Summer Arrives Late

Well FINALLY in July we get some good big-time movies rolling into the Cineplexes. First up...

LIVE FREE AND DIE HARD
This was a lot of fun and WAY better than I thought it was going to be. Better than Die Hard 2, not QUITE as good as Die Hard 3 (and not even CLOSE to Die Hard 1, but what movie is?). I was worried how Bruce Willis would fare now that he's pushin' 60, but they took his age and ran with it, making you love John McClain even more. Willis hasn't been this good in anything since...well...since the LAST "Die Hard" movie. He does a great job.
I was also nervous for Justin Long because I like him in most things, but I wasn't sure how he'd fare in this sort of movie. Yet he is quite a lot of fun to watch, as is as Mary Elizabeth Winstead who played Willis' daughter, who does a great job of being exactly the kind of sassy no-nonsense girl John McClain WOULD have for a kid (she is a bid underused, but so it goes). Also a lot of fun is Maggie Q as the second-in-command villian. The fight between her and McClain is the best moment of the movie.
However the MAIN villian of this movie left a lot to be desired. Considering the "Die Hard" franchise has always been characterized by strong villians, it was a shame that the bad guy in this one was so terribly unbelievable. We've had Jeremy Irons and Alan Rickman (THE best!), and now we get a guy who looks like he belongs in a cheesy student film that takes itself too seriously. Too bad, because there were lots of other things about this movie that it got right. The idea of a "Firesale" I thought was pretty cool, even if it did get a bit to "cyber-related," and I liked that it is acknowledged that McClain is a bit "out-of-date" now. He's an old timer. But a BADASS old timer.
At times this "Die Hard" DOES get a little too silly for its own good. I could have done without McClain hanging onto a freaking JET, and the scene against Maggie Q, while awesome, could have stopped halfway through and still been incredible before getting ridiculous. But other sequences, like the TWO awesome things McClain does to a helicopter, or the enjoyably nerdy exchange in Kevin Smith's basement, were LOADS of fun.

Next...
RATATOUILLE
This is a delightful movie, and probably my favorite of the year thus far. But, as you may know, I'm a sucker for animated movies, especially most Pixar ones. I don't want to say too much about this other than that you should watch it. Please! Because it hasn't done so well at the box office because it was CRUSHED by...

TRANSFORMERS!!!
I saw this opening night at the Arlington with my buds and it was some of the most fun I've had in a while. True, the movie is cheesy...it's got its hiccups. But it is SO much FUN, and SO LOUD, and SO MUCH SHIT BLOWS UP!!!! It's the kinda movie that will turn every guy under thirty wild with "OMG SO COOL" passion. Girls, perhaps, may find it kinda dumb. And it IS kind dumb...but who CARES???
Seeing it opening night in a huge loud theater with a bunch of other Transformers fans was a great experience. The best part of the movie had to be the fight between Bumblebee the Camaro and Barricade the police car. And I also really liked how they handled Optimus Prime. He got a number of cheers from the audience at various moments. And Ironhide, the weapons specialist, was cool too.
I DID feel that my favorite Decepticon, Starscream, was underused. And it was odd that they killed off Jazz, the only "black" (ethnicity-wise) Autobot. I guess black guys die first even if they are robots. Bummer. Also, I was rather surprised they killed off Megatron, since he is kind of the LEADER of the Decepticons and rather important. And I felt the final brawl between all the robots, where LA basically gets destroyed, was a little disorienting. SO MUCH stuff was blowing up, and so many robots were bashing into each other, yet I lost track of who was fighting who. Oh well. A fun time...bring on the NEXT ONE!!!

The only bummer is that all these movies came out RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! Couldn't they have spaced it out? Sure, maybe they didn't want to go up against Spider-Man 3 in May even if it DID suck, but there were parts of mid-June that were rather tame, with not a lot of high-profile films in the theater. Surely somebody could have taken a spot there? Instead, all of these movies are going to make less money, when they clearly deserve more. Transformers, the flashiest of the three, will rake in the most dough, but Die Hard and Ratatouille both deserve to do well too. ESPECIALLY poor Ratatouille, which I believe is making the least of any Pixar film thus far. And it's one of their best (I'd rank it below the Toy Stories, Nemo, and Monsters Inc., but above all their others). It's tricky because "Ratatouille" is not exactly a film for little kids...it's a bit more slower-paced and sophisticated. Like older Disney movies such as "Lady and the Tramp," for example. But I want to see it succeed.

Also, I saw a couple movies on DVD that I should mention. "Seraphim Falls" was a western starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan. It starts out pretty good, but at the end it gets kind of weird. Liam Neeson is good as always, and Pierce Brosnan is GREAT, making me forget he ever played James Bond at all. Brosnan is the stand-out of the movie, and it's a stand-out performance for his career. The movie ITSELF leaves a bit to be desired though.

Also, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" is a delightful independent documentary about a guy in San Francisco who becomes infatuated with a flock of non-native parrots. It's a great little movie, especially if you like birds (which I do). The parrots reminded me of the birds at my feeder, and it reminds us that if PEOPLE have souls, animals MUST have souls too.

OK...now for some non-movie (but still geek) talk.
First...FREDDIE WON THE GUITAR HERO CHAMPIONSHIP IN DALLAS!!!! HOW SICK IS THAT???
Second...more Guitar Hero stuff. Will alerted me that some songs have been announced for later Guitar Hero games. Later this summer they are planning and "80s Edition" version, with some REALLY fun songs thus announced:
Electric Eye by Judas Priest...yes!
No One Like You by the Scorpions...it's not "Rock You Like a Hurricane" but it'll do.
I Ran by Flock of Seagulls...this should be interesting. And funny.
Holy Diver by Dio...Will, you got your wish. Good pick too.
Synchronicity II by The Police...I was skeptical on their inclusion in Guitar Hero 2, but "Message in a Bottle" turned out to be one of my favorites. And this song rocks pretty hard. Should be fun.
Ballroom Blitz by Krokus...I put this on my list, but I said I wanted the version by Sweet, not by Krokus. I'll have to see if theirs is as good.
Heat of the Moment by Asia...YES!!! Another one from my list.
Hold on Loosely by .38 Special...If you recall, this was high on my list, and I can't WAIT! I'm definitely most excited for this one.
Many other fun songs will be included too. These are just the ones I'm most excited about. A little bummed there was no Billy Idol ("Rebel Yell" seems made for this game) but oh well. Maybe Harmonix is saving it for their "Rock Band" project in development.

Also, a few songs from "Guitar Hero 3" have been announced. But just a handful. Here, again, are what I'm looking forward to:
Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones...this will always remind me of the end of "Full Metal Jacket," but it's still a damn good song.
The Metal by Tenacious D...Glad Jack Black and Kyle Gass got included. But what about "Tribute"?
Knights of Cydonia by Muse...Yes. Yes! YESSSSSSSS!!!! Thank you God! OK...THIS is the one I'm most excited about!!!
Rock and Roll All Knight by Kiss...More "Kiss." Cool.
School's Out by Alice Cooper...Should be LOTS of fun. Sing it with me: "Schoooooool's out for summer!!!!"
Slow Ride by Foghat...This should be a nice one to groove to. "Sla-hoe ri-hide...Take it easayyyy..."
Barracuda by Heart...Should be a nice companion to one of my favs from the last game, "Crazy on You."

So there you have it thus far. And this is just the beginning!!! I can't wait!!! I LOVE GUITAR HERO!!! WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!