Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hook - Trailer

Hook (1991)

There are times where I forget that the generation now have not been exposed to the movies that I've seen when I was younger. However you may feel about it, a generation can easily be defined by the celebritties permeating our screens. For my adolescent years, I remember seeing alot of Robin Williams.

He was everywhere! "Mrs. Doubtfire", the Genie in "Aladdin", "The Birdcage", and oh so much more. The man hammed is way into every media possible! Personally, I'm not a huge fan of  Williams. His flamboyant arms  and humor always freaked me out. After seeing a bit of "Death to Smoochy", he made me nervous. And I refuse to watch "One Hour Photo" (the cover alone scares the crap out of me for some reason). Despite all that, there have been two movies that Williams sheds his annoyance factor for the most part and executes a great movie: "The Birdcage" (hilarity!) and "Hook" (adventure!)


Peter Pan, a story written in 1904, has been a solid and strong story for a very, very long time. a story of a boy from Neverland who can fly and never grow up. Takes a group of siblings to Neverland and an adventure awaits! There have been numberous versions and retellings of the story. I first saw the Disney version and that has been my visual core.

Now. How about a twist? Yes please!

What if Peter Pan never went back to Neverland? And actually grew up?
This is where "Hook", hooked me in (hee hee, couldn't help myself there).

Williams plays Peter, an old, pauncy, overworked businessman who leaves barely any time for his family. He talks on his cell phone during his daughters play and misses his sons baseball game. During a family visit to England, we find that Peter was taken in by Granny Wendy along with Tuttles. It turns out that the Wendy that we have known to fly away with Peter had grown up. Laura, is her daughter and the one that Peter marries. While the adults are off to a celebration honoring Wendy, Hook comes to kidnap the children away! With the arrival of Tinkerbell, Peter is carried to Neverland. Where he re-discovers his identity and rescue his children.

Whats so cool is that Williams is prefect as an adult Peter Pan.  This is where the goofiness and energy really work. And when the scene is touching, it works. The fun scenes are when he's trying to re-train his body as Pan. And it's during the food fight scene is where it call clicks together. Although the food that materializes never seemed very appetitizing to me even when I was younger. It just hurt my tummy


What can I say about Hook? Dustin Hoffman must have had alot of fun playing his character. It was fun and over the top. And on that note, Bob Hoskins did a great Smee! Instead of the wimpy Smee from the Disney version. Smee was likeable with a tinge of scary. Awesome.



I loved Rufio. I absolutely loved Rufio. I had a major crush on him.  Oh yeah. His red and black mohawk hair was awesome. He was badass awesome. I was so shocked when Hook stabbed him.

Even though you could tell that the movie was made on different sets, I really liked that. Peter Pan is usually performed on stage (by a female). Having the sets just made it feel like a much bigger stage. All exaggerated and theatrical. The scenery always captured my attention.It felt like a wonderful interpretation of what Neverland was.

Oh and the scene with the clocks?! Wow!!! After I watched that I wanted to smash clocks and let out all my aggressions...well whatever aggressions seemed important to my young mind then.
One of my annoyances with the movie is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell. She looks great but that is not tinkerbell. Sheesh, that awkard scene where she materilizes with a poufy white gown? What was that all about? No, really what the hell???? That always confused me. So was Tinkerbell always lusting after Pan??In fact how did she even come so quickly to nab Pan? Was she hovering nearby? If she was, why didn't she use her super-abnormal demon strength to knock Hook's ass as he took the children? Did Tinkerbell always have a crush on Pan???Even when he was younger:?? Ew...... cougar fairy....

The movie really was viewable by everyone. The fight scenes were definitely exciting and silly. You have the brash pirates with swords whereas the lost boys have nerf guns of fluid spoking out. They were fighting but no one was seriously injured. Except for Rufio. That was messed up.

For all its flaws, I absolutely love this movie. This easily tops one of my favorite adventure movies. Its fun, silly and yet can be really deep and touching. The message is pretty simple but the movie is just so much fun. For someone who loves to run around ignoring reality in general, this movie is great favorite of mine. I will admit...I did have fantasies of very handsome flying boys coming through my window.....they were pretty innocent....for the most part.


I wonder which celebrities would define this time in life?

Just for added fun, I added Nostalgia Critics review of the movie. Enjoy!




Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Tucker And Dale Vs Evil - Official Trailer [HD]

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)

I am ever known as the residential scare-dy cat. I am not only arachnophic,claustrophobic but genuinely terrified of homeless people, the dark, vampires, ghosts, and zombies. And yet I am enthralled with reading, watching zombie stories, supernatural shows, and ghost stories. I am very much a walking contradiction. So no surprise I abhor horror movies especially slasher movies. I absolutely hate the sight of people being slashed onscreen. My skin literally crawls when I watch that knife across skin ::ahhhhhhhhhhh!!::

So in order to start knowledage about film flicks, I cheat by watching reviews by Phelous Porteus and the awesome people at Channel Awesome, googling it, or watching within the safety of my boyfriends arm. So I know the stereotypes. The rules as exposed by the Scream series (Thanks Welshy!!). Even so,you don't have to be terribly knowledge in horror movies to understand the jokes in this movie.It is just way too entertaining to get bogged down by details.

Tucker and Dale are two buddies who have managed to get themselves a summer home in serious need of repairs. As they ride off with towards their new summer home, they are passed by a group of college kids out for some camping fun. Both groups of passengers eye each other. Tucker and Dale see a group of hot college kids. The kids see a couple of dirty, mountain bums.

Tucker and Dale go off to new summer home, not knowing the contents of the house seem to be from a killer with old newspaper clippings of murdered victim. They go off on their merry way to repair and do some night time fishing.

After the setting down before a campfire, the kids fill themselves with beer and a ghost story from the lead,main jack-ass guy of a story of campers murdered by some rednecks in the same woods. Reminded of the "mountain bums" they had passed, they decide to shake off their fear by going skinny-dipping (what?wouldn't you?). Unfortunately, one of the girls becomes startled from seeing Tucker and Dale as their night fishing and falls into the lake. The guys fish her out. The other college kids see them drag her lifelessbody in and run away screaming. Not knowing what to do, the buddies take her to their summer home and nurse her. So begins a back and forth game of bloody misunderstanding.

This movie does a great job of turning every stereotype inside out. The "rednecks" are geniunely nice people while the college kids are judgmental and rash attackers. The kids play out a general "type" in horror: the vapid one, the rational one, the sidekicks, screaming girls, and the leader. Interestingly, it is the leader who makes the most irrational decisions that results in most of his friends getting killed (i'm not giving much away- you see the deaths in the trailer).


I was surprised by the sweetness in the relationship between Dale and Allison. Although initially frightened, she overcomes that to realize how sweet Dale is. I found it incredibly romantic that bumbling Dale came to her rescue later in the movie. I actually sighed in happiness.I have to admit, I am a bit in love with Dale.

Oh and how cool is it that Wash from firefly is in this movie???!!! He plays Tucker, awesomely well. It's Wash folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a good amount of bloody gore in this movie. I did have to shut my eyes now and down with the deaths. Which were just well timed and fun. Yes, I really do mean fun! These characters are just so stupid that you can't help but giggle at how they die. Come on, one spears himself as Dale and Allision are trying to dig a trench for the outhouse.

How did this movie not make a huge showing at mainstream theaters?? No wonder the theater corporation is complaining of lack luster ticket sales. They keep allowing stupid shit to play at theaters and turn a blind eye to something so awesome!! I would have totally went to the theater with a whole bunch of friends to see this movie. Not for another Hiegl movie!(Dyeing your hair brown does not change what a cold and mean actress you are.I am still pissed I watched 27 dresses).

I only managed to hear about this movie from a meetup group I recently joined.  I wasn't able to join but I did netflix the movie out of curiosity. This movie is the third best movie I have seen lately( #1: Attack the Block, #2: Fright Night  remake). Even with all the gored, it is a really funny horror-comedy!! As "Shaun of the Dead" was to zombies, "Tuckers and Dale vs.Evil" is to slasher movies.


I highly, highly, highly, to the power of infinity recommend this!!!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994) Trailer

Jungle Book (1994)

Time and atomosphere almost made this movie a relic. It is pretty hard to find a copy of this as DVD (amazon is selling it for $117...WTF?!?!?) but I have a copy as good ol' VHS. Until the VCR almost ate the tape. And I had to rewind it with my finger. Leaving a strip of tape impossibly twisted. Auto-tracking through about 10 minutes of video playing (eh....they were previews anyway). Nevertheless, I have the movie. And damn don't I still love it.


This was a live action movie released by Disney. They had already done the animated version in 1967 with the dancing Baloo and jazzilicious King Louie. Which was cute and reincarnated awesomely as "Tale Spins" (HA! Now I got the theme song stuck in your head!). No songs in the live action. No gimmicky pop culture jokes. Just a really awesome action movie(Directed by the same guy who did "the Mummy" and "Van helsing" With a sexy-ass Mowgli. Oh yeah. This movie was well-played during my tween years.Did I mention this was Disney?

The animated and live-action version contain the same basic story: An orphaned boy is raised by wolves and the jungle. As he gets older, he faces man. How can boy struggled with the wild and man??????
 
There are slight differences between the versions of course:
  • How Mowgli gets orphaned:
            animated: found in a basket and discovered by Baghera (the panther)
            live action: stuck on a runway horse-drawn wagon with burning gun 
                            powder as his father  desperately  fights against 
                           Shere-Khan
  • Love interest:
           animated: red-dotted girl who sings as she goes to the water hole to
                           fill her jugs. (whoa...that  sentence  is a bit suggestive...)
           live action: Kitty, a kind childhood friend who gives him a bracelet
                           that  he keeps as he grows up in  the jungle
  •  Enemies:
            animated: Shere-Khan
             live action: Capt. Boone (played by Cary
                             Elwes!!! Swoooon), and a bit of
                             Shere-Khan
  •  Orangutans
            animated: slightly shy jazz buddies
            live action: crazy, psyho, sadistic observers 
                            of matches between pyton and
                            unlucky soul who wander into
                            the treasure room


Oh yeah. The live action is definitely different from the animated. I haven't read the book (I'm sorry but I read one Kipling book, "Kim", and I never want to read another Kipling book again.) but the movie feels more in tone to a Kipling story. There are definite and clear perspectives on English colonialism in India, obvious class differences, and the comparison between man/wild.
  On hindsight, I was exposed to alot of media regarding colonialism in general. I remember learning nothing but colonialism in elementary and middle school. Stumbled through it in history. Lesson learned: colonialism BLOOOOOOWs.
    Otherwise, this movie was awesome!!! The action is great. The animals are awesome.The characters are a bit predictable but they're still fun! John Cleese as the professor??? How could though twittering females not pay attention to him? His voice is entertaining as hell. I bet he could make multi-variable calculus sound like a clever joke ( which I feel sometimes that it was).Cary Elwes as a villain is just damn sexy. And scary. But oh so sexy. Speaking of which...


MOWGLI (adult) is the sexiest man I have ever seen running around in a loin cloth. His body makes you gulp. His gentle smile makes you twitch with glee. As he moves, anywhere, you have to remember to breathe. All those confusing attractive feelings I had for him as an adolescent is more recognized as I re-watch it was an adult. That man is damn fine.Even when he's making monkey grunting noises.

I really can't think of moment that I hated in this movie. I was engrossed every single moment. It was a just a well-balanced action movie.

My favorite part is when young Mowgli is being introduced to his animal family. When he clutches Bagheras tail (precious!), plucks Baloo out of the trunk, and clutching his wolf puppy to his chest as he slides down the cliff. The movie also does a simple job of setting up where these names come from. Mowglis father tries to teach him engliish by pointing out these creatures from a jug.

Damn. I hope Disney re-releases this movie as a DVD with a decent price. This was a great movie.If I wasn't afraid of tearing apart the tape from replaying it, I would watch it again. Right now. Screw sleep!