tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post3464290437117746278..comments2024-03-27T15:36:10.416-07:00Comments on Film Reviews from Two Guys in the Dark: Stand Up Guys and Warm BodiesKen Burke; Pat Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-1352721815633452162013-03-13T13:24:00.388-07:002013-03-13T13:24:00.388-07:00Hi, rj. A marvelous collection of comments (I rar...Hi, rj. A marvelous collection of comments (I rarely buy movie popcorn anymore either, except on days when work commitments have caused me to skip lunch and I'm absolutely starving by the time I get to the last afternoon bargain matinee) on a wide selection of related topics (and thanks for the compliments; your royalty check should be in the mail). You definitely put the "Two" back in Two Guys in the Dark (sorry, Pat, I know you're still busy with theatre reviews). Keep up the contributions! KenKen Burke; Pat Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-2912292154430003852013-03-10T17:02:17.707-07:002013-03-10T17:02:17.707-07:00Warm Bodies was my latest cinematic escape as Beau...<i>Warm Bodies</i> was my latest cinematic escape as <i>Beautiful Creatures</i> and other more anticipated movies have not made it to my neck of the woods while <i>all</i> of the remaining offerings are either re-releases of <i>PI, Silver Lining, Argo, Dark Thirty</i> or are clearly second tier. An interesting note is that <i>Master</i> is not in second release in my area while nationally Yahoo Users have given it a less than stellar two star assessment. <i>Silver Linings</i> and <i>The Master</i> both deal quite powerfully with mental illness, but <i>Linings</i> has a successful romance while <i>Master</i> does not.<br /><br />I was expecting a <i>Twilight</i> audience for <i>Warm Bodies</i> and that’s what I found at the screening. Women seem to love romance stories regardless of plausibility or fantasy elements. The ladies in the audience were having a great collective experience with giggles, laughs and swoons throughout. A matinee idol male must be a requirement, regardless if he’s a vampire in high school or a walking corpse after the apocalypse. Just make sure that the couple prevails and that there's hope for the future.<br /><br />I must admit that I liked the original <i>Twilight</i> and found it to be exceptional, employing a clever script, excellent cinematography, subdued effects, beautiful women, superb architecture and a variety of back stories. The back stories took full advantage of generations of knowledge accumulated by twenty something immortals. Unfortunately the sequels and spin offs failed to meet <i>Twilight’s </i> high standard, and <i>Warm Bodies</i> is no exception. <br /><br />But I did spend a couple of hours watching evolving zombies primarily based on Mr. Burke’s review (he even read the book!) and other user's opinions; both are data sources that are generally quite good. <br /><br />I found the screenplay and pacing of <i>Warm Bodies</i> to be a little weary in the first half; how much grunting and self-agonizing by a corpse do we really need? Once “R” begins effective communication, things improved. Communication seems to be a common requirement for human relationships; I assume it is equally relevant for zombies.<br /><br />It is always interesting how Ken’s reviews can bring one back to the moment, often generating a re-imagining and reliving of the cinematic event. That quality of his reviews is clearly unique. <br /><br />I also responded to many of the movie’s musical selections which "R" uses to begin the bonding. The characters are shown listening to the hits using old school <i>vinyl</i>, which is amazingly is an up and coming trend. As Ken notes, Springsteen’s <i>Hungry Heart</i> is featured. A Springsteen biographer recently noted that Bruce did not like <i>Hungry Heart</i> and that the Boss had to be forced to include it on his breakthrough album. One reason was that <i>Hungry Heart</i> had a depressing set of lyrics about a guy who leaves his family and never comes back. Apparently Bruce wanted a different audience perspective as his star rose. A casual listener often hears a different story of a lonely guy seeking love but failing in his efforts. Regardless, the song was a good reference either way for <i>Warm Bodies</i>. <br /><br />Overall a successful popcorn movie (although I don’t buy the overpriced popcorn anymore). I’ll probably pass on sequels but I don’t see that hour and half as totally wasted. Your woman will probably leave smiling and that is what counts!rjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13025728540081089210noreply@blogger.com