don't be dull, be fannish

Arrival - This was a great sci-fi movie. I started to suspect the twist at the end around halfway through but it was still so good. Great actors, great cinematography and special effects and simply fantastic music. Johann Johannsson has quickly become one of my favorite composers (he did this and Sicario), up there with Hans Zimmer or Henry Jackman.

The Da Vinci Code - It's not a bad movie per se, not at all. I just don't get the hype around it. I guess because it was one of the very first truly successful "conspiracy" novels about history and the church? Who knows. Well, by now there's one under every rock you turn, so...

Monsterville - This is a parody. It... is a parody, right? We're not supposed to take anything that happens in it even remotely seriously, are we? Well, I bought it solely for Kat McNamara, the actress playing Clary in Shadowhunters. Here, she's Lilith, the daughter of the owner of the Cabinet of Souls. She's definitely the highlight of this film.

The Bourne Ultimatum: Hey, that was Edgar Ramirez! I didn't realize that he was in it. Interesting. I think nothing beats Bourne #2 and Karl Urban as the bad guy Kirill. At least IMHO. He had such an incredible presence. In this movie, the bad guys kinda... lacked. At least the one "on site", so to speak, the fighters, there was none that I thought might actually beat Bourne. I loved Nikki and Pamela Landy here, those two were awesome!

The Bourne Legacy: Oh, oh, oh, Oscar Isaac! I didn't know he was in this, never realized it! Aaron and Martha are my OTP in this series of movies. For that reason, I'm glad that the continuation is not about them, I hope they are not even mentioned, I don't want to hear that they were killed or that Martha died or something. I'm glad that they got their happy ending and lived happily ever after. Because they worked together so incredibly well, as a real team, not just as the Super Agent and the Tag-Along. Amazing, those two. But I felt sorry for Pamela Landy :(

And I'm all set up to go and see Jason Bourne tomorrow. Nice! I made it!

I went to see Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation yesterday and I had a blast! I would rate it 8/10 or 4/5, it's one of the best movies of this year and I hope very much that there's a sequel with this cast, Cruise, Renner, Ferguson and Pegg.

The movie is hilarious! Simon Pegg's always funny but Cruise and Renner have the perfect comic timing! And - wonder of wonders - Alec Baldwin, too. Hunley (Baldwin) and Brandt's (Renner) scenes are simply LOL-worthy! And I'm so happy that, with all the demand to go dark and gritty these days, MI did not. They went pretty much in exactly the opposite direction. It's funny and sweet and sexy and the friendships in this movie are simply priceless, especially between Hunt and Benji, and Hunt and Brandt, and to a lesser degree between Benji and Brandt.

But the scene stealer is definitely Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust. Ilsa is AMAZING! Move over, Black Widow, here comes Ilsa Faust! She's strong and capable - definitely Hunt's equal in every tiny detail - and she kills and she kicks ass and she's smart! But at the same time, she's glamorous and vulnerable and deeply hurt and sweet, too. And she's no double crossing bitch, she tries to always, ALWAYS do the right thing, even if it costs her. And she's simply unbelievably awesome!

So, thumbs up from me. If you get the chance to see it, do it! It's worth it!

"" (Watch on YouTube)

This looks fantastic. I like Tom Cruise and his movies so much! When he smiles, it's like the whole screen lights up.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters reached $200 mil. worldwide - and Paramount green-lit a sequel! Source. No details are available yet but - YAY! YAY! YAY! H&G is getting a sequel! Love me some Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton!

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a nutty adventure. Don't expect Shakespeare from it and you won't be disappointed. I wasn't. I went to see it because of Hansel and Gretel's relationship and I loved it. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton had fantastic chemistry. And I loved that for them, everything was first and foremost about them, their dalliances and friendships with other people were secondary to their relationship. And that was lovely...

( Bits and pieces I loved most! )

There were so many things I would like to see explored in fanfiction. Or in a sequel, possibly. The movie already tripled its $50 mil. budget worldwide - it's at $181 mil. right now - and it has a good chance to quadruple its budget before it runs its course.

I would give it 6/10 but it was totally worth seeing in the cinema!

So much better than Skyfall, IMHO. Especially the female characters, Marta first and foremost. Seriously, when I grow up, I want to be like her - a completely normal, intelligent woman who doesn't get all stupid and panicky, who doesn't do dumb things, who saves the hero and not just once but twice, first through her knowledge, then by getting the assassin off their backs and finding them a spot on the fishing boat. What an awesome woman - and an actress whose age is appropriate to the character she's playing! Finally!

And Jeremy Renner as Aaron, the brave hero - yet he also felt like a real woobie the whole movie long. Yes, he kicked the asses of all the bad guys - but I still felt like Marta was protecting him, not the other way around. Like she was the boss. I love it that Jeremy Renner usual plays his parts opposite strong female characters. It's really lovely.

I still don't get what people didn't like about the movie or what they didn't understand. I loved following the connection between Treadstone and Blackbriar to Outcome. So, so sneaky. Loved all the intrigue! Awesome movie.

You know, directors and writers out there should realize that it's not just action and explosions that get people to love a movie enough to go and see it multiple times and/or buy it on DVD, it's the characters! Just like Fast&Furious is first and foremost about Dom and Brian or XMFC is about Charles and Erik, The Avengers are all about Tony and Pepper, Clint and Natasha, Thor and Loki, Bruce, Steve, Fury, Maria and Phil. It's these people who you want to learn more about and hang out with again and again. And I think that's why the movie was so successful.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the action was amazing. Thor's fight with Hulk on the helicarrier will never not be hilarious. Tony's idea of a "party" - leading the leviathan to the others. All of them standing together, side by side, for the first time, facing the Chitauri. Natasha and Clint's "You and I remember Budapest very differently." Hulk saving the Iron Man... All that stuff was amazing and the CGI was simply superb. I loved it!

And yet, what really made an impact on me? Steve's loneliness. Bruce's confession that he had tried to commit suicide once. Natasha's determination to save Clint. Thor's profound sadness after Loki stabbed him. The little bit of domesticity between Tony and Pepper... That's the stuff that comes to my mind first and foremost when I think of The Avengers. And I really want to know where Steve went after the movie ended. If Tony showed Bruce the labs in Stark Tower. How Thor and his family dealt with Loki's betrayal. If Loki ever turned a leaf and accepted the love Thor kept offering so freely. If Clint and Natasha ever went to Budapest again...

Lovely, lovely stuff. I really can't wait to see Phase 2 which promises to be super awesome. And seeing the trailer for Iron Man 3 made me even more excited. Marvel? You rock!

It looks like Jeremy Renner will be playing Al Pacino's illegitimate son in the family drama Imagine.

Al Pacino signed on last year to play a Bruce Springsteen-type rocker who discovers a long-unopened letter addressed to him from John Lennon; after reading it, he’s shocked to learn that he actually fathered a son and decides to track him down.

Source

Sounds interesting. Not something I would necessarily have to see in the cinema, but I would like to see it, that's true.

Woohoo! NBCUniversal confirmed today that they are moving ahead with a sequel to The Bourne Legacy despite its measly box office draw: source. I'm so happy! I love Marta and Aaron!