Cant Stop Being A DUDE! » Movies

Award season

Patrick — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:00:24 +0000

What do Twilight, Sex and the City 2 and The Last Airbender all have in common? They were all nominated for Razzies. This “award” is the anti-Oscar, set aside for movies, actors, directors, etc. that are unmitigated disasters either critically, commercially or both. I have to wonder how badly some stars would like to see the Razzies disappear. Of course, after Ricky Gervais, maybe the Razzies would be more gentle.

Holiday movies

Patrick — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:48:48 +0000

This season has been the inspiration for a number of classic movies. And some say that the movie you prefer reveals something about your personality. Newsweek listed some of the standard holiday movies and their interpretation of what character traits it reveals. Considering I was just talking about the importance of being optimistic, your answer may help you determine where you fit in the grand scheme of things.

50 greatest Sci-fi films

Patrick — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:19:40 +0000

Last week, Zagat’s presented their list for the greates movies of all time. This week, MSN decided to list the 50 greatest sci-fi movies. I love science fiction and do consider myself to be a bit knowledgeable when it comes to movies, but after reading some of the entries on this list, I may have to rethink that. Here’s where I have issues. I’ll spare you some suspense and time, the number 1 movie is Blade Runner, which is a great movie, while 2001 is number 2. I guess where I have the problem is what is the judging criteria? Is it the visuals or the storytelling? For ideas presented in a way that forces you to sit and think, 2001 is by far the superior film.

RiffTrax

Patrick — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:55:47 +0000

I loved MST3K when I was growing up. If you never saw it, three people would sit and hurl jokes at an old, cheesy movie as the movie played. The three that did this changed during the course of the show, but three that ended the show got together recently to create the same atmosphere with mainstream movies. They call it RiffTrax. You buy their commentary in mp3 form, you provide the DVD of the movie, sync the two and enjoy. I recently purchased the track for Star Wars episode 3, and I love every minute of it.

Star Trek

Patrick — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:21:11 +0000

I have to say that this recent reboot of Star Trek is a fun movie to watch. I know this is a blog post that’s a year too late, but I’m watching it right now, and as a long time fan of the series, I like the direction they took with the franchise. The story of time travel and alternate realities was done in a way that was plausible and entertaining. Even my wife, who doesn’t like any other Star Trek movie like this one.

Jaws 2

Patrick — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:05:19 +0000

My wife saw her first Jaws movie last night. She’s never seen the original Jaws, but I’ve seen them all, so I knew what to expect from this first sequel. I used that to my advantage. When the shark was getting ready to make a surprise appearance, I made it a point to have my arm around her and squeeze when the shark appeared. The screams she let out were hilarious.

Cant stop being a geek

Patrick — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:15:09 +0000

I took a road trip to Minnesota this past weekend and its a 7 hour drive for me to get to my destination. In order to make the time go by faster, I listen to music like most people, but I listen a little differently. I listen to movie scores and other off the wall music like Weird Al Yankovic. Well, to make this trip go by faster, I listened to movie music from movies that had car chase scenes, such as:

The truck chase from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
The main theme from “Back to the Future”
“Speed”

I may be a geek, but it helped pass the time to Minnesota.

Macgruber – SNL style action

Patrick — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:15:15 +0000

I’m not a fan of the current Saturday Night Live, and I haven’t been a fan for a while. The last time I watched an original airing of SNL was when Dana Carvey and Mike Myers were still doing the Wayne’s World sketch. Since then, I have had to wait for something that would require watching. The Celebrity Jeopardy sketches with Will Ferrel as Alex Trebek are hilarious, but I was not about to waste night hoping that a specific sketch would be on the docket. Now, the next SNL inspired movie will hit theaters tonight. Watching the previews, I have somewhat high hopes for this. I was a casual follower of MacGuyver and his ingenuity in making something from virtually nothing became an iconic joke. So, to watch SNL take on this icon in a satirical fashion means that there is potential comedy to be mined from the premise. While I might go see this movie in the theaters, I don’t think it will bring me back to the show.

Which one is best?

Patrick — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:32:17 +0000

This is one of those poll questions that is too early to ask, but I have pushed to my breaking point. The latest take on the fictional character Robin Hood opens this week, and it got me to thinking about the various movies. After realizing that this is a particular topic that needs to be put to pasture, I decided to once more figure out which is the best Robin Hood movie. Now, let’s get some ground rules. First, Robin Hood is a fictional character based on several figures in British history. Second, most of the info we know concerning this character come from songs created by minstrels who traveled from town to town, singing for entertainment and money. Third, I read dramatizations of the songs when I was a kid, so the common elements of the Robin Hood mythos are Sherwood Forest, his status as an outlaw, his band of merry men with Little John leading the way and his relation to Will Scarlett are all part of the songs at some point.
That being said, each movie includes some of the original myth as well as embellishment for its own sake. Erol Flynn’s movie is colorful and playful, Kevin Costner’s is more realistic, except for his lack of accent, Disney’s is a anthropomorphic fox, and Mel Brooks’ is a satire. There are probably a few I’ve missed (like I said, this character needs to be put to bed), but what I’ve seen of this new one with Russell Crowe, it appears maid Marian becomes a soldier. I’m sorry, but historically speaking, that would never happen. So of all the Robin Hood movies, my favorite one to watch is still Costner’s. I can live with the fluctuating accent.

The best and worst superhero movie ever?

Patrick — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:42:41 +0000

Continuing with the poll typr posts, let’s pose another question: what is the best and worst superhero movie of all time? And when I say movie, I mean theater movie, not made for TV movie. For me, I have a hard time naming the best. I grew up with many, the original Superman from the the 70s, Tim Burton’s Batman from 1989 and Batman Returns would all be contenders for me and it’s hard to select the top one. Picking the worst is hard because I am a bit of a snob when it comes to superhero movies. Any movie that doesn’t have a lead that interests me doesn’t make it on my radar. I have yet to watch any of the X-Men flicks or something from the Marvel universe and here’s why.

Being a superhero is a fantasy of most men and some women. If you had an ability that is outside the normal range of humanity, you would be pretty stoked about it and the world would probably develop an unhealthy worship of you. Yet, every Marvel comics character hates the fact they have their powers and the world in the comic demonizes. I’m sorry, but that’s a load of garbage, for reasons I said earlier. I can’t imagine anyone in this real world saying, “Oh, I have a titanium skeleton and can never be seriously injured. The world hates me for my gift. Boo-hoo.” Give me a break.