New Features?

Well hello boys and girls. I know it's been a while.. but I just haven't had anything to talk about. Nothing really new has happend. I am still unemployed, which sucks. I have been looking for things but nothing is really happening. I have put in apps. at a couple of places but with no call backs. (They were done online so no way of calling them) But on a more positive note, all this extra free time has helped me get some stuff done with the painting projects I have sitting around. Now of course these are not my personal projects, these are things people have commishioned me to do. I also have sold some of my props and costume parts that I am not using. I sold my ROTJ Boba rifle, and my Tusken raider mask (yes I use the tusken mask). I sold the tusken because I wasn't 100% happy with how it came out and I got more then I paid for it so it was a good deal. I am going to take the money I got from selling it and buy new snowtrooper armor and get it ready for Dragon Con! I am also happy to report that the guy who had me paint his ROTJ Boba bucket for him recieved it and LOVES it. That of course makes me fell better because I am always worried that someone won't like something I do for them. Espically when it comes to Fett stuff, since that crowd is so detail orientated.

But as the title suggests I am going to add a new feature to my blog. I am going to start adding movie reviews! Since I see at least one new movie a week (some times more) and I have opnions on them I figured I would share with you, my faithful readers. This post I am actually going to review several movies at once since all of them are new and all of them I have seen. So lets begin.

First up is going to be Live Free or Die Hard:
I went and saw this flick not really knowing what to expect. I am not a huge Bruce Willis fan, and I have only seen Die Hard 3. Well I can say I was very plesantly supprised. The movie was action packed, massive stunts, and decently acted. It helped that I really like Timithoy Olyphant (the bad guy in the flick). I also like Justin Long. (Also the cameo apperance by Kevin Smith didn't hurt either) While Willis pretty much gave the same performance as every other movie he has done. He is one of those actors that doesn't really make me believe his character, I don't see Dective McClane up there I see Bruce Willis. I must say despite BW hamming up the screen the rest of the movie was bad ass. The action was almost non-stop which was what I expected from a movie like this. It had a nice mix of gun fights, car chases, explosions, and fist fights. It even had a little martial arts (not from BW of course) from this hot little asian chick. Also for my inner Geek it had some nice Star Wars referances (including a Boba Fett one!). All in all I really enjoyed the movie. Don't go to it expecting great acting, a well planned story or anything like that, do go expecting a good time and lots of action. It is pretty much a perfect summer popcorn flick (even if you, like me, hate popcorn). I give it a solid B+

Next up is Transformers:
Now I must first start by saying, I grew up on Transformers, but I was never a huge fan. I liked the toys more then I liked the TV show. I couldn't name all of the original Autobots, nor Descipitcons. I knew of course who Optimus was, and Megaton, and Starscream but that was about it. I heard of Bumblebee but couldn't tell you what kind of car he was (prior to the movie). All that being said I had really high hopes for this flick. I know lots of people hate Michael Bay movies, and think he is a bad director. And I am sure in the grand scheme of things he really is. But he does know how do make an action film. This movie was pretty much fantastic. I loved almost every frame of it. I didn't mind the stupid humor, hell I even laughed a couple of times. I do think there are a few things that could have been done with out (the scene with the parents in the bedroom with the son embarrassing him was stupid) and the Sector 7 guy was badly written. ILM did the CGI for this flick, and it shows. The bots look amazing. But that is also their down fall, the bots are too detailed. I don't want to see the original look of the Transformers, but these were way too complex. When two of them would fight all you would see is a mass of car parts. It was way too hard to figure out which part belonged to which robot and even what part of the bot I was looking at. I think all of us would have been ok if they had a bit more armor and a bit less parts. I don't think anyone is going to be upset to not see where the tie rods or strut bars when the Bot is in Bot mode. One little thing and this one annoyed the poop out of the painter in me. When the bots are in robot mode their paint is scratched and weatherd. Ok fine I understand they have been fighting and what not that makes sense. But when they transform back into car mode they are shiny and new. Even when we first meet the Autobots all of them look weathered in Bot mode, but when they rolled up they were all shiny and new. Would it have killed them to just make them shiny and new in bot mode at the beging of the movie? Or weather the car mode later in the film?? Despite all my little nit pickings the movie was awesome! The action scenes were great, watching Blackout take out the army base at the begining was awesome. And then when Scopinox attacks the GIs in the desert OH MY GOD! Not to mention the Bumble-bee vs Barricade fight! Starscream vs. the Air Force's FA-22's FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! I can't say this enough GO SEE THIS MOVIE IN THEATERS!!! I give it a very solid: A I actually liked it enough to go see it twice in theaters, and would probally go again if someone asked me to go with them. (the last movie I actually paid to see more then once was 300)

Last up (only by time line) is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
Ok again I will start with some facts: I have not read any of the Harry Potter books. Sorry. I know they are good, but I am a visiual guy, I went to film school after all. I don't want to know what happens in the movies before I see them. (HP is the only series I feel this way about for some reason. I went out and bought the comic books for Ep2 and Ep3 Star Wars just to know what happens in them) I go totally spolier free for the movies. The most I want to know is what the offical trailers show me. So with all that being said on to the movie. OOP was quite well done. Once again we have a new director at the helm of this film, why they can't get one and keep him I don't know. (I liked the guy who did GOF) Don't get me wrong I liked what this director did with the film, I just think it is odd we need a new one every movie or every other movie. (I did not like the one who did POA). I think the transitions between scenes was neatly done this time around, with the Daily Prophet montages. I do think it was odd that OOP was the longest book to date yet it was the shortest movie. Why? Even though I didn't read the books I felt like the movie was leaving stuff out. The movie feels very rushed, almost too much. I wish they would have made this one three hours instead of two and paced it a little slower, and spent a little more time introducing the new characters a little more. I think the visiuals of this movie were fantastic, though not quite as stunning as GOF. I still think GOF is my favorite of the entire series. I plan to see OOP at least one more time in theaters since often I find with movies I like I tend to notice more things about them the second time around. I do wish they would have stuck with the original Death Eater costumes over the new ones, I think the new ones look like Dr. Doom rejects from Fantastic Four (which I also saw: C+) . I might have liked the new costumes if I had not seen the ones in GOF first. Yes I know the GOF ones remind everyone of the KKK, but I don't think they looked that much like them (the KKK usually wears white, red and green robes and hoods over their faces not skulls). I just think the skull masks were much more scary then the metal ones. The wizard fight at the end of the movie is amazing, it is the first time we get to see full adult wizards using powerful magic at each other. I wish it would have been a bit longer (the fight). All in all I really liked this one too. It gets a very strong: A (though it really would have had to have been terrible to get less then a B+)

I know it seems I haven't seen a movie yet that I didn't really like. Well I will just put in some letter grades for some other summer flicks I have seen:
Fantasitc Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: C+
Spider Man 3: B-
Ratatouille: B+
Knocked Up: B

Things I am looking forward to seeing:
I Now Prononuce you Chuck and Larry
The Simpsons Movie
Skinwalkers (maybe?)
The Borne Ultimatum
Hot Rod
Rush Hour 3

Some things I will not be seeing:
Hairspray (John Trovolta in a fat woman suit...no thanks)
I Know Who Killed Me (Lohan acting...no thanks)
Who's Your Caddie (just a terrible title, it can't be good)
Underdog (as much as I like Jason Lee I just can't bring myself to see this piece of shit)
Bratz (need I say more???)
Daddy Day Camp (well I didn't see Daddy Day Care, and I am not going to. Man what happend to Cuba Gooding Jr.? Did he used to make good movies?)

Wow it was a long one today. I hope you enjoyed your self. And please send me money.