This day and age, I'm looking for two things in entertainment like movies and TVs:
- Does it make me dumber?
- Does it lose me half way in?
Sorry I can't have a nice table here... but here goes:
G.I. Joe (IMDB)- Yup, made me 15 years dumber
- Yup, lost in 10 minutes... and then entertains me for 2 minutes... and then loses me again
Not recommended. And please, no sequel!!! Just go an kill bad guys already... we don't need the romantic relationships that don't look real anyway.
Sherlock Holmes (IMDB)- No, did not make me dumber; didn't make me smarter either
- No, movie kept me entertained throughout
Recommended for 2 hours of solid entertainment.
Downey Jr. is slowly proving himself to be a pretty good actor. Jude Law gives a fine performance. Not sure where Rachel
McAdams was during the movie, though she occasionally gives some fresh air to the script. Sure, I'll go see the sequel as well!
十月圍城 Bodyguards and Assassins (IMDB)- No, did not make me dumber. I felt slightly more patriotic after the movie... for 30 minutes. Please note that this is fiction and not real history.
- Yes, sometimes it gets repetitive as people fight and die. I liked the build up... but the final 10 fight scenes... couldn't it have been 5?
Recommended. I'll overlook the fight scenes and skip to parts I liked: each martyr died for their own passion. The general to reinstall the family glory; the monk to reconnect with his faith and to spit in the policeman's face; the
general's daughter to avenge her father's death; the gambling spy to be remembered by his child; the
begger to see the women he loves but cannot have (um, yup, that's his mom... don't ask. I don't understand either.); the servant to protect his master; the master to protect democracy; the assassin (yup, he dies too, surprise!) to pay final tribute to his country. They all died for a different reason that they thought was worth dying for. Good stuff.
I also want to note those who didn't die: the tycoon, the organizer, the revolutionary, the police commander... yup... I think it's a subtle dig at those in powerful seats. You die for passion if you are a follower, and the "leaders" will succeed with your blood. It's always worked that way, no?
(By the way, Leon
Lai got a bad rap in the movie. Not sure why. He wasn't good, but he wasn't that bad either)
Avatar IMAX 3D (IMDB)- Yes, made me dumber, especially the part where the natives start chanting like humans in Matrix: Reloaded (And Morphius's speech was practically copied)
- Yes, I kept waiting for the final fight I almost passed out in my seat. Did it have to be 2.5 hours long? Couldn't it be 1.5 hours and have 1 more show fitted in? Plus, IMAX 3D isn't ideal from row 5.
Recommended for the
IMAX 3D experience -
much better than Up. Truly remarkable... very realistic... and the 3D was sometimes mind blowing. I just wish it were shorter and not that stupid. This is corporate America working here... they would have wiped out the
indigenous people before trying scientists and then resorting to the military. Plus I don't think 20,000 people with bows and arrows would have been a match for the para-military men anyway. And wouldn't they just come back with bigger guns?
Arg. My head hurts from thinking. Wait a minute, why do I have to think for this movie?
Mad Men (IMDB)- No, made me think a bit... but not too much. Not like The Wire.
- Yes, I had some lapses. Sometimes I think it's just too subtle about its messages.
Recommended... mostly because Season 2 is said to be unbelievable. Season 1 really wasn't bad, but I can't pinpoint any particularly good parts either. Love the development of Don Draper from director to partner... Peggy Olsen from secretary to writer (and mother!)... Pete Campbell from manager to, uh, manager... Betty Draper's spirals... the relationship between Joan Hollaway and Roger Sterling... the strangeness and oddness of Cooper... the parent relationships within the Campbells (both Pete and Trudy)... all the family relationships... all very interesting. But subtle.
Looking forward to season 2.
HK TV
- Yup, most def makes me dumber... even the "news", which concentrates on so many meaningless local stuff
- Yup, I cannot keep my attention for more than 2 minutes
Not recommended. AH. I need ESPN, which would have drawn a no, doesn't make me dumber nor smarter and no, will not lose attention.
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