What I Watched… (Vol. 3)

So as I mentioned in the previous What I Watched entry, it was going to be a while before I posted another installment, mainly because I was working my way thru Naruto: Shippuden. I’ve made it through 12 volumes, so now feels like a good time to catch up on what I’ve watched, especially since some of these movies open this weekend!

Olivia Wilde looks good in blue as Quorra in "Tron: Legacy".... sooo, Avatar 2, yes?

Tron: Legacy This movie absolutely blows Avatar out of the water. If there were ever a movie that was meant to be seen on a giant 70×50 IMAX screen, it’s this movie. The 3D CGI are nothing short of spectacular, and while the exposition and the few bits that were shot in 2D slow the story down a bit, in the end (especially the final 15-20 minutes), Legacy is a mind-blowing and absolute must-see! I am eagerly anticipating watching this movie again during opening weekend.

Whatta face! I didn't think Reese Witherspoon was THAT heavy!

How Do You Know You’d think with a cast like Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson sharing the marquee, you’d have a reasonably entertaining movie. How Do You Know starts off somewhat promising and Owen Wilson remains the only constant bright spot in this movie, delivering his lines with perfect comedic timing and touch. It’s the other three on the marquee that fall flat. And the script. And the dialogue. Particularily in the case of Nicholson who play’s Rudd’s “scary” and “intimdating” father who’s being investigated by the federal government for wire fraud. His delivery is so stiff and his hand mannerisms so akin to Lewis Black, that any number of veteran actors looking for a quick paycheck could have played the role (i.e. De Niro in the Fockers series). Witherspoon gives a game effort, but comes off as whiny and neurotic. There’s zero chemistry between ANY of these actors and it all concludes in a flat and contrived conclusion that leaves us to figure out what happens next. This movie cost $120 million to make, $50 million just for the cast. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you 2010’s EPIC FAIL movie.

The ultimate tag-team! Scott and Knives! Wooo!!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World This is hands down my favorite movie of 2010. With Despicable Me, Tron: Legacy and Inception jousting for second place. I’ve seen this movie six times (twice in theaters and four times, so far, on DVD), so it’s safe to say I’m a bit addicted to this flick. For me, this movie has everything – catchy one-liners, great action sequences, a little touch of romance, a cute Asian girl and great pacing. The only draw back is the ending, which can be remedied by watching the Alternate Ending on DVD.

Love these guys.

Despicable Me I’ve had the opportunity to watch this movie on the big screen and now on DVD (with the Minion Madness Bonus DVD, o course.) Let me start off by saying, skip the Minion Madness Bonus DVD. You’re not missing much and whatever is on there will eventually find it’s way onto YouTube. There’s three super short Minions clips, a twenty minute Behind the Voices featurette and then two games you can play. As for the movie itself, the first time around, LOVED the minions. Still do. And not because they look like chunky Twinkies. Second time around, on DVD, still like the movie and the Minions, but my favorite lines are still – “It’s so fluffy. I’m gonna die.” and “It’s so FLUFFY!!” hahaha

Naruto: Shippuden Vol. 1-12 This is the series that has taken up most of my viewing time over the past week and a half. I can say that the first eight volumes are very well done. They story has nice pacing and action sequences are well-done. Seeing the characters grown up from the original Naruto series was also nice.

I hope the story picks up during the other five seasons.

This storyline take a hard left turn though at Volume 9 and the storyline starts to get dragged out and at times, becomes a bit boring. The showdown between Naruto and Orochimaru ends up being kind of lame and Kabuto, frankly, is just annoying now. Stay dead! There’s still many, many more volumes to go, but this is as far as I can go, renting through Netflix. The rest of the volumes I’ll have to view online somehow, but I’ll spare you the details since those of you not interested in anime or familiar with this series have no idea what I’m talking about here. So how about we move on to …

One Piece: The Desert Princess and The Pirates – Adventures in Alabasta … yeah, another anime. This movie actually covers a chunk of the early volumes in the One Piece manga series. I believe it’s roughly Volume 15-23. Nice action sequences although Luffy’s voice always bothered me in the anime version of the manga. Still, Chopper rules!