Shmee.Me

February 19, 2014

About Time For A Movie Review!

About Time, the 2013 film from Universal Pictures, was hyped as a new romantic comedy from the writer of Love Actually and Notting Hill, but it ends up being more about a man’s relationship with his father, and that is a good thing. It manages not to get caught in the normal rom-com trappings, and actually be much more engaging and heartwarming.

The story starts off with our hero Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) remembering a bad night, only to be interrupted from his sorrow by his sister (Lydia Wilson) who says his dad (Bill Nighy) is looking for him. His dad informs him that he can travel back in time in his own life. He decides to try out his new found power on the aforementioned bad night, fixing all his errors. Instead of using this power to get rich, he decides that he is going to use it to get a girlfriend.

At first I was apprehensive about this movie because it sounded like the guy in this movie was just going to manipulate women in to going out with him, but the writer Richard Curtis is too smart for that to be the case, so for the most part Tim uses his power for good, and to not be a total looser. The most gripping use of the time travel is in his interactions with his father.

It should come as no surprise that veteran actor Bill Nighy is great in this film as the father. He is charming and loving, and he plays a very compassionate father without getting too cheesy. Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams play the central couple well. They make their love affair seem real, and it is great to see them go through life’s struggles together.

This movie really surprised me. I am used to romantic comedies just using the same old tropes, and tugging at the same heart strings over and over, but a clever plot, and good actors make this a movie worth watching. If they made more romantic comedies like About Time, the genre wouldn’t be circling the trash bin like it is now.

February 11, 2014July 7, 2015

Who Should Play Ms. Marvel?

With the exciting news that news that Ms. Marvel is going to be in the next Avengers movie a lot of people have been asking me who I think should play Carol Danvers. Fox already has two of my top picks under contract for super heroes with Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence. Ironically they both play the same character Mystique separated by time. The current internet favorite is Katee Sackhoff, but I am not sold, so here are my five alternates in reverse order.

5: Yvonne Strahovski

I mostly chose her because she has the look, but she has had a lot of practice playing a hero thanks to Chuck.

4: Ali Larter

Again she is another “got the look” choice, but in TV show Heroes she was really good at giving that I am going to kill you look that would suit Ms. Marvel very well.

3: Emily Blunt

She would need some hair dye, but she is talented actress who could hold her own against the growing number of leading men in the Avengers film.

2: Claire Danes

She might be busy with Homeland, but ever since the underappreciated movie Stardust, I have been wanting to see her breakout in movies. She has the acting chops to really bring Ms. Marvel to life.

1: Anna Trov

The Fringe star has the ability to kick butt and dish one liners with the best of them. She will never get picked because she is too perfect for the role, but if they did, I would be one happy Shmee.

Movie studios never seem to like my casting choices, but I will keep offering my advice anyway! Do you guys or gals have any favorites to play the current Captain Marvel?

February 10, 2014February 10, 2014

The Lego Movie Builds Fun!

When I first heard they were making a Lego movie I was not that interested, but then they put together one of the best marketing campaigns in recent memory, and I became very excited about it. I am happy to say that the movie lives up to the commercials. Warner Brothers has done an amazing job bringing the Lego Universe to life.

The story is about an unremarkable Lego man named Emmet (Chris Pratt). Who one day after his job at a construction site finds a special Lego piece, and he is informed by Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) that he is the one that will save the world from the Evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell). His adventure will introduce him to several master builders including most of the Justice League.

This movie is pretty much what happens when you take the Matrix and Toy Story 2 and smash them together, and then tell the story using Legos. That being said the beauty of this film is how many jokes they cram in to it. It is like they are firing them out of a machine gun. Even if all the jokes don’t land, and some of them do miss, there will be another one in few seconds. This movie never slows down. Which makes it good for kids and adults alike.

They really picked their voice talent well. Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks play the leads well, but the best part is all the great actors they got for the side characters like Will Arnett as Batman and Alison Brie as Uni-Kitty. They even have the Oscar nominated Jonah Hill as the Green Lantern who has some of the best jokes in the movie, at least for comic book lovers like myself.

The animation looks great. It looks like a living world made out of Lego bricks, and they have so many little side gags and random things thrown in all over the place that this movie may be worth a second viewing. The set designers really deserve a hand for all their creativity.

This movie could have simply been a commercial for Legos, but instead they put the work in to make it a movie worth watching. They were rewarded for their hard work with earning almost 70 Million dollars in ticket sales this weekend, and I hope it sends a message to movie producers that not all good movies have come out in the summer. They can do well in the cooler months too.

This is one of the better February movie releases in recent memory, and it made me laugh and smile the whole way through. This a is a perfect pick-me-up for the winter gloom. This movie is great for viewers of all ages, so it is a family movie that truly the whole family can enjoy.

February 7, 2014February 7, 2014

We Are Finally Getting A Ms. Marvel!

There was some big news yesterday as it was announced that Paul Bettany would be playing The Vision in the new Avengers movie. Since Bettany already plays the voice of JARVIS (Tony Stark’s AI butler) in the in the Marvel Movie Universe, it seems to point to the fact that Tony Stark not Henry Pym (Ant Man) will create the evil android Ultron, and in return Ultron will use Stark’s loyal companion against him. At least at first if they follow the comics at all.

While that is all very cool news, and interesting to think about. People seem to missing the even bigger news as the Latino Review pointed out, they are casting for Ms. Marvel (though he says Miss Marvel)! It is about time Marvel finally brought a top tier female crime fighter in to the mix. As a matter of fact Ms. Marvel is probably more powerful than the rest of the Avengers combined, so this version of Ultron is going to be one bad dude.

I mean no disrespect to Scarlett Johansson, but the Black Widow would be as useful in a fight against Ultron as a guy with toothpick versus a bunch of samurai with katanas, so to have the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Ms. Marvel will let the ladies show up to the fight in force. With the amount of firepower Marvel is packing in to this movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron may be the biggest movie of all time.

February 4, 2014February 4, 2014

Disneyland’s Top Ten Rides!

As some of you may have noticed (no one did) I missed a couple of posts last week, and that was because I was in Disneyland, so why not blog about my vacation! Since real posts are hard, I am going to do what every lazy blogger does and make a list (take that Buzz Feed). Here are my top ten Disneyland/Disneyland California rides in reverse order:

10: Splash Mountain

Disney was not content to just make another log ride, so they incorporated one with their now little known animated short Bre’r Rabbit. The ride has tons of charm, and features some great drops. This ride is even better on a hot day.

9: Indiana Jones Adventure

This ride used to towards the top for me, but it has not aged well. That being said it is as close as you can get to being in an Indiana Jones movie.

8: Toy Story Midway Mania

When I first heard about this ride I was unimpressed, “Why would I want to play video games in Disneyland?” I thought to myself, but I was wrong. The ride is fun, and the games are creative. Besides who doesn’t want to play with Woody and his pals?

7: Tower of Terror

When this ride first came out I thought it was going to be a bad Haunted Mansion rip off, but I was wrong. Getting dropped by this haunted elevator is a ton of fun, and the Twilight Zone link just makes it that much better.

6: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

I love wooden roller coasters, but Disneyland doesn’t have any. Big Thunder is as close as it gets, but without all the jarring that comes from the real deal.

5: Peter Pan’s Flight

This is the only Fantasy Land ride on my list, but it is fantastic. I would fly around on that pirate ship forever if they would let me!

4: California Screamin’

This is the only standard roller coaster Disneyland has, but it is a great one. It starts fast, and it doesn’t let up. It is a can’t miss!

3: Radiator Springs Racers

It is not a big secret that I don’t like the Cars movies very much, but Disney has outdone themselves with Cars Land. It is like being in the movie, and the best part of their land is Radiator Springs Racers. It mixes old school Disney animatronics with a thrilling race, and it is a ton of fun!

2: Star Tours

This pick should be no surprise to followers of my site. I love Star Wars, and the new Star Tours with the different planets makes me giddy every time I go on it. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with C3PO and R2-D2 and travel around the galaxy?

1: Space Mountain

This ride has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, and it still is the best. The speed combined with the fact you can’t see where you are going is exhilarating. Plus it is in space, so that is awesome.

That is my list, and I hope you liked it! Disagree? Just leave your list below.