Movie Trailer - Out of the Furnace

Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck,
Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Zoe Saldana
Release: December 6th, 2013

I feel like the trailer gives way too much of the movie away, but I still really want to see it.  I mean, I'm sure there's more to it than the trailer shows, and I'm also sure that the acting will be pretty excellent, so why not give it a chance.  I'll watch anything with Christian Bale.

DVD Review - Boy

Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Taika Waititi, James Rolleston, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu
Year: 2010

I had no idea that I had seen Taika Waititi's work before.  I chose to watch this movie thinking that it was a completely random film from New Zealand that got some good reviews.  While I was watching it, I thought that it reminded me of Eagle vs Shark, which is the only other movie out of New Zealand that I had ever seen. Turns out, not only did Waititi write, direct, and act in Eagle vs Shark, but he also went on to work alongside the main character of that movie (Jemaine Clement) in Flight of the Conchords.  Now fast forward to Boy and Waititi is once again acting, directing and writing a strange comedy/drama about the people of New Zealand, their awesome accents, and their unique culture.

The Movie

Boy is the story of Boy, a kid from a small town in New Zealand whose imagination is larger than the confines of his limited world.  He lives in a ramshackle house with his brother Rocky, a bunch of young cousins, and his grandmother, who sometimes leaves for large periods of time and puts Boy in charge.  He entertains his brother with fictional stories of how things came to be; how Rocky has magic powers, leading to the death of their mother in childbirth.  How their father escaped prison using only a spoon and plans to take them both to see Boy's idol in concert; Michael Jackson.  His life is predictable and boring, that is until his father comes home.

Alamein, the father, has been in prison but was recently released.  He and his new "gang", the Crazy Horses, have come home to find the money they stole and buried before they were caught.  Alamein has not been a part of Boy's life since his mother died, and Rocky doesn't know him at all.  But the boys attempt to reunite with their dad; going with him on drives, hanging out with his crew, and helping him dig for the buried treasure that he promises will buy them a better life.  But it's not easy to bridge the gap between years, and Boy becomes confused by his new-found family and his desire to be a man in his father's eyes, even when his father is no more than a boy himself.

I was completely blindsided by this movie.  I chose to watch it on a whim, didn't have any expectations, and was totally surprised that it turned out to be an amazing film.  It was literally incredible; I couldn't believe that a little movie from New Zealand made me feel the way that this one did.  It was a perfect story of boyhood; of the sadness of loss, the hope of a bright future, the disappointment that comes from believing too strongly in the perfection of a parent.  It was heartbreaking really; Boy's attempt to force his father to love and accept him, Rocky's assumption that this strange man didn't want him or need him.  It was an emotionally charged film, made better by the amazing comedic content and timing.

It was funnier than I ever could have imagined.  The Michael Jackson references, the "gang" that was too ridiculous to know that they were ridiculous, the microwave that the kids assumed was a strange television.  The jokes were sometimes silly, sometimes subtle, but always spot on and well paired with a dramatic situation that needed some juxtaposition to make it bearable.  When I learned that Waititi had created both Boy and Eagle vs Shark I automatically compared the two.  They were similar in how they portrayed both main adult characters as juvenile and stuck in a world of play war & fantastic dreams.  But they were different in their comedic style.  The former uses timing and chagrin to make things funny; the latter uses awkward moments and ridiculous situations.  Both movies were good, but Boy took a step beyond good and became great.

It wasn't like I cried my eyes out at the end of the movie because I was so moved by the father/son story.  And it wasn't that I cracked up laughing the entire show, enjoying joke after joke.  I think the reason I liked the movie so much was because it found a balance between heartbreak and humor that is really hard to achieve.  It was moving but silly, making it not seem heavy while not seeming flippant.  I can only credit Waititi, since he basically did everything to make this movie what it was.  Maybe he learned a few things from his other projects, namely how to hold back while holding the audience's interest.  He held mine, and I'm glad I watched this film that I had never heard of.  I would watch it again right now, and I would surely recommend it to anyone who is even slightly interested.

The DVD

Video - With an aspect ration of 1.85:1, the video quality is what you're looking for from a modern DVD.  The picture was nice; not amazing, but nice, with no problems and no reason to be disappointed.

Audio - The disc has two audio options: Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0.  There are no subtitles in any languages; the film is in English.  The sound quality of the movie was quite good, with creative and well planned music throughout.

Extras - There are a few nice extras on the DVD.  You can learn a little about the distribution company, Kino Lorber, in a brief section called About Kino Lorber.  There is a theatrical trailer for the film, a forty minute segment called Interviews and B-Roll Footage, and a short film by Taika Waititi entitled Two Cars, One Night.

Final Thoughts

Highly Recommended.  Boy was an absolutely awesome film, more so for being so unexpected.  It had heart, it was funny, it was relatable, and it left me wanting to pop it back in and rewatch it.  The video was a good quality, the music was excellent, and the extras were fun to watch.  This movie comes highly recommended by a guy who is very glad that he now owns the DVD.

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ - Content
✰ ✰ ✰ - Video
✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ - Audio
✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ - Extras
✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ - Replay

Movie Trailer - The Canyons

Director: Paul Schrader
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Gerard Funk
Release: Auguts 2nd, 2013

This movie looks odd.  First off, Paul Schrader wrote Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, and Raging Bull.  So he knows his way around drama, but he hasn't done a major project in a long time.  Secondly, I've seen a bunch of trailers for this movie; one that looks like a twisted sex thriller, a grindhouse version, one meant to be from the 30s, and another meant to be from the 50s.  So, I'm really confused.  Add in Lindsay Lohan and I have no idea what this is going to be like.

DVD Review - Vivan las Antipodas

Director: Victor Kossakovsky 
Year: 2011

While I'm not a huge fan of documentaries, I try to give them a fair shot.  After all, documentary filmmakers are trying to shed light on a subject, open our eyes to a problem, give us a glimpse of a world that we don't normally see.  And isn't that what's missing from so many major movies, a real reason for the film?  So many projects are throwaways, meant to make a profit more than anything.  But documentaries are created for a specific purpose, and for that I respect them.  Now, that doesn't mean I always enjoy them, some are quite boring, but a few do come along that are both captivating and interesting and those are the ones that are worth looking out for.  If you've ever seen and liked Life in a Day you know what I'm talking about.  And I thought this movie would be just like that one, a great look at our planet in a breathtaking way.  Well, it was beautiful, I'll give it that, but it was about as captivating as watching a glacier move.

The Movie

First off, what is an antipode?  Well, very simply, it is a direct or exact opposite.  Antipodes, in this sense, are places on Earth that are diametrically opposite each other on the globe.  So if you drilled a whole down through the ground under your house, dug a straight line directly through the Earth's core and kept going, where would you pop out?  Apparently there are very few antipodes in the world that are both populated by humans, given the large percentage of water covering the surface.  It's very rare to live in a place in which, directly under your feet, people are living their own lives "upside down".  This documentary was created to examine the lives of the people, the beauty of the environments, the differences in culture, of those who live on opposite sides of the world.

The locations tell the story more than the few words spoken in the film.  The antipodes are the plot, and the environments of each spot are the background.  The first pair of opposites are a riverbank in Argentina and a booming city in China.  Second are a lake in Russia and a sheep farm in Chile.  Third are a village in Botswana and a volcano in Hawaii.  Lastly are the landscapes of Spain and New Zealand.  These locations are compared, juxtaposed, and ultimately shown to us as exact opposites in location but somehow similar in their variety.  The message seems to be that life on Earth is both abundant and original; that life exists in some strange and wonderful places that most of us may never see but that flourish in their own unique ways.

Maybe it sounds like an interesting documentary, one that really showcases the beauty of planet Earth and the people who call it home.  Perhaps the still pictures from the DVD are so vivid and stunning that you want to watch this film.  Well, don't.  I had hope that it would be as good as Life In a Day, but it wasn't, not at all.  I was very disappointed after watching the movie; I felt like I wasn't given what was advertised, that I was denied something beautiful.  Now, maybe that's not fair.  Maybe the director had a vision and met that goal perfectly.  Perhaps it's my fault for creating expectations.  But I don't think it's too much to ask to want a documentary to be engrossing, not boring.

And boring it was, wow.  Every scene dragged and felt torturous.  It was like watching a plant grow using a fast-motion camera.  Except imagine that it's just a normal camera and you still have to sit there and watch the plant grow even though you'd rather be doing almost anything else in the world.  The shots were just too long; someone needed to scream "cut!" about 10 minutes earlier in about every shot.  And I'm not exaggerating that much.  There were some extremely long pans of some extremely boring material; buzzards sitting on rocks, lava oozing centimeter by centimeter, a tour of what seemed to be the entire city of Shanghai.  If I wanted to get to know the planet in this way I would have just looked up some Google maps.

Now, it wasn't all bad.  It was a very visual movie; you could have just watched it in complete silence and gotten the same out of it.  It was often relaxing, sometimes sleepy, and showed some cool parts of the world that I had never seen in such detail.  The movie was beautiful in that way.  The sunsets were great, the landscapes were lush, Earth was shown as a canvas wonderfully painted.  And the effects were pretty neat too.  It seems too simple to be any good, but just by turning the camera upside down or sideways the director showed us a literal view of the planet that we don't often think about.  It was surprisingly surprising to think about the globe as a sphere.  Of course we know it is, but to literally see it that way was nice.  Still boring, but kind of nice.

The DVD

Video - With an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the video quality was good.  Since the movie relied almost completely on the visual, I had expected the picture to be a little better than it was.  It was still good, the sunsets were brilliant, the plant life was detailed.  But it wasn't a breathtaking movie; I wasn't blown away by the visuals or the quality of the video.

Audio - There are very few audio options on the DVD.  You have the choice between Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo.  There is also an option to turn the subtitles to English or off.  There was nothing amazing about the sound quality and not much in the film to showcase.

Extras - There is only one extra on the disc; a trailer for the film.

Final Thoughts

Skip it. If you're looking for an excellent documentary about the diversity of life on planet Earth, this isn't it.  It might sound like it and look like it from the stills, but you might find it hard to stay awake long enough to see anything worth while.  There are some beautiful shots in the film, but a serious lack of editing created a very boring movie.  The video quality was good, the audio options few, and the extras nonexistent.  The stills from the film turn out to be all you really need to see, unless you enjoy watching a man walk, walk some more, and then keep walking.

✰ - Content
✰ ✰ ✰ - Video
✰ ✰ - Audio
✰ - Extras
✰ - Replay

Movie Trailer - I Give It a Year

Director: Dan Mazer
Starring: Rose Bryne, Rafe Spall, Minnie Driver
Release: August 9th, 2013

Hmm...a British romantic comedy directed by the guy who wrote Borat.  I'm not really sure how that works.  I mean, the trailer looks OK I guess, but it definitely doesn't look original.  It might end up being funny but not really that good.  So, I don't know, maybe it's one of those movies you watch when there's literally nothing else available.

Movie Review - Tropic Thunder

Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black
Year: 2008

I first saw Tropic Thunder shortly after it came out on DVD.  I was surprised, to say the least.  It was funnier than I had expected.  Yes, it was goofy, insulting, and ridiculous.  But it was also rather satirical; poking fun at the movie industry, actors, and even audiences.  It was one of the more amusing movies I'd seen in a while, and I went ahead and bought it.  Well, I never actually watched my copy, so I was unsure how it might feel the second time around and five years later.  Turns out it was still silly, still tongue in cheek, but maybe not quite as hilarious as I had once thought.

The plot is a movie within a movie kind of thing.  Some of the biggest names in this fictional film industry have come together to create an epic Vietnam war masterpiece that tells a true tale of courage and survival.  The actors include Portnoy (a comedian famous for farting), Speedman (an aging action star), and Lazarus (a perennial Oscar winner).  When the movie falters and personalities clash, the director decides to put his actors in a real life situation in order to get them into gear.  However, real life soon turns deadly, and the actors find themselves fighting for their lives.  Can these larger-than-life personalities work together, or will the mission fail?

The movie is a lot to take.  There are a ton of pieces that can overwhelm you instead of crack you up.  All the big name actors pretending to be actors who think they're in a movie about a true story, but it turns out they're in real life no longer making a movie about a story that isn't actually true.  Yeah.  It's muddled to say the least, but thankfully the plot isn't really the point.  It's more about the message, about how ridiculous Hollywood is, about how strange actors can be, about how we as audiences pigeon hole actors into genres and never let them escape.  So this movie has a lot to say, but sometimes it gets lost in the wash.  But regardless, it's a comedy first, and it delivers in that way.  It's constantly funny; sometimes witty, sometimes shocking, sometimes stupid.  So no matter what type of comedy you like you ought to be able to find a way to laugh.  My favorite were the odd cameos; Nick Nolte, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise.  It was obvious that these guys were having a great time making an over-the-top film that pokes fun at pretty much everything.  Don't take this movie too seriously and it'll be enjoyable.  It may not be as awesome as I first thought, but it's still worth your time and worth a few laughs.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - Seventh Son

Director: Sergey Bodrov
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore
Release: January 17, 2014

I don't know how long this movie is, but how many action scenes can you possibly cram into it?  It just looks overdone, or overblown, or something.  And what's with Jeff Bridges' growly accent?  Do people who fight evil demons just talk weird?  It seems like that's his new thing; killing creatures and speaking weirdly.  He's a great actor, but I'm gonna pass on this one.

Sports - Hall of Fame Game

The NFL Preseason kicks off in about a week; Sunday, August 4th at 8pm on NBC.  The game is between the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys, and will be played at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio, right next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  If you've never been to the Hall, I highly recommend it.  I haven't been in years but it's an experience every football fan needs to have.  Apparently they've redone it recently and it's even cooler, so I plan on checking it out ASAP.  The stadium itself is a great place to see a football game.  I went a few years back when it was Colts vs Redskins.  The stadium is so small that you feel like you're watching a high school game and the players are literally right there.  Anyway, here's a look at what to watch for during the game.

Miami - Last season actually went alright for the Dolphins.  They ended up 7-9, but they couldn't score enough points, win on the road, or win in their division.  Those problems kept them out of the playoffs, but there were some signs that they are headed in the right direction.  Last year was the first season for HC Joe Philbin, his OC, his DC, and starting QB Ryan Tannehill.  He started all 16 games, threw only 12 TDs and 13 INTs.  Not good.  He'll have to improve in his second year and avoid the sophomore slump if this young group hopes to improve on their first year as a unit.  They lost some key veterans: RB Reggie Bush, TE Anthony Fasano, CB Sean Smith, LB Karlos Dansby, OT Jake Long, and LB Kevin Burnett.  But they added some really good talent: WR Mike Wallace, TE Dustin Keller, LB Dannell Ellerbe, OT Tyson Clabo, CB Brent Grimes, and rookies DE Dion Jordan and CB Jamar Taylor.  If RBs Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller can step up, if Tannehill can improve and hit Wallace often, and if the defense can solidify then this team has the ability to be a tough matchup.  They're not going to compete with the Patriots for the division, not while Tom Brady is healthy, but there is an outside chance that the 'Fins could be a surprising Wild Card team.

Dallas - The 'Boys went 8-8 last season and missed the playoffs.  Not good.  With the money they spend and the pressure put on them by their owner Jerry Jones they have got to do better this year.  Both QB Tony Romo and HC Jason Garrett are on the proverbial hot seat after failing to meet high expectations.  This team needs to win now and often.  The offensive reins have been handed to OC Bill Callahan, so he and Romo have to put up some points.  The defense will be run by new DC Monte Kiffin, Lane's dad and longtime great Tampa Bay defensive coach.  Look for the defense to be improved and the offense to put together some TDs this season.  They lost a lot of players: DE Marcus Spears, CB Mike Jenkins, LB Dan Connor, RB Felix Jones, S Gerald Sensabaugh, WR Kevin Ogletree, and OG Derrick Dockery.  The players they added will have to fill the holes: S Will Allen, TE Dante Rosario, LB Justin Durant, DE Anthony Hargrove, and rookies C Travis Frederick, TE Gavin Escobar, and WR Terrance Williams.  The team has great TEs, good WRs, an RB in DeMarco Murray that has shown bursts of brilliance; there is no reason the offense shouldn't click.  If the defense (especially the secondary) can keep up, then this is a team that can make and win in the playoffs.

Movie Trailer - The Lifeguard

Director: Liz W. Garcia
Starring: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, David Lambert
Release: August 30th, 2013

You can't do a coming-of-age story starring a 33-year-old.  There are rules!  And also, there are already a thousand similar movies being released right now; apparently everyone grows up around July.  Now, that said, coming-of-age stories can be great.  I think The Way, Way Back will be.  But I think The Spectacular Now and this one will both suck.

Thought - Going Green

I'm no hippie, but I try to do my part.  In Death to Smoochy Ed Norton is always saying, "You can't change the world, but you can make a dent."  A silly movie, sure, but a pretty relevant quote.  I'm not saving the planet with the "green" things that I'm doing, but I am making a very small difference.

I use a reel mower.  That's the kind you see people in the 50s pushing around.  When it came time to buy one, there were so many reasons to not buy a gas mower and so many reasons to buy a reel.  1) It only cost $99.  2) It uses no gas and no oil.  3) It's a great way to get exercise.  4) My kids can be around and I don't have to worry about horrible accidents.  And 5) It makes no noise.  When I'm out on a beautiful summer evening there is nothing that annoys me more than the extremely loud roar of my neighbors riding lawn mower that seems useless in his 12' by 12' yard.

I do cloth diapers.  Again, there weren't enough reasons to do disposable, and so many reasons to do cloth.  1) Its costs about $200 to diaper your child for their entire life.  2) It's more comfortable and less irritating to their skin.  3) You get WAY less blowouts.  And 4) It may actually help them to potty train earlier than a child in disposables.

I recycle.  With the new programs that many cities offer, there's really no excuse not to.  They often provide a bin, pickup, and disposal.  All you have to do is seperate your trash and they do the rest.  Some places there is more work involved, like driving your recycling to a designated location, but every load of recycling is one less load going into a landfill.

My point is, there are a ton of small ways that you can make a small difference.  I don't do everything I can to "save the planet", but I try to find a couple viable options that I know I can do.  It only takes a little extra effort; pushing the mower yourself, washing diapers every few days, taking the time to separate your garbage.  But this little effort is actually making a difference; small, but real.  We can all find one or two ways to contribute, it's not that hard, it's not going to kill us, and it just might matter.

I watched a documentary once called No Impact Man.  A family tried to have zero environmental impact & no carbon footprint for one year.  It was hard, it was work, but they did it.  And the lesson they learned was that it is nearly impossible for us to give up everything in today's modern society.  They tried to live without toilet paper and a refrigerator.  And while they survived, they saw these things as conveniences that they couldn't live without.  But they also discovered many things that they could give up; hours in front of the TV, car rides short distances, wasted spending.  And what I took away from the movie is that we don't need to be hippies in order to make a small difference.  We can all make tiny sacrifices in a few areas of our lives, put in a little extra muscle & time,  and it just might add up to something big.

Movie Trailer - Compulsion

Director: Egidio Coccimiglio
Starring: Heather Graham, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Dillon
Release: August 13th, 2013

I wouldn't watch this movie if someone paid me.  Unless it was, like, five dollars or something.  Then I would watch it, hate it, and curse at Heather Graham.  She's literally the worst actress to come along in thirty years.  It makes me angry that she is a famous millionaire and I'm not.

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DVD Review - Fred Won't Move Out

Director: Richard Ledes
Starring: Elliott Gould, Fred Melamed, Stephanie Roth Haberle
Year: 2012

I've got to be honest; the only way I know Elliott Gould is as Ross and Monica's dad from Friends.  Well, I take that back.  I think I remember him from an episode of Touched by an Angel, but I'm not proud of that.  My point is that I knew going into Fred Won't Move Out that I was going to have a hard time separating Fred from Jack Geller.  And especially since Jack is so funny and I didn't imagine a movie about the end of an old Jewish man's life would be.  And it wasn't mostly, and yet was sometimes.  Confusing, I know, but then so was the movie.  Not plot-wise, that was straight forward, but by the end I was unsure whether I had enjoyed watching it or not.

The Movie

The story of the movie revolves around the last phase in the life of a man named Fred.  He has lived in his current home for fifty years with his wife, Susan.  She requires a constant attendant, as she is incapable of taking care of herself.  The attendant's name is Victoria, a very caring yet stern woman who takes Susan to the bathroom, feeds her, and is beginning to need to keep a watchful eye on Fred as well.  He is beginning to become forgetful; not paying his taxes, not going to the grocery store.  And after he has a fall, his grown children begin to worry about his safety.  Their names are Bob and Carol, and while they love their parents very much and respect Fred's desire for freedom, they understand that he is no longer safe on his own.

Most of the action of the film takes place on one day during a visit to the family home.  Bob and Carol have driven in from the city to spend the day with their parents, bringing Carol's daughter Lila with them.  They stay to help Victoria around the house, to have lunch as a family, to attend an eclectic music therapy session, and ultimately to convince their father that the time has come for him to leave his home.  Susan is moving to a care facility and the plan is for Fred to accompany her.  But he becomes resistance.  For Fred, the move means an end to his old life and his independence.  For his children it means a lessening of their daily worries, as they know that both of their parents now need more attention than they can give.  The family struggles with the impending move, as the individuals that make up the group don't always see eye to eye.

When a movie has this little action and relies so heavily on dialogue, the acting really comes to the forefront and can make or break the film.  I don't think the acting broke anything, and yet it didn't really blow me away either.  Elliott Gould actually had a small part, which was surprising when you consider that the movie was named after his character and that he's the only well-known actor in the entire project.  The bulk of the lines were given to the son and daughter, and while they were just fine they definitely couldn't carry a heavy story like this one.  They were almost too real, too flippant or amateur or something.  They seemed like actual people and not actors, but for some reason it didn't work and just felt strange.

The story and plot as a whole were well thought out and realistic.  Perhaps not all of us have been in a situation quite like this one, but I for one can imagine it pretty well, be it with my parents as they get older or with myself, as someday I may be incapable of taking care of myself and a decision will have to be made.  It was a very sad scenario, and the characters were accurate depictions of how we might react were we put in a similar spot.  And the flow of the story was pretty straight forward, except for a few weird dream-like sequences that didn't really make much sense.  They definitely didn't add anything to the movie and should have been edited out by someone with a good eye.

All in all, I'm on the fence with this one.  It's not like it was a bad movie.  The acting was fine, the story was real, and there were some great emotional triggers.  There was even a funny scene with the music therapist who played piano and led the family in rousing song.  But I just can't say I liked it, because I often found myself a little bored.  Maybe it was the low-key acting, or the elderly people sitting around getting older by the second, or the conversations about bagels and who ate whos bagel and how many bagels were bought.  I just found myself not caring; about the bagels, about the family, about how the story would end.  The movie wasn't bad, it just wasn't good enough to illicit a major reaction. 

The DVD

Video - With an aspect ratio of 16:9 Widescreen the picture quality is just fine.  Nothing spectacular, but nothing distracting either.  The majority of the movie takes place in and around a home, with a lot of dialogue and people sitting down.  In other words, the video wasn't really put to the test.

Audio - There are zero sound options on the disc.  No audio choices, no alternate languages, and no subtitle choices.  The sound in the film was fine, with no obvious blemishes, but again there wasn't really any chance to try out anything more than a raised voice.

Extras - The only extras on the DVD are three trailers: Fred Won't Move Out, Gun Hill Road, and Future Weather.  Let me recommend watching Gun Hill Road, a terrific and moving film, one that's worth a first and a second watch.

Final Thoughts

Skip it.  I almost wish I could give it a higher rating, but the film just isn't worth a lot of time.  It's not an awful movie, but there have got to be so many other ones that should be above it in any movie queue.  The video was fine, the audio was whatever, and the extras were minimal.  An overall fine film that comes off as bland and won't be memorable.

✰ ✰ - Content
✰ ✰ - Video
✰ ✰ - Audio
✰ - Extras
✰ - Replay

Movie Trailer - The Frozen Ground

Director: Scott Walker
Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens
Release: August 23rd, 2013

I saw this movie already.  It was called Insomnia and it sucked.  Why would I see it again, this time starring one of the worst actors on the planet?  I'm talking about you, Nick!  And why is Vanessa Hudgens all of a sudden in every movie being made?  Did someone do a research study and discover that what we needed was more Vanessa Hudgens?  Because I thought I was doing just fine without her.

Movie Review - This Is the End

Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill
Year: 2013

When the trailer for This Is the End first came out I thought it looked pretty funny.  I figured if you liked Superbad, which I did, you'd like this one as well.  It has some of the same actors (Rogen, Hill, Cera) and the same style of raunchy comedy that revolves around bodily fluids and recreational drugs.  However, a major difference would be that in this movie the actors play themselves, with a ton of cameos thrown in for good measure.  So while I assumed that I'd find it funny, I also thought that it would fall short of better movies because it would lack that emotional base that we don't always notice but we usually need.  Well, apparently they just decided to replace emotion with extra crude humor, and the result wasn't a shallow film but one of the funniest movies I've seen in years.

Almost the entire story takes place in James Franco's new house in Hollywood.  Seth Rogen and his old friend Jay Baruchel are reuniting in California, a place that Jay hates to be.  Seth talks him into coming with him to Franco's housewarming, where there will be a ton of drugs and celebrities.  Among the elite are Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Emma Watson, Rhianna, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Aziz Ansari, and a bunch of others.  Jay may not be having a great time, but the night is about to get worse.  It seems as if the apocalypse is upon them, as the Hollywood Hills are engulfed in flame, blue lights take people into the sky, and monsters roam the streets.  Only a small group of the party-goers survive and they must band together and get along if they are to have any chance of waiting out the end of the world.

I did not expect the movie to be as funny as it was.  I mean, I thought it'd be funny, not hilarious, but it was definitely the latter.  It was non-stop comedy from the very beginning, but somehow it never got old or annoying.  I haven't laughed that hard since who knows when; maybe since Superbad.  And while that movie relied on our memories of how awkward it is to be young, this movie got us laughing by putting audiences in ridiculous situations that only warped minds could possibly think of.  And the comedy was warped, be warned.  It was crude, sexual, graphic, dirty, whatever you want to call it.  But it was also real; it was a bunch of guys stuck in a house together with nothing to do but smoke pot, look at porn, drink wine, turn on each other, and worry about which of them was going to die next. 

I guess that's why the movie worked; it was surprisingly real for such a silly film.  Now, by real I don't mean realistic, I mean it felt natural.  It felt like the lines were what Seth and Jay and Jonah would say if they found themselves in this situation.  Breaking down that fourth wall really worked because it made the characters real and allowed the actors to make fun of themselves and of each other while still playing people in the movie.  It was kind of a genius idea, and I'm not sure the movie would have worked so well had they tried to create stories and backgrounds and fake names.  It worked because it was off-center, because it was hilarious while being pretty original.  And you could tell the guys were having a great time making the film, which was really infectious.  I felt jealous that I wasn't under lock-down during the rapture with this crew; for being that close to death it seemed like they were having a pretty awesome time.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - Afternoon Delight

Director: Jill Soloway
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor
Release: August 30th, 2013

The only thing that concerns me about this movie is that Jill Soloway is partly responsible for the TV show Nikki.  If you saw that during its brief run you'll understand.  I'm not really sure why I did other than that Nikki Cox was hot and I was sixteen.  But anyway, I think this movie actually looks kinda good and funny, but I can't see myself making it a priority.

Movie Review - Sharknado

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante

Starring: Ian Ziering, Cassie Scerbo, Tara Reid

Year: 2013

If you haven't heard of Sharknado you've been in a cave for the last couple of weeks.  What started as a made-for-TV movie became a Twitter sensation, prompted an encore presentation, and has supposedly produced a future sequel.  It's baffling really; the SciFi channel has created hundreds of unwatchable horror movies, why did this one explode into pop culture?  Well I had to watch it to find out, and now you're being graced with its review.  Obviously I didn't expect too much going it, but after seeing it I'm even more confused than I was before.  I guess all the other SciFi originals were bad, making them throwaways.  This one was so bad that it was a sensation.  Go figure.

The storm of the century is coming, and California better brace for impact.  A hurricane is sliding up the coast of Mexico, picking up hundreds of sharks and carrying them north where they have never been before.  When the storm slams the coasts of the Golden State, flood waters rise, water spouts emerge, and sharks are everywhere.  Fin, a bar-owner, and his crew risk the now dangerous California freeways in order to rescue his ex-wife and children, a task made difficult by bloodthirsty sharks in the drains, the pools, and in the air.  They can stick together, they can arm themselves, but can they survive the sharknado!?

This is maybe the worst movie I've ever seen.  At least I understand now why everyone wanted to watch it, because films this horrendous don't come along every day.  I mean, you really have to try to make something this awful.  Each scene seemed hand-crafted to be more terrible and to make less sense than the one before.  And then Tara Reid, that guy from 90210, or Kevin McCallister's dad would pop up and spout the most ridiculous line and things would get that much worse.  I spent most of the movie shaking my head and feeling slightly embarrassed; for the people who actually spent money to produce this film and for myself for sitting down to watch it.  Be prepared for a ton on shark bites, some cheap special effects, a lot of actors looking around stupidly, and many shouts of "watch out!" when someone is dangling above a shark's mouth incapable of looking or moving anywhere else.  That's kinda how I felt while watching it, and I don't think I escaped unscathed.

My rating: ✰

Movie Trailer - Snowpiercer

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Starring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
Release: August 2013

This looks like one of those that's a better story than movie.  Why is it so hard to get sci-fi right?  I will watch almost anything that's post-apocalyptic, but I'm not sure if I can watch this one.  Chris Pine?  Sure.  Chris Evans?  No thank you.

Movie Review - Flashdance

Director: Adrian Lyne
Starring: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Sunny Johnson
Year: 1983

I love 80s movies.  I don't even know what it is; maybe the gritty nature of the films, the terrible yet wonderful music, the big loud clothes & hair, the coked-out imaginations of the filmmakers.  But whatever it is, 80s movies are great.  Top Gun, Legend, All the Right Moves; and those are just the ones with Tom Cruise!  But I had never seen Flashdance, an 80s dance classic that is full of iconic scenes.  When it won You Vote, I Review I was excited to finally see it and experience one more incredibly over-the-top funky favorite.

Alex is a female welder and night club dancer.  That's right.  She lives in Pittsburgh, welds by day and dance in a non-nude bar for extra cash.  But it's not just for the money.  She loves to dance, whenever and wherever she can.  It is her passion, and yet she's never had any formal training.  She dreams of someday becoming a ballerina, but her fears hold her back.  When she meets and falls for her rich boss Nick, he opens up her heart and allows her to finally believe in herself, something she has never been able to do until now.

It was pretty fabulous if you like non-stop 80s music, 80s hair, and 80s fashion.  It was the epitome of the time and the genre, so it's worth something right there.  The music was great, with the songs we all know; What a Feeling and Maniac.  The dances were frequent and a little crazy, but hey so were the 80s.  The story was a little far-fetched, and that's putting it nicely.  And the acting didn't really help, as I never believed Alex loved Nick, or vice versa.  It was a movie to be watched because of what it is, not because of how good it is.  But still, worth a shot.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - Thanks for Sharing

Director: Stuart Blumberg
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad
Release: September 20th, 2013

Blumberg co-wrote The Kids Are All Right, which was a good and honest movie.  It also starred Mark Ruffalo who, in my book, is an underrated actor.  So putting Gwyneth Paltrow aside and also ignoring the fact that this movie co-stars Pink, I think I'm willing to give it a shot.

Movie Review - The Grey

Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney
Year: 2011

I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson.  From Schindler's List to Love Actually, he's done some great films that warrant a lot of respect.  Now, he's done his fair share of bad movies: The Other Man, Battleship.  But, on a whole, he lends credit to the projects he's involved in and he's gotten me to see a few just because he's in them.  The Grey is one of those, a movie I might not have seen had it not been for Liam Neeson.  I might have watched it some day, I do like survival movies, and the whole plane crashing and having to defeat the wild thing looked pretty cool, but he definitely pushed my interest over the edge.

The main character, played by Neeson of course, works for an oil company in Alaska.  His job is to protect the workers on the tundra from starving wolves; he has studied them, knows their habits, and is good at killing them.  But his knowledge is truly put to the test when he and a small group of men find themselves stranded in a frozen wasteland.  Their plane has crashed, leaving them as the only survivors and desperate to live.  They must make their way to civilization, no easy task, but as they travel they are hunted by a ferocious pack of wolves bent on killing the men one by one.  In this struggle for survival one group must destroy the other if anyone is to make it out alive.

It's a pretty forced plot; a place crashes into an inhospitable environment where the wolves decide that every human must die and luckily the men have a wolf expert with them.  It's hard to believe it could actually happen, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch.  It was a pretty thrilling movie; guys getting picked off one by one, personalities clashing, wolves howling around the perimeter, never knowing what's coming next as you run for your life through the snow.  Maybe a little cheap, but very entertaining.  It reminded me of The Edge, which is a great wilderness survival movie that has excellent actors who turn it into something more than a animal/action flick.  The Grey was the same; a cool movie that had a good actor with the talent to make it a little better than it should have been.  Expect blood, snow, wolves, and a little cheesy heart-wrenching, but watch it just the same.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - The Counselor

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem
Release: October 25th, 2013

I know a lot of good parts don't always add up to a good film, but I'm willing to take a chance with this one.  First, I heart Brad Pitt.  I really like Michael Fassbender.  And Ridley Scott knows what he's doing, even if I don't love every one of his movies.  Stick in Penelope Cruz & Cameron Diaz and it's looking like a movie that I'll go see.

Book Review - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Author: Roald Dahl
Year: 1970

I never did read much Roald Dahl as a kid.  I think we read James and the Giant Peach in school once, but that's about it.  My exposure to him was always through movies; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda.  And when Wes Anderson created a Fantastic Mr. Fox movie I saw that before I read the book as well.  Now that I have kids and they were given a Dahl box set for Christmas, I'm finally catching up on the actual books.  I liked but didn't love the movie version of this novel, and I think I'll have to say the exact same thing about the book; it was good, but it just wasn't great.

The story of the book is much simpler than the story of the movie.  In the novel, Mr. Fox has stolen one too many fowl from the local farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.  The trio team up to kill the sly fox once and for all.  But when he gets wind of the plan, Mr. Fox simply stays underground with his wife and children.  But the men won't give up that easy.  They dig with shovels, with machines, guard the hole, and do everything they can to make sure that the foxes never escape.  But as the family starves, the wonderful Mr. Fox begins to devise a plan that will both feed his family and steal everything right from under the farmer's noses.

The book is very easy to read, with short chapters and simple themes.  I can see why Anderson jazzed up the movie quite a bit and added his own style, cause otherwise it would have been very boring.  The book was a bit boring itself, but because it was short and sweet you could get through it fast.  I imagine this just isn't one of Dahl's best, at least compared to Charlie and what I remember of James.  Don't expect much more than as easy read, and I'd recommend reading it to children; it adds an extra element of fun to know that they're enjoying it.  But it's a fine book for a nice time.

My rating: ✰ ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - Jobs

Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney
Release: August 16th, 2013

While I think that this should be an interesting movie, I'm not sure how I feel about watching a movie in which Ashton Kutcher plays a genius.

Sports - NFL Draft Review Part 2

This year's draft was very exciting if only because it was unpredictable.  Players fell below their projected draft spots (QB Geno Smith, LB Manti Te'o), no running backs were selected in the 1st Round, and only one quarterback was chosen.  It was the year of Legos, according to Chris Berman; setting up the foundation of your team using the fundamental blocks.  Whatever it was, it was a fun Draft to watch.  Later Rounds were relatively normal, and teams added much needed talent to their rosters.  Let's take a look at the key players selected by each NFL team in the 2013 Draft:

Miami

• Dion Jordan - DE, Oregon - Fast, quick around the edge, a Jason Taylor clone.
• Jamar Taylor - CB, Boise St. - Strong and fast, could start right away.

Minnesota

• Sharrif Floyd - DT, Florida - The steal of the draft, a force in the middle of the line.
• Xavier Rhodes - CB, FSU - A tall, long, physical press corner.
• Cordarrelle Patterson - WR, Tenn - Physical receiver, like Demaryius Thomas.

New England

• Jamie Collins - LB, Southern Miss - A fast OLB perfect for the Patriot's 3-4.
• Aaron Dobson - WR, Marshall - Tall, raw project from a small school.

New Orleans

• Kenny Vaccaro - S, Texas - Should pair up well with Malcolm Jenkins.

New York Giants

• Justin Pugh - OT, Syracuse - Not huge, but can play both tackles and both guards.
• Johnathan Hankins - DT, OSU - A run-stopper, not a pass-rusher.
• Damontre Moore - DE, A&M - A light DE or a big LB, can be either.

New York Jets

• Dee Milliner - CB, Alabama - Very fast lock-down corner, OK tackler.
• Sheldon Richardson - DT, Missouri - Quick for a big guy, not extremely strong.
• Geno Smith - QB, WVU - Fastest QB in the Draft, plays like Aaron Brooks.

Oakland

• D.J. Hayden - CB, Houston - Coming back from a life-threatening heart injury.
• Menelik Watson - OT, FSU - 6'5" raw physical specimen.

Philadelphia

• Lane Johnson - OT, Oklahoma - 6'6", very athletic and fast.
• Zach Ertz - TE, Stanford - Quick TE who is a threat to score.
• Matt Barkley - QB, USC - Knows the pro style, but lacks height and arm strength.

Pittsburgh

• Jarvis Jones - LB, Georgia -  Pass-rushing OLB fit for the 3-4.
• Le'Veon Bell - RB, MSU - Big, bruising back with power.
• Markus Wheaton - WR, OSU - Only 5'11", but very quick and elusive.

San Diego

• D.J. Fluker - OT, Alabama - 6'5, 340, a perfect right tackle.
• Manti Te'o - LB, Notre Dame - Small, but aggressive and vocal.
• Keenan Allen - WR, California - Long legs & a reliable #1 prospect.

San Francisco

• Eric Reid - S, LSU - A fast safety with a solid overall build.
• Cornellius Carradine - DE, FSU - An edge-rusher with injury concerns.
• Vance McDonald - TE, Rice - Built like a blocker but with catching ability.
• Marcus Lattimore - RB, SC - An all-pro back with major knee concerns.

Seattle

• Christine Michael - RB, A&M - 5'10", with injury and off-field problems.
• Jordan Hill - DT, PSU - A little small, but agressive and physical.

St. Louis

• Tavon Austin - WR, WVU - 5'8", fast, quick, a perfect slot receiver.
• Alec Ogletree - LB, Georgia - Good speed, can tackle RBs or run with TEs.
• T.J. McDonald - S, USC - Pro-size & style, hits like a missile.
• Stedman Bailey - WR, WVU - 5'10", good route runner.

Tampa Bay

• Johnthan Banks - CB, Miss. St. - A thin press-corner with good height and length.
• Mike Glennon - QB, N.C. State - 6'6", lean, with a very strong arm.

Tennessee

• Chance Warmack - OG, Alabama - Thick & solid, a great run-blocker.
• Justin Hunter - WR, Tenn - 6'4", a definite red zone threat.

Washington

• David Amerson - CB, N.C. State - Physical & athletic, could switch to safety.
• Jordan Reed - TE, Florida - Versatile, much like Aaron Hernandez.

Movie Trailer - Drinking Buddies

Director: Joe Swanberg
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Ron Livingston, Anna Kendrick
Release: July 25th, 2013

This movie looks pretty realistic, like it could and has happened, but it also looks like it's been done before.  I like Jake Johnson (Safety Not Guaranteed), Ron Livingston (Office Space), and Anne Kendrick (50/50), but I'm not so sure about Olivia Wilde (Cowboys & Aliens).  So maybe three out of four ain't bad.

Movie Review - Y Tu Mama Tambien

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna
Year: 2001

According to popular opinion, Y Tu Mama Tambien is a phenomenal movie.  On IMDB users give it a 7.6 out of 10 and critics give it an 8.8, which is very high.  I always thought I was missing out on a fantastic piece of cinema by not watching it.  I wasn't avoiding it; I like foreign films and I don't mind "artsy" movies, I just hadn't gotten around to it.  So when I finally went to watch it I asked my wife if she'd like to watch it with me.  She said no, which surprised me.  Apparently she had seen it when it first came out and was not impressed.  She said it was all hype and no substance.  And she was right.

The story centers around two best friends; Julio and Tenoch.  They are rich young socialites whose college lives are about to start, but for now they just want to party.  When their girlfriends leave to go abroad, the boys focus on getting high and getting laid.  At a party they meet the wife of a relative, Luisa, a beautiful and intriguing woman.  The pair of adventures turns into a trio when Luisa decides to join the boys on a road trip to the beach.  As they all get to know each other, sexual tensions mount, inhibitions are lost, and friendships are torn apart.

First, this is a pretty explicit movie.  There are multiple sex scenes, starting from the very beginning, with a lot of male and female nudity.  Now, it wasn't an adult film, it was more like a movie that included more than we really wanted to see, like guys peeing.  And the movie was partly about the sexual awaking of these young men, so the sex was important to the plot, but I think it was overdone.  I say that, but without it I don't know what would have been left.  It was a boring movie, filled with stilted dialogue, and I don't understand why it's acclaimed.  Other than being shocking it doesn't have that much going for it.  The acting was fine and it had some realistic moments, but overall I found it to be uninteresting and over-the-top.  It was worth seeing, if for no other reason than to join the conversation, but I can't think of anyone I'd recommend this movie to.

My rating: ✰ ✰

Movie Trailer - Free Birds

Director: Jimmy Hayward
Starring: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler
Release: November 1st, 2013

Well turkeys may be dumb but so are the people who made this film.  I mean, it just looks like a slapstick mess.  I don't mind a little bit of physical comedy, but not Beavis and Butt-head in fowl form.  No thank you, Owen.  Stop making bad movies.

DVD Review - Dead Man's Burden

Director: Jared Moshe
Starring: Barlow Jacobs, Clare Bowen, David Call
Year: 2012

Although I'm not a western aficionado, I've seen my fair share.  Films like Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Shane; the classics.  I'm not big on spaghetti westerns, I was always more of a John Wayne guy: The Searchers, The Cowboys, El Dorado.  So while it's never been my genre of choice, I do enjoy a good wild west tale.  When I came across Dead Man's Burden, it looked like a homage to the old stories; a simple plot, clipped conversation, beautiful sunsets, and a whole lot of death.  I didn't know if it would be up to par with the great desert dramas (Lonesome Dove) or sink to the bottom of the barrel (Texas Rangers).  I guess it shouldn't surprise me that it fell somewhere in the middle, teetering on the edge between subtle genius and farcical flop.

The Movie

The story takes place on the post-Civil War western frontier.  The McCurry family has been attempting to scratch out a living in the dessert, burying sons along the way.  Wade, the only surviving brother, is disowned due to his supposed betrayal of the Confederate cause.  He has been long away from home, taking work as a deputy, but now wants to return to his farming roots.  His sister, Martha, remains on the family homestead, having married a good Southern soldier, Heck Kirkland.  The two siblings haven't seen each other since they were children and much has changed, but they are about to be reunited.

The pater familias, Joe McCurry, has died, leaving the future of the family's land up in the air.  Joe was for keeping the homestead, as it is the only acreage in the area that has a good supply of water.  Martha is for selling it to the mining company, making a good chunk of cash, and moving to San Francisco, leaving the dessert behind her.  She's set to make her dream a reality when Wade shows up.  He received a mysterious letter from his estranged father, saying that in the case of his death Wade would be needed back home.  Now he and his now-grown sister must decide the fate of the farm, a decision complicated further by Wade's suspicion that Joe didn't die from natural causes.

The story seems pretty simple, and perhaps even a little silly, but looking at the plots of other westerns puts it into perspective.  It's actually a pretty standard storyline; the fractured family unit, the greed that breaks them apart, and finally the conflict that settles the matter better than words seem able to do. So, in a way, Dead Man's Burden is the quintessential cowboy drama, using the old formula to make a modern film.  It doesn't rely on action and it definitely doesn't rely on breathtaking performances, but it does deliver a strong feeling of western.  Now, whether you view that as a rip-off or as a nod is a matter of preference.  Because this film seems to walking the fine line of believability.

I could see how, depending on their mood, someone could either love or hate this film.  It's a polarizing movie apparently, as audiences hate it and critics love it.  And it's because, as I've mentioned, it's right on the edge.  At times I felt like I was watching a very good portrayal of a deceptively simple plot.  What I was hearing were the standard western lines and what I was seeing were the standard western scenes, but they seemed to be genuine and classic at the same time.  But if I tilted my head slightly and tried to remember my high school days it was almost like I was watching a drama club performance.  I can't be sure if it was a classic rendition or a fake version, and I might change my mind the next time I watch it.

What wouldn't change would be the beauty of the scenery.  From the very beginning each shot seemed hand-crafted to be the most amazing picture you could imagine.  The sunsets were epic, the landscape was barren, the houses and dress were authentic, and it was very apparent that the director and his team took this film very seriously.  There were some breath-taking shots in this movie, as hopefully you can see from the few stills I incorporated.  It was a visually stunning film if nothing else.  And it may be more than that, it may be an extremely lovingly made western homage.  But there's still that edge that the cast was walking, on the verge of over-acting every scene.  I felt like they held back just enough and I bought into it.  But I couldn't blame someone for being harsh with this film and feeling as if they crossed a very subtle line.

The DVD

Video - With an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the video is everything you're looking for.  The film was shot on a Panavision Panaflex Platinum camera, with Panavision and Cooke lenses.  The scenes are beautiful and lit with an artistic flare.  The colors were made for an HD TV and you won't be sorry you watched this film from a visual standpoint.

Audio - There are two sound options on the disc: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or 2.0 Stereo.  English subtitles are available for the hearing impaired.  The audio quality of the film is good, not amazing.

Extras - There are few extras on the DVD.  You can watch four short deleted scenes, and there is a trailer for the film.  Nothing to get excited about and not much to see.

Final Thoughts

Rent it.  Dead Man's Burden is a nice throwback western that's not amazing but doesn't embarrass itself, although the visuals are better than the actual film.  You could make the case that the characters are too stereotypical and that the actors are overdoing it, but I think they toed the line and did their best to deliver authentic performances.  The video was great, the audio was good, and the extras were just OK.  Not an exciting film maybe, but a decent one.

✰ ✰ ✰ - Content
✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ - Video
✰ ✰ ✰ - Audio
✰ ✰ - Extras
✰ ✰ - Replay

Movie Trailer - The Spectacular Now

Director: James Ponsoldt
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler
Release: August 2nd, 2013

I feel like this has been done better about a hundred times.  It just doesn't look very interesting or original.  And I have my doubts about the actors.  Miles Teller looks like the next Vince Vaughn, which I don't think is a good thing.  I saw Shailene Woodley in The Descendants and she wasn't that great.  And, I know this sounds mean, but did they intentionally make her less attractive, because I remember her as hotter.