Played a bit of catch-up with some of the films I missed in '08.  Here's what I saw this weekend.

Bolt - A roadtrip/Homeward Bound-style movie with lots of heart, this one has the makings of Pixar's best, without actually being headed up by Pixar.  All the same, it's got John Lasseter's magic touch all over it, and it'll undoubtedly manage to squeeze itself into a timeless status rather a pop cultural one.  Cyrus and Travolta turn in decent performances, but it's Susie Essman's Mittens who's the real star here; the uneasy bond of friendship that grows between she and Bolt is great to watch.  And Mark Walton's Rhino the Hamster, a character whom I was almost sure would put a crimp on the entire movie after seeing the trailers, is anything but - he's goddamned hilarious, and an awesome supporting character.  John Powell turns in a serviceable score, with a likeable main theme that's frequented throughout.  I wished I saw this one in the theaters, because if I did, it would've easily earned my animation of the year, preceding even Kung Fu Panda and Wall•E.

Hancock - Hancock definitely makes for a refreshing take on the superhero genre.  For most of the first half, the movie played up the trailer's original premise exactly the way I wanted it to be.  Yes, Smith's titular character is an "asshole", but he's the kind of asshole that you'd love to despise.  He's a vigilante, and the comedy spins best when he's at his most cynical and vulgar; the character study is on the forefront here, with the superhero elements taking a backseat.  The story twist is interminably predicable, since it's hinted at pretty much throughout the entire film (though to what end remains under wraps until it happens), and the middle to the beginning of the final act does stumble a bit in its concept and execution.  I give an "A" to the first half of the movie, maybe a "C+" to the last half -- kind of like how I would rate I Am Legend.  And I also liked Powell's score here; he goes for a heavy blues-jazz sensibility this time, with an overall playful, sometimes soothing feel for the rest.  Definitely more subdued in tone than the typical superhero score, which again adds to the overall refreshing nature of the film.

Wanted - As DVD Verdict's review stated, "Wanted is the proud bastard child of The Matrix, Fight Club, and La Femme Nikita."  This is a massive orgy-fest of hyperkinetic action, ultra-violence, mind-bending physics, guns, babes, and hot cars.   Director Timur Bekmambetov's visual eye is dazzlingly eye-catching, making for one hell of a stylistic looking flick.  The whole thing feels blatantly "Matrix" in its delivery, yet infinitely more fun and decadent than that entire trilogy put together.  Unlike Hancock, this one feels better paced, what with a longer running time that allows the story twist to effectively segue into a more satisfying resolution.  Elfman's score goes for an appropriate gritty-grungy metal-rock flavor, but there's also a heavy orchestral/choir element in several places, which serves the theme of The Fraternity well.  (And yeah, the inclusion of NIN's Everyday Is Exactly The Same was quite cool, actually.)

It was a fun weekend.  It's not often coming across a trio of flicks that are all immensely entertaining in their own way.

I really liked that line near the end from Morgan Freeman, something like 'Well then SOMEBODY shoot this muthafcuka right now!!'

And of course they had to cut to a different camera angle when he cursed because distingushed actors don't want their 'good guy in real life' image tarnished.

haha

Hm, I'm pretty sure the two times he dropped the f-bomb (yes, there were two separate occasions), the camera stayed right on him.

Not that he's above expletives, anyway - he just hasn't been using them in a lot of his films as of late.  Remember "Lean On Me"?

I enjoyed "Wanted", if only for the amusing bloodbath and excellent Elfman score (one of my favorite of 2008). The movie is completely relentless, what with hundreds of people falling to their doom in service of an action scene.

Plus, I'm convinced Morgan Freeman can make anything worth watching.

Gosh, it's been almost a year ago so i can't recall the others. But for some reason i do very clearly remember them switching camera angles away from him when he cursed in that poignant line, and that was the best reason I could fathom why they did it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knrdWMIIQ-0

:)

To those who haven't seen Wanted yet, there's a spoiler implication in there.

Hmm. That's really weird.

I must've been drunk or something while i was watching it, then.

Which isn't to say it doesn't have its share of soaring, epic themes too, as I've more closely discovered after picking up the soundtrack.  The impossibly uplifting "The Moon and the Superhero" is the best of said bunch, perfectly bookending the movie's main theme into the end credits.

Big <3s to Powell right now.

I'm resurrecting the 2008 movie thread to mention something about Mirrors. I recently read a short story, published in 1951, about a crazy woman living in mirrors. She could transport from mirror to mirror. The story is called "The Hungry House" and was written by Robert Bloch.

In the story, a couple moves into a house that they found for a great deal. They both start to notice a reflection that should not be there. Angered, they decide to confront the real estate agent, since they suspect he knows something about it. They throw a party and the agent and his wife are among the guests. All the guests have to leave early, due to the thing in the mirror, and the agent sees the affect it has on people. He breaks down and tells about the previous owners of the house.

The part of the story I really liked was when the new owner wondered why there wasn't a single mirror in the house during the first walkthrough. He later searched the property and he found a small shed with a cache of mirrors.

I had always thought that the "creature in the mirror" concept was original to the movies. I'm slowly starting to lose any patience/tolerance I have for the big screen, due to my constant discoveries of written fiction with remarkably similar story lines.