My sister and her bf and I always go to the movies on Friday. This time, said bf picked 2012.
He's so funny. He says he hates all movies and that actors should retire after acting over a certain number of years. Then you start to give him the benefit of the doubt and start thinking he is making some sense then you ask him what his favorite movie: Rambo. And he loses all credibility.
But I would have to agree with him in this case.
This movie was terrible.
I was really hoping to hear some ancient symbolism revealed or some great science. But instead all I got was an escalated Poseidon adventure.
Plus John Cusack.
That was the only redeeming quality of the whole movie.
I just finished the second book in "The Girl" series by Steig Larsson, "The Girl Who Played with Fire."
Resurrecting the two main characters from the previous book, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, this suspense novel centers around the death of an investigative journalist and his partner.
He was writing about exposing high-ranking officials who were participating in white slavery while his partner was writing her Ph.D. dissertation on the same topic. Blomkvist's magazine, The Millenium, agrees to publish the book and has retained the journalist on staff.
Interestingly, and a sadly prophetic turn of events, Blomkvist comes to a point in the novel where he must decide whether he will continue to publish the novel despite the deaths of the researcher and author.
In the mean time, Lisbeth is making a new life for herself after Blomkvist broke her hard little heart. Turning 25 and wealthy after hacking into a corrupt corporate mogul's overseas bank accounts, she has stifled her sadistic court-appointed guaridan and has taken to traveling the world over the next year.
But when she returns to Sweden she finds that the court-appointed guardian seems to now be seeking revenge.
I found this book to be far superior to the first one.
First, the translation was better and not so stilted as the first one, making for a more fluid novel. Also, Lisbeth is far more sympathetic in this novel. In the previous novel, she comes off as a bit of an android. Which, is typical if you have Asperger's Syndrome, as she does. In this one, her character starts to losen up and Larsson seems to have found his inner female voice.
In this novel Larsson starts to dissect her personality and delve into her character, all which become pivotal to the mystery.
Brilliantly plotted, I did not have an inkling to the solution until about 3/4's of the way through and then I still was not quite sure how it was all going to end.
This is the second novel in a 6-series set. However, Larrson passed away after finishing the 3rd novel so that all that we have of the remaining 3 are plot outlines.
The remains of his estate and the profits from the novels do not got to his partner of over 10 years since they were not married and he did not leave a will. All of the proceeds from the award-winning novels and the ensuing movies are going to his father and brother, who have felt no compunction to give her anything.
Larrson was a political activist in Sweden, fighting the right-wing extremism and Nazi organizations. An expert in his field, he often lectured around Europe, including Scotland Yard. And avid writer, these books were his first foray into fiction.
Another one of Jennifer Anniston's bittersweet single woman out-on-her-own romances, Anniston, as Sue, continues to explore the span between a young working woman's defeated ambitions and almost shameful yearnings for protection and love.
In this movie Steve Zahn plays Mike, a hapless manager at his parent's roadside motel. Only one step shy of creepy Bateman-type stalkerness, Zahn gets one good roll in the hay with Anniston and he is head over heels.
Traipsing from Arizona to Maryland to Washington, Zahn pursues Anniston's character with a boyish sweetness. Oddly, the movie follows more of his character arc than Anniston's.
With some truly funny scenes between James Hiroyuki Liao and Zahn, reminding me a bit of Harold & Kumar Go To Whitecastle, the movie also stars Fred Ward and Woody Harrelson.
Mind you, I have never been a big fan of Michael Jackson. But after watching this 2-hour movie of what might have been, I was fervently wishing it could have been.
Jackson's creative vision, musical talent and genius choreography spilled out over the screen, making me yearn to see the final masterpiece.
It will never be seen.
The movie begins with the montage of the opening, demonstrating in drawings how a robot would drop down like a Deaux Ex Machina. Projected on all sides of the robot would be slices of video, creating a collage of images across its body. When the machine touched down, it would open up to reveal Michael.
And the show would begin.
This theme of showing Michael's multi-faceted talent, vision and persona played through out the film. Editing between 2-3 days of Michael's performances to show one complete song, you saw how Michael was the ultimate showman even in rehearsals.
I always sort of understood he was talented but it wasn't until I saw this movie that I saw how brilliant he was. A truly gifted man, this 50 year old man could dance and keep up with his 20 year dancers. It was hard to remember that he was 50 years old when he died.
He was so light on his feet, so effortless. In many ways, he reminded me of Sammy Davis, Jr. Remember that Sammy was a dancer, too? That same effortlessness was so apparent. Just like the brilliant Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly.
And his voice, too, is amazing. To be able to retain that beautifully high tenor at his age--it made me wonder how he did retain that voice.
But singing and dancing aside, what shone through was his deep kindness and goodness. A perfectionist in all things, he spent days trying to convey the vision in his head to the people around him. That can be a very hard thing to do. But he never once raised his voice, lost his temper or showed any anger.
Over and over again, he spoke of love, of God and with kindness.
Sure, it could have been edited out but after discussing this it was agreed that it was too entrenched in his personality. He was just a very, very kind man.
The production was brilliant. Full of completely executed videos in 3-D, merged montages with classically famous video footage, the breadth and depth of the artistry and talent in him and around him to execute this film is breath-taking.
One of the most brilliant moments in the film for me was when Michael demonstrates a dance ONE TIME to a circle of 12 people. Immediately, the choreographer and a few of the dancers dance it right back to him--EXACTLY mimicking his moves. Then IMMEDIATELY, the entire circle of 12 repeat the dance back again. Now that is master craftsmanship--genius.
But perhaps the most poignant piece of the film is the opening credits when we hear and watch dancers from around the world flock to the opening auditions for his show.
This is it: when we truly see the Man in the Mirror reflected upon those around him.
Heart Rate: YY
