Controversial Opinions: Part 1

We all have our little quirks of opinion that we find few people agree with. We find ourselves going against the general consensus of the critical community. We find ourselves going against popular opinion. These are some such cases for me.

1. Corpse Bride is as good as Nightmare Before Christmas.

Of all of Tim Burton's films, Corpse Bride is the most controversial. Many feel like the simplistic storyline and a lack of memorable songs made it disappointing and lame. I disagree. The songs aren't memorable, that is true, but the movie is very enjoyable to watch, despite a somewhat simple story. There's a lot of effort in the film, that comes out beautifully. Nightmare Before Christmas also had a simple, albeit original and interesting plot, but I never found myself invested in the characters as I was in Corpse Bride, and many of the jokes fall flat. However, Nightmare has the music on its side, with "Jack's Lament", "What is this?" and virtually every other song in the movie virtually being a classic. They're both good, but I'm sure a lot of people hate to even compare the two.

2. Beetlejuice is lame

Another Tim Burton film, I never really got Beetlejuice. Nothing really happens. We leave the film in the same situation that it begins. Michael Keaton is fine as always, but not stand-out. Alec Baldwin turns in one of the worst performances of his career. Most of the jokes fall flat, and the ghosts and stuff really aren't that creative. It's still an okay movie, but it's far from ever being considered a classic in my book.

3. Miyazaki is not all that.

To be fair, I've only seen four of his films. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and Princess Mononoke (1997) and Castle in the Sky (1986). First of all, the animation is not all that. Sure, it's much better than most Japanese animation, and the don't do a lot of the shortcuts they do in those anime (like using excessive key frames, speed lines, etc.) but it's clear they needed more in-betweeners, it always looks quite stilted. Furthermore, and worse, the stories are confusing. Maybe it's because I don't know Japanese mythology or something, but the second halves of his films always involve some weird setting with weird stuff happening for no reason. Furthermore, the characters aren't that like-able or interesting, and they certainly aren't original. The exception to this was Ponyo, where I liked our two mains and Sosuke's mom, but the other characters in his other films are completely forgettable. Of the four films of his I've seen, Ponyo is my favorite. It's the most straight-forward, the most well explained and the least confusing, and (as mentioned before), you actually care about the characters. Even so, Mr. Miyazaki has yet to impress me, although I have yet to see many of his films.

Foreign Film Remakes

It's no secret that Hollywood isn't known for originality these days. Most movies are adapted from books, this is nothing new, but now more and more remakes and sequels are showing up all over. This is common knowledge, but what isn't is that many seemingly original films are actually remakes of foreign films.

Americans don't seem to like foreign films very much. They consistently fail to make even a slight blip on the box office radar. They're typically only seen by film buffs, so most people haven't heard of them. This makes them prime remake material. I recently found out that Dinner for Schmucks, coming out this weekend is based on the French film "The Dinner Game" from 1998. So I knew, I had to make this list.

Here's a short list of the most notable ones from the last 10 years:

China
The Eye (2008) from The Eye (2002)
The Departed (2006) from Internal Affairs (2002)

Denmark
Catch that Kid (2004) from Klatretosen (2002)
Brothers (2009) from Brodre (2004)

French
Taxi (2004) from Taxi (1998)

German
No Reservations (2007) from Bella Martha (2001)

Japan
Dark Water (2005) from Dark Water (2002)
The Grudge (2004) from Ju-On: The Grudge (2003)
One Missed Call (2008) from Chakushin Ari (2004)
The Ring (2001) from Ringu (1998)
Shall we Dance (2004) from Shall we Dansu (1996)

Korea
The Lake House (2006) from Il Mare (2000)
The Uninvited (2009) from A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Mirrors (2009) from Into the Mirror (2003)

Norway
Insomnia (2002) from Insomnia (1997)

Spain
Vanilla Sky (2001) from Abre Los Ojos (1997)
Quarantine (2008) from REC (2007)

Thailand
Shutter (2008) from Shutter (2004)
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) from Bangkok Dangerous (1999)

Sweden
Let Me in (2010) from Let the Right one In (2008)

and also some older ones you might not expect.

The Birdcage
Jungle 2 Jungle
The Parent Trap
Weekend at Bernie's
True Lies
Three men and a Baby

Thoughts on Comic Con News-So Far

So for those of you living under an iceberg in the north sea, trapped in a nursing home at the bottom of the ocean, or stuck in the delusion that Two and a Half Men is a good show, Comic-con is currently going on right now.

The first thing I want to talk about is Mega-Mind. Dreamworks Animation's new movie has done little to excite me...until now. A 4 minute preview revealed a lot (dare I say too much) about the movie's premise and now I really want to see this movie. Without spoiling anything, there is a very dark, very audacious twist. I think you should go see the film without knowing it, so I suggest avoiding trailers and previews from here on out, but dang, they went there.

No.2, the new teaser for Pirates of the Caribbean 4. When I say teaser, I really just mean Jack Sparrow talking to the camera for about two minutes...somehow this managed to excite me. This was really surprising, because I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE At World's End. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm guessing nostalgia is what makes me want to see this, that and the hope that they can redeem themselves.

"Teaser" for Pirates 4

And now to the controversial stuff. The full cast of the Avengers was finally revealed.

Nick Fury-Samuel L. Jackson
Tony Stark/Iron Man-Robert Downey Jr.
Black Widow-Scarlett Johannsen.
Thor-Chris Hemsworth
Captain America-Chris Evans
The Hulk-Mark Ruffalo
Hawkeye-Jeremy Renner

So...the only real surprise here is Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, which I'm unsure about. What I am sure about, is that this movie will SUCK. Why? Because two of the movies it will follow, Thor and Captain America will SUCK. The Incredible Hulk SUCKED. Iron Man 2 was...mediocre. I have no faith in this movie what-so-ever. Mark my words, it will be a disaster of epic proportions, looked back upon with the same disdain as Batman and Robin and Superman 4.

Breaking Even in Film: More movies cross the line!

Get him to the Greek
Production Budget: $40 Million
Domestic Gross: $60 million
Overseas: $21 million
Worldwide: $81 million

Get him to the Greek was a decidedly middling comedy, especially when you consider it's from heavyweight Judd Apatow. Still, it managed to make its money back, and it has more coming in overseas.

Predators
Production Budget: $40 million
Domestic Gross: $44 million
Overseas: $37 million
Worldwide: $81 million

After 14 days in theaters, Predators has crossed the mark to make its money back. Despite a very steep drop last weekend, I think Predators still has some legs left, especially overseas. Look for a sequel to be announced any minute now.

Despicable Me
Production Budget: $69 million
Domestic Gross: $138 million
Overseas: $12 million
Worldwide: $150 million

Despicable Me managed to defy predictions earlier this month and is holding onto its glory. It's made its money back, even before you take overseas numbers into account and could be considered the breakout hit of the summer. Obviously it's just getting started overseas, so by the end of its run I wouldn't put $400 million worldwide out of its reach. I'm still surprised they made this film for under $70 million, but boy is Universal happy with this!

Inception: Best Movie Ever?

Just (literally just now) got back from Inception. Wow. Just...wow.

Anything I say about the movie will practically be a spoiler. Suffice to say. Wow. GO SEE THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW! Actually, you can wait for DVD, because even on DVD this movie will still be awesome. Not one for the kids though, they will be confused, and rightly so (as a matter of fact some adults might find themselves lost at certain points).

What can I even say? The script is amazingly layered with more twists and turns than any roller coaster ever built. That's actually a pretty good metaphor for this movie. While many compare your typical action fair to a roller coaster, this movie is a roller-coaster of the mind. The acting is superb from all parties and enhances the story greatly, the direction is solid and the effects are all great, but story is the key player here.

The only thing keeping this from being the perfect film, is the last three seconds. Instead of the satisfying ending we all want, something happens that keeps it away from us. I will say that the final twist remains in the spirit of the film, but for me personally it felt like a slap in the face.

My final rating is still 4/4 stars, but it could have been a 4.1. OR COULD IT! We may never know!!!!

Emmy Noms, who should win and who will win!

None among us is immune to flattery. So when I saw this comment in reply to me on the comment section of tvbythenumbers.com, I was ecstatic.

"You know, a friend of mine was reading the Emmy threads last night and commented that you are the smartest guy on this site. I can see what she means. ;)"

Insert the tossing of roses and thunderous applause.

Needless to say, I was/am ecstatic, and decided to do my own blog post on the subject.

I'm not going to talk about dramas, because, I really only watch 2-4 of them, depending on whether you count Psych and Chuck as dramas or comedies. Nothing I say will really be meaningful here. So, onto our first category.

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominations
-Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory)-Shoot me
-Larry David (Curb your Enthusiasm)-Wild Card
-Matthew Morrison (Glee)-What is he doing here?
-Tony Shalhoub (Monk)-Could Win
-Steve Carell (The Office)-My Pick for the Win
-Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)-Will Probably Win

Should've been Nominated
-Aziz Ansari (Parks & Recreation, although he may have submitted as supporting)

Okay, let's look at these noms. First off, I don't watch the Big Bang Theory, but from what I've seen, it's garbage. Anyone could do what Jim Parsons does. If he wins it will be a travesty. Next. I don't watch Curb your Enthusiasm, so I can't really say here, but from clips I've seen it seems like a one-note performance for Larry David, I could be wrong, but whatever. Matthew Morrison of Glee doesn't deserve to be here. There's nothing special about his performance, he's definitely the straight-man of the show, so I can't imagine why he's here, except that the Emmy's love Glee. If he wins, the Emmy's will go down another peg in my book. Tony Shalhoub is sort of a predictable choice at this point, but he hasn't won in a few years. Since this was Monk's final season he could pull off a win, and he would probably deserve it. Although, he's been in that role so long he could do it in his sleep. Steve Carell hasn't won in a few years, which is a shame. I think he delivers the most consistently great performance among any of the nominees, despite a lack-luster year for the show overall. He deserves the win, but probably won't get it due to the show's overall quality. Alec Baldwin from 30 Rock really isn't that great. He's not bad, he does what he needs to, but he's rarely outstanding. Still, he's always believable and funny and isn't a bad choice. Critics have been less ecstatic about 30 Rock this year though, so he could potentially lose out. I'm not sure Aziz Ansari counts as a lead, but I would've liked to see him nominated. He pulls off the total jerk who thinks he's cool perfectly, and knowing what the guy is like in real life makes it all the more funny. Maybe next year Aziz, maybe next year you can bump one of these white guys out of the running.

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominations
-Lea Michelle (Glee)-Shoot me.
-Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (New Adventures of Old Christine)-Wild card
-Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)-Could Win
-Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation)-My Pick for the Win
-Tina Fey (30 Rock)-Will probably win
-Toni Colette (United States of Tara)-What is she doing here?

Lea Michelle may be a good singer, but she can't act for beans. She over-acts so badly you'd swear she was acting like she was a bad actress. She's not, she is that bad. If she wins well, you get the idea. I don't watch New Adventures of Old Christine, Nurse Jackie or United States of Tara, but any one of them could win. Apparently, United States of Tara has been a down season for quality, Colette probably won't win it. Tina Fey will probably win, but my pick is definitely Amy Poehler. Amy has turned in a great performance this year, goofy while still compelling, sweet and sour, pitiable yet reliable, she's a joy to watch. That's not to say Tina Fey is bad, but I think she's a much better writer than actress. New Adventures of Old Christine was canceled this year, so Julia-Louis Dreyfuss could upset, and I think that would be cool, even though I've never watched the show. I'd just like to see her tell CBS to "shove it".

Outstanding Comedy Series (Best Picture basically)
Nominations
-Curb Your Enthusiasm-Wild Card
-Glee-Shoot Me
-Modern Family-Could Win
-Nurse Jackie-What is this doing here?
-The Office-Lip Service
-30 Rock-My Pick to win, will probably Win

Snubbed: Parks & Recreation, Community, Psych (although Psych might qualify as Drama)

Since my pick, Parks & Recreation was snubbed in a dastardly plot against quality, I have to go with 30 Rock for the win, and win it most likely will. However, Modern Family has the buzz on its side, and could pull it off. Modern Family has been funny, but it's not rofl hilarious. If it won, it would be a fair choice though. With Curb your Enthusiasm in its last season, it could cause an upset, but I can't speak for the quality of the show. Glee shouldn't even qualify as a comedy. It's a soap opera with a few good jokes and some musical numbers. If it wins, well, you get the idea. Haven't watched Nurse Jackie, but I'm pretty sure it falls more on the drama side of things, won't win. The Office is only here because of the strength of previous seasons, not because of this one. It's here out of habit, not actual quality. If it wins, I will be shocked. Now to the snubs. I am so heartbroken over Parks & Rec getting ignored that I won't say anymore about it. Community is also surprising, as that would've been my second choice. Psych I love, but it probably didn't really deserve it, and could be a drama. But, to quote Phil Collins, they'll be in my heart, no matter what they say.

So there's my views, and this is probably the longest blog post I've ever done. Next year parks & rec! Next year!

Writing for Box Office Prophets?

Don't get your hopes up but I'm writing a sample review for BOP.com, I'm hoping it gets in. Cross your fingers. I'll post the review here later.

Here's there website. www.boxofficeprophets.com