An Exercise in Writing Part 1

I like to collect my own movie ticket stubs so I can look back on all the movies I have paid to see in theaters throughout my years. The sad thing (at least something I always regret after the year) is that I never see enough movies. But it can’t be helped considering the closest theater is the type that plays the wrong film half the time, forgets to open the curtains wide enough to show the full screen, and even forgets to change 3D lenses to 2D so the image is exponentially dimmer. But that is no excuse. I will always need to see more movies. Here is the horribly small list of movies that I have ventured out to fifteen minutes and even two hours to see.  

Rango – The best animated film of the year so far is surprisingly not from Pixar or Dreamworks Animation, but from Nickelodeon. Rango culminates into many things. It can be viewed as a homage to old Spaghetti Westerns especially those of Sergio Leone and his Man with No Name Trilogy. It can also be viewed as a story about crisis of identity and coming into one’s own skin, but involving geometrically impaired, hyper stylized creatures from a child’s light nightmare. But what it all comes down to its incredible sense of fun and imagination. It is one of the best movies of the year.  

Sucker Punch – So this movie is bad. Really bad. The story becomes incoherent once you give the slightest effort to understanding its plot, but who comes to Sucker Punch for the story? People in their right minds would want to watch this movie for its attractive female protagonists kicking butt against giant stone samurai, steam-punk styled robotic Nazis, fire-breathing dragons, and 50s styled futuristic robots. Is that there? Yes, but in the sense that your pet cat will be there as well. Sure it’s in your eyesight, but it doesn’t interest you because your cat is the fattest and laziest bastard alive. 

Insidious – Oh man, oh my, oh me. This horror film was not what I expected. Given the poster it seemed I was walking into another “creepy kid” style horror film but what I got was a roller coaster thrill ride. Usually I’m against jump scares. Usually they are used to trick the audience into thinking something bad will happen when really it’s just that damn lazy fat bastard cat that jumps at you and screams for no reason. But this film has just enough jump scares where you feel tense the entire film waiting for them. What it culminates into is a fun haunted house ride that should be experienced with a lot of friends. 

Your Highness – Coming from the director of Pineapple Express, I had at least some expectations for this film to create a few good laughs throughout its runtime. But what the film actually presented itself as was a string of highly promising jokes resulting in dick jokes. I love the nuance a good dick joke can bring, but Your Highness believes that just the mere mention of said dick is funny. It never is fun to come up with better jokes during the movie when it seems that the writers obviously did not know where else to go other than treading familiar dicky waters bad dick joke after bad dick joke.

DICK. See, was that funny?

Hanna – UNTS CCCS! UNTS CCCS! UNTS CCCS! Hanna is the third movie by director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement) and is becoming one of my favorite recent directors. He visual flare comes off as confident and slick. Hanna is a mix between a fairy tale and a Bourne movie, but with a 15 year old lead. Saoirse Ronan, who plays the lead role as Hanna, shines with an amazing performance involving an entire spectrum of acting including intense action scenes and emotionally deep drama. The fight and chase sequences incorporate strobe lighting and fast editing that give off a sense of a rave party and a dance club; A rave party that even a recluse like me would enjoy experiencing. 

Thor – I believe I was little too harsh on this movie after I had seen it. I found the acting to be hammy, the love story to be forced and overall a movie that was insubstantial. But as time progressed and I saw more summer blockbusters I found myself remembering more fondly on this movie. The acting sure is hammy but quite fun, while the love story is forced, it didn’t distract from the story and while insubstantial, I had a lot of fun. And although Asgard, Thor's home world, seems to be inhabited by only 20 people, doesn't steer away from the fact that it is a beautiful place to gawk at.This movie does not take itself too seriously and overall it is easily recommendable.