The first subject I shall broach are the summer movies that will hit the DVD market soon. These were the 3 heavy weights from the summer movie line up. Note: Transformers 2 was not even worth mentioning. Just because a movie does well at the box office does not mean that it was good. It was nothing of note and failed miserably at concocting anything close to a decent storyline and I feel like an idiot to have seen it.
(500) Days of Summer
I encourage everyone who enjoys clever and witty writing coupled with superlative acting to see this film. It has everything one could look for in a movie: great music, a dashing star in Zooey Deschanel, and humor when it is needed. This movie sums up a past relationship of mine that was so parallel to the plot of the movie that I wonder if the writer was spying on me. Every guy has been in the relationship that does not have a "title" and that is exactly what Tom and Summer have. She steals his heart and manages to slowly tear it apart. I found myself falling for her as she was purely intoxicating to look at as well to hear speak. Perhaps one of the greatest lines I have ever heard that I can take and apply to my life; Tom asks Summer why none of her ex-boyfriends have ever worked out and she says, "Well, what always happens?...life." I think back to that line and perhaps makes sense in many ways than one can imagine. Perhaps the scene that made me respect Joseph Gordon-Levitt (not sure how to spell it) as an actor is the scene in the movie in which he looks into Summer's eyes and you can tell that he is so heartbroken, so crushed, so crumbled up inside that he wants burst into tears and lose himself b/c of what has happened.
Overall, it is a great movie that I saw twice in theaters and will buy as soon as it comes to DVD. It should catapult these two actors, especially Deschanel, into the in-demand actors in Hollywood.
The Hurt Locker
If you follow movie critics, then I do not need to say much about this one. It is everything the critics make it out to be and I could go on about Jeremy Renner's complex character. My only critiques were that it was about 15 minutes too long and it did drag through the plot for some parts of the movie. The part in which one of their brothers in arms gets captured and his two friends must save him, especially Renner since it was him whom they followed, almost does not seem as near as intense as the dismantling of a bomb. This one is a must see and should be the leading contender for an array of gold statues.
District 9
Where to begin with this one? This movie is utterly mind-blowing in every sense of the word. It begins establishing the allegorical overtones and by showing the area, District 9, in which the aliens have been relegated to. The documentary style beginning is quite effective in conveying what exactly is going on in Joburg and gives the movie a realistic feel. From the time Wikus is infected and ultimately has to turn to Christopher Johnson is nothing short of spectacular sequence and anticipation of what will happen next. So the question should be asked, "When and if Christopher Johnson will keep his promise and return to help Wikus and get his people out of the newly formed District 10?" I read an article as I was searching for reviews of the movie for a prof this past week that they will not rush the sequel and will take time to carefully formulate a plot for "District 10." I tip my hats to them because most would already have penned the sequel in an attempt to keep the dollars coming. I expect the sequel to be nothing short of spectacular. Also of note, this movie has made the main star, Sharlto Copley, a huge star as he will be appearing in the upcoming "The A-Team."