Rants, Inc. » Movies

Buried

dalegaspi — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:22:23 +0000

I’m not particularly a fan of Ryan Reynolds, but Buried is actually a pretty good film. His performance–while not exactly Oscar-worthy–is great nonetheless.

Law-Abiding Citizen

dalegaspi — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:04:53 +0000

I saw this movie today and it has been one of the things i really regret doing.

I can sum up the movie in a mathematical equation:

Saw + Stupid = Law-Abiding Citizen

Move Over, Paul Giamatti. Here Comes Jackie Earle Haley.

dalegaspi — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:29:51 +0000

Yes, the guy who awesomely portrayed Rorschach in the live-action adaptation of “Watchmen” and the scene stealer in “Shutter Island.” He’ll be portraying Freddie in the remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” I hope he doesn’t make the bone-headed career decision of reprising Freddie in the inevitable sequel of that remake.

Avatar: A Few NotesThe

dalegaspi — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:41:02 +0000

I watched the highly-anticipated James Cameron movie the other day in RealD (not in IMAX 3D). Here are the following things I just couldn’t get over with:

It’s “Dances with Wolves” with Blue alien thingys. That said, if you’re watching this for the story you are in for a disappointment, anyway. It’s both preachy and condescending at the same time.
The use of 3D effect is elegantly executed. Most 3D films are just stupid; in Avatar, the 3D just enhances the DOF of certain scenes, which is a welcome change. STILL headache-inducing, though.
What is the budget of this film? Upwards $200M, right? WHY OH WHY did they not allot a bit more than $50 for the GADDAMN FONTS? PAPYRUS? IN YELLOW? SERIOUSLY?
There’s no denying that the movement of the blue alien thingys are just phenomenal…i cannot fault it. Even the eyes are right. Kudos to Cameron on this effort. However, I still think there’s something OFF about them…I think it’s the lighting, but I need to watch the movie again to be sure.
The controls of those Mech robots is JUST WRONG. There is no way you can control those things with 1:1 movement without taking Physics into account. Hey, Cameron…you know who did the controls “correctly?” Watch “District 9.”
It’s been apparent that a lot of directors today has surpassed Jim Cameron in storytelling and directing. I am almost certain that Neill Blomkamp or Alfonso Cuaron would have made a better film on a far less expensive budget.

District 9

dalegaspi — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:44:12 +0000

I believe that special effects is successful if a filmmaker has able to blend it so well with the rest of the movie that the audience can’t tell the difference.

IMO, the first to do it was Alfonso Cuaron in “Children of Men.”

Neill Blomkamp did it and has did it very well in “District 9.”

I am looking forward to more movies from him. I wish he created the Transformers live-action film.

Primal Fear

dalegaspi — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:06:31 +0000

I am currently watching “Primal Fear” on Hulu and this is probably the first time I have paid attention to a film’s editing. The editing of this movie is, in my opinion, brilliantly executed. I can’t help but notice the scene of the first day of trial which–in the hands of a terrible editor–would have otherwise ended up very dragging and full of b0ringness.

I looked up in IMDB the man responsible, and it’s David Rosenbloom, who has lent his talents to films like “The Insider.”

I can’t help but wonder why the man has quite a short list of films on his resume.

Neill Blomkamp

dalegaspi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:10:46 +0000

Mark my words: Neill Blomkamp will be the next biggest director since Christopher Nolan. He was that awesome creator of those Gatorade Rain, Adidas, and a few other awesome TV spots. He was supposed to be the director chosen by Peter Jackson to helm the ill-fated Halo movie. If you haven’t seen his POC short films based on the Halo universe, you should see them.

Superman: Doomsday

dalegaspi — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:32:15 +0000

I finally saw this movie last weekend and I must say this has to be one of the most horrendous comic book adaptations I have seen since the movie “Ghost Rider” with Nicholas Cage. I understand that the writers are pressed for time, but it’s no excuse to have so many plot holes in the movie.

If you’ve read the Doomsday series on comic books (I have), to say that this is a huge disappointment would be an understatement.

An Open Letter to Frank Miller

dalegaspi — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:32:25 +0000

Dear Mr. Miller:

(I started this letter with the phrase “I’d like to be Frank…” but I thought it would confuse people. Fact.)

I just saw the trailer for your solo directorial debut, “The Spirit.” I thought I was looking at the much-anticipated to your ground-breaking film adaptation of “Sin City.” And OH LOOKS! The Title font is just like your *other* film adaptation, “300.”
Please don’t be a copycat jerk, Frank. That’s all I have to say for now.

KTHANKSBAI.

Kite Runner: Worst Film Adaptation Ever

dalegaspi — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:46:00 +0000

I finally saw “Kite Runner” on DVD after reading the brilliant novel.

One thing’s certain: the person who wrote the screenplay should be shot. Literally. How anyone could screw up writing a screenplay based on this novel is just beyond me. I have a written list of what’s wrong with the screenplay, but it’s so damn long I’m too upset to write it here (yeah, even to *cut and paste*…leave me alone). Not even Kubrick could have saved this trainwreck.

There are only two things good about this movie: the opening credits (i liked the calligraphy-style lettering), and
Shaun Toub’s superb acting (the rest of the actors could have been replaced with wooden planks).

This movie needs to be re-done.