jibber jabber 

been anxiously awaiting this movie. unfortunately it opened up in limited release at first but luckily it opened locally this past weekend so we headed out to the theater. and boy was it worth it. one of my favorites of the past year and definitely worth checking out if you can.

the movie itself is almost like two separate movies stitched together but its done perfectly. the first story revolves around a sadistic spanish army captain trying to quell a revolt in the forest while awaiting the birth of his new son. the second story revolves around the new baby’s big sister and her foray into the world of fairytales.

the visuals, camera work, acting, character special effects were all fantastic. they perfectly created a two distinct worlds and brought their stories to life.

the movie is somewhat dark and a little sad. i can see why it started out as a limited release and why hollywood never made this movie. some may be distracted by the subtitles but go see it. its a treat.

go see it. i don’t usually like these kinds of movies but its got that quirky comedy thing down and the finale had me busting a gut. great to see steve currell in a more serious albeit hillarious role. and i was amazed at how i was able to overcome how much i hate greg kinnear and actually enjoy his character.

another jet li movie. another fine display of martial arts. another story where jet li sacrifices himself for the greater good of his country. not sure who the director was but it definitely wasn’t Zhang Yimou. i definitely missed the amazing cinematography that Zhang puts out. the story line was ok, definitely kept things moving along. i kept getting distracted by the horrible hair. some pretty amazing fight scenes. all in all not a bad way to kill an hour and a half.

aka ‘District B13′. checked it out this past weekend…verdict? loved it. its no gone with the wind but its a damn good action movie.

supposedly set in 2010 (unfortch their budget didn’t let them pull that one off, oops) its about a good cop, well-intentioned criminal, corrupt politicians and well the usual. but while it seems simplistic, it does it well. no stupid plot foibles or long drawn out character expositions. just the right amount of everything with perfect pacing. its like an efficient action movie.

the biggest thing about the action sequences though is that being a french movie, its a showcase for the sport of ‘parkour‘. all the crazy chase scenes are done for real. no special effects. no wire rigs. its crazy. check it out.

i can’t believe how big this movies is. a month later and it finally got knocked off the top spot. $360 some odd million to date so far.

we arrived at the theater at a time that we thought was early for a month old movie. woops. while sitting there waiting, i read that there was a third movie. thank god for that tidbit. why? cause the movie leaves you hanging. and i hate that.

the movie itself was not bad. it was entertaining at the time but quickly forgotten. johnny depp was great, keira’s nice to look at. the story was a bit convoluted but there were some laugh out loud moments. three things i didn’t like though.

the first time through with the rolling in the cage was interesting. the second time on the wheel was just lame.

next, the davy jone’s crew, too ridiculous with the whole “part of the sea” vibe. its like the producers had a creature budget and couldn’t figure out how to spend it.

and lastly, the ending. but i guess it worked cause now i have to go see the other one. dirty marketing geniuses.

can’t say i’m that familiar with johhny cash’s work, but i never heard anybody that didn’t like him. the remake he did of ‘hurt’ and the video for it was very impressive though.

so i was very impressed with this movie. joaquin and reese put on a great performance. even more amazing is that they did all the singing themselves. don’t know how much of the movie is fact versus fiction but it was a story well told. if its any indication, i liked the movie so much i downloaded a bunch of his music after.