Craziest Remake Ever! (Awful Pun, I Know)

Another weekend, another trip to a movie theater. I fear this blog is becoming somewhat predictable. Maybe I should go make some friends or something so I don't run the risk of sounding like a broken record.

So anyway, I headed out earlier tonight to see the remake of The Crazies. (It was either that or Cop Out, and The Crazies won the coin flip.) I went into it without having seen George Romero's version of the movie, so all I really knew to expect was the basic plot synopsis and what I'd seen in the remake's advertising. I was actually afraid that it was just going to be some lame 28 Days Later ripoff, but you know what? I was actually pretty impressed.

Yeah, I really got into it. The movie totally had me hooked. The suspense was well-done, the scares were actually scary, and the acting was really good. You don't see too many horror movies nowadays pull off all three, but I thought The Crazies did. That's enough to earn it a recommendation from me.

And I really don't really want to get too deep into the details for fear of spoiling something, though I will say that I totally dug how the movie ended. I don't know what it was, but the final minute or so of the movie, along with an added scene during the credits, really struck me as being cool.

To wrap this up, I'd definitely tell you to go check out The Crazies if you have even the slightest of interest in it. It's totally worth the ticket price. So on the Sutton Scale, I'll totally give it four stars, and it earned all four. Now all I have to do is check out the original version, because now I'm totally interested in seeing it now.

And to think, I got through this whole post without making one stupid pun involving the word "crazy" beyond the headline. I'm proud of myself.

Deep Shame

When I said that I was using writing to alleviate my boredom, I meant it. And when I said I had some bad movies lined up on Netflix, I meant that too. So thanks to my masochism, I ended up reviewing one of the most famous bad movies of all time: Showgirls.

I'm a little ashamed to admit I've actually seen Showgirls, let alone admit that I wrote a 2000-word review of it and posted it online. Then again, Showgirls is one of those movies that make you hate yourself for having watched it. But it's too late now; I've already watched it and written the review. It's too late to go back now.

So please, click the link and read that review, or else I'll have made myself watch Showgirls for no reason. And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go review some more bad movies. I'm such an idiot, but you knew that already.

Snowed In And Bored

Things have been a lot more boring than usual around here lately, mostly due to all the snow we've been getting. It's only about for or five inches, maybe six, so we haven't quite hit the blizzard territory yet. But it's enough to make me think twice about leaving the house.

Unfortunately, that leaves me with not a whole lot to do. It sucks, but it'll happen. I've been keeping busy, though, by writing more of my movie reviews. I actually just posted my new review of Saw VI, so if you regular S@TM readers can go click the link and check it out. And if you're new around here, you can head on over there too. Maybe read more than one of the revies, then tell your friends? I can use all the traffic I can get.

I don't have any other reviews finished yet, but I'm putting plenty of work in. I'm thinking of reviewing the Sherlock Holmes movie if I can ever get around to it, along with Cabin Fever's straight-to-DVD sequel and a bunch of TV-movies based on Marvel Comics heroes. I've also got a bunch of really bad movies lined up on Netflix to torture myself with, because I'm a masochist.

So with all that, I guess I shouldn't be too bored anymore.

Drinking Piña Coladas At Trader Vic's

I mentioned in my last post that I was looking forward to the release of The Wolfman, and I was in good enough fortune to head out and see it early this afternoon. And since I usually try to discuss movies here after I've seen them, let's get into my opinion of it.

The thing is that I thought the movie was thoroughly mediocre. It wasn't a terrible movie, but I didn't think it was all that great, either. And the sad part is that I'm not really sure why I feel that way. Maybe it's because I've never exactly been ga-ga for werewolves? Maybe it's because it wasn't quite the thrill ride I expected from the commercials? I don't know. All I do know is that I left the theater with a general "meh" feeling.

I will admit that the movie has its share of cool moments, specifically the climax and a scene where Benicio del Toro rampages through a room full of people that mistake his lycanthropy for insanity. But other than that, it just wasn't the movie I was hoping it would be. I might give it another go once it hits DVD to see if my opinion would change any, but for now I'll give it three stars and say that it's watchable yet superfluous.

And on the topic of werewolves, can somebody pass along word that I really want to see Ginger Snaps 4? I've been wanting to see somebody follow up on the ending of Ginger Snaps 2 for a while now and I'm getting kinda antsy.

Dances With Thundercats

Sometimes, no matter how much you try to avoid something, you end up doing it anyway. I bring this up because I finally gave in and saw Avatar this afternoon. I just had to see what all the fuss was about. And while I could have just downloaded it or waited for the DVD, I had to see it theatrically and in 3D.

I haven't really had much interest at all in Avatar over the last two months or so. I actually developed the opposite of interest, where I was hoping people would just shut up about it already. But you know what? I didn't not like it.

I actually didn't think it was so bad at all. It almost gets too preachy at times, like James Cameron was going out of his way to make white people feel guilty for having mistreated Native Americans hundreds of years ago. But after a while, I ended up getting so emotionally invested in the movie that I didn't really realize I was being preached to until the credits were rolling.

The biggest problem with Avatar, though, is that it's not a very memorable movie. I don't remember the names of any character outside of the ones played by Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver, and I really have to sit down and think to remember any major scenes. As far as the story goes, it's nothing that hasn't really been done before. But like I said, it's done in such a way that I was actually invested in it, so they were obviously doing something right.

It helps a lot that the movie was very, very pretty. Avatar is definitely one of the most visually stunning movies I've veer seen. It's what TV Tropes would call "scenery porn." It's so beautiful that I'll probably end up buying the Blu-ray release of the movie, just to give my HDTV a workout. (Though I'm surprised that Cameron didn't go all the way and have the humans be CGI creations too. I mean, everything else is CGI, so why not even the people?)

So what did I think of the movie in a nutshell? It was okay. I knew going in that it would basically be Cameron showing off his new CGI toys, so I didn't get my hopes up. And because of that, the movie was a pleasant surprise. Is it worthy of all the Golden Globes of the Oscar nominations? I don't really think so. But I liked it, and that's really all I can ask for sometimes. Well, that and not making a movie three hours long when you could have done it in two. Anyway, Avatar gets three and a half stars and a thumbs up.

And now to wait until The Wolfman comes out tomorrow...

That's A Heck Of A Name For A Movie

I've been doing some job hunting lately, and if my hunt is successful, I may not have as much time to write to for "Sutton At The Movies" like I usually do. I know I only crank out two or three reviews a month, sometimes as much as five if I write fast enough. But if and when I acquire gainful employment, the reviews may start coming fewer and farther between.

But until then, I'm going to keep working on the reviews like I always do. And just you're luck, I've got a new review up over at the S@TM blog. The reviw in question is of South Park creator Trey Parker's porno superhero parody, Orgazmo. Yes, a movie like that exists, and yes, I've reviewed it. So click the link and check it out, won't you?

The Blog of the Book of Eli

The month of January is usually pretty slow when it comes to movie releases, and the last four weeks were no exception. There were actually only two movies released last month that I was even remotely interested in. I've already seen Daybreakers, which left only The Book of Eli.

So guess what I did this afternoon? Yeah, I saw the movie. Am I that obvious?

You're probably expecting me to give my opinion, and I'm not one to disappoint what few readers I have. So what did I think about The Book of Eli? I dug it a lot. It's not a great movie, but it does have quite a few things working in its favor. One is the cast, particularly Denzel Washington. But then, he's great in pretty much everything. The direction, courtesy of Menace II Society directors Albert and Allen Hughes, is also very god. The movie has a really cool look and some fabulous cinematography. It's never boring, and even the slower moments feel like something big is around the corner.

At it's absolute worst, the movie is still an okay watch. I will admit that in the grand scheme, it isn't anything special. But I can think of worse ways to spend two hours. The Book of Eli gets three and a half stars out of five, and I'd recommend it as a rental when the DVD comes out in a few months.

With January out of the way now, I think the movie releases may be starting to ramp up. Kevin Smith's new movie and the remakes of The Wolfman and The Crazies all come out this month, and I'm looking forward to those. I also think I might catch Avatar if I can get a free moment. I haven't really been all that interested in it, but after it pulled in two billion dollars and a Best Picture Oscar nomination, I kinda want to see what all the fuss is about.

If I do go see Avatar, I hope it's more than Dances with Thundercats. Because I could just sit at home and watch Dances with Wolves and Thundercats separately.