Movie Time: Dragon Hunters

It's been a while since I've watched a movie that I cared to review. I'm not a movie critic, buff or fanatic by any means. But, thanks to Netflix, my movie-viewing options have expanded and, based on my likes and dislikes, it brought up the movie Dragon Hunters as a suggestion.

Dragon Hunters is not a new movie (or animation, however you choose to view it), but I'd never heard of it. But since the husband and I were bickering over whether to watch a bloody, gore-filled movie (his choice) or another episode of The Biggest Loser (I'm a junkie), we compromised with this.

O.M.G. I haven't been so amused by a cartoon in a long time. This movie literally shocked the laughter out of me. It was sweet, it was odd, it was just slightly WRONG. Hector, especially, the little blue rabbit/dog thing with extremely sharp teeth had me cackling like a senseless person. He farts fire and is obsessed with Zoe, following her around and growling "Girl!" Zoe, too, is a charming chatterbox, inspiring even the money-minded Gwizdo to become a hero. And Lian Chu is so sweet, and his deadly knitting needles cracked me up.

Plus, the animation is amazing. (At least it impressed me.)

I think if you enjoyed Shrek, you'd probably get a kick out of this movie. Check it out!

Note: This film was originally released in France, hence never hearing about it.

Movie Time: Avatar

I watched Avatar this weekend. I'd heard mixed reviews about. Some said that yes, the special effects were awesome, but the storyline was only so-so. Others just said the whole movie was awesome.

I'm in the latter category.

First off, the special effects and world building was breathtaking. Breathtaking! Even on my rinkydink television I was awed. But if that had been all there was to the movie, I would have been disappointed. Luckily, it wasn't.

The story played back to the Pocahontas tale. Handsome hero goes to new world to tame it, meets beautiful native and learns about her world. There's, of course, the battle for the hero between what he is used to and this new world's enticements--and which he wants/needs more. And it, surprisingly, wasn't as predictable as you would suspect. There were moments when I wasn't sure what would happen, even though I was pretty sure the movie would have a "happy" ending.

There were moments that were touching and moving. I actually cried MORE THAN ONCE during this movie. And I laughed as well. The dialogue was excellent and Sigourny Weaver was amazing as Grace. (You know it's a good movie when even the supporting actors are awesome.)

And, maybe it's the hippie in me, but I loved how the Na'vi were so attuned and even physically connected to the life around them. That was probably one of my favorite (if one of the strangest) parts of the movie.

This is a movie that I want to watch again and again. It dazzled me. Really. If you disagree, well, you can just bite me. (Yes, that's how much I loved this movie. Even my fiance said it was the best movie he'd seen in a long time... and he's picky.)

I'm hoping to watch it again sometime this week. :)

Movie Time: District 9

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and, on that note, let's have some bloody, gory, alien slaughtering, mmkay?

I watched District 9 last night. Now, the first thing that struck me about this movie (besides the creepy-crawly look of the aliens) was the documentary feel of it. Combine that with the location (Johannesburg, South Africa) and I knew exactly what the message of this movie was going to be about. (My boyfriend, who has not taken a course in African Lit, did not.)

But first, the summary. Basically, an alien ship hovers above Johannesburg, South Africa. Humans go in after months of inactivity and find an alien race. It's obvious that these aliens must be a caste of workers, for they lack leadership skills of any kind. Soon, they become more of a nuisance than a novelty and the humans want them moved from their slum-like dwellings in District 9, to a new, far away District 10.

Wikus, an Multi-National United employee, is charged with evicting the aliens, but is really there to confiscate alien weaponry. During the process, he discovers a cylindrical object which, after he tampers with it, squirts him in the face with a black liquid. Wikus becomes very ill and then finds that his arm has mutated to resemble a prawns. MNU then forces him to test alien weaponry, which has thus far been unresponsive to humans. With his new, combined DNA he is able to operate the weaponry. After several successful trials, MNU decides that his DNA is extremely valuable and decides to donate his body to the cause. (I thought it was hilarious that his father-in-law is one of the head honchos at MNU and makes that decision.) Wikus escapes and hides in District 9.

There he encounters Christopher Johnson, the alien responsible for creating the cylinder. Wikus learns that the only hope he has of reverting to his human form is to retrieve the cylinder (which contains an alien fuel) from MNU. Johnson reluctantly agrees to help Wikus and promises to help him get back to his human self.

You'd think it would be predictable from that point on, wouldn't you? Alien and human form a friendship that defies the social norm, but Wikus isn't as admirable a hero as that. He's in it for himself to the point where he abandons Christopher to MNU soldiers and steals Christopher's ship. Which, you must admit, is a heck of a lot more realistic considering the attitude toward Prawns.

My boyfriend wanted to shut this movie off about halfway through. Admittedly, it is slow. There are parts that are downright crude or nonsensical, but I still wanted to watch. Because if you know anything of South Africa's racial problems, then this had a deeper meaning than just grotesque aliens and bloody battles. And Wikus, the supposed hero, demonstrates this with a blase attitude, which speaks more than any true documentary could.

Would I recommend watching this? Yes. But, in order to enjoy it, you're going to have to look beyond the limb-severing and lewd commentary (unless that's what you're into), because the message to this movies lies beneath the sci-fi action and battles, and should be transported to real life.

Memorable Quotation:

Automated MNU Instructional Voice: [in MNU Humvee] When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet. 

Movie Time: Watchmen

I recently tried out that movie-mailed-to-home thing, and, well, I guess I live too far out in the boonies to really get the best of this deal. It takes me about a week before I can get a movie, and then another week to get another movie (even if I send the viewed movie back the next day!). However, I did get the chance to see Watchmen (directed by Zack Snyder) last night, a movie I was looking forward to.

First off, I like super-heroes. Spider-man. Superman. X-Men. I'm all over it. The action is usually pretty great and the plots (while a tad predictable) are satisfying. So, when I popped Watchmen into the DVD player, I was expecting something along those same lines. Mainly, entertainment.

Er, not so much.

"Watchmen" is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity... but who is watching the Watchmen?" Written by T-Hen (Courtesy of www.imdb.com)

I never thought I'd call a super-hero movie deep, disturbing or thought-invoking, but this was all of those things. It starts off with The Comedian getting murdered (pretty typical action movie, right?) but then it pans back into all this political stuff dealing with the Cold War and nuclear warheads. You see glimpses into the Comedian's past, and, well, he's not what you would call a typical super-hero. Not even a typical dark and tormented super-hero. If I could sum it up in one word, I would say that he's a bastard. Definitely not what you would think of when you think of a "good guy".

And then we get a very GRAPHIC (har har) history of all the other flawed super-heroes. Even Dr. Manhattan (who is often referred to as 'god-like') is apathetic and unconcerned with the fate of humanity. (Is that an alliteration for God? Probably.) This is shown in a disturbing (yes, I'm going to use that word many times in this post) exchange between the Comedian and Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam. Thinking about it now still makes me shudder.

The beginning is slow, but when you get to the end, all those scenes that make you think "Ok, yeah, so? Can we move on please?" make sense in the end. It's definitely a movie you have to pay attention to, so if you're looking for mindless entertainment, I'd pass on this one.

I wouldn't recommend letting the kids watch this one either. It's Rated R for a reason (and trust me, there are a LOT of reasons, including watching two dogs play tug-of-war with a girl's leg.) However, if you're wanting to watch a movie that will make you think, definitely pick this one up. If you're anything like me, you will be deeply affected. And also saying, WTF?

Memorable quote:
Adrian Veidt: It doesn't take a genius to see the world has problems.
Edward Blake (aka The Comedian): No, but it takes a room full of morons to think they're small enough for you to handle.