Prometheus in IMAX 3D

Movie: Prometheus in IMAX 3D

Genre: sci-fi

Synopsis: Something of a prequel to the Alien series.  A couple of scientists find evidence that mankind was actually “seeded” by an alien race – along with a probable location of their home planet.  A corporation sends the two scientists – and a team of company people – on a journey to the planet.  What they find when the get there is what the movie is all about. The two innocent scientists discover that the corporation that sponsored

the voyage was not quite as altruistic as they thought. Noomi Rapace plays one of the scientists.  Michael Fassbender is David, an android.  Charlize Theron is in charge of the whole voyage.

My two cents: Wow! Rarely have I so looked forward to a movie and then enjoyed it even more than I hoped.  I think the original Star Trek movie was the last time I was left so speechless.  I sat through the credits (waiting for that last brief scene) lost in thought about what the movie meant – and hoping for sequels.  The special effects were great.  The 3D was good.  The sound was great in IMAX.  There are lots of little twists and turns to the plot that lead to a great climax.  I would not mind seeing this again on the big screen.

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Moonrise Kingdom

Movie: Moonrise Kingdom

Genre: coming-of-age comedy

Synopsis: This is a tough one to describe.  It takes place on a small New England island with a few inhabitants.  It also has a Boy Scout camp run by Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton).  One of his scouts is Sam (Jared Gilman).  Sam marches to the beat of a different drum – and is universally disliked by the other scouts. Walt and Laura Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) are a married couple.  They are both lawyers and live on the island with their two sons and an 11-ish daughter, Suzy (Kara Hayward).  The Police Chief (and only officer) of the island is Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis).  Last but not least, is Social Services (no other name) played by Tilda Swinton.  The movie begins three days before an historic hurricane strikes the island.  Sam is smitten with Suzy.  He runs away from the camp, meets up with Suzy – and the two of them run away.  They are soon being tracked/chased/hunted on land, sea and air by Scout Master Ward, the entire Boy Scout Troop, Suzy’s parents, and Captain Sharp. 

My two cents: I loved this movie.  I have not figured out how to convey the delight of the movie.  One minute a fully armed (with knives, bows and arrows, sticks, a BB rifle and a motorcycle) troop is attacking Suzy and Sam.  The next scene has the entire troop running away – terrorized by Suzy.  The dialog is great.  If you enjoy off-beat coming of age movies, you absolutely have to see this movie.  I have never seen a movie that had such quirky writing coupled with impossible (at least for me) visual tricks.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

Movie: Snow White and the Huntsman

Genre: fantasy

Synopsis: Snow White’s (Kristen Stewart) father is the popular King (Noah Huntley).  Their life of happiness comes to an end with the arrival of Raveena (Charlize Theron).  The King is entranced by Raveena, marries her, and then disappears.  Queen Raveena banishes Snow White to her room and proceeds to wreak havoc on the kingdom for her own pleasure.  Snow White finally escapes and hides out with – wait for it – eight (yes, eight, not seven) dwarfs in a dark forest.  The Queen sends The Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) into the forest agter her.

My two cents: This was a great movie.  Lots of twists to the old Disney classic.  I thought Kristin Stewart was just so-so as Snow White.  The dwarfs were hilarious.  I won’t give away how the dwarf’s were portrayed – but it was great.  Chris Hemsworth was great as The Huntsmen.  But the one I could not get enough of was Charlize Theron as The Queen – and not just because she is so darned beautiful.  I think Charlize Theron has ha new standard for the evil stepmother/evil Queen.  When she got angry – which was most of the time – you just wanted to duck and hide.  When she yelled – which was also often -  my blood would run cold and I would cringe.  She was GREAT.  This movie is well worth seeing – but I would not recommend taking small children.

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Hysteria

Movie: Hysteria

Genre: comedy and ?

Synopsis: This is based on the life of Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy).  He was a physician in Victorian London who specialized in female disorders – specifically hysteria.  This was the catch-all diagnosis of a long list of female complaints which sometime resulted in unnecessary hysterectomies.  A popular (literally) treatment for these women involved – to put it delicately – the physician doing some rather personal massage of certain areas.  What Dr. Granville does to invent the electric vibrator, allowing the “massage” to be done much easier and faster.  Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the daughter of Mortimer’s employer. She is devoted to trying to help the women and children of London’s slum.  She and Dr. Mortimer have a rather contentious – but emotional – relationship.

My two cents:  This was an interesting movie. I knew nothing about the origins of hysteria as a diagnosis.  The arrogance of modern men can be rather surprising – but it is nothing when compared to the arrogance prevalent in Victorian England.  It was horrifying to see the conditions in hospitals and clinics – not to mention gthe slums.  This movie was worth seeing just from a historical perspective.  Add in the humor of and interaction between Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy and you get a must-see movie.  

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Men in Black III in IMAX 3D

Movie: Men in Black III in IMAX 3D

Genre: SciFi-comedy

Synopsis: Agent J (Will Smith) wakes up one morning to discover that Agent K (Tommie Lee Jones) is gone – and no one else seems to realize it.   Agent J ends up doing some time travelling to go back in time to the 1960’s to find out what happened to Agent K (played by Josh Brolin in the 60’s).  And of course, they also have to save the world.

My two cents: I enjoyed this third entry in the Men in Black series.  No better or worse than the first two.  I don’t know that the 3D effects were worth the money.  What was pretty amazing is Josh Brolin’s spot-on portrayal of Agent K.  He nailed Tommy Lee Jones mannerisms and even sounded so much like him that for a while I was convinced that he must be lip syncing.  If you liked the first two movies, you should like this one.

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