As you can obviously tell I haven't really had a chance to update moovees.com in quite some time. At some point I'll return with a film related site on a different domain, so I'll make sure to post it here whenever that happens.

In the meantime, feel free to check out my other current projects...

Funny Hub

Viral This

Also, since I've stopped writing for moovees.com there have been some great film sites you may want to check out...

Hollywood Elsewhere - A blog by Jeffrey Wells

Film Drunk

Posted June 03, 2008 | link | 3 comments

Like many moviegoers last winter, I just never got around to seeing Peter Jackson's King Kong. I'm not saying the film was a flop at the box office, but everyone seemed to agree that it didn't do nearly as well as expected. With the film now on DVD here in the Spring where it seems better suited, I'm guessing it will become a bigger hit in people's living rooms than it was in theaters.

The film itself is frustrating because parts of it are very well done and quite entertaining, while other parts are horribly boring and overdone. I think overdone is the key word, as Peter Jackson has completely lost any sense of restraint as a director and just seems to want to cram in as much as possible, making the movie a good 30-to-40 minutes longer than it should have been (three hours works for a World War II movie like Saving Private Ryan, but for King Kong it's simply ridiculous).

The movie can be divided into three parts: before the island, on the island, and back in New York City after they capture Kong. My biggest issue was the middle part of the movie when they arrive to the island and suddenly it's a special effects extravaganza. As impressive as the CGI stuff is, there's simply way too much of it and Jackson shoves more and more of it down our throats. One minute it's dinosaurs, the next it's giant bugs, and by the time they finally get off the island my level of interest was flailing. Which is really too bad, because the final hour is easily the best part of the film and overall makes it worth watching. Naomi Watts in particular does an excellent job of making us care about King Kong, saving the film from becoming a heartless technological demonstration.

At the end of the day I recommend King Kong even if you've seen previous versions, but make sure you're in a patient mood or you may be compelled to fast-forward through parts of it.

Posted April 03, 2006 | link | 0 comments

Roger Ebert came quickly to the defense of Crash and its best picture win over Brokeback Mountain. I agree 100% with what he says here. I thought Brokeback Mountain was a good movie and wouldn't have been upset if it had won, but I thought Crash was a better movie so I'm glad it took home the big prize. For all of those idiots screaming "homophobia" to explain the results, remember that Ang Lee won for best director and normally a split between director and picture for two different movies is viewed as a tie of sorts. Besides, last time I checked Phillip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for his portrayal of Truman Capote - a man who was gay, so get over it and quit whining.

Posted March 09, 2006 | link | 1 comments

I'm not going to do a complete indepth analysis to explain each of my picks for tonight's ceremony because in the end it's just an awards show that already garners too much attention and speculation as it is. Having said that, here are my picks for the major categories...

Best Picture & Best Director: These categories will be split between Crash and Brokeback Mountain, with each category going potentially either way. My gut is telling me Crash for picture and Ang Lee for director.

Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

Supporting Actor: George Clooney (Syriana)

Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardner), although beware of dark horse nominee Amy Adams for her performance in Junebug.

Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis (Crash)

Adapted Screenplay: Dan Futterman (Capote)

Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain)

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Documentary: The easy pick due to its box office popularity is March of the Penguins, but there's a lot of love out there for Murderball.

Foreign Film: Paradise Now

Posted March 05, 2006 | link | 1 comments

A great little black comedy called The Ice Harvest hits DVD shelves this week, so if you didn't get around to seeing it last year (which is likely considering it was a box office flop) make sure to give it a chance. I especially recommend it to fans of dark humor who can still laugh even in the face of something gruesome, which this film thrives on.

On a side note, I'd just like to point out that in addition to John Cusack this film stars Billy Bob Thornton, who is now officially the king of the anti-Christmas movie thanks to The Ice Harvest and Bad Santa.

Posted March 01, 2006 | link | 10 comments