Creativity With an Affinity for Darkness
The Dark Opera
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Scroll down for my latest work as well as for whatever's on my mind.

It's not all just dark stuff, so check back for a laugh, some motivation or for pure randomness.
 

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'Real Steel' not the real deal...

1/26/2012

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    So just watched 'Real Steel', and can I say? Wow! Wow that was terrible!

    Being a huge Hugh Jackman fan, I was expecting great things from this movie. Not "Transformers' great, but still, robots fighting? Cool! What I got was terrible acting, cheesy dialogue, a silly storyline, and only somewhat cool robots.

    The idea here is that it is sometime in the future, maybe within the next decade or so, and robot fights have taken over for human boxing matches. Hugh Jackman's character, Charley,  is a down-on-his-luck robot boxer owner, who is constantly trying to win the next big fight (or any fight), but who's robots are just not up to the task. Throw a son from a past relationship into the mix, and you have a heart-warming tale of a man who finds out what's really important in life: that winning isn't everything. That's what you hope to have, anyway.

    No.

    What you get is a movie that tries to be as cool as 'Transformers', with robots beating on each other, but never reaches that level of sophistication that seeing Optimus Prime beating on Megatron does. The fact that Charley now has to take care of his 11 year old son could have lent itself to some emotion, some 'I'm sorry I was never there for you, son'.  But it never gets that far. It instead goes from the son being dropped in his father's lap to them being the best of friends (and business partners, when his son finds a  scrap-heap robot that turns out to be a winner in the ring). Unfortunately, the scenes between Jackman and his on-screen son are pretty boring, and seem like so much filler to get us through to the next robot fighting scene.

    And I have to say the dance scenes are terrible. Could have cut them out of the movie and saved a bit of time (if you watch this movie you'll know what I mean!).

    All in all, I think this is one you may want to skip.

Kevin B.

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'Take Shelter' could be interesting, thought-provoking...and lame?

10/16/2011

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'Take Shelter', a new movie by director Jeff Nichols, might be another in a long line of 'Look out, the end of the world is coming!' tales, but it might also be something else...it might be good! This film premiered in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival, and Sony Pictures Classics snapped up the rights to distribute the film. It also got rave reviews when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year, and it received the Fipresci award from the International Federation of Film Critics. In September 2011, Take Shelter was shown at the 37th Deauville American Film Festival, where it beat 13 other contenders to win the festival's grand prize.

So what makes this 'the apocalypse is coming' film different from others along the same line? Some would say that having Michael Shannon in the lead role makes all the difference. The actor is getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Curtis LaForche, a man who starts having dark apocalyptic dreams, and the movie centers on the dark road these dreams take him down. He keeps the dreams from his wife (don't they always?), and starts to build a storm shelter in his back yard. As usual with these types of scenarios, his behaviour starts to put a strain on his relationships.

Michael Shannon has been a critics favorite in other roles as well, appearing in 'Bug' with Ashley Judd, and earning an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in 'Revolutionary Road', which also starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio. He will also be playing General Zod in the Superman film series reboot, 'Man of Steel'.

'Take Shelter' also stars Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, Jolene) as Samantha LaForche, Curtis' wife, and Kathy Baker (Edward Scissorhands, Cold Mountain).

We don't know what is happening to Curtis. Is he really getting visions of things to come? Is it all in his head? I certainly hope that this film does not take the easy way out and make this all the product of an over-active imagination.

We'll have to wait and see...

Kevin B.
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'Thor' packs a good punch.

9/17/2011

1 Comment

 
After watching 'Thor', I have only one word to describe it...Awesome!!

The movie adaptation of the Marvel comic book hero of Nordic descent who symbolizes thunder, lightning, and the protection of mankind, is, without a doubt, the best adaptation of a comic book hero that I've seen. Lots of action, cool CG effects, and great casting make this a movie to see. The film was directed by Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets).

The plot is as follows: Thor, about to inherit the throne of Asgard, goes against his father Odin and confronts their ancient enemy, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, and in doing so reignites an ancient war. Odin banishes Thor to Earth for his actions. The rest, as you can probably guess, is about Thor trying to get back to Asgard.

Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, and in my opinion, they could not have found a better person to play the part. He looks the part of a Nordic God, all blue eyed and blond haired, and steals every scene he is in; his on-screen charm makes him completely likeable.

Also in the film are Natalie Portman (Star Wars Ep. 1,2,3, Black Swan) as a scientist studying the strange phenomenon that occurs when Thor and his kind travel through the universe, and Anthony Hopkins (Silence of The Lambs, The Wolfman) as Thor's father, Odin.

I would give this movie an 8/10. The fight scene in Asgard near the end was a bit too CG, and that took away from the movie, otherwise I would probably have given it a 9/10.

Kevin B.


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How many of these songs can you match up with the movie that made them famous?

9/7/2011

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Below is a list of songs, and the movies that made them popular, in no particular order. Can you match the song with the movie (without Googling it)? Enter the number of the song and the letter for the movie as a pair in your comments. I'll post the correct answers on Thursday, Sept. 15th. Good luck!

Songs
1. We Don't Need Another Hero - Tina Turner
2. Into The Groove - Madonna
3. Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
4. Take My Breath Away - Berlin
5. It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
6. Never Say Die - King Kobra
7. Almost Paradise - Mike Reno & Ann Wilson
8. Cruel Summer - Bananarama
9. If You Leave - OMD
10. New Attitude - Patti LaBelle

Movies
A. The Karate Kid
B. Footloose
C. Beverly Hills Cop
D. Pretty In Pink
E. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
F. The Breakfast Club
G. Iron Eagle
H. Desperately Seeking Susan
I. Pretty Woman
J. Top Gun

Kevin B.
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