Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

These days there isn’t much choice of what to watch in the movies. So I ended up at “Be Kind Rewind“.  It’s a comedy with Jack Black and Mos Def, both of who are often funny.  Also, I wanted to see how Danny Glover is doing these days, since the last time I saw him was in “Lethal Weapon 4” or so.

“Be Kind Rewind” is a bit of an akward film.  It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s cheap, and it’s kind.  Some parts of it are so hilarious that I was laughing out loud.  Yet other parsts of it don’t make any sense at all.  Some scenes follow each other naturally, yet some other feel like they were glued together very roughly.

Overall, I’ll give it a 6 out of 10.  Not something that I would strongly recommend, but not your regular movie experience either.

The other day I went to see “The Dark Knight“, also known as the latest story in the series about Batman.  I am not a big fan of superhero comics, with Batman being no exception.  But I’ve seen all the movies so far.

I have to say that this one was the worst.  It was too long and too boring.  It had great cast, but that didn’t help the film one bit.  There are a few special effects, but the overall boredom burries them in the long propagandic dialogues.  In fact, the movie is total crap except for one bit, which makes it worth watching - The Joker.

Heath Ledger did an excellent job with this character.  It was by all means the best villain I’ve ever seen in the movies. Heath Ledger even outdid Jack Nicholson, who played The Joker in “Batman” (1992).  Heath’s Joker was the scary kind.  That person was so evil and … broken, that you wouldn’t want him to exist on this planet at all.  But, at the same time, he was so realistic that you could easily meet somebody very similar (minus the make-up, of course) just around the corner.  Really, a masterpiece.

As it stands, it’s difficult to rate this film.  I’ll give it a 5 out of 10, with all 5 points being for The Joker alone.  If you aren’t into movie villains, avoid this film at all costs.

The other day I went to the cinema to see “Wanted“.  I’ve been waiting for this film for some time now, since I liked the trailer and heard quite a few positive reviews from people who saw it earlier. It wasn’t a disappointment at all.  On the contrary.  I really liked it.  In fact, I’m planning to go and see it once again, while it is on the large screen, and then I want to get myself the DVD with all the extras and special features.

Excellent special effects, great soundtrack, and quite a few twists in the story - some of which are predictable and some are not - all these makes it into an excellent entertainment.  Of course, Angeline Jolie with gun fights and car chases is a major attraction as well.  Morgan Freeman is a nice addition.  But what I liked the most about the movie is its originality.  Not breathtaking kind, but the kind which really made me watch it in full attention.  Rarely do I come across something from Hollywood and have this feeling.

Overall, 9 out of 10.  Strongly recommended.

I needed a little focus switch, so I went to the cinema to see “The Incredible Hulk“.  I didn’t particularly liked the first part - “Hulk“, but there was nothing better to choose from anyway.

Not a lot of improvements I must say.  Special effects are pretty average.  There are a few sparks, but overall - too cheap and unrealistic.  It would have been a lot better to use photography for scenery and background objects rather than to render them.  Operator’s work was pretty average.  Scenes of Brazil towns were especially disappointing, since those were so reach with details, which were lost by operators and their equipment (shaky helicopter shots and such).  The story is still boring and way over dramatic.  It pushes for Forest Gump or something.  Edward Norton and Tim Roth were acting good, and that improved the filim a lot.  Liv Tyler tried as usual, but I am not a big fan of her.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

I’ve recently enjoyed the “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” movie.  However there was one particular scene which sticks out.  It was the moment when Indiana yet again avoided his certain death, this time by hiding in the kitchen fridge.  He was supposed to die of a nuclear explosion, but the fridge saved his hat.

Impossible?  Of course.  But there was something more to this.  Something that bothered me for the last few days.  Something that I could not find the words to express.

It turns out, I am not the only one.  There was a hot discussion at IMDB forums, and at other places that have crowds of movie watchers and reviews.  And apparently, a new term was born - “nuke the fridge“.

This is also a nice example to illustrate how the world changes with the Internet.  Lots and lots of people talk about lots and lots of things.  24×7.  Non-stop.  That generates lots of ideas, sub-cultures, products, and services.  And, in tern, lots and lots of money for people who dig it.  Nice.