The day the earth stood still (2008)

Well, this movie has quite an exciting and thrilling start but once the cat is out of the bag it's just weak - and so is the ending. For only once, I want to see a movie like that (end of the world and all) that actually shows the end of the world, that actually makes humanity pay. I mean, let's face it, a few destroyed American cities that's awful, yes, but a catastrophe of universal dimensions? Well, no, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia were still fine…so…

Overall, the movie is somewhat interesting if you are into science fiction and the visual effects have their moments, but you could do without it. ;)

Pixar's "Up"

I watched Pixar's latest animated feature with some friends and had a lot of fun.

Apparently, Pixar has some nostalgic tendencies (like with "Cars") that I enjoy very much but that others might not like (or understand), especially younger folks. There were some small kids in the movie theater that had trouble understanding the beginning of the movie.

The animation and effects were superb (as expected from a Pixar movie). The kinetics seem to have improved quite a bit or at least have changed somewhat from previous projects - for the better.

Overall it's a nice and mostly funny movie (though the talking dogs were a bit much), but Pixar had produced greater pictures in the past. Most probably, in comparison it will not be able to shine besides Toy Story 3…

Google Chrome Frame: The Death of Internet Explorer?

D'ya know about Google Chrome Frame?

If not, read this: http://code.google.com/chrome/chromeframe/

and watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjW0Bchdj-w

This is one of Googles most brilliant ideas yet - in regards to the competition with Microsoft.

Way to go, Google! ;)

Inglorious Basterds

Yesterday, I went to the movies and watched Tarrantino's new masterpiece - and indeed, THAT it is!

Never ever have I enjoyed the performance of an actor portraing the antagonist this much, nonetheless a German one. Christoph Waltz is incredibly amazing - this has to get him an Oscar!

The movie all in all is masterfully filmed and cut. Slow talking scenes are occationally broken by sudden and immediate (and intentionally short) violence - often extreme at that.

You wouldn't believe it but although the overall theme of the movie is World War II and by that anything else but funny, Tarrantino manages to include quite a bit well placed slapstick comedy.

If you have some knowledge of English, French and German and love really good movies, watch this one! If you can't speak any of these languages and can't read fast, this movie is not for you - it's VERY subtitle rich due to all actors speaking their native tongue (mostly).

Hannibal

Well, I did it, I watched all four movies from "Silence of the Lambs" to "Hannibal rising".

Of course, "Silence of the Lambs" is THE classic, brilliantly played - what can I say.

"Hannibal", which like its sequels was unknown to me, proved to be the best of it all. Why? Sir Anthony Hopkins! Amazing performance! One can only admire his Hannibal Lecter (Dr. Fell in the movie). The pureness of his intellect, his total absence of remorse and pity - brilliant!

"Red Dragon" too much resembled "Silence of the Lambs". While it was enjoyable watching something predating the Oscar winner, the new villain was just too likeable, lacking evilness.

"Hannibal rising" had some great acting by the young star and surely has earned his place in its genre. But in comparison to the other three movies, Anthony Hopkins is missing.

Overall, in my opinion, the first two movies are the best of the quadrology.

Delgo - the poor sucker... ;)

Just watched Delgo - which by the way isn't easy to get a hold of where I live - had to get it via BitTorrent.

The movie is, well, okay.

The visuals are amazing; the scenery, the animals and the people are imaginative and beautiful though the animation itself feels off a bit at times.

The story is quite dark for an animated feature probably targeted at a young audience. I'd rather recommend this one for young adults that are interested in fantasy worlds and love CGI.

The voice cast is great - many well known and popular names and good voice acting indeed.

All in all, it's a nice movie that's good enough to find its way into my DVD collection once there's a European PAL version DVD available. Apparently, as the movie flopped in theatres (boxoffice quite a bit under a million whereas summing up to 40 millions in production costs) it's currently only available in the U.S. as a simple NTSC DVD...what a shame...really!

Jerome Bixby's "The Man from Earth"

Watched this unusual movie yesterday, not really knowing what to expect.

Well, this one is a gem!

Okay, the picture quality of this DVD edition was terrible (it was like watching a VHS tape!) and there's no action in this movie - it could have been made into a theatre play easily - but nonetheless, it's a great movie, well, if you can let yourself be amazed by it's intentions.

Watching this movie made me buy the book by Jerome Bixby. That's a first! ;)

According to the web, this story's been Bixby's last big success.

All in all, it's a must-have for every sci-fi enthusiast - sci-fi without action and special effects just through the magic of words. Incredible!

Also, on a side note, quite an interesting cast: Tony Todd, John Billingsley and Richard Riehle - all three once portraying popular characters on Star Trek shows (Tony Todd as Worf's brother Kurn (among many other roles), John Billingsley as part of Enterprise's main cast as Dr. Phlox and Richard Riehle as the Irish holodeck character Seamus Driscol on Voyager's Fair Haven).