred Molina in my daily life. Over the past 4 days he showed up in 3 films we have watched and then he was in a trailer before Conan.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Let me first say that when it comes to reading comic books, I am a DC fanboy. I collect primarily Batman titles and keep a good grasp on the rest of the "DC Universe." So why is it that of all the super hero movies of the last 10 years I have enjoyed the Marvel-Verse films greater?

Maybe they adapt to films better. Maybe I am not as critical of them as I am with the DC films. Regardless, Captain America: The First Avenger is a marvelous film.

For being as bored with the origin story in comic films as I am, this one managed to make it interesting. As an action film, its got some wonderful pieces and the pace was perfect. Casting was spot on and the fx were well funded. The patriotism of such and "american" character was dealt with evenly. Not overly in your face jingoistic, but portrayed a time when the group dynamic of our country was a bit more nobler. Chris Evans gave us a stoic and approachable Steve Rogers and Hayley Atwell delivered a breath of fresh air to the female character in the genre. She wasn't just eye candy, or the damsel in distress nor merely just the love interest. She was an equal. Director Joe Johnston (who proved he can handle the genre and the time period with The Rocketeer) created a wonderful film for fans of fun and entertaining cinema.

Some spoilery points of interest:

-A wonderful reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark
-Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene
-Stay after the credits for a nice set up for next years Avengers. I am probably going to have to break my Joss Whedon boycott
-Favorite Line: "I'm from Fresno, Ace."

Space Battleship Yamoto

Finally got a chance to see this. I will freely admit my knowledge of the original is rather limited. Starblazers was on before I watched toons as a kid so I never got to actually see it. I have seen random bits of it here and there and have a decent grasp of the story. So with that in mind, I must say they did a great job with this film.

Story wise is what you would expect out of the show. A few logic jumps did occur but (they managed to pump a 26 episode tv show into a 2 hour 18 minute movie) none to jarring to interrupter the flow. Visually the fx are top notch (amazingly done on a 22 million dollar budget) with some amazing battle sequences.

They definitely went to the Galactica playbook for this film. From the utilitarian look of the ship interiors to the helmets and flight suits this film borrowed heavily but still managed to maintain a Japanese esthetic and stay close to it's anime roots.

Fans of the show and fans of a rolling space adventure should check it out.

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain: this film is made of pure chinese crack.

Quick Movie Reviews: 4.4.11

Got a chance to watch two flicks over the weekend.

1. The Expendables



A decent time with some great action scenes, but unfortunately not that great of a film. Script could have used some serious polish and it probably would have been a much better film. But for going back to the basics of "lots of gun fights and ass kicking," the film works. RED managed to pull off the "old guy" action film a bit better. Terry Crews (who should have been given more screen time) stole every scene he was in.

2. The Green Hornet



I did not understand the hate and bad reviews this got. Mrs. JAMG and I had a great time with it. Was Seth Rogen nothing but Seth Rogen? Sure, but it did not really distract from the film at all. Jay Chou turns out an amazing role as Kato and manages to shine throughout. The car was cool (as it should be) and the bad guy (Chrisoph Waltz) was just the right amount of over the top but still subdued. I felt Micheal Gondry did an amazing job offering us a deconstructed look at the super hero genre.

Title Card for a Sunday Afternoon

It's raining outside, chores are done. Scotch in my hand, neat. In theater:




It's a good day for a movie.

Frame Within a Frame Series-Spotlight on:

Frame Within a Frame Series-Spotlight on:





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