Reviews

Movie Review: Maleficent (2014)

Yes, I did see two movies this weekend. (Take that the one person who answered the poll and said to see neither movie.)

I liked this movie but I will warn you from the start it is definitely more of a kid’s kid movie than other recent options. It is not a kid’s movie like The Lego Movie that adults basically hijacked. And it is not a princess movie like Frozen that united the world in literal harmony. What it is is a large step above the classic Disney princess tale. If I had to compare it to something I would say Mirror Mirror which is based on the tale of Snow White and came out around the same time as Snow White and the Huntsman which is probably why you might not know it.

I will start by addressing the biggest factor in this movie: Angelina Jolie. She was an executive producer as well as the title character. She was heavily featured in advertising. This movie was going to succeed or fail based on her. And I loved her in it. She has a face that is impossible to mistake but they were smart with her makeup. They played up her cheekbones and in the end it wasn’t Angelina I was watching but Maleficent. It helps that even if she was a nobody she looks a lot like the cartoon character. She was fully clothed and did little hand to hand combat which helps as well.

The changes to the story were beautiful. Gone is the good vs. evil, black vs. white, old vs. young flat palate of the original. Instead we have a villain that is also a hero. The characters were dynamic and grew. We had justification for the hate and the war. We had complex relationships and back stories. And we had a strong but relatable female lead. Plus the princess looked her age. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

I was worried about seeing this movie but I am glad I did. It was kind of like a live action episode of Family Guy (one of the really good episodes, not one of “road to…” ones). It started off fast and funny.

There was a joke early on that I thought was a miss. Seth’s character is wasted and about to get on his horse. The line was, “Don’t drink and horse.” Obviously, this was a play on ‘drink and drive’. It didn’t land with me for one reason. In my mind it should have been “Don’t drink and ride.” Drive and ride are both verbs. Horse is a noun. We don’t say ‘drink and car’. If the word ride didn’t exist and or share similar phones I wouldn’t mind. Now whether it never occurred to them or they thought of it and dismissed it, possibly for being too easy, I don’t know. This was the only joke that didn’t land for me though.. the rest of the jokes were well done and delivered perfectly.

The cast was nicely utilized. Even the cameos were elegant.

The thing that sets this apart from other recent male-humor driven movies (Neighbors) was the tone. Where Neighbors tried a little too hard to be more than just a funny movie this movie embraced its identity. It didn’t take itself seriously. It didn’t drag things out. It was focused on its theme and was really able to explore a lot of facets through its farcical lens. Continue reading →

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11

I have extolled the virtues and beauty of 9 and 10 and I feel the need to explain my problem with the 11th Doctor. “Doctor Who?” you ask. Maybe skip this post. Or call me out for making basically the same terrible joke for a 3rd post.

My issue with 11 is not the actor. I think he is decent looking, even if sometimes I think he might look like Frankenstein’s monster. There is even a moment that makes me think that he is on of the better actors the show has cast.

I’m talking about: Season 7, Episode 5 “The Angels Take Manhattan”, Time 23:00 (skip Rory parts)- 25:00 (spoilers below)

He does his little kid impression because he is happy that River was able to change the story. He grabs her hand and we all see that her wrist is indeed broken. He asks why she lied.

“When one is in love with an ageless god who insists on the face of a 12-year-old one does one’s best to hide the aging process,” or something like that is her answer.

“It must hurt.”

“It does.” And then she adds that the wrist hurts too. Watch his face through this and for the next bit. I cannot fully explain what it is about this scene so I won’t go on and on trying to explain, but something in these minutes make me think, “Wow, this man can act.”

So you might ask, “Prisma, if it isn’t the actor what could you possibly not like about the 11th.” Continue reading →

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10

So I may practically worship 9 but I see the power in 10. The Doctor that is. “Doctor who?” you ask. This post is probably not for you.

As a stand alone performance the 10th Doctor is pretty strong, not as strong as 9 as a stand alone though and 10 has the benefit of many more episodes and stronger writing, in my opinion. The true value of 10 I feel is in acting the relief to the final strong moments 9 showed.

Where 9 was full of content smiles and a very few moments of pure extreme emotion 10 lives his entire life through swinging emotions.

He is spontaneous and erratic and his emotions mirror that through rapid and extreme changes. When he is happy he practically bounces with energy. When he is angry he can yell, which is intimidating, or her can glare, which is chillingly scary. He can crack jokes while taking a life threatening situation in stride. But if he gets mad he gets cold. He can bring down a PM with 6 words. He isn’t keen on second chances once his favour is lost. Continue reading →

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9

I think I mentioned in another post that a lot of people seem to list them 11, 10, and I don’t really have a 3rd favorite. I think they miss the beauty of the 9th.

If you are confused let me clarify. This is a post about my appreciation of the 9th Doctor. “Doctor who?” you might ask. This post might not be for you.

11 is pretty. 10 has a huge emotional range. But 9, for all his cowardice, lives for others even when he doesn’t want to and even when they don’t deserve him.

I won’t go on and on about each episode or the arc as a whole (because frankly I think the “Bad Wolf” theme was poorly executed, especially in the final episode). I could explore the line, “Just this once everybody lives,” or his last words, “You were brilliant. And you know what? So was I,” but instead I want to focus on the moment of acting that speaks to who the Doctor is, what he thinks is important, and what he is willing to do to protect it. Warning, spoilers big time below. Continue reading →

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