Come on of course Cowboys and Aliens was going to terrible. They took a funny story and tried to make a serious movie out of it and that's why it fails on so many fronts. Plus Ford is phoning in everything now just like Pacino and De Niro.

Hanna was good but disappointing mostly of what Blankfist mentioned already. She takes out a whole base and suddenly shes scared of 3 guys and 1 woman in the finale? Ninja please.

Hanna with its fairytale bullshit was really weak as well. I was hoping it would have more of a Bourne Identity feel about it. Am not 5 give me complex storylines not rooted in fairytale bullshit. By the 3rd act all I wanted to do is fucking leave because the story started to fall apart and retcon everything they built up in act 1 and 2. Still good but it's not Leon or Nikita.

Overall this whole summer has been shit for movies.

spoilers...

@dag, but I don't think her emotional and psychological obstacles in the 3rd Act really translated into something tangible enough that she couldn't make quick work of Cate. I think the first time she was taken to that big government facility near the beginning of the movie was much more terrifying. For her and us as the audience. The fear was palpable, the situation was dire, and ultimately the stakes were really high. Then by the end it was just her and Cate in a weird closed amusement park. I get all the fairy tale visuals, and they're a wonderful touch, but Cate was not the biggest threat in the movie. At least not by herself.

Remember that scene where we first see Cate with a gun? She's inept. Not a threat without her team. And in the end, the entire climax is her by herself without her team. At any time Hanna could've snapped her neck. To me, once they got to that old man's home, the movie became sprawling, somewhat unfocused and then it changed its tone so it could shoehorn in a Grimm ending.

It's still a great movie, just not as great as it could've been. IMHO.

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** Spoilers Continue **

I didn't have a problem with the ending. It was a bit magical. She was in the fairytale house and the witch came to get her. Although Hanna was bad ass, she was completely freaked out psychologically by confronting the witch, so not functioning well. I thought it was a pretty good ending actually. Cate played evil really well in this one.

>> ^blankfist:

I saw Hanna a while back. It's really well done. And the tone is exceptionally great for this kind of story. It's really good. Or at least the first two acts are really good. By the 3rd act I felt like the stakes were lowered too much. In the very last big scene I never felt the main character was threatened.
SPOILER ALERT
Do NOT read further if you don't want the ending ruined.
@dag, how'd you feel about the ending? Up to that point we've seen what Hanna is capable of: fighting troves of baddies with guns and kicking ass all the way. I mean, she's the perfect assassin, right? Then by the end it's just her versus Cate Blanchett's character. Sure, Cate is armed with a gun, but she's so out matched it's a deflation from the action-packed ride we were just on.

I saw Hanna a while back. It's really well done. And the tone is exceptionally great for this kind of story. It's really good. Or at least the first two acts are really good. By the 3rd act I felt like the stakes were lowered too much. In the very last big scene I never felt the main character was threatened.

SPOILER ALERT
Do NOT read further if you don't want the ending ruined.

@dag, how'd you feel about the ending? Up to that point we've seen what Hanna is capable of: fighting troves of baddies with guns and kicking ass all the way. I mean, she's the perfect assassin, right? Then by the end it's just her versus Cate Blanchett's character. Sure, Cate is armed with a gun, but she's so out matched it's a deflation from the action-packed ride we were just on.

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For some reason - My memory of this comment had you recommending "Friends With Benefits" and I was about to give you all kinds of shit for what a terrible movie it was, as I just saw it. Thwarted. I hate his washboard abs with every fiber of my being.>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

Cowboys and Aliens sucked and sucked bad. Don't waste your money. We are in a small town at the moment that doesn't offer foreign films, so Hanna will have to wait, but we were pleasantly surprised yesterday by Crazy. Stupid. Love. Decent flick that starts off formulaic (but still funny) and then evolves into something pretty good. Recommended.
At $6 a ticket out here in MT, I've seen 6 movies in as many weeks. Back in Cali, where tickets are twice as much or more, I saw 1 movie in 7 months.

I really wanted to go see Hanna in the theaters. In addiction to a great cast and trailer, parts of it were filmed in Finland (yay!) I ended up waiting a bit too long and missed the theatrical run. So I am now just waiting for it to be out of DVD so I can put it on top the my NetFlix queue

Hanna! Miley Cyrus was LETHAL!

Cowboys and Aliens sucked and sucked bad. Don't waste your money. We are in a small town at the moment that doesn't offer foreign films, so Hanna will have to wait, but we were pleasantly surprised yesterday by Crazy. Stupid. Love. Decent flick that starts off formulaic (but still funny) and then evolves into something pretty good. Recommended.

At $6 a ticket out here in MT, I've seen 6 movies in as many weeks. Back in Cali, where tickets are twice as much or more, I saw 1 movie in 7 months.

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I think Hanna has been out in other countries for quite a while - but it's still newish here in Oz.

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Not a bad cover - but Kurt is spinning in his grave. I've always wondered about the title - what does "Smells Like Teen Spirit" mean? I suspect that Miley Cyrus smells like teen spirit.

Edit: via Wikipedia:

Cobain came up with the song's title when his friend Kathleen Hanna, at the time the lead singer of the Riot Grrrl punk band Bikini Kill, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been discussing anarchism, punk rock, and similar topics, Cobain interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. What Hanna actually meant, however, was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail wore.

:52 is when I realized this is not a joke.

So what ? is she like the new Disney teeny bopper Hanna Montana replacement ?

I have a 19month old daughter and I read that article last week along with my wife. We are both very, very concerned about the sexualisation of women in the media (Killing us softly gives great pause). We'll be doing our damndest to make a tomboy out of our daughter (not that difficult I don't think, she has 3 older brothers )

It's interesting that the article mentions Katy Perry and California Girls; There's a family we're friends with who's daughter just started school (so 5yrs old) and last time we were over at their house she was singing and dancing on the table to California Girls. That song and video clip (and Katy Fricken Perry) are exactly the sort of shit that girls should NOT be watching. It purely paints women as things to be looked at and to fuss over their looks and shoot whipped cream out of their breasts... wait, what?

That girl has been raised in EXACTLY the way that is enforcing the consumerist, image focused bullshit that we hate as parents.

When it comes to TV shows I'd like her to watch things like Kim Possible (although still with bloody cheerleading etc.) because she's a ridiculously capable secret agent, rather than tripe like Hanna Montanna or iCarli.

At the moment about the only thing she watches (in small doses) is Austalia's own Wiggles, which she loves and 'sings' and dances to. Actually, this morning when I dressed her I purposely picked out an outfit that had NO pink in it We originally were going to have a 'no pink' rule completely, but then it'd be very hard to actually buy ANY clothes for her.

So, yeah. My opinion is that for all of women's lib it seems to have been swinging way into the realms of getting girls to think about dating and sex and being sexy earlier and earlier and earlier... and it's quite sick.


It's going to be a challenge indeed to raise a girl with a healthy self esteem, no hang ups on her looks, a belief in her abilities AND still not have her be a prude or have any hang up about sex etc. when she's older.

*sigh*... kids, aren't they great?

>> ^Deano:

I do think trailers give away a bit too much but I'd still happily see this. It is supposed to be "dark" or is it just supposed to be enjoyable nonsense?


I think that some trailers give a lot away and some lead us to believe that we know what's going to happen and then it turns out it didn't give much away at all. At least that's my experience. As for whether it's supposed to be dark, I dunno but it certainly looks it!

I found exactly one hit for a lyric snippet from the first song the boys are singing in the mess, sung to the tune of "Lili Marleen" (http://videosift.com/video/Hanna-Schygulla-Lili-Marleen). I suppose it's dubbed "The Lancs of 75 [Squadron]".

The Lancs of Mepal, they're on their way,
Off to bomb the Jerries, they bomb them every day,
And when they wish to show their might,
They bomb the sods by day and night,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

Off we go from Briefing and leap into our kite,
Open up the throttles and roar into the night,
We've left the flarepath far behind,
It's bloody dark but we don't mind,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

There's the bloody searchlights waving round the sky,
Not much ruddy power and not too bloody high,
I hope they don't start shooting til we're through,
They might get me and they might get you,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

Now we're through the target setting course for home,
Soon we'll see the Sandra's waving o'er the 'drome,
That's if we don't go off the track,
And stop a crafty burst of flak,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the lancs of 75.

Junkers off to starboard, Focke-Wulf off to port,
Gunner calls to Skipper, the range is getting short,
Prepare to corkscrew starboard, go,
We know our stuff and we're not slow,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

Now we're in the circuit with a turn to land,
No intruders round us, ain't it bloody grand,
We fooled the Hun once more tonight,
Dropped a load right on the Reich,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

When the war is over and there's no more ops to do,
We'll think of all our pals,
The ones who did not get through,
The pals who were with us through thick and thin,
That we one day the War would win,
The Lancasters of Mepal, the Lancs of 75.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/general/8985-wwii-dittys.html

I was lucky enough to take my daughter to one of the last Flintstone Parks a couple of years ago before Hanna Barbara pulled all licensing rights from the theme parks. It's sad to see an era slip away.

My daughter will always have the photos as memories though... driving the bedrock cars, controlling the Fred's big purple dino crane, pumping gas from the woolly mammoth named "Ethel" Going on the log boat safari drinking cactus juice, watching the cartoons on the cave walls and so much more.

The cartoons were a blast as well - sort of the predecessors to the Simpsons..