Short Reviews of Stuff You've Seen Recently

I did watch the original series (though mostly in reruns), and I can definitely tell you that though you can watch Korra on its own, watching the original series first will make certain things much more clear and give you a better appreciation for plenty of the, ahem, elements of Korra.

Man Of Steel; Flashy but rather boring - took itself far too seriously. Set groundworks for interesting things about a third of the way through, but never picked them up again and turned into nothing special.

The Purge; Story was simply a device to get a home siege underway, not that that's a bad thing. Main villian was the stand-out performer, loved every moment he was on screen. Utterly predictable but a fun little thriller.

Fable 2; Whilst some of the mechanics need tweaking, this is how games should be. A good mix of epic storyline and not-taking-itself-too-seriously makes it the first game since Fallout 3 I'm compelled to finish. Made even better that Fable 3 is free for those on Xbox Gold.

Paranormal Activity 3: One sentence will sum this up for me: Why do people find this series scary?

So, I just got done watching the entirety of Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law for the first time, and while I admit it was a tad inconsistent, overall, I think it was pretty good, reasonably funny and did a good job (usually) of parodying all that it made fun of. Plus, Phil Ken Sebben might just be one of my favorite animated characters now.

Blue Sunshine - 6/10, quite artistic which I value but it has its own weaknesses, but for what it is and how it works, it is still quite enjoyable to me.

Recent movies:

• Frozen: Amazing storyline, amazing visuals, amazing songs, amazing characters, amazing twist on many of the formulae it used. Easily one of the best kids' movies I've ever seen. 5/5.

• The Nut Job: Nothing mind-blowing, but I think the hatred of it is way overstated. Plot was a bit rough-edged and characters weren't overly special, but the only thing that I didn't like was the gratuitous and very out-of-place use of Gangnam Style. 3.5/5.

• The LEGO Movie: See everything I said about Frozen. 5/5.

Food:

• Chipotle. Ate there for the first time after seeing those movies. Great burritos, a bit pricey, not a lot of topping variety, but damn was it tasty. 4/5.

Music:

• "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz. Like the groove, the tempo change, and Gorillaz' virtual band motif in general. Well done character designs. However, I'm still really, really unaccustomed to nonsensical and abstract lyrics, so part of me keeps wanting to beat a singular, coherent meaning out of something that may not have one. 3.5/5, but that might go up when I get more used to that kind of lyrical style.

Malls:

• Fashion Square Mall, Saginaw, MI: Not too big, but it has most of the "big" chain stores and very few vacancies. The food court is also decent, but they just can't seem to get anyone into the space McDonald's vacated 8 years ago. Also, I miss Waldenbooks, damn it, and would love to see them get Books-a-Million for consolation. 4/5.

Other:

As for Azumanga Daioh and Avatar, I've only seen about five episodes of each so far. I enjoyed what I saw, but there's always that part of me screaming "No, don't watch anime or animesque shows, you'll turn into a total weeaboo dork who eats pocky, ends every proper noun with -san, and wears catboy ears for no reason!" Totally wrong of me to think that, but eh.

I love how you reviewed the food you ate and a mall you've been to

Finally got to see Frozen. Gotta say, while the movie was great, if there's anything that was a little disappointing, it was the soundtrack. Maybe it's just the months of hype for it that I've heard, but still, some of the songs just got in the way. Especially Olaf's song—while it was entertaining (in a way that I wasn't sure if it was hilarious or depressing...depressingly hilarious?), it just came out of nowhere and felt shoehorned in. (EDIT: Oh, and that stupid love song the trolls sing! That had to be, hands down, the most pointless padding I've ever seen in a long time.) That's how most of the songs in the latter half felt to me, really. The first third or so used its music well, but everything went downhill sharply after the climactic song. Eh, guess I should just let it gooooo

edited 6th Mar '14 6:15:03 PM by Odd1

Carlos: I guess you could say, after the first half the composers just let it go.

edited 7th Mar '14 11:59:45 AM by Midna

Winter's Tale:

Does it deserve some of its hatred? Yes, it does. Russell Crowe shouldn't have done that fake Irish accent and Will Smith shouldn't have even been in it in the first place. Jennifer Connelly's character wasn't fleshed out properly, so the scenes of her and her daughter felt rushed.

But, for all its flaws (including some unintentional Narm), it's still a movie that wears the heart on its sleeve. People criticise the plot, but, since the movie (and the book even more so) is part of the "magical realism" sub-genre, people shouldn't have thought a lot about its plot holes and hand waves.

The good part of the movie is whenever Colin Farrell and that woman from Downton Abbey interact romantically. There's also a good, even if small, appearance from Eva Marie Saint (those who know Hitchcock well know how great she was in terms of acting). And, of course, the horse.

Does it have a lot of flaws? Yes. But comparing it to The Room is unfair and insulting.

Leprechaun 2. Kinda sorta in observation of St. Patrick's Day. All I'd previously seen of the series was the infamously So Bad, It's Good Leprechaun in Da Hood. I enjoyed this more than I thought it would, in a Guilty Pleasure sort of way - It's not the total camp-fest In Da Hood is, but the scriptwriters were apparently just self-aware enough to include some deliberate humor... I mean at one point the title character is challenged by the heroes to a drinking contest, where he's rooted on by little people. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Kimmy Robertson (Lucy from Twin Peaks) in a small role as a tourist.

The Little Mermaid: Disney sets their biggest roadblock to feminism into the popular consciousness, help ruin Don Bluth's career.

Frozen: A solid Disney movie, but maybe not quite the return to form that was promised/expected. It does try to challenge old tropes concerning fairytale romances, so that's something. The song wasn't THAT good—you know the one. 4/5. Good to see with the kids.

Insidious Chapter 2: OK if you liked the first. If not, don't waste your time. It's just more of the same. At least Paranormal Activity tried to imbue its ghost/demon thing with a sense of monstrousness.

The Thin Red Line: A film that has a lot to say, but keeps its mouth shut. Instead, it shows you what it wants to say through its longing shots of both nature and man. A masterpiece of visuals, storytelling, and philosophy. 5/5

Inglorius Basterds: Fuck you Hitler! 5/5

Heart Of Darkness: depressing, racist, dense. Also: Shitty framing device.

edited 18th Mar '14 10:58:50 PM by Ellowen

How is Heart of Darkness racist? For its day, it was actually pretty non-racist, and for every time the native people are shown in a bad light, the settlers/colonists get shown in an even worse light.

It's pretty much standard teaching in schools these days to decry it as racist and shout down anyone who questions that.

The Living Wake: a fantastic movie that is deeply affecting and is just as morbid, dark, and thought-provoking as it is charming, optimistic, and hilarious. I must make it a priority to rewatch it, as it bears repeated viewing.

Darkside - Psychic:

One of the best instrumental albums I've heard in a long time. Too bad they sang over it.

Godzilla 2014: Beautiful visuals, intelligently designed plot and characters, excellent writing and true to its roots in the best way possible. If you are in doubt, doubt no more. If you are still scarred from the 1998-version, perish it from your mind. This is an amazing experience, and I recommend everyone with the slightest of interest to catch it in cinemas.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Soul Eater: Took a while to get into, but the show managed to pull me in with fun and interesting characters. Music is excellent, and they have some great VA's for the English dub. Visuals are pretty good. Only complaint is the change in end themes between season 1 and 2 (I liked the first one much better).

edited 14th May '14 9:08:00 PM by Explosivo25

The Blues Brothers - Funny, great music and very entertaining. On the down side, I watched the Extended Edition DVD, meaning that a film that was overlong ALREADY was made even LONGER. There had to have been some things they could have cut out.

Machete Maidens Unleashed- Documentary about the history of Exploitation Filmmaking in the Philippines from the 1960s through the 1980s. Very well done, providing a very clear look at how amazing it was that these films got made at all, given the environmental hazards, nonexistent budgets, and political conflicts. Features insights from Roger Corman, Allan Arkush, Cirio Santiago, John Landis and many others. Recommended if you are interested.

No, The Blues Brothers is not long enough. A movie that good doesn't need to be short.

A Million Ways To Die In The West: While I admit, I laughed a bunch, there were also tons of misfires. Additionally, the plot is too cliché to be engaging (and there aren't enough jokes surrounding the plot-related scenes to make them work in the context of the movie), Seth Mac Farlane is a bland leading man who plays an asshole "Nice Guy" character, and the film as a whole is unbelievably sexist, maybe the most sexist flick I've seen since that last porno I watched in a long time.

Kim Possible: Oh how I've tooted this horn one too many times, for the past few days. Kim Possible kicks ass. Action packed, laugh out loud hilarious, and full of funny, and interesting characters (two Three great leads, a colorful bunch of side-folk, and an awesome, varied rogues gallery).

Dragon Ball: In the Red Ribbon saga, so far. It's the awesome kind of crazy. Some might think the gags are a bit too juvenile, but they're so random, and insane, that I can't help but laugh my ass off. Same goes for the fights. I can't tell whether they're clever, or stupid, but they're fun as hell, that's for sure. No rules in these brawls, everyone will pull out any card they can get their hands on (Weaponized Rock-Paper-Scissors, turning people into carrots, showing off your figure, blowing up the moon…), and it's just beautiful.

edited 1st Jun '14 10:01:35 AM by mrsunshinesprinkles