Category: Movies

Speed Racer is getting released in Beirut tonight (two days ahead of US release) and even though there are demonstrations and strikes taking place at the moment the movies are open as usual. Hopefully it will turn out to be good since I’ve always been a fan of the original cartoon. Will post my feedback later tonight.

update: I just got back from watching Speed Racer. I was the only one at the premier I guess because of all the rioting and blocked roads today in Lebanon. The movie was over 2 hours long but it was pretty good. I was worried the style of the movie would turn out childish but it was actually cool. Its extremely colorful, like you need to be on acid to watch this movie kind of colorful. The races are action packed and super fast and my favorite character Racer X was really cool. Only thing disappointing is that they didn’t play the Speed Racer theme song as often as I would have hoped for. The movie should be watchable in Kuwait with only 1 scene that would probably be cut and its a kiss in the last scene of the movie.

I watched Iron Man late last night and its way better than both Spiderman and The Hulk. Its as good as the last Batman and even better than Transformers. Robert Downey Jr. was really great, not as good as Christian Bale but then again, nobody is. Can’t wait for the sequel.

I just got two tickets for tonights special showing of Iron Man here in Lebanon. The movie premiers in the States on the 2nd of May but somehow its showing here in Lebanon before. I guess its like how Star Wars premiered in Kuwait before the rest of the world.

From Cinemagic:

Cinemagic is delighted to announce the return of our weekly screening program. Screenings will continue to take place at our new location in Old Salmiya, above LG Electronics.

This week, we will be screening “The Kite Runner“.

Based one on of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, ‘The Kite Runner’ is a profoundly emotional tale of friendship, family, devastating mistakes and redeeming love. In a divided country on the verge of war, two childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever. It’s a glorious afternoon in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the exhilarating joy of a kite-fighting tournament. But in the aftermath of the day’s victory, one boy’s fearful act of betrayal will mark their lives forever and set in motion an epic quest for redemption. Now, after 20 years of living in America, Amir returns to a perilous Afghanistan under the Taliban’s iron-fisted rule to face the secrets that still haunt him and take one last daring chance to set things right.

For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of filmmaking.

As always, attendance is free of charge (but seating is limited). Snacks and refreshments will be served. The Kite Runner screening will take place on Thursday, May 1st, at 7 p.m.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about Cinemagic’s weekly film screening so in case you don’t know about it, here is the latest film they will be showing:

Cinemagic is delighted to announce the return of our weekly screening program. Screenings will continue to take place at our new location in Old Salmiya, above LG Electronics.

This week, we will be screening “Children of Men”. The Screening will take place on Thursday, April 10th, at 7:30 p.m.

Y Tu Mamá También and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón returns to the helm to tell this futuristic tale in which society is without hope since humankind lost its ability to procreate. The year is 2027, and women can no longer give birth. The youngest inhabitant of the planet has just died at the age of 18, and all hope for humanity has been lost. As civilization descends into chaos, a dying world finds one last chance for survival in the form of a woman who has become inexplicably pregnant. Now, as warring nationalistic sects clash and British leaders try to maintain their totalitarian stronghold on the country, a disillusioned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) is brought back into the fold of activism by his guerrilla ex-wife (Julianne Moore). Reluctantly, he takes on the daunting task of escorting Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), the refugee who represents humankind’s last hope for survival, out of harm’s way and into the care of a mysterious organization known as The Human Project. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, and Michael Caine co-star in this adaptation of author P.D. James’s gripping 1992 novel.

For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of filmmaking.

As always, attendance is free of charge (but seating is limited). Snacks and refreshments will be served.

A lot of people complained about the ending to the movie I Am Legend and yesterday I found out another alternate ending existed. I am not sure I like the alternate ending though, I think its too kiss kiss nice nice but some of you might prefer it. [Link]

via

From the guys who brought you Scary Movie and The Naked Gun comes Superhero Movie. Hopefully it turns out to be funnier then Scary Movie 4 which sucked. [Link]

Update: Here is a direct link to the trailer [Link]

The Lebanese movie Caramel is going to get released in the States and with that they’ve created an Americanized version of the trailer and it SUCKS! The trailer makes the movie look like a cheesy b-rated straight to video romantic comedy. Couldn’t they also find another guy to do the voice over? [American Trailer]

If you want to compare it to the original trailer click [Here]

Thanks Armani!

Cinescape have updated their coming soon list and Cloverfield is back on it but this time it launches on February 7th. [Link]

Update: It seems starting February 7th the ticket prices are going to be slightly increased by Cinescape and its now going to cost KD3 instead of KD2.5. On a positive note its only KD1.5 on Mondays so I guess thats going to be everybody’s movie night from now on.

I just found out Cloverfield will get released at the movies here in Kuwait on the 24th of January. There shouldn’t be anything to cut from it so I will probably watch it here unless I find out otherwise. [Link]

Thanks Kuwait

Update: For some reason Cinescape has removed Cloverfield from the coming soon list. I guess it was a mistake from their side.

It sucked. Dragon Wars is the worst movie I am going to watch this year because I can’t imagine anything turning out worse than this. And yes, the picture above is of a lizard attacking a helicopter…

I am not a big fan of zombie flicks and horrors but I end up watching a lot of them because Nat is a huge horror buff. I Am Legend is a movie I wasn’t too interested to watch, first because it starred Will Smith who I don’t really like and second because I had just recently watched Fido and Resident Evil: Extinction, both zombie flicks and both turned out to be crap so I wasn’t too excited to watch anything else similar. Luckily, I Am Legend is nothing like them.

A plague takes over the world and the only person still left alive is Will Smith, a scientist living in whats left of New York. He spends everyday living the exact same routine, hunting for food, watching DVDs and trying to find a cure for the plague that has turned everyone into zombies. The movie isn’t fast passed, it’s also not the regular cliché story where a group of people are trying to run away from zombies. The movie is much deeper than that with a story to tell. It actually reminded me a lot of Waterworld (which I loved) where Kevin Costner explores the vast underwater cities alone, except here its Will Smith exploring a completely abandoned New York City thats being overrun by wilderness. I completely wasn’t expecting the movie to turn out this way.

The zombies in this movie have to be the freakiest ones I have seen so far. Usually they are either slow or clumsy but the ones in this movie are extremely fast and agile. For me this is also the best Will Smith movie I have seen and his acting really is on display here since the majority of time its just him we’re watcing. Overall the movie was very captivating and there wasn’t a moment where I got bored. My biggest problem with the movie is the fact I would have wanted to see Will Smith explore the city more, I kept wishing the movie was longer and we would get to see more of the beautifully created abandoned New York. I guess once this movie started I wanted it to turn into an adventure. Final score a 4 out of 5.

Note: Movie gets released on January 10th here in Kuwait

The good: The Girl Next Door
Extremely shocking and stomach turning. Not for the squeamish. Based on the true story of Sylvia Likens whom you can get more info about from the Crime Library.

The bad: Bee Movie
Not near as funny as the least funniest Seinfeld episode. I watched it at The Avenues movie theater which I think is just a fantastic looking place. By far the best theater I have ever been to anywhere.

The ugly: Shoot ‘Em Up
What a b-rated piece of trash this movie turned out to be. Definitely one of the worst movies I have seen this year. No plot, fake cheesy action and terrible acting by everyone except for Monica Bellucci, but thats because she had major cleavage through out the movie. I also just found out she is married to the french guy who stared with her in the movie Irréversible which you should watch instead of this crap.

This is the trailer to the new Batman movie, his bike looks wicked! [YouTube]

Martin Scorcese meets Alfred Hitchcock. One fucking incredible commercial and I wouldn’t even want to think how much it cost them. A must see for any Martin Scorcese or Alfred Hitchcock fan. Makes me want to watch Vertigo again. [Link]