Monday, January 26, 2004
A Long Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Away...
...I last updated this blog. Things have been way too hectic and busy around here.
And yes, I know I was supposed to post my review of The Last Samurai this past Saturday. I just haven't had time. It's written, just not online yet. Speaking of movies, I have seen a few lately. I'm not going to post reviews of them on my site (I don't have time and I just don't want to), but I'll sum up my thoughts here:
Open Range - Kevin Costner's new western/drama. It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but some people will probably love it. As for me, I thought the acting was horrible (though it improved as the movie went on) and Costner just doesn't have a good accent. Some parts of the script are horribly written. It's slow moving (not necessarily a bad thing, but it will discourage some people) and only has one big shootout. As a whole, it's not bad, and I give it a 6/10.
Whale Rider - One of those artsy Sundance films. It follows a girl named Pai who belongs to the Maori (or is it Mauri?) tribe. Supposedly destiny was messed up because she was born instead of her twin brother, who died and was supposed to be the next chief. She starts learning the customs of the tribe, and challenges its rules and institutions. There's really so much more I could say, but it would take too long. It's a pretty good movie, and provides an interesting look at the beliefs and customs of a different people group (and I thought Salvadoreans could be weird). I give it an 8/10.
S.W.A.T. - Based on the old tv show, it follows members of an elite SWAT unit (what did you think?). They have to stop an international terrorist and an ex-SWAT member gone rogue. It's just a good, fun movie. It's not trying to win any awards. The acting is solid and some of the action scenes are pretty inventive. If you're looking for a movie that doesn't demand much from its audience, this is a good choice. It deserves an 8/10.
There are so many other things I want to mention about the last few days. For instance, I was going to post the links to a few new Jeffrey Ford stories, but I don't have time to find them now. Oh, and Julieta, I was glad to hear you finally read The Empire of Ice Cream and enjoyed it! I sent that to you what, eight months ago?
I will mention this: Peter Jackson won the Golden Globe for Best Director. Yay. That's really all I wanted. But Return of the King also won Best Drama, so that's good too. Bill Murray deserves credit for the funniest acceptance speech. Although that British guy from The Office was pretty funny (he hadn't written a speech) - "As you probably guessed, I'm from a little island called England. We used to rule the world before you did."
Less than a month until The Passion of the Christ. I decided I'll go see it even if the subtitles are in Spanish, since they were considering releasing it without subtitles in the first place.
And yes, I know I was supposed to post my review of The Last Samurai this past Saturday. I just haven't had time. It's written, just not online yet. Speaking of movies, I have seen a few lately. I'm not going to post reviews of them on my site (I don't have time and I just don't want to), but I'll sum up my thoughts here:
Open Range - Kevin Costner's new western/drama. It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but some people will probably love it. As for me, I thought the acting was horrible (though it improved as the movie went on) and Costner just doesn't have a good accent. Some parts of the script are horribly written. It's slow moving (not necessarily a bad thing, but it will discourage some people) and only has one big shootout. As a whole, it's not bad, and I give it a 6/10.
Whale Rider - One of those artsy Sundance films. It follows a girl named Pai who belongs to the Maori (or is it Mauri?) tribe. Supposedly destiny was messed up because she was born instead of her twin brother, who died and was supposed to be the next chief. She starts learning the customs of the tribe, and challenges its rules and institutions. There's really so much more I could say, but it would take too long. It's a pretty good movie, and provides an interesting look at the beliefs and customs of a different people group (and I thought Salvadoreans could be weird). I give it an 8/10.
S.W.A.T. - Based on the old tv show, it follows members of an elite SWAT unit (what did you think?). They have to stop an international terrorist and an ex-SWAT member gone rogue. It's just a good, fun movie. It's not trying to win any awards. The acting is solid and some of the action scenes are pretty inventive. If you're looking for a movie that doesn't demand much from its audience, this is a good choice. It deserves an 8/10.
There are so many other things I want to mention about the last few days. For instance, I was going to post the links to a few new Jeffrey Ford stories, but I don't have time to find them now. Oh, and Julieta, I was glad to hear you finally read The Empire of Ice Cream and enjoyed it! I sent that to you what, eight months ago?
I will mention this: Peter Jackson won the Golden Globe for Best Director. Yay. That's really all I wanted. But Return of the King also won Best Drama, so that's good too. Bill Murray deserves credit for the funniest acceptance speech. Although that British guy from The Office was pretty funny (he hadn't written a speech) - "As you probably guessed, I'm from a little island called England. We used to rule the world before you did."
Less than a month until The Passion of the Christ. I decided I'll go see it even if the subtitles are in Spanish, since they were considering releasing it without subtitles in the first place.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 1/26/2004 10:55:00 PM 
