The Simpsons

Durring the first half hour I laughed so hard I was almost falling out of my seat. The Itchy and Scratchy stuff, the Hillary stuff, and especially the Homer/Bart dare contest the ended in a skatedboard ride to Krusty Burger. The first half hour didn't go anywhere storywise, but it was probably up there with the best Simpsons ever. I mean the episode where Itchy and Scratchy do their take on "Reservoir Dogs" was better than this stuff. And, there have been better moments and better episodes than the first half hour of "The Simpsons" movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie, although funny, just seems to be more Simpsons. Sure, not all episodes can be as good as the really good ones, but shouldn't a movie that you pay to see be well worth it. When I was roommates with Rob and Justin back in the day, we watched The Simpsons all the time. Reruns every week day after work, every Sunday for the new episodes. After I got married, that kind of tapered off, and I hardly get to see it now that I have young impressionable minds around. Maybe I was hoping for an adrenaline charged super dose of The Simpsons to hold me over until the kids go off to college. What I got instead was a reminder of al those great moments from my single years, and a few laughs to get me through the weekend.

Ratatouille

"Ratatouille" is the best movie I've seen this year. I am going to make a point to not compare it to any other movies, recent or otherwise. This is because "Ratatouille" stands up all by itself as a great film. Alright, I'll come down a little, maybe it wasn't a great film. I mean I am factoring in that the animation was incredible, especially at conveying the personality of the main characters, one of whom couldn not speak to the other. I am giving this movie extra credit for something I would expect from a live action film. At the same time the "acting" portrayed in this film was far better than most real actors could ever hope to accomplish. The story was fun, the details were excitng, and the visuals were at times amazing, but were always beautiful. Please don't make me watch another... oh wait, I made a promise not to talk about those mediocre computer generated movies that I loathe, I'm trying to stay positive here. Pixar has done it again. Once again I foresee this coming Chistmas; kids in their rooms playing with brand new toys. Jess, talking on the phone to her friends about the amazing present I just gave her. Me, sitting on the couch, watching "Ratatouille".

Harry Potter 5 vs Indiana Jones

Perhaps you may think I've been unfair in the past. Maybe you think I focus too much on the negatives of the films I see, and don't just enjoy them for what they are. If this is true, then you may want to rethink reading the following review, or you might find that I am able to explain my point of view, and you'll better understand my previous and upcoming reviews.

Rob and I went to see "Harry Potter 5" on Friday night. Then on Saturday he came over for a cook-out and he stayed and watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with me. Ordinarilly I wouldn't ever connect these two movies, but because I watched them on consecutive nights I naturally jumped to the following conclusion: "Harry Potter 5" is no "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Of course I realize that it wasn't trying to be, but that was it's mistake. "Raiders" is fun. "Raiders" has character, witty dialouge, amazing sights, gripping action and sweet music. "Harry Potter 5" does not. I'm going to sound like a Baptist preacher here, but I think Harry Potter has lost his soul. Now stay with me here, I think the first Potter movie was a great intoduction. Then "Prisoner of Azkaban" had an exciting visual flair and let us enjoy some character devolopement as well. Other than those two, I just can't get into the Potter universe. I'll admit that the wizard duel at the end of "5" is pretty cool, but if you read the books my guess is the visual representation is going to leave a lot to be desired. My theory is that the Potter series is enjoyable reading, but when you try to keep readers happy you tend to loose people like me who just want to see a good movie.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" set a standard for entertainment. Filmmakers don't have to copy the formula of "Raiders", but they sure could learn from the master. Maybe I'm just tired of so many films expecting me to enjoy more of the same, instead of giving me something fresh and exciting. It's not the years honey, it's the mileage.

Die Hard 4 and Transformers

Well, what can I say? "Die Hard 4" was about what I expected. The best part of this movie was who I got to see it with; my wife and a bunch of my brothers. Now I'm not a perfect example of the "typical male", so I haven't devoted my life to "Die Hard" and although I believe it to be the best "pure action movie" of all time, it doesn't land anywhere near my top-ten best movies of all time. That being said, what were they thinking making a PG-13 "Die Hard" movie? It just wasn't the same. Sure the character of John McClane was there, but everything about the movie was so watered-down. I think what makes me forgive the filmmakers for this obvious attempt to market an adult film to children, is that it meant that I got to see it with more brothers than if it had been rate R. Stephen, David, Thomas, Nate and Jon all got to come with Jess and I, so it was a fun night out, and a good memory.

I debated wether or not I should set aside a whole review for "Transformers", but in the end I think it's alright for it to share space with "Die Hard 4"... "Transformers" is super awesome. Not "totally" super awesome, but super awesome nevertheless. Before going in (and Nate and I already discussed this) I knew that this was going to be a typical (notice how I've already used that word twice today) Michael Bay movie. Now that's not a bad thing, it worked alright for "Armageddon" and "The Rock". At the same time you've got to realize this before going into one of his movies; there isn't going to be a great story, you're going to have some shallow characters, and the over-the-top production/humor/acting/camera angles are are filler between the things that actually paid to see. That being said, what made this movie so sweet were the Transformers themselves. I could give examples of what scenes were the coolest and why I already want to see this movie again, but I think my word should be enough, this movie is super awesome. Two more gripes though; is the PG-13 mother/son interchange really necassary? Sure it was funny, but come on! Secondly, why if you can make so many super awesome special effects work in a big budget movie, are there special effects sprinkled throughout that make me think I'm watching a cartoon? It jolts me out of my amazement, and I know they can do better, they already did in the same movie. Maybe they should just cut out the unpolished effects, the corny teenage angst love story, the heroic army buddies and the clueless parents and just give us the coolest 30 minute Transformer movie ever.