Men In Black III Review 8/10
Men In Black 3 (image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org)
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Jermain Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg
Writer: Etan Cohen
Rating: 8/10
It’s been a while and yes, the Men in Black are back. Honestly, I was apprehensive about another installment in this franchise. I never really saw it as a franchise to begin with and then to hear that someone else would play a younger version of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones)? I was a little worried. But considering and comparing MiB3 to MiB2, MiB3 is miles and miles better! The second movie never really lived up to the original and fell really short. I watched it and ‘liked’ it because I am a MiB fan. I thought with the lukewarm response to the second movie that it would have stopped there. But I can understand why a 3rd movie was made – the MiB concept, the story, characters etc. are all so unique and ingenious that you wouldn’t want such a great story to end with the mediocre 2nd movie, would you?
I have to say, I loved this movie. I watched it mainly because there really wasn’t anything good around to watch but am so grateful I did. It drastically improves and manages to almost erase the fact that there was a second movie. Josh Brolin is incredible! To be able to capture Tommy Lee Jones’s mannerisms, speech, demeanour and that deadpan look. You really felt that you were watching a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones, not Agent K. I crack up every time I see the scene with Agent O (Emma Thompson) giving her speech at the beginning of the movie. To see such a reputed ‘serious’ actress manage to pull off an ‘alien’ language like that, as absurd as it is, she does it oh so well.
I enjoyed the 1969 setting immensely mainly due to the way they brought in famous personalities from that era i.e. Andy Warhol, Apollo moon mission etc. The scene at Andy Warhol’s, The Factory is another ingenious depiction and hats off to Bill Hader who played Andy Warhol. I also enjoyed the introduction of Griffin, the multi-dimensional being, whose character conception is brilliant – a being who exists here, now, there, then and ‘everywhere’, he exists in every time, space and in every imagined outcome of every possible choice taken that in turn affect events that could, have or will occur. Phew!!!!!!!!!!! That’s my summary of Griffin.
The colour is vibrant both in the 2012 and 1969 setting, the special effects are as always incredible and Boris the Animal is a great addition to the cast of MiB villains. I like that he’s ruthless yet funny enough that he hates being called ‘the Animal’ and keeps saying, “It’s just Boris!” Also, he’s nasty looking indeed but that really helps. I chuckled with the introduction of Glamouria – a planet and its people whose only asset is that they’re beautiful and ‘glamorous’ making them most of Earth’s top models etc. Loved the 1969 version of the neuralyzer….kekekeke…so old school along with the younger Agent K’s battery pack. They all make for classic moments.
The story line and it’s progression were incredibly well-worked, it moves along smoothly and you don’t get any sense of there being ‘gaps’ or anything ‘lacking’. I am not completely sure of the set up at Cape Canaveral, if there was or is indeed those little contraptions that are attached to a cable running from the lift-off tower to the beach that allow workers to make a quick getaway? Hmmm…
Sidenote – the humour is there. Will Smith’s Agent J, doesn’t try to do the ‘rebellious younger cop’ quips that his character did in the first MiB. A good 15 years have passed and it shows in his sensibilities and in how the movie tries to tackle humour. Tommy Lee Jones is still ‘refreshingly’ deadpan but that’s where we find his character at his funniest – check out his eulogy at the beginning.
I wish I could type more but I don’t want to give away the whole movie. The ending was beautifully done and tied everything in together so well. So the verdict? Watch it! If you’re not a MiB fan, it’s still a great entertainer and if you are an MiB fan, this so totally outshines the 2nd movie and is a worthy sequel to the first. It manages to recapture that ‘magic’ we all saw in the first movie.
Update on Movies Page
Hey just to let you all know there’s an update in the Movies page of my blog…it’s on a Korean movie…now, now don’t be too quick to judge…check it out if you’re looking for something to watch during the weekend 
Update in MOVIES page…
Hey just updated the Movies page. The movie isn’t exactly the latest but all I do is share my personal thoughts and feelings on movies I’ve seen or thought others might be interested in. So do go and have a read when you can
Here’s the link: http://mymusingsaday.wordpress.com/movies-yes/
A Happy Diwali indeed!
First off, Happy Diwali greetings to all!!! I’ve particularly enjoyed this Diwali 2011. There was an unplanned visitation by a friend, conversations, tea and snacks and suddenly it snowballed into a full-blown dinner and a SLEEPOVER! Yay! Haven’t had one of those in a while. Considering where I was last year Diwali, this was far more ‘quiet’ and a little ‘sane’. Lol.
Beloved ‘student’ came over, toting her cute HP netbook filled with movies, videos and *sniffle* episodes of the Running Man and Protect the Boss! OMG! But more for my flatmate. Lol. I went OMG for the addition of two movies to my collection: The A-Team (yes, I’m not kidding since I quite like Liam Neeson and Bradly Cooper) and a Japanese historical, style amped-up movie called Goemon. Enjoyed both, the former being good action entertainment and the latter being quite a theatrical twist to an old tale of the transition of power from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Loved the execution of the whole thing. You’ll be seeing a review on the Movies page later. After this weekend’s big exam! Lol.
So all we did was eat, drink and make merry >_< It was wonderful to have a friend over, just chilling and hanging and being thoroughly fed by my flatmate who made excellent, excellent pork with bamboo shoot! Slurppppp! Then that was followed by a light snack of sweet corn with lemon and chilli as a filler before custard for dessert, accompanied by her special-style hand-whipped coffee (the cheapest and simplest way to get foamy, frothy coffee at home without any machinery or equipment – all you need is a cup, a fork and a strong wrist and arm). We regaled our ‘guest’ with stories of the dogs…ahem…we would like to officially thank her for putting up with that and smiling through it all! LOL. As a ‘reward’ for her ‘patience’ she got to play games the whole night! Lol. So it was a good trade-off. It was too late for her to go home so she ended up sleeping-over and hence, the visit-slash-dinner became a visit-slash-dinner-slash-slumber party! Enjoyed a few fireworks from the balcony, swapped stories about traditional folklore about the supernatural (creeped us out a little) then we all turned in! The only downside to the whole night would have to be Alchia Bura and his jealousy over how much attention we were giving the ‘newbie’ in our group! Yes, he was jealous and it was weird :-/
I couldn’t help but feel really happy through the night. There was this inexplicable feeling of ‘homeliness’ and warmth to the whole thing and NO, it was not because my flatmate was ‘slaving’ away in the kitchen! Lol. I think it was just the whole act of getting together for a meal, chatting and spending time with one another. I stated it once before in an old post about how some of the best get-together’s are the ones that don’t require elaborate set-up’s, expensive getaway’s or stuff. Again, last night, I had another one of those wonderful moments with friends and it felt nice
I have no clue about the history of Diwali – it’s origins, what it celebrates, which gods/goddesses are involved etc. Nowadays, it’s about lights, firecrackers, lots of gifts, gambling, drinking etc. Like all festivals, it has become a time to have fun and just chill, which is not bad either. But honestly, sometimes, I think we miss out on the simple things like just being in the presence of friends and family (this includes pets too) who make this life a little ‘brighter’ with their presence. Cheesy? Oh absolutely and I blame my mum for it! :p
Gung, money & HEAT!!!!
Well, it’s been an interesting week. Summer is on in Delhi! Sweating and getting lovely headaches and sweat patches everywhere. There was some relief in the form of a very light shower a couple of days ago, I think it was a Friday.
Had a lovely outing on Saturday. Went to watch a movie, Source Code. Done with a lot of heart, considering its’ genre. Well worth the watch. Afterwards, after deliberating between Pork Fried Ribs and Korean, finally decided on Korean and we were whisked away to a lovely restaurant called Gung! There are two branches of this Korean restaurant, one in Green Park and their ‘palatial’ one in Gurgaon (which boasts of a karaoke bar)! For a more detailed review, read in the Food page.
That’s the first part of the post, Gung done. Heat done. Now comes money. Money makes the world go round! Oh what a perceptive individual coined this phrase….hmmphh. But as cliched as I’ve become with regards to this topic, it’s true. In the end, it all boils down to money….sighhhhhh. But as long as there are people there in this world, who understand it’s value and worth and realize how much others need it too, then maybe we all have a sporting chance….
Art Imitating Life, Or Vice-Versa….?
Really don’t know where reel life ends and real life begins! Let’s take Bollywood…when did people start dancing HUGE, multi-orchestrated and choreographed dance sequences to perform at people’s weddings?!!!! And they’re the guests! Shouldn’t they be the ones sitting down and enjoying the ‘show’? Anyone?!
And why did everyone start thinking they were ‘mad’ racers who could accelerate, swerve, drift, ‘drag’ their way down winding roads like they were the original inspiration for the Fast and Furious? Weird…
What about dying for love? Shakespeare made his characters ‘do it’ (get your minds out of the gutter!). Romeo and Juliet. Though there were obviously other aspects to the story but this fairly old play rather immortalized the romantic notion of someone dying for the one they love….correction….dying because they can’t be with the ones they love. You see it everyday in the news. On Valentine’s Day, a young boy sets himself on fire because the girl he wants to date refuses him. The most ironic thing is the boy’s parents ended up dying too, trying to put out the flames. I don’t think Shakespeare would have envisioned such an outcome….but hang on. He did. Right at the end of the play. When Juliet wakes up too late to stop Romeo from drinking the poison. He dies and in her grief, she stabs herself so they can finally be together. Huh. Guess he already understood the nature of men (and women) when in love. So he did envision it. Sort of.
Who would have ever thought that manga’s, anime and emo culture could influence an entire generations’ fashion, emotions and attitudes? The hairdo’s, the clothes, the body language…..how much of it came from people and how much of it came from watching it being performed on a stage? Life imitating art?
I don’t know if art is the medium through which all these hidden and repressed emotions and ideas spring from or whether certain things have sprung forth in real life because of being prodded along by art? Hmmmmm and double Hmmmmmm………………………
