Monday, December 10, 2012

Movies Today: "Flashdance", "First Position"

Two wildly different movies, two very different reactions.

Flashdance

Why did I even watch this? I knew it'd be terrible. And boy, was it. It was all 80s synthesizers, neon glow, big hair, scary women, ugly dudes, and really aggressive dancing. It did make me wonder where that Super Powerful 80s woman went; the one who'd wear shoulder pads and stilletos and want to kick your ass at any given opportunity. I suppose that, as with so many trends in the 80s, it was taken way too far and just became way too crazy to sustain itself. I think that's probably a good thing. So it just wasn't a very good movie, but it's definitely fun to finally watch the movie that inspired so many horrible trends that are actually resurfacing nowadays. The cut-up sweatshirt! Legwarmers! Super-high-leg bathing suits! Mohawks! Awful stand-up comedians! Terrible movie.

First Position

I'm so happy Netflix recommended this. It's a documentary tracking the attempts of six young ballet dancers to compete and succeed at an International Ballet Competition in New York. There's three boys and three girls, ranging from 9 to 18 and from all kinds of backgrounds, and it's a fascinating movie. It's kind of amazing what those kids go through, and I liked that you could tell, very easily, that the kids love dancing. And there's nary a stage mom in sight! It's all about the kids, and it's heartbreaking, beautiful and inspiring all at the same time. There's some beautiful moments with the kids families and of course all the dancing we see is breathtaking. I'll even admit that the ending made me cry a little. Highly recommended.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

New Idea:Movies I've Watched

I don't want to let this blog die. Trying to write book reviews obviously turned into a disaster, so I think I'll try to get back in the game by going back to how it started: writing about nothing, mostly as a way to get things off my head and keep track of some of the painfully mundane things I do every day.

One thing is to just keep track of movies I've watched. I tried writing it down in an actual, physical journal but found that really boring. Also, what's the point if no one will ever read it? At least with blogger there is an infinitesimal chance that someone will read it. But, whatever. Let me ask, though: Is there a movie version of Goodreads out there? I love how Goodreads gives me a chance to keep track of books I've read without having to write reviews, and just give them a quick rating. I don't know, is that even an original idea? Wanna buy it from me?

But I'll start now, and hopefully compile some kind of list at the end of the year or month. I watch a lot of movies. And I'll try to be as honest as possible and not fail to mention the admittedly terrible movies I watch on my days off when I just want to sit still for an hour without having to think too hard about what I'm watching. Like how I watched Tinkerbell the other day. And how I didn't hate it. It was actually super cute and fun and something I'd like to watch with my future daughter-who-will-probably-never-exist.

I won't even bother writing more than a two-sentence review, either. Gut reaction's the title of the blog, dammit, and I'm gonna stick with that. So, welcome to Five-Minute Reviews of Movies I've Watched.

Prometheus
 Ugh. Uuuugh. Big steaming pile of crap, seen through a dirty blue filter. What a terrible, nonsensical bore of a movie this was. I can't even think of one redeeming quality about it other than the casting of Idris Elba and Michael Fassbender, and even that is pushing it, because goddammit, no, it was a terrible movie and handsome men don't make up for lazy writing. Not even the visuals were that great. Everything was muddy and half-assed and confusing. I never once cared about anything that was going on in my screen, and never once did the filmmakers give me a reason to care. Definitely skip that one.

A while ago I asked my Facebook friends what the worst movie they had watched recently was. The question was prompted by having watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was fucking awful. Now, I don't think Prometheus was worse than that monstrosity, but it came pretty damn close. It's definitely the worst current movie I've seen this year.