Four in a row

In the last 2 weeks I have watched 4 vastly different movies. They are all completely different genres, styles, and quality. But they have all managed to be good. I am really happy about that cuz lately movies that are available to me seem to be kinda crappy. Yeah there have been one or two good ones sprinkled in there but no long runs of quality entertainment.

Last week I saw The Hangover. I was a week late which almost killed me but it was worth the wait. This movie is funny, disgusting, and random and I like it. I think I would have liked it more if I saw it opening weekend because listening to other people say too me, “I can’t believe you didn’t see it yet, it is sooooooo good.” kinda hyped me up a bit. The movie was just what I expected.

The premise is simple. 4 guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party and wake up unable to remember anything. They spend the next 2 days trying to find their missing friend and piece together what happened. The movie has a bit of everything; a tiger, a baby, a naked Asian dude, stolen police vehicles, missing teeth, Mike Tyson and gambling. Oh and Heather Graham is randomly thrown in there.

The Hangover is a funny flick as long as you are not easily offended. One of the funniest parts and most disgusting happens during the credits, there are some pictures of the goings on and you will laugh but cringe at the same time.

But I am not going to talk about this movie too much. It is doing incredibly well at the box office and seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

On Friday I saw Up finally. I loved it. It totally got me depressed but I loved it. I really don’t know how Pixar does it. They come up with simple absurd premises and turn them into these complex well told stories of adventure, friendship and love. Every award they have ever received has been well deserved. And for this movie they will receive more.

The story is about Carl Fredrickson, a widower and retired balloon salesman, who is grumpy and alone. He decides to go to South America to fulfill a promise to his wife that he made when they first met. But he won’t go the easy route, no, he ties hundreds of balloons to his home and travels in comfort. On the way he bonds with Russell, a kid who is a Wilderness Explorer (who happens to have never been in the wilderness), and a talking dog, Dug.

You wouldn’t think there would be much to say about an old guy, a kid, and a dog in a house but the movie was an hour and a half sentimentality, heartache, humour, and adventure. And the characters in this movie are so likeable that you invest in them. You want them to succeed. I don’t even think this should be a kid’s movie. Yes it’s animated, colourful, and there are many visual gags but there is so much depth in the midst of all of that that I think most kids wouldn’t understand the film entirely but they will enjoy the visuals.

At the end of Up I did feel sad. I was disappointed at that because I was expecting to feel happy and gleeful at the end of the movie just like every other Pixar film but it had almost to opposite effect. It wasn’t that the ending was sad, it was just so…heavy. It is a great movie and even if you don’t like animated flicks you really will like this one.

On a side note: I am surprised that Pixar hasn’t been sued by some religious organization as yet. Before the movie started there was a little short. It pretty much showed where babies come from; storks and clouds, not what you were thinking. And it was a nice sweet little short but I am an open minded person. A couple people actually walked out of the movie just before the short ended and they did not look impressed at all. I can totally see a religious group blowing it completely out of proportion and riling people up.

On Sunday I went to my brother’s place to hang for a bit. We had gone to Rib-fest at the Beaches (I don’t care what anyone says ‘The Beach’ just sounds stupid) and we needed time to digest so we sat and watched G.I. Joe: Ninja Battles.

I couldn't find a poster so you are going to have to settle for this wicked comic book art.

It is a cartoon movie that was released back in 2004 and is probably better than that crap I am going to subject myself to later this summer. There is a good story, good action, some cheese, and a lot of killing. It was high caliber stuff.

There were 2 storylines to follow in this movie. First was the usual exploits of Cobra Commander as he tried to take over the world. The second was the battle between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. It showed their origin and the beginning of their feud. They intertwine the storylines so you can follow all the action and they managed to seamlessly throw in some flashbacks. It’s well done and enjoyable.

In the midst of watching G.I. Joe I got a call from Cory who was doing laundry (exciting) and he ridiculed me after I explained what I was up to. To that all I have to say is whatever man, you just don’t get it. You don’t understand the awesomeness. Yo, JOE!

Last but not least I watched Dod Sno (Dead Snow) before I went to bed Sunday night. I started watching it at my brother’s place but it was getting late and I did have to go to work in the morning. He gave me the movie and I was supposed to watch it some other time but I got so invested in it that I couldn’t resist watching that night. And that was a mistake. Not only did it keep me up til 1 am but made me restless so I couldn’t fall asleep anyways.

This movie was released in January and has been picking up steam simply by word of mouth. It is a Norwegian indie Nazi-zombie flick. And it is pretty good. Just let that sink in for a sec. Ok.

Even though it is a low budget movie they do a relatively good job with the effects and it is very good at creating tension. They also managed to inject some humour in there in the middle of some gory scenes. The movie was clearly influenced by the Evil Dead trilogy and George A Romero.

Even though it isn’t the best or completely original it is totally worth a watch. You can see the people who made it but a lot of heart into it and had a crazy amount of fun putting it together. The bits that are original and the parts that are good out weigh the bad and it makes it an enjoyable watch.

I recommend all of the movies that I watched. They are all different and good in their own way, definitely worth a look. Hopefully my good movie streak will continue this weekend. Strike that, it is Transformers this weekend. It is over.

Tra