raleighnet.org » Movies

Not the King Lear I Remembered

Will — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:26:46 +0000

I went through a phase in college where I read a lot of Shakespeare’s plays. I always thought that Lear was one of my favorites, but I’d never seen it performed. I just watched the ’71 movie with Paul Scofield, and found the whole thing surprisingly slow and overly arty (to say nothing of overly shouty). Was it the performance? Was I a different person in college (obviously yes, but you know)? Does it read better than it plays? I don’t know. I’m sort of disappointed now.

Star Trek — The Opera

Will — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:47:36 +0000

How much do I LOVE Robot Chicken? I would totally go see an Opera about the Wrath of Kahn. In fact, somebody should really get on top of producing that one because it is dripping with 13 kinds of awesome.

Le Wrath di Khan

Zombies and Young Love

Will — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:59:16 +0000

I Love Sarah Jane is an excellent little short about a boyhood crush and kids surviving in a world that has been overrun by zombies. There’s some gore and a lot of swearing, so stay away at work. I’m surprised at how well done it is (if we forget for a moment the explosion since that was just dumb). I want to see more from this world.

On the Edge of Blade Runner

Will — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 22:40:18 +0000

On the Edge of Blade Runner is a fantastic documentary about the making of one of my favorite movies. I hear that there’s an Ultimate Blade Runner DVD box set coming out in 2007 that will include four different versions of the film. So, I guess I’m going to have to buy something like my fourth of fifth version of that movie next year.

Beautiful Production Values

Will — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 19:54:30 +0000

The production values in Star Wars Revelations are incredible. The story and acting are just slightly better than what you might expect in fan fiction. That means it’s spotty and a bit lifeless through a lot of it, but boy does it look pretty.

Can You Get the Money Back?

Will — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:27:08 +0000

Kevin Smith Talking About Writing Superman is about 100 times funnier than Clerks II (except for one tucking scene in Clerks which you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen the movie).

Directors Commentary Track

Will — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 15:22:34 +0000

I was a little sad to see Kevin Smith returning to his Jersey Trilogy universe. It seems like that story has more than run its course now, but other people seem to be excited, so whatever. I wish him luck with it.

Despite my low level of interest, I have to say that doing a Director’s Commentary Podcast is sort of brilliant. Why wait for the DVD to come out, and why not do this so that you can encourage people to buy a second ticket to your movie? That’s smart marketing, and I bet that takes off in a big way with other movies.

Of course I thought Roger Ebert’s idea about other people doing movie commentaries you could download was brilliant too, and I don’t think anything ever came of that, so what do I know?

Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt Lightning Bolt

Will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 10:06:36 +0000

Darkon is a documentary about a bunch of LARP players that looks absolutely epic in scope. LARP is cute and all when it’s confined to small little web movies with dorky kids, but these guys really seem to be into it. I’m not sure what to make of that. check the trailer here

Wait, it was a comedy?

Will — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 11:49:03 +0000

Hmmm, I don’t remember The Sining being a comedy. I guess sometimes, the trailer is nothing at all like the movie.

The Good, The Bad, and Well, Yeah, That’s About It

Will — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 23:23:51 +0000

Yesterday, I decided to go see a movie. I didn’t much care which one I saw. So, I got to the theater and The Brothers Grimm was showing pretty much right when I got there. And, the previews made it seem like it might be interesting. Plus, Terry Gilliam, so it had that going for it.

I think it could have been an interesting movie. I saw an interesting movie peeking out from behind the corners every once in a while. But there were layers and layers of useless crap piled on top of it. What was the point of the French soldiers? I think they were supposed to be comic relief, but they were neither comical nor a relief.

When the movie ended, I ducked in to see The 40-Year-Old Virgin since, I’d heard good things, and I wanted to try to get my money’s worth for the day.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is insanely funny. It’s also sort of touchingly sweet and many of the secondary characters all have their own interesting storylines going on that really add texture to what on paper looked like it should have been a stupid farce. Not that there would be anything wrong with a stupid farce, but I was actually kind of surprised at how good this movie ended up being.

So, if you’re going to go see a movie, make it the virgin one. The grimm one is just disappointing.