MIB 3

Back in 1997, we had this:



Then in 2002, we had this:



Now it's 2012 and we have this:


Now what's wrong with this picture?  That's right!  Albeit, "Back in Time" by Pitbull is a catchy track, a "Men in Black" movie just doesn't seem right without Will Smith providing the theme song for it!

When I first heard that MIB 3 was going into production, my inner 16 year old jumped for joy!  But then I started hearing rumors about production being plagued by creative differences, script rewrites, Will Smith being a bit a of a diva on set, etc.  Then the news of Pitbull providing the theme song hit and all hopes and dreams of a great movie came tumbling down.

Now here we are...May 25th 2012 and I just came out of the midnight showing...WOW!  The movie definitely captured the essence that made the first movie so great.  The chemistry between agents J & K is as witty as it was and even more so with a younger Agent K being played by Josh Brolin!  He got Tommy Lee Jones down to a T!  He nailed everything!  From his facial expressions, to the way he talked was spot on!  One of the things I liked about the MIB franchise was the movie's ability to include the aliens but not making them "all up in your face."  They just made them seem like they're part of everyday life, which they are in the MIB universe.  Seeing the Men in Black operation in the 60's was pretty cool.  They really tapped into the stereotypical, retro, science fiction alien looks too.  

Without spoiling too much of the traveling back in time plot to save Agent K, the movie definitely comes full circle.  In my opinion, fans of the franchise will be pleased.  I know I was.

I give this move an "A" for Awesome simply because in my opinion, it was.  The movie brings a viewer like me, a fan since the original, a sense of nostalgia.  It takes you "back in time," with an essence that makes you feel like your 16 again for a couple hours.

So grab your popcorn and cherry coke and get ready to time travel!

P.S.  Randomness: if you were to put all the theme song titles together you'd come up with "Here come the Men in Black" while you "Nod ya head" "Back in Time."

It's 4am, I'm tired...don't judge.  LOL!

Battleship

Now I know some people are going give me H-E-Double hockey sticks for saying this...but...Battleship was actually an enjoyable movie!  Let's just say this, check your brain in at the door and take the movie for what it is.  A summer movie with action, cheesy acting, & BIG explosions!  Oh yeah, can't forget the awesome scenery provided by the Hawaiian Islands!

How this board game...

...became this movie?  Is beyond me!  Hahaha

Despite the obvious fact that the movie has absolutely nothing to do with the game with the exception of actual Battleships, the movie will no doubt seem familiar.  From the main character's introduction a la "Con-Air", alien invasion in the vain of "ID4", the heroes in slow motion in the style of "Armageddon", the J.J. Abrams lens flares a la Star Trek though not as incessant.  And probably the most obvious of all..."Transformers!"  Well the same toy company that brought us Transformers also gave us kids of the 80's Battleship.  

To put it simply, if you're gonna critique the movie to death, why bother.  If you just want turn your brain off, and have fun at the movies then Battleship is the movie for you!  

I give the movie and "E" for entertained because that's exactly what it did....It entertained with  awesome special effects, great action scenes, & breathtaking Hawaiian Island scenery.

P.S.  Stay through the credits for a post credit scene...trust me, you'll have time to jam to the bathroom and come back.  

Wait til Next Year!!

So last week, I missed Battleship. I missed The Dictator. I was sick at home...all weekend, but did see one movie before my illness. More on that later. I guess I will get my chance to possibly see those two movies, although I am not hearing good things. I will get my second chance because G.I. Joe Retaliation, which was set to be released June 29, will now be pushed to release in March 2013.

Paramount has had the brilliant idea to rework G.I. Joe Retaliation so it will be in 3D. They also believe that by moving it to March they will get greater numbers much like The Hunger Games.

I believe this is crap!

How does Paramount think that moving a possible summer blockbuster out of the summer in any way is a good idea? If more people go to the movies in March than the summertime then this blog would be called Spring Legendary Movie Review. What happened to all those trailers and promos to get us pumped to see G.I. Joe? Why did they pay for  a very expensive spot to air a trailer during the Super Bowl? Will they re-rack it for next year's Super Bowl? This just pisses me off. Paramount only hopes to make slightly more money by converting this movie to 3D.

You want to know what this is really about? I believe Paramount sees that G.I. Joe comes out 4 days before Amazing Spider-Man and 3 weeks before The Dark Knight Rises, and they don't see any chance of making any type of profit. Yes, it is all about money. Movies in 3D have higher ticket prices. March 2013 is wide open with no competition. Yeah.... I'm sure this is a GREAT financial move for Paramount.

Moving on....

I did see Dark Shadows before I was stricken by illness. Now I am a fan of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, but man, I wish they would stop teaming up to make movies. I thought the movie was entertaining enough, but it really didn't have anything memorable about it. The story was very basic and most of the supporting cast was less that great. Depp was great as usual. Five minutes into the movie you sight of Depp and only see his character. He has a knack for that.

I thought it was E - Entertaining. It was funny at times. Since the movie was suppose to be a parody of a show in the 70's, I think it would have been better to have been released maybe ten years ago. I only say that because someone my age wouldn't remember the 70's, and we are the ones with all the money paying for these movies.

Next week, MIB III

Avengers Assemble!!!

After a long wait, the 2012 Summer Movie Season has arrived!

The season opens with probably one of the most anticipated movie team-ups of the summer. With years of planning, and five movies leading up to it, Marvel has finally released The Avengers!!

Back in 2008, when Iron Man was released, not many believed that a movie like Avengers would be possible. Doubters stated that Avengers has too many central characters with deep back stories and it couldn't be pulled off. Then Marvel decided to make a bunch of individual movies to help tell those stories of the central characters. Iron Man was a hit that hinted at the team-up, followed by Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America.

All these previous movies began laying the story path for Avengers by connecting the movies to each other with small cameo crossovers. Still doubters would say, "How do you get these characters to intermingle in one movie?"

Answer: Flawlessly

Without giving away too much of the movie, (I'm not going to describe scenes from the movie to you like most reviews. i.e. Entertainment Weekly) director Joss Whedon found a way merge all the characters together and make the movie flow. He did this by giving each character equal screen time. I didn't feel like one character was more important than another. Each had a pivotal role to play in the movie, and it shows.

RDJr was spectacular as Tony Stark/Iron Man, as usual. Chris Evans also plays Captain America superbly. I was really surprised by Scarlett Johansson. She had a more beefed up role in this movie, and her acting sold her character on many levels throughout the film.

The Avengers is witty and action packed. You will catch yourself getting more and more excited throughout the movie. I was very impressed on how the action scenes play out. It was like organized chaos. No punches are pulled everyone takes a beating.

So lets face it, if you have already seen the five previous Marvel movies, you are going to see The Avengers. You're sorta committed. Sprinkled throughout are hints form those other movies. So look for them.

I give The Avengers - A - Awesome!! I was close to going Legendary because they pulled out the ultimate team-up movie, and it is going to be hard to beat. (TDK just made the bar so damn high) This maybe a little bit too late, Go see The Avengers! IF you haven't seen the other Marvel movies? See those movies NOW!! Then go see Avengers. You don't want to be the only who hasn't, do you?


- note - I am much more of a fan of Iron Man now than I was when the first Iron Man film was released. Since my post from 2008, I've done a lot more back issue reading on the character. If you were wondering that is??