Unleash the Kraken! Movies today, SA!
It's something of a quiet day at the movies, with just 5 new films hitting South African cinemas this weekend. These movies include the highly acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated drama The Messenger, about the US Army’s Casualty Notification service (91% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes); and Hachiko: A Dog's Story, starring Richard Gere, and based on a remarkable true story about canine loyalty (55% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).
Of course it's no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog that my movie pick of the week is Clash of the Titans, the remake of the beloved 1981 Greek mythology cheesefest. I have blogged many, many, many times about Clash of the Titans 2010.
If you're feeling too lazy to click through those links though, what you need to know is that Clash of the Titans, much like the 1981 original, centres on Perseus (Avatar's Sam Worthington) - the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) - who finds himself caught in a battle between the gods that will likely destroy humanity. To rectify the situation, Perseus, aided by an assortment of unusual allies, must venture into the Underworld, consult with the Stygian witches, slay the terrifying Gorgon, Medusa, and somewhere along the line save princess Andromeda and claim winged horse Pegasus as his mount. So brace yourself for action, action and more action... interspersed with assorted mythological creatures given a delicious CGI-treatment. Clash of the Titan's cast also includes Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Gemma Arterton, Danny Huston, Mads Mikkelsen and Pete Postelthwaite.
For the last 6 months at least, Clash of the Titans has been my most highly anticipated film of 2010. I've had to moderate my expectations though since the film recently received a mediocre 30% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
I have tried to stay away from Clash of the Titans reviews as much as possible. What I have learned though is that while the film is showing in traditional 2D format and 3D, the 3D version is to be avoided at all costs! Clash of the Titans was not specifically made for 3D; it was shoddily converted at the last minute to cash in on the format craze triggered by Avatar. By all accounts Clash of the Titans' 3D shows as an obvious rush job, and the effect is about as subtle as a children's View-Master toy.
Much of the bad feeling towards Clash of the Titans has in fact been directed at its 3D treatment as opposed to the film itself. However, the negative, overpriced viewing experience has no doubt coloured sentiments towards the film as a whole. Not that I'm using "bad 3D" as a way to excuse Clash of the Titan's faults. I'm sure the film has many problems, and is probably very much a case of a brainless, forgettable popcorn flick as many critics are calling it. In terms of my personal viewing experience though, I'm removing this big multi-dimensional stumbling block from the outset, and I advise that you do the same.
My other pick for the weekend is romantic comedy Leap Year. Starring Enchanted's Amy Adams and Watchmen's Ozymandias, Matthew Goode, Leap Year centres on an American woman (Adams) on a race against time to get to Dublin so that, on 29 February, in keeping with Irish tradition, she can propose to her boyfriend. With bad weather playing havoc with her travel arrangements, she enlists the help of a surly Irish innkeeper (Goode), and, well, I think you can guess what romantic complications arise.
Alright, I admit I chose Leap Year as one of my films of the weekend because I'm a big Amy Adams fan. I'm under no illusion that this film will revolutionise the romcom genre. A Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 20% confirms this. Apparently Amy is pretty much the only good thing in the film, which is otherwise riddled with cliches. Leap Year does of course also have a beautiful Irish setting as its backdrop, but pumping up the Irish charm (which can get overbearing very quickly) does not compensate for a weak, unimaginative script. See Leap Year, but know you will be watching undemanding, unmemorable fluff.
Of course it's no surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog that my movie pick of the week is Clash of the Titans, the remake of the beloved 1981 Greek mythology cheesefest. I have blogged many, many, many times about Clash of the Titans 2010.
If you're feeling too lazy to click through those links though, what you need to know is that Clash of the Titans, much like the 1981 original, centres on Perseus (Avatar's Sam Worthington) - the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) - who finds himself caught in a battle between the gods that will likely destroy humanity. To rectify the situation, Perseus, aided by an assortment of unusual allies, must venture into the Underworld, consult with the Stygian witches, slay the terrifying Gorgon, Medusa, and somewhere along the line save princess Andromeda and claim winged horse Pegasus as his mount. So brace yourself for action, action and more action... interspersed with assorted mythological creatures given a delicious CGI-treatment. Clash of the Titan's cast also includes Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Gemma Arterton, Danny Huston, Mads Mikkelsen and Pete Postelthwaite.
For the last 6 months at least, Clash of the Titans has been my most highly anticipated film of 2010. I've had to moderate my expectations though since the film recently received a mediocre 30% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
I have tried to stay away from Clash of the Titans reviews as much as possible. What I have learned though is that while the film is showing in traditional 2D format and 3D, the 3D version is to be avoided at all costs! Clash of the Titans was not specifically made for 3D; it was shoddily converted at the last minute to cash in on the format craze triggered by Avatar. By all accounts Clash of the Titans' 3D shows as an obvious rush job, and the effect is about as subtle as a children's View-Master toy.
Much of the bad feeling towards Clash of the Titans has in fact been directed at its 3D treatment as opposed to the film itself. However, the negative, overpriced viewing experience has no doubt coloured sentiments towards the film as a whole. Not that I'm using "bad 3D" as a way to excuse Clash of the Titan's faults. I'm sure the film has many problems, and is probably very much a case of a brainless, forgettable popcorn flick as many critics are calling it. In terms of my personal viewing experience though, I'm removing this big multi-dimensional stumbling block from the outset, and I advise that you do the same.
My other pick for the weekend is romantic comedy Leap Year. Starring Enchanted's Amy Adams and Watchmen's Ozymandias, Matthew Goode, Leap Year centres on an American woman (Adams) on a race against time to get to Dublin so that, on 29 February, in keeping with Irish tradition, she can propose to her boyfriend. With bad weather playing havoc with her travel arrangements, she enlists the help of a surly Irish innkeeper (Goode), and, well, I think you can guess what romantic complications arise.
Alright, I admit I chose Leap Year as one of my films of the weekend because I'm a big Amy Adams fan. I'm under no illusion that this film will revolutionise the romcom genre. A Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 20% confirms this. Apparently Amy is pretty much the only good thing in the film, which is otherwise riddled with cliches. Leap Year does of course also have a beautiful Irish setting as its backdrop, but pumping up the Irish charm (which can get overbearing very quickly) does not compensate for a weak, unimaginative script. See Leap Year, but know you will be watching undemanding, unmemorable fluff.
Comments
We've got to balance out the more cerebral films with something after all ;)