Folks, sorry, but there won't be an article tonight. It's been a long week medically and I'm having problems getting anything written. I hope to be back to a normal schedule soon though. Thanks for your understanding and for hanging in there.
I had been up in the air about 47 Ronin until you reviewed it. I watched it over the last few days and thought it was good. Reeves didn't over or underact his way through the movie, and I've enjoyed the main Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada in other films like The Last Samurai and he didn't disappoint in this either. The action pieces were well shot and the film itself was well shot. Thanks for the review...
I just finished watching last summer's Godzilla and you know what? It was kinda... awesome! Not perfect, far from it actually... but it was equal parts vintage Spielberg and Battle: Los Angeles... in and out in two hours. Briskly-paced, this is no bloated Michael Bay film. In fact, I wish it had been 15 minutes longer.
Thanks Ben! I hate not giving you guys more content, but this stuff just keep dogging me and I've spent the last couple weeks on pain killers and barely sleeping, which makes it really hard to focus enough to write anything. Unfortunately, it seems that the pills I need to make one of this better are making the other part worse. Arg!
It does, Ben. When you reach that point, there is nothing you can do except take the pills and spend your time hoping they finally kick in and are enough. And I am useless either way -- trying to fight the pain or facing the sleepiness and spaciness of the pills. It really sucks knowing that there is so much else you could be doing if you weren't trying everything you can think of to reduce the pain.
The other problem I've run into lately is that there are pills I need to reduce the swelling to stop things from spinning out of control. BUT those pills will trigger the pain and cause about six hours of burning pain. So it's a catch 22.
Oh I got around to watching 47 Ronin and I quite liked it. It wasn't great and it didn't really need the supernatural themes, but thankfully they were not overdone.
The action looked quite well filmed, the storyline was easy to follow without being simple, it looked good and having Neo in a uniquely Japanese story didn't really screw it up as much as I thought it would. Having the movie in Japanese with English subtitles would have given it a more authentic look, but as it was aimed at a western audience they didn't seem to care about that, considering that it flopped, it would have improved the film IMHO.
And I really liked how they didn't cop out and change the basic story to get a happy ending to the love story.
Scott, That was my general takeaway. The movie was good... not great... and I did quite like it. It could have been better. It would have been better as you say if they had done it in Japanese. I also liked the fact the fact they didn't try to impose a happy ending.
Miss you and your commentary so much Andrew. Every day it's 1) Instapundit 2) Poweline 3) Breitbart 4) Commentarama Films! No kidding, in that order. Please get better. Thoughts and prayers going out to you.
Tuesday should have made you feel a lot better ;-)
The good news is that I'm starting to feel better. The pain seems more isolated in my ankle and lower shin now, so I'm planning to get back to writing.
A decade ago I had a back injury that kept me from working for almost a year. Either I was in so much pain that I literally couldn't stand up, or I was so loopy on Vicodin/Oxycontin that my IQ dropped 30 points and I couldn't do my job (systems analyst).
So I had a lot of free time on my hands. What was interesting was that during that time my tastes in movies and TV seemed to change. For example, I saw Godzilla (the 1998 version) on Netflix, and I actually *liked* it (in a MST3K kind of way). Then I started watching General Hospital on ABC and began rooting for Sonny and Carla to get back together. Then I was doing Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Looking back now, I cringe with embarrassment that I was ever in to all that stuff.
I had been up in the air about 47 Ronin until you reviewed it. I watched it over the last few days and thought it was good. Reeves didn't over or underact his way through the movie, and I've enjoyed the main Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada in other films like The Last Samurai and he didn't disappoint in this either. The action pieces were well shot and the film itself was well shot. Thanks for the review...
ReplyDeleteGet well, Andrew, that's the main thing. We'll wait as long as you need.
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching last summer's Godzilla and you know what? It was kinda... awesome! Not perfect, far from it actually... but it was equal parts vintage Spielberg and Battle: Los Angeles... in and out in two hours. Briskly-paced, this is no bloated Michael Bay film. In fact, I wish it had been 15 minutes longer.
ReplyDeleteI concur, ScottDS. The 2014 Godzilla was pretty good!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Voz! I'm always happy to help people find things they like! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben! I hate not giving you guys more content, but this stuff just keep dogging me and I've spent the last couple weeks on pain killers and barely sleeping, which makes it really hard to focus enough to write anything. Unfortunately, it seems that the pills I need to make one of this better are making the other part worse. Arg!
ReplyDeleteScott, I haven't seen it, but I can tell you that the previews really interested me. It looked really, really good.
ReplyDeleteGet Better, Andrew!
ReplyDeleteGet well soon Andrew.
ReplyDeleteHere, this'll make you feel better,
ReplyDeleteIt's the Nostalgia Critic's review of Maximum Overdrive. :-)
Thanks LG and Shawn! Trust me, I'm working on it! This stuff stinks. I despise being on pain pills and I hate my legs constantly being soaked. :(
ReplyDeleteScott, I've heard he takes it to task! LOL! It deserves it.
ReplyDeleteTake care Andrew.
ReplyDeleteScott.
Thanks Scott!
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Andrew, pain pills suck. Unfortunately, when pain gets to intolerable levels it sucks even more.
ReplyDeleteIt does, Ben. When you reach that point, there is nothing you can do except take the pills and spend your time hoping they finally kick in and are enough. And I am useless either way -- trying to fight the pain or facing the sleepiness and spaciness of the pills. It really sucks knowing that there is so much else you could be doing if you weren't trying everything you can think of to reduce the pain.
ReplyDeleteThe other problem I've run into lately is that there are pills I need to reduce the swelling to stop things from spinning out of control. BUT those pills will trigger the pain and cause about six hours of burning pain. So it's a catch 22.
Oh I got around to watching 47 Ronin and I quite liked it. It wasn't great and it didn't really need the supernatural themes, but thankfully they were not overdone.
ReplyDeleteThe action looked quite well filmed, the storyline was easy to follow without being simple, it looked good and having Neo in a uniquely Japanese story didn't really screw it up as much as I thought it would. Having the movie in Japanese with English subtitles would have given it a more authentic look, but as it was aimed at a western audience they didn't seem to care about that, considering that it flopped, it would have improved the film IMHO.
And I really liked how they didn't cop out and change the basic story to get a happy ending to the love story.
Scott.
Scott, That was my general takeaway. The movie was good... not great... and I did quite like it. It could have been better. It would have been better as you say if they had done it in Japanese. I also liked the fact the fact they didn't try to impose a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteMy only problem w/ Godzilla was…
ReplyDeleteSPOILERS!!!
SPOILERS!!!
SPOILERS!!!
SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
… that they killed off the best character (aside from Mr. G) in the first half of the movie.
That ticked me off.
Miss you and your commentary so much Andrew. Every day it's 1) Instapundit 2) Poweline 3) Breitbart 4) Commentarama Films! No kidding, in that order.
ReplyDeletePlease get better. Thoughts and prayers going out to you.
Tuesday should have made you feel a lot better ;-)
Thanks Pike! I'm flattered!
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that I'm starting to feel better. The pain seems more isolated in my ankle and lower shin now, so I'm planning to get back to writing.
And yeah, Tuesday made me very happy!
Tuesday was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI recorded both the Fox News and CNN coverage of Tuesday night for posterity. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great news, Andrew!
ReplyDeleteA decade ago I had a back injury that kept me from working for almost a year. Either I was in so much pain that I literally couldn't stand up, or I was so loopy on Vicodin/Oxycontin that my IQ dropped 30 points and I couldn't do my job (systems analyst).
So I had a lot of free time on my hands. What was interesting was that during that time my tastes in movies and TV seemed to change. For example, I saw Godzilla (the 1998 version) on Netflix, and I actually *liked* it (in a MST3K kind of way). Then I started watching General Hospital on ABC and began rooting for Sonny and Carla to get back together. Then I was doing Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Looking back now, I cringe with embarrassment that I was ever in to all that stuff.
Get well soon, Andrew!