21

I went to the movies again last night, and saw 21. 21 was based on the true life story portrayed in the book "Bringing down the house." A book that I actually read years ago, when it first came out.

Spoilers included. Read at your own risk.

Anyone that knows Me, knows that I hate when people compare movies to the original concept book. So I will not compare them; nor will you see the words "The book was better" written with any meaning. I might however use examples from the book for illustrative purposes.

So, the movie was decent. I am an avid fan of beating anyone at their own game, and beeting the casino is especially appealing. So the base concept of a card counter's adventures in Las Vegas, is extremely appealing. However there was this forced plot that required Ben(the lead character) to HAVE to join the Blackjack team in order to try to pay for medical school. It all seemed rather contrived, in an attempt to make the protagonist seem more moral in the beginning, to be able to amplify his fall to the bottom, when he hits it. The truth is, people are greedy to begin with. By nature if given the option of having money, and not having money - all other motives aside - anyone with at least an 1/8 of a brain will choose having money.
With that in mind, you can begin to see why I think that aspect was forced.

Once you're into it though, it becomes a bit smoother of a ride. He studies, he counts cards, he wins money, he falls from grace and looses everything, he tries to get it back. Pretty formulaic, and unfortunately it ends on a happy note with him finding a way to pay for medical school anyway. Life is not like that. Further, I would have thought the casino industry would have a vested interest in him going out on the low note, as the real Ben did, in order to illustrate that card counters can't win in the long term. Which, while completely false, is what any good casino would want you to think, so as to not take them for everything they had.

The card counting system that was used in real life was represented fairly well, and I enjoyed reliving the experience of learning how it works, which I thought the director did a great job of conveying without getting bogged down in the details.

I especially liked the scene in the beginning with the numbers on the cards flashing like someone was taking a mental picture of them, and storing that information. Very nice touch. That being said however, the rest of the movies cinematography failed to wow. There was one particular fly-in over Vegas that was grainy and out of focus. I thought for a moment it might even had been stock footage from somewhere.

I'd say it's worth a matinée viewing which is about as high as I would go with a rating system, because seriously? how many movies are really worth 12 bucks for one viewing...

Superhero movie

So, I just got in from seeing superhero movie.
I must admit I was a little disappointed... There were some chortles here and there... but in all it wasn't nearly as good as some of the "genre" movies I've seen. Date movie sucked worser for sure. but any of the multitude of scary movies would beat this one down... I think the problem mainly stemmed from it being too close to the plot of Spiderman.

Had they incorporated a better mash of superheros, and perhaps mixed the storylines a bit more, I think it would have been much better...

Maybe It was supposed to be a direct rip on spiderman? If that's the case.. than it wasn't too bad.

all in all I'd say if you have that unlimited netflix thing, throw it on there with some low priority, and see it if there's nothing else on...

I shoulda went in to see 21.

Superman Returns in 3D on an IMAX!

Originally from MySpace

Friday, September 22, 2006

Superman Returns in 3D on an IMAX! Current mood: lethargic Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities Well, I went up to see my pookie bear last night. Left work at 4pm, and hauled ass up to Brooklyn. Got there around 5:15, and said my hello's and we were off to Manhattan Island. We had to change trains but it was a fun ride. During rush hour near the wall street stop, the tran was very packed, we laughed a bit, and this girl pushed he ass up on my arm. Nothing meant by it, it was just very tight, but it was funny anyway. Got to the west side, hopped off the 2 and ascended onto Broadway, we wondered about a bit looking for a place to eat dinner, and finally settled on a little pizzeria. In which we did not eat pizza. LOL. Dinner was ok, but the waitress, a tall redhead with a russian accept kept smiling at both of us, Kris and I giggled about it, and she offered to go get the waitresses phone number... LOL. On the way to the theater, there was a huge line. we hoped it wasn't the line for tickets, but I had my secret weapon, Fandango provided me with ticket before I left work.. Ha! Turns out the line was for "All the Kings Men" and didn't even go near the box office.. oh well... un-Ha! So to the Imax theater, up 3 escalators each one longer than the previous, the last one was like 100 steps if it stopped. Crazy. all that, and we ended up at the BOTTOM of the IMAX. We got our polorized glasses for some 3d goodness, and took a seat Then they make the announcement that only 4 scenes are in 3D and they'll let us know when to put on and take off the glasses... oh well. at least it was on the IMAX screen... HUGE!! With that kick ass sound system.. They didn't do the schpeel where they light up the speakers behind the screen. That was a bit disappointing, but as for the movie I take issues with some of the fundamental premises it broke in the SuperMan universe. but I won't spoil it for all y'alls. Train ride home was fun.. we were the only white people on the 3 train... I guess Kris was a little freaked.. but no big deal to me, people are people, I'm afraid of all of them regardless of the color of their skin.. LOL. I got home at little after 2AM. I was shit ass tired. I don't think I'll try that again.. next time we'll rent a movie... Rentals allow for more cuddling and kanoodling anyway. later, -allenkll Currently listening : Back in the High Life By Steve Winwood Release date: By 01 October, 1990 5:07 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Originally From MySpace

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Current mood: satisfied Fun movie. Little strange in spots, but it is very Wil Farrel. If you liked Anchor Man, You'll love this one. The story is a bit predictable at times, but the details are definately not. If you can catch a Matinee I would suggest this one. Also if you are a nascar fan, it will be fun. The Breakfast club. The movie not the club in old bridge... Watched that one tonight... it never gets old, even if the actors do. anyway... that's all I have to say about that. 12:26 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos