Push
Hahaha! I'm definitely not the first to say this, but here is Heroes: Volume 4 ... in movie form. It also reminds me of Jumper but only cause of Djimon Hounsou's character hunting the people with abilities down. And of course, this reminds me of an entire story arc of X-Men. Now, I don't really care as art often relies on imitation (up to a certain extent) and improvement but the whole "hunting people with abilities" is getting old to me.
I haven't seen Dakota Fanning on the big screen since War of the Worlds and here she is. She looks so different but that shouldn't be a surprise at her age. I don't know if it's the writing or her acting but her character is awkwardly devoid of emotion (based on the trailer). Also, the last film the director worked on was Lucky Number Slevin, which was one of my favourites for that year, so this film might work (but my gut feeling says "no", haha.)
Push opens in theatres on February 6th, 2009. I don't know if I'll get to see this.
Anyway, here's the trailer from Youtube:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I just got back from watching this movie and I highly recommend seeing it. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button shared so many similarities with my own life that it was chilling. There are so many similarities that I cannot even begin to list them all. I went into this movie not knowing what to expect besides a story about a guy growing younger and came out with life lessons or messages that are basically rewordings of my new year's resolutions. I was pretty much in a daze of heavy thought coming out of the theatre.
The main theme of the film is that "nothing lasts" and the setting of the film (which you can look up or see in the film itself) really matches the theme as much of the region's history was lost after that great disaster. Coincidentally, I will be visiting this place to help them rebuild during my reading week, which is another reason why the film was so chilling as if it was speaking out to me.
Benjamin Button has one of the most original movie plots I have ever seen. It is an emotionally charged film (so bring Kleenex, at least for the ladies, haha) but when it gets really heavy, comic relief comes in at the perfect times ("You know I was struck by lightining seven times?" - even this comedic character delivered an important message on life). All the characters Benjamin meets each have something to say and teach about life, death, perseverance, love, and fate.
"Life is short" because "you never know what's comin' for ya" and so while you still can, do "all those things you've always put off doing" because "nothing lasts". We wish we can live life in hindsight, in the hopes we can see our children and soldiers alive once more, that our mistakes in the past be undone. But we can't, as we must keep moving forward, as life moves forward. So, in the end, "when all that's left to do is to let go", you can do so without regrets.
In a time I was beginning to doubt myself in what I was doing, in a time I began looking back in regret, the little things that happened today gave me strength to truly appreciate the meaning behind being told (twice now) to "start over". Today was filled with coincidences and little things that meant a lot to me. And so, I hope today is a sign of, indeed, a happy new year to come.
P.S. The new Famous Players Silver City theatre at Fairview Mall is totally kick-ass. All the movie posters, as one person said, reminded her of "Harry Potter". You'll see what she meant when you go there. When I see animated newspapers, that's when I start calling it "Harry Potter"-ish 
. I think the theatre is quite high-tech and that lounge/bar area looks really nice for when you're waiting to meet up with friends. Tech Town is kinda small but it's an area I've long outgrown anyway. The place certainly gave off a "state-of-the-art" feeling. Oh, and the seats are reclining. Now that is comfort. Even sitting near the front wasn't uncomfortable as there is a huge minimum distance away from the screen (in addition to the reclining seats). Fairview Mall has really outdone itself in modernizing its look.
Death Race
Just watched Death Race tonight and the bottom line is to not expect a good character-driven nor a plot-driven movie but a mindless action popcorn flick. There are numerous plot-holes, inconsistencies, and bad attempts at acting throughout the film and all of this is forgivable if you take this film as what I've said earlier. This is not a critic's film. This is not artistic. It is just mindless action with cars and explosions. The intro was very well done and got me hyped up and it's all action-packed from when the race starts. The special effects do give a convincing appearance of a future where the economy has crashed and everyone is poor while technology still exists.
However, I didn't like the excessive use of those "profile shots" like those you see before WWE or UFC matches or those close up shots of someone's angry face over and over again. There's also gratuitous shots of Jason Statham working out shirtless and Natalie Martinez wearing skimpy outfits (cause of course, sex sells!). This film does take a lot of video game concepts (e.g.,, picking up power-ups on the track to activate weapons and defenses equipped on the car) and puts them to film in a way better than Uwe Boll ever will. In fact, this movie could very well be called Twisted Metal or Hi-Octane (or if you are SUPER old-school, Carmageddon and Death Rally also come to mind).
So for that, I give it a 7 out of 10 as a mindless action flick.
However, if you must consider everything that a film critic wants in a film, then the failed attempts at some sort of character development, emotional acting, and a compelling storyline would warrant a 4 out of 10. But I already wasn't looking for that the moment I saw the trailer. And good thing it was $5 Tuesdays!
Pineapple Express
Saw Pineapple Express yesterday and I say overall it's a good comedy with a mix of action. Although at times, the humour began to get stale after seeing two stoners stumbling and doing stupid things over and over again. However, Seth Rogen manages to inject his own freshness in his scenes to keep the laughs coming (By the way, he was hilarious during his appearance in Step Brothers).
Unfortunately, walking out of the theatre, there weren't too many scenes that stuck out or I could recall to talk about (besides those already seen in the trailer). So there was that feeling leaving the theatre of seeing a decent movie but can't remember much of it afterwards. I mean, I still remember Steve Carell in Bruce Almighty during his newscast of gibberish scene.
But I did leave the theatre feeling like I didn't waste my money.
I give Pineapple Express a 7.5/10. And I am now officially a fan of Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow.
