Hella » Entertainment

Gloria

Hella — Sat, 11 Sep 2004 16:27:12 +0000

The Gloria Estefan concert last night was tons of fun. We started off at a friend’s place and spent about an hour chatting and watching a comedy tape. After some wine, beer, and spirits, we headed out the door and caught a cab down to the Wachovia Center. Upon entering the parking lot, it was obvious that there would be a very mixed crowd. There were grandmas and grandpas, moms and dads, but not a lot of the younger crowd. We headed around the building to the will-call booth and picked up the tickets. After purchasing some beer and pretzels, we took our seats. Even though we opted for the mid-range seats, I thought they were great. Sure, we didn’t have an up close view, but we were pretty much centered on the stage.

The set had a spiritual theme with a being (a diety of some sort?) in colors of red and gold. When the opening act came on, the being started moving its hands and the lights made it look really cool. There was a ton of energy right from the start, both on the stage and in the audience.

No one opened for Gloria and she went on for about 2 hours and 15 minutes with only a couple of short breaks. There were a few really neat things woven into the concert, like her 9 year old daughter playing the drums, some new verses to old favorites, and an unglugged song. Gloria addressed the audience a few times and even had the spotlight shine on a Cathloic nun she studied under in school. She was a great entertainer and I realize that I knew more of her songs than I remembered. I’m glad I made the trip to see her here.

Dodgeball

Hella — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:53:38 +0000

Some may call me crazy for paying 8 bucks to go see this in the theater but I got exactly what I expected. It was pretty funny in parts and totally obscene throughout. The storyline was weak and the acting bad (except for Ben Stiller who must have had trouble keeping a straight face in his role). I definitely won’t be watching this again but I don’t regret going in the first place.

Wizards and Robots

Hella — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 19:51:55 +0000

Last week I was on vacation and I took that opportunity to catch up on some reading. I fiddled around in a few books but mainly spent my time with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I whipped through it just in time to catch the movie last Thursday up in Edwards, Colorado at a small 3 screen theater. This is the same theater where I caught Legally Blonde (perhaps the best movie made in recent history) on opening day back in July 2001.

Anyways, back to Harry Potter; I actually enjoyed the book a lot more than this movie. There was a great deal in the book that was left out of the movie and there were some major plot differences (particularly involving the Firebolt). I imagine that even more will be left out of upcoming movies given that the books are getting to be massive.

On the last night of my vacation (yesterday), I decided to catch another movie. The Stepford Wives was absolutely over the top. Very classy, very sassy, very good. Nicole Kidman proves that she can handle just about any role thrown at her. In fact, Kidman’s character is quite different throughout the movie and she handles it all. The supporting actors are also great. The pace of the plot changes dramatically towards the end of the movie and it all comes together quickly. This has to be one of the most hilarious movies I’ve seen in quite some time.

Raising Helen

Hella — Sun, 30 May 2004 23:32:24 +0000

With the long holiday weekend and a few movie options that I hadn’t seen, I decided to check out Raising Helen. Ok, so this is a total girl movie; so what. I really like Joan Cusack and John Corbett and the previews looked interesting. While I haven’t seen too much of Kate Hudson, I liked her in this one. The story is good and solid though the movie does seem to run a bit long. I suppose it’s better this way than leaving a lot of stuff out. There are many serious scenes that had lots of tears flowing but there is some pretty good comic relief, too. I love the “Pastor Dan just asked me out” scene (it’s in the previews, I’m not giving anything away). Overall, this was an easy one to watch but I doubt I’ll be renting or buying it for a second viewing.

Shrek 2

Hella — Wed, 26 May 2004 01:09:14 +0000

This is one sequel that really got better than the original. I re-watched the first one just a few days ago so I’d have a good comparison. The addition of characters, an interesting story, and a laundry list of humorous lines made this a really great movie. It’s fun to see how traditional fairy tales are woven into a new plot.

The casting for Shrek 2 was absolutely fabulous … literally. Jennifer Saunders (Edina from Absolutely Fabulous) played the perfect bitch as the fairy godmother. Prince Charming was cast equally well. And the Spanish accent that Antonio Banderas gives to the cat made the character just as good as, but much cuter than, the donkey. Eddie Murphy and Mike Meyers delivered again and the donkey finally gets to strut his stuff.

I can’t wait to buy this on DVD!

Out of Time

Hella — Mon, 17 May 2004 15:06:17 +0000

The plot of this movie is rather transparent. A lot of the little details were emphasized a bit too much and it was easy to remember the emphasis and tie them into what would happen.

Overall it was decent but Denzel certainly carries the cast. On a side note, it was funny how Legally Blonde was showing on the television during one of the big action sequences in the hotel room.

Van Helsing

Hella — Tue, 11 May 2004 06:10:53 +0000

I think I already saw this one. It was called Battlefied Earth that time. Ok, maybe not quite that bad … but very close.

The best parts of this movie are the soundtrack and the comic relief. There are a few parts that are hilarious. Also a relief was the ending where I could exit the theater. Save your money and rent this one. Wait, no, I’ve already mentioned the best parts so don’t even bother.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Hella — Mon, 03 May 2004 04:15:50 +0000

I loved this movie. The plot was good without being too cheesy and it was consistently funny throughout. The kids were really cute even though they make raising a family look pretty scary. The foil of the suburban Chicago family couldn’t have been better. Both the mom and the kid in that family were cast well and played the rolls great.

I wish I’d seen this sooner. If I hadn’t rented it, this would probably be one I’d buy.

Stuck on You

Hella — Mon, 03 May 2004 00:58:26 +0000

This movie was second on the afternoon’s list. I was expecting a lot more comedy and a lot less seriousness. The more serious scenes in the movie were somewhat awkward for me. From the previews, I guess I expected just a lot of laughs. I really think this is one of those movies that is better in the theater because you have the collective laughter of the audience to get you more in the funnies mood.

Oh, there’s a really nice speech by Rocket during the credits. He gives a great thank you speech!

Big Fish

Hella — Sun, 02 May 2004 22:05:32 +0000

This is the first of three movies I have rented for today and it’s the first one I decided to watch.

While definitely not my favorite, it wasn’t as painful to watch as Lost in Translation or Dreamcatcher (or Battlefield Earth for that matter). I’m still not a fan of this movie. I usually like Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor and both were decent in this one, I just didn’t care for the story. It never really got started for me.