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The Last Airbender [Movie Review]

Jul 30

Posted by Aaron in Featured, Movie Reviews | No Comments

As I had previously promised in my pre-movie speculation, here is my review.

Sullivan, Melissa and I all went to the theater together while my Mom, visiting, watched Freyja. Sullivan was very excited about seeing the “Fire Nation Movie on the big TV.”

For those of you only interested in my conclusion, I will simply refer to my tweet, posted shortly after seeing the movie.

Dear m night, please let someone else write, direct, and produce the airbender sequel. Thanks.

Yeah. He killed it. As hard as I tried to like it; as much as I tried to look past its flaws; it was overall a travesty. However, the wooden acting, poorly written dialogue, and bad editing have been covered ad nauseam by armchair critics all across the Internet — I’d instead like to focus on it from the angle of someone with a more intimate understanding of the show.

Remember the episode when the characters all attend a play that recaps the entire series to-date? That was a more faithful re-telling of the story.

Warning: This post contains spoilers, if spoiling this movie is even possible.

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Speculation on “The Last Airbender”

May 21

Posted by Aaron in Movie Reviews, Musings | 4 Comments

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” (not to be confused with James Cameron’s blue-hippie movie “Avatar”) is a cartoon series that spanned three seasons on Nickelodeon. It’s a witty, fun, and well-developed cartoon done in a quasi-Anime (Japanese animation) style.

M. Night Shylaman, the man behind terrific cinematic feats such as “Unbreakable” and “Signs” (as well as well-intentioned failures such as “The Happening” and “Lady in the Water”) is at the helm for “The Last Airbender,” slated for release on July 2.

I absolutely adore the show, and my 3-year-old son really enjoys it as well (even my wife likes it!). We’re very excited about the theatrical release. Here… watch the trailer, it should give you a rough idea:

(Additional footage can be seen on the previous trailer)

One thing I’ve been wondering, though, is that even though this movie will only encompass the first season (Book 1: Water), how are they cramming 20 episodes (spanning roughly 9 hours) into a 2 hour movie, without feeling rushed like some of the more recent Harry Potter movies?

Here is my speculation on what the movie will cover, based on scenes in that trailer and overall plot importance: Read the rest of this entry »

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Obligatory Twilight Discussion / Review [Movie Review]

Nov 27

Posted by Aaron in Movie Reviews | 2 Comments

new-moon-official-poster-leakedI feel compelled to write this mostly because it’s been discussed with my friends, coworkers, wife, and numerous strangers so many times, my thoughts on it have been really fleshed out; and apparently I have enough of an axe to grind about it, given my compulsion to discuss.

We just saw the new Twilight “saga” movie, “New Moon” last week. Strangely (and somewhat pathetically), the last movie my wife and I saw in the theaters was the first Twilight film, over a year ago. Melissa is currently reading the third book (“Eclipse”, due out in theaters next summer) and she’s been telling me about it.

I feel it’s  my duty to disclose that I have not actually read the books, only seen the movies, but I have read numerous plot synopses, discussed it extensively with friends, family, and others that have read it. The general consensus is that the movies follow the books pretty faithfully. Regardless, I will be dealing with over-arching plot elements, characters, etc., and not with Meyers’ technical skill as a writer, despite having heard that there’s a veritable of buffet for criticism in that regard.

I should also forewarn you that I am quite critical of the Twilight” saga”, so if it happens to be a series of books that you particularly enjoy, you may want to either brace yourself or skip reading it. Your choice. Feel free to comment, either way.

That said… Read the rest of this entry »

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy [Movie Review]

Aug 19

Posted by Aaron in Movie Reviews | No Comments

“There’s good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fightin’ for!”

Overview: [There really isn't any short way to tell the story of this movie accurately...so I apologize in advance]. There’s a uber-powerful ring. Two little-people have to dump it in a volcano hundreds of miles away in the evil lair of the big bad guy. They are aided by their friends, an elf, a dwarf, and a human [sort of], as well as various other people along the way, who unfortunately all get sidetracked by two humungous epic-scale battles waged by the big bad guy. Ultimately good prevails and we all say Hurrah.

Noteworthy Actors / Actresses: Elijah Welch (Frodo), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Sean Astin (Sam), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), John Rhys-Davise (Gimli), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Sean Bean (Boromir), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Ian Holm (Bilbo), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Christopher Lee (Sauruman), Brad Dourif (Wormtongue)

Homages / Trivia: Too much to list. Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King.Verdict: One word: Epic. This trilogy is probably one of the best known book sets of all time. Beautifully shot, directed, and wonderfully acted. I think the only thing that would really bother some people about it is its length (ranging from 2 hrs and change to 3 hrs and change, the THEATRICAL versions… each extended cut adds another 20 to 40 minutes!). But personally, I think if they tried to make it shorter, it would have done it a disservice. Being a geek gives you a special appreciation for it, but I think this movie can appeal to anyone. If you aren’t used to sitting through long movies, watch the theatrical versions, they’re still really good. I wish they would do movies like this with other classics. Definitely worth watching.
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Million Dollar Baby [Movie Review]

Aug 19

Posted by Aaron in Movie Reviews | No Comments

“Above all, protect yourself!”

Overview: Frankie Dunn is an aging Boxing trainer who moonlights as a manager. Due to things in his past, he’s too cautious, and his boxers keep leaving him because of his conservatism. Maggie is a girl with nothing more than a dream, and a whole lot of persistence. They both have a lot of unresolved baggage from their respective pasts, and through each other they ultimately find redemption.

Noteworthy Actors / Actresses: Clint Eastwood (Frankie), Hilary Swank (Maggie), Morgan Freeman (Eddie)

Homages / Trivia: The movie was based on a collection of short stories by Jerry Boyd, from the book “Rope Burns: Stories from the corner“. The actress that played Billie “The Blue Bear” was Hilary Swank’s trainer.

Verdict: This movie is kind of a boxing movie, but not really. The focus of the movie is really on the dynamics between Frankie (Eastwood) and Maggie (Swank), which becomes more and more evident as the movie goes on. Sure, there’s lots of boxing, training, fighting, knockouts, and tomfoolery, but the allusions to the symbiotic relationship between the trainer and the trainee become more and more apparent. That said, and I really don’t want to have to put any spoilers in here so this is going to seem a bit cryptic — it’s powerful. I think this may be some of Eastwood’s best work ever, both acting and directing, and I thought Unforgiven was AWESOME too. It’s definitely worth seeing, and it definitely deserved all the 5 academy awards it received.

From IMDB: (2004) Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) has trained and managed some incredible fighters during a lifetime spent in the ring. The most important lesson he teaches his boxers is the one that rules life: above all, always protect yourself. In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time. His only friend, Scrap (Morgan Freeman), an ex-boxer who looks after Frankie’s gym, knows that beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has been seeking, for the past 25 years, the forgiveness that somehow continues to elude him. Then Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) walks into his gym…

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