Movie Madness

My second attempt at movie madness went off without a hitch and I broke my previous record of five movies at AMC in one day. Friday, I managed six. However, I think the original movie madness was better because the movies were simply better. That first one included “The Kite Runner,” my favorite movie of the year.

I took my mom to see “The Incredible Hulk” at 11:50 for AMC’s early bird special (still five bucks). We both really enjoyed it. The action and story were much quicker than the previous Hulk. They told the back story in about 2 minutes, while the previous took an hour.

Didn’t care much for Liv Tyler or Tim Roth, but William Hurt and Edward Norton were good. They really chose the perfect director to revive the series. Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) brought a fast-paced, explosive action style to this one and the special effects are the best of the summer.

My mom left me her bag of popcorn, so I grabbed a refill and plexed into “Son of Rambow,” which was a cute, funny story of these British kids with big imaginations. It was imaginative and artsy. It was pretty good, but failed to live up to Kite Runner caliber of which I was hoping.

On my way out of the theater, I found a large drink, so I grabbed a refill of Barq’s root beer and hopped into “The Happening” at 4:05. It was pretty crowded. I was completely ashamed to have seen this movie because the acting is so terrible.

This is easily M. Night Shyamalan’s worst movie. I just don’t think he will ever live up to “The Sixth Sense.” His story this time around is weak and flat-out boring. He put together some kind of lame story warning us that we are killing ourselves by how we treat the earth. Bunch of bull crap. Didn’t buy it for a second.

Night turned to more disturbing content than previous films as he searched for many different ways to portray suicides. Quite violent, though even with the R-rating, it is not even near as creepy as the PG-13 “Sixth Sense.” I don’t know what happened, but the suspense was not there for Night in this one. I laughed out loud at the role he gave himself (might even be more arrogant than “Lady in the Water”). He “plays” a character with no screen time or voice. He is only mentioned in the movie, yet there Night is in the credits as Writer, Director, Producer and Actor.

I angrily walked into “Kung Fu Panda,” which greatly lifted my spirits. It was a delightful, action-packed adventure. Jack Black basically played himself, which was hilarious. Great cast in this one.

Next, I checked out “Before the Rains.” It was about an Englishman building a road in India in the 1930’s who commits adultery and must answer to the tribe in the neighboring village. The drama unfolds nicely and the scenery is beautiful. I felt that it climaxed a little too soon, though.

For the sixth and final film of the day, I found “The Strangers” at 9:45. It was the second Liv Tyler movie of the day (though I didn’t realize it was her until I got home). This used some creepy long shots as opposed to jump cuts and loud music to evoke scariness, which I greatly appreciated. Other than that, definitely nothing special.

All in all, it was a great movie day that lasted about 12 hours. I know it is possible to do 7 and I think 8 might be possible. Next time, I’ll shoot for 7 flicks, hopefully better than this set.

The Great American Plex

So, I was too tired to put out a post yesterday because of my experience. This is how it went down.

I went out to the movie theater (AMC) with the ambition to see several movies. I got to the mall around 10am and purchased a ticket for "The Kite Runner" at 1020am.

"The Kite Runner" was terrific and is quite possibly my favorite movie of the year. It is a drama about two young boys who fly kites in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1978. The kids remind me much of my brother and I when we were younger. The little boy actually looks a lot like my brother. Anyway, terrific movie and I strongly recommend it.

Next, I had a 30 minute break before "Juno." So, I hung out for awhile waiting for it to begin. I was slightly annoyed with the movie and the character of Juno. She was an annoying, wannabe cool pregnant 16 year old. The whole I listen to old-school indie rock and watch old crappy horror movies is a really lame attempt by the writer to make Juno seem "cool." So she thinks she is all that and a plate of waffles. The drama and comedy do come together well, and it has a sweet ending.

When I left this theater, I grabbed some girl's large popcorn and drink to go get a free refill. So with my newly acquired refreshments, I went straight into "The Golden Compass." I was not very impressed with this one. It was one of those kid book adaptation in the spirit of Narnia. Whatever. Not that great, but I went to see it for the polar bears. And they were awesome in their fighting, so that might have been worth it.

O no, I am not done. Three movies would not be a record. Then, I went into "National Treasure" expecting only the most ridiculous situations and schemes. I was not disappointed. From kidnapping the President to breaking in to the oval office. It was good entertainment and achieved it's goal. I do not understand why Ed Harris was in this. Not the greatest career move. O well, his loss.

Four is quite a bit, but five is more than four. So, I went into "Atonement" expecting to see the greatest movie of all time (kidding, but it did get 7 golden globe nominations). It was a pretty good story and not entirely romance. It was more about the younger sister seeking forgiveness for what she had done. Keira Knightley does not deserve an award, but James McAvoy is good. The cinematography is terrific and will get a nom at the Academy Awards maybe even win. There is a 4.5 minute shot on the beach showing all the soldiers waiting for ships to take them home that is just terrific. The music is really good as well.

So, that's it 5 movies in one day. This is the greatest plex (walking into another movie, but only paying the initial ticket) I have ever done and I have not heard of someone doing more. I had a great time and there was not alot of downtime, so I was never bored and the day went very quick. I left the mall around 10pm, so I was there about 12 hours.

Ya, that sounds ridiculous, but I had a blast. It was something I had always wanted to do, so I am glad I have finally done it. I probably won't do that again for awhile.

Cheers