Skip to main content

MEN IN BLACK

Ok, this is not going to be much of a review, because there's not a lot of crazy conceptual things to talk about with this movie, but it's a really fun watch and I think it's culturally important anyway. I feel like people think that to be important or worth watching, movies have to win all sorts of awards or have some crazy kind of controversy surrounding them or leave some sort of lasting legacy or leave the audience with some deep shit to think about. Those things are all great, but it doesn't mean that a movie lacking these qualities is necessarily lesser in value, especially entertainment value.
So real quick, I'm gonna talk about some things I liked about this movie.
I hadn't seen Men in Black since I was a very small child, and when that one or some sequel was out, I remember getting like the little plastic toys of the aliens and stuff in a Happy Meal. So, I put it on my list of movies to watch/rewatch, because I could barely remember a thing about it, and I'm glad I did.
I'm sure everybody knows already, but the premise of Men in Black is that there's this agency that goes around monitoring aliens that live among people on Earth and kinda keeping intergalactic peace. Will Smith's character, James Edwards, is tracked down to sort of audition (my theatre is showing) for the MIB because when he was on the job as an NYPD officer, he tracks down this alien dude on foot, which is apparently super impressive. So James is in the test with a bunch of super elite military dudes, but he ends up getting picked because I guess he's more street-smart and less trigger-happy (at least, he's better at assessing danger before he draws a weapon than the military guys).
Anyway, so James gets to be partners with Tommy Lee Jones's character, known simply as K, and has his WHOLE identity erased, and alien drama ensues.
Fun movie, doesn't require a lot of brainpower (so it was a nice break from the other movies I've covered), and it's just a fun ride.
So K and James (now known as J) make a great good cop/bad cop (ish) team, with K being the experienced, more serious one and J being the wise-cracking stud that is still super capable despite being a joker. It's just a nice contrast.
What to say about the design? There's some obvious CGI, but I think there were also puppets used, and I'm a sucker for practical effects over CGI. The costumes were kinda fun too, especially J's outfits before he starts wearing the standard-issue MIB suits. The ONE huge beef I have with the movie is that I think J should have kept his earring. Would've been a nice touch of flair.
In summary: not the most complex piece of work, but still fun and worth watching if you wanna kick back and watch Will Smith fight some aliens and Tommy Lee Jones hinting that Elvis was actually an alien.
Rating: B
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE TRUMAN SHOW

So, a few years ago, I had this boyfriend (I know, shocking). He was a good dude I guess, but we had a pretty bitter falling out at the end of things. But he told me to watch this movie- and it has taken me about three years to finally tackle it. So here goes. The Truman Show is about a dude named Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey), who lives in a picturesque utopian town called SeaHaven. What Truman doesn't know is that his entire life, from birth until the start of the movie, has been broadcasting live on television to people around the world 24 hours a day. In his town, Truman is surrounded by actors paid to portray the members of his town- including his wife and his best friend. However, when actors begin to go off-script and are chased down and taken away in front of Truman's own eyes, he begins to wonder what's going on and why the world seems to be entirely focused on him. He starts to notice that he lives his life on a ;loop- seeing the same cast members every ...
Post a Comment
Read more

HEREDITARY

"Hail Paimon!" That's right, guys and gals. Today I'm going to be talking about Hereditary, which I just saw in theaters AT NIGHT...by myself. And it was a very enjoyable experience, seeing the movie alone. I did, however, have to take a bath and go right to bed when I got home, because Hereditary was extremely emotionally draining and kept me SO TENSE the entire time. I would say that's the mark of a good film- to be able to pull that much emotion from an audience member.  The plot of Hereditary is so wild that it's difficult to explain without giving the plot away, so note: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. Hereditary tells the story of the Graham family, who has recently been deprived of their matriarch following her death. Annie, the mother, builds miniatures; her husband, Steve, is some kinda corporate dude; their son Peter is a highschool stoner dude; and their daughter, Charlie, is clearly kinda weird, but it's hard to figure out why at the beginnin...
Post a Comment
Read more

EIGHTH GRADE

"Gucci!" I cringed even just typing that. But I'm here today to say a few words about Bo Burnham's new movie, Eighth Grade. I was lucky enough to get into my state's free screening of the film last Wednesday, and I absolutely had a blast (and not only because it was in one of those theaters with the comfy reclining seats). Eighth Grade is a sort of barely-linear snapshot in the life of Kayla Day, who is on her last week of middle school. The audience gets to follow Kayla as she is thrown into a variety of situations, ranging from awkward to absolutely uncomfortable. Although it's been several years since I was in eighth grade, I could relate to everything Kayla experiences throughout the film; in fact, despite the fact that the film takes place in present day, with technology and trends that might not have been around during the adolescence of some viewers, the emotions and motivations that drive the film's main character are things that everyone can...
Post a Comment
Read more