Several people I know have seen the preview for the upcoming movie 2012 and have said things like “That movie’s gonna be terrible”, “That’s just over the top ridiculous.”, or “That looks so lame.”; but I’m of the opinion that impending disaster movies are exciting and fun to watch and I’m kind of looking forward to this addition to the genre.  After all it’s based on actual events that are likely to happen.

To those that don’t know, the Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and to date the Mayan calendar has never been incorrect.  It signaled events like the invention of the piano,  the Grover Cleavland mayorship of Buffalo,  and the Crystal Pepsi failure.  In fact Nostradamus declared in quatrain 89 line 3:

Thou thinkest me full of it?, cast your gaze on the Mayan clock! - Nostradamus*

Crystal Pepsi Fate Fortold

Upon closer examination of the date, scientists tell us that there will be all sorts of astronomical alignments.  I’m trying to recall what I heard from a documentary I saw on television awhile back about the subject.  I think it said something like Ursa Major will line up with Jupiter, the Milky Way Galaxy will be in perfect alignment with the sun, Orion will mount Taurus and begin to swing his sword, and Bonnie Tyler will again experience a “total eclipse of the heart”.  I think the show ended with an infomercial selling a 2012 disaster preparedness kit.

Mayan Calendar "page 2" discovery, "Ha, those Mayan sure gave us all a fright" - Some scientist

So news flash: disaster strikes all mankind on December 21, 2012.  The big question is, what happens on December 22, 2012?  Does the universe start contracting?  Does the earth enter a second Ice Age?  Does an archeologist discover a “second page” to the Mayan calendar?  Perhaps a deus ex machina? Enter the upcoming documentary film 2012 staring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Amanda Peet.  I mean if the world is going to align itself with Mars, Saturn and Algol and then disintegrate on all of us why not make a blockbuster film to commemorate the event?

2012 promises to be a disaster movie of the greatest pedigree, attempting feats that other disaster movies just didn’t have the stomach for.  For instance, has anyone ever attempted to destroy Los Angeles and crumble the remains into the ocean?  I haven’t seen it.  Independence Day blew up the U.S. Bank Tower in the middle of town with a big blue laser, which was cool to watch, but was not as gutsy as the mass destruction displayed in the 2012 preview.  A few movies have destroyed the planet outright, but I don’t think I’ve seen a destructive tale presented in such vivid detail as the upcoming 2012.

I think a recent post I saw on YouTube might have said it best, stating simply:

movies gonna be epic - PredatoryEagle101

The only thing I can think to add to P’s assessment is this: Few people realize that when pricked with a needle, the word “awesome” bleeds the movie 2012.

So is the movie over-the-top ridiculous? I suppose it might be, but let me ask you this: when you’re whacking at a piñata do you want to merely break a hole in the side and let the candy trickle out, or do you want to land a colossal blow and see hundreds of pieces of candy expand into the air and then fall to the ground?

*I just made this up, but the rest of this commentary is spot on.**

**Not really.

The Mysterious Disney Vault

As a father of a young daughter I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the Disney Vault.  Every time we’re at the store I’m always curious as to see what new movie has made it out of the mysterious vault and on to the shelves, and with all the mystery surrounding the vault, one thing is relatively certain…Song of the South will never be released on DVD.

I was in the store just this past week and I saw what appeared to be a DVD copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I got a bit excited, because my daughter really enjoys this movie (we’ve checked out the library copy.  The library copy is a bit sketch and doesn’t play very well; skips and stops and what have you.). Upon closer inspection of the DVD box I finally figured out that the box was just something you could bring to the front of the store and buy to reserve your copy of a new “Diamond Edition” of the Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The actual movie is set to come out on Blue Ray/DVD October 6th.

Diamond Edition watch

The Diamond Edition!?  Diamond Edition?  I guess someone had to be the first to be ballsy enough to go there.  I think up until now a product had to be covered in actual diamonds to be considered a diamond edition.  To even contemplate the creation of something as flawless and brilliant as to be classified as a “Diamond” edition baffles and astounds.  The mere attempt is awe inspiring.  I’m guessing credit cards, video games and gym memberships will follow suit.  I’m also guessing the Diamond Edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will undoubtedly clean my house for me, scratch my back, make me a tuna sandwich at the exact moment I begin to have a craving for one and complete me in all areas in which my life is lacking.  Maybe at the very least the new “Diamond Edition” will clean my DVD player and allow me to change Snow White’s hairstyle.  Diamond Edition.  Diamond Edition, are you kidding me?  Where else is there to go beyond Diamond, the hardest natural material known to man.  This Disney Blue Ray/DVD crafted to “Diamond”esque quality is sure to knock the socks off of both you and me.

Socks gone!

Experiencing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through the eyes of Sleepy Dwarf

So what will this “Diamond” Edition have that previous versions did not?  Well, I found a list of some of the features here, but I think Disney has some extra surprises up their sleeve for this “Diamond” of a film release.  Below is list of features sure to be on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition Blue Ray/DVD.

How about viewing the movie from the perspective of each character in the film?  Until now I’ve merely sat and watched Disney’s first animated full length feature film.  Once the Diamond Edition comes out that’s all gonna change.  I’d like to experience the story unfold as seen through the eyes of each individual character, a feature undoubtedly a part of the version to end all versions.

What's this guys deal?

The new edition will have fully animated back-stories for each of the characters.  What’s the back story for that dude sent to kill Snow White?  Is his name Henry?  What does he do in his spare time?  What are his hobby’s?  Does he like his toilet paper to roll over or under?  Rest assured all will be revealed in the larger than life “Diamond” Edition.

Every aspect of the production process will be a part of the new version.  What did Walt Disney have for breakfast on the 52nd day of production?  Was it a rainy day when animator Robert Stokes drove to work on production day 18?  What color was his car?  Did the brakes in his car stick?  All these will be answered.  “Bah, surely not!” says you.  “This isn’t the platinum edition.”, says I.  “Why did you go all pirate talk just then?”, says you.  “I digress.”, says I.

The big question is, how long will we be afforded this new bejeweled edition of the Disney classic?  Hopefully the new edition will be allowed to stay on shelves for more than a few weeks, but with Disney who really knows.  We may just get one shot at this and then it’ll be back into the vault for 5 years?  10 years?  If you have a clue, then your guess is better than mine.

This summer has been a fun one for movies.  I’ve had the opportunity to see four films at the theater so far: Star Trek, Up, Terminator Salvation, and Transformers 2.  Some I’ve seen with family and some I’ve had to go to with a group of manly men on outings my wife has dubbed man-dates.  Here’s my thoughts on the movies I’ve seen thus far this summer…

Star Trek

The first movie I saw this summer was J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek. I really enjoyed the film. J. J. Abrams take on Star Trek’s Original Series is a very polished, exciting thrill ride. There were a few twists to the storyline that deviated from the original that might have left a bad taste in Star Trek purist mouths, but I enjoyed the story.

Leonard Nimoy plays a time-traveler in J. J. Abrams' Star Trek

Leonard Nimoy reprises his role as Spock. He plays an older, time-traveling version of Zachary Quinto. Nimoy is the only star I noticed from the original series to be in the new film. I was pleased with the new actors selected to play the roles of the main characters. Each of the original series characters are represented…including Captain Christopher Pike, who was the Captain of the Enterprise in the 1965 original series pilot. One casting selection we didn’t quite understand was Winona Ryder playing the role of Spock’s mother, a choice that seemed a bit odd considering the fact that Winona is not much older than Zachary Quinto.

Star Trek is as good a sci-fi action film as I’ve seen in several years. I’m looking forward to seeing the next installment.

Up

Disney/Pixar's Up

The next movie I saw this summer was Disney/Pixar’s Up and had me tearing up in the first 10 mins. This is definitely the most “adult” of the Pixar films I’ve seen, but the adult themes are presented in a way that children are unlikely to pick up on. As is always the case with Pixar films, Up is a visual delight. The story is heart-felt and sweet and the characters are dynamic and believable.

You may think from my description thus far that the movie is some sort of animated Steel Magnolias cry fest, but that’s not what the movie is at all.  Sure there are some touching moments that make you fight back tears, but much of the movie is funny and exciting.  Death-defying chase scenes, talking dogs, exotic locations, a zeppelin and a flying house: it’s all in there.  Pixar’s Up is the complete package and my favorite movie of the summer so far.

Terminator: Salvation

The next film I saw this summer was Terminator Salvation.  This terminator film is supposedly the first of three installments and is a follow-up to the first three terminator films.  That is to say that this film comes after Terminator films 1-3 in the timeline and Los Angeles lies in post-apocalyptic ruin.  I was a little nervous going to this movie after seeing that the film received a dismal 32% on RottenTomatoes.com, but after seeing this one, I’m anxious to see the next two.  There’s plenty of action in this one and the story is a good fit for the Terminator universe.

A few special effects and camera sequences really caught my eye.  I recall a sequence in which one of the main characters, John Conner (Christian Bale), flies away in a helicopter, crashes, turns upside down in the chopper, and then crawls out of the wreckage.  The sequence is filmed in one continuous shot and looks pretty slick.

Marcus wants to know what the H is going on

Although Christian Bale receives top billing for this film, I interpreted Sam Worthington‘s character Marcus to be the main character and, while I thought Christian Bale did a fine job playing John Conner, I enjoyed Sam Worthington’s Marcus storyline more than John Conner’s.  Marcus is a death row inmate who was executed but awakens in the future to find himself in a post-apocalyptic America.  He begins to seek answers to what has happened both to him and his surroundings.  Sam Worthington does an excellent job.

There were a few “Oh, come on.” moments in the film, and a few more things that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.  Some parts of the movie seemed a bit choppy and disjointed and some of the dialogue left a little to be desired, but all in all I enjoyed the film and am looking forward to how these three newer films will mesh with the storyline of the first three.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

The last movie I saw in the theaters was Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen staring Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox.  Nervous again because of the dismally low ratings (20% on the tomatometer!), I braced myself for the worst.  Having done so, I can honestly say the movie was about what I expected.

There were disjointed scenes and some sloppy dialogue, and on more than one occasion the main characters seemed to put themselves through superfluous danger, for no other reason than to make the film 20 minutes longer and contain 35 more explosions.  At one point in the film one of the heroes, a butcher from Manhattan, climbs up one of the pyramids in Egypt with a radio and is following a behemoth robot.  He uses the radio to phone the captain of an aircraft carrier.  After some witty banter (<– sarcasm here) about regulations and going against protocol, our hero requests that a missile be launched; the target being the tip of the pyramid.  The captain of the carrier, effectively says, “No, problemo.” and orders the launch.  Now, I suppose I can get past the fact that a Manhattan butcher just successfully requested a missile launch from a U.S. Naval vessel.  Maybe the butcher and the captain are old buddies and the captain owed the butcher a favor.  Maybe the butcher’s successful missile request lies in the dialogue that I might have missed in the midst of laser and explosion noise, but I still was hung up on the fact that the guy is climbing up the pyramid following this robot with a radio in his hand.  Why did he have to climb up the pyramid?  Why couldn’t he just sit in one of the nice (Autobot) transformer cars and radio in the missile strike.  Again, maybe the reason lies in the dialogue that I missed in the midst of explosions and gun fire.

Optimus Prime trucking through 2+ hours of movie mahem

Transformers 2 is long.  At one point in the film, after this elaborate set of explosions, chasing, fighting and all out mayhem our heroes escape to safety.  You wipe the sweat off your brow, let out a sigh of relief and then realize, “Ah, crap we’re barely halfway through the movie!”  There was a 20 minute portion of the film where the two main characters are just running from point A to point B and dodging explosions, bullets and laser beams the whole way.  During this part of the film I thought to myself, “Shouldn’t there be a transformer with them to help them through this?”

Train wreck or two robots fighting?

Another gripe I have about this movie is that the robot fight scenes are a bit hard to follow.  No doubt the fight scenes between two robots are way cool, but there were moments when I wasn’t perfectly sure what the flip I was watching and it just looked like a bunch of metal pieces flying around on the screen.  “Did Optimus just get the tar beaten out of him or was that the other robot?”

All-in-all though the movie, as I said before, was about what I expected.  It was my least favorite of the movies I’ve seen in the theater this summer.  However, if they make another one I will in all likelihood go see it if I have an opportunity.  Transformers 2, while layered with cheese and goofiness, is a high energy thrill ride full of explosions and impressive action sequences, and it has cool robots that transform into cars and jet planes.

Next Up…

I hope to see a few more movies before the summer’s out.  I’m looking forward to seeing a movie called Moon starring Sam Rockwell.  It’s about a man who is completely alone, living on the far side of the moon.  He is finishing a three year contract to mine Helium 3.  Two weeks from his return to earth and family he seemingly begins to lose his mind.  After seeing the preview, the movie reminded me a bit of the first Alien.  I’d also like to see The Hangover, but that might have to wait till DVD.  I hear it’s pretty funny.  The next Harry Potter film and Judd Apatow’s Funny People also look like possibilities with promise.

I guess we might be the last family in America to try Netflix but we saw the free trial deal and decided to give it a try. We figured this might save us money.

Our family’s history for saving money when it comes to movie watching has followed an evolutionary process. We started out renting movies, but we always, and without fail turned our movies in late and paid these outrageous late fees. So we decided, like most of America decided (see fig. 1 & 2) that we’ll just buy movies we like so we don’t have to pay a late fee. Checkmate, Blockbuster. That worked out for awhile but then we got to thinking, “Wait, what are we doing?” Enter Netflix.

So far we’ve seen, “Thank You For Smoking“, “Darkon“, and tonight it’s “Eagle vs. Shark” and have really enjoyed Netflix and the absence of late fees.  This might be the end of the “saving money on movies” evolutionary train.