Okay, so for those of you who might've been slightly confused by the name of this post, NO this is not a belated review of Movie 43. God no.
No spoilers.
Okay, so 42 is the movie about Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier and got African Americans into the MLB. Which begs the question, why is this movie just being made now? Like, why hasn't this already been made? It took Billy Bean all of ten years to get a movie, and apparently it took Jackie Robinson almost seventy. Yeah.
One thing I should mention first: this is not the story of Jackie Robinson's ENTIRE life. This movie does what Lincoln did: it gives you the most interesting part of his life, the thing that he's most remembered for, that was only like a year or two in total out of his life. And I'm glad they did that, because I think that's the best format for biopics, otherwise they get really long and dull. Fortunately averted here.
I'll start with the guy who plays Robinson, I believe his name is Chadwick Boseman: he's great. He portrays Jackie Robinson as this really good guy who stood up for himself and all the crap he kept getting, and I liked seeing that. Which comes into play, because the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who I'll get to in a minute, specifically tells him that he needs to not fight back when everyone treats him like crap. If he does, no one'll say "he was provoked", they'll say "the black guy lost his temper." So basically, he needs to just play his heart out and destroy everyone on the baseball field, because that way, he wins. And boy does he.
The GM of the Dodgers is played by Harrison Ford, and he's awesome. Like, Oscar Nomination awesome. I'm not saying he would've won, but he could've been nominated. He's almost unrecognizable, too, compared to the parts he usually plays. My friend who I saw the movie with, halfway through he actually asked me (whispering, of course, we were in a crowded theater), "Wait... is that Harrison Ford?!" He gets most of the best lines, too. I won't spoil them, but they're good.
The drama off the field was, by and large, really good: Robinson's dealing with tons of pressure from everyone, a lot of the team doesn't want to accept him (which culminates in this one great scenes that, again, I won't spoil, but it's awesome, in which the manager/coach of the team screams that they all just need to deal with it), and eventually things come together. That being said, even though the team did start to stick up for Robinson eventually, I think it's kind of ridiculous that, aside from one scene in which the Dodgers fail to charge the mound, no one ever really loses their crap and just goes ape on any of the racists, or at least on Alan Tudyk's character (oh Wash, what have you done?). There are some shouting matches, but I kinda would've liked to have seen a fist fight, 'cause let me tell, few things are as immensely entertaining as a fight in a baseball game. That probably sounded wicked shallow and I do not not care because it's true.
The movie did have some good comedy relief lines, to balance things out, and that includes one or two lines that I think are gonna wind up being memes. Heck, the movie came out yesterday, they could already be memes for all I know. If they aren't, they will be. Specifically this line from a little kid and another from Jon Bernthal's character that I can't tell you about because they might lose there comedic value, but it was funny. There were one or two jokes and even dramatic moments that I thought were kind of cheesy, which honestly is one of things that I think bog the movie down a little bit, but they aren't so ever-present that they ruin the whole thing.
One of the best parts of this movie is the baseball itself. It's wicked well directed and choreographed and shot and it just looks awesome. That being said, I wish there was more baseball in it. I guess the trailers were kind of misleading because they showed more baseball than was actually in the movie, which I was disappointed by. That, and the last scene, which, obviously, is at a baseball game, is just Jackie Robinson in one at-bat. It's not a whole game, which was what I and probably everyone else in the theater wanted, just one at-bat.
So, great acting, great drama, great baseball that I wish there had been more of, all in all, I had really good time with 42.
I will say that 42 is a fun way to spend a few hours.
So, what's your favorite baseball movie? Mine, Moneyball, hands down, don't let my Billy Bean joke up top fool you. Comment below, let me know!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The Walking Dead Season 3 Review
Alright, I suck, I'll admit it; I've basically stopped reviewing TWD of late. I didn't even review the season finale. But I'm here to make it up to you! Yeah, I know this is like the fourth time I've said I'm back in a big way, but I kinda mean it this time. Anyway...
Spoilers for the season follow.
Okay, so, after a really freaking epic second season finale/cliffhanger, the third season of The Walking Dead began back in October. People were excited from the get-go: the cliffhanger at the end of last season left us begging for more, the trailers looked epic, they announced the arrival of Michonne and the Governor, I couldn't wait.
The season picked up roughly eight and a half months after the end of the last one, and the group has been reduced drastically, but now everyone's a total badass (more on that later). They are a well-oiled machine when it comes to killing walkers and clearing a place out. In the season premier, they find the prison, they take it, they kill a bunch of walkers, and it was awesome. And in the prison they stayed. The prison, in my- and a lot of other people's- opinion was the best part of the season. It was a cool metaphor to begin with, but beyond that, something like 75% of the cool stuff that happened went down at the prison.
Meanwhile, Andrea and her katanna-wielding friend Michonne stumble upon Woodbury after Merle (yeah, that Merle. He has a sword for a hand!) find them. Woodbury is this town that's basically the City of Ember on the surface world (I was like eleven when those books came out, sue me), complete with a creepy leader in the form of the Governor. The Governor's insane. That's the best way to put it. He keeps heads of people he's offed in jars, keeps his zombified daughter chained up in a closet, gets his eye stabbed out by Michonne, and basically goes around being a murderous nutcase while still convincing most people they can trust him. Including Andrea. More on that in a later.
As great- and well acted- of a villain as the Governor was, Woodbury itself was a let down. The people in the town were morons (and really bad actors), the zombie-gladiator fights just looked ridiculous, and it generally hosted the slowest and dullest parts to the season. Including Andrea. Okay, so in seasons 1 and 2, I didn't give a crap about Andrea. I didn't hate her, but I genuinely wouldn't have cared if zombie-Shane had eaten her before Carl gunned him down. This season though, we all learned to despise her. Because she's an idiot. There's no other way to describe it, she was just stupid. She let herself basically get seduced by the Governor, a guy she barely knew, even when her BFF Michonne told her she was being a moron, thought she could somehow be a diplomat between Woodbury and the prison, and just acted stupid. And then she died. And I did a little dance. Again, more on that later.
Actually, more on that now. It was big season for killing characters. The most notable one was Lori, given a c-section with buck-knife to save her baby and then shot in the head by Carl so she wouldn't turn (and those of you who bitched about wanting a zombie baby: no, that would've ruined the moment). I'll be honest, I cried. It was actually a credit to the writers, taking one of the most hated characters in the entire show and make people weep over her death in what was probably the best episode of the series thus far. T-Dog died in the same episode. Yeah. Omar and Axl, a couple of guys they found in the prison, died too, and I actually did care a little bit. Merle's death really managed to get me, though, probably had something to do with his becoming a zombie and Daryl having to ice him. It was sad. Milton's death I actually found myself caring about, just because I liked his character. And he killed Andrea (hooray!). As far as Andrea's death went, it was obvious that the writers were going for the same thing they got with Lori's death, but it just didn't work. And yet, through all this, Maggie's sister Beth, who most people don't even know the name of, somehow survived. Go figure.
All the death aside, this was a great season for character development: Rick went insane after Lori died, and while the hallucinations are over, I really doubt he's out of crazy town yet. Hershel basically became the spiritual adviser the group (makes sense, what with Dale being dead and all), Daryl, now a fan-favorite, became Rick's uber-badass second in command. Yeah, he's awesome. And of course, Carl. In season two, Carl was a brat who wouldn't stay in the damned barn. Now, he's believably become a total BAMF and expert zombie-killer who put his own mother down. Some folks are actually complaining that he's not getting enough screen-time anymore. And then in the season finale he kills a guy in cold blood. Long story short, he's turning into Shane. I can't wait to see where that goes.
Michonne has a bit of a rocky introduction: a lot of people didn't like her at first (she was kind of pouty). I didn't dislike, but I didn't genuinely start to like her character until the second half of the season (when Morgan came back, hell yeah!), which is when most people started warming up to her. Give it another season, everyone'll love her (it's weird, because the first time I ever watched the show, I remember thinking "there should be someone with a sword").
So, season was going well, Andrea aside, all the pieces were falling into place, we were all set up for a big, epic fight in the season finale. And we got it... for exactly three minutes. It was the single most anitclimactic thing I've seen since the eighth season finale of Smallville. I have mixed feelings at best about the final moments of the season. I think everyone just expected the Governor to die this season that we were all put off by it. It was a let down for sure. I just don't know how they'll keep the character as a viable threat for another season. As far as the remnants of Woodbury moving into the prison with the gang and forming the People's Republic of Rick goes: meh. Again, it was underwheliming, and while it could yield some cool stuff next season, it could also suck hard. I won't quit watching, but next season had better have some major payoff.
All in all, great season, disappointing ending.
Final Rating: 85%
Spoilers for the season follow.
Okay, so, after a really freaking epic second season finale/cliffhanger, the third season of The Walking Dead began back in October. People were excited from the get-go: the cliffhanger at the end of last season left us begging for more, the trailers looked epic, they announced the arrival of Michonne and the Governor, I couldn't wait.
The season picked up roughly eight and a half months after the end of the last one, and the group has been reduced drastically, but now everyone's a total badass (more on that later). They are a well-oiled machine when it comes to killing walkers and clearing a place out. In the season premier, they find the prison, they take it, they kill a bunch of walkers, and it was awesome. And in the prison they stayed. The prison, in my- and a lot of other people's- opinion was the best part of the season. It was a cool metaphor to begin with, but beyond that, something like 75% of the cool stuff that happened went down at the prison.
Meanwhile, Andrea and her katanna-wielding friend Michonne stumble upon Woodbury after Merle (yeah, that Merle. He has a sword for a hand!) find them. Woodbury is this town that's basically the City of Ember on the surface world (I was like eleven when those books came out, sue me), complete with a creepy leader in the form of the Governor. The Governor's insane. That's the best way to put it. He keeps heads of people he's offed in jars, keeps his zombified daughter chained up in a closet, gets his eye stabbed out by Michonne, and basically goes around being a murderous nutcase while still convincing most people they can trust him. Including Andrea. More on that in a later.
As great- and well acted- of a villain as the Governor was, Woodbury itself was a let down. The people in the town were morons (and really bad actors), the zombie-gladiator fights just looked ridiculous, and it generally hosted the slowest and dullest parts to the season. Including Andrea. Okay, so in seasons 1 and 2, I didn't give a crap about Andrea. I didn't hate her, but I genuinely wouldn't have cared if zombie-Shane had eaten her before Carl gunned him down. This season though, we all learned to despise her. Because she's an idiot. There's no other way to describe it, she was just stupid. She let herself basically get seduced by the Governor, a guy she barely knew, even when her BFF Michonne told her she was being a moron, thought she could somehow be a diplomat between Woodbury and the prison, and just acted stupid. And then she died. And I did a little dance. Again, more on that later.
Actually, more on that now. It was big season for killing characters. The most notable one was Lori, given a c-section with buck-knife to save her baby and then shot in the head by Carl so she wouldn't turn (and those of you who bitched about wanting a zombie baby: no, that would've ruined the moment). I'll be honest, I cried. It was actually a credit to the writers, taking one of the most hated characters in the entire show and make people weep over her death in what was probably the best episode of the series thus far. T-Dog died in the same episode. Yeah. Omar and Axl, a couple of guys they found in the prison, died too, and I actually did care a little bit. Merle's death really managed to get me, though, probably had something to do with his becoming a zombie and Daryl having to ice him. It was sad. Milton's death I actually found myself caring about, just because I liked his character. And he killed Andrea (hooray!). As far as Andrea's death went, it was obvious that the writers were going for the same thing they got with Lori's death, but it just didn't work. And yet, through all this, Maggie's sister Beth, who most people don't even know the name of, somehow survived. Go figure.
All the death aside, this was a great season for character development: Rick went insane after Lori died, and while the hallucinations are over, I really doubt he's out of crazy town yet. Hershel basically became the spiritual adviser the group (makes sense, what with Dale being dead and all), Daryl, now a fan-favorite, became Rick's uber-badass second in command. Yeah, he's awesome. And of course, Carl. In season two, Carl was a brat who wouldn't stay in the damned barn. Now, he's believably become a total BAMF and expert zombie-killer who put his own mother down. Some folks are actually complaining that he's not getting enough screen-time anymore. And then in the season finale he kills a guy in cold blood. Long story short, he's turning into Shane. I can't wait to see where that goes.
Michonne has a bit of a rocky introduction: a lot of people didn't like her at first (she was kind of pouty). I didn't dislike, but I didn't genuinely start to like her character until the second half of the season (when Morgan came back, hell yeah!), which is when most people started warming up to her. Give it another season, everyone'll love her (it's weird, because the first time I ever watched the show, I remember thinking "there should be someone with a sword").
So, season was going well, Andrea aside, all the pieces were falling into place, we were all set up for a big, epic fight in the season finale. And we got it... for exactly three minutes. It was the single most anitclimactic thing I've seen since the eighth season finale of Smallville. I have mixed feelings at best about the final moments of the season. I think everyone just expected the Governor to die this season that we were all put off by it. It was a let down for sure. I just don't know how they'll keep the character as a viable threat for another season. As far as the remnants of Woodbury moving into the prison with the gang and forming the People's Republic of Rick goes: meh. Again, it was underwheliming, and while it could yield some cool stuff next season, it could also suck hard. I won't quit watching, but next season had better have some major payoff.
All in all, great season, disappointing ending.
Final Rating: 85%
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)