Change Your Image
austinmanix
Reviews
Nine (2009)
2 Out of 31 is pretty bad for NINE
I loved the movie and was pretty upset when I went to see it a second time only to find out that it was no longer at the theater. In fact, the only theater showing the movie was 33 miles away. Between two major cities, Austin and San Antonio, the nearest theater was 33 miles away from me. In fact, it's playing in only two theaters in San Antonio and only one in Austin.
The movie NINE has been nominated for 31 awards including 10 Critics Choice Awards (the most ever) and 5 Golden Globes. It has won 2. The critics - for the most part - absolutely hated the film yet heaped 10 Critics Choice nominations on the film. The Oscars will be announced in the coming weeks and I already feel bad for NINE.
The movie was released in London on December 3rd. On the 9th it premiered in LA and opened The Denver Film Society and the Dubai International Film Festival the same day. December 15 was the New York premiere, the 17th in Slovenia, the 18th in the UK and limited in the US, the 24th in Greece and Christmas Day in the US. By March 21st it will have opened in 21 more countries.
The movie has all but vanished after only 2 weeks in wide release.
It opened on 1400 screens and 5 days later was pulled back to between 800 and 900. Was the movie even given a proper chance? It wasn't the best movie and there were flaws, but it was a hell of a lot better than THE HANGOVER.
The Critics Choice Awards should be ashamed of themselves. The critics ripped the movie apart, nominate it for 10 awards and give it none. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the SAG awards where it's nominated for 2 awards and hope that the Oscars will give it some proper nods like art direction, cinematography, costumes, song (for "Take It All") and even a nod to Marion. She was great.
This is going to be a sucky awards season. I knew it was all downhill when Miley Cyrus beat out Bruce Springsteen for best song last June at the MTV Movie Awards. That's like Paris Hilton beating out Billie Holiday.
Great Performances: Suddenly, Last Summer (1993)
Wrong, wrong, wrong...
I'm a fan of the original movie with Liz Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift and I knew that the 1959 film was very different from the stage version. This version with Natasha Richardson, Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe seems to stick closer to the original text. The three leads are amazing but the supporting cast seemed to lack direction, grasp the severity of the situation at hand or even know how to really REact to situations. The man playing George (Richard E. Grant) had two modes, loud and frantic and quiet and frantic. When mad he would make the same arm gestures over and over again and showed absolutely no character development. Several times during temper tantrums, he paid no attention to where he was going and almost fell over parts of the set. His mother Ms. Holly (played by Moira Redmond) came off as being not only a ditz, but a drunk one at that and stumbled over many lines. Ms. Foxhill played to absurdity by Gillian Raine was painful to watch. Richardson and Smith were fantastic playing off one another and Lowe was greatly underused. Tennessee Williams wrote many tragic figures into his plays and stories and Catherine, the one in Suddenly, Last Summer was based in part on events that led to his (Tennessee's) sisters lobotomy. It takes a special type of talent and adaptation to pull off Tennessee Williams and the supporting cast missed the mark by such a wide margin that it was difficult to focus on the fantastic performances of the three leads.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
The best since the first!
I went into this movie with a 'blah' state of mind. I didn't think it was going to be all that great and I was worried that McG would turn the movie into "Tnsformers" and make the action so fast paced that it would be hard to follow. Or that it would be "Charlies Angels" Terminator style. Nope. This movie was frickin awesome! Well cast, well acted, great story line and while watching it all I could think of was, "This is Apocalypse Now set in 2018 with robots in place of the Vietcong." Hands down this was the best movie I've seen this summer. It beat the pants off "X-Men" and "Star Trek" combined. Christian Bale got his Batman voice going a few times but for the most part it didn't matter. The series could end now (with no need for the 5th one already in the works) because it came full circle. Go see it!
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
Just Fun!
It's not gonna win any awards, but it's fun to watch. Anyone who has seen the first two (Return of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead Part 2) knows that these movies are supposed to be something you laugh at and jump at a few times. You aren't supposed to root for the good guys because the good guys are stupid.
The story is simple; a group of high school students who know how to ride dirt bikes, shoot machine guns and for the most part have mad fighting skills discover tons of zombies in a building that houses everything from WMA's to, well, zombies. A$$hole bad guy locks them in, good stupid guy shoots a lock...bam! Zombies. This movie has everything one has come to expect from the Return of the Living Dead series, the school bimbo (who looks about 30), the hot nerd chick, the annoying little brother, the bad ass, the hero, the hero's girl, the jerk and the one that never really says anything and he dies and you realize that you forgot he was even part of the group.
Think of it like this. It's Troma meets Resident Evil meets Star Trek:First Contact meets MacGyver.
Just watch it knowing that it it's a far cry from Dawn of the Dead (the 1978) but it doesn't suck even half as much as Anaconda and Halloween 3 combined.
Swingtown (2008)
Loved It
I'm crossing my fingers for this one. It was fun and let's face it, something we've never seen on TV before. It's almost a throw back to the nighttime soaps of the 80's like Knots Landing and it shows us the side of people that we all knew existed and that up until now, network TV wouldn't air. It's unapologetic and I actually cared about a couple of the characters. It's great to see Josh Hopkins (Ally McBeal, Cold Case, Brothers and Sisters) and Grant Show (Melrose Place, Six Feet Under, Dirt) back on TV. Joined with Miriam Shor (Headwig and the Angry Inch), Molly Parker (Deadwood), Lana Parrilla (Spin City, 24, Lost) and Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean), the show has a well rounded and entertaining cast. Congrats to Mike and Alan, great show and I hope it makes it.
CBS Summer Playhouse: Curse of the Corn People (1989)
Some One Has Gotta Have It!
I can't select a rating because 1. I don't know if it ever aired and 2. I was too young to see it according to my mother. This was filmed outside Central High School in Greeley, CO while my sister was attending school there. Does anyone out there have a recording of the show or who I can get in contact with. My Sis's B-day is next month and I'm trying to compile movies for our time that I know she has a connection to. Come on, help a boy out! Does anyone have any info on this production? I understand that it was a summer series.
Thanks!
Nick Manix Tarzana, CA
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
How Punny!
The first 15 minutes of the film felt like the entire run of Sex and the City. It was nothing but pun after pun and it grated on not only my nerves, but the nerves of the others in the theatre. With collective groans, we watched the film. We laughed at the "serious" parts and pondered the idea of not taking our younger family members to see the film. I became so board that I started to count the times Padme cries. Yes, the film is darker and even upsetting at times; but for the most part, it felt like there was a lot missing. But, for those who are die hard Star Wars Fans, you may enjoy the film. The only real positive thing that I can say about the film was that I saw Chewbacca. I wish that I could say more, but I won't give out any "spoilers".