Fillet-of-Soule.com » Movies

An Event Apart

Travis — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:53:11 +0000

So I’m sitting here in the conference center waiting for things to begin. Last night while I was wandering about the city of Chicago with some of the people I have met here, namely Andy and Bridget, we happened upon the movie Wanted being shot. This was only after we were asked for directions by Federico Pucciarello and Tim Ryan, from Argentina and Ireland respectively, who played for the Munster Rugby team. (Edit: Munster didn’t like me linking to their site. URL: http://www.munsterrgby.ie/97_88.php ) Nice fellas. In addition to Wanted being shot currently, The Dark Night is also filming on location. Some sort of helicopter scene down by Navy Pier. Which, after the party, is first on our list of things to do. I’ve uploaded some of the good shots that I’ve taken so far to Flickr.

Smokin’ Aces or Steaming Deuces?

Travis — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:51:20 +0000

If any of you had watched the trailer for that edgy action movie Smoking Aces and thought, “Hey, that doesn’t look half bad” you would be in the same boat I was in last week when I foolishly promoted said movie to the top of my queue.

I’m not going to spoil the movie for those that still think the movie looks good or think that I was way off with Spiderman 3. Suffice to say, there are quite a few loose ends, a forced plot twist, and a whole heck of a lot less action than one might anticipate after viewing the trailer. I’d be interested in hearing what others thought.

In other movie news, I have been pointed towards this amazing trailer. Enjoy.

3 Reasons Spiderman 3 Sucked

Travis — Sat, 26 May 2007 01:41:52 +0000

First and foremost, I will never EVER proclaim to be any sort of comic book fan. The only comic book I have ever owned was Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book with audio cassette tape. That being said, I do believe that there are certain things that make a good movie and handily enough, comic books provide a good foundation for a good movie. But I digress. The real matter here is Spiderman, and without further ado, I present the three reasons I hate Spiderman 3:

Emo Spidey- Lets be real here. What kind of SUPER HERO turns into an eyeliner-wearing, hair-flipping, tight-jean-wearing, egotistical wanker? Oh, my bad… That was the EVIL spidey. Watch out MJ, he shows his vengeance through sub-par dance skills and a knack for the piano. And if you aren’t careful, he might order you to make him COOKIES. Yes kids, he truly is an awful, awful person. Nearly as bad as when Dr. Octavius decided to send that train full of innocents into the bay.
Venom- What a letdown. The one character I was actually looking forward to seeing in the movie and his total screen time was all of maybe three minutes. Additionally, he was nowhere near as big, nasty, or mean as I thought he was going to be. The Sandman had more character development than Venom, which is a disappointment because, from my understanding, Venom and Spiderman have a interesting history. A history which gets cut short and not fully emphasized in the film.
All the hype- Name one other movie that was released the same week as Spiderman 3. How about that awesome movie that came out the week before? Wait a tick, there was not a single hit within a 1 week radius of Spiderman 3. No wonder everyone went to see it. Disturbia had been in theaters for two weeks and wasn’t even that strong of a contender in the first place. To me, it isn’t any wonder that the movie made as much as it did. Any proclamation of a new dark, moving, EMOtional story are weak promises at best. I for one think that the trailers for Spiderman 3 were better than the movie.
In Summary: I think the whole Spiderman franchise is diluted for an audience under the age of 16. The drama and intensity are missing in some cases due to bad acting and in others to bad directing. The first film was not as deplorable as the second and the third was a waste of my time and money.

Am I off the mark? Care to step up and defend this turd? Have at it.

On Casino Royale

Travis — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 03:53:46 +0000

My dear Mr. Bond.

Oh how the times have changed. Last I knew you were driving your Aston Martin through an ice castle. Well, such flagrant acts of recklessness are allowed no longer. You must start over now. Back to your beginnings.

Casino Royale, the twenty-first James Bond movie is in fact the first. Ian Fleming started the James Bond series with this novel whose rights were then sold and turned into a show for Television. (The full story of Casino Royale and Never say Never Again) Casino Royale was also turned into a comedy during its somewhat checkered past. But the newest iteration of Casino Royale is no comedy. Bond is Back, for the first time.

Alright, with the introduction out of the way, we can get down to business. Casino Royale is not your typical Bond fare. We must keep in mind that Bond is fresh as a daisy in June here folks. Recently upgraded to “00″ (double-oh) status, his skills are not quite what they are in the last train wreck of a Bond film, Die Another Day. I digress, we shall return to that some other time perhaps.

It is my quite humble opinion that Daniel Craig did a stunning job as the new bond. Pierce Brosnan would NOT have played this role well. Like the “new” Bond, Craig has something to prove. Daniel mixes just the right amount of swagger with a handful of bad-ass and just a dash of wit. Remember, Bond is a newbie at this point. The Bond that Pierce plays is a much more experienced and settled character. He knows he’s the best, knows he can win, and has complete faith that he can get the girls. Craig’s character on the other hand has yet to prove how good he is at anything. His ego and faith in himself and his skills are what keeps him from failing. Especially in the eyes of his peers.
With that, keep an open mind through the movie. Also remember this, Life is a lesson that we learn on our own. It takes history to shape a man. And if everything always goes according to plan, how do you learn from your mistakes?

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

On Mission: Impossible III

Travis — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:26:07 +0000

As far as I’m concerned, the Mission: Impossible franchise is a bit hit or miss.Â The first one being the most solid, with a cast that compliments each other and a good story line with just enough of the over the top action that keeps you hooked.Â M:I2, directed by John Woo, was a little more artistic. There was fast action, but the movie felt slow and rather long.Â After viewing the third installment I have reached a few conclusions: (There might be a SPOILER or two in there so be careful…)

1: Tom Cruise has a big ego.Â Its not as apparent in the older films.Â I don’t know for certain, but maybe I picked up the Mission: Impossible III Cruise Special Edition. Now with 28 extra minutes ofÂ footage of just Tom Cruise himself! Also, I have no idea how he ran so fast in those tight pants….
2: There were no supporting actors. Due to Tom’s large ego, there just simply wasn’t enough time to develop any of the other characters. We are to assume we know the background of the rest of his team as they are never discussed.Â One scene in particular that stuck out; The two members of the team in the Land Rover talking about a prayer that one said in her youth. The other asks her to teach it to him. She barely exhales and, “I’VE GOT THE RABBITS FOOT! I CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE ROOF.” Thanks Tom, we almost got some back story there. Didn’t need any of that though.

3: Hollywood needs to shake the camera a little less. Not so much a dig at the movie as just sort of general PA.Â I understand that camera shake adds energy and tension to the shot. But for the love of Luther Vandross, PLEASE drink a little less coffee before the shoot. I would sometimes like to see whats kind of going on.

4: I was actually digging the movie until the end. No, really I was. But I found the conclusion to be altogether hokey. We never even find out what we really wanted to know! The movie totally had promise. I honestly was on the edge of my seat for some of it. That might have been because they were going to kill Michelle Monaghan.Â (Michelle was also in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang which I highly recommend.)
5: Tom Cruise has a big ego. Yeah, I know I said it once but I’m saying it again for a reason. One of the previews on to the movie is a Tom Cruise collection on DVD. Every movie he starred in. Its sick. I’m not going to lie. You know its funny, I heard on the radio today that according to a recent study, he tops the list for “celebrities that get too much press and nobody would really mind if they saw less of”.

Thus concludes my conclusions. Let me know what your thoughts are if you saw the movie. Tell me if you’ll still see the movie if you haven’t yet. Otherwise, tell me your favorite Tom Cruise movie.