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Jul 28, 2010

The State of the Cabins (7/21/10)

Movies watched for the first time (non-theatrically) since last week:
* Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
I wasn't the slightest bit interested in this when it first hit theaters. Then the reviews came in, and they were overwhelmingly positive. It was reminiscent of Kung Fu Panda, another film I didn't care about seeing until the praise came rolling in. But when I finally saw that one, it lived up to the hype; this one, not so much.

Cloudy has a few charms and a few laughs, but I must have been expecting a lot more of both, since the movie felt pretty empty and thin most of the time. Too many of the gags were overused - even the good ones such as Flint self-narrating his way around his laboratory. Even "Steve!" grew a bit tiresome, though the usage of his translator on Flint's father (an excellent character, by the way) was brilliant. The anal imagery during the finale was just inescapable - I felt wrong just watching it, and I can't believe that didn't bother anyone else.

Fletch's Film Rating:
Expectation:
"It's in the hole!"
Reality:
"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

Music I'm currently obsessed with:
None! I've been a bad music fan recently, and haven't purchased a CD in at least a month. I've having withdrawals. It's time to start listening to new music again and/or buy some that's been on my BUY list for awhile collecting dust (i.e. The Heavy's latest album and/or some Black Keys).

Book I'm currently reading:
Still on A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and probably will be next week as well. It's kind of slow going - not a bad sign for the book, it just ain't a page turner. At nearly halfway through, it's not the comedic gem it's purported to be, but it's well-written with very memorable characters, and Jones is pretty damn funny. I want to see the never-gonna-happen-apparently movie adaptation just to see who they'd get to play him.


5 people have chosen wisely: on "The State of the Cabins (7/21/10)"

Nick said...

Aw... I really loved "Cloudy." I thought it was hilarious.

Alex said...

I really wanted to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs just because it's scripted and directed by the guys who did "Clone High", one of my favorite tv shows. Sorry to hear it didn't meet your expectations but I'll probably still give it a shot. I'll have to be wary of the anal ending though?

Kaiderman said...

I have kids so I think I do kids movies with a different outlook because their enjoyment and laughter of the silly can be infectious. That being said, Meatballs was a fine film but it is nowhere near as good as TS3 or HTTYDragon.

The Film Cynics said...

Anal imagery? Fletch, I have underestimated your ability to transpose inappropriate imagery into children's movies. Too bad it didn't work for you - I doubt that the added element of 3D would have changed your mind, but it defintiely enhanced my enjoyment of it. I think I've watched it close to 20 times now, as it is one Charlee's faves and I dig that its got enough gags in there to jump around enjoying. Sometimes I'll laugh at ratbird gags, sometimes the bearded guy (who reminds me of the "Leon's getting larger" guy from Airplane!), sometimes I'll be all about Bruce Campbell, and other times all about Benjamin Bratt.

I'll say this against the film, the special features for the DVD: regretable. They almost work against the film, had it not been so much fun.

Fletch said...

Nick - that's because you think like a child. :P

Alex - Definitely still give it a shot - I'm clearly on the lower end of the spectrum, and I still didn't think it was a bad movie, just not as good as I was expecting.

Kai - Well, Cloudy is certainly a bit more juvenile than the "prestige" animated films of late, and you definitely think like a child (see above comment to Nick). Okay, maybe more like a teenager.

Steve - hey man, I can't help it if they made a film with a cloud that shits food out. How could everyone else NOT see that is the real question?

Bratt's character was indeed great, though I don't even remember the bearded guy you speak of.