A Gorilla's Point of View on Movies

Wow! A lot has happened!

balticgorilla — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:05:43 +0000

Well, I still need to finish that Alice blog. Plus I need to write some about Star Trek as I recently finished a marathon 10 week viewing of all the movies up to and including the newest one. Expect (hopefully) a weekly update on my take on the movies I’ve seen and the movies about to come out!

Too tired to finish my “Alice” post see me again later

balticgorilla — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:43:10 +0000

The title sums it up.

Star Trek/Star Wars

balticgorilla — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:08:10 +0000

At some point in the future, I will watch all the Star Trek and all the Star Wars films. I am, as I type this post, watching Star Trek: Nemesis. I will not, however, but posting a review of this film. I feel that to get a feel for these movies, it is good to watch them all and review them as parts of a whole. While this IS the case for Star Wars, in Star Trek, with a few exceptions (II, III, IV), the films can stand alone. (I just like to have an excuse to watch all the films.) Don’t fret though. I will be watching other films in the interim and will be posting reviews of them here. In addition to the mass review of the series, I will also have individual reviews of the films. Expect the first review to be of Star Wars, as I have access to all those films.

Superman II (1980)

balticgorilla — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:59:48 +0000

When watching a series of movies it is nearly impossible to not compare one to another. Such is the case with Superman and Superman II. Unfortunately, the second film was found lacking. Using the story set up from the first movie, the second Superman movie follows the trails of the three villains that are imprisoned. at the beginning of the first movie.
The story of the second movie is actually much better than the story of the first, a

Superman (1978)

balticgorilla — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:04:13 +0000

I rented this movie on a whim. I went to the rental store looking for something to watch. I almost grabbed the new Star Trek film, then almost grabbed “Nemesis, ” then almost got one of the older Star Trek films.   After walking around the store for a good 10-15 minutes (about what I do every time) I decided to get “Superman” and “Superman II.” (review of that coming up next) As per normal, I read the back of the box.   The box raved about the wonderful effects that were in the film. As I read, I wondered, “How wonderful will these effects be to me, a student of film (kinda) and living in 2010, not 1978?”   I was surprised. As I started watching I had an idea in my head that the effects were going to be cheesy and similar to most other movies that came out at this time period (let’s face it, a lot of those movies had terrible effects, Star Wars excluded).   With the exception of one integral part of the movie, I would put this film up to just about any other film that has been produced.   The visual effects were not only ahead of their time, but almost on par with any that are used today. The transitions between scenes are clean and wonderful, the destruction of Krypton is very realistic. The flying scenes are very believable.     The only negative in my mind is that of the water coming from the failing Hoover Dam. This is the only portion of the film that, to me, betrays itself to not being real. The miniatures are obviously, to the naked eye, miniatures. The water does not look big.   With this exception, this effects are, indeed, top notch.   As I type this I am watching the DVD over again, this time with the music only. As I started this film, my roommate and I were having a discussion on the music of this movie.   He was trying to guess what film I rented, I told him that I would put it in the player and that he would have to guess what movie it was from what I called, “One of the most recognizable themes in the world.” Who else would write such themes but John Williams?   Unfortunately, that is a post for another day (expect it). The music is, as is to be expected, amazing. It, as a good soundtrack is, an integral part of the movie. As part of the true test, this DVD has, as an option, the movie with only the soundtrack playing. As I am currently watching it, the genius of the composer is truly brought to light.   I am able to understand the story without needing to hear the voices.   I understand the draw of silent movies now. I would be interested to see if one could make it in mainstream films…     But I digress.

Overall, this movie is surprisingly good and can stand up to the scrutiny that I feel all films today face. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a good family movie. It has a hero that anyone can emulate, Superman. Although we cannot all have superpowers, we can all make the world better in whatever way we can.

Avatar (2009)

balticgorilla — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:42:14 +0000

My roommate and I have just returned from watching the movie “Avatar.” I had read a number of reviews and other articles concerning this movie.   I read an article in “Popular Science” that discussed the method for filming the movie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS BELOW!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What I want to talk about though falls into three catagories.
1. Story
2. Production
3. Overall Effect

As I watched the movie, I saw a number of things in the story that showed a wonderful story had been written and was going to be shown. The movie began with a voiceover of Sully talking, a traditional beginning but not what you would expect for this type of movie. As the movie progressed we were shown different sides of our protagonist, the side that was there for his brother, the side that was there for the army, and the side that was there for himself. With the progression of the film, we side a fourth side grow, the side that is there for the planet.   Many people, including myself before I actually watched it, saw this movie as a traditional “Indiginous species versus invaders” movie, a la Trail of Tears.   Indeed, one review which I read called this movie a “glorified cowboys and indians tale.”   This could not be more incorrect.   This story was about a single man and the decisions that he had to make. This movie also was one of many movies that have recently reminded people of the need to take care of our planet. More than once there was mention of the “destroyed” or “burned out” planet that the humans had come from. Also, the movie focused on the spiritual side of nature, how we are (or at least should be) part of a circle. That we should work with nature to achieve our goals, not destry to meet them.

The story itself was wonderful, from the use of foreshadowing early on in the film with Sully holding a “flower” that is shown multiple times throughout the remainder of the film to the fleshing out of the Na’vi’s culture and customs.   This shows great foresight and work on the part of the production team, which takes me to part 2.

The production of this film was top notch.   From the beginnning, I enjoyed the music and the clarity of the backgrounds and nature. I feel that this may have been a decision in the eyes of the production staff to show how clean this planet was without humans there to sully it (haha I made a joke). This idea is firmly put into place later in the film after the home tree is destroyed. Sully wakes to find the tree destroyed. Other than himself, the entire landscape is a sea of grays and blacks, showing the difference between before and after.   The music was, amazing. I wish I could say more, but I can’t there is no way to describe it.

Overall, This. Film. Was. Amazing.   As soon as I saw the trailers for this film my hopes went up and they were not misplaced. I would suggest that you see it. If you have already seen it, watch it again.