Magnificent Maleficent

 Nearly perfect! Angelina Jolie sold the whole project with her face, every moment, every scene. Many commenters / critics weren't as pleased that it wasn't darker given the events of story, but for a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty, I thought that they did a fine job expressing the character's rage and need for revenge!

Valentine’s Day

Jessica Biel and Jennifer Garner in "Valentine's Day"(2010)

“Valentine’s Day” surprisingly did not suck. It was a very lightweight romantic comedy, but they were very careful to make sure that there were no major characters that did NOT deserve a decent ending. The large cast and multiple storyline meant that there was very little padding in the individual stories and performances, and given their fluffy nature, they didn’t need extra time.

There were even a few surprises at the end for the audience that went very well. Two of them involved Julia Roberts, by the way – one of those is in the end credits.

Oh, and somebody needs to get on that Jessica Biel / Jennifer Garner action movie RIGHT NOW, they both looked fantastic.

Having lived there for a while, I thought that spending a day in Los Angeles was going to be a proper drag, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I find myself sort of defending this movie - not for itself but just against a sort of kneejerk response to basic genre movies, where they get saddled with far more weight and responsibility than this kind of project really needs. We need more, not less, simple genre projects like romcoms, and action and Westerns and sci-fi that make going to the movies easier, and more fun.

One reviewer that I read actually mentioned Un Chien Andalou in relation to this movie! Now, if you are seriously referring to Un Chien Andalou a) in relation to fraking Valentine's Day and/or b) even as an example of a Good Movie (feh), you need to have your head examined.

Roger Ebert said it best:

"Moviegoers who knowingly buy a ticket for "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" are going to get exactly what they expect: There is a mummy, a tomb, a dragon and an emperor. And the movie about them is all that it could be. If you think "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" sounds like a waste of time, don't waste yours."

This movie is called "Valentine's Day". Some people need to go watch something else.

I've written versions of this in so many places I figured I'd better post it here.
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Important news

In important news:

Sam Jackson named Nick Fury for life

"...it's been announced that Samuel L. Jackson's brief-but-memorable cameo as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury in Iron Man was strong enough to win him the role of Fury for pretty much the rest of his natural life. He's already been signed for Iron Man 2, with an option to appear in nine more films. Don't expect to see a Marvel movie in the next 20 years without an appearance by that eyepatch-sportin' S.O.B."


My hopes for a new David Hasselhoff Nick Fury are dashed...
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Selma Blair, and Oh Yeah...Hellboy 2

Well, I'm glad to hear that Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) is getting great reviews! Here's a couple of clips from A.O. Scott's review at the New York Times:

Like Bogey, but With a Really Big Fist
By A. O. SCOTT

Mr. Perlman, painted bright red and outfitted with sawed-off horns and an extra-large fist, is happy to ignore the trappings of digital-era cinematic splendor and act like the cigar-chomping hero of an old black-and-white B picture. The script (and the comics by Mike Mignola that are the movies’ source) may identify the character as a demon exiled from the underworld, but as a movie archetype Hellboy is more like the gruff sergeant or the cynical gumshoe, with a soft heart, naturally, beating under the hard shell. In Mr. Perlman’s performance you catch glimpses of Bogey and Lee Marvin and hints of Robert Mitchum and George Kennedy, all blended with devilish glee and disarmingly sexy sincerity.

It's got to be one helluva performance to get compared to Bogey, Lee Marvin, and Mitchum all in the same sentence!

Of course, there is promotion like crazy for this, and this pic has been in my head all week:

Selma Blair on The Tonight Show looking FANTASTIC! I don't know where to look: Her eyes, her face, that dress (WOW!), or those crazy sexy shoes!

More of these pics (and rude comments too!) over at The Bastardly - So I thought I'd share that with you.

Antifunny

A.O. Scott’s review of Mike Myers’s new movie...

...To say that the movie is not funny is merely to affirm the obvious. The word “unfunny” surely applies to Mr. Myers’s obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, “The Love Guru” is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again...

Saw this one coming. The marketing for this thing has been all about the desperation. And looking at that hair makes me want to shower.

Why "Speed Racer"?

The Red Queen and I were over at Target the other day, and there was an entire wall of Speed Racer stuff.

Including a Speed Racer helmet.

That made "vroom-vroom" noises.

My inner nine-year-old simply fell to the floor.

That's why "Speed Racer".


Christina Ricci on Leno: