Movies – Page 246 – StuffWeLike

Day Watch, best sequel of the summer so far?

2007 has been called the summer of Sequels, with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, 28 Weeks Later, Ocean’s Thirteen, Evan Almighty, and so forth. There are more sequels than you can shake a stick at, and few of which have faired as well as the originals did critically. Considering all of this one would be discouraged, right?

Well last week a Russian fantasy movie based on a series of books, somewhat akin to The Lord of the Ring novels, was released. The second movie in the series, Day Watch(or Dnevnoi Dozor in it’s native Russian), continues a year or so after the first movie(Night Watch). While Pirates required you to remember much of the second movie, Day Watch does no such thing. Sure, watching Night Watch will help you understand a bit, but going directly to the theater and seeing Day Watch won’t leave you in the dark completely.

The movie itself is solid, and quite an epic. The story is nicely laid out, not too confusing that you made more sense of Pirates 3, and there wasn’t so much in the movie that it made Spidey 3 seems small. Much of the movie, despite not delving much into the abilities of the Dark and Light ones, shows off a unique look at magic within the movie’s universe. All of this ties greatly with the surprisingly well done visual effects used in the movie.

Each visual effect blends beautifully from faux to real nearly flawlessly without looking fake. Things like a Parrot turning into a human being in a cheesy 80s suit, or a flying crow shifting into a sword wielding magical warrior midflight seem of the norm. While high paced action scenes like a sports car driving along the side of a building, or a rain of small children’s aluminum balls destroying much of Moscow seem to out shine even the biggest budget titles. Surprisingly enough as well the usage of subtitles in the movie is one of the most dynamic additions to the movie. While they can often be a bore with other movies, Fox has used the addition of subtitles to interact with the movie’s actions and scenes in an entertaining easter egg hunt.

Sequels come and go, while some leave a sour aftertaste, but Day Watch just further sweetens the movie franchise. However, as entertaining as the movie is, you might have trouble finding it in theaters. Fox gave it a very limited release, with a mere 2 theaters in my native SoCal showing it. It might be best to wait for the wider release later this month, or even the DVD release.

Watch Naruto, Play Naruto

To coincide with the theatrical release of Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow, Namco Bandai announced today that a sneak-peak of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2, both for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, will be unveiled at select theaters across the country on June 6.

Gamers and fans of the video game franchise in the top 10 media markets will have the exclusive opportunity to experience first hand Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 before their much anticipated North American release. Theaters participating in the exclusive engagement on June 6, 2007 are:

* Downtown Disney 12 – Anaheim, CA
* Bay Street 16 – Emeryville, CA
* Horton Plaza – San Diego, CA
* Pavillions 15 – Denver, CO
* Atlantic station – Atlanta, GA
* River East 21 – Chicago, IL
* Brooklyn Center 20 – Minneapolis, MN
* Empire 25 – Times Square, NY
* Willowbrook 24 – Houston, TX
* Fredericksburg 15 – Fredericksburg, VA

Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow is a theatrical side story based on the continuity of the popular animated TV series and was a box office hit upon its initial release in Japan. In the movie, Naruto and his team are sent on a mission to guard Yukie Fujikaze, a popular actress starring in the hit movie “The Adventures of Princess Gale.” The crew is heading toward the Land of Snow, a land forever covered in snow, to shoot the final scenes of the film. When Yukie refuses to go and escapes from the set, she is brought back by force by Naruto and his teammates. But little do they know there are three rogue Snow Ninja lying in wait with a sinister purpose that forces Yukie to make a crucial decision and face her hidden past.

In Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2, Naruto returns with relentless dedication to become Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. Fans will experience hours of intense combat with the ability to play as one of more than 30 popular ninja from the series including Kakashi, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Gaara, Third Hokage and with over 60 challenging missions to complete. Participate in the series’ most pivotal moments such as Naruto’s showdown against Gaara, or unlock an original storyline, The Gedo Mark, in Ultimate Road mode. Customize characters’ strength, chakra, and special abilities to unleash powerful attacks during head-to-head battles, and sharpen fighting techniques in Iruka’s Training mode. Players will be able to unlock new characters, movies, music, and more as they rise in rank on their quest to become the ultimate ninja. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and will be available on June 12.

Boasting an exciting new storyline, extensive multi-player cooperative game play, multi-player versus battles, and a largely expanded array of playable characters, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 builds upon the success of its prequel to deliver an original adventure with much more advanced action adventure gameplay. Naruto and his allies will face different challenges as they try to unravel the mystery of the Shirogane Clan and their nefarious army of “puppet walkers.” Players can expect action-packed ninjutsu missions as well as explore intriguing locations beautifully rendered in 3D anime style. Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 is set to be released in September 2007

For more information on Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 please visit: http://Naruto.namcobandaigames.com

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Review

Pirates

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is the latest installment in the famed pirate series that we all know and love. In this installment, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) must scour the Earth for the end of the world and the entrance to the “weird and haunted shores” of Davy Jones’ Locker in order to rescue the famed pirate, Jack *cough* Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from the depths of the underworld. All the while, the East India Trading Company, with the tragic Davy Jones at their disposal, is bringing about an end to piracy on a massive scale and attempting to unlock the mystery of the mystical pirate fetishes, the Nine Pieces of Eight. Davy Jones himself faces drama as he is forced into submission by the East India Trading Company and he comes face to face with the woman he literally cut his heart out for, Calyspo, the goddess of the seas. After numerous story twists, subplots, and backstabbings, the nine pirate nations of the world unite together in one final, dramatic struggle for survival.

I have been very impressed with the past installments in this series, in fact I rate them as some of the best movies I have seen. This movie, though maybe not as good as the last, is no exception. There’s plenty of drama, action, plot, and humor to go around and it is all done very well. Laughs were heard throughout the theater along with “Whoa”s and gasps. Every clash of the sword and explosion of the cannon just made you want to be a pirate. The depth of the story is actually quite astounding as well. But what really sets this movie apart from the rest is the strong sense of ambiance. Every scene has been meticulously designed to create the most dramatic emotional affect and intense sense of beauty. The rain swept decks of the Flying Dutchman, the dripping candles of the pirate meeting place on Shipwreck Island, and the exotic shores of Singapore are all beautifully done. Any still from this movie could be framed and put in a museum. The movie is 168 minutes long (almost 3 hours), but it will seem like mere moments.

On the downside, this isn’t the best installment in the series. The most notable flaw is the convoluted plot. Though still comprehendable, it was so confusing that many viewers thought they were watching Lost. One guy betrays that guy, that guy betrays the other guy, they all compromise and decide to betray some other guy who is planning for them all to betray him, which is all part of the plan of the first guy which goes horribly wrong when the other guy gets stabbed through the heart. It’s kind of like that except with magic! There are also many things that are not satisfactorily explained, like the magic coins and the Davy Jones love plot, among other things. The movie also relies too heavily upon the other two movies for comic material. For instance, the undead monkey is in almost every scene and turtles are continuously referenced for some reason and it really makes for some lame jokes, though these are certainly made up for. Another thing that I personally did not like is that I felt that some of the nuances kind of ruined some of the things that were cool in the last movie. The portrayal of Tia Dalma as a tragic character, for instance, really ruined what we loved about her in Dead Man’s Chest.

Despite these downsides, Pirates is definitely worth watching. If you’re not a pirates fan, go ahead and wait for it to come out on video. Otherwise, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. ARRRRRR!!!!!

+ Awesome ambiance
+ Well preformed action sequences
+ Hilarious
+ Good drama

– Too many references to past movies
– Convoluted plot
– Plot holes

➡ What’s really strange is that Johnny is never seen in this constume in the movie. 😯 Is it a reference to the next movie?
Johnny Depp

Pirates Can’t Beat Spider-Man

This weekend’s box office results are in and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End only takes in $126 million for its opening weekend. Spider-Man 3 took in $151.1 million! Last weekend’s top performer Shrek The Third gained $51 million this weekend.

Here’s a break down:

1. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” $112.5 million.

2. “Shrek the Third,” $51 million.

3. “Spider-Man 3,” $13.7 million.

4. “Bug,” $3.3 million.

5. “Waitress,” $3.1 million.

6. “28 Weeks Later,” $2.5 million.

7. “Georgia Rule,” $1.9 million.

8. “Disturbia,” $1.8 million.

9. “Wild Hogs,” $1.1 million.

10. “Fracture,” $1.08 million.

The Joker is F@&KING MAD!

Funny? No just damn scary.

Batman Begins, as far as I care, is the single best Batman Movie to have ever been made. They made the Batman what he once was, a dark brooding detective, not a happy go lucky idiot in tights. Granted, the Batmobile was strange, but everything else about the movie was beyond anything that has been released in the past.So after seeing it numerous times and hearing they’re making a second one years ago I was, as most would be, thrilled. Then they released a cast list, and I saw Heath Ledger as the joker. Heath Ledger?! One of the cowboys from Brokeback Mountain? I almost cried… well not really, but I wasn’t too happy. I thought about it though, and the more I thought the less I cared.

Here we are now, 2007, the Dark Knight(the title for the next Batman movie) a few months away, and we’re seeing some actual pictures of the Joker. Not a Photoshopped picture, like you will get for googling “Joker Dark Knight”, but full make up of Heath Ledger as the joker and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. Both pictures revealed via a Viral Marketing website set up by Warner Brothers.

At first we’re given a Political picture of Harvey Dent, poised like a classic patriotic superhero, but with a fake smile added. The picture dissolves and we see a disturbing mugshot of a man wearing white face paint and a large smile made with two grotesque scars on each side of his face. This is the joker, and he scares the crap out of me.

Now after this was released many people complained, and I understand why. Everyone thinks of a normal man with green hair, white face paint, and a lot of ivory because of his abnormally large smile. This is understandable, that’s how he’s portrayed in every TV show, Comic book, Cartoon show, Video game, and just about everything else. I on the other hand like the appearance, let me tell you why.

The Joker is utterly bonkers. There’s not a single sane bone in his body. If there were he’d remove it himself and make a toy out of it. A man of the Joker’s insanity isn’t going to strike fear in the hearts of anyone with clown paint on their face and plastic surgery, at least not in the real world. The new Batman movies are realistic, and because of that the Jack Nicholson Joker isn’t going to work. This joker is beyond criminally insane, and the best visual way to show that is through(one can assume) self mutilation.

It may be out of the norm, and extremely scary, but isn’t that what one of the Batman’s biggest enemies should be? Scary and out of the norm? Even if you don’t like it consider how they made Venom look in Spiderman 3, and we don’t want another Venom do we?