I love movies. My wife would attest to this as my DVD collection is rapidly burgeoning out of control. My Blogger profile also does little to dispell this confession. It won't even list all the favorite movies that I selected.I love the whole process: from looking forward to and anticipating a promising movie, to rushing out to see it hoping it meets expectations, to analyzing it afterward, and determining whether it meets the criteria to see again or own on DVD.
But surprisingly, I consider myself to be pretty picky about what movies I'll see and stingy with my praise. I like historical dramas and romantic comedies a lot, and those based on classic literature have a similar appeal. But the movies that really grab me are the ones that hit my "Possibility" nerve. Ones that just seem to fit... into the same hard-to-explain little box that the posts on this blog site also try to fit.
Imagination and "What if..." or "I wonder..." potential seem to be key ingredients.
Obviously, I loved the LOTR trilogy and Narnia, and as I've mentioned before, National Treasure, but those were all blockbuster types with lots of hype. The smaller, sneak-up-on-you types are sometimes even more satisfying.
Big Fish is a pretty recent movie that hit that nerve. Tuck Everlasting is another. And one of my all-time favorites is The Princess Bride. All three of these were based on books, which may not be coincidence. But I've only ever read TPB (which, by the way, is just as funny as the movie, maybe more so).
I think that I can sometimes pick out the soon-to-be-released features that will have what it takes to hit the nerve. But the movie still has to deliver. And The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a prime example of a great concept turned into an ehh movie. It was just very disappointing, because it should have been so much better.
With this in mind, I've searched to come up with a list of coming attractions-- movies that I'm keeping an eye on, that maybe, just maybe, have what it takes. I'll track their progress from production to screening and provide periodic updates and opinions on their likelihood or success in being Realm-worthy.
Here they are in order of planned release date:
Hoodwinked -- Jan 13th
Nanny McPhee -- Jan 27th
Doogal/The Magic Roundabout -- Feb
Aquamarine -- Mar
The Lake House -- June
Monster House -- July
Stormbreaker -- Aug
How to Eat Fried Worms -- Aug
I'm also looking forward to these remakes or sequels:
The Shaggy Dog -- Mar
Ice Age 2 -- Mar
X Men 3 -- May
Superman Returns -- June
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 -- July (I've heard 3 is also being filmed at the same time)
Prince Caspian -- TBD (Here is another source at IGN confirming that this will be the Narnia sequel).
Let me know if there are some others that have flown under my radar.
Now Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the Movies.
Movies
3 comments:
Speaking of movies, I definitely think the Realm needs a rant on your problems with Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith. After all the build-up and seeing the other five movies, you were hoping for so much.
And then... I think it deserves a post.
Not if we're going for shorter posts, it doesn't.
Saw Hoodwinked last night.
I'd say it's a good family rental, but not one you'd have to hit at the theaters.
Shrek-like but never achieving Shrek-dom. It's an interesting twist on a familiar story and the most creative part is the weaving and intersection of several different story lines.
But the humor was cute, not hilarious, the voice actors were either exactly what you'd expect (Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, David Ogden Stiers) or ho-hum (Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway). The one exception to this was the bizarre mountain goat, whom I did find clever. But whose character really had very little to do with the story.
Overall, I'd give it a B-. But still worth a try.
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