Megamind

Maxim and I went to the cinema yesterday, in hopes to see “Tangled”.  But unfortunately it was in Greek only.  We checked both Rio and K-Cineplex cinemas.  Since we were out anyway, we decided to go for “Megamind“.  Which, despite the 3D advertising, was in 2D.  (Maxim prefers 3D, while I am a 2D man).

“Megamind” is a cartoon about superheros and about the fight of good an evil.  It is somewhat original in the story though.  While most other stories accept the fight between the good and evil and spend most of the time on the details, “Megamind” takes a different route.  It explores the world after the fight of good and evil.  And not just that, but the world where evil won the fight.  I thought it was an interesting twist, even though it required slightly more talking than usual.  And, as every kid knows, talking is boring.  Bring on the fight!

The story is well balanced though.  Surprisingly, there is still plenty of fighting and other types of action.   Bonus points from me are for having a geek (wearing geeky t-shirts) and for the soundtrack that included AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Guns-n-Roses.  I think that’s the first mainstream animation to ever do that.  Kudos!

And while this flick wasn’t a jewel that by now everyone expects from Dreamworks, it is still a pretty good entertainment choice.  Overall rating from me is a 4 out of 5.   Not bad.

Tropic Thunder

I just came back from the movies where I enjoyed an action comedy “Tropic Thunder“.  To be honest, initially I didn’t want to see this movie.  Silly poster, one of my most unfavourite actors and directos Ben Stiller, and a few other minor factors were all pointing to towards “You can safely ignore this movie” sign.  But then I’ve heard a few good reviews and changed my mind.

Gladly, the film turned out to be pretty good.  I think that make-up artists, good cast, and participation of one of the Cohen brothers in the screenplay writing saved this flick.  Ben Stiller wasn’t as bad as he usually is.  Jack Black was pretty good.  Especially in that short little scene where he was tied up to the tree.  Tom Cruise was a surprise – both acting-wise and make-up-wise.  Robert Downey Jr. was really good.  He was as good as his make-up.  Extra make-up point goes for the Japanese-like looking gangster, shooting automatic weapon in the purple haze.  That was aesthetically refreshing.

There is plenty of good action in this film, with gun fights, explosions, helicopters, and so on and so forth. As for the humor – it’s an interesting mix, between the low-level silly Ben Stiller kind of jokes and smart parody and satire Cohen-brothers style.  Done really well.

Overall, 7 out of 10 for good entertainment.

Along Came Polly

Along Came Polly (2004)I once said that I don’t intentionally want to see another movie with Ben Stiller, but it was a long time ago and Jennifer Aniston was in it, so I decided to watch “Along Came Polly“.

Directed by: John Hamburg
Genres: Comedy, Romance
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown, Jsu Garcia, Michele Lee, Bob Dishy, Missi Pyle, Judah Friedlander, Kevin Hart, Masi Oka, Kym Whitley
IMDB raintg: 5.8
My rating: 3.0 [rate 3.0]

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Meet the Fockers

Meet the Fockers (2004)I told you I was catching up, didn’t I? “Meet the Fockers” was next on my list.

Directed by: Jay Roach
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson, Spencer Pickren, Bradley Pickren, Alanna Ubach, Ray Santiago, Tim Blake Nelson, Shelley Berman, Kali Rocha, Dorie Barton
IMDB raintg: 6.4
My rating: 6.8 [rate 6.8]

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