Well for myself that is. I've been to the movies so many times this summer, AMC Theatres might have to start charging me rent or something along those lines. Actually though, I've been going to a lot of movies this summer, because it's one of my few escapes at the moment, and I've had a love for movies for the longest time, only more recently (as in the past few years) has that love for movies really grown.
In the past, my taste in movies pretty much stopped at the latest blockbuster's, but as I've grown older, I've learned to pretty much appreciate every genre of movies aside from horror flicks. I've just never cared for that genre. I've always liked watching films most guys would probably get teased about (chick flicks, sappy love stories, etc.) and usually, I wind up watching them alone. I tend to do a lot of things alone, but that's a whole different story.
Back to where I was going, my deepening love for movies really took off a few years ago, when I went to my first Best Picture Showcase at AMC Theatres. I've gone now for the last 4 years. It's such a great experience, and it is so much fun. Originally when I first went, the rules for that category were 5 films were nominated, so we saw all 5. Then the Academy changed it to 10 films, so one weekend was spent watching the first batch of 5, then the remaining 5 the week after that. You see the films in one day. It's a marathon, but a fun one in that. Every year, they give you new lanyards. I've got about 5, and this past year, they gave us movie posters (still have 2)
Now as far as movies for this summer goes, I've seen 21 different movies, and out of those 21 movies, have seen 2 twice. Here is my list of movies, along with my short brief take on the movies:
Thor (First comic book movie of the summer I saw, and I actually enjoyed this one, a tad bit more than Captain America. The cast in my opinion, was just a tad bit better than Captain America, but both movies in their own right were good comic book movies.)
Pirates 4 (Only saw this one once unfortunately, but this one was a lot better than the last one imo, and it has Johnny Depp in it, and there's not much more to say with regards to that.)
The Hangover II (Not going to lie. I thought this one was funny, but the more and more I think back on it, the more disappointed I get with it. The plot was exactly the same as the first one, just replace certain actors with new ones, and it's almost like a television show recasting. Is it worth getting when it comes out on Blu-ray/DVD? Yeah, but still I felt disappointed none the less. Supposedly a third one is on it's way, I can only hope that they make it as unique and different as the first one.)
X-Men First Class (This one, was one of my more pleasant surprises of the year. I literally went in with the attitude of why in the world did they do an origins movie. I felt like it was completely unnecessary, and they should have done a sequel instead. Coming out however, I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was this film really enjoyable, but it also was hands down in my opinion the best comic book movie of the Summer.)
Green Lantern (Seen this one twice, second time only because I had a free ticket. Still as much of a let down as the first time)
Mr. Popper's Penguins (Jim Carrey flick. Really worth it, if your a fan, even if your not a fan of his, I recommend this one)
Bad Teacher (Hilarious movie, along the same lines of The Hangover)
Cars 2 (Better than I thought it'd be, still one of Pixar's more weaker films)
Transformers The Dark of the Moon (Seen it twice. Want to see it a third time at the very least, before it's out of theaters)
Larry Crowne (This was better then it's performed in the box office. Only complaint about this film is the ending. Seemed kind of rushed. Could have been better)
Horrible Bosses (Another comedy along the lines of Bad Teacher and The Hangover.)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (My first midnight showing. Was worth it, and then some. Managed to write 5 paragraphs in something I'm trying to write, or at least fool around with, prior to the start. Saw a guy dressed up as Batman, and had a bunch of cosplayers hit up the auditorium prior to the start.
Captain America (Good comic book movie. I place it in a tie with Thor for second best comic book movie this summer, behind X-Men First Class. Stay for the ending if you see it, well worth it)
Friends With Benefits (This movie has a similar storyline setup to No Strings Attached, only it's better, and by better, I mean a lot better. Really worth seeing if your in the mood for some laughs)
Cowboys & Aliens (Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, and the increasingly popular Olivia Wilde makes this a really good film right? You'll be disappointed if you went in with really high expectations. If you take it for what it is, then you'll enjoy yourself, but if you stop to think how silly the premise of the movie is, then that's where you'll feel disappointed. In a way almost feels like this year's version of Skyline, but that's not really doing this film justice.)
Crazy, Stupid, Love (When it comes to movies starring Steve Carrell, I find it to be either a hit or miss. I don't find him to be that funny. More annoying funny perhaps. I think he tries to hard, but this movie was really well done. I really found myself to enjoy this one. Julianne Moore, is such an incredible actress, then you add in Emma Stone, and Ryan Gosling, and you won't be disappointed with this one.)
The Smurfs (I saw this one mainly for nostalgia reasons alone. Having said that, this movie was ok. Sort of leaves you with an Alvin and the Chipmunks feel to it (the first one, not the second, as the second really sucked.) My real gripes with this film are the voice acting (thought it could have been way better, and George Lopez as Grouchy Smurf, along with Katy Perry as Smurfette could and should have been cast better, along with Papa Smurf) and the writers really didn't try to come up with a good character for Neil PATRICK Harris (middle name is capitalized for a reason)
The Change-Up (This comedy is up there with The Hangover, Friends with Benefits, and Horrible Bosses, in terms of raunchiness. Having said that, I rank this movie up there on the comedy schedule. If you are a fan of either Ryan Reynolds and the other guy for which I'm am too lazy to go look up, you won't be disappointed with this film, at all. Easily Ryan Reynolds best film of the summer
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (If you compare this with Mark Whalberg's version of the Planet of the Apes, you will realize that this one is by far much, much better than that one, and question yourself why on earth didn't they do something like this to begin with. James Franco was really good in this movie, and probably my second fav. film with him in it (first one being 27 hours, if you haven't seen that, rent it or buy it, you'll like it) I actually found myself feeling connected to the Apes as the film progressed. Really well done.
Zookeeper (This movie I liked less than Mr. Popper's Penguins. The comedy in this one for the most part was pretty much hit or miss.)
The Help (I absolutely think this movie is the best movie I've seen so far this year. I really love it. It has such a good cast, and good story. I will be shocked if this movie isn't at the very least nominated for Best Picture. It's that good. I saw this first day it was released, and truth be told, I want to see it again. If you were standing in line deciding what movie to pick, and you could only pick one, I'd recommend this movie before you see any other film. It's really good, and enjoyable. Has it's funny parts, sad parts, and parts that just keep you hooked throughout the whole movie. You can really relate to the characters in this film, I myself liked Skeeter's character, but also found myself feeling sympathy towards Cecilia's character in the film. That's all I will say for now on this film, don't want to spoil anything.)
No comments:
Post a Comment