When Big J picked Spielberg for director, I thought...but nobody was supposed to pick him.
I remember that GQ article...really good. Personally I blame every part of this death of movies on the writer's strike and the recession. The strike killed a lot of good ideas that had to go to production with unfinished scripts, but then the bad and cheap ideas found ways to make a lot of money regardless, so it killed the middle. Those mid-priced smart idea and execution but a bit risky films all died, and the respect for scripts kinda died too. No more waiting for scripts, set a release date and catch up. And almost as much as anything, I remember reading an article that said, once the recession started, people needed cheaper entertainment and escapes from reality, so the box office swelled regardless of what was out. What kinda message did that send?
So when movies like Scott Pilgrim and Kick-@%@ and Drive all underwhelm and like the article said, the successful movies trying different things get brushed off as outliers...we have a 2011 happen. I miss 2007, even '08. 2 straight years of great or good movies just about every week or 2.
saw Mission Impossible 4 the other day...what a hard movie to express. Everything was right, but at the same time not really. I mean it's a good well paced film that'll surprise you all over and was maybe the best big action movie this year. But...it's like a really dumbed down, roided up Casino Royale/Quantum of Solace ... except that's underselling on the sandstorm scene and the hover cart and every part of the Kremlin. The whole cast was good. Paula Patton and Chester's boy were both great. Tom Cruise did vintage Tom Cruise things. Jeremy Renner was better than I thought he'd be. The villain...the villian kinda sucked tho. Shoulda expected it cuz he sucked as Daniel Craig's char in OG Dragon Tattoo.
Ghost Protocol...is just...they tried to add personality with Simon Pegg's jokes...(he was funnier than the jokes themselves). And they gave all the characters little backstories that worked...but...they work for Lost. They worked for Alias. They don't work for Mission Impossible 4. There's almost no personality or style to the film. Just flat, surgical action scene, short dialogue, surgical action scene. Brad Bird needed to put his own personal touch, but this movie...as great as the action is done, I'm gonna forget I saw this in a month or 2.
Brad Bird didn't have to be Michael Mann or Guillermo Del Toro or JJ Abrams or anything, but it feels like he had Michael Bay's problem. Put everything into the action and let the characters sort themselves out. He's not a sack of +@$! like Bay, so the action is Oscar good, but Sam Witwicky is more compelling that anybody in this movie.
Very well made action, but no hook or flavor to make it memorable. 7/10
and fav 2011 music
Kendrick Lamar - Section.80
The Roots - undun
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia/Ultra
Big K.R.I.T. - Returnof4eva
Watch the Throne
Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
Love the series but they need to chill with upping the outlandishness, not to mention all the added humor made no sense. Paula Patton tho.......goodness. Also went thru Dream House, liked it, one time watch, lil sad, lil predictable, but enough twists and turns to keep you. 90 minutes, in out and gone.
Foster the People - Torches
