Anthony Hopkins in the Movie "Fracture"

Fracture - by Anthony Hopkins
Originally uploaded by kingofhiking.

I watched this last Friday night. I thought it would be more of a mystery and mind-bender than it actually was. But there was only one big puzzle that needed to be solved, and it really could have been better off as an episode of one of those short anthologies. Because of that it seemed a waste of Sir Anthony Hopkins' talents.

Shrek the Third

Shrek the Third
Originally uploaded by Cinencuentro.

Watched the advanced screening of this with some students and staff last night at SM Sta. Rosa. Not as much fun as the second movie. The high school scenes could have been given more screen time. I just don't see the kingdom and the main characters being taken over just like that.

The Imagination of the Japanese

death note poster
Originally uploaded by lauyaohsien.

Last Monday I was also able to watch these two live-action movies based on Japanese animation.

I marvel at how these non-Western thinking minds can turn a concept that could be turned by Hollywood into something so dull can amaze me with its unpredictability.

28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later
Originally uploaded by Gotham Journal NYC.

Watched this last Sunday. I can't believe I watched two Danny Boyle and Alex Garland movies in two months. Now if I can find a copy of "The Beach" it'll be three movies...

Wild Hogs--Movie Poster

Wild Hogs--Movie Poster
Originally uploaded by FourOf5Zs.

Might watch this movie this weekend. Missed it the first time it was out, then thought I could watch it last weekend, except that most of the movie houses were showing the Man Spider. Strangely, now they've re-opened it this week.

Spider-man & Gwen Stacy

Spider-man & Gwen Stacy
Originally uploaded by Xander Xavier.

Yeah, I watched 3. Just like X-men, they took a lot of liberties with the comic book continuity again, bringing in Gwen Stacy after Mary Jane.

Will Ferrell After Talladega

strangerthanfiction.jpg
Originally uploaded by marchione.

I don't know if this was shown in the local movie houses. This film opens up so many questions about literature, such as "Does someone have to die in the end to make it a good book?" A very good storytelling exercise.

Perfect Stranger

Smiley Pretty People
Originally uploaded by muchmusic.

Watched this movie yesterday. It's one of those that has a twist at the end where you're supposed to guess who the real killer is, and it wasn't what I expected. There were still some burning questions afterwards though, which means it wasn't an air tight script.

Third Movie in A Row

TMNT 2007 Movie Wallpaper - Group 2
Originally uploaded by Roseangelo.

The story had a lot of holes, but the action was awesome. Close enough to the speed (and thus believability) of live action movies like "Advent Children" and "The Incredibles". And finally they were able to make use of big name voice actors without having to worry about needing stunt doubles for the fight scenes.

Catching Up On More Movies

The Sunshine
Originally uploaded by Christopher Welch.

Yeah, I just had to watch this, since it's from the same director as "Trainspotting" and the writer of "The Beach". They have also collaborated before in another pseudo-science fiction movie, "28 Days Later", which now has a sequel, "28 Weeks Later".

It's not heavy science fiction. It's not even flashy science fiction, such as any time travel or teleportation effects movie. But it does not insult the intelligence of the viewer beyond the initial "what if" scenario, which is "what if the sun was dying and we could send a crew to reignite it?"

Or maybe it's just been a while since I last saw a good science fiction movie...

Oh, wait, there was "A Scanner Darkly".

A (Digital) Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly
Originally uploaded by Cinencuentro.

I just watched this movie last night, before an unintentional Easter vigil where I went to sleep at past 5am. Will post a longer review of this in CSI, but it's good and currently relevant science fiction, just like the other movies from the same author: "Total Recall", "Minority Report", "Paycheck' and so forth.