harry potter and the half-blood prince

At least as good as Azkaban, perhaps better depending on what you like. Me, I like dark wizardry and Tom Riddle, walking the line with Snape, and Dumbledore Gandalfing it up. This one was finally restrained in all the right ways; for once the music was minimal enough that I could hear sound from adjacent theaters, . . . → Read More: harry potter and the half-blood prince

watching the watchmen

For me this movie was the equivalent of the Futureheads cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love.” Of course it’s not as good as the original, without which it doesn’t mean nearly as much, but despite its brashness and eagerness, it’s still extremely enjoyable, and depending on who you are and what you expect it to . . . → Read More: watching the watchmen

hellboy 2: the golden army

Eh.

You want to hear more? Okay.

Well, like the first film, we have a perfectly cast Ron Perlman, we have a reasonably charming Doug Jones, and an irritating Selma Blair who suffers from the same problem Leo DiCaprio has, which is that funny generimerican accent that leaves me unable to forget for one second that she’s . . . → Read More: hellboy 2: the golden army

harold + kumar, running with scissors, death note, indy 4

I may or may not write about these at greater length, but here are the capsules.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Loved it. It’s a slight drag that the quest in this one is for two (specific) girls instead of a shitload of little hamburgers, but it allows for some cute scenes and the whole thing . . . → Read More: harold + kumar, running with scissors, death note, indy 4

serenity

Well, I finished up the last three episodes of Firefly Tuesday night, and they weren’t that bad, though as Aimeric warned me, one of them was a fairly ordinary western set in a ramshackle whorehouse (approximately 60% sexier than a high-class bordello from what little we saw of it). I thought the last episode, “Objects in . . . → Read More: serenity

balls of fury

Well, I’m glad I didn’t pay to see this in the theater, but watching the library’s copy for free (thanks to my girlfriend) was just fine.

There’s a little too much story and not quite enough jokes, and at least half of the jokes are weak serves, and probably a quarter of those involve star Dan Fogler . . . → Read More: balls of fury

requiem for a dream

Drug stories are all the same. Things start kinda bad, then they get a LOT worse. After that it doesn’t really matter if they get better or not. The point is made, it’s always the same, you know what it is from the start, and if you don’t use, it doesn’t really apply . . . → Read More: requiem for a dream

music & lyrics

There’s little to say about this inoffensive fluff piece except that the smattering of reviews I just peeked at were very kind to the females in it. Hugh Grant is Hugh Grant again with Andrew Ridgeley sprinkles on top, and though he’s played this part so many times he could hardly help having mastered it, . . . → Read More: music & lyrics

north by northwest

Old movie night again at the Stanford Theater! This time it was North by Northwest, one of the best. I have a hard time picking a favorite Hitchcock film but this one’s in the running for sure.

It also contains the scariest scene from any Hitchcock film: Cary Grant in a towel! Okay, the . . . → Read More: north by northwest

diary of the dead

My girlfriend is a big George Romero fan, so of course we went to see his new low-budget zombie film this weekend. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. Apart from a fantastic scene involving a news team on the scene when some of the first zombies appear, . . . → Read More: diary of the dead