Iron Man 2 poster

Ah... out of the Foodsgiving coma to share a sweet teaser poster for Iron Man 2.

Check it out!

Yes, I saw New Moon.... and loved it!

I don't care whether it is intended for tweens or what religion the author is- the movie was entertaining. The only downfall (if you wanna call it that) is that if you haven't seen the first film it may not be as clear as you'd like it to be. Some people thought that The Dark Knight was the same way (which is ridiculous to me, bets movie ever), but I think New Moon does a good job continuing the story well. There are some flash back scenes to the first movie though.

This movie plays more as an Epic than a chick flick. Biggest reason for that, Director Chris Weitz. This is the guy who made THE GOLDEN COMPASS(waste of the 8 dollars in the theater) and ABOUT A BOY(which I really liked). The action scenes are more stylized, unlike Twilight Director Catherine Hardwicke's unrealistic fight sequences. I also like his "earth tones" rather than Hardwicke's purples and blues. The look of the film makes it more Lord of the Rings. Which I guess is good, apparently the next film, ECLIPSE, is the real epic-war film of the bunch? I haven't read New Moon or Eclipse so I can't really comment on how accurate it was to the book. I read Twilight and it is pretty accurate so I assume since the same screenwriter that adapted TWILIGHT did NEW MOON, it is accurate.

I thought the film would have made more an effort to make people chose sides (over the two main dude characters). Maybe that is supposed to happen more in movie-3. The most shocking thing about this movie, is that is made me actually like Kristen Stewart. She is getting tons of roles as of late (before and after her Twilight exposure) but I hadn't really liked her since one of her first movies, aside Jodie Foster in PANIC ROOM. After TWILIGHT (actually it was filmed before TWILIGHT), ADVENTURELAND came out and I thought she was fantastic in it. Now, a fan of her work in New Moon, I am interested to see her next roles (reprising her Bella in ECLIPSE, but also playing JOAN JETT in a biopic).

The movie does a better job in this installment to draw you in, investing in the characters. Especially with how they ended it, you want to know what comes next. Luckily people can read to find out. I have a few novels to finish before I can find out. I am sure ECLIPSE'S june 2010 release date will come before I finish it.

It dominated the box office this weekend. I did find extreme pleasure in knowing that THE DARK KNIGHT still holds the top spot as biggest opening weekend ever. Thank god!

Battle Studies

Its been over 3 years since John Mayer last put out an album. He passed the time between with a sweet live album. Battle Studies is Mayer's follow up to his Grammy-winning Continuum. Anyone wanting the new disc to pick up where its predecessor left off, you will be let down. However, that doesn't mean Battle Studies is a failure- more so the opposite.

I read an article that originally said Mayer wanted to make an album that every song could be sung on American Idol. Closer to the album's release, Mayer said in an interview that this album is his most honest album ever made. I completely agree with that. Swapping artistically ambiguous lyrics for brutally straight forward ones, the album covers lots of ground. All revolving around Mayer's quest for love (whatever his definition of love is). Lyrically, my personal favorites are ASSASSINS, HEARTBREAK WARFARE, FRIENDS LOVERS OR NOTHING(reminds me of Abbey Road-era Beatles), AND PERFECTLY LONELY.

Some songs stand out among others. HEARTBREAK WARFARE jumps starts the album with a U2 style anthem. Its cool the way JM describes/brings meaning to the experiences he goes through, "Good to know it's all a game, disappointment had a name."

ASSASSINS is a dark tale of a song and its awesome what Mayer does with it. He tells a story (the cd is obviously in some way autobiograhpical) of him and his usual routine; being a lady killer and leaving everyone behind in the dust. If there is only one song you listen to on this album, make it THIS SONG. I hear this song a bit differently every time. I first took this song as a one night stand gone bad. Mayer's conquest for lust night in and night out turns sour when he is duped to the same fate he usually serves up. Lately however, I decipher this song differently. It sounds like the normal relationship trap that the ladies normally fall into with Mayer has now claimed JM as its victim. "Little did I know that girl was an assassin too." The investment into the relationship is more significant than a one night stand. With all of Mayer's high profile relationships (as well as his less known hook ups), I can only imagine what sparked this musical fire. Who cares, the song is friggin' sweet.

I hope this is single #2. I have in my mind a wicked idea for the treatment to the music video. Lots of rain. I love this song for a few of the same reasons I loved SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM. It depicts the sh*tty sides of his relationships/life/whatever. I also love that in ASSASSINS, Mayer plays the villian becoming the victim. He conveys his pain. I think its a novel approach for someone of his stature to be that honest. I guess his goal of "complete honesty" has been achieved.

The entire cd isn't as heavy as ASSASSINS. The Taylor Swift collabo is a fan favorite (at least on iTunes). I wish Swift was showcased a bit more though. I also find irony in the PERFECTLY LONELY / ASSASSIN pairing. The first song talks about how he loves the way he is living his life and how its good for him right now. Then second song (as described above) talked about how his lifestyle has got him burnt. Interesting.

Overall, the cd is pretty awesome. In true Mayer form, he once again has switched things up to give us something new. I doubt we are every going to see duplication in his catalog. We really haven't heard a YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND since his first album. No complaints here!

A Christmas Carol

My favorite film thus far of the Fall/Holiday Season undoubtably goes to Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol. Zemeckis(director of Forrest Gump and the Back to the Future series) and his animation team (who brought us The Polar Express and Beowulf) master their craft of uber-cartoons for an update on the Christmas classic. And to add further awesomeness to the film... it was in 3-D! Jim Carrey plays the main role (and a hand full of other roles) as SCROOGE.

Being that Christmas is my favorite Holiday (I have begun spinning the Xmas records already) and loving 90% of the Holiday movies that come out, I wasn't going to miss this. Plus being a fan of 3-D movies, I was totally in. I just hoped that Zemeckis would do a decent job with the story. I love the Charles Dickens' tale, but quite frankly the old movies are just... too OLD! There are some movies that last the test of time, but the old renditions of the story definitely needed an update.

This version more than sufficiently delivers! The animation works to the fullest and accentuates each part of the story (the three different ghosts). I expected the film to be extremely jolly yet also dark when necessary. Overall, the movie is a sure Christmas magic! Whereas we grew up on classics like It's A Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, The Christmas Story and Home Alone- kids nowadays will tune into Jim Carrey's The Grinch, Elf and now this animated update. I especially loved Gary Oldman deliver a great CRATCHIT performance. Visually, the opening scene is one of the best pieces of animative cinematography(which may not actually be a real thing) I have ever scene.

Definitely a family friendly film (yet scarey at times for the young ones). If you can stomach it, I would 100% recommend seeing it in 3-D. I was fortunate to see the new AVATAR trailer in 3-D which was beyond amazing.

Loving the animation of this film, I am now inspired to rent POLAR EXPRESS. I didn't read that book growing up so I didn't rush to the theaters to see it. But I do love the animation Zemeckis and his team bring. I recently read that next Zemeckis plans to use the same animation techniques to update The Beatles' YELLOW SUBMARINE. Needless to say, I can't wait for that.

This is a must see from now until Christmas. I may go again.

Look for a few more movie posts this upcoming weekend. The list of movies to see this weekend consists of : New Moon, 2012, Boondock Saints II and The Blind Side. I doubt I will see all four.