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Is not black nor white. It is not even grey. Life boasts a mixture of bright and mellow colours, some inviting, some sinister, each with its own experience; an experience of euphoria, depression, greatness or heartbreak. It's not often that we observe that we're so very divided -- we always will be. It won't change. But if we try to see how things are on the other side, we might discover that what we may at times be opposed to actually makes a degree of sense -- as long as one doesn't abuse that sense. Of course, balance is crucial. There is certainly a point where one might adhere to the cliché 'too much of a good thing', whether it concerns something academic like studying, or something wild like alcohol. Life is all about balance. At least that's my observation from here. And no, there is no perfect balance. Each of us requires our own balance. Each of us wants something different. If we look, it may well be that we might just find what we're after.
End philosophical rant. Just did a Learners practice test and got 97%. Boo yah. Gonna do a few more and have it booked in by the end of this week. Also, I just realised how much studying hogs up my life in that I cannot play guitar like... ever. I just want to relax. I want to play games. Oh God how I want to play games.
So I came to a resolution. When the next holidays come, I will start it off with a Halo marathon. I'm not going to play Halo: CE, Halo 2, nor Halo 3; no, I'm going to play all three. But wait, it doesn't end there. I'm going to finish them all... on Legen- wait for it... I hope you're not allergic to milk products-dary. That's right. Halo 2. On Legendary. Single-player. Just you watch.
And then, the next week... going to play KOTOR. Epic nostalgia going right here.
Up this week... French outcome, and on Friday, Iron Man 2 in IMAX. Should be pretty sweet -- as long as it doesn't epic fail like Revenge of the Fallen did anyway. This'll be a mega-epic-super-fail if they mess it up... I mean Downey, Paltrow, Jackson, and Scarlett 'Super-hot' Johansson... surely not.
Also, carn the Maggies! Bahahahaha.
-Dilan
Kicks ASS.
The superhero genre hasn't had such a refreshing take since TDK blew our minds back in '08. I won't lie to you, Kick-Ass is an absolute fucking blast. They've marketed it as a shallow comedy riddled with a bit of action and goofs, right? Yeah, it's a lot, lot more than that.
Kick-Ass covers that little concept we've all at one stage pondered (shut up and admit it); what if you were a superhero? Average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to take the law into his own hands and become Kick-Ass; an amateur teenager in a wetsuit with hardly an inkling of what he's doing. Now where's this movie going... you think you've already answered your question: it'll be a shallow teen romp full of sexually explicit laughs (the films MA15+ rating would influence that part) and a whole bunch of other shit you'd expect in a high budget April release. Fortunately, you're wrong.
This film is funny. It's satisfying. It's glossy and it's jam-packed with Kill Bill-esque ass-kicking that hasn't been seen for a while. However, it's not just that; the film manages to strike this surreal balance between a superhero universe and the real world... kind of like Batman Begins meets... I dunno, Spiderman? I'm taking this right out of an article I just read, but it's a film that does so many things right that it'd be silly to point out its flaws, which are so few and minor.
Let me say that this Chloe Moretz chick just blew my fucking mind; Hit-Girl owns this movie better than Batman owned Batman. It's funny because Aaron Johnson's Kick-Ass is actually a pretty useless superhero; he just serves as a kind of bland fulcrum around which the other characters can work their magic. Of course, these characters are Red Mist, Hit-Girl and Nicholas Cage's ex-cop-turned-revenge-driven-vigilante: Big Daddy. There's an interesting background to Red Mist, whom the trailers depicted as a comic idiot. Hit-Girl is just so much more impressive than I thought she would be; it makes me glad to know that Moretz can actually act, and that she doesn't solely rely on using the word 'cunts' and shooting people while doing Matrix stunts to get her point across. She is a genuinely fucking awesome character. On to Nicholas Cage - his last blockbuster, Knowing, was a major flop. He pulls it ALL back with this. Big Daddy is just a downright badass when he dons his costume, and when he doesn't, he's funny as hell. In fact, even when he's being sincere in his costume he's hilarious; why? Because he does an impression of Adam West's Batman. Yeah. Adam. West's. Batman. <3.
Here's the weird part though, while we're on Big Daddy. There is a scene that shows Big Daddy ransacking a warehouse (it's AWESOME). During this scene, I heard a bass line. 'Hey, this sounds like "In The House - In A Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack', I thought. 30 seconds later, I'm going 'Wait a minute... this IS "In The House - In A Heartbeat"... just a remixed version.' So I did a bit of snooping, and found out that a significant amount of this movie's OST is recycled from the OSTs of 28 Days Later and Sunshine; both films with OSTs composed by John Murphy (who shares credit in Kick-Ass's OST) and directed by Danny Boyle. What is up with that? I mean it's not entirely new, and the music DOES fit in wonderfully to add a dark side to the film, but in the end it's just like 'what the hell?'. It's just... weird.
Overall though, Kick-Ass is a scintillating trip through an intriguing concept. I walked into the theatre expecting a shallow, albeit fun trip through yet another superhero universe, and walked out satisfied by something a lot more creative. After the marketing campaign, you'd think Kick-Ass is a comedy peppered with some action; it's actually much the opposite, and it works. Satirical gore is delivered in just the right amounts, and you're given plenty of Hit-Girl that you're not left itching for more. Aaron Johnson's bland Dave Lizewski is in a way complemented by a crop of dynamic, outstanding characters who interact in a unique manner, yet one that's at the same time similar enough to make it doubtlessly clear that Kick-Ass is in fact a superhero movie. Props to Nicholas Cage, and a standing ovation to Chloe Moretz; I'll say it once again, she was fucking badass.
You know the ultimate best part though? It doesn't scream 'sequel'. It starts a story and it finishes it. It leaves the possibility open, but it doesn't scream 'omgwtf trilogy' like Clash of the Titans or Daybreakers, and that just finished the film with a cherry on top.
Definitely a recommended watch, 4.5/5 stars.
I completely understand, and I won't say any more because, well, I do.
Stop being so sorry. Really.
And to leave you less tense (I hope), I'll leave it with this; I came tonight because I wanted to hang out with you. You say we haven't hung out much IRL, I agree, and I want to do so more. I didn't come for the show, and even though I will admit I didn't particularly like it (lol), I wasn't disappointed because I still got to chill with you and that was fun. So I came to hang with you because it provided some circumstances to do so, which are apparently quite rare. I hope this makes you feel better :/, I really do, 'cause you shouldn't feel bad.
(so I hope you can come to the footy for the same reason as above^),
Sleep tight and don't let the Kraken bite,
Dilan.
This one has been incredibly boring. Not that they're ever particularly interesting :/
I went to church this morning. Certainly the most boring part of the day; listening to some old dude deliver the same old story again. Whoopee. The church I go to is incredibly bad, conventional and mundane. I remember going to church in Fort Lauderdale in the USA for Easter last year, that was far more interesting and bearable; those pastors actually spoke on a more personal level to the attendees.
Seriously though, I can't say I like going to church, however much I'd like to...
Titans will clash! And Sam Worthington will refuse to do away with his Australian accent! Here's the mini-review: Actually, I don't think these are all that mini anymore...
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Name is way too long so I'll be referring to it as 'CotT' occasionally. Clash of the Titans is a revisit to the good old days of action-packed blockbusters with decent actors and no substance. Saying that, Clash isn't for those looking for an intelligent, stimulating, dialogue-ridden adventure. Rather, it's a movie that's all about the CGI and all about the action. If you didn't know already, CotT is a remake of an 80s film starring Harry Hamlin.
Firstly, the story: Clash covers the journey of Perseus, a demigod and son of Zeus, who survives an attempted murder; recovered in the sea by an old fisherman and his wife, he lives a simple life with his adoptive family. However, when his family are killed by Hades, the ruler of the Underworld, Perseus embarks on an epic quest for revenge - you know the deal.
Now, I'm going to tell you what's good. The action sequences are filled with immensely gratifying CG. It's great, it really is. There are some absolutely beautiful set pieces and some of the camera shots are nothing short of epic, paralleling to the Lord of the Rings films. The characters are for the most part likeable; Gemma Arterton is totally hawt as Io, and the other side characters are also quite humorous and convincing. The soundtrack is really nice, although it never varies too much and sticks to the basic theme song.
The story, however, is a bit of a grey area; while it certainly does improve on the story of the original CotT, the fact remains that the original never really focused on plot - you might scoff if you saw the film today, but back then the original actually was a special effects extravaganza. The addition of Hades to the fray adds a nice touch, especially because Ralph Fiennes is absolutely fucking menacing as the god of the Underworld. There are large political allegories going on (the whole 'damn the gods' tag-line is pretty self-explanatory), and it's a relief that this time around the titans actually do in fact clash (unlike the original, where you're just left going 'Why is it even called Clash of the Titans?'). Overall, the story is decent, but because of the complicated nature of the supposed Greek mythology it'll be kind of hard to follow to those who aren't familiar with the events of the original.
The bad parts? Well, the script is occasionally weak, but it's passable. Unfortunately while the action scenes would have been really good, they're hindered by some ridiculous camerawork which at times might leave you just a little confused. However, the most surprising part comes here. I'll talk about Sam Worthington a bit later - I want to talk about Liam Neeson. I love Liam Neeson. He's great. WONDERFUL, in fact. But in this, he is an absolute douche. He plays Zeus, and he is seriously the silliest character in this movie. You know the 'RELEASE THE KRAKEN' line from the trailer? Well he sounds like a freaking idiot when he says it in the movie, because there is NO REASON to say it that loudly, I swear that line was written solely for the trailer. I don't know what he was doing here; I just don't think he's fierce enough for Zeus to be honest. It doesn't help that his armour looks completely ridiculous. Onwards, I want to point out that the Medusa fight scene was a disappointment. It was really really intense in the original, but it just fell flat in this film despite the brilliant set.
Onwards to our Sam! Okay, I like Sam Worthington. He seems like a really nice guy. Let's face it, he, along with Anton Yelchin, saved Terminator Salvation from being a downright flop; that was pretty much his big break, and he took it with vigour. He wasn't half-bad in Avatar either. However, this is something that will plague him in the future; his inability to get rid of the accent. Someone tell me, WHY would Perseus, a Greek demigod, sound like an Australian!? Quite frankly, half the time he sounds like a modern day Greek with that heavy-ass fusion of an accent, but I'm pretty sure that back in the day they did NOT talk like that. Also, his performance was kind of wooden. Granted, the script didn't really give him that much to do in terms of dialogue, however it doesn't seem like he really tried to be too dynamic either. However he was impressive in the fight sequences, especially the ones involving Calibos, so that was good. I'll give him a bit of a break; he nailed it two out of three times, and that's a good start for him. I'll leave my criticism with this; Harry Hamlin's Perseus from the original kicks Sam Worthington's' ass; he just said his lines better.
Here's the part that makes me angry. 3D. Fucking 3D. This movie was optimised in 3D only four months before it was released. Greedy bastards are just hogging the extra funding for the 3D ticket, because frankly, 3D is just a gimmick unless it gets A LOT of work. Like Avatar. That was nice. CotT's 3D however, is absolute shit. The first half of the movie has some decent 3D. The second half of the movie has none at all. So fuck you movie studio, because you just gave us absolutely no 3D where the action sequences are. All the glasses do is dim the movie most of the time, ruining the epic panoramic shots. Jesus, and you can't even take them off, because then the screen is all blurry because of whatever the hell they do with the 3D film. This movie would have been doubly better in 2D. So there you have it; if you have the choice, see it in 2D. I unfortunately, did not have a choice.
So, overall... Clash of the Titans is good fun. There are some very nice action sequences, however lacking a bit of polish. The acting is good, only let down a bit by Worthington and a little moreso by Neeson. The plot is fairly involved, although it isn't told very well. Again, the CGI is absolutely brilliant, with some amazing set-pieces and well choreographed battle sequences.
A recommended watch if you just want a good time; go into this one in what I like to call 'Michael Bay Mode': expecting a movie with all action and no substance. 3/5.
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