Udaman
06-10-2011, 04:30 PM
(since JE is away, thought I would start this)
Saw it today - in IMAX.
OK...it's good. Definitely worth seeing. Worth seeing in the theater. Parts of it are really, really good.
And yet - it was kind of disappointing. Maybe it was too much of an homage to all the old Spielberg films...but it felt rushed at the end. It was massively predictable. There were things that just didn't work. Here are some more specifics.
First the things I didn't like:
a) Beyond the Realm of Possibility. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all pretend. There aren't aliens being transported in trains. I get that. But I still hate when movies do things that you are supposed to believe that in real life could never ever work. For instance...if you drive your truck straight into the path of a speeding locomotive....YOU DO NOT LIVE (in fact, they are literally finding pieces of you). Also, if you capture someone and hang them upside down for 2 days....THEY DO NOT LIVE.
b) The alien. Was he good? Was he bad? Abrams couldn't seem to make up his mind. Incidentally, this is NOT a movie for kids under the age of 9. No way...it would scare the you know what out of my 7 year old.
c) The speech the main boy gives to the alien right near the end. Almost "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" cringe worthy. Very surprising, because most of the dialogue in the movie is outstanding.
d) The end (before the credits) and the necklace. First off, everything metal is getting pulled up...only then not everything metal is gone. Some soldiers lose their guns, some don't. Then the necklace. Really dumb. I get they were trying to tell the little boy to "let go" but I mean, his mom has only been dead for 4 months. I think I would cry like mad if I had that necklace and lost it like that.
e) The girl and her father. Again, Abrams didn't seem to know what to do here. They hate each other...yet they don't. They toyed with the idea that he had perhaps had an affair with the boys mother (something I actually think would have made the plot stronger and the hatred between the two of them more believable)...but then copped out of that.
f) The bad guy. Way too much been there, done that.
However, overall I liked it more than I didn't and that's because
1) The kids. They were excellent. All of them. I mean excellent. The writing and their deliveries were just spot on. Funny. Believable. Engaging. They were the center of the movie, and they carried it big time. And as good as they all were, the female character - played by Elle Fanning - was simply fantastic. She was so good, I can't believe how good she was. There's an amazing scene where she's acting out a zombie scene...so she's acting within a movie, and she nails it. Her performance is Academy Award Nomination good (though I doubt that will happen).
2) The zombie movie filming scenes. Hillarious. All of them.
3) The setting. For those of us who were about that age in 1979 - it's a fun trip down memory lane, equipped with Walkmans, biking around the neighborhood, walkie talkies, NFL handheld games, and a killer soundtrack.
4) The train wreck. Really well done (though crazy that nobody gets killed, and the car doesn't get dinged).
5) The ending. Stay around and watch the credits. It's movie making the way it used to be...and it stars the kids.
Overall, I would give this 3 stars. In my order of movies for the summer, I now have it
1. Bridesmaids
2. Super 8 and X-Men (tie)
4. Pirates
5. Hangover 2
and a distant 6. Thor
Saw it today - in IMAX.
OK...it's good. Definitely worth seeing. Worth seeing in the theater. Parts of it are really, really good.
And yet - it was kind of disappointing. Maybe it was too much of an homage to all the old Spielberg films...but it felt rushed at the end. It was massively predictable. There were things that just didn't work. Here are some more specifics.
First the things I didn't like:
a) Beyond the Realm of Possibility. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all pretend. There aren't aliens being transported in trains. I get that. But I still hate when movies do things that you are supposed to believe that in real life could never ever work. For instance...if you drive your truck straight into the path of a speeding locomotive....YOU DO NOT LIVE (in fact, they are literally finding pieces of you). Also, if you capture someone and hang them upside down for 2 days....THEY DO NOT LIVE.
b) The alien. Was he good? Was he bad? Abrams couldn't seem to make up his mind. Incidentally, this is NOT a movie for kids under the age of 9. No way...it would scare the you know what out of my 7 year old.
c) The speech the main boy gives to the alien right near the end. Almost "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" cringe worthy. Very surprising, because most of the dialogue in the movie is outstanding.
d) The end (before the credits) and the necklace. First off, everything metal is getting pulled up...only then not everything metal is gone. Some soldiers lose their guns, some don't. Then the necklace. Really dumb. I get they were trying to tell the little boy to "let go" but I mean, his mom has only been dead for 4 months. I think I would cry like mad if I had that necklace and lost it like that.
e) The girl and her father. Again, Abrams didn't seem to know what to do here. They hate each other...yet they don't. They toyed with the idea that he had perhaps had an affair with the boys mother (something I actually think would have made the plot stronger and the hatred between the two of them more believable)...but then copped out of that.
f) The bad guy. Way too much been there, done that.
However, overall I liked it more than I didn't and that's because
1) The kids. They were excellent. All of them. I mean excellent. The writing and their deliveries were just spot on. Funny. Believable. Engaging. They were the center of the movie, and they carried it big time. And as good as they all were, the female character - played by Elle Fanning - was simply fantastic. She was so good, I can't believe how good she was. There's an amazing scene where she's acting out a zombie scene...so she's acting within a movie, and she nails it. Her performance is Academy Award Nomination good (though I doubt that will happen).
2) The zombie movie filming scenes. Hillarious. All of them.
3) The setting. For those of us who were about that age in 1979 - it's a fun trip down memory lane, equipped with Walkmans, biking around the neighborhood, walkie talkies, NFL handheld games, and a killer soundtrack.
4) The train wreck. Really well done (though crazy that nobody gets killed, and the car doesn't get dinged).
5) The ending. Stay around and watch the credits. It's movie making the way it used to be...and it stars the kids.
Overall, I would give this 3 stars. In my order of movies for the summer, I now have it
1. Bridesmaids
2. Super 8 and X-Men (tie)
4. Pirates
5. Hangover 2
and a distant 6. Thor