Archive for the Movies category
Mike
April 3, 2012
Now on Netflix Instant: The Hammer
How have you not seen The Hammer yet? Do you not listen to me? Now it’s on Netflix Instant. So you’ve run out of excuses.
What else do you need than Netflix categorizing the movie as ‘Inspiring’?
Mike
December 31, 2009
It’s time to play TV Movie or Actual Movie?
I saw this trailer over the weekend and immediately wondered what happened to Harrison Ford’s career that he was in a TV movie. I mentioned it later in the day and my cousin had the exact same reaction when he had seen it earlier. Just got a txt from Evan that he had the same thought. Here’s the trailer. Not sure if you get the same feeling from YouTube that you get on an HDTV.
Mike
April 2, 2009
Bruno Trailer
I didn’t think I could be more excited for this than I was for Borat. The trailer may have set the bar too high. It can’t be this good.
Mike
February 15, 2009
Oscar Picks on Ice Cream Helmet
Back for its 2nd year. Oscar Picks on ICH! Just like last year, make your picks in all the categories. You can create a group and have your friends join. If you create a group you can choose the point values for each category. Maybe you want to heavily weight the art direction and costume categories. Or maybe you don’t want them to count at all.
Pat
October 13, 2008
Eagle Eye
Review spoiler warning: minor plot spoilers
I have a firm belief that every type of movie can be great. Eagle Eye is part of a subgenre of film that has in general, has gotten a bad rap. This is in part due to the major amount of crap that is out there within this subgenre of ‘super-computer becoming too smart and goes crazy starting to destroy everyone and everything.’ In truth, Eagle Eye is the first movie in a long time within this subgenre that I would even consider good. Eagle Eye is a decent, action packed experience that I can honestly say I was not expecting.
After the tragic death of his twin brother, Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) is forced into a deep plot, that brings him into the realization that his brother may not exactly be who he thought he knew him to be, and that he is neck deep in something he could never have imagined. We follow Jerry and his female companion thru an emotional and political whirlwind. With a decent story and decent acting, Eagle Eye was a decent cinematic experience for anyone who loves a car crashing, gun slinging, politically driven, evil super computer containing (who has a GUI any tech-buff will drool over), action packed movie will love. Oh, and there is a pretty good, thick story, and decent acting thrown in there too.
I am consistently impressed by the progression Shia LaBeouf has taken into becoming a good well-rounded actor. It is hard to remember him as the awkward pre-teen he played in Even Stevens, after cranking out good performances in pretty much every movie he has been in sense. Eagle Eye was no exception to this trend, his script seemed very rushed at parts, and he worked with what he had like the great actor he is turning into.
I think it is safe to say I enjoyed this movie, and I think anyone looking for just a decent action flick will too. One thing when you do see it, yes, there is a much simpler way to deal with the main problem of the movie, we all can see this. But hey, where would the fun be in that?
7/10 stars
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.
Mike
October 2, 2008
What is your dealbreaker movie?
A dealbreaker movie is a movie that you love and that your significant other has to like for the relationship to have a chance. Perhaps knowing which movie (or movies) that is could save a lot of time, money, and trouble.
The first movie that popped into my head was Field of Dreams. Incorporates baseball and a great story.
I like that choice but I feel like I should explore further. I immediately disqualified any sci-fi, fantasy, or action movies. The areas I’ll focus on are sports and comedy. Even sports might be eliminated. Movies like Field of Dreams and Rudy are loved by all. Meaning it doesn’t tell you much about a person. If you don’t like them, there is something wrong to begin with.
I think comedy is the way to go. It’s also the easiest to test. A serious movie someone can sit through silently and then at the end say, ‘Sure, I liked it.’ You have know way of knowing for sure. With a comedy it will be noticed if you are laughing the whole time sitting next to silence. The first movie I cam up with was Christmas Vacation, but that also falls into the category above, any normal person likes that movie.
It has to be something along the lines of Mel Brooks, Farrelly Brothers, or Naked Gun. The King of those movies is Mel Brooks and my favorite of his is Robin Hood: Men In Tights. So I’m going to go with Field of Dreams and Men In Tights to cover my bases.
While looking through my DVDs to figure this out I actually found a TV Show that would do the job better than any of these movies. Arrested Development. It’s one of my favorite shows of all time but a great test. The show doesn’t tell you when to laugh and you really have to know what’s going on and remember what has happened. There’s no way you can cheat on that test.
Or maybe, we just watch Jackass: The Movie and if she still talks to me, it’s meant to be.
Pat
October 1, 2008
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
If someone were to sum up “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,†in one word, that word would be mediocre. A mediocre script, with mediocre camera work, with a mediocre story, and mediocre acting. Simply put, this is not a flick with much to it; the kind of flick that requires you to turn your brain off to enjoy.
Everything about this movie could have been so much better, it is obvious to see everything they were planning to do, they just did not execute that plan very well. It felt as if the screenwriter, Lorene Scafaria, was attempting to be the next Diablo Cody (Juno). That was the biggest mistake. Nick and Norah’s needed its own special style, something to make it unique, not something that has already been done, and done well. This created a very fake forced feeling script that caused the cast to act very fake and forced.
Considering the material the cast was given to work with, the acting was alright. It’s still disappointing, because a majority of the cast has proven their skill in other films. They just didn’t handle the lack of script that was given to them. Michael Cera was his usual awkward self, as the character that he has been so horribly typecasted as. Kat Dennings managed to create one of the more convincing roles out of the worst-written character, and the rest of the cast only supported the general mediocrity of the movie.
The best part of the movie was the soundtrack. If the rest of the film had been created with the same focus with which the soundtrack was chosen, this review would have a completely different tone. With bands like Modest Mouse, Tekka Tekka, The Dead 60’s, and The Submarines, an atmosphere was developed that complemented the intended ‘indie’ style perfectly. The soundtrack was used very well within the film, continuously playing as to portray the idea of an infinite playlist. The soundtrack was a great way to tie the whole movie together, and keep the intended flow. Too bad this is the only great part of the movie.
The flick opens nation wide in 3 days, I’m not going to say don’t see it, just don’t expect to get much from it.
5/10 stars
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, language, and crude behavior.
Pat
September 26, 2008
Burn After Reading Review
Review spoiler warning: minor plot spoilers
After finding a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent, Chad Feldeimer (Pitt) and Linda Litzke (McDormand) begin this quirky quest to return the disk in search of a non-existent cash reward, but not after leaving a trail of destruction behind them. In their funniest farce since the “Big Lebowski,†the Coen brothers grace us with a combination of their masterful screenwriting, film work, and editing with an unforgettable all-star cast.
The Coens’ sense of humor is very unique. They take the darkest of human nature and develop some sick twist around it to fit their nothing but cruel sense of humor. They have a way with shocking humor as well as subtle dark humor that only they have mastered. It is the type of thing that had you witnessed in real life, you would be telling your new shrink about it for years to come. It is without a doubt an acquired taste of humor; witch would explain the recent mixed reviews. “Burn After Reading,†is a screwball comedy, but one tailored for the darkest and cruel sense of humors, making it unlike any screwball comedy in recent times.
“Burn After Reading,†sets itself up with a list of characters that are so simple minded, that the events become nothing but believable. Brad Pitt’s role as Chad Feldeimer has the innocence of a child, and it becomes easy to think, “well, how can you blame him, he didn’t know any better.†This is a trend that is safe to say with any of the characters, from the paranoid misogynist that Clooney plays, to the in-way-over-her-head Linda Litzke as played by Frances McDormand. With the ruined life of John Makovich’s character Osbourne Cox, whose simplicity comes with the single line he repeats for the majority of the film. Finally with the no named CIA superior of J.K. Simmons who is just utterly clueless.
The tagline for this flick sums it up nicely, “intelligence is relative,†in this cruel, dark, hilarious new comedy by the unstoppable director duo the Coen brothers. How the Coen brothers consistently bring such good product to the industry is beyond me, I just hope they continue their momentum.
9/10 Stars
Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence