March 27, 2014 Movie Round-Up
Sorry for the lack of posts recently, folks. I’ve been sick for about a week. NyQuil helps me sleep, but it gives me fuzzybrain. I seem to be over the worst of it, but I’m still not operating at peak capacity.
The only good thing about being sick is having an excuse to lie around and watch movies. I thought I’d give you a rundown of what I’ve watched in the last week.
The Muppets – My intention was to watch this in anticipation of seeing Muppets Most Wanted, but I still haven’t felt well enough to get to a theater for that one. This is a great Muppet movie, and I’ll fight anyone who says differently. It makes me tear up almost as much as it makes me laugh, though.
Never Say Never Again – I finally got around to seeing the “last” Bond movie, “last” in this sense meaning “the last one I hadn’t seen.” This is the non-official movie that Sean Connery made happen, because… well, there are a lot of theories. It wasn’t great, but it was better than some of the official films.
The Grandmaster – I loved Ip Man and Ip Man 2, and highly recommend them both. Since this movie is about Ip Man (who was Bruce Lee’s wing chun teacher, in case you didn’t know), I assumed it would also be good. It… wasn’t. I mean, it was fine, but it’s nowhere near the quality of the Donnie Yen movies.
Burke & Hare – Two guys in 19th century England who provide cadavers to medical schools by graverobbing… at first. Based on a true story and starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis. The final shot in the movie is of the actual Burke’s actual skeleton in the Edinburgh University Medical Museum. Enjoyable enough movie.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate – I’ll watch random kung fu movies if they look like they have decent production values and a name I recognize. Jet Li was in this one, but there was way too much wire work in it for my tastes. I don’t mind mystical elements in kung fu movies, certainly, but it never looked right in this one and the story was hard to follow (admittedly, this might have been because I was feeling very lousy).
The Way Way Back – I had plans to see this one in the theater but never got the chance. I loved this movie. Sweet and charming without being overly so. Jim Rash wrote and directed this one (with Nat Faxon), and I highly recommend it. Added bonus for me: the title refers to the rear-facing seat in station wagons, a seat I often chose on family vacations.
Ruby Sparks – I don’t know how I feel about this one. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be an examination of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, but I don’t know that I can figure out what it’s saying about it. I liked it well enough, but I don’t think I loved it. Very helpful review, I know.
The Good, the Bad, and the Weird – back when I watched The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, commenter Andrea suggested I try this Korean movie inspired by it. I know this is sacrilege, but I liked this one better than the original, mostly because there was more of a sense of fun throughout it. It’s ridiculous in parts, and unless you know Korean you’ll need to read it, but I quite enjoyed it. Thanks, Andrea!
This weekend, if time, budget, and health allow, I’d like to see Muppets Most Wanted, Noah, and Sabotage. What movies are you hoping to see?
Written by: Mark
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