It was John's (not his real name) third time at a movie theater and it was well worth it! Tangled was a surprise hit! It was like a combination of Beauty and the Beast, any Pixar movie, and Shrek rolled into one! The horse, Maximus?! Pascal, as well... OMG- freaking hilarious! The comedy timing of this flick was superb, the story was touching, the writing and acting was top-notch! This is one that will STAY in our AppleTV!
From the scene with Princess Rapunzel's bipolar teen reactions to the awesome pub musical number to the absolutely gorgeous floating lantern scene, this movie had us at every turn. Never thought I'd say it (about a non-Pixar movie), but...
Ok. It's been out long enough that I think I can post this without too much hate mail. Avatar is the highest grossing movie ever... No, you don't get it... The highest grossing movie E-VER! Really?!
Really...
Don't get me wrong- it was good... great, even. But not the best movie of all time, not by a long shot. Sure, the effects were top-notch (we expect nothing less from the most demanding director of all time). The story was... eh. Nothing really new. Was it because of the new 3D technology? The new 3D technology that really was no better than the last iteration of 3D technology. MEH!
I've seen a few decades of sci-fi blockbusters in my lifetime and this does not come close to the best movie, ever. Don't ask me what the best movie ever is because I don't know (probably some Academy Award winner like The Four Seasons or some other non-effects-laden snoozer).
Cameron's (the most abusive director of all time) other films rate way-higher in my book! Aliens, Titanic, T2 were all way more interesting. To be sure, Avatar had an important message about not f@%king with Mother Nature, but it didn't move me to tears like Toy Story 3.
I guess my problem is that I equate the "top grossing movie ever" with "the best movie ever." I think really the only reason it was the top grossing movie ever was the fact that watching the 3D version cost 50% more than the 2D version.
Just hammers home the fact that marketing is evil ;)
Disclaimer: I saw Avatar on a 32" hotel flat panel TV in (*gasp) 2D. If it can't hold up on that, then it was all gimmicks that caused the hype. Titanic and Aliens would hold up in that format.
This weekend, Cathy and I had date night with another couple. No, I mean, we had date night together with another couple, sicko! We had dinner and a movie. The movie we saw was Inception, with Leonardo DeCaprio and "that guy from 3rd Rock From The Sun."
From the commercials and wonderful friends who tell you too much about movies they've seen, just in case you were going to see it yourself, I gleamed the following plot points:
SPOILER ALERT!
People navigating through other people's dreams
Very loud tubas
EXCELLENT special effects
An ending that leaves you asking "Was the whole movie a dream, or did I really just spend $50 tonight?"
I won't go too much into the plot. If you saw the trailer, you got it. Just know this is one of those movies that try to "blow your mind" with convoluted twists (in this case, dreams within dreams) and really cool- no - REALLY cool special effects. DeCaprio did an excellent job, again. I honestly think he's one of the most underrated actors in the biz. The guy that also shined in this though, is "that guy from 10 Things I Hate About You". Cathy and I went through the whole movie going, "I know that guy!", "Where have we seen him before?!" and, "DAMN, it's really bugging me!" We couldn't wait to get home. Cathy IMDB'd him and it was none other than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ohhhhhhhhhh... Wait, who?! The guy from 3rd Rock From The Sun and 10 Things I Hate About You. OHHH! I forsee him as the next big action guy. He's got the looks, the moves AND he's funny! He's also going to be the Riddler in the upcoming "Untitled Batman Project"- unfortunately, that comes out in 2012 and... well.
The movie (Inception- yes, this is still the same review) is kind of long but kept me interested. It culminates to "the big mission" traveling into this rich man's dreams. When we finally arrive, we're taken through about 20 years 45 minutes of non-stop action that leave you completely exhausted at the end! When the movie is finally over (with a sufficiently twisty ending), we came away with the feeling of money-well-spent. All-in-all, a good movie!
SPOILER ALERT!
At the end, DeCaprio, spins his top (a totem that tells him if he's in a dream or not) and his wedding ring rolls past it, making him realize HE was a ghost all along (I see trippy people)!
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