They Came To Play

This is a refreshing documentary of the 2007 Van Cliburn Foundation s Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. I'm not into classical music but do understand the talent, skill, drive and pleasure these folks go through to please themselves... and now a competition to put them in the spotlight. That is what made this docu pleasant for me. Musicians doing it for the soul. The way the docu is presented is not boring, but not exciting either. Some amazing skills displayed by amateurs. Good camera work too, when the competition kicks into gear.

I'd recommend a viewing if your interested in music and you'll be in heaven where classical music is your thing.

Thor



For those who know me, Super Hero movies are low on my list of movies to watch. So I'm going into this with a Whatevah attitude. Well, I was surprised. I liked it. 3 stars for a super hero movie is big in my book, so take that for what it's worth. The scenes of Thor's Planet, city and interiors are freaking gorgeous. Anthony Hopkins brings credence to the story. Natalie Portman balances out the arrogant but forceful Thor. The battles are very cool. For a fanboy of the superhero genre this is a no brainer... I suspect. For me I would recommend it for a good movie night.


The Hit List



OK, this is a B-movie with B-movie actors (Cuba Gooding Jr. & Cole Hauser). With that said, and a little leap of faith in the logic of the story's premise, this is a engaging movie to watch. There are moments where you roll the eyes, but all in all, a good thriller with interesting what-if scenario's. I think the ending is kind flakey but I would recommend this for a viewing.

Whatever happened to Gooding Jr.? He had so much potential



Trollhunter



There's been a lot of hype surrounding this film. So I was wondering what the buzz was. This is a film from Norway. Maybe my first? So the English translation is way worse than watching a badly dubbed Japanese film. The trailer gives hints of something cool. But after watching it last night it was just testing my patience. First problem is this is a found footage kind of film. Thankfully the shaky cam is minimal, but still there were many scenes of long boring footage. The only excitement is the tracking of the trolls in the back country. The CGI is very good and there are some cool, creepy scenes in the woods and the barren snow laden country side.  But the troll's are cartoonish. So for the little interest of the Troll encounters, I was bored.

Red Riding Hood

Good gawd this was bad. I knew it going in, but this was one those sacrifices you compromise for the spouse. Stupid freaking dialogue with zero caring about anyone or anything. Beautifully shot. Big Woop.

Avoid at all costs

From the title, I take it's about a Red Headed Chick that rides a bad guy...or "hood", if that's what kids are calling it these days. Bad p0rn.

Good lord, I wish I was speaking of bad ****, even though no such thing exists.